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mythicalmaven · 4 months ago

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Beyond Boundaries - Oscar Piastri (PART SIX)

Masterlist

Time for chapter 6! :) I hope you like it! A little more plot and fluff this time <3 Really curious what y'all will think! Let me know! :)

↳pairing: oscar piastri x female!reader (norris!reader) ↳word count: 4,3K ↳chapters in this series: One, Two, Three, Four, Five, Six, Seven, Eight, Nine, Ten, ↳chapter warnings: fluff, kissing, brothers teammate trope, bestfriend!reader, mentions of sexual content, feelings, tension, 18+ content (mdni!)

↳series summary: Since Oscar joined McLaren as your brother’s teammate, you two have quickly become best friends. Recently promoted to be Oscar’s physiotherapist, you both relish the opportunity to spend more time together. However, as the new role brings you closer, you both realize you might be feeling more a little more for each other than just friendship

The morning light filtered through the curtains, casting a soft glow over the room. You stirred, the remnants of last night's escapades lingering in your mind. The warmth of the bed and the steady rise and fall of Oscar's chest against your back were comforting. A sense of contentment washed over you until the piercing sound of a phone shattered the peace.

Oscar groaned beside you, fumbling for his phone on the nightstand. He squinted at the screen, confusion etched on his face, before realization dawned. His eyes widened as he looked at you, a mixture of panic and dread crossing his features.

"Shit," he muttered, sitting up abruptly. "It's Zak. I've missed a bunch of calls."

You bolted upright, grabbing your own phone. The screen lit up with missed calls from Zak and one from Lando. Your stomach churned as you saw multiple texts from Lando:

Lando: 8:50 AM: Where are you? 8:52 AM: Zak is looking for you. 9:01 AM: You better not be with Oscar. 9:01 AM: Both of you are screwed if Zak finds out.

Oscar's phone continued to ring insistently. With a deep breath, he answered, "Hey, Zak."

Zak's voice came through urgently, "Oscar, I've been calling you for ages! Open your door, now!"

Oscar glanced at you, his eyes wide with panic. "I just woke up. Must've slept through my alarm."

"Well, hurry up! We have a flight to catch, and I need to talk to you and Y/N. I've tried calling her too, but she didn't pick up either. I'm right outside your door."

Your heart pounded in your chest. The urgency in Zak's voice made it clear you were in trouble. Oscar motioned for you to get dressed quickly. You scrambled to put on the clothes from the previous night, your hands shaking.

"Hide in the bathroom," Oscar whispered, his voice tinged with fear. "I'll handle this."

You nodded, slipping into the bathroom and quietly closing the door behind you. Your heart raced as you pressed your ear to the door, trying to hear the conversation outside.

Oscar opened the door, and you heard Zak's voice immediately. "Finally! You really need a better alarm, mate. Where's Y/N? She hasn't been answering her phone either."

Oscar hesitated for a moment before replying, "Uh, she came by my room early this morning to grab some breakfast and asked me if I wanted to join, i was too tired, so I declined and fell back asleep. Maybe she forgot her phone here, I'll have a look in a bit. She’s probably downstairs in the lobby."

Zak sighed in frustration. "Alright, but we need to get going. You both need to pack up. You're both running late for the debrief as well! I'll check the lobby for her."

Oscar nodded, "Sure, I'll be down in a minute."

As you listened to their exchange, relief washed over you. You quickly composed yourself, knowing you needed to sneak out without drawing attention. Once Zak's footsteps faded, Oscar opened the bathroom door, his expression a mix of worry and urgency.

"We really do have a knack for getting caught, don't we?" you chuckled at him.

"Unfortunately, yes" Oscar shoot you a smile, scratching his neck "He's gone to look for you in the lobby. You need to get out of here and pretend you just came back."

You nodded, stepping out of the bathroom and heading towards the door. Before you left, you turned to Oscar, your voice low. "Thank you."

He gave you a quick, worried smile. "We'll figure this out. Just be careful."

With that, you slipped out of the room, your heart pounding as you made your way to the elevator. The morning had started with a rush of adrenaline, and you couldn't shake the feeling that this was just the beginning of the trouble you'd both face.

As you made your way down the hall, you crossed paths with Daniel, who had just exited a hotel room. He immediately noticed the disheveled appearance you had, the clothes you were wearing, the same as yesterday. "Looks like you had a fun night, didn't you?" he chuckled.

"Oh, shut up. Just cover for me, will you?" you almost pleaded, explaining that you might run into Zak at any moment and weren't in the mood for his lecture if he found out the "truth." The story you told Daniel was a bit of a lie: you claimed you couldn't find your keycard and stayed in Oscar's room, missing Zak's calls as a result.

"Yeah, right. You slept on his couch, that's why you have a hickey on your chest," Daniel pointed out, nodding toward the visible mark on your cleavage, easily hidden in a regular shirt but not in the top you wore yesterday.

Then you had a realization. "Wait a second, why did you come out of Lando's hotel room?" you asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Don't try to change the subject, Norris," he joked.

Before you could respond, the door of the hotel room opened, revealing your brother, jacket in one hand and suitcase in the other. "Ah, crap," he muttered.

Lando scratched the back of his neck. "Euh... good morning, sis."

"Well, well, would you look at that," you laughed, shooting them a smug look. "You know, this doesn't surprise me at all, to be honest."

Lando shrugged. "Whatever, you were bound to find out soon anyway. Saves me the trouble of finding the right moment," he said, earning a chuckle from Daniel.

"Apparently, having a thing for Aussies runs in the family," Daniel smirked.

"Why are you wearing the same clothes as yesterday?" Lando asked, shaking his head with a look of disgust. "Oh wait, don't tell me. Ew. You probably slept with Oscar."

"Lando!" you whisper yelled, playfully punching his shoulder. "No, we didn't sleep together."

"I find it hard to believe nothing happened between you two, considering the state you left the club in yesterday."

"Hey, I never said nothing happened, just that we didn't have sex."

"Ewwww," he childishly uttered, throwing his hands in the air.

"Chop chop, lil Norris, you should go and hurry to your room and change clothes" Daniel suggested, gaining a nod from you in return "Oh! And don't forget to cover up those hickeys, because the one I informed you on isn't the only one that's showing" Daniel winked

Monday, March 25th - 1:00PM

Oscar and you were currently hanging out in the McLaren hospitality after you finished the race debrief. Neither of you talked about what happened last night, both of you seemingly avoiding the subject. Which to be honest was a little relief to you, considering you honestly had no idea how feel about it. It was amazing, it really was, but it just shouldn't keep happening, yet it always does.

Once Oscar finished his coffee, he looked up at you "So, what are your plans until Japan?" he asked, referring to the race weekend that would take place in about 2 weeks.

"Honestly didn't really make any plans, yet. Might book a hotel. Either here, or maybe in Japan. Didn't really wanna fly back to Monaco, because I don't feel like another jetlag" you replied, sipping on your coffee.

Oscar smiled a little "Good" he replied, sending you a soft look "Wanted to ask you if you wanted to stay with me until we fly to Japan. We're in my hometown after all, wanted to show you around a little. And my mom has honestly been begging me to take you home, so she could finally meet you"

Your felt your heart filling with warmth, happiness spreading through your body. It made you feel a little honored that Oscar wanted to spend his free time with you. You would have totally understood if he wanted to send that time with his family and friends, now that he's finally back in Australia.

You shot him a smile, nodding gently "Yes, I'd love that, Osc"

Butterflies. That's what Oscar felt when you said yes. A blush rises to his cheeks and he smiles shyly to you. He knew that he shouldn't get his hopes up too much, knowing that you probably see this as a little getaway for friends, but he wanted to use this as an opportunity to show you what he had to offer. That he could make you feel happy, make you feel loved. He knows he shouldn't, knows that you two shouldn't go down that road considering your jobs and the complications that could be associated with that, but he can't help himself. He's just so in love with you it hurts him. Every thought that crosses his mind involves you.

He had to hold himself back to not giggle like a little schoolgirl, the delighted man that he was. He grinned at you and said "I'm looking forward to it" he smiled again, raking a hand through his hair "You okay with me calling my mom, so I can inform her?" he asked.

"Sure" you smiled back, feeling a little giddy. A feeling you knew you should push away, but did you want to push that feeling away?

Monday, March 25th - 6:00PM

Once you had arrived at Oscar's family home, he got out of the car and immediately walked around it to open the door for you, being the gentleman that he is. It was always nostalgic to Oscar, being back at the house he grew up in. He moved to the UK when he was young, but his parent's house in Australia will always feel like home to him.

You felt a small amount of nerves slowly building up in your body, worried about what Oscar's parents would think of you. Sure, you've seen his mom on Facetime before when Oscar called with her, but real life was always so different. In your opinion, the bar is quite high. Since you're not only introducing yourself as his best friend, you're also introducing yourself as his co-worker, one with quite the influence on her sons wellbeing. It scared you a little, afraid you're not living up to the image they have of you.

"You okay there? You seem a little zoned out" Oscar mentioned, pulling you out of your thought.

You nodded carefully at him, stepping out of the car "Yeah, just a little nervous"

A reassuring smile appeared on Oscar's face, placing his hand on your upper arm, causing goosebumps to appear "Don't worry, baby. You'll do just fine. I'm sure my mom will love you," he said, the nickname slipping from his lips unintentionally. A blush creeping on his face the moment he realized, hoping that you didn't notice the latter.

As if the nerves from meeting his parents weren't enough already, you felt yourself getting more jittery from Oscar calling you baby. It felt like something forbidden, not particularly because Oscar called you that, because it honestly isn't that big of a deal. But because of the fact that you actually enjoyed it him calling you that. It caused butterflies to swarm through your abdomen.

You grabbed your suitcase from the back of the car, taking one last deep breath before the both of you made your way towards the front door.

Oscar looked at you, non verbally asking you if you were ready. Once he earned a nod and a smile from you, he unlocked the door and guided both of you inside. He took your suitcase from you, placing it next to the coat rack "We'll bring that upstairs later, let's first introduce you to my mom. My dad is still at work, I think"

The moment you both made your way into the living room, you immediately were greeted by a very smiley and happy Nicole Piastri, engulfing her son in a bone crushing hug.

"Hi, darling!" she said as she pressed a kiss on the top of his head, pulling away to direct her gaze at you "Ahhh! Y/n, so lovely to finally meet you in person!"

You felt relief wash over you at the kindness that radiated from Oscar's mom. You gave her an honest smile, almost a grin "Likewise! It's so nice to meet you Mrs. Piastri"

Nicole chuckled a little "Oh please, honey! Call me Nicole" she said kindly, embracing you in a hug too, while meeting her sons eyes "Oscar already told me so much about you, it almost feels like I know you already! He honestly never shuts up about you!" she joked around, pulling away from the hug.

"Mom!" he scolded his mom, his cheeks immediately flushing again, feeling a little humiliated. While you couldn't do anything than chuckling at her comment.

Nicole patted her Oscar's shoulder "Oh honey, nothing to feel embarrassed about! There's nothing wrong with talking about a lovely lady like her" she said, meeting his gaze again

"Okay, I think that's enough, mom"

Nicole laughed at her son again, sending you another kind smile "Shall I show you around the house? Show you where you can sleep?"

You gave her a small nod, following her and Oscar around her house. You first went back to the hall to grab your and Oscar's suitcase, before she showed you the entire house, which was beautiful. It was cosy and felt like a lovely family home.

"We have two options for sleeping arrangements, so you can decide which one you prefer" Nicole began, as you reached the last room of the tour, Oscar's room "Since Oscar's grandparents are staying over for the weekend, we don't have a spare room. So we set up an air mattress in Oscar's room, so you could stay there if you'd like. But if that's not comfortable for you, Mae offered to give up her room and sleep on the air mattress in Oscar's room instead"

Oscar felt his breath hitch in his throat. You and Oscar had decided to stay at his parents house for at least a week, so the idea of you two sharing a room together for a whole week, made him feel jittery, but also a little giddy. Unsure of what to expect, since after all sharing a room with the one you're in love with, while you shouldn't be, seemed like a hard task. The other part of him was a little anxious. Anxious that you would say that you wouldn't be comfortable with sharing, which he honestly could understand from your point of view.

"I'm totally fine with staying over in Oscar's room" you replied, looking over at Oscar who opened the door to his room "Only if you are okay with that too, of course"

"Y-Yeah sure!" Oscar uttered, trying to keep his composure. He entered his room, sitting down on the bed.

"Good, since we have that settled, I'll go and call your dad to ask when he'll be home. Your sisters will be home later tonight" she said, walking out of the room before looking over her shoulder once more "Promise me one thing tho, Osc. No funny business in there!"

Oscar's eyes widened and hollered "Mom! She's my best friend, not my girlfriend." although he wished you were "And besides that, we're co-workers"

"Yeah, your dad and I were too, but that didn't stop us either" she quipped, before quickly striding off.

Oscar let himself fall backwards on the bed, his hands covering his face "God, I'm so sorry. I don't know why she did that"

You closed the door of his room, walked over to him and sat down next to him, placing your hand on Oscar's thighs, feeling the muscle tense under your touch "Don't worry, Osc. It's fine. She's funny" you told the young Australian with a grin covering your face.

Your eyes scanned the room, noticing the picture frames on the walls and the trophies on the shelf "Your room is so cute, it really embodies you" you say.

You didn't realize your choice of words until you heard Oscar laugh. "Did you just indirectly call me cute?" he joked, the smirk on his face evident as he propped himself up on his elbows.

You playfully gave him a push, causing him to fall backward again with a soft grunt. "Don't tease me, or I'll make you regret inviting me back here," you chuckled.

"I highly doubt you'll be able to do that," Oscar spoke with honesty lacing his tone as he looked up at you.

"Watch me," you joked back, turning around on his bed so you were on your knees. You placed your hands on either side of his waist and started tickling him.

Oscar's reaction was immediate. He burst into laughter, squirming under your touch. "No, no, stop!" he pleaded, his voice a mix of amusement and desperation. "I can't handle it!"

You continued your playful assault, delighted by how vulnerable he was to the tickling. "I told you not to tease me!" you said, grinning down at him.

Oscar's laughter was infectious, and soon you were both laughing uncontrollably. He tried to grab your wrists to stop you, but you were relentless. Finally, with a burst of determination, he managed to flip you over, his hands now seeking out your most ticklish spots.

"Not fair!" you protested between giggles, your own laughter now filling the room.

"All's fair in love and tickle fights," Oscar replied, his voice playful as he continued his tickle attack.

You wriggled beneath him, trying to escape his grasp, but he was persistent. The playful struggle brought you closer together, your bodies pressing against each other as you both fought for dominance. The air between you seemed to crackle with tension, each touch sending shivers down your spine.

With a sudden move, Oscar managed to pin you down on his bed. His hands still held yours, and his body hovered over yours. The laughter died down, replaced by a heavy silence as you both realized how close you were.

Your faces were inches apart, his breath mingling with yours. Time seemed to stop, the world outside fading away as you locked eyes. The playful glint in Oscar's eyes was replaced by something deeper, something that made your heart race.

He leaned in closer, his eyes flicking down to your lips. You felt your breath hitch, anticipation building as he drew nearer. Just as his lips were about to touch yours, a voice called out from downstairs.

"Oscar! Dinner's ready!" his dad's voice echoed through the house.

Oscar froze, his eyes widening in surprise. He let out a frustrated sigh, pulling back slightly. "Of all the times," he muttered, a sheepish smile forming on his lips.

You couldn't help but laugh at the interruption, the tension dissipating as reality intruded on your moment. "Saved by the bell," you teased, your voice breathless.

Oscar rolled off you, sitting up and running a hand through his hair. "Guess we should head down," he said, offering you a hand to help you up.

You took his hand, your fingers lingering in his for a moment longer than necessary. "Yeah, wouldn't want to keep your family waiting," you replied, your heart still pounding from the near-kiss.

As you both made your way downstairs, you couldn't shake the feeling that something significant had almost happened. The unspoken connection between you and Oscar hung in the air, promising that this was far from over.

"Ahh, there you both are" Nicole said as she saw Oscar and you entering the kitchen, sitting down at the dinner table. His father and sisters already seated.

"So, Chris, ladies, this is Y/n" she said, giving you a little introduction as you smiled kindly back at them "Y/n, this is Chris and these are Oscar's sisters; Amelia, Millie and Maeve"

They all waved at you and shot you a kind smile, Millie being the first to speak up "It's so nice to meet you, Y/n" she said, shifting her gaze to her brother now "Couldn't you have brought her along earlier? You normally only bring your male friends back here and I can already tell now that she is waaaay better company"

Her comment made you giggle "Hey, you've only just met me. I wouldn't be so quick to say that, maybe I am the worst" you joked back at his sister, immediately feeling comfortable in their company.

After a few jokes back and forth, Oscar's dad took a moment to start a conversation with you "So, tell me a bit more about yourself, what are your hobbies?" he asked kindly, honestly interested in your answer.

You took the time to explain what you'd like to do in your free time, while Oscar looked at you as he listened intently, drifting away in your gaze. Oscar was completely unaware of how he was staring at you, until he felt a kick against his leg from his sister Maeve, who moved closer to his ear "Stop staring at her, captain obvious" she whispered to him.

"So, y/n, do you have a boyfriend?" Amelia asked, immediately getting scolded by Oscar, who thought his sister was being to nosy.

You laughed at their interaction, before replying "It's okay, don't worry, Osc" you tucked a strand of hair behind your ear "But, no, I don't have a boyfriend"

Maeve shot a look at her brother, wiggling her eyebrows at him "Well, well, doesn't that come in handy" she whispered to him again.

"Mae, shut up, will you?" he whispered back through gritted teeth, trying to prevent you from hearing.

"Okay, enough y'all!" Nicole called out to her children, politely asking them to behave.

The dinner continued peacefully for a while, all of you enjoying the meals that Nicole had put on the table. Clearly prepared with love, which you could taste, the meal tasting wonderful.

Monday, March 25th - 11:00 PM

A few hours had past when you found yourself splayed out on your stomach on Oscar's bed, scrolling mindlessly through your phone. Oscar had excuses himself to his ensuite bathroom to take a shower. You decided on laying on his bed for a bit, since it was honestly the most comfortable bed you've ever been lying on. But the fact that it's Oscar's bed, might have to do with it.

Oscar emerges from the bathroom, steam following him as he runs a hand through his damp hair. He has a towel slung low on his hips, exposing his toned chest. "Hey, do you mind if I grab a shirt from the closet?" he asks casually.

You can’t help but stare, feeling the heat rise to your cheeks. "Uh, sure," you manage to say, trying to sound nonchalant. The sight of him, still slightly damp from the shower, causes your heart to race.

As he rummages through his closet and can't seem to find anything, you get up from the bed to help him. Your hands brush against his as you hand him a shirt, the contact sending a jolt of electricity through you both. You can see the subtle tension in his jaw, the way his breath hitches slightly when your fingers touch.

Oscar notices your flustered expression and steps closer, his eyes locking onto yours. "You okay?" he asks softly, his voice filled with concern and something else—something deeper.

"Yeah" you softly say, accompanied by a nod.

Unable to resist any longer, he steps even closer, your breaths mingling. He takes the shirt from your hands, but instead of putting it on, he lets it fall to the floor. His hand reaches up to cup your cheek, his thumb brushing lightly against your skin. "I've wanted to do this all day," he murmurs.

Before you can respond, he leans in, capturing your lips in a slow, tender kiss. The initial touch is gentle, exploring, but as you respond eagerly, the kiss deepens. His hands find their way to your waist, pulling you closer as your fingers tangle in his damp hair.

The kiss quickly becomes more intense, your tongues dancing together in a heated rhythm. His hands roam your back, feeling the curves of your body, while your fingers trace patterns on his chest, teasing and exploring. The world outside fades away, leaving only the electric connection between you.

Oscar's kisses become more urgent, each touch and caress conveying the depth of his desire and affection. His lips move to your neck, leaving a trail of heated kisses that make you shiver with pleasure. You respond in kind, your hands running through his hair, pulling him closer as your bodies press together.

The intimacy between you both reaches a crescendo, your breaths mingling and your hearts racing. After what feels like an eternity of passion, you both slowly pull back, your foreheads resting together, your breaths coming in soft, shared sighs.

Oscar looks at you with a mixture of tenderness and longing. "Please," he whispers, his voice barely audible, "don’t say anything about this. I know we shouldn’t, but just lay with me for a while, okay?"

You nod, feeling the same deep, undeniable connection. As you made your way towards his bed to lay down on it, Oscar looked at you once more "I'll be there in a second, let me put on some clothes and get some water for us" he says, raking a hand through his still damp hair as he walked back to his bathroom with both of your empty cups, completely ignoring the shirt that was still laying on the floor.

Oscar came back from the bathroom, still shirtless, but now wearing a boxer. He had two glasses of water in his hands. He placed them on his nightstand, before carefully lying down on his bed next to you. Slipping under the covers. Without a word, he wraps his arms around you, pulling you close, and you rest your head against his chest, the steady rhythm of his heartbeat a comforting presence.

As you settle into the quiet embrace, the world outside seems to disappear, leaving only the warmth and intimacy of the moment you’ve just shared. You both fall into a peaceful silence, the closeness and mutual understanding making it clear that, while the night has been intense, it has also brought you both something deeply significant.

The connection between you lingers, a promise of more to come, as you both drift into a contented sleep, wrapped in each other's arms.

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Taglist @aceyalonso @saachiep81 @landosgirlxoxo @andruuu28 @il0vereadingstuff

#f1 fanfic #f1 x reader #f1 imagine #smut #formula 1 #friends to lovers #fluff #formula 1 smut #lando norris #oscar piastri #op81 #f1 #mclaren #oscar piastri fanfic #oscar piastri imagine #oscar piastri x you #logan sargeant #daniel ricciardo #kiss

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justkending · 6 months ago

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Mr. & Mrs. Hunt (Chapter 5/7)

Mini-Series Summary: Two of the most stubborn people in the group partnered together for an undercover mission are also the two people with the most hatred for each other, so what could go wrong? Or is it, what COULDN’T go wrong?…

Pairing: Bucky Barnes x Avenger Reader (Enemies to Lovers) (Fake Marriage Trope)

A/N: I think we are staying on track for this to wrap up within two more chapters, but again, we are both in the dark if that's the case😂 Thank you guys for the love! If you are wanting to be tagged, please send me an ask. It's a lot easier for me to keep track of who's been added and who hasn't :)

_________

Y/N’s POV:

Okay, so maybe I blew up a little more than necessary, but I tried to chill out before he started chasing me, ordering that I didn’t walk away and talk to him. Let a girl try to get a hold of her emotions for a second big guy.

I’ve been anxious all day, waiting to talk to him about some deep seeded trauma, and then he comes and screws up all of it with a simple exception to an invitation. I know he didn’t mean harm by it, but he’s a trained professional. That was not a trained professional response. Plus, stepping out of my normal routine of being a bitch to him to keep him at a distance wasn’t just a switch I could flip.

