#thinking about it; any relationship with reader after his 1st marriage

[doodle-pops]

Feanor’s going to intimately know how Finwe felt with Indis if he actually left Nerdanel for the reader 😂

Definitely! Imagine bringing it up and teasing his tantrum when he learned of his father and Indis 🤣

Reader: I thought you were against remarrying?

Feanor cold sweating because you're right: I never said that.

Reader: Your father and Indis, plus you left Nerd—

Feanor: Never happened. You're delusional, probably hit your head. I love only you, accept my heart 😍

[sallowslady]

I want you to carry my child // Sebastian Sallow x Female Reader, One Shot

Pairing: Sebastian Sallow x Female Narrator/reader

Words: 1.7k

Chapter Warnings (read at your own risk): Talk about sex, infertility, pregnancy, marriage, the female narrator's house is not specified, relationship between Sebastian and the female narrator, use of 1st person for the narrator, both of them are 18+.

Summary: Sebastian and you want nothing more than a baby. After one year of trying, you're still not pregnant and it worries Sebastian.

A/N: English is not my first language, so I apologise for any mistakes or errors.

Enjoy! 🤍

“I just don’t understand,” Sebastian sighed. “We’ve been trying for a year now, with no luck.”

Sebastian sat at the edge of the bed, as naked as the day he was born. With the duvet around me, I got up from my lying position on the bed and crawled behind him. I laid my head on his shoulder and hugged him from behind, enjoying the warmth of his body against mine.

We had just made love, another try for us to get the baby we so desperately wanted.

“Maybe it just takes time for us,” I whispered, planting kisses along his jaw.

Sebastian sighed again and looked down at the floor. I could see and feel how much it bothered him. He didn’t say it, but I knew there was a part of him blaming himself. We have been trying for a year now to get pregnant, but as Sebastian had said, with no luck.

We were both young and healthy. 21 and 22 years old. There should be nothing wrong. Still, it worried Sebastian that I hadn’t gotten pregnant yet—more than it worried me.

“What if something is wrong?” He asked, sighing again. His gaze did not leave the floor.

My arms were still holding him in a tight hug.

“What if there isn’t something wrong? What if you’re just worrying for no good reason?” I answered back, beginning to place kisses on his shoulders that were covered in beautiful, tiny freckles.

“But Garreth and his wife only tried for three months or something, and then she was pregnant,” Sebastian explained, looking back at me. “I’m serious. What if there’s really something wrong and it might never happen?”

I sighed, dropping my head back on his shoulder. I didn’t know what to say. A part of me knew we had to talk about it, especially because I knew how much it meant to Sebastian, but until now, I had tried to avoid the subject and let time tell what would happen.

“I don’t know, Sebastian,” I finally said. “Are you afraid that I can’t get pregnant?”

I had avoided addressing that particular question, because what if it was me who had trouble getting pregnant or worse, what if it wasn’t possible at all?

Sebastian's eyes widened at my question, shaking his head eagerly.

“What? No!” Sebastian said, still shaking his head. “As far as we know, it could be me as well.”

That made him look down at the floor again, sighing. I climbed onto his lap so I was facing him and made him look up from the floor and at me instead.

“Exactly,” I said. “We don’t know anything for sure. Maybe we just need a little more time before it’s our turn?”

As we sat there, looking into each other's eyes, I could see the concern in his eyes. There was something he wasn’t telling me.

“Do you remember when I told you that my parents had a hard time getting me and Anne?” He asked. I slowly nodded. I did remember him telling me a few years back, but I couldn’t remember the context or the exact details about it. “I always thought it was because of my mom, but now I’m not so sure anymore.”

I didn’t say anything. He wasn’t done talking, so for now, I just listened.

“I.. I think it was my dad,” He continued to speak, and his facial expression became more and more sad. “And now that you’re having a hard time getting pregnant, I’m afraid-” His voice broke. The words wouldn’t come out of his mouth.

I grabbed his hands and intertwined our fingers. I still didn’t say anything but waited till he was ready to continue to speak.

“I’m afraid it’s because of me. What if I can’t get you pregnant?” He finally said. In that moment he looked and sounded so vulnerable, so fragile.

My heart broke a little there. Not because what he just had said didn’t matter to me, but because I could see how much it affected him. I loosened our fingers and brought his hands up to my mouth.

“Sebastian,” I said as I gently planted small kisses on his hands. “I don’t care if you can’t get me pregnant, heck, I don’t care if I will ever be pregnant. It doesn’t matter to me.”

“But it matters to me! I want to be able to make you pregnant, to have children with you.” He answered me, his face as serious as can be. “That’s.. That’s my job, you know?”

I sighed, but still looked at him with a warm and understanding smile. I began to understand what this was all about for Sebastian. I laid my hands on his cheeks while looking into his brown eyes.

“Seb..” I said with a low voice, using his nickname. “I understand that’s how you feel, but if that’s the case that you can’t make me pregnant, then that’s how it is. That’s okay. I don’t blame you and you shouldn’t be blaming yourself.”

Sebastian broke eye contact and shook his head.

“No, I won’t accept it. Not when Garreth got his wife pregnant! I want that too! I want to see you carry our baby, our child and know that it was something we did together.” He explained, pointing at my flat stomach and then he laid his hands on it. A part of him in that moment sounded like 5th-year Sebastian, trying to compete with Garreth.

“I want a little baby to grow in there,” He said as he caressed my stomach as if there actually was a baby in there. “I don’t care if it’s a boy or a girl. I just want our child to be healthy and to look like their beautiful mother. I just want to know that it came from me and that it happened because we love each other. That’s all I want.”

I bit my lip as I listened to him. It wasn’t that I didn’t understand him and the thought of being pregnant with his child was what I wanted most in the world, but it wasn’t the most important thing to me. It was him.

I forced him to look up and into my eyes before I kissed him. The kiss was short, but filled with all the love I had for him. I pulled back again and as I looked at him again, I could see tears pressing in the corners of his eyes.

“I understand, and know that there’s nothing more I want in this world than to be able to carry your children and become their mom, but if that can’t happen, no matter who’s “fault” that is, then we have to accept that,” I said. “There are other ways we can be parents if getting our own child isn’t possible. We can adopt and it would still be our child, just as much. I know it.”

I could see that he was thinking and I decided to carry on with my talk.

“Love is not necessarily blood. It’s so much more than that and I know that you feel that too, just see with you and Ominis. He’s like your brother. What matters is the way you treat people and how you make them feel loved and important.” I explained to him, caressing his cheeks. “And I know you will be an amazing father, whether our child was made from you or adopted.”

“Mhm..” Was all Sebastian said.

I knew it would take him some time to accept if we couldn’t have our own biological child. He wouldn’t accept if it was because of him, not right away at least.

“I love you. I love you so much. You’re all that matters to me,” I told him. “I couldn’t care less if you can’t make me pregnant. I know you care about it, but I truly don’t.”

Sebastian looked at me. He tried to hide it but I could see a smile growing from the corners of his lips. He leaned forward towards me so that our foreheads were pressed against each other.

“I love you. I don’t know what I ever did to deserve you. You’re my life, my everything. I’m so lucky.” He then brought my hand up to his mouth, kissing my wedding ring.

I smiled and felt the butterflies in my stomach. After 6 years together, he could still make me feel newly in love and so loved by him. He was my person.

“I’m lucky,” I said, watching him kiss my fingers. When he stopped to look me in my eyes, I felt my heart start beating faster. I felt so happy.

“I’m definitely the luckiest.” He teased, smirking as he raised his eyebrows a couple of times.

I just shook my head and laughed at him. I knew Sebastian and this would go back and forth for ages if it were up to him. He always wanted to have the last word.

“Not true,” I giggled but got serious quickly again. “I still think we should keep trying. Maybe it just takes time for us. We don’t know for sure if we’re infertile.”

That sentence made Sebastian’s cheeky smile disappear, reality hitting him once again. He bit his lip but nodded.

“Yes, of course, we will keep trying! Also if that means we will have to stay in this bedroom all day and all night to make that baby. I wouldn't really mind that.” He said, sounding just as normal cocky Sebastian and a little smile appeared again at the corner of his beautiful, soft lips. “Even if that means that I will have to tie you to this bed, with your legs lifted up in the air to make sure my seed will reach your uterus.”

That made me burst into laughter.

“You’re always so perverse Sebastian!” I laughed as I pushed him away from me, but Sebastian was fast. He grabbed me and quickly knocked me down on the bed so that the duvet slid off of me and my naked body was exposed.

“I can’t help it when my wife makes me horny all the time,” He said before he lay on top of me, our naked bodies touching. He took the duvet around us and then he kissed me.

My hands found his hair there was already a mess from earlier, and shortly after we made love again for the third time that day, praying to God that one day a little baby would grow in my belly.

[horizon-verizon]

I'm seeing people claim Daemon has been grooming Rhaenyra since she was a little girl both in the book and the show but that's not true? In the book he gets banished when she was 8 and doesn't return to King's Landing until she's 15. And in the show we have no idea what their relationship looked like pre episode 1 and it's implied he spends a lot of time away from court.

I wrote about the medieval ages of consent, ages of marriage, and how they can relate to thoughts of grooming in the universe of ASoiaF HERE.

You are correct, but it's after Daemon leaves KL in anger at Rhaenyra being named heir that he voluntarily leaves with Mysaria to Dragonstone ("A Question of Succession"):

It is when Viserys later hears that Daemon gave Mysaria an egg for their unborn child that Daemon is actually exiled ("A Question of Succession"):

Ultimately, I think that if the frame of mind for characters default to how little choice a lot really have in choice of partner (especially for women & girls) is going to affect how they think about childhood and be more open to those relationships we'd avoid, condemn, call the police for. In other words, before I hate Daemon for his maybe grooming maybe not grooming of anyone only-specificially-uniquely (for no other reason), it would behoove me to really think about HOW AND WHY he or any person can marry/fuck much younger people & get rid of that problem. Because that larger force is guiding these people's actions more than them thinking "this is a child, I love to fuck children, lemme fuck this child".

Rhaenyra was born in 97 A.C. and was proclaimed Viserys' heir at the age of 8 in 105 A.C., which also means Daemon left that 1st time in 105 A.C. Daemon did not come back to KL until 111 A.C., when she was 14-15 and she had decided to wear her red-black dress to unsubtly declare her opposition against Alicent and the greens. Daemon was not there often enough or around Rhaenyra enough to have that much of an influence before he came back. Again, for BEFORE.

He also did not begin to give her gifts and attention like what the text explicitly says he did after he came back, which implies EITHER that he didn't do that as often when she was younger OR if/when he did no one thought that it was a weird or suspicious bc family members gives gifts to each other.

The following is what he did after he came back, in terms of what would be identified as grooming and would alert many readers ("A Question of Succession"):

Intermission (ignore, this popped into my mind when I was thinking of my response)

Ironically, Rhaenyra's red-black dress moment almost matches and simultaneously contrasts with Jaehaerys' 14-15 yr old working harder to become a "better" king by working on his swordplay, fighting, bearing, etc. as a way to reduce and put to bed doubts over his leadership, referring to the medieval belief that a king must be not just physically able but also strong and good with a sword (hence the ableist rhetoric against Daeron II, no matter if he was disabled or not). It's not about truths so much as manipulating and controlling the image--Jaehaerys barely actually went to war during his entire reign. He did it once on his dragon with his sons, it was barely a battle AND he, as a male, is encouraged to learn swordplay (the avenue towards respect and trustworthiness on a ruler's capability in such a society) more than if he were a man, but his reign nor right to rule at that moment wasn't really as under attack much as when he was younger. And here Rhaenyra must form some sort of self-defense and advocacy, some show of strength both for herself and to put on for others. Without swordplay or participating in martial arts (things discouraged for women), she shows strength where she needs to--in court, through dress. Social "performance" can mean different things but stems from the ability to be what one uses to self-affirm/self-advocate, bc it's about controlling one's own image and having some sort of awareness of your relationship with those actors/people you need to control/manipulate/influence. And those we are able to look at a distance from as "children" are pushed into such positions bc of the society they live in. We can't refute its importance in social interactions and politics nor how those people we real, modern people call children have been involved with such practices as if they were adults--even nonsexually--in ASoIaF.

END of Intermission

Grooming can happen at any child age as long as it is an extended period of time because it needs constant reinforcement.

Viserys had been planning--with the council--for some time as to who 15-year-old Rhaenyra should marry. Only a little under a year after Daemon comes back. In 112 A.C.--again, she's 15 here--Daemon was exiled (again) AND she went on an unofficial tour to attract possible admirers & supporters on a semi-official "progress". So that the heir could also "know" her soon-to-be subjects and those subjects would be putting a face to the name of the woman they swore to protect and be loyal to ("A Question of Succession"):

Note how even after Daemon leaves, there is Mushroom's account of Viserys being very worried and angry over Daemon's words/actions AND Eustace's account of Viserys commanding both to never speak about whatever happened, later exiling Daemon. After this event, the court "returned to its customary tranquility" for at least a little under a year before he forced Rhaenyra to marry Laenor.

And it is after he does this that we have two other accounts of how exactly Rhaenyra and Criston finally separated.

And really, Viserys favored her marrying Laenor since a Velaryon alliance was perceived as necessary esp after he spurned a marriage w/Laena: ("A Question of Succession"):

This makes the tour even more likely a means for Rhaenyra to attract favors from her not-"suitors" to build her image, NOT to actually get a suitor to marry.

There is an interesting phenomenon in Rhaenyra going on a tour other than just an heir meeting those she will rule. Twofold: one because she is a woman, and one because of herself and what happened/didn't happen w/Daemon:

she gets to present herself, be charming, and show off her physical beauty, dragon, and clothes as a sort of "treasure" and show why she's called the "Realm's Delight" to make a very feminine-but-desirable picture to her subjects (female paragon of beauty to match the image of a ruler being the "supreme" example of the aristocracy) -> a crossover of sexual desire and the motivation to be loyal to her as a subject when a woman being a ruler is an uncomfortable notion

the idea being to "bait" others in her tour: why would she present herself in such a way if not for marriage prospects, or at least if she "likes" someone she sees, the lords/sons can make a case for their devotion to her; making her visit these lords and their sons is not an event that happens for women and girls and many would feel as if it were some sort of suitor-progress -> thereby, as she's presenting herself as if she were marriageable (a sort of business as usual) and emphasizing her virginity and sexual "purity", she could also be getting ahead of any possible rumors of her lost virginity for the sake of her reputation and future with Laenor.

Of course, we'd have to have evidence of supporting materials that indicate the possibility of Viserys or any of his council being actually this forward-thinking. But that tour really came in handy for Rhaenyra. The timing...

Anyway, yeah, all this indicates that it isn't enough for us to see Daemon give Rhaenyra gifts and pay special attention to her when she's already in a situation where the "childhood" we recognize in her does not have the same meaning as "childhood" for any person in some medieval societies, even with people trying to get their kids married with as little age gaps and as older as possible in noble circles. It certainly shows how sexual purity for girls makes men automatically/likelier and more often seekers of young girls for sexual partners bc it makes a prize/attraction of youth in women/girls more than boys. But we'd have to destroy the entire system and world and/or convert it to a more modern world (doesn't have to be the digital age specifically)--and that's not happening anytime soon within the timeline of Rhaenyra's period.

So the question after identifying Daemon as a groomer is what takes away with that information? Other than hating Daemon--which is your prerogative--in the context of examining the text &SOCIETY, how does it serve us to understand Rhaenyra's story in-text when she must learn/build strength in a world where she must marry and have sexual relations much younger than how we'd want her for her to even gain power (other than explaining how ludicrous that she and all women here are in this)?

la pheacinne states:

All I said is that it doesn't matter in the context of the story because all women got married in their teen years. All. All mariages, all classic love stories basically have a grooming element, and it's so generalised that it looses its value as a point of criticism. Yes, technically, if you sterilise the context and isolate the facts, it could be considered "grooming", yes technically there is a power imbalance, obviously, it's just that these points cannot constitute a valid criticism for the character because in the context of the story, they lose their meaning. They cannot be used as a proof that the character is bad or immoral or a pedophile. [...] The problem with the word "grooming" is that it's not a neutral word. It's a word with a very heavy meaning, that frames an individual who has a perverse, unnatural sexual desire for children whereas the society this individual lives in has decided (fortunately) that these children are not to be considered in a sexual way. So this individual breaks a fundamental moral code of the society they live in, and they do it so skillfully that they go the extra mile as to manipulate their way into basically, committing the crime that constitutes child sex abuse. It is a crime punished by law. You go to prison for it. Everybody knows it is perverse, unnatural behaviour, everybody tries to protect their children from it, and children themselves have a certain knowledge that it is NOT ok for an adult to approach them that way.

AND HERE:

Well GRRM is creepy with age differences, that is a fact. I'm ok if you adress this as a meta commentary. What I mean by a meta commentary here is a commentary on the choices of the author himself and whether these choices are wise/unwise, or if there is a pattern that should be adressed. All of this can be discussed in a meta commentary. Dead Ladies Club was one for example, in a different subject though.

[s-hera]

Your turn to chase after me

Husband! Wakasa x Reader

~ tags. Vice CEO wakasa, unrequited love (we all love this tag), toxic relationship, pregnancy, cheating, forced marriage, ghosting, divorce, modern au, alcohol, grammatical error, typos.

~ wc. 1.5k

~ a/n. I finally finished this. ITS 3 AM IN MY COUNTRY.

You knew that Wakasa would never care for you, yet you still hope that some day he would look for you. Both of you were trap on this Shitty forced marriage, It’s not like both of you wants it.

You knew from the beginning that he would never need you, That he already like someone and it’s not you.

One night he walked in to your bedroom, drunk. You two made love but was it really love? When you woke up you noticed that there was no wakasa on your side, It’s just you and yourself, all alone. Time flies, as it flies he’s still distanced to you. He’s so far that you couldn’t reach him. Many so called “Making Love” Happened, Let’s say to the point you always get morning sickness.

You always knew that he doesn’t love you, he love someone else, He don’t intend to make you pregnant.

One day he comes home, Again he smells like alcohol.

“Wakasa, Can you not come home drunk?I hate the smell”

“Huh?This is normal for me y/n”

“But for me, it’s not” You know that you’re pregnant but you haven’t told him, He’s always busy with his “work” but still have the time to fool around with his lover. “Then you better get used to it. It’s not like we’re not married for 11 months, tch so dramatic”

“I-im pregnant” you were hoping for something good but like always, fate wasn’t by you and wakasa’s side.

“You? You don’t even deserve to bear my child, Don’t forget that this was just a force Marriage, I’m gonna divorce you soon, After i get what I wanted.” so in his eyes your just a stepping stone to the thing he wanted?

“Im just joking, i never wanted to be pregnant with your baby too. I’m on a birth control pills.”

“Ahh then good night, your joke was not nice. My girl would get angry if you’re pregnant. Don’t joke again” huh how ironic, how can a woman joke about her pregnancy, he’s too dumb to realize that since he was drunk.

you’re on your way to your OB for check up, means today the baby in your tummy is 2 month old.

“I see, If the mother is healthy then expect the baby to be healthy too. You should lessen your junk foods. i suggest you to buy yogurt too and some oranges, Both is the best for the baby, Orange contains high vitamins and yogurt contains calcium.”

“Thank you, doc. I would go back next week”

“What about the father…if you don’t mind my question?”

“I’m planning to divorce him. I think i would move out here in japan soon too, That’s why i’ll visit you next week. Maybe you know someone on paris?”

