#took me 6+ months to get over someone who i was deathly in love with so i guess 13 weeks isnt so terrible

[absofrutey]

Still want to be alone with you

[hercleverboy]

for better or worse

spencer reid x reader 

summary ↠ spencer and the reader deal with the repercussions of infertility.

category ↠ angst/fluff

warnings/includes ↠ infertility, endometriosis, swearing, self-depreciating thoughts. this story includes mentions of infertility as a result of endometriosis. Please do not read this if that is triggering or upsetting

word count ↠ 3.3k

“If the hurt comes, so will the happiness.” — Rupi Kaur

Y/N had never thought much about having kids. She figured that if she met the right man and settled down with him, she’d love to have a family of her own. Though, if that didn’t happen, she wouldn’t feel incomplete if she never had children. She didn’t feel they were a necessity, like her life would be unsuccessful without them. Besides, she liked that she would always have the option. She didn’t have to have kids, but the option was there for her to choose the day she decided to wanted to.

So when she met Spencer, and fell in love with his beautiful brain and big heart, she knew that if she was going to have children with anyone, it would be him. She wanted to give him the family he so obviously desired. They discussed it, and Spencer admitted he was more than ready to be a dad, and Y/N told him she knew he’d be a phenomenal one, despite his fears. They agreed they’d start trying once their wedding was over, and they could be the family they’d always dreamed of.

At first it was exciting. Sex was fun and enjoyable as the couple anticipated creating a new life, a child for them to raise and protect.

 However, after 6 months of trying with no positive results, sex had become more of a chore. It was no longer about pleasure or done with excitement, but it was tired and half-assed, with only the goal of getting pregnant in sight. Y/N was worried something was wrong but she knew that unlike in the movies, getting pregnant does take time with some couples. She had faith they would get their baby soon.

Once they hit the one year mark, Y/N was terrified. It was odd, she thought. She always thought she’d been content, with or without kids. But when she looked at her husband, she was terrified she wouldn’t be able to give him the family he deserved, the children she wanted to raise with him by her side. She insisted they get fertility tests, and have doctors check them out to ensure that nothing was wrong with either or them. Spencer had rambled some statistics and facts, trying to explain that sometimes these things just take time, but once he saw the fearful tears in his wife’s eyes, he agreed and made them an appointment.

Y/N was silent and Spencer worried. She didn’t speak during the car ride to the doctors. Nor did she speak as they sat in the waiting room of the doctors, waiting for their results. Her leg bounced nervously, and he placed his hand on her thigh in an attempt to calm her down. Her leg stopped and she looked up at him, that same fear in her eyes. 

 “It’ll be okay, baby.” He promised. “Whatever happens, we will be okay.” He pressed a kiss to her forehead and she nodded. 

It was then that a nurse came toward them. “Dr and Mrs Reid?” She asked, and they nodded. “Come with me.” Spencer found himself profiling the nurse, looking for any indication as to what the news they were about to receive was, but he found none. Y/N gripped Spencer’s hand tightly as they stood and followed the nurse.

Y/N had always been one of those people, where if someone told her she couldn’t have something, she’d only want it 10 times more. 

And there’s a harsh difference between choosing not to have something and being told you can’t ever have it at all. 

Severe Endometriosis.

She had Severe Endometriosis. She knew what it meant. She’d always experienced painful periods, but she’d always been told by her mother and other female figures in her life that it was normal, that she was making a big deal over nothing. Never had she considered it was something so serious. 

She stared at the wall in a state of shock, her hand dropping from Spencer’s limply. 

The doctor’s face showed sympathy. “It’s rare we get cases of endometriosis where the patient doesn’t exhibit symptoms until stage four.” 

Spencer couldn’t seem to find his words. Finally, he managed to string together a coherent sentence. “What does this mean for us?” He managed to get out. It wasn’t like he didn’t already know exactly what it meant. He had read up on the topic before, and was disgruntled by the lack of research into what caused it. He thought maybe the doctor would tell him something he didn’t already know. 

“Whilst there are treatments, It is unlikely you will ever be able to conceive, and if you do, the chances of Mrs Reid carrying that baby to full term without miscarriage or other serious complications are slim.” 

The tears slipped from Y/N’s eyes then.

He wasn’t the problem. According to the doctor, Spencer was ‘incredibly fertile’. 

He wasn’t the problem. 

She was. 

“I’m incredibly sorry I don’t have better news for you. Would you like to discuss possible treatments? I have some leaflets-” the doctor continued but Y/N wasn’t listening. Instead she stared blankly at the wall, tears falling silently from her eyes as the angry and hateful thoughts consumed her. 

“I’ll give you two a minute.” With a sad smile on her lips, the doctor left the room, the door closing quietly behind her. 

After minutes of silence, Spencer was the first to speak. “Y/N, Sweetheart.” He tried, a gentle attempt to get her attention. 

No response.

 “Y/N-” He tried again, but she interrupted him with a choked sob and a loud sniffle. 

“Take me home, Spence. Please.” He nearly sobbed at her pleading, heartbroken tone. 

“Okay. Okay, baby.” He moved to kiss her forehead again but she pulled away from him, standing up and swiftly leaving the room. 

The same deathly silence filled the room and Spencer could practically hear his heart breaking. 

On the car ride home, Y/N stared out the window whilst Spencer gave her longing glances. His wife, the love of his life. 

He felt like he couldn’t fucking breathe. 

What was he supposed to say? 

How could he make this better? 

He couldn’t, he knew. He also knew the horrid, self-depreciative thoughts were filling Y/N’s head and he wished he could stop them but he just didn’t know how. 

So instead of words, he reached across the centre console, taking her hand in his. He was pleased when she didn’t pull away. He brought her hand up, pressing a kiss to their wedding ring that sat on her finger. It served as a silent reminder of the vows they made. 

For better or worse. 

Their house felt empty. 

It was much too big for the two of them. They’d moved in 2 weeks after their wedding, promising to fill the empty rooms with children. 

So much for that, Y/N couldn’t help but think. 

Spencer took Y/N’s coat, and watched as she numbly slid off her shoes. His heart ached at the sight of her, so broken, so angry at herself. He spoke quietly. 

“Let me make you some tea, sweetheart.” 

Y/N just wanted to scream, “Tea isn’t going to fix this!” 

But she knew her husband, she knew he was wracking his big genius brain for any idea on how to help her and coming up empty. and besides, shouting wouldn’t fix anything. She couldn’t push him away when they needed one another most. 

She just nodded gratefully and turned toward the living room, taking a seat on the couch. Spencer came over, setting the tea down on the coffee table in front of them before sitting down next to her. 

He reached out to her, but stopped before he touched her.

Did she want him to hold her? Could that possibly make this any better?

He was almost afraid to touch her, as though she’d break like porcelain beneath his trembling hands. 

After minutes of an uncomfortable silence, Spencer cleared his throat and spoke gently. 

“I know what you’re thinking.” He started. Y/N looked at him confused, so he elaborated. “I know you think this is somehow your fault, like you had any control over this, but I promise you it isn’t.” 

“Isn’t it?” She asked quietly, but her tone was cold. She didn’t want to sound harsh, but she was so angry, at herself, at the universe. “What did I do to deserve this, huh?” She asked, tears now cascading down her cheeks. 

“You did nothing to deserve this, Y/N- “ She cut him off again. 

“God I wanted to give you a family so badly, Spencer. But no, I can’t do the one thing a woman is supposed to be able to do!” She cried, her voice rising as she stood from the couch. It was clear that the anger wasn’t at all directed at Spencer, only at herself. 

and it was breaking spencer’s heart. 

“Please don’t say that, Y/N.” He begged. 

“It’s true! If I can’t give you a baby I’m useless to you!”

“Stop it!” Spencer was shouting now too, standing up as well. “You’re not useless, Y/N!” 

She scoffed through her tears. “You heard what the doctor said, Spence! I’m the problem! Not you, me! You’re gonna leave me so you can find someone who can give you what you want-” She regretted the words as soon as they left her mouth. The look of hurt on Spencer’s face is something she had never seen before. Her insecurities were rearing their ugly heads and she couldn’t stop from confessing them. 

“Is that what you think?” He asked. He wasn’t angry, but he was so very hurt, and even mad at himself for ever letting her insecurities get so bad that she’d even think he’d consider that.  “That I’d leave you for someone else?”

Y/N nodded, ashamed. “I understand if you want to. You’ve always wanted your own kids Spencer, god knows what an amazing father you’d be.” She gave a dry, humourless chuckle. “I can’t give you that. but someone else can and-” She sobbed. “If it means you’d be happy, that you could have a family-” She broke down, harsh sobs wracking through her chest. Spencer was quick to bring her into his arms, and his own sobs hit him just as hard. 

After calming down a little he pulled back, using one hand to take her chin and make her face him. “Look at me baby.” He pleaded, and she did. “I never want to hear you say that shit again, okay?” His voice was stern, not angry. “I love you. I married you, for god’s sake.” He chuckled. “Us not being able to make a baby changes none of that. We don’t need a baby to be a family, Y/N. We’re already a family, me and you, and I am perfectly content I promise you. Just please-” His tone was begging. “Please don’t ever think I’m going anywhere, that I’d leave you like that. I love you, so much. and when we got married I promised you forever. I intend to keep that promise.” She nodded at his words, burying her head in his chest as he sighed, kissing her forehead gently. 

“I wanted to give you a baby.” She mumbled, and it shattered Spencer’s heart. Sure, he’d always pictured having children of his own, but as far as he was concerned, as long as he had Y/N, his life would be perfect. 

For her, it was a sacrifice he was willing to make.

“I know you did, sweetheart. but just because we can’t make a baby doesn’t mean we can’t have one. There are hundreds of children out there in the adoption system waiting for a family, waiting for a home that we could provide them with.” He reminded her gently, and she sniffed. She hadn’t really considered adopting, but now she could understand why it would be a good idea. “When you’re ready to look at other options, we’ll figure it out together, okay?” 

“Yeah, Okay. Thank you Spence. I love you.” 

It was a rough few months that followed. As a couple, they were stronger than they’d ever been, but Y/N still sometimes struggled with the burden that weighed her down. Whenever she saw Spencer entertaining JJ’s kids at events the team invited them to, she had to excuse herself to the bathroom for a minute to compose herself. It took a few months to wrap her head around the idea that even if their children weren’t theirs biologically, they’d be no different than if they were, still loved and cared for the same. 

In those months they also bought a dog. Well, Spencer bought one, a female golden retriever puppy that he brought home unannounced one day. He was afraid Y/N wouldn’t want one, but he figured that one way to help ease her upset would be to try and make their big home feel more lively- his solution was a puppy. 

Thankfully, Y/N fell in love with the puppy, who they later named Millie, and had nearly cried when Spencer explained why he bought the dog. 

“ I just wanted our house to feel a bit more like a home. and I thought she’d be a great addition to our little family.” 

It took 2 more months before Y/N decided she was ready. 

Y/N approached her husband as he sat reading on the sofa, Millie curled up next to him. “Hey baby. You got a minute?”

His brows creased in confusion, but he complied, marking his page and setting his book down. “Sure thing. What’s up?” 

She took a seat the other side of Millie, reaching out to stroke her soft fur. “I’ve been thinking, and I’ve had enough time to deal with and process everything that happened. I think I’d like us to look for some adoption agencies? I’d really love to give a home to a child who needs one.” She smiled and the grin on Spencer’s face was ecstatic as he jumped from the couch, scooping Y/N up in his arms and lifting her from the ground, the commotion causing Millie to bark. 

“Yes! Yes we can do that. I’d like nothing more.” He smiled and then pressed his lips to hers. 

They sat down together and filled out an application for a great looking adoption agency, and went through the numerous stages, including people coming to view their home to ensure it is a stable environment to raise a child in. Of course they were given the all clear, with Spencer’s more than stable income and Y/N only working part time, they were one step closer. 

One day they received a call from the agency saying they had a young pregnant lady who was around six months along but had decided she didn’t want to keep her child, instead, as soon as it was born, she wanted to give the baby to a family who couldn’t have their own. 

Y/N and Spencer met with the girl, Alicia, multiple times before Alicia decided she was more than happy for the baby to be adopted by the Reid family. 

Y/N and Spencer were ecstatic, spending all their free time shopping for baby items and decorating one of the upstairs bedrooms with little pink items, once they’d found out the baby was a girl. To say Y/N and Spencer were excited would be an understatement, and they were now just playing the waiting game, as Alicia was due to give birth any day.

Spencer was in the shower whilst Y/N worked on cooking dinner. She heard her phone ringing in the living room, and quickly washed her hands before walking to grab it, Millie trailing behind her. 

“Hello?” 

“Hi, is this Mrs Y/N Reid?” 

“This is she.” 

“Brilliant. I’m delighted to tell you that Alicia has gone into labour, so you’re gonna want to head over to the hospital now.” 

Y/N’s mouth went dry and happy tears sprang to her eyes.

“Mrs Reid?”

”Yes! Sorry! We’ll be right there, Thankyou!” She hung up the phone, standing in the same place as shock filled her. They were getting their baby. 

“Who was that?” Spencer walked down the stairs, hair still damp from his shower, dressed in a large shirt and jogging bottoms. 

“It was the hospital. Alicias in labour.” The words didn’t feel real as they left her lips. “We’re getting our baby.” 

Spencer’s mouth dropped open in momentary shock, before that beautiful grin broke out on his features. He pulled Y/N into him, laughing happily, happy tears welling in his eyes. “We’re getting our baby.” He repeated back to her in shock. 

They couple burst through the doors to the maternity ward, walking towards the front desk with a skip in their step.

“Hi! We’re having a baby!” Y/N spoke excitedly. 

The lady at the desk looked at Y/N and her obviously not pregnant belly. “That normally takes around nine months, honey.” 

“Right, yes uh- we’re adopting a baby who’s being born right now.” Y/N corrected herself, her hand reaching down to grab Spencer’s and squeeze it tightly. 

“Aw well, congratulations you two! Can I take the patient’s name?” 

“Alicia Ray.” Spencer spoke, the excitement evident in his voice too. 

“Alright, you’re gonna want to head down the hall and then take a right, she’s in room 206. You’ll have to wait outside but a doctor will greet you once your baby has been born, alright?” 

The pair nodded excitedly, and Spencer noted how she’d said “Your baby”, before turning quickly and speeding down the hall, Spencer nearly tripping in the process. 

12 hours later Y/N was at home holding a small pink bundle in her arms. She’d come into the world at 2:56 am, a healthy 7 pounds and 6 ounces, and they’d settled on naming her Alexandra Diana Reid, Alex for short. 

Y/N sat on the chair in the corner of the nursery, gazing down at her daughter, the child she would love as though she’d carried her for 9 months. Y/N could see now that it didn’t matter, Alex was their daughter in every way that mattered. Millie sauntered in, curling up by Y/N’s feet.  

Spencer entered the nursery, a smile on his lips as he walked over to his wife, watching as she slowly rocked their daughter, who slept peacefully for the moment. 

“Ah, there are my two favourite girls.” He joked, and a soft whimper came from  Millie. “Don’t worry, you’re my favourite too, Mills.” He laughed softly as he reached down to ruffle the dogs fur before perching on the arm rest of the chair, winding his arm around Y/N’s shoulders as he looked down at his daughter. 

“She’s perfect.” He croaked out, tears of pride filling his eyes. He reached down a finger, nudging her tiny hand with it, and nearly combusting with happiness when she wrapped her tiny fingers around his large one. 

Y/N let out a little scoff. “Look at that, she’s already a daddy’s girl. She’s barely a day old and she’s already got you wrapped around her finger.” 

Spencer chuckled softly. “She does. I’d do anything for her. I’d do anything for our family, you know that right?” He felt silly asking, but he needed to know she understood. That he would drop anything and everything for his beautiful little family. He’d quit the BAU tomorrow to protect them, they were his only priority. 

“I know, Spence. We’re so grateful.” She assured him, looking up at him with love-filled eyes. He leaned down gently, kissing her, the warmth and contentedness filling him. 

For better or worse

for as long as they both shall live. 

[stubz]

you are my best friend

"Mary...Mary...MARY!"

" 'M AWAKE!"

"you were snoring like a bear, and you have ink on your face. Here take this." handing her a handkerchief the young lord takes a look at what it is exactly that has her working this diligently this early in the morning. History of Sorciers Black Market, Slave Trading in Sorceir and Nearby Countries, and scattered papers of what appears to be personal files of both nobles and commoners.

'Seems like she's finally reached the last batch of suspects and witnesses' Nicol muses, 'both good and bad news.'

"It appears that we're approaching another wall isn't it Mary? Unless you found something in this last batch?"

With a deep sigh, the young lady stretches in her chair, cracking her stiff joints. "No, unfortunately, the only thing I've found in this is that it appears that Duke Tracy attends some interesting evening parties, honestly, I'm going to need Geordo to singe out my eyeballs later."

"Shall I go wake him then or would you be fine with waiting until breakfast?"

"...it's hard to tell if you're being serious right now."

With a chuckle, he takes a seat for himself and reaches for the forgotten tea set on the table, somehow the water has stayed relatively warm. "How long have you been working to be able to fall asleep while sitting in these horrendous chairs?"

"What time is it?"

"About 6 o'clock."

"Morning or evening?"

"Morning...Mary please don't tell me that-"

"That I stayed up all night for the third time in a row? Why yes, yes I did Nicol. Also, we both know that out of the two of us, you are the one with the worst sleep habits."

"...well I can't argue with what's true. Now would you like one sugar or two with your coffee?"

"Two please, unlike you I have taste buds. How you drink this black I'll never know."

"It's an acquired taste, that's for sure."

"Nicol."

"Yes, Mary?"

"Do you, do you think we'll come over this wall like the others? That we'll find another lead?"

"I...why do you ask?"

"It's just...what if this was it? What if this was the last clue? Our last chance of finding her...I mean by next month it will have been 3 years since she disappeared. It's only getting harder and harder to find new things, not to mention that it took us months to find these documents and...what if we took too long and our chance of finding her is gone?"

"So are you saying we should just give up then?"

"Wha-No! That is not what I'm saying!"

"Oh really? Because it sounds like you are."

"How. dare. you. How dare you Nicol, you know better than anyone how much she means to me."

"Then why are you acting as if we'll never find her!"

"I'm not!"

"YOU ARE! Talking about how our window of opportunity is gone, how that was our last clue! You might as well say she's dead and gone! JUST LIKE EVERYONE ELSE!"

"Well sorry for letting them get to me! Sorry for letting the gossip and rumors finally slip through and plant seeds of doubt in me! Sorry for letting the nightmares, that have been plaguing me for weeks, make me act this way!"

"...Mary, I-"

"Sorry that I made the poor decision of letting you know of my paranoia and fears. Sorry that I thought you would understand, how it feels to have these voices swimming around in your head! Horrible, terrible, appalling voices! We never find her. She's dead in a ditch somewhere being eaten by street dogs. A slave to someone who's broken her spirit and they do unspeakable things to her. We find her deathly sick or mortally injured and all we can do is hold her as she dies-" she's interrupted by a soft yet strong 'pomf'.

"I'm sorry. I am so sorry. It's just, hearing you say that reminded me of what I overheard the adults say...of what I overheard Father say. I just, never ever want any of us to give up on her like they have. You're right, I know exactly how you feel about her. As do you, you know that I love her just as much you do. Again I'm sorry for doubting you Mary, it was cruel."

