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nebulablakemurphy · 3 years ago

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Total Eclipse Of The Heart (Part Five)

Jacob Black x Fem!Vampire!Swan!Reader

Summary: Jacob Black, alpha of his pack, would never fall in love with a bloodsucker, much less imprint on one. The problem is that Y/N Swan was human…until she wasn’t anymore.

Prologue | Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4

The bike works for a while, Bella can see Edward; until she gets good at operating the vehicle. After that the danger is gone and so is any version of him.

Jacob and Y/N are hunting Victoria. Charlie is hunting the wolves, who he still believes to be bears, responsible for the killings around town.

Bella’s alone again.

She decides to try something new, to get that rush of adrenaline. Cliff jumping is about as stupid as it is recreational. But Edward is there, begging her not to jump. So she does, anything to make him stay.

———————————————————————

“She’s freezing cold. I can’t touch her.”

“Relax. Human hot box, remember? I hope you don’t mind, I’m gonna have to give her mouth to mouth.”

“Jake,” thwack.

Beyond the voices, Bella can feel pressure. Like someone is pounding on her chest, commanding her heart to beat.

“Come on Bella. Breathe.”

With a sputtering inhale she chokes up the water that invaded her lungs.

“Bella!”

The brunette opens her eyes just in time to see her sister reach for her and then remember her temperature, dropping both hands back to her sides.

“I’m ok,” Bella tells her, through chattering teeth.

“What the hell were you doing?” Y/N demands, tossing a blanket around her shoulders.

Jacob lifts Bella from the sand to lean against him, soaking up his warmth.

“I just wanted to see something.” Bella looks away from Y/N. The venom has eaten away her contacts and she can see her now for what she truly is.

“We’ve gotta get her home.” Jacob says, lifting Bella with ease.

“Your eyes,” Bella tries to warn her.

“It’s ok,” Y/N shakes her head. “Dad’s not home. He’s over at the Clearwater’s.”

“Did something happen?” Bella wonders.

“Harry had a heart attack.” Jacob breathes, the words striking like a hot iron. “He didn’t make it.”

“I’m so sorry.” Bella whispers to no one in particular.

“Let’s go,” Y/N jerks her chin in the direction of the road.

“I’ll run her,” the wolf offers.

“My truck,” Bella pushes feebly against his chest.

“I got it,” Y/N sighs, taking the keys. “You go, keep her warm.”

“On it.” Jacob nods, breaking into a sprint.

Y/N heads back to the truck, opening the door and waiting as it rattles to life. Her fingers curl over the steering wheel harshly, distorting it with the force of her grasp.

The phone buzzes to life in her pocket, not a number she recognizes. “Hello?”

“Y/N, it’s Edward.”

“Edward…” The Y/H/C nearly short circuits.

“Is Bella alright?” He asks immediately.

How did he know? “Now you care what happens to Bella?”

“Y/N please-“

“No,” she cuts him off. “Edward, you left. You left and you didn’t care. I mean where the hell have you been? Where were you while I was here picking up the pieces?”

“I’m sorry.” Edward grovels, the way she had on the front lawn of the Cullen’s home after Bella’s birthday party. “It was a mistake.”

“Your sorry means nothing to me.” Y/N ends the call. Tossing the phone to the passenger seat. Her foot pressing the gas pedal to the floor.

Arriving home at record speed, she finds a black car in the driveway. Carlisle’s car. Parking the truck, she jots through the front door.

Alice, Jacob and Bella are deep in conversation.

“What are you doing here?” Y/N asks Alice.

“I had a vision of Bella jumping off a cliff. I didn’t see her get pulled out of the water-“ Alice breaks off. Her eyes fluttering, then she gasps.

“What now?” Jacob runs a hand over his face.

“It’s Edward, he thinks Bella’s dead.” Alice chokes out. “He’s going to the Volturi, he wants to die too.”

“What?” Bella’s entire body lurches forward.

“Rosalie told him why I came here. Then Y/N-“

“You spoke to him?” Bella cuts Alice off. “What did you say?”

“I told him to screw himself. Not kill himself.” Y/N says defensively.

“Y/N!” Bella is hysterical.

She never meant for this to happen. “Tell me where he is and how to get there.”

“What are you gonna do?” Jacob leans in, his fingers closing around her wrist.

“I have to go,” Y/N rolls her eyes at the ridiculous nature of the situation, “save Edward.”

Jacob’s face falls into a scowl, “no, no way in hell.”

“Jake-“

“The Volturi, isn’t that some kind of vampire judge and jury situation? The ones you’re so afraid of that you can’t even tell Charlie what happened to you?” Jacob can put up with a lot, and he has. But this…

“Jacob, I know that this sucks.” Y/N pulls him away from Alice and Bella for a shred of privacy. “But it’s my fault. I have to make it right.”

“Stop blaming yourself for his shitty decisions!” Jacob roars, “it’s not your fault that he left, it’s not your fault that he didn’t come back and it’s not your fault that you told him to shove it where the sun don’t shine.”

Y/N takes step back, “please don’t.”

“Please don’t what?” Jake snarls, closing the distance between them. “Tell you the truth?”

“Please don’t hate me for what I’m about to do.” Y/N pleads, allowing his fingers to sear her skin.

“If you die…” he strokes her jaw reverently, “I’ll kill you.”

“I love you so much,” she turns into his palm and presses gentle kisses there.

Jacob lets his hand fall away as they break apart. “What do you want me to tell Charlie?”

“Last minute girls trip or something,” Y/N shrugs.

“How long will you be gone?” Jacob wants to say it back. That he loves her.

Y/N looks to Alice.

“Three days, round trip.” The pixie tells them.

Bella has already gone up to pack.

“Perfect,” Jacob acknowledges. Keeping the words to himself.

———————————————————————

The plan ride to Italy is tense. Bella hardly sleeps, she is a nervous wreck.

Alice is flooded with vision after vision as she watches Edward and the Volturi’s decisions.

Y/N plucks anxiously at the wolf charm on her wrist.

The car Alice steals is a beautiful canary yellow color. It shifts gears like butter and glides over the road.

“The Volturi refused him.” Alice says, surprise and relief in her voice.

“Should you be driving?” Y/N wonders, there’s no way she can concentrate with the future flashing before her eyes.

“You can channel for me” Alice offers. There is no time to stop.

Y/N closes her eyes, willing the visions to come to her. “He’s waiting until noon, when the sun’s at it’s highest. Then he’s going to reveal himself to the humans.”

“Alice, you gotta hurry up.” Bella pleads, tugging at the roots of her hair.

“Bella,” Alice coos, “breathe.”

Y/N opens her mind, but Edward is decided, so nothing changes. Until something unexpected appears.

Jacob. He’s seated on their living room couch, shooting the breeze with Charlie. Clearly waiting for something as his eyes flicker to the clock repeatedly. Her, Y/N realizes, he’s waiting for her.

“What did you see?”

“It wasn’t Edward, don’t worry.” Y/N drawls. Just her letting down the most important person in her life…again.

The crowd surrounding Volterra is massive, Alice cuts through as much as she can with the stolen Porsche, but eventually Bella has to make a run for it. To the clock tower at the center of the festival before Edward exposes himself in the sunlight. She is the only one Edward can’t see coming.

“So, what now?” Y/N demands.

“What did you see?” Alice asks instead.

“Doesn’t matter.” The Y/H/C shakes her head. “We can’t just sit here-“

“You saw him, didn’t you?” Alice steals a glance at her. “Jacob?”

“Does he always look so miserable in your visions,” she wonders.

“I can’t see him.” The other vampires admits, “the wolves are a blind spot.”

“Why?”

“I’m not sure.” Alice’s brows furrow, the visions are back in her own head. “We have to go.”

The two of them weave through the festival, skin covered from the sun that shines bright overhead. Finally taking shelter in a door off the alley way.

“Come on guys,” Alice pulls the scarf from her head as they enter. “Wouldn’t want to cause a scene.”

The ‘guys’ in question have glowing red eyes, their diet is strictly human blood.

Bella is against the wall, with Edward between her and the two men wearing black cloaks.

“No we certainly wouldn’t.” The shorter blonde man purrs. “Aro requests your presence.”

“Bella,” Edward addresses her, “why don’t you go back out and enjoy the festival?”

“All of you,” the larger man clarifies.

A third vampire joins them, a girl with blonde hair pulled back into a tight bun. “Aro sent me to see what’s taking so long.”

“So no festival?” Y/N cocks her head to the side.

“I’m afraid not.” The girl gives her a tight lipped grin. “Right this way.”

The four of them are led down a long corridor to a stair case, then to an elevator.

Abandon all hope ye who enter here.

Edward’s eyes, dark with thirst, cut to Y/N. Bella tucked securely beneath his arm.

‘Sorry,’ she mentally shoots back.

He turns his gaze ahead as the elevator doors open onto a checkered marble floor. The ceilings are high, adorned with paintings that put the Sistine chapel to shame.

“Don’t be afraid,” Edward whispers to Bella.

“Are you?” Bella stares up at him.

“No,” he lies.

They land at double doors, pushed open to reveal three more men, seated in high back chairs that resemble thrones.

The one in the center moves to stand, the other brunette and blonde vampires can’t be bothered.

“What a happy surprise!” The man rejoices, “Bella is alive after all. And you’ve brought a friend.”

“I’m just here for moral support.” Y/N explains, jerking her thumb at Bella, “she’s my sister.”

Aro looks her over, “welcome…”

“Y/N,” she introduces herself.

Aro steps forward then, taking Edward’s hand from Bella’s into his own.

“Aro can read every thought I’ve ever had with a single touch.” Edward tells them.

“You are quite a soul reader yourself Edward. Although you can’t hear Bella’s thoughts.” Aro remarks, “would you do me the honor?” He extends a hand to Bella.

Warily she steps forward, allowing him to encase her hand with both of his.

“How strange,” Aro pulls away after a moment. “I see nothing. I wonder if…let us see if she is immune to all our powers, Jane.”

“No,” Edward protests, jumping in front of Bella.

“Pain,” the blonde girl murmurs, a satisfied smirk spreading across her features as Edward falls to the ground. He writhes silently at Bella’s feet.

“Stop! Please.” Bella yells, “stop hurting him.”

Aro watches her in fascination, allowing the torture to continue for a moment. “Jane.”

“Master?” The girl says.

Edward relaxes with a grunt.

“Go ahead my darling,” Aro motions to Bella.

“This might hurt just a little,” Jane warns.

But Bella feels nothing.

“Remarkable.” Aro marvels, “she confounds us all. So, what do we do with you now?”

“She knows too much, she’s a liability.” The blonde man on the right croons, from his chair.

“That’s true.” Aro replies, “Felix.”

“No,” Edward flips Bella behind him, having read his thoughts.

Alice seen Aro’s decision to have Bella killed.

And Y/N catches on quickly enough. Stepping in front of her sister.

Alice is restrained by the short blonde haired guard and Edward is wrestling with the larger vampire, which eventually leaves Edward on the ground.

Y/N’s never engaged in combat, but fight or flight is still a thing. She’s stronger and faster than anyone in the room, perks of being a newborn. She uses it to her advantage.

Fending off every attack the guard throws at her. But she is wreckless, untrained in her youth. Eventually she is restrained, with a hand at her throat.

The exchange gives Edward enough time to recover, he comes back swinging. For Bella. Anything for her.

Felix is strong. Edward is going to lose and her sister is going to die.

Y/N does the only thing she can do, “pain.”

The large man twists inhumanly at the crippling pain coursing through him.

Aro’s mouth sits slightly agape, watching in wonder as Edward returns to his feet.

“Call him off and I’ll stop,” Y/N jerks her chin toward Felix.

“Let us discuss this in a civilized manner.” Aro tries to defuse the situation.

“Tell your men to stop trying to kill my sister,” Y/N tosses the guard’s hand from her neck. “Then we discuss.”

“Felix, stand down.” Aro orders.

Y/N releases the man from her clutches, hearing him struggle to regain composure.

“You have the most peculiar scent.” Aro comments, “come.” He holds a hand out, “let me see.”

Y/N steps toward him, allowing his palm to rest under hers.

His eyes fall closed as he weaves through the facets of her memories. From birth to death and after life. “Ahh,” Aro coos.

Y/N resists the urge to pull away.

“Your gift is…untouched.” The things she could do, if only- “I can teach you.”

“Let my sister go,” Y/N repeats.

“So young, so much control.” Aro remarks. “To have resisted her blood twice within the first year. You are magnificent.” He smiles, drunk on the idea of harnessing the power she possesses. “You could join us.”

“I have someone waiting for me.” Y/N declines the offer.

“The child of the moon.” Aro recalls the boy from her mind. Dark hair, bright smile, “you love him impossibly so, against everything in your nature. It makes my heart ache.”

“Consorting with a werewolf?” Caius rushes to his feet. “Our sworn enemy?”

“This is different brother,” Aro stops him. If only he earns the young vampire’s trust, all that power will be his. “They have no qualms with us, nor each other. Misfortune has befallen them, much like our young friends Bella and Edward. This is a sadness.”

“You already know what you’re going to do, Aro. Let us be done with this.” Marcus motions dismissively.

“If only it were your intention to change her.” Aro addresses Edward now.

“Bella will be one of us.” Alice interrupts, “I’ve seen it. I’ll change her myself.”

Aro steps away from Y/N, to where Alice stands. Whatever she shows him must be proof enough. They’re free to go. For now.

———————————————————————-

The plane ride home is awkward. Both better and worse that the flight there.

“Thank you, for what you did.” Edward breaks the silence, as Bella sleeps peacefully against his shoulder. “Only it wasn’t smart. Aro has taken interest now, he’ll try to win you over.”

“Better men have tried.” Y/N turns her nose up at the idea, and him.

“I’m not going to push for your forgiveness. Or hers.” He looks over at Bella, “I’m going to earn it.”

“Sure.” The Y/H/C crosses her arms, “holding my breath.”

“Good thing you don’t need air.” Edward cracks a smile.

“Can you not pick my brain right now? I need to think.” Y/N tries to refocus. “Alone.”

“Jacob will forgive you.” Edward ignores her comment.

“Jacob always forgives me.” She whispers, “I want to deserve it this time.”

Edward nods in understanding. “I’ll leave you to your thoughts.”

If he hears anything else he doesn’t comment on it. Falling into a comfortable silence.

Y/N is largely on autopilot until they make it home.

Charlie rushes out onto the porch at the sound of a car engine. “There you are.”

“Hi, Dad.” Y/N steps up to hug him.

Charlie kisses the top of her head, returning the embrace. “Jacob said it was a girls trip.” He’s not thrilled to see Edward.

“It was supposed to be,” Y/N pulls away. “He surprised us.”

“She does look better though, doesn’t she?” Charlie notes, seeing Bella.

“Yeah,” as much as Y/N hates to admit it, she agrees.

“Go on. He’s been waiting for ya.” Charlie nods toward the house. “I’m gonna have a word with Edward.”

“Ok,” Y/N takes the stairs two at a time. “Don’t be too hard on him though.” She calls after her father. “He’s been through hell too.”

Charlie squints at her, hoping she will elaborate but knowing she won’t.

“Honey, I’m home.” Y/N sings into the living room.

Jacob doesn’t say a word. Just makes his way to her and wraps her up in his arms. Inhaling the scent at the crook of her neck, deeply. “Never thought I’d miss your stink.”

Y/N takes a whiff of her own. “The wet dog and earthy tones are starting to smell like home.”

“Yeah.” He feels it too.

“Can I ask you something?” She murmurs against his shoulder.

“Sounds like a loaded question already.” Jacob can hear it in her voice.

“How much of you staying here is because of the imprint? How much of it is your soul needing mine? And how much of it is just Jake?”

“I guess I-“ he breaks off. “I’ll never really know for sure. But I think the Jacob I’ve been my whole life would stay. Imprint Jacob would have no choice but to please you. And my soul just wants to be close to yours, anyway it can.”

“Do you ever wish you could un-imprint?” If that’s even a word. “I hate the thought of you chipping away parts of yourself…to please me.”

Jacob nuzzles her forehead with his own. “I’m lucky that I got to imprint on someone who loves me. Someone I didn’t have to change for. Being with you is easy, like breathing.”

“I want to give you more than I take.” Y/N tells him.

“I can feel you,” heart and soul, “how much you love me.”

“You can,” the vampire tenses, “feel me?”

“I know how guilty you feel for leaving, how scared you are that you’ll have to do it again.” Jacob places her hand over his heart. “I’ll wait.”

“You shouldn’t have to,” she argues. “You’re already giving away too much.”

“Stop beating yourself up. I can handle you. Have little faith.”

“I have faith in you.” That was never the problem.

“Give yourself some credit too.” He taps her chin, “quit brooding.”

“I’ll try.”

“Good,” Jacob holds Y/N at arms length, “now tell me everything. What’d I miss on the trip of a lifetime?”

“Well Alice stole a car.” She starts with the fun part. “Porsche I think, crazy fast. You would’ve loved it.”

———————————————————————-

The night they return from Italy, Bella insists that her mortality be put up for a vote. The Cullens gather around the staircase in their home, calling for Y/N and Jacob as well.

“You are part of this family, Y/N.” Carlisle rests a hand on her shoulder. “Jacob is your mate. Bella is your sister. You have a say in this.”

Jacob votes no.

Y/N votes not to vote. Only expressing her opinion based on her own experience. “I know what it feels like to have your choices taken away. I won’t do it to you.”

Life goes on. Y/N visits the reservation often. Like Jacob promised, everyone is coming around.

Graduation is right around the corner. Bella is waiting until after to become a vampire. Hoping it’ll be easier on Charlie.

He’s definitely not going to let it go a second time. He’ll demand answers that they won’t be able to give. They’ll have to leave. All of them.

Billy can see how much Y/N is wrestling with the decision. “In your heart you know that this is the best thing for everyone. Why are you hellbent on torturing yourself?”

“I’m not,” she shakes her head.

“You and Jake will get each other through.” Billy isn’t worried about that.

“What about my Dad?” He’ll be devastated.

Billy sighs, resting a hand on her shoulder. “What’d you want me to say kid?”

“Give me another choice.” She covers his fingers with her own.

“You having a pity party without me?” Jacob catches them, leaning heavily against the doorframe of his childhood kitchen.

“You were sleeping.” Y/N sniffs, breaking away from Billy. “I made you breakfast. Pancakes, French toast, eggs, bacon, sausage and-“

“And?” Jacob perks up.

“Chocolate chips muffins for dessert.”

“You’re trying to butter me up, huh?” Jacob grins, making his way to the breakfast table. “It’s working. Just give it to me straight.”

“I’ll leave you to it,” Billy excuses himself.

“The Cullens are having a graduation party for Bella.” Y/N watches the wolf take a bit of food from each dish.

“Just Bella?” Jacob arches a brow.

She huffs, reaching into her bag for the formal invite.

‘Congrats Grad!’

‘Please join us to celebrate, Alice, Jasper, Bella, Edward, Y/N and Jacob.’

‘R.S.V.P. To Alice or Esme Cullen.’

“Wow,” Jacob takes it all in. “They shouldn’t have.”

“They gave them to half of Forks high school.” Y/N explains, “most of my senior class remembers you as my hot boyfriend from a different school.”

“I am your hot boyfriend from a different school.” There is no denying it.

Y/N bites her lip. “They gave me a handful of invites for you too. If you want…”

“Really trying to push the whole ‘happy family’ agenda.” Jacob takes the stack of envelopes.

“It’ll only get worse if we indulge them.”

“In a few months they’ll be the only people we know.” Jacob reminds her. “Should probably get used to it.”

Y/N nods, turning her gaze out the window. “The younger we start out in a new place the longer we get to stay.”

“So high school again.” Jacob laughs humorlessly. “Can’t wait.”

“I want to stay in Forks.” Y/N forces out the words. “I want to stay with my Dad.”

“Baby,” Jacob breathes. That’s one thing he can’t give her.

“But it doesn’t matter what I want. Bella has to turn. We have to move on.” Y/N squares her shoulders. “Just let me sulk a little.”

“Sulk away, beautiful.” Jacob takes a bite of scrambled eggs. “Just pass the salt first.”

Series Taglist: @remembered-license @itscheybaby

Part 6

#jacob twilight #jacob black x y/n #jacob black x you #jacob black imagine #jacob black fanfiction #jacob black x reader #jacob black #twilight x you #twilight fanfiction #alice cullen #edward cullen #bella swan #Volturi #charlie swan #billy black

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heauxplesslydevoted · 3 years ago

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Everybody Talks (Ethan x MC)

Summary: At a conference hosted by the American Medical Association, Ethan stumbles upon an unpleasant conversation about his girlfriend.

Warnings: None

~v~

Ethan watches as his girlfriend owns the room. At the American Medical Association conference in their own city of Boston, in the large ballroom of The Ritz Carlton, he quietly observes from the corner as she excitedly chats with a Dr. Catherine Stanley, a renowned surgeon from Columbia, while everyone within an arm's reach of her is drawn in by the sheer magnetism of her presence. He’ll never get tired of watching her like this. Naomi is completely in her element. Whenever she’s in a deep conversation about medicine, her posture loosens, her nose crinkles, and her voice takes on a pitchy breathiness the more and more excited she gets.

So caught up in thinking about her, Ethan doesn’t even notice that she’s walking up to him until she’s within a few feet. She smiles brightly as she leans against the bar. “You’re not mingling.”

“You’ve known me for over three years now. I’m not one to mingle.”

“Come on, there has to be someone here you want to talk to.”

“You.”

Naomi rolls her eyes. “Mhm-hmm, you’re so charming, Dr. Ramsey.”

“I’m being very serious. Why wouldn’t I want to talk to the keynote speaker?”

When Naomi found out they wanted her to speak at the conference, she was almost certain they meant to speak to Ethan and that she accidentally answered a phone call meant for him. But they in fact wanted her, the newest and youngest head of the diagnostics team. Her meteoric rise up the ranks of Edenbrook had made quite the splash in the medical community, where everyone knew everyone. Whether she realized it or not, Naomi had become a wunderkind and everyone wanted a piece of her.

And while she was nervous, Ethan couldn’t be more proud of her. Naomi is brilliant, and it’s about time more people were rewarded with being in her presence long enough to see it.

Naomi groans and runs a hand along her midsection. “Don’t remind me that I’m giving a speech soon, my stomach is already in knots.”

Ethan holds up his tumbler of whiskey, angling the glass towards her. “Want some liquid courage?”

“No, eating or drinking might make it worse. I won’t feel better until I’m on the other side of it.”

“In the three years I’ve known you, I’ve never seen a shy bone in your body. Where are the nerves coming from?”

“I’ve never done something like this,” Naomi responds. “I’ve never given a speech in front of hundreds of people–maybe even more, this place is packed. Public Speaking is the only class I ever got a B in in college.”

Ethan gasps teasingly. “The horror.” He chuckles softly as Naomi pokes him in the rib. Moving closer, Ethan clasps a warm hand around Naomi’s shoulder, massaging gently. “You’re going to do just fine. Better than fine, even, you’re going to be amazing. You’re smart, charming, funny, and eloquent, and the directors knew what they were doing when they chose you to speak. And besides, nearly all of Edenbrook is here to support you. Lahela might’ve even snuck in a camcorder.”

It's a slight exaggeration, but a lot of physicians practicing at Edenbrook belong to the prestigious association, and did not want to miss the chance to see one of their own speak.

“Ugh don’t remind me. It’s easier speaking to a crowd of nameless, faceless people. What if I forget my speech? What if my accent becomes super obnoxious and no one can understand me? What if I trip on stage?”

“You could always picture everyone naked, I’ve been told that it helps.”

Naomi blanches at the suggestion. “No, I don’t want to picture all of these people naked.”

“Good, because that was a trick suggestion,” Ethan murmurs. He rests his forehead against Naomi’s, his lips hovering mere centimeters from hers. “The only person you should ever be visualizing sans clothing is me.”

“Lucky for me, I get to do a lot more than just visualize.”

The happy couple share a kiss before Ethan nuzzles his face into the crook of his girlfriend’s neck, whispering quiet words of encouragement and affirmation.

