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bookishofalder · 4 years ago

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Night Changes [Bonus Scene]

Summary: A different point of view during an exciting night at the Cantina...

Requested by @hoeforthefictional 🤍🤍

Warnings: Language!

“Kid, it’s my job to tell you like it is,” Charlie grinned as you refused to turn and look at him, marching toward the cantina while determinedly ignoring him. He could tell you were confused about how the conversation even came up in the first place, but he wasn’t going to explain his exhaustion over your intense relationship with his best friend again. “Why are you denying it? It’s obvious to everyone...”

He tried to grab your shoulder and squeeze it, but you jerked out of his reach and shot him a look that screamed ‘shut the hell up’. He laughed, loudly, and you only scowled more deeply as you moved through the doors of the cantina.

Charlie had known for a very, very long time that you two were made for one another. It was hard not to see the looks, feel the chemistry, when you spent all of your time together growing up, and then again once you’d come to D’Qar and joined the Rebels with them. It was dizzying at times, the level of love and adoration you shared. And Maker if it wasn't the most annoying thing to watch you both blatantly ignore all of that and continue to claim to be ‘just friends.’ He’d thought the moment you stepped foot on D’Qar Poe would give in, after missing you as much as he had for two years and almost losing his mind in the excitement in the days leading to your arrival.

And he’d seen the look on each of your faces, right before you hugged both of them. It was like seeing two stars collide, burning and bright and overwhelming. But Poe didn’t say anything, and now it had been a couple of years of watching you both make excuse after excuse, too afraid to leap.

You had been on Gold team long enough now that Charlie thought Poe was running out of excuses. He had noticed his best friend had ceased casual dating altogether, for which he was incredibly grateful. He hadn’t ever, before tonight, really said anything to either of you about whatever it was you had. But the nights where Poe disappeared with his arms wrapped around a random stranger, leaving you with a weirdly blank look on your face before you called it a night, those had been the times he was most tempted.

It had been months now since either of you had gone home with a stranger. Charlie sensed a shift in your dynamic. He could tell you were clueless to it; Poe was easier to read, however, and he saw the looks-the ones that said, ‘I’m hopelessly in love with you and I’m going to just say it’, that he bit back almost daily. As much as he wanted to see you both happy, Charlie knew it was down to you two figuring your shit out, and really he had his own things to worry about.

Like his on-again, off-again girlfriend; Vanya.

He was trying to convince Vanya he was serious about committing, ready to settle down. He’d asked her to come by tonight, after her shift in the med bay, eager to introduce her to his family and drive home his intent with the gesture. He hadn’t mentioned it to you yet, not wanting to get up your hopes of finally being introduced only for Vanya not to show.

He followed along behind you as the crowd parted to let you both through to your usual table, where he saw, with a surge of satisfaction, Poe sitting already and giving you the softest look as you approached. When Charlie glanced at you, he could tell your eyes were on Poe and he hoped you were finally seeing what he’d pointed out to you now.

Hell, he’d had plenty of potential suitors interested in you approach him over the years and ask what was the situation between you and ‘Dameron’, not wanting to step into anything. Charlie always warned them off.

When you took your usual seat next to Poe, Charlie watched in amusement as Poe casually tossed his arm on the back of your chair as you flushed, your brow pinched. And while Flyboy gave you a look that could melt the whole planet of Hoth, you shot Charlie a warning look after catching him smirking at the whole thing.

“You look like you’re still up in the clouds, sweetheart,” Poe murmured, smiling widely at you while his eyes searched your face for clues to what you were feeling.

Raising your drink, you smiled tentatively up at Poe, “One of those days, I suppose.”

Little liar.

Charlie could reach across the table and push your heads together. He was sure after about five seconds you’d both stop fighting him and just fall all over each other instead. Kriff, you two were annoying. He was pretty sure growing up in the orbit of your love for each other was prematurely ageing him, and made a mental note to check his hair for greys later.

He had to bite back another grin, because the entire time Charlie spoke to Poe, he could see you casually attempting to watch Flyboy out of the corner of your eye. Your posture was more rigid than usual and you were worrying away at your lower lip. When you finally seemed to have enough of whatever thoughts were swirling away in your head, you leaned forward and tapped your glass, your expression inward, and almost robotically indicated you would go and order refills.

Poe watched you leave, his eyes on your back as a slow frown appeared and he looked back at Charlie curiously. “Do you know what’s going on with her?” He only flicked his eyes to look at Charlie briefly, before they swung back to you across the room.

Charlie leaned into his chair to get more comfortable, and beamed, “Nope.”

Poe glared at Charlie without any real heat behind it, “Then why are you grinning? She say something to you?” Again, his eyes travelled back to where you stood across the room.

Sometimes, the way Poe looked at you made Charlie feel a mixture of gratitude-for what more could he ask, than a man who loved his sister so deeply-and envy. Because a love like yours, even undiscovered as it was, was more powerful than anything he’d ever encountered in the galaxy.

He shook his head, “No, brother, don’t stress. She’s just doing some thinking,” When Poe only frowned further at his words, Charlie gave him a look, “Do you think I tell her what’s going on with you when you’re in a mood? Talk to her yourself.”

“Wait,” Poe sat up a little straighter, “Does she ask about me? When? What did she say, exactly?” His eyes brightened considerably as he now focused on Charlie, excited.

Charlie groaned, “Oh maker, you two are going to drive me insane,” He took the last sip of his drink, glancing around and spotting Vanya making her way toward him. The pretty redhead was smiling happily, noticing Poe and putting together his intents on inviting her out. He waved her over eagerly, standing up. “Hey Poe, want you to meet my-”

“Don’t say, girlfriend,” Vanya leaned in and gave Charlie a light kiss, her eyes shining with affection despite her teasing, “I still haven’t decided if I like you enough, Major Horn.” He held his hands up in mock surrender, glancing over at his friend.

Poe was grinning up at Charlie and Vanya, “Well it’s nice to meet you, not Charlie’s girlfriend.” He replied warmly, extending his hand to her. Vanya grasped it before taking the empty seat next to Charlie, her hand landing on his thigh fondly. Now he had to work at not flushing.

“Vanya, it’s nice to meet you officially, Poe Dameron,” Vanya glanced at the extra drink on the table, “Is your sister here too, Charlie?” He noticed the slightly nervous edge to her tone, the tell that indicated to Charlie that as much as she put him through to earn her trust, the idea of meeting his little sister and making a good impression was important to her.

He smiled, running a hand over her cheek affectionately.“Yeah, she’s just getting drinks-”

“What the fuck is going on?” Poe suddenly interjected, and Charlie looked across the table to find his friend glaring daggers towards the bar. Turning in their seats, Charlie and Vanya spotted you talking to two tall women, your posture tense. You were saying something and one of the women leaned away in surprise before aggressively slamming her drink on the bar and taking threatening steps toward you.

Now, Charlie was a protective older brother. But he also knew what his baby sister was made of, and was confident that you could easily handle a couple of bullies who clearly didn’t work in the field, even with the height difference. Vanya made a noise of concern beside him, and he glanced at her, “Don’t worry kid’s good.” He assured her, now swelling with pride as you seemed to be replying in an even tone, unflinching. One of the women looked vaguely familiar and Charlie had an idea of what might be going on.

He was therefore unsurprised when he heard Poe get out of his seat. He growled, “Fuck this,” before storming past Charlie and toward the bar.

“Wow,” Vanya whispered next to him, leaning against Charlie’s side. When you hit the woman, a clean smack across the face, Charlie barked out a laugh and the same time that Vanya gasped, “Wow!”

You hadn’t noticed Poe yet, as he approached from behind you, but the angry woman sure did, halting as she moved toward you and suddenly straightening and trying to smile. When his arm landed around your shoulders, you visibly relaxed, not appearing to notice how Poe subtly angled himself in front of you protectively.

Charlie shot Vanya a look, “What’d I tell you?”

Vanya hummed in agreement as she continued watching the scene unfold; Poe had spoken and the women were scurrying away, and he was now worriedly looking you over. Though Charlie wanted to roll his eyes he could understand that it was the one way his friend had allowed himself to show you the depths of his affection without giving himself away.

When you reached up and moved your hand in a soft caress over Poe’s jaw, Vanya cursed under her breath, “You weren’t kidding about those two, Maker. You could cut the tension with a fucking butter knife, Char.”

He laughed aloud, “They’d make some damn pretty babies one day, but let’s hope they get my brains. Stubborn idiots.”

Vanya giggled, pulling her gaze away from where you and Poe stood wrapped around one another and meeting Charlie’s eyes. “Maybe I could meet her another night? They look a little busy,” She leaned into him and pressed her lips softly to Charlie’s, then eased back to give him a sultry look, “How about we go back to my room and talk?”

He hopped out of his seat eagerly, wiggling his brows, and Vanya laughed again, taking his hand and letting him pull her to her feet. He pressed a chaste kiss to her forehead before wrapping an arm around her shoulders. He let her lead the way out of the cantina. With one last glance back at you and Poe, he felt a sense of calm come over himself because he could see how close you both were to realizing what everyone else could see all along.

Charlie smiled to himself, excited for everything the future had to hold.

Taglist

@mermaidxatxheart @foxilayde @eleinemk @paintballkid711 @mylifeisactuallyamess @20th-centu-fairy-girl @deitysnips @cannedsoupsucks @ubri812 @poedameronloverx @hoeforthefictional @astrological-bitch @itsnottilly @itsdameron @alex-sulli @generousrunawaydonut @wildmoonflower @onlyferorder66 @deanandbobbymcgee @afootnoteinyourhappiness

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mooncademia · 4 years ago

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Neko

PAIRING ~ Aizawa x reader

REQUEST ~ Anon: Hello Could you write a scenario where aizawa find out his girlfriend has a 2yo daughter and when they meet they get along very well :)) sorry if it's too specific😅

GENRE ~ fluff!

SUMMARY ~ After introducing Aizawa to your daughter, you were relieved to know that not only was he okay with it, but also on how well the two bonded. And thankfully…no jelly packs were administered to your child.

WORD COUNT ~ 2.0k

A/N ~ Tysm for requesting anon!! Tumblr is acting up and my post are aren’t showing successfully. I apologize for this, but I hope you enjoy 💗

*Knock knock!*

“Coming!” You exclaimed as you made your way from your room to the entrance door.

It was early in the afternoon and you just got changed into a dress. Today being a weekend, you were surprised to see your boyfriend, Aizawa Shouta, standing in front of your doorway during this unprecedented time.

“Shouta?” You wondered aloud, gesturing him to come in with a wave of your hand.

You noticed his casual attire: long black sleeved shirt rolled up to his elbows and black pants, paired with the usual boots he always wore. It was different seeing him without his hero costume and you couldn’t help but blush at his strong physique and how defined his arms look from his rolled-up sleeves.

“Hey,” He said with a small grin. “I just wanted to return the stuff that I borrowed a few days ago.” He held up a brown paper bag and you gladly accepted it with a smile. But before you thank him, another loud voice interrupted:

“MUM!!!!!”

A young girl pounced forward to hug your thigh while handing you a piece of paper excitingly with a wide, youthful smile.

You gasped lightly as you saw the drawing your daughter drew. “Wow! Very nice, Luna,” you said appreciatively with a nod as you stared at the doodle of cats on the paper before returning it back to her, mirroring her happy smile.

Luna beamed happily as she immediately trotted back to the living room to continue with her doodles, glancing at Aizawa for a few seconds before putting her attention back to her art.

“You have a daughter?” Aizawa asked with an eyebrow raised as you gestured him to the living room to sit on the couch.

Despite the fact that you and Aizawa haven’t been dating very long, you knew you had to let Aizawa know about your daughter sooner or later. However, you couldn’t help but question what his reaction will be.

Will he get mad that I didn’t tell him sooner?

Oh gosh, maybe he’ll break up with me….

Your heart began to thump faster and worried swirled in your stomach.

You took a deep breath and looked at him. “Yes. Her name is Luna. she’s 2 years old, and she loves cats.” Your lips twitched a small smile as you glanced at Luna doodling her cats, but your eyebrows slightly crossed when you continued. “Aizawa, I’m so sorry if I didn’t tell you sooner, I-“

You stopped mid-sentence when you saw Aizawa shook his head and grabbed your hand, giving it a little squeeze of comfort.

“Don’t worry about it, I don’t mind. Seriously.” He said reassuringly, glancing at Luna who was only a few feet away, doodling purple cats to her pure heart’s content. He smiled a tiny bit at Luna and her god-tier artwork of purple cats and seeing that made you love him even more.

The look of your eyes softened immediately and you wanted to tell Aizawa everything about Luna, your story, and so much more. Aizawa knew it too, seeing you fold your lips, trying not to swell up too much from relief and gratitude.

God, you were so lucky to have him.

“Thank you,” you said, squeezing his hand back. You opened your mouth to say something more until a phone rang loudly from the kitchen.

You mumbled a small “excuse me” as you headed towards the kitchen and Aizawa stared at Luna’s artwork of cats when you were gone.

“Do you like cats?” Luna asked him in a high-pitch tone when she noticed him staring at her. ��She lifted her cute head up and her wide eyes glistened.

“Very much actually,” Aizawa replied.

Under normal circumstances, a simple ‘yes’ would be enough for his answer, but something about Luna’s youthful and energetic spirit made him spilled out the truth further than he admitted. It was just like whenever he was with you. You always managed to break into Aizawa’s shell, letting him to unconsciously and comfortably share more about himself and his life even though he would normally never tell anyone about his feelings and all. And that didn’t bother him because he trusted you deeply.

But Aizawa was glad you were on the phone because if you were in earshot distance, you would probably be teasing him to death about his cute confession.

Luna got up and sat right next to him, carrying her paper and purple crayon and resting it on Aizawa’s lap abruptly.

“Draw me a cat, please,” Luna said to him.

Well, Aizawa definitely couldn’t say no right then and there. And he knew it from his embarrassing stories he has had with children, but let’s not bring that up.

Aizawa nodded silently, picking up the crayon and paper and leaning towards the table in front of him to draw a cat. And to be perfectly transparent: this wasn’t his first time doing this.

“OOOOOOO!!!” Luna yelped as she clapped her hands excitingly, eyes not tearing a second away from the drawing.

Aizawa handed the paper back to her when he was done. A furry little cat in purple that would probably make cat-haters rethink their beliefs. Luna held it up high, admiring the work as if it was from Picasso himself. “You are really really good. Can I keep this?” She asked in a cute tone.

Aizawa smiled at her and nodded.

“I like you a lot because you can draw really good cats,” Luna added appreciatively to Aizawa with a strong, powerful, child-like beam.

“Thank you,” Aizawa replied, his lips inevitably tugging upwards as he felt a sense of comfort and appreciation from the child. “We both like cats, huh?”

Luna nodded aggressively. “Yup!! Can you visit us more so you can teach me how to draw cats this well?”

“Only if your mother lets me.”

Luna curled her hands to a fist and pouted strongly. “I’ll tell her then!!”

Aizawa let out a laugh as he observed Luna continuing to doodle more cats, a few dogs and elephants here and there, and of course, more cats.

As you walked back to the living room, Aizawa noticed the slight crease in your eyebrows as you stared at your phone on your hand, as if quizzically thinking about something.

“What’s wrong?” He asked, a tone of concern lacing through his voice.

You bit your lip. “That was my manager. Apparently, something happened at work and they need me to come over to fix some things,” you said. Aizawa nodded at you to continue.

“It’s just that, today being a weekend, I promised Luna I would take her to the park this afternoon but my manager said I can’t miss out on this since it’s quite urgent.”

“I’ll take her.”

Your eyes widened at your boyfriend’s statement. Sure, you haven’t dated Aizawa very long but you knew him well enough that children plus him…well…it didn’t quite match up in your head.

“You and Luna?” You asked in surprise.

Aizawa laughed. “Of course me and Luna. It’s okay, Y/N. You go do what you have to do at work, and I’ll take her to the park this afternoon.

“Shouta I-“

“Trust me,” he said confidently. “Don’t worry, I’ll make sure she’s safe.”