"...I'm sorry for exploding there. I just, wanted to talk to someone about this and you seemed like the best person."

"You have nothing to apologize for, and your right. I-I have them too, the voices, sometimes they're so quiet that I can ignore them. Other times I can't, they're so loud that it feels like they're trying to break through my skull. I understand." they stand there for a while in silence, in a way that is not uncomfortable or awkward. Rather it's welcomed.

"Nicol."

"Yes, Mary?"

"Why are you so bad at hugging?"

"Well to be fair the only people I hug are Mother and Sophia, and even then they're the ones who are mostly doing the hugging."

"Alan should give you lessons."

"Now that's something that I never thought I would hear. Wait you hug Alan enough to determine that he's a better hugger than Sophia?"

"When all of this started, before he started the play with Sophia, he was very sad and I was the only one there for him for a while. I didn't know what to do until I remembered what a certain someone said about the healing power of hugs and so I hugged and held him until he felt better. After that, he started hugging people when he felt sad until he just became a person who likes hugs. Mostly from me and Sophia, however, I have caught him hugging Keith a few times."

"Well if you taught him Katarina's hugging techniques then maybe I will ask for some lessons."

"...your serious."

"And surprised that you figured that out yourself."

"Well of course, after all, you are my best friend."

[theaviskullguy]

What's a mermaid to a king? A lover, apparently

i wrote this a while ago on my Wattpad, bringing this here for Mermay!

Ship: Emperor x Gloves

Fantasy AU!

Please, enjoy!

-----

It was a simple run along the cliffsides, but a misstep caused Emperor to fall off of them. It happened too fast, it seemed. The blonde let out a cry for help but no one seemed to care.

Even though the cliffs had water, Emperor was sure that when he hit the surface he would die-the  cliffs were high up.

So, he closed his eyes and braced for the impact. And when it came, he passed out.

..Only to awake on the shore.

Emperor opened his eyes, rather groggily, and saw startling, pure coral pink eyes-sclera and all- staring into his own. The next thing he noticed was tan skin, and seaweed green hair and...scales?

The creature smiled, showing sharp teeth. "Great! Thought you'd never wake up, two-legged!"

The blond was confused, obviously, and sat up, pushing the green beast off in the process. "What...What happened to me?" He asked.

"You seemed to take a nasty dive off of the cliffs. I found you, swam you to the surface so you could breathe, and brought you here!" They explained, lifting...a green betta-fish like tail.

Emperor backed up. What this real? Did he actually get saved by a freaking mermaid?

The mermaid only tilted their head. "What? Did I scare you?" A look of realization dawned on their face. "Are you scared of me?"

"No, I'm not. In fact, I am in your dept." Emperor answered, still a bit shaken. "Just...I thought mermaids were nothing more than a child's nursery tale, not real beings.."

"...Guess that makes sense." The mermaid shrugged, and held up and out a hand. "The name's Gloves. Nice to meet you!"

The blond took it and gave it a firm shake. "Emperor Castilo."

Gloves' eyes widened in excitement. "Castilo? As in the Royal Family Castilo?"

Emperor only nodded and Gloves smiled widely. "Oh, sweet!! I get to tell my friends I rescued a prince!"

Said prince chuckled. "I suppose you do. Now...need help getting back into the water"

Gloves nodded, and chuckled a bit sheepishly. "Yeah... Will I ever see you again?"

Emperor nodded. "Meet me at the cove tomorrow, when the sun rises. I'll bring something for you then, alright?"

"Okay!" They smiled, and Emperor scooped them up bridal style and walked until he was waist deep in the water, and released Gloves into it.

Gloves gave a small wave, before swimming off into the ocean.

---

Days of meeting at the cove turned into weeks, into months and soon, a year. Every morning, Emperor and Gloves would meet at sunrise and talk well into the day. On a few occasions, the prince would even get in the water and swim around with the mermaid.

Gifts were given both ways; Emperor gave Gloves beautiful golden jewelry that wouldn't really weight them down or get in the way of swimming if they wore the pieces correctly. In return, Gloves gifted Emperor with small trinkets from their little collection of junk that fell to the bottom of the sea, or some beautiful piece of coral, a shell, or even an occasional pearl. The prince would tell the mermaid the object's name and purpose or treasure the object dearly, putting it up in display in his room.

Slowly but surely, Emperor fell in love with Gloves, finding himself wanting to be able to run away from the stress and responsibilities that came with being royalty and spending the rest of his life by the seashore, with his fishy lover.

But, one day, Gloves did not come. Emperor waited until the sun set.

For weeks the mermaid didn't come. The prince felt his heart break every day his friend was a no show.

Two months after Emperor last saw Gloves, his father called him to a freak show of sorts. To see what scum his people would be.

The prince wished he could save each and every being there. And then... someone caught his eye.

In a small tank, there was a mermaid with coral pink eyes and hair and a tail of seaweed green, golden adornments on their wrists. They were curled up, as small as they could make themselves, but even then their tail had to drape over the side of their tank.

It was Gloves.

Emperor ran over to the tank, his father following.

"Now, that is a mermaid. They're terrible creatures," His father started. "Sabotaging our fisherman's hauls. This one got caught in a net trying doing just that. Don't stare at it for too long. It'll think you're a meal."

The prince just stared at Gloves with a look so sorrowful you'd think his brother would have died. He reached out a hand to touch the glass and Gloves put one against his.

The king scoffed and walked away, leaving the two practically unsupervised as Gloves poked their head out from their tank. "You came."

Emperor nodded. "But it seems a bit too late... The show is moving out tomorrow and I have until sunrise to help you all escape."

"Midnight." A separate caged being said. Emperor turned to face them.

It was a kitsune, with 6 fluffy orange tails and in the form of a human with ginger hair and emerald green eyes. "Come at midnight. No one guards us then and the keys are left lying around."

The prince nodded yet again. "Alright. Just...try and stay alive."

Gloves nodded. "Will do."

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

The full moon shone high as Emperor snuck out of his window, a cloak over his figure. He headed to the freak show with purpose. He needed to save his people. And most of all, he needed to save Gloves. No aquatic creature should be stuck in a tank that small.

With the lockpick he was given by the mermaid once upon a time, he picked the lock of the building and headed in, to find most of the creatures asleep, and the hall completely devoid of guards.

Perfect.

Emperor took the keys from the stand they were on, and unlocked the cages. Some beasts simply flew away. Some thanked him and others used claws or talons to help with others.

Soon all of the cages were empty and the beasts were freed, but... Gloves was no where to be seen.

The prince felt himself begin to panic, but the kitsune brushed his shoulder with his tail. "The back room. They were taken in there after getting sick."

"Sick?" Emperor asked, rather concerned.

"Mermaids can't survive any part of them being dried for more than a few weeks. They got deathly dehydrated." The kitsune stated.

Emperor nodded, and raced to the back room, unlocking it.

Inside, there was a small but simple pool, and in it was an unconscious Gloves, who looked almost deathly pale. The prince bit his lip to keep from loosing his cool, and knelt down to gently shake the mermaid. "..Gloves?"

Gloves stirred, and opened their eyes. "...E-Emp?"

Emperor nodded. "It's me, Gloves. Listen, I'm going to get you out, but I need to lift you out of the pool. Alright?"

The mermaid nodded and allowed themself to be lifted by the prince, who dashed out of the door and ran to the ocean. The cove, more specifically.

As the two arrived, the sun was starting to rise, reflecting off of the water with a golden light as Emperor lowered Gloves in it. "There..."

Gloves smiled, already starting to look better, "Thanks, Emp... And, can I ask you something?"

Emperor nodded. "What is it?"

"..Can I kiss you? Not in a romantic way I promise! Just.. A mermaid's kiss can grant someone the ability to breathe underwater and I want to show you something.

"...S-sure?"

The mermaid nodded and leaned up, their lips being met by Emperor's own as the prince felt the power flow through him. And then he was pulled into the water by Gloves. "A-ACK-"

Gloves giggled, their hair billowing now they were both fully underwater. "Gotcha!"

Emperor huffed, taking a deep breath to find he really could breathe under the water now. "...I'll get you for that."

"But for now, follow me?"

The prince nodded and followed the mermaid as they led him to a smallish cave-on the outside at least. On the inside, it was huge and full of wonderful things. Even a makeshift vanity on a shelf-like rock formation, using fragments of mirrors. Much of the jewelry Emperor gave to Gloves was on this shelf, but other pieces were on other shelves or adorning Gloves. The prince guessed this was their home.

Gloves stopped after finding a bottle full of some strange gold liquid. "I got this a while ago at a market." They explained. "I... I wanted to give it to you to drink."

Emperor raised an eyebrow. "Why?"

"Well, it's apparently a potion that can turn a human into a mermaid. You often expressed how stressful the prince life is... I thought it'd help." Gloves explained. "I could help you with learning the basics of stuff, and you could even live with me!"

This seemed to be something out of a dream! But, Emperor wasn't willing to go. Not yet. "..I'll consider it, Gloves. I still have things to do on the surface."

Gloves looked a bit down, but nodded. "I get it... Well, take it in case you decide to drink it." The handed the potion to Emperor, who nodded and placed it in his pouch.

-----

The elixir was kept in a locked safe of sorts and almost forgotten. A few months after that exchange, Gloves didn't bring it up. But Emperor had been shown more and more of the watery neighborhood Gloves lived in; from the motherly siren and his selkie husband, to a sea nymph in love with a kitsune who lived on the surface, the prince had become as well known and respected as if he actually lived in the area.

Every night, Emperor would consider packing a bag and writing a note and drinking the elixir, to live there with Gloves permanently. And each time he decided not to drink just yet.

That all changed one day.

"Son," The king said. "I'd like you to meet your fiancé-"

Emperor tuned out her name, being frozen in fear. He didn't want this at all! He just... all he wanted was to spend his life with his mermaid friend!

So the moment he could, he sprinted up to his room and grabbed a waterproof bag, filling it with keepsakes of his brothers, along with the things Gloves gave him and the rest of his adornments (He wished to give some to his new neighbors, along with keep at least two matching rings for himself and Gloves). He grabbed a piece of paper and a quill, writing a note that simply he was running away, and to not look for him.

And with that, he unlocked the safe containing the elixir and headed out the window and to the cove with his bag.

When the prince reached it, he smiled in relief. Carefully, he stripped himself of his clothes and folded them to set on the rocks, keeping his circlet. He opened the bottle of the potion.

"Well, bottoms up.." Emperor said, to only himself. He downed the liquid in one fell gulp and jumped into the water.

He felt a weird sensation in his lower half but he didn't look until it was gone, and he saw a gorgeous and elaborate yellow mermaid tail, with specs of iridescent purple scales. Upon looking at his arms and feeling along his spine, Emperor noticed he grew fins as well, along with fin-like ears much like Gloves, though the ex-prince felt he paled in comparison to the mermaid of his affections.

He took his bag from the shore and quickly swam to where Gloves' cave was, his tail beating the water as hard as he could to get their faster.

When he arrived, he simply knocked on the stone, and was greeted with a tackle of seaweed green as Gloves hugged him tightly. "EMP!!!"

Emperor chuckled and embraced the betta fish back. "I missed you, Gloves."

Gloves smiled and looked Emperor up and down. "You drank it. You..."

"What can I say? Why would I not want to stay with the one I love?"

Gloves' face turned a shade of red, and they nuzzled into the crook of Emp's neck. "...I love you too, Emp..."

---------

When Prince, Regent, and their father found the note, a search for Emperor was called for. The kingdom searched far and wide before anyone thought to check the cove. All that they saw left of the kingdom's heir was his royal robes, folded neatly on the rocks with an empty bottle.

As for Emperor himself? He moved in with Gloves, permanently, and the two got together for reals. After a few years the two were married, and had two wonderful children. One was named Princess, and the other, Prince.

Some say the family learned of a way to turn into a humanoid form and roam the land as humans, and returned as the royal family when the kingdom fell to the grasp of chaos, but no one knows for sure.

All we can say, is this truly was a happily ever after.

The end.

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

The father shut his book, and the faces of his two children lit up.

"Are you saying you and Zaza are MERMAIDS?" The young girl asked.

The father only laughed. "Don't be silly, Princess. It's simply a story. A child's tale."

The son hugged his plush betta fish. "Y-yeah, sis. It's n-not real."

Princess pouted. "Awww! But that would be so coooooool!!"

"You know what else would be cool?" The father asked. "If you two went to sleep, now. I let you two stay up past your bedtime, your Zaza is going to get mad at me."

The two children nodded. "Night papa!" The son called.

He smiled. "Goodnight, Prince. You two, Princess." He blew out the light, and headed out of the room.

The other parental unit, Zaza, was waiting just outside the door. "Telling the kids the story again. Huh, Emp? "

"Gloves! You startled me there, love." Emperor stated. "And, yes. Princess won't stop thinking it's real."

"Well, who knows?" Gloves placed a kiss on Emperor's cheek. "You thought mermaids were a child's tale and yet you met me."

The king rolled his eyes playfully. "I suppose you're right. Now, it's been ages since we've done a good one, so..."

Gloves raised an eyebrow. "Midnight swim?"

"Midnight swim."

The two lovers headed out of the palace and to the cove, hands intertwined under the moonlight. they stripped away each others clothing as not to ruin it, and dove into the water.

A flash of colors followed, then green and yellow mermaids swam around the large cove, their laughter like springs of fresh water.

They got their happily ever after, after all.

[anxious-logic]

Something New and Beautiful

@tsshipmonth2020

Day 11: Choose any Soulmate AU.

This is kind of a prequel for an endgame LAMP storyline that I thought up a few months ago. People get their soulmate tattoos when they are ready to meet a soulmate/spend the rest of their lives with someone (usually somewhere in their mid/late teens or early twenties). It is black, and when someone else in the relationship gets the tattoo as well it fills in with color. When a soulmate dies, the colored portion turns white.

Ship: Sleepxiety (Remy x Virgil)

Warnings: Very minor very background past character death, bigots being bigots, child neglect, panic attack, I think that’s all but lmk if there’s anything else and feel free to message me for more detailed warnings.

Word count: 1,795

Summary: Remy and Virgil join their school’s GSA. At one of the meetings, they discover something about soulmates that their school never taught them.

“We should join the GSA,” Remy said one say, spread out on Virgil’s bed. Virgil bulled his earbud out, staring at the other boy from where he was curled up in the corner of his bed.

“Y’know, I think I just heard you say that we should join the GSA. But that can’t be right, because you know I have anxiety, and you know better than to make me do something I don’t want to do, especially when it involves other people.”

Remy rolled over to face Virgil. “No, I’m serious, hun. It’d give you a chance to meet new people, and I’d get to flirt to my heart’s content. I’m not saying I’m tired of you, I’m not saying you have to date anyone, I’m just saying that it can be nice to have someone to complain to about me.”

Virgil raised an eyebrow, but didn’t immediately argue. Remy seized on the silence.

“C’mon,” he wheedled. “It’d get you out of my house for a bit, and keep you away from yours.”

“Fine,” Virgil said, rolling his eyes and putting in his other earbud.

Remy knew the other boy was actually excited.

***

It was the fourth GSA meeting of the year. Virgil and Remy had made a few acquaintances; they’d begun hanging out with a couple kids named Kai and Elliott.

“Hey everyone!” Joan, one of the GSA leaders, said, to gain everyone’s attention. “Find a seat, and we’ll get started.”

As students sat in the chairs organized in a circle, Talyn, the other leader, spoke up.

“Today we’re going to be talking about soulmates,” they said. “This can be a hard topic for some people. There’s no shame in leaving now, or excusing yourself during the meeting if you decide to stay.”

“Talyn and I are going to stick around for a bit after the meeting,” Joan chimed in. “If you want to talk to one or both of us privately, you can do that then.”

A few people had quietly exited the room while Joan and Talyn were talking. Virgil had noticed one rubbing a mark that had turned white, on the back of xyr hand; another had left clutching the hand of her partner.

“You don’t have to say anything if you don’t want to,” Joan continued. “This is just a topic that can be helpful to talk about for some people.”

Virgil was focusing very hard on not grabbing his mark, which had been filled in with dark blue a quarter of the way about two years ago.

“Let’s start with asking if any of you have marks,” Talyn said. “Again, you don’t have to share anything if you don’t want to.”

About ten of the twenty students present raised their hands. Virgil hesitantly joined them, ducking his head.

“Would anyone like to share their story?” Talyn asked, lacing their fingers with Joan’s. There was a pause when nobody responded, but then Kai raised their hand.

“Um… I can start, I guess?”

Talyn nodded at them to go.

“Uh. I guess… well, I got the mark when my dad got married to my stepmom. I was 15, it was just last year. It didn’t feel like it was a particularly climactic day, or anything- but, yeah. Um, I guess that’s it.”

“Thanks for sharing,” Joan said, fidgeting a bit with their beanie. “Would anyone else like to talk?”

A few other people shared how and when they got their soulmarks – all of them were 13 or older when they had gotten theirs.

Why was I only 6… Virgil couldn’t help but wonder. He… really didn’t think that a six-year-old would be ready for a soulmate. But that’s just the way things are, he reminded himself as he felt Remy’s fingers squeeze his.

“Um, can I go next?” Elliott said. They looked nervous.

“Sure!” Talyn smiled back.

“Um… okay. So… I got my mark young. I was 10.”

The room went completely silent.

“My brother was… a dick, sorry for the language. But… well, he hadn’t been very nice to me. My parents told me they were getting divorced, and I’d probably mostly stay with my mom. I was closer to my dad, so that was really hard to hear.”

They took a deep breath. “That was also when I first started to really question my gender. I was scared, and confused, and everything was changing, and I didn’t feel like I had anyone to talk to. And… I got my mark.”

Their hand wandered to their ankle.

“I always wonder when I would’ve gotten it normally, if I hadn’t been so lonely and needed the support.”

Vrigil froze. “What?” he asked, very, very quietly. The whole room heard him anyway.

“Well- it’s not talked about much, but you can get a mark for two main reasons. The first, which most everyone knows, is that you’re ready to spend the rest of your life with someone. The other reason, which is talked about much less, is that you need someone else; maybe to talk to or spend time with or just to love you. Not necessarily in a romantic way, but just because you feel so alone and helpless.”

Virgil didn’t know who said the words, but he heard them regardless. You need someone else… to love you… because you feel so alone and helpless.

Well, fuck. That made sense now.

He ran out of the classroom, ripping his hand out of Remy’s.

***

4. 7- try again.

4- it’s okay.

4. 7.

Knock knock.

“Hey, Virge? You okay?”

Remy.

Virgil blindly felt for the stall latch, unlocking it and letting the other boy in.

“Hey, you okay?” Remy asked, crouching to get on Virgil’s level. Virgil threw his arms around him in response, feeling the other boy stagger back a bit.

“Whoah,” Remy said, bringing his arms up to rub Virgil’s back. “What’s going on?”

Virgil just shook his head, hiding his face in the crook of Remy’s neck. He breathed in the calming smell of coffee-leather-Remy.

“I’m here,” Virgil heard. “It’s okay.”

He took a few more shuddering breaths, counting them out in his head.

4. 7-again.

4. 7. 8.

4. 7. 8.

4. 7. 8.

He backed up to look Remy in the eyes.

“Hey,” Remy said. “Do you want to tell me what that was all about, gurl?”

