#some of the most romantic CS moments of all time!

[whimsicallyenchantedrose]

Season 4 Rewatch Drabbles: 4x2 White Out

(Gif not mine. I couldn't find who to attribute it to. If you're the creator, let me know, and I'll credit you.)

Summary:  A series of 100-1000 word drabbles to accompany my    rewatch of season 4 of Once Upon a Time.  There will be a drabble–either a deleted scene, a “fix it” fic or a character musing for each episode of the season.  Focus will be on Emma, Henry, the Charmings and Killian–with an emphasis on Captain Swan’s epic love story.

Word Count: 662

Other Chapters: (1) (3) (4) (5) (6) (7) (8)

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Emma had stopped shivering.  Surely that was a bad sign.  People who were dying of hypothermia stopped shivering, didn’t they? That, combined with the fact that the desire to go to sleep was overwhelming should have sent alarm bells going off in her head.

But she just didn’t even have the energy to care.  She watched dispassionately as Elsa found her magic and began to slowly open a hole in the wall.  

And then there they were, her father and her…well, whatever Killian was to her.  Her father looked concerned, of course, but Killian, Killian looked frantic, devastated, like his whole world was about to crumble.  He all but climbed into the ice wall himself to get to her.

A sudden warmth kindled inside her at the sight of him.  When had anyone, anyone ever looked at her like that?  Like she was their whole world?  Like losing her was the most terrifying thing he could even imagine?

And so, as soon as she was out, as soon as she was free, as soon as she was in his arms, she hugged him back, as fiercely as her depleted, frozen strength would allow.  

“You okay?” he murmured into her hair.

She nodded, too weak to voice a word.

Words had never been her strength anyway, so she used her actions instead. She cupped the back of his head–the same way her dad always did when he hugged her–pouring out all the reassurance and comfort she could muster.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Killan’s heart gradually slowed to a normal rhythm.  She was here, alive, in his arms, hugging him and nodding in answer to his questions.  He felt the tears prickle the back of his eyes.

He’d been so afraid, so bloody terrified that he’d lost another woman he loved, and this time, he was sure he’d perish with her.  He couldn’t lose her; couldn’t.  It would more than devastate him. It would destroy him.

Her strength gave out and she sagged against him. In one quick swoop, he picked her up, one arm supporting her upper body and the other under her knees.  She was free from immediate danger, but she was still perilously cold.  He must get her to warmth, to safety.

And so he did.  He carried her to her father’s vessel, held her as Charming drove through the streets of Storybrooke, warm air pouring from the vents of the vehicle.  He carried her up to the loft, held her hand as her father and Elsa brought her a blanket, wrapped his arm around her..

When she laid her head on his shoulder and laced her fingers with his, he knew she’d accepted his comfort, knew she needed him as much as he needed her.

As her parents, her son and Elsa gradually went about their business, she turned to him.  “Hey,” she said.

“Hello, yourself,” he responded with a gentle smile, wrapping his arm around her again, and gently rubbing her shoulder.

“Thanks for saving me,” she said simply.

His smile grew more tender, and he planted a gentle kiss against her temple.  “It was Elsa who did that, love, and I suppose your father as well, as he was the one to talk her through it.”

“But you tried, you wanted to,” she countered.

“Aye,” he said.  “Always.”

Emma smiled up at him, raising a still weak and frigid hand to cup his cheek. She said nothing more for long moments, but he could see it all in her eyes. 

I’d save you too.  I care about you too.  I don’t know what I’d do without you either. It means everything to me that you’re here.

One day she’d say the words aloud, but for now, it was enough.  For now, she was safe and in his arms, and he was never letting her go again.

When she quietly, almost hesitantly asked him to stay with her that night, he didn’t even hesitate.

There was nowhere in the world he’d rather be.

NEXT CHAPTER->

[viktorgf]

1, 2, 8 for Odette and Smoke - Bestie Ness (I can't sleep)

1. what drew your character to their love interest and vice versa?

aside from the initial mini infatuation they experienced when they locked eyes with each other for the first time (i know. gross.)— odette was reclusive and seeing her in public in sun do was about as rare as seeing a snowball in hell, so smoke thought abt her a lot. wondered if he was ever gonna see her again after the first time. wondered if he would ever get to know what made her that way. wondered if he would ever get to know her, full stop, cs boy did he want to.

it took longer for odette cs she really leaned into her reclusiveness and didn’t care to talk to anyone new. she had her people, though few, and that was enough for her. but it was something abt how genuine smoke seemed to be, from her encounters with him and the lin kuei and even from other people. he was gentle, which wasn’t at all what she was expecting to hear abt him.

2. what was the first moment that they knew they were in love with their love interest? 

smoke mistook whatever it was that compelled him towards odette in the first place for love. he risked his life for her own, and got the shit beat out of him in the process, so yeah. he would think it’s love for a woman he hardly knows as a fresh adult. but he knows for SURE for sure later on when he knows her well and has for a long time. it was the people around them that made him realize it over time, there wasn’t really a specific moment.

for her, it was one of the times that he came to her doorstep, bloody and beaten near death. he could have gone anywhere else, somewhere infinitely more helpful to him than she would have been, but he chose to fall apart in her bathroom over all of the alternatives. it was a particularly bloody night, and she might have thought that he wouldn’t wake up the next morning. but he did. and she knew she was done for when he left and she hoped that he would get beaten up again some time soon so he would come back, cs it seemed that was the only times they saw each other.

8. what are their most prominent memories of each other?

odette remembers clear as crystal that first time smoke came into her home and was literally jumpscared by all the spiders. cs listen. he didn’t just walk through the door like a normal person. they were trying to keep their gestures thing under wraps from everyone so he SNUCK INTO HER HOUSE. and happened to land in the old master bedroom. which was her parents. and subsequently hasn’t been touched since they died. so of course he fell right into a literal spider pit and nearly jumped out of his skin. he had never seen that many spiders in one place. it makes her laugh to this day

smoke, on the other hand—the closet romantic that me and my friends have made him into— remembers so fondly the first wedding dress that odette had crafted for miss venera (belonging to @shellibisshe 🫶🏻) and how proud of it she was. he remembered her spinning the silk for it, sewing it together, cutting the fabric, lacing it, all of it. and the look that odette had when she was holding it up to him, finished, filled him with such mirth for this woman. he will never forget it.

[love-fictional-ppl]

srsly need best friend denki to fuck me!!

Omg me too! Sorry for this taking forever I’ve had so much going on all of 2024😭😭

Chandelier

Summary: you both have been best friend’s for years, one night Denki kisses you leading to more.

Pairings: bsf!Denki Kaminari x Fem!reader

Warnings: weed, language, smut, heavy making out, mentions of romantic feelings, oral(fem receiving), squirting, unprotected sex(dont be silly, wrap ur willy!), creampie, choking, overstimulation, probably more that i missed.

A/N: reader and Denki are both 19 but feel free to imagine them as u like also if you cant tell ponyo is one of my favorite movies. i suck at titles so uh its called chandelier cs i was listening to chandelier by sia

Denki had been your best friend since middle school, the two of you attached at the hip. When Denki had decided he wanted to attend U.A. and become a pro-hero, you joined him for the journey. You joined the support course, having no quirk that would do any good in the hero business.

At 19 years old, you were attending college at some university working a part time job to pay tuition. Denki on the other hand was working as a side-kick whilst also part time streaming on twitch, the two of you remain close just not able to see each other as frequently do to both of your conflicting schedules.

Tonight was a rare night where Sero was gone, leaving his and Denki's shared apartment to the latter. You clocked out of work, excited for the sleepover you were about to have, having been 3 months since your last sleepover.

You grabbed the spare key under the welcome mat and let yourself into the blonde’s home, something you had done many times. You dropped snacks had picked up on your way over onto the counter in the kitchen. You walked into Denki’s bedroom to find him rolling a blunt, lounging in his bed.

Denki looked up when he heard his door open, “Hey, cutie.”

You rolled your eyes, never ceasing to find amusement in his teasing, “Hey, pikachu.”

You flopped into the bed quickly making yourself at home. Denki tossed his TV remote over to you to find something to watch. You easily chose Ponyo.

You heard the flick of the lighter and the Stun-Gun hero's laughter, you looked over and saw him attempting to light the blunt but shaking to hard.

"What's so funny?" you pouted.

"You watch this movie like once a week," Denki was amused but not surprised by your antics.

Two movies and five blunts later, you both were giggling like idiots lying next to each other in the boy's bed while you played with his hair.

"You know, you're the prettiest and most decent guy I know." You had no clue why you were saying these things.

Denki moved to lay on his side and stared at you, for a second you were worried you had said something wrong. Suddenly, your best friend of 8 years kissed you. Deep.

At first, you were shocked and didn't know how to respond than, you realized how good it felt. You cradled Denki's face to pour more passion into the steamy kiss.

"I've been thinking about doing this for months-" you kissed Denki again to shut him up, you didn't feel like discussing feelings at the moment.

You pulled away from the kiss and pondered, "If I ask you to fuck me will it change our friendship forever?"

The ever optimistic boy smiled and rested his forehead against yours, "Only in the best ways, hopefully." Always kidding.

Denki readjusted so that he was on top of you, missionary position. He kissed down your neck and left hickeys in his wake. Denki tugged the hem of your shirt, hinting for you to sit up so he can remove it.

You were shocked that you were actually doing this, not because he was your best friend but because you had secretly fantasized about this, it was one of your most hidden secrets.

You grabbed the boy by his blonde locks causing a moan to leave his mouth, and you pulled him to your face so you could shove your tongue in his mouth.

The two of you stayed like that for a minute, only separating so you could pull the t-shirt over his head.

The blonde moved down to kiss down your neck once again, tracing the forming bruises with his tongue. He kissed down your chest, sucking on the cleavage hanging out of your bra.

You couldn't help the sounds coming out of you, you pulled Denki impossibly closer. You were sure you were going to suffocate him with your tits but you knew he would die happily that way.

Denki rolled his hips against yours allowing you to feel how he was aching.

"Please. I want you inside of me." Denki was grinding against you desperately.

Whining, "No, not yet, I gotta make sure your ready." You were sure that as pleasurable as this would feel, it was more so for his insatiability.

Nonetheless, you allowed Denki to crawl south to pull off your pants and underwear. Once the offending materials were tossed somewhere the boy shoved his face into his desired location.

"Your so wet," it was more of a statement to himself. He was hypnotized.

"Pleasee," you were embarrassed by how pathetic you sounded.

Denki delved his tongue inside of your tight hole. The moan released from you was pornographic. you tried to close your thighs around Denki"s head but he held your legs apart and licked a stripe up your pussy.

"Yes! Just like that!" You were humiliatingly close.

The man between your legs knew it too, he shoved two fingers inside of you and started suckling on your clit. Within a dew seconds you squirted all over his face and chest.

Denki sat back on his knees out of breath with your juices dripping down him. He looked beautiful.

You could feel the warmth spreading to your cheeks, "I've never done that before."

Boisterous laughter fell from his laugh, "Well I'm glad to be your first."

You sat up and pulled down his sweatpants and boxers in one swift motion, you pulled Denki i for a kiss and took the opportunity to wrap your legs around his waist, all while holding eye contact.

Denki grabbed his base and guided himself towards your warmth. You both moaned in unison, feeling a relief neither of you noticed how desperately you both yearned for.

Picking a pace both of you were content with, Denki leaned his forehead against yours, much like he had at the start of your endeavors.

"Choke me," you were as shocked as Denki was but he just grew harder if that was possible.

Obliging to the demand, a hand was wrapped around your throat, restricting your air flow. You wrapped your hands around his thick forearm, not to signal him to stop but because of the bliss you felt.

"Harder."

"Faster."

Neither of you were satiable.

Denki was pounding you into the mattress at this point. You spasmed around his cock, reaching your second orgasm of the night. The beautiful man above you get fucking your hard, no mercy for your poor cunt. Your vision started to blur and Denki flipped you onto your hands and knees.

"Come on, be a good girl for me." Denki had grabbed you by your face to looks at him, squishing your cheeks.

Everything about this was disgusting. Denki wrapped his right arm around your neck, placing you in a chokehold while pounding you from behind. The two of you had given into your most primal, animalistic urges.

"Shi-shit, let me fill you up, okay pretty girl?" You were too fucked out to even know what he asked.

"Yes! Please, I need it!" you had no clue what you were even saying.

A few thrusts later and Denki was fucking his cum into you, there was so much of it that it was dripping out of you onto the sheets. Denki had removed you from the chokehold so he could force your back to arch and was massaging your ass cheeks.

"You feel so good, i don't wanna leave." You could feel his member twitching inside of you from overstimulation, only half hard.

You knew that Denki was planning to keep going until you came again, so you reached your hand down to play with your clit. Your mouth fell open in a silent moan, Denki still fucking you as fast as he could in his fucked out state.

"f-fuck!" Denki could barely hold himself up anymore.

"Just a little more! I'm almost there," The euphoric feeling washing over you as soon as you finished your sentence.

The both of you were moaning and panting, exhausted from your activities. The blonde male pulled out of you and got up to go to the bathroom. You lied in the bed staring at the ceiling, waiting for Denki's return, when he did finally return he arrived with a wet washcloth in his hand.

Denki walked over to your spot in his bed and started cleaning you up, when he was finished he tossed the rag off to the side somewhere.

Once Denki got situated in the bed, lying next to you, he turned his head to looks at you, "Tomorrow, if you're cool with it, we'll go get breakfast and talk. Right now let's just sleep, okay?"

You were completely fine with that, "Okay."

You fell asleep snuggled into Denki's chest, body sore in the best ways and looking forward to the morning to come.

i only half proofread this so sorry about any mistakes

[twistyprefect]

hope you're feeling better! could i request h/cs for leona, malleus, lilia, jamil and kalim? after being together for some time, s/o tells them that they love them for the first time. not on a grand date or something, s/o just sees them laughing, or they're relaxing/napping together or they see them excited and it just clicks for s/o that they're absolutely in love and they get overwhelmed and it slips out. i hope it's not too detailed, sorry and thank you!!

{i love this i love this so much!! like this is so cute??? and more often than not i personally have realized i love someone in like a small moment so this feels v organic to me aelrghaer- also dw anon it was perfect!! 💞💕✨}

Leona Kingscholar

Leona and his S/O had been together for a few months, and their entire relationship had been surprisingly stable

they were hanging out in the botanical garden as per usual, Leona yawning and stretching his arms over his head as he settled

his S/O smiled, watching him as he leaned back onto the floor, his face serene as his tail flicked happily against the ground

"Gosh you're so handsome, I love you so much." They said instinctively, smiling before realizing what they'd said

Leona merely cracked an eye open, glancing at them before closing both eyes again to nap

"I love you too." he said without hesitating, yawning and rolling onto his side to sleep

Kalim Al-Asim

Kalim had asked his partner out about five months ago and it was been probably the best decision of his life

he and his partner were having a relaxing afternoon in his dorm, the two sitting and drinking tea

Kalim was telling them one of his favorite stories from when he was younger, hand motions and all, when they giggled and interrupted him on accident

"I love you, you're so cute when you're telling stories!" they said, smiling at him genuinely

Kalim had to process for a bit before he grinned in response, forgetting his story as he scooped them up into his arms

"I love you too!" he proclaimed loudly, spinning them around as the two of them laughed

Jamil Viper

Jamil was actually surprised that he'd managed to hold onto his S/O for as long as he had

they were visiting him in the kitchen, having offered to help him cook for the dorm that night

the two were cleaning up after the meal, his partner grinning as they blew soap bubbles at him

he smirked and started to splash them with the soapy water, laughing at their offended gasp as the two jokingly threw bubbles

"I love you so much." they said, laughing and slightly out of breath as the two finished their soap war

Jamil froze and stared at them before smiling softly and pressing his hand against their cheek; "I love you too, my treasure."

Malleus Draconia

Malleus had finally managed to ask his partner out a few months prior to their current date

they were spending time together in his dorm's lounge, sipping tea and just talking

he was explaining the plot of his most recent favorite novel, his eyes sparkling with joy as he did

they giggled and rested their chin on their palm, smiling brightly as they watched him intently

"I love you so much..." they said quietly, smile widening as they saw Malleus freeze in place mid sentence

he flushed slightly, moving from his place across from them to pull them into a tight embrace; "I was worried it was only me..."

Lilia Vanrouge

Lilia and his partner had managed to keep it together for almost a half year and were still in the honeymoon phase

he yawned slightly as he snuggled into his partner, eyes glued to the TV screen in front of him

they were currently watching his partner's favorite romantic movie, a movie he'd yet to see

he'd been paying careful attention to it when he heard his partner giggle softly and rest their head on his shoulder

"I love you, Lilia." they whispered quietly to him, having timed it almost perfectly with the actors on screen proclaiming their love

Lilia grinned and leaned down to kiss his partner's cheek, pulling them onto his lap; "I love you too, my dear!"

[yawnjunn]

TXT's efforts as your boyfriends

☆ YAYY XDINARY HEROES ARE BACKK im happy yayayya but anywaysss beomgyu fic is 80% finished lmao n taehyun's is still 60% finished but yeah

╰┈➤ txt x gn! reader

╰┈➤ pronouns used: they/them

╰┈➤ warnings: uhh none i think

yeonjun:

•man would cook you anything, well he TRIES to make them

•if youre craving for anything hes unfamiliar with, he'd either; 1) learn from youtube, 2) ask his mom, 3) just go with the flow

•most of the time youre craving for ramen, he'd definitely cook u some since hes a ramen expert

•he may be busy 24/7 but he really tries to balance things between his work and you

•when youre mad, hes gonna shut his mouth to let you cool off, after for a while, he'd apologies to you like a scared puppy

•"im sorry y/n, youre not mad at me arent you?"

•the moment you give him the 'im still mad at you' look, he'd just look down and let you chill off a bit more

•goes out to buy your fav snacks as a way of apologising

•although, you always said its a waste of money to buy unnecessary snacks as an apology but other than that, youre thankful that he makes those efforts

•helps you do the chores

•helps you on cooking too!!!!

•buys you LOTS AND LOTS OF GIFTS

•after work, he'd always come home bringing your fav snacks or sometimes flowers

soobin:

•this dude is a leader ofc hes gonna be busy most of the time

•BUT he makes sure to make time for you

•lets say, you both are one of those long distance relationship couples

•after work, during his lunchbreak or any break in general, he'd always call you

•makes sure you get enough water, youve eaten well etc.

•would literally be a mom mode when you told him you havent ate anything

•sends pics of odi lolol

•refers to you as 'odi's 2nd parent'

•would plan out cute dates :(

•wouldnt let you eat junk foods before bed cs he knows you'd get very hyper

•(unless you manage to convince him, he'd let you)

•checks up on you 24/7 through texting whenever u both are not with each other

•cant sleep unless youre on call with him 👍🏻

beomgyu:

•relationship w/ gyu would be chaotic but fun

•teases you 24/7

•TRIES helping you cook

•but you'd be the one scolding him cause cooking w/ him is a no no

•you cook? he watches, like sitting on the countertop swinging his legs back n forth while you cook his fav dishes

•but when youre sick, he tries to make a simple porridge or soup for you with the help of his mom (or maybe taehyun he can cook too lols)

•"i made this porridge for you out of love, you better eat that, its my mom's recipe" (i can imagine beomgyu saying this 😩)

•isnt afraid to play wrestle with you. like fr.

•wrestling with you would also means him kissing your face everywhere just so he can distract you and win

•supports you no matter what

•you failed an exam? he'd say smthn like "its okay, failing and failure is 2 different things, youre for sure not a failure"

•you feel like you need space? he'd understand. just as long as youre taking good care of yourself

taehyun:

•effortlessly romantic

•he'll be holding your hand everywhere like its natural to him

•doesnt let you carry the shopping bags, not even your purse/bag

•would be your shoulder to cry on

•sends selfies for you and only you

•gives personal space for you only if u need to

•yall know this man doesnt like to do aegyo for people, but for you he would 😩🧎🏻‍♀️

•lets you RANT about...EVERYTHING

•if you wanna rant about your fav gg/bg SURE he'll listen

•if you wanna rant about your problems OFC he'd listen and tries his best to comfort you after that

•lets say, youre a fan of other gg/bg, man would buy albums for you 😟

•just be prepared, he'll hide those bg photocards away from you so only HIS pcs matters

•protects you with all his life

•fr like if theres someone bullying you, its over for them

hueningkai:

•buys you plushies like LOTS of them

•likes to plan out cheap but cute dates

•dates like painting with each other, picnic dates, ice cream dates etc.

