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greazyfloz · 1 year

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Lovers & Strangers - Chapter 16

“You fucked my best friend?!” Ethan yells at me, at the point I’m a mess. “Unbelievable” he says, shaking his sucking on the inside of his cheeks.

“Ethan, I didn’t know” I sob

“If you knew, it wouldn’t have changed anything”

“Y-yes it would have”

“How long have you been fucking him” he asks and I chose not to answer, “so it’s been awhile” he shakes his head then punches the siding of the house

“Ethan-“

“You know what, I’m done fighting with you. This is my wake up call to finally leave your ass to fail. I seem to be the only person that cares about you and this is how the world repays me. Y/n you’re going to ruin yourself at the rate you're going, and soon you’ll have no one” he says and my heart begins to rip out of my chest,

“No Ethan stop” I sob “you’re being mean”. he rolls his eyes at me

“He's going to break your heart. And I won’t be there to put it back together” he says turning to the front door opening it.

“Ethan, please” I beg through my tears. I just want him to listen. I can’t lose him but I think I have to. He looks back at me and I open my mouth but words come from his mouth first.

“Maybe Caleb was right about you. Because only a whore could fuck someone for years and not feel anything instead fucks their best friend”

My jaw dropped but I covered my mouth as the tears fly out of my eyes as I watched Ethan look at me with a slight shade of guilt before shaking his head and slamming the door.

I dropped to my knees on his front porch trying to catch my breath. I sat on his front steps with my head resting on my knees sobbing hoping he would open the door. He never did.

I stand and walk down the street to Cassidy’s. Once I arrive at the door of her driveway I call her cell to tell her I am there, and she answers fairly quickly.

“Hello?”

“I- I am here” I whimper in the phone

“At my house? One sec I’ll come to the front” she says and I can hear her rushing towards her front door. She opens the door and looks at me concerned as I walk towards her. “What happened?!” She asks me as Nicole who must of came home with Cassidy after the library comes out on the porch as well

“Ethan- Mark- I made a mistake I think” I sob and Cassidy walks out and gives me a hug.

“Come inside” she says, rubbing my back as we make our way inside the house. “Come sit on the couch, it’s only me and Nic, the roommates are gone” she says walking us to the couch.

“Do you want me to call Khlo and Sav?” Nicole says and I nod. Nicole leaves the room to call the girls and I tell Cassidy everything from top to bottom.

“Wow” Cassidy says, and I just nod. “I’m sorry, I have so many questions but I don’t think it’s appropriate to ask” she says as Nicole walks back in the room.

“What happened?” Nicole asks

“Ethan called me a whore” I shortened the story because I don’t want to explain it again and she looks at me confused.

“I’ll tell you after” Cassidy assures her

“What do I do Cass?”

“Well, have you taken a test?”

“Wait. A test?! Like pregnancy test?! By who?!” Nicole asks

“Ethan” Cassidy says

“Maybe Mark” I add

“Holy fucking shit” Nicole says sitting down, “I mean everyone kinda had a feeling you and Ethan fuck but I was starting to think maybe not because I thought you may have been fucking Mark, but both w-“ she stops when she looks up to see Cassidy shaking her head at her to stop

Later that night Khloe and Savannah had joined us and I finally brought my phone out to check my messages, nothing from Ethan. But a missed call and 3 texts from Mark.

Mark: you alright?

Mark: text me when you can

Mark: Where’s Eddy? He’s late for practice

I look through to see a couple other messages from Mackie, and Luca asking me the same thing “where’s eddy?”.

“Ethan didn’t go to practice” I announce to the girls

“Because you don’t love him back?” Nicole asks, “I’m sorry but that is a little fucked up don’t you think? Like he is mad at you because you thought that there was no strings attached because he said there was no strings attached”

“I think it has more to do with Mark” Savannah says to Nicole

“Should I text Ethan?” I ask them

“No!” All 4 girls speak at the same time

“Hey let’s go to the bar! That will make you feel better!” Nicole says

“I’m down” I say and Cassidy looks at me almost horrified as does Khloe,

“You can’t drink if you’re pregnant y/n” khloe says

“Well I’m only late for my period, I’m not actually pregnant” I say back and Cassidy roll her eyes at me

“That you know of” she says

“It’s probably not even alive, did you guys forget where she was Sunday?” Nicole says

“Insensitive… but true” I say

“Only after you take a test” Cassidy says

“Fine” I say

[Ethan POV]

I made my way into the dressing room alone and sat at my stall and started getting ready right away. I didn’t bother warming up or stretching as everyone in the room is already almost in full gear.

I feel everyone in the room staring at me as they finish getting ready and make their way out of the room. I continue getting ready and Grano takes a seat in the stall beside me as I am getting ready, “you good?” He asks but I ignore him, bending down to tie my skates.

He awkwardly leaves me to get ready after I ignore him and now it’s only me in the dressing room. I don’t really rush to get ready as I stand grabbing my helmet and gloves before making my way to the ice.

I’m about five minutes late when I step on the ice but everyone is still shooting around. Going over to the bench I place my water bottle down before turning to skate around and get my legs loose before practice. As I turned I hear Coach Naurato call out to me: “Nice of you to join us Edwards”. I turn and nod my head backwards before continuing to skate towards a puck, “loosen up” I hear behind me.I roll my eyes and think to myself what does it look like I’m doing.

As I approach the puck someone cuts in front of me rubbing up against me to take it, “sup eddy?” I hear and look up to see Mark. My blood boils looking at him, but I hear the whistle blow calling everyone into the huddle by coach.

Mark watches me as I skate away from him and take a knee in the huddle. We listen to the coach congratulate us and tell us to forget about it as we have to focus on Tampa now.

We did a couple drills before doing breakout drills where it was basically 5v5. I headed to the corner as the puck was dumped in. Both Hallum and I were digging in the corner against Grano and Mark as Mark began getting more physical to win the battle. I back out a little and chop Mark’s feet so he falls forward onto the ice.

The whistle blows and coach calls out, “ that was a penalty, next lines” as Mark stands back up to his feet.

“What’s your deal today?” Mark says, nudging my shoulder as he skates by. Instead of answering him I turn and cross check him hard above the number on his back making him fall to his knees again.

This time Mark is a lot quicker on returning to his feet as he turns and cross checks be back against my chest making me lose my balance slightly, but bouncing back to push him “fucking prick”

“what the fuck is wrong with you” he says lifting his stick then slamming on top of mine so it falls from my hand. I look at him as my stick hits the ice before I tackle him to the ground

“What’s my problem?” I yell, keeping him in a headlock as some of the guys rush to pull us away from eachother, “sleeping with y/n behind my back. Fuck you” I say. They were quick to pull us apart, both Luke and Grano pulled me away as I looked down at him, “stay away from her” I say making my way back to the line, “I’ll fucking kill you” I say as I look back at him.

“Edwards, Estapa you're both done for the day. Showers” Naurato yells at Mark and I as I get the the back of the line, “don’t come tomorrow if you’re going to act like little boys, I have other guys that can fill the lines in Tampa”

I leave the line skating towards the bench to grab my water bottle. As I approach the bench I lift my stick above my head and slam it hard over the boards, snapping it in two before throwing it on the ice. I grab my water, then leave the ice.

I get up to the room first, and throw my helmet hard into my stall. I sit and rub my face before dragging my hand through my hair. Mark walks in soon afterwards and sits at his stall. I don’t even look up at him, but I already know that he isn’t looking at me either.

“I take it she told you” Marks says as me both sit back in our stalls still in our gear.

“Yeah, after she told me she might be pregnant” I tell him and I watch a confused yet scared Mark look over at me, “don’t worry might not be yours”

“You the other option?” He asks as if he already knows the answer to his own question. I just suck on my tongue and nod my head beginning to take my gear off. “ so the rumours are true then?” he says looking down at his skates.

“ I’m glad it was that obvious to everybody, wasn’t obvious enough for her to see that everyone knew”

“ fuck, I’m sorry, Eddy. But.-“

“ I don’t wanna hear it. It’s fine just don’t smother me in your guys’ relationship.” I say standing up and leaving not even bothering to shower.

[Y/n POV]

We returned back to Cassidy’s after getting a test and I shut the door behind me as I entered her bathroom. Savannah knocks asking if she can come in after she hears the toilet flush and I yell out that it’s fine.

She enters as I snap the cap back on placing the stick on the sink counter and I sit on the toilet. Savannah jumps up and slides her bum on the counter sitting with me, “when did you and Mark even happen?” She asks,

“Started like a week and a half ago kinda” I say

“Started, so is it still a thing?”

“I don’t know after this”

“You told him too?”

“No but I’m sure Ethan will”

“I feel like the chances of it being Mark’s is slim, if you know- you are… I mean I feel like it would take a little longer than a couple of days for you to miss a period” she says and I nod

“I shouldn’t have said anything to Ethan” I say shaking my head, “not until I knew for sure”

“Well-“

“But I needed Ethan” I say interrupting her, “and I couldn’t keep it from him anymore”

She opens her mouth but my alarm rings, telling me it’s time to check the test. I stand and take a deep breath before flipping it over exposing a single line. I breath out fast with a slight chuckle, “thank god”

“Oh my god, yay!” Savannah says, she smiles but quickly stops when she notices I’m not smiling, “wait, what’s wrong?”

“I just ruined my friendship with Ethan for nothing” I say

“Well I mean he kinda ruined it first falling in love with you, what were you going to say if you weren’t late?”

“True” I say, “I don’t think I’m going to go out tonight” I say leaving the bathroom and heading back to the rest of the girls to share the news. My phone started to ring when I reached the bottom of the stairs and my phone showed Mark’s contact, I was quick to answer: “Hey Mark”

“Eddy tried to jump me at practice” he says not greeting me

“Mark-” I say but he cuts me off

“He told me“

“Please don’t be mad at me. Can we please talk about this?”

“I’m just confused, but yeah, I’ll come by your place now” he says.

“Okay, I’ll meet you there”

I quickly gather my things and head out the door. Cassidy follows me out the door and drives me home. I get home and Mark knocks on my door not even 5 minutes of me being there. I turn and swing the door open. I can’t tell what mood he is in or how he truly feels about the situation based on his face, yet I still find myself wrapping my arms around his waist. I feel his arms wrap around me and rub my back.

“I’m sorry, Mark”

“Were you two fucking while we were?” Mark asks me and I pull away slightly to look up at him

“A little at first but things changed when you punched Caleb” I tell him and I see him smile only slightly

“Which time?” he says and I crack a slight smile as well

“The second time” I say, then wiping the smile off my face looking at him again seriously, “Mark you know if I was pregnant though, it would have most likely been Ethan’s” I say, immediately feeling gross and tears from uncomfortability leaves my eyes

“If? So you took a test?” he asks me

“Yeah” I say, “I’m not pregnant”

#mark estapa #mark estapa imagine #mark estapa x reader #ethan edwards #ethan edwards x reader #ethan edwards imagine #umich hockey imagine #umich imagine #umich hockey #umich blurbs

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drinkinboilingcoffee · 6 months

Note

🍒

❓

🎊

yes I have ramble permission-

(Game here)

🍒= William’s main motivation for killing was to bring back Evan, and the missing kids were his first attempt at actually testing that revival. As such, he thought it fitting the people who caused Evan’s death be the ones to suffer through the process of fixing him. Gabriel, Jerri (my name for Jeremy to avoid confusion with Mr. Fitzgerald) and Susie were Mike’s friends from fnaf 4 and the only ones William was sure he was going to kill. When their revivals had unsatisfactory results, William killed Fritz (who he tries to justify as being present at the party and not trying to stop Evan’s death) and Cassidy (who didn’t have any connection to the event at all).

❓= Gabriel and Jerri are both 13, Susie is 14 (only a few months older than Gabe and Jer and about the age of Mike at the time), Fritz is 9 and Cassidy is 7

🎊= Oh boy I suck at describing personalities (I’m much more of a show-don’t-tell for this stuff) but here goes- Susie is kind of the tough one in the group (I based her a lot on fnaf 4 rather than ffps so sorry if that bugs anyone). Kind of person who would beat the shit out of you if you cut her in line but takes bugs and puts them outside rather than crushing them- probably a big animal person (her dog Chestnut possesses Mr. Cupcake). Gabriel thinks nothing through. Has eaten many live insects on dares and has probably been hospitalized as a result. Actually helped design some of the Fredbear and Friends characters- his dad works as one of the voice actors (he boasts about it a lot) and got some of his designs submitted to William. Ngl I kind of see Jerri as the quiet one? The kind of person where even with close friends he wouldn’t speak unless he was 100% sure people would agree (me). Was probably a theater kid. He was closest to Mike and knew the most about his situation at home (Michael would sometimes have to stay over at Jerri’s for the night if there was a particularly bad episode) so he didn’t trust William as blindly as the others. I like him. Fritz is that one 9 year old on every public transit who’s a wearing full Avengers outfit and running around away from his parents talking to all the older kids about his Spider-Man sona. Was obsessed with pirates (he’s missing an eye and had to wear a patch that he drew a skull and crossbones on). Gabriel’s cousin but they live practically next door and act like brothers (Fritz looks up to him a lot). Cassidy is an only child and lived with various relatives on and off while her dad was sick when she was younger, so she didn’t really have a chance to form an sort of stable friend group until she was older. She’s definitely a quiet kid and the kind of quiet kid who will bite you. She spent most of her time at Freddy’s (her dad worked there) and had the entire layout memorized, including how to get into places she wasn’t supposed to (she would go over to where Golden Freddy was stored and leave flowers and toys. She didn’t really know why, but she felt sorry for it. It drove William crazy when he kept finding dolls and dandelions surrounding the animatronic that killed his son like some kind of shrine).

#fnaf missing kids #mci #Fnaf au #sleepwalking insomniac #gabriel fnaf #susie fnaf #jeremy fnaf #fnaf cassidy #mentioned child death #Hm yes the floor is made of floor #Coffee rambles #ask #ask game #canon divergent au

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yourdeepestfathoms · 1 year

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Ride the Cyclone Kids Playing Overwatch (again)

the thrilling sequel to this

After some time, Noel decides to pick Cassidy, Bastion, and Mercy as his mains! His aim is still garbage, but at least he isn’t switching characters every single time he dies.

Cassidy is a bit tricky for him because of the aim thing, but Cassidy is a pretty-looking man, so he likes him.

Bastion’s turret form is the way he gets the most kills. He’s such an annoying player that will just MELT through the other team’s defenses.

And then he healbots as Mercy lmao

What can he say? He likes the bimbo!

Oh, he also tries his hand at Lifeweaver from time to time!

But then… The Incident happened…

IT WAS AN ACCIDENT! He saw that Ricky was low on health and surrounded by the enemy team, so he Life Gripped him to get him out of harm’s way!

Right as Ricky used his ult.

Instead of Wrecking Ball’s mines deploying all around the enemy team and blowing up, they deploy where absolutely no one is fighting, effectively wasting the ult.

Ricky just kinda stared at Noel. Noel was getting leered at by a hamster.

Noel: i’m so sorry

Not seen: Mischa and Penny laughing their asses off

Ocean, coming back by from spawn: why are Ricky’s mines where no one is??

Noel: I DIDNT MEAN TO

Ricky assured him that it was fine, though! Accidents happen! He wasn’t mad!

Another advancement! Ocean picks up Brigitte as her main!

She still loves Tracer, and she still plays her all the time, but Brigitte doesn’t require aiming because she uses a flail. So she just presses down on the primary attack button and Does Not Stop.

Constance also picks up Ana! She likes playing her a lot!

Penny likes to go invisible and spam “Boop” around the enemy team. It’s so funny to watch them spin in a circle to try and find where she is.

The MINUTE someone says ANYTHING toxic, Penny and Mischa are targeting them and them alone.

The other team is lucky that Mischa plays on console because if he had access to a keyboard, he would be BRUTAL in the game chat

Only if the other team is toxic, though

You know who DOES have access to a keyboard, though?

Ricky

So the others tell Ricky to type stuff for them

Also Ocean!

Cause she plays on her laptop because never in a million years would her parents buy her a console

So she also types stuff

Or sometimes they’ll hear the aggressive clicking of a joystick as Penny writes a message out on the Xbox keyboard

After a game, Penny has exactly fifteen seconds to try and type out the world’s most vile roast with her Xbox controller

Constance, an Ana, watching a nanobladed Genji hurtle toward her with the speed and strength of a collapsing star (she missed her sleep dart, there’s nothing she can do to save herself now)

Ricky, a Wrecking Ball, watching Constance get sliced to pieces by a nanoed Genji that’s going at 363kph after missing her sleep dart (he knows he’s next)

Penny, a Sombra, sprinting across the map, shouting “I’LL HACK HIM, I’LL HACK HIM!” (she gets killed the moment she gets there)

Noel, a Mercy, thinking it’s a good idea to try and rez Constance when the nanoed Genji is 0.6 inches away from him (the sword is put straight through his throat)

Mischa, a Winston, watching in horror as all of his friends are slaughtered in cold blood (he had died 4 seconds by the enemy D.Va before all hell broke loose and could only helplessly spectate the massacre)

Ocean, a Tracer, jumping off the edge of the map to keep the enemies from getting a team kill

The amount of times both teams have seen Ocean Blink off of a map as Tracer

And more than half the time, when she tries to throw her Pulse Bomb, she ends up getting caught in the blast and dying

Ocean: why does my OWN BOMB hurt me??

Ricky: you’re not ready to hear what real bombs do

Everyone hates push, which is fair, because push fucking SUCKS

ESPECIALLY COLOSSEO

FUCK COLOSSEO

ALL MY HOMIES HATE COLOSSEO

Noel doesn’t know how to use Deadeye At All

Like, Mischa will flip through the POVs after dying, watching his friends fighting for their lives, and then this dummy is prowling around in some random hallway with a tumbleweed clipping into Cassidy’s foot, absolutely nowhere near any enemies

Noel: i don’t know what i’m doing

Mischa: i can tell

Constance gets possessed by some kind of bloodlust when she faces another Orisa in a match

She doesn’t know what comes over her, but she’s always beefing with the other horse

Ricky: where is Constance??

Constance, in some random building, fighting for dominance against another Orisa:

One time Ocean accidentally said she “unshelled” a D.Va, and the gang has been saying that since then whenever D.Va’s mech breaks

Penny is the CEO of yelling “GET THE BABY” whenever D.Va’s out of her mech

Ocean gets lost on the maps So Easily

Mischa, spectating Ocean after dying: Ocean, where the fuck are you going??

Ocean, somehow at the enemy spawn instead of the payload: I DONT KNOW WHERE I AM

Ocean is the designated “payload princess”

While everyone else is off fighting for their lives, she’s sitting on the payload while the other team is distracted

*In Blizzard World, on defense*

Noel, guarding the point, watching Ocean, who is also guarding the point, hide behind a wooden post that is definitely not big enough to conceal Tracer’s body: you look awful

Ocean, crouching on these hay bales that are on the point: how do i look now?