Virgil took a deep breath, squeezing Remy’s forearms and looking down.

“Promise you won’t be mad?” he asked.

“Hun, I promise.”

Virgil blew out a breath.

“Okay. So you know how when we got the big talk from the school about soulmarks, I told you I got it when I was 12?”

“Of course,” Remy said. “And then you asked if we could not talk about them anymore. And we haven’t.”

“Yeah,” Virgil replied, carefully studying the collar of the other boy’s jacket. “So… that wasn’t true.”

He ducked his head and shrank back. Remy didn’t respond for a few seconds.

“Um. Okay.” There was a pause. “Can you tell me the truth, then?”

Virgil could hear the hurt that Remy was trying to hold back.

“I got it when I was 6,” he mumbled quietly.

He felt Remy freeze, and looked up to see an expression of pure rage burning behind his eyes.

“Explain. Now,” Remy said, deathly quiet. Virgil gulped.

“Um. My parents… kind of neglected me. I mean, I had food all the time, and a place to sleep, and people to wash the clothes and do the dishes and stuff, but my parents were gone on trips and stuff a lot. I really only saw the housekeeper when they were gone, and he only came over a few times a week.”

Remy’s eyes were flashing, but he didn’t say anything.

“Um… technically, it’s still that way, I guess. I still don’t see them very often. But now I have you, so it’s okay.”

“It’s really not, babe,” Remy said, and took a deep breath. “But your mark?”

“I… um. Honestly, I don’t really know exactly when I got it. It might have been that I got a scrape and nobody was there to tell me it was okay; it might have been that I wanted a snack but couldn’t reach; maybe I was just feeling super lonely that day. I don’t know, I just woke up one day, and… there it was.”

Remy growled slightly, but seemed to catch himself. “So… did you just not know what it was for years? Or what?”

“Thomas – the housekeeper – saw it. He told me what it was, and why I got it. Except… obviously not. Because I wasn’t ready for a soulmate at the age of six. I needed someone. Anyone. And I didn’t have them. So I got my mark. I didn’t know there was another reason you could get soulmarks until today.”

Virgil pulled back to meet Remy’s eyes when he didn’t respond. “You okay?”

“Holy fucking shit I am going to kill your parents,” Remy said. The air around him seemed hot with fury.

“Please don’t,” Virgil said. “If you did that I’d have to live with Aunt Bertha, and you know how much we hate her.”

“No. No more jokes,” Remy cut in. “You don’t get to tell me you were so alone at age six that you got a tat, and then joke about your fucking Aunt Bertha.” He grabbed Virgil’s head, pulling him forward until their foreheads touched. “I promise you,” he continued, voice tight with tears. “I promise that you will never, ever, feel that alone. Ever again.”

Virgil blinked, surprised at the sudden forcefulness, but didn’t pull back.

“Well, thanks,” he said. “But how are you going to do that?”

Remy looked him in the eye, his jaw set and a tear trickling down his face. He seemed to make a decision, nodding suddenly.

“I”ll love you no matter what. I’ll support you. I’ll be there for you. Like a soulmate. Until we both meet ours.”

They were still pressed together forehead-to-forehead. Virgil’s breath hitched.

“I- what?”

“Virgil, will you be my boyfriend?”

Virgil jerked back.

“No. Listen. It’d- it’d help us with the bigots in town, ‘cause we’d be ‘practicing for the soulmate’ or whatever stupid bullshit. And maybe our parents would let us be together more often? And, um. Having someone who I know I can lean on… would be really nice.”

Virgil closed his eyes and counted a breath. Remy’s reasoning was good. It all made sense. And… even though Virgil had soulmates – three, judging by the tat – he never really… expected to meet them.

And maybe you wanted this before today too, a voice whispered. He very quickly stepped on that voice and killed it.

“Okay,” Virgil whispered.

Remy leaned forward, and their lips connected.

[vampire207343]

Venus Mikaelson

What if....Fem!Harry Potter, Stella Lilian Potter died, 10 years after the war with the Dark Lord after her own husband Ron Weasley betrayed her after she catch him having an affair with their bestfriend Hermione Granger. She was reborn into another world as Venus Gilbert.

My parents Miranda and Greyson Gilbert died last Summer because of my sister Elena who is born a month after me well that's what Everyone tells me that we're twins born in different months from one another. I was in the car with our parents seating beside Elena, when our parents drowned and I also died for about 10 secounds before someone manage to bring me back to life, but every since I return from the dead the mark of the deathly Hallow has reappear on my left arm like a tattoo and my memories of my past life as Stella Potter has return to me as well as my Magic.

After our parents funeral, Jeremy and myself left Mystic Fall for a little while to get away and mourn our parents death, which our Aunt Henna allow us to get away for a time being, Jeremy and I have been to Australia and Georgia during the Summer after our parents death, before we return to Mystic Fall for the new School year.

I also been collecting copies of many Witch Grimoire I find during our travel and I made sure that Jeremy and myself are wearing a Vervain necklace, before we return to Mystic Fall. Which happen to be a Supernatural Central.

   2 months after the First day od School Viki Donovan, who happen to be Jeremy's girlfriend and end up getting turn to a Vampire and was killed by one of the Salvator Brothers, and one of Elena's new Boy Toys. Elena tried to have Damon Salvator compell Jeremy to froget any feelings he currently have for Viki after they killed her.

Elena removed his vervain necklace before Damon compell him again before returning his necklace unknown to both Elena and Damon Salvator that Venus saw what they did to her younger brother.

The supernatural Drama center around Elena, so I avoid her group as much as I can so that I don't get drag to her Drama that might end up killing me. I Meet the Hybird Klaus Mikaelson the guy who wanted to Sacrifice Elena to break the curse that his mother put on him. And Aunt Jenna was the Vampire Sacrifice. If Elena wasn't keeping it secret  from Aunt Jenna what has been happening then she might still be alive. I don't fully blame Klaus for Aunt Jenna's death, I blame Elena and her boy toys. 

🌹🌸🌹

 1 and 1/2 years later...

   I meet Klaus Mikaelson's younger brother Kol Mikaelson and the both of us end up falling in love with each other. And evenutally began dating one another in Elena's displeasure but I didn't care about that, Kol is the first guy I ever fell in love with in this new life of mine. But her happinese didn't stay for long, Elena and Jeremy hurt her the worse way by Killing Kol when he tried to stop tgem from reviving Silas the immortal, but they didn't listned  all they cared anout is getting the Cure for Elena so that she can human again, not caring that Venus Loves Kol, they putt a dagger into his heart unknown  to both Jeremy and Elena that Venus saw what they did. She expected this from Elena but not from her brother who she help rise when their parents are to busy with Elena.

    I mourn his death for days, like I did my own parents death and since I am the mistress of Death I was able to summon hos soul by my side he told me about a spell that would be able to resurrect him which Death allow since Kol was not ment to stay dead. I aquired two blood belonging to Elijah and Finn Mikaelson along with Kol's own ash. I aquired Finn's blood before he was kill by Elena and her friends since Death warn me to take a few sample of Finn Mikaelson's blood which I did.

But It took me 4 months to get everything prepared and ready in the Maraduders retreats the house that I build just outside Mystic Fall that no one knows about with the exception of Kol. By the time everythung is ready for the Ritual. Jeremy Was already dead for months during the quest in Elena's search for the cure. Bonnie Bennett girlfriend of Jeremy plan to lower the viel to the other side  just as Venus Gilbert began the ritual bring Kol back to life.

"Le Sang des deux feres, les cendres de leurs morts. Le sang des deux feres, les cendres de leurs morts " Venus Gilbert chanted spell 2 times, during the highest point of the moon.

Which was successful Kol Mikaelson is alive once more as a vampire again but regain something he thought he will never have again after being turn to a vampire, his magic, he js now the Original Heretics.

In the next few days would be their High School Graduation while Kol waited for her in Marauders retreats. Rebekah and her brothers now knew that Venus Gilbert managed to bring their dead brother Kol Mikaelson back to life at the same time Bonnie Bennett brought back Jeremy but their was price to bring Jeremy back to life, a Life for a Life. 

Venus and Kol are waiting at tge end of Graduation before they leave Mystic Fall for good.

But the First Mikaelson to leave Mystic Fallhas been Elijah and Klaus who are now in New Orlean, While Rebekah spend the summer with Matt Donovan traveling like they both agree on before graduating High School. While Kol and I decided to go to England and I'm going attend Combridge University and oddly enough Kol decided to join me to School.

   Kol and myself heard from Rebekah that Klaus gotten a she-wolf pregnant and it's not just any wolf either, it's tge very werewolf that Tyler Lockwoid end up cheating on Caroline Forbes. And Elijah seem to care for the little She-wolf, Hayley Marshall.

Elena and her friends fonally found out from Jeremy that Bonnie is dead. And Elena is devested maybe she will feel a small degree on how I felt when she and Jeremy killed Kol. Elena dosen't know how to handel it, but her boyfriend Damon Salvator was their for her when she discovered that her best friend Bonnie  Bennett is dead.

On May 2, 2012

   Hayley Marshall gaved birth to Klaus Mikaelson's Miracle Daughter Hope Mikaelson, who was taken by the New Orlean witches and they plan on sacrificing the new born, but Klaus, Elijah along with the newly turn Hybird Hayley saved Hope Mikaelson from being Sacrifice.

     Klaus Mikaelson and Hayley Marshall gaved their Daughter Hope to Rebekah to hide along side his younger brother Kol and Venus until they had taken care of the problem that want Hope dead.

      Luckly it's school break that Kol and Venus manged to protect Hope along side Rebekah, but it wasn't long When Klaus and the others has taken care of the witches of New Orlean. And Kol and Venus return to England for 1st year, in tge 2nd semester.

3 years later...

Kol Mikaelson and Venus Gilbert finally geaduate College now their moving to New Orlean to help Klaus and the others take care off their long lost Aunt Dahlia who take every first born child of the Mikaelson family as payment for helping her dister Esther Mikaelson have children of her own.

They even meet Klaus and others long lost older Sister Freya Mikaelson who was taken by Dahila when she was give years old. The family is trying to hide 3 years old Hope Mikaelson while they all take care of Dahlia and Easther Mikaelson along with the newly resurrected Finn Mikaelson that taken over the body of Vincent.

And with Kol Mikaelson now being the Original Heretic, he is much powerful than Finn currently is and he might even be stronger than his brother Klaus who's the original Hybird.

    Klaus and the others finally manged to kill Dahlia, Esther and Finn Mikaelson. They were able to save Hope before she is taken from her family. Klaus Mikaelson and Hayley Marshall are finally reunited with their little daughter Hope Andrea Mikaelson.

Davina Claire the wife of Klaus Mikaelson help Hayley and Klaus rised their little daughter.

   Kol and Venus spend travel that year after taking care off Dahlia, Esther and Finn. They travel Alaska and now they are in Paris France where Kol propose to Venus Gilbert, And she said "Yes".

      So the whole family are gathering in New Orlean for Venus and Kol's wedding. But they didn't invited Venus two siblings since Elena might try to ruwin the wedding just so she can stop Venus from marrying Kol and that is something Both Caroline and Rebekah agree that Elena might do if she was invited to the wedding and Venus isn't going to chance it by inviting her sister. Venus use to be so close to her younger brother Jeremy Gilbert until he willingly kill Kol and that is the one thing that Venus would never forgive her brother for. 

🌹🌸🌹

1 and 1/2 year later...

On March 15, 2017

    The Hallow took possessed of Hope's five years old body so in order save Hope Mikaelson. They have decided to split the Hallow evenly before all of them going in their seperate ways.

   The first to leave New Orlean is Elijah Mikaelson and he moved to England. Then Rebekah fallow she move in Washington D.C., then their Kol and Venus who left next and they both decided to settle down in Sydney Australia. Then finally Klaus and Davina moved to New York. 

Both Venus and Davina Mikaelson are pregnant their respected husband are excited to have a child with thrir wife.

While Hayley Marshall and her daughter Hope Mikaelson moved in Mystic Fall to attend Salvator Broading School with people like herself.

Hope made friends with the Saltzman twins Lizzy and Jossie.

🌹🌸🌹

5 years later...

Davina and her daughter Faith Rosalinda Mikaelson

Are visit, Venus and Kol along with their daughter Sadiya Lilian Mikaelson

They always visit each other when they can, while they are cousin they mostly see one another as sisters. They are only 5 years old but they are already smart enough to know that their Klaus and Kol Mikealson can't be near one another it's to dangerous because of the enity that was split equally between their Aunt and Uncles before they were born to saved Faith's 10 years older half sister Hope Mikaelson who they have never meeg before.

6 years later..

   Hope Andrea Mikaelson is now 16 years old, but she is jealous of her younger half sister she never meet since she gotten the chance to grow up with their father, while he can't go near her without endanger her life that it feels like I don't exist to him anymore since he never try to contact her the only one stay in contact with her is Her Aunt Freya and that's because she dosen't have a hallow sealed inside her.

      Elena Gilbert end up marring Damon Salvator but they never had children together. Their is one greatest regret she ever did force Damon to Compell her younger brother Jeremy to Kill Kol Mikaelson to stop him from stoping them search for the so call vampire "cure" but in the end Jeremy end up dead, my sister Venus end hating me and Jeremy for killing Kol. And bonnie lower viel to bring back Jeremy to life in return she died I lost my bestfriend. And Jeremy also end up hating my guts for forcing him to kill Kol which end up our sister Venus hate us even know she still never forgived us for Killing Kol even though she manged to rescurrect him.

Jeremy Gilbert end up marring a woman he meet in College after Bonnie died and they have one daughter together an 8 years old by tge name of Lydia Rose Gilbert.

[insidetheacademy]

Say You Love Me || ii

pairings: Peter Parker x reader (both Peter and reader are 18+!)

gif credits: tomhollandd

summary: peter and reader met once again after months of not seeing other

warnings: angst??? if you squint??? a bit of fluff if you squint too i guess???

part i part ii part iii part iv part v 

-

*flashback*

“hey, its okay, you’ll find another one.” Peter reassures you whilst his finger runs up and down your hair as you sob beside him on his pillow. you had just broken up with your significant other, Alex. they said you were too much to handle and that you could be a manic sometimes. you begged for them to stay, promising them that you would do better but they just walked away. “i feel like everything i do isnt enough for them,” you blurted out

Peter couldnt help but say “don’t say that, y/n. you’re literally the amazing person that I had ever met. you’re so kind, caring and just so out of this world.” Peter meant every word he said that night. You looked up at him with red swollen eyes and he opened his arms to attack you with his hugs. Peter didnt care that you had snots and such, the only thing that he had in his mind were that his best friend is safe with him.

Peter cupped your face, “cheer up, y/n, let’s go and get some slushee?” Peter asked trying to cheer you up with your favourite 7 Eleven drink. He helped wiped your tears off of your face with his thumb and you just nodded at his words.

“earth to y/n,” MJ said waving her hands in front of your face, “God, are you daydreaming about Parker again?” she scoffed crossing her arms. you look at her sadly, “i just can’t believe he rejected me that coldly, you know?” you went on and on about how you werent unsatisfied with his rejection. true, it has been 6 months exact that he had rejected you and you can’t seem to get your mind off of him.

MJ had enough of you wallowing in sadness, she puts her hand on top of your hands trying to make you feel safe and calm, “look, y/n, what he did was an ass move, but he also did the right thing. atleast he doesnt leads you on,” you looked at her face not knowing what to respond as she was right. at least he was being honest. She continued “who would’ve thought a well known New York City based painter like you would still be hung up on a guy like him,” you rolled your eyes at her attempt trying to brag about your achievements.

but you couldnt help but think about that night when Alex left you and Peter was there to help you. you’ve held that memory so dearly as it was the first time you had fallen for Peter. i guess you read it wrong when he tells that you were an amazing person. i mean, only a crazy person would think that complimenting an opposite gender friend is flirting. you thought to yourself too, did he really mean those words? or was he just trying to make you feel better?

*･゜ﾟ･*:.｡..｡.:*･'(*ﾟ▽ﾟ*)'･*:.｡. .｡.:*･゜ﾟ･*

you were walking side by side with MJ heading your way towards the nearest bookstore to buy your own copy of Meditations by Marcus Aurelius. a series of private notes by Aurelius and his ideas of Stoic Philosophy. you remember when Peter would constantly call you a nerd for being so invested in books but you didnt mind as he was the worse of them all; a geek. He wouldnt shut up about Star Wars and all those superhero stuff. You’d gladly listen to him talking about it anyway as so is he about your books.

you and MJ walked into the bookstore and split ways to find each of your own needs. you head down to the history archives isle, to find the boon of your desire. you stopped in your tracks when you heard a familiar warm laughter, “dude, that’s messed up!” he exclaimed. out of curiousity, you followed the voice to see is it really who you think it was? to your surprise it was Peter and Ned. you were a bit shocked, you tried to walked away when Ned caught you.

“is that y/n? hey y/n!” Ned shouted to which you spinned to face Ned and Peter. you gave them a fake warm smile and walked over to them. “hey guys,” you said in the most boring tone ever. “how have you been, girl? it has been so long!” Ned asked to which you replied good. Peter has been eyeing you for the whole conversation, you noticed but you didnt want to look at his beautiful brown eyes knowing that doing so will break you.

you had to end the conversation to meet MJ knowing that she would definitely be mad if you took way too long even when you knew what book to buy. “woah, look at the time!” you said lacing in sarcastic, “i gotta go. MJ’s gonna be pretty mad at me for disappearing for this long.” Ned’s face lit up with excitement as the whole gang was here! “MJ’s here? dude we have to meet her!” Ned said nudging Peter’s arm. you immediately regretting everything that you had just said knowing them, this would probably turn into the biggest reunion hangout ever.

you found MJ in the arts section reading a book about Van Gogh. she looked up when she saw a figure walking to her, “hey! are you fini-“ she stopped mid sentence as she saw the two guys behind you. she immediately gave them the hugest hugs ever. it has been a long time since the four of you hung out like this.

the conversation then moved to a café. it was only Ned and MJ talking, you and Peter didnt talk a lot. you kept looking at Peter when he’s not looking and he notices it but he doesnt want to say anything.

Peter on the other hand had to break up with Jane when he found out that Jane was having an affair with a guy from work. He was upset, he couldn’t even step out of his home for the whole six months. thats why Ned is here. he pushed Peter out of his shell.

*･゜ﾟ･*:.｡..｡.:*･'(*ﾟ▽ﾟ*)'･*:.｡. .｡.:*･゜ﾟ･*

it was 9pm already. Goodness, time flies when you’re catching up with old friends or so you thought. you parted ways with MJ and Ned but funny enough, you forgot that your apartment was near Peter’s so you two had to walk together. but not really together, just five feet apart from each other to avoid the deathly awkward silence.

you were doing fine walking on your own when you heard a rustling behind you, you checked to look and it was only Peter. you raised your eyebrows and faced forward, “look, I wanna say that I’m sorry,” he spoke. you took out your earphones to say “for what?” pretending to be clueless but you were fully aware about what’s he saying. you just wanted some sort of confirmation that he knows he treated you a bit coldly that night.

