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lookwhatyoumademedohaha · 3 years ago

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The Muses - Chapter 5

Midnight Memories

Pairing - Kaz Brekker x Original Characters, Six of Crows x Platonic Original Characters

Summary - Lily, Isabelle and Dora perform their first and unforgettable concert at the Crow Club.

Warnings - None

A/N - Hey everyone! Again, thank you all for being so kind and patient with me! I have come up with another chapter of ‘The Muses’. This chapter is inspired by the songs of One Direction and Taylor Swift and I’ve done my best to translate the lyrics of ‘Challa’ in Jab Tak Hai Jaan. The music and lyrics belong to all the artists and musicians of each song and I do not credit for them. And thank you for really supporting the story, it means so much to me! Let me know what you think of the story so far and whether you like it!

The day of the Muses first performance had dawned.

Lily, Isabelle and Dora had been awakened early in the morning by an excited Nina and Inej who jumped up and down on their beds getting a few loud colorful curse words from Lily that vibrated throughout the Slat making Kaz raise his eyebrows at the rough and exhausted voice of Lily who was composed all the time cursing like a pirate at Inej and Nina for waking her up at a godforsaken hour when she clearly loved her sleep. Jesper, Wylan, Matthias laughed as they could hear Isabelle threatening to kill Nina and Inej for waking them up while Dora just screamed and cried refusing to get up. But apparently, Nina and Inej woke them up because they were supposed to make it early in the morning to the Crow Club to rehearse before the Crow Club opened for business. After grumbling and complaining, Isabelle, Dora and Lily got dressed and came downstairs to find that Matthias had made them hot waffles that they ate hungrily and they were rushed by Nina and Inej who knew that Kaz had already made his way to the Crow Club to supervise the preparations and would not like it if the girls didn’t get there on time for rehearsals. So all of them had made their way to the Crow Club yawning and grumbling listening to Jesper chatter cheerfully.

Lily was yawning as she entered the Crow Club trying to blink out the sleepiness from her eyes but the sleepiness vanished instantly when she saw the setup that was in front of them that they were to perform in. It was a spacious stage with a ramp in front for them to walk on. There were dark red curtains hanging over the stage and on the sides of the stage was different kind of machines that Lily had never seen before. There were three mic stands on the stage and a platform for the band had been set up with their instruments. The stage had lot of little ramps and staircases where they could sit if they got tired or run down. The stage had enough room for the three of them to move around, sing and dance. Lily’s eyes widened as she looked at the stage where there were people already behind the instruments, their band getting ready. This was beyond what she had expected, this was maddening and crazy and out of the world.

And in the middle of it all was Kaz Brekker standing in his sharp black suit as he glared at men moving boxes.

Lily wanted to hug him but she restrained herself knowing that he wouldn’t appreciate that gesture at all.

Isabelle and Dora were by her side as they took it all in, stunned and amazed as she felt and she heard Isabelle murmur in wonder “It’s really big, isn’t it?”

“It’s literally ridiculous.” said Lily in a disbelieving laugh as she pinched herself because she didn’t want it to be a dream but to her happiness and relief, it was so real. “It’s huge!”

“Wow! Wow!” exclaimed Dora in amazement as her eyes shone with excitement because she couldn’t find the right words to say what they were all feeling. They all really loved music and even though they dreamt of playing professionally, they knew it was really just one of those far off distant impossible dreams. They took playing on the streets as a blessing because it still meant entertaining people and having a good time with each other but now standing here, this was all like their dreams were coming true. To play and sing their music on a proper and beautiful stage had always been one of their impossible dreams and now it seemed so surreal that they were so close to it.

“Oh my god, this is real! This is happening, girls!” whistled Isabelle as she took her sisters hands in her own as all of them laughed in excitement “Fuck, we’re playing on a stage!”

“KETTERDAM MAKE SOME NOISE!” yelled Lily in excitement and happiness as they all laughed as they pulled each other in for a group hug, not seeing Kaz stop supervising and look over at them while Jesper, Wylan, Matthias, Nina and Inej grinned happily at how excited they were as they hooted in reply.

Kaz looked at the three girls who were hugging and squealing jumping up and down in excitement. He knew this must feel exciting for them but he didn’t want to waste anymore time as he approached the three girls who were wearing very casual attire. Dora was wearing a t - shirt and jeans, Isabelle was wearing a hoodie and sweatpants and Lily was wearing a dark blue shirt with a plaid jacket over and grey sweatpants, her hair in an untidy messy bun.

“Alright. Enough messing about. Let’s get started on the rehearsals.” said Kaz in a brisk rough voice as he looked at the three excited girls and pointed at a certain part of the stage “Firstly you enter from there and when the show finishes you will exit from there. And you three will have to separate and move around the stage but eventually come together. Come on up to the stage, we have work to do.”

Lily, Isabelle and Dora nodded as they followed Kaz and Wylan who were mainly in charge of the stage as they showed them the stage and Wylan gave them instructions as to what the machines on the side of the stage were and their different functions were. Some were smoke machines and some were fire machines and others were just confetti machines and Wylan explained the times they would work so they could stay out of the way and be out of harm’s way when the machines worked. They introduced themselves to the band members and back up dancers who were really nice and immediately connected with them. The three of them began rehearsing the song list that they had decided last night as they entered the stage and stayed out of the way of the machines just as they had been instructed and used the stage to their heart’s content as they rehearsed their songs in their own style. Lily was thankful for the rehearsals but she knew that rehearsing to an empty club with only just the Crows and a few other Dregs who were helping out was not the same as performing to a crowd in the Crow Club.

Kaz had thought the rehearsals would be easy. Their singing was great but that was not what was bothering him. Kaz generally knew that musicians were very precise and they wanted to do things properly and not mess anything up. They know exactly what they were going to do and what places to stand on stage and how they were going to sing. But the Muses were nothing like that. It was unbelievably hard to control the three girls who were running around and having a laugh as they sang. In the rehearsals, they were mucking about and Kaz was slightly stressed with them. They were impossible to control and hardly obeyed any of Kaz orders to stay still in a certain place and sing. They simply had to jump and run and laugh and dance. Kaz couldn’t find fault with their singing, it was perfect. It was the stage directions he was worried with. He was getting worried and stressed out that tonight these three girls could muck it up for him and he could lose his precious kruge and he would be the laughing stock of Ketterdam.

The band members and back up dancers and the rest of the Crows didn’t seem to mind their shenanigans that much. In fact, Kaz saw that they were charmed by the Muses who were energetic and enthusiastic. But at the moment as Kaz looked at Isabelle and Dora who were doing a silly dance while Lily tried to balance a water bottle on her head as she talked to one of the band members with a grin, he felt that this could lead to disaster.

“I think come show time, we’re ready.” said Isabelle with a laugh as she looked at Kaz who wore a blank expression when it was decided that the rehearsals were almost over.

Lily handed over a bottle of water to Dora as she looked in amusement at Kaz who she believed didn’t approve of their behavior on stage as she decided to tease him “I don’t think you’ve been good enough today, Mr. Brekker. You’ve let everybody else do the work for you.”

“That’s what he does. He’s the boss.” replied Jesper with an amused laugh at how Kaz looked absolutely cross and exasperated with the three girls.

They rehearsed again once more as they got familiar with their surroundings. Kaz saw that all three of them were doing a great job but Lily seemed to be nervous. The rehearsals progressed more from singing into the three girls just talking and laughing with their newfound best friends who were their band as Lily strummed the guitar and Isabelle sat at the drums where the drummer was trying to teach her how to play while they joked around and chatted about the show. Lily felt more at ease with them knowing that there were people who loved music as much as she and her sisters did.

Their little chat session had been broken up by Kaz who decided to clear it up before the Crow Club opened and get the three girls back into the Slat.

Kaz was out for most of the day at the Crow Club but as the evening progressed Lily, Isabelle and Dora felt nervous. They had heard their first show was already sold out and there were more people clamoring outside the Crow Club wanting to see them. It was mind blowing to them how they had been just three normal girls with a few regulars who always visited them as they performed on the streets of Ketterdam and now they were about to sing properly on a real stage to a crowd who had paid kruge out of their wallets to come and hear them sing.

“What do you reckon it will be like?” asked Isabelle in a small voice as she shook her right leg nervously thinking of the crowd as it dawned on her properly that this was a real gig. “It’s mad, isn’t it?”

“I wonder what it will be like to perform for all those people in the Crow Club. I wonder what it would look like when it’s all lit up and they are dancing around like no one is watching them. I wonder what it would be like to get lost in it all night and never want it to end.” said Lily reflectively and quietly, her eyes dreamy as she thought of the amazing opportunity that lay only a few hours away from them.

“It would be just awesome.” said Dora in excitement as she looked at her sisters “I mean, singing in the streets was great but on the stage.... it felt different. I felt different up there.”

Lily and Isabelle agreed as they silently nodded and Lily took in a deep breath “Whatever it is, tonight we go up there and give the the best show of their lives that they will never forget us!”

“HELL YEAH!” cheered Isabelle, all her worries and doubts forgotten as she put her hand in front of her.

“I’M IN!” exclaimed Dora firmly with a bright grin as she put her hand on top of Isabelle’s.

“LET’S DO THIS!” said Lily, her heart pumping but she was excited and ready to give a performance that those men and women out there would not forget.

After that, they felt more confident as Inej and Nina began to style them, helping them get ready as they slipped into their concert outfits as they joked around and laughed cheerfully, ignoring the slight nervousness in their stomachs. Inej was in charge of the hair as she tied Dora’s pretty blonde locks into a ponytail, braided Isabelle’s hair prettily and let loose Lily’s dark chestnut brown hair. It was fun and amazing as they finished dressing up. Then Inej and Nina escorted them to the back entrance of the Crow Club but the three of them could hear the sound of excited chatter and laughing as they exchanged nervous glances with each other.

They heard someone say backstage as they passed “The Crow Club is more crowded than usual. I hear there’s more people trying to get past the bouncers.”

Lily could feel her hands sweating because at the thought of playing in front of all those people who had come just to see the three of them, it was making her nervous. She really didn’t want to disappoint or let anyone down. But Inej was understanding and Nina heard their hearts pumping in nervousness, they looked at the three sisters who were incredibly nervous.

“Look. You’re going to go out there and be wonderful! We know it!” said Nina encouragingly as she hugged all three of them.

Inej nodded “They are going to love you!”

It was a dark backstage as someone handed the three of them their mics and the three sisters immediately put their hands on top of each other as they looked into each other’s eyes feeling that rush of nervousness but also solidarity to be there for each other and their love for music coming through as they chanted “Come on, let’s do this. We love each other, we’re not going to give up, we’re not going to give in and we’re going to have a great time!”

They took their places as they heard the intro music begin to play as they exchanged amazed and nervous glances and smiles with each other when they heard the cheers and they took a deep breath when the curtain opened revealing them as they felt a rush of adrenaline and excitement that they had never felt before in their life as the lights almost blinded them and they smiled brightly in amazement looking out into the massive crowd that cheered when they glimpsed the three girls.

Kaz was at the seat in his private parlor with the best vantage point to observe the concert with the rest of the Crows as the concert finally started. The Crow Club was dark for a few moments as the music began to play and then the lights began to flash and then the backup dancers took their places. The audience began to cheer as they felt aroused by the mystery wanting to see who they had really come to see... The Muses. And in that moment of waiting and mystery, the curtain began to open and the three girls were revealed and the crowd went crazy as they began to cheer more loudly for the three girls who grinned brightly. Kaz saw that Dora was wearing a sparkling green dress, Isabelle was wearing a glittering red dress and Lily was wearing a short sleeved dark glittering black top with a silky purple skirt that reached her knees and a glittering silver coat.

Kaz shot a look at Nina who looked perfectly innocent “Nina! I thought we discussed that they were to be wearing matching dresses!”

“They didn’t want that. It didn’t suit their personality.” said Nina with a shrug “They didn’t feel comfortable and they quoted it would be weird to be matching each other.”

But the show had already begun as the spotlight shone on the three girls and Lily summoned all her courage as she began to sing “Straight of a boat into Ketterdam.”

Lily paused as the crowd cheered and she grinned feeling more confident in herself as she began to sing again “Just touched down you can never tell.”

“A big house party with a crowded kitchen.” sang Lily more confidently as she tried to get used to the blinding lights and the deafening cheering of the crowd as the three of them walked down the ramp onto the stage with bright smiles “People talk (shh) but we don’t listen.”

“Tell me that I’m wrong but I do what I please. Way too many people in this crowded city.” sang Isabelle charmingly as she waved at the people in the crowd with a wink “Now I’m at the age when I know what I need, oh, whoa!”

The three sisters felt more confident knowing that they were there with each other on stage as they began singing powerfully as they danced to the beat “Midnight memories! Oh, oh, oh!”

“Baby you and me, stumbling in the street, singing, singing, singing, singing!” sang Isabelle, Dora and Lily confidently as they looked at each other with bright smiles, excitement twinkling in their eyes, feeling that unfamiliar thrill rush through them “Midnight memories, oh, oh, oh! Anywhere we go, never say no! Just do it, do it, do it, do it!”

The music continued to play but Lily decided to address the crowd who was absolutely clapping and cheering and waving their hands in their air as she enthusiastically said “HELLO AND WELCOME TO THE CROW CLUB EVERYONE!”

Everyone cheered enthusiastically and energetically and it was absolutely unbelievable to the three of them that this was happening as Lily exchanged amazed glances with Isabelle and Dora who were grinning in astonishment at the warm welcome they were already receiving as she said “GOOD EVENING! I’M LILY!”

“I’M ISABELLE!” introduced Isabelle with a cheeky smile and cute wink making everyone in the audience swoon.

“AND I’M DORA!” said Dora energetically as she waved happily to the crowd who cheered for them once more.

“AND WE ARE THE MUSES!” they said together with breathless smiles and Isabelle winked at the crowd once again “Let’s make some midnight memories tonight!”

The crowd cheered in agreement as they clapped and the music resumed once more as Dora began singing in her sweet voice while her sisters danced to the lively song “Five foot something with the striped coat. Don’t look back, baby follow me! I don’t know where I’m going but I’m finding my way. Same old crap but a different day.”

“Tell me that I’m wrong but I do what I please. Way too many people in this crowded city.” sang Isabelle beautifully as she looked in amazement at the smoke machines producing a misty effect while the fire machines went off producing flames and fireworks that were crazy while Dora and Lily were absolutely enjoying the song “Now I’m at the age when I now what I need, oh, whoa!”

“Midnight memories! Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh! Baby, you and me, stumbling in the street, singin', singin', singin', singin!” sang Isabelle, Dora and Lily together in excitement and beautifully in harmony and Lily looked at the crowd who was already connected and excited as her eyes flitted across men and women clapping and cheering and dancing to the Crows who were absolutely gone mad as they jumped up and down cheering and singing along with them as they grinned encouragingly and happily at the three girls. Lily’s eyes were fixed on Kaz Brekker who was looking at her quietly and reflectively with no expression but his lips were slightly twitching. He was not dancing or jumping up and down or cheering and clapping like the rest of them. In the haze of the blinding lights, she couldn’t make anything else out, but she was glad that he was here. “Anywhere we go, never say no, Just do it, do it, do it, do it!”

“You and me and all our friends, I don’t care how much we spend, baby this is what the night is for!” sang Dora as she jumped up and down running towards her sisters who were dancing in joy and excitement.

“I know nothing’s making sense but for tonight let’s just pretend.” sang Isabelle as she approached Lily who was absolutely flushed with the thrill of performing, her nervousness gone as she encouraged the audience to cheer and sing.

“I don’t wanna stop so give me more, oh, woah!” sang Lily powerfully hitting a high note as Isabelle and Dora admired her voice with bright grins while the rest of the crowd cheered in awe and amazement.

“SING IT!” encouraged Isabelle as she pointed her mic at the crowd who joined in with all three of them as they began to clap to the beat “Midnight memories, Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh!”

“Baby, you and me, stumbling in the street, singin', singin', singin', singin'” sang the crowd, Jesper, Wylan, Nina, Inej, Matthias as they clapped along with Isabelle, Dora and Lily who were lost in the thrill and excitement of the song while Kaz observed in surprise that this first performance was not a disaster, it was actually becoming amazing as the crowd loved it and he found himself loving it too but he restrained and controlled himself as the Muses finished “Midnight memories! Oh, oh, oh, oh, OH! Anywhere we go, never say no! Just do it, do it, do it, do it!”

And with that finish, the crowd burst into absolutely deafening applause as they cheered for a disbelieving Lily who was still having a hard time believing that this was all real, a breathless Isabelle who was grinning in amazement and a wondrous Dora who was amazed that they had actually performed a song without failing on stage and people loved them. They looked at each other with breathless and happy smiles knowing that they were thinking exactly the same thing, that all of this was mad and surreal for three country girls to take in as they savored this moment where everyone loved them.

Kaz wanted to clap. But he nodded in approval as he looked at the three sisters who were absolutely mind blown by the love and cheers they were receiving. Kaz had observed them at rehearsals and seen that they were nervous especially Lily since none of them had experience in performing on stage but for their first time they had performed exceptionally well. He needed them to keep this kind of exceptional performance going on so that he could earn his kruge and get the pigeons coming to watch them. And in a moment of vulnerability, he felt proud of them. He felt proud of the three girls who had come from singing on the streets to conquering their fears on stage because he had really not believed that they could do this. He looked at Lily who was wearing a disbelieving expression as if she was having a hard time believing that all this was real. He laughed internally. This was not a dream. This was real and she was very much living it. He knew that Lily had been nervous but on stage she had grown more and more confident as she started to sing.

They had moved to the next song as the crowd cheered as Isabelle began the song in a powerful as she wore a sassy expression that captivated the attention of the crowd “We’re all bored. We’re all so tired of everything. We wait for trains that just aren’t coming.”

“We show off our different scarlet letters. Trust me mine is better.” sang Isabelle with a wink as she tossed her hair making her sisters grin.

“We’re so young but we’re on the road to ruin. We play dumb but we know exactly what we’re doing.” sang Dora as she made her way down the ramp, her eyes glittering as she pretended to cry “We cry tears of mascara in the bathroom. Honey, life is just a classroom.”

Kaz paid attention to this particular song. It was an interesting song because it hid harsh truths behind its pretty tune. To him, it felt like it was describing Ketterdam and all of its ugliness and despair and the acts of violence that he would commit along with the other monsters that hid in the dark. Life was a classroom. Life in Ketterdam was a better teacher about the harsh truths and the cruel darkness than any school that he had gone to.

Ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah! 'Cause baby, I could build a castle, out of all the bricks they threw at me!” sang Lily, Dora and Isabelle together as they danced with each other while everyone in the crowd cheered and clapped oblivious to Kaz’ inner turmoil as he listened to the deep lyrics hidden behind the lively tune. He gripped his crow cane tightly remembering how he had built his empire quietly as he kept saying those words that had kept him sane...’Brick by brick, I will destroy you’. And he had destroyed Pekka Rollins. Every challenge thrown his way, every obstacle he faced was a brick to build his castle, his empire where he was the King of Ketterdam. “And every day is like a battle! But every night with us is like a dream!”

“Baby, we're the new romantics. Come on, come along with me. Heartbreak is the national anthem, we sing it proudly!” sang Isabelle, Dora and Lily happily and sweetly as Jesper and Wylan danced with each other and Matthias twirled Nina around while Inej clapped in admiration as she jumped up and down in excitement at how beautiful and amazing the three girls were as all of the Crows cheered for them except Kaz but he hid his admiration well “We are too busy dancing, to get knocked off our feet! Baby, we're the new romantics. The best people in life are free!”

Kaz mused that everything was free if one took it without permission but the deafening cheers and happy claps and yells and the dancing was pulling him out of his thoughts as he focused on the three girls who were captivating the crowd very well as they sang beautifully.

“We’re all here, the lights and noise are blinding. We hang back, it’s all in the timing.” sang Dora beautifully as she pointed at one of the men at the gambling tables who cheered while Isabelle and Lily kept a sharp eye on her as the fire machines and confetti cannons burst once again exciting the crowd “It’s poker, he can’t see it in my face but I’m about to play my Ace.”

“We need love but all we want is danger.” sang Lily alluringly as strands of her chestnut hair fell onto her face but she grinned at the cheering crowd as she danced with one of the backup dancers but then her eyes fell on Kaz who was watching her intensely as she felt slightly breathless but blamed it on the effort it took to sing as she smiled brightly at him “We team up and then switch sides like a record changer.”

If there was a song to describe their heist into the Ice Court, perhaps this would be it, Kaz mused in slight amusement as he listened. Not just the Ice Court, their whole life as Crows, as Dregs living and fighting to survive and win in Ketterdam.

“The rumors are terrible and cruel but honey, most of them are true.” sang Lily captivatingly and powerfully, her eyes still on Kaz and he suddenly felt transparent as if she was singing to him and her eyes glittered in knowing amusement and confidence as her face glowed in excitement of doing what she loved the most in the world.

“Ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah! 'Cause baby, I could build a castle, out of all the bricks they threw at me!” sang Isabelle, Lily and Dora beautifully and powerfully with lovely smiles and shining eyes as they looked over at the crowd who were cheering and singing on the lyrics that they had picked up on. It was the most incredible and indescribable feeling for the three of them to have a crowd of people sing back the songs that they sang with them. “And every day is like a battle. But every night with us is like a dream!”

Kaz observed that it was certainly a dream to the people who cheered and clapped for the three girls who were entertaining them with their singing as they distracted and thrilled the silly pigeons into emptying their coffers into Kaz’ pockets. Tonight, it was all sold out and Kaz’ investment had worked out. According to one of the Dregs, there were more people waiting outside wanting to see the Muses, wanting to see what the fuss was about and Kaz was delighted with the results. Now this was his dream come true, kruge lining his pockets thanks to these three girls who were absolutely great experts at thrilling and distracting sailors, men, women, children, merchants and gamblers who were in the Crow Club captivated and allured by their performance.

“Baby, we're the new romantics. Come on, come along with me. Heartbreak is the national anthem. We sing it proudly. We are too busy dancing, to get knocked off our feet.” sang Isabelle, Dora and Lily delighting the crowd as they waved at them and smiled at them beautifully, earning happy and excited cheers “Baby, we're the new romantics. The best people in life are free!”

“Oh - oh, Oh, oh, oh-oh, oh” echoed Isabelle and Dora as they smiled at Lily who was walking through the stage as she gestured towards the audience enrapturing them “So, come on, come along with me!”

“Oh, oh, oh-oh, oh” echoed Isabelle and Dora once more as Lily joined them as she sang angelically with a carefree smile at the crowd who cheered as they wrapped their arms around each other and looked at each other with mischievous and happy smiles “The best people in life are free!”

“Oh, oh, oh - oh, oh.” echoed Isabelle and Dora again as Lily took a deep breath as she began in a low but alluring voice as the music slowed “Please take my hand and please take me dancing and please leave me stranded, it’s so romantic...it’s so romantic.”

“Oh ‘cause baby, I could build a castle out of all the bricks they threw at me! And every day is like a battle but every night with us is like a dream!” sang Isabelle as she waved at the crowd, Dora as she smiled at the cheers and Lily as she twirled around dancing to the music as they met each other’s eyes and Lily briefly managed to get Dora out of the way of one of the fire machines as she sang. “Baby, we’re the new romantics, come on, come along with me! Heartbreak is the national anthem, we sing it proudly!”

“We are too busy dancing to get knocked off our feet!” sang Isabelle, Lily and Dora in perfect harmony as they danced wildly with happy grins on their faces as they wrapped their arms around each other and looked at the Crows seeing them sing and dance along to their song “Baby we’re the new romantics! The best people in life are free!”

The burst of cheers was deafening them and they couldn’t help the stupidly happy grins that made their way to their faces as they stared at the crowd of faces that cheered for them as they felt incredible shock and amazement and disbelief that this was really happening.

“This is madness.” said Lily with a grin that lit up her entire face.

“Do you think we’re just in a really good dream and will wake up any second?” asked Dora from her sisters who laughed in amusement.

“Saints, I hope not!” exclaimed Isabelle as she ruffled Dora’s hair affectionately “I don’t ever want this to end!”

“Well, if this is a dream by any chance, let’s make every moment count!” said Lily in determination as she smiled brightly and excitedly at her sisters who nodded with grins.

“ALRIGHT IS EVERYONE READY TO HAVE A GOOD TIME?” yelled Isabelle almost deafening Kaz but the Crows and the rest of the crowd cheered in agreement while Lily and Dora opened their water bottles and began to drink.

“I SAID IS EVERYONE READY TO HAVE A GOOD TIME?” yelled Isabelle once again getting everyone in the crowd pumped up as they screamed and cheered loudly and Kaz considered getting some earplugs for the next performance.

“THAT’S MORE LIKE IT!”

They began to sing the next song and everyone cheered as they started to sing and Inej squealed in excitement as Lily began to sing as she cheered for her friend “Oh my Saints! I knew it! I knew they were going to be amazing!”

“Everyone loves them!” exclaimed Nina not surprised at all because these three girls had the most beautiful, gorgeous voices and their stage presence was charming and funny as they paid attention to their crowd.

Kaz privately agreed as he watched glad that his investment had paid off, his kruge in making the first show as grand as possible had not gone to waste because these three girls were making it all worth while. So far it was not a disaster, they had not been liable to accidents with the fire machines and their singing was very good that had the crowd charmed.

“Is that a surprise? They are really awesome!” yelled Jesper over the music as he danced wildly to the beat with Wylan who was cheering for the three girls.

“I wouldn’t think this was their first performance on stage.” remarked Matthias in admiration as Isabelle sang with a dramatic flair while Dora and Lily were talking and giggling with each other much to Kaz’ exasperation. They were supposed to be paying attention, what if they missed their cue to sing? But to his relief and surprise, Dora picked on exact time the lyrics she was supposed to sing as she smiled at Lily who was swaying to the music and listening to her sister sing in admiration.

It was not that Kaz doubted their talent, he believed that they were very talented, wasting their voices on the streets when they could be doing better with a little bit of polishing up on stage. The three sisters had wonderful and beautiful voices that allured and enraptured the crowds making them popular among Ketterdam for their songs that gave a warm and welcoming aura of happiness and home which was something very rare in the ugliness of Ketterdam. Kaz had thought of polishing their act to perfection but the girls were musicians who were very hard to control as they sang to their heart’s content, running around the stage like children doing whatever they wanted as they decided to reject choreographed dance moves and opted to dance ridiculously and weirdly making Kaz feel horrified at the impending reaction of the crowd. But to his surprise, the crowd absolutely loved it. They loved how the girls were unpredictable and childish on stage rather than perfect and polished. They cheered every time Lily, Dora and Isabelle changed the lyrics into something funny or danced in a silly and carefree manner to the beat of the music and realized that this was their appeal. People were loving them because they weren’t afraid to be carefree and have a fun and good time doing what they loved the most.

Kaz had also told Lily, Isabelle and Dora that they could engage with the crowd but it would be safer for them if they didn’t speak with them. But Kaz was beginning to realize that these three sisters liked defying his orders as they spoke to the crowd throughout the show as they joked and laughed with them charmingly. When they sang their songs, Lily, Isabelle, and Dora would smile, wave and interact with the crowd when the other were singing. When Isabelle had first addressed the man in the crowd, Kaz’ eyebrows had raised and skyrocketed because there was a chance that everything could go to hell with what she was saying.

“There’s a man here who has been making out with his girlfriend so much during the show.” said Isabelle casually during one of their breaks as she pointed at a man who broke apart kissing a woman while Dora and Lily who were talking with some of the others in the audience chuckled at Isabelle’s remark. Kaz thought that for one moment, the crowd would turn against all of them but to his surprise, the crowd heartily laughed and cheered while the man gave Isabelle a thumbs up.

“PUT HER DOWN!” yelled Isabelle with a charming grin while the rest of the crowd cheered in appreciation and laughter as Lily, Dora and the Crows laughed “LEAVE HER ALONE!”

Now the man and woman were laughing along with the crowd as they waved at Isabelle who grinned at them “She wants to watch the show!”

Kaz could hear and see Dora and Lily laughing and was relieved that the crowd hadn’t booed and it wasn’t a disaster yet and Lily approached Isabelle as she looked at the man and woman sitting together “Are you on a date?”

Kaz almost choked on his drink at the question as the rest of the Crows began laughing uproariously as Lily awaited the answer and saw the couple nod “How long have you two been together?”

Lily could make out the woman saying “Years.”

“We need a number.” said Isabelle cheekily as she looked at the couple as Lily nodded while Dora grinned not seeing Kaz shoot them an exasperated stare because instead of singing, they were chatting casually with the crowd. “Oh, three years!”

“How’s it going? Is he nice to you?” asked Lily politely and sweetly as she looked at the couple and the woman smiled and nodded her head with a laugh and then she looked at the man “Is she nice to you, sir?”

The man grinned as he gave her thumbs up and then Lily exclaimed loudly “THEN KISS HER YOU IDIOT BEFORE SOMEONE ELSE DOES!”

Jesper, Wylan, Inej, Nina, Matthias, Isabelle and Dora started laughing as the man kissed the woman once more at Lily’s silly words while Kaz rolled his eyes wondering where this show was going. Everyone cheered loudly and enthusiastically and the Crows laughed uproariously as the three girls cheered and laughed with the couple.

Dora was giggling as she pointed a boy who were embarrassed shaking his head “He’s so embarrassed!”

Isabelle was doubled down in laughter as she buried her head on Lily’s shoulder “He’s like ‘I don’t know them!’”

Lily talked to the boy and the man and woman politely and was informed the boy was the son of the man who had newly wed the woman.

“Yeah. Was that embarrassing for you?” asked Lily as she looked at the boy who was obviously their son and very embarrassed by his parents public display of affection. The boy nodded his head in fervent agreement as he looked away from his parents who were laughing. “How embarrassing was that for you?”

