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anxiousgaypanicking · 4 years ago

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ever since i posted that thing about logan playing volleyball and remus being a “fan,” its been stuck in my head. so... here’s a lil story about it. it’s been a year since i’ve played, but i remember the rules semi-decently ;) Setting and Swooning

“Set,” Roman shouts, setting the volleyball over his head, and into the middle.

There comes a yell of “mine” before Logan rapidly approaches the ball, jumps up, and swings, spiking it over the net. He barely listens to the scattered yelling of the other team before the referee blows his whistle and straightens his arm on Roman and Logan’s side, indicating a point had been scored for their team.

Roman cheers, and so do the people on the bleachers who were rooting for their team. All except for one. A certain bored brother, who was watching the whole game with unamused and frankly uninterested eyes. He didn’t care enough to learn the rules, and thus watching the game was practically a confusing mess.

Or, that’s what it would be, if Remus actually cared enough to watch the game. Instead, he was more focused on leaning back in the bleachers and eyeing the lower half of the players on the court.

He knew it was considered disrespectful, but the outline of their asses shown clear through the flexible spandex.

Besides, he actually had the consent of one teammate. Initially, he did stare solely because he was bored and perverted in what else could entertain him besides guys and ass, but, after some none too subtle stares, and a whole shocking reveal as Remus found out who that player was, he finally asked if he felt comfortable with Remus continuing to stare.

And surprisingly, he had said yes!

So, he spent his current time staring at the lower half of the player who’s jersey displayed a proud “3″ on the back. Logan.

Most people didn’t realize Logan was even on the volleyball team. He seemed more the reserved and studious type, and while yes, he was, he still liked to keep his body as healthy as his mind.

Plus, sports were a good way to get anger out.

Volleyball specifically showed off his body though. Logan was surprisingly muscular, with rather defined legs and, in Remus’s opinion, a great ass. All the squatting that had to be done in volleyball definitely played a part in both.

When the players start moving again (as there was a pause for rotations, and then as the next server got themselves ready), Remus groans, earning a glare from his mother.

If only she knew his peril. Due to their seats, whenever the players moved, he couldn’t focus entirely on their bodies.

Which, admittedly, wasn’t the point, as one was instead suppose to focus on the literal game being played, but that was irrelevant.

There’s a pause, before a kid tosses the ball up, runs, jumps, and hits it, serving it over the net. There’s a yell of “serve” from the other team, before they all practically go for it at once. Poor communication leads to a poor game being played, and that showed here.

The ball hit the floor, not even being touched by any of the other players, which earned frustrated groans from them, and their coach.

The home team on the other hand, aka Logan and Roman’s team, grinned, and did a short stomp while cheering “A-C-E; ace!” Despite having asked Roman what that meant, he had forgotten. All he really cared about was seeing Logan’s normally so neutral face soften slightly into a slightly proud, slightly relieved smile.

It only really happened during volleyball games. Logan really only emoted during games, whether it be through angry scowls, or pleased cheers. It was unfairly cute.

Deciding he was quite tempted to just run onto the court and scoop Logan up, he sneaks a glance at the scoreboard. 19-7, the home team in the lead, although that wasn’t surprising in the slightest.

The first game had already been played, with the home team winning that as well, which means he only has to wait until one of them (probably the home team) got to twenty-five.

Unfortunately, he was impatient, so he groans again, as his leg bounces rapidly. He was so bored, but he’d rather stare at Logan than his phone, even if the more he stared, the more he wanted to jump onto the court.

Stupid impulses. Stupid urges. Stupid sexy Logan.

There’s another serve, another scramble, another point to the home team, and another cheer from them. Remus could only hope that this one person serves the rest of the game.

And, he almost gets his wish, up until the other time finally bumps the ball, sending a free ball back over. Normally, that would provide an excellent start to an eventual set and spike, but Roman misses his set, the ball not going up high enough, and Logan ends up spiking into the net.

The other team cheers, and the home team looks bitter. Remus watches as the coach pulls them to the side (specifically Roman and Logan) to scold them. It was an easy ball that should have ended with a point for their side. And even if the ball was too low, Logan should know to try setting it or tipping it over the net.

He watches Roman shift his weight back and forth on his feet, presumably ashamed, and watch as Logan’s foot taps rapidly against the ground, annoyed, but focused on receiving the pointers nonetheless.

While he didn’t like hearing that he had messed up or done bad, Logan still enjoyed feedback.

After a few more moments, Roman and Logan run back to their positions, Roman lightly nudging Logan before they stay still and watch the serve.

If Remus didn’t know any better, he’d assume Roman was crushing on the athletic nerd. And, in all honesty, Roman had before. But after being turned down, Roman forced himself to get over it.

Remus likes thinking about that moment. It was upsetting for his brother, of course, but that meant Remus’s sexual (and, he supposed, romantic) feelings had the potential to be returned.

Although, he highly doubted it.

Even if they never would be, at least he still got to stare at that ass every time he was dragged to one of these boring games.

The serve goes over, and Roman shouts “serve!” The libero gets it, bumping it to the front row, where Roman sets it to the front left player. They tip it over, and it hits the ground right past the net, earning cheers for the home team again. Another point is added to their side

The team rotates around again, and as Logan’s rotated back to serve, the libero is rotated out, the middle front player taking their place.

Roman shoots Logan a thumbs up, and Remus leans forward in his seat. He may find volleyball boring, but Logan was an impressive player. And while he jump served, Remus was more focused on the way he approached the jump, before serving the ball over the net.

Roman always gushed about how Logan had such good control, and as Logan’s hard serve barely landed past the net on the opposing team’s side, Remus could low-key see what he meant. A point is given to the home team, and the ball is rolled back to him. Logan adjusts his glasses, before he bounces the ball a few times. He tosses it up, and lets it fall and bounce back against the floor.

He glances to the refs, and one of them whistles, before motioning to the net, indicating Logan was free to serve.

He bounces the ball once more, before tossing it up and jump serving yet again. It’s another short serve, that once again lands right past the net.

There’s angry groans from the opposing team, before Roman hears somebody say “he serves short!”

He watches as they adjust their position accordingly, and Roman turns around to nod to Logan, who nods in return. He serves again, this time regularly, and the ball goes past the front row, and a little past the back. There’s exasperated noises, as they miss it again. 23-8.

“Two more, Logan!” Roman shouts, as they bring it in for another quick ace cheer. The other team members also playfully pat his back and encourage him, and Logan backs up behind the serving line.

“Two more,” he repeats to himself, drawing in a deep breath, before tossing the ball up into the air again, serving it over. The other team hits it, bumps it, specifically, but person they bump it to bumps it over. Logan bumps the free ball to Roman, who serves it to the current middle front player, who tips it over. One of the front row players on the other team tries to get it, but they can’t manage to bump it up, and the ball falls to the floor.

There’s loud cheering. Logan didn’t join in in the premature celebrating, instead shaking his arms and head in an attempt to cure the end of the game jitters.

“One more,” he says, and Roman smiles.

“One more,” the setter repeats. “You’ve got this.”

“One more,” Remus says to himself, staring at the scoreboard, and then looking back at Logan. Logan hits the ball against the ground a few times, before looking over to the bleachers. He makes eye contact with Remus, who grins at him. Even from a distance, Logan can tell Remus is rooting for him.

