#the absolute most you could say is that ashley MIGHT have a crush on him by the end. not because she likes him specifically but because he | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

leavetwn · 4 years ago

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* AMANDA CAMPANA, NOBINARY + SHE/HER/THEY/THEM | you know RAMONA GALLO, right? they’re TWENTY-THREE, and they’ve lived in irving for, like, TWENTY-THREE YEARS? well, their spotify wrapped says they listened to CRYING ON THE BATHROOM FLOOR BY MUNA like, a million times this year, which makes sense ‘cause they’ve got that whole COLD PIZZA AS A HANGOVER CURE, TALKING SHIT ABOUT CUSTOMERS IN THE BREAKROOM, LONGING FOR WHAT COULD'VE BEEN, thing going on. i just checked and their birthday is AUGUST 17TH, so they’re a LEO, which is unsurprising, all things considered. ( claire, 22, est, she/her )

HEY , BESTIES ! happy new year (the way it’s 11:55pm here so barely) !! my name’s claire and i’m 22. i’m livin in the est timezone, and my pronouns are she/her. i’m bringing y’all a mess of a muse 😈 because well ,,, it’s what i’m best at. if you’re feelin ramona & wanna plot, just go ahead and like this & i’ll hit you up. i usually plot on discord, but if you prefer the tumblr ims, that’s no problem at all. anyway, lemme stop waistin time and get to introducing you to ramona. * tw: mentions of cheating & alcohol.

𝐈. ━━ ˟ ⊰ ✰ 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐬 .

full name: ramona gallo. nickname(s): anything your muse wants to call her tbh. age: twenty-three. date of birth: august 17th. zodiac sign: leo. gender/pronouns: non-binary, she/her/they/them. sexual orientation: bisexual. romantic orientation: biromantic. hometown: irving, north carolina. current residence: irving, north carolina. occupation: employee at zoinkies currently, a lifeguard during the summer. eye color: brown. hair color/style: had long hair up until her breakup then had one of those breakdowns and cut her own hair into a bob and then her own bangs. i bet it was a mess lol so she probably called her friends or went to a salon the very next day to get it fixed. also highlighted the ends red but her natural color is brown. height : 5′5″. clothing style: simple and comfortable. t-shirts, croptops, turtlenecks, all usually paired with either jean shorts or jeans in general. she prefers to feel cozy rather than cute. tattoos: yes. a small one on her wrist. wants more eventually. piercings: both ears peirced & a navel piercing that she did herself against better judgement lol.

𝐈. ━━ ˟ ⊰ ✰ 𝐪𝐮𝐢𝐜𝐤 𝐡𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐲 .

you were born on a scorching hot day in irving , your father says so, anyway. you’re convinced he’s being dramatic. your birth went smoothly; after two previous children, your parents had become disillusioned by childbirth. just another one to add to the bunch, and one that was meant to save a dying marriage. still, they loved you nonetheless. your father, to this day. your mother, until you were ten, and then she up and left without a warning.

your father keeps food on the table by fixing cars. you spend your days in the hot sun watching him replace parts and continuously try to crank vehicles until they run. he fist pumps every time one does. ‘ how lame, ’ you think, but it’s inspiring how hard he works to take care of three kids. and he does a good job.

therefore , you spend much of your early life trying to make him proud. you’re smart as a whip, and all your teachers have good things to say about you when it comes to academics. you’re a bit of a troublemaker, though. your father doesn’t mind that too much; he was the same at your age. and he’s proud — proud to see you work so hard.

you spend your teenage years doing much of the same. though , you begin to come home a bit later than usual, and your excuse is that you’ve been at ashley’s or samantha’s, but really all three of you were out partying. you don’t think your father would care (your grades are fine & he wants you to live like a normal teenager) , but you still lie about it. why ? well, who knows, maybe you like the adrenaline rush it gives you. like most things, you do them for the thrill.

you join the swim team. you’re kind of bad , but that’s okay. just like always , you work hard, and you realize that you’re kind of a natural. your father cheers louder than anyone else in the stands. it pushes you to do better. with your good grades and athletics , your guidance counselor tells you you’re a shoo in for a scholarship from whatever university you want. you apply to several. if it’s one thing you hate, its this town. you can’t wait to make it out, and you figure, this might be your only way.

you’re eighteen, and you’re in love. it’s crazy how love can make you see things differently. suddenly , this town doesn’t seem half bad. all your friends find it cute , and you tell them everything. the things he tells you or the way he makes you feel. it’s a crazy feeling; you never want it to end.

you throw your cap in the air. finally , high school is over. college is looming. you’ve been accepted to several & received scholarships from at least a few. you lie in bed thinking about it. now, you suddenly don’t want to leave so bad. don’t want to leave him behind. how could someone leave another they love so easily? it makes you hate your mother more.

for the first time, you disappoint your father. you don’t go to college. you don’t give a damn. you want to stay where love is. you’re addicted to the feeling. this lasts for three years. now, you’re twenty-one; you’ve gotten a job at zoinkies, and that keeps you away for most of the day. you randomly decide to visit your boyfriend during a lunch break one day. you find him in bed with someone else. suddenly , you realize love isn’t as addicting as you once thought. what once made the world beautiful now made it hideous. what once made you feel so high had somehow made you feel so low. it was horrible, and you’d realized your mistakes.

you threw away your future for love. something as rotten and twisted as love. something you swore you’d never let yourself feel again. something that you put away in a locked box with no key. irving was the same place you’d always known it to be. boring, drab, familiar. at least you had your family. that was barely enough to keep you sane, though, and it was hard to feel normal.

you turned to the thing that help. alcohol, partying, any escape at all. you lacked coping skills — that much was clear, but you didn’t care. you blamed it on something else entirely. just as your teachers had said, you’re a bit of a troublemaker. you do anything to make yourself feel alive, to make yourself feel free of the hurt.

it’s two years later now. you’re still not over it in some ways, as regret turns to anger and resentment. you’re bitter. who wouldn’t be? but you feel like you’ve had time to mourn. maybe it’s because you never acknowledged it in the way you should’ve ( it’s still locked away in that box. ) you still have your bad habits. you still work at your stupid job that you hate. you’re lost, but you’ll figure it out. you always do. so, you continue to float , seemingly stuck in the town that you never let go of, and you wonder what comes next. only time will tell.

𝐈. ━━ ˟ ⊰ ✰ 𝐦𝐢𝐬𝐜𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐞𝐨𝐮𝐬 .

still swims but doesn’t have as much time for it. probably not as good, but since she spends the summer lifeguarding, she uses that time to practice & try to get back to where she was. also kinda jaded asf so even if she says she wants to get back into it, she probably won’t lmaoo.

is a horrible driver. how did she get a license ?? not even she knows. def the type to like have a leg up on the dash board, hand out the window, and only one hand on the wheel while speedin idk how she makes it out alive

can take a car apart and put it back together again thanks to her dad. also changes her own tires so let her change your tires. im just sayin

stays up way too late & would sleep until 2 pm everyday if she didn’t have to work. should probably work on being an adult and going to bed at a normal time but just half the time doesn’t give a fuck so she’s probably sleep deprived a lot. therefore also has a

character parallels: alice ayres/jane jones (closer, 2004) , clementine (eternal sunshine of the spotless mind, 2004) , fiona gallagher (shameless, 2011-present) , more to be added.

𝐈. ━━ ˟ ⊰ ✰ 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐧𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 .

ok but plots really do be making my world go ‘round. 😳 i love em, so literally hmu with anything you’re feeling, and i’ll be down. just wanna plot & write with everyone 💕 but here’s a couple of wanted connections for y’all. i’ll prolly have a most wanted tag sooner or later & i’ma be make a plot page soon.

* the unholy trinity — these two are the friends she cherishes most. i’m assuming they’ve been friends since at least early high school , maybe earlier. they went through a lot together. these two were with her through all her relationship troubles. true ride or dies. she’s do absolutely anything for them, and she trusts that they feel the same way. they’re rowdy & wild, do whatever they want, and have a damn good time doin it. also have a gc where they just talk shit and send tiktoks idk just gimme this plsss 🥺

* friends with benefits / one night stands — this would probably be the extent of ramona. clearly not over what happened to her the last time 😭, so she’d have plenty of these tbh. she probably wouldn’t think too much about it, but it could be awkward for you muse maybe, etc.

* unrequited love / crush — here’s a toast to the ones who crush on ramona. it would be an absolute tragedy lmaoo. she’s not really mean about it, but she is 100% certain she’s not looking for any type of relationship. could be really dramatic and messy and those are tha best kind. literally this

* former friends / enemies — she’s lived here her whole life, so she’s at least got one. these two just don’t get along/no longer get along for whatever reason that can be plotted out.

* coworkers — she works zoinkies throughout the year and picks up shifts as a lifeguard during the summer so your muses could know her from that. could delve into a close friend territory too lmao. they probably just sit in break rooms and talk about rude customers or bossy managers lmaooo.

* literally anything your heart desires — a lot could work. we could even just start from nowhere & have them meet for the first time if they’re newer/just to town.

#irvingintro #tw alcohol #tw cheating #it is so sick & twisted that i have another one to write i can't believe lol #but it must be done #hi luv me plot with me

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unabashegirl · 5 years ago

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Enticing (1)

Author’s Note: This is the first chapter of the NEW SERIES based on the imagine of CEO! I have rewritten this first chapter a thousand times by now. I just wanted it to be perfect and for everyone to get a glimpse of the kind of man that David is in this series.

I also didn’t want to title it just CEO because it’s so cliche. I wanted it to be alluring for all of you! I hope you all enjoy the first chapter.

LET ME KNOW IF YOU WANT TO GET TAGGED!

masterlist

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Powerful is the first word that comes to mind when asked about him. It is later followed by meticulous, driven, calculating, or even impatient. At twenty-six, he has acquired everything that he has ever wished for and even more.

“Mr. Dobrik” he is greeted as he steps out of his car. He keeps his eyes glued to his phone, he is still trying to respond to an obnoxious email. He picks up the pace and types vigorously before entering the building. Someone was already at the door holding it open for him.

“Thank you, Patrick” David acknowledges him after he finally puts his phone away and walks through the doors. The sound of the heel of his shoes clicking echoes through the lobby alerting everyone of his arrival. He runs a tight ship on his company, but it was for their best interest.

“Good morning, Mr. Dobrik,” Andrea one of the receptionist says, she flashes him a big smile.

“Andrea” he nods her way as he walks up to the elevators. She smiles to herself and sits back down. She has a huge crush on him but has never gotten anything out of him. He was always on his phone or in a rush. She didn’t blame him after all he was an important man with a tight schedule.

David walks into his top floor and without a word walks into his office. A fresh glass of water with ice already rests on his desk. The recognizable pile of contracts and documents still lay on the right side of his desk, desperately calling out for his attention.

“Mr. Dobrik” Andrew Rider was David’s personal assistant for almost four years. He is David’s most trusted worker. Andrew even had a copy of David’s penthouse keys. He sometimes dropped off to deliver his tailored suits and documents.

“Good morning” He momentarily looks up from his screen and nods his direction. “Before anything Andrew please ask Daniel to bring me a coffee and something to eat from that coffee place I like”

“Yes sir” Andrew quickly types Daniel a quick text before turning his attention to the list of appointments and meetings that David had scheduled. “Should we start now?” David nods as he continues looking through the emails in his inbox. Andrew always debriefs David about all the stats about the company before letting him know about his meetings and messages. As soon as Andrew finishes reading all the reports of every single branch he looks up at David and waits for a reaction. Andrew holds his IPad close to his body just in case things go south and he has to bolt out of the room just like he’s done many times before.

“Thanks, fine. Proceed” This time it wasn’t the case. He was content with how things were going.

“Your mother called yesterday and so did Ms. McCoy” David purses his lips at the mention of the woman that has been desperately trying to become his wife. She is the daughter of one of his business partners. They had both invested in various companies together. Mr. McCoy respects David as a businessman and considers him an exceptional man.

“What did my mother say?” He asks already knowing the reason behind her call.

“She asked when you were planning on visiting with Henry” Last time David had gone to see his family things had ended badly. His father and he had gotten into a dispute about his younger sister's fiance. David’s father didn’t approve of him and when asked David told his honest opinion about the young man. She met him in college and they had just recently graduated. He didn’t have his life fully figured out like his father wanted him to have before asking for his daughter ‘s hand, but it didn’t matter. David could see how they loved one another. He didn’t see the problem after all they had just graduated and were still trying to figure out the ropes of adulthood.

“Please let her know I’ll be visiting this weekend and I’ll bring him too. As of Ms. McCoy let her know if she calls back that I’ll reach out to her later during the week” Andrew rolls his eyes at the mention of his girlfriend. She is incredibly rude and arrogant. Everyone in the office hated her. They despised when she surprisingly runs by the office just to see the boss. David also hates it because it messes up his whole schedule.

“Also the agency found a new nanny and sent her profile. Would you like me to read it to you?” David closes his laptop and leans back. This is at the top of his priorities for the day which meant it deserved his full attention. “Her name is Y/N Y/L/N, she is twenty-four and has been working for the agency for three years. Her previous family says she is sweet, attentive, caring and always puts the kids first. The family let her go since they were relocating to Los Angeles”

“Did they not send any more profiles? Someone older perhaps?” He had nothing against the girl, but he felt more comfortable with someone older.

“There aren’t more available and they send their apology” He can't leave Henry without a nanny much longer. He needs someone to be around him twenty-four seven especially when he is working.

“Fine. Let her know that I’ll be waiting for her first thing tomorrow at the apartment” Andrew nods back before leaving the office to go fetch David’s coffee. He felt instant relief after finding him a nanny. It wasn’t because David was incapable of taking care of his own son because he has done so the last week since their nanny quit. His tight schedule prevents him from staying home and tend all his needs.

David’s life revolved around Henry. He rathers spends a weekend at home with him than taking a jet off to an exotic location. Henry has him wrapped around his little finger since he was born only three months ago. They only have one another and David has come to terms with it.

Henry’s biological mother had exchanged him for money. David had met Ashley at a bar after one of his business deals had gone wrong. He had gone to the bar to release some stress and steam from the long week. After a few Scotch on the rocks, he noticed the presence of the pretty girl beside him. They talked for a few hours about superficial things like their favorite countries and anecdotes from college. A few minutes later, David found himself calling for Daniel to pick both of them up and drive them home.

The whole night was a big blur for him. The only thing he remembers is the morning after and the hammering headache that came along with it. Ashley vanished as soon as the sun rose over Manhattan. David woke up to an empty room without any trace of her beside the messy bedsheets.

He didn’t hear from her until a few weeks later when an article of him was written by Forbes magazine. He was listed as one of the youngest billionaires. She found the magazine on a stand while making her way to work and called the company. After trying to reach him for a few days Andrew was finally alerted.

Ashley met up with him that same afternoon and told him that she was pregnant and that she was going to terminate the pregnancy. David had never considered having kids up until that point. He thought they were all very cute, but never imagined himself with one. He didn’t say anything. He just told her that it was her body and her decision. David couldn’t sleep that night. He kept rolling around and he felt like something was terribly wrong. Something had woken up inside of him and even though he had decided to no intervene with her decision, he still did.

He begged her to get an abortion and offered to take full responsibility when he was born. That still wasn’t enough with Ashley. She wanted more and it wasn’t until a few days later when David finally figured it all out. She wanted money for the baby. Ashley wanted him to pay her for the baby that she was carrying and once again after much thinking, he did. He paid Ashley and an incredible amount of money for him. David didn’t care how much money it was. Money was dispensable and he could always make more. He couldn’t make another Henry. He was one of a kind. At the end of the day, David was going to be able to raise Henry and watch him grow up.

The day that Henry was born was the last time he heard or saw Ashley. Within hours she had signed off all of her parental rights and had given David full custody. She had also cashed in all the money. Since then they have been together. Everything absolutely everything came after Henry now. All the long hours in the office and the traveling was all for him. David wanted to give him the world.

Andrew sets his coffee down before leaving him on his own. He sits back and starts working until he is interrupted by the head of international relations. The company has been having trouble with the branch in Canada and David still couldn’t under why. They were always above the budge and below the income requirement. He knows he has to drop by soon, but he first wants to gather all the correct information before flying in and firing a few people.

“The situation with Canada can’t continue like this. If it does I am going to forced to fire him” Jacob Wilson is the appointed CEO of the Canadian branch in Ontario. David rarely speaks to him because he has trusted him since the beginning, but things have been slightly off lately.

“I think it’s for our best interest to find out what’s going on over there. It’s a sinking boat and with the expansion happening soon we can’t risk ourselves for the other investors to pull out” Alexander points out before taking a sip out of his coffee.

Before David can say anything else the door burst open and in walks Valentina McCoy with all her might. If there is one thing that David can’t tolerate is being interrupted in one of his meetings especially so abruptly.

“Why haven’t you been answering my calls?” Her voice is loud and stern, but it doesn’t faze him. David turns to look at Alexander, whose eyes look like they are about to pop out of his body. He can defiantly sense the awkwardness of the entire situation.

“I am sorry Alexander. I’ll keep me posted if anything else emerges” They both rise to their feet and shake each other’s hands before Alexander slips out of his office before the mayhem commences.

“Answer me!” She stumps her foot on the ground. Her body is leaned forward and her yaw is clenched. David remains silent only making her angrier. He unbuttons the first two buttons of his shirt, trying his best to put his thoughts together. “David! Why the fuck have you answered me?” She hisses.

“Who do you think you are?” His back is facing her as he looks at the skyline.

“Why can’t you fucking look at me?!” Her voice is louder and by now everyone on the top floor knows that she has arrived. David quickly turns around and chuckles.

“I asked you a question. Who the fuck do you think you are?!” She jumps a bit at his loud, demanding voice. He was sick and tired of her childish actions. “You can’t just barge in here like you own the fucking place and yell at me in front of my employees”

“I sure can! especially when you aren’t answering my texts” Her voice is lower and she has stepped back. She felt intimidated by his current state. David’s eyebrows are knitted and his hands are on his wooden desk.

“You are fucking nobody. You are just a daddy’s girl, who thinks that she can buy her way out of everything. You think your fucking beauty and your bank account grants you the right to do whatever the fuck you want, but that’s not how things work. You have no fucking right to burst through that door without knocking or without letting me know. This isn’t your fucking house where people come in and out whenever they please. This is my goddam company, Valentina” His weight is all distributed on his hands as he leans forward and demands respects. She is speechless and on the verge of tears.

He is so fucking done with her. He enjoyed her company until it lasted. This was the last straw. No one messed around with him, especially in his workplace.

LET ME KNOW IF YOU WANT TO GET TAGGED!

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senjuushi · 5 years ago

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Hey, can you give me a introduction on the characters personalities? I really want to ask some stuff, but don't know the characters enouth. It doens't need to be long, just a small introduction! (:

OwO Absolutely!!! I’ve explained the characters in my writing Discord before, so I’ll just copypaste what I wrote there. The explanations are pretty long, but they’re detailed, so I like ‘em~

Long post below!

This is F. He's a flamboyant, eccentric sadomasochist, and deviant with a princess-type personality, who kind of never quits saying horrible, horrible things. He's very girly and over-the-top, and expresses a distinct crush on one of the other guns, who he refers to as "Onii-sama".

He has MAJOR masochistic tendencies, like licking the barrel of his gun while it's still hot, but he shows sadistic tendencies too, such as treating his lowest-ranking soldiers horribly. It's very likely that these behaviors have been learned from others, though. One thing that I think is of note is that, despite his extremely sexual behavior and tendencies, he's not showing any more skin than his upper neck and a little bit of his wrists.

He's an attention-seeker who struggles to stand out in the shadow of a remarkable older brother, and it's implied that he's pretty desperate to be loved. He values his appearance a lot, going out of his way to look good and be presentable, such as through doing his nails and wearing perfume.

I think he's a very needy person who just wants people to look at him and care about him in any way, so he goes out of his way to stand out. There are a lot of implications that he's been through some pretty awful stuff, considering that his sadism and masochism are most likely learned.

. . .

This is Belga. He's a loudmouthed idiot with a violent streak and a love of shooting everything in sight. Based on his face and calculated height, he's probably only like 13-15 physically, 16 at max.

He's very childish and immature, is either ridiculously ignorant or pretty darn stupid, and has a horrifically foul mouth on him. He was described to me as a "laughing maniac". That said, he's got a major soft side, and cries easily at things like sad stories and his pet fish dying. The fish themselves are most likely a measure to control him by, with letting him gain an attachment just to threaten him with them.

He's very manipulable and gullible, and gets called "birdbrain" by 89, a gun who shares the same superior as him. Overall, he's a childish moron who can probably only barely take care of himself.

. . .

This is Mikhael. He's... kind of a mess. Outwardly, he seems like a calm, collected character who lives only for his music and his passions. When looked at closer, however, there are some very bad signs.

First of all, he's blind. His eyes are bandaged over, which... does not imply good things. He also has what's almost definitely a brace on his leg, suggesting that he's kind of broken. Also worth noting is that in the art above, his gun is pointing at his head.

Mikhael has a fixation on "beauty in destruction" which to me implies that he's trying very hard to cover for how broken he is. He does nothing but play his piano when taken to battle, basically leaving himself open to getting shot. I see him as an older, broken-down gun who's acutely aware of how horrible his situation is, as well as being passively suicidal. He won't do anything to kill himself, but if something happened, he certainly wouldn't complain.

I think he's very sad, finding joy only in his music, and taking every chance to drown himself in it. Because of his physical flaws, I doubt the WE treats him very well. He's broken enough that he could be gotten rid of at any time, so he's struggling to make himself seem useful and good through his obsession with beauty in ruined things.

. . .

This is Ninety. He's the "holy shit this is fucked up" one. Ninety is literally referred to as the WE's dog... and he acts like it.

He's the youngest of the guns in terms of summoning order and has a mindset somewhere between a child and an animal. He can't speak, most likely trauma mute and connected to something like conversion disorder, is only barely literate, and communicates with a signboard. Do note that this boy is not wearing pants.

He's sort of feral, going so far as to bite the soldiers under him when he doesn't get fed enough (they're probably starving him). He's known to be a "panic shooter", implying a nervous personality. Also worrying is that he has another mask under his gas mask. A lot of fans theorize that he has a slit mouth.

All of that said, though, Ninety is surprisingly mature and probably a lot more intelligent than he acts. He comforts Belga when his fish die, and honestly, I think he's just acting the part of a stupid dog because it's been drilled into him enough. There's intelligence in there, he's just not allowed to show it. Also, he's tiny. My height calculations put him at somewhere in the 4' range.

. . .

This is Ghost. His gun is an experimental weapon that was never actually released, and he's got issues because of that. He's a person with no presence who always goes ignored by those around him. His bullets are ridiculously expensive to produce, and thus, the only person who's ever given him a chance is Ashley, to whom he's ridiculous levels of grateful and loyal.

He's got major abandonment issues and considers himself to be a difficult to deal with reject. He's very passive, cynical, and pessimistic. He has a very childish side, "cursing" people who upset or ignore him, and "blessing" the rare few who give him the time of day. He latches onto anyone who treats him kindly with an unrivaled sense of desperation. It's implied that he might be rather sickly, and he seems to have a poor physical presence.

He feels like he's a failure who no one should waste their time on, and struggles a lot with believing that anyone could ever find him worth the effort to use or keep. He's always teetering on the fear of being abandoned and forgotten.

. . .

This is 89. He's a dead-inside gamer otaku who's catchphrase is "Are you serious?" He's something of the straight man (in the sense of the comedy term) of the lot of them and is definitely the most "normal".

On that subject, he wants to be normal very, very badly but doesn’t have a shadow of a chance thanks to his status as nothing but a gun and a weapon of the WE, so he forces himself to look down on everyone who does get a normal life. He’s so depressed and done with life that all he does is lock himself up in his room and play whatever violent fighting games he’s allowed as an escape from the misery that is his life. He's got a ridiculously obvious crush on Mikhael, and also very obviously just wants someone to love him. Belga calls him "virgin", and in return gets referred to as "birdbrain".

89 is just tired and done and exhausted with life, and honestly, he probably doesn't get much attention. He slacks off from missions when he can (which he definitely gets in trouble for), and even his favorite foods are cheap things that sound like they've been shoved onto him out of sheer neglect. He's a little bit tsundere and a total softie inside. He's also my favorite of all of them.

. . .

This is Eins. He's the powerhouse of the modern guns, and definitely the strongest person there. He's the highest-ranking of all of them, and his battle style/gun type is a sniper.

He's a serious person who takes his job equally seriously and always produces exceptional results. He acts rather normal, and could probably pass for human if he tried. That said, he's also got major empathy issues, showing very little remorse for hurting people. He takes orders way too far to make sure he's gone far enough, in the sense that he'd kill 100 people if ordered to kill 1. He has his soft side, though, down to gardening, impressive cooking skills when it comes to the others, and considering many of the other moderns to be his "family". F has a crush on him, which he's totally oblivious to.

Fal is his loyal right-hand man, and Ghost is ridiculously fond of him. He's merciless when it comes down to it, but probably just sees what he does as doing his job and not getting hurt. He definitely sees himself as nothing but a weapon and a tool.

. . .

This is Fal. He's F's older brother, and most likely the reason why F is Like That. Fal is an insanely capable, efficient, skilled person– one who comes off as perfect in every way. His gun, the FN FAL, is known as "the right arm of the free world" and has been one of the most used firearms in history.

Fal himself is a calm, collected sort who always seems poised. He's Eins's assistant and has a lot of responsibility, which he handles extremely well. He's polite, subservient, and soft-spoken, despite being very close to Eins in power and skill. He's well-spoken, eloquent, loyal, and basically embodies the perfect assistant. He's also very intelligent, and expresses a particular fondness for torture. He has a unique power in that he's able to manifest prehensile, thorned vines, which sets him apart from the others in strength and skill.

