#sorry watching saw 4. yes i skipped 2 and 3. love and light <3< /div> Explore tagged Tumblr posts

[possum-tooth]

hoffstrahm..

[animehideout]

LOVE IS THE MOST TWISTED CURSE OF THEM ALL

PART 3

Gojo Satoru X Fem! Reader

Check Part 1 / Part 2 / Part 4

a/n: sorry for taking too long to post part 3, it's because I post on Wattpad as well {for anyone's who's interested in Straykids x Reader ff check my Wattpad @narae_99 }

Warnings: Mature language.

♪Song suggestions♪ The weeknd - Trust Issues.

Words count: 1.4K

• Time skip •

You sat on the couch in the school's common room, watching everyone chatting together. Yuji didn't leave your side, he was talking nonstop, it made you really happy cuz someone is actually interested in having a conversation with you, since you spent you whole life outcasted and rejected, feeling like an outsider even within your own family. No one found interest in you, since you weren't a sorcerer.

Gojo watched as you were having fun talking with now; your students. And of course he didn't like that, he was still pissed by the idea that from now on you'd be his colleague. Even though you didn't do anything wrong, and you equally hated the idea of your arranged marriage, he saw you as a burden thay he is forced to carry. All what was on his mind, from the moment you took your vows, is how to make your life a living hell.

Breaking your curse wouldn't come out of charges. He's been thinking of ways to humiliate you and make you feel small in front of everyone. It's like a punishment of you being his wife.

He slowly approached Mei Mei, making sure to inactivate his infinity, giving her the green light to grasp the chance she's always dreamt of and allow her to touch him even though he never let her or Utahime to physically get near him.

“So Mei Mei–why don't you move here and start teaching in Jujutsu High, it would be ravishing to see you everyday!” he said loud enough to get your attention and he did.

“Oh Gojo, I know I've always been pleasing to your eyes!”

“Yes indeed..”

She chuckled as she extended her hand, her long fingers running on his chest,

“I would definitely give it a thought..Satoru” she called him by his first time for the first time, in a flirtatious way.

Mei Mei is a smart woman, Gojo never bothered to look at her before, let alone flirt with her, so she figured out his real intentions right away, so she played along, to offend you, she never liked you anyway.

Mei Mei always craved Gojo's attention, and she's enjoying it now even if it's fake. Her hands couldn't leave his body as she flirted back... touching his broad shoulders, tracing his jawline with her fingers with as sly smirk.

She leaned closer to him, her lips touching his ear, as she whispered, “Want me to offend the shit out of her..Gojo?”

“Do your thing, and I'll deposit that money in your account” he simply answered.

They made sure you were watching. You swallowed hard, observing them as they continued their playful banter, it wasn't jealousy but you felt a mix or irritation and discomfort. Whether he liked it or not, he's your husband legally and in front of everyone, so the least he could do is respect you, at least while others are watching as well, and he can hate you as much as he wanted in private.

“Y/n-sensei!! are you okay?” asked Yuji in repeat,

but you didn't hear him untill he shook your shoulder gently. You were too focused on Gojo and Mei Mei.

“Hm? sorry?” you said waking up from your trance.

“Everything is fine sensei??”

“y-yeah I'm good–just um... I'll be right back”

You excused yourself from Yuji, Megumi and Maki to pour yourself a cup of water.

Both Gojo and Mei Mei started laughing loudly as you walked past them. The atmosphere was too insulting and unpleasant to stay still, especially that your students and even the principal Yaga noticed how your husband ignored you and shamelessly flirted with another woman, you felt embarrassed.

You walked to the school's kitchen to get a cup of water that might cool you down, away from them. You enjoyed the silence, but soon it was interrupted by Mei Mei,

“Oh you're here y/n”

You maintained your composure in front of her, taking a sip from your water.

“Yeah,..was kinda thirsty”

“Come on all of the boys left, we're left alone, all girlies!! come join us, this party was for you after all” she exclaimed, as she started dragging you with her.

“Nah I'm good, it's kinda late so I might just go home”

“Hah? go home to who? to an empty house? Gojo told me that both of you don't live in the same house!”

It's like getting slapped hard across the face! such thing should have been kept private, It's none of anyone's business to know if you're sleeping under the same roof as Gojo.

“He proved himself to be a jerk” you thought to yourself. You didn't know what to say, Gojo has already spilt everything out.

“LETS GO” she yelled, pulling you back to the common room with her. All the girls were there, Utahime , Nobara and Maki.

“our bride arrived, where have been hiding?” said Utahime.

You sat on the couch trying to find a comfortable position, your heart pounding with anxiety.

Out of nowhere Utahime spoke, “So y/n! tell us, is Gojo a good fuck??”

Your eyes widened in shock, first of all you don't have an answer for that since you obviously didn't have sex, second of all, it was too inappropriate to ask such thing.

You stuttered, as you were about to answer, “I- Um..”

But Mei Mei cut you off, swirling a strand of her hair between her fingers as she spoke, “Oh I'm sure he was, me and Gojo used to hook up a lot, and let me tell me, he's so damn good” she lied.

Air got caught up in your throat, clenching your fists, struggling to keep on a normal face not letting their provocations take the best of you.

“come on y/n don't be shy tell us!!” said Utahime insisting,

you forced a smile as you spoke politely , “excuse me but I don't think my personal life is up for discussion”

“but wh-”

“Dont push too hard Mei Mei, she's not comfortable to answer this, move on already geez” said Maki clearly pissed.

“Chill Maki, we just wanted to get to know each other on a personal level” said Utahime chuckling.

Maki rolled her eyes in annoyance, you wanted to say a lot of things or just punch them across the face, but it was useless, no matter how hard you try to defend yourself, thanks to Gojo everyone already discovered that your marriage is just on paper.

“Excuse me ladies, as you know tomorrow is my first day teaching so it's better if I rest at home” you said walking out,

“tch how boring” sighed Mei Mei.

Maki followed you “Sensei!! Y/n sensei!!”

“hm Maki?”

“Please ignore them, they feed on provoking others, so please don't focus too much on what they say” she reassured.

You smiled, softly patting her shoulder, “Thank you Maki, but don't worry I'm fine..really!”

•Time skip•

There he was standing in the school's garden, breathing the fresh air, enjoying the cold night breeze.

You were already frustrated and seeing him made it ten times worse. You rushed his way,

“The hell was that Satoru?” you yelled,

He turned around looking at you raising his eyebrow, he wasn't wearing his blindfold, “Ugh! you again, what do you want?”

“Don't you have any manners? casually speaking of private stuff, telling everyone that we don't live together and that our marriage is fake? Don't you know that some things should remain unspoken of, especially in front of strangers?”

He bursted into laugher, mockingly, “Oh the only stranger here is you y/n! now don't tell me you're jealous? Oh is it because I didn't fuck the shit out of that pussy of yours?”

“Hah, jealous?? you don't mean anything to me Satoru, and I'm not dying to have sex with you” you yelled back.

“Then why are you mad about it?”

“Stop spilling private shit out, especially if it includes me or my dignity” you threatened pointing your index finger at him.

He took a step closer to you, his giant frame sending shivers down your spine, eyes conveying threat and anger,

“A talentless, weak human like you can't tell me what to do, besides I didn't know you had any dignity. You're not-”

*SLAP*

You slapped him with all might and power in you. “FUCK YOU SATORU”.

He took it too far, humiliating you both with words and actions is something you would never accept. Even if you don't have any cursed techniques, you're still a human, who deserves to be treated with love and respect.

He looked at you in disbelief, eyes widening, the sting of the slap reverberating through his senses. A moment of stunned silence followed, you glared at him one last time, then you left him standing there.

“I'll make you pay for this, y/n..” he promised.

Taglist 🫶🏻:

@hermitkerm @smolbeanzzz @eolivy @sanriosatoru @kiki17483 @khaleesihavilliard @ryumurin @bookswillfindyouaway @numblytemporary

[neonacity]

LUCID | NCT DREAM ‘00 LINE X READER | CH.4

LUCID DREAMS - A TYPE OF DREAM WHEREIN THE PERSON IS AWARE THAT THEY ARE CAUGHT IN A DREAM WORLD.

Summary: It was supposed to be a harmless, professional transaction. You were to tutor a group of boys, get your pay at the end of the day, and go home to your loving fiance. Kids aren’t supposed to be dangerous, right? So why, then, are you caught up in a web of madness that slowly makes you feel like you’re in a living nightmare?

NOTE:This is a yandere plot featuring NCT Dream ‘00 line which means there will be mature themes in the story as well as obsessive, toxic behavior. If you’re a minor, please refrain from interacting. If this isn’t your thing, then just scroll and skip. In no way am I condoning anything written here— this is not love, this is obsession—nor do I think that any of the people mentioned here will act any way like in this story. This is purely a work of fiction.

Genre: yandere, horror, suspense

TW: abuse, obsessive behavior, toxic relationships, suggestive scenes, stalking, possible kidnapping, mental health. Age gap–though nothing dramatic. Everyone is of legal age. Creepy, creepy, creepy! This will be updated as the story goes along.

CHAPTER 1

CHAPTER 2

CHAPTER 3

“Deep into that darkness, peering, long I stood there wondering, fearing, doubting, dreaming dreams no mortal ever dared dream before”

— Edgar Allan Poe

"Is she going to be okay?"

"Yes. I checked the results of her scans and there seems to be no broken bones. But she did hit her head hard so I would suggest she take a rest for a couple of days."

The voices dipped in and out of your swimming consciousness like broken records. There were words that you caught and tried to grasp, but you couldn't quite make out what they mean while you struggled to emerge from your half asleep state. A searing pain ran down the left side of your head and you winced, before a particularly harsh throbbing there finally sent your eyes flying open.

The first thing you saw were the red velvet drapes hanging from the middle of what looked like the ceiling of a four poster. You frowned at it, not quite understanding what exactly it is you were looking at, when another painful throb on your temple had your hand flying towards it.

You were too focused on trying to grit back the pain that you missed the hurried rustling from beside your bed. When your vision finally focused again, you saw five heads peer at you wearing identical worried expressions.

"Hey. Are you okay?" Taeyong asked softly, concern written all over his face. He raised his hand slowly to reach out to you, but then something snapped deep down in your consciousness that sent you bolting up into a sitting position, your feet scrambling against the mattress until your back hit the headboard. Your eyes jumped from one face to the next, heart thudding harshly against your chest.

Taeyong's expression shifted from that of shock into pain at your reaction. He didn't make any other move, his gaze briefly moving instead to the person standing beside the head of your bed.

"Taeil-hyung…"

You felt a gentle hand rest on your shoulders then. For the first time, you noticed the man in a white jacket leaning towards you. He looked unfamiliar, but there was something about him that calmed you down. He peered closer into you now, brown eyes quickly scanning your features.

"Shh… everything's okay. How are you feeling?"

His soft voice slowed your heartbeat down a little. You tried to give him an answer, wincing at the scratchiness of your throat.

"Who are you?"

"I'm a doctor. Do you know where you are right now?"

Your gaze moved from him, then back to the others who are still standing on the fringes of your bed. Now that you are much calmer, you could finally properly recognize the rest of the group in the room. Taeyong sat closest to you while Haechan and Renjun hovered by the foot of the bed wearing identical frowns. Jaemin stood by the other side, his hand wrapped around Jisung's shoulders loosely. The youngest boy looked on to you, eyes rimmed with red.

You slowly nodded after swallowing the dryness in your mouth.

"The… manor…"

You visibly saw the rest of the group give a collective sigh of relief. Taeil moved to sit beside you and gently moved your face to him to quickly check your eyes with his pen light.

"She's still a little bit confused from the fall. She does look okay though," he said and you figured he was talking to the others instead of you. You frowned as you felt him take your wrist to check your pulse.

"I… fell?"

His brown eyes glanced at you briefly.

"You did. You don't remember anything?"

Before you could even respond, you heard Taeyong gently speak from your side.

"You fell on a ravine. We heard Jisung crying when we came back and came looking for you guys as fast as we could. You were unconscious when we found you…"

You let his words sink in slowly. Little by little, your memories came slipping back like little puzzle pieces that arranged themselves slowly in the back of your mind.

You remember Chenle's screams, you running into the forest, and then the feeling of falling into nothingness. Your hands balled over the blanket covering you as your head throbbed again.

"I'm so sorry, noona," your attention moved to Jisung who leaned just a little bit closer to you. He looked like he had been crying. "Chenle and I took our playing too far. We didn't think that this would happen…" he trailed off and you saw Jaemin try to soothe him by rubbing his arm.

"Where's Chenle…? Is he alright?" You asked, remembering that the boy was calling for help before your own accident.

"Yes. He's still unconscious from the anesthesia. He broke his leg from his fall but we were able to rush him to the clinic with you," Taeyong answered again.

"Is your head hurting? We had to make a couple of stitches on you, but your scans turned out fine," the doctor, who you figured out is named Taeil, asked again. Your hand raised once more to the side of your head and noticed the bandages there for the first time. One side of your skull alternated from throbbing dully to stinging sharply.

"Um...it hurts a little bit."

Taeil simply nodded and grabbed his pen to write something on the file he was holding. "That's normal. I thought you would have some short-term memory loss so it's good that you're only dealing with pain. I'll prescribe you painkillers for it."

You listened silently to what he was saying, only half understanding the context of his words. You still felt confused… like there was something you are missing.

As if he read your mind, Taeil glanced up at you again.

"Feeling confused is normal since you hit your head. You should also expect some intense headaches for a couple of weeks, maybe even some mild hallucinations. We'll try to control that with the medicine I'll give you but we're not sure how your body will react to them so just prepare yourself for the possibility, okay?"

You numbly nodded as you watched him finish scribbling something on a smaller piece of paper.

"Other than that, you don't need to be admitted to the hospital. But feel free to come back when you don't feel better after two weeks. You do have someone at home to watch over you, right?"

That made you stop, remembering that you would be alone for a couple of days. Taeil patiently waited for your answer, hand still hovering over his files.

"I… uh… I'm alone for three days but my boyfriend will be back after that…'' you finally managed to say. He frowned slightly at your answer.

"You don't have any relatives who can watch over you?"

You shook your head.

"You can stay here with us," you heard someone say and you looked over to Renjun who was still watching you with a worried expression on his face. "At least until you have someone with you at home."

The rest of the group seemed to have been taken by surprise by his suggestion as much as you were. The boy simply looked at his brothers in answer, however, a frown settling between his brows.

"It's the least we could do, right? Technically, it is our fault. And she got in an accident while at work. We can't just leave her on her own."

Taeil looked from the group, then at you. "That's not a bad idea… you do need to be under observation at least for a couple of days."

You honestly didn't know what to answer. Something told you to say no to the offer, but another part of you simply didn't have the energy to argue with the proposition. Before you could even give a reply, Jisung untangled himself from Jaemin to hold your hand. When you looked at him, he seemed on the verge of tears again.

"Please, noona? Can I make it up to you?"

You watched him, torn by the expression on his face. Finally, you gave a sigh.

"Okay… but I do need to tell my boyfriend that I'll stay over. And I don't really have anything with me…"

"You can borrow our mom's wardrobe. I think you are about the same size," Haechan offered. "Then we can just buy your other things."

You didn't know what to feel about that but nodded at the suggestion, at least for now. With the decision finalized, Taeil finally turned to Taeyong and handed him the paper he had been writing on.

"Here’s her prescription then. I have bottles of the painkillers with me but you might need to drive back to town for the sleeping pills," he said as he turned towards the older boy. "She might need it in case she gets trouble sleeping."

Taeyong nodded as his eyes quickly scanned the paper handed over to him. "About Chenle, do I also need to get him something?"

"We can talk about that separately. How about we go check him now? He must be up around this time, too."

The older boy threw you a glance and a parting apologetic smile before following Taeil who had already picked up his bag and started heading towards the door. Beside you, Jisung quickly let go of your hand to follow the doctor.

"Taeyong-hyung, I'll go with you. Noona, I'll be back later."

You watched silently as the group left and closed the door softly behind them. You still felt a little out of it that you didn't really give notice to the three boys left inside your room until you felt your mattress dip a little. A finger to your chin broke you from your reverie, and when you turned to your side, you saw Jaemin peering at you closely.

"Does it still hurt, noona?"

You blinked at his closeness, but you still felt too weak to even panic or move away. So instead, you simply nodded, goosebumps rising on your flesh as he moved to tuck a stray lock of hair behind your ear.

"I'm sorry… now your pretty face is all scratched up, too. I don't think they'll leave marks though… so we don't have to worry about that, hmm…?" His eyes roamed your features slowly and deliberately. You swallowed and finally moved away for a bit.

"Do you remember what happened? Did you slip?"

Renjun's question was the distraction you were looking for. Turning to him, you gave yourself some time to process an answer,  slowly shifting through the memories that were still painful and hazy for you to fully grasp. Still, you tried to recall what you could manage, your confusion only growing as you shifted through the bits and pieces of what you could remember.

There were a few things that didn't make sense to you and a few that you were also sure to be true, the most glaring one being the impossibility of you slipping down that cliff. No, you didn’t lose your footing. 

You were pushed. 

"No… I didn't. Something… something hit me," you finally managed to mumble. The three boys looked at each other, mild confusion in their expressions.

"Hit you? Like an animal?" Haechan asked with a concerned tone. You slightly shook your head as you thought over that possibility as well.

The thing is… you were sure there were no other people in the woods because everyone was accounted for when the accident happened. Taeyong and the kids weren't back yet from their trip and you were sure Jisung and Chenle were in another part of the forest since you heard them call out to you. Jeno is the only one left… but the chances of him being in the woods with you were also slim because of his injury. So that only leaves two possibilities—one, being a wild animal as the culprit behind your fall, or two, that someone else who isn't part of Rosewood manor was there with you in the woods.

Personally, you desperately wanted the first one to be true, but a gnawing feeling inside of you told you no. Your head might still feel a little hazy, but there's one thing you can be sure of.

The force that sent you hurtling down the cliff? That was no animal.

They were human hands.

"Might be… an animal," you whispered more to yourself than to address the boys in the room after a while. You didn't know what pushed you to lie through your teeth, but your gut feeling told you it is the right thing to do at the moment.

Haechan, Jaemin, and Renjun exchanged worried glances amongst themselves, obviously not buying what you just said. Fortunately, they didn't seem to push it for now.

"Well...we'll leave you alone tonight so you can rest. Haechan and I will try to look for clothes that could fit you so you can get changed. If you need anything, you can just press 0 on that intercom. It connects you to Taeyong-hyung," Renjun explained gently and pointed towards a small machine on the wall beside your bed. You nodded and gathered the blankets closer to you.

"We'll go now. Rest well, noona," Haechan said as he turned towards the door. Renjun followed after giving you another apologetic smile.

You waited for Jaemin to finally pick himself up from your bed as well before allowing yourself to relax. Silently, you moved your gaze towards him, only to be met by his smile. It was strange… how even though he looked so kind and gentle, the way he stared at you still sent chills running down your spine.

"Don't worry. We'll make it up to you. We'll take care of you really well…"

----- "I can drive back tonight and pick you up early tomorrow," Jaehyun said over the phone, his voice barely concealing his worry and agitation. You gnawed on your lower lip as you stared at the view outside of your room, the night sky looking foreboding without any presence of stars. You have managed to prop yourself up against the seat in front of your window out of your sheer desperation to temporarily escape the bed. It is quite ironic, maybe even strange, how you feel claustrophobic inside despite the expansive space of your quarters.

"It's fine, Jae. I'm doing much better now," you finally managed to say as you forced yourself to look away from the view of the forest beyond. Just looking at it gave you chills even though you know you should feel safe in the confines of the manor now.

"Baby, you have stitches on your head," Jaehyun tried to say that evenly, though you know just how much he is panicking right now. For a stranger, your fiance can easily pass off as unbothered and calm most of the time, but you know him enough to read him like an open book. To be honest though... you can't really blame him for how he is reacting right now.

"Yes, but I'm feeling fine now. I don't really want you to drive back this late…and besides, your workshop just started. It's only for three days anyway,” you tried to reason out, though another part of you desperately wants him by your side at the moment. You tried your best to fight it off, however, knowing how important this business trip is for him. “I think it’s okay if I stay here temporarily while I wait for you,” you added, trying your best to sound convincing. 

Jaehyun was silent at the other end of the line and you patiently waited for him to speak again, knowing full well that he is just looking for another possible compromise to the situation. Finally, he sighed. 

"Are you sure you are safe there though?" He asked quietly after a while. His question made you stop for a little bit, your eyes moving towards the view of the woods from your window again.

"...yes. I have a very private room right now so I can rest well," you answered as you tore your eyes away from it and forced yourself to look at the interiors of your quarters instead. Studying it now, it looks a lot like the layout of Jeno's room so you figured you must be in the same hallway.

"That's not what I mean," Jaehyun said, and you already know what he is going to say next. "What I mean is, are you sure you can trust the people there?"

It took you a few seconds to answer that. You would be lying to yourself if you say you don't feel strange and jumpy right now, but at the same time, you also feel a little guilty for harboring such emotions when the family was nice enough to offer you temporary space and care. Sure, your accident still remains a mystery, but it’s not like you can assume that anyone wanted it to happen, especially since Chenle also ended up injured. It’s because of that reason that you simply swallowed back your nerves, chalking up your odd feelings as after effects for your fall.  

"Yes, of course. They haven't really bothered me that much. I don't think we should worry about it…"

Jaehyun's silence said that he wasn't entirely convinced. It took a moment for him to finally give a resigned gust of breath.

"Fine. Keep yourself safe, okay? I will call you back again tomorrow morning. Make sure you rest tonight."

"Okay...Don't worry about me too much," you said, smiling even though you know he couldn’t see you right now.

"I will still try and see if I can cut my trip shorter, alright?"

You chuckled. There it is, the compromise.

"Okay…"

"I love you. Stay safe."

"I will… Love you too."

"Oh, and honey?" You were about to cut the call when his voice stopped you again. You pressed the phone closer to your ear once more, waiting for his last words.

"Lock the door."

Your eyes flew towards the dark oak door at the other end of the room at his words.

"Okay, I will. Goodnight, baby."

You let out a tired sigh when you finally finished the call. Maybe Jaehyun was right… Maybe it wouldn't hurt if he could cut his trip and go home earlier than planned. For now though, you don't have any other choice but at least spend the first night here to recover a little more. Your wound has honestly started stinging again, maybe because the effect of the first painkillers are finally starting to wear off.

You gave one long look around your quarters before throwing your phone on the wide four poster bed. When your gaze landed on the door once more, you heard Jaehyun's reminder echoing in your mind again.

Slowly, you walked towards it, feet padding over the lush rug that covered the whole floor of the room. You noticed that there was a double lock system installed on it at least—a knob one, and a bolt-type that can be maneuvered from the inside. You gave an internal sigh of relief when you took notice of the latter, knowing that you have at least a level of protection even from those who have keys to the house. You have started to reach out to fix both locks when the door swung open all of a sudden, causing you to stumble back a little in shock.

Haechan looked back at you with the same look of surprise on his face at the threshold. For a while the two of you just stood there, staring at each other.

"Ah, I'm sorry, noona. I forgot to knock. I'm not really used to having guests here," he smiled sheepishly as he scratched the back of his head. His apologetic chuckles finally made you unfreeze from your spot.

"Tha-that's fine. I was just surprised. Why… are you here?"

"Oh, I just have to give you this," he extended his hands over to you, and for the first time, you noticed the folded garment that he was holding. You gingerly took it, feeling the softness of silk brushing your fingers.

"Renjun and I tried to look for an old night gown of our mom's that would fit you. It is a little bit old fashioned but it's clean and still holds up together so I think that would work, at least for now."

At his words, you took a closer look at the dress on your hands before unfurling it to its full length. He was right, it does look a little dated with its long sleeves, laced collar, and embroidered hem that would probably fall mid-leg on you, but the size looks just enough for your frame. You looked up at Haechan again with a smile.

"Thank you. I think this will work… But, are you sure it is okay for me to borrow it?" You asked hesitantly, eyes falling briefly again on the dress. After all, you do know the story behind their parents, and there are some people who can get a little sensitive about the possessions of their passed on loved ones. The least you could do is to bring up the question. 

Haechan, however, looked the least bit bothered. You didn't catch it because you were studying the lacework on one of the cuffs under the light, but one end of his lips curled up into a smirk as his hooded gaze moved to study the dress on your hands before grazing your form from head to toe.

"No. We don't mind. It's the only female clothing that we can offer for now, unless you want to borrow one of our clothes~?"

That immediately made your eyes snap back to him. His words were innocent, but the way his voice curled made your cheeks feel hot all of a sudden.

"No, that's not what I meant—"

The embarrassment on your face must have looked too obvious because the boy suddenly burst out laughing, his giggles sounding like a lilting tune as it floated down the hallway. You've always noticed how beautiful his voice is, but it is only now that you realized how calming it is to the ears, despite your current flustered state.

"Yah, I'm kidding, noona. I was just trying to make you feel better," he said after his laughter calmed down. You tried to give him an apologetic smile and looked down on the dress in your hands, your fingers unconsciously finding comfort from the smoothness of the silk. Haechan drank your expression silently with his eyes in the brief moment that you were distracted. You have always had this independent and confident air around you normally, but you have a more subdued nature now, probably because you are hurt.

He studied you silently as a thought formed in his mind. He may like the way you carry yourself on an everyday basis, but the way you are now? 

He loves it. 

"Besides… I think you'll look pretty on it," he said softly, voice sounding like whispers on skin. You looked up to see him smiling at you fondly, as if he is remembering a distant memory.

You cleared your throat before nodding. "Thank you. I'll change to this tonight. Please say thanks to Renjun as well."

Haechan gave you his signature smile and clasped his hands behind his back.

"No problem. We'll check on you tomorrow again. Goodnight, noona."

You were about to close the door when you suddenly stopped halfway as you remembered something.

"Oh, sorry. Another thing."

The boy turned back to you to give you a questioning look. You smiled at him apologetically.

"Can I ask to have some of my medications? I don't know who has it but I think Taeyong was handed my prescription. It's just that, my head is hurting again so I’d like to take some before going to sleep…"

Haechan's brows raised slightly at the realization.

"Oh, Taeyong-hyung hasn't visited you yet then? Ah… I think it's because he is still busy with Chenle. I can get them for you, noona."

"Will that be okay? Really sorry for asking this."

"Stop apologizing, it's fine," he winked and you managed to return it with a grateful smile. "I'll look for Taeyong-hyung and bring you your meds. Maybe you can get changed for now."

"Thank you, Haechan."

"I'll be back," he nodded before turning on his heels again, a spring on his step. 

------- "Shhh… sweetie, don't cry. You know I don't like it when you do that, right?"

A woman bent over a boy not older than seven who was currently cowering against the shadowed corner of the room. The space didn't have any lights on, but the sliver of moonlight that passed between the small crack of curtains shone on the tear-streaked face of the child. The female in front of him gently reached out for his face, cradling his cheeks lovingly between long, slender fingers.

"Look at you, you look like a mess now… stop crying, okay?" Her voice was soft and angelic when she spoke, enough to calm down the sobs wrecking the thin frame of the child before her. The boy gave a small nod which made her smile, her dainty features glowing with happiness.

"Very good. Now… you do know we have to go through this, right? You've been a bad boy so you leave me with no other choice."

The child froze in fear but softened his stance after a few heartbeats. He mumbled softly, trying his best to keep his voice from breaking.

"Yes… mother."

The woman's expression remained somber, as if she was in pain. She gently moved her hand to run her thumb over the boy's cheek, wetting her sharp fingernail with his tears.

"You do know that even if it will hurt, mother still loves you a lot, right? Mama is doing this because she cares for you a lot and she wants you to be good... my sunshine... my precious, precious boy…"

Her soothing voice mixed with her words made the boy stop crying entirely. Instead, his eyes shone with pure adoration for her.

"Yes, mama… I know that."

The lady smiled. Her eyes scanned the features of the child momentarily before finally letting her hand holding his face drop to her side. Slowly, she straightened up again to her full height, but not before grabbing for something from the floor beside her. The moonlight caught it before it got swallowed by the darkness of the room again—a leather belt so thin it almost looks like a whip.

The woman raised her hand gracefully above her head before giving one last loving smile at the boy on the floor.

"Now, try not to scream too much… we don't want to hurt your voice."

---- Haechan softly hummed a happy tune as he walked through the wing of the house where their private quarters are. It was late at night and the rest of his brothers had retreated back into their own rooms despite all the excitement that  happened in the past few hours. His gaze touched each door as he passed them, a smile curling the tips of his lips as he did.

There are a few things that Haechan believes sets him apart from the rest of his family. He isn't as physically strong as Jeno, as charismatic as Jaemin, or as patient and quiet as Renjun. He isn't as friendly and likable as Mark, nor is he also as innocent and magnetic as Jisung and Chenle.

What Haechan is, however...is smart and cunning…

He is smart enough to always be two steps ahead of everyone and cunning enough to move the pieces that he set without having to lift a finger if he wanted to. There is a subtleness in him that doesn't make red flags flash in someone’s head unlike Jaemin does whenever he can't control his neediness, but he has enough pull to get under someone's skin if he wanted to unlike Renjun who prefers the quiet and watchful approach. Oh and Jeno? He knows how to use Jeno's strength well.

He knows it enough to suggest to his brother to give a little friendly push to the right direction—or rather, to the right cliff—so the wheel can finally move. Sure, it might hurt someone, maybe even break a bone or two, but that's normal. After all, when you love, you should be willing to hurt a little.

His hums died when he finally stopped at the last room down the hallway, mind trying to picture what's on the other side. His gaze quickly glanced at the small tray in his hands carrying a small glass of water and a variety of pills that gleamed under the dim lighting. He smiled. Finally, he raised his hand to gently tap on the oak door in front of him.

"Noona, can I come in? I have your medicine with me."

He heard a soft rustling from the other side before the door finally opened. Silently, Haechan took a calming breath and tried his best to look casual at the vision that welcomed him. Of course he was right. The dress looked perfect on her, almost as if she was the original owner of it. She looked like she stepped out from a dream… his dreams.