“Very embarrassing.” replied the boy who was clearly not comfortable with his parents display of affections but he liked these three girls.

“SO KISS HER AGAIN!” exclaimed Lily with a mischievous grin as she gestured at the parents who didn’t hesitate to kiss each other and the boy hid his face behind his hands in embarrassment while Isabelle and Dora laughed in amusement.

“OH THAT’S LOVELY!” laughed Lily in amused at the boy’s will to want to die immediately and how the parents were so in love as everyone cheered and laughed along. The three girls did not see the Crows shake in laughter or Kaz lips twitch in amusement at how Lily was being a completely bubbly and playful idiot hellbent on embarrassing the boy in front of everyone.

“What’s your name?” asked Lily with a kind smile from the really embarrassed boy who looked like he wanted the floor to swallow him and the boy had to yell out his name amidst the noise for them to hear it “Dimitri?”

Lily grinned brightly and mischievously at Dimitri as she teased him “Dimitri is so embarrassed. He’s like Dad! Mom! Come on, stop it!”

“Dimitri, that’s how you were made.” teased Lily playfully with a mischievous glint in her eyes making everyone roar in laughter.

Kaz wondered how these three girls had managed to turn a well planned professional singing concert into a Comedy night in the Crow Club.

“Here at The Muses we love love! We want to spread it around! Turn to the person next to you and I want you to kiss them and tell them you love them and give them a big hug!” exclaimed Lily as she ran her hand through her hair laughing when she saw Jesper snogging Wylan, Nina kissing Matthias while Kaz rolled his eyes at them and then the Crows hugged each other. Kaz couldn’t hug any of his Crows because he struggled with touching, feeling that nausea rise but he was really trying. But none of his Crows pressured him as they showered him with words of how much he was loved by them while he rolled his eyes at them trying to suppress a smile but shooting an exasperated glare at the girl responsible for starting a mass love fest in the Crow Club “If this is your first kiss, then I apologize. But please spread the love!”

Kaz had expected the crowd to laugh at their idea of spreading love because in Ketterdam people considered pointing a gun at each other as a handshake and a lovely murder as a kiss. But to his surprise, the crowd genuinely embraced the idea as they hugged the people next to them and couples kissed each other lovingly. The girls had a genuine impact on the crowd who seemed to genuinely want to spread the love. Kaz shuddered at living in Ketterdam where everyone was hugging one another and warm and fuzziness reigned. The three girls cheered as the people genuinely hugged one another and Kaz wondered whether he was dreaming. What kind of enchanting spell of magic were these girls practicing?

“First of all, we have to just say a massive thank you for everyone here for being so bloody amazing and so loud and getting so involved with the show that’s being going on so far!” said Lily gratefully and warmly in disbelief and wonder as she looked at the cheering and applauding crowd who were absolutely amazing “You’ve been absolutely incredible - huh? What?”

Lily had seen a blonde girl jumping up and down calling her name as she looked at her in confusion trying to make out what she was telling her and Lily laughed in amusement “You’re jumping up and down but you’re not saying anything! I don’t know what you want!”

“Oh... you need some what? - water! You need some water!” exclaimed Lily in a sassy accent finally managing to read the girl’s lips as she jumped up and down in excitement, nodding in agreement.

Lily grinned at the blonde girl as she shrugged carelessly “We’re in the Crow Club, love. If you want a water bottle or drinks, you can go to the bar and pay for it.”

Kaz’ lips twitched in approval as his eyes gleamed in amusement at Lily’s comeback as Lily said to the crowd “That was the most toughest I’ve been in seventeen years. I’m finally a true Ketterdam native!”

Everyone cheered and clapped and the Crows whistled and cheered for Lily who was laughing as she said “I only knew that because I asked for some water earlier in rehearsals and someone said to me, the bar is over there, go and pay for it.”

That someone had been Kaz Brekker who didn’t want to waste providing water for rehearsals so he had curtly told Lily to go to the bar and she had glared at him but resigned herself to buying water from the bar. Kaz knew Lily was secretly calling him out and saw Lily looking at him with a mischievous gleam in her eyes as he slightly shook his head in exasperation and quirked his eyebrows at her signaling that he wanted them to go on with the show.

Another man yelled something to her in excitement diverting her attention from Kaz and she smiled at him “Sorry? Sir, are you having a good time?”

The man nodded in absolute enthusiastic agreement as he yelled something energetically at Lily who was still having trouble making out what people were saying amidst the deafening cheers and blinding lights “Sorry? What? What are you saying?”

“TAKE OFF YOUR CLOTHES!”

Lily was taken aback by the lewd remark that came from the man’s mouth that curved into a crude smile that she froze in shock and anger at the absolute disgusting thoughts of the man that he had the audacity to voice in front of everyone and humiliate her. She felt humiliated and really wanted to throw her mic at the man’s head or better yet jump off stage and punch the living daylights off the man as her grip tightened around her mic and her eyes darkened in anger. But as she drew a sharp intake of breath, Lily remembered where she was and what she was doing. She was very publicly singing with her sisters at the Crow Club which was her job and if she reacted in anger, Kaz Brekker wouldn’t be pleased and they would all lose their jobs just because of her anger.

So Lily had to grit her teeth and take a deep breath as she curved her lips into a pleasant smile as she replied humorously “You need to calm down! You need to stop that right now! This is a respectable show!”

Everyone cheered to Lily’s relief as she said in disgust with a pleasant and lovely smile that Kaz had seen her wear right before she punched Rotty “Ladies and gentlemen, I give you permission to boo at that dirty man.”

Everyone started booing immediately and loudly, Inej, Wylan, Jesper, Matthias, Nina booing the loudest among them and then Lily yelled with a grin surprised at how easily everyone succumbed and obeyed her words as she tried to calm down the crowd “Actually, let’s not boo. Everyone outside must be thinking how terrible we are. Now cheer if you are having good time!”

Everyone started cheering and clapping, the lewd man forgotten as the three sisters moved onto the next lively and upbeat songs tactfully. But there were certain people in the crowd who had not forgotten that insult to Lily. Inej was looking protectively in concern at Lily, Jesper and Wylan were wearing equal expressions of disgust directed at the man, Nina had the urge to stop his heart beating and Matthias wanted to teach that man some manners on respect and ensure that Lily was alright.

Kaz gripped his cane in that unfamiliar anger as he glared at the man who had yelled out the lewd and disgusting remark to Lily. Kaz had seen Lily freeze in innocence and shock for a few moments, her hand clenching around her mic in anger but her reaction had surprised him as she reacted charmingly and pleasantly with a hint of iciness saving the show as she calmly controlled and hid her true emotions but Kaz knew that she felt humiliated and angry.

Kaz looked at Lily singing powerfully as if nothing had happened earlier, her skin glowing under the lights as her hips swayed to the beat earning cheers and applause from the crowd especially from the men who was looking at her with desire in their eyes. Lily was extremely gorgeous that night and from the moment she had entered the stage, he could not take his eyes off her. At that very moment Lily met Kaz’ eyes and shot him a small smile reassuring him that she was fine as she continued to sing and entertain the cheering crowds. Kaz was thankful that the bright lights only extended to the stage as he slightly lifted the corner of his lips and nodded at her in approval. Lily grinned back brightly and took her eyes off him as she made her way towards her sisters who were dancing to the beat of the song.

Kaz was still looking at her on stage. Even when Lily wasn’t singing, she had something that allured everyone to her as she smiled and talked back with the crowd and waved at them politely and kindly. But Kaz hated that there were men leaning back in the crowds admiring the figure of the gorgeous singer with the most beautiful voice in the world, eating her up with their eyes thinking of fantasies of what they would do to her if they had a chance. Kaz clenched his fists, the fabric of his gloves screeching as he gripped his crow cane tightly wanting to whack all the men who were staring at her in such an unbecoming manner. Kaz knew this would happen and that’s why he had organized his best group of men to protect the girls from drunken individuals and yet he still couldn’t bear to see all those men greedily devouring Lily with their eyes.

He gulped his drink without hesitation wondering why he even cared. Kaz shouldn’t care. Kaz was feeling protective over the three sisters but just mostly over Lily. Why? It didn’t make sense to him.

“This next song is a bit of a chilled out one... and everyone who has been supporting us, coming to listen to us from the very beginning when we started singing in the streets of Ketterdam may know this one.” said Isabelle as she made the introduction to the song while Dora was chattering to Lily who was leaning down to tie Dora’s shoelaces properly. Then Lily ruffled Dora’s hair affectionately as her young sister leaned over to Lily who was smiling brightly and cuddled close to her for a comforting hug “It’s been one of the favorites, I guess so if you know it sing along.”

Kaz raised his eyebrows as Lily strapped her guitar and started to strum a lively yet melancholic tune that silenced the crowd who cheered yet listened

“What does this crazy wanderer seek? What does this crazy wanderer seek?” sang Lily with a bright smile but there was a sad glint in her eyes as she began the song looking out at the crowd who began to clap at the song that they had heard so many times through the streets of Ketterdam and loved it. “Where is my home? He asks every passer - by.”

Kaz was immediately drawn in by the liveliness of the tune that hid a melancholy feeling but most of all it was the intense, meaningful and captivating question asked by Lily that captured him as he listened quietly while the rest of the crowd sang along with the apparently popular song.

“Wanders with a smile and a tear. Wanders aimless from street to street.” sang Dora sweetly and beautifully tugging everyone’s heart strings as Kaz thought about himself. Where was his home? He had settled down in Ketterdam and it was where he had build his empire brick by brick. But there was a void he couldn’t quite put his finger on, something empty, something missing that he didn’t quite understand how to put into words. He cared for his Crows more than they knew and he had everything he ever wanted at his fingertips and yet Lily’s question had tugged a question buried deep inside, stirring an emotion that was better kept locked for the Dirtyhands, the Bastard of the Barrel.

“Belonging to all, yet none to call my own.” sang Isabelle powerfully with such melancholy feeling and longing that Kaz wanted to whack someone’s head in with his cane because he didn’t want to feel all this infuriating feelings of homesickness for a home he never had “Wanders aimless from street to street.”

“What does this crazy wanderer seek? What does this crazy wanderer seek?” sang Lily, Isabelle and Dora beautifully and melodiously as the crowd joined in and they exchanged lovely and gentle smiles with each other. Isabelle did a little dance with Dora while Lily strummed passionately on her guitar with a twinkle in her eyes as she grinned at her sisters and smiled at the crowd charmingly “Where is my home? He asks every passer by. What does this crazy wanderer seek?”

“Dipped in rainbow colors with the voice of a nightingale, with steps radiating sunlight, with palanquin of cooling shade.” sang Dora in the most dreamy and angelic voice awing everyone as Lily strummed her guitar and Dora sang the earlier words “Dipped in rainbow colors, with the voice of a nightingale. With steps radiating sunlight, With palanquin of cooling shade.”

Lily stepped in with a bright and sweet smile as she sang in that lively and gorgeous voice of a siren that bought peace to Kaz as he sank into the beauty of the song as it began to be more upbeat “Seeking the moon amidst the dark clouds, Listening for the mute wind’s songs. This friend of mine is everywhere. Unseen to the eye, fragrant to the smell.”

“What does this crazy wanderer seek? What does this crazy wanderer seek?” queried Lily, Isabelle and Dora as they sang passionately grinning at each other and then smiling at the crowd who sang along with them as Lily held back a sigh as she thought of her own hidden emotions “Where is my home? He asks every passer by. What does this crazy wanderer seek?”

“With the beloved, no union, nor separation” sang Isabelle with a beautiful smile as she twirled around while Lily danced as she strummed her guitar “Prisoner of love, never unchained.”

“Your promise of appearing in a dream, Keeps sleep far away from my eyes.” sang Lily with a genuinely warm smile as she strummed her guitar with liveliness nodding to a few faces she recognized in the crowd who had been regulars in the crowds at the street shows. She grinned at those people in acknowledgement as they cheered loudly and sang with her. The skip in her step as she danced felt light as she strummed her guitar, the song only mattering to her as everyone joined in her and she felt overwhelmed by the kind response of the crowd “The breath I take quickens, My pulse becomes fainter still.”

“YOU SING!” yelled Isabelle as she pointed at the crowd with a grin as Lily and Dora laughed in enthusiasm

“What does this crazy wanderer seek? What does this crazy wanderer seek?” sang the whole crowd loudly knowing the lyrics to a song that they had sung more times than they had cared to count throughout the streets of Ketterdam, a song that had drawn in the people of Ketterdam to how special the Muses were. The Crows who had got the hang of the lyrics joined in “Where is my home? He asks every passer by.”

“Wanders with a smile and a tear, Wanders aimless from street to street.” sang Isabelle, Dora and Lily together powerfully and beautifully enjoying themselves with the crowd as they all danced and jumped around to the upbeat yet melancholic tune “Belonging to all, Yet none to call my own. Wanders aimless from street to street.”

“What does this crazy wanderer seek? What does this crazy wanderer seek? Wanders aimless from street to street.” sang Isabelle, Dora and Lily beautifully in unison as the crowd cheered for them as they looked at each other with happiness and then Lily finished in a sweet, captivating yet melancholy voice that tugged the longing in Kaz heart for something akin to a home as he met her curious eyes “What does this crazy wanderer seek?”

The crowd was cheering but for the moment their eyes connected, Lily didn’t hear all of the applause. It was as if in Kaz Brekker’s cold eyes, behind the blank emptiness, she could see the loneliness and the longing for a home.

The moment was broken by Isabelle who shoved her on the shoulder praising her as she was hugged by both her sisters in happiness and excitement. Lily was so glad that they hadn’t failed. She had faith in her sisters who were amazing but she was more nervous and she had been expecting herself to fail but so far, she hadn’t tripped and fallen on stage or her voice hadn’t cracked or she hadn’t forgotten her lyrics so it was going good for her. It was going good for all three of them. Better than good. It was amazing! It was a dream come true!

They had finished almost all the songs and were coming to the ending of the show and Kaz had to admit that so far, the show was a spectacular success. Each of the girls were well loved by the crowds for their individual personality and their unpredictable charm and fun humor. Dora was reserved and quiet but bright and fun, Isabelle was cheeky and charming, and Lily was genuinely polite and caring but she would be the one who was easily flustered and distracted the most by the crowd who were cheering and trying to get her attention when and when she wasn’t singing. It was the most adorable thing to see her

It was the break before their last song where Lily was thanking everyone who had come to their show while Isabelle and Dora were just sitting down and talking with each other and giggling like children as they looked out at the crowd, playing rock, paper and scissors exasperating Kaz.

“You’ve been absolutely wonderful! You’ve bought laughter, you’ve bought noise, you’ve -” said Lily passionately and gratefully to the cheering crowd when Isabelle and Dora who were nudging each other interrupted her speech.

“Oi, sorry, sorry love, I have to interrupt your speech, Lils! GIRLS WHO ARE AT THE STAIRS PLEASE TURN AROUND!” exclaimed Isabelle as she pointed at two girls and Kaz turned around to see two ladies ready to leave the Crow Club before the show ended. Isabelle had stood up with Dora and Lily’s, Kaz’ and the Crows’ attention were on the girls who were trying to leave early before the show finished “YEAH. YOU.”

Dora waved at the girls who were caught as they turned around seeing all eyes on them “Hello.”

“WOOOAHH WHERE DO YOU THINK YOU ARE GOING?” asked Isabelle sassily as she got up and walked up towards Lily with Dora who was looking at the two ladies who were now in the spotlight.

“GET BACK HERE!” snapped Lily in a friendly manner as she placed her hands on her hips as she gestured towards the ladies to come back to their seats while the Crows were rolling in laughter and Kaz was watching in interest.

Dora added, amused by her sisters shenanigans “Don’t leave, please!”

“Okay, look! Why do you need to leave? Is it an emergency? Is someone dying?” asked Lily so kindly and politely that Kaz saw that the ladies wouldn’t have the heart to refuse them because of how genuinely nice Lily was being to them.

The two ladies shook their heads as they said something to the three girls who were trying to make out what they were saying “Oh! You have to meet up with your boyfriends! Ladies, next time tell them to come here!”

“And since when did they become more important than us?” asked Isabelle pretending to be offended as Dora and Lily laughed “Oh come on, sisters over misters, mate! Come on!”

“Yeah, if you pay for it, stay for it!” supplied Lily with an amused laugh as she placed an arm over Isabelle’s shoulder as her eyes twinkled in mischief but she couldn’t stop laughing at how Isabelle was teasing the two girls mercilessly.

“Don’t do this to your friend! Look at her, she wants to stay!” exclaimed Isabelle, teasing the two blushing girls who were subjected to cheers and laughter while Kaz decided that Isabelle was doing Saints work by stopping those two ladies from walking out of his Crow Club “Don’t let her down!”

Lily decided to put an end to the embarrassment of the girls as she said nicely and politely with a kind smile “Look, we’ve got fifteen more minutes, ladies. We’re not done yet. I promise you our next song is our last one and then you can leave.”

The girls looked at each other and nodded resignedly to the three girls because there was really no other option as they made their way to their seats and Dora cheered “YAY! THEY ARE STAYING! WHAT GREAT GIRLS!”

“Yeah but no wrong moves. We’re watching you.” said Isabelle warningly as Kaz’ lips twitched with amusement and pride for Isabelle, Lily and Dora and the way they had handled that situation pretty well with witty humor and calm composure while everyone cheered and clapped for them.

Lily laughed at Isabelle’s cheekiness as she eyed the two slightly embarrassed red faced girls as she joked “This has got too personal! They’re like ‘oh no! I wish I never left!’. She’s like even if I don’t want one more song, they are making me stay!”

Kaz nodded in agreement as his lips twitched in amusement while the crowd roared in laughter and Dora shrugged “Yeah, pretty much.”

It was the last song and everyone was really energetic and enthusiastic even Kaz who hid it really well. He was enjoying himself as he had to admit that these three girls really knew how to perform as he listened to Isabelle thank the crowd for being spectacular and tell them that the Muses would be singing tomorrow but for tonight they would be finishing with the last song which was a good one!

“KETTERDAM! THIS HAS BEEN ONE HELL OF A NIGHT!” yelled Isabelle energetically and enthusiastically nearly deafening all of the Crows who did not mind because they shrieked back happily.

Kaz noticed that Lily was laughing with a guitarist in the band as he cracked a joke while she did something with the strings of her guitar and adjusted it on her for her comfort but he glared at the guitarist who seemed to close towards Lily who didn’t seem to mind the band’s guitarist as she said something that he found hilarious as he laughed.

Kaz frowned in disapproval but Lily smiled as she made her way towards the mic stand in the middle of the stage where they would exit as the curtains closed on them when they finished the song.

Lily grinned brightly as she waved at the crowd breathless and awestruck, still unable to believe that all this was truly real “Thank you so much for being an absolutely incredible audience tonight! The best and beautiful we could have asked for on our first ever proper concert! Thank you to each and every single one of you for making it so special!”

The crowd cheered happily as Kaz heard them saying that they would do it all again and his profit seeking heart was so happy and Dora laughed gleefully and giddily as she blew kisses at the crowd, her heart racing with disbelief and astonishment “You have been absolutely unreal! We won’t forget you!”

“Thank you so much for having us, ARE YOU READY TO DANCE ALL NIGHT LONG TO THE BEST SONG EVER?” yelled Isabelle enthusiastically with a cheeky grin as she eyed Lily and Dora who nodded with a laugh. At the audience’s enthusiastic response, Lily began playing her guitar passionately with band as Isabelle yelled out loud with Dora who highfived her “LET’S GO!”

“Maybe it’s the way he walked, straight into my heart and stole it!” began Lily in her sweet yet strong voice as she smiled beautifully at a guy in the front row who fainted and she was concerned but she continued with the song suppressing and torn between the urge to laugh and check up on him. Inej and Nina who saw this squealed with laughter, Matthias looked concerned for the poor boy, Wylan was grinning along with Jesper but Kaz just looked exasperated as he glared at the boy who had a weak constitution. “Through the doors and past the guards, just like he already owned it!”

“I said, "can you give it back to me?" He said never in your wildest dreams!” sang Dora taking over Isabelle’s part because she could control her fit of giggles unlike her sister Isabelle who was rolling in hysterical laughter because she had seen what had happened and now was trying her best to stop laughing at how Lily was concerned for the boy who had fainted just because she had smiled at him.

“HERE WE GO!”

“"And we danced all night to the best song ever! We knew every line, now I can't remember! How it goes but I know that I won't forget him!” sang the three girls in unison as they jumped up and down dancing to the lively beat of the song along with the crowd who was screaming and cheering happily as the three sisters encouraged them to pick up the lyrics and sing along with them “I think it went oh, oh, oh! I think it went yeah, yeah, yeah! I think it goes (ooh)!”

“Said his name was Nikolai Lantsov (wow)! And his daddy was a brat king! But he kissed me like he meant it” sang Isabelle with a cheeky grin earning a couple of good natured laughs from the crowd as they cheered for the lyrics that sat well with them.

Kaz had to suppress a laugh at the lyrics as he wondered what on earth was coming next in the lively song and only wished Sturmhound was here to listen to this shocking song that was rather funny. Nina laughed out loud at the name drop along with Inej, Jesper, Wylan and Matthias who were dancing around like the night was never going to end.

“He said "can I take you home with me?" sang Lily with a grin, a mischievous twinkle shining in her eyes at mentioning the noble boy King of Ravka because she had an inkling that he wouldn’t mind this little bit of mischief they were having “I said, "never in your wildest dreams"”

This time the whole crowd, the band, the dancers, Inej, Jesper, Wylan, Nina and Matthias joined in singing with Isabelle, Dora and Lily in unison as they sang and danced together “And we danced all night to the best song ever! We knew every line, now I can't remember! How it goes but I know that I won't forget her! 'Cause we danced all night to the best song ever!”

Lily’s, Dora’s and Isabelle’s energy and enthusiasm was infectious and beautiful that even Kaz wanted to join in singing and dancing but he controlled himself settling for just singing the lyrics in his head and tapping his fingers in time to the beat on the head of the crow on his cane. Everyone was singing loudly, cheering happily and dancing around like there was no tomorrow as the girls sang and danced along with the crowd enthusiastically. Lily was at the mic stand strumming her guitar enthusiastically as she sang passionately swaying to the music, Dora and Isabelle were singing their hearts out and dancing terribly with on stage engaging with the crowd.

“You know, I know, you know I'll remember you. And I know, you know, I know you'll remember me.” sang Dora sweetly and innocently as she looked at Isabelle who was right next to her and then at Lily who was at the back strumming the guitar with an affectionate smile.

“And you know, I know, you know I'll remember you. And I know, you know, I hope you'll remember how we danced.” sang Lily in the most lovely and angelic voice that lured Kaz in as he stood there feeling tranquil. Maybe Lily was right. All these people would remember them tonight. Maybe Lily would remember everything tonight because tonight was the beginning of everything for her. They’d all remember how beautiful and soothing and calming their voices were. They’d all remember how they sang beautifully and danced together like nothing mattered.

“SING IT!”

An echo of ‘OH OH OH!” rang through the Crow Club and it grew louder and louder as it deafened and nearly blew up as the three girls encouraged them to sing louder. Every boy and girl, man and woman was chanting it with an excited grin on their face as they clapped to the beat while Lily, Isabelle and Dora encouraged them to chant it louder as if they couldn’t already hear them but the three girls exchanged excited and happy smiles at the crowd singing the chant together.

Finally Lily and the band struck up the music again when the chant was loud enough for whole of Ketterdam to hear as Lily strummed her guitar as Isabelle and Dora yelled together happily “ONE TWO! ONE TWO THREE!”

“How we danced all night to the best song ever! We knew every line, now I can't remember! How it goes but I know that I won't forget him!” sang Lily, Dora and Isabelle together as their angelic, melodic and rich voices blended together in perfect voices and the fire machines burst as the fireworks exploded producing colorful and crazy fireworks of different colors and raining down confetti upon the girls who were amazed and astonished and breathless “Cause we danced all night to the best song ever!”

“And we danced all night to the best song ever! We knew every line, now I can't remember! How it goes but I know that I won't forget you!” sang Lily, Dora and Isabelle together they harmonized together wonderfully and effortlessly as Dora and Isabelle ran around the stage dancing around and waving at the audience while Lily stood at the mic stand hitting the highest notes with great effort but the rest of the crowd and the Crows were impressed because it seemed so effortless to them. They heard Isabelle cheer at the end of Lily’s high note along with the rest of the crowd who were truly amazed by Lily’s spectacular singing.

Lily, Isabelle and Dora couldn’t help it, they started to laugh in happiness as they looked at the blinding lights, the shining confetti that fell around them, the colorful fireworks that burst into the air looking like a dream and the singing and cheering from the crowd that was nothing short of incredible and spectacular as they were left breathless and astonished. Yesterday, they had been nothing but street kids performing for a living as they sang on the streets to people who loved their music and would only gather on the streets to hear them and throw money into their hats but now they were performing a proper concert that was nothing short of spectacular. It had already been three hours and yet it had felt like a second to them, so short and coming to an end. The three of them didn’t want this wonderful, blissful dream they were living ever to end as they looked with bright and unbelievable smiles upon the crowd that cheered for them. Lily nodded towards the band to give them an instrumental break to explore the stage and thank the fans for being so wonderful and kind and they nodded back understanding her.

Lily left her mic stand as she sashayed down the ramp playing her guitar passionately to join her sisters who were running down the ramp taking the instrumental break as an opportunity to thank everyone for coming to the show as she smiled and thanked everyone who caught her eye. They couldn’t help it, their hearts were swelling with so much of disbelief, love and joy for this moment, the crowd and each other as they waved and blew kisses at the crowd and grinned joyfully at each other as they danced and jumped up and down to explore the whole stage and engage with the audience and savor and remember this wonderful moment forever because they didn’t want to leave just yet.

Kaz observed Lily, Isabelle and Dora thanking the crowd and waving at them as the music played while they explored the stage and then he looked at the crowd who was cheering and clapping enthusiastically, reaching out for them but Kaz’ guards protected the girls because Kaz had instructed them to do so, waving at them and for the love of his kruge, were some people crying? Why on earth were they crying? Was their performance bad?

“Why are some of them crying?” inquired Kaz.

“It’s because they are sad to see the three of them go.” said Jesper with an amused laugh “To be a bit honest, I’m a little sad myself that the show is ending.”

But Isabelle, Lily and Dora knew with a tinge of regret that the time had come for them to finally leave as they walked up to where the mic stand was as they nodded, waved, smiled and thanked with gratitude and affection to the cheering crowd. As much as the three of them wanted this beautiful night to last forever, all great things had to come to an end.

They highfived each other and all three of them hugged each other with so much of affection and astonishment as they mumbled how insane this was as Lily said lovingly pressing a gentle kiss on Isabelle’s and Dora’s foreheads “I’m so proud of you!”

“We’re proud of you, Lils!” said Isabelle feeling very emotional as tears sprung into her eyes. “We couldn’t have done this without you!”

“I’m so lucky to have both of you!” said Dora lovingly as she blinked back her tears of emotion that was a result of her love for her sisters and the overwhelming night of her dream coming true.

“We are the lucky ones!” said Lily honestly as her heart swelled with so much of love for the two girls she would protect with her life as they hugged each other with giggles as they blinked back tears of emotions from disbelief and joy and gratitude and affection “I love you so much!”

“We love you too!”

“Does this have to end?” asked Dora who looked at the crowd who had ‘aaawed’ at their soft and sisterly moment but the cheering had not stopped.

Lily looked quietly at her sister as she smiled gently at her “Everything has to end sometime. Without endings, there would never be new beginnings. And that’s the nice thing about endings.”

Dora contemplated on those words of wisdom as she smiled at Lily and Isabelle who smiled back affectionately as they linked their hands with each other and ran towards the mic stand where their exit awaited and took one last look at the shining, beautiful, unforgettable crowd and Lily grinned mischievously and brightly full of gratitude and affection as she waved at all of them and blew kisses “KETTERDAM THANK YOU SO MUCH! GOOD NIGHT! SEE YOU TOMORROW!”

“I’M ISABELLE!”

“I’M DORA!”

“I’M LILY! WE ARE THE MUSES AND WE LOVE YOU VERY MUCH!”

And they linked their wrapped their arms around each other as they bowed with gratitude and joy, full of unforgettable disbelief for they would never forget this night in their days to come as the crowd cheered for them happily as the curtain closed promptly hiding their happy grins and flushed faces from the view of the audience who didn’t finish cheering and clapped even after the curtain had closed while the final fireworks burst into the air.

Taglist: -

@a-disappointing-teen-author

@its-just-kayy

@magpiencrow

@calums-betch

@rika90

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dontmindmyshadowhunting · 3 years ago

Text

Welcome to Faerieland - Fan Fic (last chapters)

Here we go! Last chapters of Welcome to Faerieland.

Link to full story on AO3 here.

*****

Dru and Ash landed a mile or so away from their destination, in order to avoid drawing attention to the location. As soon as their feet touched the ground, the two rocs turned around and disappeared above the treetops.

“I can walk,” Dru said and Ash offered his arm to steady her while she limped toward the general direction of the cottage. She knew it pretty well, it had sort of become a Blackthorns’ country home.

“So how do you know this place?”

“My eldest brother is dating the King of the Unseelie Court, and that’s where they meet sometimes.”

Ash whistled.

“One of your brothers is King Kieran’s lover? I think I heard about him.”

“Yeah, it’s pretty serious, although they won’t ever be able to be official about it. I guess you know what the rules are about faerie royalty’s consorts?”

“I do,” he averted his gaze and brushed a hand through his hair, in what seemed to be a nervous gesture. Dru realized it was the first time Ash had looked uncomfortable about a subject.

“A lot of rules need to be changed,” he said abruptly. “Don’t you agree?” His green eyes bore into her as he said it, as if he was desperate for her approval.