He's basically the ideal modern gun, which gives F and everyone else a LOT to live up to. He does seem like a very stressed, worn-down person, though, and likely is almost crushed under the pressure of the expectations placed on him.

. . .

This is Kirsch. He's a sadistic spoiled brat who's almost definitely been sexually abused. He's downright desperate for attention from Ashley, resenting Mauser (Ashley's personal weapon) viciously for taking that attention away. Creepily enough, he refers to Ashley as "Papa".

He's sort of obsessed with being cute and attractive, emphasizing his charm and trying to play up how lovable he is. That said, he behaves like a spoiled child, down to throwing tantrums when he's angry. Kirsch is also a major sadist (a behavior which is definitely learned), and loves torturing people for the sheer fun of it. He's described as "sick in the head" by one of his superiors. Even so, he tries to paint himself as a harmless victim who can do no wrong, kissing up to and demanding attention from anyone he looks fondly upon.

He's ridiculously immature, insanely clingy, and probably also has major abandonment issues. He acts like a love-starved child who acts out in order to get attention. There are also a few implications that he's been sexually abused, including his aggressively "touchy" behavior, personal-space invading sadism, attitude towards his superiors, and revealing outfit (short shorts and garter on his leg).

. . .

This is Hokusai. He's an animated, wild-natured person with a major childish streak. He uses the pronoun "Boku-chan", which sounds straight out of the mouth of a kindergartener.

He's something of a mad scientist who's associated with the science sector of the WE, and has honestly probably been the brunt of more than a few experiments. He has a massive fixation on the color blue that goes all the way to an obsession, and he's so dedicated to this that he keeps trying to dye his human self blue... which also keeps killing him. He's killed himself like this a bunch of times, but fortunately, Ashley can keep bringing him back somehow. He has a massive aversion to the color red too, straight to the point where he loses it if he sees his own blood.

He has a number of visible scars (rare for anime art), including one across his throat and one on his wrist, implying that he's been through some shit. His behavior also says to me that he might have some form of brain damage, probably of the nature that impacts his decision making and sense of consequences. He's very reckless and has little regard for his own life. Despite this, he's also a cheerful, sunny person who never really seems to be down.

. . .

This is Love1. He's... a mess. His gun is majorly defective, and known irl as one of the worst and most useless firearms in history. Reflecting this, L1's body is kind of a mess. His gun jams constantly, which gives him nosebleeds, he's implied to be physically fucked up in general, and in the game, his bigger attacks did damage to him too.

Personality-wise, he acts like an utter idiot. He's loud and goofy, with a lot of presence and seemingly no dignity. He's cheerful, explosive, and trigger-happy, acting like he doesn't have a care in the world. However, his real personality is very different. L1 is a massively intelligent and strategic individual. While Fal specializes in physical torture, L1 is the psychological torture master. He knows how to absolutely break people. He has a little brother, Like2, and the two of them are both in the "defective" boat. L1 loves L2 dearly, no matter how rude the other is to him, and gushes over his "cute baby brother" constantly.

On the dark note, L1's life is kind of hanging by a thread. He's worthless enough that he could be gotten rid of at any time, and with the whole world seeing him as a failure, he's definitely got some major issues. He could be replaced at any time, and he's definitely living in fear of when that day will come. Since his physical body is shot, it's also likely that he's constantly in a lot of pain. No one is really very nice to him either.

. . .

This is Like2. He's an effeminate, bratty tsundere who wants to be spoiled and loved. He's in the same boat as L1 in that his gun is sort of useless, but he's still quite a bit better off. He definitely shares the same worries about being replaced, but instead of covering it up with a smile, he fixates on making himself pretty and strong.

He's a bodybuilder who focuses a lot on strength training, and is surprisingly tough for his looks. He loves fine things and getting attention and spoiling, and is pretty much desperate for people to like him. Because of his status as a rejected, mocked weapon, he's frantic to make himself useful and avoid being disposed of. He values his personal security massively, can't stand any form of discomfort, and is willing to turn traitor as soon as his safety is on the line. He's an aggressive, abrasive tsundere who constantly berates his brother, calling him "worthless" and "soon to be replaced".

That said, he loves L1 dearly underneath it all, and winds up as something of his brother's caretaker. He's a fragile person who's desperate to be cared for an accepted, no matter what he has to do to get it.

. . .

Last is Mauser. He's Ashley's personal assistant and weapon, and is honestly a thousand levels of worrying. Mauser is the first gun Ashley summoned, and despite his size and young appearance, his gun is the oldest model as well, being made in 1896. He teeters right on the verge of modern and antique.

He's an obedient doll to Ashley who seems to lack any form of personality or will of his own. He's empty and emotionless, only capable of expressing his loyalty to his Master. This lack of personality could be attributed to being a faulty summon, but more likely, Ashley has broken him of anything that made him a person. He's blindly devoted, endlessly loyal, and doesn't really have anything to live for beyond Ashley. His character is worrying because something must have left him so broken, and the implications with what Ashley could have done to mess him up so badly aren't pretty.

His personality is rather flat, but his interesting side comes in what made him the way he is. He'd have nothing to live for without Ashley.

#F #Belga #Mikhael #Ninety #Ghost #89 #Eins #Fal #Hokusai #Kirsch #Love1 #Like2 #Mauser #Info #Meta

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love-fireflysong · 5 years ago

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Day 16: Tears

Fandom: Until Dawn Character(s): Ashley Brown, Chris Hartley Words: 1477 Rating:Teen (Nightmares, the events of Until Dawn) Author’s Notes: I hope you guys are ready for some good old fashioned hurt/comfort with a (un)healthy dose of angst, because I’m certainly not. Honestly, this fic was gonna be the one for Day 13: First Kiss with a few minor changes here and there, and then debated on it being for Day 14: Hurt instead, but decided it fit today’s theme a little better. So that should give you some idea of what you’re gonna be in for now... (Chrashley is absolutely rampant in this, just saying)

Months after the fact, things slowly started to get better. The burns and cuts on Ashley’s wrists heal and now only the faintest of scars remained, though she couldn’t stand to have anything on or around them anymore. The black eye and bruise on her forehead had swollen to a terrifying degree, but that too lessened in time to return to unmarked pale skin. Chris’s own bruises and cuts healed, with the burn mark from the gun almost fading away completely. He still walked with a limp, his ankle had jammed horribly from landing on it wrong when running away from the Wendigo (Hannah, Ash’s brain likes to unhelpfully remind her). Walking on it and then running had not helped matters any. But even that too will eventually fade over time, Chris reassures her, with only an occasional limp during extremely cold weather. Or from exercising for too long. He laughs when he tells her this, and she can’t help but laugh with him, glad that this little bit of normal is still theirs.

Those are only the physical injuries though, the mental ones take much, much longer to fade, and Ash doubts they ever will.

The two of them share a bed now, switching who stays over at who’s place every couple of nights. It’s nothing sexual, they’ve still yet to do anything of that nature, it’s just that they’ve both discovered that they sleep better with the other there, knowing that they are both in arms reach. The nightmares and terrors are easier to deal with.

Though not a whole lot more, as Ash is being reminded (again) tonight.

They’ve been happening less and less thankfully, but each one is still as bad as the last. She doesn’t like to think about what happens in them, because so many things happen. In one second she’s at the table, chained and immobile as Chris aims a gun at his head. The next she’s watching a pair of clawed hands come around his head and the claws shatter the lens of his glasses. In another she’s standing inside the great room of the lodge, flames licking up her legs as the Wendigo (Hannah) grabs her and is about to stick it’s sharp nails into her eyes (Chris, where’s Chris? Why isn’t he helping me?), but all she can see is the dark, thick lines of the tattooed butterfly on its (her) left shoulder. Next, she’s wandering in the mines beneath the lodge with Emily at her side, and she can’t find Chris anywhere, but she can hear him. The cries of Jess have stopped, now replaced with Chris’s voice calling out. (It’s not him, it’s not him. But what if it is? What if it is?)

Ash wakes with a scream, eyes shut tight against the horrors she’s afraid will appear amongst the darkness of her bedroom if she opens them. She’s still screaming, screaming, screaming for Chris as she flails around the bed, searching for him (Where is he? Where is he?! He’s dead. Dead dead dead dead!) but finding nothing until she feels a pair of hands firmly cupping the sides of her face. At first, she can only scream louder, (It’s Hannah, it’s Hannah. I’m so so sorry Hannah!) but then there’s a heavy pressure on her forehead and the sound of his voice. She’s so relieved that she doesn’t hesitate to grasp firmly onto the wrists and the screams change into heavy, deep sobs and wails.

She still doesn’t open her eyes.

She knows that the pressure is from him pressing his forehead to hers, that the hands brushing away her tears as they fall are his too, and that though she can’t understand what he’s saying, that it’s the sound of his voice that matters more then the words. It’s all done to ground her. To remind her that he’s still right here, that the nightmares aren’t real.

She still doesn’t open her eyes.

Ash can’t bear to touch anything other than his wrists to keep his hands right where they are. A part of her is scared, terrified, that they will find the cavernous, bloody hole where the bullet entered into his jaw. That she won’t find any head at all to begin with, only empty air, and the comforting pressure on her forehead a phantom pain of what could have been. That the last few months of him by her side had been nothing but the happier dreams of a woman who can’t bear to admit that the love of her life, that her best friend, is dead.

She still doesn’t open her eyes.

Slowly, so slowly it seems to be take hours, her sobs lessen and her panicked breathing regulates. She still can’t make out the words though and starts to wonder what he says to her when she’s like this. Is it common platitudes meant to soothe her? Loving reminders that he isn’t going anywhere without her? Random words and sentences that come to mind in his sleep-addled state? Terrible jokes to take her mind off of the terrible things inside of it? Unbidden, Ash begins to think of the one’s he had read to her off the stick of the popsicle they had shared earlier that day. (Where do dogs like to shop? The flea market. Where do you put barking dogs? In a barking lot.) Ash can’t help the laugh that chokes it’s way out between her sobs, coming out as more a weak hiccup then anything resembling a laugh.

She opens her eyes.

The room is not dark, the stars from the nightlight she’s kept on ever since the mountain spinning around the room, dancing across Chris’s face. His blond hair is messy from sleep and his eyes tired but oh so awake and alert at the same time. There is no bullet lodged into his jaw and the sickly glint of bone beneath it. No bloody chunks of flesh and bone stuck in his hair. No pair of bone-white hands reaching around his head to crush it. It’s just him. Just her complete dork of a boyfriend Chris.

The kiss Ash gives him is entirely needy: sloppy and wet with tears, but so, so happy that he’s alive and with her.

If he has any complaints about it, he keeps it to himself, kissing her back just as fiercely before he settles into placing light kisses anywhere a tear falls on her face. Once the tears slowed, they settled into a desperate hug, rocking back and forth on her bed as she begins to murmur unheard words into his shoulder. Her fingers now grasping firmly into the back of his shirt to just hold him in place against her, though he doesn’t seem as any eager to move as she is.

Sometimes—most times—she feels bad about this. But Ash knows that just like how he’s always ready to be there when she needs him, that she’ll be doing the reassuring and comforting for Chris in just a few more nights when he awakes with nightmares of his own.

They never tell each other what their nightmares involve, but she can guess his some nights. Those nights she wakes up to a cut off cry of agony, and he reaches for her, eyes wide with pain and begging that she’s alright. Without hesitation, she will wrap her hands around his face and cover it with reassuring kisses as his hands dart to her waist, frantically lifting up her shirt with sleep-addled fingers until he can place his hands on the bare skin there. He will then trace the area of her waist and around to her belly and back, over and over again, until he is sure that there is no broken skin to be found there.

From there, she will move to pull him into the same desperate, rocking embrace as he begins to sob apologies into her hair where he has buried his face into the space between where her shoulder and neck meet.

They respond so differently to each of their own night terrors. Ash can’t bear to face that they might be real, so she keeps her eyes closed. Refusing to acknowledge them helps convince her that it’s all in her head. Chris though is physical. He is tactile in his desperate need to prove to himself that nothing was real and touching her wherever he can to confirm that she’s alright.

Eventually. his sobs too will lessen, and he will instead murmur words into her hair. She won’t be able to understand them, but it won’t bother her too much. Her hair can keep his secrets until he’s ready to tell her. Regardless, she thinks its the same phrase she repeats into his shoulder over and over again.

I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you.

#pride month prompt challenge #my writing #until dawn #ashley brown #chris hartley #chrashley #actually finished this before i went to bed #my eyes were just burning and i didnt trust that this wasnt filled with errors #so take this thing!#if things go well you WILL be buried in prompts today #just a warning

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angelic-holland · 5 years ago

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First Premiere

Summary: Tom and you attend the Far From Home Premiere together and reminisce of your first night in a special way.

Word Count: 2.9k

Warnings: smut and fluffy boyfriend Tom

A/N: check out the rest of the Miss Yer Kiss Series in my masterlist!

Sport’s first plane ride! Wish him luck!

You posted a photo of Sport in the empty seat next to you before putting him in your lap and putting on your seatbelt, getting ready for takeoff.

Tom tried to upgrade your ticket to first-class and you laughed.

What could you possibly do with that much room on an airplane?

You giggled at Tom’s comment, “can’t wait to see sport, and you, miss you” followed by several different heart emojis.

Normally you’d call him a sap, stick your tongue out at him and giggle.

Thud. Thud. Thud.

Your heart reminded you that you loved the silly heart emojis because they were so Tom. Reminding you of his feelings through silly emojis.

***

You didn’t think you looked like a stupid cheesy romance movie at the airport. You were in sweatpants and your Tattoo Dice T-shirt, stained with tattoo ink, hair a mess, you were looking for a curly mop of red hair, Harry was supposed to pick you up, as you dragged your small carry on suitcase behind you.

“Y/N?” You heard a woman with a British accent call out.

Hmm?

“Y/N!” You turn and a tan woman waving her arms all around recognizes you.

“It’s Nicki! Tom’s mum! Oh hi, it’s so nice to meet you! Oh my goodness!”

“Hi, nice to meet you too?” Your voice raises in a question, just not expecting her to meet you while you looked like this, after a flight.

“Oh you look fine darling, should’ve seen me when I got off the flight here, Tom should be back any second he just ran to the bathroom,” she says her arms are raised slightly like she wants to hug you.

She must’ve taken in your confused look because she laughed and pulled you in for a hug.

“Oh!” You laughed, letting go of your suitcase to hug her back.

“Harry was supposed to pick you up but I insisted me and Tom come, he couldn’t stop talking about you the car ride here, or like ever.”

“Mum! Y/N! Hey!” You hear Tom’s familiar voice ring out from the crowded airport baggage area as you pull away from Nicki.

“Thought someone was busy,” you tease.

“I was but mum worked her magic and switched things around, so here I am,” he says, pulling you into a bone-crushing hug, you can’t help but giggle as he lifts you into the air, spinning you around slightly as he kisses you.

“Missed you,” you grin as he sets you down, lips still ghosting against your own.

“Missed you more,” he teases, slinging an arm around your shoulder as you grab your suitcase.

***

You arrive at the hotel and you hardly have any time with Tom to just be, before he’s being swept away for an interview, kissing you quickly before telling you that you can meet up later in the day and go shopping for the night.

“Y/N, do you want to get your nails done with me?” Nicki asks as you stand in the lobby, a book in your arm, small backpack slung over your shoulder.

“Sure, I’d love to.”

Truth is, you were sort of terrified of the prospect of spending time alone with Tom’s mother. How much of you has he shared with her? Do moms and daughters normally get their nails done together? Is this the type of bonding that people did?

***

She must know at least a little bit about you because she goes on and on about how she’s been watching Ink Master with Tom and how Tom’s been trying to learn more about tattoos.

“And he talks about the first tattoo you did, the Spiderman mask, and how you’ve done so many beautiful ones since I follow your Instagram and the ones you post are amazing. I can't believe you’ve only been doing this for what is it now, a month?”

“Thereabouts,” you nod, you let her take control of the conversation as you get your nails done, something you’ve never done before.

You got a pretty red, something that matched Tom’s outfit for the premiere. Speaking of his outfit for you still had to figure out where you were going to find a dress that one, internet trolls wouldn’t call cheap, and two was actually ridiculously cheap.

She starts to grill you on your life, school, your family and it’s clear that Tom hasn’t told her that side to you, which you’re grateful for. She’s not exactly grilling you, that was a bad choice of words, but she would ask question after question. It was clear she just wanted to get to know you, the girl her son was seen with at some sleazy club once and was now here in LA as his girlfriend, going to the premiere of his movie with him.

“Does this reminds you of getting your nails done with your mom as a kid?” She asks and you sigh.

Now came the hard part, you could skirt around the truth, just say that your mom never took you to get your nails done. It wasn’t a lie, your mom never took you to get your nails done because you didn’t have a mom.

“I uh, never really went to places with my mom.”

“Oh, okay, well, I think we can have a lot of fun today, if you’d like, think of it as a girls day before Tom can meet back up with us.”

“Sure,” you smile, partly because you wanted to make his mom happy, partly because you secretly wondered what spending time with a mom was like, not that you’d share that.

After she insisted on paying for your nails, “think of it as a present for your first premiere.”

That’s where Tom must’ve gotten his generosity.

The two of you have lunch and you let yourself lead the conversation, talking about your art and your plans as a tattoo artist, how you want to eventually specialize in portraits and how hard it can be to accurately tattoo the human face onto human skin, getting the texture and depth of a face on a two dimensional space that bleeds was a challenge.

“I’m sure you’re going to do fantastic,” she encourages.

“And I guess I think it would be cool at some point to go on Ink Master, or meet Ryan Ashley, wow it’s my dream to meet her, her work just takes my breath away every single day.”

“She’s the one that does the super realistic jewelry pieces?”

You nod surprised that she knew Ryan Ashley’s work.

The two of you walk around downtown LA, you’re used to the crowded sidewalks, much like the ones of New York, but a little hotter.

She points out places she recognizes, you stop at what looks like a ridiculously expensive clothing shop and you’re surprised to see Tom so early.

“Hey princess,” he says, wrapping his arms around you.

“Hey Tom,” you mumble against his neck as he let’s go of you, hand slipping down your arm to intertwine with your own.

“Ready to go shopping?” He asks, tugging you farther into the store.

“Uhhh, I was hoping we could go to Macy’s or Old Navy or something,” you rub the back of your neck. You most definitely did not fit in here. Eyes roaming the racks of absolutely beautiful dresses, knowing that they’d be approximately a month’s rent or more.

“Nonsense, lemme treat you princess,” he whispers, hand squeezing your side.

You’re about to argue when you remember the conversation you had with Lily after you and Tom fought that one night.

***

“You know, if he wants to buy you stuff, just fucking let him.”

“A bed? Really?”

“Yes a bed, come on, he’s fucking loaded, a bed means nothing to him.”

“And that’s what I’m afraid of! Because a bed means more to me and you know that.”

“Start smaller though, just let him buy you little gifts here and there. That’s what boyfriends do, especially ones that are kind and have the means to. I’d just be grateful he didn’t straight up offer to pay your rent.”

“Argh, I’m gonna have to relearn what it’s like to be in an actual relationship won’t I?”

“As opposed to Jack? Yeah, let’s just say you and Tom will have plenty of firsts that you and Jack never got to.”

“How’d you know? See my future?”

“No, I just see the way your eyes lit up when your phone buzzes and you see that it’s him. The way your voice goes up an octave and you talk really fast when you talk about him. So let him treat you, like I said, lots of firsts, you just needa adjust to being able to fully rely on someone.”

“It’s gonna take some time.”

“Just go with it. Be like uh, Jennifer Aniston! In Just Go With It! You know? She has to pretend to date Adam Sandler’s character and he takes her shopping and she buys a bunch of expensive stuff? Like I know you’re dating for real, but like have that same attitude.”

***

“Okay,” you say and you can feel Tom’s hand squeeze your side and you see he’s got an excited giddy grin on his face.

“Really? Okay, so my suit is red,”

You nod, wiggling your free hand in front of his face, to show your red nails.

“That’s the exact color basically how’d you get it just right?”

“In art school I took a whole class on colors and color matching was one of the units,” you say, hand pausing at a long dress, floor length with a slit up one side, an open back, a low neckline but still classy. It seemed to match the pictures of Tom’s suit that you’ve seen.

“Wanna try it on?” He asks and you nod, checking the size.

“That is going to look absolutely amazing on you,” Nicki says, watching as you furrow your eyebrows.

“I’m not 100% sure what size dress I am,” you frown, and Tom calls over a woman who was working.

“They can take your measurements,” Tom says.

“Yes, if you come with me, I can measure you in our dressing rooms and then pick the size that will suit you best,” the woman says and you nod, letting your arm fall from Tom’s waist as he rubs one last circle against your hip, kissing your cheek before you’re ushered away with the woman.

“You and your boyfriend are very beautiful together,” she says and you can’t help but laugh. Tom looks amazing in a tight blue shirt and dress pants. You seemed a little worse for wear, you changed out of your sweatpants but was just wearing ripped jeans and the same t-shirt from earlier.

“Thank you,” you say.

She has you get undressed, using the measuring tape around your waist, your hips, chest. You wait while she leaves, coming back with two sizes.

“So you might be this one, but it might be just a tad too tight, so I got one size up, don’t wear a bra in it, it’s got plenty of padding and support.”

She leaves you to try it on, you are a little confused because there are multiple thin straps that might be where your arms go but you’re not sure. You eventually get it on and it seems to fit just right, you tug the small zipper and spin for the mirror. It shows off all your tattoos and you feel a stupid fear bubble up inside you.

What will people say?

Then you thought about what Tom would say when you stepped out of the dressing room and suddenly nothing anyone online could say bothered you. Because you looked hot and you knew he would agree.

“How’s it going in there?” The woman asks and you gulp, pushing the dressing room curtain back.

You didn’t expect to see Tom and Nicki sitting on the small bench right outside of the room but you felt a giggle rise in your throat when Tom’s eyes lit up. It reminded you of that kid from Home Alone 2, when he saw his family again on Christmas. Pure excitement and glee, eyes wide, lips upturned into a toothy smile, blushing slightly. Tom made you watch that movie, absolutely baffled when you hadn’t seen it before.

You figured that’s how most kids looked on Christmas when they were surrounded by their family and got to open up present after present. You wondered how spending Christmas with Tom would be like.

Thud. Thud. Thud.

His eyes shone as his jaw dropped and he stood up.

“Wow, you look, wow,” he says, eyes roaming your body.

“I didn’t know wow was an adjective?”

“It is now,” he says, kissing you quickly before spinning you in his arms.

“I think that’s the one,” Nicki says.

***

You were nervous as fuck as you and Tom sat and had your makeup done. Your hand holding his so tightly he actually laughed, “never thought you had this tight of a grip before.”

“Just a little nervous,” you sigh.

“Don’t be, we’ll be the hottest people there.”

“But Jake Gyllenhaal will be there.”

“Shit you’re so right, second hottest people there.”

You don’t let your nerves get to you however, you were grateful for Tom’s grounding hand on your hip as you got out of the car, stepping up to the red carpet. You had to shut your eyes a few times, the flashing cameras made you shiver.

He introduced you to his other brother, Sam, as well as his friends Harrison and Tuwaine and you couldn’t help but swoon a little when he introduced you to Jake Gyllenhaal.

“So this is the tatted minx Tom would talk about nonstop throughout the press junket, nice to finally meet you,” He says and he hugs you and holy shit if you weren’t falling for Tom you’d risk it all for Jake right then and there.

He pulls away and Tom’s arm is back around your waist, a tighter hold than before, thumb rubbing a circle against the fabric of your dress.

You watch as he signs things for fans and greets them, your heart swells at how excited he seems, which only makes you excited, seeing him in his element.

Thud, thud, thud.

“I have to go to the bathroom,” you whisper in his ear, getting an idea.

“Oh, yeah, let’s try to find it, we’ve got some time before the movie starts,” he says as you both wander, he waves goodbye to the eager crowd as you slip into the huge stadium where the movie would play.

Your eyes find the sign for the bathrooms and you all but drag him towards it.

“I can wait outside while you oh-,” his voice drops as your hand edges along the front of his suit pants.

“You could, or you could uh, join me,” your eyes sparkle with your idea as he, in turn, pulls you into the bathroom, locking the door before kissing you, mouth insistent and sloppier than earlier, he didn’t have to hold back. He wasn’t in front of everyone and didn’t have to be short and sweet. Tongue tracing your lips before pushing inside your mouth, playing a delicious game as your hands gripped his shoulders.

“Careful, gonna mess up my makeup,” you whisper as his hands roam up your sides to rest against your breasts.

“I can kiss ya somewhere else,” he whispers against your lips and you whimper as he kisses down your neck, fingers slipping down to the slit in your dress as he pushes you firmly against the door, fingers playing with the edge of your panties before kneeling in front of you.

“You know what this reminds me of,” he whispers, pushing your panties to the side as his fingers stroke through your slick folds.

“Our first night, I know,” you laugh, glad he’s caught on, “that was the plan.”

He circled your entrance, kissing your thigh above your tattoo, “only this time I know your name.”

“Fuck,” you cry out as he pushes two thick fingers into you as he nips at your thigh.

The only sounds you can hear is your breathless pants and your heartbeat as his tongue circles your clit, mouth and hands pushing you quickly over the edge.

He pulls his fingers out of your clenching core, kissing your thigh as he pulls your panties back in place.

Your eyes peek down at Tom, sucking his fingers wet with your juices into his lips, moaning around them as he stood up.

“Holy shit let me suck you off,” you mutter, hands grabbing his shoulders and pulling him back for a kiss, groaning as you taste yourself on him.

You’re about to turn the tables, push him against the door and devour him but there’s a knock on the door that makes you both jump.

“Hey, uh Tom? If you’re in there, everyone’s kinda running around looking for you, so if you’re uh, finished, we’d love to have you join the rest of us and watch the movie,” Harrison, you think at least is the accent behind the door.