“...Does he know about the baby?”

“Yes,i already told him, but he don’t want a baby.” he doesn't want a baby with you but he do want a baby. You knew you lied to your OB, You told him but you take it back.

“I know someone on paris, don’t worry i’ll help you out. Visit here again the day before you fly out of our country.”

Tomorrow would mark your 1st year anniversary with wakasa. You wanted to make it special by surprising his morning with a divorced paper on his office table. Just like the OB said, Visit her before you fly out. You visited her, she gives you the information you need and the contact number of the OB in paris, she checked up your health yoo, if you’re able to travel. After that you file a divorce petition, by the power of money, you got the divorce paper immediately. Wakasa don’t have any idea what’s going on, Poor wakasa.

Today, today is the day…you would be free, free as a bird. Today you need to let go of your feelings and leave it on this house. Wakasa came home early, he thought that him and his spouse could go on a date or even a movie night would be fine, since it’s your anniversary he decided that you deserve having a date with him, you're a good little spouse after all.

Welcomed by a dark living room, the lights on the living room was off. He thought that you were just on your bedroom, laying around waiting for him. He directly go to his room to change his clothes. While he’s changing he feels that his surrounding was cold.

He knocked on your door, no response. Knocked again, still none.

“y/n?” His patience is not very long, so instead of knocking and wait for your answer, he just opens your door to be disappointed. No y/n at all, just a bundled paper on your bed. Must suck being him. He saw a letter and read it.

“ Wakasa as you see this I'm probably on somewhere, some place that you might not be able to find even if you’re powerful enough. Open the bundled paper, if you want to read them then just read them but i know you don’t have enough patient reading a useless document. I want you to sign it. Tomorrow someone will visit you at your office and get it. Let’s be free, i want you to know that i’m not a stepping stone, i would never be one. Fuck every girls you want, i don’t care. Make them pregnant, i don’t care. But never make me a fucking stepping stone to become the heir of your father. Just sign it”

he was confused, when did he–ohh when he was drunk. He saw it, It was a divorce paper…he guess this is it. He didn’t read it anymore, he wanted to be free too. He just signed it with literally no effort, not until he saw another letter.

“Too my dearest wakasa<3

Before you read this i want you to sign the letter first, don’t worry This wouldn’t be a long one. If you ever don’t want to read this, just throw it away. I wanted to say thank you for taking care of me. At first i wanted your affection and love but i guess that was impossible since you already have someone and i’m the one who destroyed your relationship with the girl you dreamed of, i never intend to destroy it, this is what your father and my father wants. I tried telling him that i don’t want to get married but he insisted. I want you too know that i'm 2 month pregnant with my baby”

…why, just why? He know that he told you that he don’t want a baby with you but since it’s already exist, he can’t do anything, he would gladly take care of the baby…it was supposed to be “his” baby too, not just yours.

“ Don’t worry, i would take good care of it. Since their daddy denied them before they were born, mommy would give them the love they need from their father. I’m sorry if i lied to you, i don’t wanna abort this baby thats why i would rather stay away from you. This baby is the best thing that ever come to my life, don’t want to lose it now. I also stay away for the best, if i never stay away both of us would just argue and would ask the child useless questions like ‘‘would you prefer living with mommy or daddy?’’ and i don’t want that to happened. This is better. Don’t try to find us, just stay there and chase the girl you’ve always adored”

Now, Regrets…If only he show you his good side. Now it’s too late, The divorced paper were already signed, he should’ve read all the letter first. He regret not checking you up or asking where are you going, he regret not caring. All he feel right now is regret, He should have never drink again after you said that you don't like the smell of alcohol, he shouldn't said to you that you don't deserve to bear his child, he should've believe you when you said you were pregnant and didn't say those mean words. He wants to go back, the first day of your marriage, the first mistake too, he wants to go back and change his first mistake.

Instead of having a honeymoon with you, he's hooking up with his "girl", the girl who he treated like a royalty even though she really just want money, how could he be so fucking stupid. There's no one anymore, this house, his house that supposed to have your presence is empty, everything is so dark and lonely. He wished he listened to Shinichiro when he said "you shoud tell her you love her before it's too late" now he wants to chase you, he wanted to take care of you while you're pregnant, he wants to be a father that he is. everything is so useless, money, power, people, everything is useless without his spouse, he thought of divorcing you but not in this kind of way, he lost everything, the best way to cope with it is to drink with his best friends.

© 2022 by s-hera━ all rights reserved! comments, likes, and reblog are highly appreciated. plagiarism is strictly prohibited.

[an-angels-blessing]

Work Husband, Real Husband

Song🐣🎵- N/A

Artist🤸‍♂️🎤- N/A

Warnings 🥵 ⛔- Fluff

Prompt🥺🔥- “I know you’re working, but can I come over because I miss seeing your face?”

Ship😳💍- Rossi x Wife! Reader

Any extra Information📃- In this story Gibbs never fell into his coma in Season 3. This takes place around season 4 and 5.

2nd Person

You are David's 4th wife, the final and his one and only. The two of you met when you were first accepted into the BAU, you were the first to apply who didn't already work with the FBI. To be honest, David and Jason put you through multiple tests to ensure you were qualified for this job. In about a month the 3 of you were best friends. Jason treated you like a sister yet your relationship with David was awkward. You were there at every one of David's weddings, but you had been in love with him for years. There was something about that Italian flair, but you were starting to think that you would have to sit through a 4th wedding, not in white but in the pews. This was until Jason convinced you to confess. In that moment you found out that the two of you had been circling each other's feelings too afraid to try.

Since that day everything ran smoothly, moving in, proposal, marriage, and ultimately 3 kids, two boys and a girl. A set of twins shortly before David retired and one boy after. The moment David found out you were having twins, he knew something had to give. Both of you couldn't be gone, so he decided to retire and focus on his writing. You remained in the BAU but you focused on finding cases, occasionally going out in the field if it called for it, you were the first Communications Liaison.

David had been retired for 2 years when you decided this wasn't going to work. Leaving the state for days at a time with no guarantee when you'll be home. You had looked into multiple options for where you could work, you looked into intelligence... too top secret, linguistics... that also involved random travel with no guarantees. So you looked into moving agency's, until you found the perfect one, and your brother just so happened to work there.

So now that everything was settled, all you had to do was wait for David to get home from his third book signing this month.

1st Person

I was sat on the couch, when David came through the door, he had a late book signing and an interview with a local news article. It was around midnight, the kids had been placed down about 3 hours ago and I was watching reruns of I Love Lucy. When I heard the door shut it didn't take long for my husband to appear in the doorway. "How was it?" A smile graced my lips from the sight of my husband. "Long, what are you still doing up?" He strolls over to the couch, taking a seat beside me and laying an arm across the back of the leather sofa. I lean into his touch, thinking about my answer. "Some late research. I think I want to change agency's." I guess I caught him off guard because he was silent... which is odd for an Italian (or at least him) it really is. "And go where?" It took him a moment to say anything, his voice laced with confusion, wanting to ask why. "NCIS. I know someone who works there and I can't do these long trips anymore. When I came in the house, Angel and Anthony asked me if I was going to leave again. How do I explain to our 4 year olds that I'm not doing this on purpose?" I could feel myself about to cry, and in all honesty Dave was the only one I let see me like this. "I never thought I would miss you this much, I can barely sleep. And I talked to Jason about it, he said that's fine because the BAU is getting more funding." When I look up he had a small smile on his face, he leans in... kissing my forehead before standing up, a hand reached out to me. "Come on Mi amor. I'll make us dinner, get you to bed, and we'll get your transfer papers through tomorrow.” And that is exactly what we did, I don't know what I did in a past life to deserve this but David Rossi is the best thing to ever happen to me.

3rd Person

The short blonde woman stepped into building like she already owned the place. She was dressed head to toe in black, though she gave off everything but depressed vibes. She had a black cable knit sweater on with black dress pants that fit perfectly. While the woman was entering the building, there was a slight discussion going on upstairs.

The team sat in a make shift circle in Abby's lab. All of them were genuinely curious about their new co-worker. 'Them' being Ziva David, Timothy McGee, Anthony Dinozzo, Abby Sciuto, Jimmy Palmer, Donald "Ducky" Mallard, and even Jethro Gibbs decided to join the party after a very convincing (beg) talk from Abby. Gibbs was about to enter the room, when he caught the tail end of the conversation. "So literally no one knows who they are?" Dinozzo was nervous partially because new meant change and that has proven to be a difficult subject. "Nope, I tried to look for their file but I'm not cleared. Ziva tried too, not high enough clearance." McGee was actually happy, someone new on the team meant that Dinozzo would finally leave the teasing alone. Ziva furrowed her eyebrows. "I heard one thing." Everyone turned towards Abby, curious to what she knew. "They got transferred from the FBI. Or at least that's what I heard." This shocked everyone, the FBI hates NCIS so who would actually choose to transfer. "Do you think Gibbs knows who it is?" In that moment Gibbs walked through the door, putting all those facing Tony into an awkward silence. "He's right behind me, isn't he?" All of then nodded, terrified of their boss… well more like a fearful respect than terrifying. Before anyone could say anything, a voice came from behind him, “Don’t you get tired of doing that?” Everyone turned to the woman now standing in the door. No one knew who she was, well… almost everyone didn’t know who she was. “Uh, who are you?” Mcgee broke the silence that filled to room, the woman was still smiling, not looking at anyone but the back of the man in front of her. As she took a step away from the door, Gibbs turned around, recognizing the voice.

1st person

I could see Jethro turn around slowly, our eyes locked and only I could see the smirk that found home on his face. I looked around him to see the confusion still apparent on the other agents faces. "Me? My name is Y/N Fielding. The FBI transfer." If I learned anything from Jethro it was his ability to sneak into a room without being seen or heard. The boys mouths hung open and the girls had two different reactions. The one with pigtails had wide eyes, I guess she wasn't used to being caught. Finally, there was a girl with black hair but it was slightly wavy. She was indifferent to my appearance. I turned back to Jethro soon enough to see him straighten his face, "Who authorized your transfer?" I looked to the left, pretending to recall who signed the paper. "I think that would be Jason Gideon and Jennifer Shepherd." I look up at him, stonewalling for those behind him. I pull my transfer file from behind my back and hand them to him. "I'm you new senior field agent. I look forward to working with you Agent Gibbs." I smile as he opens the file, I know he isn't actually reading it but it is good acting if I didn't know that already. "You." He pointed to me, looking up from the file. "Come with me. The rest of you go back to your desks." With that, he walks away. I turn back to his team, waving slightly before trailing behind him. When we get to the elevator and the doors shut he flicks switch and the lights within the elevator began to flicker. "When were you planning on telling me." I tilt my head side to side slowly, looking towards the ceiling. "Actually, this was the plan. I really thought Jenny would tell you." He lets out a sharp sigh before flicking the switch back on. I have a feeling this is going to be a very interesting work environment.

3rd Person

4 years later and well…. Y/N was right. Dinozzo had lost all his senior field agent privileges, he couldn't tell Ziva or McGee to do anything anymore and they were loving it. She was nice, smart, she worked well, and she was never wrong. She was a nicer version of Gibbs, like what isn't to like about this. It had gotten to the point that they were too compatible, the whole team shipped the two together. Even Jenny thought they were dating when they first met. Y/N and Gibbs even walked in on Abby and McGee placing their faces in a future child generator that same day Y/N left work early and Gibbs was in a mood until the case ended.

Despite this strange encounter, Abby continued to call each of them husband and wife. It had gotten to the point she started saying it to their faces, every time they walked in together, she greeted them with the nicknames. This time, when they walked in, their faces were on the screen again, a generated picture of a baby in the center. They saw the photo before Abby could take it away. "I am so sorry.. I was just showing Dinozzo and Ziva…" The two didn't say anything, but a smile was on Y/N's face. Before Y/N could tell her she was fine, or Gibbs could ask about the case, Dinozzo spoke still trying to clear the air. "I mean she would be hot, I'd hit." He was laughing, everyone else was simply staring. Gibbs was glaring at him, which wasn't odd, but the weird thing was the smile on Y/N's face disappeared completely. Gibbs moved to head smack him, but before he could Y/N swept Tony's feet from under him. Before his face hit the floor, he caught himself, yet Y/N still knelt on his back, keeping him unable to get up. "She's cute Abby. Do you think you could age her up a bit. To like 19." The shock on everyones face stuck when Y/N went back to smiling. Abby quickly did what she was told, amazed by the abilities she witnessed. When the picture popped up, Y/N was almost brought to tears. The girl was gorgeous, this wasn't the shocking part though. The shocking part was the expression Gibbs wore, he was actually smiling. A genuine smile. "Hey, Abs. Send this to me okay." The girl nodded, it was aggressive and her hair was flying all over the place. Y/N got up off Dinozzo looking at the screen in closer detail, before turning back to look at Gibbs. They were both thinking the same thing and his eyes shifted to Abby, in that moment Y/N finally understood the attachment he had to Abby.

This simple gesture made everyone even more suspicious about the nature of their relationship. The 4 even started a pool. Dinozzo thought they were sleeping together, Ziva thought Y/N was ex-wife number 4 and they had a child who died, Abby thought they were married with children, McGee simply thought they were dating and she was pregnant. It got to the point that Ducky and Palmer decided to join in. Palmer agreed with Abby while Ducky thought McGee seemed really close to the truth. What they didn't know was that Gibbs and Y/N knew about the pool, in fact they were stood in the door while the discussion was taking place. "What if we're all wrong?" Okay, now that caught Y/N off guard, she didn't expect someone to say they could all be wrong, let alone Abby. "We just get our money back." Now Dinozzo didn't shock Y/N, he was expected. "What if we give the money to Gibbs and Y/N. They tricked all of us so technically they win." At that statement everyone agreed, some more confident than others. The two then walked away, the other 6 unaware of Gibbs and Y/N in the first place.

It has now been two weeks since that conversation, every party has attempted in someway to get Gibbs and Y/N to give up information without telling them exactly. By Gibbs and Y/N, it was just Y/N that got asked. Abby pointed out the ring on Y/N's finger, McGee said she was glowing, Dinozzo pointed out every time she was late or when the two would disappear into the elevator; Ziva was more of a silent stalker, she noticed every time Gibbs and Y/N interacted awkwardly or when a child case was brought up two the two seemed to take this one to heart. No one was willing to give up, everyone thought they were right. This was getting really tiring so everyone decided to stop beating around the bush and just ask…. Y/N that is.

1st Person

Today had been a relatively slow day, the boys were at a sexual harassment seminar so Abby was keeping Ziva and me company. "It has been 2 hours, ours only lasted 30 minutes." I couldn't help but complain, I finished all my paper work and to be frank, no one had turned up dead. "Awww... do you miss Gibbs?" Literally the entire floor could hear Abby's teasing, and they all partake when Jethro isn't listening. "Nope, I miss Tony's terrible innuendos." As soon as I said that I heard the foot steps approaching. "You don't miss me." I could hear the smirk growing on his face as Jethro and Dinozzo walked towards the bullpen. "You mean the same person who made me rewrite an entire report?" I turn in my chair to face Jethro's desk as he takes a seat on the table. "It was sloppy." All I could do was stare at him, knowing damn well that was a lie. "I did not spend 3 years learning calligraphy for you to call my work sloppy. I have the best handwriting on the team. You're just mad it was too small for you to read without squinting." I couldn't help but laugh, and I could tell he wanted to as well by the smirk that turned into a smile. Today marks the first year of David's return to work, and the cold bed was starting to kick in again, but this time it wasn't so lonely anymore. The kids sneak into my room when they can, and David calls every night. I could tell today was going to be a good day, especially when my phone rang and my husband's name popped up. His name remained as David in case my phone was ever stolen, so I could feel the looks from the girls in front of me. They were all close enough to read the name on my phone since it was sat face on the desk.

When I picked up the call, I ignore the looks from the girls and answered as if it was a normal professional call. "Agent Fielding speaking." I could hear him laughing on the other end. "Hey baby, are they that close?" I try not to smile, because now everyone was looking at me. "That sounds about right. I believe more than one actually." I can hear chatter in the background, so I start to assume he's at work. "I know you’re working, but can I come over because I miss seeing your face?" I can't help but smile, ok so maybe the loneliness was more than I could every expect. "You never have to ask." He wasn't speaking but I knew he was smiling on the other end. "I'll be there in about 2 hours." I was so distracted that I forgot about the people around me, that was until I locked eyes with Dinozzo. "Alright." I shake my head back and forth, I can literally see the curiosity in the eyes of the team. "I love you. Mi Amor" His tone was different this time, he was honest and I could tell that the distance was effecting him just as much. "You know I do." And with that he hung up the phone. Everyone was still staring at me, I can tell Tony is about to ask but I prolong this a little longer. "Jethro, do you wanna get coffee?" This was the first I said his name at work, and to be honest it was kind of out of instinct. Yet, all he did was nod his head before following me to the elevator. The team was now beyond shocked, this day is going way better than expected.

3rd person- With the BAU

"So, when do we get to meet her?" As the call cut, an unexpected voice broke the silence that filled David's office. The voice came from Hotchner, Rossi's close friend and boss. "Soon." The response was curt, it's not that David didn't want her to meet them. It's just that when ever they were going to plan something, a case came up on either end. "She works at NCIS right?" The moment that left Aaron's mouth, David knew exactly where this was going. "Yes… yes she does Aaron." The older male was obviously suspicious, so his bosses next words were expecting because he had done it before. "So I think the whole team needs to head down for a case we had a while ago." There was a legitimate smile on Aaron's face, one so genuine that David couldn't even be mad at his friend. "Do you, want to go see my wife?" He spoke slow, saying each and every word with emphasis. The only response he received was an equally as slow and emphasized head nod. "God Aaron. Sure."

"Pack up, we are taking a trip to the NCIS naval base in Quantico." Aarons voice boomed over the bullpen, gaining the attention of his team as well as everyone else sat at their desks. There was a confusion looming over the area, JJ was the first to speak up about it. "I didn't get anything about a case…" "No case, no consultation. This is a friendly visit, we are going to see Agent Y/N Rossi. Consider this the beginning of your weekend." Aaron spoke quieter, a bag in hand, as he neared the group of desks his agents occupied, David trailing behind also carrying his regular to-go bag. "Wait, so we actually get to meet the Mrs. Rossi." David was cautious of the teams reaction, but by Dereks response and the rest of the teams easiness to the situation his nerves calmed on their own. Unconsciously, the couple had the same thought, today is going to be a good day.

There were 3 groups:

David drove; in his car was just Aaron.

Following directly behind him was Derek, in the car with Penelope and Spencer.

In the final car, Emily drove with JJ in the passenger seat.

No one had any complaints, apart from Derek. He had to deal with the excessive knowledge and facts of NCIS and their origins. By the time they arrived, he was ready to kill Spencer, his audio tapes, and the 60 books he carries. The 3 groups connected back together at the entrance of the federal building. "I swear, if I have to hear one more damn page turn. I am going to snap." Everyone laughed at the statement, everyone but Reid. While conversing, they walked through the building with ease, flashing their FBI badges at the very entrance. They were motioned to the 4th floor, apparently that is where the directors office is. When the elevators doors opened, they were met with a bullpen similar to their own.