You smile a bit at your boyfriend. “I know she’ll be safe in your hands…but…I mean, you and kids?” You said teasingly with a hand on your hips. “You sure you can handle that?”

Aizawa rolled his eyes as he got up and tucked a piece of hair behind your ear, making you internally melt from his touch immediately. “Wow, you really are doubting me, huh?” He said back in a teasing tone, making you laugh at his remark.

“Fine,” you said, leaning forward to give him a peck on his cheek. Aizawa blushed furiously at your move. “I think I’ll be back before dinner, but if the situation gets resolved early, I’ll be back soon.”

“Don’t worry, Y/N. I’ll make sure she is safe and having fun.” Aizawa reassured you again as you scurried across the room to grab your bag and coat, telling Luna that you will be out for a while. Luna nodded in agreement and mentioned that she liked Aizawa because of the cat portrait he drew for her.

You smiled at your boyfriend. “I trust you, Shouta,” you said as you turned the doorknob to head out. You weren’t sure how Aizawa was going to take care of a child for the whole day, but your gut instinct told you that it’ll be okay. And from the look of his eyes, you also knew that he was completely comfortable with it as well.

“Oh!” You said, remembering something that just popped into your mind. You looked at your boyfriend with a smile. “Just one more thing: please don’t feed Luna your jelly packs.”

—��—

“And then we saw these BIG, big birds and they were flying so fast, and then he pushed me on the swings and I went up so high, Mum! I think I touched the sky!!! And then we fed some cats in the neighborhood and we stopped by to eat ice cream-“

“Ice cream? Since when could you eat ice cream?” You said as you stroked Luna’s hair and glanced at Aizawa who was trying to hide a sheepish grin.

“Since today?” Luna said, shining her bright eyes at you. “The strawberry one was so good!”

“You ate more than one?” You cut in again as you shot your boyfriend another look.

“Now, Luna,” Aizawa said rather quickly, dodging your glare. “Let’s just keep the ice cream treat between the two of us, okay?”

“I can’t believe my daughter is hiding secrets from me already…” you mumbled under your breath making Aizawa laugh. Luna nodded excitingly at him in agreement before plunging out to pet a cat strolling on the side walk.

The three of you were in the neighborhood and you and Luna were about to walk back home.

“You two had a lot of fun, huh?” You pulled Aizawa forward, giving him a kiss and a warm hug.

“Thank you, ” you whispered as you rested your head on his shoulder.

Aizawa patted your head gently. “You’re welcome. I love hanging out with her. She’s really fun, you know?”

You laughed as you pulled away. “I can tell.”

As you finished telling Aizawa what happened at work, evening came and the two of you said your goodbyes. Luna gave Aizawa a big ol’ hug and Aizawa knelt down to pat her cute head and whispered something about cats that made Luna giggled with excitement.

Seeing the two of them bond so well made you so happy, but later you had to deal with Luna’s aggressiveness as she continued to complain and pout when Aizawa headed back home.

“When can I see him again?” Luna asked tugging your hand.

You looked down and smiled patiently. “Very soon.”

———

The next morning, there was a package resting on your doorstep with a tag that said:

To: Luna

From: Aizawa

You smiled curiously as you picked up the package. What is this?

You carried the box inside and carefully opened with your scissors. You gasped immediately when you saw what was inside.

Inside laid a bright cat sweater with the words: GENKRI NEKO plastered on it.

With a too-cute cat head on the front and glittery colors painted all over, you knew immediately that Luna would love it.

A note dropped when you unfolded the swearer and you picked it up to read it.

Dear Y/N,

Here is a cat sweater for you to give to Luna.

Since she loves cats, I thought this will be perfect for her.

If you need someone to look after her, please let me know, I would love to spend more time with her.

- Aizawa Shouta

You shook your head and smiled as you folded the letter back up and stared at the cat sweater. You internally swore that it was Aizawa’s when he was a child from the “used-up” material that you felt and the wrinkled marks of the letters.

But despite it being somewhat old, you could feel the intense warmth and love radiating from the sweater.

And to you and Luna...that was completely enough.

#aizawa x reader #aizawa shouta #aizawa shouta x reader #shouta aizawa x reader #bnha x reader #bnha #mha x reader #mha #shouta aizawa #aizawa #aizawa shouta x you

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fellulahh · 5 years ago

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Lucifer x MC x Satan fic - Part 4/???

Read Parts 1-3 here!

Marching through the house, he shook his head as he let out a frustrated sigh. It was bad enough that he’d hurt MC but to now see her being comforted by the likes of Satan? That made his blood boil.

But he only had himself to blame.

Descending down the path from the doorway, Satan and MC enjoyed the pleasant warmth that surrounded their bodies as they left the House of Lamentation grounds.

Once they were out of sight, Satan turned his head to face her. “Are you okay?” He asked quietly, noticing the troubled look on her face. Deep down he didn’t actually want to know MC’s answer - he already saw how vulnerable she became after seeing Lucifer.

“I don’t feel great but that’s expected.” She chuckled awkwardly, “I’m not looking forward to having to avoid him for the next few days.”

MC tried to put on a brave face but Satan could see how much she was hurting. “It won’t be so bad.” He tried to reassure her, “he’s a busy guy, I’m sure he’ll forget about everything once his boyfriend gives him a new list of things to do.” He laughed at his own remark.

MC didn’t find the jest so funny. She didn’t like the way everyone always referred to Diavolo as Lucifer’s boyfriend; especially because she wanted Lucifer to be known as her boyfriend.

“You know I don’t like that, Satan.” She spoke with a small frown.

Not wanting to push any buttons, Satan stayed quiet as they continued to walk down the path together; making their way into Devildom’s heart. As time passed, MC began to make conversation in which Satan was eager to join in on. Just hearing her voice was enough to make him happy.

“So have you been reading anything interesting lately?” MC asked as they turned a corner. All she wanted was to distract her mind.

“I have actually...” he admitted with an unusual blush on his cheeks, “you may know it - it’s a human novel.”

“It is?” MC asked surprised as they walked, “What is it?”

“Well it’s about this Prince who is hideously disfigured after being cursed,” he started, “and for all of his life he locked himself away until one day a woman appears in his cast—“

“Have you been reading Beauty and the Beast?” MC giggled, showing a genuine smile.

“...yes.” He confirmed, confused as to why she found it so amusing.

Satan has a soft spot for the story. After all, he somewhat saw himself in the Prince - although he may not be disfigured, he does feel isolated from everybody else and that his wrath was rather beast like.

“It’s nothing.” MC smiled, “I just didn’t have you down as a fan - it’s a nice story.”

“It’s one of my favourites.” He confessed as they reached the cafe they’d been walking to.

Holding the door open for MC, he waited for her to enter before following behind. The cafe was surprisingly empty but it was still early. Making their way up to the counter, the human ordered her beverage. All she needed after her night of drinking was coffee...a strong one too.

“And I’ll get a chai latte.” Satan ordered as he reached into his pocket.

After realising what he was doing, MC put a gentle hand on his arm. “You’re not paying for me.” She warned softly making him chuckle.

“MC we’re here to cheer you up. Please let me pay for your drink.” He insisted as he handed some Grimm to the barista. “Thank you.” He nodded at her before they stepped away from the counter.

“You really didn’t have to do that, Satan...” MC worried as they waited for their drinks, “I can pay for my own coffee you know?”

“I know you can!” He laughed, “but I wanted to do something nice for you - so please let me at least try and put a smile on your face.”

Narrowing her eyes, MC shook her head as she gave in. “Fine!”

It was only a few minutes until their drinks were prepared. Picking them up, Satan then lead them both toward a table by the window. He popped the two mugs down before pulling out MC’s chair.

“I’m upset, Satan. Not pregnant.” She laughed at his gesture.

“Wow you just won’t let me do anything nice for you today, will you?” He joked with a grin on his face as he took a seat opposite her.

He knew her frosty attitude was because she was still a little sensitive after being rejected by Lucifer the previous night. Even though he didn’t want to hear about what the raven haired demon did to MC, Satan could sense that it was still playing on her mind.

“So do you want to talk about it?” He asked quietly.

“Talk about what?” She asked nonchalantly, stirring her drink with a teaspoon.

“You know what, MC.” He spoke firmly, “Lucifer.”

Sighing, she slumped back in her seat slightly. “What else is there to tell?” She muttered.

“Well—“

“I guess I’m just annoyed with myself.” She interrupted Satan before he could speak, “I really convinced myself that he loved me too.”

“Oh?” He asked intrigued, leaning on his elbow.

“Yeah! I mean, I thought all of the signs were there.” She pondered, “he was always inviting me out with him when he was working for Diavolo, he put me on dinner duties with him - I know he did it on purpose...at least I thought he did. Even Lord Diavolo said something to me about Lucifer.”

“What did he say?” Satan grew cold.

“That he speaks about me a lot. That must have been what really got my hopes up - they’re always spending so much time together so if there was anybody who knew Lucifer the best it’d be him.” She breathed, “he must have meant it platonically though.”

Satan was quiet as he considered her words carefully. “Or because you’re the exchange student.” He suggested.

MC let out a groan after hearing his words. “You’re right.” She spoke, burying her face in the palm of her hands, “of course that’s why he speaks about me! Lord Diavolo probably just asks questions about how I’m doing.”

“Exactly.” Satan tried to convince as he gazed at her tense body.

“I feel like an idiot.” MC admitted, turning her head to look out of the window as shame filled her body.

“You’re not an idiot.” Satan assured, stopping himself from reaching across the table to gently grip her hand, “you just allowed your heart to let you believe there was something more - we’re all guilty of it.”

MC laughed at his words. “What do you mean we’re all guilty of it? I don’t see you lot pining over someone who doesn’t love you back.”

“No...I guess not.” He spoke quietly, sitting back in his chair. “Enough about him now though, we’re here to cheer you up - and that’s what I’m going to do.” He smiled at her, “your coffee taste nice?”

“It’s amazing thank you.” She smiled, taking a sip, “somehow it tastes better when you’re buying it for me.”

“I suppose my sweetness must have radiated into it.” He quipped causing MC to roll her eyes.

“Thanks again for this, Satan.” She smiled genuinely, “I really appreciate it.”

“If I had 100 Grimm for every time you thanked me I’d have enough money to get Mammon out of all of his debts.” Satan grinned causing MC to playfully scoff.

He couldn’t hide the smile on his face; seeing MC relax and joke with him made his heart turn soft.

“Can I not express my gratitude?!” She asked dramatically, “I mean you’ve even let me borrow some of your wardrobe.” She spoke, gesturing to the shirt she wore.

“It looks nice on you.” He accidentally admitted.

Thankfully, MC didn’t catch on to his blush and didn’t take his compliment seriously. “Well I suppose it is my colour.” She joked, smacking her lips.

Satan smiled at her warmly as she began to relax. In all truth, he thought MC would look good in anything she wore; even a bin bag.

But I suppose he’s a bit biased.

#obey me #obey me shall we date

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wiypt-writes · 4 years ago

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Riding On

CH7- Home, Sweet Home

Summary: Frank and Fliss find their perfect family home, but there’s something bothering Mary.

Warnings: Bad Language words. Discussions about suicide. A little bit of angst.

Pairing: Frank Adler x Fliss Gallagher

A/N: This is a bit of an emotionally charged filler chapter…and we move time on a little through to June in the middle. And photos of the Adler house are included at the bottom so you can visualise what I used for inspiration.

Disclaimer: This is a pure work of fiction and classified as 18+. Please respect this and do not read if you are underage. I do not own any characters in this series bar Fliss Gallagher and the other OCs. By reading beyond this point you understand and accept the terms of this disclaimer.

Riding On Masterlist // Main Masterlist

Chapter 6

You’re giving it another try, staring at the deep blue sky, and you say to the driver just drive, coz you never felt so alive.

April 2019

“Hey honey, you ok?” Frank juggled his phone, pinning it between his ear and his shoulder as he leaned over his computer in the office, scanning the database on the screen for a filter part they needed to order.

“No, I mean yes! I’ve just heard some awesome news!”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah, so you remember the guy that bought the house that backs onto the yard when Old Man River died…” “That wasn’t his name.” Frank chuckled “It was Mr Morris.”

“He called himself River, it was funny and suited him. Anyway, that’s not the point. You know the guy who bought it…guess what I found out before?”

Frank stopped what he was doing and straightened up. He didn’t like that dick, one bit. When Mr Morris had died at the start of the year, Fliss had been quite upset about the news as the old man had been very friendly to her, often popping in for a cup of tea a few afternoons a week for some company. Mr Morris’ son had sold the house without them even knowing it had gone on the market, which was a shame as it would have been perfect for them given the location. The guy who had bought it, Frank didn’t even know his name, nor did he care because he was a dick and a pervert to boot. The way he looked at Fliss made Frank want to punch his face in.

“What’s Douchey Mc Douchebag done now?”

“You’re so childish.” she scoffed “Anyway, I was only commenting to Joanne last night that we haven’t seen him for like a month and she went home and mentioned it to her dad who works with some other guy in the property development business and the long and short of it is he’s gone bankrupt Frank!”

Frank laughed loudly “Couldn’t have happened to a nicer guy, babe!”

“I know right!” Fliss voice was gathering pace and pitch, the way it always did when she was excited. “So literally about half hour after she’s told me this, someone turns up and there’s a For Sale sign outside, the house is on the market!”

Ok now he was interested. Frank could picture the look of excitement on her face as she spoke to him and he felt the smile cross his face “No shit?”

“Yeah, I’ll send you the website to look at the photos but…oh God, it would be perfect! Some of it is really nice, some of it needs decorating but…”

“Ok, well, why don’t you call the realtor? Arrange a viewing” he said “Hopefully you won’t puke halfway round this one.”

“Ok, first off that wasn’t my fault. Bean objected to the smell. Who the fuck cooks eggs the day they know they have someone coming to view their house?” her indignant tone made Frank chuckle “And second off…”she paused “I already did. He said he can meet us at half 12.”

“Half 12? As in lunch time? Today?” Frank frowned.

“I know I just really don’t want to miss out on this one Frank, and you said you were gonna come up here for lunch and-”

“Ok, ok.” Frank sighed “I’ll shuffle some stuff around, work a little later tonight and take an extra half hour.”

“I love you.” she replied and he could hear the smile in her voice.

“Good job I love you too.” he said back gruffly “Because you’re a pain in my ass.”

He bid her goodbye and just as he was looking at the rota to make sure there were enough staff in to cope if he took a longer lunch, his phone beeped. He clicked through to the link Fliss had sent him and had a scan through the photos. To be fair the house didn’t look in too bad condition. It was deceptive from the outside, looked like a small farmhouse but they knew thanks to the extension Douchebag had put on the back it now formed an L shape and from the look of it, was pretty spacious. The kitchen was new, the main bathroom was new so the big work looked like it had been mostly done. The décor in some of the rooms was really old fashioned, especially the hallway you and the front reception room, but that was all cosmetic. What really grabbed him was the price. It was up for just over 320 thousand, which was a fucking steal considering the size, location, the garden and the garage/outhouse it came with.

“You ok Frank?”

He looked up and smiled as Alan, his boss walked in to the office. “Yeah, sorry, Fliss has found a house and managed to book a viewing for lunch time. Fucking 7th one in 2 weeks.”

Alan snorted “Keeping you on your toes I see?”

“Well I gotta say, this one’s looking pretty good. It’s the house that backs onto our Yard out in Pinellas Park.” Frank explained “It was sold not even 6 months ago to a developer and he’s apparently gone bankrupt so put it back on the market.”

“Huh.” Alan smiled “Sounds like it was meant to be. Take it you’re going then?”

“Yeah, Charlie and Gary are in all afternoon. I thought I could take an extra half hour, work it back tonight or…”

“Frank, when was the last time you actually took a full hour for your lunch and didn’t cut it short by 10 or 15?” Alan looked at him.

Frank hesitated “Yeah, but that’s-”

“No buts.” Alan shook his head. “Do what you gotta do.”

“Thanks Alan.” Frank smiled, “I appreciate it.”

Alan waved away his gratitude before he dropped into the chair on the opposite side of Frank’s small desk and gestured for Frank to sit down.