“Well, King Kieran has already been carrying out a lot of changes since he came to power. It’s just that… sometimes, it takes time. You can’t change the world overnight.”

Ash kicked a pebble. “You could, if you didn’t insist on everything being consensual. Maybe King Kieran cares too much about what people think of him... or, you know, in general.” He shrugged but there was a predatory glint in his eyes that she hadn’t seen before, and it almost made her cringe.

“You know, Ash, if what you are looking for in a sovereign is arbitrary decisions and a bitchy attitude, we have the Seelie Queen for that.”

She had expected Ash to laugh, his free, careless laugh - God, she loved it when he did that - but he seemed lost in thought.

She had to admit she had been a bit harsh. She knew the Seelie and Unseelie Courts were in much better terms now that King Arawn was dead. The Queen had appointed the Unseelie Prince Adaon as her most trusted advisor and the two of them and King Kieran met regularly to reinforce the bonds and cooperation between both realms.

Dru started humming a song and Ash paused, his green eyes widening. “Are you singing… Royals ?”

“Yeah, I love that song. Do you know it?”

“I do,” he answered, suppressing a smile.

As they walked, she sang louder - she knew the lyrics by heart - and he watched her with glittering eyes, clearly entertained.

“And we'll never be royals It don't run in our blood That kind of luxe just ain't for us We crave a different kind of buzz Let me be your ruler You can call me queen bee”

“Maybe I will,” he whispered in her ear as he tickled her, and she elbowed him playfully.

He sang along with her then - he had a beautiful tenor voice - both of them throwing their heads back at the same time to howl at the sky “And baby, I'll rule - I’ll rule, I’ll rule, I’ll rule” , like a pair of wolves. They roared with laughter, Dru holding her ribs and leaning against Ash for support. Watching him from the corner of her eye, she marvelled at the fact that she had found a new friend in such a short time.

At the Academy, people either feared her because she was a Blackthorn or wanted to be friends with her simply for that same reason. Or both. She was almost a celebrity, despite herself. Only because of her last name and her eldest brothers’ hand in ending the Cold Peace in the most spectacular way. And of course, there were always the loud-mouthed bigots and moralists who were baffled by the Blackthorns’ ties with the Fair Folk and their so-called “sexual and moral depravity”. The Rosales, of course, suffered the same criticism, and Jaime had always been a comforting shoulder and reliable friend to Dru in those moments where she felt she had had too much to deal with.

She didn’t want to worry Julian, Emma, Mark or even Helen with her troubles making friends at the Academy.

She couldn’t confide in Ty, because he didn’t care at all what people thought, and was content with sticking to his close friends, Livvy and Anush. His teachers, especially Ragnor Fell and Catarina Loss were absolute fans - even if Fell would never admit it - and everyone at the Scholomance was too impressed by his obvious academic superiority - and maybe, the Carpathian lynx tailing him - to dare bother him anyway.

Ash seemed to be far away from all of this, as if he had been living as a hermit in a remote tower, which was probably close to the truth.

He was the only one outside her siblings, with the exception of Jaime of course, to treat her like an ordinary girl.

And maybe, maybe someday Ash could become more than a friend. He was nice, definitely fun, absolutely gorgeous and he had kissed her after all, even though she knew it could be meaningless where faeries were concerned. She had been waiting for Jaime to figure things out for so long, and Ash had appeared out of nowhere and had shown interest without a moment’s hesitation.

She was interrupted in her thoughts as a broad-shouldered silhouette falling from the sky dropped on the ground before them. Dru released Ash’s arm to clap both her hands on her mouth, relief washing over her. Kit, looking as angelic as ever with his bright blue eyes and tousled blond hair, fluttered his white wings tipped with gold as he advanced gleefully to greet Dru.

The reunion was cut short as he was suddenly thrown back by a figure shooting straight into him like a cannonball and from one moment to the next, Kit disappeared into a ball of black and white feathers, rolling on the grass.

It took Dru a moment to realize that Ash had disappeared from her side and that he was actually the one who had attacked Kit. She ran to separate them but soon they were shooting up, caught in a wrestling match a few feet above ground, moving so swiftly they were a blur.

Dru let out a heavy sigh before she put two fingers between her lips and whistled as loud as she could. The two figures froze - they were still grappling each other - and looked down.

“ASH! KIT! Both of you. Get down here! NOW.”

They both looked at each other.

“ASH! What the hell is wrong with you, this is my brother’s boyfriend !” Dru continued, gesturing frantically toward Kit.

Ash released Kit first, grudgingly, and they both landed softly on the floor. There was a long gash across Ash’s cheek but he was grinning like the Cheshire cat, his eyes glittering in excitement. He winked at Dru as he wiped blood from his mouth. Kit was rearranging his hair, looking pissed, and Dru realized that his knuckles were bloody and that there was a small cut on his eyebrow. Both of them seemed otherwise unharmed.

“What the hell is wrong with you, Batman ?” Kit said, glaring at Ash.

“Sorry,” Ash replied, wiping dirt from his shirt. “I took you for a psychopathic jerk who nearly killed me a few years ago. He literally kicked me and my uncle out of the place we used to live in. You look exactly like him.”

“Well, it can’t have been me since last night was the first time I ever saw you,” Kit replied sharply, wiping his bloody knuckles over his shirt.

“Yeah, don’t worry, I figured that out pretty fast. You fight like a pussy compared to him.”

“Want to say that again?” Kit lifted an eyebrow at him.

“Boys, could you please stop comparing the sizes of your dicks, so we can move on?”

Ash and Kit complied, arguing over which Batman movie was best the entire way, until the cottage came into view, a few feet away. The door opened and Jaime came out of it, running toward them.

“Dru,” he cried out. He caught up to her, and threw his arms around her, burying his face in her hair. She lost herself in his familiar and comforting scent and pressed her cheek against his torso. “Mi corazón,” he whispered softly. "We were worried sick. Cómo estás?”

Jaime brushed his hands through Dru’s hair and planted a kiss on her forehead.

She swiftly pulled back, her eyes darting to where Ash was leaning against a tree, talking to Kit, his arms crossed. He was smiling indulgently at her, as if he didn’t mind.

“I am fine, thanks to Ash,” she said, and pulled Jaime over to where Ash and Kit were standing. “Jaime, this is Ash. Ash, this is Jaime,” she introduced, waving her hand awkwardly between the two of them.

“Thank you for taking care of our precious Dru,” Jaime said, extending his hand. “We owe you one.”

“No hay de qué!” Ash replied, shaking his hand.

“Hablas español?” Jaime asked, looking pleasantly surprised.

“Solo a hombres con un excelente gusto en mujeres.” He gave Jaime a wicked grin and looked pointedly at Dru. Jaime’s face fell.

A high-pitched shriek had them whip their heads up in time to see a majestic roc land on the ground, a few feet away. Ty hopped gracefully from the giant bird and walked immediately to Dru. He was pale - even more so than usual - with deep dark circles under his gray eyes, and Dru marvelled at how gorgeous her brother was anyway, whatever state he was in. She sometimes wished she had inherited the same stunningly sharp features. Without a word, Ty knelt in front of Dru and started inspecting her wound.

“Ash, this is my brother Ty,” Dru announced proudly.

Ash started to extend his hand but Dru shook her head at him. He let it fall by his side.

“Ty, this is Ash.”

Tiberius nodded without lifting his gaze.

“Who tended to the wound?”

“I did,” Ash answered.

Ty finally stood - and Dru realized Ash was almost as tall as Ty, which was saying something, since Ty was very tall - and glanced at Ash for the first time, his gray eyes looking down under his long eyelashes and not lifting up from a spot on Ash’s shoulder. “Thanks,” he said curtly.

Hesitantly, Ty put his arms around Dru in one of the rare hugs he had ever granted her. It was awkward and short, but Dru knew it meant Ty had been truly terrified of losing her.

After they released each other, Ty whirled and started walking toward the cottage. He paused after a few steps and glanced over his shoulder. The four of them had just been standing there, staring at him. “Are you coming?”

They all hurried after Ty, Dru having one arm around Ash’s, and the other around Jaime’s.

“So, tell me. Are all your brothers this handsome?” Ash asked her, as he looked Ty up and down appreciatively.

“EXCUSE ME? “ Kit interjected. His whole face had gone bright red in an instant and he started cracking his bloody knuckles. He looked poised for a second round.

“What? Did I say something wrong?” Ash did not seem in the least bit concerned by Kit’s reaction.

“It’s my boyfriend you are talking about.”

“And I just said I found him attractive. Is that in any way offensive?”

Dru laughed. “No,” she said. “I am sure you were simply stating your opinion and not trying to steal Kit’s boyfriend.”

“I am not trying to steal anyone’s lover,” Ash concurred, gazing wistfully at Dru. ”I just admire beauty when I see it”.

“But he would definitely be up for sex if Ty wanted to,” Jaime muttered sarcastically under his breath.

Ash shot him a puzzled look. “Of course, I would. Why not? Kit would be welcome as well, the more the merrier.”

Kit opened his mouth but seemed too much in a shock for a witty comeback. That was a first.

Oddly enough, Dru realized she didn’t feel jealous or baffled by Ash’s statement. He was like an untamed bird breaking out of a cage, unwilling to bend to any rules of propriety. She guessed part of it was due to his fey heritage.

“Mark is the Unseelie King’s lover, the Seelie Queen keeps trying to get into Julian’s pants and now you two,” Jaime said eventually, looking over at Ty and Dru. “What is it with the Blackthorns and the Fair Folk anyway?”

“Probably the exact same thing there is with Blackthorns and any other species,” Ash said evenly.

Everyone turned a questioning look at him.

“They are hot,” he said simply, and shrugged.

Everyone laughed at that.

*****

They were all starving so they decided to have breakfast in the cottage before heading back home.

Kit, wearing an apron that had "Doughnut sandwiches are a proper meal” printed on it (and that probably belonged to Mark Blackthorn), was in the kitchen, scrambling a huge portion of eggs in a large pan with a wooden spoon. He somehow managed to make it look totally hot.

“Eggs?” Ty asked Kit as he came to stand next to him and put a hand on the small of Kit’s back.

“Yeah, I would have cooked pancakes, but we are missing a few ingredients to do that. So it will be eggs. Eggs and fruits. God knows there are plenty of fruits here.”

“You know how to cook pancakes?” Ty asked, his gray eyes widening in surprise.

Kit shot him a shy glance.

“Yeah, I… I asked Julian for his recipe. You know, in case one day I needed to cook for you…r family.”

Kit and Ty both exchanged a look that was so intimate, Jaime had to glance away. He found Ash leaning casually against the fridge, his arms crossed, and gazing at him with a smirk on his face. He looked like he owned the place and hadn’t just popped uninvited into the home of strangers. When Jaime raised a questioning eyebrow at him, Ash unfolded his arms to draw the shape of a heart in the air in front of him. Jaime rolled his eyes. He definitely didn’t like this guy.

They set the table, while Dru was in the bedroom looking for clothes.

Kit and Ty sat next to each other, their fingers intertwined under the table and their backs to the kitchen counter, which left Ash to sit across from Ty and Jaime to sit across from Kit. They had left a spot at the head of the table for Drusilla, who would have Ash on her left and Ty on her right when she came back.

Ty only had fruits on his plate, and he was eyeing Kit gulping his eggs down, as if he was reconsidering having some himself.

“Want to try?” Ash brought his fork to Ty, who flinched as if he had been stabbed.

Kit grabbed Ash’s wrist and pushed the fork away from Ty.

“Ty can use my fork if he wants to try it. He is my boyfriend, after all.”

Ash shrugged. “Yeah, no worries, I think I got that. You can tattoo it on your forehead, it will spare you from having to repeat it to every living soul you encounter on Earth.”

Ash glanced at Jaime, and said in a lower voice, directed only at him. “And it will keep other people from pining for someone they can’t have.”

“Excuse me?” Jaime turned to whisper in Ash’s ear. “What does it have to do with Dru and me?”

“I was not talking about Dru,” Ash whispered back.

They both jerked their heads up, as Dru swooped in from the bedroom then, wearing a beautiful red dress that Jaime remembered having seen on Cristina. It was much tighter on Dru, clinging to her curves and emphasizing her cleavage. Jaime swallowed. He couldn’t figure out what the hell was going on in his head.

Ash immediately stood to draw Dru’s chair and she nodded by way of thanking him. She sat on it as if it was a throne, her chin up.

Jaime glanced over at Ash, who seemed so free about his sexuality, and felt a pang of envy.

“So, what’s your deal, Ash?” Jaime blurted. Ash raised a questioning eyebrow at him. “Are you…” Jaime cleared his throat. “Bixesual?”

A slow grin spread across Ash’s face. “We’ve just met and you’re already trying to fill your fact sheet about me and tick one of your little boxes?”

“I didn’t mean to be rude,” Jaime said, feeling uncomfortable.

“I know you didn’t. Don’t get me wrong, I am not offended by your question,” Ash continued in a gentler voice. “It’s just that… not everyone can fit into little boxes.” He swiftly glanced at Ty when he said it. It was a flicker movement, but lynx-eyed Ty caught it immediately.

“Don’t look at me like that,” Tiberius said. “I am definitely gay.” He slipped half a banana inside his mouth then, totally oblivious of the gesture. Kit and Ash weren’t though. Kit made a noise between a snort and a chuckle and spilled the water he was drinking through his nose and all over his shirt, while Ash almost fell off his chair roaring with laughter. Dru looked at the boys with motherly affection.

Jaime stood and hurried to the kitchen to get a towel to clean the mess. When he turned, Kit was already there, leaning against the kitchen counter, extending his hand and looking at Jaime with a genuine smile that lit up his gorgeous face.

“Thanks, Jaime,” he said, as he grabbed the towel and started padding his shirt with it. The planes of his muscles stood out and could be seen right through the wet fabric.

“No problem,” Jaime mumbled, feeling his heartbeat increasing inside his chest.

He averted his gaze, past Kit, to the table, where Ty and Dru had their heads bent together, caught in a deep conversation.

Ash was peering around Ty, watching Jaime with amusement. When he caught Jaime gazing back, he stuck his tongue inside his cheek, and started moving his fist back and forth in front of his mouth, miming a blowjob.

Jaime resisted the urge to flip him the finger.

****

When breakfast was over, Dru lay sprawled on a sofa, her leg propped on Jaime’s lap, and Ash was examining the sound system, so he could put music on.

Kit and Ty had disappeared. God only knew where.

“So, what was that demon attack in the middle of Faerie about?” Jaime asked.

“Ty has a theory. And you won’t like it,” Dru replied. “He believes the Unseelie prince who held us hostage has made an alliance with a Greater Demon… probably a Prince of Hell.”

Jaime tensed. If Ty believed this, it was very bad news indeed. “So why send an army of demons to attack an ally?”

Dru twirled a lock of her dark brown hair as she replied. “Two options. Either the Prince of Hell discovered that his ally had been exposed and wanted to silence him. Or… or we will soon be caught in the middle of an internal war between the Princes of Hell.”

“You mean… there might be more than one involved?”

“To quote Ty, evidence makes it more likely than not,” Dru replied, imitating her brother’s voice. Jaime felt dread wash over him.

He gently put Dru’s leg on an armrest and excused himself.

Sometimes, he felt so anxious it was all he could do not to curl up in a corner and wait for his chest pain and dizziness to fade. The mission he had carried out a few years back, where he had to stay hidden all the time, never staying in one place, had made him jumpy, poised for any threat. He didn’t want Dru to see that side of him. For her, he could only be the calm and reliable friend she was used to.

He decided to scout the rest of the cottage for an empty room. There was a corridor - leading to a bathroom? more bedrooms maybe? - on the left side of the main suite’s door.

He went through and just as he turned around a corner... stopped short.

Halfway down the corridor, Ty was leaning with his back against the wall and Kit had his hands propped on either side of him, trapping Ty in a cage of his arms… and they were kissing.

Jaime had never seen two men kissing before and he was surprised to see how tender and sweet it looked. Ty was running his long pale fingers in Kit’s blond hair while the other hand rested on the small of Kit’s back, half of it concealed under Kit’s waistband.

Kit was naked from the waist up and Jaime could see all the tanned muscles in his back contract as he deepened the kiss, eliciting soft moans from the Blackthorn boy.

They were beautiful together, two opposites inevitably drawn to each other, their bodies fitting perfectly like yin and yang.

Jaime felt his whole body react, with a familiar flutter around his stomach and heat rushing up his cheeks. He knew he should not be watching, but he couldn’t get himself to tear his gaze away.

Kit broke the kiss to trace the dark Marks swirling up Ty’s neck with the tip of his tongue. Ty’s gray eyes fluttered open and he caught sight of Jaime. His intense gaze didn’t waver. He didn’t even seem surprised or angry. He simply raised an eyebrow at Jaime as if to say Can I help you with something ?

Jaime hastily retreated to the living room.

He found Ash’s lean figure perched on the wide low table at the center of the room, dancing to the blasting sound of Beyoncé’s Single Ladies and singing along. “If you like it, you should have put a ring on it,” actually sounded very good in his velvety voice. He was twisting, hands on his hips, and throwing his legs up like a professional, while making dramatic faces at Dru, who was sprawled on the sofa, howling with laughter. As he brushed his lips with his finger, licking it and started caressing his torso while throwing his head back, shaking his beautiful silvery hair, he managed to make it look erotic and not ridiculous at all. Jaime had to admit… His moves were perfect, fluid, coordinated and he totally… pulled it off. Annoying jerk.

“Having fun without me?” Kit burst into the room - he was, fortunately, wearing a shirt this time - and immediately hopped on the table to join Ash and one could not imagine they had been wrestling less than an hour before.

When Dru caught Jaime watching them, she patted the spot on the sofa next to her and he moved to drop beside her, throwing his arm around her shoulders.

The music had changed to Rihanna’s S&M and Ash and Kit were dancing together as if they had rehearsed for hours, their dance steps coordinated and smooth. They looked like two lifelong best buddies who could guess each other’s moves. They were pulsing with energy, although obviously neither of them had slept the previous night. Ash made a show of licking Kit’s cheek, and Kit pushed him away, grimacing. When Ash arched his back to rub his buttocks against Kit’s crotch and Kit spanked him, Dru wiped tears from her eyes. Jaime imagined what it would be like to go to a nightclub with the both of them. They would most likely steal the show.

As if on cue, the next song was… Stole the show, by Kygo. As they danced close together in perfect synchrony, Jaime noticed for the first time the similarities between Ash and Kit. Though Ash was all pale, white blond hair and alabaster skin, and Kit was all golden hair and tanned muscles, there was something about their facial features, the planes of their cheeks, the lines of their jaws… They did not look like brothers, but they could easily pass for cousins.

Jaime grabbed a Hot Shadowhunters calendar that had been left on the side table and started flipping through the pages. Looking at the January page featuring Jace Herondale, he wondered why everyone said Kit was like a mini Jace when Jaime could clearly see there was a difference, now that Kit had grown into more adult features. At least to Jaime, Kit’s fey heritage was plain.

When the music changed to Charlie Puth’s Marvin Gaye, Jaime turned his head to find Ty leaning against the kitchen counter and watching the two dancers with a bemused expression, his arms crossed over his chest.

He eventually caught Kit’s eye, lifted a questioning eyebrow, and jerked his head toward the bedroom door. Kit stumbled from the table in his hurry to join Ty and followed him out of the living room and through the main bedroom door, which shut behind them.

*****

Kit jumped on the huge threesome bed as soon as they were inside the bedroom. He felt exhilarated, full of adrenaline and restless energy, and he wanted Ty so much that he was certain he would spontaneously combust if they didn’t share their bodies within the next minute.

He shot Ty a smoldering look as he lounged on the thick mattress, twisting his shoulders seductively while singing along to Charlie Puth’s Marvin Gaye, which was blasting through the thin walls.

“We got this king-size to ourselves Don't have to share with no one else Don't keep your secrets to yourself It's Kama Sutra show and tell, yeah”

Ty had folded his arms against his chest and was shaking his head, as if he didn’t know what to make of this misbehaving boy.

“Kit, you interrupted me earlier when I was trying to have a serious conversation. Will you please let me finish this time?”

"I'm in trouble." Kit continued, clapping a hand over his mouth in a dramatic oops gesture. "But I'd love to be in trouble with you."

Ty rolled his eyes. He didn’t seem ready to play along with Kit, so Kit finally stood and grabbed Ty's upper arms, forcing him to back up until he had him pinned against the wall. He started wiggling his hips, rubbing against Ty, his body swaying to the music.

“You've got to give it up to me I'm screaming, "Mercy, mercy, please!" Just like they say it in the song Until the dawn, let's Marvin Gaye and get it on.”

Kit slipped a hand under Ty’s waistband, straight into his boxer shorts, and whispered “Hello there” as he brushed his lips against Ty’s ear.

“Kit…” Ty said sharply, as a warning, though Kit could hear his breathing was uneven.

“Ty,” Kit replied with all the seriousness he could muster. “When I saw you riding that Shinigami demon carrying a crossbow, I was so turned on it was all I could do not to jump your bones there and then.”

Ty laughed softly. “It appears you have a kink involving me wielding dangerous weapons. Maybe I should bring a claymore to bed next time and threaten you with it.”

“Honey, you know that, as far as I am concerned, you carry the deadliest weapon around with you at all times,” Kit started stroking Ty’s length as if to illustrate his point. It hardened under his touch. Good, we’re heading somewhere. "I was talking about your brain of course," Kit added.

“Kit, listen to me.” Ty grabbed Kit’s wrist and pulled it out of his pants. Kit groaned. “Haven’t you noticed anything strange about Ash?”

That caught Kit’s attention. He had not expected Ash to be the subject of their conversation. He had actually hoped to avoid any kind of conversation altogether. For a little while at least.

“Well, I noticed he is an amazing fighter and dancer. I am totally up for challenging him again, either in a training room or on a dancefloor.” There was something about Ash and him fighting and dancing together, a raw yet steady energy, not like the restlessness and all consuming love he felt around Ty, but something grounding him, making him even more focused. As if he had found a kindred warrior spirit.

“He probably has no effect on you, but… I think spells have been worked on him to render him… likeable. People are inevitably drawn to him, want to protect and follow him.”

Kit swallowed, suddenly deadly serious. “Does this… work on you?”

“No. And I have several theories about that. First… Well, I am a bit different. My brain doesn’t work the same way others’ do. Second, the Blackthorns have a bit of Greater Demon blood, even if it is quite diluted. I do believe Dru genuinely likes him.”

“You mean from your ancestor Lucie Herondale?”

Ty nodded. “And the third and most important explanation is… you. You have my full loyalty.” He rested his forehead against Kit’s. “There is no way in hell I am following him, when I could follow you. ”

Kit brushed his lips over Ty’s.

“What about Jaime? He seems to dislike Ash.”

“I am still trying to figure this out. But it may be one of the reasons I am immune to it, myself.”

“What? You think the Rosales have Greater Demon blood as well?”

“Maybe. But that’s not what I was referring to.”

They were both interrupted when they heard voices raising in the living room. Jaime’s voice was the loudest. And he sounded totally pissed.

Ty hurried toward the door, and Kit followed.

****

As soon as Kit and Ty had disappeared behind the bedroom door, Ash jumped over Dru and Jaime’s heads to land behind the sofa and stole the Hot Shadowhunters calendar from Jaime’s hands. “Hey!” Jaime cried out.

Ash circled back and dropped himself next to Dru, which left her crammed between him and Jaime. As he flipped to the first page, the January page, Ash froze. He was gaping at the picture of Jace Herondale, as if he could not quite believe his eyes.

Falling for Jace Herondale, already? What a surprise.

But oddly, Ash didn’t smile or make a sarcastic comment, as Jaime would have expected. He had a sorrowful expression and a faraway look.

“This is Jace Herondale,” Dru said softly. “Surely, even you have heard of him ?”

Ash swallowed. “Yeah,” he said absently. “Yeah, I have. He looks… happy.”

“Well, of course, he is happy. He has it all, hasn’t he?” Jaime said. “War hero. Married to the love of his life. The Consul as faithful parabatai.” Ash flinched, as if each word was a needle to his skin.

“Ash, is everything okay?”

Ash shook his head as if to clear it.

“Yeah, yeah, I was just thinking about… the butterfly effect. How a single human being’s existence… or absence, can change the course of things… can change the whole world.”

Where the hell did that come from? Jaime wondered.

Ash lifted his gaze to stare at the door where Kit and Ty had disappeared. “Take Kit for instance. Who knew it would only take a hot boyfriend to turn a ruthless, bloodthirsty ruler into a harmless kitten.”

“Er- Ash, I am not sure I am following you,” Dru said gently. “What do you mean?”

Ash let out a heavy sigh and slumped back, crossing his long arms behind his head, the Hot Shadowhunters calendar left at the January page on his lap.

“Nothing, I am rambling.” It looked like he was lost in his thoughts again.

Jaime seized the opportunity to whisper in Dru’s ear. “Dru, can we find some place private to… talk?”

Dru gazed at him with a puzzled look on her face. “Sure. What do you want to talk about?”

Jaime didn’t get a chance to answer as the entrance door rattled at that moment and they both whipped their heads in the direction of the noise.

The door opened and Mark Blackthorn, all tousled blond hair, pointy ears and flushed cheeks, erupted inside the cottage, wearing ragged jeans and a white shirt with a message that stated, “All good things come in threes”. He paused, as if he didn’t really expect to see so many people in his living room.

Jaime immediately withdrew his arm from Dru’s shoulders and stood, but soon registered that Mark was not looking at him… He was staring at Ash who had, from one moment to the next, leapt on the table in front of them and was crouched on top of it, ready to pounce, a dangerous glint in his ice green eyes. He had moved to protect Dru from a potential threat, Jaime realized. And there was no trace of the Ash that had been goofing around with Kit a moment before. The feeling that he had been played like a fool until then hit Jaime like a freight train. They had all fallen for Ash’s laid-back, good guy act. In one instant, Ash had revealed his true, predatory nature…

“Mark!” Dru waved from the sofa, unfazed. “You already know Jaime of course and this is Ash,” she introduced. “Ash… this is my brother Mark.”

Ash relaxed from his stance and leapt off the table, flashing a bright smile and wearing his cool guy mask back on. As if he hadn’t been ready to rip Mark’s throat a second before. The abrupt change in Ash's behaviour almost gave Jaime a whiplash.

“Have we… met before?” Mark asked, looking at Ash with his brows furrowed as he closed the door.

“In any event, I wish to be properly introduced,” Ash said, evading the question. “I am Dru’s boyfriend.”

“Excuse me?” Dru interjected at the same time Jaime exclaimed “WHAT?”

Ash shrugged. “I thought our make out session had settled it.”

Jaime felt heat rush up his face. He whirled on Dru. “We’ve known each other for three years and you’ve known this guy for what? Less than twelve hours? And you’ve already kissed him?”

“To be fair, I am the one who kissed her ,” Ash said in a calm voice. “She didn’t tell me to stop, though.” He paused, his long fingers stroking his delicate chin as he pondered. “Then again, how could she have, what with my tongue being down her throat and all?”

“Ash, don’t intervene,” Dru said, her already white complexion growing paler by the second. “This is not between us.”

“Really?” Ash answered in a fake shocked expression. “I could have sworn it was my tongue down your throat.”

“What’s going on here?” Ty asked as he came out of the bedroom, followed by Kit.

“GREAT!” Jaime said. “That’s just my luck! We’re just missing Julian and…”

“And?” Julian asked, his tall broad-shouldered figure appearing in the entrance. He froze in the doorway, hand on the doorknob, his face a mask of shock as his blue-green eyes swept across the room.

“... And all my worst nightmares are reunited in the same room. OK, let’s be done with it.”

Jaime took a deep breath and caught each of the Blackthorn brothers’ gaze, one after the other.

“I. FANCY. DRU. OKAY? I like her. I know she’s sixteen, but we are good together and I want her to be my girlfriend.”

*Cough* “ Too late.” *Cough* That was Ash. Dru turned to glare at him.

“Well, that’s not even relevant anymore, is it? Since apparently… She prefers Legolas, here.” Jaime continued, waving his hand toward Ash.

“Why does everyone keep saying that? I don’t even look like him.”

“Lego-who?” Ty asked, puzzled.

“He’s talking about Ash. Don’t worry honey, I’ll explain,” Kit said, speaking for the first time.

“And what the hell are you doing here?” Julian asked, turning toward Kit, a flicker of panic crossing his features.

“He just came out of the bedroom with Ty,” Mark said.

Kit lifted both his hands in surrender. “I wasn’t having sex with him,” he blurted. “I mean… not this time.” His face went red. “I mean- I am out of here. If anyone’s looking for me, I’m in the bedroom.” He whirled and paused in front of the bedroom door, his hand on the knob. “Not having sex with anyone...” he specified before he disappeared behind it.

Julian heaved a sigh and turned his gaze back to Ash.

Ash gulped. He looked like a rabbit caught in the headlights, his green eyes wide.

“This is not the end of it. But first things first. Can anyone tell me what the hell Ash Morgenstern is doing here?”

They had barely registered the question, when a sharp cry from behind Julian had them all jump. A slender figure peered around him, red hair like flames flowing over a green velvet dress embroidered with gold. Jaime had seen enough drawings and pictures of her to recognize her instantly. The Seelie Queen.

She pushed Julian aside and ran to Ash, throwing her thin pale arms around him and burying her face in his chest, the golden circlet around her head tipping to the side as she did. “Where were you last night? I came to the house, and it was empty . I have been looking for you everywhere since!”

Dru was staring at Ash open-mouthed. He shot her an apologetic look.

“Mom, let me introduce you to Dru. Dru…” Ash cleared his throat. “Meet my mom.”

