#truly there has never been a holiday I have heard of that sounds as fake as thanksgiving

[septimus-heap]

Every year I get reminded that americans actually take thanksgiving seriously and it isn't just a fake holiday made up for tv. Wdym you're roasting an entire turkey in november. For what!!!

[youwerenevermeanttofeelalone]

Apple Pie | Dean Winchester

✦ pairing — Dean Winchester x female!Plus Size Reader

✦ fake dating AU

✦ word count — 2.9k

✦ summary — you bring Dean to your family's Christmas dinner so they stop bugging you about being single.

✦ warnings — angst, mutual pining, no mentions of hunting but not an AU either, reader has two sisters and a brother, mentions of food and beverages, christmas, fluff.

✦ author's note — this was supposed to be up the 24th but a power outage ruined my plans for three days. Sorry.

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You bounced your leg, head pressed against the backrest. Not having to drive was a relief and that was about it —you didn't know how you were going to pull this whole charade off.

If Dean hadn't been the one behind the wheel, the one coming with you, then you would truly be fucked. But he offered, oh so sweetly, to go with you, to pretend to be your partner so your mom would stop asking when you would finally bring somebody home for the holidays.

Nobody would do a better job than him. You and Dean clicked from the moment you met and soon he became your best friend so your mom had heard things about him; and because she had heard about him, she always asked if something was going on between you. She wasn't the first person to assume you had some kind of secret romance, Dean's brother was convinced you had been together for over a year now, and your neighbor swore she had seen you kiss a couple of times.

Pretending to date him would be easy enough — physical affection was already present in your dynamic, pet names poured out of him like it was nothing, and he was so easy on the eyes that gazing at him in a lovesick haze didn't sound far-fetched. And that was the problem, this was how things should be.

You would never tell him you felt that way; if he could tell you did, he had decided to look past it many times. He was easy to like, he might have been used to it by now.

The only thing left for you at this moment was hoping your heart would survive this.

Your mom beamed as she opened the door, ushering you and Dean in to protect you from the cold afternoon.

“Where do you want me to put this, sweetheart?” Dean asked, referring to the gifts he had been helping you carry.

“Come, let’s put them under the tree.”

“Get comfortable you two,” your mom told you, “I’ll bring you something to drink.”

He followed you into the living room while your mom disappeared into the kitchen. Dean looked around, taking note of every photo on the walls and every ornament in the room.

You tugged your gloves off and dropped them on top of your purse, moving to arrange the gifts under the tree, careful not to disturb the order the others were in. Dean handed them one by one, hovering over you while you sat on your heels for comfort.

You looked up at him and the moment you did, you regretted it. His eyes were already on you, a lazy smile on his face. “I think this blue one would look good next to the purple bag,” he gave his opinion.

Almost in a daze, you nodded and took the wrapped gift from his warm hands.

“Your fingers are like icicles,” he lightheartedly complained.

A chuckle escaped you as you went back to arranging gifts. “You know my fingers get cold easily.”

He extended his hand as you made a motion to stand up, offering his help. Dean always did that, he was always there to help, to break a fall, to make things better. You took his hand and using his strength as leverage, you stood up.

Instead of dropping your hand, he grabbed the other one and pressed your palms together, enveloping your hands with his to warm them up. You couldn’t not look at him, despite knowing his big pretty eyes would sparkle with mischief like they did when you played domino.

“Am I interrupting something?” your mom giddily asked from behind you.

You craned your neck to look at her. Letting go of Dean’s hands upon realizing she was carrying two mugs, you turned around and took a mug in your grasp. Dean immediately did the same, thanking your mom.

“Tell me about yourself, dear,” your mom sweetly prompted him.

You recognized that voice, the one she used when she was flustered. And who could blame her?

Dean had no problem talking, or charming her. But you had known it would be easy with her — she only asked about your love life because she wanted you to be happy whereas your dad wanted to make sure you had what he called a normal life. Your siblings were married, your oldest sister had kids already, your brother was in the process of adopting, and your other sister was pregnant. Building a family was what your dad deemed normal, what your siblings had aspired to therefore you should too.

You asked yourself if there was something wrong with you one too many times, if you were broken or malfunctioning. Ironically, meeting Dean made you see other people were in the same boat.

Somebody called your name and you had to twist your entire body to look at your dad. Placing the mug on the coffee table, you stood up and walked towards him. While your mom had always been okay with verbal greetings, your dad always demanded a hug from his little girl and you would never deny him.

The hug was warm thanks to his thick jacket. His gloved hands came up to fix your hair, something he did since you could remember. And before parting, he told you how happy he was to see you.

You couldn’t hide your relief upon hearing him say that, making the stress of coming up with a convoluted story about a partner oh so worthy.

And Dean, Dean who always picked up when you called in the middle of the night, Dean who knew how important this was for you, Dean who said yes to being your faux partner in a heartbeat, Dean smiled so brightly at the sight.

You smiled at him in reflex and watched as he stood from his seat to approach your dad with an extended hand. They shook hands, introducing themselves as your dad and your boyfriend respectively.

It did something to you, hearing them say it. Dean was proud of having you as a best friend, you knew because he always made sure people knew that was what you were; he even corrected Sam when he called you his friend. ‘Best friend, Sammy,’ he had said, stressing the trust between you.

Some lines between you were blurry, you could admit as much, but it came with being so close. Dean could draw the organization system in your fridge by memory and you could name every movie on his living room shelves, even the ones still wrapped in plastic. You had no problem being just that, best friends, hiding your feelings for him was second nature now.

And for today, maybe even tomorrow depending on the weather, you would have to bring those walls down.

You followed your mom into the kitchen as Dean and your dad fell into a conversation about cars. She handed you apples so you would peel them and dice them. “He’s nice,” she casually said.

“I’m glad you approve,” you said, only half-lying. You turned around to wash your hands.

“I’ll approve once George approves.”

You laughed, patting your hands dry with a green towel. “How come we’re the first to arrive?”

“George and Blake are having lunch with Blake’s family and dinner with us.”

You hummed, picking up the vegetable peeler. “Sarah?”

“Must be on her way.” She made a pause, watching you drop the first apple into a bowl of water and lemon. “You didn’t ask about Kate.”

“I assumed she wouldn’t come.”

Your mom’s sigh confirmed your assumption. Her disappointment was understandable, but your very pregnant sister wouldn’t be allowed to board a plane.

“I can make the pie on my own, mom, take a break,” you assured her after a few minutes.

She smiled at you and nodded, taking your word for it. She giggled on her way out and before you could ask why, another voice filled your ears.

“Did you say pie?”

You giggled too. “Yes, Dean, pie.”

“Have I told you how much I love you today?”

Your heart skipped a beat. Doing your best not to sigh, you went along with it, “I don’t think so.”

He got closer to you. “Well, I do.”

You hummed. “Pretty sure you just want to make sure I add enough cinnamon.”

Dean’s laugh filled the kitchen. He dropped a kiss on the side of your head and leaned against the counter, watching you.

Cooking under his eyes was such a common occurrence that you almost felt weird when he wasn’t there to watch you. He was a good cook himself, but there was something about cooking for him —or with him— that made it one of your favorite activities.

The doorbell rang and your mom squealed. Before you could tell Dean to brace himself, you heard your niece’s voice. Lily was the oldest and so talkative she could become too much sometimes — you adored her for it.

A familiar face peeked into the kitchen; pretty, warm, home. Sarah.

Sarah, your dearest sibling, the person you loved the most, gave you one of her soft smiles, the ones she reserved only for you from the moment you were born. She loved you, so much, so fucking much that she had almost stopped talking to your dad when he insisted you needed to be like her.

You put the rolling pin aside and without a second thought, crossed the kitchen to hug yourself to her. Sarah’s arms had already been open to welcome you, to protect you from whatever was haunting you. It was like she could see it in your eyes — you wouldn’t be surprised if she could.

“Is that a new perfume?” she softly asked, not letting you go.

“Yeah, a birthday gift.”

“It suits you.”

Your name was yelled in unison and you pulled away from Sarah to greet your nieces. They had gotten taller since you saw them a couple of months ago and as pretty as your sister.

Then the hard part came: introducing Sarah and Dean. If you had been truly dating him, you would have only cared for her approval.

Lily immediately started calling him uncle and asked if he wanted to play with her. Before Sarah could tell her to leave him alone, Dean accepted.

She gave you a questioning look. You shrugged.

"Blake might get jealous," she joked.

But Blake didn’t get jealous, he was far too curious about your partner to be. It wasn’t that you disliked Sarah’s husband because he was great, but you and Blake were closer in age therefore closer as people. That also meant that George was suspicious of a lot of the people you were connected with.

George, meanwhile, wearily bombarded Dean with questions. Your brother had always been good at interrogating people and it used to lead to fights at dinner when he realized he was being lied to.

You held your breath every time Dean opened his mouth to answer each question like you used to when you were trying to lie to George when you were younger.

Dean handled every question so well, as though he had thought this through the night before. You would never be able to thank him enough for being so kind and warm to your nephews, so charming with your siblings, their partners, and your mom, so talkative with everybody who bombarded him with questions and compliments alike, so Dean Winchester that it drove you crazy.

You needed air. Or at least a moment alone to collect yourself.

"I'll be back in a moment," you announced as you put your gloves on.

Dean frowned.

“She always does that, don’t worry too much,” your mom told him. “Christmas makes her sensitive.”

But that couldn’t be it — Sarah’s frown and George's sigh told him as much. So Dean nodded and still stood up, excusing himself for a moment.

You wiped the snow off the step and sat there, looking down at your boots and the contrast against the white snow underneath.

Your family was all too accepting of him and it overwhelmed you. On one hand, you were glad they had gotten along with your best friend; on the other hand, they believed him to be your partner and you had no idea what you would paint the fictional breakup as.

The silent moment you sought wasn't granted. The door opened behind you and you just knew it was him — Dean didn't know when to drop things, when to stop.

He sat beside you but didn't say anything, at least giving you the upper hand there.

“I used to sit here and watch the other kids play after dinner.”

“You never joined them?”

“I was too shy.” They were all married now, they probably didn’t even remember the chubby girl that used to watch them from the front steps. They wouldn’t care if they did either. “I think they would have said yes if I had asked, but you know…”

Perhaps he didn’t know by experience, but you were certain he would understand.

Dean nodded. He did understand, always.

“So what are we doing here freezing our asses off?"

How could you possibly tell him you were overwhelmed and saddened at the same time? And how long would it take him to figure it out if you didn't?

There wasn't a good way to say it, a coherent manner to formulate everything you wanted to say yet feared to even think about.

"They like you," you simply said.

"Huh?"

"My family."

Breathily, Dean asked, "Yeah?"

"Oh, come on, you know they do."

"I hope they do."

He was killing you and he had no fucking idea. “Really?”

“They’re your family, of course I want them to like me.”

You huffed as you smiled, resting your head on his shoulder. “Thank you for coming with me.”

He put his arm around your shoulders. "Are you kidding? I'm already looking forward to next year."

You inhaled deeply. You wanted him there next year, and the next, and the one after.

“I mean it.”

“I’ll come up with something so you can come next year,” you quietly assured him.

Dean sighed. He gently pushed you off him and stood up. He brushed the snow off his pants.

Craning your neck up, you asked, “What are you doing?”

He deflated and crossed his arms. You could tell he wanted to say something, in fact, you knew he would, but you couldn't stand the position you were in.

Not only physically even though looking up at him was uncomfortable, but emotionally. Standing up, you steadied yourself by grabbing the handrail.

"Just spit it," you prompted him.

“For a moment I thought we were on the same page.”

Fuck. Explaining this to your family would be humiliating. "I don't... Are we... not?"

"Today has been great. Your family is great."

"I—yeah, it's been fun."

Dean rubbed his forehead in exasperation. "This isn't how things were supposed to go." Under his breath, he muttered, "Fuck, Sammy was right."

"Dean?"

"I... maybe this is not the place to talk about this."

"Doesn't matter, talk to me."

He clenched his jaw, prompting you to take his face in your hands. "You can tell me anything."

Bringing his hands up to rest them on top of yours, he gave you a watery smile. "You're killing me, love. I thought this would be fun and... and it has, but I didn't think it would hurt this bad."

You opened your mouth to speak, but only your breath came out. Condensation floated between you and you wetted your lips. "We can leave early if you want, I can make up an excuse."

He frantically shook his head in your grasp. "Sam told me this would happen and I didn't listen... I just can't deal with this anymore." He called you by your name. "I can't keep acting like I've been pretending today."

Removing your hands from his face, harshly pushing his off, you grabbed him by the jacket and kissed him. Dean's hands landed on your hips as he brought you closer, returning the kiss in a smothering fashion, angling his face to deepen it.

It bordered in calculating, as though he had planned this. Perhaps he had — you weren't above admitting you had thought about it, fantasized even.

You only parted when a gust of wind reminded you just how cold it was outside. Dean huffed a laugh.

Letting his jacket go, you took one of his hands to check the time on his wristwatch. "It's almost time for dinner, we should go back inside."

Dean let out a tiny whine, making you smile against his lips. You gave him another kiss, this time a short one. "Two more minutes."

"Okay, two minutes," you gave in, wrapping your arms around him.

Dean held you to his chest, tightly so. "Should we talk about this, or...?"

"What's there to talk about?"

"Dunno. I thought maybe you wanted something more formal."

You laughed, nuzzling against his warm chest. "Like a love proclamation?"

"Or dinner," he suggested, "maybe both?"

"Is it an invitation?"

"Honey, it is whatever you want it to be, but be upfront with me."

"We sound like teenagers."

Dean hummed in agreement. "Just wanna do things right."

"We might be a little bit past that," you admitted.

"Do you mind?"

"Not at all."

"Well, neither do I." He gently pushed you off him, hands still ghosting your back. "Let's go back inside, I promised Lily we would decorate cookies together."

God, you loved him. And by the look he gave you as you smiled at him, you were almost sure he loved you too.

[autisticlancemcclain]

The doorbell rings, for the billionth time that night, and Keith groans.

“Please,” he begs, “please can we pretend we’re not home.”

His husband gleefully ignores him, disappearing with a faint ‘pop’ sound. If Keith let his ears hear as far as they would like, he’d hear another faint pop as Lance reappeared in front of their door, candy bowl in hand, and the subsequent delighted gasps of various costumed children. He’s hear the young voices yell ‘trick or treat!’ in unison, and mourn the time when he very well could give them a trick instead, as Lance fawns over their little costumes, shovels a truly ridiculous amount of candy into their little pails, and then poofs back into the living room.

But he does not listen in, because he is — as Lance says — the Scrooge of Halloween, and refuses to find any joy in the stupid holiday.

“You are going to get yourself caught,” he mumbles into Lance’s hair, once the witch has resettled on the couch.

“Am not, batboy,” Lance responds breezily, leaning into Keith’s hold. “And so what if I get caught? What’re they going to do? Burn me at the stake again?”

“You jest, but that was a horrible thing to witness. I can’t believe how stupidly happy those asshole pastors and judges were.”

Lance hums, turning his head to press a quick kiss to Keith’s cheek. “That was 400 years ago, my love. Let’s let the past stay in the past, hm? Plus, it didn’t even hurt, and you bled those motherfuckers dry, anyway.”

“And they were delicious,” Keith growls.

“Mm, somehow I doubt that. Didn’t the abundance of lead in every living surface in the 1600s make blood taste bitter?”

“…Okay, yes, but the satisfaction was very sweet.”

He feels Lance’s smile where its pressed into his collarbone. “Of course, cielo.”

They have a single moment of peace, then Keith’s ears twitch, and he growls.

Lance grins wider. “Hear some footsteps?”

“Your insistence on indulging this stupid tradition is making me want to break my no-eating-children rule.”

Lance laughs as he gets up — again — and puts on his truly gigantic witch’s hat, which is objectively kind of funny, but Lance has been making that joke since the 70s so Keith refuses to laugh. “Haven’t you heard Hansel and Gretel’s story, my love? Eating children is my job.” His eyes twinkle with mirth (literally. He lets a flash of green envelop his irises when he’s amused. Every time). “Don’t you know I’m fattening them up for a reason?”

He pops away again as the doorbell rings. Keith rolls his eyes fondly, unmuting the TV — a human invention he’s admittedly quite fond of — and watching absentmindedly some silly, animated character tries to outwit a bedlam.

Keith scoffs. As if a human could outsmart a bedlam. Those bitches could outsmart G-d. (Keith knows. He’s talked to the guy. Not very bright, that one, despite knowing all information ever to be known.)

“Oh, those ones were so cute!” Lance coos, popping back onto the couch. Keith rolls his eyes again.

Children-eater, his ass.

“The youngest one could barely walk on her little legs. She had the most adorable little fairy costume —”

Keith perks up. “Really? A faerie costume? With the empty eyes and sharp teeth and everything?”

“No, you dork. One of the fake fairies. The human-made ones.”

“Oh.” Keith pouts. Of course humans can’t even get a simply faerie right — as if the fae have tiny iridescent wings and slave their lives away keeping human lives in balance.

(Tinkerbell was a blight to human society. Pidge was so offended when she saw it that she snapped the disc used it to stab the last person she saw litter in her forest.

It was hilarious.)

“I hate humans,” Keith grumps. “They tolerable before, but now they’re infuriating. Damn the printing press.”

Lance bursts out laughing. “I promise you that humans were annoying long before literacy was widespread.”

“Yeah, but at least then I didn’t have to hear about it.”

“No? You never once donned your velvet cape and lace blouse and went looking for human gossip? I seem to recall you taking me to a masquerade ball or seventy in the gothic era, and you were quite happy to do so.”

…Fuck. Lance knows him too well.

“That was different,” Keith insists, lying like a liar. “Gothic era gossip was hilarious. They were terrified of me. I can’t count how many humans would whisper warnings to me about ‘dangerous blood-suckers living in the castle in the mountains’ only to faint when they saw my fangs. Now that —” Keith sighs wistfully — “that was an era.”

Lance places a gentle, mocking hand on his shoulder. “There, there, batboy. Humans still tremble at the thought of you and all the other Edward Cullens of the world.”

Keith glares at his husband, but there’s no heat behind it and the man knows it, judging by his smug, sunny smile. “You are a menace,” he says, leaning over and nipping his ear, just sharp enough to draw blood. “How dare you bring up that… disgrace to the vampire name.”

“The bane of your existence?” Lance clarifies, giggling. “The main reason you have so much beef with the 21st century?”

“I’m completely justified!” Keith cries, digging his fingers into Lance’s ribs. “Now humans write horny fanfiction about my kind instead of wallowing in terror! It’s horrible!”

“I mean, I get why they’re so lusty,” Lance says, wiggling his eyebrows. “There’s a certain something about those teeth, let me tell you.”

If Keith could blush, he would, but luckily for him he left that behind several hundred years ago.

(A thousand years ago?

Whatever. He’s been alive a long-ass time. Years start to blur.)

He grabs Lance by the ankle, pulling him closer and leaning down to press sharp kisses up his calf.

“Trying to ask for something?” he asks, voice muffled into Lance’s warm skin.

“Definitely trying to get somewhere,” Lance says, voice breathy and affected. “You should —”

Ding-dong!

“Oh, for fuck’s sake!” Keith yells, and Lance bursts out laughing, hands pressed to his reddened face.

“Okay, okay,” he relents. “I think we’re done with trick or treating for tonight.”

He snaps his fingers, and a bowl painted like a jack-o-latern filled with candy appears hovering in front of him. He pulls it gently towards him, whispers something in Latin, and tosses the bowl in the air. It hovers directly above them, bright green smoke billowing around it in opaque clouds, before the smoke clears, leaving the bowl looking unchanged. Lance snaps his fingers again and the bowl pops out of existence again.

“There,” Lance says with no small amount of satisfaction. “Now they can get their own candy, and they won’t be able to take more than two, so it should last.”

Keith sighs, pretending to be indifferent, but really he’s just all fond and squishy. He hates halloween, sure — but he loves his husband, and his husband loves halloween, so he’ll put up with the holiday with as minimal complaining as possible.

Keith grins, devilish and sly. Besides, he thinks, the annoying part of halloween is over, now. Now comes the good part: Lance is always more…energetic, when there’s dark magic in the air.

And all hallow’s eve has plenty of dark magic hanging over every street corner.

“Now that there are no more interruptions,” he says, manhandling Lance until he’s straddling Keith’s hips, arms around his shoulders, their faces inches apart. “I think we were getting somewhere.”

Lance smirks, closing the distance.

“Yes, I think we were.”

[livinginncity]

if we were human

♚: lee rang x reader

❡: fluff??(angst, pure angst)

ⱳƈ: 2.5k

⚠︎: besides it being really bad? none really. like, literally a couple swears. it was fluff, and then it became angst, so...sorry, but not really because if i’m crying, so are you.

children could be heard all around the park. some screaming and laughing as they run behind, others crying after they tripped, only to soon be comforted by the gentle holds and hushed assurances of their mothers and fathers. a bit further away was a small dog park, from which came all kinds of barks and growl, as well as cooing of the passerby. and there at a bench, located slightly closer to the swings and slides attracting the younger humans, sat a man that looked less than pleased to be where he was.

“Guess who.” a female’s voice rang out as a soft hand covered his eyes. he merely rolled his eyes beneath their new coverings and proceeded to drag the small wrist away from his face. “y/n.”

the young woman sneered and scoffed before yanking her hand out of his grasp to walk around and join him on the bench. “I don’t like you.”

“I don’t like you either.” a smack to the back of the man’s head could be felt soon after the words left his mouth. “Yah!”

“What are you doing here anyway? I never took you for the people watching type.”

“That's because I'm not. As if they deserve that much attention.” a hand lazily lifted in the direction of a familiar little boy, the action bringing a smile to the woman’s face.

“Ahhhh. But that one’s the exception? I thought you didn’t like little kids with runny noses, something I heard you have in common with your brother actually. Is that a gumiho thing or a family thing?” the man she addressed turned his head to look at her with an unimpressed look.

“Has anyone ever told you that you talk too much? Or that you ask too many questions?”

“Well considering that was one of the first things you said to me when we met, I’ll just assume you know the answer to that already.”

she turned to look where the man’s gaze had previously been fixed and he followed suit. their eyes moved as they followed the movements of the young boy whose energy seemed to rival that of a puppy’s. ‘how fitting’ was the thought that came to the pair. minutes passed before they changed positions—the girl moving to settle her head on her company’s shoulder. said company shook her off before she repeated the action, leaving her be the second time. and he stayed in place even after she dragged his head to rest upon her own.

“Rang-ah.” the man simply grunted in response, urging her to continue. “I hate this.”

his eyebrows furrowed slightly at the sudden proclamation. “The kids? The families? Parks? I don’t really like them either. The first are messy and demanding, the second is an extremely unrealistic dynamic, and the last are way too loud and crowded.”