Again, I could have handled that better, but now my brain is in mission mode, trying to reprogram what this night has set up for us. Considering the invitation was for tonight, it gave me little to no time to prepare.

“What time did she say dinner was?” I shouted from my bedroom, where I was going through our small, hidden arsenal of gadgets Tony had made for us.

“Six,” Bucky replied from his room down the hall.

Great, that was forty-five minutes from now… “Ok, I can do this.” Deciding it was best to keep some bugs on hand in case we could plant them in the house, and we would be planting them, I needed to consider sizes and placements.

“Should we bring over some wine or something?” Bucky’s voice was now in the doorway to my room, but I kept my back to him as I sifted through our tools.

“I made a pie earlier today. We can take that,” I answered absentmindedly.

“Why’d you make a pie?”

“Felt like it,” I shrugged and walked out of the closet with three small wires/ bugs in hand. When I looked up, I saw he had changed into a nicer button-up and was tightening a tie around his collar he hadn't been wearing earlier. “Why are you wearing a tie?” I examined him.

“Same reason you’re wearing a nicer dress. I want to make a good impression,” he shrugged, straightening pieces of his outfit.

“I’m wearing this because we were going to our ‘anniversary dinner,’” I made sure to put the lie in hand quotes. “I had a story that went with it, but this can pass as casual, too,” I motioned to my dress and moved toward him, placing the wires on the bed. “This looks like you’re about to give a sales pitch.”

Without thinking, I pop his collar up and loosen the tie to get rid of it. The whole time I’m focusing on untying it, I ramble about what the plan is for the night.

“I’m going to give you a wire to put wherever you see fit, and I’ll do the other two. I’ll excuse myself to use the bathroom and sneak it where it’s needed. I feel it’s important we look for cameras already in the house in case it’s a setup. We don’t need them having hard proof that we bugged their place. We want to come off as simple yet good assets if we want them to bring us on board for their work,” I struggle with a certain spot on the tie he somehow fixed in an efficient way I’d never seen. “Jesus, were you a sailor in another life? Might as well have knotted it.”

He doesn’t respond, but I get it off in the next two seconds and look at him to see he had been studying me intently as I invaded his space. I see my slip-up, push the tie into his chest, and take a step back.

“Sorry.”

“No problem,” he answers rather calmly, and I look at his eyes, seeing patience there. Always that damn patience. How did he still have it with me even with how I’ve treated him? “Listen-”

“About last night,” I say at the same time, and he seems shocked but gives a single nod to tell me to continue. “I want to say I’m sorry for being all over the place recently. From last night to thirty minutes ago.”

He seems frozen by my apology, and I became anxious enough that I start to word vomit.

“I took some time to think after last night and spent the day stressing, thinking how I was going to talk to you about it because I do want to. I want to get what I can out on the table if you’d be ok with that,” I look up through my lashes, and I see the most subtle turn of his lip as he watches me attentively.

“Are you hinting that there’s a chance I’ll get to see the side of you others are lucky enough to see?” he retorts, grin growing and taking a step closer to me.

His use of the word ‘lucky’ shortcircuits my brain, and all I can do is nod once, slowly, as my answer. He takes another step, and I match it with one back. I feel more vulnrable than I was expecting to.

“You can understand now why having our plans for the night changed made me slightly temperamental.”

“I think slightly may be an understatement.”

“I think you still should choose your words carefully,” I say, tightening my smile. However, it doesn’t shut him down like normal. Instead, he laughs under his breath, and the doorbell rings.

Both of our heads shoot toward the noise, and solemnity takes over the room.

“You don’t think that’s,” Bucky pauses as he turns back to me.

“How often am I wrong?” I take a deep breath in and smooth my dress out as I walk over, pausing beside him. “Hide the wires. I already did a sweep of the house while you were getting ready to make sure we didn’t have anything out of place. I’ll tell them you’re getting ready.”

I don’t need to open the door to know who it is, but when I do, the urge to yell, “I told you so!” in Bucky’s face is strong.

“Bethanne!” I smile kindly and immediately notice the dish in her hand. Reggie is behind her, holding two others, looking like he just got off work and had been dragged over here. “Did Beau tell me wrong? Are we not eating at y’all’s house tonight?”

She scrunches her face in a practiced motion and lifts the ceramic bowl up as she explains.

“I hate to ask this of you, but our oven is still the old rickety one. The new one had some faulty design, and we had to ship it back. Needless to say, it decided to give out on us today of all days,” she raised her shoulders. “I know we sprung the dinner on you suddenly, but would you two be willing to host if we provide the food?”

Not on the money of what I guessed, but pretty fucking close to the money if you ask me.

“Who is it, Doll?” Bucky’s voice carries from the hallway he’s now emerging from. The first three buttons on his dress shirt are undone, and he’s messing with the cuffs on the sleeves. “Hey, Bauers,” he smiles yet still holds shock in his features by the neighbor's appearance. “Did we get the time wrong?” he asks, looking at his watch before coming to my side, where I've now moved and am letting themselves in.

“No, no, no,” Bethanne shakes her head and hands off one of the pots to me as she takes one from Reggie, who looks more bothered to be here than happy. Long day human trafficking, asshole? “We had some appliance issues thanks to some of the renovations we were doing. I was just asking your wife if we can use your house as tonight's setting and possibly use your oven while here.”

Without hesitance, Bucky takes the dish from my hands and the dish Bethanne had swapped for and nods for Reggie to follow him.

“No problem at all. Let me help you ladies with that. Char," A nickname he had never used for my character before, but it seemed to work fluently. "Would you like to get some wine for the two of you while I get this organized in the kitchen?” he asks me, placing a kiss on the side of my head while his hands are full as he walks towards the other room.

I don’t know how he’s learned to play his role so well, but it’s convincing, even to me.

“Uh, yeah,” I almost stutter in my response as I motion for Bethanne to follow me to the wine cooler out in the garage. “Red or white with tonight's dish?”

"Do you have any more husbands like that in the back I can steal? What a gentleman," she coos, shoulder-bumping me.

___________

Half an hour of baking the food and getting it plated, and our conversation continued with questions mostly strictly about us, which would have been fine if not for the reason behind such invasive intentions.

They started off simple. How’d you guys meet? Who made the first move? What did we love about the town so far? What kind of hobbies and adventures did we take on before moving here? All questions we had prepared for, and if not, could easily improvise.

So far. No slip-ups. If anything, we sold the scheme far better than I’d imagined we would even when they became more personal. And our discussion on being the ‘prude couple’ last night seemed to affect Bucky’s actions a lot more than I was expecting.

An obvious hand on my thigh under the table and an arm thrown over my seat in a slightly possessive manner seemed to catch the eye of Reggie, who mimicked some of the moves as if it were a competition.

In addition, Bucky kept making small compliments about how I looked and how smart I was when they asked about my job. Dropping little comments about things I did (not my character) that he loved and appreciated.

“She’s always doing things like that. I almost never have to worry about making coffee in the morning because she has it all set up just to hit a button and go.”

“You should ask Charlotte about that! She’s the reason our house looks like a home. I’m sure she could give some advice on the kitchen backsplash.”

“She may not know how to boil an egg correctly, but her baking skills are unmatched. I've put on a few pounds now that we have a nice kitchen to spend time in."

I did my best not to act shocked every time he dropped a compliment, but the fact he could have made shit up for my character and used those details as conversation pieces, yet he went the honest way (although more convincing, of course), shocked me.

“Speaking of baking skills,” Reggie nodded his head back to the kitchen counter behind us and smiled at me. “I spied a pie on the counter. Any chance we can have that to finish off this dinner?”

I was still staring at Bucky from his last form of appreciation when I blinked out of my distraction and returned to our neighbor.

“Oh, of course! I was just about to offer,” I smiled, standing up, and Bucky quickly stood next to me, pulling my chair out. “Thank you.” I smiled at him and placed a hand on his arm as I moved around to the counter.

“How sweet. Oh, Charlotte, would you mind telling me where the bathroom is?” Bethanne asked, standing and giving her husband a look for not showing the same chivalry as Bucky.

I watched her, knowing that I would have used the same excuse to do what we planned to at their house. But I was two steps ahead of her.

“Of course! Beau, do me a favor and get some plates out for dessert. I’m going to show Beth-”

“Oh, I’m sure I can find it,” she waved off, coming around the table and moving to the hall promptly.

Yeah… Not without a chauffeur, honey.

“No problem,” I waved off, moving with her casually. “I need to grab some floss from my bathroom before dessert. I’ll show you to it.”

I can see the most subtle glaze of annoyance at my insistence, but she smiles and walks a step ahead of me.

I show her to the bathroom and make it seem I’m going into the master down the hall while she’s in there. And I do, but I keep an eye to make sure she isn’t snooping in any other room besides the one. We’ll have to survey it after they leave, but better that and the dining room than the whole house.

Once we’re back with the boys, no wandering to be done, Bucky helps me plate a slice of chocolate pie for each of us, and I offer to move the conversation to the porch. Any kind of redirection from the comfort of the inside of our home is welcome.

“I love how you’ve decorated your porch. It’s so cozy,” Bethanne notices, pointing out the colorful decorative pillows, hanging swing the size of a daybed, and loads of plants and decor that make the space more intimate. She and Reggie are sat on the two rocking chairs facing the front yard, and Bucky and I are sat close together on the swing, where he’s controlling the tempo we sway in.

“I always wanted a spot outside to escape. We didn’t really have that at our last home, and it was important for me to have this time around,” I replied.

My answer is actually very true. I loved being outside, especially when it was something as simple as sitting in the backyard or swinging on a porch. I had one requirement about this mission, one I’m not even sure Bucky knew about. But I asked Tony to supply a nice budget for the porch.

Call it cheesy, but growing up in such an unnatural and dehumanizing way, you crave a small part of that normalcy you see on the movie screens. For some reason, a porch I could escape on but still be within the comfort of my own home was a dream. And because it was, I thought I’d make this situation a little more bearable by granting that small wish I always had.

“Well, I may have to start budgeting for a new kind of renovation,” she patted Reggie’s back, and he gave her a tight-lip smile. "What do you say, Reg? Do you think we can get a swing like that one?” She smiled over at us just as Bucky pulled me into his side, his arm going around my waist and his hand resting on my hip bone.

“I have a feeling we might as well have built a home from scratch by the time you’re happy with the renovations we’ve taken on,” Reggie answered with a nod before taking a swig from his beer. “Get that recipe for the pie from Charlotte, and I’ll consider buying you a new porch,” he winked my way and turned back to the front of our lawn.

I instantly found Bucky’s hand tightening, and his thumb started rubbing in an up-and-down pattern along my hip. When I turned to him slightly, his gaze stayed on Reggie.

Before finishing cleaning up for the night, we said goodbye to our guests, and just when we thought we hadn’t made any headway in our conversation about work (mind you, we had dropped hints and notices about it all night, but neither of the two seemed to take the bait), Reggie stopped on the last step to our porch and turned to Bucky.

“You mentioned working in transportation, and by the sounds of your new job up here, if you’re interested in a more innovative place, I may have some ins for you,” he shook Bucky’s hand. “I have some coworkers around the states that could use some employees like you on their route.”

“I may take you up on that offer. It all depends on how this week rolls out,” Bucky answered perfectly. The Bauers said their goodbyes, and we watched them walk home before turning to each other.

In a silent celebration, we grinned at the invitation and then sent wordless glances to tread carefully when we got in before scoping the place for bugs…

_______________

Bucky’s POV:

I’m not surprised that the blonde sole cycle instructor of a neighbor was able to get a wire in our bathroom, but neither Y/N nor I were in the mood to remove it right away and give away our knowledge of it, so we each grabbed another drink for the night and debriefed subtly on the porch where the only bugs we had to mind were the crickets chirping their music for the night.

Bethanne was right. Our porch was nicely done, and I hadn’t even noticed Y/N had hung lights out here until she plugged them in.

“I feel like this spot is more put together than the rest of the house.” I noticed the details when we were out here earlier. Now, we both have taken up spots in the rocking chairs our neighbors had vacated.

“I may have focused more of my attention on this spot than the others,” she smiled as she brought a tumbler glass up to her lips. She had drank wine while Bethanne was here, but as soon as they were gone, the whiskey I had made a glass for myself was stolen out of my hand before I could take a sip. Now, we had each of our own.

“Was what you said about the porch a real thing? I mean, we have balconies at the compound,” I looked at her as I sat my drink on the small table between us.

“Balconies and porches aren’t the same. At least in my head, they aren’t,” she nodded, taking a deep sigh and resting her glass in her lap. “Did you mean what you said when you were complimenting me all night?” She lulled her head to the side to look at me.

I had been making compliments. It felt easier to use the ones I had picked up on than the ones I made up. Yet again, I think anyone should get the recognition they deserve when they excel in something. Y/N just tended to excel in more than I think she was aware of. And I was learning she didn’t seem to be used to people taking note of those things.

“Why lie?” I shrugged, starting to rock in a steady pattern.

“Because that’s this whole gig. A lie,” she answered, taking another pull of the hard liquor.

I considered her perspective and shook my head, looking out to the lights on the other side of the street. “I guess it gets tiring at points. Don’t really feel like doing it if the truth can be just as usable.”

She didn’t answer for quite a few seconds, and when I turned back to her, she was staring at me like she was waiting for another shoe to drop.

“How are you so patient? Seriously, is it a drug Tony made you before you had to deal with me on this mission? I don’t get it,” she laughs, but I can hear the genuine confusion in it as she sits forward and turns her body to me.

Honesty. I’m in a mood to be 100% honest.

“Want me to be real with you?” I asked, turning my own body.

“It’d be preferred,” she nods and rests both her arms on the armrest.

“I don’t know anything about your past, but I know most people have a reason for acting the way they do. It took years and a ton of patience before I felt like I was even close to who I used to be. I still struggle to come to terms with the fact I’ll never be who I was before the train incident,” I sigh and rest my head back against the chair as I look at her. “I guess I have understanding more than patience. I understand that you have a history of your own that I don’t know, and I can’t blame you for a lot of the things you do.”

“But you should. I’m an asshole to you,” she says, and the admission is kinda nice to hear, even if it is sad.

“Yeah, and I was hoping you’d be willing to share why that is,” I reply calmly.

She tenses some and sits back in her chair, pulling her legs under her to sit crisscrossed, the chair rocking with her movement and her dress overflowing past her knees.

“I guess now is as good a time as ever…” She looked at me sidelong before finding comfort in the view in front of her instead. “I didn’t really have a chance to develop a personality of my own because of my time in this lifestyle,” she motions around her, “started as soon as I could walk. So I had no identity to fall back on since I had to find it after I escaped.”

I had questions, but I found it best just to listen. Clearly, what she was talking about wasn’t something she brought up lightly, and being an ear to listen was what she needed right now.

“I was left behind by whichever no-good parent gave me up, and Adonis Hummel took me as his own and decided he’d try to recreate the famous assassin, The Winter Solider, from birth practically.”

The name drop came quickly and struck home. I didn’t know her whole story, but I had enough imagination and experience to believe where she was going.

“Wait, Hummel?” I started because the name sounded familiar, but…

“He was a low-level scientist who worked for Hydra when they were still using you under Pierce. He thought he had the brains and resources to create his own version of you. A version that would be more undetectable as a woman and a version he could tweak however he wanted,” she rolled her shoulders. “Lucky for him, I didn’t have to be brainwashed since I knew nothing besides the life of abuse, experimentation, and a shit ton of conditioning... "

"To clarify, I say that for context, not sympathy,” she straightened, and I could see her shifting back to her unbothered disposition, but the truth was shining through the cracks. She may not have wanted sympathy, but something about the vulnerability seemed to lighten the load on her shoulders.

“As for why I may have built a wall around you, an unhealthy and senile wall, I felt as though…” She gulped as if the next part was harder for her to say than the abuse of her past. “I felt as though you had been my competition my whole life, and a part of me, a young and in-need-of-therapy part of me, thought it was best to keep you as far away as possible and hold onto that anger instead of work through it. It felt easier than facing the fear that I didn’t actually equate to you in any way. So that’s another reason why I felt everything with you was to prove a point.” She lets out a short breath after using all the air in her lungs in one swift swoop.

I-

It’s a lot to take in…

She doesn’t move her head back towards me after her confession, and I can’t seem to break my stare from her.

“This is where you say something like, ‘Well, it’s your lucky day. I’m actually an asshole either way, so we can go on hating each other for completely understandable reasons!’ or I don’t know? Anything but silence would be preferred, though…”

Her hand is gripping the arm rest unconsciously like an anchor keeping her on earth.

On instinct, I reach across and pull her hand into mine, keeping my stare heavy, enticing her to look at me.

She closes her eyes at first and takes another short breath before turning.

“I’m sorry if I ever made you feel unworthy of being on the team.” I feel like I personally am the reason for her suffering, even if I had no correlation with her before I joined the team. "You are more than an asset to the team and are your own kind of weapon. It's incomparable."

“Ugh,” she sniffles and rubs an eye with the heel of her free hand as if to disguise a possible tear as allergies. “This would be so much easier if you were a piece of shit misogynistic asshole, but you're part of the few good ones out there. Steve, Sam, and Clint included, not Tony,” she noted.

I smiled, thinking about how I’d make a team like that even if she had me believe otherwise for so long.

“What I’m trying to get at, B, is you’re not the one I should be blaming for my past. You’re just as much a victim as I am, but I took the easy way out of making it more manageable for me, and I only made it harder for us both in the end. And for that,” she turned and stared into my eyes fully, the hand she held squeezing my own. “I’m sorry. You don’t deserve an ounce of the kind of cruelness I tried to bury you in. You are the opposite of what they tried to make you, and you’re genuine in proving that to anyone who meets you. I've been envious of the strength you have, and I can say confidently that I deeply regret ever blaming you for that.”

I once again have to process yet another collection of words I’d never thought I hear. From her. Ever. A part of me believed this was a dream, but the part that Y/N had a grip on was practically pinching me into reality.

Without hesitating, I stood up, pulled her arm up with me, and yanked her into my body in a crushing hug.

She froze at first… The motion was quick and surprising, but slowly, she unhooked our hands, brought both of hers tightly around my waist, and laid into me. I rested my head on top of hers and pulled her shoulders in with my arms, wrapping both of my own tightly around her.

I wasn’t going to let go until she did, and by the looks of it… She wasn’t letting go anytime soon.

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xetlynn · 2 months ago

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Twilight- Mortality: Chapter Five, Warning

(Alice x Reader x Jasper)

[four] [five] [six]

Today has been a weirdly off putting day and I don't know why. Something seems weird and I can't place my finger on it. I keep thinking about my sister who is on her honeymoon. I think about calling her but I don't know if I would be interrupting her or what they could be doing so I've decided against it multiple times. It had only been two weeks so nothing that bad should be happening. At least I hope so.

Right now Alice, Jasper and I are walking into the Cullen house. Carlisle and Esme were sitting on the couch talking as Rosalie and Emmett were in the kitchen. Emmett sitting on the counter as she stood place in between his legs. They see us enter the doorway and come over to greet us. "Hey, you three." Emmett smirks, his hand on Rosalie's back. "Hi." I wave but Alice and Jasper ignore him going straight to Carlisle.

They explain the new things going on with me, about my eyes and how I read the packs thoughts while they were actively in their forms and I was not. All the other stuff with that as well. Carlisle's face seemed serious, like he didn't know what to say afterwards as well. After they were done he sighed. "I mean it's just her body's way of telling her she can't escape who she is." He shrugs his shoulders, my partners seemed almost defeated by his response. Wanting or needing something more than that. Unfortunately they weren't going to get it though.

"So we're going to have to deal with the smell of wet dog more?" Emmett asks more in a joking manner but we all knew he was serious. I shake my head at him. Everyone ignoring him once more. "I also have been feeling weird. Like something might be wrong. I don't know what it could be but it's been bugging me since Bella and Edward went on their honeymoon." I hug myself, hoping my senses are wrong but the more it bothers me the more I'm wanting to trust my gut. "What do you mean?" Rosalie furrows her eyebrows, stepping closer into the conversation.

"I mean, something is wrong, I think. Alice hasn't seen anything though and they haven't called us. I don't know." I sigh, holding my head for a moment. "Maybe you might see something Alice doesn't, try using her ability for a little bit." Carlisle says, giving me a choice. I press my lips together, glancing over to my girlfriend who agrees with him, nodding her head. "If anything it might give you a sense of relief." She whispers to me.

"Okay." I focus on her, taking some of her energy but not much to the point where she would notice at all. And not even seconds after that I get a vision of my sister hunched over a toilet. Then I see Edward freaking out behind her. Something bad is happening but I can't see what it is.. After the vision my eyes widen. I grab my phone and call my sister. The others watching me intently.

"Bella? Are you okay?" I ask her in a panicked tone. "I'm not 100 percent sure." She answers. "What do you mean? What's wrong? I just-" I stop myself before speaking again and my sister asks me. "You just what? [Name] did you have a vision or did Alice? What'd you see?" She questions me, I can't do it though and my eyes go over to Carlisle who motions for me to hand him the phone.

"Here's Carlisle." I give the phone over.

"Bella what's going on?" He speaks. "I don't know. I'm a little worried. Can vampires go into shock?" She asks him. "Has Edward been harmed?"

"No. I know that it's impossible but I think that I'm pregnant." She says and my heart drops. We all look at each other in shock. "Whoa! Carlisle I swear, something just moved inside me." She gasps.

"Is this even possible?" Now Edward has the phone. "I don't know." Carlisle sighs. "What's he saying?" I hear my sister in the background. "The sooner Bella's here, the sooner we can find out what it is. I need you to get to the mainland at once." Carlisle directs him, once Edward agrees and says he's on his way Carlisle hangs up the phone and hands it to me. I grip it, but not too tightly careful not to break it even though I feel like I should.

"You okay, lovebug?" Alice places a hand on my shoulder and I tense up. "I'll be back." I hand her my phone and run out of the house.

After clearing my head for a few hours I decide to head back to the Cullen's. By a few hours I should say almost a whole day of being outside wandering to different places. Clearing my head before having to deal with something like my sister being pregnant with a vampire's baby. I felt sick to my stomach the entire time.

When I get back I see that Bella and Edward are just getting into the house. I stand there in front of the porch before getting myself to go in. I take a breath and my body is moving forward on its own. Once I enter everyone looks at me. I stick my hand up awkwardly. Not knowing what else to do in this moment.

For the next two weeks Bella's belly is growing. And it's as if this baby is sucking the life out of her. We're all telling her that it needs to be extracted but her and Rosalie are going against it.

I try talking to her but nothing happens. I ended up telling our dad that Edward and her extended their honeymoon due to being sick. I haven't gone to see Billy or Sam since this whole thing has started.