•even tho hes your bf, he still gets shy around you

•blushes really hard when you kiss him so passionately

•tries his best to comfort you when youre in your depression episodes

•also, he'd try making you laugh cause seeing you smile makes him smile, seeing you sad makes him sad, simple as that

•(for female) he'd ask his sisters about periods cause he wouldnt know what to do when youre crying over period cramps

•TAKES CUTE POLAROID PICS OF YOU and sticks it on his wall

•asks his hyungs (most likely soobin) on how to become more romantic

•i think he'd make a song about you tho, this guy knows alot about music

•spends most of his free time on you :))

[plant-flwrs]

Heyy!! I wish you would write a fic where Fred is lowkey really into Shakespear and Romeo and Juliet and tries to woo the reader cs she’s muggleborn? Idk but it would be so cute!! 🥺

romeo and juliet // fred weasley

masterlist!

summary: Fred reads Romeo and Juliet and can’t help but fall in love

a/n: schools out, so hopefully that means more time for writing! thanks for the request anon i thought it was adorable, hope you like it!!

(2.5k)

At first, it was a secret. Fred had no intention of actually enjoying it. He had simply accepted the book Professor Lupin had lent him, thumbed through it, and stayed up all night to read it by accident.

Maybe it was because Lupin had seen the way Fred looked at you across the class, separated by hidden bloodlines and upbringings. You, with your muggle pens that you smuggled in. You, with your muggle records you used an entire bag to carry onto the train. You, with your muggle magazines that spread through the common room like wildfire. You, with those weird little things called cigarettes that you sold in your third year to the older students. You, with the way the older pureblood witches would sit and ask you to do their hair for them because only you could do all the newest muggle styles. You, with your reluctance to Quidditch but your love for soccer.

Fred was gone, absolutely gone for you. He was even more behind than usual in class because he couldn't help but find you with his eyes, no matter the room you were in or the distance between you both. Remus Lupin, the secret romantic, asked Fred to stay after class.

"Mr. Weasley," Professor Lupin called, feet kicked up on his desk while he levitated a novel wandlessly in front of him. A half-eaten apple rested on a napkin beside a chocolate wrapper and Fred was forced to remember the breakfast he had barely eaten, choosing to instead pretend he hadn't noticed the fact you had only sat a few seats away.

Fred stood in front of Lupin's desk, waiting as the room emptied out and George shot him a wink from the doorway.

"Yes, Professor?" Fred rocked on his feet, hands stuffed in the pockets of his robe. He tried not to wonder if you had noticed that he had been called behind, or if you had noticed him at all. He vaguely registered that this might what his brother would call 'pathetic'.

"You never turned in that essay on wandless defenses," Lupin said slowly, the book moving to rest on his desk as he moved his feet to the ground.

Fred was quiet, biting the inside of his cheek as he couldn't seem to recall the last time a teacher had bothered to talk to him about his assignments instead of deeming him a 'lost cause' or a student who 'simply wouldn't apply themselves'.

Professor Lupin sighed, moving again to stand. Fred thought he caught a flash of pain on the professor's face, perhaps a wince as he stood, but the moment was gone before Lupin was giving Fred a calculating and sympathetic glance.

"Do you need an extension?" Remus offered, leaning his hip against the desk and inclining his head to show Fred the importance of this offering.

"I'd appreciate that, Professor," Fred admitted.

They were silent again, Remus still looking at Fred like he was something to figure out. Remus shifted, eyes dropped to his desk and lips lifting.

"What's got you so preoccupied?"

Fred was blushing before he could think of a lie, and then he realized he didn't want to lie. He hadn't even told George about his crush on you- no doubt it was obvious. Fred had had flings and crushes on loads of girls, all fun and easy, but this felt heavier. He didn't want to have a fling with you.

"I guess-" Fred sighed, removing his hands from his robes and wiping them on his trousers, "I've just been distracted recently. A lot on my mind."

"Ah," Remus smiled fondly, nodding slowly.

A book began to move from a pile in the corner, elegantly and easily avoiding the tall stacks of clutter and various lumps of papers to levitate to Fred. Fred reached out for it, moving it in his hand to read the cover. Romeo and Juliet.

"I'll make you a deal, Fred," Professor Lupin said, his voice sounding so mischievous that Fred was surprised he hadn't become ten years younger right in front of him. "You can either write the essay on wandless defenses, or you can read that and write an essay on 'Romeo and Juliet'."

Fred thumbed through the book, eyebrows furrowed. He had never liked reading, most of the books at the Burrow belonged to Bill, Percy, or his father. He was pretty sure that George would find Fred reading Shakespeare to be just as funny as the time they released Cornish Pixies in the Slytherin changing rooms.

"Yeah, alright."

Fred managed to eat dinner that night, with you safely at the opposite end of the table. The curtains to his fourposter had been closed for hours and the light from his wand had been steadily bright for just as long. He had gone from laying on his back, head propped up beneath his arms, to resting his back against the headboard, to sitting upright in the center of his bed, head propped on his fist, to laying on his stomach, to laying on his back again with his head at the foot of his bed, and soon enough, the sun was flooding through a crack in the curtains. He had just finished Romeo and Juliet when he heard the showers starting.

"Lupin!"

Remus stopped and watched Fred catch up to him. He looked tired and simultaneously wide awake, his hair was a mess, and Remus was almost certain that he was wearing his pajama pants beneath his school robes.

"Mr. Weasley," Remus said cordially, continuing his walk to the greenhouse.

"I wanted to talk to you about that book you lent me-"

"Oh, you can keep it, if you'd like. I've read it dozens of times."

Fred hesitated, a wide smile spreading over his face, "Oh, thanks, Professor! It's just, I wanted to tell you I really liked it."

"You've finished it, then?" Remus asked with an impressed smile.

"Read it last night," Fred admitted, somewhat embarrassed.

"I look forward to the essay, then," Lupin said with a kind smile and a nod, turning into the greenhouses and leaving Fred in the corridor.

Inside his robes, he felt the weight of the tiny book against his chest. He kept it in a pocket there, fingers itching to hold it and read it again.

He couldn't help the roaring thoughts in his head. The idea that you were his Juliet, that you and he could find a hidden love, just for you two, amongst your external differences. He was oddly disappointed by the ending and decided he might not completely finish the book if he read it again, perhaps pretend it ended differently. He leaned his back against the stone wall behind him, fighting a blushing smile from his face.

So, Fred loved Shakespeare in secret. He loved reading in secret. He loved the weight of the book in his hands in secret. He loved the words and the phrases in secret. He loved the way it made him think in secret. He loved you in secret. He loved in secret.

Until you started dating Thomas Meadowbrooke. Thomas was a Ravenclaw, wickedly smart, handsome, kind, and the victim of many of the Weasley twins' pranks for a while. George didn't directly ask Fred why they were suddenly pranking this one boy so relentlessly all of a sudden, but he didn't need to.

Thomas wore blazers with patches on the elbows and combed his silky hair down the middle. He always had a flower in his coat pocket to give to you and he always carried a book of poetry with him. He was sensitive and wistful in all the ways girls loved, including you.

You thought Thomas was painfully boring. He would fawn over you in the most annoying ways, giving you poems that he wrote (horrendously awful, they were) and quoting lines from old and boring books to you. He didn't listen to Joan Jett or Janis Joplin and he cringed when you played your records. He suggested Bach or Debussy instead. He was boring.

You had only agreed to go out with him because he asked. Thomas Meadowbrooke may have been able to put a cornish pixie to sleep just by talking to it, but he was undeniably handsome. Well, he was more handsome before he had fallen victim to a particularly entertaining Weasley twin prank that turned his hair gelled and spiked up for a few days.

You broke up with Thomas soon after. He took it well, saying it gave him fuel to finish some poetry he hadn't been inspired enough for before.

Remus heard this gossip quite excitedly.

"She did, did she?" Remus tilted his head, a coy smirk on his lips.

The smell of fertilizer was strong, but he learned not to mind it as he watched the merry witch digging in various pots.

"He was quite heartbroken, the poor thing. Filius said that when he did routine bed checks, he could hear Thomas crying for weeks!" Professor Sprout sighed, patting down the soil and checking for weeds.

"Teen romance is always quite fickle," Remus commented, following Pomona as she moved to the next pot.

"Says you!" Pomona playfully scolded Remus, her red cheeks filling as she smiled.

Remus chuckled, thinking back to Sirius who would sneak into his office later to distract him from grading papers.

"You know, Pomona," Remus said in that voice of his, the one that got Sprout to drop her trowel and lean in close to hear the latest gossip. "I think Fred Weasley's got a bit of a crush on Y/n."

Pomona gasped, dirty hand flying to cover her mouth. She paused, scrunching up her face and sticking her tongue out to spit out the clump of dirt.

"He hasn't!" she continued, not minding Remus' amused smile and the clean rag he offered her to wipe her hands.

"He's always staring at her," Remus said, thinking on it. "I reckon he's quite the secret romantic."

Pomona cooed and awed as she continued to tend to her plants, she and Remus trading anymore gossip that they could think of.

The weather changed at quite a convenient time for Fred. With the slightly warm but still a bit chilled fall weather, Fred could dawn his lighter coats. His lighter coats that happened to have wonderfully shaped pockets on the inside, just the right size for a book.

Fred wondered if you had gone out with Thomas because Ravenclaw book nerds were your type, or if you had broken up with him because Ravenclaw book nerds weren't your type. Fred had spent almost all of the warm weather contemplating how he was going to continue to live if he was determined to remain secretly in love with you. By fall he had figured it out.

Fred wasn't going to hide anything, not the books he had recently begun to love, or the way he loved so strongly. He wasn't going to miss meals because you were so distracting. He wasn't going to suffocate under his crush on you.

It was a beautiful day. George was up in the dorms with Lee working on a prank and Fred had decided to take a walk down to the Black Lake. His lighter coat was a bit heavier because of the book in the pocket, and Fred pushed his hair out of his eyes as he looked down at the ground to avoid stepping on tree roots. He found a nice spot beneath a tree, resting against the trunk and reading.

"Hey, Fred," a voice called, coming closer as they easily avoided the maze of tree roots.

Fred looked up to see you, in those perfect muggle clothes you wore any chance you could, hair styled in that wonderful muggle way, one of those muggle cigarettes tucked behind your ear, walking towards him.

"Hey," he responded, surprised by how easy his voice sounded.

"Have you been reviewing at all for Lupin's?" You sat next to Fred like it was the easiest thing in the world, brushing your shoulder against his.

"No, not really," Fred closed his book with his thumb tucked between the pages saving his spot.

"Mmm," you hummed, leaning your head back against the tree and closing your eyes. "What're you reading?"

"Romeo and Juliet," Fred replied, looking at your profile while he had the chance.

"Didn't think that was your thing," you said playfully, opening one eye to catch Fred looking at you.

He flushed and turned his gaze to his hands in his lap. "Me neither," he admitted, swallowing.

"I always liked ‘The Taming of the Shrew’, personally."

Fred smiled to himself, because of course, you had also read Shakespeare, and of course, you would have a cool favorite.

"I like that one, too," Fred said lamely, enjoying the way you were smiling at him.

By winter, Fred had devised a plan. It was perfect, more perfect than any prank he had created or any Zonko's product he had bought. He would die if he kept all this love to himself, so he decided all he needed was one kiss.

The Yule Ball was in full swing, the classical and slow music long forgotten as everyone moved to the dance floor and rocked to the loud and fast rhythm. Fred had seen you when you first arrived, noticing with glee that you were alone, and hadn't lost sight of you since. He had removed himself from the heavily crowded dance floor, stumbling to the table with the juice he and George had spiked hours earlier. He loosened the collar of his robes and pushed his already disheveled hair out of his face.

You watched Fred move through the crowd like a tornado, a mass of energy that you felt required to look at and admire. He strode to the table, a quiet and self-satisfied smirk on his lips as he took a long sip of punch.

Fred caught you staring at him with pleasant unexpectedness. You looked just as beautiful as you did when the night started, skin glowing and everything dawned upon you with your magical muggle-ness. Fred put his cup down, a comfortable pink hue warming his cheeks, and approached you. He touched his hand to yours.

"Hey, Fred," you said with an entertained smirk, glancing down at his hand on yours.

"I need you to do me a favor," he slurred, voice easy and breath warm as it landed on your skin.

"What kind of favor?"

"I need you to kiss me," Fred pulled his mouth away from your ear, looking to your face.

He didn't have much of an opportunity, though, before your lips were on his and you stole his breath. He tasted of the spiked punch and his hands were trembling and careful as they rested on your waist. You grabbed a fistful of his robes, pulling him close to you with urgency.

He pulled away, lips red and swollen, with his eyes still closed.

"I need you to do me a favor," you said, mouth hovering above his.

"Yeah?"

"Kiss me," you whispered, just loud enough for Fred to hear.

He listened, and held onto you with less trembling and more confidence as you kissed for the second time.

[searchingwardrobes]

Hello, my Tumblr friends! I wanted to share this little story mainly so you would all know I’m not dead. Yes, I am also working on my Captain Swan WIPs, no worries. I also have some other stuff up my sleeves, especially for Christmas. I feel my muse slowly awakening, hallelujah! 

In the meantime, I thought I’d share this story that I just put up on my website. I wrote this back in either September or October. I even remember where I was: at the Starbucks in Barnes & Noble. It was honestly a magical moment where I just really loved all my words, if you know what I mean. The characters, the setting, the humor, I just adored Hannah and Beau even more after writing this. Beau, especially. He’s just this awkward teddy bear of a person who I just want to hug. Constantly. Unlike the Barrett brothers, he’s not smooth with his words. I thought that would be really difficult to write, but it’s been surprisingly . . . sweet. And adorable. Especially after years of writing a lot of Killian, it’s been fun to create a different sort of romantic lead. 

Anyhoo, I think this is a cute story even if you aren’t familiar with my cast of characters in fictional Lightport (loosely adapted from a really, really old CS fanfic of mine that no longer exists. Besides, it has now taken on a life of it’s own). So, I’m going to tag randomly. Sorry. If you wanted to be tagged, and I missed you, apologies. I also will not apologize for the shameless plug to buy books one and two of The Front Row Series HERE.

Years Ago . . . 

The next time one of the youth leaders decides to “mix things up” for the Christmas Eve service, Hannah is not signing up. However, she did sign up for this year, and it’s too late. She’s standing here in front of everyone dressed as a giant candy cane. 

Behind her, on the risers, are the rest of the youth group forming a living Christmas tree. Most are dressed in all green as the tree, but Hannah had to be her usual enthusiastic self when it came to Christmas and volunteered to be an ornament. She didn’t know, in her defense, what type of ornament she would be. Neither was she told that she would be wearing a white bodysuit and white tights covered in red tape for stripes. It would be cute. 

If she were five. 

Instead, she’s seventeen, and though she may be small-chested, a white body-suit is the last thing a developed teenage girl should be wearing. She feels naked, even though the sleeveless bodysuit has a modest neckline. 

Nevertheless, she tilts her chin bravely and says her lines: 

“Many years ago, legend says, a priest asked the village candy maker to create something to quiet the children during Christmas Mass. The candy maker made peppermint candy, but instead of making a stick, he curved the top like a shepherd’s crook . . .”

Hannah continued with the tale, explaining how the white symbolizes purity and the red symbolizes Christ’s blood. When Micah had read her lines, he’d rolled his eyes and scoffed. 

“This is probably a load of crap.”

“You have no Christmas spirit, Micah Barrett,” she had teased back. Though how could he? With a dead girlfriend, a stint in juvie, and a leg that would probably never be the same again, he’d lost all his spirit, Christmas or otherwise.

She made the mistake of catching Micah’s eye in the congregation. At nineteen, he was too old for the youth group, though she doubted he would have participated anyway. He was barely containing his laughter at her costume, so she lifted her gaze to the balcony instead. 

Once her speech was over, she sang her solo, “It Came Upon a Midnight Clear.” It was her first solo; the only consolation for her terrible role. Not that it was her favorite Christmas Carol, but it wasn’t awful, either. Much better than “We Three Kings” which had been butchered by three middle schoolers. Whoever thought that was a good idea? Oh right, the same woman who put her in a giant onesie. 

Her solo finished, Hannah turned and made her way back to the risers. Her thick red hair was soaked with sweat beneath the bright red beanie on her head. You know, since her costume wasn't embarrassing enough. She took her place next to “holly” and “ivy.” Behind her, playing part of the tree, was Beau. He leaned forward, and she could feel his warmth spread across her back. 

“The song was beautiful,” he told her. 

She shivered at his words, though they were far from romantic. Yet, for Beau Rockport, they were pretty significant. Four whole words. And he said “beautiful.” From his lips, that met, “your voice is like the sound of angels descending from on high.”

Hannah pressed her lips together so she wouldn’t grin like a fool in front of the entire church. The entire Christmas tree - ie the youth group - began to sing “Joy to the World.” Beau’s off-key voice struggled to blend with the other basses.

It shouldn’t have been cute, but it was. 

A spotlight shone on the stage, and Hannah’s sister came out, looking ethereal in a white, sparkly dress. Though she was nineteen, and no longer in the youth group, the choir director didn’t think anyone else but Kate could sing “Oh, Holy Night.” Kate’s strawberry blonde hair had been hot rolled so the ends curled under. Her curves were beautiful yet tasteful in her long, beautiful gown. A halo nestled atop her head, and feathered wings were strapped to her back. 

She was the angel on top of the tree, naturally. 

Of course she was. 

As Kate sang, Hannah felt the jealousy she had struggled with her entire life rise to the surface. She knew she shouldn’t feel this way, but seriously? She had to come out in a striped bodysuit, and her sister was a beautiful angel? They probably figured Hannah was the only girl flat-chested enough to pull it off. Not to mention that “Oh, Holy Night” was a million times more impressive than “It Came Upon a Midnight Clear.”

Kate finished her song to thunderous applause, then gracefully took her place at the very top of the risers. The entire choir sang ���Silent Night” along with the congregation, signaling the end of the Christmas Eve service. 

Thank God because Hannah couldn’t wait to get out of the embarrassing candy cane suit. 

**************************************************************

Beau and Hannah had been in this weird place between friendship and “something else” for over a year now, and to be honest, Hannah was tired of waiting for Beau to make a move. They went out together often, but it was always unclear whether or not they were dates. There were times Beau slung his arm around her shoulder, or held her a bit longer than necessary when he enveloped her in a hug, and they even held hands sometimes, but Hannah was still completely confused over what it all meant. Was she still just a friend? Like a sister? She needed to know!

If Beau didn’t do something soon, she may do something crazy, like grab him and kiss him herself. Maybe that could be her Christmas present to him. She almost chuckled aloud at the thought. 

Instead, she shoved the thought back as she struggled to keep hold of her plate of food in the Barrett’s crowded living room for their annual Christmas party. She hadn’t found Beau yet, though she’d been looking. 

“Hey.”

And there he was. Hannah whirled around at the sound of his voice, and his nervous smile made her heart flip over. 

“Hey,” she replied. “You did great, by the way, singing tonight.”

Beau turned bright red and grimaced. “I’m good at playing the guitar, but singing? I sounded awful!”

Hannah suddenly had a glorious picture in her mind of Beau playing the guitar to accompany her singing. It made her sway a bit as she smiled up at him dazedly. 

“I think you’re just fine.” She gasped at what she’d just said. “I mean, your singing. It was just fine.”