He never would have expected that the class-clown, and honestly the class hindrance, to genuinely cheer for him (let alone attend a volleyball game, but Remus didn’t have much choice), and it honestly amuses him.

The whistle blows, and Logan takes a deep breath, before tossing the serve up and jump serving it over.

There’s shouts from the other team, as the ball gets just barely bumped up from the floor as a result of a dive, before bumped up again. One of the opposing middle front players jumps up to spike it, and Roman and the middle front player jump up to block it. It hits their hands, before falling back on the opposing side, bumping against the player before falling to the floor. The whistle blows, and there’s a moment of silence as it seems like everyone holds their breaths, waiting for a result.

Did it count? Or were they going to call it a violation.

After what seemed like an eternity, the refs nodding back and forth to each other, they extend their arm to the home team’s side. The final score read 25-8.

Cheering erupted in the gym, with Roman picking Logan up in a hug. Logan looks proud in his own way, a smile over his face. Teammates slap his shoulder and pull him in for hugs, before they line up to shake hands with the opposing team. Afterwards, the coach calls them over to congratulate them.

After that talk, the coach orders them to put away the net and get changed.

Parents and fans stand and cheer, and some of them run out onto the court, Remus included. He wasn’t running to Roman, however, and Roman didn’t expect him to. He runs to Logan instead, immediately hugging him and picking him up. He happily spins him around, cheering “you did it! You fucking did it!”

There’s hardly time to reprimand him for disturbing Logan as he tried to put away the net, before Remus’s has set him down and has immediately moved to running his hands over Logan’s body.

“You’re such a good player,” he says, eyes drifting from Logan’s legs, to his eyes, and then back to his legs. “I mean, I don’t understand the game much, but you’re very strong and you seem to be very good at playing.”

Normally, anyone would grow quickly annoyed with Remus’s rambling, especially if he was both feeling someone up and checking them out while doing so, but Logan didn’t seem to particularly mind. If anything, he was rather amused.

“I appreciate the compliments,” Logan says, running a hand through his sweat-slicked hair in an attempt to brush it out of his face. “I need to finish getting down the net, but afterwards I planned to grab some food and head home. Would you care to come with me?”

His parents worked late, so he’d be home alone. He lived within walking distance, and also had the money on him to grab some food, and he decided that walking with Remus would be more fun than walking alone.

“Sure,” Remus replies with a shrug, his hands coming to rest against Logan’s ass. “As long as you promise not to change out of your uniform.”

“What about the knee pads?”

“I suppose you can take off the knee pads.” He groans as he responds, and it earns a soft, and rather cute, laugh from Logan.

“Okay. I’ll be right back.”

Remus was practically swooning as he watched Logan walk away. He appears to effortlessly carry the metal poles back to the storage closet, before he heads to the locker room with a fellow teammate.

And Remus has to admit, he’s started going to the volleyball games willingly, specifically to have interactions like this.

To get the chance to spend time with Logan.

#sanders sides #intrulogical #sanders sides volleyball au?#potential volleyball au?#sanders sides volleyball au #intrulogical volleyball au #remus sanders #logan sanders #thomas sanders #was this an excuse to basically write about how much i miss volleyball?#yes #sanders sides fluff #agp fluff

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i-write-boop-spoops · 4 years ago

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Boom boom,how was your day? Anything new or hard?

Judging from my leon headcanon it's obvious I would like to be held 😔

[Daily reminder to everyone that you are amazing,great,worth it and royalty 😌]

Leon

-he gives me vibes of a person who collected whatever the equivalent of pokemon cards there. In his old room he still has some of those old cards in one of those fancy little books that you could put them in

-he was the one who caught hops wooloo!

-Teases hop about his crushes, but in the nice brotherly way and not the annoying one. Supportive but also very "sooo hop,you and them ayeeeeee?" Personally I'm a gloria and hop shipper, but that could work for anyone

-for hops birthday he has a special birthday snap back. He also wears this to your birthday, its colorful and has a party hat ontop of it. This was actually a little crafty thing hop made but he cherishes it (even if hop is like nOoO-) idk I just like to think he has special occasion snap backs like a Christmas one with dangly lights or it looks like santas hat.

-even though hes a very happy and confident person, alot of his years come up to him as more of a serious kind of dude like at the battle tower. Sometimes I cant help but think he looks at the window of his house and just thinks if this is really what life might be. As much as he loves being champion, sponsors and all- even that can get suffocating sometimes. But you're like a bright light to him, hes probably just amazing at cuddling with how big he is and hes just UGHH so great at comforting.

Steven

-Thinks hes sOo great at cooking until he somehow fails at BOILING WATER. Hes trying his best but sometimes your beat is not enough 😔 you probably will have to save him alot, oh well hes good at being champion so just keep it at that

-good singing voice, singing you to sleep? Gotcha! Singing at a party where he was being pushed to do so? Great. I can imagine he follows more on deeper tones, but hes good at high notes too. (Also somebody made Steven's theme with LYRICS I'm in love)

-when he was younger, Joseph always had to keep an eye on him if they visited the mines together because yes this little rock loving maniac is running around EVERYWHERE to get that fancy rock. Pls save Joseph. On other notes he'll bring his kids with him to mining too! But only on the places he knows are safe, he dosent want to risk his family getting harmed afterhismotherdiED

-more childhood headcanons is that hes good at science, especially earth science but not as great at math. He isnt terrible, definitely not but he cant compete at a competition. ALSO I agree that he wouldnt be super cool and suave, hes starting to be but man hes mostly a little bit of a nerd who carries around a book of rocks. He wasnt exactly popular with people wanting to date him until he grew up 😔 though he loves you alot so too bad you're stuck with a rock nerd your entire life.

Explosion my love, my MONARCH, my SOULMATE. Thank for these literally amazing headcanons! Legit grinning from ear to ear from these!

I had genetics today (my fave) and idk if I did something wrong (or too right), because I had way too much extra time left. Like I’m disabled so I get extra time on exams, and I didn’t even come close to using it. So I’m a bit spooked tbh lol. I got one more exam in a couple days and then I’m done!

Hope your day is as EPIC as you explosion!

I too want to be held by Leon, I just wanna be scooped up like a lil ball of ice cream into his arms. Legendary

Leon and Hop have such a wholesome relationship OML. It’s obvious they really care and admire each other. Their smiles are so precious!

Also Leon wearing tacky caps? I think it’s illegal for him not too lol

Bruh, Steven can make cold sandwiches and that’s it. Literally. He can assemble, he may even be able to chop, but you cannot rely on this man to even use a microwave. Good thing he;s rich, otherwise he would literally starve

I CANNOT believe we just thought of the same headcanon about Steven’s voice and being able to sing!! Legit just thinking about this. He’s perfect for lullabies! And drunk karaoke!

Lol I just imagine lil five y/o Steven pestering his dad about all the cool pebbles in the garden, and Joseph wanting to be a good dad and foster his son’s curiosity, so he takes him to local cave that does tours and baby Steven is literally acting as if he was in a sweet shop. He kept asking the tour guide questions about the rocks and every answer made him go “Wow! That’s so cool!”.

Bab steven is precious! Protect at all costs!

As a science lover who is not great at maths, I FEEL that deep within my soul. Personally I headcanon Steven has a bachelor’s in geology (with a minor in business because his dad begged him to), so he probably did a lot of science in college, and did only the easiest math bits to get by lol.