Noel: fucking stupid 😭

Also as the exact opposite of Constance: Ocean HATES fighting other Tracer’s

And they’re SO HARD TO HIT

And they’re usually way better than she is 😅

Ramattra used his ult one time, and Ricky and Penny IMMEDIATELY reversed right back into spawn

When the opposite team ults, the general reaction is either A) “SCATTER” or B) “HIDE”

Whenever they hear “FIRE IN THE HOLE,” Mischa is instantly like “SPREAD OUT SPREAD OUT”

“It’s high noon” they are hiding behind the closest object and staying there

When D.Ava ults, Ocean uses ALL of her Blinks as Tracer trying to flee the general area

Most of the time, she hits a wall and just accept her fate 😭

They once got matched against someone they already played with three times, and that bitch LEFT

That one time Ocean, as Tracer, snuck around the Entire Team in Eichenwalde and captured the point with no interference because they were all distracted with everyone else

One of her best moments

They got our asses handed to them after that, but that’s not the point

Constance: they got a Widowmaker!

Noel, immediately getting sniped: i know

“Revoke gay rights” -Mischa, being killed by a Tracer

“God, please put your balls on me” -Penny, trying to get healing from Constance, who was playing Zenyatta

“We’re gonna have to gaze into her hole so many times” -Ocean, having misheard what Moira says during her ult

#ride the cyclone headcanons #ride the cyclone #rtc #ocean o'connell rosenberg #constance blackwood #ricky potts #noel gruber #mischa bachinski #penny lamb #jane doe

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auspex · 10 months

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1 on 1 mark session recap! As always, sorry not a lot of context is given.

Mark first finished reading a book 'on thorns and their consequences' which was basically explaining how the sabbat came to be and their PoV on things and then with an anarch commentary towards the end expressing their disagreements. but on the first last page was red runic lettering which mark could not recognize and which sucked up his vitae when he placed it on it.

He tried to do some internet research and came across an obscure forum which claims to be for learning about obscure languages but actually seems to have a lot of vampires on it posting real and fake runes, kinda like testing each other

The runes mark was looking at were on there but the mod, who basically posts in every server, says 'you wont find anything about that in this life.' the posteris like 'cmon doesn't someone have any family who could help' and the mod replies 'ask J' so that smenacing.

idk if J is Julius? it probably isnt but anyway. mark has already reported reading this book to julius and so is gonna ask him about it cause he couldn't figure it out.

the rest of the night he spends teaching G -G is doing well and did remember his vowels : ) also explained to Gs sister how he made sure the investigation would stop and ask if she needed any other help. she asked if he could get them free or at least out of their current essentially prison sooner and mark said no but they would be out in a month to a month and a half. she didn't know how long that was. so he explained how torpor and weeks and months and years worked

she still didnt say thanks or bye to mark but there was maybe something where she was close to doing so

i love G im so glad he is doing well he learned a lot he is almost through the alphabet

ok now for the meat of the session. the next night he goes to the chantry to talk to cassidy about the books. Knocks on the door. no answer.

He is getting a bad feeling. represented irl by the ST playing absolutely terrifying music as i search for him.

In the chantry apartments there is an often ignored ghoul at the front and so then he asked her where Lilian’s apartment was (Cassidy’s best friend.). She told him. He knocked on her door. No answer.

Checks the cafeteria. nope. library. nope. physics department (where their circle head, Dr. White, is). Nope. He asks someone there if she had seen either of them. nope.

so i'm worried as hell

im trying to think what mark could do and im like. i cant scry on him cause i dont have anything of Cassidy’s.

and the st gives me a Look as if 2 say u do ur forgetting

But he kinda gives it to me for free hes like, ur wearing the same coat you did when you went to the movies

Turns out mark has cassidy's ticket. so thats close enough to being his so. mark does scry on him

its not super juicy but it is super concerning. Cassidy is by lilian in what is probably the side door in his haven that mark hasn’t been in. barricading the door. with a fuckton of furniture. and also pushing against it. lilian looks terrified. cassidy looks So Done With This Shit (tm). something is banging on the door.

so with that mark goes back to the ghoul and is like. So. Uhm. Yeah i actually have permission to enter cassidys haven yes. please let me in

she looks scared - mark put her in a real bad spot. If he doesn’t actually have permission and she lets him in he could get in trouble. but he reassures her that itis fine and his decision and nothing bad will happen.

so she says ok and goes to open the door (she is able to if she is doing so of her own consent, she functions as a key ig). As she goes to open it, Mark says uhm. they are doing experiments so when you open the door. back up. and she's like "okay?' and opens the door and immediately vine tentacle thingies burst out and she falls back on her ass and scrambles back, screaming

she gets away and mark engages in combat. its the same sort of monster, just smaller, as the one on his territory in the conservatory, that navigate by sound. it has a lion's mane around a beak in the center and vine like tentacles around it.

mark takes a LOT of damage in its first attack he had like 1 unharmed box left but he manages to win :)

cassidy and lilian pop out from the door and are like. mark is that you?

Cassidy’s haven is wreckt sadly. Mark's like. yeah its me. its dead. you can come out.

lilian is SO sad it's dead but she isnt mad at mark. its clear she wanted to subdue it but they had no way to do so and mark comments as such

she's like "i was sooo close " :(

cassidy looks So Done and is like. thank you for your assistance mark but how did you . get in.

mark is like. thats not really important right now, is it? cassidy says 'somewhat, but we can discuss that later'

mark says that unfortunately this made quite a lot of noise and the ghoul went screaming for help so time to get your stories straight.

theres a few other things said but then zach rolls up

If you dont know who zach is he is a newly turned tremere. dr. white's child. elevated into power due to his sire. he's a classic skater boy. hes head of security. he figured ALL of marks shit out when he broke into a lab - he is GOOD at his job despite his casual attitude. he says 'chill' all the time.

he skates up (yes skateboard in the hall) and asks whats up. mark says 'hi zach. it's chill, i handled it.' (Mark kinda likes Zach).

And hes like. 'whats chill? can you explain?' and marks like. looks at cassidy and lilian. 'they would know better i just came at the end' and cassidy’s like. looks at lilian as if to say to her. u did this shit u explain!

so lilian starts a story which is kind of obviously partially a lie.

she says that she was doing her research, developing off of Leanah's (which was the stuff mark uhm. stole and sabotaged for her). and she noticed this evening that some things were off. papers where she wouldn't normally leave them. but the chimera project was So Important (TM) for the chantry that she just HAD to press on. Oh Also I found this Lipstick (produces lipstick) that looks JUST like what Leeanah wears isnt that interesting! (zach has her put it in an evidence back for him). She says 'Cassidy even made a joke that maybe I should wear makeup more often." Cassidy grunts but keeps a poker face. he would obviously Never Fucking Say That and lilian is messing with him.

god i love them sm. mark also knows cassidy would never fucking make that joke

(explaining a story that may dictate ur fate as u are investigated. does not miss an opportunity to fuck w the bestie* girl!

she continues to say that she got the embryo (described as tadpole) out of the cauldron she starts growing it. and it kept well. growing.

she pauses there. zach is like. okay and? it grows and?

Cassidy steps in. 'when it got bigger than our couch we realized we had a problem.' (also hehe ‘our’ couch their friendship is everything 2 me…)

lilians like yes. then thankfully cassidy, with some assistance from mark, killed it. and here we are :) and then zach turns to mark and is like. what do you mean how did you get here how did you know.

and marks like Oh Well You Know "I was coming here for unrelated reasons, cassidy and myself are working together you see. And I had permission to enter. And obviously I would assist him in combat. *Coughs.*

he coughs cause i rolled 1 success on the lie T_T

zach is like. you have permission?? and cassidys like uh yes. 'as needed he can enter. its easier that way' so yay that ghoul won't get in trouble LOLLL mark got retroactive permission

even if each can tell he lied like. how do u call him on that when the person who was to have given him that permission said he did.

Liliana finishes up by describing how awful it was to be sabotage. At the end of her story. she says "Im sure leeanah would be very sorry if she saw the destruction she caused and would say so' and cassidy said 'i would not accept her apology' annnddd thiswent over my head but the st explained that was lilian apologizing to cassidy and cassidy telling her to fuck offlkdsafjlkdsjf

and zachs like. aight seems chill! (Perhaps all was not chill). lemme go in your haven here to see evidence of that sabotage

and cassidys like oh, please do let me clean up first :) and zachs like :) noo you should see my room haha its fine :) and then cassidsy like. okay fine. you do not have permission to enter my haven. which is something respected in the chantry

zachs like do u really wanna go down that route.

Cassidy appears to hesitate. Mark is FREAKINGGG out he CANNOOTTTT find those books mark had him gather. thankfully cassidy says. Yes. Yes I do.

And so zach says fine thats chill. ill see you soon- and he has one of his guys (he had a small posse with him) stay. cassidys like. well that was a mess. mark says yes. which is why you should start cleaning it. do you want help.

The person Zach left behind enters cassidys room and was making sure the pc was ok. mark is like cassidy is that ok?? and cassidy says 'oh, hes chill.' It seems this was the little fucker that set up the pc and internet for cassidy in the first place! cassidy makes friends with fledglings :) he doesn't speak but cassidy calls him Hack. because that's what he does, ig

Anyway. Mark helps lilian gather monster body parts to the center of the room where she starts some sort of chanting incantation to get rid of it. cassidy goes into his Side Room to start cleaning. When mark is done gathering body parts he knocks and peeks into the side hallway. cassidy tells him to enter and mark starts helping him put books away

well first theres this hallway which has 2 doors. mark enters door two with cassidy.

its a beautiful study room with mostly books, but also some old clothes, including a duster (COWBOY CASSIDY REAL...) and a painting with someone in a cuirass but the face is oddly blurry

also, all the books do not have legible titles.

with sense the unseen it seems the chandelier in the room has some sort of enchantment blurring those things out

there is also a TALL ASS stack of those notebooks he writes in. Mark glances at it and looks at cassidy who pauses and says. i need to call in a favor. can you just keep packing books away for 10 mins ? and marks like Sure

and hes left alone in cassidys study. but he decides to NOT snoop and figures he wouldnt be able to read shit anwyay due to that enchantment so he does literally just put books away.

Cassidy returns and unfolds a piece of paper that he remembers Wendy using before - its like. a bag of holding.

he unfolds it and puts it under the stack of notebooks carefully . the note books fall in. then he carefully, very very very carefully, folds it up. mark comments 'got a few years in there, huh?" he replies "A good deal more than that.".

but yeah theres also furniture and stuff everywhere btw, its a mess. The pack up books. During this time mark asked like. ok we cant keep these books about resisting blood bonds in her haven. and Cassidy is like. really mark. you're gonna make me haul them from the library every time ur gonna read them, and mark is like. sorry. yeah : )

They finish and return to the mainroom. lilian is on the floor, hands splayed, miserable. done with everything. cassidy makes a point to step over her.

cassidy and mark hauled books up to lillian's haven which was much smaller. and complained about stairs. together <3 lol

When they return hack is no where to be found. cassidy looks around and comments that the should not be in the back rooms. he does open the door to the second room but he asks mark to step back so he cant see in : (anyway mark ends up finding zach with sense the unseen (he went Invisible ig) and he was rifling upstairs through lillian's things

cassidy is like 'hack ive been through enough tonight please just give it back' and hack goes to the computer and types:

";)

I have to give them something, y''no"

and cassidy is like. sigh. will this make our unlives harder in the future. and he writes

"maybe a little"

and marks says “you know what that's fair” <- has done the same shit of finding something Smaller so it proves he was Trying but actually not

cassidy comments that he is sad about his clothes getting thrown around and wrecked - 'over the decades he had collected quite a collection, some of which are hard if not impossible to replace' and mark comments 'i hope the tv is ok too'

and upon saying that cassidy actually reacts as opposed to being stone faced "Oh no you're right, the tv!" and he goes right for it

drops to his knees to prop it back up. and theres a crack through a fourth of it. he looks so sad. mark turns it on and it does still display but there is that crack

mark is like its ok we can get another and cassidy is like ' but this was my first tv :('. hes sentimental about it my fucking HEART

marks like. im sorry. i can help you pick out a new one maybe. cassidy says he'll likely take mark up on that. and mark also says maybe it could be fixed and cassidy says he will also try that

but yeah its cute that he got attached to the tv T_T (edited)

anyway zach skates right back in after the bit with hack that i described above. and says. ok in the name of the authority invested in me by blah blah blah... everyone but you, get out please! (hack being that one)

sooo the three leave. And mark is like.well. good luck with everything.

Cassidy and lilian do not look very happy but give ike a half hearted thanks

mark is lowkey like. ok u could be a bit more thankful i saved ur ass and helped u clean up but OKAy . . . .

cassidy also mentions that they can still work on their shared research in a few nights

oh also mark finally got the opportunity to ask if they had showers and they do not and mark is like. wow that sucks.

Cassidy diddnt seem to care but like. dude. imagine only having washrooms. L.

thats the session!

#mark vtm oc

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itsjustmyfantasyroom · 4 years

Text

Room mate

Warnings: Smut and episode based.

WC: 1643

Enjoy x

It had been nice for the short time it had been happening. Nick had been living with you coming on 4 weeks. The house had been sold quicker than he and Maria had thought which didn’t give him much time to find somewhere to live. Your spare room already had a bed and built in’s so you offered it to him. It was nice having someone to share the rent with and not coming home to an empty apartment all the time and Nick had voiced this to you as well. You had seen a shift in him. He was like the old Nick, not as bad tempered and easier to deal with. And more so now you were happy to not be alone helping Tucker take down a corrupter prescient you all knowing the back lash you could cop.

The undercover sting had been next level and you felt something in you and Nick shift the night you were in the car with him and Liv following around Cassidy while he was undercover with officers from the 12th. You guys sat in the car while he was taken into a working girl and Liv, you and Nick heard him over his wire. It was awkward enough as it was listening to Liv’s boyfriend out loud, but when Nick locked eyes with you in the review mirror you felt your cheeks burn and you thanked whoever was watching over you that Amanda rang when she did.

It was early hours of the morning when you both stumbled back into the apartment, wide awake from the last coffee you both had not long ago thinking you would be at the station all night. You came out of your room after changing from your shower, hearing Nick in the shower and made yourself comfortable on your L shaped couch, your legs out stretched on the chaise of the couch in your sleep shorts and t shirt.

“Not tired?” Nick made his way around the couch to come and sit next to you, sitting just close enough to rest one of his legs on the chaise next to yours that were crossed at your ankles.

“Na we shouldn’t have had that coffee” you sat up tucking your legs up under yourself leaning into Nick more.

Without a word Nick put his arm around your shoulders pulling you into him you resting your head on his shoulder and your arm on his middle. It feeling right and comfortable, something you both often did when you were watching movies or come home from a big case.

“We didn’t know she was going to fold like that so quickly”

“I’ am surprised really” you adjusted yourself so your back was into Nick’s side, his arm on your chest resting between you throat and boobs, his long fingers resting on your shoulder, his chin on top of your head “Her love for him blinded her for so long and Liv just saying the right words and she gave it all up. I feel sorry for her, giving herself over to him in every way for him to act like that and she be ok with it”

“You live with your partner” he chuckled. You shot up quick out of his embrace turning to look at him with a serious face.

“Yeah but you wouldn’t do that to me and I wouldn't do that to you” you frowned.

“I’ am loyal, l would never do that to you” Nick shook his head.

“Good, I was going to swap you for Fin” you nudged his side laying back on his chest Nick throwing his arm around you again.

“He wouldn’t put up with you for five minutes” Nick kissed the top of your head.

You woke to a sore hip but felt warm and the dim light coming through the curtains. Your eyes fluttered open. Once your eyes adjusted you seen that your face was resting below Nick's neck on his chest, your arm around him up under his underarm on his back. One of Nick’s arms was still under your neck, his other resting on your middle and something very hard pocking into your thigh.

You gasped and lent back slightly looking at Nick’s sleeping face. His skin looked so soft and the usual frown lines and clenched jaw nowhere to be seen, his lips plump and inviting. You pushed your thigh into him and a slightest puff of air left his lips. You did it again ever so slightly and you watched as his eyes fluttered open and Nick’s dark chocolate eyes settled on yours. You watched as he realised what was going on and he sat up quick,

“Y/N, I’ am so sorry- I” he jumped up off the couch and rushed into his room closing the door.

“Nick” you knocked twice and turned the handle and walked in.

Nick was sitting on the edge of his bed, his cheeks and neck red and a sizable tent still in his boxers. You walked over and stood between his legs, your hands going to his cheeks tilting his head back his eyes snapping to meet yours,

“Why did you go?” your thumbs running along his jaw “You don’t want to take that step with me?”

Nick sighed leaning into your hand closing his eyes and turning his head to kiss your palm.

“No I do, but I wanted to take you out first. I wanted to do things the right way this time”

“If that’s what you want” you purred and went to take a step back.

Nick stood up and grabbed your hand before you even had a chance to take two full step back pulling you into his body you both falling onto the bed, Nick rolling you so he was between your legs, intertwining his fingers with yours pinning them above your head

“You know it’s not what I want” Nick growled “But I was trying to be a gentlemen” Nick thrusted his hard clothed length into your clothed core and started kissing down your neck nipping and sucking on your skin “You have brought the best out in me and I want to treat you like you deserve to be treated”

Nick’s lips landed on yours, his tongue darting into your mouth, battling with yours. You wrapped your legs around his waist rutting your hips up into him.

“Nick, I won’t think any different if you fuck me before you take me for dinner- Just don-“

“You know I would never do that to you Y/N”

Nick’s lips crashed on yours, your tongues coming together rolling with each other’s. You wanted nothing more than to touch him feel his skin on yours hands, but when you tried to pulled your hands out of his grip, he tighten his pushing your hands down more into the mattress,

“Oh no mi Amor you don’t get the gentleman” His lips moved to your ear “I’ am going to fuck you hard and fast now- we have plenty of time for love making after dinner tonight”

You moaned at Nick’s words bucking your hips up. Nick brought your writs together pinning them together with one hand, then reaching over to his top drawer pulling out a condom,

“I’ am going to let go of your hands Y/N, but be a good girl and keep them above your head, me entiendes?”

You nodded and watched as Nick got up on his knees and pushed down his shorts and boxers his hard length stringing free and you gasped and bit your bottom lip as Nick rolled on the condom. He didn’t miss your reaction chuckling as he dropped back down over you, one hand going back to your wrists and the other hocking on your sleep shorts and panties moving them to the side and lining himself up to you,

“Like what you see mi dulce?”

“Yes but I-oohh“ You moaned as Nick slid into you bottoming out “I want to see all of you”

Nick started rolling his hips hard and deep pushing you up the bed slightly with every hip thrust and you wrapping your legs around his middle.

“You will” Nick grunted “But not yet”

Nick picked up his thrusts, hitting the right spot every time. Your moans and Nick’s grunts filled the room.

“I’ am close Nick” Nick kissed you deep reaching between your clothed bodies finding your harden bundle of nerves rolling it fast in time with his thrusts, your legs tightening around him.

“I want to hear you mi Amor”

You bucked your hips up hard slamming into Nick and he could feel your walls fluttering hard around him. Your orgasm raging through you rapidly your eyes locked with Nick’s as you moaned his name loud. Nick’s hips got sloppy and he slammed into you hard, a roar filling the room as he came deep inside you. You both breathless, Nick lent down kissing you quick,

“Wait here”

He jumped up and ran to the bathroom to clean himself up and rid himself of the condom and he was back in no time crawling on top of you again, kissing up your clothed body up your neck along your jaw and kissing you deep again,

“That was amazing” Nick smiled into your mouth.

“It was” you purred.