“No.” she took in her surroundings before speaking again. “This. I love all of this. I want it all. The kids are adorable and it feels so rewarding to be someone they rely on and look up to. I’ve had my fair share of family drama, but I’ve always wanted my own that I could cherish—pointless fights and all. And parks are probably one of my favorite places because it gives me everything I need to imagine what it’d be like if I had the first two.”

“What?” at her words he lifted his head to look down at her.

“I hate all of this shit that’s going on right now. It was one thing when you were just this occasional menace to your brother, but now the Imugi is involved and Lee Yeon refuses to let Ji Ah go again. It’s caused so many problems and with them, questions to be asked. Things could be so much simpler. Don’t you ever think about what life would be like if we were all human? This would all just be some petty high school drama. Like, Lee Yeon got class president in school and now, years later, both he and Imugi are CEOs competing in the nightclub industry or something like that.”

“You’re starting to sound like Lee Yeon. I guess you’re just as lame as him. Or maybe even lamer because really? That’s the best you can do with this fake drama?”

“Did I ever tell you that I ran into Soo Ho before you got the Tiger’s Brow back from him?” she ignored the questions, but her own annoyed him slightly. before he could respond. “I asked him if I could try them on and walked to the nearest window I could see myself in.”

“So, what’d you see? What were you? A Snake? A rat? Pufferfish?” her only response to his teasing was a pinch to the side. she shook her head before continuing.

“I saw a child.” her face changed to a solemn one. “All I saw was a snot-nosed little kid that the world seemed to have it out for. I didn’t even live long enough to have many firsts. And no one was ever there for the few I did. Well, there was one. Towards the end, I think my final year, I met an old lady. She lived alone, but she took me in the moment we crossed paths. She gave me my own room, let me help her cook, as much as a child could help, and she would always tell me these stories of her husband who had passed about a decade before. In just a few months, that woman gave me what felt like a lifetime of love. All while I was slowly dying, she made me forget the hardships, the neglect, the hatred, and by some cruel fate, she died first. But before she went, she said to me “treat my death as not another result of this terrible world, but take it as a sign that even when we know that our end is inescapable, we are able to cherish the temporary moments in which we are truly happy should we allow ourselves that much.” And so,”

the woman finally lifted her head from the gumiho’s shoulder to look into his eyes. “I think, if I could be reincarnated as a human again, I would. But since it’s probably never gonna happen I want to live like one. Get married, have a family, get mad when someone doesn’t show up for the holidays. I don’t know if I’d make it as a human with everything I know now, and I honestly don’t want to be human right-right now because I probably wouldn’t get to be around you. And I also just can’t imagine how you’d get by without seeing me every day.”

“Don’t act like you’re anything special.” he scoffed and looked back at the playground.

“You don’t have to admit it.” she stood up from the bench, looked over to the young boy he had taken in, and turned back. the woman grabbed his face and, after looking at the man for a few seconds, leaned in. “I know you love me.” and then she ran. “Soo Ho-ah! Let me play with you, that old fox is being mean again!”

“Yah!” he didn’t get up to chase her. she was right no matter how much he thought about it. somehow that weird girl wormed her way into the list of people he more than tolerated. and as he sat alone with his thoughts, he watched her play with the reincarnated boy, the latter seemingly winning their current sword fight.

does he ever wanna be human? no, it seems way too boring. does he like kids? he likes one, so that’s good enough. will he get married at some point? well, it’s just some rings and paper. and it’s not like he isn’t in love with that girl in the park.

bonus;

“Hey, y/n. If you’re watching this then...you know. I figured a couple good deeds might do me well in the afterlife, so what better way than finally letting my brother be with the girl he’s waited hundreds of years for.”

“You crazy bastard.” those were the only words that she could force her mouth to speak as she looked down at the small screen.

“I know you’re probably cursing me right now, thinking ‘this crazy bastard.’” somehow they both managed to let out a chuckle. “You know I don’t like vulgar words, but I’m not there, so i told Soo-Ho to pinch you for me every time one leaves your mouth.”

“Of course you did. It’s already a habit of his now.”

“I’m sorry I didn’t get to say goodbye. Especially to you, Yu Ri, and Soo-Ho. I didn’t get to say thank you, either. You’ve all helped me more than I’d ever care to admit, but I really am grateful to have shared part of my life with you. I got to help Yu Ri like Lee Yeon helped me, got to meet Blacky again, and I got to experience so many things with you.”

the tears in her eyes were already brimming and it was clear they wouldn’t stay there long. “y/n.” she looked back to the screen as he called her name.

“go to the nightstand on the right of my bed and open the drawer.” the girl got up from her place at the edge of the bed and walked over to the wooden table. with her phone in her left, she used her right to open the drawer, and she could feel her heartbeat stutter as she laid her sights on the black velvet box that sat in it. she reached a shaky hand to pick it up, and when she flipped it open she couldn’t help dropping the phone as she brought the other to her mouth with a choked sob. all she could do was shake her head and let the tears subject themselves to gravity.

“Do you remember that day in the park?” despite not being able to actually see through the endlessly flowing tears, she managed to scramble around and find the device that had slipped from her grasp. “You were talking about all this stuff like marriage, family, kids—what it’d be like to be human because things would be so much simpler. And while I don’t think anyone could ever convince me that being human would be fun, I figured we could at least do some of those human things. We were kind of halfway there, you know? You practically live in my apartment, and Soo-Ho took over the living room with his toys, so it was only a matter of time for him to get his own room so I could stop stepping on legos—maybe get a door with a lock from the outside so I don’t have to worry about waking up covered in stickers.”

she laughed as she recalled the memory, his interactions with the little boy, and their goofy smiles when things were calm for once. “You dorks were made to follow each other into every life.”

“I was gonna propose to you after this whole thing was over. Once I knew Lee Yeon was safe and not being targeted by a wannabe dragon. I’m sorry I couldn’t give that to you or...our own kid, though I think the one we have now is pretty great. And I’m also really sorry that I’m finally telling you this once it’s too late, but you were right. About what you said that day.” her breath hitched as she saw the tears glisten while they slid down his face. “I love you.

as if it were clockwork, a sob made its way from her throat and the tears began again.

“Yah, stop crying already. Please. I’d be upset if I was the cause of it.” and she tried, she really did, but it wasn’t as easy as he made it sound. “And, I know this is probably asking a lot for all that I’ve put you through, but can you wear it? At least for a little bit. Just think of it as a way of honoring my memory—the better parts obviously. You can keep my apartment if you want, too. Soo-Ho might be a job better-fit for Sin-Ju and Yu Ri, but if he says he wants to stay with you, you better let him.”

another laugh emitted from between the sobs as she listened to his final message.

“I really do love you, y/n. And if there is ever a chance of us finding each other again, I’ll tell you every chance I get. Anyway, I think it’s time for me to go now. I only have a couple more minutes and I don’t think the others are gonna make it in time. I’m scared if I’m being honest, y/n. I’m afraid of being alone, but you helped me not feel like that all the way up to the end—I finally had a family. So thank you. Love you.” and he smiled his big, child-like smile before adding on, “And don’t tell Lee Yeon I said sorry, or thank you, or I love you that much in under ten minutes.”

and just like that, it was over. no more, dumb family feuds, no more naengmyeon with no eggs because someone would always steal it, no more Lee Rang. she stared at the paused screen for what felt like hours before setting it to the side on the bed, to do as he had asked. carefully,  she took the ring out from the safety of its cushions and slid it onto her left hand. she let out a shaky breath as she stared at her ring finger and she said it back, hoping that somehow, someway, he would hear it. “I love you too, Lee Rang-ah.”

it was a while before she moved from that spot—getting on her feet only to answer the door that had just rung. opening it, she could have seen the man who had taken the place of Lee Rang’s in the living world, but all she saw at that moment was an older brother who had also lost someone he loved.

“Lee Yeon-ah.” it was then that the male finally took in her appearance. she wore jeans, one of his brother’s sweaters, and her hair was in a bun that had clearly seen better days. but what really caught his attention as his eyes traveled, was the black box in her right hand, and shining silver band on her left. then he lifted his eyes back to hers to see just how tired she was. “Lee Yeon-ah. I miss him.”

the man simply brought her into his chest as she sobbed. and she cried, and she cried, and all the while he stood there with her in his embrace. it was all he could do, he couldn’t offer her words of comfort just yet because, even now she may be much stronger than he is. because she’s strong enough to live without the promise of his reincarnation. she knows she may never see him again, but won’t risk exchanging her life just so he won’t go through the same thing.

“I miss him so much.” her voice cracked as the words came out, and he ran his hand over her hair.

“I know, I know. I miss him, too.”

[willowbleedsonpaper]

Winter In The Shade IX

Part IX

Sirius Black x Ravenclaw Reader

W.C. : 2251

Requested by @amourtentiaa : It is Sirius’ fifth year at Hogwarts, the same year he ran away from home and to the Potter’s. Soon, he discovers the unfamiliar sight of his brother Regulus smiling and looking truly happy, next to him a Ravenclaw girl who immediately captures his interest. What will happen when the Black family gets involved in their sons lives and the ones they hold close to their hearts?

Warnings: Food. A little violence (Someone gets slapped in the head) :)

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Masterlist | Series Masterlist

The marauders didn’t stay at the Great Hall for long, running out of the large room as soon as the shouting coming from Professor Mcgonagall was heard from the front of the room; grins were drawn on all four faces as soon as her stern voice broke over the magic of their little Christmas show, leaving them frozen with excitement at the thought of another run to avoid the anger of Minerva Mcgonagall.

They all stared down at the source of her voice before breaking out of the first shock, the four marauders slipping on the same snow they had conjured to catch themselves a second later and making a run for the door. Their laughs echoed the stone walls of the Castle, their rapid footsteps leaving nothing behind but pure excitement as everyone witnessed Professor Mcgonagall marching after them with the most stern calm anyone had ever seen.

Although, you were sure your eyes didn’t come up with the small smile tugging at her lips.

“They’re amazing.” Félix murmured in amazement, his eyes gleaming as he looked at you.

You chuckled lightly, ruffling his hair as you let the smile on your lips completely settle on your face. “They are something else, I´ll give you that.” Your eyes wandered at the door, Sirius’ form disappearing from your sight just seconds ago as his words still played inside your head. The exchange had been so short and yet it felt like it dragged for hours, you were sure your own head was already adding to the memory to make it look like something that never happened, changing the entire interaction to something you might read in one of your favorite novels.

By the second time you replayed the memory in your head, it had already become something completely different from what reality had served you. Or has it?

You wanted to think, believe, that whatever Sirius was becoming in your life, that whatever role he was playing in your story, it was just something random. But deep down you knew it felt different. He wasn’t just another person you would meet in your time at Hogwarts, he felt more important. You alone were giving him more importance just by thinking of him, by wondering. Because you knew that no one asks questions to then say they don’t care.

*******

Sirius almost slipped three times on their way to safety from Professor Mcgonagall. One while trying to run over the melting snow in the Great Hall, the second one as he ran straight into Moony’s back as he was being too careful not to step on the plates and goblets of the Great Hall, and the third one as he stole one last glance in your direction.

You weren’t supposed to be there.

Not that he complained. You were the Christmas present that he never expected, sitting there with that little boy that always seemed to be at your side.

He hoped no one noticed the way his act dropped as soon he set his gaze on you, the way he felt his grin morph into a soft smile, the way his shoulders fell from their confident stand, the way his steps slowed until he was standing in front of you, how his voice came in a light whisper and not his usual loudness. But then again he didn’t really care if they noticed. In fact, he wished they saw it all, that they took notes and photographs to remember the look on Sirius Black when he unexpectedly set eyes on you.

The raw look of love.

He had been scared at first. Love. Love, love, love. But after many nights in panic, many interventions from his friends who seemed to enjoy this confusion from him more than actually helping him figure out this foreign weight in his chest, he realized it was what it was. He loved you and it terrified him. He was mainly concerned at the speed in which it had happened, he thought love took time. Maybe it did for some. Not for him, not with you.

A hand around his arm snatched him out of his head and away from the hallway, the shushing sound of his friends as they all tried to stifle their laughter bringing him back to the present.

Mcgonagall stood right in front of them, turning in all directions with a look of disbelief in her eyes.

Sirius held his breath, seeing the small smile appearing over her lips as she let out a sigh, lowering her head with the softest shake. “Those boys,” she murmured, rolling her shoulders back and taking her straight posture again as she started to walk, whatever words she said carried away with her.

They waited a few seconds, making sure they were in no danger. James threw his arms over their heads, taking his cloak from them as he put the soft fabric away. “Well, I’ll call that a success,” he said cheerfully.

“More than a success.” said Peter, turning to Sirius “I didn’t know Y/N would be here.”

“Me neither.” he admitted, starting to walk with the others.

“I thought you said she left this morning,” James laughed, turning in his place to walk backwards “Follow her and all.” He said still buzzing with excitement, the boy looked ready to run around the Castle grounds five times and return back with energy to spare.

Sirius elbowed his best friend on the side “I wasn’t following her.” he stated “She just happens to be with my brother all the time.” he mumbled, the bitterness in his voice not going unnoticed.

“We know, we know.” James said, throwing his hands in the air “Still... she is here.” he said, stopping in his tracks as everything in his body changed.

“That is clear.” said Sirius, missing the look James gave his friends as they all stopped and turned their heads “But-”

“Pads.” Remus muttered “She is here.” he whispered harshly, eyes locked behind him.

“I know.” Sirius hissed, looking oddly at his friends “I saw her at the Great H-”

Peter scoffed, taking Sirius by his shoulders and turning him on his place, his eyes locking on your form nearing them, breathlessly stopping in front of them. They all stood frozen, as if you were another professor hunting them down for their little show just minutes ago.

You let out a breath, resting your hands on your knees for a moment before you look up at them “Hi.” you whispered with a smile.

James was the first one to react, the shock of seeing you there long gone as he smiled back “Hello.”

A long silence fell between all of you, James snapping out of his shock not being enough as they all remained silent. You stared at them for a second, inspecting each of them for a moment before you glanced over your shoulder expecting to see something threatening. The hall was empty.

“Are you all alright?” you asked in concern.

“Just perfect.” chuckled Peter, a tight smile on his lips as he turned to Sirius, seeing the panic in his eyes. “Right, uh- Wh-what are you doing here?”

“Don’t be an idiot,” James smiled “You’ve met her, she studies here.”

Peter turned to him with a look of disbelief.

Remus shut his eyes closed and let out a heavy sigh.

You rolled your eyes, suppressing a smile as you turned to your side while avoiding your eyes from wandering to the one person you wanted to look at.

Sirius was already looking at you, his eyes drifting momentarily to James as he laughed, bumping fists with him in what he hoped was a discreet manner.

“Actually,” you said, gathering their attention “I was hoping to ask you,” you pointed at Sirius “That same question.”

“If I study here?” he asked with a fake pout “Here I thought you remembered our time together fondly.”

Your eyes widen “The four of you are impossible.” you mumbled.

“It’s a talent.” James said with a shrug.

“The secret to our success, really.” Peter added.

“Besides our good looks.” Sirius said.

“And one brain.” Remus mumbled from beside you, his tall frame leaning on the wall beside you as he rubbed his temple.

“That too.” Sirius conceded.

Your mouth hung slightly agape, staring at the four of them and wondering how they worked together so smoothly. Only Merlin knew.

Shaking your head you locked eyes with Sirius, although nervously and with your stomach doing flips inside you, you managed to maintain a somewhat confident stare “What are you doing here?” you asked him, silently thanking Remus in your head as he gathered Peter and James and dragged them away from you.

“I could ask you the same,” he told you “I thought you said you were going home for the Holidays.” he raised an eyebrow, his intense gaze making you feel little but never making you falter.

“I never said that.” you stated, lifting your chin as you crossed your arms.

He mimicked your stance, making it a little hard to take him seriously with the ugly sweater he wore but the look on his face told another story, no matter what he wore he had an air to him, a familiar one, confident and powerful “Neither did I. Guess we need to work on our communication.”

You scoffed, glancing away for a second “Right.” you returned your eyes to him, pursing your lips and wavering in whether you should muster your next words “I thought Christmas was important for your mom. Regulus said…”

“Regulus and I have different ideals.” he said sharply, making you back away slightly, frowning at him. “I’m sure he has told you.”

“No. He hasn’t.” you said, confused at his sudden change, making you stand straighter “That’s what I came here to ask you, not that it matters.” you turned your head, looking over the heads of his friends and motioning your hand in the air, muttering “It’s really none of my business.”

Right on cue, Félix emerged from the end of the hall and ran to your side “Now?” he asked excitedly and you nodded.

Turning away from Sirius you walked behind Félix and towards James, Remus and Peter.

Félix was the sweetest boy, having lots of cookies you helped him bake the previous night, he had asked you to help him find Remus and his friends to give them some of the cookies. But now, as you stood before them their voices turned off and the weight in your heart became more prominent. What did he mean by different ideals?

You were more than aware of his presence behind you, standing like a shadow behind your back. Both Regulus and Sirius had snapped at the mention of the other, then why did Sirius’ reaction sting more?

Félix had paid little mind to the rest of the Marauders, giving them cookies and smiles as he hovered over Remus, asking him thousands of questions and barely stopping his talking. You saw Sirius’s hand as he took the gift from Félix, but you kept your eyes on the small boy in front of you, avoiding the pair of grey eyes and his gaze on you.

“A-and how did you manage that spell?!” Félix asked “I’ve tried it before, froze my hand and one of Y/N’s books. Sorry about that,” he paused briefly, looking at you before he returned his attention to Remus.

“That is a very advanced spell.” Remus told him, giving you a smile as he looked back at him with the same excitement “Are you sure you should be trying those spells on your own?”

“Y/N helps me and I help her with Herbology.” he told him smugly.

You made a sound as you reached for Félix, grabbing him and covering his mouth “And that is enough from you.” you said, his eyes confused as he fought your hand “Thank you for listening to the little beast,” you told them, starting to back away from them “I promise the cookies are safe to eat.” you said, dragging Félix with you as they all watched the two of you in amusement “Merry Christmas!” you yelled, giving all but one of them a smile before you disappeared from their sight.

Automatically, they all walked to stand next to each other, staring at the spot where you stood.

James pursed his lips, nodding slightly before he turned to his right, his hand in the air as he slapped the back of Sirius’s head.

Sirius shrinked himself, lifting his arms in protection “What was that for?!” he asked, rubbing the back of his head.

Remus and Peter stared judgingly at him, hoping for the realization to hit Sirius but he was just too oblivious.

James put on his most serious face and adapted to a strange pose in him “Regulus and I have different ideals.” he mocked, his face changing back to one of disbelief as he raised his hand again but restrained from hitting his friend, letting his hand fall to his face “Scare her away more, would you? I think she didn’t get it, let me go get her so you can ruin everything!” he finished exasperatedly.

Sirius's head snapped to the way you went, his eyes wide as it finally dawned on him. The way you avoided his eyes, how you backed away from him, your more tense stance, the lack of smile in his direction when you left.

“I did ruin it, didn't I?”

TAGS If your name is like this it means I could not tag you :(

Skittles

@iwritesiriusly / @trinimalfoyyy / @megaprincesscakes / @lunalovegoodsgirlfriend / @amourtentiaa / @zaidlyn / @aconfusedslytherin / @abbott27 / @aconfusedslytherin / @the-lonely-poet-loves-to-weep / @dreamcxtcherr / @angelsandsorcery

Winter in the Shade

@plethoraofpuppies / @dracoissohot / @funravenclaw2002 / @nehireerdogan / @ktyflwr / @lilyevanswhore / @edithsvoice / @medalloway-blog / @falconxbarnes / @blackst0nes7077 / @gabitanaka47 / @padsfirewhisky / @lazzwhile / @lilylikethefl0wer / @crazy-beautiful / @blackenergy / @ninawhatfandom / @justchecking-mayheadback / @just-wordsandthoughts / @simpforslytherins / @letmeinplease22 / @auggie2000 /

Marauders

@destourtereaux

[sly-merlin]

okey dokey! I'm gonna be a father!

Requesting pregnant reader scenarios, wanna see more of the guys’ duality balancing domesticity and impending fatherhood, and running the world, ya know 🙏🏾😎🤔😀 Just throwing the idea out there since you said we could. Y’know things like ‘I’m trying to leave to set up a meeting but her back is sore & she wants ice cream so one of u needs to suddenly be available. now’ & other things ig. I imagined Ty Kun, John Jae or Kun in as leader & probably hc or jaemin as the wife-sitters (lol)

Since you didn’t specify the unit,I did this with the few members from hyung line. This got so long that I ran out of ideas so let me know if you want me to write for some other members.  though j incorporated your ideas but i based it on the concept of them managing the treats in both hands. This is my first time doing reactions so leave some feedback if you wish! Have a nice day everybody.

(7 members) Ft. Taeil, johnny, taeyong, yuta, ten, jaehyun + kun

TAEIL 

"Let me message you back!" Taeil whispered into the phone and raised his body to observe your sleeping form. Your head was securely resting on his arm and he let out a relieved sigh as it was one of the few Lucky days when you were not thrashing around in your sleep. Day after day, you were getting uncomfortable with your heavy belly and all he could ever do was keep you company in your frustrations. He couldn't risk waking you up so he tried his best to complete the task in the painful position. He fidgeted with the phone for it was impossible to handle a 6 inch of metal device with one hand. Struggling with the grip for a few more seconds, he finally managed to send johnny a message regarding the inquiry.

Ask tae He has ab eztra key 2 my ofice.

Maybe he should turn his autocorrect on for situations like this!

Thinking his work was done, he locked the phone. just when he was about to put it on the nightstand on a blind guess, it vibrated again! 

John: He is out! You need to come asap.

He stopped to watch out for any movement from your side and when there was none, he shifted to his phone again.

Nt my pblm. 

He couldn't understand why johnny was being so persistent when everyone was under strict orders to not call him after 10 p.m unless someone was dying!

John: Jungwoo is in trouble with police. I need his fake ID!

Taeil’s scoffed a bit too loudly causing you to stir.  He paused in his actions only to continue when he noticed your even breathing. Weighing the options, he concluded that Jungwoo must have forgotten to pay for the food again or something like that otherwise if it was work related then johnny would have been screaming at his door and not through the phone.

Not his 1st time. dw too much. Jst send him some food so he wont cry like last tym.

He deserved that much punishment! With that he switched the device off and wrapped his arm around your waist, returning to the warmth he got to experience only at night times.