After multiple tries and attempts to get Bella to kill the thing inside her I finally stop knowing now that there's no way for that to happen. I stay by her and Rosalies side the entire time.

We hear a knock on the door and Rosalie goes to get it as I stay with my sister on the couch. "Is it true?" I hear Jacob's voice and my head goes down. "Hello, Jacob, how are you?" Rosalie sarcastically says in return. "Listen, just give it to me straight." Jacob starts with the blonde but Bella speaks up once she hears who it is. "Jake, is that you?"

"She's here?" Jacob asks in an angry tone, walking through the house to find out where Bella is. "They came home two weeks ago." Rosalie informs him calmly. "Jake. I'm glad you came." Bella smiles weakly at him but Rosalie was standing in front of her, I get up to do the same.

"Close enough." I tell him.

"What's your problem?" He glares at me. "Rose, [Name], it's okay." Bella tells us and we glance at each other before moving out of the way.

Jacob sits beside her as she still has her belly covered up by a blanket. "You look terrible." He says suddenly. "Yeah, it's nice to see you too." She huffs out a small laugh. "So, are you gonna tell me what's wrong with you?" He raises an eyebrow.

"Rose, you wanna help me up?" She looks over to Rosalie who nodes, helping my sister up. His eyes widen and he looks at Edward. "You did this!?"

"I didn't know it was even possible." He sighs.

Then they go into the next room and I stay with my older sister on the couch. Rosalie was listening in though. I cuddle into Bella's side as she plays with my hair. "I knew he was going to be angry." She whispers. "There's a lot of emotions to feel in this situation." I say back, closing my eyes wishing that none of this was real.

I hear Alice say she can't see Bella's future anymore ever since this happened and I haven't been able to either. I've been trying this entire time. I see absolutely nothing and it scares me.

Then Jacob gets angry and Rosalie and I excuse ourselves from Bella. "Why haven't you done anything? Take it out of her!" He screams. "This is none of your business, dog." Rosalie walks into the room with me behind her.

"Rose! All this fighting isn't good for Bella." Esme jumps in. I cross my arms. "The fetus isn't good for Bella." Alice snaps. I tense up to her voice. Ever since I've been on my sisters side she hasn't really spoke to me. Only when I'm away from Bella she will say something about how she still can't see anything and tries to guilt trip me into how I'm feeding into Bella's delusions. I try to explain every single time that it's not like that and Bella knows I disagree with it.

"Say the word, Alice. "Baby." It's just a little baby." Rosalie yells at my girlfriend. "Possibly." Jasper adds in after that.

"Carlisle, you've gotta do something." Jacob pleads with the oldest vampire in the room. "No, it's not his decision. It's not anybody of yours." Bella says.

I frown, I look over to Alice who closes her eyes before storming off angrily. Edward also pulls Jacob to talk.

Jasper comes over to me and pulls me into his arms. We both know Alice is just scared for Bella at the moment. We're not taking anything to heart but it does suck that it's causing a divide between everyone.

Rosalie was back to Bella's side but I give myself a break from everything and hang out with my boyfriend outside.

We sit on the bottom steps of the porch and he pulls me into his side, keeping his arm around my waist. "You all right, darlin?" He asks in a quiet voice and I lay my head on his shoulder. "I'm just scared and tired." I tell him. He hums in response and then I repeat his question back to him. "Just worried about you, Alice and Bella." He says, squeezing me a little tighter than before.

"I understand." I hug onto him now.

Abruptly the door opens and Jacob is running out in a hurry. I scrunch my eyebrows in confusion, standing up, watching where he was going. "I'll be back." I lean down and kiss Jasper before heading inside.

"What happened?" I ask my sister who is holding her head in her hands. She seems like she's about to cry. "Bells." I go over to her. "He's upset with this, I can't just kill my baby." She says. "I know, I know." I sigh.

After a little bit of us talking I hear two people outside. I excuse myself for what feels like the hundredth time and go back outside where I still hear people in the woods. I excuse myself for what feels like the hundredth time. Going back outside and I hear Jacob deep in the woods. He hasn't noticed Seth yet though.

I quietly run to them, knowing they wouldn't sense me coming. "Don't worry. They're not following us." Seth tells Jacob who looks at him like he was a ghost. "What do you think you're doing here?" He questions the kid. "I left Sam's pack."

"Why'd you do that?" I ask, startling both of them. "Holy shit, [Name]." Jake throws his hands in the air. Then he puts his hand out in front of me, telling me not to speak, going back to Seth. "Go home, Seth."

"I won't stand behind him." The boy shakes his head. "Oh, yes, you will. I'm not kidding get out of here." Jacob demands angrily.

"Is that an order? Gonna make me bow down, too?" Seth asks.

"I'm not ordering anyone. Look, I'm just going off on my own here, okay?" He tells Seth and I cross my arms enjoying whatever this is. "Great, and I've got your back."

"No, you don't. If Sam comes after Bella, are you really ready to fight your own brothers? Your sister?" Jacob quizzes the boy and now I stand up straighter, putting my arms down. "Sam go after Bella?" I loudly speak up. "I'll explain in a second." Jacob huffs motioning me to hold but I'm already thinking about how I'm going to kill Sam Uley.

"If it's the right thing to do. I'm doing it." Seth restarts their conversation. "Whatever. I'm gonna tell [Name] about everything and then we need to give the Cullen's a heads-up. Do what you want." Jacob says beginning to walk and he taps me to follow along with him. "What the hell is happening, Jacob?"

"Sam, he found out because he heard my head. He wants to kill Bella since Bella won't let the thing inside of her die." He explains in a stressed tone, obviously angry about it. "I won't let it happen." I mutter.

"He's brining them all." Jacob begins to warn me and I shoot him a look. "I don't know if you remember but I'm stronger than your whole pack combined. He's dead if he comes near my sister."

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she-posts-nerdy-stuff · 5 months ago

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Intro post! + links to everything :)

Hi, I'm DK and this blog is mostly full of me talking about the Six of Crows and the rest of the Grishaverse! (and I'm also on AO3 as she_posts_nerdy_stuff)

It's occurred to me recently that I never did an intro post and also I'm just generally feeling that things over here are super disorganised so I've gone through all of my posts since 2022 (this was not a quick task you guys omg) and done my best to organise everything into tags so that you can access them all from here! All the links to the tags, or sometimes individual posts, are below the cut, and the categories are AO3, Grishaverse analysis, Grishaverse edits, Grishasverse knitting projects, and Grishaverse incorrect quotes.

Please note: this is a lot of stuff to wade through and I am sure to have missed the odd thing, but hopefully this is pretty mch everything! If you're looking for something that I've said should be here and can't find it, let me know and I'll do my best to track it down :)

Thank you all so much, love to you all <3

AO3 LINKS (I'm starting with the easier links, I don't have to make tags for these ones)

Original works

As I'm writing this I have four fics up on AO3, two of which are works in progress, and I'll update this post whenever that changes (ie when I finish them or when I start a new one)

UPDATE: Five fics now! Links are below <3

Daughter of the Rain and Snow

225k words, 146 chapters, Kanej focused with Wesper featured and Helnik kinda mentioned, post-canon, no archive warnings, completed

Summary:

Around ten years after the events of Crooked Kingdom, 25-year-old Captain Inej Ghafa frees Maya Olsen from a pleasure house in Ketterdam. Maya is looking for revenge against the man who put her in her position, a man who she knows nothing about except his name: Kaz Brekker.

Don't Go Blindly Into The Dark

100k + words, 60+ chapters, Wesper focused with Kanej featured and Helnik mentioned, pre-canon, canon divergence, no archive warnings, work in progress

Summary:

To hide that he can't read, Jan Van Eck has been forcing his son to pretend he's blind since he was eight years old. Wylan is now attending Ketterdam University, and meeting Jesper Fahey may very well be about to change his life. But is he safe to tell Jesper the truth? And what will Jesper say if he does?

Jesper is struggling to weigh up his life in the Barrel and his life at the University of Ketterdam, and there's a good chance that his growing debt is about to make the decision for him. He hasn't attended class consecutively for months, but maybe that will change when his newest project includes partnering up with Wylan Van Eck. But can he really leave the Barrel behind him? And how long can he keep up the pretence of who he thinks Wylan wants him to be?

Meanwhile there is a darkness growing in Ketterdam, and it seems a killer may be stalking the streets of West Stave. An unknown evil is closing its jaws over the city, and it’s starting to feel like nowhere is safe.

Our Gods Have Abandoned Us

19k + words, 11 chapters, Helnik and Kanej with Wesper kinda featured, so much angst, post-canon, canon-divergence (Van Eck wins AU), major character death, work in progress

This one properly started with this post

Summary:

"Of course they do, Jes," Kaz flexed his fingers in his gloves, "That's what losing a war means. And when that war comes, Kerch can't afford for Shu Han to win it. They'll back Fjerda against Ravka now so that when Shu Han turn against them Fjerda will back them in return. Ravka's navy will fall to Kerch's, most of Ravka's territory will go to Fjerda and if it has any money left then I expect plenty of it will be given to Kerch as part of the deal. The Shu will move against Fjerda to take back the territories they were trying to win from Ravka, and Fjerda will pay them little mind until they declare war on Kerch. Novyi Zem will back Shu Han, because they still think their trade ambassador was killed by the Kerch in what was actually Shu Han's last attempt to start a war over here, Fjerda will back Kerch, refugees will flee to the Wandering Isle and their economy won't be able to withstand it, and meanwhile I will remain exactly where I am and get drunk toasting to the end of the world. You're all welcome to join me,"

OR -

A Van Eck wins AU, mostly exploring how the Crows would respond to the situation but I have some semblance of a larger plot forming I just need to piece it together

If I'm Good Will You Come Back?

2k words, 1 chapter, sad and angst, gen but Helnik mentioned, canon compliant, major character death, completed

Summary:

Five times Matthias Helvar spoke to his baby sister through Djel, and one time that she answered

I’ve put major character death as a tag but it’s nothing beyond canon, it’s just depicted in this fic from a slightly different perspective 👍

Portrait of a Dead Girl

7 chapters so far, gen but also F/M, Alina and the Darkling are in a relationship in this but it isn't shipping them and the Darkling is the villain, canon divergence, alternate universe, rape/non-con, underage, major character death, work in progress

Summary:

Alina Starkov was given to Duke Aleksander Morozova of Os Alta in marriage when she was fifteen years old. Within a year, she was dead. The official cause of Alina's death was marked as putrid fever, but many at the time believed, and many in the future will go on to believe, that she was poisoned by her husband.

This fic is completely inspired by The Marriage Portrait by Maggie O'Farrel, which is a work of historical fiction based on the real lives of Duchess Lucrezia d'Este (née de' Medici) and Duke Alfonso ii d'Este of Ferrara. You don't need any prior knowledge of The Marriage Portrait or history to read and enjoy this fic, but know that my writing is very much going to mimic that of O'Farrel in format and although I'm hoping to write the story in my personal usual writing style I will definitely be borrowing a lot of my descriptors, symbols, and so on and so forth from O'Farrel - there will be some of mine too though :)

Somehow, Through The Storm

11 chapters so far but ongoing, kanej-centric with wesper and helnik featured, angst like you wouldn't believe, but also some happier times (ish), alternate universe, major character death, rape/non-con, work in progress

Summary:

In the slums of the Warehouse District, Kaz and Inej are struggling their way through a seemingly unending winter. Wrapped up in a stranger's overcomplicated marriage contract that he is convinced is key to solving the merciless weather, Kaz remains busy and distracted for days on end, putting everything else at risk. So when a storm ravages the city and sweeps Inej into danger, the offer of safety, food, and a place to stay is an overwhelming one - no matter the cost. Terrified of mounting threats, Inej signs a contract - not knowing she would land herself trapped at the Menagerie. Kaz signs a contract that states if he can walk all the way through the city and back to the Warehouse District with Inej behind him, never looking back at her, they will both go free. But this is the Barrel, the darkest part of the city where the rules of physics can change with the stroke of a pen; the journey back will not be the same as journey there… * This is a Hadestown-inspired reimagining of the tale of Orpheus and Eurydice, casting Kaz and Inej as our main characters and heavily featuring our beloved Crows, set in an alternate version of the Grishaverse with a different magic system based entirely on contracts.

Recommendations

Posts where I'm recommending fics can be found here

GRISHAVERSE ANALYSIS LINKS

Okay this is gonna be where this starts getting complicated to organise but here we go, and hopefully now that I have this as a place to keep it organised I'll be able to routinely come back here and update it so we can keep it all together :)

Assorted analysis - Grishaverse

Grishaverse asks

-> subcategory of asks: 'DK finally gets it together and answers her asks because it's about damn time (working title)'

Chapter-by-chapter SOC analysis

(NOTE: I've really been meaning to bring this series back I just haven't had time, are people still interested??)

Specific posts (I've put these ones here because they're generally the ones people ask to be tagged in or that I reference in other posts)

Kanej bathroom scene analysis

Kaz and Wylan's potential to become each other

Rare Spices Billboard

Inej vs the Wraith

Kaz's views on hierarchy

Religion in the Grishaverse (this one is mostly Djel and a little bit of the Saints; I did also write a lot in a reblog of a really good post on Ghezenism by @skepticalcatfrog as well so if you're interested in either part of that you can find it here, I would highly recommend reading their post it's really interesting)

Shadow and Bone TV show analysis

GRISHAVERSE EDIT LINKS

I'm not really sure how to organise this one but all of them are tagged here

If people would like me to I could come back and try to arrange them by character or ship or something?

GRISHAVERSE KNITTING LINKS

Most of the time when I post about this stuff I give updates on all of them, but if you happen to want to filter them (or if I need to come back looking for something specific) then here are the projects:

Kefta cardigan

Six of Crows blanket

Toy crows of the Crows

GRISHAVERSE INCORRECT QUOTES

I organised these by their sources because there were too many for me to choose another way to sort them tbh

Text posts I made based on things my friends and I have actually said. In real life. - the series

Source: friends

Source: the completely made up adventures of Dick Turpin

Source: community

Source: Parks and Rec

Source: the good place

Source: modern family

Source: our flag means death

Source: ghostbusters

Source: renegade nell

Source: the office

Source: young sheldon

Source: the cornetto trilogy

Source: big bang theory

Source: what we do in the shadows

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siennamakeschaos · 5 months ago

Text

i'm a horrible writer but-

keefitz fanfic :)

i kind of hate it tbh but here it is :D (only chapter one, that's as far as i've gotten so far)

under the cuttt

TW: minor swearing <3

Fitz stared at the ceiling of his room, shifting slightly to get into a more comfortable position. He heard footsteps outside of his door and groaned.

"Biana, I swear to the stars, if you're trying to steal more of my skin care products, I will put a lock on my door." He sat up, surprised to see it was not his beauty-product stealing sister, but instead a grinning Keefe.

"You know, maybe I'll steal some of those skincare products, Fitzy..."

Fitz rolled his eyes at his best friend's comment, sitting up in his bed. "Hello you too, Keefe. Why are you here? I thought tou and Sophie were doing something..?" He asked, leaning back as he waved Keefe over.

"Oh, you know, just dropping in to make sure my bestie hasn't died on me." Keefe shrugged, falling back onto Fitz's bed. "You sounded pretty sick the other day, y'know."

Fitz remembered talking to Keefe the other day- the conversation... hadn't ended so pleasantly.

"So... Fitzy boy, what've you been up to that made you look like hell?"

"What!? I don't look like hell!"

"Deny it all you want- you've got huge bags under your eyes and your voice sounds off. You pulled another all-nighter, didn't you?"

"Well, uh... not exactly..."

"What do you mean not exactly?"

"...two allnighters. I only slept for an hour the other day as well..."

"EXCUSE ME!? Fitzy, you HAVE to take better care of yourself! That's stupid- three days, only an hour of sleep."

"I know it's stupid, it's just...I haven't been able to sleep, okay? Can you just drop it?"

"No, no, no, I am NOT dropping this, Fitzy. You couldn't sleep, or wouldn't? Were you up all night thinking about a certain blonde somebody..?"

"What? No! That's- no- no!"

"Not convincing me there, Golden Boy."

"Oh, by all the stars, just drop it, Keefe!"

"You need to get more sleep!"

"You need to stop poking into my business!"

"It's my business if you're harming yourself by not getting enough sleep."

"Keefe- drop it!"

"No, Fitzy, you need more sleep, I'm not going to just drop it. You're going to burn yourself out."

"Shut up! SHUT. UP. I don't need you going on and on about how horrible my sleep schedule is, can you just let me handle things by myself for once!?"

"Fitzy-"

"No. Just...just go, Keefe. Please."

"Okay."

Fitz had been trying to put the memories of the conversation behind, but of course- being his stressed, emotional self- he couldn't. He groaned as he leaned back into his bed, glancing at Keefe.

"I've gotten sleep since the other day, if that's what you're asking. Only four hours the other night, but last night I got six." Fitz finally said, although Keefe just rolled his eyes.

"Oh, wow, such an amazing sleep schedule!"

"Shut up." Fitz's voice was laced with mild amusement, however. He didn't have the energy to be irritated. "What did you really come here for, Keefe? I doubt you'd abandon your project with Sophie for nothing."

"You really underestimate me, Fitzy...it's disappointing, really!"

"Keefe!"

"Alright, alright." Keefe chuckled. "I came to give you something. Grizel was on edge today, though. She stole what I have for you and looked over it for a full five minutes before letting me in, y'know. I was scared she and Sandor had swapped places." He took an object out of his pocket, offering it to Fitz.

Fitz took a good look at the object, realising what it was. "I asked you if you could look for this...years ago..!" He gasped. It was a small glass locket, with a picture of him and Keefe with their arms around each other's shoulders inside. "I lost it when I was with you over two years ago...how the fuck did you find it!?"

Keefe chuckled at Fitz's reactions. "There, there, language, Fitzy! I found this just the other day, remember when you made me promise if I found the locket, I'd bring it back to you? Wasn't gonna break that promise, was I?" He grinned.

Fitz took the locket from Keefe, astonished. He couldn't believe Keefe had been able to find this, after the locket had been lost for two whole years. "I- this is- wow..."

He didn't know why he was reacting so strongly to this, it was just that... Fitz could remember clearly the day Keefe had given him this locket.

"Hey, Fitzy. It's been a whole year, y'know. A whole year since I found you sitting in the cafeteria all alone, trying to work on an assignment."

"I found YOU, remember? I don't know how you weren't caught holding a GULON of all things."

"Well, you know what happened after."

"Oh, I know all right. But what were you saying before?"

"Technically, it's our friendiversary. I think."

"Wait, it is?"

"So I got you a present!"

"It's...a locket. It's beautiful, Keefe!"

"Are you talking about me or the locket, Fitzy?"

"Can this be used to choke somebody?"

"You would never!"

"I have a feeling I just might."

"Aww, I thought I was your bestie, Fitzy! Anyways, where's YOUR gift?"

"Gift? I- uh-'

"Don't worry, Fitzy, I was-"

"Here! Flowers. I know you like daisies, here's a bunch of them!"

"...you just got those from the ground."

"No witnesses."

"Except me."

"You can't be your own witness! HAPPY FRIENDIVERSARY!"

The memory still made Fitz laugh when he thought about it. He and Keefe had been twelve, turning thirteen, then. They had been young and innocent.

"Thank you." Fitz shot Keefe a sincere smile. "I was so upset the day I lost this...my first friendiversary gift..."

Keefe chuckled. "Oh, you getting attached to a locket. Why am I not surprised?"

"Hey, I wasn't attached!" Fitz protested. "It had sentimental value!"

"Oh, yeah, because you were a lonely, sad child back then."

"I wasn't lonely! I had Biana, you know."

"Siblings don't count."

"Oh, come on."

This was how many conversations with Keefe seemed to go- tease, sarcasm, a light joke, an attempt to get Keefe to be serious.... but Fitz couldn't deny that he liked it.

"Sooo...." Keefe had a smirk on his face. This couldn't be good. "Those skincare products...didn't know you used those beauty products..." He grinned. "How often do you use these, dare I ask?"

Fitz groaned again. "You're the worst." He complained. "I- uh... I have a nightly routine.... and a morning routine."

Keefe burst into laughter. "Of course you do. Plus haircare, right? You are the craziest person I've ever met, Fitz Vacker."

Fitz rolled his eyes. "Oh, come on, you spend half an hour on your hair each morning! You can't say anything."

Keefe placed a hand over his heart, feigning mock offence. "How dare you accuse me of such felonies, Fitzy!"

"Felonies indeed."

#kotlc #keeper of the lost cities #keefitz #keefe sencen #fitz vacker #kotlc fanfic #keefitz kotlc #keefe sencen x fitz vacker #fanfiction #writing kotlc #y'know if anyone wants to be in a tag list- rb or comment if ya want

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thedepthsoffandomminds · 9 months ago

Text

Maze runner chapter twenty-five

Previous chapter

Masterlist

“Be careful Thomas.” Brenda said to him as you all followed Gally to a tunnel in the ground. You stood beside Newt holding onto his jacket.

“Can't Fry go?” You say to him, with a pout. Newt curled his lips up in a laugh before brushing your hair back behind your ears and kissing you.

“I'll be okay. We'll be back before you know it.” He tries to reassure you as he sits down to tie the loose shoelace on his new clothes. You do not miss the slight shake of his hand as he does it.

“Hey y/n, I promise I'll bring him back to you.” Gally smiles, it hadn't been that long but your old friend looked so much older than he did before. You thank him and give Newt one more kiss before moving back beside Frypan, who rubs your shoulder comfortingly

“Well, I wouldn't mind betting that tiger is hungry,” Lawrence announced from his door. Mai Mai shook her body excitedly.

Gally led Thomas and Newt through the sewers into the main city beyond the wall. Hundreds of people walked in all directions, some with masks on their faces. The city was almost beautiful, with it's tall sleek buildings and thousands of lights.

Gally takes them through the streets as a mandatory curfew comes I think action and police cars patrol.

The three boys climb up a grey wall to one of the highest levels. There was a small set up of blankets against the wall and Gally pulled out a large telescope, setting it up on the railing.

“Lawrence has been trying to find a way in for years. Place is crawling with soldiers. They got surveillance everywhere. Scanners on every floor.” He explained.

“Sounds like a bloody fortress.” Newt mused.

“Yeah, I thought you said you had a way in.” Thomas scoffed.

“I might.”

“You might? What the hell do you mean "might"?” Thomas could feel his anger bubble up again.

“Take a look.” Gally gestured to the telescope, “ I said I had a way in. I didn't say you were gonna like it.”

Thomas looked through it and saw the one person he had spent six months trying not to think about. Teresa, there working inside working.

“Look after y/n’s antics here they really locked down the place. It's harder than ever to get in.”

“Y/n’s antics?” Newt asked.