Now Hannah blushed as Beau grinned at her knowingly. His gaze took her in head to toe, appreciation lighting his gaze. 

“That dress is pretty.”

Four words. And “pretty.” He was on a roll tonight. 

“Thank you,” she said, running her hands down the front of the red lace skirt, “much better than a candy cane bodysuit, right?”

“You didn’t look that bad.” 

His face was as red as her dress now. Was he checking her out in that skintight suit? Her heart raced at the thought. Though she imagined she looked as flat as an actual candy cane. Then again, maybe Beau saw something she didn’t? She could only dream . . .

Beau said something that she couldn’t hear. She leaned closer. “What?”

He repeated himself, but she shook her head again in confusion. 

“WHAT?”

“I SAID IS IT HOT IN HERE?” 

The room seemed to quiet the minute Beau shouted his words for the third time. The two of them ducked their heads as they heard a few people chuckle. However, the room settled back down quickly, paying them no further attention. 

“Um, a little,” she told him. 

He shuffled his feet back and forth. “Could we step outside?”

She nodded, her pulse pounding. Was this it? The moment he was going to officially ask if she’d be his girlfriend? Was he going to kiss her? Hannah admonished herself not to get ahead of things as he led her through the french doors by the Christmas tree and out onto the Barrett’s patio. 

“I . . . um . . . I’ve been working on a Christmas gift for you,” he told her the minute they were alone, “but I can’t give it to you in front of everyone.”

“Okay,” she whispered. 

Beau cleared his throat and shuffled his feet again. “Micah has been helping me with it.” 

It was evidently some sort of signal, because Micah stepped out from the shadows of the backyard with a guitar case in hand. He winked at Beau as he gave it to him, then headed for the french doors. 

“Have fun,” he teased with a wink. 

Beau shook his head and rolled his eyes as he opened the case and then settled the guitar strap over his shoulder. He cleared his throat again and gave her a nervous smile. 

“This is your favorite Christmas Carol, so I learned it.”

Hannah gasped as Beau started to strum the guitar. As his voice began the words, it was slightly off key, but as he continued, he gained confidence. She could never honestly say he had a great singing voice like Micah did, but he had clearly worked hard on the song, and it showed. 

“Oh little town of Bethlehem, how still we see thee lie. Above thy deep and dreamless sleep, the silent stars go by. Yet in thy dark streets shineth, the everlasting light. The hopes and fears of all the years are met in thee tonight.”

He actually sang all four verses, and by the end, Hannah had dropped onto a patio chair in awe, her hands to her open mouth. He strummed the last chord, then gave her a shrug and a hesitant smile. Hannah’s hands fell away from her mouth, and when he saw her grin, his own smile widened. She stood and approached him slowly, and when she reached him, she lifted the guitar strap over his head, and set aside his guitar in its case. Then she faced him once more, both hands to his chest. 

“That,” she told him sincerely, “is the best present anyone has ever given me.”

“Really?”

She nodded, suddenly caught unawares by the intensity in his gaze. His eyes darted to her lips, and her heart beat wildly in her chest. 

“Hannah,” he said thickly. 

“Yes?” she murmured. 

“Can I call you my girlfriend?”

She smiled at him teasingly. “On one condition.”

“What’s that?”

“You have to kiss me right now.”

His golden brown eyes danced with mirth as he cupped her face in his hands and tipped her lips up to his. They touched just as flakes of snow began to fall to the ground. The kiss deepened as flakes caught in their eyelashes and clumped in their hair. Beau drew her closer against him, and she no longer felt the cold. 

Tagging: @snowbellewells @teamhook @xhookswenchx @whimsicallyenchantedrose @welllpthisishappening @kmomof4 @jrob64 @bethacaciakay @singersdd @reynoldsreads @superchocovian @ilovemesomekillianjones @let-it-raines @winterbythesea @cutieodonoghue @vvbooklady1256 @fairytalesandtimetravel @resident-of-storybrooke @stahlop @wellhellotragic @optomisticgirl @spartanguard @shireness-says @ultraluckycatnd @juliakaze @tiganasummertree @ineffablecolors @courtorderedcake @therealstartraveller776 @thisonesatellite @thislassishooked @profdanglaisstuff​ @hollyethecurious​

[vivithefolle]

Hermione is a terrible friend to Ron

Hi Viv (I hope you don’t mind that nickname, sry). As you, I am a big fan of Ron, but not Ronmione (especially not Hermione). Even though the slowburn is amazing and they have great chemistry, I think Ron deserved much more. But anyway, I’ll start my point with the plot, cause you can see plain author favoritism (especially after book 3, probably because JKR did it out of spite cause a small portion of fandom liked her bushy hair character then; she was annoying and boring (look at the moments in PS before they became friends and how Harry sees her, and in CS where she didn’t had time to have much positive moments cause either she was fawning over Lockhart or being a stone, or POA)) towards Hermione (she doesn’t get an arc or any development, she is just a teen who reads and studies a lot, which is used to get some deus-ex-machina scenes to get the trio out of trouble). I think it’s sad, cause she would have felt much more human to me, if she had AT LEAST ONE moment where she had to make amends and grow (if you think about the Firebolt and Scabbers, she apologized but she stills stay the same until the end) and not to bring it all down on Ron who constantly grows and never ceases to amaze us. Hermione was always nudged by the plot to portray her menacing/vindictive actions in a positive light, even her traits too (The hat considering Ravenclaw and not Slytherin is an example of that). The plot wants to keep the trio together, but it’s much more favorable towards Hermione than it is towards Ron when it comes to fights. When she does something wrong in plain view she just cries.

Anyways I am going away from the point, so lets begin from the start. I think Hermione is a really bad friend to Ron, and that she should be feeling lucky that he considered remaining friends with them after she took some stuff to far. Still that makes Ron even a more amazing person, to rise above her faults( and his) and remain there for her, being the best that he can be. Most of the incidents between them (the only exception I can think of now is the Yule Ball) were Hermione’s fault. Hypothetically “you” in the following sentences is Ron. Imagine your best friend’s pet “killing” your own, even after the thousand times you told her to keep her pet away from yours, and still having audacity to not apologize (even that nudge from plot by Hagrid who said that they should consider their friends more than brooms and pets is a terrible way to nudge like Ron (and Harry with the Firebolt) are wrong to be mad with Hermione. LIKE WHAT THE FUCK.). Imagine being hexed by your best friend,  because she drew you into the arms of another girl, just because she doesn’t think that you have that amazing Quidditch skills and that Harry used Felix Felicis to cheat (even though some credit goes to Ginny for telling him that Hermione snogged Krum). Imagine your best friend not thinking it’s possible for you to get a prefect badge (and hell even by the plot it’s nudged to be Harry’s title, but DUMBledore didn’t want to overwhelm Harry with more responsibilities). “Ron needs to grow up in order to deserve Hermione” my ass. As a character, he already outshined her. I would have liked for the scenario after the canaries to be a Hermione’s arc where she needed to realize that she is not that great friend towards Ron and that if she doesn’t start acting up better, she would lose him to someone other (but itsy pretty bushy haired JKR self-interest can’t have a character arc, can she).

In the end, I get that they are teens and everything, and teens don’t know how to deal with emotions sometimes, but still the fanon conception of Hermione is laughable.

I first started writing this post thinking that even ‘Ron is a better friend towards Harry than Harry is to him’ but I can’t remember other than DH moment where they had that big fight (I can’t use that prefect moment where he laughed when Fred’s thought popped up in his mind about Ron getting a prefect badge, cause he was ashamed after). I still believe that if Ron had 'normal’ friends or just had been duo with Harry, he would have even grew into a better Ron (if that’s even possible). I would write some fanfictions, but I am a terrible writer and give up cause I have no idea how to navigate a long plot. But, who knows, maybe I will pluck up the courage and give it a go :).

I hope you are doing well in these pandemic times ^^

———-

First off - yes, I agree with your point that Hermione is not that good a friend to Ron; and yes, her character development is really, really, really lacking, practically nonexistent. Same goes for Harry and Ron’s friendship, Ron pulls a lot of himself into this friendship and Harry mostly takes, takes, and takes. Which becomes “fun” because then Hermione gives to Harry too (more than she gives Ron, because there’s no romantic insecurity with her friendship with Harry) and Harry… also takes, takes and takes. Harry doesn’t do much for Ron and Hermione. He just receives. You wanted an example, well how about ALL OF FIFTH YEAR when Ron was being bullied to hell and back and all Harry had to think about that was “at least he gets to play Quidditch :(”, yeah fuck you too Harry. This is why I love fanfics where Ron is at the center of an OT3-1 and gets to receive a monstertruckload of love and happiness and everything is beauty and perfection- ahem, yeah…

Honestly, it’s just… it’s just that Ron couldn’t “grow” because Hermione “needed” the spotlight more in Rowling’s mind. It’s not really Hermione’s fault, she doesn’t choose how she’s written, she’s a fictional character. It really is Rowling’s bias fucking things up and making her out to be some superheroine… and, of course, if you just breeze past it without thinking twice on it you’re just going to think “oh Hermione did that ok” instead of “wait now Hermione did WHAT”.

It’s kinda fun, really, because I just… I like Romione for the sake of nostalgia it feels. I do like their tender moments, rare as they are, since Rowling likes STUPID POINTLESS DRAMA better. But I still like Romione… I guess, I’m just too attached. I’m planning on writing some more Romione fics, but I already have other projects to finish first. Honestly, do it, take the plunge, write some Ron-centric fiction. It doesn’t have to be a super long one with a hyper complex plot, one-shots and drabbles are a thing. The only way to get better at writing is by writing, so just try!

I wish you well and hope everyone you care for is doing fine <3

[ouatsnark]

CS - Hate Debunked - Keep Reaching!

Because I just like debunking stupid things I see while scrolling through Once posts. Here's some more I've run across.

“Emma denied she was with Hook but never denied loving Neal”

Yeah she did deny she was in love with Neal. When she was on the beanstalk with Killian she denied ever being in love. You can say “well, she wasn’t about to open up to a stranger” and you’d be correct but you can’t say she “never denied it”. Cause she did. She tried to forget about Neal and the pain he obviously caused her. She was denying to herself that she ever loved him.

She also denied it to Neal’s face when she gave him his necklace back. Saying she wore it to remind herself never to trust again.

She also stood Neal up. She may not have been afraid to admit she loved Neal but she was afraid of letting him in again and was even hoping he was dead. If Emma’s love for Neal had never died then she’d have never wanted that nor ever needed that closure so he could never hurt her again. Did Emma love Neal? Yeah. He was the first man she fell in love with and is the father of her child. But that doesn’t mean he was anything more than a former lover or that she was still in love with him. That was pretty obvious when she stood him up and it was Killian’s attention she encouraged at the town line, not Neal’s.

I find it amusing that these Swanfire fans have to use Emma’s confusion about where she stands with Hook after a pretty hot make-out session as proof she “denied being with him”. She didn’t know what they were in 4x01 because she’d only just let her walls down and then she became worried about Regina going all evil queen if she saw them together. Her walls had gone back up by that point because as she says she was “afraid of losing him too”. Which brings me to the following claim:

“Emma loved Neal & wasn’t afraid to say it but could only tell Hook she loved him when they were in danger”

It’s like they missed the part where Neal was the reason Emma built her walls and the reason she couldn’t open herself up was due to Neal’s abandonment and betrayal. Neal caused that. Regina too. She was just opening herself up to Graham when Regina murdered him. To Emma, every time she opened her heart to someone she lost them. Not just romantically either. It happened to her in the foster care system. Emma was afraid to love and lose that love. It took her a while to overcome that.

She couldn’t admit out loud that she loved Killian because she was afraid of losing him. And that is very significant difference. However, once she was over that she did openly admit to everyone that she loved Killian. Killian was the one she couldn’t stand to lose and literally went to hell and back for.

And before anyone says “but she tells ghostNeal she’d have done the same for him!” Honestly? I don’t believe it. She wanted his help because she immediately goes from that to “please tell me how to save him” and then in true Neal fashion ghostNeal denies her her happiness. Also, Emma may have cried over Neal but it was Killian Jones she couldn’t live without. Emma hoped Neal was dead. Emma fought for Killian. Emma cried once over Neal but she didn’t mourn him. But Emma mourned Killian.

“Hook didn't believe Emma until he saw the ink from the pages on Liam's hand. Neal would have believed Emma the instant she said it without any proof.”

I spit my wine out when I read that.

Neal accused Emma of being jealous of his fiancé and mocked her super powers. He also questioned her abilities when she suggested that she pick up the watches. So please, the idea that Neal would “believe her without proof” is absurd.

From my point of view - and this is my opinion - How often did Killian Jones follow Emma’s lead? Many times. He followed her lead up the beanstalk, in Neverland, during the Ice Witch Hunt, during the hunt for Zelena and trusted her plans to get them all home when in the Underworld. I don’t look at this as Killian not believing Emma but Killian not believing in himself & the fact that he regarded his brother as a hero. Anyone would have a hard time believing the worse in their hero. It takes more than someone elses opinion to knock our heroes off the pedestals we put them on no matter who that someone is. He thought he knew his brother and Emma had just met the guy. Also, Killian was dealing with a lot of guilt and remorse at the time.

Killian also apologized to Emma. Neal didn’t until he decided he wanted her back after his fiancé was dead and it was convenient for him.

“Hook said “one of these days I’m going to stop following this woman” before following her into the time portal. Regina wouldn’t have hesitated”

I LOLed at this one. First off, Hook wasn’t hesitating. He was making a sarcastic remark before letting go and following Emma to uncertain ends. And secondly, Regina stood by when Emma disappeared into the hat. Snow jumped in without hesitation. Regina wouldn’t even, initially, face her sister so that they could get to Emma after Emma took on the darkness. Killian did though. He met the issue head on. Regina would hardly ever follow Emma’s lead. In fact, I can’t think of one time Regina did … Regina always thought her plans and ideas were better than Emma’s.

And before anyone says “But what about the Wish Realm! It was Regina that went not Killian!” Well, yeah, Killian couldn’t. He wasn’t in control of the genie. Regina was. She says as much to the EQ before she makes the wish. Which by the way … why didn’t Regina just wish Emma back? Was there a reason she didn’t? Other than to make the two most ridiculous Regina Fan Service Episodes to ever exist?

“Emma kissed Hook while Henry’s life was in danger and that makes her a bad mother”

Soooo what does it make Regina when she was banging a dying woman’s husband and ignoring calls from the people looking after the son she illegally adopted and abused for 10+ years? I’ll wait.

I don’t think Emma kissing Hook in that moment made her a bad mother or a bad person. Snowing kissed a lot during that time… are they bad grandparents? Funny how I’ve never heard anyone make that insinuation!

Emma wasn’t ignoring the gravity of the situation they faced. It was a single moment. Now if she’d decided to make out with him instead of following a lead they’d just gotten then I’d listen to you… but as Killian says “you have to enjoy the quiet moments” and that was a quiet moment. And she wasn’t getting any urgent calls either… soooo… shut up and enjoy the chemistry.

It’s fine not to like CaptainSwan but can we at least stop trying to rewrite the show? Thanks.

Anything you’d like me to debunk? Send me a message or let me know in the comments!

[firelxdykatara]

hello!! i just wanted to ask- i wanna do an ouat rewatch bc CAPTAIN SWANN but its pretty long and i honestly dont care for the other characters/how badly the overall writing was handled.. which are your favourite captain swan eps? anything them centered and i think ill just skip around to rewatch their romance as they did invent romance 😭😭 ty in advance <3

they absolutely did invent romance, you are right about that and i love them so much

UHMMMM as far as my favorite CS eps, here’s a roadmap of what I personally consider key eps in their journey (some of this is from memory but I haven’t done a full rewatch in a while so i’m going through the episode list as a refresher)

2x06: Tallahassee--this is a must-watch ep for any CS fan, and I really think this is the episode that sparked the fire that CS would become as a fandom. It has everything--flirtatious banter, all kinds of tension, deliberate parallels drawn between Emma and Killian’s pasts, as well as their first meeting being intercut with her relationship with Neal (which serves, especially in hindsight, to highlight just how sketchy that relationship was, and why she couldn’t bring herself to trust Killian--because the last time she felt this way about anyone, it ended horribly)

2x08 and 2x09: Into the Deep and Queen of Hearts--these episodes cover the race to the portal between Emma&co and Hook/Cora and while they don’t do a ton for CS as a relationship since they’re still enemies at this point, it lays great foundation for their future relationship development. Plus, sexy swordfight, Hook going out of his way to save Aurora’s heart--he may be a pirate, but he has standards ok--and Emma realizing Cora can’t remove her heart without her permission? Poetic Cinema

2x11: The Outsider--more of a Killian-centric episode, it shows a lot of Killian at his worst but it’s necessary for his overall character arc and I genuinely love looking back and seeing just how far he managed to come, to the point of eventually even letting go of his (very understandable) grudge against Rumplestiltskin.

2x12: In the Name of the Brother--am I including this purely for Emma&Hook banter in the hospital, and Killian saying ‘hey beautiful’ when he’s lying on the road because he just got hit by a fucking car? You bet I am. Also, go to youtube and look up ‘ouat season two deleted scene jello’, because it’s beautiful and there was a tremendous outcry in the fandom when we realized it had been cut from the episode lmao (It’s also the episode that made me start shipping Frankenwolf, which I’m still sad never went anywhere, but they had a lot of potential and great chemistry.)

2x22: And Straight On Till Morning--A few of the episodes in between have some fun minor interactions and flashbacks (and I always approve of episodes where Killian gets one up on Rumple, so 2x15 is fun for me if i ignore all the Neal bits) but the finale is where we finally get a glimpse of who Killian could be beyond his need for revenge. He didn’t have to come back, he didn’t have to bring back the bean and help the town--but he did.

Season 3a: there’s a lot of really good stuff here for Hook and Emma that is interwoven between the A plots of other episodes. I think, as far as half-season arcs go, it’s one of the best (and everything after 4a bombed hard, but I digress) But there are a few episodes that stand out if you don’t want to watch the whole season. (I recommend starting with the premier though, it was a really solid season starter overall.)

3x05: Good Form--this is the culmination of David’s poisoned-by-dreamshade arc, and is also Peak Captain Charming Bromance. Hook not only keeping David’s secret, but doing everything he can to help save him??? Poetic cinema. It also provides some crucial Killian backstory, showing how he lost his brother to the very same dreamshade. Plus, the character development--Pan offers Killian a chance to escape the island with Emma if he kills David, and instead, he saves him, refusing the deal and damn the consequences. Also also? The first CS kiss which drove the fandom WILD.

3X06: Ariel--not only to I love OUaT’s take on Ariel, but this episode has the infamous Echo Cave scene, which involves a lot of feelsy confessions and Killian being the one to tell everyone that Neal is alive and helping Emma save him despite his own growing feelings for her.....IT’S JUST A LOT AND I LOVE IT.

3x07: Dark Hallow--oh man, I’d forgotten about this episode, but it has Killian and Neal fighting over Emma, which may sound eye-roll worthy, but Emma is allowed to tear them a new one about it and it’s one of the few times she’s allowed to actually???? put her own feelings first so I have to include it here on spec

3x11 and 3x12: Going Home and New York City Serenade--these mark the end of 3a and start of 3b respectively, and it has some amazing shit like Killian vowing never to forget Emma and Emma smiling as she replies, “Good.” And then she and Henry are in New York with their memories completely altered, but Killian shows up because Storybrooke is back and in jeopardy, and he helps Emma get back to her family and her home and, much later, Emma finds out he sold the Jolly Roger to be able to do it and it’s just. It’s beautiful ok.

3x17: The Jolly Roger--there’s honestly not a whole lot in the back half of season 3 (until the CS movie) but of course anything named for Hook is a must-watch, and this is where we get the iconic line I swear on Emma Swan--which is Killian saying he’s in love with her before he even realizes it. We also find out just what he did to Ariel, and his attempts to make amends are what lead to Zelena being able to curse him, so it’s great from a character perspective as well.