On the other side of the bar, a group of women watch the jarring public display of affection play out. Ethan Ramsey was notorious for hating medical conferences, never engaging or interacting with people. He was also known for being perpetually single, so to see him so open with another person felt like foreign.

“I still can’t believe the two of them are together,” Dr. Nicole Harrington whispers to her group of friends as they gawk at the pair. While she works in New York, it’s hard to not be aware of the story behind Dr. Ethan Ramsey and his young protege Dr. Valentine, especially since she’s in touch with so many Boston-based doctors. “I can’t believe Ramsey is so open with her.”

“I think they’re cute,” Nicole’s friend, Monica coos. “I’m a hopeless romantic.”

The third member of the party, Greta stays silent. She’s one of the two people within their group with actual ties to Edenbrook, her husband having been attending there for almost 8 years now. Her husband Ashland keeps her up to date on all the ins-and-outs of hospital gossip, and she knows all about Ethan’s messy entanglement with his former resident.

“He wasn’t even like this when he dated Harper Emery,” their last friend Angelica whispers. As a neurologist herself, she’s worked alongside both Ethan and Harper for a long time, and while the hospital knew of their relationship, if you weren’t looking for the extremely subtle signs, you’d never know they used to be together. For years, at that. But for some reason, Ethan can’t seem to go 5 seconds without being near Dr. Valentine. Within the walls of Edenbrook, it's becoming harder and harder to see one without the other. “And she’s Harper freaking Emery for Christ’s sake.”

The conversation pauses as someone on stage taps the mic, gathering everyone’s attention. Out of the corner of her eye, Greta watches as Ethan plants another kiss on his lover’s forehead and she disappears in the crowd before she’s introduced as the evening’s guest speaker.

Ethan doesn’t know why his girlfriend was ever so nervous because as soon as she accepts the microphone and starts to speak, he’s transfixed.

His tunnel vision is split when he hears an aggressive whisper from a few feet away. Frowning, he turns around, fully prepared to demand that whoever has the gall to interrupt Naomi’s speech should shut the hell up, but he stops when he realizes that they’re talking about her.

“She’s been a member of the AMA for what, 3 seconds and she’s already giving speeches? Are we in the freaking Twilight Zone?”

“I guess it pays to keep Ethan Ramsey’s bed warm.”

Greta scoffs, finally acknowledging the conversation. “Ashland tells me everything about the two of them, and it’s all so messy. She’s been leading him around like she’s dangling an apple in front of a horse since she got to Edenbrook. He gave her preferential treatment her intern year, and miraculously she gets the coveted fellowship on the Dr. Banerji’s team. He gets promoted, and surprise, surprise, he gives her the team, wrapped up in a neat little bow. Never mind the fact that she should be nowhere near leading a team, she killed a patient her intern year. So for him to be...parading that young girl around is tawdry and disrespectful to the hospital.”

If this was a cartoon, Ethan is almost positive his face would be very red and steam would be wafting out of his ears because that’s how angry he is. The audacity of these women to stand a mere 8 feet away from him and trash talk the woman he loves is disrespectful on so many levels.

Obnoxiously, he clears his throat, garnering their attention. The only one with the decency to look slightly embarrassed is Monica, as Ethan catches her cheeks flushing under his harsh attention.

Angelica stands up straighter, “Chief Ramsey, we were just–”

“Participating in a misogynistic diatribe against a fellow doctor,” Ethan finishes. “Question, did any of you graduate at the top of your classes from a top 10 ranked medical school?” No one dares respond. “Out of the 4 of you, did you guys save Naveen Banerji’s life while he was dying of sepsis? Have you spent your after hours holed up in the NICU with your patient’s newborn baby? Any of you face a near death experience and come back to the scene of the crime in order to help more people?”

Ethan’s eyes narrow at Angelica and Greta in particular. “When Edenbrook nearly shut down, I don’t remember seeing your face as we worked tirelessly in the free clinic Dr. Banks, nor do I recall seeing your husband Mrs. Park. I don’t remember him lobbying to politicians or attempting to secure funds during fundraisers, but I do recall seeing him show up at parties without you to flirt with nurses.”

Greta balks at Ethan’s words, clearly not expecting him to unleash such anger. “Dr. Ramsey, I’ll have you know that my husband–”

“Is spreading vicious gossip and lies about a doctor with higher ranking than him. Dr. Valentine got her spot on the diagnostics team fair and square. She was the number 1 intern so Naveen picked her. When I left the team, she was the last tenured member at the time, with the most experience in how a team of such magnitude ran. She was the best pick for the job.”

“Over the course of her time at Edenbrook, she has more than proved that she earned her seat at the table, and to suggest anything else is an insult to her strengths and talents as a doctor, as well as my judgement. To suggest that I do not know to remain professional while I’m at work and the only reason she’s in the position that she’s in is because of our private relationship isn’t just a lie, but a dangerous and slanderous one as well. And if someone so much as ever implies it again, I will slap them with a lawsuit so fast their head will spin, and the closest they’ll ever get to practicing medicine again is slapping Band-Aids on kindergarteners.”

The group of women receive a threat loud and clear And they remain silent not wanting to be at the receiving end of anymore of his wrath.

Ethan sighs heavily. “Well, now that this pesky conversation has come to an end, I’m going to continue to listen to Naomi’s speech. The one that she was hand selected to deliver, while the rest of you are in a position to do nothing more than watch from the crowds.”

With the catty group of women stunned into silence, Ethan smiles, his work complete. “Enjoy the rest of your evening, ladies.”

They watch as he downs the rest of his drink before sauntering off. Once he’s gone, Monica huffs out a shaky breath. “Well...I’ve always said there’s nothing more attractive than a man defending the woman he loves.”

~v~

Tags: @mvalentine @choicesaddict5 @professorkingslay @maurine07 @aka-calliope @bluebellot @whimsicallywayward15 @blossomanarchy @takemyopenheart @jamespotterthefirst @fanmantrashcan @whatchique @ao719 @x-kyne-x @colourmeshy @paulfwesley @the-pale-goddess @writinghereandthere @ramseyandrys @perriewinklenerdie @aworldoffandoms @thatcatlady0716 @drakewalker04 @canknot @hatescapsicum @lapisreviewsstuff @senseofduties @badchoicesposts @ethandaddyramseyx @chasingrobbie @zodiacsign1 @choices-lurker @my-heart-beats-for-ya @adrian-motherfucking-raines @riverrune @edith-eggs1 @thatysn @bellcat2010 @blainehellyes @cecilecontrera @junehiratas @choices-love-affair @openheart12 @caseyvalentineramsey @desmaranj @nazario-sayeed @aestheticartsx @ruinedbypixels @nooruleman @rookie-ramsey @uneravine @choicest

#choices: stories you play #playchoices #open heart #ethan ramsey #ethan x mc

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ackerfics · 4 years ago

Text

slow dance with you — mikasa ackerman

— goth!mikasa ackerman x soft!female reader (modern au)

— warnings: slight mention of alcohol, pure rotten fluff

— summary: after gaining some courage from the drinks she had in the party and from the advice she got from her friends, mikasa is ready to become your girlfriend.

— word count: 3.9k

— author’s notes: i would like to thank the anon who gave me some ideas for goth!mikasa, you are so amazing !! thank you for the small headcanons. and since we’re on the topic of writing abt goth!mikasa, i couldn’t help but pair her up with a classic soft girl who likes to wear pink at every time of the day. this dynamic is based on marceline and princess bubblegum so i hope you enjoy !!

p.s. the reader will have dyed hair here, if this is not your cup of tea, just let this fly by your dash.

listen to this while reading.

“She dyed her hair pink,” came a dazed yet mesmerized tone.

“You’re staring at her again.”

Mikasa jumped on her seat at Eren’s nonchalant observation. She whipped her head to her best friend, his attention directed on his laptop, hands flying across the keyboard as he typed out the next few words in his essay. Noticing the incredulous look the black-haired girl was shooting him, Eren rose an eyebrow before rolling his eyes. Mikasa huffed, crossing her eyes with a subtle hue of red on her cheeks, complimenting her dark lipstick. “I am not staring,” she mumbled. “Shut up, Eren.” She looked away from her subject of interest but continued shooting small glances.

Eren sighed, running his hand through his hair. He was always one of the witnesses of his best friend slash sister being meek around her crush. At first, he was teasing her because not going to lie, Mikasa’s crush is a pretty person but as their years in college made them juniors, Eren will be the reckless idiot that he is (courtesy of Armin) and set Mikasa up. But he liked to live his life out first — Mikasa will probably curse him with that spellbook she bought from the antique bookshop they encountered in their little exploration back when they were first-years. “Mikasa, why don’t you take the chance and confess to her? It’s not going to be the end of the world.”

“If she rejects me? What then?”

“Then that’s the next problem that you will have to face.” The brown-haired boy turned back to his essay. He stared at his laptop screen blankly before spewing out curses. “Now, I forgot what to write next! Damn it.” He picked up his iced coffee and drank from the metal straw as his life depended on it.

Mikasa rolled her eyes at her best friend’s first statement. “Gee, thanks for the advice. It was very much appreciated.”

“Glad to be of help.”

There was a thud on their table that made the two look up from their respective activities. Eren had a scowl on his face because for the nth time this day, he was interrupted from finishing his essay (for fuck’s sake, he doesn’t want to fail Ackerman’s class). Mikasa blinked from scrolling through her crush’s Twitter account (the last post she wrote was about how Levi Ackerman, Mikasa’s relative and everyone’s Anthropology professor) and fixed her attention on their blonde friend, Armin. He looked too bright after a round of morning classes, something that Eren doesn’t comprehend. The blue-eyed young man has always been the rational and genius third of their little group. There wasn’t a time where Armin’s advice got a situation to erupt in flames. It was either the situation became an inferno instead (Eren) or nobody had the guts to do it (Mikasa).

“Hey, guys!” Armin greeted, arranging his side of the table, meticulously placing each component of his lunch in front of him. “How were your morning classes?”

“Shit,” Eren spat out.

“Of course, it is.”

“They were alright,” Mikasa shrugged.

“Figured.” Armin glanced at his friend’s sides of the table, nodding at Mikasa’s balanced lunch while blankly staring at Eren’s laptop. The device should’ve been a good tray of lunch. “I thought you were eating lunch, Eren? That’s what you said in your text.”

“Can’t,” the brown-haired boy huffed. He gestured at his iced coffee without taking his eyes off the laptop. “I guess, this counts as my lunch.”

“When’s that essay due?”

“In about,” Eren looked at the time on his laptop, “three hours. Ackerman is my first period later. That fucking terror professor has no mercy when it comes to this. Can he just piss off for once? Mikasa, do you even tell him to get laid? Because I think that would solve his attitude. I swear to God, he’s getting more pissed every damn day.”

“Wow, I guess getting my short, grumpy, middle-aged uncle to start his sex life will be a nice conversation starter,” Mikasa drawled, half-lidded, bored eyes reading every tweet her crush has posted for the entire week. Mikasa couldn’t help but smile at one post about a new movie her crush just watched, saying that it was now a new favorite. She was tempted to give a heart on every single post but that would it weird because they never followed each other despite the small interactions they shared in between classes. With a sigh, she looked up, only to be met with Eren’s unamused stare. Raising an eyebrow, she asked, “What? Do you think that would work, Eren? Levi is probably a virgin his whole life and will continue his record until he’s all shriveled up.” Eren blanched at the image. “Just finish your homework and stop complaining.”

“I’m trying!”

“You’re not trying hard enough, that’s for sure. If you just started that essay the day he assigned it to your class, you would have finished it way before the deadline.”

Eren pointed at Mikasa with narrowed eyes. “Don’t even go there, Mikasa. I have a life aside from being a sleep-deprived college student.”

“I mean, she’s got a point, Eren.” Armin immediately rose his hands in defense when Eren shifted his glare from the black-haired young woman to him. “You always tend to procrastinate in the most impeccable timing that we sometimes have to remind you of your backlogs. And now, here you are, doing things last minute when you could’ve prevented the rush by doing it immediately.”

“Thanks for slapping the reality to my face, you two,” Eren dryly replied, going back to his essay for the final time. “And by the way, Armin, give Mikasa some solid advice that she will finally follow because she’s making googly eyes at Miss Pretty two tables from us a couple of minutes before you arrived. You know, the love of her life?”

Armin roamed his eyes in the lunch hall and sure enough, there was Mikasa’s goddess sitting with her group of friends. There was that brown-haired girl that was dubbed as the Potato Girl for eating mashed potatoes during Ackerman’s class (the professor told the class his rules of no eating or going out of the room while he’s discussing the moment the girl took a spoonful of her snack). A young man with a buzz cut snorting at what the brown-haired girl said. Armin remembered sharing a class with him. He never got the chance to introduce himself because the young man was sleeping throughout the lecture. There was usually a fourth person in the little group but it seems like he was running late or already in his class. That person was Eren’s sworn frenemy, the reason for that relationship was unknown to this day.

The three people at the table all stood up, the brown-haired girl and the taller young man leading the way. Armin instantly had an idea.

“Hey, [Name]!”

Mikasa nearly had whiplash from turning her head to Armin. “Armin?!” she hissed under her breath, face becoming hotter when you looked at their table, a bright smile lighting up your face. You called your friends, telling them to go on ahead without you, to which they nodded before walking towards the trio’s table. Her brain wasn’t processing the moment you lifted a hand to wave at whoever you were smiling at. Mikasa wished it was her. “Fuck,” she whispered, registering how cute you look. You donned a salmon pink plaid sundress and a white cardigan, matching with the bubblegum pink locks you let down. Her heart was hammering a thousand miles per second and there was no hope of stopping it.

“Hi, Armin,” you replied, stopping a few feet from Mikasa, who looked away from you to fix her wide-eyed stare on her empty plate.

“I was just going to ask if you already have a partner in our Molecular Biology lab?” The blue-eyed young man then turned to Mikasa and Eren. “I’m in the same class as her this year.”

“As if calling her here wasn’t that obvious,” Eren murmured, still typing out his essay.

“I don’t need your dry remarks right now, Eren, don’t want to ruin the atmosphere. So, [Name], you have a partner?”

You shook your head. “I think not. It would be great if we could be partners though. I need a break from the people I’ve been partnered with throughout college.”

He gave you a sympathetic smile. It was true, though. Most of the grouping during your first years of college were all set up by the teachers so the students really had no say on the matter at hand. Even Armin was exposed to a variety of students, most of them being too slacking to participate or too overbearing with their suggestions that they have no plans of doing. He nodded with a smile, “I’ll be sending an email to Professor Zoe about this and we’re done.” He glanced behind you, noticing that your two friends weren’t there anymore. “I’m sorry for holding you up. I’m pretty sure you have a class after lunch. See you around?”

You waved him off. “It’s fine, I told them to go ahead since Sasha has a class scheduled right after lunch and Connie had to nap in his dorm. And I don’t have any class the whole afternoon, except for an online session so yeah, see you around, Armin.” You acknowledge Eren with a nod, to which he responded with a cool expression (as if his mind wasn’t a mess from the cramming), and gave a soft smile to Mikasa, “Bye, Mikasa.” And you were off to your dorm, leaving behind two amused men and an awestruck Mikasa.

The black-haired young woman was hyperventilating the moment you disappeared from the lunch hall, hands clenched on top of her black shorts. She regretted wearing a thin, long-sleeved striped sweater under her black shirt because it was so fucking hot after that encounter. Her entire body was vibrating with too many emotions all at once, short-circuiting until she became a heap of flustered mess in front of her best friends. “Oh, my God,” she muttered like a prayer. She definitely needed one after seeing you all pretty in pink. It was too much for her soul because you two are a perfect match this time. Her grommet belt and choker were not helping because she couldn’t fucking breathe.

“Mikasa, breathe,” Armin reminded beside her. “Yeah, that’s it.”

Once she regained her composure, Mikasa realized she probably looked like a gaping fish. “Oh, my God! I’m so sure that this time, she thinks I’m weird. My name is the only one she mentioned aside from Armin which is saying something because she’s classmates with him. But why did she say goodbye to me? Oh, my God, she’s giving me so many butterflies right now.”

“Your gay is showing,” Eren pointed out calmly.

“Eren, not the time,” Armin murmured, hovering his hands over Mikasa’s back.

“Just wanted to alleviate the tense atmosphere. No need to get so worked up.”

“But, Mikasa, your feelings for her are showing.”

Eren clapped his hands, pointing a finger at Armin. “That, my friend, is a genius observation.”

Ignoring the green-eyed man, Armin continued, “I think it’s time you confess to her. Three years is a pretty long time pining for a person. In the end, her knowing your feelings will be inevitable. That is if you have no plans in letting her know.”

“Of course, I want her to know,” Mikasa murmured, fiddling with the sleeves of her striped long-sleeves.

“I heard that there’s a party this Saturday in Reiner’s frat,” Eren told them, meeting both of his friends’ eyes over the top of his laptop screen. “We’re in the same football team with Jean. The horseface is a friend of your girl,” he nodded at Mikasa, who erupted in a sputter of her crush not being her girl, “okay, not your girl — yet. As I was saying, [Name] is good friends with Jean and if Jean is there, Miss Pretty in Pink will be, too. That’s your chance to ask her out, Mikasa.” He met the blinking gray eyes of his best friend. “The question is, are you up for that?”

“You were staring at her so hard at lunch again.”

You looked up from your book to acknowledge Sasha entering your dorm room after a whole afternoon of packed lectures. The brown-haired young woman was so tired that she immediately plopped on top of her bed on the other side of the room. At first, you didn’t register what she said because you were preoccupied with your book. You chose to indulge the night in a good book because it has been a long time since you’ve done that. With furrowed eyebrows, you asked, “Can you repeat what you said, Sasha?”

Sasha tilted her head to look at you with one eye uncovered by her duvet. Her hair fluttered after puffing out a breath of disbelief. “Oh, don’t pretend that you have no idea, Miss Pretty in Pink.”

“That’s because I didn’t catch what you said,” you replied, gesturing at your novel. “And what’s with that Miss Pretty in Pink nickname? Did some of the students around campus started that?”

“Sort of,” Sasha hummed. She sat up from her bed and took out her phone from her backpack lying on the floor. You watched the whole time she stretched her arm without changing her position on her bed. With her phone in hand, she opened her Twitter account. “Actually, a friend of mine tweeted it, wait, I’m just going to scroll through my Likes tab to find her tweet. Oh, here it is.” Sasha showed you her screen, patiently waiting for you to take the device from her hand to get a closer look. Her hopeful smile turned into a small pout when you made no moves in doing so. “Take my phone and see for yourself.”

You sighed, following her pleas. “It’s probably just someone from the volleyball team. You know how some of them never stopped following me around campus. Can’t they take the hint that they’re not my type?”

“This person is much better than those himbo simps following you around. She’s an amazing person behind that shy exterior of hers.”

You only hummed, blankly staring at your roommate’s phone before your eyes widened in realization. Your eyes skimmed over and over again at the handle, mkackerman, beside the display picture of a short-haired girl in pigtails. It was the girl that managed to capture your attention during your first year at Eldia University. The girl with an air of mystique that the stars are jealous of. You always admired her from afar, appreciating her style each day. But your admiration was getting replaced with something more at the five words she tweeted.

You’re so pretty in pink.

Roses bloomed in your cheeks, complimenting your pink hair the longer you gawked at her short post.

“What?” you breathed out after a full minute of silence.

“Mm-hmm,” Sasha hummed with a smug smile. “And who dyed her hair pink impulsively last weekend?” She intentionally looked at you with sharp eyes, her smile turning into a smirk full of mischief. In actuality, Sasha knew of Mikasa’s crush on you since they were acquainted with each other. It was an embarrassing first meeting between the two, with Sasha latching on a random person’s arm in the station and it turned out to be Mikasa. The two became great friends after that, well, after Mikasa lowered her guard down, leaving her pocket knife safely tucked underneath her checkered skirt. It was Sasha who managed to make Mikasa confess of her undying love for you, the former squealing her heart out in the library. (They were kicked out after that.)

“I don’t know,” you denied. “There could be a couple of people in the campus who thought that spontaneously dyeing their hair pink is an awesome idea.” You threw your hands in the air, giving back Sasha her phone right after.

“Trust me. Mikasa doesn’t have any interest in any other girl other than a special someone I know.”

You chose to ignore her, turning back on the discarded book on top of your covers. The words flew around your mind, aggravating you until you placed the novel on your lap. A defeated sigh came out of your lips. “Okay, let’s go out for some dinner.” You stretched, switching your pajama bottoms for a pair of loose jeans, and leaving your button-down pajama top on. The people in public will never know your top is a part of a pajama set. As you ducked down to roll the bottom of your jeans, you hear Sasha’s bed shuffling. Sitting up, you regarded her with an inquisitive raise of an eyebrow. “Spill it.”

“Oh, alright. Jean told me to bring you to a party.”

You stood up, patting your lap of imaginary dust, placing your things and book inside your tote bag. “Tell him no. I have a written exam coming up and I don’t want to fail one of my majors. He can manage without one person in our friendship group.”

Sasha huffed, mimicking your actions. “This will be the last time!”

“You said that the previous party you pulled me to.” You narrowed your eyes at her. “I couldn’t get up for a whole day because of that party. Don’t forget your wallet.”

“Yes, ma’am.” Sasha threw her wallet in her small bag, throwing the strap over her shoulder. “I promise that this will be the last time, I’ll even call Connie for the witness of my pact!” She placed a heartfelt palm over her chest, lifting her chin a little in the air. “I solemnly swear I am … keeping my promise.”

“You hesitated.”

The brown-haired girl giggled sheepishly, scratching the back of her neck. “It’s kind of hard not to continue the quote from Harry Potter. You can’t blame me for that!”

“I’ll think about it, okay?”

“You better because Mikasa will be there.”

You blinked at her statement. “What does this have to do with her?”

Your roommate looped her arm with yours, pulling you in the direction of the elevators. “Because,” it sounded like she was talking to a child, “you were staring at her earlier during lunch period. I understand that because Mikasa looks so good every second of the day but there was something different about the way you’re staring at her.” She tapped her finger on her chin. “Let me see, there’s some pizzaz there.”

“The pizzaz you’re talking about is me admiring her make-up — nothing more.”

“Whatever you say,” came Sasha’s sing-song voice. “I will be the first one who will say ‘I told you so’ to your face when you two start dating.”

The night of the party was not as bizarre as you thought.

Sure, there were people having shots in the living room but there weren’t any extreme scenarios lying around unlike some of the parties Connie and Jean went to. It was mostly catching up with old friends or making connections with strangers by ranting about the education system of your university. All in all, it was a fun night, yet here you are, holding your cup of beer with two hands as you craned your neck to get a glimpse of Sasha. Your roommate disappeared as you turned to get a shot, leaving a confused you behind. To think you specifically asked Sasha to be by your side throughout the night. You cursed in your head, you being reliant on the presence of others surfacing. Your stress made you tip your head back, downing your drink in a go.

Without anything to do, you leaned back on the wall. Mind hazy, eyes glassy, you searched the living room for a spunky brown-haired girl that you were supposed to be buddies with. Instead of Sasha, you met gazes with a girl with stars for her eyes. She was equally mesmerized as she was staring straight at you. Everything became silent as your heartbeat resonated with hers. She was beautiful in her all-black outfit — a leather pencil skirt over fishnet stockings, cropped tank top, and combat boots. The two of you are contrasting with one another; her lipstick so dark whilst yours shone a pretty coral, her hair framing her face in a midnight pixie cut whilst yours were in pink waves cascading down, her entire appearance blending in the background whilst you were a beacon with your coordinating soft outfit.

God damn it, Sasha was right.

You are definitely falling in love with Mikasa Ackerman.

Mikasa who you saw reading tarot cards of her blonde friend. Mikasa who you bumped into during the opening ceremony two years ago. Mikasa who you discovered to have an affinity for electric guitars when you stumbled in one of the auditoriums, her department’s band having an audition. Mikasa who never meets your gaze because you make her nervous at how effortless you carry yourself.

But tonight, she never looked away from you, her eyes having an adoring yet determined shine.