“Shit,” he says, body shaking with laughter as you giggle against his shoulder.

“Raincheck?”

“Always,” he kisses your cheek and you try your hardest not to blush as he unlocks the door, the two of you try to look presentable and like you weren’t just doing what you were doing as you come face to face with Harrison’s cheeky smile.

“For the sake of Nicki and the rest of them, you were looking with me, and we found Tom together,” Harrison says you the two of you nod, playing along as Nicki runs up.

“We were looking everywhere for you Tom, thought the pair of you slipped away, everyone’s waiting, let’s go watch the movie.”

“Yes, let’s,” he says, kissing your cheek and intertwining his fingers with your own.

Thud thud thud.

***

Taglist: @la-bellezaa @tom-hollands-blog @unicornsyy @rageyoudamnednerd @sunnydays0803 @jackiehollanderr @khhbby @lousimusician @amyalpha @musiclover1263 @relise-thefury @euphorictom @lkd2505 @peteunderoos @saysomethingspiderman

#tom holland #tom holland smut #tom holland x reader #tom holland x reader smut #tom holland x fem!reader #tom holland x fem!reader smut #tom holland fluff #tom holland fic #miss yer kiss #tom holland reader insert #tom holland x you

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valiantgentle · 5 years ago

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HOUSE OF TALK. an ashley adams one-shot. c. touch of fear, multiple chapters.

─ jerome talks about ashley with different people, including his father, poppy, and eddie.

( — chapters three and four. )

Barely three days into the new term and already Jerome was being blackmailed by his devil incarnate little sister. There was a reason why he didn’t want anyone to know she existed and now she was blackmailing him in order to keep her existence a secret (from everyone except Ashley, apparently, who met her by accident and was now keeping the secret as well).

“I said six.”

“That’s all they had in the shop,” Jerome retorted, gesturing to the five chocolate bars he’d just given Poppy—one of her requirements for keeping the secret. “Why do you need so many?”

“To make friends and influence people,” Poppy replied, just like a Clarke. “This stuff is like currency on the inside.”

“This isn’t Alcatraz.”

“Oh, and I want half your allowance,” Poppy added. This was one of those times Jerome regretted teaching her his tricks. He looked at her incredulously and she continued, “Unless you want me to blow the whistle. Remember that I’m not the only secret I’m keeping for you, Gerbil.”

That other secret? Not exactly a secret at all. Poppy was also blackmailing him about his feelings for Ashley, which she figured out over the holiday when she stole his phone. But what Poppy didn’t know was that her telling Ashley wouldn’t do anything, considering the blonde had already been told several times by everyone in Anubis House and she still wasn’t even close to believing it, and given what Ashley knew about Poppy thus far (that she’s basically a younger and female Jerome), she wouldn’t believe it coming from her either. Probably. Hopefully.

It was the whole ‘Jerome’s-got-a-sister’ thing he didn’t really want to get out. “Okay,” he agreed to her terms. “Okay.”

“Okay. Pleasure doing business with you, Clarke,” Poppy said, pushing him before leaving.

Yeah, definitely the devil incarnate.

Except he trained this girl himself, knew all her tricks because they were his. He’d probably be able to be two steps ahead of her. And he was getting really tired of paying her off, especially when she’s now demanding half of his allowance—not likely. So the next time they met up, he barely gave her a fourth of his allowance.

“What’s this?” Poppy questioned. “You may as well give me actual peanuts.”

“Take it or leave it,” Jerome replied.

“We agreed. Half your allowance.”

“No, you agreed. I did not.”

Poppy looked like she’d just accepted a challenge. “Hardball it is, then. Prepare to lose.”

“I refuse to be blackmailed by you anymore,” Jerome said. “Do your worst.”

“Fighting talk,” Poppy remarked. “You’ve got sass, Clarke. I like that. I think I’ll start with Ashley,” this brought on by Ashley’s figure passing by the room they were in, eyes on her phone with no notice of the two siblings, “tell her how much you love her.”

“You can try,” he said, shaking his head and blatantly challenging her now, “she’ll never believe you. Everyone else’s been telling her that for almost three years, she’s not gonna start believing it now.”

“Oh, I’m sure she’ll think differently coming from your little sister.”

“You forget that she already knows one Clarke.”

“Pretty well judging by all those photos you’ve got of her on your phone. See you later, loser.”

Poppy left before he could get a retort in. She was off to do exactly what he said, her worst, and though by the end of the day his housemates knew he had a sister and had seen several embarrassing childhood photos of him, it turned out that Poppy actually did not speak to Ashley. At least that was a win—Jerome was bluffing when he said Ashley wouldn’t believe her. If it was coming from his sister, despite all the tricks, she might actually start to believe it.

( — chapters twenty-three through twenty-five. )

“Mr. Sweet stopped Ash and I from starting a food fight,” Alfie remarked as he came up to Jerome.

The masked ball was in full-swing and Jerome was enjoying it majorly until Mara made him give Joy and Nina their money back after selling them the exact same dress. The metal band mix-up was also fun, until they started playing classical rock music. Now he was just people-watching—well, more like Ashley-watching. She was talking to Mara about something when Alfie came up and started saying stuff about a food fight. That definitely would’ve made the night more fun.

“Shame he did,” Jerome replied. “This party’s getting boring.”

“Yeah. Do you always have to stare at her like that?”

“What?”

“Ashley. Why don’t you just go over and ask her to dance?”

Jerome looked back at Ashley; she was speaking with Amber and Patricia now. But something just a bit more interesting, in terms of things he could use to his advantage somehow, caught his eye, because Patricia was smiling this way, right at one Eddie Miller—who was smiling back at her. Alfie noticed it, too.

“Does someone have a little bitty crush?” Jerome remarked nonchalantly. “You have been hanging around her rather a lot lately.”

Eddie scoffed and corrected, “Her hanging around with me, Jerry. Her hanging around with me.”

“No way,” Alfie countered. “She hates you, man. I’m willing to bet there’s no way you could get militia Patricia to dance with you.”

This could be interesting. Jerome looked at Eddie with an expectant smile and Eddie said, “What, are we in kindergarten now?” A little more encouraging should probably work. Jerome and Alfie shrugged and fist-bumped and Eddie added, “Okay, okay. You’re asking for it. What are the term?”

“If you win,” Alfie started, “Jerome will sing ‘She’ll Be Coming ‘Round the Mountain’ on stage, in the style of a rap artist.”

That was most certainly not what Jerome was expecting to hear. “What?”

“But if you lose, you have to give Jerome the rest of your money for the month.”

That’s more like it. “Yeah, that works,” Jerome agreed. Besides, there was gonna be absolutely no way Eddie would actually get Trixie to dance with him. He wouldn’t have to sing ‘She’ll Be Coming ‘Round the Mountain’ on stage in the style of a rap artist (and what exactly possessed Alfie to come up with that, of all things?)

“Deal,” Eddie said. “What am I gonna spend it on around here anyway?”

Eddie and Jerome shook on it; the bet was on. Now all left to do was watch, except it was just Ashley and Amber by the curtain now, and then Fabian went over to talk to them. Patricia was at the refreshments.

Eddie put his mask on his face and went over to Patricia, and Jerome and Alfie watched amused as he tried and failed to get Patricia to dance. And then, against all odds, she set her mask down and let him take her onto the dance floor. He actually got her to dance with him, and when he spun them around so that Eddie was facing the direction Jerome and Alfie were watching from, he gave them a smug look.

“Hope you know the words to ‘She’ll Be Coming ‘Round the Mountain,” Alfie remarked as Jerome mouthed several things he couldn’t say out loud to Eddie, who winked at them. This wasn’t gonna be fun. “Ashley’s gonna have so much fun with it when she sees it.”

Jerome slowly turned to Alfie, narrowing his eyes and clenching his jaw. Not only did he now apparently have to go rap a folk song on stage, in front of everyone, at some point during the night, but Ashley was going to see it as well. She’s never gonna let him live it down.

“Oh, by the way, she wants you to ask her to dance,” Alfie added casually.

“Yeah,” Jerome retorted dryly as he glanced back to where Ashley and Amber had been standing, only to find that neither blonde was there anymore. “‘Cause I’m going to believe that after what just happened.”

“No, seriously, she does,” he insisted. “She said she was bored and wanted you to ask her to dance. It was right before Fabian’s speech, it’s how we almost started that food fight. So, go find her and ask her to dance. Especially since you apparently turned her down when she asked you to save her a dance. Seriously, why would you do that?”

“For the record, she took back that offer when she saw me in the stupid mummy costume.”

“Well, the offer’s back on. So go, ask her to dance before you start rapping.”

Jerome turned to him. “Tell me, do you see her anywhere? Or Amber or Nina or Fabian?”

Alfie looked around the room, shrugging. “No.”

“Exactly. She’s disappeared. Probably off playing hopscotch or whatever those four are up to.”

Ashley had indeed disappeared somewhere, which meant she wasn’t actually going to be there to watch Jerome completely murder ‘She’ll Be Coming ‘Round the Mountain.’ Fortunately for her, and unfortunately for Jerome, there was this little device called a camera phone and Alfie’s phone just happened to record videos.

As Jerome reluctantly stepped up to the mic on the stage, Alfie started filming.

“What’re you doing?” Joy questioned.

“Making a video of what’s about to happen for Ash,” Alfie replied as Jerome gestured for the music to cut out. “She’s going to be so mad she missed this!”

Thus, the world’s worst rendition of a folk song began. And it was, as promised, as ridiculous and embarrassing as it sounded like it would be. Alfie happily ended the video when he finished the song and immediately sent it to Ashley’s phone with the all-caps caption ‘JEROME RAPPED SHE’LL BE COMING ROUND THE MOUNTAIN ENJOY!’

Meanwhile across the room, Mara and Poppy had just discovered that the letter Poppy had snuck onto a tray of drinks that ended up in Trudy’s hands while Jerome was interrogating them about what was going on with them was no longer on the tray at all.

“There!” Mara exclaimed, pointing at the letter on the floor, but as they went toward it, someone’s foot knocked into it and sent it sliding all the way toward the stage. But before she could get it, Jerome jumped off the stage and unknowingly set his foot on it.

He figured out something was there when both sets of eyes glanced at his feet. He moved his foot and grabbed the envelope, unfolding it. It was addressed to both Poppy and Jerome Clarke, at Anubis House, and turning it over, there was a sticker on the back that sealed the letter from Huntswood Prison.

Jerome looked up from the envelope to Poppy, who looked careful but not regretful about what she’d done. Then he looked at Mara, who was standing right beside her. “You went behind my back. I would expect this from her, but you? Did Ashley know, too?”

“No, she didn’t, I swear—” Mara started.

“And why should I believe you? I saw you talking tonight. Was it about this?”

“No! I’m sorry, Jerome—”

“Spare me!” he retorted, brushing past them.

Mara grabbed Poppy’s arm as she went to follow. “I think we should wait this one out.”

Jerome returned to Anubis House, far before the masked ball ended, with the letter in hand and mind only on what could be in it. Poppy wrote a letter to their dad, a man who was literally in prison for God knows what. But he tore the letter open, and he read it, and then he reread it a dozen times, because his dad wanted them to visit.

When morning came, he’d slept on it, and still didn’t know what to do. But it wasn’t just Poppy who had kept this from him. Mara helped her do it, and maybe Ashley helped her, too. Ashley was the only other person besides Mara who knew that his dad was in prison, and he wouldn’t have expected it from her, either. Maybe last year, just to spite him, but this year? It didn’t seem like her, but it didn’t change the fact that she was close with both Poppy and Mara, especially on the subject of his dad.

For what it was worth, Ashley didn’t seem too off at breakfast. He didn’t look at her through most of it, which might’ve definitely been unusual, but the few times he did look at her, she looked genuinely confused as to why he was acting like he was. And Mara seemed to have noticed that, because before they left for school, Jerome went back to his room to grab his bag and she knocked on the door and opened it without waiting for a response.

“She really didn’t know,” Mara repeated what she’d said last night. “We didn’t tell her.”

“She was the only other person who knew—”

“The only thing she knows is that there was a delivery for you and Poppy,” Mara interrupted. “That’s only because she was there when it arrived. She asked me what it was last night and I told her that she couldn’t tell you and she stopped me from telling her because she was sure it was something to do with your dad and she didn’t think she could lie to you about it. That’s what she and I were talking about last night.”

Jerome paused, thinking it over. He put his bag over his shoulder and turned around to face her. “You really didn’t tell her?” he asked cautiously.

Mara shook her head. “No. Poppy didn’t want to. Ashley has no idea about the letter. Jerome, I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to interfere. It just meant so much to Poppy.”

The letter was sitting on his nightstand. He glanced at it, grabbing it and holding it up. “He wants me to go and visit him.”

“Is that bad?”

“No. How could meeting my estranged father in prison be bad? Yeah, I’d say it’s not good.”

“But—”

“I need to think about it,” Jerome interrupted, locking the letter in the nightstand. “Maybe. I don’t know. In the meantime, I’d appreciate you not telling any of that to Poppy. I mean it, Mara. You owe me that much.”

Mara looked at him for a few seconds before nodding. “Will you talk to Ashley about this? She’ll tell you the truth. You can still trust her.”

“Yeah. I’ll talk to her.”

( — chapters twenty-nine and thirty. )

When his dad said that he wanted him to visit alone next time to tell him something in private, Jerome had no idea what to think of it. He knew that Ashley said it sounded mysterious but she was one of those people who looked for a mystery in everything, which after what happened last term made sense for her. Sort of. But he had stopped speculating and returned this afternoon to the prison—only to find that Poppy was already there, sitting across from their dad.

Aside from the fact that her being there meant that he wouldn’t find out whatever it was their dad wanted to tell him, Poppy’s presence meant that she read the letter and given that smug smile on her face, she wanted Jerome to know it. So after that and figuring out how she got there, and after their dad stopped them from swatting at each other (and said that was the first time in a long time he’s felt like a real dad, which had them laughing lightly), Poppy had just come back with some sweets from the machine (which gave Jerome’s dad a chance to say that whatever he wanted to discuss would have to wait and he’d have to come alone next time).

And it was just after that that one blonde Australian came up in conversation.

“Poppy was telling me about your girlfriend, Jerome,” said John. “She sounds like quite a girl.”

Even Poppy looked confused. Jerome just asked, “My girlfriend?”

“Ashley.”

Poppy seemed to realize what exactly had happened and awkwardly scratched behind her ear before lowering her hand. Jerome turned to her, narrowing his eyes before questioning, “What did you say to him?”

“Just the truth!” Poppy defended.

“Oh, yes, she told me all about how Ashley’s been helping her and you with finding me,” John continued, with apparently no notice of the way Jerome was glaring at Poppy. “Poppy’s very fond of her. You should bring her sometime, Jerome. I’d love to meet her.”

“That’s not happening,” Jerome replied. Aside from the fact that he was most certainly not dating her, he also knew her well enough to know that she wouldn’t want to come. “Ashley’s not my girlfriend.”

Now John looked confused. “But Poppy said you were in love.”

Poppy cleared her throat and shook her head. “No, I said that Jerome’s in love with her but refuses to tell her, even though it’s so obvious that her boyfriend even told her—”

“She has a boyfriend?”

“No, they broke up,” Jerome answered before turning back to Poppy. “And how did you even know about that?”

“Everyone heard about it,” Poppy said. “I was in the next hall over and heard it myself. People were looking at me all weird because they know I’m your sister. And anyway, I thought it was really strange how he brought you up when he’s the one that cheated on her—”

“Do you mind not telling him all of Ashley’s business?”

“Wait a moment, I’m confused,” John cut in. Both of his children turned back to look at him. “So, this Ashley isn’t your girlfriend? But you love her? Does she love you back?” Jerome said no, Poppy said yes, and Jerome glared at her again. “Well, which is it, yes or no?”

“No,” Jerome answered definitively. “No, she doesn’t.”

“Yes, she does,” Poppy argued.

“Poppy—”

“Come on, Jerome. The entire school knows it. Why do you think there’s a bet on when you two will get over yourselves and get together?”

A bet? That was news to him. Jerome turned to his sister again, questioning, “Bet? What are you talking about, a bet?”

“The bet,” Poppy said again. “I don’t know who started it but it’s spread across the whole school. People have even come to me asking for the inside scoop so they get their money. So, when do you think you’ll tell her you love her? This year or next year?”

“Which did you bet on?”

“No way I’m telling you! You’ll just make it so whichever I didn’t bet on happens.”

Jerome rolled his eyes. John looked between them, now utterly confused as to what was happening, and said, “Wait. Give me a minute to get this straight. So…Ashley isn’t your girlfriend, but you do like her. And she recently broke up with her boyfriend who cheated on her. And there’s a schoolwide bet on when you two will get together, and everyone but you thinks she likes you. Is that right?”

Poppy nodded. Jerome glared at her again.

You know, her telling their dad about Ashley was one thing. Her telling him that Jerome’s in love with her, therefore leading their dad to think that Jerome and Ashley are dating, was another, and something told Jerome that when Ashley herself found out, she wouldn’t be too happy. But on the other hand, the fact that his dad heard as much as he did about them and made the leap to them dating was kind of…it kind of felt nice, if irritating.

But now he finds out that there’s some kind of bet on them? He’d bet money that it was Alfie or Amber that started it.

“You know, there’s even a nickname for them,” Poppy remarked. “Everyone calls them Jashley.”

Jerome wished he was unfamiliar with the nickname. He’d heard it from Alfie back when he’d first found out Jerome had feelings for the other half of that equation, apparently it had been coined by Amber. And Alfie really enjoyed using it.

“You know, all this talk of Ashley,” John said, “and no one’s shown me a photo of her yet.”

“Oh, I can do that,” Poppy said immediately, taking her phone out of her pocket. After a minute, she handed it across to him. “That’s her and Jerome at prom a few months ago. They went together.”

“She’s very pretty, Jerome,” John noted.

“Yeah, I know,” Jerome responded before laying his eyes on Poppy again. “Where did you get that photo?”

“It’s on her profile,” Poppy explained. “She friended me. I thought Dad might ask. She’s got tons of photos on there.”

And judging by the way John was clicking on the phone, he was looking at some of the other photos Poppy saved. “You and she make a nice couple—”

“We’re not a couple,” Jerome interrupted again as he reached for Poppy’s phone, giving it back to her. “And you—stop saving photos from her profile.”

Poppy shrugged and said, “Okay.” She clicked a few times on her phone before passing it across to their dad again. With a smug smile, she continued, “Here’s one she sent to me.”

Jerome knew which photo it was before his dad had even had a chance to look at it. There was only one photo he knew Ashley had sent to her—the one she’d taken of them at the opening gala for the exhibition, while he was dressed as a mummy. That was confirmed when John laughed at the photo and said, “Why are you dressed like a mummy?”

“It was a job,” Jerome replied quickly before taking the phone back. “How often do you and Ashley text?”

His sister shrugged again. “Sometimes.”

“Okay, that stops now.”

“Afraid she’s going to tell me something embarrassing about you?”

“More like worried you two are going to start conspiring against me together.”

“Get over it, Gerbil.”

John interjected before they could start swatting each other again, tapping his fingers on the table and pointing toward the phone Poppy was taking back from Jerome. “Well, if this Ashley isn’t your girlfriend,” he said, “she still seems like a very good friend and I’d still like to meet her. You should bring her sometime.”

Very good friend.

That’s all Ashley would ever be, and maybe that was his own fault. The second he realized that his feelings for her were more than he expected, he swore to himself that she’d never know. Mostly because at the time he realized it he’d barely known her a month and he’d accidentally started a less-than-friendly rivalry with her. And things seemed to have gone pretty well with that swear until Alfie figured it out and decided to try and set them up for the next year and a half. Though the first time Ashley did hear him say that she reacted with a scoff and theorized that they were planning something, using that to preoccupy her mind so she didn’t figure it out, and she’d sleep with one eye open.

Though Jerome would admit, reluctantly of course, that there were more than a few times over the past few months that he caught her looking at him differently than she ever had before, and when he caught that, he let himself forget that swear and wonder what things might be like if he told her and, by some miracle, she felt the same about him.

But she didn’t, and he knew that, and before he could think too much on it he always pulled himself out of it, forced himself to come back to the real world where she was his best friend and he was nothing more than that to her.

“She’s not coming,” Jerome responded to his dad’s offer after a moment.

“Jerome, I think you should let the girl,” John said, “make that decision herself—”

“I know Ashley, she’s not going to want to come,” Jerome said again. Aside from that, he couldn’t quite figure out what exactly she and her roomies plus Fabian had been up to lately, but whatever it was, she was certainly keeping busy with it. There was also the fact that if on the unlikely chance Ashley did want to come, Jerome was relatively certain his dad would try and suss out if she had feelings for him, and that was something probably better left to Alfie and his wild theories. “And I think she’s got too much on her plate without making the trip out here for an hour.”

“All right, but I do expect to meet her at some point.”

( — chapter fifty-seven. )

“Eddie, do you have the crib notes for French?”

Eddie responded with a distant yeah, handing him a plastic-wrapped sandwich from his locker like it was the notes he’d asked for without even glancing Jerome’s way. It was definitely odd, even for Eddie. Seemed like he’s not entirely focused on schoolwork (if he ever was), but this begged for more questions.

Jerome looked from the sandwich to Eddie, adding, “Something on your mind?” Eddie closed his locker and scoffed. “Oh, come on. I’m not all bad. Try me.”

He tilted his head at him, and Eddie admitted, “Uh, well, me and Patricia went on this date the other night—”

“And it was a romantic disaster,” Jerome finished with a laugh, the only plausible ending to that sentence. “Yeah. That’s a surprise.”

“No, the date was fine,” he corrected. “It’s just after, we didn’t—we didn’t kiss.”

“Oh,” Jerome said, drawing it out a little. Patricia Williamson—militia Patricia—going on a date with American Eddie Miller was interesting enough on its own. “But I thought you were one of those supercool, uber-confident, piece-of-cake kind of guys.”

“Uh, thanks,” Eddie replied sarcastically, “but uh…no. It’s—I don’t know. Patricia’s…” Right at that moment, Patricia and Ashley passed by them, the latter talking to her about movies or something. Eddie turned around to look at the subject of the conversation while Jerome watched curiously. There was something to be said about the fact that the girl Eddie liked and the girl Jerome liked were currently down the hall conversing while one of them was the thing they were talking about. “Different. I’ve never felt like this before.”

Jerome would be lying if he said he couldn’t relate to what he was saying. Ashley was different too, definitely not in the same way, but she was different. A challenge with fire in her eyes and a never-ending storm in her head.

He regarded her for a moment until she glanced his way, at which point he turned back to Eddie and said, getting back on the Trixie line of thought, “Okay. Then here is what you do, my American friend.” Eddie crossed his arms. “Right, the next time you’re with her, you’re going to plant a big, fat smackeroo right on those luscious lips on hers.”

Eddie glanced back at Patricia, who was now opening a bag of crisps and offering some to Ashley. Ashley must’ve declined it because Patricia shrugged and put a handful in her mouth. “Think so?”

“Yeah, everything except luscious.”

“Huh,” Eddie murmured. “All right, yeah. Pretty good advice, Jerry.” Jerome rolled his eyes at the nickname; Eddie refused to give it up and called him that more than his actual name. But it got under his skin, which is probably what Eddie was aiming for with it. “Should probably take it yourself.”

“What?”

“Ashley,” Eddie elaborated, turning back to where both girls were standing. They were going down another hallway now, still talking. Jerome narrowed his eyes. “Yeah, dude, it’s insanely obvious that you like her. I’m pretty sure the only person who doesn’t know is her.”

“Surprised it took you this long to jump on the bandwagon,” Jerome retorted, neither confirming nor denying. He’d meant to tell her exactly that two days ago, after babysitting Alfie’s surprise little brother, but she’d left before he could, which he briefly considered a good thing because he had no idea what he was going to say to her nor any idea how she’d react. “Those rumors seemed right up your alley to use to your advantage.”

“Ha, yeah. Actually Joy said if I want to be an official Anubis resident I’ve got to at least pretend to care about you and her being so obviously into each other. Didn’t really see why everyone cared so much ‘til just now.”

“You’d probably do well not listening to Joy about it anymore.”

“Yeah, don’t think so. Seriously, dude, just take your own advice,” Eddie said, clapping his hand on Jerome’s shoulder before walking away—the exact opposite direction of both Patricia and French.

“Where are you going?” Jerome questioned. “French is that way.”

“Oh, I’ve been to class all morning. It’s Eddie time. See if Ashley’s got those notes you’re looking for,” Eddie said, smugly grinning at him before disappearing around the corner.

Jerome shook his head, rolling his eyes. See if Ashley’s got those notes—Ashley never has notes for French. And if she does, she probably burns them once she’s finished with them considering how much she hates that class.

( — chapters sixty-six and sixty-seven. )

It was raining.

And Jerome was hidden behind some tires, his bike near him, waiting for a car to pull up so he could know if Trudy, who had been recently kidnapped, was safe. Jasper was waiting by his own car, a doll that once belonged to Sarah Frobisher-Smythe in hand, with no idea Jerome had followed him out here.

A car pulled up, and a familiar woman stepped out from the passenger side. “Vera,” he murmured at the sight of her. There was always something off about her and obviously everything Mara had written in her article had been accurate, and somehow Vera made herself seem like the innocent party in the eyes of everyone who didn’t know Mara. “I knew it.” Another figure stepped out of the car, his face hidden beneath the hood he was wearing. “Wait. What?”

“I don’t see a dollhouse,” said the other figure’s disguised voice. The Anubis dollhouse was initially what Jasper had promised after Jerome caught it lighting up and smoking on its own in Ashley, Amber, and Nina’s room upstairs, but it was too big to get out unnoticed immediately. The doll was the next best thing, creepy riddle and all. “Are you incapable of completing one simple task?”

“I need an assurance from you that Trudy is unharmed,” Jasper said.