1st person- 5 minutes ago

Jethro just got back 10 minutes ago, and as soon as we walked out the elevator, Dinozzo began speculating. "How was the coffee?" He was smirking stupidly, leaning onto Ziva's desk. I blink at him a few times before responding, "It was good, would you like to try?" I hold up my coffee cup, a smile plastered on. "Nope, that seems like an intimate thing." "Getting coffee?" Ziva responded to his stupidity before I had the chance, yet for some reason he still thought he was correct. I roll my eyes taking a seat at my desk. "Gibbs, can you look at this for me? The director wants it on his desk by Monday and I don't exactly want to do work over the weekend." For the first time I wasn't playing into their little bet, I was genuine on my motive. He trudged next to me, leaning over to read the words typed on the screen. "Yeah, just put your name on it. You've been doing that forever." I sigh from his words, something so simple could have been very bad if I actually turned it in. I typed my name and he checked it over once again before giving me a nod, heading back to his desk. When I looked back up after sending the email, Ziva, Tony, and McGee were all staring at me. Soon, the elevator doors opened and out walked Ducky, Palmer, and Abby. "Hey, Y/N?" Abby's voice reached my ears soon after the doors closed. "Yes Abs?"

"Are you married?"

"Yes."

That was only half of the conversation, it was cut off by McGee. "You were actually wrong Tony," There was a short laugh and a groan from Tony before Abby continued.

"Do you have children?"

"Mhm."

The next voice to cut Abby off was Tony, "Ha! You were wrong too Probie." He was laughing a lot harder, I guess he's fine he lost money if it doesn't go to Tim. "So Palmer and Abby won?" McGee was cut off by Abby, "Not yet."

"Is Fielding your married name?

"No."

"So it's your maiden name?"

"Yes."

My responses were simple and short, she didn't ask who I was married to so why explain more than I have to. "Now I won." Her smile was too cute to even attempt to crush, I had no intention to… until the elevator doors slid open and out walked agents in formal attire. I was confused until I saw David exit the metal box. The group walked to the small area we had in the bullpen. "Hello, I am Aaron Hotchner. FBI, and we are looking for Agent Y/N Fielding." I could see the team tense up at the mention of my name, they had yet to see me in the corner since Tony was placed in front of me. I stand up slowly, giving them full view of me. David steps forward, and began introducing his team to my own. "This is Derek Morgan, Aaron Hotchner, Jennifer Jareau, Emily Prentiss, Dr. Spencer Reid, Penelope Garcia, and I am David Rossi." He pointed to each member of his team as their words left his mouth before pointing to me. "This is Y/N, my-" The boy he called Spencer cut him off before he could state the nature of our relationship. "You are one of the founders of the BAU. You are a legend, the first communications liaison. Though at the time it was known as the Relations Mediator (I just came up with something)" The boy went on to ramble on about random FBI and NCIS fact I honestly didn't know. "Reid, we can talk about this later. Let me introduce my team." I turned to see the confusion on everyone's faces, all except Jethro. "This is Anthony Dinozzo- our senior field agent, Ziva David- a former Mossad agent, Timothy McGee- our technical genius, Ducky Mallard- our medical examiner, Jimmy Palmer- assistant medical examiner, Abby Sciuto- our forensics scientist. Oh and Leroy Jethro Gibbs." I pause when he smacks me on the back of the head for saying his full name, making me laugh slightly. "My brother-in-law and boss. This is David. My husband." There were various greetings from those across from me, but behind me was relatively quiet. " Can you repeat that again?" I turned around at the sound of Ziva's voice, Jethro's arm falling on the top of my head. "This is my husband." "Is this what you would call, the cat inside the bag?" I giggle at her confusion, "It's cat outside of the bag, but yes Ziva."

3rd person

Y/N's team was shocked beyond belief, there were no words to describe the slap in the face they just received. While David's team was nonchalant and happy to meet their friends lover. "Pause, explain." Dinozzo was pissed that he couldn't tell what was happening, he thought he was good at figuring out these things. "Jethro's first wife was my sister. And when you generated what our child would looked like, it looked exactly like my niece." This sentence seemed to catch the attention of someone on David's teams. "You have an offspring generator? That is that accurate?" Garcia was beyond excited and it was obvious by the smile on her face and the inability to sit still. Y/N and Gibbs could see the similarities between Garcia and Abby, the similarities between them and Kelly… if only she was able to grow up like normal.

Y/N took a seat on Dinozzo's desk, staring at the interaction between the two groups. "I think this also means they owe us, don't they Jethro?" There was a smirk on her face and humor in her voice that even David team couldn't help but smile at. "Wait wait… so you knew what we were doing this whole time and you didn't say anything?" All Y/N could so was shrug at Palmer's question. The situation was quickly ignored as everyone brought up different conversations. The teams even started to split and find their look alike on the other team, Spencer and McGee drifted together, the same for Dinozzo and Morgan. Abby and Garcia were practically best friends while Ziva was struggling to keep up with JJ and Prentiss. Aaron actually had something to discuss with Director Vance so headed up to his office, passing David headed towards Y/N and Gibbs.

Surprisingly, the two had never met. Gibbs was unable to go to her wedding because he was newly deployed on his second tour. So Y/N decided it was time for proper introductions. "Real husband, work husband. Work husband, real husband." Her words came out slow as he hand drifted between the two men, she was still sat on Tony's desk. There was hen out of no where the 3 of you start laughing. "I see it." The two spoke at the same time, giving Abby a little peace of mind that her theory on Y/N's husband might not be as far off as she thought.

"Absence makes the heart grow fonder." His words were random yet directed. "I guess it really does." The couple shared a kiss that was nothing less than passion and affection. Staring into each other's eyes, David and Y/N knew that this was the life they were meant to live, no ex-wives or co-workers was going to change that.

BONUS:

Dinozzo: "So are we going to tell them they won $600?"

Y/N: "I heard that Dinozzo."

Dinozzo: "Sorry boss I mean Y/N, uh… you and your husband are very cute."

Y/N: "I'll pick up my half on Monday."

Masterlist

[parksunghoonbro]

come here》 p.sh {pt.1}

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<3 pairing: chaebol!stepbrother!sunghoon x chaebol!fem!reader

<3 genre: a little angst, VERY suggestive (borderline smut?)

<3 warning: Idk smut? not yet but like kinda pseudo-incest

<3 word count: 863

<3 summary: park sunghoon, the most popular rich boy around town, who you are super attracted to becomes your stepbrother. what happens when you realize that he is also extremely attracted to you?

<3 xtra stuff: fyi Sunghoon is 20 here and Y/N is 18. They went to the same high school but they are both graduated now. (1st-year y/n=3rd year sunghoon) It’s my first fic so it’s pretty bad. IM SORRY I DIDN’T KNOW HOW TO MAKE YOU BE ABLE TO MAKE THE STORY FLOW SMOOTHLY. Yes, there’s going to be another part. I feel like this will go on for a while just like smutty parts and that’s it. Was not intending this to be a series so yeah. The chaebol part hasn’t been really incorporated into the story but don’t worry it will be!

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How does your mom move on so fast? She’s is getting married and you are finally meeting her fiancé and his son today. You love your mother. You really do, but it has only been 5 months since her last break up. It’s not like she’s been in 10 marriages. This is her 2nd marriage, but it is certainly not her 2nd relationship since your dad. You sigh as you put on the dress your mother chose for you. To be honest the dress is super pretty, so you have no complaints. Looking at yourself in the mirror one last time you leave the room and head downstairs. Your maid greeted you and you gave her a small smile. “Y/N! You look very nice honey.” Your mother said with a big smile on her face. “Thanks mom. Are we about to go?” Your mother gave you one last look and answered,”Yes we have to leave now or else we’ll be late.”

«───────── « ⋅ʚ♡ɞ⋅ » ─────────»

Arriving at the restaurant your mom tucks a strand of your hair behind you ear and grabs her bag. “Let’s go honey. Don’t worry you will like him and his son is about your age you guys should try to bond.” You sign after hearing your mother, ”Alright mom let’s go.” Putting a smile on your face as you walk in arm linked with your mother’s. “Honey!” You hear as you step into the private room. “You must be Y/N! I have heard so much about you. Sorry my son is in the restroom he should be here any moment now.” The man with a kind smile said. “Nice to meet you! Excuse me but I also have to use the restroom. I’ll be back soon.” You answered with a smile. You quickly made your way to the restroom. After using the restroom and touching up a bit you came out and returned to the private room. When you walked in you were shocked. Your eyes quickly met with Sunghoon’s beautiful eyes. His eyes slightly widened but they went back to normal to fast for you to notice. “Y/N come sit!” Your mother said as she patted the seat next to her, right in front of Sunghoon. You gulped as you took your seat. Sunghoon looked at you and smirked. You looked away and continued your dinner. “Kids we have something to say.” Sunghoon’s dad said. You and Sunghoon turned to look at your parents. “We will be moving in together next week. So Sunghoon and Y/n you guys need to pack your things for the move, but the thing is that we will be going on a business trip to manage the merging of the companies. You guys will have to move in by yourselves. Of course, we can send movers if you prefer that.” For the first time the during the whole dinner you heard Sunghoon say something, ”It’s fine I can move me and Y/N’s things alone” Your mother simply answered, “Alright. The wedding with be in two months. You guys also have fittings and appointments scheduled for the next two months. Since it will be a busy time you guys should get some rest.” After what you guys’ parents said, you went home.

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{Time Skip: Moving Day} Your mother had left for the business trip. You and Sunghoon have become closer and that has only made your crush on Sunghoon worse. Sunghoon texted you that he would be at your house soon to help you move. When he arrived at your house you almost passed out. He looked way to good in his outfit. “Y/N!” He yelled breaking you out of your trance. “What are you thinking about? You were so distracted.” You got nervous and blurted out, “Nothing! Let’s start.” He chuckled and said, “Don’t worry about it tiny. I’ll move everything. Seems like you’ve worked really hard already.” You swear you were going to combust right then and there. Tiny. TINY. That nickname has made you go crazy. You knew it wasn’t right. Your crush on your soon to be stepbrother, but what could you do? You can’t help how you feel. “Wait in the car and I’ll be done in 30 minutes.” He patted your head. You nodded and waited in the car.

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-At the new house-

After you got settled in you threw yourself on the bed and sighed. You remembered that you had left something downstairs so you went down to grab it. As you were getting closer to you room you heard noises coming from the room next to yours. Sunghoon’s room. The door was cracked open a little so you peaked inside. You were shocked from the image in front of you. It was Sunghoon jerking off while moaning your name. You suddenly felt yourself get hotter and started to rub your legs together. His moans got louder as he reached his climax and you saw his cum shoot out of his large cock all over his veiny hands and his chiseled abs. All of a sudden Sunghoon looked up way to fast for you to be able to get away and smirked at you as he said, “Come here, baby.”

[desiredmalfoy]

True Love Is Eternal (D.M x Reader + F.W. x Reader)

Pairing: Draco x Reader, Fred Weasley x Reader

Word Count: 2.3k

Note this is going to be changing from 1st person to 2nd and 3rd person.

Enjoy the final installment of the Dear Malfoy Series! Fred’s POV! Thank you for everyone who has shown love to my writing! You don’t know how much I appreciate it (it means a lot to me). 

Dear Malfoy [Part 1] [Part 2] [Part 3]  (Masterlist)

The invitation to your wedding invitation came suddenly in the mail. It came addressed to the Weasley family, which I guess includes me. No, it did include me. You put that in the invitation. I didn’t even realize that I was holding in my breath as I opened up the intricate wedding invitation. The Malfoys are not sparing any expense on this. He would give you nothing but the best in life. He had been fine for the past couple of years, he had managed to get you out of his head for the longest time. He had even been in a serious relationship but that did work out. But it seems like the news of your wedding brought all these feelings back. Maybe all these old feelings resurfacing because of the news of your marriage but not because he actually still loved her. Or maybe in the back of his mind, he’d always wish you would have a moment of revelation where you realized who truly loved him.

                                 We are honored to invite you to

                                       the unity of marriage of

                                         Draco Lucius Malfoy 

                                                       &

                                        (Y/N) (Y/M/N) (Y/L/N)

Your name is written in beautiful intricate gold cursive. Taunting me with every letter written. He ran his fingers over where your name was printed, reminiscing of the moments he had with you.

It was the middle of summer and the both of you were laying on the grass outside the burrow. You were looking up at the night sky admiring the millions of stars. Moments like these were the ones he hoped were forever.

“What do you want to do when we leave this place”,  Fred had asked her out of nowhere. 

“Get my own place. I love my parents but I want to have my own space.” 

“Oh! And get a kitten!” (Y/N) excitedly added. “I really want to get a kitten.”

“I’ll get you as many as you would like”, he said as he hugged her tightly.

“Is this your way of asking me to move in with you”, she teased him and his cheeks had become red from blushing. 

“Not yet but one day in the future hopefully.” He answered as he envisioned them with a few cats and maybe a baby or two. “And you know I’ll have my shop by then too.”

He wished he could go to the past. 

——-

Fred dwelled on the thought of going to your wedding. The invitation had been extended to the entire family, including him. After everything that had occurred, (y/n) had always been on good terms with the rest of the Weasley family. She had even eventually forgiven George for not telling her. George had explained to him that she forgave him to let go of the past and move on. 

Fred had thought he would keep on seeing you every summer as the previous ones before. You had always come to stay at least for a couple of days to see Ron and Ginny before you dated him. But the summer after his 7th year and (y/n)’s 5th it all changed. He anticipated your arrival but didn’t want to ask any of his siblings if they knew you’d be coming over. He stupidly thought that he would be able to at least fix your friendship that summer. It wasn’t until he had overheard a conversation between Ginny, Ron, Hermione, and Harry that he knew you weren’t going to show up.

“I received an owl from her today.”, Ginny said excitedly as she sat down, a white envelope in her hand. 

“How is she? I miss her greatly this summer.” Hermione asked as she reached for that same envelope from Ginny. 

“She said she’s definitely enjoying Paris with Draco.”

“He took her to Paris”, Ron asked, shocked at the revelation. “The bloke has only been dating her for like eight months and he’s already taking her on expensive trips?’

“It’s Malfoy. Did you expect anything less”, Harry answered with a slight eye roll. “He’d buy her a castle if she would just let him.”

“I knew Malfoy always goes all out but I didn’t think he would take her on vacation so soon!”

“What do you expect?” Ginny laughed at Ron’s still confused expression. “He’s madly in love with her. He’s even nice to Harry of all people just for her.”

“That was the most surprising thing of all”, Hermione agreed with her with a giggle. “Who knew all it took to stop Malfoy from being such a prat was for (y/n) to date him.”

“I mean he even called Harry by his first name the last time we saw him instead of Potter”, Ron added to the conversation. 

“I still miss her this summer”, Ginny complained with a groan. “It’s not the same without her.”

That was the beginning of you spending every summer with Draco instead of at the Burrow with the Weasley’s like every other summer. 

———

He was walking along Hogsmeade after a long day of work. He was headed towards the Three Broomsticks to meet up with George who had taken a few days off from the shop that day. He hadn’t been feeling well the past few days and Fred had told him to stay home. He was finally feeling better and to celebrate, George had asked him to meet there for a couple of drinks. It was a pretty calm evening with a few people walking about the area. Fred mostly went unnoticed by others just trying to get home for the night. 

That’s when he saw you coming out of the dress store with your mother and Narcissa Malfoy by your side. (Y/N) had a huge grin on her face as she carried a large white box with a beautiful ribbon to tie it all up. It was your wedding dress. He just knew it was that. A large smile decorated your face as you seemed ecstatic about the contents of the box. He turned quickly into a different alleyway to avoid running into you. 

He was going to be needing something stronger than butterbeer tonight. 

——-

Fred and George were currently on their way to their parent’s home to visit them for the evening. Life had been hectic and he hadn’t had a chance to see them in a couple of days. Plus it was one night where he would not have to cook for himself and George. Nothing beats a home-cooked meal from your mum on days like these. 

They didn’t even bother knocking as they entered the home. 

“Mum your favorites have arrived”, Fred announced loudly teasingly as he saw Ron sitting on the couch. 

“I didn’t know Charlie and Bill were dropping by”, Ron said without lifting his gaze from the book on his lap.

“That hurts Ronnie”, George played around as he wiped a fake tear from his cheek.

“Anyway, where is mum?”

“They’re upstairs trying on the bridesmaid dressed for the future Mrs. Malfoy’s wedding”, Ron said with a snicker. “Mione and Ginny I mean.”

“I still can’t believe that it’s coming up so soon”, Fred responded as he sat next down to his brother. 

“I am just excited about the food”, George said with a laugh. “I know it will be good.”

“Nice to know you care about me”, a teasing voice said from the stairs. Fred knew that voice and giggle anywhere. They all turned to where the voice was coming from.

“You know what I mean”, George said with a smile. He got up and greeted (y/n) with a hug. “It’s nice to see you again.”

He caught a glimpse of your engagement ring shining in light. Only the best for you.

“I’ve been busy”, she answered simply. “Weddings are a big thing to plan. Especially one that is only a about a two weeks away”

“How the joke shop?” (Y/N) questioned George. “Ginny has told me it’s been going amazingly for you two.”

“Right it has been”, George agreed. “Those Hogwarts kids are great customers. Right, Freddie?”

“Way to make us seem old Georgie”, Fred laughed as he looked directly at her. “It’s nice to see you (y/n).”

“Nice to see you too Fred”, she said, giving him a friendly smile. Not the same one she would give him years ago. 

“Are you staying for dinner darling”, mum said as she came down the stairs with Ginny and Hermione trailing just behind. 

“I’m sorry Mrs. Weasley”, (y/n) apologized. “I would love to but I had promised my parents I’d be eating with them tonight. Plus I still have to get home and see if Draco is back from work.”

You’d made a home with him already. One that he had promised you all those years ago.

“Don’t worry darling.” Mum said with a gentle smile. “You’re invited to dinner whenever you would like.”

“Thank you so much.” (Y/N) said as she hugged mum goodbye. She waved to everyone else and she was gone out the door. 

———

The day of the wedding finally came and he had decided to go. He wanted an opportunity to see you dressed in white. Fred walked over with his family to the Malfoy Manor. They’re escorted to the garden in the back to wait for the beginning of the ceremony. It was decorated with your favorite flowers, white roses. Flowers that symbolized innocence, youthfulness, eternal loyalty. 

The eternal loyalty you were about to pledge to Malfoy for the rest of your lives. 

Fred anxiously waited for the ceremony to start. He looked around the space and saw many of his former classmates interacting with each other. It wasn’t long before the ceremony started. 

Draco enters….

Your wedding party enters….

Everyone stands for your entrance….

The wedding march starts….

You walk down the aisle hand in hand with your father. You looked stunning in your wedding dress. Darling how I wish I was the one watching you walk towards me. You don’t spare a glance to where I’m standing. I’m probably the farthest thing from your mind. And I’m glad you don’t because I don’t think my heart would take it. He watches on a Malfoy cries at the sight of you walking towards him. Fred knew if he was in his place he’d probably do the same.

Because even though all I want to do is run up to that alter and tell you exactly how I feel, I simply won’t. I've seen how happy you are with him, and I can't ever do that to you. Even though I sit here to watch you wed another man and break my heart in the process. 

Why am I even here? Why did I even come? 

He watches as you pledge your love for Draco. Vowing to stay with him every moment of your lives together. He watched as you said “I do” through your tears. 

You make such a lovely bride. Maybe in another lifetime or reality, you’re mine. But in this one darling, we just weren’t meant to be. 