“Think we can make this work? Living together, working together and being together?”

“I think so. We have been pretty much doing that for the last four weeks” you ran your hands down his sides slipping your fingers into the waist of his shorts.

“We have been doing it for longer than four weeks” he chuckled kissing you sweetly “Let’s get changed and we will go out to eat. Now I know what it’s like to fuck you- I can’t wait to make love to you.”

Tags: @beccabarba @thatesqcrush @the-baby-bookworm @permanentlydizzy @lovebennycolonmiguelgalindo @amorestevens

#nick amaro #nick amaro x reader #nick amaro x you #nick amaro smut #detective nicolas amaro #nicolas amaro #danny pino #law and order svu #SVU fanfiction #SVU FANDOM #svu fan #nbc svu #svu x reader #svu smut

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prettyboybarzal · 4 years

Text

Tattoos Together (6) // Tyler Seguin

summary: the week at tyler’s childhood home is coming to a close. have you made the most of your time with your best friend? or have those pesky feelings gotten in the way again??

word count: 2.3k

author’s note: OKAY. this is the second to last part of this fic, i believe. (there may be an epilogue.) I’M SORRY THAT THIS TOOK SO GODDAMN LONG... on the brightside, the wait for chapter seven will not be as long as this one was. i promise. please let me know what you think!

July 2017

Jamie didn’t know what happened but when he woke up on the second to last day at the Seguin house, but you and Tyler were fine. After spending the entire week as a buffer between the two of you, he was pleasantly surprised and completely shocked to find you cooking breakfast together. Tyler stood at the griddle while you sat atop the counter with a dopey smile on your face. “Good morning, Jam.”

“Morning, Jamie.”

“Good morning, guys,” he spoke slowly as he settled into one of the stools at the island. His eyes shifted from one to the other, wondering what he’d missed to be waking up to this domestic scene.

When the food was finished, you stood to grab plates for the three of you and Tyler poured the coffee. Without asking, he fixed yours up just how you like and slid it into your hand as he stepped around you to join Jamie at the counter.

You weren’t exactly planning to spend the morning by Tyler’s side. You’d woken up early and sat out on the front porch with a book while you waited for the rest of the house to wake up. Tyler was up fifteen minutes after and came barrelling out the front door with the dogs right behind him for their morning walk. You offered to go with him without a second thought.

The whole thing was a little bit cliche. As you walked, you inched closer and closer together until you were so close that your hands kept brushing. Tyler wanted to grab yours so bad, but each time he pulled away like he’d been shocked.

When you got back to the house, he suggested chocolate pancakes for breakfast and then he sucked you into another conversation and you couldn’t escape to the guest room. Nor did you really want to.

“What’s the plan for today?” Jamie asked after breakfast had been cleaned up.

Cassidy entered the room with her hair and make-up already done and answered his question, “I don’t know what you boys are planning to do, but we’re stealing YN.”

“Is that so?” Tyler asked, as if he was going to challenge her over your precious time.

Twenty minutes later, you were seated between his sisters and gathering all the intel on everything going on in their lives. You knew which friends were no longer friends, which classes sucked the most, which boys were occupying their time. They made you laugh, just like Tyler, and you found yourself wishing that you could spend more time with them than one day.

“We met Maisy,” Candace said softly after you all paid for your manicures. Cassidy tossed her a wide-eyed look, but she shrugged her off. You turned and raised your eyebrows at them, having expected a bit more information. “And?”

“She was nice.”

You couldn’t help but laugh at her statement and the girls smiled happily at your reaction.

“That’s all you have to say about her?” you asked. They nodded softly as they followed you out to the car. “Tyler seems happy with her.”

“He’s in denial.”

You didn’t respond and the girls dropped the conversation.

About halfway back to their house, Cassidy directed you to take a left into a shopping center. She pointed across the lot to a boutique and asked you to pull up and park there. You did as she asked without a question or complaint. They led you into the shop, waving at the women behind the counter before leading you over to the dresses.

“What do you need dresses for?” you asked as your fingers felt the material of each dress on the rack.

“Oh, we don’t need dresses,” Candace said. “You need one.”

“For what?”

“Tyler’s bringing you guys to his favorite club tonight,” Cassidy explained. “He’s been talking about taking you since you planned this trip. You need something to wear.”

They shoved you into the dressing room with a pile of dresses in every color, and then sat on the bench outside and waited for the fashion show. It was hard to find one that they both agreed on, and one that you also felt comfortable in. Finally, after trying on nearly every one, you stepped out in a satin red slip dress.

“You’re a smokeshow,” Candace stated, smacking her hand down against the space on the bench beside her. Cassidy nodded in agreement. “That’s the one.”

You completely agreed.

When you changed out of it, Cassidy’s hand popped over the door to hold onto it for you. You changed back into your street clothes and gathered the discarded dresses to place them on the rack outside the dressing room. By the time you were done, the girls were already at the register and paying for the dress you picked out.

“What are you doing?”

“Don’t worry about it,” Cassidy spoke as she handed a card over. “Ty’s got it covered.”

---

“You didn’t need to pay for this dress,” you grumbled through the bathroom door to Tyler as you got ready for the night. “I have a job.”

“So do I!”

“Do not compare our paychecks,” you warned.

His laughter rang out, joyous and childlike, as he spoke, “I won’t.”

While you hung out with the girls, Tyler and Jamie went golfing. When they got back, they were both a little drunk. Tyler hopped in the shower first, then Jamie, and when Tyler was done he ended up on your bed waiting for you to emerge dressed and ready to go.

“What color is it?”

“Red.”

“I like red,” he remarked. You caught a glimpse of your smile in the mirror and immediately corrected it. You looked like you were a school girl giggling at something the class clown said.

You put the finishing touches on your makeup and smoothed your dress down before stepping out of the bathroom.

The moment he saw you, Tyler’s lost all the air inside his lungs. He shamelessly trailed his gaze along your legs to your chest to your lips, until finally reaching your eyes.

“Jesus Christ,” he muttered. “Are you trying to kill me?”

He wasn’t even trying to hide it anymore, was he?

“Come on, I need a drink.”

Tyler kept his distance as best he could while you pregamed. His friends finally showed up, so it was easy to find distraction, but that red dress was everything he could’ve asked for and his eyes kept finding their way to you. The dress clung to your every curve and he couldn’t stop thinking about peeling it off you. He felt the way his pants tightened and excused himself to the bathroom to get his head in the right place.

His phone chimed as soon as he was alone and Maisy’s name lit the screen up as if she’d known he was in the middle of some very bad thoughts.

Have fun tonight, my love!

He stared at the message for a moment, and then he shut his phone off completely.

The club was packed from wall-to-wall and the moment Tyler realized they’d have to weave through dozens of people, he reached out to take your hand in his. He tugged you closer once your fingers were intertwined and led the way to the velvet interior of the VIP section. When you reached the booth, you began to slip away but he tightened his grip until he was done ordering champagne for the group.

As the waitress flitted off to the bar, Tyler sat. His free hand slid across your back, curling around your side to squeeze lightly and direct you closer to him. You felt the heat in your cheeks as he did it and looked at Jamie nervously. He looked away as soon as your eyes met.

You ended up in his lap with both of his arms around your waist. One of your arms fell heavily over his shoulder, the other remained in your lap nervously picking at the hem of your dress. His hands felt heavy against your skin, but he seemed unaffected by your closeness as he carried on conversations with the people around him. One of his hands came to rest on your thigh and each time his eyes fell to its placement, he thought about digging his fingers into your flesh.

All the while, you tried to hold conversations with his friends, but it was hard to think with his hands on your body.

When the group finally decided to hit the dance floor, you fled to Jamie’s side in hopes of diminishing the feeling in your stomach that maybe you and Tyler weren’t quite ready to put the events of last summer behind you.

Tyler’s house was quiet when you finally arrived home. All the women of the house had gone to sleep hours before your arrival, but Tyler wasn’t quite ready for the night to end. As soon as you stepped through the door, he made a beeline for the kitchen.

“I’m making food!”

You kicked your heels off at the door and followed him while Jamie ran to the bathroom.

“Do you want mozzarella sticks?”

“Absolutely.”

You watched him throw the sticks into the oven from your spot on the countertop, the same place you sat that morning while he made breakfast. He set the timer and clicked the light on inside so he could watch them and then he backed up to lean against the counter beside you.

“Tell me something.”

“Okay, I’ll tell you something,” you said. He raised his eyebrows, turning to face you and wedge himself between your knees. He dropped his hands to your thighs, squeezing lightly to get you to continue. “We didn’t get tattoos tonight.”

“Holy shit,” he spoke. “You’re right.”

“There goes that tradition.”

“I mean, what would you even get? It’s not like we had anything in mind.”

You leaned back on the counter, palms pressed against the cool marble, and thought.

“I have a few ideas.”

“Go for it,” he urged.

“First idea is that we could get the Bruins logo on our asses,” you began. He choked on his laughter. “Now, hear me out,” you continued. He nodded. “Your teammate’s might hate it, but you owe that organization a lot for all the great things they brought you. Me, for example.”

“Okay, what other options do you have?”

“We can get the dogs tattooed somewhere on us.”

“That’s actually not a horrible idea,” he began. “But I wanna get a third, so I’m gonna have to wait on that.”

“Okay, fine,” you sighed. He watched you as you thought up another ridiculous answer, smiling softly to himself as the gears in your brain turned. “You know what we can get?”

“Please, tell me. I’m dying to know.”

“Just Brad Marchand’s signature,” you said. “We can get it right across our tits. It’ll be like reliving your Cup golden days. Just titty signatures all around.”

His laughter echoed off the walls in the kitchen and your face hurt from how hard you were grinning at him. Tears pricked the corner of his eyes as he tried to calm himself. You weren’t sure when was the last time you’d gotten this type of reaction from him, but you were mentally patting yourself on the back for having done it right then.

He stepped away from you and dropped his voice to a whisper, “God, I could kiss you right now.”

The room fell silent.

He said that out loud. He meant to say it in his head, but he said it out loud. He didn’t mean it, well, he sort of meant it, but he knew he shouldn’t have said it. It wasn’t supposed to fall from his lips so easily. His eyes snapped up to you and he noticed that you were frozen in place, food halfway to your mouth.

“You can’t.”

“Yeah, I know,” he said, turning away swiftly to clean up the kitchen counter. “I didn’t mean it like that, you know? I just--” he turned to face you again. “I want to be good for Maisy. I do, really, but my feelings for you aren’t just going to disappear. I’m trying, though, I promise.”

You wish it didn’t hurt when he said that. You were supposed to be happy that he was trying to get past this, but instead you feel your heart shatter in your chest.

“Mozzarella sticks, nice!”

Jamie’s exclamation ended the conversation, and you shoved another mozzarella stick down your throat hoping that maybe food was the solution to all your worries.

The next morning, as Tyler lifted your final bag into the trunk, your phone began to ring.

“I’m just going to take this quickly,” you told the boys as you turned back into the house for the privacy of the guest room. After accepting the call, you lifted the phone to your ear and greeted the caller on the other end.

“Ms. YLN?”

“Speaking.”

“Hi, it’s Dave Jeffries from Red Door Publishing,” the man spoke. “I’ve been tasked with compiling a team to join me at our Dallas office and I wanted to offer you a position if you’re interested. It’ll come with a bit of a promotion, as well as a package to help you get settled in.”

“Oh, wow,” you breathed out. Your eyes lifted to the window that led out to the front yard. Tyler was leaning against the car door with the dogs at his feet. He was giggling at something Jamie said, and then he looked up and met your eyes through the window. They crinkled at the sight of you. “I’m interested in the position, but I’d appreciate the opportunity to think about my decision until Monday morning.”

“You can do that,” he answered. “For what it’s worth, I think you’d fit in great over here.”

You almost felt compelled to laugh. The irony of the situation wasn’t lost on you.

“You know what?” you asked him lightheartedly. He hummed. “I do too.”

#tyler seguin x reader #tyler seguin fic #tyler seguin story #tyler seguin imagine #tattoos together fic #hockey imagine #nhl imagine #hockey fic #hockey rpf

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clean-bands-dirty-stories · 4 years

Text

Shut Him Up ~ R.C.

A/n: Listen give me ANY excuse to write Randall and I will

Request: “...Hamish duke or Randall x human male reader we’re one of the Wolfe’s get hurt and the reader is like the care taker of the group and he’s rambling because the guy he likes got hurt and ( which ever wolf you choose because I love them both) to shut him up kisses him because he’s also crushing on the reader and the rest of them are like “ so that’s how you shut him up”...”

Word Count: 1700+

MASTERLIST

"You idiot!" Hamish groaned, his shoulders sagging. "Now Y/n is going to be all over our asses when we get back. You realize that right?"

"Not if you don't tell him," Randall shot back immediately. He hissed at the pain in his shoulder. "It's fine. I'll be completely healed in a few seconds then we can get it cleaned and if no one says anything when we get back, Y/n won't- AH!" He screamed, his hand shooting out to hold his shoulder and his eyes widening. When he pulled his hand away again, it was covered in just as much blood as before.

The group was silent for a long time. But the bleeding didn't stop and when Randall swayed, Jack jumped in to put Randall's good arm around Jack's shoulders. "Let's get him to Y/n. He's not healing, and Y/n has been studying since all that stuff with Hamish went down." Lilith groaned, but it was light. Even Y/n's wrath was less important than making sure Randall didn't die.

The entire trek back to the Den was spent with everyone trying to come up with what to say to Y/n that would get him to freak out the least. But then, halfway there, Randall's knees gave in and Jack had to pick him up completely. Even between the three of them it was becoming more and more obvious that there was absolutely nothing anyone could come up with that would satiate Y/n's worry at seeing Randall pale, bleeding, nearly unconscious and not healing. And that was absolutely fact for two simple reasons.

One: Y/n was like the group mom. He made sure they were all eating and getting sleep and that they put aside time needed to study and shower and wash clothes and do their normal responsibilities like work and Randall's RA stuff in between all the hunting and killing and dealing with a bunch of magicians who seemed hell bent on destroying the world at the drop of a hat or the smallest inconvenience. He had spent so much time taking care of the pack that it was practically ingrained into his DNA to care about all of them. So even hearing about them getting hurt usually set off a rant from Y/n about taking care of themselves and how they needed to be more careful - ESPECIALLY since the whole knife incident with Hamish.

Two: Y/n was in love with Randall. He had only gotten involved in this whole drama, despite being human, because he had flirted with Randall time and time again, but Randall wasn't down for anything serious because Y/n was human and had enough to worry about without supernatural shit bothering him. Y/n was hyper aware of Randall though and as things got really weird and shady, Y/n went poking around. Now they were all here, and better off for it.

Lilith opened the door and called out for Y/n, who came scrambling into the room at the panic in Lilith's voice. He froze when he saw Randall, his eyes widening and his face draining of color. "What the fuck happened?" He demanded rather harshly, looking at the other wolves as if accusing them. He always got like this when it came to Randall. He was always worried about them, but there was a new level reached when Randall got hurt that made him all the more intolerable.

They all loved him of course but things were going to go wrong - why didn't he get that?

"I don't know," Hamish offered, feeling a little guilty. Of all the group, he probably understood Y/n the most. Jack and Alyssa were often at odds and it messed with their relationship. Y/n and Randall... Well, despite all the idiocy on Randall's part, they reminded Hamish a lot of how he and Cassidy used to be. "I'm sorry he just got- there was this witch, and she had a whip-"

"On the couch," Y/n ordered. Hamish obeyed, laying Randall on the couch. Immediately his blood started soaking into the sofa. Jack sucked in a breath. "Tell me what happened Hamish. I need to know so I can figure out how to treat it."

Hamish ran a hand through his hair. "Uh- well, the whip. It only barely scratched the rest of us, but it was about to take Alyssa out. And she's kind of cool sometimes so we were trying to make sure we didn't die and we heal a lot faster than she does so I guess he thought it would be fine. But... it got him really really bad and then it didn't heal. Halfway here his legs gave out. I don't know if he's going into shock or it's the blood loss or... poisoning? I don't know?"

Y/n had taken the time that Hamish talked, looking at the flesh around the cut. He went into full doctor mode, not allowing his emotions to cloud his judgement. "I'll be right back." He ran out of the room and the other three wolves were left to watch Randall begin to bleed out. It was becoming clear that whatever it was, it was moving fast, and Randall... he was about to die.

A hush of horror fell across the room as they all genuinely thought their friend was about to die right in front of them while they were helpless to do anything. Then like some kind of angel sent straight from heaven, Y/n swooped in with a bowl full of blue-purple liquid. He stood over Randall and poured it into the cut, making sure the whole cut was filled and covered in the liquid in the bowl. They all stood with baited breath, worried that Y/n had gotten it wrong or, worse, they were just too late.

Then Randall began healing.

"You're amazing Y/n," Jack sighed, shaking his head as he grinned.

Y/n wasn't amused though. The relief that had wiped all minds of the talking to Y/n had planned faded away as a stern man whose eyes were full of anger turned to the three wolves. "You fucking idiots. Just so you know, wolf's bane. The bitch with the whip coated it in wolf's bane. You're lucky that I noticed the way it look on his skin or he'd have died from magical poisoning. Which means she KNEW she was dealing with wolves." He held out the bowl he was holding, which still was half full of the liquid. "Make sure to get each and every cut you guys have. They might be small, but they'll suck away your strength slowly and never heal until you treat them. If you miss any-"

"What's all that talking about?" Randall groaned. The group looked over to see him sitting up, looking around. "What?"

"You idiot!" Y/n whacked Randall's shoulder, causing the newly awakened wolf to complain out loud about how it hurt. He didn't give the boy the time of day though. "I was just saying that your cut you dismissed? It was done by wolf's bane. I'll make more antidote if needed, so don't feel shy to use it up. If the cuts don't go away completely, put some more on. Symptoms include exhaustion, feeling like your body is really heavy, zoning out, and can get worse and lead to struggling to move or talk." He whipped around to glare at Randall. "Now, you." He reached over, dipping his fingers into the liquid. "Where did you get cut?" Randall took off his shirt, showing his scraped up back and arms. He was far, far more marked up than the others, which is probably why he had such a severe reaction. Y/n began to apply the liquid to all his wounds, but the action didn't stop him from going off. "You know who would have been absolutely unaffected by this shit? Alyssa," he began. He'd already been going on so long that the others in the room were tired. "She would have gotten a little cut and it would have been fine-"

"Y/n please," Randall sighed. "You tell me the same thing every time. I get it, you don't want us to get hurt-"

Y/n shot to his feet. "You came back DYING, Randall!"

"And you fixed me!" Randall shouted back, standing as well. "I'm fine! That's the thing about teamwork. None of us alone are good - we have to stick together!"

"And what if you're attacked when I'm in class across campus, or across the country back at my parents' house? What happens then Randall?" Y/n demanded, getting in Randall's face.

Randall scoffed. "Well you wouldn't do that unless it was for summer vacation, and we already all agreed to stay nearby since everything is hitting the fan."

It was Y/n's turn to scoff. "You know I gave up a lot of shit so I could be here to keep your ass alive?"

"I didn't ask you to do that!" Randall shot at Y/n.