“I wanted to talk to you in person, before the news gets out. I’m looking at retiring Frank, fully this time.”

“That’s good news, for you I mean.” Frank smiled, taking his seat. “You must be happy?”

“Kinda bitter sweet.” He shrugged “But I hit 70 this year and bout time I let it all go. Bill’s already chomping at the bit to book damned fishing trips so...it’ll be nice to step back. But I wanted to talk to you about something.”

“Shoot.”

“My son, James is going to be taking over, that won’t come as any surprise to you as you’ve seen him knocking around a bit and he likes you.”

“Good to know I’m not going to be out on my ass.” Frank smiled, breathing out a little.

“No, not a chance. I wouldn’t allow it.” Alan said “I’ll still be the owner, just stepping back from major decision making and day to day running. Anyway, the point is Frank, James needs a deputy. He is young and a little inexperienced. I’ve seen how quickly over the last year you’ve picked up rotas, staffing issues, dealt with the stock takes, haggled with the supply chain…I wondered if you’d consider it.”

Frank blinked “You wanna make me deputy manager?”

“In a word, yes. And I know you got your hands full at the moment and they’ll be even more full when that boy of yours arrives but the changes won’t come into effect until the end of the year so we got plenty of time to work out the details.”

“Wow, I err…” Frank shook his head “I don’t know what to say.”

“I don’t need an answer now.” Alan said, “Take some time to consider it. Talk it over with Fliss.”

“I will, I’ll give it some thought.”

“Ok, well, that’s all I dropped in for.” Alan said, standing up, groaning a little “Did you just hear my damned knees click?”

Frank laughed and shook his head “No, but to be honest mine click too so I wouldn’t worry about it.”

“Getting old sucks.” Alan said, shaking his head “I tell ya, the minute I can’t enjoy the simple things in life, put a bullet in my head.”

Frank snorted as Alan shot him a wink and left him to his thoughts.

******* Frank glanced down at the wooden boards beneath his feet in the entrance hall. They were solid old wood, oak he thought, and with a clean and polish would look stunning. He looked up and saw Fliss talking animatedly to the realtor, a young man called David as he nodded and gestured to his left. Fliss opened the door and looked at Frank who followed her into the first reception room. It smelt musty, and there was an old sofa and threadbare carpet in the room but it was light and had a nice, airey feeling to it thanks to the large windows at the front of the house.

“New carpet and a bit of paint…” Frank mused nodding, “Be good as new.”

She nodded eagerly, her eyes shining a she looked around and nodded at the fire place “Really, in Florida?”

“It gets cold, as you know.” he teased “Besides, we just fill it with some of your million candles or whatever…”

She nudged him and they turned around, David watching them.

“So, you’re obviously in the older part of the house that hasn’t really been touched apart from upstairs.” he explained, “But if you follow me I’ll show you the extension which is all new and, well, to be honest, I think it’s stunning.”

The three of them moved back into the hall and through a door at the end which led into a huge open plan kitchen and living area. The kitchen was gorgeous. Sleek white units, modern appliances, marble tops, a huge breakfast bar. Douchebag had clearly spent a fortune doing this up. The floor was a light grey and white laminate which David pointed out was heavy wearing. To the left of the kitchen area was a huge space where Frank could clearly picture their sofas and TV, and then just off that was a door which led into another smaller reception room, freshly painted and carpeted. He was just pondering how they could turn that into a play room when Fliss gave a gasp and nudged Frank pointing to the large bay window at the back which had been converted into a seating nook of sorts. They made their way over and saw that the view extended right over their garden highlighting a small pool area which was surrounded by a low set of railings with a gate that were all painted a glossy black. The pool itself was sparklingly clean and clearly brand new.

“Oh wow… “ Fliss mumbled, looking at the sand stone tiles that surrounded the area and the rest of the garden.

“Yeah the rear garden loops in an L round the house” David said. “There’s a larger fence around this area to keep it private and separate from the land at the front that runs flush to the yard area.”

Frank’s hands dropping to her hips as he nodded to the right “Could extend that little patio area for a table and chairs, maybe build a brick BBQ. Couple of sun-loungers for that bit at the back of the pool.”

She nodded eagerly before they headed back into the hallway they’d entered into where the realtor showed them the little room that was to the right as you came in the door which held a number of shelves and coat hooks and a toilet and sink basin. They then headed up stairs to find 4 bedrooms. The master extended down the entire side of the house overlooking the main yard area of Sandybrook. It needed some work, the plaster and paint was peeling away in some areas, but Frank wasn’t worried at that. It was an easy job. What he was pleased to see was that the rest of it was in good condition. There was a brand new en-suite attached to it, housing a toilet, a huge shower and his and hers sinks. The room also had built in wardrobes and huge ceiling to floor bi-folding doors which opened up onto a small balcony. Douchebag had clearly been focussing on the big jobs first before he got into the cosmetics, which Frank had to give him credit for.

The main bathroom was in between the wall of their en-suite and the next bedroom, both situated at the back of the house over the extension and overlooking the fields belonging to the yard. The plaster was fresh in that bedroom but hadn’t been painted, again, not an issue, because Frank knew a certain little miss would be no doubt picking a colour as soon a she spotted this room.

“Bet Mary chooses this one.” Frank said, voicing his thoughts and Fliss nodded, smiling

“I would if the Master didn’t have that en-suite.” she grinned “Look at that view!”

“Yeah, who’d have thought you could work from home in the equestrian business” he chuckled as they then headed to the next bedroom on the opposite side of the landing. This was also rather large, but like the main part of the master bedroom, was clearly one of the original two bedrooms the house had and it needed some updating.

The 4th bedroom was a smaller one up a narrow set of stairs hidden by door in the hallway. It opened up into an attic room which tucked into the roof of the house.

The realtor then led them back down and the out to the outbuildings. There was a huge garage with a half- finished apartment of sorts above it that had been used as storage but could be easily a guest suite if they so wanted, and then the thing Frank had really loved was the workshop off the side of the garage, accessed by a small door. It was musty and full of crap but was somewhere for him to store all his tools and work on any side projects he decided to pick up.

All in all Frank was finding it pretty damned hard to pick faults in the place.

As they headed back to the main house and Frank asked David politely to give them a moment to look around alone and he nodded eagerly before Frank and Fliss headed back into the house.

“I’m getting good vibes Sailor.” Fliss said as she turned round, looking at the kitchen, once more heading over to the bay window seat, “really good vibes.” she spun back to him and he smiled at the look on her face. “I mean, ok, a few rooms need decorating and there’s some finishing off bits to do all over but it’s nothing that dad can’t help with and I’m sure-“

At that she stopped dead, and gave a little gasp as her hand flew to her bump.

“You ok?” Frank stepped forward.

“Yeah he’s…” she swallowed “Bean’s kicking, Frankie! Quick!”

He reached out with his hand and she took it, pressing it to the side of her bump. After a second or two he felt something wriggle a little under his palm and he looked at Fliss, his face cracking into an open mouthed smile as he felt his son move for the first time.

“Lissy…” he swallowed his eyes misting over. “That’s…oh my God!”

“You should feel it from my POV!” Fliss smiled her own eyes glassy too.

Frank didn’t want to take his hand away. Instead, he kept moving his palm, tracking their baby’s movements when eventually they stopped.

“I think that means BB likes the house.” Fliss looked at him.

Frank scoffed, shaking his head. “BB’s Momma likes the house.”

“Doesn’t his Daddy?” she asked, her hands sliding round his neck.

“Yeah, his Daddy does.” he replied honestly in a low voice as he looked around the large room. “In fact, I like it a lot.”

“You think Mary will?”

“Are you kidding?” Frank snorted “Soon as she sees that view and that pool, she’ll be packing to move in straight away.”

“Suppose there’s only one way to find out.” Fliss smiled.

So they did. They brought Mary back the next day after school. She had squealed at the window seat, yelled about the pool and as she had shot upstairs and headed into the bedroom Frank had predicted she would like, given a jump for joy as she realised from the upstairs she had a view over the tall picket fencing that shielded the private area of the garden.

“I can see Monty!” she gleefully pointed out before turning to Frank and looking at him then to Fliss, her hands on her hips “If you don’t buy this house you’re a pair of dumbasses.”

The same sentiment was echoed by Bill when he turned up fifteen minutes or so later and walked around with Frank whilst Fliss and Mary headed to feed the horses. He did exactly the same thing he had done when they had looked at the apartment, pointed out what they needed to do, how long it should take them to do, rough estimates of cost. Plus, he also reminded Frank they were in a great position. They could buy the place and then give his months’ notice on the apartment meaning they could stay where they were until it was finished.

So that was it. Decision made. The next morning they went in with a cheeky offer, some twenty thou below the asking price which was rejected instantly. Then they upped their offer by five…then an additional three to total eight, with the fact that they were cash buyers and not in a chain a huge bargaining chip.

It was later that evening, just after they had finished dinner when the realtor called back.

“Evening Mr Adler, ok so…I have spoken to the vendor. He says if you can up your offer by another two thousand then you’ve got a deal.” David spoke. At that, Frank let out a huge grin, as he looked out of the kitchen window at Mary and Fliss who were outside the apartment, both sat on a chair round the table. He and Fliss had both agreed they were prepared to go to the full asking price, in their mind it was worth it, but they were about to seal the deal here for ten thousand less.

“Ok, two thousand more.” Frank said, keeping his voice level “But the property comes off the market as we don’t want anyone else spotting it and offering him more before we exchange contracts.” he repeated word for word what Greg had instructed him to do when he had asked him to handle the conveyancing earlier that morning.

“Ok, so the offer on the table is Three-ten on the proviso he grants exclusivity…” David repeated. “Ok, leave it with me.”

Frank finished loading the dishwasher, and had just grabbed himself a beer when David called back not even five minutes later.

“Congratulations Mr Adler, you have a deal.”

He thanked him, and grinning ear to ear headed outside, jumping down the steps onto the lawn.

“What you looking so pleased about?” Fliss looked up at him suspiciously.

“David called… we’ve settled on three-ten plus exclusivity” he smiled

“What, you mean…” Fliss’ mouth fell open and Frank nodded.

“Yup, subject to contracts, the place is ours!”

Mary gave a loud cheer as Fliss jumped up and leapt at him as he smiled, wrapping her in his arms, swinging her up slightly.

“I can’t believe it…” she whispered. “Our own home!”

Fliss grinned and using the arms that were round his neck pulled his face down to hers and pressed a fierce kiss to his mouth. “God I love you.” she mumbled.

“Love you too.” he grinned, kissing her again, ignoring Mary’s fake puking noises in the background.

*****

June 2019

“Mr Adler?"

Frank stopped as he had been striding over the yard to collect Mary and turned to see Mrs McCarthy, her teacher walking towards him.

"Hi." He smiled, removing his sunglasses so he could look her in the eyes.

"I'm so sorry to bother you"

"No bother at all." He assured her "is everything OK?"

Mrs McCarthy glanced over to where Mary was stood talking to her friend, Rosie, and turned back to him

"Yes...nothing too drastic but I wanted to make you aware about a little incident in class this afternoon"

Frank looked at her, blinking "incident?"

"Maybe that's the wrong word." The older, blonde woman said "Look, as you know next week it's the end of year Gala, the fundraiser and we invite the parents to join us for activities.”

Frank nodded, wishing the woman would get to the damned point. He was hot, dirty and bothered after an afternoon of helping the team on a particularly awkward repair and wanted nothing more than to stand under a cold shower for an hour and flop down outside with a beer.

"Well, one of the girls asked Mary if she was bringing her mom and if they were making anything for the bake sale and Mary rather bluntly told the girl her mother was dead and then clammed up. She didn't speak a word for the rest of the afternoon."

Frank felt his chest tighten as he looked over at Mary who was now giggling with Rosie and sighed

"She didn't do anything wrong" Mrs McCarthy pressed "I was just a little worried."

"Thanks for letting me know, I'll talk to her later, make sure she's okay." Frank assured her.

The woman nodded and headed back across the yard as Frank gave a sharp whistle and slid his aviators back onto his face. Mary looked up and said goodbye to Rosie and came wandering over as Frank waved to Rosie's mom who tossed a hand in greeting in response.

"I'm not Thor" She fixed Frank with a stare.

"I know but I couldn't be bothered walking over." He replied honestly as they climbed into the truck

"You have a good day?"

"It was OK." She shrugged. Frank eyed her for a second before she pulled the car away from the kerb and set off down the road.

"What's for dinner?" Mary asked.

"Steak, baked potatoes and salad." He replies "Fliss' choice."

"Are you grilling?" Mary asked.

"Yup." He nodded

"Cool." Mary nodded "Can I go in the pool before?"

"Got any homework?" Frank countered with another question as he looked at her. Mary shook her head

“End of year next week and Uni didn't give me any summer work."

"Then yeah, of course you can.”

Frank didn't raise the so called incident, deciding to let her chill out a little bit at home first and digest how she felt. After 20 minutes or so of general chat Frank pulled up their driveway and stopped the truck next to Fliss' truck. As they hopped out Mary glanced across the garden over the smaller part of the fence where she could just see Fliss walking across the yard.

"Please can I go see Monty?" She looked at Frank and he nodded.

"I'll watch you." He agreed. With a grin she sprinted over the lawn, climbed over the fence and dropped over onto the other side. Thor gave a bark and Fliss turned round and smiled at her, before she waved at Frank. He waved back before he headed down the side of the house, through the gate in the larger fence before he unlocked the back door and stepped inside the cool air conditioned kitchen, kicking off his shoes and heading straight to the fridge for a beer. Draining half in one he stood, looking around and smiling. They’d finally unpacked the last box yesterday evening and Fliss was still in the process of moving things around their new home, positioning them where she wanted them.

True to Greg’s word, they’d had the keys to the house 4 and a half weeks after making the offer, and 2 weeks post that once the bedrooms and hall had been decorated with a lot of help from Bill, Verity and Roberta (who had been happy for them yet still cried her eyes out when they’d left the park, despite the fact they had assured her they would still come visit and she could also come stay with them too) they’d moved in. The only thing left to do was the reception room (which could wait, it was easy to just shut the door and pretend it didn’t exist) and Bean’s nursery, which he, Fliss and Mary had decided to do together as a project. Mary and Fliss had spent nights pouring over Pinterest for ideas and they’d finally settled on a scheme. Frank had picked up all the plastering supplies and the paint, the furniture was on order and should be arriving at any time that week now he thought about it…so hopefully that weekend they could get cracking. That might cheer Mary up now he thought about it.

Taking his beer with him, he picked up his boots and took them to the cloakroom/bathroom by the stairs. He trudged up the steps, shaking his head at Fred who was led at the top, his paws hanging over the edge of the step as he eyed Frank.

"You're gonna cause a fucking accident." He looked at the ginger cat who merely swished his tail in response. Frank headed into their bedroom, stripping off as he went, walking straight into the en-suite, turning on the shower, setting his beer down on the edge of the sink unit. He stepped in and under the stream of cool water, closing the screen behind him, his mind still on Mary and how he was going to bring up what her teacher has said. With a groan he opened the door, reached out of the cubicle for his beer, took another gulp before he set about washing the grime of the day away.

***** "Have you finished grooming him?" Fliss asked, standing in the doorway to Monty's stable. Mary glanced over from where she had been brushing through his white tail and nodded.

"Wanna take him to the paddock?" Fliss smiled. "Cap and Bronson are waiting for their little pal."

"Sure." Mary shrugged and Fliss frowned a little at her demeanour. She was quiet, which was unlike her when she was round the horses. She was normally full of excitement.

"You OK?" She asked and Mary nodded.

"Why wouldn't I be?"

"You seem quiet, that's all."

"No, I'm good." She shrugged, before she tossed her brush into the little grooming box she had, closing the lid and passing it to Fliss. Fliss placed the box into the larger wooden one outside the stable before Mary put Monty's halter on and led him out of his stall. Fliss allowed them to walk ahead, her hand on her bump as she followed them out of the yard and down the little path to the gate that led to the paddocks. They reached the one were Monty was going and undoing the gate, Mary led him in. The white pony stood patiently for her to take his halter off before he stuck his nose into the crook of her neck and shoulder. Fliss smiled as Mary gently stroked his neck and then to her utter horror she saw Mary’s shoulders begin to shake as the girl started to cry.