“for rejecting you. so coldly in fact. I just dont know what the hell happened for me to reacted like that. I know that you’re probably not gonna forgive me for not feeling the same way.” he said scratching his head, but he was so wrong. why wouldnt you forgive him? feelings just don’t reciprocate and thats okay. you understood plus eventhough you wanted him so bad at that specific night, you can’t just take away someone’s once in a lifetime.

you reassured him that it was fine and that you understood him. you explained that his rejection made you even more aware of yourself and how you sort of found yourself through it all. Peter spoke up again, “so a painter, huh?” he nudges you. you let out a breath to the nose laugh and said a tiny yeah. he then follows up with a “i saw your paintings at the painting exhibitions and i must say they’re really pretty. they’re different than what you used to paint back in high school.” you stopped in your tracks and looked at him to find some sort of ‘haha i’m just joking i dont really give a shit about your paintings’.

you felt so happy that even when you stopped talking he was still keeping tabs on what you were doing. it sent a feeling to your stomach that you hadnt felt in the span of six months. you smiled at him and said “well, i’m honoured that you think so, Parker.”

“here’s me,” you said to Peter arriving at your apartment complex. not too shabby. the awkward silence came back once again between the two of you, not knowing how to end it. “so uh-“ the two of you spoke in unison, you stopped and laughed. “I would love to go out with you again. I’ve missed you so much.” Peter said, your lips curved into a smile “Wednesday, 12:30pm, don’t be late.” you said to him as you walked up the stairs to the inside of your apartment.

He didnt have the time to process it properly but he knew he just got a date. He felt so giddy at the fact that he got his best friend back but he doesnt know that you still want more.

*･゜ﾟ･*:.｡..｡.:*･'(*ﾟ▽ﾟ*)'･*:.｡. .｡.:*･゜ﾟ･*

a/n; part two!! thank you so much for the positive feedback! i’m honestly considering on making this into a little mini series! let me know if you are interested <3!

[knightofameris]

jar of stars — peter parker (p. iii)

Setting: After homecoming, but during the sophomore year of high school Gender: Neutral Contains: Flufffffffff, a little bit of angst but honestly not really lol. Word Count: 2.2k

Summary: (Y/n) has a thing for paper stars. They also have a thing for Peter Parker but then an itsy bitsy spider comes ‘round and practically plays matchmaker.

a/n: Let me know if there are any grammar or spelling mistakes or if I accidentally say ‘she/he’ instead of the gender neutral ‘they’.

So, I finished this months after starting this and I’m posting this a few weeks after finishing it. It’s a little rushed towards the end since I kinda lost inspiration. Anyways, I hope you guys enjoyed this series! I have two more series (6-part and 8-part w/ epilogue coming up but I have no clue when they’ll be finished.

p. i || p. ii || here!

Enjoy!  [repost from old account]

�� the way his eyes crinkled when he laughed                     that one eyebrow that defied gravity           it was like you were falling for him all over again ❞

“You can’t just take someone, swinging through the buildings of Queens, Peter!” Tony yelled, gesturing his entire arm out. Peter walked up towards his mentor in his outfit, his arms out as he tried to explain himself.

“Yeah but Mr. Sta-”

“A bup bup bup!” Tony raised a finger up in the air, effectively shutting Peter up who could only tighten his mouth in a straight line. “I’m talking here. Peter, I know you like this person a lot. (Y/n) right? What was it that you said to me about keeping your identity a secret?”

“To keep my loved ones safe.” They both said at the same time.

“Exactly,” Tony walked up towards Peter and wrapped an arm around the young teen. The two began to walk towards the car set outside the compound, ready to drive Peter home. “Someone could easily snap a picture and (Y/n) would be attached to your alter ego. I know you’re terrified to ask them out as - well - you,” Tony gestured towards Peter’s entire body.

“Wait, what do you mea-”

“But you’re going to have to. And not play around as Spider-Man to do so. Pepper is always in danger because of me. And trust me, I hate it. I’ve pushed her away in the past a few times and all of those who have been close to me because I’m scared of them getting hurt. You don’t need that on your conscience that young, if at all. I really - and I mean it - I really think you should stop talking to them. As Spider-Man, anyways.”

Peter  pursed his lips as he took in everything Tony said. Nodding his head, he said, “Yeah. Yeah, I’ll stop talking to them. As Spider-Man.” The two of them finally reached the black car, Happy already in the drivers seat.

Tony reached over to open the door for Peter and then patted his back. “I knew you were a smart kid, Parker.” Peter smiled up at Tony as he got into the car.

“Thanks, Mr. Stark.”

“Uh, how many times do I have to tell you to call me Tony?” Tony quirked a brow and pointed at the boy seated in the car. “Oh, whatever, just get home safe or May will kill me.”

Tony patted the top of the car once the door shut and watched until the car left his line of vision.

Peter looked inside your room, watching as you worked on some stars while binging a show. He probably should knock, since this was kind of creepy, but you just looked so calm. No worries in the world. However, he raised his hand and rapped two knuckles on the window. You jolted a bit in your seat, looking at the window only to smile in relief when you recognized his mask.

You took off your earbuds and got up to open the window. You leaned out of it staring at the whites of his mask.  

“It’s late, what are you doing?” You asked, smiling and recalling the earlier events of the day. You couldn’t read the emotions etched on his face, but the way his body shifted side to side and how he moved his head to the side you could sense that something was up. You frowned. “Spider-Man?”

“Sooo, Mr. Stark caught me taking you through Queens.” He scratched the back of his neck, still not meeting your eyes. “He said I shouldn’t do that, or talk to you as Spider-Man. And I think so too. It can put you in serious danger if one of my enemies caught me with you and I don’t want to be the reason you get hurt. I’m really sorry and I hope you understand.” He began to walk away and raised his arm up to head back home but you reached out towards him, grasping onto his arm.

“Wait!” You urged. He glanced back at you. “Just, wait for a second.” You let go of his arm and ran into your room. Digging under your bed, you reached for a certain jar and ran back to the window. You held out the Spider-Man themed jar to him.

“It-It makes sense,” you said, “to stop talking to me. I get it. And as much as it sucks, I’m glad I got to know you. So at the very least, take this. You know, to remember me.” He gingerly took it out of your grasp and adired the spider design on the side.

He looked up into your eyes, “Thank you.”

You choked back a few tears before you said, “Good luck in life. And stay safe.”

Peter smiled. “I will. Thank you, (Y/n). For being a big part of my life. Make sure to tell Peter by the way.”

You nodded your head in response, not trusting your voice, before he jumped off the fire escape and into the night. You sighed, glancing up at the night sky. You weren’t met with the twinkling of stars, for they did not shine that night.

The dark circles under your eyes would not go away, no matter how much concealer you tried to put on. That much was evident to all your friends.

MJ frowned and furrowed her brows as she put an arm around you. “Dude, why do you look like you were up all night studying.”

Not wanting to tell the truth you replied, “Because I was?”

“Dude, (Y/n), you’re going to be fine,” Ned said, nudging you slightly with his elbow. You made sounds of protests in response but then quickly looked over at Peter. He was deathly quiet and usually would rush over to you the moment he knew you were killing yourself over school. But he looked just as tired, he was just lucky he didn’t have dark circles as evident as yours.

No one knew that you were close friends with the hero of Queens. Not even MJ but she knew something was up when you’d stop replying to her texts or wouldn’t hang out with her at night. So it’s not even like you could tell someone how you’ve been feeling since he cut you off.

It sucked. But you knew that it was because of how it could put you in danger. But there was still that voice in the back of your head wondering if he just cut you off because he was tired of you. Insecurities of yours wandered around in your head for the rest of the day.

You sat next to Peter with Ned, Cindy, and a few others, at the lab table in physics. Your head on the desk, looking at Peter’s well defined profile. You were thankful that Mrs. Warren didn’t assign any work after the AP exams; it meant you could sleep. But for some reason, even though you were extremely tired, you just watched Peter play card games with the rest of the group. The way his eyes crinkled when he laughed at something stupid. That one eyebrow that defied gravity. It was like you were falling for him all over again.

Maybe you should follow Spider-Man’s advice. Even if he never spoke to you again, you trusted him.

Your eyes began to close, listening to the voices of your friends and Peter’s laugh lulled you into dreamland.

The annoying sound of your alarm caused you to groan as you rolled over to slam the snooze button on your phone. You closed your eyes again as you drifted off into dreamland but the alarm that was set five minutes after went off causing you to groan again.

Your drowsy eyes slowly opened up as you rubbed your face with your hands. Tossing the blankets to the side, you groggily got up to get ready for school. You really regretted staying up to finish a season of Brooklyn Nine-Nine before the last day of school. Nah, it was so worth it.

It had been about a week and a few days since Spider-Man cut everything off with you. But with how it was the last day of school, you figured you should end it following his advice.

So there you were, standing in front of your jar-shelf trying to pick a confession jar. Which one would Peter like the most?

“It’s Peter, he wouldn’t care which one. Just if he got one,” you thought. And you knew you were right but the other voice kept saying otherwise. It wasn’t until your dad yelled at you saying you were going to be late, again, that you grabbed a random one and ran off to catch the subway.

The last day of school went off without a hitch. Unfortunately, you didn’t see Peter all day or even after school. Block schedule for finals were the worst.

“So you’re finally doing it?” Michelle asked as she walked you to the station.

You nodded your head, “Yeah, I haven’t seen him all day and Ned hasn’t either. So I’ll probably stop by his place since it’s on the way to mine.”

“Alright, doesn’t sound to bad. Tell me how it goes, loser,” Michelle smirked and you rolled your eyes, punching her shoulder lightly as she walked off to her train to take.

“I’ll text you tonight, get home safe, ho bag!” You called out, ignoring the looks from the older adults around you. You smiled to yourself as you got onto the train and shifted around to look for a seat, only to realize you were going to have to stand this time around. Again. Which was fine.

You gripped one of the handles as you pulled out your phone to check your messages. Replying quickly to a few friends, you pulled up Peter’s chat and let him know that you were stopping by. You shoved your phone back into your pocket and took a deep breath for what was to come.

You knocked on Peter’s apartment with two fingers and went back to grasp the straps of your backpack to ease your nerves. You waited for a bit and then heard a ruckus on the other side, only to see May open up holding a rag. She paused and then burst into a smile as she realized it was you.

“(Y/n)! It’s so nice to see you,” she gushed, ushering you into the apartment. You smiled up at her, your eyes flickering over to Peter’s door as you talked.

“Yeah, it’s been a while Mrs. Parker!” You brushed a hand through your hair.

“Oh,” she waved the rag nonchalantly, “just call me May. You’re probably here for Peter, you can just walk in, he just got back from school.” You nodded your head and thanked her before heading over into his room, taking out the jar from your bag.

You knocked a few times before clasping your hand around the doorknob and let yourself in. You suddenly became more aware of the jar that sat in your hands when you made eye contact with Peter who looked up at you from his bed on his phone. He jolted out of his bed and fixed his hair from tossing around in his bed.

“(Y/n), I just got your message,” he breathed out. Smiling as he moved around his room trying to clean up his slight mess. As he shuffled things around on his desk you couldn’t help but notice an oddly familiar jar that sat perched on it. Your face scrunched up in confusion and you tilted your head as you tried to recall the star jar that sat on his desk.

Peter looked up at you, “So, what do you need to-”

“Holy shit.”

The jar in your hand would have shattered if it hit the floor. But Peter reached forward fast enough to catch it before it did.

Peter probably should have realized you’d figure it out, that he was Spider-Man. So when he glanced up at your frozen figure, worry flooded over him.

“Peter?” You asked sternly, your finger pointing at the jar you had given him, or Spider-Man, weeks earlier. He followed your eyes that were looking in the same direction as your finger then back up at you.

“Yeah?”

“Are you Spider-Man?”

“Yes?”

“Oh, okay. Well, that jar’s for you. You should open it.” You walked out of his room, closing his door for a second. Peter stood there watching you leave, his mouth agape. Glancing down at the jar, realizing that you had followed his advice, then up to see your back about to leave his apartment, he set down the jar on his desk and ran after you.

“(Y/n), wait!” Peter called for you, jumping over the couch and setting his hand on your shoulder. You stopped mid-step but didn’t turn around to face him. “I - uh - I don’t know what to say.”

You closed your eyes, unsure of how to feel. “I liked you.”

Peter tilted his head and pulled his hand away from your shoulder. “Liked?”

You chuckled and moved your head down a bit. “I liked you, you know. Spider-Man. And you. God, I don’t even know what I’m feeling. Relieved? That I wasn’t confused on who I liked? Happy? Because it’s you.  Or mad? Since you essentially used Spider-Man to get to me. Kind of broke my heart when Spider-Man stopped talking to me and when you got too busy with the Stark Internship to even make time for me or Michelle or Ned!” You brought your arm up to your face, wiping away stray tears.

Peter stood there and pursed his lips. His eyes watering a little bit since he was frustrated at himself for doing this to you.

You opened your mouth, about to tell Peter you were going to leave when you heard him talk.

“I’m sorry.” He shifted his weight on his feet and you turned to face him. “I am so, so, sorry about the distress I put you through.” He looked into your eyes, occasionally glancing elsewhere. “I shouldn’t have  to use Spider-Man to get close to you like that. I should have made more time for you as me. I just-uh-I should have told you about Spider-Man. And I’ll make it up to you! Because talking to you again as Spider-Man made me so ecstatic. I thought-I thought you hated me. You never gave me a jar and-and I was always scared. Scared to talk to you as me. So-so-so I thought,” Peter waved his arms around, not really looking at you by the time he got here, “I thought Spider-Man would be easier to talk to you. And it was-”

You wrapped your arms around him into a hug. “You talk wayyy too much Parker. I get it. It still doesn’t make it right though.” Peter smiled and you felt his arms wrap around you.

“I know. I’ll make it up to you.” Peter nuzzled his face into your hair.

“Promise?”

“Promise.”

“Okay,” you slightly moved away from Peter looking up at him. “I trust you.” Peter grinned. “Now, you just gotta fill me in on everything.”

“I will.”

[theotherdoe]

Hi. Hello.

*Clears throat, waves shyly.* Uhm hello there.

I am most likely speaking to a vast void here, but I want to introduce myself to the world of Tumblr and the HP fandom. I’ve been wanting to create and contribute to the fandom for awhile now, and have slowly started this process. I am hoping by introducing myself to, well, the internet, I guess, someone will see my plea for fandom friends and help hold me accountable to finishing my fan fiction and fan art (and I am such an awkward little introvert over here that I have no idea how make online friends. But this isn’t a one sided thing here - I’d love to provide feedback to stories and encouragement when writer’s block happens to others, too!). 

So hi. Hello. I’m Sierra. An ICU nurse by night, and by day a sleepy creature that is an avid knitter, amateur cross stitcher, dog mom, wife to husband that collects VHS tapes of the Star Wars trilogy, and self-conscious fan fiction writer and fan art creator. The Harry Potter series has always been so close to my heart - when I was young, I picked up the Sorcerer’s Stone, and forced myself to learn how to read with that book. I was a slow reader, behind what was an acceptable reading level for my grade, and was embarrassed by that fact. But I was stubborn child, and with pure determination and the help of my older brother, I learned out how to read and fell in love with reading because of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone. Ever since then, HP has been so special to me (even though JK Rowling is literately an awful person like WTF). I grew up in a middle of a corn field small town (I mean I graduated high school with a class of 45 people small), so in the summers before I was old enough to get a job, I would babysit random kids and re-read the Harry Potter series from start to finish, and then start them all over again. When Deathly Hallows was finally released, I was an avid Hinny shipper, and wrote sweet, very poorly written Hinny fan fiction and pasted my drawn pictures of Ginny Weasley all over my childhood bedroom walls. But as I got older, became a high schooler, then a college student, other interests took over, and I lost touch with my love for Harry Potter.

Flash back to about two-and-a-half years ago, my then fiance and I moved 1200 miles away from all of our friends and family, and I started my career as an ICU nurse. It was an awesome, but scary time, and as someone who is not only an introvert, but has had the same best friends since the ripe old age of 6 years old, I struggled with making connections with people in my new home state. I turned to Harry Potter, re-opened my old middle school tumblr account, and came home to this beautiful fandom. It was such a comfortable feeling to be surrounded by the characters I knew and loved so well, in both there original stories and alternative universes. And it was during this time I feel in love with the Marauders Era and became thoroughly obsessed.

So in the past couple months, I started this new Tumblr (I thought it was probably a good idea to deleted the 10 year old Tumlbr that was started with an email that doesn’t exist anymore), and have slowly started creating fan art and writing fan fiction again (the whole COVID-19 thing put a damper in my plans to create more as I began working overtime like crazy earlier in the year). I love the amount of acceptance, creativity, and just pure love that is in this fandom, and I have become such an avid Wolfstar and Jily shipper in my old age. I want to contribute stories and art to this fandom that has brought me so much joy and reminded me that I love writing stories and creating art (even though I’m not sure if you can call my sketches art). So, if you stick around, you might get to see me gain enough confidence to share some poorly drawn fan art based on stories I’m obsessed with and my cute Wolfstar/Jily AU I’m writing (it was supposed to be a cute little song fic based on the song “Gorgeous” by Taylor Swift but somehow has turned into a multi-chapter, trope-y, fluffy story that I’m sure has been written before).

So, hi! Welcome to my Tumblr. It’s going to be mainly HP (which means lots of Wolfstar, Jily, a touch of Hinny, and any other ships I feel like sharing at the time), but it will also include stuff about healthcare equality, how much the 45th president of the United States sucks, the BLM movement, cute art, and anything else that tickles my fancy. Feel free to say hi, ask me to read through any stories you would like a second set of eyes on before posting, or anything else! 