JOHNNY

You were on edge since the day you got yourself tested. You could blame it on the suddenly changing hormones or the never present johnny but one thing was sure that you were missing him more than ever. Johnny on the other hand, avoided going back home for the sole reason of finding himself incapable of taking care of you and his dangerous job. That’s why he had assigned hendery to be at your beck and call. He was a medic and since the other medical emergencies could be handled by xiaojun and renjun, hendery had no problem in spending some time with you. His company was full of funny stories of other members and silly jokes. Despite his endless efforts to distract you, the thought that your daughter’s father was missing the growth of his own child always remained at the back of your head. You couldn’t understand how all of a sudden his workload had increased so much that he barely had any time to even see your face let alone talk to you for a few minutes. But all your worries vanished the day he returned and sarcastically ordered hendery to show his donkey self out of his house to never come back again.

“I managed to prepone some important weapon deals”, he bowed gracefully to acknowledge his own achievements, making you chuckle at him, “and I’ve been rewarded with three months of holidays so I shall be spending these months making up for the lost time and creating new memories” he completed, kissing your forehead.

"I never said I need you 24/7. A few hours at most would do John" you said, knowing how his absence would affect the black neos. 

"Yeah. But then I realised what if my baby girl mistakes hendery for her father. Can't let that happen now yeah!" 

Masked under jokes, you were very well aware of the real reasons behind the toil he had subjected himself to! It was all for you and your baby girl and you knew he would do it again and again even if it meant the end of his life!

TAEYONG

 From sharp cold deadly glare to the dragon tattoo that adorned his neck and arms, fellow criminals had every reason to fear this man. His name, in the underworld, screamed  cursed royalty. But that was Lee taeyong, leader of black neos.

The taeyong standing right in front of you, struggling with multiple boxes of boards was anything but scary. Cladded in baby blue hoodie and black boxers, he was reading the manual, knocking down the structure again and again as he repeatedly found something missing from it. 

"Leave it tae. I can complete this later on. Come and eat now." You whined and suggested while taking bites from the creamy pasta he had prepared earlier. 

"what do you mean i can complete this later on. Do you find me incapable of making a crib?"

Yes you did!

But that was not the answer you could give when he was clearly trying his hardest. It was indeed baffling as to why the man who could assemble a weapon with his left hand was unable to join the pieces of a crib with both!

"No tae. You were out for three days so maybe you are just too tired to concentrate!" You explained in the politest way possible that clearly didn't reach him properly. He let out an audible gasp at what felt for him to be the accusatory tone.

"Eat your pasta and watch me complete this in half an hour! You'd regret saying that to me!"

Why was he the one with mood swings?

Just like other bubbling thoughts, you gulped down this one too and nodded enthusiastically, giving him a thumbs up as if you would never doubt his capabilities.

But you knew, he might have started the task but he was surely not going to be the one to complete it!

YUTA

“How about sakura?” hyuck suggested. Looks of disapproval were exchanged across the room and sound of mark hitting hyuck’s arm resonated in the living room.

“Cliche!” jaehyun laughed.

“Yes. We aren't naming our daughter sakura and that is final. She’s one of a kind and her name should also be!” you announced your arrival in the room and sat on the floor, making yourself comfortable between yuta’s legs. He wrapped his arms around your belly before leaning his neck to greet you with a sweet cheek kiss.

“Yes. What y/n wants, y/n gets. No sakura!” he held his one hand up in the air, forbidding any further discussion on the name.

"That's not fair!" Hyuck whined only to be dismissed by a wave from you.

"Just because it's not hyuck's choice doesn't mean that you have got right to choose by yourself. The baby is a part of this family so we get to decide what's best for her!" Ten exclaimed loudly getting everyone’s attention.

“How about ayaka?” kun suggested, entering the room with a trolley full of snacks. As the recommendations poured in, the snacks were passed to everyone. Days like these were rare and from the past two months, these rare days were spent daydreaming about the very first child in the black neos house.

“Akira? It’s quite universal you know.” mark joined in, reading the meaning of the name in different cultures and languages.

“Haru”

“No kai!” 

Somewhere in the conversation, yuta’s hands had travelled from your tummy to your sides. He knew the little brushes of his fingers had started to work on you as you swatted his hand away with yours. It only encouraged him and he tickled you on your sides more and more, getting the desired reaction. Your body being more sensitive and responsive than usual, you wiggled in his arms and squealed loudly enough to get everyone’s attention. Suddenly his hands stopped as he heard a whiny shout.

“Why are you bugging her?” hyuck hollered, “can’t you sit still for once? Let her breathe for a freaking second. You wanna tickle! Tickle me. Come tickle me but Don’t bother her!” 

You were aware of hyuck’s sudden outbursts of protection for you but this was truly something new! And you new tickles were not the reasoning behind his irritation. Sakura was!

“Le-let’s play a game”, kun interrupted before haechan’s frustration would land him into some trouble with the elder, “we’ll write all the suggestions into paper and whichever y/n chooses would be final. How does it sound?” 

Everyone hummed along to the idea. Looking over at Hyuck, you noticed a sudden glint in his eyes that spoke trouble. He was clearly planning something evil and until it was all fun and games, you had no trouble for his intentions.

“Since when did you get a bodyguard hmm?” yuta whispered, planting another wet kiss on your right cheek. 

“Yua.” you said.

“What?”

“We are naming her yua! When are you gonna tell them that i’ve already decided!” leaning backwards, you said in a hushed voice meant only for his ears.

“When they are tired enough to play any more games. Till then, let’s have fun. Look at hyuck, he’s surely gonna cheat and mark and renjun are going to strangle him.” yuta chuckled against your ear, making you laugh again. Life was good!

TEN

“Xiaojun! Xiaojun! Show yourself you good for nothing potato!” you winced at the volume of ten’s voice. Even though he was outside the room, his vocals were irritating. But you held your tongue from scolding him as he was the only one you could rely on at the moment. 

“Xia-

“Did bella bite you again? why are you shouting at-” xiaojun squinted at the wall clock and adjusted his glasses, “at 5:30a.m?”

“Half of the world is up you hibernating bear! y/n is craving ice-cream. You know better than to refuse her so go to her. Your service starts right now.” 

Xiaojun scoffed and remained glued to the stairs. Ten raised a brow questioning him but instead of answering him xiaojun came up with one of his own.

“And why aren’t you going?” 

“Switchblade prince is called so I gotta go. I don’t think you want her to wait!.”

Xiaojun groaned when ten shot him a wink and left the living room. Of course he had no trouble in tending to your demands which as a medic, he understood very well but ten’s cockiness wasn’t something he was ever ready to handle.

“y/n! What does our prince wanted to eat this early in the morning?” he smiled at you, plopping down on the edge of the bed.

“Apples and bananas.” 

“I meant what ice cream flavour do you want?”

“Ice cream? Who said ice cream? I want bananas.” you answered him, confused at his confusion!

It was only then that xiaojun realised that switchblade prince was never called in the first place. Ten had fled. Due to fruits! He was contemplating as to what extent he should be manipulating ten’s words while telling you about his betrayal when you spoke up.

“Umm. i guess we can eat mint chocolate as well. I’ll eat a banana chocolate sandwich first then we can both watch a movie and finish the ice cream. What do you say?”

Ok!  Maybe revenge could wait. Ice cream would be a priority here! 

JAEHYUN

If your husband was cocky, you were seriously too many steps ahead of him and it has taken only 10 days for jaemin to realise that you were just jae's cup of tea and no one else's, at least not as a 4 months pregnant woman. 

"Why are you sitting on the floor?" Jaehyun laughed at jaemin sprawled on the floor like a toddler. 

"Noona screamed at me" jaemin mumbled, hiding his face in his neck.

"Oh jaemin! Why did she do it? Were you teasing her again. You know that she doesn't take sarcasm too we-

"No. She threw up the food i made for her and that too thrice since yesterday. I got angry so i told her to eat up or else i won't be making anymore for her. She threw the pillow at me and ordered me to never talk to her again! I mean it's not like i was showing real anger! She's hungry since yesterday. If she won't eat up then she'd be sick. What did I do wrong! Now I made her favourite pasta and she won't open the door for me."

Jaehyun sighed and crouched down to jaemin's level. He knew your emotions weren't in your control anymore but jaemin wasn't wrong either. He was just doing what was right for you and unintentionally, you had ended up hurting the poor boy. Jaehyun patted jaemin's hair before he told him to inform taeyong about his possible absence from the upcoming meetings and activities.

"You can't do that." Jaemin said the obvious.

"Do you want her to eat or not!" Jaemin frantically nodded at him before running off to the main office.

Heating up the pasta, jaehyun made his way to your shared bedroom in black neos. 

"Baby open up it's me!" He knocked at the door and hearing his voice,you immediately opened it. 

"You are here!" You exclaimed, feeling beads of moisture in the corner of your eyes.

"Aww. Now is not the time to cry." He cooed, entering the room with the tray. Placing it on the coffee table, he turned around and hugged you just the way he missed you.

"I'm sorry for being occupied and only coming back at night. But I'm here for a few days so let's get you all happy like a seal!" He laughed, ruffling your hair.

"I-i yelled at jaemin for no reason." You confessed not being aware that he was already filled in by the younger boy. 

"You wanna apologize?" You nodded as he squished your cheeks in his hands and leaned in to kiss your pouty lips. 

"Later on! Now's the time for evening lunch and getting this food in your tummy without it backfiring!" 

You laughed at how smoothly he eased your worries. After eating properly, you apologised to jaemin which he accepted but not before crying like a little boy he was!

Bonus :

KUN

"Yangyang what the heck are you doing near y/n. I told you to keep your meaningless books away from her!" Kun felt like his blood pressure would shot up anytime soon.

"What are you talking about?"

"Oh really? What's the book that you are reading to her?"

"How to walk like a pro when you are only 2 months old! I want the baby to be high class like me."

Kun's hands found refuge in his hair as he groaned at the boy. Now he needed to read all the books that could possibly reverse yangyang's teachings.

"There is no such book available."

"Yeah that's why i wrote it by myself. Pulled an all nighter but when the baby would start walking at only 2 months of age, you'd thank me!"

[kuroopaisen]

cause & effect || chapter 2

➵ your work friend, kuroo, has a tiny favour to ask.

warnings: f!reader

wc: 1.1k

m.list | ch. 1 ↞ ch. 2 ↠ ch. 3

last time... 

“Can you pretend to be my girlfriend for the next month or so?”

It takes a moment for the question to really, truly click in your mind.

“I’m sorry, what?”

✧ ✧ ✧

“Just for the holiday period,” he says, almost reflexively.

“Can’t you just… get a girlfriend?” You snort, raising an eyebrow at him. It shouldn’t be too hard for a guy like him, right? “I’m sure someone’ll date you just because you’re tall.”

“I will. When I have time,” Kuroo grins, shaking his head. “I’m a working man, you know. And haven’t you seen all those surveys on just how lonely we Japanese men are? Truly, it’s tragic.”

You snort, looking him up and down. Somehow, you just can’t imagine him not getting at least a little attention. And you’ve heard people whisper about him during coffee breaks and in bathrooms. If he wants someone to play at being his girlfriend, you’re sure some of the women at the office would do a much better job than you can. They’d at least have the adoring gaze down pat.

“Why do you need a girlfriend?” You ask.

“Fake girlfriend.”

“Whatever,” you grin, rolling your eyes.  

He sighs as he runs a hand through his hair. You wonder if he ever brushes it.

“My grandma keeps setting me up for miai meetings.”

You blink at him, your eyes large and owlish. “Really? Miai meetings?”

Kuroo nods.

Now, that was unexpected. “You’re the first person I’ve met whose done those.”

Kuroo chuckles, shaking his head. “It’s not willingly, trust me…”

You bite your lip. You know it’s a thing that happens, and you know that it might even work for some people. But the thought of Kuroo sitting through a miai when he was this young… God, that made you feel old. And you really weren’t.

“But you’re only twenty-four.” You don’t mean to say it, but it slips out.

Kuroo doesn’t seem to take offense. He shrugs. “They’re worried I’m getting lonely or something.”

“Are you?”

Kuroo grins, raising an eyebrow at you. “That’s a bit forward, isn’t it?”

“Well if I’m going to pretend to be your girlfriend, I’ll have to know these kinds of things, won’t I?” You scoff.

“If you’re going to pretend to be my girlfriend, then whether or not I’m lonely won’t matter,” he says.

You bite your tongue at that.

You turn the idea over in your head a few times. Pretending to date Kuroo Tetsurou…

It’s not the worst thing you can think of. He’s pleasant to spend time with, and he’s a nice guy. You know that a few people in your office might be a little jealous of the fact that you’ve been granted this opportunity; you’re almost ready to say yes based off that alone.

But, something’s stopping you. Something prodding at the back of your mind.

“Isn’t it a bit…” You pause, biting your lip.

“A bit…”

“You know…” You wave a hand at him, searching for the words. Everything is too mild or too intense. “Ethically dubious to lie to your family about this?” You look up at him as you ask, apprehension evident in your face.

Kuroo sighs, chewing on his lip. “I mean… Yeah, I guess.”

“Oh.” You hadn’t expected him to be so frank.

“But…” His brow creases, and suddenly he looks a couple years older. “I don’t want them worrying about me over the Christmas break. I want them to be able to have fun and not stress themselves into an early grave just because I have bad luck with women.”

You laugh at that.

Kuroo raises an eyebrow at you in response.

Was that… not a joke? But surely… He has the aunties at the office wrapped around his finger. And that’s not even touching on the younger women who also consider him quite the catch.

But you don’t miss the bit about his family. How he wants them to relax. And as you look at his face, you can see that he means every word. There’s an almost painful sincerity etched across every feature, and his head bends towards you in such a way that he looks like he’s about to bow.

You digress. “I’m not sure…”

“Please.” He almost sounds like he’s pleading. “My obaa-chan is a really good cook. It’ll be worth your time.”

You ignore how your heart goes thump-thump at the fact he just referred to his grandmother as, ‘my obaa-chan.’

You’re not sure if it’s the right thing to do.

Kuroo almost sounds desperate. But isn’t it bad to give people false hope, especially in a situation like this? Lying to his family about his love life? But then again, he could very well bring a real romantic prospect home, only to break up with them once Christmas is over.

Not that he’s the type of guy to just pick up a girl and exploit her like that. Well, maybe he is; but he’s never seemed that way to you. And hell, he could’ve just asked you out under false pretences, but instead he was being upfront about this.

But then again…

“I’ll buy you boba for a year.”

You pause, looking up at him with a raised eyebrow.

Now that’s a proposition.

“You sure?” You ask, looking up at him.

He pauses for a moment, his brow furrowing. “I have a feeling I’ll come to regret it, but sure.”

You grin, the weight of twelve months’ worth of boba expenses flying off your shoulders. “It’s a deal.”

Kuroo’s shoulders slump forward as he lets out a sigh of relief.

You chuckle, patting him on the back. “That nervous, huh?”

“I’ll be honest, I don’t know what I would’ve done if you’d said no.”

“Couldn’t you have just roped someone else into it?” You raise an eyebrow at him.

Kuroo shakes his head. “No. I thought it’d be most believable with you.”

Your heart stutters at that.

“I didn’t mean anything by that.” The words tumble out like an avalanche on a mountainside, tripping over each other on their way down. “I just, I meant that… that we get along pretty well, so…”

You wave a hand at him, offering him a tight smile. “It’s okay. I get it.”

You don’t, really. But he visibly relaxes at the lie.

You look at the boba shop around you. The line has barely moved. You wonder if you’ll actually be able to get your milk tea before your break runs out.

“It’ll only be a couple of gatherings, I promise,” Kuroo murmurs, covering his mouth with the back of his hand as he yawns.

You nod. In all honest, you’re not quite sure what you’ve just signed up for. What ‘fake dating’ even entails. But when Kuroo looks at you with such gratitude, you can’t find the caution in your heart to regret saying ‘yes’.

[asmo-ds]

(1) satan has been feeling a bit down lately because he really wants a cat but he knows that lucifer won't allow the cat inside. mc knows how satan feels about cats so as a christmas present they take him to volunteer in an animal shelter and more specifically one that's for cats.

The Purrfect Gift *HOLIDAY SPECIAL*

Satan x gn!MC Fluff

Word Count: 1517~

Summary: Knowing Lucifer would never allow them to bring a cat into the house, MC decides to bring Satan to an animal rescue shelter to keep the kittens’ company on the cold winter holiday, and despite entering the shelter with only two House of Lamentation residents, they leave with three.

“Please, Lucifer! I just know he’d love it and he’s a grown-up he’s responsible enough to have at LEAST one-”

“MC, for the last time, the way Satan’s mind works is if he is allowed to have one cat he’s allowed to have twelve more. It happens every time I’ve ever said yes to giving him a cat.” The first-born shakes his head and MC can see the vein on his forehead popping out from frustration. 

“Well, what the hell else could I get him?! He’s got every book anybody could ever want, he has all the detective movies and games I’ve ever seen, he just doesn’t exactly give me very many options…” MC rants, muttering towards the end. 

“Just take him to a cat café or animal shelter or something. I really couldn’t care less, MC,” Lucifer growls, a dark aura of frustration and annoyance surrounding him as he scribbles his signature onto papers with more and more aggression by the second.

“AN ANIMAL SHELTER! THAT’S PERFECT!” MC jumps and gives Lucifer a hug, making his annoyance only grow as he yells not to touch him while they skip off into the hallway. 

- 

“C’mon! C’mon! You walk so slow, Satan,” MC tugs his sleeve like a child, making him sigh loudly.

“MC, not to be rude, but as much as I’d like to get there quickly, you have me blindfolded and walking down an icy sidewalk, if I move any faster I have no doubt I will fa-ALL” Satan explains, slipping on a patch of ice at the end of his sentence. 

“Woah, careful, Satan, you have to watch your step,” MC snickers, watching his eyebrow twitch, indicating his eye had twitched along with it in annoyance. MC raises their head and looks up at the sign of the small building.

“We’re here!” MC sings letting go of their boyfriend’s hand and walking behind him to untie the blindfold. “Ta-da! We get to keep the kitties company on Christmas!”

Satan’s initial annoyance of the blindfold removal exposing him to the bright sun was quickly wiped away by the scene before him. MC opens the front door, the bell jingling above them as they step inside. 

MC takes the blond’s hand and rushes to the room of cats.

“Hey kitties!” MC falls to their knees almost instantly, petting the cats that had come to see them. They look up at Satan and see his eyes sparkling as Cats pour out of cages and small hiding spots, making their way towards the pair.

“Hey Satan, they seem like they like you,” MC points out, giggling as Satan crouches next to them and lets cats crawl all over him.

“I’ve never known why, but all felines have always been so drawn to me, which is lucky considering I like them so much,” Satan softly smiles. “And I mean felines both big and small. One time Mammon won a tiger while gambling, and when he brought it in the house it tackled me and purred while nuzzling me. It was the best moment of my life.”

MC and Satan play with the cats for hours, both feeling a bit guilty that these cats had no home for the cold holiday. 

While he was playing with an older cat, he heard a soft and broken meow accompanied by some soft thumping and dragging sounds. He turns around and sees a small, white kitten with only three legs attempting to reach him, but being pushed over by the numerous other cats trying to capture the demon’s attention.

Satan reaches over and picks her up, holding her and bringing her to an area of the room further from MC and the other cats.

“Hey there little girlie,” he says softly, petting the kitten gently and enjoying the vibrations of its purr. Satan plays around with the kitten and feeds it some treats before he hears the soft voice of a human, “we should probably, head home now,” MC comes towards him, only to be met with a big pout and puppy dog eyes. “No no no no NO! Lucifer made it very clear! I am not to bring home any furry friends, no matter how cute and fuzzy and lonely, and FUCK IT LETS BRING HER HOME,” MC gives into his pouting and watches it turn into a big smile. 

The Avatar of wrath picks up the amputated kitten, baby talking to it the entire way to the front desk.

After some paperwork and purchasing of some essential cat stuff, MC and Satan head back to the House of Lamentation, stopping outside the front gate to make their game plan.

“So, put all of this stuff into your bag, and I’ll hold the kitten under my coat.”

MC stuffs the cat food into their backpack, alongside a few small toys they had bought. Satan unzips his coat and places the cat underneath the clothing, holding it tightly to his chest by crossing his arms underneath it to keep it up. “Be quiet kitty, okay?” He presses a finger to his lips and smiles down at the kitty.

They quickly walk towards the front door, opening it quietly and closing it softly behind them. Footsteps come down the hall, both MC and Satan giving each other a worried glance, knowing exactly who was approaching.

“MC, Satan. How was the animal shelter?” Lucifer asks with no sign of emotion. 

“It was nice! I had no idea felines would be as attracted to him as he is to them.” MC giggles. Wow, they’re good at hiding things. I wonder what kind of things they did in the human world to get so good at this, Satan thinks to himself, a bit concerned about their lying skills.

“Yes. It was like a dream, having so many cats around on such a nice holiday,” Satan adds on with a mischievous smirk, “much better than any present you’ve gotten me in the past.”

“Good. Be sure to wash those clothes and shower off all the cat hair. You reek of felines,” Lucifer snarls as he walks away, obviously suspicious of the intense cat smell that his demon nose could easily pick up.

MC and Satan quickly rush to his room, going to the furthest corner to set up their new daughter and her toys. 

They both watch the cat hobble around, sniffing the room and exploring as they whisper to each other. “She needs a name.” 

“How about, MC JR.,” MC says confidently.

“No, she doesn’t seem like an MC, if she were an MC she’d be getting nearly killed every five minutes, yet so far there have been no fatal incidents,” Satan states, earning a big punch to the shoulder from the human.

“Okay fine, you come up with one, then!” MC looks at Satan with a playful glare.

“Fine. How about Icy, y’know since it was so icy today,” Satan suggests, earning a loud purr from the kitten in question.

“I think she likes it. Do you like being called Icy?” MC coos at Icy, receiving another purr followed by a happy meow.

“Who likes being called Icy?” a chilling voice says from behind the couple. 

“Our daughter,” MC smiles, holding the kitten up to Lucifer, showing its cuteness to the annoyed man looming above them. 

“I specifically told you that-” Seeing Satan’s disappointed face for even half a second gave MC the balls to stand up against Lucifer.

“NO! Satan is a grown man, and even if you’re the oldest brother and choose to look down on everyone I will NOT let you ruin this Christmas for him! I got him a cat! You will allow him to keep this cat unless you want me to give a bad essay on my time in the Devildom and go to Lord Diavolo about all of this and your stuck up attitude and pride that have no place interfering with the happiness of your brothers!” As MC finishes they notice Lucifer is in demon form, seconds away from attacking them, they flinch before their lover appears before them, gripping Lucifer’s wrist and preventing him from getting to them. 

MC hears hissing from the ground and sees that even Icy is trying to stand up for her new parents. 

MC takes to caring for the distressed kitten as the two men argued. They hear Lucifer give in and storm out before Satan dives down to where MC and the kitten lay, squeezing both of them tightly and lovingly.

“Fuck Lucifer,” MC grumbles making Satan laugh. 

“Not literally, but yes fuck Lucifer.”

The rest of the night is spent petting and holding both MC and Icy as he truly feels serenity for the first time in centuries. 