Oh and what he would do to keep her there.

He gave her a friendly smile now as he pushed the tray to her hands. She returned it with a grateful look before studying the oddly matched colors of pills there silently. They shone dully under the dim lighting of the hallway, as if officially warning the start of something.

Yes, Haechan believes that there are a few things that starkly sets him apart from the rest of his brothers. But if he were to choose one, he would say he is ruthless. Ruthless enough to drag someone down a little, all the while wearing that sunny smile on his face.

After all, a little nightmare won't hurt anyone.

"Don't forget to take them so you can feel better, okay noona?"

---

CHAPTER 5

A/N: Okaaay so the core four have finally been covered. Guess it’s time to ask now who is the scariest? JK. Taglist below! 

@negincho,  @jhornytrash, @jaeminhyuckiii, @jungwoosswhore, @jsturkey, @aj–7, @pukupukupawpau, @tomiesgirlfren, @vsszn, @those-winternights​, ---

[toh-writings]

Fortunes of Love Pt 6 (Eda x OC)

Summary: Niliana goes through a rather tiring day, just wishing she had more time to sleep.

Pt 1 Pt 2 Pt 3  Pt 4 Pt 5 Pt 6

The market was bustling with life that day. Niliana just had to be there on the busiest day of the week at the busiest time, didn’t she? As she struggled to push her way through the throng she wondered if it wouldn’t have been better to just skip the nap and go earlier in the day even if it would have left her exhausted. Whatever, she couldn’t do anything about that now.

She heaved a sigh of relief when she finally reached her tent, the din of the crowd muffled ever so slightly by the heavy fabric of the tent walls. With a snap of her fingers, the dark was lit by the clusters of various candles scattered about. She was thankful to find that nothing had been moved or taken while she was gone. Usually, she would put up some sort of ward to keep potential thieves and troublemakers away but she hadn’t gotten the chance to do so yesterday after running into King.

It had been a very long time since she had taken the tent down. She couldn’t even remember the last time that happened. This tent had been her home for so many years now, there really had been no need, but today would be different. She really couldn’t leave it up if she wasn’t going to be around for a couple of days.

It really only took a few minutes to pack everything up, items flying about. The tent folded in on itself, blanketing everything else until it formed a single pack. Then, with a circle of light, it vanished. All that was left was her small stall, but she could leave that behind. It wasn’t exactly that important.

Unfortunately, now that the tent was gone she was surrounded on all sides by the crowd once again. She noticed that there was a small group of witchlings nearby that stared up at her in wonder. Clearly they had watched her put her tent away, amazed by the show of magic they were incapable of doing themselves. Nily gave them a shy little wave and a few of them waved back before the whole group ran off, talking and giggling amongst themselves.

She made her way to the library, avoiding as much of the crowd as possible. The library itself wasn’t nearly as busy, the silence deafening after the noise from outside.

It took her longer than she would have liked to go over the beast taming section, glancing through the different book titles. There were a few books that sounded promising. She picked those ups and gleaned through the chapter titles, but nothing seemed to quite fit Eda’s situation. After some time she decided it may be best to look in a different section. Eda was cursed, right? Then maybe she needed a book on curses instead.

By the time she finally left the library, sadly empty-handed, the sun was getting dangerously close to the horizon. She felt a bit of panic rise in her chest. Eda would be waking up soon if she hadn’t already. She took a deep breath. She was sure it would be fine. Hooty knew not to let him out and she had to trust King was smart enough not to get himself killed. Still, she rushed back as quickly as she could.

Luckily, when she got back the house hadn’t been torn apart or something.

“Hey Nily!” Hooty croaked in his annoying voice as the witch approached the front door.

“Everything okay?”

“Yep!”

Nily had opened the door before he had even answered but froze in the doorway.

The living room was empty.

She took another deep breath, shoving the panic down once more. Hooty said everything was, so she must be in the house. She just wasn’t in the living room. And she couldn’t be chasing King around or something because there was no screaming or the sound of running footsteps.

She left her staff by the door, the wooden snake curled on top suddenly springing to life and slithering up her arm to rest on her shoulders. She smiled at him, giving him a little scratch under his chin before going to search the house.

Thankfully, it didn’t take long. Eda was just such a large creature there weren’t too many places to hide. She ended up finding her in what she assumed was her room. The pair of double doors were already open, revealing the decently large room beyond filled with various shelves and boxes of stuff and a large nest against the left wall, complete with sticks and some shiny things. That’s where Eda was, laying in her nest, pitch-black eyes staring at her the moment she appeared in the doorway. A low growl filled the room, making the witch freeze in place.

The growling quickly turned into chirps of delight. She bounded out of her nest to meet the witch. She smiled, chuckling at her.

“Hey hun, what’re you up to?”

The beast cooed back. Apparently not much.

“Do you know where King is?”

Eda just blinked back at her.

“He’s probably napping somewhere, isn’t he? So much for keeping an eye on you, huh?”

She chuckled to herself and went downstairs, Eda following close behind.

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

When Luz got home she didn’t burst through the door like she usually did. She was a bit more subdued. Of course, that didn’t stop her from shouting an “I’m home!” and smiling at the wonderful smells that were coming from the kitchen. She smiled a little wider when she got to the kitchen and saw everyone together. Nilly was cooking, of course, while King looked like he was trying to play with a very uninterested looking Eda at the table. She looked at the girl as she walked in, making a cute little cooing sound.

“Welcome back, hun! Did you have a good day with your friends?”

“Yeah, it was pretty good.” Luz shrugged her shoulders, sitting at the table.

King whipped his head around, narrowing his eyes at the girl critically. Luz started to sweat a bit under his gaze.

“Are you sure about that?” He asked, leaning a little closer. Luz tried not to look right at him.

“Whaaat? Yeah, of course! Why would I lie?”

Clearly, no one believed her. Even Nily was giving her a side glance that said she knew something was off. At least she didn’t bother the girl about it, unlike King.

“Did something happen?”

“No.”

“Something happened.”

“Nothing happened!”

“Something had to have happened! I know these things.”

“Clearly you don’t.”

“Yes I do! I know everything.”

“No, you don’t.”

“I do!”

“Then you tell me what happened.”

“So something DID happen!”

Luz groaned in frustration, sinking into her seat and stubbornly crossing her arms, refusing to say anything else. King looked triumphant, proudly resting his hands on his hips and puffing out his chest like he just won some great battle. Nily shook her head.

“King, leave her be. If she wants to talk about she’ll talk about it. Pestering her isn’t going to help anything.”

King deflated slightly at her words, sitting back down.

“Sorry, Luz.”

She smiled at him.

“It’s okay, King. I just don’t want to talk about it.”

For a moment they just sat in awkward silence. Luz desperately looked around for something to talk about to break the quiet.

“Hey, why is Eda wearing a collar?”

That seemed to do it well enough. King blinked at Luz, then looked really hard at Eda who blinks back owlishly. It was very difficult to make out, blended almost perfectly with the feathers on her neck, but sure enough, there was a collar there. It just looked like she had some gray leather around her neck.

“It glows in the dark.” Niliana said, not even bothering to look up from her work. She was already getting the plates ready. “So I can keep an eye on her when she goes outside at night.”

“What!” Luz shouted, jumping to her feet and slamming her hands on the table, making Eda and King jump. “You’re playing with her outside? I want to do that!”

Niliana hummed, thinking it over. Of course Luz would want to spend more time with Eda, especially outside where there was more room. But going out at night did not seem like the best idea, especially for the teenager who was still growing and needed her sleep. Maybe if they went out earlier in the day.

“Not today.” She finally said, placing the plates on the table. “It’s a bit too late and I don’t want you outside when it’s dark. We can try tomorrow before dinner.”

Luz huffed but sat down. “Fine.” Of course, the frown didn’t stay on her face long. “I can’t wait! We’re going to have so much fun!”

“Hey! I want to come too!” King shouted, apparently feeling left out. “I can make her my minion of evil!”

Eda was staring at them intently and Nily noticed. Well, she wasn’t staring at the people at the table. It was more like she was staring at their plates, grumbling to herself and drooling. So, she made another plate and put it on the floor for her, too. There wouldn’t be any leftovers today, but no one really cared, especially when King and Luz just laughed and giggled at how happy it made the owl beast.

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

This night was darker than yesterday. Niliana could only just make out the branches of the trees above her and the trunks surrounding her. She had to walk slowly to make sure she didn’t run into anything. Far ahead of her, in the branches, she could make out the glow of something teal, Eda moving around and jumping about, doing whatever.

It was only the second night, but Nily was already slowing down. She was still tired from last night and not getting nearly enough sleep throughout the day to make up for it. Still, she trudged on, keeping Eda within sight the best she could.

And that worked for a while. But then, well into the night when the moon was on its way down, she lost sight of her. It happened in the blink of an eye. One moment, she could make out the glow of her color bopping about ahead of her. The next, it was gone. Niliana didn’t freak out like she thought she would. She was far too tired for that. Instead, she just sighed and mounted her broom, flying above the tree canopy.

It was much brighter up here, the moon and stars lighting everything up and giving them a silver glow. But Nily didn’t really have time to admire it, she had a cursed beast to find.

She didn’t see anything above the trees, so it was unlikely she had flown away. She flew down, hovering over the canopy and gazing through the branches, searching for any sign of movement or the glow of the collar.

She had only been at it for a short while, likely less than a minute, when she heard the branches nearby start to rustle. Suddenly, a giant mass burst out. She just managed to swerve out of the way and avoid getting knocked off her staff. Well, that was one way to wake her up.

“Eda, what was that for?” she shouted, but there was no anger in her voice.

The owl beast was flying next to her. Well, flying circles around her, really, each beat of her wings nearly grazing the witch's shoulders. The beast trilled at her, a smile clear on her face.

They flew together for a while, Niliana just following Eda around. She had more than enough time now to admire her surroundings. Sure, she flew around quite a bit, often very high, but it had been a very long time since she got to do it a night. The stars were so clear and bright.

The horizon was just turning gray, dawn fast approaching, when Eda decided she wanted to go home. She walked through the woods slowly, clearly very tired. Not that Niliana was complaining. She didn’t exactly have the most energy either. So, they walked, the morning air crisp, the birds just beginning to sing. It was nice.

When they got back to the house, ignoring Hooty’s good mornings, Nily immediately collapsed onto the couch, face down in the cushions. It was not a very comfortable couch, but she was just so tired it felt like the softest couch on the Isles. Eda settled next to the couch, staring intently at the witch until she moved again. She just grabbed the blanket and dragged it over her shoulders, mumbling a good night to the owl beast before promptly falling asleep.

Eda watched her a moment longer before giving an enormous yawn and curling up as close to the couch as she could. It didn’t take her long to fall asleep, either.

When Luz and King came down later in the morning, they decided they wouldn’t bother Nily today. They let her sleep as long as she needed.

[ohmygoodnessgraciouss]

Reality Check - Chapter 4

We’re back!!  Woo!!  I’m sorry for the long wait, but we’re getting back into it!  This is a little shorter than I wanted, but I promise it’s packed with some good info! Enjoy! <3

Missed the first part?  Read it here! Need chapter 2 or 3?  Go down to the tags and click #Reality Check Masterlist !

Warning: This contains spoilers for episode 8 of WandaVision.  This takes place between episodes 2 and 3, but we do have a few hints and references to the latest episode.  

Summary: Y/N and Wanda were very close after returning in 2023.  The two bonded over the loss of their partners.  It wasn’t enough to keep Wanda grounded after she found Vision’s body though, and Wanda wants the best for her friend.  Unfortunately for Y/N, this means she’s going to be thrown into a reality she wasn’t expecting.

You ended up going to the park where you had seen Scott.  It was empty, free from everyone who was at the talent show.  That’s exactly what you wanted.  It was peaceful, quiet, and away from anyone that could ruin it.  

Or so you hoped.  

“Are you alright?” Geraldine asked you, sitting down on the bench next to you.  You hadn’t even realized you were sitting on a bench.  You were so... Out of it by the time that she was there that you hardly recognized her.

“Yes, I’m alright.  Thank you,” You said, wiping tears from your eyes.  You felt frustrated, as if nothing was going to be okay anytime soon. 

“What happened?  You seemed to get really startled back there.  Loki just watched you leave.”  She said, placing a hand on your shoulder.  It was comforting, warm.  It didn’t feel like anyone or anything else here has lately.  You wanted to collapse right then and there.  

“It seems like everyone is hiding some secret from me.  Loki refuses to answer my questions, there’s that stranger who popped up spouting nonsense about the town.  And then there’s just everything strange.  I went to the store expecting that to be fine but even that was just... Absurd.  It seems like I’m in a dream or something and I can’t wake up.” You ranted to her.  She nodded understandingly.  

“I know how you feel.  It feels like I don’t even know where I’m at sometimes.”  She said quietly.  

“Yeah, it feels like Westview has changed so much since... Since Wanda got here.”  

“What was it like before?” She questioned.  

“I don’t remember.  That’s the thing.  I don’t know what’s going on, but I haven’t been able to remember a single thing since a few days ago.  All I know is who I am and that I’m married to Loki.  I can’t remember how we got here, what this town’s like... All I know is that I don’t like Dottie or Agnes,” You laughed humorlessly.  

“Dottie or Agnes?” 

“They’ve always struck me as odd ones.  Well, Dottie is quite a-” 

“Y/n!  Geraldine!  I finally found you two, thank goodness.”  Wanda walked up to you, breathing a sigh of relief.  “I’ve been looking for you everywhere.  What’s going on?” 

“Oh, it’s nothing Wanda.  I’m just a little confused, that’s all.” 

“Confused?  How do you mean?” She asked, wanting to be a supportive friend.  

Ẅ̸̛͚̣̖̂̈͝h̸̛͍̤͓͉̯͌̑͆͘a̸̱̯̼͆̀̿t̷̻̲̓'̶̡̊̾͐s̵̨̻̫̲͊ ̸͉͍̇̕͝h̵̖͗̓̚ä̶̲̠̞́́̌͠p̸͕̞̗͚͋͑̅̅̅p̵͑͒͘ͅ��̧̫̭e̵̺͓̟͇̊̂̊̚͠ͅň̵̞̯̺̥̪̈́̌́̾į̸̭̼̜̌͐̈́ͅn̵̘͆͂͐g̷͓̪͋͊̄ ̵̺̻͓̣͂̿͂͝n̴̬͖͌̐͊͠o̶̥̩̺̫͂̒ẁ̸͍̝̯?̶͖̆̿̂̓

Darcy continued to watch the TV, taking notes as she went along.  Jimmy walked up and sat down next to her, placing a cup of coffee down for her.  “Y/N seems to be questioning everything,” She responded to his question. 

“Questioning?” 

“Yeah, it seems like she’s able to figure out something’s wrong in the neighborhood.  No one else has managed to do that yet.  Not even Wanda herself.” 

“Is it possible Wanda is the root of this?” 

“Are you trying to say she placed herself in a bubble where she’s forced to act like she’s in a sitcom with her dead love and her friend plays a small role?  I doubt it, but nothing’s out of the equation yet.  Is that coffee for me?” She smiled. 

Jimmy nodded, watching the screen.  Wanda was just about to approach you and Geraldine at the park.  He watched the screen carefully when it suddenly cut off, playing into the next scene where Wanda and Vision arrive home, talking about the day.  “Wait, what just happened?” 

“I don’t know,” Darcy responded, trying to turn the knobs on the TV screen to get a better signal.  “How did we just skip past an entire scene?” 

“I don’t think that was anything you did.  I think someone on the inside had something to do with it.  Wanda, maybe.” 

“Because Y/N was questioning it?” 

“Maybe.  Whatever’s going on, whether it’s Wanda in control or someone else, they don’t want anyone to figure it out or know what’s happening.  Including us.”  

Darcy nodded grimly.  She wanted to believe that Wanda was a superhero, an Avenger.  She was someone who pummeled Thanos and kept fighting for the good guys.  What would make her isolate a town in New Jersey?  

“Either way,” Jimmy spoke, breaking her thoughts, “Who’s that guy that keeps popping up in the background?  The one Y/N spoke to?” 

“Oh you mean Scott?  He seems to be a background character.  I haven’t been able to catch a good angle of him.  The ‘camera’ isn’t allowing me to get any good glimpses of him.  We’ve already identified most of the town though.  It doesn’t make any sense.” 

“Well, we need to keep trying.  If we can’t identify them, then that means they may be another person of interest here.” 

“Got it.  There’s one question that’s really bugging me though.” 

“What’s that?” 

“How are Vision and Loki both there?” 

~

“Oh thank God, Wanda, what happened?” You asked as she walked through the door, back into your shared apartment.  She sat down, keeping her gaze locked on the green carpeting underneath her feet.  Her eyes glistened with tears that refused to come out.  

“I saw him, but he wasn’t there anymore.”  Her voice cracked as she let out a choked sob.  Your heart crumbled into pieces as you watched the woman practically collapse.  You quickly sat next to her on the couch, pulling her into a side hug.  

“Wanda, I’m so sorry.”

“I just wanted to bury him.  It was the least he deserved after everything we went through.” She wrapped an arm around you tightly as you felt her tears dampen your shirt.  

“I know, just let it all out,” You tried to comfort her.  There wasn’t much you could say though, at least, nothing you hadn’t said before.  “At least they’re dismantling him though, right?  They’re being careful, and they’re not disobeying Vision’s wishes.  When I heard S.W.O.R.D had him,” You hesitated for a moment, “I feared the worst.” 

Wanda let out a quiet sniffle as she broke the hug.  “Me too.  That’s why I had to drive up to New York as soon as possible.  I had to make sure.” 

You nodded, giving her a soft smile.  “Did they give you a hard time about it?” 

“It wasn’t any harder than I expected,” She admitted.  “When I saw him, I knew it was over.  I couldn’t even see him.  Not in the way I remember him.” 

“But you got to say goodbye.” 

“Yeah, I did.” 

A moment of silence was shared between the two of you before she looked around the room, spotting a manila envelope by the door.  “What’s that?” She asked, walking towards it. 

“It was in the mail today, it was addressed to you.  I have no idea what it could be though.”  

She glanced at the return address before carefully opening up the envelope.  Inside was a single paper.  It was large and thick, some kind of heavy-duty paper.  Whatever it was must’ve been important.  She didn’t say anything, so you asked, “What is it?” 

“It’s... It’s from Vision.” 

~

You woke up in a cold sweat in bed.  What happened yesterday?  You turned to look next to you, finding Loki.  He was sleeping peacefully, an arm wrapped around your waist.  Things seemed different though.  

You took a look around your room.  It was brighter, and much livelier than it was before.  The sheets were a bright blue, almost matching the patches of sky you could see through the green curtains on the window.  The bedside lamps had vibrant red shades on them, matching the golden stands beautifully.  The dark oak tables they sat on complimented the room.  

You looked to get a better look at Loki.  Now you could see his black hair and pale skin in a much better light.  He was wearing a black t-shirt for pajamas.  You looked at your own clothing, noticing that you were wearing a pink nightgown.  When did you get home?  And how did you get home? 

You carefully moved Loki’s arm off of you as he shifted in his sleep.  Pulling the covers off of you, you turned to look at the clock.  It was 10:00 in the morning.  The last time you checked, it had to be around 4:00 in the afternoon yesterday.  Whatever happened between the three of you must’ve ended up in some wild psychedelic dream or a lot of drinking.  

You got dressed, slipping on a nice top and skirt that you could find.  They were (f/c), your favorite.  When did you get these clothes?  Most of your wardrobe consisted of dresses, so seeing the shirt and skirt seemed strange to you.  It didn’t matter all that much though because you heard a knock on the door as soon as you were done.  

Opening the door, you were greeted by a certain woman.  “Agnes!  Hello, how wonderful to see you!  Come in,” You smiled, stepping to the side.  

“Oh hi dear, I just wanted to check in and see how you were doing.  Especially after what happened yesterday, I knew I had to stop by!” She smiled widely, laughing a little. 

“That’s so sweet of you.  But, what do you mean by what happened yesterday?” You asked, chuckling nervously.  She sat down on the couch and you took a seat across from her.  Her piercing gaze seemed to look right through you, as if she knew you had no idea what happened last night.  

“Why, with the talent show of course!  Loki came around to tell me what happened.  He seemed very distraught,” She frowned.  

You laughed nervously once more.  “Well, we just had a small disagreement that’s all.  I can’t figure out why he went to you though,” You smiled. 

“Oh don’t worry about it my dear, he was just wondering if I had any idea where you were heading off to.  He’s worried about you, you know.  You’ve been acting so strangely lately that... It’s piqued everyone’s interest at this point.” 

“Well, it’s nothing to worry about, I can assure you of that.  Quite frankly it’s something that I believe should stay between me and my husband at this point.  I’m not very comfortable with talking about it.” 

“Are you sure?  You seem very nervous right now, Y/N.  Plus, it seems like you’ve gotten very close with the new guy in town, Scott.  I’ve seen you talking with him while Loki’s not around, you sly little thing.” She winked mischievously as she laughed. 

Your blood ran cold and it seemed like everything around you stopped.  You couldn’t think of anything else, you just wanted Agnes to stop talking.  Her eyes widened as she seemed to freeze too.  She didn’t say anything as you glared at her.  

“I think you should go,” You stated.  “It’s early in the morning and I have to make breakfast.  Perhaps we can continue this chat another time,” You said, ushering her out the door.  Her eyes were still wide, yet she said nothing.  She simply walked outside, taking a turn towards her house.  

You closed the door once she was gone, breathing a sigh of relief.  It was as if the world reverted back to normal as soon as she was gone.  

~

Agatha continued her descent to her house, taking a look around as the people around her.  Herb was just walking outside.  He was getting into place, just as she wanted.  If she was going to freak Vision out she needed him by the fence on standby.  

When she made it back to her home, she walked downstairs to her basement.  It was still being built as she didn’t have the time to fix everything up just yet.  It had several runes going across the walls and she had her book in there.  She flipped through the pages, trying desperately to figure out what had just happened.  

“Interesting.” 

“So Wanda isn’t the only one with magic here.”

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@emberfulclass @momoneymolife @high-priestesss @hailey-the-heathen @mochminnie @dpaccione @intricate-melody @lindseyrae20 @storminateacup15 @ilovemollyweasley @bookgirlunicorn  @chims-kookies @austynparksandpizza @yikesdameron @littleladdty @three-eyed-snail @kymera-casterwill @justsomerandompersonintheworld @followthepastelcloud @11mb0 @carolinesbookworld @grimalkynslee @from-hel-i-with-love

[flannels-and-fannypacks]

Will They Won’t They | Part 1/4 [Reggie Peters]

Pairing: Reggie Peters x fem!reader

Words: 7000

Summary: Reggie and reader were the best of friends up until middle school where they drifted apart and decided never to speak to each other again. What happens when a shared algebra class and a resulting detention force them to spend and increasing amount of time together. Will it be enough to overcome the mutual hate? Or was the relationship doomed from the start.

WARNINGS: swears, spicy dancing, ANGST

A/N: Okay this is the first of hopefully many collabs between Drea and I! We’re both so excited to share out very long baby with you and hope you guys enjoy reading it as much as we enjoyed writing it! - mimi <3

A/N (2): hi babes it’s drea taking over HAHAHA to repeat what mimi said, we are SO EXCITED to collab and work together to create this SUPER ANGSTY but also SUPER FLUFFY AND FUN fic! your feedback is highly appreciated! and if you like our writing, please like, comment, and reblog! we’d love to hear what you have to say! sending my love! - drea :)

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The night was young in your eyes. All the lights in the (L/N) household were off, aside from the nightlight in your bedroom. Despite it being nearly eleven at night, you and your best friend, Reggie Peters, were far from tired.

The soft humming from the radio was all that could be heard from your room, along with the occasional giggle from you or joke cracked by Reggie. You laid on your bed next to him, your legs tangled in the bedsheets. As much as you loved sleepovers with your best friend, you had to admit that Reggie’s growth spurt did not help your cramped situation.

“Your elbow is jabbing my ribs,” you grumbled, kicking Reggie towards the edge of your bed.

The boy only shoved you back, a playful smirk on his face. “You’re just jealous I’m taller than you now, Cookie,” he said triumphantly.

“I’m jealous you’re taking up all the space on my bed, dork,” you shot back, kicking hard enough to push him over the edge. Reggie let out a yelp before hitting the ground, groaning upon the impact. You fell into a fit of giggles as you peeked over the edge of your bed to see a pair of narrowed blue-green eyes and a scowl. “Sorry, Flicka,” you squeaked.

Reggie glared at you jokingly, rubbing his elbow in pain. “No you’re not,” he whispered back.

“Yeah, I’m not.”

You swung your legs over the edge of your bed, standing up to reach -well almost- Reggie’s height. You frowned at his arm, gingerly taking it into your hands. The boy winced upon first touch, but relaxed in your grasp. “Does it hurt a lot?” you asked in a concerned voice.

Reggie shrugged his shoulders. “It’s whatever,” he responded nonchalantly, but the pain in his voice was visible.

You raised an eyebrow at your best friend. “You don’t have to pretend to be all strong and tough,” you reminded him.

The taller boy sighed, a pout adorning his lips. “I know,” he murmured. ���But we’re starting middle school soon. I should be ‘all strong and tough.’”

Snorting, you shook your head. “Who cares about that nonsense?” you exclaimed in a hushed voice. “We all feel pain, that’s not a bad thing. Besides, it’s just me, Flicka. You don’t need to put up an act.”

Reggie’s lips turned upwards as he looked into your eyes. Everything just felt right at the moment. The smile on your face. The redness in his cheeks. The moonlight reached the window and illuminated the room. It was perfect.

The radio, forgotten by the two of you, started to play a new song. Your song.

“You got a fast car

I want a ticket to anywhere”

Glancing up at Reggie, you could both tell you were thinking the exact same thing.

“Dance with me, Flicka?” you asked, giving his hands a squeeze.

Reggie’s face burned in embarrassment as you moved his hand to your waist. “I’m not any good at this, you know that, Cookie,” he muttered, resting his chin on top of your head.

You scoffed, starting to sway along to the music. “Just follow my lead, Reggie. I promise I won’t leave you hanging.”

There, the two of you swayed silently to the music. The moon shined bright from your window, making the blue and green in his eyes shine brighter than usual. Reggie watched as you moved your head so that it laid against his chest. You could hear his heart practically beating out of his chest, making you giggle softly.

“Flicka? you spoke up in a hushed tone. Reggie only hummed in reply. You took a deep breath. “Promise me you’ll never leave me?”

Reggie looked out the window, seeing a glimpse of both of your reflections through the glass. “I’d never leave you, Cookie.”

“You promise?” you whispered.

“I promise.”

That was your first broken promise. The first broken promise upon millions. Reggie told you he’d never leave you, that he’d always be your friend.

Funny how fragile promises can be.

That was nearly seven years ago. The late nights spent doing who knows what, listening to the radio seemed like a distant memory from a past life.

Now your days were spent alone in the library, bent over textbooks determined to ace your classes to get a scholarship and go to a good college. You wouldn’t make your parents pay for that. That was asking too much of them.

You weren’t sure where Reggie was, or what he was doing. Once you both were in middle school, he found himself new friends, and apparently a band, too. Even though you weren’t on speaking terms, you had listened to his music every once in a while. You knew he was destined for big things. Those big things just didn’t include you.

But that was fine. Your entire life wasn’t centred around some boy from your childhood. You had school and your family. So, for you, that meant signing up for all the most challenging classes and studying your ass off for all of them.

You didn’t want to admit it but this class was killing you. Your pride always got in the way. Most of the time, you believed you were capable of passing every class with flying colours. But, there was no denying this class was more difficult than the others. How were you supposed to know what effects the Great Depression had on farmers of that era? You weren’t them and they were all dead.

Your tired eyes drifted over to the clock and you sighed as you realized what time it was. Packing your things, you left the library and dragged your feet to your algebra class.

Sitting patiently in the front row while your teacher explained the lesson plan you barely even registered the faint knock on the door frame, but when you turned your head up your expression changed from one neutral to a scowl.

He hadn’t changed a bit. Aside from the whole outfit -he definitely switched his old sports sweatshirts for leather jackets sometime in freshman year- he was the same old Reggie Peters. The same dark hair, piercing blue-green eyes, and rosy red cheeks.

“Um, sorry I’m supposed to be in algebra with Mr. Milenika, I just got transferred.” the dark hair teen said, running a hand through his hair and shoving his hands in his pockets.

“Yes, Mr. Peters correct?”

Reggie nodded wordlessly. Your heart was beating out of your chest. Not from nerves, but is pure hatred for the boy. He couldn’t be in this class. He just couldn’t. Why would the universe do that to you?

“Very well, take a seat.”

Reggie walked into the class, eyeing where to take a seat when he noticed the only open spot was next to you.

His features hardened and he threw his bag down next to the empty desk, pulling out the chair and sitting in it with a loud thump.

“Flicka,” you spat.

“Cookie,” he nodded with a hiss in return.

“Great, I take it you two know each other?” Mr. Milenika asked, unaware of the drama that was associated with whatever relationship you and Reggie had. It was a stretch to say you even had one.

You and Reggie gave him a bitter “Yes.”

Mr. Milenika, never one who was ever good at differentiating bitterness and normal answers, beamed at the two.

“Good, because even though this is a math class, I will make you work with your partner quite often. So I suggest you get to know whoever is sitting next to you.” Your body stiffened. As if it couldn’t get any worse, Mr. Milenka never failed to disappoint.

Mr. Milenika continued on, explaining the rest of the plan for the class, but you seemed unable to concentrate, entirely focused on the boy who was now sitting next to you. With his stupid face and stupidly strong cologne, you couldn’t focus at all on whatever was on the board. It was as though you were in a haze, and all you could think about was him.

It had been years since you’d last spoken, not to mention you barely saw him in the halls anymore. He was notorious for skipping class to go rehearse with his so-called band while you were quite the opposite. Never missing a day, no matter what it took.

“Never thought you were one for staring,” he whispered under his breath and you scoffed.