[kriscme]

One Life to Live

Hi, so now we come to the end.  The final two chapters.  Thanks to everyone who’s been following this story.  It can be read on AO3 too.  My name is Kris22 there.  As always, thanks to Ronja for allowing me to write fanfic of her Hunger Games fanfic “The Chance You Didn’t Take” available on AO3 and Fanfiction.  And thanks to Loueze for her encouragement and support.  Chapter 37 By the time the television crew was due to arrive, Peeta and I were as convincingly in love as two people could possibly be.  Of course, it was helped a great deal by the fact that we actually were.  Even so, we were hardly looking forward to our private lives becoming public again and cameras following us around as we went about our daily routine.  We worried about how intrusive it might be. Cressida had promised it would be tasteful, but the Capitol idea of tasteful can be very different from the districts.  I was afraid that it might be like that show I once saw on television about a houseful of people under constant surveillance.  They couldn’t even shower in privacy.  Would it be like that for Peeta and me?  Would they follow us into the bedroom?  Expect us to perform?  Our one consolation was that we’d be left alone once filming had ended and we vowed to ourselves that we’d do nothing newsworthy for the rest of our lives.   The day came. The house had been cleaned and tidied.  Everything was where it was supposed to be to reflect a couple who lived together as romantic partners.  Buttercup was bathed and freshly groomed.  I had the scratches to prove it.  Peeta, always considerate, had baked an assortment of breads for the crew, although I told him he shouldn’t bother.  At 7 am everything was in readiness.  10 am came and went.   And then 11 am.   At 2 pm we were still waiting.   At 4 pm we wondered if we’d got our dates wrong.   It was 6 pm when Haymitch finally got around to telling us.  They weren’t coming.  At all.   The video Remus took had violated victor media protection.  I had been filmed without my consent, wasn’t engaged in illegal activity and hadn’t voided my own protection by taking on a public role or seeking publicity.  Plutarch knew this but gambled that in our ignorance, we could be coerced into co-operating.  And once filming had started, our media protection was automatically revoked, since we had clearly consented to it.   It took only one phone call from Haymitch to President Paylor to have it sorted.   I suppose it’s of some consolation that Plutarch was severely reprimanded and threatened with dismissal.  And that he was also out of pocket for the purchase of the video and pre-production costs. As for Haymitch, I couldn’t decide whether to thank him or kill him.  He had certainly saved us from our lives being turned into a media circus for a second time but he’d let us have the worry of it for a whole week.  Peeta calmed me down and reminded me that it had brought us together.  Haymitch’s defense was that he was sick to death of our crap and wanted an end to it. He thought that a week of living together would get us sort out our differences and he was proven right.   I argued that it would have happened anyway, although I had to concede probably not as quickly.  With that in mind, I decided to let him live.   The year rolls around.  Peeta doesn’t move back into his house. It was never discussed; it was simply taken for granted.  We keep busy.  Peeta still works at the bakery as a specialist cake decorator.  He’s a partner now.  The sign above the new premises reads “Carter and Mellark Bakery and Patisserie.”  I teach at the school and on weekends I hunt. Marcus wrote to ask if I was interested in culling pest species such as wild dog and feral pig.  I jumped at it.  It seems you can be a hunter and a conservationist.   Haymitch works at the council and raises geese, which he does a pretty good job of considering he’s inebriated most of the time. We attend two weddings and one toasting.   Arthur and Lace don’t wait long before they tie the knot, or to be more accurate, thread the needle. Predictably, it was the source of much hilarity for Max, who was also invited.  At least he refrained from making jokes until after the ceremony.  I enjoyed catching up with Sateen and her husband Roy. They have a little boy.  They called him Felt.   Poor kid.   The second wedding was Octavia and Thom’s. Octavia made a beautiful bride with her rich auburn hair and fresh complexion.  Venia’s fear that their past as prep team to the Games would jeopardize their position in 12 proved needless.  Everyone knew who they were.  They’d seen them on television.  Flavius’s bright orange hair and Venia’s facial tattoos made them easily recognizable. But people had moved on.  They were tired of holding onto resentments – especially for three harmless beauty therapists whose former “victim” still willingly availed herself of their services.   The toasting was ours.  One day, we just did it.  There was no planning, no prior understanding that we’d have one.  It was the middle of winter.  We were snowed in and confined to the house.  Peeta got a roaring fire going and we picnicked in front of it using odds and ends from the pantry.  We had some stale bread to use up and toasted it by the fire.  He’d hold the toasting fork with a piece of bread to the flames and offer it to me when it was done.  The significance of it entered our heads at the very same moment. It was just a look followed by a kiss. Nothing needed to be said.  One day we might make it official, but for us we’re more married than any piece of paper or big party could make us.   Johanna won the election for District 7 mayor. She’s kept very busy but we talk on the telephone regularly.  She’s coming to visit 12 for a few days next month.   Doubtless she’ll be as disruptive as ever.  But sometimes we can use a little stirring up.  That’s what Johanna says anyway.  She takes full credit for getting Peeta and me back together and I can’t say she’s entirely wrong.   And we had a visit from my mother!  I had her possessions shipped to her home in District 4 and it seemed to have jolted something inside her, because soon after she was making plans to travel here.   It was a short visit.  She was nervous about coming here, of the memories it could evoke.  But aside from the Village, there’s nothing left of the old Twelve.  The debris from the bombs has long since been cleared away, new buildings have replaced the old, and the grass grows long and thick over the meadow.   We had a long talk about her reasons for not joining me in Twelve after I’d been released from the Capitol.  She feared being pulled down into a depression along with me.   I understood.  When you’re in the grip of it, you can see no way out.  My mother, having recovered once, was deathly afraid that she wouldn’t recover a second time.  And since misery feeds on misery, she would likely have only made mine worse.   Peeta is somewhere in the house repairing the painting of the primrose he did for me.  I don’t visit Prim in her room anymore except for that one time I when I wanted to tell her about my toasting with Peeta.   She wasn’t there.  She hasn’t been for a long time.  It was then I realized that Prim doesn’t reside in any particular place.  She’s with me every time I think of her.  I took down the primrose painting from the top of the dresser.  It belongs somewhere where I will see it every day.   I had an idea for a book, similar to my family’s plant book.   It’s to preserve the happy memories of the people we’ve lost.   Lady licking Prim’s cheek, what Cinna could do with a length of silk.  In my best handwriting, I carefully record all the details it would be a crime to forget and accompany it with a photo if we have one, or a sketch or painting by Peeta. There are photos of Finnick strewn across the dining table as I try to make my mind up on which one to use - a publicity shot that shows off Finnick’s sea-green eyes or a photo taken of himself and Annie at their wedding.   “Katniss, I was looking for some kind of adhesive tape to fix the painting and I found this letter in one of the drawers in the study.  It was addressed to me, so I opened it.” I look up, wondering what Peeta’s talking about.  He holds the painting in one hand and a sheet of paper in the other.  He leans the painting up against a wall and then pulls out one of the dining room chairs to sit across from me.  He lays the letter down in front of him.  I immediately recognize the handwriting on it as my own.  It’s the first letter I wrote to him after the mayor’s party before I thought better of it and wrote a second.  But not before putting it in an envelope and stuffing it in a drawer.  I’d forgotten all about it.   I try to snatch the letter away but he swiftly puts it out of my reach.  “Dear Peeta,” he reads. “I’m writing to you because – ““You don’t have to read it.  I know what’s in it,” I say.  “Give it back.”  I make another grab for it but he’s too fast. “. . . because I’m sure to get it wrong, or miss something important if I do this face to face.” He stops reading and hands me the letter.  I take it from him, refold it, and slip it beneath the memory book, hoping against hope, that this will prevent any more mention of it. “Did you really want to break off all contact with me?” he asks, frowning.  “I didn’t think it ever got that bad.  When?  Why?” I sigh. Why didn’t I throw the damn letter out? “It was after the mayor’s party.  I was very upset when I wrote it.  And then I had second thoughts and wrote you another. That’s the one I slipped under your door.  I’d forgotten about this one.” He gives his head a shake. “I don’t understand. Nothing happened that night.  Not between us, anyway.  Did someone say something?  Was it Max?”  His lips thin in anger.  “That – “ “No,” I say quickly.  “It was nothing Max did.” I let out a breath, and plough forward. “It was something you did.  You and Lace.  It was when you sneaked off to have sex.” There’s a moment of stunned silence.  “What?” “You know what I mean.  I saw it all.  Well, not all, but I did see the two of disappear through those swinging double doors only the staff used.   And when you came back, Lace’s hair was all mussed. And if you didn’t have sex exactly, it was something close.  That was really tacky, Peeta.  Civilized people have more decorum than to do that.  Civilized people wait until they get home.  Civilized people – “ “Katniss, we didn’t sneak off for sex. Cass invited me to see the kitchens once the dessert course was over.  That’s where we went.”   Oh.  I guess that’s a reasonable explanation.  But that dream had been so vivid.  “Then why was Lace’s hair messed up?” “Was it?  I don’t know.  I don’t remember anything different about her.  We went to see the kitchen, Cass showed us around, and then we came out. Nothing else happened.”   “But it was sticking out,” I insist.  I know what I saw.   The scene plays again in my head.  I was at the bar with Haymitch and Max, sampling shots of whisky and getting drunker and more agitated by the minute.  Agonizing over what they could be doing.  Kissing, fondling each other, maybe even fucking. “And then you didn’t even look to see if I was still there when you came back,” I add in a small pitiful voice.  It sounds so pathetic, saying it aloud.  It’s a trivial reason for cutting someone out of your life. Just because they didn’t look for you when they came into a room.   But after everything, that’s what tipped it over for me.  What finally made me give up hope and decide to end it. He reaches across the table to take one of my hands.  “Katniss, look at me.” I turn my face away, and he gives my hand a tug.  I reluctantly meet his gaze.  His eyes look earnestly into mine.  “I can’t explain the hair, okay?  But I can tell you what I do remember about that night.” He pauses, as if waiting for my approval before he proceeds.  I shrug.   “Go ahead.” He closes his eyes for a few seconds.  “You, looking so beautiful in your Cinna dress.  And me, assailed by memories of other entrances and other gowns.  Being dragged around by Lace from one boring conversation to another, unable to resist looking around to see what you were doing.  And Max, who didn’t leave your side for a minute unless it was to get you another drink. I was jealous of him without knowing why but attributed it to a fear of losing your friendship.” He pauses and adds, “At the time, you didn’t seem very happy with me.”I feel a twinge of remorse.  He’s right.  I was often moody and distant with him.  The tape viewings weren’t going as I wanted and I’d recently learned of a pattern book he was making for Lace, similar to my family’s plant book.  “You seemed to be having such a good time together, at dinner and on the dance floor. So, when we came back into the ballroom, I just didn’t want to be reminded of it.  I kept my head down and headed for the nearest group of people.  And then I did my best not to think about you.  I’m sorry.   I hurt you and used Lace to hide from my feelings.  But that’s the truth, awful as it is.”   But not nearly as awful as what I’d convinced myself of.   I don’t know what to say.  I feel so foolish.  So much anger and pain for something that existed only in my imagination.   And I’d also assumed that Peeta’s willingness to help me with the Marcus thing was due, in some part, to either empathy or guilt for having being in a similar situation himself. “No, I’m the awful one for jumping to conclusions.  I thought the worst.  You’d never be so crass as to do something like that.  I owe you an apology.  I should never – “ “You don’t owe me anything,” he says, interrupting me before I can go further.   “In fact, the opposite is true.  You wouldn’t have thought it if I hadn’t given you reason to.” He reaches across for the memory book and flips through the pages we’ve done so far.  My father. Peeta’s father.  Boggs.  It stops on Rue.  Peeta has drawn her poised on her toes, arms slightly extended, like a bird about to take flight.  There’s a reason why I asked him to portray her like this.  It’s how I want to remember her.  You can’t change the past, but you can bring the best of it into the future.   “Let’s make a deal.  Only good memories for us from now on.  Like this book you’re working on.”   He walks over to where I’m sitting to pull me out of my chair.  “Now come show me where you want this painting hung.”  I take him into the living room.  It’s the room we use most and where I’ll see it every day.   As I decide where to place it exactly, Peeta comes to stand at my back to hug me from behind.  I lean back against his broad chest and luxuriate in the strong arms that encircle me.   My dandelion in the spring.  The lullaby that Prim liked as a baby comes to mind.   Here it’s safe, here it’s warmHere the daisies guard you from every harmHere your dreams are sweet and tomorrow brings them trueHere is the place where I love you. “I was thinking over the mantle?  Or maybe on the far wall . . .”    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Chapter 38 Lace’s story: what happened on the night of the mayor’s party.   It wasn’t fair!  This was supposed to have been her night.   She had been looking forward to it for weeks ever since Peeta casually mentioned it on one of their date nights.  The mayor’s inauguration party was to be the biggest social event in District 12 in living memory.  All the important and influential people in the district would be there.  For ambitious Lace, it was invaluable in terms of creating contacts and securing the kind of clientele that could afford to buy her evening wear, a design niche she wanted to develop.   Besides, she dearly loved a party and she hadn’t been to one in ages.  The last one had been the district party where she had met Peeta for the first time.   He didn’t remember it though.   That was fortunate since she had come to District 12 for a new life and a new identity and didn’t want her past in District 8 compromising it in any way.   Since she was to be her best advertisement, she put a great deal of thought and effort into her gown.  She hadn’t much money saved but she splurged the lot on pale yellow satin and then spent many hours making it up.   The final touch was a trip to the salon to have her hair colored and styled.  It was an extravagance, keeping up the hair color.  But she loved it and it formed something of a disguise as it was subtly different from the typical ash brown of the natives of her home district.   As she entered the ballroom, Lace felt she was at the beginning of an exciting new phase.  After a slow start, her business had gained momentum and she was making a steady income.   A few family members had also made the move to 12 which added to her sense of security.  But best of all, was the man on whose arm she clung.  How did she get so lucky?  Peeta Mellark!  Her teenage crush.  The romantic heartthrob whose posters had adorned her bedroom wall.  The boy she had married in her dreams every night.  What a fortuitus twist of fate it had been that day when he came into her shop to have a coat made.  A flirtation had led to a date at a restaurant and then another, until she could now, without exaggeration, call him her boyfriend! True, he wasn’t quite what she had expected.  He seemed a bit aimless, and he liked activities she had outgrown, like hanging out at the ice-cream parlor and the swimming pool, but he was Peeta Mellark!   And he really was so sweet and considerate with his little romantic gestures and compliments to her beauty.  He told her she was a wonder.  And the more she kissed and flattered and stroked, the more wonderful she became.  It was a mutual admiration society that she was more than happy to live in.  The one blot on her happiness was Katniss Everdeen.  Lace had mixed feelings about meeting her. Katniss was intimidating.  Her reputation as romantic heroine, fearless symbol of the Rebellion, skillful warrior and (privately thought by most of the populace) savior from another Snow, preceded her.  But most intimidating of all was her relationship with Peeta.  He talked about her all the time. Not in a romantic sense, it was true, but it was clear she occupied a great deal of his thoughts.  The Games had been mandatory viewing and Lace, like everyone in Panem, had watched Peeta gaze at Katniss with love in his eyes.  But Peeta had an explanation for that.  It had been an illusion.  He thought he had been in love with her, but it turned out that he was in love with his idea of her, rather than who she really is.  But now he thought of her as very good friend with whom he shared an unbreakable bond.  As for Katniss, well, she had never loved him.  It had all been an act on her part. That should have been reassuring.  And it was.  Sort of.  But Peeta had lost many of his memories and what was left was distorted, so how could he be certain? But what gave her most pause wasn’t Peeta.  It was Katniss.  It was clear at the first meeting that Katniss didn’t like her.  Katniss wasn’t rude, but she was cool, even giving her the once over when they were first introduced.  And when Lace and Peeta discussed a housewarming gift from the two of them for Lace’s brother, a shadow passed over Katniss’s face.  It was subtle but unmistakable.  Katniss wasn’t as disinterested in Peeta as Peeta made out. That’s why Lace gatecrashed the tape viewings.  If there was anything going on, she wanted to know about it.  She didn’t trust Katniss one inch.  Unfortunately, the second of the tapes triggered the memory of a traumatic incident for Lace and she reacted hysterically.  Peeta asked her not to attend anymore and she had no choice but to do as he said.   However, despite Peeta watching video tape of hugs and kisses and romantic slow dancing at Capitol parties, nothing changed between herself and Peeta.  If Peeta had ever loved Katniss, it appeared that he no longer did.   Even Leevy’s revelations in the salon that day didn’t worry her for long.  So what if the star-crossed lovers had been real?  It still aligned with Peeta’s version.  What had happened in the Games and during the tours was before Peeta had realized his true feelings for Katniss.  And she’d already guessed that Katniss was in love with him.   The party was everything Lace had dreamed of. So elegant. The women in evening gowns, the men in dinner suits.  Waiters with silver trays laden with flutes of sparkling champagne. The tables resplendent with starched white tablecloths and napkins and gleaming cutlery.  She turned to Peeta to kiss his cheek. “Thank you so much for bringing me,” she said. “You really are the best boyfriend.”  He brushed her lips with his and gave her a fond smile.  “Only because I have the best girlfriend,” he replied.   She beamed and squeezed his arm.  She could hardly recall a happier moment.   And then Katniss Everdeen arrived.  Lace’s practiced eye immediately recognized her gown as haute couture.  Cinna, probably.  Deep blue, the bodice studded thickly with diamonds – were they real? – with a strapless sweetheart neckline and more diamonds scattered on the skirt.  It dazzled and Katniss dazzled with it.  Luxuriant dark hair cascading down her back in loose curls.  Smooth olive skin, fine features and those surprising eyes.  Silvery gray, the colour of storm clouds.  She had a man for each arm.  The school teacher Max Matson, who all the girls agreed was very good looking if you could get past his personality, and – it couldn’t be – Arthur!  Lace’s friend who adored her since they were children together.  She knew he was coming tonight but not with her!  She felt the arm beneath her fingers stiffen and her glance swiftly turned to his face.  Peeta appeared stunned, his mouth gaping slightly.  There was admiration, certainly, but also something darker and more sinister.  Recognition. A memory, perhaps several, had resurfaced.   Lace’s happiness dimmed as if a cloud had passed across the sun.  But she rallied, pulling Peeta quickly along to greet the new mayor and his wife who were momentarily on their own.  Lace was in her element.  She was a natural networker.  She loved to interact with people and was always searching for opportunities.  Peeta seemed a little distracted though. Looking around, not quite keeping up with the conversation.   She followed his gaze, and it led directly to Katniss Everdeen, who, no surprise, was looking directly at him.  They both looked quickly away, but that was of no comfort.  It was clear that they were on each other’s mind. Meanwhile, she was pleased to observe, Arthur had detached himself from Katniss and was busy working the room too.  Now there was a man with get-up-and-go.  He didn’t let his natural reserve get in the way of achieving his ambitions.  Lace waved him over and he changed direction to come to her side.  Soon they were talking business, a fascinating subject for them both. She didn’t notice how restless Peeta was during the exchange. Dinner was announced and everyone made their way to their allocated seats.  Unfortunately, theirs was a dull table and not even Lace’s pearly laugh could liven it up. A burst of laughter from nearby grabbed her attention.  Arthur and Haymitch seemed to be at the center of it.  It caught Peeta’s attention too.  He seemed envious, it appeared to Lace.  But whether it was over the entertaining company or because Katniss was seated there too, she couldn’t tell. After the food had been served, people resumed their mingling, moving from table to table. Peeta wanted to talk to Katniss.  Ordinarily, Lace wouldn’t feel particularly threatened by this.  Over the preceding weeks, Peeta had confided to her that Katniss seemed uninterested in spending time with him unless it was watching the tapes.  And even then, she often seemed angry with him. Lace immediately guessed the situation. Katniss had grown frustrated with Peeta. He hadn’t responded as she’d hoped and she was distancing herself as a form of self-protection.  As long as this status quo was maintained, Lace felt safe. But after tonight, she wasn’t sure of anything.   Lace demurred.  Perhaps it wasn’t a good idea.  Katniss appeared occupied and hadn’t he told her that she didn’t seem keen on his company lately?  It was best to leave her alone.  But Peeta said that they should, that it would look odd if they didn’t.  So, when Max headed off in the direction of the bar, leaving Katniss on her own, Lace reluctantly let Peeta lead her to where Katniss sat.   It was an awkward conversation.  Lace embarrassed herself with her ignorance on what it meant to be a victor at the district parties and having to face the families of the dead tributes.  Worse, she let it slip that she had been to a district party.  Her story was that she’d been a factory worker in 8. Factory workers weren’t allowed to attend district parties.  Fortunately, Peeta didn’t pick up on it, but Katniss appeared to sense that something was amiss.   There was an awkward pause.  Peeta broke the silence.  “Are you going to let me talk to Katniss?” he said to Lace, pretending to be annoyed.  She had intended to stay at Peeta’s side, but perhaps it would be better to leave before she dug herself a deeper hole. “Okay, okay,” she said, in mock surrender.  “I know when I’m not wanted.  I need to go to the ladies’ room anyway.  Just stay out of trouble and don’t bug Katniss.” There, that would show Katniss who’s really in charge and hopefully plant a seed that Peeta wasn’t exactly happy in her company either.  She stroked his hand and kissed his cheek, enjoying her Svengali-like effect, knowing that his eyes would follow her as she walked away. She went to the ladies’ room as she said she would and did the usual things women do there.  She wanted to get the timing right and was gratified to see Peeta waiting for her at their table when she returned.   The dancing started up soon after and Lace pulled Peeta to his feet.  She loved to dance.  Peeta didn’t. His prosthetic leg made it a chore rather than a pleasure and he had faint memories of dancing at Capitol parties. But he wanted to be a good boyfriend, so up he got, and shuffled dutifully around the dancefloor with her. But then Katniss and Max came into view. Max had Katniss pulled tightly against him and he swung her around in a series of fancy turns, almost lifting her off her feet.  They were making fools of themselves, thought Lace.  That’s no way to behave at a formal event. So undignified!  So tasteless!  She turned to Peeta, expecting him to be as unimpressed as she, but his face was hard, giving away nothing.  Suddenly, he put his head close to hers and whispered words in her ear.   She nodded and followed him through the double swinging doors the staff used to bring food from the kitchen.  It had been pre-arranged.  Peeta had told her about it.  Cass from the bakery was to show Peeta around the kitchens. He had never seen a commercial kitchen before.   While he marveled at the long row of ovens, the walk-in freezer, the huge storage room, Lace could barely stifle her yawns.  So boring, and it was fricking cold in there after the warmth of the ballroom. But she stuck a smile on her face and did her best to appear interested but she was hardly in the mood to hear about the merits of blast chillers when her heart was breaking.  Somehow, she had to widen the gulf between Katniss and Peeta. She had to ensure that any fledgling signs of a possible reunion between them was snuffed out before it could begin. And then she had an idea. Just as they were about to re-enter the ballroom, Lace ruffled her carefully styled hair and swiped the back of her hand across her mouth to wipe away some of the lipstick, smearing it a little. Let Katniss believe that she and Peeta had snuck away for some canoodling in a dark corner.  Isn’t that what Peeta and Katniss did as star-crossed lovers?  Sneaking off to be alone when they were at fancy events? It was in a fan magazine she’d read, anyway.  With a bit of luck, Katniss’s mind would go straight there.   She scanned the room and saw Katniss by the bar with Max and Haymitch.  The hour was growing late and the crowd had thinned but there was a group of merry young people standing around nearby.  She started to lead Peeta in their direction, but he seemed to have the same idea and led her.  And when his arm went around her waist and he pressed a fond kiss to the crown of her head, relief flooded through her.  Everything was as it should be.  She turned in his arms slightly to look over his shoulder and managed to catch a glimpse of Katniss’s stricken but resolute face, just before her hasty exit with a startled Max close behind her.   Satisfied, she leaned her head against Peeta’s shoulder and he squeezed her waist.  She had worried over nothing.  It was inevitable that as Peeta regained his memories they’d be focused on Katniss. They were, after all, the memories that Snow had meddled with.  It didn’t mean that Peeta was wrong when he said his feelings for her had been an illusion. The real proof of who he loved was in who he chose to be with.  And that was her, Lace Bomul from District 8.  