“She is safe, for now. Where is the dollhouse?”

“It’s coming, but it takes time. Meanwhile, I’ve brought this.”

Jasper took the doll out of the bag he had with him. Vera asked, “Where did you get that?”

“It belonged to Sarah Frobisher-Smythe. And it plays a message. Listen.”

Before Jasper could play the cryptic riddle the doll hid, the Collector grew angry, grabbing his arm roughly. “I don’t need a doll.” He tossed the doll into the mud and grabbed the front of Jasper’s shirt. “I need a dollhouse!”

Jerome had stood to get a better view, see if he could see the face beneath the hood, but his foot hit a chain and he was ducking to hide again before he was seen. If Vera found him, there wasn’t any doubt he’d end up kidnapped just as Trudy was, and he really didn’t like the idea of that.

“What was that?” Vera questioned. “Have you brought someone with you?”

“You better not have,” said the disguised voice.

Jerome looked out just enough to see that Vera was coming his way with a torch in her hand, preparing to search the area where the sound was, and the closer she came, the more likely he’d be found. Even hiding the best he could wouldn’t get past her, but he was hoping for the best. Another distraction maybe…

“We don’t have time for this,” the disguised voice said. Vera stepped away from the tires and went back to him and Jasper. “You have twenty-four hours. After that, Trudy will pay the price. And so will you…” The man turned his head the direction of Vera. “And so will Ashley Adams.”

“You’ll have her, very soon,” promised Vera.

“Twenty-four hours!” the voice shouted to Jasper again as he turned.

“Ashley…” Her name was hardly more than a whisper from Jerome, more from his shock hearing it from a disguised voice than his still hiding. Hearing her name from that voice was like getting punched in the gut, and what Vera followed it up with? That felt like being crushed by the tires he was hiding behind. “No. Not her.”

Vera knew. Vera knew who Ashley Adams really was. That was the only thing Jerome could get from what she said. Jasper said that The Collector wants anything and everything that belonged to the Frobisher-Smythes. Maybe that even included the one person living who was related to them, even if it wasn’t by blood. Lily Henry had been adopted by them, hadn’t she? He remembered her telling him something like that.

Jasper left in his car with the doll, with still no idea Jerome had heard all of that. Jerome got on his bike and returned to Anubis House, mind racing the entire night, and yet it was a pair of piercing blue eyes that looked at him all sorts of different ways that kept coming back. The next day, he went back to Frobisher Library, ready to get some answers about what happened last night.

“Truth time,” Jerome started. Jasper was repairing a mosaic and stopped when he heard his voice. “I know Vera’s involved.”

“Jerome, what are you—” Jasper said.

“No more lies,” he interrupted. “I was there. I know she’s involved.”

Jasper looked back at the mosaic he was working on, some green tacky thing that used to be in Anubis House, before confessing, “Yes, Vera is involved.” At least now he’s telling the truth about one thing. He put the mosaic in the drawer of his desk. “But she’s not the Collector.”

“Do you know who he is?”

“No,” Jasper denied. “And there’s nothing I can do about Vera. Not while the Collector’s got Trudy. We need that dollhouse. I’m afraid that if we don’t get it—”

“You’ll have it,” Jerome said. “Which brings me to my next point. The dollhouse is in Ashley’s room. Ashley Adams. When was the last time you heard that name, Jasper?” The curator’s mouth parted. “That’s what I thought. What does he want with Ashley?”

“I’ve been trying to figure that out myself.”

“No more lies.”

“It’s not a lie, Jerome. I never heard Ashley’s name from neither Vera nor the Collector.”

“Then what have you heard? What have they said? They had to have said something!”

Jasper quieted him. Jerome ran a hand over his face, trying to calm himself down, before looking back at him expectantly. After a few seconds of thinking on it, Jasper said, “Well…the Collector wants anything and everything Frobisher. She does live in Anubis House—”

“So do nine other people, but I only heard her name.”

“Perhaps he thinks she has a stronger connection to the Frobisher-Smythes than anyone else in that house. Although I don’t understand why he or Vera would think that. She’s Australian, and there’s no Frobisher-Smythe connection to that country.”

A connection to the Frobisher-Smythes. Always comes back to Robert, doesn’t it? Jerome sighed. “Have you ever heard of Michael and Elizabeth Henry?”

Jasper nodded. “Of course. They were on the expedition to open Tutankhamun’s tomb in 1922 with Robert and Louisa. Very close friends of the Frobisher-Smythes, though they both went to prison after being convicted of stealing from the tomb. No one ever found what it was they stole, nor what the Frobisher-Smythes were suspected of stealing. What have they got to do with anything?”

“They had a daughter called Lily who was adopted by the Frobisher-Smythes after they went to prison. Lily Henry is Ashley’s great-grandmother.”

“I see.”

“That has to be why this guy wants her, right? And Vera said that he’ll have her—”

But Jasper interjected, shaking his head as something like remembrance appeared in his eyes, “No. No, I’ve heard Vera say something like that before. She didn’t think I was there, she was on the phone with him. She said that he’ll have the…the Bringer of Death.”

It was like someone had heard Jerome thinking to himself over and over ‘this couldn’t be any worse’ and said no, let’s make it worse. Jasper was about to figure out what Vera and the Collector must’ve already known.

“She was talking about Ashley Adams, wasn’t she?” Jasper said. Jerome stayed silent, watching the pieces fall into place in his head. “Of course. Ashley Adams is the Bringer of Death. Michael and Elizabeth’s granddaughter—of course!”

“What do you know about the Bringer of Death?” Jerome asked cautiously. Every time he said it, the title sounded even more ridiculous and he got flashbacks to that one scene in The Mummy, which wasn’t doing anything to help his nerves at the moment.

“Well, not much, she’s merely a legend, or—or I thought she was,” Jasper explained. “There have been dozens of women throughout history who have been rumored to be it. But there’s never been any proof she actually existed, just rumors and theories. I thought she was a myth.”

“Well, she’s not.”

“You knew who she was. Well, that—that makes sense, I do know that you’re close with her. But so is Fabian,” Jasper said, speaking now of his godson. “Does—does he know about her as well?”

“Fabian’s the one who figured it out,” Jerome reluctantly confirmed.

“It’s really Ashley Adams? She’s not who I would have expected.”

“Jasper, focus. Is Vera going to try and kidnap Ashley like they have Trudy?”

Jasper let out a heavy sigh. “She might. Unless we bring the dollhouse to them first,” he said. Right. Back to the dollhouse. “He’ll let Trudy go and he might back off Ashley if we bring it to him. Jerome. Do you want to keep Ashley safe?”

The question had a simple answer. “More than anything.”

“Then we need that dollhouse.”

( — chapter seventy-four. )

It had been two days since Jerome went to Ashley’s room and confessed that he had romantic feelings for her to her face. He still wasn’t sure why he chose that night to tell her—maybe it had something to do with them being locked in that barn, or to do with the fact that Rufus and Vera were plotting to kidnap her—but he told her, expecting nothing of it. Well, he sort of expected for her to tell him to get out. That was it.

The one thing he didn’t expect, and the only reaction he didn’t prepare for, was for her to tell him she felt the same way. And that was exactly what happened, and after that he tried out the eyelash trick, which she immediately called him on before kissing him. Which basically means the eyelash trick worked. And honestly, if Amber hadn’t walked in and started freaking out about it, he probably would’ve stayed with Ashley until Victor called curfew.

But now their relationship had changed—right there between friends and more. He hadn’t had a chance to speak to her the day after they first kissed because she was by Nina’s side all day after that article posted on the Jack Jackal column, but he’d had a chance to talk to her today and more when he pulled her into that classroom (and accidentally scared her into thinking she was about to be kidnapped, but that part wasn’t relevant.)

And yeah, Jerome was a little disappointed that Ashley didn’t want to come to the prison with him to tell his dad about the gem, but at least she was up for meeting him sometime. Just not today. Although given that he was afraid his dad may have a less-than-stellar reaction to the gem being stolen again, it was probably a good thing she hadn’t come. He’d invited Mara to come on Ashley’s suggestion, since she’d already met him.

“The gem was right there in the shield,” Jerome explained hesitantly. “And—and then it was gone. I let you down, Dad. I’m sorry.”

John didn’t look at all disappointed. “At what point did you let me down? You found the missing gem. Then you retrieved it from inside a goose,” he started to recap the gem’s journey back to the shield in the 21st century. “Then you cat-burgled the housekeeper who stole it.” Technically that one was Fabian and Nina but he wasn’t going to correct that. “Then you won a ping-pong championship to get the shield to put it in.”

“Pretty much,” Jerome confirmed with a light laugh.

“You’re a true Clarke,” John said, hitting him lightly on the arm as he laughed. “You couldn’t write it.”

“Someone should. ‘Saved by the Gem: A Tale of Two Clarkes and a Goose.’”

“What do you reckon, Mara? Would anybody want to read that?”

Mara thought on it. “Well, actually, yes. Definitely.”

Jerome had an idea suddenly, taking his phone out of his pocket. “Oh, hey. I can, however, show you a picture of the gem.” He went through the photos on his phone before finding the ones from after the tournament, handing it across to his dad.

John took the phone, smiling at it. “Ah, there she is. Beautiful.”

“I will get it back, of course,” Jerome promised. “I will. I just need to figure out how.”

“I know,” John said. He turned the phone around on one photo; it was the one Ashley had taken of Jerome and Poppy. “This one—this one may be my favorite.”

“Oh, Ashley took that one,” Mara recalled. “She took tons of photos of the tournament for the school website. She told me that was one she thought you might like.”

“Jerome, you really should bring her,” John told him as he turned the phone back around, continuing to click through the photos of the gem. Jerome gave a somewhat awkward smile, not about to tell him that he tried to get her to come today. Then John’s entire face changed as he clicked through to a photograph that was taken that very morning. “Oh. Well, this is certainly another reason why I should meet her. I see my boy’s finally got his act together.”

“What?” Mara asked, eyebrows furrowed.

John started to turn the phone around but Jerome caught the photo on the screen and scrambled for the phone before Mara could see it. Amber was still the only person who knew that the relationship had shifted and if Alfie found out Mara knew before him, he’d never hear the end of it. “Ah, no,” Jerome said quickly, clicking the screen off. Mara looked at him confused. “No.”

“Oh, the ping-pong,” Mara said with a tone of realization. “You should be very proud. Jerome told me Ashley was sort of his good luck char—”

“Right, well, we better be getting back to the house,” Jerome interrupted with a clearing of his throat as he stood up. He definitely regretted mentioning that to Mara now. “Mara?”

“Uh, sure,” Mara said, still bewildered. “All right.”

John grabbed Jerome’s sleeve before he could turn around. He lowered his voice as he asked, “Are you sure you and this Ashley aren’t an item? I’ve just seen a photo that says otherwise.”

“Dad, it’s a bit complicated,” Jerome started.

“Then keep it simple, stupid,” John retorted. Jerome would admit he was a little taken aback. “Based on everything you and Poppy and now Mara have told me, she seems like a good match for you. And judging by that photo, she seems to like you. Uncomplicate it. Don’t miss your chance, okay?”

Don’t miss your chance.

Her schedule seemed to be busier than ever, but he’d managed to catch her alone a few times. Next time he did, he’d make sure he didn’t miss his chance to be with her. “Okay.”

( — chapter ninety. )

All in all, the day Jerome had just had was one of the more unbelievable ones he’d lived.

First, he spent half the day in Rufus’ creepy barn, waiting for a chance to escape. Then when he finally got a chance, Rufus found him hiding amongst the hay bales and dragged him back inside—only for him to bring a disoriented Eddie into the room a few minutes later, replacing him in the chair and tossing a blanket over Eddie’s head (but it gave Jerome a chance to put the real gem in Eddie’s pocket so Rufus didn’t have it anymore) and dragging him to the car.

Then he was roughly shoved into Frobisher Library, forced to go into some dark and dusty tunnel through a secret passage behind a bookcase and down to some chamber by Rufus, saw the (fake, as it turned out) Mask of Anubis, figured out that the gem he’d given to Eddie was the thing that completed said Mask, thrown the (fake) Mask to Alfie, and got out of that strange tunnel with Amber into Frobisher Library.

And then it turns out that Eddie is some kind of—some kind of Osirian or something? Jerome still wasn’t sure what exactly that meant but Nina and Ashley seemed to know, and Ashley seemed pretty shocked. Then Nina put the third eye in the Mask, put it on her face, the thing began to weep gold tears, and then that ghost Mara and Eddie had captured on film was on the second level and possessed Nina or something, shot some lightning bolt at Joy—and was promptly defeated by Ashley and Eddie working together somehow. At that point he still didn’t understand a thing that was happening. Pretty much the only thing he did understand after that was Rufus putting the real Mask of Anubis on, declaring that he was about to be a god, only for a fiery pit to open up in the floor that he must’ve gone down or something.

All in all, pretty unbelievable day.

But fortunately, things began to look up when he returned to Anubis House after trying and failing to get a hold of Poppy to see how the hearing went. Mara berated him for missing it, which was about when Alfie came in holding the real gem which he had left behind in the chaos, and it was just after that he turned around and his sister and his father were standing right behind him. He won the hearing, and now he was free. And now that he had the gem back, he could put it back where it belonged, in Frobisher Shield.

And things certainly began to look up when Ashley called his name, kissed him in front of everyone, and told him that she loved him. And Jerome had kissed her, and he had told her he loved her, too. He’d figured that out a long time ago and it had been on the tip of his tongue every time he’d seen her since. Finally telling her made him feel like despite everything that had happened that day, and despite whatever happened in the library…things had turned out pretty all right.

Jerome had danced with her a little bit, talked about their new relationship, and told her again he loved her so many times she was probably getting sick of it. Well, probably not, but it was right after that last one that Ashley stopped dancing with him and instead pulled him over to his dad and Poppy to chat. She was probably trying to fix things considering that she’d met his dad literally one minute after their relationship had become official.

“So, Jerome told me you’re an artist,” John was saying now.

Ashley was taking a sip of her punch. “Mm. Yeah, I am.”

“She’s good at it,�� Jerome remarked, smiling adoringly at her.

“And I know it.”

The not-so-modest comment had all three Clarkes laughing and Ashley, visibly relieved it had gone over well, brought her cup to her mouth again. John said, “She’s got wit. I like her.” And that one had that look of relief returning to her face. “I don’t mean to sound…but have you got anything you think I could see?”

“Actually…” Now Ashley looked thoughtful and she nodded. “I might. Stay here.” She handed her cup to Jerome and started toward the door, running into Patricia and Eddie on the way. Eddie held his hands up in a somewhat defensive position as she said bluntly, “Out of my way, Edison.”

Patricia chuckled and said, loud enough that they could hear from where they are, “Wow, she is really not taking it well.”

“I know,” Eddie said, a devious smile on his face. “I can’t wait until tomorrow.”

Jerome had absolutely no clue what either of them meant by what they said, but he put it at the top of the list of things he wanted to ask Ashley about. Also on the list: first actual date, when should she meet his mum, is he really willing to meet her sister again but this time as the boyfriend given what happened the last and only time they met (her sister was not his biggest fan, to put things lightly), things like that.

Ashley came back down about a minute later, and he recognized her sketchbook in her hands. She was flipping through it as she returned to where she was standing. Among the sketches he saw was one of that photo of Lily and Sarah that was in that box Sarah left her, some landscapes, one of an elderly lady and Nina. “Ah…here.” She stopped at one of the sketches, tearing it out and handing it to John. “You can have this one. I finished it last night, couldn’t sleep.”

The sketch was of the very same photo that his dad had recently seen of Jerome and Poppy, the one from after the tournament when they put the gem back in the shield (for the first time). Like all her other drawings, this one was good as well. Good wasn’t a strong enough word; it was amazing. “You sketched me and Poppy?” Jerome questioned, a light smitten tone accompanying his words.

“When you’ve got a photo that good,” Ashley replied, “it’d be a crime not to sketch it.”

“Wow, Ashley,” Poppy said, beaming. “You’re really good.”

“You are,” John agreed with a nostalgic smile. “Thank you for this, Ashley. I’m glad I’ve finally a chance to talk to you. And thank you for helping my son get the gem back.”

“Yeah, you would not believe,” Ashley said, “the vendetta I’ve got against that gem.” Jerome chuckled lightly. He was the only one aware of the true history of the gem before his dad stole it all those years ago. The third eye. “I’m just glad everything’s how it should be.”

She looked at Jerome as she said that. He smiled at her in a way that could only be described as entirely smitten, and his tone was the same as he said, “I really do love you.” She leaned up and kissed him quickly, a peck more than anything, but it meant everything.

Behind them, Amber said, “Hey, Ashley. So sorry to interrupt. Hi, Poppy, Mr. Clarke.” Poppy waved at her a little. Amber looked at Ashley again. “I need your help with the cake.”

Jerome told his family, “That’s code for girl talk.”

“No, it’s code for Amfie talk,” Ashley corrected with a smirk. Amber tilted her head. “Oh, I have to hear this. I’ll be back in a minute.”

Amber dragged Ashley into the kitchen with the cake, already gossiping about ‘Amfie’ or whatever they were talking about. Jerome turned back, venturing, “So, uh…what do you think of her?”

“You better not let that girl go, Jerome,” was John’s immediate response, and definitely the one Jerome was hoping for. Poppy nodded to agree. “She is a real gem.”

Jerome glanced back at Ashley, catching her eye with a soft smile. “I know.”

#ch: ashley adams #ocappreciation #type: writing #in editing tof/rewatching s2 i noticed SO MANY moments where jerome would've spoken about ash to others #that obviously she would never have heard therefore it would not have been in the story #consider this an extension of some of those christmas one shots #such as the key; kid alfie; etc #anyway have 8.5k words of jerome talking about ashley!

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shireness-says · 5 years ago

Text

The Song Remains the Same

Summary: The more things change, the more they stay the same - including Emma’s teenage crush on Killian Jones. Will she finally work up the nerve to act on it at their ten year high school reunion? ~5.6K. Rated T for language. Also on AO3.

~~~~~

A/N: Here it is: my contribution to @csseptembersunshine! It’s been a lot of fun to write. Funny story: the inspiration for this comes from me watching the music episode of CNN’s 2000s documentary, and getting really annoyed that they didn’t touch on that pop-punk phase we all went through around 2008. Somehow it turned into this. I don’t know. The song title is actually taken from a Led Zeppelin song, though I didn’t know that when I originally chose it. Still trying to figure out where else I’ve heard that phrase.

Super thanks to @snidgetsafan for her last minute beta-ing, and to @awkwardnessandbaseball for her encouragement as I slogged through it.

Tagging the usual suspects and a few extras: @snowbellewells, @kmomof4, @teamhook, @profdanglaisstuff, @thisonesatellite, @captainsjedi, @let-it-raines, @optomisticgirl, @welllpthisishappening, @scientificapricot, @winterbaby89, @thejollyroger-writer

Enjoy, and let me know what you think!

~~~~~

Gymnasium 2 of Storybrooke High - the larger of their sports facilities, as any alumnus knows - hasn’t changed a bit in ten years.

Emma remembers the way it looked at the one homecoming dance she’d attended - blue and gold streamers everywhere, with a balloon arch behind the DJ and another against a sloppily-curtained wall for formal photos. The gym today is much the same - all that’s been added are the buffet and a collection of tables where people can eat. The same people who couldn’t be trusted with food in the gym ten years ago maybe shouldn’t be trusted to have gained that maturity now, but Emma’s not one to argue against hors d'oeuvres. It’s odd, in a way, that she’d expect it to change. This is Storybrooke, after all; they thrive on that vague air of nostalgia, and most of the town hasn’t been updated since the 80s. Hell, the local diner will abandon their 50s soda shoppe aesthetic when hell itself freezes over, and maybe not even then. But in the ten years since Emma’s left town, she’s changed in such foundational ways that it’s jarring to discover that it’s not the case everywhere.

There can be a comfort to the sameness, too. Emma has a kid, now, and there’s an appeal to raising him in a place where the whole town is your neighbor and neighbors look out for each other. Plus, the closest thing she has to family lives here. As much as Emma had wanted to get out and see the world when she was 18, there’s a point where you just want to come home. Home for Emma has been Ruth and David and Mary Margaret, and home for them has been Storybrooke. Maybe it’s about time Emma makes it her home too - if not for her own sake, then for Henry’s.

The nostalgia oozing from every inch of the gymnasium isn’t the reassuring kind of sameness, unfortunately, probably because Emma never felt comfortable here in the first place. Years in the system left Emma struggling to fit in and really find her place at school, emotionally and socially, even after the Nolans had taken her in for good. It had been hard enough to open herself up to Ruby and Mary Margaret and her adoptive family; anything more than that was a stretch too far, and Emma never really bonded with her classmates. All those streamer-festooned walls don’t hold any sentimental value for her, even if this was the school she graduated from. All things considered, it seems pretty stupid to be showing up to this ten-year reunion at all.

Mary Margaret had decorated the walls, though, had sent out invitations and implored Emma to attend. Mary Margaret, who had been Emma’s first real friend, and is still her best friend in the world. And even after all these years - especially after all these years - Emma can’t say no to that earnest pleading.

So she’d left her three year old with Ruth for the night, wiggled into one of the more tasteful of her honeytrap dresses, and set out to her ten-year high school reunion. The last place she wants to be.

There’s already a good crowd here, mingling around as Lady Gaga blares in the background like no time has passed at all - which doesn’t help Emma’s nerves in the least. The people, not the music. The faces are still recognizable, even if ten years have passed and left their mark. Ashley and Sean are over by the buffet, apparently still together; if Emma remembers what she’s heard from Mary Margaret, they’ve got a couple of kids now. Kris and his wife are over talking to Victor, who hopefully hasn’t just come from the hospital. Aurora’s still got that unpleasant look on her face, though her boyfriend or husband or whatever else seems friendly enough. Hell, even Will Scarlet has somehow managed to clean up well in a dress shirt and tie, holding hands with a beautiful brunette with a ring as he points out something on the photo slideshow. Who’d have thought their resident troublemaker capable of such a domestic display.

With the exception of Ruby, who Emma knows will be running late out of long-ingrained habit, it seems like the gang’s all here. As Emma scans the room, there’s only one obvious character missing from the bunch; somewhere around here should be blue eyes and dark hair and a smile that —

“Fancy meeting you here, Swan.”

— looks exactly as she remembers. It starts out as a smirk when Emma first whips around to face the man who’d whispered in her ear, but it softens into something more genuine as she laughs - almost like that’s the exact sound he’d been waiting for. Just like always.

As it turns out, that’s another thing that hasn’t changed in ten years: her hopeless crush on Killian Jones.

He’d been handsome, even in high school, with all that dark hair and his confident swagger. He’d earned that confidence too, as captain of the speech team and a champion swimmer. Somehow, even if it had made him cocky, he had still been kind, and it was that kindness that had attracted Emma in the first place - the way he’d always been happy to smile and help her in math class, even though he didn’t have to. Emma wasn’t used to that; it was its own kind of intoxicating.

He’s just as handsome now, and if that smile she’s so loved is any indication, just as kind. He’d joined the Navy after graduation, Emma knows, and it had obviously done him good, filling him out in all the right ways. The trim fitted suit is new too; probably a good thing too, as the cut of those pants would have driven Emma to distraction back in high school. Otherwise, he’s almost just the same as always; if it wasn’t for the prosthetic peeking out of his sleeve where a left hand should be, the Killian in front of her now could be mistaken for a blast from the past.

“Well, look what the cat dragged in,” Emma grins back at him.

“I might say the same thing,” he quips. “After all, I live here now. You’re the one who had to drive in.”

“You’re shitting me.”

“I absolutely am not,” Killian confirms with a laugh. “Just finished up my first year of teaching at good old Storybrooke High. American History. Go Knights.”

“Damn. Well, congrats, I bet you’re great.” Weirdly enough, Emma really can picture him as a history teacher. It was always his best subject, and she’d be willing to bet he’s one of the cool teachers all the kids love.

“I do my best,” he shrugs modestly. It’s a new look on the cocky, smooth-talking Killian Jones she used to know, and not a bad one. It makes him seem… adult. Like he’s got his ducks in a row now in a way neither of them were capable of when they were young. She almost misses his next question considering it. “I seem to remember David mentioning that you live in Boston these days?”

That snaps her back. “Yeah, Boston. I work in bail bonds there. Though lately…”

“You’re thinking about moving back?” he finishes. At Emma’s puzzled look, he continues. “Like I said, your brother mentioned it. He’s a bit of a gossip, I’ve rediscovered.”

Ah, of course. “Yeah, that sounds like him.”

“Well, if you end up deciding to come home… let me know. I’d be happy to see your face around these streets again.” He even smiles like he means it. It’s a nice surprise again; Killian Jones is just full of those today. She’d thought that there would only be a handful of people who’d be happy to see her - David and Ruth, Mary Margaret, Ruby and Granny - but maybe there’s some others, too. For whatever reason, Killian seems to be counting himself among them.

“Thanks,” she finally replies, somewhat awkwardly. What are you supposed to say to such an unexpected, purely kind thing, after all? It’s just the kind of thing the boy she remembered would have said - though she has to wonder if that’s a true memory, or something she inflated from her own childish crush and even more childish tendency to latch onto even the smallest kindness in the way only those starved for affection do. “I’ll make sure to do that. I’ll let you go mingle or whatever, but I’ll, uh… I’ll see you around?”

“Absolutely, Swan,” he winks. Or tries to, in the same way he’s apparently never learned how. “Save a dance for me?”

Dancing has never been her strong suit, but weirdly enough - or perhaps, not weirdly at all, considering who made the offer - Emma finds herself wanting that too, finds herself agreeing. “Sure,” she shrugs, making her best display of nonchalance even if her pulse has picked up at the very prospect. “I’ll catch you later.”

What harm could it do? After all, it’s just one dance.