She stopped in front of you, mere inches separating you two. You looked up at her, her combat boots making her taller than she already is. You saw her eyes flick to your lips, your breath hitching at the thought of having her dark lipstick on any part of your body. With a careful tilt of her head, Mikasa ducked her head a little to fully meet your eyes face to face. “I saw you’re alone,” her voice is still soft-spoken as if she was afraid that she was scaring you. It might be because of the liquid and verbal courage she got from drinking and listening to her best friends because Mikasa had no plans of letting you go tonight. “I thought you needed company.”

A breath came out of your lips, your proximity making Mikasa feel it. “Uhm, if it’s you, I don’t see why not?”

A large smile brightened Mikasa’s face before it dimmed as she lowered her gaze to your lips once more. “I’ve been waiting three years for this.”

Maybe your mind was too hazy with alcohol or it could be because you accepted your feelings for the black-haired girl, so you whispered, lips brushing against hers in the most addicting way possible, “Just kiss me, Mikasa.”

Her lips softly moved against yours in a slow dance, the inches separating you disappearing as Mikasa wrapped an arm around your waist. You lift a hand to cup her jaw, tilting your head to deepen the kiss and to brush your tongue with hers. You felt her shiver, biting your lower lip to make you open up more, with your whimpers tingling her hearing. Mikasa pulled away, trailing firm kisses on the skin where your shoulder meets your neck. Seeing the black kiss mark on your skin, she smiled and placed fluttering kisses on your neck up to your cheek. Opening your eyes, the silver grays in front of you have never been so beautiful. You returned the favor of placing kiss marks. You stood on your tiptoes, feeling Mikasa’s hand steadying you, and left a coral pink mark on the corner of her mouth.

Mikasa dipped her head, placing her lips close to your ear.

“I want to slow dance with you,” she sung to your ear. “I know all the other boys are tough and smooth and I got the blues. I want to slow dance with you.” Mikasa hid a small smile at your flustered expression. “So can I be your vampire queen, Bonnie?”

The moment you said yes, there was a shout in the crowds. “Hell yeah, your plan worked, Eren, Armin!”

You and Mikasa stared at each other with wide eyes before laughing.

“Let’s go ditch this party.”

“Thought you’d never ask, Bonnie.”

#attack on titan #aot #mikasa #Mikasa Ackerman #mikasa x reader #mikasa ackerman x reader #mikasa ackerman x you #aot x reader #snk x reader #snk imagines #snk anime #goth!mikasa #i am a sucker for this dynamic #attack on titan x reader

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montrealmadison · 3 years ago

Text

drink deeply

or, as they say at samwell, “penitus potes.” shitty gives the toast at jack and bitty’s wedding. for @zimbitsweddingofficial and day two of zimbits wedding week: the wedding itself!

just for fun, a draft version of the beginning of this fic with lardo, ransom, and holster’s “helpful” edits can be found via google doc here. hope y’all enjoy! <3

Good evening, everyone! On behalf of Jack and Eric, thank you all so much for being here tonight, and welcome to what could very well be the most highly anticipated wedding reception of 2019. I mean, this party was planned by the likes of Suzanne Bittle and Alicia Zimmermann. We are in for a treat, folks.

Before we get to all that, I’d also like to extend a particular welcome to those in attendance who are part of the playing, coaching, and/or office staff of the Providence Falconers. Glad you could all make it this evening; I know this past week was a little bit busy for you guys.

[Insert appropriate pause and gesture to the punch bowl, which on closer inspection is actually—oh yeah—the Stanley Cup the Falcs won three days ago. Hold for inevitable applause, general hysteria, and/or hooting/hollering from Tater.]

For those of you who don’t know me, I’ve been trying to decide whether I should introduce myself by my first name, which will inevitably get me mocked by my friends until the end of time, or by my nickname, which will definitely scandalize anyone who has not spent a significant amount of time around twenty-year-old guys who play hockey. However, as I look around the room, I’m realizing that most of you probably either raised, spent significant time around, or were once a twenty-year-old guy who played hockey. To the rest of you, I am profoundly sorry.

So, hi! I’m Shitty, and I’m Jack’s best man.

read more below or on ao3

Being someone’s best man, as I’ve realized over the last few months, should really come with a playbook or an instruction manual or something, because it’s a task unlike any other you’ll ever take on. In addition to being a friend, you have to be a confidant, an expert at bachelor-party debauchery (I think my college resume definitely prepared me for this part) and someone who’s not afraid to step in to make last-minute decisions so the grooms don’t have to. You also have to do all of these things without getting fired from your job or stepping on anyone’s toes, up to and including: the couple getting married, the other people in the wedding party, the grooms’ parents, the wedding planner, and most importantly, Moomaw, whose word is law around here.

(Seriously. She made the pie tonight, people. Bow down to her.)

But as much as the role can feel a little bit like you’re being thrown in at the deep end, it also definitely comes with its perks. Tonight, I have both the honor and the challenge of somehow summarizing how much I love Jack and Eric in a speech that is heartfelt and witty yet also brief so that we can get to the aforementioned pie as quickly as possible. If you’re still following me here, that is a tall order—but here goes nothing!

I met Jack Zimmermann on our first day of freshman year at Samwell, during the bright, hot summer of 2011. I was participating in the time-honored tradition of moving into a dorm on the third floor of a building with no elevator and no air conditioning in the middle of August. It builds character, or so the good folks in Samwell administration probably tell themselves. Anyway, athletes got to move in early for preseason, so I was expecting to be one of the only guys on the floor for at least a couple days. I was just carrying the last box into my room when the door next to mine opened and—well, you can probably guess who walked out.

Now, I grew up in Boston, which means I also grew up around hockey culture. I’d heard the news that Jack was coming to Samwell, so I knew who he was when he stepped into the hall in that same vague way that you kind of-sort of recognize celebrities hustling down the street or through the airport with their sunglasses on. And he gave me that same vibe—“I know you know who I am, and I’d very much like not to be bothered about it.”

Here is something that will not shock you if you know us: Jack was the first friend I made in college. Here is something that might shock you if you know us: That definitely doesn’t mean we were friends at first. By his own admission, Jack wasn’t at Samwell to make friends at all. He told me, much later, that he was only planning to go to play hockey, get his life back on track, and keep his head down as much as possible.

So in retrospect, maybe it was an unlucky thing for Jack that he ran into the one person who wasn’t going to let him do that.

Because no matter who you are or where you’re from, freshman year of college breeds a unique kind of terror I’ve never felt anywhere else. There’s a lot of pressure to completely remake yourself, to become the person you maybe never could have been in your hometown. By coming to Samwell, I wanted to be a different kind of kid than the one that Andover had raised. Jack wanted to be a different kind of kid than the one he’d spent twenty years telling himself he had to be. As much as neither of us wanted to admit it, we both wanted similar things out of our college experience, and we needed a support system to do that. And so, however begrudging the two of us were about it at first, we started to bond more and more.

It wasn’t always easy. For one thing, my idea of a good time was a lot louder than Jack’s—who enjoyed such scintillating pursuits as “watching golf” and “going to bed at a reasonable hour”, neither of which were quite in my vocabulary at the ripe old age of eighteen. Also, if it’s before six in the morning, he has a hard time remembering to speak English, which used to make for a lot of stilted conversations between the two of us as we walked to early morning practice. (On a completely unrelated note, the first and probably only thing I ever learned in Québécois is how to swear.)

I don’t remember the exact tipping point at which Jack and I really became friends; I think it was more of a quiet acknowledgment that we liked having each other around, that we balanced each other out in ways that neither of us initially knew we needed. What I do know is that, slowly but surely, I started to get glimpses of the Jack that exists off the ice. And so began one of the most extraordinary journeys of my life, because the only thing crazier than knowing Jack Zimmermann is actually knowing Jack.

Here are some things that I’ve learned in the process: He’s on his third pair of neon yellow running shoes, which he buys specifically because the color makes him happy. Before either of us tried Eric’s pies, the only thing that could make him cheat on a meal plan was a sleeve of Double Stuf Oreos. (Don’t ask him how to eat them correctly unless you’re interested in a twenty-minute speech on exactly how they have to be pulled apart.) And he loves Captain America, although it is the opinion of this best man that America’s ass has nothing on his hockey butt. Have you seen that thing? It has Internet fans in at least two different countries.

But I digress.

In our sophomore year we lived next to each other again, by choice instead of by chance, in what I can only describe as the pinnacle of American college living: the Samwell Men’s Hockey Haus. We used to pull the comforter off of one of our beds and climb out onto the roof and clear off the snow so we could share the blanket, look up at the stars, and listen to the bass thumping through the wall of the house next door. On nights when other things felt confusing, this one part of my life was clear. There’s something about sitting out under the open sky that just makes it easier to talk to a guy, you know?

Some nights the conversations we had were funny. Some nights they were serious. Some nights we said nothing at all, just sat secure in the knowledge that someone cared enough to exist alongside us for a little while. There was always an unspoken agreement between us on nights like these: I got your back. For me, Jack’s friendship became a rock, a refuge. It’s something that I came to depend on that year and still do to this day.

As for the content of those late-night conversations—well, some things do have to stay between friends. I’m sure Jack will agree, especially because he has so graciously allowed me to get up here and lovingly roast him just a little bit.

So let’s skip ahead again, to yet another August, the start of our junior year, and the arrival on the scene of one Eric Bittle. This kid burst into our ranks like a ray of Southern sunshine and turned pretty much everything upside down in the process. In the first five minutes of being in the Haus, he somehow made us a pie? Folks, I'm not kidding, it was the best thing I’ve ever eaten. We were a bunch of guys who didn’t know what we were missing until we had it, and let me tell you, it was one hell of a semester after that. In pretty short order we had curtains on the windows and baked goods on the counters, and Samwell Men’s Hockey started to become not only a team but a family.

That was off the ice, at least. On it, things were a little more complicated. As our dear friend and former goalie John Johnson said to me, Jack and Eric hadn’t gone through their character development yet—whatever that means.

Take our third or fourth practice with the full team that year, for example. It had gone… uh. Poorly, would be a word. Later that night I heard some rustling on the roof outside, and God knows I was willing to do just about anything but my homework—so I stuck my head out the window and there was Jack, watching the stars. I asked him if he wanted a buddy, and he said alright, so I slid out and sat down next to him.

That was pretty usual for us at this point. What wasn’t usual was the topic of conversation. The first thing Jack said to me was, “Bittle’s gonna get eaten alive when our schedule starts.” (Remember, people, they’re married now!) The second was, “I want to help.”

Here’s another thing about Jack: Underneath the veneer is a guy who just cares so intensely it’d shock you if you knew nothing else about him. It shocked me a little that day. I think it even shocked him to admit it, to the point where I had to say, “Jack, it’s not a criminal offense to care about other people. Even if it feels like you’re doing it for yourself.”

So he helped. He offered an olive branch, and Bits took him up on it. I’d hear the two of them get up in the morning, hours before the rest of us had to be at Faber, for checking practice. None of the rest of us ever knew exactly what went down, but one thing was for sure—Eric put in a ton of work to overcome some of the fears that had followed him to college. He got better, and Jack relaxed. The two of them really started working as a team, and things started looking up from there.

The day that they told us they were dating was pretty amazing. Eric is so full of light no matter how bleak a situation may look, but that day he was literally almost glowing. And I’ve seen Jack in moments after victory and loss, at his best and at his worst. But I’ve never seen a Jack who was so happy, possessed of such confidence in a decision he’d made, as I saw him that day at brunch. And that’s when I knew this relationship was really special.

From there, many of you know the story. You watched it play out on ESPN and social media and the front pages of every single gossip magazine on the supermarket shelves. But if you’re sitting here with us tonight, you also watched it play out between Jack and Eric themselves. You’ve watched them handle expectations as a united front. You’ve watched their unfailing dedication to each other while they navigate the pressure of being some pretty big firsts. You know that, behind the scenes, these are two incredibly genuine people who bring out the best in each other and are dedicated to doing that every single day.

In the last four years, I’ve watched Eric become self-possessed and confident because he was given the space to do so. In the last six years, I’ve watched Jack grow from a kid with a chip on his shoulder and something to prove to a guy who finally believes that he deserves all the good things the world has given him and then some. If you take nothing else away from this speech, I want you to know this: I’m incredibly proud to call myself a friend to both of them.

Jack, Bits, you’re always gonna be my brothers, my best friends, and two of the finest damn men I’ve ever had the pleasure to know. I wish you both a long and happy marriage. Take care of each other, be good to each other, and never forget where you started—as a team.

So please join me in raising your glasses, everyone, and as they say at Samwell—penitus potes to Jack and Eric!

#shitty knight #jack zimmermann #eric bittle #zimbitswedding #omgcp #check please #this idea jumped into my head and refused to leave #shitty & jack & bitty friendship my beloved #my writing

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gellavonhamster · 3 years ago

Text

in the bleak midwinter*: an asoue/atwq peaky blinders au concept

...also known as the idea that’s been living in my brain for what must be a couple of years now; I have reconciled myself with the fact that I will never write this fic because I simply do not have enough patience to think it out and write it down in the way that would give it justice, so here’s a plot bunny or something.

This is basically the Sugar Bowl Generation of VFD (still young, before kids and all) meets All The Wrong Questions (some of the events + some of the kid characters of ATWQ as adults) meets season one of Peaky Blinders, but I guess it could be read and understood without the knowledge of the latter simply as an organized crime AU.

It’s the beginning of the interwar period, and VFD is a gang. Which, yes, would require a certain amount of OOC of the characters, though I imagine their intimidation tactics would still avoid too much bloodshed. They deal with bookmaking, contraband, and sometimes art forgery because even this version of VFD has to have something sophisticated about it. There’s a number of places, such as bars and clubs, that pay them for protection, and there’s also a number of places they own, such as the Hotel Denouement with the Denouement brothers in charge and the nightclub ran by Ramona Browning**, alias the Duchess (her father was some kind of aristocracy, see, too aristocratic to ever truly acknowledge her). They use their influence to become the informal rulers of their part of the City. They claim to strive for power to make the City a better place, and these are not just words - they do donate money to schools and libraries, for example - but it’s not like they don’t enjoy being in power, and their rule is still based on crime, those who threaten it being eliminated swiftly.

The Snickets are the Shelby family of this AU, of course. Lemony is Tommy - the mastermind, already a legend of sorts despite being the youngest, plagued by the horrors of war - but still hoping for the best, strange as it seems, because he’s still Lemony. Jacques is Arthur, the fighter suffering from PTSD. Kit is Ada, but she’s also Aunt Polly - she’s the one who ran the business while the boys were in the army.

Now, season one introduced Grace Burgess as an undercover police informant spying on the Peaky Blinders.

Enter Ellington Feint.

Ellington’s father, the only family she has left, has been kidnapped by a gang called the Inhumane Society, and she’d do anything and everything to save him. So she agrees to infiltrate VFD, their rival gang, to find out the whereabouts of a shipment of weapons that was meant for the Society but was accidentally stolen by VFD. Apart from machine guns and shells, the shipment includes some “statue of a sea beast”, and no one cares to provide more explanations to Ellington about it, but apparently it is the most important part of that cargo. So Ellington takes on the position of a barmaid in The Black Cat Bar, one of the places that pay VFD for protection and the one frequented by its key members, and starts listening and watching.

Ellington needs to get close to the Snickets, because if anyone knows where the weapons are, it’s them. Steward Mitchum, the corrupt cop on the Society’s payroll whom she is to meet from time to time at the Natural History Museum (which she used to attend with her father) to pass on the information, suggests she should seduce one of the Snicket brothers. The problem is, Ellington has a chance to learn very soon that Jacques doesn’t know much about the stolen cargo, and Lemony is too taken with his girlfriend, the music hall singer Beatrice Baudelaire, to even look at any other woman. There’s no getting between them, even though it seems Beatrice also has something going on with VFD’s bookkeeper Bertrand Markson, and Lemony seems aware of it.

So Ellington decides to approach Kit instead. Kit, who seems so lonely - Ellington doesn’t know the details, but there was some serious falling-out between her and her ex-boyfriend, who has since left the City (and won’t appear in this story. Olaf is the problem for the hypothetical season two of this imaginary show). Ellington doesn’t plan on anything other than a very close friendship - yet, the closer they become, the more she understands that she is attracted to Kit.

(There certainly is a variant of the “I warn you, I’ll break your heart” - “Already broken” scene in which Ellington sings to Kit)

Anyway. Things progress, and they fall in love. Well, Kit seems to have fallen in love, and Ellington keeps trying to persuade herself that she hasn’t, because Kit has to remain nothing but a task for her.

The location of the stolen weapons, however, still remains a mystery, even though Ellington once hears Kit and Lemony discuss it. Whatever the statue is, Lemony seems to believe it has great powers, and Kit seems to believe it’s nothing but folklore. Lemony tells her of the stories of a mysterious sea animal (or spirit, or whatever it may be) he heard from other soldiers during the war, about what Widdershins heard during his time in the navy. Kit tells him that everyone is a believer in a foxhole, and that she loves W like her own kin but he’s a bragging idiot. There was nothing on the sea other than enemy ships.

Elllington’s mission is complicated by Lemony clearly not trusting her. He tells her it’s because his sister has been hurt before, but she suspects it’s more than that. He even admits that he had his people make enquiries in Paltryville, the town she claims to have come from, and found out that no Ellington Feint ever lived there. When he suggests her secrecy is due to a child born out of marriage, she is eager to confirm that. (Cue him asking her if she’s read Les Misérables - yeah, even this version of VFD would be literature nerds, how can it be otherwise - because this whole situation reminds him of Fantine, and her lying that she hasn’t and thinking that she’s more of a Javert at the barricade, really).

Then there’s a masquerade party at the Duchess’s club, and Kit takes Ellington there as her date. (Which is okay, because if there’s any place in the City where a woman dancing with another woman or a man dancing with another man would not be looked at askance, it’s the Duchess’s club. If I was actually writing a fic, there would definitely be a scene in which Ellington observes Beatrice asking Bertrand to dance with her and Bertrand trying to decline by telling her that, since he didn’t have time to procure a mask, he shouldn’t be on the dancefloor at all, and then Lemony approaches him with a spare mask in hand and encourages him to dance with Beatrice and puts the mask on Bertrand himself and it somehow looks so intimate as if he’s undressing him and Ellington’s like “Oh, so it’s like that with them. This is probably of no use to me but still, good to know”).

When Kit disappears at some point, Ellington follows her quietly and eavesdrops on her conversation with one of the Denouements. He tells her that his brother is all right and sends his regards. Later at the party, however, Ellington sees two Denouements. Why would one of them send the other’s regards to Kit if they’re all in the same room? A couple of drinks with the already tipsy Olivia (officially a fortune-teller, but who knows what purposes VFD really uses her salon for?), and Ellington learns that there used to be three Denouements, actually. But the third brother, Dewey, had a conflict with one of rival gangs which nearly resulted in a war, had not Lemony agreed to dispose of Dewey. To stop that gang from going against VFD, he killed Dewey with his own hands.

Except he didn’t, Ellington thinks. Lemony must have staged Dewey’s execution, and now he’s out there very much alive. Perhaps this knowledge will come in handy.

Meanwhile, the Inhumane Society, who have other beef with VFD apart from the stolen weapons, are getting impatient. There’s a gun-fight which results in Ike Anwhistle dying and his grieving widow, Josephine, telling Lemony it is all his fault and leaving the city. (I know I said this is based on s1 only, but they’re the John and Esme Shelby of this story). And Bertrand is severely wounded. VFD needs another bookkeeper while he’s recovering, and Kit, who knows from The Black Cat’s owner Dashiell Qwerty that Ellington has also been keeping the books of the bar lately and doing it well, offers this position to her. This gives Ellington an opportunity to learn more about the asserts and resources of VFD - and a chance to discover some interesting notes scribbled next to the name of Dewey Denouement. Dewey Denouement, who is only officially dead, but still has a grave at the cemetery.

Ellington tells Stew she has an idea where the weapons and/or the statue might be hidden.

When she meets some of the members of the Inhumane Society to take them to the tomb, she is surprised to see Hangfire himself among them. She’s only seen him in passing before, this mysterious man with his face covered in bandages. They say he’s been horribly disfigured during the war. They also say he came back mad. When they’ve done some digging and unearthed, instead of a coffin, several crates of guns - and opened one of them to find a small statue of what seems like a very scary seahorse - Mitchum and Flammarion are suddenly shot down, and Lemony Snicket steps from behind a gravestone.

He’s been following them.

Of course he didn’t believe that all Miss Feint is hiding is an illegitimate child, Lemony tells them as he’s holding Hangfire at gunpoint. He’s been doing research. In fact, the man whose grave they’ve unearthed is presently in a unique position allowing him to make research away from the City. He’s found out that Ellington Feint is the daughter of a renowned naturalist Armstrong Feint, who’s recently gone missing. And then they managed to discover something more.

This is when Hangfire grabs a gun and points it at Lemony, and Lemony aims at Ellington instead, which for some reason stops Hangfire from shooting.

This is also when it turns out that Lemony has also been followed, and Kit Snicket steps from behind another gravestone, pointing a gun at her brother. He keeps aiming at Ellington, wearily telling Kit she isn’t really going to shoot him.

Kit tells him that unless he drops the gun, he’ll find out.

(When Ellington tries to speak to Kit, she just tells her to shut up. And it hurts, because Kit has stopped being just a mission a long time ago. And now she knows that Ellington’s been lying to her from the start. And she may not want Ellington to die, but she would also hardly ever forgive her. And that would be fair).

And then Hangfire tries to shoot Kit, and Ellington screams, and Kit manages to spring back, and Lemony fires at the man who tried to kill his sister, and suddenly Hangfire is bleeding out on the ground and calling out to Ellington in her father’s voice.

That is what they’ve also found out about Hangfire, Lemony tells her as she’s kneeling beside the body, unable to bring herself to uncover his face. He sounds genuinely surprised; he thought she knew.

Kit makes him let Ellington go and tells her she doesn’t want to see her ever again. And Ellington leaves. She takes a train to some seaside town she’s never heard of before and leaves. Her job is ended. Her father is dead. Her love affair that never should have happened is in the past. She still doesn’t know why her father lied to her when he could have just asked and she would’ve done anything, why he kept up this double life, what was the significance of the statue and what it might become in the hands of someone like Lemony Snicket. She is too tired and sick of it all to try to find out.

She manages to build a life in Stain’d-by-the-Sea. She works in a coffee shop and sings there in the evenings. She never sings the song she sang to Kit again. She marries a man she doesn’t have any truly strong feelings for.

Then, a year or so later, there’s a phone call, and the voice of the woman she loved and betrayed tells her she still can’t stop thinking of her.

*This phrase used by the Peaky Blinders upon the death of one of them is replaced by “The world is quiet here”. Obviously.

**My Last Duchess, referenced in ASOUE in connection with R, is written by Robert Browning.

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calpalirwin · 3 years ago

Text

See Through

Summary: Ashton gets in over his head.

A/N: Loosely based on See Through by the Band CAMINO.

Word Count: 1.6k

And away, and away we go!

I pushed my way into the studio, and immediately stopped in confusion. At the mixing board sat a woman, her back turned to me, a khaki colored messenger bag on the ground by her feet. “Um, excuse me?” I announced my presence. “But I think you might have the wrong room.

“Oh!” she said, jumping slightly before turning to face me. “You must be the band! Hi, I’m Y/N. Nice to meet you.” She took a few steps towards me, hand extended.

“Ashton,” I introduced myself, shaking her hand.

Y/N nodded knowingly. “So, we’re just waiting on the other three. Cool.” She stole a glance down at her watch. “Cool,” she repeated.

“Yeah… Um… sorry. Who are you?”

“I’m Y/N. You’re Ashton. Try to keep up, hon,” she smiled sweetly at me, and I detected the hint of a drawl in the way she called me “hon.”

I chuckled politely. “No, I’m aware of that. I meant… I was under the impression that it was just going to be me and my mates. So I’m a little confused by your presence.”

“Nobody told you that I’m the producer?”

“Nope, because we’re the producers. And the song writers. And the band. Because it’s our album.”

“Mmm. And how many albums have you produced, Ashton? Without outside help that is. Or, should I say songs, because every album you have you’ve worked with someone besides just your close-knit 4-some.”

“Sorry, I’m not trying to be disrespectful. But it’s not often our team gets shaken up. The people we’ve worked with, we’ve worked with them for years. So I’m trying to play catch up here.”