*****

Tagging @gabtapia ❤️ Hope you'll enjoy it and, of course, don't hesitate to correct my spanish ;)

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wiypt-writes · 4 years ago

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Riding High

Ch1:Jodhpurs And Jeans

Chapter Summary: After a passing comment from his well-meaning neighbour, land-lady and friend, Frank decides that before he enrols her into school Mary needs to learn some social skills and pick up a hobby to help her interact with kids her own age.

Mary decides she wants to learn how to ride…

Chapter Warnings: Bad Language words.

Chapter Pairings: Frank Adler x OFC Fliss Gallagher

A/N: So yeah, this one’s been buzzing in my head for AGES now. As you all know, I’m a Brit so I’m REALLY sorry if too much British horsey lingo slips into this…ASK away if you don’t understand. As means of an explanation in the UK we have 3 main types of stables. We have Riding Schools (which focus solely on providing riding lessons), Livery Yards (which are places where owners board their horses) and Equestrian Centres (which do both). After a bit of research it seems that EC also translates across the pond and means the same thing so…just bear with me on this and run with it!

Disclaimer: This is a pure work of fiction and classified as 18+. Please respect this and do not read if you are underage. I do not own any characters in this series bar Fliss Gallagher and the other OCs. By reading beyond this point you understand and accept the terms of this disclaimer.

Riding High Masterlist // Main Masterlist

August 2017

“I’m holding you solely responsible for this.” Frank shot Roberta a glare as Mary bounced over to the truck, her blonde hair swinging slightly as she skipped.

“All I said was that it might be useful to have her interact with kids her own age before you throw her into a school, which for the record, I still think is a dumbass idea Frank.” “Input noted and duly ignored…” Frank rolled his eyes “She needs to go to school. Have some kind of variant on a normal childhood.”

Roberta took a deep breath and simply shrugged “On your head be it.”

“Come on Frank!” Mary shouted, standing up on the ledge of the truck “we’re gonna be late!”

“It’s 20 minutes tops to Pinellas Park…” Frank looked at her “We got half an hour, chill out Stack”

“My name’s Mary not Short Stack…” she sing songed back.

“Don’t I know it…” Frank said, looking at her before he turned back to Roberta “I’ll see you later.”

“Hmmm” she nodded, and with that he rolled his eyes again and headed to the truck.

“You know you’re not actually gonna get to ride anything today right?” he asked, turning to his niece.

“No, but I’m still gonna see the ponies.” she said, smiling. “Why can’t we bring Fred?”

“Because a horse might step on him.” Frank shrugged, before he paused. “Actually, shall we take him?” Mary narrowed her eyes at him “That’s mean.” He chuckled, ruffled her hair and started up the truck. **** “Ok, now soften your outside hand…” Fliss called out across the paddock, as the woman riding the tall, black warmblood circled her “Yeah, you feel that. He’s taking the contact now, not leaning against your hand. So when you feel that softening, that’s when you need to push with your inside leg…and if is he isn’t listening a soft tap up with the stick…” She watched again from behind her Oakley wraparounds, smiling as the horse extended nicely down the long side of the school.

“Yeah, there you go!” she shouted encouragingly, “Now bring him round again and this time at the corner, pop him into canter…” She took a quick glance at her watch. She was running slightly behind, but what else was new? She would never leave a lesson, regardless, until her client had achieved something, even if it was what they dubbed a small victory. End on a high was her motto, and this was no different. Ever since Lucy had brought Captain out of his stable, Fliss could see the horse was in one of his awkward moods so she’d had to switch out her plan a little. It had worked and he’d settled after about 15 minutes of being an obstinate shit and he was working quite nicely.

“Good!” She shouted, pacing slightly “Now let’s see if we can extend this a little…” Lucy sat up tall, pushed through her legs and the horse bounded down the side. Fliss grinned, less than 6 months ago Lucy hadn’t even been able to keep the horse in a trot, now here she was producing an extended canter. Moments like this made her job so worthwhile…

“Ok, bring him back down…” she said, “And into trot…and walk…”

Fliss headed over to her client and smiled as she walked alongside her “That was really good Luce…you happy?” “I’m over the moon!” The teenager grinned “I can’t believe it…he went so well!”

“Yeah because you rode him well.” Fliss smiled “You know, I seriously think you should consider a Dressage Competition.”

“You think?”

“Yeah, I do. I know you don’t have a horse of your own but you can borrow Cap if you want…have a think about it.” “I will, thanks Fliss.”

Fliss smiled, gave the horse a pat and headed back to the gate.

“Joanne?” she called, and one of her grooms appeared. “Can you just supervise Lucy cooling him off. I’ve got someone bringing their daughter in at 11 am that should be here any time soon.”

“Sure.” Joanne nodded “Oh, they back barn has been mucked out but I’ve not had chance to scrub the water buckets out.” “It’s ok, you can do it after lunch” Fliss nodded. “the automatics are getting installed in a month or so which should make it a little easier.”

She patted Joanne on the shoulder and made her way into the office. Reaching for a file she dug out a Registration Form and a Liability Waiver and set them on the desk before she took a quick glance in the mirror. Satisfied that her auburn hair was tamed and there was no hay stick in it she nodded to herself and walked back on the yard, just in time to see a tall, well build dark haired man desperately trying to control a blonde haired girl who was looking around in glee and pointing.

“Hi…” she walked over, momentarily stuck by how damned good looking this guy was. He was dressed simply in a pair of jeans and a white T-shirt which perfectly accentuated his tone upper body. His chiselled jawline which was covered in a short, stubbled beard, soft spikey dark hair, and he flashed her a smile that made the corners of his aviator covered eyes crinkle. A smile that made her clear her throat. “I’m Fliss, you must be Mr Adler.”

Frank looked at the woman in front of him, glad that his glasses hid the fact he was blatantly eyeing her up and down. Dressed in a pair of long riding boots, tight navy blue jodhpurs with a white belt around the top, and a tight pink polo shirt he could see every curve she possessed. But it was the smile she flashed him that made him feel like some kind of teenage school kid again. “Frank, please.” “Nice to meet you Frank.” Fliss smiled, noting how deep his voice sounded, it was much more gravelly than on the phone and there was a Boston twang to his accent. She shook his hand, his palm and fingertips slightly calloused against her skin, and then turned to Mary “And what can I call you Miss?” “Mary.” the little girl infomed her, looking up “Are all these horses yours?”

Fliss chuckled. “No not all of them. Eight belong to me. Two are my personal ones, then I have 6 that work in the riding school and the other six are boarders.” “Oh.” Mary pondered, looking around. “So which one can I ride?” “Mary…” Frank chastised her softly as he looked down at her, before glancing back at Fliss “Sorry, she’s excited.” Fliss laughed and shook her head “It’s fine, I love to see it.”

She turned to Mary and then in an exaggerated whisper so that Frank could here said “I’ll let you into a secret, I always put the new kids on Monty because he’s awesome and looks after everyone and he especially likes girls. He’s a ladies man. You wanna meet him?” Mary nodded eagerly and Fliss looked up at Frank, seeking his permission. He nodded and gestured with his head and she straightened up before leading Mary across the yard to the barn on the opposite side.

Frank stayed where he was for a moment, watching her ass as she walked before he mentally slapped himself and followed.

Fliss led them both into the airy barn, pushing up her sunglasses and down to 2 of the smaller stables at the far end. She stopped at one that contained a small, grey pony who gave a little nicker and stuck his head over the door.

“Monty, meet Mary.” she said with a smile as Mary gently reached up to stroke the pony’s soft nose.

“He’s really pretty.” Mary nodded, appraisingly.

“Yeah he’s awesome.” Fliss smiled, “And he’s a good boy too.” “Can I go in the stable?” Mary asked.

“Erm… if your dad says it’s ok?” Fliss looked at Frank who was tucking his sunglasses down the front of his shirt.

“I’m not her dad.” Frank shook his head “I’m her uncle.” “Oh, sorry.” Fliss frowned “I just assumed.”

“I get it a lot.” he waved her apology away “But I am her legal guardian so…”

Fliss nodded, studying him for a moment. There was clearly a bit more to that story but it wasn’t her business to pry.

“Can I?” Mary looked at him and he nodded.

“Ok so, Monty is really good and nothing scares him but with all horses you should always be quiet and not jump or shout.” Fliss instructed and Frank had to smile as Mary nodded seriously. He hadn’t seen her this engrossed in anything other than books for a long time. Maybe Roberta had been right.

Fliss unbolted the stable door and walked in, leading Mary in after her. She showed her where he liked to be scratched and Mary giggled as she rubbed at the spot on the pony’s withers and he began to tilt his head to the side, lips moving against Fliss’s arm as he nuzzled into her.

“What’s he doing?” Mary asked.

“It’s called grooming.” Fliss explained “So he is mimicking what you’re doing to him by doing it to me, see? It’s how they show affection in the wild. Sometimes they can get a bit carried away and they nip but they don’t mean to be nasty or bite.”

She looked over to Frank, keeping one eye on the small girl who was engrossed in petting Monty and looked at him “So, are you just after her learning to ride then or…” Frank nodded “It’s a long story but, she needs a hobby and this was the only thing that seemed to get her excited. Of course it would be the one that will milk me dry.” he raised his voice a little.

“Spend less money on beer when you go out tonight” she shot back, and Fliss gave a loud bark of a laugh as Frank, shook his head.

“See what I gotta put up with?” he snorted.

“You should talk to my dad about it.” She grinned. “I bled him dry due to horses as a kid, especially when I was up and down the UK competing!” “I was gonna say your accent isn’t local.” He said, smiling.

“Neither is yours.” she shot back “Boston, am I right?” He cocked his head, momentarily surprised. He didn’t think his accent was that strong considering.

“Yeah.” he nodded, “But I aint lived there in a while.” “I lived in Concorde” she explained, noticing his puzzled glance

“Huh, no kidding.” he smiled “Cambridge.” “Nice city.” Fliss smiled “I loved it.”

“What made you end up here?”

Fliss hesitated for a while. “Erm..” “Sorry, you don’t need to explain, I was just a little curious.” “No, it’s fine, just a long and complicated story.” Fliss scratched her temple “The abridged version is my marriage broke down and my mum and dad retired out here so I joined them.” She was avoiding his eyes slightly. Frank was smart enough to realise there was slightly more to it than that but he was tactful enough not to press. Besides, it was really none of his business.

“How about you? What you running from?” “What makes you think I’m running from anything?” he looked at her.

“Aren’t we all?” she looked at him, her deep brown eyes locked onto his.

He hesitated for a moment and then shrugged “Again, a long and complicated story but I wanted to give Mary a life away from hassle. And there was a lot of that in Boston.” He held her gaze and she simply nodded, before turning back to Mary.

“Ok Mary, how about we head into the office, get some forms signed and we can see about booking you in for your first lesson?” Frank watched as Fliss explained the importance of the kick-bolt on the bottom of the stable and showed her how to lock it before they three of them headed back onto the yard.

“Fliss, sorry to interrupt but do you want Cap and Bolt turned out?” a young girl with blonde hair approached them.

“Yeah, they’re not working today.” Fliss said, “But take them one at a time. Bolt’s taking to being a bit bargey. If he starts wrap the lead-rope round his nose.” “Will do.” “Thanks Jo.” she smiled, and the continued.

“What’s bargey?” Mary asked.

“Pushy.” Frank looked at her “Bossy.” “Like you?” Frank shot her a look and saw Fliss smiling to herself as she overheard.

“Or it could mean pain in the ass like you.” he shrugged. “Rude.” Mary shot back as Fliss opened the door to the office. Frank leaned over to hold it open.

“Thanks.” she looked at him smiling. He stepped in after Mary and they both stood, looking around taking it all in.

There was a large photo on the wall to the left, of someone, he presumed Fliss, on a horse jumping an obscenely high fence. On the wall at the back was a number of shelves, one containing files and the others a few more framed photos, one taken outside the gates to the yard of Fliss and a few others, he assumed her staff, and the other contained a number of trophies and a…

“Woah!” Mary said, scooting over “Is that yours?” “Sure is.” Fliss beamed, reaching up to retrieve the box frame. She led it flat on the desk and Mary scrambled up onto the chair to take a closer look.

The frame was split into two. On the right hand side was a photo of Fliss dressed in competition gear, navy jacket, red piping, white jodhs and a navy hat. She had a smile on her face that was literally ear to ear and round her neck sat the gold medal which was displayed in the left of the frame.

“London 2012…” Mary read the small plaque at the bottom “Frank, look…” “I can see.” he nodded, surprise evident in his tone. He looked at the woman “You were in the Olympics?” “Yeah.” she smiled “Only one though. Trained for years to get there…”

“Why only one?” Mary looked at her.

“Mary.” Frank groaned “Stop being nosey.” “It’s ok.” Fliss chuckled “A few months later at the World Championships later that year I had a nasty accident. I damaged my back and it took me nearly six months to recover. Sadly I lost my place on the team.” “Oh, that’s sad.” Mary looked at her.

“It’s a dog eat dog world kid.” Fliss shrugged “Not all bad though, I got into the training side of things which was great. Just my professional career didn’t work out.” There was a moments pause and Fliss replaced the photo and turned to Frank “Can I get you anything to drink?” “No, I’m good thanks.” he smiled.

“Ok, so…” Fliss said, “Mary I’m gonna need my seat back sweetie.” Mary obligingly jumped back down and Fliss took her vacated place, gesturing to the chair by the desk. Frank sat in it and Mary immediately jumped into his lap, her bare legs brushing slightly as she swung them to and fro.

“I have a few forms that you need to fill in and sign.” she said, apologetically “Legal stuff, contact details, waivers, that kind of thing. Safety is paramount at Sandybrook but, accidents to happen. Horse riding can be a dangerous sport…falls happen… as I know only too well.” Frank smiled and nodded.

“But I can give you those to take home, you can bring them with you when you come back.” Fliss reached into her desk drawer. She pulled out a glossy leaflet and opened it. “Our price list is here. I’m not a huge outfit, I don’t have more than 3 kids on a lesson at a time. Mainly because I don’t have the horses but I prefer to focus on the students, not the profit. I try to keep overheads down as much as I can to keep the costs low…”

She bit her lip, she hated this part of the job, the sales patter as her dad called it. “So it really depends on what you want to do as to how expensive it is. Group lessons are $20 for forty five minutes and individual lessons are $30 for thirty. I do always insist on an individual lesson first, but that’s discounted to $20 for the first one.” Frank nodded, it wasn’t cheap but they’d manage. He’d already explained to Mary that she wouldn’t be able to do it every week, but he could certainly stretch to once a fortnight.

“That’s reasonable.” he said after a pause.

Fliss smiled “I’ve only been open a year or so now, but I’m planning on starting up a few Own a Pony days where the kids can come down and learn how to care for the horses as well as just ride. But that’s all in the planning stages.” “Well you have a good set up.” he said, and she beamed back.

“Thank you, a lot of graft went into setting it up. My mom and dad’s retirement didn’t start out quite as quiet as they had planned!”

“I can imagine.”

“Ok,so…the real expensive outlay is gonna come at the start.” she said, turning to Mary “You’ll need some boots and a hat kiddo.” Mary grinned up at Frank.

“I do have hats I can loan for a few lessons but it is better if they have their own.” she looked at Frank. “It’s the one thing I don’t recommend getting second hand. But boots and jodhpurs etcetera you can pick up on e-bay and the like.” Frank nodded “And the hat?”

“There’s a great store not far from here…hang on…” she dug in her drawer again and produced a flier. “Here… the kid stuff is pretty reasonable to be fair, you’re probably looking at about $30 for a decent hat but they’ll help you out. If you take my brochure in you’ll get a 20% discount too.”

Mary took the flier from her and began examining it.

“That’s really it.” Fliss said, as she completed her mental check list “So all that’s left is to either book you in or you can call me…” “Please Frank!” Mary looked at him “Can we book?” Frank nodded “If you want.” “I do…” “Ok…what availability do you have?” Fliss opened the laptop and entered the diary and looked for a free spot.” “Does Wednesday at one suit?” she offered “I know once school starts you’ll probably want a weekend or evening but. whilst it’s the holidays does that work?”

Frank nodded “Yeah that’s fine. I can jiggle work around” Fliss tapped on the keyboard and smiled “All booked. If you want to leave me your number I send a text update out the night before just as a reminder.” Frank smiled, and gave out her number which she stored in the diary slot and then clicked saved “All done…guess I’ll see you Wednesday.” “Thanks.” he smiled “And thanks for showing us around.” “Not a problem.” she shook her head “Always important the clients get the tour of the place, to make sure they like it.” “Its awesome.” Mary looked up “Can we go here on the way home.” Frank sighed and looked at Fliss raising an eyebrow. She laughed.

“Yeah, get used to it. Once you get that horse smell on your hands it’s kind of an addiction.” “Frank hates animals.” Mary shrugged.

“I don’t hate animals.” Frank shook his head.

“You hate Fred.” “No, I don’t”

“You said before we should bring him so a horse steps on him.” Frank inwardly groaned as Fliss gave a chuckle.

“Fred is my cat.” Mary explained.

“Good name.” Fliss said “I have a few yard cats hanging around, they keep the mice at bay. And that reminds me, I haven’t seen Thor in a while…”

“Thor?” Mary looked at her

“Yeah, my dog…” Fliss stood up and opened the office door, giving a sharp whistle. “He never goes far.” As if on cue a large german shepherd came lolling down the yard to greet them. Frank eyed the dog, it was huge. Mary, right on cue jumped down off his lap.

“Can I stroke him?” “Go right ahead.” Fliss said, she looked at Frank and spotting his face she smiled “He’s a softie, looks the part though.” “Well I wouldn’t mess put it that way.” Frank snorted, standing up.

“Is he named after the Avenger?” Mary looked up “I love those films.”

“Sure is, he used to have a brother called Loki too but, well he died.”

Thor gave Mary a lick causing her to giggle before he flopped onto his side raising his paw.

“He wants a belly rub.” Fliss smiled, and Mary dropped to her knees to give the dog a tickle. His tail began to wag furiously on the floor and Mary laughed.

Frank watched the girl, smiling. He loved seeing her like this. She was so grown up and serious half the time, he yearned to see her acting like a normal seven year old. He was reticent to drag her away for that reason but he had work later that afternoon, a boat that needed finishing by Monday afternoon was taking him slightly longer than he had anticipated.

“Alright short stack, we gotta move…” “Do we hafta?” “Sorry kiddo.” Mary made a face.

“Do you wanna go to the store or not?” “Ok.” she said, jumping up and wiping dusting off her knees.

Fliss walked them to the truck which was parked in the car park and her eyes flew over to her horse wagon, a small 3.5 tonne box. Frank noticed her looking before she turned back to him

“Yours?”

“Yeah, I did have a bigger one but, well I don’t use it often enough now to warrant it. Maybe at some point I’ll get back into competing…never say never hey?” He smiled.

“Ok, so I’ll see you Wednesday.” she said To Frank’s utter surprise, Mary walked over to the woman and wrapped her arms around her, giving her waist as squeeze, her head pressing into Fliss’s stomach. Fliss bent over to give the girl a quick hug and smiled.

“It was nice to meet you both.” Fliss released Mary and gently ruffled her hair “I can’t wait to see you ride.” Mary headed over to the passenger side of the truck and stood on the sill so she could yank open the door. Fliss turned to Frank and looked at him, frowning slightly.

“Sorry, was that too much? I didn’t mean-” “Oh,God,no.” Frank stuttered, hastily shaking his head. “No, it’s just…well she’s never usually that affectionate with strangers. Not that you’re a stranger I suppose, not anymore but…” he shrugged.

“I’m flattered then.” Fliss said, her pretty face cracking into a smile which Frank couldn’t help but return. There was a moment of silence where he simply looked at her before he started suddenly.

“I should…” he gestured to the truck with his keys.

“Yeah, sorry. Have a good day Mr Adler…” “Frank…” “Frank.” she corrected herself with another gorgeous smile “I’ll see you Wednesday.” With a smile of his own and a nod he walked to the truck and Fliss turned and headed back to the yard.

He climbed in and turned to Mary who was looking at him, smirking in a smug way that was well beyond her years.

“What?” he demanded.

“You like her.” Mary snorted.

“She’s a nice girl, I mean woman…lady…”

Mary didn’t say a word, simply sat back as Frank reached around for her belt before doing his own and setting the truck into reverse. Sometimes she was far too observant for her own good. *****

“If she gives you any trouble just tie her up on the porch.” Frank said as Mary settled on the couch in Roberta’s trailer. Roberta snorted and Mary glared at him.

“The only one who gives me trouble around here is you Frank Adler.” Roberta shot back. “Now scoot, Mary’s gotta tell me all about this pretty girl at the stables she says you’re sweet on.” “Jesus…” Frank groaned “I’m not sweet on her, she was just nice.”

“He googled her.” Mary said.

“You googled her” Roberta intoned.

“I was curious ok?” Frank sighed “And you asked me to!” “She’s an Olympic Gold medallist.” Mary chanted, draping herself over the arm of the sofa, head hanging, hair brushing the floor “At London 2012 but then she had an accident in the World Championships later that year and she broke two vertebrae…she didn’t compete again. And she was married to a guy called John Stazaker, he was on the US team but they’re divorced now. He’s in prison…but Frank didn’t tell me why.” “Because it’s none of your business, and you don’t mention it to her.” Frank said sternly, cutting her off.

Roberta looked at him curiously “But you’re not interested in her,at all.” “Like I said, curious.” he shrugged “Especially if she’s gonna be teaching Mary.”

“Mmmhmmm.” Roberta dropped her hands to her hips “Whatever you say honey…” Frank sighed and then looked at Mary. “Be good.” “I will, see you in the morning…”

He nodded and then headed out. It was a pleasant evening, the heat of the day had died down to an acceptable level and the ten minute walk down to the small strip of bars wasn’t as sticky as normal. It passed fairly quickly, he was lost in thought about the woman he had met before. It had made for surprising reading, a child star on the circuit the accident had cruelly robbed her of a future in the sport five years ago, and from the sounds of it her ass-hat ex-husband had stolen three years of her life too. Still, as he had told Mary, it was none of their business.

He yanked the door open to Fergs and headed over to the bar. Ordering his usual he perched on a stool and pulled over one of the papers, flicking it open. Taking a pull of the beer he was handed, he let out a sigh. Friday nights were always his time, his one night of the week where he wasn’t Frank with the Dead Sister and the child genius niece to bring up. He was just plain old Frank Adler, perpetual bachelor that might or might not get lucky, depending on how the night went.

Half an hour or so later he was another beer deep and completely lost in his reading. So much so he was barely aware of the body besides him as it slid into the space next to him at the bar. That was until they spoke.

“So how much did she sting you for at the store?”

Frank grinned at Fliss “Just short of a hundred. New hat, boots and a pair of jodhpurs.” Fliss giggled “Make sure she wears the boots in, they’re a killer for the first few days!” “I’ll bear it in mind.” he smiled “So, you hear alone or…” “Oh, no. It’s my Mum’s birthday so there’s a few of us out.” she said, glancing over her shoulder. Frank followed her eyes and settled on a table full of women who were all laughing. One looked quite similar to Fliss, same face shape and nose, who he assumed to be her mother. “If I’m honest it’s a bit boring considering they’re all over fifty but…” Frank laughed “Well I was gonna offer to buy you a drink but…” She laughed again “Thanks but, there’s a kitty going…” with that she turned to the bar tender. “Hiya, can I get 4 bud lights, a gin and tonic and a vodka soda please?” The bar tender nodded and headed off.

“Mary hasn’t shut up about Monty all afternoon.” Frank said and Fliss smiled.

“Like I said, once they get the bug they’re bitten.” “It’ll be good for her to have a hobby.” Frank repeated his earlier sentiment “She doesn’t get much interaction with kids her age.”

“Oh, what about School?” Fliss asked. Frank hesitated and took a drink from his bottle. Fliss let out a silent groan “Sorry, that’s really none of my business.” “No, it’s fine.” Frank shook his head, swallowing his beer. “She’s err, home schooled at the moment. My neighbour thought a hobby might be a good way for her to kinda do that before she goes to school.”

Fliss smiled “Well she’s not wrong. The kids I teach are great, I don’t stand for any crap, she’ll be welcomed with open arms.”

“Glad to hear it.” Frank smiled “Mary can be a litte…well, I suppose, odd is the right word. She’s old before her age.”

“Oh I know all about that.” Fliss smiled. “I spent most of my childhood training. Didn’t get chance to do much normal kid stuff. I was that focussed on my dream of gold medals…” “And you achieved it.” Frank nodded.

“Yeah, wish it had lasted longer you know, but what can you do.” she shrugged. “Hey, you never know, Mary might find a sudden hidden talent that catapults her into stardom…” Frank stiffened slightly and it didn’t go unnoticed by Fliss. She hesitated for a moment before Frank shook his head and smiled “Maybe, although that would really gonna fuck my bank balance…”

Fliss chuckled, eyeing him slightly. The man was a total mystery. At that the Bar Tender returned with a tray of drinks and she turned to pay him, waving away the change.

“Well, I guess I’ll see you Wednesday.” she smiled “Bye Frank.” “Yeah, have a good evening.” he smiled and she turned and walked away. Frank watched her go, the tight jeans she was wearing accentuated her ass and her legs, helped by the white heels she was wearing. The loose white cami top rode up slightly as she bent over to deposit the tray and when the woman he assumed to be her mother caught his eye and gave a knowing smirk he hastily turned around.

“Another beer please pal.” he said, waving his empty bottle

****

“Who’s that?” Verity leaned over to Fliss as she settled in the seat next to her.

“Oh, that’s the guy I was telling you about.” she shrugged “the one who brought his niece up to the Centre this morning.” “I know you said he was good looking but…”

“Shut up Mum.” Fliss said, flushing slightly

“You’re old enough to be his mother.” Jane, one of the other women said and the table laughed.

“I wasn’t looking for me…” Fliss rolled her eyes “Seriously?” Verity laughed and placed her arm round her daughter, giving her a squeeze. “I’m just teasing Lissy, its just nice to see you talking to someone, that’s all.” Fliss smiled and grabbed her beer, taking a drink.

“Who the fuck was that?” John said, pointing across the packed bar to the man that Fliss had just smiled at.

“No one…” Fliss protested “Just a guy from work, that’s all.” “Right…” John said, the nerve in his jaw twitching. Fliss swallowed nervously and gently touched his arm.

“Honestly, he works at the stables. I was just being polite.”

“He’s eye fucking you.” “No, he’s not…” Fliss rolled her eyes and immediately realised what he had done when John gripped her chin painfully between his thumb and forefinger.

“Don’t roll your eyes at me.” he practically snarled.

“I’m sorry…” Fliss said, the tears springing forth “John you’re hurting me…” He let go and she dropped her head, turning back to the bar. She picked up her drink and took a long pull from the bottle, trying to compose herself. Her hand was shaking, she’d made him angry.

And she knew what that meant…

“Hey…” her mother’s voice shook her out of the memory and she looked up at her. “Oh Liss…”

“I’m ok…” she said, taking a breath.

Her mother looked at her again, and Fliss knew she was busted. “I was just…having a flash back that’s all.”

“He’s not here.” Verity dropped her voice “That fucker is where he belongs, behind bars and he won’t be bothering you again. Me and your dad promised you that…and we meant it.”

“I know, honestly I’m fine…” Fliss assured her mum who leaned over and gave her temple a soft kiss.

Fliss smiled back and shooting one last glance at Frank, who has his back to the table as he continued his reading, she turned to the women and threw herself into the conversation.

**** Chapter 2

#riding high #frank adler #frank adler x ofc #frank adler x original female character #gifted fan fic #gifted

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thosch3i · 4 years ago

Text

Zeng Shunxi’s Goodbye Post to Wu Xie and Ultimate Note [ENG TRANSLATION]

Zeng Shunxi posted on Weibo last night saying goodbye to his character, with a video (of his time during filming, no actual talking IIRC) that you can watch here. Translation below the cut.

Hello, Wu Xie. I remember this was the first line I said to myself when I got the "Ultimate Note" script.

As actors, we will wander between different characters, meeting and saying goodbye again and again. This time, I was fortunate enough to meet--Wu Xie.

On that day, May 9, 2019, the section of this journey that belonged to me and Wu Xie began.

As for the Wu Xie in my mind at this stage, he is kind, cute, stubborn, a little childish, but very loyal. He innocent and pure (1), tianzhen Wu Xie (2). His experiences--from the very beginning, he was forced to walk into this period of his life--let me understand more deeply the fate that he is burdened with and his confusion. This story is the beginning of Wu Xie's turning point in life. At that time, he was inexperienced, ignorant, a little flippant, had his own principles, and was unaware of the huge changes soon to come in his life. On his journey to find the "Ultimate", he gradually discovered secrets, saw through people's hearts, and watched with his own eyes his former companions reaching different bitter ends, while remaining utterly powerless to save them. As a result, he gradually matured and transformed from a "pure and refined young man, like a fragile lotus flower breaking the water's surface (3)", grew to understand the "mandate of heaven", shouldered heavy responsibilities, and finally put on a mask, bidding farewell to his innocence (4), and moving towards becoming an evil emperor (5).

The predestined bonds between individuals are truly marvelous; similar people will always attract each other. During [Wu Xie's] journey, he met his two most important friends in this life; he was no longer alone on his journey to explore dangers and unveil mysteries.

Zhang Qiling, Wu Xie's most important Xiaoge, is likely closer than his family. In this world, everyone has someone in their heart who they want to protect. Where Xiaoge came from and where he will go, perhaps we will never know, but Wu Xie very firmly knows in his heart that he wants to give Xiaoge a "home". Even if he falls into darkness, they must hold hands and move forward. Xiaoge, thank you for the countless times you have pulled Wu Xie out of danger, and thank you for always guarding Wu Xie and standing by his side. How lucky, because of you (6).

