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deadinside-butstill-horny · 4 years ago

Text

The Night We Met

Part One - The Night We Met

Pairing: Javier Peña/ Female Murphy!Reader

Words: 5.3k

Summary: Murphy's sister travels to Colombia after realising Steve might not quite be A-Okay and meets the Javier Peña.

Content Warnings: 18+ Smut-ish (I wouldn’t wanna read it out to my mom), dry humping, dirty talk in Spanish which reader doesn’t understand so does it really count?, gratuitous love of the black shirt from the torture scene.

AO3

MASTERLIST

Author Note: So here is my return to writing! The word count got away from me but I loved every second of it. Always after prompts, so drop me a message on here if you'd like to see anything in particular. If it's in my wheelhouse, you'll definitely see it.

Pedro in the black shirt in this scene is what inspired me to write this, I can’t lie.

If you were brutally honest with yourself, this spur of the moment decision may have been a mistake.

Other people could make these choices and not have that nagging feeling in their gut from the second they booked their fuckin' airline ticket. You had attempted to grab life by its metaphorical horns and go and sort this shit show out by yourself, but after your momentarial bravery was used up, all that was left was a crippling anxiety that threatened to send you into a full scale panic attack if you thought too hard about the fact you were following your big brother to Colombia.

Yes, Colombia. You, a U.S. national with no particular interest in hunting Pablo Escobar, had decided to vacation in sunny, crime ridden Bogotá on a whim.

You were fuckin’ dumb.

Sarcasm aside, you weren’t actually here on vacation, you were going to check on Stevie. Your brother, one of the DEA agents assigned with taking down Escobar.

You’d been worried about him for a few months, it had sounded like he was dealing with heavy shit in South America, you knew that was the job, but he was still your brother.

His calls had gotten less and less frequent until he stopped returning them all together and the only reason you knew he was alive were your pep-talks with your sister-in-law, trying to help her keep her shit together, but hell, you weren’t a therapist or a miracle worker. So when Connie rang asking to stay at your place you had obliged and she had returned to Miami a mere shell of her former self.

After a mammoth amount of prodding over the course of two days you managed to wring the truth out of her, not the nuggets of information she had given you over the phone in hushed whispers during her time in Colombia but the whole messy story; the communist Elisa Alvarez, Steve’s kidnapping and the cold edges your brother was developing.

It was all you could do not to book the tickets there and then, but you held out and supported Connie in the ways Steve couldn't have, taking care of Olivia when you could and just trying your hardest to be there for her. Your presence alone seemed to be enough to help her through the days that followed. A week and a half after her return, you booked your flight to Colombia in secret.

You had to check on Steve.

He hadn’t answered a single one of your many many calls. You packed light and told Connie the morning of, and whilst she didn’t like it, she understood. You supposed that a part of her was relieved to know her husband would have someone in Colombia that wasn't there to kill him.

So here you sat, two hours into your flight to the paradise destination; Bogotá. Your brother's address scrawled on a scrap piece of paper in the one hand and a glass of cheap whiskey in the other. The alcohol did little to to calm your nerves, this was a dangerous place for a cop, let alone a fuckin’ clueless civilian.

When the plane finally touched down, you stood from your seat emptying the last few drops of whiskey which had tried to evade you onto your tongue, you picked up your backpack and queued to leave the plane.

The second you left the aircraft the humidity hit you like a brick wall, it was like all of the fresh air had been sucked out of the atmosphere. On a normal evening you would appreciate such a warm climate, but now the heat meant frustration to your tired brain and it only added to your baseline levels of anxiety as your hairline and upper lip were drenched as you walked through the arrivals gate.

Cards on the table; you didn’t have much of a game plan, you spoke no Spanish and stuck out like a sore thumb. You had the address but no means to get there, you didn’t relish the idea of getting in a taxi as a woman alone in a foreign country, but with little to no other options you went to hail one of the cabs that sat outside the airport.

Your fears turned out to be for naught, well not quite naught as the man had raked his eyes across your body for a large percentage of the trip in his mirror, but he had the good grace not to kidnap or murder you, which for you meant it was a successful journey, how low you had set the bar was just occuring to you.

After paying the gentleman he dropped you outside what appeared to Steve’s apartment building. You take a moment on the pavement to recollect yourself ready for your reunion. Peeling your denim jacket off, you decide instead to wrap it around your waist, tying the sleeves securely. With a harumph, you grab the handle of your suitcase, and drag it behind you. Your success thus far gives you a second wind of determination.

Though apparently dumb luck can only get you so far, because after heaving your suitcase up a flight of stairs and rapping on the door of apartment 20 until your knuckles ached, it began to dawn on you, you had no clue if this was even the right building.

“Fuck.” you mutter to yourself, you should’ve rang Connie or tried Steve again when you landed, but you’d been so single minded in carrying out your plan all common sense had apparently abandoned you. So with a million different scenarios of things you could’ve done better playing out behind your eyes you dragged your suitcase to the small lobby of the building, where the front door stood.

You huffed and dropped onto the bottom step in surrender, not quite sure where to go from here.

Weeks of anxiety and worry finally took their toll on your body as reality set in, and as it did so you couldn’t help but laugh at the sheer stupidity of the situation you’d put yourself in. A light chuckle escaped your body as you held your face in your hands,you rubbed at your eyes as a way of refreshing yourself before sighing and leaning back.

You must have sat with your head in your hands for around three hours before anyone of note arrived, you had received strange looks from residents in their comings and goings as they stepped around you, your expectant looks turned to disappointment when you realised they weren’t Steve. In fairness, you, a gringa sitting on the stairs at 2am, most likely wasn’t a daily occurrence to these homeowners.

By the time he came through the door, your eyes were closed and your head was leant on the bannister, trying to get what little rest you could. Your eyes opened a crack to see a man and a woman enter the building and turn right, the man had his arm around her as he stared at you in confusion, the look was so quick you may have missed it if you blinked, but they were talking in low whispers of Spanish and from the looks of things he didn’t give you a second thought.

So you extended him the same courtesy and shut your eyes once again, you heard the metal jangling of keys going into the lock, the sound of smacking lips and then the door was closed. You figured that was the end of it, instead you heard hurried footsteps coming towards you, your eyes shot open as he rounded the corner.

“Estás bien?” The man questioned. It took you a moment to realise he was talking to you, as you took him in you were struck by your stupidity, how could you have dismissed this man so quickly even in the throes of a mental breakdown. His chocolate brown eyes bore into your own as you realised he was waiting for a response.

“Uh… no hablo... español?” you pretty much asked him, cringing internally at your butchering of the most basic sentence of this gorgeous strangers language, his lips quirked at your mumbles making his mustache raise on one side with his smirk. Now, you’d never been a fan of a mustache, Steve and your father had both taken to styling their facial hair in such a way, and as a rule of thumb they were a big no-no. But my god. This man made that mustache his bitch and that bitch worked for him.

“You’re American?” He questions, smirk dropping along with his eyebrows in confusion as his brain processes the information.

“Oh thank god and Jesus fuckin’ christ above. You’re American!” Your timid nature had given way to pure unadulterated relief. “Stevie, Steve Murphy, he lives in this building, yeah?”

“Yeah… Stevi...Steve lives here- I’m sorry, who the hell are you?” He asks with a puzzled look and a shake of his head, there’s an air of distrust about him for some strange reason.

“I’m Y/N Murphy, I’m his sister.”

“Sister? Mierda... does he know you’re here?”

“Nope,” You pop your P as you shrug at the man before you with false nonchalance. “He’d have to answer the phone to me or Connie to know that now, wouldn’t he?”

“Steve.” The stranger sighed, annoyed.

“Sorry, who are you?” You asked, yourself becoming more bemused by the man by the second.

“I’m Steve’s partner, Javier.” He held out his hand which you were more than happy to take in a shake, his tan hand was soft yet strong as it held your own captive within it. “C’mon in I’ll give him a call, God knows what time he’s planning on getting back.”

“Uh, I don’t want to interrupt…” You mumble, waving your free hand vaguely towards where you knew the woman was waiting for him, making him smirk once again.

You were beginning to think that the sarcastic raise of his mouth was just his default resting face.

“You’re not interrupting anything.”

Now I know what you’re thinking, ‘cause I’d think it to. This is how people die in America, let alone fuckin’ Colombia, but if it's a choice between dying at the hands of a gorgeous man who seems to know your brother or a stray that wonders in through the non-descript lobby door then you’d rather go out with a nice view, even if he did have a girlfriend.

If you had to gamble, you’d say you had a damn good chance of making it out of this apartment alive.

So you nodded and used the hand he hadn’t released yet to pull yourself up into a standing position. He wasn’t particularly tall but he still towered over you, your eyeline gave you a great view past his black shirt which was unbuttoned quite liberally, you assumed that was courtesy of the woman he’d entered with.

“Thank you,” you nodded at him with a genuine smile of relief. He didn’t reply, only grabbed the handle of your pull along suitcase before extending his arm towards his apartment and motioning to wordlessly say, after you.

Now you know how people say when you can feel a stare? You had the sensation before, but as you leaned over to pick up your backpack from the bottom step, you felt his eyes laser focus on your denim clad ass. You turned your head in disbelief and found his eyes still lingered there for a moment before meeting your own. Unbelievable. Part of you was flattered, the other part was bemused that he had a beautiful woman in there waiting and here he was ogling you.

You rolled your eyes, instilled with a new confidence as you turned and walked towards his apartment, you felt his eyes follow your form once more.

Steve’s hot partner was an ass man... Good to know.

...

As it turns out Javier’s girlfriend, or what you we’re starting to think was more of a one night stand, was not happy with the situation at all, you came to this discovery as Javier pointed you to the sofa before beginning arguing with her in hushed Spanish, the beautiful woman huffed and sent a dirty look your way before storming out and slamming the door behind her, with enough power to make it shake in its bearings. You raised your eyebrows at Javier from your seat. He shook his head with a sigh and began lighting up a cigarette, he turned and offered you one.

“No thanks, I quit.”

“Woman with an iron will?”

“Not quite,” You whisper, shaking your head.

He smiles before clearing his throat and moving over to pick up his landline. Javier presses a combination of buttons, before putting it to his ear and blowing the smoke from his lungs. His eyes met yours as the phone rang, he gave you reassuring wink.

“Murphy? … Yeah… you need to get back to your place now... You’ve got a guest.... No … come find out why don’t you?” Sarcasm dripped from his lazy tone, his voice was so smooth. It was like chocolate on gravel, you could listen to him talk for hours, which led your mind down that deep dark hole of what he sounded like during more carnal acts, he’d be a talker, for definite, what with all that confidence and swagger. “‘Kay… I’ll see you soon.”

Shaking your head you centred yourself, it had been a dry patch for you. You needed to calm down and not throw yourself at your brother's partner, even if he just so happened to be the first man you had any interest in to show you attention in months.

“He’s on his way,” He confirmed what you already knew but you liked hearing him speak so you nodded in thanks. An awkward silence filled the air for a few moments, as you two perfect strangers shared one another's company.

“Drink?” He offered pointing at the bottle of whiskey on the counter.

“God, yes.” You all but moaned at the offer. Javier chuckled, and grabbed a second glass from his cupboard, before pouring you both a generous serving. He walked around the back of the sofa, and passed you the glass of liquid gold and took a seat next to you. Close enough to initiate something, but not touching, quite a respectful distance.

Initiate something? God Y/N, get your mind out of the gutter. This poor man had only invited you in because you were his partner's sister and he was doing the decent thing.

“Uh… The television work?” You ask, pointing at the empty screen.

“I didn’t realise you could speak Spanish…” His voice was dripping with false surprise, mocking your earlier attempts at the language, though he reached across and switched the box on with the remote, he began flicking through the channels so quickly he almost gave you a headache.

“Oh yes, I’m very proficient, I just didn’t want to intimidate you earlier. Hola Señor Javier.” You say continuing his ruse. He chuckles at your words, it's a deep warm noise that shakes his entire frame. You were definitely thinking about adding Javier’s voice to your top ten list of favourite sounds.

He flicks through the channels, for a few seconds before sighing and dropping the remote in your lap. Taking your assignment seriously, you sit up, bringing yourself a few inches closer to the man next to you, purely accidentally of course and begin flicking through the channels as Javier had done moments before, though 3am TV scheduling left a lot to be desired.

News, News, Colombian QVC, News, News, Soap opera. Bingo!

“Ah, now we’re talking.” You mumble, eyes stuck on the screen of the Colombian Soap opera playing. The two of you sat in silence once again as you slowly sipped on your drinks watching drama play out.

You watched in silence for around ten minutes, not understanding a single word of what was being said. The scene was on two latino actors sitting in a bedroom. The woman was sat on the bed being confronted by the man in a serious tone.

“What is she saying?” You question narrowing your eyes at the beautiful woman's tone. Javier, who had been watching your reactions the whole time as you got into the awful tv show scrambled as he tried to listen and translate the woman's words.

“Uh… her dads an alcoholic and she’s trying to support her son… that guy didn’t know about the son... I think… she was happy living a double life without the worry and she wants him to forgive her and start over…” Javier translated, giving you the general cliff notes.

“Oh shit,” You gasped at his words, but your attention diverted to the screen where the two had continued their heated argument and began kissing or rather where the man was devouring her neck, “I’m getting vibes that he might be open to forgiving her.”

You chuckled at your own joke, as did Javier. Though this time when his body shook his bare elbow touched your own.

How was he so goddamn warm?

All he was wearing was a black button down shirt. One that looked to be the wrong size it was so tightly fitted- not that you were complaining about the view. My God, were you horny today.

You took a gulp of your drink, trying to refocus for the third or fourth time this evening, trying so desperately to reign in your inner school girl and focus on the television, though that didn’t help as the actors were now eating one anothers faces on a bed. The silence was thick with tension, though that could’ve been entirely on you; one innocent touch of a man's elbow and you’re a blushing mess.

Get a grip Y/N.

The silence dragged on as you pretended to watch the soap opera you had absolutely no understanding of in a futile attempt to ignore the man next to you. You can only imagine what he thought of your levels of focus on the tv, as you stared at the box in the corner of the room like it was the greatest cinematic masterpiece of all time and you were getting ready to write a full-scale analysis on the work of art.

Javier broke the tension in the room by finally asking the question that had been on his lips all evening.

“You came all the way to Colombia... Why?” Javier grabbed a cigarette off of the coffee table, placing his drink where the carton of smokes had been. He lit the stick and waited for your response, honestly, you were thrown. The question had come out of nowhere whilst you were still trying to analyse why exactly this man had such an effect on you when he was doing nothing but being a good host. You hastened to think up a half coherent reply before you just answered truthfully.

“Steve stopped answering the phone, I mean he’s always been shitty at checking in, even when he was in Miami. When he got here we’d have a catch up every week or so, we all know how dangerous it is for you guys over here, so we joked about calling it ‘the alive check’. For the last couple of months, I was checking in with Connie more than Steve but he’d still pick up once every week, without fail. Then four weeks ago the fucker stopped answering my calls all together and Connie showed up on my doorstep with Olivia in tow last week.”

“Look, you coming down here probably makes more problems than it solves, Steve’s a big boy if he doesn’t call to check in, it's probably ‘cause he’s busy... He’s-” Something about Javier’s dismissive tone rubbed you the wrong way, call it sleep deprivation or blame the weeks of stress, but you were tired of being called paranoid. You were not an overbearing mother hen.

“My brother always answers my calls. Or at least he used to. I can’t begin to understand what you guys are going through, but I’m not losing my brother to some piece of shit Colombian drug dealer.”

Javier raised his hands in mock surrender, cigarette still in mouth. “He’s actually more of a drug lord slash narcoterrorist, but-”

“How is he?” You interrupt Javier’s attempt at diffusing the situation with humor, turning to him on the sofa. You rearranged yourself, bringing your leg up so your knee touched his thigh as you gave him your full attention, you plucked the smoke from between his lips and held it between your two fingers as you spoke. “Tell me Steve’s fine. Tell me I’m worrying for nothing and I’ll get back on that plane and leave tomorrow morning."

You take one drag and offer it back to him, he accepts it, deliberately looking you in the eyes as he places the cigarette in his mouth, attaching his lips to where your own had been seconds earlier. He takes it from his mouth and stubs it on an ash tray that rests on the arm of the sofa, his focus is single minded on his task. The pressure in your lower stomach is mounting as you stare at the tanned man before you who is carrying out a menial task that has you more turned on than you’d ever admit.

When the red tip is extinguished thoroughly, taking much longer than you thought it needed to, Javi turns to you, his mahogany eyes have you pinned in your tracks. You found yourself admitting they were gorgeous for the second time this evening, they were the type of brown you could never quite describe, they had so much depth, not quite a chocolate, not quite coffee, they were rich and deep pools. They reminded you of the forest, not the green leaves but the earthy brown, the strong beams of wood that held everything up around it.

Javier's hand emigrated forward slowly, your eyes followed the movement in your peripheral but you didn’t dare look away from the pools of molasses as he reached to grip one hand at your denim thigh, his eyes roamed your face for any sign of this being an unwelcome approach and when he found none his other hand began its climb to rest on your jaw, just below your ear.

You couldn’t say if you moved towards him or if he advanced on you, all you knew was he was on you now as the tips of your noses rubbed against one another.

“Quiero saborearte…” He whispered so lowly you barely even heard it before he leaned in that last inch and captured your lips in a single, chaste kiss. Your lips connected and you realised the heat you had felt from his arms had been nothing. Fire coursed through your veins upon contact, surging through your blood and going south to a pressure that built in your lower stomach.

Your hand shot up to land on his collarbone, before you could even really consider your own actions you pulled apart until your foreheads were the only thing touching. He was intoxicating, you could lose yourself completely in this man, he somehow smelt like cinnamon, whiskey and sweat, a combination you’d never thought would send liquid fire through your central nervous system. You’d give anything to taste him properly, but this was wrong. So so wrong. This was your brother's partner, this was inviting complication to your door, when you were just here to check on Steve. You were here for Steve.

You were here for Steve...

“... This isn’t a good idea.” You all but whisper, closing your eyes. Regret pulses through your veins at your self imposed restraint.

“Never is.” He leaned forward and captured your lips. You didn’t have any fight left in you, exhausted and at wits end you embraced your spiral into stupidity instead and your hands glided across the clammy skin of his neck to grab at his short ink black hair. You wrapped your fingers around it to drag him closer to you, your lips clashed, all teeth at first but you didn’t care as his tongue began to fight against yours for dominance.

He tasted as good as you imagined, he was the right combination of sweet and bitter, with undertones of whiskey and tobacco on his tongue. Your response to his assault on your mouth told him it was go time, Javier pulled you into his lap and his hands lowered to your ass. Your body was flush with his own as your breasts pressed against his chest, you could feel every solid line of his lithe body against your own.

You licked at his honied tongue, before withdrawing and pulling his bottom lip into your mouth and sucking on the soft plush skin. His mustache tickled your upper lip, a sensation you weren’t used to but could so easily grow to love. This made him tighten his grip on your backside in response and he let out a throaty groan at the meat he found there, Javier was definitely an ass man, you felt his bulge pressing against your core as you both began grinding against each other in earnest. You felt like a horny teenager as you grinded on a man you barely knew.

You felt him grip at the bottom of your tank top and begin to lift it, except he stopped, and began to rub patterns on the stomach he exposed. Javier’s mouth descended from your lips to begin to suck and lick at your throat. Your eyes rolled into the back of your head at his work as pleasure rippled throught your body. His hands slid the length of your body to grab at your chest, which conforming to every stereotype was heaving, he palmed your breast blindly as his face was still buried in your hair, sucking and kissing along to your ear, before he raised his mouth a mere inch and whispered “Te follaré toda la noche niña.”

He said it with such surety that your body convulsed in on itself without even needing to know what the man above you was saying. You could only hope it was absolutely filthy and profanity ridden, because then at least, the sentiment would be shared. He bit at the lobe of your ear before his hands left your breasts and travelled to the hem of your tank top, getting ready to pull it over your head.

It was strange to say that you remembered your brother was on his way here as a man tried to take your t-shirt off, but that’s just the way it went. You knew if that top came off, dry humping would be the most PG action of the night and if Steve turned up and found you mounted on his partner, he probably wouldn’t be too thrilled.

You couldn’t stop yourself from stroking the man's hair whose face was planted in between your tits as his hips rose against your own pushing his hardened length up against the seams of your jeans, you gasped as he hit that sweet spot. You let out a noise that sounded like a wail. You wanted nothing more than to lie back and let this man have his filthy way with your body. And you know, from the hour you’ve spent with this man it would be phenomenally filthy. The kind of sex that would ruin all men for you, but no. You had to be a good sister. Like a fuckin loser.

Sighing, you threw your body sideways before you could change your mind and ended up on your back. Javier followed you, caging you with his frame as he covered your body with his own. Gripping your face like he was a starving man and you were the only sustenance he’d ever need. It would be so easy to get lost in him, to give in to that magic tongue but you couldn’t let this go any further so you placed a hand on his chest.

Taking your cue he paused his tongues assault on your mouth and stopped, resting his forehead against your own. You were both breathing heavily trying to come back down to reality, his eyes were no longer the chocolate brown you’d been comforted by when you met, but rings of obsidian staring into your soul. You wanted this man, my god you did. But this would make more problems for Steve.

The two of you stayed that way for a while, foreheads and bodies pressed against one another until both of your breathing evened out. The silence dragged, heavy in the air as you two strangers both waited for the other to break it.

“...Is Steve okay?”

“...No... He’s been fuckin’ mess ever since Connie left.” Javier sighed whilst closing his eyes and breathing deep. You raised your hands from his chest, which was difficult as he was crushing his body to yours and cupped his cheek, you joined your lips once more, much like the first kiss. This was sweet and there wasn’t a carnal appetite behind it but rather an understanding.

The loud knock on the front door startles you both as you’d been so wrapped up in one another you’d not heard the steps leading to it. The two of you split apart like a pair of guilty teens caught in the act. You both stared at each other for a second before he nods at you and walks to the front door whilst rearranging his bulge discreetly in his jeans, this was something you pretended not to see as you sat back up right on the sofa. You had only a moment to fix yourself, as you pulled your tank top from where it was hooked by your breasts and ran your fingers through your hair so you didn’t look like you’ve just had the ravaging of a lifetime.

Javier pulled open the door and you clutch your hands into your lap, not quite sure what kind of reception you were about to receive from your brother. You hear the two men greet one another in hushed whispers, you couldn’t make out Steve's voice much until you hear his voice clear as day “...what the hell was so important it couldn’t wait until tomorrow?”

You stand from your spot on the sofa and quickly realise the button on your jeans is undone; if you’re honest you don’t even know how he managed to do that without you noticing, even though it's not the time you take a solitary second to commend Javier on his artistry of disrobing a woman. Turning quickly you pull the rivet back through the hole and swing around as Steve crosses the threshold from the hallway.

Steve looks from you, to Javier and then back to you once more in complete surprise. It takes his brain a hot second to process that you’re here in front of him and in Colombia before he rushes you. Clutching you tight and hugging you to his chest. You hear something that sounds suspiciously like a sob leave your brothers chest before he collapses into you. The front door and Javier’s bedroom both in rapid succession, giving you the privacy you knew your brother would need after breaking down like this.

You couldn’t support Steve’s weight with your considerably smaller frame and the two of you fell to the ground as you held your broken brother. His body shook with silent sobs as he buried his face in your shoulder.

You said nothing as you held him and stroked his hair. In that moment you thanked your every instinct that screamed at you to come to Colombia.