“I love you, both,” Satan mumbles, falling asleep and kissing both MC and Icy on the forehead.

“I wuv u too!” MC fakes a voice for Icy making Satan sleepily laugh before he dozes off.

“But I love you the most, Merry Christmas, Satan.” MC places a soft kiss on his cheek before falling asleep holding one tiny kitten and Satan one very large kitten.

[imagintheworldaway]

Used

TW: Major angst ahead

A/N So I have opened my requests so if anyone has any requests or questions I'm ready and waiting! 

I sat propped up on some pillows on my boyfriends bed scrolling through my instagram and twitter. Nothing unusual really, I had already filmed my video for the week and honestly editing just sounded like too much work for me right now. I had been a YouTuber since 2011 when I was merely a 13 year old kid just posting videos of friends thinking I was hilarious. I had gained quite a large following quickly and was one of the first you tubers to hit 10 million subscribers. I was proud of my fanbase they had grown up with me and I shared my life with them.

This included my boyfriend Harry. We had been together since the first charity match they held back in 2016. i had been there as support for JJ, him and I being friends since we had both gained notoriety on YouTube whilst still being quite young. After the match harry had plucked up courage and asked me on a date, it was awkward at first as I didn’t really know him other than being JJs mate. But here we are almost 5 years on and still going strong. Well that’s what I thought. 

After abandoning my phone I decided to check out a few of the boys’ videos. It’s so sweet to see how much each of the boys have grown over the years. I scrolled through few of the comments and for some reason they were saying how it seems that Harry and the girl in the video had so much chemistry. I brushed it off until I saw one commenting how harry never posts about me or mentions me any more, which when I think about it was completely true. At the beginning of our relationship harry couldn’t go a week without posting an instagram about me or a video with me. I looked back on his channel and the last time he has posted me was like a year ago, and on instagram it was halloween, which was nearly 4 months ago.

I wasn’t even mentioned any where at all. How couldn’t I notice this it seems like even the fans had noticed my disappearance from my boyfriends life. i get that we have been together for a while but to just not even address that we were together was a little odd. 

I decided to get my mind off of it by posting an instagram story asking fans to ask my questions. After a few minutes the questions came rolling in. The usual popped up like my fave video I’ve ever made and the best holiday that I have ever been on. However, there was an overwhelming amount of questions asking if and when harry and I had broken up. Then came one that really struck me ‘you know he only used you for clout, move on sis’. 

I heard the bedroom door open and I shut off my phone plastering a fake smile over my face as my boyfriend walked in. “Hey baby” I smiled as I propped my self on my knees and out stretched my arms for harry to fall into. Instead I got a mumbled “hey” and a glance before he sat at his desk. I slumped back down on the bed and shuffled over so that I was closer to harry. “Is everything alright?” I questioned almost sheepishly “yh, Y/N, I just have to do some work” he said in a frustrated tone, he never called me by name he always used one of our nicknames. i whipped my legs over the side of the bed and started to walk out of his room. “Tea?” I questioned wanting to disappear into his jumper that I was wearing. “You know what Y/N, maybe you should go back to yours” he said not even looking at me. “No tell me what’s wrong, I- I want to help you, I love you” I said in a more stern tone than previously intended.  With that Harry whipped around in his chair with his hand reseting on his temple and his gaze avoiding me at all costs. “I see the comments, and the accusations, and they’ve never bothered me ever cause I love you. I truly do and I just want to know what I’ve done” I rambled as I stood still in my place at the foot of his bed. 

It seemed like an eternity until he replied. “I just, I don’t feel like we’re working, you changed and well that’s it” he said with no remorse in his voice. My breath hitched in my throat as I wasn’t expecting that type of reply. We had talked about marriage a family our dream home, our whole lives revolved around the other person. Then the comment from earlier rang in my. “Is that true? Or is it because I’m no longer useful to you? I can’t provide the extra clout or subscribers any more to help you grow? Did you even ever love me?” I bombarded Harry with the questions, my voice cracking at the end and a single tear rolling down my cheek. This time he didn’t respond he just stared at me accusingly. I had been nothing but supportive towards this man and to throw it all away out of the blue? How dare he. 

I just nodded my head, silent tears rolling down my face, I grabbed my bag and stuffed it with whatever I could see through my blurred eyes. I grabbed my keys and ripped his key off of the chain. The whole time all he did was stare at me, not a tear in sight. The only sound was my muffled cries every now and then. 

I turned to Harry with my hand on the doorknob. “Please just say something, anything and I won’t go” I said my voice completely failing me and my mascara stained tears dripping off of my face. He opened his mouth and for a split second I thought he was going to say something. But after no words left his lips, I just nodded. So this was the end, the end of the happiest time of my life. I opened the door and walked leaving my ex-boyfriend to stare at my figure as I walked away.  making my way through the apartment and to my car the only thing running through my head was the comments and how blind I had been for so long. As soon as I got there I broke down. The ugly cries came and there was nothing I could do to stop them. 

[malfoymanortings]

lavender and velvet //part six

SUMMARY: she had her fathers eyes, his aristocratic looks, her grandmothers spite, her mothers heart, but the one thing she didn't have was the love of her father that her god brother received. juliet black finally meets her father who has already decided who his child is.

PAIRINGS: to be decided.

hello! i am so happy to see im nearly at 200 followers! once i hit that milestone, i have something special for you guys ;) hope you all like this chapter! also, if any of you cared to give me your opinion, how are you feeling about juliet’s relationships with everyone, romantic or otherwise? i just want to make sure im doing a good job at portraying her and that she is not coming off as a mary sue. thank you all, and as always if you want to be added to the taglist, let me know!

Juliet had never so thoroughly misjudged a school year before in her life.

She really should have taken the summer as a forewarning towards the hell that awaited them at Hogwarts. Then again, she doubted anyone could have really predicted the horror that was Dolores Umbridge.

The wretched old toad was a horrible excuse for a Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher. She had told them they would not be doing magic of any kind, even though the entire point of them attending Hogwarts was to learn magic. To add insult to injury, she had the most disgusting personality, and for whatever reason, she absolutely fawned over Draco.

Well, not for whatever reason, she thought to herself, his father’s ministry contributions surely had a lot to do with it.

Of course, given her parentage, Umbridge absolutely despised her. Draco, because he loved being an utter twat, found it to be the funniest thing. It had caused a few genuine arguments between the two, because he didn’t understand that it truly bothered her. It wasn’t like the teacher didn’t like her because she was a bad student, because she wasn’t. Umbridge hated her because her father was the escaped alleged murderer Sirius Black.

Draco couldn’t seem to understand that, and per his usual behavior, he would beat a joke to death. 

The only thing keeping her from being over the edge was the meetings with Dumbeldore’s Army. George had told her about it, and despite the tension that had been there between her and Harry, she had to admit he was a great teacher. It was easier for her to put aside her jealousy of him while they were at Hogwarts, as the presence of her father was absent, and she found herself enjoying his company. He was much more sassy than she would have thought, and could keep up a banter with her that would have the others annoyed in no time. 

Being a Prefect wasn’t half bad, either. She enjoyed helping the younger students, finding it joyful to do so. It made her feel useful, and needed. The only thing that was annoying was trying to keep Draco in line, as he preferred bullying and intimidation rather than helping them. 

Due to Draco’s behavior, there was a growing wedge between them. She didn’t know how to fix it, and it upset her. 

“Black,” Blaise Zabini snapped his fingers, breaking her out of her thoughts. “Nott’s been trying to talk to you.”

“Oh,” Juliet cleared her throat, her eyes flicking from the fire to Theo, who looked at her with a smile on his admittedly handsome face. “Sorry, Theo. What is it?”

“I was wondering if you were going to Hogsmeade tomorrow.” Theo paused, waiting for his reply. His blue eyes stared at her, and she found herself self conscious under his gaze.

“Erm, I suppose so,” Juliet replied, lifting an eyebrow as she appraised the boy. “Are you?”

Theo nodded. “I was wondering if you would fancy grabbing a butterbeer.”

Juliet blinked. “With everyone?”

“Well, I was thinking just the two of us could,” he paused, raising an eyebrow. “Unless you don’t want to.”

“No,” Juliet paused. “I would like that.”

As Theo smiled, Blaise snorted. Juliet glanced at him, her eyes narrowed.

“That was bloody awkward,” he shook his head. “Good thing the two of you’ll be on your own.”

“Aw, so sorry Blaise,” Juliet fake pouted, resting her chin on her palm. “Perhaps if you catch Parkinson when she’s not sucking Draco’s cock, you could go with her.”

Theo laughed at that, while Blaise flicked her off and turned his attention back to his Transfiguration homework. Juliet smirked, looking back at the fire with her chin in her hand. She couldn’t help but think of George.

He had begun casually seeing Alicia Spinnet, or at least that was what was heard around the castle. She almost didn’t believe it, but she had caught them snogging once. She hadn’t said anything, instead she acted like she saw nothing. It had hurt her, and she really wasn’t sure why. She should be happy for George, that he had finally gotten himself a girlfriend. She should have teased him, when she caught them kissing, yet, she had backed away slowly as her chest tightened.

“I’ll be so glad when Christmas break comes,” Draco sat down next to Juliet, lying his legs across her lap. “I’m so tired of having to help pathetic little first years.”

“You used to be a pathetic little first year at one point,” Juliet reminded him, shoving his legs off her, ignoring his protest. “Now look at you, a pathetic little fifth year.”

“Oh, shove off,” Draco rolled his eyes, ignoring the laughter from their friends. “Yeah yeah, you all are right gits.”

Crabbe and Goyle had arrived with Draco, both sitting in separate arm chairs. They had snacks, obviously having just come from the kitchen. They ate loudly, smacking their lips and chewing roughly, making Juliet’s stomach churn.

“Nott’s asked Juliet to Hogsmeade with him.” Blaise informed Draco, flicking through his book. 

“Did he now?” Draco looked from Theo to Juliet. “Shall I sound the bells?”

“Oh bugger off, Draco,” Juliet hit his arm harshly, standing up from her seat. She had felt her fake Galleon burn in her pocket, signaling a new date had been set for Dumbledore’s Army. “Just because you can’t get a friend to go to Hogsmeade with.”

“I’m going with Pansy tomorrow.” Draco responded smugly, crossing his arms.

“I said a friend, not a stalker.” Juliet called over her shoulder, smirking when the others laughed.

She checked the Galleon to see that they were set to meet tomorrow night at nine, probably their last meeting before they went home for holidays. Heading up to her room, she turned in for the night, thoughts of Theo and George swarming in her head.

“You’re going to miss breakfast if you don’t wake up soon,” Pansy woke Juliet up the next morning, swishing her curtains open. “Wouldn’t want to go to Hogsmeade with Theo on an empty stomach.”

“Blimey, word travels fast,” Juliet grumbled, swinging her legs over the side of the bed. She stretched her arms over her head, her joints cracking as she did. “Draco told you.”

Pansy shook her head, her short black hair styled wavy this morning. “Theo did. He was practically grinning ear to ear. Made me positively sick.”

“Oh, little Parkinson can’t handle the thought of someone caring for someone other than herself,” Juliet mocked, making her way to the bathroom.

“Piss off, Juliet.” Pansy called after her, annoyance laced in her tone.

“Love you, Parkinson.” Juliet called back, smirking on her way to the shower.

After she had showered, she dressed nicer than usual. Instead of leggings and a sweater, her usual weekend attire, she wore a baggy cream sweater tucked into a short pleated black skirt belted at the waist with a thin green strap, and knee high socks. Her dark hair, usually tied back in a low pony, was free around her face. She put on more makeup than usual, spritzed on her perfume, and walked down to breakfast. 

“You look pretty,” Theo complimented her, pouring himself pumpkin juice. “And you smell nice.”

“Merlin, Theo,” Draco rolled his eyes, stabbing at his eggs. “We get it, you fancy her. Save your lovey dovey talk for when you’re alone.”

“I pity your future girlfriend if you think compliments are saved for when you’re alone,” Juliet shot back, fixing her tea. “Thank you, Theo. You look nice as well.”

“You know Draco, she has a point,” Pansy sniffed, pointedly looking down at her seemingly new blouse. “Compliments are what you give when you like someone and want them to feel nice.”

“I love when they do this,” Blaise muttered to Theo, a smile on his face. “Get on his case. Teach him manners. It’s brilliant.”

“Oh, do shut it Zabini.” Draco snapped, rolling his eyes for the second time. 

After breakfast, they split up, Theo and Juliet walked alone together to Hogsmeade. It was an unusually nice day, thankfully, even though snow dusted the rooftops and covered the ground with a thick layer. 

Walking with Theo was nice. He was very kind, and intelligent. They spoke about their homework due Monday, and their mutual dislike for Umbridge. The latter conversation carried them all the way to the Three Broomsticks, where Juliet told him about how she had gotten two detentions from her so far; because she had pointed out that they were at Hogwarts to actually practice magic, whereas Theo had not gotten the lovely opportunity. 

“Merlin, she’s awful,” Theo shook his head, looking down at her arm. “Is there still a mark?”

Juliet rolled up her sleeve to show him the faint scar that remained, reading, I must be respectful of authority. Theo’s fingers brushed gently over the raised lettering, his fingers soft against her skin, giving her goosebumps. 

“I suppose Dumbledore can’t do much about her,” Theo said quietly. “After all, she’s ministry appointed.”

“She sure is,” Juliet murmured, pulling her sleeve down once more. “The ministry is a fool.”

“Right on that,” Theo said darkly, taking a drink of his butterbeer. “Suppose it makes it easier on us, though.”

“How so?” Juliet questioned, taking a drink of her own.

“Well, with our parents,” Theo shrugged, noting how Juliet tensed. “Did I say something wrong?”

“Theo,” Juliet paused, biting her lip. “Are you referring to Voldemort?”

“This really isn’t the place for that conversation.” Theo responded quietly, but nodded his head. 

“You started it,” Juliet pointed out, her stomach lacing with knots. “Are you.. On his side?”

Theo shrugged again. “I think he’s got the right idea on some things. It’s kind of hard not to be a supporter, anyways. Family business, and all of that.”

“It’s not my family business,” she replied quickly, shaking her head. “I don’t think he’s got the right idea.”

“Not entirely, of course,” he agreed with her. “I’m just saying, it probably would be better for the muggles if they had our help, y’know? I don’t really believe in the mudblood hatred, of course, I mean look at Granger, muggle born and still the brightest witch of our year.”

“I like you, Theo,” Juliet began, pausing again to bite her lip. “But I don’t know that we can get anywhere if you really support him overall.”

“Perhaps you’ll have to change my views then,” Theo replied lightly, reaching out his hand to brush his thumb over her knuckles. “Open my eyes.”

“I can handle that.” Juliet cocked her head at him, a smile on her face. Theo’s touch was nice. She felt butterflies in her tummy as they continued talking.

At some point during their conversation, Theo had taken her hand in his, across the table. Their butterbeers were long gone, but they kept talking. She was trying her best to change his opinion, and by the time he suggested they head to Honeydukes before returning to the castle, he had admitted that she made some rather good points.

A familiar voice caught her attention from where she sat with Theo, and she turned her head to see the twins head in, with two girls trailing behind them. Angelina Johnson was holding Fred’s hand, while Alicia Spinnet held George’s. Juliet felt her heartbeat quicken, and she was suddenly hyper aware of her surroundings. 

Theo noticed her change in energy, and clasped her hand in both of his as he asked if she was alright.

Juliet nodded, swallowing hard as Fred noticed her first. He caught sight of her holding hands with Theo, and nudged George while pointing over towards her. Juliet glanced away before she caught George’s eye, feeling her chest tighten at the thought.

“Looks like your twins are headed our way,” Theo remarked lightly, his hands tightening on hers. “Should I be nervous?”

“He-They, aren’t mine,” she corrected him, nerves tightening her tummy. “And no, you shouldn’t be.”

“Little Juliet, you look rather dashing today,” Fred greeted, pressing a quick kiss to her cheek. “Long time no see. Out on a little date, are you?”

”Same as the both of you,” Juliet remarked, raising her eyebrows as she forced herself to look at the redheads. “Hey Fred, George.”

“Theodore Nott, hm?” George asked her, his eyes tight as they looked at each other.

“Alicia Spinnet, hm?” Juliet echoed him, raising her eyebrows and giving him a look as she dared him to say more.

“I’m with Angelina Johnson, if anyone cares to know,” Fred joked, breaking the tension. “Where are you two headed off to after this?”

“Honeydukes,” Theo replied, giving Fred a friendly smile. “I bet you lot just came from Zonkos.”

“Smart man,” Fred snapped his fingers, giving him a grin. “I like him, Jules.”

“Thank you.” Juliet murmured, looking away from George.

“Well, I suppose we’d better let the two of you be on with it then,” Fred gave Juliet a hug. “See you later.”

“Bye Freddie,” Juliet hugged him back, looking hesitantly at George, who was staring back at her with that odd look he had given her at Kings Cross, when he had said goodbye to her. “Bye, Georgie.”

George nodded, turning around with Fred as they headed back towards their dates. Juliet swallowed hard, unsure of the feeling in her tummy that had traveled to her chest and her throat.

“Shall we?”  Theo asked, standing when she nodded.

They left the three broomsticks, and Juliet didn’t dare look at the twins again. She didn’t understand why she had gotten so upset when she saw George. They were best friends, so why did it seem like they were both upset with each other?

Theo bought her two sugar quills, and a package of Droobles Best Blowing Gum. He had gotten an assortment of other things, for Christmas presents, he informed her. Which then, of course, made Juliet realize she hadn’t gotten any presents as of yet. She would have to remind Remus to take her.

He held her hand as they walked back to the castle, his warmth welcomed as the wind picked up. By the time she made it back to the castle, her thighs were red from the cold.

“I should’ve given you my robe,” Theo blushed, scratching the back of his neck. “Sorry.”

“Don’t worry about it,” Juliet looked up at him, smiling. “I should’ve probably worn jeans or something.”

“I quite liked the skirt,” Theo’s voice was low, and he eyed her up and down. “You are positively gorgeous, you know.”

They were alone in the corridor outside the Slytherin common room, and it seemed both of them were much aware of that fact. Theo cupped her cheek, tilting her head up slightly. He pressed his lips against hers, his lips still sweet from the chocolate frog he had eaten on their way back. Juliet reached a hand to the back of his head, tangling her fingers in the light brown strands that brushed his neck. His lips moved against hers, his tongue tracing her bottom lip. His hand stayed against her cheek, keeping her head tilted upwards. 

“Bloody hell, save it for somewhere other than the hallway!” 

Juliet and Theo broke apart, their cheeks red from the lingering cold and embarrassment, to see Draco rolling his eyes while Pansy glared at Juliet with odd anger.

“Sorry, mate,” Theo apologized, although there was little sincerity behind it. “To be fair, this hallway was private until you two showed up.”

Draco shook his head, and he and Pansy entered the common room. Juliet and Theo entered next, and Juliet excused herself to go get ready for the meeting with Dumbledore’s Army.

The feeling of Theo’s lips lingered on her own, and for a reason she couldn’t fathom she felt slightly upset by the thought that he had taken her first kiss.

taglist: @person1839 @big-galaxy-chaos @spooderham @iamashlynmarie 

[hwrryscherry]

The one where Harry and Model Y/N miss their christmas flight and have a little fun on their detour.

blurb: It's the most wonderful time of the year so Harry & Model Y/ N rented a holiday house on the French Alps to celebrate Christmas with their families. It's finally the day to go and Harry is the one to blame when they lose their flight to meet their families in the Alps. Spoiler: Model Y/N gets furious at Harry's calm behavior.

warnings: fluff. They left Los Angeles on December 20th and arrived in the Alps on December 21st in case you guyst get confused.

word count: 7.1K

author's note: HIIIIIII guyyys! It's officially CHRISTMAS week and it's my favorite holiday ever sooo I imagined what Model Y/N and Harry would do on their holiday trip and I guess I'll post a blurb everyday with Christmas theme. AND i'll be suggesting a christmas song in every blurb. Enjoy and Merry Christmas♥️♥️♥️♥️

christmas song of the day: Santa Tell Me by Ariana Grande.

December 19th, 2020 - 11PM

    It was a very cold night in Los Angeles for you to be walking around in your pajamas with no shoes on, a face mask on your face and wet hair that left small water drops through the closet floor as you continued to walk between your clothes and your suitcase that was settled in the floor. You wanted to be laid down in bed, in your cozy and warm bed because you were so tired and a good night of sleep were everything you actually desired.

    As you tried to decide on the coats that you were going to take to your Christmas holiday in the French Alps. You felt a gaze directed to you, what made you bring your head up so you could see Harry stopped at the door frame. He looked very calm. Otherwise, you looked desperate; your flight was scheduled to 6:45 AM. You had to sleep as it was already late and you haven't even packed your stuff but at least you could do it with just some minutes unlike Harry. Anyway, Harry had his grey sweatpants on with a TPKW merch hoddie, his hair, unlike yours, was already completely dry. You probably have to stop washing your hair so late at night but now wasn't the moment to think about this.

— God, why didn't I pack earlier? — You asked rhetorically as you sighed taking some of your favorite pants and folding them right before putting them in the suitcase.

— Exactly! I told ya to do it earlier today but you said you still had time. — Harry said on a convincing way as he drank a sip of his water that he held in a bottle. You just rolled your eyes at him. You hated being stressed and you hated even more when you were stressing over something and Harry says something like "I told you so." You hate conflict and specially when it's with Harry and now was definitely not the moment, so you just shrugged it off.

— By the way, which suitcase are you taking? Because I found yours up in the shelf. — You said, never taking your eyes away from the clothes you were putting on the floor as you created combinations and outfits for you to have an idea before putting it in the suitcase; you were on your knees as you decided to which clothes you'd take with you.

   Harry went completely silent at the moment he heard you. This was the time he realized that with all the things you both were setting up for the trip today, he completely forgot of packing his stuff. Harry froze, he felt it through all his body. He knew how much you were stressed over all the things you both did today to get prepared for the trip, and he'd swear to god that you'd completely lost it at the moment he'd tell you he forgot about it.

   You looked over at him because of his silence and his expression said everything his mouth didn't. You stopped moving your hands immediately and kept a straight face at him literally praying he was only joking, but he wasn't.

— Are you for real? — You'd ask resting your hands over your thighs as you only received silence as a response — Harry, I can't believe you! — You'd say sounding extremely frustrated. You'd pass your hands over your face trying to wake you up more because truly, you were so sleepy right now. You'd feel your cold hands pass through your wet strands of hair before looking at him getting more into the closet now.

— Love, I'm so sorry! — Harry'd say entering the room and bend down next to you avoiding touching your clothes on the floor — It's just... I went all the way today resolving all the other stuff for the trip and I completely forgot about it! — Harry would say with puppy eyes, he actually felt kinda ashamed for just saying to you that he told you to pack before when he didn't even remembered to do it himself.