Steven was definitely bullied a bit in school, he was a really big nerd and hadn’t grown into the dreamboat we know and love yet. I think that’s how he met and became friends with Wallace, because they were classmates, and Wallace was also bullied, for being super flamboyant (and queer). They bonded over being outcasts and battling.

And when they grew up, got hot, and became fabulous superstars, it’s safe to say a lot of the people who wronged them were suddenly very interested in being friends with Hoenn’s champions.

Moral of the story? Don’t be a dick!

Ugh, thanks again for these fantastic headcanons! They are so good!

#anon explosion #💥 anon #champion leon headcanons #steven stone headcanons

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is0gild · 5 years ago

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Ice Cream and Fire Oven Pizza - Chapter 9

Pairing: Elsa x Lea/Axel || Side Pairing: Riku x OC

Summary: Modern AU. She's an introvert ball of nerves who works at Ice Palace, a mall food court ice cream shop. He's the outgoing, sassy goofball who works at the Pizza Planet across the way. Hilarity, snark, and fluffy romcom hijinks ensue.

Word Count: 6,398

FIRST CHAPTER || PREVIOUS CHAPTER || NEXT CHAPTER

Credit for super friggin’ cute and super friggin’ amazing cover art goes to the super friggin’ talented ky-jane here on tumblr!

“What’s with the sour face? I know your idea of fun on a Friday night is locking yourself up alone in your room all by yourself, but come on! Going out with a few peeps for a night on the town ain’t gonna kill ya!”

I heaved out a sigh as Anna turned us into the same parking lot we’d just seen Xion’s car go into. “It’s not that, I just… I thought it was only going to be the two of us tonight. We haven’t seen each other since… well, you know… and so much has happened and I just wanted a nice evening, just you and me, talking and catching up.”

“And we can still do that,” she nodded, pressing a couple buttons on her dashboard. As the convertible’s top started to rise and all the windows slid back up, she parked in an open spot right beside Xion’s little blue Prius and powered down the engine. “But now we get to party at the same time! Besides, this way I can meet all of your new friends too!”

Snatching my Ice Palace cap off my head and tossing it into the back seat, I gave a tiny huff. “These people aren’t my friends.”

A couple of loud thuds against the left side of the car made us both jump in our seats before glancing to the source. Roxas and Xion had smooshed their noses up against the door windows, mouths wide open, lips suctioned against the glass and cheeks puffing in and out as they made funny faces at us. Anna snorted then burst out laughing, asking me, “Do they know that?”

“I wasn’t talking about those two. Lea and them are my friends. Well…” I snagged a pale tendril of my hair to twist around my finger as I worried my bottom lip between my teeth. “...sort of…it’s all still very new...” Then I shook my head and tightened my ponytail. “In any case, I meant everyone else that’s going to be at this thing. They’re not my friends because I don’t know any of them.”

“So this is how you get to know them,” she grinned, nudging her shoulder into mine. “Come on, sis, this’ll be fun! I promise!”

“Don’t go making promises you can’t keep,” I grumbled.

Just then, we watched Lea go sliding across the hood of Anna’s Porsche in one smooth motion, bringing him to my side so he could open the car door for me. He bent into a half-bow, sweeping one arm out with a smile, “M’lady.”

Anna giggled. “Ooooo, such a gentleman! I don’t believe I’ve gotten your name yet.”

“Lea,” he leaned into the car, stretching across me to shake hands with her. Once again, I caught the faint whiff of cinnamon and had to resist the urge to squirm at his closeness. He smirked at her and winked, “Also answer to Mr Hottie-With-A-Body.”

...so he had heard that.

Great.

Just dandy.

My kingdom for a rock to crawl under right now.

“And you would be the sister, I take it?”

She grinned, “Anna. I’m thinking I like you already, Mr Hottie-W-”

I discreetly pinched her arm, shutting her up.

He didn’t seem to notice as he looked past her to where the other two were still making like a pair of pufferfish against the glass. “And those gremlins out there are Xion and Roxas. They’re harmless, just don’t ever feed ‘em after midnight. Hey!” he raised his voice so they could hear him. “Knock it off already, twerps!” They both pulled away, Xion hiding a snigger behind one hand while Roxas razzed his tongue. Shaking his head, the smile returned as Lea at last backed out of the car to straighten up again, “Well then, shall we?”

To my credit, I only hesitated for a second before exiting the vehicle, tugging at the hem of my skirt slightly as I stepped out onto the asphalt. Ugh, I hadn’t even had a chance to change out of my work clothes before getting sucked into all of this, so I didn’t even have the small consolation of being dressed comfortably. My eyes followed Xion and Roxas as they ran ahead to 7th Heaven, or so the gigantic, yellow neon sign hanging above the door proclaimed. It was a rustic, wooden building with a small set of stairs leading up to the wraparound patio. There was a warm glow coming through the fogged windows and muffled music could be heard from within.

Anna pushed a button on her key fob and the Porsche beeped as all its doors locked. Then she latched onto my arm, practically skipping as we made our way to the entrance. Lea dashed out in front, taking the steps two at a time and holding the door open for us. As we climbed up onto the deck as well, I could now hear the murmur of voices and laughter coming from inside as well. I gulped, my stomach sinking.

If it weren’t for Anna clinging to me like a two ton anchor, I’d probably have made a break for the hills by now.

And she knew that, which was exactly why she was doing it.

Traitor.

And so it was that I, with little choice or say in the matter, was dragged by my sister into the dreaded bowels of El Diablo.

...I’m not sure what I’d expected to hear upon descending into the terrifying Underworld, but it certainly hadn’t been the perky pop beat of Barbie Girl.

A strange, but oddly fitting soundtrack for eternal damnation.

The music was coming from a small stage all the way in the back of the place where some young woman was badly singing karaoke under spotlights. Between us and her was a massive, dimly lit room packed with tables and people cheering her on as they drank their presumably alcoholic beverages. Off to one side was a long bar, crowded with customers and tended by a brunette who, ahem… could only be described as the very epitome of the term ‘one busty babe.’ The wall opposite the bar was lit up with flashing lights from a row of retro pinball and arcade machines.

“We usually stake out one of the back corners for ourselves and spread out from there,” I barely heard Lea say over all the noise. I glanced back at him to see him squinting as his eyes scanned the darkness before his face brightened and he pointed off to our right. “Over there! Follow me.”

Anna gave my arm a reassuring squeeze and I replied with a thin, shaky smile.

There were just... so… many… people.

We navigated through the throng behind Lea, his blazing hair like a guiding light in the shadows, showing us the way. With every step we took, the knots in my gut pulled tighter and my knees grew numb. This was it. It was time…

...to mingle.

(Shudder.)

The three of us came to a stop at a large table. Half the people seated were all still in their work duds too, making me feel a little better about my attire, but not by much. Everyone looked up to warmly greet Lea before all eyes turned to me and I resisted the urge to shrink behind Anna. “Hey guys!” Lea shouted over the roar of the pub. “This is Elsa and her sister, Anna! El here is the newest scoop slinger at Ice Palace, so you’ve probably already seen her around.”

“So you’re the fresh meat,” one woman smirked at me. I recognized her from the greek food place that was Ice Palace’s neighbor. “Pleasure. Name’s Megara. My friends call me Meg.”

“Tiana,” the girl sitting next to her in a cute green dress smiled.