This had definitely not been a mistake.

Part Two

#javier pena x reader #javier peña x reader #narcos fic #pedro pascal x reader #I LOVE THE BLACK FUCKING SHIRT #narcos fanfiction #javier peña #murphy!reader

241 notes · View notes

busycryin · 4 years ago

Text

REPOST - THE NIGHT WE MET

THE NIGHT WE MET

PART ONE - THE NIGHT WE MET

Pairing: Javier Peña/ Female Murphy!Reader

Words: 5.3k

Summary: You decide to travel to Colombia on a whim, there you meet a gorgeous stranger that just so happens to be your brothers partner.

Anon was worried about losing my work when I switched blogs, so fear not. I’m reposting on here but I have no intention of deleting my other blog, it’s where I got my first 200 notes and I’m honestly blown away by it. I’m happy to announce I’m working on a fourth part. I’m not sure when I’ll post it as I’m still in the idea stage but it’s definitely a start, ay!

AO3

MASTERLIST

Author Note: So here is my return to writing! The word count got away from me but I loved every second of it. Always after prompts, so drop me a message on here if you’d like to see anything in particular. If it’s in my wheelhouse, you’ll definitely see it.

Pedro in the black shirt is what inspired me to write this, I can’t lie.

If you were brutally honest with yourself, this spur of the moment decision may have been a mistake.

Other people could make these choices and not have that nagging feeling in their gut from the second they booked their fuckin’ airline ticket. You had attempted to grab your crappy life by its metaphorical horns and go and sort this shit show out by yourself, but after your momentary bravery was used up, all that was left was a crippling anxiety that threatened to send you into one of your full scale panic attacks if you thought too hard about the fact you were following your big brother to Colombia.

Yes, Colombia. You, a U.S. national with no particular interest in hunting Pablo Escobar, had decided to vacation in sunny, crime ridden Bogotá on a whim.

You were fuckin’ dumb.

Sarcasm aside, you weren’t actually here on vacation, you were going to check on Stevie. Your brother, one of the DEA agents assigned with taking down Escobar.

You’d been worried about him for a few months, it had sounded like he was dealing with heavy shit in South America, you knew that was the job, but he was still your brother.

It was all you could do not to book the tickets there and then, but you held out and supported Connie in the ways Steve couldn’t have, taking care of Olivia when you could and just trying your hardest to be there for her. Your presence alone seemed to be enough to help her through the days that followed. A week and a half after her return, you booked your flight to Colombia in secret.

You had to check on Steve.

So here you sat, two hours into your flight to the paradise destination; Bogotá. Your brother’s address scrawled on a scrap piece of paper in the one hand and a glass of cheap whiskey in the other. The alcohol did little to to calm your nerves, this was a dangerous place for a cop, let alone a fuckin’ clueless civilian.

You huffed and dropped onto the bottom step in surrender, not quite sure where to go from here.

Weeks of anxiety and worry finally took their toll on your body as reality set in, and as it did so you couldn’t help but laugh at the sheer stupidity of the situation you’d put yourself in. A light chuckle escaped your body as you held your face in your hands, you rubbed at your eyes as a way of refreshing yourself before sighing and leaning back.

“Uh… no hablo… español?” you pretty much asked him, cringing internally at your butchering of the most basic sentence of this gorgeous strangers language, his lips quirked at your mumbles making his mustache raise on one side with his smirk. Now, you’d never been a fan of a mustache, Steve and your father had both taken to styling their facial hair in such a way, and as a rule of thumb they were a big no-no. But my god. This man made that mustache his bitch and that bitch worked for him.

“You’re American?” He questions, smirk dropping along with his eyebrows in confusion as his brain processes the information.

“Oh thank god and Jesus fuckin’ christ above. You’re American!” Your timid nature had given way to pure unadulterated relief. “Stevie, Steve Murphy, he lives in this building, yeah?”

“Yeah… Stevi…Steve lives here- I’m sorry, who the hell are you?” He asks with a puzzled look and a shake of his head, there’s an air of distrust about him for some strange reason.

“I’m Y/N Murphy, I’m his sister.”

“Sister? Mierda… does he know you’re here?”

“Nope,” You pop your P as you shrug at the man before you with false nonchalance. “He’d have to answer the phone to me or Connie to know that now, wouldn’t he?”

“Steve.” The stranger sighed, annoyed.

“Sorry, who are you?” You asked, yourself becoming more bemused by the man by the second.

“Uh, I don’t want to interrupt…” You mumble, waving your free hand vaguely towards where you knew the woman was waiting for him, making him smirk once again.

You were beginning to think that the sarcastic raise of his mouth was just his default resting face.

“You’re not interrupting anything.”

Now I know what you’re thinking, ‘cause I’d think it to. This is how people die in America, let alone fuckin’ Colombia, but if it’s a choice between dying at the hands of a gorgeous man who seems to know your brother or a stray that wonders in through the non-descript lobby door then you’d rather go out with a nice view, even if he did have a girlfriend.

If you had to gamble, you’d say you had a damn good chance of making it out of this apartment alive.

You rolled your eyes, instilled with a new confidence as you turned and walked towards his apartment, you felt his eyes follow your form once more.

Steve’s hot partner was an ass man… Good to know.

…

“No thanks, I quit.”

“Woman with an iron will?”

“Not quite,” You whisper, shaking your head.

“Murphy? … Yeah… you need to get back to your place now… You’ve got a guest…. No … come find out why don’t you?” Sarcasm dripped from his lazy tone, his voice was so smooth. It was like chocolate on gravel, you could listen to him talk for hours, which led your mind down that deep dark hole of what he sounded like during more carnal acts, he’d be a talker, for definite, what with all that confidence and swagger. “‘Kay… I’ll see you soon.”

Shaking your head you centred yourself, it had been a dry patch for you. You needed to calm down and not throw yourself at your brother’s partner, even if he just so happened to be the first man you had any interest in to show you attention in months.

“Drink?” He offered pointing at the bottle of whiskey on the counter.

Initiate something? God Y/N, get your mind out of the gutter. This poor man had only invited you in because you were his partner’s sister and he was doing the decent thing.

“Uh… The television work?” You ask, pointing at the empty screen.

“I didn’t realise you could speak Spanish…” His voice was dripping with sarcasm, mocking your earlier attempts at the language, though he reached across and switched the box on with the remote, he began flicking through the channels so quickly he almost gave you a headache.

“Oh yes, I’m very proficient, I just didn’t want to intimidate you earlier. Hola Señor Javier.” You say continuing his ruse. He chuckles at your words, it’s a deep warm noise that shakes his entire frame. You were definitely thinking about adding Javier’s voice to your top ten list of favourite sounds.

News, News, Colombian QVC, News, News, Soap opera. Bingo!

“What is she saying?” You question narrowing your eyes at the beautiful woman’s tone. Javier, who had been watching your reactions the whole time as you got into the awful tv show scrambled as he tried to listen and translate the woman’s words.

“Uh… her dads an alcoholic and she’s trying to support her son… that guy didn’t know about the son… I think… she was happy living a double life without the worry and she wants him to forgive her and start over…” Javier translated, giving you the general cliff notes.

You chuckled at your own joke, as did Javier. Though this time when his body shook his bare elbow touched your own.

How was he so goddamn warm?

All he was wearing was a black button down shirt. One that looked to be the wrong size it was so tightly fitted- not that you were complaining about the view. My God, were you horny today.

Get a grip Y/N.

Javier broke the tension in the room by finally asking the question that had been on his lips all evening.

“You came all the way to Colombia… Why?” Javier grabbed a cigarette off of the coffee table, placing his drink where the carton of smokes had been. He lit the stick and waited for your response, honestly, you were thrown. The question had come out of nowhere whilst you were still trying to analyse why exactly this man had such an effect on you when he was doing nothing but being a good host. You hastened to think up a half coherent reply before you just answered truthfully.

“Look, you coming down here probably makes more problems than it solves, Steve’s a big boy if he doesn’t call to check in, it’s probably ‘cause he’s busy… He’s-” Something about Javier’s dismissive tone rubbed you the wrong way, call it sleep deprivation or blame the weeks of stress, but you were tired of being called paranoid. You were not an overbearing mother hen.

Javier raised his hands in mock surrender, cigarette still in mouth. “He’s actually more of a drug lord slash narcoterrorist, but-”

Javier’s hand emigrated forward slowly, your eyes followed the movement in your peripheral but you didn’t dare look away from the pools of molasses as he reached to grip one hand at your denim thigh, his eyes roamed your face for any sign of this being an unwelcome approach and when he found none his other hand began its climb to rest on your jaw, just below your ear.

You couldn’t say if you moved towards him or if he advanced on you, all you knew was he was on you now as the tips of your noses rubbed against one another.

Your hand shot up to land on his collarbone, before you could even really consider your own actions you pulled apart until your foreheads were the only thing touching. He was intoxicating, you could lose yourself completely in this man, he somehow smelt like cinnamon, whiskey and sweat, a combination you’d never thought would send liquid fire through your central nervous system. You’d give anything to taste him properly, but this was wrong. So so wrong. This was your brother’s partner, this was inviting complication to your door, when you were just here to check on Steve. You were here for Steve.

You were here for Steve…

“… This isn’t a good idea.” You all but whisper, closing your eyes. Regret pulses through your veins at your self imposed restraint.

You felt him grip at the bottom of your tank top and begin to lift it, except he stopped, and began to rub patterns on the stomach he exposed. Javier’s mouth descended from your lips to begin to suck and lick at your throat. Your eyes rolled into the back of your head at his work as pleasure rippled throat your body. His hands slid the length of your body to grab at your chest, which conforming to every stereotype was heaving, he palmed your breast blindly as his face was still buried in your hair, sucking and kissing along to your ear, before he raised his mouth a mere inch and whispered “Te follaré toda la noche niña.”

You couldn’t stop yourself from stroking the man’s hair whose face was planted in between your tits as his hips rose against your own pushing his hardened length up against the seams of your jeans, you gasped as he hit that sweet spot. You let out a noise that sounded like a wail. You wanted nothing more than to lie back and let this man have his filthy way with your body. And you know, from the hour you’ve spent with this man it would be phenomenally filthy. The kind of sex that would ruin all men for you, but no. You had to be a good sister. Like a fuckin loser.

“…Is Steve okay?”

“…No… He’s been fuckin’ mess ever since Connie left.” Javier sighed whilst closing his eyes and breathing deep. You raised your hands from his chest, which was difficult as he was crushing his body to yours and cupped his cheek, you joined your lips once more, much like the first kiss. This was sweet and there wasn’t a carnal appetite behind it but rather an understanding.

Javier pulled open the door and you clutch your hands into your lap, not quite sure what kind of reception you were about to receive from your brother. You hear the two men greet one another in hushed whispers, you couldn’t make out Steve’s voice much until you hear his voice clear as day “…what the hell was so important it couldn’t wait until tomorrow?”

You stand from your spot on the sofa and quickly realise the button on your jeans is undone; if you’re honest you don’t even know how he managed to do that without you noticing, even though it’s not the time you take a solitary second to commend Javier on his artistry of disrobing a woman. Turning quickly you pull the rivet back through the hole and swing around as Steve crosses the threshold from the hallway.

You said nothing as you held him and stroked his hair. In that moment you thanked your every instinct that screamed at you to come to Colombia.

This had definitely not been a mistake.

#pedro pascal x reader #javier pena x reader #javier peña x reader #repost #narcos fanfiction

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imkylotrash · 4 years ago

Text

Hidden Truths

Pairing: Hardin Scott x reader (Platonic)

Summary: Can you write something where the reader learns she was kidnapped at birth and Hardin helps her through the trauma? Anonymous

Warnings: Angst, kidnapping, trauma, mentions of miscarriage. Let me know if there are more.

A/N For this one Hardin stayed in England with his mom. Also one of the hardest concepts I’ve ever tried writing.

It starts out as a joke. You just want to know more about your ancestors and there’s this trend going around that you send in your DNA and it tells you all about where you come from. The 5% Ireland doesn’t surprise you. Frankly, you expected that part. It’s the 80% Canadian that surprises you. Your family hasn’t left England for centuries. You did a family tree as a school project in 3rd grade and you know your roots are English and somewhat Irish. Why would the test tell you that you’re from Canada?

“Mom? Do we have any family in Canada?” Her hesitation last only a moment but you notice it all the same.

“No, honey. We’ve never even been to Canada.” Your mom has a tell. She always lift her right eyebrow slightly whenever she’s lying to you. It’s something you picked up along the way when you watched her lie to her clients. Over the next few days you can’t shake the feeling that there’s something about Canada you need to discover.

“Maybe you’re adopted?” Hardin speculates. You’re lying on his bed while he’s placed himself in his desk chair.

“Don’t say that. My parents are my parents.”

“It’s possible. You said your mom had a weird reaction.” You hate that he’s making sense. You don’t want to believe that you’re adopted. This family is all you have and to find out it may be based on a lie would destroy you.

“But if they won’t tell me anything, I’ll never know.”

“So quick to give up?” Hardin asks with a smirk turning his laptop on. You can hear his mom rummaging downstairs and you wonder if she knows something. If maybe your mom told her something over a cup of coffee while 10-year-old you and Hardin played out in the yard.

“We could always look it up. Maybe you can access your file. If you have one.” He starts searching google for adoption agencies in Canada and even though you’re not remotely ready to consider you might be adopted, you still peek over his shoulder to see what he finds.

“If there is a file, it’s probably closed. I mean, all the shows always say those kind of cases are closed.”

“You mean TV-shows?” he chuckles not even looking up, “what the hell?” In an instance, you’re right next to him.

“What? What is it?” It’s an old article of a baby that was kidnapped. You look at the date only to realise that it’s your birthday. The baby was kidnapped the same day you were born. But that’s not the weirdest part. It’s the photo of what the baby would approximately look like now. It’s the spitting image of you. The article mentions a birthmark on the hip. The exact same place as your birthmark.

“This is seriously freaky,” Hardin comments. You tell him to close the article and pretend you didn’t find it. It’s too much information and you need to talk to your parents. But when it comes down to it, you’re too scared. It takes you weeks before you feel ready to do something. You’re terrified of the truth, of realising that your parents not only weren’t your biological parents, but that they kidnapped you as a baby. Who even does that?

“I think I need to find out,” you tell Hardin one day. He buys plain tickets to Canada within an hour. You lie to your parents as you’re packing your bag hoping that the universe forgives you. It’s not that you want to lie to them, but they’re not being truthful and you don’t trust them to tell you. In less than 24 hours you’re standing at the Canadian airport trying to catch a taxi. You don’t even know what you’re going to tell these people but all too soon you’re standing at the address mentioned in the article.

“I’m right here next to you. Just say the word and we’ll get out of here.” You’re so thankful for his support even if you don’t have the words to tell him right now. You knock on the door and your possible birth mom opens up. Her reaction is instant. Tears fill her eyes.

“Oh God,” she whispers almost reaching out to touch you.

“I found an article online of a baby that was kidnapped.” You hold up the picture with shaking hands. This may be nothing but you need to know. You need to know if you were robbed of this childhood. She invites you in for tea and you accept. Hardin is right behind you the entire time making you feel safe despite everything that’s happening. You’re pretty sure if he hadn’t come with you, your sanity would jump out the window. You try to keep the conversation with Diana light because you’re not ready to dive into the serious stuff just yet. At some point, her husband Joseph comes home from work. They’re nice people. At the end of the day, you have to return to England but you get their information to stay in touch. You want to stay longer but you’re also itching to return and confront the people who took you. Anger fills you when you think of the childhood taken. You agree to leave them a strand of hair for a DNA test so you all can get the answers you so desperately crave. It isn’t until Heathrow airport that you break down. It comes sudden and overwhelms you. Hardin holds you tight as you break apart. He keeps shushing you as he leads the two of you to the taxi outside.

“I’m sorry,” you hiccup through the sobs but he just shakes his head. There’s zero judgement in his eyes and it isn’t until you’re parked in front of your house that you realise he still hasn’t let go of you. How did your life turn into an episode of Criminal Minds?

“Do you want me to come in with you?” he asks. Maybe you should be scared to go confront them but the need for answers overshadow all the other feelings. You have to know and for some reason, you feel sure they won’t harm you.

“I think I have to do this alone.” So you hug him one last time before entering the house on your own.

“Where have you been? We’ve been worried sick!” So apparently the lie didn’t last that long.

“I went to visit Diana and Joseph. My birth parents.” You could hear a pin drop. They both stand still in utter shock.

“Anyone want to tell me why I was kidnapped?” You’re angry and hurt and terrified but you need to have this conversation in an attempt to find some peace. What you don’t expect is your mother to sit down with tears streaming down her face while your father places a hand on her shoulder.

“I had three miscarriages. It was horrible. After the third one, I couldn’t do it anymore. I couldn’t go through the pain of losing a baby again. Instead we started looking at adoption agencies but it was expensive. There was no way we could afford it.” Shame dominates her features as she tells the story. You try to hold on to your anger but you’re looking at a broken woman. She’s unable to continue so your dad takes over.

“We finally found an agency that offered their services to a price we could afford. It was very discreet and we received no information. We didn’t know until after we got you. We never would’ve accepted it if we knew. You have to believe that. But when we heard about the missing baby, we’d had you for almost two months. And we couldn’t give you up. So we closed eyes and ears to everything on the news. In the end, we managed to convince ourselves that it wasn’t you.” It’s too much. You want them to be the villains who stole you away from your real life but you just feel sorry for them. Everything they went through. There’s no arguing that what they did was wrong and awful but they just look so sad and small standing before you.

“I need some air.” You don’t even look back but instead head straight out where you find Hardin.

“I know you said you wanted to do this alone but I figured you’d might need company.” There’s no hesitation as you walk into his arms. You have no idea what the future will bring. You want to know your birth parents. And you have no idea what to do with the people who raised you. It’s all just too much for you to comprehend right now. But you do know that Hardin will be right there through everything. In the chaos, he’s your constant and you’re forever thankful.

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x0401x · 4 years ago

Text

Jeweler Richard Fanbook Short Story #14

Feel free to message me about possible corrections, and please consider supporting the creators by purchasing digital copies of the official releases: Novel || Manga || Fanbook. In case anyone is feeling generous: Ko-fi | PayPal. ( ╹◡╹)っ’･*

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Santa Invasion

“What’s this?”

“Ice cream.”

“Well, I can tell that much just by looking, but...”

“To be precise, it is an ice cream cake.”

A gigantic ladybug was sitting on the low table. Its vivid red and dark brown-like black shades were definitely berries and chocolate. The back was decorated with flowers like marguerite. It was adorable. And huge. It was a hemispherical cake that looked like a basket ball cut in half, the name of a store from Dogenzaka printed on its box. It was 7PM. The last customer had left, I was done with the cleaning and all we had left to do was closing the store. It was still the second week of December, so the mayhem of making provisions for winter presents was a few ways ahead, but the number of clients was increasing little by little.

Just what on earth would this beautiful jeweler come up in such times?

Due to a habit of his from whenever he had something that was hard to say aloud and thus failed to speak up, Mr. Richard Ranashinghe de Vulpian had a serious crease forming just slightly between his brows. It made me feel at ease. This guy didn’t make a face like this when he was burdened with something that was actually difficult to say. He would speak more bland and expressionlessly instead.

“This is a little souvenir.”

“Are you going to a customer’s place after this?”

Richard’s reply was a gentle “no” in English.

He’d been often speaking a mix of Japanese and English lately. When English-speaking customers came by, he would switch completely to English as if for practical assessment, so I was desperate just to keep up with listening to them. I was grateful for having him as my English conversation teacher.

“A certain good-for-nothing who works with finances is currently in Japan, so...”

“Ah, Jeffrey-san, is it? He seemed so busy last time... Sorry, forget what I just said.”

“No need. That is a correct interpretation, so it is nothing to apologize about.”

Despite saying this, Richard’s facial expression did not seem even remotely satisfied as he swiftly took an indigo envelope out of his pocket. It had no seal, so it must have been handed over to him. The content was a pop-out card, and under a paper-craft cake colored with gold leaves and uneven printing, it was written in very tasteful Japanese: “I’m going to hold a party at the hotel, so come over. I’ll be waiting.” The date of the party was today and the place was the room of a luxury hotel in Tokyo. A home party? No, a hotel party.

The title was “Richard’s birthday party”. The plate of the pop-up cake didn’t say “Merry Christmas”. It said “Happy Birthday”.

Christmas Eve on the 24th was this beautiful shopkeeper’s birthday.

As I returned the card to him, a crease once again formed between Richard’s brows as he said with an unsparingly decisive tone, “How very embarrassing.”

“Doesn’t seem so much like it from your face.”

“Because I practiced making it. But this is extremely embarrassing. I think it is not something that warrants going through the trouble of arranging a plane ticket.”

“I wonder if anyone else will be going.”

“It seems Chieko will attend. I received an e-mail yesterday saying, ‘I am going to show up as a surprise so please take care of me’.”

“Is that even a surprise? Well, okay.”

Chieko-san was Richard and Jeffrey’s private tutor in the past and I was acquainted with her to some degree. I wondered if Homura-san, who had married her daughter, was also coming. No, not happening. He was a customer of Etranger, so Richard would probably feel abashed if he did so.

“If it goes on like this, the people lying in wait in that room will just gang up into an assembly to celebrate me.”

“What even is ‘ganging up to celebrate’?”

“They are ganging up on me. I likely will not be able to say anything other than ‘thank you very much’. I need reinforcements. If you would like, could you come with me?”

“Me too? That okay?”

“Of course. The party starts at 8PM probably because it coincides with Etranger’s closing hours. That British safe-like man is not narrow-minded enough to leave you out.”

It was written there that the party would begin at 8PM. We had 30 minutes. There was no spare time to make a pudding. What to do? What should I do?

Richard was apparently unable to let my groaning an “ngh, ngh” while deep in thought go unnoticed. “If it is impossible for you, just say so right away. I know that you are at the final stage of studying for your exams.”

“That doesn’t matter. Why didn’t you tell me a bit earlier about this? If I knew, I could’ve made preparations for it... Aah, is that why?”

“It is. I recall saying that you should refrain from being overly distracted.”

“I don’t think a ‘celebration’ is ‘overly distracting’, though.”

“Anything is fine, so please answer. Will you come or not?”

He didn’t have to go as far as asking me something like that.

I bowed in a way that wouldn’t cause any hairs to fall onto the ice cream ladybug. “I shall humbly accompany you.”

“Very well.”

“Sorry, but before that, I gotta go to the toilet for a bit.”

I hastily rushed to Etranger’s restroom and unlocked my phone in a flash. I then tapped on the e-mail app. Of course, the destination could only be one person.

“Help. I’m sorry but I just got informed about the birthday party, so I have no present.”

Jeffrey-san.

The contents of the message were not at all on a level that someone should send to the person they owed their life to, but he would understand.

The reply came in a matter of seconds. As expected, he worked fast.

“Good evening. I have everything, so there’s no problem if you come empty-handed. There will be champagne, canapés, chicken pie and cake, and I plan to have chocolate fondue coming up at the end.”

There was a proud smiley emoji at the end of the text. It seemed this was going to be a big deal.

Richard would probably have work tomorrow, and he wasn’t the type to get wasted or stuff his face with sweets in the middle of the night. It seemed I also wouldn’t have to worry about dinner. It made me feel sorry. This was the same old pattern. This course of eating and seeing good stuff amidst the confusion of the moment made my stomach hurt when I thought better about it.

“Don’t you know anything that Richard wanted?”