"Hey, Mary..." she soothed, stepping forward as the small girl turned to her, wrapping her arms around her as best she could, pressing her face into her bump "Oh baby what's wrong?"

Mary didn’t reply, instead she continued to sob and Fliss felt powerless to do anything other than wrap her arms around her, one hand resting on her head, the other between her shoulders.

“Something happened at School…” Mary whispered and Fliss gently tipped her head up to look at her. “Someone said something and…”

“Ok, how about we go back to the office and you can tell me all about it ok?”

Mary nodded, sniffing as her sobs died down. Fliss held out her hand and Mary took it and together they headed back down to the yard. Joanne looked at Mary who was hiccupping slightly with her sobs and frowned but Fliss shook her head.

“Can you feed the top barn for me and then you can go.” she said to Jo who nodded. “I’ll lock up.” “Sure, see you tomorrow. Bye Mary.” she smiled. Mary looked at her and gave a small wave before Fliss led her into the office. She grabbed them both an apple juice from the fridge and then Mary sat on the chair at the end of the desk, wiping her eyes with a tissue that Fliss handed her from the box.

“You ready to talk?”

Mary nodded, and then she stood up and walked over to Fliss who made room for her to clamber up onto her lap. It was a bit awkward but after a little shifting around they found a way she could sit unobstructed by Boston Bean and Mary lay her head against Fliss’ shoulder.

“It was about the gala.” she sniffed “One of them asked me if my mom was coming and…”

“Oh sweetie.” Fliss sighed, rubbing her back. “I get that must have been hard.”

Mary shrugged “I told them she was dead.” she said matter of factly “I get that and I never knew my mom so I don’t miss her as a person…but then I started to think about why she died and I don’t understand.” “Understand what?”

“Why?” Mary looked at her. “Why would she do what she did when she had me? Why did she want to leave me behind?”

Fliss took a deep breath and cradled the girl as best she could, trying to think of a way to explain to which Mary could relate, and then it came to her, she could use her own experience here. There was no getting around the fact this was going to be a heave conversation, but Mary was a smart kid and deserved to be treated as such.

With another deep inhale, Fliss looked down at her, kissing her head before she opened rather bluntly "You know I tried to kill myself."

"You did?" Mary pulled back to look up at her "Why?"

"Because I saw it as my only way out." Fliss gently smoothing Mary’s hair back. "I was stuck in an awful situation. My ex-husband hurt me physically and mentally and I gave up. I wanted out."

Mary remained silent and looked at her.

"For someone to get to that point...they have to have hit rock bottom. Like there is nowhere to go. It's not their fault. And it doesn't mean they don't love the people they leave behind just that they're desperate to escape whatever pain they feel, be it in their head or their body or both."

"But I still don't understand." Mary shook her head.

"And you may never, not fully." Fliss sighed gently "And as horrible as it is that's something you are gonna have to live with but you have to remember that your mom was sick. And for whatever reason she saw this as her only escape. It wasn't Evelyn's fault, it wasn't Frank's fault and it certainly wasn't yours."

"But if she loved me like Frank says she did..."

"You think I don't love my mum and dad? Or Steve? Charlie, Joel?"

Mary blinked before she lay her head back against Fliss' shoulder. "Of course you do.”

"But I was still gonna leave them behind. I was desperate. And you wanna know the real stupid thing?"

"What?"

"When I got better I still went back to John. I went back to a real toxic environment and a man that abused me. Because I felt like it was what I deserved. And even though I left him way before I met you and Frank, it wasn't until me and Frank started dating that I really understood I wasn't to blame. I always thought I did something to make him hurt me but I didn't. Being with Frank, the way he treats me and loves me made me see that it was him with the problem, not me.”

"But that's different" Mary glanced up

"The trigger was, yes." Fliss nodded "But your mom, like me, was in a position so helpless, so unbelievably sad that she thought she was to blame and that the world, including you, would be better off without her even though she was so wrong."

**** Once showered and dried, Frank dressed in a pair of shorts and clean T-shirt before he headed back downstairs. There was no sign of Fliss or Mary but as he strode out into the garden he heard a car heading down the drive by the side of the house from the yard and correctly assumed it was Joanne leaving for the day. He opened the gate and just saw the tail of her car turn onto the main road as he headed into the garage for the charcoal to light the BBQ.

Once that was done, leaving the flames to die down he headed out across the lawn, vaulting over the small fence onto the yard. He headed round the barn and frowned as he couldn't see anyone. After a quick look round he spotted the door to Fliss' office was closed. He went to open it but stopped as he could hear the sound of voices. It was Mary and Fliss but he could tell from the pitch and stutters in Mary's that she was upset. He paused, hand hovering over the handle as he heard Fliss speaking to her softly. "Stack, you are so loved. Frank loves you, I love you, Nanny V, Poppa Bill, Uncle Steeby, Roberta, Evelyn...Thor, Fred and Monty..." she paused "You're such a special little girl and I know I'm not your mom but, well, I feel like I am."

"You do?"

"I'd do anything to keep you safe and happy. And so would Frank"

They both fell silent and Frank swallowed, the lump in his throat almost choking him.

"Don't ever feel like we don't" Fliss continued "and if I have to bake 200 fucking cookies for your Gala next week to prove it then I will."

Mary giggles "You know Bean can hear you swearing."

"Well I won't tell Frank if you don't"

"Do you think Frank feels like my dad?" Mary asked a moment later and at that point Frank really wanted to walk away. He couldn't listen to this, he didn't want to listen to this...but something kept him rooted to the spot.

"I know he does." Fliss replied.

"But he doesn't like it when people say it. I know that, I heard him talking to you. Bill’s not your real dad but you still say he is…."

“That’s slightly different sweetheart.” Fliss sighed "My real dad left my mom before I was born, so when he died. I didn’t even know him and I don’t care that I didn’t either. But your mom was Frank's sister. He wants to make sure you remember her, understand who she was. He could have easily just pretended to be your dad all this time, you would never have known any different but he didn't. Because he loves you and your mom too much. He's too honest and it’s important to him that you understand. But that doesn't mean he doesn't love you like he is your dad, or that you can't love him like he is."

Frank turned away from the door, looking up at the sky and taking a deep shuddering breath. Fuck, this was hard to hear. He knew Mary had been upset before but the thought that it ran this deep was killing me. Wiping at his face, his hands then dropped to his hips and he looked down at his sneakers before he turned to the door, reaching for the handle but once more pausing as he couldn’t face interrupting them, not whilst they were in the middle of a moment.

“I suppose that makes sense.” Mary continued “And I do love him like he is. And I love you like you’re my mom too.”

“Well that’s all that matters.” Fliss replied “It may be unconventional but we’re a family, and that’s the main thing huh?”

“Yeah, you’re right. Thanks Lissy.” Mary spoke.

“You’re welcome Stack” Fliss’s voice was soft and there was a pause as Frank could picture the pair of them hugging.

“Hey, did you now I’m going to be doing all the money stuff for the bake stall?” Mary’s voice was suddenly up beat as she switched topic “Because I’m good at maths they said I could be in charge of payments and handing people their change and stuff.”

“Nice work kiddo.” Fliss smiled, “Tell you what, we’ll put Nanny V on the case, her baking is way better than mine. We can get her over one night next week whilst Pops is helping Frank with the plastering in the nursery.”

Ok, that was it, safe to enter without interrupting anything. Frank gave a little knock and then opened the door, fixing a smile on his face.

“Hope I haven’t interrupted any girl talk” he smiled and Mary jumped up and ran to him, giving him a hug. He looked at Fliss who wiped her eyes.

“Ok?” he mouthed at her and she nodded back, her lips moving silently as she replied.

“Tell you later.”

“BBQ is lit.” Frank said, looking down at Mary “You still wanna play in the pool?”

She nodded and grinned. “Yeah.”

“Sounds like a great idea.” Fliss grinned “Let’s lock up and head home…oh wait, we don’t need to head home because…” “We’re already there!” Mary grinned, and then she spun round to see Fred peering round the door. “Hey, look who came to visit!” “Bout time he earned his keep.” Frank grumbled “Go catch some mice.”

Fred stalked past him into the office, looked around, before he sauntered back out, clearly not interested.

“He’s a lover not a killer Frank.” Mary grinned, as Frank watched the cat walk off into the evening sun.

The three of them locked up before they headed back to the house and Mary shot upstairs to get changed.

“So, how much did you hear?” Fliss turned to Frank as he pulled a beer from the fridge along with a bottle of water, sliding it over to her.

“Enough.” he sighed “Her teacher collared me before. Said that one of the kids had asked about her mom in class and she’d gotten upset.”

“She asked me why Diane did what she did.” Fliss sighed, “Why she left her behind if she loved her so much.”

Frank swallowed. “What did you say?”

“I explained about why I tried to kill myself.” Fliss shrugged “Told her about the desperation I felt…but that didn’t mean that I didn’t love my family just that I saw it as my only way out. I know it was heavy and maybe not really the right thing to do but...”

She was cut off as Frank stepped forward, taking her face in his hands as he kissed her, hard. It took her a moment to catch up but once she did she melted into him, her mouth opening to grant him access as he ran his tongue along her bottom lip.

“Thank you.” He said gently as he pulled away, his hands still cupping her face.

“What for?” Fliss asked, reaching up to gently wrap her fingers around his wrists.

“For loving her as much as you do.” he shrugged. “For loving us both as much as you do.”

“Oh, Sailor.” Fliss’ eyes brimmed with tears “How could I not?”

***** Frank didn’t sleep particularly well that night. Mary’s conversation with Fliss was running through his brain and every time he drifted off he would wake about an hour or so later, fresh worries and concerns running through his mind. In the end, at just before 5 am he gave up and climbed out of bed. He grabbed a T-shirt and a pair of sweats and putting them on he headed downstairs. He flipped on the TV in the hope the early morning new would distract him, but it didn’t.

It was clear to him that Mary was struggling with where she was going to fit in the family dynamic. He hadn’t really worried much up to that point, being convinced by Fliss that if they kept her involved with stuff to do with Bean she would be ok but this went much deeper than the fact they were expecting a baby.

He’d be lying if he said the thought of him claiming to be Mary’s Father had never entered his mind. It would have been a lot easier but out of loyalty and love to Diane he had wanted to make sure she knew about her mother, and understood the truth because in the end, a lie would always come round to bite you on the ass. It wasn’t that he had a problem with people assuming he was Mary’s father but…

God what a fucking mess.

“Hey…” a soft voice drew him from his thoughts and he looked up to see Fliss stood in the doorway, his T-shirt she was wearing now hardly covered the top of her thighs thanks to her Bean bump.

“Sorry beautiful, did I wake you?” he asked.

“No.” she shook her head, dropping down next to him. “I got up to pee and you were gone.”

“Couldn’t sleep.” he shrugged.

“What’s wrong handsome?” she lay her head on his shoulder and he took a deep breath.

“Just thinking about Mary that’s all.” he shrugged. “She’s always asked questions about Diane but not like that.”

“She’s getting older Frank.” Fliss said, her hand reaching out for his as she began to play with his fingers “She’s bound to start thinking about things differently. She was ok last night after she talked to me, and then later you when you tucked her in. She doesn’t keep her feelings bottled up, and that’s good. It’s a testament to you that she feels like she can talk to us about things.”

“I know.” Frank looked down at her, kissing her head “I guess I just worry Lissy, worry about how she’s gonna feel when Bean is here and he’s calling us mom and dad and she doesn’t.”

“Frank.” Fliss sighed as she sat up straight. “Mary knows we love her. And what she calls us doesn’t change a damned thing. You’re worrying unduly now. We can’t do anything about that other than-“

“Yes, yes we could.” Frank looked at her. Fliss took a deep breath as his eyes locked onto hers, instantly understanding.

“I thought you said you’d never even consider adopting her?”

“I never thought I would.” he shrugged. “But it’s been playing on my mind after what mother said and then after last night…” “Why? What did Evelyn say?” Fliss asked.

“When she was here last, she told me that Diane’s memory wouldn’t suddenly fade if Mary called me dad…” he licked his lips “It was almost like she was giving me permission to do it…you know? Not that I need it or really give a shit what she thinks.” he paused, taking a deep breath “If I’m totally honest Diane isn’t the only reason I said I didn’t want to. I just never thought of myself as being dad material. I was such a screw up until I met you and I thought that by staying as her Uncle, it would give her that distance, you know?”

“Not dad material?” Fliss looked at him, shaking her head “Oh Frank, you idiot. You’ve done an amazing job with her…and you will do with Bean too.”

He smiled at her, sniffing slightly as she continued.

“But there is one person who’s opinion counts most here.” Fliss said gently “And that’s Mary. If you’re serious then you should ask her if it’s what she wants. Because after 9 years of calling you Frank…”

“I know.” Frank agreed, “And I agree, completely. It would have to be her decision. But at least if I ask her if she would like us to then-“

“Us?” Fliss looked at him, blinking. “You mean you want me to?”

“Of course I do.” Frank nodded, before he frowned slightly “But if that isn’t what you want, I understand. It’s a big-“ Fliss cut him off by pressing a kiss to his lips “Of course I do Frank. I love Mary like she is my own anyway so…” Frank beamed at her and wrapped his arms around her, kissing her head. “So, we’re agreed. We ask her?”

Fliss nodded and pulled back, her hand resting on his cheek. “We ask her.”

Chapter 8

#riding on #frank adler #frank adler x ofc #frank adler x oc #gifted #gifted fan fic #chris evans #chris evans characters

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ikleesfiction · 4 years ago

Text

Will you follow through if I fall for you?

Fandom : One Chicago Words count : 3,679 words Author's note : N/A Disclaimer

Previously on this fic : Part 1

This fic is part of Will you follow through if I fall for you? series

Part 2

After sipping the last of his morning coffee, Will Halstead pulls out his phone to call his brother, Jay.

"Good morning, dearest brother," Will says in his greeting. "Is it a good time to talk? You're not currently kicking doors, chasing perps, are you?" He jokingly asks. It has not yet passed seven in the morning. But it is always a possibility with his cop brother.

Jay takes the call, still half asleep, "This is not a good way to wake up. Just so you know,"

"Is there any better way to wake up than listen to your brother's lovely voice?" Will continues his humor.

“Lots of things are better than this,” Jay fusses, “So, what's up? and it's better to be important,"

Will begins to tell the story, "Owen got in an incident a few days ago at the swimming pool,"

"Damn! What happened? Is he okay? Is he at the hospital now?" Jay suddenly comes awake.

"Calm down, you worrywart. Let me finish. Owen and his friends were playing, a bit careless in the pool. He almost drowned, but someone rescued him. We checked him out at Med. Owen is okay now. Said he cannot wait to go back to the pool," concludes Will.

"Oh, thank god. That kid is so reckless. I should probably teach him another swimming lesson, right?" Jay suggests to his brother.

"Maybe in a while. Nat is still not sure she can let Owen back in the pool," Will thinks.

"That's understandable. But living in Chicago, that kid should be prepared," insists Jay.

"Yeah, I agree with you. But that's not the only reason why I called, by the way," Will changes the topic. Jay knows from his tone that Will is up to something. Something that usually ends up with a volunteer-Jay.

"What do you want now?" sighs Jay.

"Nat and I invited the person who helped Owen to our place for dinner tomorrow. We want you to come," Will proposes his idea.

"Why should I?" Jay protests the idea.

"Don't you want to meet the person who saved Owen? Show them your gratitude for saving your precious nephew?" Will coaxes his stubborn brother.

"Isn't that supposed to be the parents' job? I'm just the Fun Uncle!" grumbles Jay.

"Then you should join the fun dinner with us tomorrow. Or you will get demoted!” Will threatens further.

"Ergh, okay, fine. No promises, though. If an urgent case comes up, I cannot make it to the fun dinner," Jay finally yields, even with his sarcasm.