The next four episodes round out the end of the season, and there’s a lot of great stuff in them--Hook refusing to get Emma to kiss him, but Emma feeling like she can’t trust him because he didn’t tell her about the curse to begin with, and then kissing him anyway to save his life regardless of the consequences.... but the only ones that are absolutely necessary are the final two episodes.

They are colloquially termed ‘The Captain Swan Movie’ for a reason, after all.

Killian and Emma essentially have an entire Time Travel adventure all to themselves, where they accidentally ruin her parents first meeting and have to fix it so that she’ll even be born, Emma finally getting into the storybook, the pair of them dancing at a ball, Killian rushing to save Emma only for her to get out of the cell herself, because “The only one who saves me is me.” Killian saying “I would go to the ends of the world for her... or time.” Finally fixing the timeline and making it back to Storybrooke and Killian feeling like he doesn’t deserve a place at the table so he doesn’t go inside, but Emma comes out to him anyway and finds out he gave up the Jolly Roger for her, the true start to their relationship...... IM CRYING JUST THINKING ABOUT IT I’M SORRY.

I personally really enjoyed 4a, the Frozen arc was one of the last good half-season arcs of the show, but a lot of people disliked it so it’s really up to interpretation. I don’t have as many Intense Opinions on this season (except hating almost everything about 4b and the queens of darkness arc), but I will say the episodes with good Killian/CS moments are 4x02 (Emma nearly freezes to death, Killian is desperate to save her, Captain Charming teamwork, my heart hurts), 4x04 (Emma asks Killian out on a real date, he tries to get his real hand back from Gold, things go massively awry and he winds up back under Gold’s thumb), 4x08 (Killian tries to save Emma from Gold’s plans), 4x11 (the 4a finale is just great in general), and then..... it cannot be overstated how much I hate season 4b, but 4x15 is the Killian-centric ep where his past with Ursula is revealed and he makes amends to her in order to get her to leave the QoD alliance and it’s great character stuff for him, and then there’s the season 4 finale.

Both parts are worth watching, if only because Deckhand Coward Hook still being a braver, more heroic man than ‘Hero Rumplestiltskin’ warms the very cockles of my heart, and of course the second part of the finale has him helping Henry to save Emma and it’s beautiful and also Emma watches him die for her and it is angsty as FUCK but gods I love it. Here’s where it gets tricky, though--my recommendation is, turn the episode off right after Emma finds Killian back in the present day of Storybrooke and they reunite.

Just turn off the episode there and skip right ahead to the s6 musical episode (Emma and Killian’s wedding ep) and pretend they got married and none of seasons 5 or 6 ever happened. >.> (Although I will say certain parts of the Underworld arc were incredibly feelsy despite how much I overall hated the season: 5x11 (the 5a finale, Killian as the dark one STILL being a better man than rumple, we love to see it), 5x15 (I am not immune to Brothers Jones feelings ok), 5x20 (emma literally takes a True Love Test trying to find a way to save killian, you don’t get more romantic than that--also Killian telling Emma to promise she won’t put her armor back up just because she lost him again??? my HEART), 5x21 (Hook does what he can from the Underworld anyway and zeus sends him back to Emma, they really just said ‘today I will invent romance’ and then Did That)

And then, yeah, just skip to the wedding. It’s beautiful, I enjoyed the music, personally, though I know musical episodes are hit or miss with most people. And if you turn it off when the last musical number starts (after the wedding ceremony, I believe) you can pretend it was the end of the show! =DDD

.....Oh my god I just rambled for years. I HOPE YOU FIND THIS USEFUL, ANON. I 100% support a CS-centered rewatch, their episodes were consistently some of the best across the entire series, and they are truly one of my favorite romances of all time.

[stuckinapatriarchalbullshitland]

Here I am bawling my eyes out as I read some camren shippers' confession as to how the ship has helped them. I am saddened by the fact that we are so persecuted but they never saw that this helped us in our dark moments. I went over to my wattpad and see authors saying they'll stop writing and they don't see the reason for it anymore and it hurts. To hear people say they'll stop hurts because they're so good and deserves to be appreciated with their art. People should know that reality and fiction are two different worlds. Camren just inspired that art to come alive in fiction. I also saw how passionate readers are in asking the authors not to delete the fics because it helped them overcome something in them and were close to their hearts. I see them pleading and writing long posts just to persuade writers not to stop. And when i see this, it pains me so because I see the passion in these people. I love Camren but I am a lover of art and literature first and foremost and for those artist whose inspiration is camren, I will forever be a lover of your art. Darlings, I could write you letter upon letter never to be discouraged by the hate you received. Also to my mutuals and to my favorite @stuckinapatriarchalbullshitland , thank you for being the revolutionist in a place where we are injected a reality so distorted, so fake.

To all of those threatening my beloved fellows, a bully and a threat is never okay. You say "but CS come at us too! " then come at those who bully you but have reservations to those who don't. But why am I even saying this? You people don't give a fuck abt it. Worth a try, I guess.

Stuck, emison, romantic, karla and all the others, they're just stating opinion and those who want to believe have the decision to. Those who don't then by all means, DON'T. Did they ever harrass you so you should believe it? You all have a freedom to choose. Use it. As we also have our freedom to not believe in sm.

Just as artists have their freedom to express their art, consumers also have the freedom to choose whether to consume it or not. Don't come threatening the authors and the poets inspired by Camren. The readers will always have the discretion to read or not.

Again, dearest mutuals, beloved authors, lovely editors, you are good with what you do. I am a fan. Amidst all these hate, padayon, ha? (Move forward, okay?) 💓

Love u,

Celeste

___

As always, it is a pleasure to read you dea,r friend. It is a bit sad to realize that everything you mention is disappearing, but I hope I am not wrong in saying that they will return, in time. And I say this because if it happened once before, and they returned, they will return. We just have to give time to time and perhaps calm down a little to continue here. Thank you for mentioning that I am your favorite blog, that is very nice and kind of you and I am very happy that all the crazy things that go through my head regarding fandom, girls and circuses, is to your liking. I think one of the most important things about this fandom or what this fandom, this group of so beautiful people has to take into account, is that belief is important and inspiration is important as well and if the girls and their relationship (friendship , love, whatever), has inspired so many of us, we don't have to stop believing in it. This is more than a ship, folks. Is a feeling. Lauren could have said a lot of things against Camren but she mentioned that their love and friendship was always there and I think that's what inspired us all the most. Let's stay with that and with the fact that no circus and no lie can change that inspiration, that beautiful feeling. We cannot make it dirty because there is already too much dirt around us for more on top, let them take that away from us. We can't let them take that off us, folks. Maybe we can't do anything except that. They cannot take away our right to believe in a beautiful story and they cannot take away the inspiration that brought us and still brings that beautiful story. If we do that, they win.

[toysoldiers-rwby]

[CS] 12. Survive.

Cutting Strings

Characters: Penny Polendina, Winter Schnee, Aurora Glade, May Marigold Word Count: 7.5k

“All the world’s a stage, And all the men and women are merely players.”

Then when are we not in a play?

Read on Ao3

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Memory Defragmentation. 69% Completed.  

Xanthic’s recovery was near instantaneous, there was less to adjust to as her prosthetics only consisted of her eyes. Aro was projected to recover by the end of the week. They had made major changes to Aro’s neural implants and minor changes to the connectors of Aro’s prosthetic legs and the legs themselves. There was no new incisions or other organic damage so it was just a matter of practice and familiarizing herself with the new software.  

Aro decided to recover in her own home down in Mantle, an idea May and Winter was all too eager with. Penny saw an envious glare from Xanthic as they left… It took a moment to remember that she was a criminal, a prisoner in her own home. Possibly one of the most heavily surveillance areas outside of the military… Before turning away something in Xanthic gaze changed but she retreated into her large house all the same.  

Penny moved most of the furniture in Aro’s living room before the elite graduates had a chance to help. They stared in muted amazement and perhaps flustered at the display of strength. Penny grinned up at them.  

May slowly set Aro on her feet and helped her walk while Penny and Winter went over the schematics of Aro’s new legs. Or they were supposed to, instead they’d watch Aro attentively take a few steps into her living room and May rushing to her side as she started falling. The two laugh as May caught her each time. Penny watched May’s hands gently trail over Aro’s body. Sometimes they were objective, only wandering over her hands and arms to balance Aro. Other times they were selfish, wandering up her arms and to Aro’s wide shoulders, then her neck…  

When they were lucky Aro would trip and their faces would be inches from each other. Aro would bring them closer laughing and pressing their foreheads together. May laughed too, but her eyes were a little focused on Aro’s lips.  

“Stop being so sweet,” Aro would said pulling away with an odd smile, “I don’t deserve it.” Penny and Winter frowned, glancing at each other.  

“I disagree,” May whispered. She cleared her throat, “Is blackmailing Ironwood supposed to be a turn off?”  

Lingering exchanges like those was one of the few differences Penny was able to observe now that the four of them were dating. It was difficult to separate the platonic behaviors with romantic ones but perhaps using two women who pinned over each other for years was a bad example. The pair have always been affectionate with each other, their touches might linger a little longer now but… Aro wasn’t hiding behind her glowing eyes as much. All Penny found was unguarded emotion, her words were blunt and fumbling without Focus planning everything in advance.  

“Penny,” Winter sang softly in her ear. She jumped and gasped in surprised. Winter chuckled softly. Her arms slowly wrapped around Penny’s waist and she bent a little to rest her chin on Penny’s shoulder. “You’ve been lost in your thoughts for a while now. Everything okay?”  

“Just…” Penny leaned back into the embrace. Winter’s cool Aura was lovely against her heated skin. It helped calm down the flight mode Winter accidentally triggered, and the embarrassment that followed. It wasn’t skin contact but it was contact. “I’m enjoying the atmosphere generated by lovely company.”  

“Oh, I’m sure that will change as soon as Aro can walk again,” Winter teased, eyes glancing up.  

Aro scoffed signing a few taunting and rude gestures with a playful smile. Penny was a little surprised she kept her balance long enough for that. Her partner, leader, and girlfriend took a few steps forward before tripping over her slimmer prosthetics and nearly falling hard. As always May caught her in time.  

May tried to separate herself from Aro but the huntress held her hand. Then linked their arms when Aro’s balance on her new legs faltered again. “You need to move your toes, doll.” May laughed.  

“That’s so weird!” Aro softly yelled. Her ears flickered and arms waved a little, venting out some energy she couldn’t express verbally. She looked down in her feet with concentration. It took a few seconds for her toes to wiggle. "I haven’t had toes in years…" She mused softly.  

Winter and May looked pained for a moment as Penny flicked through the schematics for a possible solution. “Your new legs still have the functionality of your previous ones with the added aesthetic benefit of being modular,” Penny said. Her old legs were military grade and militant in appearance. The ones Aro had on now mimicked organic civilian legs with her heavy body type. “Xanthic created some modules that mimicked your previous design as well as some suited for several other occasions.”  

“Such as,” May scowled a little. Penny had noted her irritation spiked when she said the hackers name and chose to ignore it like the others did.  

“Ball room dancing, sleep, swimming,” Penny listed.  

Aro perked up, bouncing to her and pressing to Penny’s free side. “Show me!” She said, arms wrapped around Penny’s waist, fingers finding Winter’s and intertwining. Penny giggled as Aro’s wiggling ears brushed over her own. May sat on the floor, slotted comfortably between Penny’s legs and head poking through her arms to look at the Scroll. Penny lowered it a little so avoid May straining her neck and flicked through the parts.  

“I haven’t worn heels in forever!” Aro said gasping softly at one module. She dragged two fingers on the screen to get study it from a different angle. Everything from the knee down was an elaborate design in Aro’s colors; soft pale green, aged or polish gold and deep royal purples. But the real highlight was the feet, designed to replicate fashionable and expensive heels, something you’d find in Winter’s closet. Aro’s smile dropped, a little sad as Focus turned off. Penny stared at her a little surprised. It didn’t flicker, just… deactivated. “I kinda miss wearing feminine clothes.”  

“You like skirts and dresses?” Penny asked quickly. Her partner’s outfit usually consisted of an Atlas Academy uniform, customized to mark her status as a student of the Accelerated Program with the cord given to third and fourth years, her broiler suit for combat and work, or some kind of tailored suit  

Aro gave her a sad look, “I love my public image but I hate being stuck with it.” Penny tilted her head and nodded, though she didn’t quite understand the perspective. She was constantly with Aurora, she wasn’t just a picture in a magazine or a gently stoic presence on screen. She never really looked into what the easily manipulated media thought of the… secretly former businesswomen.  

“Perhaps new purchasing new apparel is in order?” Penny asked with a tilt of her head. Her simulators had a hard time creating an image of Aro in a dress or skirt, which only increased Penny’s desire to see her in one.  

“Then let’s go shopping!” May said with a large smile. Winter groaned, pulling away from their cuddle but all three of her girlfriends laughed, mostly May who’s laugh was a little wicked, and pulled her back. “Come on! It’s been awhile since I got to dress someone up! They’ll need new clothes for Vale’s hot as fuck climate too. Don’t want Aro overheating again…”  

“Let’s go,” Immediately Winter stood up, her strength nearly dragging all three of them onto their feet.  

There was some look of regret on Winter’s face when May took them to large store in Mantle. Penny giggled at the former heiress of the Schnee Dust Company and pulled her in by her hand. Winter did relax seeing the various styles, they ranged from feminine to masculine, from Menagerie to Atlasian. At the counter they spotted a new but familiar tattooed face on her Scroll.  

“Salutations Turk!” Penny said with a smile and wave.  

Turk jumped a little but smile at the new customers, “Call you later, Tukson. My favorite patron and her mates found me,” Turk said. May looked away, a blush hard on her face for a moment. Her embarrassment only made her a target to the Faunus’ predatory gaze. “Right… Will do, see you soon.” They hung up and leaned against the counter nearly looking like a satisfied cat after dinner. “My brother says hi and to warn him next time you order… tasteful comics.”  

“Sunstone came in?” Aro gasped with a light bounce.  

“Yep,” Turk nodded. She studied Aro a little, eyes focusing on Aro’s usually displayed cleavage. At her side Penny could feel Winter tense, and when she glanced over there was a protective, perhaps jealous glare. Then Turk smiled, “You’re looking much better Aro. New tattoos causing any trouble?”  

“Everything good, boss!” Aro said with a playful salute. “So far. My girls haven’t let me play around with Dust yet.”  

My girls. Penny stared at Aro’s odd choice of words. It made her feel… conflicted at first. She wasn’t an object, she wasn’t a weapon, but soon the cherishing warmth and protectiveness in the tone droned out her insecurities. At least a little. Penny would have to further analysis the phrase and emotions. May seemed to be having similar thoughts and reactions to Penny, but stronger. She let out a embarrassed noise, quickly unlinking her arms from Aro and escaping into the racks of clothes muttering something about finding a new outfit.  

“You were always the odd runt of the litter,” Turk mused looking back at Aro. It was then that Aro became a little stiff and guarded. Her ears strained out even if her shoulder didn’t tense. “Your humans are very cute though-”  

“I’m choosing to ignoring your patronizing,” Winter interrupted with a hard glare. Turk didn’t seem fazed, instead they just raised a brow in odd satisfaction. Where all Menagerie Faunus like this? Was… Aro like this or did Focus hid it? The Specialist looked between them and Aro, “What your implying… the tattoos react to Dust?” She asked Aro with an accusatory look.  

“Dust and Aura,” Aro said, voice defensively. Her eyes shifted away as she took a smooth step back with a shrug. “It’s not harmful-”  

“You say that while it’s untested,” Winter said.  

“It’s been through generations of testing,” Aro said in a near growl, Focus leaving only a glowing white pupil. She looked… a panicked with her ears pinned low at the angle Penny hated the most. The sudden outburst shocked her two girlfriends into silence. Their reaction caused Focus to flicker. It didn’t deactivate it shrunk and stayed. “… Sorry,” Aro muttered looking away and retreating after May.  

Penny saw Aro burry her face into May’s chest pulling her girlfriend in for a tight and comforting hug. May looked at them, confused. “What happen?” She signed at them.  

“I upset her, sorry,” Turk signed back. May glared hard at the Faunus and lead Aro further into the store. The tattooist and store clerk turned back to Winter, “I’ll give you this for free to make up for ruining your date. The ink for those tattoos are made from flowers that grows around Dust crystals and deposits.”  

“Sounds… very traditional.” Winter drawled, “Thank you for the new information.” She briskly marched walked away with Penny following closely after her. She looked between the two Faunus who awkwardly avoided staring at each other.  

“Are Turk and Aro friends?” Penny asked softly. Winter closed her eyes for a brief moment. The tension that had slowly drew her shoulders tight melted a little when Penny linked their arms together.  

“Perhaps?” Winter said hopeful. Then her voice soured a little, frustration a little more than boiling, “Aro has certainly never spoken of her previous life before Atlas.” Penny blinked and briefly went through her memory banks, even the archived ones.  

She couldn’t recall Aro speaking about her family. Ciel constantly worries about her family and visits them whenever possible. All the money from various betting pools were given to her family. Even Xanthic talks about her uncle. Aurora spoke about Menagerie but never touched upon her personal experiences… It reminded Penny of how she drew upon the information she was preinstalled with.  

When the pair found Aro, her ears perked up and she smiled brightly at them. May looked a little distressed at her side, face a little red as she had a handful of lingerie instead of public appropriate clothes.  

“Please talk her out of it,” May asked.  

“Hm,” Winter pretended to be stoic. She stared at Aro’s glowing eyes, as if trying to determine if this was an honest or an act. Instead Winter turned her attention to May with a controlled and level stare. “The purpose of this is to buy clothes that would prevent Aurora from overheating in Vale. The current selection of clothing would work.” May’s eyes widen, the blush tinting the tips of ears. Aro grinned happily. Some of her un-Focused behavior such as the small bounce and flap of her arms broke through. Winter sighed and patted Aro’s head, “You need to wear some kind of jacket or shawl with it. Understand?”  

“Yep!” Aro said, nuzzling into the palm, even rising to her new toes.  

“And we are getting you real clothes,” Penny added. May let out a breathe, blood slowly returning to her limbs. Aro agreed but stuck out her tongue and Penny saw the glint of metal through it. She tried to remember if that was another new addition or not.  

It took nearly an hour for Aro to relax enough for Focus to deactivate again. Turk would occasionally help, or try to.  

“I tailor and embroider Dust into the cloths. I’m just covering a shift.” They said through the curtain. Turk’s didn’t trigger Focus, but they also avoided any familiar talk, instead talking fashion with May. “Lingerie and loose robes are quiet popular back in Minstral, especially during the summer. I could find that easily enough.”  

“That… That’d be great!” May said as Aro stripped out of shorts and another loose sleeved but thin top. Aurora had a weightlifter’s build, muscles hidden under fat and sculpted in areas that didn’t store it. Such as her back and arms. She usually wore a sports bra or bralette, this time it was a simple cross back bra with a matching thong that held the huntresses attention for more than a second.  

Her back was facing them with a full length mirror still showing her front, Penny had a hard time deciding if the faux modesty was habit or tactful choice. After nearly an hour of watching Aro dress and strip, Penny understood her partner’s selection of clothes to be more out of necessity rather than preference. Muscular back and shoulders made pulling shirts over her horns difficult. But her girlfriends didn’t step in to help quite yet.  

They just… stared for a few minutes. Admiring the… muscles that flex with each small movement… every breath…  

When it was clear Winter and May was too busy restraining themselves, Penny took a step forward. To help. Her curious hands didn’t linger over skin inches away from the tangle top. She wasn’t slowing down to archive the sensation of hard muscle under soft civilian skin. She was completely objective in her goal of guiding the shirt over Aro’s shoulders and neck. Except Penny’s slow touches acclimated her sensors to Aro’s warm body and she nearly shivered at the rush of cool air when her hands had to leave her girlfriend’s skin to make sure her horns didn’t cut into the fabric.  

"Thanks, Penny." Aro said, giving their two other girlfriends a teasing glance. She gave Penny a light kiss on the lips as a thank you.  