The response came after a moment, “My bad, but nothing comes to mind. How about you give him what you want most?”

What I wanted most. I could only think of refill shampoo and new socks. I’d be ashamed of giving things like that to Richard. After all, this was a mixture of birthday and Christmas party—

Just as I was thinking this, a genius inspiration sprouted in my head. It wasn’t the best solution. Not at all. But I felt it could work. This was too obvious, but if only I had the necessary materials for it, I could do it immediately.

Making up my mind, I came out of the restroom, apologized for making Richard wait, and as we rode to the designated address on the jaguar, I had him stop the car in front of a mass retailer for a moment. I told him I wanted to buy refill shampoo for my home. Richard was exasperated, but didn’t have any suspicions in particular.

We arrived at the hotel, got into the elevator, and on the way to the party venue, I made sure to walk a bit behind Richard. Staying out of his sight was essential.

When he opened the door to the suite, sure enough, Jeffrey-san and Chieko-san were waiting inside. Giving off a relaxed atmosphere, a room-service feast even bigger than what I had imagined from the phone call was waiting on the table for the main guest.

“Happy birthday, Richard. Chieko’s here too. Surprised?”

“Of course. Very surprised. Extremely.”

“Hmm, by the looks of it, I guess there was some information leak. Well, that’s okay! Where’s Nakata-kun?”

“What do you mean ‘where’? He’s right here. Seigi... Seigi?”

My eyes locked with Richard’s. I had locked them with Jeffrey-san’s before that. I was grateful that he had done me the favor of not laughing.

I politely shook my head at my boss, who was making a flabbergasted face. “My name is Santa.”

What I had bought at the mass retailer was a handy Santa makeover set. The three-piece set consisted of a hat, a put-on beard and a Santa costume, but I hadn’t had time to change into the costume, so it was folded up in my bag. I intended to borrow the suite’s bathroom to put on the costume. If I at least had my face ready, I could somehow make it work.

Richard was dumbfounded. It was the obvious reaction. But I wanted him to forgive me for this. After all, it was December and today was a party day.

“I’m Santa Claus! I came from the North Pole. Please take care of me for today!” After introducing myself, I thought that maybe this wasn’t an exemplary self-introduction for Santa, but it was already too late.

Jeffrey-san, who completely livened up the mood whenever he got excited, went along with the joke, saying, “Wah, Santa-san, thank you for coming from such a faraway place!”

I was grateful for that one. And that was how I got away with playing the role of a worldwide mascot-like old man character from the Arctic for the day. The ice cream cake brought by the star of the party was a success, and we had a toast with both champagne and royal milk tea. Chieko-san was wearing a kimono, the remade peridot brooch on her chest.

It had already been more than half a year since then, but to my body, it felt like even longer ago.

My location had moved from Japan to Sri Lanka, as one would expect, and I was busy fully enjoying a spring in which white temple flowers were blooming in Kandy, my new home. But for some reason, Santa was here. A beautiful blond, blue-eyed man slipped in and out of sight, but his outward appearance was that of Santa Claus. It was the kind of Santa costume that you could buy at the costume section of any mass retailer. One of the sad things about unmatched beauty was the fact nobody could actually claim that his natural beauty was ruined by the look. The brilliance of his blue eyes, which looked like they could suck you in, was the same as ever.

“I am Santa Claus. I came from the North Pole.”

“But now’s a hot time of the year.”

“Santa Claus is a symbol of summer in the Southern Hemisphere. I do not think it is particularly strange.”

“T-That might be true. Well, then... what’re you doing?”

“Santa does what Santa does. The tradition of Santa Claus, much like the language of jewels, has a wide variety of legends to it depending on the region, but either way, the role of a saint who grants blessings to little children, women and those in need is a guise commonly demanded in society. And for you, here it is.” Saying this, “Santa” offered me a plastic, loose stone display case that I was all too familiar with. There was a red stone stuck between the cushion and transparent lid. “Can you identify this gemstone?”

“Tourmaline, I guess. Red tourmaline.”

“Good for you. Did you know that it has one more name?”

“Rubellite.”

“Perfect. Large, pinkish-red tourmalines are called by that name, and it is a stone of which huge carved crystals have been loved as works of art, such as the amulet of Empress Dowager Cixi and the Romanov royal treasure, the ‘Strawberry Pendant’.”

As I peeked at the stone inside the case, humming that it was pretty, the beautiful jeweler cleared his throat and started over.

“Just as people’s feelings dwell within beautiful stones, this one is filled with the feeling of celebrating the start of your new life, from your family back in Japan, your friends and your superior at work, with whom you have a relationship other than the aforementioned and that neither of us knows how to define. Santa is wholly thankful for being in the position to bestow you with such a gift. I forgot to say it, but happy birthday. Nakata Seigi-san. I sincerely pray, all the way from my home in the Arctic, that this year will be a fruitful one for you.”

“Thank you. Seriously, thank you for always, Richa...”

“Santa. I am a passing Santa.”

“Then let’s go with that. By the way, if you’re Santa, where are the reindeers?”

When asked this, the man in disguise answered with a cool gaze that the reindeers were using stealth technology nowadays so that they wouldn’t be found by radars, hence they couldn’t be seen. He had it down to the details.

“It’s been about ten years since the last time Santa-san came around. I’ll take good care of this. Santa-san, you take care of your body too. I’ll ask my boss next time I see him about the person who gave you this stone.”

“You should. Well, then.” With a bow, Santa left for a car parked in the courtyard. I probably wasn’t supposed to see him off. I’d feel bad for the stealth reindeers.

The red stone stayed in my hand.

I had told a white lie. It hadn’t been ten years since Santa had last showed up. This was the first time ever since I was born. In my home, there was always someone playing the role of “Santa”, such as Hiromi, Grandma and Nakata-san, so they never tried to tell me nice lies. Nakata-san probably just followed Hiromi’s way of doing things, though. The fact I thought up something like that last December, when Jeffrey asked me what I “wanted most”, might not have been unrelated to this. At any rate, to me, not even once was there any supernatural existence who would leave toys by my bedside if I were a good kid. Until this day.

After a while of standing by the garden, where it was always summer, and listening closely to the cries of birds with my eyes closed, I unlocked my phone. The Wi-Fi range of the house seemed good, and so I could send e-mails immediately. The contents were simple. The destination was my boss, Richard.

“Santa came to my place. But he left so quick that I couldn’t make him tea.”

The reply soon came: “Are you half-asleep?”

If he really thought that I was half-asleep, then maybe I should delay the reply for a few more minutes, I thought, but I didn’t write anything further. The house’s cleaning was half-assed and I had to check the security. I also wanted to know as many of my neighbors as could.

Together with the feeling that I had suddenly been given something I had forgotten, and that I didn’t even know I had forgotten, I put rubellite in the jewelry safe and stepped out into the Sri Lankan provincial city. I had nothing to fear and no hesitation. The ill feeling that I’d be living here alone had disappeared. After all, Santa had come by. Far from elementary school, I was now an adult who had already graduated from university, and it currently wasn’t December but May, where the only anniversary I could think of was my own birthday, yet Santa had come by. Such an impossible thing had happened.

So I could do my best, I thought.

And so, I could be getting ahead of myself, but I began thinking about my plans for this December. Would there be a second chance for Santa to appear? If not, I wanted to make one. I decided to fuss over the outfit a little more and prepare proper gifts this time. Then I’d tell him stories about jewels and try to make him laugh a lot. That, too, was Santa’s duty.

#housekishou richard shi no nazo kantei #housekishou richard #jeweler richard #the case files of jeweler richard #nakata seigi #richard ranashinha de vulpian #richard ranashinghe de vulpian #richard #jr short story collection #jeffrey claremont #novel #tsujimura nanako #yukihiro utako #my translation

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bywhatilove · 3 years ago

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“The Friend Trap” Chapter Five

“Actually,” Fabian began as he stood up, “I’ll go talk to her.”

Before either Eddie or KT could interject by reminding him of the headspace Nina was in at the moment and that maybe it would be best to send either of them out there, he was out the door.

“Oh boy,” KT gulped as she laid her head onto her palms. “Why did I let you talk me into this?”

Eddie’s eyes widened with shock. “Me? Talk you into this? K.T, may I care to remind you that this was all your idea!”

“I was hoping you would forget about that…” she muttered under her breath. “We are screwed, Eddie. Nina is never going to forgive me for keeping all of this a secret from her. Fabian is going to be pissed at you for ambushing him.”

“Oh my god. Would you relax?” Eddie leaned back into his chair like he did not have a care in the world. “Nina and Fabian will thank us for this one day. Probably not today…. but someday.”

“Yeah. Okay. Sure.” KT stated out loud, mostly for her own benefit. She gestured towards an empty spot by the window, which would give the two a front seat for the Nina and Fabian reunite show. “I guess we should give them their privacy.”

Eddie nodded his head in agreement. Yet, not even a moment later, the two found themselves racing for the empty chair that would provide them with the best view.

“No fair!” K.T whisper-screamed as Eddie pounced down onto it first.

“As Nina’s Osarian and sworn protector, Fabian’s roommate and best friend AND the one who has known them longer, I think that I rightfully deserve the front row seat for their reunion.” Eddie replied as his eyes took focus on two of his best friends.

K.T rolled her eyes, but all of those were factual statements, and, well, you can’t argue with the facts. So, she begrudgingly took the seat behind him and strained her neck to get a view of what was going on.

Outside, Nina and Fabian had their backs turned away from the coffee shop facing towards the street, which meant that all KT and Eddie could see was their backside as Nina sat on a bench and Fabian stood behind her.

“Oh what I would give to be a fly on that bench,” K.T blurted.

“That’s a good sign,” Eddie noted as the pair watched as Fabian took the empty seat beside Nina.

A few moments of silence passed, with only the occasional hand gesture or body movement to understand what was being said. But that didn’t stop Eddie from providing his own commentary.

“Right now they are both professing their undying, unconditional love for their other. Nina is apologizing for leaving the way she did. Fabian is accepting it. They are making an oath to never break up again. Next, they are going to come in here holding hands being all adorable again and live happily ever after.”

K.T snickered. “Is that your osarian senses tingling or just your own Eddie Miller instincts.”

“That is just common sense,” he replied straight faced. “They are Nina and Fabian. They have survived much, much worse than this.”

Suddenly, Fabian stood up from the bench. He began walking back towards the shop before he stopped in his tracks. K.T and Eddie watched him tell Nina something without even allowing a glance back in her direction. His face was stone cold, nothing like the shy smile K.T and Eddie knew and loved. Whatever he said (K.T and Eddie had never wished they could read lips more than in this moment), must have delivered a final punch to Nina. She let her elbows fall onto her knees and her head collapsed into her palms.

“Hate to break it to you bud, but I think common sense failed ya.” K.T declared unwillingly.

“Go, go, go,” Eddie ushered K.T back away from the window and to their original table. The two barely made it back as the door opened and Fabian entered the room- looking absolutely pissed.

“I’m heading out,” he grunted, “going for a walk. I just need to clear my head. Text me your address, K.T, and I’ll be there later this evening.” He started to walk away towards the back door to ensure he wouldn’t have an awkward encounter with Nina on the way out. Just before he walked through the door, he turned his head almost as if he was about to say something more. Yet, he decided against it and left with a simple shake of the head.

K.T and Eddie glanced at one another.

“Well, with all considering, that wasn’t too bad.” K.T shrugged. The two had accepted a much worse blow up from their meddling. It wouldn’t have shocked them too much if Nina or Fabian refused to speak to them for a couple days. Or if Fabian had bought a ticket straight back to England on the earliest flight available. Or if Nina decided to escape the city by taking a spontaneous trip to see her gran.

Eddie gently shook his head. “Don’t get too relieved. Fabian has always been the more level headed and calm of those two. I love Nina, but she is known for acting impulsively and not the most level headed. It’s usually because of her love for her friends and determination to keep them safe, even if that means she has to brave all of problems on her own. Hence her leaving without a trace senior year….I’m rambling, aren’t I?”

K.T nodded her head. “You do that when you get nervous.”

An uncomfortable silence fell over the two as they sat and waited for the tidal wave that could be Nina Martin’s anger. They didn’t have to wait long, though, as Nina soon entered back into the shop. She didn’t look mad… but rather just upset. And somehow, that was all the much worse. Her eyes gave away that tears had recently escaped them and her red tinted face was proof of her distress.

“I’m just gonna head back to the apartment,” she gestured back towards the door. “I guess I’ll see you guys tonight.”

Neither K.T or Eddie had the chance to respond before she was out the door.

“She wasn’t mad at us, which is a lot better than I expected.” K.T began to nervously play with her nails.

Eddie let out a deep sigh before responding. “No, she wasn’t. But she looked so…”

“Broken.” K.T interjected.

“Yeah. They both did. Which honestly makes me feel a lot worse than I would have if they came back here guns-a-blazing and screaming at us.”

“What do you think is going to happen between the two of them? And I don’t want any of your fairytale happy ending b.s.”

Eddie took a moment to sit with this. He did want to give her his honest answer. “Honestly? I’ve heard stories from Amber and Patricia about infamous Fabian and Nina fights. Apparently they can be brutal sometimes. Yet, what neither realizes is that they are usually fighting over the same thing. Nina wants to keep Fabian safe by keeping him far away from any of her chosen one craziness and Fabian wants to keep Nina safe by being right by her side every time something happens. So eventually they erupt into some huge massive argument because they are both so darn stubborn. I mean...that is what this is all about, right?”

K.T looked puzzled like she wasn't quite following.

“Oh, yeah, I forget, I have known them longer and do know them better.” Eddie playfully nudged K.T with his shoulder before continuing. “Fabian is mad at Nina for leaving like she did and she left like she did because she was trying to protect Fabian and the rest of us. Obviously, it didn’t work because she didn’t take into account that egyptain gods and curses love to torture us with or without Nina around. So we just have to make both of them see that they were trying to achieve the same thing and ba-bang. They’re back together!”

“You make that sound a lot easier than it is going to be…” K.T huffed.

Eddie flicked his hand jokingly. “Pfff, no way Rush. My osarian senses are ah tingling and I can promise that everything is going to work out. Nina and Fabian are obviously meant for one another. Anyone can see it. Well, anyone but themselves that is.”

“Like you and Patricia are meant for one another?” She winked at Eddie. “How are you two, actually? With all the Fabian and Nina drama, I completely forgot to ask.”

“Amazing. I mean, long distance sucks butt. But, her university is only two hours drive from mine and Fabian’s. We’ll make it work. I know we will.” Eddie suddenly became fidgety, like he was nervous to say what came next. “She’s the one, ya know? I can’t see myself with anyone else.”

K.T responded by looking at him with adoration and a hint of something else. Something Eddie couldn’t put his finger one. “What is it?”

“Oh...it’s nothing,” K.T gently shook his head. “It’s just that, who knew Anubis House was such a place for matchmaking. You and Patricia. Nina and Fabian. Heck, even Willow and Alfie are still going strong. Sometimes I just feel like I missed out, that’s all.”

Eddie playfully hit her on the shoulder. “Hey now, I don’t want to hear any of that self-deprecation. You are a total catch, K.T Rush, and you are going to make one very, very lucky girl extremely happy one day.”

K.T jokingly rolled her eyes, but Eddie continued speaking. “Now, where is that tacky tourist New York City experience I was promised? I didn’t fly all the way here just to sit in a coffee shop all day and worry over Fabian and Nina. Let's go!” He grabbed her hand and pulled her out of the door. Eddie Miller was promised a tour of NYC, and a tour of it he shall receive.

A couple hours later, hours full of buying extremely tacky NYC decor from touristy shops, taking even more tacky selfies from NYC tourist staples and plenty of food pit stops. K.T and Eddie's phones dinged simultaneously. It was a text from Nina.

"Could y'all come back to the apartment? We need to talk."

"Oh boy," K.T breathed.

"Oh, boy, indeed," Eddie agreed. "Be there in 15." He responded to Nina's text as the two made their way towards the newest Subway stop and made their way back to K.T and Nina's apartment.

--------

When the two walked in, Nina was sitting on the couch.

"Nins, hey there girl!" K.T called out nervously, trying desperately to hide her nerves and caution the blow.

Nina turned her head and her expression was all but the smiling girl K.T had grown to love. "K.T...Eddie...."

"We can explain," Eddie began.

"I'm all ears," Nina gestured to the open seats beside her. Eddie and K.T sat beside her, looking like a couple deers who were caught in headlights. As much as they loved Nina, she could be pretty terrifying. Even without her ability to call on the Egyptian Gods whenever she pleased, an unhappy Nina Martin was a Nina you wanted to steer clear from.

“Where do we start? Why don't you go ahead, Eddie?" K.T shot her glance over towards the boy sitting next to her. "After all, what were you saying earlier, you have known Nina and Fabian the longest and you do know them better..as her osarian and all that fun stuff."

Eddie grimaced at the way K.T used his previous words against him like a weapon. "Yeah...where do we start?"

Nina interrupted him before he had the chance to begin, though. "How about how the two of you know one another? And what happened senior year?”

Eddie and K.T chuckled nervously. “That’s a really funny story, actually,” Eddie began.

“Eddie,” Nina pleaded, “I stayed away to try and protect you all from any more curses and danger craziness. You said something about a great evil? And, K.T, you know about Sibuna?”

No longer did Nina sound angry about Eddie and K.T messing around in her relationship with her and Fabian’s relationship nor was she sad about what Fabian had told her, but rather she sounded like a friend who was desperate to protect those whom she loved. So, K.T and Eddie told her everything. They told her of keys and visions, of crypts and frozen men, of secret sisters, of sinners and tricks and, as they told her, Nina’s heart broke with every word.

#i wanted to make it very very clear that KT and Eddie are nothing more than a couple of besties #so i hoped that y’all enjoyed that peddie update #house of anubis #hoa #houseofanubis #sibuna #fabina #nina martin #fabian rutter #kt rush #eddie miller

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frustratedpoetwrites · 4 years ago

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Chapters: 1/1 Fandom: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling Rating: Mature Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: James Potter/Lily Evans Potter Characters: James Potter, Lily Evans Potter Additional Tags: Morning After, Goodbyes, Sharing a Shower, reluctant goodbyes Series: Part 2 of The Marauders Pub Soho Summary:

The morning after a night of passion Lily has to leave a soundly sleeping James, but she doesn't want to.

Lily lay staring at the skylight, and watched the patch of sky turn from black to indigo. She just gazed without moving, hardly even blinking as it gradually grew lighter and lighter. She had not been able to find any rest for more than a few brief snatches, as tired as she was. Her whole body zinged with electricity, her brain abuzz with everything that had happened last night and had continued to happen throughout the night. She glanced over towards the body sleeping soundly beside her, the sheets pooled around his waist showing his toned back. He had acquired some new tattoos in the six years since she had last seen him. When she’d remarked on the delicately detailed Lily that was now inked on his right side sweeping across his ribs, he had quipped back that it marked the spot where she had stuck her knife in him when she’d left him to pursue her career. That remark had stung more than she wanted to admit, even though she did deserve it.

She had told him last night she never wanted to leave his side again, and she had meant it. Especially at that moment, standing in the bar he basically built, surrounded by the memories of their childhood. Engulfed by the overwhelming scent of James himself. At that moment it had been so easy to say yes to all of his questions, say yes to coming here to his place instead of going back to her hotel as she had planned. She wished she could stay in this moment, with the old day finished and the new not yet begun. In this bed with this man forever. But all too soon she would have to leave. She needed to get on a plane in a few hours. If she didn’t, then any dream she had to live in London permanently would be gone.

She glanced around James's attic room trying to see if he even had a clock. She was amazed that he still lived like this. There was a rail for his clothes and a bed so low it was almost like the mattress was on the floor. That was it. She hoped he didn’t live like this all the time, but she suspected his life and energy was spent at the bar.

It had looked so beautiful, the large dark polished oak panels and the brass rail, the small stage with the piano sitting proudly. And all the pictures on the walls of their schooldays. It had always been his dream to run a bar, and the four Marauders had made it a successful reality, but she knew who had been driving it from day one, and she was incredibly proud of him for that.

She reached for her clutch bag and fumbled in it for her phone. It did not light up when she tapped the screen. Her battery must have died.

Fuck.

She glanced over at James, still sleeping soundly, and contemplated waking him, but she knew he was exhausted. She had wiped him out, she thought to herself, suppressing a giggle, it had been a wonderful night. He had not forgotten any of the things he used to do to make her whole body hum, and he had learned a few new things too she had discovered. His strength and stamina had greatly increased. Not that she had expected him to hold himself chaste for her, but she still had a pang of jealousy at the thought that other women had touched him, had been with her James. Had they asked about his tattoo? She always thought of him as hers, even though she hadn’t exactly expected to ever come back to him that day she had left. Any time before now when she had considered it she talked herself out of it because she was convinced he would be with someone else.

She rolled over onto her back again, and looked up at the skylight.

What time was it?

She’d hoped she wouldn't have to do this but she slid off the edge of the bed and took James’s phone out of the pocket of his jeans and opened it, shaking her head at the stubborn distrust for technology that meant he still used an old flip phone. Although at the moment Lily was grateful because she didn’t have to worry about unlocking it.

She tapped in the digits for her assistant's number as she crept into his ensuite, slipping on the dressing gown that was on a hook behind the door.

The phone rang just once before she heard an unsure “Hello?”

“Hey, Jess it’s me…”

“Lily!” came the scream, causing her to jump and nearly drop the phone. “Where the fucking hell have you been? I’ve been calling you all night. Your meeting has been moved up, you need to get to the airport right now!”

“What? Oh, fuck!” Lily took a breath and closed her eyes as her assistant kept rambling over the phone, talking so fast Lily could hardly understand them. “Jess, Jess, Jessie!” She tried to speak urgently and sharply without making too much noise. “I need you to bring me my bag and my suit, the green one. Put an extra pair of underwear in my bag.”

“I’m sorry, Lily, but your overnight bag won’t be enough, I've had to pack your suitcase, you’ll be staying for a week. They’ve sent a whole itinerary, but when we left Hong Kong I didn’t think to pack any of your formal wear. I’ve arranged for the concierge to book a fitting for after your first meeting, once you’ve checked in. Where are you anyway? I need to let Terrence know where we need to come and get you.”

Lily went to answer then realised she had no actual idea of the address. It wasn’t far from the bar, she didn’t think. But she had been interested in other things besides looking out the car window to notice what neighbourhood they were in. Lily looked up as the door to the bathroom swung open gently, revealing a conscious James leaning against the frame wearing only his battered looking jeans, his tousled hair framing his tired-looking face and his glasses perching on the end of his nose, as if they were mere moments from falling off.

She let the phone fall from her ear slightly as he continued to stare at her, a wry smile reaching only the edge of his lips.

“Something tells me you aren’t staying for breakfast.” His tone was light but she heard the resignation behind it. As she looked over at her childhood sweetheart, an idea struck her.

“Jess? You still there? Pick me up outside the Marauders’ Pub in Soho. Yeah? And Jess? I'm gonna need another plane ticket.”

“Well, okay boss but they are sending you a priv…..” Lily did not hear the last of her assistant’s words as she closed the flip phone and tossed it back to him.

“I can't believe you still use that antique.” He caught it deftly in his left hand and dropped it into his back pocket.

“I can’t believe I’m letting you dick around with my life again,” he replied, barely even trying to mask the disappointment.

“As much as I'd love to have this argument again, I really need you to pack yourself a bag. Do you have a good suit that fits you?”