— I know, I know — You said getting more relaxed on the floor now crossing your legs — It's just, you take so long to do it everytime and we need to grab some sleep tonight — You'd say making an emphasis on the "so long" making Harry sigh. He instantly stand up after you finished talking, walking directly towards the shelf to grab his own suitcase putting it on the floor as he opened it too.

— No, I won't take too much time! I'll just grab some stuff. I'll show you and you tell me what you think! — Harry said as he opened his part of the closet immediately looking through the pants, the many pants he had actually — It's okay! — He'd say, probably trying to convince himself more than actually you. You have no idea why but whenever Harry had to pack his suitcase he'd take hours to do it, he would just take hours to decide on each outfit and then he'd decide when to wear it and if he was actually going to wear it, so yes, it would literally take hours.

   Later, Harry'd think about it all while he contemplated you from the bed. He was lying on his side, propping his head on his hand, so he could get a more proper look at you.

   It took both of you two hours to pack Harry’s suitcase and it was around 1AM now. You don’t think he knows what ‘'It’ll be fast’’ actually means. You were now in front of the mirror. You used the comb to brush your now dry hair while looking in the mirror. You have had long nights at work before and you've been very tired several times but this time, it felt different.

   This is the first time that you and Harry have decided what to do for Christmas and thank God there would be no hosting; but even so it's difficult to organize things for so many people. Harry has been so helpful, and you can't complain. Even though he was tired of being on set, he always donated his time to talk about Christmas, but how could he avoid it? He loved it. He loved being able to get together with his family and spend a good and happy time. Harry remembers the first Christmas you spent together. It was 2018 and you guys went to Holmes Chapel to celebrate. That was also the first Christmas of your life where you wouldn't spend it with your mother because, well, you didn't want to abuse it and take her to Anne's house. Harry realized how sad it had made you and surprised you on Christmas Eve afternoon when he came home from an alleged "supermarket drive" with your mother. He remembers how happy you were, your genuine smile that you just couldn't get off your face, and he remembers how much he fell ten times more in love with you that day. There was not even a year that you were together, god, as time flies.

   You have finished brushing your hair and put the comb in the first drawer of the counter. You left the bathroom to walk to your bed feeling Harry's gaze on you making you frown and smile at him as you lay on the bed covering yourself with the covers.

— Why are you looking at me like this? — You ask taking the covers up to your neck while turning to be able to face the boy's face, who was now accompanied by a tender smile.

— Nothing much, just memories! — Harry said as he watched the yellow light from his lamp reflect in your eyes —You're so beautiful it makes me angry sometimes. — Harry said pulling a chuckle from you. God, how he loved that sound. He then extended his arm to turn off the lamp leaving the room in total darkness, then going deeper under the covers as well.

— Oh, you're just saying that! — You responded by making him chuckled now with your fake modest — You set the alarm clock, right? — You asked him softly, trying your best to keep your eyes open even though they insisted on wanting to close.

— I did! — Harry said approaching you, feeling your body heat under the covers. He brought his right hand to your waist and pulled you closer to his chest, taking the opportunity to kiss your temple. — Let's sleep now okay? I love you! — Harry said feeling you nod and whisper a soft '' I love you too ''. It was a combination of you to say you love each other every night before going to sleep; you did it even when you fought, but in these cases I love you's usually came with "but I'm really mad at you."

December 20th, 2020 — 6:00 AM.

      You were in such a deep sleep, you two were. The truth is: this instability was not your thing. At one day you were in London, the next in NYC, the next in LA, then in Palm Springs and now back in Los Angeles, the hard part would believe you wouldn't be tired of it. And it's precisely because of tiredness that neither you nor Harry heard the four times that the alarm went off, but let's agree that having gone to sleep after one in the morning packing Harry's suitcase was a big factor to consider.

   5:00 AM, 5:20 AM, 5:30 AM, 5:45 AM... Nothing, you didn't even move, well, you did move to pull the covers next to you. For some reason your eyes slowly opened. You stared at the light coming from the curtains content with yourself for waking up even before the clock woke up, little did you know.

   You stretched and took your hands to rub your sleepy eyes then using one of them to get your phone that was powering on the nightstand next to the bed. When you unlock the phone screen and face the hours, you felt your heart beat faster. You blinked briefly to see if you were seeing the right time and got out of bed in a heart beat.

— HARRY! — You said basically screaming. Harry woke up quickly, his heart racing as he sat on the bed and watched you standing, putting on your slippers quickly. He watched you take a hair tie from the drawer of your nightstand and quickly tie your long strands of hair into a ponytail.

— What...What happened? — Harry said using his hands to rub his eyes as he slowly got up from the bed.

— It's already six in the morning, the alarm didn't go off! — You said quickly what surprised Harry, since normally you spoke even slowly — Come on, get up! We have 45 minutes to get to the airport, and it's a 35 minute drive. We need to start getting ready quickly. — You walked directly to the bathroom counter, pouring liquid facial soap into your hands and washing your face. You couldn't see it, but you heard the noise of Harry changing clothes in the room. You absolutely hated leaving the house in the morning without taking a shower, but you wouldn't have any time for that.

   You chose not to wear any makeup, as always in fact. You just put sunscreen on your face and loosened your ponytail feeling your long strands of hair fall over your shoulders as you retreated from the suite bathroom and spotted Harry wearing jeans and an oversized black sweatshirt walking past you to use the bathroom himself now. You opened your part of the wardrobe by grabbing yourself a black jan bell pants, a black t-shirt too and a pink sweatshirt over it in which you dressed up fastly, and put your white sneakers as well. 

— Have you finished? — You said putting your cell phone, charger, wallet and other essentials in your handbag as you approached the bathroom door observing Harry dry his hands on the towel and then saying a brief "Yes" after putting on his rings on his fingers. He turned off the bathroom light and turned to you while the two of you started walking towards the stairs, where you went down with your suitcases in hand. The original plan was to call a car to take you to the airport but clearly, there was no time for that, so you guys would go in Harry's car, which would be picked up at the airport by Jeff who had promised Harry that he would take him back to the house.

   The sun was still cold, that cold early morning sun where the sky still has that lilac color mixed with orange. You left your suitcase in front of the trunk and walked to the passenger seat next to the driver where you sat down and installed the belt instantly while Harry just put both suitcases in the trunk, then closed it and walked to the front of the car as well, and right after sitting in the driver's seat putting on the seat belt, he started the engine and starting to drive as well.

   The drive to the airport was quiet. There was little traffic, nothing compared to LA traffic but there was still a little. Harry prayed it didn't have any fans at the airport, not because he didn't want to see them, but because you were so late and he knew that neither of you would ignore your fans and just keep walking. When Harry parked the car, you might notice some paparazzi's outside, nothing too crowded actually. In less than two minutes, you were already out of the car with your bags on a cart walking, let's say, very quickly until the airport check-in. You were a little impatient to see that there was a line of about five people before you. You looked at the time on your cell phone and sighed, turning the screen to Harry showing that it was now 6:47 AM and there were still three more people in front of you. You had a frustrated and worried look, just the thought that maybe you can't make it to your destination and Harry realized that, he always perceives the smallest things in and about you; let it be a different sigh to a different gleam in the eye. He perceives everything, even though you're wearing a mask now.

   Harry wrapped you in his arms, hugging you tight and kissing your hairline as a form of affection. Your head was between Harry’s neck where you could perfectly smell his scent, and the comforting warmth he emanated; you could have sworn that nothing and no one could get you out of that moment, but then your turn came in line and a man called you.

— Good Morning ma'am! May I help you? — The man said trying to sound sympathetic. You were hoping that Harry could resolve this but apparently, the guy asked you and not him. You put a few strands of your hair behind your ears, and you formed the phrases in your head.

— Good Morning! — You said first, feeling Harry touching the ends of your hair behing your back — So, we had two tickets for the flight of 6:45 AM for Paris but, unfortunately we couldn’t make it in time. Is there any way that you could get us new tickets? Anything would be amazing!  — You said, while mentally praying that there was at least one flight that would take you there. The plan was that you were going to make a scale in Paris and then taking the train to the French Alps which would be a 5-hour train ride, but as you were counting on a direct flight to Paris, it wouldn’t be a problem to stay on a train for five hours.

— Look, ma'am. — The guy sighed looking a little frustrated. Harry touched your shoulders and squeezed a little feeling how hard your shoulders muscle were from tension — I do have a flight for Paris! — In the moment he said it you and Harry let out a deep breath relieved — But, it's going to scale in New York and London!

— And how many hours of traveling? — Harry asked getting a little closer to the counter putting his glove covered hand over the counter as well.

— Around 18 or 20 hours — The man answered and you and Harry sighed. You would be there in the morning on the LA time, and on the French Alps time it will probably be 6:30 AM too. You let out a long breath, and Harry looked at you attentively looking for any sign of giving up; he wanted to go, of course, but if you said it would be better to stay, he would be without a second thought.

— Well, we have to go, right? — You said softly to Harry and then redirected your gaze to the man and nodded. — Okay, we’ll keep the tickets.

—They’re economic tickets, all right? I see here that you had executive tickets — The man asked and you can't hesitate to drop a light chuckle.

— No problems! — Harry replied, and then he returned to finishing to configure the informations of your new tickets.

  It didn't really take long, a few minutes and you already had the new tickets in hand. As you both walked to find a place to sit, you remembered that with all the running from the morning none of you had breakfast. You checked your bags on the conveyor belt and went up the escalators at the big LAX Airport looking for a small restaurant to buy something. You chose the Urth Caffé & Bar because you were used to eating in there whenever you had to travel. It was a very cute and cozy place with a yellow lighting, wood tables and chairs that gave a whole charm to it. You both ordered a coffee; you ordered a latte and Harry ordered a black coffee, and to eat you both ordered bagels sandwiches. There were some fans in there this time. They were all pretty respectful and nice when they came over asking for pictures. You both took the pics and talked with them for a while until you had to leave which honestly made your heart aches. You loved when you could meet and talk to your fans, to create that connection it's so important to you but you couldn't risk missing another flight.

   As you were already settled up on your seats, you re-checked your seat bell probably five times in a row while the "In case of emergency" video passed on the little screen in front of you. Harry noticed you checking it again, and he used his hands to hold yours as a sign to stop you.

— Hey, you already did that... — Harry said looking directly into your eyes — Five times, love!

— Oh... — You whispered then redirecting yourself on your seat. The truth is, you're a model, you date a singer and you're probably more in a plane than in your own house, but you are terrified of it. You've always been, just the thought of being on a plane scares you. And we don't even have to say about whenever a turbulence would occurs. Harry knew that, and he took it as a responsibility of his to keep you calm whenever you were on a plane together.

— Oh, let's watch something together! — Harry said getting his upper body closer to you looking at your little screen — We can choose the same thing and watch it!

— Sure, something on your mind? — You asked as you grabbed the ear plunges of the plane trying to turn it on as Harry now were turning his phone off.

— I don't know! Since we finished watching Bly Manor, I have no idea what we should watch next — Harry said putting his phone on his pocket, and then grabbing himself his ear plunge.

— Oh god, and how good was it? — You said having a fan girl moment. Literally, you were such a fan of The Haunting series and all about it. You and Harry binged watching The Haunting of Bly Manor in like a day. — But.. — You turned on your screen and started to look through the christmas movies, yes you also loved them. Both of you do, who doesn't like christmas movies? — Oh, let's watch Princess Switch 2? We didn't have time to watch it! — You clicked on the movie, so you could read the synopsis to have an idea what would be about. You and Harry watched the first one back in 2018 and you guys really liked it so this could be cool. It's actually kinda crazy all of the stuffs you've watched together. It's crazy how you guys can watch a really serious and heavy movie and then watch all of Barbies movies on the same day.

— Alright, let's watch it! — Harry agreed as he searched for the movie himself — I saw in the trailer that there's a third twin on this movie.

— Love, they're not twins!— You'd say getting your movie ready to be started.

 — They're not? Of course they are! If they're not, then what are they? — Harry said putting his ear plunges on and getting the covers that the airplane company use to put on the seats for the passagers. You actually think it's cute that Harry has this thing on being under the covers and cuddled up whenever he was watching to a movie, and with the weather like this, it would be perfect. I mean, it's cold in LA with 46 F°, as you lived in NYC before you could only imagine how the weather was in there with 32F°. But anyway, you kinda missed NYC a little bit. It's honestly kinda messed up now because you haven't officially moved to LA from New York, but the last time you were in NY was probably in early May, before your birthday because you both celebrated your birthday in Holmes Chapel with Anne and Gemma.

— I don't know — You'd chuckle to answer his question feeling him spread the covers on both of you and snuggle himself on your chest — I think they're relatives in some point, but they're not twins! — You'd hear a soft "oh" from Harry as you put the ear plunges yourself and clicked the movie to play. In general, you watched the movie commenting on the scenes and you both really liked it, it was funny and not tiring at all. And then after it, you both bing watched The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, I know it seems crazy but you've been so obsessed with it lately and anytime you were obsessed with something you'd usually make Harry get obsessed too. And I mean, it was a 5-hour long flight and you both could catch up with some housewives drama. The flight ended, and you both arrived in NYC, you'd have a 1 hour and a half stop and you managed to think you both could actually do something in this hour, obviously nothing to far away from the airport, you wouldn't take any risks. So you'd chose one of your favorite places in New York ever aka the M&M's Store. God, you loved this place, and you loved M&M's, and so did Harry.

   There were some paparazzi on the street, but this is NY and it's just a daily basis thing. You both walked around the store buying some really cool chocolates when you saw a cute one with marshmallows and you showed it to Harry getting a disgusted face from him.

— No, I'm so allergic to marshmallow! — Harry would say grabbing some kind of M&M's to see and you rolled your eyes recalling the number of times you both had this conversation before. You turned around getting right on Harry's front and looking into his eyes.

—  You’re not allergic to mashmallows! You’re allergic to one of the ingredients in it, if you do the homemade one you can eat it normally, oh my god! — You said trying your best to show your sassy side and Harry actually only continue saying this because he knows you'll react like this and he think it's cute, so he'd just get closer to your face and give a peck to your lips.

— I know, sorry! — He'd say smirking a little and fixing his beanie on his head with his left hand — I love the ones you make, by the way.

— I know, I'm such a master chef that's how I made you fall in love with me! — You'd answer him with a smirk on your face when you turn around to look more over the chocolates.

— And who said I love ye’, miss? — Harry said mocking you and you’d immediately turn to stare at his face with the most realistic offended expression you could create now.

— Um, excuse me? — You’d say with your righthand touching your chest with raised eye browns — If that’s how you feel I'm just gonna go over there look for Brad Pitt! — You’d say with your sassy tone starting to walk away from him but you were stopped by him when he grabbed your empty hand bringing you closer to him 

— Oh so you're overlapping me for Brad Pitt? — Harry said making you roll your eyes with a playful smile in your mask covered lips.

— Well, take it as a revenge for overlapping me for Mitch every day! — You'd say making him let out a loud laugh — But, I'll consider letting this go if we go to Victoria Secrets right now and you buy me my favorite fragrance!

— Oh, you're such a blackmailer! — Harry would say shaking his head slowly and crossing his arms close to his body watching you put your best puppy eyes on display — Alright, just because I probably love that fragrance more than you! — He said making you give him a big smile that he could notice by the way your eyes got smaller. This is actually a joke because it was pretty rare for having you ask Harry to buy you anything, you'd always tell him that you "didn't need anything", and specially when he comes home with those really expensive Gucci merch. Honestly, all the expensive things that you have, like, Chanel, Versace, Gucci were usually gifts from the brand and a few from Harry because you're much of a economizer thinking that these are actually pretty expensive things and you don't actually need. Why would you go around with a 3 thousand dollars Gucci bag when you can buy a super cute bag for 50 dollars? Yep, Harry didn't understand that on the many times he got you something expensive so then, now he rarely does it because he knows that the way for your heart it's probably the most simple and genuine he can be.

 In the VS shop, you were looking through the fragrances for you favorite one that was Bare Vanilla, it's probably the best. And you've been using it for years now, literally since you were a teenager. When you finally found your Bare Vanilla Kit, you were actually surprised by Harry behind you holding a set of lingerie on the color of pearl with some baby blue lace details. You looked at it and then later at the lingerie and then at him again with a "what is that?" expression on your face.

— Love, I know ye' came here to buy the fragrance but this would look so good in you! — Harry said making a louder voice while pronouncing the "so good" making you touch the fabric with your hands in silence thinking about it as you looked, yes it was really pretty. What can you do? Your man does have a good taste. — Ok I'll buy it as your christmas gift! — You said taking the lingerie carefully from his hand.

— For me? I was thinking more of you in it, but I can wear it if you want. I bet it will define all of my sexy curves — Harry said putting a hand on his own waist making a pose making you laugh out loud of his words, it's the sass for me.

— No, oh my god! I'll be the present. This could be the gift paper — You'd say winking on an eye at him as you tried to control your laugh seeing the smirk on his face, this little promiscuous guy.

   On your way back to the airport you noticed very similar words on a wall beside you and you couldn't hold your emotion when you saw it. It was a black wall written "Do You Know Who You Are?", as in Lights Up. When you showed Harry he got so smiley and blushed at the same time, it's just the shyness in him. You took a quick picture of it before actually entering the airport again. Right on time.

  You were about to face another flight with a six hour and 40 minutes of duration and god, in this cold weather, with covers, hoddies, M&M's, movies and your love made everywhere feels cozy and warm. On this flight, you agreed to watch The Notebook with Harry, and you liked it very much, not as much as he did, but you liked it.  You had taken your sneakers off staying with your socks only, you had also let your hair loose as you leaned your head on Harry's shoulder this time, fixing your covered legs under the cover and feeling the warm sensation coming from his body heat, it wasn't much until Harry realised that you were completely asleep when he tried to talk to you about how Ellie's mom had such an attitude when she decided to hide Noah's letter from Ellie all those years but instead, he saw your sleeping face on his shoulder and his heart melted at the vision so he just decided to let you sleep because he really thought you deserved to, and also, after the movie ended he did sleep as well.

   Your flight arrived in London by 7:28 PM on Los Angeles time. By London's time it was already 5:28 AM, and it had a 44 F° weather. You had a smaller scale time this time. It was a 35 minutes scale, thank god. You both took your time to walk inside the airport. You loved London. You really did. You loved the weather and the beautiful places to visit in here, oh and the cute british accents, you loved it.

   You both walked through the airport observing everything. The people, the christmas lights and the stores. Harry had one of his arms over your shoulders as you walked through it. As you entered the stores session, you'd spot World Duty Free store and look at Harry. — Let's go to World Duty Free and buy colorful highlighters so you can use it on christmas eve! — You say while stopped walking when you got in front of the referred store. Harry looked at the big illuminated sign with the store's name and then back at you.

— A colorful one? D' you think it'll look good? Maybe a gold one, no? — He said pushing you into the illuminated store. You loved that Harry knew this stuff and how sometimes when you'd have nothing to do he would let you put some makeup on his face because he knew you didn't like putting it on your face often.

— Yeah, a gold one would be better! I'll go find one, try looking for other stuff — You'd say getting out of his embrace and walking to the other corner of the store. You looked through the makeup wall in front of you as you searched for a gold highlight.

— Hello, may I help you? — A very young lady came to you with the store's uniform. You looked at her smiling tenderly and shook your head. — Oh no, thank you! I was just looking for a highlighter, but I already found it! — You said showing her the little package in your hand and she smiled back at you saying that if you needed anything else you could call her and you thanked. You would keep looking through the wall to see if you wanted anything else when you noticed a tall man coming over you. You looked at him because well, he was staring you.

— Hm... Hi, I'm Ryan! — He said shyly to you. You just stayed there looking at him with no moves — Hm, I just wanted to say that your American accent it's really cute and... Would you mind giving me your number? — He'd say nervously, and you let out a chuckle as you closed your eyes for a moment.

— I’m really flattered, but I’m here with my boyfriend, I’m sorry — You said softly as you could see Harry coming over to you guys with a very straight face. — There he is! — You pointed at Harry that quickened his pace a little when he saw you pointing at him.

— Oh, I apologize! Anyway, merry christmas! — He said with a tender smile as he walked away from you when you murmured a "Merry Christmas". Harry finally got to you and frowned his eyebrows a little looking at the guy’s back and then back at you.

— Who was it? — Harry softly asked containing his jealousy. Whenever Harry would say in interviews that he was an easily jealous person, he wasn’t joking. But he learned to contain it now because this was the biggest discussion maker on the beginning of your relationship.

— It was this guy Ryan trying to hit on me — You’d say with a smirk on your face because you knew this would tease him — He politely asked me for my number, and then I told him that I was here with my boyfriend.

—You should’ve told him you were here with your handsome and sexy boyfriend — Harry said with joking tone and you raised your eyebrows at him as you started to walk towards the cashier.

— No, I think just ''boyfriend'', is enough!  — You’d say mocking him before you paid your bill. And walked back to the departuring space for Paris.

   You confess that coming back to Paris made you a little nervous. The last time you were here was in February and it was quite...peculiar. But it would be just a scale and things would occur right.

   The flight for Paris were definetely the the fastest one as it lasted only an hour and fifteen minutes. You both had dinner in the plane while binge watching The Real Housewives of Bervely Hills, a little obssesed maybe? Harry had already warned Anne about both of you being late as you all scheduled to get there maybe 6 or 7 hours ago, but as the iconic Queen of Genovia said once ‘’A queen is never late, anybody else is just earlier’’. Oh, you both could’ve watched The Princess Diaries today, damn it.

— As we’re here, we have to admit it... It was quite an adventure, wasn’t it? Three cities in a day — Harry would say taking the ends of your hair between his fingers.

— It was, but I kinda wished we had a little bit more of time in London so we could go to the London Eye — You’d say causing Harry to happily agree with you as it was one of his favorite attractions to go in London.

— All I know is that when we get in there I’ll sleep for as long as I can.

— How can ye’ be sleepy? You slept all the flight from New York to London and I know it! — You’d ask really curiously about his answer because it actually made you surprised on how easily he could sleep. He could be sitting on the most uncomfortable chair in the world but if he closes his eyes, he’ll easily fall asleep.

— It’s my natural talent! Did you think that I could only sing? — He asked rhetorically with a very convincin' tone.

— I’m sorry then Mr.Sleepy! — You would say mocking him as you turned your phone on to answer your missed texts. Gemma has already sent you tons of texts about the house and how’s the climate in there. She told you that you both better be all wrapped up or instead she’ll push your face, oh the good old family love.