“No, I’m aware you’re not challenging me purposefully. I know I’m the new guy to figure out. So let’s do a brief overview. I’m Y/N, like I’ve said. I just relocated here to LA from Nashville.”

“And I’m assuming the time you spent in Nashville, you were producing?”

“Yes. I’ve been a producer for about five or six years now.”

“Mhm. And how much of that producing experience was with country artists versus primarily rock artists?”

“Don’t let my accent fool you. The Nashville music scene is a lot more than just country twang music these days,” Y/N said with a small laugh. “I’ve worked closely with Dan Swank. Who, if you’re not aware, does a lot of work with All Time Low. And various other artists. But I know you know who All Time Low is because you’ve also worked with them. So, we can continue to do this back and forth where you try to decide if I’m a producer worthy enough of your time. Which is a game I’m used to playing, so I assure you I play it well. Or, you could let me do my job, and my work will speak for itself. Personally, I would opt for the second choice, because things flow a lot more smoothly that way.”

My cheeks warmed in embarrassment. “Sorry… So you’re Y/N and you’re a producer from Nashville who’s relocated to LA. Cool. I’m Ashton. I’m primarily a drummer, who’s also relocated to LA.”

“Nice to meet you, Ashton,” she smiled with a small laugh, accepting my attempt at starting over.

~~~

“So,” I started as we walked out of the studio after the third day with Y/N. “You wanna go grab a coffee, or something?”

She raised an eyebrow, looking me up and down. “With you?”

“Yeah.”

“I don’t drink coffee.”

“Hence the “or something” bit.”

“Okay-”

“Great! I’m parked over here. Or I can send you the address if you’d rather drive yourself.”

She sighed, shaking her head. “Okay,” she tried again. “Look, here’s the thing. I don’t make it a habit to go out with the artists I work with.”

“Saying you don’t make it a habit suggests that you have exceptions.”

“Oh, and let me guess. You think you’re the exception?”

I gave my best flirting laugh and charming look. “Honey,” I drawled out, leaning down slightly to be by her ear. “I’m always the exception.”

She sighed dreamily and I knew I had her. I bit back my smirk as her fingers danced across my bicep and onto my chest. She gave it a small pat. “Oh, Ashton… People don’t tell you ‘no’, do they?”

“As a general rule, no they don’t.”

“Rules, like habits, have exceptions. And, darlin’, I’m also always the exception.” Then, she was moving away from me, across the parking lot, leaving me standing there, slack-jawed, wondering what the hell had just happened.

~~~

I watched as she paused mid-conversation to pull her phone from her pocket. She gave the contact information the smallest of glances, before slipping her phone back into her pocket, and then her voicemail message was sounding through my phone speaker.

I hit the end call button, pocketing my own phone, and trying to control my scowl. Nothing about this made sense to me. It wasn’t often I had a woman I couldn’t get off my mind who never seemed to spare a second thought about me in return. And it was never with a woman I was forced into close proximity with for an extended amount of time, like working on an album. And I absolutely hated that her attitude towards me only made me want her more. But seven months in, and I was just as lost with her as I had been on day one.

Replaying every interaction only drove me crazier, thinking about things I could have done differently. Thinking about what I would do next if I could get more than two words with her.

I mentally cursed myself as I instinctively sucked in my breath when I saw her walking my way. And I could have screamed at the way her shoulder brushed up against me, not even bothering to give me the slightest indication that she had bumped into me, as she kept walking by. Like she didn’t even see me. And I envied her ability to look right through me, because I knew I’d never be able to do the same when it came to her.

My vision blurred, and I felt my chest grow tight, and despite being outside, I needed to get fresh air. A minute to breathe and recompose myself. A minute I wouldn’t get where I was. So I left. Through the party of people, passed the rows of parked cars out front, mine included.

I kept walking, not sure where I was going, but knowing that each step made it easier to breathe, the cloud in my head thinning out until it was just her name bouncing around.

I slowed, looking around at street signs to orient myself, planning my next move. I didn’t want to go back to the party, but I didn’t want to necessarily go home either. I wanted to see her, and have her see me, too. So, stupidly, I pulled out my phone and tried to call her yet again. “C’mon,” I muttered as the phone started to ring. “Pick up, please. Pick up, pick up, pick u-”

“Hey, Ash. Where’d you disappear off to?”

“I- You answered…”

“Of course I answered.”

“Really?” I asked, unable to keep the bitter edge out of my voice, even if I was flooded with relief that she had answered my call this time. “Cuz you haven’t before.”

“Ash…”

“Save it, please. Whatever excuse you have. I shouldn’t have called. I should’ve learned by now.”

“Learned what by now?”

“That I’m not the exception. That sometimes I lose. That I shouldn’t want the girl who clearly doesn’t want me. Hell, you don’t even acknowledge I exist 90 percent of the time. You’re just not the one I get right, I guess. I was always a slow learner.”

“Okay. You wanna pause the pity party for a second, and listen to me?”

I wanted to say that, despite everything, I’d never pass up a chance to listen to her. What I ended up saying though was, “I’m listening.”

“I notice you, Ash. You make it impossible not to. But, I have a strong tendency to act unfazed as a defensive mechanism. I work in the music scene, Ash, same as you. You know the range of personality issues as well as I do. But the things I do, I do to protect myself. I never meant for those same things to hurt you. Because I know you’re not any of the things I need to protect myself from.”

“Glad we could clear that up…”

“I’m not finished. When I told you when we met that I don’t make it a habit to go out with people I work with, there was a reason for that.”

“Yeah, and I’m assuming that it has to do with things going poorly before, hence the having to make it a habit, and other protective measures.”

“You’re not very good at listening, are you?”

“I told you I was a slow learner.”

She let out a small half-sigh/half-chuckle. “Ashton. The album’s done. It’s out. We don’t work together anymore. Do you see where I’m going with this?”

I broke out in a run back towards the party. Towards her. I hoped I hadn’t wandered off too far, that she'd be around the next corner, waiting for me. “Stay where you are. I’m on my way. I gotta see you.”

“Not if I see you first,” was the reply first ten feet in front of me, then through my phone.

I slowed, a smile breaking out across my face as I found her staring at me, so close I could reach out and touch her, her phone pressed to her ear, a matching smile on her face. I slowed, but I didn’t stop until I closed the distance. And I didn’t care that my heart was about to leap from my chest, or that I couldn’t catch my breath, because I was seeing her, and she was seeing me. And I was ducking my head, and she was stretching up on her tiptoes, her lips meeting mine.

Tag List

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#see through #ashton irwin #ashton irwin fic #ashton irwin x reader #5sos #calpal irwin

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jq37 · 3 years ago

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Maybe I'm also being animal racist, but a current guess I have for oMaM is that the rabbit Sly saw at the docks was actually the newspaper photographer who seems to be spending a lot of energy documenting Sly's movements at this party, and the bad lighting/state of intoxicated introspection led Syl to make a wrong assumption. (Also did you ever watch Hoodwinked? Spoilers: the reporter bunny did it)

lol hey guys. So I've been fairly MIA the past couple of weeks due to my job trying to actively murder me but I wanted to pop in for a hot second to talk about where we are theory-wise at this point in the season.

First of all, to address the actual ask, I feel like Brennan must have known Longfoot would be suspicious due to ~animal racism~ and put him in as a red herring and now we have even more info to back that up.

I suspect that what's going on with the stuff in the manor is a version of the Pepper's ghost illusion which involves mirrors to do ghostly projections and look pretty darn good for an effect that was invented hundreds of years ago. If you've ever ridden Haunted Mansion at Disney, that's the effect they use to do the waltzing ghosts (fun fact, because the effect mirrors the objects it's used on and the Imagineers forgot to take that into account, all of the female ghosts are leading in the dance!) But that's just fluff, let's talk plot.

So last week's ep threw a LOT of suspicion on Sly with him literally being painted at the villain and Grant doing absolutely nothing to defend himself. And, I'll admit, it would be pretty delicious to not only have Sly foreshadow it earlier with his coy, "Why yes, it also could have been me," and also that Grant himself would have [REDACTED] Rekha a SECOND TIME (watch the Murder Mystery ep of Game Changers if you don't know what I mean--it's my fave ep). But I talked it over with my watch buddy @camwritery and I don't think Sly is actually a baddie. I think this is a double double cross (Lol a cross from Mr. Cross). Here's my thought process.

(1) Yes there's that stack of letters Daisy found in Sly's hand but those easily could have been forged. I'd like Buck to take a look at those since he has that rogue handwriting checking ability.

(2) Squire Badger specially said something was coming to F Sly up and Sly could tell he wasn't the mastermind. Fletcher would make the most sense as to who the mastermind actually is. Like, it wouldn't be so much a twist to the audience but it would be a big ass twist to the CHARACTERS who thought he was fully dead (for the most part) and I feel like that matters more than "subverting expectations" or whatever. It's possible we find out it's actually another party guest I guess (or more likely, that some number of them are involved as accomplices) but Brennan said last week we've met all the characters and it's too late to introduce a new person at this point. And Fletcher is such a through line in Sly and Daisy's stories, it would be weird to not go for the payoff.

(3) So Fletcher is alive. We know this. What would a dead but not dead criminal mastermind want? To ruin his arch nemesis, obv. So, how do you do that? Maybe you fake the death of some mouse to create an unsolvable murder to drive him crazy? And then maybe you work with the person who the fake murder pissed off (because of Sly's inability to "solve" it) to ruin Sly because that guy hates Sly now? And maybe you involve some element of faking deaths in your plan because a faked death is what was central to the original plot that made Sly's reputation and ruined your family? That's so convoluted but this is a guy who handcuffed himself to his enemy and jumped off a waterfall. He's clearly a drama queen and he has nothing but time.

(4) I think Sly has figured this out to some degree and he's decided that letting himself get captured is the best option for him at the moment. Like, he didn't protest at all. Which, yes, checks out to his laidback, posh casual persona but I think he knows that if anything happens to anyone while he's locked up then it casts suspicion on someone besides him or it means the "murders" have to stop because no one will kill anyone while he's not active as a possible suspect due to literally not being able to murder anyone. Speaking of--

(5) Yeah, I don't believe these are murders. All those dead bodies from the list? Badgers, corvids, horned animals. That's the badger fam and their spouses. And the one guy we "knew" was dead also doesn't seem to be dead (which Brennan seeded from the start with Conor's widow hearing his voice which seems possible if she lives so close and he was alive this whole time). I guess framing Sly for a full family murder or something was the plan? But that doesn't quite check out because presumably they'd un-die at some point and I feel like they wouldn't want to live under assumed identities in animal Bavaria or something. I know news doesn't travel fast w/o the internet but they're prominent people. News would spread I assume. Maybe the death faking was to make Sly believe he was crazy? Or to believe in ghosts? Messing with a genius's mind is I'm sure one of the worst things you can do. There's also Buck's Frankenstein theory which is a little out there but they were trying crazy stuff with electricity and dead bodies back in the day. Kind of a wild pull but cam sent me this about a Dr. Squires from the same-ish time period shocking someone back to life. It would be wild and now we have some alt explanations for the electricity but gotta explore all options. And this would Constance to call her dad a madman, lol.

(6) Grant/Sly has a lot more info than us with all those maddening redacted texts so it's very likely he has some long game happening we know nothing about. I wondered if he might have known about Fletcher for a while--when Daisy revealed he was alive he was surprised but I don't remember if he was surprised that he was alive or if it was ambiguous and it might just be that he didn't tell her. I assumed he didn't know at all (because I feel like that's what Brennan narrated in episode 1) but I need to go back and check.

(7) At the end of the day, D20 is a show that rewards love and friendship over betrayal and the like. This very much could be the first season with a real betrayal but I'm kinda skeptical. Sly could just be a big faker but he seems genuine to me. Also, what would his motive even be here? This doesn't seem like his style and I don't know why he'd do this.

(8) Lars failed their check on purpose and Ian saw full puppydog earnestness. Sly if you've been a bad guy this whole time and Lars didn't know, bitch I'll kill you

(9) Not really on topic but I want to note, Daisy's find of that second trick portrait makes me thing my theory was correct and there's a third somewhere. I wonder where.

(10) Even less on topic but the "Show Her Your Butt 2: Electric Boogaloo" sequence last week made me spit soda everywhere and I think that should be acknowledged.

#mice and murder #mice and murder spoilers #dimension 20 #dimension 20 spoilers #d20 #asks #madamxpresident

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itsclydebitches · 4 years ago

Note

This is exactly I was worried about and why I felt a third party should’ve called out Ruby and the others. Yang has done and gone along with WAY TOO MUCH to start calling Ruby out. Doesn’t help that she doesn’t say something along the lines of “I think we messed up”. Also, what the fuck is up with Ruby?! They’re making her too flawed, to the point they’re going against her character. She suddenly against the group simply splitting up? Really? WTF RT?

It’s definitely another one of those situations where yeah, I technically got what I asked for... but this is the quality? I fully understand - and appreciate - the takeaway of, “Well, it’s better than nothing” but having Yang be the one to call Ruby out just creates a whole host of new problems. One step forward, two steps back and all that.

And I personally wouldn’t phrase it as Ruby being too flawed because I think she’s had LOTS of flaws on display for three years now. Rather, it’s that the writers are ignoring her visually established flaws to instead focus on incredibly nonsensical “flaws” that come out of nowhere. Which, as a reminder, we’ve seen before:

Me: Hey, shouldn’t we tackle problems like Ruby’s nightmares about Pyrrha, her tendency to throw herself headlong into dangerous situations (going after Cinder, attacking Tyrian against Qrow’s orders), as well as her implied denial about having silver eyes and the death of her mother considering she’s never asked about either when given the chance?

The Show: Ruby is terrible at hand-to-hand and must, as an individual, learn to overcome that.

Me: ...what?

Now it’s:

Me: Hey, shouldn’t we tackle Ruby’s continuing tendency to throw herself into dangerous situations, the new arrogance and stubbornness she displays, a marked lack of empathy from earlier volumes, her rejection of any ally that does not follow her orders, the fact that a mere mention of her mother sends her to her knees, and the denial/hypocrisy that’s allowing her to repeat others’ mistakes without acknowledging it?

The Show: Ruby thinks that splitting the team to accomplish two tasks is the division Salem is after and she must learn what turning against one another actually means

Me: What?

Ruby has never been too flawed imo, especially as a very young and traumatized fighter trying to get by. We, as the audience, should expect a lot of flaws. The problem is that instead of tackling them - or even acknowledging that they exist - the show keeps introducing random "flaws” that, crucially, the writers can solve in a few episodes. Or in this case one scene. “Look! Ruby developed!” No she didn’t. She stagnated in Volume 4 and all her “flaws” have been non-issues since, leaving the real flaws untouched. You’re just making easy busy work for yourself.

#rwby #rwby spoilers #rwby volume 8 #mymetas #Anonymous

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mrs-i-have-too-many-biases · 5 years ago

Text

Lee Minho// How to win over the Ice Prince

Stray Kids Christmas Series

Scenario: Every year, a big Christmas party was hosted at the palace of the Lee Family. But this year, a special guest seemed to attracted the cold-hearted prince’s eye. Genre: Fluff/ slight angst Tropes: Strangers to lovers | Royal!AU Pairing: Prince!Lee Minho X Lady!Reader (Knight’s daughter) Word count: 10,3K Warning: This little guide will be divided in 10 steps and a fanfic story.

“Y/n, c’mon. We’re invited to that party! Besides, I thought you and prince Jisung were friends?” Your father sighed as he tried to hand over your ball gown. “He is, but we’re always attending these posh parties. They are getting old.” You whined. “And so am I, you should find yourself a nice young man and get settled.” “Dad, we’ve talked about this. I’m not looking for a relationship.” You sighed whilst looking at your father sadly.

It’s been almost five years, since your mother had passed away. It was on the twenty-third of December, which made Christmas time quite hard for you. She had caught a terrible illness that made her skin lose all of its pigment, her eyes would visibly be unfocused and her throat eventually got so swollen that it made her suffocate in her sleep. Your father and you were devastated, especially since your father’s work finally had worked out for the family and he had became a knight. He had saved a village from a rival kingdom. He had saved many lives and sadly your mother wasn’t there to enjoy the wealth that your father had earned.

You didn’t live a luxurious life before your father became a knight. You lived in a small hut in the middle of the woods. You were home-schooled by your mother who was a teacher before she had you. They gave you everything, since you were their only child and they cherished your dearly.

You felt bad for your father at times. He was lonely and getting older and you obviously weren’t always going to be there for him and be able to care for him. That would be one of the reasons why you weren’t with anyone and besides that, guys weren’t that attracted to you since you were very fierce and independent. Many guys you knew wanted a girl who played damsel in distress and you know that wasn’t you.

Your father had always taught you how to survive on your own, even when you are terrible low on supplies.

And now here you were, because your dad’s a hero, you had to attend these stupid, meaningless parties. The elite had nothing better to do with their live, other than spending their money on things, was something you’ve noticed through time as you had gone to multiple of these parties.

Hours later you had arrived at the palace of the Han family. When you met Jisung for the first time your dad had just saved the village and you were still very knew to the fact that you were living in the spotlight. Jisung was kind enough to welcome you into this new world. He showed you around the palace, he wanted a new friend and that’s what you became eventually. The Han family were the one’s who made your father a knight and he was happy to serve them since they were very good to you. They gave you a big piece of land with a great house where you two could live comfortably.

You were very thankful for him and you repaid him with your friendship. He told you that he was well quite lonely, yes, he did have a brother and his animals. But his brother was always off to do crown prince duties and his animals weren’t always having Jisung’s shit. Jisung found it a little challenging at the beginning of your friendship, but it quickly turned out to be a great one when the two of you got out of your shells.

Jisung also had this friend Minho, he was the crown prince of the Lee family’s kingdom. They were one of the most powerful kingdoms besides the Bang family’s and the Kim’s family. Minho was an only child, just like you and it kind of showed. He was antisocial, didn’t know how to share or how to interact to other people. Jisung didn’t know how he got Minho to open up to him, but he did. Minho was known as a coldheartedly prince who rejected almost everyone who tried to get close to him. His past girlfriends tried to loosen him up and melt his heart, but it didn’t seem to work. They told everyone that he was a problematic know-it-all, who didn’t seemed like he cared about anything.

You met Minho a couple of times and you gladly believed his past girlfriends. When you were introduced to him, you hoped that he would open up eventually like Jisung did, but when it came to Minho, he didn’t. He didn’t even bother to look you in the eye when you politely bowed to him. You saw him roll his eyes before passing you. “Trust me, he’s kinder that he seems.” Jisung tried to convince you at first, you wanted to see it for yourself, but Minho didn’t seem to be any different from how his ex-girlfriends made him look like.

Step one: Don’t let him walk over you

You were talking with Jisung when the guards had announced that the Lee family had arrived. Minho had his head held up high as he made his way through the room. Your father quickly went to your side as you were introduced as usual to the family. His parents nodded kindly after you bowed, Minho on the other hand just scoffed and rolled his eyes. “Don’t think that you’re special.” He muttered under his breath, but you heard him “I don’t care what you think of me, but my father is a hard-working man if you aren’t able to see that or acknowledge that, you must be blind or simply not very bright.” Your harsh tone and words horrified your father who quickly apologises to the Lee family. You in the mean time had walked off, leaving Jisung chuckling and Minho speechless, as well as his parents. You left an impression and he didn’t know what to do with it. He had seen you around, he had seen you talk and laugh with Jisung at parties, but that would be it. He wasn’t going to lie when he thought that you seemed like a gold digger, someone who wanted to live higher up. But you standing up for your father like that against a royal family without hesitation gave of a powerful vibe that you held.

Minho had his eyes on you for the rest of the night. You thought he did so he could plan his revenge on you for humiliating him in public, so you decided to avoid him at all costs and stay close to Jisung. Since they were friends too and he could protect you from Minho, who fortunately for you had a soft spot for the squirrel-like boy.

You were laughing and messing around with Jisung as you judged people’s outfits. “That woman looks like a walking bird.” You whispered to your friend as a woman with a feathered dress walked pass. “Shut up she’ll hear you!” Jisung laughed. “The swans are quaking.” You laughed. “More like quacking.” Jisung whispered, making you wheeze. “Jisung stop-“ “’Where the frick is that bitch who got my clothes- there she is what’s up ducker!’” Jisung and you were now laughing your asses off, receiving a weird look form the swan lady, making the two of you laugh even harder.

All of the sudden Minho was stood in front of the two of you. You sighed at the fact that your fun moment with Jisung was now ruined and you excused yourself from the two before walking off. “What’s up with her?” Minho asked his good friend as he gave him a drink. “Nothing much, why?” “Well, she doesn’t seem to really like me.” “That doesn’t really surprise me, you aren’t the nicest to her.” Jisung tried to explain. “What do you mean?” Minho says in confusion. “Oh my God you don’t even see it.” Jisung laughed feeling dumbfounded.

Minho laughed along, but still feeling confused. “What is it?” He asked Jisung. “You’re just a dick to her, she also doesn’t know why. We’ve known each other now for years. She thought that you would open up after a while.” “You know how I am with new people.” “I know, but c’mon Minho. Five years, you’ve known her for five years. Also, what makes you so interested in her all of the sudden?” Jisung smirked whilst wiggling his eyebrows.

“Nothing special, she just left an impression?” “What? Her putting you in your place did?” Jisung laughed, receiving a punch in his arm from his friend. “Shut up. I was planning on inviting her to our annual Christmas party.” Minho admitted. “Oh, I don’t think that would be the greatest idea.” Jisung said. “Why so.” “You really need to listen when she’s talking bro.” Jisung sighed before explaining to Minho that you had lost someone dear around Christmas time and that celebrating it was very difficult for you. “I could be good for them? I don’t know, you will be there.” “Why are you so interested in her? Are you starting to crush on her or something?” “What no, I don’t- my mom’s calling me. See you later.” Minho stuttered before walking off.

You were at home, a few days after the party, your father was decorating the Christmas tree whilst you were working in the garden to get some fresh vegetables for supper. You suddenly heard your father call for you and when you got back inside you heard someone ride away on a horse and your father was holding an envelope. It looked like an invite, but you didn’t recognise the wax stamp.

Your father did and opened the letter excitedly. ‘… you are invited to the annual Christmas ball at the palace of the royal Lee family.” You looked at your dad in shock. “Why would they invite us?” You ask your dad in shock and confusion. “I don’t know, especially since you insulted the young prince.” “He was the one who insulted you dad, you didn’t deserve to be disrespected like that. You’ve worked too hard for that. Which is why I’m not going.” “Don’t be crazy. You are supposed to come with me. It literally says our names.” He laughed, making you smile slightly. “It’s a Christmas party though dad.” You muttered. He sighed softly before walking closer to you.

He hugged you tightly as he spoke. “I know this time of the year is hard for you. It is for the both of us. But your mother loved Christmas and I think that she would want us to still celebrate it with her still living in our hearts.” “I get it dad, but it’s hard and I miss her. It will take me some time.” “I know sweety.” “But if you really want to go, then I will come with you.” You said, making your dad smile brightly. “Will you hold yourself back at the Christmas party for me?” “If Minho will act normal than maybe.” “We can work with that.”

In the meantime was Jisung at Minho’s place. He came over because he was bored and because he wanted to hang out, instead he was stuck with Minho and his little fashion show “I thought we were going for a ride.” “Sorry Sung, I have to fit my Christmas outfit. You know how my parents can be when they aren’t in control of every little thing, I do in my fucking life.” “Sir-“ “I’m not even sorry.” He said bluntly to the maid. “C’mon we usually ditch out for stuff like this.” Jisung groans as he laid back on Minho’s bed. “I know, I just feel different about all of this now.” “Why, because Y/n is coming?”

Minho didn’t respond to Jisung’s remark, making him gasp loudly. “Ladies can you come back later, I have to talk to Jisung.” Minho ordered sternly, making them bow politely before rushing out of the room. “It is about Y/n, isn’t it?” Jisung gasped once again. “Listen, I don’t know why I’m being like this, okay?” “Oh my God, you’re in love with her. This is so sad!” Jisung cried dramatically. “W-why- how- wait.” “This is a one-sided love-“ “Will you quit it already you doofus! I’m not in love with her!” Minho groans. “Then why are you making this such a big deal then?” “You’re the one who’s literally making a big deal out of this!” Minho scoffed. “Just tell me are you in love-“ “Let’s go for a ride!” Minho cut off his friend before grabbing him by the arm and dragging him outside.