Gally sighed, “she hasn't told you, has she?”

“Told us what?”

“We had a guy on the inside. There was all this chatter about new human trials happening, then it all went crazy. Crick told us that they had a girl in there, the first thing she did was smash up a whole ward, then she was given something, the virus I think; but we don't know for sure. It didn't do to her what it did to us but it gave her strength. Like crazy stupid strength. She tore at least ten men apart trying to get out. It took like seven knockout darts to take her down. I didn't know it was y/n until we got security footage almost a week later and by then they'd moved all the kids.”

“I don't…why wouldn't she tell us that?” Thomas looked at Newt who was chewing on his finger. A million thoughts were going through his mind.

“Would you tell us if you massacred a bunch of people?” Gally shrugged, "there were rumours that she almost got the kids out as well. Security got really tight after that. Ava closed the doors that week."

“We should go back to the others.” Newt says.

“Yeah, hey maybe I shouldn't have told you, y/n won't be-”

“DON'T TELL ME WHAT Y/N WOULD WANT!” Newt shouted before composing himself again, “I know her better than anyone.” He breathed heavily and Gally put his hands up in front of him in surrender.

“Yeah of course you do. I wasn't…”

“Let's just go.” Thomas said, grabbing Newt's shoulder.

“No. There's gotta be another way.” Thomas shook his head and moved back to the table you all sat around.

“Like what? You've seen the building. She is our only way in.” Gally repeated.

“You really think she's gonna help us?” Thomas argued.

“I don't plan on asking for her permission.” Gally replied flatly. You didn't like the implications of his words.

“Am I missing something here? This is the same girl who betrayed us, correct? Same dick?” Brenda scoffed.

“I like her.” Gally laughed.

“What, are you afraid your little girlfriend's gonna get hurt? Hmm? Because this has obviously never been just about rescuing Minho. Has it?” Newt spat out from his seat beside you.

“Wait, what are you talking about?” Thomas asked.

“Teresa. She's the only reason that Minho's even missing in the first place. Now we finally have an opportunity to get him back. And what? You don't want to because of her?” Newt stood and stepped closer to Thomas as he spoke, causing Thomas to slowly step back toward the wall, “Because deep down inside you still care about her, don't you? Just admit it.” There was a venom I. His voice you'd never heard before.

“Newt, I-”

“ Don't lie to me! Don't lie to me!” He grabbed Thomas's jacket and shoved him against the wall. Seeing then what he had done,Newt blinked rapidly and tried to calm his breathing. “Sorry. I'm sorry.” Newt whispered before darting from the room. You look to Thomas and then darts after Newt.

He sits on the edge of the tall building.

“Newt?” You fears of his accident in the maze were flooding back to you. He looked back slightly.

“Sorry about that. Back there. I guess I can't

hide this anymore.” He lifts the arm of his jacket and shirt to show you the bite wound. It was dark around the edges and his veins were filled with the darkness.

“Why didn't you tell me?” You sat beside him but not fully on the edge.

“Didn't think it would make any difference. All I know is that WICKED must have put me in that maze for a reason. Maybe it was literally

just so they could tell the difference between immunes like you and people like me.”

“No Newt, I saw all of your files, you're immune just not as immune as me. I think, I think you're like Gally, but I can help you.” you slide your hand into his, entwining your fingers.

“I don't…y/n I don't want to be one of those things.”

“I'm not going to let that happen.” You say kissing him.

“We have to save Minho.” He reminds you.

“No, Gally, Thomas, and Fry can get Teresa, you and me are staying here. I can fix this.” you hold his head in your hands so he has no choice but to look into your eyes. A tear drops down his face onto your wrist.

“Guys?” Thomas's voice sounded from the door. You weren't sure how long he had been standing behind you but by the looks of his face it had been some time.

“I'm sorry, Tommy.” Newt moved away from the ledge and stood up, before he could take another step Thomas threw his arms around him.

“We can fix it?” Thomas looked at you and you nod.

“I need some equipment but yeah I can.” You say.

Next chapter

@fandomfan-102 @deanstolemydragon @afalls14universe @akilaporu001 @green-which

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runningfrom2am · 2 years ago

Text

the sea around us; chapter five

TW: emetophobia, vomiting

*:･ﾟ✧*:･

I excused myself from everyone as they were talking about what to do now that JJ has blown our chances at "laying low", deciding to walk home. I grabbed my cooler backpack with my twelve-pack in it, which I didn't even end up touching, and trudged down the road. JJ didn't plan on shooting anyone, I know that about him. He would never. The fact that he would hold a loaded gun to my brother's head though, did catch me off guard. I felt sick, oh god, I have about fifteen seconds before I start hurling my guts out on the side of the road- I don't know if it is the copious amounts of alcohol I consumed or the image of my brother with a gun to his head that's making me this nauseous.

I stop and lean away from the road as I start throwing up, holding my hair back with one hand, and resting the other on my knee. After a couple of minutes, I see headlights coming towards me. Awesome. I wipe off my mouth on my arm and stand up, I think I'm done puking my guts out now anyways. I keep walking, reaching into my bag and cracking another drink, hoping to rinse out my mouth and then finish it to keep myself from fully settling into sobriety and realizing the weight of the situation. Of course, I understand how serious what just happened was, but I can tell it hasn't really hit me yet.

The car rolls to a stop next to me as I'm spitting out the swig of Twisted Tea I used to wash the taste of vomit out of my mouth, and I look up as I hear a familiar voice.

"Hey, Snowy, you alright?" Topper. Sarah is in the passenger seat with him, arms crossed, looking straight at the road ahead of her.

"Hi Topper," I say, giving an awkward wave. "You didn't happen to see me hurling my guts out just now, did you?" I try and joke, knowing that of course, they saw.

"Uh, maybe just the tail end. Would you like a ride?" Sarah sighs and leans her head back against the seat as he says this. I've never had a real problem with Sarah personally, but I can understand why she'd be pissed at me now.

"I should be fine, only about five k's to the chateau," I say, a ride would be sweet, but I don't want to intrude, especially after the fight we just had with them.

"I don't know what a 'k' is, but I know where you live and at this rate, you'll get there around six am, Snowy. Hop in. Please." Topper pleads. Despite what happened, he cares for me. I haven't spent heaps of time with him, but he's Kegs' best friend, and he knows how much I mean to him.

I nod a little and get in the back, sliding across the seat so I'm behind Sarah. "Where's Kegs?" I ask quietly once we start moving. "I thought he was with you."

"He went to Erin's," Topper replied, looking at me in the rearview mirror. I take another sip of my drink and nod. Of course he's at Erin's.

"Hey, uh, Sarah?" I say quietly, trying to get her attention. She just hums in response, letting me know she's listening. "I... I'm really sorry I called you a liar. I'm not going to use the excuse that I was drunk, but I am wasted so..." I trail off, I need to get back on the point. "I don't think you were lying. From your distance, I'm sure that's exactly what it looked like. If I didn't panic, it would have been about four seconds before you would have been right, anyways..."

"It's fine," Sarah replied flatly. "I was looking out for you, Kegs just wants you to be safe. And happy." Of course, she knew he would react that way, but why wouldn't I be safe with JJ?

"Why wouldn't I be safe with JJ, I'm with him all the time."

"He just thinks you'd be better off if you hung out with us more. A less risky lifestyle than with the pogues." She explains and I nod softly, even though she can't see me. Classic Kegs, always thinks he knows what's best, and that popularity is the most important thing.

"We literally are pogues. We factually live on the cut, we have one bathroom for six people, for fucks sake. He's just good at golf and went to private school back home, and is likable. I never had that. I'll never be him.." I reply, but I am truly thankful that she cares. Sarah turns to face me, and she has a genuinely sympathetic look on her face.

"I do think you're pretty cool, Snowy. You're welcome to hang out with me and my friends sometime, I can't imagine Top and Rafe are really your scene." Sarah smiles at me and I return it with a slight nod. I doubt I'll take her up on it, there's no way I would fit in with her and her friends, but it was still nice of her to offer.

"Hey, can I interest you in a nice, almost room temp Twisted Tea?" I ask, changing the subject as I hold my bag up to her if she wants to take one. Sarah laughs as she grabs one.

"Thanks, Snowy."

*:･ﾟ✧*:･

When I get home, I hardly get the door shut before my mom starts shouting at me. "Juliette, are you kidding me right now? Keegan just called me and said your friend tried to kill him!"

I sigh and set my bag down, kicking off my sand-filled shoes. "Yeah, he left a key part out of that story." I try and explain, but apparently, she's not having it.

"It doesn't matter, Juliette." He could have been killed tonight and you don't care?"

"Of course, I care, Mom. I- He was literally drowning John B! His head was under the water for so long that he passed out, and Kegs just held him there!" I mean, John B didn't technically actually drown, but that definitely would have happened if JJ didn't step in. "He wasn't listening to me! He wouldn't stop! JJ had to do something."

"He didn't have to try and kill him. I cannot believe you are defending the kid who tried to kill your brother! What is wrong with you?"

Clearly, this isn't going anywhere, so grab my bag as I walk past her to go to my room as she grabs a glass off the counter and throws it at me, just missing as it smashes against the wall. I lock myself in the room that I share with the twins and sigh. I turn around to see them both staring at me from their bunk bed that is on the far wall. They look terrified, tears have stained Deck's cheeks, and Anna just looks shocked. We can still hear our parents talking outside, having a heated discussion about what they're going to do.

"You two should be asleep," I say, walking into our closet to get changed into some pajamas.

"We heard Mom yelling," Deck says quietly as I remove my shirt and bathing suit, facing away from them.

"Did JJ really try to kill Keegs?" Anna asks me and I shake my head.

"He wasn't going to hurt him. He just needed to get his attention." I explain, pulling a new shirt over my head and closing the door so they don't see me change my bottoms.

I come out once I get changed and go sit on the bottom bunk with Deck as he clings on to me, and I hug him back. "Snowy, that was scary."

"I know," I whisper, giving him a kiss on the top of his head.

"Can you sleep here with me?" He asks and I nod, laying down and pulling Deck down with me gently.

"So, was Pope there?" Anna asks me from the top bunk, leaning over the side so I can see just see her face in the dark, as he hair dangles down below her.

"Yes, Pope was there, Anna. Now get back to sleep." I chuckle, holding my little brother as she lays back down and keeps asking me questions about him. "Goodnight, Anna," I say in response, so she knows I won't be answering her anymore.

*:･ﾟ✧*:･

A/N;

Just a short chapter this time, but it felt like the right place to stop.

Business as usual, please let me know what you're thinking! I hardly have any readers so now is a great time to get your suggestions in since I am super active in writing this and I'm more than willing to incorporate different ideas :) Shoot me a message or leave a comment!

Also, I left a little poll so please share your thoughts!

Thanks for reading!

-R

#rafe cameron #jj maybank #obx #obx fanfic #outer banks #rafe obx #rafe cameron x oc #jj maybank x oc #jj maybank x reader #rafe cameron x reader #outerbanks rafe #rafe cameron fluff #rafe fic #rafe imagine #rafe x you #rafe outer banks #rafe fanfiction

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twoidiotwriters1 · 1 year ago

Text

Until The Very End -(WITS Sequel)

A/N: I am sobbing them having a family and finally enjoy the peace they always dreamed of... I’m insane for this -Danny

Words: 2,708

Masterlist

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September—December 2004

Having twins wasn't as hard as they thought it'd be. They've had enough practice thanks to the time spent babysitting all the children. The real problem came when they realized they couldn't hand back the twins to their parents when things got complicated— because they were the parents.

Their sleeping schedules were a mess, whenever the twins were asleep was a good time for them too. Harry left Ron in charge and he was now taking a break so he could help Mel at home. Erick and Anne weren't able to, little Eliot Flint was close to arriving and Josie was taking most of their time, without mentioning they also had a six-year-old and a four-year-old to look after.

"I don't know how they do it," Mel whispered to Harry once she'd managed to put her twins to bed. "They look so well-rested all the time!"

"Anne's used to a busy life, helping her parents at the farm and all," Harry yawned, falling back on the bed with only his trousers on. "And Erick... well, he's Erick. That git always looks good."

"One day he'll get older— grey hairs and wrinkles," Mel crawled onto the mattress and fell next to him with a quiet groan. "Maybe he won't be good-looking then."

"I'll look like the sorting hat," Harry complained half-asleep.

"Fiddlesticks," she tilted her head to the side and kissed his cheek. "You'll be annoyingly pretty, like always."

Harry chuckled, eyes closed. "You're my wife, you have to say that."

"Well, I'm your wife so my opinion should be the only one that matters," she raised a brow. "Would you like it if I spent my days sulking because Isaac Movak has moved on to a prettier, younger girl?"

He seemed to wake up with that, and he frowned. "He did what?"

"Oh, he hasn't, but some men think women are less attractive once they're mothers..." Mel shrugged, sitting up to take off her shoes and socks.

"Well, I think you're breathtaking."

"You say that because you're my husband," she teased him.

Harry grabbed her by the waist and pulled her back, towering over her. Mel let out a short yelp that she had to cover with her hand.

"Don't wake them!" Harry looked over his shoulder at the babies. His eyes focused on them frantically.

"Don't do that, then!" She scolded him in a whisper, slapping his chest. "You caught me by surprise!"

"Sorry." Harry kissed her, but when things were starting to get interesting, Emmeline began to cry. Mel pushed the young man away and went to pick up her baby so she wouldn't wake her brother. "Sometimes it feels like they do it on purpose..." Harry muttered in a bad mood.

"They probably do," she grinned. "They want me for themselves a little longer..."

"I had you first," he replied childishly. "Can't I have five minutes in private with my wife..."

"Just five minutes?" Mel tried not to laugh. "Then I'm glad she woke up! Nothing worth doing takes five minutes."

He snorted. "Give her here..." he took Emmeline from her, Harry's gaze shifted, and he spoke in a quiet, gentle voice. "What if I'm a terrible father?"

"Harry..." Mel said in a tone of warning.

He shook his head. "I don't remember how my dad was... I grew up with Uncle Vernon as my only example..."

"Just be you."

"I've never been a dad," he gave her an annoyed look. "I've been a leader, a friend, but this... How am I supposed to know?"

She put a hand on his shoulder. "Your father loved you with all his heart, Harry. That's all it takes. You love and care. We won't be able to help them all the time, but we don't have to. Just hold their hand the same way you do with mine. That's enough."

Harry's frown deepened. "What if they don't like me?"

"What if they hate me?" Mel offered casually. "Being a Dumbledore puts too much weight on a kid's shoulders. There'll be a moment when they find out who we were, and who we are outside this house. What if they resent us because of it?"

Harry took the questions like they were absurd. "All I did, I did it thinking of you, and what we could have together once the war ended. I never cared for the rest."

"That's your answer, then," she kissed his cheek. "They'll love you because you loved them even before they even existed. Trust me, Harry. They are my children too, and if they're anything like me, nothing in this world can make them hate you."

"But you did hate me at some point," he said heavily.

To his surprise, Mel laughed. "Oh, Harry, it wasn't hatred," she told him. "I hated that I couldn't have you. I loved you so much I was angry about the distance, that was all."

Harry nodded a bit, then he made his way to the crib and laid their girl on it once she was calm, he stared at Emmeline and James for a moment, a strange look in his eyes. "Let's go to bed."

The routine had finally gone back to normal for a bit... then Hermione got pregnant.

"Babies! Everywhere I look!" Fred cried dramatically. "Can you people stop for just a second? Give me a break!"

"Why don't you travel with Jo for a while, Fred, it sounds like you need it," Erick smirked.

"I don't mind the babies," Regulus spoke up. He was getting taller slowly but surely, and this was giving him more confidence in himself. "More kids means more birthdays, which means cake."

"And more kids to boss around, right?" Mel asked knowingly.

"I don't boss them around," the boy turned up his nose. "They like to listen to me."

"Don't fight with your brother," Emily warned her.

"I'm not fighting, if that were the case he would lose, 'cause I'm older than him. Anyway," Mel turned to Hermione. "Those are wonderful news, 'Mione!"

"You better pray you don't get twins, Ronnie," Fred teased him. "Runs in the family, after all."

"Mine were Harry's fault," Mel stated.

"We don't know that," Harry scowled.

"A Dumbledore's never wrong, Glasses."

"Anne and I decided we'll only have one more kid and then—"

"I thought you would stop after Elliot?" Mel laughed. They were on their way back home, and Erick had decided to bring up the subject after Hermione's news.

"Anne thinks five's better."

"Oh, so it's all Anne's doing, then? You have nothing to do with it?" Harry grinned.

"I like big families," he admitted. "The Weasleys are a cheerful lot, aren't they? I couldn't help myself, I always dreamed of having what they have..."

"You have it," Mel patted his shoulder. "But I warn you, it might not be as fun once they hit puberty."

"Guess where the World Cup will take place this year!" Ginny went up to them happily.

"Where?"

"France!" She exclaimed. "You guys have to go!"

Mel and Harry shared a look. "Dunno, Ginny, the twins are so small..."

"By then they'll be a year old! C'mon, Ron and Hermione said they'd go!"

"But 'Mione's pregnant," Mel insisted. "Not the same as having to look after two babies..."

"Your mother said she'd come! She's taking Reggie! Remus and Tonks are taking the boys too!"

"What about Erick?"

"Oh, you know he's not a fan, but I think Anne will go and she'll bring Emily."

Harry sighed. "We'll think about it."

Ginny seemed to understand as she spoke, although she did look a little disappointed. "Don't feel pressured to, but I'd like it if you were there. It's my first World Cup, after all..."

Once she left, Mel turned to her husband.

"I know that look," Harry shook his head with a bit of amusement. "You're already thinking about it, aren't you?"

"Well, the twins like Quidditch," she offered with a tiny guilty smile.

"They enjoy watching things flying around, not the same as liking Quidditch," he raised a brow and crossed his arms. "Dunno, Mel, aren't they too young?"

"They'll be a year old by that time," she replied eagerly. Truth was she was just as excited about it as anyone else, the last time she'd gone... well, it hadn't been exactly perfect. "Perhaps we can make it work?"

"Jamie, please just finish your bottle," Mel begged him on the verge of tears. "Leen had no problem with hers, why are you not eating?"

"Give that here for a moment..." Harry asked gently, Mel could be very irritable when she was this tired. He tried to reach for the bottle. "Please..."

Mel handed him the item, and Harry examined it. He turned it upside down and pressed, but nothing came out of it. "Huh, did we just buy this one?" He frowned. "I think the hole is sealed up. It's defective."

Mel started crying for real. "I'm a terrible mother!" She blurted out. "The whole hour I was scolding James for not eating and he couldn't even— nothing was coming out! He's probably so hungry..." The young woman held her baby tighter against her, which didn't help James to feel more comfortable and made him squirm even more.

"He's alright," Harry tried to ease her. "I'll fix it, it's really simple... I'll change the tip and it'll be ready to go..."

"What am I going to do once you go back to the Ministry?" she sobbed, nuzzling James's little head miserably. "I'm a lousy mum!"

"Stop that," he said, speaking in a slightly firm voice. "You're weary, it's easy to make mistakes when we can't think properly." Harry took James from her arms. "Go to sleep. I feel alright, I can watch the twins for a bit on my own."

"But—"

"Mel... shut up," he frowned. "We're not discussing it. You need sleep." She cleaned her face like a little kid. For a second Harry saw that little girl he'd helped many times to recover from her panic attacks. His heart softened. "You're tired," he insisted in a gentler voice. "But you've been brilliant so far, everyone says so."

"You think so?" She sniffed.

"I do. I'm very proud of you, and I would like you to go and rest, I need you to be okay too. So do the twins."

"Okay," she nodded, already feeling her eyes closing.

"Thank you," he leaned to kiss her forehead. "Now go, I have a baby to feed."

"This girl is squirmish!" Ron complained.

Mel laughed. "You asked me to let you change her, don't whine."

Harry was working again, and the twins were well aware of his absence, cause they were crying a lot more than before. Ron offered to help her, his boss was especially willing to let him go, anyway.

"Jamesie's next, so you better get to work," she said.

"Smile!" Hermione exclaimed.

Ron and Mel looked toward the doorstep, Hermione had found Mel's old camera. "Wait!" Ron exclaimed, he finished his work on Emmeline, it was messy and bulky, but done at last. "The babies aren't ready!"

"Well, do it quickly!" Hermione laughed.

Mel lifted her son and sat him next to his twin sister, Ron was holding Emmeline straight. Both babies were looking at Hermione with the same Dumbledorish light-blue eyes.

Once Elliot Flint was born, it was hard to keep up with all the toys, baby clothes, and children that were around their home. Weekly, Mel and Harry would have small visitors on their property, more so now that Bill and Fleur were taking their girls to visit so they could spend time with the rest of the children.

George and Angelina were taking his son and daughter as well, they were closer to Elizabeth and Josephine in age, so they were always together. For some reason, Erick's home was as popular with the children as it was Mel's, maybe because even if he was a wonderful parent to the girls, he was still Erick.

He liked the loud scandal his daughters made, but the rest of the children seemed to be a little afraid of him, even if he was always good to them, he'd never outgrown that aura of haughtiness. The only boy who seemed not to fear him was Regulus, and that was because he'd grown up with him.

Little Regulus, who was no longer little, but an eight-year-old with strikingly smart grey eyes and a smile that reminded you who was his father. As the eldest boy in the lot, he was pretty much worshipped by the others, he was their leader and protector from the scary things lurking out in the forest and under beds, and there was a certain little girl who seemed to blush a lot because of it.

"Mel, is your brother coming this weekend?" Em knelt next to her and handed her the watering can.

"I think so," the young woman replied, thanking her briefly. "Why?"

Emily blushed and smiled bashfully, but she didn't reply. Mel shifted her position so she was crouching face to face, and smiled at the little girl with amusement. "Emi?"

The girl giggled and scurried away, Anne walked up to Mel carrying a sleeping James in her arms, his unruly light-brown hair was already growing at a surprising speed. Mel looked up at her and beamed.

"Is Emmeline asleep already?" Her friend nodded and winked at her, Mel sighed in relief. "Your hands are magical, really."

"You'll learn as well, you just need a bit of practice," Anne grinned. "Was Emily rambling about your brother again?"

Mel got up and brushed the dirt off her knees. "Oh, so that's what's happening?"

Anne nodded again, laughing a little. "You know Erick likes to read her and the other girls before bed, but I think she's decided little Leon as her brave knight."

Mel chortled, she could imagine how Regulus would take the news. "Really? Well, I guess it makes sense, he's quite protective of her and her sisters."

"Oh, he's good to all the kids, but she's completely convinced she'll get him to promise to marry her."

"Marry her?" Mel's brows rose in surprise. "Aren't they too young for that?"

"She is very much like her father in every way, it seems," Anne walked with Mel back to the backdoor of the house and into the kitchen. "Hopeless romantic, determined, and a little obsessive about the things she wants."

