#the kids on my team specifically and he came in yesterday even when he felt sick and im just. tired

[robby-bobby-tommy]

I was too tired to stay on Philza's stream... But I am winning, ok?

Fitza staying as strong as ever.

I'll talk a bit about purgatory, since I didn't have time while it was happening.

During the purgatory, we all were thinking that Wallflower duo was dying, cuz they both hunt each other down, but in reality they only got stronger! They are one of the few duos who could kill each other and still stay besties for life. Closer to the end of the Purgatory, they met up and threw a dice together, laughing and joking. Even hugging!! They were in different teams, yet they still hugged and respected each other so much. The Eye B_tch tried to break Fitza up, but their not so platonic duo was stronger than that.

I think it's a stretch, but I felt very warm, when Phil woke up and called for Fit first. I dunno why, but they are very dear to me. Fit is Phil's closest friend and vice versa. So Phil waking up and seeking Fit is so sweet.

And now to yesterday's stream. I didn't watched it all, but I've had enough moments to speak of. Firstly, Fit greeting Philza right when the latter logged in, as they did wayy back, in the first few months of qsmp. Then Phil shows his crows his wings for the first time, which was already huge af. But then he trusted Fit enough to show them to him. And in reality, Phil just showed his greatest vulnerability and insecurity to this specific person, and if it's not the biggest gesture of trust I don't know what is. After Purgatory, they both were supposed to be colder to and be wary of each other, but no. They still confide in each other, being the most honest they can. Fit even apologized. And when Dadza called himself a dumbass, Fit quickly said he isn't one. I love them.

And then Phil and Fit spent a lot of time together, as they did before. Walking, talking, cleaning the server for their kids, joking about each other's d_c-. They're calm around each other, cuz they've known each other for years. I think it's a stretch once again, but I feel that Phil would show his wings to Fit first even if he had a choice.

And again, if we're going back more, when Phil saw the picture of the skull and called for Fit, the latter came almost immediately. After Crow started saying "stupid... Stupid bird brain" 2b2t veteran informed that he believed in existence of skull picture. War criminal sees that dadza starts to doubt in himself, so he reassures him and lets him join him and Pac in the dungeon. Putting friends before roommates (they are so gay, why is Fit in denial... No matter how jacked he is he can't beat Fitpac allegations).

They rotate in my head every second of the day. Their friendship is stronger than anything. If the world came crushing down, they're gonna be together. If one's in trouble the other is already planning the rescue mission. They know each other for a long time, they know how ruthless they can be, but they aren't afraid. They're here for each other. They put their trust in each other, giving each other access to private chambers (Fit's secret bedroom and kid's basement). They're prepared to break the rules, put oneself on the line for the other's sake. They even share illegal stuff with each other. Fit is bullets for Philza's gun. The best duo ever.

[ladylooch]

The Ugly Sweater [Lio Meier]

A/N: Major props to Bestie for coming up with this idea yesterday. Thank you for living in my AUs with me daily ❤️

Also, yes, I am feeding you sweet Lee before the major angst. Because I want us all to suffer? I love punishing me and us? I don’t know. But enjoy this holiday flavor until then😘

Word Count: 2.9k

Lio Meier isn’t one to get nervous. He plays in front of 20,000 people every other night in the greatest hockey league in the world. He can walk into any bar in New York City and leave with a willing woman on his arm. He thrives at being put out in 3 v 3 OT with an entire franchise strapped to his back.

But something about being invited to Savannah Miller’s place of residence scares the shit out of him. And he isn’t even the only one going.

Savannah is hosting the holiday party for the team and their significant others on the first day off for Holiday break. Apparently the theme is ugly sweater? It really isn’t Lio’s style, but as per usual, Savannah has him outside of his comfort zone. Admittedly, Lio is embarrassed about the amount of time he spent sifting through racks of sweaters at the local thrift store trying to find the perfect one. He finally settles on a florescent green one that mimicked a Christmas tree. Balls of fluff hang off every few inches of his chest in various colors as ornaments. Green, crunchy fringe wraps around his body and the entire smell of the get up has an underlying of must despite washing it twice when he got home.

A cloud of white fills the air in front of his face as he breathes heavily walking up Savannah’s front steps. He can hear music and laughter inside. His fist knocks forcefully on the door to be heard over the music. The distinct click of high heels against hardwood can be heard from the other side. The knob turns and Savannah appears. Whatever she is wearing is not the theme she told Lio about earlier this week. Her gorgeous body is wrapped in soft, red velvet to her mid-thigh. A deep V cuts down her chest showing off her plumped cleavage like it’s just for Lio. He has to hold his tongue to the roof of his mouth to prevent it from dropping open in appreciation.

“What! Lio Meier came to my little party!?” She squeals out excitedly. 

In one of her hands is a glass of red sangria. Apples and cranberries bob in it as she leans forward to hug him with one arm. He steps forward, careful of her toes in her peep toe heels that show off her white toe nails. Her blonde hair is down and curled, getting all up in Lio’s face as he leans in further to their hug. She smells like home to Lio- specifically the Swiss Summer when the mountain wildflowers are at their peak. When Savannah pulls back to take him in again, she bursts out laughing. Despite the daze she has him under, Lio laughs and grins back at her.

"You asked me to." He knows his reaction is delayed but he couldn't speak with how good her breasts felt against his disgustingly ugly sweater. "Is this your interpretation of ugly or did something get lost in translation?" He chuckles, grabbing her hand and encouraging her to spin for him. He is unashamed at the way his blue eyes curve over the soft velvet hugging her ass cheeks. His favorite thing about watching her walk away from him after they get sassy with each other. 

Savannah has had a few glasses of sangria already; she was nervous about offering to host the Holiday party, so the spin makes her a little dizzy. Her free hand comes to Lio's chest to catch herself. He wraps his hand around her back, holding her close until she looks up at him with wide eyes, very aware of how close their lips are to each other. 

"This feels like a bad time to tell you I was kidding." She bites her lip, but giggles too

Disappointment surges through Lio's chest.

Fuck.

He thought this would be an opportunity to impress the pretty girl he can’t stop thinking about. The one that makes his stomach flip in his body when she smiles or laughs, even if it is at his expense. He figured if he showed up at this party in the ugliest, most outrageous sweater, maybe Savannah would start to see him as something more than a hockey superstar. She has him pegged for exactly what he is, but… maybe for her he wants to be something different. Now, Lio feels like he won’t have that opportunity. 

He looks beyond her at his teammates, seeing them all dressed in suits or nice attire while he is in this loser ass sweater and black jeans. At this moment, he makes eye contact with Rob, a seasoned vet, who spits out his whiskey neat at the sight of him. Great. 

"Holy fuck, Meier!” Rob hollers down the hallway.

This gets the rest of his teammates curious and they all take turns, peaking around the walls to take in Lio Meier in his ugly Christmas sweater. This is what he gets for breaking his own rules and trying to impress a woman. The same woman who purses her lips against an obvious laugh. Her blue eyes squint up at him as she covers her hand with her mouth, eyes squinting closed as she laughs again. The distraction luckily hides the bummer in his eyes as he takes the jokes and cat calls while moving further into the apartment. 

Savannah's place looks amazing. It has an air of HGTV or those magazine you always see on the end caps in the grocery store. Everything has a place and it’s bright and shiny, but incredibly welcoming, just like it’s occupant. Savannah has a clear knack for decorating that reminds him of his mom. Mama Meier would love it in here. 

From his left, someone hands Lio a beer and he quickly chugs half of it down. He scans the room, giving head nods and accepting the continued razzing from his teammates. He spots the alcohol cart across the room by the rookies. Figures they would be posting up there. Lio works his way to the front, grabbing a shot glass and taking a quick hit of whiskey. The comfort of the burn grips his esophagus and he feels his heartbeat fall down ten more beats to normal. 

”Yeah, that sweater is so fucking ugly, I need to drink." One of the rookies, Jax, jokes to his right. His laughter is silenced by Lio's direct, angry side eye. The look also diverts Jax’s eyes away from Sav's ass a few moments later.

"Hold my beer the rest of the night, rook." Lio snaps after recognizing where he was looking. Nobody looks at her like that in front of him. Plus this dipshit’s girlfriend is right there. Who does that? 

Lio converses with a few guys, feeling looser after he finishes his beer and whiskey, chasing them with another of each. At some point, he tries some eggnog. It’s not is favorite but it packs a serious punch so he keeps drinking the creamy concoction. Eventually, nature calls and he dips out of the room to go to the bathroom. As he is washing his hands, he catches a glimpse of his sweater. Frustrated and disappointed, he tugs it over his shoulders, going with the crisp white undershirt beneath instead. He has suffered enough.

On his way back to the main area, he walks by Savannah's office on his right. He backtracks a few steps, peeking in. Just like Sav, it's perfectly put together. He walks in further, running his fingers along her white desk. He sees pictures of her and her friends and of whom he assumes is her parents. She’s a blend of both of them. He can’t remember seeing them around the Prudential Center before. In the corner, a small Christmas tree lights the room up. The twinkling lights call him over to it. He takes in the pink, white and teal ornaments, scrunching his nose at all the glitter on the tree. He lifts a pink ornament up with his pointer finger.

"Don't touch, Mr. Grinch." Sav murmurs from the doorway. Lio turns quick, cheeks turning pink at being caught snooping

"Mmm, I may be a snoop but you're a liar, Savannah Miller.” She laughs at his ribbing.

"I'm the liar in this room? How many times have you lied to get someone in bed with you?”

"Too many." Lio admits. He watches her face. She isn't even phased by his confession. She knows all about him and his games yet she walks further into the room with him. Lio’s stomach does summersaults. There is a heaviness in the air with each tap of her shoes closer to him. 

“I called you a Grinch because you don’t seem to be having much fun at this holiday party.” She murmurs, drawing an imaginary frown over her lips. 

“You watching me?” He tilts his head at her. 

“Hard to miss with that color on. And stop dodging my question.” 

“I’m having a great time. Beer is cold. Whiskey is warm. And now that I don’t want to claw my skin off cause of this, I’m ready to enjoy the rest of the night.” He holds the sweater up at her.

“I really thought you would get all squinty and then we would laugh about it like we usually do. Not… whatever this is.” Lio shrugs like he isn’t sure what she is talking about it. “I’m sorry if I hurt you. I thought it would be fun and it obviously fell flat.”

“Takes more than a joke to hurt me.” Lio chuckles. Savannah’s blue eyes bore into him. It makes Lio uncomfortable. He hates the way she sees him, worms her way right under the shiny, metal armor he puts around himself to keep everyone out except a few select people. Savannah keeps staring. Lio shifts awkwardly from foot to foot. “What?” He finally asks.

“I just can’t stop thinking about how you’re the only man who has ever been in this room. Despite all the deliberate decisions on decor in here to bring out a feminine energy, your dark masculinity completely dominates the space.”

Lio doesn’t notice feminine or masculine energy. All he feels is the buzzing connection between the two of them. Can’t she feel it? How a large magnet is pulling his arms up to reach for her. The way the room dares him to fuse his fingers to her hips and bring her into his body until every inch of them connects. Because for Lio, the urge is all consuming. Savannah steps forward. Her hand brushes at the long strands of hair falling across his forehead. 

“Sav.” Lio croaks, voice coated roughly from the alcohol and his desire for her. “If you don’t want me to kiss you, step back in three… two…” 

Lio doesn’t get to one. Savannah hastily closes the gap. 

Her fingers move from his forehead to his cheek and she tugs. His face collides with hers. The kiss is awkward for a moment as their lips miss each other, connecting with cheeks instead. Quickly, Lio turns, connecting them finally. At Last by Etta James may as well be playing as their own movie soundtrack. Lio’s body screams at the delicious pressure of her mouth. Of all the kisses he’s had, this one accelerates to the top. It consumes him in a burning fire that lights his soul up. Explosions, bells, and whistles go off in his brain as he wraps his hand around her. They are as much warnings as they are encouragements. The softness of her dress makes for an easy glide of his skin across her back. Then Savannah let’s out a soft moan into his mouth. 

Fuck.

Lio feels the tightness building in his pants. Savannah pushes forward and he stumbles back. His other hand comes to her hip so he has one in each of his palms. She steps forward again, not letting their lips part except to run her tongue along his bottom lip.

Oh fuck. If Lio’s eyes were open, they would roll to the back of his head. 

Gradually, Lio falls backwards, startling until his butt hits the cool leather of a chair. Savannah climbs into his lap. Her hands greedily grip his cheeks as her tongue nudges into his mouth. She moans against it. Lio sighs, resisting the urge to roll her hips into his tight zipper. He wants this to last, become a slow build that irritates and inspires him if she’ll ever let him have her completely. Her dress is bunching up higher on her thighs. Lio forces the fabric down a bit more with his thumbs to help keep her covered. 

This hasty make out continues until their lips are puffy and their chins and noses are bright red. Wetness is highlighted by the blinking lights of her Christmas tree. They both pull away panting for breath. Lio can still taste the slight sweetness of sangria from her mouth.

“I wish I didn’t know how good you are at that.” She whispers. Lio pecks her lips again. “Gonna think about this every time I’m in your interview scrum. You’ve always made it hard for me to do my job, Meier.” She leans back, ghosting her fingers along his lips that she made swollen. Lio plumps his lips beneath them to kiss more of her skin.

Laughter carries down the hall to them. Regretfully, Savannah eases herself out of Lio’s lap, both of them knowing they need to rejoin the group. She shimmies her skirt back down her thighs completely as Lio looks away to give her a bit of privacy.

“You go back first.” Lio gestures, not getting up from the chair so he can hide what their kissing did to him. Savannah nods, heading towards the still ajar door. She glances over her shoulder at him, fingers touching her lips in wonder. Those same lips tilt up at Lio before she disappears into the hall. 

Lio leans his head back against the chair, closing his eyes.

Sav is righ. How is he supposed to forget about that?

- - -

Sweat drips down from Lio’s hair as he leans down, working out his skate laces at their first practice back from the holiday. All the fondue, desserts, and bread Lucie and Liv stuffed him with this holiday felt like a 12 pound balloon in his stomach with each stride he took. But it was worth it. He wiggles his foot from side to side to work his first foot up and out. Once the first one is free, he leans down to work on the other foot.

A pair of black, high-heeled boots come to stand in front of his locker. He shakes the hair out of his eyes, looking up to see if those boots belong to who he hopes. They do.

Standing in front of him in the ugliest sweater he has ever seen is Savannah Miller. It’s red with ruffles on every square inch of the fabric, including around the collar and each wrist. Bells are attached in random points including two that are weirdly close to the middle of each breast, almost like it was intentional. She grins down at Lio, tapping her phone against her thigh anxiously. Snickers fill the room as Lio leans back up, letting his hands hang off his legs between his thighs. He has not seen or heard from Savannah since his lips were on hers a few days ago.

“That might be worse than mine.” 

“It is.” She confirms. “Felt necessary to go big to get back on your good side.”

“Really wasn’t. I’m fine.” He reminds her. But fuck if his little Grinch heart isn’t growing two sizes in his chest right now. 

“Sure, but I am also doing a feature on you for February, so I need your full cooperation. Thought this might help.”

“Ah, work related.”

“Not completely.” She shakes her head while biting her bottom lip.

“Well, in that case, I’m happy to be featured but, ah, I only talk over dinner and a bottle of wine.” A coy smile spreads Savannah’s lips further apart. She leans in closer, glancing to each side to make sure no one is eavesdropping.

“How about my place? I can interview you in my office? You seemed to like the chair in there. Really comfortable…” Lio can’t help but laugh. 

“It was a good chair. I liked the velvet blanket in my lap too.” A deep red blushes up Savannah’s cheeks and down her throat. He wants to lean forward right now and kiss the path of her embarrassed rash in front of the whole locker room. 

“Tomorrow?” 

“I can’t tomorrow. Have a date with my favorite Rangers fan.” He promised Stell he would come over for hot dogs and Kraft macaroni. 

“Now that’s a girl I’m okay playing second fiddle too.” 

“She’s pretty great.” Lio nods, kicking off his skate and Savannah glances over her shoulder. 

“I should go.”

“Friday works though.” He fills in, not wanting her to leave without a plan in place. “I could come over at 5.” 

“Sure. Bring your sweater.”

“I wound’t last five minutes in that thing.”

“Yeah. I know.” Her direct eye contact makes Lio’s eyes widen in surprise. 

If this sweater gets him laid by Savannah Miller, he is keeping it the rest of his god damn life.

[iliveinprocrasti-nationn]

im tired of places saying they’re covid conscious and require masks at all times and then never enforcing distancing or the mask policy. just once please actually stick to what you tell me you are

[messers-moony]

Divorce | J.P

Paring: James Potter X Slytherin!Reader

Summary: Reader goes through divorce with her arranged husband but sees her Hogwarts crush almost two years later at her Potions shop in Diagon Alley

Divorce sucks. There is no other way to say it. There is no amount of sugar to properly coat the words to make them seem better than they are. Instead, they’re pure salt– pure acidity. An arranged marriage for purebloods was typical. That doesn’t mean that everyone technically agrees they work. Some speculate that arranged marriages work more than chosen marriages. Y/n wouldn’t be one of those people.

Her family was a part of the sacred twenty-nine. The L/n’s, to be more specific. Y/n was a model child, an only child at that. She was sorted into Slytherin with not a consideration of any other house. Immediately at the age of sixteen, she was engaged to another man called Zenix Flores, another family of the sacred twenty-eight. Zenix was sweet, but he wasn’t her type.

Throughout her years at Hogwarts, Y/n stared at another. His name was James Potter. A star Quidditch player for the Gryffindor team. The best Chaser. Y/n’s lingering stares and dreamy look didn’t make it past Zenix. Fortunately, Zenix had eyes for another as well, Sirius Black, the best friend of James Potter. They bonded over that. They bonded over being in love with people they couldn’t have.

Everyone dies eventually. Immortality is not reality, and once Y/n’s parents died. Divorce was in order. However, they didn’t love each other like they should’ve it still sucked. They were close friends. But did close friends have a child together? Leo Flores, the product of Y/n Flores and Zenix Flores, was only eight years old when they went through the divorce. Leo was a token to show that Zenix and Y/n fell in love. An illusion.

It took months, but after the process was complete, Y/n left. Leo was to be in her care for the rest of his life. Zenix would send some of his profit to them to help, but he would never see his son again. Granted, he didn’t treat Leo well. Always so harsh, so strict on the little boy. The first words out of Leo’s mouth were ma’am and sir. Not momma or daddy. Instead, they were formalities.

They lived in an apartment in Diagon Alley. It wasn’t huge, but it was enough. Y/n changed her last name, and Leo’s back to L/n. Another long process but worth the wait. Y/n worked at a Potions shop in the Alley. Sometimes her old friend Severus would visit and buy some ingredients, but no one else she knew ever came into the shop. Not until he showed up at the door.

James Potter came waltzing into the Potions shop like it was nobody’s business. Unknown to the woman working the shop, he had been watching her work from afar. Just across the street was a bookstore where Remus would visit. During one of those visits, James caught sight of her. Granted, James didn’t think he’d find love after Lily ran away after his proposal claiming he wasn’t enough but that all changed when he saw her.

The feelings came back like it was yesterday she was gazing at him from the Slytherin table in the Great Hall. Y/n’s cheeks were set ablaze, and her stomach was placed into a frenzy of a million different feelings. Her heart made it seem like she ran around the Quidditch pitch one thousand times. Unbeknownst to her, he felt the same way.

Eventually, he made his way to the counter, “ Um- Good Afternoon. “

“ Good afternoon, sir. How may I assist you today? “ Y/n asked despite her racing heart, “ I need some help brewing a complex Potion. “ James confessed, fiddling with his hands.

“ What Potion, sir? “ Y/n inquired, “ Wolfsbane. “ James answered.

Her eyebrow quirked upward, “ That is a difficult Potion. It could have awful defects if made incorrectly. “ Y/n explained, looking at the ingredient list, “ How about this, I’ll make you the Potion instead of you possibly messing it up? “

“ How can I trust you won’t mess up? “ James questioned, smirking teasingly, “ Well. If it helps any, I received O’s on all of my Potion examinations, even in N.E.W.T level. “ Y/n quipped.

“ Well. I suppose you know your stuff. “ He replied as he crossed his arms, “ I suppose I do. “ Y/n retorted with a smile.

So James decided that she’d make the Potion. He would’ve paid her a million Galleons if he was just allowed to sit in the shop and stare at her. She was a beauty and moved so gorgeously. She moved with a purpose, with determination and ambition. Sirius and Remus had begun teasing him as James stared longingly at the Potions shop across the street.

“ Do you know her name? “ Remus asked, standing beside James now, “ No? “ James stated.

Remus chuckled; of course, he didn’t, “ Y/n L/n. She was a Slytherin in our year. Amazingly brilliant she is. Apparently, she was married to Zenix Flores but got divorced two years ago. “

James and Sirius stared gobsmacked, “ Did you stalk Prongs’ future wife? “ Sirius accused, and Remus shrugged, “ I was curious. Plus, I knew her at Hogwarts. She was a Prefect. We had a lot of rounds together. “

“ She was a Prefect? “ James queried, “ Mhm. You were too busy drooling at Lily to notice her. “ Remus nodded.

Now James felt incredibly stupid. All those pranks on the Slytherin house made him feel exceptionally stupid, knowing that she could’ve caught the backlash on some of them. Not only that, but she was a part of the sacred twenty-eight. James had never felt more idiotic, and he had gotten rejected after proposing to his girlfriend. That was saying something.

A month had passed, and the potion was ready. So once again, James walked into the Potions shop. This time she had a messy top knot present on top of her hair. Her eyes held extreme tiredness, and she moved almost sluggishly. James was worried. But Y/n saw him enter the shop and her cheerful smile glazed her face. Two bottles were now present on the counter for James to take.

He stood at the counter and pressed ten Galleons on the table, “ Sir, they’re only three Galleons. “ Y/n stated, “ Take the extra. You look exhausted. “ James replied.

“ Th- Thank you. “ Y/n smiled, “ Thank you, Y/n, for making these. “ James said gratefully.

Y/n blushed, “ I- Um- You were a Slytherin Prefect in my year at Hogwarts. “ James stammered, “ I’m sorry I didn’t recognize you before. “

“ It’s okay. Divorce can do that to you, Huh? “ Y/n laughed bitterly, “ Well, when I proposed to Lily, she straight up told me I wasn’t good enough so, that was almost like divorce minus the paperwork. “ James added.

“ I’m- I’m so sorry. “ Y/n apologized, “ No, no. I’m okay, trust me. It’s been about three years. “ James replied.

Before Y/n could speak again, steps were heard from the second story, “ Mom! Mom! “ Leo’s voice called as he rushed down the steps.

“ Mom! “ Leo appeared from behind the counter to see James and a blushing Y/n, “ Oops, uh, sorry, mom. “

“ No, it’s fine. Come here. “ James beckoned, and Leo hesitantly approached, “ What’s your name, little man? “

“ I’m ten! “ Leo announced proudly, and James chuckled, “ That’s awesome! “ James smiled.

Y/n turned to her son, “ What did you need, Leo? “ Despite being embarrassed, she was calm, “ You accidentally placed my quills on a high shelf. I can't reach them. “ Leo confessed, slightly embarrassed.

“ I’ll be up in just a second, but- “ Y/n began, but James stuck out his hand, “ I’m James. “

“ I’m Leo. “ Leo accepted the handshake and smiled at the adult man, “ If your mom doesn’t mind, maybe we could chat? “ James inquired, looking toward Y/n.

Leo looked hopeful at his mom, “ Please? “

“ Sure. You can go. “ Y/n allowed, and Leo hopped over the counter.

Before James could leave the proximity of the counter, Y/n grabbed his wrist, “ Please. Take care of him; I'm trusting you blindly here. “ She pleaded, and James smirked, “ Of course. “

The rest of the day went smoothly. Y/n had closed shop and began restocking items when they showed up. James' unkempt brown hair was more unorganized, but his hazel eyes glassed with mischief. Leo’s black hair was blown away from the rain, and his blue eyes sparkled with excitement. James beckoned the ten-year-old back upstairs while he approached Y/n.

“ So? Have a nice day with my kid? “ Y/n teased, and James chuckled, “ He’s fantastic. “

“ I know. “ She replied, “ I took him for ice cream, and we went shopping for a little. “ James informed.

Y/n melted at the adoration present on James' face, “ Do you need any money back? I can- “

“ No. Don’t worry about it, doll. I’ve got it covered. “ James interjected, “ I just saw him, and he had this look. He looked trapped. He needed to leave and just let loose for a couple of hours. “

“ I- I really love him. “ James confessed, and Y/n smirked, “ You’re in love with my son but not the woman who created him? “

“ If we're being honest. I’ve been watching you from the bookstore across the street. I thought you were gorgeous. Remus was the one who told me who you were. “ He admitted nervously, “ But being with your son today. If you’d like, could I take him out more often? “

She stepped down from the ladder and stood in front of him, “ How about you stay forever? “

“ I- I mean that is if you want. I know that I’m a pureblood, and- and my son- you probably don’t want to have a child right now. He’ll be going to Hogwarts soon, and quite frankly, I’m not sure I’ll be able to handle it. But- But his former father wasn’t amazing, and I’m not sure you want that responsibility- “

Y/n was cut off when James grabbed her by the waist and placed his lips on hers. His thumbs rubbed gentle circles on her skin through her shirt. Y/n’s hands went through his unkept brown tuffs and his glasses slightly fogged from the heat of the kiss. They pulled apart but rested their foreheads on each other. They were still somewhat breathless from the soft kiss.