“Oh so we don’t talk for seven years and you think now’s a good time to start?”

“Yeah, I do, cause then I could tell you how stupid those shoes look,”

“I’m literally just wearing converse, you are too Reginald,” you spat.

“Shut up!” he said, raising his voice slightly.

“You first!” you said, voice becoming louder. Was it a childish comeback? Perhaps, but you weren’t one to back down, no matter how stupid your comebacks were.

Now the whole class was listening, even Mr. Milenika had stopped teaching to observe what was going on with his students and just as he was about to intervene it seemed the debate had gotten worse.

“Me? shut up? You’re the one who was always bossing me around and telling me what to do! I could never get in a word with you!” Reggie snapped back.

“That’s because you were too thick-skulled to listen to anything I had to say!” you hissed, not realizing the audience you had. “Who knows Flicka maybe if you had you wouldn’t have failed this class last term!”

“That was uncalled for!” Reggie exclaimed, now standing from his chair. “And it’s not my fault the tutor bailed on me because it was a conflict of interest. This isn’t Judge Judy (Y/N)! If anything it’s your fault!”

“You manipulative little asshole!”

“Suck up!”

“Motherf-,”

“That’s enough!” Mr. Milenika yelled over both of you, causing you to shrink and turn to look at the very angry teacher. “Never in my years of teaching have I seen such barbaric behaviour! That’s two months' detention. Both of you! Now go to Mrs. Hillside’s office, immediately.”

Reggie angrily grabbed his bag and slung it over his shoulder, kicking a stray chair on his way out while you followed close behind in a much quieter fashion.

You had no words as you entered the principal’s office, sitting across from her desk while Reggie took the seat next to yours.

It was your first day back from the holiday. Your first day back and you finally had a conversation with your childhood best friend in seven years and got two months of detention with said childhood best friend. Your heart ached at the thought of the big flaw printed on your record. You only had Reggie to blame.

Purposefully, you shuffled away from him and he rolled his eyes as Mrs. Hillside finished her phone conversation with Mr. Milenika.

“Disrupting a class?” The woman exclaimed. “Foul language? Damaging school property?” Your face burned at each accusation.

Mrs. Hillside glared at you. “Ms.(L/N),” she addressed with a frown. “I did not expect such reckless and irresponsible behaviour from a promising student like you. I’m greatly disappointed.”

Tears threatened to fall from your eyes. “Please don’t make it go on my record,” you whimpered, your voice cracking.

The woman pressed her lips together. “You’re lucky this is your first detention, Ms.(L/N).” You released the breath you had no idea you were holding.

“Kiss ass,” Reggie muttered.

You narrowed your eyes at the boy, prepared to shoot back another comeback when your principal had something far better.

“I find that rich from you, Mr. Peters,” she laughed humorlessly. “Remind me, how many detentions did you have last term?” The boy’s cheek flushed, instantly shutting his mouth. You held back a laugh as to not get a snapback of your own from the teacher. “Now as much as this is infuriating, you both do have a class that I believe would be in your best interest not to miss. So we’ll draw up a schedule for these two months of detention and then you can return to your class in an orderly fashion. You understand?”

“Yes ma’am,” you nodded and Reggie just shrugged, if he blew this for you, well let’s just say there wouldn’t be any evidence of the crime.

“So let’s make this three days a week for two months. Thursday, Friday and Saturday and the hours will vary from time to time depending on the tasks you need to complete.”

“Three times a week?” Reggie exclaimed. “Mrs. Hillside, I have band practice-”

“And I’m losing my patience,” she cut him off. “Now go back to class before I make it four detentions a week.”

You squeaked a quiet “Thank you” before picking up your things and leaving the principal’s office. Speeding down the hallways, you didn’t hear Reggie catching up close behind you. When you saw a blur of black and red in the corner of your eye, you fought the urge to turn your head.

“Stupid Reggie Peters,” you muttered under your breath. “Stupid algebra class. Stupid Mr. Milenka and his stupid detention. Stupid-”

“Are you talking to me, Cookie?” Reggie spoke up, making you jump in surprise. By that time, you were already at the door of your algebra class.

You pressed your binder close to your chest, shooting the boy a pointed glare. “I hate you,” you said, opening the door just enough for you to slip through and slam in Reggie’s face.

You didn’t dare speak when you returned back to class, not wanting to try your luck and possibly extend your already long detention.

Reggie seemed to be thinking the same thing, possibly except he didn’t have his record on the line it was that stupid band practice of his. If he had spent as much time studying as he did practicing maybe you wouldn’t be in this situation because he would have passed the class in the first place.

You knew that you’d need to spend time catching up tonight so you didn’t even bother paying attention to the lesson. Anger bubbled in your chest as you mindlessly wrote notes for the class, not processing anything at all. Occasionally, you would notice a pair of blue-green eyes staring at you, only for them to turn back to the board each time you would look back.

You couldn’t even look each other in the eye. How were you supposed to last two months of detention with him?

Finally, the bell rang and allowed you to escape the confinement that was the loud stares of your classmates as you headed to your first assigned detention. Cleaning up the backroom of the library.

Reaching the library, you were met with the librarian, Mr. Mallard. The old man was hunched over a box filled with books, his glasses sliding down the bridge of his nose. It seemed as though he didn’t realize you were right behind him, so you awkwardly cleared your throat.

Mr. Mallard jumped, turned around to see you nervously waving at him. “Oh, Ms. (L/N), I didn’t see you there.” You waved his comment off.

“Not a problem,” you said with a kind smile. You mentally let out a sigh of relief. Good thing Mr. Mallard was nicer than the rest of the teachers here.

“I was just listening to music,” he explained, nodding at the radio playing soft music. He looked back at you. “You know I used to be a dancer back in my day? Now, I got this bad back, so I’m stuck here with you rascals.” You laughed at the man as he tried to snap his fingers and sway his hips to the music. “Ah, I got too carried away, sorry, dear. Now I must be getting old because I could have sworn there were supposed to be two of you here with me.”

You nodded, looking around for the boy in a leather jacket and red flannel, but came up empty. “He must be running late,” you told him.

Mr. Mallard frowned. “Well, I guess we can wait for him,” he settled, sitting down on his desk chair. “Feel free to take a seat over there until he comes in.”

Reggie came in a few minutes later, tossing his bag onto one of the chairs and placing his bass guitar on the table.

“The usual Mr. Mallard?” Reggie asked and the older man gave him a nod. It seemed Reggie had become familiar with the library as you had, just in a different way. “Well what are you waiting for?” he looked at you unimpressed. “The faster we start the faster we leave.”

You didn’t say a word, only followed him into the back room where you’d be organizing some old books, boxes and trophies

You stepped into the room, squinting at the shadows of assorted boxes. It was completely dark.

“Well, come on, Cookie,” Reggie said, giving you a shove. “We don’t have all day.”

You took in a shaky breath. “It’s dark,” you pointed out.

Reggie rolled his eyes. “Yeah, I think we’ve established that,” he said. “Let’s just find the light switch and start cleaning.”

You nodded, blindly searching along the walls for that damn switch. Not noticing the small box on the floor, you kicked it aside, spilling all sorts of books onto the floor. You squeaked in fear, grabbing the first thing in sight. Of course, that had to be Reggie’s hand.

You whipped your head around, face red in embarrassment. Lucky for you the darkness of the room prevented him from seeing that. “Sorry,” you muttered.

Reggie scoffed at you. “Still scared of the dark?” he asked in a teasing voice.

“Still sleep with that horse plushie of yours?” you shot back.

Reggie glared at you but didn’t say anything else. Without letting go of your hand he flicked on the switch and the room filled with a dim orange hue.

“You can let go now,” you said, trying to shimmy your hand away from his, only prompting him to grip harder.

“What are you scared of me now?” he asked with a smirk and you scowled, ripping your hand away from his.

“Let’s just clean, like you said, the faster we get this done the faster we can go home.”

The room was silent aside from the noises of books falling against the floor, making a quiet thud. You made a small area of your own in the back of the room, a stack of boxes hiding your view of Reggie. But from the lack of noises made in his part of the room, you could tell he wasn’t doing anything productive.

You poked your head out of your small space, frowning at the boy. He was sitting on the floor, slouching as he scribbled on a dusty piece of paper.

“Hey!” you called out, throwing an old yearbook in his direction.

Reggie barely ducked in time, sitting up and turning in your area. “What the hell?” he yelled.

“We’re supposed to be working on cleaning this room!” you snapped. “You aren’t doing shit, Flicka.”

“I did clean,” he muttered. “I just had an idea for the band-”

“That stupid band! Why can’t you just stop for once in your life and focus on what’s in front of you,” you scowled, frustrated that even now you were the one stuck doing all the work. Seemed like maybe things hadn’t changed much from seven years ago.

“Maybe if you loosened a screw or two we wouldn’t need to have this conversation,”

“Just shut up Reginald, you have no idea what it means to take responsibility for something. You haven’t changed and you never will.”

Reggie was about to come back with a retort when the door to the backroom swung open and Mr. Mallard came in with a smile on his face.

“Could I get you kids some snacks?” he asked kindly.

“Always, you’re the man Mr. M.” Reggie grinned, completely ignoring you and giving the librarian a high five from where he sat on the ground.

“I’m good Mr. Mallard,” you shook your head and he left you both with a nod of his head and promised to be back with some assortment of fruits and such.

After your first detention, it was safe to say that all hope of fixing your friendship with Reggie went down the drain. It seemed as though every hour you spent with him gave you all the more reasons to throttle him and be glad he stopped talking to you back in middle school.

—

Detentions became just another regular part of your week, integrated with your studying and your part-time job at the cafe. So you were more than happy to take a minute and walk back home where you could take a minute to rest.

Unfortunately, the universe had other plans.

“Reggie!” a voice yelled. You took a deep breath as you tried to make yourself invisible. It was his friends, Luke, Alex, and Bobby. The friends he left you for.

Reggie’s face lit up as he walked past you, running over to his friends. “Hey guys!” he said with a toothy grin. “What are you doing here?”

Luke shrugged his shoulders. “We thought we might as well give you a ride to practice since we were already around here for lunch,” he explained nonchalantly.

Bobby sent his friend a glare. “You mean I gave you a ride,” he corrected, gesturing to the keys in his hand.”

Luke waved his comment off. “Details. Oh, who’s that?” Luke asked pointing over to you and you tried to pick up your pace before he eventually made his way to you.

“That’s just (Y/N),” Reggie shrugged. “We have detention together.” Luke approached you with an overexcited pep in his step. You tried to back away as subtly as possible, but you were stopped by a wall.

“You’re adorable!” he grinned, throwing an arm around your shoulder while you looked at him in a sort of odd confusion. “Your face is so cute and pink, kind of like a bunny! You know, growing up I had this bunny for a pet named Carrot. We’re adopting you, right boys?”

You ducked under his arm, trying to stay as polite as possible. “Oh, I’d love to be your friend and all,” you began nervously. “But um...I just have things to do and-”

“We’re. Adopting. You,” Luke said in a sickly sweet but firm voice. “Right boys?”

As you tried to slip out of his grasp and walk away, Alex, who was also coincidentally your lab partner, called out from the van.

“Hey (N/N), you need a ride?”

“No thanks! I’m fine walking,” you called back, but Luke didn’t want to take no for an answer. He ran up in front of you and scooped you in his arms, throwing you over his shoulder causing you to shriek in surprise.

“We’re taking you with us! Who knows what kind of dangerous types are wandering around LA.”

“At the moment I would think you’re one of them!” you exclaimed, squirming to have him put you down, before finally giving up when he tossed you in the van. “Could this constitute a kidnapping? I feel like it’s a kidnapping. Can I call the police?”

Reggie followed close behind the two of you, clearly not liking this at all. He had already spent enough time with you in detention. Now you’re with his friends? He took the backseat, right behind you. “Dude, come on,” Reggie said as Luke fastened your seatbelt before patting the top of your head. You shot the guitarist a glare. “I really don’t want to be arrested for kidnapping. Especially since it’s her. Lord knows she’ll manage to pin the charges on me.”

Luke rolled his eyes. “Nonsense,” he said. “We’re not kidnapping her. We’re making friends!”

“That’s not how making friends works, Patterson!” you yelled as he slid the van door closed.

While they were making their way to your house Luke seemed to glance at the time on the dash and gasped.

“Shit! Guys turn around we’re gonna be late for practice!”

“Practice, you said you were taking me home!” you exclaimed. “This is actually a kidnapping now! Flicka your friends suck!”

“Sorry Lady Bunny,” Luke shrugged and you whined.

Reggie groaned and banged his head on the seat in front of him while Bobby took a definitely illegal u-turn to go where they normally had their rehearsals.

The car stopped in front of a fairly nice house with a big studio. The boys filed out, leaving you grumbling in the back seat. Luke opened the door, bowing dramatically.

“Lady Bunny,” Luke said, reaching his hand out to you.

You scowled at the boy, crossing your arms on your chest. “I want to go home,” you muttered.

“No can do, Lady Bunny,” Luke said with a shrug of his shoulders. “We have practice to do.”

“Then I’ll walk home,” you whined.

Luke laughed at your frustrated face. “Can’t let you do that either,” he told you. “Besides, you’re too little and innocent to brave the world on your own.” Luke reached for your cheek, patting it softly until you turned your head and bit his finger. “Ouch!”

“Yeah, bunnies bite, dick head. This is holding an innocent party against their will and you will do jail time,”

“(N/N), just stick around this once, I’ll make sure you get home later,” Alex offered and you slouched in your seat and mumbled a “Fine,”

Alex patted your back and led you into the large studio where there was a girl with frizzy brown curly hair, sitting on a couch.

“Finally! What took you guys so long!” she sighed and stood up.

“We adopted a bunny, Rose!” Luke grinned and hugged you from behind tucking your chin in his shoulder. You rolled your eyes and mouthed help me, to the girl and she scrunched her nose as if to say, ‘sorry honey there isn’t anything I can do.’

Luke pulled you to the couch and sat you down. “Now you stay there while we practice, okay bunny?” he said, patting your head.

“If you’re good we might give you snacks,” Bobby added from behind Luke, snickering under his breath.

Rose shot both boys a pointed look. “Cut that out, you two,” she ordered. Rose sat next to you, patting your knee. “Can I get you anything? Water? A snack? You don’t have to do a flip for treats or whatever.”

You laughed in response, nervously playing with the hem of your sweater. “I’m fine, thank you,” you responded politely. “If anything I just want a ride home.”

Rose frowned, leaning against the pillow cushions. “I’d give you a ride but my sister took the car for today,” she explained apologetically. Rose could sense the awkward tension, and wanted to break the ice. “So which one of them is your boyfriend?”

You choked on air, not expecting her question. For once, you were thankful the band was blasting music. “I’m sorry?” you coughed, causing Rose to reach over to grab a water bottle from the table and offer it to you. You took a big gulp, sighing. “What made you think that?”

Rose hummed as she thought of her answer. “Well, you’re way too nervous around me,” she began. “And the boys all keep on looking at you. Alex is not your boyfriend because he’s currently talking to this guy in my English class. Bobby...definitely isn’t your type, now that I look at you. I considered Luke for a moment but he’s way too dedicated to music to date anyone but his six-string, you also just seemed way too annoyed by him, but what’s new. And now that leaves Reggie.” she looked over at the boy playing the bass. Reggie, who apparently was watching the two of you talk, quickly ducked his head, his cheeks visibly red. “You two have history, don’t you?”

You froze, eyes widening. “How did you-”

“I think you forgot we were in the same homeroom since fourth grade,” she laughed. “You and Reggie, you guys were glued at the hip. Don’t you have nicknames for each other or something?”

“I-I guess,” you shrugged, it wasn’t really something you used as a term of endearment anymore, but it was still there. “He was Flicka and I was Cookie,”

“Did you date?” she asked curiously, leaning in closer.

“No,” you shook your head. “Just friends. Used to be.” you corrected and Rose frowned, but before she could ask another question you stopped her. “If I have to sit here and wait for Alex to take me home you think we could talk about something else?”

“Sure,” Rose nodded, “Well in that case I think you should come around here more often,”

“What do you mean?” you nervously chuckled.

“I don’t know, I just think we’d be pretty good friends,” she said with a shrug of her shoulders.

You leaned your head on her shoulder, smiling at the warm feeling bubbling inside you. “Yeah,” you agreed in a quiet voice. “I’m starting to think so, too.”

—

“And then he told me I was annoying!” you hissed, angrily scribbling the data of your experiment onto your notebook. “Can you believe that? Him!”

Alex anxiously watched you as you reached for a pipette, squeezing the poor thing like it stole your money. “Really?” Alex only said in a shaky voice.

You nodded furiously, taking the indicator, not even caring to count out your drops and just pouring the purple liquid haphazardly into the Erlenmeyer flask.

“He’s-He’s just a… argh! I can’t stand him!” you waved your hands almost knocking over the whole buret and ring stand with a very strong molarity composition of hydrochloric acid in it causing Alex to let out a strangled yelp from the back of his throat.

“C-can you please at least stay ten feet away from the table?” he requested. “You’re going to either break something or send me to the hospital with an acid burn and I really would prefer if that didn’t happen.”

You placed your materials down, glaring at the blond boy. “What are you talking about?” you snapped, not meaning to take your anger out on your friend (and chemistry experiment, at that).

Alex placed his hands up in the air in defence. “Just-” he swallowed loudly, trying to think of the right words. “Maybe take a deep breath? I know Reggie gets you all angry and stuff, but please don’t put our lives and chemistry grade on the line.”

“Makes me mad is a fucking understatement,” you grumbled.

“Okay, we can start there,” Alex began, slowly moving the materials far away from you. “I think it’s reasonable and incredibly understandable that you dislike him. But do you really hate him?”

You scowled. “Yes, Alexander,” you said in a scarily calm voice. “As a matter of fact, I do. He’s a fucking pain in my ass and can go fuck himself for all I care. He’s rude, inconsiderate, and selfish beyond belief.”

“And why do you think that?”

“Alex, you’re not my therapist, stop acting like you have every right to be in my business when you don’t know a single thing about me!”

Alex didn’t respond to that comment, fearing what you might say next. You paused, noticing Alex’s uneasiness. “I’m sorry,” you only mumbled.

He nodded wordlessly, gently placing his hand over yours. “Don’t worry about it, (N/N),” he reassured you.

Silence followed, aside from the quiet mumbling of instructions for the experiment. Minutes in, you finally decided to break the silence.

“Because he left me,” you whispered in a broken voice.

Alex raised an eyebrow. “I’m sorry?” he said, genuinely not hearing you.

You sighed, placing your pencil and notebook down. “He left me for your stupid band. He got friends and I got nothing,” you explained further. You removed your glasses, wiping away a stray tear. “I probably shouldn’t even be mad at him, at this point. He’s moved on...and got popular and actually has something going on for himself. And me?” You laughed humorlessly at yourself. “I work a job to help mom and dad pay the bills and work my ass off so I can go to school and make a life for myself. No one told me trying for success would be so lonely.”

“(Y/N),” Alex said, frowning slightly.

You shook your head. “But he’s happy, isn’t he?” you asked. “Reggie. He’s smiling wider than I’ve ever seen before. Singing and playing the bass, dancing his heart out on stage. He never used to do those things with me.” You looked away from Alex, unable to take his pitiful gaze. “He’s changed while I’ve stayed the same. I’m stuck here, still moping about my past. Maybe he’s right. Maybe he is better off without me.”

“He’s not,” Alex said without even thinking.

“How could you say that? He’s clearly happier. It’s not like you can pretend you don’t see that,”

“But he’s not. He just replaced what he had, his friendship with you, with music. I might not know him as well as you, but it’s his coping mechanism. It hides all the bad things in life that he chooses not to deal with,”

“Reggie’s not like that,” you shook your head, refusing to believe what Alex was saying.

Alex, starting to get frustrated, slammed his hands on the edge of the table. “Dammit, (Y/N) can you just realize for one second that you don’t hate Reggie and that Reggie doesn’t hate you?” Your mouth remained closed, so Alex took it as an opportunity to push further. “You two talk my ears off about each other more than you realize. It’s always “Reggie did this” or “(Y/N) did that” can’t you two get your heads out of your asses and see that?”

“C-Can you take care of this, I’m just going to run to the washroom,” you murmured, not waiting for a response. You took off your goggles, gloves and lab coat, making your way to the courtyard, contrary to where you said you were going. Pulling your MP3 player out of your pocket you threw on a pair of battered headphones and turned the volume all the way up clicking on the familiar track of Fast Car maybe you couldn’t run away physically, but right now, your heart sure needed a break.

—

“You two will be with Mrs. Leona today in the dance room,”

“What does she need?” you asked with much confusion. Normally Saturdays were used for either sitting in silence or cleaning up some area of the school.

“She needs help choreographing the dance she’s going to use for the sophomore class next semester,” Mrs. Hillside explained. “Now go on, get dressed and meet her in the dance room.”

You and Reggie walked away to the locker rooms. A scowl was plastered on the boy’s face. “These detentions are getting more and more ridiculous each day,” he muttered.

Scoffing, you crossed your arms on your chest. “Well, that’s something we both can agree on.”

You parted ways for a short time to get changed before meeting back up again in the dance room where Mrs. Leona was already setting up and waiting for you both.

“Perfect! So glad you guys could make it,” she grinned.

“We have detention,” Reggie noted. “Not really much of a choice,” You shot the boy a glare, elbowing him roughly in the ribs.

“Right,” she chuckled. “Well, I’m working on a routine for my sophomores. Apparently, they think we’re doing the same thing over and over again so I’m going to give them something new for a change. I was thinking a partner assignment would work best.”

You and Reggie nodded as Mrs. Leona walked over to the stereo, popping in a CD and playing All That She Wants in the background on repeat while she would lead the stretches.

“Isn’t this song a little inappropriate to have sophomores dancing to? Or like even just to play in school?” you asked as you followed along.

Reggie rolled his eyes. “Of course that’s what you ask,” he muttered.

Mrs. Leona waved off your comment. “It’s fine,” she insisted. “It’s an upbeat song, and it’s “in,” so might as well give the kids a fun assignment.”

“Mrs. Leona, what kind of dance moves are you thinking?” Reggie asked curiously. “Because I’m not that good of a dancer and (Y/N) is practically so old she could break her hip by breathing.”

“I’m not old,” you snapped, crossing your arms on your chest.

“You sure act like it,” he shot back.

“You bit-”

“Enough talking!” Mrs. Leona cut you both off. “More dancing. Now I have a couple of ideas for you two, so make sure you’re really stretched out so you don’t pull something.”

You groaned, looking up at the ceiling. “What did I get myself into?”

—

“It’s a simple concept!” Mrs. Leona insisted after the millionth attempt. “You two are just so awkward with each other.”

You fought the urge to roll your eyes. “Can you just explain it again, please?” you requested.

Mrs. Leona sighed, standing up to show you the dance sequence. “Reggie, take her hand and bring it to your lips. Step away, and (Y/N) you pull him back. Then Reggie turn so that you and (Y/N) are facing each other. At that point, you grab him by the shirt while he takes your waist, then he twirls you and goes in to dip you. Simple enough!”

Simple to maybe a Rockette, but not to a bassist and an awkward bookworm.

“Let’s take it from there, okay guys?”

You grumbled to yourself, positioning yourself in front of the boy. “This is way too much,” you muttered, mostly to yourself.

“Just shut up and do what she says,” Reggie hissed. “I don’t want to be any closer to you than I have to.”

When the music started playing, you felt Reggie’s fingertips trace down your arm to your hand, unknowingly creating a trail of goosebumps. Weaving his fingers with yours, he brought your intertwined hands up to his face, his lips ever so gently grazing your hand.

On beat, Reggie started to walk away from you, only for you to pull him back. His eyes met yours as you brought your other hand to his chest, balling the fabric of his shirt in your fist. You watched as he dropped his hand to your waist before pulling away to twirl you. The moment he pulled you back into his chest, you saw his cheeks redden. You were so close, close enough to smell that stupidly distracting cologne of his. You knew Reggie was just as flustered. His hand was getting clammy in yours. Before you could even process it, he dipped you down, making you gasp in surprise.

You didn’t even notice the music had stopped. All that was on your mind at that moment was Reggie. His eyes flicked down to yours, and you could have sworn you saw a hint of a smile on his lips.

The loud clapping coming from Mrs. Leona had snapped you out of your trance. Immediately regaining his composure, Reggie loosened his grip on you. You fell to the ground, hitting your elbow upon impact.

“Ass,” you muttered, rubbing your elbow in pain.

“If you’re saying I’ve got a good one then I agree,” he smirked and you scoffed loudly.

Mrs. Leona walked up to the two of you. “That was probably the best dancing I’ve seen from the two of you all morning,” she applauded. “And for that, you can take a five-minute break,”

“Oh thank God,” you whispered and flopped onto the ground, trying to relax your muscles. You tried to pull one leg over the other, stretching it out, but unable to turn properly in order to pull the tension out of your muscle.

Your eyes were closed so you didn’t notice Reggie coming closer and kneeling toward you, placing a hand on your thigh and pushing it down for you, causing you to open your eyes and see him practically leaning over top of you.

“Ow! Fuck! Too much,” you hissed and he loosened his grip. “What the hell are you doing?”

“Helping you stretch, you’re ancient so I thought I might be able to lend a hand,”

“Get your hand off me,” you said seriously.

“What,” he grinned, lifting his hand higher and causing your breath to hitch and slap his hand away and sit up, scooching back.

“Fuck off Flicka,” you said, the words barely able to leave your mouth, throat turning dry.

“Only trying to help, Cookie,” he said, shrugging his shoulders. He looked over at your arm, seeing as you winced with every movement. “Does it hurt a lot?”

You cradled your elbow. “It’s whatever,” you mumbled in response, unconsciously mimicking his answer.

Reggie scoffed, leaning back on his hands. “Say what you want, Cookie, but I know when you’re lying. You can’t pretend around me.” You paused, vaguely remembering that night with the radio.

“I said I’m fine, Reggie,” you insisted firmly.

“Just let me see it,” he asked, crawling over to you, prompting you to scoot all the way back until you hit the mirror. “I’m not going to hurt you,” he frowned.

“That’s what you said seven years ago but I’ve learnt the hard way to take promises from you with a grain of salt,” you said venomously.

Reggie paused, moving back to his spot, far away from you. “Fine,” he simply said. “But don’t act like you were the only victim. I got hurt, too.”

You opened your mouth to respond when Mrs. Leona walked back into the room with three water bottles. “Well, I’m back. Are you two rested enough to continue?”

You shook your head. “Mrs. Leona, um I think it’s probably time we head back to Mrs. Hillside’s office,” you suggested. “It’s erm, late and I hurt my elbow, so…”

Mrs. Leona nodded understandingly. “Yes, of course, I forgot how much time had passed. You two work so well together, I might as well keep you guys in my class!” You laughed nervously before grabbing your things and waving goodbye. You didn’t bother looking back at Reggie. There was nothing left to say.

[suchalonelysunflower]

All My Midnights With You (c.h)

Pairing: Calum Hood X doctor! Reader

Summary: How many midnights can you spend with a stranger? Or Four times you see Calum at a New Year’s Party and one time he didn’t.

Warnings: Fluff with a little bit of angst. Implied sexual relations. Mentions of surgery, hospital rooms and vomit. Mentions of alcohol. Language. Some grammatical mistakes (English is not my first language, I’m sorry)

Word count: 6.9 k

Author’s Note: So, i had to make a NYE fic with Cal after all the angst i threw the past few weeks, and I’ve been working on it for weeks now and I’m finally satisfied with it! Please remember that Reblogs, comments and feedback are more than welcome and encouraged! I really love to hear from you guys ❤️ Hope you like it and Happy reading 🦋💕🌻

Also Ps: I made the reader a doctor cause I was watching way more episodes than I should of Greys anatomy and I figured it made sense in the plot

My materialist // wanna be part of my tag list?

Picture taken from Pinterest

One.

The party was loud. It’s not like you mind at all, you knew parties should be like that, it’s just that you’re not used to them anymore. But now, your residency was over and you could enjoy a little break from the neon white lights. You knew no one there besides your best friend, who quickly disappeared from your side to grab yourselves something to drink, leaving you alone amid people with funky hats and numbered glasses.

You didn’t mind, you knew their job as a radio host required them to be more social and if your hospital life taught you something is to know how to navigate through different environments with confidence, you were fine with watching people run around for fun for a change, drinks in their hands and hope in their eyes for the New Year.

You were standing at a corner of the room with your eyes wandering around the room, trying to find your friend amongst the sea of people. That was the first time you saw him.

Tall, with a black button-up shirt with rolled-up sleeves that displayed tattooed arms with various designs you couldn't figure out at a distance, head filled with black curls that were positioned in the most perfect way to make it seem like he didn’t put an effort on it at all, which you knew it must be a lie. His profile was immaculate, you thought since at a distance he looked like he could be sculpted from marble, especially when he smiled and his cheeks took over most of his face. His style wasn’t bad either, although you wouldn't go with a completely black outfit, you must admit that it suited him. At this point, you know you’ve been staring for quite some time, definitely more than it was allowed before it became creepy, but you couldn’t help it. He was beautiful in every single way.

Your friend came back a few minutes later, a drink in each hand to share with you. You thanked them as you quickly pulled your eyes from the stranger, starting a new conversation almost right away, hoping that the blush on your cheeks could disappear.

What you missed, though, was that handsome stranger looking back at you for a moment.

He didn’t notice your previous stare, but you can say that he was curious about the new face that just showed up at his friend’s party. Although he didn't linger on too much as he was quickly swayed away by his friends in different conversations, his eyes met yours from time to time and he could almost swear he saw you blush every time they did.

The party went by without a hitch. It was closer to midnight when the host, a tall man with curly dirty blond hair and the deepest dimples you’ve ever seen, stood in the middle of the room to announce the countdown.

People started to gather around the living room, making their way into the front and looking for someone to share the first kiss of the year, pushing you away from your friend while doing so. In a matter of seconds, you got lost in the sea of people again, you tried to push your way up to your friend again but it was almost useless. With a little huff, you turned around and knocked someone’s drink over.