———

It’s weird how time can change people, or at least change her perceptions of them, Emma notes. With some notable exceptions - Aurora Stephenson, now… whatever the hell her last name is, who will probably never grow out of her tendency to look down her nose at everyone and everything - most of the people she graduated with have turned into more adult versions of themselves, whether that means happier or more responsible or just more tired. It’s refreshing to see in a room otherwise so mired in the past, from the decor to the never-ending 2010-era playlist constantly piped overhead. Emma’s a little worried she’ll hear Fall Out Boy’s entire discography before the night is over - weird, considering she’d never have pegged Mary Margaret for a fan.

But Scarlet turns out to be funny now that he’s dropped the class clown screwup act, and Ashley is actually sweet now that she’s allowed to be more than just a mouse under her stepmother’s thumb. Her older child is about Henry’s age, a little girl named Alexandra, and it’s a comfort that Emma never knew she was denying herself just to have someone else to talk to about all the trials and tribulations of toddlerhood with. She’s never been one of those mothers, but she’s never had anyone she could be one with, either. Mary Margaret and David have only recently announced that they’re expecting a baby, and Emma’s been somewhat isolated in Boston for a long time. But if she ends up returning to Storybrooke… it’d be nice, already knowing Henry has a playmate. Maybe they can set something up for before they return to Boston.

Still, as much as Emma’s enjoying herself - against her will, really - there reaches a point where she needs to get away from it all. By some miracle she’s never sure she’ll deserve, Henry calls to say goodnight just when she’s becoming too overwhelmed. There’s been a pair of picnic tables just outside of the gym for as long as Emma’s been here to see them - much longer, she’d bet, if she knows anything about Storybrooke - and it’s another thing that hasn’t changed in all this time, the tables appearing to have been replaced sometime in the past decade and then positioned in the exact same place as before. It’s the perfect place to take the call and collect her thoughts again - close enough to still hear the music faintly (Panic! at the Disco now, because none of them have actually grown out of their teenage taste in music apparently) without it overwhelming her senses.

Nothing’s the matter, of course - just some three year old affection. It doesn’t stop Emma from seizing the opportunity to take a moment for herself. It’s been a long time since she’s spent this much time with this many adults in a situation where she’s expected to actually interact; after almost four years of cartoons and make-believe and bedtime stories, it’s a little taxing. In a good way, she thinks, or at least not a bad one.

“Ah, there you are,” a familiar voice calls. Killian again. He’s everywhere tonight - the man himself before her eyes as he settles onto the bench beside her, back braced against the wooden tabletop, and memories of their time in school embedded in every wall.

“Did Mary Margaret send you?” Emma asks. It would be perfectly in character - Emma’s sister-in-law trying to make sure that she’s socializing properly.

Killian shakes his head though. “No, I just needed a bit of air. Victor’s trying to break out some of his old dance moves, which is just as scarring as ever, so I figured that was my cue to step out for a moment. Noticed you were missing too, figured that maybe you had the same idea.”

“Not exactly,” Emma laughs. “I mean, I can’t blame you for avoiding that nightmare. But no, I, uh… I had to take a call.”

“Ah. Yeah, no, you definitely couldn’t manage that inside.”

Oddly enough, Emma feels the urge to open up to Killian, to tell him about Henry. It’s not something she does, typically; after so long searching for a family of her own, she still finds it hard sometimes to share Henry with others, even if it’s just bragging. She’d never keep him from making friends, of course - she’s not that kind of overprotective mother, and besides, his time at daycare has shown that the kid is unstoppably friendly - but in her own life, she keeps him to herself. Minimal talk with her coworkers. No mention at all to strangers, not even the vaguest reference.

But then again, Killian isn’t really a stranger, is he? Even after all this time, Emma’s instincts still say she can trust him. He’s never been anything but kind and generous.

“I’ve, uh… I ‘ve got a son,” she offers, with a weak smile. “Henry. He’ll be four in August. Pretty much the best thing that ever happened to me, you know? He’s just… the best. So, yeah, I came out here because he called to say goodnight.”

“He seems like a lovely boy,” Killian replies, something fond tinging his tone. The familiarity of it alarms Emma, and makes her eyes widen. To his credit, Killian seems to notice it right away, his brows furrowing into a frown. “Oh, now that sounded a bit creepy, didn’t it?” he asks. “It’s much less concerning than anything you’re thinking, Swan, I promise. Mrs. Nolan has an endearing habit of showing off any and all new photos of the lad she gets her hands on when she comes into Granny’s in the morning. A proud grandmother, that one, not that I can blame her if your boy is even half as bright and curious and sweet as she claims.”

That… makes sense. Even if it means Emma maybe needs to invest in muzzles for her entire family at the rate they’re blabbing her business around town. “Sorry if I looked like I was about to clock you,” she admits sheepishly. “It’s just… he’s everything. I worry.”

“I think that’s your prerogative as his mother,” Killian laughs good-naturedly. At least he’s not holding that little freak out against her.

Things fall into silence. Somehow, the quiet is more intimate than any conversation, almost cloyingly so. It keeps both of them from looking at each other, both turning towards the stars instead as P!nk blares distantly in the background. God, the last time Emma actually took a moment to look at the stars was probably in high school.

Killian, of course, is the one to break the quiet. He always was bolder than her. “Is the little lad with his father tonight, then?” He asks, almost too casually. Like he might care more about the answer than he wants to admit. Emma can’t imagine why.

“No,” she replies on a snort. “He wasn’t exactly interested in sticking around, for better or worse.”

“I’m sorry, love,” Killian murmurs. “It’s his loss.”

“It really is. Henry’s a great kid. It was hard at the time, though. I felt like I had found someone who really loved me and wanted me, but that obviously wasn’t the case. Should have known it was too good to be true.”

“You can’t possibly think this is your fault,” Killian prods, concern cooling his voice.

Emma shrugs. “I mean, I know that it was up to him. I didn’t force him out the door or anything. But at the same time… I know I’m difficult to love.” She tries to keep her voice nonchalant, but isn’t entirely convinced that it worked. That’s the problem with admitting one of your deepest fears.

“That’s not true,” Killian chides back gently

“Yeah, well, it sure seems like it a lot of the time. I don’t have much evidence to the contrary.”

The silence this time is almost anticipatory, somehow. Emma finds herself practically holding her breath as she waits for what’s next.

“You know, I had the biggest crush on you back in school,” Killian finally says, almost absentmindedly, still gazing up at the sky instead of at Emma.

“You did not.” It’s not one of her better responses, but it’s her gut response all the same. There’s no way - absolutely no way that Killian Jones, the Killian Jones of Storybrooke High, had a thing for her back when they were both still teenagers.

“Aye, I did,” he chuckles. She’d almost call it fond, if she didn’t know better. Fond is too big a stretch for someone you haven’t seen in ten years.

“I can’t imagine why.”

Killian stares at her blankly for a moment, like the words don’t process. “Oh, don’t say that.”

“Look, I was a mess in high school —”

“You were lovely, even then,” he interrupts. “Maybe that sounds a little cliche, but you were. To me, if no one else. There was so much drama and bullshit going on in high school, but somehow, in the middle of all that, you seemed like you couldn’t give less of a fuck about the whole thing. You were strong, and fierce, and… I guess I had a thing for that kind of attitude back then. Still do, really.”

Honestly, Emma doesn’t even know how to take that - any of that. Especially not that last bit. She’s just not equipped to process it. But at the same time… she owes it to herself to try. Both of them, really, and her past self to boot. He wasn’t the only one with a crush, after all. As much as it terrifies Emma to think that just maybe, after all this time, he might still think she’s lovely and fierce, it’s exhilarating at the same time. With that in mind, Emma takes a deep breath and forces herself to respond.

“Maybe you should have done something about that,” she replies with butterflies swarming in her stomach like she’s still a nervous high schooler.

For what it’s worth, Killian looks a little stunned. “I’m sorry?”

“I kind of had a thing for you too,” Emma confides. “You were kind of a dreamboat, you know.”

“Were?”

“Oh, don’t get cocky on me,” she laughs. “But yeah. If you had asked… I probably would have said yes. Almost definitely, actually.” It’s hard to say that she’d change things, if given the chance; after all, the path that took her here gave her Henry. But she still can’t help but wonder what might have been.

“I’m sorry I didn’t, then.” His voice is almost wistful, longing for something he’ll never grasp. “Out of curiosity, why didn’t you?”

“Oh, you know, the usual. Not brave enough.” Emma waves a hand casually, like it wasn’t a big deal, despite remembering all the emotional turmoil of that same subject back in high school. “Plus, it seemed like you had a thing going with Tink half the time - which, trust me, I know sounds ridiculous now that she’s shown up to this with a girlfriend. Still.”

“Aye, that’d do it,” Killian laughs. “We’ve always been just close friends, though. For what it’s worth.”

“I know.”

The anticipatory silence is back, and this time, Emma knows what it’s waiting for. In any cheesy movie, this would be the moment they kissed, two former somethings reunited under the stars. She’s not ready for that, though - not with the pain of her last relationship’s abrupt dissolution still hanging over her head, just reinforcing all her concerns about abandonment. She’s already used up her bold quota for the day.

Quickly, she breezes past it to a new subject. “So what are you doing back here, anyways? I thought you were off to the Navy, gonna see the world.”

She regrets it as soon as she asks as Killian’s whole body suddenly seizes with tension.

“I was,” he says carefully. “I did. I was going to. But for better or worse, the Navy doesn’t have much use for a man with one hand.”

“I’m sorry. That was a stupid thing to ask, wasn’t it?”

Killian sighs. “No, it’s fine. I know you didn’t mean any harm by it, it’s still just a subject I’m a bit touchy about.”

“I’m sure,” Emma murmurs. It’s hard to toe the line between wanting to seem sympathetic and coming off as prying.

“Before you ask, it was a car accident. Not at all related to my service,” Killian explains, seemingly seeing the hesitance in her eyes. “Someone ran a red light, and that was that. So I took advantage of servicemember scholarships to go to school instead, and six years later, here I am. It’s hard to claim that it’s all worked out for the best, considering I’m missing a pretty crucial limb, but I’m happy with where I’m at.”

“I was just thinking earlier, I bet you’re a great teacher,” Emma contributes. “One of the fun ones, but who still knows what they’re talking about and holds the kids accountable.”

It turns out, Killian still scratches at his ear when he’s embarrassed, just the way he did in high school. The red flush is the same too. “I do try. And what about you? Bail bonds, you said?”

“Yeah. I mean, it’s not a dream job by any stretch, but they were hiring when my ex and I first moved to Boston, close enough for me to walk to work, and I’ve kind of just stayed. It’s something I’m good at, as it turns out - a little bit of research and a little undercover work and a lot of being willing to chase down people doing their best to get away from you. It’s a living. The money can be good, if sporadic,” she shrugs. “One of the biggest appeals of the deputy position here, though, besides coming home, is the steady paycheck. I don’t know. Moving is hard, but it’s very tempting.”

“Well, I’m sure you’d be a brilliant deputy,” Killian smiles. As Emma stares back, the anticipatory silence falls again, but this time, she’s almost ready for it. With a few more seconds, maybe she could make a move, and it wouldn’t truly hurt to shift an inch closer…

“Emma, there you are!” Mary Margaret’s voice calls, shattering the intimacy of the moment. “David’s about to do his speech, and you wouldn’t want to —” she cuts off abruptly when she sees Emma’s not alone. “Oh, hello, Killian! I’m sorry, am I interrupting something?”

“No, not at all,” Killian smiles. Meanwhile, Emma wants to scream Yes! back at her friend. Timing has never been her strong suit. “Go ahead and get David all set up, we’ll be right behind you.”

As Mary Margaret scurries off again, Killian hoists himself to his feet before offering Emma a hand of assistance - one she’s only too happy to accept. God, his hand is just the perfect balance between soft and callused, the hands of a man who might not work with his hands (so to speak) every day, but might have a hobby where he gets to. She’ll have to ask. “Well, Swan? Shall we go see what our erstwhile class president has to say?”

“Lead on.” It’s probably best that they were interrupted, anyways. This is just one night, after all.

———

Poor David - he’s never been much for public speaking. Emma will never understand why they needed a speech at this thing in the first place, let alone why Mary Margaret couldn’t have just made the remarks instead as the organizer of this whole thing.

Still, somehow they make it through, even if David’s practically swimming in sweat by the time he exits the stage. That suit jacket is definitely going to need a trip to the cleaner. Emma manages to park herself close to the dessert table while the whole spectacle unfolds, sampling all the little bars and cookies and cupcakes while everyone else is distracted. She’ll have to thank David for that later.

She’s just reaching for a cookies and cream cupcake - she can’t quite remember who opened a bakery, but God bless them for it - when Killian appears by her side again.

“Might I steal you for a dance, Swan?” he asks. “I have it on good authority that they’re about to play a slow song.”

Emma laughs. “You bribed Mary Margaret, didn’t you?”

“Oh, shamelessly. So what do you say, Swan?” He offers his hand.

Maybe she should think about it more. Maybe it’s committing to something she’ll regret later. But for now, Emma takes his hand without hesitation. “Yeah. Let’s dance.”

There’s a little section of floor left open as if just for them, allowing Killian to lead her around to face him. Emma can’t help but chuckle as they come together, twining arms around necks and waists like any respectable high schooler faced with a slow song. And what a song it is: three beat time, Paramore. The soundtrack of her most fanciful imaginings way back when. Perfect.

“What are you giggling about?” he teases. If she didn’t know any better, she’d almost say there’s affection in his voice.

“Nothing. It’s kind of stupid.” Still, Killian watches until she continues, until she caves. “It’s just… I used to dream about this, you know? My own personal fantasy - and not like that, don’t even start with the eyebrows,” she warns. “But… even if I tried not to show it and even if I believed that love wasn’t in the cards for me, there was still a little bit of me that wanted. I’d imagine a moment, just like this. It’d be like a movie. We’d be dancing at prom or winter formal or something, and the whole world would melt away. I’m pretty sure I choreographed the camera movements in my head. And then, at the end… there’d be a moment. We’d kiss. And it would be my first kiss, and it’d be perfect.” Emma laughs just hearing herself. It’s almost disgustingly romantic, really. “Pretty silly, honestly.”

“I don’t know, Swan. I think it sounds nice.” He takes a moment to carefully twirl her underneath his arm, followed by a few moments of silence once they’ve floated back together again. “We still could, you know. Make that fantasy happen.”

Emma snorts a laugh, even as a huge part of her heart yearns, practically pulling towards his. “I’ve got a kid, Jones. Trust me, the first kiss boat has long since sailed.”

Killian smiles down at her with those calm, kind eyes she fell in love with a decade ago. There’s no denying that she’s still held in their thrall all these years later. “Maybe so. But we could still have our first kiss.”

The words hang in the air between them, full of hope. Still, Emma knows he won’t make a move unless she’s right there with him. “I’m not that girl anymore,” she tells him - warns him, against everything her heart is screaming. “I’ve changed a lot since high school.”

“I know.”

“And even with that… you’re sure?”

“I’ve never been more sure. We’ve both changed, but all I know is that you’ve become even more lovely and enchanting in that time, and I’d be honored to kiss you to the greatest hits of 2009 and 2010.”

“I think Mary Margaret included some stuff from before then too,” Emma replies, stalling for time.

“Ah, well, that’s almost a dealbreaker, but I suppose I’d be willing to kiss you to the greatest hits pre-2009 as well,” Killian teases. “If you want me to, that is.”

And that’s the question, isn’t it? It’s a thin, fragile line between wanting something so badly and being afraid to just reach out and take it, especially when you’re given the chance to do just that.

“I’m afraid,” she finally admits. “I can’t tell you that I’m moving home. I don’t even know that. And what if I don’t? Is this just a fling from the old days? Some belated wish fulfillment? A one time thing?”

“I hope not,” Killian replies calmly. “ I hope this is more than just two people giving into an old crush and never seeing each other again. I know that I wanted you then, and I wanted you for a long time after we went our separate ways, and I wanted you again when I spotted you from across the room tonight. Do I hope that you’ll decide to move back to Storybrooke? Yes. But only if it makes you happy. And if you decide that you’ll be happier in Boston, that you and your boy belong there… well, I suppose I’ll have to start looking for date night spots in the city, because I want more than just this one kiss, and I’m willing to fight for it. But that all depends on whether you want that too.” As her silence persists, Emma searching for her courage and her words, Killian’s face drops into a twist of uncertainty. It’s not a look Emma’s used to seeing on his face, and she doesn’t particularly like it. At all. “Would you like that?” he asks softly, the uncertainty even coloring his tone.

“Yes.” Emma only whispers it, but stares into his eyes intently all the while. Hopefully that can convince him of her sincerity, even if her words can’t. When she tries to speak up, it only comes out in a jumble anyways. “I… yeah. Yeah, I would.”

His answering smile seems to spread from the very center of him, blooming across his face slowly like the most delicate flower. Maybe a water lily; that seems fitting, somehow. “In that case…” His hand travels from where it had rested on her waist to cup her cheek instead. “May I?”

Emma barely takes the time to nod before she’s pressing up that last half inch in her heels to capture his lips within her own.

The thing about imagining what a kiss might be like for so long is that you’ve run it so many times in your head at a certain point that the real thing is never going to live up to everything you imagined. What’s even better is that this kiss, this particular realization of all that longing? It doesn’t need to live up to anything, instead a perfect expression all its own. That little romantic voice still hiding deep inside Emma wants to call it a fairytale dream come true; the rest of her is more than happy to just savor the moment as it shifts from teasing, exploratory brushes of her lips against his to something deeper and more determined. Her arms wind fully around his neck and his more tightly around her waist, leaving them twined together as tongues begin to seek and probe and stroke. For a moment, it’s like they’re the only two people in the world - like some kind of teenaged dream, if she can ever be forgiven for such an awful, topical joke.

When they finally separate, it’s only by scant inches, bodies still pressed together and foreheads touching with only space left for their mouths to gasp for air.

“That was…” she starts, unsure frankly how to finish. There’s still not nearly enough oxygen reaching her brain to properly think, her body and all its functions far more interested in diving back in for more than any stupid thinking. Or talking. Or… anything, really.

Thankfully, Killian is there to pick up where her words fail. “Bloody earth-shattering.” Even if Emma can’t see his goofy grin with her eyes still closed, she can still hear it in his voice.

“Yeah. Yeah, it definitely was.” Somewhere in the middle of their dance floor makeout, the song has changed to something more upbeat - a dance tune that Emma doesn’t recognize, but knows Mary Margaret would insist was absolutely definitely played at every school dance when they were in high school. She doesn’t really want this to end - doesn’t want it at all, in fact - but it’s probably about time they stopped standing in the middle of the floor. With great reluctance, she unwinds her arms from his neck and steps back, but makes sure to meet Killian’s gaze with a smirk. “So. You mentioned a date? Where are you taking me?”

Killian laughs before moving to dig in an inner jacket pocket, ultimately producing a flask. “Well, for the moment, what do you say to a drink? I think I see some glasses of punch over there just waiting to be spiked.”

“It’s a date.”

And if she has anything to say about it, the first of many.

#cs ff #captain swan #csseptembersunshine #my writing #The Song Remains the Same #high school reunions #mutual pining #and a blatant excuse for slow dancing to paramore

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thebachelordiaries · 5 years ago

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Top 10 Bachelor Moments Of The Decade

The Bachelor first aired in 2002. Feel old yet?

As another decade comes as goes, there have been very few lasting relationships to come out of The Bachelor franchise, but one stable face has always been there for us over the years...and dare I say that face has gotten better looking with time?

Do you know the “beginning of the decade/end of decade challenge”? I just found a clear winner:

They don’t call him Daddy Chris Harrison for nothin’

As a self-proclaimed Bachelor expert whose opinion is always right, I wanted to share my top 10 Bachelor moments of the decade. (Disclaimer: the earliest season I watched this decade was Sean Lowe’s season. I somewhat know what happens on Emily Maynard and Ben Flajnik Courtney Robertson’s seasons, but outside of that, I don’t know much.)

Here are my top moments in descending order:

10. Tyler C.

No particular moment comes to mind. I just wanted to thank him for existing. He’s also the show’s most popular contestant ever and dated A-list supermodel GiGi Hadid. For those reasons, Tyler deserves a spot in Bachelor Hall of Fame.

9. Carly and Evan

A quick excerpt from a former blog post of mine:

They are BY FAR the cutest couple to come out of this show. And if you’re ever desperate to get someone to like you back, maybe try faking a sickness. You might end up marrying them and having two kids together. I’m not feeling so hot all of a sudden....

8. Des and Brooks break up

I’m happy that Des and Chris are still together to this day, but I still have ABSOLUTELY NO IDEA how they moved past Des telling Brooks he was the one and that she didn’t want to be with anyone else. And yet a week later, she got engaged. Anyway, it’s been several years, but Brooks could still get it. He’s my No. 1 Bachelor Nation crush.

7. Arie dumping Becca

“Dumping” doesn’t do this traumatic moment justice. Arie publicly crushed Becca’s soul only after he had Lauren lined up ready to be with him. It was arguably the most cringeworthy scene in Bachelor history. I will never get those 20 minutes back. And for that, the universe cursed Arie with an ugly baby. I said what I said.

6. Kaitlyn doing it with Nick, but choosing Shawn

This (^) is the moment Kaitlyn asked Nick if he wanted to go “hang out” in her hotel room after their date. This (^) is also Nick’s reaction. TO THIS DAY, I have absolutely no idea what she was thinking. She knew, he knew, we all knew she was going to pick Shawn. I actually don’t think she was thinking at all. I never understood how Shawn moved past this, but evidently he didn’t since they broke up three years later. And now Kaitlyn’s with Jason and they own two golden retrievers.

5. Colton’s fence jump

I don’t think anything shook up Bachelor nation more than Colton’s fence jump. We counted down the days, we changed our Twitter names, we made countless memes. Sure, I’ve been shocked by other Bachelor events (the windmill, Blake porking countless Bachelor alum), but Colton jumping a massive fence and disappearing into the Portugese wilderness because Cassie dumped him just hits different.

4. Same sex couple representation on Bachelor In Paradise

This is apparently controversial to some people because Kristian was not in the franchise prior to going on the show, but these people didn’t seem to have that problem when Ashley I’s sister went on Bachelor In Paradise. Considering the fact The Bachelor is a heterosexual show, how do they expect a queer relationship to appear out of thin air? Just say you’re homophobic and go. Phew, this got me heated. Even though Kristian and Demi didn’t work out, I am thankful they brought some representation to this show. It was long needed.

3. A Bachelorette finally going on Dancing With The Stars...and winning

Mike Fleiss, the creator of the show, was too busy being in a legal battle for allegedly beating up his wife to intervene with this. If he had it his way, no woman lead would ever go on DWTS. There has never been a female Bachelor lead go on Dancing With The Stars before. Meanwhile, the men have had Sean Lowe, Chris Soules, Nick Viall....even Grocery Store Joe. And the FIRST time we get a woman on, she wins. Another reason why women are superior to men. (P.S. Melissa Rycroft doesn’t count because she wasn’t a lead. And she won All Stars years later, further proving my point that women are superior.)

1. The First Black Bachelorette

I freaking love Rachel Lindsay. And if you don’t love her, please know that you are just projecting your insecurities onto her. Rachel is smart, strong, confident, beautiful and educated. No other lead has been this well-rounded, but that’s how you have to be if you’re going to be the first black Bachelorette. Meanwhile, Ben Higgins was a 26-year-old salesman who led his season with puppydog eyes. Another reason Rachel was the best: she married Bryan about two years after they got engaged. Mrs. Abosolo doesn’t like to waste her time. And for that, I stan.

What were some of your Bachelor moments of the decade?

#the bachelor #the bachelorette #dancing with the stars #tyler cameron #photo credit: ABC #hannah brown #colton underwood #fence jump #chris harrison #rachel lindsay #kaitlyn bristowe #nick viall

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doeeyeddarlingxo · 5 years ago

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Myriad Misadventures - Chapter 60

The Myriad Misadventures of a Midgardian Queen-In-Training - Chapter 60

AO3 | Previous | Next

Word Count: 1590

Pairing: Loki/Reader

Rating: T

Taglist (lmk if you want to be added!): @lokis-girl-in-mischief

Chapter 60

He doesn’t join you for dinner that night. You try not to let it get to you. He’s just shocked. You took it weirdly yourself when he said he loved you, and then you turned around an hour later and said it back! So this doesn’t mean anything. This isn’t a setback. It isn’t.

Right?

Rosa clearly wants to ask how the conversation went. She tries to communicate with her eyes, wary of exposing you in front of Lady Amara—or, for that matter, in front of Rhea. You appreciate that. It’s surprisingly discreet of her, for sure. Until after dinner, when she grabs you by the wrist and, somewhat less discreetly, drags you to the Ladies’ Parlor. Huh. Who would have thought that one day I’d be keeping secrets from Rhea? And with Rosa, of all people?“

Well?” she demands as soon as the door has closed behind you. “What happened?”

You rub your wrist, wincing. “He was...kind of weird, about it, actually.”

“What do you mean, weird? What did he say?”

“He didn’t. That’s the weird part.”

She furrows her brows, looking at you with familiar exasperation, though the expression holds a touch more affection than normal. “What?”

You plop down on the couch, wringing your hands. The conversation seems more and more cringeworthy each time you relive it in your head. “He said he had some matters to attend to and excused himself.”

“And?” You shrug. She shakes her head, as though she can’t believe her ears. “That’s it?”

“That’s it! And I don’t know—”

“Hello, ladies.”

Your mouth clamps shut at the sound of the new voice. Rosa takes a step away from you, affecting her normal expression of disdain. “Lady Rhea.”

She nods politely, but with barely restrained excitement dancing in her grin. Which, for Rhea, is the equivalent of jumping up and down while clapping.

Rosa notices, too. “You seem...bouncy.”

“We kissed!”