He shook his head and blinked at her as she brushed past him to his rail of clothes and started looking through them. He still had some nice attire here, a lot of it she remembered from their life before.

“Lily, wait,” he called after her but she took no notice. She had no time. Already, in her head, she was mapping out what she needed to do. A whole week with these people. The one day originally planned would have been torture, but this... If she had back up maybe she could make it work. “Stop.” He placed a hand on hers as it rested on the next coathanger. She looked up into his gorgeous eyes as they shone with all the colours as his emotions played out across his face. He was always so expressive. “What are you doing?”

“I want you to come with me.”

“I can’t.”

“Why not? You’re your own boss, you could take the time off. It’s not like you’re the only one in charge. What about Sirius? Or Remus? Or even Pete?” She paused, “Is Pete doing okay? I thought he wanted to go in a, erm, different direction but I saw his name up there with the rest of you?”

He sighed and rubbed his eyes under his glasses. “Pete is a silent partner, he helps out when he can but his wife made him join their family business, he helps by keeping them away.” His hand dropped to his side. “Lily I can’t afford to just drop everything, everybody else has other responsibilities, I’m the only one left to run it and I won't let it fail. My staff depends on me.”

“James, this is me telling you I don’t want to leave you again. I don’t want to go on this trip without you by my side, I could use someone in my corner. I could also use a devilishly handsome, charming, charismatic–” he raised an eyebrow at her seductive tone but didn’t stop her putting her hands on his chest, tracing the antlers that spread across them.

“My tattoos aren’t very corporate,” he murmured, his voice sounding deep and throaty. she shrugged in reply,

“You’d be surprised what people hide under their suits these days.” She told him with a twinkle, sobering when his lips thinned. “Please James. I need you.” She hadn’t realised how true those words were until she had spoken them to the universe.

“I’m sorry Lily, but my staff need me more. They rely on me.”

“So you’ve never taken a day off? Never had to call in sick?” Before he could answer her questions an idea struck her. “What if I pay your staff for the week? How much would that be?” He stood for a moment apparently stunned then started laughing and stepped away from her, sitting down on the edge of the bed. She tried not to look upset at his reaction to her suggestion. She stood watching him and waited for his mirth to subside.

“Oh, you are actually serious? You want to pay me so I will spend time with you?” He shook his head as his mirth still rippled through him. “This isn’t Pretty Woman and I’m not some, some...rentboy you picked up off the street.”

Now he sounded angry. James’ phone started buzzing in his back pocket. She had not thought that offering to pay his staff would equate to her hiring him as an escort service. Her brain hadn’t gone that way at all. She let him answer his call, as she rushed back to the bathroom for a much needed shower and tried to clear her head.

James may have skimped on bedroom furniture but he hadn’t skimped on his wet room. The shower was a walk-in style and big enough for four people, the naturally textured tiles on her feet were warm as she walked in, the large slabs of highly polished sand-coloured stone on the walls were so neatly fitted she couldn’t even see the joins.

Turning on the shower filled the room with hot steam and the reassuring splats of water droplets peppering the tiles. Stepping into it, she gasped at the pressure. It was like standing in a tropical rainstorm. She just stood there unmoving, letting the water rush over her enjoying the sensation as it beat down on her head.

“That was your PA on the phone. I gave them this address so you can leave from here.” James said as he stepped into the bathroom like they did this kind of thing all the time. “Thought you might want to have some fresh clothes to wear.”

“You really won’t come?” She asked, trying one last time. She forced herself to keep her eyes forward when she realised he was joining her by the sound of his jeans hitting the tiled floor.

Despite their recent intimacy, or perhaps because of it, being this close to his naked body turned her core white-hot. She tried very hard not to react as she felt his naked skin brush up against hers. His arm reached past and grabbed an unlabelled metal bottle from the small alcove. Then his fingers were in her hair and her nostrils were filled with the scent of an English summer garden.

“Is it okay that I join you in here? Thought it would save some time.”

“Yes, okay, it’s absolutely fine,” she tried to keep her voice as neutral as his but even she could hear the breathiness.

“I told your assistant I can’t, it’s not my scene at all,” he told her conversationally, as if he wasn’t standing butt naked behind her in the shower. He was trying to calm her down, trying to talk about what needed to be talked about. The fact they were taking a shower together didn’t seem to phase him at all. Determinedly, she tried to follow his lead.

“This is not me running away from you. I need you to understand that.” She hummed in pleasure as his fingers massaged deeper into her hair. “I’m sorry if I offended you, offering to pay.”

“I’m still not sure if I find it more funny or offensive,” he began. “I can’t say I’m not tempted to run away with you, but you know as well as I do how much of a distraction I would be. You need to be at your best. I will be fine, I’ll just have to trust you’ll come back. That you're not making me the poor jilted lover once more.” He told her. She wanted to tell him he didn’t need to worry, wanted to say all the things that she had agonised about saying as she lay awake beside him in his bed, but no words could adequately explain how she was feeling. So she turned and reached for him, pushing her fingers up across his stubble studded cheeks into his hair and kissing him soundly. Breaking the kiss he tilted her head back as his lips dragged kisses across her throat. She didn’t need to ask where his mind was right now, she could feel his arousal pressing against her stomach. All too soon her brain caught up with her and soundly put on the brakes. “Not that I don’t enjoy where this is going, but we need to stop.” She took a few quick breaths as his hands continued to soap her breasts. “I don’t have the time and I’m a little tender.”

“You were the one who started things, Evans. I was just helping you wash,” he said innocently, amusement dancing in his eyes. But he did take his hands off her body and even though she had asked him to, she mourned the loss of contact. “In all honesty, I don’t think I have it in me right now to perform at my best anyway.”

“Let’s just put this on pause for now then shall we?” She told him, giving him a gentle kiss, hoping he understood how much he continued to mean to her. Lily dipped her head to rinse the bubbles out of her hair. It felt like silk as she combed her fingers through it.

“What is that shampoo? It’s amazing!”

“It’s a prototype. Remus’ company makes it, the only thing that’s come close to making my hair behave. He’s made it his personal mission to tame it. He gives me a new formula just about every week.” He pointed to the small bathroom cabinet above the sink. “The conditioner’s in there, it's one you have to leave in. I put towels on the hook.” She stepped aside once she was rinsed, letting him have the full force of the shower.

“Does he always make it smell like flowers?”

“Yup.” She expected him to elaborate but when he didn’t she just let it go and stepped out of the shower. She found the small spray bottle in the cabinet simply labelled conditioner and scrunched some into her hair as she watched James wash his. The bubbles slid down his frame in ways that made her wish she could just step back in there with him.

Lily wished she could continue to stare at him but her logical brain was kicking in to tell her all that she still had to do. Moving back to the bedroom, she twisted her hair up out of the way while she looked for anywhere he would store things. There wasn’t even a cupboard in the bedroom so she padded her way through to the living space. She barely remembered it from the night before, and she was stunned at how minimally he lived.

It was a beautiful apartment, the exposed red brick looked amazing with the warm honey-coloured wooden floor. The living space was a good size for London, the kitchen looked brand new with a wooden worktop that matched the floor and clean white cupboards. She spotted the coffee machine, and hunted in the cupboards to see if he had any beans, suppressing her irritation when every one was empty.

The more she looked around his place, the less it felt like he lived here at all. There was a giant modular brown leather sofa taking up the majority of space in the living area, a coffee table that looked like it was made out of granite, and a giant tv on the wall.

“What is this place to you James Potter?” She mused as she looked around. She was tempted to start rummaging in drawers (if there were any) but it felt like possibly a step too far for now.

The intercom buzzed impatiently making her jump guiltily and nearly drop her towel. As she stared at the white box on the wall and wondered how to operate it James came striding out of the bedroom holding a hand towel around his waist, hair still dripping. He lifted the receiver then buzzed to let the person come up. “It’s your assistant.” He explained before vanishing back to the bedroom.

Lily stood looking through the peephole until she saw her assistant's blonde head appear from the stairs.

She opened the door and ushered them in quickly. Taking the bag from them awkwardly with one hand.

Jessie looked around and hummed appreciatively. “This is nice, you could do a lot with this place. When are they moving in?”

“I don’t know,” Lily replied quietly. “I’m going to go change. Can you play nice with James, please? It would be great if you two get on.”

“Well I’ll behave if he will,” Jessie swept an invisible strand of hair out their face before relenting to Lily’s reproachful look. “Alright, alright. When we spoke on the phone they were pleasant so I can be too.”

“Great, I’ll be super quick,” as she made her way back into the bedroom James stepped out wearing that same pair of jeans he seemed incredibly fond of and one of his many black Marauders Pub t-shirts. He put out a hand to stop her as she tried to slip past him.

“I’m going to get out of your hair,” he said quietly. She could tell by the tone he didn’t want to be here when she left, didn’t want to be the one left waving by the door. She understood that in an instant, saw it in his sad eyes, and the hesitant touch he placed on her arm.

“Okay.” With a glance at her assistant she walked him back into the bedroom. “This was not how I wanted this to go,” she said, keeping her voice down once she knew they were alone.

“Saying goodbye brings back bad memories,” he told her shuffling his feet and running a hand through his hair. “I want to believe you're coming back this time.”

“Of course I’m coming back. I’ll call you, every day. But could you do something for me?” She asked, reaching to snake her arms around his neck.

“Can you get yourself a new phone so we can video chat?”

“Yes, Evans I think I can manage that,” he told her, leaning down to kiss her goodbye for the last time.

#jily #james potter #lily evans #barman james #business boss lily #tj writes #jily fanfiction #jily fic #slightly mature #there is a shower scene #but no smut

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leafs-lover · 4 years ago

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Because Two People Got Drunk: 13

Series Masterlist

A/N: Italics indicate flashback. I looked into dual citizenship and apparently they only allow it if the parents are married or the mother is Danish. Seems pretty ridiculous to me.

Summary: You and Fred return from the trip and your relationship has forever changed. Oliver takes his first trip to Denmark and you visit your grandparents for the first time since giving birth.

Warnings: Swearing, angst, a little heart break

Word Count: 6441

Chapter 13

March 19, 2022

“Geez" you say jumping up “you scared me.”

“Sorry, he was fussing so I tried to get him without waking you" Fred says as he walks out of the room. You look at the clock 5:06am. You walk out and see Fred heating up a bottle while holding Oliver in one hand.

“You have a game tonight; you want me to do this?” You say groggily.

“No, I’m up anyways" he says sitting on the couch to feed Oliver.

You grab a drink of water before heading off to the bathroom. You return to your room and doze off, barely hearing Fred when he returns Oliver to the bassinet.

You wake up a few hours later and pick Oliver up bringing him to the living room. You see Fred getting ready to leave for practice “you guys still coming to the game tonight?” he asks.

“Yeah of course we’ll be there” you reply. “Okay, tickets are on the fridge" he says leaning down and strokes Oliver’s head and gives him a kiss on the forehead before leaving.

You walk back to the kitchen “still ice cold” you mumble.

Later that night you dress Oliver in his Andersen jersey, while you wear dark washed jeans, with a long white cashmere sweater and a penguins toque, your hair curled. You bring the stroller this time making the trek from the garage much easier. As you walk in the woman are excited to greet you, but mostly to see Oliver not that you can blame them.

“It’s been so long Ollie boy" Christina exclaims as she scoops him up immediately.

“Yeah it has been a while” Kathy says pulling you in for a hug.

“Yeah things with Fred have been…tense.” You explain.

Kathy drags you to the bar and pours some wine “what happened? Last I saw you was after you came back from your trip and things didn’t seem good then.”

“I mean I don’t think he is as mad as he was then, or that he hates me anymore” you start.

“I don’t think he ever hated you. I mean he never talked about it, but he seemed upset not angry.”

“So the second night away we got drunk and were talking and laughing. Everything was going good and then we hooked up. And the next morning I woke up to him in bed beside me. I was wearing his shirt and I panicked.”

You wake up at 7:00 and Fred is still asleep, his arm is draped over your stomach as you lay there in his shirt. He is on his stomach, his hair splayed across the pillow.

What did we do? What about Ollie? How could we have done that? Millions of thoughts begin to run through your head. You lift his arm and head to the bathroom and wash your face attempting to calm yourself down before you decide to jump in the shower.

When you wake up Fred is gone and you smell coffee. You put on some leggings and a sweater and head to the kitchen and sit down at the island.

“Most people on vacation sleep in" he jokes passing you a coffee. You laugh lightly taking a drink as Fred sits beside you.” want to talk about last night?” he questions.

“Yeah we probably should" you respond.

“So it was -" before he can finish you cut him off “a mistake. It was a mistake” you say.

“We have a good thing going, and we wouldn’t want to complicate it” you further explain. Fred shifts to sit up straight.

“Yeah…I was going to say the same thing" he says lightly.

“Good. I’m glad we both feel this way.”

“Yeah. No, you know what? No I don’t feel that way. I don’t regret it. I don’t think it was a mistake.”

“Fred. I…we…I’m sorry.”

“No it’s fine. I’m going to pack we leave in an hour.”

“Oh my god I cant believe that happened" Kathy says.

“Yeah he hasn’t really forgiven me, or talked to me much. Unless it’s about Oliver he doesn’t talk to me, I feel like I’m on eggshells.”

“So do you regret it?”

“I don’t know, yes and no. Like I don’t want to complicate things for Ollie. It’s such a weird situation. I would love it if it worked out, but if it didn’t it could really complicate things.”

“How is trying with him different than dating someone else and it not working?”

“If I date Fred for a year and it doesn’t work and things get bad after the breakup it can affect our abilities to co-parent together. If I meet someone else and date them for a year and it doesn’t work out, it sucks and Oliver still feels that loss, but it’s not going to impact his life every day. Like I never have to see them again where I always have to see Fred.” You say as she nods “this whole situation is making living there so uncomfortable. I thought it would get better, that we would move past this but it hasn’t. I am looking at apartments now.”

“You’re thinking of leaving?”

“I think I have to. When I agreed to come we said we would address the living situation down the line if needed. I think we’re at that point now. It will be better for us to get some space and not be around each other all the time. I mean a year from now I’ll be back in Toronto working so it’s probably better for Oliver.”

You watch the rest of the game and the penguins lose 3-1. You bring Oliver down to the waiting area while waiting on Fred after the game.

He walks out and sees you, and pulls you in for a quick side hug “good game" you say. He doesn’t respond but instead grabs the stroller and leading you to the car.

The following morning you wake up around 7am with Oliver. After feeding him you make breakfast when you hear Fred walk into the kitchen.

“Morning" he mumbles, his hair disheveled from sleep. He pours a cup of coffee before picking Oliver up and cuddling him while drinking it.

“Breakfast will be ready in about 10 -" you start to say before Fred cuts you off “I’m just going to eat at the rink" he says before getting up and sitting on the couch with Oliver for some morning playtime.

The rest of your interactions for the next week are very short and awkward. You are beginning to feel like staying is going to hurt your relationship more, when he is on his next road trip you facetime Allie.

“I feel like being here is hurting us more than me being here. I feel like I’m only here because it’s convenient not because it makes sense.”

“You have to think about what’s best for Oliver, but it’s not like you guys are screaming and fighting. Maybe it can get better" Allie says.

“No were not even talking. I feel like we went through a break up, it obviously wasn’t because we weren’t dating but just because of the history it felt like that. In a normal relationship if you live together and break up one of you moves out.”

“If that’s what you think is best for him than that’s what you have to do. As long as his parents love him I think that’s what important. But you want to try and have the best relationship with Fred. You don’t think this can be salvaged? Like you can’t get back to a friendship or whatever you had before that night?”

“I don’t know, maybe with time. But I think if we don’t see each other every day it could help. Space apart might help us heal.”

There is a pause on the call “why did you walk away from him? I hear the way you talk about him, it seems like more than you let on.”

“I don’t know. I think I did have feelings or I still do but was scared to admit them I case I lost everything. But I honestly don’t know. I can’t tell you right now I want to be with him.”

You continue talking with your friend for a little while later until Oliver wakes up from a nap. Fred is on a 5 game road trip and he barely checks in with you. He sends you occasional messages asking about Oliver and you send him pictures or video’s but he doesn’t call or facetime.

When he returns it is after his last game around 3am. You are awake on the couch feeding Oliver when he walks in. He sits on the other side of the couch “ thought he was done with the multiple wake up calls throughout the night" Fred says.

“Yeah he didn’t eat a lot and had a bit of a fever yesterday. The fever is gone so I think he’s feeling better but now he is hungry” you explain “want him?”

Fred comes over and picks him up from your arms and sits down continuing to feed him. “Missed you little man" he says. You wander off to bed leaving the boys in the living room.

Later that day after lunch Oliver is having a nap, you finish doing some laundry and see Fred sitting on the couch on his phone.

You sit down on the other end of the couch, “can we talk?” you ask.

“Yeah, what about?” he asks not looking up from his phone.

“Us, and our situation” you say.

He finally looks at you “okay, what about us?”

“I just feel like things have been awkward or tense around us for the last month or so. Thought maybe we could talk about it.”

He puts his phone into his pocket and looks at you for a minute “Okay?”

“I am sorry for what happened last month.”

Fred scoffs “for what sleeping with me or what happened after?”

You stare at him and see the pain in his eyes “that’s what I thought. If you didn’t want to sleep with me why did you? You could have pulled away, could have stopped before it started. Instead you went ahead and now you regret this.” You don’t regret sleeping with him, but you don’t know how to explain it, just the timing wasn’t right. You just need time to sort through your feelings, time to process everything.

You stare at him for a minute. “Fred I am so sorry. I never wanted this to happen, I didn’t want to hurt you, and you need to know that. I just want what’s best for Ollie-“

“And I don’t?” his tone changes, you can tell he is becoming agitated.

“No I know you do” you say lightly. “I should have stopped us before we go carried away, and I’m sorry. I’m just wondering if we can move forward from here.”

Fred stares ahead not responding. After a few minutes you finally say “I think I should find my own place.”

This causes him to look at you, still speechless. Finally you continue “we said we would do this only if it made sense. We always left the option of me moving out on the table. I just think it’s best for Oliver if we aren’t around each other with this tension. I worry about it damaging our relationship to a point where we can’t recover and it causes us issues down the line. I think it’s better if we have space between us, can keep our relationship at its best so we can be the best parents for Oliver.

We can work out a custody arrangement. I will keep him when you’re on the road, and you can have him as much as you want when you’re home. And we can split the time in the summer. I will stay here for the rest of my maternity leave, and over the next year we can talk about how to make it work in two different countries.”

“You sure this is what you want (Y/N)?”

“I think we need this. I think we need space, it will help us. If we had of dated and had a kid and then broke up we wouldn’t live together so I think this makes sense.”

“Okay great” Fred snaps getting up and walking to his room.

April 17, 2022

You and Fred have been walking on eggshells around each other. You found a realtor and have been looking into some apartments but you want something close to Fred to make everything easier. You wake up on Easter weekend; at 7am with Oliver and begin the morning routine with him before taking him to get him dressed in a green plaid long sleeve shirt and overalls before putting bunny ears on him. You walk out and run into Fred in the hall who chuckles when he sees him “what does mommy have you wearing? You a little bunny?” grabbing him from you.

You hear him talking to him as he heads to the living room with him while you get ready. When you make your way to the kitchen you see that he has made breakfast for the both of you.

“Oh this is nice” you say sitting down taking in the spread Fred made. Bacon, eggs, hash browns, French toast, fruit and coffee all sit waiting for you.

Fred smiles as he hands you a plate as you scoop the food. “You didn’t have to do all this” you say.

“I know, I just thought we could have a nice family breakfast since I have a few days off before playoffs start and I get really busy.”

You smile lightly as you start eating “Oh this is so good. It’s been a while since you made breakfast.”

“Can’t have you expecting this every day” he retorts “it’s a lot of work” a small grin on his face.

“I give you a baby and you can’t give me breakfast every day. Seems a little unfair” you joke.

“You don’t get to play the baby card every day for breakfast.”

“No you’re right. I should save it for something big and important, not waste it on daily breakfast.” You laugh “so you find a nanny? I know you were looking.”

“Yeah I’ve been looking, but I didn’t see the need to lock someone up with the season almost over. I’ll find someone during the off season, but I don’t think I’ll need someone during the summer with no hockey.”

“Makes sense.”

“How is the apartment hunt going?”

“I’ve seen a couple, I’m trying to find one close to here. Just trying to find one I can afford in a decent neighbourhood. Haven’t seen any 2 bedrooms that kind of fit that mold but I will.”

“Oh well you know I will pay for it.” “What? Fred, you can’t”

“We should have talked about child support or something before. I mean since you’ve lived here I haven’t paid anything to you.” he says.

“I haven’t paid for rent or any bills since I got here. You have paid for all of his doctor’s appointments, and most of the groceries. I didn’t see the need to discuss child support when I have no expenses because you cover it all. When you’re on the road you even leave a credit card in case I needed something for him”

“Which you have not used once by the way” he says smiling as you roll your eyes. “If you aren’t going to be here with me I have to pay support.”

“I don’t want your money Fred.”

“Well you can accept my money or I will get a lawyer to draw up papers to force you to take it” he jokes. “But seriously I want to know you guys are okay so I am paying for your place, so pick whatever you want.”

You sigh loudly “no.”

“This is non-negotiable. How is this any different then you agreeing to move into my old condo in Toronto?”

“You’re impossible” you grumble as Fred continues to stare at you. You are aware that you aren’t going to win this argument “Fine. There actually are a couple apartments available in the condos 2 blocks over, my agent told me about. I didn’t look at them because they were a little more than I wanted to spend”

“Well see if you can go check them out? Playoffs don’t start until the 22nd, I just have practices right now.”

Your agent manages to set up the showings the following day. You set them up around Fred’s practices so he could watch Oliver but he insists on coming. “You really didn’t have to come Fred” you say pressing the button in the elevator.

“Just want to make sure you guys are going to be okay” he says as you walk in the door. It’s a 2+ bedroom, 2 baths. The main living area is open so you can watch Oliver playing while in the kitchen. There is a dining and living area, so large you can have a play area for Oliver without his toys overtaking the main area. There are lots of windows and in-suite laundry and ample storage, not to mention the gym and pool in the building.

It’s amazing you think to yourself. You would love to live here, but you don’t need this much space.

“I think it’s too big, too much I don’t need all this.”

“Well you are getting it, I’m signing the papers. It’s a great place, you deserve this. Besides I like that you will be close to me. We won’t have to spend our time sitting in traffic doing the exchanges and if something happens the other one is really close.”

You are trying to find an argument, because this apartment is more than you need, and more than he should be spending on you.

“I know you love it, especially your walk-in closet. I saw your eyes light up when you went in there” he says. “The closet is really nice, but I’m sure there are other places, that are maybe a little smaller that have nice closets too. I just don’t need all of this. It’s way too much” you say lightly.

“Nonsense (Y/N). I’m signing the lease.”

Before you can object Fred walks over to the realtor and signs a one year lease for you.

“Happy Father’s Day” you say as Fred opens the door for you and Oliver. He has a pair of khaki shorts and a white Nike t-shirt. His t-shirt is tight and you can see his biceps popping out of it, and it’s fitted to his stomach. You think about what is under his clothes. You have a gift bag in your hand and your son is resting on your hip. Fred lets you in before taking Oliver and pulling you in for a quick hug as you feel his muscular back as you grip him. You moved out on June 1st, and with the Penguins out of the playoffs you have been sharing custody of him since then.