He held her chin in his hand, “ I’d love nothing more than to stay forever. “

[thetoadghoul]

Volunteering: (Ohtani x Reader) <333 (Part - 2)

part 1!

plot: Wednesday’s game arrives which Ohtani invited you to, some bonding time before the first pitch <3 slowwwburn, long cause idk details are fun lol

Wednesday quickly arrived, made much faster by the crazy amount of work you were required to do for your ‘actual’ job. The last three days had been spent with you running around the LA area, as well as cyberspace, to serve your role as interpreter. It was hell, for more reasons than one. The biggest of all being that even though you were not in Japan at the moment, you were still required to wear a proper suit. That meant a tight navy skirt, stockings, and some blasted heels. Sexist men, long meetings, and endless paperwork aside, you enjoyed your job for the most part - but this aspect really wore on you. However, the pain in your feet wouldn't damper your excitement for tonight’s game. Today you were not actually volunteering at the Angels stadium.

The day before yesterday, when you were actually volunteering, a bashful Ohtani had tapped you on the back while you were picking up baseballs from the batting cages. When you turned around the giant man was holding out a lanyard with an attached document, marked ‘VIP Guest of Player’. It took all you had not to let your hands shake with nerves as you reached out and grabbed it gingerly.

“Uh, see you on Wednesday.” The man looked to the side awkwardly, running a hand through his hair.

“...Yeah.” You responded with a small smile, feeling stupid, but it was all you could think of.

“Well, uh, I better go...” He motioned behind his back with a lazy thumb, staring to jog backward.

You nodded quickly, rushing to go back to picking up balls before you said something super lame, or weird.

It wasn’t till you were on the way home did you take a look at the back of the stadium pass. It read ‘Guest of Shohei Ohtani’. So he had put in the request for you, that was just like him, so kind. It would be an understatement to say you weren’t excited for tomorrow.

-----

Currently, your heart was still racing, but for another reason other than a certain super cute and insanely talented baseball player. It was because it was almost three-thirty in the afternoon and you were running around your company-provided apartment, trying to get ready as fast as you could. Ippei let you know you should get there around four-thirty, by then the team would have been done warming up and starting to enjoy a pregame meal while the away team got the field to themselves. From that point onwards, pretty much everyone was free to relax in the clubhouse till just before the first pitch.

With little time to consider, not even enough time to take a shower after having just got off work, you went with an oversized red T-shirt, baggy jeans, and some cool Jordan’s. This was your go-to, and it was comfortable. You don’t have many clothes anyway, living out of a suitcase.

Right as you were about to run out of the door you remembered to grab your standard Angels cap, it had been provided to you as part of your volunteer uniform a while back, slipping it on over your tight work bun. You would let your hair down later.

All right, everything was in order, Uber scheduled, lanyard secured.

It took about half an hour to arrive at the stadium, and once it came into view, you instructed the driver to let you out in front of the ballpark entrance. It had been a long time since you got to go through the gates as a member of the audience, it actually gave you a wave of nostalgia seeing everyone in their gear, so hyped up for the game, tailing gating outside for what was probably hours.

Once you were through, you started walking through the concession stands and various other stalls, dodging around the fans that were already inside watching the warm-ups, as well as hanging out drinking and eating. There were pictures of Ohtani everywhere, people taking turns snapping pictures of each other in front of the various cutouts of him. The air was buzzing with energy, and it seemed like all for that guy. Honestly, you had worked for a couple different teams over the years, but you had never seen hype like this. It was surreal, seeing a legend in the making.

You smiled, gripping the lanyard around your neck, making your way through the stadium. Shohei was super nice to do this for you, really, you should show him your support. Maybe a quick peek in the team store would do? Plus, you deserved to spend some money on yourself. After all, this was the first time you had really been ‘out’ in the almost three months you had been in California. Your free time was either working, volunteering, video games, or sleep.

You took a couple moments in the Angel's merch shop, quietly perusing the aisles, keeping an eye out for any Ohtani-themed items. Unfortunately, there weren’t really that many, probably sold out by the fans. What was there, was way too small for you.

“Y/n, you here to watch the game?” A young voice sounded.

When you turned to see who addressed you, a familiar girl was standing there grinning.

“Hey Jordan! I didn’t know you were working tonight.” You grinned back.

Jordan worked at the store as a stock manager, she was close in age to you so the two of you often hung out. You had invited her over a couple times, both bonding over your love for crappy reality TV, beer, and of course, baseball.

“Yeah it was last minute, a girl was feeling sick and there wasn’t anyone else cept’ me.” She sighed.

“Bummer, text me if you need help?” You offered, to which she waved you off.

“Nah, you enjoy being here and NOT working.” She chuckled, walking over to organize a messy shelf.

“So, you looking for something in particular?” The girl glanced over her shoulder.

“Uh yeah, you recommend any cool Ohtani stuff? Or is there any at all... seems wiped clean in here.” You said while looking around.

“Ohtani? You here to cheer him on too then. Wanna catch his eye.” She teased.

“Don’t say it like I’m just here for my like, prince charming.” You snapped back playfully, but, maybe a little too fast.

“Aren’t you?” She pressed with an eyebrow.

“Okay, I’m leaving.” You pouted, fake walking away.

“I’m just kidding, actually, stay here for a second I might have something you’ll like.” Jordan yelled as she jogged off to the back room behind the counters.

You did as you were told and when she came back there was a large white Angels jersey in her hands.

“Ta-da!” She grinned, twisting it around to show the player’s name on the back.

“Oh, it’s in Kanji? That’s cool, I didn’t know these existed?” You questioned, running your finger over the ‘tani’ character of Ohtani.

“It’s the last one on the floor, had to grab it off the mannequin. Hope it’s not too big? It’s XL?” She questioned, passing it to you to hold.

“Nah it’s perfect, can’t you tell.” You joked holding the jersey next to you, while you showed off your oversized clothes.

“Figured it'd be fine, wanna get rung up? I’ll give you that ‘good good’ employee discount. But, don’t tell anyone.” She smiled, heading to the register, to which you nodded and jogged after her.

After you finished your purchase and waved bye to Jordan, it was time to head to the clubhouse. It was around five, so you were later than you planned but Shohei usually practiced batting in the cages a little while longer while everyone headed in. Slipping the plastic shopping bag into your purse, and ripping the tags off your new jersey, you slipped it on over your T-shirt, smoothing out the material as best you could. It felt great to finally have some real merch from the team, and part of you sort of wondered what Ohtani would think when he saw you. Hopefully, it wasn’t too much to just show up in his gear after he pretty much randomly invited you, let alone in the stadium-specific one, as you just learned from your colleague.

After you got to an employee-only doorway, you pushed on it hoping it was actually open. Ippei had also let you know via text that it would be unlocked for you. Another kindness of Shohei, not just inviting you, but making sure you had access to all the catering and AC inside the resisted area of the building. You slipped in and locked the door behind you, not wanting to encourage some intoxicated fans to follow. The hallway was empty and cool as you started making your way to the clubhouse.

You were admittedly a bit nervous by the time you got to the doors, feeling a bit awkward about strutting in as anyone other than a volunteer for the first time. Carefully you pushed open the door, making sure not to hit anybody. The room was full of chatter, some players eating, some playing cards, others watching TV on the room's monitors. You looked around for Ohtani, but he wasn’t there yet apparently. No matter, you strolled in and went for the snack area. Truthfully you hadn’t eaten since that morning, and that was just a toasted bagel. Turning your back to the rest of the room, you began filling up your plate with cocktail shrimp and grapes.

“Nice jersey.” Ippei said, coming up next to you, grabbing small sandwiches for his plate.

“Is that sarcastic?” You questioned with a smile, finishing your plate.

“Nah, I’m sure he likes it.” Ippei jerked his head to the left.

He? You leaned back to see around the man, meeting Shohei’s surprised face almost immediately. Had he been standing there the whole time? He had obviously been staring at your back, at his name, bashfully looking up to your face when you moved, blinking a couple times to clear his eyes.

“I uh, got it ten minutes ago.” You grinned awkwardly, pointing your thumb proudly at the jersey, hoping he wouldn’t think you were a weirdo.

The large player didn’t say anything, blinking more slowly this time before opting to just nod gently, with a quick “thanks for your support”, hurriedly leaning forward to start filling his plate with all kinds of foods.

—-

Once everyone had their food the three of you found a place to sit while you ate, it was at the back of the room away from the noise, and where the two usually sat before a game anyways. A small conversation started while the three of you ate calmly.

“Why... do you only have grapes, and shrimp?” Ohtani questioned suddenly, looking at your plate baffled. You looked down at it as well, pausing for a moment trying to find out what was so weird about that.

“Uh, well, it’s because... these things are... super expensive in Tokyo. It’s like a rich person food to me.” You smiled, eating a couple shrimps happily.

“Wow. That’s so sad.” Ippei chuckled before taking a bite of his sandwich.

Shohei on the other hand burst out laughing at your response, making you laugh a bit too at your pitiful confession.

“Seriously, I feel like a mega-rich, and very posh, Ginza lady right now - eating nothing but shrimp and fruit. So fancy right? ” You exclaimed, popping a grape in your mouth.

The Japanese player laughed even harder, tears building up as he wiped his eyes.

“Those people wouldn’t touch that stuff with a three-meter stick.” Ippei stated, letting out a small laugh.

“Just let me have my moment.” You pouted through a smile, shoving more shrimp in your mouth.

The other man calmed down finally and was now sitting there smiling while he ate.

“So, fancy y/n, are you okay to sit in the dugout tonight. Not too unrefined for you?” Ippei questioned with a smirk.

“That’s, allowed?” You asked, surprised.

“Yeah, if you want to. Can’t stay there the whole time, but.” The man responded nonchalantly, shrugging his shoulders.

“It’s the best place to hear, ‘the surprise’.” Shohei added, food in the process of being shoved in his mouth.

“Well, doesn’t seem like there’s any other option.” You smiled at the player, who nodded in acknowledgment.

“He’s batting first tonight, you won’t have to wait long.” Ippei spoke, starting on the next sandwich.

“Hope me being in there won’t be bad luck.” You joked.

“You believe in that?” Ippei smirked.

“My family ingrained it into me, wasn’t allowed to watch a single super bowl game in the living room till I literally moved out.” You frowned, stabbing a grape.

“Harsh.” The man smirked with a small laugh under his breath.

“You will be good luck, for sure.” Shohei leaned forward in a hunch to take another bite of food, smiling sincerely at you as he looked up from his food.

“Then, I will see to it that will become a very good omen. Please believe in me.” You responded in the highest form of keigo you knew, bowing rigidly from your seat for comedic effect. Since you never studied that level of grammar, it was really freaking bad, causing the two men to laugh again.

“You’re funny.” Ippei chuckled.

“Yeah, and your Japanese is so good though?” Shohei exclaimed, eyebrows raised, eyes wide.

“Nah it’s pretty bad, I fell off the study wagon a long time ago.” You laughed awkwardly, waving a hand in front of your face.

“You’d be there forever if you stayed on.” Ippei chuckled again, while Shohei nodded in sullen agreement.

“Writing would be nice though, having to look up every other kanji at the doctor's office, or like city hall makes me literally sweat, like, a lot. Buckets. But when I look around, I'm the only one.” You giggled.

“You’re so honest.” Shohei chuckled, wiping his mouth with a napkin, still leaning forward in his chair, you grinned back at him. Your eyes locked for a while, you had never noticed, but his eyelashes were sort of long.

At that moment Ippei had to take a call, letting the two of you know he’d be back in a bit, walking off. The two of you looked away and finished eating in silence.

When you looked up from your empty plate, the large player was now staring at you with a soft expression. The warmth in his eyes made you blush, he didn’t even break his gaze once he was caught like he usually did. You responded back to him simply with a shy smile, before being the one to avert your own eyes to the floor again.

Thankfully at that moment, a group of Angels came over, slapping the Japanese man on the back, starting up a conversion. They were going over strategies for the game and overall just getting hyped up. You didn’t have much to input, so you just kind of sat there enjoying the excited chatter. Shohei smiled merrily the whole time, inserting little jokes, completely affected by their excitement. The way he carried himself really reminded you that the essence of baseball was really just about having fun with your teammates and giving it your all. He looked simply happy to be there, and it made you smile too, just watching him goof off. It was charming to see his duality of being a just big kid with endless laugher, versus the super-serious, and seasoned player he was on the mound.

You were really trying hard not to but, you were rapidly developing feelings for Shohei. The last three months of volunteering here, you of course thought he was really cute and kind, classic boyfriend material. A simple crush, like many of the girls working around him, surely had as well. However the possibility of you two actually dating had always been a foreign concept, one which stopped you from even considering it, at all, you just didn’t know if you even could. With you both traveling for work, how would there be time? Plus, what about the media? His family? Yours? All those things seemed unscalable walls, that is, until this moment, when you could feel his gentle eyes on you once again.

Maybe, there was something? Or maybe, he was just a super nice guy, and you were treated no different than anyone else.

When you snapped out of your thoughts, Shohei was starting to stand up, grabbing everyone’s empties plates. He reached his hand towards you, asking for the one in your hand with a tiny nod of his head, to which you thanked him, stood up, and handed it over.

Well.

Either way, you were so screwed.

-------

Hope you enjoyed! <3

[alisonsfics]

Change Our Fates (Part Four)

Pairing: Spencer Reid x Reader

Summary: Y/N has always been head over heels for Spencer. The team decides to go out for drinks after finishing a case. When Spencer drunkenly kisses Y/N, will it change her life for better, or for worse?

Word Count: 4.1k

Warnings: Some brief mentions of cheating and hooking up, and a whole lot of fluff

Part 1 / Part 2 / Part 3 / Part 5

You were getting ready to head into work. You checked the clock and realized you were running late. You grabbed your shoes and ran into the living room to grab your work bag. You quickly slid the shoes on your feet and grabbed the bag with your empty hand. You made sure you had your badge and you looked down, making sure you had everything.

You had been so elated when you came home yesterday that you forgot to set your alarm. Last night, you had finally made up with Spencer. Nothing could bring you down, you were on cloud nine.

Then, you heard a knock on the door. You quickly ran over to the door, hoping it wouldn’t take too long. You were already late and you didn’t want to make it any worse.

You opened the door and saw the last person you expected. It was Hotch. He was just standing there. He looked exactly the same as the last time you saw him.

You were surprised to say the least. “Hotch? Hi, it’s been so long. How are you? How is Jack” You said, stunned. He gave you a small smile. “I’m okay. Jack is doing great, how has Human Services been treating you?” He asked you, sincerely.

“It’s been good. It’s nothing like working at the BAU. I miss you guys so much, but I learned to roll with the punches” You told him, honestly. You still had no idea why he was here. “That’s good, I knew you would do amazing there. You’re great at your job” he complimented you.

You appreciated it. You knew Hotch didn’t give compliments often, so you learned to embrace it when he did. “Thank you sir. And with all due respect, is there a reason you’re here? It’s amazing to see you and catch up. But, I feel like that isn’t why you’re here” you asked him, curiously.

He chucked to himself. “Well it’s good to see you haven’t lost your touch as a profiler. I came to talk you to about something related to the Bureau” he told you. You tried to read his expression, but you couldn’t tell if this was bad or good news.

“I’m actually really late for work right now. Is there a way we could discuss this maybe at lunch today? I have an hour off for lunch” you suggested, not wanting to get fired. You saw Hotch smirk to himself. “This is about work” he told you, minimally.

You were even more confused. “What do you mean?” You asked him. He paused for a second. “When you left the BAU, we hired a replacement to fill in your spot. But she is being transferred to the New York office. So we have an opening. And I spoke to your supervisors and they have approved your transfer if you are willing. You can have all the time you need to think about it” he told you.

You were blown away. This was an amazing opportunity. Working at the BAU had been the highlight of your life. You loved helping people and you got to work with your best friends.

“I don’t need any time to think about it. I would love to work at the BAU again. Does any of the team know yet?” You asked him, curiously. He shook his head. “No, I didn’t tell them. Just in case you declined, I didn’t want them to get disappointed” he told you.

You couldn’t get rid of the grin on your face. “I can’t believe this. Thank you so much” you said, sincerely. “Of course. You were my first thought when looking for a replacement. Now since you accepted, it is effective immediately. I can drive you, if you want” he offered. You nodded. “Yes of course, that would be great” you said, smiling.

You both walked outside and got into the SUV. Hotch started to drive towards Quantico. You noticed Hotch had a specific look on his face. You could tell he wanted to ask you something, but was hesitating.

“Just ask me” you told him, bluntly. You could tell you startled him. He didn’t think he had been that easy to read. “About you and Reid...” he started to say. Then it clicked. He was worried that you two still weren’t talking and that it would jeopardize the team.

“No, you don’t have to worry about that. We’re friends again. There is no more fighting, I promise. We aren’t going to jeopardize the team like that again” you swore to him. Hotch looked over at you. “I was just asking because I was worried about you two. I saw you two become best friends. You both are better together than apart. I wasn’t worried about you putting the team in danger. I know neither of you would ever do that” he told you.

Then you pulled into the Quantico parking lot. It felt good to be back. You both got out of the car and walked inside.

You were a mixture of nervous and elated. You were finally going to see the team after four years, but you were nervous for their reactions. You both walked into the bullpen and you felt the familiar sense of home.

You didn’t see anyone at their desks. If you knew your friends like you definitely did, they were getting coffee in the kitchen. You decided to go see if Penelope was in her office. You walked into the doorway.

You saw the blonde sitting at her desk, typing away. “Hey babygirl” you said, purposefully lowering your voice and you leaned against the doorframe. Penelope spun around and her eyes lit up when they saw you.

“Y/N!” She exclaimed. You walked over to her and she pulled you straight into her arms. “It’s so good to see you. It’s been too long” she said, holding you tightly. You could tell she was smiling, you had the same huge grin on your face. You both pulled away from each other.

“So what do I owe the pleasure of this visit?” She asked, as you both sat down. You could hardly contain your smile. “I’m back, Garcia” you said, smiling. Her jaw dropped. “You’re back, like in the BAU back?” She asked you, shocked. You just nodded.

Before she could say anything, someone appeared in the doorway. You both looked over and saw Derek standing there. “Hey Garcia—wait Y/N?” He asked, genuinely shocked. “She’s coming back, Derek” Penelope said, hardly able to contain herself.

Derek processed what was happening for a second. “That’s amazing. Come here, little mama” he said, walking towards you. You stood up to give him a hug. “I’ve missed you so much” you told him, honestly. He wrapped his arms around your waist and then picked you up off the ground.

You giggled as you felt your feet leave the ground. “It’s so good to have you back” Derek said, as he squeezed you tighter. He finally placed you back down on your feet. He gave you a quick kiss on the temple.

“So who knows?” Penelope asked you, curiously. “You two and Hotch. He showed up at my front door this morning” you told them both.

“Well then, come on! Let’s go say hi to everyone” Derek said, putting his arm around you and Penelope followed you both out of her office. Once you entered the bullpen, you saw Emily was at her desk. JJ was sitting on the side of Emily’s desk and they both were talking.

The three of you walked over to them. “Y/N, you’re here?” JJ said, in shock. She stood up and gave you a quick hug. “So what’s going on? Did you want to visit us because we are all amazing friends?” Emily joked, causing you to giggle.

“Not exactly. I just thought you should know that you’re going to be seeing me a whole lot more” you told them both, smirking. You saw both their faces light up. “Wait, are back in the BAU? That’s amazing” JJ said, smiling at you. “That’s great news. Why didn’t you tell me before?” Emily asked you, curiously. “Well, I only found out this morning” you said, giggling.

“You need to go talk to Reid, he’ll be so excited. I think I saw him making a cup of coffee. Go see him” Penelope told you, smirking. They all agreed and smirked at you. Even after all these years, they were still shipping you and Spencer.

As you walked away, you heard Emily telling the rest of the team about your conflict between Spencer and Trevor. You didn’t mind at all. It was easier, now you didn’t have to tell all of them.

You walked into the kitchen. You saw Spencer standing there, pouring obscene amounts of sugar in his coffee. “A little heavy on the sugar, huh?” You asked, smiling.

He eyes snapped up to meet yours. He was at a loss for words. He didn’t expect to see you here, this morning. “I—uhh hi. Is something going on?” He asked you, sincerely.

“Oh nothing much, I just got transferred back to the BAU, no big deal” you said, nonchalantly. Spencer just stared at you. He was trying to figure out if you were kidding. He didn’t know what to believe. “Please tell me this isn’t a joke” he said, almost to himself.

“It’s not a joke, Spence” you said, softly. He rushed over to you and wrapped his arms around your waist, tightly. You couldn’t help but smile. You felt him nuzzle his face into your neck. You didn’t complain. You had missed your hugs with Spencer. You subconsciously started rocking back and forth. You always used to do that when you were comforting Spencer.

“I’ve missed you so much, Y/N” Spencer said, softly. “You don’t have to miss me now. You’re not going to lose me again” you promised him.

You started to pull away, but Spencer stopped you. He put your arms back around him. “Not yet” he whispered in your ear. He relaxed back into your embrace. “Are you okay?” You asked him, concerned.

“I’m okay, I’ve just really needed this” he said, softly. You couldn’t agree more.

You both finally pulled away. “So you’re really back?” He asked, still in shock. You stepped closer to him and placed your hands on his chest. “Yes, I’m really back” you told him, smiling.

For a split second, you saw Spencer’s eyes glance down towards your lips. You almost thought you imagined it. Did Spencer really want to kiss you?

Before you could do anything, someone came in the room. You looked over your shoulder and you saw Rossi standing there “Come here kid, I heard you’re back in the BAU?” Rossi said, stepping towards you.

You pulled away from Spencer and Rossi pulled you in for a hug. Rossi was like a dad to you and it had been hard to not see him for four years. “Yep, I’m officially back” you told him, smiling.

“It’s good to have you back, kid” Rossi said, as you both pulled away. “It’s good to be back. I’ve missed you all” you said, gently placing your hand on Spencer’s arm.

“So are you two finally together?” Rossi asked, clearly not being up to date. Both yours and Spencer’s eyes went wide. “No no no” you said, quickly. “Y/N, is uhhh—engaged” Spencer said, sounding disappointed.

You looked over at Spencer, trying to see if you made up the disappointed tone. He just gave you a weak smile. “Well I’ll let you kids get back to your conversation” Rossi said, leaving the room.

“Sooo” Spencer said, stalling. “What?” You asked him, curiously. He fidgeted with his hands for a second. You took his hands into yours, knowing it would calm him down.

His eyes met yours and he smiled at you. “So, I know you said no yesterday because you had plans. But, maybe you could stay over tonight. Tomorrow is our day off anyway” he suggested to you, timidly.

“I would love to. You don’t have to be nervous to ask me to hang out. We’re still best friends” you told him, honestly. He breathed a sigh of relief. You found yourself getting lost in his eyes.

“We should probably go get started on our paperwork. We don’t want Hotch to fire you, before you’ve even started” Spencer joked. You giggled to yourself and you saw his cheeks flush red. “Come on then” you said, grabbing his hand and pulling him with you, into the bullpen.

Everyone was back at their desks, doing their work. You sat down at your desk, which was next to Spencer’s. It felt good to be back, it felt natural.

The day went by super fast. You had spent all day getting caught back up and doing paperwork. You finally finished your last form and you leaned back in your chair. You were mentally exhausted.

“So are you ready?” You heard someone say behind you. You turned around and saw Spencer standing behind you, with his bag over his shoulder. “Yeah, I’m ready” you said, standing up. You tidied your desk and grabbed your work bag.

“I have never been more exhausted” you said, as you both started to walk towards the door. You leaned your head on Spencer’s head as you were walking. It seemed to shock him, but he put his arm around your shoulders.

“You don’t have to come over tonight, if you want to go home and sleep” Spencer told you. “Are you kidding? I’ve been looking forward to this all day” you told him, feeling content.

It scared you how much you and Spencer acted like a couple. It made you question where your true feelings stood. You had been trying to figure out if you were over Spencer. And you still couldn’t come up with an answer.

“Bye you two” Derek said, smirking as you both walked past him. “Awww it’s so cute to see them reunited” Penelope said to Derek, who she was standing next to.

“Bye guys” you and Spencer both said. You got to Spencer’s car and he opened the door for you. “Thanks Spence” you said, kissing him on the cheek. You hadn’t even realized that you had done it, until you saw him start to blush.

Before, Spencer and you had always been very touchy. It was just a part of your friendship. You were always holding hands or hugging. But you had both been single. You weren’t sure if you were supposed to act different because you were engaged. Was all the hugging and touching you had done wrong?

It wasn’t like you were kissing him or making out or anything. It was just friendly, so was there an issue? Would Trevor be okay with what you were doing? You assumed he would be, Spencer was one of your oldest friends. You figured Trevor would understand that.

Spencer started to drive and eventually after fifteen minutes, you were parked in front of Spencer’s house. He once again rushed to open your door for you. You thanked him and you both went inside.

You both set your bags down by the front door. Spencer turned to face you. “Can we still cuddle?” He asked you, unsure. You thought about it for a second. He didn’t know if you both could still cuddle, since you were engaged. You both were trying to figure out this friendship 2.0.

“I don’t see who’s going to stop us” you said, smiling. You didn’t see the harm. It was just cuddling. A smile grew on his face. He leaned over to you and hugged you. You wrapped your arms around him. Then you felt his hands on the back of your thighs. “Do you want me to jump? You asked, giggling.

“Mm-hmm” he mumbled. You jumped slightly off the ground. Spencer held you up and you wrapped your legs around his torso. “This is new” you said, pulling slightly away from him, so you could look him in the eyes.

“Well it lets me hug you” he said, smiling at you. Spencer had never been this touchy before. Normally, the cuddling was started by you. You just figured it was because he missed you.

Spencer walked into the living room and sat down on the couch. You still had your legs around his torso and were now in his lap. “So how about I order Chinese food from that place you like?” Spencer asked you. You nodded and buried your head into Spencer’s neck. You were so sleepy from the long day of work. Spencer felt warm and cozy to you.