"Noted. Please bear in mind, if you deliberately avoid our dinner invitation, your title would be demoted to Lame Uncle," Will reminds Jay.

"Even then, I'm still the coolest," Jay mutters before he hangs up the call.

Before long, Jay's phone buzzes with a text message from his brother.

Put it in your calendar, Fun Uncle. Tomorrow, 7 PM, dinner at our place.

Jay leaves the message unanswered. But he schedules it on his calendar, nonetheless. Whatever the reason is, Jay always loves to visit his sweet nephew.

◢◤

The cab stops in front of a lovely house. You open the text message from Dr. Halstead to recheck the address. Stepping out of the cab, you walk to the front door and knock.

You thought about bringing wine for dinner. But you're not sure that would be a good idea with Owen here. Instead, you have a box of chocolate as a gift to your host. For a second, you wonder, what if somebody is allergic to chocolate? Before you could overreact, the door is open.

"Hi, Y/N!! So glad you could make it. Come in, come in!" Dr. Manning greets you at the door.

"Hi, Dr. Manning. Thanks for inviting me to your house. You have a gorgeous house," You compliment your host.

"Oh, thank you. But please, call me Natalie. I am not wearing a lab coat or a scrub now,"

Further inside the house, you see Dr. Halstead is setting up the dinner table while Owen is sitting on one of the chairs.

"Hi, Y/N! Welcome!" Dr. Halstead welcomes you.

"Good evening, Dr. Halstead," You return with a smile.

"Yeah, that's not going to work for tonight. Please, just call me Will," He orders you.

"Hey bud, do you remember Miss Y/N? She helped you at the pool a few days ago?" Will asks Owen.

Owen remembers the lady from the pool. But he's still embarrassed and sullenly looks down, "I remember,"

You approach Owen slowly, "Hi Owen, my name is Y/N. Nice to see you again,"

Owen is still avoiding your gaze.

So you continue to talk to him, "Oh, here, I have a box of chocolate for you and your family," You pass the paper bag to Owen.

"I hope you like it. My best friend and I always eat chocolate when we were having a bad day. Then our day gets better," You say to Owen, attempting to make him feels better.

"Really?" Owen eyes you curiously.

"Oh yeah, totally," You beam at him.

"Thank you," Owen looks up and pleads to his mother, "Can we have it now, Mom?"

"Let's have it after dinner, hon. There is a cheesy lasagna warming in the oven, right?" Natalie tries to distract Owen from having dessert before dinner. You cringe at your not-so-great idea and mouth an apology to her. She graciously waves it off.

"Oh yeah! Miss Y/N, you must try the lasagna. It is so yummy because I helped Mom make it," brags Owen.

"I cannot wait! Is there anything I can help with for dinner?" You offer.

"No, everything is almost done. Owen, could you please show Miss Y/N where the bathroom is, so she could wash her hand?" Natalie prompts, "and then we can start eating when you come back,"

"Okay. Let's go, Miss Y/N. I could also show you my shark toothbrush!" Owen pulls you toward the bathroom.

When you come back, there are four plates set on the table of five settings.

"Is Dr. Rhodes coming for dinner?" You politely gesture the fifth setting.

"Connor? No," Will is confused for a second. "Oh, it's for my brother. I asked him to come, but Jay usually got caught up at work and came late," He further reveals.

"Ah, the cop brother," You nod in understanding, "That's good. I was worried you guys were too trusting of a stranger,"

The doctors let out a chuckle at your thought, "Yes, my brother is a cop,"

"Should we wait for him?" You offer to hold the dinner off.

"No, we can start now," Natalie objects, "If we wait until Jay arrives, the food's going to be cold,"

You take a bite and praise Owen on his lasagna, "It tastes great, Owen! You are a good help to your mom,"

Owen is too busy with his noodle. He only responds with a big grin. Shortly, you hear knocks on the door.

"That would be Jay," Will gets up from his chair to the door, and Natalie stands up to pull one portion of lasagna out of the oven.

"Have you met Uncle Jay, Miss Y/N?" Owen asks you.

"No, sweetie. I have not," You shake your head.

"Uncle Jay is super fun. I like to play with him. We can play together, Miss Y/N. You are fun too. Because you bring chocolate," Owen explains his logic to you.

Trying not to laugh, you reply, "Well, thank you, Owen. But I think you are the most fun of all, right?"

Will soon comes back in, followed by an extremely handsome man in a fitting black t-shirt and grey jeans. You notice that the man is carrying a gun on his hips and a badge snugged on his belt. He glances at you before whispering something to Will. When the man steps to the other side of the house, you cannot help but stare at his back.

The screeching sound of Will's chair jerks you away from your staring. You keep your gaze down to your plate, hoping Will didn't catch you staring at his brother. You don't see it, but the doctors are exchanging smirks across the dining table. They definitely caught you out.

When Jay returns to the dining table, he ruffles Owen's hair before finding his seat next to you.

"You must be the guest of honor for tonight?" Jay extends his hand to you, "Jay Halstead, Will's brother,"

You clean your hand with the napkins before you take Jay's hand. "Y/N Y/LN. Nice to meet you. Not sure about being the guest of honor, though," You throw a small smile.

"Well, I heard you rescued Owen, so I think it's fair to make you an honorable guest," declares Jay.

"How are you doing, bud? I was worried when Will told me," Jay checks his nephew.

"It was scary, Uncle Jay. My friends and I were playing. I chased David, and Noah was chasing me. Then suddenly, I got pulled down! I was afraid when the water entered my nose, and then I cannot breathe!" Owen recites his experience.

"Oh, bud. It must have been scary. You have to be more careful next time. I know playing is fun, but you have to keep paying attention to your surrounding," Jay patiently advises Owen. Owen nods his reply, looking solemn in his round eyes.

"It was very fortunate that Y/N was nearby when it happened," Will adds to the conversation, "Do you often swimming there, Y/N?"

"Yeah, maybe two or three times a week. I usually come early morning or an hour before closing," You admit.

"Wow, are you preparing for a competition or something?" Jay baffles.

You laugh at Jay's comment, "No, it was not like that. I need regular exercise for my legs. My physical therapist recommends swimming,"

"It's the left one, isn’t it?" infers Natalie.

"Yeah, how do you know?" Feeling surprised by her question, your tone was slightly accusing, too. Did she somehow able to look at your medical record?

"When you came to the hospital that day..." Natalie starts to say.

"Ah, I should have known you noticed it," You are relieved to be wrong this time. "Your patients must have hard times lying to you, Dr. Manning,"

You quickly distract her before she can say anything more about your injury. Experiencing it was already hard. Talking about it was even more difficult.

"Well, my patients are mostly under 12 years old. They rarely lie. However, their parents are whole different stories," Natalie tells you.

"Personally, I like it when I can prove to my patients that they were lying," Will adds his opinion.

"That because your ED is attracting lots of nutters," cracks Jay.

"You are also a frequent flyer on my ED, Jay. It means you are one of the nutters," Will points out.

Laughing at their banter, you polish your meal while listening to the family conversation at the table.

"I finished my meal, Mommy. Can I have Miss Y/N chocolate, now?" begs Owen to his mother.

"Let's wait for Uncle Jay to finish his dinner, then we can have the chocolate together," replies Natalie.

"You have chocolates, little man? Gonna share it with me, right?" demands Jay to Owen.

"Miss Y/N brings lots of chocolate. She said she ate lots of chocolate with her best friend. You are my friend, Uncle Jay. So I will share it with you," states Owen. In agreement, Jay offers his bump to Owen.

God, this man is unbelievable. Good looking, stable job, and great with children. What would be his flaw? You ask yourself.

When Jay finishes his dinner, Owen drags him to the living room. You offer to help with the dishes. But Natalie refused your help.

"No, no. You go sit with Owen and Jay in the living room. Between Will and I, we can tackle these dishes in no time,"

So you go to the living room and find Jay sitting on the floor. Owen is sitting on the couch right in front of Jay, with your gift bag in his lap. He carefully opens the bag with Jay's assistance.

"This looks fancy. Belgian Pralines?" comments Jay once they got the box out of the bag.

"Nah, It was not that fancy. I only picked it because it tasted similar to what we have back home," You explain.

True to her words, Natalie and Will come to the living room shortly.

"Owen, you can only have one piece of chocolate for tonight, okay? We can save the rest for tomorrow," Natalie dictates to his son.

"But, Mommy..." whines Owen to his mother.

Natalie is not deterred by his son's whine, "One or none,"

"I will take the deal if I were you, bud," Jay fake-whispers to his nephew.

Grumbling his agreement, Owen turns to the box on his lap, meticulously inspecting it.

"I cannot choose! They all look delicious!" He cries his frustration.

"You can try the round one. It has caramel filling," You suggest to Owen. "Or if you like coconut, the triangle one got sweet coconut in it,"

"It got coconut in there??" Owen gasps in wonder. "I will take that. I like coconut, and the triangle is my favorite shape,"

Owen decisively picks his chocolate. The first bites into the triangle made his eyes go wide, astonished. Owen quickly takes another bite. Natalie, Will, and Jay then follow Owen, taking each different piece from the box.

"Ooh, I got one with orange filling. Hmm, interesting..." Natalie notes her pick.

"I expected the caramel filling would be too sweet. But it's not that sweet," remarks Will after his bite.

Jay, though, doesn't express anything about his chocolate.

"What about yours, Uncle Jay? What flavor is it?" Owen asks curiously.

"I got dark chocolate,"

"Did it taste good?"

"It's bitter," Jay informs his little inquisitor.

Owen pulls a face, "You can finish all the bitter chocolate, Uncle Jay. I only pick the sweet one,"

Jay grins at his nephew, "Thanks, bud!"

"Come on, Owen. You need to take a bath, brush your teeth, and get ready for bed," Natalie instructs his son.

Owen is thinking about negotiating her orders. He still wants to play with his uncle and their guest.

Before he could say anything, Natalie disrupts him, "Or Uncle Jay will take all the chocolate home with him,"

"Nope, I'm going now," Owen jumps from the couch and goes to the bathroom, followed by his mother.

Will also stands up from the couch, "You guys want anything to drink? Coffee, tea? Wine, maybe?"

Even though you want to take the wine, you decline his offer, "No, I'm good, thanks,"

"Just water for me, bro," Jay calls out to his brother as he moves to sit next to you.

"Which one is your favorite?" He asks you, referring to the chocolate box.

"From that box? Dark chocolate," You tell him.

"You got another favorite?" Jay seems intrigued.

"The liquor-filled ones," You sheepishly confess to him.

Jay raises his eyebrow, "That sounds fantastic,"

You laugh at his remark, "Yeah, they are good. Especially the one with Amaretto,"

"Hmm, I can imagine," Jay hums as he picks another dark chocolate from Owen's box.

Worried that Jay would take you as an alcoholic, you make another note, "But, dark chocolate is sort of aphrodisiac, though,"

"Yeah, I can see that. It's just purely good," Jay agrees with your choice.

"Pair them with red wine will make it even better. A box of dark chocolate, a nice red wine, spends it with a good company, guarantee you will have a good night,"

God, was it too suggestive?? You are internally freaking out.

"Actually, that would be nice,"

Jay gazes at you for a moment and then leans in your direction. Like a different pole of a magnet, you pull in closer. You can see light dust of freckles on Jay’s nose and wonder if his lips would taste like dark chocolate.

“Here you go, bro!” Suddenly, Will comes back with two bottles of water in his right hand and a cup of tea in his left. You abruptly move away from Jay, eyes down to the floor, embarrassed.

Jay takes one of the water bottles and gives an unimpressed look to his brother. Will grins cheekily in reply.

“Here’s water for you, Y/N. In case you get thirsty,” Will teases you.

You can feel your face turned red, “Thanks, Dr. Halstead,” Putting the title back to his name as you try to be cool about it.

There is an awkward silence for a moment before Will breaks it, “I think I have yet to ask you, but what do you do, Y/N?”

Relieved by the change of topic, you happily answer, "I work for a record label company,"

"What does one do at a record label company?" Jay asks you curiously.

"Lots of things. But mostly I produce music and write songs," You give a short detail.

“So you’re a musician?” Will points out.

"Yes. But not a performing one? If that makes any sense?" You try to explain your situation.

"I do not really enjoy performing in front of live audiences. I'm not comfortable facing a big crowd," You pause to see if Will and Jay understood.

"You got stage fright?" Jay guesses.

You throw a bashful smile, "A big one. The best I can do is performing on the radio. I used to work as a DJ on a late-night radio show," You begin to open up.

"On that show, I got to play whatever music I want, got to talk to people I'd like. There weren't many people listening to late-night radio, you know? So the station let me do whatever I want," You giggle through your story.

"I bet most of them would be late-shift workers, like we do," Will reckons.

"Yup. And fellow insomniacs," The three of you let out a laugh.

"At that time, I also played music from many unsigned, aspiring musicians. Sometimes, mine too, if I feel confident about it. Those were the only time I dare to "perform" if we can call it that way,"

"What kind of music are you producing now? Anything I might know?" Will explores, "Jay won't know anything, though. The last record he listened to was probably Ms. Jackson by Outkast,"

Vehemently, Jay protests, "Hey!"

You laugh at their spite. You are an only child, but your best friend is only two years younger than you. Most of the time, you banter like this too.

"It is a good song, though," You tell Will on Jay's behalf.

"Am I right??" Jay points it out to Will.

"Yeah, it is. But it's like two decades ago, man!" Will argues, "C'mon, Y/N, help me up here. You need to tell Jay here about songs you produced. He might wanna listen to new songs if you wrote them,"

You immediately blush from that playful tease from Will.

"I'm not sure you would be into it. Mostly I made dance music. Electronics and others," You clumsily stutter, "But recently, I'm working on a music podcast where I can play and tinker lots of music, not exclusively of dance music,"

Your eyes darted between these two men, "I'm sorry, it's so presumptuous of me. I didn't mean that you have to listen to it,"

The brothers quickly negate your apology.

"No, no, not at all," Jay shakes his head.

“Totally going to check that podcast out,” Will declares, "Where can I find it?"

But before you can answer, Owen runs to the living room in his pajamas.

“Ah, ready for bedtime?” Will stands up from his seat.

Standing in front of you, Owen opens his arms for a hug, “Thank you for the chocolate, Miss Y/N,”

“You are welcome, Owen. I hope it helps you feel better,” You hug him back.

“Yes, but I feel much better if I can have one more?” He dubiously looks at his mom.

“You would also feel better after a good night's sleep. So enough chocolate for tonight,” Natalie amusedly retorts.

Owen moves to hug Jay, “Good night, Uncle Jay. Remember, only the bitter chocolates for you,”

Chuckling, Jay rubs Owen's back gently, “I will not touch your sweet chocolate, I promise. Sleep well, bud,”

After the parents come back from putting Owen down to bed, you consider that it’s probably a good time to leave.

“I think I better go home now. You guys must be tired after a long day at work,” You rise from your seat.

“Oh no, you don’t have to leave now. I was going to open a bottle of Sauvignon Blanc,” Natalie persuades you to stay.

All of a sudden, you hear a ping from a phone. Follow by another ping. And another ping. Will pulls out the phone from his pocket and momentarily reads it, “Med needs me to come in,”

“Guess the party’s over,” Jay quips. Natalie let out a conceded sigh.

You pull out your phone, try to order rideshare to go home.

“I can drive you home,” offers Jay when he catches a glimpse of your phone screen.

“Ah, I don’t want to impose,” You try to resist.

Jay peeks at your phone again to see your address. “No, you won’t. It's on my way back anyway,”

“You sure?” You check again.

“Absolutely,” answers Jay confidently.

“Okay, then. Thank you,” You flash a smile to Jay that instantly mirrors back.

“Let me just quickly get my things,” Jay goes to grab his gun and badge.

When he comes back, Natalie and Will hug Y/N goodbye at the door.

“Thanks again for inviting me to dinner. It was wonderful,” You say to the doctors.

“Yes, it was! We should do it again sometimes. Maybe make it a picnic at the park when the weather is good,” Natalie recommends.

“Yeah, maybe by the lake? We could go swimming,” You concur with humor.