Maybe in another lifetime, I’ll be able to hold you close and never let go. In this one, I foolishly took you for granted and let you slip from my arms into the firm grasp of another man. 

I knew I shouldn’t have come, but I couldn’t resist seeing you in white. 

Because sometimes two souls are only meant to just be in each other’s life for a while; awaiting the lifetime where they’ll meet again but this time forever. 

Alternative Ending:

Fred stood alone in his shop tonight. Wanting to throw himself into work to ignore the pain in his chest. He took another swing of the bottle of fire whisky in an attempt to drown out all the intrusive thoughts running through his mind. He spent the evening thinking about how he wished it was him marrying you, waiting at the end of the aisle. You’d be getting married next week and he couldn’t do anything about it. He knew he messed up all those years ago, and he’d do anything to turn back time. 

He heard the door chime as someone opened the door. He must have forgotten to lock up in his current state. 

“We’re closed”, he yelled out towards the door. He didn’t bother to lift his head to talk to them. Not wanting to be seen in this state. 

“Freddie?”

This caused an instant reaction from him. He’d know that voice anywhere.

“(Y/N/N)”, he whispered. He was afraid you’d disappear at any moment. A hallucination.

“I missed you. I need you.”

“I missed you too.”

I know it’s not the best alternative ending but I kind of left it open for the reader to decide. It is a little something for those who would choose Fred instead. Do they realize they actually loved Fred after all this time? Is Fred just losing it and imagining this? It’s up to you to decide!

Click here for Valentine’s Day Shipping

Taglist: @keepsmilingandstayhappy @sarcasticallywitty15 @adrianpuceyishot @dracoismybabey @little-me204 @loveforreading @stephaniewinchester-weasley @cronen 

Reminder: None of my work can be reposted anywhere. It doesn’t matter if you give credit, please do not repost!

[random-mha-thoughts]

Name part 2 (Todoroki x Reader)

Pairing: Todoroki x fem!Reader

Genre: Angst to fluff

Sequel to Name (part 1)

Word count: 1,445

Tags:  @yuki-osaki​ @liviitehe​ @iamsoftsodonttoucheume-blog​ 

a/n: I had trouble writing this for some reason.  I started off writing one scenario, but I ended up hating it after writing 500 words and then deleted the whole thing and started over, so I’m sorry if it’s not satisfying enough.  I think I need to just write more angst I think I just need a break from angst, or I’m just exhausted from today because I was out all day.

I promise the ending is happy.  This one is half the length of the original since this was one of the original endings I was considering for the 1st part.

I’ll probably pick right up with the other angst submissions tomorrow if I’m not still exhausted.  Hopefully I won’t go overboard again...

Shoto didn't know how to feel once she left him.  It didn't hurt as much as it would hurt for a lover to walk out on you, but he still felt the most amount of guilt he's ever been burdened with.  He wanted to blame his father for putting them in this position to fail, but he knew how childish that would be.  In reality, he was accountable for his own behavior, and he'd taken his anger out on an innocent person in the same situation as him.  He should have commended her for being the bigger person.  And now he's lost her.

His biggest frustration is that he never even got a good look at her.  In his mind, her image is a fuzzy mix of color, no real outline of a body or face that he can remember.  How could he have lived in the same house as someone for 5 months, but not know them like the back of his hand?  Deep down, he knows that if he had looked at her, he would've internalized how human she is and would've treated her better than a doormat.

As he lay in bed after she left, all the things he wanted to apologize for but didn't get the chance to were still hanging in his mind, uncomfortably unfulfilled.

.

The next morning, Shoto decides he needs to apologize immediately.  He hates the eerie loneliness of being the only person in the house.  Even if he never acknowledged it before, in hindsight, at least he felt he presence of company.  At least he had someone to talk to, even if everything out of his mouth was a critique.  The walls seem to close in on him, the sunlight isn't as warm, and, most importantly, there was no breakfast waiting for him.  A vain problem, but it sobered him to know she had still taken care of his needs through everything.

After fixing his own meal, he called his agency to tell them he's taking the day off and didn't delay in rushing to his in-law's house.  The nervous pit in Shoto's stomach almost makes him throw up his breakfast, but he ignores it.  All acts of courage require varying degrees of nerves.

On his way over, his father calls him constantly, probably to give him an earful about "ruining their perfectly-matched marriage."  He doesn't need to hear it from Endeavor when he's already chewing himself up about it, and he turns off his phone to concentrate.

Shoto walks up to the family's door, smoothing his clothes and hair out.  He feels akin to a boy picking his girlfriend up from her parents' house for their first date and trying to make a good first impression, except Shoto's already married his daughter and needs to make up for the awful impression they already have of him.  Taking a deep breath, he pushes the doorbell, his heart hammering in his chest wildly.

Her father and mother answer the door, expressions less than pleased already.

"Good morning.  I hope I haven't disturbed you."  Shoto was raised with manners, and he hopes politeness with get him somewhere.

The two don't say anything in response to him.  Understandable, given the condition their daughter was sent back in.

Trying not to be too disheartened under their malicious stares, the boy asks "May I come in?  I would like to speak with you and your daughter."

"If Endeavor sent you, we don't want to hear anything you have to say," her mother scowls, rightfully so.

"No, ma'am, I am here without my father's knowledge," he responds earnestly, trying not to seem too firm about his tone or his face.  He's trying to appear sincere, a husband trying to set things right from the bottom of his heart.

The couple exchanges glances, but let the young boy in without another word, which Shoto takes as a small victory.  They lead him to their formal living room where they sit together on one couch and Shoto prefers to stand.  A maid brings cups of tea and a pot to rest on the coffee table between them before bowing and shuffling away.

"I won't allow you to see my daughter," her mother states bluntly, "Not after hearing her crying over the phone for what you've put her through the last 5 months."  The boy almost winces, the memory of overhearing the girl's phone call still fresh.

"You can say your piece to us and we may pass it on to her," her father adds, eyeing the boy.

Shoto breathes to calm the jumping nerves in his gut.  One wrong move and he know he'll be kicked out immediately.  He levels his calm gaze at the piercing glare of the couple in front of him.  "I'm not here to make excuses for my actions.  What I did was terribly wrong, both as a person and as a husband to your daughter.  I accept full responsibility for my mistakes."  He bows fully at the waist.  "I apologize deeply for my behavior towards your daughter.  I let my personal feelings get in the way of our relationship flourishing as she wished.  I don't deserve it, but I would like to ask for forgiveness."

The parents are silent, leaving the boy to listen to his hammering heartbeat as he retains his position.  The lack of response is ear-deafening to him.

"You many stand, Todoroki," her father instructs, the edge slightly lessened in his voice.

When Shoto returns to his original position, their daughter stands between them, remnant sadness still filling her eyes.  It's the first time he's taken a good look at her.  She's a head shorter than him, hair down past her shoulders, respectable composure.  Even with a tired expression, she exudes calm.

He doesn't know what he should do now.  The girl looks between him and her parents.  "I'd like to be alone with him, please," she requests in a soft voice.  It's a stark contrast between the voice that reported their divorce to him.

Though her parents are wary at first, she smiles to reassure them and they agree to leave the pair to talk.

All the apologies Shoto prepared start bubbling up his throat, unsure how to start or organize his thoughts.  He's overwhelmed by how much he wants to say, composure crumbling under the weight of his words.  "I'm so sorry about everything- I heard you crying and I- I'm an idiot for-"

"Funny how you can form coherent sentences to my parents, but not to me," she jokes lightheartedly.

Her small smile calms Shoto so he can gather this thoughts and try again.  "I've done you such a disservice.  I let my anger towards my father prevent me from taking care of you like I should have."  He moves to touch her hand to comfort her, but he stops and redirects it to the back of his neck.  "You must have felt so unwanted and lonely.  I'm truly sorry for everything I've done or said to you.  When I heard you on the phone with your mother, I had every intention of coming back and fixing everything, but you had already made your decision."  His eyes meet her's again.  "If you wish to continue with the divorce, I understand.  I wanted to come and apologize to you because it's what you deserve.  And, if you forgive me enough, we can start over and build a relationship as you wanted originally."

At first, the girl is silent, clawing at Shoto to be left in anticipation.  Then, she tilts her head and asks, a cheeky grin on her lips, "Do you love me, Shoto?"

His hopes come crashing down at the question.  "I'm sorry to say, but I'm not in love with you right now.  Our marriage isn't like that."

She shakes her head at him.  "I wasn't expecting you to suddenly have a huge change of heart like that.  We're still barely strangers, though I do know way more about you than you know about me.  As long as you're open to any kind of affection, it's fine."

His eyes widen childishly.  "Does that mean-"

She smiles, finally showing teeth to him, and envelops him in a hug.  He breathes out in relief and returns the gesture.  A small voice in the back of his had notes how perfectly she fits in his arms.

"Who knows?  We might end up actually falling in love slowly as time goes by," she giggles against his chest.  "That's how it tends to happen in the movies."

The slight vibrations invoke a strange warmth to bloom within Shoto, not resulting from his quirk, and his eyes widen.  Oh.

[herkawaiinovels]

MTL Booklist Review Part 1

Novels from my Ridibooks bookshelf.

Warning: spoilers ahead!

(From left to right, top to bottom)

1. [Favorite] I Raised the Beast Well - This is the second series from the same author that I’ve read and I think I’ve noticed a pattern. It’s like this: the ML wants to do it with the FL but is being patient. His patience is so blatantly written and for me, as a reader, it is just frustrating to draw it out for how many chapters. This one I don’t mind so much because I am a bit invested in the couple. UPDATE: Volume 3 redeemed this series and turned it into a favorite. Book 3 is so good. I will forgive this series’ shortcomings and I think I will give the novel below (from the same author) another try.

2. [Recommended] The Marquess is only Affectionate to Her - From the same author as above. I do like the couple but one scene really turned me off. It was when the ML was being so affectionate to the FL and kept confessing ‘I love you’ multiple times and the FL was just like “...” Say what? One thing I really dislike about c-novels is how the ML is usually overly pampering while the FL is just cold and unfeeling. It’s not the case for this one, but I want at least both of them to be have the same level of affection towards each other. UPDATE: Just like the novel above, the last volume saved this one.

3. [On Hold/Did Not Finish] Overprotected Lady - This novel gives the same vibe as ‘For Now, Let’s Get Married’ (described below). I don’t dislike the FL or ML. It is about a high-ranking knight’s daughter, who, due to circumstances in her childhood, becomes overly protected by the people around her. She can’t go out the house without permission, doesn’t attend social events, etc. But, she has a hobby of carving, and consequently, her carvings possess divine power. She becomes entangled with the Archduke, the Crown Prince, the Pope, and the neighboring kingdom’s young and promising academy arts teacher.

4. [Favorite] Moonlight Library - THIS AUTHOR MAN. SHE IS SO GOOD. She is probably my favorite Korean author at the moment (other than the author of Lucia). I’ve read two of her works and both of them are on my top favorite k-novels. I am so excited about the upcoming publication of her next work! Anyways, her novels have pretty similar tropes: contract marriage, angst (”I can’t love you”), strong and smart FL, and overly pampering ML. Trust me on this one! The smut is also so well-written.

5. [Favorite] Shu’s Lady - What can I say? I’m a sucker for the contract marriage trope. This one is about how a knight’s daughter dies protecting the transmigrated Saintess. She goes back in time and this time volunteers to be the Marquess’ wife instead of becoming a lady-in-waiting for the Saintess. In her first life, due to an oracle, the temple was recruiting a ‘sacrifice’ but that sacrifice turned out to be becoming the Marquess’ wife. The FL, being poor and also wanting to prevent the death of her guardian, volunteers for this role. Anyways, she tells herself not to fall in love with the Marquess, since in her first life, the Marquess couple ended up divorcing as he was rumored to be in love with the Saintess.

6. [On Hold] The Tyrant’s Guardian is the Wicked Witch - Currently on volume 1. The ML starts out as a child so I am kind of iffy about any romantic development that would happen between him and the 200-year-old transmigrated FL. That’s like grooming!!! Why did I buy this again?

7. [Recommended] Ever Ever After - Pretty solid. Though it takes a while for the revenge part to happen, the development in between, especially the FL’s growth, was worth the watch. Also, its pretty great to see Clint regret his old flirtatious ways HAHAHA

8. [On Hold, Recommended] Living as the Villainess Queen - From the same author of Lucia. This one, I am waiting to be published/completed.

9. [Favorite] Daisy - From my favorite author, the author of Moonlight Library. It’s so good. Read this author’s works guys. I made a post about this on Novel Updates.

10. [On Hold, Recommended] Under the Oak Tree - I am currently on the beginning of the 1st side story. All I remember is the pain. The couple is so pitiful, especially at the end of the first arc. All I remember is the pain, the various misunderstandings, and especially the angst. Just...please be happy. And please, please take out the trash father ASAP author. Will wait for this to be completed before reading.

11. [Did Not Finish] The Villainess Wants to be a Sidekick - Was not invested enough in the ML and FL by the 2nd volume. It had an interesting premise - very similar to Side Story, which I dearly love - but why did the story go that way? It was an instant-buy for me because of the plot, but the execution wasn’t my taste.

12. [On Hold/Did Not Finish] For Now, Let’s Get Married - I will perhaps continue reading it someday. I don’t have a problem with the FL/ML. They are both decent. The plot reminded me of The Evil Lady Will Change manhwa, that’s why I bought it. The FL, for some circumstances, married the ML who was known as the monstrous duke of the South. At first she thought the ML wanted nothing to do with her, because he kept avoiding her and didn’t even want an official marriage ceremony. Little did she know, it’s because of a family curse he has.

13. [Recommended] History at the Library - A nice, short read. It’s a fluffy and sweet novel with the right amount of angst. Plus, it involves contract dating and cohabitation!

14. [Did Not Finish, Maybe Recommended] I Will Escape the Flower of Trials - I really thought I would like this. The main pairing is the villainess and the pitiful 2nd lead of the original novel. Again, similar to my beloved Side Story. So why... I even made a whole glossary for the various office position terms. So why...why FL...why don’t you let the ML pamper you. This is a cider type of novel.

15. [Favorite] Evil Cinderella Needs a Villain - This one has contract dating, cohabitation, and a bit of angst. I love the parallels between the leads (FL is a former villainess trying to live kindly in her 2nd life).

16. [On Hold/Did Not Finish, Average] I am the Ex-Girlfriend of a Soldier - It’s pretty fun. I think I got busy so I wasn’t able to finish reading it, but now I seem to have no motivation to pick it up again. Maybe I’ll read it once the translations are complete.

17. [To Read] The Villain’s Saviour - I read a little bit...maybe I’ll read it someday, when the story in the manhwa engages me again.

18. [Did Not Finish, Average] Trying to Find a Lover for my Fiancee - The premise is pretty interesting, the FL remembers that her current life was from a novel, and that her character ends up unhappily married to the emperor in the future. However, when she remembered this fact, it was already too late, because their engagement was already finalized. So she goes on to find a replacement lover for him. So what was my beef with this series? Well, firstly, I fell in love with the second ML. Secondly, I couldn’t really understand the appeal of the ML. And thirdly, I felt like the FL needed to mature a bit more before she could start a relationship with the ML.

19. [On Hold/Did Not Finish] I Raised an Obsessive Servant - Maybe it was too dark for me? The FL was really quite traumatized by her first death, and throughout the whole series, she had multiple other brushes with death, making her thoughts a bit dark. I think she really needed therapy. Unfortunately, the middle ages didn’t have such a thing.

20. [Favorite] Materialistic Princess - This one is so much fun! The series reminds me of Little-Miss-Not-So-Sidekick with how much fun the story and leads are.

21. [Average, Maybe Recommended] I am the Villainess - Hmm...I think these cider types of novels just aren’t my taste. I know some people who really love them though. But at least I was able to finish this one. The plot is like this: while in the temple, Natalie gets a revelation that her life was a book and she was the villainess. She tries her best to distance herself from the heroine, but no matter how much she tries, she couldn’t stop the development leading to her doom. My main beef? Not enough fluffy scenes.

[aeipathyreads]

A Review on Scarlet

WITH SPOILERS

[ Scarlet is a continuation of Cinder, the 1st book of The Lunar Chronicles. ]⁣

In the beginning, we meet Scarlet Benoit, whose grandmother has gone missing, and Wolf, a street fighter with information that could serve as tools to knowing the grandmother’s whereabouts. ⁣

Despite her lack of trust with the stranger, she agrees to let him help in searching for her grandmother, and together they meet Cinder and Thorne, who broke out of prison and is on the run as wanted fugitives.⁣

The four band together to put an end to Levana's rule and to try to put a stop to a wedding that could potentially ruin both the lives of Earthen citizens and Lunars. ⁣

Scarlet is a fast-paced book with more adventures than Cinder, and although I didn’t like it more than the previous installment, it was a very enjoyable read.⁣

1+ Did the story develop well? [ 8 / 10 ]

Like Cinder, Scarlet is fast-paced.

When we got introduced to Scarlet, the building of the story was slow and steady. Nothing much was happening, and we were learning about her grandmother’s disappearance through her narrative.

It perhaps has something to do with Scarlet having a longer length than Cinder, but everything was going at a slower rate, and that’s not a bad thing, since we can really have the chance to see the story unfold.

The middle part of the book, from what I can recall, is when things really started to pick up.

Cinder and Thorne discovered and was, at that point, also looking for Michelle Benoit (the grandmother), Kai is firm in going through with the marriage alliance even though he can’t help but think of Cinder ALL the time, and Scarlet and Wolf finally getting some lead on the grandmother’s location.

It was from that point on that I literally couldn’t put the book down.

The climax was great too, and like Cinder, it ended in an absolute cliffhanger.

I remembered being so hurried in getting my hands on the next book, Cress (which I’ve finished reading by the time I wrote this review), just because I couldn’t get over Kai and that ending. (Also mentioning that IF you’re wondering whether Cress is any different in its ending, I’ll tell you now, it’s not. You’ll be surprised at how much of a cliffhanger the book ended.)

Overall, the story developed well, and the new information about the Lunar world given was enough to satisfy me.

There were some parts that were predictable and easy to guess was headed onto that path, but it was enjoyable reading until the end.

I loved how the story lines came together by the time the story concluded, and for that reason, I give the story development a rating of 8/10, despite its predictability.

2+ Were the characters developed well? [ 7 / 10 ]

In terms of character development, I’d say it wasn’t as neatly done, but it was, for the most part, okay.

Cinder, Kai, and Iko remained as main characters, but we didn’t really see much of them in the book, what with its multiple POVs and all, but I loved the moments they had.

The characters of Thorne, Scarlet, and Wolf were done well, and I had a fun time reading about them, however, I fear that there just isn’t a lot to say about their (especially Scarlet’s) personality.

Thorne, with his funny banters and quirky character, served as a comic relief in the midst of all seriousness in the book, and because of that, he became one of my FAVORITES in the series.

Wolf was good too. He was shy and quiet, which was perfect to go along with Scarlet’s toughness, but when speaking of their romance as a whole, it didn’t feel as complete as Cinder and Kai’s crush-love.

Their romance was more of an insta-love. I’m not one to hate on that trope, and I think that if it’s done well, it is just as good as other romances. However, for Scarlet and Wolf, that wasn’t the case.

Their relationship didn’t seem realistic and felt forced, but they did have their own cute moments, so I won’t complain too much.

As for Cinder and Kai, they didn’t appear a lot, but in the scenes they did appear, nothing much was done in terms of their character development.