"Well, she's also kind, polite and charming, so who knows?" Mel replied humorously. "I'm not sure Reggie will like it altogether, though. He has no problem being a knight, but a husband? He's not very fond of marriage," she joked.

"I'm home!" Harry called, brushing off the snow from his shoulders.

The twins immediately stopped and looked up, squirming on the rug at the sound of their father's voice. Mel chuckled at the cute scene. "We're in the nursery!"

Harry climbed the steps two by two, and he found Mel seated on the floor making sure the babies played safely, they were barely four months old, but they were rather active and attentive, probably every parent thought that of their children, but Mel and Harry truly believed their babies were bound to be really bright.

Emmeline and James squealed happily when Harry came into view, the grin on the young man's face widened as he stepped forward, a light beard was once again covering his face, and Mel was definitely not complaining about it.

She made room for him and Harry sat, kissing her cheek affectionately. "Skeeter keeps trying to corner me around the Ministry to ask me about the twins. They're desperate to know their names and what they are."

"They're babies, what else do they need to know?" Mel asked with an absent smile, watching as James tried to crawl toward his dad.

"Apparently their names, their looks and sizes, and whether or not have they shown any signs of remarkable magic," Harry replied in the same tone, waiting patiently for his son to reach him.

Emmeline rolled over and squealed, her chubby little hands tried to push her back on her belly but she wasn't succeeding.

"Well it's obvious that they're the next Merlin," Mel joked.

Harry chortled, he finally picked up James and the little boy giggled, holding onto his dad's robes. The young man planted a tender kiss on his forehead. "They're perfect," he said lovingly, looking up at her with his lovely green eyes. "Everything is."

Mel leaned in and kissed him, James squealed once more at the proximity of his mother and Emmeline cried a bit with frustration, she was stuck. Mel picked her up and then she got to her feet, walking past Harry she ran a hand through his hair. "Are you hungry?"

"Very," he replied, getting up with James firmly tucked in his arms and following her out of the room.

Next Chapter—>

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lovebillyhargrove · 1 year ago

Text

Wake me up when July is around

Chapter 6

Chapter 7/?

***

Remember the yellow camaro, a glimpse of which we got in the Halloween party episode? I do.

And, imo, Steven extremely frustrated, sexually.

Also, Max hasn't met El yet.

***

On Monday Billy puts the tray on the table where Andy's having lunch with his girlfriend, takes a seat and asks:

"Your car runs okay now?"

"Yeah, man. You did a great job. No more funny noises or anything."

Billy knows that, but he's just checking.

"When's the race then?"

"Uhm .. Thursday? .. Friday?"

On Thursday Billy's working at the garage, on Friday some Susan's relatives from a nearby town are coming for dinner, so Neil has made it very clear - no plans for Friday evening. Gotta stay home and pretend to be a perfect family.

"Busy. Saturday?"

Andy's looking at Tina for confirmation and she nods.

"Yeah, alright. Evening time?"

"Anything after 4."

They decide to make it at six thirty, perfect time in terms of light. The sun is not gonna be getting in the eyes, but the visibility is still gonna be great. They talk some more about the track. Tommy who's been sitting with Harrington the whole time changes tables and is joining in because of course he has to, how can preparation for a car race between Hawkins High students can happen without him taking active part in it. Billy notices King Steve does not like it when his jester wanders off.

He gets distracted for a split second because

The King's pout is an entertaining sight.

But he quickly regains his focus.

The three boys choose an approximately seven-mile-long stretch of the road, starting from the abandoned Brimborn steelworks factory till the bridge over the Fall Creek. The track is almost a straight line with four or five curves, which aren't too tricky. Boys wanna rev the engines, but it's not Formula 1, there is no need to make it too dangerous. They will need people at the start, and at the finish. The road is on the outskirts of Hawkins, and rarely used, so the chance of running into cops is very little. As well as the chance of risking having a car coming towards you. Also, the guys who are gonna be waiting at the bridge can stop any vehicle coming from the other side of it, apologize for the inconvenience and politely ask to wait till the race is finished. No-one wants to come face to face with two wild teenagers' cars speeding on both lanes in your direction.

The Fall Creek bridge is old and has only one lane. Two cars can't possibly fit in there. Whoever's on it first, wins.

They are racing for the win, but also, to make it more interesting, for a six-pack. Tommy says he'll let everyone who might be interested in watching a race know, and people are gonna bring beer, so that everyone can celebrate, and at that all major details have been settled.

***

Nothing really happens this week, Billy doesn't even bug Harrington during basketball practice that much. Can't explain it, just doesn't feel like it. Maybe making each other's noses bleed has helped him let some steam out. Or maybe thinking about Harrington when Vicky's mouth was literally on his dick means that Billy should ease off for a while, let himself cool down. Besides, he's got other stuff to worry about. Like the upcoming race, he has to make sure his baby is ready. He's working Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and at the weekend, so when Vicky asks him if he wants to go out sometime this week, he has to blow her off. Billy tries to make a sad face like he's really disappointed they can't spend time together and asks for a rain check, but in his defense his plate is full these days.

Max, surprisingly, has been on her best behaviour so far this week. Always on time. He's seen her talking to the same boys from the week before, so she is hanging out with them. It's fine. Until Neil sees the whole gang. Billy just hopes she's gonna be smart about it and not bring anyone home. He should also probably warn her against mentioning "guy friends" at this family dinner on Friday. Cause the question about school and new friends will definitely be asked. If Max says, yeah my best friends here are actually four boys, they are the coolest, and she doesn't even have to mention that one of them is black, Neil .. he is not gonna be happy. Billy's not sure what's going to happen, cause he's never seen dad go after Max, everything is always Billy's fault anyways, so things might just get more chaotic in the Hargrove-Mayfield household. Or Neil's going to make Billy Max's watch dog 24/7, which is gonna be nauseating. So far he's been her chauffeur. However, Max is growing and soon, Billy's afraid, Neil will find the way to make it his problem.

It's only a year. Less than a year. Eight or nine months to hold out.

So yeah, it kinda happens that Billy robs Harrington of his attention this week, but Harrington seems to be the one asking for it? The slicked-and-styled-hair preppy boy is getting under Billy's feet, and on his nerves, the whole time during the game. As if his bloody nose wasn't enough. As if he wants more. Harrington throws subtle glances at Hargrove in the showers and during classes. The fuck he's doing that for, can anyone explain it to Billy? He probably wants to say sorry for being such a bitch about the room at the party last Saturday. When he fucking walked in on Billy getting a blowjob from Vicky in his majesty's quarters.

This is my room, get out of my room! Mommy, mommy, they are in my room, tell them to go away!

What a whiny ass.

No-one needs your apologies, you dick. Go figure your shit out with your girl better. It’s becoming more and more depressing to look at those two. They are gonna break up soon, that's for sure. There's something in them being together that just doesn't sit right.

***

The family dinner is boring and ceremonious, as expected. Why are adults always so fucking pretentious, like do they really enjoy it, do they feel comfortable like that? Or, it's not about feeling comfortable, it's about painting a pretty picture, rubbing it in the faces of others, look what a nice family we have, how well behaved the children are, how hardworking and serious the husband is and how good the housewife is. Who fucking needs it?

It's suffocating.

Billy wants to get out for a smoke, to take a breath of evening air

But he can't do even that now. Would be disrespectful, and they have zero disrespect tolerance in this house.

Susan's cousin, Aunt Shirley and her husband Uncle Dean are the hickiest hicks possible. Thank god they didn't bring their kids, if they have any.

Billy behaves himself very well in his light blue button up, which he ironed yesterday. He always takes care if his clothes himself, Susan never touches his stuff. Helps Susan set the table while Neil entertains the guests in the living room. He can see that Max is suffering too.

When they were driving home from school earlier today Billy asked Max if she had made any friends who are girls. She looked at him as if he was thoroughly stupid and exclaimed a defiant "Yeaah!??"

"What is her name? Or names?"

"Why do you care??"

"Just trying to be a good brother, Maxine."

Max scoffs

"It's not your business."

"Just tell me your friend's name."

"Just leave me alone."

"Tell me the name, and I'll leave you alone."

"It's uh .. Jenny. Jenny is her name."

"Jenny?"

"Yeah! Jenny!" Max is hissing like a cat. "The hell is your problem today?"

Billy doesn't answer this pointless question.

***

When the table is set and Susan takes meatloaf from the oven, there's usual dinner chichat

"Here you go, Dean. Shirley ..?"

Aunt Shirley is tasting the food

"Mmm, Susan, the meatloaf is amazing! Where did you get the recipe?"

"It's actually Grandma Judy's recipe, do you remember how she used to cook it?"

"I do! It's perfect!"

When the food pleasantries have been expressed, Neil and Susan talk about life in San Diego a bit and how they decided to move to Indiana to be closer to Susan's family and also because Neil wanted a quieter life.

"How did the kids handle the move?"

"Well, they seem .. fine, right, honey?"

"Do you like your new school, Billy?"

Uncle Dean is mostly busy eating, but his wife seems to be very talkative

"Yes, ma'am."

"Have you already decided what to do after it?"

Get the fuck away from here, that's for sure

"Are you planning to study or start working?"

Aunt Shirley does like asking questions, huh

"I don't think he has any chance of getting into a university. With the lifestyle he's leading? Partying and what not. Right, son?" Neil is cutting in

"Dad, it's not only .."

"When I was your age I already had two part-time jobs, and although colleges were not an option for me, I pretty much supported myself and have decided on the future occupation."

A piece of meatloaf gets stuck in Billy's throat and he coughs lightly

"I actually have a job, dad."

"Oh? A job?" Shirley's asking

"Yes, I fix cars in the .."

"I really don't know who would hire you. Just look at the haircut. And the pierced ear? Kids are given too much freedom these days, I swear."

Billy holds back an eye roll

Dean stops chewing for a second

"That's true, I don't remember having a haircut like this when I was your age, kid."

"If I were the one to hire I'd tell you to go to the hairdresser first, son."

Dad, stop.

Billy's biting his lower lip.

Fucking stop.

Susan is sing-songing an obliging

"Dean, would you like more meatloaf?"

"Oh I sure would love to, cousin."

She's looking at Neil.

"Honey?"

"Please. It's delicious."

Well damn, Billy hasn't even said anything, but he already feels like he's been covered in shit from head to toe.

Can we please just fucking get to dessert, or better skip it, and then wave you a heartfelt goodbye?

Aunt Shirley decides to switch to Max.

"What about you, sweetie? Do you like your new school?"

"Yes, I really like it. I've joined AV club, it's really interesting."

"What's AV?"

"AV stands for audiovisual .. it's working with audio or video materials, recording something, editing it .. It's fun."

"Oh. Sounds more like a thing boys would be interested in?"

"Uhm ..there are boys and girls, it doesn't really matter.."

"Have you made friends at school already?"

Auntie sure is a nosy one.

"Well, yes .. they are from the club mostly."

"Who is your best friend, sweetie?"

"Uhm .."

Max is quickly glancing at Billy, but his eyes are cast down.

"Jenny. Jenny is my new friend here. She's nice."

Susan remarks politely

"You should absolutely invite Jenny for a visit sometime, sweetie. Right, Neil?"

Neil's nodding and chewing.

Susan adds

"We'd love to meet her."

"Of course, mom."

At least, the shitbird had enough brains not so say something wrong. Susan's gonna be asking her about this imaginary Jenny now, but it's a problem for another day.

The adults finally leave the kids alone, and Billy can eat some food although it all tastes bland now for some reason.

Billy's used to being belittled in front of others by his own father, but it stings every time like a knee skinned afresh.

After dinner when Neil, Susan and the guests have talked some more in the living room, it is finally time to say goodbye. Auntie and uncle want to get back to their Hicksville before the darkness falls.

Max helps clean up the table and is allowed to go to her room. Billy's in the kitchen washing up. Neil comes to the kitchen from the bathroom.

"I'm disappointed in you, son."

You're always disappointed in me. The fuck did I do this time?

Billy's circling the sponge on the same plate, over and over, until he stops.

"Were you not able to answer the questions and maintain a semblance of a decent conversation? Sitting there with a long face and mumbling? What will they think of you now? That I have an imbecile with a pierced ear for a son?"

Are you kidding me right now? You interrupted me every time I was actually saying something!

Billy doesn't know what answer is expected from him. He squeezes out a robotic

"I'm sorry, sir."

Is the safest bet in most cases. Not in one hundred percent of them though.

Susan who is drying and putting the dishes away decides to ease the tension a bit. Once every half a year she does that.

"Neil, honey, please.. it was such a nice evening."

"And it would've been even nicer if my son here had put more effort into making an impression like he really cares about your family's visit!"

Fuck, dad, whatever I do, you're never happy. What the fuck do you want from me? You know what? I don't even care what it is. Just leave me the fuck alone.

Billy just goes on washing the damn dishes. What else is there to do, huh. Like he can start smashing plates on the wall.

Susan is actually trying her best

"Shirley and Dean are waiting for our call next week to let them know if we're going to come for Thanksgiving."

Oh fucking shit no

"I would really love to go. A whole lot of my relatives are going to be there, would you like to go, honey?"

Neil is considering the idea

"I believe it would be nice, to get to know everyone. We'll talk about that when we're alone though. Can you get me a beer from the fridge? Gotta catch up on the evening news."

Susan is handing him a can of beer and dad's off to the living room to watch TV.

It seems that Billy's off the hook for now.

"I can finish here by myself, Susan. If you have something else to do."

"Oh, would you really? I'll go sort out the laundry then. Thank you, Billy."

Not the fucking trip to another bumfuck town for Thanksgiving. Fucking hell, please no.

The evening sucked, but all in all, honestly, it could've been worse.

When Billy's lying in bed he remembers how his mom used to praise him when he was little. Doesn't remember much, cause memories have faded with time, but he can still hear her soft voice

You're doing such a good job, baby.

Billy's trying to hold on to these crumbs of memories. They keep on fading away, time is doing its job of erasing them slowly, and sometimes Billy wonders if he even had a mother. The notion seems like from another lifetime.

Maybe he can still do something right one day. Maybe he's not a total screw up.

Or maybe his dad's right.

***

When Saturday comes Billy goes to work first thing in the morning. He again checks his car, everything runs smoothly. Billy's kinda excited for the evening. What are the chances of having two camaros, identical models, in the same little town? While the other camaro is the original Z28, Billy's car is a bit different cause back in San Diego after hauling it away from the scrapyard he had to come up with inventive decisions to bring it back to life. Guys from the garage helped him get the hood for his car from a sports coupe camaro. It's also missing a badge, and it's been repainted.

Billy loves his baby to pieces.

He kinda doesn't care if he wins or loses, there's no shame in losing to this yellow black striped beast. When Andy brought his car to Old Joe's garage, complaining about the noises, Hargrove personally went through every tiny part, fixed the problem and now the engine worked like a well-tuned clock. Both cars are basically the same on the inside, they are equals. It'll probably be a draw. Billy can live with that.

They meet at a quarter past six near the Brimborn steelworks plant. Roy, Danny, Mike and Tina, as well a couple of girls whose names Billy doesn't remember are there. As soon as the race starts they are gonna jump in their cars and catch up with everyone at the bridge. They are gonna miss the finale, but Tina insisted on waving the checked flag - god knows where they got it from - and she demanded company.

At six thirty sharp the flag is waved and two cars take off from the start line. A Camaro Z28 can reach its maximum speed of 120 mph in under twenty seconds, so it's gonna be fucking fast.

It's a sight, these two, blue and yellow with black stripes.

The cars are going hood to hood, light to light, engines roaring, rubber squealing.

A couple of turns are behind, there are two more ahead, and although sometimes one car seems to get ahead of the other, they are moving in sync.

It's gonna be a draw. They'll be getting to the finish line in no time.

"There they are!" Vicky is shouting in a shrill voice

Harrington is watching.

At first he didn't want to come cause

Asshole Hargrove and the fight

But Tommy roped him in anyways

"Oh come on man, it's not like we're having a goddamn race here every day!"

All the people who are waiting at the bridge are watching, holding their breath. They've parked their cars at a safe distance from the bridge in the field and some kids are leaning on them, some are just standing near, but all of their eyes are glued to the road.

Both camaros are like two flashes of lightning, coming towards the bridge at a breakneck speed.

Billy releases the gas pedal just a little, then floors it with all his force, and the blue Camaro pulls forward, but just a couple of inches, at most

They are flying towards the final goal, and the bridge is right there, right in front of them, they won't fit on it together, with two lanes merging into one.

Why is neither of them slowing down?

Good thing Tina stayed behind because she would have a heart attack

It's not even a matter of minutes now, it's a matter of seconds

It's either one of them lets the other overtake him, and not by an inch or two, or they are gonna crash. At this speed? They are going to fucking die.

Hit the brakes, dammit! Someone has to give in

Andy needs to understand that Hargrove is not gonna slow down. It's not about whose car is faster anymore because they are both fast. It's about who's crazier.

Holy fucking hell, they're gonna crash.

One of them has to brake.

He has to.

Steve's heart is jumping out of his chest. This is too intense. This is also hella beautiful, watching these two beauties speed down the road

But one of them fucking has to slow down and let the other one win!

In the blink of an eye the yellow camaro drops the speed abruptly and swerves to the side, and Billy has a fraction of a second to turn the steering wheel and not crash into the bridge railing.

The blue car flies on the bridge and over it, and the yellow one is left behind on the side of the road.

Andy is getting out of his car and Tommy and other guys run up to him

"Dude, that was insane!"

Andy's shaking his head, not quite processing that they were this close to crashing

"No that .. that guy is insane. He's got nerves of .. of fucking steel. I swear I was ready to brake any second cause it was .. clear it's a draw but .. he had no intention of slowing down at all."

He exhales loudly

"I need a cigarette. Where's Tina?"

"She's coming, man, they're coming."

Billy's camaro is standing on the road for a minute, engine running

The hell he's standing there?

In a minute it's turning around and driving back over the bridge to the gathering of teens.

Roy, Tina and all the starting point crew arrive at the finish.

Tina is getting out of a red ford escort and running to Andy

"Baby, did you win?"

He's shaking his head again, still not being able to believe what just happened

"Nah. I thought it would be a draw till the very last second. Hargrove won."

At last Billy arrives at the spot where everyone's standing and gets out of his car.

He comes up to Andy, stretches his hand out for a shake

"Great race, Goldman."

Andy shakes his hand and Tommy gives Hargrove an already lit cigarette

Billy accepts, his fingers are shaking, just a little

Andy looks at Hargrove

"You're crazy, man."

Billy's chuckling nervously

"Yeah. My fucking bad."

Tina opens the trunk of the ford and hands Andy a six-pack which he gives to Billy

"For the winner."

Billy puts it on the camaro's hood. He takes out another six-pack from his own car.

"I really thought it would be a draw, Goldman. Your car is a beast."

It is, and Billy truly did. He just changed his mind last second.

Two six-packs, and Roy whispers something to Tommy and they go to Harrington's BMW and come back with even more beer, and Billy takes a can and after shouting

"To all fast and beautiful things in the world!"

He's shotgunning it,

Tommy yells

"Fucking preach!"

And the guys are whooping and more cans are being opened, and the girls are laughing and the beer flows, and the evening is relatively warm, and the sun almost reaches the horizon painting the sky and the clouds a beautiful palette

Heartbeats get back to normal, more or less

Andy turns on some music in his car and opens the doors

They are young, and still carefree, and no-one crashed during the race which is a good enough reason to celebrate

When Tommy comes up to Billy a couple of minutes later, Hargrove already has Vicky on one arm and Jennifer on the other, and Vicky looks like she's ready for a cat fight

"Dude that's the craziest car race I've seen. I mean .. at the fucking end of it .. dude."

Tommy is looking at Hargrove in awe. He looks at him like he wants to kiss him on the mouth but is never gonna

He turns and kisses Carol instead who's hugging him from behind

Some couples are dancing, Andy and Tina are making out

Harrington is moping cause he's without his princess

Someone says it's gonna rain because the clouds are building up, but no-one gives a fuck

And when the rain does pour down, and they dance and drink some more under it, everyone finally gets in the cars, soaking wet, laughing, drunk and happy

And so so young.

***

When Steve gets home that night it's close to 10 pm already. His dad is up in the bedroom and mom's watching tv downstairs.

"Steve, is everything alright?"

"Of course, mom."

"Where have you been?"

"Just hanging out with guys."

"But it's pouring outside?"

"Yeah, just uh .. it's not a big deal."

"Oh .. Dad and I wanted to talk to you about.."

"I know, I know .. colleges and stuff. Not tonight though, right? It's late."

"No, of course not. Also, not just colleges, you need to keep in mind other options as well in case .."

"Mooom. It's late, 'm tired. And I really need to change, okay? Love you. Good night."

"Good night, honey."

Steve takes off his wet clothes, jumps in for a quick shower, brushes his teeth. He's still feeling excited, from watching the race, from sensing the danger. He's known Andy for years, and despite the fact that the dude's capable of doing something crazy, like climbing on the roof of the house drunk to proclaim his love for his girlfriend, or, case in point, racing, he is generally in his right mind.

Hargrove, on the other hand? He's a total nutcase. Risking his life like that? What for? Why? Is winning so important for him? Or is it not just about winning?

Harrington was among those who were at the finish line, sitting on the hood of his BMW, and he saw the finale.

It's like Hargrove almost doesn't care if he lives or dies.

A race is a race, but risking your life for that?

Maybe Steve should be careful playing that game that he wants to pursue. He might be playing with fire. He probably should call it off before anything even started. A smart thing to do would be to stay away from Hargrove.

Harrington's not so sure anymore what he's doing.

That motherfucker is batshit crazy

Does Steve find it attractive?

Hargrove has been so distant this week, minding his own business, it was strange. Wasn't that what Steve wanted? For Billy to leave him alone?

Yes. But also ..

Also what?

Steve shakes the towel wrapped around his waist down, throws it on a chair, finds a clean t-shirt to put on for the night. He gets under the blanket without any underwear and turns on the belly, shutting his eyes.

He hasn't come for five days already. Last time he jerked off in the shower on .. what was it, Sunday?

Steve starts humping the bed slowly, his cock painfully hard.

He's grinding against the mattress, lazily moving his hips and thinking about today.

The sounds of engines roaring, impatient, hotheaded.

Music booming in the open air and rain coming down from the sky

He's thinking about the party when Steve walked in on that couple about to fuck right here, in his room.

He's seen Hargrove's dick in the showers. Not that he looked. How would it feel to .. to touch it? To feel its weight? How would it feel to be standing on the knees in front of Billy, looking up at his face?

He was here, in Steve's room. With his dick out.

Does he have sex like this too, unhinged and hot to the point of burning down to ashes?

Harrington's pressing into the mattress and then releasing the pressure, and he can feel his orgasm building, building to the point of..