    When the plane landed, you and Harry grabbed your suitcases as fast as you could so you could get a cab to the train station and finally arrive on the Alps. You loved Paris in the winter. You loved Paris by the night, and that hasn’t changed. There weren’t paparazzi which contributed to keep you calm but there were maybe some fans spotting you guys and asking for pictures. They’d ask if you both were going to celebrate Christmas in Paris and you’d tell them that it’s just a scale. You were calm but Harry wasn’t. Since the prank in Paris from February, Harry has been incredibly more protective than he already was, and getting back in Paris actually remembered him of that night and that he wouldn’t let it happen again.

   But it all turned out good, the train ride actually felt so relaxing and that made you wonder why in the world none of you have ever traveled together by train. Neither of you slept, though, you both talked. Talked for hours nonstop. You talked about your jobs, your experiences, what you like and what you don’t. You talked about what you wished for 2021 and you even chuckled a bit when Harry said he was looking foward to put ring on your finger in 2021; bullshit, you'd think. But anyway, you'd talk on how in some way you both were grateful for having each other during the hard times we’re all living, getting to know each other better while there was nobody on the streets because actually, if the world was ending you both wouldn’t want to spend it anywhere else and with anyone else.

   The train ride was so calm, so great, so both of you. You were not the kind of couple that needed all luxury, that needed to go out every weekend to have dinner on a fancy restaurant, that needed to buy each other expensive gifts and needed to share every detail of what you did. You were simple. You were comfortable discovering a new world and experiencing things together on your own way and your own time. Neither of you needed all of those stuff. You only needed each other. You needed to feel the warm of each others body, you needed to be graced by the sound of each others laugh and voice, you needed to see the smile on each others faces and to know that even when times get hard you’d always have each other. Your relationship wasn’t perfect, none are. But in the end of the day love always win and if you love each other and it’s meant to be the rest will be history.

   As the sun was starting to rise, you leaned your back in Harry’s chest so you could both see the view from the big glass window. You had your hair loosened on his chest as he envolved you on his arms hugging you from behind supporting his chin by the top of your head. The light yellow sun made the snow even whiter and more resuscitating by touching it with its rays. The sky had this lilac and orange colors, and it seemed to have a breeze air, you couldn’t confirm it though as the train was warmed by a heater. You’d start murmuring to the song Turning Page by Sleeping at Last which caused Harry to smile tenderly. He knew you were doing it by a reflex and actually didn’t think he was going to listen to it, but he did. And he smiled because this had been you guys song for almost three years now. 

—Your love’s my turning page, where only the sweetest words remain — Harry would start singing really close to your ears. Really close and really softly, causing you to smile now but never taking your eyes of the view of the window — Every kiss is a cursive line. Every touch is a redefining place — You’d close your eyes caressing his arm around you and then opening your eyes again, messing with his rings that covered the fingers on his strong hands.

— I surrender who I’ve been, for who you are — You’d complement the song lycris with your eyes closed, feeling nothing more than peace.

— For nothing makes me stronger than your fragile heart — Harry kept singing holding you tight, because he never would want to let you slip away of his embrace — If I had only felt how it feels to be yours, I would’ve known what I’ve been living for.

— What I’ve been living for! — You complemented. There’s no other place either of you would want to be now. Of course this wasn’t the trip that you both planned, but it was better. It was different, funny and relaxing, and that’s the one thing for you.

   You both got out of that train feeling nothing more than peace, and that’s the spirit of the holidays, isn’t it? The cold sharp of air hitted your face immidietely and you both rushed to get a car that could take you to the holiday house. Gemma would probably kills both of you for not being properly wrapped up but she actually didn’t, thank god for her to be sleeping.

   When you both arrived at the house you struggled a bit to unlock it with the keys but it worked and you came across a beautiful Christmas decoration with a huge christmas tree with a lot of lights and some other cute decorations too. It almost felt like North Pole but it would probably be ten times colder than it was here. You both left your bags on the living room floor and went to take a small tour on the house, when you arrived at the kitchen there were a plate full of brownies and a small note.

    Harry & Y/N,

we couldn’t wait for you to arrive because we were so sleepy but we did those brownies for you guys. Eat it, you must be hungry! We love you and we're looking foward to see you in the morning

                                           — love, Anne.

— Your mother is the best person on the entire universe! —  You’d say showing the note to Harry and grabbing yourself a piece of brownie as he took the small paper on his hands to read it himself as you took a bite from one brownie—  And those brownies are the best thing I’ve ever eaten.

     TO BE CONTINUED.... Christmas special part 1

[stories-by-rie]

Chapter 5 - Heart of Silver

In the present, still in the dead granny’s house, Evelyn and Ariel search the cellar for clues and slowly start to understand the curse better.

words: 2614 || masterlist

The air in the cellar was strangely musky. From all the dust and cobwebs, it was clear that the old granny hadn’t gone down into the cellar for any longer than she had avoided going upstairs. It was hard to breathe, probably due to mold growing on the walls, mold they couldn’t see because none of the lamps were working.

    “This feels like a deliberate attack on my person. That old lady knew I was going to end up here with the uneasiness that creeps over me in the darkness. Disgusting.” Ariel had flipped their phone open but it was only a little light to help them see. Evelyn had turned on the flash-light on her phone, but the battery icon was blinking red already, so it was only of little help for the time being.

    No new notifications.

    With the sparse light of their phones, even combined, it was hard to make anything out in the cramped place. Whatever use the four rooms must have had, they all seemed to be storerooms now. It was impossible to make out every single detail, but the amount of Easter rabbit decorations was concerning, to say the least.

    “Maybe she was really into bunnies. I, personally, would never judge anyone for what they collect.” Ariel put their hand down on a pink rabbit with fake feathers on its neck.

    “As you shouldn’t,” Evelyn replied at the thought of the amount of- well, everything in their flat.

    It wasn’t just tasteless holiday decoration, though. From the little that was recognizable, they could find dysfunctional vacuum cleaners, stacks of old garden magazines and old workout gear.

    “Was that granny ripped?” Ariel asked at the sight of an old ergometer.

    “She was a granny!” Evelyn said and shook her head, both as an answer and as a general reaction to Ariel.

    “Old people can work-out too, Evelyn! Oh, look! A cursed mirror!” they exclaimed and jumped into a corner where a big wall mirror hung. Evelyn could hardly follow their words, least of all their movements in the dark space. 

    So she just reacted and yelled, “Don’t touch it!” -- idiotically, of course. Because Ariel was a curse broker and knew not to touch cursed objects, and also they weren’t a child and Evelyn not their mother. For some reason, despite those three facts, Ariel still touched it.

    “No worries, no worries. This one only activates on full moons. You can see it on the symbol in the corner, see?” They held their phone so that Evelyn could just make out some lines that had to be the symbol Ariel had spoken about. She didn’t understand them, it was not her forte after all, and she was too pumped on stress and anxiety to really care.

    “Yes. I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to yell at you. I’m a bit on edge and-”

    “No need to apologize. Thank you, for looking out for me,” Ariel replied with their soft voice that felt so much more stern than any other. Evelyn couldn’t help but believe them. She smiled, forced but in a way that would have been honest, had her emotional state allowed her as much.

    Ariel’s eyes widened. First horror, then understanding, and then excitement ran over their face, leaving them with a crooked grin.

    “What-” As Evelyn turned around, the white light of her flash-light hit a high figure, a dusty blanket covering it completely. The fabric’s folds gave the hint of a human statue, enough to let Evelyn’s blood run cold. For some reason, she didn’t have to uncover it to know what was beneath it. In the end, it was Ariel who clenched their fist around a drape, hesitating despite their obvious curiosity. With a flick of their hand, the fabric slid off the statue, their lights letting the heavy dust shimmer in the darkness; then reflecting off the silver boy in front of them.

    In contrast to the pictures Evelyn had seen in Ariel’s books, this boy looked nearly calm. Maybe there was some sadness in his eyes that could not compare with the smile on his lips. He looked nearly peaceful.

    “That would explain why she seemed so invested in curses and the supernatural,” Evelyn whispered, not trusting her own voice to speak louder. “I think it might be the ghost I saw in the study before.”

“Seems very likely, I agree,” Ariel said.

 It was hard to bring the chaos in her head to a stop, to grasp a single thought. When she was eventually successful, the only thing she could fathom was the feeling of hope. If this kid had looked content in his death, then maybe it would not hurt after all. If it wasn’t as painful as previous pictures had made it look, then maybe she would manage that part.

    “This child got hit by it quite young. All this time the fork was the curse medium and they did nothing about it? This case never made it to the books, I really wonder why?” Ariel mumbled and as they stepped closer to look at the kid better, Evelyn’s phone battery gave a last warning sound and then died in her hands.

    Ariel gave a huffed sigh of annoyance and held up their old phone closer, even if the light was multiple times worse, not to say completely useless.

    “Maybe it was her son? If she had told the authorities about it, his body would have been taken away, no? With such a high ranking curse, it would have.”

    “No one is allowed to take a cursed body away, even if it’s a high-ranking curse,” Ariel corrected, and then, quieter, added, “Though, of course, just because authorities aren’t allowed doesn’t mean that they don’t do it.”

    “Mother could not bear to part with me,” a thin voice behind them said and as they turned around, the boy from before stood right in front of them again.

    His next words were hard to hear over the loudly pounding heart in Evelyn’s chest, “No curse-broker wanted to take my case, they said it would be hopeless. There were more urgent ones.”

    In the near total darkness, his shape looked much more solid than most ghosts Evelyn had seen before, the faint shimmer of death old, the ash to his feet already thick. Probably subconsciously, Ariel stepped a bit closer to her, took their glasses off.

    “Do you know how to break the curse?” Evelyn had the mind to ask, not that it was really her decision, but at least the question was put out there. Yet, the ghost did not answer.

    “My mother tried so hard to save me. But the curse moved too quickly. I was gone within three days.”

    Evelyn could not gasp or cry. She just stared at the teenager, the hollow thing that was left of him, and listened to the words that promised her doom, to the constant trickle of the ash at his feet. Only distantly, she heard Ariel typing on their phone furiously.

    “What cursed you?” Ariel then asked, looking up from behind their phone.

    “I wish I would have had a few more days. Maybe one day would have made a difference.”

    “Have you gained insight of the curse through your death?” Ariel pressed again while Evelyn could only stare at the flimsy figure.

    “I think I will go soon. Mother has been gone for so many days now. I am all alone.”

    “Why aren’t you answering my questions? What’s wrong with you?” Ariel did not yell, Evelyn was certain they never did. But at this moment they seemed as close to it as possible. Still, the ghost looked completely out of it, staring between their heads at his own silver statue.

    “I am very tired. I think I really want to go now.”

    “It’s fine. You can rest now,” Evelyn said with nearly no voice at all, and carefully put her fingers down to his forehead. A human touch, to remind him of death. Under it, he crumbled. In a matter of seconds, all that was left of him was ghostly ash (not real ash at all), that seemingly fell through the ground – or perhaps became one with it. Soon, she might find out as well.

    “What the fuck, Evelyn?” There was even more anger in Ariel’s voice now, “This was our one chance to get answers to save your life and you just sent him off? He might have said something useful! Now we’re back at nothing!”

    Only then, Evelyn truly realized the extent of her actions. Sorry, however, she was not. 

    “You know that there was no information about the curse we could have gotten from him. He was already way too far gone, I have seen it often enough. If you had continued questioning him, then all we would have achieved is to torture him in this loneliness. It might have driven him even more insane, nothing else.”

    There was just another curse for an answer, and then they turned around and stalked out of the cellar, as well as that was possible. Some items toppled down their stacks, and just as clumsily, Evelyn followed. It was not until they returned to the ground floor, that Ariel stopped.

    “I really dislike darkness. I can’t see when it is completely dark,” they said, as if they needed some sort of explanation to walk out on Evelyn after such a disaster.

    “It’s fine. There was nothing more we could have found down there.”

    “How late is it?” Ariel asked, only to check on their own phone. “Nearly two am,” they muttered and then looked around the floor to the entry door.

    “We can go if you don’t need to look around any further,” Evelyn suggested. Even if the prospect of leaving alone made her anxious. If there were any clues to a cure, wouldn’t it be here? Shouldn’t they stay until they found something – or at least searched everything until they could be certain that there was nothing to be found? If the boy had died within three days, then she only had two more days to live as well. Could a curse even be dealt with so quickly? Even if it was Ariel who worked on it. Really, the best would be if she just would get her affairs in order and-

    She reached for her phone, forgetting that it had died. There wouldn’t be anything new anyway.

    “Well, we still haven’t found out what caused the noises before. Not that I have a great desire to do so. But even if we don’t keep looking for it, we should stay a bit longer.” Ariel turned to her with a look that was impossible for Evelyn to read. It could not be a good look. She wanted to ask about the implications, but her breath came too fast and too shallow to really form words in her mouth. “That’s the point where we tackle more drastic measures. I do have some nolly-powder with me, so if you happen to have some face masks, we could give in and try the powder search to find the medium’s traces?” The longer they talked and stared at Evelyn, though, the more the furrow between their eyebrows increased. “Evelyn? Are you o-” They stopped short.

    Evelyn wanted to reply that she was not really that okay, that it got hard to breathe and, if she really listened to her own body, that she felt like the silver was weighing her down so much that taking another step seemed just impossible.

    But what she eventually said was, “I have face-masks in my car.”

    Ariel eyed her with a suspicious look, but whatever they were thinking did not make it out of their mouth, so Evelyn decided to ignore it.

    Rain dripped down, even if just lightly now, and it still coated Evelyn’s skin in a thin veil. If she turned into a silver statue outside, rain would probably make louder dripping sounds on her body. In winter, the snow and rain would drape her in a layer of ice. Like a true piece of art. 

    With shaking fingers, she got the face-masks out of the glove compartment and walked back inside where Ariel was working on plastic bags with their powders. For a while they worked in silence. She handed them a mask, put her own on too and watched as Ariel committed to the chemistry before them in ways that simply were beyond her. For all the caffeine they ingested at most random times, they had incredibly steady hands. With those steady hands they kept at it until a dark red light glowed up for a few seconds.

    “So, in the worst case, which also might be the best case, this powder will tell us for once and all what the curse medium is. Except for about seven percent of the cases where nolly-powder doesn’t work, then we will be absolutely fucked.”

    “Let’s just do this,” Evelyn muttered and gave them a nod.

    With a sigh they filled the powder in their hands and then simply threw it up into the air. As if out of nowhere, wind twirled it through the whole floor, let the particles dance in their search for something to hold on to. It could have barely been a minute. Short enough for Evelyn to hold her breath and wait with tension in her shoulders.

    Then, all at once, the powder turned, nearly grew in its ferocity, and shot straight at her. Before it could wrap around her completely, though, Ariel gave a sharp order that cut right through it. At once, it dropped down to the ground, mingled with the dust of time and ghosts.

    “Are you okay?” they yelled once they reached her, a hand reaching out for her arm before they thought better of it.

    Evelyn was shaken by sneezes and didn’t even manage a gesture.

    “This horrid sneezing. I am so sorry. It’s really so pesky. People are working on a better powder if that helps? Let’s get you out of here, okay? I will fix you a cup of tea to rinse most of it out-” A sneeze broke them off, and a single touch made them freeze. Evelyn followed their gaze down to where they had reached out for her hand, and only found silver.

    To her great dismay, time did not stand still. Even if she stared at it so still as if a statue already, she could clearly follow the silver spreading. Along with it, her heartbeat increased as panic kicked in. Evelyn looked up as Ariel’s hand travelled up her arm where she could still feel their skin and warmth.

    “I can only imagine how it feels. But I do know that it is not yet too late. Let me fix you.”

    Tears came hot in her eyes, her throat aching once she spoke, “Please. Help me? I really don’t want to die yet.”

    Ariel smirked and pointed towards the door. They sneezed a few times. “Of course I will! I’m really looking forward to being the greatest curse-broker of this century. Nonsense! The greatest curse-broker to have ever been and ever will be. You’ll see how quickly you’ll be rid of this curse. But first I will make you drink copious amounts of nettle tea to- oh shit. I am out of nettle tea.” They sneezed.

    “I have nettle tea at home,” Evelyn pushed out between multiple sneezes.

previous chapter || WIP intro || masterlist || next chapter

    “That’s good. Then your place first. But I am driving.” Ariel held out their hand for the key, and considering how weak Evelyn was in her knees, the matter left no room for protest.

_____

[luvshuas]

snowed in

pairing - mingyu x reader

tags - fluff, established relationship

synopsis - after learning that you’ve never experienced snow during the holidays, mingyu decides that this year he’ll bring the snow to you.

word count - 1.2k

note - surprise!! this is my secret santa gift for @secndlife​ !! karol i had so much fun talking to you and (even though i sucked at sending asks towards the end) i looked forward to all of your responses! i had a better and longer fic planned, but i ended up scrapping it at like 3k words and ended up projecting the lack of snow here onto this 😭 but i still hope its a good enough gift!

“What? Never?!” Mingyu stared at you in disbelief as you shook your head, confirming what you had just told him. That you’ve never experienced snow during the holidays.

“The weather has just never lined up properly,” you said, shrugging. “It would be nice to see it, but I’ve managed to live without it for this long.” The idea of not experiencing snowfall during the holiday season was foreign to Mingyu. He simply couldn’t imagine it. And he couldn’t imagine how you were just okay without experiencing something that he thought was crucial to the holiday experience.

Your eyebrows raised as you looked back at Mingyu, “I know that look. What are you thinking?”

“Just staring in disbelief.” He answered, though that wasn’t entirely true. In a matter of seconds, Mingyu had decided that you would see snow this year, though the problem was how he was going to pull this off. Mingyu had long since stopped counting on the weather to follow the forecast’s predictions  — he’d been caught in one too many surprise rain showers to believe them anymore — but even with his mistrust of weather predictions, he was sure the current temperature wouldn’t even allow snow. This winter had been warmer than usual, and while it could drop, Mingyu doubted that it would.

If the snow wouldn’t come on its own, then Mingyu would just have to bring it to you.

____

Over the next few days, Mingyu kept his plans under a hypothetical lock and key. No one knew what he was doing, or where he was most of the time. Though your texts and calls never went unanswered, getting any hint as to where Mingyu was was proving to be near impossible.

“Are you stopping by my apartment tonight?” You asked, wondering if Mingyu could even hear you over the noise that seemed to be going on in the background. Where is he?

“Not today, my love. Or tomorrow. Or Thursday,” the days never seemed to end. “On Friday I’ll see you though!”

A loud crash was heard through the phone receiver. “Mingyu, where are you? Are you ok?”

“Yeah! Yes! I’m alright!” You thought you heard him suck in a sharp breath, or wince. “I gotta go. See you Friday!” His last few words were cut off as he hung up on you. Briefly, you thought of texting one of his friends, hoping that Mingyu’s inability to keep things a secret would’ve worked in your favor. However, that idea quickly dissolved as you remembered they had also been asking you where Mingyu had been the past few days.

It seemed that Mingyu was truly “missing” until Friday.

____

Friday came faster than Mingyu would’ve liked. While he had everything prepared and he was ready for you to see what he had been doing over the past week, he was still nervous. Worried thoughts of what could go wrong, or what if you didn’t like it, plagued his mind.

That morning, Mingyu had called you to tell you that he’d be at your apartment in the evening. You asked him the same questions you had been asking over the past few days, but Mingyu gave you the same answers. For every “where are you,” he gave you the same “I’ll see you soon.” But this time he would see you soon. First, he just needed to set everything up. Which was easier said than done.

In order to bring the snow to you, Mingyu had to settle for fake snow — which he figured was better than nothing considering real snow would’ve melted. Getting the fake snow was easy. The snow was made out of a polyacrylate polymer, which surprised Mingyu with how easy it was to find. A quick search on a few store websites was all it took for him to find what he was looking for and buy it.

The real issue was finding a way to distribute the fake snow and make it seem like snow was falling from the sky. The easiest solution was to buy a fake snow machine, but with the holidays being so close, a lot of them were rented out or sold out. Majority of the days he was missing, Mingyu was searching for a snow machine. He checked in stores, online, even with his neighbors — who thought he might have finally lost it. But at last, on Thursday, he found an online listing for the snow machine that he could pick-up on Friday. All it would take was a six hour drive to make it there and back, but Mingyu wasn’t letting a lengthy drive keep him from completing what he set out to do.

By the time Mingyu returned, the time was nearing sunset. He wasted no time with pulling into the parking lot in front of your apartment building and setting up the snow machine in a grassy area. The finishing touch to his set-up was letting the machine run and distribute snow over the area for a little bit, and once Mingyu was satisfied with what he saw he went to retrieve you from your apartment.

When you heard the knock on your door, you expected it to be the food you were having delivered. “Thank- Oh, Mingyu? What’re you doing here?”

“I told you I was coming by later today. I have a gift for you!” He reached for your hand, pulling you towards him. The grin stretching across his features was infectious and in no time you were smiling just as wide.

“What’s the gift?” You asked. Mingyu placed his hands over your eyes, preventing you from seeing the snow that was gathering a few feet from your apartment door. “Where are we going?”

“Just outside. You’ll see.”

You were met with the faint sound of a machine whirring as you got closer, and then you felt something touch you. It wasn’t cold, or wet, but soft and light. The sensation of whatever was falling on you spread across your arms, and occasionally you could feel it on your face.

“Are you ready?” Mingyu asked, leaning to whisper the question in your ear. You nodded.

Mingyu’s hands lifted from your face, and you blinked for a few moments as you took everything in. White particles — snow — was falling from the sky. Your gaze shifted to the ground, which was covered in white.

“Do you like it? You said you’ve never experienced snow during the holidays, but the weather isn’t cold enough for snow. So, I figured I’d bring the snow to you.” Mingyu chuckled, rubbing his hand across the back of his neck. Turning to him, you wondered how the universe managed to allow someone so sweet into your life.

“Mingyu,” you said, your voice a little above a whisper. “I love it. So much. Thank you.” Your arms were wrapping around him before he could think of anything to say, but nothing needed to be said. His own arms wrapped around you, hugging you tightly to his chest.

“I love you,” he mumbled, brushing some of the snow from your hair as you pulled back just enough to look at him.

“I think, right now, I love you more.”

[enigma-im]

Eleventh day of Christmas...

Trope: Fake Relationship Relationship: Alien x Human Word count: 4,366

No one understands how difficult it is to get a job as an alien. With humans making up the majority of life in space, reproducing like rodents, there isn't much use in lower life like me. To finally get a job is a miracle in itself. Though it's working on some low tier mining station, it's enough for me to settle down. Living in the village that rounds the outskirts of the quarry. It's solitary life but it's enough for me to be content. The humans aren't as rude and mean as I thought. Over the years I learned there was a difference between working-class and upper personalities. Everyone I've interacted with has treated me mostly as an equal, someone who sweats and bleeds for the job just as they do.

Only working on the station for a year I get a notice of eviction. It's a heart retching moment that leaves me in tears. This place has been my home for as long as I've known it. I've made friends and a life here, now they wish to send me away? I try to keep it together but it's hard when everything you cherish is being tossed away with a simple note. As I break down in the middle of mining I'm surrounded by workers, all trying their best. My dearest friend, Vincent, takes me away to the break room to settle down. He has always been kind to me, being ever patient in all our interactions. I couldn't ask for a better friend.