“Oh my god,” You said, hiding your face in complete embarrassment “I am so sorry! I didn’t look where I was going, I-”

The man chuckled “It’s okay, sweetheart. It was a shit drink anyway”

You looked up and the sight in front of your eyes almost knocked you over. It was the same guy you were crushing on the whole night.

It was almost pathetic the way you seemed to lose all kinds of speech as you looked into his eyes. If you thought he was beautiful before, then you are sure he is breathtaking standing up close.

His brown eyes had such intensity it was impossible to look away, it was almost as he had locked you down with just a stare, and that’s without mentioning his smile. You couldn’t have noticed before, but his smile made his whole face shine, blinding you as you tried to find any kind of compliment that would fit him perfectly. How could someone have the perfect smile?

He chuckled again and you noticed that you were staring waaaay too long for it to be normal. You looked away and started fidgeting with your hands, how come you can perform surgeries and talk to other doctors and patients normally but you are at a loss of words when it comes to a cute guy?!

You were about to say something, anything to make the awkwardness of it all fade away. But the voices coming from the living room interrupted your train of thoughts again. You both looked at the crowd of people gathered a few meters away, they were all staring at the countdown on the TV as they cheered for the New Year to come.

“10, 9, 8,” They sang “5, 4, 3, 2, 1…”

And as the cheer of “Happy New Year” came, you felt two calloused hands cup your cheek and pull your face in another direction.

It was almost instantly when you felt the soft lips of that stranger on yours. The initial shock made you pull back a little before kissing him back. It was soft, sweet, and innocent, yet neither of you wanted to pull away first.

You brought your hands to the back of his neck and pulled him closer to you and his hands flew to hold your waist, still in awe of how perfectly your lips melted against his, almost like they were made for each other from the start.

But everything has an end and you both need to breathe. And, when you looked into his eyes again you knew he felt it too. There was something you couldn’t deny, call it chemistry or spark or fate, but that kiss felt like nothing you’ve ever felt before.

“Woah…” He whispered after pulling away, hands still on your waist as he tried to find an explanation for what just happened “I-”

“Calum!” Someone yelled, making both your heads snap towards an even taller guy with curly hair, seriously, where do you get these people?!

The stranger - whose name was Calum, apparently - let go of your waist as his drunk friend came over “Luke!” He said with a smile, but his eyes told another story. Was he annoyed at his friend for interrupting what was happening?

But Luke didn’t notice that, he just came over and rounded his arms around Calum’s shoulders, wishing him a happy new year and slowly walking him towards the crowd of people who were waiting for him.

You stood there shocked, not knowing what to do or what just happened. But you did notice the way he looked at you, an apology plastered into his face as he was dragged into the sea of people where you lost him once again for the rest of the night.

Two.

Another year, another party.

This time though, your friend didn’t need you to drag you out of the house like they always did because you happily agreed to attend. You told yourself it was because you needed a break from the emergency room, but if you were completely honest, it was because of the hope of seeing him again.

You haven’t seen or heard about Calum since that night at the beginning of the year. Of course, you knew you wouldn’t, you never exchanged numbers nor introduced yourselves properly and your friend told you that they didn’t know him well enough to try to hook you up and that might seem unprofessional on their part, which was right. You told yourself that it was fine and probably for the best since you started getting busier with your job, so you moved on.

Yet, that kiss still lingers on the back of your head. Yes, you went on dates and kissed other people too, but that kiss was something else and you knew he knew it too.

Subconsciously you hoped for him to remember you, to think about that kiss as often as you did. You knew it was a long shot, an almost impossible dream that could only come true in movies or cliche storybooks. After all, you were one of many people he knew and he didn’t even talk to you for more than 3 minutes! One of which you spent in awkward silence and the other you spent kissing.

And even then, your heart dared to hope.

You arrived somewhat early since your friend told you they might be a little bit late so you could ahead and meet them there. And, luckily for you, you didn’t have to go that far into the party to find a familiar face. It just so happens that this familiar face was the same face that overtook your dreams for the past year.

He looked different this time, his hair was much shorter but still held onto the curls that distinguished him from the others. He was not wearing black this time as he chose a simple outfit of jeans and a button-up white shirt with the first few buttons open enough to expose his chest and a feather tattoo that you haven’t noticed before. He was laughing along to what his friend said, sipping on his beer every few moments. You didn’t think he noticed you, but your heart skipped a beat when he looked your way and smiled.

You thought about going in and say hi, maybe even introducing yourself in the hopes that he would remember you, but you needed some liquid courage before even attempting to speak again. So instead of walking towards him, you found yourself making a B-line to the kitchen.

The kitchen wasn’t as crowded as you thought it would be, a few people here and there but they were minding their own business, something you were thankful for because you didn’t know what had come over you. You cursed under your breath, you just made a fool out of yourself! He might think you are a stalker or-

“Didn’t think of saying hello?” A voice called next to you.

You stopped the thoughts running in your head as you looked to the side, almost spilling your drink when you found the eyes you were dreaming of for over a year staring back at you.

He was smiling, a hint of tease shined on his eyes as he laid against the counter. He was still just as handsome but, weirdly enough, it wasn’t as intimidating as before. You could almost say you felt somewhat safe around him, comfortable even.

You smiled at him just the same, your sudden fear of talking to him quickly faded away. You already shared a kiss, how bad of a conversation could it be?

“Why would I say hello when we didn’t even say goodbye?” You teased, making him laugh.

If you thought his smile was beautiful, nothing prepared you for his laugh.

“Touché,” He said, extending his hand towards you “I’m Calum, by the way. Calum Hood”

You shook his hand as well “Nice to meet you, Calum. I’m Y/N”

“Pretty name for a little pretty thing like you” You laughed “I can’t believe it took us a year to finally meet. Are you an Angel or something? So you only show up when needed?”

“Are you always this charming or am I just lucky?” And that was the start of the evening.

You talked the whole night. You found out that he is the bassist of a rather famous band, he teased you about never hearing of them before and you told him that your job didn’t give you enough time to listen to music that wasn't in an elevator. When you told him that you were a doctor, he completely changed the conversation towards you, asking you questions and really getting into it as you explained to him the weirdest things you saw in the ER.

The more and more you talked you knew he was special. He made you laugh and was interested in what you had to say. He answered all your questions and talked about his family and how much he misses them around this time and it surprised you how intelligent and connected he was with his emotions. The deeper you went into the conversation, the more hooked you got.

“I’m sorry I left last year,” He said after a while. You were both standing outside in the garden as the commotion of the party became too much for both of you. So you just talked while staring at the big dark sky above you.

“Don’t be” You reassured him “We didn’t know each other and I’m surprised you remembered me at all” You laughed, but Calum didn’t follow.

“I don’t think I could forget you,” He said in a serious tone, making you turn to look at him to see if he was joking. By his face, you could tell he wasn't “I asked Ashton about you like a bunch of times, but I don’t think he even knew you were here… he’s a great host, don’t get me wrong, he just sucks on making the guest lists small enough to remember all the plus ones” He chuckled.

“You asked about me?”

“I had to know who my midnight kisser was,” He shrugged. “Almost thought I was drunk dreaming or something until I saw you enter the house tonight. I was so glad you remembered me and you didn’t think I was just a creep in the kitchen”

You both laughed this time “Well, lucky for you, I couldn't forget you either, even if I tried”

Calum chuckled as he stepped closer to you, his nose almost touching yours. One step closer and you would be in the same position you were a year before, only this time you were both sure you wanted this.

“And what about tonight?” Calum asked as one of his hands rounded your waist, making your breath hitch “Would you forget about tonight?”

You looked into his eyes, but he had his gaze fixed on your lips, waiting for just one word from you to feel them pressed against his again. You felt your soul leave your body as you realized how much you wanted this.

“I-I guess we’ll have to wait until midnight to find that out” You whispered, and, just as you said that, a thousand lights illuminated the night sky in the far distance.

You pulled away when you heard the first firework, staring in awe while Calum took his phone out of his pocket and started giggling. He showed you the time and it was in fact midnight of the New Year. You couldn’t believe your eyes.

“You timed that shit, didn’t you?” You laughed, but your voice soon drowned out as he cupped your cheek like he did last year and pulled you closer to him.

“If I told you I didn't, would you still want to kiss me?” He asked. You answered him by crashing your lips into his.

The fireworks went off in the sky and around your head, that’s the effect Calum had on you. The kiss was much different from last year’s, this one was more passionate, more mature as you both knew what you were doing. It had a different meaning now that you started to get to know one another, and you hoped you would continue to do so once the kiss was over and midnight came to pass.

You were glad to know that the spark was still there, this time even brighter than ever as he deepened the kiss a few moments later. You knew it was way too soon to think about love, but when you thought about kissing Calum, you hoped it could go on forever and ever.

This time, he pulled away first “You feel it too, right?” He asked in a breath as he held you closer.

You wanted to say yes, to scream it even. You knew about “the kiss” every single romantic movie talks about, the one everyone dreams to have at least once, and you knew this was it. Yet, all you could do was nod.

He brought your face close to him again, ready to seal your lips together one more time… you could guess what happened next.

“For fuck’s sake” Calum murmured as he heard the backdoor opening and his name being called out by one of his bandmates, Michael, you guessed since he was the only one you didn’t know already.

You could tell he was about to cuss Michael for his interruption, but you were quicker.

“Hey, it’s okay” You reassured him “You have people to see and I need to make myself a drink anyways”

Calum smiled at you, thanking you for understanding but still wishing he could stay with you a little longer, all night if it was necessary. He was about to say something when Michael called his name again. This time, Calum flipped him off.

“I’ll find you later, okay?” He said, pressing a small kiss to your lips before disappearing into the house again.

You followed him after a while and went directly into the kitchen to make yourself another drink. The smile you wore grew bigger every time you thought about the kiss and how it was almost ten times better than the first one.

Your mind started wandering towards a future where you could kiss Calum every time you wanted, where you could share evenings and go on dates and travel the world… You found yourself not minding that at all.

But before your fantasies could go any further, your friend came running towards you “There you are!” They said, “I’ve been looking everywhere for you! We need to go”

“W-what, why?!”

“The host is gone and they are kicking everyone out” They said with a shrug “His band also took off”

Calum left? Without saying goodbye again? “Where did they go?”

“From what I heard, their management asked them to go and perform some songs in a party downtown, apparently one of the bands who were going to perform originally couldn’t make it and they were called in replacement”

Okay, you couldn't get mad at that, it was his job after all and it was an emergency he couldn’t help. Still, the disappointment of not being able to see each other again tonight stung like a bee.

As you were waiting for the Uber outside of Ashton’s house, your friend asked “Hey, found your mystery kisser?” They liked to refer to Calum like that, even though they knew who he was.

You smiled “Yeah…”

“Got his number this time, right?”

Oh shit.

Three.

You were late. You were soooo late and you hated that.

Well, it’s not exactly your fault, the patient in room 304 started vomiting all around and it wasn’t his fault either that he needed to go into surgery right after (successfully if I may add) At least your job gives you good excuses.

You just hoped it wasn’t too late and that Calum would still be there.

Another year has passed and you haven’t seen each other at all since that last night in January. You knew that he was touring all year round with his band, at least you knew he was happy doing what he loved. You also tried to contact him through social media, the only problem was that you weren’t the only one and your message probably got lost between the thousands and thousands he got every day. So you spent yet another year thinking of him and dreaming about the kiss that you two shared.

This night, if everything goes right, you would change that. You wouldn’t disappear without at least giving him your number, if he still wanted it, of course. And you wouldn’t disappear without telling him how you feel.

Decidedly, you open the doors to Ashton’s house, and, just as fate’s decided, the first face you see is him.

Calum spotted you immediately, almost like he was waiting for you, and his face softened the instant he realized you were finally there. He wasted no time in walking towards the door and grabbing your hand to pull you upstairs. You didn’t even have the chance to say anything as he opened one of the doors and pulled you inside, locking it and pushing you against the door, pressing his lips on yours.

And there it was again: fireworks.

You placed your hands over his chest as you got lost inside your kiss, it felt just as good as you remembered, better even. You wondered if every time you kissed was going to be like that: utterly magical.

“It’s not midnight yet” You laughed when you pulled away to breathe. Calum chuckled.

“I don’t care,” He said with a raspy, needy voice, pressing kisses along your forehead, your nose, your cheek, your lips “I can’t wait until midnight and deal with the fear of having to leave again”

“Well, aren’t you quite the Cinderella?” You teased, making you both laugh “Are-are we really in a closet right now?” You said, taking in your surroundings in the dimmed light.

“I-.. yes” You burst out laughing again “I wanted some privacy and I thought this was the guest room!”

You silenced him with another kiss, this time sweeter than the previous one “Well, I think is cute”

Calum sighed “I’m tired of both of us not making it after midnight, I don’t think I want another year without seeing you again,” He said, stroking your face with the back of his hand.

“So, what’s the plan?”

He smiled “First, we get out of here” You grabbed his hand and nodded.

You let Calum lead the way, not just to get out of the closet, but also to get out of the house and the party completely. He took you to his car and told you to hop in.

“You are not going to murder me, aren’t you? I have house plants to take care of” He laughed.

“No, that’s the plan for Valentine’s Day” Calum teased and your heart fluttered at the thought of spending Valentine's day with him. Has he really thought about you that way as well?

He jumped in the car and started driving you around the city and through the coast as you talked about everything and anything at the same time. You catch up on your lives as you ate some MacDonalds’ you picked up on your way and you sang your lungs out to the tunes that came out on the radio to celebrate yet another year gone.

You swore you couldn’t be happier and you smiled knowing Calum felt the same.

“..And that’s why I was late today” You laugh.

“I would’ve waited for you the whole night through. But I will admit I thought you’ve given up on me” Calum said, holding your hand while turning around a street you were unfamiliar with “I wouldn't blame you if you did. But I really wanted to see you tonight”

You tugged on his hand “I told you I wouldn’t forget about you even if I tried” He smiled at that.

A few minutes later he parked his car in front of a house “It’s almost midnight” He said, unbuckling his seatbelt “And I thought that maybe this time we can spend it where no one would interrupt” You could tell that he was a bit embarrassed, but the thought of it was really sweet and you would be lying if you said you didn’t want this too.

“So this is your home,” You said as a matter of factly. Calum nodded “Then lead the way, Cal”

Once inside, he poured you a glass of wine and you sat in the living room and kept talking till midnight came around. When the clock struck 12, you were already lost in Calum’s eyes. There was something hypnotic about them that you can’t quite figure out, but also don’t want to. It was a beautiful mystery and you rather that it stayed that way.

“You won’t disappear after midnight?” You asked, face inches away from him.

“I don’t plan on going anywhere, baby,” He said as he closed the gap between the two of you.

This time there was no rush, no firework spectacle in the sky nor noisy friends who could ruin the moment you both had been waiting for an entire year. The kiss held the same passion as the ones that came before, yet you could sense in the way he moved that there was something more in this kiss, a need that only the two of you could satisfy.

“Why does every time I kiss you feel like the first time?” He asked, hands circling your waist and pulling you over his lap in a quick movement as his mouth traveled along your jaw and down your neck “Do you still remember that first time?”

You smiled, hands tangling in his curls as he left a trail of open kisses from your ear to your collarbone “I remember” You said as a breathy moan leaves your lips “I had a huge crush on you since the first time that I saw you” You confess.

Calum hums “Good thing then,” He hovered his lips over yours, gripping your hips as you started moving against him “Cause I had a crush on you since I saw you looking at me across the room”

You brought your hand to cup his cheek and kissed him as your life depended on it. This was nothing like that first kiss you shared, this was needy, dirty, sloppy… The innocence of it all crumbled away as you started to grind on him even harder than before and moaning into his ear.

Calum held your hips as he felt you press against his growing, groaning as you picked up the pace “Is this okay?” He asked, looking into your eyes for reassurance “We can stop if you want, I-”

“Calum,” You said, stopping your movements altogether, “I want this. I want you”

Next thing you know, he was kissing you again, lifting you, and carrying you to his room.

*

You don’t know what time it is when your phone starts ringing. You just know it’s either very late or super early. You untangled yourself from Calum who had his arm around your waist as he pulled you closer while you slept. The curly-haired man mumbled something unintelligible before turning around and going back to bed. You smiled at the sight, if you weren’t in love before then you sure are now.

The phone kept ringing, so you put on a pair of sweatpants and a shirt you assumed belonged to Calum and went downstairs where you left your phone.

“Hello?” You said as you picked it up.

“Dr. L/N? It’s Lou, from the hospital. I was assigned to Mr. Minkus-” A panicked voice said.

You froze when you remembered the patient from earlier, the one who needed an emergency surgery “Is everything okay?”

“He went into cardiac arrest a few minutes ago but we managed to control it. But he is still very weak and needs surgery right now before he-”

“I’m on my way”

You ran into Calum’s room without making much noise. You changed into your clothes and called an Uber. You hated to do it when he was still sound asleep in his bed, but people needed you and you needed to go, he will surely understand.

As the Uber parked outside, you almost forgot to leave him a note, so you scrabbled your number and your name in a random piece of paper, telling him to call you so you could explain everything when he woke up and placed it in the pocket of the jacket he wore the night before, since it was the only thing close to the door at that moment, hoping he won’t be mad when he calls.

So you slipped in your shoes and left. Leaving the man you were surely falling in love with, sleeping safe and soundly on his bed.

Four.

You were at another party at Ashton’s house and this time you were alone.

Calum was standing a few meters away from you with his hands around another’s waist.

“This is the reason,” You thought as you watched him give his significant other a kiss on the cheek “This is the reason he never called or texted after you had sex”

You felt used. Worse than trash itself as you realized he used you for a night’s only fun.

You shouldn’t even feel bad, you barely knew him after all. But why does it hurt so bad?

A year ago you thought you might love him and that he might love you… guess not.

Calum caught your eye after a while, they seem sad. Why? He is the one holding another person in his arms on New Year’s Eve.

And you are on your own. That’s what you get for believing in fairy tales.

He is still staring when you turn around to leave.

You are not waiting until midnight this year.

Five.

Calum is staring at the door like a guard dog. He doesn’t know why he is waiting for you to come around this year, after all, you were the one who left him on New Year’s day almost two years ago. He shouldn’t be waiting for you and yet, he does.

He was mad at first. Furious even, when he woke up the next day and you were gone. Not even a single word for him to find comfort with. He knew he was in love with you from the first moment he saw you and then… you left. He knew he deserved it after the times he had to leave unexpectedly, but he was still heartbroken.

The boys tried to help him, setting him up on dates that meant nothing to him. Nothing like you, at least. Their kisses didn’t light up a flame inside of him, nor made him feel like the king of the world just by laying beside them. No, that was something only you could do.

He tried to start a new relationship by the New Year, yet that came crashing down quickly after a few weeks into January. He still remembered the way you looked that night, the way your eyes filled with tears as you walked away again. He knows he should've felt something in the lines of pride or comfort or even happiness to show you that he could move on without you, but all that he felt was the tugging on his heartstrings when he saw you in pain.

So, maybe that is why he is waiting for you now. He needs to see you again, just one more time and then he’ll know what to do. He will either let go or hold on to you, whatever you give him he will take. But it’s getting late and you are nowhere to be seen.

The fear of you not showing up takes him by surprise. You might as well be at home, or at somebody else’s party wrapped in someone else’s arms for all he knows. He might’ve lost you but.. who lost who first? How could anyone be winning when all he feels is an emptiness at the possibility of not seeing you again? Even though you left him and not the other way around, he is still looking for you.

A loud thud and a scream came near the living room and shook him from his thoughts. Calum got up to his feet as people started yelling for an ambulance. He ran as fast as he could and found Ashton laying on the floor with his foot twisted to the side… it did not look good.

“Mate, what the fuck?” He asked shocked, he knew nothing about ankles and their anatomies, but it was obvious they weren’t supposed to look like that.

“I fell down the stairs and I think I broke something” Ashton hissed in pain “Have you been drinking?” He asked Calum who shook his head, already knowing the next question.

“Come, I’ll take you to the hospital”

They left Luke in charge of the party as they headed towards the nearest hospital they could find. Calum silently lamented not being there anymore in case you showed up, but he wasn’t going to let his best friend stay in a hospital room alone, especially on New Year's Eve.

Once they reached the emergency room, the nurses put Ashton in a wheelchair and took him for examination. A few minutes later he was back and now they moved him to a little bed in the corner of the room as they waited for the doctor to come by.

“I’m sorry I took you away from meeting Y/N again,” Said Ashton after a while.

Calum shook his head “Don’t be. Maybe we weren’t meant to happen after all”

But Calum knew that wasn’t true. He was a big believer in fate and that everything happened for a reason. He knew that seeing you every New Year’s Eve and sharing that kiss with you at midnight had to mean something, it couldn’t just be coincidences without a motive, a reason for that to keep happening. Yet, this would be the second year he has to spend midnight without you by his side. Maybe fate was trying to tell him something he just didn’t want to accept just yet.

And just as that thought came running through his head, the doctor opened the curtain that gave a little privacy to Ashton’s little corner. Calum almost loses his breath for a minute.

“Okay, Mr. Irwin it looks like- oh shit” You looked up from your tablet with the medical records and almost dropped it when you found Calum sitting in front of you. This wasn’t supposed to happen.

You just stare at each other for a few seconds, everything else faded away. Calum thought you looked different with your white coat and your standard uniform, yet none of that made you less breathtaking than you already were, it made you even more beautiful to his eyes.

At first, you thought it was some kind of prank. You changed shifts to work in New Year so that you won’t see his face and here he is. At your job. Next to his friend with a broken ankle.

You cleared your throat and looked away, suddenly finding Ashton’s foot a lot more interesting than it really was.

“Sorry. Looks like you broke your ankle, nothing too serious but you will have to put on a cast so it heals quicker” You didn’t look at Calum, you couldn’t “The ortho specialist will be here shortly. I’m just here to making sure the meds are working fine and that nothing else hurts”

Ashton smiled at you, it was supposed to be comforting but you saw a glimpse of teasing in them, oh this must be so funny to him “Thanks Doc”

You smiled at him and shook your head, eyes drifting towards Calum for just one second before saying “It’s not a problem, Happy New Year” and walking away.

The thoughts were running through your mind like the roadrunner. You did everything you could to avoid meeting him tonight and he still makes an appearance. Unbelievable.

You didn’t even make it five steps before Calum ran up to you “Y/N! Wait”

“I’m at work, Calum” You hissed, not turning around to face him just yet

“Yet we are your only patients” It was true, surprisingly enough, the ER has never been so quiet before. Even the nurses went to hide behind a desk to wait for midnight and drink alcohol-free cider.

You sighed tiredly, you didn’t want to play this game anymore. You slowly turned around and placed your tablet on the empty desk “What do you want from me, Cal? What do you want me to say?”

“Maybe start by saying why you left that morning without telling me?” His eyes were fixed on you, yet they weren’t angry or disappointed. They were expectant, curious about what you were going to say. He knew that this was it, the hold on or let go conversation, and how he hoped to hold on.

You, on the other hand, looked at him like he was crazy “Without saying anything? Calum I left you a note! I had an emergency surgery to attend, I explained it all there and I even left you my number! You were the one who never called and then showed up with a date the next year. How do you think that made me feel, you idiot?!”

“What note? There was no note!” He asked, clearly confused about this new information.

You groaned with exasperation, how can he be so dense? “In your coat, Calum! I left it in the pocket of the blue coat you wore that night, I couldn’t find anywhere else to put it as I was heading out”

Calum stayed silent, trying to remember the exact coat you were talking about. And, in a flash, it all came back to him. He was an idiot.

He covered his face with the palm of his hand, mortified for what he was about to say “I washed the coat the next day as it got stains of food in it” He said with a groan “I found a piece of paper in the coat after I washed it, it was destroyed and I thought it was the receipt of the food from the night before”

You stared at Calum for a moment before bursting out laughing.

Calum, on the other hand, didn’t find it as amusing as you. But the more he thought about it the more ridiculous it sounded, so he soon joined you in a fit of giggles.

All of the hurt you both endured, the pain and the heartbreak… it was all for a misunderstanding caused by detergent?

“Oh my god,” You said as you tried to catch your breath, “I thought you were done with me after we-”

“I thought you were done with me!” He replied, both of you coming down from your highs.

“Calum, I could never. I told you I would never, not even if I tried” You said with a sigh “But seeing you with another after that... “

“It meant nothing,” He assured, walking up closer to you “I admit I tried to get over you cause I didn’t know what else to do. I was falling in love with you and then you disappeared without a trace. I was so angry. But as soon as I saw you that night I knew I could never be over you, even if what we have only last until midnight”

You chuckled “We can never win past that point, can we?”

“We can try,” He said, his arm around your waist and he pulled you closer “I want to try, Y/N. I assure you I cannot make it another year without at least going on a date with you. If you let me, of course. Cause I think we’ll be pretty good together, don’t you think?”

“I think we will. As long as you check your pockets before throwing something at the washer. Cause I was falling for you too, and I don’t think I ever stopped” You threw your arms around his neck, pulling your face closer to his. You missed him like this.

You missed all of him, really. You don’t know exactly what it is that draws you to him, why after all this time of meeting once a year you feel like you knew him since forever. It was new but at the same time so familiar. You know it should scare you, but you feel safer than ever wrapped around his arms “Is it midnight yet?”

Calum shook his head and pointed to the clock upon the wall. Ten seconds.

“Nine, eight, seven…”

“Six, five, Four, three, two..”

“One.” You both said in unison as your lips met again. The kiss that you awaited all year long was finally here and it was full of promise. The promise of a future together, of security and love.

You were sure it could not be a coincidence that every year you spend it by his side, that from the moment you met, no other thought has filled your head. Every piece of you seemed to be molded perfectly to fit him and vice versa. The connection was too strong to ignore and, if you believed in soulmates, then there was no doubt Calum was yours. After all, you went through to meet every year, you knew it must be fate that brought you two together, that and a broken ankle.

Speaking of that…

“HAPPY NEW YEAR” Came Ashton’s loud voice from the corner of the room. Making you both break away from the kiss to laugh.

“He just had to keep up with the tradition of interrupting us,” Calum laughed.

“Please tell me you didn’t push him down the stairs to come and see me” You giggled as you took his hand in yours and walked up to Ashton to keep him company.

“I would’ve thrown myself from the stairs if it meant I would get to see you, darling”

That night you finally gave him your number and planned a date for the next day. But not even five minutes after they were gone, you felt your phone vibrate in your pocket.

“Hello?”

“I had to make sure!” You laughed as you heard Calum’s voice through the speaker.

“See you tomorrow, Cal?”

“And for all the days and years to come, baby”

Tags: @iknowyouthinkimbulletproof @talksoprettyjjx @theshyspy @mystic-232

[nhlandotherimagines]

Family isn’t Always Blood-Part 3

Masterlist | Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 4 |

Summary: will it be a boy? A girl? Will Kinsey and Elias be able to plan a wedding while expecting? Guess you’ll have to find out.

Author’s Notes: This took me WAY too long I’m sorry! Let me know what you think though? Was it what you expected? Was it bad? Good? I’d love to hear from you :)

Word Count: approx. 4.5k

Warnings: The usual really. Lots of crying (both happy and sad tears), pregnancy, absent parents, strong language, nothing too crazy though. Let me know if there is anything I should add here please

3…

2…

1!

Elias’ fingers find the zipper on the garment bag, and I place my hand gently over his. His hand shakes under mine, and although I know it’s mostly excitement, I can tell he's nervous as we slowly pull down the zipper together.

As the garment bag falls away, my heart stops. There is no way this is happening, not right now! Elias’ hand drops from mine as he steps back slightly, as the people around me seem to let out a collective gasp. Tears burn my eyes, and before I can stop them, they’re falling down my face. This is NOT what I expected.

“Kinsey?” Elias’ voice is nervous, likely because I’ve yet to react to the scene in front of me. The jersey was not pink, or blue. In fact it wasn’t even a jersey at all. In place of the jersey we had all been anticipating, was a white onesie with red lettering across the front. 

My hands at some point made their way to my face as I’m now using them to hold in the ugly sobs wracking my body. The tears in my eyes blurring the words in front of me, but it doesn’t matter, because I’ll never forget them. I’ll never unsee them. The five words that changed my life. 

WILL YOU MARRY MY DADDY?

“Baby, turn around. Please?” Elias' voice is gentle when he speaks, but it sounds loud in the intense silence that has settled over everyone.

I slowly turn around, my knees feel weak, my vision is blurred, and my entire body is trembling. It’s a miracle I’m still standing, and even breathing for that matter. When I’ve finally turned around completely, my whole world stops. Elias slowly drops down on one knee, and as he looks up at me with those beautiful blue eyes no one else is here. It’s just him and I at this moment. A nervous smile on his face as he slowly pulls open the velvet box I hadn’t even noticed until now, I lose it. I collapse to my knees in front of him, arms wrapping tightly around his neck and as I cry into his shoulder.

“Last time I checked I’m the only one supposed to be on their knee for this.” Elias chuckles, and the room around us does the same, reminding me we aren’t alone. I lean back to look at him, but don’t let go. His face is blotchy, and his eyes are bloodshot as tears stream silently down his face. “Kins, you amaze me more and more each day. You’re an amazing woman, girlfriend, mother, and there is absolutely no question that you’d make the best wife. So, if you don’t mind, I’d like to make you mine. Kinsey Waters, will you marry me?”

“R-really?” The word is choked out in between breaths, as I search his face for hesitation.

“Yes!” He chuckles, lifting the ring up in front of my face. He shakes it teasingly, eyebrows raising as if to say ‘would I be lying?’.

“Yes.” The word tumbles past my lips, and I can’t stop it. Not that I want to. “Oh my god! Yes!” The squeal that escapes me is quickly drowned out by the cheers surrounding me, as I gather Elias’ face in my hands and crash my lips to his.

I cling to Elias like I don’t want to let go, grasping at his shirt, his hair, anything to ground myself. The kiss, the moment, this man; it’s all so overwhelming. I never want it to end. 