“She’s a server at that lil Cajun grill also in the food court,” Lea supplied before cocking his head at her. “Boyfriend couldn’t make it tonight?”

She immediately frowned and averted her gaze. Meg gently pat her on the back, shooting him a tiny scowl, “Smooth move, ya knucklehead. They broke up.”

“Oops,” he chuckled awkwardly. “Hey, don’t sweat it, Tiana. You know what they say - gotta kiss a few frogs and whatnot.” Crickets from the table. “Heh, get it? Cuz you work at… aw, too soon?” He cleared his throat, “Oookay, moving on! Next, I’m sure you’ve seen these three over at Lucky Cat.” He waved a hand towards a familiar blue-haired chick, her stocky coworker with slicked back, chocolate locks, and what I was guessing was Roxas’s doppelganger, not Roxas himself. Lea pointed to each in turn, “Aqua, Terra, and Ventus.”

“You’re the place with the super sweet tabby I got to cuddle earlier!” Anna said excitedly.

Aqua laughed, “That’s Chirithy, Ven’s pet. He likes to bring him into work sometimes. The cat’s so well behaved, management doesn’t mind.”

Ventus scratched the back of his head with a lopsided grin. “Yeah, I’m lucky. He’s sorta become the unofficial mascot of our café.”

“Then Grumpy-Pants over here is Squall and-”

“That’s Leon,” a guy with a scar slashed across the bridge of his nose corrected with a growl into his beer.

“Riiiiiight, forgot you were rebranding,” Lea snerked. “He works over at Buster’s Swords, the replica weapon shop in the mall. And last but most certainly not least, this little one here is Naminé,” he indicated a petite blonde sitting between Ven and Leon, who gave a shy wave. “When she’s on the clock, you can find Nams at The Crayon Box for all your art supply needs.”

“Lovely to meet you both,” she nodded at us. “We’re currently rooting on our friend Ariel,” she pointed to the stage. It was only now upon second glance that I recognized the girl up there currently murdering Barbie Girl as the redhead from the fish store.

Lea winced as a particularly bad note was hit before he snorted. “Girl’s usually got a voice that’d put mythical sirens to shame, but she’s just getting over a cold. Couldn’t talk for three days. Now that she’s started getting it back, there’s no keeping her away from the mic. RIP eardrums.” Then he clapped his hands together once, “Alrighty, on to Table Numeros Dos!”

...numeros dos?

As in more than one? As in this wasn’t it? As in more people?

If I survived this night, it’d be a miracle.

At least the first table hadn’t been too bad. Everyone else had done all the talking, which was a-okay by me.

...unless… crud, did they think I was boring now? Or worse, that I was sticking my nose up at them? Well I wasn’t! Trust me, there was absolutely zero nose sticking up going on here! My nose was down! Way, way, way down! So far down, it was past the secret civilization of mole people and halfway to China by now!

Dammit, only five minutes in and pretty sure I was already screwing everything up. And I hadn’t even done anything yet!

Lea shifted a couple steps over to an adjacent booth against the wall and Anna followed, tugging me into a stumble after her. Grabbing the attention of this new group, he announced, “Yo, everyone! I’d like ya to meet-”

“Elsa?”

I locked eyes with a golden gaze I knew all too well at this point and blinked. “Rayne?”

She scrambled out of the booth to hurl herself at me and I staggered to stay upright under the sheer might of her hug. Then I heard her gasp, “Anna too?! Get in here, girl!” I grunted as Anna dogpiled into the embrace. “Haven’t seen you since you were an ankle biter at summer camp! What are you doing here?! In fact, what are you both doing here?”

“What are we doing here?” I repeated incredulously as we all pulled apart, my eyes flicking down to her belly then back up. “What are you doing here? Did you forget you’re, uh… drinking for two now?”

A squeal from Anna, “Oh my gawd, Ray-Ray, your friggin’ preggers?! Congratulations! Who’s the lucky stud who knocked dat fine ass of yours up?”

My sister, ladies and gentleman. Ever the classiest of dames.

Rayne turned, yanking her husband out of the booth and onto his feet beside her. Wrapping her arms around his waist, she smiled smugly. “This is Riku. Riku, meet Anna, Elsa’s little sister. And don’t worry,” she turned her attention back to me, rolling her eyes, “all my drinks are virgin.”

“Though Ray is what you might call an empathic drunk,” Riku snerked, slinging an arm around her shoulders.

I quirked an eyebrow, “A what?”

“The more people get liquored up around me, the drunker I get without sipping a single drop. It’s an odd phenomenon, I don’t do it on purpose, but not complaining either. All the perks of intoxication, none of the hangover!” Then she furrowed her brow at me, “But no, seriously, what are you doing here? This ain’t exactly your scene.”

“I kinda kidnapped her,” Anna hummed out a tiny, evil laugh. “She’s my hostage tonight. She’s gonna have fun whether she likes it or not!”

I was firmly in the “or not” camp.

Rayne grinned at her, folding her arms together, “Then that brings us back around to what you’re doing here… where did you even come from?”

As the two of them began to catch up while Riku listened in, Lea snagged my elbow, pulling me over closer to the booth once more.

Oh. Right. Socializing. I’d almost forgotten.

Ahhh forgetting. T’was a better, simpler, blessed time. Now, as I was presented with another small horde of new faces, I felt my heart rate spike and my chest tighten as the butterflies battled for dominance in my stomach again.

So be it. Once more into the breach! Come on, Elsa, you can do this!

“Now then, before I was so rudely interrupted-”

“Shove it, Red!” my roommate snapped.

“Screw off, Raindrop!” He stuck his tongue out at her, then sniggered to me, “Remember, verbal abuse says you care! Anyway, I’m sure you’re already very familiar with this mall rat we all know and love, given he’s almost a big an ice cream junkie as I am.” Sora beamed up at me from his seat. “But have you met this half-pint’s amazing, intelligent, beautiful and might I add way out of his league girlfriend, Kairi?”

He was gesturing to a pretty redhead dolled up in pink who smirked around the straw in her drink as she glanced out of the corner of her eye at Sora beside her. “Any comment to that?”

He shrugged, leaning back as he laced his fingers behind his head and his already impossibly huge smile somehow managed to get even wider. “Can’t argue facts!”

“She, like her boy here, is also a local mall rat, but we take pity on these poor schmucks who have nothing else in their pathetic, empty lives and let them hang out with us cool kids whenever we all get together like this,” Lea teased.

“Hey now, ex-mall rat!” she harrumphed before proudly puffing up her chest. “You’re looking at Mickey’s newest hire as of today!”

Lea arched an eyebrow, “No shit, really? Congratz, princess! Welcome to the crush of the daily grind. It sucks! Enjoy!”

Kairi snorted. “Please, it won’t be all that terrible. I’m gonna work a counter in the jewelry department. I can already tell my favorite part’s gonna be helping customers with the charm bracelets. Look!” she jangled the band she was wearing around her wrist before lifting up one of the little trinkets dangling from it. “This one looks like a thalassa shell star from my home, Destiny Islands!” Then she narrowed her eyes at Sora, one corner of her lips quirking up. “Now if only this lazy bum would get a job too, we’d be set!”

“Gimme a break, Kairi, I’m working on it!” Sora half whined, half laughed.