"You didn't have to!" Y/n threw back. They both went quiet, breathing hard as they looked at each other. "Goddamnit Randall, you didn't have to." He closed his eyes, raising his hand to pinch the bridge of his nose. "But you know what? Jack's been learning lots from me, and even more from the Order. He's read the books. If I'm really so annoying then please, let me just see myself out I wouldn't want to-"

Randall suddenly snapped, rushing forward. He grabbed Y/n's face, crashing their lips together. The room was dead silent, even after the two parted. "I'm sorry," Randall whispered. "I just... I'm going to get hurt Y/n. You can't get mad at me every time."

Y/n was quiet. "I-" For the first time since they'd ever seen Y/n, his voice was soft. "I wasn't angry." He didn't ramble or rant like usual. He didn't go off in deep explanation that set off a long conversation. There was no heart to heart and crying and confessing. For the first time, Y/n stood there with all his walls down, eyes glued to Randall, and he let the silence speak for all the things he had never said.

Before Randall could say anything, the other three wolves still in the room made themselves remembered as Lilith teasingly noticed, "So that’s how you shut him up.”

Y/n threw a pillow at her, but she wasn't going to be silenced easily. For a change, Y/n was though, and that was all they got from him. For now... At least Randall had a secret weapon for the next time Y/n went off on him.

Male reader tags: @sheepfather

#randall carpio imagine #randall carpio #randall carpio x reader #randall carpio x male reader #the order of the hermedic blue rose #the order x reader #the order imagine #the order #the knights of saint christopher imagine #the knights of the order of the hermedic blue rose #the knights of saint chrisptoher #the knights of saint christopher x reader #the knights of saint christopher x male reader #male reader

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liloelsagranger · 3 years

Text

Night shift - Chapter 2 (Rocketshipping)

Chapter 2:

The whip already raised for use, Jessiebelle reared up in front of James, who was cowering on the floor all intimidated. “Where have you been? Do you realize how worried I was?” She swung the whip and gave James a blow. James cried out in pain, beads of sweat forming on his forehead. He knew that this little excursion into freedom would have consequences. Today Jessiebelle carried out the punishment with her favourite tool and throttled her fiancé without batting an eye.

“You have to be chastised, otherwise you might get ideas and leave me, and we both don’t want that, right James?”

The young man was trembling with pain. He grabbed his arm with the gaping wound. Sometimes he wanted to die, sometimes he wanted to leave this world, thoughts that had plagued him since he was a child. But the urge to be free and to be able to live his own life had prevented him from doing anything stupid until then and thinking of the waitress Jessie gave him new hope. Another lash!

“Please, Jessiebelle, stop!” he pleaded. “I’ve learned my lesson, I’ll never sneak away again, but please, have mercy!” Tears streamed down his face. Jessiebelle knelt beside her fiancé and gave him a small kiss on the cheek.

“This is the only way you will learn to be obedient and please your future wife. Sometimes you have to take harsher measures to open someone’s eyes to how much love is involved here. I love you, James,” she breathed into his ear. James cried bitter tears. If this is love, what does abysmal hatred feel like?

She left him crouching on the floor, alone in his pain and thick tears of despair. James was breathing heavily, he could barely move, but he had a mission and nothing and no one, certainly not Jessiebelle’s abuse would stop him. With the last of his strength, he tried to get to his feet, left the torture cellar and sank into his pillow, tired and exhausted. Tomorrow night he would see her again, Jessie. He imagined her smile, her sapphire blue eyes, and slipped into a fitful sleep.

The day dragged on endlessly. James counted the hours until he could sneak out through the service exit. When evening came, he waited for the right moment to dismiss the property. The servants covered him, they were on his side and could no longer watch this tragedy of a relationship.

“I hope the wound heals quickly, James. This tincture is a recipe from my grandmother, it is supposed to work wonders. Look how Jessiebelle is ruining you. You are a shadow of your former self.” Maria became quite emotional at the sight of those deep cuts. She had cared for James since he was a little boy every time his parents were traveling the world again. Seeing him like this, abused, beaten and mistreated, broke her heart. James put a hand on her shoulder. “Don’t worry about me, Maria. There’s someone worth living for,” he put on a weak smile. “And I really need to see her,” he pressed on the tourniquet and disappeared into the night.

As James walked along the Strip, he noticed the many carnies and performers. Some were painting portraits of the tourists; others were juggling ten balls at once. Others sang and played music and thrilled the guests with little show acts. It wasn’t long before James spotted Ash, who was holding the crowd spellbound with his Pikachu. He had many tricks up his sleeve and his little Pokémon was exceptionally well trained. They were a welded team and impressed the audience with a fantastic interlude consisting of various electric attacks that Pikachu was capable of. The crowd went wild, applauded and cheered. The coins were already jingling, the bills flowing. James wanted to do more than one good deed today and secretly put a hundred-Pokédollar bill in Ash’s hat. With it, he and his friends could enjoy a delicious dinner at the Diner. Ash could hardly believe his eyes when he fished the large bill out of his hat. His mouth was open, never had he received so much tip before. His gaze wandered through the audience and stuck to James.

“Hey! Aren’t you the guy who was at the Diner last night?” he asked him. James nodded his head. “Wow! What happened to your face? Where did you get that black eye?” Ash wondered. Should James tell him a tall tale or come clean with the truth? He didn’t know this boy at all and honestly, he didn’t want to hang his private life on the big bell.

“Work accident,” James replied. Ash nodded his understanding and stowed the big money in his pocket. He had no idea that his sponsor was standing right in front of him.

“Are you coming by today? Fridays are fish day, you’ll miss out on the tastiest salmon and sea food if you don’t show up later.”

That’s when it slipped out of James’ mouth. “Is Jessie having a night shift tonight?” It was so foolish, he felt pretty stupid. What kind of impression did this make on young Ash? The boy grinned maliciously.

“Jessie is at the Diner every single night, trying to keep herself and that place afloat, it takes hard work, but she’s up to any problem. So yeah, she’ll be there. Why?”

James blushed to the roots of his hair. “Oh nothing, she just served me very well.” James shrugged it off, but one question still burned on his mind. “This man, who works with her at the Diner. Is that her boyfriend?” Ash laughed out loud.

“You mean Eddy? He’s ace. All he wants are close and deep friendships, but nothing more. A hug is still in, but not a step further. You don’t have to worry about him but let me give you some good advice. Give Jessie some space and don’t press her. Life wasn’t always easy for her.” Ash packed up his paraphernalia and disappeared down a dark side street.

Late in the evening, James hardly dared to show up at the Diner. He was visibly nervous and couldn’t quite explain to himself why. Of course, he was happy to see Jessie again and to enjoy her first-class service, to feel her warm smile on his skin. On the other hand, he didn’t want her to see him maltreated like that. But when he entered the restaurant, the atmosphere was really tense. He discovered the large bouquet of flowers that he had secretly sent her, but Jessie seemed to be anything but pleased about it. He approached the waitress and overheard snippets of conversation that made him shudder. Turning to Eddy, she showed her best friend the small note James had enclosed. “He’s trying to suck up again, that lousy guy! Signs it with a friggin J. Like I wouldn’t guess it’s that assface of Jack’s who’s supposedly trying to make up with me. Throw this bouquet in the trash can right now, Eddy! Get it out of my sight!” she commanded. This action had gone completely wrong. But how could James have known that Jessie’s ex-boyfriend’s name started with a J, too? He put a hand on her shoulder and Jessie immediately winced. “Oh, it’s you. Sorry, I didn’t see anyone enter de Diner. I’ll come right over and take your order.” She heaved a deep sigh, gave way to her anger, and kicked the trash can with all her might.

James had probably hit the wrong nerve. Now he felt all the more pathetic. He wanted to please Jessie with the bouquet and show his gratitude for the nice service, but this action was a shot in the foot.

The waitress was beside herself when she reached James’ table. Her hair was mussed, she rummaged in her apron for her tiny notebook to write down the incoming orders and could not concentrate on her guests. Something had to have happened, and James was trying to figure out how to help Jessie. It was his turn to ask her about her day. “Miserable, James. Everything that could go wrong, did go wrong! But I don’t want to burden you with my stuff, I’m sure you have other things to worry about, judging by your eye…” James’ hand shot up. “I’ll get you cooling pads”, Jessie was overly attentive and James liked that feeling of being cared for by someone. There was no emotion in his relationship with Jessiebelle, except for pain and hatred. There could never be any question of love. It was an arranged engagement, and his parents didn’t care how much James suffered from Jessiebelle’s mannerisms. James wanted to offer Jessie all his attention in return, he wanted to listen to her, ask her how her day had been and talk for hours about trivial things that made him forget for a short time the strains of a botched relation.

“Here’s your coke and a turkey sandwich. Enjoy!” she forced herself to smile, but the day’s toil was gnawing away at her. James had to take the initiative. “Please, sit down for a minute. There aren’t many guests, you can certainly take a short break”, he offered her the seat next to him. She looked around, nodded wearily, and let herself sink into the chair. “What a day,” Jessie grabbed the menu card and fanned herself. He turned to her, eyeing her beautiful face, and straining to take in her every word. “Maybe you’ve already noticed, but the Strip is no place for rich snobs. Drunks and homeless people hang out here. Most of the guys who come to my Diner can’t even pay, so they charge me. Unfortunately, at the end of the month there is barely enough for the rent…and food must also be purchased. We work to the limit, staying open late to make a few Pokédollars, but it just doesn’t pay. Cassidy paid us a visit today. You remember? That broad from the newspaper? She threatened to kick us out, said she was going take the Diner away from us piece by piece. I just don’t know what to do, we barley make ends meet and we have far too few guests. What should I do? Oh, why am I talking to you, you have enough problems,” she buried her face in her hands and sighed. James stroked her cheek. He could have bought the Diner at the push of a button, but he didn’t want to be liked for his money, he wanted to be liked for who he was, the real him.

“Don’t hang your head, I could help you out after all. I don’t want a salary, a roof over my head and a warm sandwich in the evening is perfectly fine”, he smiled encouragingly at her. ‘And I can be closer to you,’ he didn’t say it out loud. She raised her head and looked at him questioningly. “What do you want in this shabby place? I’m sure you have better places to stay and besides, I really can’t pay you anything, we’re almost broke…”

James felt embarrassed. If only Jessie knew how much he wanted to escape the shackles of this terrible relationship. He wanted to be free, no matter what the cost. He wanted to have air to breathe, he wanted to laugh and have a zest for life, and that’s what he hoped to find at the Diner. With people who could show compassion, who responded to the needs of others, without batting an eye, were willing to offer a helping hand to even the most down-and-out creatures on the Strip. “You know, I have some idea about advertising and marketing. With just a piece of cardboard and my loud blabbermouth, I can double your customer base. Trust me,” he held out his hand to her and she took it. What tender, soft skin. So fragile. What have these hands had to endure? Cleaning, washing, cooking, tidying up. Such delicate hands must be protected, and James already knew how. He wished this handshake would never stop. For the first time he felt the perky waitress and it was overwhelming. A slight tug in his heart area told him where this journey would lead, and he hoped Jessie would be the destination. He had never felt so attracted to a woman before. She was different, she was a fighter that not even the worst news could wear out. For a brief moment, they looked at each other, smiling. No words were needed to describe the attraction between these two. They lost themselves in their gazes, even if it was only for a split second. Something blossomed between them, a tiny flame of hope, of forgetting and of new beginnings.

“I’m about to get out my violin and serve them a plate of spaghetti with meatballs,” Eddy murmured to one of their guests. “Yes, yes, our Jessie has sworn off love, but she seems to make a big and fat exception with James…” “Let there be fish for everyone! Let’s celebrate, my friends!” Ash rumbled into the Diner, followed by his two best mates, Misty and Brock. They immediately destroyed the intimate moment between Jessie and her new co-worker James. They both jumped up and tried to hide their blushes. Jessie cleared her throat. “Get to work, James! We don’t want to keep our guests waiting!”

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let-me-love-you-loki · 4 years

Text

Too Late for R-n-R Part 3

Part 3

Mattie

I hated it. I absolutely hated it. My arm was in a cast, my leg was in a brace, I had to walk on crutches, and I wasn’t allowed anywhere near the ring. At all. Momma was adamant about that much at least.

There was nothing to do being stuck at all home day hardly able to do more than hobble from my room to the bathroom or living room. Plus, I was stuck at Papa’s house. I couldn’t even go across the patio to Dad’s. It sucked. So fucking hard.

“What’s got you looking so sour?” Papa said as he plopped down on the sofa, stretching out his leg. He was almost healed—he was already in physical therapy. I hated that too.

And I hated that I hated it. I wanted to cry because of it.

“I want to go back,” I whimpered, letting my head fall back against the cushions. “I hate it here.”

Papa groaned as he turned toward me. He looked sad. Kind of like he had that time when Dad left for a while. “You don’t mean that.”

My head pounded. I could feel my heartbeat beneath my cast. It made my stomach turn upside down. “I want to go back to Jacksonville. I don’t want to be here.”

“You’ll get back, Tea. I know you don’t think so now,” Papa said quietly. “It’s better to stay out and get healed up than go back to early and be out permanently.”

I tugged my blanket over my head and huffed. “You don’t understand.”

“Mattie…”

“No! Just… leave me the fuck alone, Papa.” I wished I could storm out, go back to my room and slam the door. The sound would have been satisfying.

“Mattea Kourtney Jackson!” Papa shot up to his feet, yanking the blanket away from me, his voice deep and dangerous. It hit my ears and my gut, making me feel like I was going to puke. “Don’t you ever let me hear you say that again.”

“I’m nineteen,” I spat back, wishing I could stand up to him. I hated feeling like a little girl. Whenever Papa and Dad were around at shows, everyone treated me like I was five. Most of them had known me since the day I was born. It was hard enough to be taken seriously without my parents breathing down my neck. “Kenny and Adam say it all the time. So do Chuck and Trent and Cassidy and Mox…”

“I don’t care what they say, Mattie. You were raised better than that!” Papa was practically shouting. “Grandma Buck would pop you in the mouth for that.”

My chest ached as my heart thundered behind my ribs. I could feel my pulse slamming against the inside of my cast. My stomach turned sideways, and for the first time in a long time, I wanted to wail for my mom. I just wanted her.

“Why do you care?” I asked suddenly, not sure where the words came from.

Papa’s face turned red. “Because you’re my daughter!”

“No, I’m not!” I shouted, absolutely loathing the words the moment they came out of my mouth. I watched Papa’s face crumple. He sank onto the couch like someone had kicked his legs out from under him. His eyes were big and brown, vulnerable and hurt. And they were already spilling over with tears. “Papa… I…”

His jaw clenched. He settled one hand over his heart, and for a moment I was terrified that he was having a heart attack or something. “Mattie…” Papa’s voice was smaller than I’d ever heard it. Sadder than it had ever been, even when Dad was gone and Mama had been in tears for a week. “How could you…”

For a moment, he was completely silent. His hands fell into his lap and he stared at them. Tears slid down his cheeks and into his beard. It was the first time I noticed that it was going a little grey.

Matt

I’d had the air knocked out of me plenty of times in my life. But nothing compared to the ringing sound of Mattie shouting those words at me. It was like gravity fell apart and everything was going topsy turvy. There was a dull ache in my chest, like someone had punched a hole straight through. My gut felt like it was trying to crawl up my throat.

“I cut your chord… I held you the day you were born… I watched you come into this world…”

I wondered if she even heard the words. They were so quiet I barely heard them myself. Instead I was lost in memories of the little girl with dark brown hair and bright blue eyes that had stolen my heart the moment she’d let out her first wail. Bringing her home, pacing the floors as Nick and I tried not to wake Y/N with her crying, driving around and around the block to get her to sleep when she had colic. Those petrified months when she started to crawl, when I was obsessed with making sure she didn’t run into anything. Her first tottering steps, watching Nick and Y/N chase her through the yard. Trying so hard to build her swing set and her bicycle and her princess castle. Teaching her to swim.

Walking through Disneyland with her on my shoulders. Getting buried up to my knees in sand on the beach in Hawaii while she giggled and ran off to catch starfish and sand dollars. Agonizing days and nights when we had to be away from home on loops. Setting her off on her first day of school with her Beauty and the Beast backpack and her light up glitter sneakers.

My throat threatened to close. I could feel the tears running down my face, but I couldn’t catch a breath. That ache in my chest grew until it felt like that was all I knew.

Tumbling with her in the ring in the backyard. Teaching her those first few precious things. Helping her with her homework. Watching her paint and sketch, looking for all the world like my wife made over. Christmases and birthdays and Easters and dragging her out of bed at six AM to make breakfast for Y/N on Mother’s Day. Sitting around our picnic style dining table and talking about wrestling, Oreo sleeping on her feet. Watching her sob and curl into a ball after everything that happened at her school. Seeing the temporary loss of Nick break her heart like it had ours. Then following along as she opened up and bloomed in her co-op, in the ring.

I’d watched every moment of her existence, and I didn’t think I could love someone as much as I loved her and her brothers and sister. Mattie was my oldest, my firstborn, regardless of what the DNA test said. I’d always promised Y/N that… promised Nick that.

There’d been a moment of terror when Y/N told me what Mattie had wanted for her eighteenth birthday—to know who her birth father was. My wife had taken me aside and told me, so I wouldn’t be blindsided when it happened. And God knew, I’d dreaded the moment that Mattie would look at me and see someone other than her Papa.

Now that the moment had come, I couldn’t bear it. The pain rocketed through me, radiating out from that excruciating cavern behind my ribs. This is what it feels like, I thought, staring dumbly at my hands, this is what it feels like to have a broken heart.

“Mattie…” I said her name, and it felt like knives stabbing me in the back. How could I have lost my little girl so completely?

A noise made me look up. Maybe it was the nineteen years of listening for her every breath and whine and cry that made me hear the whimper that she tried to hide behind her cast. She’d pulled herself to the edge of the sofa and was slowly scooting her way over to me. Her eyes—blue like my brother’s—were full of sadness and regret. Her lip trembled the way it always did when she was about to burst into tears.

I saw her for an instant as she had been at three. Dark curls and wide eyes, clutching an elephant in one hand and Nick’s ponytail with the other as we told her that he and I were going to Japan for a month. And that she couldn’t come with us. Her bottom lip had trembled, those sapphire eyes had turned glassy, and she’d cried so hard and so long that she made herself sick and we missed our flight.

“I’m sorry, Papa,” she said softly. The sound of her voice shattered my heart just then. It was the sound she’d made when she told us about the girls at school. About the bruises on her arms and the taunts the kids yelled at her in the halls.

My next words came out before I had a chance to think about them. “You’re the one who gave me that name.”

Mattie

My knee hurt so bad as I pulled myself down the sofa toward Papa. I’d never wanted to take words back as badly as I wanted to take back telling him I wasn’t his daughter. I hated myself for making him look so sad.

His words thumped me in the chest. They were wistful, a little bit sad with a tinge of nostalgic happiness.

“I did?”

Papa looked over at me, a smile spreading over his face. “You did. We were sitting on the sofa in Dad’s house. You were all wrapped up in one of his Clippers shirts—” He stopped and let out a laugh. “He was determined that you’d be like him. You didn’t have blankets as a baby. You had Nick’s old Clippers gear. But this one was your favorite.”

I knew exactly which one he meant. It was folded up in the bottom of my gear bag. The image was faded into almost nothing on the front and the fabric was worn thin in places.