“Hey buddy” he says kissing his forehead “I like your shirt” he says at the “Daddy’s little man” written across his chest. You walk into the kitchen and put the milk in the fridge when Fred comes in after you. “This is for you” you say setting the gift bag on the counter.

“You didn’t have to get me anything” he replies when Oliver crawls in and pulls on his leg. “Geez I forgot he is doing that, makes keeping an eye on him more fun.”

“Yeah he also can open cupboards. I have someone coming to baby proof my place tomorrow.”

Fred laughs picking him up and reached for the gift bag, reading the card that is signed with Oliver’s handprint before reaching in and pulling out a mug. He immediately starts laughing “Oh my god. This is awesome!” It’s a simple white mug that reads Your pull out game is weak

“I mean it’s not wrong” you say smiling.

“No it’s not. But my shitty reflexes lead to this little guy” he says laughing. “How is the new place?”

“It’s good, has a view of the sunset from the balcony so after he goes to sleep I can go out there and read. It’s nice”

“That’s good, we’re uh gonna head out to the park. Thought he might want to check out the swings, you want to come?”

“The swings eh” you say walking forward and grabbing Oliver’s hands “how can I say no to his first time on the swings?”

An hour later you all make the walk down to the park and Fred places him in the swing. You pull out your phone to videotape it. “He is either going to love it and laugh or it will be his worst experience and he will scream. What one do you think?” you ask him.

Fred chuckles lightly adjusting his hat, “I think he will love it, he’s tough, an adventure seeker. The real question is, are you ready mama?” You nod as Fred begins lightly pushing the swing. After a few pushes on the swing you see a huge smile spreads across his face before he begins laughing, his baby laugh causes a smile to spread across both of your faces.

“He loves it” Fred says as you continue recording.

You stay there a little longer playing on the swings and taking turns on the slide with him. You are preparing to leave the park, and Fred is buckling him in the stroller. He looks at you, and brings a hand up to your hair. He runs his fingers through, slowly pulling a leaf out. Your eyes linger on him a little too long before you whisper “thanks.” You walk back to his apartment where Fred makes some tea, using his new mug. “Can I talk to you about something?” he asks.

“Of course” you reply setting your mug down.

“So I was talking with my dad yesterday. We haven’t really talked much since last summer but I called him for father’s day. Afterwards I was talking with my mom and she asked if Ollie was going to come out with me next month.”

You take a sip of your tea as Fred continues “I planned on going out there for a week, but I didn’t know how you felt about me bringing him.”

“I mean yeah. We can swap some days around, it’s not a big problem.”

“Are you sure, we normally are doing every 3 days, this is more than twice that”

“It won’t be easy but it will be fine. He should spend time with his family.” “You sure you’re okay with this? You’re okay with me taking him out of the country.”

“I’m okay with it, assuming you want to do the 6 hour flight with a 7 month old” you say as you both laugh. “I’m sure he’ll have a great time, and if you want to extend it a little bit longer it’s fine.”

“Thanks but I’m sure 7 days will be enough time with him there. Does he have a passport?”

“Yeah I got him one so I could take him back to Toronto with me when needed. But he should also have a Danish passport, since he’s also a Danish citizen.”

“He’s not a Danish citizen.” Fred quickly says.

“What do you mean? You’re Danish and you’re his dad. He should have Canadian and Danish citizenship. Like a dual citizen.”

“Yeah so 5 or 6 years ago Denmark started acknowledging dual citizens by birth, but since his father is Danish and we aren’t married he doesn’t get to claim dual citizenship in Denmark. If we were married he would get both.”

“Hold up because were not married he isn’t considered to be Danish, even though you, his father, were born and raised there.”

“Yeah but if you were Danish and I was Canadian it would count.”

“Fuck that’s stupid. Don’t they know it’s 2022. People don’t need to be married to have kids, and dads can be single dads too.”

“Yeah I know it’s ridiculous.”

July 16, 2022

“Thanks again for being okay with this” Fred says while closing your door.

“You don’t have to thank me. He’s half Danish he should spend time there.”

“Still it’s a big ask for me to take him on a 6 hour plane ride across the ocean. I really appreciate you being so cool about this” he says kissing your forehead, his hands cupping your cheeks. You breathe in his cologne and laundry detergent, getting lost in it. You bring your hands up and stroke his forearms, getting lost in the interaction a little too long.

Fred looks around and notices another suitcase “you heading somewhere?” he asks pulling away.

“I’m going to Toronto for a few days to see my friends.”

“You could have planned it for another week and brought him with you.”

“I’m actually going to see my extremely judgemental grandparents, and I thought I’d spare him from their wrath.”

“I’m sure they aren’t that bad” he jokes.

“You haven’t met them, and be thankful for that” you say before looking at the clock. “You uh should get going before he falls asleep and you wake him up moving him out of the car.” You walk over and pick him up from his play mat. “Mommy is going to miss you so much little man.” You pull him in tightly to your chest placing kisses on his head “you’re going to have so much fun and I will see you so soon.” Tears begin to pool in your eyes as you keep holding him.

“You should take him before I lose it” you joke. Fred gives you a hug before leaving your apartment.

A few days later you arrive in Toronto. Your friends Carlee and Allie at the airport. “Hiii” you say wrapping them in a big hug.

“I really wish you brought Ollie” Allie says.

“I know, but he is having a great time in Denmark” you say pulling your phone out. “He has been sending me pictures and videos, multiple times a day” you explain scrolling through your phone.

“How long are you here for?”

“I have to be back by the 23rd, but I’m seeing my grandparents on the 21st so I may leave earlier.

After quickly stopping at Carlee’s apartment to change you all head out for dinner before going to a bar.

You put on a pair of white shorts with a red wine long sleeve body suit that has a deep v in the front with some booties. “Damn girl” Allie chirps when you come out of the bathroom.

“Yeah he has been crawling for a bit, he is starting to try and pull himself up. I feel like he will be walking soon which I am not ready for. Also he is making more sounds, I feel like he could start talking soon. Just getting so big” you tell the girls while out at dinner. “That’s crazy, how has Freddie been?” Allie asks.

“Oh he is amazing. He is the best with him, always playing with him. I think he wants to get him in hockey skates soon” you chuckle.

“But how are things with him?” Like with you two?” Carlee questions.

“They got awkward for a while, after we hooked up. But since I got my apartment things have been better. I think moving out was the best choice.”

“Why did you freak out after you hooked up?” Allie questions.

You take a sip of wine “I was worried about it not working. Or that’s what I told myself, I honestly think I just I panicked because I wasn’t ready to face my feelings.”

“What feelings?” Carlee asks raising an eyebrow.

“I think I was pretending they didn’t exist. Or I wasn’t ready to admit I had them, and I thought moving out would help me get over them.”

“Have you gotten over them?”

“No. And every time I see him all I want is to jump him. But I doubt he would go for it after what happened. And we keep having these lingering moments, looks or touches, that I feel like will lead somewhere but don’t.”

“Do you want them to lead somewhere?” Allie asks.

“I don’t know what I want.”

“Sounds like you need a man to distract you.” Carlee says as Allie smirks.

“Last time I needed a man to distract me I got pregnant” you joke.

You all make your way into the bar and start ordering some drinks before sitting at a booth. You are catching up, joking about the old times when your drink empties and you head to the bar. While standing there you smell someone’s cologne as you feel a body bump into you.

“Sorry” you hear the voice say “It’s really crowded tonight.”

You turn slightly and make eye contact with a tall good looking blonde man “no worries, like you said it’s really crowded.”

“I’m Taylor” he says sticking his hand out. You continue chatting as you wait for a bartender to serve you. After a few minutes they finally come and you order a drink for yourself and Taylor. Before you can pay Taylor puts a $20 on the bar.

“Oh you didn’t have to” you say smiling.

“It’s no problem. He wasn’t coming over to serve me, he was coming for the pretty girl. If you weren’t here I wouldn’t have ordered yet” a blush comes across your face. “What do you do?” he asks.

“I’m an environmental specialist for a consulting firm, you?” you feel his hand on the small of your back as he pulls you in closer to him.

“I’m a high school math teacher” he says “you want to dance?”

You agree and he leads you out to the dancefloor, his hands gently resting on your hips as you move to the music. You look to your friends and they nod in approval as you bring your hands to his shoulders. As the music continues you feel him close the gap, his hand now resting on your back, inches separating you two. You can smell his cologne and feel his breath on your neck, as he closes the gap. His jeans are now rubbing up against your pelvis, his hands shift to lightly cup your ass. You moan lightly and turn your head slightly to look at him and see his once blue eyes now dark with lust staring down at you.

“You’re so beautiful” he whispers before leaning down and kissing you. It starts off soft as he waits for your mouth to allow him entrance. You slide your hands into his hair and he deepens the kiss. Your mouth begins to allow his entrance, and you kiss for a moment. Your mind immediately goes to Freddie, Freddie and your son. Guilt washes over you causing you to pull away.

“I’m sorry” you begin stepping away. “I’m going through some stuff, and I thought I was ready to move on but I’m not. I can’t do this” and you walk away back to your friends.

“What happened?” Carlee asks as you slide in the booth.

“It didn’t feel right. I felt wrong for kissing him, all I was thinking about was Fred.”

_____

A few days later you are on your way to your grandparents place. You have been dreading this. You haven’t seen them since before you had Oliver, and you haven’t had a lengthy conversation with them in a few months. You arrive at their home and walk in greeting them both in hugs.

“Can’t believe you finally come visit and don’t bring our great-grandson” your grandma says.

“I know grandma but he is in Denmark with his father” you pull your phone out to show her some pictures Fred has sent you but she walks into the kitchen to finish making lunch.

“Can’t believe you let him go on a trip without you” you grandpa states.

“Well Fred is a great father so I have no reason for him to not let him go. It’s good for him to spend time with his dad.”

“It’s good for him if his parents are together” your grandpa quips.

“If his parents were in love then yes. But we aren’t going to be together just because we have a baby.”

“Well you shouldn’t have had a baby with someone you don’t love. Someone you aren’t married to” your grandma interjects.

Their judgement is one of the reasons why you don’t have the best relationship with them. They judged you for picking your profession, wanting you to be a lawyer like your father. They judged you for so many of your choices throughout your life. Your choice in friends, boyfriends and your love life was always an issue with them. They had some old school beliefs, even if you and Fred had of been dating before you got pregnant they wouldn’t have been accepting of the situation until you were married.

“Well I did grandma, can’t change that.”

“No” your grandpa says “but you could still get married now. Have you even tried to be a family?”

“It’s complicated” you reply. It’s not a lie, your relationship is extremely complicated. You are beginning to feel like maybe you should talk with Fred soon, and really explain everything that happened. Explain that you just panicked, not that you don’t want to try and see if you can be together.

“No it’s not” your grandma says “You should be with the person you have babies with. If you aren’t with them you shouldn’t have sex. We didn’t raise you to be so reckless.”

“Reckless? You guys judge me on one night. On one mistake, and I don’t even consider it a mistake because I got the most beautiful boy out of it. But I know that you consider it a mistake, that’s why I haven’t visited, and why I came without him. I spent my life being judged by you for not being good enough and I won’t have my son grow up feeling this way. I was never going to be good enough for you because my mom wasn’t good enough for my dad in your eyes.”

Tears are forming in your eyes as you continue. Your voice is now louder to an almost yell “Literally since the day I was born I haven’t been good enough for you. You hated how they raised me, how they encouraged me to make my own choices, be my own person. When they died you did everything possible to undo how they had raised me, to change me into your version of perfect.”

Tears are now rolling down your cheeks “This is who I am, you need to accept it. If you can’t accept who I am you won’t be a part of my life, and you definitely won’t be a part of Oliver’s life.” With that you storm out and get in your rental car and head to a hotel. You keep your sunglasses on as you check in to try and hide the puffiness of your eyes.

You arrive in your room and shower to try and calm yourself down. You stand in there way too long trying to de-stress and drop your blood pressure. When you get out you put on your house coat, can’t even bother to get dressed and open your tablet looking for the next flight to Pittsburgh.

You get a text from Fred and its Oliver sitting on the floor reading a book. Without thinking you press the facetime button, Fred answers on the third ring.

“Hey” he says with a big smile “how’s it going?”

“It’s alright, how is Denmark?” you say through a fake smile.

Fred walks over and sits beside Oliver “It’s been going great, everyone loves him.”

“Well how can they not? He is the best. What were you guys up to today?”

“Today was just a relaxing day with just us. We had the Uno tournament yesterday, and he was pretty tired so we are keeping it easy. We went to a park, had a nap and now we’re reading before bed.” You can hear Oliver babbling to himself as he pretends to read the book.

“Sounds like fun” you say trying to hold back a sniffle.

“Yeah. How’s Toronto? Aren’t you supposed to be going to your grandparents today?”

“Yeah I already did. It only lasted 10 minutes before I stormed out.”

“Went that good eh?”

“Yeah I’m looking to see if I can fly back tonight or tomorrow morning.”

“Wanna talk about it?” “Honestly no. I just wanted to see Ollie thought he could cheer me up.”

You talk for a little bit longer before he hangs up to get Oliver ready for bed. You manage to find a flight and fly back later that night.

Aug 3, 2022

You knock on the door. Fred was supposed to drop Oliver up the following morning but Fred asked if you could come the night before and gets him.

“Hey” he says opening the door. He is wearing navy dress pants with a white polo shirt tucked in. His hair is styled and you smell his cologne as soon as you walk in.

“Hey, you look nice” you say stepping in.

“Thanks” he runs his hand through his hair “I have a um…I have a date tonight.”

“Oh nice” you say unsure how to respond or how to feel.

“We were supposed to meet tomorrow but she switched her shift. Thanks for being flexible and being able to get him tonight” he explains.

“Yeah of course” you say picking Oliver up. “Have a good night tonight” you say as you walk out the door.

You buckle him in the car seat and start the short drive home. When you get home you sit on the couch holding Oliver in your lap. He is tired and almost asleep, you know that you should put him in his crib for the night but you can’t bring yourself to do it. Instead you sit there cuddling your son as tears begin to fall down your cheek.

I was too late, I missed my chance you think to yourself. You rock Oliver side to side as you quietly sob; you hope having him in your arms is enough to calm your emotions. You rock him until your sobs stop, long after he fell asleep.

Next Chapter

#Freddie Andersen #frederik andersen #Freddie Andersen Smut #Freddie Andersen Fic #frederik andersen smut #Frederik Andersen Fic #nhl smut #nhl fic #fred andersen #Fred Andersen Fic #frederik andersen x reader #freddie andersen x reader #fred andersen x reader #fredzilla #because two people got drunk #my writing

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wwhbtsjin · 4 years ago

Text

Perfect Blind Date

Pairing: Jimin x Reader

Genre: Fluffy...FLUFFYYYY

Word Count: 3.6k

A/N: I’m also a major Starlight so peep the Ravi cameo

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“It’ll be fun! I promise!”

You were currently sitting in a cafe sipping a nice warm mug of coffee with your best friend Wonsik. You guys have been best friends since the age of twelve and have done everything together. You guys are even going to the same college together. You treasured your best friend but right now you were genuinely annoyed with him.

Wonsik was currently trying to get you to go on a blind date. All you knew about the mystery man was that Wonsik was trying to set you up with someone in his friend group. You two had your own separate groups in college but stayed loyal to each other as best friends.

“Oppa…” you pouted and glared at him. If looks could kill, you hoped your glare was sharp enough to send daggers right through his head, “What makes you think I would be interested in this blind date? For all I know you could be setting me up with Kai Oppa, Taemin Oppa, Taehyung Oppa or even Jimin Oppa! But like...WHAT MAKES YOU THINK I WOULD WANT TO GO ON A DATE RIGHT NOW?”

“(Y/N),” Wonsik placed a hand on his heart, “As your best friend, I want you to be with someone I trust. Someone I know will take care of you.”

“I’m under the assumption that whoever you’re trying to set me up with already has feelings for me? Oppa! The only one I know in your friend group is Taemin Oppa, and I know that man has not seen me in that way,” you looked down at your reflection in your coffee, “How do I know you’re not doing this just to be able to say, ‘I Ravi, have set up two of my best friends and now they’re madly in love!” Ravi was his nickname in his friend group. How did it come about? Well you had no idea. To you, he was Wonsikie Oppa.

“I will say this,” he laughed, “Actually I won’t. Can you please just trust me on this?” He gave you the puppy dog eyes that made you always say yes to whatever he proposed.

“Can I ask you a couple of questions first?”

His eyes lit up. Whenever you did this, it was an indication that he was getting closer to winning what he wanted. “Yes! I will answer anything! I won’t skip out on anything!”

“Who’s planning the date?” If you were being forced on a date, you wanted it to either be a complete surprise, or something that both of you would enjoy. You didn’t want to spend money on something you wouldn’t enjoy.

“I will!” Wonsik pat his chest triumphantly, “I know both of you very well, so I will make the date for you! I know how you are, you won’t have to spend money. He’s been wanting to take you out anyways so he’ll treat.”

“Is that okay with him?” It’s true you didn’t want to spend money, but you still feel guilty if your mystery man was going to pay for everything. When it came to dates and relationships, you wanted to be fair and equal.

“Of course it is! Like I said, he’s been wanting to take you out. Is that all your questions? Can I tell him you said yes?” Already, this man was fishing for his phone in his pocket but you reached across the table and slapped his arm, spilling some of your coffee in the process from when you shook the table.

“I’m not done! When will this date be?”

“Send me your schedule for next week and I’ll look at his. I’ll find a time and day, then I’ll work my magic from there. Trust me, you won’t have to worry about anything! I promise. All you have to do is show up. Please tell me that’s your last question…” he brought the pouty lip back out.

“No,” you were not going to let that pouty face get the best of you, “How will I know what to wear? Where to go?”

“Like.I.Said.” Wonsik chuckled, “I will plan everything out, with his help, but you won’t have to do anything except show up. I will text you the details before you sleep! I have to meet him in an hour anyways.”

You sighed in defeat, “Alright fine. BUT, I’m hungry, can you buy me food before you drop me back off at my apartment?”

He smiled widely, “Of course! Anything you want! But let me send this text first,” he took out his phone and smiled widely as he typed, “What do you want to eat?”

“Tteokbokki!” You jumped up and put your jacket on.

He laughed and put his arm on your shoulder, “What am I gonna do with my pig best friend?”

“Oh hush, you know you love meeeee.”

That night, you were sitting in your apartment, music playing in the background, dressed in your comfy clothes, and just studying on your coffee table. As you scrolled through a study guide, a notification popped up in your messages, of course, it's from Wonsik.

7:45 P.M. Wonsik- Everything is planned!

7:47 P.M. (Y/N)- 🤨

7:50 P.M. Wonsik- Trust me. Okay so are you ready for the details now?

7:51 P.M. (Y/N)- Do I have a choice?

7:55 P.M. Wonsik- Not really. Okay, so on Saturday you’re going to meet him at Han River Park at 11 A.M. Dress cute and casually cause you guys will be doing quite a bit. Be there on time! He will take care of the rest! Have fun! Be safe! He has a condom if needed.

7:57 P.M. (Y/N)- 😐

7:58 P.M. Wonsik- What?

7:59 P.M. (Y/N)- I hate you sometimes.

So now you were standing at Han River park. You got there 5 minutes before the arranged meeting, but you didn’t see anyone who looked like they would be your mystery man, “I don’t think they’re someone who’s early, so let’s see if they’re prompt.”

You took a seat on a bench and decided to people watch. There were people who were running alongside the river. Kids jumping around, riding bikes, playing with bubbles. Elderly couples on a stroll. The day was just too nice for everyone to pass up.

“(Y/N)?” Someone called your name from behind you.

You turned around to see the source of the voice. It was Park Jimin. Out of all the boys in Wonsik’s friend group, he actually was your favorite. He was always super sweet, caring, and fun to be around. On top of that, you guys were actually friends too.

“Jimin Oppa?” Even though you two were the same year, he was 5 months older than you.

“H-hi,” he cheekily smiled and held out a bouquet of flowers to you, “I made this myself, they’re for you.”

“So you’re my mystery man?” You smiled and took the flowers from him, “Windflowers and pansies, they’re my favorite. How did you know?” You held them up to your nose, “They smell amazing.”

“I asked Ravi Hyung for some help. He told me your favorites but I made this myself. But surprise, I am your mystery man.” His cheeks had a slight pink tint to them. He ran his fingers through his blonde hair before taking a seat on the bench next to you, “I’m not sure what Ravi Hyung has told you about all of this? Care to fill me in? Let’s see how accurate he is?”

You giggled at his questions, “Well… Wonsikie Oppa told me you really wanted to take me out.”

“He’s not wrong there.”

“That’s really it. He left everything else a mystery for today.” You looked at Jimin and noticed he had a twinkle in his eyes. The way he smiled at you sent a light chill down your spine and you could feel your cheeks heating up.

“Well then, should we get going with our date?” He stood up and held his arm out for you to take.

You took his arm and he led you back to his car. Jimin opened the door for you and helped you in. He placed your flowers in the back seat then ran to the driver seat.

He turned on the car, “You can connect your phone if you want,” He smiled and put the music onto bluetooth pairing mode, “Ravi hyung told me you have a really diverse taste in music.”

“I mean…” you connected your phone, “We have a music theory class together, on that one project you and I worked on together, you asked me this question.”

“I-” he blushed furiously, “I’m just really nervous right now. I don’t want to screw this up.”

You smiled and placed your hand on his, “Be yourself Oppa. Do that and I promise you won’t.”

His face lit up like a little kid in a candy store, and to you, that was the cutest thing in the world, “Okay! Well then, let’s get going shall we?” He started the car and opened up the GPS, “Ravi hyung gave me this address, I have no idea where it is, but he also said we can’t look it up.”

“That turd…” you mumbled under your breath, “Well we just gotta wait and see!”

Jimin began heading the way the GPS told him to go. The two of you were able to keep the conversation going during the car ride. You learned a lot about Jimin in a matter of twenty minutes. You learned that he loves to drink hot chocolate when he’s sad, his friends apparently think his sandwiches are great and he would love to be able to talk to animals one day.

“You’re a very interesting person Oppa,” you giggled, “I wish you told me these things earlier! I like it!”

“Well, you and I may have been friends before this but we only really talked about school stuff.” He pulled into a parking lot full of cars, but your eyes lit up seeing where you were at.

“Lotte World!” You squealed.

“Wow Hyung…” Jimin chuckled and parked the car, “Are you fine with coming here?”

“I am more than fine! I’m excited! How about you Jimin Oppa?” You put your phone in your purse and hopped out of the car excitedly.

Jimin followed you out, “This is definitely something,” you saw him gulp nervously, “It’s gonna be an interesting time that’s for sure. But let’s get going? Ravi Hyung already paid for our tickets.”

You held onto Jimin’s arm, “Did he really? Well, I’ll have to thank him for that! My favorite place with a really cute boy as my da-”, you realized where you were going and you stopped yourself, feeling your cheeks heat up furiously, “I-, let’s get going Oppa!” You tried dragging him to the entrance but he pulled you back and wrapped his arms around your waist, leaving only centimeters between your faces.

“Where were you going with that statement?” he raised an eyebrow at you, “I’m not letting you go until I hear what you had wanted to say.”

“Oppa people are staring…” you looked around, cheeks flushed with a rosy tint.

“Let them look, they’ll just see how into you I am,” he gave you one of his award winning smiles, “Now come on...tell me!”

“I-,” you took a deep breath and hid your face in his chest as you hugged him, “I said my favorite place with a really cute date can we go now please?”

He chuckled and put your hand back on his arm, “You’re really cute too.”