As I calm down enough to inform Vincent of my predicament he does his best to comfort me. I feel like a pest trying to steal his kindness. He tries to placate me, which works for the day but not for the week. The end of the month comes up quickly and I can barely hold my tools to work. He is always there to lend a sweet smile. As the last week comes up Vincent surprises me by coming to my home, offering a solution to my problem.

He offers to marry me.

It's a ridiculous idea that I turn down immediately, though at the time I truly wanted the easy out. He takes most of the night to convince me, explaining that nothing has to change. I have to agree, knowing that life outside of here would be worse than a little lie to the higher-ups. We marry the next day, sending in a request for joint living.

It's been nearly a year since then and life has been smooth sailing. We continue on as friends, putting on a bit of a show for the bosses whenever they show up. A few chaste kisses and lingering hugs are enough for them to nod and turn away. Besides that, we are just good friends, friends who live together in matrimony.

The houses are decorated this time of year for the human holidays. It's nice to see them stick to their roots, enjoying new years and large feasts. Though I can't say I fully understand this upcoming celebration I can still enjoy the fairy lights strewn across the paths.

"Doing anything with Vincent on Christmas," Tori asks as she walks beside me. I smile as I continue to admire the lights.

"Not that I'm aware of," I answer.

"What, no lovey-dovey plans," she asks with a salacious grin. Tori knows of the arrangement Vincent and I have, as does most of the station, but she has some weird romantic ideals for us. I've given up a while ago trying to extinguish this fire.

"None of that, I heard there is going to be another large feast for everyone," I offer instead," we are most likely heading to that."

Tori scoffs," that's no fun. You two can have a lazy morning in and still have time to go to the luncheon."

I shrug, not feeding into her wishes. Vincent and I don't have that kind of relationship. A few short kisses are all we have shared, the strange shows of affection these humans have. My people would gawk in disgust at such displays. I snicker to myself, I was much the same when he first told me of the action.

We head into work, meeting up with the crew before we descend into the dark quarry. Layers and layers of rock pass us, the sight a lackluster one after a few hundred viewings. Though more of those fairy lights decorate some of the open floors. Vincent bumps me from my admiring.

"What floor are you on today," he asks. I look to him, meeting his warm brown eyes. He is an adorable man, though he is far different than people of my kind. His hair for one is strange to me, though soft and fluffy the few times I've touched it. I can understand the appeal but it's still new to me.

"45, I'm with Harland's crew today," I answer.

"Hm," he nods," I'm just the floor below you. Want to get lunch with me today, since we are sharing the same break room?"

"Of course," I smile," I want to know more about this Santa character. It still weirds me out how he suppose to know when children have been good or bad. I understand he isn't real but how are kids comforted by this fake knowledge growing up?"

Vincent chuckles, ready to give a teasing remark before the elevator stops. I head out, waving goodbye to him as I go.

I hear many people complain about the tedious job, some even going as far as ranting on how awful working here is. Though I can't say I share the same sentiment I understand where they are coming from. It seems humans aren't built too well for jobs like this. Vincent for example has come home sore and hurt before. I've catered to him in those situations, acting like their human housewives as I draw him a bath or massage his shoulders. It's not much of a chore though, a small price to pay to say thanks.

The break comes nearly too fast as I truly get into my work. I've found a vein that piques my interest. Everyone heads out leaving me to skip the joint ride up. I finish as much as I can before I have to call it quits less I leave Vincent waiting in the break room.

I head up alone to level 40, absentmindedly walking to the breakroom. The area is large to fit everyone in and it takes me a moment to find Vincent amongst the crowd. I soon spot him off the far corner speaking with another. The human sitting beside him is someone I've not met before, a tall but slim human woman. Vincent seems engaged in the conversation, leaning close to her. The woman is equally interesting, with a great smile on her face. I falter on my way towards him feeling strange the longer I stare. I shake my head and just ignore the rolling feeling in my gut.

"Hey," I greet as I sit across from the two. Vincent startles, leaning away from the woman as he turns to me.

"Hey," he answers less enthused than he was previously.

"Hello," the girl smiles wide. Vincent startles again as if he forgot the woman was there with him. He looks to me then back to the woman, flustered a bit. My stomach rolls again.

"I guess you two haven't met. Nao this is Andrea," he gestures to the woman with a big smile," Andrea this is Nao, my, uh, wife." I don't care for the way he stuttered at the end. The woman's large smile shrinks as she looks between us then at our hands.

"Oh, you're married? You two don't wear your rings," she gestures to our empty fingers. I look at my hand confused, looking to Vincent with a quirked brow.

"Y-yea, it’s a bit harder to wear one while working down here. You will find out soon enough," Vincent jokes with her. Andrea take the answer well enough, scooting away from him a bit to my strange relief. The two still talk amicably while we all eat. My stomach continues to roll the entire time, spoiling the meal.

At the end of the workday, I walk home with Vincent stuck in thought. The interaction has picked at me the entire day, my work suffering a bit as I'd stare off into space. I continue doing that now, looking at the sidewalk with my stomach still twisting. Why am I like this?

Vincent bumps my shoulder," you good?" I stand to attention, flustered.

"Yea, just a bit distracted," I answer casually. I drift off in thought again. They seemed rather friendly today. Was he flirting with her? I've seen a few of the workers casually talk with each other with that same large smile and close proximity. The thought makes me clench my jaw.

"Penny for your thoughts," he asks. My mixed emotions pause at the question.

"What?"

He snorts," what's are you thinking about?"

"Oh," I say, still a bit confused about the question. Penny for your thoughts? I shake my head. "Was thinking about human interactions. Your species is a tad confusing," I answer as casually as I can. No need to sound as distraught as I feel.

Vincent cocks a brow," which ones? Maybe I can lend a hand in understanding." I debate actually asking, some discretion is needed here. I never understood the 'beating around the bush' meaning. Why not say what you mean? Though right now I think I get it.

"Flirting, I think is what it's called," I shrug, trying to seem uninterested. He still stiffens, walking a bit awkward as he reaches back and rubs his neck.

"I, uh," he fumbles," what about it?"

"What is it?"

"Flirting? It's just showing interest in another as a romantic partner," he answers weirdly. I appraise him from the corner of my eye, he is tense. I chew on my cheek, licking at my teeth.

"You never flirted with me," I say, wishing I hadn't immediately after.

"well, our situation was a bit different," he adjusts his bag over his shoulder," do you want me to flirt with you?"

I curl into myself," no-I don't know- it's fine- I'm not… I was just curious about it." he nods, watching me as we walk. I feel scrutinized like a germ under a microscope. Just act casual.

"Anyway, how was your day? Mine was alright, I managed to finish a vein before the whistle," I ramble. He says nothing, prompting me to look at him.

Vincent slows to a stop, me stopping with him confused. He reaches out and pinches my chin softly, tilting his head a bit with a cute twinkle in his eye. I stiffen, awkward, confused, and intrigued. He leans closer, his breath brushing over my cheeks.

"You have the most beautiful eyes, the way the Christmas lights twinkle off them look magical," he purrs. I gulp, looking between his eyes utterly conflicted. Not sure about what to do I bat his hand away with a chuckle.

"Shut up," I snicker," was that flirting?"

He laughs," if you have to ask then I didn't do it well."

We continue walking home but the fluttering in my chest overdoes the rolling in my stomach. I can't stop the smiling curling my lips, passing a glance to Vincent I see a similar grin.

The whole week I'm stuck in a loop of thoughts. Nothing can break the cycle, not even work can distract me. My body feels tense like a loaded spring. I don't know what I'm getting ready for till I'm sitting across from Vincent in the breakroom. The girl has come around for a few days but has backed off as Vincent has nearly ignored her in favor of talking with me. It's when I feel a bit of smug pride do I understand what's going on.

I have feelings for Vincent.

That's a strange thought, I have feelings for my husband, but it's still just as alarming. This annoying rolling in my stomach and taunt pull of my shoulders have been because of this woman encroaching. Have I always seen him as mine? It was never an issue before. I try to think of it strategically before I go more abstract. Was I flustered because if he left me then I'd be evicted? As that idea didn't settle well I humored the idea of actually liking him. It began a string of daydreams of kissing him at home, sharing a bed like other couples. I like the idea of laying against him on the couch, watching television, and sharing a few sweet kisses.

Damn it, I have feelings for my husband.

I seek out Tori on our day off. If anyone can help me with this it's her. A part of me finds it ridiculous to be so afraid of this feeling fluttering around my chest every time I see Vincent now. Once I found out what all this meant I haven't been able to look at him as a friend. I keep seeing pictures of us kissing everywhere. That morning I near pressed a kiss to his cheek and bump my head to his. Now that’s a mix of cultures I'm not ready for.

I pound on Tori's door like mad. She snatches the door open angrily before she acknowledges me.

"Any reasons you're making such a racket at 9 am," she snaps, though a tad amused.

"I think I'm falling for Vincent and I have no idea what to do about it. I don't wanna be fired or have him leave me," I nearly whimper," I need help. Please, tell me what to do."

Tori panic with me, reaching out and dragging me into a hug as I feel like a nervous wreck. So much is sitting on this deal Vincent and I have. Catching feelings can make or break it all. Tori pulls me inside, placing me on the couch. She sits on the coffee table, elbows resting on her knees.

"So you finally admit you love Vincent," she asks, playful but strangely serious.

I scoff," I didn't say I was in love with him, you humans throw that word around too easily. No, I said I was falling for him, great potential but with serious loss."

"What loss?"

I recoil, gesturing wide," Everything! If he doesn't feel the same or isn't ok with me having these emotions then we will split and I'll be sent back to where I came from. I can't scrounge for scraps again, Tori, I rather live this lie than go back."

Tori stares a tad too long before dropping her head with an annoyed shake. I watch, waiting for her words of wisdom.

"You are allowed this one pass as you don't understand humans as well as I do," she sighs as she sits back up," he likes you too!" I scoff, ready to leave till she grabs my arms. "He has liked you since he asked to marry you, you just haven't done anything to suggest you like him back," she explains," I can assure you if you walk over there right now, kiss him senseless and rip off your clothes then he will be over the moon to have you."

My heart flutters at the idea," I-I don't think- it's a bit extreme of an assumption."

She waves me off," shut up, it isn't. Human men are simple, that’s how I know he is completely enamored with you."

I hug my waist," well, he looked enamored with Andrea last week. I'm not as fickle as you all with these sorts of feelings, my kind doesn't just change their minds on partners."

Tori opens her mouth to rant again but just huffs, burying her face in her hands with a quick scream. She straightens with another sigh," I'll explain this one more time. Vincent is in love with you and I need you to stop acting like he isn't. He loves to go on and on about you with everyone at work. It's always 'Nao loves that' or 'Nao did this or that'. I say just tell him so you can get on to the baby-making part."

The conversation going in circles I decided to humor her," fine, how do you suggest I do that?"

"Walk over there and say 'hey, I love you and want to bump crotches with you', something like that," she rests her cheek on her hand," it's honestly that easy."

I scoff," you people lack class and subtlety."

She snorts," Fuck subtlety. But fine, you want a grand romantic gesture or something? Then get him a gift for Christmas that explains everything as easily as words. Like some lingerie or condoms."

Maybe coming to Tori was a bad idea.

Leaving her place quickly I try to dissect her words for some actual help. Maybe a romantic gesture was a good idea. That way if he doesn't like it I can try to flip it around as a misunderstanding, nothing lost. But what something humans want that can promote what I'm trying to say.

I think about this all week, feeling like a deadline is coming up fast. Christmas is just around the corner and I have to think of something. There aren't many places to shop and online is only helpful when you know what you are looking for. It's not till I see an older woman walking by with a ring on her necklace do I get an idea.

I've heard many times from many people about the symbolism of the ring. It's an image of constants and cycles. Placing the wedding ring on one's heart finger is to keep a loved one close. It's nearly perfect. I get looking online, staying up for hours in my room as I try to find the perfect one. The overly gaudy ones don't seem to fit for Vincent, he is a simple man. I find simpler bands that have layers of different metals. I go further and further down this trail till I find one that just clicks. Ordering it quickly I wait with bated breath for Christmas.

The package comes on our day off, the delivery woman handing the package to Vincent before I can try to beat him to it. As he looks it over I try to snatch it from his hands. Quickly he moves it out of reach, looking at me intrigued.

"It's rude to steal things from people's hands," he quirks a brow.

"It's not rude when it's mine," I correct. I reach for it again but he holds it over his head. Trying my luck I jump for it, grabbing at his arm as he chuckles.

"You have been interested now," he takes a step back," what's in this?" I trail after him still reaching for the box as he pretends to try to open it.

"I thoughts humans don't open gifts before Christmas," I shout, trying to hold back a snicker as we continue this little game. He twirls as I lunge, letting me fall on the couch.

"This is a Christmas gift," he perks up," is it for me?"

I twist on my back to look up at him," who else would it be for?"

"You have other friends," he shrugs, staring intently at the little package.

"But I only have one husband."

He snorts, mumbling," you better."

I sit up from the couch using his momentary distraction to grab at the box. He moves it at the last second smirking down at me. Hiding it behind his back he leans down towards me.

"What is it," he asks, nearly bouncing on his heels.

"Don't you have to wait till Christmas to find out," I ask. He pouts, tugging the box from behind him and handing it to me.

"Semantics," he waves his hand," you aren't supposed to keep secrets from your husband."

Holding the package I quirk a brow up at him," even fake husbands?" the playful gleam drops from his eyes, shoulders sagging.

"Yea," he answers," I guess that rules don't have to apply here."

I watch him walk out of the room feeling rather dejected. Looking down at the box I pet at the packaging. I allow myself to picture a day where I can truly call him my husband.

The lead up to Christmas eve is rather tense. Vincent isn't around as much, coming home late after hanging around buddies. It picks at my nerves slowly but surely till I'm waiting anxiously in the living room. I wanted to use the last week to try to endear myself to him, even cooking more often in hopes that he would be pleased with me. Though I'm generally not the one doing the cooking, him being the more proficient cook in this relationship.

Christmas eve day has me antsy. Though it’s a weekday we have it off and that actually makes it worse. A whole day of worrying. I cook breakfast for us, having a casual conversation with him before he agrees to show me some classic films. Sitting far sides of the couch and watching these flicks has me tenser. So close but so far.

I do try my hardest to enjoy the holiday introductions, learning all I can about this strange holiday. Though learning about Krampus has thrown me for a loop I find it all cozy. The day turns to night and we are finishing a film about an angry fellow living on a mountain. I found it funny but a lot of the humor was beyond my understanding.

"Hey, Nao," Vincent breaks the silence as the movie is paused.

"Yes," I ask. Looking over at him I see his fingers fidget against each other. He shyly looks up to me, pacing a quick glance to the tree in the corner.

"My family has a tradition where we open one gift on Christmas eve. I was curious if you wanted to open one before we head off to bed," he suggests. I look to the tree seeing a handful of gifts under the tree.

"There are about six gifts there, you sure you want to open them now," I ask. He fidgets a bit more, kicking his feet off the couch.

"I'm just a bit excited about giving you one of them so please humor me for the night," he shrugs. Before I can answer he is walking over to the tree to grab a small box. Handing it to me from the floor he sits by the coffee table. I fiddle with the little box, glancing over to my gift for him sitting within reach of him. I guess now is a good of a time as any.

"Grab the red one by your hand," I point. He snatches the little gift. With one more glance at each other, we start opening our gifts.

I can hardly think as I peel off the wrapping, trying to focus on him. As I get the gift open I nearly overlook the item inside. My heart stutters at the bright pendant laying at the center of a chain. The little fairy lights catch on the pink gem and twinkles inside the box. I can hardly breathe as I pet at it, remembering my mother wearing a similar piece around her neck. Father would go on and on about how he made it for her as a proposal gift, as have many people before him. Does Vincent understand the significance of this?

Gawking I look up at Vincent the same time he opens the ring box. His eyes widen, startling up to me with a similar look of wonder and surprise as me. A smile creeps up my face, his lips do the same. We both toss aside the boxes and lunge for one another. I fall to my knees on the carpet as he rises onto his. Our mouths meet in a clumsy attempt at a kiss, smiling like fools as we do our best. As we continue to ruin it I nuzzle my head against his, a rumbling in my chest rising with the tender moment.

"Great minds think alike I assume," he chuckles, tugging me close into a hug.

"How did you know about proposal gems," I wrap my arms around his neck, utterly fascinated with the glow of his eyes right now.

"I asked around," he shrugs," how did you know about engagement rings?"

"I ask around," I laugh. He chuckles, leaning over to press a fat kiss to my cheek.

"I was so nervous," he kisses at my neck," I know how serious your kind is about this kind of thing and I honestly didn't think you would want me. I told myself this would be my last try, if it didn't work I was going to have to talk about where to go from here. I've wanted you for so long."

"I didn't know I wanted you till recently but now looking back the feelings have always been there," I pet at his hair," flirting with that woman gave me a reality check." he startles me with a bite to my neck, a purr rolling up my throat shortly after. He licks the spot, soothing the aggravated skin.

"I barely flirted with her," he growls," she is so overly peppy, it got annoying after a while. I'm sorry but I did want to check if anyone could hold a flame to you. Doing that with anyone else felt wrong and dishonest, I only want to shower you in compliments." I tug at his hair, pulling him back.

I meet his warm brown eyes, looking between them before I ask," will you marry me, for real this time?"

His eyes crinkle with his giant smile," I think that's supposed to be my line." I shake my head in amusement before dragging him into another kiss.

We go to bed together, excited about tomorrow and the news we get to share. I wear my necklace and he wears his ring. What a wonderful Christmas.

[nxrthmizu]

| fate hates us both | Tsukishima Kei

»»——⍟——««

prompt | no, just me indulging myself in Tsukishima fluff

pairing | Tsukishima Kei x Reader

words | 1.7k 

author’s note | self-indulgent fic, I just think that Tsukishima would be into the kind of girl who is sharp-tongued enough to fight back.  

»»——⍟——««

Coincidence or fate? 

You met him for the first time in Amemaru Junior High School, when the two of you were placed in the same class for your first year. You were both witty, salty, and too sarcastic for your own good, so the two of you got along like the south poles of two magnets. Two-day long verbal wars were not rare between the two of you, and more than once it ended with Yamaguchi prying the both of you apart. Physically. Of course, there was never any physical fighting involved, but your insults tended to get pretty intense towards the end. 

When your first year of junior high finally drew to an end, you prayed all through the holidays that you would not end up in the same class as- 

“Tsukishima.” You said his name like it was acid on your tongue. 

He narrowed his eyes at you, not anymore pleased than you were. Yamaguchi groaned in the background. “L/N.” He replied, eyebrows scrunched up in annoyance at the prospect of sharing the same class for one more year. “I can’t believe this.” He grumbled under his breath, “The world hates me.” 

“For once, I agree with you.” You muttered sourly, shooting daggers at him visually. “Fate hates us both.” 

“Please, please, don’t argue.” Yamaguchi pleaded, wincing as tension crackled like electricity sparks between you and Mr. Beanpole. “It’s the first day, please don’t start another insult war again-”

Tsukishima took a deep breath through his mouth, your observant eyes watching as his chest heaved. “Shut up, Yamaguchi.” He snapped, both of you registering the usual ‘Sorry, Tsuki’ as you turned your attention back to each other. “L/N.” 

“Tsukishima.” You responded equally coldly, staring at him suspiciously. 

Much to your surprise (And Yamaguchi’s), he scoffed and extended a hand to you. “Let’s please agree to... Coexist.” Spitting out the last word, he snarled at the bewildered gaze you threw him. 

“Tsukishima’s capable of being nice?” You gasped dramatically. “The world must be ending.” 

Yamaguchi winced as Tsukishima’s eyebrows twitched with irritation. “Just. Agree.” Tsukishma bit out, like it was killing him to be... Pleasant. 

Your hand grasped his as you smiled sweetly, knowing full well that the expression would irk him. “Here’s to coexisting.” You said, relishing in the fact his eyebrow twitched again. 

“To coexisting.” 

»»——⍟——««

“You have got to be kidding me!” You groaned loudly, coming face-to-face with the blonde beanpole in your class for your third year of junior high.

Tsukishima couldn’t believe it. Fate truly hated him. “L/N.” He acknowledged. “I hope our... Agreement to coexist can... Resume?” He gritted out. He had to admit, the... Insulting banters could get a little tiring and old after a while. The peace of the previous year had been appreciated.

“I suppose.” You sighed. “I suppose it would be less tiring that way.”

Yamaguchi eyed the both of you carefully, ready to jump in and halt the verbal battle that he was certain the both of you would start.

“Here’s to coexisting through another year.” Smiling sweetly, you offered your hand this time. He stared at you before taking it, repeating your words with the same, fake smile on his face.

“Thank god.” Yamaguchi mumbled in the background, a hand over his heart.

“Shut up, Yamaguchi!” The both of you said simultaneously, turning to look at each other in disgust as soon as the last syllable left your lips.

You turned on your heels, adjusting your skirt. “Nope. Nope, it’s too early to deal with this.” Stalking off to the window seat you claimed as yours, you watched in mild interest as Tsukishima and Yamaguchi proceeded to do the same.

»»——⍟——««

By the end of your junior high, the two of you had somehow become friends acquaintances. It had started when the two of you heard that Yamaguchi was being bullied.

“What?!” The two of you yelled out angrily, turning for a moment to register that you had, once again, spoken in unison. Your classmates, a bunch of girls who had been gossiping about Yamaguchi getting confronted, jumped in shock, terrified at the matching, furious expressions that the both of you wore.

“Where?” You growled out. Even though you told him to shut up on numerous accounts when he tried to interfere between you and beanpole, Yamaguchi was your friend, and you’d be darned if you let someone hurt the cute little dark-haired teen while you were still in the same school.

“D-Downstairs. Cafeteria.” One of the girls said, shivering.

You made eye-contact with Tsukishima, the two of you glancing at the time left before the class started in unison, and then you were marching out of the classroom, ready to kick ass murder someone verbally. 

“Well, look at that.” Tsukishima drawled out mockingly, his golden eyes glinting. The two of you had found Yamaguchi without problem- A whole group of boys were gathered around him, cornering the injured, dark-green haired teen. “Do you see it, L/N?”

“Yeah, I do.” You responded, your voice equally mocking. “I see a bunch of students who have such low-esteems that they have to turn to bullying others to gain confidence. How sad.”

Tsukishima scoffed in disgust. “Really, I didn’t think you people could be any lower than your grades, but as it turns out,” He shrugged, laughing dryly. “Your behaviour has proved me wrong.”