It was taking all of your effort to not fall asleep on him. “Are you tired?” He asked you and you just nodded. He used his hands to rub circles on your back. It only made you relax more.

You started to doze off as Spencer got out his phone to call the Chinese restaurant. About twenty minutes later, you woke up to the smell of Chinese food. You looked around and you saw you were in Spencer’s bed. He had tucked you in. You smiled to yourself at the sweet gesture.

You got out of his bed and walked into the kitchen. He was standing there putting the food on plates. “Oh, you’re awake” he said, shocked. “Yeah, I’m sorry. I was just so tired after today” you explained. “You don’t have to apologize, you’re allowed to be tired. You fell asleep on top of me, it was actually kind of cute” Spencer added and you felt your cheeks heat up. You felt like this conversation was heading somewhere it shouldn’t, so you changed the subject.

“The food looks really good” you said, eyeing the dishes. “Here’s yours” he said, handing you a plate. You both walked into the living room. He quickly turned on the television and you watched it as you ate.

You finished before him. Once you both were done, you brought the plates to the sink and washed them. You came back into the living room.

You held your hands open for a hug. He opened his arms and you crawled into his lap again. You wrapped your legs behind him and you both just held each other. It felt weirdly intimidate.

“So is it time for bed?” Spencer asked you. You nodded your head. “Yes please” you said, softly. He stood up carefully so he didn’t drop you.

Spencer started to walk towards his bedroom. Once he got there, he laid you down on the bed. In your sleepy state, you forgot to let go of Spencer. So, he fell right on top of you.

Neither of you knew what to do. He was laying on top of you in bed, and you were both a bit flustered. “I — umm. I’m sorry” he said, rolling over so he was next to you. You felt so embarrassed.

You both got under the blankets. You felt a warm hand placed on your side. You looked over at Spencer. He pulled you by your hips so you were pressed up against each other. Spencer laid on his back, and you rested your head on his chest.

Slowly but surely, you both started to fall asleep. While you were asleep, both yours and Spencer’s legs became entangled.

You woke up in the morning. You felt rejuvenated from a good nights sleep. You realized how close you were to Spencer. You were practically laying on top of him.

Then, you noticed that you felt his arm wrapped around your waist, holding you close to him. You were about to move when he woke up. “Hey” he said, while his eyes adjusted to the light. “Hey you” you said, smiling.

He realized how closely you both were laying and he started to blush. You both separated and then got out of bed. “So did you sleep good?” He asked you, as he started to make the bed. “I slept perfectly” you said, as you walked over to him.

You looked up at him and he pulled you into a hug. “Would you mind giving me a ride home?” You asked him. “Yeah of course” he said, giving your hand a squeeze.

You found your shoes and slipped them on your feet. Once you both were ready, you grabbed your stuff and you both walked to Spencer’s car.

It was a relatively quick drive to your house. Spencer pulled up in front of your house and you looked over at him. You got out of the car and he walked over to your side.

“Come here” he said, holding his arms out for you. You gladly accepted and hugged him back. You both lingered longer than normal. “I should get going” you told him, pulling away. He grabbed your hands and you felt butterflies in your stomach. “I had a really good time last night, Y/N. So I’ll see you at work tomorrow?” He said to you.

“Yep, I’ll see you at work. Thank you for last night” you said, sincerely. You kissed the back of his hand and then you walked up to your front door. You waved to Spencer as he drove away, and then you walked inside.

You saw Trevor sitting at the kitchen table, drinking his coffee. “Where have you been?” Trevor asked you, seeming concerned and stressed. You had totally forgotten to tell Trevor that you were spending the night with Spencer. All last night, it just felt like old times and it slipped your mind.

“I was sleeping over at a friends house. I’m sorry that I didn’t text you. I was just super tired last night” you apologized. He just looked relieved that you were okay. “So did you and Emily have a fun time?” Trevor asked you, sincerely.

You hesitated. “It...it wasn’t Emily” you said, wanting to be honest. Trevor looked unsure of what to think. “So who was it?” He asked you, confused.

“I was at Spencer’s place” you told him, hesitantly. “Who the hell is Spencer?” He asked, since you had only brought him up a few times. “He's my best friend. We were in a weird fight when I met you. We hadn’t spoken in four years. But, we just recently made up and I’m back working at the BAU with him. I just hadn’t gotten to telling you yet. Please don’t be mad” you apologized.

“I’m not mad. I just wish you told me” he told you, honestly. He walked over to you and you saw his expression change. He just stopped dead in his tracks.

“What?” You asked him, confused. “Come here” he said, as he stepped closer to you. He leaned his head in towards your neck and he smelled you. “Why do you smell like his cologne?” He asked you, trying to not act mad.

You panicked. It seemed worse than it actually was.

“I uhhh...I don’t know” you lied. “Y/N” Trevor said, getting frustrated. “Before you get mad, we’ve always been super close and we’ve always cuddled. So we may have slept together. Not like actually...but like in the same bed” you explained, nervously.

Trevor put his head in his hands. You could hear him sigh in frustration. “Please don’t be mad” you begged him. “I think I’m allowed to be mad. You stayed the night at some guys house. You claim he’s your best friend, but I’ve never met him. And you come home smelling like his cologne. You say that it was just friendly, but how do I know? You both could have hooked up, I wouldn’t know. What if you just made up that you’re friends and you’re actually just sleeping with someone” he argued.

“I’ve mentioned him before. I know I told you about the fight I had with Spencer. I wouldn’t lie to you about anything. And I would never cheat on you, I can’t believe you would think that” You said, walking out the front door.

You sat down on the front steps of your house. You wrapped your arms around your knees, after you realized how cold it was. You heard the door open behind you and then Trevor was sitting beside you. “Look, Y/N I’m sorry. I got insecure, but I think that is understandable. I just need to ask you one question” Trevor told you.

“Anything” you told him, leaning your head on his shoulder. “You don’t have any feelings for Spencer, right?” He asked you, you could hear the insecurity in his voice. You turned to face him.

“I used to, years ago, before I met you. We have a complicated past and there used to be feelings there. But, Spence and I are just friends” you told him. He sighed and put his head in his hands.

“God, I can’t, Y/N. Spence? Look at it from my perspective. You sound like you’re in love with him. Please just promise me there’s nothing more there” Trevor begged you. “I swear, we’re just friends. I am all in with you” you promised.

taglist: @impossibleapricotlampbat @panhoeofmanyfandoms @izzyl13 @nathaliabakes @anotherspencerreidblog @allexthakatt @bvttercupbby @weirdfishy @i-wish-i-knew-what-i-was @anaagraceeberr @cynbx @ellesmythe @averyhotchner @meowiemari @k-k0129 @fantastic-fans @reniescarlett @no-honey-no @jo-pqrstuvwxyz @laurakirsten0502 @eevee0722 @new-fandom-scene @calaryssia @aperrywilliams @lumineshawn @adoregin @haylaansmi @mggsprettygirl @far-beyond-infinity @half-blood-dork @l0ve-0f-my-life @luvgubler @onlyhereforthefanfics @ssa-githae @kasaikawa @jessicarabbit09 @astraea-writes @ateez-star @kenzie-johnson223 @holl2712 @notyourcupofteax @sandy-pingu @obsssedwithjustaboutanything @mvlanchqly @spencerhotchner @seaweedbrain07 @theawkwardbutterfly @criminalminds4days @voidtruealpha @spongeshxt @katerinaval @reidssimp @polyyates24 @subboyspence

Let me know if you want to be added to my taglist for all my imagines or for a specific character!!

Requests OPEN

[laventae]

Request: Hellooo, don’t know if your requests are open or not but I was thinking about going to Karasuno and being super close with the team, like going to all their matches but what if you were to be dating suna and cheering him on maybe because he scored and the Karasuno just looks up at you confused because they never knew that you went out with him and suna’s just standing there smirking up at you (srry if you can’t understand it wellllll😓)

Summary: You go to Karasanu High, and you’re close with the volleyball team. One day, Inarizaki High comes over to your highschool to play a practice match with Karasuno, and you couldn’t help but occasionally cheer for the other team, specifically, one of the boys who plays there.

Pairings: Suna Rintaro x Reader

Genre: Fluff

Word count: 1.8k words

“Alright kids, the bell’s about to ring, but I just wanted to remind you that finals are coming up in a couple of weeks, so make sure you study well, and go through all your notes” Mr. Inui announces right before the bell rings

“Class is dismissed” he follows, before leaving the classroom

‘Finally, I can go home...’ you sigh as you start packing your things in your bag

"Y/N! Y/N!” you hear someone call you from a distance

You get up from your seat, grabbing your bag, and look towards where the noise was coming from

You notice Hinata leaning against the door of your classroom, trying to catch his breath. He scans the room, then perks up when he notices you

“HEY HINATA! THAT WAS AN UNFAIR START!” you hear Kageyama yell, seconds before he catches up to Hinata, and leans on the door as well

“Y/n!” Hinata calls you again, ignoring Kageyama, as he makes his way towards you. Kageyama joins him right after and you couldn’t help but smile at how enthusiastic they both were, as usual

You chuckle, “Hey Hinata, hey Kageyama, what’s up?”

“You coming to the game, today?!” Hinata asks excitedly

“What game?”

‘They had a game today?’

“Takeda sensei told us yesterday that we would have a practice match today after school” Kageyama explains

“Didn't you hear about it?” Hinata asks you

“No, I didn’t. Who is it against?”

“INARIZAKI HIGH” they both answer, Hinata getting even more excited, while Kageyama had a bit more of an intense look in his eyes

‘Inarizaki? But Suna didn’t mention anything about a practice match today...’

“So, are you gonna come cheer for us?” Hinata pouts

“Yeah, you gonna come?” Kageyama repeats

“Is that even a question? Of course I will”

They both perk up at your answer

“I’m just gonna go leave my things at my locker and I'll head to the gym right after”

“Alright, we’ll see you there!” Hinata says before he speeds out of the room

“OY! HINATA! STOP DOING THAT!” Kageyama yells at Hinata, after waving you goodbye, and rushes after him, and you can't help but chuckle at them again.

-~-~-

You get to the gym and notice Inarizaki wasn’t there yet, and your heart calms down a little

You haven’t seen Suna in a while, because of his volleyball practice, but you still have your daily texts and phone calls. However, seeing him face-to-face was different, obviously, so you can’t help but feel super excited but also a bit nervous

You notice the Karasuno boys tidying the gym and setting it up for the practice match and they all get excited when they see you

“You were able to come see us play?” Sugawara asks you first

“Of course, you all know I would never miss going to any of your matches” you answer before you hear the idiot trio start cheering when they hear your answer, and you all laugh

“So, when are they getting here?” you ask

“They’re coming in now” Daichi answers, pointing behind you, towards the gym door

You turn around and notice them just barely arriving

Karasuno starts heading for the door as well, to greet the other players, and you subconsciously scan the area, looking for a glimpse of a certain middle blocker

Your heart starts beating fast again, when you see him come in, the twins on either side of him. The three of them looked like they were discussing something serious, based on the expression on their faces. But then Suna turns and looks around the gym until his eyes land on you

His expression totally changes and he smiles at you as he waves your way

You feel your face flush as you wave back. The twins look at the both of you in confusion then turn to Suna. You don’t hear what they say but they suddenly start bombarding him with questions and nudging him and you see Suna’s face turn sour

You chuckle as you turn around

You’re flustered when you notice Sugawara standing behind you with a smirk on his face, “Oh my god!” you almost scream, jumping back, “How long have you been standing there??”

“Long enough” he says as he wiggles his eyebrows at you

“What does that mean??”  

“Nothing~” he answers smugly as he walks to where the rest of the team was

You turn back to peek another glance at Suna and notice him looking at you. You mouth him a quick ‘Good luck!’; he smiles and he gives you a thumbs up, before you turn and head to Karasuno’s stands.

-~-~-

The match begins after a while, both teams starting out strong, not letting the other have a huge point lead. You were standing on the bleachers in Karasuno’s side, along with other people who also came to cheer for Karasuno’s team

Even though it wasn’t an official match or anything, you couldn’t help but feel proud at how many people came to support the team as well

Hinata and Kageyama already pulled off a few fast attacks that have all scored them points, and each time they do it, the school and team erupt in applause and cheer

Who wouldn’t? Even in real life, their fast attacks looked so surreal and cool

You watch both the teams as they carefully play, and notice Hinata and Kageyama try to pull off another fast attack

‘Go Hinata!’  

However, as soon as Hinata slams the ball, Suna comes out of nowhere and blocks it, for the first time that match

“GO SUNA!” you scream as soon as he blocks the ball and they score a point

‘That was so cool, it was such a fast block!’ you think, getting excited

You feel eyes on you and finally notice how quiet the gym on your side became. You look around and notice everyone looking at you, the Karasuno team the most confused.

‘Shit... I cheered for the wrong team by accident...’  

You feel your face flush and your eyes snap to Suna, who you find, was already looking at you. He winks at you with a smirk on his face

Atsumu, then, nudges Suna and his team all start cheering for him, and patting him on the shoulder or head and you notice him slightly turn red as he pushes them away.

At least the commotion they were making finally turned everyone’s attention away from you and you try to sink into the background, feeling even more embarrassed.

-~-~-

After about two hours, the game finally ends with Inarizaki High winning, and everyone starts leaving the school gym, leaving only the two teams behind to pack up and clean up

You head to where the boys were resting to cheer them up

“You guys did so well!” you tell them as soon as you get there

“Not well enough...” Asahi says quietly before Sugawara hits the back of his head

“You did great, Ace! You all did well, besides, this was only a practice match!” Suga says, trying to cheer the team up as well

“Yeah! We definitely won’t let them win against us during nationals!” Hinata chimes in right after

“You’re the last person to talk...” Tsukishima snarkily says

“Hey!” Hinata glares at him, and everyone starts laughing as Hinata and Tsukishima start bickering, helping lift the mood up

After they all calm down, Suga speaks up again, “So, y/n, wanna explain what was happening during the match today?”

Everyone eyes suddenly snap to you and you feel your face start turning red

“What are you talking about exactly?”

“I mean it almost felt like you were on the other team's side at some points during the game” Suga answers, with a smug look on his face and you feel your face turn even more red

“YEAH! Are you Suna’s girlfriend?” Hinata casually asks and you can’t help but choke on air at how blunt that question was

“IS HE?” Tanaka and Noya suddenly chime in when you start choking

“Oh my god! No, I'm not! We are... just dating, right now”

“WHAT?!” everyone looks at you wide-eyed

“Why have you been hiding this from us?!” Tanaka asks you

“Well... technically, you never asked...” you pout

After a couple of minutes of the team bombarding you with questions, and some congratulating you, you hear someone clear their throat behind you

You turn around and find Suna standing there

“Can I, uh, speak with you?” he asks

You hear the team giggling and snickering behind you which makes your cheeks flush

“Shut up...!” you hiss at them before you turn back to Suna and nod, which makes the team start giggling even louder

He takes your hand and starts leading you out of the gym, which makes both the teams roar and cheer again

“Don’t do anything we wouldn’t do!” you hear Atsumu yell after the both of you, as you finally make your way out of the gym, which makes everyone inside start laughing

“Gosh, these kids will never grow up...” Suna says as you both walk to the back of the gym, and you chuckle at his remark

Suna finally stops when you’re both far enough from everyone, and turns around to face you, not letting go of your hand

“Why didn’t you tell me you were coming today?” you ask him

“Well, I wanted to surprise you” he says as he smiles at you, and you feel your heart skip a beat

‘How can he look so handsome even when he’s tired...’

“So, what did you think? How was I back there?” he asks, as he leans on the wall of the gym

“Your team did so well! I’m so happy you guys won!”

“No, not them. Me” he says, looking at your hand which he was still holding

You feel yourself turn red, “You- uhm- you looked really cool out there...” you answer him and can’t help but look away

You hear him chuckle and start slowly swinging your hands

“Good, because I was trying to look cool, for you”  

"Don’t say things like that!” you turn back to him, and playfully slap his shoulder

“What? It’s true!” he replies, clearly enjoying how flustered you were getting

“So, anyways, why did you want to surprise me today?” you ask, hoping to change the topic before you explode

“Good question,” he says pulling you slightly closer to him, “Well, I was hoping I could win today so I can have enough confidence”

You look at him confused, “Enough confidence for what?”

“To ask you to be my girlfriend”

You’re taken aback for a moment, and pause to try and take in what he just said

He chuckles again, a hint of red on his cheeks, “Are you rejecting me right now?”

“NO! No, of course not” you answer quickly, “I’d, uhm, I'd love to be your girlfriend...”

“Good” he says before pulling you in for a kiss.

(HQ Masterlist)

[crystaltrinket]

you put a move on me - Naruto - Uchiha Sasuke/Hyuuga Hinata - drabble series for SasuHina Month 2021

Summary: Rogue-nin Sasuke holds Hinata captive after an act of robbery goes awry.

[Rating: G-T? | Prompt: A Tribute To Your Favorite Fanart/Fic | Word Count: too many to count at this hour | Warnings: None]

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7

Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14

Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21

Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28

Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31

Author's Note: Whew! Honestly, I had half of this done yesterday and worked on the rest today. Please forgive any mistakes. I relied on Google docs to correct my grammar.

I don't have a specific favorite SasuHina art or fic, so I just put together my favorite elements in SasuHina fic. Hope that works. This part is a little bit longer since I included 10 Omake pieces from Hinata's POV. Part 31 is wayyyy at the bottom but follows directly after Omake 29.5.

I hope you enjoy! And I hope to see you again next year ;) @sasuhinamonth

Omake Part 1.5 - 100 words

Hinata could feel herself moving. She willed her eyes to open but her body didn't obey. 'Am I dying? Is this death?'

She heard a low voice curse. Hinata tried to remember what happened before her vision went black. She remembered dressing in her finest kimono, getting into the palanquin and heading toward the country's borders to meet her new civilian husband. And then...

'Ah, yes,' she thought. 'The bandit murdered my clansmen in charge of handing me over to my new prison.' Red eyes came into her mind. Red eyes that could only belong to one clan.

'Uchiha Sasuke.'

Omake Part 7.5 - 100 words

Hinata steeled herself against her captor. She's no fool. She heard the rumors of his strength. Hinata figured the only way to deal with him was to pretend she was talking to another elder. Her clan head voice was something she perfected before she was cast away.

--

They rarely talked during their travels. But when he asked why she continued to follow him, she wished he kept silent. She was sure he could hear her heart beating loud in her chest.

Remembering her clan voice, she lifted her chin and answered.

Her shoulders almost slumped in relief, hearing his laughter.

Omake 10.5 - 100 words

Hinata could tell he was lying.

She can't imagine he accepted his clan's massacre so easily. To live without hearing their voice, seeing their smile, feeling their touch. Hinata's heart clenched.

She knew herself how the loss of a loved one can affect a person's psyche.

Unfortunately, O-bon festivities don't allow a grieving person the impact of acceptance.

Still, she doesn't pry and lets him rest. Her eyes wandered to him laying beside her on the hillside. Without his perpetual frown, he looked peaceful.

Hinata closed her eyes and exhaled.

She wished she could feel as peaceful as Sasuke looked.

Omake Part 12.5 - 100 words

She repeated those words to herself after Sasuke's team found out she was a missing-nin. Hinata shut her eyes, unwilling to cry. She couldn't give up her freedom now.

'I don't want to go back.'

Hinata felt a light tap on her shoulder. Sasuke was ready to go.

--

He said nothing to her on their journey. He didn't mention where they were headed to his teammates either.

She half expected him to desert her. The other half hoped that he wouldn't leave her.

At night, she repeated those same words to him. His eyes were understanding and she felt relief.

Omake 17.5 - 100 words

Hinata softly cursed. Of course her plan to lure the ANBU team away didn't work. Nothing ever worked in her favor.

She bit her lip, trying to figure out the best course of action to save Sasuke. Hinata grinned, seeing the telltale sway of long brown hair.

She deactivated her bloodline and made herself comfortable in her position. She waited.

--

Hinata was ready to confront them and rescue Sasuke at sunrise. But a commotion entirely not her own, brought them out ready to strike. Seeing her opportunity, Hinata revealed herself. Chakra blazed at her hands.

"I'll fight you for him."

Omake 22.5 - 100 words

Sasuke's breathing steadily became regular as she talked about their former village. She continued a little more even though he was already in deep sleep. Hinata glanced over her shoulder to peek at him. Carefully, she turned to fully face him.

Hinata studied him. Memorizing every line from his travels, the eyebags from lack of sleep, the face that she grew accustomed to seeing everyday.

She felt tears drip from her eyes. 'I can't believe I was so foolish.' Hinata hid her face in her hands. Her shoulders gently shook as she tried to maintain composure in Sasuke's sleeping embrace.

Omake 25.5 - 180 words

Frustration bubbled inside her. Karin and Suigetsu, sitting across from each other, continued to argue despite their shared goal. Hinata sat adjacent to them, anger simmering underneath her calm façade.

"Hinata-sama," Juugo came up behind her, carrying a tray of tea. He placed the tray beside her and took his place, sitting behind her.

"Thank you, Juugo-san," Hinata took the lone cup. "Had I known it would be like this, I would've left myself."

"Sometimes, they need a little help." His voice lowered. "If you know what I mean, Hinata-sama."

She hummed thoughtfully and sipped from her cup, testing the temperature.

"This is very good tea, Juugo-san," Hinata placed it back on the tray.

The large man bowed his head, smiling. "Thank you, Hinata-sama."

The other two continued to argue, their thumping rattling the tray.

Hinata moved swiftly, her fingers deftly touching their chakra points.

Stunned, the two bickering teammates fell on the ground.

"What gives?!" Karin yelled. Suigetsu sneered at her from his position.

Hinata calmly retrieved her tea. "Now, I have your attention. Let's talk about rescuing Sasuke."

Omake 27.5 - 100 words

Juugo's birds flew up in a tree, ending their journey.

"Tell Juugo-san, thank you," she whispered.

Hinata felt her blood coursing through her veins. Her fingertips tingled in trepidation.

They couldn't afford to risk Sasuke's strength. She knew who he was up against.

She snuck around the prison, evading the guards surrounding the perimeter. Hinata scaled the prison wall to reach the roof. She quickly found the ventilation shaft.

Taking a deep breath, she concentrated her thoughts on locating Sasuke's chakra signature.

'There!' It was weak, but it was his. Gritting her teeth, she made her way down the shaft.

Omake 29.5 - 172 words

Hinata knew Sasuke felt the same. The village was too quiet, too accepting of their vagrant ways. It seemed all too convenient a vacant house was available. With the previous owner having died alone, it was an opportune moment for them to move in with the village's blessing.

--

Months soon turned to a year. Sasuke's teammates came and went as they pleased, leaving Hinata with Sasuke.

She found him in the cold, practicing his kata. He moved fluidly going through the motions ingrained in his body.

She didn't want to bother him, but she knew better than to leave without notice.

"I'll be at the market," she called out. He paused mid-form to walk over to her. Seeing him in front of her, Hinata noticed his breaths were visible from the biting cold. "Is your kata keeping you warm?”

He smirked. "Aa." His eyes studied her as he tucked stray hair behind her ear. "Don't take too long."

Hinata felt her face warm up as she looked up to his face. "Aa."

Part 31 - 632 words

She went through the market, politely greeting everyone who knew her. Here, she was Hana and he was Makoto, two people not quite married but living together.

The market was a little busier during this time of year. The village was preparing for their annual snow festival. Hefting her groceries in her arms, Hinata left to return to her home.

"H-Hana-san!"

Hinata turned at the sound of her alias. A young man came up to her out of breathe. "Oh, Shigure-kun! H-How can I help you?"

The young man blushed. "I-I wanted to help you with your groceries. To carry them for you, I mean."

"That's kind of you to do, Shigure-kun," Hinata smiled. "But I'll be alright." She took a step towards the pathway to her home.

"Please, allow me," he reached for one of the bags. "I'm not surprised Makoto-ji-san isn't here to help." The young man scoffed. "He never seems to help you."

Hinata slightly turned from the boy so her groceries were out of reach. "I don't mind. Makoto-san doesn't need to help me."

"Hana-san, I -- " the young man stopped, his eyes frozen in fear.

Hinata looked at him confusedly, before feeling familiar chakra behind her.

"She said beat it, kid," Sasuke growled.

Shigure regained his composure and looked straight at Hinata. He took a deep breath and bowed. "Hana-san, I want to say that I like you and I hope to see you at the winter festival!" He straightened and turned his eyes to Sasuke. "Makoto-ji-san," he said through clenched teeth and bowed his head. "Good day to you."

Hinata looked between the two males, caught in a gridlock.

"I'm not going to repeat myself," Sasuke said menacingly. Shigure nodded again and stiffly turned on his heel to leave.

--

A few days later, Hinata found herself at the winter festival, admiring the fresh snow on the plum blossoms and the ice sculptures carved by the village's artisans. Beside her, Sasuke walked with a hand on the small of her back, eyes roving around for the troublesome boy.

"I don't think Shigure-kun will come around, don't you think?" Hinata giggled behind the thick sleeve of her kimono.

Sasuke grumbled. "He won't if he knows what's good for him."

Hinata grabbed a hold of his sleeve. "Come, let's enjoy the festival."

Hinata pulled him around the village, visiting artisan stalls and eating sweets to her heart's delight. Sasuke showed no interest but indulged her whims.

Hinata's teeth started to chatter as they continued with the festivities. She felt Sasuke wrap his arm around her shoulders.

"Come, maybe the weeping plum blossom tree will provide some insulation." He guided her towards the pink flowered tree covered in snow.

"Isn't it beautiful, Sasuke?" she said in awe. She gingerly touched a low hanging branch causing some snow to fall.