Natalie rolls her eyes while Will and Jay are sniggering. You share good night wishes with the hosts before leaving the house.

Next on this fic : Part 3

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#fanfiction #one chicago #one chicago fic #chicago pd #chicago med #will halstead #natalie manning #owen manning #jay halstead #jay halstead x reader #original work #wyftiiffy

105 notes · View notes

zwowow · 4 years ago

Text

I feel like Kells would just have... the hardest time showing affection in a way Em appreciates and he feels comfortable with. Like, Em is notoriously hard to please; an obsessive control freak that's also got a massive ego. He wouldn't like "gifts", expensive or small because almost everyone who gives gifts is expecting something in return. He probably wouldn't like acts of service like making breakfast or cleaning up because "i already have a fucking maid and if I wanted a chef i would have one if those too". And he like wouldn't try to be mean about it, he's a naturally pretty cut and dry person, but man, Colson would be Struggling to find nice things to do for him after everything he's thought of strikes out. He Needs to please his man bc the thought of Em leaving him would make him so anxious, but he has literally run out of ideas.

Then like maybe one day, they'd be driving back from a club or a party and Colson would ask the driver to pull over at a cvs or something because he wants like a redbull and some twizzlers and shit and on the way out he'd pick up some gummy worms because he knows Em likes them. When he throws them onto Ems lap while climbing back in the other man would look at him with a weird look in his eye, a type of undisturbed gratitude he's never seen before. "Thanks" Em would mumble when he tears open the bag, looking down at them like its the best gift he's ever been given. That's when would Colson realize he needs to stop trying so hard to do things he thinks Em would like, and start doing stuff he just wants to do for Em.

Over the next few weeks he would try other ways to please Em. Em hated the one time Colson tried to make him try a relaxing bath, but when Em comes home and finds Colson already in one, he opens his legs as far as they can go and points to Em, then the space between them to invite him in. He ends up with a lap full of his relaxed boyfriend who sighs prettily everytime Colson runs the warm washcloth up and down his back or turns the water spout back on with his toe so the bath is flooded with new renewed warmth. After, when they're cuddled together in bed, Em would say, "That was nice, thanks." Or something equally lame, but Colson would hear the true appreciation and love behind the words.

Another time he would be out with Casie and they decide to buy matching white Nikes and go home to paint them together. Colson grabs another pair for Em on a whim, and paints them to match his. Em walks in on them and Casie holds up her own pair then gestures to the ones Colson is painting for him. "Those are for you" she says. And Em would say something like "Wow... um... thanks." Because he's emotionally constipated. Casie goes back easily to painting, but Colson meets Ems eyes and is surprised to see the other man completely frozen."Marshall?" He asks, and puts down his paint brush. Em shakes his head, "they look real good." He says huskily before turning on his heel and leaving the room. Big bad Eminem, choked up by some shoes, Colson can't help his grin.

Em naps a lot and Colson starts covering him with a blanket when he sees him without one, just to see the way Ems cheeks flush after a long, warm sleep.

After a while he gets good at doing things Em will actually like. He likes when Colson turns on the TV to the show or movie they're watching before he even sits down on the couch. He loves when Colson rubs his feet after a show in New, unbroken shoes. And he goes absolutely crazy when Colson gets a tattoo for him just below his hip.

Colson would just love to please Em, especially because he knows how hard it is to do.

#emgk #i dunno #this started as a drunk textpost Nd ended a drunk quasi-fic #love that for me #zwowfic

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mar1garden · 5 years ago

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At First Sight

okay. so i DID say i dont rly write non-daminette maribat ships but im SO WEAK FOR SOULMATES that i just couldnt turn down this request. so here yall go first time writing timari (WARNING: THIS IS ANGSTY UNTIL LIKE. THREE QUARTERS OF THE WAY THROUGH. IM SO SORRY BUT LIKE. YEA SORRY) (WARNING TWO: I PUT SO MUCH SUGAR IN HERE. IM SORRY. THERE IS SO FUCKIN MUCH) @minightrose hope you like it fjdhhdj

Marinette was used to the whispers behind her back. She was the only member of her class without a soulmark, after all. It was to be expected.

Chloe had, when they were younger, made sure everyone knew that Marinette was unmarked. She’d said it meant Marinette didn’t have a soulmate, that she was unlovable. Though she’d always tried to brush off others’ comments, it still hurt. The words pierced deep, and on that day Marinette decided that if she was to be unloved, no one around her would ever feel that way.

She took time every day to make sure someone around her felt uplifted. She brought treats, made gifts, talked with people who were alone. Chloe was cruel to her still, telling her that pretending to be nice would never change her. Telling her that, no matter what she did, she would never have a soulmate.

After so many years, Marinette began to believe her.

When she became Ladybug, her world changed. She had always stood up for others, never herself. But something about defeating a giant stone monster that used to be your classmate makes it easier to stand up for yourself, and so she did. Marinette, once a timid but kind presence, retained her kindness, shedding all of the timidity that once defined her.

She quickly became friends with the new kids, especially after Alya stood up for her and Adrien apologized about the gum. Her, Alya, Adrien, and Nino became close friends. It was one afternoon in the beginning weeks of spring that found the four of them hanging out in the park near the bakery. Chloe had walked over, a malicious smile on her face.

“You know what I just realized, Dupain-Cheng?” she asked without preamble. “These two don’t know about you!” she added, gesturing to Alya and Adrien. The two looked between her and Marinette, who was quickly paling.

“Chloe, don’t, please-” she protested, standing up quickly. She adopted a pleading look, her eyes wide and scared. Chloe simply laughed.

“Adrikins, Cesaire, did you know that our resident little goody-two-shoes here has no soulmate? That’s right! She’s unlovable, isn’t that right?” Laughing, Chloe walked away as Marinette wrapped her arms around herself.

She looked like she was trying physically to hold herself together. Her eyes were downcast, pooling with tears. She was unlovable. Why had she thought otherwise? She had no soulmark. She had no soulmate. Alya and Adrien would leave her, would think she was a freak like everyone else did. Nino would leave her too; he had only become her friend because there was safety in numbers. She would be alone again, she would be all alone-

Her train of thought was cut off when arms wrapped around her gently. She wrenched her eyes open to see a familiar blue t-shirt. She hugged Nino back, letting the tears stream down her face. More arms wrapped around her and she recognized Alya’s hands where they rested around Nino’s shoulders. When Adrien joined the group hug, Marinette allowed herself to smile. Her friends weren’t going to leave her. Her friends were by her side.

A year later, a new new girl had joined their class. Marinette feared repercussions when she told her to stop lying, but Lila never followed through on her threat. Two weeks after she’d declared war on Marinette, Chloe had told the class that Lila didn’t have a soulmark either. After class, Marinette had found Lila and told her she was also unmarked. Lila confessed to Marinette that her soulmark had disappeared when she was young, that her soulmate had died before she’d even had a chance to meet them. She cried in Marinette’s arms, and Marinette had readily comforted her.

The next day, when Marinette came in with personalized macarons for everyone, Lila looked at her with an odd mix of gratitude, surprise, and hope. The two became friends after that, baked goods and shared struggle helping Marinette connect to Lila.

When Marinette won the class a trip to Gotham for their end-of-year trip, the first people she told were Alya and Lila. The class found out soon after, but for a moment, the three of them were the only ones who knew.

On the plane, they discussed plans. All of them slept a bit, just so the jetlag wouldn’t be too bad when they got to America. Marinette slept soundly, knowing she had the horse miraculous in her pocket in case of emergency.

Wayne Enterprises was beautiful, and Marinette had to catch up to the class multiple times because she got sidetracked sketching out ideas for WE inspired outfits. At the end of the tour, they were going to meet the young CEO of the company. All of them were excited; he was just over their age and was already running his own company? He must be a genius!

What they were not expecting to see was a sleep-deprived teenager holding three cups of coffee. They were expecting it even less when he downed all three of them in around four seconds. He blinked his eyes open and swept his gaze over the class. When his eyes met Marinette’s, they both felt a shock go through them.

Wow, her eyes are really blue. Better keep her away from B, he might adopt her.

<<Wait, what? I didn’t think that!>>

I didn’t think that. Wait-

“Miss Bustier? I need to go to the bathroom, is there one on this floor?” Marinette asked, panic kicking in. How could she hear this kid’s thoughts? How could he hear hers? What if he heard something he shouldn’t?

The CEO spoke up. “There is. I can show you where it is, if the class is okay with waiting for a minute.” His voice sounded the same as it had in her mind. He walked over to her and took her arm gently, walking with her towards the restroom.

As soon as they were out of earshot of anyone, he quietly answered her unspoken question. “I’m your soulmate,” he said unprompted. Marinette blinked owlishly at him.

“But-”

“That’s impossible? You don’t have a soulmark, so you can’t have a soulmate? That’s not quite true. I don’t have a mark either, so I looked it up when I realized I wasn’t going to develop a mark. There are intangible marks, though they’re very rare. This is one of them. That said,” he turned to her, now that they were out of the class’s line of sight.

That said, he repeated, if you don’t want a soulmate, we can pretend this never happened.

She shook her head furiously. Of course I want a soulmate! I just can’t believe it. Oh my god. I have a soulmate!!

He looked at her curiously. Before, you were thinking in French. Are you thinking in English on purpose now? he asked, taking her hand gently between his.

Marinette blinked. No, I guess I just heard you and switched. It felt easier than trying to translate. Why?

It’s just, he replied, you sound so lovely speaking French.

Marinette turned bright red as the two went back to the group.

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sunfloweradoring · 5 years ago

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the one where he’s jealous at an award show

Who doesn’t love a bit of jealous!harry, am I right?

masterlist

word count: 2.8k

“Wow,” Harry’s words escaped his lips along with a dragged out breath. “You look... stunning.” I turned around on the little stool I had been sat on while my makeup artist Lucy finished off the final touches.

“Thank you, Haz.” I grinned, shooting Lucy an apologetic smile as she sighed because of my movements. “You don’t scrub up too bad yourself, Styles.” I admired through the mirror. His ever broadening chest and shoulders were carrying a black blazer over a white suit shirt. His legs were covered by matching black suit trousers. “You look sexy.” I winked.

Harry smirked, shaking his head as he sat on my bed. “You’re dirty.” He jokingly chastised, clearly putting on a show in front of Lucy as that certainly wouldn’t have been his response if we were alone.

“All done, and I’m going to go before the sexual tension suffocates me.” Lucy laughs, putting the mascara wand back into the tube. I stood up, giving her a hug as I thanked her for her handy work. Turning around I could see Harry’s eyes scanning all over my body. The emerald silk dress seemed to hug my body, clinging to my waist and flowing down to the ground. I stepped forward, my right leg pulling on the dress enough for the slit on the left to open slightly, my tanned thigh peeking through.

“Did you fake tan?” Harry questioned, his eyes almost glued to the patch of skin the dress was revealing. I hummed in response, walking towards him and placing my hands on his shoulders.

“Please don’t mess up my work.” Lucy teased as she left the room after packing away her things.

“Are you ready?” I asked, softly running my hands over the blazer. Harry stood up, his hands easily sliding around my silky waist.

“Gimme a kiss first, then I might be ready.”

I giggled, craning my neck only a little due to my extended height, curtesy of my nude heels. Leaning in our lips gently pressed together for merely a few seconds before I retreated. “There.” I stated, moving to pull away.

“No, wait, that was nothing!” Harry whined, his grip on my waist tightening to prevent me leaving.

“You said ‘a’ kiss.”

“I also said ‘might’ so shows how you listened.” He leaned down again, this time pressing his lips more firmly to mine. Without me even really realising it he deepened the kiss, causing my arms to snake slowly around his neck. This time it was my turn to whine when the kiss was broken.

“Harry,” I whined, lips chasing after his as they retreated.

“Nah, gotta go now, Princess.” He smirked, gently pushing me away by my hips.

Smarmy bastard.

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

“Over here!”

“Can we get a quick, cheeky kiss guys?!”

“Hey Harry!”

“Harry what do you think of her movie?!”

The bombardment of questions was paired with the almost constant sound of camera shutters. Things had definitely taken off in my career in the last few months; especially due to the attention the latest film I’d been in with Zac Efron received.

Harry’s hand gently squeezed mine, causing my eyes to shift in his direction, a smile gracing my mouth. We stopped in front of a set of photographers and Harry repositioned his arm around my waist as mine mirrored his.

“How do you feel about your girlfriend with Zac in this, Harry?!” Someone shouted from the sea of cameras. Harry chuckled, looking down at his feet momentarily.

“They’re great together.” He teased, glancing down at me as I laughed and shook my head.

“Are you proud?” Another voice questioned loudly.

“Extremely.” Harry replied, both of us smiling at each other.

“Thank you.” I mouthed, gently squeezing his side.

We were quickly ushered on by my publicist to a group of people with microphones as well as cameras, all eagerly waiting for the celebrities making their way down the carpet for interviews.

I followed the directions of my publicist to a woman I recognised from various TV appearances. Harry let go of my hand. “I’ll meet you inside, yeah?” He smiled encouragingly, nodding towards the interviewer.

“Okay, bub, see you in a sec.” I agreed, blowing him a kiss as I stood ready.

“Well hello you! Don’t you look absolutely breathtaking.” The woman gushed, gesturing towards my body.

“Thank you so much! But look at you, I love this dress, and your bracelet, I need sunglasses.” I laughed, pretending to shy away from the sparkling band around her wrist.

“Oh, you flatter me.” She chuckled, pushing her hair out of her face. “So this film, huh? What an amazing reception; up for four awards tonight. How are you feeling?”

I exhaled dramatically. “I honestly can’t articulate it. It’s fantastic, you know. When you put so much time and effort and energy into something, it’s indescribable. Everyone on that film worked so, so hard and you could tell that we were all so proud of the parts we played in bringing this story to life.”

“I can hear the passion in your voice, it’s great. How confident are you that your co-star Zac will come away with his nomination tonight? Best actor isn’t it?”

I nodded in confirmation. “Look, Zac is great, he’s so talented and like I said, worked immensely hard. He definitely deserves to come away with that award.” I smiled.

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

“Are you going in?” I turned around at the voice, my eyes meeting Zac’s.

“Hey! Yeah, I literally have no clue where I’m sat but I’m hoping to spot Harry in there.” I replied, accepting the side hug he gave me.

“Harry’s here? Can I come say hi?” Zac asked, following me into the room that was to host the awards show.

“Of course!” I nodded, both of us searching the room in hopes of finding that mass of curls poking out from somewhere. When I spotted him, I gestured for Zac to follow me again before heading towards him.

“Hello!” I greeted, leaning down and kissing Harry’s cheek as I sat down in the seat next to him, slightly bumping the table in the process.

“Woah, clumsy.” Harry laughed, looking at me for a second before realising we had company. “Zac! Hi! How are you mate?”

“I’m great, buddy. Thought I’d come over and say hey, but it seems like you’re stuck with me for the rest of the night.” He laughed in response, nodding his head to the woman I’d only just noticed sat on the other side of the table that I recognised to be his agent. He took the seat on the other side of Harry, speaking a few words to his agent in the process.

“How were the interviews?” Harry asked, turning his attention back to me.

“They were sweet, all wishing Zac good luck and wanting us to win the awards tonight.” I recalled, leaning on my hand as my elbow rested on the table cloth. Harry’s pointer finger on his left hand gently stroked up and down my dress covered leg absentmindedly.

“Did they like your dress?” He asked, leaning in to place a kiss to my cheek. I flushed slightly as I made eye contact with Zac. Despite working in with him for months on end, at the end of the day I’m not even 18 yet and he’s in his 20s.

“Yeah.” I replied, slightly blunt, clearing my throat and sitting up more straight. Harry noticed the change in my demeanour and glanced over his shoulder to see Zac looking away. It was almost unnoticeable, but for a split second his eyebrows creased as he looked between me and Zac.

“You alright?” He asked, leaning towards me a little more so the conversation was more private.

“Yeah, of course.” I smiled at him.

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

The rest of the evening progressed nicely; various actors, directors and writers were called up to accept their awards and watching their excitement paired with undying gratitude made me shuffle with anticipation for the awards where my film was nominated.