“I had you right here,” he said, pantomiming holding something against his chest. “Dad was making you laugh and Mama came in. Before you were born, she decided what you’d grow up calling us.” He leaned in, a smile on his face that only showed up when he talked about Mama. “Nick and I didn’t like them, but you know how we are with your mom. I sat you up on my lap and Dad told you to pick which of us was Papa.”

He stopped, and I couldn’t help but drag myself further over the sofa to put my head against his shoulder. His chest hitched. “And you… you leaned against my chest. Just like that…” Papa reached up and put his hand on the side of my head. “I don’t care that I’m not your biological father, Mattie. You’re my daughter. I’ve loved you with every breath in my body since the second you came into the world. A piece of paper doesn’t change that. Not for me.

“Do you still… think of me like…”

I hugged him as tightly as I could. I wished harder than I’d ever wished in my life that I could take back everything I said to him.

“I didn’t think you…” I whispered against his shoulder. “Not knowing that Dad was…”

It shocked me when Papa started laughing. He wrapped his arm around me and grinned. “How can you not be my daughter? You’re as stubborn and sometimes stupid just like me.”

I hid my face against his shoulder just like I’d done my whole life. “You’re my Papa. And I’m your Tea.”

Tag List

@mox-made-me-do-it @not-that-kinda-gurl08 @lilred91 @imagineall-the-fandoms @maelleoute @librathepheonix13 @justamess44

#too late tales #the too late tales #matt jackson #matt jackson fanfiction #nick jackson #nick jackson fanfiction #mattie jackson #young bucks #young bucks fanfiction #polyamory #polyamorous relationships #daddy daughter moments #matt x reader #nick x reader #matt x reader x nick #angst

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bazwillendinflames · 4 years

Text

Gravity Falls/LIS2 AU

The last place Sean wants to spend his Summer is in a weird town in the middle of no where, Oregon, reconnecting with a Mother who hadn’t wanted to see them in years in her weird tourist trap. But Daniel is determined to go and his Dad gives Sean little choice but to babysit him.

But soon it becomes clear there is more to Beaver Creek than meets the eye and the strangeness of the town soon unlocks some family secrets and strange abilities. Maybe their Summer won’t be so boring after all.

AO3

“Lyla, I will die of boredom.”

“It can’t be that bad,” she replied, her voice a little tinny still. The bad reception was just one of many reasons that Sean was having an awful time. (In the week and a half since they had arrived, he’d already made a list.)

“Nope, it is exactly as bad as I’m saying.”

“I mean, come on, you’re Mom’s there. What’s that like that?”

Sean scowled. “Number one on reasons this place sucks. All she talks to us about is all this weird mystic stuff she likes. Her store is so weird, it’s all crystals and bad poetry.”

Lyla snorted. “Really?”

“Yep. Not to mention this is the whitest town ever.” He glanced out the window, where Karen was smoking, notebook in hand and ducked his head before she could spot him. “There are no cool people.”

“Come on, you have Danny.”

“I get enough babysitting at home thanks.” He glanced outside again, wondering exactly how long he could bitch on the phone for and call it a break. “Anyway, this place is just making Daniel weirder. He’s convinced this place is magic or something.”

“That’s sweet. Hey, we used to play witches when we were kids, remember?”

“Hey, you were the witch, I was a manly wizard.”

That time Lyla actually laughed. “Sure dude. I’ll believe it when I see it.”

“Anyway, we were into the Harry Potter books, you know before terf-face ruined them. Daniel is into the ancient runes and fake spell cards Mo- Karen sells.”

“That’s adorable.”

“Ugh, only you could find him adorable. That’s only because Daniel doesn’t kick you in your sleep-”

“Did Lyla call me adorable?”

Sean sighed as Daniel barged in. Not much had changed since home tehre at least, apart from the fact they now shared Karen’s attic room. (Bunk beds, making the being kicked in the shin at night thing even more annoying.)

“Hey, I’m kinda on the-”

Daniel yanked the phone and rolled on the bed. “Hiiiiii Lyla. Do you miss us?”

“Give me that back.”

He wiggled out of his grap. “Did you know Sean talks in his sleep, it’s so weird-”

“You would know about weird,” he grumbled, snatching his phone back, only to find the shitty signal had finally cut out on Lyla. “Dude.”

“Sorry.” Daniel grinned at him. “Hey, I’m helping Mom restock, can you help me reach the top shelves?”

He checked the time on his phone. He had almost managed a whole brother-free hour.

“Guess I should I get back to work.”

“Cool.” Daniel followed him downstairs, bouncing with energy. “Hey, Sean what does terf-face mean?”

Sean was stuck behind the register, although the store was still empty. He wasn’t sure why Karen insisted on such early opening hours when no one else showed up.

He rubbed his eyes, the early start not helped by the fact Daniel had been reading with a torch all night. He had picked up a weird book from the store or something. Of course he would pick up a late night reading habit once they were sharing a room.

“I brought you guys some toast.” Karen balanced the plate on the top of some unsold art books. (Her organization was as great as her parenting.)

“Thanks Mom!”

Sean poked at a black spot under a thick layer of peanut butter. “Yeah, thanks.”

“I gotta do some inventory but I’ll be back up for lunch.”

“Can we go to the cool diner? Chris says the milkshakes are great.”

Karen smiled. “Yeah. Does that sound good Sean?”

He grunted in response and her grin flickered.

“Right, work. You boys got this.”

“We’re not your boys,” Sean muttered, although she didn’t hear.

“Why are you so mean to Mom?” Daniel asked, his mouth full of toast. “She’s always nice.”

“Right, she’s been real nice the first nine years of your life.”

Daniel looked up at him with big eyes. “Sean…”

“Fine, I’ll try. Put those eyes away Bambi.”

He smiled. “So, I was thinking the strawberry milkshakes are Chris’ favourite but I like chocolate more so you could get one and we could share?”

“Huh, yeah, sure.” Sean had only been half listening, distracted by the newest customer. Waking up early suddenly had its appeal. The girl had matted purple hair, an arm full of tattoos and a guitar strapped to her back. She caught him looking and winked.

“Are you okay Sean? You just went really red and-”

“What? No. Shut up.” Sean moved into a more casual position, his eyes still fixed on the pretty girl. His elbow knocked the tip jar and it fell off the edge. “Shit-”

“Here.” Daniel put it back. “Woah…”

“Good catch Enano.”

“Yeah. Catch! I totally caught it.” Daniel smiled a little suspiciously. “Hey, you said a swear, you owe me a dollar.”

“A dollar? It’s only a quarter at home.”

“Now we’re away from Dad, you’re supposed to be a good influence.”

“You get a quarter.” Sean dropped the coin in his hand. “Be cool.”

“What?”

“Hey boys.” The purple-haired girl leaned against the other end of the counter, an easy smile on her face. Her voice had a faint Southern tang. “So, I come to this town every Summer and I don’t recognise either of you cuties.”

“I- we- um-”

His brother beat him to it. “I’m Daniel.”

Cursing his stammering, he finally managed to introduce himself. “I’m Sean.”

“Why hello. I’m Cassidy.”

“Hi. Um, cool guitar. You play?” (Internally, Sean cringed: You play? Why else would she have a guitar?)

“Yeah, funnily enough. I’m actually here to hand out flyers for my band’s show. Could you hang it up?”

“Yeah.” Sean took the flyer. “Your show is this Friday?”

“And every other Friday. You wanna come?”

“I’m invited?”

Cassidy laughed. “Yeah sure. It is a concert. You’re lucky you’re cute, City Boy.”

“City boy?”

“It’s on your sweatshirt idiot,” Daniel whispered. Seattle Track Meet, 2015. He was frowning in the general direction of Cassidy. “We’re busy Friday so-”

“No. Nope, I’m not busy. Ignore him.” Sean flattened his hair. “I’ll be there Friday.”

“I’ll look out for you City Boy. Nice to meet you.”

Sean waited until Cassidy had left before pumping his fist. “Yes! She called me cute Dan!”

“You’re the worst.”

“What?”

Daniel pouted. “You promised you’d take me camping in the woods Friday. I already brought us marshmallows and walkie-talkies.”

“Hey, there is plenty of time to camp in those freaky woods. But I only have one chance with a girl like Cassidy.”

“Wrong, you have zero chances with any girl.” Daniel stomped off to the corner of the store. “You’re the worst.”

“Dan- come on.” His brother went back to ignoring him. Sean crossed his arms. “Fine. Be like that!”

There was the only sound of a raspberry in response.

“Nope, I’m totally with Danny. That was a jerk move.”

“What? Lyla, you’re supposed to be my hype man- er woman. You’re always trying to set me up on dates.”

“Dude, three weeks ago you were so into Jenn.”

He sighed. “And Jenn was into Derek Anderson. We had ice cream and everything.”

“Dude, don’t fuck up your relationship with Danny over a dumb Summer romance.”

Sean buried his head in his pillow. “You sound like my Dad.”

“Go to this hippy girl’s show next time. You Danny will do the face.”

“The Bambi face?” Sean groaned. “I have been facing the Bambi face all week.”

Lyla scoffed. “Is there anything else to add?”

“Fine. I’ll go camping. But only for the s’mores.”

“Okay, brother of the year.”

“Thanks jerk.”

Lyla blew him an exaggerated kiss. “Aw, love you too.”

Sean grabbed his backpack, moving to shove in his hoodie and torch. Daniel had already shoved one of the walkie-talkies inside.

“Calling little wolf, we are back on for camping.”

There was nothing but static on the other end. Sean pocketed the walkie-talkie and headed downstairs, calling his brother’s name. There was no one in the kitchen and only Karen sitting in the living room, chewing on the edge of a pen.

“Hey, have you seen Daniel?”

Karen looked up. “Oh, I thought you already left? Daniel passed by twenty minutes ago with the sleeping bags.”

“That little-” Sean wasn’t panicking, but he was maybe sweating a little more than he had been before. “Um, right. I just forget a…” he scanned the room and grabbed Daniel’s weird book, “scary story. Classic camping right?”

“Oh. Have a nice time then.” Karen hesitated. “I know you’re not thrilled to be here. But I hope by the end of the Summer we can understand each other better.

“Me too.” Sean tried to look as un-guilty as possible. “See you tomorrow Karen.”

“Daniel!” He yelled, running head first into the spooky mass of woodlands beyond their store. “Dan, I’m sorry okay. Quit hiding!”

No answer. Sean went digging for the walkie-talkie, now glowing an eerie blue.

“Dan?”

The walkie-talkie crackled again- “Sean?”

“Dan.” He let out a shaky breath. “Hey, I’m sorry I ditched you-”

“Sean, help!”

He was clutching the walkie-talkie so hard his knuckles went white. “What’s wrong? I’m coming okay. What’s happening?”

“Creature- help- monster- ahh!”

Sean scanned the trees around him, suddenly aware he was lost too. Daniel had been the one eager to explore the woods but he had said it was too creepy and now it seemed he was being proven right.

“Sean- book- monster-”

He dug around to find the weird book Daniel had been carrying around all week. He had assumed it was from one of Karen’s displays but now he was looking at it, the journal seemed too real to go with the modern witchcraft bullshit she was trying to sell. The cover was dark blue and the pages thick with drawings and polaroids.

“Dan, I have the book, what do I need to look for? What is this thing?”

“Page- tree- monster-” Daniel was breathing heavily. “Hear?”

“I can hear you,” he said comfortingly, “I’m coming.”

He held the torch in his teeth, flicking through pages until he came across a few marked with Daniel’s doodles and writing. He seemed to be studying telekinetic powers, complete with a superhero sketch: SUPER /DUDE DAN/ WOLF? ask Sean for name ideas

He finally came across the page that looked like a bush drawn with yellow eyes.

Dangerous

camouflage shape shifters

Hard to photograph shush ma-

Likes dark

Under the original writing Daniel had added his own note: babies in woods.

“Hey,” Sean held up the walkie-talkie, “is it these moss creatures? What well?”

“Sean!” This time Daniel’s voice was clearer, his voice steadier.

“Dan. What happened? Please tell me you had a good reason to go into the woods alone without telling me or Karen.”

“Come on, that’s it? Can you yell at me when I’m not being chased?”

“Okay. I’m coming, where are you?”

“Where are you?”

“By some trees. There’s a sign for a lake?”

“Go to the lake, I’ll meet you there.” Daniel was cut off by some more static. “Hey, stop chewing that Mushroom!”

Sean followed the signs, hoping Daniel at least would know a way out. How did he know the woods so well already? Was Sean that much of a shitty brother he hadn’t noticed him running off into these haunted-ass woods?

The lake slowly came into the view but it was empty.

“Daniel? Dan?”

The lake was weirdly normal, just muddy water and a few droopy looking frogs. Still, Sean was still on edge, swinging the heavy torch from hand to hand. The faster they got home, the better.

His relative peace was interrupted by the rustling of tree branches and heavy footsteps. Daniel came barging through the trees, a small bundle of something wrapped in his checked shirt. Something was chasing him and fast- Sean barely had time to move out the way as Daniel crashed into him. Something big and fast ran past.

“Sean!” Daniel threw himself into his arms. “I’m sorry, don’t yell at me.”

“I’m not mad. But you did scare the shit out of me.”

“Sean-”

“Fine, you get a dollar, let’s just go-”

“No, look.”

Sean turned slowly, met with amber eyes and a large face of bark and weeds. The creature sniffed at him curiously.

“Um-”

Daniel hid behind him. “Any ideas?”

“You have the stupid haunted book!” The creature snorted, blowing hot air in his face. “Wait, the book said-” Sean slowly moved for his pocket, finding Dad’s lighter.

“Dan, on three, we run.”

“One-” he reached for a branch, “two-” he flicked the lighter on, “three!” Sean held the flaming branch up the creature’s face, dragging Daniel out the way as it squirmed. “What, the light should have scared it off.”

“Remember when you said you weren’t going to get mad?”

Sean turned to him, as Daniel revealed the squirming mass of moss in his arms.

“You stole it’s kid?”

“I always wanted a puppy! She’s called Mushroom-”

Seeing it’s child, the larger creature started inching slowly towards Daniel.

“Put it down! We can’t keep this weird monster-baby!”

“We bonded!” The larger creature nudged its nose towards the smaller one, poking his chest with a spikey horn. “Okay, I’ll give her back.”

Daniel held out his arms, placing the small creature on the floor. It wiggled a loose vine that could almost be a tail and followed its parents into the woods.

Sean punched him in the arm. “That’s for trying to adopt an actual monster.”

Daniel rubbed his arm. “Ouch.”

Sean pulled him into a hug. “And that’s for scaring the shit out of me. I’m glad you’re okay though.”

“Me too.” Daniel smiled. “Hey, now you owe me two dollars!”

After all the excitement, the brothers’ settled on camping in Karen’s yard.

“So, you found that spooky book in a tree and didn’t think to tell me?”

“You were being the worst!”

Sean laughed. “Okay, I deserve that. But, next time you find a weird monster thing, tell me. We’re in this together.”

“Okay promise.” Daniel threw another marshmallow at him. “Sorry I made you miss your concert. I guess Cassidy wasn’t that bad.”

“Hey, I saved your butt, that’s more important.” Sean took a bite out a s’more. “Hey, there isn’t anything else you’re not telling me right?”

“Actually,” Daniel held out his hand, a marshmallow hoovering a few inches above his palm. “Surprise?”

(A boring Summer suddenly looked so much more appealing.)

#Life is Strange 2 #Daniel Diaz #Sean Diaz #gravity falls #lis2

13 notes · View notes

debbiechanclub · 4 years

Text

Best Two Out of Three, Part 11

Before you all get into reading this part that I’ve been STRESSING over, I want to say from the deepest depths of my often cynical heart how much I appreciate each and every one of you. It blows my mind on the daily that there are so many people who seem to care about this fic. YOU ALL MEAN SO MUCH TO ME. This fic has given me something to focus on and look forward to during this strange time in the world.

And now that I’ve buttered you up... pleasepleaseplease don’t kill me or @what-does-mine-say or Alex. She’s just trying to do the right thing, dammit!

Best Two Out of Three

Part: 11/26

Pairing: Kenny Omega x OFC x Cash Wheeler and Adam Page x OFC

Warnings: ANGST

Word Count: 4.2k

Catch up on previous parts here.

Alex woke up just after 7 a.m. the next morning. She’d slept as best as she could, given all that was on her mind. And that meant she needed a strong cup of coffee, stat.

She opened the door to the guest room and padded quietly through the house into the kitchen. She was surprised to find Adam there. “Morning,” he greeted when he noticed her. “I wasn’t expecting to see you up for another hour at least.”

“I could say the same about you,” she returned. “You and Dax hit the bottle pretty hard last night.”

“Please, that was nothing and you know it,” he dismissed. “Besides, I figured I’d get up and make everyone breakfast. You know, since Callie did everything yesterday.”

He grinned at her. She playfully rolled her eyes as she motioned at the coffee pot. “Is that coffee fresh?”

He nodded. She grabbed a mug from a cabinet and poured herself a cup, just waiting for Adam to bring up Cash. It didn’t take long.

“So,” he said as he started cracking eggs into a large bowl. “You and Cash looked like you were getting pretty cozy last night.”

Alex’s face went instantly red. She took a sip of coffee to try to hide it—but there was absolutely no hiding it.

“You like him,” Adam grinned.

If possible, her face went even redder. “Don’t.”

“Why? You know he’s been asking me about you.”

“Because, Adam.” She stopped and let out a frustrated huff. “Why are you so obviously trying to set me up with Cash? Better yet—why are you so obviously against me and Kenny?”

Adam stopped what he was doing. He looked conflicted, like there was something weighing on his mind. But Alex couldn’t have predicted what he said next. “Because I think Cash would be better for you than Kenny, Alex.”

A weight dropped like a rock into the pit of her stomach. She was stunned. Kenny was Adam’s tag team partner—his friend. She couldn’t believe he would go behind his back like that. “What?”

Adam cracked another egg and tossed the shell into the trash. “Look,” he started. “Maybe I shouldn’t say this but… even if you and Kenny finally did decide to be together for real, I don’t know if he’d ever really make you happy.”

That confused her even further. “What? Why?”

“Because you’re such different people, Alex,” he said. “You like drinking and having a good time just as much as I do. You like actually watching baseball, and stupid comedy shows, and you know how to handle a gun, for fuck’s sake. Meanwhile, Kenny doesn’t drink, and I love the guy but, besides wrestling, I honestly don’t know what his interests are other than video games and Japan. You don’t play video games. You suck at video games.”

She sent him a flat look. “So you think Kenny can’t make me happy because he doesn’t drink and I suck at video games?”

“Come on, it’s more than that and you know it,” he breathed. “Let me ask you this: have you ever stopped to think if you and Kenny actually have a connection? Or is it just physical?”

Alex opened her mouth—but she didn’t have anything good to say. Now that he’d forced her to think about it, she honestly didn’t know if her connection with Kenny did go beyond the physical. Their conversations never went below the surface to anything of substance. In fact, whenever she’d tried to go deeper in the past, he’d always pushed her away; and then, inevitably, he’d try to reassure her with sex. Trent was right—Kenny had commitment issues. But maybe Adam had a point, too. Were she and Kenny just not right for each other?

“Look,” he said again, pulling her out of her thoughts. “I know I’ve put you in a shitty position, and I’m sorry for that. But I can tell that you and Cash do have a connection. And I think that’s worth giving a shot.”