As it turns out, not everyone is on board with that. “Okay! Okay! That’s enough, can we please find out about the baby. There will be time to fornicate after we’re all gone!” Brock yells from behind the camera, as more laughter fills the apartment.

Elias groans in response, but pulls away. I smile brightly as he slips the ring onto my finger, and for the first time I actually look at the ring. It’s simple, not too flashy, and yet I know if I saw the receipt I’d likely vomit at the price tag. It’s elegant. It’s everything I’ve ever dreamed of and so much more. “It’s perfect.” I breathe out, and Elias chuckles. Bringing my hand to his lips he places a gentle kiss to my knuckles before rising to his feet, helping me off the floor in the process.

“Please tell me you have the actual jersey somewhere.” I giggle, catching Brock tapping his foot impatiently out of the corner of my eye.

“I do, one sec!” Elias quickly leaves the room, and I’m immediately swarmed by the other WAGs and Brock. Brock is quick to zoom in on the ring with the camera, as he makes commentary that is definitely not needed, but something Elias and I will both enjoy when we watch the recording back later.

“Okay! ” Elias announces, as he makes his way back into the room. “Are you ready for the real thing?” He’s now holding an identical garment bag to the one we had unzipped minutes prior, and I can’t help but wonder just how difficult this whole surprise was to pull off.

Elias removes the first hanger from the stall, and replaces it with the new garment bag. He motions me over, a large grin on his face, as everyone goes back to where they had previously been standing.

Elias’ hand finds mine again, as we both grip the tiny zipper. It feels different this time. Maybe it’s the ring sitting on my finger, or maybe it’s just the adrenaline coursing through my veins. As the countdown begins around us for the second time today, I become more and more impatient.

3…

2…

1! 

My stomach flutters, and I can’t bring myself to look as Elias’ hand moves with my own to pull down the zipper. Instead I watch him. His eyes bright as they seemingly shimmer with excitement. He’s so beautiful, and he’s mine. My fiancé, and the father of my child. The new weight on my ring finger, and my round stomach physical proof of just that. 

Almost instantaneously, I feel his hand fall from mine and it finds his face, along with the other. He falls again to one knee, but this time he cries into his hands as everyone around us erupts into cheers. The moment feels absolutely surreal, and overwhelming, and I have yet to even look at the tiny jersey in the garment bag. It doesn’t feel like it matters, not in this moment anyway. The only things that matter are that we are happy, life is good, it’s pink, and we are a family. It’s pink.

Immediately my eyes snap back to the now open garment bag that my eyes had previously skipped over. The tiny jersey hanging before me was a tiny replica of the one I was wearing. It’s pink alright. It’s a girl.

As I turn back to Elias, his arms wrap around my waist as he begins whispering against my stomach. Again, all of his words muttered in Swedish. All I can make out is ‘I love you”, and ‘my girls’, and even without understanding any of the other words, my heart swells and tears wet my cheeks again.

I card my fingers through his hair, the beautiful ring standing out even more against the blonde. Cameras and flashes, along with many cheers and exclamations of ‘I knew it!’, fill both the room and my heart. This is it, the family I’ve always craved. Although it may not be conventional, it’s mine. 

———

The movie Elias is playing on the tv does little to hold my attention. Not even because it’s bad, in fact it’s one of my favourites, but my head is all over the place today. 

“Everything okay love?” Elias asks, eyebrows furrowed in worry when I look at him. I nod, but it’s evidently not enough for him to believe me. “Talk to me Kins.” He continues, pressing pause on the movie, removing my only form of distraction.

“She doesn’t have a name.” I’m deflecting, and Elias knows it. Instead of pressing the issue further though, he smiles sweetly over at me. I’m stretched out comfortably across the majority of the couch, my legs draping across his lap. His hand lightly rubs my thigh in comfort. 

“Well did you have any in mind?” I shake my head stretching my hands over my growing bump, my ring on full display. Elias clears his throat, and I can tell he wants to say something, but he looks nervous. “What about your mom?”

“What about her?” My response is unnecessarily rude, but his question caught me completely off guard. He’s been trying for months to get me to talk about her, and I’ve successfully shut him down every time.

“Did you maybe want to incorporate her name?” His eyes refuse to meet my own, instead they stay fixed on his fingers that are busying themselves with the hem of my sweats. The scoff that leaves my mouth is dramatic, sure, but I’m beyond pissed he’d even make that suggestion.

“Why would I? She’s done nothing for me.” 

Elias’ face falls, and his eyes meet mine. The look of pity he sends me would normally make me feel better, but today it makes me even more angry. “I’m sorry, I just thought-“

“Yeah well you thought wrong didn’t you!” I snap, cutting him off as I rise to my feet. I stand up too quickly, and immediately I feel light headed. My knees buckle a bit, and my vision goes fuzzy momentarily. Elias is quick to his feet, hands finding my waist to steady me. 

Once my vision is back, and I feel steady again, I push away from Elias. He calls after me, but I just keep walking. 

It’s not his fault, and I’m being dramatic. As soon as I step into our shared room, I know I’m out of line. It’s embarrassing, my whole life is. How can I tell someone, like Elias, who loves their mom dearly, that when I think of the woman who gave birth to me, the thoughts aren’t pleasant. Very little about my childhood was. Yes, I sound ungrateful, and to a degree I am. There were always good times, always. However it’s hard to look back fondly on those times, when almost all of them are plagued with heartbreak or disappointment in some form or another. 

As I close the bedroom door behind me angrily, I pull off my sweats and crawl into the empty bed. Though I’ve slept without Elias many nights given his schedule, the bed has never felt so lonely. Tears soak my pillowcase, but my body barely even reacts. No dramatic sobbing, or trembling. I just lay here, numb, tears flowing steadily.

After what felt like forever, but was likely only a few minutes, the bedroom door creaks open. I don’t dare to acknowledge Elias as he closes the door behind him quietly. I lay silently, my back to him, as he removes his shirt. The covers pull back, and I feel the bed dip as he climbs in behind me.

We both lay there silently for a moment, neither of us moving. Only a few inches separate us, but they feel like miles. I can’t take the silence, or the fact that I can practically hear the gears turning in my fiancé’s head.

“I’m sorry.” I mumble, sniffling slightly. Elias lets out a breath, before wrapping himself around me. He places a gentle kiss to my head, letting his hand travel under my shirt to rest on my bare stomach.

“Me too.” He whispers into my hair. “I should’ve known, I just thought because it was a tradition, that maybe you’d want to. I didn’t mean to upset you Kins. I’m really sorry.” His voice shakes a little, but he takes a breath again to steady himself before adding, “I love you.”

Before I can even respond to him, it hits me. I sit up quickly, and Elias’ arm falls into my lap. He pushes himself up on his elbows, eyes widening with concern. “Adeline.”

“What?” He is obviously confused, and I can’t blame him. I just ignored his entire apology to blurt out some random name.

“Adeline Irene Pettersson. Addy for short.” I pause, suddenly feeling embarrassed by my wave of excitement. “I don’t know. What do you think?” I pray the nerves aren’t apparent in my voice. Picking a name for a person is a big deal, it has to be perfect.

“Adeline.” Elias repeats the name out loud thoughtfully. The name rolls off of his tongue beautifully, and I can’t fight the smile growing on my face. “Kinsey, I think it’s perfect.”

Elias rolls onto my legs, his face resting just in front of my stomach. I lean back, and run a hand through his hair. 

Placing soft kisses to my stomach, Elias once again whispers to the baby. “Adeline, you have the most amazing momma. She loves you so much. Probably more than she loves me, and that’s a lot.” I can’t help but giggle softly at his words, despite the tears in my eyes. “You’re so loved, and we cannot wait to meet you.”

I smile down at Elias, a single tear slipping down my face. He returns the smile, but it quickly falls as my eyes widen in shock. “She’s kicking!” I practically scream, grabbing Elias’ wrist, bringing his hand over to where I had just felt our daughter kick. He waits hopefully for more movement. 

Moments pass, and still nothing. “C’mon Addy, do it for daddy.” I plead, my heart breaking at the disappointment on Elias’ face.

As if she had actually understood the task she’d been given, the baby kicks even harder than before. Her foot jams hard into my stomach, right against her father’s waiting palm. The feeling, although still relatively new for me, was an entirely new experience for him. His eyes nearly pop out of his head, jaw practically hitting the floor. 

“A daddy’s girl already?” I giggle, another tear slipping down my cheek. “There is no hope for me now.”

Elias shakes his head, and glances up at me briefly. His eyes find mine for just a second, with a smile on his face he looks back at my stomach. “You’re not going to be a daddy’s girl or a momma’s girl are you Addy?” He whispers, as the baby kicks again as if in response to his question. “You’re gonna be your own girl. Strong and independent, just like your momma.”

Elias fell asleep like that a while later. Head resting on my hip, a hand on my stomach, while my hands threaded through his soft hair. Life is good. I have a family now, and I would do anything for either of them. “I will make sure you never question my love for you both. No one deserves that.” I whisper before drifting to sleep myself.

———

“Shit!” Something hitting the floor loudly, followed immediately by Elias cursing wakes me. I’m quickly on my feet and rushing down the hall. I had been asleep on the couch, having passed out while reading some parenting book. So, when I round the corner into our bedroom, I’m confused to find it lacking my fiancé’s presence.

“Elias? Where are you?” I call out, fear lacing my words. 

“I’m in here sweetheart.” He calls back. I follow his voice further down the hall to the guest room.

As I reach the doorway of the guest room, the scene in front of me has a giggle bubbling up my throat. Elias is on the floor, surrounded by various tools and wooden pieces, a frustrated, and thoroughly exhausted look painting his face. “Everything okay in here?”

“Wha- oh yeah.” He huffs, tucking a pencil behind his ear. He’s holding two identical pieces of wood in either hand, letting out another noise of frustration. 

“Whatcha doing?” I place the back of my hand over my mouth trying to suppress my laughter, though my smile is audible in my words.

“Well.” He groans, placing both pieces down before pulling himself to his feet. “The plan was to have the crib together before you woke up from your nap.” He walks to me placing his hands softly on my hips. “Though, as you can see, that hasn’t happened.”

“Well the instructions can’t be that confusing are they?” I smile, and his face falls slightly. “You did use the instructions. Right?” Elias’ cheeks darken, and his eyes fall to his feet. 

“I thought I could do it on my own.” He mumbles, and there is no stopping my laugh now. He frowns in embarrassment, as I do my best to catch my breath. 

“Babe! The instructions don’t do it for you, they are a guideline for you to do it. On your own.” I explain shaking my head with a giggle, and pushing past him into the room. I quickly find the instructions crumpled into a ball on the floor. I unfold it, and read through it quickly. 

“Well?” His voice hopeful, as he watches me inspect the now crinkled paper. 

“Yeah I have no idea.” I sigh, leaning against the wall. “Time to call in the boys I think.”

———

“Who thought it was wise to let the three of you do this?” I giggle, placing three beer down on the dresser.

“You?” Quinn answers, eyebrows furrowed in confusion while Elias sends me a glare. 

“Oh right. Well I’ll just blame my poor judgement on the pregnancy.” 

Elias is obviously getting quite flustered about the whole process. He curses in Swedish, while poor Quinn sits beside him looking scared for his life. Brock finally finishes screwing two pieces together, and beams over at me before grabbing a beer. “Thanks Kins!”

“You’re very welcome Brock.” I place a hand on my stomach and make a point of talking dramatically. “See Addy? That’s why uncle Brock is our favourite.” 

“Addy?” Quinn and Brock both ask in unison. 

“Adeline. Addy for short.” Elias explains, with a smile bright enough to blind someone.

“What do you guys think?” I ask, pulling my lip between my teeth. Sure, we don’t need anyone’s approval, but their opinions are very important to both Elias and myself.

“It’s cute!” Quinn smiles at me.

“Cute?” Brock sends Quinn a look I could only describe as a mix between shock and disappointment. My heart rate increases. Great Brock hates it! “It's absolutely beautiful!”

The sigh of relief that leaves my body has all three men laughing. I can’t help but join in, as the three of them begin bickering over the next step in the crib building process. They are always so chaotic, and yet I love every second of the chaos. This baby will likely learn all kinds of trouble from Brock and Quinn, but I certainly wouldn’t want it any other way.

———

As my pregnancy progresses, Elias becomes more and more doting almost daily. Not letting me lift anything bigger than a book, tying my shoes, helping me get dressed, you name it and he’s done it. Honestly, it’s become slightly annoying. On nights like this though, I truly appreciate it. 

Elias sits on one end of the couch, as I lay across its length, my feet in his lap. He rubs the balls of my feet, as I write in the wedding planner he’d purchased not long after our engagement. He smiles softly at me, as I chew the end of my pen deep in thought as I stare at the guest list. 

“How many groomsmen do you want?” The question falls past my lips as he reaches over to pull the pen from between my teeth.

“Well, definitely I’d want my brother as my best man, and probably three more guys. To keep it even just how you like it.” Elias winks, nudging my leg with a chuckle. I roll my eyes, but smile anyway, because he’s absolutely right. Even numbers are always nice.

“Okay.” Four people is reasonable, but now I have to find a maid of honour and three bridesmaids. That shouldn’t be hard, but I have no idea who to ask. Holly for sure was a given, but beyond her I wouldn’t even know where to start. 

“Are we inviting your parents?” Elias’ question comes entirely out of left field, and it feels like someone punched me in the throat. Were we? Do I want to? Should I? They only know about Elias from a singular instagram post. They don’t even know about the baby. 

Elias must see the gears in my head turning, because he sends me a soft smile. “Why don’t we make invitations for them, and you can decide later if you want to send them or not? No need to let it stress you out too much babe.”

Reluctantly I agree. Would I regret not inviting them? Would I regret inviting them?

———

I’ve spent the last week making the invitations, painting each by hand. Was it crazy to do? Yes absolutely. I know that, but I want them to be personal.

“Have you even moved since I left?” Elias’ voice startles me. He left some time ago for his morning practice, at that point I had already been up working on them for an hour. He chuckles as I shrug, and places a kiss to my temple. “You’re crazy.”

“And yet, you’re going to marry me.” I tease, sticking my tongue out at him. 

He places a sweet kiss to my lips, pulling away with a smirk. “Who told you that?” 

Rolling my eyes, I shove a hand playfully into his chest. “Well you don’t have to, but if I just spent a whole week making these invitations and there isn’t going to be a wedding,” I pause sending him a ‘threatening’ glare. “You better run Pettersson.”

Throwing his head back, Elias laughs heartily. Hand clutching his stomach, as he struggles to catch his breath. “You’re adorable.” He manages to get out between laughs.

“Great, so you’ll drop these off at the post office on your way to the rink later.” Punctuating my request with a wink. 

A groan leaves my body as I pull myself from the chair at the kitchen table. Elias is quickly by my side in aid, no longer laughing. His face twists in concern, hands finding my hips. “Don’t worry babe, I’ll drop them off. Now come nap with me?” He doesn’t wait for an answer. Instead he wraps a hand softly around my wrist, pulling me gently in the direction of our bedroom. 

I can’t argue. Instead I follow him, body aching from how I’d been sitting at the table all morning. Elias carefully pulls back the covers, rearranging my pillows, and strips down to just his sweats. I quietly thank him as I attempt to get comfortable, something that’s become increasingly more difficult as of late. 

Climbing in behind me, Elias pulls me into his side and places a hand gently across my growing bump. “You going to let Momma rest Addy?” He asks softly, eyes already closing. I watch him closely, and a small smile forms on his face as he rubs gentle circles on my stomach.

“You know watching someone sleep is kind of weird.” His voice is gravely and my face flushes in embarrassment.

“I wasn’t-“

“Mhm.” His lips quirk up into a smirk, eyes not opening once. “Get some rest babe.”

“Fine.” I grumble, placing my head on his chest. His breathing evens out, and his heart beat is steady in my ear. I place a hand on his chest, curling into his side the best I can given the fact my stomach is in the way. My fingers lazily trace patterns across his bare chest, eyes beginning to feel heavy.

“Love you Kins.” Elias’ voice is low, and I can hear how tired he is.

“Love you too Lias.”

It’s not long before Elias is snoring quietly beneath me. Everything feels so right, here in his arms. Like nothing bad could happen. With the feeling of ease settling into my bones, it isn’t long before I’m falling asleep too.

———

Somehow I managed to sleep through Elias getting up and getting ready. When I finally wake up, he is long gone. 

Picking up my phone, my face lights up at the message displayed on my screen.

Elias❤️: I let you sleep. You needed it. Don’t worry though, the invitations were mailed. There is some pizza in the fridge for you if you want it. See you tonight xx

I respond with a quick thank you text, making sure to wish him luck with his game. Grabbing some pizza I settle into the sofa, and turn the game on. 

Watching Elias play hockey always manages to put a smile on my face. He’s so incredibly talented, and extremely humble. It’s one of the many things I love about him. 

No matter how important hockey is to him though, he always makes sure I know that our family is more important. Always. It’s the reassurance I never knew I needed, but Elias has always made sure it’s there without being asked.

———

Lazy Sundays have become somewhat routine for Elias and I. We wake up, Elias works out while I write, we eat breakfast together, and we spend the rest of the day working on our own things. Today has gone a lot like that. 

Currently I’m editing some of my writings while Elias scrolls through Instagram from his spot beside me. Aside from the clicking of my keyboard as I type, and an occasional chuckle from Elias, the room is peaceful. That is until there is a knock on the door. “Babe can you answer that please?” 

Elias hums in response, pulling himself from the couch. We aren’t expecting anyone, but it’s not uncommon for one of the boys to drop in, or to have someone trying to sell us something on a Sunday. So much to my surprise it’s a woman’s voice at the door, asking for me specifically. “Is Kinsey here?”

Elias walks back into the living room, a look of confusion on his face. “There is someone at the door for you babe?” His statement sounds more like a question, and has my heart rate increasing. Who could be at the door looking for me? What happened?

Setting my laptop on the coffee table, I pull myself awkwardly from the couch. I take a moment to adjust my tshirt and fix my hair before rounding the corner. The figure standing in the doorway, has me stopping dead in my tracks. My face pales, as my body goes rigid. This must be some sick joke.

Grasped in her hand is an envelope. One I recognize well, because I had sealed it weeks ago. I knew making that invite was a bad idea. 

“Mom?”

———

Another cliff hanger? Why not? Let me know what you think! Part 4 is going to take some time, but I will get it out eventually I promise!

Tagging: @anastasiyaigorevnadobrodevskaya @heatherawoowoo @dripkingpetey @ya-pucking-nerd @jonnytoews19

[fanfic-she-wrote]

Imagine being the reincarnation of Dracula's long lost love: Part 9

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

A couple hours later, the flames eventually died out, leaving the castle practically in ruins. You still hadn't moved and Dracula was beginning to lose hope that you would never move again. He picked you up and carried your limp body in his arms as he walked back to the castle. So much of it was burnt and fallen apart. There was a large gaping hole in the cieling where you could see into the sky above. Dracula noticed that it was nearly dawn. He just hoped that the dungeons were still in tact as they made their ways towards them with Henry and Van Helsing clearing the way, pushing aside the charred debris.

At this moment Dracula felt numb. His castle was a heap of burnt rubble and the love of his life was possibly dead forever. Luckily for him when he reached the dungeons it was untouched, not even by the mob. At least that was a good sign. He thought. But not much of one. In a room just off the staircase lay his coffin, it black with plush red lining, and inscribed on the top was his family crest. Henry lifted the lid and Dracula placed you gently inside.

"What do we do now?" Van Helsing asked.

"We wait." Dracula replied, looking down at your lifeless body.

He felt anger once again boiling over inside him. He clutched his fists so tight that his knuckles turned white and his nails cut into his palms.

The tension was so thick in the room you could cut it with a knife. The longer Dracula waited, the more he became angry. Angry that his love had been taken away from him again. Angry that no matter how much he wanted it, he would never find peace not from angry townsfolk, not from Van Helsing, and not even from himself.

Van Helsing watched him carefully, sensing his anger. This anger was different than before. For the first time, he actually felt a little frightened. Dracula could tear him apart like paper if he wanted to. It felt like waiting for a bomb to explode.

Finally it did and like a viper he grabbed Van Helsing by his collar, lifting him a couple inches off the ground. "This is all your fault!! " He growled.

"My fault?! I'm not a monster that goes around killing innocent townsfolk am I?! " Van Helsing choked, trying to pry himself lose, but to no avail.

"Get out before I kill you were you stand!" He hissed, releasing him.

"No, Im staying." Van Helsing refused, fixing his shirt. Dracula stepped toward him, baring his teeth, aiming to kill.

"If she wakes and finds me dead, she will never forgive you. You don't want to risk that do you?" He pointed out, trying to appear calmer than he felt.

Dracula hesitated for a moment. Why did she value his friendship so much? He wondered.

"If she wakes up I will let you go. If not, you better pray for a quick death." Dracula threatened, glaring at him.

"Master, where will you sleep?" Henry asked, changing the conversation.

"I can't sleep. Not now. I'll be fine as long as the sunlight can't find me." He answered.

Dracula bent down beside you and held your hand. It was so cold now. Only a couple hours ago it was warm and soft. It was almost hard to believe it had only been a couple hours, it felt much longer to him.

Henry yawned, unable to stay awake for another second. He took off his coat folding it into a makeshift pillow and rested his head on it against the cold floor. He missed his bed, but that went up in the fire. Stupid townspeople. He thought to himself as he fell asleep.

Van Helsing didn't sleep either, although he wanted to. He couldn't even remember the last time he actually had a good night's sleep. His thoughts kept him up most nights, mostly about creatures of the night, but sometimes his thoughts were of you. Like how cute you were when you crinkled your nose when you were thinking or how you used to laugh when he did something you deemed silly...the little things that made him fall in love with you. If only he had told you how he felt...at least you would have known. He forced tears back, but it was becoming extremely difficult as the hours passed and you didn't wake.

"I love her too you know." Van Helsing confessed.

"What?" Dracula sneered, glaring at him from over his shoulder, but Lawrence paid him no mind.

"Yes...for a long time. I never told her." He said his voice cracking.

"You're a fool!" Dracula scoffed. Van Helsing nodded in agreement.

"I suppose I am. Maybe if I had this never would have happened." He said with a sigh.

Dracula spun around to face him. "What do you mean by that?!" He snarled. Van Helsing got up off the floor where he sat and came face to face with him, staring into his cold, dark eyes.

"I think you know what I mean. If I told her than maybe she would be with me instead of being dead because she fell in love with you!" He accused, finally losing his temper.

"How dare you!" Dracula angrily spat, smacking Van Helsing hard into a wall. "She could never love someone like you!" Van Helsing rubbed his head, feeling dazed. "You're pathetic! Weak! A miserable excuse for a mortal!"

"Am I? I'm not the one that has to hide from the sun or cower in fear of the cross." Lawrence retorted, lifting himself back on his feet. He looked at you and took a deep breath, knowing that you wouldn't have wanted them to fight.

"So much blood has been spilled, Dracula. Haven't you had enough?" He asked, trying to reason with him.

"No. Not till I have spilled yours." He hissed.

"Then I guess we are destined to do this forever." Van Helsing sighed.

"Forever is short in the life of a vampire. But you will never see it. " He swore through gritted teeth.

"I don't want to see forever. I'm tired. I've seen enough death and despair to last several lifetimes. I will eventually die, but there are things that are worse than death." Van Helsing admitted. Dracula's face softened a little as he mulled over his enemy's words in his mind.

"Get. Out." Dracula said, turning away. He didn't want to admit it, but Van Helsing was right. Living forever did feel like a curse. There were many times he wondered what it was like to be really dead. It must be glorious...

"I would like to stay a little while longer..." Van Helsing started to ask, taking a small step toward Dracula.

"Don't push it Dr. Van Helsing. I'm letting you go alive. Don't make me change my mind." Dracula warned.

"May I have one last look at her then?" He asked. Dracula nodded stepping aside. Van Helsing slowly walked up to the coffin and reached inside to touch your hand. It was still cold as ice.

He felt tears well up in his eyes again. "I'm sorry Y/N...for everything. If only it were me in that coffin instead of you. You of all people on this Earth didn't deserve this." He whimpered before placing gentle kiss on your forehead.

"Goodbye."

As you lay there, you tried to call out to them to tell them that you weren't dead, but you couldnt. It felt like there was an invisible force controlling you, preventing you from moving at all. You couldn't even breathe, it was almost like you were drowning and your lungs were being filled to the brim with water. Everything hurt. Wherever you were it was pitch black. You were frightened. If only Vlad or Lawrence could help you, even Henry. You didn't even know why you were here...oh right you're dead. Is this what it was like to be dead?

From the darkness, a small voice said, "Go back."

"We must go back." It implored you, sounding desperate.

"We? Who is we?" You ask. Suddenly, a bright light appeared blinding you. Squinting, you could make out a strange, blurry figure and faint whispering could be heard emanating from within the light. As you looked closer, it became clearer and you realized who it was. It was Dracula. You tried calling out to him once more, but he couldn't hear you. His appearance was different. He looked younger and was significantly less pale. He had longer hair that fell to his shoulders, even his clothes were different. You saw behind him the castle the way it once was, like in your vision. Your heart skipped a beat when he turned to look at you, as though he just noticed you were there. Then you finally felt yourself move, but you weren't in control. It was like you were a puppet being pulled around on strings.

Dracula reached for you, pulling you into his warm embrace, which you gladly welcomed. "My dear Maria, how I've missed you." He said, kissing your cheek. Maria? Who's Maria? You wondered, feeling a twinge of jealousy.

"I've only been gone a few hours Vlad." You said to him.

"But to me it feels like an eternity." He told you, kissing you again. "I love you."

"I love you too."

Without warning, the light flashed again and you found yourself in a church. You did not recognize this place, yet it seemed to familar. Before you stood Vlad and behind him was...Lawrence? No it couldn't be?! It certainly looked like him. The face was the same, but the hair was different. It was only slightly shorter than Dracula's and he was sporting a goatee. He didn't look as happy as your beloved. In fact, he looked extremely bored. Was this a wedding?

You slowly walked up the isle towards them, feeling all eyes on you. You didn't even know who any of these people were. All you knew is that you wanted to get out of there. You glanced up at Vlad and saw how much love glimmered in his eyes and you felt your nerves instantly calm. The room just seemed to fade away and only he mattered. He held out his hand for you, helping you up the last remaining steps.

"You ready, my dear?" He whispered.

"Of course. I can't wait to start my new life with you. " You happily answered.

"As am I."

Then the scene disappeared again much to your disappointment, this time to something a little less happy...this time you found yourself in a duel against Van Helsing. At first you weren't sure if it was a friendly duel, but quickly realized that it very much wasn't. This was a duel that could only have one victor.

"It should have been me on the thrown! All of this should have been mine!" Van Helsing yelled, smashing his sword into yours with a loud clang that rung throughout the great hall. You parried and sent him flying backward with a hard kick.

"The thrown! The castle! You..." He lunged at you once more, but you blocked it and counter attacked. He twisted your blade around his and pulled you close, your faces inches apart.

"You could never have me." You spat, pulling away.

"You wouldn't have had a choice." He retorted with a sickening grin. You could feel the anger building up inside you. With a swift flick of your sword you slashed him in the face, leaving a deep cut in his cheek. He chuckled. You were a fiesty one. Too fiesty for your own good, he thought.

"That's the difference between you and Vlad," You began. "He doesn't tell me what to do."  And with that you swung at him once more, this time breaking his sword in two. You held your sword to his neck.

You caught a glimpse of your reflection in the blade. That's when it dawned on you. You were Maria, Dracula's wife, and you remembered him telling you that you looked like her. It all made sense now. This is why you were having these visions. They are your own memories. Could it be that you and Maria are one in the same?

"Surrender traitor." You hissed, your blade mere inches away from his throat.

"I am no traitor." Van Helsing said.

"Fine then, a coward."

He rolled his eyes."At least I fight my own battles. Where's your beloved now?" He pointed out, looking smug.

"Fixing your mistake. Don't think I don't know what you've done. Vlad might trust you, but I sure as hell don't." You stated, inching your blade closer to his neck.

"And what will he say when he finds out that you've killed me?"

"The truth. He has no reason to doubt me." You answered confidently.

"Well, we'll find out sooner than you think." Confused you followed his eyes over to where Dracula now stood.

"What is this?!" He asked looking at the both of you.

"Vlad, he is a traitor. I caught him giving information to the Turks. He is league with the enemy." You explained. While you were distracted, Van Helsing quickly pulled a small dagger from within his sleeve and slammed it deep into your stomach. You dropped your sword falling to the floor alongside it writhing in pain. Dracula's heart stopped. It felt like time had slowed down as he ran to you and held you in his arms.

"Maria, no..." He let out a small cry, running his hand over your wound.

"I had to do something...I love you Vlad. I told you the day I married you that I would do anything for you." You told him, cupping his cheek.

"Then don't leave me...I can't live without you." He whimpered, sensing the end was coming for you.

"We will meet again, my love." You promised, sealing it with a quick kiss as the life faded from your body.

You could feel everything fading away again as you returned to the darkness. You mind was dizzy from everything you had just witnessed. It all felt so strange...

"Go back." The voice repeated again.

"He needs you. Go back!"

Suddenly, you felt whatever was holding you back had finally released you. Eager to get out of there you ran through the darkness hoping to find a way out. You didn't know where you were running, but you had to try. The darkness seemed endless and just as you were about to give up, the ground gave way below your feet and you finally woke up.

You gasped for air feeling as though you were drowning. You sat up clutching your throat, trying to catch your breath. Why was it so hard to breathe?

"Y/N?! Dracula gasped. He couldn't believe it. You were alive. It worked! It wasn't too late after all!

"Y/N! You're alright! Thank God." Van Helsing sighed in relief, smiling like he never smiled before.

"You!?" You exclaimed, backing away from him, your past memory still fresh in your mind. He looked at you feeling confused and hurt. Before Van Helsing could say anything, Dracula appeared at his side reaching out to you.

You looked over at him, eyes wide. "Vlad...I...I remember." You breathed.

"What?" He asked. "What do you remember?

"Everything."