"Aa," he answered. "Absolutely beautiful."

Hinata turned to see him gazing intently at her. "Sasuke? Is something wrong?"

Sasuke blinked and turned his head away. He shoved his hands into his kimono sleeves.

Hinata stepped closer to him, using him as a way to shield her eyes from the passing villagers. She activated her Byakugan.

"Sasuke, I don't see anyone tracking us..." Hinata blinked away her bloodline. "I--"

Hinata's arms folded against Sasuke's chest as he wrapped his arms around her.

"I was going to wait a little while longer," he whispered in her ear. Hinata felt her heart pound at the warmth of breath on her ear.

"Wait for what?"

Sasuke gently pushed her away to place something in her hand. Hinata gasped, tears welling up in her eyes. His fingers came up to wipe them away.

"Marry me, Hinata."

Hinata looked up, seeing a small smile on Sasuke's face.

"Yes," she gently smiled, bringing his face closer to hers. "Yes."

[1ddotdhq]

🖕Mon Sept 28 ‘20 👓

First things first: see ya Psycho! Music Week published an article confirming Syco’s “low-key” demise. Music Week tells us two interesting things - the first is that “artists from [Cowell’s] TV show will now be free to sign to any label, with Sony no longer enjoying first refusal”. The second interesting tidbit is that “all Syco Music employees and artists have now either been redeployed within Sony Music, or have left the company”. Happy days!

More like busy days - for Harry, at least! He was seen yesterday evening in LA, taking pictures with a fan. He was wearing a mask (sexy) and a mini hair clip (less sexy, but adorable nonetheless). We can take this as an indication that pre-production for Don’t Worry Darling is likely underway, and as he’s the lead male role (!!!!!!), he has RESPONSIBILITIES and so he had to be there before the day of the actual shoot. Your intern spent a few hours reading up on film set guidelines, so I’m going to tell you that at some point between the UK, Italy, the UK again, and LA, Harry got himself screened and tested negative for COVID, as is mandatory to do before entering a film set. These sets are closed, and any visitors must also undergo screenings, as far as I could tell. Anyways, hopefully that keeps him safe and busy for the next few months! 

His Grammy campaign is ALSO underway, as his team told Music Week that they’ve “got a few more things up [their sleeve] for the rest of the year, but [we’ll] have to wait and see”. Is it the Golden video? I bet it’s the Golden video. Some more information about Harry’s accessories also became available to the public today: his custom vampire wife blue HS bag was VERY custom-made, apparently, as he specifically requested that color blue for his initials (the letters are normally done in a ~golden~ thread, which makes it funner, imo). In case you’re curious - it IS the same color as his Light’s Up costume, the Vespa, the room that Falling was shot in, and on and on and on. He does seem to rather have a fascination with that color, doesn’t he? Almost like...he gets so lost inside it? Can you believe it??

Hahaha okay moving on: Zayn ALSO keeps on keepin’ on to make Z3 a more tangible reality: he registered two new songs today: “Different” and “Look At Me Now”. And even #better (last time, I promise haha) - “Better” was featured on Amazon Music’s “song of the day”! I have to hear the songs before I say anything about it, but I do sort of hope that things will be “Different” this time around - “Better” - and that he’s telling us “Look At Me Now”. To use twitter terminology, I’m manifesting good things for him.

Liam had a feature in Esquire Mexico, where they talked about his early aspirations as an Olympic runner changing into his decision to give up running to focus on music. I wish they had talked about this a bit more, because I can’t expect that was an easy decision, but also, he would have been around 14 when he made it. That’s a BIG responsibility for a kid, and I want to hear how he felt about it then, and how he feels about it now, some thirteen years on. About his music career, he says: “The effort is what really counts. Having tried it was fundamental, but also understanding that if it didn’t work, it just wasn’t for me”. He does, however, attribute his success to his obsessive attitude (hmmm). At any rate, you’re a JOY to have around, Liam, so I’m glad it DID work out!

The feature also came with PICTURES, of course, in which he looks better than anyone reasonably has a right to - I have to keep reminding myself that if I want to stay impartial, I can’t be attracted to any of them, but DAMN did Liam test my resolve in these! They had him in glasses and a knitted hoodie/jumper/sweater thing holding a guitar on the cover photo. There are other pictures in which he’s wearing half undone button up shirts and too cool for school shades and looking moodily off into the distance (while holding his guitar) and a few where he’s looking pensively down in a blue paisley shirt and glasses (whew!). I think it’s the glasses that killed me, tbh, but go check them out, because I’m certainly not doing them justice! 

In some sunny news, Free My Meal popped up again to thank Louis for raising awareness for their cause, calling him a legend (we been knew, but it’s nice to see!) and using hashtags like “#noshame” and “#justask”, and I have to say - sometimes, you would be surprised at how kind people can be if you ask. ALSO, I am bringing this charity up literally ANY TIME I have the opportunity to, because I think it is doing phenomenal work, and I wish there were more programs like this one.

I also have a little bit of a Clown Car update for you: yesterday, Nick Gordon posted a “#theysaidyes” picture, featuring both Briana and Freddie, and captioning with a quote from...wait for it...When Harry Met Sally!!! He then went on a comment reading spree, liking such comments as “Although you are not the real father, you will be the best father, believe me” and “*** **”. I...am actually speechless, which never happens to me. AND THEN! Briana followed and account called “thepropertybrokers” which is an “Investment Property Specialist” account in Beverly Hills. Are you...going somewhere, girl? Don’t be shy, *** **. 

And, hmmm, let me think - what day is it? Oh, yeah, the 28th, I almost forgot! You know who DIDN'T? Paul Higgins, former One Direction bodyguard and bona fide Tour Dad, who went around Instagram liking “Happy Anniversary, Harry and Louis!” posts, including my favorite, which was captioned: “Happy 7th anniversary love birds! 28th September 2013 - it’s so great to see how two beautiful friends finally did it!...”. Yeah, guys, nothing to see here, they’re just celebrating 7 years of a beautiful and committed BROMANCE, doncha know? 

[winterscaptain]

in line.

Aaron Hotchner x Male Reader

request from anon: Thank you for sharing your writing on here! A blurb idea, because I hardly see any male readers, is that maybe Hotch has figured out he’s attracted to men too and has a boyfriend? Someone Hotch can go home to and be taken care of by them, someone Jack trusts? Because hotch spends all his time caring for the team, his s/o really spoils him with affection and TLC. I’m really soft for that idea, and the team being real pleased he’s found someone who appreciates him again. Hope you’re doing well! a/n: i wanted to give this a little more attention than a blurb, so it turned into a Whole Thing™ words: 2790 warnings: swearing, some drinking, derek being charming, and emily prentiss: patron saint of The Gays™

i don't have a specific male!reader taglist yet, so i added all yall on my gn!reader list, so nobody would miss this! lemme know if you wanna stay on the male!reader list or not - you’ll never hurt my feelings :)

masterlist | requests closed!

Aaron came home to all the lights off save one, illuminating a little scene before him - dinner (still hot) on the coffee table, a glass of wine, and you, holding the remote ready to start a movie. 

He smiled, set his briefcase down, and slipped his shoes off. 

“Jack’s at Jess’s,” you said, before he could ask. “I thought it would be a nice surprise to spend the evening, just you and me.” 

He crossed to the couch and sat down, pressing a sweet kiss to your lips. “It’s a great surprise, thank you.” You grabbed his tie and tried to pull him down on the couch, but he pried your fingers off and laughed. “Let me change and I’ll come sit with you, alright?”

You picked up your glass of wine and tipped it his direction. “I’ll be here.”

It was true. When he returned and dropped down next to you, you were waiting for him. When he was firmly settled with dinner, you started the movie. 

After a while, you asked, “Did the case go okay?”

He nodded. “We got ‘im. I had to stay and make sure the DA had a strong enough case, otherwise I would have been home yesterday.” 

You leaned into him, and he wrapped an arm around you. “I don’t mind. Jack and I went out for a bike ride yesterday and didn’t miss you at all, not even a little.” 

Aaron laughed. “Good.” 

+++

“Damn it.” 

Aaron forgot his lunch. He could see it in his mind’s eye, sitting there next to his travel mug of coffee on the kitchen island. Pinching the bridge of his nose between his thumb and forefinger, he had just resigned himself to a takeout lunch when his phone rang. 

“Hotchner.” 

“Babe, you left your lunch here,” the light amusement in your tone dissolved his sour mood, and he smiled despite himself. 

“I noticed.” 

He could hear you shuffling around in the background as you spoke. “I’ll swing by and leave it downstairs after I drop Jack at school. No more than an hour, okay?”

Aaron smiled and sat in his chair, leaning back. “What did I do to deserve you?”

You laughed. “Absolutely nothing. I’m just a sucker for charity cases.” There was a shuffle, and you heard Jack laugh. You were probably at the table, poking the kid in the ribs until he almost got sick with laughter. Before Aaron could respond again, you said, “Alright, love you, bye!” and hung up.

Aaron rolled his eyes and got to work. 

True to your word, no more than an hour later found you at the front of the Quantico Federal Building, Aaron’s lunch and coffee in your hand. You’d never seen the inside, but you knew you were on the visitors list. 

Fuck it.

You checked in, got your visitor’s badge, and made your way to the sixth floor with only a little bit of spatial confusion. You knew which bullpen was theirs immediately - you had yet to meet the team, but you’d seen pictures and heard enough stories to keep track of names and faces.

You quickly stepped through the glass doors, doing everything in your power to avoid directing too much attention to yourself. But alas, Aaron worked with profilers, and they all noticed you despite your best efforts. 

JJ’s head shot up. “Is that -”

“Hotch’s travel mug? Yeah.” Derek squinted at you as you took the stairs two at a time up to your boyfriend’s door. 

You knocked, and a crisp “Come in” sounded from inside. 

Aaron couldn’t hide his surprise when you poked your head through the door, stepping in and closing it behind you. He stood, circling the desk and leaning against it. 

Boundaries were important to him at work, you knew, so you refrained from untoward affection, stepping back to a respectable distance after you set his things next to the file on his desk. 

“How’d you get past security?” He asked, and you knew it was a joke. 

“I guess they’re letting just about anyone in, these days.” 

Aaron nodded, in facetious consternation. “Looks like it.” He broke after a moment, offering you a small smile. “Thank you. You didn’t have to come all the way out here.” 

You shrugged. “Wasn’t too hard.” 

He glanced out the blinds. The entire team averted their eyes, bumping into each other in their haste to look busy. 

You followed his gaze. “It’s okay, Aaron. Don’t feel pressured to introduce me to any of them - I didn’t mean to put you on the spot.” There was a little swoop in your stomach. 

Did I overstep?  

He sighed. “I know. You didn’t. It feels a little...ridiculous to be hiding anything from them after all this time.” He reached out, and you took his hand, still a couple of steps away. His eyes stayed on your linked hands as they swung a little between you. “I don’t mean to hide you from them.” 

You squeezed his hand with a warm, small smile. “I know.” And you did. It was big for him - explicitly and obviously coming out to his team was bound to be terrifying, and to add a new person on top of that? 

I don’t envy him. 

Meanwhile, down in the bullpen, everyone was taking turns reporting back on what was going on behind the blinds. 

“They’re holding hands, and not in a handshake way,” Emily said, covering her face with a folder as she looked up. 

JJ chanced a look. “He’s been a lot less uptight recently.”

“He’s also not coming in as early. His arrival time is, on average, about thirty-seven minutes later than five months ago.” 

Emily looked at Spencer like he’d grown another head. “You keep track of when we come in?” 

Spencer didn’t look up from his book. “Of course.” 

“I’m glad he has someone,” JJ noted lightly. “It’s good for him.”

Back up in the office, you took a step toward Aaron. “You don’t have to do anything you’re not comfortable with, my love.” 

He huffed a laugh and ran his thumbs over your knuckles. “Come to Dave’s the next time we all get together.” 

“Really?” Your eyebrows felt like they were going to meet your hairline they shot up so fast. 

“Yeah. They’d love to meet you.” 

Your brow furrowed, confused. “How do you know?”

He shrugged. “They’re very predictable.” 

+++

Needless to say, Aaron was right. They politely, pointedly, and casually posed questions about Hotch’s lunchtime visitor until he wasn’t able to avoid them anymore. Thus, he invited you to Dave’s the next time the team had a night off.

You were excited, but admittedly a little nervous. You were all headed to the car, Jack (very carefully) carrying the brownies you’d made that afternoon. 

He was chatting away, telling you stories you’d already heard, about JJ and Emily and Derek and Spencer and Dave and Henry and etc. etc. etc. 

You loved that kid. 

When Aaron pulled up to the house, Jack jumped out of the car and walked through the front door like he owned the place. It made you laugh. 

Aaron looked over, a fond smile on his face. “What?”

“Jack. He just -” you made a vague gesture with your hand - he just goes and goes, and Aaron laughed. 

After a moment, you two sobered. He reached for your hand, and you laced your fingers with his. 

“They’re going to love you. You know that.” 

You snorted. “I certainly don’t.”

Aaron kissed the back of your hand and covered it, so two of his hands were holding one of yours. “Are you ready?”

“Are you?”

He patted your hand twice by way of an answer, releasing you and opening his door. You followed suit, waiting for him on the sidewalk. 

When you actually looked, you realized how truly massive Dave’s house was. Aaron had told you he was well-off, with his book royalties and other savings, but the beautiful and tasteful mansion before you spoke to a bank account that had eight figures, rather than six. 

Aaron stepped forward and offered you his hand. You took it. He led you up the flagstone path and through the front door, opening it without preamble. 

The foyer was beautiful, opening to a staircase, the living room, and some kind of den or parlor off to the side. Aaron led you to the kitchen, where a statuesque woman with dark brown hair was mixing a drink. Emily. 

She turned when she heard you enter, and a wide smile broke out across her face. “Hi!” 

You dropped Aaron’s hand and offered it to her. She shook it readily, and you found yourself mirroring her smile. “Hi. Emily, right?”

She nodded, and spared a glance at Hotch. “Hotch, you know it’s polite to introduce guests.” 

He huffed in good humor and gestured pedantically as he spoke. “Emily, this is my boyfriend, Y/N. Y/N, Agent Emily Prentiss.” 

You were very impressed by his lack of hesitation over the word boyfriend, as it had been a topic of discussion in the past. 

“It’s so juvenile. I feel like I’m in high school.” Aaron chuckled, staring up at the ceiling with his hands laced behind his head. 

You rolled over onto his chest. “I can’t be your partner - you’ve already been a lawyer and I would hate to confuse people. You’re the one with a juris doctorate, not me.” You rested your chin on his pec, giving just a little more weight than was necessary. 

He dropped one of his arms, and you scooted up to fit nearly under it. “Is it at all weird to have a boyfriend in one’s forties?”

You shrugged. “I think it’s whimsical.” 

“Oh yeah, that’s me.” He laughed. “Whimsical in the extreme.” 

Emily’s voice was warm and genuine when she told you, “It’s a pleasure to meet the person who keeps him,” she jabbed her index finger at Hotch, “in line.”

You laughed, the anxiety melting little by little. “Bold of you to assume anyone can keep him in line.” 

She snorted. “Don’t I know it.”

Hotch crossed his arms over his chest. “Guys, I’m right here.” 

“And?” You and Emily answered simultaneously.

He shook his head with a smile. “C’mon. If you want to continue making fun of me, there’s plenty of ammunition out back.” 

You offered your arm to Emily, and she took it daintily. “Such a gentleman.” She looked over her shoulder as she started walking you to the back patio. “How’d you snag this one?”

“Apparently, he has a thing for charity cases,” Aaron deadpanned. 

A few pairs of eyes flickered to you when you stepped out, and Emily’s hand squeezed you reassuringly. You already loved her. 

Hotch came up to your side and grabbed your hand as Emily stepped away, stopped by two men who had to be Derek and Spencer (who needed a mediator for some inane, hair-splitting dispute they were having). 

A couple who you assumed were JJ and Will smiled at you as you approached. 

“JJ, Will, this is Y/N.” Hotch said, a little more confidence in his voice than before. 

“I’m the boyfriend,” you supplied, and JJ laughed. 

“I’m so glad you could make it!” She leaned close to you, and you dipped your head to listen. “We’ve been asking about you since you stopped by a couple of weeks ago.” 

You raised your chin in a knowing fashion as you leaned back, once again including Hotch and Will in the conversation. “Ah, I see. So there’s lore?”

“Definitely.” She pursed her lips in mock solemnity. 

You matched her facetious tone. “Don’t believe everything you hear.” 

JJ broke then, smiling at you once more. “I never make that mistake.” Just then, a little blond boy ran up to her, attaching himself to her leg. She automatically put a hand on his head and gestured to you. “Henry, can you say hello to Mr. Y/N? He’s a really special friend of Hotch’s - like Miss Savannah is to Derek.” 

“Hi.” 

You crouched to Henry’s level, offering your fist. A look of satisfaction crossed his face as you bumped fists, your hands exploding out of it (with sound effects). “It’s so nice to meet you, man. Were you playing soccer over there?”

He nodded. “Yeah. Jack’s really good but he lets me get goals.” 

“Wow.” You raised your eyebrows. “That’s really nice of him, and I bet you learn a lot, too.” 

Jack called Henry from across the yard, and he offered you one last adorable grin before sprinting off. You rose, checking in with Hotch as you did so. JJ and Will were distracted watching Henry for the moment, so they missed the awe that crossed Aaron’s face for just a moment. 

Your eyebrows pulled. What?

He shook his head. Nothing. But there was something there. Something fond and altogether content. 

You heard Emily come up behind you before you saw her, so you turned as she approached with Derek, Dave, and Spencer. 

You offered your hand first to Derek, and shot a smile to Spencer. Hotch had warned you before you left the house that Spencer didn’t shake hands. 

“Nice to meet you, man. Derek Morgan.” Morgan’s grip was firm and warm. “Emily was just telling me I owe you a thanks for reminding Hotch he has a sense of humor.” Derek’s smile ate up his whole face as he beamed at you. It very nearly stole your breath - he was stunning, and smart. The way he phrased his introduction made it unnecessary to re-introduce yourself, and you were sure that soothed whatever remained of Hotch’s anxiety. 

Hotch’s deadpan was decidedly dry. “Funny.”

That’s a good sign. 

Spencer was quiet, but there was a little smile playing at his lips. He looked just over your shoulder, and seemed to communicate with someone behind you for a moment. It was only the barest changes in expression, but you’d been around Aaron long enough to know a silent conversation when you saw one, no matter how subtle. The outcome of the conversation looked good, as Spencer stifled another smile and looked over at Hotch.

You then offered your hand to Dave, who took it in both of his. “It is so good to finally meet you.” He shot a sly smile at Hotch. “I was beginning to wonder if you were a figment of my imagination a couple weeks ago.” 

“I promise I am very real,” you said with a laugh. “It’s so great to meet all of you. I’ve heard so much about you.”

“All bad I hope,” JJ chirped from over your shoulder as she approached. 

You nodded. “The worst.” 

Aaron kissed your temple as the rest laughed, and you could feel the small smile resting on his lips. He sure was smiling a lot tonight, and you couldn’t help but feel a little proud that you had a lot to do with it. 

A woman you could only assume was Penelope bounced up and swooped under Derek’s arm. “What did I miss?”

Hotch laughed (he laughed!) and introduced you. “Y/N, this is our tech analyst Penelope Garcia. Garcia, this is Y/N.”

Instead of a handshake, she just got out from under Derek’s arm and gave you a hug. You relaxed right into her. 

She let you go after a second, but kept her hands on your upper arms. “I am so glad you’re here. I’ve been hoping someone would come along and snag our fearless leader before too long.” She winked, and it warmed you. 

The rest of the evening flowed smoothly, eventually moving to the living room, and then to goodnights. Everyone wished you a warm goodbye, and Dave kissed you on both cheeks before letting you go. Jack was apparently spending the night at the Jareau-LaMontagne household, so you and Aaron were alone on the drive back. 

You relaxed into the seat as he sped along the highway, his hand locked in yours across the center console. “That was really fun.” You looked over at him, finding less tension in him than you’d ever seen before. “Your team is incredible.” 

“I know it. They’re the best at what they do.”

You kissed the back of Aaron’s hand. “I’ve heard it helps to have a great boss, or so Penelope tells me.”

He huffed a little laugh through his nose. “She is the authority on such things, as I understand it.” 

The car was quiet for a few minutes. 

“I - “ Hotch cleared his throat, but his gaze never wavered from the road. “I can’t tell you how much tonight meant to me.”

You squeezed his hand. “It was nothing.” You were lying, and he knew it, but at the end of the day, you’d do anything for him.  

He smiled, broad and genuine, and you decided then that Aaron’s joy was your favorite sight in the whole world. 

tagging: @arganfics @quillvine @stxrryspencer @agenthotchner @wandaswitxh @hurricanejjareau @fics-ilike @ange-must-die @ughitsbaby @rousethemouse @criminalsmarts @dr-reid-ismyspiritanimal @shrimpyblog @genevievedarcygranger @ssaic-jareau @saintd0lce @good-heavens-chris-evans @davidrossi-ismydad @angelsbabey @gublergirls @writefasttalkevenfaster @venusbarnes @vintagecaptainspidey @micaiahmoonheart @ogmilkis @thatreallyis-americas-ass @marvels-agents100 @newtslatte @risenfox @mrs-dr-reid @captain-christopher-pike @joemazzello-imagines @pinkdiamond1016 @sebbybaby0 @lilsiswinchester @pan-pride-12 @hotchlinebling @lee-rin-ah @sunshine-em @word-scribbless @jdougl-love @sageellsworth05 @emmice9 @nohalohoseok @giveusbackourbucky @writerxinthedark @mrshotchnerrossimulder21 @bauslut @yourlovelynewsbian @sparklingkeylimepie @aili28 @kingandrear @reader4027 @spnobsessedmemes @rogers-mouth @dreila03 @forgottenword @aaronhotchnerr @ssa-morgan @hotchnersgoddess @buckybau @phoenixfyre374 @sana-li @tegggeeee @abschaffer2 @ssacandi-ass-prentiss @songbird400 @dontkissthewriter @ellyhotchner @a-dorky-book-keeper @lotties-journey-abroad @mrs-joel-pimentel-23-25 @laneygthememequeen @ahopelessromantic @violentvulgarvolatile @swiftiesparkles @andreasworlsboring101 @mooneylupinblack @ssareidbby @violet-amxthyst @bwbatta @roses-and-grasses

[javajunkieao3]

Never Have I Ever: Post-Series Fic

Ben Gross prided himself on being smart.  And falling in love with Devi Vishwakumar?  Well, that was just about the dumbest thing he could do.

           But, it happened anyway.

           He didn’t exactly know when, but somewhere between first grade and watching her dance with that tool, Paxton Hall-Yoshida, she had gone from the person he always wanted to beat to someone he genuinely hoped would win.  Because she deserved that.  After everything she went through with her dad and then everything after, she deserved a win.

           But, did that win have to be him?

           “Of course, it’s him,” Ben said, voice colored with defeat and just a hint of indignation.  He still hated losing.  Even if he technically wasn’t in this game.  Aneesa was waiting for him over by the punch.  “It’s always been him.”  

           Beside him, Eleanor said, “What?  No, it hasn’t.  After you took her to Malibu, she wanted to choose you.”

           Ben listened incredulously as Eleanor explained how she and Fabiana had talked Devi out of choosing him.  It was fucked up, and he was going to tell her as much, but he couldn’t take his eyes off Devi, imagining how different things would have been. It would have been him with her, not that glorified meat puppet.

           “So, just for the record, it hasn’t always been him.”

           Eleanor walked off after dropping her figurative bomb and he stayed rooted in place, not knowing what to do or think next.  He wasn’t used to this level of indecisiveness and he probably would have just stayed there, staring at Devi dance with another guy, if Aneesa hadn’t come over, sliding her hand over his shoulder.

           “Hey, I thought you were meeting me over by the punch,” she said, glancing over at where he had just been staring.  “Oh wow, good for Devi.”

           Aneesa looked up at Ben, noting the tense set of his jaw.  “But…you don’t think that.”

           “What?” he said immediately, finally looking away from the slow train wreck happening across the dance floor.  “I don’t care about them.  I mean, he’s a tool who, based on what I’ve seen, can barely read above an eighth grade level.  But, I don’t care.”

           “Uh, yeah, you do.”

           “Aneesa-“

           “Ben, I saw the way you were looking at them. At her.”

           He went to argue, but then realized he had no defense.  Aneesa ducked her chin to her chest.

           “Okay.  So, I guess I’m going to go now.”  She turned to leave, but then stopped, turning back.  “Don’t mess this up for her?”

           He didn’t know what he hated more, the implication that he would mess things up or the fact that Aneesa was maybe a little right. The song ended and he watched Paxton and Devi kiss before Paxton dipped his mouth to her ear.  Devi nodded at whatever he said, and then Paxton walked away, not letting go of her hand until the distance made it necessary.  Devi’s grin widened and Ben hated Paxton even more.

           Devi stood alone on the dance floor for a moment, seeming blissfully content, and then she caught his gaze.  Ben noticed that her grin dimmed slightly and then she walked over, clasping her hands nervously in front of her.

           “Look, I know what you’re going to say,” she began.

           “No, actually, you don’t.”

           She widened her eyes slightly.  “Okay.  Then, what are you going to say?”

           I know you wanted to choose me.

           “I’m happy for you, Devi.”

           It wasn’t what she expected, and not what he wanted, so they both felt out of sorts.  But then her shoulders slackened, a genuine smile spreading on her face, and Ben knew he did the right thing.  Because she deserved the win.  Even if it wasn’t him.

           “Thanks, Ben.”