The two went on a ride with their horses and went to the beach, which was covered in snow since it was the middle of winter. Minho had brought some food and drinks along with them as the two of them sat on a stump.

“Do you think she would like the party?” Minho asked his friend carefully. “You really are worried, aren’t you?” Jisung chuckled. “I honestly am. I don’t know why, after all I don’t know her that well. I mean you do, but she already hates me.” “You want her to not hate you?” Jisung questioned. “I mean, I guess it would be nice to know a girl who doesn’t talk shit about you.” Minho spat bitterly. “Just try to be nicer to her, she’s really great.” “If she’s so great then why won’t you date her?” Minho said in a mocking tone. “Are you jealous now? I would never steal your crush from you.” Jisung joked, before ending up in the snow because Minho pushed him off the stump.

“Just help me please.” Minho groans. “Alright, I will then. Just begin with being nice to her. Like at the party, begin from then on.” “I’ll try.”

Step two: talk back

It was a few weeks before the Christmas party, but there was a gathering where you father needed to be. There was a meeting about the security of the kingdom and about the new strategies they had come up with for the army.

That left Minho, Jisung and you alone in the living room of his place. The air was tense and the looks that exchanged between the three of you were awkward. You had a book in your hands whilst Minho and Jisung were chatting away. “Y/n, why don’t you join us, you’re so boring.” Minho teased. You looked up from your book and raised your eyebrow, unamused obviously. Whilst rolling your eyes you focussed your attention back on your book. “C’mon Y/n, don’t be such a stuck up.” Minho added with a smirk. “You literally have all year to be a jerk, why don’t you take today off?” “Pardon?” “What? Got a trouble with someone telling you the truth.” “Listen up vile woman, you know nothing. Why don’t you take your average looks outside and leave us alone.” “Look, your face might be good-looking, but we really should put a bag over your personality, because let me tell you something. It isn’t pretty.” You sneered, throwing the book on the side table and standing up.

“Did your mother teach you to speak with such a foul mouth.” You shot back around and stormed your way back to Minho. He had realised what he just said, he forgot that he couldn’t make such jokes with you and he knew he was going to pay for it. “Listen up you bastard. I don’t care who you are or who the fuck you think you are. You do not talk about my mother in any way. You have no right, understood? Never mention her again. So you better Shut your mouth or I’ll kick your teeth down your throat and I’ll shut it for you.” You threatened as you gripped Minho by the collar and pulled him up to your level as you stared deadly into his eyes. The guards saw the whole scene happen and finally realised that they should help the crown prince. “Lady Y/n, I think it’s time to go.” One of the guards say as he was about to escort you out. “I think so too.” You shot a glare at Jisung who kept quite the entire time, not even trying to defend you or whatever. You thought he was better than that, but you guessed you thought wrong. Minho was his best friend after all so you didn’t blame him.

Jisung sighed after you had left the room and groaned. Minho felt guilty already. “I thought you liked her?” Jisung whisper yelled as Minho ran his hand through his hair. “I-I don’t know why I am like this.” “You really need some help man.” Jisung sighed. “That’s why you need to help me.” “She literally hates me right now. I should’ve stood up for her, but I was too shocked by your dumb action. This won’t make her like you, you know?” “I am well aware of that, thank you very much.” Minho sighed as he dropped himself back on the sofa.

“The reason why she snapped this badly at you and why she doesn’t like Christmas anymore, is because her mother passed away on the twenty-third of December, this year it would be five years ago.” Minho hid his face in his hands and groaned at how stupid he had been. He felt like absolute shit and he wanted nothing more than to step into a hole and be buried into the ground. “You didn’t know-“ “I should’ve! You did! I need to stop joking around like this.” He sighed.

Minho started to grow a soft spot for you, something he hadn’t done in a long time. Not because he pitied you, but because you were so strong and stood up for the people who you loved when they couldn’t do it for themselves. He could admire that and he wanted to make it up to you. He also doesn’t know how deep he was when it came to falling for you, but he felt like he was already in deep.

After that mortifying day, he couldn’t stop thinking about you. He had people gathering information, in a non-creepy way, about the things that you liked and what your hobbies were. He would try to inform himself about the hobbies and make sure that your favourite things were at the party. He wanted nothing more than to make it up to you. He felt like he wanted to begin a relationship with you. He didn’t care if you would end up being just his friend, you were different and he liked that. You stood up for what you believed and he could respect that. He just felt like an idiot for realising that too late.

Step three: Show him your worth

Days had gone by rather quickly and you hadn’t bothered to speak to Jisung. You really were upset with him. It was the day of the Christmas party and your father had convinced you once again to join him to the party. “Are you really going to leave your old man alone at a party, with way too many people?” You hated it when he played this card with you, he knew that you cared way too much for him. You always wanted to make sure that he was alright, so you went with him.

You wore a beautiful ball gown that your father had bought for you with the money he had saved up in a month of hard working. He did some extra jobs to get extra money to buy you a brand-new dress in such a short time. You didn’t wanted him to spend this much money on you and insisted on paying at least half of the gown.

The colour of your dress matched the Christmas spirit, the rich Bordeaux colour popped lovely on your skin tone and the glitter that was processed into the dress was glistering beautifully in the lights that the chandeliers provided. You had never been at the palace of the Lee family. You were quite nervous and you wished Jisung was here to guide you through it. Even though some time had passed, you just wanted Jisung to make the first step to apologise.

You head your head high that night. You looked absolutely stunning and you knew it. And so did the guests at the party. When you walked were announced with your dad on your side, looking almost as handsome as he did on his wedding day with your mother, you walked down with a pokerfaced. You felt proud when the guard listed off the great things your father had accomplished whilst rescuing the village and the rest of his servings to the royal family. Not bothering to look at Jisung or Minho when bowed for his parents. His eyes wouldn’t leave your figure as you walked by with glory. His heart was beating fast and his mind was blurry, he felt like the only thing he could see and think about was you.

He looked at Jisung, he could read off Minho’s face the panic and nervousness. Jisung felt nervous as well, you were a great friend of his and he didn’t wanted this to end, because Minho had fucked up. He sighed and tried to calm himself down, the party literally just begun and he hadn’t even spoken to you yet. The music had started and your father had left you for a second to catch up with some people. You were in the mean time looking around at the people as they were dancing, chatting and having a good time.

Jisung was gathering his courage to talk to you, he knew you wouldn’t hesitate to cut him off and pretend you had never known him. You didn’t care who he was or what kind of a status he had and you proved that with dissing Minho in public. You could’ve gotten thrown into jail and it surprised you that you weren’t yet.

Jisung had found his way through the crowd to you. You sipped on your drink as you ignored him when he said hi. After a while he noticed that his plan wasn’t working so he just dragged you outside. “You look pretty.” He complimented. “I know.” You responded. Jisung started to rant about how much of a bad friend he was for not standing up for you as you just stared and listened to him. It was a little vile to let him feel bad when you were pretty much over this whole thing already.

You told him that it was fine and gave the poor distressed boy a hug. He was relieved that you forgave him, but he questioned how you felt about Minho after all. “Well, he fucked up. He could’ve had me around, his loss not mine.” You shrugged before going back inside, because well it was freezing.

At the rest of that moment Minho started to try and get your attention, by sending you drinks that his guard would deliver. He would try and get people to talk to you who would then try to bring you to himself. You wouldn’t fall for it, making Minho groan a little in frustration as he sat on his throne beside his parents. “Minho, why aren’t you looking for a partner at this lovely party. You’re twenty and you still single. You know you will be taking over the crown soon.” His mother states, making Minho roll his eyes as he was still focussed on you. He didn’t notice his mother standing up and walking up to greet some people. His dad tried to have the same conversation with his son, but Minho decided to stand up and make his way to Jisung. “They’re starting again huh?” Jisung chuckles as he offered Minho a drink. Minho hummed in responds whilst taking the drink gladly. “So, how is Y/n doing?” Minho asked carefully. “Well, she’s doing great. She forgave me.” Jisung said. “She didn’t forgave me, did she?” “Nope.”

Minho got it though. He looked at you once again and saw how beautiful you looked. You were laughing and talking to different people and it made him a little envious of them. He just wished that he hadn’t been such a dick to you, things could’ve been different. Maybe you would’ve liked him and the two of you would be together.

“Ladies and gentlemen, the king and queen would like to announce something.” The announcer called through the room as the music stopped abruptly. Minho looked at his parents in confusion, which quickly turned into shock when they announced that they had found a possible bride for him. He didn’t sign up for this. “…we think that miss Gwynn Hayden would be the best candidate for this. Therefore, we invite her to live with us to get to know our son better and begin a relationship that will unite our kingdoms together in the end.” Minho almost spit out his drink and handed his glass to Jisung who looked at his friend in shock. Minho made his way to his parents, when he tried to talk his father stopped him from doing so.

“Don’t stop this Minho, there’s nothing you can do.” He said to his son. “Yes I can. This is about my life.” “This is about our kingdom, stop being selfish.” Minho felt distressed and like he couldn’t breathe. He looked at the people who were staring at him, you made eye contact with him and you saw the overwhelming of emotions washing over him and you felt bad. As Minho looked you into the eye, he had an idea. He stepped in front of his mother and started to speak, even though he was told to be quite by both of his parents. “I will go through with the idea of princess Hayden staying and living with us, but I want lady Y/n to be there as well.” Minho said, shocking the whole room. This time making you almost spit out your drink.

“Excuse me, what for?” “I heard that miss Y/n has great life teachings and I would love to learn more about them.” You knew what he was doing and so was Minho of course.

‘Little shit.’ You thought to yourself before walking outside. Fresh air was something you needed right now to clear your mind.

Step 4: talk to him

You had been living in the Lee family’s palace for a day now and you tried your hardest to avoid Minho. “Please just let me talk to you.” Minho almost begged as he followed you around. You kept silent as you made your way to the garden where you just wanted to enjoy your tea in quite and peace whilst enjoying the snow. “Y/n.” He repeated your name like a little child who wanted attention from his parent. You put your tea down and sighed as you looked at him. “What do you want Minho?” “I want to apologise.” His words caught you of guard, but not really. You thought that he was going to make a stupid comment like he did the other day, you wanted to see where this was going. “I genuinely wanted to apologise for acting like a fool the other day. Jisung had told me about you and your family, he didn’t say anything bad I promise, I wanted to get to know you better and I know I should’ve talked to you when it’s about you, but I was dumb. I can’t reason why I am so dumb, but I really want to change- why are you laughing.” “I enjoy you calling yourself dumb.” You grinned in amusement. “I am very dumb, I’m glad you’re laughing, but I feel like shit.” Minho pouted. You smiled at him and turned to him. “You indeed are dumb and it really hurt what you said to me the other day. I forgive you though, since I’ve heard that you usually never apologise to people, so I kind of feel special.” You grinned.

‘Am I going soft for him?’ You asked yourself.

‘Maybe.’

Did you mind?

Apparently not.

“Does that mean we’re friends now?” “Hold your horses icy, I didn’t even know you at first. Let’s just say that we’re good right now.” “Good.” “May I ask you something?” You said in a serious matter. “Yes?” “Why did you really ask me to stay at the palace with you?” “Well, honestly. I wanted to talk to you and this seemed like a good and right now the only way, so I took the chance and seized it.” He laughed, making you wheeze slightly.

“Well you’ve talked to me, so now what?” “My parents want me to get cute and close to this girl who I don’t even know and expect me to marry her. I wasn’t even thinking about marriage yet. I didn’t even know they were going to announce that shit at the party as well. And tonight we’re supposed to have a dinner date and I’m not looking forward to it. I just want to sneak out and I don’t know do anything else.” “Have your parents always been like this?” You asked him. “As long as I can remember.” He sighed.

Step 5: Show him a different aspect of things

“Maybe they just want the best for you?” “If they really want that, shouldn’t they let me decide my own life choices.” “They should, but I bet they have great intentions-“ “I really don’t want to talk about this right now.” He sighs. “I’m sorry.” You whispered as you saw how uncomfortable he suddenly got.

“No, no. It’s not you. It’s just a sensitive subject for me to talk about. Let’s go do something. I want my mind to focus on different stuff. Got anything in mind?” “Well, there is this winter market in the Highbreach village-“ “Let’s go there, I have horses. Let’s go right now!” “But you’re buffet-“ “I have to get changed first, c’mon!”

“Wait what-“ You were cut off once again by Minho dragging you with him to his room, you were panicked because you didn’t know what he was up to. When the both of you entered his room you were greeted by three little cats. You started to coo at them immediately as they came up to check you, the stranger, out. Minho looked at you shocked, making you look at him back in confusion. “What?” You asked. “They like you?” “Yeah, I guess?” You laughed as you continued to pet the cats who purred in delight. “They don’t like anybody, except me I guess.” “Wow, I feel honoured.” You cooed to the cats as you scratched them behind their ears, making Minho laugh. He quickly remembered that he needed to change. When he came back you looked at him funny, he wore a blouse with a thick jacket over it, making him look like a regular person. He looked handsome as usual and you were happy that you got to see a different side of him. It was quite unusual to see a prince in regular, everyday clothes.

“Shall we go?” “Yes.”

At the winter market, that was about forty minutes away, well ten minutes away from your house, but Minho’s palace was in a whole different kingdom, so the ride was a little longer that you thought. “We didn’t had to come here you know? You’re going to miss-“ “I don’t mind. It’s boring anyway, besides I would have to sit there with a princess who I don’t even know, being expected to fall in love with her just like that.” Minho sighed. “I don’t even like Christmas dinners, they are usually filled with people who are bragging about their lives and achievements. Telling others how much wealth they had and well you get it, rich people talk basically. There always had to be someone better than the other, I’m not into that you know.” He added.

You looked at him and simply took his hand as you led him to the market. He was quite as he enjoyed the moment of affection. When you stopped walking, he looked at around in awe. There were tables spread out on the streets. Lanterns and fires were made for warmth. The people of the village sat together, sharing food and stories. You looked up to him and smiled.

“What is this?” He whispered, still adoring the view in front of him. “This is my Christmas.” You responded, receiving a surprised look from Minho. “Years ago, when my mother was still alive, I was a little girl at the time, since our family was small and she loved having people over, she came up with this idea of spending Christmas with the entire village. Ever since, it has been a kind of tradition. There aren’t really presents involved, but there is good food and live music. We would all dance together and sing along with one another, it’s one of the reasons why my mother loved Christmas so much. And it was one of the reasons why my father loves my mother so much, she wanted to spread joy and kindness with others and well it worked out. See it for yourself.” Minho had a small smile resting on his face as he looked at you. You were talking about your family with so much love, it was really heart-warming to him.

Suddenly he was standing alone and looked around where you had headed to, he saw you running towards an adult man, who happened to be your father. “Y/n! My child! What are you doing here?” He sang cheerfully at the sight of you. “Minho wanted to sneak out, so we went here.” You explained, before looking to Minho and signing to him to walk over to where they were. “Good day sir.” Minho said politely. “Your Majesty-“ “Please call me Minho. I’m a little undercover.” Minho quickly explained in a soft voice. Your dad understood and bowed slightly as a form of respect. “Sit down, there’s enough for everyone.” You father offered, which you and Minho gladly accepted.

“I hope the food tastes good, it’s probably not as great as the food you have at home, isn’t it Minho?” Your father chuckled nervously as Minho ate a bite from the beef and the mashed potatoes that were brought in front of him. “It’s delicious.” Minho assured him with a smile.

The evening went on and Minho enjoyed every second of being in your home village. After eating you went to the market part of the village, where you could buy almost everything. The two of you came across costumes for pets and you decided to buy some for his cats, since you didn’t had a pet of your own. “You don’t have to do that right?” “I know, but I want to. They would look adorable on them.” You giggled after you had paid for them.

Minho couldn’t take his eyes of you that night. He saw how much you had lighten up around these people, compared to how you were at royal parties where he often saw you. But he understood why, the same reason why he didn’t wanted to go to his family Christmas buffet. People at those kinds of parties were always up to something else. Minho had learned that in this village, things go different. There wasn’t a competition in between people, they weren’t striving for being better than the other. Here they were there for each other and Minho admired that.

It was getting late and the two of you were about to head home to the palace. Before that, you went to your father to say goodbye to him. You hugged him tightly and exchanged some sweet words as you said your goodbyes. “Your mother would be so proud of you.” He whispered, before kissing the top of your head and waving you goodbye as you started your journey back with Minho by your side.

After the two of you had arrived back at the palace, you sneaked through a secret passage, Minho had found, back to his room without anybody noticing. You would dress the cats in the little costumes and coo at their cuteness.

The night ended quickly and you were tired, so you said goodnight to Minho. “Thank you by the way. If it wasn’t for you, I couldn’t have spend Christmas with my dad.” You admitted softly before heading out. “It was my pleasure.” Minho muttered back as he watched you leave.

When you had left, he fell back on his bed and sighed deeply. The day was great and he couldn’t be happier, but he still felt sad somehow. A scene popped into his mind as he had closed his eyes for a second, where you were smiling brightly to him as the two of you were having dinner at your village. He smiled at the scene that now was a memory. He felt sad that that moment now was a memory, he wished he could be in that moment forever. He had never felt such joy. It made him wish that he never was born a prince, but born as a regular boy, who wasn’t expected to live up to certain expectations.

He almost jumped out of his skin when his door was slammed open, scaring the cats as well, making them run around in stress. “Where have you been.” His father’s voice boomed through the room whilst he stomped through it. “Somewhere-“ “You know we had a family buffet, right?” “Yes-“ “And that we had been looking all over the place for you?” “Probably-“ “Don’t get fucking smart with me young man.” “You’re the one who’s asking the dumb questions.” Minho whispered under his breath. “Excuse me?” His father snapped. “Nothing-“ “Where were you?” His father asked again.

Minho sighed and sat up to face his dad who looked absolutely stressed out. “If you will stop cutting me off, I’ll tell you where I was.” His father sighed and crossed his arms whilst looking at his son with a rather irritated look on his face. “I was outside.” Minho simply said. He wasn’t lying though. “Listen here. I know you sneaked out. The horses were gone smart ass. Were you with miss Y/n perhaps? She was gone as well all day, just like you. Must be a coincident, right?” His father said sarcastically. Minho gulped loudly, he was dragging you into his mess and that wasn’t supposed to happen.

His father could ruin everything for you and Minho knew how hard you and your father had worked to live a decent life. Before he could speak up again, he was cut off by his father’s ranting for the umpteenth time that night. “… and the princess had been waiting for you all night! She had dressed up and made herself look beautiful for you…” ‘Y/n, would never do that.’ Minho thought to himself. And you wouldn’t. You weren’t looking for people to like you by you acting pretty. Yes, you were looking for a reaction the other day at the Christmas party yesterday, but that was because Minho had been an arse and you wanted to show him what he was missing. And well he took the hint and went for it to make it up to you.

“…she looked bored out of her mind and you weren’t there to entertain her-“ “Hold up, I’m not someone’s babysitter. She’s a grown woman, right? Can’t she entertain herself and talk to other people?” Minho scoffed at the ridiculous statement his father had dropped into the conversation. “You need to know what to focus on, this isn’t a game Minho. You need to focus all of your attention, well what’s left of it on the princess, who you are going to marry. Get to know her and build a relationship so you two can become a good pair to rule the kingdom-“ “I don’t want to marry her. I never did! You and mother didn’t even ask me about my opinion about this-“ “Because you don’t have a say into this! And that’s period!” The king was furious at this point and left the room with the door crashing against its frame, scaring yet again Minho and his cats. The prince sighed and laid himself down again, he closed his eyes and wanted to remember the happier moments of that day.

And those moments were you.

In the meantime you were in your guest room, getting changed with the help of a maid who helped you setting up a bath. “How was your day lady Y/n?” She asked. “It was fun! Call me Y/n by the way, I’m nothing more than a regular girl with a blessed life.” You smiled kindly. “I get why the prince is very fond of you.” The maid chuckled as she helped you cleaning up your clothes. “How come?” You asked her curiously. “Well, you may have heard that our prince is usually known for being cold hearted, to be a heartbreaker or even very icy. Ever since you have been in the picture he seems to have changed.” She explains. “Please tell me more.” You asked again, making her laugh slightly. “At parties, he seemed livelier and more excited when he knows that you will be there, he always asks for the guest list to every party his family attends. He never liked parties, but suddenly he cared about his appearances for these parties, that’s when we started to notice that little changes about him.” “We?” You asked her, whilst she helped you with your nightdress. “The other maids and I, even the guards-“ She was cut off by a loud knocking, that was more like pounding, on the door.

“Miss Y/n, you are expected at the king’s office immediately.” The guard calls from the other side of the door. You and the maid shared a confused look, before you grabbed a robe and made your way to the office with the guard walking in front of you.

“You were expecting me?” You say quietly with a bow as you stood in front of the king. “I don’t know it you know what you’re doing, but you need to stop this little game immediately.” The king almost hissed harshly. “Excuse me?” You frowned in confusion. “Don’t play your little mind games with me, miss Y/n. I know what you’ve done with my son and I won’t risk you having playing those tricks on other members of the palace.” He scoffed, not even looking to you. “Sire, I really don’t know what you’re talking about-“ “You know Minho is about to be engaged to princess Hayden, right?” “Yes, but-“ “Then you know enough. You should not interfere into royal businesses miss Y/n, you could get yourself in trouble and I bet that you and your father wouldn’t want that.”

You wanted to talk back to him, but right now the king was the one with the power and you knew better than to let your mouth run at this moment. “No, we would not sire.” “Good, then I expect you to leave, first thing in the morning and to not return to this palace. Am I understood?” “Yes sire.” You said before bowing and leaving the room immediately, leaving the king smiling in satisfaction because once again he got his way, at least he thought.

When you had arrived back at your room Minho was waiting in front of it and it looked like he was about to walk away so you quietly called out for him. He turned around in shock and smiled when he saw you. “What are you doing out here? I thought you were asleep?” He chirps. “I-I was getting a drink from the kitchen.” You lied. “Why wouldn’t you call the maids, they could’ve brought it for you.” “No, I wouldn’t bother them with such a small thing, besides I’m capable of walking myself, aren’t I?” You joked, playing the whole situation off.

“What are you doing out here anyway? It’s late.” You asked him. “I was bored and you’re the least boring person here, so seems pretty logical to me to come to you for entertainment.” He wiggles his eyebrows as he said that. “Don’t try anything pretty boy, nothing is going to happen in there.” You chuckled before giving him a friendly push as you two entered your bedroom.

After some time together, once again, you noticed Minho being a little gloomier than earlier today. He seemed a little like his old self and you didn’t like seeing him off and uncomfortable. You were definitely not going to tell him about the kings words towards you.

In the mean time Minho thought the same thing. He wasn’t going to tell you the harsh things his father had said about you behind your back. He just wanted to spend some time with you and feel happy, even if it was just a moment.

Step 6: Use playful words

You teased him later that night for being kind of like a cat mom, which he laughed loudly at. “I would rather be a cat mom and adopt twenty cats than marry someone I barely know.” He joked, but it has a sense of truth and the both of you knew it. Minho had been resting his head on your thighs as he laid down. You didn’t mind, you enjoyed the moment as much as he did and you didn’t wanted it to end.

He was doing something to you, but you couldn’t describe what it was, but after spending hours together you for sure knew that you wanted more. And before the two of you knew it, it was already five in the morning. The sun would be rising at six and Minho offered to go and wait for the sunrise. You contemplated his request, but eventually agreed to it and walked with Minho to a place where the two of you could watch it together.

Step 7: show him the good in people

Even though the two of you had stayed up all night, you didn’t felt tired. At least not around him. You came across an old man who lived in a cabin in the woods, he had trouble with carrying the wood back inside, making him fall onto his knees. You rushed to his side and helped him up without hesitation, especially since Minho was around as well.