[mbakuetshurisprincess]

Destiny Series

AN: Yall... I’m soo shocked how quickly yall are fucking with that mood board like actually soo shocked. I was going to do Egyptian gods cause when I was younger I read the Kane Chronicles and I fell in love with Egyptian mythology and their gods BUT I feel like more people know Greek gods and it’s easier to like deal with Greek gods family tree vs Egyptian because whew chileeee that would of been a mess. BIG BIG BIG ups to @chaneajoyyy​ for a. proofreading and catching the little errors and for supporting me. 

Summary: On May 14th a god or goddess picks someone to take their place in the following years, when T’challa invites everyone in your graduating class to his house for a Chaining day party chaos ensues and relationships get tested.

Pairing: Erik x reader

Warnings: cussing, light smut like literally  I don’t wanna call it smut because it’s so light. 

Word count: 2,111

It was May 14th and the eve of arguably the most important day of your life, chaining day. Chaining day was a right of passage that had been happening since before you or any other Wakandan had been alive, chaining day was the day in which the gods and goddesses came down to earth and selected who was going to fill their position as that specific next god in the next years. Chaining day only occurred once every three generations and it happened that it fell upon you and your peers. You laid on your bedroom floor while your two best friends Makyla and Aaron sat across from you in bean bag chairs.

“I just don’t get why you're not excited Y/N” Makyla said nonchalantly, “I can’t wait to figure out which god chose me! I hope it someone like Hera or Aphrodite. They would suit me don’t you think?” 

“Your annoying ass deserves Hestia” Aaron mumbled under his breath earning him a firm slap on his arm.

You sat up from your floor and took a slow breath in and exhaled. “I just don’t get why it falls onto US, like why can’t the gods choose someone who wants to be a god not a normal person who just wants to live and die and get this shit over with.”

Aaron rolled his eyes “You're just worried that you and Erik’s gods won’t be together and some other girl will have him”

“HA” you laughed out sarcastically “That punk ass nigga can get whatever trick ass whore wants him, we are over and I dont give a flying fuck who gets him”

The room got silent because that lie and everyone in the room knew it, you and Erik never went into full relationship territory just comments under each others posts and his constant flirting with you. But it all ended when he posted a photo with a girls arms wrapped around his shoulders and a blunt in his hand and the caption “all the bitches fuckin with me, its like im the god of pussy or sum..” That was the last straw, and you hadn’t actually spoken to him since you’d seen that post go up.

“Can we go now y'all?” Makyla asked “I want to get to T’challa’s party early and get a good spot for chaining time”

“Are you sure we have to go? We could just stay in and watch a movie until chaining time” you lay your head back down onto your plush carpet and squeezed your eyes shut. You heard movement above you and opened to see Aaron and Makyla standing over you an annoyed look on their faces.

“Fine, fine!” you grumbled outstretching one of your hands out signalling for one of them to help you up, Aaron groaned and grabbed your hand pulling you off the ground. You walked over to your closet, you pulled out a pair of light wash ripped jeans, a white cropped t-shirt and a multi colored nike windbreaker. To emphasize the fact that you didn’t want to go you groaned and moaned while putting on your clothes.

“Keep playing Erik’s gonna give you something to moan about” Makyla said under her breath causing Aaron and her to bust out into a fit of laughter, you turned your head to them and gave them a look that shot daggers.

By the time you got to T’challa’s house you were reminded of why you didn't want to go to his chaining day party and your reason was sitting right at the front door like some self righteous bouncer. You thought if you ducked and hid in between Makyla and Aaron he wouldn’t spot you, but of course he did.

“Woah woah woah lil mama where do you think you're going” Erik’s arm had snaked in between your friends and grabbed you out from in between them. You looked up at your friends with pleading eyes practically begging them to help you out which caused Erik to laugh. “Nah nah ma, your friends can’t help you now, you've been ignoring me and I wanna know why.”

You looked around and noticed a few familiar faces, he wanted to embarrass you in front of your friends? And make a lesson out of you for his other bitches, not today.

You looked down at your arm and back up at him “Nigga I don’t owe you shit.” you snateched your arm from his hand and folded them across your exposed midriff.

A chorus of “Ooo’s” erupted from the small crowd that had developed.

Erik smiled and licked his lips “I asked you a question Y/N and I’m telling you to answer it right fucking now before it gets bad for you.”

You cocked your eyebrow up at him, oh so he thought you were playing?

“Nigga I gave you my answer, you don’t need anything else from me. Now excuse me I’ve got a party to attend” You smirked up at him and waved your finger signaling for him to move out of your way. You had him beat, you could practically see the steam coming out of his ears.

“Last chance Y/N before I embarrass you in front of all of these fucking people and I swear to god I will”

You batted your eyes up at Erik innocently and your hands found the collar of his shirt. “Oh no baby boy” you wiped some dust off of his shoulder “I think I just embarrassed you”

You tried to walk away, you had won that fight fair and square and everyone in T’challa’s yard knew it or so you thought. Until you felt strong arms wrap around you calf's and felt you world flip upside down.

“ERIK!” You screamed out hitting his back with an array of punches in varying strengths.

The yard erupted into laughter as Erik walked you through the front door, you caught Makyla’s eye as Erik walked you up the stairs still slung over his shoulder. When he got up to one of the guest bedrooms he plopped you on the bed and locked the door behind himself, when he walked back over to you, you shot him a deathly stare.

“What the fuck was that Y/N?”

“What the hell is posting other bitches Erik? Hmm?” 

You dug your phone out of you pocket and pulled out his instagram, instantly finding the photo you were looking for “all the bitches fuckin with me, its like im the god of pussy or sum.” you mocked his tone.

Erik plopped down on the bed next to you “man this why you been ignorning me for the past two weeks” Erik paused “I thought you had found another nigga ma”

You laid your head back onto the bed and laughed lightly “No Erik I haven’t found another nigga, its just been me sitting around looking stuck waiting for you when you obviously hadn’t been doing the same.”

“It’s not even like that ma, that’s Vannah, you know her and M’baku were going through something and she asked me to take the picture with her and post it to get him mad. They got back together tonight and I was taking it down tomorrow. I can show you the texts to prove it” Erik pulled out his phone and showed you the texts between him and Vannah and her begging and him finally agreeing after she agreed to buy his alcohol for a month.

“Fine I GUESS I’m done being mad at you.” you poked your bottom lip out at him in a mock pout.

“You better stop poking that lip out before I bite it baby girl” Erik rolled you over on top of him forcing you to straddle him,with his hands resting on your ass. “Fuck I can’t wait to tear this shit up ma” his hand smacked your ass roughly “I’ma give you back shots so hard you're gonna feel that shit all week I’m gonna have you-”

Erik was interrupted by counting below you.

“Fuck” you said getting of of his lap “It’s almost time”

 10

“Turn off the lights ma”

9

“Who do you think your gonna get Erik”

8

“I dunno but if I get stuck with some bitch ass mother fucker I’m killing whoever got Zeus”

7

“I want someone calm, someone who does their job and stays out of any drama”

6

“Give me your hands Erik”

5

“I got love for you baby girl, you know that?” Even in the darkness you could see his brown eyes pierce your soul.

4

“Promise to stay friends no matter what happens”

3

“We will stay friends no matter what happens Y/N” he squeezed your hands lightly

2

“I love you Erik Stevens”

1

That was the last thing you remember hearing before a bright white light flashed in front of you, so bright you let go of Erik’s hands to shield your eyes. In a few moments it dimmed.

“My child” a voice called at you

You looked around for the source of the voice and found a strong willow tree waving in the wind, you walked towards it and felt the plush green grass beneath your feet, it felt softer than anything you had ever felt. 

“Sit” the tree told you softly you could make out eyes, nose and mouth in its brown bark.

“Persphone” the words fell out of your mouth without you even knowing they were coming.

She smiled at you transforming before your eyes from a tree into a beautiful black woman, her curves filled out her chiton you noticed her outfit matched yours but she wore it much better.

“Come here” she opened her arm to you and stood up and ran into them burying your face in her chest tears flowing down your face. It didn't hit you until now of her story and what happened, she fell for Hades, a forbidden love and then for the rest of her life spent half of her life with the people she loved and the other half of the year with the man that she hated how much she loved him.

She stroked you curly hair and spoke soothing words to you “I know this is not the outcome you were expecting by I have gifted you a ability”

 You pulled your head off of her and looked up at Persephone tears still threatening to spill out of your eyes. 

“Open your arm”

You obliged her and held your left arm out for her, you noticed a small tattoo outline of a plant.

“Touch it”

You followed her instructions and out of thin air a small plant was in your hand, you immediately recognized it as a venus fly trap similar to the one that grew on your window sill. 

“Anywhere that you walk plants will grow underneath you as long as your on the floor of a building it doesn't matter how many layers on concretes are in between you. Plants will grow” She caressed your cheek in her hand. A gong rang out and you looked up at Persephone, your eyes pleading for some kind of answers or help.

“What am I supposed to do? You have to help me please!” you felt a pulling on your waist as if you were attached to a rope and the other end was pulling you back in.

“Do not fight it Y/N destiny is destiny and you are destined to be with Hades” and with those last words the bright white light flashed again and you covered your eyes. You felt like you were falling but quickly you realized you were back at T'challa's house in the same room that you had been in before with Erik, however he wasn't here now. But when you speak of the devil he shall appear and like clockwork blue flames were produced around a body, you could hear what sounded like a large dog barking and then it all went away, you squeeze your eyes shut not sure what to expect. You heard a familiar chuckle in front of you and you immediately opened your eyes and started at the bottom up. Black tims paired with black jeans and no shirt you studied the person's chest in front of you which now held thousands of tiny scars, a fur coat draped his bare chest his left hand holding a ball of what looked like fire. You finally met his eyes, dark but with a hint of fire in them.

“Wh-who” you barely managed to get it out before a smirk formed across Erik’s face.

“Hades, god of the underworld”

Tag List: @chaneajoyyy @chasingsunlight @writerbee-ffs @dessianna1

[noona-clock]

Expectations - Part 4

Genre: College/Roommates!AU – Pure Fluff 

Pairing: Hanbin x You (Female!Reader)

Warnings: None

Part 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 | Words: 2,118

It had now been almost two months since that wonderful weekend, since Hanbin had shared one of his songs and watched romantic movies with you, and you could say with a pretty hefty amount of certainty that the two of you were best friends.

I mean, as best friends as two people could be who had only known each other for a couple of months.

But you guys lived together, and even though your schedules were different, you still saw each other at least once a day! And texted each other about random things! You made Breakfast for Dinner for him once a week, and movie night was on Saturday without fail.

The only best friend duty Hanbin didn’t quite fulfill was that of helping you with a guy you had a crush on. You’d met a super nice, handsome guy in one of your psychology classes, and when you’d finally worked up the nerve to tell Hanbin and ask for advice, he’d said, “You don’t want love advice from me, I have no idea what I’m talking about.”

“But that song you played for me,” you’d replied with confusion. “It was a love song.” A sad love song, but a love song nonetheless.

“Yeah, I can write love songs, but not from experience.”

...Huh. Well, then.

You didn’t really mind, anyway, though. You already knew that the best advice was to be honest and straightforward with the person you liked. If they didn’t return your feelings then you back off and accept their friendship.

Besides that, things with you and Hanbin were pretty great. You were getting to the point where you were incredibly comfortable with each other (living with a person will do that to you), and you knew almost everything about each other.

But, when you woke up in a cold sweat one night -- or morning, since it was one a.m. -- you realized...

Hanbin didn’t know this about you.

You’d been woken up by the driving rain pounding against your window, the angry lightning flashing in the sky, the rolling thunder grumbling and shaking the walls slightly.

And now you were terrified.

For some reason you’d never been able to discern, you were scared of thunderstorms.

Beyond scared, actually. Your childhood therapist had labeled it an irrational phobia, and even then you understood what that meant: you were deathly afraid of thunderstorms, and you probably always would be.

The first glance of lightning made your heart race. The first soft rumbles of thunder made your throat close up. Heavy rain made you sweat.

You’d known this would be a risk in going to school so far from home, but the temptation of learning from the best psychology professors in the country had been too great. You’d been sure you would be able to handle a thunderstorm by yourself. You were no longer in high school; you were old enough to get through one without crawling in bed with your mom!

...Right?

But when what seemed to be an extra loud crack of thunder shook the lamp on your nightstand, you flew up into a sitting position, already breathing heavily.

This was not good.

Your eyes darted to your window, your heart speeding up when you saw the bright burst of lightning, the pouring rain still beating down on the glass.

There was absolutely no way you would be able to get back to sleep -- at least, not on your own...

Obviously, you were hesitant to bother your roommate because... well, it was kind of embarrassing. The two of you were close, yes, but were you this close?

You knew he was awake, though, and you also knew you would slowly descend into a state of full-on panic if you stayed in your room by yourself.

So, even though you would most likely cringe with mortification tomorrow morning, you wrapped yourself up into a blanket burrito and shuffled out of your room.

As usual, Hanbin’s door was closed, and you wriggled one arm free to knock gently. Your breath was shaky, and you heard the beginnings of a low thunder rumble.

Just as the deep, groaning sound culminated into a cacophony of virtual drums and cymbals, Hanbin’s door opened.

Obviously, the look on your face was more than enough answer to Hanbin’s unasked question of, “Is everything okay?”

You looked at him with a panicked expression, clutching your blanket tightly around your body and willing yourself to speak.

“I -- I -- Can I --” You took a deep breath, forcing the words out in one exhale. “I’m-scared-of-thunderstorms-and-I-can’t-be-by-myself-so-can-I-come-in-here-with-you?”

Without saying anything, Hanbin stepped aside, and you barrelled past him.

“Here, lie down,” he mumbled, putting his hands on your shoulders and guiding you over to his bed.

Instead of lying down, though, you sat on the edge of his mattress, balling your blanket up into your fists and taking deep breaths.

The mattress dipped when Hanbin sat down next to you, but you didn’t even so much as glance over at him. The storm was still raging outside, and your fear was climbing steadily.

“Hey, it’s okay,” you heard him say softly before you felt his hand on your back. His sudden touch made you jump, but when he began rubbing your back over your blanket, you forced yourself to relax a little more.

“Sorry,” you whispered, your voice choked with distress.

“No, don’t be sorry,” he whispered back. “I had no idea --”

“It’s embarrassing,” you interrupted. “It’s an irrational fear, I -- I don’t know why I’m scared of thunderstorms. I thought I could handle it on my own, but I -- I just can’t --”

“C’mere,” Hanbin murmured. He moved to lie down, gently grabbing onto you and pulling you back with him.

At first, your heart leaped up into your throat. You hadn’t expected this sort of reaction from Hanbin at all. To be honest, you weren’t sure what you’d been expecting (for once), but it certainly hadn’t been this. Lying next to Hanbin in his bed.

But then he wrapped his arms around you and pulled you close to his chest.

His closeness and his warmth almost instantly calmed you down, another thing you hadn’t been expecting. But you didn’t care because it was helping.

When the next loud crash of thunder echoed through the sky, Hanbin tightened his hold on you. “It’s all right,” he whispered, his breath fluttering over the top of your head. “You’re safe.”

Instinctively, you burrowed into his chest (though you weren’t sure you could call it ‘burrowing’ since you were still very much wrapped up in your blanket). His scent was familiar since you’d been living with the guy for two months now, but you’d never been this close to him before. His scent had never invaded your senses like this before.

It was... extremely comforting.

For the next few minutes, you let yourself get lost in Hanbin’s scent, in the feeling of his arms around you, in the comfort his touch and soothing words brought you.

Once you were able to breathe and think properly, you closed your eyes tightly, not moving one single inch. You didn’t necessarily want to look at him right now because you were incredibly embarrassed. Both because of your phobia and because... you were really enjoying this. Not the anxiety thing but... the cuddling thing. The hugging thing.

“Thank you,” you said softly, hearing your voice was muffled as your cheek nestled against his shirt.

Hanbin didn’t answer for a few moments, and then you felt him take a breath, preparing to speak. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

He didn’t sound mad or annoyed, not in the least. He sounded... concerned.

“I... thought I would be able to handle it,” you replied. “I’m old enough, I’m living on my own. I’m almost an adult. It’s just a --”

Hanbin’s window lit up as a flash of lightning streaked through the sky, and your breath caught in your throat as you closed your eyes even tighter.