           Paxton came over with two glasses of punch and handed Devi one, his now free arm going around her waist.  He gave Ben a lukewarm hello which, given their history, wasn’t entirely unfounded.

           “Anyway, I’ll see you around,” Devi said.

           “See you around, David.”

           Paxton looked at him strangely, but Devi only smiled wider.

-----

           There were only a few weeks left in the school year after the dance, and Ben did his best to keep his distance from Devi.  She hovered a bit after learning about his and Aneesa’s breakup, but then they all got busy with finals and then the schoolyear ended.  Ben was grateful for the time apart.  He didn’t know how long it took to fall out of love with someone, but he figured summer break’s three Devi-free-months should do the trick.

           That summer, he lined up a volunteer program to pad his college applications just like every other summer.  He was supposed to help out with pro bono work at his dad’s firm, but at the last minute his dad hired a law clerk instead so that he could bill out his time at a markup.  So, he was stuck with a retirement home.  Everyone volunteered at retirement homes, which meant it was the last thing Ben wanted to put on his resume.  But, there was nothing else left and it was better than nothing, so he grudgingly accepted a spot at one about fifteen minutes from his house and prepared himself for a summer of moth balls and stories about “the war”.

           Instead, he got Devi.

           “I thought you were working at your dad’s firm this summer,” Devi said.

           “Something came up.  Weren’t you supposed to do Habitat for Humanity?”

           Devi nodded.  “I had an incident with a hammer.  Apparently, you aren’t supposed to bedazzle it.”

           Ben smirked.  “You bedazzled your hammer?”

           “Oh, yeah.  I added feathers, too.  Honestly, it was an upgrade.”

           “I can’t imagine why they wouldn’t want to take you,” he mocked.

           Devi shrugged.  “Probably for the best.  I mean, would you want a house built by me?”

           “You make a fair point.”

           “So, here we are,” Devi said.  “Slumming it at the retirement home.”

           “You may want to say that a little louder.  I don’t think the guy in the back with the hearing aid heard you.”

           “But, you know what, if anyone can make the best out this, it’s you and me, Gross.”

           She flashed him a smile and he felt it all the way down to his toes.  This was going to be a long three months.

----

           It turned out, Ben was surprisingly adept at being around old people, and Devi was an immediate crowd pleaser.

           “Even Marvin likes me,” Devi said.  “And I’m pretty sure he’s a low-key racist.”

           “Not that low key.  He specifically asked me to help him fill out a banking form yesterday because, as he put it, your people are good at that.”

           “Damn.  Remind me to not give him an extra pudding cup.”

           One of the long-time residents, Gladys, rolled by with her walker and said, “Benjamin, don’t forget my granddaughter is visiting this afternoon.  I told her all about you.”

           “I won’t forget, Gladys.”

           “Look at you, Benjamin.”  He rolled his eyes.  “Using the residents to get a date.  Honestly, it’s sort of genius.  If I wasn’t dating Paxton, I would totally use these guys to pimp myself out.”

           “Slow down, David.  Gladys came to me about her granddaughter.  I’m not that desperate.  I have options.”

           “Sure, you do, Ben.”

           “But, um, you and Paxton?  That’s going well?”

           He didn’t know why he asked.  You don’t ask the girl you’re in love with how her relationship is going, but he asked, and now he had no choice but to hear the answer.

           “Yeah, it is,” Devi said.  She tucked her hair behind her ears as she smiled, and Ben wished he could sink directly down into the ground.

           “That’s great.”

           “Yeah.  It is.”

           That afternoon, he asked Gladys’ granddaughter out on a date.

----

           Ben could always tell when Devi and Paxton were fighting by her mood.  She had never been good at hiding her emotions, and while in a relationship, that hadn’t changed.  He noticed it a few weeks in.  She went back into the employees’ area and shoved her bag forcefully into the cubby hole.

           “Did the cubby hole do something to you?” he asked.

           “No,” she said stubbornly.  “The cubby hole is doing nothing.  Which is the problem.  The cubby hole just sits there playing video games all day.  Which, sure, I can play some Mario Kart here and there.  I’m a team player.  But, at a certain point, enough with the stupid video games.  I am not dating freaking Yoshi!”

           Ben was quiet for a moment and then said, “I didn’t know a cubby hole had apposable thumbs to play video games.”

           She shot him a look, but then couldn’t help but laugh.

           “The cubby hole was a metaphor.”

           “Yeah, I caught on to that.”

----

           Ben found it remarkably easy to be around her, even as his feelings stayed rooted to the core, and at a certain point he became resigned to it all.  Maybe Devi was just one of those people he would always have feelings for.  Isn’t that what they said about your first love?  You could move on, but you never really forgot it.  So, he would love her and just move on.

           He dated Gladys’ granddaughter, enjoying himself but never really feeling anything beneath surface level.  But, she was nice enough, and Gladys was delighted by the pairing, even as the volunteer coordinator was not.

           “Just don’t have sex anywhere on property,” she had said in a huff.

           “I, uh, won’t.  Thanks for the clarification.”

           He was dating someone else.  He and Devi were finally sort of back to how they were before.  And then he accidentally ate pecans.

           “Oh my God, Ben, your mouth is getting huge,” Devi said, eyes wide with concern.

           “I am so sorry,” Gladys’ granddaughter said. “I thought the muffin was banana-walnut, not banana-pecan.”

           “Do you have an Epi-Pen or something?”  Devi barked at the terrified looking volunteer coordinator.

           “No, and even if we did, I don’t think we can technically use it on a non-resident.”

           “Are you freaking kidding me right now?  Do you see him?”  She pointed at Ben, whose face was rapidly growing in size.  “You know what, I’ll just handle it myself.”

           Devi dragged him out to her car, which was concerning since he knew she only just got her license the week before, and he also knew based on what she told him that her passing was a total fluke.  

           “I think I’d rather go into anaphylactic shock in there,” he said, already turning back toward the retirement home.

           “Don’t be dumb, Ben,” she said, forcefully pulling him back to the car.  “You are not going into anaphylactic shock.  I’ll take you to my mom’s office and she can give you a shot or something. She’s only a few minutes away.”

           He reluctantly got into the car, and Devi started her car, forgetting to put it into reverse before she pressed on the gas. The car lurched forward, nearly hitting the one parked in front of them, and Ben said, “Please don’t let me die in this car.”

           “No one is dying today, Ben Gross.  So, calm down, okay?  I got this.”

           It was not exactly a smooth ride, but true to her word, five minutes later they pulled into a parking spot in front of Dr. Vishwakumar’s office.  They burst into the office, Ben now leaning a bit on Devi as it became harder to breath.

           “I’m pretty sure I’m going into anaphylactic shock,” he gasped.

           “No, you are not.  You are fine.”  Devi’s words were calm, but her tone was not.

           Nalini Vishwakumar walked out of her office and stopped short when she saw Devi and Ben.

           “What in the world – Benjamin, what happened to your face?”

           “He ate pecans which, turns out, he’s also allergic to,” Devi said quickly.  “Can you give him a shot or something?”

           “Devi, you should have taken him to the emergency room!” Nalini said, rushing over to her daughter and Ben and bringing them back to an examination room.

           “The hospital was farther away.”

           Ben became to gasp for breath and Nalini hissed, “He’s going into anaphylactic shock.”

           Ben could barely breathe, but he managed a, “Told you.”

           “Well, how was I supposed to know!”  Devi said loudly.

           One shot of epinephrine and an IV full of antihistamines and cortisone later, Ben could breathe again, but Nilani made him stay for a while longer so that she could observe him.  She put he and Devi in one of the unused examination rooms, and told them to let her know if he had any more trouble breathing.  Devi sat next to him, her knees pulled tight into her chest.

           “I’m sorry that I almost killed you.”

           “You’re not getting valedictorian that easily.”

           He was joking because, yeah, his throat had almost closed up and she probably should have taken him to the hospital and not her mom’s office, but it was fine now.  Except, when he looked over at Devi, she still looked scared.  After a beat, she launched herself toward him and wrapped her arms tightly around his neck.  

           “Hey, it’s okay,” he said, rubbing her back.  “I’m okay.”

           She pulled away and gave his arm a light punch. “You really scared me.”

           “Yeah, well, next time I’ll double check my banana-walnut muffin actually has walnuts.”

           “And I’ll believe you when you say your throat is closing up.”

           Devi’s phone rang and he saw Paxton’s name flash on the screen.  He asked her, “Do you need to get that?”

           He watched her hesitate before sending it to voicemail.

----

           Devi and Paxton broke up a week later.  He found out from one of the retirement home residents, who he overheard telling Devi, “You’re better off, Devi.  Take it from an old woman.  You have the rest of your life to be with one person.  Now is the time to be free.  Sow your wild oats, if you will.”

           “Um, I don’t really know what that last part means, but I feel you.  I mean, I’m too young and hot to be tied down, right?”

           “Exactly.  You know, I have a grandson you might be interested in.  He’s pre-med.”

           “I appreciate the offer, Beatrice.  And offering me your grandson after I just broke up with my boyfriend?  Savage. But, I think I need to take some time by myself.”

           That afternoon during bingo, Ben casually brought up the breakup after calling out B-27.

           “Are you okay?” he asked.

           “Yeah, I’m okay,” she said.  She ran the machine and picked out the next ball.  “B-13!”  She put the ball down and said in a regular volume voice, “We just didn’t have that much in common.”

           “Yeah, I bet,” Ben said automatically.

           “Wow, okay,” Devi said with a laugh that didn’t exactly sound reassuring.

           “I didn’t mean,..” he trailed off, because he kind of did.  “Anyway, I’m glad you’re okay.”  He paused and picked up the next ball.  “N-7!”

           “Bingo!”

----

           Summer was coming to a close, and so was their time at the retirement home.  For some reason, Ben felt an impending sense of dread.  Sure, he would still see Devi, but it would be different.  Everyone else would be added back to the mix, including Paxton.  

           Their last big event at the retirement home was a movie night.  They set up a projector in one of the recreation rooms and made it up like an old theater, complete with velvet ropes and individual little bags of popcorn. They even wore old-timey usher costumes they rented from a local costume shop.

           “Does yours also smell like nachos?”  Devi asked.

           “Yeah.  I’m trying not to think about it.”

           The movie was It Happened One Night, and Devi and Ben sat in the back, watching the movie along with the residents.  It was secretly one of Ben’s favorites.  He and his mom had spent little time together when he was growing up, but she shared with him her love of old movies.

           It was the Jericho scene, where Clark Gable’s character was setting up a sheet between him and Claudette Colbert in their motel room.  He stripped down to just his undershirt, and Devi mused, “Clark Gable was super bangable.”

           “Shh,” Ben said.  “This is my favorite part.”

           Devi looked over at him and grinned.  Feeling her gaze, he glanced over and felt his breath stop when their eyes met.  They were close, and in the darkness her eyes seemed to glow.  He always thought she had pretty eyes.  Even before, when he hated her more times than he liked her. He felt an urge to lean forward. It would be so easy.  Just the slightest lean and his mouth would be against hers.  But, that would just be a kiss in the back of a dark room.  He wanted more.

           “Eleanor told me that you wanted to choose me after Malibu.”

           She blinked rapidly.  “What?”

           “After you scattered your dad’s ashes.  She said you wanted to choose me, but they made you also consider Paxton.”

           “Okay.”

           “Is that true?”

           Devi didn’t answer, so he kept talking.

           “And she said that you started the rumor about Aneesa because you thought that we were dating and you were jealous.  And, you see, I’ve had it in my mind all this time that it was always Paxton.  And that I was, I don’t know, some detour on the way, but-“

           “You were not a detour,” Devi said immediately. “You were…you were perfect.  And I messed us up.”

           “So, Eleanor was telling the truth?”

           Devi nodded.  “Yeah, she was.”

           Ben took a deep breath.  “Devi.  I’m going to kiss you now.”

           She nodded, all business, but he could hear the nerves in her voice when she said, “Okay.  Thank you for the advanced warning.”

           He leaned in and captured her mouth with his.  The kiss was sweet and unhurried, like they had all the time in the world.  And in a way, they did.  There was a noise behind them, and they pulled apart abruptly.  Their supervisor stood over them and said, "Remember what I said about no sex on property?"

"Are you kidding me right now?"  Devi said.  "Who is having sex in these gross costumes?"

"You'd be surprised."

The supervisor walked away, and Devi looked at Ben.  "You don't think she meant..."

"I think she absolutely did."

"I need to take this off immediately."

[secret-engima]

This. Has been a perfectly terrible day. Can I beg you for a ficbit or a snippet from one of your works, like Team Gremlin or Noctscar or something ? I just - they’re beautiful, and I just really, really need something beautiful right now.

SURE. I don’t have much in the way of snippets, but lemme see what I can find. I might have to throw in something from BNHA cause that’s the fandom the muses are chewing on this exact second.

...

Team Gremlin:

     It had been … a very bad few weeks for Qrow all told. And that was saying something. Everything had seemed fine one day, business as usual. Tai was back from his requisite number of missions to keep his license and teaching at Signal again ��which he genuinely seemed to enjoy for some reason—, his nieces were as adorable as ever, and Summer was sometimes talking his ear off about maybe taking a teaching position somewhere herself after running a few missions to keep her own license active —she’d been busier lately with the girls than running around kicking butt, but it wasn’t like Qrow blamed her for that—.

     Then Leo was found dead in his office. Knifed in the neck, one round discharged from his weapon in the direction of the guest couch, blood pooling all over the chair and low table where the investigators said he’d been dragged from and laid on the floor in some kind of pose. No one unusual had been seen going in or out, there had been nothing on the office cameras —covered by a Semblance of some kind, it was decided, because of the fading, glass-like Aura shards on the floor—. The only warning had been the sound of Leo’s single shot before he died. Qrow had arrived as soon as he could to help investigate, since the primary suspect would … not be one the police even knew to look for. He had helped Dyna —poor woman had been wire tense with rage rather than her usual calm self, and it was no wonder—, search for clues the police would miss, then searched the secret tunnels for good measure.

     They had found a Grimm inside one of the deeper antechambers, far too deep to have gotten there by accident, a strange, jellyfish like beast that had been surprisingly hard to kill for something that small. They’d never seen it’s like before, and the thought of it being under the school, where kids were, where Oz and his inner circle were supposed to hold sway-. He’d never seen the otter Faunus more furious as they stood amid the fading Dark dust, her lips twisted, brow wrinkled in a way that had made the black line and red dots of her old bandit tattoos look more pronounced.

     They’d found no other signs that Salem knew how to get into the school tunnels, but they rechecked them all and trapped several of the ones leading outward as temporary security measures. With Dyna in place as the new —temporary on paper but soon to be permanent— Headmaster, Qrow had gathered up what evidence they could pry loose from their police contacts and gone back to Oz so they could try to sort this out.

     Of course, Qrow’s first impulse was to blame Salem, but Oz had listened to the report of a jellyfish Grimm under the school and his expression had folded into something pained. Knowing. He must have known what kind of Grimm it was, but hadn’t elaborated yet, just told Dyna to investigate all of Leo’s documents, Scroll calls, and communications over the past year, and insisted he would not explain until there was either evidence or not for his theory, for fear of making them biased.

     So, with Salem seemingly not the automatic culprit, they had started hunting for info. Summer had offered to come back and help, but Oz had told her to stay on her chosen mission instead.

     The pen had been an unexpected complication.

...

Always I Dreamed verse

     Summer ducked past her into the shower as Raven left it, pausing to stare at Raven’s tattoos for only a moment before chirping a quiet good morning and asking if she was okay after yesterday. Raven just grunted, because she was combat functional and frankly that was all that mattered. She had already pulled on her clothes from yesterday —all their possessions were in her inventory and she didn’t want questions on where it came from, she’d have to stuff it all in a duffel bag and hide it in the den to explain that away later— by the time Taiyang got up and Raven remembered the uniforms. Raven nudged open the bag while Qrow ducked out of their den and peered over her shoulder, “Everybody has to wear that stuff?” Qrow sneered as Raven pulled out the first button down shirt, “Hardly looks sturdy.”

     “It’s just for the school grounds I think, we have our combat gear for training missions and stuff anyway.” Taiyang said as he pulled out a shirt of his own from a different bag. Raven took a moment to glance at his bare torso. He slept in pants but not a shirt apparently, which was stupid, but better than being entirely naked at night. He had a decent build, which she knew from watching him fight yesterday, and a truly appalling lack of scars. Her life had been saved by somebody who had probably never had a truly decent fight in his life before that day. Wonderful.

     He also had tattoos, and Raven squinted at them for a moment because despite the differing size and placement, they all looked very much like the ones Raven and Qrow had gotten during a rare moment of total drunkenness at fifteen. He was missing the large asian dragon outline that wound up Raven’s own torso, but he had the blue crow perched as if about to take flight that Raven had, the running blue wolf who’s lower half dissolved into petals, and she thought she glimpsed a blue clockwork rabbit under his right arm. When he turned around briefly to put his back to them, she saw that most of his back had been taken up with the stylized outline of a raven in flight.

     She shook her head and looked away. Whatever. Summer possessed a tattoo on her arm similar to the asian dragon winding up Qrow’s arm from elbow to shoulder. Some tattoos were just popular, and blue ink was easier to come by for fill-in tattoos than the black used for outlines.

     Qrow must have remembered Taiyang’s words last night about Raven’s uniform being at the top, because he was already rooting down to the outfit right beneath hers —there was more fabric in the bag than that, but Raven wasn’t going to worry about why just yet—. He yanked out a shirt and jacket that looked his size, then blinked when something short and plaid tumbled out with it. Snatching it up, he unfolded it and made a face, “Is this a skirt? With my uniform?”

     Summer poked her head out of the bathroom, a wash of steam following her —oh right, hot water showers were a thing, darn— while Taiyang looked from Qrow to the skirt and back. Qrow was busy staring at the skirt, so he missed the expression of pure glee that flickered over the other teen’s face before he casually said, “What, that? It’s a kilt, man. Old Vale tradition.” Raven blinked very slowly, because that was a surprisingly good lie even though she knew it was nonsense —her memory on early canon was fuzzy, but she would have remembered the male characters running around in skirts—. She debated calling him on it for a moment, but she was from outside the kingdoms like Qrow, so technically she had no way to know that Taiyang was lying.

     Besides, if Taiyang wanted to poke the bear that was her brother’s temper, better he do it now and get it over with than later when they were training.

     Qrow was still making annoyed noises under his breath as he examined the “kilt”, and a glance at Summer slipping out of the shower in a towel showed she was fighting down laughter. Silver eyes met Raven’s with hopeful amusement and Raven looked away. She was still angry that the Story had forced itself into place in her life. With a shake of her head, Raven finished yanking out her uniform —one of? There was so much fabric in there, did the school really waste money making multiple outfits for each student?— and started pulling off her old clothes to put it on. Taiyang made a noise like someone had knifed him just as she dropped her shirt to the floor and she looked up in alarm. Taiyang had whipped around to put his back to her, and she could see the flush of color crawling up his neck and the backs of his ears. He didn’t look hurt or anything, but when Summer wandered in and dropped her towel onto her bed to put on her uniform —huh, she had the same tattoos as Raven, Qrow, and Taiyang, just with the perched crow as a large outline that went down to her mid back and a large blue raven in flight over her abdomen that looked like the smaller one on Qrow’s back—, Taiyang made the dying noise again, snatched up his bag of clothes, and rushed for the bathroom.

     Raven had the feeling she should understand what that was about, but she didn’t get it, and when she risked a glance at Summer, the other girl actually looked just as baffled. So maybe it wasn’t some social thing she’d forgotten. Maybe it was just a thing with him specifically.

...

Feather-Light and Fire-Bright verse (BNHA)

     Which was why, the next time she spotted a little red feather slinking over to place a trio of shiny buttons on the park bench she liked best, she hastily caught it with one hand. It was very soft, wiggling slightly in her grip, twitching and fluttering almost like a frightened living thing, so much so she shushed it gently on instinct, “It’s okay, I won’t damage you.” Taking out the note she’d spent days agonizing over, she skewered it to the quill of the feather, “I need you to take a message to whoever controls you.” She let it go and the feather wiggled erratically in the air, like a cat trying to wiggle free of an unfamiliar collar before flitting away. Fuyumi resisted the urge to chase it and see where it led. She’d sent her note, now she would wait for a reaction.

     She absently took the three coat buttons and put them in her pocket before going home. It would be stupid to leave them as litter in the park, but it also felt like a bad idea to throw them away and possibly anger whoever was watching her. Besides, she had a collection going now, she almost had enough matching buttons to make a full set for a long coat.

     A week went by with no sign of her shadow before she finally spotted a red feather again. It lurked on the edges of the park, flitting out into view as she walked by before slipping off in the direction of a more sequestered part of the park. Fuyumi hesitated, saw the feather come back and swirl around her a few times like an excited puppy before rushing off again and decided she was either about to meet someone shy or about to be kidnapped and potentially murdered. Slipping her hand into her handbag to grip the small pro-grade taser inside just in case, Fuyumi followed the feather into the copse of trees that shielded that part of the park from the street and the rest of the grassy area.

     The feather slipped away to rejoin … a lot of other feathers, and Fuyumi paused on the edges of the little forested nook to get a good look at her mysterious shadow for the first time. Golden eyes, piercing and almost predatory in intensity, flitted up to meet her gaze as he stood up. He was about her age she would guess, maybe a year older, so lean that if she hadn’t been able to see the muscles of his bare arms she would have called him scrawny. He was wearing a sleeveless hoodie that looked like it had lost a few too many rounds with a washing machine, clean but all faded and stretched and worn looking. His hair was all tousled and pale gold, and the red feathers were clustered on his back in huge wings that looked like they belonged on someone about twice his size and weight. He smiled a little, a practiced thing that was too nervous to be real, but if Fuyumi hadn’t lived her entire life around Pro Heroes and the children of other such elites, she would never had known.

     He held up her note between too fingers, not commenting on the wary distance still between them nor making any moves to close it, “Um, I’m not a stalker, just wanna get that out of the way. Sorry if I … came off that way? I’m, uh, not good at introducing myself and I didn’t … really know what else to do.”

[soulmate-game]

Part 1

After the Discovery, things didn’t change as much as everyone thought they might. “Everyone” being just Marinette, of course.

She got a lecture from Lois about worrying her, and then a joke from the older woman about no longer having another non-hero in the house to team up with.

“Wait, Dad,” Jon spoke up after that comment from his mom, bobbing up and down on his heels. Both him and Clark had long since changed out of their costumes, which didn’t take long considering both of them having super speed. “Does this mean Mari can meet Damian? And is she going to join a hero team—“

“I already have a team, Jon,” Marinette interrupted, soft but firm at the same time. Two months was more than long enough to know that Jon could talk forever if he was allowed to. “Chat Noir, Viperion, Bunnyx, and Ryuuko are all Miraculous users like me,” she had already sat down and explained the bare basics of her abilities and the Paris situation. Lois had known better than to scold her, no matter how gentle the scolding was, before Marinette had a chance to say anything.

Clark blinked, looking between both of his kids. And yes, Marinette was well and truly one of his kids already. He couldn’t hold back a soft chuckle. “She can meet Damian when school starts back up again, Jon. We don’t want to rush anything,” he started out by telling his son. Marinette was still very jittery. Two months was nowhere near enough time to recover from the trauma of watching your parents die, after all.

(In fact, Clark thought, for some people not even a lifetime was long enough. Batman briefly came to mind as an example.)

The girl still had nightmares almost daily, and panic attacks that resulted in brief spans of mutism at least once a week. Those, at least, had severely decreased in frequency, but it was clear that she was far from ready to meet very many new people. Especially people like Damian Wayne, who was hard enough for someone in perfect mental health to handle even on a good day.

“And Marinette,” Clark switched over to his pseudo-daughter. “If you have that many teammates, surely they would understand that you need a break,” when Marinette didn’t meet his eyes, Clark felt dread build up in his stomach. “Marinette, they know about your parents, right?”

The girl fidgeted. Clark closed his eyes.

“Nobody knows my identity,” She admitted after a tense silence. “I know everyone else’s, even though I only found out Chat’s by accident. But they don’t know mine, and I can’t ask them to give me time off anyway.”

“Why not, honey?” Lois asked as gently as she could, picking up on the beginning signs of Marinette closing herself off. Unfortunately, there wasn’t anything any of them could do to stop it. Marinette refused to meet any of their eyes, and even before she spoke her new family knew that they wouldn’t get anything else meaningful out of her about the Paris situation, at least for the day.

“They need me.”

Clark and Jon traded a look. That statement felt a bit too familiar for them. It was something they heard from a lot of heroes who tried to justify overworking themselves. It was something both of them had said before.

But they let the topic rest for the night. Pushing Marinette wouldn’t do any good for anybody.

—*—*—*—*—*

A week passed. Lois and Clark were sitting on the couch watching TV when Lois caught her husband’s eyes darting up to the ceiling. Sighing, she turned the volume down a few notches.

“Did she leave for Paris again?” She asked even though she already knew the answer. Clark nodded grimly.

“Yesterday she didn’t get back in until almost four in the morning,” he admitted, running a hand over his face. “And now, it’s already eleven and she’s just now heading out. I know she doesn’t want me or Jon going to Paris because of Hawkmoth’s magic, but…” he trailed off with his mouth set in a deep frown. Lois could only sigh and lean against his arm comfortingly.

“I know,” she breathed quietly.

“She can’t keep working herself to the bone like this, Lois. Sometimes she’ll head right over to Paris after a nightmare, like she needs to remind herself of something, but she always comes back in less than an hour in that case. But this— when she leaves to fight HawkMoth or patrol Paris before ever going to sleep in the first place— it’s like she’s trying to avoid the nightmares by overworking herself too much to even dream.”

“I know,” Lois rubbed a hand on Clark’s back in gentle circles.