You freeze, moving only to blink.

“Excuse me?” Based on Rosa’s tone, she’s going through a similar mental process as you.

“I didn’t want to tell you all earlier because...well, I was embarrassed, I suppose. And I didn’t want to upset you, Lady (Y/N), but…” She actually clasps her hands together, then. Disney-Princess style. “It happened again today.” Again? “And I think he’s planning to propose tomorrow.”

No. No. No.

You rack your brain for evidence against this—because this is truly out of nowhere. Rhea has been so mature, so quiet, so unassuming this entire time. You’d assumed that, if Loki were to choose her, it would be for those qualities. You’d never assumed that he’d kiss her. You’d assumed—well, you’d hoped, anyway—he wouldn’t kiss anyone besides you.

Just this afternoon, he’d told you he loved you. Loves you, because there is no way he changed his mind that quickly.

Right?

You remember him dismissing you today to speak with her; his uncomfortable reaction when you told him you loved him back. And Rhea herself...you realize, now, that day you’d conversed with the three other women, she never outright denied being involved with Loki. She hadn’t spoken up at all. So it’s not out of the realm of possibility that she’s telling the truth.

“Tomorrow?” you squeak out. It’s the only thing you can think to say, amidst the word salad being tossed around your brain.

“At the anniversary ball.” She practically swoons on the couch next to you, one hand pressed to her heart. This is absolutely surreal —who knew all it would take was one kiss (if it really was only one kiss) to turn Rhea from stoic to lovesick? “Three years since we arrived here. Can you believe it?”

“I—”

“Program’s starting in a minute,” Rosa says, cutting you off. She sits on the other side of you, giving you the widest what-the-hell eyes you’ve ever seen. You can’t say you don’t relate to the sentiment. Because truly, what the actual hell?

“Welcome back to Good Evening, America! Last week, viewers across the globe held their breath at the hint of romance between His Majesty and Lady (Y/N), who had previously been considered the underdog of the competition. We return, however, to a touch more intrigue, as our camera crew captured this footage just earlier today.”

You see Rhea’s back as she approaches his office. The doors opening to reveal you and Loki, too many feet apart, trying too hard not to look at each other.

“Oh. Am I interrupting something? My apologies, Your Grace.”

“Not at all, Lady Rhea. Lady (Y/N) was just on her way out.”

Another thing you hadn’t noticed—the camera crews followed you out. They stopped once you’d rounded a corner, but it doesn’t take a genius to see that you were obviously in distress. Your face burns with humiliation. Somehow, having to watch this in such intimate company makes it a thousand times worse.

The only thing more terrible is that, because the camera crew has followed you out, you have no insight into what conversation they two of them had after you left. Though now, with Rhea’s confession and Loki’s awkwardness, it’s not difficult to piece it together. So. He wants to marry Rhea.

Looks like I was too late after all.

You were also wrong—the cameras did return to Loki’s office, just in time to catch him and Rhea embracing. Not a particularly steamy embrace, at least.

Until she leans up and kisses him smack on the lips.

You don’t get a chance to gauge the look on his face. It’s a short kiss, because she notices the cameras, and pulls away with a jolt. Laughing, she runs to the door, closing it in the camera crews’ faces.

“Well, Ashley—looks like Lady (Y/N) isn’t the only one who’s been giving some lip service in this last leg of the competition.”

After a fair amount of fluff covering everything from speculations on where Rosa has been during all of this, to what exactly it was that caused you to run down the hall crying, the segment wraps up with this:

“Finally, we close tonight with what might be the single most exciting piece of news to hit this screen yet. Just a few hours ago, we received an official announcement from His Majesty himself that, after three years of waiting, he has finally made his decision on which of the three remaining contestants to marry.”

“That’s three years on the dot, Ricky. Tomorrow is the three-year anniversary of the day our contestants arrived at the palace. We already knew the occasion would be celebrated with the most lavish ball seen to date, but now it seems that the event will be extended to an engagement celebration, as well.”

“Be sure to tune in tomorrow for our live coverage of the final reveal. Until then, this is Ashley Marino and Richard Morgenstern, signing off.”

All three of you are silent.

Rhea is the first to rise. “Well, I suppose we should all turn in for the night?” Her voice is unbearably chipper. All you can muster is a small nod, still processing all of the new information presented to you in the last hour. “Good night, then.”

The door closes behind her, and you hear the click of her kitten heels down the hall. Five or ten seconds pass before the tears begin to stream down your cheeks, and another fifteen before you feel the couch cushions shift as Rosa sits down next to you.

“Well,” she says. “Shit.”

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

You find yourself wanting to confront him. Which is ridiculous, because you’ve already gone running to him once today, and look at how badly that turned out.

But, as luck would have it, you don’t have to go running after him. Because when you finally exit the Ladies’ Parlor to go to bed—long after Rosa has taken time to comfort you, then decide giving you space might be the best move, after all—he’s right there outside.

Waiting.

You thank God you stayed in the Ladies’ Parlor long enough for the redness in your nose and eyes to subside. You don’t know why he’d bother waiting to see you after...well, after everything that’s happened today, but if he’s determined to talk to you then you might as well keep him from seeing the extent of your devastation.

You clasp your hands low in front of your, conjuring up as neutral an expression as you can manage. “Hi.”

“The weekly program ended a while ago, no?”

You’re taken aback. You’d expected...not an apology, exactly. An explanation, maybe. Some confession of the fact that he’s clearly not been as invested in you as he seemed, if he could move on this quickly.

And yeah, let’s face it—you want an apology.

“Yeah, about an hour ago.” Might as well move on. “Did you watch it?”

“No. Did you?” You nod. “And you saw the, er. announcement.” Another nod. “Well? Are you happy?”

There’s a smile dancing around the corners of his mouth, and you realize that he doesn’t understand how crushing this is for you. And how could he? After you toyed with him so? Changed your mind so many times? Of course he must think your confession of love was but another passing phase. Of course he must think you’re grateful to be released, to be sent home with no strings attached.

Of course he must be happy to be taking Rhea—beautiful, brilliant, poised Rhea—as his queen.

Most shattering of all, though, is the realization that you aren’t angry. You can’t be. Your traitorous heart is seemingly incapable of finding rage in his joy.

So you bite your cheek. You forbid any tears from even beginning to well up. You look him in the eyes and smile as genuinely as you can.

“Yes,” you say. “I am.”

#loki #loki x reader #loki/reader #loki/you #loki x you #reader-insert #reader insert #loki fanfiction #loki fanfic #fanfiction #fanfic #doeeyeddarling #myriad misadventures #fish fork

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justmaxirons · 6 years ago

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Under the Stars || Max & Ashley

Location/Date: Royal Greenwich Observatory, London | August 12th, 2018 Synopsis: They had planned a very special kind of stargazing event with a wedding on top @rylbenzo (with mentions of @royalmiller, @rylhiddleston)

“Wow.” Over the past year, he had seen Ashley in quite a few states of dress and undress, but none of these moments had prepared him for this one, where she appeared in the door, Sienna not far behind, looking more wonderful and stunning than he could have imagined. His gaze fixed on her, he hardly noticed everyone turning to look her way, too, until he was nudged in the ribs by his brother with a muttered “what are you up to now?”. His nudge was enough to get him out of his stupor and move towards his fiancée - soon to be wife - and take her hand. “You look absolutely incredible,” he muttered, as he bent his head and kissed her cheek, then took her hand to pull her into the room. With them standing side by side now, facing their families, there wouldn’t be a better time to announce to them what they had truly been invited for. Max could see it in their eyes that the realisation was dawning that something other than stargazing and spending the evening in good company. Catching his mother’s inquisitive gaze, he gave her a little smile, then turned back to Ashley, and nudged her gently. “Are you ready?” he asked her quietly - they would have to say something, before this moment became awkward.

---

It was funny how even after just a couple of months of planning, this had felt like it had been a lifetime. In the end they had chosen to invite their families, and just happened to do so at the last minute and leave out the exact details of what was going on. As much as Ashley didn’t want to admit it, she was nervous. This was one of the moments that she’d dreamed as a little girl, and it was surreal to think that it was actually happening. Sienna had helped her pick out her dress, and find someone trusted to do her hair and make-up for the day. She was happy with her final look… And by the way that her soon to be husband was staring back at her, he was too. “Hi,” She greeted with a smile. “You don’t look so bad yourself,” She gave him a once over, and was amused at the fact he had chosen not to wear a tie for the occasion. “No tie?” They’d decided that they were going to walk out together for this and explain themselves before proceeding with the ceremony. Ashley squeezed his hand gently as they walked through together. “As I’ll ever be,” She had to stop herself from laughing at the room of faces in front of them trying to figure out what was going on. “So… You’re probably all wondering why we invited you here and what’s going on.” She turned to look up at Max, encouraging for him to step in too.

---

Max had to chuckle at her comment. “Why, thank you. The missing tie is just for you, because I know you’d hate me playing around with it, trying to loosen it.” She had berated him more times than he could count, and rightly so, because he disliked them and preferred not to wear one, if possible. Her little squeeze calmed his fraying nerves, and made him feel more at ease, especially with this many inquisitive stares on them, waiting for them to finally reveal the real reason they had been invited. “Here goes nothing.” He could see the realisation dawn on his parents’ faces, the dress’ colour was the largest hint to what they were getting up to, and his mother’s surprise and happiness shining through her smile was one of the biggest encouragements, besides having Ashley by his side, to speak up. “The invitation was pretty obvious, and we are going to keep up the family tradition of stargazing. But we have invited you for another reason, tonight.” For a moment, he bit his lip, then he continued with a small smile tugging at his lips. Saying these words out loud to his family felt a lot more freeing and exciting than he had imagined it would. “We’ve brought you out to celebrate with us, because a month and a few days ago we decided to get married, and it wouldn’t be the same without all of you around.” Turning away from them, he smiled down at Ashley.

---

All of a sudden, with Max by her side, Ashley felt a lot less nervous and far more at ease. She had to laugh, mainly because it was true and knew that he had never had any intention to wear a tie for their wedding in the first place. “Are you sure you aren’t just using me as an excuse for not wearing one?” She asked him with a chuckle, before leaning in and pecking his cheek. “I find the open collar more attractive.” The first she had noticed of Sam was the sniggering sound behind them, and a comment about how they should both get a room. He couldn’t even let them have it on their wedding day. She was pretty sure that just by taking a look at the way they were dressed, and even the ring placed on her finger would be a give away that this wasn’t just a regular stargazing event. She chose to focus on Max rather than the crowd of curious faces in front of them, and nodded her head with every word. This was the most fitting way - watching the Perseid Meteor Shower had always been an Irons family tradition, and now she was becoming a family member. “We’re decided to keep it to ourselves for a little while and really wanted this to be a surprise and something special.” Flashing a grin, she showed her ring and for the first time had a look at the faces in front of them.

---

“Hmm, perhaps, but it’s a good excuse. You like it.” Her words had him chuckle, her next comment and kiss had him blush just a little bit, which of course his brother would notice. He was right, in some way, that they should just get on and not leave people waiting. Murmurs erupted in the room, when they addressed their families; surprise, excitement and dared he say happiness were etched on the faces of their loved ones. Max didn’t quite dare look at Ashley’s father, but instead kept his eyes on his own family, and he could see his dad trying very unsuccessfully to hide his amusement. Perhaps he had known all along, he thought, when they had arrived in London ahead of the “The Wife” premiere, because he had dropped a comment, when they had been talking the other day, which had stuck to his mind. “It seems that it’s time to make new wishes this year.” And he was to be right about that. Ashley’s comment was followed by their families closing in, everyone talking over the other, wanting to ask a million questions, congratulate or see the ring, and it was then, finally, that he caught Jeff’s eye. “I’m glad to see that you meant it, when you said she means the world to you.” Max smiled at him, he remembered that comment all too well - it still rang true, although just “world” might not be very accurate anymore. “I don’t think that feeling will ever cease, if only it’s grown over the past year.” They had had their differences, and didn’t see eye to eye on some things, but he could see her father being really happy for his daughter, and that really counted for something. “Good - and thank you for including us, I don’t think that Shan’ would’ve survived being excluded from this. Or I.”

---

The reactions seemed to be mixed, but all had an underlying look of happiness. Sinead was looking up at them with the biggest of smiles and with almost tears in her eyes. Jeremy seemed to be terribly amused over something, that she would need to ask Max about later. Shannon looked as if she was about to jump out of her seat and run up to give them both a hug. And Jeff? She was sure that he was smiling too. It seemed to be a rush from everybody there to get up, congratulate them, hug them, see the ring. It came to no surprise that between them, Sinead and Shannon managed to drag her away from Max were doing the most of the gushing over everything. Thankfully, Jeremy swooped in and stole her away with a knowing laugh. “You look lovely, darling… Just in case Max hasn’t told you already.” She could feel herself begin to blush. The only person that she was yet to be congratulated by was her Dad, and sweeping the room in search of him she caught sight of him and Max engaged in conversation. By the time she made her way over to Max, her Dad had slipped away in front of her. “I think our Mom’s are happy, they just about crushed me over there.” She laughed softly and looked up at him. “What was that? Is he happy for us? He looks as if he might be smiling…”

---

For such a small group there was a flurry of activity, and he was patted on the shoulder, congratulated and talked to - and taken further and further away from Ashley until their hands weren’t able to touch anymore. Of course, everyone wanted to talk to his fiancée and it was especially funny to him, when his dad whisked her away with a smile that could rival his own. “Seems like your family love my daughter as much as we do.” Jeff’s voice brought him out of his thoughts, and Max turned to him and smiled. “They met under amusing circumstances - and she gave as good as she got from him, and didn’t back down. Does that sound familiar to you?” Her father chuckled and shook his head. “That’s my daughter - of course she would, even in front of someone as intimidating as your father. And yes, I find your father intimidating, I admit it.” “He’s a big, old, grumpy bear, but he adores her, my mum does, too.” Max could hardly tear his eyes from Ashley, but turned to look at Jeff and was met with a smile, which widened, when his daughter approached. With a nod, he made himself scarce, just so Max and Ashley could get a moment to themselves. “That went well,” he chuckled, and leaned in to kiss her. “He is, I think, mostly because he sees you so happy. And I get it - your happiness is what counts, ours, too.” Gently, he took her hand and entwined their fingers. “The registrar will arrive soon - any last thoughts, before we marry?”

---

The curiosity over what had happened in her short absence was starting to eat her away. After months, had Max somehow finally just gotten her father’s blessing? With the way that Jeff had gone away with a grin on his lips, and was now embracing Sinead and Jeremy, it surely looked that way. “It did? I really thought he was coming over to kill you.” Knowing that they were getting along, and that everyone was happy made her feel a sense of relief. Ashley closed his eyes when he leaned in to kiss her, and took a moment to step back and taste him. “I couldn’t be happier than what I am right now, with you.” She hoped that it was obvious to everyone in the room too. Max knew that by now but it felt right to remind him, especially on a day like this. The past year had been the best of her life, and things were about to become even more amazing. She looked down at their intertwined fingers with a smile, before gazing up at him. “Any last thoughts? That sounds intense,” She laughed and shook her head. “I love you, how is that for a last thought?” She leaned in to steal another kiss, there was something about today that made her feel more in love with him than ever. “How about you? Are you feeling nervous? If you’re having cold feet, this is your chance to run.” She teased.

---

“You and me both,” Max laughed at her, and nuzzled her cheek. “But he didn’t - not sure we’ll ever be the best of friends, but he surely knows that we love each other, and that my family adores you. You’re one of us, and we’re a little bit one of you, too.” As different as they were, his family and hers were meshing quite well, and it was because of them that they did - they were the reason two families had come together, especially tonight, and now that he was seeing them being so joyous, so excited for the evening, he finally felt relief wash over him. “I love you,” he blurted out, adding a grin to his words, “I’m excited and nervous and just a little afraid to stumble over my words.” His hand tugged on hers, making her step closer. “I like that as a last thought. And a first thought. And a thought in-between.” Her kiss both raised his heartbeat and calmed him down in a way he hadn’t expected to. Max drew away, but only to press his lips against hers once more, a smile firmly on them. “Running? Hm. You know how much I hate to run in Oxfords. I guess you are stuck with me, luv’.” One last kiss and he stepped back, or he would never want to leave her side again. While they had been wrapped up in each other, the registrar had arrived, and Max and Ashley greeted him, before he went to set up. Since this was going to be a civil wedding, the procedure would be rather short and sweet - which was something they both were grateful for. Looking up at her from across the room, where he stood with Tom by his side, he smiled at her. “Would everyone please take their seats?” the registrar asked - Max could see Jeff go up to his daughter instead. Apparently, a little tradition had to be upheld, after all.

---

Her Dad’s reaction was the one Ashley had been most worried about. Now that she knew that everything was okay on that front and that he approved, she felt as a weight had been lifted off her shoulders. This was their day, and everyone in the room shared the same love for both Max and Ashley. “I’m just glad that he can see it, and that I don’t need to worry about going on our honeymoon alone.” She couldn’t stop herself from teasing about it. She nodded her head at the second part of his words, this was what it was all about, becoming as one. “I think despite all the differences, we all work quite well together.” She nodded to their parents whom were engrossed in conversation with each other. Max’s words brought her attention back to him and made her smile, those three words made her feel warm inside. “I promise not to laugh if you do. Just keep your eyes on me, and you’ll be fine.” She found his nervousness adorable, especially as she was surprisingly relaxed about it all. “It’s why we’re here, isn’t it?” The answer was a definitive yes. As he kissed her, she smiled into his lips. “And I hate running in heels, so I guess we’re stuck with each other.” She teased and chuckled. Out of the corner of her eye she caught sight of the registrar arriving and squeezed at his hand, silently asking if he was ready for this and after a brief greeting it was time to prepare for the ceremony. She originally wanted to walk the aisle herself, but she wasn’t about to take the moment away from her father and looked up at him with a smile as he took her arm. “I’m so happy for you, baby. You’ve found someone who thinks the world and more of you.”

---

“When am I not fine, when I’m looking at you?” he asked cheekily, adding a mockingly pensive, “unless I’m stumbling over my own two feet, because I’m not looking where I’m going…” Max raised his hand and pushed some of her hair behind her ear tenderly, then cupped her cheek. “We could still elope from eloping… but I’d rather like to tell you that I’ll be yours, whether you steal my blankets and take over my space or not.” When they had talked to the registrar, they had decided against long-winded vows, rather opting to keep the ceremony short and sweet. Their little back and forth was so familiar, so calming that it was difficult to stop, but they did, so they could finally commence their little ceremony under the stars. The sun was just going down and painted the room in a wonderfully warm light, and seeing Ashley standing next to her dad and talking to him made him smile. His eyes never left hers, as she approached, and even when they stopped in front of him, he couldn’t tear his gaze away from her, not until Tom’s rather enthusiastic nudge. Nodding at Jeff with a smile, he took her hand and kept it in his, as she took her place next to him and Sienna. With their friends as their witnesses the ceremony could finally begin, and it did with the most British thing the registrar could say. “Let’s hope the weather holds up and you will get to celebrate under the stars tonight.” Max gave Ashley a look and smile, the stars were something really special for them. “And now, I’d like to ask once, whether there is anyone objecting against this matrimony.” They could quite literally hear crickets, whose sound came loudly through the open windows, and he breathed out a sigh of relief, when the registrar continued to explain what was going to happen. “Ashley, Max - shall we begin?”

---

His mischievous comment earned him a playful glare in return before laughing at the second part. “That’s only happened once or twice when you’ve been too busy looking down my dress.” She quipped back, there was something amusing, and yet extremely relaxing about how they could be in their back and forth ways and not be taking things too seriously, even in a moment like this. Ashley didn’t know what other couples spoke about before getting married, but she was almost certain it wasn’t like this. “And I promise to always steal those blankets and invade your space just so you can stick to that very promise.” She stuck her tongue out at him. They had settled on keeping things short and sweet, which suited perfectly well. She didn’t need proper vows to know that they were going to live happily and be together for the rest of their lives. “You look beautiful. I’m pretty sure I looked at your mother the same way as Max is looking at you on our wedding day.” Everybody rose up from their seats and they started to walk down what there was of an aisle. All she could focus on was Max and the way he was looking at her, because in her eyes, they were the only people in the room. “Thanks Dad,” she said softly as they stopped at the front and he gave her over to Max. “You look after her for me now, Max.” With a smile and a kiss to her cheek, he went to go and sit down. “Hi you,” She said quietly enough for Max to hear and brushed her thumb over the back of his hand. She had to bite back a chuckle at the registrar’s words and resisted mouthing a “seriously?” The silence to the objections was a comfort. The registrar briefly explained the proceedings, and how this was only going to be a short service but they would still be leaving as husband and wife. “Are you ready?” She murmured into his ear before nodding her head. She was as ready as she would ever be.

---

Their bickering made him feel at ease in ways he probably couldn’t explain to anyone, it was familiar, it was comforting - and it was something they did whenever they could. Even without trying, they could quip at each other, and then change topic all of a sudden, or break down with laughter and stop all together. “It is quite a sight, I can’t help it,” he shot back playfully, and his grin only grew in size, when he heard her reply to his earlier words. “Well, we should have decided on doing vows, after all. They’re spot on.” While he had something in mind, he wasn’t sure whether he wouldn’t just tell her later on, when they had a moment to breathe. Seeing her next to her father, and the rest of their families to either side made him happy that they had decided to include them in their wedding instead of “eloping properly”, as they had talked about beforehand. While none of them had been involved, and he knew that they would hear about that sooner rather than later, they seemed happy and excited to be able to witness this moment, and that was all that counted. Max looked at Jeff and nodded, “I will. And she’ll look after me, because I surely need it more than she does.” He wasn’t sure whether her father understood his reference, but he knew Ashley would, because out of the two of them, he was the one with his head in the clouds, forgetting about anything else most of the time. At the registrar’s first words, the British part of the family, Sienna and Tom included, had to chuckle - but then the room fell silent and Max smiled down at Ashley, mouthing back a cheeky, “seriously”. The registrar, pleased with the silence, caught their attention once more. “The purpose of marriage is that you always love, care for and support each other through both the joys and sorrows of life, “ he began, and continued through well rehearsed words until he finished with, “Marriage in this country is the union of two people voluntarily entered into for life to the exclusion of all others. I am now going to ask you each in turn to declare that you know of no legal reason why you may not be joined together in marriage.” It was now upon Max and Ashley to recite the words, which they had decided on, a little different, and he turned to her and smiled encouragingly. “We, Ashley and Max, do solemnly declare that we know not of any lawful impediment why we may not be joined in marriage to each other.”

---

Max’s answer to Jeff was met with a knowing laugh from Ashley. One thing that was for sure was that she knew how to keep him on his toes and keep him right with the simplest of things, like when she would sent him down to the store to go and get the right milk. The reactions to the registrar’s opening joke was met with mixed reactions, whilst the majority of the room was British and laughed the American side remained silent. She grinned up at him with his cheeky reply of mouthing ‘seriously’ back to her and had to bite down on the inside of her cheek to stop herself from laughing and keep a neutral expression - Max knew that she didn’t understand the obsession with weather in the slightest. She cleared her throat and had a listen to what the registrar had to say, even though they had decided on a civil, and one of the shorter services to have Ashley still couldn’t help but feel that the words were still slightly long winded when the purpose of marriage was spoken about. She caught sight of him out of the corner of her eye and wondered if he was having the same thought. It came for their bit to speak, and with a clear of her throat, she recited the words that they had altered and settled upon. Once finished, she smiled up at Max and squeezed his hand, she was proud of the fact that neither one of them had managed to stumble over their words yet. The next part was amusing because they’d decided on doing it a little differently and have the bride go first "Ashley, will you take Max to be your lawful wedded husband, to be loving, faithful and loyal to him for the rest of your married life together?" She gave Max a broad smile and nodded her head, her gaze never leaving his as she spoke her two words with affirmation. “I will.” It was Max’s turn next. “And Max, will you take Ashley to be your lawful wedded wife, to be loving, faithful and loyal to her for the rest of your married life together?”

---

It was funny how, if you looked at such a wedding service objectively, this was nothing more than learning a few lines - some of which they had changed around, because they were long-winded, for once, and because they liked the idea of switching things up from the traditional ways. Their first confirming words were spoken in unison, and as odd and formal as they were, they were also really comforting. Her little squeeze of his hand tore his attention away from the registrar and to Ashley and he smiled back at her, let the registrar’s voice wash over him while never dropping her gaze. Her smile and nod were confirmation enough for him, but her voice made it real all of a sudden. At the sound of his name, he looked up and away from Ashley, only to have his gaze drop back to her. “I will.” It was as easy as that, two words, a legal confirmation of love - but to him, it meant a lot more than that. “I will” meant more than that he would take her as his wife, but that he promised to spend the rest of their lives together, and that promise meant the world to him. “I love you,” he mouthed to her, while the registrar gave an explanation about the upcoming ring exchange, “The rings are an unbroken circle, symbolising unending and everlasting love, they’re an outward sign of the lifelong promise you had just made for each other,” while Tom came forward to hand over the first ring to Max. “I give you this ring as a token of our love,” he started, as he took her hand, his thumb running over the back of it tenderly, “I’ve just recently heard that there are infinite ways to love someone, and I promise you to try a new way every day.” Then he slowly slid the ring onto her ring finger, right in front of her engagement ring.