He went back to cracking eggs. Alex frowned down into her coffee. She thought back to less than eight hours ago, to how she’d felt when Cash had held her in the hallway, like there wasn’t anyone else who mattered in the world. They did have a connection; she could feel it already. But, given the circumstances, she also couldn’t help but feel guilty about it.

“I’m gonna go get dressed,” she sighed, and she walked out of the kitchen before Adam could say a word. She went straight back to the guest room and fished her phone out of her bag. There weren’t any messages. She opened her texts with Kenny, her thumbs hovering over the digital keyboard. But she didn’t know what to say. There was too much and absolutely nothing to say all at once.

Someone knocked lightly on the half-open door. She turned and looked. Her heart fluttered. It was Cash.

“Morning, sweetheart.” He let himself in, pushing the door nearly closed behind him. She felt her pulse start to quicken—but then he gave her an amused smirk. “Did you sleep in an Orange Cassidy shirt?”

“Oh.” Alex flushed as she looked down at her shirt. “Yeah. What, are you jealous?”

“A little, yeah,” he admitted with a grin. “I’m gonna have to get you an FTR shirt to sleep in.”

She bit back a grin. Something about Cash made her feel like a schoolgirl with a crush. She hadn’t felt that way in a long time.

“Come here,” he said. She dropped her phone to the bed and met him halfway, wrapping her arms around his neck. “Mm,” he hummed as he hugged her. “How’d you sleep?”

“As well as I could, I guess,” she answered. “You?”

“Same. I had to talk myself out of coming in here more than once.”

She smiled against his shoulder. “Did you?”

He nodded. “Yeah.” He unwrapped his arms from around her but kept his hands on her hips, still holding her close. “Are you glad you came this weekend?”

She nodded. “Yeah, I am. It was… unexpected. I’ll just put it that way.” She ran her hands over his chest, worrying at her lip. It had been unexpected, alright. In a good way… but also in a not-so-good way. Just because she’d realized her feelings for Cash were more than just drunken attraction didn’t mean that her feelings for Kenny were gone. They weren’t—and she didn’t want to hurt him. She knew all too well what that felt like.

“Hey,” Cash gently said. She looked back up at him. His eyes were soft and sincere. “I know things are complicated right now. And I don’t want to complicate them further. But I wasn’t just sweet talking you last night, Alex. I meant everything I said. And if you meant what you said, too… then I’d like to take you out sometime, even if it’s just for coffee.”

There were the butterflies again. “Are you asking me on a date, Cash?”

He smiled. “Yeah. If that’s something you’d be interested in.”

Alex’s grin nearly split her face in two. “Of course I’d be interested,” she said. But her grin faltered. She couldn’t just accept a date with Cash. As he’d said, things were complicated.

“Why do I feel like there’s a ‘but’ coming?” he asked.

“But,” she said. “I need to talk to Kenny first. It wouldn’t be fair to him if I didn’t.”

Cash nodded. “I know. And honestly, the fact that you know that makes me like you even more.”

She smiled and wrapped her arms around his neck again, and he held her tight like he had in the hallway the night before. Alex knew there was a difficult conversation ahead of her, and probably a lot more guilt and anguish. But Adam was right: what she and Cash seemed to have was worth a shot.

She just wasn’t looking forward to having to tell that to Kenny.

* * * * * * * * * *

Alex arrived at the hotel in Jacksonville on Wednesday with a heavy heart and a stomach full of nerves. Her legs felt like Jell-O as she walked across the lobby toward the elevator, praying that she wouldn’t run into anyone on the way up to the room. She wasn’t ready to talk to anyone yet.

She hadn’t spoken to Cash since he and Dax had left Adam and Callie’s house on Sunday, and that was by design. She’d told him before he could even ask for it that she didn’t feel comfortable giving him her number until after she’d talked to Kenny; she just wouldn’t have felt right texting—and probably flirting with—him behind Kenny’s back. Cash had, of course, completely understood. Ironically, how sweet and sensitive he was being about the entire situation only made things harder for her.

As for Kenny… their communication had been sporadic over the last four days. He’d been busy. She wasn’t even sure what with; all the things he had on his plate were hard to keep straight. But honestly, his business had been a blessing in disguise. If they’d talked any more than they had, she didn’t doubt she would have given away that something was weighing on her.

But Cash and Kenny weren’t the only people on her mind. She still needed to talk to her best friend—and she couldn’t put off that conversation any longer.

She stepped off the elevator and made her way to the room number written on the key card sleeve the hotel clerk had given her. When she arrived, she slid the key card into the lock, opened the door, and gave a warning knock. “Are you naked?”

There was no answer at first. And then Chuck called, “No. Should I be?”

Alex laughed lightly to herself as she walked the rest of the way into the room. “Just checking. Can’t be too careful after you and James walked in on me.”

Chuck stood from his bed, clearly surprised to see her. “Hey. Are you staying here this week?”

She looked sheepishly at the floor. “I was hoping to, if that’s alright with you.”

He didn’t hesitate. “Yeah, of course,” he said. Alex let out a relieved breath. “I just figured you’d stay with Kenny again.”

She awkwardly cleared her throat. She really didn’t want to get into all that right now, so she just ignored the comment. “Well, you and I are about a week overdue for a certain conversation.”

For a second, Chuck looked like a deer in headlights. But then he shook his head. “We don’t have to talk about that, Alex.”

“No, we really do, Chuck,” she returned. “Trent and I might have hashed things out, but that doesn’t mean that what he said just disappeared.”

“I didn’t agree with anything he said.”

She pursed her lips. “Be honest.”

His eyebrows arched. “I am!”

“So you don’t think I took advantage of your feelings by flirting with you to get the attention I didn’t get from Kenny?”

“No! Not intentionally!”

Alex gaped at him. “So you do think that then.”

“No, I—” he cut himself off and let out a frustrated huff. “Okay, that sounded bad. But I promise you—it didn’t hurt me. Not like Trent implied. I’m not an idiot, Alex; I knew what you were doing. And honestly? If I could help keep you from crying over Kenny, then I really didn’t care if the flirting meant anything or not.”

He looked back at her, completely vulnerable and honest, and it absolutely gutted Alex. Was that really the truth? If it was, then Chuck was too good a person; she felt completely undeserving of his friendship. But there was a giant pink elephant staring at her from the corner of the room, and there was no way they could put this behind them if they didn’t address it. So Alex just came out and said it.

“When you told me you were in love with me in Vegas, did you mean it?”

Chuck hesitated. But then he ran a hand through his hair and said, “At the time, yeah. But I got over it. That’s why it pisses me off that Trent and James still bring it up. They don’t know what they’re talking about.”

Alex felt like she’d had the wind knocked out of her. She walked over to one of the beds and sunk down onto the comforter, stunned. Chuck was at her side in a second. “When?” she breathed.

His brow furrowed. “When?”

“When did you get over it?”

He combed his fingers through his hair again. “I don’t know… sometime in the fall? I mean, I knew you didn’t feel the same. And you got involved with Kenny not long after I said it, so… it was just easier to get over it.”

Alex couldn’t look at him. She felt awful. More awful than she had when Trent had called her out, more awful than she did about her feelings for Cash. That’s why Chuck had let her flirt with him—because he’d been in love with her. And she’d been too blind and selfish to see it.

She looked back at him. “Why don’t you hate me?”

He gave her a look like that were impossible for him. “Because I do love you. Platonically,” he emphasized with a grin. It made her smile, just a bit. He wrapped an arm around her shoulders and pulled her against his side. “You and Trent and James are my best friends. And there’s not a lot that I care more about than that.” He paused. “I mean, there’s Walter’s happiness and health. And the Phillies. And the Sixers. And the—”

“I think I get it,” she smirked.

He smiled. “The point is… our friendship is like a cockroach. A nuclear blast wouldn’t kill that shit.”

Alex pinched the bridge of her nose, trying not to laugh. “You have a way with words, Chuck.”

“I know,” he seriously returned. “So can we please put all this behind us and go back to being best friends?”

She looked up at him. “We never weren’t best friends,” she said as she pulled him into a hug. She closed her eyes, happy to have at least sorted this out; but when she opened them again, she got a shock. Trent and James were peeking around the adjoining door between their rooms. Watching. “What the fuck?” she proclaimed.

“What?” Chuck let her go and turned around to look. “Seriously?” he asked when he saw them. “How long have you been there?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” James coolly returned. “We just got here.”

Alex pursed her lips. That was an obvious lie.

“So are you two good now?” Trent asked.

“Yeah,” Alex nodded with a smile. “As long as Chuck is okay then I am, too.”

He wrapped his arm around her again. “Of course I am,” he assured.

Trent stepped into the room. “Well then I think we know what this calls for.” He opened his arms and beckoned them over.

Alex arched a brow. “Seriously?”

“We’ve got to give the people what they want, Alex,” he returned.

She playfully rolled her eyes as she and Chuck stood up and walked over. James joined them, and they all gave each other a group hug, Alex squished in the middle.

There were a few seconds of silence. And then Alex said, muffled by James’s shoulder, “This is weird.”

The others all agreed as they stepped back from each other. “Yeah, let’s never do that again alone in our hotel room,” Trent said. But Alex smiled. Chuck was right. Their friendships were like cockroaches—and she wouldn’t have it any other way.

* * * * * * * * * *

A little while later, Alex walked down the hall toward the elevators. She felt like she was walking to her execution. Kenny had texted that he’d arrived at the hotel and can’t wait to see you. She’d wrestled with what to do before she sent a response—See you in a few—and went out the door. There was no point in delaying the inevitable.

She rode the elevator up one floor and made her way to Kenny’s room, hoping that the Bucks or anyone else wouldn’t be there, too. When she got to his door, she took a deep, steadying breath and knocked. It was only a few seconds before he answered. The sight of him broke Alex’s heart before he even said a word.

“Hey, baby,” he smiled. Her stomach fluttered. Why did he have to call her that? But then his brow furrowed. “Where’s your bag?”

She had to swallow a lump in her throat before she could answer. “I’m actually staying with Chuck this week.” She looked down at her hands, picking anxiously at her nails. She wasn’t at all surprised by what Kenny said next.

“Oh… okay. Is something wrong?”

She looked back up at him, her heart pounding in her chest. “Can I come in?”

He didn’t say anything at first. It was obvious now that something was wrong. But he nodded. “Yeah.” He stepped back and opened the door so she could walk inside. She moved past him and sat down on the bed; her legs were too shaky to stand. Kenny closed the door and came to sit facing her on the bed. He put a hand on her thigh. “Alex, what’s going on?”

Alex stared at the carpet in front of her. She’d thought a lot about how to start this conversation over the last four days, and she’d kept coming back to what Adam had said to her as they’d stood in his kitchen Sunday morning. “Have you ever thought about if we’re actually compatible?”

She looked over at him. He looked confused. “What? What’re you talking about?”

“You know what I’m talking about,” she breathed. “Have you honestly ever really thought about if we’re right for each other?”

He searched her eyes, completely taken aback. “What brought this on?”

“Please… don’t avoid the question.”

He let out a sigh. “Alex…” he reached out and gently cupped the back of her head, massaging his fingers through her hair. “I told you I want to do this right this time around. Don’t you think I would have thought about that?”

Alex closed her eyes. That was a non-answer, and she didn’t know what to make of it. “If you want to do it right this time then why doesn’t it feel any different than eight months ago?”

Kenny abruptly stopped massaging her head. “What?”

She looked back into his eyes. “I feel like we’ve barely talked in the last week. And I know it’s only been a week since we decided to try this again… but it already feels like more of the same, Kenny. You said you wanted talk to Trent after our fight, but you didn’t. It bothered me, but I understood; when we’re at work, business should come first. But the thing that really got to me was when you didn’t come back to the hotel room until after one in the morning after telling me that filming for BTE wouldn’t take that long. So were you actually filming that late, or were you just hanging out with Matt and Nick or whoever?”

He pulled his hand back. “Alex,” he started—but she wasn’t done.

“It made me feel like you didn’t care that I was sitting up waiting for you. Do you know how often I felt that way last year? Too often. I don’t want to go through that again.”

They fell into silence. They were sitting right next to each other, but it suddenly felt like there was an ocean in between them.

“It’s only been a week,” Kenny reiterated.

Alex shook her head. Part of her wanted to believe him, to hold onto hope that this week was just a fluke—but she couldn’t ignore what Trent had told her at ringside last week. Maybe Kenny just didn’t have room in his life for a relationship. “I know. But it didn’t feel any different than the last time, Kenny. That’s the point I’m trying to make.”

She looked back down at the carpet, a heavy quiet engulfing them again. But then, unexpectedly, Kenny reached out and took her hand in his.

“I’m sorry that I didn’t get back to the hotel until after one in the morning,” he said. “I hate that it made you feel like I didn’t care, but I understand why it did. And I get why you’re worried. I know I need to work on balancing my work and personal life. You’re not the first person to tell me that; it’s a problem I’ve always had. But I will work on it, Alex. I want to work on it for you.”

Alex closed her eyes again. A tear rolled down her cheek. This was the part she didn’t want to do. But she had to. “That’s not the only thing,” she said.

He rubbed his thumb back and forth over her hand. “What do you mean?” he asked.

She spit it out before she could stop herself. “There’s someone else.”

Kenny went still, but he didn’t let go of her hand. The seconds that passed before he spoke again felt like an eternity. “Who? Chuck?”

Alex almost laughed; she hadn’t expected him to think that. “No,” she shook her head as she wiped the lone tear away from her cheek. “No, it’s not Chuck.” She paused. And then she said, “It’s Cash.”

He pulled his hand away then. “Cash?” He looked confused. “You flirted with Cash once when you were drunk.”

Alex bit down on her jaw. She could have easily thrown out a comment about how Kenny’s jealousy over her drunken flirting with Cash was the only reason he’d even talked to her that night, but she bit her tongue. She didn’t want to get in a fight. She was just trying to do the right thing—and that meant being honest. “I went to a cookout at Adam and Callie’s on Saturday,” she explained. “The whole point of it was to try to get me and Callie to at least not hate each other… but Adam invited Cash and Dax, too. And I’m not going to lie to you… I realized that I like Cash when I’m sober, too.”

“Cut to the chase, Alex.”

She stopped. The look on Kenny’s face was entirely unreadable. Her mouth went dry. If he wanted her to cut to the chase, then she would. “He asked me on a date,” she said. “And I know it’s fucked up, but… I wanted to tell him yes, Kenny. I can’t just ignore that.”

Another tear fell and she wiped it away. Kenny ran a frustrated hand over his face. “So what did you tell him?”

Her voice came out small. “That I needed to talk to you.”

His eyebrows arched. “That you needed to talk to me? About what? To get my permission to go out with another guy?”

“No!” she returned. “I wanted to talk to you so that I wouldn’t be going behind your back! So that I wouldn’t be lying to you about how conflicted I’m feeling!”

“Well, you’re not the only one.”

Alex’s face fell. Hearing that was like a knife to the gut.

“Maybe we rushed into this,” he added.

She faltered. There was only one thing left to say. “I’m sorry.”

He shook his head. “Don’t.” He ran a hand through his hair, scratched the back of his head in frustration. Alex sat there, mute. She knew it wasn’t her place to say any more.

“I get what you were trying to do with talking to me,” Kenny eventually said. “And I actually do appreciate that you didn’t want to lie to me or go behind my back. But I know how I feel about you, Alex. And if you don’t know how you feel about me, then you need to figure it out. And if that means going on a date with Cash… then I guess you should.”

Alex’s heart dropped into her stomach. She wanted to grab his hand, hold him, do or say something to communicate that her feelings for him hadn’t just disappeared. But she had a feeling that anything she might do or say would only make things worse.

His gaze met hers. “I think we’ve both said everything we have to say right now.”

Tears fell from both of Alex’s eyes then. She didn’t bother to wipe them away as she stood and moved toward the door. She didn’t know what this meant. It didn’t feel final, but it didn’t feel like there was anywhere for them to go, either. All she did know was that, as she let herself out, she felt even more confused than she had when she’d arrived.

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captcas · 4 years

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Worth Fighting For (11/?)

WORTH FIGHTING FOR by capthamm

Killian “Hook” Jones is a dominate up and comer in the UFC while Emma “The Savior” Swan’s career was cut short. When Hook’s manager moves up and the office brings in UFC’s youngest legend to keep him in check, will either of them be able to handle it?

read on ao3 // tumblr: ch 1/ ch 2 / ch 3 / ch 4 / ch 5 / ch 6 / ch 7 / ch 8 / ch 9 / ch 10 [Chapter 11/?]

As fast as her smile faded, Emma’s mask slips back on and she answers for him, “Mr. Jones was unaware of this development and will not be answering any further questions.

She turns away from the reporters, each of them arguing with her decision, but Killian knows better than to question her right now. He gives them all a wink to stay “in character” and turns to follow Emma– scratch that, chase after Emma. She’s practically at a dead sprint, and he’s trying to keep up with her while simultaneously calling them a car. It’s not until she’s out of the stadium that she finally stops, taking a deep breath of fresh air and pacing. He reaches out towards her, words of worry on his tongue when she turns towards him. He drops his hand to his side. “Not here. I will explain, but not here.” He nods, unsure of how else to help excluding pulling her into his arms which he’s not entirely sure would help the situation at all. Luckily the car arrives quickly and they’re on the road without further incident.

Emma doesn’t speak for the entire ride back to the hotel.

Or for the next forty-five minutes as they nurse seperate tumblers of rum at the dimly lit hotel bar.

Killian is desperately curious as to just who this Neal fellow is, but resists the urge to privately google him. Emma deserves to tell him why she reacted that way— who Neal is to her— if that’s what she wishes. He absent-mindedly watches the recap of the fights on SportsCenter as Emma practically chews a hole through her bottom lip pausing only to take a sip from her glass. He can’t help but stare, even visibly perplexed in horrible lighting Emma is the most radiant woman he’s ever seen. She catches him looking and meets his eye before he can shy away. Emma sighs, finishing the rest of her rum and signaling for another, before turning to Killian, “I suppose I should start at the beginning…”

He can tell she’s nervous and attempts to lighten the mood, “Aye, lass, that’s usually where all tales begin.” He winks and she cracks a small smile disrupted only by a larger sigh than the first.

“I was 18, just started training at the UFC gym on a scholarship for athletics I received in high school. It was technically supposed to go towards college but that wasn’t really my thing. It didn’t take very long for me to realize I was good… really good. Gold wanted me on Contender Series almost immediately and my career jump started before I could say ‘Ultimate Fighting’. Well, the higher ups weren’t the only ones who noticed.” Emma pauses. Killian wants to ask so many questions, but is nervous to break the very thin thread of trust they’re walking right now. He nods slightly so she knows he’s listening and she gives him a tight-lipped smile.

“He was older and already established in the league. He– he took me under his wing and showed me the ropes– media, fight nights, training, all that. Neal was my best friend…” She hesitates again and Killian uses every ounce of willpower not to grab her hand. “...and then he was more than that. We were always so careful but he had just won a huge fight and even got the Fight of the Night bonus. A little drunk– and not just on adrenaline– shit happens.” Emma hangs her head in her hands and Killian starts to put two and two together.

“Henry…” It comes out in a whisper, and entirely by accident. Emma’s eyes meet his and he expects anger but he just sees relief– he understands.