Suddenly Steve opens his eyes

Ugh, fucking stop. You have a girlfriend. Just .. stop, jesus fucking christ, enough. Think about her boobs for christ's sake.

Steve hasn't seen or felt Nancy's boobs in a while now. Is this what a serious relationship is, is this what marriage generally is like??

Boobs. Boobs. He has to think about boobs. He grabs a playboy from under the bed in frustration, opens it at a random page

There they are. Nice and full and so soft to the touch.

Steve is back at humping the bed. He really needs to cum, his balls have been feeling literally huge for the last couple of days

The moment Harrington closes his eyes again

A sensation of Hargrove's body grinding on his own during basketball comes to Steve's mind and he moans in frustration.

Boobs. Think about boobs, come on now.

Steve's touching Billy's sweaty pecs with his elbow trying to push him away

But the asshole's persistent

What happened this week? Why didn't Hargrove bother him? What's wrong?

His mind comes up with another image that flashes through Steve's fogged up brain, it's Hargrove's nipple's grazing on Steve's elbow,

He's increasing the tempo

Fuck.

He really needs to come. To hell with it.

Steve stops running away from all these images.

He stops and lets them take over.

He doesn't need much, he's already on the verge.

The nipple .. small and hard, sliding on Steve's skin

Another flash is Hargrove's broad shoulder blades, Steve pictures him swimming in his pool, blue lights all around and he looks like a magic creature, only he's not magic

He's real

Very real

Steve loses all the rhythm, humping the bed erratically

How would it feel to .. fucking .. touch ..

Steve cums panting in his pillow.

He almost falls asleep like that.

When he cracks one eye open, he thinks that

He should probably jerk off before taking a shower next time

Whatever

He wipes himself with the sheet, throws it on the floor, finds some boxers lying near the bed, they smell clean

Tomorrow he'll definitely tidy up his room, all this stuff lying around

And sleeps without a sheet cause looking for a new one and putting it on the bed seems like too much work now.

The last coherent thought that Steve's having tonight is

Okay, listen man, that's enough. That's the last time you let yourself think about Hargrove. Stop doing that when you're pleasuring yourself.

Steve's very disappointed with himself.

However, the orgasm felt great.

***

Chapter 8

#harringrove #harringrove fic #billy x steve #mean steve vs mean billy #harringrove slow burn

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sapphos-corner · 3 months ago

Text

As the Seasons Pass ch. 2 "Early August" ☆ A Sapphic fiction story

Synopsis: I'm gonna stop including the synopsis because the story is farther along now. If you're just now joining, check out one of the previous chapters linked in my pinned post:)

Contains: Character lore, confessions, emotional support, general bonding.

Warnings: Although there isn't smut in this chapter, this story as a whole is not intended for minors. If you're not 18+ please don't interact with this :))

Word count: 2K

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"What about this one?" Val picks up the mini porcelain tea pot up with one hand and gestures to it with the other.

"My mom got that for me actually! It must've been, like, a year ago now."

"That's cool, how often do you get to visit with your mom?"

"Maybe once a year, she's kind of a mess though so i try to avoid it at this point."

"My mom's kind of like that too. What kind of mess is your mom? We don't have to talk about it if you don't want to, though." She walks over to the bed and takes a seat. She's sitting criss-crossed in front of me, she rests her chin in her hands and cups her cheeks. Her eyes take ownership of the lighting, recycling it into tiny indigo stars. She's a really pretty person, her expressions have a quality i can only describe as angelic. She's such a refreshing friend to be around.

"She's just a really bad decision maker. How about yours?"

"Same type of thing. She hasn't been herself for a long time now and I think I've mostly adapted to it but sometimes I do still struggle with the difference between how she was and who she's become. I don't know, but we still talk pretty often. Does your mom live close by?"

"No, she's in-state but it's a five hour drive. Nothing too crazy, but yeah she's not close close. Have you thought about cutting contact with your mom? Or is that something that's out of the question for you?"

"I haven't really thought about it, to be honest. What about you?"

"Yeah, but I don't know if I really will. Minimal contact is... fulfilling enough I guess. It's just irritating. She begs me to talk to her more and see her more, but when I do she won't talk to me. Last time I saw her, we hung out for six hours after not seeing each other for over a year, right? She didn't even ask me how I've been. She didn't start one conversation with me and she treated me like I was a gnat for even attempting to talk to her. She doesn't even like me she just likes the idea of being a mom that likes her daughter. And that's lame. Then, before I leave, she starts crying and begging me to forgive her, and she always does that, she always bitches and moans about how her fuck ups have made her life so hard. How difficult it's been for her, she's never apologized because she's actually sorry. She just wants my hollow forgiveness to fit with her hollow apology so she can feel better about absolutely fucking me over but yeah I don't know I'm lowkey just blabbing at this point but yeah."

Her eyebrows furrow as she purses her lips together. Her eyes are glued downwards and she's nodding her head slowly. She places her hand over mine and looks up.

"Your mom sounds like...the worst. I don't know what she did but if this is how she's handling it, that tells me everything I need to know. You deserve a lot better, and I think the space you've made for yourself is really cool and I'm really happy to be in it. Obviously it's your mom, so I can't imagine it's been easy for you to move past it, but you haven't let it stop you from becoming who you are and that's really admirable. So yeah, sorry,, I don't really know what to say but I really appreciate you sharing that with me. You can always talk to me about stuff like that."

"Smoke break?"

"Sounds good."

I lean over towards my nightstand drawer to retrieve the supplies. I grab my speaker and hand it to Valerie.

"Play your current favorites."

Her dimples appear and she grabs the speaker.

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

"This is a good route." I say, gesturing to the left. Val follows behind me as we turn and walk down the trail. It doesn't take long for the trees to close in on us. The sun is setting, yet rays of sun find their way through the branches and leaves from above. Lavender cirrocumulus clouds decorate the sky above. They move from each other subtly, you'd only notice if you were really looking.

"Why do you always walk with your head down?"

"I dunno, I like to count my steps I guess. But not really count them. Does that make sense? I just keep counting from one to eight in a loop."

"Why only to eight?"

"It's even and doesn't feel as excessive as counting to ten."

I nod my head. "Valid."

I reach into my bag and pull out the altoids tin that I've carried around since my freshman year of high school. I pop the lid and retrieve the preroll.

"Fuck. Val, do you have a lighter?"

"Always." She scoops it from her pocket and hands it over to me.

"Do you wanna light it?" She nods her head in response and pinches the filter of the joint.

Her dimples expose themselves when she puffs. She exhales the smoke from the side of her mouth.

"Tried my best to get it even." She says as she hands it to me. As I reach to take it, I catch her eyes shift down and back up. She rolls her lips and her cheeks develop a pinkish tint.

The wind blows the smoke towards me as I hit it and my eyes start burning. I reach out to hand her the joint, rubbing my eyes after she takes it.

I recover and open my eyes to be met with her smiling softly. Her eyes fixed on me.

"You okay?" She passes again.

"Yeah," Inhale. "This is kind of, well no not kind of, this is extremely stupid, but can I ask you a question?" Pass.

Grab. "Of course you can" Inhale. Pass. Exhale.

Grab. Inhale. Exhale. "So like, just out of curiosity or whatever, like it's not a big deal or anything." Inhale. Pass. Exhale. "But, like, have you picked up on any, like, vibes between Sabrina and I after, like, seeing us together and stuff?"

Exhale. Pass. Her head jerks backwards. "What kind of vibes?" Her eyebrows are practically pressed together.

Exhale. Pass. "Like, the homosexual kind?"

Cough. Recover. Pass. "Sabrina? Your best friend, Sabrina? Sabrina with the boyfriend?"

"No no I'm good, you can finish it. But unfortunately, yeah, Sabrina my best friend with the boyfriend. I don't know, Sometimes it just seems like more but I don't know if I'm like, crazy or something, you know? So I was just wondering if you'd noticed anything like that."

"Honestly, I don't really pay attention to Sabrina. She seems pretty wrapped up in...whatever it is that she has going on. I guess. I don't think I've really seen y'all interact. This is definitely a stupid question, but do you, like, uh, want there to be the uh, homosexual vibes?"

"Unfortunately, yes." My face feels hot and my feet feel like they're sinking into the ground.

Her mouth does this odd combination of turning upwards and flattening out. "That is so cute. You would make a good couple. What is she even doing with Joel if she has you?"

"I KNOW RIGHT?!? It's insane to me he's such a loser."

"Yeah, he uh, he sucks pretty bad. She should, like, dump him and be with you or something ha. Lowkey it's kinda hot though, do you wanna head back to yours?"

"I knowwwwww, it's super lame. But yeah we can definitely head back, it's getting dark anyways. Oh yeah, you brought your camera, right? We should take a picture."

The corners of her mouth turn upwards and she pushes hand into her tote bag.

"Okay okay, first let me get one of you on the log."

"This log?"

"No Genie, the log on the other side of the trail. Yes that log. Silly goose."

"I am not the goose of this duo. That's your title."

"Pfff. Stop stalling the picture."

"Okokok"

"Okay, let's do a silly one and a serious one."

"Okokok, now one of both of us." I hop up from my seat and walk over. She turns the camera around.

"Do you wanna click it? Or trade sides? It's gonna look kind of awkward with my arm separating us."

"Truuee. I can click it!" Our fingers brush lightly as she hands it over. She moves closer and puts her arm around my shoulders. She pulls me a little closer and I wrap my arm around her waist. Platonically, of course. I look over to see her facing away from me.

"Okay okay, are you ready?" "Yeah."

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

"Are you hungry?"

"Kind of, yeah. I have cotton mouth too. Feeling so tormented right now."

"I'll get you some water, or do you want juice? We have some SunnyD right now." She nods her head and I walk over to the fridge.

"What are you hungry for?"

"What do you have?"

"That is. An outstanding question. I am not sure. There's some bacon in here, I know we have potatoes too. Are you into potato soup? Cause I feel like potato soup would be really.....important for my psyche right now..."

"Potato soup would cure me of all ailments. Yes." She grabs the cup from my hand and drinks the entire thing with no pause.

"Wow. You needed that."

I grab the potatoes and start prepping for the soup.

"What can I help you with?"

"Ohemgee Valerie, don't even worry about it. Just relax. You could bring out my laptop and find something for us to watch if you want."

"On it. Let me know if there's anything else."

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

"You wanna chop the scallions?"

She perks up and hurries to the counter. "Absolutely."

She breezes through the stock like she's Gordon Ramsay or something.

"Jesus Christ, how'd you reach that level of skill? Like what?"

"Cooking is actually, like, my main thing. I was actually considering going to culinary school when I graduated high school."

"Really? Why didn't you? How long have you been cooking? Who taught you how to cook? I need the entire story, actually."

"Typical backstory, Grandma taught me, I kept doing it because it reminds me of her. The first thing she taught me to make was tomato soup. I think that was when I was twelve-ish. I decided not to go to culinary school because I don't want cooking to end up feeling like a job. That's just not how I want my relationship with it to evolve."

"What's your favorite thing to make?"

"Tomato soup. Honestly soup in general, I think that's my favorite food."

"Duuude. I'm so sorry I bogarted the process, I didn't know this was like, your thing."

"Oh my gosh, no, not at all. I enjoy cooking, but it's also really sweet when someone cooks for you. I enjoy that just as much. I really appreciate that you, like, did pretty much everything. Can I hug you?"

I put my arms out and she pulls me in to a big bear hug. The woody-vanilla scent present.

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

"This is really good. Next time I have to make you something. And then we can just take turns. What are your favorite foods?"

"That would be so cool, I'm also pretty pro-soup. I don't think I have a favorite. I'm not big on broccoli cheddar, though."

"Bet. Soup girls. Soup season. Kind of off topic, but are you taking any classes this semester?"

"Yeah, I'm gonna take a couple art classes at CC. What are you taking? Also, I've never seen you on campus, do you go to CC too, or are you in a University?"

"Oh, we go to the same school actually, I saw you around a couple times. I'm majoring in Anthropology."

"What? That's dope, dude. We have to start meeting for lunch together or something."

#friends to lovers #sapphic fiction #lesbian #oc story #slow burn

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oohnoniall · 3 years ago

Text

The Lantsov Emerald [Kaz Brekker x OC] - Chapter Seven (Anatasia)

Warnings: cursing, fantasy violence, family drama

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

The wind blew the curtains away from the window, which only caused shadows to fall on the woman's face. She didn't have the courage to be frightened. She had suspected that she had been followed. There was no real way for Ravka's Princess Anastasia to escape, even if she wished she could. Her marriage would mean the safety of her country. They would not allow her to get away.

It didn't matter that those sorts of arrangements had never worked in the past. It didn't matter that she didn't want to marry.

"Your Highness," the voice was not one that she expected. She had assumed that one of the Second Army would have been tasked to find her. She had thought they would have sent a Grisha to drag her back to the palace. She wasn't exactly worth it, but at the same time they couldn't risk a mortal man failing to deliver her.

The woman stepped out of the shadows. It was the same one that had been seated next to Kaz. Her eyes were kind, despite the obvious threat she possessed. Anastasia had no idea if she could trust her or not. Well, actually, she knew the answer to that. The streets were much like the courts of Ravka. None could be trusted, none could be expected to keep to their deals. She supposed that Kaz had sent the woman to kill her.

"You should return to the palace." The woman said, her voice as soft as the wind. "Kaz will try to keep his bargain, but surely you realize how dangerous it is to cross the Fold. With or without a skiff."

"I know," Anastasia would not be afraid though. If Nikolai had done it, so could she. She would do anything if it meant seeing her brother again. "But I cannot allow my future to happen without my consent. If I stay, I risk never seeing Nikki again. I risk losing the only parts of myself that my family hasn't destroyed."

It was dramatic of her, but Nikolai would understand. She hoped he would anyway. There was a very good chance that Nikolai would think she was being a stubborn, selfish idiot who needed to rethink their priorities.

He wouldn't exactly be wrong.

"Your future is happening, Princess," the Suli girl stepped out of the shadows then. She was beautiful, like an image of a Saint that Anastasia was supposed to pray to. She wondered how the girl had ended up working with Mr. Brekker, why she was so cautious over this job. Surely, there had been other jobs. Other dangerous positions. "It would be stupid to think you can run from it."

She clenched her jaw, counting like Vasily had taught her. Her eldest brother may have been useless but he'd always made sure that she and Nikolai knew how to keep up appearances. It was that or be an utter embarrassment to him. Even now, she could not believe that her eldest brother would do anything if it did not benefit him. Maybe it was wrong of her, maybe he felt more for his siblings than he had ever shown. But Anastasia did not believe it for a second.

"I'm not running from anything. We'll be back before my birthday. You'll get your payment and all will be well." Anastasia had never believed that anything bad could truly happen to her. She'd been protected by the Second Army and her brothers her entire life. The dangers of the Fold were not present in her mind. Nor were the dangers of Kerch.

Nikolai would have a heart attack if he ever found out just how reckless his sister had become in his absence.

"You've never been told no, have you?" The girl raised her brow, giving Anastasia a look that she thought would kill her if the woman was Grisha. She supposed it was a good thing that she was not.

"No," she answered truthfully. "Nor do I intend to start. I appreciate your concern, but I assure you that I know what I'm doing. As does your Mr. Brekker."

"Kaz likes impossible jobs. You've just managed to give him one."

Before she could open her mouth to make a retort, the girl was gone. She didn't wonder how it had happened. There was no telling how long the wraith-like woman had been doing this. There was no telling when she would come back either. All she was left with were her thoughts. Thoughts that were going a billion miles an hour, that were certain that she was making a mistake. But one that she could not back away from.

They spent a week waiting for something to happen. For anything to happen. Anastasia had felt as though she were going to go mad from waiting. She had never been forced to wait so long, unless it was word from Nikolai. Then she'd be forced to wait for months on end.

The only time she had seen Kaz Brekker and his friends was during meal times. She never sat with them, figuring they'd spend more than enough time together when the time came. Besides, it wouldn't have been smart to draw any sort of attention to herself. She had no idea if they would figure out a way to reveal who she was to the entire pub or not, but she hadn't wanted to risk it. It didn't matter how far from them she sat, though, she always felt his eyes on her.

It was more than just a bit disarming. His eyes were like sheets of ice. She could feel the cold piercing through her, wrapping her in a vice that refused to let go. She wondered if the others felt the same. If they were each just as worried about what he might do as she was. Of course, she knew that was quite silly. They were clearly just as dangerous as he was. Kaz wouldn't be the most dangerous person in his little gang. That would have been ill-advised.

Although, Anastasia did not know much about gangs or about whatever it was that the three were. They made sort of a miss-matched family in a way, but she was not yet brave enough to tell any of them that.

Those sorts of thoughts seemed to plague her mind more often than not nowadays.

"The Darkling is coming," he didn't make it sound pleasant as he sat down beside her. "Which means we've got our skiff."

"And that he'll probably recognize me," she pointed out without looking at him. She didn't need to see the ice-cold glare or the cheekbones that looked as though they were made of diamond. He was much more beautiful than her husband-to-be, which felt as though it were some sort of cruel and unusual joke. Why should a criminal be so fetching and a prince be ... Not.

"It's either risk this or go back home, Highness," Kaz's voice was gravel, his fingers wrapped around a pint as though it had insulted him. She wondered briefly about his rage. What could make a man so angry? So full of fire and brimstone when he could be no more than eighteen?

Anastasia glanced at him then, noting the slight furrow in his brow and the way his jaw twitched slightly. This bothered him more than he let on. She never would have noticed had she not been raised in the courts. Those small ticks had been the only source of amusement in the courts of Ravka. They gave away all the best gossip. As long as one knew how to accurately read them.

"Has something happened?"

"Nothing you need to concern yourself with," he gave her that ice-like glare. She hated the way it felt as though he were freezing her from the inside out. Hated how she wanted to tell him to go and fuck himself and a number of other regrettable words. She bit her tongue though. There was no point in angering the man who was taking her back to her brother. She highly doubted there would be another who knew Kerch and knew how to cross the Fold.

"If it puts us in jeopardy, I think it is my concern." Anastasia had lived her life being glared at and told that something wasn't her concern. She would not allow this boy to do the same thing. It was bad enough her brothers had done it throughout her life. The only ones who had ever told her no in any capacity, the only ones who'd cared for her.

Kaz stared at her. It would have made a braver person look away. But she was stubborn and had glared down generals who had wished to sacrifice Nikolai. She could stare into a dragon's eyes if she needed to. What was Kaz Brekker? A crow without wings? Someone who could easily kill her but wouldn't. Not if he wanted his full payment. Not if he wanted the impossible jobs.

"He's got another piece of my puzzle," it was cryptic yet it was all the answer she was going to get from him. She highly doubted he would tell her anything else until he assumed the time was right. It felt quite barbaric.

"And I suppose that means we'll be risking our lives trying to get your puzzle piece and get to Kerch safely?" Her brow rose slightly, despite the fact that she was less surprised and more excited. What wonderous adventure awaited them? Would it be like the ballets had described? Would she one day hear a symphony composed about their triumphs and failings? She was getting too ahead of herself, she knew that. But adventure was far more exciting than she had ever dreamed it could be.

"Yes, it does."

Anastasia looked at Kaz, their eyes seeming to fight for control. She wasn't entirely sure what they were fighting about. He knew what he was doing. He would be the most likely option to avoid them getting killed, but Anastasia did not want to give up her newfound freedom so easily. It was go along with his mad plan, which would likely end with the Darkling dragging her all the way back to the palace, or she would have to find some other way to Kerch. It was horrible to think that she would have to choose, horrible to think that there was even a choice.

"Fine. We'll go with the Darkling. But I pray you have an idea on how to keep us from getting killed."

At this, Kaz smiled. "Don't trust your Saints, Highness. Don't trust anyone."

The following morning, they were ready. She was petrified. Something was bound to go wrong. She would be sent back to her mother and her father, who would then ship her to Fjerda before she had the chance to run away again. There wasn't a chance of her ever finding her brother, of becoming someone who had lived her life to the fullest. She would just be a pretty princess trapped within a gilded cage. That was all she was good for.

Anastasia's wind blew in the hair, blonde locks fluttering everywhere. She nearly looked as though she had been ripped from the pages of a storybook. Even if she did not know this.

Kaz glared at the strands that nearly brushed his face. "Highness," his gravely voice was almost covered by the sounds of the crowd that had gathered and the wind. "You should hide yourself."

"Why?" She looked over her shoulder at him, her eyes the brightest they'd been in weeks. Her excitement was nearly palpable. "It isn't like he's going to see me in this crowd."

"You stand out," Jesper pointed out, wrapping a strand of her hair around his finger. The smile he gave her would have given her butterflies, had she not seen it on the son's of lords all her life. "I doubt most people here have Fjerdian coloring."

She turned pink as she pulled the silk scarf that Nikolai had once given her out of her pocket. She knew that she couldn't help who her mother was, but she could wish that she had inherited some recessive gene. She thought she would look nice with darker hair. Besides, then she would blend in just a bit easier with her countrymen. Nikolai and Vasily could be the ones who stood out. They were the ones people cared about, after all.

She hid her hair away, feeling less herself than she had just moments ago.

"How exactly are we going to do this?" Anastasia questioned, glancing once at Kaz.

He appeared to be deep in thought. He was staring ahead, almost looking at nothing, but she could almost see the way his mind was working through some problem. Some issue that he had yet to solve.

"Mr. Brekker?" She tried again, wondering if she should shake him like she had to with Nikki and Vasily. Were most men like this? Going too far into their own heads and having to be brought out of it by a gentle touch. She knew that it was fine to do so with her brothers but she worried when it came to Kaz. It wasn't like she knew him. He might try to stab her the moment she laid a gentle hand on him.

"Let him thing," Inej's voice was soft enough, but she could still hear the threat in the words.

Life in a palace had taught her the intricacies of threats and verbal manipulation. She'd been surrounded by people who had believed they knew best her entire life. What were these criminals? Just different versions of the same people she'd grown up with. Maybe she should have been more afraid. Or maybe she should have known that they would underestimate her. Just as everyone did.

Anastasia watched Kaz carefully, watched the way his eyelashes fluttered against his cheeks as his eyes traveled back and forth as though they were chasing each thought inside of his head. She didn't want to admit that he was quite pretty when he was like this. All the hard edges of his face seemed to soften, his fingers tightened on his cane and she wondered briefly why. What ideas were in his head? What adventure was he crafting?

One day, she would daydream about that face. One day, she would think about it as she fell asleep.

Now, however, she just wished he would hurry it up and come up with something. They were quickly running out of time. If they didn't come up with something fast enough, the skiff would leave without them. Her only chance at finding her brother would be gone. She refused to go to Fjerda without one final goodbye. For she knew the truth. Once her family shipped her off, they would forget her entirely.