---

The promises that they were making went a lot deeper than a simple two words. They were giving themselves to each other, as husband and wife, and to be faithful to each other for the rest of their lives. Ashley had to swallow back her tears when Max gave his own pledge. She couldn’t put into words just how much hearing it meant to her, or just how much she loved him. She had everything that she could ever want or need right in front of her, and exactly a year ago whilst learning about shooting stars and wishes, couldn’t have imagined herself standing where she was today. It was the most incredible feeling. “I love you too,” She mouthed back and squeezed his hand that she hadn’t let go of this entire time, he was what was keeping her calm. When the exchanging of the rings was mentioned she inhaled a breath, she hoped to god that Tom had remembered the rings and hadn’t done something stupid with them. She almost breathed a sigh of relief when he approached Max with hers - maybe she wouldn’t have to kill him after all. The emotions were starting to get to her now, and as he reached for her hand could feel her heart begin to hammer against her chest. She didn’t know what was coming out of his mouth next… If she had struggled with trying to hold it together a few moments ago then she most certainly was now. She was sure that she felt her heart burst over how beautiful those words had been, and if it had been appropriate right now, would have kissed him. She looked down at her new ring to accompany her engagement ring, before looking up at him with a smile. Thankfully, Tom had remembered the other ring too, and as he placed it into her extended hand, made a point of thanking him. "I give you this ring as a sign of our marriage and this new journey together,” she took his hand and placed the ring at the tip of his finger, “You are my moon, all of my stars and everything I could ever want or need. I promise to love you, support you and remain by your side to keep you right every single day for the rest of our lives.” She slid the ring down to the base of his finger and looked into his eyes lovingly.

---

He could feel her hand shake and squeezed it, not letting go just yet after placing the ring on her finger. Neither did he look away, his eyes firmly trained on her, hoping that she would know that he was here with her, for her, and that she didn’t have to struggle with feeling overwhelmed - they had all the time in the world, if she needed a moment, he would give it to her. His ring gleamed in the light of the room, as it was passed from Tom to Ashley, and he could hear her quiet words of thanks, and feel the slight tremor of her fingers and his, when she slid the ring onto his finger, a little further with each word she spoke. Her words made him tear up and smile, especially towards the end, and he reached for her hand the moment she starting pulling her fingers away and entwined them. In this moment, even if he should have spoken, he didn’t think he could have uttered a word - overwhelmed with joy and happiness, he simply looked at her, a smile on his face that was purely reserved for her, and he almost missed the registrar’s light cough, and explanation that they were to sign the papers now. Max was handed the pen first, but he shook his head and passed it on to Ashley. “Ladies first,” he told her gently, but didn’t let go of her hand until he was sure that the light tremor was gone. Only when she had signed with her new name did he sign his name on the paper, and then looked at their signatures for a moment, while Sienna and Tom signed as their witnesses. There it was, in their own writing, their names on their marriage certificate - and Max’s hand sought out hers again, as the registrar took their papers and stood straight once more. “It gives me great pleasure to tell you that you are now legally husband and wife,” he started, then addressed their families, who were all still seated. “Ladies and Gentlemen, may I present to you Mr and Mrs Irons. Congratulations!” Max didn’t even hear those last words anymore, having leaned in to finally kiss his wife for the first time. “I love you,” he muttered between kisses, which he wanted to last, but was soon distracted by the approaching crowd. Even through hugs and kisses and congratulatory words, he didn’t let go of her hand.

---

It occurred to her when she felt his fingers brush against hers that this was the first time during the ceremony where they hadn’t been holding each other’s hand for support. The contact alone was probably just about the only thing stopping her from shaking too right now, in an attempt to try and calm down his slight tremor she started to stroke the back of his hand. In that moment of looking at each other with smiles and with tears of joy brimming in their eyes was for them. To Ashley, Max was the only other person in the room right now because nobody else mattered. They had done it, all without stumbling over a word or without a single seconds hesitation and right now she was finding it difficult not to jump into his arms, tell him how much she loved him and kiss him, she couldn’t put into words just how happy she felt. She had to laugh to herself when the registrar cleared his throat for their attention, they’d gotten so lost in each other for a moment that they’d hadn’t realised the ceremony wasn’t quite over and they had to sign the register next. They were lead away into a part sectioned off and hidden in order to do that. “Are you sure?” But the pen was pushed into her hand. It took Ashley a moment to figure out what parts of the document that she was signing, and once she had done so passed the pen over to Max and stepped back to allow him to do the same. It was funny how a piece of paper with both of their names and both of their signatures could have so much emotion and sentiment behind it. “Is that it?” She whispered to him softly when it was Tom and Sienna’s turn to sign the bit of paper, “After this are we married?” It felt strange to say out loud, but completely unreal to think about. As they were announced to be husband and wife, she looked up at him with a grin and couldn’t hide her joy. The smile didn’t vanish when he leaned in, and she returned his kiss and their first as a married couple. Mrs Irons was a name that she was going to need to get used to over the next few days, but she already liked the sound of it. “I love you, more than you’ll ever know,” She couldn’t tell him that enough times today. Their moment was interrupted by the sudden mass of people coming to congratulate them. Once things quietened down, and they were by themselves again she leaned up to kiss his cheek. “So, now what,” She paused and looked up at him to add a final word, “Husband?!

---

“Would you like the ceremony to be any longer?” Max grinned at her, while their friends signed the certificate as well, affirming that they were the witnesses in their marriage. Her grin at the registrar’s final words made his heart skip a beat or two and he grinned back. Admittedly, their first kiss felt like any other they had shared, but yet it felt just a little differently. “I might have an inkling,” he told her gently, and kissed her again, before they were surrounded by their families again. His mother hugged him just a little too tightly and too long, muttering about “her baby boy” until his father finally pried her off. “You two are something else - and here we thought we had been sneaky, when we got married.” Sinéad hit her husband in the arm gently, but smiled anyway, when she turned to Ashley. “I’m so happy for you and Max,” she told her, as she gave her a heartfelt hug, “it isn’t every day that I get to see my son become the best version of himself, supported by an equally amazing partner.” While he would have wanted to see his wife - now that was something he would have to become used to calling her - being gushed over by his mother, his attention was diverted to first Sam, then Tom and Sienna, and finally Shannon, who had tears in her eyes. “Why didn’t you say anything? I would’ve helped you with your planning!” Max didn’t quite know what to say to that, but gave a little shrug and a smile. “We felt this was the best way to go about it, and we wanted you here, and not worrying about any preparations.” Eventually, everyone had had their say and their families moved on to the drinks and food that had been set up for them on the terrace above, where they would be able to see the stars once darkness fell completely. “Husband, hm?” Max grinned at her and stole a kiss, and then pointed to her shoes. “If we were to elope now, and spend the evening together, they’d never forgive us - and they seem in a very forgiving mood now… so we’ll leave that for later, but for now...” He pulled her towards the coat room with an ever widening grin. “How about you get out of those heels? I’m sure Sienna put your bag somewhere...” This was the last thing on his mind, but it would give them a few minutes to spend wrapped up in each other, before they would join their families and friends upstairs. And he took complete advantage of that.

---

The ceremony had been the perfect length - it hadn’t felt too long, and whilst it had been short, that was the way that they had chosen for it to be. Ashley stood back, and had to bite down on her cheek to stop herself from laughing when Sinead went to hug - or maybe crush - Max. Both she and Jeremy exchanged an amused expression at the embrace before he tried to pry his wife away. Somehow, he managed to congratulate them in the most Jeremy Irons way possible, and she could see where Max got it from. It was her turn to be gushed over by Sinead next, and she couldn’t stop herself from laughing when she was pulled in for a hug. She considered herself incredibly lucky when it came to her now inlaws. They’d gotten on with, and accepted her from the unusual moment that they had met. Sinead’s words, and to see her so happy meant a lot to her. Ashley had barely gotten away for a second when it was Shannon’s turn to come and give her a hug, and insist that she’d known something was going on the second she’d been invited to London. Finally, they had a moment to themselves, and somehow she had a feeling that there weren’t going to be too many until later on. “Husband,” She repeated with an even bigger grin, finally being able to say it made her happy. “It’s what you are now, isn’t it?” She closed her eyes and smiled into his lips as they kissed, now that they were alone it felt even better. She laughed softly at his words because he had a point, they weren’t going to get away with eloping from eloping now. “I think that they can spare us a few minutes to ourselves, and who knows, we might have to make a sharpish exit at the party.” The coat room was better than nothing, and she wasn’t aware until he had brought it up just how much those shoes were bothering her. “You don’t have to tell me twice, these shoes are destroying my feet. ” She kicked her heels off and wiggled her toes happily as they were finally set free. “How long do you think we have before need to go back there? I want you to myself for a moment.”

---

“Wife,” he replied to her teasingly, with as regal a nod as he could muster, before breaking down with laughter. It was amazing how much power one word could have - the simple word “husband” rolling off her lips made him happy in ways he couldn’t even explain. He took a deep breath, when their families went ahead and left them be by themselves, he felt like he needed just one moment alone with her, to gather his thoughts, and most of all, to kiss her properly. The coat room was mostly empty, it was simply too hot to bring a coat along, and Max backed her into a wall away from the door, away from prying eyes with an ever widening grin. “Sharpish exit? If you are ready to jump off the terrace, please tell me first? It’s a long way down,” he joked with her, his breath ghosting over her cheek, as he leaned in. Laughter bubbled up within him the moment she took off her heels and stood proud and tiny as she was, a good head shorter than he was. “I like you like this more,” he muttered, closing in, “my cute tiny gremlin queen.” Their lips finally met, and he sighed happily, in no hurry to deepen the kiss. Unless their families sent out a search party for them within a few minutes, which his father hopefully stalled for as long as he could, they had time and he didn’t feel like rushing anything. “We should aim for joining them in ten minutes or so,” he muttered against her lips, before he bent down to kiss her again. His arms snaked around her and pulled her against him, fingers eager to explore her gentle curves, but mindful not to bunch up her dress. Suddenly, he laughed against her lips, “this dress is truly Maxi-friendly,” and pressed a sweet kiss to them with each amused word - he hadn’t even realised that very flirty slit in the skirt before, but now that he had… Max gave her the broadest, most boyish grin. “Perhaps more than ten minutes. They’ll get over it.”

FIN.

#para #under the stars #ashley #maxley wedding

2 notes · View notes

thejonlife · 7 years ago

Note

1, 4, 7, 8, 9, 11, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 23, 25, 26, 32, 33, 36, 42, 47, 49, 56, 57, 59, 62, 63, 66, 67, 69, 70, 71, 72, 73, 75, 78, 81, 83, 85 (Wanted to pick them all but I picked the ones that are better....... no pressure!)

vaguely nsfw asks

1. Are looks important in a relationship? To an extent of course but theres way more important stuff :]

2. Are relationships ever worth it?

3. Are you a virgin?

4. Are you in a relationship? i am not.

5. Are you in love?

6. Are you single this year?

7. Can you commit to one person? As much as i joke about wanting to be a hoe i dont think i can?

8. Describe your crush Shes an old co worker shes blonde nerdy and sweet to me.

9. Describe your perfect mate :oh i have no idea but i hope shes nice cool thinks im cute and is a nerd in her own way.

10. Do you believe in love at first sight?

11. Do you ever want to get married? Honestly i dont know i dont love marriage as an expensive social construct but i always imagined dying with someone you know?

12. Do you forgive betrayal?

13. Do you get jealous easily? Sometimes if her friend is taking up my attention ha but im understanding.

14. Do you have a crush on anyone? Yes an old work buddy and a couple tumblr crushes :]

15. Do you have any piercings? Stretched ear lobes but i lost my left one in SF

16. Do you have any tattoos? No but im trying to set up an appointment today actually

17. Do you like kissing in public? Definitely as long as its not intense PDA but im affectionate for sure.

20. Do you shower every day?

21. Do you think someone has feelings for you?

22. Do you think someone is thinking about you right now?

23. Do you think you can last in a relationship for 6 months and not cheat? Of course im not a cheater.

24. Do you think you’ll be married in 5 years?

25. Do you want to be in a relationship this year? This year compared to last year i would like to put myself out there but i believe in things happening organically.

26. Has anyone told you they don’t want to ever lose you? Yes but im not sure how serious those words were and or they were back then.

27. Has someone ever written a song or poem for you?

28. Have you ever been cheated on?

29. Have you ever cheated on someone?

30. Have you ever considered plastic surgery? If so, what would you change about your body?

31. Have you ever cried over a guy/girl?

32. Have you ever experienced unrequited love? I was so in love in my last relationship that i couldnt tell she wasnt on my level so yes but thats life and that happens.

33. Have you ever had sex with a man? I havent and i dont think i could but i know tons of great looking guys.

34. Have you ever had sex with a woman?

35. Have you ever kissed someone older than you?

36. Have you ever liked one of your best friends? No actually and im lucky for that but i had a crush on a middle school friend because she always went out of her way to give me a hug :]

37. Have you ever liked someone who your friends hated?

38. Have you ever liked someone you didn’t expect to?

39. Have you ever wanted someone you couldn’t have?

40. Have you ever written a song or poem for someone?

41. Have you had sex so far this year?

42. How long can you just kiss until your hands start to wander? Less than a minute if we know each other already but i am restrained if weve just met.

43. How long was your longest relationship?

44. How many boyfriends/girlfriends have you had?

45. How many people did you kiss in 2012/2013?

46. How many times did you have sex last year?

47. How old are you? My birthday was this last wednesday and i turned 31 but ive been told i look younger than i am so thats great.

48. If the person you like says they like someone else, what would you say?

49. If you have a boyfriend/girlfriend, what is your favorite thing about him/her? im single AF

50. If your first true love knocked on your door with apology and presents, would you accept?

51. Is there a boy/girl who you would do absolutely everything for?

52. Is there anyone you’ve given up on? Why?

53. Is there someone mad because you’re dating/talking to the person you are?

54. Is there someone you will never forget?

55. Share a relationship story.

56. State 8 facts about your body I have a beard i wear glasses I am 5′7 i have brown eyes i have been told i have a nice nose i like my legs/thighs weird but theyre muscular kind of my ears are stretched and i wish i had bigger hands?

57. Things you want to say to an ex: I hope youre well.

58. What are five ways to win your heart?

59. What do you look like? (Post a picture!) I will do this later but bear with me im terrible at selfies :[

60. What is the biggest age difference between you and any of your partners?

61. What is the first thing you notice in someone?

62. What is the sexiest thing someone could ever do for/to you? Im a sucker for just touching period especially any that makes me feel manly.

63. What is your definition of “having sex”? Insertion?

64. What is your definition of cheating?

65. What is your favorite foreplay routine?

66. What is your favorite roleplay? I have never lol but itd be cool to pretend to be a sick patient and have them be a nurse.

67. What is your idea of the perfect date? Brewery trip or a museum after we grab food and we go for a drive or a walk and we talk :]

68. What is your sexual orientation?

69. What turns you off? Mean or pessimistic or dirty people.

70. What turns you on? Nice legs and a sense of humor or a great smile

71. What was your kinkiest wet dream? I wish i could remember ha ha ha ha but god those were awkward ill say if i remember eventually.

72. What words do you like to hear during sex? Moaning and i was called daddy once and i didnt think id like that but i do also being called papi. If you just exclaim fuck thats super hot too.

73. What’s something sweet you’d like someone to do for you? Fill out this form and or just text me to say hi or invite me out to drink or have dinner.

74. What’s the most superficial characteristic you look for?

75. What’s the sweetest thing anyone’s ever done for you? A friend of mine just recently bought me one of those SNES classics :] my birthday sucked but my friend bough that for me months ago and i had no idea :0

76. What’s the sweetest thing you’ve ever done for someone?

77. What’s your opinion on age differences in relationships?

78. What’s your dirtiest secret? Im almost certain i might be depressed or have some mental ailment because im always going through sadness but im okay right now oh and i ghosted somebody once and i felt terrible about that. Oh i also once accidentally broke somebodys drivers side mirror but karma got me last year.

79. When was the last time you felt jealous? Why?

80. When was the last time you told someone you loved them?

81. Who are five people you find attractive? Famous people? Gal Gadot Chrissy Teigen ashley graham and tons of other awesome people.

82. Who is the last person you hugged?

83. Who was your first kiss with? Ha ha ha im lame but my first kiss was my prom date senior year.

84. Why did your last relationship fail?

85. Would you ever date someone off of the Internet? I have a crush on some people i follow on tumblr so of course :D ;]

Send me asks pls I'm bored : )

Why not?

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lunaschild2016 · 7 years ago

Text

Take Your Time - Part 3

Rating: M (Swearing, smut, suggested violence and abuse)

Family isn’t always defined by blood and the strongest of ties can come from the most unexpected places. But could you risk losing that family when the love changes? What do you do when you find your soulmate at the age of sixteen? What if that soulmate is only nine? Sometimes all you can do…is take your time. Eric/OC AU No War, No Divergents

@jojuarez26 @kenzieam @jaihardy @iammarylastar @badassbaker@dani5102

A/N: This entire thing was literally written in a fever delirium and on strong cold meds. Apparently my smut levels rise when I am delirious.

Achievement unlocked: Smut

Level Advanced to: A Little Less Of A Rank Novice from Rank Novice

Perk Gained: Only 75% Chance of head exploding when reading or writing smut.

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

ERIC - CONTINUED

Eric led her to his bedroom. Back in the bar it was a little easier to play into the role and desire. Here where they had spent so much time together before but never like they were about to, it made reality set in.

It should have made him pause or reconsider. He was too far gone in need for her to do any of that.

She walked to stand beside his king size bed while he closed the bedroom door behind them. She was looking around when he flicked the bedside table light on.

She has seen his bedroom a million times before tonight. Had insisted she clean it when she was still doing that to balance out when he was still buying food for them. Later on she had even slept in his bed. When Henley or Deacon had been working and Lacey along with Wade had come over for dinner or stayed late, he always gave her the bed while he and Wade would take the couches.

That seemed like a lifetime ago now. The day Lacey had her choosing and Eric realized his feelings and desire, that had changed. He even went so far as to get into a relationship, hoping it would stop the longing he felt he had no place feeling.

It hadn't worked even though he tried for almost a year. He had ended it when it became apparent he was apathetic to it at best. Ashley was just a filler for his bed to keep temptations of someone else being there out. The idea of her living with him had been a weak and horrible one. He hadn't tried anything with anyone else since.

Lacey stood still as a statue. Not moving an inch. He moved over to her and reached out to cup the side of her face. His eyes crinkled with worry.

“You can stop this at anytime. No judgements, pressure or anger.”

She didn't verbally answer. Just gave a little shake of her head then reached out to unclasp the cloak that was secured at her throat, letting the red silk flutter to the ground.

She took a deep breath and looked him in the eyes. “I have only one request, Eric. You can do whatever you want to me in any way you want to. But the mask stays on and this will only be a one night thing, no questions asked.”

At first Eric couldn't reply. Logically he knew that was the only way this was going to work. To keep the appearance he didn't know who she is, so that in the morning they can go back to how things have always been. He hated it though and was seconds from saying fuck it, then telling her he wanted her to take all the ridiculous shit off. But that would end things right here.

He had been quiet for so long and his jaw clenched so hard, he could tell she was thinking about walking away altogether. So he let out a slow breath and nodded.

“Ok, Red. I can take that deal. We will just make the most of our time then. And trust me baby, I plan to take full advantage of your offer.” Eric growled out.

She let out a relieved breath and smiled shyly. He could tell she was searching her mind for what to do or say next so he took over.

Eric pulled her to him by her waist then ran a hand up her side until he barely skimmed over the edge of her breast. He continued on as her eyes fluttered close and her mouth parted slightly. His fingers lightly skimmed along the exposed flesh of her neckline then gently up the side of her neck. When he reached where her skull meets the sloping neck he gripped her and tugged her forward.

He gave no warning as he crashed his mouth to hers, swallowing the surprised moan she started to let loose. His moan joined hers from the second her lips touched his.

She tasted of the spiced apples from the brew they had both been drinking. She also had a deeper more intoxicating taste that Eric knew no one could or would ever live up to now. He slid his tongue along her lips, testing and teasing them open. She willingly accepted him in and moved her tongue against his. For minutes he stayed like that. Just kissing her slowly and savoring their first kiss.

Then the passion started to rage while her hands moved over his chest, pushing his vest away and trying to get his shirt off too. He growled and grabbed her hands, taking them behind her back and holding them there tightly. His kiss changed and he began to claim it like he was about to claim the rest of her body. Deeply and devouring her hungrily.

Lacey was writhing in his grasp as she tried to get closer to him. Rubbing her chest against his in a wanton fashion. He could feel the hard nubs of her nipples through all the fabric separating them. All while her moans and whimpers were nothing but sweet innocence.

His cock was straining so hard against the fabric of his jeans he thought the material might pop free. He needed more but wasn’t ready to get to the main part just yet. He hadn’t been lying about making the most of the time they had together.

He broke away from the kiss, slightly dazed and almost drunk on her and desire. He was the first to be able to open his eyes and saw hers still fluttering. Like she was having trouble just getting her body to respond to the simplest of commands.

It filled him with pride that he could elicit that from her. Her body responded to his every touch as he teased her with his lips along her neck and the tops of the swells of her breasts. He lost control though when the tops of her fleshy mounds came against his tongue. With a growl he let go of the hands he still had gripped behind her back and reached forward to cup her through the fabric a little more roughly than he should have.

Her head dropped back and she let out a throaty moan though.

Eric hummed with approval as he kneaded them. “Fuck, I need you undressed now.” He said more to himself than meaning to speak out loud.

He didn’t really talk during sex. Other than to say things like ‘Yeah, suck it’ or ‘take it.’ He usually did most of the talking in his head. Mainly because over the last four years the real shit occurred there. All staring Lace and his fantasies of her. The last two years he hadn’t even tried to be with someone physically for those fantasies. He just handled it all on his own. Sometimes several times in a row or a day. It still was never enough and it made him wonder if that was how tonight was going to be. Something told him it would and that when the morning came it would just make not having her even worse.

Instead of contemplating that thought any more and what this might do to them both after, he went to getting her out of her clothes. He dropped down to a crouch as he let his hands run down her body. Kissing the exposed areas on the way down.

He let his hands run over her the backs of her legs until he got to her ankles. With gentle positioning and directing he was able to work her boots off. He also couldn’t resist rolling those black thigh highs off her while kissing, licking and sucking along the way.

He knew the first thing he was going to do when he finally got her undressed. It had been one of his favorite fantasies and was something he wanted the memory of for after they parted.

Her body was trembling and he was avoiding the areas he knew she was craving he touch the most. He chuckled when she mewled after he once against teased by kissing along the inner thighs before he stood up again.

“Patience baby. Your body is mine to do whatever I want with it, remember?” He cooed to her as he reached down to undo the zipper of the skirt.

“Eric.” She whispered out in a plea but he ignored it and continued on. He wouldn’t be rushed, not with her on this.

The thought that this had a time limit...a finality to it...was already starting to make his heart ache and they hadn’t even started yet.

“Mine” He rumbled lowly as he shoved her skirt down before jerking her closer to him. His eyes blazing with the absolute need for her to understand and know that he meant it. “Understand?”

Her gasp tried to mask the small sob she had, her eyes glazed but he saw the start of her tears that she blinked back quickly. She nodded with her eyes closed. “Yes Eric.”

“Yes Eric what?” He demanded of her, his nails digging into the flesh just at the edge of her panties he hadn’t bothered to look at just yet.

“Yes Eric, I am yours.” She husked out with her chest heaving.

“Good girl.” He replied just before he crushed his mouth to hers while moving his hands to the back and expertly flicking apart the little clasps that held her corset together. He didn’t break the kiss as he moved the top away from her body and let it drop. He kept mouth fucking her as he moved his hands to search for a bra that wasn’t there. With a groan he pulled away and finally moved to step back and take her all in.

He started with her legs, one of his favorite features, and worked his way up. His guttural groan turned to a straight out growl when he finally got to her breasts. “Are you fucking kidding me with that shit, Red?” He hungrily growled out in surprise.

It was all at once a cock hardening surprise but also almost enraging one. Seeing a side to herself she kept hidden was amazing. Knowing to get what she had done meant someone else touching her had him plotting to kill the bastard he knew was the only one able to do it.

Lacey had pierced nipples. Her perfect just over a handful of round, pert breasts with the pink pearl sized nipples; had perfect little barbell piercings running through them.

She blushed such a beautiful shade of red, all the way down to the start of her red thong underwear but smiled coyly as well. She bit her lip and let her hands skim up to cup her breasts and then with just a small hesitation she moved to tweak her nipples. “Do you like?”

He tone was brazen and uncertain all at once. He would be blind to not have noticed how innocent it showed she really is. If he didn’t already know that is.

Eric shook his head, his eyes wide with desire pouring out and his body visibly vibrating. “Oh, little red. I don’t just like…” He stepped forward and moved her hands out of the way while he kept her eyes locked with his. He took over what she was doing but was much more experienced in the way he tweaked them. “I fucking love.”

And not just the piercings. Maybe that came through for her. Maybe she was already so far on the precipice. Because with that small gesture she gave out a gasp, threw her head back and keened out an orgasm. Her body shaking and trembling so much she clutched to him just as he reached for her to hold her up.

He watched her face in wonder as he saw for the first time her coming undone for him. It was like watching the beauty of a storm. Violent but awe inspiring. Then came her smile that was like the rainbow at the end of it all.

She opened her eyes and looked back to him. Her bottom lip sucked in between her teeth as she looked at him shyly.

Eric smiled wickedly at her thinking that this was just the start but also to mask the emotions he was sure he was showing. “That is just the beginning, baby.” He whispered seductively.

She shivered and moaned a little. He walked them backwards until her ass hit the back of the bed. “I want you to take that thong off for me, nice and slow.” He commanded her and stepped back a few paces.

She didn’t hesitate to follow his order and started to roll the thong down. She even looked at him with a glint in her eyes before turning and presenting her ass to him while rolling it past her almost bubble like butt. It was perfectly formed and toned but was still just made to be a good handful. “Fuck yeah baby.” He groaned out. “You wanna be a dirty girl for me? Spread your legs and bend over as you take them off the rest of the way.”

Eric knew he was being a filthy motherfucker with her. Part of him was shouting at him that he needed to be sweeter. But like he said in the bar, that just wasn’t him. Especially with her in this respect. She unlocked something deep and primal within him. Something that needed him to protect, claim and possess her in all of the ways possible. Even the most base ones.