“It reminds me of Batman sometimes,” Clark said, his voice filled with uncharacteristic defeat. “Marinette doesn’t get violent like Bruce, but… never sleeping, throwing herself into heroism, she even refers to Ladybug as if they are different people, Lois. I can’t always help Bruce since he’s a grown adult and more than capable of shutting me out when he wants to, but Marinette is our kid now. I’m just not sure how to help her.”

Lois took a deep breath. “Well, she’s not Bruce so you can’t just bait her into a spar to sort out her feelings,” she mused with faint humor. “But how about we start with sending Jon to Paris the next time you guys hear her leave? The sooner we figure out exactly what the situation and her relationship with her team is like, then maybe the sooner we can find some answers.”

Clark nodded, and looked back up to the ceiling. “I know you heard that, Jon. Don’t get in the way, and come back if Marinette finds you and tells you to. We don’t want her to think we don’t trust her.”

A beat passed, and Clark rolled his eyes fondly.

“Don’t forget to go to bed as soon as she gets back, Jon. I don’t want to deal with two overly exhausted children.”

A thump.

“I’m sixteen!” Jon yelled back, clearly for Lois’s benefit as his mom let out a short burst of laughter.

—*—*—*—*—*

“Ladybug!”

“Look, it’s Ladybug!” “Woo! Go ladybug!” “Could you beat this guy extra fast, Ladybug? I’m late for a meeting!”

People in the streets were shouting in French happily, pointing up at their resident spotted heroine. Some people groused at her in mild or fond annoyance, asking her to beat the Akuma-of-the-day a bit faster for various reasons or jokingly calling her a slow poke. Most people just got pictures or videos on their phones of her as best as they could, watching her swing by in awe and admiration.

It was familiar. Too, too familiar, and Jon made sure to get it all on camera. His parents would want to see this. The pair of contacts he was wearing, a gift from Red Robin, translated everything that was being said for him into helpful little English subtitles.

And there was his sister. Marinette had been tough to pin down, and this was Jon’s third time trying to follow her in Paris. The first time, the day after that late night discussion between his parents, ended in less than five minutes. Marinette caught him and sent him home firmly, which was followed by a heart-to-heart with all four of them when she got home.

She still refused to tell them anything more than the basics about Paris’s situation. For some reason, she seemed extremely reluctant to talk about it. She had no problem comparing experiences and hero jokes with him and his dad, but the moment they tried to talk about Paris-specifics, Marinette clammed up.

It was the second of Jon’s attempts to follow Marinette, just a week after the first, that brought up a possible reason. Because Jon had watched a civilian that he hadn’t been able to get to in time get pinned under a thrown car and killed—only for Ladybug’s powers to reverse all the damage and bring the man back to life.

Jon had raced back home right after that, not even giving Marinette the chance to see him. After relaying what had happened to his parents, they all agreed to one last tail. The pieces were already falling together, and none of them liked the picture they were painting. They wanted to confront Marinette as soon as possible. So here he was, another week later.

Jon kept recording throughout the fight, watching as Marinette clearly led her team. There was no mistaking that all her teammates respected her and treated her word as law. Even Chat Noir, who was Ladybug’s deputy, always referred to Ladybug’s opinion before issuing any orders. Civilians didn’t always flee the scene, taking their time as they tried to record the fight. And when the Akuma was beaten and only Ladybug made a move to catch the corrupted butterfly, the final pieces clicked into place. Jon managed to stay still long enough to catch the crowd of fans running forward, trying to mob Ladybug with pleas for autographs or statements or interviews, before he left. Ladybug’s team had acted as a buffer between her and the crowd anyway, so Jon was able to leave with a clear conscience.

When he walked into his house, already changed back into normal clothes, he waved his phone with a serious look on his face as both his parents waited anxiously.

“Yeah. This is pretty bad,” Jon warned them as he hooked his phone up to his laptop, and played the footage for them.

—*—*—*—*—*

When Marinette got home, it was to a clear intervention. Nervously detransforming, she looked to Tikki and back to her new family. The Kwami, who had previously just been explained away as the source of her powers, gently nudged the girl forward. She knew her holder needed this.

Clark and Lois gently explained why they asked Jon to follow her, explaining that they were all concerned about how badly she was overworking herself.

“You’re getting only three hours of sleep, and that’s on the days that you wake up with nightmares,” Clark’s

voice was quiet, begging her to listen. “Every other day, you teleport to what I can only hope is Paris every time, and you don’t come back for hours. Even if you spend that whole time fighting Akumas, you still only get an hour’s worth of sleep maximum when you get back. Sometimes you don’t even sleep at all until you collapse of exhaustion,” he leaned forward over the table, worry etched in every line on his face. “Marinette, we’re worried. We wanted Jon to see what the situation in Paris was like, because we thought that maybe it would explain why you seem to care about it more than your health. We didn’t know if it was just you needing to keep busy, or something else.”

“And you’re gone during the day too,” Lois added. “And we get that. HawkMoth attacks whenever he feels like, and we all understand if you have to disappear at odd times to fight his Akumas. But this is more than that, isn’t it?”

Marinette’s hands were clenched into fists, and tears were starting to bubble up in her eyes, but she didn’t say anything. Jon slowly approached her, waiting for her small nod before laying one of his larger hands over her fists and gently prying them open before she hurt herself. He kept his hands there, holding hers for both of their comfort.

“I took a video, today,” he admitted gently. “Dad already erased it from the laptop and my phone, don’t worry. But they— we all— needed to see it. The way Paris treats you, Marinette—“

“It’s like how Metropolis used to treat Superman. How they sometimes still do,” Lois interrupted, trying to get Marinette to meet her eyes. “We all thought that Superman showing up was the end of our problems. That as soon as he showed up, the villain or criminal or whatever that was causing us problems was done for. That he could save everyone,” Lois’s eyes grew melancholy. “But we had to learn the hard way that he’s not invincible, no matter how much he might seem like he is. We had to learn the hard way that nobody, no matter how strong or how many powers they have, can save everyone. The kind of trust we had in him before is toxic, Marinette. It’s toxic to us, because we stop being as careful as we should be if we think he’s always going to catch us. And it’s toxic to him, too.”

“How?” Marinette asked, her voice impossibly tiny and her eyes glittering with unshed tears as she darted her eyes between them. “They need someone to believe in. They— I make them feel safe. I— isn’t that good?”

“You feel like it’s your job to be there no matter what, right?” Clark asked, meeting her gaze with a warm, but firm one of his own. “That you have to do whatever it takes to win every battle, no matter what it costs you, because they believe you will. You start feeling like everyone you don’t save is your fault. And that’s not okay,” he stood up and Jon slowly backed away, allowing their father to kneel by Marinette and clasp one of her shoulders. “It always hurts. You might never forget the faces of the people you can’t save, but it isn’t your fault. You told me and Jon that you don’t blame us for what happened to your parents, that it’s stupid to blame the hero for something that wouldn’t have happened if the villain didn’t attack in the first place,” his grip tightened slightly, trying to offer comfort when Marinette tended at the mention of her parents. “If you don’t blame us, even though we were the ones in costume and fighting that day, then you need to stop blaming yourself too.”

The tears finally overflowed, salty water trickling down Marinette’s cheeks and sloppy sobs ripping themselves from her throat even as she threw herself into Clark’s chest. He hugged her tightly, letting her cry.

“B-b-But,” Marinette stuttered in between hiccuping sobs. “My powers reverse damage, m-my powers bring people back,” she sniffed, burying her face deeper into Clark’s chest. “I wanted t-to help. I-I was. S-s-So close to tr-transforming and fighting with y-you, but I didn’t. I d-didn’t, so I c-couldn’t bring them b-back. I should have been tr-transformed, th-that way they would be—“

“Shh,” Clark whispered gently, rocking her in his arms. “It’s not your fault. Metropolis wasn’t your city. You were protecting your identity, and that was the right choice.”

“But—!”

“No, Marinette,” Clark interrupted, holding her just a little tighter as she continued to tremble and sob. “If you had transformed, someone would have figured it out. A French class comes to Metropolis, and one of their students mysteriously disappears at the same time that a French hero shows up in America for the first time? Maybe you could have brought them back, but none of you would have been safe. Our villains, the villains of Metropolis, of the League, they would have suddenly known about you and might have researched Paris. Maybe HawkMoth would have gained a new ally, or maybe a villain would attack you just because you’re a new hero to target,” Clark sighed, rubbing his hand gently over Marinette’s back as her sobs quieted into a few hiccups and sniffles. She was listening. That was a good sign. “So yes, maybe you would have been able to save them that once, but you could also have opened up a new can of worms that you might not have been able to handle. Things could have gotten worse, and Jon and I wouldn’t have even known to help you. You would have continued to shoulder everything on your own, but you don’t have to. You did your best, and your parent’s deaths aren’t your fault. And you have Jon and I now, and your team even if they don’t know who you are. You can rely on us a little. If you keep going on like this, though, you’re going to kill yourself Marinette,” this time his grip tightened for a whole different reason and Clark buried his face in Marinette’s loose hair. Even after only almost three months, the thought of losing her made him breathless. She was his daughter, even if not by blood, and he couldn’t stand the thought of her hurting herself like this.

“Please, Mari,” That was Jon, who had knelt down by their side and joined the hug. “Let us help you. I promise we’re not incompetent heroes.”

Marinette’s laugh was watery, and hysteric. She accepted a tissue from Lois, who was suddenly sitting down only a foot away from the three’s group hug. After a good nose-blow, Marinette took a deep breath.

“Maybe now’s a good time to give them a proper explanation, Marinette,” Tikki said as she floated down to land on her wielder’s head, giving her the best hug she could. Marinette gave another wet chuckle.

“Yeah, I agree,” she took a deep breath. “But it’s a long story.”

“Not a problem,” Lois assured the girl as she forced herself up and stretched her arms out. “I’ll get the extra pillows and blankets. We can relax on the floor and have story time, and then binge watch movies and have a sleepover in the living room. Clark, could you be a dear and move the couch out of the way?”

—*—*—*—*—*

“You have a rule against killing, dear,” Lois whispered groggily from where she was laying against Clark’s side. Marinette was sprawled in between him and Jon, safely in their cuddle-cocoon. Both of their kids were deep asleep. Clark grunted.

“Yeah, but he put so much responsibility on kids, Lo. Kids,” he whispered back, turning his head to try and lessen the chance of waking up Jon. “And he didn’t offer them any support for almost a year, made them figure out the whole hero thing and their powers on their own,” the clearing of a tiny throat made Clark stifle a snort. “With their Kwami,” he whispered, quietly appeasing the eavesdropping Tikki who was laying on Marinette’s chest pretending to sleep. “But a god isn’t exactly a replacement for an actual hero mentor, you know,” he shot at her, making the tiny goddess shrug in acquiescence. “And making her Guardian— he basically threw all his responsibilities onto kids, and ran away. And now Marinette has to heal from all the unrealistic expectations she gave herself. So forgive me if I’m entertaining a few more violent daydreams than usual.”

Lois patted his arm and kissed his cheek. “I’m sure they will be just as violent and gratifying to imagine in the morning. Go to sleep, Smallville.”

—*—*—*—*—*

It was another two and a half weeks before Marinette met Damian Wayne for the first time. She looked from the fellow teenager in a perfectly-pressed uniform and then over to her brother with a raised eyebrow.

“Does he fly in on a helicopter every day?” She asked him incredulously, making Jon grin and nod. She looked back over at Damian, who was clearly annoyed at her for speaking about him when he was right there. “I will never understand rich people.”

Damian scoffed, rolling his eyes. “And I will never understand simpletons. Kent, who is your friend?” He practically spat the last word, making the inner bully-detector in Marinette go off. Her interactions with Chloe and Lila kicked in, and sparked her old habits. Marinette flashed a bright smile, stepping in front of Jon before he could say a word and holding out her hand to Damian. Clark, who was talking to Bruce nearby, out his hand over his mouth to hide a snort. Bruce raised his eyebrows, paying close attention to the interaction now.

“Hi! I’m Marinette Dupain-Cheng. Clark and Lois took me in a few months ago, and they said I’m already family. That means that I’m Jon’s sister now, which means that it’s my job to keep him away from bad influences. My hobbies include annoying bullies and not being a welcome mat. How are you?”

Damian blinked once. Twice, and then took her hand and shook it firmly even as a smirk spread itself over his lips.

“Damian Wayne,” he replied easily. “And I apologize for assuming you were a simpleton. I think we can tolerate each other just fine.”

As Marinette and Damian kept trading sarcastic quips with one another that got steadily less passive-aggressive as time went on (with Jon watching in dismay as somehow Marinette seemed to get along? With Damian? And they were scheming? This couldn’t end well.), Clark and Bruce watched the kids walk into their school building.

A moment of silence stretched, before Bruce finally caved and asked; “Took her in?”

Clark grinned slightly, knowing Bruce never would have been able to resist sating his curiosity over the new girl in his care.

“Lois and I practically adopted her. Technically her paternal grandmother has custody and only gave her to us to take care of while she recovers from her grief in a different country, but that’s only because trying to adopt her without being French citizens would have been almost impossible.”

“Grief?” Bruce’s eyebrows pulled down, and Clark’s smile grew somber.

“Remember the attack in late May, back in Metropolis? The one that actually had the first fatalities in months?” Bruce’s face went slack in realization, followed closely by his eyes snapping to the school’s doors. Clark nodded. “Looks like your penchant for adopting black-haired, blue-eyed orphans is contagious. She was scraping the skin off her hands and giving herself burns trying to dig them out of the rubble. When Jon and I realized that they were both of her parents, I had Lois look into her to make sure she had family to take care of her,” Clark sighed and ran a hand through his hair. “The options were a grandmother who never stops traveling or a great uncle she barely knows who only speaks Mandarin when she doesn’t. So we pulled a few strings, and now she’s a Kent in all but name.”

“I hope Damian can avoid saying the wrong thing for at least a day before I talk to him later,” Bruce said with a sigh as he stuffed his hands in his pockets. “At least she seems to have won his respect pretty quickly.”

Clark laughed. “Oh yeah, she tends to do that. No offense or anything Bruce, but I think it’s a good thing we were the ones that adopted her before you got the chance,” he turned and smiled at his old friend. “You wouldn’t be able to handle Marinette. She’s closer to a Super than a Bat.”

—*—*—*—*—*

@fantasiame @thestressmademedoit @amayakans @resignedcatservant @too0bsessedformyowngood @chocolatecatstheron

Part 3

This. Was. Supposed. To be. Fluffy. Damn it. But oh well, natural story progression calls for more hurt and comfort I guess? Maybe one part left in this story I think.

[hajimesh]

𝐚𝐝𝐮𝐥𝐭 𝐥𝐢𝐟𝐞

𝚘𝚒𝚔𝚊𝚠𝚊 𝚝𝚘𝚘𝚛𝚞 𝚡 𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚍𝚎𝚛 // 𝟷.𝟸𝚔 𝚠𝚘𝚛𝚍𝚜

𝐬𝐮𝐦𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐲; 𝘶 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘨𝘰𝘵 𝘢 𝘯𝘦𝘸 𝘢𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘶𝘳 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭𝘺 𝘣𝘰𝘺𝘧𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘥 𝘥𝘦𝘤𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘱𝘢𝘺 𝘶 𝘢 𝘷𝘪𝘴𝘪𝘵 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘢 𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘴𝘦𝘸𝘢𝘳𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘨𝘪𝘧𝘵

𝐚/𝐧; 𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘴𝘩𝘺𝘬𝘢𝘸𝘢 𝘣𝘦𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢 𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘣𝘰𝘺𝘧𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘴 𝘮𝘺 𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘬

-ˏˋ𝙢𝙖𝙨𝙩𝙚𝙧𝙡𝙞𝙨𝙩 ♡

Hunched over your desk, you blindly reached out for a highlighter with one hand as you wrote down on your notes with the other. 

A new semester meant that stress was back in your life. It was your second year at uni and you had recently moved to an apartment after a year of saving most of your paycheck.

It was small but it did the job. 

A couch on the corner, your futon, and a desk while the kitchen was basically empty, only having the basics. You tried to fill in the emptiness with indoor plants and a nice set of curtains. 

Adult life was tough.

Thankfully, the only thing that kept you going was knowing that Oikawa would come to visit you after not seeing him for a few weeks.

You two met through common friends, a few classmates of yours were old teammates of his and during a party, you spiked Oikawa’s interest when he watched you win a round at beer pong. The rest was history.

It had been around a year and a half since then when you told him about your plans to become independent. He supported you, even helping you to find an affordable place so you could move out of your parents’ house. 

Oikawa was busy with his own thing, volleyball taking most of his time along with the trips with the team, but he made sure to make enough time for you.

You heard your phone vibrate and saw a text from him. 

I’m here, it read.

Smiling, you got up from your seat and walked to the door just as a couple of knocks were heard on it. Opening it, you were greeted with your smiling boyfriend, the hands that rested on his hips flying around you to envelop you in a hug.

“Y/N-chan! I missed you a lot,” you could imagine the pout on his lips as you heard his whiny tone. 

Sighing, you wrapped your arms around his torso and got a whiff of his scent, making you close your eyes unconsciously at the familiar feeling. “I missed you too.”

You remained like that for a couple of seconds before you felt him kiss the top of your head. 

“I got you something,” he unlatched himself from you and bent down to pick up a box that lay next to your door. He held it in front of him and offered it to you with a radiant smile. “A little present for your new home.”

You scrunched up your eyebrows and gave him a confused smile. Taking the box from him, you noticed its heaviness and motioned him to get inside.

After taking a seat on the couch, you started to open the box carefully. If you were being honest, you weren’t really expecting a specific gift, but you weren’t expecting to see a nutribullet either. 

“It’s not much, but now you can have something else than bottled beverages,” Oikawa said in a sheepish tone.

“Are you kidding? It’s perfect!” you were pleasantly surprised by his choice of gift. “Thank you, Tooru,” you kissed him on his cheek and continued examining the blender. “I can make milkshakes with this, and frappés, chocolate milk–”

“Why don’t we try it?” he interrupted you.

“Good thing I went grocery shopping yesterday.”

Both of you went to the kitchen, he looked around the cabinets and fridge to see what you could work with and then came across something that piqued his interest.

He held the chocolate milk container with one hand and pointed at it with the other, looking at you in amusement. “How were you planning on drinking this?”

You turned away from the blender to see what he meant and immediately felt silly under his mocking gaze.

“Eh, pouring it in a cup and blending it with a fork?”

Oikawa laughed which made you pout. “Silly girl,” he bent forward to kiss your nose and snatched the blender away from you. 

He started to add the powder, milk, and a few ice cubes while you peered from the side.

“Are you sure it’s safe?” you asked, referring to the ice.

“Yup.” 

Once he closed the lid, he was ready to plug in the nutribullet when you stopped him.

“My turn!”

He gave you a funny look but stepped aside, letting you take his place.

After plugging it in, you recalled what you read from the instructive and pushed down the blender while twisting it to your left. Nothing happened which made you frown, so you tried again and this time it did work.

And you almost died from a heart attack.

The ice hitting the metal made a horribly loud sound that scared you to death, making you jump in surprise and squeal at the same time. 

Oikawa couldn’t help but snort at your reaction, only to give in to the laugh that had been threatening to escape his body when you snapped your head at him and glared.

Annoyed, you lightly shoved him to the side and folded your arms in front of your chest. “Stop!”

His body continued to shake while he lifted his hands in a surrendering way, but a new round of laughter rolled out of him when he remembered the surprised expression on your face. 

“Y-your face! It was so funny!”

Oikawa was breathless, holding his stomach while tears fell from his eyes.

“Do it,” you pushed him towards the blender. “You do it.”

When he finally composed himself, he playfully rolled his eyes but complied. “Alright.”

You observed him closely, frowning when he didn’t jump nor scream at the sound of the blender. Five seconds later he let go of it and opened the blender to see the result.

Chocolate milk had never looked so tasty.

You opened a cabinet and took a metallic straw from it, offering it to him. 

Oikawa raised an eyebrow at you quizzically.

“I don’t have any cups yet.”

“How have you been surviving!?” his question was rhetorical, half-amused, and half-concerned. But on the inside, he was horrified.

The fact that his girlfriend lived in such conditions didn’t settle all too well with him. He had hoped you’d come to him asking for help since he had previously stated how happy he’d be to aid you in this new chapter of your life. But for now, all he could do was make sure you were alright, knowing that you might get offended if he interfered way too much. 

You went back to the couch, Oikawa’s arm instinctively wrapping around your shoulders while you placed your legs on top of his.

“Are you comfortable?” his voice was almost a whisper, his hand caressing the side of your face as he found himself captivated by your mere presence.

Smiling, you answered his question by cuddling closer, resting your head on his shoulder after giving him a quick kiss on his jaw.

You spent the rest of the evening sharing the cold drink and catching up with each other’s lives, a few kisses here and there as you snuggled closer until you fell asleep.

Adult life was tough, but it was bearable when you had Oikawa Tooru helping you get through it and making it enjoyable.

[samanthadalton]

Star crossed lovers (au)

pairings: poppy x mc (bea) 

warnings: throughout this fic (there will be a bunch of parts to it) there will be mentions of substance abuse, homophobia, sexual abuse, violence, NSFW, mentions of abandonment, depression and death including suicide 

reader discretion is advised

(this chapter is more about setting up the basis of the story so is more context than anything else, part 2 will be more interesting I swear 😭, also it’s like 4am so if there’s any gramatical mistakes I’ll fix it later) 

taglist: @somewillwin @save-me-the-last-dance @baexpoppy @cloud9in @simpforpoppy @ognenniyvolk (I’m pretty sure this is my tag list if you wanna be added or taken off for future chapters just ask 😊) 

word count: 3.6k 

Part 1: The introduction

As the sun began to set, the houses along the street began to bask in its warm glow. The neighbourhood is quiet, like always, excluding the occasional car engine rumbling through the roads until they disappear into the distance and once again the silence is deafening. This neighbourhood was your typical suburban type, their structures stood tall and bold. Looking from an aerial point of view, one could argue that it’s almost like the houses have been copied and pasted along the street, they almost look perfect. One theory is that they were purposely made to look like they're perfect because they don’t want anyone to find out their secrets. It’s harder to catch a true glimpse when everything looks flawless.

If you compare the northside and the southside of Greensburg, it makes it seem like they’re living in two different worlds and maybe they are. The polarisation between the rich and the poor only becomes bigger, demonstrated by the high socio-economic backgrounds of those who lived in the north who go to the best schools, have the best jobs and sometimes own more than one house. Compared to those in a low socio economic background in the south, who usually have to work two jobs just to feel some sort of financial stability in their lives or have no choice but to indulge in illegal jobs just so they can feel some sort of power and superiority and have money of course. Only a few in the south are able to lead a straight and narrow life and successfully do it without having to engage in the culture of illegal activities. 

Bea Hughes, a girl who lives in Greensburg is someone who managed to immerse herself in both worlds. She used to be part of the upper class lifestyle but after life fucked her and her family over at the tender age of 8 years old, she was pulled into another world, one that she quickly had to acquaint herself with, because in the south, survival matters. The luxuries she once knew as a kid had disappeared and she constantly lived in a fight or flight situation. Now as her senior year of high school looms ahead, she finds herself still living in a similar situation, but instead of dealing with gangs or her addict of a mother, she had to deal with stuck up rich kids in Greensburg’s most prestigious school, Belvoire, which may have been her toughest obstacle of all. Against all odds, Bea managed to earn a scholarship at this private school when she was 15, and in order to keep her place, she has to maintain a 4.0 GPA, join at least one extra curricular activity and immerse herself into the culture of the school (whatever that meant). 

Even though life managed to be shitty most of the time, there was one constant, one thing that made life worth living, one thing that made her the happiest…

“Crap”, the brunette clung onto the branch of the tree trying to regain her footing after narrowly avoiding her death (or more likely a trip to the hospital). After recovering from her mild slip, she rapped on the window beside her and a few seconds later the window slides open and as she enters the room she trips up on her own feet landing face down on the floor. 

“Real smooth”

Bea chuckles at the snark comment as she looks up and as the sunlight shines through the window, it highlights all the features of the other girl. She was shorter than Bea (although not in this moment since Bea was practically laying on the floor), her facial features were sharp and her strawberry blonde hair fell perfectly around her shoulders. Her plush pink lips were curled up in a small smile as she offered a hand to the girl to help her up. 

“I totally meant to do that” Bea takes her hand and lifts herself off the floor, and after she quickly dusts herself off and grabs the blonde’s wrist pulling her towards her while her other hand settles on her waist. “So how much time do we have?”

The petite girl wounds her arms around the taller girl’s neck and slightly tip toes to whisper, “my dad has dinner with a bunch of investors so he’s not going to be back until midnight”. A huge smile appears on her face as she leans back slightly taking in the appraising look of the brunette. 

“Perfect”. 

Bea moves in to kiss the blonde, passion already igniting as their tongues tangle in a fight for dominance until Bea suddenly pulls away, foreheads touching, eyes blazing with desire as she whispers against the other girl’s lips, “I missed you Pops”. 

The other girl rolls her eyes and unwinds her arms from Bea’s neck, slightly pushing her back and while maintaining eye contact she walks backwards towards the bed and sits on the edge, “shuttup, you literally saw me yesterday” her tone attempting to come across as catty but instead comes out in a more playful manner. 

Bea raises an eyebrow as she saunters to where the girl is sitting and places two fingers under the girl’s chin lifting her face until their eyes meet, “so? I’m suddenly not allowed to miss my girlfriend?” She leans in, her lips ghosts around the blonde’s lips. 

“You talk too much, come on we’re wasting daylight” the blonde grabs Bea’s shirt and pulls her down onto the bed with her as they tussle in the sheets, lips crashing against one another reigniting the same passion from the kiss before. 