And unfortunately, unlike what I had hoped, Cinder and Kai didn’t interact (at all) in the book. That doesn’t mean I shipped them any less though. They WERE and still IS my No. 1 ship, and I can’t wait for the day Levana goes out of the picture and they finally get their happily ever after.

3+ Was the setting and world(s) well-built? [ 10 / 10 ]

Just like in the previous installment, the Lunar world still was as magical as ever, and I can’t help but wish I was in their world instead. (Maybe not in Luna, but somewhere in New Beijing.)

Some pointed out that the writing on the wolves wasn’t researched enough and the information given out was not accurate, but as I am not an expert in that, I wasn’t bothered at all.

For those who fancy the subject though, do be aware as you read through.

Anyway, there’s nothing much to say and my rating on the worldbuilding will still be 10/10.

4+ Did it give so many feels? Did you think about it all the time? [ 8 / 10 ]

I can’t begin to describe my emotions as I read through the book.

Excitement, happiness, angriness, a little bit of boredom, but complete enjoyment all the way to the end.

I lived for Cinder and Thorne’s cute interactions, and (apologies to Kai in advance) I couldn’t help but imagine if they were the ones that ended up together instead.

Cinder’s determination and fierce personality + Thorne’s quirkiness and flirty ways could blend together so perfectly and their ship would be so cute, however, my heart will be for #KaiDer forever.

Nonetheless, they make such an adorable side ship.

Scarlet and Wolf’s romance was heart-fluttering in some parts too, but as I said above, it just felt so insta-lovey that I couldn’t ship them as much as I wanted to.

The action-filled scenes were so exciting and so fast and it gave me so much adrenaline, which was the same for Cinder too. Those parts were probably one of the reasons I loved Marissa’s writing so much.

5+ Was it enjoyable enough to want to read again? [ 6 / 10 ]

Not as much as Cinder, but it definitely has the capability to entertain a reader all the way to the end.

But when the time comes for me to reread the series, I’d probably choose to skip this one, and read the other installments instead.

It’s enjoyable though, and I feel like this sequel was the perfect sequel to Cinder.

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[redfoxwritesstuff]

Of Dust and Ashes

Well, look at what happened after all. Hope everyone had a happy Holiday and is looking positively toward the new year. This is the last update for Of Dust and Ashes of 2019. Stay tuned for the January 1st post where I go over some stats for 2019- because holy hell have I written a lot of words. 

I’d like to take this chance to thank all of my readers. I’d like to take a moment to thank @winterisakiller for keeping the death count on this from being even higher. I’d also like to thank @tnystrk-exe for encouraging me to embrace the death count. Yes, I realize they are two contradictory forces but they are winged ones sitting on my shoulder. 

Check out the Masterlist for prior Chapters. I run on Coffee. 

Chapter 19: The First Snowfall

Things were quiet as Thanksgiving came and went. It was only a few days after that the first snowfall hit the farmhouse, blanketing the ground in white fluff. Deanna was sitting across from Clint at the dinette and movement outside was what had caught her eye. Instantly, she tensed as she looked over but rather than some threat, she saw fat white snowflakes slowly falling from the sky.

At least, they looked white as they fell from where she sat. It had been a long time since Deanna had seen snow in person. Far longer than she would like to admit.

She told the kids that she and their father had settled in Southern California to get away from snow and winter weather in general. She had told them that she hated snow, hated driving on it and dealing with shoveling it.  

That wasn’t the complete truth. She had loved winter. She loved the sight of snow covered trees and the way the moon sparkled over the pure white ground. There were few things that gave her the same sense of peace as coming in from shoveling the drive and wrapping her hands around a hot mug of cocoa.  

It was true that she hated driving on the snow and ice. It was dangerous but what she hated more was the way her then husband would get angry about the cold. Looking back, perhaps that should have been a warning sign.  

He would get angry about having to clear it off his car, often only clearing the windshield and letting the wind clear the rest as he drove. Apparently, safety for other drivers be damned. When his hands and feet were cold, he got cranky. But there wasn’t anything she could do about that, she couldn’t change the weather.  

The only thing she could do was agree to move somewhere that didn’t get cold in the winter.  

Seeing those snowflakes falling brought back a childlike joy and displayed it across her face for Clint to admire. She wasted no time at all in rushing to the door, slipping her shoes on and dashing outside. Clint and Trust were both right behind her.  

The dog barked and danced in the yard, jumping up and catching flakes in his mouth. Clint watched as Deanna spun in the snow, leaning against the doorway with his cup of coffee in his hand. It was a sight he would gladly enjoy for as long as he could.  

He wasn’t sure if she noticed how the snow wasn’t as white as it should have been, as bright as it should have been. If she did, she didn’t seem to care. It was only the slightest tinging of gray that gave way a hint of what had happened.  

The sky and as a result, the rain, had begun to clear in the last few weeks. It was a small blessing, watching the water run clearer as each day passed. Life was moving on. The cycle was continuing. The world kept turning.  

With the rains and snows, perhaps the dust would stay settled. He hoped that would be the case. The plants seemed to thrive off of the dust and ashes and they both had spent time telling themselves that was a good thing.

And it was. Objectively, they each knew that. The plants needed all the help they could get. Especially food crops, the likes of which were dying at alarming rates all summer and fall. The worrying information had been passed to Clint from New York, where Nat and the remaining team worked. Their primary concern had shifted from rescue to preventing starvation but there was only so much they could do. People would starve to death this winter.  

The Avengers had invited Clint back, urged him to rejoin them. He continued to tell them he needed space. He was needed close to home. Sometimes he would say he was needed elsewhere. And he was, even if Deanna wouldn’t admit it yet.  

A snowball crashed into his face and she erupted into a fit of laughter. The snow left that grimy feeling behind as it melted but he ignored it. His face could be washed. That was the joy of being here, on his farm and behind his gates. It made it so that they could ignore the horrors of the world outside for a while.

“You’re Hawkeye, how could you let me catch you off guard like that?!” She yelled, squealing a bit as he took off after her.

“Maybe I don’t want to be Hawkeye anymore.” He said as his arms wrapped around her waist, pulling her from her feet and spinning her around.

If not for the slight gray tinge to the snow, if not for the odd silence that still hung around them, the scene would have been at home in any of the Lifetime Christmas specials Deanna had so loved to watch.

“If you’re not Hawkeye than who are you?” She whispered as he turned her in his arms. Her hands rested against his chest as snow gathered and melted in their hair, leaving the grime behind.

“Just Clint Barton. Just a man, taking care of the ones he loves.” His voice was soft and she could feel him tense as he admitted. it.  

Love. They never defined what they were to each other, what the endgame of their relationship was. They never spoke about sex or love or marriage or becoming a family. But maybe in this new world, they didn’t need to. Maybe it was something that just happened when the time was right and you were not looking.  

“Love?” She whispered.  

“I mean- I-” He stammered and she smiled up at him. It was the warmth in that smile that helped him relax. She was curious and cautious, that much was plain to see. But she was also relaxed and hadn’t pulled away from him.  

“It’s okay.”

“I know- I know Laura hasn’t been gone long. And I do love her still. I think I always will-”

“You promised as much when you said your vows.” Dee offered. “It’s not like things stopped working or that you broke up. She was taken from you and that’s different. It’s okay to keep loving her. It’s okay to always love her. I’m not going to punish you for that. I’m not going to expect that you forget about her.”

“I love Trust.” He smiled and rested a hand on her cheek, cold fingers caressing soft skin. “And I also love you. I’m not sure how it happened, when or even why. I know- I know I don’t know you in so many ways and you don’t know me but…” He shrugged.  

“I think…” She bit her lip, looking away from him. He feared that he fucked it up. What they had going was good and he feared that she’d say she was going to leave him, leave his farmhouse and leave the home she’d made there. “I think we know what matters about each other. I think things work differently now. I think I love you too.”

It was too soon. Or at least it should have been. But things seemed to obey new and strange rules now. The very meaning of what it was to love someone seemed to have shifted and changed. It didn’t mean that she wanted a domestic life with him. To see him off to work and to kiss him and welcome him home. It wasn’t a love that made her long to mother his children. It didn’t likewise wasn’t a love that made him wish to see her belly swell with his child.  

It was a different kind of love but a love none the less. It meant that neither wished to see harm come to the other. It was a love that said they had each other’s backs. It was a love that said they would do anything to protect the other. It was a love that whispered in their hearts that they would maybe even kill for each other.  

But such were dark thoughts for another time. Now wasn’t the time to think of what falling in love in this ash covered world meant. It was the time for smiling and simple pleasures. It was the time for huddling together and staying warm while the dust settled.  

Clint’s lips found hers in a soft kiss. It was sweet and she could taste the dark bitter taste of his coffee when his tongue slipped into her mouth. Dirty snow fell around them as they clung to one another, arms winding tight and fingers digging into skin.  

Their breath came out in white puffs, warming their noses and cheeks. He held her close and she toyed with the ends of his hair. It was a sweet kiss, for all of it’s passion. There was a hunger simmering below the surface yet neither had made a move to take it farther. In that way, it was like so many of the kisses they had shared in their time together. It hinted at what they could have, what comfort they could give.

“It’s almost Christmas.” Deanna whispered as their lips pulled apart.

“I didn’t get you anything, Dee.” Clint’s soft voice washed over her. She loved that he called her that. Dee was the woman he saw when he looked at her. Dee was stronger than Deanna. She was a fierce woman who could keep going through the end of the world. She wanted to be Dee.  

“You don’t have to. I don’t have anything for you, either. Let’s just watch movies and be together?” They’d watched most of the movies between the farmhouse and what they had collected from in town. But that didn’t stop Clint from smiling softly.  

“I’d like that.”  

~~~~~<3

Clint and Dee had been doing laundry when the AI security system came to life. The voice of a woman rang out through the house. It scared the life out of Dee when it called out for “Agent Barton”, much to Clint’s amusement.  

“What is it?” He’d asked, once his laughing was under control. It didn’t feel like anything serious could touch them in their little bubble. The simple act of the system coming to life was enough to pop that bubble and send a ball of molten lead to settle in her belly.  

“A group of about fifty individuals are approaching the property. ETA at the gate- 30 minutes.”

“Armed?” There was something to his voice that she’d never heard before. Maybe she was hearing the ghost of Hawkeye in that moment.  

“Some, yes.”

“Pull up a video feed. Let’s take a look.”

In the living room, the large TV came to life on it’s own. The house was more automated that Dee had given it credit for. The screen filled with what appeared to be a remote camera feed. People moved up the road that would take them to the gate. They were pulling crates on trailers behind ATVs. Men had rifles over their shoulders.  

“Stay here. I’ll address this.”  

“No.” Deanna said, surprising herself. She swallowed back her fear. She didn’t want to be Deanna, scared of the world and what was outside the fence. She wanted to be Dee, strong and a partner to Clint. She wanted to pull her weight. She wanted to protect as much as she wanted to be protected. “I want to go with.”  

“It could be dangerous.” He didn’t say ‘no’ but his face was set, hard lines etching deep.

“I know. That’s why I want to go. I- I want to be able to help if things go wrong. And I’ve gotten better.”

“You have.”

“I can help.”

He signed and for a moment he looked everywhere but at her. He looked to the ceiling and the floor, the couch and the TV. Finally, he looked at her, long and hard. With a nod, he consented. “Stay back, away from the gate. We’re taking my Truck- the doors are bulletproofed and if they take those rifles off their backs- you get behind the doors.”

“You too.”

“I need you alive. I need you.” Clint said.

“I need you, too.”  

~~~~~<3

The sun glittered off the snow. If it wasn’t for the slight gray to the snow cover, it would have looked like any other winter day. There was a heavy tension to the air in the truck. Quivers full of arrows were sitting between the seats, next to bows. Resting on top of the weapons were two hands, clasped together. It had occurred to her as they loaded into the truck that it was the 24th of December. Christmas Eve.  

In the past she’d be building gingerbread houses and taking the children to parties. She’d see them off to bed and tell them at least four more times to go back to bed. And finally, when they were settled and well asleep, she would wrap the last minute gifts.  

Looking over at Clint, she wondered what he would have been doing today if their world hadn’t ended. Would he be busy being a father and husband? Did he cut down a fresh tree every year? Did they decorate a fake one? These questions and so many more danced on the tip of her tongue and she dared not ask them. Part of her wondered if just as Deanna had passed away, leaving Dee behind- did that man pass too from this world? Is that what he had meant by wanting to leave Hawkeye behind?

They pulled up close to the gate, nose of the truck within a few short feet of the metal. He had once told her that the lower part of the gate was not electrified, only the upper third. It served to protect animals that may wander into it or small creatures passing through it but kept anyone from climbing over. There were no signs warning of this and she wondered if that was legal.  

They left the truck running as they opened the doors. Ice and snow crunched under their boots. Her ankle was almost healed and for that, Dee was thankful. The last thing she needed was to fall. Still, there was a lingering stiffness to it.  

They stood, partially hidden behind the open doors of the truck and waited. They could see the group approaching. There was a moment of silence as they came to a stop right outside the gate. They sized each other up.  

She watched as eyes flicked from Clint to her and lingered. He cleared his throat and they looked again to him.  

“What do you want?” he asked, authority powering his voice in a way that she found so painfully attractive.  

“Let us in.” The man who seemed to be the leader, demanded. “It’s time you paid tax to King Jacob.”

Their eyes locked eyes at the name. They’d hoped that they wouldn’t hear of him again. In hindsight, that was far too much to ask for. Having a second run in with a group tied to King Jacob made Dee wonder about the state of things on the west coast. Was King Mason expanding his territory this winter as well?

“We owe no tax and have sworn no loyalty to any new King.”  

“This land is claimed by King Jacob.”

Clint began to speak over the man. “This land is ours and ours alone.”

Ours. Not his. Ours. The word sent butterflies into a fluttering fit in Dee’s stomach. She squashed them and for now, the remained squashed. Now wasn’t the time.  

“As the ruler of this land, King Jacob takes possession of three quarters of your supplies.” Clint snorted indigently. “We’re also gathering… vulnerable citizens to keep safe in the city.”

“And to do so you need them in cages?” Clint nodded his head to the side, toward where large wire kennels were placed on trailers. They were pulled behind ATVs. They had heavy tarps covering most of them.

Deanna hadn’t noticed before Clint drew attention to them but when she realized that there were people, women in the cages. Once she noticed them, it was hard to ignore what was right in front of her eyes.  

The women looked like there were naked and too thin. There wasn’t a scrap of cloth inside the crates, so far as she could see. Most of them huddled in the shadows, no doubt using the tarps covering their enclosures to protect themselves from the elements. The only thing they could use to keep warm was the body heat of one another.  

“It’s to keep them safe.” The man said. “You never know what could-”

“She doesn’t need you to protect her.” Clint glanced at Dee as he spoke. “I assure you, she is more than capable of taking care of herself and she’s got me to watch her back. That’s all she needs.”

“Ah but she is a woman.” The man pointed out as if that much wasn’t obvious. “Women need protection. It is King Jacob’s orders that the women and children of his lands be gathered in the city.”

“These are not his lands.” Clint challenged.  

“They are. And you’ll give your woman and your tax.”

“We’ll do no such thing.” Dee called out.  

“Help me.” A woman’s voice called timidly through the cold air. Her arm reached out from between the openings in the woven wire of the cage. “My baby- They left my baby. Help me.”  

“Shut up!” A man guarding the cages roared, breaking any sense of decorum the caravan had been aiming for. The man jabbed a long stick into the cage, striking the woman. She fell hard against the grate bottom.  

“Please.” She cried, words carried to them on the soft winter’s breeze. “Please, they- they left her. They left her!” The man jabbed her with a stick, again and again until all that they could hear was the woman’s broken sobs.  

“Where?” Clint demanded and when he didn’t receive an answer, he demanded a second time, louder. “Where is she?! Where did you leave her?!”  

“It doesn’t concern you.” The leader coolly spoke, as if a woman wasn’t being beaten through the crate behind him. “Bring your tax- her included- to Kansas City and present it to King Jacob within a week’s time. Prepare your camp for inspection after. Do not make us come for it.”  

They watched as the caravan turned and made their way down the dirt road. Dee’s eyes darted to Clint, taking in his tense form and locked jaw.  

“What now?” It was the sound of her voice that brought Clint’s eyes to her.  

“We find that baby.”

“How?”

“Try to cover as much ground as we can. Do you- Do you want to come or stay?”

“I want to go.”  