Penny tensed for nanosecond. Her Aura flared across her processors trying to analyze and save the new sensation that buzzed across her lips but it was already overloaded with the feel of Aro’s back. The short contact wasn’t enough to decipher, so Penny followed Aro’s lips. She felt flexing muscles far beneath those soft lips, under her fingers she could feel Aura heat the ink on the base of her throat. Then a sound, hot breath across Penny’s face and a small tremble from Aro as her back hit the mirror.  

“Penny,” Winter’s voice, lips and breathe grazed her ear. Penny was encouraged back by cool hands, but the new expression on Aro’s face had her craving more. She was dazed and flushed, heavy chest rising with deep breaths. The energy humming in the ink slowly faded, but it lured their eyes down and down.  

May closed her eyes briefly, trying to keep them from wandering up and down her inked cleavage. “I’m starting to think this was a bad idea.”  

“Oh you think!?” Winter snapped softly. When everyone managed to look Aro in the eyes again she work a smug grin that complimented the breathless and disheveled look.  

“You look thirsty,” Aro signed. May let out a strangled noise. Quick glance and Penny could see her chest struggling for air, her neck and cheeks turning a lovely pink and growing darker. Winter growled in frustration, eyes hooded and hungry. Penny was busy trying to balance a power surge as her Aura flared. She wondered if it was illegal that the sign for thirsty was an index finger drawing down the throat, and what kind of punishment would be appropriate for the slow, teasing emphasis Aro placed on it.  

“Ahem,” Turk cleared their throat from beyond the curtain. Everyone jumped a little. Penny was suddenly aware of how often their intimate moments were in public. Perhaps they’ll need to discuss that. “Here’s a few robes. Also we Faunus have sensitive noses… so either fuck and make it quick or hide the boners when you leave.”  

Aro gave a breathless chuckle, making sure to avoid May’s direction as she shifted uncomfortably in place. "I’ll behave if you three behave," Aurora promised in sign language. Penny and May quickly nodded. Winter looked as if she wanted to rebel before shaking her head out of her heated daze.  

“You’re advice has been noted but unnecessary,” Winter said. She reached out and pulled the new selection of clothes for Aro to try on, a little surprised when there was a little more than just robes. There were some outfits that suited Winter’s figure, Penny’s adorable and vintage aesthetic, and May’s current dress.  

“Your welcome,” Turk sang as the couple heard their footsteps wander back to the front counter.  

Penny tried to be more attentive to the difference in their behavior after that. Aro had always been physically affectionate, May was always easily embarrassed and Winter was always snuck in gentle smiles and touches when they were on military grounds. So the difference was very subtle, something she only noticed as the weeks passed.  

At first it was small additional behaviors. Aro’s physical affections became lingering touching that danced over their skin. She loved to embrace her partners from behind, arms slowly wrapping around their waist, sliding down into a snug fit around their hips while her head found a comfortable spot on May and Winter’s shoulder, or in Penny’s case her head.  

May’s reservations and fears transformed into an excited energy. Her embarrassment didn’t stop her from doing almost anything to get her girlfriends to smile. From horrible puns to outrageously clashing outfits during impromptu fashion shows during small shopping trips at the malls.  

Though Penny found Winter’s dating behaviors to be the most… unrestrained of the three. Not always. Most of the time she was gentle with Penny, holding her hand and kissing her knuckles and wrist. When they were alone, Winter’s hands would travel up her arm and neck. The sensation would freeze Penny in place as her Aura raced through her system, temporarily overloading everything with a pleasant buzz. Winter’s thumb would graze Penny’s bottom lip and Penny would be chasing that soft touch for more and more until she was inches from Winter’s face.  

This happened a few times a week. Gradually increasing in frequency as time further passed until finally Penny took action instead of reacting. The look and noise of surprise Winter expressed as her back hit the wall… As their lips finally met-  

Winter groaned into the kiss, trying to match Penny’s force but her self-restraint protocols were barely in effect. Every push was matched in strength and a little more until Winter pulled away. When Penny tried to follow again there was a some resistance so she stopped with a frustrated huff and pout.  

“You…” Winter murmured weakly out of breath. She tried to move but Penny wasn’t finished. She firmly placed her hands on Winter’s chest and pushed her back. Winter smiled, head against the wall with a laugh. Penny licked her lips. The sensation of touch was still new to her, her code always evolving as much as her hardware could allow and apparently after her first kiss with Aro the code readjusted. Or she never noticed her lips were just extremely sensitive. “Don’t you to need to breathe?” She said with a laugh.  

Penny archived the image before her. Specialist Winter Schnee, the perfect soldier disheveled in a dark hallway of the Polendina Facility, gasping for breath from a kiss when the women could fight off a small horde of Grimm without effort. Neck exposed… throat flexing with each breath and swallow…  

The sensation, reaction, behaviors, it was all still foreign and Penny was craving more.  

“This is definitely romantic affection,” Penny whispered to herself. Perhaps her subconscious wanted Winter to hear it too. The smile on her lips was too addictive to be rewarding. She licked her lips trying to cherish the phantom sensation of Winter’s lips on hers. But her skin was cool, soft, her Aura buzzing and alive against Penny’s artificial skin. When Penny leaned in again, Winter was much more firm in stopping her with an index finger pushing on Penny’s lips.  

“Slow,” Winter whispered in her ear. “We have two other partners to dance with.”  

“As of right now, I’d rather have them watch,” Penny said with a frustrated pout. She blew the hot air building within her onto Winter’s neck. Penny wasn’t satisfied with the shiver that ran through Winter but considering all the new behaviors and reactions Penny discovered it was… close enough.  

Penny did notice May and Winter took them much more seriously during training. They capitalized on every opening but didn’t do enough damage to end the fight. It slowly became a test of endurance, one that Penny would win if Winter’s didn’t have a Glyph for every occasion. It created so many variables it was frying Penny’s processors and slowing her reaction time. It was not the way Winter’s chest rise and fell, or the flush of exhaustion rising coloring her pale skin.  

Penny smothered that line of inquires, sorting them for later and attacked again. During the rare moments Penny was able to keep up, Winter would use Time Dilation on herself or her summons.  

“Agh!” A pack of blue and white Beowolves rushed at her. One shoulder slamming into her back. Penny felt the sharp pressure around her ankle. A shot from all fourteen guns of Floating Array freed her. Temporarily. The rest of the pack descended on the metal women suspended in air. Penny recalibrated her next shot, lengthening the duration. It wasn’t powerful, there was no time to charge it as the rest of the pack lunged. Weak but steady streams hit the second and third summons with just enough force to throw them off trajectory.  

Within fractions of a second Winter redirected the fourth and fifth beowolves. Glancing blows didn’t slow their advancement. Claws white and misting blue nearly effulged her vision-  

“Denied!”  

Penny gasped, her body suddenly pulled down. Months ago her code wasn’t advance enough to feel wind breezing past her face as those sharp claws swiped inches out of reach. Aro’s arms wrapped around her. Penny braced for hard impact but her gyrostabilizer couldn’t detect the ground. Mix signals of false inputs confused her but she learned to ignore most of it. They’ll have to upgrade it before they’d leave for the tournament.  

“Marigold!” Winter gave a frustrated yell. She stiffen as the Huntress was suddenly by her side, out of breath.  

“Her upgrades made her a faster, alright?” May complained.  

“Upgrades are meant to improve performance,” Penny said with a small giggle. She enjoyed contact from having her arms wrapped around Aro’s shoulders before she was suddenly pulled her chest.  

Penny watched as those new tattoos glow a dull purple. The same color as gravity Dust. Penny barely had time to brace herself as there was a sudden increase in pressure. Even Aro grunted under the force. All around them, freshly summoned beowolves howled as they slammed into the ground, metal floor denting. Aro quickly released her teammate and Penny sprang off her thigh as soon as the gravity Dust was off. Before the beowolves recovered Penny sent her swords through them.  

“You’re assistance is much appreciated, Friend Aro!”  

“We aren’t done yet, Penn!” Aro crouched low. Combustion Dust locked in, a red and orange glow overpowering the passive purple. She smirked at their girlfriends. The elite graduates had recomposed themselves, giving them a combative stoic stare but a small and proud smile. Winter had only had one sword out but May was at her side, ready with the crossbowstaff. "We have a victory to secure against Opponent Schnee and Marigold!" With a blast Aro was rocketing towards them.  

Penny landed hard on her feet, the density of her body almost bending the metal tiles of the training room. She reconfigured Floating Array. Seven blades hovering close to her body while seven guns charged to join in the rush. With her passive gravity and combustion Dust chambered in, Aro is faster and much more agile than Penny. The metal women decided to strike second, taking advantage of whatever opening Aro’s attack would create.  

That problematic yellow glow of Time Dilation shined under Winter. Aro immediately increased her speed, a massive blast of combustion and several smaller ones to increase velocity. Floating Array roared like an engine, pushing Penny forward. She felt like she was chasing a bullet.  

Suddenly Aro dodged in front of her, a black glyph under her previous path. “Good!” Winter said but she smirked as May appeared in a few feet in front of Aro, bayonet pointed at the hallow of Aro’s collarbone. “It doesn’t matter how fast you are if you’re predictable!”  

“Now do better!” May yelled.  

Aro growled at her. Even with her gravity Dust, a sudden change of direction at the necessary speed to dogde was unlikely. Instead Aro suddenly reached back without looking. She grabbed Penny’s blouse and threw her at May.  

Penny felt an odd warp of gravity, like she was sling out of orbit. The huntress pair gasped, a black Glyph appeared in front of May in time to catch Penny and halt her attack. Time Dialation faded from their bodies as Winter rushed forward to protect May’s flank as prosthetic limbs and hard-light blades collided with her sword. May helped Winter push the attack back before Invisibility Field hid their retreat.  

Penny was freed from the Glyph and landed on her feet. She stepped forward to protect Aro’s side. Despite all the training she was still the quickest to tire out. The civilian was already panting softly, sweat damping her skin and some even rolling down her neck. The steam venting from her legs didn’t help. Penny angled her guns up and behind before cooling off half of Floating Array.  

Then they noticed a swirl of movement in the steam. Penny and Aro turned, looking up to defend or counter May or Winter’s attack. Instead Fiona appeared from the steam and took the opening to punched Aro in the abdomen. The blades of Robyn’s wrist mounted crossbow followed. In such tight quarters Penny didn’t have the space to maneuver Floating Array. She was forced to dodge away from Aro.  

“Hey- Hey!” Xanthic yelled running up to the fight. She waved the steam out of her face. “If this is turning into a four on four match instead of a one on one can we have a breather?” The hacker asked. Ciel was the final one to arrive, freeing Robyn’s crossbow bolt out from her beret and putting it back on her head.  

May dropped the Invisibility Field. The unauthorized and nearly rogue team of FRSM (Freshmint) stood besides their partners. Fiona with Robin and Winter with May, who was glaring at Xanthic’s newest accessory. A halo with an inner transparent cover to show off the circuitry, it hovered around her head with gravity Dust.  

“Sure… if we get to break that ugly thing,” May said with a scowl.  

“But it’s actually really functional,” Fiona protested softly. “I know… they… yeah. But they’re forcefully stuck together so you two need get over it.” Both May and Winter gave the tiny Faunus a fierce glare that had Penny flinching. She didn’t even buckle, or challenged them back, just gave them a soft pleading look.  

With the anarchist pair on opposing sides of APCX, it took a bit of left and right to see that their appearance made a matching set. Penny and Ciel gasped, both their eyes growing wide with realization. The anarchists attitudes foiled each other to near staged perfection, their interest greatly overlapped, their intelligence set them at odds with many peers their age. Lately their behaviors were far too similar as if bad habits were resurfacing. All the hostility May and Winter had towards Xanthic…  

Me and Glade have… history. Penny remembered Xanthic telling her once.  

“You two dated?!” Ciel and Penny asked the hacker. With the information Penny got from Winter and May… the one relationship that let nearly broke Aro’s semblance, her voice was much… much angrier than Ciel’s. Penny could barely restrained her defensive protocals-  

Xanthic sneered, cold and guarded. A look Penny previously thought as default and normal for her. “Dating is a nice word for horny ass teenagers.”  

Penny wasn’t well practiced with negative emotions. They rarely surfaced in occasions where it was expected but jealously and anger caused her Aura to flare wildly. Several attack strategies, the instinct to defend Aurora bypassed several protocols.  

But… Xanthic didn’t move to defend. She only stared down Penny, challenging her… Without any real fight, Penny realized. They got along like they were friends… but how much of it was an act under Focus?  

“I’m not punishing you for what you did to Aurora.” Penny said looking away. She heard and saw the crackle of hard-light Dust. Her simulators could actually predict the defensive anger on her face but she tried to imagine the look of Ironwood’s face. With the protective glass and bright lights in the control room, Penny could only make our his silhouette.  

You paired Aurora and Xanthic together, sir. Penny’s fist clenched tight and she looked back Winter. She tried to give a comforting look but with all the restrictions from the Military it was conflicted and nearly pained. Then stoic in a way a soldier needed to be. Meanwhile, May was furious, all attention focused on Xanthic.  

“Break’s over!” Fiona called out. “Ready?”  

“No…” Ciel and Penny muttered. Aro looked at them, resignation and sorrow odd with her glowing blue eyes. It seemed genuine but… everything did with Focus. “What’s the plan?” Penny asked softly.  

“Survive and look good doing it,” Aro answered. Her voice was hallow. Penny’s head turned to Aro so fast there was no way she could have missed it before she looked at Fiona. “APCX, ready!”  

For the first time Penny couldn’t focus on a fight. Her processors kept spinning the same information over and over again with no real goal. General Ironwood knew the damage between Aurora Glade and Ashley Xanthic and still paired them on a together.  

Aro’s gravity Dust manipulation kept rendered escape impossible. Xanthic’s concentrated hard-light Dust weapons would take them out. It was an effortless and strategic show of force, picked to complement each other, just like how the Ace Operatives were handpicked to strength each other’s abilities.  

Months of training created an automated defense but when Floating Array moved to cover Xanthic against May’s crossbowstaff… She hesitated. The strangled and pained gasp, the shimmering Aura threatening to break at the sharp blade and pressure. Xanthic was lifted from the ground, grabbed by the throat and slammed down.  

Penny only watched and she regretted it.  

She quickly fixed her defensive priorities. Defending Aurora and keeping Xanthic away wasn’t necessary right now. Neither was defending her… teammate Xanthic from opponent May. She was created, she wanted to protect people. Her swords angled in, blocking May’s next strikes and pushing her back.  

No offensive move was made from APCX until Ciel intervened, chakrams soring in. May set off the explosive Dust when she blocked. APCX regrouped at Xanthic’s side. A pulse of gravity Dust brought lifted her back onto her feet.  

“Why’d you stop her!” Xanthic scowled.  

“Why didn’t you attack?” Ciel asked.  

“Because it was the right thing to do,” Penny frowned at the pair.  

“Discuss this later,” Aro said in a commanding tone. They all stood, back to back looking around the empty training room as Aro and Xanthic tried to sense out the Invisibility Field.  

“You need a weapon,” Ciel threw Aro an annoyed glance. “You’re fast but they know you. There’s no way they’ll engage in melee, you’ve just been chasing them.”  

“Too be fair I have been running from May and Winter for years,” Aro mused lightly. Her teammates groaned at her and Aro only laughed and winked. The laugh was fake, it didn’t have that rich rumble. Then Penny noticed an extra glow. Her eyes were bright, completely engulfed by Focus but the tattoo was softly glowing. The ink had changed into a hard-light cyan color, raw Dust energy gathering bright between her horns. "And to be fair, they only know my life in Atlas." She said with an almost hallow evenness of her voice.  

Grabbing the raw hard-light energy, Aro pulled out a long whip with a flourish. She ejected a fire Dust cartridge from her leg and applied it to the handle, changing the cyan glow to an ominous red. It traveled along the length on the next crack, a plum of fire bursting from the tip.  

Fiona and May screamed, Winter and Robyn grunted. Invisibility Field dropped to reveal them scrambling away from the blast. Fiona grabbed May and shook her a little, "Can you not be a horny ass right now and fight?!"  

“Sh-Shut it!” May scoffed, pushing the leader of FRSM off her. The four quickly disappeared again. Penny giggled. She saw a surprised look on all four elite graduates but a flush across Winter and May’s face before they retreated.  

“Aurora,” Ciel sighed in annoyance, “Have you really been holding back all this time?”  

Aro didn’t answer. She just looked at the whip in her hands and twirled it lightly, winding up for another crack. Once again May screamed and raced to get out of the blast, Invisibility Field faltering. Another crack and Winter was nearly sent sprawling to the ground. Apparently her Faunus traits allowed Aro to scent out the pair. Penny giggled at May and Winter’s blush when Aro tapped her nose and winked.  

With additional range support, APCX had a brief advantage. They focused on May and Winter, attacking them while Ciel kept Robyn and Fiona at bay with Clockwork and her chakrams. Almost overwhelming them until a sudden buzzer sounded.  

Penny frowned and looked at the board. No one took damage… but semblance and Dust used Aura. Aro’s attack had drained her Aura to 10%, similarly Xanthic was low from her previous hits and highly charged attacks.  

Aro walked to the waiting room. Without her support the fight quickly fell into FRSM favor. Xanthic was the next to fall, a powerful elbow from Winter felt a little personal.  

Ciel and Penny turned their attacks to Robyn, determine to at least defeat one of the elite graduates. But Clockwork worked both worked with and against them. It was an AOE semblance, unable to tell the difference between friend and foe. Everything within the area slowed, including the projectiles Floating Array fired.  

When Ciel dropped the AOE, Robyn dodged or blocked the projectile. She laughed and shook her head, “That’s right girls, chase the birdie.” She beckoned the pair forward.  

Out of FRSM, Robyn’s semblance was the least threatening in combat. Sensible teams would try to take advantage of that. The elite graduates used that thinking to their advantage. Penny and Ciel stood back to back, scanning the empty room.  

Penny didn’t have Aro or Xanthic’s sensory equipment. She didn’t detect May or Winter in front of them until Invisibility Field was deactivated. May’s grin and heavy breaths was a sharp contrast to her partners even and stoic stare behind the saber pointed at Penny.  

Penny took a deep breath and sighed, “APCX concedes.” She said. Winter gave a small smile, a proud one that made the defeat and… revelations a little softer.  

After a quick clean up Fiona rounded up everyone outside of Atlas. “Excellent work everyone! I’m glad you two are recovering from the upgrades.” She smiled up at Aro and prounce a little at Xanthic to swipe up at the halo, making it wobble and spin.  

Penny stood with May and Winter, trying not to glare at how well the two looked with their accessories. “This… explains your previous hostilities.” Penny murmured. They watched Fiona continue to play with the halo until she completely pulled it from Xanthic’s head. She laughed and ducked behind Aurora who laughed softly as the small Faunus deftly dodge the hacker’s grabs. “Are they friends?”  

“Fuck no!”  

“That isn’t your call, May.” Robyn quickly chided. She lead Ciel to the polymerous trio even though the officer seemed reluctant to join. “They’re stuck together and you two are making it worse.”  

“If it makes you two feel better…” Ciel nervously started, “They act more like brother and sisters.” Penny nodded in agreement though she doesn’t understand the full context of that phrase. It was definitely not romantic, platonic? Maybe. May and Winter looked unconvinced so Ciel smirked a little, “Xan is the younger brother with the inferiority complex.”  

“Fuck you!” Xanthic yelled at her. “I’m not inferior and I’m not fucking friends with any of you!” She said chasing a giggling sheep around a goat that was starting to get a little overwhelmed. Penny noticed for the first time Focus was deactivated with Xanthic. She gave Penny a helpless stare.  

Penny giggled and pulled her out of the circle. Without a barrier Xanthic quickly caught Fiona but her halo was absorbed into her semblance.  

“Thyme! Give it back!”  

“Never!” Fiona laughed trying to free herself as Xanthic started to vigorously shake her up and down.  