The princess stared at the criminal. Her eyes never leaving his as he thought things that no one would ever know. She didn't trust him. She didn't trust his friends or the way he looked at her. As though she didn't know anything. As though she was nothing more than a silly little girl.

"Quickly," Kaz broke free from his thoughts, eyes landing on Anastasia. "Inej, get her on the skiff. Jesper, cause a distraction."

"Don't think I'll need to boss," Jesper stated as he nodded once towards the skiff.

Alina Starkov stood side by side with the Darkling. She had antlers around her neck and appeared to be a dog on a leash. Anastasia's stomach flipped at the sight. What had General Kirigin done?

"Even better," Kaz's eyes sparked with mischief. "Everyone, hurry. Sneak around the back and don't make a sound."

The two criminals nodded to their boss. Inej ushered Anastasia away from the crowd, leading her around to the other side of the skiff. There were less people about, everyone having wanted to get a good look at the fools crossing. This side of the skiff mainly held supplies and few guards whose attention was on the sun summoner, not the four people heading towards them.

"Jes," Inej murmured softly, "can you take care of them?"

"Thought you'd never ask," Jesper's eyes twinkled as he took his pistols from his belt.

Anastasia thought about screaming, about warning the guards that something horrible was going to happen. But she didn't. She bit her tongue in order to stay silent. Jesper had to do it. He had to shoot them, the sounds of the crowd cheering and the Darkling's yells covered the noise almost too well. Yet, Anastasia's ears still rang. How had this happened? How had any of this happened? Was her desire to see Nikolai greater than people's lives? Was her brother truly worth the price of selling herself to Kerch's greatest criminals? Or was she just being selfish?

She knew that she was being selfish. She knew that Nikolai would hate her for it and yet - there was nothing she could do to stop it. She needed to see him. Needed to be as free as anyone else.

Jesper led the group onto the skiff, motioning with his hand for them to keep silent. It seemed redundant to her. He had just murdered the guards, had just acted as though his own self-interest were more important. Anastasia would say a prayer for them tonight, she would ask the saints to give them safe passage to the afterlife. She highly doubted she would ever be granted that same kindness. After all, she was unsure if she regretted the fact they were dead. They'd been standing in her way.

"Watch yourself, Highness," Kaz's gravel voice spoke in her ear. She felt the press of something hard and metal against her back, nearly knocking her off balance as she climbed over the edge of the skiff. "Wouldn't want you to fall."

Something told her that he wouldn't mind it much at all if she did fall to her demise. But she bit her tongue, not wanting to anger the man who was the key to finding her brother. "I can manage myself just fine, thank you."

His eyes glinted with something. An emotion that she didn't know how to accurately describe. It wasn't humor, not like she had ever known it at least. But nor was it anything that sent warning bells ringing through her. If anything, it sent a delightful chill down her spine. But for now, she would chalk that up to the wind that was blowing. She didn't want it to be anything else. Anything else would be a distraction that she could not yet afford.

"We'll see." Kaz did not look at her as he tossed himself over the edge of the skiff, his bad leg almost going out from under him as he did. He straightened quickly enough, almost as though he didn't want her to see.

Anastasia wasn't sure that she cared about a bad leg. It made him seem almost human in a way.

Kaz Brekker couldn't be human. The way he looked at her often made her think of demons, of monsters from fairytales that Nikolai had read her when she was younger. When he was still home. She was certain that her brother would see this man as a threat, as someone who needed to be as far from Anastasia as possible. But that did not matter now.

"This way," Kaz hissed over his shoulder, not sparing a glance at the three who stood behind him.

Inej quickly flanked him, with Jesper following after Anastasia. It was almost as though they didn't quite trust her to remain on the skiff. While she may have been frightened, Anastasia knew that running would just mean giving up any hope of a future.

Her future was what she was chasing. Not her brother. Not the feeling of freedom that she had craved for so long. No, she wanted something more. Something better. Something bright.

Kaz led the trio to a quiet alcove that was just big enough for the four of them to hide unnoticed. It would be a tight squeeze, but it was covered and out of the way. Likely, no one would think to check for them. He squeezed in beside Anastasia. She briefly worried that he would hear her heart rate increase. She assured herself that the only reason she felt anything was because of how tight the actual space was. She'd never been so close to a person in her life. She wasn't sure if she liked it.

Anastasia felt as though she could not breathe. She felt as though her stomach was going to twist in on itself all while her heart imploded. She closed her eyes tightly, her hands clenched into fists that were hidden by her skirts.

The skiff took off into the darkness of the Fold before Anastasia could gather her courage. She could hear Inej murmuring prayers and the soft click of Jesper's pistols. Kaz was the only one who was silent. She almost wanted to lean on him because of it. But she didn't.

For the second that she had made the slightest move to, all hell broke loose.

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hookedonapirate · 3 years ago

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A Date for the Holidays (and everyday too would be nice)

Summary: Tired of the constant backlash from her family about being single, Emma finds herself striking an arrangement with a roguishly handsome stranger at the mall the day after Christmas. Now she won't have to be alone for the holidays. Emma and Killian agree to be each other's dates, no strings attached, no commitment, no pressure. Just two friends getting together to appease her annoying family and get his brother off his back. It's the perfect setup really...until sticking to the holidays isn't enough. What happens when they both want more?

A/N: So I watched the Holidate the other night and couldn't stop thinking about how much fun it would be to turn this into a CS fic. So here we are. This probably won't be too long, I'll be getting back to my wips soon, just needed a break, but probably 4 or 5 chapters or so. Hope you enjoy! Thank you to the ladies on Discord for your encouragement and enabling ;-)

Thank you to the lovely @veryverynotgood for beta reading and at the last second! You rock!

Catch up: Ch 1 // Ch 2 // Ch 3 // Ch 4 // Ch 5 // Ch 6 // Ch 7 // Ch 8 // Ch 9 // Ch 10 // Ch 11

Chapter 1

The Arrangement

Emma hates Christmas.

Actually, she hates all holidays, but she especially hates Christmas.

No, hate is too kind a word. She detests Christmas.

She detests the expectations that always accompany this stupid sham of a holiday. Having to dress up, because if she wears jeans and a t-shirt, her mother greets her at the door with, “This is what you wear to Christmas dinner? Don’t you even own a dress?” instead of asking how she’s doing. Having to plaster on a fake smile, even though she’s completely miserable and dying inside, otherwise her father will ask her, “Why the long face, princess?” Not to mention the entire ridiculous gift giving-process—racking her brain for months, trying to figure out what to get everyone, waiting until the last minute and having to fight the crowds of other last-minute shoppers and standing in ridiculously long lines to buy gifts no one ever appreciates, anyway.

Oh, and her very favorite thing about Christmas—receiving backlash for being single, because apparently, it’s a crime these days.

“Why didn’t you call Walsh?” Emma’s cousin, Anna, asked, to which her husband, Kristoff, added, “He seems like a nice guy.” Maybe, but only if you’re a customer at Wizard of Oak.

“It’s been six months since that jerk cheated on you; you gotta get out there,” said Elsa, who lost her husband three years ago and hasn't been on a single date since then. But she has two kids, so she's off the hook.

And her own brother, Leo, teased her— “You know it’s a holiday when my sister shows up alone”—right before he proposed to his girlfriend of five months. Their parents are so unbelievably proud.

Which is just fucking perfect because now Emma's the only person in her family who either isn’t married or doesn’t have kids.

Even her Aunt Rubes didn’t show up at Christmas alone; she brought home the mall Santa.

“You’d be surprised by the quality of men you can meet at the mall,” Aunt Ruby said with a Cheshire cat grin.

Emma cocked her head and pursed her lips as she watched Ruby’s date fill his plate to the brim like he hadn’t eaten in days. But judging by the size of his gut, he clearly had. “I don’t think I would be, actually.”

Aunt Ruby rolled her eyes. “Relax, it’s not like I’m going to marry him. He’s just my holidate,” she said casually, taking a sip of her wine as though she didn’t just say the most ridiculous thing ever.

Emma raised her brows. “Holidate?”

“You know? A date solely for the holidays. No commitment, no expectations. And no more spending another holiday alone.”

“Huh.” Emma nursed her hot cocoa with cinnamon and whipped cream, mulling over her aunt’s tactics. She didn’t think it was a bad idea, actually...if you wanted to bring a strange man home to eat all your food and be around the little ones.

Aunt Ruby turned her head to look at Emma and smirked, her eyes lighting up with an idea. “Want me to see if he has a friend?”

Emma cringed. “Thanks, but I’ll pass.”

And it turns out, being thirty doesn’t help much either.

In fact, now everyone has it in their heads she’s letting herself go. Okay, so she likes to binge on chocolate and junk food, but she’s always had a high metabolism and her job as a bail-bonds woman keeps her in shape. But apparently, her mother thinks being thirty means everything Emma eats will go to her hips, because why else would the woman buy her pajama pants twice as big as last year’s?

So now Emma’s at the mall the day after Christmas to return clothes that could fit a freaking whale, not looking forward to waiting in a long line of people trying to return their unwanted gifts, or fighting with the manager about getting a refund instead of an exchange since she doesn’t have a receipt or the tags.

Damn.

Emma can already see the line at JC Penny as she rises on her tiptoes and clutches the PJs to her chest, trying to see over the throng of people.

She huffs and makes her way over to the customer service line, not even caring if she bumps into anyone; she just wants to get this over with so she can go back to her comfortable, messy apartment, change into pajama pants that won’t fall from her waist, sip on hot cocoa and snack on all the candy and treats she pocketed from her parents’ house at Christmas.

“Son of a bitch!” The word tumbles from her mouth when someone not only crashes right into her but also spills their green juice all over her blouse.

“Bloody hell, love. I’m so sorry.”

The deep, velvety accent probably would’ve made her melt and set her skin ablaze if the beverage wasn’t so fucking cold.

And if that’s not bad enough, when she lifts her pajama pants to assess the damage, there’s juice all over the clothes she was supposed to return.

“You’ve got to be kidding me!” When she lowers the clothes in her arms, her head snaps up and her angry eyes connect with the most ridiculously gorgeous blues she’s ever seen in her entire life, and some of the anger sizzling in her blood magically disappears and morphs into pure shock, her mouth falling open as the obscenities disappear from her lips.

Holy. Fuck.

Dark, artfully mussed hair, scruff on his chin and cheeks, chiseled jaw.

And his eyes. Those eyes seem to be tracing every inch of her, and her skin heats under his gaze.

And is he really checking out her boobs?

Seriously?

He’s handsome, though; she’ll give him that. No, handsome doesn’t adequately describe him.

Gorgeous.

Beautiful.

Greek god.

Nope, she definitely isn’t attracted to him.

Absolutely not.

“Crap, how am I going to return these now?” she asks, irritation lacing her words as she holds up the ugly flannel pajama pants.

An amused smile flirts with his lips, his eyes full of mirth—the same eyes that are still awkwardly staring at her chest, blush coloring his cheeks.

Like, what the fuck?

He looks up, his eyes searching around as he throws the empty cup into the nearest trash. He places his hands on her arms, making her breath hitch as he lifts her arms, pressing them against her chest.

“I think you have bigger problems to worry about than returning your pajamas.” He places his hand on her back, once again making her breath catch as he urges her forward.

“What are you doing?”

“It’s called trust, love. Try it.”

She sighs and moves in the direction he’s taking her toward. “But I don’t even know you.”

“I don't know you either. And yet I’m trying to help you out. But you’re more than welcome to walk around the mall like that.”

“Like what?” Her brows are furrowed in confusion as she peers down at herself. Her eyes blow wide and her cheeks flame when she realizes she’s wearing a white t-shirt with no bra and her nipples are poking out underneath the layer of green. “Oh my God.”

When they reach the restrooms, he pulls off his black leather jacket and plaid overshirt, offering the shirt to her. “Here, take this.”

She eagerly accepts it, and the man takes her pajama pants, holding them while Emma enters the ladies’ room. When she looks in the mirror, her jaw drops to the floor. She looks like Shrek with tits. She dashes into a stall, peels off her green shirt and cleans up before pulling on the plaid and buttoning up over her bare breasts. She tosses the green shirt into the trash and exits the bathroom, her eyes shooting daggers at him. “What the hell? Why can’t you watch where you’re going?” she asks, taking her pants back and walking away from him.

He follows behind her and falls into step beside her. “I said I was sorry, love. But you ran right into me before I could move out of the way.” He chuckles. “You were pretty determined to get to that return line.”

“Yeah, well, you should move quicker next time.”

He nods. “You’re right. Next time I see a beautiful woman marching toward her destination with fire and determination in her eyes, I’ll roll out the red carpet.” He mocks her with a bow, flourishing his hands. “All hail the Queen.”

“You’re funny,” she says sarcastically. “But that will not fix my pants or pay for the shirt I just threw in the trash.”

He reaches into his back pocket and pulls out his wallet. “How much were they? I’ll pay for them.”

“I’m not taking your money. I’m not that desperate for cash.”

“Says the woman returning her Christmas gifts.”

She scowls at him. “How do you know I got them for Christmas?”

“It’s either that or you stole them from a lumberjack.”

She snort-laughs. “Well, thanks for having faith that I wouldn’t stoop that low.”

“You’re welcome, love. So, if I can’t pay for the clothes I ruined, then how can I make it up to you?”

She looks around, her eyes lighting up when she spots the pretzel stand, “You can buy me a pretzel.”

He chuckles, obviously amused all she wants is a soft pretzel. But it doesn’t take much to make her happy.

They get in line, and he orders her a pretzel, not even getting one for himself.

“Are you sure you don’t want a bite?” she offers once they leave the pretzel stand.

He raises a hand in refusal and shakes his head as he tucks his wallet inside his back pocket. “Nah, I don’t eat that rubbish. Do you know what that stuff does to your body?”

“Uh, yeeeeaaaah.” She pops a small bite of the soft cinnamon-coated goodness into her mouth as they walk around the mall. “It fills me with warm, delicious happiness like Christmas used to...before I grew up. Ironically enough, I still sit at the kids' table.”

He arches his brow at her. “How come?”

“So I don’t have to constantly be ridiculed for being single while trying to stuff my face with turkey.”

“That bad, huh?”

“Oh, it gets worse. Let’s see, my brother, who’s ten years younger than me, proposed to his girlfriend, so now I’m literally the only one in my family who is either single or doesn’t have children. Even my aunt, who is a self-described man-eater, had a date for Christmas. In fact, I caught her getting her cookie licked by the mall Santa.”

He clears his throat like he’s trying to clear the image she implanted in his head. “That’s a festive visual.”

Her face twists as she takes another bite of her pretzel. “Seared into my brain like a bad tattoo.”

“You think your Christmas was bad. Try wearing an ugly Christmas sweater while selling bait and lure to men on Christmas who have nothing better to do than go ice fishing and tell a complete stranger their entire life story and the best way to clean fish guts off a boat.”

“That doesn’t sound half bad, actually. If I worked on Christmas, I wouldn’t have to be reminded of how single I am, and every single person in my family wouldn't be trying to set me up with someone.”

“I’d rather spend Christmas with family and sit by the fireplace watching Christmas movies.”

Emma looks at him curiously. “How come you don’t then?”

“Because I don’t have much family to spend the holidays with. Just my brother. Our parents died when we were young.”

“Oh, I’m sorry.” Guilt washes over her as she realizes she’s been complaining about her family and how lonely she feels when his only family is his brother.

“Thanks, love. I just wish I had an excuse to not have to work on the holidays.”

“Why do you need an excuse?”

“Because my brother’s the owner, and he runs a tight ship. He says if I don’t have any plans, I have to work.”

“Your brother sounds like a pain in the ass,” she groans, tearing off a piece of her pretzel.

“You have no idea.”

“So why don’t you just make something up then?”

He shrugs. “And do what? Sit at the bar and drink my sorrows away?”

“You could find a date,” Emma suggests, as though it’s an obvious solution. But she knows more than anyone, finding someone who’s not a complete tool like her ex is not as easy as it sounds. But maybe that’s just her experience. This guy looks like he probably has hundreds of women lined up at his door. Not all of them may be gems, but his odds are most likely better than hers.

“With whom? I don’t have a girlfriend, love,” he says, looking over at her bashfully, the tips of his ears red as he scratches behind one of them.

She swats his shoulder. “Oh, come on. A good-looking guy like you can’t get a date?” She regrets her words as soon as she says them, knowing he might let them go to his head. But who’s she kidding? He definitely knows how good he looks—the guy has to have a mirror.

The cocky smirk he flashes her as he jabs a finger at his chest tells her he definitely knows. “I am devilishly handsome. But I don’t want to find a girlfriend solely for the purpose of not having to work on the holidays.”

“You could get a holidate.” The words spill out of her mouth before she even realizes what she’s saying. But she recalls her aunt in a similar situation—not wanting to have a boyfriend just so she won’t have to be single for the holidays.

“A holidate?”

“Yeah, like a date for the holidays. No pressure...no expectations. Just two people having an enjoyable time and drunk-mocking strangers at parties.”

His eyes light up and he points at her. “I do like drunk-mocking strangers at parties. But who would I get to be my holidate?”

Emma shrugs a little and throws her pretzel wrapper into the nearest trash. “What about me?” She can’t believe she’s offering, but it’s actually the perfect solution to both their problems.

He turns around to face her, arching a brow. “Really? You’d be my holidate?”

“Why not? I mean, think about it. You’ll get to go out and have fun instead of being miserable at work, and I won’t have to walk into a room and be showered in a sea of pity and sad glances. I mean, why does everyone have to be so suspicious about a happy, single woman?!”

“Because you’re not happy.”

“Um, yes I am.” She plasters on a smile and points at the corner of her lips. “See? Happy.”

“No, you’re not.”

She narrows her eyes at him, crossing her arms. “And how would you know?”

“Because you’re an open book, love.”

She rolls her eyes.

“Human beings aren’t meant to be alone on the holidays. They need warmth and companionship and someone to drunk-mock strangers at parties.”

She laughs and nods in agreement. He does have a good point. And she has to admit, she’d love to have a New Year kiss, just not one with any strings attached. She’d like to kiss someone at New Year and then go home alone and not have to worry about what will happen next or if he’ll cheat on her three months down the road. “Look, my parents got me tickets to the Skyfall party on New Year’s Eve and if I don’t find a date, my mother is going to find one for me.”

“Really?” He cocks a brow at her, his eyes shining with intrigue. “That’s such a fun party. And it’d be nice to go and have a few drinks, relax and not have to worry about my date going batshit crazy if I don’t drop a knee at midnight.”

“Exactly. We could just have fun and not have to worry about all the relationship stuff.”

“That’s good because I’m not looking for a relationship.”

Disappointment bubbles up inside her, but she pushes it away. Even if she wanted or needed a relationship, she wouldn’t go for a guy like him. He’s too damn handsome to not be a heartbreaker. “Neither am I,” she states matter-of-factly, never taking her eyes off his.

“Well, then it’s perfect. You’ve got yourself a date,” he says with a grin and extends his hand. “I’m Killian, by the way.”

She smiles a little and slips her palm in his. But instead of shaking it, he brings the back of her hand to his lips and drops a kiss there. Her damn breath hitches again when she feels how warm his lips are and how tingly and inflamed her skin is from his touch. “Emma,” she forces out breathily as she tries not to picture other things he could do with those lips. And she is not envisioning him licking her cookie.

Nope, definitely not.

“Pleasure to meet you, Emma.” He releases her hand, leaving her immediately missing his warmth as he pulls out his wallet and slips out a card, handing it to her. “Here’s my info, love.”

Emma’s eyes narrow when she sees where he works. “Hooked Bait & Tackle.” She looks up at him. “Sounds fishy,” she quips. “What’s your real job?”

He chuckles. “Text me and we’ll finalize the details.”

She flicks the card against her palm. “See you on New Year’s Eve, Captain Hook.”

He winks. “See you then, love.”

As soon as Emma turns around and walks away, her cheeks heat and she peers down, suddenly remembering she’s wearing his shirt. She spins around and calls after him as he walks away.

“Wait, your shirt!” Which is dumb because it’s not like she has anything to change into.

He turns around and grins. “You can give it back on New Year’s Eve!”

“Okay!”

They wave at each other before Emma turns around, pausing as she passes a store with a mannequin in a sexy black dress. She bites her bottom lip, realizing she has nothing to wear to this party.

She enters the store and tries it on, skeptical of how she’ll look in it. It’s usually hard for her to find dresses that actually look good on her, but when she tries on the gorgeous black number, she loves the sweetheart neckline and how good it makes her cleavage look. Her ass doesn’t look too bad in the dress, either. She wonders what Killian’s reaction will be when he sees her in it, wonders if it will make those gorgeous blue eyes pop out of his skull. She smirks into the mirror as she turns to her side, placing her hand on her hip.

“Sexy black dress it is.”

#cs ff #captain swan #holidate au

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aarcanechaoss · 3 years ago

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13. Seeing Red

Masterlist

Tenten doesn’t like to celebrate her birthday… but Temari wanted to give her friend a gift

Warnings: Swearing // Filler chapter

Nineteen. Tenten was nineteen now, technically twenty-seven.

Chunin exams were around the corner for her friends but here she was alone in her room staring blankly at the ceiling. She had her blankets bunched around her legs, a book lying beside her bookmarked and waiting for her. The room was dark, she'd turned off the light ages ago wanting to be in the cool chill of her apartment unbothered.

It's been two months since she had travelled back in time, before shit hit the ceiling, before the pain and suffering she'd gone through.

She briefly wonders how Shikamaru is doing. Out of them both he seems less disoriented than her even as she allows herself to settle in. Still, dark thoughts nip at her mind.

She hasn't celebrated her birthday in years. To be fair she never really did before hand either, she doesn't remember the last time she willingly told someone when her birthday was. Her parents had sent a card, adopted as she was she was still their daughter, their pride and joy but she wasn't currently their Tenten... she sighed and continued to stare at the ceiling.

Maybe it was Gaara? Or Kankuro who was the last person she'd told her birthdate too. Still- she scoffed a little, she didn't find the day to be important anyway. The day she was born her parents gave her up, the day she turned six she could already use a kunai, her tenth she was adopted and that was the only time she really enjoyed her birthday.

Thinking about it any harder would give the brunette a headache but she couldn't help but let her mind wander. Neji and Lee never asked about it and she never told... it took Guy Sensei spotting it in a medical document for him to invite the team for a five month belated dinner.. you can't exactly tell your Sensei you don't want to celebrate your birth, especially when he seems so upset with himself for not knowing.

Another long sigh and she realised... Neji's death took the biggest toll on her. She knew that, she wasn't stupid but every once in a while it'd hit her again. His death made her celebrate even less than she already did. She wouldn't get up, wouldn't move, wouldn't eat for days sometimes and usually around her birthday. Water she had plenty in stock so she wouldn't become dehydrated but food, even with it being on hand she would just stare at it as if willing the nutrients into her body. She allowed a tear to fall as she remembered all the birthdays leading to her death. She was nothing but a shell... her confidence and sass all a front for the ache she couldn't quite shake.