“Nothing gets past you.” She says it half joking and through the sting of rum, but he knows this is further in her story than she would usually dare to go. “Found out I was pregnant with his kid as his career was gaining momentum and that was that. I also found out he’d been betting on my fights based off what I told him in training and winning a shitload of money. So for whichever reason— maybe a combination of both— he left, blocked my number, and I was left with a positive pregnancy test and an empty apartment. It sucked, but it wasn’t long before I decided I was better without him. I left the sport and the minute I looked into Henry’s eyes, I knew I’d never be back in that ring.”

Killian has never wanted to knock someone out more. He can feel his fist clenching and tries to stop his jaw from tightening. Killian tries to tell himself that it’s not his place to be angry over something that happened to Emma– his heart doesn’t seem to care. “You didn’t deserve that, Swan.”

Emma nods. “I know that– now. I’ve come to terms with it.”

“Pardon my forwardness, love, but if your reaction back there is any indication I’d say that’s not true.” She goes to argue and he raises his hand to continue, “Not that I would blame you. I like a right crack at the bloke…”

Emma bursts out laughing, interrupting him. “Well, it appears you’re going to get your chance, Jones. And I am over it, just… wasn’t expecting the question– or you to be fighting him.”

Killian must give a questioning look because she sighs once more, “He’s been out of the league for awhile, working behind the scenes with his dad I’d imagine…”

“I’m sorry, love, his dad?”

“Gold.” The hair on the back of his neck stands up, realizing how deep Neal Cassidy’s blood runs in the league– clearly the reason he ran.

“Ah. Well, Swan, I promise to give him hell in that octagon.” Killian tries to make a joke but Emma is clearly still weighed down by something.

“Henry doesn’t know.”

There it is.

“He knows his dad is somehow connected to all this but he doesn’t know it’s Neal.”

“Why haven’t you told him?” Killian asks the question before he can second guess himself.

“I signed a NDA when Henry was born. Neal gave up his rights and I gave up child support and the right to tell Henry who his real father was. Once he turns 18, Henry can do whatever he wants, but I can’t— and don’t want to— tell him.”

“I would very much like to meet this Neal outside of the octagon.” She doesn’t need him to protect her, but he’ll gladly kick the arse of a man as despicable as that.

“You and me both.” She ends the conversation with that statement. Ordering one more round for the two of them and turning towards the TV. Killian doesn’t pry; grateful for her trust. They chat about nothing, but Killian doesn’t miss the slight touches of her hand or the way her smile finally reaches her eyes. He can’t be sure, but it’s almost as if sharing her story took some of the weight off her shoulders; her past easier to carry on four shoulders rather than two.

Killian is more than happy to share the burden.

. . .

Emma feels lighter, maybe even happier. She never intended on sharing her story with Killian but now that it’s out in the open she feels like the wall she was so certain would remain between the two of them has crumbled. She finds herself longing for small touches and even stealing small flirtatious glances. She’d have to be an idiot not to notice that Killian was sending them right back at her.

This is uncharted territory.

As they walk back to the hotel room, both slightly tipsy, the energy is reminiscent of the night they shared their first kiss– it scares her that she doesn’t seem to mind. When Killian unlocks the door, holding it open to follow her inside, the brush of his fingers on her back feel like lightning— a quick glance over her shoulder tells her he feels it too. Killian promptly excuses himself to the bathroom and Emma uses the brief moment to try and shake it out.

She’s not sure why she thought that would work.

Killian smiles as he leaves the bathroom, grabbing two bottles of water out of the fridge and handing one to her. If her fingers linger longer than they should have, but so do Killian’s. They sit awkwardly on the edge of the bed, and Emma reaches for the remote to fill the silence that is becoming uncomfortable in its safety.

She catches her breath when Killian speaks up. “For what it’s worth, Emma, I would nev–”

“I know.” It comes out without hesitation or thought. She meets his eyes briefly before inadvertently– yet not regrettably– glancing towards his lips.

She’s shocked to find she misses them.

That’s probably why she leans in a bit… she hopes that’s why he leans in too. Emma feels his fingers entangle in her hair. Their eyes meet and he pauses– it’s up to her.

It’s always been up to her.

Their lips meet and she’s internally kicking herself for waiting so long– and for their forced proximity turning them into a trope in a shitty romance novel.

Man, is he a good kisser.

They come up for air, Killian’s forehead never leaving hers and his thumb sending shockwaves through the nerves in her cheeks. She feels like she’s on fire in the best way imaginable– it's a new feeling, not one she even felt with Neal. It’s simultaneously exhilarating and terrifying. As he softly kisses her collar bone, she’s positive they could light all of Boston with the energy between them.

She leans in more, suddenly craving as much contact with him as possible. The want is foreign, but in no way uncomfortable. With Neal intimacy was a chore– something she did with as much enthusiasm as washing the dishes, but she’s only kissed Killian twice and ever since her mind has flooded with emotions she’d only seen in movies.

She doesn’t want this feeling to end.

Before she can stop it, Killian’s backing up and she feels the loss. As he rubs his hands over his face, Emma’s heart drops.

She’s made a horrible mistake. Emma assumed she was picking up signals that she’s usually pretty blind to– apparently nothing has changed. “Killian, I–”

“Don’t get me wrong, love. I really–”

“I know, you don’t feel the same way. I shouldn’t have–”

Killian grabs her by either side of her face, leveling with her, “Swan, I’ve been wanting to do that since the moment we met… and even more so since– since last time.”

“But…” Emma knows there’s a but.

“But… I need to know that this is what you want. That you aren’t getting swept up in some moment… I can’t–”

Oh. “Killian, I don’t– I’m not– I just know I feel… something.”

“Aye, love. As do I.” His eyes turn from worry to kindness and she feels herself catch back up with the intensity of her want.

“Can that be enough for now?” It isn’t fair–to either of them– but Emma needs an out. She knows, without one, this will crash and burn before they’ve even started.

“I am quite a patient man.” She isn’t sure if that’s an agreement to the murky terms she so haphazardly laid between them and shoots him a puzzled look. He chuckles softly, “Aye, love. I’ll gladly take whatever you give.” She smiles, finding comfort in moving at her own pace (which is as unknown to her as it is him). Emma leans in again, stealing a chaste kiss from him and he smiles.

They silently agree to move towards the back of the bed, and she settles in tucked beneath Killian’s arm. He mostly comments about the show on TV, some procedural re-run he must’ve seen before. Emma listens intently, each word lighting a new spark inside of her. She’s been told love and intimacy were electric, but until recently she thought it was just an over exaggeration at best– now she’s positive it’s real. Between conversations they make-out like teenagers, but in small moments she feels Killian’s thumb brush across her hip bone or his lips gently kiss her temple and she’s never felt so alive.

When morning comes, Emma finds herself in a similar position to the one she fell asleep in, Killian’s strong arms wrapped around her in a hug like none she’s ever felt before. She feels his breath move steadily against the back of her head and finds peace in his rhythmic nature. It’s probably that which allows her to slip back into sleep for another hour only waking when she feels Killian do so beside her. With a kiss to her shoulder, he promises coffee and gets up to retrieve it.

The bed is cold without him in it.

She can’t possibly be used to that already, can she? Before she has time to contemplate what that really means, she gets up to shower. Killian is back with coffee and donuts by the time she emerges from the bathroom. They’ve not said two words about last night, but Emma kisses him all the same as he hands her the hot cup. He seems surprised at first, most likely expecting her to backtrack on all they’d discussed the previous night, and Emma doesn’t blame him. That kiss is all it took for Killian to brighten up. The entire morning happy and chipper, even as they drive home and get stuck in traffic.

Emma likes having that effect on him.

Emma likes him.

As Killian pulls up to her apartment, Emma is so engaged in heated debate over hard shell vs. soft shell tacos that she doesn’t realize the time. This car ride goes much quicker than the one to the hotel, their conversation flowing easily– so much so she even forgets about Neal. They exit the car, “Killian it is impossible to eat tacos in a hard shell. They practically become nach–”

“MOOOOOOM!”

Emma freezes, the reality of her situation hitting her like a train going full speed.

Emma snaps out of it at the feeling of his head hitting her smack in the stomach. “Hi kid! I missed you!” Emma kisses the top of his head before he pulls back.

She can tell the moment he sees Killian.

“Oh my god. Mom?! That’s Hook!” She hears Killian chuckle and she can’t help the ping of happiness she feels in her gut.

“Aye, lad. In the flesh.” Killian mock bows for Henry and she’s not sure she’s ever seen a smile so wide– on either of them. “You must be Henry?”

She was wrong; that is the widest smile she’s ever seen out of her son. The fear she felt has completely dissipated as she watches Killian interact with Henry. They hit it off immediately, Henry asking at least one hundred questions about the UFC and Killian answering each fully and genuinely. Her stomach flips.

Emma’s so enamored with the scene in front of her that she almost forgets Mary Margaret had to have dropped him off. Emma practically jumps when she appears at her side. “Wow, he’s good with him.”

“Stop.”

Mary Margaret smiles, Emma’s shut down most likely a clear indicator of what’s happening between her and Killian. “Just saying.”

“Thanks for watching him. I owe you a million.”

Ms smiles brightly. “Anytime.” The hidden meaning is not lost on Emma, but she’s not about to humor any of her friend’s shenanigans – at least not yet. “Bye Henry... Hook.” The boys wave and Emma swears her heart doesn’t do another belly flop.

She never meant for Killian to meet Henry this soon, but she also never meant for Killian to happen at all. It’s weird how her life has a tendency to chew her up and spit her out in exactly the spot she needs to be. When she looks at the way he is with her son, and catches Killian’s slight glance towards her– smile bright and full– she’s startled to find she can’t imagine a scenario where this isn’t exactly where he’s meant to be, too.

#captain swan ff #captain swan #Emma swan #killian jones #cs modern au #worth fighting for #capthamm

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spookyswhore · 4 years

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Euphoria (Angus Cloud x Original Character) (Part 2)

Summary: You and Angus meet at an audition for the show Euphoria. But how long will it take for them to become friends and maybe even lovers?

Word Count: 1.2k

Warnings: none, just lowkey shitty writing lol like I said, this is like my very first pieces of works that I put in the internet so bear with me on this one. I revised and edited it as much as I could, if there’s anything you wanna see changed or included, let me know lmfao

One month later…

"That'll be 10 bucks kid." I said to the teenager in front of me as I handed her the movie ticket.

"Thank you." The teenager said as she handed me the money and went about her way. I smiled back as I looked up towards the clock in front of me.

5 minutes until break…

"Hey Jason!" I sang as I turned around to face him with a sarcastic smile.

"Yeah?"

"Your turn now dude." I said as I patted his chest as I started walking towards the break room.

Finally. Some rest.

I groaned as I sat down as my feet started to regain some feeling after standing for 6 hours straight with no end. Working in a movie theater is some hard shit.

Twenty minutes into my break and scrolling through Instagram, my screen goes dark and the call screen pops up.

Unknown Caller ID…

I scrunched my confusion as to who would call me and held the phone up to my ear.

"Hello?"

"Hello is this Cassidy Holmes?"

"Yes. This is she." I responded as I put the phone on speaker.

What the hell?

"This is the representative from your audition for Euphor-"

"Oh shit!" I mumbled as I jumped and fumbled the phone between my fingers.

"Excuse me?"

"Oh nothing. Sorry."

"I'm calling to let you know that you have gotten the role for Kayla Williams in Euphoria."

"Oh my gosh, thank you so much!"

"Shooting starts in 6 weeks at 9 AM sharp. Congratulations."

9 AM. Sweet baby Jesus.

"Ok. Thank you again."

I hung up the phone and celebrated like a kid in a candy store. I don't think anyone knows the struggle of trying to land a role, especially right after college. Shit's hard. But, the fact of the matter is, and as of right now, there's no better way to celebrate than with your best friend. Tonight, we were gonna make like Snoop Dogg and Pharrell and drop it like it’s hot.

I left the break room and threw my uniform at Jason.

“Hey Jason, cover my shift?”

“Uh, why are you not in your uniform?”

“I got the role and I’m celebrating early. Please don’t tell Lindsey.”

You see, Lindsey is a pretty much a tyrant in the workplace. Some people get a little bit of power and their ego gets inflated. Everyday we deal with her attitude and have to walk on eggshells around her. If you catch her smiling, we just just hope whatever it is continues to do that, or else we feel her wrath.

“Oh shit! Congratulations. Now go before the She-Devil comes back.”

_______

"Destiny, girl!" I shouted as I threw my keys into the bowl next to me.

"What?" She shouted from upstairs.

"Get that ass down here, I have some news" I shouted back as I grabbed something from the fridge.

"You brought me down here for what? I’m in the middle of my skincare rou- wait, first of all, why are you not at work?" Destiny said as she entered the kitchen, sporting some pink rollers in her hair with a cheetah print robe and some fuzzy slippers.

"And what is this little get up?" I said once I noticed her ensemble. It made me laugh a little bit because this outfit matched who she was but didn’t at the same time. Then there was me who preferred to keep it simple with jeans and t-shirt.

"An outfit for a bad bitch like me that's what this is." She laughed. "You like?"

"Um, it's definitely you.”

"Whatever. What did you call me down here for anyways? I was in the middle of Netflix and a face mask." Des said as she leaned on the island.

"So I got a phone call today..."

“And? Cassidy if you’re gonna play with then I’m just gonna go back upstairs-” She said, beginning to make her way upstairs.

“I got the role I auditioned for..” I said, slightly raising my voice.

"Don't play with me." She said as she turned in surprise.

"I'm not playing. They called me earlier while I was on break."

"Oh my gosh…" She screamed while running up to me and hugging me tightly.

"I'm so proud of you."

"Thank you." I closed my eyes and started to tear up a bit. "Alright." I said while fanning my eyes.

"Bitch, we gotta celebrate!" Destiny started moving towards our stash of alcohol and grabbed some shot glasses.

"To my best friend Cassidy. The only person that puts up with me and my antics. Congratulations on landing this life changing role. May this bring you many blessings. It's only up from here." She raised her shot glass.

"Euphoria!" She shouted.

"Euphoria."

We took the shots and immediately started to choke from the burning in our throats.

"What the fuck is that and where'd you get it from?" I said holding my throat, hopefully to relieve my throat from the arson it’s going through right now.

"Girl I don't know, some foreign shit. I got it while I was on tour. It looked appealing." Des said as she tried to look at the name but failed because she couldn't understand it.

"I'm just gonna throw this out."

"Yeah, please."

"Oh hush up girl, you're a lightweight nonetheless." Des scowled.

"And? What about it?"

"Girl." she sucked her teeth.

"I'm going back to my Netflix session in my sanctuary. Congratulations to you bestfriend. I WOULD say let's party all night but you have work tomorrow and I'm kinda comfortable in my bed right now." she said walking back upstairs.

"Hold on, I wanna join you"

"Well hurry on up then."

I rushed to get the snacks and drinks from the fridge. For the rest of the night, Des and I watched Netflix to our heart's content and then knocked out. Today was a rather good day.

_______

2 weeks later…

2 days after the Euphoria crew called to tell me the news, they called again to tell me I have to come in today for chemistry and table reads.

We haven't even started shooting yet and this is already so stressful. Meanwhile, Destiny is gonna be at the studio all day working on her album.

They texted me where the reads were going to be held and ironically it’s the same place where I auditioned. Hopefully things run smoothly.

Once I get there, it takes me another 10 minutes to find a parking space that didn't have an unreasonable amount of distance from the entrance. I check in with the main desk to tell them I'm here for Euphoria. Then, I get led into this huge room with a large roundtable full of people. I'm guessing everyone whose also apart of the show.

Table read first it is.

"She's here."

It got silent and everyone at the table turned their eyes to me.

Oh shit. Oh shit.

I looked at them and they looked at me. To distract myself from the awkwardness, I went to go sit in the only seat available. Ironically enough, the seat open was next to the red headed dude from a while back. Huh. He must've gotten the role he auditioned for also.

I could feel his eyes on me as I sat down.

"Hi." I smiled, being polite.

"What’s up?" He nodded.

“I’m Cassidy.” I whispered as I stuck my hand out, waiting for him to shake it.

“Angus.”

I smiled again and sunk down into my seat. This is going to be a long day.

#fezco #fezco euphoria #euphoria #original character #hbo series #hbo

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slapshot-to-the-heart · 4 years

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Flatbush & Atlantic: part iv

And here’s part iv! I’d love it if y’all would reblog, this is a work I’m really proud of and the more people it’s shared with the better! My inbox is always open, and I’d love to hear your thoughts, even if it’s just “AAAAAH.” Enjoy!

part i part ii part iii

part iv

December 12

Cass grimaced, looking over at the tab on her laptop that had the Islanders game open. They were down 3-1 late in the third, and it didn’t look like they were going to be able to pull it off. It was the last game of a ten day roadie, and they had lost all but one against the Red Wings right at the beginning. And the Wings were 10-21, so it wasn’t even a confidence booster. To make matters worse, Mat was on a points drought; he hadn’t gotten an assist, let alone scored, since the first game of the trip, a 4-1 loss to the Blue Jackets. They also were playing a few players down, an MCL sprain and the ever-vague “lower body injury” kept the team from being at full strength.

As the game came to a close, she didn’t even know if Mat wanted to talk to her. His relentless dedication was one of her favorite things about him, but it also led him to take things way too personally and be way too hard on himself even when — especially when — the situation didn’t call for it. He was probably beating himself up as the boys headed back into the locker room, being short with his teammates and trainers and whatever poor sports reporter had been sent to ask “how they planned on snapping this unfortunate streak” in the post-game interviews. He’d never be deliberately mean or unkind to anyone, but just like anyone, her boyfriend got stressed and overwhelmed and didn’t always know how to deal with it. I saw the game, she texted him, I’m proud of you. Call me if you want.

Dec. 15 (wed)

Mat had barely spoken to her since the return from the roadie, and it was starting to get on her nerves. Texts were responded with single words, if they were answered at all. They were supposed to have visited the Met yesterday , but that hadn’t happened either. He had cancelled, saying that “some team thing came up” and he wouldn’t be able to make it. Barely apologized. And what pissed Cass of more than almost anything was that she wanted to help, she wanted so badly for him to just talk to her, she wouldn’t judge him or make him feel like he was a shitty player or a shitty person, but she couldn’t do that if he wasn’t even picking up her damn calls. Who do you talk to when there’s almost nobody in the world who understands the position you’re in?

Maybe that was just it. She’d go to the people who did understand. Paige had added her to the WAGs Whatsapp group the week prior, and from everything she had gathered so far, it was exactly the sort of place to go for advice. Cass pulled up the chat, torn between not wanting to seem like she was oversharing but not really sure what else she could do. Hey, guys, she started. Mat’s been taking the losing streak pretty personally (as I’m sure a lot of your guys are) and seems to be pulling away. Any advice? I don’t want to push him but I know it’ll get worse if he just keeps it all bottled inside. Clicking send, Cass sighed, leaning back in her desk chair and trying desperately to study for her Environmental Law final.

At some point after midnight, she closed her books and laptop with frustration. The test wasn’t until next week, but she wasn’t going to get anywhere trying to study as distracted as she was. She grabbed her phone, heading to the bathroom to brush her teeth and check the group chat. No fewer than six of the women had written back, some of whom she hadn’t even met, with long, sympathetic paragraphs overflowing with advice. She read them all, touched by the time, effort, and care that everyone has put into making her feel just a little less anxious. But the overwhelming message was clear. Find balance, but don’t let him blow you off. Be a support system, but you’re not his therapist. And repeated again and again, Talk to him.