May scoffed at the scene, “You two only like her because she steals for Mantle.” She said glaring hard at her leader. Robyn didn’t shrink. If anything she straightened her back and looked down at May.  

“It’s almost as if she’s trying to atone.”  

“Fuck off!”  

“May,” Aro’s voice was an odd type of commanding without Focus. It wasn’t charismatic like Robyn but harder like Winter’s. “Just be civil. You can hate her, forgive her, whatever.” She shrugged. Then Aro smiled at Penny and linked their arms pressing herself tight to her partners side. She looked back at Winter who tried to retreat without losing grace. “We’re stuck together because of Ironwood. No need to make it worse.”  

It took a while for Winter to meet Aro’s gaze. She didn’t speak right away. Instead she held her hand out towards Robyn who took it with Lie Detector flaring at contact. “I would have stopped him if I had known,” Winter said softly. It glowed green.  

Aro looked at Penny for a second then away. Penny wanted to be an observer again. For a moment she didn’t want to be reminded about the string of lies Ironwood had wrapped around her. Aro had looked at her with resignation Penny understood for all of her life.  

“You would have tried to stop him,” Penny corrected softly. In the end even Winter was under his command. A tense silence fell over the group. Even the atmosphere was a little quiet as the sunset and military life slowed. They heard Xanthic’s footsteps as she walked up.  

“We leave for one second and you idiots get all depressed. I didn’t even give you guys bad news.” Xanthic scowled. Fiona thrown over her shoulder but her halo back around her head. She threw her to Robyn who caught her with a smile.  

“Fighting not enough of an exercise, lambchop?”  

“That just got my blood pumping!” Fiona said with a large smile and ears wiggling. The two kissed briefly before Robyn set her down. She finally took in the mood and settled down a little, “Okay… so what did we miss?”  

“Me and Penny should be asking that,” Ciel said with a scowl, “What other secrets you have?”  

Xanthic scowled at her. The familiar and faux hostility calming the tense air a little. Then Xanthic raised a brow and posed with a superior smirk, “I faked my death and like to fuck random girls in the dance floor.”  

Surprised glanced were immediately turned to Aurora who gave everyone a surprisingly fierce glare for how hard she blushed. “E-Excuse you?!”  

“Here’s a real secret,” Xanthic said crossing her arms, “Ironwood has us leaving before the others.” Everyone gave the polymerous couple a sympathetic look. The fight from May quickly dissolved into near defeat while Winter was growing furious.  

“What,” Winter scowled. “He didn’t tell me anything.”  

“Wasn’t the end of the last conversation all about how he doesn’t need to tell you shit?” Xanthic scoffed rolling her eyes. They landed hard on Penny, “Perhaps if someone didn’t start something in the middle of a surveillance military facility Ironwood wouldn’t have seen it.”  

“When?” May asked.  

Xanthic gave her a confused glare, “When they made out in the hallway?”  

“No!” May sputtered a little red from the statement and frustration. “When is APCX leaving you dumbass!”  

“About two weeks from now. He was probably trying to spring this on us so me and Aro doesn’t have time to prepare. Ironwood is sending us to Argus first for some maintenance work. Then we’re to investigate the crimes going on in Vale.”  

Penny didn’t really pay attention to Xanthic after the first sentence. She looked at May’s scared eyes and Winter’s conflicted glare. She could feel the resigned air around Aro, calming the normally excitable and happy women.  

Their short time together continued to hang above their head even after getting ready for the night and nearly half an hour of restless cuddling on the bed. The huntresses were being rather selfish with their younger pairs. May held Aurora tightly to her, back turned to Winter and Penny. The Specialist ensured Penny was half laid on top of her, a hand brush over the nightgown… over where her belly button would be.  

“Are you coming back…” May whispered. Penny nearly shot up and reached for her but Winter held her close. Penny shuffled, looking as Aro gently pressed May’s back to the bed and hovered over her. Sea-green eyes gazed down back at gold ones, both valuable and scared. May turned away, trying to wipe tears from her face. “Ironwood, the SDC, Atlas is slowly killing you-”  

Gently Aurora took one of May’s hands. She kissed the tears smeared across her finger tips and then guided it to her neck. May’s hands slowly traced the tattoo. Her hands grew bolder, reassured by the deep purr Aurora let out. “What can I do if the ink on my skin isn’t enough to show my devotion to you and the others…” She whispered.  

May grabbed a horn and pulled her down to a kiss. Penny watched Aurora slowly calm May’s desperate lips with her slow earnest ones. It didn’t stop tears from salting their kisses but Penny could remember warmth and love behind it.  

Winter’s hand came up, cupping Penny’s cheek and gently guiding her eyes back to her. Penny held Winter’s hand, gaze on her neck. Part of her was scared to see tears spilling from the strongest amongst them. Slowly Winter’s hand pulled Penny’s face closer and closer, until their foreheads was touching and there was nowhere else to look besides blue defeated eyes. Penny almost wished she was crying instead.  

“We won’t ask you to come back to Atlas…” Winter said. Her hands drifting over her button-less belly. “But please promise me you and Aurora will take care of each other. No matter what you two decide.”  

Penny smiled, trying to lift Winter’s mood. She wasn’t quite sure it worked but Winter returned it with the small amount of energy she still had. “It is my duty as her partner.” Penny pointed out. Still she sealed the promise with a kiss.  

Neither Aurora or Penny answered May’s question.  

100% Complete.  

Timestamped: Day 363 since creation. Day 136 of APCX’s formation. Approximately ██ since PAWM ██████ █████

[terreisa]

Love Down the Line: Chapter 6

The last thing Indie musician Emma Swan needs is a gigantic wrench thrown in the workings of her biggest tour to date weeks before its launch.  When her backing guitarist that caused the problem says she has the perfect solution Emma is skeptical but left with little choice but to accept.  Unfortunately she isn't really prepared for said solution to be former Rock Star and leading man of Emma's teenage fantasies, Killian Jones.  With no other options and a month of performing across the country ahead of her Emma just hopes she doesn't come to regret letting Killian onto her stage and into her life.

Ch 1, Ch 2, Ch 3, Ch 4, Ch 5, AO3

~*CS*~

Chicago, May 15th

Emma could feel a headache starting to bloom at the base of her skull.  She hadn’t gotten enough sleep, which wasn’t unusual, and she’d only had the chance to drink one cup of coffee since the day started, which was.  To make matters worse the sound check had been going wrong since the beginning and she had been forced to play the first verse of Bite of Iron four times, never making it past the first line of the chorus before having to start again.

“Alright, Emma, let’s see if that fixed it.  Whenever you’re ready.”

She nodded, biting her cheek against the tirade she wanted to let loose.  Barely a minute in the sound tech interrupted her again.  Flexing her hands into fists over the keys of the piano she counted to ten, then did it backwards before speaking into her mike.

“Can we take a break?”

“Su-”

“They’ve almost got it, Emma.  Right gentleman?” Regina broke in from the side of the stage where she was standing with the others since they weren’t needed for the song.  She had barely looked up from her phone and was still typing away as she continued, “You do want it to sound right, don’t you?  Let them do their job and then you can move past this one.”

At Regina’s words something in Emma snapped.  She stood abruptly from her piano, a loud buzzing in her ears.  Someone, she wasn’t entirely sure who, started saying something to her but she barely heard what they were saying as she practically ran offstage.  All she wanted was to get a lungful of fresh air, anything to ease the clawing at her throat.

In her rush to find an exit that led outside she ended up getting turned around and completely confused as to where she was.  The clawing feeling had traveled down to her chest, compressing her lungs so it was getting hard for her to breathe.  Before she could lose her shit completely a warm hand wrapped around her wrist and tugged gently.

“Follow me, love.”

She let Killian lead her through the labyrinth like corridors, barely paying attention to the turns they were taking or the doors they were going through.  However, when they entered a stairwell she paused.

“Killian…”

He looked back at her, giving her an encouraging smile, “Trust me?”

It wasn’t even a question to her.  Somehow, in the month since they’d been thrown together he had become someone she trusted completely.  She nodded and his smile widened as he squeezed her hand and began their ascent.  Though she found she was distracted from their progress again at the sight of her hand in his, not to mention the way his jeans hugged his ass as he climbed.

All too quickly Killian opened a door that had sunshine streaming into the stairwell and the heat of the day rolling over them.  He had taken her to the roof of the auditorium.  It was dotted with air conditioning units and not much else but she noticed that it did have a pretty good view of the city that was sprawled out all around them.

“It’s not much but it’ll give you some time to yourself-” he held out a slim silver can that she hadn’t noticed before, “I hadn’t seen your ubiquitous starbucks cup today so I thought you might want this.  Come back down when you’re ready and don’t worry about Regina, I’ll handle it.”

Taking the can of coffee, the one that was on her rider for the days exactly like the one she’d been having, a brand that could only be found in the corner of Maine that Storybrooke inhabited and that Killian had clearly gone to the green room to get before finding her, she was suddenly overwhelmed in a different way than before.  No one, not even Mary Margaret and David had known exactly what she needed when things got overwhelming and provided it without question or needing an explanation.  He made to leave but she gripped his hand in hers, holding him in place.

“Stay?” She asked softly, “Please?”

His eyes searched hers before he seemed to find what he was looking for.  With a nod he walked them over to a small strip of shade provided by the stairwell housing and sat with his back against it.  Once he settled he patted the spot next to him, wordlessly inviting her to join him.

The surface of the roof was warm when she sat but not uncomfortably so.  There was a slight breeze, not enough to dry the sweat that was gathering at her temples but enough to break the heat of the day.  Emma could hear the traffic moving along and through the city, a not so unpleasant hum that matched the air conditioning units kicking on and off to make a bit of a song.  She felt herself smile at the thought of putting lyrics to the sounds and then snorted in amusement at the fact that it was easier to make up a song on the fly than to play one she’d intentionally written.

“Something funny, Swan?” Killian asked, his own voice laced with humor.

“Only if you’re me,” she said wryly, snapping open the coffee and drinking near half of it one one go.  She tipped her head back and stared up at the cloudless blue sky, “Did you know?”

“Hmm?  Know what?”

She kept her gaze trained upwards but could imagine his eyebrow ticked up in slight confusion and intrigue, “When you said to play Bite of Iron, did you know that I’d never played it live before?”

“Not once?” She shook her head and he gave a low hum, “No, love, I didn’t.  It is a beautiful song, it’s a shame the sound guys did it such an injustice.  No wonder you stormed off.”

For a moment she almost didn’t want to correct him.  There really was no reason to explain or even justify her behavior.  She was sure that he’d seen worse from others in the business, she’d seen it herself.  The thing was she wanted to tell him the truth of what had upset her.  It was like the words were pressing against her lips, ready to spill out into her lap.  Just as she made up her mind to go through with it, absolutely certain that he wouldn’t judge or condemn her, he began to speak.

“Everyone assumed Milah was the diva of the group and she could be, if the occasion called for it, as could I.  But Liam-” he chuckled and then sighed, “Liam never gave into theatrics but if things weren’t going exactly how he wanted it he could, and would, let his displeasure be known.  He once refused to board our tour bus one evening because the driver had decided to take a nap and got to the venue nearly an hour late.  We had to charter a plane to make it to our next stop on the tour because Liam’s obstinance caused an even bigger delay to our departure.  The label made him pay for the cost of the plane from his own pocket.  Served the git right.”

Emma sat completely still, entranced.  He hadn’t talked to her about Liam since Cincinnati and she’d noticed that he’d been writing in his notebooks more since then.  She had a feeling that maybe, just maybe, he was feeling the same push that she was to share the painful parts of his past.  To trust her with them.

“You miss him,” she said softly but surely.  It was easy to hear the longing in his voice.

“Aye, I miss them both.  It’ll be twelve years and I still expect Liam to come walking into my apartment calling me ‘little brother’ or I’ll wake and reach for Milah across the empty bed-” his hand clenched on his thigh before he sighed again, “There’s a constant ache in my chest for missing them.”

She didn’t know what to say, what he would want to hear.  There had been precious few people in her life that she felt that strongly about and she had never lost any of them.  Just thought of either of the Nolans or Ruby being taken from her as Killian’s brother and fiance had been had her breath backing up in her throat.

“This probably wasn’t what you had in mind when you escaped, was it?” he asked, nudging her shoulder with his. “Apologies.”

“Don’t,” she said quickly, grabbing onto the hand that was still clenched on his thigh. “You don’t need to apologize for talking about them.  I get the feeling you don’t do it very often.”

“That I don’t-” he unclenched his hand and she let hers settle in his open palm, her heart threatening to jump out of her chest as she did. “It was too hard at first, I’d lash out or dive deeper into the bottle, most times both, and then people just stopped asking.  Decent people that is, the gossip rags and paps are the soulless exception.

“Milah hated them from the start.  They followed her around more than the rest of us seeing as she was the lead singer and a beautiful woman to boot.  Once they got it in their minds we’d been romantically involved for longer than we had been they were relentless.”

Emma tried to hide her surprise at learning that nugget of information but with her hand in his he appeared to have felt it.  He grinned, his eyebrow raising in an unasked question.

“It’s just, uh, I thought that you guys were, um, high school sweethearts,” she meant to make it sound like a statement yet it came out like a question.

He laughed, a small but genuine thing, his free hand scratching at the back of his neck, “Our publicist spun it like that and we went along with it for interviews and such.  More romantic he liked to say.  Truth was even though we’d gone to the same secondary school she was in Liam and Robin’s year and I’d hardly spoken to her then.  It was only when they started playing together after they’d left that I got to know her.  She seemed so sophisticated and worldly to my scrawny teenage ass, even though she was only three years older than me and had never left our tiny village either.

“It wasn’t until during our first real tour that we gave into the attraction that’d been growing between us.  From then on it was like throwing a match at a puddle of petrol.  It was us against the crazy world we’d been thrust into and we thrived on it,” he said with a frown. “We partied a little too hard, fought a little too meanly, and were dependent on each other in ways I know now weren’t healthy.  I loved her deeply, I always will, and I know she loved me but sometimes I wonder if we would have made it had she lived.”

“I think…” Emma paused, wanting to get the words right and not completely destroy whatever it was that was growing between them at the same time, “You kinda seem like a guy that wouldn’t let something like that slip through your fingers.  The way you were talking about her just now?  I think you would have fought like hell to stay together.”

“I’d like to think so,” he said, ducking his head. “Liam would say the same thing when I voiced my doubts.  He’d been dead set against it at first and wasn’t too pleased with how we behaved most days but he always said he understood how much we loved each other.  Of course he also understood that we wrote some of our best songs once we got together.”

“Some of your best songs,” she said thoughtfully, drawn back to the reason she’d fled the stage, “You were right about Bite of Iron, you know.  When you suggested it I was trying to figure out why the set didn’t seem right.  The Boston crowd was so surprised when I started playing it.”

“It’s an exceptional song, Swan.”

“Yeah,” she said quietly. “Do you know what it’s about?  I mean, you’ve obviously listened to it a lot since you knew it would work out.”

The tips of his ears tinged pink, “I’ve listened to it a time or two.  It’s a love song is it not?  Or rather, a love lost song?”

She snorted, only half in amusement, “Something like that.  Everyone knows that I’m an orphan and all that jazz, I’ve never hid it and Regina says that it’s my ‘thing’.  You know, the thing that makes me unique.”

“Bollocks, you make yourself unique,” Killian said heatedly, squeezing her hand in emphasis, “Your songwriting, your playing, everything about you sets you apart from the chaff.”

It was her turn to blush, “I mean, obviously, but, you know, it’s Regina.”

“Aye, she’s not one prone to mincing her words,” he scoffed.

“No, but she has my back and knows how to bury things.  Like how I went to juvie and had a baby.”

Her attempt at nonchalance fell flat as Killian stiffened beside her.  She steeled herself, ready for him to pull away from her both physically and emotionally.  While she absolutely believed he wouldn’t think less of her or go to the press with the information she had no idea what his reaction could be.

“Did you- was it-” he huffed out a breath through his nose, clearly frustrated.  A muscle in his jaw was ticking but when he looked at her his gaze was soft, “I’m sorry that happened to you, love.”

The sincerity in his voice caught her off guard.  Coming from anyone else she would have brushed it off as a platitude or pitying.  Killian sounded like he was the one who had caused it all and was apologizing for it.  She felt a glowing warmth expanding inside her, giving her the courage to continue.

“I didn’t do it, in case you were wondering.  I was young, stupid, and in love, not the greatest combination-” she deadpanned, shrugging one shoulder.  Taking a deep breath she forged on, “I had just turned seventeen and was on my own since I’d had the bright idea of running away from the Nolan’s.  I don’t even remember why now, probably some fucking teenage angst or something.  Doesn’t matter.  So I met this guy, Neal.  And he was older and knew how to survive on the streets and he got me.  Just… understood all the shit I’d gone through with the whole orphan thing and didn’t judge me for it.  We had this whole outlaw life, living in the back of this car I’m pretty sure was stolen, sneaking into motel rooms when people checked out for a few hours, and stealing but only food.  Well, I thought it was only the food.

“A few months after we got together he comes up to me in a panic, telling me how the cops are after him because of some watches he’d stolen and left at the bus depot and how he’s gotta go to Canada and I couldn’t go with him-” she gave Killian a rueful smile, “You probably know how well that went over.”

“Like a lead balloon I’m guessing,” he murmured with a somewhat pained chuckle.

“Yeah,” she sighed, “So I come up with this brilliant plan, yeah?  Why don’t I go get the watches?  Prove to him that he needed me and obviously the cops wouldn’t be looking for a teenage girl, right?  He just lit up when I told him, said I was a genius and gave me the key to the locker he’d stashed the watches in.  It worked, I got those damn watches.

“When I got back to where Neal was hiding out he gave me some song and dance about fencing the watches to get the money we need to go to Canada.  How I couldn’t go with him because the guy he had to deal with doesn’t like strangers or whatever.  Before he leaves, though, he gives me one of the watches, a giant clunky thing covered in diamonds that was worth a hell of a lot more than anything I had ever owned in my life.  He tells me-” she scoffs and scowls at the memory, “tells me he doesn’t want me to be late for when we were supposed to meet back up.  I swallowed every word, spent the whole day dreaming up all sorts of plans of what our life was going to be like in Canada while I waited for it to be the time we’d agreed on.  I wasn’t late but neither were the cops who’d been tipped off that I’d be there holding stolen property.  The fucking, lying, sneaky asshole had left a couple of the watches in my backpack along with the one he’d put on my wrist.  Got a year in juvie for being his goddamn scapegoat.”

“But you were innocent,” Killian spluttered, moving to stand until she grabbed his arm and forced him to stay next to her.

“Which is part of the reason why I went to juvie instead of prison,” she said calmly, even though she was amazed he was indignant on her behalf. “They couldn’t prove I had anything to do with actually stealing the watches, just that I had some of them on me.  The other part was being closer to seventeen than eighteen.  Another month older and I think they would have tried me as an adult.”

“They caught him at least?  This Neal?” Killian spat out the name, his lips curling back in disdain.

“I don’t know and I don’t really care anymore,” she answered honestly.

He nodded as if it made sense before lowering his eyes and asking hesitantly, “And the… erm… the babe?”

She sighed and felt as if she had dredged it up from deep in her soul.  Her hand was still on Killian’s arm and he placed his other on hers, squeezing her fingers gently.  Somehow she knew if she said she didn’t want to talk about it he’d understand and wouldn’t push and that more than anything gave her the courage to keep going.

“I found out I was pregnant about a month into my sentence and the first person to congratulate me was a guard passing by my cell.  I think that more than anything made me realize how much I’d fucked up.  The next time I had phone privileges I called Mary Margaret and David.  Back then I told myself that it was because they were the only number I had memorized but I think deep down I knew they wouldn’t judge me or just brush me off as a runaway they had no obligation to help anymore.  Mary Margaret took the next flight out to Phoenix and David came a few days later.  It was the first time I’d ever felt really, truly loved.  They could only stay for a week but we became a family in that week.”