“And presenting the award for Best Actor we have Bradley Cooper!” The crowd clapped as Bradley walked out on to the stage, fingers grasping an envelope.

“With the nominees up for this award... it’s intense.” Bradley laughed into the microphone, causing a chorus of laughter to ripple throughout the room. Zac glanced at me and Harry with a smile, but it was evident that nerves were simmering beneath the surface. “You’re all deserving of this, but as we all know: there can only be one winner. So with my greatest pleasure, the award for Best Actor goes to... Zac Efron!” Zac jumped up from his seat, grinning from ear to ear.

“Congratulations!” Both Harry and I spoke, smiling as Zac embraced his agent quickly.

“Gotta give you a hug,” Zac laughed, delivering a friendly clap on the back to Harry as he shimmied around his chair to pull me into a tight hug. I could feel Harry watching us, but it was just a congratulatory hug! Right?

Zac pulled away, shooting me another smile before walking away to the stage. Bradley hugged him before passing him the award, then stepping back a little to allow Zac the microphone.

“Wow,” Zac breathed, glancing between the crowd and the award he seemed to be holding in a vice grip. “This is such an honour. I mean to be nominated alongside some of your absolute heroes would have been enough. But to win, thank you. Thanks to every single person that worked on this film, it was electric. Everyone working both behind and in front of the camera made my job a hell of a lot easier, so I share this award with you.” He said, holding it up momentarily. “However, I have to give a special thanks to my co-star. Acting with you was a pleasure. Your talent and work ethic pushed me to new levels and I cannot thank you enough. This is also yours, Y/N.”

Everyone erupted into applause once more as Bradley and Zac left the stage. Well, everyone expect me and Harry. During Zac’s speech he’d turned to me with a look of disbelief. His piercing gaze was certainly enough to prevent me from clapping my hands.

“What the fuck was that?” Harry questioned, leaning closer to me, his knee bumping into mine accidentally in his haste.

“It was just a speech, Harry.” I let out a little nervous laugh. Usually I would have just brushed it off, yet the intense glare I was receiving was somewhat intimidating.

“That was... like a declaration of love!” He countered.

“Don’t be silly.”

“I’m not.”

“Yes, you are. He was just accepting an award.” I replied. “And even if it were a declaration of love, it doesn’t matter. You know I don’t see him like that.” Harry scoffed, about to deal a snarky remark but cut himself off when Zac returned to the table.

“Well how freaking amazing was that?” He grinned, seemingly oblivious to the tension swirling around the air above our table. Harry released a huff, leaning back in his seat, looking at me as if I was supposed to explain to Zac. I ignored him, smiling at Zac.

“Well done.” I simply spoke.

All my previous excitement and anticipation seemed to have completely drained from my body. Harry was killing the mood by constantly huffing, glaring towards Zac (both when Zac was and wasn’t looking) and only giving short, blunt replies. I was slowly becoming irritated at his childishness, and quite frankly, he was coming across as extremely rude.

“Are you guys coming to the afterparty?” Zac asked, leaning across the table just before the final award of the evening was to be announced. Before I could even open my mouth to form a reply, Harry cut in.

“You’d like that wouldn’t you?” His voice almost came out as a growl, causing Zac to look at him a little taken aback.

“Sorry?” Zac asked, furrowing his brows.

“Oh sod off, mate! You’ve been eyeing her up all night; Christ probably for the last few months you’ve been working together. She’s in a relationship, alright? She’s not interested!” Suddenly an overwhelming sense of nausea took over my entire being. I felt hot with humiliation and sick with embarrassment. Honestly, I didn’t want to hear where this could go.

I quickly gathered my clutch, roughly shoving my chair back as I stood up. Both men were now looking at me. “I can’t believe you sometimes.” I muttered, looking momentarily at my boyfriend before turning to walk to the doors.

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

“Baby, wait!”

“Can you please slow down!”

I kept walking through the large building towards where the car was supposed to pick us up. I’d sent the driver a text, saying plans had changed and we were leaving slightly early and he told me where to meet him. After quickly observing there wasn’t yet a car in the agreed place, I waited inside, not fancying fans spotting either Harry or I and coming over. Harry’s hand grabbed my elbow when he approached which I quickly jerked away.

“Please don’t.” I spoke, voice calm and level. “Just don’t.”

“But-”

“No, we’re going back, you’ve humiliated me and I don’t want to talk about it yet. And I don’t want to talk about it here.”

Soon enough we were in the car, the awkward tension heavy in the air throughout the entire journey. No words were exchanged as we entered the hotel, the silence continuing as we waited for the lift, went upstairs and until we were back in the hotel room that was honestly large enough to be an apartment.

“Baby-”

“How could you Harry?” I questioned, whirling around as soon as he pushed the door closed.

“Okay, I get that you’re mad.” He spoke, his eyes avoiding my gaze, finding the carpeted floor more interesting. “And yes I might have overreacted a little, but c’mon, you’ve gotta admit you might have under-reacted too?” Talk about throwing petrol on a fire.

“Have you ever annoyed anyone before? You don’t say that!” I retaliated, going into the bedroom and throwing my clutch on the duvet as I kicked off my heels. “Zac is my friend. My friend, Harry! When have I ever given you any cause to worry about my loyalty to you? I don’t say anything about you having female friends! Heck, you’re even friends with your ex, do I say anything? No, no I don’t because I’m mature enough to trust you.”

His hand came up to rub against his forehead at this, clearly understanding that he didn’t have a leg to stand on anymore. “I don’t doubt you. I just... it makes me... the thought of him... I don’t know!” He released a frustrated groan, hands pulling a little at his hair. “He just seems to have everything, you know? I can’t compete with that.” From my place sat on the bed, my expression softened. I got up, walking over to him. When his eyes didn’t move from the floor, I reached out and took his hand.

“Hey,” I breathed. “It’s not a competition.” Slowly his gaze lifted and I could see the tears swimming in his eyes, threatening to spill out. “He doesn’t have everything.” I comforted, my free hand reaching up and pushing his hair back. “He’s not you, you know. That’s quite a big thing for me.” Both of us cracked a smile, Harry pushing a short breath out of his nose as a laugh. “I love you. I can honestly say with my whole heart, there is no one else for me, okay? No one I’d rather be with.”

“No one?”

“No one.”

“You’re just... you’ve made me so happy the last couple of months. I couldn’t imagine not being with you. I love you so, so, so much.” My cheeks blushed at his words, yet he continued. “You’re like this perfect angel, and I question how you could be with someone like me. Like, I’m just this normal teenager that happened to be in the right place at the right time and now I’m in a band. You give me everything. You’re like a sunflower, always following the light and seeing the good in people and situations and I just... love you, s’all.” I giggled, stepping up on my toes to press my lips to his.

“Done?”

“Yeah, think so.”

“You couldn’t be further from the truth, baby.” I smiled, gently poking his nose. “You’re perfect. You’re not this average teenager, you know? You’re so immensely talented, you’re kind, you’re loving, and you’re always there for the people that you love. I feel so genuinely lucky to even know you, let alone be in a relationship with you.” His hands moved to my hips, gently pushing me towards the bed.

“Thank you.” He muttered, sitting with me on the bed. A comfortable silence came over us as we stared at one another, cheesy grins plastered over our mouths. “You’re not jealous I’m still friends with Caroline, are you?” He teased, bumping his shoulder against mine playfully.

“Shut up.”

#harry styles #harry styles imagine #harry styles angst #harry styles fluff #harry styles x y/n #harry styles x reader #one direction #one direction imagines #harry styles x you

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whumblr · 4 years ago

Text

Hiding

Home is where the hurt is: Part 1 - Continued from Part 7

With a hint of Whumptober’s Day 11 - defiance for today.

Tagging: @just-a-whumping-racoon-with-wifi @burtlederp @castielamigos-whump-side-blog @hurtmebeautifully @rougenoirofthepurpleterror @barbed--wire

Jay noticed his laptop on the couch next to Zayne. Definitely not where he left it. He threw him an annoyed glance. Really?

“There’s a password on it,” Zayne said, as if there shouldn’t be one.

“Yes, it’s what Mr Gates put on there to keep people like you out.” Jay snatched the laptop away and turned to put it on the kitchen table. He startled when he turned again, Zayne now standing right in front of him.

“Tell me.”

“The hell?! No way!”

“What are you hiding? Embarrassing porn?”

Just his daily schedule, half his life and maybe some confident documents. God, if Zayne would know where to find him all day, if he knew how many extra hours Jay still had on overtime, fuck, he’d take full advantage.

“You are not getting into my laptop!”

A quick knock and a sudden rattle from down the hall made Jay jump. Someone was at the door.

“Jay? You’re home, right?” A muffled but familiar voice came from outside the front door.

Oh god, Dennis. Jay hadn’t seen his best friend all week and he did want to, but why did he have the worst timing ever?! Now what, should he pretend not to be at home? But he probably heard the shouting, right? With a startled expression he turned to Zayne. Like he’d have the answer. Like he wouldn’t make things worse.

“Friend of yours?” Zayne muttered. He was trying to hide it but the sudden interruption had surprised him as well.

The panic in Jay’s eyes told him the guy had no story ready for this.

Zayne held up his hands and nudged his head. A casual ‘well, okay then’. He stepped back and gestured for Jay to go get the door.

Relieved, but not fully assured that Zayne wouldn’t suddenly bust out, Jay pushed himself away from the table and shuffled to the door. He doubted Dennis was here for a quick visit and while he could really use a friendly face, the atmosphere would undoubtedly sour with Jay being on pins and needles.

"Why is your door locked?” Dennis said by means of hello. “You usually have it open when you're home."

Good question... With the ease Zayne displayed entering the house, whether the door was locked or not, Jay had to admit there wasn't much logic in keeping it locked. Maybe it was more for his own peace of mind.

“Ah, I… I was just about to take a shower.”

Dennis accepted the excuse and stepped past him. Jay scuttled after him in a slight panic but, thankfully, no one was in the living room. He did notice that the adjacent door to the bedroom was now closed. The homewrecker in hiding. He let out a sigh of relief. He could not bear having to introduce Zayne. As what, exactly? Distant cousin? Annoying ex? Stalking criminal? He should sort out a story, in case stuff like this would happen again.

“Tea?” he heard himself say. He kept his ears open, hoping to hear the front door as Zayne would leave, but so far nothing yet. The bedroom led to the bathroom that was also connected to the hallway. A small loop. Zayne would have an escape. If he wanted to.

“Sure. Or get something to eat and follow up with something stronger at the pub?”

“Ugh, like you read my mind. I just got home.”

“Figured,” Dennis smiled and dropped on the couch.

Jay used to work with Dennis directly and they became good friends. They did investigative reports and crime journalism together. But ever since Jay switched departments two years ago they only worked together on stories occasionally. Shame really because they worked well together. Dennis still called in some of his help every now and then. Jay always happily accepted. It was fun, spending long nights together trying to uncover a snippet of goods in piles and piles of documents. Searching for that ‘gotcha’ moment. He still did a lot of investigative reporting, but on safer issues like current affairs, politics. The work had them both conducting interviews and fact checking out and about, but they usually tried to come together at least for lunch a couple times a week.

But well, busy week. And Jay was still hiding some injuries so he had made sure to avoid the office for a bit.

“We didn’t really time our out-of-office days too well this week. Thought I’d drop by to catch up. Thank god it’s Friday, right?”

Jay made a grunting approving sound. “You have no idea.”

“Rough day? I heard you shouting.”

“At my laptop,” Jay quickly covered and nodded at the kitchen table. More like ‘over my laptop’ but, details. “But yeah, rough day. I’m exhausted.”

“You seem stressed, yeah.”

Jay, being a twitchy mess at this point with the remains of his panic still lingering in his fingertips, couldn’t disagree.

“Tell you what.” Dennis got up. “I’ll go down the road and bring back curry, you take a shower and get ready to unload.”

That was amazing in more ways than one and Jay almost wanted to hug him. He would have an excuse to kick Zayne out, be spared of a horrible evening filled with more bruises and injuries, and start the weekend with his favourite meal. An actual evening off. Wow. That had been weeks. He wanted to shower Dennis with gratitude.

“Thanks, man,” was all he could bring out. Gotta keep it cool. No one breaks down over curry.

As soon as Dennis made his way out, Jay heard a voice behind him.

“Aw, ain't that nice of him. You got a real pal there.” Zayne stood in the doorway to the bedroom.

So he was still here. Eavesdropping prick.

“Get out. He’ll be back in ten minutes.” Jay pushed past him into the bedroom to rummage up some clean clothes.

“That’s no way to ask for a favour.”

“Could you at least act worried about having to go to prison if he finds out what you’re up to?”

“Relax Jay, he’ll just think you’re trying to hide that we’re dating.”

Oh god fuck no. Why couldn’t people just assume that hiding strange men in bedrooms meant that you were being tortured in your own home? Fuck today’s society. This is why criminals get away with shit all the time. Because people think you’re fucking them.

“I’ll let you off for tonight. Just do a teeny tiny thing for me.”

Jay backed up when Zayne advanced on him. The back of his knees hit the bedframe and he fell down, sitting on the mattress. Zayne loomed over him.

“Get on your knees.”

Jay snarled. Throwing away his dignity couldn’t be called a tiny thing.

“You don’t want to show any bruises, now, right? Or a reddened cheek. He just saw you. Would know something happened.”

Yes… he would. And all the excuses in the world wouldn’t prevent the tiny seed of doubt that would sprout. Dennis was no idiot and Jay already expected he knew Jay was hiding something.

“Besides, he seems like a nice guy. I bet he'd invite me to stay for dinner should he catch us."

Of all the terrible things he threatened, having dinner together was actually the worst scenario in Jay's mind. Fine then.

He slid off the bed and let himself fall to his knees. Zayne, asshole that he is, didn’t move an inch, leaving Jay just a very small space caught between the bed and Zayne’s legs. Jay’s fingers scratched over his thighs as he tightened them into fists.

“Now, ask me again.”

Jay took a deep breath, hoping to fill himself with patience. “Please, Zayne, leave the house before he comes back,” he grit out through his teeth, speaking to the floor.

“Look at me.”

Jay closed his eyes before he craned his neck and looked up. “Please,” he said again, locking eyes with Zayne. “It’s just a change of plans. Please just go.”

Zayne hummed and took a step back. “Weeellll,” he drawled, enjoying the desperation that shone through the anger in Jay’s eyes. “Guess I can reschedule. Rain check?”

“Rain check,” Jay accepted eagerly, relieved there were no further conditions. Yet.

“I’m sure you’ll make it up to me next time.” Zayne winked and stepped away, leaving Jay on his knees. With a cheerful ‘see ya’ he was gone.

Outside Jay heard the heavy sound of a motorcycle revving up and puttering off. The panic in his stomach finally settled, the knot in his chest now undone. If Dennis had even the slightest idea how much he had saved his evening. Jay pushed intrusive thoughts like ‘next time will be two-fold’ out of his mind and just appreciated an evening without pain.

The excuse of taking a shower was a welcome one. He washed away the cold sweat, letting all stress drain away. And when he stepped out of the bathroom, the most amazing spicy smell wafted from the living room where Dennis was stalling out a feast. It almost felt like life was back to normal.

He joined Dennis, who did seem to notice that he was more relaxed now, but he didn’t say anything. Jay knew he owed him big time. He spoke through a mouthful of rice.

“Drinks on me tonight.”

Continued here

#whump #h/c #defiant whumpee #angst #whumpfic #forced to kneel #forced to beg #Home is where the hurt is #Jay #Zayne #Gotta offer Jay a bit of comfort every now and then

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scarabbai · 4 years ago

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What the- i swear I thought I was following you for a long time- I just saw that it wasn't the case smh. Your rr au literally fascinates me. Like I have always had the idea if how they would be in an rr situation. So about this childhood incident you mentioned, what is it. Can I know?

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR LIKING MY AU (🥺) AND DW, YOUVE ACTUALLY BEEN FOLLOWING FOR A WHILE! Tumblr has a tendency to say you’re not following when you’ve most definitely been following the whole time for some reason??