“Then let’s go.”

~~~~~<3

Tag List: @usedtobegoodfriend96, @theoneanna, @alexakeyloveloki, @acoholic-muffin, @missaphrodite23, @toozmanykids, @j-u-s-t-4. @bambamwolf87, @nonsensicalobsessions. @tinchentitri, @xoxabs88xox​, @queenoftheunderdark​, @coyotesongwriting​, @myoxisbroken​, @carissime72​, @faemapfae​, @jeremyrennerfanxxxx123​, @wegingerangelica​

[rambling-at-midnight]

Tech Ed Sucks

Stranger Things Fic

Request: Hii! 1st time requesting something, I hope it’s okay! Could you write a Will/Reader where she finds something in common w/ Mike and it seems like she enjoys spending time with him more than she does with Will, and when he tries to confront her, she says he’s being ridiculous and there’s no reason for him to be paranoid, and she doesn’t realise it hurt his feelings, so he talks to Eleven and she’s in the same boat, and they do pretty much what Mike and Reader are doing, so that they both realise (anonymous)

So you didn’t finish the request, anon, but I think I went where you were going. Hope you like it!

Pairing: Will Byers x Reader

“Hey, Y/N, these are my friends,” Will introduces, motioning to the group of people sitting at his lunch group. You’ve seen them all in different situations, but never together; that redheaded girl always skateboards around and the boy with the dark curly hair and dorkish sweater has had to fix problems teachers have had with technology more than a few times. They’ve all been a little too intimidating for you to approach on your own; like you’d said, the redhead is a skateboarder, and the curly-dark-haired boy and the curly-haired girl you can only assume is his girlfriend are literally never apart, and you don’t want to intrude on that. Not to mention the boy with the wild but light curls always looks to be joking around with everyone and popular. The last boy, the dark-skinned one, plays basketball, which means he is automatically cool.

So, really, you feel like the only approachable one is Will. He’s in your art class and pretty quiet. You’ve never even see him with these people, so it’s a coincidence that he’s friends with them. Pretty close friends, too, if he’s leaving his art friends to sit with them and everyone else is leaving their own friends to sit here. You know for a fact that the dark-haired boy always has an invitation to sit with the basketball guys, and to turn down an invitation with them takes guts.

So it’s a bit intimidating for you, the new girl at the school for the past five months, to sit down at this table of clearly very close friends when every other day at lunch you’ve been eating in the library despite it being against the rules. You just hide your food when the librarian’s watching; it’s easy.

“Guys, this is Y/N,” he continues. “My…”

You tense. You and Will are definitely something. Neither of you are for sure about what you are, but there’s definitely feelings that are reciprocated. Now what those feelings are you have to figure out.

“Hey!” the curly-light-haired boy says, extending his hand. “I’m Dustin. You’re in my science and P.E., right?”

“That sounds right,” you say, shaking his hand (seriously, what kid shakes hands?). He’s got a good, firm grip, though, even if his hands are slightly sweaty. You try to discreetly wipe your hands on your pants under the table after you sit down. “You’re the class clown, right?”

The dark-skinned boy and the redheaded girl offer small chuckles.

“I’m Mike,” the boy with the dark curls says, offering you a smile that that doesn’t show teeth and a small wave. “This is El.” He nudges the girl you’d assumed to be his girlfriend with his elbow and she offers you another smile without teeth. She doesn’t wave, though, or echo the greeting.

Did you do something to offend her? Then again, you’re pretty sure she’s just like that; you’ve noticed that Mike’s practically her voice during class and nobody’s batted an eye. Maybe she’s deaf.

“I’m Max,” the redhead says, waving at you with her sandwich. A few crumbs land in Dustin’s hair and he groans at her. “That’s Lucas.” She jerks a bit and Lucas groans and clutches his leg. She’d obviously kicked him under the table. “So how do you know Will?”

“We’re in the same art and history class,” you respond, taking a bite out of your own sandwich. Plus, you’ve met at the arcade more than a few times. And at Benny’s...

“Hey, you’re in my Tech Ed class, right?” Mike asks, staring at you and squinting like he’s just trying to place you.

“I think so?” You shrug. “Probably. You looked sorta familiar, so that might be it.”

“What do you think about Mr. Short?”

You make a face and immediately regret it. What if he likes Mr. Short?

To your relief, Mike laughs and gestures at you. “I know, right?”

“He doesn’t explain a thing!” you exclaim. “And I’m pretty sure he doesn’t even know how to use a computer!”

“I know more about that class than he does!” Mike responds excitedly.

Will and Eleven lock eyes as you and Mike talk in increasingly loud voices, as if you’ve forgotten the rest of the table is even there. When El puts her hand on Mike’s knee, he doesn’t even notice, and you’re talking so loudly you don’t even hear the bell ring for the end of lunch.

“Talk to you later, Mike!” you say, waving over your shoulder at him as you walk away. When you turn around, you hug your books to your chest and grin at Will. “Wow, Mike’s really nice!”

Will sighs and turns the volume up on the TV once more. Eleven sits next to him, trying to watch the show, but you and Mike aren’t making it easy. Will swears he hears you say ‘Mr. Short’ five times in less than as many minutes.

Will hadn’t intended for it to be only you four. That would make it seem too much like a double date and he is not dating you. He has no idea what you feel about him. Honestly, at this point it sort of feels like you’re more interested in Mike than you are him, and if Will didn’t know any better, he’d say Mike’s interested back.

Unfortunately, Max and Lucas were off doing their own thing (both vehemently insisted it wasn’t a date, but why else would they be going to a diner just the two of them on a Friday night?) and Dustin had to take his mom’s cat to the vet.

So the moment you and Mike arrived, you were talking about your one (one! Will shares two classes with you and so does Dustin!) tech ed and your infuriating teacher and the latest unclear homework he assigned.

Will had even told you that it sort of felt like you were interested in Mike. You’d brushed him off, which made him think that, maybe, you might be interested in Mike. You’d just said that he was being crazy, which was sort of rude, now Will thinks about it. Whenever he brings up concerns like that to Jonathan and his friends they listen to him.

Well, except Mike now. He’d also told Will that he was practically crazy for thinking he may have feelings for you despite the fact that he’d brought El here and has barely said a word to her. Besides, Will has it on good authority that Mike didn’t sneak over to the cabin on last Saturday night even though he always does. El had acknowledged that the Chief had been sending Mike dirty looks recently, so he might not have wanted to risk it, but why wouldn’t he have just told El?

Will’s not sure if Mike was with you Saturday night. He doesn’t want to think about it. He’d liked you. You’re smart and sweet and a really good artist. To be honest, he’d expected you and El to hit it off more than you and Mike; she wants to learn how to draw and you seem like someone that’d be willing to teach her. Now it may have something to do with the way El thinks you’re stealing her boyfriend, but she sort of hates your guts. Not that anyone can tell; she’s been ignoring you, which is par for the course when El’s at school. She loosens up a little bit at the cabin, Mike’s house, and Will’s house, but she’s still super duper quiet.

Will notices El’s hand clenching. She’s staring at you and Mike again. He puts his hand on her fist. You still don’t know about her powers and he doesn’t need El hurting you with them just because she thinks you’re making moves on her boyfriend. “Hey,” he says softly. “It’s okay. I talked to Y/N.”

El just blinks at him, which he takes as a cue to keep talking. Mike’s the best at reading El’s little cues, but given the amount of time she spends over at Will’s house while his mom and the Chief ‘hang out’, he’s gotten pretty good at it too. “She said they’re just friends.”

El shakes her head. It doesn’t look that way.

“I know,” Will says softly. “Hey, do you want to draw?”

She nods.

“But we’ve gotta trust them, right?” he continues, handing her a piece of paper and a crayon. At this point, most of El’s drawings look like children’s drawings, but he tries to be as encouraging as possible. After all, she is a superhero that saved his life, and she’s also emotionally fragile. He also can’t help but think of her like a sister. She’ll be his stepsister soon enough anyway; the Chief asked Jonathan if he could ask Joyce to marry him and Jonathan told Will.

He said yes. Will thinks.

“A relationship without trust isn’t a relationship.”

“You and Y/N?”

Will shakes his head and exhales. “I wish. I don’t know, though.” So he’s a hypocrite. So he doesn’t trust that you and Mike are ‘just friends’. It’s still good to set a good example, especially for such an impressionable young girl. “I’m just trying to work up my courage, you know?”

You have hung out with Will without Mike. You have. And Will’s pretty sure you’re acting normally when it’s just you and him. And, really, if he’s going to get into a relationship, he doesn’t want it to be like his mother’s marriage; he wants to be able to trust his partner. He also doesn’t want his partner to act like they prefer someone else’s presence over his all the time. Some of the time, sure. Will can understand if you’d rather hang out with Max while you’re talking about sports, or (if you were close to El; he’s sure you will be once El stops thinking you’re making moves on Mike) El if you want to talk about fashion. El likes fashion.

But not all the time.

Eventually you have to leave and Mike immediately comes to sit between Will and El, asking her what she’s drawing, and the purposeful way he sits between them starts to give Will an idea.

“So what do you think?”

“Yuck,” El says without looking up from the rainbow she’s coloring. Her nose crinkles. “I like Mike.”

“Yes, I know you like Mike,” Will says, bouncing his leg anxiously. “And I know you don’t like me.”

“I do!” she insists. “Just… not the same.”

“Yeah, that’s what I meant,” Will clarifies. “You like me like a friend or like a brother, right? And you like Mike as a boyfriend. And I like you as a friend or a sister, and I like Y/N as a girlfriend.” He hunches down over the table to continue coloring so El doesn’t think he’s too invested in this conversation. He really wants to try the experiment and get to the bottom of the drama, but El might not want to do it if she thinks he’s being too demanding of her. She doesn’t like to do things that aren’t choices. And he totally understands! It’s because of those assholes in the lab, but right now he really needs her to say yes. Will picks up the blue crayon for the robes of the wizard he’s drawing. Normally he hates crayons and prefers colored pencils, but El likes pencils and also feels insecure about all her differences from the other kids. Sometimes it’s nice to let go a little bit and draw with colored wax. It doesn’t look as bad making a mistake as it would if he was using a colored pencil. “But if we just pretend for, like, a day or so, then we can see if Mike still likes you like a girlfriend.”

He hears a massive sniff and looks up with alarm. Tears are already pouring down her face and cascading onto the drawing of her rainbow. Will drops the blue crayon. “El! Wait! How’d you start crying so fast? Wait, El, that’s not what I meant—” He practically throws himself around the table to hug her. “El, that’s not what I meant at all. I’m so sorry.” He looks up nervously at the sound of a car passing. If the Chief comes home and sees his daughter sobbing, Will’s gonna get murdered. “What I meant was I want to know if Y/N thinks of me as a boyfriend. Mike obviously thinks about you like a girlfriend. Didn’t he sneak out last night to come see you?”

El sniffs and wipes her nose with her sleeve, nodding. “Came to my window.”

“And it was cold last night, right? And Mike’s house is pretty far away. Plus, it was a school night,” Will points out. God, his friend is so whipped. Too bad El’s too insecure to see that. “Mike wouldn’t just do that for any of his friends.”

Wait. But Mike would do that for any of his friends. That’s just the kind of person that he is. Will curses internally and hopes El won’t think about that, but the look she gives him let him know that she knows that.

“What if Mike doesn’t want to go to the Snow Ball with me?” she wails, starting to cry harder, and Will’s at a loss. He knows that Mike and El mean a lot to each other. He honestly can’t see Mike ever leaving El, let alone for a girl he’s known for around a month. Honestly, Will’s just worried about you.

“It’s fine, it’s fine,” he says hurriedly. “We don’t have to pretend to like each other. I’m sorry I brought it up. Mike definitely likes you. Do you want me to get Mike? I can get Mike.” Mike always knows what to do when El’s crying.

El shakes her head, hiccuping. “Mike doesn’t like me anymore. Mike won’t help me.”

“Oh, no, El,” Will soothes, rubbing her back. “Mike does like you, I promise.”

“I don’t like Y/N!” she bursts out, clenching her fists and banging them on the table. Well, angry El is better than crying El. It’s something, at least. At least, it would be, if the crayon she’d been using to draw wasn’t hovering over the table. It’s a sign that El’s losing a teensy bit of control over her powers.

Now, Will’s got a good imagination. It’s not as good as Mike’s, obviously; Mike’s the best Dungeon Master anyone could ask for. But Will’s still got a good imagination, and right now Will’s imaging Eleven using that crayon to stab you.

“El, I just really like Y/N,” Will pleads. “This would help out a lot.”

“I’ll do it,” El says suddenly. The crayon snaps in two and falls onto the table. Will flinches. “Not too much. But…” She rolls her eyes. “To help you.”

Will grins and has to stop himself from pumping his hand into the air, crowing.

You notice when Will doesn’t greet you in the morning. He’s too deeply engrossed in conversation with El. They’re both standing by Mike’s locker, obviously waiting for him to get here.

“Hey, guys!” you greet happily, walking over to them. Your stomach flips a little bit, just like it always does when you see Will, and you hope he doesn’t notice the way your grin widens when you make eye contact with him. “What are you doing?”

“We were… just talking,” Will says, motioning between him and El. She stands on her tiptoes and whispers something into Will’s ear and his face breaks out into a wide grin. “What?” He looks at El in a way that makes your stomach churn. It’s intimate in a way and shares many more words than a mere sentence.

The smile drops off your face. Shit. Fuck. He’s moved on from you and you two weren’t even a thing. Worst thing is, he’s moved on to El, and you know how much Mike likes El. He barely stops talking about her!

“Hey, Will,” Mike greets behind you. His smile looks a little forced as he glances around. “Hey, have you seen El?”

Will shrugs and points in the direction she left. “She went that way. She probably saw Lucas or Dustin.”

Mike nods, giving Will a look you’ve never seen before, and he stalks off without even getting his books from his locker.

“Y/N, do you want to get dinner with me tonight?” Will blurts out before you can make up an excuse to escape his presence. “Like… a date?”

You blink, having gotten whiplash. Just a second ago he was flirting with El, wasn’t he? “What? A date?”

“Well, yeah,” Will says sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck. “I have a funny story to tell you…”

“So me and El were super jealous, you know?” Will starts. You nod. You hadn’t realized how upset Will was by you and Mike being close. You’d thought he’d be happy that you’re getting along with his friends, and you’d also thought that if he really cared he’d make a move!

Well, he did make a move.

You hope.

“Well, we decided that we were going to try to make you and Mike jealous,” he starts and you screw up your face with disgust.

“Ew! Mike said you and El are practically siblings!”

Will huffs out a laugh. “Well, yeah. That’s why the whole scheme lasted for about five seconds until El whispered in my ear that she was sure you liked me. So… I asked you out. El’s never wrong.”

You tilt your head. “Why didn’t you just ask her in the first place?”

“I think she was a bit blinded by her hatred for you,” he says matter-of-factly.

You blanch.

“Not anymore!” Will adds, holding out a placating hand. “She just thought you were going to make a move on Mike or something. Anyways, neither of us think that anymore, so…”

You smile at Will. “I’m glad you didn’t waste either of our time on that stupid scheme. I’m also sad I didn’t take your feelings into account when you came with them to me.”

“Hey, it’s fine,” Will promises. “No big deal.”

Taking a huge risk, he reaches across the table to where your hand is resting on it and laces his fingers with yours. Your eyes are wide, brain unable to function, and his fingers are so very warm.

Will smiles at the table.

I’m going to start working on a Wanda Maximoff x Stark!Reader as soon as I can. Unfortunately, my spring break is ending so I won’t be able to upload as quickly. Thank you all for the support!

[danijimenezv]

When We Were Young

Prompt/Summary: Based on “When We Were Young”, by Adele

Pairings: Jensen x female!reader�� (Danneel is not in the picture in this one. I have nothing against her, I actually love her, but for the sake of the story, let’s just pretend she lives happily with someone else.)

Warnings: some angst, a bit of an age gap

Word Count: 1576

A/N: It’s still June 1st where I am, so this for Kari’s British Song Challenge ( @thing-you-do-with-that-thing ). It’s also my first time writing Jensen. I’m sorry this was a bit short, but I was having a bit of a block. Feedback is much appreciated, I’d love to hear what you think!

Jensen was having a blast that weekend, right beside the guys that had become like his family. After the Supernatural panel had ended, he, Jared and Misha went to walk around and explore everything else Comic Con had to offer. The afternoon had been filled with jokes and laughs, and the occasional excited shouts at something they had seen. That was all before he had seen her.

The whole world seemed to stop spinning, around him everyone and everything became a blur, as his eyes focused on the woman a few feet away from him. Just watching her standing there, laughing at something someone else told her, he was catapulted more than a decade back, to the last time they were together. Fans surrounded her and took pictures with her, the flash of the cameras lighting her face and making her eyes look brighter.

Y/N turned her head to one side, immediately meeting the actor’s gaze. Her smile faded from her face, a shocked expression taking its place instead as she recognized him. He looked just as she remembered him, maybe even better. She said a quick “Excuse me.” to her co-star and fans, and walked towards Jensen, who at the same time waltzed gracefully to meet her in the middle.

“Hey, Jensen.” she greeted softly when she stood just before him.

“Y/N.” he breathed out, completely awestruck, and she took in a sharp intake of breath at hearing the familiar, deep voice, “H-hi. Been a while, huh?”

“Yeah.” she chuckled under her breath, “It’s… It’s so good to see you.”

“It’s good to see you too.” Jensen offered, “You look g-great!”

“So do you!” People started calling both of their names for them to return to their respective activities, making both of them sigh in defeat, “I guess I’ll see you around.”

“Sure.”

She was the first one to tear her eyes away from him, taking a few steps further away, before he stopped her once again, “Y/N, wait.”

“Yes?”

“Would you...” Jensen gulped nervously, “Would you like to grab dinner with me later? When we’re both finished, I mean. If you have some time for yourself. You know, before we leave-”

“Sure.” she nodded, putting a stop to his rambling, “I’d love to.”

“Great.”

“I’ll see you tonight, Jensen.”

Both of them continued their way, internally screaming like little school girls. Y/N felt her whole body bouncing with excitement throughout the whole day. Her stomach was filled with butterflies, and her mind raced with all the possibilities the evening could bring. Even though it had been years since they had seen each other last, the feelings she had tried hard to bury hadn’t disappeared at all.

Jensen and Y/N had been together for years, going from being together while in school to small actors in random projects. They had even been engaged at one point, though they eventually decided to end their relationship like adults, when Jensen had the opportunity to be in a new show called Supernatural and she had a movie deal in Europe. As both of them had to move away, him to Vancouver and her to Paris, they decided to breakup, not to jeopardize each other’s careers. It hadn’t been a bad ending, but it certainly had involved lots of tears and hugs, each holding on for as long as they could, until they had to part ways.

As the evening progressed, Jensen found himself more and more nervous. Sure, he knew Y/N better than he knew himself. Well, he had known Y/N better than he knew himself. It was unclear how much both of them had changed in their time apart, but hope still bloomed in his chest. He hoped she was the same Y/N that had been his love, the same Y/N he had made the mistake of letting go without fighting further for her. For him, it was as if he was given a second chance. For years, he had been too scared to reach out to her again, even when he discovered she had come back from France. After the breakup, Jensen couldn’t bear to see her again, and he didn’t want to face the possibility of rejection, so he had stayed away. His fears had made him stay away. Though, now that they had run into each other at Comic Con, he had to at least try.

Hours later, after they had met up, he had decided to take her to an Italian restaurant close by the hotel they were both staying. Small conversation flowed between them while they waited for their orders to be ready, and Y/N hadn’t had felt more at home than in that moment with Jensen, even if they were in a public space surrounded by strangers.

“That’s exactly what you ordered on our first date.” Jensen commented, trying to be casual, as the waiter placed the dish in front of her.

“You remember that?” she almost gasped out loud, but she controlled herself.

“Why wouldn’t I?”

“Jay, we were in high school.” Y/N shrugged nonchalantly, “It’s been years.”

“You don’t remember?” he frowned slightly.

“I didn’t say that.” she denied, waving around, “This whole place. The food. You. It reminds me of when we were young.”

“It’s really been a while.”

“Yeah, tell me about it.” Y/N scoffed, a nostalgic expression settling on her delicate features, and Jensen cleared his throat, bringing her out of her thoughts, “So… is there any special lady in your life that I should worry about?”

“No, not really. What about you?” Jensen cocked his head to one side in curiosity.

“No.” Y/N was quick to answer, “You kinda ruined men for me.”

“Well, you did the same for me.”