You just stayed quiet, blushing like crazy while Jimin took care of the tickets. When you guys entered the park your eyes lit up, “I’m so excited, Oppa let’s take a picture first!” You held up your phone. He wrapped his arm around your waist and brought his head close to yours. You guys both flashed a smile at the camera.

“Send me that right now please?” He gave you puppy dog eyes.

You nodded and sent it to him right away. When he got it on his phone, you saw his eyes light up. He saved the image right away and then to your surprise, he put it as his screensaver, “Isn’t it cute. I don’t want to forget this day.”

‘Maybe Wonsikie Oppa did something good for once…’ you smiled to yourself and held onto Jimin’s arm, “What should we do first Oppa?”

“You pick!”

“The pirate ship ride!” You cheered and dragged him in the direction of that ride. There was no response from him, but no protest so you assumed it was okay.

You guys hopped into the line and you turned toward him, “This has always been one of my favorites Oppa!”

But there was no response from him. Instead he just stood staring up at the ride. His mouth was dropped slightly and his eyes were wide. “So high…” he murmured to himself.

“Are you okay?” You tugged on his sleeve.

He shook his head and then smiled down at you, “I- I’m fine! I’ll be fine!” But his eyes said differently. They were big and shaky and he didn’t know that you were aware. He was scared. And you could tell. But you wanted to see if he would be fine doing this with you.

Finally it was your turn to get on the ride. You dragged him to the very end of the boat, “Let’s do this!” But Jimin’s face was blank. Instead he held your hand, which caught you by surprise, “Are you ready Oppa?”

The ride began to swing you and began to cheer each time it got higher. When the ride hit its peak height you heard Jimin scream, “OH MY GOSH.” He wrapped his arms around your waist and hid his face in the crook of your neck, screaming his head off. “ARE WE ALMOST DONE YET?” He screamed, his grip getting tighter around your waist.

“Almost Oppa! Woohoo!” You screamed and wrapped your arms around him.

By the time the ride was over, you were skipping happily while Jimin just followed behind you blankly.

“That...what...I’m okay!” He held onto you, “I am okay...that was so high oh my gosh…”

“I knew from the line that you were afraid of this ride Oppa,” you giggle and pat his head, “But major brownie points to you for wanting to ride this with me!”

His eyes lit up again and the color was brought back to his face, “Brownie points? What do I get? I must be doing good then!” He bounced up and down like a little kid, “Do I get something?”

His cuteness was literally going to be the death of you. You just wanted to hug him and cuddle him, “Will this suffice for now Oppa?” You locked your fingers with his and held it up for him to see.

He nodded, “If I get this for the rest of the day, yes.”

“Then it shall suffice,” you smiled at him warmly, “What should we do next? Something more calming I suppose?”

“How about the merry-go-round?” He suggested and pointed in the direction of it, “It definitely is calmer. I won’t scream my head off. I promise.”

He led you in that direction, refusing to let go of your hand. When you guys got there, you didn’t even have to wait in line, it just went straight through. Jimin helped you up onto the horse and then hopped on the one right next to you.

“Can I take your picture? You just...look really cute right now.” He blushed as he fiddled with his phone in his hands.

“Sure, if I can take yours in exchange.” You wiggled your phone back at him.

“That’s a deal.”

You guys both posed cutely for each other on your trusty steed. You flashed a peace sign while winking at Jimin’s camera while he did buing buing, which made your heart melt. The ride began shortly after and Jimin reached for your hand, “I’m not letting this go, you said I could hold it for the whole day!” He kissed your hand softly, making you blush like crazy, “So I’ll definitely keep it for the whole day!”

The rest of the day at Lotte World was filled with adventure with Jimin. You guys took so many pictures together, played games, rode more rides and Jimin even bought you a stuffed penguin to commemorate the day.

“Ravi Hyung only had this planned for us,” Jimin pouted as you two currently sat on a bench right by the exit of Lotte World, “But if you would like to call it a day, I understand completely and I can take you home. If you’re okay with it though, I would like to take you somewhere else before we end the day.”

“Where would that somewhere else be?”

“It’s a surprise.” He smiled.

“I’ll trust you, take me to your surprise Oppa!” You smiled and let Jimin lead you back to the car.

The second you got back in, you yawned, “Amusement parks are so much fun, but they make me so sleepy.”

“Go ahead and sleep,” Jimin turned on the car, “We may hit traffic.”

“But I don’t want to miss out on anything during our date.” You pouted and turned to him reaching out for his hand.

“It’s okay, I promise.” Jimin’s smile was more than reassuring, it was comforting. So before you even got out of the parking lot, you already fell asleep.

“So cute…” Jimin smiled and kissed your forehead before pulling out of the parking lot to drive to your final destination of the day, Namsan Tower. He had wanted to watch the sunset with you.

Soon enough Jimin pulled up to Namsan Tower. He gently shook you awake and smiled seeing you yawn. You opened your eyes and they immediately lit up when you saw where you were at.

“Namsan Tower!” you squealed, “It’s always so pretty here!”

“I took you here because I really wanted to watch the sunset with you…” he helped you out of the car and held your hand as you two made your way to the gondola.

It was fairly empty so you two had the gondola to yourselves. You held his hand as you looked out the window. The cityscape of Seoul continued to grow smaller as you ascended higher towards the tower. “Isn’t our city beautiful Oppa?”

“Not as beautiful as you…” he sighed, “If I cross the line at any moment please let me know?”

You turned around to look him in the eyes, “Cross the line? You haven’t yet. But the same goes for me, if I cross the line, let me know okay?”

Soon enough you two got to the top and you hopped out of the gondola. You ran to the edge and was awestruck by the beauty of the scenery in front of you. But then you noticed Jimin wasn’t with you. You quickly scanned around and saw Jimin buying something. He hid whatever he bought in his pocket before making his way to you.

You cocked your head to the side and looked up at him as you grabbed his hand, “What did you buy?”

“It’s a surprise. I’ll show you before we go. But let’s go watch the sunset now.” He led you over to the railing and as you placed your hands on it, he stood behind you and wrapped his arms around your waist and rested his head on your shoulder, “This is why I asked that question earlier. You’re okay with this right?”

“More than okay.” You smiled and admired the view in front of you. Being in Jimin’s arms made you feel safe, relaxed and comfortable. You honestly didn’t want to leave them. And you were more than grateful now to Wonsikie Oppa for setting this whole date up for the two of you.

Soon the sun had disappeared and the sky was lit up by the night lights of Seoul. Jimin fished in his pocket and pulled out a lock and a marker, “I’ve always wanted to do this with someone special...and I thought you were the special someone I was waiting for to do this with.”

You blushed at his words, “What should we put on it Oppa? Our first date? Then our names and today’s date?”

Jimin scratched his head and cleared his throat, “What about this?” He began writing on the lock and then he handed it to you.

It read, ‘Will you be my girlfriend?’

You looked up at him and smiled, “Oppa…”

“I know this is technically our first date (Y/N), but for the whole time I’ve known you, I fell hard for you. You’re absolutely amazing, beautiful, caring and kind. You are everything I’ve been wanting. I want to care for you and give you the love you deserve. So what do you say? Will you be my girlfriend?” His eyes were filled with warmth.

“My Boyfriend…” you smiled and kissed his cheek, “I can call you my boyfriend now!”

Jimin cheered and wrapped you up in his arms. He took the pen back out and flipped the lock around, “Let’s write this then.’

Jimin and (Y/N) officially became a couple today!

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wallofweird · 4 years ago

Note

I’m so excited for season 5! What are you most excited for? 😍😍😍

And did you see they’ll bring the covid theme to this season?

I’m so sorry I haven’t answered this sooner, I think I probably read this ask while I was sleepy and decided to reply it later and then forgot there was something in my inbox. I’m really messy, so I apologize, but thank you for sending me this, I really appreciate when people come to talk to me. :)

Yes, I did see that they will bring COVID-19 to the plot! I’m glad that’s happening because even though This Is Us is all about The Pearsons, they are conscious about what’s happening in the US, the world and at each specific timeline. They’ve addressed to some extent The Cold War, The Vietnam War, racial segregation etc, even small things like fashion and musical trends (like Kate being obsessed with Alanis Morissette, this is such a 90/2000′s thing and I believe she was listening to Hanson when she was upset after her first break up?). So not addressing COVID-19 would feel wrong, I’m sure they will address the Black Lives Matter movement and maybe even police brutality and the presidential election too to some extent. Of course, the focus will still be The Pearsons and all these life-changing events happening in the big three’s and Rebecca’s lives, but they will acknowledge how the world will be affecting their lives too.

By the way, this turned out to be waaaaaaaaaaay longer than I expected it to be and I apologize for it, haha. By the way, this is in NO PARTICULAR ORDER.

So, about what I’m most excited for, well, that’s really a hard question because there are so many things left to explore and so many different places they can go. I guess one way to put it is that I’m more curious about the unseen and barely seen stuff. For example, I believe we’ve seen enough about Jack and Rebecca as parents of children and teenagers, so I wouldn’t mind if they reduced those scenes a little bit. I’d love to see them as parents of babies (which would be a great parallel with Kevison and Katoby), or when they first started dating, when they got engaged, when they were newlyweds. And I believe it’s not a coincidence that we’ve hardly seen any of those experiences regarding Rebecca and Jack, it feels like they saved it for when Kevin finally found the one (cough Madison cough).

I’d also like to see more of them before getting to know each other, their childhood and teenage/young years (we already know there will be one flashback on the first episodes at least!), maybe a little bit of their other relatives as well. Like, what happened to their parents and Rebecca’s sister? Specially Jack’s mother, he mentions she made three clothes for the babies, so she was still around when the big three were born and that was eight years after their first encounter.

I’d love to see more of past timelines that haven’t been visited enough as well. The 20′s is my favorite episode from season 2, I loved the storylines in there and mostly loved to see Kevin, Randall and Kate in their late 20s. Show me more of what was happening in their lives back then! Also, show me more of Randall and Beth as newlyweds and first-time parents too and more parallels with Kevison, please?

Kate. I know that eating disorders and insecurity just don’t go away, that they can be a daily struggle and anytime they can haunt you back and make you relapse. I’m glad the show explores that. However, they also work on Randall’s anxiety and Kevin’s addiction really well and have given them more different stories. I want the same for her. I’m glad that she is also married and has an expanding family of hers, but it seems like she post-poned her career again and I’d like to see her working again at some point. Also, what happens to her in the future? We saw a flash-forward that was like, two years from now and she was all dressed-up and seemed to be writing a song. I hope things are going well for her. And no, I doubt she is dead.

More about ‘the others’. Show me more of Madison, Beth, Toby and Miguel! Why isn’t Madison close with her family? How did she develop bulimia? Isn’t there really anyone who she count on in her family? Will they reconcile or has she left them for good to make her own family like Jack did (another potential for parallels, btw). I remember Beth mentioning to William that she had a lot sisters and lived with an enormous amount of people and we kind of saw it on the few episodes that centered on her, but what are her sisters like? How were their dynamic while growing up and what is it like now? Same for Toby, he has mentioned having a brother and a sister and it looks like they’re not that close, but Toby really loves and admires Kate’s bond with her brothers, so I feel like he craves that kind of relationship to himself and I’d like to know why he doesn’t seem to have it with with his own siblings. Plus, Miguel. He has biological children and grandchildren and yet he seems to be closer to Rebecca’s side of the family. And we’ve seen him with his biological family and know it is complicated, but couldn’t they fix or at least change that a little bit?

Randall’s biological family. Memphis is one of my favorite episodes from season 1 and one thing that was very satisfying and rewarding to see was Randall bonding with his biological family. The show has done a great job showing how Randall felt a vacancy in his entire life for being black in a racist world, for being black in a white family, for dealing with racism in his own family, for not having enough black references for a long period of his life, for being adopted, for being abandoned, for not knowing anything about his biological family, for not sharing genetic traits with his family, for still feeling like an outsider among some black folks he tried to connect with. He said it once that he either tries too hard or not hard enough, but he never manages to GET IT RIGHT. So when he met his biological family in Memphis, it was sort of an awakening, fulfilling moment after 36 years of dealing with all those complex feelings. And that was all, which is one of my few disappointments with the show. However, Sterling has talked about it and it seems that they will explore that again. And if they do, I hope he can introduce Beth and the girls to his uncles and cousins! Sure, he is closer to The Pearsons, but it wouldn’t hurt to have him spending time with his biological/extended family at least for one episode on seasons 5 and 6, right?

Final closure for Kevin and Sophie. I thought episode 3x16 was the perfect closure for them: Sophie talked to him about Grant and how he was her soulmate, they recognized the fact Kevin didn’t commit to their relationship as he did with his relationship with Zoe, they said goodbye without any hard feelings, he went back to Zoe and said he wanted to have a life with her and bought Sophie and Grant tickets to a concert. It was perfect. Then, I guess they wanted to play with the ‘who’s the baby mama’ question for one last time and brought her back as a plot device. It didn’t feel natural at all. They threw in two stories about a game they had imagining different endings to Good Will Hunting and her family ring out of nowhere, no previous hints, built-up or whatsoever. It felt like something made last minute to fuel them enough so she could be considered a baby mama/wife contender again after how badly their relationship played out with the cheating, hiding, lying, heartbreak and overall dynsfunctionality and the fact he dated Zoe for a year and saw himself marrying her. Even the way their relationship has been portrayed over the course of the show, it is an idealization. When Kevin is fine and happy, when his career is going smoothly, when he is life is well, he doesn’t think about her. When he gets frustrated and deluded, he runs back to her. It’s not a constant sentiment of missing her and longing for her, it’s a desperate move and Justin has talked about it and even compared it to his addiction and a unhealthy coping mechanism. So I just want them to definitely shut the door on it now. I believe they have done 50% already with them watching the ending of the movie and saying “it was better than they could've possibly imagined” and Sophie laughing at his billboard, not giving any hints of seeing him in a romantic light anymore. Now, they just need to write some closure to the ring. Give it a proper ending and move forward.

Deja, Tess and Annie. The girls are growing up! So keep giving them more things to do, specially Tess, she is one of the few LGBTQIA+ characters in the universe of the series, so I hope they explore her even more. Specially since she’s come out to her school not so long ago and it is in a phase of her life when the first crushes and relationships tend to happen, there are a lot of things they can do with that and I’m sure we from the LGBTQIA+ community would love to see it. Also, show me them in the flash-forwards! I’d also appreciate if we saw Tess having a love interest and a wlw kiss in the future.

Deja and her biological family. She’s adopted by Randall and Beth, but she has a whole story before them, she has a mother that is apparently doing well too and is a part of her identity. Showing adoptive and biological families having a well-balanced relationship for the sake of their child would be refreshing and really important and they could show the contrast between Deja’s and Randall’s experiences. There is a lot of potential there.

Hailey. I have no idea how the adoption process works in California/the US, but I hope the little one comes as soon as possible! And adult Hailey is adorable, too, she seems to be such a devoted sister, so I hope to see more of that as well.

Unexplored or underdeveloped dynamics. I know that Jack, Rebecca, Kate, Randall and Kevin are the leading characters. I know Jack/Rebecca, Randall/Beth, Kate/Toby and now Kevin/Madison are the main couples and they will have a lot of screen time. I know Kate and Kevin have a special bond because they are twins. I know Kevin and Nicky have a special bond because he stayed with his uncle and helped him with his sobriety. I know Kevin has a special bond with his nieces and baby Jack because he is the last one to become a parent. I know all of that and I don’t want that to change. Still, it doesn’t hurt to mix it up and shake things up a little bit. Give me a little bit of Randall and baby Jack, show me a little bit of Kate and Nicky, bring back a little bit of that funny dynamic Kevin and Toby had on the early seasons (I remember one scene where the actors did a little bit of an ad-lib and it was awesome), give me a little bit of Madison and Randall’s girls, the women/men hanging out together and Rebecca and Miguel! We’ve already got confirmation about Rebecca and Miguel’s story being explored this season, so I’m excited about that.

Kevison, Kevison, KEVISON!! This is absolutely no surprise since I’ve been interested in them since season 2, Madison is my favorite character and a lot of my blog is dedicated to them. Just give me EVERYTHING. Again, one of my few complaints is how the main relationships happened way too fast on this show. Don’t get me wrong, I love the couples as much as the next person and I can enjoy every trope if they are done right. Still, my favorite are still the slowburn ones. As I viewer, I like to see the seed being planted, watered and the slowly growing like a real plant. I like rooting for something, knowing that it will happen, but not when and how it is going to play out. I like to see every single step of the journey: being acquainted, becoming colleagues, friends, confidants, best friends, falling in love, dating, getting engaged, married and BEING married. I love seeing little things and changes in their dynamic, like becoming more touchy, lingering looks, making each other blush, a little bit of jealousy... Sure, we got a little bit of those moments with Jack/Rebecca, Randall/Beth and Kate/Toby, but it wasn’t the same feeling because they were all love at first sight (which is one of the tropes I usually don’t like) and got together pretty quickly. And even when we saw their first meeting, or Jack being a little jealous/hurt when he saw Rebecca with her ex-boyfriend, it was more of a momentary thing than an example of changed dynamics and feelings becoming deeper and romantic. It wasn’t the result of months and a number of episodes in the making, it was a flashback we visited when we already knew the destination of their story, that it wouldn’t last and they would be happily married and the love of each other’s lives. So I specially appreciate that kevison will be the only main couple to have a different construction and development. I’d also love to see flashbacks of the time they slept together (it was afternoon when they met at Kate’s house and they went to Madison’s place and he only left the next morning! WHAT DID THEY DO DURING ALL OF THAT TIME?), which I’m quite confident we will get, but also before that. On episodes 4x10, 4x12, 4x14 and 4x18 I got the feeling that they were quite familiar with one another. They weren’t exactly friends, but they weren’t awkward with each other anymore, they were comfortable hanging out and shopping with Kate, he sweetly smiled at Madison’s quirks, Madison seemed unimpressed and annoyed when she opened the door to him and she didn’t have problems at all stepping inside Kate’s house as if she owned the place and ignoring Kevin when he told her it wasn’t a good time. Their dynamic really changed since episode 3x15 and Justin mentioned Kevin saw her as part of the family before their night together, so I wonder why. Also, some parallel flashbacks would be particulary nice. For example, they could have a flashback of Madison making a pregnancy test on a day that Kevin is babysitting Jack and daydreaming of having his own children. They could show parallels of Kevin and Madison struggling with addiction/bulimia in the past. Maybe she also lost a close relative and grief has impacted her as much as Kevin. So. Many. Possibilities. That. Can. Be. Explored!!!!! Those two are the characters that have THE MOST IN COMMON WITH ONE ANOTHER and there are a lot of things the writers can explore with that. Another particularly sweet thing that wouldn’t hurt or take more than a single minute would be a flashback of them meeting each other way before Kate. Like, if they had bumped into each other on the street years before and don’t remember it until they talk about it one day and realized they saw each other before? I’m watching this dizi (aka a Turkish TV show) where the characters are in a considerably similar situation, pregnant as a result of a drunk one-night stand after their first date and there was this moment where they were talking and she remembered she had bumped into him years ago when she was heartbroken over her ex getting engaged. It was such a small and fulfilling moment. It really gives the idea of COMING FULL-CIRCLE and I’d love to see something like that.

Kevison and the other couples enjoying their pregnancies. I feel like we see the characters with their children as much as we should, and I definitely appreciate that, but we don’t get to see them enjoying the pregnancy period. Last year, most of Kate’s pregnancy revolved around worry, for example. And I get that since it was a complicated pregnancy and she had suffered a miscarriage before, but still. Kate only has one biological child. Rebecca only got pregnant once. Madison is likely to be pregnant only one time too. We basically only saw Beth and Lucy giving birth and that was only one time for each character. It would be nice to see their pregnancies being fun. Documenting it, buying baby clothes, discussing baby names, building cribs, decorating the baby(ies) room etc. It would be nice to have flashbacks of that and specially to see KEVISON doing all of that, since this is the pregnancy that is happening at this current moment.

The characters having friends outside their families and marriage. Like I said before, I KNOW that the focus of the show are the big three and Jack and Rebecca. I know which dynamics will be more explored on the show and I don’t want that to change. However, Kate is the only one that has the luxury of two friends (Madison and Gregory). Randall got Jae-Won on season 3 (I actually think they only became real friends last season, tbh) and Kevin had Cassidy for a while and now doesn’t even seem to talk to her anymore (not that I miss it because I didn’t like their dynamic, specially after they slept together and I just wanted season 4A to focus on him and Nicky without anyone’s interference). Let them have some friends of their own too and hang out with them at least for an episode? Same goes to Beth, Toby, Rebecca and Miguel (I know he had Jack, I’m talking about present time).

Kevin’s career. For now I want him to focus on his children and Madison, but when it comes to his career, I’d like to see him doing different things. He played a soldier and a cop. Let him play different characters and show more versatility. Maybe doing voice-work on a Disney movie for his children to watch it and enjoy it? Dealing a little bit with fame, tabloids and paparazzi could be interesting as well. He’s not a big celebrity like Oscar-winner actors, but he is famous enough to be photographed on the street and have mean rumors about him spread on the media (they mentioned one about him being drunk and running over his daughter with his car), so there are many possibilities to explore when he comes to his career too.

Kate being there for Madison during the pregnancy and more moments of Kate helping and comforting her during difficult times, both in the present and the past years. This is not criticism. Kate helped her when she relapsed that one time and took care of her. It also didn’t make sense to focus on Madison that much because her character didn’t have such a big role back then. Now, things have changed and Madison will be needing her, so let Kate repay the favor.

The couples enjoying some adult time without children involved. One of the very few flaws of This Is Us. We only got that with Jack and Rebecca. The only times Kate/Toby and Beth/Randall tried to have a night just for themselves they had problems. Susan mentioned that she would like to see them going on a date and so do I? Hopefully we will see Kevin/Madison, Randall/Beth and Kate/Toby having some quality time without the kids as well.

If we get to see more of the big three as older children and teenagers (which I guess we are because unless that’s changed, the actors are still part of the main cast), I hope they show more moments of them bonding, having fun and helping each other. Having their own experiences and having each other’s back instead of problems that Jack and Rebecca try to solve for them or help them with. Let them be bigger characters and let them be close as siblings too. That episode where they watched Arsenio Hall together was particularly sweet and refreshing to see, same goes to Kevin helping Randall at school when he got a notification and was having a panic attack. However, for their teen years, I’d definitely love to see them being easy with their parents and those five having a good time together, enjoying each other and their parents for a change, specially since Jack passed away when they were only 17.

Jack, Hailey and the twins. Sure, they will be little, but I hope we get to see the cousins together for a decent amount of time. It is really nice that they are all close (Madison/Kevin/Kate), and NOW, FAMILY. It is nice that Hailey, Jack and the twins will be closer in age and not have a lonely childhood. I hope they explore that a little bit.

Jack Damon. I love him. He is creative, charismatic, funny and adorable. He is also one of the few representation of disabled people that was done right. He is a visually-impaired person played by visually-impaired actors. His disability is a part of who he is and his story, but not all of it. He is a successful musician. He has a big family with his daughter, wife, sister, cousins and uncles. I want to know more of him. Plus, the writing exploring accessibility. Episode 4x13 when Kate, Jack and Rebecca went to the retreat and we saw all those children playing and having fun and living a full life was amazing. We need more of that on TV.

Plus, what about Nicky? Who did he marry? I have an entire theory about this and I hope he can get a little family for himself. Don’t get me wrong, The Pearsons are his family too, his bond with Kevin is one of my favorite relationships in the entire show, but I’d want him to have a family outside of his extended family, too, you know?