[horansqueen]

Stuck With You - Chapter 38

Chapter 38: Stuck With You

🡪chapter 1  🡪chapter 2  🡪chapter 3  🡪chapter 4  🡪chapter 5  🡪chapter 6  🡪chapter 7  🡪chapter 8  🡪chapter 9  🡪chapter 10  🡪chapter 11 🡪chapter 12 🡪chapter 13 🡪chapter 14 🡪chapter 15 🡪chapter 16 🡪chapter 17 🡪chapter 18 🡪chapter 19 🡪chapter 20 🡪chapter 21 🡪chapter 22 🡪chapter 23 🡪chapter 24 🡪chapter 25 🡪chapter 26 🡪chapter 27 🡪chapter 28 🡪chapter 29 🡪chapter 30 🡪chapter 31 🡪chapter 32  🡪chapter 33 🡪chapter 34 🡪chapter 35 🡪chapter 36 🡪chapter 37

College Enemies To Lovers AU

characters // masterlist // instagrams // mood board

I wanna get stuck with you In the middle of the party We're just getting started I wanna get stuck with you  In the eye of the tornado Rowing in the same boat I wanna get stuck with you Get stuck in the middle with you I wanna get stuck with you

Gotta go with the flow And ride the wave right where we're supposed to Yeah, we can go through all the highs and lows Yeah, life's a crazy roller coaster

click here to be on the update list

NIALL

                                              We were lucky enough to find a store still open, buying everything she needed to snowboard before renting more equipment. I looked at her getting ready with a small smile and tried not to chuckle. She was endearing, and the fact that she was ready to try this just for me meant a lot and also proved a lot.

"Shit, I forgot my phone!" she let out, rolling her eyes and making me raise my eyebrows.

"Do you really need it right now?" I asked with a chuckle. "I have mine." I patted my shirt pocket and grimaced immediately, letting out a groan. "Fuck, I forgot mine too."

"Do you really need it right now?" she teased with a grin, making me smile more.

"Yes, one of us has to have one, just in case something happens." I took my gloves off and put them on the couch next to her. "Wait for me okay? I'll do quick."

She nodded and I looked around, realizing the place was more quiet than I thought it would be. I rushed to the hall and took the elevator, running to our room and walking in. The light was still on and I grabbed my phone on the nightstand where I left it but finally decided to search for hers, too. It took me about a minute to notice it on the desk placed against the wall and grabbed it, turning around to leave, before something caught my attention.

I frowned, recognizing the back of my head on a picture, and took it in my hand to look at it better. My eyes quickly roamed on my shoulder, neck and hair but when they stopped on Devon's forehead and hair, I held my breath. My fingers were slipped in it and my heart started thumping in my chest. I remembered exactly how I felt at that moment, how deep inside her I was, how her lips parted in pleasure. It was the very first time we ever had sex and looking at that picture made me realize we would always have something to remind us of this moment, something that would always bring many emotions inside me, including lust and love. I already loved her at that moment and I wanted to believe she did too.

I ran my finger on the part of her forehead I could see and sighed. It was still not completely clear between us, I knew we had a lot of things to talk about, but I was not sure what exactly stopped her from giving us a chance. I loved her, and she loved me, and obviously, we had been been through bad relationships and I was sure that neither of us would want the other to suffer again the way we had before. Besides, it was totally different. Abby didn't love me and I was pretty sure Henry didn't really love her either.

I couldn't believe she had brought the pictures with her and it made me wonder why she never showed them to me. She had talent to take pictures, there was no doubt about it, but this picture had probably turned out that good mostly because of luck. She couldn't have put much thought into it, giving the position she was in, but the result was incredible and something twisted in my stomach as I looked at it. I didn't know if other people beside us would be able to feel all the emotions that emanated from it but at the same time, I didn't really care. I liked to think we were the only ones who could understand, the only ones who could really feel deeply about it because of how involved we were. It was even slightly scary to know that some people could look at it without understanding the degree of intimacy in it.

I was about to put the picture back on the desk where I found it when the light of the room reflected something behind it. I turned it around and read the words written quickly at first and then slowly the second time. It was Devon's handwriting and I immediately recognized the second part she had scribbled. My heart skipped a beat as I re-read my own lyrics of the song I had written for her and I shook my head slightly. She had an incredible memory and it made the left corner of my lips raise in a small smile. I went back to the first part and my smile fell when I realized she had written an actual verse for my song.

"Darlin', are you always tryin' to blame me? Is it me or 'cause you came here? Just accept that time was wrong Oh, change thee I've been thinkin' bout it lately We never finished what we started Now I'm fearful that it's gone."

I sang it in my head a few times before doing it out loud but still very low. It fitted perfectly and I sighed, my eyes still roaming on the words. It was amazing to think we sort of wrote a song together and I loved knowing that each verse was the point of view of one of us. Did she know the song was about her? That thought made my heart jump in my chest before I rolled my eyes and let out a chuckle. It was not a secret that I loved her, not anymore, and it was a good thing. I wasted so much time trying to hate her even though I knew it was impossible.

I grabbed my phone and snapped a picture of the lyrics she wrote but also of the picture she took to be able to look at it whenever I wanted and finally checked my watch. I had been gone for a while and I rushed out, reaching the elevator as fast as I could. When I walked back to her, she was sitting on the couch, her head leaned on the back and her lips parted. I could hear her snore lightly and I chuckled, shaking my head.

"Devie, hey." I said softly, bending down to shake her gently and making her whimper. "Wake up."

She groaned and sat up quickly, rubbing her eyes and letting out a sigh. She was cute when she slept and I waited a few seconds until her eyes fluttered open to talk again.

"Come on, we only have time for a few basic things."

She got up but almost tripped and I held her, chuckling again.

"You okay?" I asked, moving my face a bit closer to look at her.

She sent me a small smile and nodded. "Yea sorry, just give me a few minutes to wake up completely." she licked her lips and finally raised her eyebrows. "Hey, what took you so long?"

"Oh, I couldn't find your phone." I half-lied, searching my pocket and handing it to her. "I put it in a plastic bag for you, just in case you drop it in the snow or something."

Her head tilted and she sent me a fond smile before pressing her lips together. I felt my heart skip a beat when she moved closer but she stopped herself suddenly. "Thank you."

I wanted her to kiss me. I wanted her to do it first, for once. It seemed like I was always the one who made the first move no matter what we did, especially when it came to something romantic. Maybe she's had had a few initiatives when it came to sex but somehow, whenever it was about love, she seemed reluctant.

"You're welcome." I whispered, fighting the urge I had to kiss her.

We grabbed our stuff and walked outside. I saw her shiver next to me when a whiff of cold air hit us but she still followed me to a very small slope. I tried to show her the basics but she was clearly scared to hurt herself and I finally sat next to her in the snow after she fell.

"How about we go a bit higher?" I proposed, smiling gently when I saw the alarmed expression on her face. "I'll be there with you, okay?"

It took her about a minute to answer. Her eyes roamed on my face and once again, I thought she was going to kiss me and my eyes dropped to her lips. She probably noticed because she licked them nervously and my gaze moved back to her eyes.

"Okay."

I helped her up and we walked slowly to the chairlift in silence. I kept glancing at her and she did the same but it's only when we were half-way there, completely up in the air that everything stopped. My heart jumped in my chest and my eyes got bigger when I realized we were stuck and I swallowed hard, turning to her as she did the same. Her lips curled a bit and she burst into laughing, throwing her head back and making my lips curl.

"It's good luck, remember?" she pointed out, smiling more. "That's what you said!"

"I still think that!" I laughed with her, taking my gloves off to grab my phone. "I'll text Lewis, I know he's near his phone. He can inform them and they'll come get us."

I typed something quickly and sent it, my eyes stuck to the screen until I got an answer from my friend that simply consisted of a laughing emoji and a thumb up.

"It's weird isn't it?" I finally said after a few minutes of silence. "How we always get stuck together somewhere when we have something to solve."

She turned her head my way and tilted it, sending me a small but curious frown. "We have something to solve?"

I turned my body as much as I could to face her and shook my head, my eyebrows raised. "Yes we do. Devie, why don't you want me to say you're my girlfriend?"

"We.. We didn't even discuss it."

"We are now." I pointed out with a sigh. "You said you loved me, we made love this afternoon. I didn't tell our friends because I saw how you reacted when I said the 'g' word this morning in the closet but, what do I have to do?"

"You don't get it."

"No! No I don't!"

I was trying to keep my cool but I wanted her to open up to me, I needed it. I needed her and I needed to be with her. It sounded obsessed, it was intense, but It was driving me crazy to know how she felt without being able to really be with her.

"I do love you! I love you so much Niall I don't think you understand!" she let out before breathing in deeply. I saw her tear up and my lips parted slightly. "You remember when you said I moved you? That my art moved you? Henry used to say that too. I know you're not him, but it's not easy for me to put aside all the pain I went through with him just to throw myself in a new relationship. I don't know how you do it. Abby has hurt you so much too and you're just ready to... to jump back into something official and serious with me." She breathed in and I noticed a tear falling down her right cheek. I wanted to reach out to her but I couldn't, I felt paralyzed. "I am nothing special. I am not like the girls you've been with. I am... I am lost, and scared, and scarred! I love you but I'm scared! I'm scared I'll give you everything and that you'll break me the way I was broken before! But I love you so much more than I loved him! I feel so much closer to you than I ever felt to him! And if you... if you leave... When you realize I'm average... or even below..."

I waited a few seconds, staring at her and she sniffed. It was crazy that she kept all that inside for so long, and at the same time, I was so happy she was finally telling me how she feels.

"Are you done yet?" I asked making her look in my eyes again before sending her a small smile. "Devie, I'm scared too. But I love you, I'm in love with you, and I'm ready to take that chance, because being without you is worse than being heartbroken by you. It's ok to love again!"

She sniffed again and pressed her lips together. I brought my hand to her face and brushed my fingertips on her skin, smiling more. "If you shut yourself from feelings, you may make sure that nothing bad happens and that your heart won't be broken, but you also miss all the good things and all the love you could get." I explained in a low tone. "I can't promise you that everything will always be perfect, but I promise I'll keep trying because that's how much I love you. I told you, Devie, you're my main girl. You're the protagonist of this story. No one can take your role. No one."

Her lips curled too and she chuckled before nodding quickly and bending closer to me. She pressed her lips on mine, making me smile too. "I wouldn't want to be stuck here with anyone else." she whispered, making me chuckle before kissing me deeper.

We started laughing against each other's mouth when the chairlift started moving again and finally walked back inside. We were both very cold and we decided to just go back to our room, taking the elevator in silence again. We both got changed into warm clothes and sat in bed together. She leaned her head on my shoulder and moved her legs over mine. I smiled when I saw her warm socks and left a kiss on top of her head.

"That painting you made here the other night..." I started gently, leaning my cheek on top of her head. "It was the first time I saw you paint with light colors. It was beautiful, it looked like a summer sky."

She reached for my hand on her thigh and intertwined our fingers. "All the paintings I made since I arrived here were about you. My art has been about you and my feelings for you, the emotions you made me feel." she explained, surprising me a bit, especially that all my songs were about her. "You make me feel those colors. You make me feel light and clear and warm. You make me feel alive."

"That's not what the painting in our room says, the one you gave me. There's yellow, but there's so much darkness in it. Every time I look at it, I feel horrible for ever making you feel so bad. I'm sorry, Devie."

She moved away slowly to turn around and face me. Her lips curled softly on the left and she licked her lips, shaking her head slightly. "You got it all wrong, Niall." she pointed out gently, raising her eyebrows. "You're not the black in that painting. You're the yellow. You're the light trying to reach me, stopped by my own demons and fears. You're the light in my life, Niall. You've always been the light."

I brought both my hands to her face and cupped her cheeks, kissing her harder than intended. I felt her move closer and straddle me and I wrapped my arms around her, pulling her as close to me as possible. "I love you, Devie, I love you so much." I whispered in-between kisses. "Since the first day."

"I love you too." she murmured back, slipping her hands in my hair. "I always have."

----

We got prepared together the next morning and whenever I'd walk near her, I'd pull her close to kiss her lips and she'd giggle or smile. There was something natural in the way we moved together around the room, even in a place we were not used to, and I couldn't help but think it was a proof that we were made for each other. When we were ready, I grabbed her hand and pulled her closer, making her twirl around as she started laughing and I walked to the door, bringing her with me. We took the elevator to meet our friends downstairs but when the doors opened, I let go of her hand, not really sure if she had changed her mind. I didn't want to rush her, and I didn't want to lose her either. She glanced at me but still followed me to the main room where all our friends were waiting for us, talking and laughing together.

I turned to look at her as her eyes roamed on everyone and after about a minute, I felt her hand reach mine and grab it tight. It took a few seconds but Lewis finally noticed us, his lips curling into a smirk when he noticed we were holding hands. He hit Louis a bit roughly who just frowned but finally turned to us too before our friends noticed us one by one. I cleared my throat when Louis jumped off the couch with a big smile.

"Fuckin' finally!" he yelled, catching the attention of almost everyone in the room. "That's it? That's official? You two are dating?"

"Yes, it's official." Devon replied loud and clear, surprising everyone.

I noticed Mandy winking at her and squeezed her fingers tighter as Louis walked quickly to us, throwing his arms around my girlfriend's neck and holding her close.

"Took you long enough." he told her with a chuckle as she wrapped her free arm around him. "I'm so happy for you two."

Lewis walked to me to hug me too and then almost everyone followed. I noticed Abby sending me a small and sad smile from afar and I just smiled back gently at her, surprised that she took it so well.

"Okay!" Louis let out, clapping in his hands. "Who's hungry?"

Everyone started talking at the same time and they all decided to go to the restaurant to get some food before starting the day. I stopped Devon as she was following them, pulling on her arm to bring her closer to me and just wrapped my arms around her as she tilted her chin up, sliding her hands on my back.

"So that's it? You're my girlfriend?" I asked with an amused grin, making her smile too.

"Mmhm, I'm ready to try that boyfriend/girlfriend thing with you."

"Are you happy, Devon Eaton?" I whispered low, looking down at her.

Her traits softened and she looked at me fondly, in a way no one else had ever looked at me. "Happier than I've ever been. I love you, Niall Horan."

"Not as much as I love you."

[empire-of-wildfire]

HOLIDAY SURPRISE

A @starseternalnighttriumphant X @empire-of-wildfire CHRISTMAS MINI-FIC COLLABORATION

a/n: here’s the last part guys!! We hope you’ve enjoyed reading this as much as we loved writing it! Super sorry about the posting schedule change, but sometimes life gets in the way and it just didn’t work out like we planned.

Part 1 || Part 2 || Part 3|| Part 4

Cassian woke up in his hotel room on New Years’ Day and wondered how much shit he’d be in if he just skipped his brother’s wedding. 

No one would admit it, but they’d heard his argument with Nesta on the front porch Christmas morning, knew that Nesta was doing everything in her power to avoid him and make sure he didn’t see Amina. He’d only been allowed five minutes with his daughter the past couple of days, and that was because Azriel had “accidentally” let it slip that Elain was watching the little girl. She giggled and let him show her the proper footing for sword play before the front door opened and Nesta was standing there ready to spit fire at him. 

Since then, he’d been helping get everything ready for the wedding, setting up tables and chairs and  light fixtures. Feyre kept him busy, giving him sympathetic glances every so often. She’d tried to talk to him about it, but he shut it down every time. Nesta had made it quite clear how she felt about everything. And once that woman made her mind up, it took nothing less than a miracle to change it.

Sighing heavily, he tossed back the covers and threw his legs over the edge of the bed, rubbing his face roughly. He stared at the suit hung up on the hotel room mirror, the fabric a deep navy with a white undershirt and matching navy tie. A memory tugged at the edge of his mind. 

“What kind of wedding do you want? Tell me and I’ll make it happen.”

Nesta propped herself up on her hand, looking down at him with a soft smile. “You’re being very bold.”

“I’m going to marry you one day, Nesta Archeron,” he drawled, running a finger over her bare shoulder. “And I want it to be everything you’ve dreamed of.”

“It doesn’t matter,” she breathed. “As long as you’re the one I see at the end of the aisle, I don’t care what the wedding looks like.”

His heart stuttered at her words, but he played it off with his signature smirk, grabbing her up and rolling on top of her as she laughed. He kissed her deeply and then pulled back, grinning. “Don’t tempt me, I’ll be waiting for you in a gold suit.”

“You wouldn’t dare,” she laughed and he decided he wanted to hear that noise for the rest of his life.

His phone buzzing yanked him out of the past, and a sharp pang pulsed in his chest as he recalled it. Frowning, he picked up the phone, a long list of things to do already waiting for him from Rhys. Sighing, he gathered his things and headed to the small convention center where the wedding and reception would be. 

The grand ballroom was mostly finished, needing just a few more last-minute things before the wedding in a few hours. Rhys was rushing around and barking orders, none of the women to be seen. He knew they’d be upstairs getting themselves and Feyre ready, and his heart stuttered slightly when he thought about the other Archeron sister that held his heart. 

“Rhys,” Cassian stopped him after half an hour. “Everything is fine. Let the rest of the staff finish the last details. We should be getting ready too.”

His brother’s shoulders were tense under her hands, and his eyes were slightly wild with what Cassian expected was pre-wedding anxiety. “I just want to make sure everything is perfect.”

Cassian’s mouth twisted into a grin and he looped his arm around Rhys’s neck, dragging him towards the staircase that led to conference rooms upstairs. “Feyre couldn’t care less about what everything looks like. She’s marrying you, not the ballroom.”

Rhys gave him a long suffering sigh, but allowed his brother to lead him to the room where all the groomsmen would be getting ready. Azriel was there pouring whiskey into glasses, Varian and Tarquin arguing over which shoes would look best with their suits. 

“Get dressed and do all your pretty man things, and then we’ll drink until it’s time,” Azriel drawled to Rhys, a slight smirk on his face. 

Once everyone was dressed and ready to go, they took turns passing stories around, drinking whiskey until they felt warm and loose. Cassian stopped the pouring, not wanting Rhys to be drunk on his wedding day. An alarm went off, signaling it was time for Rhys to head down. Cassian clapped him on the shoulder and poured one more round after he left.

Minutes later, Cassian turned the corner to where the bridesmaids were already waiting, and his breath caught in his throat. Nesta was first in line, an icy blue dress clinging to her figure. It was sleeveless, and billowed at her feet, the bodice looking like ice crystalized over her abdomen and up her chest. Her hair was down and lazily curled, falling around her. She had a bouquet of flowers in all hues of blue in one hand, the other fixing a loose curl on the dark head of the small child before her. 

He wondered if he was about to pass out from lack of oxygen as he took in his daughter, dressed in the same navy color as his suit, the dress puffing out in a tutu fashion, white tights on her legs. There was a flower crown on her black locks, the same flowers in the bridesmaids’ bouquets. She had a basket in her hand, and as he stood there and watched Nesta and Amina smile at each other, he realized how much of a godsdamn idiot he’d been. 

When he’d woken up on Christmas morning to an empty bed, he knew something wasn’t right. When he’d found his phone next to him, open on his text thread with Emerie, inappropriate photos glaring right in front of his face, he knew he was in deep shit. Of course Nesta had assumed the worst. He would’ve done the same. He had immediately deleted the messages, sick to his stomach as he realized Nesta had seen them and left him there. But she’d had to know that Emerie meant nothing to him. In fact, the moment he’d landed in Velaris he hadn’t thought of the woman once. He hadn’t even thought to tell her he was staying in Velaris longer, that’s how little he’d thought of her since he’d been here.

And then Christmas morning had been so thick with tension, and the fight they’d had on the front porch had struck him deep in his heart. The way she’d looked at him, with heartbreak in her eyes, had been worse than the first time he’d seen it four years ago when he’d told her that he was leaving for Illyria. 

Now he was standing here looking at the woman he’d loved for a near decade, the woman who was it for him, it was going to be Nesta or no one else. The mother of his daughter, who was looking up at her mother with an adoring look. All he wanted, all he needed was standing here in this convention center and he couldn’t believe it had taken him this long to figure it out.  

He walked up to her, trying his best to stay relaxed as he watched her shoulders tense up. She didn’t look at him but she knew he was there, straightening up and pretending to pick at a loose string in her dress. He just stared at her until she let out a disgusted noise and looked up at him, that steely fire in her eyes. “Can I help you?”

“You look beautiful,” Cassian murmured, his face open and soft. 

That fire guttered and she swallowed hard before looking back to the doors to the ballroom where Rhys had just slipped through. He looked over everyone and then gave Cassian a nervous smile. 

“The music is going to start in a minute, and the attendants will open the doors,” he explained, even though they’d already gone over this many times. “Once the doors open Amina will go down and you just follow her.”

“Yes brother,” Cassian huffed, giving him a playful shove. “Now please get back in there and wait.”

Rhysand let out a deep breath and disappeared back into the ballroom. Cassian just shook his head and smirked, watching as everyone started to fall in line. He looked back to Nesta and was surprised to find her already looking at him. She said nothing as she held out her arm, and Cassian wrapped it around his, resting her hand on his forearm. She opened her mouth as if to say something, but the music started and the doors opened. 

His eyes were on Amina as she smiled at everyone and threw flower petals all over the floor. She was a shining star, and his heart melted as he watched her. He wondered how that smile would mature, if it would turn subdued like her mother’s or wild and wicked like his. He knew he couldn’t wait to find out. 

He reluctantly let Nesta go as they headed to their respective sides of the aisle, Cassian standing between his brothers as they all turned their attention back towards the doors. A moment later, Feyre came into view, and a grin crept across his face. 

She was absolutely beautiful. Her dress was a soft white, that ice-like beading matching the bridesmaids’ dresses. A crown sat on her head, the same bridal crown that Rhys’s mom had worn during her wedding. A soft smile sat on her face, her eyes locked on only one person in the entire room. 

Rhys had a hand on his mouth, eyes shining as his gaze stayed on his soon-to-be wife. As she neared, he dropped his hand to reveal a devastatingly handsome smile, reaching out his hand to take hers. 

Cassian’s eyes drifted to where Nesta stood off to Feyre’s side as the couple went through their vows. The words hit home with every syllable, and when her eyes connected with his, he knew this was where he was meant to be. He hoped his own eyes reflected the romantic words Feyre and Rhys were exchanging, hoped she could see the decision he’d made the moment he saw her standing there in that dress. 

Her blue-gray eyes never left his, even when the minister announced the couple to kiss and everyone clapped and shouted. They didn’t leave his when Feyre and Rhys walked back down the aisle, and didn’t leave his when he reached for her to follow them. He only looked away when he felt a tug at his pants, saw his daughter looking at him with a bright smile. That smile took his breath away, and he grinned back, grabbing her up in his arms. She fit just right in one arm, his other hand reaching to grab Nesta’s. She surprisingly allowed it, and he could see that she was fighting a smile. 

They made their way to the reception area, finding themselves at the same table with Feyre, Rhys, Azriel and Elain. Nesta took Amina from him and they sat on the opposite side of the table, and Cassian tried not to let it sting. He wrapped himself up in conversation with Azriel, finally getting to catch up with him. 

Then it was time for dancing. He watched Feyre and Rhys dance together, smiling slightly the whole time. He knew his brother would be happy for the rest of his life, as long as he had her. When everyone else began to join, he suddenly felt nervous, as if he was going to prom for the first time all over again. As his eyes landed on the woman opposite, he figured it was kind of similar. He’d asked Nesta to prom, fully expecting her to laugh in his face. She had surprised him by saying yes, and when she’d said yes again to a date with him when he’d dropped her off at home, he knew she would change his life forever. 

He stood and came around the table, holding out his hand. Nesta looked to his hand and then up at him, her eyes guarded. 

“May I please have this dance?” he breathed, holding her gaze.

It seemed like he waited a lifetime before she nodded and put her hand in his, letting him pull her out of her chair. He guided her to the dance floor, placing one hand on her hip and clasping one of her hands in the other. Her free hand came up to his shoulder, her body slightly stiff as if she didn’t know if she wanted to touch him. 

“Relax,” Cassian drawled, pulling her closer. “Pretend we’re juniors at prom again.”

She rolled her eyes but he felt her body slowly start to loosen under his hands. They swayed to the soft music of the song playing, her body warm against his. Her hand felt right in his, and he wished he could bottle up this feeling and get drunk on it for the rest of his life. 

“I need to tell you something,” he said, sighing when she tensed again. “And I need you to listen to every word of it.”

Nesta looked up into his eyes, seeing the seriousness there, the pleading. She exhaled a deep breath. “Okay.”

“When I left after college, I thought I was making the right choice,” he began, not looking away from her intense gaze. “To get a job with a high-end law firm… I never thought that would happen for someone like me. And being young, unemployed, and not sure where I was going in life, it was like a miracle handed to me. 

“I thought you would follow me. I was so… I was so set on this job, I thought you would see how much I wanted it and would just… upend your life for me.” He shook his head. “I should’ve realized that would’ve been a shitty thing to ask of you. And I should’ve realized it was a mistake to take the job.”

Nesta’s full mouth fell open slightly, eyebrows narrowing in surprise at his words. 

“I meant what I said on Christmas Eve,” he breathed, hand releasing her own to come up and stroke her cheek. “I can practice law anywhere. I don’t…” he shut his eyes briefly before opening them again. “I don’t need the job in Illyria. I don’t need the law firm, I don’t need Emerie, I don’t need the recognition it gave me.”

He cupped her face between his hands, staring into the hazy blue gaze. “I need you. I need you, our daughter, this life. I want to wake up to you every day, I want to hear our daughter’s laugh, I want to watch her grow up and I want to keep falling in love with you.” He released a shaky breath. “I have never stopped loving you, Nesta Archeron. And I’m so fucking sorry. I am so sorry that it took me this long to figure it out. I’m sorry that I missed so much of your life, of Amina’s life. And you don’t have to forgive me, but I will spend every day of the rest of my life proving to you that the only things that matter to me are you and our daughter.”

They stood still on the dance floor, couples still dancing around them, but all Cassian could focus on was the woman looking up at him with wide eyes, her face completely open, every emotion he was feeling flickering across her features. He said nothing more, thumbs stroking her strong cheekbones. Her eyes roved over his face almost wildly, and then her mouth parted again, her breath shaking. 

“I…” her voice was hoarse. “For the past four years, Cassian, that’s all I wanted to hear.”

His knees threatened to buckle at the relief that flooded through him. He pulled her even closer, forehead resting against hers, noses brushing. “I will say it every day until you believe it. I’m not going anywhere. My home is here. You are here, Amina is here. I’m not going to make that mistake again.”

Tears dropped down Nesta’s cheeks, and he wiped them away, his thumb brushing across her bottom lip. 

“I don’t know if I can forgive you, but I want to try,” Nesta whispered, her voice thick with emotion. 

Cassian couldn’t stop the grin that spread across his lips. “Good enough for me.”

And when he leaned down to kiss her, when she didn’t hesitate to kiss him back, he knew that this was his forever. 

—

THREE YEARS LATER

Nesta Archeron-Laskaris often thought about what a whirlwind the last seven years of her life had been. From losing Cassian when he went to Illyria, to finding out she was pregnant, to then trying to deal with a newborn baby that grew into a stubborn, headstrong little girl, her first years out of college were a constant juggling act. But over time, and with help from her family, she went from feeling like she was drowning in a sea of uncertainty and self doubt, to being able to tread water most days. Then Cassian came back for the wedding, and flipped her world around again so she didn’t know which way was up. 

A small smile crept onto her lips at the thought of Cassian. Her husband. He’d spent every day of the last three years making up for the time he lost with her, and with Amina. He’d moved back to Velaris permanently about six months after Feyre and Rhys’s wedding and had moved in with her and Amina. They’d had a lot of time to work on their relationship, rebuilding the trust they’d lost when he left. Cassian had started his own law firm in Velaris, and was doing extremely well for himself.

Once they finally felt like they were in a good place, that they’d been able to work through everything that had happened while they’d been apart, he’d gotten down on one knee and asked the question they both knew he’d been waiting to ask for more than a decade. Cassian had made everything perfect, taking her back to their lake spot where they’d made so many memories when they were kids. After he’d proposed he’d laid Nesta down and made love to her under the Velaris starlight, worshipping her body and whispering promises of his commitment and love for her into her skin.

They had a short engagement, wanting to be tied together as soon as humanly possible. The wedding had been about a year ago.

The autumn leaves created the perfect backdrop of red, orange and gold behind the archway Cassian was standing under. Nesta had always wanted a fall wedding, but after Cassian left she never thought she’d get to this point. It shouldn’t have surprised her that Cassian still managed to make every single dream of hers and every promise he’d ever made to her come true.

It was a perfect day for a wedding, not cold enough that the guests would freeze but the air still carried the scent of crisp leaves and fires that Nesta always associated with the season. She watched Amina walk down the aisle, just as she’d done for Feyre and Rhys’s wedding a few years ago, spreading flower petals and smiling at everyone. She’d grown so much in the last few years, and she amazed Nesta and Cassian every day with her intellect and her bright, bubbly personality.

Feyre and Elain followed after Amina, and then suddenly it was Nesta’s turn and all she could see was Cassian. The moment he saw her tears sprang to his eyes, and Nesta could see every single ounce of love and adoration shining in those hazel eyes she loved so much. A single tear slipped down his cheek as Nesta reached him, and she quickly brushed it away before they turned towards the minister.

The ceremony was simple, but neither of them heard a word the minister said. Their eyes were locked on each other, not looking away for a single second until it was time to exchange rings and vows.

As always, Nesta went first.

“Cassian. Our life together hasn’t always been the easiest, but there are very few things I regret because it’s led us here, and given us a beautiful little girl and a wonderful life together. I’ve loved you every single day for twelve years, and I’ll love you every single day of the rest of my life. You’re an amazing father to Amina, you love me more than I deserve, and I thank the gods every day for giving me you. Every day is a new adventure with you, and I can’t wait to see what our future holds.”

Then it was Cassian’s turn. He was visibly emotional, as was Nesta, and he swallowed past the tightness in his throat before speaking.