Wang Pangzi--we call him Pang-ge in private--handles the atmosphere of the Iron Triangle. It is because of him that this journey has had so much laughter. He loves money, but he attaches more importance to love and friendship. Though he normally doesn't behave properly or have good manners, he was the first to see Wu Xie's simple and pure heart, calling him "Tianzhen" and saying that he "really is innocent and pure". Pang-ge is definitely the best choice for Wu Xie's sworn friend through life and death. Pang-ge, thank you for your unfailing companionship. Furthermore, thank you to the Iron Triangle for meeting and protecting each other.

The 36 episodes of "Ultimate Note" are composed of four books: "Snake Marsh Ghost City", "Yin Mountains Ancient Building", "Qionglong Stone Shadows (7)" and "Mysterious Sea Homecoming". Xishuangbanna, Qujing, Tulin, Yinchuan, Wuxi, Hengdian...we traversed the mysterious sea of a rainforest and the Gobi Desert. We walked a long path, up the mountain and into the sea, to explore the mysteries of the past. From under the ocean-like tree canopies in May to the scorching sun in August, we have filmed through the most sweltering weather of the year. As for Wu Xie--Seven Star Lu Palace, Xisha Undersea Tomb, Qinling, Heavenly Palace in The Clouds, the desert and Snake Marsh, the Nation of the Queen Mother of the West, Zhang Family Ancient Mansion, Banai's Siguniang Mountain...for the sake of his friends and the truth, what he has experienced is still beyond what I can reach.

This was a journey of 103 days and nights with 546 personnel. Thanks to iQIYI, thanks to Linghe Culture (8), thanks to producer Yingzi-jie and the team, thanks to producer Bai Yicong-laoshi, thanks to the three directors, thanks to every diligent staff member working behind the scenes. Everyone has worked ardently and with devotion to their own roles, personally dedicating their time and sincerity to turn this brilliant story from a dream into reality. Also thanks to every actor in the show and their sincere work; only because of all of you, "Ultimate Note" can have its perfect ending today.

Xiao San-ye, I have to bid farewell to you now; I am grateful for your company. Xiao San-ye, I hope you will ultimately bring Xiaoge home, as you wish. Life is a vast, perplexing ocean; don't forget your innocence [tianzhen].

Xiaoge, the mountains never change, and the rivers continue flowing (9).

Goodbye, Tianzhen.

------

Notes:

(1) idiom, 天真无邪/tianzhen (innocent) wuxie (lit. "without evil" aka pure)

(2) 天真吴邪: a pun on Wu Xie's name, since his surname 吴 sounds the same as 无 (without)

(3) involves idiom 出水芙蓉 (lit. lotus flower breaking water's surface), often used to describe beautiful works of art or beautiful young women. Pangzi says that quoted part about Wu Xie in Zang Hai Hua chapter 22.

(4) 天真/tianzhen

(5) 邪帝/xie-di: the 邪 is from Wu Xie's name and literally means "evil", and Sha Hai Wu Xie has often been referred to as 邪帝, in contrast with the early main story "tianzhen Wu Xie".

(6) 多幸运，因为你: a line from Wu Xie's character song in Ultimate Note that's sung by Zeng Shunxi. Links to watch the official MV can be found here.

(7) Translations of the book titles are hard. Could not figure out what Qionglong meant, but someone on Baidu Knows said it referred to the cave with Miluotuo where the Iron Triangle was trapped.

(8) Media company name

(9) Supposedly a line from a poem called "Departure (离别)". The full line AFAIK is "The mountains never change, the rivers continue flowing, we will meet again some day." (青山不改，绿水长流，后会有期。)

#dmbj #zjbj #ultimate note #wu xie #zeng shunxi #iron triangle #pingxie #盗墓笔记 #终极笔记 #曾舜晞 #im tagging this as pingxie bc u cant tell me what to do #this has probably already been translated on twitter since fandom's more active there but #i decided to translate anyway to post over here on tumblr #shouting into the void #translation #i really should've tagged translations lmfao

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queenxxxsupreme · 4 years ago

Text

Shelter

A/N: Needed some soft Yennefer because I love her.

Word Count: 1.9k

Warning: none :) this is pure fluff

Thunder rumbled in the clouds above the mountains that rested behind the witcher, the mage, the bard, and the source. Cirilla jumped at the clap of thunder. Yennefer, who rested on the same horse as her, offered a comforting hand to Ciri’s side. The young ashen haired girl was nearly falling asleep, struggling to keep her eyes open.

“I’m tired.” Ciri rubbed her eyes and leaned back into Yennefer, who gladly provided support.

“We are almost there.” She assured Ciri, kissing the top of her head.

“You said that an hour ago.” Jaskier muttered. His horse was just behind Yennefer and Ciri’s. Yennfer shot him a brief glare over her shoulder. Her violet eyes flickered back to Geralt. The witcher carried up the rear.

“We are nearly there.”

The White Wolf nodded once but said nothing.

“You’ve never actually told us where it is we are going.” Ciri said.

“Somewhere safe that we can rest.” Yennefer answered softly. “A trusted friend that can offer us shelter.”

“Huh. I didn’t think you had any friends.” Jaskier stated, nearly chuckling at himself.

Yennefer chose to ignore him.

The path began to grow more and more narrow. The trees provided a thick, dense canopy, hiding the forest floor from the dwindling light given by the evening sun. The darkness gave everyone an uneasy feeling. Geralt kept his eyes peeled and listened carefully to ever little sound, wanting to know if there was anything dangerous lurking in the woods.

As the forest came to an end, a little hilltop meadow came into view. At the base of the hill was a wooden gate attached to a fence. The fence disappeared in a thick bush on one side and traveled around the hill on the other side.

Using her magic, Yennefer pulled the gate open without getting off of her horse. Just as she was closing the gate behind Geralt, a dark brown donkey with white legs made itself known, braying and its ears pressed flat to its skull.

“Easy, Gus.” Yennefer put her hand up, ushering a wave of serenity to the animal.

Once Gus was calm, Yennefer continued up the path surrounded by undergrowth and bushes.

Around the little hill was a stone cottage. Lavender hydrangea bushes rested in the flower bed just outside of the house. Pink and purple bougainvilleas covered one side of the cottage and green ivy littered the roof.

You were underneath the tree near the house with a book in hand and a lamb across your lap. A calf rested next to you, resting its head on your thigh. When they heard Gus’s alarm, they lifted their heads up.

The lamb bleated and hurried to greet the uninvited guest. The calf was slower to get up but followed its friend. You remained under the tree, smoothing out your skirt as you looked at the group.

When you realized it was Yennefer, you were on your feet and running to her. The book that had once been in your hand was left in the grass. Excitement and happiness filled your veins at the sight of the mage.

You collided into her with such force that she nearly fell backwards. She had to step back to keep from falling to the ground. Your arms wrapped around her neck and your lips met hers. She tasted just as sweet and intoxicating as you remembered.

Her arms slipped around your waist, holding you close to her. She pulled away first, smiling at you. You couldn’t help getting lost in her violet gaze.

“I hope you don’t mind that I’ve brought a few guests.”

The mage’s words reminded you that the two of you weren’t alone. Your arms retracted from her and you stepped back to look at who all she had brought. You immediately recognized Geralt of Rivia, the White Wolf, from not only the ballads but also from what Yennefer told you. Cirilla was easy to recognize too with her ashen hair and bright blue eyes. That left the brunet man to be Jaskier, the bard.

“Where are my manners?” You laughed softly, brushing your hair behind your ears. “You look like you’ve been traveling for ages. I’ve got warm soup and extra beds. Let’s go put the horses in the stable around back.”

“How did you know I’d be coming with them?” Yennefer asked as she began to lead her horse with Ciri still on top of it.

“I didn’t.” You looked over to her. “I had enough ingredients so I made extra and I was going to take it into town to give to the beggars in town.”

Yennefer’s chest tightened at your words. You were a soul too pure for her. She was unworthy of your kindness and generosity.

She reached up to brush her fingers over your hair, smiling gently at you.

“Am I the only one who did not see that coming?” Jaskier whispered to Geralt. The witcher glanced at him but said nothing, following silently behind Yennefer.

***

Once the horses were in stables and had been given chunks of hay for the night, you ushered everyone into the house, making sure that they washed their hands at the well just outside of your home.

You went inside ahead of everyone else and began to slice a fresh loaf of bread just pulled from the stone oven.

“I’m terribly sorry. Yennefer is such a rude person.” Jaskier swatted his hand in Yennefer’s direction. “She didn’t properly introduce us. I’m Jaskier, this lovely lady is Ciri, and that’s Geralt.”

“I know who you all are.” You told Jaskier, moving to gather enough bowls for everyone. “Geralt is easy to tell because of the ballads - your ballads. And Yennefer has mentioned Cirilla quite a few times.”

“She’s never mentioned you.” Ciri frowned, brows drawing together.

You placed a bowl of hot soup down in front of her, offering her a gentle smile.

“Yen doesn’t tell anyone about me.” You glanced over to the mage who stood at the end of the table, refusing to sit. You winked at her, letting her know you were just messing with her. “She prefers to keep me a secret.”

“If you tell the world of the fortune you managed to stumble upon, then everyone will rush to steal it from you.” She said, tapping her fingertips against the table.

You could sense something was wrong with her. Something bothered her. She was tense.

You finished dipping out bowls for the two men and wiped your hands on your skirt, your eyes finding Yennefer.

“Don’t mind us.” You told the three at the table, giving them little smiles. “We just have to step outside for a moment. Do help yourself to bread and more soup. There’s plenty to go around.”

You moved past Yennefer, hooking your hand around her arm and tugging her outside. The door to the cottage closed behind her.

“What’s wrong?” You asked her, brows drawing together as you tilted your head to the side a little.

She said nothing at first, violet eyes flickered over the path in front of your home.

“I didn’t want to bring them here.” She admitted quietly, her eyes searching your face but never meeting your eyes. “I would’ve much rather teleported them here, but I’m exhausted and tired and it’s-it’s been such a long day-,”

“Hey.” You cut her off, placing your hand on her arm. “It’s okay that you’ve brought them here. You all needed somewhere to stay, somewhere safe. I’m glad you’ve come home.”

You embraced her in a warm hug, one much gentler than your previous one.

“I just don’t like to risk your safety.”

“I don’t mind providing somewhere for them to go.” You pulled your head back so that you could look into her eyes. “They’re your family. Wherever you are welcomed, so are they.”

Yennefer brought her hand up to trace your jaw with her fingertips.

“What did I ever do to deserve you?”

“You deserve everything.” You pressed a chaste kiss to her lips. “Now come. You need to eat something.”

***

You had just finished giving Ciri enough blankets for the night. She’d be staying on an extra bed in the floor of your room. Jaskier and Geralt would be sleeping in the main room by the fireplace. You had enough blankets for them but the hearth would surely aid in keeping them warm.

Jaskier was sitting on a stool by the fire, quietly playing a song and messing with lyrics. Yennefer was in with Ciri, talking quietly to the young girl.

Geralt sat alone at the kitchen table, staring at his hands.

You moved to sit across from him. He looked up at you and sat straighter. You smiled a little at him.

“I just…. I know how you and Yennefer met.” You told him, keeping your voice low so that only he could hear. “And I want to thank you for saving her.”

“What has she told you?” His voice was deep and gravelly. He didn’t speak much throughout the evening.

“Everything.” You admitted. You turned your head to look down the hallway that your room was down. “Of her destiny…. Of yours…. And of Cirilla’s.”

You did your best not to feel upset about it. You knew the wish Geralt made wasn’t in Yennefer’s control. Her fate was stuck to his forever, sealed after the first time they met. Cirilla’s fate was intertwined with theirs being that she was Geralt’s child surprise. Yennefer thought of her as her own daughter and it warmed your heart to see your mage act to gentle and sweet with her.

“Thank you for saving her.” You looked to Geralt, meeting his gaze. “If there is anything ever that you need, you can come to me. I’m a stranger to your world, to Yennefer’s world, sure. But I can offer a warm bed and fresh food. Somewhere safe should you ever need it.”

Geralt nodded once, a silent thank you to your words.

“Please enlighten me, Y/N.” Jaskier quit playing his lute as he spoke. “How did such a sweet woman like you end up with a hellbeast like Yennefer of Vengerberg?”

Your eyes flickered over to the mage as she closed the door to your room behind herself.

“My mother is an herbalist from Vizima. Yennefer came to her shop in search of an herb. I took one look at her and decided that I wanted her.” You smiled gently.

She held your gaze but said nothing.

“Of course, she didn’t pay any attention to me at first.” You leaned back, motioning for her to sit next to you. She hesitated before doing so. You placed your hand on her knee, offering her comfort. “But eventually, I managed to catch her attention.”

“When you nearly set yourself on fire.” Yennefer sighed.

“It was an accident though.”

***

After a few hours, you and Yennefer retired to your room. You clambered into the bed, settling beneath fine furs and quilts. Yennefer only settled for the best of everything.

“Will you let me braid your hair?” You asked her as she began to get into the bed. She nodded softly and went around to your side of the bed. She climbed up to rest between your legs.

Minutes passed as the two of you enjoyed the peace and quiet. Your fingers were delicate with her thick dark hair.

“Thank you.” She murmured softly, glancing over her shoulder so she could steal a look at you. “For welcoming them the way you did.”

“No need to thank me, love.” You kissed her forehead. “You are all I need as a thanks. Now turn around so I don’t make this crooked.”

Taglist: @riviawitch3r @notyouraveragemochii @dev1lbella @rosyghosty @merendis @lalalalemonade11 @wayward-dream @whatanicepanohthatsjustme @tshuuls @havenoffandoms @queen-sands @crazzyter @katiejmac @bucky-did-nothing-wrong @jennylovelyheart @whitewolfandthefox @itsallyouhavegotinsideyourhead @hm-fck @mactho @msgeorgiarae @tragicmisfits @randomzxx @alwayshave-faith @rahdaleigh @lizliz3107 @turtlefordestiel @d14n4ol @asix122747483 @minervalavender @agniavateira @hina-chans-stuff @dressed-up-heartbreak @persephonehemingway @bitterstar88 @scarlettwitcher @ayamenimthiriel @romancebibliophilia @jessevans @xoxoarts @jocelynscloset @soulslaststand @grumgoblin @thefishmongersdaughterwrites @silverkitten547 @elsassnowflake

#yennefer #yennefer x reader #yennefer of vengerberg #yennefer of vengerberg x reader #the witcher #the witcher netflix #mage #yennefer fluff #yennefer oneshot #yennefer fic

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givelove-always · 5 years ago

Text

I Love Him Not, I Love Him

A/N: Hi! This is my extremely late entry for @bucky-smiles’ 2K Bollywood Writing Challenge (I’m so sorry for the delay aahhh!)! My prompt was one of my fave songs, Subhanallah from Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani, so that’s what this fic is loosely based on! Also a big thank you to @parkerpetey for taking the time to edit this and leave hilarious comments throughout the Google doc, ilysm for that. I hope you enjoy!

Summary: The three times you didn’t accept that you were crushing on Peter, and the one time you did.

Pairing: Peter Parker x Reader

Word Count: 7.3k words

Warnings: None, just tooth-rotting fluff and reader being frustrating :)

Something everyone talked about, yet nobody really talked about, was how being the new student in the school, especially given that it was your senior year, was ridiculously tough.

You had recently moved from Toronto to Queens, and you absolutely despised it. You’d spent three extremely long years at your old school creating a name for yourself, be it through your strong academic scores or your commitment to numerous extracurriculars. You weren’t exactly popular, but were definitely spoken of quite highly if you were brought up in conversation, regardless of whether it was teachers talking or your fellow students. You were on the perfect path to becoming valedictorian of your class.

… Until you were uprooted and brought here. Sure, your dad really pulled all the strings he could to help you secure a spot at Midtown, especially given that it was senior year - it’s hard enough as is to secure a spot in freshman year, what with it being insanely competitive and for genius students and all, and while your grades were stellar, it would’ve still been close to impossible securing a spot - and you really appreciated it, but that didn’t mean that you still didn’t miss your school and your friends back in Toronto.

It felt like everyone was talking about you - who was the new girl? how did she manage to get a spot three years after everyone else? was she genuinely smart, or was there some other way she got in? - but at the same time, it felt like you were invisible. People wanted to know more about the circumstances surrounding you than know more about you as a person.

With every day that you went to school and came back home after unsuccessful attempts at restarting your social life and making friends, your morale was deflating. As much as you tried to push it aside, the pang in your chest was becoming more and more undeniable when you constantly saw people surrounded by their friends, laughing and chatting, while you sat to the side all by yourself.

Even then, it was all bearable. Just one year here, and then you could go make friends in university, where life would practically be a clean slate - a fresh start for everyone. Who knows, maybe you could even go back to Canada to a university where some of your old high school friends would be attending. You kept telling yourself that everything would work itself out, and if it had to be after a year of loneliness, then so be it.

The only thing that still felt terrible were the daily walks to and from school all alone. Back in Toronto, you and your best friend would always text each other in the morning to try and coordinate the time that you’d leave so that you could walk together, chatting each other’s ears off the entire way there. If you had time in the morning, you’d often even stop by the Tim Hortons on the way and get yourselves a little breakfast.

Here in Queens, there were tons of cute little cafés and little convenience stores and such on your way to school, and while you would still often stop by to pick up a quick snack or drink (or even just to say a quick hello to Mr. Delmar, the kind man who owned the little sandwich shop around the corner, and pet his adorable little cat), it never was the same as going with a friend. That constant loneliness started to change though when one day, you left home and arrived at Mr. Delmar’s shop earlier than usual.

one

It had been a long night with very minimal sleep. You were up working on a Physics assignment until almost five in the morning and you knew that if you slept then, you wouldn’t wake up in time for your morning classes. The extremely prominent bags under your eyes stood as proof of your exhaustion and you had no energy to make yourself breakfast, hence your early arrival at Delmar’s.

You sat at a little table by the window observing the street outside. Most people look at the way others are dressed outside as an indication of the weather. You, on the other hand, liked to think of it as more of a personification of the weather. If the chilly November weather were to be a person, they would definitely be one of those speedy walkers roaming the streets in some fuzzy boots and a trench coat.

As you sipped on your hot chocolate and tried to assign a more rounded personality to the November weather for no reason other than trying to wake yourself up, the sound of the bells chiming as someone entered the store caught your attention.

Peter Parker.

He was that really smart kid in your Physics class - the one subject you were struggling in. You knew him from that one time you guys were paired up for a quick chemistry lab, but you didn’t know him know him. You remembered vividly and appreciated how nice he was the whole time - it was difficult to find that over the last few months. Either that, or you just somehow managed to keep getting paired up with the wrong people.

You realized you were staring at him when you saw him facing and waving in your direction.

That was unusual, nobody ever really seemed to acknowledge you.

You turned to see if there was someone behind you he might have been trying to talk to, but very quickly realized that you were seated in the corner when your eyes were met with nothing but the plain white wall. ‘Stupid move,’ you told yourself. ‘How do you just forget that you’re sitting next to a wall?’

Grimacing a little, you turned back to face him and waved at him. You gave him a small smile, which he very politely returned before he went up to place his order.

‘Great, you can’t even greet a person normally. What is wrong with you Y/n? This is why people aren’t trying to befriend you right now, if-’

“Hey, do you mind if I sit down here?” a slightly timid voice interrupted. Your eyes locked with Peter’s as your head shot up.

“Oh! Um, yeah- I mean, no! I mean, no, I don’t mind, go ahead!” you stuttered, feeling all the blood rush to your cheeks.

Peter let out the softest giggle you have ever heard as he sat down, and if you didn’t have such sharp hearing, you were sure you would have missed it.

“How are you? How are things going?” he asked as he set his sandwich onto the table.

“Oh, well, they’re going,” you smiled and shrugged. “This point in the semester’s always a little crazy, but it’s not the worst. How are you doing?”

“Yeah, it does get hectic around this time,” Peter sympathized, scrunching his nose slightly in an effort to show mutual distaste over the stress. “I’m not too bad, just really tired from working on that physics assignment. How’d you find that?”

“Oh my gosh, don’t ask,” you groaned, rolling your head before laying it smack against the table. “I literally cannot physics, it took me forever to complete it, and I’m still not confident about a solid chunk of it.”

Peter let out a laugh at your reaction, the sound falling like music onto your ears. You discreetly peeked up from your position on the table to look at his undoubtedly glowing face, and the image you were met with was nothing short of beautiful. His eyes were scrunched up and his perfect teeth were on full display, cheeks turning redder by the second. The sunlight falling on his brown curls gave them a softer hue and made them look even softer than you’d already imagined them to be. Nobody had ever looked this angelic.

It was a sight you wouldn’t mind getting used to.

‘Wait, what? Why did you just think that? Y/n you barely even know the guy, stop being creepy!’

You pulled yourself out of the trance and slowly sat back up, giggling lightly to avoid making it obvious that you had just been staring - that would be awkward to explain.

“I’m sure you did just fine,” Peter chuckled. “And if anything, physics isn’t my worst subject, so um, if you want, I’d be more than happy to help.”

“That’s very sweet, thank you Peter, I appreciate that more than you realize,” you smiled, picking up your backpack. “I hate to cut this conversation short, but we need to start heading to school soon if we want to get to class on time.”

“It doesn’t have to be cut short!” Peter said abruptly standing up, catching you off-guard a little. “I-I mean, we could walk together if you’d like? No pressure though, it’s totally cool if you don’t-”

“Of course, I’d love that,” you cut him off with a smile.

“Okay.”

“Okay,” you nodded. “Let’s head out?”

“Yeah, just hold on one quick second,” he said as he quickly rushed over to the front of the shop.

Eyebrows furrowed, you followed him, only for your expression to instantly morph into one of awe as you were met with Peter petting Murph, Mr. Delmar’s cat, before he jogged back to where you were standing, a goofy smile adorning his face. “I’m ready now.”

Saying a quick goodbye to Mr. Delmar, the two of you made your way out. You shivered a little as the icy wind hit you. Peter picked up on the way you tried to discreetly rub your hands together, your outfit not doing nearly enough to cope with the sudden sharpness of the atmosphere, but stayed quiet, not knowing if it was appropriate to say something or not.

“So you’re a cat person, eh?”

“I’d say so, yeah. I’m just as much of a dog person too, though. Murph trumps all other animals though - I’ve been seeing him since Mr. Delmar got him, and he’s so adorable,” Peter gushed. “What about you, a dog person or a cat person?”

“Oh, a hundred percent a dog person, though I would make an exception for Murph, he is pretty cute,” you chuckled. “My best friend back in Canada has the sweetest little puppy named Maple and I practically lived at her house for the sole purpose of playing with him. Her uncle would drop off his two poodles occasionally too when he was travelling, and there was no way to get me out of her house when all three puppies came together.”

“Maple? That’s the most Canadian thing I’ve ever heard, I love that!” Peter physically had to stop for a minute because he was bent over letting out what could only be described as a ‘hearty laugh’.

If it were anyone else, you would most certainly be offended - what was so funny about having a pet with a stereotypical Canadian name? - but Peter exuded an aura of kindness and innocence, and despite only having spoken to him for such a short period of time, you knew his intentions were nothing but pure. Also, you had to admit, it was a little comedic how stereotypical the name was.

“Anyway, speaking of Canada,” he spoke through light chuckles once he’d calmed down a little and you both continued walking, “I don’t mean to be intrusive, and you definitely don’t have to answer if you’d rather not, but um, how come you transferred here senior year? Was it hard to get in? How did that work?”

“No no don’t worry, you’re not being intrusive at all, I don’t mind! Basically…” you started your not-so-entertaining story of how you ended up at Midtown, and no matter how many times you stopped yourself to apologize for how “boring” you were being, Peter assured you that you were anything but.

The long walk to school couldn’t have been long enough, because you were at your locker way too quick for your liking. And judging by the way Peter stayed with you as you grabbed your stuff and offered to walk you to class, he felt the same way.

You found yourself beginning to set your alarm for just a little while earlier than usual that day onwards, and morning walks together became more common as the month went on. Sure, you adored your sleep, but having a potential chance to run into Peter and walk to school with him again? It was worth it.

Despite having only briefly known him, there was a sense of comfort that you felt in his presence. He made you feel like you could share anything with him. Everytime he smiled, forget full-fledged laughed, you felt like maybe, just maybe, things were going to be okay for you.

To top it all off, it didn’t hurt that he was more than easy on the eyes. Those gorgeous eyes and that cute button-nose, not to mention his beautiful brown curls? You wouldn’t mind signing up for that one bit.

‘Y/n, stop. No. He’s just your friend. He’s just being nice, and you’re just happy you have a friend. You do not see him in that way - there is no chance of anything along those lines happening. You just haven’t had much interaction with people and now you’re playing up a friendship because you have nothing better to do. You do not like him.’

You reminded yourself that every time you caught yourself looking at him for even a moment more than what would be acceptable when you conversed. Peter was a great guy, but you guys were just friends, and you intended on keeping your feelings about him that way.

Besides, the reason you were down to lose some sleep wasn’t just being able to walk into school with Peter. You always had a problem with getting to school just in time to catch the bell, and this gave you an excuse to be more timely.

That’s all it was. A friendship and a way to be more punctual. Not anything more than that.

***** two

“Peter,” you clutched your stomach, loud laughter escaping you, “I’m literally going to pee myself!”

“Y/n, stop entertaining him or he won’t stop making those terrible jokes,” Ned groaned.

Peter had introduced you to his best friends Ned and MJ about three days into your friendship, once you’d gotten the remainder of your paperwork after your transfer completed and could finally sit with the rest of your classmates for lunch, and you’d all instantly clicked.

Here you were, two months later. Colourful lights shining all around you, the sound of squeals and laughter from a multitude of people constantly surrounding you, and a game to play every few steps you took - not to mention the numerous prizes waiting to be won.

Ned has suggested that the four of you go down to the arcade nearby to destress after the exhaustion of your end-of-semester exams, and you all had instantly agreed.

As much fun as you were having playing the different games and winning all those tickets with the people who had grown to be your closest friends, what was absolutely making your day was the way in which Peter would just not stop making hilarious puns and jokes.

“You’re just jealous you’re not as cool or as hot as me,” Peter playfully scoffed and made exaggerated hair-flip movements, grabbing your hand as he dragged a giggling you to the next game. “Come on Y/n, they’ll never know what it’s like to be iconic.”

“Woah Peter, what’s gotten into you today?”

“I’m just happy. I’m a happy boy. A happy boy who’s happy about being at this arcade with his wonderful friends because it’s a happy environment,” he glanced at you over his shoulder as he put in the tokens to play basketball.

You chuckled as you reached out to playfully pull his cheeks. “Well, happy boy, let’s win this thing and win it together. In case you didn’t know, my basketball skills are somewhat impeccable.”

“Y/n, you literally can’t walk five steps without tripping, it’s pretty hard to imagine you being any good at a sport that involves a lot of running,” he sassed.

“Ah, well that right there is the thing - I’m incapable of walking. When it comes to running, I’m a whole other ball game. Basketball game, to be more specific,” you spoke slowly, nodding your head wisely to emphasize your wisdom.

Peter let out a wheeze neither of you had expected, and it sent you both into a fit of laughter. When Ned and MJ made their way over to you a few seconds later, all they saw was the two of you clutching your stomachs, faces red and laughter escaping your throats as though you’d just rewatched another one of those ridiculous ‘5-Minute Crafts’ life hacks.

In the midst of the hysteria, as Peter went to slap his knee, he accidentally slammed the Start button on the game. The ever-so-jolly-yet-ominous-sounding countdown of the machine finally pulling you guys out of your bubble.

“Oh my gosh Peter stand up, it’s starting!” you exclaimed through giggles, smacking his arm repeatedly with the back of your hand to get his attention.

“Oof okay okay, let’s do this thing!” Peter rubbed his palms and cracked his neck, getting in a serious stance and grabbing the first basketball that came through the machine before tossing it straight into the hoop.

“My turn, my turn!” You shoved him with your hip playfully to make room for yourself and get a better angle to shoot.

Ned and MJ, who had been standing close behind and observing this all go down, just looked at each other, heads cocked to the side. Claps and cheers when the other one scored and purposeful bumps into each other every single time you switched, given you guys’ speed and surprising accuracy, were all they could see and hear.

“The two idiots… they really don’t see it, do they?” MJ questioned, looking between the both of you, genuinely puzzled.

Ned groaned and rubbed his hands over his face. “Dude, I swear I can and will cry right now if they don’t stop playing this ‘you’re just my best friend’ game, I’m so tired of it.”

“Are we gonna say anything to them to make them ‘fess up though?”

“Nah, I kinda wanna watch it play out, as much as it exasperates me,” Ned shrugged.

“Alright Petey boy, you wanna take this jackpot shot or do you want me to?” you looked over at him and asked. “No pressure buddy, but it is an extra five hundred tickets.”

“All yours, m’lady,” he curtly bowed, drawing a laugh from you.

You took your stance, legs slightly spread apart and knees bent just a little, preparing for the big shoot. You grabbed the final basketball, dribbled it on the ground twice, and tossed it, aiming straight for the hoop.

“She shoots,” Peter commentated, watching the ball leave your hands, “and… she scores!”

You let out a squeal and jumped straight into Peter’s arms, giving him the biggest hug you could possibly render. Peter caught you and spun you around, cheering and laughing all the while as the machine spewed out your tickets.

“Okay kids,” MJ called out, pulling you both out of your little moment of euphoria. “Chill for a second and pick up your tickets because I will gladly take them if you don’t want them.”

You chuckled her comment and separated from Peter before quickly walking up to grab the tickets. “Hey, Peter and I worked hard for these, back off,” you playfully pouted, hearing Peter chuckle from beside you.

“Okay okay,” Ned laughed. “MJ and I are done with our tokens, are you guys ready to call it a day and get the prizes too or..?”