“Uh oh, do I smell trouble in paradise? We’ll leave the two lovebirds to it then,” Lea then turned my attention to a slender chick with short black hair sitting next to Kairi, who waggled her fingers at me with a crooked grin. “This is Yuffie! She works with Squ- ‘scuse me, Leon over at Buster’s Swords.” He lowered his voice to a whisper behind his hand, “She likes to steal the merch for her own personal amusement.”

She scoffed, “You shut your whore mouth, I don’t steal! I just… borrow for quality testing! I’m doing a community service here, really!”

He shook his head, “Uh huh, sure, whatever you say. So what’s on the menu for today?”

Couldn’t tell from where exactly, but she suddenly pulled out a pair of ninja stars as her lips curved wickedly. “Shurikens!”

“Nope!” Leon pressed one hand to the edge of his table, leaning his chair back onto its hind legs so he could stretch an arm across the booth and snatch the weapons from her grasp.

“Hey!” she lunged after them but only ended up faceplanting into her own table. “Give those back, jerkface!” He ignored her, just taking another swig from the bottle in front of him. “Wow, rude much?!”

This place was an absolute madhouse.

“Oof, that’s rough! Better luck next time,” Lea consoled her before pointing to the next person wedged into the booth, a girl with a blue bow tying back her brown hair. “And here we have Belle! Total bookworm, so no surprise her nine-to-five’s at Enchanted Castle Books.” She didn’t acknowledge us, just stared dreamily off into space while absently stirring the liquid in her glass with a straw. Lea sighed, “Yeah, she’s a real head-up-in-the-clouds sort.”

“I got this,” Yuffie chimed in before using a hand to shade her gaze as she raised her voice, “Hey, is that Gaston I see?”

Belle snapped out of it, eyes round in horror as she gasped, “Where?!” before ducking down to use the table for cover.

As Yuffie cracked up, Kairi swatted her in the shoulder, “Mean!”

“Gaston’s the local musclebound, meathead neanderthal who’s set his sights on Belle as his next conquest,” Lea explained.

“Don’t worry, sweetie,” Yuffie’s eyes gleamed as she produced a third metal star. “I’ll make sure he never bothers you again.”

“For the love of- another one?!” In a quick blur of movement, Leon had once again confiscated her toy, much to her dismay.

“Finally,” Lea jumped in once again, clapping his hand down on the shoulder of a carrot-top sitting on the end with giant purple headphones covering his ears, “this regular chatterbox is Neku, who gets his paycheck from Towa Records, the lil music store around the corner from the food court.”

Yuffie huffed, “I dunno why Orangeylocks even bothers to show up to these things since,” she leaned across the table to lift up one of his hulking muffs and yell into his ear, “he never bothers to take the stupid ‘phones off!”

He slapped her hand away with a glare and said nothing, simply crossed his arms and slouched further down into his seat.

Still I hadn’t said a word to anyone besides Rayne. Partly because all the anxiety was squeezing my throat shut - trust me, the terror was real. But even if I had been brave enough to actually make small talk with this pack of total strangers, it was impossible to get a word in edgewise. It was all just happening so fast. But hey, maybe I could get away with the whole not talking thing. This Neku guy seemed to be and he was getting along just fine. Maybe the secret was in the headphones.

Note to self: look into the possibility of purchasing ear buds with first paycheck in the hopes of avoiding human interaction at all costs.

“Okay, almost done, just one more table to go,” Lea chirped.

Hearing that was both a relief and a minor heart attack all rolled together. The good news: one more table, woo! The bad news: one more table, ugh!

As Lea led the way once more, I snagged Anna by the elbow. It was her fault I was in this mess, so there was no way I was letting her abandon me. She was my security blanket, dammit! She managed to get out a hasty “we’ll talk more in a minute” to Rayne before staggering along behind me. We were brought to the neighboring booth which took up a corner so it was slightly bigger. Thankfully, that didn’t equal a larger group seated here. Even better, I already knew two of the faces.

“Rox! Xion!” Lea grinned down at them. “So this is where you guys got to. Was beginning to think I might have to send out search parties. I-”

“Kristoff,” the name escaped my lips before I’d even realized it as I locked eyes with my coworker.

Make that three faces I recognized.

His eyelids drooped before he looked away with a harrumph, taking a deep drag from his mug.

Well fudge. Guess he was still mad about the phone.

This night just kept getting better and better!

“Brr, did it just get a few degrees colder in here? Ah well, forget it, just leave Lord Sourpuss here to his brooding,” Lea snerked with a roll of his eyes. “For the rest at the table who haven’t already had the pleasure, this is Elsa, the Ice Palace newbie, and her sister Anna who tagged along for funsies.”

He tossed a hand towards a guy with amber eyes, messy raven hair, and was the poster boy for goth fashion. “That ray of sunshine over there is Vanitas - living, breathing proof that all our moms were always right: your face really can get stuck like that. Wow, misery really does love company, huh? Just look at those identical scowls.” Both Vanitas and Kristoff looked highly unamused with Lea. He responded with a smirk, leaning down to bring his face closer to Vanitas, “What’s with the pout, widdle man? Did one of the other kids steal your binky?”

“Bite me, jackass,” he deadpanned.

“You’d love that, wouldn’t you?” Lea waggled his eyebrows as he straightened back up. “Anyhoo, as you might’ve already guessed by just taking one look at the edgelord, Vaniboy here works at Halloween Town.”

“Halloween Town?” Anna echoed, tapping a thoughtful finger to her lips. “Isn’t that the line of shops that are kinda like Hot To-”

“Say that knock-off, poser, wannabe of a store’s name and die,” Vanitas sneered.

Lea said, “Don’t mind him, he’s just cranky cuz he missed out on afternoon naptime.” Vanitas flipped him the bird, which went totally ignored as Lea shifted his gaze to the other side of the table. “Woah, talk about a mismatched set. What are you two doing hanging out with Mr Negativity here?”

He was now addressing a sweet-faced brunette with bright green eyes and the boy beside her with sandy blonde spiked hair, a skull and crossbones printed on his shirt. The girl chuckled, “Oh come on, Van’s not that bad.”

“Yeah, once you get past his personality,” the guy sniggered. Vanitas just looked away with a soft tch.

“Meet Olette and Hayner. They- wait...” Lea glanced around the table a second time with a frown, “There’s usually one more of you. Where’s Pence?”

“Couldn’t make it,” Olette sighed, plopping her chin in her palm. “Had to finish his programming project for his Computer Sciences course. Said he’ll be at it all weekend.”

“Bummer,” Lea shrugged. “In any case, these two plus their missing amigo wait tables at Le Grand Bistrot, this hoity-toity restaurant on the opposite end of the mall from the rest of us. Though didn’t you guys get shut down recently for a rodent infestation?”

Hayner banged a fist against the table, “Ugh, will people stop talking about that already? We didn’t get shut down, it was one rat and it was just that klutzy garbage boy’s pet, got it?!”

A snort from Roxas. “Sounds fake, but okay.”

“Can it, pizza boy!” Hayner shot back.

“Touchy, touchy,” Lea tsked before his eyes made one more sweep of the surrounding tables. “Anyway, looks like that’s everyone! How ‘bout it? Got it all memorized? If not, don’t sweat it, it was a lot. And even more might show up later, who knows, these things are always sort of a random grab bag but that’s half the fun! In any case, feel free to take a seat.” He jerked a thumb over his shoulder, “I’m gonna go order a drink from the bar. Did either of you want me to grab you anything while I’m over there?”