“I’m scared of snakes,” Hanbin told you, raising his voice so it would mask the roll of thunder following the lightning. “I don’t know why because I’ve never been bitten or anything, I just don’t like them. We’re all scared of something. It’s nothing to be ashamed of.”

You opened your mouth to reply that you weren’t ashamed... but you stopped yourself. Because you were ashamed. It was embarrassing to be afraid of something so silly as the weather.

“Well, if any snakes get into our dorm, I’ll protect you from them,” you murmured, a grin tugging at your lips when you heard Hanbin’s soft chuckle.

“I appreciate it.”

He brought one hand up to stroke your hair, and you had to stop yourself from letting out a sigh of contentment. Almost nothing felt better than when someone played with your hair.

“Does it sound like it’s dying down at all?” you asked, hearing your voice getting lazier and sleepier.

“Don’t worry about it,” Hanbin replied before he pressed his lips to your forehead. “Just try to get some sleep.”

...Get some sleep?

...In here?

“You -- I mean, I’m still in --”

“I’ll be up for a while longer,” he interrupted gently. “Go to sleep. And if you wake up, I’ll still be here.”

After swallowing anxiously, you tipped your head in a barely-there nod and did your best to settle into your blanket. You tried to let the sound of the rain lull you to sleep instead of drive you into a fear-induced panic, and... maybe it actually worked. Or maybe the feeling of Hanbin right beside you was enough to distract you. Either way, you fell back asleep within a few minutes.

For the second time in the past several hours, your eyes shot open in panic.

Except... this time, it wasn’t the weather filling you with anxiety and dread. It was the fact you’d just had a very disturbing dream.

It wasn’t disturbing because of its content, however. What you’d been doing in the dream had been nice -- lovely, in fact. You’d been cuddling and holding hands and hugging and kissing.

But you’d been doing all that with Hanbin.

That was the disturbing part.

Oh, god. Why had you dreamt of Hanbin in that way?!

It had been more than enough actually being in his embrace last night during the storm. But to dream of it? And more?!

Oh, this was not good.

You would most likely be thinking about it all during your classes today...

And it was then you remembered two things: 1) Hanbin had kissed your forehead before you’d fallen asleep last night, and 2) You were still in his room. In his bed.

Your gaze snapped over to the other side of the bed, and you saw Hanbin lying there, sleeping on his stomach with his face turned away from you -- thank goodness. If he’d been facing you, all of the images and feelings from your dream would come rushing back, and you’d probably end up doing something crazy.

Like kissing him.

Yikes!

Without another thought, you rolled out of his bed, readjusted your blanket into a burrito around your entire body, and shuffled out of his room.

When you were safely back in your own bedroom, the door closed behind you, you let out a very long and loud sigh.

Oh, boy.

Oh, boy. Oh, boy. Oh, boy.

Thankfully, you had to busy yourself getting ready for class because, otherwise, you probably would’ve thought about Hanbin and this dream until your brain just couldn’t think anymore.

But, even still, all throughout your day, you found yourself thinking about it... wondering what he was doing, how he had slept last night... what he had dreamt about.

You were tempted to text him in-between classes, but why? What was the point of that? You didn’t want to give in because you knew where it would lead: you would want to keep texting him, and the constant communication would be too much for him, and he would politely tell you to back off, and your heart would get broken because you’d developed a pretty major crush on him.

...Wait, what?

A... major crush?

On Hanbin?

Your roommate?

And best friend?

The guy who had comforted you during the storm last night?

The guy whose arms had been around you? Holding you tightly?

The guy who had rubbed your back and whispered soothing words into your ear?

The guy who had kissed your forehead?

The guy you’d dreamt about?

The guy you were now thinking about? Like... a lot?

Okay, yeah, fine.

You had a major crush on Hanbin.

Great.

Part 5

[michelles-garden-of-evil]

Shadow Over Seventh Heaven Review, Part I: Last Night I Dreamt I Went to Maljardin Again

Once, April Tennant had been the greatest screen star of all. Even now that this stunning creature was gone, the victim of a hideous accident, her name still cast a magic glow. And nowhere was her haunting spell more alive than within her great walled estate of San Rafael.

It was here that April had lived in her storybook marriage with famed actor Richard Morgan. It was here that her memory was worshipped still. And it was here that lovely young Jenny Summers came as Richard Morgan's new bride--to discover the terror behind the tinsel in this place transformed from a paradise of the living to a hell of the undead.... (inside front cover)

Welcome, fellow Strangers and all others who happen upon this post. This week, I have decided to begin a new series exploring the Gothic novels written by co-creator and first headwriter of Strange Paradise, Ian Martin, under the pen name Joen Arliss. Mostly, the purpose of this series will be to compare the plot and characters of Strange Paradise and those of his novels and what that may indicate about his original intentions for the overarching story of the soap opera.

I got the idea to start this series while writing my review of Episode 26, after the contents of an article referenced in one of the scenes reminded me of the events in this book. On his now-defunct website Maljardin.com, Curt Ladnier covered some of the similarities between “Here Goes the Bride,” the CBS Radio Mystery Theater drama from which this book was adapted, and Strange Paradise, but I wanted to dive deeper and do one of my characteristic overanalyses. So fly with me to the grand southwestern estate of San Rafael and together let’s explore Shadow Over Seventh Heaven--and let me warn you, there will be spoilers for the entire Maljardin arc of SP.

As noted above, Shadow Over Seventh Heaven is an adaptation of a radio drama that Martin wrote for CBS Radio Mystery Theater. CBSRMT is, perhaps unquestionably, Ian Martin’s most famous work. Created by Himan Brown in 1974 and running for 1,399 nightly episodes, Martin wrote a total of 243 (including many adaptations of literary classics) and acted in 255, typically in supporting roles. He continued writing and acting on the series all the way until his death in 1981 at the age of 69. Given my tendency to procrastinate, which sometimes makes it difficult to write just one episode review a week even when I’m not busy, I envy him for being such a prolific writer. I suspect that all the soap scripts he wrote got him into the habit, and he just couldn’t break it.

Even more extraordinary is that he wrote and published five novels during the same period that he worked on CBSRMT. His first was Nightmare’s Nest (1979), an adaptation of the CBSRMT play “The Deathly White Man” (and not the other drama, also by him, of the same name), which is his answer to Jane Eyre and which also has some interesting connections with SP which I plan to explore in another review series. Next came this novel, and then Beloved Victim (1981), adapted from “A Lady Never Loses Her Head,” which I don’t recall having anything noteworthy in common with SP, but I may need to re-read it to make sure. He also wrote two mystery novels, The Shark Bait Affair and The Ladykiller Affair, for the Zebra Mystery Puzzler series, but those are both very rare now and I haven’t yet read either, so I can’t say anything about them. The book Mystery Women: An Encyclopedia of Leading Women Characters in Mystery Fiction does, however, provide some information on their protagonist, Kate Graham, along with short plot summaries. As someone with two trunk novels from the last decade and about fifty pages of a third--which I mostly stopped working on after I started this blog--I also envy him for this. How on Earth did he find the time?

But I digress. Like that of “Here Goes the Bride,” the plot of Shadow Over Seventh Heaven draws heavy inspiration from Daphne du Maurier’s famous Gothic romance Rebecca, but with some major differences in plot and characterization. The novel fleshes out the radio drama some more, adding additional details and plot twists that aren’t present in the original play, which arguably make it more interesting. One gets the impression that he had a lot of story in mind while he penned the original drama, but knew he could only squeeze so much into a 45-minute radio play and so had to leave many of the most interesting details out.

But that’s enough background information. Let’s begin our analysis and see what Ian Martin’s later work can tell us about his original intentions for Strange Paradise.

Introduction

The face is lovely, matchless....

Opening like some gigantic and exotic flower as the camera zooms in...

It fills the screen, flawless, enticing....

The lower lip glistens, pulled away from those perfect teeth, trembling ever so slightly, promising undreamed-of delights for the man brave enough to taste its forbidden fruit....

The skin glows with an inner light....

The eyes beyond the thick fringe of dark eyelashes shimmer with the deep violet of a tropical night....

The pitiless exposé of the camera is defeated, no matter how close it probes in close-up....

This is beauty without blemish....

This is everyman's dream woman--sex symbol of the nation, and most of the world....

This is April Tennant!

Strange to think of her dead, for on the screen she is captured forever in all her vibrancy and stunning beauty....

Impossible to think of her lying, mangled and bleeding on the rocks, while the hungry sea licks out as if to possess her.

Incredible to think of her cold and in the grave. Which she has been for twelve months--or this story never would have begun (p. 5).

The first page of the novel introduces us to April Tennant, this novel’s Rebecca and also its Erica Desmond. Like Rebecca, she is the first wife of the protagonist’s love interest, whose tragic death will cast a shadow over her former estate. Like Erica, she was a famous actress--probably more so than Erica ever was--but the cause of her death is not the same as the alleged cause of Erica’s. In Episode 5 of Strange Paradise, Erica’s grieving husband Jean Paul claims that she died of eclampsia while pregnant with their son, although evidence uncovered by other characters in later episodes leads them to contest that claim. Instead, April’s death resembles that of Huaco, the wife of Jean Paul’s ancestor Jacques Eloi des Mondes who died when she fell from a cliff on Maljardin, Jacques’ island estate.

In this introduction, we also see what will become a theme of the novel: gaze. Not just the male gaze--the obvious POV of the introduction--but, more generally, the viewing of April Tennant almost exclusively through the eyes of other characters, both male and female. We never learn much about her inner life, even as we learn those of Jenny (our protagonist), Richard, and others. April is largely a mystery, a larger-than-life figure of ideal beauty who, in the eyes of the public, is more a legend than she is flesh and blood. It’s the same mystique that surrounds celebrities in real life that often makes other people forget that they, too, are human--if, indeed, that’s what April was. Or is there more to it? I guess we’ll have to find it.

Chapter 1

The first chapter begins with a detailed description of San Rafael--and by detailed, I mean that Ian Martin spends one and a half pages describing its wall, followed by two on the mansion itself. I won’t type out too many passages from this book for copyright reasons--for, unlike Strange Paradise, this book is still under copyright--but I will include some highlights. The wall surrounding the castle “was thick enough at the bottom to withstand any tremor of the California earth...topped by a corona of jagged broken glass and it ran for a mile and three-quarters in a great semicircle away from the rocky Pacific coast and back to it again” (p. 6). On its gate,

The ironwork swept and swirled in great balanced curlicues, and the frame was heavy and studded. The studs held great sheets of blackened steel, heavy enough to withstand a battering ram, blocking any vision of the grounds the wall concealed. And the vertical members of the scrollwork reared high above the frame of the door and the top of the wall in a bristling array of spikes, sharp as swords, arched forward to further discourage any hardy trespasser who might try to climb their height (pp. 6-7).

In case you haven’t already figured it out, Martin loved his purple prose. If you don’t like Byzantine descriptions of architecture, ironwork, clothing, or anything else, you probably shouldn’t read this book or any of Martin’s other novels. (Nightmare’s Nest is far purpler, however, than this one. There’s an entire chapter in there devoted to describing the protagonist’s lush Edwardian finery.) Fortunately for me, I love this kind of thing and will gladly devour description after description of gates covered in iron curlicues. My literary tastes tend toward “more is more” and I’m not ashamed to admit it.

We learn that San Rafael is a reconstruction of an old Spanish mission, commissioned by April and built in part by Richard himself, “who personally took charge of putting in all the glass that fronted on the sea.” The gardens that surround it give it ��a riot of color--bougainvillea, hibiscus, passionflowers, trumpet vines--all enhanced and set off against the majesty of rows of carefully spaced Italian cedar, or Lombardy poplar” (pp. 7-8).

Despite all this radiant beauty--and as one might expect for reconstructed ruins from the era of Spanish colonialism--the estate is believed to be cursed, at least by “the superstitious peons who built the walls” (p. 9).  (That’s what the book uncharitably describes the Mexican builders--some parts of this book haven’t aged well, as you will see.) Two men died while rebuilding it, followed by April herself around a decade later.

Surprisingly, we learn at the end of this chapter that Richard Morgan’s background differs from that of Jean Paul Desmond. An actor himself, he “was king of the theater, and of East Coast entertainment. Their marriage was a royal one, and it vaulted both of them to new and undreamed-of heights of popularity” (pp. 9-10). It was this popularity that drove them to wall themselves in at San Rafael and use the police and guard dogs to keep rabid fans and paparazzi away--which, ultimately, didn’t work and only led to “a new wave of interest and snooping” (p. 10).

Chapter 2

Here we meet Richard’s sister Lisa, who is...well...quite an interesting character. She’s a beautiful woman with short hair, a deep voice, and--most importantly--an unusual, creepy level of attachment to her brother.

Cersei Lannister Lisa Morgan.

Lisa has just received a phone call from the Philippines where her brother is. The call has left her “literally stunned” (p. 11), which means that the modern slang meaning of “literally” dates back 30+ years longer than I thought. Surprisingly, she isn’t drinking wine to calm her nerves like Cersei above, but that’s her loss.

As she gazes at the ocean to the west, her housekeeper, Conchita Aguilar,  enters. Chita (as she is usually called) has not just worked as April’s housekeeper for most of her life, but also "she and her husband, Juan, had quite literally brought up April” (p. 13); as a result, she is fiercely loyal to the family of her deceased mistress. Here is a portrait of her:

Looking at the tiny woman with her bright button eyes, the black Indian hair swept stiffly away from her face, parted in the middle and tidily put away in a tight bun low on the back of her neck, Lisa was surprised at the sudden urge to go and take this familiar person in her arms--or better still have Chita take her in hers.[...]Chita might be tiny, but she was all steel and whipcord (p. 13).

Sound familiar?

Yes, Chita bears a resemblance to our beloved Raxl. They even have a similar background, for Raxl, too, comes from a people indigenous to Mexico, according to Episode 23.  Like Raxl, Chita is very old and has a mysterious magnetism that draws some people to her (which, in Raxl’s case, includes me). There are some minor differences--Chita doesn’t worship the Great Serpent, she uses gratuitous Spanish instead of gratuitous French, she has a living husband and grandson--but they are, in most ways, the same character. It’s clear that Ian Martin didn’t want to part with Raxl, and I don’t blame him one bit.

Also, for whatever reason, he was oddly insistent on both of them having a specific hairstyle. If you read the original script for the show’s pilot, you will see that he was almost as specific about Raxl’s hairstyle, mentioning “her hair tightly drawn over her ears to a small bun,” but less detailed about those of the other characters. Just an odd detail that probably bears little significance, but that I noticed.

Lisa tells Chita that Richard is on his way home with a new wife, a young, very wealthy orphan named Jenny Summers whom he met in the Philippines. This angers the ancient housekeeper, who argues that Jenny can never come to San Rafael

Because there is no place for her here--en la casa de La Señora! Everything here is hers--she still lives here, and will always live here. Her perfume is in every room, her pictures are everywhere, every ornament and ashtray and book I keep just the way she last touched it. There is no room for any other wife here! Oh, she will feel it, she will know it, because La Señora would never permit another woman to take her place (p. 16)!

Lisa insists that, despite the risk that Jenny won’t want to live on the estate and despite her equal displeasure about the situation, Chita keep an open mind regarding her and try not to be such a Mrs. Danvers about the situation. (OK, so she doesn’t actually say the last part; that’s just my paraphrase.) She also tries to pressure Chita into helping her take down the mementos of April at Richard’s orders, which she objects to, both for sentimental reasons and because they don’t have time to have the enormous fresco of April that adorns the former chapel. (Symbolism!)

“It was a breathless and yet terrible beauty. For any woman who stood next to it had to be eclipsed” (p. 20).

Yes, you read that right: they rededicated the mission’s former chapel to the silver screen sex goddess April Tennant. After their wedding, Richard had a giant fresco of her painted there in place of its former altar. This is a clear indication that one or more of the people in this household worship April, whether literally or figuratively. More than that, the portrait glows like that of THE DEVIL JACQUES ELOI DES MONDES, and seems, like Jacques’ portrait, to be alive, the living essence of a dead person. “Most haunting of all was the feeling that this was the woman--that she could not have died, that any moment she would step off the wall, and her silver laughter would fill the house again (p. 20).”

I’m sorry, Jacques. ;)

Coming up next: Jenny arrives at San Rafael and tries to adjust to living on an estate where almost everyone but Richard acts like they hate her.

{ Next: Part II -> }

[squidproquoclarice]

We're coming up on a brother reunion real soon right? So can you do a Red Talk on John and Arthur's relationship?

I love me some Red Dead Brodemption, and I’m looking forward to the reunion, and how that shapes things after, as much as y’all.  I’m not certain what’ll happen so this should be fun.  As to when, I’m pretty sure it’ll happen by the end of Chapter XIII (Horseshoe Overlook II).  As usual, I’m kind of taking the story as it comes and letting it find its own flow, and forcing the reunion in earlier just didn’t feel right.

OK, so we have a few confirmed pieces: John is 10 years younger than Arthur (given 1863 and 1873 birthdates), that they found John in Illinois when he was 12, that Abigail joined in 1894 at age 17 (1877 birthdate), quickly got pregnant, and gave birth to Jack in 1895 (4 years old in 1899).  John tried to deny paternity and generally shunned the responsibility of being a father, and at some point between 1895 and 1899, also disappeared for a whole year.  Arthur is still incredibly pissed about this.

My meta is that John’s sudden adoption threw a 22-y-o Arthur into a panic.  He’s clearly always struggled with feeling insecure and worthless, and Dutch and Hosea suddenly fawning over this new boy, talking about educating him, making him one of the family, etc. means he’s failed.  He’s not lived up to what they needed him to be, and so they’re turning to someone who can replace him.  It’s not pretty that a grown, even if very young, man is threatened by a child, but given Arthur’s traumas and mental issues, it’s understandable.

So he started to act out.  Went chasing jobs, bringing in more money, to prove that a man, not a boy, was what Dutch needed.  That he was still worth his place.  Dutch loved it, of course, and probably took advantage of Arthur’s desperation and willingness to do about anything to prove himself.

That cost him his relationship with Mary as she saw he wasn’t moving further away from the gang like he’d promised, but sinking even further into criminal life.  I also HC that shortly after this, Arthur and Eliza had their lonely drunken hookup that resulted in Isaac.  So his life pretty much turned into a disaster for a few months there in 1885 because he was running around in a total panic.

He was likely kind of an asshole to John early on, because if you’re deathly afraid of being replaced by this kid, why would you be nice?  But being stuck together for the winter, they learned to get along.  Arthur saw that he wasn’t being kicked out.  John was the golden boy, the new favorite, and that wasn’t going to change.  Dutch and Hosea still valued him for what he could do.  He resigned himself to being the workhorse, and earning his place via his skills.  Plus Arthur being Arthur, he’s a soft touch, especially for kids and animals, and so he’d have seen more than a little of himself in this feral little gremlin.  I think he switched pretty quickly, once he made his peace with being somewhat replaced, to being John’s fiercest defender.

On John’s side, he initially hated Arthur a bit too, because a grown man picking on you when you’ve been let down and hurt by adults in your life already, cool.  Once things softened, and John started to settle in and soften his own trauma-based armor, he idolized Arthur.  This former illiterate street rat, just like John, who’d become this formidable man who seemingly could do everything, and do it well.  He had Dutch and Hosea’s absolute trust, rather than being an ignorant kid who couldn’t even read.  Everything John wanted to be, really.  