“Are you okay sir?” You asked as the man tried to get back on his feet. “I am, but I need to get this wood back inside, my wife is sick and the fire is about to go out.” He sighs tiredly. “Let us help you sir, we can relight the fire quicker if we help.” Minho also rushed your way to help carrying the wood inside.

After quickly helping the couple, they offered you a piece of cake, which was everything they had. You couldn’t accept it and told them that it was no problem. The man insisted to and you couldn’t refuse the second time, you accepted the gift and said goodbye to them before the pair of you kept walking again to the place that Minho wanted to show you.

You were just in time when you arrived at a cliff that viewed out onto the kingdom. The sun peaked out from the mountain tops as it rose. As you watched the sunrise, the two of you sat on a tree stomp together, his arm subtly behind you as you two enjoyed the moment together. Little did Minho know that this would be one of the last moments together. You had planned in your head, as soon as Minho was back in his room, you would quickly pack your stuff and go home.

“Thank you for showing a different side of humanity that I didn’t believe actually existed.” He told you with a smile.

After the sky turned from pink to blue the two of you decided that it was time to go back home. Minho looked at you as you stood up first to stretch, but you tripped and stumbled almost towards the edge clumsily. Minho’s reflexes quickly kicked in and grabbed your wrist and pulled you harshly towards him, causing the two of you to collide and fall onto the ground. He held you tightly as you laid in the snow, the both of you breathing unsteadily and quickly as your heart raced. You thanked him as you held him even tighter, making Minho gulp loudly and hoping that you couldn’t feel his heart pounding for you.

When you two arrived back at the palace, Minho said his goodbye to you, not knowing that you would be leaving before you rushed to you guestroom. You dumped everything into your bag and hurried out the door. You hesitated at a moment, you wanted to see Minho for one last time, but you couldn’t risk the king ruining your dad’s and your life.

Step 8: Accept fate

So, you left just like that.

Minho woke up hours later, caused by the maid who was the one who woke him up. She told him that he needed to get ready for his date with the princess. He groaned and got up to wash up. He was still tired from staying up all night, but it was all worth it to him.

When he got back, dressed up and clean, he asked the maid if you were awake yet. She looked at him in shock.” “Majesty, don’t you know? She’s gone?” She says carefully. “What do you mean she’s gone?” Minho blurt out. “She left the palace this morning majesty, didn’t you know?”

Minho’s head was spinning. How could you leave without saying goodbye? He thought you two were having a great time. It all felt surreal and he didn’t really know what to do. He felt like he was malfunctioning and it was all because you weren’t present around him. The prince stormed out of his bedroom and went on the search for his father. When he finally found him after storming through the palace for a good twenty minutes he lashed out on his father. “What have you told Y/n!” Minho yelled. The king simply sighed and went on with whatever he was doing. Minho shoved the papers off his father’s desk and placed his hands harshly onto it. “Tell me!” He yelled once again. “You don’t have to worry about her, you should focus on the princess remember.”

“I don’t care about that stupid girl, I want to know what you told Y/n and where she is!”

*Hours before*

The king followed you outside and stopped your tracks for a moment. “Remember, you don’t belong in this life. Minho is and will never be yours. You’re simply not good enough to be royalty material. I’m glad that you listened to my words and leave miss Y/n, I had expected something different. My guards will make sure you arrive home safely and not return, like we agreed, right?”

You had simply nodded and bowed, trying to hold back your tears as you were escorted out. “Can you take me to the palace of the Han family?” You asked the guard sadly. “Miss, I’m sorry I was ordered to bring you home.” “I live in their kingdom and I really want to see my friend.” Your voice cracked whilst talking. “Miss-“ “Please?” You cried softly, he looked at you with pity and sighing before agreeing.

*Present time*

Minho and his father had continued to argue. Minho voiced once again that it was unfair how his life had been decided for him without him having a say in it, causing it to end up in a screaming match and Minho barging out of the room. He slammed the door shut of his bedroom and locked it. He childishly put his dresser in front of the door, so no one could come in.

He sighed and started to cry. The only time he felt actual happiness, caused by a person, it was taken away from him. He felt like it was just unfair.

Minho went on his date later that night with princes Hayden. Not because he felt like it had to be done, but because he was actually forced to do it. The date was boring and the poor girl wasn’t very talkative. Minho understood why, she also was forced into this. Maybe she wanted this, or not, but Minho surely didn’t.

Step nine: Fight back

The next thing happened so fast, Minho had little time to process it, but before he knew it, he was on his way to you. He remembered the way vaguely. He had hurried his way to you as fast as he could. He was looked frantically around in hopes to spot you. Minho wasn’t going to give up on you so fast. You weren’t like the other girls he had dated, or well was or wasn’t forced to date in hope for his parents that their son would finally marry.

He wanted you, that was for sure now. He had fallen for you hard and you needed to fix him. He wanted to be around you and be loved by you. He didn’t even know if you loved him back, but he was sure that you cared about him. The connection the two of you had was prove for it.

Minho finally spotted your house that you had shown him on Christmas day. He hurried his way to the door and knocked on it frantically. Your dad had opened the door and was surprised to see the young man in front of him again. He noticed that the young prince was still in his royal clothes and that he was panting heavily. “Where is Y/n?” Minho manages to say in between breaths. “She’s not here, she went outside to get some vegetables in our garden on the other side of our land-“ Your father couldn’t even finish his sentence before Minho had sprinted off again. He saw you kneeling down from the distance, digging something out from the ground in the middle of the snow. There weren’t many vegetables left and it seemed like you were gathering up the last ones from your old harvest.

You heard footsteps hurry your way and you looked up to your surprise to see Minho. You were panicked and got quickly onto your own feet. Before you knew it, you were swept off your feet and twirled around as Minho held you tightly. “Why did you leave? Why did you go without saying goodbye?” Minho cried. You wiped away his tears and just rested your head against his as his tears fell down. “It was my father, wasn’t it?” “Minho-“ “No! I will not stand this! I will not let him win this toxic game! I love you and only you! I want to be with you! I’m not letting them take away my only source of happiness!” Minho exclaimed in distress. You were shocked by his words and now just started at him, speechless. “I love you, I love how good you are to people. I love how you showed me the best of people when I had no fate left in them. I loved how you warmed my heart with your acts of kindness and bright smiles. You changed me, even though we don’t know each other for that long. I already know that I love you. I’m not letting you go. I will go against my parents if I have to-“ “You shouldn’t. They are your parents.” You whispered.

“See! Even when they are the most unfair people in the world you still see a reason of goodness in them.” Minho whispered. “We’ll get through this.” You assured him. “Are we?” “Yes.” You assured him. “How do you know that?” “Because I love you too.” You admitted softly. Minho looked at you in shock, which quickly turned into a bright smile before he leaned down to connect his lips onto yours. His lips were cold and soft against your warm ones.

Minho had taken you on the back of his horse to his palace. You were nervous to say at least. The king had told you importunately that you should not return to the palace. So you stopped Minho when you were about to enter the gates. Minho simply held you hand, he looked back at you and squeezed your hand in assurance. He had no idea how much it helped, but it caused you to straighten your posture and gain back your confidence you were known for.

You were greeted by the guards as soon as you stepped of Minho’s horse and you were already told that you weren’t allowed on the palace grounds. “She’s not a prisoner! Nor did she do something wrong!” Minho defended. “Majesty, we-“ “I don’t care who ordered you! I order you as the prince to let us go through! We have a meeting to attend.” Minho sneered as he held you closely whilst leading you through the crowd of guards who quickly made room for you two to pass.

You and Minho took a deep breath before walking into the dining room where Minho already had expected his parents to be. “Y/n! You’re still here! I though you had left!” His mother said cheerfully, obviously uninformed about the situation. “Mother father I have to confess something-“ “How dare you to come back here! I thought we had an agreement!” The king suddenly shouted, shocking his wife. “Dear, why are you-“ “Minho, you have a princess as your future fiancé, waiting for you. I don’t understand why you’re still hanging around with this girl.” The king says with loathing laid on his tone. “Because I love her!” Minho stated loud and clearly, causing the room to gasp.

His father was speechless but his mother squealed happily. “That’s great my love!” She chirped, taking you and Minho by surprise. “Wait what?” He exclaimed. “Honey, I thought that Minho was supposed to marry Gwynn?” His father said to his wife. “He was, if he wasn’t able to find love by himself.” “Wait hold up, I don’t get it.” Minho says confused, letting go of your hand to run his hands through his hair.

“Honey, your father and I made an agreement. If you weren’t able to find love by yourself, we would help you. If you would be twenty, the age of taking over the crown from us, we would arrange you a marriage, but you found someone you clearly love so I don’t think that would be necessary.” “So, you’re telling me that you were okay with me liking Y/n?” He asked his mother, still trying to process everything. “Of course I was. Why wouldn’t I be?” She asked. “Well, dad wasn’t so, I assumed-“ “You should talk to me more often, you know your father is quite hot headed. “Well, I wasn’t expecting this. I had this whole rant ready and now I don’t know what to do with the build up anger.” Minho chuckled awkwardly, making you laugh as well.

“I’m sorry son, the fact that you had to take over the throne soon, made me stressed and I guess I reacted it out on you.” “So you��re fine with me being with Y/n as well?” “I am, Y/n is such a sweet girl. I’m terribly sorry for what I’ve said to you. You’re a great girl. I heard from the maids that you made our son smile brightly again and trust us, we haven’t seen that kind of smile in a long time.” The king said whilst pointing to his son who smiled at you like an idiot. “I smile brightly, because I get to be with him. Thank you for accepting me.” You said politely as you bowed respectfully to them.

“No thank you dear for giving us our cheerful son back. We missed him.”

Days went by and it was now New Year’s Eve, only minutes away from it to be a brand-new year, which you got to spend with the one you loved dearly. Jisung was relieved that you and Minho ended up together after such an emotional rollercoaster. His heart was broken when you arrived at his palace with tear stained cheeks and puffy eyes.

You had cried your heart out of him as you spilled everything to him, but it turned out for the better. Right now you were talking with Jisung, until you heard people count down. You started to yell along with them until you were grabbed by your writs and turned around, causing to bump into someone’s chest. You were about to apologise, but your lips were sealed when a familiar pair of lips were connected to yours.

You heard people cheer and fireworks were being shot into the dark sky, lightening it up in process with bright colours as you and Minho pretended like you were the only two persons on the planet. “I love you.” He whispered against your lips. “I love you too.” You whispered back.

The two of you obviously didn’t get married right there and then, but people had a feeling that you would be celebrating next December for different reasons other than Christmas and New Year’s Eve. This gave you enough time to carry out the last step on ‘how to win over the ice prince’:

Step ten: Fall even harder for him

Gif isn’t mine.

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alj4890 · 4 years ago

Text

And Then I Left You

(Thomas Hunt x OC*Amanda) in a what if series to And Then I Met You

@krsnlove @my-heart-beats-for-ya @aworldoffandoms @flyawayboo @trappedinfanfiction @everythingmarvelsherlockspn @soph-withersx-deactivated202102 @kate-mckenzie@i-bloody-love-drake-walker. @twinkleallnight

Masterlist.

Chapter 2 Girls' Night Out

11 weeks after arriving in Hollywood...

"Something happened." Addison whispered.

Holly looked over her shoulder to make certain no one was near enough to overhear them. "What do you mean?"

"Look at them!" Addison hissed.

The pair she was gesturing to were sitting in director's chairs while debating different actresses that had auditioned for them.

"What do you mean?" Holly whispered.

"They're different." Addison insisted. "Something happened on that trip to Tahoe."

"Yeah." Holly muttered. "Nothing happened to make them get together."

"We have to do something." Addison decided. "She plans on leaving soon! We can't let them lose their spark without acknowledging it in the first place."

"Addy." Holly placed a hand on her friend's shoulder. "You know I have been one hundred percent behind you in this, but--"

"No!" Addison slapped her hand to Holly's mouth. "Don't you dare finish that sentence! Just keep backing me up. Got it?"

Holly sighed before nodding.

"Good." Addison dropped her hand. "Now follow my lead."

"If we are to go by appearance, then Jessica is the clear choice." Amanda explained. "I had Maxwell send some photos of Elizabeth's portraits so you could see what I am talking about."

Thomas leaned closer to her as he studied the images on her phone. "Their coloring is the same." He stroked his chin while glancing at the headshots of those that had been narrowed down as possibilities. "And I was impressed with with her Tender Nothings performance."

"I was too." Amanda wrinkled her nose at another actress's photo. "This one seemed unable to sound light hearted. Even her tears seemed more angry than sad."

He chuckled softly. "Then that's a definite no on Ms. Frasier. What about Lauren Benefield? What do you think of her for Elizabeth?"

Amanda hesitated. "She is the regency queen of cinema." She picked up the actress's headshot. "Something though was off for me when she read the lines."

"Can you be more specific?" Thomas lifted his gaze to Amanda's face.

She grimaced while trying to find the words. "Her innocence seemed forced."

He slowly nodded. "True. But she has chemistry with Ryan."

"Jessica does too." She countered.

He sat back in his chair. "It seems that only one has stood out to you."

"I'm sorry." Amanda quickly apologized. "Perhaps I shouldn't be part of the casting process. I--"

He took her hand in his and gently squeezed. "I'm glad you are taking such an interest." He smiled at the blush forming on her cheeks. "You having a definite opinion helps me in making a decision."

She lowered her eyes. "If you're sure I'm not making this harder, then I hope Jessica Clark is chosen."

"Then I will have Holly tell her agent." He released her hand while turning around. "Holly? Will you call Chazz and tell him that Jessica got the part."

"Will do." Holly was jerked back by Addison.

"Since it is Friday, I was wondering if we could borrow Amanda." Addison said.

Thomas narrowed his eyes slightly. "Borrow Amanda?"

"Yeah," Addison nudged Holly, "for a girls' night out. I figured she could use a fun night now that the screenplay is finished."

Holly winced at the elbow jarring her ribs again. "We need to do it before she leaves us."

"You're right!" Addison beamed at her partner in crime. "And we need to plan a party!"

"You don't have to do that." Amanda smiled at them. "It isn't as if I will never return. I still have a premiere to attend."

As Addison began to make suggestions for the going away party, Amanda's thoughts became a bit more depressed.

The party would mean she was leaving Thomas.

It didn't matter that he intended to go to Cordonia in six to eight weeks to film on location. She felt like as soon as she stepped on the plane that it would end any chance she might have to be with him.

Who knew how he would react or what he might think once he found out that she had to participate in such an archaic tradition?

Why couldn't I have been born a nobody?

She rubbed her aching head. If she had been born a nobody then she wouldn't have been inspired by her ancestor's story and thus not be sitting next to, in her opinion, the most attractive man she had ever met.

Either way, I wouldn't end up with him.

"Amanda?"

She sat up with a start. "Sorry. Did you say something?"

Addison repeated her invitation. "Please say you'll go. We really want to show you the fun side of Hollywood."

Thomas narrowed his eyes once more. "Are you insinuating that I haven't given her an enjoyable visit?"

"Yep."

Amanda couldn't help but laugh at his incredulous facial expression.

"Don't worry." She said to Thomas, patting his hand. "I've had a wonderful time with you."

His expression softened as he gazed upon her face. "Good. Perhaps tomorrow night we could go see a movie. Maybe dinner?"

Though she knew it was dangerous to go out on a date with him, she decided to accept. It was only her heart she was risking after all. The man could have anyone he wanted. He would never fall--

"I have the perfect outfit for you!" Addison broke into her torturous thoughts. "I'll bring it by when we pick you up!"

"Can't wait." Amanda replied.

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

That evening...

Thomas eyed the stairs as he sat in his living room. His curiosity had piqued when Addison mentioned an outfit.

He also was a little uneasy at the thought of Amanda going clubbing.

His frown firmed at the thought.

What if she meets someone and falls for him? She is already too lovely to be set loose in Hollywood's den of single--

He abruptly stood up when they came downstairs. His eyes widened at what Addison had done to the woman he was already highly attracted to.

She had turned her into a veritable sex symbol.

One that seemed to have stepped right out of my fantasies.

"Well?" Addison smiled at him. "Doesn't she look great?"

His eyes traveled the curves so blatantly displayed.

He audibly swallowed. He thought his surreptitious study of her figure the past few weeks had been thorough. Now he doubted all he had observed before.

Amanda nervously tucked one of her stray curls behind her ear that Addison swore needed to hang down from the messy bun she had fashioned.

"I know this isn't something like I normally wear." She looked down at her body in the royal blue dress that barely met her thighs. "But when in Rome..." She smiled shyly at them all. "Or rather Hollywood."

Addison beamed at her. "Exactly! This dress is a must for the places we are taking you." She cut her eyes to Thomas still stunned speechless. "What do you think, Professor?"

Holly nudged him when he remained silent.

He blinked. "That--it certainly--you..." He closed his eyes to get his jumbled thoughts in order.

"I think that proves how perfect this dress is." Addison pushed Amanda toward the front door. "Let's go ladies. We have much to do and too little time to do it in."

"What time should I expect you home?" Thomas grimaced at sounding like a parent.

"Late." Holly yelled over her shoulder.

Amanda waved goodbye to him before sliding into the limo Addison had rented.

Deciding she hadn't caused Thomas to truly think about what he might be missing out on, Addison hurried back toward the front door giving the excuse she left her phone upstairs.

Thomas stepped back inside with her.

"Found it!" She said while coming back down. "Sorry you can't come with us."

He grunted while shrugging his shoulders.

"But if I am to matchmake Amanda with one of the guys we meet tonight then I can't have you there being grumpy--"

"What?!" His eyes narrowed. "You're going to set Amanda up with someone after pushing me to be with her for the past three months?"

Addison sighed softly. "You clearly don't feel anything for her." She watched his expression darken in angry frustration. "I figured it was time to find her someone who does."

"I-- of course I feel-- can't--" he sputtered. Pinching the bridge of his nose, he gestured toward the front door. "You shouldn't keep them waiting."

Smiling brightly over flustering him, she wished him a good night. She peeked one last time at him as she shut the door.

Thomas had never looked so miserable.

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

Sayers Club...

"First stop of the night!" Addison smiled at the bouncer who winked at her as he held the door for her.

"She always brings the bouncers gifts." Holly explained. "Just about every hotspot in Hollywood has security guards adoring her."

"It was the only way to get my name out there once I graduated." Addison added. "Then I didn't feel right stopping it just because I finally received some recognition. It's been going on for years now."

Amanda commended her for her idea.

"Drinks first, I think." Holly announced.

"Something fruity." Addison yelled out over the music.

Amanda nodded. "Fruity sounds good."

Addison and Holly shared a conspiratorial glance before the latter gave their orders to a bartender.

The two had planned on the way to Thomas's home to use this evening to get the truth out of Amanda.

And what better way than to get her just a touch inebriated?

The three made their way through the crowd, pausing here and there to greet those they knew.

Amanda was introduced to many famous celebrities that she had yet to meet during her other ventures with Thomas.

"Let's sit here." Addison gestured to a curved booth directly in the middle of the action.

After a few more cocktails that the nosy pair were making certain had an extra shot of vodka for the duchess, Addison began the interrogation.

"Are you really leaving in a week or two?"

Amanda twirled her straw in her third empty glass. "Yes."

Holly motioned for refills. "So soon?"

"I have to." Amanda mumbled. "I really don't want to." She took the new glass and took a long sip. "But I must."

"Why?" Addison tilted her head. "What's making you leave?"

Amanda hiccupped. "I have stuff to do."

"With your duchy?" Holly prodded.

"No." Amanda hiccupped again.

"Stuff to do with that social season you told us about?" Addison asked.

"Yes." She surprised them by downing the rest of her drink. She shuddered while pressing the back of her hand to her lips. "I really don't want to."

"We'll miss you." Addison told her. She leaned forward to see Amanda's face. "Especially Thomas."

Amanda slumped back in her chair. She began to swirl the ice cubes in her glass with a straw. A bitter smile formed on her lips. "I'll miss all of you."

"Thomas wishes you could stay." Holly added. "He will be a nightmare to work with until we go to Cordonia."

"Why?" Amanda mumbled. "He has everything." Her brow furrowed. "The script. The actors. Costumes."

Addison passed her another cocktail. "He won't have you." She smiled at the surprise on Amanda's face. "You have done wonders for his typical moods, which were mostly grumpy."

The duchess's cheeks turned a bright red, either from shyness or alcohol.

"What do you really think of Thomas?" Holly asked. "Even though we have known him for years, we--"

"Addison. Holly." A handsome actor greeted before looking expectantly at Amanda. "How are we this evening?"

"We're great Vince." Holly rolled her eyes. "How about yourself?"

"Great." He held his hand out. "Vince Carter."

Amanda shook it. "'Manda Brighton." She slurred slightly. "Sorry. 'Manda Bridgerton."

He smiled and sat down at their table.

"She's the author Thomas has been working with." Addison reluctantly explained.

"And leaving town soon." Holly stressed.

"Really?" He leaned toward Amanda. "Any chance there is a character that I am made for?"

Amanda tilted her head while studying him. "Hmm." She shrugged and returned her attention to her drink. "Dunno."

His lips parted at her lack of interest.

"Don't let us keep you." Holly pushed him out of their booth.

"We'll see you around." Addison added, dismissing him with a brief wave.

"Anyway." Holly huffed. "What were talking about?"

"Thomas." Amanda set her elbow on the table and rested her cheek on her hand.

Addison winked at Holly. "That's right! We were wondering your thoughts on him."

"My thoughts?" A wistful smile formed on Amanda's lips. "Have a bunch of those."

"Really?" Holly eagerly leaned forward. "Like what?"

"Everything." Amanda mumbled after thanking the waiter for her refill. "He's temptation."

"He's what now?" Addison's brow furrowed.

"Temptation." She repeated before focusing on her drink. "He makes me want to forget my promises."

"Promises? Who have you promised stuff to?" Holly asked.

"Liam." Amanda blinked. "Doesn't matter. He doesn't feel the same."

"Liam doesn't feel the same about what?" Addison tried to make sense out of what was being revealed.

"Not Liam. Thomas."

"You made Thomas promises?" Holly attempt to clear it up only ended in frustration.

"Not Thomas. Promised Liam." Amanda insisted.

A song came on that caught her attention.

"Oh! Dance! Let's dance!"

"Wait. What does Liam have to do with Thomas?!" Addison yelled out as the bass dropped.

"Timing!" Amanda replied, sliding out of the booth. She disappeared in the crowd before Holly or Addison could stop her.

"What do you think she meant?" Holly yelled.

"I don't know!" Addison's eyes narrowed in concern. "But it certainly made her sad."

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

Many hours later...

Thomas tried to distract himself.

He made an outline for how he wanted filming to go.

And noticed that most of it would require having Amanda on hand.

He decided to watch a movie or two.

And missed having Amanda beside him, sharing bits of movie trivia.

He made dinner.

And found out that cooking for one had definitely lost the appeal it once had.

He took a shower to try and unwind.

And had to make it cold as he thought about her in that dress. Dancing. Smiling. Simply breathing.

He gave up on everything and watched the time go by.

It's ridiculous that I have allowed her to have such an effect on me. No one else can keep my attention, especially when they are not physically here. How will I be when she leaves for Cordonia?

He jumped to his feet when he heard the doorbell ring over and over again.

Opening the door, he found a swaying Amanda and a frustrated Addison.

"What happened?" He demanded.

"Thomas!" Amanda stumbled forward into his arms.

"Is she drunk?" He asked, completely baffled by her condition.

"The drinks were stronger than usual." Addison huffed. "I can't stay to explain. Holly is in the same shape."

Thomas looked over her head to see Holly hanging upside down out of the limo's window.

"Wooooohooooo!" Holly waved. "You're gonna fall in the sky."

Addison rolled her eyes as she stomped back to the car.

"Buh-bye!" Amanda called out.

Addison grunted as she lifted Holly back through the window. Once the limo door shut, the two friends burst into laughter.

"That was an award winning performance." Addison complimented.

"Thank you. If not for your brilliant idea for one of us to pretend to be drunk too so that Thomas couldn't make us help get Amanda to her bedroom, this performance would have never happened."

Addison giggled again. "Hopefully she will let something slip out in front of him about her feelings."

Holly poured them each a glass of champagne. "To drunken confessions."

They tapped glasses and relaxed.