She turned pink as she looked over her shoulder at him but she did as he asked. Even going so far as to wiggle her ass a little bit. “Like that, Eric?” She asked as she had stepped out of the thong but kept bent over and grabbing her ankles.

Her question was just that. An innocent question, sincerely wanting to know if she was doing the right thing.

“Oh yeah, baby.” Eric drawled silkily out as he eyed her hungrily. “Stay just like that.” He changed his tone to a command as he kicked off his shoes then began to strip.

The position was perfect for so many things but he still had the plan in mind. So he squeezed his dick to relieve some of the pressure that was building up. He wanted so badly to go run his hands over the globes of her ass and his fingers through the wetness he saw building up there. But he couldn’t just yet or the little control he had would snap.

“Turn around and sit on the bed, baby.” He demanded of her in a pure gravel voice. Roughened by the raging lust in him.

She turned to comply and as she sat she got her first glimpse of him. He was stark naked with his cock in his hand. It was already fairly large but seemed to have swelled angrily when it was awakened tonight. Like it sensed the target and object of Eric’s only desire was finally in range. It was twitching without even any effort from him. Letting Eric know it wanted to be in charge and what it wanted.

The fucker could wait though. Eric planned on loading up on all kinds of sensory and images for the cold nights alone he knew were ahead of him.

Her breathing was ragged and eyes wide while she licked her lips. Her eyes glued to the motions of his hand as he ran his thumb over the tip to spread the weeping already occurring. He gave her a bit of a show as he pumped himself slowly a few times and chuckled when she groaned a little. It came out soft and whimpered.

“Do you like what you see?” Eric asked with a cocked eyebrow and a cocky tone.

Lacey was so hypnotized she didn’t even look away as she nodded numbly. “Yes.” She whispered out finally.

“Good. Because we are going to put on a little show for each other. I want you to touch yourself, baby. I want to watch as you pet and stroke yourself until you come for me.”

Now her eyes did move from his hand working himself over up to his eyes. She had a slight frown and confusion in her eyes. “Touch myself?”

He knew she was innocent and there was no way of getting around that he knew it. Not like her being a virgin was something that could be ignored. So better to get this out of the way now.

“I know you aren’t experienced but you have touched yourself before, right?” He asked, pausing his ministrations to himself.

Lacey blushed and sucked her lower lip in before she blew out a slight huff and nodded. “Yeah, I have done plenty of that.” She muttered in a loaded tone.

He wondered if that was because of him. If she touched herself as much as he did, with him on her mind like she was always on his.

“Are you thinking about someone when you touch yourself?” He asked before he could stop himself.

She turned even more red as she stilled and looked him in the eyes. He could tell she was debating answering at all. Finally she let out a slow breath. “Yes.”

He was about to demand who but he couldn’t go there. The thought of there being anyone else on her mind put the next words in his mouth. “Well, you are going to touch yourself for me, show yourself to me and from now on you will only think of me when you touch yourself.” He demanded roughly.

Her eyes flared with something, desire and amusement but her words were purred out. “Only you, Eric.” She agreed.

Like a goddamn peacock preening and he was some fifteen year old boy; his chest puffed out and he smiled at her smugly. “Spread your legs and show me what’s mine, Red.”

She complied but slowly. Running her hands over her legs starting from her knees up to the apex of her thighs. She wasn’t bare like most women are and he loved it. He loved that she had a neatly trimmed patch of hair just over her slit. It let him know she was a woman. That along with the glistening slickness that he saw when she ever so slowly and shyly ran a finger through her folds.

His hand moved back to his cock and slowly moved along it, the tip weeping even more.

“That’s all for me, isn’t it?” Eric growls out but already knows the answer. Like he would accept any other reply than ‘yes, all for you.’

Which is exactly what she gives him with a moan. “Show me what you do to yourself when you think of me.”

And she does. Lacey loses herself in her past fantasies while taking in the sight of him putting on a show for her. They alternate between going slow and frantic in their motions. Neither wanting to really have it come to an end. Maybe she has the same goal in mind that he had when he started this. Something to take away and use in the time to come when all they have is what pleasure they can give themselves.

When they can’t hold out from their climaxes any longer she locks eyes with him. Her body is already gathering a slicking of sweat and trembling from the effort of holding it in. “Eric please.” She begs him in a pained whimper and it fuels his lust even more.

The sound of her begging him does it. “Come now.” He barks out harshly.

She responds instantly and with a few taps of her finger on her dime sized engorged clit, she completely unravels him. Her mouth drops into a perfect ‘o’ just before she tosses her head back and cries out. “Of fuck, Eric!”

“That’s right...come for me baby.” Eric husks out and watches her raptly. This one even more beautiful to him and even more violent. She practically gushed for him.

He holds off his own until he knows she is looking back at him. Her eyes hooded but a still hungry gleam in them. “Come for me, Eric.” She purrs out breathlessly after she licks her lips.

Eric needs no other invitation as he throws his head back and roars out the release so long denied. He doesn’t even care about the mess he is sending to the floor as he does so.

Her moan makes him come even harder and longer. His body hunched over and gritting his teeth as he convulses with the force of his release.

“Holy shit.” He gets out finally in a pant when he finishes. He gives a huffed chuckle and looks back to her. “That was fuckin hot.”

It exceeded anything he could have ever imagined himself. Lacey followed every single one of his commands as if she had been doing just that for years. She opened herself completely to him showing vulnerability and sensuality in ways he never knew existed. She had even given him a few commands of her own or asked him if he would like her to do certain things. Like taking her nipple in her own mouth. Her breasts were just big enough that she could do that.

Even with all of that she smiled at him with the shyness and blush. “Yeah it was.” She agreed then looked at the mess he had made. She laughed a little. “Oops. Kind of made a big mess there.”

Eric shrugged and smirked at her. “I don’t fucking care, baby. In fact I am sure we are going to make an even bigger mess of each other real soon.”

Her eyes flashed confusion and he chuckled deeply. “Oh you’ll see and I am going to love showing you.”

She bit her lip and nodded. “I ummm….Eric...I brought something.” She said and pointed to the floor where her corset top lay in a careless heap. Beside it was a foil wrapped item.

Eric looked down to it then bent to scoop it. He held it up and smiled widely. “Well you came sort of prepared. It’s sweet that you think this would be enough though.”

Her eyes widened and she tilted her head. “It isn’t.”

Eric scoffed and shook his head. “Fuck no. One is bullshit for little boys. Don’t worry, I got us covered.”

He didn’t know if it was something he said but a shadow crossed over her eyes at his words. “Yeah, I guess you would.” There was a tint of insecurity there but also jealousy which she tried to shake away.

Eric moved over to her and stood at the edge of the bed. It was a king size bed that was raised slightly higher than normal. He took her chin in his hand and lifted her head to look at him. “What did you mean by that, baby?”

She tried to shrug off the question. “Just that you are more experienced, right?”

Eric took a breath and nodded. “I’m not going to lie and say that I haven’t had a few women in my time. Would you understand what I mean when I say that I am not one of those guys that is in it for the quantity? That saying quality over quantity.”

She gives a small sigh and nods. “Yeah, I get it.”

Eric shakes his head looking at her seriously. “No baby, I don’t think you do. If you did then you would know that real quality doesn’t come from being with just anyone. And I don’t go around just fucking anyone.” He paused and debated revealing the next part. He wanted her to know that while he might not be the most romantic or sweet of men...this and them, her first time...was special. “In fact I haven’t been with anyone in almost two years.”

He says in a slight rush. She gives a slight start and her eyes narrow, searching his for the truth. She must see the absolute honesty in his intense blue stare because her eyes soften and she leans into the hand that moved to cup the side of her face. Her eyes flutter closed with a sigh.

Lacey opened her eyes and reached out to bring her hands to gently rest against his chest. He let his hand fall as he also let her start her exploring. He closed his eyes at the sensation of her hands on him finally.

He had imagined this for so long. Her hands always one of his focuses of his erotic thoughts. They were long to match her height but delicate in shape. Slender fingers and a small wrist that made him think one squeeze and he could snap it. He also knew that it was deceptive in how delicate they looked. He knew she trained in fighting and had strength in even her fingers to be able to keep up with the levels he demanded.

She was an assistant to the leaders but because he always seemed to be able to work it out, she was almost always working with him. He even had a desk put in his office just so he could keep her close. He spent hours looking at her across the room, her hands flying across the keyboard, and imagining them moving over him in just the way they began to now.

When she started to explore lower, his semi-hard dick flared to full staff and groaned as he grabbed her hands. “Not yet but we will get there.”

Her eyes flashed with impatience and he knew she was seconds from giving him the lip that Lacey was famous for. It was pretty much a given that she was the only one he tolerated it from. She must have realized what she was about to do and what it would give away, because she bit her bottom lip to stop herself.

He smirked at that and reached out to stroke her cheek with a finger. “Good girl.” He teased her in a husky purr. “Now, let's see how good my girl can be and get up on the bed. Right in the middle and lay back.”

Once again she followed his commands with no resistance. She was even eager about it. She lay back against his black bedding, making her skin glow even more. She was still wearing the wig and mask and once again he wished he could just rip it all away.

Rip all the fucking walls and barriers they had between them.

If only it were that simple.

He reached into the bedside table and took out a handful of condoms, a small bottle of lube and then moved to his dresser where he reached in and grabbed two of his black belts. Her eyes got wide and there was a tiny bit of fear in them. He set everything up and then crawled on the bed next to her. He laid out beside her and placed a hand on her stomach. “Do you trust me?” He asked seriously and softly.

“Yes.” She said without hesitation and with such certainty that it flooded his heart with the love he already felt. “I just….I’m not sure what to do…” She trailed off and the insecurity was back in her voice.

“Just follow my lead but anything you feel uncomfortable with or don’t want to do, you tell me. Tell me to stop or no and I will listen. There is no pleasure in this for me if you aren’t enjoying it. Do you understand?”

“Ok.” She said in a small voice.

“I’m sorry, what?” Eric didn’t quite bark it out. It was exactly something he would say as the leader he is and someone didn’t do or say something exactly as he wanted. With her it was more of a purred command for her to try again.

“Yes Eric, I understand.” She said with lowered lashes and her tone more confident.

It was the confidence he had really been looking for. He didn’t want her to be afraid or insecure. He also wouldn’t lie and say her compliance and submission didn’t turn him on to no fucking end.

He seriously worried and wondered at times, with her and especially now, if a penis was capable of just exploding from over inflating and getting so hard. Not something he wanted to test out but it seemed like he might be headed there.

“I want you to put your hands above your head and clasp them together.” He gave the soft command as he trailed his fingers lazily around her breasts, working around the outside. Her back arched up and her legs pressed together. She moaned and gripped the sheets.

Her breasts were a big erogenous zone for her apparently. When she didn’t comply with him he stopped what he was doing and withdrew his hands completely.

She whined and turned her head to look at him where he was patiently waiting for her to look. His eyebrow was raised in anticipation of her question. It clearly answered it for her. Working together and knowing each other for so long she could tell what he was going to ask or what he needed before he even said something. It only took a look from him.

She picked up on that now and smiled sheepishly as she moved her hands to the place he had ordered her to. He smiled at her in pleasure at her following his command and she flushed in pleasure. There were feeding off each other completely.

His pleasure was hers and hers was his.

Eric reached over to grab the belts and gave her a patient reassuring look as his tone took on the one he has always had when giving her instructions. “I am going to secure your hands to the headboard. If this makes it too uncomfortable for you, tell me right away.”

He already knew she didn’t have a fear of being restrained but this would still be something new for her.

“Yes Eric.” She responded automatically even when her voice trembled a little.

First he looped one belt around her hands and secured them. Then he looped a belt through a slat on his headboard on one end and the other to her secured hands. It wasn’t to tight or restrictive but accomplished what he wanted. “Are you ok?” He asked softly as he was kneeling beside her and looking down.

She paused as she tested the bonds and her reaction to them. Her nipples were hard and her skin was covered in goosebumps but she nodded. “I’m good.”

Eric never imagined it would be so maddening to not be able to say a woman's name during sex. It was usually the opposite for him. A relief when he could get away with saying doll or darling or better yet, not a fucking thing at all.

It was driving him crazy not to be able to say her name and there was no way he was saying the fake one she gave him. It felt like a betrayal and he wouldn’t do that. He kissed along her body, paying attention to her nipples and those piercings. His tugs and teeth grazing had her screaming out a release once again without any other stimulation.

Satisfied, he moved lower. Lazily kissing along her stomach and with a wicked smile he placed marks in areas he knew she could hide. But she would have them for at least a week from now and the thought made him feel better.

Eric moved lower still until he was kneeling between her legs with her spread before him. He could have dived right in with how tempting and wet she looked. The nub of her swollen clit was peeking out and he knew that her next climax wouldn’t take much from him. That made it even sweeter when he went nowhere near that area at first. To hear her moans and whimpers was part of the enjoyment. He could hear the frustration and building of her edge even more.

He could smell her arousal and it was a heady smell. It built for him to...his own arousal. He was leaving spots and trails of pre-cum as it dripped from his tip regularly.

He started out by taking one leg and lifting it until her ankle was raised level with his mouth. He nuzzled and kissed along from that starting point. When he got to mid thigh he left a souvenir of his having been there, leaving her gasping, before he moved on.

“Goddammit.” She growled out and bucked her hips, causing him to chuckle and clucked his tongue at her.

“That isn’t how my good girl should behave. You want your reward, then you need to do as you're told.” His tone was all playful reprimanding.

She lifted her head and glared at him. He knew that under those contacts he loathed, her eyes were a brighter caramel and the greens on the outer and inner rings were inching wider. He tilted his head and raised an eyebrow in challenge.

Lacey flopped back onto the bed and dropped her head with a huff. She took two shuddering breaths before she responded. “Yes Eric.”

He grinned widely and felt her rolling her eyes at him without even needing to see it. It made him enjoy the next round of torture even more.

There is a difference between subservience and submission to Eric. He would never be attracted to or want someone that was some meek subservient woman. But Lacey was strong while still being soft. She was independent but was willing to accept help from those she loved and respected. She was fierce without being overly hard. She was intelligent without being a know-it-all and she had never hesitated to go to Eric for help or with a question because she trusted him.

That was the key and probably the biggest part of the foundation of his love for her. So when she submitted to him it was her willingly placing herself in his hands. Knowing he would never break that trust. He wasn’t into causing pain and never would be.

Well, not much pain and never with her.

For damn sure he would never want to cause her pain.

So the play he submitted her to was all about simple submission and a little bit of building anticipation for the final act.

When he felt he had teased her enough he moved to both their prizes. This was his reward just as much as it was hers. He forced himself to not dive in. She was so wound up and sensitive that it would take just one touch.

He softly parted her folds as he settled himself on the bed. His erection was pressing into the mattress beneath him. The pressure gave him some relief and would hopefully keep him from shooting his load off like a kid.

“Oh yes, please Eric.” Lacey sighed in bliss just from feeling him poised at her center finally.

“You are doing so good for me baby.” He cooed softly as he blew on her gently. “So fucking perfect.” He rumbled out when she trembled for him.

“Please….can I come...please...Eric.” She begged softly.

Eric smiled against her skin as he nuzzled her just briefly with his nose, inhaling her sweet scent and memorizing it. “Yes baby.” He replied just as he lowered his mouth and placed a firm kiss over her clit.

Just like he knew would happen, she shattered with a single touch to the bundle of nerves. But Eric wasn’t done at all and while she was still in her orgasm he began to work her towards another. Then another. Then another.

Each one he probed and added a different technique.

He was trying to help ease her first time while wringing every ounce of pleasure he could from her. Who knows how long he stayed there between her legs, his paradise. By the time he came up for air the bed underneath them was almost drenched from when he discovered that his girl could gush if he touched her in just the right way. Her body was slicked with sweat and flushed all over.

Eric moved up to the head of the bed and carefully undid the bindings. He took her in his arms and rubbed her wrists checking them over. All while kissing her deeply.

“Do you like the taste of yourself on my lips, baby?” He asked after she had moaned and licked around his lips before sucking his bottom lip into her mouth.

“Yes.” She whispered against his lips bashfully.

“Never be embarrassed about any of what we do.” He took her chin between his thumb and finger as he ordered her.

“I’m not, not really, Eric.” She replied honestly and with a shrug.

With a nod he grinned at her. “Good girl. Now you are going to get me ready for the next part. Reach over to the table and grab a condom and the bottle.”

Lacey swallowed but did as she was told. She put the bottle down as Eric laid flat so that she could get the protection rolled on. Eric was thankful that schools had always at least taught this part of safe sex.

He honestly wanted to skip putting one on altogether. The thought occurred to him and he figured it wouldn’t hurt to ask. “Are you on anything?”

She didn’t respond at first, not until she got it rolled on completely. Then she looked at him and clasped her hands in her lap. She shook her head. “I...didn’t have a need for it. Eric, I’m not just inexperienced; I’m a virgin.” She took a breath. “If you don’t want to…”

Eric frowned and grabbed her...rolling her so that she was in position under him as he leaned down to claim her mouth. He pulled back and looked at her fiercely. “Mine.” Was all he growled out in reply at first. He took a breath and reigned himself back. “I only asked because...fuck if I don’t want to be inside you raw, baby. You have no clue how much I need to be inside you and feel nothing between us.”

Lacey lets out a relieved breath and nods as she links her arms around his neck. “Me too.”

Eric brushes his nose against hers and takes a steadying breath as he closes his eyes.

Ruining her for other men and ruining her life are completely different things. He knows himself too well and knows that if he went without protection he would be hard pressed to stop himself from releasing inside of her. Just the thought calls to every cell in his body. A primal call that has him gritting his teeth.

He needs it too fucking bad. To take her deeply and hard until he sends his seed into her. Marking her forever as his. Making her swell with his child. A perfect blend of them. The thought that it will never happen but how badly he wants it has his head dropping to her shoulder and him clenching his eyes shut tight.

Lacey must sense his distress because she starts to run her hands through his hair and over his shoulders. She doesn’t speak and neither does he, not for a minute. When he has himself under control he leans back after kissing her shoulder. He reaches for the lube and takes her hand. “Sit up, baby.”

He instructs her as he squirts some in her hand. She sits up with a question in her eyes. “You are already wet but this will help even more. It is going to hurt but the more lubrication we have, it might lessen the initial pain.”

She nods in understanding then reaches out tentatively at first for his hardened cock. Even with the rubber on her hands wrapping around him has him groaning. He lets her explore and squeeze him a few times as she spreads the liquid along his shaft before he stops her with a huff.

He can already tell that this first time is going to be ridiculously quick.

At least by his standards.

Eric wastes no time in pushing her back while he takes her mouth in a kiss. He positions himself at her entrance but adds to the lubrication by stroking him along her folds. They both moan at the contact as the heat from her pussy adds to the heat from his cock.

They are an inferno. Long lazy slides of himself as he moved his hips against her while kissing her slowly. He would take his time where he could because he knew once he was inside of her those primal urges would take him over.

She moved against and with him in perfect sync. Rolling her hips already and in a way that let him know she was ready. There would be no slow inching in here and with one slow, smooth thrust, he slid inside of her.

His heart clenched along with her strangled gasp of pain when he breached her barrier. He stilled then but reached between them to rub and roll her clit with one hand. “Play with your nipples, baby. I am going to make you come for me before I take you more.” He commanded her hoarsely.

She was so goddamn tight that it was actually causing him pain too. Of course it was nowhere near the pain and discomfort she was having at being ripped open and invaded by something so large. Even having been prepared before now by his fingers.

She did as he asked and worked her nipples. They held each other's eyes as she cooed her pleasure to him and bit her lip as she neared another release. Her body arching and moving against him while he kept still inside of her, buried to the hilt.

Eric hummed in pleasure when he felt the walls of her closing around him in a controlled rhythm, letting him know that was all her doing. “Fuck baby, keep doing it just like that.” He rumbled out. “Going to come for me beautiful?”

“Uhh huh..” She gasped out as he tapped her clit a few times and she pulled on her nipples.

“You know better than that, Red. Answer me properly.” He gave a little spank to her mound along with the reprimand.

“Oh shit.” She gasped and the first spasm started. “Yes Eric.” She screamed.

Eric grinned a little strained. “Good girl. Now fucking come for me.”

“Oh god...oh god.” She whimpered as she neared the edge.

“Wrong name.” He growled but kept with his attentions.

“Eric!” She screamed out as her body spasmed around him, clenching him even tighter.

“Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.” He said with gritted teeth and gripped the base of his cock to keep from blowing his load already.

Once her body stopped strangling him he began to move. His strokes were softer at first, still letting her adjust.

“More” She whimpered and bucked against him.

It was all he needed and he began to snap his hips against hers. He pushed one of her legs out further so he could deepen his angle. With the arm not supporting his weight he reached under to pull her closer to him.

“Do you like that, baby? Do you like me fucking you deep like this?” Eric asked after he nuzzled her neck and took her earlobe in his mouth and grazed it with his teeth.

“Oh yes, Eric. Please don’t stop. Please take me.” She begged as her nails dug in his back. One leg had wrapped around his waist and the heel was digging into his ass trying to get more of him in.

“You feel so goddamn good. Never get enough.”

They both lost the ability to use words after that. The only sounds were that of moans, the slap of skin against skin and guttural growls that Eric let loose. He got harder in his taking of her but he felt her holding herself back from the climax he needed before he would let himself go.

“Don’t you hold back on me. That is my fucking pleasure and you will give it to me.” He commanded her as he slammed against her. Knowing his hips would graze against her clit with the angle he was using.

Lacey screamed and bit his shoulder hard. Causing him to grunt while she exploded around him. He hit that special spot on her and it caused her to gush around him.

“Fuck yes baby. Give it all to me.” He barked and let her release pull his own from him finally. He gave three more powerful thrusts before he bottomed out in her and roared his release. He clutched her tight while she did the same to him.

Their bodies were covered in sweet sweat and the air was heavy with the scent sex, honeysuckle and citrus.

He collapsed on the bed beside her after pulling out carefully and removing the condom. He quickly dropped into a wastebasket beside the bed and pulled her to him.

She was panting still with that smile she always had just after a release. He realized he had one to match hers.

“That was...that was amazing.” She said with a light laugh.

Eric smirked lazily. “Hell yeah it was. You were amazing.”

She blushed and smiled even more. “Thank you. You weren’t so bad yourself.” She teased.

Eric quirked an eyebrow at her, causing her to laugh even more. “Ok, you were beyond amazing. Does that soothe your ego?”

“Nope. I think I am going to need a lot more soothing than that.” Eric teased back with a waggle of his eyebrows.

Lacey rolled her eyes with the smile still in place. Then she looked at him with that look he was coming to realize was her being sexually brazen. She ran her fingers along the hairs on his chest. “And just what can I do to soothe you?”

Eric pretended to think but he already knew. “Hmm...well you can get your delicious ass up in the air for me. I think tasting you while you are all on fours would be a good starting point.”

He loved that she didn’t hesitate when he gave her directions. She might look at him shyly or blush, but she also showed her arousal and willingness. She moved into position and Eric moved off the bed. “Stay just like that.”

He went to the bathroom and got a washcloth, wetting it with warm water, before he moved back to the bed and her.

She looked over her shoulder at him but smiled softly at him when he carefully went to clean her. He made soothing motions over her tender places and along her thighs with the soft cloth. Once he was finished he tossed it to the floor.

Now that he was able to he let his hands run over her ass, hips and finally over her folds before he let his mouth follow once again.

“Fuck, do you know how beautiful you are? How addicting you are?” He asked after he had wrung another orgasm from her.

Lacey had her head laying on the bed and was gripping the sheets tightly. “I don’t know how much more I can take, Eric. I don’t think I have anymore to give you.”

He pulled back and looked at her while he took his hand and landed on swatt to one side of her ass. She snapped up in shock and screeched. There was no pain, he wouldn’t do that. But there was surprise and a bit of a sting.

“What did you say?” He demanded with a raised eyebrow.

“I don’t know if I can, Eric.” She whispered shakily.

“You can and will, Red. You’re mine until I say otherwise.” Eric’s tone softened as he ran his hand soothingly over her ass cheek. He placed a kiss to it causing her eyes to widen and he smiled against her skin.

It was tempting to go there. To take that most intimate and taboo of places. But as base as he was and as much as he wanted to have every part of her, he couldn’t do that to her.

So he placed a kiss to the other one before he moved over to the bedside table and grabbed another condom. He rolled it on, lubed up then laid down on his back.

“This time you ride me, beautiful.” He said as he guided her to the right position.

Her eyes were wide and eager.

The rest of their time proceeded in that way. He held off from another release until he had taken her in at least two more positions. He was dead set on fulfilling as many fantasies as he could with her.

They were both covered in sweat, the sheets were drenched and rumpled, her body was nearing the end of what he could bring out in her. They were laying on their side while he moved in her, gripping her face to turn towards him so he could see her when she came undone for him for the final time.

There was a sadness building in them both. He could see it. He could feel it stinging behind his eyes as his motions were frantic and desperate. She gripped his arm tightly as she bit her lip.

“Eric..” She pleaded with him.

“Not yet.” He gasped out the denial. “Not fucking yet, baby. Can’t end….” He trailed off gruffly.

But he knew it had to. He was right there and so was she. “Together please.” She asked with everything she felt in her voice and eyes.

Eric closed his eyes and nodded. “Together baby.” He rasped out as he pulled her to him for a kiss.

And they exploded. Their cries into each others mouths combined with the rushing of blood in his ears. Stars exploded behind his eyes. His heart felt like it might do the same in joy, love and pain.

He knew that in that moment, he had lied. He said no regrets but he would always regret one thing. That he wasn’t brave enough to not let her walk out that door.

#eric coulter #divergent #fanfiction #jai courtney #divergent fanfiction #eric coulter fanfiction

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