So for a good while I think the two of them had a very close-knit relationship.  There was always something unequal about it, because John was a kid still, but they were brothers and would have done anything for each other.  As you get past 1890 and John turning 17 or so, things started to shift again.  Arthur would always be more capable, wiser, and older, but now John was becoming an adult himself.  They could start to relate a bit more as peers, and John in particular really craved that.  Arthur’s respect and praise was probably the one he wanted most, because it was so hard earned.

1890-1894 were probably promising years for their relationship.  Arthur lost Eliza and Isaac in 1890, and took that as a sign.  He quietly resigned himself to a life of nothing but the gang, and worked even harder.  John started to grow up.  Then the “Jackcident” happened, and things went to shit again.  Arthur had lost a family only a few years before, and he saw John making a similar mistake, but even worse--unlike Eliza who wouldn’t join the gang or marry Arthur, Abigail was right there.  John doing the right thing would cost him so little, but he refused.

Things deteriorated from there, and John hid his overwhelmed insecurities behind a slut-shamey “The kid’s probably not even mine”, and saw Arthur turn into a coldly judgmental asshole again about it.  What did Arthur know about this anyway?  He’d been chasing the same unattainable woman for years (or so John thought) who’d made it clear she wouldn’t have him.  But fine, if he couldn’t have Arthur’s respect, maybe it wasn’t worth having anyway, the judgmental prick.  If Arthur can’t forgive him when he’s this cold-hearted clay statue who doesn’t care to understand what love and relationships are like outside of storybooks, screw him.

As for Arthur, his inability to straight talk John about Eliza and Isaac meant he just turned frosty and angry, and it stayed that way.  Then John left, and it got even worse, because that meant John had betrayed the gang, betrayed his son and the woman who’d borne his child, and he’d also betrayed Arthur and all the affection he had for John, and the hopes that John would turn out better than him. 

Arthur’s still pretty pissed about this and John returned at least a year prior to Chapter 1, so he is absolutely holding a grudge.  Plus John’s every bit as resentfully defensive about it as Arthur is frostily judgmental.  That to me speaks to them having to have had a really close relationship before John’s shunning his responsibilities to Jack and Abigail caused this rupture, because you honestly don’t react that strongly, or passive-aggressively, to someone you don’t give a shit about.  You tend to ignore them totally.

Chapter 4′s “Angelo Bronte, A Man Of Honor” (RIP Bronte glitch, I miss you) is really a huge turning point, and seems to show how things used to be between them.  John’s trying hard to relate to Arthur in that mission, admitting his failures as a father, admitting his fear for Jack.  Arthur responds readily to that admission of responsibility and concern, like he’s been waiting for exactly that all this time, because he has.  It ends with a moment of them returning to the awkward impasse they’ve been in for years, with John’s inability to even say to Arthur what it means to him that he helped rescue Jack beyond “Thank you”, after finally admitting his failures openly.  But then we return again to a glimpse of something brighter with Arthur’s quiet, “I understand...go be with your family.”  There’s a sense of much-needed forgiveness in that.  

It starts really paying off in Chapter 6, because it’s finally there that we see the two of them able to stand there and talk to each other as grown men, like they never had a chance to do before.  Though there’s the interesting note to that whole thing that even as they’re relating as men, it also returns to where it began: Arthur giving so much of himself to protect and teach John, and John idolizing Arthur as the standard by which he measures himself (and all too often falls short.) 

But there’s something left still unfinished there, because the relationship is still unbalanced.  It needs John to kick off Arthur’s boots he’s been trying so hard to wear all these years, so to speak, and finding his own that fit and becoming his own man, and Arthur being able to slip off the yoke of carrying so much weight for John while he continues to grow up.  So yeah, there’s some work left to accomplish in 1907.  ;)

[pcygoldenchild]

Bad Neighbor

✨Summary: After a breakup you usually go your separate ways. But your breakup landed you only across the hall from each other. And that turned into a very petty competition that didn’t last long.

✨warnings: NSFW, sexual intercourse, dirty talk.

✨A/N: This was a request but of course I wrote it longer than a request length. Classic golden behavior. So here’s the one shot for the lucky anon. Also @gochushot brought to my attention that Body-Mino really fits this story.

You and Baekhyun where so in love with each other that you did the one thing you both knew you shouldn’t. You moved in together. It was a nice apartment complex building and it seemed like a great idea. You two were dating for 6 months before and figured that would be the next step. But now that you weren’t together, it was a terrible step to take. You only lasted a month together after the move before you broke up over petty arguments. Lucky for you, you didn’t have to stay with him and took it on yourself to move out. But you weren’t smart enough to think not to move right across the hall from your ex boyfriend.

And now it was a bitter battle of who could get more action and strangers to come to their apartment. It started with him. Baekhyun came home drunk one day and knocked on your door with some blonde bimbo holding onto him. He said he thought it was his apartment but why the fuck would he knock on his own apartment door. After that, he’s brought home a new girl almost every single day. You could hear what he’d do with them, obviously the fucker would stick his dick in them. But you wouldn’t let it bother you. Rather, you wouldn’t let him know it was bothering you. Instead, you were going to play the game too.

The first guy you brought home was a friend of yours. Well, more so he was a guy at the club that always tried to get with you when you were with Baekhyun. But now that you weren’t, he took the opportunity and you excepted it. You were almost inside your apartment, being a little louder with your new friend, when Baekhyun’s door flung open.

“Could you please shut the fuck up? It’s 12 am and I’d really enjoy not hearing you and your boy toy for the night’s conversations.” He snapped out. He was easily jealous, but you thought he’d at least pretend he wasn’t hurt. All you could do was laugh and put on a fake pout over the alcohol in your system mixed with triumph.

“Aww is Baekhee a wittle angry at me for having fun and bringing a nice boy to my place?” you tease laughing after as his jaw tenses.

“I don’t give a fuck about what you do. We’re not together. Just keep it down. I really don’t want to hear you two.” he said crossing his arms and rolling his eyes. You leaned into the man and snaked your hand up his shirt. Baekhyun watched your hand and glared at you.

“Mmm well I don’t think I can be quiet. I was never one to hold anything in before. It won’t start now. Especially not with this strong man who could probably rip me apart.” you tease. The man wraps his hand around you and holds your waist while smirking at an angry Baekhyun.

“Fucking slut.” Baekhyun whispers but you heard it loud and clear.

“What was that?” you say even though you knew he wouldn’t say it. He had no right to call you that when he had about 20 girls in the past 3 weeks.

“Nothing. Keep it down.” he said before slamming his door. You smile and go into your apartment to get the night started. You weren’t going to be quiet.

You didn’t even get the chance to bring a second guy home before Baekhyun confronted you again. It was the next day and you were coming back from getting your mail. You guess he watched you leave and listened until you came back because as soon as you stepped in front of your door, you heard his open.

“Have fun last night with your little friend?” he asked. You let out a loud sigh and turned around to see him in a pair of sweatpants and that’s it. He was clearly trying to impress you.

“I don’t know; you tell me. Did it sound like I was having fun?” you retort. You copied his stance folding your arms and leaning on your door.

“Well from what I could hear, he wasn’t doing much.” he said. God, he was so full of himself.

“Oh so you were listening? I had a feeling since it was deathly quiet. No new bimbo to fuck I guess.” you snapped back.

“I wasn’t listening, you two were just obnoxiously loud. Got someone to make jealous? Well it won’t work like that. Your moans were fake.” he smirked back. Your moans were fake but the guys weren’t.

“No need to make anyone jealous with fake moans. I can get anyone to get me off.” you scoff feeling a slight defeat.

“Except for the person you really want.” he smirks again.

“Who might that be Baek?” you ask completely falling into his trap and calling him his nickname. He smiled and stepped forward.

“Me.” he said putting his hands in his pockets to pull them down a bit exposing more of his lower v-line. You looked down out of habit and bit your lip. You looked back up and saw him smirking at you. Shit.

“Been there. Done that.” you snap back glaring at him. He was winning.

“Hm perhaps so. But no one does it like I do.” he replies. Fuck sakes, he never fails at making you needy for him. Time to turn the tables.

“Perhaps. But you’ve made that choice. And we both know you’ll never find another girl who has what I have between my legs. Doesn’t matter how many girls you go through. No one will be as wet. No one will be as tight. No one will take you in like I do. No one will make you cum like I do.” you say stepping closer to him making him back away. You were making him surrender. You could see the way his eyes responded to your every word.

“Perhaps.” is all he said. His voice was a few octaves lower and you knew what that meant. He was now leaning against his door staring intently into your eyes. You look down and see his full hard cock resting against the fabric of his sweats. You smirk.

“Perhaps? No I think you know that. Or else your cock wouldn’t be rock hard right now. Has no one been sufficient enough for you? Do you picture me when you fuck them but it doesn’t work?” you tease bringing your finger to his chest.

“Don’t think too highly of yourself sweetheart.” he says watching your finger go down from his chest to his abs.

“I don’t need to sweetheart. You always told me my pussy was the best. What else did you say? My pussy was yours? How’s it feel to not have it anymore?” you tease now standing so close as your finger rested at the waistband on his pants. He smirked at you and licked his lips.

“I wouldn’t know what it’s like to not have it. It’s still mine.” he said before grabbing you and kissing you. He kissed you so rough it was like he was starving. You suppose he was since he hasn’t had the one thing he wanted in weeks. He fumbled with the door and pulled you in. You two were attacking each other at this point. He pushed you until you landed on the couch and hovered over you. He pulled your shirt off and hurried to pull your sweatpants down. You were left in nothing but your underwear.

“God your body looks 100 times better than the last I remember it.” he said taking your nipple in his mouth. His mouth felt 100 times better than the last time you remembered it but you wouldn’t let him know that. You pulled his hair as he licked and bit your nipples. He slipped his hand into your panties and smirked against your nipple. You were incredibly wet.

“Seems like someone missed me more than they were letting on.” he smirked pulling his fingers to his lips and licking them. Fuck it drove you crazy.

“Why don’t you fuck me and find out.” you say rubbing his hard cock still hidden in his pants.

“Oh you’d like that wouldn’t you? Pull my cock out and tell me where you want it.” he said hovering over you. You smirked and pushed his pants down as best you could and pumped his hard cock before kissing him.

“I want it inside my tight pussy.” you whisper against his lips and line him up to your hole. He takes his cock in his own hand and rubs the tip up and down your folds. You buck your hips and he smirks.

“You want this huh? Beg for it. Show me how much you missed my cock.” he teased. You rolled your eyes and pulled him down to kiss you and bit his lip before pulling away.

“Baekhyun fuck me or I’ll find someone else to do it.” you snap back. You were getting feisty which was exactly how he liked you.

“We both know no one fucks you like do.” he says before thrusting completely into you making you scream. He smirks for the hundredth time today before you tighten around him making him let out a groan.

“Oh you wanna play dirty.” he said before pinching your nipple and thrusting into you hard. You were both moaning loudly. It’s been forever since you were last fucked like this. You both were in a great need to cum the way only you two could make each other cum. Amazing sex.

“Fuck Baek don’t stop.” you moan out digging your nails into his back.

“I’m not stopping until your tight fucking pussy is full of my cum baby. And that’s going to be very soon if you keep moaning like that.” he said over his groaning. And he was right. You both came down together in a shaking fit. Both cumming into each other and getting that release you were both chasing. You laid there for a moment before you started to laugh.

“What’s so funny?” he laughed back sitting up a bit.

“You’re still inside me Baek.” you smirk. He clearly very much so missed your cunt.

“Are you surprised? I haven’t felt this good in weeks. I’m not moving for at least an hour.” he said back kissing your neck. You put your hands in his hair and smiled down at him.

“And what about my new boy toy that’s coming over later?” you tease. You didn’t have a boy toy coming over but you still wanted to get him annoyed.

“You can tell your boy toy to fuck off. You’re mine. Understand?” he said holding your chin. Fucking Baekhyun and his dominant behavior.

“Yes sir.” you say.

[marvellous-fangirl]

Home Alone

You have a massive crush on Bucky, so the Avengers arrange to leave the two of you home alone together

Oneshot

Word Count: 1,495

Pairings: Bucky x Reader, BFF!Natasha x Reader, Supportive!Avengers x Reader

Warnings: Fluff

A/N: I love my Winter Soldier Quartet

You thought your laces were undone and looked down to check your shoes as you were going up the stairs, when you collided into Bucky. “Oh sorry Buck!” You smiled and Bucky slid past you and quickly disappeared out of sight. 

You made your way to the gym, early for your mandatory fighting practise for the first time in months. Steve and Bucky were fighting together in the ring and you sat on a bench and watched from a distance. You’d seen Steve fight before but never Bucky. His movements were surprisingly lyrical and fluid. His muscles worked smoothly like his mechanical arm which you were sure you could hear whirring. You heard a timer ring quietly somewhere and Steve pulled away from the fight, only for Bucky to knock his legs out from beneath him, and stand over the panting Captain. You watched laughs shake Bucky’s body as he held out an arm for Steve to take and you couldn’t help but smile at the soft expression on his face. Steve saw you and beckoned you over to begin your training and Bucky looked up at where you were sitting. You locked eyes and a flush crept into your cheeks, Bucky looked away and you heard the snatches of him murmuring something about needing to shower as you were walking over.

The kitchen was vacated, so you got up from your comfy spot on the sofa to cook your lunch. Steve strolled into the kitchen as you made yourself a coffee to accompany the food. “Hey Y/N!” He smiled, as you took a sip from your mug. “So. What’s the deal with you and Bucky?” You choked. Steve smirked as you recovered. “What? No? There’s no deal? What?” You spluttered. Steve chuckled. “Relax. Just a little birdie told me that you have a little crush on that particular super soldier.” “Dammit Wilson.” You muttered, remembering him catching you staring at Bucky earlier that day. “Well I also happen to have the information that a certain someone might potentially.. you know... be in love with you too?” He grinned as your mouth dropped open. “You’re messing with me.” You said, folding your arms and leaning against the counter. Steve raised his hands and shook his head. “Honest to God I would never lie about Bucky’s feelings.” Your composure faltered for a second and then you tried to suppress your glee. “You didn’t hear anything from me.” Steve grinned as he stood up and left. Once he was out of sight, you squealed and danced on the spot. “I heard that.” Steve chuckled from the other room.

Natasha came marching into the living room, where everyone was sitting and chatting. “Everyone suit up. We’ve just got reports of extraterrestrial hostiles in Queens.” Everyone rose to their feet. “Barnes. Y/L/N. You aren’t needed for this mission.” She shrugged. You could have sworn that Nat winked at you as she turned to leave the room and you sank back into your seat. Bucky was already sitting again and was looking at his hands and fidgeting. You watched him for a second, then turned to look into your own lap. 

As the others filed back through the room on the way to the quinjet, Sam gave you a thumbs up and Steve, who was bringing up the rear, called: “Have fun you two!” with an additional wink as he shut the door behind himself. You glared at the spot where he had been and caught Bucky staring at you with a small smile on his face.

“Soooo...” You said and Bucky looked down. “Mm.” He replied. “What do you wanna do?” You asked, not looking up at him. “Uh I don’t know...�� He trailed off. Your stomach grumbled loudly and Bucky chuckled. “I’m kinda hungry.” You grinned as Bucky continued to laugh. “You think you’re hungry? You should try having a super soldier’s metabolism. I’m always starving!” You laughed at his tone. “I’ll take that as a challenge. Do you wanna order pizza?” You smiled and Bucky nodded. You got up to grab your phone and paused for a second. “I bet you that I can eat more pizza than you can.” You folded your arms as you turned around, tilting your head with a cool expression on your face. “Oh yeah? I highly doubt that.” He smirked, also folding his arms. “Challenge accepted.” You grinned as you held out your hand and he shook it. 

Bucky watched you with a look of mingled fascination, admiration and concern. You finished your second pizza of three and leant back in your chair, patting your stomach. Bucky had his hands behind his head and still had a pizza and a half left on the table. “This is my food baby.” You half smiled, looking at your stomach. Bucky laughed loudly and your smile broke into a grin at the sound of his amusement. “How many months?” He laughed, eyes beginning to water. “I’m already 6 months into the pregnancy.” You said, dead serious. You pretended to look around to see if anyone else was nearby. “Don’t tell anyone, but it’s a boy. I’m going to call him Gerald.” Bucky roared with laughter at your serious tone and you laughed with him. You froze suddenly and Bucky’s laughter faltered. You raised a hand to silence him, then a couple of seconds later, a large burp crawled out of your mouth and practically shook the room. Bucky laughed so hard he slipped off his chair and onto the floor. “You’re supposed to be a lady!” He wheezed between bursts of laughter. You were shaking silently with laughter, tears streaming down your face and were beginning to worry that your bladder might fail. You slipped onto the floor next to Bucky, rolling around and all of the awkward tension between you, evaporated.

After the laughter had subsided and you had both hauled yourselves to your feet, you slumped onto the sofa and stroked your stomach again, an amused, sly smile still resting on your face. Bucky was stacking the pizza boxes in the kitchen. “So who’s the father?” He grinned, indicating your food baby. “Ah. That’s for my knowledge only.” You winked and Bucky chuckled to himself. A couple of minutes later, he slumped onto the sofa next to you. You stretched your arms and turned to him. “Want to watch a movie?” You suggested. “Sure. Which one though?” He smiled. “I literally have no idea.” You grinned, stretching your back now. “Harry Potter?” And Bucky thought for a second. “Marathon?” He suggested and you grinned. “That’s what I like to hear. Oh and just get ready for the waterworks when Dumbledore dies.” Bucky spluttered and scrambled away from you. “Dumbledore dIES?!” He almost yelled. “YOU DIDN’T KNOW THAT?!” You yelled back. “I’M ON BOOK TWO!” “THEN WHY DID YOU SUGGEST A MARATHON?!” “I THOUGHT THEY WERE HAPPY BOOKS!” You cackled at the look on his face. “They are until book 5, then they start to get darker.” You say. Bucky folded his arms and pretended to sulk. “You look like a sulking puppy when you do that.” You smiled, as you grabbed the remote and turned on the first movie. 

The Avengers came strolling into the compound, exhausted but laughing at a joke someone just made. Steve and Sam were leading the group and Sam threw a glance over to the sofa then froze. He shushed everyone behind him and pointed to where he was looking. Bucky was asleep with you snoozing on his chest and a message on the screen reading ‘Are you still watching “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1”?’ Steve high fived Sam and they all crept out of the room to leave the pair of you to doze. Your head was rising with Bucky’s chest, your own breathing barely noticeable compared to his large movements. 

Bucky awoke and stretched, sinking slightly lower into the sofa. You stirred on his chest, shifting your weight and burying your shoulder under his arm. Bucky looked down at you and his eyes widened. He looked around the room to see Steve and Sam in the kitchen, watching him with huge grins on their faces. Steve had been washing up and was drying a mug with a tea towel and Sam was sipping a coffee while leaning on the island. They both raised the mugs in their hands to him and Bucky suppressed a grumble so as not to wake you up completely. 

You eventually woke up and looked up sleepily at the super soldier. Your heart softened when you realised he was watching the TV but with subtitles so he wouldn’t wake you. Then you realised who you were lying on top of and you sat bolt upright. Bucky smiled and sat up, looking into his lap shyly.

“Oh come on!” Sam called from the other side of the room. “Just admit you guys have a thing for each other already!”