“Poppy..” Bea all but moans when Poppy places wet kisses along her jawline and begins biting at her neck. Not wanting her to have all the fun, Bea suddenly flips Poppy over pressing her deeper into the mattress as she ravenously kisses her, as if Poppy is the only one who can satiate her desire, and honestly speaking? She probably is. 

“No more foreplay, I want you now” Poppy breathlessly says, breaking the heated kiss. Bea sits up to straddle Poppy, intertwining both hands with hers and places it above the blonde’s head and grinds on her hips earning a low groan from Poppy. 

“Ask and you shall receive my queen”

In response, Poppy rolls her eyes and her tongue darts out of her mouth, teasingly moving against her own soft lips and as Bea leans in for another kiss her slender fingers move lightly above Poppy’s inner thigh, touching everywhere except where Poppy wanted her the most. After a few pleads from the blonde, Bea finally indulges her desires and they moved in perfect syncopation. 

….. 

After a while, Bea and Poppy collapse into each other’s arms, exhausted but satisfied recovering from their physically demanding rendezvous. Bea lays on her back with one arm behind her head and one arm wrapped around the petite girl who fit perfectly in her larger frame. Poppy relaxes her head on Bea’s chest, feeling lulled by her heartbeat which brings her a sense of calm and security. Bea softly kisses her forehead and looks down at the girl, entranced by her beauty, enrapturing the way her breaths are slightly longer and deeper than usual, the way her hair falls around her face and how her fingers subconsciously ghost around Bea’s stomach drawing lazy shapes. 

Poppy Min Sinclair, a 5’2 blonde beauty who is Bea’s entire world. Everything about her screams perfection in Bea’s eyes. She’s a straight A student, captain of the cheerleading team, and likes to spend time volunteering at her local animal shelter and is secretly an amazing artist. Though her family was one of the richest families in Greensburg, Poppy wasn’t your average highschool rich girl. Though she would often go on regular shopping sprees and refuse to wear anything that wasn’t designer (unless it was Bea’s clothes), she never treated Bea any differently than how others would. She was a bright girl, who was loving, friendly, fierce when she needed to be and extremely loyal. When it was just her and Bea she could show her true self, not pretend to be someone she’s not or play a certain role, she could just simply be Poppy instead of Poppy Min Sinclair. Poppy often felt the gravity that came with her name, especially since that’s all her father pressured her to be, a Min Sinclair. 

Hayden Min Sinclair, Poppy’s father, owned an entire empire of companies, differentiating from technology based businesses to architecture and finance. To say he was a businessman was putting it lightly, he was almost like a god or at least someone who was highly worshipped by business moguls. He built up his family’s name and within a decade he was a force to be reckoned with. Hayden Min Sinclair worked his ass off to lift his companies off the ground because as a person of colour he knew he would have to work 10x harder to get what he wanted. All he ever wants is life for his daughter to be easy, the irony is, that he’s one of the main reasons why it’s so hard. 

He’s a man of honour and pride and has never expected anything less from his daughter, hoping she would keep the dignity attached to the Min Sinclair name and bring it to new heights. So his traditionalist and conservative views means that he’s expecting Poppy to marry a man, who’s also an aristocrat, in which Bea is 0 for 2 for Poppy’s father’s expectations. Hence, Bea and Poppy have to keep their relationship a secret, a way to protect both Poppy and her future but also Bea from Mr Min Sinclair’s wrath. Reputation means everything to the Min Sinclairs and to Mr Min Sinclair specifically, especially after Poppy’s mother passed away when Poppy was 10 after an unfortunate incident of a drunken hit and run which left Poppy permanently broken from the loss of her mother but had all the socialites gossiping about the tragedy for months. To this day Poppy and her father still mourn her loss and Poppy often turns to Bea for comfort, for her companionship could provide the means of making her forget the empty presence of her mother that was left behind. 

They’d known each other since they were 7, when Bea used to live in the very same neighbourhood after the Min Sinclair’s moved into the neighbourhood, and they spent almost every waking hour together, attached by the hip. They were the best of friends and almost nothing could get in their way. Emphasis on the ‘almost’. 

When Bea’s father left Bea’s mother, Isabella when Bea was 8 and her sister Aria was 2, after finding out that Aria wasn’t his child as a result of a one night stand Isabella had, Bea’s family struggled to afford to live in the neighborhood especially since Bea’s father was the breadwinner of the house and their main source of income. After a series of bad decisions resulting in Bea’s mother losing her job as a banker, the 3 girls were forced to move to the south of Greensburg since it was the only thing they could afford. 

Bea and Poppy were still inseparable at this point, either Bea would take 2 buses to go to Poppy’s house or Poppy would call the family’s driver so she could go over the Bea’s. The breaking point for their friendship was the day when Bea’s mother once took the girls to the park when they were 11 and after she had gotten so intoxicated to the point she threw up in front of all the children, and Poppy’s father prohibited Poppy from seeing Bea again. 

“That girl and her family will bring shame to our family’s name, imagine what your mother would say” Poppy can still hear her father’s words ringing in her head from time to time, but everytime she looks at Bea, all her expectations would disappear and she would just simply be happy.

They began dating when they were 14, after Poppy had managed to scrounge up all her courage to kiss Bea on valentine’s day, after the two girls had snuck away to a diner to hang out like they would usually do. Poppy looked as if she was going to pass out from embarrassment when Bea didn’t reciprocate the kiss at first, however in Bea’s defence she was more startled than anything else. When Poppy was about to apologise Bea moved in and gave Poppy a sweet and chaste kiss on the lips and from then they decided they would be together. Bea couldn’t believe her luck when she was able to call Poppy hers, she felt like she didn’t have much to offer Poppy as she had yet to have earned the scholarship to Belvoire, the same school that Poppy had been attending. As well as coming from a troubled family life she didn’t want to implicate Poppy in any way but staying away from her had proven to be too difficult. 

The consequences of their forbidden love was much harder on her than it was on Poppy, still nevertheless she would do anything for Poppy, which was proven time and time again when they have to act like strangers at school. In spite of that, the stolen glances, the stolen moments, the stolen kisses, it made it all worth it. 

“Are you ready for school tomorrow” Poppy’s soft voice vibrated against Bea’s chest. 

Bea lets out a soft chuckle, “What do you think Pops? I’m the school’s lonely girl”

Bea’s reputation at Belvoire could not be worse, in a school filled with entitled brats, it was difficult for her to make any friends considering her economic background. She also couldn’t rely on Poppy and her popularity since she couldn’t be within any vicinity of the girl she loves. Bea and Poppy’s friends had a history of not getting along, and since Poppy couldn’t allow the true nature of her relationship with Bea to come to light, Bea had to deal with all sorts of harassment and bullying from them. Bea often had to remind herself that she was only a target because with money comes a lot of entitlement, especially from snobby teenagers. Moreover, the consequences of her mother’s actions also didn’t help Bea as the stories followed her everywhere, causing all sorts of rumours to spread like wildfire. 

Poppy lifted her head slightly to look into Bea’s eyes, “I’m sorry I didn’t mean it like that, I just meant it’s the last year of highschool, that means one last chance for us to win nationals and for you to come on top for volleyball.”

As mentioned beforehand, the extra curricular Bea chose to partake in was volleyball, not only did being part of a winning sports team look good on a college application, it also helped Bea with releasing her pent up anger and dominating her competition. Her favourite thing in particular was the smaller group of cheerleaders, including Poppy, who were at every game after Poppy made a compelling argument to the principle about the importance of raising school spirit in all sport related inquiries. Bea would often steal a glimpse at Poppy, who always came up with extra dance moves and cheers, sending secret messages that she was rooting for her girlfriend. 

“One more year of highschool, do you know what that means Pops?” Bea smiled devilishly at Poppy who returned the smile and leaned her face in, lips ghosting around Bea’s. 

“Why don’t you remind me?”

Bea grabbed the blonde’s waist and stole a quick kiss, “One more year means that next year we’ll both be in New York, and we can finally be together for real”. 

“I can’t wait to live off campus with you, we should start looking at places now so we can get ahead and find a good place sin-” Bea cuts her off with a kiss while Poppy smiles, “I hate when you interrupt me with kisses”

“No you don’t”

“You’re right I don’t, but you better not slack this year Bea Hughes otherwise I’ll beat your ass if you don’t get into Columbia”

“I would never, I’m literally a better student than you babe. I would say you shouldn’t slack either but we all know daddy’s going to help you get into NYU.”

Poppy playfully slaps Bea on the arm who just laughs, “hey, no way in hell am I going to use the Min Sinclair name like that, when” (she made sure to put extra emphasis as she spoke) “I get into NYU it will be because of how amazing and talented I am” 

“Not to mention damn right gorgeous and smart and incredibly flexible”

Poppy moves to straddle Bea, hands on either side of her head and she leans in, “hmm, you think the admission office will be looking at those particular things?” her tone teasing and inviting. 

Bea attempts to move her head up only for Poppy to quickly place her perfectly manicured hand around her neck and push her down, Bea’s eyes flash as her voice pulsates with desire, “well I’ll definitely be looking, for educational reasons of course”

Poppy breaks out into a wide grin as the girls share a passionate kiss, tongues tangled together as they fight for dominance, Bea tries to envelop Poppy’s entire mouth with her kiss but Poppy’s unrelenting perseverance pushes through as she tightens the grip around Bea’s neck, pushing her deeper into the mattress. Bea succumbs to Poppy’s kisses and allows the blonde’s tongue to explore the inside of her mouth, getting lost in the wave of pleasure that emanates from Poppy’s lips. 

After a few more kisses, Bea looks at the digital clock sitting on top of Poppy’s dresser, “damn it’s getting late I should go”

“Wha- it’s barely 10 o’clock”, Poppy pouts as her eyebrows furrow slightly. 

“I know” Bea places a hand on Poppy’s face gently brushing against her cheekbone, “but you need your 8 hours of sleep and I gotta make sure everything is ready for Aria tomorrow”. 

Poppy sighs defeatedly as she knows how important Bea’s half sister is to her, she’s practically an older sister to Aria and is also incredibly protective of her too. “Well tell Aria I said hi”

Bea moves to stand and Poppy grabs her hand, “wait, you didn’t tell me, how’s your mom?”

Bea nonchalantly shrugged and gazed at the floor, “same old, same old, she drinks herself into oblivion not giving a shit about the rest of us” 

Poppy rubbed comforting circles on Bea’s hand, “don’t worry Bea one day it will get better” 

Bea lets out a humourless laugh, “I’ve been saying that for almost 10 years”

She stalks over to the window and lets half of her body hang out ready to reach out to the tree, Poppy moves over and gives Bea one last lingering kiss, “You know you can use the front door, my dad’s not here”

“Yeah I know but it’s always so awkward when I run into Rita at this time because she knows that I’m screwing you”, Bea smiles while Poppy raises an eyebrow

“Screwing me?”

“Sorry I meant making love to you” she gives Poppy a quick kiss 

“Much better, and anyways Rita doesn’t care, she’s been rooting for us this entire time”

“It’s okay, don’t worry P, I’ve been climbing in and out of these windows and over that gate for years, how else do you think I got these muscles”, she flexes her toned arms while Poppy runs a hand over them, “I love you”

“I love you too”, Poppy watches as Bea moves out of the window, gripping the tree and making her descent, “wait” she shouts down, “where did you leave your bike?”

Bea smiles up at her, “I parked it a couple of blocks away from here it’s fine, I’ll text you when I get home” she blows a kiss to Poppy and begins making her way over the gate and into the street which shone bright from the lampposts. Poppy sighs and closes her window and begins getting ready for bed until a knock at her door catches her attention. Rita, her nanny and keeper enters the room and looks at Poppy with a knowing glance, ‘Bea didn’t want to stay for dinner?’ 

Poppy laughs slightly and shakes her head, “no she had to get home to make sure her sister is okay”

Rita leaves a plate with a few cucumber and cheese sandwiches on the dresser, “don’t stay up too late Miss Min Sinclair,” and with that she gives a little wave and leaves the room closing the door behind her. After eating half of her sandwich and going through her extensive nighttime routine, she receives a text from Bea

💖 B

Just got home now 

Love you and goodnight my love

Poppy smiles at her phone and then sets her phone on her dresser, not before putting it on charge, and drifts off to sleep. 

Bea on the other hand was wide awake. When she safely parked her motorbike near her house and texted Poppy as she entered the house. She looked up from her phone into the dark room to see the tv quietly playing while her mother was passed out on the couch with a half drunk bottle of vodka on the table. She moved towards the couch covering her mom with a blanket and then went into her bedroom to check on her sister who was soundly sleeping in her bed. Bea headed into the kitchen took some cold pizza from the fridge and did some last minutes checks to make sure both her and her sister were equipped and ready for school tomorrow. She settled in her bed, her mind racing with thoughts about school and how challenging the first day back will be. 

read part 2: 

[official-weasley]

The Irreplaceable Charlie Weasley: Pt. 8, Ch. 1

PART 8: WHERE IT ALL ENDS Chapter 1 - The First Three Years

Nova

THE FIRST TO AID (1992)

I couldn't believe how rested I felt. I haven't had that feeling in a really long time. Having two days off really does do you good, who would've thought. I turned around and saw that Charlie was already out of bed. The fact that I was rested wasn't the only rare occasion. Having 2 days off at the same time as Charlie did, THAT was even rarer.

We worked in the Sanctuary for about a year now and if I didn't love my job as much as I did, I would've given up a long time ago. Feeling tired and smelling like roasted meat most of the time wasn't even that bad because of the work I could do.

—

I still remember the day when I arrived. I was so nervous to meet everyone and to see what exactly my job would be. They greeted me with extended arms and big grins plastered on their faces, just like Charlie said they would. He came 2 weeks prior and waited behind the crowd of people who were excited to meet me.

The welcomeness of everyone calmed me down a bit and I just gave in. I knew I already got the job, that I am not going to go through an initiation process or any of the sorts.

“Wotcher! You must be Nova!” A man with a thick mustache approached me and squeezed my hand so tightly that I wanted to wince from the pain. I could see that Charlie wasn't the only one with muscles around here as I eyed the man, that introduced himself as Ben, up and down.

The next one to offer me a hand was a blond man named Tim. He had to be about my age but with a lot more scars than Charlie had. He was followed by Alice, Beatrice, Sam, and Dominik. After they all asked me the polite questions of how were my travels and if I need anything I should just ask, I finally reached the two men that looked like they were in charge.

“You must be Andrei.” I smiled. He was the only one I recognized as Charlie told me a lot about him and he was the one who wrote me the letter.

“Pleasure to finally meet you! Charlie can't shut up about you!” He returned the smile and shook my hand. I tried not to blush and act as professionally as I could, even though my eyes went to Charlie, who was standing behind them, at once.

“And I'm Felix.” The other one said. Felix Rosier, Charlie told me about him as well. Apparently, very talented and he went to our school and was a Prefect. I studied his face to see if I could recall seeing him at Hogwarts, but he didn't seem familiar at all.

“Nice to meet you both!” I liked meeting all the rest but I can't lie, I was the most excited to meet these two. The way Charlie spoke about them has piqued my interest.

“We can chat more at dinner. You must be tired.” Andrei said and gestured to start walking with him.

Charlie joined us, beaming. I knew he couldn't wait to show me around and I knew he was just as excited for me to finally be here as I was. I missed him so much in these past 14 days and I couldn't wait to hug and kiss him.

“You wait here.” We stopped in front of a wooden cottage that looked like a reception. “Dorothy will be with you soon to accommodate you.” He grinned. His eyes met those of Charlie's and he winked at him. I had no idea what was going on but I was excited to get my own place.

I have been dreaming about living in one of these cottages ever since Charlie told me that our date room in the Room of Requirement was something like these huts in the Sanctuary.

“Ah, Dot! Here you are!” Andrei playfully slammed his hand on the wall next to the door that just opened. Dot was a middle-aged woman that reminded me a lot of Molly if Molly had pitch-black hair.

“Oh, a new arrival!” She squeaked. “Come in dear, come in!” She waved her hand and I looked at Felix and Andrei who nodded that I should go inside.

“Let's see...your name?” She stepped behind her desk and started looking through the many piles of papers she had on it.

“Nova Blackwood.” I gave her my name.

“Blackwood...Blackwood...” She browsed through the papers murmuring more to herself than to me.

“Ah!” She exclaimed and lifted a piece of parchment into the air. “Blackwood, Nova! Our new Magizoologist!” She looked at me and I couldn't hide the excitement on my face, which indicated to her that I was the right person.

“Looks like you have a roommate!” I couldn't help but feel a bit disappointed. I was used to having a roommate at Hogwarts. Tulip was the best one anyone could ask for but I was hoping, after spending almost an entire Summer in a house full of Weasleys, that I would get some alone time. I loved Charlie's entire family and I loved spending time with them but as an only child, it could be very tiresome when 5 kids try to get your attention at once.

“Let's see here.” I looked up at Dot, snapping myself from my thoughts.

“Ah, very curious.” Her brows met. “We usually don't have roommates of the opposite gender. Was this a request?” She looked at me, bewildered. I blinked at her, not knowing how to reply. I didn't have to fill out an application for the cottage. Charlie told me he was going to...oh.

“Charles Weasley.” My lips curved even before she read his name. “Nice lad, not intrusive so you won't have any problems living with him.” She reassured me, clueless just how unbothered I was with my new roommate.

“He's my boyfriend, actually.” I decided to spear her the embarrassment as I could see she was looking for more words to make me feel comfortable with the fact that my roommate was a man.

“Oh.” Her cheeks turned slightly pink. “That would make more sense, yes.” She cleared her throat. “Well, here are your set of keys.” She handed me the keys with a Romanian Sanctuary keychain. “And I would just need your signature here.” She put her finger on a piece of paper and I came closer so she could hand me a quill and I signed the document.

When I got back outside, Felix and Andrei were gone and Charlie was leaning on the wall next to the entrance, having the same smug face he always had when he was proud that he was able to surprise me.

“I heard you have a male roommate.” He winked at me and pulled me into a hug.

“Yeah, I heard he's pretty handsome. You never know what might happen.” He laughed at my sarcastic comment.

“Sorry, to burst your bubble but I've heard he is very much in love with his girlfriend.” He kissed my forehead.

“Bummer!” I cupped his face and kissed him as hard as I could. I missed him so much. I couldn't wait to be around him every single day.

—

“Morning.” Charlie said as he heard me walking down the stairs. Something smelled delicious. I have never thought that us living together would mean that he would cook so much but he was just incredible and so painfully handsome. I hated when he cooked only in his boxers. If we weren't living in a wooden cottage with a high risk of burning it down, I would strip him every morning while he was cooking.

“Morning.” I hugged him from behind and peaked at the stove. “Pancakes, what's the occasion?” I kissed his back and chuckled. We had pancakes every time we had a day off together. It was our little treat and because we had two days off, we had pancakes yesterday too.

“Well, this rarely happens...” I could feel his body vibrating in giggles, as he placed a pancake on a plate. “That we have two free days in a row and I had no idea what to cook.” He poured another pancake into the pan.

“I still can't believe it.” Charlie and I didn't work together often. He worked with a team to tame and feed Dragons and I either worked with researchers or my team of Magizoologists, which I was now a leader of. The only time we worked together was when we needed Dragons to observe their behavior around the creatures we brought into the Reserve or if we needed to move a Dragon to a specific location for better observation.

Getting a day off was something we both struggled to get. Charlie was one of the best at doing his job and if something went awry they always turned to him for help. After half a year of working with 2 other Magizoologists, Felix saw that I had a talent for working with creatures and that they tend to listen to me more than others so he put me in charge of our team.

I now work with 4 other Magizoologists and several researchers and we have done so much in a year. I have written 2 groundbreaking papers about Dragon interaction with Hippogriffs and Mountain Trolls and after these two days of free time with Charlie, I am going to work with one of my dream creatures as Andrei approved my research for a Chimera.

“What's this?” I waved an unopened letter laying on our dining table. Charlie's eyes moved from the stove to me.

“I think it's from Ron.” He placed another pancake on the pile. “Haven't opened it yet. You can do it if you want.”

I turned the letter and unglued the seal. Charlie was right, it was from Ron.

“They have what!” My eyes widened as I was reading the letter. I remember when Charlie told me that Ron befriended Harry Potter. I mocked him that he outdid his entire family by just being friends with the Boy Who Lived. They were having a rather peaceful year and we were glad they weren't getting as many letters about detention as Fred and George were.

“Is it from Ron?” Charlie turned the stove off and brought the pancakes to our table.

“Oh, Hagrid.” Charlie started laughing and shaking his head as he was reading the letter from behind my shoulder. “He got himself a Dragon!”

“He's insane!” For some reason, I didn't find it as amusing as he did. He liked Hagrid's crazy ideas much more than I did. I knew Hagrid always wanted to have a Dragon and I guess now that he somehow got his hands on one he saw they were not just another Fang.

“How are we going to transport an illegal Norwegian Ridgeback from Hogwarts to Romania?” I couldn't think of a single idea how to do it.

“Not just a Ridgeback, love. NORBERT!” Charlie was having too much fun with this. I just playfully rolled my eyes at him, without a reply.

“It's impossible.” Charlie was still laughing, putting jam on our pancakes. “We can't do it on a weekly notice.”

“Unless...” I said under my breath an idea appearing in my head.

“Unless?” Charlie sat down next to me, beyond excited.

“We were friends with two pranksters and a smuggler at Hogwarts...” I am not going to lie, I was getting excited too. “And Tonks and Tulip are coming here next week anyway.” I suggested.

“You want to entrust Tonks, Tulip, and Jae with a Dragon?” He raised his eyebrows at me.

“We would help!” I defended my idea. “They would kill themselves if they went alone.” I chuckled.

“Love, we barely got two days off in a month, how are you going to get to Hogwarts?” He leaned on his hand and I knew he was having as much fun discussing this as I was.

“Let me talk to Rosier. He has a soft spot for stories like this.” I swung my hand as if it wasn't a big deal.

“You should go with them, I'll stay here. Someone has to be here to let you in.” Charlie was giving the idea some thought. “And there's no way Rosier is going to let both of us go.” He added.

“So, should I write to Tonks?” I couldn't believe we were going to do this.

“I will write back to Ron. I think in the middle of the night would be the smartest and somewhere up high so that you can leave as undetected as possible.” He nodded.

“Astronomy Tower?” I suggested.

It didn't even take Tonks a day to reply with a yes, having both Tulip and Jae on board. As predicted, Felix was up for it as long as nobody would see us and now we just had to wait for next Saturday.

—

“Be careful, this is a Norwegian Ridgeback.” Charlie hugged me to say goodbye. Jae was already waiting for me and Tonks and Tulip were going to meet us at Hogwarts.

“I know my Dragons, Weasley!” I winked at him and kissed him. Ever since we have been working together he calmed down a little bit when it comes to me being hurt.

I was scratched, burned, and bitten more times than I would enjoy and he got used to the fact that I am fine every time so he stopped eyeing me as if I was made out of glass. And once I threw in his face that he isn't any better, having the biggest burn mark covering the majority of his left arm, a big cut on his back, and a still healing scar that halved his left eyebrow, he finally gave in that I can have scars as well.

Just like me, he couldn't deny that the scars suited him. I already found him incredibly attractive but he looked so cool and sexy with all his scars, once healed properly, of course.

“I love you and I'll see you soon.” He pressed his lips against mine and gave me one of those kisses that weakened my knees. He always did this when he knew we won't be able to see each other for a while.

“I love you too, Charles.” I looked deep into his eyes. “Now, I have to go!”

I rushed outside and Jae and I apparated together. The warm air filled my lungs as I have almost forgotten how much warmer Britain was compared to the Sanctuary.

“Are you ready?” Jae whispered to me.

“Are you?” I looked at him and by his gaze, he knew exactly what I meant.

Charlie was corresponding with him more than I did but I talked to Penny, Tulip, and Tonks regularly. A few months after our Seventh Year, Jae and Tulip broke up and when Charlie and I compared the messages between the two, Jae seemed way more hurt than Tulip did.

“I'll be fine. We have to focus on the Dragon anyway.” He dismissed me.

“Have you talked to her at all, since...you know?” I finally unlocked our arms, as we were still standing on the spot we apparated to.

“A few times.” He whispered. “We are trying to be friends.” He tried looking me in the eyes but decided to avoid me at the last second.

We ran as quietly as possible to the Astronomy Tower. Tonks and Tulip were already there with three brooms. We still didn't know how exactly we would do this but it was now or never. I hugged them both and Tulip indicated that we are going to talk later. She looked at Jae and their eyes met for a split second before they both looked to the ground.

“Alright, let's do this!” Tonks was as excited as she was every time she did something that could get us in trouble. She was an exceptional Auror-in-training but her mischievous spirit never left her.

I shared a broom with Tonks and we flew up to the top of the Astronomy Tower where two kids were waiting for us with a big box behind them.

“Nova?” Whispered the boy.

“That's me. Where's Ron?” I looked at him.

“He was bitten by Norbert...I mean the Dragon.” Said the girl. “I'm Hermione Granger and this is Harry Potter.” Tulip gasped when she realized who the boy she was looking at was.

“I would love to chat and get to know Ron's friends but this is not the time and place.” I whispered as I got off my broom. They both nodded in agreement but I still shook both of their hands.

“Is he in the box?” I looked behind them and they turned around.

“Yes.” Nodded Harry.

“We didn't know exactly how you are going to approach the situation.” Hermione looked embarrassed. She reminded me of Penny; not wanting to break the rules but somehow finding herself in the midst of it anyway.

“Leave it to us, sweetheart.” Tonks put her hand on my shoulder and took out her wand. “See, light as a feather.” She said proudly after casting the Feather-Light spell upon the box.

“Is it sleeping?” Jae asked, eyeing the box.