Once the limo disappeared down the driveway, Amanda leaned back in Thomas's arms, nearly falling backwards and dragging him down with her.

"I danced." She proudly told him.

"Did you?" He tried to keep his irritation from showing. He doubted it was her fault for ending up like this. He knew his two friends a little too well. "Why don't you tell me all about it inside?"

"Kay." She slipped out of his arms and hit the wall.

Cursing softly, he held her arm to guide her into his house.

She fell on the couch, laughing as she kicked her feet up in the air, watching her shoes fly off.

Thomas ran his hands over his face. "Have you eaten?"

"Yes." She smiled at him. "I ate ice."

"I'm going to fix you something to help your condition." He grumbled. "Stay here."

"Kay."

Once he left the room she struggled to sit up.

"So hot in here." She tried to reach the zipper of her dress, causing herself to roll off the couch.

"Ouch." She mumbled.

She finally found the zipper and got it to go down after four tries. Standing up to let the dress fall off. She searched for something to fan herself.

Then her attention was caught by the pool outside.

Swaying as she walked she managed to open up the patio door and step outside.

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

Thomas returned to the living room and saw that Amanda had not only disappeared, she was somewhere in his house without clothing.

He heard a splash and dashed out the back door.

"Amanda!" He shouted, waiting for her to come up for air.

He quickly pulled his shirt off followed by his pajama pants, then jumped in after her.

She breached the surface right when he went under.

He grabbed her waist when his head appeared before her.

"AAAAHHHH!" She tried to push him away. "Water demon!"

He gave her a slight shake. "It's me."

She moved closer, then grinned. "It's you!"

"What are you doing in the pool?" He demanded.

"Got hot." She slurred, draping her arms around his neck.

"We need to--" he sucked in his breath when her body pressed against his.

Her skin was warm in the cool water.

And there was so much of it.

He briefly closed his eyes. "Did you...did you take off all your clothing."

"Nope." She mumbled, resting her head on his shoulder. "Panties were too hard to get off."

He softly groaned at what he now faced. "Amanda, we need to get you out and dressed."

"Kay." She nuzzled against his neck. "You smell good."

He stilled at her touch, feeling her lips brush his ear as she whispered.

"I danced a lot."

"Did you?" He swallowed. "I hope you enjoyed yourself."

"Wish you were there." She yawned, settling her head once more on his shoulder.

His arms tightened around her.

"I do too." Thomas whispered.

She tried to kiss his cheek, but missed and landed on the spot where his pulse leaped.

He knew he couldn't kiss her in the current state she was in. When they kissed, he wanted her completely coherent and fully participating.

Thomas tried to conjure every image of things that disgusted him as he got them out of the pool. Keeping his eyes averted, he helped her wrap a towel around herself.

She plopped down on a chaise lounge, sighing in contentment.

"Wait here," he commanded. "I'm going to find you some clothes." He wrapped a towel around his waist as he padded his way inside.

She looked around and spotted his t-shirt. Scrambling to her feet she let the towel fall off while pulling his shirt on. She lifted the soft material to her nose and breathed in the scent of his soap and aftershave.

Deciding she was ready for bed, she went inside and laid down on the couch.

Thomas didn't notice she was on the couch and panicked when he stepped back outside. After searching the pool and the rest of his backyard, he hurried back inside, praying she was somewhere in there.

In the midst of yelling her name, he saw her fast asleep in his shirt.

He didn’t bother to temper his groan at what she had put him through this night as he tried to pick her up.

Her eyes popped open and she looped her arms around him.

"Where are we going?" She asked.

He grunted and let her drop back to the couch. "To bed."

Her eyes widened. "Yours?"

"What?" Heat went up the back of his neck at the notion. "No. I'm placing you in your bed then going to mine."

The pout that formed on her lips drew his attention.

"Doesn't sound fun." Her fingers drifted through his damp hair.

"I agree but it is necessary." He focused on her eyes. "Help me get you upstairs."

With a nod, she let him pull her to her feet and half carry her toward the stairs.

"I'm tired." She sagged against him once they reached the top.

"We're almost there."

He nearly cheered when they crossed the threshold of her bedroom.

Jerking back the covers, he gently set her in bed.

She still held onto him, pulling him down with her.

"Much too tempting." She yawned.

"Amanda, I--" Thomas found himself trapped, with her resting her head on his chest and her arm curving around his waist. Her leg lifted and rested across his.

Unable to easily wake her, he gave up this unexpected battle and closed his eyes.

Planning not only an explanation for how she ended up in his shirt but also on leaving before she awakened so as not to cause any embarrassment for her, he decided to allow himself this moment of enjoying the pleasure of having her in his arms while he slept instead of simply dreaming about her.

#and then i left you #thomas hunt x oc #thomas hunt x amanda #choices red carpet diaries #choices the royal romance #rcd thomas hunt #thomas hunt rcd #choices stories you play #and then i met you #choices fanfic

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mrslittletall · 4 years ago

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Now that I played through the Phoenix Wright Trilogy, it is time to rate it! Graphics The graphics are painted backgrounds as well as hand drawn character models with different expressions/tiny animations. They are pleasing to look at and never feel out of place. For a game that released first on the GBA, they are surprisingly clean. I have no qualms with the graphics whatsoever. I love that, to this day, the character animations from the courtroom are used in animations where stuff gets debated. Sound and Music The music is fantastic, though I have to say, the one of the first title is the best and feels like the most iconic, especially the Objection theme, which is even used as part of the main menu theme for the trilogy. The first title has a lot of songs that are so nice to listen too, the court theme, the objection theme, the cornered theme is godlike and even the music outside of the court is fun, especially the theme song for the easy go lucky characters, like Lotta Hart. The other titles declined a bit, I think the music is a bit too somber and sounds too serious and the objection theme, while still remixing the first one, just doesn’t have the same impact. The second title has a fantastic new theme for the Search Core situation, used for a villainous reveal, but the third title kinda ruined it by using it EVERYWHERE. I kid you not, that theme played like... a 50 times or so, while it only was used for a certain character in the second one. The sound effects are fine. The blips of the text aren’t annoying and the way the text is sometimes written faster or slower got a good impression how fast or slow a person was talking. I liked that some of the sound effects from court were sometimes used in the dialogues to convey certain emotions also. Gameplay The game is a mix of a visual novel and an adventure game, so prepare to do LOTS of reading. You basically go to an area, then murder happens and then you have to find your defendant and proof their innocent. There are two kinds of gameplay, the first is the investigation, where you go around and look at stuff and talk with witnesses and the police and such. That is the most classical for an adventure game. The second one are the trials, where you have to proof your client’s innocence. It generally is by getting a witness on the stand and having to find the contradictions in their testimony. You can press them to get more information or present evidence once you spotted a contradiction. That is like a really nice puzzle and it could be pretty hard to find a contradiction, but it was all the more satisfying, when you found it and the testimony crumbled in itself and the prosecutor had their damaged portray after a good counter. I have a bit of problems with it though, because sometimes you are obliged to show a certain piece of evidence. Most of the time, several are allowed, but I had one case, where a crime photo very much proofed what I wanted to say, namely that the victim used his left hand to hold his coffee cup, but for some reason, the lip stain on the coffee cup was the only valid evidence. Huh... In the second and third title, the investigation part actually got spiced up by making Phoenix able to see when people hide secrets from him and then we need to gather evidence and get them to spill their secrets. It is similar to the court room, but with only two parties. I really liked that parts. The gameplay was pretty fun, for me at least, but it has a few weaknesses of course, which are the usual adventure game weaknesses. Once you know the solution to the puzzle, the replayability is gone. Story and Characters That is where the game shines. Like I said, the game is basically a visual novel. It has its own individual stories for each case as well as some over arching storyline, mostly centered around a certain case, the DL-6 in the first title and then about the Fey Family in the second and third title. The cases are sometimes a bit crazy, but that is too expected, the whole series is very whacky and filled with jokes and humours, sometimes good and sometimes bad jokes. The stories are interesting to follow and I often wanted to find out the truth myself, see if my suspicisions were correct and if we could get the real murdered on the stand to make a confession. It is the most interesting when the overall storylines are getting involved, like in the first title, the DL6-Incident was both for the fourth and the fifth case and seeing how it all came together and got solved completely, was amazing. The characters are a bunch of regulars and a bunch of case specific. Our main characters are clearly Phoenix Wright, the defense attorney, we play as and Maya Fey, a spirit medium. We also get a few regular prosecutors, with Miles Edgeworth for the first title, Franziska von Karma for the second and Godot for the third title. They could be considered the “villains”, but in a sense, they only try to serve justice, even though all of them have pretty nasty personalities at first. We also have Detective Gumshoe, a very unlucky homicide detective, Larry Butz, Phoenix’ creepy friend and Lotta Hart, a woman who can’t decide on a career, but loves making photos, and Pearl Fey, the little cousin of Maya. We also have Mia Fey, Maya’s big sister and Phoenix’ mentor, but she tragically died... but that isn’t too much of a problem, because Maya is a spirit medium and can channel her, so that she often helps Phoenix out. All of them, besides Larry, who I have some troubles with, are absolutely adorable, they are quirky, they have moments, they have character growth, they have certain speech patterns and I love them. What I especially like, Maya is kind of Phoenix’ assistant and in pretty much every other story, I would have expected for them to go the shipping route, but Maya and Phoenix, despite being shipped heavily by Pearl, never show any romantic energy in my book. They are more platonic, more like little sister and big brother. It may come from the fact, that Maya is the little sister of Mia Fey, Phoenix’ mentor, and he views her more as a little sister, but their platonic relationship truly touched me. When it comes to shipping, Phoenix and Miles have more erotic energy between them that Phoenix and Maya could ever have! Especially in the first title! It doesn’t surprise me that they are a popular ship. Pet Peeves Ok, some gripes I have with this game are the ages of the characters! Like, we had a case where a 14 year old girl planned a fake kidnapping, good, everyone was super stoked about that, but then it turned out, her 18 year old sister was a police woman at that time. And at age 23, she was considered a police veteran. What?! We also had a doctor who was said to be 31 years old... he looked like he was 55! Franziska is another offender... one of these japanese tropes of the “child genius”. She became a prosecutor at age 13 and only was 18 when Phoenix first met her. She is from germany and I am pretty sure it is downright illegal to be a legal prosecutor there when you are not of age, so... Then... we have the fact that this game so OBVIOUSLY is set in Japan, but the localization acts like it is set in America... Yes, America has a super traditional japanese village, Maya Fey is wearing traditional japanese clothing, we have a case centered around the Steel Samurai, typical japanese kids TV where an actor is wearing a full body suit and masks himself. I am actually surprised that when they were in super obvious japanese settings, that they actually talked about everything like it was japanese, and not made onigiri into donuts. But ok, I can forgive this, because it is so dumb and the original setting is more than obvious. Larry! The guy turned out to be creepy! He first got introduced as Phoenix’ idiot friend with a weakness for hot woman, but getting used by them a whole lot, ok, that is still fine. But with each entry, guy turned more and more creepy, until he tried to hit on a married woman and said that he wanted to date Pearl. Pearl is a nine year old child, wtf, Larry?! He had some moments, but even the game acknowledged what a waste of space he is and made him the butt monkey. Which I can fully and totally understand. Ok, that has been it! Overall, I enjoyed these games a lot! I would like to try and find the others in the series, but I don’t think I will be able to find them...

#phoenix wright #phoenix wright trilogy #phoenix wright spoilers #review

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murasaki-murasame · 4 years ago

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Thoughts on Fruits Basket 2019 2nd Season Ep25 [”I’m Different Now”]:

For the season finale [but not series finale, because they’ve already announced a third and final season for next year], we get a huge plot twist that completely changes our perspective on one of the characters, and their various relationships, in a way that has major implications about the future of the story and how things will progress.

Aside from all that, we also get the world’s worst gender reveal party.

Thoughts under the cut.

Just to start off, this episode adapted chapters 96 and 97 like I figured it would, to wrap up this season with a big cliffhanger to hype people up for the final season. And for better or worse, this was a pretty much 1:1 adaptation of these chapters, so there’s not really any differences to talk about that I noticed.

Anyway, I may as well just cut right to the chase and talk about the whole Shocking Gender Reveal Plot Twist[tm], now that that’s out in the open and everyone can stop tiptoeing around it.

It’s not like I’ve really tried to hide it or how I feel about it as a plot point before this, but I really do dislike it on basically every level. There’s a whole lot to unpack about it, but really at the end of the day it’s just one of those old-fashioned plot devices where we’re meant to think that someone being a different gender to what you thought they were is inherently something scandalous and shocking. They could have at least immediately started talking about the idea of her being raised as a man against her will, since that’d at least give it some actual meaning and value, but they don’t, which really says a lot about how that’s actually kinda just a foot-note that the story doesn’t dwell on much, and in practice we’re just meant to be surprised that she’s a girl.

It doesn’t really help that the season just ends right there, when in the manga this whole sequence keeps going in the next chapter, and I think they start touching upon that part of Akito’s backstory then, but the anime won’t get into that until next year at this point, so I think it’s fair to take it as it’s presented right now.

The idea of Akito being a girl is surprising in basically the exact same way that it’d be surprising if we found out that Haru was a Sanrio fan, or something. That is to say, it’d be vaguely surprising, but then we’d all just go on with our lives.

Even at this point you can definitely guess that there’s probably something going on with her being forced to present as a man, but it hasn’t really been explained or touched upon yet, so it’s all pretty nebulous, at least from the perspective of someone like Tohru who barely knows Akitto at all and doesn’t know all the stuff about her past that Kureno does.

In general I’ve never been a fan of this entire trope to begin with, but I think it’s made a lot worse by the fact that, as you get further into the rest of the story, it becomes clear that it’s not even that important, and the majority of what’s going on with Akito’s character has much more to do with the curse situation and how it impacts her relationship with the zodiac members. The whole deal with her character is how being the god of the zodiac from birth forced her to be pretty much raised in seclusion, with her only frame of reference for human relationships being abusive cult behavior. She’s miserable and twisted because she isn’t allowed to live a normal life due to her status, and her possessiveness gets enabled by the people that she clings onto, putting her into a loop of arrested development and mental instability.

And literally none of that has anything to do with her gender, lol. None of it would be different if she was a cis man, or if she had been raised as a woman. Because that whole deal isn’t actually all that relevant to why she is the way she is, why she has the attitude and world-view that she does, and why her relationships are so fucked up. Even if you decided to write out her romantic/sexual relationships with people like Kureno and Shigure by having her be a man, that’d barely change anything about the story as a whole, because even if it was entirely for platonic reasons Kureno would have still decided to stay with Akito and ultimately enable her actions, and Shigure would most likely still more or less do all the same things he’s already done. And obviously to begin with, if Akito was actually a dude that wouldn’t even necessarily mean you couldn’t still have some of these relationships play out this way, so you can’t even really act like the story required her to be a girl for that reason, lol.

And for better or worse, if Akito was written as a gay dude, it could still totally have lead to all the same stuff with her possessiveness over the male zodiac members, and her irrational hatred of the female zodiac members. It’d just be a different, more homophobic sort of trope than what actually happens, in a way that plays out in basically the exact same way. It wouldn’t be the first time we’ve gotten a villain who’s a gay dude that irrationally hates women for Reasons [tm], and who has ominous and sinful relationships with men.

Which is also the reason why I don’t exactly think the story would be ‘better’ if she had been written as a gay dude, or as a trans woman, or anything like that. With her whole role in the story to begin with, it’d play out in an obnoxious way no matter what. Mostly I just kinda wish they had completely avoided this sort of outdated, schlocky storytelling to begin with, and just focused entirely on the more interesting stuff about her character.

And in terms of outdated tropes, we haven’t even gotten properly introduced to Ren yet, lol.

I’m also assuming that they’re not exactly planning to change anything about this in the anime, so I’m just going with my existing thoughts about how the manga handled it, since that should still carry over to the anime.

I know that this is all just beating a dead horse with a stick because of how long the series has been out for, but I still just can’t help but be irritated by this whole mess.

I don’t want to spoil it too much, but I think a good comparison to make is the recent Banana Fish adaptation, and how from what I gathered, most people’s reactions to that series’ ending was ‘I know it’s just a product of it’s time, but this is just kinda unironically shitty’.

Ultimately, I think a big part of why this annoys me so much is because I actually really like Akito’s whole character and what the story does with her after this point. I just dislike how it’s shackled to this unnecessary plot twist that ends up dominating the conversation surrounding her even though it’s barely relevant to anything after this in the story.

The stuff with her being the god of the zodiac and how much it fucks up her entire life and all of her relationships is genuinely really compelling, and represents an integral part of the story’s overall message about the nature of abusive families and cults, and the various ways they end up hurting everyone inside them. Her whole arc is about learning how to embrace a life that’s not based around being a god surrounded by their followers, and I think that aspect of it works really well, especially with how it ties into all the stuff with Tohru later on.

I also think that all the stuff with Kureno that gets revealed in this episode is genuinely really interesting, and is ACTUALLY a plot twist that meaningfully shakes things up, and people actually have a reason to be surprised by it. Especially Tohru, since her whole goal at this point is to break the curse, and now she’s literally found someone who’s already had their curse get broken. It’s basically the first major lead she’s found in her whole search for answers, but in the end it kinda just, y’know, gets overshadowed by the gender reveal and her being shocked about that instead.

It’s also still really interesting to me how the Kureno situation is basically the only time where the story seriously talks about the implications of the animal transformation part of the curse, and how someone in the zodiac might internalize that part of themselves. Most of the time, the animal transformation part of the curse is kinda irrelevant, and the series could work in 99% the same way without it. I think Takaya’s literally said before that she didn’t even plan to include that whole aspect of the story until her editor suggested it fairly late into the process, and I think that shows with how it’s kinda just there for some wacky hijinks early on, and then it just gets benched in favor of the actual stuff Takaya wanted to write about.

But with Kureno we actually get a look into what it meant for him to be able to literally turn into a bird, and how losing that ability affected his sense of identity and how he engaged with the world. It’s still ultimately just metaphorical in it’s own way, but it still feels like more of an acknowledgement of the fact that they literally turn into animals than basically any other part of the story, lol. And in general I just think it’s at least compelling on paper that he ends up shackling himself of his own free will, because that sense of freedom and disconnect made him feel obligated to stay with Akito to ‘make up for it’.

I just wish that Kureno as a whole was interesting enough for me to actually care that much about all of this, lol. In the end he’s just kinda intentionally boring, and it’s more interesting to write about his role in the story than it is to actually, like, watch him do stuff as a character. Which I guess is all just part of how much it bugs me that all of the interesting stuff in this episode, and this whole part of the story, feels like it gets overshadowed and drowned out by a dumb shock value plot twist.

There’s also all the thematic stuff with how he’s basically Tohru if she was taken advantage of and had all of her own bad habits enabled until she ended up barely being a functioning adult. He even has his whole personal conflict about feeling like moving on with his life and developing new relationships is an act of betrayal towards someone that he really needs to let go of at this point. But then you just get into the whole Uo thing and how their whole relationship is about as compelling as the whole Cinderella plot that it’s clearly a reference to, and aaaaaaah why is this series so frustrating, lol.

Really, the fact that I can gripe so much about stuff like this just goes to show how much I like the series in general, since I can’t muster up any strong feelings about stuff like this if I just straight up dislike it as a whole. At least for me, stuff like this is much more frustrating when it’s one part of a larger story that I really love. Thankfully there’s more good than bad when it comes to this series, so I can still hold onto it as a personal fave that I just happen to have complaints about.

I’m genuinely really excited for the final season, in spite of all this, since there’s a whole lot I love about the final third of the manga, and in a funny way, the fact that Akito being a girl isn’t actually that big of a deal in the long run, and what actually happens with her as a character after this is more about her status as the god of the zodiac, actually means that I’ll [mostly] enjoy a lot of it. It’s mostly just this specific part where we get the Big Reveal [tm] itself, and the immediate lead-up to it, that bugs me.

Anyway, as a whole, I still think this is a good episode that serves as a fitting cliffhanger for the season. The actual plot twist that most of the episode focuses on is really good, and serves a really meaningful role in progressing the story, and it gives a pretty clear picture of how we’re entering the final act of the story.

Hopefully the final season will start in April next year like the first two seasons did, but it’s entirely possible it might get delayed because of the whole pandemic situation. But I could live with them holding off on starting the final season until it’s ready to come out.

Also, before I forget, they haven’t said anything about it, I’m pretty sure the final season will also be around 25 episodes long. With how many chapters they have left, if they stick to the same two chapters per episode pace that the anime’s had on average thus far, they could easily cover the rest of the story in 22 episodes, which would be a lot easier to expand by an extra two or three episodes, than it’d be to condense it all the way down to 13 or so episodes.

#murasaki rambles #Fruits Basket #can you tell that I have Feelings [tm] about this whole part of the story? lol

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shippindales · 5 years ago

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we ain’t ever getting older

HAPPY STACKSON WEEK 2020 Y’ALL I WAITED UNTIL MIDNIGHT.

This is a gift fic for @jacksonstilinskis that was born out of a post from forever ago where she said Closer was definitely a Stackson song and I said oh I’d definitely write that and then LITERALLY FOUR YEARS PASSED and here we are finally making good on that in time for @stacksonweek !

Also I realize my blog is not very friendly on the eyes (I need a revamp) so try the read more but if not I included a link as well.

Enjoy!

AO3

It was the kind of atmosphere that Stiles liked, when he needed to unwind for a bit. It wasn’t a sleazy hole in the wall type of place, nor was it too ritzy or stuffy for his tastes. Ease in the air, good ambiance with the dim lighting and low music, bartenders who got down to business and knew when you didn’t need a conversation, and a decent crowd. Not too bad, all things considered, for a hotel bar.

He nursed his gin and tonic as he pulled lightly at his tie, loosening it enough until it dangled from his neck freely while he unbuttoned the top two buttons of his shirt. Wearing a suit would never grow on him, regardless of how his partner insisted that it gave them stature and authority. Miller could blow it out his ass, being federal agents gave them all the stature and authority they needed. But damn, he’d kill for jeans and a t-shirt every once in awhile. He’d have to beg for an undercover op next.

It was his fourth night at the hotel in Denver, and the stakeout was getting stale. Miller had insisted he take a night off, even called in a reserve agent just to take his spot so that he could blow off some steam. The night was young, and Stiles figured he had a multitude of options ahead of him for where his evening could go.

That was, until raucous laughter started up from the table across the other end of the sparsely populated bar, and Stiles rolled his eyes at the group of well-dressed men that sat around it, their chatter rolling over him until he looked a little more carefully, and caught a very familiar eye.

He nearly spat out his drink, and the glass clattered to the bar noisily in front of him, drawing the attention of the concerned bartender and a few patrons nearby. He waved them off, dabbing at the spill that had splashed onto the front of his shirt with a bar napkin, before he looked back over, and couldn’t make eye contact anymore. He flushed scarlet, embarrassed at the extra attention, and stared at the wall before tipping the glass to his lips and downing his drink in a few solid, full gulps. He signaled for another in answer to the bartender’s unspoken inquiry as she raised an eyebrow and motioned to his glass.

An hour went by in seemingly seconds as Stiles’ thoughts raced. It was obvious he didn’t want to reconnect, or he would’ve said something. Or maybe it was just the crowd he was with, and he didn’t want to draw attention to anything. What if he’d already left? Stiles couldn’t see the group of men clearly from where he was sitting, and a few of them had been in and out, though he was pretty sure he knew which one was him... he frowned. He’d lost sight of him. A dull ache started to form in his stomach that was unrelated to the buzz from his third drink.

“You know, all the ways I pictured we might run into each other, and this wasn’t one of them,” the smooth voice purred in his ear, and Stiles sat bolt upright, spinning around to face him. Jackson fucking Whittemore, in all his three-piece suited glory, grinning like the cat that ate the canary.

Stiles froze for a moment, his mouth hanging open, before Jackson’s words sunk in. He looked across the restaurant and noticed that the remainder of Jackson’s table of companions was filtering out the door, and he turned back with a sly smirk on his face. “Too shy to introduce me to your fancy buddies over there? What are you guys anyway, stock brokers?” He raised an eyebrow, looking Jackson up and down.