Dr. K and Wlliam. We can never get enough from them! I don’t know how often we will see them due to the pandemics and the fact the actors are eldery, but they are the guest stars I will never grow tired of. A fantasy sequence with the entire family while having Jack, Nicky and William would be particuarly nice. They could’ve done it on episode 4x17 and I was a little frustrated that they missed the opportunity.

The future of the family and the future of the show. Rebecca is a grandmother now. Randall, Kate and Kevin are parents. Deja, Tess and Annie are growing up. Jack is 1. Madison is very close to giving birth to the twins. They’ll be 40 when the season premieres. Kevin is a year sober. They’ve all grown in so many different ways. And since Rebecca’s health and memory are deteriorating, I’d like them to be in the upfront of the narrative now. As I mentioned before, I know the leading characters are Jack, Rebecca, Kevin, Kate and Randall. I know the big three are some of biggest characters on the show. Still, when it comes to family, the narrative has always focused on Jack and Rebecca as parents and Kate, Randall and Kevin as children. They have always explored more the problems those three experience, whether is in the past or present time and Rebecca and Jack trying to help them navigate through them and solve things. Let’s reverse everything. Let Rebecca be vulnerable and having her children taking care of her. I’d also love to see more of the future timelines with Randall’s girls as young adults, Jack, Hailey and the twins as children and teenagers, them and their parents dealing with all of that. What will Randall and Beth do when they all go to college and move out? What will Kate and Toby do when their children have nightmares? What will Madison and Kevin do with the twins when they have problems at school? Let us see (more) of Randall’s, Kate’s and Kevin’s parenting style and what they got from their parents and are passing on for their kids and what is their own approach to parenthood. Let us see them passing on Jack and Rebecca’s legacy for the future generations of The Pearsons, but also making their own little traditions and having their own experiences. Let’s us see them making NEW MEMORIES FOR THEMSELVES AND THEIR FAMILIES. It is a good idea to explore both on seasons 5 and 6, imo. Showing how far they have come, how this family that started with only a couple and has evolved into this gigantic fabric of people and how Jack and Rebecca will live forever though Kevin, Kate, Randall, their children, Hope and the ones from generations that are still to come.

IT’S NOT that I exactly WANT it, but iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiif we really have to go there:

Kate and Toby’s divorce. I don’t want it. I love them as people. I root for them as a couple. Sure, they have faced some major problems and this season explored that, but I hope they get passed it, specially since they are about to welcome a second child. Still, I can’t come up with a good enough of an explanation why Toby isn’t wearing his wedding ring. Every possible reason that crossed my mind was either heartbreaking or underwhelming at best: there was a small incident and he will buy a new ring, they got divorced, Kate died. I don’t want any of it to happen and I bet money that Kate doesn’t die. Still, if after making such a big deal of it, it turns out that they just are buying new wedding rings or whatever, that will be so ANTICLIMACTIC. And if they do get a divorce, it will be REPETITIVE since they teased it for the entire season and they stayed married. So far, if it were for them to split up, it should have happened on season 4. If they’re reaaaaaaally gonna go there, I hope it will be done well considering there are only two seasons left, two children involved and it was something they literally played with LAST SEASON. They must find a way to make it REFRESHING AND NOT REPETITIVE. They must find a way to explore the outcome of it. Dealing with a divorce, being single again, the custody of their children and how it will change their dynamic as parents. I also want them to find a new love. Sure, it would be realistic if they ended up alone, yes, and there’s no shame in that. A lot of people don’t want to get married or never see that dream coming true and those are stories worth telling too. STILL, I’d be really frustrated with they were the only characters who ended up alone when Randall/Beth and Kevin/Madison are happily married. Even Jack and Lucy seem to be going strong! So show them finding someone else and give well-developed love stories with different people for them while exploring everything else that’s already going on too. I wanted there to be a big and plausible enough explanation why on earth Toby isn’t wearing his ring and yet is still very much married to Kate, but I recognize it is more wishful thinking.

If they still want to bring Sophie through flashbacks, then answer relevant questions than just having her there sitting next to Kevin. The divorce is a great example of storyline and it can serve as a parallel for Kevison, like, what they got right and Kevin/Sophie didn’t. Justin said Kevin cheated on her twice, so how did all of that happen? We don’t know.

#this is us #jack pearson #rebecca pearson #randall pearson #kate pearson #kevin pearson #madison simons #madison simmons #madison pearson #beth pearson #toby damon

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nymphigeon · 4 years ago

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From me, to you || 06

♤ Pairing: Taehyung x Reader

♤ Genre: fluff, angst, romance, hybrid au, hybrid!Taehyung, detective!reader

♤ Words: 2.9k

♤ Rating: PG-13

♤ Warnings (for this chapter): Mentions of hybrid abuse, mention of murder, mentions of gambling.

Synopsis: A story in which he has never known love, so you’ll give it to him.

Series masterlist

05 06 07

The walk back to Taehyung’s cell was uneventful. I was scared Ella would be waiting for me around the corner, ready to scream at me all over again. Luckily though, she was nowhere to be seen.

Taehyung didn’t really say anything anymore about our talk, just silently walking in front of me. Some colleagues passing us gave me weird looks, as if they knew what had happened. Well, seeing your supervisor angrily stomp to her office might be a dead giveaway something went down.

“Taehyung?” Again, when he entered his cell, no words were spoken. He simply went to sit on the bed and stared at the ground, not even acknowledging my presence. Even now as I try to grab his attention, his gaze stays fixed on the grey coloured ground.

“You haven’t eaten a lot since you got here right? Wait, I’ll go get you something.” I turn around in the direction of the small kitchen, not really planning on waiting as I’m not expecting a response. My expectations aren’t met however.

“No need.” Short, but clearly stating his desires. Or rather, lack of desires. “I insist. It doesn’t take a detective to figure out you must be hungry.” I don’t look at him as I speak, still facing the destination only a few steps away.

“I know that talking about it must’ve reminded you of that time, brought up feelings you forgot about for a while. They were the past back when I rescued you of the street, and they’re still the past right now. Nothing changed.”

A memory of Taehyung scarfing down food because of my tears pop up. It causes a tiny smile to appear on my face, even though at the time it wasn’t the happiest moment. “Should I start crying again?”

It’s said as a joke, something to lighten the mood. A light chuckle coming from behind confirms it worked. “I won’t hesitate to call you a baby this time.” I can’t see him, but I can hear the smile in his voice.

We’ll be able to laugh at this in the future. Looks like that’s true.

“Hey, it’s a good thing to let out emotions, bottling them up causes stress and discomfort!” Putting my hands on my hips, I take on a defensive stand. The one where I defend my statement, not to fight, fortunately.

“Sure miss smarty pants. Go get me some of that delicious prison food.” If I wasn’t so relieved that he finally accepted to eat, I would’ve probably defended my cooking skills as well. Contrary to the others working here, I actually can cook without burning everything I touch. Now that is what I call an achievement.

“Of course, Your Highness.”

“Ella, I need to speak with you.” A familiar voice pushes its way through the door. One that I haven’t exactly missed, but looked forward to hearing from nonetheless.

She’s direct, rough sounding. The normal politeness her words usually contain gone, most likely together with her respect for me. Not that she can show it, as I still hold all the cards, though it sure would be fun to see her try.

Whether her directness was born out of her growing disdain towards me, or out of the confidence she built knowing the answers to my questions is unknown to me. I don’t really care, it doesn’t matter with the position I’m in.

The position I got by being harsh and unforgiving. Throw your sympathy out of the window, just focus on whatever you need to find out. The way you do so is unimportant as long as you succeed. It’s the exact attitude she screamed at me for. The exact attitude she’s giving me right now. Perhaps she is more useful to me than I thought.

“Do come in.”

With no hesitation the door opens and she steps into the room. Her expression is different from the typical kind determined face she wears around the office. The kindness has gone, replaced by something else.

I’m curious as to what she will tell me. Will I be left disappointed? I didn’t count the option that she might just come beg me to keep her. Reckless of me.

“I found the guy.”

Disappointed I am not. Then this is most likely jealousy. Jealousy for the way she found what I failed to acquire myself. Though that’s just half of it. The other part is joy.

“Now this is interesting, tell me about it.”

She nonchalantly throws the device she had been holding at me, the recorder I left in the room with the hybrid the other day. First, my sad attempt, and second her who effortlessly got what I couldn’t. “You can take a listen at that after we’re done, it contains all you need to know.”

That I will do, but I don’t say it out loud. Simply nodding, I motion for her to go on. Just get straight to the point, I’m not satisfied until he is behind bars.

“The guy’s name is Lee Ji-hyun, who, according to Taehyung, is a popular gambler. Presumably that’s the way he got enough money for a tiger hybrid. Found his name on a few gambling websites, completely unlawful if I may add, which confirms that.”

Not only did she find him, she also figured out that wherever he went for his money, the places aren’t supposed to be there. I never asked her for any more than that guy’s name, and instead of one, she brought me two cases to work on, one easier than the other. I’ll worry about the easy one later.

“According to our records he got arrested for drug use a few years back, but got released due to too little evidence.” That makes things easier. At least we already know something about him from the investigation back then, we won’t have to start from square one.

“Great work, I’m impressed.” Praise encourages people to work hard, makes them even more useful to me. Why figure things out myself, when I can boss others around to find it out for me?

“I need access to the World Hybrid Register and a search warrant. I don’t just want to catch him for murder. The signs of hybrid abuse, hybrid dealing, illegal gambling and drug use are also there.”

Again, as direct as she can be. She isn’t asking me, neither is she ordering me. Stating what she needs with the underlying expectation she’ll get it. Normally that would give her a one way ticket out of this place. Normally.

“Sure.” The determined face she was wearing crumbles into a look of shock. The underlying expectation I thought I heard had been completely faked, and I fell for it.

“Wait, really? Just like that?” She seems happy. Everything about her posture exuded confidence when she walked in here. Now I’m beginning to think the entire thing was one big act. One that she played perfectly.

“Yeah. I’ll make sure to get you whatever you need. I trust you know what you’re doing?” It must be apparent how I’m nice when you do as I say, not so nice when you go against me. Apparently a great leader listens to those lower in the ranks, however my superiority complex holds me from doing so.

“Always.” It’s back. The sweet smile playing on her face brings back the kindness she walks around with. The one I thought was her weakness. For once, I was wrong.

“Great. Go send me the details over email, I have stuff to do.” My sentence ends in a sigh, not feeling like going back to the old boring work I was busying myself with before her arrival. Whether I like it or not, I have to. There are still people holding power over me, I can’t decide entirely on my own.

“Of course.” With that she excitedly bounces out my private room. A type of excited I don’t show, but definitely feel.

Let’s see what you’re capable of Y/N.

It wasn’t even 24 hours after the talk with my supervisor that I got an email inviting me to the World Hybrid Registration Centre headquarters. The organization has offices al around the world, keeping tabs on who all own a hybrid, who aren’t allowed to own one, who has had a warning before, etc. They basically just make sure the hybrids are treated well and kept healthy.

I’m not exactly surprised they’re okay with my checking the system, as this is just as much their concern as it is ours, but I am surprised at the speed in which they replied. Known to be extremely busy since the hybrid owning trend blew up, a reply is usually days to weeks after the first email has been sent. Even for the police it can take a couple of days for them to come back to you.

Immediately after I’ve completely read the email I shut down my computer and pack my bag with whatever I may need. I don’t tell any of my colleagues that I’m going, as I know at least one of them will offer to come with me. There is no need for anyone else though, I prefer to go on my own.

The address is way out in another town, causing a two hour drive I’m not looking forward to. Reminding myself of the poor hybrid back at our office and the extra money I’m getting paid, I gain the necessary encouragement for the long trip. At least I’m doing this for someone.

The parking lot is completely full when I arrive. Expensive Tesla’s and huge Mercedes’ litter the place as if the pay is ten times higher than mine. If I would take a second to think it would seem logical, since even the cheapest of hybrids are still mad expensive, and part of that money goes to the people registering everything. Besides that there’s also the hybrid tax, of which, again, a part goes to these workers.

Stepping out of my extremely out of place looking car, I make sure I properly lock the door before walking inside the building. It’s not hard to find the front desk, with it being the first thing you come across after having been blown in the face by the warm air coming from inside.

“Ah, Y/F/N Y/L/N, thank you for coming on such a short notice. I’m sorry it had to be on the same day, we didn’t have any more room for appointments until next month.” The rather old looking lady behind the desk smiles my way with an apologetic look on her face.

“It’s okay, don’t worry. I’m actually glad I was able to visit this fast.” The lady nods and takes off her glasses after typing something into her computer. “It’s our pleasure. We too got really concerned after we heard about the multiple offences.”

There is a hint of sadness to be heard in her voice. Coming across hybrid owners is quite rare where I live, as nobody has the funds to do so. Most people will just curse at the rich and despise anything that has to do with them, including hybrids. Seeing someone who truly cares about them is a nice change.

“You personally wanted to check the information we had on this hybrid mentioned in the email, correct?” The lady, who stood up from her chair a few seconds ago, rounds the desk to stand in front of me. In her hand she holds a card attached to a string that goes round in a loop.

“Yeah that’s right. It’s suspected the hybrid has been neglected, so we just want to know the origin of the hybrid, when it has last had a check-up, things like that. I just need a copy after that and then I’ll be on my way.”

Not knowing whether I could fully trust all the workers here on giving me the right information, I decided to come check everything out myself. It’s said that even here not everyone fully supports hybrids, with the worst stories claiming some are even trying to bring the organization down from inside.

The registration centre has tried to calm the accusations down by stating they check all the workers regularly on their hybrid views in extensive programs, but this was never verified by any other source other than themselves.

“Great! This pass will give you authorization to any room you may wish to enter and on the back is a code to access any systems. One of my colleagues will be with you at all times, but in case you wish to enter places yourself you can use this.”

With one of her hands she beckons me to crouch down to her level. When I do, she carefully places the string around my neck and makes sure it isn’t cutting into my skin, before pushing me to stand back up again.

“Eun-ji! Can you escort this lovely lady around please?” The newfound nickname startles me, not having expected something like that. She clearly doesn’t seem to notice though, keeping herself busy with making sure Eun-ji knows all the details of her upcoming job.

The place is a lot more confusing inside than it looks from the outside. Long hallways with doors to rooms everywhere, stairs in spots you wouldn’t expect them to be and dead-ends in places I was sure looped around in circles. If it wasn’t for my nervous guide, I would’ve definitely already been lost.

“And here we have one of the registration rooms. We fill in all our paper work into the system and make sure everything is updated, although most information just comes in digital nowadays, so all the binders placed in the corner don’t really have a function anymore.”

The room just consists of a bunch of computers with huge monitors screwed to the walls. Right now there is absolutely no one here except for the two of us, but a few of the monitors are still turned on. What a waste of electricity.

“Would you mind if I search the system now?” I already have permission to do so, though my kind nature refuses to just start typing without a heads up. “Of course, that’s what you’re here for after all.” Eun-ji lets out an awkward giggle while fiddling with her fingers. She’s clearly uncomfortable, even though she does her best to hide it.

I don’t waste a second, immediately sitting down behind one of the computers. The system isn’t too hard to navigate, the simple search bar being the only tool I need.

Name owner: Jihyun Lee

Name hybrid: Taehyung…

“Is it needed to fill in everything? I don’t know the hybrid’s last name…” I mentally slap myself in the face for never having asked his full name. Even his file back at the office just has his first name, and nobody ever questioned it. Perhaps we all just assumed he didn’t have one.

“Just fill in whatever you do know. Most hybrids take on the last name of the owner though so you could try that.” In the little time I’ve been staring at a screen, Eun-ji has made it her mission to put as much space between me and her as possible, pretending to be busy doing something at the other side of the room.

Name owner(s): Jihyun Lee

Gender owner(s): Male

Name hybrid: Taehyung Lee

Gender hybrid: Male

Hybrid animal: Tiger

That’s how far I can fill it in. The following bars needing a hybrid type, hybrid identification code, adoption centre, all clog my brain with question marks. The little information I can fill in reminds me of how there is not much I actually know about Taehyung.

Realizing there is nothing else that I can do, I click the search button and wait for the results to come up.

Nothing.

Huge letters on the screen apologize to me, suggesting that I may have made a mistake in whatever information I gave. A breath of air escapes my lips as I sigh and delete Taehyung’s last name.

Still nothing.

“Could it be that I’m doing something wrong? No results are showing up.” Going back to the main screen I try to figure out if perhaps I used the wrong tool, but nothing suggests that I have.

“Okay wait, let me see.” Eun-ji hesitantly comes closer when I stand up from the chair, only sitting down when I’ve moved back a few steps. “What’s the name of the guy?”

“Lee Ji-hyun, or well it’s first name, last name right? Then Ji-hyun Lee. Wait, should I have used a hyphen?” While I’m still trying to come up with what I may have done wrong, Eun-ji quickly brings up a list of people.

“There are a few males with that name owning a hybrid around the world, though since we know he lives here we can narrow it down to one country. What type of hybrid is it?” She doesn’t look at me as she asks, though as soon as I answer her head slowly turns my way.

“You’re sure it’s not just a striped house cat? Or, I don’t know, another predator hybrid instead?” Disbelief is written all across her face. The nervous look she has been wearing got replaced by furrowed brows, obviously going down a list of animals that may look similar.

“Yeah I’m sure. They’re not forbidden right? I would’ve known.” I can’t understand the confusion written across her face. Sure wild animal hybrids are expensive, but that doesn’t mean nobody owns them.

“No not forbidden, I mean they’re hard to come across sure, but…” Eun-ji’s hesitance is making me nervous, something is off. Something that I’m definitely not going to like.

“Miss, this hybrid doesn’t exist.”

Taglist

@suhappysuho @intellectualxprincess @sana-b @littlewolfieposts @nellaphine @daisychwe @deathkat657 @elenaramos1

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kieraswriting · 4 years ago

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Coffin Chapter Eighteen

Masterpost

“Sir, Liam Hart’s house has been attacked by vampires.”

“I assume he has it handled?”

“No, sir. We have some video, but as far as I know everyone that was living there is dead.”

“Oh? I’m surprised. Do we know where the vampires went?”

“No, sir. But I do have the video. We are working on identifying them.”

“Well done. Once you’re done send out an alert. I want them shot on sight.”

“Yes, sir.”

•^*^••

Roman turned his head for a second when he heard the whimper.

“Please… Please no! I-I didn’t…” came Virgil’s weak voice.

Roman had to watch the road. He wished now he wasn’t the one driving. “Is he ok, Pat?”

“No.” Patton said bitterly. Then his voice came again, a bit more normal. “He’s having nightmares. But if we wake him up he’ll be hurting even worse.”

Patton was in the backseat, cradling Virgil’s head and shoulders so that he could lay down. Roman could barely look at Virgil. He had no idea how Patton was managing it.

A stream of broken pleas fell from Virgil’s lips, interspersed with sounds so pitiful they pierced Roman’s heart.

“Shh, Virgil, I’ve got you now. It’ll be ok,” Patton soothed.

Roman spared another glance backward. Patton was running his fingers through Virgil’s hair, and his face was wet and shiny from tears.

Roman leaned a bit heavier on the gas pedal, wanting to get to their destination as quickly as possible, though he knew that even with speeding it would be several hours.

It was maybe an hour later that Roman heard a sharp gasp, and rapid breathing, that quickly became hyperventilating.

“Virgil, it’s ok, I’m here. I’ve got you now. No one is going to hurt you anymore.”

The breathing slowed down gradually, becoming ragged in the way breathing does when someone’s trying not to cry.

“Oh, Virgil, baby, I’m so sorry. I’m so, so sorry!” Patton started crying.

And then they were both crying. Virgil’s crying was interspersed with gasps and pained noises, and Patton’s with teary reassurances.

Roman didn’t know what to do. He pulled out his phone and called Logan.

“Roman? I’m sure you know I’m very busy right now.”

“I know, I know. But Virgil’s awake.”

The sigh of relief was plain through the phone.

“He’s in a lot of pain and I don’t know what to do.”

“Ok. Try feeding him. Vampires heal quickly just after they’ve eaten.”

“Ok.”

There was some muffled talking that Roman couldn’t make out. “I’ve got to go. I’ll call again as soon as I can.”

Logan hung up.

“Patton, Logan said to feed him. It’ll help him heal.”

“O-ok,” Patton said shakily. “Ow! No, no, Virgil, it’s ok, I’m fine. I’m sorry. It’s ok. Please, just get better.”

Roman again cursed that he was the driver. He knew it was better for Patton to be back there than for him, but he still wanted to be there!

It was a good two hours later that he pulled over, needing gas and to use the bathroom.

•^*^••

Patton also would’ve liked to go inside, but he was not going to leave Virgil alone, and by the time Roman got back Virgil had drifted into a kind of semi-sleep. Patton just could not justify waking him up.

His wrist ached a bit, and it was still bleeding a little. For some reason it wasn’t healing up very quickly this time. Patton wouldn’t have minded except that seeing the blood was turning his stomach.

He ran his hand gently through Virgil’s hair, trying to give what little comfort he could.

Roman cranked the car. “You doing ok?”

Patton nodded. “Yeah. It’s, uh, it’s been a long day. A really, really long day.”

“How—“ Roman started driving. “How soon did it, start?”

Patton swallowed heavily. “Pretty soon.” He looked out the car window at the setting sun. It had been late last night, or maybe early in the morning, when his dad had started banging on their door. His day had felt stretched into a week, and he couldn’t bear to imagine what it had been like for Virgil.

“Oh,” Roman said, the same heaviness sitting in Patton’s stomach apparent in his voice.

Patton nodded, and tears started slipping down his face again. Surely he’d run out soon. There was no way he could cry this much. And it didn’t do any good! He could cry all he wanted but it wouldn’t help Virgil!

But that thought just made the tears come faster.

•^*^••

“There’s the last of them,” Logan said. “Unless you want me to drop you off somewhere.”

“Nah,” Remus said, leaned back crookedly over the seat, completely unbuckled. “I think I’ll go with Dee Dee and Thomas.”

Logan nodded. “That would make sense, if it’s really what you want to do.”

“Eh.”

It didn’t take them long to meet up with the other car, though Remus was almost disturbingly quiet during the ride.

Thomas traded with Logan, and Dee went with him and Remus. Logan got into the backseat of the car Emile was driving, and Remy was in the passenger seat.

“We’ll contact you in a week,” Logan said, and was met with a firm nod from Thomas.

Logan still didn’t like this plan. While it might keep them safe, it also weakened them in case of attack, and there was nothing they could do in terms of helping any other vampires. But it did keep them safe, probably. So it was their best bet. At least until someone came up with anything better.

•^*^••

There was almost certainly an ambush both at their house and at the farmhouse. There was no way to return to get anything.

Thomas just drove. He didn’t know where they’d be staying that night, aside from the car, but he couldn’t chance being anywhere near Liam’s house. Probably not even in the same state. Hopefully crossing state lines would be enough. Hopefully. But it might well not be.

As it turned out, Remus wasn’t the absolute worst person to have in the backseat. He kept talking almost constantly, usually about things that Thomas hoped didn’t relate to vampires. Dee scoffed and rolled his eyes at every other sentence, but Thomas caught a hint of an amused smile more than once.

•^*^••

It hurt.

It hurt. It hurt. It hurt.

It hurt .

Everything hurt.

Virgil was constantly holding back whimpers and other sounds. He didn’t want them to know. They could see him, but silver never looked as bad as it felt.