“I told you a couple years ago that there was nowhere else I’d rather be than by your side. That you were my home. And while I meant it with every fiber of my being then, that had absolutely nothing on how I feel about you now. Everyday I’ve fallen more in love with you, with what an amazing mother, sister, and friend you are, and I know I’m going to keep falling harder for you every day for the rest of my life. I knew at sixteen that you were it for me. My only regret is the time we lost, but I can make peace with that knowing that we’ll be together for the rest of our lives and even beyond that. Because I belong with you, Nesta Archeron, in every single life. Not just this one.”

Then the minister pronounced them husband and wife, and Nesta thought that when Cassian kissed her, she was going to combust right then and there from sheer joy.

Nesta looked out their dining room window, thinking about that day. She’d been doing that a lot in the last week, the news she’d gotten from her doctor making her more nostalgic than normal. She’d told Cassian she couldn’t wait for what their future together held, knowing it would be full of surprises. She just hadn’t anticipated the surprises starting so soon. Although, with Cassian as her husband and her daughter being the spitting image of him, she supposed she should be thankful they didn’t start sooner.

At that moment, she heard the front door open, and Cassian and Amina burst in the kitchen after Cassian went to pick her up from her sleepover at Elain’s. Amina ran over to her mother, throwing herself into Nesta’s lap. 

“Hi Mommy!” Amina grinned up at her.

Nesta laughed lightly, pushing Amina’s hair out of her face. “Hi baby. Did you have fun at Aunt Elain’s?”

Amina nodded vehemently. “We had pancakes for breakfast! Uncle Az even let me put whipped cream on them!”

Nesta smiled at her, deciding to ignore the fact that her daughter had eaten that much sugar so early in the day. “I’m glad you had fun. Go put your bag upstairs, okay?”

“Okay!” With that, Amina bolted up the stairs, leaving Cassian and Nesta alone in the kitchen. 

Nesta stood up, walking over to Cassian and folding herself into his chest. He immediately wrapped his arms around her, rubbing soothing circles on her back.

“You okay?” He asked, mild concern lacing his tone.

“I’m fine, just missed you,” she replied softly, looking up into his hazel eyes. She gave him a quick kiss then turned to grab a drink out of the fridge. “Hey, while I have you here, will you look at the papers on the table? We both need to sign them but I need you to look them over first,” she said as nonchalantly as she could.

She heard more than saw Cassian make his way over to sit down at the dining room table. “Sure, what are the papers for?”

Nesta deflected quickly, not wanting to give it away. “You’ll know as soon as you read them.”

Cassian shuffled through the papers, and she saw his brows knit together in confusion. “You got the paperwork to change Amina’s last name? I didn’t think we were doing that yet. I know we talked about it, but—” He broke off suddenly, finally noticing what was under the paperwork that he’d just picked up. “Nes, why is there a sonogram picture on the table?”

Nesta let out a soft sob, smiling through her tears as she walked over and wrapped her arms around his shoulders. “The sonogram is mine. I had an appointment two days ago. I just got the paperwork in the mail this morning, but I figured we should probably do it now, since Amina will probably want to have the same last name as her little brother or sister.”

Nesta had hardly finished her sentence before Cassian had launched himself out of the chair, grabbing Nesta around the waist and spinning her in a circle as they both laughed. He set her down and rested his forehead against hers, tears already running down his face. “You’re pregnant? Seriously?”

Nesta nodded quickly, wiping her eyes. “Seven weeks yesterday.”

“We’re having a baby,” Cassian whispered, eyes alight with wonder and love.

“We’re having a baby,” Nesta echoed.

Cassian kissed her, pouring all his love for her into the kiss. When he finally pulled back, breathing heavily, he looked into the steely, gray-blue eyes of the love of his life, the mother of his children, and said “I love you, Nesta.”

Nesta brushed his lips with hers and whispered back, “I love you too.”

-

@werewolffprince​ @schmlip-scribble​ @justgiu12​ @westofmoon​ @legallyhermione​ @love-is-a-contradiction @shyvioletcat​ @oversizedbats​ @superspiritfestival​ @ladywitchling​ @disgreisful @empress-ofbloodshed​ @lovemollywho​ @highqueenofelfhame​ @rocky99​ @sayosdreams​ @mynewdreamwasyou​ @whydoineedtowriteanamehere​ @charincharge​ @sjm-things​ @cookiemonsterwholovesbooks @queenestarcheron​ @julemmaes​ @littlehoneyybee @throne-of-crescent-roses​ @sleeping-and-books​ @agentsofsheilds​ @that-golden-lyre​ @swankii-art-teacher​ @nessiantho​ @soveydaaaaaa​ @mythicaitt

[petri808]

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Inukag Royalty AU

If the day was an example of the life, she’d lead here, then she was certainly grateful to have found it. But while she’d swore to herself not to reveal where’d she’d gone, the guilt of leaving Sango in the dark wore too heavily on her conscience. So, before she’d change her mind, Kagome penned a letter to her friend to let her know she was okay and settled into a new place. She didn’t provide a lot of details, just that it was in a neighboring kingdom with a respectable family, ending the letter by begging the woman to not say a word to anyone for fear of reprisal. Kagome would rather Sango flee than suffer for her wayward decision. Perhaps Sango could come here? Kagome sighed as she laid in bed staring at the ceiling. It would be nice to have her friend around.

She processed how much of a whirlwind of a day it had been. Such a blur to go from arriving in a strange new city and ending up as a part of another royal household. Is it just her destiny to be stuck in a castle? At least, this time the pressure felt lower. Sure, it was a bit nerve wracking to be a Princesses Lady in Waiting, but Rin was an adorable child to attend to and the family a joy to be around, minus Sesshomaru who still made her anxious. The royal family, oh the queen was quite a beauty. Kagome could see why the Inutaisho would fall such a wonderful woman regardless of heritage. And their son… her heart skipped a beat just thinking about the man. Inuyasha was very handsome indeed with his broad chest and long white hair tied up like his father, with adorable fluffy ears perched atop his head. Kagome swooned at the sight of his flashing golden eyes. He was cordial with her, albeit a bit flirty… or not, that might have been her imagination. “It was just a kiss on the hand,” Kagome chided herself. Nothing more than a gentlemanly gesture. She exhaled and closed her eyes. ‘I think I’m gonna like it here…’

Meanwhile in another part of the castle…

“Son, remember you are already spoken for,” the Queen counseled. “I was young once and I’m not blind. I saw the way you were looking at her.”

“Mom. I was just being nice,” Inuyasha rolled his eyes. “I’m not gonna do anything to jeopardize the treaty.”

“I trust you won’t.” She kissed his forehead. “Good night son.”

“Night mom.”

But as he watched his mother leave the room, Inuyasha knew it might be easier said than done. There was just something intriguing about this Lady in Waiting that made him want to learn more about her. The others had been older, boring, matronly, and not very interesting whereas Kagome was close to his age and not only very, very beautiful, but based on the dinner conversations intelligent too. The other attendants would sit quietly only watching Rin, but she engaged with them correctly as if this were normal for her. ‘How odd…’He mused and threw himself back onto his bed. But who was he kidding? Even if he wasn’t betrothed, as a Prince he had to marry a Princess… which Kagome Tanaka was not. He smiled and closed his eyes, ‘we could still be friends though…’

The following morning after breakfast, Kagome kept her promise to Rin to visit Buyo. She wanted to make sure her horse was adjusting well to the new stable, and the child was eager to meet him. Rin happily petted and groomed the horse while Kagome chatted with the stable hand about anything the man should know about Buyo’s quirks. Buyo was a docile horse since it was bred to carry a royal, but it could be picky about certain feeds. They were there for about half an hour when they were interrupted by none other, but Inuyasha and another man.

“We meet again,” Inuyasha kissed Kagome’s hand with a smile. He then ruffled his giggling niece’s hair. “This your horse?” He questioned the woman.

Keeping her emotions in check, Kagome smiled demurely. “Yes, your highness. His name is Buyo.”

“Beautiful steed…” Inuyasha ran a hand over the horse’s neck. “Like it’s owner.”

Kagome flushed bright red, but now the man accompanying Inuyasha snorted a laugh, gaining everyone’s attention.

“You hush Miroku,” Inuyasha growled.

“Sorry, but I don’t think I’ve ever seen you flirt before,” the man jested back.

“I’m complimenting the woman, is that a crime?!”

Ignoring the Prince, the man then stepped towards Kagome and bowed. “Where are my manners. My name is Miroku and I am the princes first guard.”

“Kagome Tanaka,” she bowed as well. “Princess Rin’s Lady in Waiting.”

Miroku took hold of Kagome’s hand and leaned in with a devious grin. “Someone as lovely as you should be my wife, not dealing with guys like the prince.”

“W-What?!” Kagome sputtered out in shock.

Inuyasha quickly grabbed Miroku by the shoulder, spun him around and shoved away hard. He then snapped at the man to get their horses ready so they could leave. “My apologies for this idiot,” he growled at his friend while addressing Kagome. “I’ll make sure he doesn’t bother you again.”

“I-It’s okay!” Kagome waved her hands to wipe the air clear not wanting to cause any trouble. “I was just caught me off guard.”

“It’s not okay. He needs to learn to keep his loins in check,” Inuyasha grumbled. There was a brief awkward silence starting to brew, so he quickly changed the subject. “I’ll see you at dinner?”

“Oh, um, yes, I’ll be there your highness.”

“I look forward to it. And please, call me Inuyasha. Your highness makes me feel old.”

Kagome blushed at being so informal, but who was she to refuse the simple request of a Prince. “Okay. Inuyasha.”

Inuyasha tipped his head to the woman and leapt onto his readied horse, giving it a good snap of the reigns to usher it forward behind Miroku’s. As soon as they were out of range, he moved to trot beside his guard.

“You’re such an ass!” The prince snapped at his friend. Embarrassing me like that! I ought’a have you reprimanded!”

“Oh please,” Miroku rolled his eyes at the tirade. “I did that to confirm my suspicion.”

Inuyasha narrowed his eyes. “What the fuck are you talking about?”

“You like this one,” the man jested with a big grin on his face. “And I don’t blame ya, she cute!”

“Keep your hands off her if you wanna keep them!”

“Oh, yeah,” Miroku burst out laughing. “You do like her.”

“Keh! Rin really like Kagome. So, I’m protecting my niece’s happiness.”

“Uh-huh, tell yourself that if it makes you feel better.”

“Just shut up and let’s get this over with,” Inuyasha ended the conversation. They had a problem nobleman to deal with in the next village over and he wanted to get back in time for dinner.

It’s not like Inuyasha planned to do anything wrong. What was the big deal about being nice and making a friend out of the Kagome? He didn’t have that many people to talk to aside from palace staff anyway. So okay, as the days passed, sometimes he would watch from a distance as the woman tutored his niece to make sure they were safe. Isn’t that what a good uncle would do? Inuyasha liked seeing Rin so happy and this was the first attendant who she honestly got along with it. The child was always smiling with Kagome who would tutor the girl with such a level of patience and understanding the others never possessed. And at many a dinner, the child would talk about the new things she was learning. Inuyasha could see the effects growing on his parents too who were treating Kagome less like a servant and more like the daughter they never had. From dresses and accoutrements fit for a noblewoman, Kagome was made up to look like a member of the family. He didn’t know if it was simply to make sure the woman stuck around long term or if there were other reasons for their behavior because it didn’t matter to him.

A few weeks later, Inuyasha was arriving home late in the evening after a day’s journey. He was tired from the trip and ready to crash. But as he walked past the library, he noticed a bit of light still on inside it. That was odd because the servants would never leave a torch or lantern burning at this hour, especially in the library with all those precious tomes.

“Hello?” He called out. “Is someone in here?” He heard a shuffling sound and walked towards it, finding Kagome sitting in a chair with a book on her lap surprised to see him. “Oh, hello Ms. Tanaka. You’re up late.”

“Sorry,” the woman apologized. “Did I disturb you?” She asked worried that she shouldn’t be there.

“No, no,” he gestured with a wave of his hand. “I was just surprised to see anyone up.”

“Oh,” Kagome flushed. “I um, couldn’t really sleep, so I came in here to read.”

Inuyasha walked closer, looking at the book. “What ya reading?”

“It appears to be a history book about this kingdom. I thought I should learn more about it since I’m here.”

He sat down on a chair across from Kagome. “I see,” he chuckled, “then you’ll probably learn more than I know.”

“What do you mean?”

“Studying and reading was never my thing,” the prince shrugged. “It drove my mom and tutors crazy.”

“Oh,” Kagome giggled, with her hand covering her mouth in gentile fashion. She pushed the book next to her lap on the chair. “So, how was your trip?”

Inuyasha slouched down. “Tiring. Dealing with nobles are either boring or just irritating.”

She laughed again. “I understand.”

“You can?” His brow raised.

Realizing she’d spontaneously made such a statement, Kagome back pedaled. “I mean I can assume it’s not fun. Doesn’t seem like fun.”

“You’re really strange for a commoner you know, especially a female.”

“I-I’m not sure what you mean.”

“It’s just unusual. You don’t talk and act like any that I know. Which isn’t much, but when you speak it’s just different, like take when you talk with my parents, you can hold a proper conversation with them as if you’ve done it before.”

“I, well, I mean it’s probably my mom’s influence. She was around nobles a lot and raised me to reach for higher standards I guess.” Kagome’s voice softened as her anxieties rose. “Does it make you uncomfortable?”

Inuyasha sat up and leaned forward with a soft smile. “On the contrary. It makes you a lot more… intriguing.”

Just the glint in Inuyasha’s eyes, made Kagome’s cheeks heat up. There was intent behind them that made her heart race and body weaken. ‘Pull yourself together girl!’ She swallowed slowly. “A-A good intrigued?”

“A good intrigued. I don’t have a lot of people to talk to here. Servants aren’t generally educated or interesting. Bureaucrats bore me. Miroku I swear all he thinks about is sex. But you remind me a lot of my mother, a combination of beauty and intelligence with a big heart. My niece was lucky to have found you that day in the marketplace.”

If Kagome’s cheeks burned any hotter, she’d look like a tomato from his compliments. “I do adore Rin,” she smiled genuinely. “She’s a bright child that reminds me of me when I was her age. When I’d set out into the world on my own, I never would have imagined ending up like this.”

“It was quite the shock when my brother adopted her,” Inuyasha chuckled. “I’m sure you probably thought the same thing, cause he’s not exactly friendly and yet that girl was able to pull some humanity out that frankly I didn’t believe existed. Rin has a gift for gauging people in a way an adult could spend a lifetime trying to achieve.”

“You really love your niece.”

Again, Inuyasha laughed. “Ask her how grumpy I was when she first arrived.” But a sudden yawn cut him off. “Wow, I really am tired. I guess I should get to bed.”

“I probably should too,” Kagome agreed, or she’d have a hard time waking up for Rin in the morning.

Inuyasha stood up to leave, then hesitated. He walked up to the woman and placed a kiss on her cheek. “Good night, Ms. Tanaka,” he smiled and turned to leave.

“G-Good night, Inuyasha,” she stammered out as her hand reached up unconsciously to touch the spot he’d kissed. ‘Oh… my…’ it tingled against her fingertips. “Um, Inuyasha?”

He stopped and turned his head. “Yes?”

“Please,” her voice full of nervous hopeful energy, “you can call me Kagome.”

Inuyasha’s eyes widened with surprise, but a smile instantly overtook him. “Very well… Kagome. Pleasant dreams.”

Once he was out of view, Kagome buried her face in her hands. What was she thinking?! Though to be fair he started it by being so flirty! ‘It’s just my name!’ Informal, but not world ending. She bundled the book up close, put out the lantern, and rushed back to her room. ‘Get your head together!’ It would be stupid to read too much into this. He was betrothed and just being nice, nothing more. But if only… ‘argh!’ Now she really didn’t think she’d sleep that night!

[writtenmemxries]

5 Ways to Tell Someone You Love and Appreciate Them

I'm back with a Destiel ficlet that I had in the back of my mind for a while. It's fluff, I think. I sincerely hope you like it, let me know what you think if you want! xx

[1894 words]

Castiel hesitated before entering the bunker's library, where Sam sat at one of the tables, searching for something on the computer. A case perhaps, although since Chuck was defeated, the monsters seemed to have calmed down. The world seemed to have finally found its balance, with Jack in charge.

Sam and Eileen had started dating. They often went out to eat in restaurants, to get ice cream, to do all the activities that couples do and for which Dean jokingly teased him.

Actually, Dean envied him. He had managed to find a semblance of normality in that life that had sent them to the mat bleeding so many times. Yet there he was, smiling and serene as he hadn't been for years. Yes, Dean envied him, but he was so damn happy for him.

Castiel was human, and would remain so forever. Or at least, until his death. It had been a necessary sacrifice, but Castiel didn't mind. He extracted every last drop of his angelic grace to use it in the final battle against Chuck. Dean had insisted so much on him not to do it, he was so sure they would find another way, Cas didn't have to give up everything for them. But after all, that's what he's always done, isn't it?

The only thing that Castiel really wanted was to be able to live peacefully with his family, growing old with them. But he didn't have the courage to tell Dean.

There were so many things he didn't have the courage to tell him, and now that he was human - for the second time in his millennial life - the feelings he felt seemed amplified to the nth degree. They were so overwhelming that he felt the physical need to get rid of this weight that crushed his chest every time Dean looked at him, every time Dean spoke to him, whenever Dean was a little too close to him.

So, that morning, Castiel sought out Sam with the intention of borrowing his computer and doing some... personal research.

"Sam?" Castiel called sheepishly, shifting his weight from side to side.

"Yes, Cas?" Sam answered, looking up from the screen to glance briefly at his friend.

"Could you lend me your computer? Not right now, it's not urgent. I just need it to do, um, research."

Sam gave him his full attention. "Uh, sure, no problem. Did you find a case or something?"

Castiel rubbed the back of his neck, a habit he had unwittingly got from Dean. "No, it has nothing to do with cases. I have to... look for something. Information."

"Oh." Sam raised his eyebrows. "All right. Can I help you somehow?"

Castiel eyed him, thinking. "No," he replied simply.

Sam chuckled. "Okay, you can use it now if you want. But if you wanna watch porn, use Dean's computer, please."

Castiel squinted, confused. Then Sam stood up and walked away, patting him on the shoulder.

And so, Castiel was left alone.

He sat down in front of the computer and hesitantly opened Google. He stared at the blank page for a while, not sure what to look for exactly. Eventually, he opted for something simple. After all, Dean had explained to him that it was better to use a few simple words.

So Castiel typed, with the slowness of someone who is not yet familiar with computers, How to tell someone you love them.

He surfed for a while, dissatisfied with the results, until he found a page that seemed to be interesting. 5 Ways to Tell Someone You Love and Appreciate Them.

Slowly, he began to read the list of expressions one could use to say I love you without actually saying it.

1.

"You are special to me."

Dean looked up from the book he was reading, sitting in an armchair. Castiel was looking at him, sitting next to him, holding a book he wasn't paying attention to. He smiled softly, and Dean felt his heart skip a beat. He cleared his throat.

"What?"

"I said you are special to me."

Dean took in a sharp breath. "Yeah, I heard it. Why would you say that?"

Castiel shrugged. He focused his gaze on his book without saying a word, and Dean thought he saw a hint of a blush on his face.

He swallowed, trying to slow his heartbeat. Why was it beating so fast anyway?

He resumed reading, pretending to forget what had just happened. It wasn't important, he didn't care. But the blush on his cheeks said otherwise.

2.

"I feel amazing when I spend time with you," Castiel said with a smile, taking the bowl of popcorn from Dean's hands.

They were alone in the so-called Dean Cave, ready to watch a movie together. Sam and Eileen had abandoned them to go celebrate their five-month anniversary, or some nonsense like that.

"Um, thanks, I guess," Dean replied, unsure why his friend had made that comment.

Castiel continued to smile, taking a handful of popcorn, making it fall more on the couch than in his mouth.

Dean giggled. His heart was beating so hard that he could hear it in his ears.

"It's nice to have you here," he said, shaking his head slightly, as if even he couldn't believe he actually said that.

Castiel looked at him with his sweet blue eyes. "The movie is about to start," he said softly.

"Yeah," Dean whispered. He cleared his throat. "Give me the popcorn, you bastard!"

He tried to focus on the film, but it was difficult as he kept rehearsing Castiel's words in his mind, glancing at him every now and then, focusing on how the light from the TV reflected off his eyes.

3.

"Your thoughtfulness is a delight to receive," Castiel said as Dean placed a jar of honey he bought for Cas the day before on the breakfast table.

Sam looked up from his plate, surprised. He looked at Dean, whose ears were turning red.

"Yeah well, I know how much you like it and how much of a pain-in-the-ass you can be if you don't eat it," Dean muttered. "I didn't go there to buy it on purpose, it was there and when I saw it I thought of you and, um, I bought it, and-" he stammered.

Sam laughed quietly at the bizarre exchange. Dean shot him a cold look.

"Whatever. Just eat the damn thing."

Castiel smiled and took the jar of honey, humming a joyful tune under his breath.

Dean did everything he could to hide the smile that was growing on his lips behind his cup of coffee.

4.

"Your smile makes me smile."

Dean stiffened. Eileen had just told a particularly funny anecdote about Sam, and Dean couldn't help but throw his head back and burst into laughter, making fun of his little brother.

But as soon as Castiel spoke, Dean nearly lost his balance, almost falling off his chair.

Cas was looking at him with so much adoration that Dean felt his insides turn to mush. He was sure his cheeks were on fire. Wasn't it a little hot in that room, too?

Sam and Eileen glanced at each other knowingly and stood up, muttering something about having to go get something in the kitchen.

Dean stood still, his eyes glued to Castiel, who blushed slightly.

"I'm sorry Dean, I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable," he said, looking away.

"What? No, no, you didn't- I don't-"

Castiel got up slowly, his heart pounding in his chest. "It's been a tiring day, I better go to bed."

Dean nodded, remaining silent. "Goodnight Cas," he said then in an uncertain voice.

Castiel gave him a small smile, then disappeared into the corridor.

Dean thought he saw a veil of sadness in his eyes. He swallowed the lump in his throat, along with the guilt he felt, and tried to forget about it.

That night, however, he struggled to fall asleep.

5.

"Don't you think Cas is acting a little weird these days?" Dean asked his brother after Castiel had gone out with Eileen to go grocery shopping.

Sam shrugged. "What do you mean?"

"I don't know, he's been saying weird things. I mean, weirder than usual."

"For example?"

Dean sighed, running a hand through his hair. "Come on, you heard it last night. 'Your smile makes me smile', what the heck is that supposed to mean?"

Sam looked at his brother. Oh Dean. Poor, oblivious Dean.

"What?" he snapped, feeling his brother's gaze on him.

Sam shook his head. "You should ask him. I mean, I can't speak on his behalf, but... Dean, I think Cas is trying to send you... signals."

"Signals, what kind of signals?"

"Seriously, Dean? What kind of signals?"

Dean swallowed. "Cas doesn't like me."

"Well, the evidence says something else," Sam noted before leaving Dean alone and confused, with feelings and sensations he couldn't name.

However, he decided to follow Sam's advice, and as soon as Castiel returned with the shopping bags, he approached to help him, hoping that he could take him aside to talk, but it wasn't that simple. Not only did Castiel avoid his gaze for the rest of the day, but he did what he could to avoid him as well.

So, Dean knocked on his bedroom door that night. He had no idea what he was going to say, and a part of him hoped that Castiel was already asleep, that he didn't hear him, that he wouldn't open the door. But this was not the case.

The doorknob turned, and Dean found himself face to face with the former angel.

"Hey."

"Hello Dean." Castiel turned his back to him. "Do you need something?"

"Um, I..." He took a few tentative steps inside the room, then closed the door behind him. "You okay man?"

Castiel looked at him in confusion, tilting his head to the side as he used to do when he was still an angel. "Yes. Why?"

Dean shrugged casually. "I don't know, you've been a little... weird, lately. I mean, um..."

Castiel tensed. "I apologise if my behaviour somehow made you uncomfortable. It was not my intention."

"No, no, not that, actually, I, um-"

Castiel stared at him curiously. He focused his gaze on Dean's red-tinged cheeks, on his receding eyes, on the way he kept rubbing the back of his neck.

A quick thought went through his mind. What if...?

Slowly, he walked over to Dean. He saw his breathing quicken, his pupils widen.

He was a breath away from him.

"Dean."

Dean closed his eyes, swallowing slowly. "Yeah Cas?"

"I am sorry if I crossed a line, but the truth is... I can be me when I am with you."

Dean opened his eyes, getting lost in the blue of Castiel's, but said nothing.

"And I hope you feel the same," Castiel said in a whisper.

For a moment neither of them spoke, and Castiel felt terribly guilty, like he had it all wrong. He was already about to back off when Dean grabbed him by the shoulders.

"Yeah Cas, I do."

And in an instant, he closed the distance between them. Their lips met trembling, uncertain. Unknown but familiar at the same time.

With a sigh, Castiel smiled. "I love you," he said softly, and Dean smiled back.

[ignorancelive]

FINALLY DOING ALL MY TAG GAMES AAAA  IM SORRY IT TOOK SO LONG TO DO THESE

@whitedeadflower​ |  pick my favourite albums for bill clinton to enjoy

not necessarily my favorites but i always pick the same 5 albums for these so i just put 4 albums i like a lot and have been listening to more recently <3

@opossuwu​ | 15 questions

1. What is the first song you remember hearing?

english songs: either learn to fly by foo fighters or human by the killers, i really cannot remember which one but it was around the same time im pretty sure

spanish songs: ALL the songs on/by rebelde, my sister was super into it when i was a baby so i heard so many of their songs right as i was learning to become a human

2. What is the first band you got into?

mmmmmmm probably one direction? if we’re not counting rebelde lol

3. Do you collect music on any physical format?

i collect almost all cds i know and like on CD and have recently started buying vinyl but i think im only going to get albums i really like on it since its more expensive

4. What is your favourite piece of music-related memorabilia/merchandise?

SO many things. i really like my nirvana and red hot chili peppers shirts because they make me feel cute! im also IN LOVE with the in utero angel sticker i bought on redbubble that has a transparent border so its JUST the angel, i stuck it on my record player and i love it so so much

5. What is your favourite concert you've been to?

i have not been to a concert yet :/ i went to a little student festival thing my university hosted for us and saw hunny + hayley kiyoko which was pretty neat

6. If you could see one artist (or band) who is no longer alive in concert, who would it be?

nirvana :(

7. Have you met any musicians?

i went to a cd signing for little mix when i was like 12-13 ish but thats the closest ive gotten lol

8. What is your go-to song/album when feeling sad?

i actually have a playlist of comfort songs to listen to when im sad, but i think the song i most consistently go to is encore by red hot chili peppers

9. What is your go-to song/album when feeling happy?

this one depends. probably hump de bump also by rhcp cause it SLAPS and always puts me in a better mood than when i started

10. What is one music-related documentary you love?

EYE only watched a few minutes of funky monks but im sure if i sat down to watch it now id love it. this is the worst question to ask me because i watch a ton of interviews on youtube so i cant even remember which ones were legit docus as opposed to just youtube vids so this question is gonna be basically unanswered. i do want to watch bob and the monster though

11. What is one concert DVD that you love?

i listen to it more as an album on spotify than watch it but Nirvana’s MTV Unplugged is so good

12. Do you prefer listening to playlists or full albums?

usually playlists! but occasionally ill play the albums i have on my player

13. Do you tend to listen to albums in order or on shuffle?

in order, shuffling them is rare

14. What is your favourite deep cut song by your favourite artist?

favorite artist is rhcp and honestly im? not fully sure. quixoticelixer slaps. and i like almost every song on im with you. but i think im gonna have to go with storm in a teacup cause i checked its streams and its not that popular </3

15. What is your favorite CD/vinyl/cassette that you own in terms of packaging?

THIS ONES SO HARD I LOVE PACKAGING DESIGNS. i love how rhcp’s im with you disc looks like because it has the track list on it but it doesnt look bad like other discs who do that do. booklet design i love vices and virtues by panic at the disco and american idiot by green day. idk what this would fall under but i also love how stadium arcadium’s booklet is held in the case and how when you take it out you see a picture of the band. and there are too many albums whose art i love so i cannot elaborate on that without making this 5xs longer lmao

@garbanz0​ & @dailywilliams​​ | top 5 songs ive had on repeat recently

according to spotify’s on repeat playlist:

but also according to my last.fm:

so basically red hot chili peppers own my ass

@badhe4d​ , @garbanz0​ , & @catts-world​ | 10 songs you like, each by a different artist

uhhhhhhhhhhh

1. Monarchy of Roses - RHCP 

2. Back and Forth - Foo Fighters

3. Heart of Glass - Blondie

4. Omission - John Frusciante and Josh Klinghoffer

5. Dance with Me - Sir, Please

6. Henrietta - The Fratellis

7. Breed - Nirvana

8. Mary - The Happy Fits

9. Girls and Boys - Blur

10. It’s All So Incredibly Loud - Glass Animals

@psychoticbreak​ |  suppose you’re being sent to a deserted island for the rest of your life, and you can only choose 10 records to bring with you and those are the only albums you can listen to for the remainder of your life; what albums are they

oh GOD ok

1. in utero - nirvana

2. stadium arcadium - RHCP

3. nothing personal - all time low

4. red - taylor swift

5. after laughter - paramore

6. wasting light - foo fighters

7. im with you + im beside you if you count them as the same album - RHCP

8. so wrong its right - all time low

9. american idiot - green day

10. inside of emptiness - john frusciante

@mark-hoppuss​ |  shuffle my playlist and list the first ten songs that come up

1. New Invention - I Don’t Know How But They Found Me

2. Thanks to You - All Time Low

3. Por Que Me Haces Llorar? - Juan Gabriel 

4. Torture Me - Red Hot Chili Peppers

5. Speak Now - Taylor Swift

6. Prayer of the Refugee - Rise Against

7. Going Away to College - blink-182

8. Time-Bomb - All Time Low

9. DNA. - Kendrick Lamar

10. Heaven is a Place on Earth - Belinda Carlisle

@frafru1​ , @whitedeadflower​ , & @psychoticbreak​ | make a playlist with the letters of my name

Lithium by Nirvana

Universally Speaking by RHCP

Pool by Paramore

Eye Opener by Dot Hacker

@badhe4d​ |  post my lock screen, the last song I listened to and the last picture I saved on my phone

friends name blocked out but. an interesting screenshot. yes i have flea’s tweet notifs on and use twitter for absolutely nothing else. yes i have email notifs on 

if screenshots count:

if they DONT count and you mean purely just saving:

my icon and boyfriend <3

@badhe4d​ | 7 questions to get to know me better

three ships: not romantically because i dont believe in shipping irl people but i love everyone in rhcp’s gay polycule energy. specifically john and anthony in the 80s. romantically tho mickey and ian in shameless. i dont think i have a third one? me and my bisexual mutuals <3

last song: i shuffled a ton of songs and skipped for some of these tags but before those i was listening to the album weird kids by we are the in crowd as a tbt, specifically the song manners

last movie: inside by bo burnham but if you dont count that, hereditary 

currently watching: it is very difficult for me to watch shows so im currently just watching youtube lol

currently reading: nothing. i cannot read :( bc of attention issues not bc im illiterate

currently consuming: banana bread :3

currently craving: RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS RELEASE YOUR FUCKING ALBUM CHALLENGE

@the-replacemints​​ |  top 10 favorite debut albums

NOT in order. also it took way too long to come up with this list lol

1. Concentrate - The Happy Fits

2. So Wrong It’s Right - All Time Low

3. SOUR - Olivia Rodrigo

4. Strange Desire - Bleachers

5. RAZZMATAZZ - I Dont Know How But They Found Me

6. Hot Fuss - The Killers

7. Vampire Weekend - Vampire Weekend

8. Bleach - Nirvana

9. Costello Music - The Fratellis

10. WALK THE MOON - Walk The Moon

because theres so many of these im not gonna tag people for each individual prompt but if you tagged me in one of these i tag you in whichever ones you wanna do <3

[pamgkrthwrites]

Flame of Healing | EsaerMic x Reader | Chapter 4 - Arms

Masterlist | AO3

Warnings: Time skip, major cuts, Soulmate AU, Large age gap mention, slight gore(broken bones), mention of death, mention of lost virginity, mention of running away, denying of grief, grief avoidance, a slow chapter. 