Jackson didn’t miss the roving eyes, though his shirt was still buttoned up tight and his tie in place, unlike Stiles. He looked the other man up and down himself, before taking a swig of his beer. “We should maybe reintroduce ourselves, considering it’s been awhile. Jackson Whittemore, Esquire.” He held out a hand to shake, a proud smile on his face that put butterflies in Stiles’ stomach.

He gripped it tightly and shook, growing goosebumps on his arm in the process, before pulling out his badge and flipping it open. “Agent Stilinski. FBI.” Jackson’s eyes widened in surprise, and Stiles smirked. “Yeah, I know, I was the hot gossip at our five-year reunion. Which you missed, by the way.” He pointed accusingly at Jackson, his finger poking him in the chest. Jackson didn’t shy away from the contact, leaning over the bar next to Stiles and resting his drink on a coaster.

“Yeah, I missed it. Law school beat the shit out of me. I don’t know why I ever decided to follow in my dad’s footsteps.” He shrugged. “But it’s been a pretty good life so far. And uh, the academy’s done good things for you.” He raised an eyebrow, admiring the way Stiles’ form had filled out since high school. And Stiles knew, he’d definitely grown into the gangly limbs and awkward proportions since he was a teenager.

Not that it hadn’t been a struggle. He’d spent his first few weeks at the academy feeling like he was going to die, but the physical training had gradually honed him into a toned, lean version of himself that he never thought he’d see in his younger years. Regardless, Jackson’s obvious attention to it had him flushing slightly.

The unspoken tension filled the air before Stiles took a deep sip of his drink, setting it down carefully. “You never kept in touch,” he pointed out. It was casual, but his tone implied something deeper. Jackson stared at him, noticed the way Stiles’ eyes wouldn’t meet his gaze.

“Didn’t deserve to,” he retorted, which drew a look of surprise from Stiles. “What? I was an absolute ass in high school, dude. And probably even more of an ass in undergrad.” He shuddered. “I’ve grown up a lot. Obviously you have too. But I wanted to be... different, when I eventually got around to reconnecting with everyone, especially you.”

Especially you. And weren’t those pretty words to come from an equally pretty mouth. “Yeah, you were an ass in high school,” Stiles acknowledged, though the response from Jackson was a look of more guilt than he’d been intending to inflict. “But you made up for it.”

The implication turned back time to groping hands, shuttered up in Jackson’s bathroom during a party, mouths and limbs and hardness, heat and release— The blush was equal in both their cheeks. It wasn’t a single occurrence, they had quite the history over the last few years of high school.

“I remember,” Jackson muttered, the barest hint of a smile playing on the edges of his lips. “I didn’t know what I was doing then, though. And I was a dick to you about it. You know, when things got more... involved.”

When feelings got involved. Right.

Stiles shrugged it off. Long since passed, and long since forgotten. His attention instead turned to the earlier part of what Jackson had said. “So you know what you’re doing now?” he inquired, and his amber eyes were peering up at Jackson through those thick lashes that always set him off when they were younger, and god damn were those memories coursing through their veins and making them both feel alive, thrumming to the accelerating tattoo that their pulses set.

Jackson gripped Stiles’ tie, pulling him forward forcefully to capture his lips, ignoring the wandering eyes from the bartender and other patrons, who probably thought they were moving a little fast for a first time meet. He felt Stiles gasp quietly underneath him, the heat pooling in his gut as Stiles’ tongue flicked out gently to trace his bottom lip. They separated, breathing heavily, before Jackson pulled him by his tie a little further, to lean over in Stiles’ ear once more. “Want to find out?”

Stiles dug into his wallet, slapped a fifty on the counter and downed the rest of his drink. “Let’s get out of here,” he murmured, and Jackson followed him out the door before pressing him against the brick wall, humming into his mouth as their tongues danced. “Easy, tiger,” Stiles chided gently, grinning as Jackson nipped down the side of his jaw to his neck.

“Got a lot to make up for,” Jackson muttered against his skin, sucking a deep bruise into Stiles’ collarbone as he shoved the offending fabric of his dress shirt aside. His hand slipped into his pocket and came back with his car keys, clicking the remote. A black Range Rover beeped from the isolated corner of the parking lot, and Stiles looked before rolling his eyes.

“The Rover doesn’t surprise me, Mr. Porsche,” he teased, laughing as he danced away from Jackson’s needy hands and lips, making for the rear passenger side door. “Esquire over here flashing what he can afford.” There was no venom in his words, only joking praise.

“Why are you getting in the back?” Jackson asked, confusion knitting his brows.

“Because so are you,” Stiles retorted, and the mischievous grin spread across his face as he opened the door and hopped in. The grin that brought the memories surging back as Jackson hopped in the backseat from the other side, their mouths clashing urgently as Stiles tugged on Jackson’s jacket, discarding it into the front seat with little regard.

It wasn’t long until their shirts were open, and Jackson was pressing their chests flush together, relishing in the keen that came out of Stiles at the feel of skin on skin. He nipped down Stiles’ neck to drag his tongue along his clavicle, biting down sharply.

Stiles yelped, but felt himself stiffen completely, because yes, this was what he missed. The way Jackson never treated him like he was breakable, trusted him to handle it, and it was something he’d been missing for a long time. He didn’t get around much with his busy life and his federal job, and he felt like a tightly coiled spring finally given the freedom to release.

The way Jackson grabbed his hips bruisingly, like Stiles’d fall through to the center of the earth if he loosened his grip, lit something in him, and he pushed Jackson’s shirt off his shoulder, admiring the tribal tattoo design he found there. He sank his teeth into it, satisfied with the way Jackson threw his head back and moaned at the contact.

“Stiles,” he interrupted, but Stiles paid no mind, kissing his way down Jackson’s hairless chest as he pawed at his hardness through the front of his suit pants. “As much as I’d love to fuck you in my backseat, I think we need a bed.”

Stiles came up for air, after kissing down Jackson’s abdomen. He shrugged his shoulders, nipping at Jackson’s lower lip lightly. “Fine then, Whittemore. Take me home and take me to bed.”

The door slammed behind them minutes later, after Jackson had broken nearly every traffic law in the state. He yanked at Stiles’ shirt impatiently, pulling it off of his arms before their mouths were back in contact, shrugging off his own shirt as their clothing fluttered, forgotten, to the floor. Searing heat and the clash of rushed, hurried teeth filled Stiles’ consciousness, as Jackson’s hands roamed down his sides and slipped underneath his waistband, palming Stiles’ ass impatiently.

“Fucker,” Stiles growled into his mouth as he arched his back into the touch. Jackson reached down and grabbed him around the waist, hauling him up until Stiles’ legs wrapped around his waist instinctively. He threw the other man unceremoniously on the bed after shoving into the bedroom, and Stiles collapsed in a pile of limbs before turning onto his back, sighing gently. “Your mattress is comfy,” he complimented, a stupid grin slapped across his face as he shimmied out of his pants.

“My law school roommate in Boulder ditched the last month of rent. I changed the locks and stole his furniture.” Jackson’s belt whipped off lightning quick as he shoved his own pants and underwear to the floor, his cock springing free of its cloth prison. He hissed as it met the cool air, and Stiles licked his lips as they collapsed back together, hands and mouths fumbling deliciously.

After a few moments, Stiles scrambled down the bed to swallow him to the hilt in one fluid motion. Jackson hissed as Stiles’ tongue flicked out around the base of his shaft as he took him into the back of his throat. “Jesus fuck, your mouth, Stilinski. Missed it so much.”

Stiles pulled up and off of Jackson’s shaft with a wet pop, before smacking it lightly against his cheek. “Guess you’ll just have to make up for lost time then.” He ran his tongue from base to tip, swirling it around the head before delving back down, and Jackson pulled his own hair to keep from yelling to loudly at how fucking incredible it felt.

Stiles hummed around his shaft, bobbing to the base and back to the tip to swirl his tongue in the way he knew drove Jackson nuts. The humming sent deep vibrations through Jackson’s flesh and he let out a ragged, broken moan.

The taste and feel of him bombarded Stiles with memories of the first time he’d ever sucked Jackson’s dick, denial radiating through the other boy even as he’d twitched in anticipation, letting out a rough breath as Stiles finally took him in his mouth.

“Do you like it?”

“Shut up and keep going.”

Jackson was growing impatient, and he finally pulled himself out of Stiles’ mouth, reaching down to throw the other man further up on the bed, stomach down, receiving a yelp of protest which quickly died on Stiles’ lips as Jackson kissed down his back to his ass, biting sharply into his left cheek. His breath ghosted over Stiles’ hole, and okay, yes, this was a thing that they’d never done together before that Stiles was 120% on board with.

“Are you seriously going to ahhhhh fucking shit Christ Jesus,” Stiles babbled as Jackson’s tongue flicked out and laved at his rim like a man starved, both hands palming Stiles’ ass and spreading his cheeks and yeah, okay, Jackson had picked up some tricks since high school. Yup.

His sensitive hole was twitching under the ministrations of Jackson’s tongue, and Jackson hummed as he pressed his tongue inside the taut ring of muscle, eliciting a sharp sound from Stiles that he wanted more of. A finger joined his tongue, then two as Stiles relaxed under his efforts.

“God, I can’t believe I’ve never opened you up like this before,” Jackson panted. “You’re so warm and open, so good for me.” His praise was radiating through Stiles’ bones as he pressed his hips back.

“I need you,” Stiles groaned. “Need to feel you again. It’s been— god, too long, not enough, just— just do it.”

Jackson nodded, moving to obey and flicking open the bottle of lube he’d nabbed from his bedside table, spreading it over himself quickly before pressing into Stiles, slowly but persistently.

Stiles’ eyes screwed tight as he breathed in and out sharply, the burn of Jackson’s breach stretching him in a way he hadn’t been in a long time. “Fucking holy hell, forgot how thick you were,” he breathed, pressing his face into the pillow desperately as he rolled his hips back to take Jackson further.

Jackson paused, for a brief moment, to give Stiles time to adjust. That action alone sent a shock through Stiles’ body. Jackson had never been about how Stiles felt, their clandestine hookups throughout high school had always been about Jackson getting off, but this— this was different, and Stiles felt it, felt the consideration and respect.

He responded by pressing his hips back into Jackson, hissing as the burn reignited but slowly began to dissipate. “Move,” he commanded, and Jackson obeyed.

And this, this was what Jackson had missed the most. “God, the way you look spread out around my dick,” he groaned, fucking into Stiles with earnest, staring down at the way Stiles’ hole gripped his girth each time he slid out.

“Shit, Jacks,” Stiles grunted, slamming his hips backwards to meet Jackson’s thrusts, all earlier thoughts of tenderness abandoned. “God, I forgot how good you felt in me. It’s been so long. Always so fucking hard and rough with me. Fuck.”

Jackson’s hand cracked down onto Stiles’ ass, drawing a yelp and leaving an angry red handprint. He spanked him again, twice more, three more times, causing Stiles to let out a long, sharp series of moans. “Fucking take it,” Jackson bit out, pummeling into him rapidly.

Stiles’ talk devolved into senseless syllables and nonsensical babbling as he felt the pleasure coiling in his gut. “Mmmm, f-f-fuuuuck, I’m gonna— I’m close, I—”

Jackson halted, reaching down with both arms and flipping Stiles over onto his back in one smooth motion, bending his head to bite roughly on Stiles’ bottom lip as he pushed back in, holding him around his waist with his legs in the air as he jackhammered in at a punishing pace. “Want to see it,” he panted against Stiles’ lips. “Want to see you let go, see how taken apart you are when you come.”

Stiles came with a shout, spurting copiously all over his chest, his eyes screwed shut and fists tangled in the sheets. Jackson followed him over the brink, moaning loudly as he shoved to the hilt and spilled himself inside Stiles.

Collapsing on the bed next to him, they both laid for a few moments, Stiles’ head lolling over onto Jackson’s shoulder. Their breathing was still heavy, though their pulses began to slow after having finally reached their peaks.

“So,” Jackson began, running his finger through the mess on Stiles’ abdomen and popping it into his mouth before pulling it out with a pop. Stiles’ eyes followed him, blown wide and dark. “Made up for lost time?”

Stiles nodded, grinning wildly as he ran his fingers through his sweat-dampened hair. “It’s a start.”

A start. Jackson nodded, breaking eye contact as a smile spread across his face.

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

He traced his fingertips around Jackson’s abdominal muscles absentmindedly, leaning his head into the crook of the other man’s neck. Jackson’s eyes were lightly closed, satisfied after their round the next morning. They were resting quietly, the morning light filtering in through the taupe curtains and spilling warm rays of sunshine across their mostly still forms.

“Would things have been different?” Stiles asked quietly, prompting a soft, questioning hum from Jackson, who kept his eyes closed, but rubbed circles into Stiles’ shoulder with his thumb. “If you weren’t a dick in high school, I mean.” The implication behind it left Stiles feeling vulnerable, and he swallowed it down thickly.

“Maybe,” Jackson admitted, turning to press his lips gently into Stiles’ hair. “I can’t change who I was then. I wish it could’ve gone differently, though.” The unspoken differences echoed in the silence, and Stiles pictured what life could’ve been like, in another world.

“What about now?” he asked, voice uncertain. There was no indication that Jackson had wanted this to continue, that it was more than just a rekindling of an old flame, destined to wither and snuff out as it had before.

Jackson was silent for a moment too long before responding, and it twisted Stiles’ stomach up in knots. “What about it?”

“Is it too late?” Stiles asked. He was unable to form the words, unable to ask directly for fear of putting himself too far out there. Something about this just felt like the universe was pointing them in the right direction for once, and he needed to know now if it was never going to happen.

“Do you want it to be?” Jackson asked.

He blinked, the answer clear as day. “No.”

A small smile played at the corner of Jackson’s lips as he looked down at Stiles. “Then it’s not too late.”

The sun’s rays splayed out gently across their skin as Jackson pulled him closer.

“Good.”

#stacksonweek2020 #teen wolf #stackson #stiles stilinski #jackson whittemore #my fic

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terramythos · 4 years ago

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TerraMythos' 2020 Reading Challenge - Book 32 of 26

Title: The Siren Depths (2012) (The Books of the Raksura #3)

Author: Martha Wells

Genre/Tags: Fantasy, Adventure, LGBT Protagonist, Third-Person

Rating: 8/10

Date Began: 11/09/2020

Date Finished: 11/21/2020

Moon's past has always been obscure. A winged shapeshifter, he has spent most of his life as a solitary wanderer. He has few memories of his childhood, and only recently found others of his kind-- the Raksura. Now Moon has found a home as first consort to the queen Jade in the Raksuran court of Indigo Cloud.

However, when a neighboring queen recognizes his bloodline, Moon's new life is upended as he's forced to return to a family he doesn't even remember. Seemingly abandoned by Jade and overcome with doubt, Moon has to navigate the complex politics and grave secrets in the court of Opal Night alone. But an old enemy is about to return, threatening every Raksuran court in the Reaches.

The one thing he hadn’t expected to do was miss Indigo Cloud so much. He had been leaving people all his life, to the point where all the turns seemed like an uninterrupted progression of departures, and there had been people he had missed terribly. But this was a never-ending ache in his chest... You’ll get over it, he told himself. You always get over it.

But somehow, this time was different.

Some major spoilers and content warning(s) under the cut.

Content warnings for the book: As always, graphic violence and action. There is a disturbing scene that's... kind of forced cannibalism I guess (I'm not sure how else to describe it). Some sexual content is implied but not graphic. The r*pe plot point from The Cloud Roads is relevant, but is not depicted or described in detail. A romantic relationship with a significant age gap is briefly mentioned (both are consenting adults but it may make some readers uncomfortable).

For the most part, I enjoyed The Siren Depths more than the previous entries. I connected much more strongly to the central conflict, and was pleased to see some deeper character development than in the last two books. This entry also introduces fascinating new settings and characters while exploring some genuinely interesting ideas. It serves as a good parallel to The Cloud Roads, with similar plot beats explored in different ways. I did have one big problem which I will detail further in the review, but let's talk about the good parts first. Moon's conflict in this story, like the rest of the series, has to do with belonging. But The Siren Depths has the advantage of two books of development. From what we know of Moon's past, he sees any home as temporary, and when he's suddenly forced to leave Indigo Cloud (presumably for good), his new attachments and way of life come into question. To some degree, Moon sees this as an inevitable part of his life. Sooner or later, something out of his control will happen and he'll be abandoned. What I found relatable is there's several times Moon knows he is being irrational but still can't stop the negative downward spiral. Like... jeez, just call me out specifically next time! While a depressed protagonist can be a drag to read, I think it really works here because we've grown attached to Moon and know how far he's come. And sure enough, he does get his ass in gear when he realizes this ISN'T like before, and lots of people do care about him. The found vs biological family conflict is interesting as well. I think The Siren Depths does great here because you can see both points of view. Moon always assumed his biological family died, and they assumed the same thing about him. This should be a happy homecoming, but under the circumstances simply isn't. Moon resents being torn from Indigo Cloud because a group of people he barely remembers have a legal claim on him. Opal Night seems strangely hostile until you learn more about its politics and secrets. Even though they're early antagonists, they're not really villains; just a traumatized group of people who see Moon as a missing link from their past. When he's not what the others are expecting, obvious issues ensue, but Moon finds he does care about some of these people, even if it's not really his home. Outside of Moon, several other characters have arcs in this book. While the previous books feature a likeable enough cast, the characters are mostly one dimensional. Not so here; we explore the insecurities and struggles of some of the supporting cast. Jade isn't nearly as self-confident as she appears to be, and grapples with this throughout the book-- for example, wanting to prove to Moon that she is willing to do whatever it takes to get him back. Similarly, Chime's struggle with his involuntary transformation comes to a head here as his strange new powers become relevant again. We see just how bitter he is that he's cut off from his old magical gifts and still holds out hope that they'll return. We even get some indication that while this HAS happened before in Raksuran history, it's incredibly rare. There’s also an interesting hint on what the powers really are, which has some pretty big implications. This is potentially a future plot point, so I’m hoping it gets explored. (Also, I was totally right about Moon/Chime, do I get a prize?)

There are several new characters I found really interesting, namely Malachite and Shade. Malachite (spoiler: Moon's biological mother) is initially presented as the antagonist, and her behavior seems inscrutable. She's a powerful queen who commands respect, yet seems unpredictable and standoffish. All of this starts to make sense as one learns more about her. Turns out unbelievable, extended trauma really fucks with a person. The Fell destroyed her colony, killed her consort and most of her children, and she spent almost a year in full guerilla warfare against them. Yet she adopted the Fell/Raksura crossbreeds and raised them as her own children, demonstrating nothing but indulgent love and kindness towards them. I'm not sure I would be able to do that in her place. In general she's just a huge badass; totally decked out in scars and the first to leap into battle. At least we know where Moon gets it from. Did I say Fell/Raksura crossbreeds? Yup, that plot point is back. Only, it's explored in a different way here. The crossbreeds in The Cloud Roads are terrifying weapons deployed by the Fell. The ones in The Siren Depths, raised in a loving home, are just kind of weirdly pale Raksura. I liked Shade in particular, who we learn is Moon's half brother and serves as an interesting foil. Moon would probably be much more like Shade if the Fell attack on Opal Night never happened. Shade is an earnest and kind (if naïve) man and behaves like none of the Fell we’ve met in the series. I hope we see more of him (and Lithe, the other crossbreed) in future volumes, because I think they're an interesting take on nature vs nurture with the "inherently" evil Fell. Speaking of the Fell, while they themselves haven't changed much, I thought they were more effective villains than in The Cloud Roads. We see their manipulations and twisted views of the world in much more detail. There's a long sequence where much of the main cast is captured by The Fell, and their struggle to survive and potentially escape is harrowing. I also like that Moon isn't their main focus this time, which adds some nuance and perspective to their behavior. They’re also just... creepy as shit. While I do have some issues with the ending of the book, I think the Fell are handled pretty well beforehand.

I'd be remiss to ignore the always excellent worldbuilding in this series. Like in The Serpent Sea, we get to see more Raksuran courts, all of which feel distinct. It’s cool and impressive for a singular fantasy race to have multiple believable factions and societies. The settings in this book are also creative, including a giant half-dead mountain tree, a city carved into a giant statue, and what I can only describe as "Rapture, but make it a solarpunk prison". Wells goes into vivid, loving detail when it comes to the world. That being said, I would like to see more of the sea/sky realms, since this series has largely focused on the earth. The Three Worlds is kind of a misnomer if two of them don't really show up much. Oh well, maybe in future books/stories.

My main complaint, and what drags down the rating, is the ending. It's... underwhelming, confusing, and seems pretty rushed. I'll go into more detail below. *major spoilers for the ending* So... one of the big plot points in both The Cloud Roads and The Siren Depths is that the Fell are crossbreeding with captured Raksura. In The Cloud Roads, this is explained as a ploy to strengthen the Fell with some unique Raksuran abilities; queens can prevent others from shifting, mentors can scry future events, and so on. In The Siren Depths, however, we learn it's not that simple. There's some third party manipulating the Fell and encouraging their actions. The goal is to produce a crossbreed that physically resembles the (unnamed) Fell/Raksura common ancestor for... reasons. We are led to believe the being orchestrating this is in fact an ancient ancestor, though its motives are unknown.

While this feels like a retcon, the discrepancy is acknowledged in the story, and it is explained that the Fell in The Cloud Roads were either lying or those specific ones decided to pursue their own agenda. Which... fine, makes sense based on what we know about them. I'll let it slide. Perhaps it was hinted at earlier and I just don’t remember.

So Moon and the others follow the Fell to the mysterious source, a vast and abandoned underwater city. Soon they find the creature that's been imprisoned there. Turns out it's not the Fell/Raksura ancestor, but something different. I can only describe it as sort of eldritchy, with a vaguely creepy physical form, and the abilities to speak through dead/dying Fell and to create disturbingly realistic illusions. The Fell/Raksuran ancestors trapped it there eons ago, and the only way to free it is the physical presence of a member of the ancestor species (for some reason). Which explains why it has been encouraging the crossbreeding, since their common ancestor is presumably extinct. It's freed from its prison since Shade fits the "ancestor" criteria based on his physical appearance. Then, in the span of literally one chapter, it attacks everyone, chases the characters through the underwater city, gets hit by some water, then promptly melts like the Wicked Witch of the West and dies.

I had a couple problems with this ending. First, the whole Fell crossbreeding conflict with the Raksura is a huge generational trauma thing. Moon has his own horrible experience with them, of course, but it's also a big issue with both Indigo Cloud and Opal Night. Hell, it's the whole reason Moon was separated from his family and lived thirty-some years in exile without knowing what he was. The series literally wouldn't have happened without this conflict. To have everything explained away by "an eldritch wizard did it" is very anticlimactic. I vastly prefer the original explanation.

Second, we know basically nothing about this creature. How was it able to communicate with the Fell (and Chime)? Why was it imprisoned other than being super evil and stuff? Who knows. And yeah, it's possible this will be expanded on later. Except I'm pretty sure that when this book came out, it was the last one planned for the series. The next two books follow a different storyline and came out four years later. So this was probably the only explanation we were ever going to get.

I'm not totally against the concept, but it needed more time and a more interesting/memorable villain for it to work. Introducing all of this in the second to last chapter of (presumably) not only the book but the series, then defeating it with little effort, feels unsatisfying. Hell, there’s more time dedicated to discovering and exploring its prison than anything involving the creature itself! As it stands, the Fell were much creepier and more memorable bad guys in this book, yet narratively serve as bit players in the end. It just feels off.

Also, a nitpick, but the title of the book is weird. The Siren Depths is obviously referring to this imprisoned being. It's trapped underwater and is calling the Fell to it. But it's never referred to as a siren; I'm not sure that word is used at all in the book. It just seems like an odd choice of title that doesn't really fit the vernacular of the world. Siren has some very specific meanings/connotations in our world that don't translate to The Three Worlds. Not a huge deal, just something I noticed.

*ending spoilers end here*

Despite my issues with the ending, I really enjoyed everything else about the book. It does everything the other books do well while featuring serious improvements. I've heard mixed things about the next two books but plan to go in with an open mind.

#8/10 #taylor reads #2020 reading challenge #BONUS ROUND #*casually posts this a week late*

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