“I’m ready to go, Y/n?” Peter asked.

“Yup, I’m done too, let’s go.”

You all made your way over to the corner of the arcade where you could total up your tickets and redeem them for prizes. Despite your constant refusal, Peter not only let you take the entirety of the tickets you both won from the basketball game instead of splitting them, but also gave you all the tickets he’d earned that day so that when combined with yours, you’d be able to get the adorable person-sized teddy bear you were planning on saving up for.

Ned decided to splurge on a number of small prizes, like the classic ginormous plastic sunglasses and little notepads, while MJ got herself a Rubik’s cube and a sticker that said “Caution: Falling Rocks”. Nobody knows why she picked that one in particular - she’d simply shrugged when Peter had asked her about it.

You felt bad that Peter didn’t end up getting anything, but he insisted he was totally cool with it. Something about “not having any more space for obscure things to stuff in my cupboards anyway.”

“Guys, I’m hungry,” you said, bringing the attention to you while you all headed out of the noisy arcade. “Let’s go grab a bite somewhere?”

“Ooh yes, I know this place that’s only like five minutes from here - Ned and I went there like last week. It’s-”

Thud.

Peter never really got to finish that sentence. He was walking backwards, trying to make eye contact with the three of you while relaying his expertise on the restaurants in the area, but the man-child had tripped over his own two feet and landed flat on the ground.

“Oh my gosh, are you okay?” you all rushed over to him.

“I’m okay, I’m okay,” he assured you guys as he grabbed Ned’s hand and pulled himself up, dusting off his jeans.

You couldn’t help the laugh that escaped you right then. “Hey Pete, what was that you said earlier about me not being able to walk five steps without tripping?”

“Hey, cut me some slack, okay. MJ’s sticker said ‘falling rocks’ and I was just testing the validity of that statement. Now, with experiential evidence, I can confirm that it is, in fact, false.”

You and Ned burst out laughing at what was probably Peter’s only good joke all afternoon. MJ rolled her eyes, but even she couldn’t stop the smile that took over her face.

You all started to head towards the restaurant Peter suggested, Ned leading the way.

“Hey Y/n?” Peter leaned over.

“Yes?”

“Did you lose an electron? Because you’re positively glowing.”

“Oy smarty-pants, make your own puns, don’t steal them from your t-shirt,” you chuckled, shaking your head. You increased your speed and walked up ahead to where Ned was walking to join him and, hopefully, prevent Peter from the bright red that overtook your features from that one little out-of-nowhere compliment.

You and Ned were joking around about the events of the day and how much fun everything was, and as much as you enjoyed Ned’s company, you couldn’t help but let your mind wander a little.

Why did Peter have such an effect on you? How was he able to make you feel so giddy - all he did was give you one punny compliment and you were blushing? How come this never happens with anybody else?

‘It’s because sometimes you just click with some people more than you do with others. Yeah, that’s what this is. That’s all it is. You just click with him slightly more than you do with the others, and so his compliment is just a little bit more meaningful in that sense,’ you rationalized.

That’s definitely all it was. A strong friendship. Not a crush - definitely not a crush.

***** three

It was the end of senior year, and you were finally in Europe for your long-awaited senior trip that the Midtown teachers had organized for your graduating class.

You’d managed to fall sick on the second day of the trip, but despite the absolute nightmare that all the nausea and headaches had been, it had luckily turned out to only be a 24-hour bug, and you’d been up and running, ready to explore the place by the next morning.

Ned and Peter shared a room while you and MJ shared another, and while the four of you would occasionally hang out in each other’s rooms when you weren’t already out and about, Peter had insisted on practically staying in your room when you were sick so he could take care of you.

You’d pushed them all out of the room to go out and have fun, or even just go sit in the other room so they wouldn’t accidentally contract whatever it was you had.

Peter, though, just would not listen - he kept taking MJ’s keycard and coming in to check up on you, making sure you were hydrated and had everything you needed. You’d woken up the morning after to a number of texts from Peter, scattered at different times throughout the night, telling you that he hoped you were feeling better and reminding you that you could call him if you needed anything, no matter how late or early it was.

You’d made it known to him the next time you saw him how much you appreciated him doing that, but also how you wished he’d have slept without worrying about you so much.

He’d only smiled in response.

Once you’d gotten better - which luckily was by the next afternoon - the four of you would spend time in one hotel room all evening. Watching movies together, having popcorn fights, or just talking, laughing and reminiscing about the year that had flown right by you.

During the day, you would all go out and explore whatever city you were in, making sure to cover all the general tourist attractions and getting tons and tons of pictures with and of each other. MJ had become your unspoken designated photographer, capturing breathtaking candids of you all whenever she got the chance.

Mr. Harrington had mandated that anybody who went out to explore or do something that wasn’t on the itinerary report back to the hotel by sunset so he could keep track of everyone, so you would always make it a point to be in your rooms by then.

Most people stayed out anyway, but not the four of you - you didn’t want to worry the poor man. He worked hard all year too, and he was kind enough to supervise this trip - the least you could all do was ensure that you weren’t burdening him with any added stress.

Occasionally, you would end up getting back to the hotel earlier than others in your group. Sometimes, MJ would want to wander by herself, and Ned would try to approach and converse with Betty, who he found really cute.

Times like that, you and Peter would be the only ones in your respective rooms. The very first time that happened, you both very quickly realized that if you were in that situation, boredom would usually follow very soon.

So the next time onwards, even if none of the others were there, you and Peter would just hang out together in one of your rooms. It didn’t really matter what you were doing - just being in each other’s presence made things fun.

It was guaranteed, though, that obscure things would always happen when it was just the two of you left unsupervised. One time, Ned walked into his and Peter’s shared room only to find you and Peter in the midst of a very soulful rendition of A Whole New World from Aladdin - complete with exaggerated dance moves and hairbrush-microphones. Another time, MJ returned from her walk to a nearby park to you and Peter indulged in a heated discussion about whether pop tarts should be considered a sandwich or ravioli.

The four of you would often stay up until odd hours talking about anything and everything. The later it got, the deeper your topics of conversation would get. They would go from sharing nostalgic memories from your childhoods to passionate conversations about how many pets one could get before they’d be considered too many.

One of those days, when you had a one hundred percent free day because the event on your itinerary got cancelled, MJ and Peter decided they wanted to go visit a museum. Ned brought up that he wanted to go shopping around the city instead, and since you were planning the same, the two of you went out together.

You and Ned decided to hop onto one of those red double-decker buses, because if you’re a tourist in London and don’t get on one of those buses even once, are you really a tourist in London? Since neither of you had anything specific you wanted to shop for or any specific place in mind, you decided to take a random bus and get off wherever you felt would be worth it.

After about fifteen minutes of looking around at the hustling streets, you finally passed through an area that seemed to be filled with a variety of stores, making it the perfect place for some obscure shopping.

You both walked around, entering random stores whenever something in the display caught your eyes and buying random articles of clothing. At one point, you found a really cool thrift store and decided to style each other - the results being surprisingly more wonderful than either of you had expected. You both did an impromptu ramp walk for each other, filling the trial rooms with the sounds of laughter and giggles.

As the evening started to set in and the gorgeous colours started to take over the blue sky, you decided that you should start heading back to the hotel soon. It wasn’t too far from where you were though, considering the fact that a quick fifteen-minute ride would get you back, so you two did have time to stop by one or two more stores quickly if you wanted to.

As you strolled around, looking at the displays to see if there was something you might like, a pretty off-white floral sundress caught your attention. “Ned, can we go in here? I want to try this dress on!” you said as you tapped him excitedly on his shoulder.

He agreed, and as soon as you found the dress and tried it on, you absolutely fell in love with it. It was just the right length for your preference, and fit your body just right. In fact, it would even go perfectly with the adorable cross-body bag you’d picked up earlier in the day. You didn’t have to think twice before heading to the cash register to buy it and officially make it yours.

“Today burned a hole in my pockets, but it was so much fun Y/n, thanks for coming with me,” Ned said as you both got seated on the bus.

“Hey, of course! I had so much fun too! It was so refreshing to, thank you for letting me try on eight thousand different things,” you grinned.

The two of you continued conversing and joking around as the bus slowed down at a stop to let passengers on and off.

“Man, as great as museums are, nothing beats the joy one gets from mindlessly shopping - those two definitely missed out on some hilarious jokes and the best fashion show of the century,” you chuckled, making a reference to your antics back at the thrift store.

Ned laughed, shaking his head.

You relaxed in your seats, just letting the feeling of the wind flowing through your hair encompass you. The slight coolness of the evening breeze was euphoric yet also grounding in a sense, and you wanted to let it consume you for as long as possible.

“Y/n, can I ask you a question?” Ned softly broke the silence.

“Yeah, what’s up?”

“You like him, don’t you?” he smirked.

You turned to look at him, eyebrows furrowed. “Like who?”

“Come on, don’t act so oblivious,” Ned laughed. “Peter - you like him, right?”

“Uh, yeah, he’s one of my best friends, so I definitely do like him?” You were genuinely confused at this point.

“No Y/n, I mean like like. Like as in more than a friend,” he clarified.

You froze for a split second and the heat rushed quickly to your face for reasons unknown to you. Almost too quickly, you responded, “What? No! Why would you think that?”

Ned rubbed his face, groaning. “Y/n, why are you both so ridiculously oblivious?” He had no clue how both you and Peter, two people so hopelessly crushing on each other, couldn’t see it.

“Wait, what do you mean?” you questioned.

Ned couldn’t stop the knowing smirk that overtook his features at the quizzical look on your face. He wanted to see two of his best friends happy together, but he needed you both to figure out your feelings for each other because it would be unfair of him and MJ to try and get you both together before that happened.

In this moment though, the utter cluelessness in your eyes was absolutely comedic to him.

“Oh, would you look at that, it’s our stop!” he quickly picked up his bags and walked off the bus, leaving a very perplexed you to follow him.

You pestered him to explain what he meant by that the entire way up to your respective rooms, but he wouldn’t do anything but grin. Your split-second panic and silence, combined with the redness of your cheeks as soon as he’d asked you about Peter was confirmation enough for him. He’d lit the spark, the questioning, inside of you, and that was all he felt was appropriate for now. Now, you needed to let it grow into a full flame and come to terms with your feelings.

“Bye Y/n! I’ll see you in a little bit!” he waved at you as he quickly slipped behind his door.

You groaned, stomping back to your room. You tossed your bags to the side and flopped right onto the bed.

‘Why was Ned asking me that? What did he mean by saying Peter and I are ‘oblivious??’ And why did I panic? Is there a chance that I- No, don’t finish that thought. Y/n, Peter’s just your best friend - feelings involved make things messy. You know what though? You don’t have to worry about that, it’s fine, because you don’t have feelings for him anyway. It’s all good. You’re just best friends, it’s nothing more than that, for sure.’

You lay there, staring at the ceiling, and rationalizing whatever supposed “feelings” you had for Peter until you heard MJ swipe her keycard. In walked both Peter and MJ, and you watched as his eyes lit up as soon as he saw you.

You felt your lips curve upwards into a smile, and before you could even realize that your body was moving, you had both engulfed each other in a massive hug.

That was normal though, right? You would hug MJ right after that too - you always hugged your friends. That didn’t mean anything.

Ned was probably just fooling around. Yeah, that’s probably what it was. One of his extended pranks. That explanation made sense.

Either way, you know what your feelings for Peter are: platonic. Absolutely, positively not anything other than that.

***** one

The day you’d been dreading was finally here: the end of your senior trip.

You were in your hotel room, zipping up your suitcase and making sure you had packed all of your belongings.

“I guess this is it, huh?” you squeaked out.

Hotel rooms had become your home for the last almost two months. They were where you and three of the closest people in your life right now spent so much time together, laughing, crying, just enjoying each other’s presence. Now, you were being made to say goodbye to that, and it was too soon for your liking.

“It is, yeah,” MJ gave you a small smile. “Don’t be upset about it though, we’ll all still be together and go out all the time once we’re back.”

“I know, I just…” you sighed. “I just liked this whole ‘no-other-responsibilities-to-tend-to’ version of going out. Time really does fly when you’re having fun.”

MJ placed the last of her clothes in her suitcase and zipped it up. “Well, at least it was fun while it lasted, right?”

You nodded. It was fun while it lasted. Was it insanely tiring walking around every single day because there was always so much to do? One hundred percent. Was your sleep schedule messed up from staying up late hanging out with your friends and waking up early to go grab breakfast and get ready for the day? More than ever before. Would you trade the experience for anything else in the world? Absolutely not.

You did one final sweep of the room to make sure you’d grabbed everything you’d brought in. “Ready to go?” you asked as you placed your suitcase upright on the ground.

“Yup, let’s head downstairs before the bus leaves,” MJ chuckled, shaking her head. “I am so ready to sleep in my own bed again.”

You laughed and grabbed your keycards. MJ placed the remote back on the TV stand and wheeled her luggage out the door and you followed suit, pulling the door shut behind you. Once you double-checked that the door had been locked properly, the two of you headed down to the lobby, where you were supposed to meet the rest of your classmates.

Dropping the keycards off at the front desk, you made your way over to where you could see most of your cohort already gathered.

“Oh good, you’re both here,” Mr. Harrington checked your names off his list. “The only ones left now are Flash and Brad. They’d better come down soon, wouldn’t want to- ah! There they are!” he marched over to where the two boys were.

“Wow, I don’t think I have ever seen him look that relieved. Is it just me or did he get taller?” you heard a voice approaching you.

Peter.

There he was, walking towards you, wearing that blue checkered shirt that looked oh-so-good on him. Something about him today hit you differently. You couldn’t put a finger on what exactly it was, but it was safe to say that you felt your heart skip a beat at how amazing he looked.

“As much as I hate to say it, I agree with you,” MJ joked. “Crazy what lifting some weight off your shoulders can do for you.”

“Crazy how quickly this whole trip is already over,” Ned spoke. “I don’t know if I’m ready to go home yet.”

“Oh hush, just last night you were on the phone telling Betty that you couldn’t wait to take her to the movies once we’re all back in Queens,” Peter quipped, effectively making Ned blush and all of you laugh.

The aura of the lobby was very mixed. On one hand, the atmosphere felt lively as people chatted with their friends about all the fun times they had over the last few weeks, about the constant highs they all felt. On the other hand, there was a certain longing in most people’s eyes, a willingness to hold on to this feeling for just a little longer.

It was a very bittersweet vibe, and very understandably so.

“Alright guys, um- hey, can I get your attention for just a minute please?” Mr. Harrington squeaked. He raised his arms up to try and grab everyone’s attention, and to his own surprise, it worked.

“So, basically, I just wanted to say thank you to every single one of you for attending this trip, and I hope that it was a great experience for you all. Our bus should be here shortly, but before we go, I was hoping to get one quick picture with the entire group, if that’s okay?” After confirming that nobody had an issue with it, he handed his camera over to one of the staff members from the reception desk, who quickly snapped a wonderful picture of you all.

He thanked her, and then went outside to check for the bus.

“Looks like there’s still some more time before we leave,” you stated, peeking out through the glass windows and noticing the absence of a bus.

“Judging by the way Mr. Harrington’s seeming frustrated, I’d say you’re probably right,” Peter chuckled. “Hey, let’s get some pictures of our own in the meantime, I still have some film left on my camera!”

You, Ned and MJ agreed, and Peter pulled out his camera from his carry-bag. You all took turns posing with each other, starting off with simple smiles, but progressively getting goofier and sillier until you’ve hit the point where you were just standing in the middle of the lobby recreating iconic memes, sending you all into fits of laughter.

“Okay, okay, enough of this,” Peter giggles, still coming down from moments ago when he was guffawing at your attempt to recreate that one young Cardi B picture. “Let’s get some group shots now.”

MJ quickly asked Yasmin, another one of your classmates, if she’d be okay with getting a few shots of them and explained to her how to work the camera.

You went to grab a sip of water and stood off to the side, letting the three have their moment. They’d been there for each other for four years, and while you were all close now, you’d only come into the picture recently. You wanted to let the squad - the original squad - get some pictures too, you’d been in enough with them already, it was okay.

Ned said something which you couldn’t hear, but it drew out undoubtedly heartfelt laughs from the other two. Eyes scrunched and faces radiating with nothing but joy, Yasmin saw this as a perfect moment to capture, and you saw her take what you were sure would have turned out to be an amazing candid.

Yasmin went to hand the camera back to MJ, but Peter quickly stopped her.

“Hold on one second please, would it be okay if you got just one last picture? With the whole group?”

She nodded, stepping back.

“Y/n! Why are you off to the side?” Peter rushed over to you, pulling you out of your thoughts. “Come on, we can’t take a full group photo without you in it!”

In that very moment, as Peter grabbed your hand and gently pulled you to where the rest of the group was standing, something in your mind clicked. You laughed as Peter abruptly stopped and you bumped into him, hearing the click of the camera go off. None of it seemed to matter though. All you could see was Peter smiling back down at you, the crinkles by his eyes more defined than ever, but also surprisingly more beautiful than ever.

You could sense the three people around you continuing to throw up more poses quickly, Yasmin capturing them, but the entire while, your eyes wouldn’t leave Peter’s grinning face, your mind slowly stopped registering anything other than the feeling of Peter’s arms around your shoulders. The pure warmth he radiated pulled you in further, and everything around you except his perfect smile blurred.

One thing became very clear in that moment of complete encapsulation though, despite it being a completely foreign feeling to you, as the same words played in your head, over and over.

‘Holy crap, I think I’m in love with my best friend.’

If only you knew, those were the exact same words racing through Peter’s mind.

430 notes · View notes

sloppy-butcher · 4 years ago

Text

Waitin’ On a Superman - Chapter 3 : Like Pulling Teeth

(The Hillbilly (Max Thompson Jr.) x female!reader)

notes: i just wanted to say thank you to everyone who has taken the time to read and enjoy what i have managed to produce so far <3 its really helps me with my confidence and such

also i have made a spotify playlist of songs that i personally listen to when getting in the mood of the story. i would like to share it but only if yall would like to hear it ahaha er anyway, thank you again <3

Previous ; Next

Pulling your head free from the grasp of the hay straws felt like something akin to being born. All at once you were alive again, breathing in the cool barn air having just awoken from the land of musky earth. It was refreshing; cleansing; jarring. The dream world fell away and noise and smell bombarded you, crashing in like unforgiving waves against a wayward boat. You were confused by your surroundings, head turning around frantic for clues, until your eyes landed upon familiar yellow and you remembered everything.

You remember walking. You remember the dog. And you remember him.

It was brighter now, your mind more inclined to function as intended without fog or muck to slow production. You remember his voice, the sound of his heavy footsteps, the way in which he spoke and how he had helped you. Kindness, even small as his was, was such a rare oddity here, strangers only being associated with unforgivable violence and cruelty. But he was kind, offered you rest and protection where others would simply chase you out. It surprised you, more now than it did when it had occurred. How strange, how very strange indeed.

As you stood up from your make-shift bed, dusting stray straws off your jeans and t-shirt, a part of you started to construct a way of saying thank you to the man. Though you had nothing to give, nothing of material value, you somehow felt obligated to present to him your utmost appreciation for his generosity. It was an ingrained and practiced habit that consumed you until you started to focus more on the man himself.

You remember feeling oddly familiar with him - something about his voice perhaps? Or the way in which he walked and presented himself? Whatever it was, it triggered something from you, a deep, visceral response that made your stomach grow heavy with lead and your palms begin to sweat. And the more you tried to identify the specifics of your sudden upheaval, bringing it to the forefront of your attention, the heavier the response became and the more panicked you began to feel. Dread crept up your back and nestled into your shoulder whenever you thought about him. Something about trying to remember him made you feel … terrified. There was simply no other word to describe it. He terrified you. You just couldn’t understand why.

You were stuck at a crossroads. A part of you wanted to find the man and personally thank him for everything, to pay forward his kindness using gestures of companionship and see how far one could push this unique experience. The other part of you never wanted to meet the man ever again, demanding you flee at once and never looked back. Each road pulled at you, neither one able to one-up the other in strength and appeal thus leaving you at an uncomfortable, pointed balance. You rub your face with your hands, sighing as you tried to sway yourself to make a decision. You wished you were back asleep.

Nothing offered itself as assistance to your plea as you paced the barn and with no other option, you relented your fruitless battle and walked out into the night. Whatever will happen, will happen - whether that be you see him again or you finally manage to escape the corn-maze, you were going to meet it head-on regardless.

You stood on the border of the clearing between the barn safety and the yellow ocean, gazing into the sweet abyss that had been devouring you for so long. You wanted to stay at the barn, at the only sign of land where you could not drown. But you remembered his warning and with a heavy sigh you set off. Without looking back you stepped out into the field, casting yourself once more off to sea, letting go of the red barn and allowing the wind to swallow you whole and carry you to wherever it wished. However, you had only been walking for a few minutes before you heard the heavy panting of the dog behind you. So this is what has been decided. No fighting it, no running.

“Hello again.” You stopped and breathed in, gathering your confidence in the face of the beast, willing yourself not to give in to the unjustified fear. You had no reason to be so afraid, he had done nothing to you. Not yet. “I was hoping I’d find you again.” Your voice was calmer, collecting itself in idle conversation. You slowly, careful of quick movement so as not to frighten him or yourself, roll your head around your position, trying to spot any sign of the man hiding away. “I wanted to thank you for your generosity.”

“Did you sleep?” The man answered almost immediately, somewhat throwing you off balance. From how reserved and mild he was during the previous encounter you were sure you’d have to sweet talk him a little more to get him to open up. But his eagerness was not unwelcomed and you gave yourself over to talking.

“I did. On the hay pile in the barn. It was…” You paused from a moment, all cylinders in your brain firing in an attempt to find the appropriate word to describe your rest, “...great, I suppose.” At this he paused, probably to take in your response and work out a retort. In the silence something stirred, curling itself into your already weak stomach. You shooed it away and willed him to speak.

“Donny always liked the hay. It makes a good bed.” He said finally, drawing your mind away from the coldness in your palms and to his voice. You tilt your head at his mention of ‘Donny’. Was he referring to the same pig from the other night? Or in some weird way was he calling you ‘Donny’? For now you let the confusion slide and instead pushed on with the discussion.

“Do you not sleep?” You asked, your head continuing to timidly scan your surroundings. If he was opposed to your efforts to locate him, the man did not show it and without him actively stopping you, you endured without complaint. You practically heard the man shrug.

“Don’t try to.” He mumbled halfheartedly.

“It's because you’re stuck, like me. Right?” His perplexed quiet was enough of an indicator for you to example yourself. “I mean, you’re stuck here in this corn field. Just like me. I may not know exactly how long I have been here but I know it’s been a while.” You look down at your hands, fingernails dirty from stains you could not remember getting. “I’ve been walking through this field forever and yet I never reach a fence. Or a house. Or anything.” Speaking your fears into life was somewhat cathartic for you, reaching out to this strange person with a hand trembling and unsure made you hope beyond reason that he could sympathize with your plea. To be human and experience and understand the toils of another as if they were your own. You lifted your eyes to the corn and towards the position where you guessed him to be. You smiled, lips chapped and cracking from the stretch but persevering regardless. It hurt you to grin, a gesture you had not partaken in for so long that you had almost forgotten how to even do it. You hoped that it at least looked more sincere than it felt.

“You are stuck.” The man replied in his ever gruff and rocky voice, like stones crashing around in an engine. “I am stuck sometimes. The corn is like mud. It sinks.”

“Sometimes?” You inquire, an eyebrow lifting as your interest peaked. He grunted, sounding as if nodding with force.

“I can leave only when Boy is called. Called by the spider in the sky.” Suddenly, you jumped and gasped loudly.

“You know about that thing!?” You twirl on your feet, spinning around the corn looking for any hint of the man. Your eyes were ablaze with glory, ironic relief washing over your body at his words. Here you found another lost soul. Another person who could feel the sky pulsing and eating. Someone who knew that there was more to this world than just psycho killers wielding axes. “I thought I was the only one who could sense it! No one else at the campfire believed me when I said there was something up there.” Your victory waned at the mention of the campfire. Your smiling dwindled and your movement stopped, eyes clouded and downcast. The campfire? The others. When was the last time you had seen them? The last time you had seen anyone for the fact? You could barely remember their faces. They were all a blur like mist on a foggy bathroom mirror, there were faces but no details. Names but no meaning. You suddenly felt very lonely and longed to go back to that horrible campfire with those equally horrible people.

A most nasty habit that people had - the want to flock together like sheep. Though to be with people irked you, riding up with an ill-fitting pair of jeans on tender skin, there was no denying that your heart ached when it realized it was alone. You always said you liked being alone but you always hated being lonely.

“Will you walk with me?” Your voice was distant as your thoughts drifted back to the people waiting at the campfire, your tongue moving before your mind would react. “Will you walk with me to the fence?” In your stupor, the man’s reaction to your request went unnoticed. He was shocked, gawking at you with wide, disbelieving eyes and his mouth agape. He examined you from head to toe, tearing you apart with suspicious eyes, trying to uncover if you were attempting to hurt him or not. Was this some kind of joke? Were you going to laugh at him? You knew that there was no real fence, no true boundary to this place, and yet you wanted to exhaust yourself trying to find it? He was baffled by your ignorant persistence and resorted to studying you harder for any cracks in your outward appearance. Where he expected to find half-hidden malice, he only saw sadness. You were sad, he knew what it looked like on people. And it wasn’t fake sadness either, not the kind that people on the T.V wore when something bad happened. Yours was real, he could smell it.

“I will walk with you. To the fence.” The man replied softly, speaking at a volume that was tentative and hesitant, a part of him still remaining apprehensive to your next actions. You raise your head at his confirmation, a glimmer of your former smile returning to your lips.

“Thank you.” You lowered your head in a meager bow and after a moment debating whether to let him lead or you, you walked off in a direction you presumed to be forward with the man setting off behind you.

All through the walk you racked your brain from conversation topics; lovely weather we are having? What do you think someone would do with all this corn? There were so many different options to choose from yet each fell flat when pitted against possibility. Try as you might, you just could not think of anything to say. It also did not help that that horrible, foreboding feeling had followed you out there, trailing you like a dark cloud. With the man so close your familiar fear kicked itself into overdrive. There was just something so recognizable about him, something dreadful and vile. But what? What about him had spooked you to this extent? Sure, his voice was raspy and congested and his breathing was that of a sleeping beast, but his words and the soft tones he used were all of that of a boy. A simple youth who bled this pure form of compassion and slowness. Such a contradicting feeling he gave off, to be the reason you wanted to flee yet drawing you in with a need to know more about him. You yearned for the talking of frivolous topics to distract you from the gnawing panic that resided in your stomach but the rivers ran dry of inspiration and you were left to walk in pitiful, heavy silence.

In one last, desperate grab at distraction, you started to pay attention to his footsteps, a task made easier in the barren landscape of only corn and wind. His pace was loud and large, landing with each step in a heavy stomp. He must be very tall, you supposed. Or very big. The weight of the sound, after being taken into consideration, was not deemed as important to focus on when you noticed the odd rhythm he had. Instead of a consistent 1-2 pace that most people would have, the man had a rather jolted one. The space between thumps were uneven and gave you the impression that he had some kind of limp or poor leg. In a strange sense it almost sounded like a heartbeat.

Something flickered at your revelation. It was such a unique walk pattern that it triggered a memory in you, a vision of running and hiding away and the sound of a chainsaw. The fear flexed itself in your stomach. It did not help when the breeze shifted and you managed to catch a whiff of that previously undisclosed smell. His smell. The coppery smell of fresh blood. The coldness spread further, you mind reeling as the fingers of your panic threatened to grab you. You remember that walk. You remember that breathing. You remember that heartbeat.

You squeeze your eyes shut, mentally willing your body to calm down and stop racing to conclusions. Stop thinking about him. Stop thinking about the dog. Stop-

You come to a sudden stop when you realize that he was not behind you anymore. Snapping your eyes open you were greeted by the sight of the dilapidated red barn and its open doors. Disappointment mingled with your fluttering chest, terror mixing well with despair in a deadly concoction.

“I really am stuck here.” You mumbled to yourself, hands falling from your arms to hang useless at your sides. “There really is no way out.”

“Not unless Donny is called.” The man, oblivious to your dawning anguish, muttered from somewhere to your right. Though you knew that ultimately that you were never going to find a way out of the fields and that even thinking about it would only cause misery, that moment when your feeble hope died you were sure your heart had stopped altogether. This was your eternity now, to barely be alive when drowned in yellow. Nothing to run for, nothing to fight towards. Listlessly you feel your body regain itself, standing tall at the edge of everything. If this was all there is, then what are you scared for?

“Donny can stay at the barn again. Boy will be here soon. Stay. Sleep and I will come back.” You heard the man shuffle to leave and before you could even think you shouted at him.

“Wait!” The world shook in the wake of your outburst, such volumes never being reached in this sea of feigned tranquility. “Wait please.” You exhale, finally feeling the full weight of the fear you had tried so fiercely to run away from, settle mercilessly upon your chest. “I know you.” With your eyes looking at the ground, you turn your head over your shoulder towards the man. “I know you so there is no need to hide anymore. If I am to be stuck here with you, I want to see your face. And know your name.” He did not respond right away, a part of you suspecting that he had simply left before you had even asked your question, unaware of everything. But you could still hear his breathing, coming now in hollow gasps.

“No one likes my face.” He answered, voice surprisingly dangerous and bitter. You did not shy away from him however, did not give into the rising uneasiness of the mood.

“But I already know you. And I don't remember not liking it.” That was a blatant lie and you wished that he could not see through it. There was a growl.

“No! No! No one likes my face!” He was shouting, angry words springing forth from the same person who was so soft spoken just moments before. You turn more of your attention to him, your eyes still lowered allowing yourself one last opportunity to back down. You did not. There was nothing for you to go to if you backed off now.