She tapped out a message before she turned her bedside lamp off, hoping that with morning would finally come a proper response from Mat. Can we meet for coffee tomorrow morning? You know as well as I do that we need to talk. I’ll be at Donahue’s at 8.

Read: 12:23 AM

Dec. 16 (thurs)

Her foot tapped nervously, hands clasped tightly around the cup in front of her and beanie pulled over her head, curls poking out from under. He had read the text, but Cass had no clue if Mat was actually going to show up or not. He hadn’t responded. It was ten past eight, and Cass was just about ready to give up and head to school early. She had just put her laptop back in her bag when she caught Mat out of the corner of her eye. He gave her a small smile, equal parts nervous and almost — bothered? “Hey,” he said softly, unzipping his puffer coat and sliding into the chair opposite her. “You said you wanted to talk?”

Suddenly, the whole elaborate speech Cass had prepared, about letting her in and supporting him and communication, left her mind. “Yeah.”

“So, talk,” Mat said, with a slight edge to his voice.

She looked down at her cup. “I get that you’re disappointed about the losing streak. I get it and I’m sorry that you’re not doing as well as you hoped —”

“I don’t think you do get it, Cassidy —”

She cut him off. “Let me finish, Mathew. I’m sorry that you’re not doing as well as you hoped, and I do get how shitty it is when you know you’re putting in the time and effort and practice and it doesn’t seem like anything’s working, but you’ve barely talked to be about any of it.”

“‘Cause I don’t want to,” Mat mumbled.

Cass leaned back in her chair. “And I get that. I get if you don’t want to talk to me. But you’re not talking to anyone. You’re not talking to Tito, I asked him and he said you’ve been just as closed-off with the team. You’re not talking to any of the other guys. And I’d bet you’re not talking to your parents or your sister either.”

No one gets it!” Mat said in frustration, a little louder than was necessary. “I go through so much shit and have so much pressure on me and…” He trailed off for a minute. “I don’t want to disappoint the team, I don’t want to disappoint the fans. I don’t want to disappoint my family. I don’t want to disappoint you.”

“Everyone had their ups and downs,” Cass started.

“And I get that,” Mat said, holding his head in his hands and looking down at her coffee cup. The same white-and-blue one he had gotten her two months earlier. “But it’s hard. It’s hard when I’m feeling like the fans aren’t getting what they deserve when they come to games, and like I’m not worth what they’re paying me right now. I know you want to, but you don’t get it.”

Cass looked away, turning her eyes to the street. The sidewalk was dusted in white, turning to slush every time someone walked past. It was the first snow of the year. “Then help me to.”

He breathed out, finally relaxing a little. “It’s not that easy.”

“I want to help you,” Cass said, leaning over the table and clasping his hands in hers. “But you can’t keep freezing me out like this, chou. It’s not fair to you and it’s not fair to me.”

Mat closed his eyes, leaning into her touch. “I just don’t want this to become your thing too. You shouldn’t have to deal with this. I know right now kind of sucks for me but that’s just how it is sometimes, you know? It’s just how it is and I have to get over it. I have to get over myself.”

“Mat, your well-being and mental health isn’t something you can just ‘get over.’ Or even something you should. I’m not a professional, and if you need one that’s something we can find,” Mat wrinkled his face, and Cass was pointedly reminded how often men’s mental health was ignored, “but I’m here for you to talk to. Whatever you need, I’m here for you.”

He ran his thumb over her hand. “But you didn’t sign up for this.”

Cas shook her head. “Mathew Barzal. This is exactly what I signed up for. I’m pretty smart,” he cracked a smile, “and I knew what I was getting myself into. Dating someone with such an unconventional job and schedule can be stressful, and frustrating, and confusing for everyone involved. But I chose it, Mat. I chose you.”

Dec. 21 (mon)

For once, Cass wasn’t headed straight home after work, or headed to a game, or — God forbid — back to the library to study. Her last final had been that morning, and she was free for three blessed weeks until the New Year. Which meant that she didn’t have to worry about turning in another essay or memorizing another case, which meant that she was more than free to go to the team Christmas party with Mat later that night. He had somehow been coerced into hosting, and Cass had promised to get to his apartment early to help set up. He was mostly done by the time she got there, so “setting up” turned out to mean setting up the bar and putting out snacks, Cass mixing up an enormous pitcher of her favorite sangria, a signature standby from her sorority’s Wine Wednesdays.

Mat had even put up a proper Christmas tree, and Cass smiled at the piney scent as she headed down the hallway, bag in hand. “Cool if I change in your room?” She shouted down the hall at Mat, who was currently engrossed in pouring a bowl full of chocolate-covered pretzels. “Yeah, go for it,” he called back. Cass didn’t have a lot of excuses to dress up, but liked taking advantage when the occasion called for it. Her dress was short, red satin with a slit on one side and silver embellishment on the other. She used his bathroom to touch up her makeup, swiping her burgundy lipstick on and double-checking her brows. Cass shoved her work clothes back into her backpack, tossing it onto the plush armchair in the corner of his room.

She walked down the hallway, which was pretty much bare save for a few pictures of his friends from home and one with his family on the day he was drafted. She was kind of surprised that Mat owned a single picture frame. Cass sat on the couch in his living room, looking at the Christmas tree. There were one or two Islanders ornaments, a paper Santa that she assumed had been a kindergarten art project, a photo of his family around the fireplace that looked like it had been taken a year or two earlier. Mat wrapped his arms around her, hugging her from behind. “Whatcha looking at, babe?”

She smiled. “Your ornaments. They’re really pretty.”

“Not as pretty as you.”

The door rang, Mat kissing her quickly before walking across the room to open it. A group of the younger players piled in, mostly rookies and call-ups from Bridgeport. One of them had brought along a keg of beer, and Cass had to fight back a laugh while showing him to the kitchen and setting it on the counter. He was just out of college, she’d stake her life on it. By the time she’d secured the keg and started getting people set up with drinks, the living room had started to fill up. “What can I get you?” She asked Paige, who had left Tito with the boys by the tree and made her way over to Cass.

“What are my chances of getting a Moscow mule?” Paige asked. “I don’t want to be a difficult guest, but,”

“Very good,” Cass said, turning around and grabbing the vodka and ginger ale. “We don’t have the proper mugs though, so don’t be complaining.” One shot of vodka. Half a can of ginger ale. Squeeze a lime. She had bartended for a little over a year when she first moved to New York, and it was still one of her favorite things to do for friends. Mixing herself a whiskey sour, Cass wandered back over to Mat and Tito.

---

It was well past eleven and the party was nowhere near stopping. While everyone was conscious of the noise level — for the most part, she had seen a few of the guys being reminded to use their inside voices — the conversations were still going and the drinks were still flowing. Cass had passed the tipsy point somewhere around 10:30, though she was nowhere near as hammered as some of the team. Or their dates, for that matter. She was cuddled up against Mat on the couch, heels long having since been abandoned and nursing what she was pretty sure was a vodka sprite with way too much vodka and way too little sprite. Whatever, Cass thought ruefully as she tipped the last of it back. It gets the job done.

Mat was a touchy drunk, Cass had learned, and one hand seemed to have taken up permanent residence at her waist while he sipped a beer with the other. “What do you think Christmas will be like for you?” Cass asked softly, tilting up her head to look at him. “Since you won’t be with your family.” Mat knew it was a possibility, but he was still pretty upset when he looked at the schedule and realized that his family wasn’t going to be able to fly out to spend the holidays with him, and he didn’t have enough time to go back out to Vancouver.

Her parents had extended the invitation for Mat to spend Christmas with them when she had been back up for Thanksgiving; he couldn’t make Christmas Day, but was able to carve out two days to visit. He smiled at her, leaning down and kissing the top of her head. “You’re cute when you’re worried, y’know that?” Cass scrunched up her nose. “It’s not like I’m going to be alone. I’m doing Christmas with Beau, since Paige’ll be out of town too, and some of the guys usually plan a nice dinner thing for anyone who’s not with family.”

“That sounds nice,” Cass noted, still feeling a pang of guilt.

“Hey,” Mat said, noticing her distraction. He sat up, turning her face to look towards him. “I’ll be fine. I’m a grown-ass man.”

Cass cocked an eyebrow. “Sure about that?”

Mat giggled. “Okay, okay, fine. Point taken. But yeah, it would be nice to have my family, but I kind of do, y’know?” He said, nodding around to the guys. Cass could have sworn that in that moment, her heart melted. “And I want you to spend time with yours. I’d be kind of a shitty boyfriend if I didn’t want you to.” Mat leaned in, and his lips brushed against hers so that they were almost touching but not quite, hesitantly. Cass pressed against him, her fingers finding purchase in the baby hairs at the nape of his neck. She loved that he was letting his hair grow out. He tasted like whiskey and tequila and some cheap beer that she was pretty sure was Natty Light, but she couldn’t have cared less, just like she ignored the not-so-subtle wolf-whistles from the teammates.

Everyone started clearing out around midnight, a few staying to help stuff cans and bottles into trash bags that were left unceremoniously in the kitchen to be dealt with the next morning. Cass yawned, rubbing her eyes. She had sobered up some, but was still well past the legal limit. “Whatcha doing?” Mat asked, seeing her about to order an Uber.

“Calling a ride?” Cass questioned.

“Why don’t you just stay?” Mat asked haltingly. “If you want.” Cass had obviously been over to his place before, multiple times, but hadn’t stayed the night yet. It wasn’t that she didn’t trust him, because she did, but it was something that was a big step for her. That meant a lot to her. But it was late, and she was sleepy, and Mat did make a really good pillow. “Okay,” she conceded.

Mat smiled, taking her hand and leading her back to his bedroom. He rummaged through his dresser, grabbing an old Thunderbirds t-shirt and athletic shorts and handing them to her as she walked into his ensuite. “I don’t have stuff to get your makeup off, but there is soap?” He offered.

Cass laughed. “I brought some wipes, but thank you. That’s really sweet.” She changed and took her makeup off, finding a spare toothbrush in one of the drawers and brushing her teeth. She popped out after a few minutes. Mat was already changed, dressed in pyjama pants and a comfy-looking heathered grey top. “The red toothbrush is mine now.”

“Yes, ma’am,” he responded, cracking a smile. A few minutes later, she had claimed the left side of the bed and he had come back from the bathroom. They were lazily kissing, Mat’s hand just barely brushing the skin on her waist from where the shirt had ridden up. Cass was still tipsy and she knew Mat wouldn’t try anything, not like this, but God, it was nice just to feel close to him. After a few minutes he pulled back, brushing a piece of hair behind her ear that had fallen out of the loose messy bun she had thrown together. “What’s running through your head, babe?” He murmured.

Cass looked down, biting her lip. She was usually good with emotions, good with communication, but something about Mat made her heart skip a beat and brain go into overdrive all at once, and somehow she was convinced that it was the best feeling in the world. “I’m just really happy right now,” she breathed. “It’s Christmas, with our friends, and you...It’s everything I could want.”

Mat gave the softest smile. “You, with me, right now? That’s all I could want, Cass.”

Dec 22. (wed)

Cass zipped her suitcase shut, double-checking that she had everything she’d need for her two weeks in Connecticut. It wasn’t a big deal if she forgot something, there was probably some stuff left in her old dresser, and her little sister Eliana was about the same size. Mat had just texted that he was almost there. Cass grabbed her backpack and suitcase, stopping for a moment to pop out the final few chocolates on the Advent calendar her mom had sent down. She closed her bedroom door, wishing a harried goodbye to Ryanne and Stella, and ambled down the stairs as fast as her bags would allow her. She didn’t want Mat to have to double-park and risk getting a ticket.

True to his word, Mat was just pulling up when she came out of the building, waving one hand and double-checking the street was clear before flipping his hazards on and hopping out to help her put her bags in the trunk. Kissing him on the cheek in thanks, Cass slid into the passenger’s side, giving Mat a very pointed look when she saw that the first song on his playlist was Justin Bieber. “Don’t make fun of me,” he mumbled, blushing.

“Who said I’m making fun of you?” Cass said lightly, trying and failing to hide her smile.

They had decided that Mat would make the drive, since he was only staying two nights they had figured it would make more sense. The directions had been plugged into the Bluetooth system, and they had just made it out of the city when Mat looked over at the passenger’s seat, furrowing his brow when he saw Cass’s expression. Something was bothering her. “What’s up, babe?”

She bit her lip. “Nothing.”

“C’mon, we both decided we weren’t going to do this anymore. You don’t have to tell me if you really don’t want to, but I think you want to talk.”

Cass looked down at her lap. “I got a letter from the company that’s handling my student loans.”

“I thought you didn’t have any debt?” Mat asked quizzically.

She let out a single, humorless laugh. “That was for undergrad, and that was only because I was really, really lucky. I got some money from the school and I worked some, but that only covered about half of my costs? A little less?”

“Which leaves you with how much?”

“A hundred and ten thousand dollars, give or take. They were sending me the payment schedule, I have to start paying it back late next year.”

Mat breathed out. He knew that Cass didn’t come from money, but being from Canada and not having gone to college himself, he wasn’t really aware of just how debilitating student debt could get. “Do your parents know?” He asked gently.

Cass picked at a loose thread on her scarf. “Yeah. They helped as much as they could, but there’s three of us and they’re not made of money. “I, uh,” she paused briefly, “I told you I went to private school, yeah?” Mat nodded. “Catholic school doesn’t come cheap, so I was actually on work-study at my high school, which helped a lot. But I hated it.”

“Your school?” He questioned.

She shook her head. “No, I loved my school. It was great. I just hated feeling like a charity case. My school’s in a pretty well-off neighborhood, so most of the families there had money, and some were like proper ‘old money’ New Englanders. I had some great friends and nobody ever really outwardly was an ass about it if they knew, but still…” She trailed off.

“You felt like you never quite fit in.” Mat finished.

She nodded. “It was hard and it sucked sometimes, but that’s just how it is, I guess,” she said, shrugging her shoulders.

Two hours later, Mat pulled into Manchester, following Cass’s directions down the winding roads and corners of her hometown. “Do you think they’ll like me?” He asked nervously, eyes flitting between Cass and the road in front of him.

Her brow furrowed. “Who? My family?” Mat nodded. “My family’s going to love you. You’re kind and you treat me with respect. That’s all they’ve ever wanted for me. And my brother already worships the ground you walk on, practically,” she added with a smile.

“He’s a junior, yeah?”

“Mhm,” she responded. Cass’s younger brother Noah was a junior in high school, and one of the best players on his club hockey team. Hockey didn’t run cheap and he had been lifeguarding the past few summers to pay for it, but it was all starting to pay off and he was having some interest shown by college scouts.

Mat pulled up beside the curb in front of her house, killing the engine and shoving the keys back into his pocket. Cass popped the trunk and took her backpack, while Mat got his duffel and her suitcase. She reached for his hand as they walked up the driveway, giving it a reassuring squeeze as she rang the doorbell.

“Cass!” Eliana squealed, hugging as much of her sister as she could manage around the bags. “Put your bags by the door, Dad’s grilling out back and I think Mom’s making your bed.” Mat had had an afternoon game and the two had left not long after, so it was dinnertime and Cass was ravenous. “Grilling in December?” She questioned.

Eliana shrugged, closing the door behind them. “You know Patrick, you go be the one to tell the man he can’t make burgers in the winter.” She turned to Mat, also greeting him with a hug. “You must be Mat, Cass talks about you a lot.”

Cass swatted her. “El!”

Mat chuckled. “Yeah. Mat Barzal, nice to meet you. Good things, I hope?”

“Only the best,” Eliana said, leading them through to the back porch, where her dad was grilling on the patio while Noah was doing sprints up and down the lawn. He almost fell when he spotted Cass and Mat, causing Mat to have to hide a laugh behind his hand. Her dad turned around, setting the spatula down when he saw them. Mat swallowed, sticking out his hand for a shake. “Mat Barzal, sir.”

“Call me Patrick. Good to meet you Mat, go get settled and we should have dinner ready in a few, okay?” Mat nodded. “Noah, pick your jaw up off the floor and go help them with their things, okay?” Noah ducked his head, brushing the dirt off his shorts before jogging over to where Mat and his sisters were on the porch.

“Do I hear my Cassidy?” Cass could hear her mom inside, walking down the hallway with Noah and Mat before she ran into her by her old bedroom. “It’s me, Mom!” Cass said excitedly, hugging her mom. Mat initially went for another handshake, but she shooed it away, embracing him. “We’re huggers in this family,” she said by way of explanation, pulling away after a moment. “Ysabel Cabrera, so nice to finally meet you, Mat.”

Mat smiled. “It’s great to finally meet you too.”

Ysabel pointed down the hall. “Noah’s got bunk beds, so you’ll be with him in there, it’s the last door on the left. Cass, I trust you still can find your room.”

“Yes, mamá,” Cass said, rolling her eyes. “See you in a few, chou.” He kissed her on the cheek, under the watchful eye of her mom, and followed Noah down the hall.

---

Two hour later, Mat and Cass were cuddled together on the living room couch, his arm slung around her as they half-watched reruns of Parks & Rec. “D’you just want to do presents now?” He asked, looking down at her. “Because I know we’ve got plans tomorrow, and I don’t see how it really matters if we’re not going to be together Christmas Day.”

Cass looked up. “Uh, sure, if you want?”

“Meet you back in a minute,” Mat said, hopping off of the couch and disappearing down the hall. Cass rolled her eyes, walking into her room, grabbing the envelope, and returning to the living room. Mat got up when she entered, proudly handing her a surprisingly well-wrapped present.

“You look very pleased with your work,” Cass noted, laughing.

“I watched a Youtube tutorial,” Mat admitted, “but did you know that there’s so much that goes into folding neat corners? It’s practically an art!”

“I’ll take you word for it,” Cass said, handing him his envelope. “Open yours first.”

Mat sat back down, running his thumb through the flap and pulling out a coupon. He looked at it quizzically for a minute. “Beer delivery?”

“Craft beer delivery,” Cass corrected pointedly. “Because I don’t want you to have to resort to Natty Light ever again. I saw your fridge, it’s actually the worst. You need taste, babe.” Mat snorted. “And they deliver to Canada, so you don’t have to worry about missing out on the offseason.”

“I love it, pretty girl,” Mat said, kissing her. “Now open yours.” Cass carefully popped the corners open, unfolding the wrapping paper. My Beloved World - Sonia Sotomayor. “You said once that you really admire her, and I didn’t see it on your bookshelf, so I thought you’d like it.”

“I do, I love it. I love that you remembered even more,” Cass added.

But Mat wasn’t done. “Open it,” he said expectantly.

Confused though she was, Cass opened the cover of the book. “It’s...signed? She said softly, reverently tracing her fingers over the inscription.

“Yeah.” Mat went on, explaining, “I found it in this little bookstore in Brooklyn, and knew I had to get it for you. Knew what it would mean to you.”

“It’s incredible. You’re incredible. I can’t believe you’d do something like that for me.”

Their foreheads touched. “Why wouldn’t I?” Mat whispered. “It’s for you.”

And in that moment, there was nothing anyone could do to take away how happy that made her feel. How happy he made her feel.

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