Even now it still felt like the universe was fucking with her making her come back, making her see not only him but the others who had died. She hated crying, hated losing herself to her emotions but she couldn't help it she truly felt nothing but a dull aching where her heart should be. She was so zoned out she didn't hear the knock at her front door. Not that she would have gotten up anyway.

"Tenten?" The voice didn't register, too busy letting her mind remember the last six-seven years.

"Tenten?" The voice called again. "I know you are in there. If you don't open the door I'll come through the window."

Who was calling out? She didn't now, didn't care to find out right now. There was quiet shuffling around outside and before she knew it her bedroom door was slammed open.

Shikamaru stood there, like usual walking into her home as if he owned it but joined by Temari and... her brothers?

"Oh you're Tenten." Kankuro said with a hum. "You look like shit-"

"Kankuro!" Temari scolded as she pushed the boys from the room. "Stay out here."

"Hey Temari." Tenten said quietly. She hadn't known the sand siblings would be coming back today.

"Hey Tenten. You okay? Shikamaru said you weren't doing well so I demanded to come over and don't worry about my brothers tagging along." The blonde said sitting on the bed as Tenten moved to sit up. The brunette turned, allowing the light to be turned on.

"Just not a fan of my birthday."

"Ah so you don't accept presents?" Temari teased. Tenten could almost feel the tingling beneath her skin, the one that urged her to flirt with her friend and the one that made her want to tackle her in a giant hug.

"Well depends, if it's from you I might just take it." The words rolled from her tongue, Temari gave a laugh.

"Let's get you dressed and feeling better!" She exclaimed before practically jumping into her cupboard. "You own a lot more black and red now."

"I like how they look on me." She shrugged, her seemingly glum mood dissipating as Temari hummed and chatted while finding something for Tenten to wear.

"Here." The Kunoichi said finally pushing some clothes into Tenten's arms. "I'll wait outside and make sure they didn't break anything."

A grey skirt, a black bralette and a large jacket... Temari seemed to know this Tenten's style pretty well. With a quick step into her bathroom she put on some light makeup and stepped out into the lounge.

"There you go less like shit now." Kankuro laughed as a smack was delivered to the back of his head by Temari.

"She looked fine before." Gaara said bluntly. How Tenten wanted to giggle, he really didn't change much from now to in the future.

"Depressive episode Tenten is the hottest version of me thanks." She says with a laugh. The group laughed too even if a little wearily.

"Sooo what brings you to my apartment this dreary day?" Tenten question.

"Dreary?" Kankuro turned and looked outside. The blue sky clear and pretty.

"Dreary." Tenten confirmed before shrugging. "I don't like my birthday."

"Oh yeah I forgot about that." Shikamaru said sheepishly. Tenten shot him a teasing glare, it's fine she didn't need to wallow in self pity she could be happy...

"Anyway." Temari chimed it breaking the strange tension. "Here's your present it's old but I know you like these things."

Tenten grasped the present held in Temari's hand now being turned in Tenten's calloused ones. Opening the plain purple wrapping she paused. A knife, decorated prettily with an old jade handle and a carving on the blade shaped like a small star.

"Wow." Her brown eyes seemed to glimmer, a look Shikamaru was more than happy to see let alone Temari - and the brothers she'd dragged along. Tenten took the blonde girl into a hug. "It's beautiful thank-you."

"I'm glad you like it. Kankuro and I found it while on a mission last month." Temari smiled.

"So this is why you wanted the knife..."

"Yes."

"It's a very nice knife I'm glad you like it." The Kazekage said awkwardly as though he wasn't quite sure if he should have spoken. Tenten gave a smile, flashes of their future trying to claim her mind.. she shook her head.

"I do love my weapons... maybe this year's birthday won't be terrible."

"I'm glad you think that because Guy and Lee are running around telling everyone that it's your birthday and we are actually here to rescue you." Shikamaru said. Her left eye twitched.

"Suddenly I have a mission-"

The group fell into laughter, a birthday for Tenten to enjoy.

#Naruto angst #nejiten angst #nejiten #Tenten #shikamaru nara #temari #kankuro #naruto gaara #Naruto fluff

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dreamwritesimagines · 3 years ago

Note

So...not entirely sure how to pull all of this together but I'll try. This is take 5 : me trying to put this criticism in a respectful manner. In my first three takes I had a lot of stuff to say about your depiction of gangsters (and bakers) but after talking a bit to my Da I realized I need to put my biases in check. So, just to get it out of the way, I think Caught In The Fire suffers from the uninspired. At the moment, it looks like a (gangster + bakery) au = lovable fic Slowburn a typical equation, that actually could be taken in very interesting ways. Except in the first five chapters so far I am not seeing anything particularly interesting to keep me hooked (besides the good quality writing). There's a bit of former sort-of-a-relationship angst, gone mother vagueness, one brief conversation about a dead gang that at this point means nothing, and so Far a promising cast of original characters and canon characters that have not done anything interesting so far. I am very aware the story is in hiatus but just looking at it as is...there's quite a bit that hasn't been solidified yet. (especially when I have experienced fics that are anywhere to three to six chapters long and in hiatus since 2007 that have laid a lot of groundwork and get the ball rolling really fast and hard before you check last updated and then you spend years afterwards pining for what might have happened and hugging what you have so tightly because you have to deal with the fact that the author might never come back but at least they left behind such a beautiful fragment that was shaping up to be a masterpiece but the fragment itself is all there is so that what you study and read again and again- sorry, not over it, but you get my point) but this is just the peas and carrots before the actual potatoes. This is where the root of my criticism comes from. I've tried like six times to get my thoughts in order and it ended up in huge paragraphs with additional bullet points but now I'm just gonna do this rapid fire instead. So ready set go:

Bucky is a good person but is also a criminal and a mob boss which usually means that he would be doing a bunch of super immoral shit as his job. Remind me again how exactly this means he is a good person? Better yet, what exactly does his job entail???? will we ever see Bucky at work or only vague references? (either one is fine its just I need to know because my mind wont let go and I kinda can't figure out what exactly to expect at this point)

Why would Peaches not encourage Bucky to leave his criminal family and get the hell out of dodge when he could? Why on earth would she tell him to STAY on such a path??? Its hard to say she was selfish if she wasn't expecting to see him again, is it?

The bakery could be a bigger part of things, whether its Peaches characterization or actually being a part of the setting or even a plot point. Right now I can not help but wonder why it has to even be here when it doesn't have to be. She literally could work anywhere else and get those cupcakes custom ordered and when they were little they could have been hanging at a bakery. (Also, actually working a bakery is super hard work, like insane hard work. Hint: most of the time, they have to start at like five in the morning and be lifting damned heavy trays and be on their feet all day)

The brief mention of a rival gang getting wiped out made me think of Tywin Lannister wiping out the Reynes and Tarbecks in ASoIaF, and that got me thinking that maybe it doesn't really makes sense in your story that Bucky's Dad wiped out an entire clan of his rivals and that became the ultimate warning because its more likely for innocent and slightly less innocent bystanders to get murdered. (well, what I should mean is that while rival clans killing each other does happen there is way more bodies underneath every rival's eventual corpse...Does that make sense?) So those are my main critiques against Caught In The Fire. Frankly, looking back, these are more like questions that haven't been answered yet but they are driving me crazy anytime I think about it. One of my main issues at first was the first one. The fact that you depict the Mob but don't really shed light on the many crimes and evil shit they would do. There's a couple possibilities here tho.

One, we haven't gotten there yet.

Two, You yourself are not interested in going down such a dark path for you story and I like dark stories so this where both our tastes go different routes.

I think One is a bit more likely when you continue CitF and Two is me having to seriously put my wants and expectations in check even if it turns out its One. (I apologize for judging you so hard before I started reading more of your work. Even now, I must apologize twice over because my earlier drafts of this made me sound like a dick towards you. Personally, I like to explore super dark violent shit a lot in stories, whether writing, reading, or watching, so I reacted really inappropriately at first when I was putting together this.) I'm Sorry. I am sorry. Your work, your writing, all of it is amazing. Your stories are loved, and are beautiful. Your work stays, and I am sorry for being an ass about Caught in the Fire because I got blinded by my blind hunger for edgy shit. So onto other things.

I really like the little sister. I hope to keep on seeing her. Actually, it would be great for Steve and her to get together and talk art. not so sure how to feel about the additional friends in Peaches cast at this point but I've seen how you've dealt with this before so I ain't worried at all. Can't wait to see the other gangs. Who even are they?

Quick theory/question: What if it was all a lie? What if Bucky was the one who killed those rivals? Did Bucky bury the bodies that laid the foundation of what he is now and Peaches is going to find out/its gonna come bite him on the ass now? anyway, I really hope I didn't fuck up this critique too badly. I'm actually a follower but I am also a coward, so that's why this is on anon. I look forward to the next chapter of Burn the Witch and to the next time you update Caught in The Fire -in collo sanguine

Hi there,

No reason to feel nervous about it, we can all exchange our different opinions as long as those opinions are stated respectfully, and I appreciate you taking the time to send me this ask and share them with me in such manner.

So I'm not really going to explain the parts you found boring/uninspired because that's the thing about fiction, you can't convince someone to like a story. That's just not how it works, no reader is obliged to like every part of a story or every story from a person. Most of the time we as readers have different preferences, but it is also important to keep in mind that writers might have different expectations/preferences from their stories, which sounds like you are aware of it, so ;

To explain your bullet points:

*Bucky is a good person but is also a criminal and a mob boss which usually means that he would be doing a bunch of super immoral shit as his job. Remind me again how exactly this means he is a good person?Better yet, what exactly does his job entail???? will we ever see Bucky at work or only vague references?

If I continue that story, and that's an if right now, the main character is definitely going to see Bucky doing some messed up things that would make her question whether he actually is the "good person" she clings to from her past.

*Why would Peaches not encourage Bucky to leave his criminal family and get the hell out of dodge when he could? Why on earth would she tell him to STAY on such a path?

One of the main themes of CitF was actually the theme of running away/not being able to run away from one's family. Granted it's not always as strict in real life as it is in the story, but breaking one's family's influence over them is one of the biggest plotlines of the story. Bucky basically had as many options as Peaches did back then, and he couldn't leave his family behind just like Peaches couldn't, when Bucky asked him to. Family can be very manipulative without letting their children know about it, and a lot of the characters had that...influence on them.

* The bakery could be a bigger part of things, whether its Peaches characterization or actually being a part of the setting or even a plot point. Right now I can not help but wonder why it has to even be here when it doesn't have to be. She literally could work anywhere else and get those cupcakes custom ordered and when they were little they could have been hanging at a bakery. (Also, actually working a bakery is super hard work, like insane hard work Hint: most of the time, they have to start at like five in the morning and be lifting damned heavy trays and be on their feet all day)

It was actually the theme of family, again. Bakery was there as a symbol, the earlier generation's hope for starting fresh only to trap the next generation in their dream. (Yep I know it's hard work, my cousin owns a bakery)

*The brief mention of a rival gang getting wiped out made me think of Tywin Lannister wiping out the Reynes and Tarbecks in ASoIaF, and that got me thinking that maybe it doesn't really makes sense in your story that Bucky's Dad wiped out an entire clan of his rivals and that became the ultimate warning because its more likely for innocent and slightly less innocent bystanders to get murdered.

Wait, you mean the earlier rival gang thing that killed each other? That wasn't Bucky's father, it was a different gang. Peaches mentioned that because that's basically the worst scenario that can come out of a gang war.

It is One, I was planning to get more into that dynamic and what it entailed more as the story evolved, seeing that we only know the story from Peaches' perspective, it would take us (and her) some time to actually witness that.

No reason to apologize for it, the important thing is that you sent me this message and shared your thoughts with me, and I'm glad you did. Like I said, if you like very dark and edgy stories, it might not be for you and there's nothing wrong with that. There are so many wonderful authors that write like... darker stories.

Thank you, and don't worry about it, it's only by talking that we can understand each other, and I really appreciate you explaining your viewpoint on it.

Happy reading!

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siimjaeyun · 4 years ago

Text

Chapter 2: Caution, Gators can eat humans.

Synopsis: The wishes for a new mystery after the sudden decrease in Seoul sends the teen mystery group to a town nearby. It’s own name justifies itself, and let’s just say: things don’t get pretty when JK (the anonymous caller) sends them on a chase.

Series Masterlist

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Absent-mindedly, the man continued to drive his SUV through the bumpy roads of Gatorsville, a small town just miles away from Seoul.

"We need to pull up for gas." The father made his way to the abandoned gas station, allowing his daughter to walk for a bit with the puppy.

The small puppy ran off into the bushes; the girl followed suit and called its name.

When she managed to reach her hand in, it met a pair of red fiery eyes back at her. Shocked, she jumped backwards and cried for help.

"Dad! It's a monster!" In disbelief, the man refused to believe her, but met the same sketched black-green lizard pattern with glowing eyes.

He didn't manage to say much, but got himself into the car and drove off in a hurry leaving whatever the creature was back in the dark.

------

"I'm bored.." Sunoo plopped backwards and landed on top of poor Sunghoon who was resting comfortably on the floor.

"What's up with Seoul, there hasn't been a mystery!" Jungwon soon joined Sunoo, crushing Sunghoon as well, making him cry out.

"Yo Jake, help me!" Jake helped the boy, picking him up and throwing him on the couch with you.

"Heeseung what's this?" You picked the magazine that was crumpled between the two couch cushions; part of you wished you had left it once seeing the front cover.

"It's a trap illustrated! Where do you think I got the inspo for this beauty." He flaunted the cords hung onto the metal crates.

"And who exactly do you expect to catch?"

Right on time, the delivery man got himself hung onto the trap set on the front, simply handing him the package once Heeseung managed to open the door and let him free.

"It's a package."

A loud thunder banged against the windows, letting the rain and its friends make itself present in the home. With caution, he opened it revealing an object covered by tissue and an envelope stamped in red with [JK]

"I swear JK gives me the creeps." The group opened the rest of its contents and found a gator skinned bag in the box.

"Maybe a trip to Gatorsville wouldn't hurt. Safe travels."

"This doesn't make sense. I thought Gatorsville didn't make skin products anymore." Jake observed the purse, handling each nook and cranny with care.

"Gatorsville? Like as in actual Gators?" Sunoo tried setting himself apart, clearly intimidated by the idea of gators.

"150 years ago, miners had moved to Gatorsville in search of oil and gold. Instead, they found the abundance of gators in the area, and mounted businesses on the farms which made them rich. They sold products everywhere, but when there were no more gators, everyone moved out. It's practically a ghost town."

"Then I'm assuming we have a new mystery?" Heeseung smiled and led the way out the door, at least before all six of you found yourselves captured in the same trap as the delivery man.

------

"Let's look around." They split into their usual teams, and trailed off.

"So, Jake, how do you like it so far?" You realized you hadn't learned much about the boy besides his past in Australia and his cute dog that visited occasionally.

"To be honest, it was really boring before Sunghoon invited me to come along. I'm glad I've got people who make life interesting." His small eye smile reassured you and you kept exploring the area.

From afar, Jungwon, Heeseung, and Sunoo found no hope of a mystery and made their way back to the remaining three of you.

"I guess JK sent us on a wild goose chase. Let's head back before it's too late." You gladly hopped back into the van and when Heeseung turned his key, the car wouldn't start. He trudged back and opened the car to see his engine had gone missing.

"Uhh...guys!" Sunghoon walked out, first witnessing the same event.

"H-how is it possible?" The six teens huddled around the missing spot, and turned around with a blinding light flashed forward.

"What do you exactly think you're doing!?" A man in his late 50's stepped out of the tow truck, and his eyebags and cuts on his upper eyebrow clearly signaled he wasn't here to talk much.

"Our engine is missing, think you can help?"

"And why should I?" He punched his knuckles and caused Jungwon to step backwards with Sunoo.

"Cause you're a mechanic?"

"Right. Well you're going to have to wait until tomorrow morning anyway-I have to wait for Seoul to come deliver a new one."

As the teens tried to call their parents, they received no response. They were either busy or didn’t care, clearly comforting the goofy timeline of teen chaos and drama.

"Just call Jay, maybe he can come." Hesitant, you dialed his number and received no response.

"He probably fell asleep. We're gonna have to stay the night." A neon sign was perfectly hung on the side of a building.

[GATOR INN]

"Hello, anyone there?" You clung onto Jake who just like you, preferred to lurk in the background while Heeseung and Jungwon took the lead.

"What do you want!?" A woman appeared from the dark shadows of the motel stairs, letting her fingers trail against the handrail.

“A room?”

“We’re all booked.” The woman sat on the closest tool: filing her nails without bothering to look at the teens in their eyes.

“But your sign says vacancy.” Sunghoon pointed to the sign from before, the clear letters stating VACANCY.

“Alright, follow me. I have a few rules, the girly over there gets her own room. The five of you that remain can split into two rooms.”

“Wait, no. Jungwon-he’s my brother; we can share a room.” You gave a slight signal to Jungwon to play along with the game, and the woman simply handed you the keys and walked back.

Her bright red hair decorated in pink bows peaked from behind her, but disappeared almost immediately once she turned her head forwards to face you.

“One more thing, if you hear biting, screams, loud shrieks: ignore and enjoy your day.” Her loud hairstyle finally left the hall, and you entered the old furnished room with Jungwon.

“It’s clear this hasn’t been cleaned in months.” You dropped your bag on the bed, and accompanied the bag to find a comfortable spot to rest.

------

“I wonder why y/n would lie to the woman about Jungwon being her brother.” Jake sat on the nearby chair, pushing the cushion downward.

“He’s scared to sleep alone; and he’s basically her child.”

“I’m not sleepy.”

“Neither am I. Why don’t we head out and explore if there’s anything worthwhile in the Motel.” They grabbed their jackets and exited the room, finding Jungwon and y/n heading out as well.

The four bodies met at the center of the hall, confused, but not surprised by their need to exit the walls of the motel guest room.

“Clearly, smart minds think alike.” You scoffed at his statement and led the way out the lobby. There wasn’t much to see clearly. The van was parked on the curb, the sky was dark and covered in a blanket of fog; everything appeared in order.

The comfortable silence was quickly disturbed by subtle movements in the bushes.

“I-i think something is there.” Jake reached out to move the branches and get a clear image, but a creature jumped out causing them to fall on their backs.

“G-gator people!” Sunghoon picked up Jungwon, while Jake helped you up and led you away from the monster that was currently chasing you. You quickly made your way up the flights of stairs: pushing through the other flights that followed to your bedrooms.

The creature continued; its sharp claws gauging at the walls and leaving a claw nail stuck in the paintings that were nicely hung. Without hesitation, the four of you barged into Heeseung and Sunoo’s room.

“What are you guys doing here?” Sunoo barely bothered to look up from his screen when he witnessed the same creature enter the room, crushing the door that was once attached.

“Gator people?” In fear, all of you clung onto the windows from the edge. Your foots collected on top of a single mattress, throwing the closest objects towards the creature.

The room quickly went black. A red glow emerged from the corners from the room allowing the two gators to creep under the floorboards and take a hold of your right leg pulling it downward.

Your body slipped from the thin lifting of the window balcony, and soon enough it was being dragged from under the five boys, leaving you to scream.

Jake and Heeseung plunged forwards, each taking a hold of one of your arms to prevent the gators from dragging your body any further. Sunghoon took the liberty of stomping on the arms of the gators, making them retreat backwards. They slipped on their own tails and fell downward through the same hole they had crept through. You made your way up and looked at the gator skin dangling from your ankle. A white stuffing peeked through the thin fabric; the monster clearly wasn’t real.

“It isn’t real?” Before Sunoo could continue with his pondering thoughts, the two gators once more crawled from below and sank their claws into the boards. The six teens ran out the door and out of the motel.

‘COME BACK TO VISIT’ The tacky green sign hung on the side, and was the last part of their vision before securely making their way out of the Gatorsville. They turned their heads back to the issue, and saw as the gators came to an abrupt stop once they had exited the town. Slippery, and cautious, the duo hid once more and retreated back.

“That was close.”

“We have to go back, come on!” Jungwon, almost-excited like, pushed his older companions to the inners of town once more. They slyly hid in the trees until they found the two gators pushing large crates into a ship; one crate after another went inside.

“Here.” Heeseung managed to bust the crate open, revealing packs of gator skinned products. Each marked with the same tag from earlier, ‘100% gator.’

Sunoo rolled up one of his sleeves and picked a belt from within the crate, and without thought, he wrapped the skin around his own. After some moments, he released the belt from his grasp and let it fall to the ground with a small clank following afterward.

“It’s fake, just look at my skin!” Sunghoon and Jungwon inspected him and found a pink rashing forming on his pale flesh. Sunoo was known for his skin sensitivity, and everyone knew that any fake animal product would send the boy into itches and scratches.

“The only thing we have here folks is a bunch of con-artists.” Heeseung sighs and makes his way to set up another one of his elaborate traps.

------

“Jake, now!” Jake quickly shot the arrow to the target, and it lunged to release the two boxes hanging by cords on the top side of the building.

The gators made their efforts to leave, but quickly were captured by the teen’s proud ploy.

“Got them!” Jake once more looked at the boxes with curiorsity, helping Sunghoon push it back towards the Motel entrance.

“Chief Kim.” The police man trudged through Gator Inn and found the huddled teens around two gator people caught in ropes.

“What is the meaning of this?”

“This Chief Kim is…” Heeseung pulled back the mask which revealed the owner of the motel inn and the scornful mechanic.

“What!?”

“That’s right. This is our home and when everyone left, we couldn’t just go. This is our home. So we started making cheap products to earn some money. We used the costumes to scare off yee visitors and get them away from our business. And we would have gotten away with it, if it wasn’t for you meddling tourists!”

Chief Kim quickly gave a nod which sent the gators to get sent to the back of his police car. They didn’t bother asking more questions and were about to drive off when Sunghoon rushed behind them.

“Wait! We need a ride!”

Almost on cue, the engine of their van made a growl, and the front lights illuminated their bodies. “Is it haunted?” Jungwon approached it carefully, and lifted the hood of the car; the engine was back in its place and now accompanied with a note hanging from the top.

“I hope you enjoyed your visit, but remember there is more to come. This is only the beginning of the puzzle. JK” The signature red stamp with bold letters JK glistened under the moonlight.

“More? I swear, this just keeps getting more creepy.” The six were left with nothing but to make their way back home, and who knows what they would expect next.

------

Note: Jay and Niki will be progressively included in the story line. I’m sorry for the long wait :(

#enhypen #enhypen imagines #enhypen scenarios #jungwon #jay #heeseung #jake #sunghoon #sunoo #niki #heeseung imagines #jake imagines

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