Y/N studied the man across the table from her, trying to memorize each and every detail as they fell silent. The light freckles across his face, the way his green eyes glinted and seemed to change colors with the light or with his mood, the way his well-defined jaw clenched in the slightest even as he talked, the way he squinted his eyes and scrunched his sharp nose when he laughed; Y/N had missed it all, and she wanted to remember him exactly like that in case she didn’t see him again.

“In all these years...” Jensen started after some time in silence, “...I’ve had one regret.”

“Jensen, please, no.”

“We didn’t have to end things.” he stated, “When you left-”

“Please, don’t say it like that.” she begged, “We had to, for our careers.”

“No, we didn’t. I should’ve fought harder for you.”

“Jay, we were too young.” Y/N insisted, “You were 27, and I was 21, and we were engaged at that age. I loved you, I really did, but we had to let go of each other.”

“We could’ve made it.” Jensen stated, “Despite the distance. We would’ve made it.”

“Yeah, probably. But we probably weren’t even prepared for that, and we had to live a bit first before jumping into something as huge as marriage.”

“I didn’t have to be apart from you to learn to live a little.”

“And what if we hadn’t make it?” she said sternly, “What if the distance killed it for us, and we ended in bad terms? What if it worked out momentarily, but then we divorced? Do you think I would’ve wanted to divorce you? Maybe it was better that way, each on their own.”

“Maybe. But those are a lot of what if’s, if you ask me.”

“What was the point of all this?” Y/N dropped her fork, tears blurring her sight, “Reminisce the past? Okay, yeah, it was good while it lasted and it was bittersweet, and I know there’s no harm in looking back, but-”

“You don’t see it, do you?” Jensen sighed, running a hand through his hair, “I never let it go, Y/N. I always hold on to you, hoping that one day we could go back to how we were. I still care, I still want this. And I won’t let you go that easily. I’m not making that mistake again.”

“God, Jensen...” she took a deep breath, “What if I’m not the girl you think I am anymore? I can’t take anymore heartbreak from you, not after our breakup.”

“Neither can I.” Jensen’s voice was firm, but full of emotion, “But I can’t lose you again. I know you’re scared. I’m just as scared as you, sweetheart, but I’m more scared of losing you for good, and I don’t want to live the years to come wondering what could’ve happened if we had gone for it, like the last time. I’m not just trying to make amends with our past, I want to try to make this work.”

Y/N’s eyes were glossy and her throat felt dry as Jensen finished his short speech, though she couldn’t hide her awe. His green eyes scanned her face, anxiously waiting for her to say something, anything. A breath-taking grin broke out on her face suddenly, and she wiped the couple of tears that had escaped from the corners of her eyes.

“I want that too.” Y/N said, her voice barely above a whisper, but Jensen still led out a chuckle of relief as he took her hand in his, lacing their fingers together, “All of that.”

“Then what are we waiting for?” Jensen replied, feeling absolutely exhilarated, “Let’s get this started again, shall we, Miss Y/L/N?”

“We shall, Mr. Ackles.”

Tags:  @thing-you-do-with-that-thing, @thinkwritexpress-official, @a-little-hell-to-raise, @teepartyy, @sleepywinchester, @buckysberrie, @angelkurenai, @atc74, @mrswhozeewhatsis, @docharleythegeekqueen, @ruined-by-destiel, @theoriginalvicki, @sillesworldofwriting, @percywinchester27, @torn-and-frayed, @blushingdean, @like-a-bag-of-potatoes, @becs-bunker, @impalaimagining, @love-kittykat21, @jadalecki-jackles, @waywardmoeyy, @spn-fan-girl-173, @winchester-writes, @hellaqueerangelofthelord

[legitbaddest]

Finally ➳ Dean Ambrose

Fandom: WWE

Pairing(s): Dean Ambrose x Reader

Prompt/Summary:  With Nikki and John getting engaged, you begin feeling a little jealous that all your friends are beginning to settle down and start their own families, while you and Dean have been together almost 12 years and marriage hasn’t ever been mentioned between the two of you.

Word Count: 2,251

A/N:  So I definitely got carried if you guys can’t tell from the word count, but I actually like this one. Let me know what you guys think, and if you have any requests, send them in ^_^

Clarifications

“Ooh I think that's Nikki and Brie,” I told Nattie, Eva, and Trin as the doorbell rang. I hopped out of the pool, wrapped a towel around myself before making my way to the front door, “Babes!”

“Hey booo,” Nikki replied, smiling as I motioned them in.

“Hey Y/N,” Brie smiled, giving me a hug after Nikki.

“Come on, the girls are already outback,” I closed the front door and began my way outback with the girls, “look who’s finally here.”

Nikki and Brie greeted the other girls, before stripping down to their swimsuits, and joining the rest of us girls in the shallow end of the pool.

“Damnn Brie, look at you,” I whistled teasingly as Brie laughed and fake swatted at us. We all got drinks and sat on the steps of my pool, easily making conversation. Being on different brands, or having different lives, us girls didn’t get together a lot anymore.

“Nikki, I want a close up of this ring. I haven’t had a chance to see it,” I pouted, walking over to the recently engaged woman, who willingly held out her hand. I sat my drink down, and grabbed her hand, looking at the 5 carat engagement ring, “Wow, it’s so gorgeous. I’m so happy for you, love.”

“Thank you, doll,” She replied, smiling and giving me a short hug, “It’s just so crazy honestly. I’m still in shock over it.”

“It’s so crazy like we’re all at that point in our lives where we’re all finally settling down with our men,” Eva said, and everyone nodded in agreement, well except me. It honestly made me kinda jealous that all the girls were getting serious, or were ready to start a family while the marriage topic hasn’t even came up between Dean and I.

“Well everyone except for me,” I chuckled dryly, the girls sending me looks as I did.

I have been dating Dean Ambrose for almost 12 years now. We met when we were both in the independent circuit, during his Mox days. Our first official meeting was through his old trainer, someone who had also trained me. That’s when our friendship bloomed, which turned into a little more than friendship.

When our relationship became public, a lot of people thought that our relationship wouldn’t even make it past the six month mark. Yet here we are, almost 12 years later, still together, and in WWE now. Although the relationship hasn’t been the easiest, it’s been worth it. Distance and injuries were the main reason for the problems between us. Then there was Dean, who was called up to NXT before me, and worked his way onto the main roster. I was very proud of him for it, but our schedules were really hectic that we barely seen each other than.

Eventually I made a big enough name for myself on the Indies, and was offered a contract for NXT. I was there for about a year and a half, before they moved me up to the main roster after becoming the longest NXT Women's Champion, and most undefeated women there.

“Has he ever mentioned marriage to you?” questioned Brie.

“No,” I replied, sulking a bit, “I mean when I was still in the Indies, we did talk about how he really didn’t want to get married, but we haven’t talked about it since. I’ve kinda given up hope on it.”

“You sound like me before John proposed,” Nikki joked, earning a chuckle from all the girls who agreed, “but maybe he’s planning on asking you?”

“Nah, he’s not good at keeping secrets so I’d know if he was. I really don’t think about it anymore,” I shook my head, pursing my lips a bit.

That was a lie - I thought about it a lot more than I’d like to admit. A lot of my friends have been getting engaged, or starting their own families, and they’ve only been dating for a few years, nothing like the 12 years Dean and I have. I know that being married, and having kids isn’t as glamorous as it looks on TV, but it’s what I’ve always wanted. A husband, kids, a house of my own, and a couple animals running around. Right now, I only have the own house and a couple animals running around.

“I’m sure he’ll propose, just have some hope,” Nattie said, and I shrugged smiling.

“I have a man who loves me, I’m grateful enough for that,” I replied, honestly.

“Y/N, John and me are proof miracles happen. Don’t give up,” Nikki told me, giving me a side hug.

“I’m not holding my breath,” I chuckled, “I’m gonna go grab another drink, anyone else want one?”

Once the girls replied, I jumped from the steps and made my way inside.

// 3rd POV //

“Someone needs to talk to Dean,” Eva said once Y/N went inside to grab drinks.

“They need to talk fast then, because Y/N and Dean deserve to get married. After all the bullshit they’ve been through, they’ve gotten past it, and not many people do, especially in this line of work,” Brie added.

“I’ll talk to him,” Nikki said, with a nod of her head and look in her eyes, just as Y/N walked back, arms full with the drinks.

“Dean!” Nikki called out to the lunatic who was hanging with Seth and Roman before their match, who turned to look at the 5’6 woman.

“Yes?”

“We need to talk,” She huffed, crossing her arms.

“About?”

“Y/N.”

“Did something happen? Is she okay?” Dean slightly panicked.

“She’s fine,” Nikki said, trying to reassure the man.

“What is there to talk about then?” He trailed off, very confused.

“Do you ever plan on marrying Y/N?” Nikki asked, crossing her arms as she got straight to the point, shocking Dean.

“Wha-what?” He coughed, choking on his own saliva, as Roman and Seth shook with laughter, “Of course I do, why ya asking?”

“Well, it’s been almost 12 years so,” She replied back, staring him dead in the eyes, “so forgive me if it’s hard to believe.”

“I get that,” He replied, “it’s not that I don’t want too, I do.”

“Then why haven’t you man? You two have been together for almost 12 years man, no one stays together that long and still in love as they were back then,” Roman spoke up, Seth and Nikki quickly agreeing.

“I want it to be perfect,” Dean replied, “After everything we’ve been through, she deserves the absolute best. I’ve looked at some rings, but I can never find the right one for her.”

“Hm okay well I’ll help you. We will make it perfect for her,” Nikki smiled, “Tomorrow morning, we will go ring shopping. I’ll make sure Brie, Nattie and Trin keep Y/N busy tomorrow. You know, we might just have you propose tomorrow too.”

“Uh tomorrow?” Dean asked, eyes wide.

“Yes tomorrow,” Nikki rolled her eyes, “Dean, you guys have been together for almost 12 years already. It’s time to get your ass in gear, and propose.”

The next morning Dean got up earlier than normal, leaving you a note that he went to hang with Roman and Seth, but instead he met up with Nikki, going to the local mall. While Brie, Trin, and Nattie took you out for another girls day, making sure to keep you away from the mall.

“I have no idea which one to get,” Dean let out a sigh, rubbing his eyes after twenty minutes of ring shopping, “How am I supposed to know which one is the right one for her?”

“Dean, you could give her a ring pop and she’d still love it,” Nikki laughed, nudging Dean who chuckled under his breath, “Ooh what about that one?”

Nikki pointed to a medium size oval cut diamond, on a rose gold brand with diamonds halfway around the brand.

“That’s the one,” Dean said, smiling.

“Let’s go buy the ring then,” Nikki squealed in  excitement as they flagged down a employee, “Now text her and tell her you are taking her out tonight, then bam you propose. For now, let’s plan tonight though.”

// Back to 1st POV //

Hey Darlin’, hope you’re enjoying your girls day, sorry I couldn’t hang with you. I’ll make it up to you by cooking you dinner tonight. Come home around 8 x

“That’s surprising,” I murmured, after getting Deans text.

“What is surprising?” asked Trin.

“Dean is cooking dinner for me tonight. He hates cooking,” I laughed, not noticing the excited looks Brie, Trin and Nattie sent each other.

“Well I think we should get you a new outfit for tonight then,” Brie announced, with an excited smile.

“I think we should too,” I smiled, before we finished our lunch.

The rest of the day we spent shopping, it felt weird without Nikki being as she’s my best friend, but she wasn’t feeling so good so she stayed home. I eventually found an army green dress with a slit, with matching heels. It wasn’t fancy, but it wasn’t all causal. Since I couldn’t exactly go home, I went over to Trins’ house so the girls could do my makeup and so i could get around.

“Thank you girls,” I told them once we were done.

“Have fun tonight babygirl,” Trin smiled, waving with Brie and Nattie as I walked out to my car and headed to my house.

// Skip Car Ride //

“Wow,” was the first thing that came out of Dean's mouth after he opened our front door, “Darlin’ you look gorgeous.”

“You don’t look so bad yourself,” I teased, even though it was true. Dean was wearing his usual jeans, but he paired them with a nice black dress shirt. Dean held out his hand, and I slipped mine into his, stepping into our house as he closed the door. He, then, led me out to the backyard, where fairy lights were set up with a few candles on the table, as soft music played in the background.

“Wow, it’s so beautiful,” I breathed out in awe, “Dean, what is all this for?”

“I realized that in the 12 years we’ve been together, I haven’t really done anything romantic for you, and you really deserve this,” Dean shrugged his shoulders, and I wrapped my arms around his waist.

“Well, thank you so much baby, I love it,” I placed a kiss on his lower jaw. I took a closer look at the table, and noticed my favorite food.

“And I have your favorite dessert in the fridge inside,” He added, after noticing me staring at the table.

“My favorite dessert is right in front of me though,” I pouted, looking up at him, and he grinned.

“You’ll get this dessert later darlin’,” I let out a little laugh at his reply, before we went to eat dinner.

The dinner went by flawlessly, and so did the dessert. The conversation flowed greatly, us just making jokes, or relieving memories. It was just a great time, being on the main roster of WWE, we didn’t get a lot of down time together anymore.

“Ooh I love this song,” I said, just as my favorite song by P!nk came on. Dean stood up, offered his hand which I gladly took, and stood up with him, “You are full of surprises tonight, aren’t you?”

“You deserve tonight,” He replied, as we began slow dancing, “I really love you, Y/N.”

“I love you too, Dean,” I smiled up at the love of my life.

“No like I’m so fucking in love with you, Y/N. I’m not good at this romantic shit, so bare with me,” He joked, making me let out a laugh, “You are the love of my life. You’ve stuck with me through a lot of shit that most wouldn’t. And I, uh, can’t thank you enough for sticking with me. I should've done this a long time ago, but I wanted it to be perfect for you.”

After Dean said that, he let me go and got down on one knee. I gasped, covering my mouth as I felt tears weld up.

“Y/N, will you make me the happiest man alive, and be my wife?” He asked, and I nodded my head as tears began to fall.

“Of course I will,” I replied, sniffling as Dean slipped the ring on. Once it was on, I grabbed his head and brought his lips to mine, “I love you so much.”

“I love you so much more,” He murmured against my lips as I wrapped my arms around his neck.

“Now I think someone promised me some certain dessert?” I teased, pulling back, as a smirk spread across his face.

“Anything for my bride-to-be,” Dean smirked, and the next thing I was over his shoulder, squealing as he slapped my ass.

[an-angels-blessing]

Hi, this is the anon who requested the David Rossi × wife!reader fic, and i just wanted to tell you thank you and you got all the details right😊

Song🐣🎵- N/A

Artist🤸‍♂️🎤- N/A

Warnings 🥵 ⛔- Fluff

Prompt🥺🔥- “I know you’re working, but can I come over because I miss seeing your face?”

Ship😳💍- Rossi x Wife! Reader

Any extra Information📃- In this story Gibbs never fell into his coma in Season 3. This takes place around season 4 and 5.

2nd Person

You are David's 4th wife, the final and his one and only. The two of you met when you were first accepted into the BAU, you were the first to apply who didn't already work with the FBI. To be honest, David and Jason put you through multiple tests to ensure you were qualified for this job. In about a month the 3 of you were best friends. Jason treated you like a sister yet your relationship with David was awkward. You were there at every one of David's weddings, but you had been in love with him for years. There was something about that Italian flair, but you were starting to think that you would have to sit through a 4th wedding, not in white but in the pews. This was until Jason convinced you to confess. In that moment you found out that the two of you had been circling each other's feelings too afraid to try.

Since that day everything ran smoothly, moving in, proposal, marriage, and ultimately 3 kids, two boys and a girl. A set of twins shortly before David retired and one boy after. The moment David found out you were having twins, he knew something had to give. Both of you couldn't be gone, so he decided to retire and focus on his writing. You remained in the BAU but you focused on finding cases, occasionally going out in the field if it called for it, you were the first Communications Liaison.

David had been retired for 2 years when you decided this wasn't going to work. Leaving the state for days at a time with no guarantee when you'll be home. You had looked into multiple options for where you could work, you looked into intelligence... too top secret, linguistics... that also involved random travel with no guarantees. So you looked into moving agency's, until you found the perfect one, and your brother just so happened to work there.

So now that everything was settled, all you had to do was wait for David to get home from his third book signing this month.

1st Person

I was sat on the couch, when David came through the door, he had a late book signing and an interview with a local news article. It was around midnight, the kids had been placed down about 3 hours ago and I was watching reruns of I Love Lucy. When I heard the door shut it didn't take long for my husband to appear in the doorway. "How was it?" A smile graced my lips from the sight of my husband. "Long, what are you still doing up?" He strolls over to the couch, taking a seat beside me and laying an arm across the back of the leather sofa. I lean into his touch, thinking about my answer. "Some late research. I think I want to change agency's." I guess I caught him off guard because he was silent... which is odd for an Italian (or at least him) it really is. "And go where?" It took him a moment to say anything, his voice laced with confusion, wanting to ask why. "NCIS. I know someone who works there and I can't do these long trips anymore. When I came in the house, Angel and Anthony asked me if I was going to leave again. How do I explain to our 4 year olds that I'm not doing this on purpose?" I could feel myself about to cry, and in all honesty Dave was the only one I let see me like this. "I never thought I would miss you this much, I can barely sleep. And I talked to Jason about it, he said that's fine because the BAU is getting more funding." When I look up he had a small smile on his face, he leans in... kissing my forehead before standing up, a hand reached out to me. "Come on Mi amor. I'll make us dinner, get you to bed, and we'll get your transfer papers through tomorrow.” And that is exactly what we did, I don't know what I did in a past life to deserve this but David Rossi is the best thing to ever happen to me.

3rd Person

The short blonde woman stepped into building like she already owned the place. She was dressed head to toe in black, though she gave off everything but depressed vibes. She had a black cable knit sweater on with black dress pants that fit perfectly. While the woman was entering the building, there was a slight discussion going on upstairs.

The team sat in a make shift circle in Abby's lab. All of them were genuinely curious about their new co-worker. 'Them' being Ziva David, Timothy McGee, Anthony Dinozzo, Abby Sciuto, Jimmy Palmer, Donald "Ducky" Mallard, and even Jethro Gibbs decided to join the party after a very convincing (beg) talk from Abby. Gibbs was about to enter the room, when he caught the tail end of the conversation. "So literally no one knows who they are?" Dinozzo was nervous partially because new meant change and that has proven to be a difficult subject. "Nope, I tried to look for their file but I'm not cleared. Ziva tried too, not high enough clearance." McGee was actually happy, someone new on the team meant that Dinozzo would finally leave the teasing alone. Ziva furrowed her eyebrows. "I heard one thing." Everyone turned towards Abby, curious to what she knew. "They got transferred from the FBI. Or at least that's what I heard." This shocked everyone, the FBI hates NCIS so who would actually choose to transfer. "Do you think Gibbs knows who it is?" In that moment Gibbs walked through the door, putting all those facing Tony into an awkward silence. "He's right behind me, isn't he?" All of then nodded, terrified of their boss… well more like a fearful respect than terrifying. Before anyone could say anything, a voice came from behind him, “Don’t you get tired of doing that?” Everyone turned to the woman now standing in the door. No one knew who she was, well… almost everyone didn’t know who she was. “Uh, who are you?” Mcgee broke the silence that filled to room, the woman was still smiling, not looking at anyone but the back of the man in front of her. As she took a step away from the door, Gibbs turned around, recognizing the voice.

1st person

I could see Jethro turn around slowly, our eyes locked and only I could see the smirk that found home on his face. I looked around him to see the confusion still apparent on the other agents faces. "Me? My name is Y/N Fielding. The FBI transfer." If I learned anything from Jethro it was his ability to sneak into a room without being seen or heard. The boys mouths hung open and the girls had two different reactions. The one with pigtails had wide eyes, I guess she wasn't used to being caught. Finally, there was a girl with black hair but it was slightly wavy. She was indifferent to my appearance. I turned back to Jethro soon enough to see him straighten his face, "Who authorized your transfer?" I looked to the left, pretending to recall who signed the paper. "I think that would be Jason Gideon and Jennifer Shepherd." I look up at him, stonewalling for those behind him. I pull my transfer file from behind my back and hand them to him. "I'm you new senior field agent. I look forward to working with you Agent Gibbs." I smile as he opens the file, I know he isn't actually reading it but it is good acting if I didn't know that already. "You." He pointed to me, looking up from the file. "Come with me. The rest of you go back to your desks." With that, he walks away. I turn back to his team, waving slightly before trailing behind him. When we get to the elevator and the doors shut he flicks switch and the lights within the elevator began to flicker. "When were you planning on telling me." I tilt my head side to side slowly, looking towards the ceiling. "Actually, this was the plan. I really thought Jenny would tell you." He lets out a sharp sigh before flicking the switch back on. I have a feeling this is going to be a very interesting work environment.

3rd Person