“What do you two want-”

You shushed the teen before he could finish. “Oh, poor thing. Tell me, what happened that made you like this, hmm? Were you bullied by others in primary school? Is that why you have to resort to such... Low actions to regain your self-confidence? Maybe you should look into counselling instead.”

“Nah, they’re too far gone for counselling, L/N. They’re lost causes. Try the mental hospital.” Tsukishima corrected you. “Class is about to start, Maybe heading to it early for once will stop your grades from plummeting any lower than your behaviour.”

“Get back to class!” Came the stern voice of the discipline teacher in the distance. The group shot the two of you dirty looks, but the two of you were used to insults (Especially from each other) and shrugged them off.

“Come on, Yamaguchi. We’re going to be late for class.” You told him with a smile. “Don’t want to be late, do we?”

The freckled teen smiled softly at your words, getting up with Tsukishima’s help. “Yeah.”

»»——⍟——««

Yamaguchi burst out laughing as you and Tsukishima stood in front of Karasuno’s Class 1-4, staring at each other with a dumbfolded expression. 

“I knew I should’ve gone to Izumitate!” You groaned, wanting to face-plant into the ground. “You have got to be kidding me. Fate hates us both and just wants us to suffer.” 

Yes, while the two of you had learned to... Coexist and tolerate each other, it wasn’t as if you two were saying that you were friends. You still found him blunt and obnoxious, and he probably still found you to be the annoying little shit you tried your best to be. 

“Fate hates us both.” Tsukishima echoed, sighing deeply. “What have I done to deserve this.” 

“Well, I suppose if fate wants us to suffer neither of us can do anything to change that.” You said at last. “But since we’re here... I can’t say it’s nice to meet you, because let’s be honest, it isn’t, and I hoped never to see you again after graduating junior high, but... I suppose I can say it’s tolerable to see you again.” 

He snorted, flicking his glasses up with a smirk. “This’ll be our fourth year of coexistence.” In the background, Yamaguchi smiled, the tension released from his shoulders as the two best friends of his junior high life smirked at each other. 

“Oh, and stop growing for goodness’s sake!” You complained, whacking him on the back. “Now whenever I want to insult you I have to either drag you down or climb on a table to get at eye level with you.” 

Yamaguchi piped up beside the two of you. “I could carry you and give you a lift!” He offered, the two of you laughing as Tsukishima rolled his eyes. 

»»——⍟——««

Turns out, fate knew what it/she/he was doing, because fifteen years later, the two of you were still coexisting. 

“Good morning.” You mumbled sleepily as you woke up, the first thing you saw being the distinctive outline of your husband’s face. Your fingers groped around your bedside table for the glasses that you started to wear during third year of senior high. Tsukishima didn’t stop calling you four-eyes for the next three weeks, calling it payback for all the times you insulted him and his glasses. 

“Good morning.” He greeted in return, watching in amusement as you fumbled for your glasses. 

Rolling your eyes at him, you stuck your tongue out childishly at his general direction. “Oh, shut up, Kei. You’re not helping.” 

“Here.” He shook his head at your antics, reaching over you and grabbing your glasses, sliding them onto your face. “You’re as blind as a bat without them.” He snorted. 

“You say that as if you’re any better, Kei.” You retorted, leaning forward to steal a kiss from his lips. He was leaning his weight on one arm as his other hand drew circles on your stomach. 

The two of you listened to the distant sounds of your neighbour’s kids heading out for school, the pattering of their footsteps distinct along the corridor of your apartment floor. “Today’s the first day of school.” He murmured thoughtfully. 

“Mm-hm.” 

“That makes this the seventeenth year of our coexistence.” 

You tilted your head to the side, remembering the childish truce the two of you had in your high school years. “Oh yeah, I forgot all about that.” You laughed at the expression he wore. “We met eighteen years ago.” The two of you paused. “Oh god, I feel old.” 

Kei rolled his eyes at you. “You’re only thirty, Y/N.” 

“I still feel old!” You replied indignantly. 

He shut you up by pressing a light kiss on your lips. “Here’s to another year of coexisting.” 

»»——⍟——««

I kind of wanted to write that it was the first day of school and they had kids that they needed to send to school but I wanted to keep them younger so I settled for 30. They own a small apartment, Tsukishima plays for Sendai Frogs and works as a museum employee. Y/N can do whatever she wants, but they come home and cook together and cuddle and I am a sucker for domestic fluff,,, 

Oh and yeah! @owlywrites​ and I have created a Haikyuu Creators Discord (For Haikyuu writers/artists/creators/gif makers/etc. Even if you’re not a Haikyuu Creator you can join and be a beta reader or something,,,). If you’re interested in joining, message either me or @owlywrites​ and we’ll give you the link! 

One more thing- Requests for Karasuno boys x Reader are open! I’ll be writing for Kuroo, Akaashi, Oikawa and Iwaizumi soon, too. 

- Cady

»»——⍟——««

[lassieposting]

skulduggery/alt!serpine for the getting together ask game?

I’m bored, so. Send me two (or more) characters for a headcanon on how I’d have them get together

OHOHOHOHO SEE THIS IS A GOOD ONE BC

ive already been thinking about this and im. Lowkey really glad im not the only one

See I always hated skug with any serpine, like I was a passionate anti from 2007 - about three months ago but. I enjoyed their dynamic in phase one and then i read like three of their interactions from sow and got converted or some shit apparently idfk, anyway u know i love an angsty ship

this got really long so tldr; enemies to vitriolic hate-sex buddies to lovers, painfully slow burn, but they'll both die claiming they still hate each other

It begins with China.

She orders him to kill Serpine, and he refuses. He's not even 100% sure why when he does. It's not like they're friends. He's killed people he liked a good deal more than Nefarian Serpine under orders.

But she says, "kill him" and he says, "no", and then things spiral so quickly that it's actually a few days before he even has time to think about her parting shot, flung at him as he walked out on her: "if you want to keep him, you'll be the one looking after him. He's your responsibility, not mine. And if he hurts someone, you -"

He'd shut the door on her at that point, but he knows what she was going to say. You look after him yourself, you train him yourself, and if he hurts someone, you kill him yourself. A wonderfully old-world way of looking at things. He's fairly sure he remembers getting the same speech from the housekeeper when he tried to bring home the ugliest feral tomcat he'd ever seen as a small boy.

(This will come back to bite him. He's not sure how or when, but it will. That's the way of things, whenever he turns his back on China Sorrows. Her last parting shot - a classic "you'll regret this" - ended up getting him killed.)

But then there's Mevolent, and cleaning up a city in the aftermath of its latest Traumatic Event, and putting a size 10 to the backsides of the City Guard, so his priorities get reshuffled somewhat, and it's almost a week later that he thinks to ask, "Heard from Serpine lately? He's being oddly quiet."

Valkyrie blinks at him from the passenger seat. Her fingertips tap tap tap at the touchscreen. She's messaging someone. He doesn't know who. "He's...around."

"Why the pause?"

"Hm?"

"You paused," he points out, switching lanes to get around a hatchback dawdling along at 60. "He's...around. You're trying to hide something from me. I'm aware you still talk to him, you know."

She doesn't deny it. He's gotten used to that, in the last few years. She doesn't tell him things anymore. It's that distance, the distance he can try to banter over but never truly remove. She's a lot further away than his passenger seat. "He's been looking for somewhere to live, like. Now that he's here for good. So, you know. That's probably keeping him busy."

Nefarian Serpine is living out of a stuffy first-floor rented room above, of all things, Vaurien Scapegrace's pub.

He knows this not because China was having Serpine followed (although she was) or because plenty of old faces from the Sanctuary still owe him favours (although they do), but because he receives a text from Scapegrace at a quarter to midnight, in the middle of a grisly murder scene.

have u beaten anyone up lately? do u want to? think thrasher just rented one of our rooms to a war criminal

He taps out a response, half-focused on the screen and half on Valkyrie examining the photos on the dead man's mantelpiece. She looks like she's just figured something out.

Which one? Thrasher, or the other guy?

By the time he's dropped her home, said hello to the furball and returned to the city, morning is bleeding into the sky. He knocks sharply on Nefarian Serpine's peeling rented door, and then again when there's no response.

From inside, a thud.

Then another, followed by some deeply impolite language, and then the door jerks open. Serpine, wearing an impressive bedhead, a scraggly attempt at a beard and a pair of patterned socks with a hole in the toe, squints out into the hall and snaps, "D'you have ANY IDEA what time it is? This place is supposed to - ah, shite. It's you."

"It is," he agrees.

Serpine gives him a sulky jerk of the head - an invitation - and vanishes back inside. He follows, closing the door gently behind him. Inside the room is dark and depressing and smells faintly of mildew and sweat. There are clothes on the floor.

He pulls the curtains open and looks out the window, giving Serpine some privacy to get dressed.

"Found me at last, have you?" Serpine asks from over by the bed. There's a rustle of fabric and the sound of a belt being done up. "What do you want? Come to take my other hand?"

That's it. That's what's different. "Other? You don't seem to be missing any at present, Nefarian. Valkyrie's work, I take it."

Serpine sits down on the bed with a squeak of springs, and when Skulduggery turns to face him, he's smirking and, thankfully, wearing trousers. "Ever so nice of her, wasn't it? Doesn't work like the old one, though. You know. The one I used on you."

He sighs. "And here I thought this last week would've given you time to come up with some new material."

Serpine shrugs and spends a moment picking out a pair of shirts from the wardrobe beside the bed. If it's a test, it's a painfully obvious one. Almost an invitation. Go ahead, shoot me.

No, this is something Skulduggery knows far more intimately. A display of brittle confidence in the face of a threat. I'm not afraid of you. Do your worst.

Serpine is afraid of him. Afraid of being arrested, maybe, or killed, or worse. He'd have relished that fear, once. Delighted in flipping the tables.

He leans back against the desk, ankles crossed and arms folded. After a moment, Serpine turns around with a shirt on a hanger in each hand. He holds them up for an opinion.

Skulduggery points wordlessly at the green one, and the blue goes back in the closet. "If you're not here to kill me, what do you want?"

While Serpine is doing up his buttons, Skulduggery retrieves the folded sheaf of paper from the inside pocket of his long coat, and holds it up. "I came to drop these off."

Serpine's vibrant eyes narrow. "What is that? An arrest warrant?"

"A list of landlords in Roarhaven willing to rent to refugees. Valkyrie mentioned you were looking."

Serpine blinks at him. Skulduggery doesn't often bother with the facade in Roarhaven, but if he had a face right now, he'd be blinking back. It's a weirdly awkward moment.

"...thanks," Serpine says after a moment, tentatively reaching for the papers; Skulduggery leans forward to pass them over. "That'd be...helpful."

He sounds very uncomfortable saying those words. When Skulduggery responds, "You're welcome," he feels much the same.

Serpine unfolds the papers and skims them. Three pages of property listings. Tipstaff had printed them off for him with only a raised eyebrow and a, "Never thought you'd move out of Dublin, Detective."

"What brought this on?"

He looks up. "Hm?"

"You show up here at an ungodly hour of the morning, nobody to rein you in, and you're being helpful? I don't buy it. I know China as well as you do. She told you to kill me, didn't she?"

"She did," Skulduggery acknowledges, and a very old, very spiky part of him gets a kick out of watching the blood drain from Serpine's face. "I told her no."

"Bollocks."

"Hard to believe, isn't it? But it's true. Ah, don't look at me like that, Nefarian. It's got nothing to do with you. I was just feeling argumentative that day. And, if nothing else, I can always rely on China to argue with me if I tell her no."

"So -"

"For my sins, she made you my responsibility, see. I'm supposed to keep an eye on you, make sure you don't get up to any of your old tricks. And if you do, then I'll kill you. I'll be checking in on you to make sure you're behaving yourself. Think of me as a...probation officer, of sorts. With benefits."

More blinking. This version of Serpine is not a morning person. He bets his alternate self got to sleep in far later in this Serpine's dungeon. "I'm not seeing any benefits."

"The benefit is I get to kill you if you step out of line. I never said the benefits were for you."

"Are there any benefits in this for me?"

He considers this for a moment. "You get to live. Because of me. I saved your life. "

Serpine's face is emotionless and his voice is flat.

"Oh," he says. "Yippee."

He's interviewing a witness when his phone rings.

He politely excuses himself, and steps out into the hallway to answer it. "Pleasant."

"Hello!" Serpine says brightly, and launches immediately into, "I want a car."

Skulduggery's fake face blinks at the sigil-embossed wallpaper. It takes a second to even register the voice, and another to pick up on -

"How the -? Who gave you this number?"

"Valkyrie." Serpine sounds completely unapologetic. "And you're supposed to be teaching me to drive."

Serpine can't see his head tilt. He does it anyway. "Am I now? And what gave you that idea?"

"I'm your problem now, remember? Besides, you agreed to it," is the smug answer. "Before our little holiday back to my dimension, I said I wanted a better house and a latte and a car. And driving lessons."

"I never agreed to that."

"Well, you didn't say no. That's agreement by default. Sorry."

"Plenty of people can teach you to drive, Nefarian. You could teach yourself, even. Watch a video on Youtube."

"Detective Pleasant, I am shocked," Serpine teases, suddenly dripping with insincere concern. "Think of all those poor defenceless mortals I could run into. There's an advert on the television about how you're specifically not supposed to hit them with cars. It kills them, apparently. How will I cope without you there to make sure I resist temptation?"

Skulduggery grinds his teeth. "You're enjoying this, aren't you?"

"Immensely. I'd completely forgotten how much fun it is to have you at my mercy. And you did say you're supposed to keep an eye on me."

Skulduggery goes quiet for a moment, focusing on reining in the urge to hit something. Serpine's face. He wants to hit Serpine's face. With a chair. Trust him to figure out that being Skulduggery's responsibility meant he could go to him for help.

"Fine."

"Excellent! And now you have my number, so you can let me know when you're free."

"Since when do you have a mobile?"

"Since today," Serpine says airily. "Tanith helped me pick one out. I can talk to anyone, anywhere, whenever I like now. Isn't that great? I mean, I only have two numbers, three now that Valkyrie's given me yours, but still. Now I'll always have someone to talk to."

"This is a work line. It is not for social calls."

A passing sorcerer startles a little at his tone, and he gives her an apologetic smile. As an afterthought, he rolls his eyes in a you know how it is gesture. But she's already walking away, so really he just rolls his eyes at her back, which is probably rude of him.

Serpine is still talking. "- can send little moving pictures, and I've downloaded all these little applications, so now I do all sorts of fun things. Do you use...whatsit...Snapchat? I have Snapchat now. And I've got Angry Birds and Candy Crush and Grindr."

And that? That right there? That is more than he ever needed to know about Serpine.

"Goodbye, Nefarian," he says firmly, and hangs up.

He checks in on Serpine once a week, officially. Unofficially, he clocks more hours than he'd like to admit parked in an alley outside Scapegrace's pub, waiting for someone to scream bloody murder. Serpine spots him a couple of times, gives him a jaunty wave with his newly-regrown hand on his way to the off-licence, mocking and unconcerned.

But nobody gets murdered. Serpine seems to be...behaving. For now.

"I've volunteered you for move-in duty," Valkyrie says, apropos of nothing. When he blinks at her, she shrugs and takes a sip of her coffee. "Serpine's found a flat. He needs some furniture shifting."

He's not going to throw anything at his partner in this busy mortal cafe. He's not.

"I see. And you thought that has anything to do with me because..."

She polishes off the last dregs of her drink with a slurp. "I can't float stuff up stairs."

The apartment Serpine is moving into is a decent two-bedroom on the fourth floor of a six-floor block in a quiet area with a history of minimal unexpected-demolitions-by-overpowered-supervillain. Skulduggery idly wonders, as he pulls up in the parking area behind the building, whether a mass murderer moving in - and the frequent visits by the other mass murderer charged with keeping an eye on him - will bring down housing prices. China will hate that, when she wakes up.

Serpine is waiting for him out front, surrounded by boxes and furniture, already looking a bit frazzled. His outfit is stylish and his slicked-back hair is sticking up in places where he's been running his hands though it. He startles and looks up at the sound of footsteps, and seems to breathe a sigh of relief. "Ah! You came. Valkyrie said you'd know how to go about getting all this, you know. Up there."

"You can hire people for this, you know," Skulduggery tells him. "Removal men."

"With what money?" Serpine asks, a little helplessly. "Valkyrie gave me some of her old things, but I got most of this from - what's the word? - second hand shops, and the refugee aid centre. I've been looking for work, but...you know." He gestures at his face. "This is my criminal record."

Which...is a fair point, so Skulduggery rolls up his sleeves and moves to one end of a squashed two-seater couch. "Fair enough. Grab the other end."

Serpine's mouth almost drops open. "You want to carry it? Like peasants? I thought you were here to float the damn thing!"

Well, he could. But the world isn't actively ending right now, so he can afford to be petty. "I don't use magic unless I have to, these days. We'll be doing this the old-fashioned way."

"But." The last time he saw someone look this aghast was when Valkyrie realised how the citizens of Roarhaven saw her. "But that's manual labour!"

"A little manual labour will do you good."

"Gods, I hate you," Serpine tells him as he moves to grab the other end of the couch.

Skulduggery turns the facade on specifically to give him a smug smirk. "I know."

By the time they're finishing up the boxes, Serpine's new neighbours have come out into the hall to see what all the banging is about. They seem young, mostly - too young to recognise him from the war. Skulduggery is starting to suspect that Serpine has accidentally moved into student housing, but he keeps his mouth shut. Serpine is being chatty and charming, holding court in the corridor, and Skulduggery mostly lets him get on with it in between trips to the bottom of the stairs to pick up more boxes, until a young woman who holds Serpine's front door open for him and chuckles, "Left you doing all the work, has he? He's a talker, your boyfriend. I bet you don't get a word in edgewise."

It's not often that Skulduggery Pleasant is lost for words. "I. I'm sorry. What?"

Fortunately, Serpine chooses that moment to interrupt the conversation he's having and interject, "Oh, no, darling. We're not together. He's just here to make sure I stay out of trouble."

There's something off about how he says it, though. There must be, because the woman taps her nose like he's just confided a secret, and Skulduggery can't help but feel like he's just been made the butt of a joke he doesn't fully understand.

He checks on Serpine once a week. Occasionally Serpine texts him. A blurry photo, usually paired with a caption like, "what the hell is this?"; a set of traffic lights, or a lollipop man, or a chihuahua in a little jumper. Sometimes he responds, but sometimes he doesn't bother.

It's not like they're friends.

The sun is shining, the birds are singing, Roarhaven's shopping district is bustling, and Nefarian Serpine is late.

Skulduggery's been people-watching, drumming his fingers on the tabletop, for fifteen minutes when he finally shows up with a to-go coffee cup in one hand and a stack of books under the other arm. He's frowning.

"You're late," says Skulduggery, by way of greeting.

Serpine shrugs, taking the seat opposite. He dumps his books on the round table and gives the menu a cursory glance. "Sorry. I was at the library. Almost missed the bus."

A waitress approaches wearing a shirt stamped with the logo of the little bistro they're sat outside, and while Serpine orders lunch, Skulduggery idly examines the titles stamped along the spines of his book mountain. Some of them look old, leather bound tomes with fancy gold lettering, and the rest seem to be...textbooks, of all things.

"A little light reading, Nefarian?"

"Huh?" Serpine - busy watching the waitress walk back inside - swivels round to face him, and shrugs. "Oh. Yeah. I want to see if they match up with the slanderous shite they're teaching at the university."

"Excuse me?"

Serpine shrugs. "Vapid and Ty - you know Ty, weird hair, lives next door - thought it might help me adapt if I learn more about how your world is different to mine, so. I've been sitting in on some classes. Unofficially. History. Mortal Relations. That kind of thing. You have battles here that never happened back home, you know."

Skulduggery folds his arms across his chest and leans back in his chair, amused despite himself. "Mortal Relations? You're going to Mortal Relations lectures. You."

"Shut up," says Serpine, pointing a finger at him. "You don't get to laugh. You're not the one nobody wants to hire. - because that's still a problem, by the way. Aren't you supposed to be helping me with that?"

"I'm supposed to be making sure you don't kill anyone or make a nuisance of yourself. Sorry to disappoint."

"Would it kill you to write me a character reference?"

Skulduggery coughs conspicuously into his gloved hand with the throat he doesn't have. He picks up the top book from Serpine's stack and flips idly through Religion & Warfare: The Rise Of The Church Of The Faceless In The 15th Century . "Think about that one for a minute, Nefarian, and you'll remember why it's not happening."

"Fine. Be like that." Serpine's shoe nudges his leg under the table. "Here, were you at the Battle of Black Rock?"

He has to think about that one for a second, then hums in the negative. "Hm. No. I missed that one. I think that was when I was holed up in Cork with a broken leg. Why?"

"History 201," Serpine muses. "I tagged along this morning. It was mostly about that fight, but it never happened in my dimension. It was borderline slanderous, honestly. The professor is an imbecile."

"You're dying to vent, aren't you?"

"Would you mind terribly?"

Skulduggery pulls his ornate pocket watch from his waistcoat pocket and checks the time. "You've got fifteen minutes. Better talk fast."

Time goes by.

He checks on Nefarian once a week. They have coffee, sometimes. Valkyrie knows not to cross the line of bringing Serpine to Skulduggery's home, but she adds them both to a group chat and neither one leaves.

Nefarian wrecks his first car, and Skulduggery makes the drive out from Dublin at 5.45am to rescue him. He calls the tow truck while Serpine sits, pale and shaken, in the Bentley's front seat, drenched from the rain and squelching miserably every time he moves.

He apologises for calling so early, and for once he sounds like he means it.

Skulduggery takes him through the McDonalds drive thru to cheer him up, and as Nefarian tucks into a box of fries with gusto, he thinks, oh no.

They're not friends. They're not.

"Is this a date?"

Skulduggery tilts his head, hand stilling over the car keys. "I'm sorry?"

Valkyrie tosses another piece of popcorn into her mouth. She's already in her pyjamas, fluffy ones with dogs on them, and she's flicking through the Netflix queue. "You're all dressed up. Is this a date? Have you two finally gotten over yourselves? God knows it's been long enough."

He snatches up the car keys and sniffs, disdainful. "After all these decades, Valkyrie, if that's what your expert detective skills are telling you, I have failed as a mentor."

"And now you're getting defensive."

"I'm doing no such thing. Where's Tanith, by the way?"

She laughs and does double fingerguns at him. "And that's deflection!"

He sighs - dramatically, for her benefit - and as he checks his pocket watch, she continues, "And, she's on her way. Get out, already. You have a date to keep and we have movies to watch."

"It's not a bloody date," he complains, patting his pockets to make sure he's got everything. "And I originally asked you."

"Yeah, but opera's boring. Here, is he meeting you there or are you picking him up?"

"Goodbye, Valkyrie."

"See?!" She shouts after him as he shuts the front door. "Date!"