She could feel her throat tightening but kept talking, “The Nolans were there for me the whole time, as much as they could be with their jobs and the group home.  They even said they would help me raise the baby, if that’s what I wanted.  I couldn’t do it though, I wasn’t ready to be a mom.”

“Swan-”

“Did you know that they handcuff you to the bed when you’re in custody of the state and in labor?” She plowed on, determined to finish, “Like I’d make a run for it while a human being came tearing out of me.  The cuffs were steel but it doesn’t sound as poetic.  I didn’t even hold him.  I knew I wouldn’t let him go if I did.”

She had managed to keep the tears that had gathered in her eyes from falling until that moment.  It was something she’d only admitted once before, to Mary Margaret on her son’s first birthday.  Before she could think to wipe the tears away Killian was doing so with a warm and gentle touch.

“You’re incredibly brave, Emma, did you know that?” He asked, his voice full of awe.

“I wasn’t ready to be a mom,” she repeated shakily, “I knew that giving him up was the best thing for the both of us.”

“Would you want to find him?  Now?”

She shook her head before his questions were finished, “I already did, or a private investigator did.  He’s happy with his adopted family, he’s got a brother and friends and a good life.  He doesn’t need me coming in and making a mess of it.”

“You wouldn’t make a mess of it,” Killian said vehemently.

“Yeah, I would,” she said patiently.  She gave him a sad smile, “Let’s for a second forget the fact that we’re sitting on the roof of a venue that in six hours will have forty-five hundred people waiting to hear me play.  Just the fact that his birth mom would come out of nowhere and decide to insert herself into his life is bad enough.  With all this shit on top of it?  No, he’s happy and that’s all I need to know.  If someday he decides to find me then I’ll be ready to be a part of his life, but only when he’s ready not before.

“Anyway-” she plowed on, “playing Bite of Iron brings all that shit up again.  It’s why I’ve never put it in the lineup before.”

“And then my ignorant ass goes and pushes you to do just that,” Killian spat out bitterly.

He pulled his arm out from under hers but she immediately grabbed his hand, unwilling to part with the comfort his touch had given her.

“It was more like a gentle nudge,” she said teasingly, glad to see his mouth tick up for a moment in amusement.  She sobered, “I wouldn’t have put it in if I didn’t want to play it.  It’s been eleven years and I can’t heal or whatever if I keep it all bottled up inside.  It actually hasn’t been that bad, playing it every night, today was just… a little too much with the constant interruptions and then having to half play it over and over.”

“Well, your diva fit was well justified, I’d say.”

She surprised herself with a burst of laughter.  Killian was clearly trying to lighten the mood, she could still see tension in the way he held his shoulders and the slight furrow of his brow, but he was making the effort for her.  The glowing warmth from earlier expanded and morphed into butterflies.  Leaning into him she pressed a quick kiss to the corner of his mouth.

“Thank you, for helping me escape.”

Killian looked dumbfounded, his mouth dropped open in surprise.  She grinned at his stupor.  Rising to her feet she felt like she could play Bite of Iron twenty times in a row if he was the one listening, watching her with that same soft look on his face.  Just as she was about to say as much or something even more ridiculously sappy the door leading to the roof opened.

“Oh, thank God, you are up here!” Tink breathed out as soon as she caught sight of them, sounding immensely relieved. “Regina’s either going to murder you or make you pay out of pocket for the time she says you’ve wasted.  Why haven’t you answered your phone?”

“I-” Emma patted her back pocket and winced when she hit nothing but her ass, “Shit, I think I left it on the piano.”

“Do not tell Regina that,” Tink said horrified. “Tell her it died or spontaneously combusted or whatever, anything that will keep her from blowing another gasket.  She’s already muttering about breach of contract.”

“It’s only a breach of contract if I don’t play tonight, not the goddamn soundcheck from hell,” she rolled her eyes.

Killian stood and Emma winced again as Tink’s eyes widened as she noticed him.  Tink turned her bewildered gaze to her and Emma knew she would be facing a full inquisition at some point.  Not wanting to give away anything more than she already had she avoided both Tink and Killian’s gazes as she marched to the door.

“Come on, let’s get Regina’s tantrum and the rest of soundcheck out of the way and then go find some deep dish pizza.  My treat.”

As she stepped back into the air conditioned stairwell she breathed a sigh of relief that Tink had interrupted them when she did.  She wasn’t entirely sure she was ready for whatever leap she’d just taken when it came to Killian.  She also wasn’t entirely sure she shouldn’t have leaped further.

[seriouslyhooked]

Lighthouse (CS AU)

Short oneshot where Emma is the Princess and Killian is her longtime love. He’s serving his last deployment in the royal navy and she is eagerly awaiting his arrival. Available on AO3 Here and FF Here.

A/N: This is a fluffy drabble that was prompted FOREVER ago by a lovely reader. They wanted the song “Lighthouse’ by Collabro and the story to include a Lieutenant Duckling Reunion fic. It has been so long since I’ve gotten to write something like that, and I have really missed it, so here is my attempt at some cuteness for you all. Thanks for reading, and thanks so much to the awesome reader who suggested this!

Please let him be safe. Please let him come home. Please let him return to me.

The silent prayers were ones that Princess Emma had begged for more times than she could count. Over the past year, while Killian was out at sea, serving in the royal navy, Emma had been beside herself with worry. It was bad enough to be separated from the man she loved, but to know that he could be in danger all this time pained her heart in shades of sadness she’d never be able to vocalize.

If she had her way in this scenario, Emma would be down at the docks, watching the horizon for any sign of his ship in port. No, forget that idea, she’d be on the ship with him, facing whatever harrowing adventures the high seas might call for without a drop of fear. When she was with Killian, nothing could touch her. The magic they shared was a barrier against anything bad, a fortifying force that protected them both, and Emma felt steadier and at peace. But alas, her destiny was written already, and it held no space for seafaring voyages or long treks on the open ocean.

As the one-day heir of the realm, Emma was expected to put on a brave face and attend to her duties. The people looked to her and her family for leadership and guidance. They all played a part in the health of this kingdom, and her birthright was to inherit all of this someday. At some point in the not too distant future, when her mother and father were ready to step aside, it would be Emma who took the throne, but all the grandeur and the power meant nothing to her, not without Killian to share it with.

Every spare moment she thought of him, and imagined what it would be like someday, when this was all behind them. This was his last deployment under the careful watch of his elder brother Liam, and prior to his going, he’d already received her parent’s blessing to marry her, though not before asking Emma for her hand herself. She’d accepted in a heartbeat, failing to let him even finish the romantic question when she understood his intent. She was desperate to be his in every way, and remembering the smile he’d bestowed on her and the kisses that they shared when she’d agreed, it was obvious that Killian felt the same.

Almost a whole year had passed since that miraculous night, and not long after he was sent away, sailing for the edge of the known world to see what lay beyond. It terrified her to think of what danger may lurk in what was unknown, but Killian reassured her that it would all be fine. He and Liam knew what must be done. They understood the sea and their mission, and Killian swore to find his way back to her just as he had so many times before…

“I just wish that you didn’t have to go,” she’d said, unable to hide her tears in the early morning hours before his ship set sail. They’d run off together to the guest house in the garden, a special spot of theirs since they met when they were younger. For years it had been their hideaway. Killian called it their sanctuary, and Emma always thought that was an apt description.

“Believe me, love, if there were any way around this, I would see the course. You know I’d give anything to be here making you mine as soon as may be. But my brother needs me, and your father has been clear. We need these alliances for the good of the kingdom, and the safety of the people, you most importantly.”

“I know,” Emma agreed, understanding more than most how precious their alliances were with the kingdoms of all realms. This voyage, though long and arduous, would protect them for years to come, and was the last request of Killian’s brother Liam before Killian exited the navy. “You just…”

“I just what, love?” he asked, cupping the side of her cheek and watching her with those beautiful blue eyes of his that always made her dizzy. They were so focused in on her, as if the universe began and ended with what she was about to say. In a world where she was important but never felt truly seen, she’d grown addicted to such attentions. Killian truly knew her and still loved her, and she was more herself with him than with anyone she’d ever met. She leaned into his touch and closed her eyes, breathing in the scent of him and savoring the warmth and electricity that came when he was close.

“You just made me love you so much, that letting you go feels like losing part of myself.”

The murmured curse he let loose before devouring her lips made Emma shiver with delight, but she was hardly cold. His touch was like a fire, sizzling through her and marking her as his, just as much as she was marking him as hers. She didn’t know how long they stayed like that, wrapped up in each other, but it felt mere seconds later when they pulled apart. The brightness of the room and the daylight that was breaking signaled much more time had passed than seconds, but it wasn’t enough. No amount of time together ever would be.

“There’s nothing in this world or any other capable of keeping me from you, Emma. My love for you is constant. Not just for this life, but every one from here to always. Have faith in me, my love, because I promise I will be home to you as soon as I am able.”

Though the words were whispered so long ago, Emma still felt them wash against her skin as the sun began to sink over the tree line. Out here, in the back woods of the palace, she was totally alone, but if she couldn’t be with Killian, that solitude was all she could accept. She closed her eyes and allowed herself to fantasize that he was here. Autumn’s chill was back once more. The year was up, and so too should his mission be. In a perfect world she’d hear the gentle crunch of footsteps and catch the subtle scent of ocean waves. The footsteps would approach with precision and determination until the moment just before he reached her where heat flared through her system. She fended off tears at how good her imagination was becoming, and then she felt him, the undeniable press of his body on hers that was so much more vivid than any daydream ever could be. Her eyes popped open and her heart took flight.

“Emma,” he said, nuzzling into her neck as he held her tight and the sound that came from her chest was one of desperation and relief. “Gods how I’ve missed you, love.”

“You came back,” she said, spinning in his hold and seeing that this was truly real. Killian was here and alive. He was somehow even more gorgeous than when he’d left, and he was looking at her with even more affection and love than he’d had before. Tall dark and handsome did no justice to all he was. He was perfection, and he was all hers.

“With a light like yours to return to, there was no other option, love. Trust and believe in that.”

He whispered the words of affirmation as her hand came over his chest. She felt the racing of his heart, and she knew, without his admitting it all that things had been the same for her him as they had for her. She may have been here, and he may have physically been worlds away, but her heart could not reside in a space without him. Now they were together again, and she was whole, happy, and unwilling to ever let him go.

Pulling him in by the collar of his navy coat, Emma almost wept when their lips met after so long a separation. His taste was just the same, his arms, holding her close, the warmest and most soothing home she’d ever known. She was safe here and hopeful, finally believing that the worst was behind them. From here on out things would be different. She and Killian would be together, and there’d never be cause for such sad partings ever again.

“I thought for certain that the love we shared before was as big as it could be…” he murmured, running his hands through her flowing hair and smiling at her, as if he was trying to convince himself that this wasn’t all a beautiful dream they’d both soon wake up from. “How wrong I was in such a thought. This love grows deeper every day. It can’t be quantified. It just…”

“It just is,” Emma echoed, and he agreed, kissing her again and grounding her in a happiness that had been missing for twelve long months. Only when they were breathless, did they break apart, but even then his forehead rested against hers, his arms surrounding her, giving them space to breathe each other in and surrender to their feelings.

“I’ve brought you something, Emma,” he finally said, and she could see the pride in his eyes at the mention of this gift. “It’s something I hope you’ll find worthy of a woman like you.”

Emma knew she’d cherish any parcel from her sailor, but the preemptive affirmations died on her lips as he pulled out a small velvet pouch. Inside the compartment was a ring with a band of white gold, and a green blue gem unlike any she’d ever seen. In the royal vaults there were many treasures belonging to her family, but none that looked like this. It was a sapphire, but colored in such a vibrant aqua hue it didn’t look like any stone she’d seen before. Yet it wasn’t the first time she’d seen this iridescent shade. In fact, it was one that always seemed to find the two of them some way or another.

“Killian, it’s gorgeous,” she said in awe, amazed at how much it looked like the lightest flecks of color in his piercing blue gaze. She knew that in her own green eyes there were flecks of this tone too, a shared sample of their souls, indistinguishable and utterly spectacular. “But you didn’t need to bring me anything. All I need is you, you know that.”

“I do, love. Believe me, a man doesn’t forget such miracles when he’s as blessed as I am. But you are to be my wife, and after searching for some time, I finally found the ring I know was meant for you.”

With gentle ease, he took her hand in his and placed the ring on her finger. It was a perfect fit, and matched the modest white gold of the band he’d given her in promise before he left. Emma knew he’d had the choice of any ring in the castle for his proposal, but he was determined to find something special just for her. She didn’t need anything more than the wedding that would come, but when he shared the origin of this particular gem, she felt its significance.

“I found this treasure at a time of great pain. I missed you so dearly, that even the sea could offer no distraction. Twelve weeks into a twelve-month journey and I was homesick, as I’ve never been before. I walked along the beach in port and found this in a tide pool, underneath a rising moon. Liam gave most of the crew some leave for the first time in ages, but there was nothing that I wanted when I knew you were waiting for me here.

“My brother insisted I get off the boat, despite my attempt at protest, and so I wandered for a while, thinking only of you. Of your beauty and your brilliance and the future you deserve, the one I will do anything to give you. The waves in that water are notoriously unruly and sporadic. They rage along the coast and filter into tide pools unlike our shores here, but the locals claim that the sea bring treasures and tricks alike from far off places. Needless to say I didn’t care about these stories. All I cared about was you. I was thinking that maybe I should come home, even though the mission was not over, and then I found this, glistening in the water just below.”

Emma looked down at the stone and their hands intertwined. She imagined each point of his memory, feeling it so surely, it was like she had been there too. It helped in easing the pain of separation, and she settled in the fact that soon their being parted would be just a distant remembrance, never to be repeated.

“The first time I held you in my arms for a dance, you were dressed in a gown of this shade. I’ll never forget that night as long as I live.”

“Neither will I,” Emma agreed, recalling her public debut. She was a girl of sixteen and Killian was the brother of one of her father’s most trusted Captains, a whole year older than her but already in her eyes so much more mature. Now, so much time had passed, but when he smiled at her the same boyish charm was ever present, and she fell under his spell, stepping into his arms as she would to share a dance. Out there, in the setting sun he held her close, guiding her though there was no music, and she tried not to cry the joyful tears that threatened to spill as he twirled her, eliciting a laugh and making her feel lighter than air.

“Finding this felt like a sign, that even we were parted, we would always be together. I carried it every moment since, knowing someday it would end up here, with you.”

“And now it’s here, and so are you,” she whispered, stealing another kiss from him and halting their dance. He was the sweetest man alive, of that she had no doubt, but suddenly that sweetness was not what she needed. What she needed was love, the love that only they shared, made real in a stolen, private moment.

Reading her mind and her wants with precision, Killian pivoted from dancing to sweeping her up into his arms. She laughed aloud at the motion but didn’t pull back far. Instead she clung to him as he strolled through the back way. A few minutes later, when they arrived back at the garden house she was in no way surprised. She hadn’t been out here since his leaving, but it was just as she remembered, and immediately her sense of inner peace solidified. This was everything she’d wanted and more.

The kiss he pressed on her once they were shut away inside was filled with heat and desire, and soon kisses devolved into so much more, a merging of two people who had missed each other fiercely and we were intent on tying themselves together once again. It was perfect, hard-fought reunion, and Emma would cherish the memory always. But perhaps no part was as special as the glow that came between them when she was wrapped up in his arms hours later, safe and happy as the dawn of a new morning began to break. The world was not bright enough to have created such vibrancy, that was all thanks to them and their true love. As a product of two soul mates, Emma had inherited a bit of magic herself, but that magic was always the strongest in the arms of her Killian.

“Gods above, Emma, you are my light, my truth, my home,” he murmured, his words placed between the lightest kisses that sent thrills of pleasure dancing across her skin. “I’ll love you forever, I give you my word.”

“Good,” she replied, silently affirming that she felt the same with a gentle kiss before finally giving in to the tiredness of her body. And luckily for both of them, the sweet dreams that came of their reunion were nothing compared to the joy of their life together. For they had found something better than wishes – a love so real it would live forever, and a bond so sure it would always lead them home.

………………

Where ever I am Where ever I go Whatever happens, this year I know That you'll be with me to the end When the cold sets in Like you told me all those years ago You hold my hand Where ever I lay And you guide me through come what may Bring the silence through the noise I still hear your voice I remember what I heard you say I'll be your lighthouse Shining bright from dusk till dawn I'll sing a song aloud So you'll hear a voice you know You'll find that somehow Where ever you are, where ever I am Is home Whenever I feel I'm all by myself And every word is a cry for help I just think of you and then I'm safe again I feel you close though you're somewhere else I'll be your lighthouse Shining bright from dusk till dawn I'll sing a song aloud So you'll hear a voice you know You'll find that somehow Where ever you are, where ever I am Is home Do you remember What we used to say? I'll be your lighthouse Shining bright from dusk till dawn I'll sing a song aloud So you'll hear a voice you know You'll find that somehow Where ever you are, where ever I am Is home I'll be your lighthouse Shining bright from dusk till dawn I'll sing a song aloud So you'll hear a voice you know You'll find that somehow Where ever you are, where ever I am Is home Where ever you are, where ever I am Is home

Post-Note: Wow, so first and foremost, if the person who requested this even still reads my fics (because it has literally been something like 4 years since they asked for this), I hope that you enjoyed the chapter. I am so sorry for making you wait so long, but I am also so grateful for your lovely prompt. What happiness this fic created for me as I wrote it. I hope you all get to share in that too as you read the story. I’m also shocked at how close I am getting to 200 chapters of the mixtape. I can’t tell if it is something that I should put on hold, or make a volume two perhaps, but in the meantime, thanks so much to all of you for reading, for commenting, and sending me amazing songs to include. It has meant the world to have your support, and I hope you’ll continue to join me on this slow but steady journey in cute CS oneshots!

Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6, Part 7, Part 8, Part 9,Part 10,Part 11, Part 12,Part 13, Part 14, Part 15, Part 16, Part 17, Part 18, Part 19, Part 20, Part 21, Part 22, Part 23, Part 24,Part 25, Part 26, Part 27, Part 28, Part 29, Part 30, Part 31,Part 32, Part 33, Part 34, Part 35, Part 36, Part 37, Part 38,Part 39,Part 40, Part 41, Part 42, Part 43, Part 44, Part 45,Part 46,Part 47, Part 48, Part 49, Part 50, Part 51, Part 52, Part 53,Part 54,Part 55, Part 56, Part 57, Part 58, Part 59, Part 60,Part 61,Part 62, Part 63, Part 64, Part 65, Part 66, Part 67, Part 68,Part 69,Part 70, Part 71, Part 72, Part 73, Part 74, Part 75,Part 76,Part 77, Part 78, Part 79, Part 80, Part 81, Part 82, Part 83,Part 84,Part 85, Part 86, Part 87, Part 88, Part 89, Part 90,Part 91,Part 92, Part 93, Part 94, Part 95, Part 96, Part 97, Part 98,Part 99,Part 100, Part 101, Part 102, Part 103,Part 104, Part 105,Part 106, Part 107,Part 108, Part 109, Part 110,Part 111, Part 112,Part 113, Part 114, Part 115,Part 116, Part 117, Part 118,Part 119,Part 120, Part 121, Part 122, Part 123,Part 124, Part 125,Part 126, Part 127, Part 128,Part 129,Part 130, Part 131,Part 132,Part 133, Part 134, Part 135, Part 136, Part 137, Part 138,Part 139,Part 140, Part 141, Part 142, Part 143, Part 144, Part 145,Part 146, Part 147, Part 148,Part 149, Part 150, Part 151,Part 152, Part 153, Part 154, Part 155, Part 156, Part 157, Part 158,Part 159, Part 160, Part 161, Part 162, Part 163, Part 164,Part 165, Part 166, Part 167, Part 168, Part 169, Part 170,Part 171,Part 172, Part 173, Part 174, Part 175, Part 176,Part 177, Part 178, Part 179 , Part 180, Part 181, Part 182, Part 183, Part 184, Part 185, Part 186, Part 187, Part 188, Part 189, Part 190, Part 191, Part 192, Part 193

[brooklyins]

BIOGRAPHY

brooklyn was born… painfully average. the (far) youngest sibling out of five, her brother became a well known rugby player, her sister a fashion designer, the twins a surgeon and a pilot and she… well, she was lucky to get cs throughout school. she was her parents’ baby girl, they were getting older and after everything they’d watched their other children succeed with, they had high hopes for her. though never vocalized, it was obvious she was letting them down.

outside of her family, her social life was never thriving either. she was an awkward child, her interests were a little too quirky to be ‘in’, and she wasn’t good at approaching people. she’d even force other people to order for her in restaurants if she could. storm was her first real friend, and she looked at him like he hung the moon. eventually zeki and andi came along, and the four of them became the famous four. brooklyn was thrilled to have people she could count on in her life. she’d felt so alone before them, while storm seemed to grow apart from her as he got older she still clung to their friendship, afraid to lose one of the only people she’d ever truly had.

then came david. and, oh, god, david. he was everything she’d ever wanted and then some. while she loved her friends, when they were together there was always the haunting feeling in the back of her mind that if one of them were to be edged out, it would be her.

but david made her feel special. david made her feel like she was something more than average, like she was beautiful and important. she fell hard and she fell fast. he was the first man she ever dated and would likely be her last. she’d planned to marry him one day. when she found out she was pregnant, she was so excited she could hardly contain herself. she didn’t tell anyone at first. she bought several more tests just to make sure. she wasn’t ready to be a mother but in her head, it was perfect. they were going to stay together forever. she was blind to what everyone else could see in david, she didn’t think anything was wrong, she thought he would be happy and they’d live a long, blissful life together… but her dreams were cut short the very day she planned to tell him about their child.

in an instant she had lost everything. she lost all of her friends. she lost david. she lost any hope she had. she lost herself. after the fire, brooklyn locked herself away in her home. she was devastated. mourning. alone. (tw: miscarriage themes) all of the stress led to a painful, horrifying pregnancy. there were times she was convinced she would lose her child. one morning she woke in a pool of blood and she thought that was it, he was gone, the only thing she had left of david. she ended up on bed rest for months, just crying her eyes out and wondering what she did to deserve this, wondering if the next day she would have to bury her unborn baby as well.

fortunately, mathis pulled through. he was her miracle. the moment that she heard him cry her world flipped upside down. she had a purpose, a reason. she held him in the hospital bed and she sobbed, struck with misery and pain and gratefulness. she knew that she was an even bigger disappointment to her parents now, an unmarried mother, but she didn’t care. from there on out her entire life revolved around mathis. perhaps she was a fool to think she could ever have a happy ending but at least she finally, finally found her reason for all of the suffering, each heartbreak, every decision she’d ever made that led her to this moment in her life. her son.

BASIC INFORMATION

FULL NAME: brooklyn camilla ruiz PRONUNCIATION: brooke-lynn uh-lie-z-uh roo-ez MEANING: one who lives near a brook, servant for the temple, son of ruy REASONING: her parents liked the name NICKNAMES: brook, brookie, b PREFERRED NAMES: brooklyn BIRTH DATE: august 18th, 1989 AGE: 31 24 ZODIAC: leo GENDER: female PRONOUNS: she/her ROMANTIC ORIENTATION: biromantic SEXUAL ORIENTATION: bisexual ETHNICITY: spanish, catalan, asturian-leonese, galician

BACKGROUND

BIRTH PLACE: uk HOMETOWN: darkwood EDUCATION LEVEL: high school FATHER: isabella ruiz MOTHER: lorenzo ruiz SIBLINGS: seth ruiz, jade ruiz, lorenzo ruiz ii, michael ruiz CHILDREN: mathis walker PREVIOUS RELATIONSHIPS: david walker

OCCUPATION & INCOME

PRIMARY SOURCE OF INCOME: her job, grocery store clerk SECONDARY SOURCE OF INCOME: the money her parents send TERTIARY SOURCES OF INCOME: n/a CONTENT WITH THEIR JOB OR LACK THERE OF?: no PAST JOBS: n/a SPENDING HABITS: rent, bills, mathis MOST VALUABLE POSSESSION: the pictures she has of david

SKILLS & ABILITIES

PHYSICAL STRENGTH: 6/10 OFFENSE: 6/10 DEFENSE: 6/10 SPEED: 5/10 INTELLIGENCE: 5/10 ACCURACY: 6/10 AGILITY: 5/10 STAMINA: 5/10 TEAMWORK: 6/10 TALENTS: n/a SHORTCOMINGS: delusional LANGUAGES SPOKEN: english, spanish DRIVE?: yes JUMP-STAR A CAR?: yes CHANGE A FLAT TIRE?: yes RIDE A BICYCLE?: yes SWIM?: yes PLAY AN INSTRUMENT?: no PLAY CHESS?: no BRAID HAIR?: yes TIE A TIE?: no PICK A LOCK?: possibly

PHYSICAL APPEARANCE & CHARACTERISTICS

FACECLAIM: priscilla quintana EYE COLOR: green HAIR COLOR: dark brown HAIR TYPE/STYLE: wavy GLASSES/CONTACTS?: reading glasses DOMINANT HAND: right HEIGHT: 5'5 WEIGHT: 115-140 lbs BUILD: slender EXERCISE HABITS: n/a TATTOOS: n/a PEIRCINGS: ear lobes MARKS/SCARS: n/a NOTABLE FEATURES: her always perfect eyebrows USUAL EXPRESSION: resting bitch face CLOTHING STYLE: casual JEWELRY: only earrings ALLERGIES: n/a DIET: if she remembers to eat, it’s whatever is in the cabinet PHYSICAL AILMENTS: n/a

PSYCHOLOGY

ENNEAGRAM TYPE: isfp MORAL ALIGNMENT: chaotic neutral TEMPERAMENT: melancholic ELEMENT: water MENTAL CONDITIONS/DISORDERS: undiagnosed SOCIALBILITY: poor EMOTIONAL STABILITY: god awful OBSESSIONS: david COMPULSIONS: n/a PHOBIAS: does ‘trusting people’ count? ADDICTIONS: david DRUG USE: n/a ALCOHOL USE: rarely PRONE TO VIOLENCE?: uhh sometimes

MANNERISMS

SPEECH STYLE: sometimes chill, sometimes frantic ACCENT: english QUIRKS: wrinkling her nose when she’s truly happy HOBBIES: n/a HABITS: checking on her son constantly NERVOUS TICKS: n/a DRIVES/MOTIVATIONS: mathis FEARS: losing mathis POSITIVE TRAITS: honest, loyal, motherly NEGATIVE TRAITS: cold, neurotic, impulsive SENSE OF HUMOR: witty/sarcastic DO THEY CURSE OFTEN?: ye

FAVORITES

ACTIVITY: crying sleeping playing with her son ANIMAL: hummingbirds BEVERAGE: pepsi BOOK: you’re mum: a little book for mothers (and the people who love them) by liz climo CELEBRITY: n/a COLOR: red DESIGNER: n/a FOOD: mexican cuisine FLOWER: hot lips GEM: rubies HOLIDAY: mother’s day MODE OF TRANSPORTATION: cars MOVIE: coco MUSICAL ARTIST: she used to be a swiftie, doesn’t listen to music much anymore QUOTE/SAYING: “what we have once enjoyed we can never lose, all that we love deeply becomes a part of us” SCENERY: the night sky SCENT: baby powder SPORT: n/a SPORTS TEAM: n/a TELEVISION SHOW: friends WEATHER: soft rainy days VACATION DESTINATION: paris

ATTITUDES

GREATEST DREAM: to see her son succeed in life GREATEST FEAR: losing her son MOST AT EASE WHEN: mathis is asleep next to her or with his head in his lap, she’s running her fingers through his curls, there’s the sound of gentle rain on the rooftop LEAST AT EASE WHEN: mathis is at daycare and she’s away from him WORST POSSIBLE THING THAT COULD HAPPEN: mathis dying, being taken from her BIGGEST ACHIEVEMENT: becoming a single mother BIGGEST REGRET: not saving david’s life MOST EMBARRASSING MOMENT: too many to count tbh BIGGEST SECRET: that she was there during zeki’s garage fire TOP PRIORITIES: mathis

[let-it-raines]

another kind of green (1/?)

Emma Swan spends her days in pretty white dresses and heavy layers of makeup. Day after day and dress after dress, she poses for pictures and acts like she’s in love and having the happiest day of her life with the man standing next to her.

It’s not. This is all a gig, and at the end of the day, she’s no longer the girl in the pretty dress who’s faking getting married for a magazine cover or a wedding convention. Instead, she’s the girl who probably never wants to get married.

Little does she know, she already is.

Rating: Mature

a/n: Everybody remember that Accidentally Married + Forgotten First Meeting prompt @mayquita​ gave me? Well, @xemmaloveskillianx​ requested it as part of my Fic Giveaway, and here we are! I hope that you enjoy this, lovely! I promised myself I’d get the first part up in February because I’ve been promising you this forever. Hopefully the next parts will come soon💚

Thanks to @resident-of-storybrooke​ for reading over this for me!

Found on AO3 | Here |

Tag list (let me know if you want to be added or removed, no biggie either way) @xemmaloveskillianx​ @stahlop @shardminds @carpedzem @captainsjedi  @galaxyzxstark @thejollyroger-writer @kmomof4 @tiganasummertree @xellewoods @idristardis @karenfrommisthaven @shireness-says @scientificapricot @captswanis4vr @a-faekindagirl @ultimiflos @jamif @dreameronarooftop15 @nikkiemms @resident-of-storybrooke  @bmbbcs4evr @onceuponaprincessworld @jennjenn615 @mayquita @teamhook @kmomof4 @ekr032-blog-blog @superchocovian @ultraluckycatnd @cs-forlife @andiirivera @qualitycoffeethings @jonirobinson64 @mariakov81 @spartanguard @snowbellewells

-/- 

“So, what am I doing?”

“It’s a wedding convention,” Mary Margaret explains as she pulls the threads to button Emma into her dress, “and part of it is having wedding vendors watch a fake wedding so they can see what to do and what not to do and how a wedding should flow.”

“That’s a real thing? And you signed me up to work it?”

“It’s a real thing. Did you not read the package I sent you when I emailed you your contract?”

“Marg, you’ve been my agent for five years. I usually just trust what you say.” The dress squeezes Emma, and her breath stutters. Damn this dress is tight. How is she supposed to stay in this all day? How do actual women do this? And pay money to do this? The whole wedding industry is some kind of hoax. “Plus, this pays, like, three thousand dollars with a free trip to Vegas. I saw that and didn’t really care what exactly I had to do for it.”

Emma knows that Mary Margaret it probably rolling her eyes and that she has a lecture on the tip of her tongue about Emma reading her contracts, but it’s nothing Emma hasn’t heard before. It’s the former teacher in Mary Margaret, but this is why Emma has her in the first place. She takes care of all things business, and all Emma does is show up for fittings – usually wedding dresses but occasionally regular clothes for boutiques to put on their websites or Instagram pages – and photoshoots. It’s a good arrangement that Emma doesn’t plan on changing until she has to, but that’s not going to be anytime soon. This is good money, and she’s not stupid enough to pass up on a good thing when those have been all too rare in her life.

“We’ve got an hour until you have to be in the ballroom downstairs. I’ll read the guidelines to you as you get your hair pinned back because you’re going to need to know the flow of the wedding since you’re supposed to stay in character as a loving bride for the entire day. I do mean loving, Emma. You have to smile nearly the entire time. You’re going to have to kiss this man too, okay?”

“Wait, what?”

Mary Margaret’s sigh is the loudest Emma has ever heard it.

-/-

It turns out that Emma definitely needed to read the packet (at least more than an hour before the job) detailing what exactly her job today was going to be, and she swears to herself that she’ll do it next time she’s not doing a simple photoshoot.

(She won’t, but she really should.)

There are lines that Emma has to say, and there’s a minute-by-minute schedule of where she’s supposed to be standing and what she’s supposed to be doing. It’s basically an acting job, and while that isn’t really Emma’s thing, she can do it. She’s always been able to easily memorize things, a habit she picked up growing up not knowing how long she’d be allowed to use the computer or have a book in whatever shitty foster home she was in, and she’s almost got this fake wedding thing down.

Fake pictures with bridesmaids.

Fake wedding ceremony.

Fake pictures with her fake husband.

Fake reception.

Fake everything.

She doesn’t have enough friends to be going to actual weddings every other weekend, which is good for her bank account, but she’s been working in the wedding industry for long enough and seen one too many romantic comedies to know how most of this works. Pretending to be a bride for more than an hour or two might be a different story since she apparently has to keep her smile the entire time.

God, her jaw hurts just thinking about it.  

Mary Margaret hands her off to the director for the day, some peppy woman with red hair and the brightest smile she’s ever seen, and Emma is quickly shuffled to a back room where she’s given directions that should take an hour to give in under a minute. Damn that woman can talk.

She’s also introduced to her husband for the day.

He’s standing in the opposite corner of the room, dressed in a perfectly fitted blue tuxedo with a matching bowtie, and she sees his biceps flex when he crosses his arms over his chest. He’s got a sharp jawline that’s covered in black scruff that’s a lighter shade than the hair on his head that’s swooped to the side, and he’s got the bluest eyes Emma has ever seen.

Damn.

Basically, he’s a model like all of the other models she works with on a regular basis, and as attractive as he is, she’s used to it. She’s definitely never going to see the guy again because while they’re in Vegas for the convention, she lives in Boston, and from the deep timber of his possibly British accent, she imagines he is based out of London or New York or something.

Killian is his name. He mentions his last name, but then the director, Anna, Emma thinks, is tugging them away to different places to start the wedding so that she doesn’t hear it well enough to remember it.

Oh, well, she’s got a fake wedding to attend.

-/-

Being a fake bride is a damn good time.

Remembering her lines and her cues is more difficult than she thought it would be, if only because she learned it all at the last minute, but once the actual ceremony is finished and they get to move onto the reception, everything is great. There’s drinking and dancing (her fake groom is a damn good dancer, and while she expected them to sway back and forth for the first dance, she thinks it might have been an actual dance like the waltz or something) and more drinking. Emma doesn’t even really like champagne, but when she’s given free champagne on the job, she’s going to take it.

She’d be dumb to pass that up, right?

Right.

“Swan,” Killian calls out, walking up to her at their head table where she’s snagging one of the appetizers off the plate, “they want us back out dancing.”

“Are you serious?” she mumbles, mouth full of a crab cake.

“Apparently none of these vendors have seen a couple dancing at a wedding.”

Emma huffs and grabs another crab cake. “Well, take me away sailor.”

Killian grabs her hand, warm and rough fingers so unlike most guys in the industry pressing into her skin, and tugs her along into the small group of people who are moving to the music. Emma’s not sure if they’re also models or actors or whatever or if they’re legitimately just the wedding vendors attending the event, but she doesn’t really care. So she wraps her arms around Killian’s neck as he puts his hands on her hips and tugs her closer until their bodies are completely pressed together as the music continues to play over the speakers.

But then the music is changing to something a bit faster, and Emma is pulling back from him while still staying close, making sure that their bodies are continuously pressed together. She’s not in a club or a bar, and she’s not nearly drunk enough to be grinding down on someone she doesn’t know, but she’s in a wedding dress at her fake wedding. When else is she going to get a chance to do this?

(Almost every other day at her job, but that’s decidedly beside the point.)

(And she’s usually not dancing. Just wearing a wedding dress.)

(Her life is too much and too strange if she takes the time to think about it.)

Besides, Killian is hot. In her mind, she can’t think of any other way to describe him, especially when his hands are pressing against her waist and he’s rolling his hips into her ass and his breath is hot in her ear as he laughs and keeps speaking words that seem to roll into each other as the conversation keeps flowing. She could listen to his accent forever.

It’s not going to be forever, though, because when they’re told that they’re finished with their job and stripped out of the expensive dress and tailored tux and put back into the clothes they showed up in this morning, the night seems to be winding down to its natural end.

Until, that is, Killian takes her hand once more, asks her if she’d like to go up to his room for another drink, and Emma says yes, thinking to herself that it’s definitely going to be a one-time thing. She’ll never see him again, never have to look into his eyes or hear his voice, and nothing is going to keep her from sleeping with the hot guy she’s spent all day pretending to be in love with.

She’s not in love, though, but that doesn’t keep her from hotly pressing her mouth to his as they walk through the hotel’s hallway, the both of them stopping in their tracks to take a few moments to press each other up against a wall on the way to his hotel room. She doesn’t know how long it takes to get there, especially since they seem to keep getting distracted and wander into new places, but Emma doesn’t care. She doesn’t care because his scruff feels deliciously perfect brushing up against her thigh, and she doesn’t care because he’s warm and thick, stretching her and filling her, when he slides in and presses down on top of her. She doesn’t care because even though she knows they’re both only doing this as a way to scratch an itch, this is a damn good night.

Her fake husband is going to make some other woman very lucky on their real wedding night, but for now, that’s not something she’s going to think about.

For now, this pleasure is all hers.

His too, if his words are any real indication.

(They definitely are.)

-/-

“What am I doing today?”

“You have dress fittings for the summer catalog of dresses.”

“How? It’s literally August. How can it be time for the summer catalog of dresses again?”

Mary Margaret sighs on the other end of the phone. One day she’s most definitely going to drop Emma as a client and a friend and return to teaching because Emma can never quite seem to get her shit together on how the wedding industry works. She’s already prepping herself for the same lecture that she’s heard at least twenty times by now.

“People plan their weddings months to years in advance, Emma. This is actually a late photoshoot. I think they want the pictures up on the website by next month, so you cannot miss this appointment.”

“Have I ever missed an appointment, Marg?”

“Yes, remember when – ”

“That was one time,” Emma interrupts, rolling over on her mattress and getting out of bed. If she doesn’t do it now, she never will. “And I don’t want to talk about it.”

“I know, I know. I’m sorry. It’s at ten, okay? Ask for Ashely.”

“Are you not coming?”

“I’ve got a shoot with Ruby. I figured you can handle a fitting by yourself.” There’s a short pause. “You can handle a fitting by yourself, can’t you?”

“Yes, Mom.”

“I hate it when you call me that.”

“Then stop acting like such a mom.”

“You say that like it’s a bad thing.”

“Yeah, well, when you don’t have a mom…”

“Emma.”

“Sorry,” Emma spits out, wanting to change the conversation as quickly as possible. “So ask for Ashley?”

“Ask for Ashley, and don’t drink all of the complimentary champagne.”

Emma groans. “I can’t even think about champagne. I think I’m still recovering from that hangover from two weeks ago. I mean, who goes to Vegas and gets drunk on champagne?”

“People who work in the wedding industry. It’s basically our water. Bye, Emma. I’ve got to go.”

“Bye, Marg. Tell David he still owes me from losing that poker game.”

“I’m sure he’ll love to hear that.”

“Yeah, yeah.” After Mary Margaret hangs up the phone, Emma quickly walks into her bathroom, brushing her hair out and pulling it up into a ponytail before washing her face and rubbing moisturizer into her skin. She used to curl her hair and do a full face of makeup every time she had a fitting, but she doesn’t do that anymore. There’s no point. They’ll put makeup on her when they need it.

Fifteen minutes later she’s drinking her second cup of coffee for the day, lacing up her sneakers so she can go to the gym after the fitting, and then she’s grabbing her phone and her keys only for there to be a knock at the door. She almost ignores it, figuring it’s someone trying to sell her a new knife set or something else ridiculous like that, but when she looks through her peephole, there’s something oddly familiar about the guy. But she meets a lot of people, so that’s not all that uncommon.

Sighing, she undoes the chain on her door and opens it the slightest bit so she can talk to the guy and see what he wants.

“Who are you?”

He smiles, lips curling up into a smirk while his blue eyes glint under the florescent lights. “Your husband, love.”