“Please.” You knew he could not resist your request when you presented it in such a placid manner. There was a shout, an explosion of noise and violence and you jumped at its severity. You heard the rush of footsteps leap out from the field as a shadow loomed itself over you.

“Look! Look Donny! Look at Max and laugh at him!” He was right behind you, his hot breath bursting against your neck in towering waves. Without giving yourself the chance to consider anything, you spun around and came face to face with the fuming dog, his teeth bared.

At the sight of him, your knees went weak and the floor beneath you fell away. You wanted to scream, to run away, to give in to horror and fear and go hysterical and wild. He was hideous, truly monstrous and hardly even a man at all. It was flesh at war, torrents of skin fighting itself as it connected head to neck and neck to torso. Beneath that storm was a face pushing through, with a mouth wide, teeth crooked and eyes like fiery pinpricks in the dark. He was awful to look at yet your eyes could not be torn away. He stole from you your sanity with nothing but the mere look of his being alone.

Though your mind clouded with uncontrollable panic and fear, you could still recognize the man, his face unforgettable. It was him alright, no more denying it, no more pushing it away. You had known it was him from that very first encounter yet foolishly you had rejected everything, ignoring every piece of awful evidence that had sat itself right in front of your nose, all in favor of self desires. You wanted him to be someone else. You needed this strange man to be a good person whom you could hold on to, you could reach out for. But as the cruelest twist of fate, he was the complete opposite.

It was the Hillbilly - the monster who hunted you and the others with that wicked chainsaw of his. Nothing but a beast made of only the poorly defined form of man, a shape with no purpose other than to kill. You knew it was him from the moment you heard him behind you, breathing like that roaring engine he always did. You never forget the sound of the dog trying to kill you. You had been weak, allowing him to get close enough to you to practically have his bloody hands wrapped around your throat.

You wanted to run, to flee and try to live just that little bit longer - give your body and soul over to inherent prey instinct. But as you looked into those blazing, hateful eyes framed by grotesque threads of dirty skin, you found that all you could do was wait. It was like facing off against an oncoming train, reckless and unstoppable coming at you at full-speed fuming with noxious smoke. You had seen this movie before and knew how the story ended - he would kill you and leave your body for the rats.

Every fiber of your being screamed at you to leap out of its path but something stronger and more persistent held you tightly in place. He was not moving so why should you? He was not attacking so why should you run? He was talking so why should you not listen? Once again you clung to the belief that if this man was able to talk and reason then there was something human inside him, something that could be grasped and felt. Regardless of all logic and reason you sought that something and waited for him to offer you another chance to try to dig it out of him. If this was the end, then you would not die with your back turned.

“Hello Max.” You said, your voice a quiet light in the gloomy atmosphere. You saw him visibly retract at your calmness, his eyes darting around your whole body in search of something, anything that would indicate malcontent. “It's nice to meet you.” His stupor lasted only a second longer before he roared and lunged forward, hand twitching around the handle of his chainsaw.

“Donny always laughs! Donny is always scared!” He reeled his head back violently, stretching up into his full, powerful height. You sank into his shadow but did not waver in your stance. Come rain or ruin, you could not find the effort to move your feet even an inch. “Everyone is meant to be laughing at Max! Everyone is meant to be scared!” He brought his attention back down to you and you shuddered under his glare, trying beyond anything not to flinch in his presence. “Donny is always scared!”

You waited a moment, allowing for his fuming words to cool and settle in the night air before answering with yours. “Donny is scared. They are terrified.” Max tilted his chin inwards to his chest, looking as if preparing to attack, a deep gnarl resonating forth from somewhere in that twisted body. “But not of you, Max. Donny is scared of your anger. Of your…” Your eyes drift to the chainsaw clenched tightly in his hand. Max’s own attention followed yours and for an instant you saw him relent his hold on the weapon. He shot his head back to you, had he had eyebrows they would have been furrowed with muddled anger.

“Donny lies! You lie! You laugh!”

“But Donny is not.” You retorted, your tone never raising above a mellow reassurance. You closed your eyes for a moment, letting the blackness offer you strength as your confidence crumbled. You opened them again and, with a slow, soothing exhale, let your lips extend into the faintest of smiles. You gave him everything in that moment, putting forward all compassion and comfort you could muster into your eyes and smile for him to consume and judge. “I am not lying. And I am not laughing at you Max.” This earned a slack-jawed, wide-eyed expression from the man, his emotions, though messy under his tangled flesh, portraying clearly on his face. He was completely and utterly astonished.

You watched as he took in your coolness, sucking from you all the serene and hushed energy you had given. He shuts his eyes, slamming his jaw closed and shaking his head vigorously as if trying to shake something loose. He roared again, a most horrible sound that carried for miles in every direction across the field, making the corn around you shake from the sheer magnitude of his power. He raised his empty hand and started pounding his fist into his ear, screaming louder and harder with each contact. You were startled by his reaction and by the way he jumped so quickly from seeking your comfort to out-right rage. Without thinking you step closer to him, a hesitant hand lifting to reach for him.

Suddenly he jumped forward at you, coming so close that you can feel the heat of his anger eminent off his heaving chest. He stands over you, his fist, with knuckles gone white from stress, moves dangerously closer to your face and hovers there as if debating whether to choke you or not. You subconsciously gulp and take in your final breath, sure that this was the last moments of your pitiful life. You look up at him, his eyes bursting with something between uncontrollable hatefulness and a desperate pity. He tightens his fist and it shakes from the sheer force.

“Donny stays in the barn. Stays in the pen. Until Boy is gone.” His words were more rough, coming from behind gritted teeth. You nod up at him.

“Of course.” Max runs his eyes once more over you body, scanning every corner of your face for anything that he could use to call your bluff but finds nothing. With one final snarl he pulled himself away and disappeared into the corn, leaving behind no reminisce of himself to prove that all that happened was real. In the silence that filled the gap he had left you felt the universe cave in. Conflicting voices erupted in your head, your trembling legs buckling under your body weight. You felt cold and despondent, eyes lingering on the spot where he departed. While your mind wanted to stay and think, to mull over everything until you had worked yourself into a vile panic attack, exhaustion beckoned and you submissively and gratefully followed. Walking inside the barn you find your hay pile and within minutes you were floating away to the safe land of earth and nature.

#dbd imagines #dbd fic #dbd the hillbilly #dbd the hillbilly x reader #dbd max thompson jr #dbd max thompson jr x reader #dbd x reader #long post #waiting for a superman

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monstaless · 4 years ago

Text

On The Low - Part One

Author: @monstaless

Relationships: fwb!Bambam x Reader, some JB x reader

Warnings: angst, smut, language, my possibly incorrect Korean (which I guess in the context of this fic is okay)

Song - On The Low by Justin Park

Word Count: 3.4k

A/N: I hadn’t intended to release this in two parts, but I also hadn’t intended for it to be this long. I hope you like it!

Part One | Part Two | Part Three

The first time he saw her, she was in the lobby of his building. She was standing by the security guard’s desk and she had stopped Bambam dead in his tracks. She was gorgeous and impeccably dressed: a light purple dress shirt tucked into a knee-length white pencil skirt, and matching purple pumps. As she reached up to brush her hair behind her ear, he noticed that around her wrist she wore a strand of light pink mala beads.

He wondered if she was the wife of someone else in the building, but he hadn’t seen her before. He couldn’t see a ring on her finger either. She must have just moved into the building.

He quickly turned away and pressed the button for the elevator as she thanked the security guard. He half expected her to make her way to the elevator, but as the doors were closing, he saw her walking out the front doors of the lobby.

The first time he spoke to her, she was running to catch the same elevator and he held the door for her. He noted how surprisingly steady she was in her heels as she slipped between the doors to join him.

“Gamsahamnida.” She smiled, bowing slightly to him.

“Munje eopseoyo.” He stood quietly for a moment before turning to her again. “Banggeum isa wassoyo?”

“Uh, I’m sorry, I don’t. Um, I don’t understand,” she replied awkwardly, her face flushing slightly.

“Did you just move in?” he asked with a polite smile. He felt more comfortable speaking English with her anyway.

“Yes, a couple of days ago.” She seemed surprised, but she smiled and appeared to relax a little. “Have you lived here long?”

“A couple of years. I’m not here often though. Work takes me elsewhere.” He shrugged.

“Oh, I understand that. It’s why I’m here after all.” She laughed. “What do you do?”

“Uh, you know, the usual.” At that moment her phone started to ring and she gave him an apologetic look after checking the ID.

“I’m very sorry. It’s a business call.”

“It’s okay.” He was too relieved that he didn’t have to continue to come up with an explanation that wouldn’t give him away. So far, she didn’t seem to have a clue who he was.

“Hai. Y/N desu.”

He recognized it as Japanese immediately, but only understood bits and pieces of her phone exchange and didn’t want to eavesdrop anyway. When the elevator stopped at his floor, he gave her a short bow before exiting.

“It was nice to meet you,” she called after him as the doors closed and he grinned as he made his way to his door.

The second time that they met, she was struggling to remove an armload of sewing supplies from her car in the parking garage. She seemed like she had it under control, but there was no way that she was going to be able to close the hatch or use the elevator without assistance. He’d just returned from a long day at the studio, but he didn’t have anything to carry, and he wasn’t so tired that he couldn’t offer his assistance.

“Would you like some help?” offered BamBam. She looked at him over the supplies that filled her arms and recognition flashed across her face. She smiled at him.

“Hi! Yes, I would love it, honestly.” Though she seemed ashamed to be asking for help.

“What can I carry?”

“Um, if you could take this box, that’d be fantastic,” she laughed, shifting so that he could take the box from her arms. It was heavier than he’d expected and he wondered what was in it, but didn’t want to ask.

“Anything else?”

“Nope, I think that we’re okay.” She shifted the items that she was still holding into a more manageable position before she closed the hatch. “I never introduced myself last time. I’m Y/N L/N, by the way.”

“Kunpimook Bhuwakul, but most people call me Bambam,” he replied.

“Thanks for your help, Bambam. I really didn’t want to have to make two trips.”

“I could tell,” he chuckled as they entered the elevator and she hit the button for her floor. They were both silent as the doors closed. After a moment, he turned to her. “So? Is it safe for me to assume that you work in fashion?”

“Yeah,” she laughed. “I worked for a company in Tokyo for a little while, mostly as a interpreter. It was a way for me to get my foot in the door. They didn’t really want any of my designs though. It wasn’t really in style in Japan, but one of my superiors really liked my work. He got me a job at a company here.”

“How are your designs doing here?”

“Really well. I doubted that my designs would do any better here, but the company liked them. They offered me the chance to start my own line and here I am.”

The elevator stopped and they both stepped off to make their way to her door.

“That’s what all of this is for. I’m trying to get some designs ready to present for next seasons line.”

She unlocked the door and BamBam followed her inside.

“You can just set that down anywhere. Sorry for the mess. I’m still kind of trying to get organized. As I’m sure you can see.”

He set the box down on the entryway table and looked around to find that there were still boxes stacked here and there throughout the living area.

“Thank you so much for your help. I really appreciate it. Can I offer you something to drink?”

“Ah, no. Thank you though. I need a shower and I don’t want to intrude.” He started for the elevator, but paused in the doorway. He wasn’t sure, but it wouldn’t hurt to try. “Uh, I’m having a party on Saturday, if you’d like to come.”

She looked up at him.

“I’m not much of a partier, but thank you for the offer.” Her response was polite, and he could tell that she was being honest. He decided maybe he should’ve chosen a more accurate word.

“It’s not really a party. It’s honestly more of a gathering. Just some people that I work with. It’d be a great way for you to meet some people. It’ll be pretty chill. I promise we won’t be getting too wild.”

“What time?” she questioned after appearing to consider it for a moment. He hoped that was a good sign.

“Six o’clock. Do you remember what floor I’m on?”

“Nine, right?”

He nodded.

“I’ll consider it.”

“Hey, you owe me one.” He teased.

“Of course.” She laughed.

Bambam hadn’t actually expected her to show up, but there she was standing in the hallway in a white and black sheath dress. She held out a bottle of wine in offering.

“I’m not really sure what the protocol is for parties in Korea,” she said awkwardly. “But in Japan, you never show up empty handed.”

“You didn’t have to bring anything, but thank you. Mark will appreciate it.” He stepped out of the doorway so that she could come into his apartment. “I’ll introduce you to everyone. Follow me.”

“Oh gosh, I feel slightly overdressed,” she said quietly when she saw the other guys.

“Nah, they’re just usually under-dressed,” he assured her with a smile. “Can I offer you something to drink?”

“A water is fine. Thank you.”

He introduced her to everyone as they made their way to the kitchen.

“What’s up with Y/N and Jaebeom?” questioned Jackson later on after she’d gotten comfortable enough to mingle with everyone on her own. “I thought you said that she didn’t speak Korean.”

“No more than the basics,” shrugged Bambam. “But she does speak Japanese. She lived in Japan for a while before.”

He looked over to where she sat, her whole body turned towards Jaebeom even though the seats were side by side. She was smiling brightly as she talked to him. The smile was mirrored on Jaebeom’s face.

“So Jaebeom has somehow hit it off with her in his limited Japanese or his limited English?” questioned Mark, butting into the conversation. “Our Jaebeom? The same Jaebeom who gets embarrassed when talking to any girl that’s not on the staff?”

“Maybe it’s not as limited as we thought,” offered Jackson, shrugging as they continued to watch the exchange. Neither of them seemed to be having difficulty communicating.

“Maybe you should’ve kept her away a while before introducing her to everyone, Bam. You might’ve missed your chance to shoot your shot,” laughed Mark. Bambam couldn’t disagree. He hadn’t really thought about the other guys hitting it off with her. He hadn’t even really had a real conversation with her yet. He was kind of disappointed that she seemed to be getting on so well with Jaebeom already.

She greeted him warmly every time she saw him after the party. Occasionally, she’d offer to bring him food when she had made too much. She’d grown up in a big family and she’d never really become accustomed to making food for just one person.

This time though he invited her over for dinner. He’d been waiting for an excuse to make Thai food and an excuse for her to come over without the other guys around.

To his relief there appeared to be nothing going on between her and Jaebeom. He wasn’t even sure that the two of them had talked since the party. They also hadn’t asked about each other, which he hoped was a good sign that he hadn’t missed his chance yet.

He checked himself in the mirror in the hallway one last time before opening the door for her.

“Hey,” he smiled as he opened the door.

“Hi.” He stepped aside to let her in. “You look very nice today. I love that jacket.”

“Ah, thanks. You look very nice too,” he laughed as he closed the door. “Do you want something to drink?”

“What goes best with Thai food?” She followed him into the kitchen.

“Mmm, probably iced tea or I have beer. Do you like beer?”

"Not really,” she replied meekly. He opened the fridge and leaned down to check it’s contents.

“How about I make Thai iced tea then?”

“That would be great!”

“Wow, you are a great cook. Can I just come here for dinner all the time?” she asked after taking a few bites of her food. He laughed, enjoying the praise. He thrived on praise.

“What do I get in return?”

“My gratitude and praise isn’t enough?” She pouted at him in mock disappointment.

“Babygirl, I get plenty of that already,” he laughed.

The next week he went to her place for dinner. The week after that scheduling had him out of the country for a few days and she offered to take care of his cats, which he accepted. They seemed to be almost as comfortable with her as they were with him and she facetimed him everyday to let him see how they were doing.

When he returned, she came over to visit with him and the other members. She brought them desserts, which Jackson and Jinyoung attempted to decline, but ultimately accepted.

Bambam discovered that she and Jaebeom had kept in contact since the first time they met, but it seemed to be nothing more than friendly conversation. They happened to have a lot of shared interests so it made sense. That didn’t stop him from feeling a tinge of jealousy though.

The other guys had all left one at a time, until it was just her and Bambam. They were sitting on the couch next to each other where they had been most of the evening.

He was doing it before he’d even thought about it, leaning across the sofa to kiss her. He wasn’t sure why. Maybe it was the fear that he was going to lose his chance to Jaebeom and for some reason, he just couldn’t stand the thought of her picking Jaebeom before he’d even had a chance. Maybe it was the slight feeling he had that maybe after all the time they’d been spending together, she might possibly be into him too.

To his surprise, she kissed him back, moving in closer to deepen the kiss. He’d thought that she had a thing for Jaebeom, but here she was. They’d both had a little alcohol and maybe that had something to do with their situation. He didn’t care either way. She tasted sweet, like only the fruity undertones of the wine lingered on her lips.

“Maybe I should stop,” he murmured after pulling away. “We’ve both had a bit to drink.”

“Maybe you should keep going.”

“Okay.” he said quietly. He didn’t really want to stop anyway, even if he knew this wasn’t the best idea. ”Are you sure?”

“Definitely,” she replied and he moved closer. He kissed her again and soon he found himself on top of her, his body settled between her legs, holding his weight with one arm while he used his other hand to bring her face closer. Her fingers were curled into the hair at the back of his head.

He ignored his phone as it started to ring, letting his hand drift down her side, his thumb brushing against the exposed skin just above her jeans. Her hands were tugging his shirt free from his jeans when his phone started to go off again.

“Should you get that?” she panted, pulling away for air. He glanced at it and seeing that it was Yugyeom, he shook his head, pushing away from her only to press ignore.

He was just about to kiss her again when someone started to ring the door bell. He groaned in annoyance.

“Sorry, I should probably get that,” he muttered. He reluctantly pushed himself away from her, helping her back into a sitting position before tucking his shirt back in.

Yugyeom stood outside the door.

“What the hell, man?” questioned Bambam.

“I should really be going, Bambam,” said Y/N, placing her hand gently on his shoulder as she slipped by him. Her face was red and she didn’t bother to look up at Yugyeom as she slipped by him. “I’ll see you later. Bye, Yugyeom.”

Bambam watched her get into the elevator and then turned back to Yugyeom.

“Really?”

“I forgot my wallet,” shrugged Yugyeom.

“How?!”

He moved aside to let Yugyeom into the apartment.

“Hey, don’t tell anyone, okay? I don’t think she wants anyone to know.”

Yugyeom glanced over his shoulder as he picked his wallet up from the end table. “I won’t. I didn’t see anything.”

He was quiet for a moment. “Are you going to date her?”

“I don’t know.” He hadn’t truly thought about it. It had been at the back of his mind,of course, and he couldn’t deny that her living in the same building would make dating her super easy. Now that Yugyeom had planted that idea in his head though, it would be all that he could think about.

The next day, he couldn’t stop thinking about her leaving. Had she left because she was embarrassed? Had she left because she thought she was making a mistake? He kept checking his phone, hoping for an explanation. He couldn’t focus on anything and the other guys seemed to pick up on it.

“You good?” questioned Jackson.

“Yeah, I’m fine.” He shrugged. He couldn’t even bother to make up an excuse.

Later, Yugyeom pulled him aside.

“I’m sorry about last night. I didn’t realize that I would be interrupting something.”

“No, it’s okay. I just don’t really know what’s going on between us,” explained Bambam. “She left last night and hasn’t said a word.”

“Maybe she’s been waiting on you to say something.”

“You’re right. I’ll text her.”

Bambam: I’d like to see you later, if you have time.

Y/N: I’m working late tonight. Maybe tomorrow?

Bambam: I’ll let you know when I’m done working tomorrow.

Y/N: Sounds good. I’ll see you tomorrow then.

The exchange didn’t make him feel any better. It seemed too casual. She seemed apathetic about what had happened between them the day before.

“I’m sorry about the other night,” she started apologizing as soon as he walked through the door.

“It’s okay. I just hope that I didn’t ruin our friendship. I mean, I think we’re friends, right?” He asked, turning to face her as she closed the door behind him.

“Absolutely. It didn’t ruin anything. I was totally into it. I mean, I just got kind of nervous about the other guys finding out and I guess they kind of know now. I just, I’m not really sure that I want something serious right now and I’m not really sure what you want. I should’ve just waited and asked you, but I was really embarrassed.”

He couldn’t deny that he was relieved. He’d thought he’d been the issue. That she’d regretted it because of who she was with.

“No, I understand. I’m totally into you, but you know what my job entails. I don’t think me dating anyone would go over very well. I don’t think I want anything serious either at the moment.” It was a lie, but after hearing her say that she wasn’t sure that she wanted something serious, he was afraid to admit that he did. He just wanted her to stick around. He enjoyed her company and if that meant ‘just friends’ he’d take it.

“I don’t regret what happened the other night.”

“Yeah? Neither do I.”

“Do you think we could try it again? Maybe without an interruption this time?”

That caught him off guard. He cleared his throat. “What?”

“Sorry. Um, unless that’s something you reserve for serious relationships. Shit. I’m sorry. I’ve made things super awkward.”

“No. No, I definitely want to try it again.”

This time she kissed him first, having to stand on the tip of her toes to reach.

“That was way easier last time,” she laughed, pulling away.

“Maybe we can fix that,” he replied, leading her to the couch, where he pulled her into his lap. “Is this better?”

“Let’s find out.” She pressed to her lips to his as she settled into his lap. His hands fell to her waist, pulling her in a little closer. Her hands were moving over the buttons of his shirt, trying to get it off of him as quickly as possible. It slid down his arms easily and he leaned forward so that he could slip out of it completely before his hands found her waist again.

“Definitely better,” he breathed out against her lips when they finally pulled apart to catch their breath. She nodded in agreement before pulling her sweater over her head. He couldn’t help but let his eyes fall to her breasts. He didn’t get to look too long before her lips were back against his.

Her hand slipped between them to palm him through his jeans and he inhaled sharply. It was much needed friction, but not quite enough. He pulled her in close again, his hands on her hips to guide them in a slow grind against his. She shifted in his lap and her bra disappeared from between them, her bare chest pressing against his.

He pulled away to press kisses to her jawline and down to her neck and she let her head fall back. She guided one of his hands up to her breast and he needed no further guidance from her.

“So when are you going to make dinner for me again?” she asked, pushing herself away from him.

“So you’re just using me for food now?” He chuckled.

“Hey, you said that my gratitude and praise wasn’t enough.” She grinned before pulling on her sweater. His eyes roamed over her legs and then flicked up to meet her gaze.

“I guess you’re right.” He pulled up his briefs and jeans as she disappeared, only to return with two glasses of water. “Thanks, babygirl.”

“No problem,” she smiled.

“You can’t stop smiling at me,” he noted. “Was it that good?”

“Don’t get cocky, it’s a turn off,” she warned, but she was still smiling. Her smile was contagious and he couldn’t stop smiling back at her.

“I’ll make you dinner next week,” he offered, pulling his shirt back on.

“Then maybe we can do this again?” He paused, midway through buttoning up his shirt.

“Oh, we are definitely gonna do this again.” He didn’t even try to hide the enthusiasm in his voice. He wasn’t sure exactly what was going on between them, but he was super into whatever it was. “We’ll give my place another try. Hopefully, no one will interrupt this time.”

#got7 #got7 fanfic #got7 bambam #bambam #got7 fluff #got7 smut #bambam fluff #bambam smut #got7 scenario #got7 reaction #kunpimook bhuwakul #bambam fanfic #bambam fwb

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thecoleopterawithana · 4 years ago

Text

The Fool

— Tout Les Jours (Every Day), by René Magritte (1966).

Day after day Alone on a hill The man with the foolish grin Is keeping perfectly still But nobody wants to know him They can see that he's just a fool And he never gives an answer

But the fool on the hill Sees the sun going down And the eyes in his head See the world spinning round

Well on the way Head in a cloud The man of a thousand voices Talking perfectly loud

But nobody ever hears him Or the sound he appears to make And he never seems to notice

But the fool on the hill Sees the sun going down And the eyes in his head See the world spinning round

And nobody seems to like him They can tell what he wants to do And he never shows his feelings

But the fool on the hill Sees the sun going down And the eyes in his head See the world spinning round, oh oh oh, round round round round

He never listens to them He knows that they're the fools They don't like him

The fool on the hill Sees the sun going down And the eyes in his head See the world spinning round

Oh, round round round round, oh

‘I see somebody now!’ [Alice] exclaimed at last. ‘But he’s coming very slowly—and what curious attitudes he goes into!’ (For the messenger kept skipping up and down, and wriggling like an eel, as he came along, with his great hands spread out like fans on each side.)

‘Not at all,’ said the King. ‘He’s an Anglo-Saxon Messenger—and those are Anglo-Saxon attitudes. He only does them when he’s happy. His name is Haigha.’ (He pronounced it so as to rhyme with ‘mayor.’)

‘I love my love with an H,’ Alice couldn’t help beginning, ‘because he is Happy. I hate him with an H, because he is Hideous. I fed him with—with—with Ham-sandwiches and Hay. His name is Haigha, and he lives—’

‘He lives on the Hill,’ the King remarked simply, without the least idea that he was joining in the game, while Alice was still hesitating for the name of a town beginning with H. ‘The other Messenger’s called Hatta. I must have two, you know—to come and go. One to come, and one to go.’

— in Lewis Carroll’s Through the Looking Glass, and What Alice Found There (1871).

Paul then went back to his guitar and started to sing and play a very slow, beautiful song about a foolish man sitting on the hill. John listened to it quietly, staring blankly out of the window, almost as if he wasn’t listening. Paul sang it many times, la-la-ing words he hadn’t thought of yet. When at last he finished, John said he’d better write the words down or he’d forget them. Paul said it was OK. He wouldn’t forget them. It was the first time Paul had played it for John. There was no discussion.

— in Hunter Davies’ The Beatles: The Authorised Biography (1968).

JOHN: Who’s the fool on the hill, Paul?

PAUL: John.

Thank You Girl (1963): I know, little girl, only a fool would doubt our love

Another Girl (1965): You're making me say that I've got nobody but you / But as from today, well I've got somebody that's new / I ain't no fool and I don't take what I don't want / For I have got another girl, another girl

Girl (1965): She's the kind of girl who puts you down when friends are there / You feel a fool

The Fool On The Hill (1967): And nobody seems to like him / They can tell what he wants to do / And he never shows his feelings

Sexy Sadie (1968): Sexy Sadie, what have you done? / You made a fool of everyone

Hey Jude (1968): And anytime you feel the pain, hey Jude, refrain / Don't carry the world upon your shoulders / For well you know that it's a fool who plays it cool / By making his world a little colder

Glass Onion (1968): I told you 'bout the fool on the hill / I tell you man he living there still

Maxwell’s Silver Hammer (1968): Back in school again Maxwell plays the fool again / Teacher gets annoyed

Come And Get It (1969): If you want it, here it is, come and get it / Make your mind up fast / If you want it, anytime, I can give it / But you better hurry 'cause it may not last | Did I hear you say / That there must be a catch? / Will you walk away / From a fool and his money?

Dear Friend (1970): Dear friend, throw the wine / I'm in love with a friend of mine / Really truly, young and newly wed / Are you a fool, or is it true?

Some People Never Know (1971): No one else will ever see how much faith you have in me / Only fools would disagree that it's so / Some people never know | Like a fool I'm far away / Every night I hope and pray / I'll be coming home to stay and it's so / Some people never know [...] Only love can stand the test / Only you outshine the rest / Only fools take second best, and it's so / Some people never know

Sally G (1974): Somewhere to the south of New York City / Lies the friendly state of Tennessee / Down in Nashville town then I met a pretty / Who made a pretty big fool out of me

Memories (1979): Wondering, wondering / Is that really me / Running ’round in circles like a fool? / Off in such insanity / It’s a wonder how I survived / Ah, angels have been good to me / And I’m glad to be alive

The Other Me (1982): The other me would rather be the glad one / The other me would rather play the fool / I want to be the kind of me / That doesn't let you down as a rule

Your School (1984): Never thought I’d learn so much / Just a poor fool in love / Your school / I never felt the gentle touch until I met you

[Note: This term is very common in the vocabulary of the 50′s songs they grew up with. It’s not as specific to them as other motifs. Still, I was keen to track when and how they used it; with what meaning. Suggestions of additions, as always, are welcome.]

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what-is-your-plan-today · 5 years ago

Text

Riding High Ch1: Jodhpurs and Jeans

Chapter Summary: Frank Adler is a single man in his early 30s, simply doing his best to raise his genius niece Mary. After a passing comment from his well-meaning neighbour, land-lady and friend, he decides that before he enrols her into school she needs to learn some social skills and pick up a hobby to help her interact with kids her own age.

Felicity (Fliss) Gallagher is a single woman in her early 30s. An British Olympic Gold Medal winning Showjumper who was forced into early retirement due to a nasty accident, she’s now settled in South Pasadena running Sandybrook Stables, an Equestrian Centre which provide both boarding and teaching services.

Mary decides she wants to learn how to ride… meaning the two of them meet for the first time

Chapter Warnings: Bad Language words.

Chapter Pairings: Frank Adler x OFC Fliss Gallagher

Tagging all my SSB/CSI readers…if you want in or off the list PLEASE just tell me

As always I’m a ho for a REBLOG and COMMENT!

And yes, the woman in the photos in the cover banner on and with the Chestnut is me and my wonderful, wonderful old girl who I lost 2 years ago…

Chapter Song: Driftwood by Travis

Series Masterlist Main Masterlist

August 2017

“I’m holding you solely responsible for this.” Frank short Roberta a glare as Mary bounced over to the truck, her blonde hair swinging slightly as she skipped.

Roberta took a deep breath and simply shrugged “On your head be it.”

“Come on Frank!” Mary shouted, standing up on the ledge of the truck “we’re gonna be late!”

“It’s 20 minutes tops to Pinellas Park…” Frank looked at her “We got half an hour, chill out Stack”

“My name’s Mary not Short Stack…” she sing songed back.

“Don’t I know it…” Frank said, looking at her before he turned back to Roberta “I’ll see you later.”

“Hmmm” she nodded, and with that he rolled his eyes again and headed to the truck.

“You know you’re not actually gonna get to ride anything today right?” he asked, turning to his niece.