Word Count: 2028

Taglist: @stargazingaloneatnight

A/N: I have lesbian plans for Ms Joke, I’ll say that now. I was going to mention this new law in the last chapter but I decided to mention in passing here because we needed to focus more on Oboro. His death will be a big deal for all these three soulmate babies.  Also, I really do not want to write a first time, so it is canon that reader has had a couple of relationships and hookups. ALSO ALSO, the group mention will also play a big part. This is the chapter to foreshadow A BUNCH of shit. Hope you all enjoy.

It had been 4 years since Oboro’s death, 3 years since you finished school and 2 years since you started working for hero agency as a nurse. 

You had been hurting ever since you were told Oboro died. You might not have talked to him in that last year of his life, but that made it worse for you. His was your best friend throughout middle school, and no one was going to replace him. 

You hadn’t bumped into your soulmates since that day in the street either. You heard about Hizashi all the time though. He was very loud and hard to take your eyes from whenever he was on TV. Shouta never appeared on TV though. 

You were all turning 21 this year, which meant only one thing.

Soulmate reveal.

It was a law that passed a year ago in response to people unable to find their soulmate. Your name, soulmates names, quirks, family, job, date of birth, address and a picture of you were on a database. Once the youngest soulmate turned 21, the information on you would be released to the other party. 

The guy who wrote the final draft choice the age 21 because he got his soulmate’s name at 21, but justified as ‘Well what if they want to go out drinking? The age to drink is 21.’ 

America was the country who made it and other countries started to follow suit so that cross country soulmates could still meet. 

This somehow opened up a question most had ignored until now. 

What if someone didn’t want to meet their soulmate or didn’t want to date them?

The Anti-Soulmate movement had grown, and you were apart of the group. The local group would meet once a week and would talk about a wild range of things. A lot of people got up and confessed they met someone before meeting their soulmate and love them instead. Some revealed their age gap with their soulmate grossed them out. Some revealed they had no knows, and didn’t want to be told that they couldn’t love anyone. 

And somehow it turned into a dating hub.

You knew you were being watched, but no one knew your true name. You once again gave up your middle name when meeting people in the group. You had joined in your last year of school and had been dating and doing hookups since. 

You were watching the news, the morning of the 5th of July. The news was talking about the celebration in America about the 4th of July. Then, Hizashi came on.

Your heart sank when you saw his face, heard him speak. His was a public figure so his birthday was already revealed to be in 2 days. 

“Hello, Japan!” He greeted with a wide smile on his face. “America has been going crazy with their party, which I will be able to relate to in a couple of days!” He laughed.

The news anchor smiled. “Yes, I heard your 21st is in two days! Are you excited to meet your soulmate?”

Mic awkwardly laughed. “Funny thing! I met one of my soulmates in UA!” Mic looked at the camera. “Hey Shouta, baby!”

You chuckled, he was a drama queen. He loved the camera, he even started his own podcast.

Even though you didn’t want to meet them, you didn’t move, did legally change your name, and listened in to Hizashi whenever you could. 

“He is the youngest out of us two, but we don’t know if he is the youngest in our soulmates.”

Unlike you, Hizashi became open about his soulmate status, probably to get your attention. Everyone knew he had two names, and he was the most vocal about it. He surprisingly cleared up a lot of horrible rumours about 2 name soulmates and there hadn’t been any slander on them since. 

Well, to your knowledge, you still covered their names up.

“And when is Shouta birthday, Mic?”

You breathed in. You were on the edge of your seat, you needed to know your timeframe to move out of the city.

He smiled. “November 8th.”

4 months, you could move countries in 4 months, right?

---

“Good morning Miss L/N!” Smiled Ms Joke at you as she walked into the building behind you.

You smiled back in return. “Good Morning Senpai, how are you?”

Even though it was not asked of you, you called all the Heroes in the building Senpai. You didn’t call Heroes from other Agencies Senpai, you called them by their hero name. It was kinda wired as Ms Joke was 2 years younger than you.

“You won’t believe who I met last night on patrol!” She smiled with a light blush.

“Who did you meet, Senpai?” You asked as you pressed the button for the elevator. 

“Eraserhead!” She smiled brightly. “He acts like an old grumpy man! Haha.”

You hadn’t heard much of Esaerhead, you knew he was an underground hero who kept to himself.

“What does he look like? I’ve only heard of him.” You state and the elevator doors ding.

“He has messy black hair, unshaven face, tired eyes, and he wears a dark green suit, black boots, and a light grey wrap scarf.” Ms Joke answered as you both stepped into the elevator. You pressed the button to the floor above while she pressed the floor where the heroes training station was. 

You looked back to when you talk to Shouta, the night Oboro died. He wore something like that.

“Does he also wear goggles?” You asked.

Her face lit up and she smiled and nodded. “YES! Have you met him before?!”

Sadly, yes. It was Shouta. He sounded the same since that day, maybe besides the messy hair and tired eyes.

“Kinda, he was just in my friend’s class. Only saw him twice.” You brushed the answer off.

The doors binged opened to your floor and you walked through. Ms Joke smiled and waved you goodbye before the doors closed. 

You weren’t a fan of Joke, you weren’t friends, just saw each other at work enough to know each other names but not well enough to invite places. 

You head over to your station to start off your day as per usual on a Monday morning. 

---

“Hello Listener!”

No.

“Sorry ‘bout this, but I got permission from your agency to get you help.”

Hizashi was standing in your healing booth, with a give bruise down his right arm, possibly broken.

“...That’s fine Present Mic.” You spoke softly. “Sit down and I’ll get started.”

Mic sat down and whined a little at his arm. You sat down next to him and pulled up the fabric of his clothing to see full damage.

“May I ask what happened?” You asked softly as you placed your hand on his arm and activated your quirk. 

Mic whined at the touch but as the bruise started to fade the more willing he was too it. “Yeah I was happily talking to some fans and a baddie ran past so I tried to stop him but he threw me into a building.”

“Ouch. Did the guy get away?” You asked as your deactivate your work and checked his arm to make sure it had been properly taken care of. 

“Nah, some other heroes were there and took care of it.” He answered as he watched you. “Have we met before Listener?”

You stopped and looked up at him. His eyes were so intense and it made you shiver. You wanted to fall and you couldn’t take your hands away from him.

“...Yes, first-year, I was friends with Shirakumo.” You answered softly as you took away your hands.

You both became quite. You both knew the situation around him, and that it was hard on both of you for different reasons.

“I… See…” He said as he tried to avoid the situation. “Do I have to do extra care with my arm?”

You can tell he cringed at asking after such a wired moment. You both were avoiding it and it was best you both got away from it.

“It might be a little tight for a couple of days, so just stretch it and massage it.”

“Great!” He smiled, awkwardly. “May I leave?”

You nodded your head and he zipped past you. You watched him make a beeline to the exist and leave before saying goodbye to anyone. 

You let out a breath, and you noticed how fast your heart was pounding. 

Was that the first time you ever touch one of your soulmates? You didn’t even notice how strong the will to not take your hand away was until he left. Your hand left so heavy yet empty once your hand was away.

You were going to have to go out on Friday night. 

---

You walked into your apartment and left out a deep breath. You kicked off your shoes and dropped your bag to the floor. You face-first into the couch and sighed. You pulled up the couch blanket and turned on the TV.

You groaned and closed your eyes to briefly rest your eyes. 

“There is currently an attack and the underground hero Eraserhead the first responder to the situation.”

Your eyes snapped open and you sat up to watch. 

Your heart dropped once you saw his face, he really was like how Ms Joke described him. He looked so tired. 

You didn’t get to see his eyes - more like you couldn’t because of the goggles. His left shoulder was slightly dripping, making it looked like he was in pain.

You weren’t paying attention to what the anchor was saying, all you could do was focus on Shouta as you started to do soft rubs into his name on your wrist.

You notice him flinch a little regarding his left wrist, he must be feeling the pain in his shoulder down to his arm.

You saw a girl with green hair running towards the fight and try to make the baddie docile. 

Your heart dropped when you figured out it was Ms Joke. 

You quickly took note of what street they were one, noticing they were close by. 

You quickly got up to put on your shoes to start running over there.

---

You got there when the fight looked like it was ending, as police were there and the baddie was tied up with a grey scarf. 

“L/N!” You heard before you were hugged tightly by the woman with green hair.

She let you go and you saw the smiling face of Ms Joke.

“Senpai, are you okay?” You asked as you touched her arm and activated your quirk to heal anything. “I saw you on the news and rushed over.”

“Aww, aren’t you just the cutest thing.” She smiled widely. “I’m fine, nothing too damaged.”

You saw Shouta walking towards you two with a glare in his eye, an angry glare. You made a whining sound and avoided eye contact.

Ms Joke turned and smiled brightly at Shouta.

“Eraserhead! Your shoulder is hurt, right? You can get healed from my lady friend here!”

You briefly looked up at him and he only glared.

“Lady friend?” He asked, raising an eyebrow.

“...Kinda, I am a healer at the agency Ms Joke Senpai works for.” You answered.

He was silent for a moment until he brought out his left arm, your name showing. “Could you-?”

“Of course, it’s my job.” You reached out to his arm and activated your quirk to heal him. You did your best but you couldn’t avoid to briefly touch your name on his wrist.

Ms Joke stared with a big smile as she read your name on his wrist.

When you were done you let go and deactivated your work. “It will be stiff for a day at most, so rest it. Stretch it before training and going out.”

“Thank you.” He said sweetly.

He took a couple of seconds before walking away from you two.

“Hiding from your soulmate, F/N L/N?” Ms Joke teased with a smirk on her face.

You looked up at her and sighed. “Soulmates, Senpai. I am avoiding my soulmates.”

[wefoundloveunderthelight]

The Love Cruise - by GleefullyCaptainSwan 

Read on AO3: Chapter 1 | Chapter 2 | Chapter 3 | Chapter 4 | Chapter 5 | Chapter 6 | Chapter 7

Or on FF

Tagging:   @teamhook @kmomof4 @stahlop @lfh1226-linda

Chapter 7: A Sky Full of Stars

Emma’s eyes squeezed shut as the door creaked closed behind her, letting the latch click quietly in place. She quickly toed off her shoes, setting them down softly in her closet, grabbing a pair of pajamas and tossing them over her head in the darkness of her room. She tiptoed toward her bed, pulling back the covers just as the table light clicked on.

“You did not think you could disappear all night and then try and sneak into bed without an explanation, did you?”

Emma’s shoulders sagged forward with a groan. “I’m not sneaking, I just didn’t want to disturb you.”

She turned to see Ruby sitting up in bed with her arms crossed in front of her.

“We waited for hours for you to show up tonight. Where were you?”

“I’m not a child, I just didn’t feel like dancing.” She sat down on her bed.

“So, you were just out, walking until…” She looked over at the clock. “Oh my God, Emma it’s 4am.” She leaned toward her. “Is that a hickey?”

Emma’s hand instinctively went to her neck. “What? No, of course not.”

“Emma, I know a hickey when I see one, and that one is right above your breast.” Emma looked down, seeing the reddened bruise above her breast line, she blushed, remembering Killian’s mouth sucking on her flesh earlier this evening. “You’re blushing. Oh my God, Emma, who is he? Have I met him? Holy shit, did you have sex?”

“Ruby my God, would you stop with all the questions.”

“Well, I know it wasn’t Graham, cuz he was with me all night asking questions about you. And I thought you didn’t like this Walsh guy?”

“Eww no.” She answered in disgust.

“Ok, so it’s not Graham and it’s not Walsh.”

“I’m not talking about this.” She grinned, lying down on her pillow, and pulling the blankets up over her neck.

“I can’t believe out of all of us, you’re the first one to get laid out here.”

“Good night, Ruby.” Emma protested.

“Emma you have to tell me something, anything.”

“I suppose I should thank you.” Emma laughed.

“Me? What did I do?”

“If it hadn’t been for those condom’s you gave me, tonight would have never happened.” She turned over toward the wall, a smile growing on her face. “Though I’m out now, so I’m going to have to get more from you.”

“Emma, oh my God, I gave you a packet of five.”

“Night Ruby.” She heard her friend mumble and turn off the light. She was sure she would face a barrage of questions tomorrow, but tonight she needed to sleep, her body exhausted, her skin still on fire from the memory of his mouth, the touch of his hands, and the warmth of his body.

~*~

Killian managed to get to the bridge an hour later than he normal would have. “Evening Captain.” His first officer greeted him as he reached the bridge at 4 am.

“Evening, Smee. I apologize for my lateness, I was…” He paused. “Delayed.”

“No problem, sir, it has been quiet tonight.”

“Get some sleep sir, I have the helm.” He dismissed his first mate, taking a seat in the Captain’s chair and staring out at the moonlit water. He was still hours from sunrise, his favorite time of the morning. He should be tired, but he knew he wouldn’t be able to sleep even if he tried. His mind was still on Emma, he had only just left her, but he longed to still be holding her, snuggling into her blonde locks, breathing her in as she nestled into his embrace.

He needed to do something, show her that the night had meant something to him. Beyond the carnal activities she had provided, he enjoyed spending time with the woman, talking to her, getting to know her.

Was that what he was doing with Emma?

Did he intend to get to know her, did he want to continue to know her past these next 8 days?

“Excuse me, Quartermaster?” The man turned toward him. “You are younger than me, you must have experience with members of the opposite sex.”

The man looked at him questioningly. “Yes, sir. I suppose I do.”

“Excellent, if you wanted to tell a woman that you had a pleasant evening with her, without also scaring her off, what would you do?”

“Flowers are always nice, Sir.”

“Flowers, why the bloody hell didn’t I think of that? Thank you, Mate.”

Killian scribbled down directions with a note to Emma and sent it with the Deck Cadet to place the order with the florist. He may not have intended to “hook up” with anyone on board, but he’d be damned if he was going to be anything but a gentleman, now that he had.

~*~

“Can you get your manager or something because I need this taken care of?” Emma stood firmly at the desk, holding the large painting in her hands.

“Yes Ma’am, one moment please.” The woman disappeared behind a door and returned with the man who had approached Killian the night they first met.

“How can I help you Ma’am?”

“As I was explaining to her, this painting was delivered to my room and I need to return it to the owner.”

“I’m sorry, was it delivered to your room by accident?”

“Well, no, it was gifted to me by another guest, but I don’t want the gift.”

“Can’t you just return it to the person who gave it to you?”

Emma exhaled, “I would love to, but seeing as I don’t know his last name, nor do I want to interact with him again, I would prefer you do it.”

“Alright, so you don’t exactly know who the guest is, but you want me to find the guest and give them back this painting?”

“I know who the guest is…well I know his first name.” She paused. “Look, I don’t want this damn thing, do you? Cuz I’d be happy to just give it to you.”

“Is there a problem here?”

Emma squeezed her eyes shut when she heard his voice behind her, spinning around she smiled up at him. “No problem, I just need to get rid of this damned painting, and as I was telling these two, I only know his first name, but I need this to get back to him.” She shoved the note that Walsh had left with the painting into Killian’s hands.

“And as I was just telling the lady, if we don’t know the guests full name then we…” Robin was explaining.

Killian crumpled the note in his hands. “We will take care of it.” he added quickly.

“Exactly. Wait, what?” Robin turned toward him incredulously.

“Please take the information she has, and we will make sure to find the mysterious suitor to return the artwork. If you’ll both excuse me, I have a tour to attend.” Killian nodded to Robin, and then met her gaze, passing the crumpled note back to her before winking and walking toward the atrium.

Emma pushed the painting across the desk, smoothing out the note to lay on top of it, “As you can see by the note, his name is Walsh. I have to go.” She turned and ran off in the direction Killian was headed, ignoring Robin’s protests behind her.

She caught up to him as she turned the corner opening into the large atrium. “Killian.” He turned toward her.

“Emma.” He said with a grin. “Sleep well?”

She bit her lip, “Very.” They began walking through the atrium. “Thank you for assisting back there, I just can’t have that painting in my room anymore.”

“Well at least he didn’t lie in his note to you. You are very beautiful.”

She blushed, “That was not the point.”

“Of course not.” He paused his steps, coming to a halt. “I apologize for needing to leave, but I really do have a tour.”

“I know, I thought I would try and warn you first, I’m in the tour, with my friends.”

“Oh, I see.” He stammered out nervously.

“And my brother.” She added.

“Oh my, and do they…”

“Know that I spent the evening being ravished by the Captain? No.”

He smirked, “Ravished, you say?”

She felt her cheeks heat up before she ran off ahead of him to join her group who were getting an introduction from the ships Cruise Director, Regina, who was leading their tour.

Her friends were waiting for her at the tour start location. “There you are, I wasn’t sure if you were going to skip out on us again.” Will whined as she approached him and wrapped an arm around her shoulder.

“And miss seeing you, never.” She saw Belle standing next to him and smiled.

“I convinced him to take a scuba lesson with me tomorrow.”

Emma peered at Will. “Oh really? I am impressed, you told me you would never do something that required you to breathe under water.”

“Oi, don’t rub it in, I’m still not happy about it.” Emma winked at Belle as he continued to complain.

“Good morning ladies and gentlemen, I am your Captain, Killian Jones and I’ll be joining your tour today, Ms. Mills does an excellent tour and I try and join when I can to answer any of your questions.” His eyes were directed at her, his smile spreading across his face before he quickly looked away. “How many of you have been on a cruise before?” When there were not many hands raised, he laughed. “Seems we are all newbies.” He paused.

“Oi, you mean you’ve never Captain’d a ship before?”

“Not a cruise ship, no, my last job was just a small skip, but before that I was sailing battleships, I can assure you, I am quite experienced and it’s much easier to sail a cruise ship when there are no enemies lurking around the corner.”

“Like pirates?” Will responded and Killian chuckled.

“I haven’t seen any pirates on the waters since we set sail, I’ll be sure to alert you if I see any.”

Emma jabbed her elbow into Will’s side, “Stop harassing him.”

“If we have no more questions, I’ll let Regina lead the way.” She followed him down the hallway, Regina pointing out different parts of the ship, Killian stopping to answer all the questions they had. Regina was a very experienced tour guide, but she preferred her private tour with Killian better.

When they got to the bridge, Emma wandered through the area, stopping to remember the kiss she shared with the Captain at the helm.

“I bet you get all the ladies being a Captain.” Will continued to barrage Killian at every step.

She watched as his head dipped, a blush darkening his cheeks as Regina spoke. “Generally, the Captain is much too busy with the duties of the ship to chase women.”

“Is it against the rules for a Captain to date his passengers?” Ruby flirted in the Captain’s direction.

“It is definitely frowned upon and a rule the Captain employs with all of his crew.” Regina answered once again.

“Too bad, he’s hot as hell.” Her friend whispered into her ear.

“Shh.” Emma looked up to see Killian grinning at her before showing Will how to steer the ship. She could feel her ears burning, pulling her hair over them to hide the blush.

The tour continued to the back of the theater, Regina providing her background as an entertainer on her previous ship while everyone watched the crew building a large staircase for the show that evening. Emma saw Killian standing at the back of the group and quietly made her way beside him.

“A Captain who doesn’t follow his own rules? Interesting.” She said softly.

“It is quite scandalous.” He said, staring straight ahead. “In fact, I broke many rules just sneaking you down to my quarters.”

Her head shot up to meet his eyes, a smirk deviously planted on his face. “You are a bad boy.”

“I am behaving quite terribly indeed. Perhaps we should end this at once?” He sang softly in her direction.

“Considering you have already broken so many rules, it’s not like obeying them now will change anything.”

“Are you suggesting I continue with this disreputable behavior?”

“That depends?”

“On what, love?”

She started to walk back toward her friends before glancing in his direction, “Whether or not your balcony is involved.” He licked his lips and Emma’s heart rate increased as she joined her group, trying to ignore the pounding in her chest. She was playing a very dangerous game.

What was it about this man that made her feel so bold?

“You said you sailed a battleship before, were you in the Navy?” Emma tuned back into the conversation as her brother approached Killian.

“Aye, I was discharged a little more than two years ago.”

“Must be crazy going from a ship like that to a luxury liner. Sailing in the line of duty is much different than doing so for pleasure I would assume.”

“Aye, but there is still much to be done. In the Navy we fight for each other, we sail to survive. Out here, I carry precious cargo that needs to be tended to. Either way, my job is to ensure the safety for all onboard.”

“My brother is a cop, so you are speaking his language.” She joked, inserting herself into the conversation.

“A very commendable profession indeed.” Killian added with a nod.

“Our friend, Graham over there is a Sheriff. Been trying to set my sister up with him all week. She needs a little law and order in her life.”

Emma paled and choked out a laugh. “Ok, enough information David, I’m sure Kil…the Captain is not interested in my love life.” Killian’s devious grin had her nervously shifting on her feet, her arousal making her uncomfortable.

“Good luck in your endeavors for your sister, David.” Killian nodded in her direction and went back to the larger group.

As soon as he was out of range, Emma slapped her brother on the arm. “Oh my God, don’t tell everyone you meet that you are trying to hook me up with random men.” Emma scolded her brother.

“Come on Emma, live a little. Graham would be very suitable for you.”

“That sounds like a code word for boring and not at all interesting to me.”

“Not everyone can be a criminal whisking you off your feet into a life of danger and intrigue.”

She narrowed her eyes, “I made one mistake, that doesn’t mean I need you to control my life going forward.”

He stepped back, “You’re right. I’m just trying to find you a nice man.”

“I can do that on my own.”

“You have a type, Emma. And it’s not usually good for you.”

“I appreciate that you care about me David, I do. And I love you, but please let me handle my own love life.”

“What love life? You avoid men like the plague, I’ve yet to see you interact with anyone on board this ship. I worry about you being alone and Henry not having a father as he grows up.”

“Woah, look, I’m here to have fun, which by the way, I am, thank you for asking, but I’m not here looking for a dad for my kid.” She knew her brother meant well, but he tended to go overboard when he was playing the father figure role. “David, you’re supposed to be here for fun too, not babysit me. You don’t have to take care of me.”

“I know, you’re right. I just want to see you happy. You deserve that. You do so much for Henry, I want you to have something for Emma too.”

“I appreciate that. And I have been talking to people on this trip. You aren’t with me 24/7.”

“Oh really, and who would you be talking to, is it this Walsh guy I keep hearing about?”

“God no, not him. But maybe I’ve been enjoying time with someone, but we are most definitely not going to talk about it.” She winked at him and then grabbed him by the hand, dragging him back to the group.

~*~

Killian managed to get through the rest of the tour unscathed, doing his best to avoid any additional awkwardness with Emma. When the tour ended, he parted ways with the passengers, reluctantly leaving Emma with her friends, joining Regina in the atrium.

“Very well done, you give a great tour.”

“Thank you, I’ve trained hard for this job, it’s nice to hear someone appreciate it.” He laughed lightly, walking toward the Purser desk to check in on Robin. “However, maybe next time you should work on not making eyes with the passengers.”

“I beg your pardon. I was not making eyes at anyone.”

She scoffed. “Whatever you say, Captain.”

“There you are.” Robin announced, popping up at the desk. “How the bloody hell am I supposed to find a passenger with no last name.” he looked up and saw Regina standing next to him. “Hello, love.”

“Good afternoon, Robin. Please tell me what reason we have for trying to find a passenger with no last name?”

“No need, I can find him, I’ve seen him around.” Killian interrupted.

“How do you know who he is based off his first name, there has to be more than one Walsh on board, how can you be certain it is the man who gave this woman a very nice painting?”

“Let me worry about it.” He picked up the painting from behind the desk.

“Do I want to know what any of this is about?” Regina asked.

“I’m not sure I want to know what this is about.” Robin complained.

“For once it’s not you that’s acting shady, Rob.” Regina smiled in Robin’s direction, which caused Killian’s eyebrow to rise in surprise.

“I can if you want me too.” Robin flirted leaning into the counter as Regina tapped her fingers on the desk.

“Maybe after a few drinks.” She turned toward him, ignoring his questioning gaze, and walked away.

“Um, suddenly she’s calling you Rob?” Killian inquired.

“Why do you know who Walsh is? And does this have anything to do with you not attending the crew party last night, or that blonde woman I keep finding you with?”

Killian tapped his ear, realizing it was better for him to retreat than continue his discussion. “Fortunately, I have Captain duties to perform, so I will see you later, Mate.” He shouted over his shoulder, carrying the painting with him as he whistled a tune.

~*~

“Ruby says that you’re a bouncer at the bar you guys work at?” Emma looked up as Graham spoke. She was sitting nervously alone with the man at the bar. Everyone conveniently coming up with plans they had as soon as the two of them sat down at the table.

“Um, yeah, I know it’s not as cool as being a Sheriff or a cop, but I like it.”

“I have never really thought of my job as cool. Frightening at times, but never cool.” He paused. “It doesn’t really give me a lot of time to do things on my own, like date or have a life.”

“Yes, trust me I understand that. I’m not sure if everyone told you, but I have a son at home, he’s six.”

“I think I heard David mention him in passing. That must be difficult to handle on your own.”

“He’s a great kid, and everyone helps out, honestly I don’t know what I would do without my friends. Ruby and her mom babysit all the time. David is always helping out with yardwork and repairs, August gives me time off for parent teacher conferences, soccer games, and Will…” She chuckled thinking about all the times that Will had stepped in to be the father figure Henry needed when he didn’t have one. “Will has been the best friend anyone could ever ask for.”

She smiled at him, he was very attractive, friendly, and she could tell he was an honest and good man. But Emma wasn’t interested in him no matter how much she tried to seek an attraction like her brother and Ruby kept pushing for. Maybe it was because he was too settled, too secure in what he wanted and had in his life. Emma knew that wasn’t fair, she should want that in a man.

“It’s nice to get help from those around you. Perhaps you would have room for others who would be interested in participating in your life.”

“I’m gonna stop you right there, Graham. You seem like a really nice guy…”

“But…” He laughed.

“I’m not really looking for a relationship, I’m not in that place in my head. And you seem like the kind of guy that would want that, and that’s great, any girl would be lucky to get that from you, but that’s just not me.”

“Ah. The kiss of death, you’re giving me the it’s-me-not-you-speech.”

“I’m sorry, that sounds awful. I’m really not an awful person.”

“No, you’re not. Just very honest, which I appreciate.”

“Have I told you how great Ruby is?” She laughed. “Because I have stories for days about why she is deserving of a nice guy like you.”

“Your friend is very nice, honestly the only reason I came over to talk to your group in the first place was because of her, but then she kept talking about you the whole time that I got the impression she wasn’t interested.”

“That sounds like Ruby. She’s always willing to push the good guy to me, despite her own interests.” He looked around the bar awkwardly. “She usually goes to the pool for a late swim on the lido deck about this time.”

“Oh, did I make it that obvious?”

“No need to apologize, please, you won’t offend me if you suddenly feel the need for a swim.”

He excused himself politely with an eager look on his face and Emma headed back to her room, exhaustion finally hitting her from lack of sleep from the previous evening. Turning the corner to her room she spotted Will and Belle exiting his room. When they passed her in the hall, Will’s face was red from embarrassment. “Enjoy your evening you two.” She teased.

“Goodnight Emma.” Belle adjusted her hair, tucking her blouse back together.

She clicked her card at her door and opened it into her room. The first thing she spotted was the giant bouquet of flowers and she groaned as she shut the door behind her. She was going to find out where this Walsh guy was staying and give him a piece of her mind.

She sniffed the flowers, yanking the card from the plastic stem. They were beautiful. Sliding the card from the envelope she peered down, bracing for the next creepy thing Walsh would say to her, only to be surprised by the sender.

“A sky full of stars, and he was staring at her.”

Until we meet again, CJ

Emma stared at the flowers, her heart racing. She lay back on her bed, staring at the card in her hand, a smile on her face reserved only for Captain Jones.