“Is this a menu?” Anna picked up the glossy, colorful sheet of plastic from the table, looking over the list printed on it with a low hum. “I think a basket of the Cactuar Fries would be good for starters. As for drink, hm… Ooo, the Golden Chocobo sounds amazing! What about you?” she tilted it to give me a better look.

I shook my head, “Just water for me, thanks.”

Her tongue blew a raspberry, eyes returning to the menu. “That’s no fun. Lessee here… aha!” She smiled up at Lea, “She’ll have a Shiva, heavy on the rum.”

“I will most certainly not have a-”

“Got it!” Lea darted off across the room, cupping a hand to his mouth and calling out, “Oh, Tifa!”

Anna then proceeded to flump down into the booth next to Kristoff, giggling as she peeked up at him. “Hi! You’re cute!”

He blinked at her, all traces of the previous doom-and-gloom wiped clean off his face as it reddened slightly. “Uh…?”

She wiggled in closer to him, which seemed to fluster him more as he scrabbled over into Vanitas, who elbowed him back hard for making him almost spill his drink. Oblivious to the domino effect she’d created, Anna whipped her head back around to me and patted a hand on the space she’d freed up at the edge of the booth. “Whatcha waiting for, Sis? Sit!”

I stared blankly at her. She beamed back at me. I glanced over to everyone else. Everyone else watched me expectantly. I then flicked my gaze down to the open seat. It just lay there, being a cushion.

...psssst, dummy. Her telling you to sit? Was your cue to actually sit!

Still my feet didn’t budge an inch. Instead I looked over my shoulder back towards the door leading outside. So close, yet so far.

Clearing my throat, I took a small step backwards and held up a hand, “A-actually, you know what? I think I, uh... left something... back in the car! Yeah, that’s it! So I’ll just, er… I’ll go get-”

“I said sit!” Anna grabbed my wrist and jerked me down onto the plush bench beside her.

Well then. I guess I was sitting.

I suddenly felt a light brush of something against the back of my head and I twitched away, looking behind me. Rayne was leaning over the divider between our two booths, hands outstretched, apparently with the intention of petting both Anna and me. “Pretty,” she cooed in delight. “Pretty, pretty hair. So soft!”

From somewhere beyond the separator, I heard Riku mutter, “It’s starts.” His voice was muffled. I suspected due to facepalm. Taking a small bundle of my hair and tucking it between her palm and two little fingers, Rayne then set the other three fingers and hand to work unraveling one of Anna’s pigtail braids.

Anna didn’t seem to mind, instead just turning her gaze to the rest of our booth and flashing a smile big enough to rival one of Sora’s. “It’s so great to meet everyone! This is super exciting! Isn’t is just so exciting?” she asked me. I opened my mouth, but Anna was already gushing once more, “And oh my gawd, so, so, so, sooooo much fun! I’m already having a blast! Are you having a blast?” Again, this question was aimed at me. Again, I didn’t even get so much as a peep out. “Aaaah, lookit her, she’s having a friggin’ blast! This is awesome! So how long have you guys all been getting together like this? Who started it? Was it just a small group at first? Were you guys always friends even before these Friday nights began? Do you ever change it up, get food and drinks somewhere else? Or is it always the 7th Heaven? Why is it called the 7th Heaven anyway? What’s the story there? What’s the food like? No, what are the drinks like? Did I pick good ones? I hope I picked good ones! And I just love that they have karaoke here! Anyone else going to be singing later? Ooo, here’s an idea! We could all go up and sing one together!”

Typhoon Anna had struck again, leaving round eyes and silence in her wake.

I was guessing most everyone else at the table hadn’t even caught half of that, the torrent of words had been coming out in such a rush.

The hush over the table stretched until Vanitas at last broke it with a flat, “Yeah, no, I’m out. I’ve had about all the pep I can stand from that pack of idiots,” he flicked a wrist towards the half the table taken up by Xion, Olette, Roxas and Hayner, “without having to deal with… this,” he cringed, gesturing to Anna. Then he downed the rest of his beverage. “Later, losers.” And with that, he vaulted himself over the table, shoved his hands into the pockets of his leather jacket and slinked off.

“So…” Anna dragged out the syllable, “...he’s pleasant!”

Certainly one word for it.

“Vani bail early?” Lea rejoined us. “No shocker there, he usually does. He's always been more of a lone wolf. Make room, Fun-size!” he looked down at where Xion was seated at the opposite end of the booth from us. She scooched to clear a spot for him and he plopped on down, setting a full, opened bottle on the table in front of him bearing a red label that boasted the title Ifrit Amber Ale. “Ladies, your drinks n’ fries are gonna need another minute. Someone’ll be by to drop them off when they’re ready.”

A small smile braved my lips, “Thanks, how much do we owe you?”

Or rather, how much did Anna owe him? Since A, she was the one that’d ordered it all and B, I’d yet to earn a single cent to my name.

Soon though. Payday was coming.

He batted a hand, “Don’t worry about it, my treat. And, uh,” he snerked, “you might want to keep a closer eye on what Raindrop's up to over there.”

I blinked. I had been feeling a faint tingle in my scalp as Rayne had continued to play beauty salon back there this whole time, but I’d just been ignoring it. Now both Anna and I turned to discover she’d weaved locks of our hair together into one thick, auburn-and-platinum braid. “I made a pretty!” Rayne giggled, punctuated by a hiccup.

Biting back a grin, Xion called, “Hey Riku! Control your woman!”

A hand shot up and grabbed Rayne by the scruff of the shirt. With a squeak, she disappeared behind the booth separator.

“So,” Olette shook her head, one corner of her lips tugging up, “how are you liking it over at Ice Palace?”

...shoot, she was talking to me, wasn’t she?

I was so not prepared for this.

Glancing up from where my fingers had already begun disentangling the braid Anna and I shared joint custody off, I pursed my lips to one side. “Hmm, well… it’s pretty good actually. This is my first job ever, so I was a bit anxious.” Understatement of the millenia. “But it’s been going well. And I like the people I work with and get along with them and uh…” I eyed Kristoff out of my peripheral, who still seemed rather dazed by Anna and the apparent lack of the phrase ‘personal boundaries’ in her vocabulary, “...and they like me and are very kind and welcoming and… certainly not mad or anything at me for, oh I don’t know, hypothetically lobbing and busting their phones, like I would ever do something so silly as that, why would I even mention such a thing, that’s so random,” the jumble of words finished in a weak chuckle.

It was beginning to become clear to me that the tendency to babble might run in my family.

Only mine was of the nervous variety, whereas I don’t think Anna had a nervous bone in her body.

At last sensing my gaze on him, Kristoff shook himself out of his stupor and looked back at me. Then he frowned, narrowed his eyes and stared down at the table, nursing his drink once more.

“Oh yeah,” Xion snorted, “I can definitely feel the love simply overflowing from that side of the table.”

“Sounds like a sweet gig,” Hayner chimed back into the conversation with a smirk as he crossed his arms. “But then, anything’s gotta be better than working at some lame dump of a pizza place.”

“Ouch, shots fired.” Lea cocked an eyebrow, “What’s with the drive-by, my dude?”

Roxas snickered, “Ignore him. He’s still just sore about the whole rat thing.”