4 years later and well…. Y/N was right. Dinozzo had lost all his senior field agent privileges, he couldn't tell Ziva or McGee to do anything anymore and they were loving it. She was nice, smart, she worked well, and she was never wrong. She was a nicer version of Gibbs, like what isn't to like about this. It had gotten to the point that they were too compatible, the whole team shipped the two together. Even Jenny thought they were dating when they first met. Y/N and Gibbs even walked in on Abby and McGee placing their faces in a future child generator that same day Y/N left work early and Gibbs was in a mood until the case ended.

Despite this strange encounter, Abby continued to call each of them husband and wife. It had gotten to the point she started saying it to their faces, every time they walked in together, she greeted them with the nicknames. This time, when they walked in, their faces were on the screen again, a generated picture of a baby in the center. They saw the photo before Abby could take it away. "I am so sorry.. I was just showing Dinozzo and Ziva…" The two didn't say anything, but a smile was on Y/N's face. Before Y/N could tell her she was fine, or Gibbs could ask about the case, Dinozzo spoke still trying to clear the air. "I mean she would be hot, I'd hit." He was laughing, everyone else was simply staring. Gibbs was glaring at him, which wasn't odd, but the weird thing was the smile on Y/N's face disappeared completely. Gibbs moved to head smack him, but before he could Y/N swept Tony's feet from under him. Before his face hit the floor, he caught himself, yet Y/N still knelt on his back, keeping him unable to get up. "She's cute Abby. Do you think you could age her up a bit. To like 19." The shock on everyones face stuck when Y/N went back to smiling. Abby quickly did what she was told, amazed by the abilities she witnessed. When the picture popped up, Y/N was almost brought to tears. The girl was gorgeous, this wasn't the shocking part though. The shocking part was the expression Gibbs wore, he was actually smiling. A genuine smile. "Hey, Abs. Send this to me okay." The girl nodded, it was aggressive and her hair was flying all over the place. Y/N got up off Dinozzo looking at the screen in closer detail, before turning back to look at Gibbs. They were both thinking the same thing and his eyes shifted to Abby, in that moment Y/N finally understood the attachment he had to Abby.

This simple gesture made everyone even more suspicious about the nature of their relationship. The 4 even started a pool. Dinozzo thought they were sleeping together, Ziva thought Y/N was ex-wife number 4 and they had a child who died, Abby thought they were married with children, McGee simply thought they were dating and she was pregnant. It got to the point that Ducky and Palmer decided to join in. Palmer agreed with Abby while Ducky thought McGee seemed really close to the truth. What they didn't know was that Gibbs and Y/N knew about the pool, in fact they were stood in the door while the discussion was taking place. "What if we're all wrong?" Okay, now that caught Y/N off guard, she didn't expect someone to say they could all be wrong, let alone Abby. "We just get our money back." Now Dinozzo didn't shock Y/N, he was expected. "What if we give the money to Gibbs and Y/N. They tricked all of us so technically they win." At that statement everyone agreed, some more confident than others. The two then walked away, the other 6 unaware of Gibbs and Y/N in the first place.

It has now been two weeks since that conversation, every party has attempted in someway to get Gibbs and Y/N to give up information without telling them exactly. By Gibbs and Y/N, it was just Y/N that got asked. Abby pointed out the ring on Y/N's finger, McGee said she was glowing, Dinozzo pointed out every time she was late or when the two would disappear into the elevator; Ziva was more of a silent stalker, she noticed every time Gibbs and Y/N interacted awkwardly or when a child case was brought up two the two seemed to take this one to heart. No one was willing to give up, everyone thought they were right. This was getting really tiring so everyone decided to stop beating around the bush and just ask…. Y/N that is.

1st Person

Today had been a relatively slow day, the boys were at a sexual harassment seminar so Abby was keeping Ziva and me company. "It has been 2 hours, ours only lasted 30 minutes." I couldn't help but complain, I finished all my paper work and to be frank, no one had turned up dead. "Awww... do you miss Gibbs?" Literally the entire floor could hear Abby's teasing, and they all partake when Jethro isn't listening. "Nope, I miss Tony's terrible innuendos." As soon as I said that I heard the foot steps approaching. "You don't miss me." I could hear the smirk growing on his face as Jethro and Dinozzo walked towards the bullpen. "You mean the same person who made me rewrite an entire report?" I turn in my chair to face Jethro's desk as he takes a seat on the table. "It was sloppy." All I could do was stare at him, knowing damn well that was a lie. "I did not spend 3 years learning calligraphy for you to call my work sloppy. I have the best handwriting on the team. You're just mad it was too small for you to read without squinting." I couldn't help but laugh, and I could tell he wanted to as well by the smirk that turned into a smile. Today marks the first year of David's return to work, and the cold bed was starting to kick in again, but this time it wasn't so lonely anymore. The kids sneak into my room when they can, and David calls every night. I could tell today was going to be a good day, especially when my phone rang and my husband's name popped up. His name remained as David in case my phone was ever stolen, so I could feel the looks from the girls in front of me. They were all close enough to read the name on my phone since it was sat face on the desk.

When I picked up the call, I ignore the looks from the girls and answered as if it was a normal professional call. "Agent Fielding speaking." I could hear him laughing on the other end. "Hey baby, are they that close?" I try not to smile, because now everyone was looking at me. "That sounds about right. I believe more than one actually." I can hear chatter in the background, so I start to assume he's at work. "I know you’re working, but can I come over because I miss seeing your face?" I can't help but smile, ok so maybe the loneliness was more than I could every expect. "You never have to ask." He wasn't speaking but I knew he was smiling on the other end. "I'll be there in about 2 hours." I was so distracted that I forgot about the people around me, that was until I locked eyes with Dinozzo. "Alright." I shake my head back and forth, I can literally see the curiosity in the eyes of the team. "I love you. Mi Amor" His tone was different this time, he was honest and I could tell that the distance was effecting him just as much. "You know I do." And with that he hung up the phone. Everyone was still staring at me, I can tell Tony is about to ask but I prolong this a little longer. "Jethro, do you wanna get coffee?" This was the first I said his name at work, and to be honest it was kind of out of instinct. Yet, all he did was nod his head before following me to the elevator. The team was now beyond shocked, this day is going way better than expected.

3rd person- With the BAU

"So, when do we get to meet her?" As the call cut, an unexpected voice broke the silence that filled David's office. The voice came from Hotchner, Rossi's close friend and boss. "Soon." The response was curt, it's not that David didn't want her to meet them. It's just that when ever they were going to plan something, a case came up on either end. "She works at NCIS right?" The moment that left Aaron's mouth, David knew exactly where this was going. "Yes… yes she does Aaron." The older male was obviously suspicious, so his bosses next words were expecting because he had done it before. "So I think the whole team needs to head down for a case we had a while ago." There was a legitimate smile on Aaron's face, one so genuine that David couldn't even be mad at his friend. "Do you, want to go see my wife?" He spoke slow, saying each and every word with emphasis. The only response he received was an equally as slow and emphasized head nod. "God Aaron. Sure."

"Pack up, we are taking a trip to the NCIS naval base in Quantico." Aarons voice boomed over the bullpen, gaining the attention of his team as well as everyone else sat at their desks. There was a confusion looming over the area, JJ was the first to speak up about it. "I didn't get anything about a case…" "No case, no consultation. This is a friendly visit, we are going to see Agent Y/N Rossi. Consider this the beginning of your weekend." Aaron spoke quieter, a bag in hand, as he neared the group of desks his agents occupied, David trailing behind also carrying his regular to-go bag. "Wait, so we actually get to meet the Mrs. Rossi." David was cautious of the teams reaction, but by Dereks response and the rest of the teams easiness to the situation his nerves calmed on their own. Unconsciously, the couple had the same thought, today is going to be a good day.

There were 3 groups:

David drove; in his car was just Aaron.

Following directly behind him was Derek, in the car with Penelope and Spencer.

In the final car, Emily drove with JJ in the passenger seat.

No one had any complaints, apart from Derek. He had to deal with the excessive knowledge and facts of NCIS and their origins. By the time they arrived, he was ready to kill Spencer, his audio tapes, and the 60 books he carries. The 3 groups connected back together at the entrance of the federal building. "I swear, if I have to hear one more damn page turn. I am going to snap." Everyone laughed at the statement, everyone but Reid. While conversing, they walked through the building with ease, flashing their FBI badges at the very entrance. They were motioned to the 4th floor, apparently that is where the directors office is. When the elevators doors opened, they were met with a bullpen similar to their own.

1st person- 5 minutes ago

Jethro just got back 10 minutes ago, and as soon as we walked out the elevator, Dinozzo began speculating. "How was the coffee?" He was smirking stupidly, leaning onto Ziva's desk. I blink at him a few times before responding, "It was good, would you like to try?" I hold up my coffee cup, a smile plastered on. "Nope, that seems like an intimate thing." "Getting coffee?" Ziva responded to his stupidity before I had the chance, yet for some reason he still thought he was correct. I roll my eyes taking a seat at my desk. "Gibbs, can you look at this for me? The director wants it on his desk by Monday and I don't exactly want to do work over the weekend." For the first time I wasn't playing into their little bet, I was genuine on my motive. He trudged next to me, leaning over to read the words typed on the screen. "Yeah, just put your name on it. You've been doing that forever." I sigh from his words, something so simple could have been very bad if I actually turned it in. I typed my name and he checked it over once again before giving me a nod, heading back to his desk. When I looked back up after sending the email, Ziva, Tony, and McGee were all staring at me. Soon, the elevator doors opened and out walked Ducky, Palmer, and Abby. "Hey, Y/N?" Abby's voice reached my ears soon after the doors closed. "Yes Abs?"

"Are you married?"

"Yes."

That was only half of the conversation, it was cut off by McGee. "You were actually wrong Tony," There was a short laugh and a groan from Tony before Abby continued.

"Do you have children?"

"Mhm."

The next voice to cut Abby off was Tony, "Ha! You were wrong too Probie." He was laughing a lot harder, I guess he's fine he lost money if it doesn't go to Tim. "So Palmer and Abby won?" McGee was cut off by Abby, "Not yet."

"Is Fielding your married name?

"No."

"So it's your maiden name?"

"Yes."

My responses were simple and short, she didn't ask who I was married to so why explain more than I have to. "Now I won." Her smile was too cute to even attempt to crush, I had no intention to… until the elevator doors slid open and out walked agents in formal attire. I was confused until I saw David exit the metal box. The group walked to the small area we had in the bullpen. "Hello, I am Aaron Hotchner. FBI, and we are looking for Agent Y/N Fielding." I could see the team tense up at the mention of my name, they had yet to see me in the corner since Tony was placed in front of me. I stand up slowly, giving them full view of me. David steps forward, and began introducing his team to my own. "This is Derek Morgan, Aaron Hotchner, Jennifer Jareau, Emily Prentiss, Dr. Spencer Reid, Penelope Garcia, and I am David Rossi." He pointed to each member of his team as their words left his mouth before pointing to me. "This is Y/N, my-" The boy he called Spencer cut him off before he could state the nature of our relationship. "You are one of the founders of the BAU. You are a legend, the first communications liaison. Though at the time it was known as the Relations Mediator (I just came up with something)" The boy went on to ramble on about random FBI and NCIS fact I honestly didn't know. "Reid, we can talk about this later. Let me introduce my team." I turned to see the confusion on everyone's faces, all except Jethro. "This is Anthony Dinozzo- our senior field agent, Ziva David- a former Mossad agent, Timothy McGee- our technical genius, Ducky Mallard- our medical examiner, Jimmy Palmer- assistant medical examiner, Abby Sciuto- our forensics scientist. Oh and Leroy Jethro Gibbs." I pause when he smacks me on the back of the head for saying his full name, making me laugh slightly. "My brother-in-law and boss. This is David. My husband." There were various greetings from those across from me, but behind me was relatively quiet. " Can you repeat that again?" I turned around at the sound of Ziva's voice, Jethro's arm falling on the top of my head. "This is my husband." "Is this what you would call, the cat inside the bag?" I giggle at her confusion, "It's cat outside of the bag, but yes Ziva."

3rd person

Y/N's team was shocked beyond belief, there were no words to describe the slap in the face they just received. While David's team was nonchalant and happy to meet their friends lover. "Pause, explain." Dinozzo was pissed that he couldn't tell what was happening, he thought he was good at figuring out these things. "Jethro's first wife was my sister. And when you generated what our child would looked like, it looked exactly like my niece." This sentence seemed to catch the attention of someone on David's teams. "You have an offspring generator? That is that accurate?" Garcia was beyond excited and it was obvious by the smile on her face and the inability to sit still. Y/N and Gibbs could see the similarities between Garcia and Abby, the similarities between them and Kelly… if only she was able to grow up like normal.

Y/N took a seat on Dinozzo's desk, staring at the interaction between the two groups. "I think this also means they owe us, don't they Jethro?" There was a smirk on her face and humor in her voice that even David team couldn't help but smile at. "Wait wait… so you knew what we were doing this whole time and you didn't say anything?" All Y/N could so was shrug at Palmer's question. The situation was quickly ignored as everyone brought up different conversations. The teams even started to split and find their look alike on the other team, Spencer and McGee drifted together, the same for Dinozzo and Morgan. Abby and Garcia were practically best friends while Ziva was struggling to keep up with JJ and Prentiss. Aaron actually had something to discuss with Director Vance so headed up to his office, passing David headed towards Y/N and Gibbs.

Surprisingly, the two had never met. Gibbs was unable to go to her wedding because he was newly deployed on his second tour. So Y/N decided it was time for proper introductions. "Real husband, work husband. Work husband, real husband." Her words came out slow as he hand drifted between the two men, she was still sat on Tony's desk. There was hen out of no where the 3 of you start laughing. "I see it." The two spoke at the same time, giving Abby a little peace of mind that her theory on Y/N's husband might not be as far off as she thought.

"Absence makes the heart grow fonder." His words were random yet directed. "I guess it really does." The couple shared a kiss that was nothing less than passion and affection. Staring into each other's eyes, David and Y/N knew that this was the life they were meant to live, no ex-wives or co-workers was going to change that.

BONUS:

Dinozzo: "So are we going to tell them they won $600?"

Y/N: "I heard that Dinozzo."

Dinozzo: "Sorry boss I mean Y/N, uh… you and your husband are very cute."

Y/N: "I'll pick up my half on Monday."

Masterlist

[pollyssecretlibrary]

“A Duke Like No Other”, by Valerie Bowman

I was offered an e-ARC of this book by the kind people at St. Martin’s Press (@stmartinspress) . I read this book from NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review

RELEASE DATE - MAY 1st

4 STARS/HEARTS/KITTEN/WHATEVER

This is the ninth book in the Playful Brides series.

When General Mark Grimaldi tries to get a promotion in his military career his superior tells him that he’s not an ideal candidate for the position he so much desires. The home secretary is looking for a family man, and he is a bachelor that has devoted his life to the wars and his career. But the truth is that Mark is actually married and has been for quite some time, but he is estranged from his wife Nicole.

He resolves to find her and make her come back with him, but Nicole isn’t an easy woman to deal with…

“Atalanta? Of course you would name your horse after a warrior woman who did nothing but cause her husband trouble” he says to her when they meet after ten years. To which she replies “What trouble? She merely did what she liked and was scorned for it”. In my opinion these quotes sum up their relationship, Atalanta’s story, or at least the way they summarize it here, is an accurate metaphor of their marriage.

Mark and Nicole have been married for ten years and three months, and they’ve been estranged for ten years. Mark didn’t tell Nicole that his mother’s family were the duke of Colchester’s because they weren’t on speaking terms, and Nicole didn’t tell Mark that she already knew. When two in a couple are spies or private investigators and you spy on each other you can’t expect your marriage to last long. This is why they fought and why Nicole settled in France and why Mark focused on his career. But of course none of them requested a divorce and none of them engaged in other relationships. In ten years.

Things get really interesting when, back in England, Mark learns that his cousin and heir to the duchy has been murdered and he has been appointed as the main investigator of the crime. He gathers all the suspects in the duke’s country home and thus starts a plot that would make Agatha Christie proud.

Mark’s and Nicole’s story is a complicated one. Mainly because they need to learn to trust each other. And they are both stubborn, so stubborn. The key of the problem is mainly that none of them think they are truly and sincerely in love, that their love is something real. They both feel lonely and they both are alone, even though they never stopped loving and worrying. The proof is the loyalty they’ve kept in ten years.

And we readers get to witness a heartbreaking story that will end in a happily ever after, but this is a romance, we know we are going to get that HEA eventually. The important question is how we are going to get that ending. The road to the HEA will be fun sometimes, because their fights are real battles of the wits (I love when writers include such conversations) and sometimes they feel so ridiculous and yet so real. But there were other facts that I did like about this book, There could be spoilers ahead.

THINGS THAT I LIKED

-          Nicole has a job. Actually Nicole has had two jobs; the first as a, say, private investigator for the Bow Street Runners (officially they couldn’t hire women) that received bounties instead of a salary. After that she was hired as a spy in France by the War Office. Nicole is an independent woman who earns her own money and doesn’t touch a penny from the allowance she receives from Mark. She doesn’t need her husband’s support. Neither does she want it, needless to say.

-          Nicole dresses as a man when her missions require she does so. And she does the same when she’s riding her horses.

-          What made Mark fall in love with Nicole is that she’s uncommon. She’s not the perfect little woman/wife. She’s not obedient and she’s not tamed (she isn’t a savage either). She’s outspoken, brilliant and she stands for herself. She doesn’t need his protection all the time.

-          I loved the flashbacks. I love that both Mark and Nicole get carried away by their memories often so we get to know what happened in those three months of real marriage they had at the beginning. Bowman doesn’t summarize these events like most writers do; she gives us the real scenes. They’re so well done in terms of timing that they enrich the narration instead of giving us the feeling of too much information.

-          Mark’s ten years wanking while thinking of Nicole. Now that was unexpected. He didn’t get any lovers or mistresses. He and his hand knew one another well. You would expect that faithfulness from a woman but not so much from a man.

-          When they’re not arguing about the state of their marriage Mark and Nicole are really nice. Mark listens to Nicole and asks her for advice and opinion.

-          No virgin pain (this happens in a flashback). The fact that she had expected pain because that’s what mama told her made Nicole so confused that Mark got to explain that when a woman feels pain it’s due the fact that the man doesn’t really know what he’s doing. THIS. Please, standing ovation.

-          Female friendship. Nicole and Mark’s cousin Regina are friends, though not very close until they become partners in solving crimes at the duke’s estate. These two’s companionship was fun to read, especially when Regina, who’s a spinster, falls in lust with Regina’s former boss and the two friends’ conversations turn out to be about men with handcuffs and… pistols.

WHAT I DIDN’T LIKE

Before going into detail I want to clarify that in my opinion all of the following points were intentional and even though I didn’t like these facts, I think they served their purpose well, so these are negative points for me, not for the book.

-          Mark sometimes was an asshole and I wanted to beat him senseless.

-          Mark was so contrary. One minute he said yes, the next he said no. He was confusing often. Like, he didn’t know what he wanted.

-          When Mark thinks that Nicole’s condition to his request will be divorce he almost immediately thinks about worst case scenario… for his career. He’s already worried about how a divorce will affect his political ambitions.

-          When Nicole says she wants a baby and that she doesn’t expect him to be around when the baby comes he says, literally: “what kind of monster do you take me to be?”. I don’t know Mark, you don’t really want a baby, you are calculating the impact of things on your career, you left her to her own devices for ten years… do you want me to give you further explanation?

-          When they are investigating the crime and the runner from Bow Street tells Mark that Nicole could really help Mark says no because he’s afraid of putting her in danger. But then Regina and Nicole start questioning people in casual conversations thus conducting their own investigation, when they explain their theories to the men… Mark is OK with the women investigating… This is not really a bad thing but, really, Mark needs to get himself together.