“No, but I’m still gonna see the ponies.” she said, smiling. “Why can’t we bring Fred?”

“Because a horse might step on him.” Frank said, before he paused. “Actually, shall we take him?” Mary narrowed her eyes at him “That’s mean.” He chuckled, ruffled her hair and started up the truck.

******

“Ok, now soften your outside hand…” Fliss called out across the paddock, as the woman riding the tall, bay warmblood circled her “Yeah, you feel that. He’s taking the contact now, not leaning against your hand. So when you feel that softening, that’s when you need to push with your inside leg…and if is he isn’t listening a soft tap up with the stick…” She watched again from behind her Oakley wraparounds, smiling as the horse extended nicely down the long side of the school.

“Yeah, there you go!” she shouted encouragingly, “Now bring him round again and this time at the corner, pop him into canter…” She took a quick glance at her watch. She was running slightly behind, but what else was new? She would never leave a lesson, regardless, until her client had achieved something, even if it was what they dubbed a small victory. End on a high was her motto, and this was no different. Ever since Lucy had brought Jensen out of his stable, Fliss could see the horse was in one of his awkward moods so she’d had to switch out her plan a little. It had worked and he’d settled after about 15 minutes of being an obstinate shit and he was working quite nicely.

“Ok, bring him back down…” she said, “And into trot…and walk…”

“Yeah because you rode him well.” Fliss smiled “You know, I seriously think you should consider a Dressage Competition.”

“You think?”

“Yeah, I do. I know you don’t have a horse of your own but you can borrow Cap if you want…have a think about it.” “I will, thanks Fliss.”

Fliss smiled, gave the horse a pat and headed back to the gate.

“Joanne?” she called, and one of her grooms appeared. “Can you just supervise Lucy cooling him off. I’ve got someone bringing their daughter in at 11 am that should be here any time soon.”

“Hi…” she walked over, momentarily stuck by how damned good looking this guy was. He was dressed simply in a pair of jeans and a white T-shirt which perfectly accentuated his toned upper body. His chiselled jawline which was covered in a short, stubbled beard, soft spikey dark hair, and he flashed her a smile that made the corners of his aviator covered eyes crinkle. A smile that made her clear her throat. “I’m Fliss, you must be Mr Adler.”

Frank looked at the woman in front of him, glad that his glasses hid the fact he was blatantly eyeing her up and down. Dressed in a pair of long riding boots, tight navy blue jodhpurs with a white belt around the top, and a tight pink polo shirt he could see every curve she possessed. But it was the smile she flashed him that made him feel like some kind of teenage school kid again. “Frank, please.” “Nice to meet you.” Fliss smiled before turning to Mary “And what can I call you Miss?” “Mary.” she said, looking up “Are all these horses yours?”

Fliss chuckled. “No not all of them. 9 belong to me. 3 are my personal ones, then I have 6 that work in the riding school and the other 6 are boarders.” “Oh.” she said, looking around. “So which one can I ride.” “Mary…” Frank chastised her softly as he looked down at her, before glancing back at Fliss “Sorry, she’s excited.” Fliss laughed and shook her head “It’s fine, I love to see it.”

She turned to Mary and then in an exaggerated whisper so that Frank could here said “I’ll let you into a secret, I always put the new kids on Monty because he’s awesome and looks after everyone…and he especially likes girls. He’s a ladies man. You wanna meet him?” Mary nodded eagerly and Fliss looked up at Frank, seeking his permission. He nodded and gestured with his head and she straightened up before leading Mary across the yard to the barn on the opposite side.

Frank stayed where he was for a moment, watching her ass as she walked before he mentally slapped himself and followed.

“Monty, meet Mary…” she said with a smile as Mary gently reached up to stroke the pony’s soft nose.

“He’s really pretty.” Mary said, appraisingly.

“Yeah he’s awesome.” Fliss smiled, “And he’s a good boy too.” “Can I go in the stable?” Mary asked.

“Erm… if your dad says it’s ok?” Fliss looked at Frank who was tucking his sunglasses down the front of his shirt.

“I’m not her dad.” Frank shook his head “I’m her uncle.” “Oh, sorry.” Fliss frowned “I just assumed.”

“I get it a lot.” he said, waving her apology away “But I am her legal guardian so…”

Fliss nodded, studying him for a moment. There was clearly a bit more to that story but it wasn’t her business to pry.

“Can I?” Mary looked at him and he nodded.

“What’s he doing?” Mary asked.

“It’s called grooming.” Fliss explained “So he is mimicking what you’re doing to him to me, see? It’s how they show affection in the wild. Sometimes they can get a bit carried away and they nip but they don’t mean to be nasty or bite.”

“Spend less money on beer when you go out tonight” she shot back, and Fliss gave a loud bark of a laugh as Frank, shook his head.

“See what I gotta put up with?” he snorted.

“You should talk to my dad about it.” she laughed “I bled him dry due to horses as a kid, especially when I was up and down the UK competing!” “I was gonna say your accent isn’t local.” he said, smiling.

“Neither is yours.” she shot back “New England?” He cocked his head, momentarily surprised. He didn’t think his accent was that strong considering.

“Boston.” he nodded, “But I aint lived there in a while.” “I lived in Concorde” she explained, noticing his puzzled glance

“Huh, no kidding.” he smiled “Cambridge.” “Nice state.” Fliss smiled “I loved it.”

“What made you end up here?”

Fliss hesitated for a while. “Erm..” “Sorry, you don’t need to explain, I was just a little curious.” “No, it’s fine just a long and complicated story.” Fliss said, scratching her temple “The abridged version is my marriage broke down and my mum and dad retired out here so I joined them.” She was avoiding his eyes slightly. Frank was smart enough to realise there was slightly more to it than that but he was tactful enough not to press. Besides, it was really none of his business.

“How about you? What you running from?” “What makes you think I’m running from anything?” he asked.

“Aren’t we all?” she looked at him, her deep brown eyes locked onto his.

“Fliss, sorry to interrupt but do you want Cap and Bolt turned out?” a young girl with blonde hair approached them.

“Yeah, they’re not working again today.” Fliss said, “But take them one at a time. Bolt’s taking to being a bit bargey. If he starts wrap the lead-rope round his nose.” “Will do.” “Thanks Jo.” she smiled, and they continued walking.

“What’s bargey?” Mary asked.

“Pushy.” Frank looked at her “Bossy.” “Like you?” Frank shot her a look and saw Fliss smiling to herself as she overheard.

“Or it could mean pain in the ass like you.” he said. “Rude.” Mary shot back as Fliss opened the door to the office. Frank leaned over to hold it open.

“Thanks.” she looked at him smiling. He stepped in after Mary and they both stood, looking around taking it all in.

The frame was split into 2. On the right hand side was a photo of Fliss dressed in competition gear, navy jacket, red piping, white jodhs and a navy hat. She had a smile on her face that was literally ear to ear and round her neck sat the gold medal which was displayed in the left of the frame.

“London 2012…” Mary read the small plaque at the bottom “Frank, look…” “I can see.” he said, surprise evident in his tone. He looked at the woman “You were in the Olympics?” “Yeah.” she smiled “Only one though. Trained for years to get there…”

“Why only one?” Mary looked at her.

“Mary.” Frank groaned “Stop being nosey.” “It’s ok.” Fliss chuckled “A few months later at the World Championships I had a nasty accident. I damaged my back and it took me nearly 6 months to recover. Sadly I lost my place on the team.” “Oh, that’s sad.” Mary looked at her.

“It’s a dog eat dog world kid.” Fliss shrugged “Not all bad though, I got into the training side of things which was great. Just didn’t work out.” There was a moments pause and Fliss replaced the photo and turned to Frank “Can I get you anything to drink?” “No, I’m good thanks.” he smiled.

“But I can give you those to take home, you can bring them with you when you come back.” she said, reaching into her desk drawer. She pulled out a glossy leaflet and opened it. “Our price list is here. I’m not a huge outfit, I don’t have more than 3 kids on a lesson at a time. Mainly because I don’t have the horses but I prefer to focus on the students, not the profit. I try to keep overheads down as much as I can to keep the costs low…”

She bit her lip, she hated this part of the job, the sales patter as her dad called it. “So it really depends on what you want to do as to how expensive it is. Group lessons are $20 for 45 minutes and individual lessons are $30 for 30. I do always insist on an individual lesson first, but that’s discounted to $20 for the first one.” Frank nodded, it wasn’t cheap but they’d manage. He’d already explained to Mary that she wouldn’t be able to do it every week, but he could certainly stretch to once a fortnight.

“That’s reasonable.” he said after a pause.

Fliss smiled “I’ve only been 6 months or so now, but I’m planning on starting up a few Own a Pony days where the kids can come down and learn how to care for the horses as well as just ride. But that’s all in the planning stages.” “Well you have a good set up.” he said, and she beamed back.

“Thank you, a lot of graft went into setting it up. My mom and dad’s retirement didn’t start out quite as quiet as they had planned!”

“I can imagine.”

“Ok,so…the real expensive outlay is gonna come at the start.” she said, turning to Mary “You’ll need some boots and a hat kiddo.” Mary grinned up at Frank.

Mary took the flier from her and began examining it.

“That’s really it.” Fliss said, as she completed her mental check list “So all that’s left is to either book you in or you can call me…” “Please Frank!” Mary looked at him “Can we book?” Frank nodded “If you want.” “I do…” “Ok…what availability do you have?” Fliss opened the laptop and entered the diary and looked for a free spot.” “Does Wednesday at 1 suit?” she offered “I know once school starts you’ll probably want a weekend or evening but. whilst it’s the holidays does that work?”

“Yeah, get used to it. Once you get that horse smell on your hands it’s kind of an addiction.” “Frank hates animals.” Mary shrugged.

“I don’t hate animals.” Frank shook his head.

“You hate Fred.” “No, I don’t”

“You said before we should bring him so a horse steps on him.” Frank inwardly groaned as Fliss gave a chuckle.

“Fred is my cat.” Mary explained.

“Good name.” Fliss said “I have a few yard cats hanging around, they keep the mice at bay. And that reminds me, I haven’t seen Thor in a while…”

“Thor?” Mary looked at her

“Yeah, my dog…” she stood up and opened the office door, giving a sharp whistle. “He never goes far.” As if on cue a large german shepherd came lolling down the yard to greet them. Frank eyed the dog, it was huge. Mary, right on cue jumped down off his lap.

“Is he named after the Avenger?” Mary looked up “I love those films.”

“Sure is, he used to have a brother called Loki too but, well he died.”

Thor gave Mary a lick causing her to giggle before he flopped onto his side raising his paw.

“He wants a belly rub.” Fliss said, and Mary dropped to her knees to give the dog a tickle. His tail began to wag furiously on the floor and Mary laughed.

Frank watched the girl, smiling. He loved seeing her like this. She was so grown up and serious half the time, he yearned to see her acting like a normal 7 year old. He was reticent to drag her away for that reason but he had work later that afternoon, a boat that needed finishing by Monday afternoon was taking him slightly longer than he had anticipated.

“Alright short stack, we gotta move…” “Do we hafta?” “Sorry kiddo.” Mary made a face.

“Do you wanna go to the store or not?” Frank shot her a look. “Ok.” she said, jumping up and wiping dusting off her knees.

Fliss walked them to the truck which was parked in the car park and her eyes flew over to her horse wagon, a small 3.5 tonne box. Frank noticed her looking before she turned back to him.

“Yours?” he asked.

“Yeah, I did have a bigger one but, well I don’t use it often enough now to warrant it. Maybe at some point I’ll get back into competing…never say never hey?” He smiled.

“Sorry, was that too much? I just…well she…” “Oh,God,no…” Frank stuttered, hastily shaking his head. “It’s just…well she’s never usually that affectionate with strangers. Not that you’re a stranger I suppose, not anymore but…” he shrugged.

“I should…” he gestured to the truck with his keys.

“Yeah, sorry. Have a good day Mr Adler…” “Frank…” “Frank.” she corrected herself with another gorgeous smile “I’ll see you Wednesday.” With another nod he walked to the truck and Fliss turned and headed back to the yard.

He climbed in and turned to Mary who was looking at him, smirking in a smug way that was well beyond her 7 years.

“What?” he demanded.

“You like her.” Mary snorted.

“She’s a nice girl, I mean woman…lady…”

Mary didn’t say a word, simply sat back as Frank reached around for her belt before doing his own and setting the truck into reverse. Sometimes she was far too observant for her own good. *****

“If she gives you any trouble just tie her up on the porch.” Frank said as Mary settled on the couch in Roberta’s trailer. Roberta snorted and Mary glared at him.

“He googled her.” Mary said.

“You googled her” Roberta intoned.

“I was curious ok?” Frank said “And you asked me to!” “She’s an Olympic Gold medallist.” Mary chanted, draping herself over the arm of the sofa, head hanging, hair brushing the floor “At London 2012 but then she had an accident in the World Championships later that year and she broke 2 vertebrae…she didn’t compete again. And she was married to a guy called John. He was on the US Equestrian team but they’re divorced now. He’s in prison…but Frank didn’t tell me why.” “Because it’s none of your business, and you don’t mention it to her.” Frank said sternly, cutting her off.

Roberta looked at him curiously “But you’re not interested in her. At all.” “Like I said, curious.” he shrugged “Especially if she’s gonna be teaching Mary.”

“Mmmhmmm.” Roberta dropped her hands to her hips “Whatever you say honey…” Frank sighed and then looked at Mary. “Be good.” “I will, see you in the morning…”

He nodded and then headed out. It was a pleasant evening, the heat of the day had died down to an acceptable level and the 10 minute walk down to the small strip of bars wasn’t as sticky as normal. It passed fairly quickly, he was lost in thought about the woman he had met before. It had made for surprising reading, a child star on the circuit the accident had cruelly robbed her of a future in the sport 5 years ago, and from the sounds of it her ass-hat ex-husband had stolen 3 years of her life too. Still, as he had told Mary, it was none of their business.

“So how much did she sting you for at the store?”

Frank grinned up at Fliss “Just short of a hundred. New hat, boots and a pair of jodhpurs.” Fliss giggled “Make sure she wears the boots in, they’re a killer for the first few days!” “I’ll bear it in mind.” he smiled “So, you hear alone or…” “Oh, no. It’s my Mum’s birthday so there’s a few of us out.” she said, glancing over her shoulder. Frank followed her eyes and settled on a table full of women who were all laughing. One looked quite similar to Fliss, same face shape and nose, who he assumed to be her mother. “If I’m honest it’s a bit boring considering they’re all over fifty but…” Frank laughed “Well I was gonna offer to buy you a drink but…” She laughed again “Thanks but, there’s a kitty going…” with that she turned to the bar tender. “Hiya, can I get 4 bud lights, a gin and tonic and a vodka soda please?” The bar tender nodded and headed off.

“Mary hasn’t shut up about Monty all afternoon.” Frank said and Fliss smiled.

Fliss smiled “Well she’s not wrong. The kids I teach are great, I don’t stand for any crap, she’ll be welcomed with open arms.”

“Glad to hear it.” Frank smiled “Mary can be a litte…well, I suppose, odd is the right word. She’s old before her age.”

Fliss chuckled, eyeing him slightly. The man was a total mystery. At that the Bar Tender returned with a tray of drinks and she turned to pay him, waving away the change.

“Another beer please pal.” he said, waving his empty bottle.

“Who’s that?” Verity leaned over to Fliss as she settled in the seat next to her.

“Oh, that’s the guy I was telling you about.” she shrugged “the one who brought his niece up to the Centre this morning.” “I know you said he was good looking but…”

“Shut up Mum.” Fliss said, flushing slightly

“You’re old enough to be his mother.” Jane, one of the other women said and the table laughed.

“Who the fuck was that?” John said, pointing across the packed bar to the man that Fliss had just smiled at.

“No one…” Fliss protested “Just a guy from work, that’s all.” “Right…” John said, the nerve in his jaw twitching. Fliss swallowed nervously and gently touched his arm.

“Honestly, he works at the stables. I was just being polite.”

“He’s eye fucking you.” “No, he’s not…” Fliss rolled her eyes and immediately realised what he had done when John gripped her chin painfully between his thumb and forefinger.

“Don’t roll your eyes at me.” he practically snarled.

And she knew what that meant…

“Hey…” her mother’s voice shook her out of the memory and she looked up at her. “Oh Liss…”

“I’m ok…” she said, taking a breath

Her mother looked at her again, and Fliss knew she was busted. “I was just…having a flash back that’s all.”

“He’s not here.” Verity dropped her voice “That fucker is where he belongs, behind bars and he won’t be bothering you again. Me and your dad promised you that…and we meant it.”

“I know, honestly I’m fine…” Fliss assured her mum who leaned over and gave her temple a soft kiss.

Fliss smiled back and shooting one last glance at Frank, who has his back to the table as he continued his reading, she turned to the women and threw herself into the conversation

@the-omni-princess @momobaby227 @geekofmanythings16 @angelofhell-666 @thewackywriter @marvelfansworld @cobalt-gear @asgardlover75 @jennmurawski13 @jtargaryen18 @saiyanprincessswanie @navispalace @patzammit @joannaliceevans-fanficblog @icanfeelastormbrewing @djeniiscorner @ayamenimthiriel @coldmuffinbanditshoe @disneylovingal @madzmilllz @sgtjaamesbaarnes @sweater-daddiesdumbdork @southerngracela @goldenfightergir @kellymat @official-and-unstable-satan

#riding high #frank adler x ofc #frank adler #gifted fan fic #gifted

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danielcooperrp · 4 years ago

Text

We Two Boys Together Clinging

Halfway through 19th Century American Poetry and Drew has a sensation with which he is all too familiar: eyes boring into the back of head. It doesn't matter how many times he's been gawked at in a restaurant or in the allergy aisle of CVS (hay fever is a bitch), the feeling of the little hairs on the back of his neck standing up never fails to make him want to slink into a hole and die. He tries to ignore it, tries to focus all of his attention on the professor, who is droning on about the difference between various editions of Leaves of Grass, but that only lasts so long. Eventually, he caves, and he turns to look.

He's not shocked when the dark eyes watching him quickly dart away—people are often abashed when they get caught staring—but it is a surprise when, a few moments later, they return to meet his. The face they belong to is handsome, warm, dark skin, a strong jaw, a slightly crooked nose that suggests some kind of trouble, and—oh. Two rows of perfect white teeth that he sees now because the face is grinning at him, an inviting, dangerous grin, and now Drew's the one looking away, his own cheeks glowing red. His eyes burn holes in his notebook—he hasn't written a word in so long, he'll have to research this edition issue on his own later—and the other guy's eyes burn holes in his skull.

Why is he looking at him like that? Drew hasn't said a thing all class, not that any of them would be able to get a word in edgewise. His eyes dart down to check his outfit; a little schnerdy, sure, but nothing that stands out in a Harvard classroom. He risks it again; a quick look back, and that smile is still waiting for him, this time a little softer, like he's happy he keeps getting caught.

By the time class ends, Drew is a sweaty mess. He has no idea what the professor said for the last half of that lecture, but he's not going to stick around to ask. He tosses his notebook and his copy of Whitman into his satchel and slides into the mass exodus from the room. He lets himself be carried toward the building exit by the river of hungry undergrads, hoping that he avoids whatever situation was brewing behind him in class, but the river comes to a screeching halt when everyone notices that it's pouring buckets outside. Those smart enough to plan ahead whip out their umbrellas and leave, and some who don't have any other choice lower their heads and shoulders as though preparing to take a charging bull head on and foray bravely into the downpour.

Drew doesn't have another class for forty-five minutes, and even though he was planning on getting lunch in the interim, he really doesn't want to get this sweater wet, so he decides to duck into an alcove and wait it out. He pulls out his phone, Googles the information he thinks he missed in class, and is halfway through an Encyclopedia Britannica article when someone clears their throat. He looks up and blinks owlishly. It's the teeth.

"Hi," the teeth say. "I'm Xander."

Drew stares. He doesn't know what to do with this information. During the rare instances someone deigns to talk to him, an introduction like "I'm Xander" is almost always followed by a request like "Can I get an picture?" or "Do you know where the bathroom is?", depending on if he's been recognized or not. But this...this is just warm brown eyes and a big shiny smile that he doesn't know what to with.

"Drew Cooper," he eventually blurts out, remembering that he is in fact a human person with a name. "Um. Hi."

Xander leans casually against the wall adjacent to Drew, the fabric of his shirt pulling tight over the bulk of his arms as he crosses them over his very muscular chest. "You know, I really liked what you had to say last week about the em dashes in Emily Dickinson's poems. How they're meant to give you space to breath but really end up making you feel breathless. Professor didn't know what do with that, but...I liked it."

What is happening what is happening what is hap— Drew swallows thickly. "Oh. Thanks. I, uh, visited the house in Amherst a lot growing up. School field trips, family weekends...I'm...familiar with her work."

Xander nods toward the corner of Leaves of Grass sticking out of Drew's satchel. "What about Whitman? He a favorite too?"

Drew shrugs. "Sure. Mostly 'Song of Myself' and 'Drum-Taps,' but generally...yeah, his language is...unparalleled." Drew pauses, unsure, and then continues. "Reading Whitman always reminds me that I need to look around more. That everything is beautiful if I let it be."

The smile grows bigger. "I really like the way you talk about poetry, Drew Cooper." Xander reaches into the JanSport he's got slung over one shoulder and pulls out an umbrella. "Want to talk about it over lunch?"

—————

It’s not until their third post-poetry class lunch that Drew finds out something interesting about his new friend. “Wait...you’re on the football team?”

Xander laughs, a loud, warm sound that makes Drew feel like he’s part of the joke instead of the butt of it. “Yeah, yeah, I’m on the football team.” Drew makes a face. “What?”

“Well...don’t take this the wrong way, but...” Drew swirls his spoon in his cup of clam chowder. “...is Harvard’s team any good?”

This earns a longer, louder laugh from Xander, who takes a bite of his grilled chicken when he’s done. “In the grand scheme of things? No. We go up against Auburn or Clemson and we’re getting our asses kicked, no questions asked. But against the teams we actually play? We’re not half-bad.”

“So what position do you play?”

“Tight end.”

“Oh, I know that one. That’s...an important one.”

Xander suppresses the laugh this time. “It’s okay, Cooper. You don’t have to pretend to like football.”

Drew scrunches his nose. “I’m sorry. I come from a sports family. My dad and my older sister, in particular, they’ll talk for hours about football or baseball or hockey...it all goes over my head.”

With a shrug, Xander says, “Well, you’ve got enough good stuff going on in that head. No need to waste brain space on stuff that doesn’t matter.”

Drew feels himself starting to flush, so he quickly tries to shift the focus. “Well what about you? If football doesn’t matter, why risk CTE for it?”

“Scholarships, Cooper! You think Harvard pays for itself? I got in on test scores, but test scores don’t get you out of loans. Football does.”

And doesn’t that make Drew feel so silly. He knows how unbelievably lucky he is, that he had every semester of higher education he could ever want at whatever university would take him paid for before he was even born. If he had the mind to, he could keep taking classes at Harvard or Yale or Oxford until he died and he’d never have to think about the cost. Xander actually has to work for his education, and Drew feels like a little kid in comparison.

—————

They’ve been in a little back corner of Lamont Library for a few hours now, bent over their respective texts as they work on assignments for different classes. Drew’s nose-deep in an anthology of Helen Hunt Jackson, while Xander’s scribbling away at equations for one of his insanely complicated math classes. They work in comfortable silence, and every once in a while Drew wonder how strange it is, the easy way they spend their days together.

At one point, Xander throws down his pencil in disgust. “That’s it. Cooper, I’m dropping out.”

Drew makes a face. “You’re not dropping out, Xander.”

“I am. No economics degree is worth this.” He gestures vaguely to his chicken-scratch math homework.

“I mean, you’re not going to hear an argument from me, the guy studying History and Literature.” Drew peeks at the equations. “Would it help if you explained it to me?”

Xander furrows his brows. “What do you mean?”

“I mean...my sisters always head more of a head for the STEM subjects, while I’ve always been better at...” He waves a hand over his poetry book. “...softer stuff. But when I was a kid, my dad, who’s, like, an insane science nerd to the max, would tell me to pretend that I was the science teacher and I had to teach him the homework. It really helped. Explaining out loud, going over each problem piece by piece, helped me understand it better.” He flushes. “It’s just a thought, though. You don’t have to...”

“On one condition.” Xander smirks. “You have to tell me all of your thoughts on Thoreau afterward.”

Drew can’t fight his grin. “Deal.”

—————

Drew’s schedule is light on Tuesdays, so he’s back in the apartment he shares with Aidan, about halfway between Harvard and MIT’s campuses. She’s here, too, ditching a class she claims is “beneath the mathematical sensibilities of a first-grader.” She and some friend Drew is sure he should know the name of are on their little balcony, sipping wine coolers and people-watching while Drew reads for his early Wednesday class. Mostly, really, he’s listening to them gossip.

“See her?”

“Blond ponytail?”

“No, by the crosswalk, with the dog. Don’t tell her you have a fake ID, she’ll narc on you in a heartbeat.”

“Get out!”

“Dead serious. Freshman down the hall got busted because of her.”

“What a bitch. Over there, those two: dating or siblings?”

“They’re practically identical, so I’m hoping siblings....Oh god, please let me be wrong...”

“Who’s that?”

“Where?”

“Coming down the sidewalk here.”

“He’s hot, whoever he is.”

“I’ll say.”

“Wait...why does he look familiar....”

“Wasn’t he at that party two weekends ago? The one on Banks Street?”

“Oh my god, that’s it, he’s on the Harvard football team!”

Drew’s head snaps up.

“Tell you what, he could score a touchdown any day. Look at those arms...Drew?”

Drew scrambles off of the couch and flings himself onto the balcony. Aidan gives him a wild look. “What the hell?”

Peering over the edge, Drew spies Xander just as he gets to the front door of their building. He doesn’t need to use the buzzer, because someone’s coming out. “Oh.”

“Drew?”

Ignoring his sister, Drew rushes back to the couch, where he grabs all of his books and notebooks and tosses them into his backpack. Then he races into his bedroom to grab shoes. “I, uh, have to go! Study thing!”

Aidan looks down to the street and back to her panicked twin. “Drew...are you friends with a football player?”

“No!” Drew squeaks. “Yes! I mean, yes, we are friends. We have a class together. I have to go!”

Aidan squints in suspicion as Drew charges out the door. When it slams shut behind him, her friend says, “Does he know his sweater is on backward?”

Aidan shrugs. “Not my business.”

—————

“Why do you hang out with me?”

It’s a hazy October afternoon, and Drew and Xander are hanging out in Flagstaff Park, studying. People call out to Xander as they walk by, and Xander gives them a friendly wave or a “Hey man!” but makes no move to get up and socialize. Drew knows he’s quiet, not the best conversationalist in the world, so he wonders.

“What do you mean?” Xander looks at him like he always does, like Drew is about to say something absolutely revelatory.

“I mean...shouldn’t you be hanging out with the rest of the football team? Is that what you’re supposed to do?”

Xander seems amused. “Is that what you want me to do?”

“No,” Drew answers too quickly. “I just...I don’t know. I’ve never had someone spend so much time with me who wasn’t a blood relative, that’s all. And it seems like you have a lot of friends so...I don’t know...forget it...” Embarrassed, he turns back to his history textbook.

A wide hand, fingers splayed, plops down over the pages, and Drew looks up to see Xander rolling his eyes. “I hang out with you so much, Cooper, because I like spending time with you, and also, I’m hoping that if I earn enough goodwill you’ll let me take you out to dinner at some point.”

Drew freezes. “I—what?”

“I mean, if you’re not into me, that’s fine. I’m a big boy, I can handle it. But the thing is, I think you are into me, which is great, because I’m into you too, but I don’t mind biding my time until you’re ready.”

Every single neuron in Drew’s brain is misfiring. “You’re—into me?”

“Man got himself into Harvard just to outshine the professors and he still can’t read what’s right in front of him.” Xander sighs. “Yes, Cooper, I am into you, and would like to start seeing you socially in a romantic capacity.”

“But...you’re on the football team!”

“I—what?” Drew just gapes at him. “Cooper...” Xander starts to laugh, slow at first, and then harder.

“Wait, why are you laughing at me?”

“It’s just...really refreshing to talk to someone as woefully out of touch as you are.”

“Hey!”

“Cooper, I dated a guy on the swim team for like two months last year. My being gay is...not news. To anyone.”

“Apparently not my sister,” Drew grumbles.

“What?”

“Nothing.” Drew shakes his head. Nothing is making sense. “Do you know...who I am?”

“...We’ve met, yeah.”

“No, I mean...my family.”

“Oh.” Xander shrugs. “Yeah. Did some light Googling. I mean, c’mon, a white boy as quiet and smart as you? I had to be sure you weren’t secretly a neo-Nazi or some shit.”

“I’m Jewish,” Drew mumbles, “but that’s not the point. You know...who I’m related to.”

“Yeah. Am I supposed to care?” Xander reaches out and takes Drew’s hand, interlaces their fingers together. Drew’s heart is pounding so hard in his ears he can barely hear Xander speak. “Cooper, I am an economics major. I don’t want to date you because your grandpa was a billionaire. I want to date you in spite of the fact that your grandpa was a billionaire.”

Drew chokes out a laugh. “Fair enough.”

“I mean, you’re cute and all, but don’t think I won’t eat you for sustenance when the class war starts.”

His laugh is louder this time. “Stop.”

“So what do you say?” A squeeze of the fingers, and a squeeze to his heart. “Drew Cooper, will you go on a date with me?”

Drew chews on his lip, and then he nods. “Yeah. Yeah I will.”

Then Xander grins his perfect white grin, and Drew knows he’s a goner.

#drabble #v1 #drew #xander #thenamesallison #i................spent hours on this #i did nothing today #where did this even come from wtf

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