“There wasn’t a rat thing! I told you already, it was just some dumb pet so it doesnt count!”

“Sure,” Roxas sighed, “Just keep telling yourself that, man.”

“That’s it!” Hayner snarled, slamming both hands down on the table as he rocketed up to his feet. “It’s time we settle this like men!”

Olette groaned, burying her face in her hands. “Tell me you did not really just say that, you total caveman.”

Hayner stabbed a finger towards Roxas and growled, “You.” Then jerked a thumb into his chest, “Me.” He pointed at one of the arcade machines, “Struggle 9000. Loser buys rounds for the table for the next five Fridays.”

“Come on, you two,” Olette interjected, “is this really-”

Lea clamped a hand over her mouth, one index finger held up to his lips, “Shush, I want free booze.”

“You’re on!” Roxas shot back, eyes flashing. Then the both of them were ducking down and crawling under the table to exit the booth before dashing over to where the video games awaited them, elbowing each other the whole way.

“Wanna go root the boys on?” Olette asked Xion.

“Pfft, root nothing. I’m taking on winner and curb stomping his ass. Play my cards right and I’ll have them both buying our drinks for weeks to come.”

As Lea slid out of the booth so the two of them could get up and leave, Olette laughed, “Oh, I bet Hayner would be simply thrilled by that prospect.”

“Please, you think that bonehead’s gonna come out the champ?” Xion scoffed as they walked off. “Rox has got him beat, no contest.”

“Wanna bet?”

That was the last thing I heard from Olette before a happy shriek barely an inch to my left drowned out anything else that might have been said.

Gee thanks, Anna. Really, who needs hearing in both ears anyway?

Our order had arrived, which apparently was what had gotten her so excited. A heaping bowl of shoestring fries now steamed in front of us, covered and smothered in some chunky green sauce. Anna’s drink started out orange at the bottom and faded into a yellow at the frothy top where in the absence of one of the standard teeny decorative umbrellas, it was instead garnished with a fluffy, yellow feather. My drink was a chilly, neon blue color and served in a tall, skinny glass with wafting mist and a frosted rim.

“Bottoms up!” Anna singsonged, clinking her beverage to mine before chugging down half of it in one go. I pulled a face at her, scrunching my nose with a grimace. She puffed out a content sigh as she put the glass back down at the table. “Ah, that’s good!” Then her eyes darted between me and my drink a couple times. “Well? What are you waiting for? Get your drink on, gurl!”

“No thanks,” I nudged the Shiva away with a fingertip. “Someone has to drive us home, so I guess that someone’s going to be me.”

“Pssh, details,” she waved a dismissive hand while she tested out one of the fries. Eyes lighting up, she shoveled a couple more in her mouth before pushing my drink back towards me. “C’mon, one sip won’t kill ya! Besides, you’re hurting Lea’s feelings over there, he spent his hard earned munny on it just for you!”

“Nah, it’s cool,” he shrugged and grinned. “You do you, El!”

“Dude, work with me here! You’re supposed to back me up on this, I-” Anna cut herself off in a gasp. Seemed there had been a lull in the karaoke, so someone had kicked on the big vintage jukebox off to one side, which was now pumping regular tunes out of the overhead speakers. “I love this song!” Her hand clamped down around Kristoff’s wrist, “Dance with me!”

“Wha-?!”

I was all but shoved out of the booth as Anna bolted off, dragging a wide eyed and stumbling Kristoff behind her. I watched her go, shaking my head with a tired smile. Anna would never change. But then, who’d want her to? She was kind of perfect the way she was, chaotic energy and all. Sighing, I took a seat again and looked up.

That’s when I froze.

Because that’s when it hit me.

Somehow, my booth had gone from being packed to being empty. Well, almost…

There was still me.

And there was still a certain redhead.

And to be fair, my plan had been to spend the evening with a redhead. Just said redhead was supposed to have been petite, female, and my sister. The redhead before me now? Checked off none of those boxes.

So instead of the night of sisterly bonding like I’d been looking forward to, I’d somehow wound up in a bar.

At a table.

With Lea.

By ourselves.

Just the two of us.

Alone...

Help! SOS! Frantic smoke signals! I was not mentally or emotionally equipped to deal with this situation!

Commence cardiac arrest in three… two…

Author’s note: Hi, yes, welcome to Cameo Palooza, where we got references coming out the wazoo! This chapter and events in next chapter were originally all supposed to be one chapter, but the references just kept going and going… I honestly didn’t expect them to go on for as long as they did, but here we are xD Not gonna lie, I took an odd amount of pleasure in giving Lea and Elsa drinks to match to their respective elements/summons. Also lil fun fact: There are real alcoholic beverages out there called the Shiva and the Golden Chocobo, just google it if you’re curious and I think the recipes should pop up like the did for me! Also, there are in fact green Cactuar Fries out there in the real live world too - I’ve seen foodies post pictures!

Next chapter… how will Elsa deal with this latest challenge in human interaction she’s come face to face with? Will this be one step closer to strengthening the bond of her new friendship with Lea? Or will it all end in utter catastrophe thanks to her awkward penguin ways? Will we ever find out the secret of the Cactuar Fries’ green ooze? Stay tuned!

Thanks for reading, I super duper appreciate it! And an extra BIG thank you to any new followers out there (howdy! :D) and to those of you who’ve liked and reblogged previous chapters, seeing that always brings the biggest, goofiest smile to my face!

FIRST CHAPTER || PREVIOUS CHAPTER || NEXT CHAPTER

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hazzasoft · 5 years ago

Text

the one where she has a bad nightmare and harry comforts her

y/n had trouble sleeping. it used to be one or two nights a week, she’d wake up in a cold sweat, sometimes crying. then three nights, then four, sometimes even every single night. there wasn’t a reason behind it she didn’t think, she spent a lot of time wondering why this was happening, but she never had anything significantly bad happen to her so no matter how long she spent pondering over these sour dreams and what could possibly cause them, nothing would ever jump out at her.

screaming, crying, throwing her fists around, kicking her legs, every couple hours or so. nothing could calm her down except harry. his soothing sleepy voice, his strong arms which would cradle her and rub her thighs and arms until she stopped shaking, his lips which he would keep pressed to her forehead. every. single. time. they didn’t live together, but y/n’s nightmares were getting so bad that harry would sleep over most nights, because the very thought of her being in that much distress alone, scared the shit out of him.

“d’ya want me to tell you a story, doll? fill that pretty little head of yours with pretty little thoughts, so the bad ones can’t get in, hm?” he hummed against her hair, sleepiness creeping into his voice. y/n nodded gratefully, a small yawn overtaking her face. “c’mere.” harry mumbled, pulling her even closer into him, making sure she was as comfortable as possible. “wonder if this dreamcatcher’ll work tonight, spent 6 bloody pounds on it, so it better.” his fingers fiddled with the cheap thing, making y/n giggle into his chest.

when he bought the pink feathery catcher home earlier that day, y/n “aww’d” so loud he rolled his eyes and said “don’t start, babe” knowing that she’d go on for hours about how “cute” he was. he wasn’t cute, he was manly, right? that’s what he insisted. she still went on about it for a good half an hour, he protested the whole time but somehow had a big fat grin on his face. he loved it and y/n knew it.

he was always doing things like this, y/n was constantly on his mind, so naturally when he passed the shop with a dreamcatcher in the window, he couldn’t not buy it. “see baby, this’ll catch the bad dreams ‘n only let your mind dream about nice things, y’know, like that night at your mum’s last christmas” he winked cheekily, making y/n gasp and smile because well, she knew exactly what he was talking about.