“It's okay. I'll carry him, Jae.” I reassured him and stepped closer to the box. I opened it and gasped. “He's beautiful.” I looked at Harry and Hermione who looked at me like I was mental.

“I can see how you were friends with Hagrid.” Harry said, trying not to be impolite. I chuckled and cast the stunning Spell on Norbert.

“You should meet Charlie then.” I grinned and lifted the box with my wand. “It was nice to meet you both, now please go inside. Charlie will write to Ron to update him on everything.” I gestured that they should step back as my friends mounted their brooms again.

“And say hi to Ron for me. I hope he gets better soon, Dragon bites can be quite nasty, got a few myself.” I waved my hand at them but quickly put it away as they got the same horrid expression on their faces as before.

I sat behind Tonks and we started to fly away from the Castle. We stopped three times in between so I could recast the spell on Norbert and I was hoping nobody would spot us. We got to the Sanctuary with an hour to spear before sunrise.

Charlie's proud grin when he spotted us only got bigger once I carefully placed down Norbert and told him to look at him.

“He's a beauty!” His eyes sparkled. “I can't believe someone just gave the egg to him.”

“Not everybody is as excited as you are about Dragons, Charlie.” Tulip giggled.

We showed our friends to our cabin and then I helped Charlie settle Norbert to the spot his team prepared for him. On the way back, I told him how it was and he laughed when he heard the faces Ron's friends were making.

Finally, we could start talking and I hugged Tonks and Tulip again. We were glad that the situation wasn't as awkward between Jae and Tulip as we thought it would be as we sat around our fireplace and talked about our school days and our lives now.

Tulip told us that she published a very important paper and that if everything goes through she might start working on a new telescope.

Jae told us that he was being relocated to America as they were lacking Aurors there and I couldn't help but notice that Tulip was intrigued by that idea. We haven't seen our friends in such a long time and it was nice to just sit back and relax with them. We were missing Andre and Penny but we knew that with them being engaged, it was only a matter of time we would all get together again.

THE FIRST TO WED (1993)

“Charlie! We're going to be late!” I looked at myself in the mirror, desperately trying to do something with my hair. Where is Andre when you need him? Oh, right, getting married!

“Do you reckon...” I turned around as I heard Charlie rushing down the stairs. “Wow, you look...” He stopped when he saw me, blinking at me as if he couldn't believe his eyes. “Ravishing!” He breathed out.

“Thank you.” I couldn't stop the grin spreading across my face. I liked my beige dress with black lace. It showed my curves and I felt good in it but I still hated my hair. “What did you want to ask me?” Our eyes locked as he came to kiss me.

“Uhm...” He seemed completely lost for words, his eyes still on mine.

“You're drooling, Weasley.” I giggled and turned back to the mirror.

“Do you reckon Tulip will bring a date?” He finally snapped out of it and started putting his tie on. He was so handsome, I tried looking at myself in the mirror but my eyes kept escaping to him.

“Probably not. Why?” I finally managed to capture that one lock that made the hairdo bearable. I was sure Penny would fix it for me anyway.

“I just opened the letter Jae sent me yesterday.” He lifted his chin to finish tying his tie.

“He's bringing a date.”

“He's what?” I frowned and turned to him. “Penny will lose it if they start drama at her wedding.”

“So out of the blue as well. Didn't say her name or mention her before, either.” Charlie shrugged his shoulders and started kissing my neck.

“What are you doing?” Our eyes met in the mirror and I knew the look on his face.

“You look too good in this dress, love.” He winked at me and got back to my neck, his hands on my zipper.

“Char, we don't have time.” I said in a whisper, closing my eyes.

“We're apparating there and the wedding doesn't start for another 3 hours.” He tried calming me down, his hands on my shoulders, ready to take my, now unzipped, dress off.

“I'm the Maid of Honor. Penny will kill me if I'm late.” I turned around and kissed him passionately.

“I see how much you care, yes.” He whispered in my ear, pulling me towards the sofa.

“Okay, but don't ruin my hair. I just got it up.” I gave in.

“Likewise.” He winked at me and his eyes escaped to his tight pants. He looked too good in the suit.

“Oh, shut it!” I pushed him gently so he stumbled on the couch and started untying his tie.

—

“There you are!” Tonks locked our arms together and rushed me inside the second Charlie and I apparated. “See you later, Dragon Boy!” She waved at the left behind Charlie.

“Tonks, where are you taking me?” She was dragging me all the way to the bathrooms.

“Tulip and Jae are back together!”

“What?” My jaw dropped. “So she is Jae's plus one?” That will avoid a lot of drama.

“Yes! Ever since Jae was relocated to America they have been seeing each other again!” Tonks whispered, excitedly. It felt like we were at Hogwarts all over again.

“I thought Tulip was suspicious when we went to get Norbert.” I rubbed my chin, thinking about it.

“Finally!” Tonks and I both jumped in the air. “What took you so long!” We turned around and saw Penny standing behind us, looking unamused.

“And what's with the hair, Blackwood!” She blinked.

“Please, fix it!” I pleaded and before I could say anything else she was already dragging both Tonks and me to her changing room.

“So what do you think?” Penny asked, beaming when Tonks and I saw her wedding dress.

“Pen...” I was lost for words. It was perfect for her. She was going to look like a princess.

“I know, right!” She knew what I meant without even saying it.

“Well, let's see it then!” We all turned around and saw Tulip standing in the door frame. We all rushed to hug her and Penny pulled her inside and sat us all down.

Tonks and I looked at Tulip and winked at her.

“Tonks, I told you not to say anything.” Tulip hissed at her.

“Get off it. She would find out sooner or later!” Tonks laughed.

“So, are you guys serious, or is this just for the wedding?” I asked, waiting for Penny to put on the dress.

“It's been going on ever since he moved to America.” Tulip blushed.

“That was 4 months ago!” Penny came from behind the room divider, her eyes widened, not even fully in her dress.

“Yeah.” Tulip giggled. “I guess it's not just for the wedding.” She was blushing like crazy. It felt different this time around. As if they were more serious.

“I can hear wedding bells!” Penny sang.

“Oh, no!” Tulip shook her head. “Nova's next!” She leaned on my shoulder.

“Why, because Charlie and I are together longer?” I laughed.

“It's a miracle you two aren't already married, Blackwood.” Tonks mocked.

“We're too busy to think of things like that right now.” I wasn't lying. We really were. We talked about it that night when Charlie expressed the interest in marrying me when we told our families we're together. But we have never mentioned it since and I wasn't bothered by it.

“Sure, every excuse comes in handy.” Tulip winked at me.

“Okay, what do you think?” Penny interrupted our staring contest and we all looked up at her. Tears started gathering in my eyes, she was so beautiful. She reminded me of that one princess from a Muggle fairytale from a book I used to read to Ginny. Beauty and the Beast, I think. Tonks had her hands over her lips and Tulip's mouth was open.

“Penny, Andre is the luckiest bloke in the world.” Tonks said with a shaky voice.

“You look beyond beautiful.” I stood up and reached for my purse. “You wrote to me that you needed something blue.”

“You remembered!” She turned to me.

“It might not be traditional, but it's very rare.” I barely held in the tears, looking at her. I spent far too much time on my makeup and I knew Penny was too emotional to fix it.

“Is that a Dragon scale?” Tulip gasped as I put the brooch on Penny's sleeve.

“A Swedish Short-Snout one.” I nodded.

“Nova, it's beautiful!” She hugged me and I waved to Tulip and Tonks to join us.

—

I felt my cheeks turn pink as I was walking down the aisle before Penny. I saw Charlie standing next to Andre and Jae and I loved the way he was looking at me. It reminded me of the night of the Ball when he saw me walking down the stairs.

We had so many beautiful moments together and we made so many memories during all these years but that night was still one of my favorites and every time Charlie looked at me the way he did now, it reminded me of just how much he wished for us to be together back then and it made me feel so special to know I was able to bring him that happiness.

The ceremony was beautiful and Tulip, Tonks, and I all cried as Andre and Penny exchanged their vows. They were such a beautiful couple. After all the food and all the toasts, it was time to dance. I couldn't help but hope that we would have more of these moments together because I was having so much fun dancing with the girls.

I loved that our friendship was so strong that even though we saw each other a couple of times per year we still acted as if it was every day.

It was finally time for Penny and Andre's slow dance. I was probably looking at them as if I was in love with them both. I meant what I said earlier, that I didn't mind that Charlie and I weren't engaged or planning on getting married any time soon but moments like this sparked something in me that made me think otherwise.

“May I have this dance?” Charlie suddenly appeared in front of me, disturbing my thoughts and as I zoned back in I heard that Magic Works started playing. I took the hand Charlie offered me with the biggest grin on my face. That was the song we slowed danced to at the Ball. That was the song that made me break down all my walls and the song that made me realize just how much I wanted to be more than friends with Charlie. It was our song.

“They look amazing together, don't they?” Charlie said softly as my head was resting on his chest and we were slowly moving to the song.

“They do. I am so happy for them.” I smiled.

“Are we next then?” I looked up at him when he asked the question.

“What do you mean?”

“To get married.” He brushed my nose with his, the biggest smile on his lips.

“I...” I blinked at him. His question surprised me.

“Just because we don't talk about it, doesn't mean it's not on my mind, love.” His sparkling eyes were killing me softly.

“You're not asking me now, are you?” I could feel my heart against my ribcage.

“You really think, this is how I am going to propose to you?” He chuckled.

“Oh, so you already have it planned out?” I placed my head back on his chest, my heartbeat was getting faster with each sentence.

“Of course, I do.” He said as if he was thinking about this every day.

“You don't want to get married?” He asked after a minute of me being silent.

“I want nothing more than to be married to you, Charles.” I looked up at him as I heard his heartbeat raise. I could see he was trying to hide his excitement but he was doing a rather bad job. “It's just...we never talk about it so I didn't put much thought into it.”

“Well, it's going to happen, Blackwood.” He kissed my forehead. “Bill predicted that I will make you an official Weasley. I can't let his Divination talent die.” I laughed.

“Then perhaps we are next.” I smiled at him and his eyes sparkled as if I just said yes to his marriage proposal.

When we get married, I knew that it wouldn't compare to Penny's wedding. It was amazing and we had so much fun. Events like these made me realize just how much I miss my girls and we promised each other that we would visit one another as often as we could.

After people started leaving and Jae, Andre, and Charlie fell into a heated debate about the Quidditch World Cup next year, Penny took us girls outside.

“I have to tell you something.” She put her hands to her cheeks and she looked as if she was about to start crying. Tulip and I exchanged a look.

“I'm pregnant!” She exclaimed and we all jumped up, in awe.

“Merlin's beard, Penny!” Tonks didn't know how to reply.

“You're moving fast Mrs. Andre Egwu!” Tulip pulled her in a tight embrace.

“We're going to be aunts!” I shouted and started jumping into the air. They all laughed and joined me. I was right, her wedding can't be topped.

THE FIRST TO FEAR (1994)

“Are you sure you don't want to come?” Charlie shook my shoulders as I rolled my eyes at him.

“For the millionth time, Char! I will stay with your mum and Ginny.” He let out a sigh. “You rarely see your brothers, you should spend some time with them!” I placed my hands on his cheeks. Ever since Arthur announced that they were going to the Quidditch World Cup we have been bickering over me staying at the Burrow.

He has been at the Cup with his family a few times and he just wanted me to experience it. I believed him when he said it's a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to see how Quidditch is really played but I had enough by just him describing everything so vividly. I always felt like I was there with every one of his stories.

I wanted him to spend some time with his brothers and his dad. I knew he missed them more than he would like to admit and he will get to say that he was at the World Cup with Harry Potter. He was the new Seeker for the Gryffindor Team and I knew Charlie couldn't wait to talk to him about it. Besides, we rarely got time off and whenever we got to the Burrow we were so preoccupied with every single family member that I don't know when was the last time I spent some quality time with Ginny.

I was worried sick when she was taken by the Basilisk and kept sending Pip to Molly to see if she got any news. The whole Weasley family, including me, was so grateful for Harry to rescue her and the fact that Ginny has the biggest crush on him is just too adorable. I would say that they remind me of me and Charlie when we were their age, but for some reason, Hermione and Ron ring more of a bell.

“I don't know if the Burrow ever had 3 girls without a single boy before.” Charlie chuckled and I joined him. I wished Hermione would stay too. I would like to get to know her better as Ron couldn't stop writing to us just how brilliant and smart she was.

“The Burrow will do just fine!” I pressed my lips to his. “Just enjoy your time and have fun for a change!”

“Hey, I have fun!” He smirked at me.

“Sure you do, Mr. Serious.” I ruffled his hair. I loved that he let his hair lose every time he wasn't working. It made him so charismatic. He rolled his eyes at my remark but said nothing. He knew I was right. He was focused on his work most of the time and rarely unwinded. I admired that about him but he needs to relax more, he's a workaholic for sure!

“Alright!” He finally gave in as our lips parted. “Have fun with my mum and Ginny.”

“I will. We will party like crazy!” I laughed.

“Sure, especially when mum starts asking questions about us.” He winked at me. That was the only part I wasn't looking forward to.

We have been together for 4 years and she has been nagging us about marriage and children for 2. I knew she will take this opportunity of us being alone to talk about it as she obviously couldn't get through Charlie's thick skin.

“What if I was planning to propose during the game and you're not coming?” He tried convincing me one more time.

“You are not that cheesy, Charles.” I giggled.

“You know me too well, love.” He pressed his forehead to mine and hugged me tightly. He took a deep breath and I knew he wanted to remember my scent.

“I love you, Charlie.” I looked deep into his eyes. The words still gave me butterflies sometimes. “Now go have fun with your brothers!”

“I love you too, Nova.” He kissed me one more time, hugged Molly and Ginny, and ran after the others.

—

“So, Ginny.” I sat down next to her on the sofa. She eyed me suspiciously without turning her head, pretending to read.

“Yes, Nova?” She said, casually, even though I was pretty sure, she knew what I was going to ask her.

“You and Harry.” I nudged her and she let out a deep sigh.

“Forget it, Nova. I am not talking about it.” She turned the page of her book, pretending to be unbothered by my question.

“Hey, you were the first one to know about me and Charlie, I have the right to know.” I acted offended.

“There's nothing to tell. He doesn't fancy me.” She tried to keep her voice normal, but I knew her too well to know she wasn't okay with it.

“Oh, give him time! There is something going on in his life every year at Hogwarts!” I wasn't wrong. I couldn't believe how peaceful we had it compared to him. The Stone, the Basilisk, his Godfather last year. The kid has some stuff going on!

“Yeah, right.” She chortled, trying not to get her hopes up.

“Look, sometimes boys need longer. He'll come around.” I tried to encourage her. It was obvious Harry had too much on his mind to think about having a crush.

“Wasn't it the other way around with you and Charlie?” She winked at me, a smirk painting her face.

She was right. Charlie started fancying me in our Third Year and I needed about a century to realize that having him as a friend wasn't enough.

“That's beside the point. I was blind!” I laughed.

“You really were.” She leaned on my shoulder. “I don't know, Nova. Perhaps, I'm too young.” She finally gave in to talking about him.

“Rubbish!” I started brushing her hair with my fingers. “He's only one year older than you.”

“And he's Ron's best friend!” She continued. “You know how protective he is!” I chuckled. I knew all too well.

That evening when we told our families that we are together, 11-year-old Ron cornered Charlie and threatened him to learn the meanest hex at Hogwarts and use it on him if he hurts me. And Charlie is his family, not me.

“If you two would fall in love, I am sure he would understand.” My fingers still in her hair.

“It's ridiculous if you think about it.” She closed her book. “I fancied him since I was 10 and he knows too.” She lowered her head.

“You are beating yourself over it too much!” I pulled her in a half hug. “You're going to be in your Third Year this year. You still have time.”

“Do you ever wish you and Charlie started dating sooner?” She looked at me with those beautiful eyes. They were the same as Molly's.

“I used to.” I answered honestly. “When I realized how long I liked him for and how long Charlie had feelings for me, I wished we would've gotten together sooner, but I am certain we came together at the right time and I wouldn't change a thing.” My lips curved as memories started rolling in front of my eyes.

“So, you're saying to just be patient?” She asked.

“Perhaps but also don't find yourself waiting for him. Enjoy your life. If it's meant to be, you two will come together at the right time.” I smiled at her.

“Thank you, Nova!” She hugged me so tightly that she could give Molly a run for her Galleons. “You're the best sister!”

My cheeks turned pink. Every time Ginny called me her sister it melted my heart. She adored me since she was 4 years old and always made me feel so included in their family. That never changed, even now that I was part of the family.

We helped Molly with dinner, even though it was much easier cooking for only 3 people for a change. Now that everyone was at Hogwarts, Molly could relax a bit as she and Arthur were alone most of the time during the school year.

I couldn't believe how much fun we were having. Molly was a completely different person when the boys weren't around. I don't think I have ever seen her so relaxed. She told us all about how she and Arthur fell in love and all the cheesy gifts he has given her over the years. I knew she enjoyed talking about it to us as I am sure the boys wouldn't be so keen on listening to their perfect love story.

The two days passed quicker than Charlie would catch a Snitch! Ginny has already gone to bed as she gave up on waiting for the lot to come back as we weren't sure exactly when that would be and I knew she wanted to avoid seeing Harry. I was sitting in the living room, in Molly's usual spot, as it was easier for me to write my reports in an armchair and since Molly went upstairs to take a bath I reckoned I would have some alone time to finish my report on the Chimera which was still in the Sanctuary.

It was a tough creature to work with but I didn't lose patience and Felix and Andrei told me that there is no rush to have a revelation. Dragons and Chimeras were creatures that both had such strong magical energy and I knew getting them together was not going to be easy. At first, I thought that the Chinese Fireball would warm up to the creature but almost made me bald instead as he breathed fire straight into me to let me know he does not approve of my friend.

Charlie wanted to help me but Ajax, the Chimera wasn't that fond of him and got vicious every time Charlie was near me. I considered him to be jealous as I befriended the creature on my own. Norbert was doing the best with Ajax, out of all Dragons, and Charlie was rather proud of him for that. He was the one who took care of Norbert the most and as he was almost fully grown and has gotten a bit out of control and more stubborn it was a miracle that he got along with Ajax.

“Nova, dear!” I lifted my head from my scribbling at Molly's words. “You should go to bed.” She came down the stairs in her nightgown.

“I have to finish this report.” I smiled at her as she started to the kitchen.

“Want some tea?” She whispered to the best of her abilities as she put the kettle on. I nodded, her eyes were still on me.

“You're not going to bed?” I smiled at her as she sat down on the sofa.

“Oh, no!” She shook her head. “You know me. I constantly think of my boys.” She swung her hand as if worrying for them was the only thing she did.

“Should I move? I'm in your seat.” I finally noticed and started moving my papers around.

“No, dear. You sit and don't let me bother you.” She grinned. “I just want some company.” I lowered my head down to finish the report. I only had a conclusion to write anyway.

When I put my quill down and closed my ink bottle I looked up at Molly and saw her staring at me. I couldn't stop my cheeks from turning bright pink.

“I'm sorry.” She put her cup down. “Sometimes I just can't phantom how lucky Charlie is to have you.” My heart started racing at that. I could never get enough of her compliments and I always started missing my mum when she said things like this.

“Well, I should say the same.” My lips curved. “I always feel that I'm the lucky one.”

“I just wish Bill would find someone as well, you know.” She sighed. Me too. Bill was so great and I couldn't believe he wasn't seeing anyone special.

He wrote to me a couple of times about this girl he was seeing that was also a Curse Breaker but it didn't go well. He did fancy this girl he met at Gringotts once but nothing came out of that either.

“He will.” I stood up and sat down next to Molly. “He just hasn't found that special someone yet.” I wanted to reassure her. There wasn't a doubt in my mind that Bill won't find a nice girl to settle down with.

“And what are you two waiting for, anyway?” She asked after a moment of her nodding and staring at the fireplace.

“What?” I didn't exactly know where she was aiming with her question.

“Four years of being together and no ring on your finger.” She raised an eyebrow at me. I knew this was coming.

“We...” I felt like I was 16 and had to explain to my mum why I got detention. “We are in no hurry.” I scratched the back of my neck.

“In no hurry!” Molly scoffed. “You two are as perfect as anyone can be. You should be married and pregnant by now.” My eyes widened at her words. I was not ready to have a baby yet. I was only 22!

“Well, we talked about it, and with the field of work we're both in we don't feel like it's the right time.” I was being honest. My career was only getting better and better and Charlie is in for a promotion.

And to be fair, we might've talked about us getting married on rare occasions but we have never talked about having children. I knew I wanted to have a family and I knew Charlie felt the same but we never discussed it beyond that. I couldn't imagine raising a child next to Dragons and a Chimera.

“Nonsense!” Molly waved her hand at me. “There is never a right time. These things just happen.” I didn't know how to respond to that. I knew she and Arthur got married fresh out of Hogwarts and Bill came soon after but I wasn't planning to follow in her footsteps.

“Right now,” I started slowly, “being just the two of us is enough for Charlie and me.” Her expression softened a bit. She had a soft spot for our relationship.

“I understand.” She put her hands on mine. “But at least give marriage a thought. You would be such a beautiful bride.”

“A crying bride.” I chuckled and she joined me. I know I was going to cry at my wedding even more than I did at Penny's.

“Don't let your job be an excuse.” She brushed the lock of hair, that fell over my cheek, away. “You two love each other too much not to celebrate it and have a family.” She said in a soft voice that melted my heart.

She wasn't wrong. I caught myself daydreaming about having a family with Charlie more than I would like to admit. Perhaps we could talk about it even though I knew we would eventually get there.

“Bill has to get there first.” I tried to stir the conversation back to him as I didn't know what to add. If he was here, he would kill me.

“Right!” Molly rolled her eyes as she was reminded yet again that her eldest son didn't have a significant other.

She opened her mouth to say something else but she stopped as her eyes widened, looking at something behind me. I turned around and saw that she was staring at the Weasley Family Clock and the hands on the clock those of Arthur, Bill, Charlie, Percy, Fred, George, and Ron turned from Quidditch to Mortal Peril.

We looked at each other and stood up. We were so deep in conversation that we didn't notice the time.

“When are they supposed to be back?” Molly whispered as I was sure she couldn't manage anything else. I could feel her shaking next to me.

“I am sure it is nothing they can't handle.” I tried reassuring her even though I felt my throat tighten.

We walked outside to the garden and sat down on the bench. I knew we would be able to spot them as soon as they return with the Portkey. It seemed we were waiting for hours. I could feel Molly drifting away on my shoulder and then lifting her head realizing she almost fell asleep. I tried to keep my focus on the spot where I knew the Portkey was and I couldn't help but get more nervous by the minute.

I went inside to make us some tea and my eyes turned to the clock. Still Mortal Peril. What was going on? How could they be in danger at the Quidditch World Cup? I couldn't understand and imagine what could've happened and that was the scariest part.

I went up to take a shower as the sun was almost rising. I couldn't sit still and look at the same spot anymore. It was making me too anxious. I came back down and used a Drying Charm on my hair as I heard the hands on the clock move. I hurried in front of it and the hands one by one started to move from Mortal Peril to Home.

“Molly!” I shouted and rushed outside. She was standing by the edge of the garden, her hands to her cheeks, looking at the Hill where the Portkey was. Percy was the first that I could see. He looked like a mess and a sense of worry on his face. George and Fred followed and then I saw Bill, his hand was wrapped in bandages.

My heart leaped as Percy, Fred and George reached us and Molly pulled them into a hug. Where were the others? Fred saw my worried face and came to hug me.

“He's alright.” He whispered in my ear and my heart started slowing down.

Before I could ask him where is Charlie and what in the hell happened, I saw him walking next to Arthur toward us. As Bill came to us and I pulled him into a hug, he winced at the pain in his arm. He smiled at me and nodded for me to go to Charlie. I started shaking and I couldn't just stand there, waiting for them to reach us.

I ran so fast that I thought I wouldn't be able to stop myself as I was nearing them. Charlie picked up his pace to meet me halfway and spread his arms as I ran into him with such a force, that he let out a small 'oof'.

“I'm okay.” He said gently, his fingers buried in my hair as we stood in the middle of the field, embraced.

“What in the bloody hell happened?” I asked as I finally let go of him and we started walking towards the Burrow.

“Death Eaters.” Charlie exasperated, pulling me in a half hug.

“Death...” I couldn't grasp the fact that they were attacked at the Quidditch World Cup.

“Where are Ron, Hermione, and Harry?” I asked.

“They aren't back?” Arthur said, looking around the Garden. Molly and I both shook our heads.

They explained what happened. How the Dark Mark appeared in the sky and how they accused Harry of conjuring it. How the loud voices and burning tents woke them up and how they tried fighting them back before they suddenly fled.

“An elf conjuring the Mark?” I repeated Percy's words, incredulously. “That sounds ridiculous.”

“That's what we said but she has been found with Harry's wand.” Arthur pursed his lips, not believing it either.

Charlie and I exchanged looks. We knew this didn't mean anything good. There have been rumors that He Who Must Not Be Named was coming back and will regain his power but we dismissed the rumors up until now. The Dark Mark wasn't a good sign and now I wished to be there so I could've fought with them.

—

Charlie and I accompanied the lot to the Hogwarts Express before we would have to return to Romania. Charlie kept teasing the twins with a secret we knew and they didn't. Hogwarts was going to host the Triwizard Tournament and Charlie was assigned to bring 4 Dragons to the school in November. He was beyond excited and I wished I could go with him.

“You'll find out soon enough.” Molly chuckled as she waved at the boys on the train. I couldn't help but get nostalgic and as I looked up at Charlie, amused that his brothers were clueless about what was going to happen, I couldn't help but picture us waving our kids goodbye like this in the future.