As for the childhood incident, yes! I might write some of the scenes I’m about to mention in more detail later, but I’ll share what happened now since it’s really important in defining role reversed Jamil and Kalim’s current relationship. It also provides an important glimpse into what it used to be.

(Full story under the cut bc SERIOUSLY I went WAY overboard and it’s super long OTL)

When Kalim and Jamil first met, they weren’t anything close to friends. In fact, they barely got along. Their first meeting happened because Kalim was handpicked by Jamil’s father for his notable loyalty and dedication to the Vipers at his young age and introduced—more like presented—to Jamil as his new playmate and personal servant. Basically, it was Kalim’s job to be—or at least act as—Jamil’s friend.

Even at that young age, Jamil was a stuck up sourpuss who had already developed the nasty habit of looking down on others. After all, he was rich, spoiled, and practically a little prodigy. Nobody he met was ever at his level, and it’s not like he was ever taught humility. Naturally, he drove away practically everyone his own age and therefore didn’t have any friends. This concerned Jamil’s father and thus Kalim was brought into the picture. However, an important thing to note is that Jamil also happens to have a rebellious streak. He hates being coddled and is already very frustrated with his father’s constant attempts to keep him safe (with bodyguards, babysitters, etc) since he feels like he’s “being babied.” Bc of this, he’s very skeptical upon Kalim’s arrival, accuses him of being some other kind of guard in disguise, and is just generally very rude to him.

Obviously that doesn’t sit well with Kalim and they end up bickering for a while (“I’m not a liar!” “Yes you are!”) before Kalim finally catches Jamil’s attention by admitting he isn’t that great with magic yet. This leads to them both calming down and talking about all the stuff in Jamil’s room, which then prompts Jamil to kinda show off his skills in magic as well as his belongings. Jamil’s father checks in on them and sees Kalim cheering Jamil on as he’s showing him a spell he learned, which gets Kalim officially approved to stay by Jamil’s side for the foreseeable future. They still aren’t proper friends at this point, though. Jamil gets annoyed by Kalim’s presence bc it’s a reminder that his dad is still trying to “run his life” by looking out for him, and Kalim is lowkey having second thoughts about this whole “important job” thing bc Jamil’s kinda mean...

Eventually they become more comfortable with each other’s presence, but they still aren’t really friends. They end up with more of a “mastermind and henchmen” dynamic instead, with Jamil leading them both into trouble while Kalim gets the short end of the stick as the (not very believable, so he never actually gets punished) scapegoat of most of Jamil’s schemes. By this point, Kalim has kinda just accepted that this is gonna be the way things are and doesn’t really question it, and Jamil stops seeing Kalim as a nuisance and more like a source of entertainment, praise, etc. Basically Jamil pushes Kalim around bc he knows he can get away with it and bc Kalim will always tell him what he wants to hear. Fun for Jamil! Not so fun for Kalim. This goes on for some time.

About several months to a year or so later, a festival in the city is announced. Being very sheltered and restricted his whole life, Jamil really wants to get out there and see the activities and events that are going to be hosted (especially the dancing! He’s super interested in all the different types of dance that’ll be showcased at the festival). However, his dad comes in the night before the festival and forbids Jamil from going bc “there’s too many people and it’ll be dangerous,” not revealing that he’s heard news of the family’s enemies in the area. Knowing his son is a little schemer but also that he’ll be very upset, he calls Kalim in to stay with Jamil for the rest of the night and the next day not only to make sure he won’t try anything but also to hopefully cheer him up.

Despite knowing full well that orders from his dad > his own wishes and that Kalim has to listen to his dad over him since his dad outclasses him in authority, Jamil’s bitter enough to poke the hornet’s nest and try to bait Kalim into helping him sneak out anyway. In doing so, he pulls some pretty guilt trippy stuff and whines about how he clearly doesn’t have any “real friends” since “real friends” help each other do stupid stuff like sneaking out. He doesn’t expect this to work at all given Kalim’s strict adherence to authority and rules, but he does it anyway bc taking out his frustration over his father’s actions on Kalim is easier than just quietly accepting his dad’s attempt to protect him.

Jamil ends up severely underestimating three very important factors:

Kalim’s own desire to go to the festival

How much his happiness matters to Kalim

The fact that Kalim actually does see him as a friend/hopes they can be true friends

Kalim gets pretty quiet for the rest of the night, and when his required time keeping Jamil company is up, he leaves the room without a word. This makes Jamil all disappointed and kinda upset with himself bc he thinks he’s gonna get ratted out, but nothing ends up happening. The next morning, Kalim shows up to Jamil’s room with two sets of casual clothes from his own wardrobe in his hands and a smile on his face. To Jamil’s utter shock (Kalim has never gone against orders before, especially ones directly from his dad), Kalim explains that he used his usual credibility to his advantage and managed to lie his way to a perfect cover for the both of them, and if they leave now nobody will notice until they’re long gone. He broke the rules for the sake of Jamil’s happiness, and that’s a gesture that means so much to them both it makes Jamil feel kinda funny.

He brushes it off though bc this is his moment! This is the chance he’s been waiting for, and all the different plans and ways to sneak out he thought of while lying awake the night before can finally be put into action with Kalim’s help! With the combined power of Jamil’s strategic thinking and some extra strength/height boosts from Kalim, they manage to make it off the property with the others none the wiser. In order to keep things lowkey, they’re both dressed in the casual clothes Kalim brought, and Jamil has Kalim stop addressing him as “Master Viper/Master Jamil” for the time being so they just seem like two regular kids instead of the Viper heir and his servant. It’s just a small, temporary thing, and Jamil doesn’t even pay it any mind, but it turns out to be a very important equalizing factor for them both. Suddenly, their social standings aren’t nearly as skewed.

Jamil knows exactly what he wants to do at the festival and fully expects things to go his way the whole time, but when they arrive, he sees something he never expected to, and it causes him to forget about his schedule and all the things he was gonna immediately drag Kalim to see and do:

Standing in the sun and in the thick of all the lively activity, Kalim is practically glowing with excitement, flourishing in the crowds and people, his face lighting up in a way Jamil has never seen in the year or so they’ve known each other. He’s so happy and alive and it throws Jamil off completely bc he’s never seen Kalim THIS joyful before. He’s never seen Kalim in his natural element even though they see each other almost every day.

Seeing this change in Kalim leaves Jamil stunned long enough for Kalim to get ahead of himself in excitement and grab Jamil’s hand to pull him along and see all the stalls and colorful sights and gawk and admire all the things they have for sale, things that Kalim knows he can’t afford but wow isn’t it nice to see all these things anyway even if he can’t have them (even if he wishes he could have them) and he’s so starry eyed and he’s pointing out things to Jamil who is still struck by this liveliness in Kalim that he’s never seen before, so shocked and entranced by the life in Kalim’s eyes and the way he’s speaking so fast that his words almost blend together that he reaches into his pocket and pays for each and every trinket Kalim stares longingly at just to keep on seeing his smile, just to see the way Kalim brightens up and jumps up and down with excitement and gratitude (“thank you Jamil-sama, thank you thank you thank you!”) and he lets Kalim be the star of the show for the very first time, lets him be the one in charge of the schedule, following him here and there as Kalim sees something that grabs his attention and then they’re both off like a jet, Kalim weaving through crowds like an expert while Jamil tags along clumsily behind, singing and laughing and there’s this one moment, one magical moment when Kalim stops at a stand selling coconut juice and when he mentions it’s his favorite drink, his favorite flavor ever, Jamil buys them both one coconut each without hesitation, watching as Kalim enjoys his drink like it’s the best thing in the whole entire world (and watching Kalim, he could almost think it was too, even if he doesn’t like it nearly as much) and wonders how in the world he managed to mess up so badly to know someone for so long and still never know his favorite food, to see each other every day but never once see Kalim like this, with so much joy, and Jamil stands there, sipping his coconut juice as Kalim sings and dances in place as they watch a concert performance together, wondering where he went so wrong, wondering when he forgot Kalim was a real person, wondering if he ever realized Kalim lived and breathed and had feelings.

It’s the wakeup call Jamil didn’t know he needed. He realizes for the first time how little Kalim gets to have some fun of his own whenever they play together, how he’s always the one dragging Kalim into messy situations, how Kalim may have been kinda happy when they’re together but clearly he’s never been truly happy in all of the time they’ve spent together, how Kalim is a real friend who cares and puts up with so much while Jamil has been nothing but a bully and an asshole.

As the sun sets and he and Kalim are heading back to the estate, Jamil thinks about this a lot. He feels extremely guilty over his shitty attitude and resolves to do better, to be proper friends with Kalim, to be nicer and kinder and to appreciate the people and things he has in his life. He’s going to fix things. He’s going to do it right from now on.

Unfortunately for them both, Jamil is too lost in thought to notice that someone else has noticed him.

The next sequence of events is a blur to Jamil. One moment he’s walking through a less populated street side by side with a friend he’s wronged, and the next, said friend is pushing Jamil out of the way as some rando swipes at him. They both land in a heap on the floor, but adrenaline gives Kalim the speed to recover, grab Jamil’s hand, and make a break for it before the person can make another attempt at grabbing them. Jamil’s too disoriented and in too close a range to prepare a good enough spell to get the person off their tail, so they’re both in big trouble as they run through shortcuts and alleyways to get home faster while their pursuer is hot on their heels. Eventually their luck runs out, and the person catches up to them.

Kalim is no bodyguard, but he still throws himself between Jamil and the attacker to protect him. It’s two little kids against one adult. The way the person looms over them is terrifying, they’re both shaking, Jamil is on the floor bc Kalim pushed him too hard when he tried to tell him to just leave him behind and run for it, and Kalim himself is screaming his poor lungs out, crying for help in hopes that he’ll catch the attention of the people milling about. He does, but not before he takes a severe blow to the head and goes down hard. With the help of both some alarmed bystanders and a blast of Jamil’s tearful, rage-fueled magic (“NO!! KALIM!!! KALIM!!!”), the pursuer gets taken out and the bystanders, who recognize who Jamil is, contact the authorities and his family. They stay with him while Jamil hugs Kalim’s unconscious body and cries his eyes out bc this wasn’t supposed to happen, he should have listened, Dad was right, he was stupid, he got them both hurt, Kalim isn’t smiling anymore, he won’t open his eyes, there’s so much blood everywhere, there’s so much blood coming from Kalim’s head—

In almost no time at all, Jamil’s dad, some bodyguards, and one of the family’s healers arrive at the scene to find Jamil inconsolable and Kalim injured. Kalim gets some emergency healing from the medic, but his wound is deemed too severe for the magic to be able to reverse all the damage at once and therefore he needs to be rushed back to the manor’s infirmary. Jamil’s dad gently pulls Jamil away from Kalim so he can be taken to properly heal, holding his crying son close as he watches the medic carry away a much too still, much too small body. When they head back to the estate, he picks up his son and carries him the whole way, and Jamil doesn’t even have the energy to interrupt his sobbing to complain. Jamil’s father tries to ignore the blood staining his son’s clothes, the red on his hands, and keeps going. He cleans him up when they get back (and tries, again, not to feel sick as he sees the color of the water) and that night, Jamil is too afraid to sleep in his own room. He reads bedtime story to his son for the first time in a long while, and when Jamil finally falls asleep, curled up with tears still clinging to his eyelashes, Mr. Viper stays awake a little longer to watch over him.

It takes days just for Kalim to open his eyes again, and there’s a new scar waiting for him when he does.

#twisted wonderland #twst #twst fic #jamil viper #twst jamil #kalim al asim #twst kalim #role reversed au #my stuff #responses

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what-is-your-plan-today · 4 years ago

Text

Riding On Ch7: Home, Sweet Home!

Summary: Frank and Fliss find their perfect family home, but there’s something bothering Mary.

Warnings: Bad Language words. Discussions about suicide. A little bit of angst.

Pairing: Frank Adler x Fliss Gallagher

A/N: This is a bit of an emotionally charged filler chapter…and we move time on a little through to June in the middle. And photos of the Adler house are included so you can visualise what I used for inspiration! Chapter Song: Kill For A Dream by Beady Eye

Series Masterlist // WIYPT Masterlist

You’re giving it another try, staring at the deep blue sky, and you say to the driver just drive, coz you never felt so alive.

April 2019

“No, I mean yes! I’ve just heard some awesome news!”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah, so you remember the guy that bought the house that backs onto the yard when Old Man River died…” “That wasn’t his name.” Frank chuckled “It was Mr Morris.”

“He called himself River, it was funny and suited him. Anyway, that’s not the point. You know the guy who bought it…guess what I found out before?”

Frank stopped what he was doing and straightened up. He didn’t like that dick, one bit. When Mr Morris had died at the start of the year, Fliss had been quite upset about the news as the old man had been very friendly to her, often popping in for a cup of tea a few afternoons a week for some company. Mr Morris’ son had sold the house without them even knowing it had gone on the market, which was a shame as it would have been perfect for them given the location. The guy who had bought it, Frank didn’t even know his name, nor did he care because he was a douchebag and a pervert to boot. The way he looked at Fliss made Frank want to punch his face in.

“What’s Douchey Mc Douchebag done now?”

Frank laughed loudly “Couldn’t have happened to a nicer guy, babe!”

Ok now he was interested. Frank could picture the look of excitement on her face as she spoke to him and he felt the smile cross his face “No shit?”

“Yeah, I’ll send you the website to look at the photos but…oh God, it would be perfect! Some of it is really nice, some of it needs decorating but…” “Ok, well, why don’t you call the realtor? Arrange a viewing” he said “Hopefully you won’t puke halfway round this one.” “Ok, first off that wasn’t my fault. Bean objected to the smell. Who the fuck cooks eggs the day they know they have someone coming to view their house?” her indignant tone made Frank chuckle “And second off…”she paused “I already did. He said he can meet us at half 12.”

“Half 12? As in lunch time? Today?” Frank frowned.

“I know I just really don’t want to miss out on this one Frank, and you said you were gonna come up here for lunch and-”

“Ok, ok.” Frank sighed “I’ll shuffle some stuff around, work a little later tonight and take an extra half hour.”

“I love you.” she replied and he could hear the smile in her voice.

“Good job I love you too.” he said back gruffly “Because you’re a pain in my ass.”

“You ok Frank?”

He looked up and smiled as Alan, his boss walked in to the office. “Yeah, sorry, Fliss has found a house and managed to book a viewing for lunch time. Fucking 7th one in 2 weeks.”

Alan snorted “Keeping you on your toes I see?”

“Huh.” Alan smiled “Sounds like it was meant to be. Take it you’re going then?”

“Yeah, Charlie and Gary are in all afternoon. I thought I could take an extra half hour, work it back tonight or…” “Frank, when was the last time you actually took a full hour for your lunch and didn’t cut it short by 10 or 15?” Alan looked at him.

Frank hesitated “Yeah, but that’s-”

“No buts.” Alan shook his head. “Do what you gotta do.”

“Thanks Alan.” Frank smiled, “I appreciate it.”

Alan waved away his gratitude before he dropped into the chair on the opposite side of Frank’s small desk and gestured for Frank to sit down.

“I wanted to talk to you in person.” Alan said, “Before the news gets out. I’m looking at retiring Frank, fully this time.”

“That’s good news, for you I mean.” Frank smiled, taking his seat. “You must be happy?”

“Kinda bitter sweet.” he shrugged “But I hit 70 this year and bout time I let it all go. Bill’s already chomping at the bit to book damned fishing trips so...it’ll be nice to step back. But I wanted to talk to you about something.”

“Shoot.”

“My son, James is going to be taking over, that won’t come as any surprise to you as you’ve seen him knocking around a bit and he likes you.”

“Good to know I’m not going to be out on my ass.” Frank smiled, breathing out a little.

Frank blinked “You wanna make me deputy manager?”

“Wow, I err…” Frank shook his head “I don’t know what to say.” “I don’t need an answer now.” Alan said, “Take some time to consider it. Talk it over with Fliss.”

“I will, I’ll give it some thought.” “Ok, well, that’s all I dropped in for.” Alan said, standing up, groaning a little “Did you just hear my damned knees click?”