Even after he’d eaten, and could just barely distinguish the itch of healing within the sea of pain, it still hurt.

His one anchor was Patton’s hand carding softly through his hair. The only thing on his whole body that didn’t hurt.

And then the car stopped again. Virgil was hazily slipping in and out of a semi-sleep. He didn’t catch the words Patton and Roman were saying, until they tried to lift him.

Virgil let out a pained yell. His arm flailed, reaching for Patton.

“Shh, shh, it’s ok, Virgil. We need you to be quiet, ok?”

“Can’t,” Virgil choked out.

“Ok, ok. Um.”

“Here, let me, Pat. You get the other end.”

“No! Please.” Virgil started crying and pleading with them to not pick him up. It hurt. It hurt so bad!

“I’m sorry, Virgil, I’m so sorry,” Roman said, and then put a hand over his mouth. “Now, Pat.”

They lifted, and Virgil screamed against Roman’s hand.

They carried him inside somewhere, and laid him on a bed.

“There, it’s done. I’m sorry, Virgil. I am. I’m truly sorry.” Roman left a thousand apologies before the exhaustion took over the pain, and Virgil slipped again.

•^*^••

They were in a tourist town.

“Why would you pick this place?” Logan asked, when he realized that Remy was turning in to a driveway.

“Because everyone’s a stranger here babe,” Remy said quickly. “Now I’ll hop out and work my magic, you two don’t watch.”

He took off his sunglasses and slipped them on Emile, and then got out of the car. Emile immediately turned up the music.

It was a while before Remy came back out, and was followed by a small family with heaps of bags, who piled into their car and drove away.

“What is it that you tell them?” Logan asked.

Remy flashed a smile, “They've won a cruise! I am here to personally give them the address and they have to leave right away for a ninety day cruise in the Bahamas!”

“Isn’t that… needlessly cruel?” Logan asked. “They have to drive a long way for nothing, and then they’re left with no house, and less money.”

“Who said it’s nothing?” Remy said with a wink, taking his sunglasses back.

“He really does own a cruise ship somewhere,” Emile explained. “It’s not the Bahamas, but it’s pretty nice. The ship is called Remy too.”

“Have you been on it?” Logan asked.

Emile nodded. “It was a long time ago, but yeah. That’s where I met him. I actually bought my ticket, though.”

Logan nodded slowly, though, to be honest, this just raised more questions.

•^*^••

“Well, I guess it’s better than nothing,” Thomas said.

“Are you kidding? It’s perfect!” Remus was out of the car and running around like a hyperactive child.

“I don’t know what you see in it,” Dee muttered, putting the seats all the way back.

Thomas just sighed. Sleeping in his car at a state rest stop wasn’t his idea of comfortable, but it was empty, and thus probably safe. And he still had Dee. And Remus, but Remus was more a wild card than a comfort.

There were bathrooms, and a vending machine for ‘breakfast’ in the morning. It wasn’t as bad as it could have been.

•^*^••

Patton didn’t sleep. He almost didn’t dare touch Virgil, for fear of hurting him. He sat on the edge of the bed, gently running his fingers through Virgil’s hair, and keeping a damp washcloth for his forehead. The poor boy was hot with fever, which Patton had hoped vampires couldn’t get, but apparently they could.

“Well, silver is poison to them,” Roman had murmured. “It burns, but too much will kill them. I just hope we got him in time.”

Patton couldn’t think about what if they were too late. They had him now. Surely that was enough. They were doing everything they could. Surely. Surely he’d get better.

#sanders sides #vampire au #vampires #blood #virgil sanders #roman sanders #logan sanders #patton sanders #janus sanders #remus sanders #emile picani #remy sleep #my own work #coffin #violence #speciesism #vampire virgil #platonic moxiety

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actionnerdgamerlove · 3 years ago

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Do You Want Me Now - Chapter 25: Beach Week, Part One

Find it on AO3

Many, many thanks to @laughingatlivedragons for her help with this chapter - Geralt's past vacations couldn't have happened without you, my love!

“Hey Geralt,” Jaskier called from the living room, “Are you a beach person?”

She heard him hum as he came out of the upstairs bathroom. She’d heard the shower shut off, and was waiting for him at the foot of the stairs.

“This isn’t a show, Jask,” Geralt growled (without any real heat in it) as he walked down the stairs, shirtless, toweling off his hair. “Maybe I should start selling tickets,” he rolled his eyes as he said it, but he was secretly delighted. Anytime Jaskier was home and able to catch him showering, she’d wait for him to come out, just to see him without a shirt on. (She usually waited downstairs in the living room, or the kitchen; she didn’t just hover outside of the bathroom.) She never said anything; just looked at him – and it was always the same look. She looked at him like he was the most beautiful thing she had ever seen. No one had ever looked at Geralt like that before; not even when he was married.

“I mean, I do pay rent; is this not an amenity that’s included?” Larkin laughed, but then turned serious. “Geralt, for real though, if I’m making you uncomfortable, say the word, and it won’t happen again.”

“It’s fine,” he said while rolling his eyes, fondly. “I just – I figured the novelty would have worn off after six plus months, y’know?”

“NOPE! The effect of your physical beauty is just too compelling; I am powerless to resist.” Jask threw her hand over her forehead dramatically, leaning back.

“So, before we got sidetracked with your weird fascination with me,” the teasing note in Geralt’s voice made Larkin beam. “What’d you ask me?” he ended by throwing his towel over her head, enjoying the squawk and sputtering noises coming from under the towel. It had taken him a while to get used to the fact that Larkin just…rolled with stuff like that. He watched her pull the towel off her head, then point upstairs, then downstairs, asking him if he wanted it back in the bathroom, or down in the laundry. Geralt pointed upstairs; he’d just gotten it out. She took the stairs two at a time, and presumably hung it up on his hook in the bathroom.

Huh, he thought. Geralt wasn’t sure what he was expecting when he draped her in his towel, but return towel service was not it.

Larkin noticed the bewildered look on his face when she came back downstairs. “’Tis but a small price to pay, for the simple joy of letting me ogle you,”

“You’re weird,” he told her. Because she was. But he really liked it.

“Yep!” Larkin walked over to the couch and sat down, pulling out her phone. “Oh, so. Do you like the beach? Are you a beach person?”

Geralt felt like this was a trick question. “Why?” he asked, suspicious.

“Why do I get the feeling you think I’m going to try to do something mean, Geralt? Relax, sir. A friend of mine just said I could use her beach house for the summer, that’s all. I wanted to know if you wanted to go sometime.”

This has to be a trick, he thought. Who just doesn’tuse a beach house during the summer?

“Why isn’t she gonna use it?”

“She’s going on tour, she won’t be around. Shame, too, she’s a lot of fun.”

“Who is it?” Geralt asked, still skeptical.

“Taylor Swift,” Larkin said, like it was NBD.

Fucking WHAT.

*****

[White Wolf 6:30 PM]: Taylor Swift is lending Jask her beach house for the summer and wanted to know if I wanted to go with her.

[Eskel 6:30 PM]: Wait a minute. Taylor Swift wanted to know if you wanted to go with Jask, or Jask wanted to know if you wanted to go with Jask?

[White Wolf 6:31 PM]: Jask wanted to know if I wanted to go.

[Lambert 6:32 PM]: WAIT BACKUP. TAYLOR SWIFT? This is a joke, right?

[White Wolf 6:33 PM]: No joke, I made Jask show me the texts. Jask has a bunch of photos of the two of them together, apparently Jask stayed there for like a month last summer, before we met.

[Lambert 6:34 PM]: OH MY GOD, SHE DID. She said she was staying at a friend’s! She never said it was fucking Taylor Swift!

[White Wolf 6:34 PM]: Question still stands.

[Lambert 6:35 PM]: What was the question? Is there a question? You’re going, right? Is that the question? Do you not want to go? Why wouldn’t you go?

[Eskel 6:35 PM]: Seriously, Geralt – why wouldn’t you go?

[White Wolf 6:36 PM]: What’re we gonna do?

[Eskel 6:36 PM]: What do you do here?

[White Wolf 6:37 PM]: Nothing. Hangout. Go running. Cook. Watch movies.

[Lambert 6:38 PM]: I still can’t see you being ‘chill’, she is a literal miracle worker. Anyhoo. Do all that. At the BEACH.

[Eskel 6:39 PM]: Yes. Please go. Jas is asking you to go on a vacation, Ger. When was the last time you went on a vacation?

[White Wolf 6:40 PM]: Yen.

[Lambert 6:40 PM]: DEAR GOD PLEASE GO. I guarantee that Jas does vacations VERY differently. There won’t be an agenda every day. I promise.

*****

Geralt’s last vacation had been��intense. He and Yennefer had gone to Amsterdam for two weeks and to Geralt it had been…a LOT. Cities weren’t necessarily his favorite place in general, but throw in almost a million inhabitants, drugs and hookers EVERYWHERE, the waterworks, a literal shitton of bicycles and the mix of posh and historic – there was NOTHIING relaxing about that vacation.

It wasn’t a vacation, it was a trip. Lambert wasn’t exaggerating – Yen had actually come up with a written agenda every day, thinking it would appeal to the control freak in Geralt.

It did not. It actually made Geralt even more anxious, because it made him feel like there was a scheduled timetable they had to keep. And when Yen would dawdle, and throw off the timing of the agenda-

You can see how this did not appeal to Geralt AT ALL.

In general, his marriage to Yennefer had been intense on a level that was unsustainable for them both (hence the divorce) and he knew, he knew Jaskier was nothing like Yen, and would therefore probably vacation very differently.

But he was still kind of freaking out about it.

*****

Larkin could tell something was bothering her beloved Wolf. She’d asked him about going to the beach, and he’d just…avoided the question. That…was not Geralt’s style, AT ALL. She’d mentioned it to Lauren, her therapist, and Lauren had suggested that perhaps Geralt had had a bad vacation experience, once upon a time.

Larkin hadn’t thought of that.

Armed with this potential realization, Larkin attempted to bring it up once more.

“Geralt, would it be ok if I talked to you about maybe going to the beach again?” She asked one night as they were clearing dinner dishes. She watched his shoulders tense up.

Oh boy, she thought.

“Sure,” Geralt said, sounding utterly defeated.

Ok, WHAT THE FUCK, thought Larkin. Who hurt my Wolf with a VACATION?

“Geralt,” she started, watching him load the dishwasher, back to her, obviously uncomfortable. “You know you don’t have to do anything you don’t want to. I can’t make you go. You won’t hurt my feelings if you say no.”

Geralt turned to face her, over the open dishwasher trays. “No, it’s not – that’s not-“ he took a breath. “Why me?”

Larkin was puzzled. “I don’t understand the question. You’re like my favorite person; I love spending time with you. I thought it might be a nice break from the farm, and school? If it being just the two of us makes you uncomfortable, I can invite-“

“Why would it being just the two of us make me uncomfortable? We live together, just the two of us.”

“Ok, so it’s not me that’s the problem.” Larkin was glad to get that sorted out; she’d worried she’d freaked him out by asking him alone.

“Of course you’re not the problem – you’re never a problem, Jask.” Geralt was looking at Larkin like she were speaking moon-man language.

“Is there a problem? Do you…not like vacations?”

“No, Jas, it’s not-“ he sighed. Larkin watched him push a lock of hair out of his eyes. “My last vacation was…not fantastic. It was very…structured. There was a written daily agenda. It was like a two-week long bad day.”

“Geralt, I don’t mean to be smart, but are you sure that was a vacation? That sounds like an extra circle of hell, to me.”

“It was.”

“Ok. So, knowing that, that isn’t really what I had in mind? I mean, if there’s stuff we want to do, we can talk about it before hand, and I don’t really think we’d need to write it down, but if you wanted to, I guess we could? Like, I’m not sure you’d really need to write down “go for a run” or “let’s go fishing”?

“Fishing?” Geralt’s ears perked up at that.

“Yeah, there’s a bunch of fun stuff we could do, if you want. There’s hiking trails, fishing, I think Taylor’s leaving me her boat, so there’s that-“

“A BOAT?”

Geralt was fully invested now. He left the dishwasher wide open and came to sit next to Jaskier on a barstool at the kitchen island.

“I mean, she is Taylor Swift. It’s a pretty sweet boat.”

“You know how to use it?”

“Yes, Geralt. Former Viscountess, remember? I got that angle covered,” Larkin said, smiling. “If you want, I’ll send you the address, and the website for the town. You can see all the stuff they have going on, it’s a really nice place – both the house and the town.”

“It’s not a city?”

“Oh, Lord, no. This place is the definition of laid-back small town. Lemme ask you this – what are your concerns, other than an agenda driven nightmare of anti-relaxation?”

Geralt snorted. That was exactly what he was worried about. “Lotta people, crowds, feeling cornered.”

“Ok. Can you give me one second to get my laptop? I have some photos I think might help.”

Larkin waited for Geralt to nod, and she hopped up and grabbed her laptop from the living room. She flipped it into tablet mode, and opened a photo album titled “Taylor – Beach – 1st year”.

“Ok, so, this is going to seem silly, but she sent me a video tour of her house, because I was nervous before going the first time.”

“How many times have you been there?” Geralt asked, sounding insanely curious.

“Last year was my third year. She hasn’t really changed much with the house since she took this video.”

Larkin pressed play, and the video showed Taylor, in all her blonde “girl-next-door” glory, starting outside a really nice-looking tan-clapboard-sided ridiculously big beach house, that looked like it was in the middle of fucking nowhere. She walked around the paved drive, showing the marshland across the road from the house, then walked up to the house, up the big front entry stairway, into a foyer the size of their living room. She continued the tour through what seemed like five separate living rooms, a massively well-equipped kitchen, several different dining areas, the 97 bedrooms, the outdoor living areas on the deck outside, and then the little walkway out to the private beach. Taylor did a 360-degree spin on the beach. There were no neighbors.

All in all, the video was thirty minutes long. There was a lot of goofy, silly good-friend stuff throughout; Taylor made up songs about the different rooms, she essentially sang the tour to Jaskier. She ended it by saying “I love you; I can’t wait to see you. We’ll have fun. I promise.”

Geralt looked at Larkin with a look she couldn’t translate. “Did you guys…date?”

“Huh? Oh, that. No. I met her shortly after the fallout of the Countess bullshit. I was…not okay. She was really kind, and a really good friend. She’s still a really good friend. No, we didn’t date.” Larkin smiled at the fond memories the video brought back. It had been a really shitty time, and Taylor, and that beach house made everything a lot less shitty.

“What did you guys do?”

“We sang a lot, we laid on the beach, we took walks, we ate – boy, did we eat, I tell you what that girl can EAT, Geralt; you wouldn’t think it to look at her but GOODNESS. It was great.”

“Why was it great?”

“It was just nice to be able to see her being herself, like, instead of the person society says she is; she wanted to eat, so she did. I did a lot of cooking while I was with her, it was fantastic. We went to the boardwalk a couple times, but we had to kind of lay low, because she’s a BIG DEAL. She has an aunt in town, Aunt Karen, so mostly the townsfolk are real chill about her being there, but sometimes the tourists are the WORST. We went out on the boat, we went fishing, and we slept a lot. Sometimes on the boat, sometimes on the beach. We got really tan.”

“That house has a lot of bedrooms,”

“Doesn’t it? To this day I haven’t slept in them all; it’s my mission in life to do that. I feel like the house keeps gaining extra bedrooms, so it’s always one step ahead of me.” Larkin turned to Geralt. “So, that’s kind of the extent of the excitement. It’s definitelynot crowded, unless you bring people with you. There’s a soundproof music room, so that’s cool. I think you’ll like that feature,” Larkin said with a smile.

“Hey!” Geralt said, sounding somewhat offended. “That was like, one time. Ok, maybe more than one time. But not a lot of times!”

“I’m kidding, big guy. You have been so gracious about my constant noise making, really. I tease.” Larkin considered the man next to her. “You know, you still haven’t answered my original question – do you even like going to the beach?”

“The way you describe ‘beach time’ is not the way I’ve experienced beach time in the past. Your way sounds much more enjoyable.”

“Did you have agendas for beach time, too?” Larkin was horrified someone would desecrate beach time that way.

“Kind of. It wasn’t relaxing, let’s say.”

“Wow. So, it’s like this. You wake up in the morning and want to go hiking? We do that. I wake up and want to lie on the beach for a while, and you don’t? I lie on the beach and you do whatever you want to do. We want to do something together? We figure it out, and do it. If there is a specific something happening on a specific day, that we want to hit? We work it in. There’s like, sightseeing we could do, but it’s not like ‘going to the oldest European city EVER and needing to see every piece of every shard of something someone really old carried from one place to another’ kind of sightseeing. There are a couple nature preserves in the area, and a lot of really good places for nature photos.”

“This sounds too good to be true.”

“Right? I am ridiculously lucky to have such a good friend. I wish she wasn’t going on tour for so long, I think you’d really like her. She’s super goofy, she’s a lot of fun.”

“What’s Renfri think of her?”

“Renfri LOVES HER. She gets heart eyes the entire time Taylor is anywhere in the vicinity. It’s hysterical.”

“Are they…a thing?”

“I’ve never asked, and neither of them has ever said. Taylor deserves privacy. I want them both to be happy. If that’s with each other, then I know they’ll have a good time.”

“So wait. You said she gave you this house for the summer – are you going to be there ALL summer?” Geralt asked. Larkin thought he sounded panicky.

“I, uh, hadn’t really thought about it. I still plan on paying rent, Geralt, it’s not like I’m moving out or anything,”

“I wasn’t worried about the rent, Lark,” Geralt said, making a face at her.

“Then what are you worried about?” Larkin asked, giving Geralt a concerned look.

“Three months is just…a long time,”

Larkin thought that wasn’t exactly what Geralt wanted to say. Larkin was pretty sure she heard “I’ll miss you,” instead. Now it was her turn to hum.

“Well, I don’t think I’ll be there for three months straight, for sure. I do think I want to go before Taylor leaves, so I can see her for a couple days before she’s gone, and I’d like to spend some time with you there, and I think I want to get my brother and sister there for a couple days, too; obviously you’re welcome for that, if you want. They love you, they’d love to see you. Other than that, I don’t really have any ‘must-do’s’ other than maybe having everyone there at the same time? Do you think Eskel and Lambert would want to come? And Aiden? And maybe Triss?”

Yes, Geralt thought. But do I want them to come, is the question.

“What about Renfri?” he said instead, noticing that she hadn’t mentioned her best friend.

“Oh, obviously Renfri would be invited at some point. But she’s already gone with me before. I’ll talk to you before I go, Geralt, it’s not like I’m just gonna up and leave without saying anything,” she paused. “And hopefully, you’d be willing to come with me, at least once,”

“Lemme think about it. I see my therapist tomorrow, I want to talk to him first. I’m serious, Larkin, I really will think about it. I do want to go, it’s just – beforetimes.

“Beforetimes.” She nodded, sadly. Larkin knew exactly what he meant.

*****

Geralt was almost able to predict exactly what Frank, his therapist, was going to say.

“So, let’s break this down. You’re afraid of two things. You’re afraid of going on vacation because vacations with Yennefer were not enjoyable for you, and you’re afraid future vacations will also be not enjoyable. But you’re also afraid of Larkin being away for an extended amount of time. Are those both accurate statements?”

“Yes.” Geralt wanted to argue about the use of the word ‘afraid’ but knew it was pointless because he was, in fact, afraid.

“Let’s start with the overall vacation idea, because I think that one might be a little easier to navigate.”

“Not every vacation is going to be like a Yennefer vacation.”

“You’re getting pretty good at this, maybe we should switch chairs,” Frank said, making Geralt smirk. He really liked his therapist. He’d been seeing Frank for four years; Frank had taken over when his last therapist had retired. He’d liked his last therapist, too; he’d gotten pretty lucky that way. Frank was real. He used examples from real life to illustrate and make parallels. He understood PTSD. He understood Geralt’s limits, and didn’t push – too hard. He called Geralt on his bullshit, in a gentle and professional way. He was a really good therapist.

“You said Larkin gave you an idea of what vacationing at this specific location, specifically with her, would be like. Correct?”

“Yes.”

“And what did she make it sound like?”

“Perfect.”

“Ok. Do you trust Larkin?”

“Yes.”

“Why?”

“Because she’s honest. Because she’s down to Earth. Because she cares about me.”

“Do you think anything she said about this beach house, or spending time with her there, is made up, or embellished?”

“No, I don’t.”

“I gotta tell you, I’m really skeptical that she knows Taylor Swift.”

“I’m telling you, Frank, I saw the video. Taylor Swift made Jas a half an hour video five years ago singing her way through this fucking humongous gorgeous beach house. She used Jaskier’s name several times in the video. She told Jas she loved her at the end of it. There are pictures of the two of them together at this house, and other places. Jas has text messages on her phone from her.”

“Well, those could just be made up,”

“Frank. I know you googled Larkin. She’s not making this up. If anything, the HOUSE is made up, but it’s not, because there are pictures of her and Renfri, and Taylor Swift all on the couches and at tables together.”

“You have a fascinating roommate.”

“Yep.”

“Back to the vacation idea. So. How certain are you that Jaskier is telling the truth about the laid-back beach vacation of which she speaks?”

“99.9% certain.”

“And the .1%?”

“It sounds too good to be true.”

“Face it, Geralt, a lot of Jaskier sounds too good to be true, but it isn’t, because you’ve lived with her now for what, over six months?”

“Yep.”

“And there are parts of Jaskier that are NOT too good to be true, correct?” Frank asked, giving Geralt A LOOK.

“Yes.”

“But you still like living with her?”

“I do.”

“I think that brings us to our second point.”

“Joy.”

“Geralt. You knew we’d get here eventually. So. You don’t like the idea of Jaskier being gone for three months straight. How come?”

“I just…don’t want her to be gone that long. That’s a long time.”

“Ok, Geralt, I feel that it is my place to remind you that you’re safe here, you know that, and it’s ok to have feelings, here and everywhere else. Care to delve in to that last bit a little deeper?”

“I’ll miss her.”

“There you go.” Frank paused. “Ok, I’m going to ask, and I won’t push about this one. Why will you miss her?”

Geralt sighed. Yep, he thought. This is the problem.

“I love her.”

“Oh, shit!” Frank exclaimed, his face a mask of surprise. Geralt had never actually seen Frank look really, actually surprised. “I honestly thought that one was gonna take longer.”

Geralt just stared at him.

“Oh, come on, Geralt. I am not your brothers; I’m not going to bust your balls over this but even still. It has been obvious to me for quite a while, and especially since that fucking wedding what the actual fuck is wrong with her family- I apologize. That was inappropriate. Accurate, but inappropriate. Anyway. It’s been fairly obvious for quite a while that you care about her deeply. That’s all I’m gonna say. You pay me to notice things. So I noticed. Mazel Tov, man. For what it’s worth, from what you’ve told me about her, you guys are a very good fit. You’ve both dealt with some really serious shit together in the time you’ve known one another, and you’ve handled it well, both separately, and together. So, good luck, if you decide to move things in a more romantic direction. In my nonprofessional opinion, I think that will be received very well.”

“Oh. Thank you.” Geralt was feeling kind of bewildered, both from admitting OUT LOUD that he loved his roommate in the ‘Yeah, I’d kind of like to get married to you,’ way; but also that his therapist already knew about it, and thought his chances of success were high.

#witcher fic #The Witcher fic #Geralt of Rivia #Jaskier #Fem!Jaskier #GothamCityRollerGirlWrites #Geraskier

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