“so, once upon a time, there was a girl. n she was pretty. real pretty. smart too, yeah, whatever, but her looks were somethin’ else”

“harryyyyy” y/n whined, not fighting off the grin starting to form on her face.

“kidding, baby. there was a man. not as pretty, but he loved her very much. the apple of his damn eye.” these words came out quietly, soothingly, said whilst his ringless hands ran through y/n’s hair. she didn’t like it when her hair would get caught in the big pieces of jewellery, so he took them off for when they would sleep together. cause he’d do anything for her.

“and these two people loved each other very much. he would do anything for this gorgeous lil’ girl, no matter the time n’ place. every night, he thinks about this angel n’ all the babies he wants to have with ‘er, all the places he’ll take ‘er, all the things he wants to give ‘er.” he looks down at her and a tiny smile is etched on her face, her long eyelashes cascading onto her cheeks.

his breath was genuinely taken away. he has to cough slightly because the shock of her beauty got caught in his throat, causing her to stir slightly. “sorry, baby. you’re just so beautiful. shit. wow” he whispers, mainly to himself. how is it possible for his heart to be filled with so much love for her? he’s read about love close to this, and he’s found something even better. he’ll never give it up, he silently swears to himself. she’s managed to drift off in his arms, causing a smile to overtake his pretty pink lips.

“goodnight, pretty girl. i love you so much you’ll never know.”

---

“no...”

“...please....”

“go away.....”

y/n cries. it starts off quiet, letting harry remain in a deep sleep. his one hand is thrown across his forehead, the other underneath y/n’s neck, always protecting her. her hands are balled into fists, her nails creating half moons on her sweaty, sticky palms. she rolls her head on the pillow, beginning to whine out of fear and discomfort, her body desperately begging her to break out of this paralysed state. horrific visions splatter her vision, causing her feet to kick the duvet encasing her and her boyfriend, getting more violent as the seconds pass.

“oh...my god! NO! PLEASE!” the screams echo around the dimly lit room (harry suggested they sleep with a nightlight, he says it’s supposed to help with the nightmares but y/n knows he’s terrified of the dark).

jolting awake, harry looks over at y/n and his heart shatters right there and then. she’s lying there, head shaking left and right, left and right, the most pained expression overtaking her delicate features. a steady stream of tears drip down the side of her face into her soft her and pillow, the wetness spilling onto harry’s arm which is still supporting her.

for a split second, he’s stuck. what should he do? he’s never seen her this bad, maybe it’s dangerous to wake her he wonders, but he can’t bear to see his beautiful little girl in that much pain for a minute longer.

“oh shit. pretty girl, wake up. y’dreamin’. baby, it’s okay, promise you. m’here.” he says in a panicked tone, sitting upright and lightly shaking her shoulder. she gasps at his gentle touch and jumps away, screaming even louder. oh god. “shit.” he panics, and he feels his own tears beginning to pool in his sleepy eyes, because this, for him, is the worst image in the world. and even worse, he feels totally helpless. she’s his little baby, and he can’t protect her from these scary dreams. he hates himself. he knows he can’t do anything about it, but oh god, does he wish he could.

he cradles her face and shakes her shoulder more vigorously this time. “y/n. wake up. PLEASE! s’just a dream my gorgeous girl, i swear. ’m right here. s’harry. i’m here. y’safe.” he says, desperation dripping from his raspy voice. he just wants his girl back.

her eyes bolt open, darting across the room in a deep state of panic.

“baby! oh thank god, pretty girl, s’okay. i’m here. i’m here, i promise. y’safe with me.”

she focuses her eyes on the gorgeous man leaning over her and becomes aware of her surroundings finally. harry’s hands are on her face, holding her firmly but not hurting her. never hurting her. her plump pink lips are open, gasping for just a bit of air, the wind totally knocked out of her body. she’s relieved to be awake, the realisation of the fact that everything that was just conjured up in her mind was a fantasy.

“c’mere my precious angel, i’ve got you” harry whispers, gently pulling her into his bare chest, cradling her head so gently, as if she was a fragile little baby. to him, she was. she begins to sob into her chest, mumbling a string of apologies, knowing how disturbing it must have been for her to see. she starts to wonder if she maybe hit him in her sleep, as she’s done that previously in the past.

“oh, god. harry. i’m so sorry. did, ah-, did i hurt you?” she hiccups into his chest, screwing her eyes shut.

“oh babygirl, course not, don’t be silly. sh, you’re safe now, no tears, m’kay? harry’s gonna protect you. promise.” these words soothe her slightly, however the sobs emitting from her lips aren’t stopping. he tilts her chin up to look at him, empathy swimming in his eyes.

“listen. s’okay, do you wanna go n curl up on the sofa, i’ll make ya your favourite drink, warm milk with honey, hm? would ya like that sweetheart? we don’t have t’sleep just yet, i’ll hold ya till you forget all about your nasty dream, m’kay?” he asks in the most soothing tone she’s ever heard, stroking her chin with his painted thumb. she looks up at him with the biggest puppy dog eyes, tears still spilling from them. nodding gently, she falls back into him, allowing him to scoop her up with such ease, about to take her into the cosy living room.

“s’alright my love. m’gonna take care of you, alright? gonna burn that bloody dreamcatcher” he mumbles the last part, mainly talking to himself, but it makes y/n giggle into his neck anyway. somehow he always manages to do that. make her laugh even when she’s crying and can’t stop.

he just wants his baby to be okay.

#harry #styles #harrystyles #fan #fiction #fanfiction #imagine #dreams #y/n #onedirection #one #direction

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camillemontespan · 5 years ago

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the history of us [drake x camille] [part four: 16th July- landslide]

Part Three if you want to catch up.

Warnings: Feelings. Just feelings. Angsty feelings.

@jovialyouthmusic @fromthedeskofpaisleybleakmore @pug-bitch @sirbeepsalot @moonlightgem7 @emceesynonymroll @i-bloody-love-drake-walker @burnsoslow @dcbbw @notoriouscs @of-course-i-went-to-hartfeld @ccolz88-blog @iplaydrake @drakewalkerisreal @cordoniasmost @katedrakeohd @symonde @drakesensworld @nomadics-stuff @rainbowsinthestorm @sawyeroakleyscowboyhat

16th July 2023

Lily broke her arm today. I feel like a terrible mother, I wasn't even there when it happened. Thank God Drake was there and took her to the hospital. He called me in a panic and I rushed to get out the meeting, but traffic was awful on the way to the hospital which meant I was late. I was late for my own daughter and I'll never stop feeling ashamed of that.

Drake sighed when he read the diary entry. This day wasn't a good day.

**************************************************

Drake was sat out in the garden using his laptop to check work emails. There were invites to balls, emails from Liam organising the next Royal Committee meeting, emails from various organisations asking for representation. Drake was working through them and being productive.

Lily was climbing a tree with Cheddar and Olive barking happily up at her.

Drake was replying to the Horse Sanctuary of Cordonia when he heard a thump and a painful sounding crack.

He looked up to see Lily lying on the grass, her head down. Drake bolted up from his chair instantly and ran over to her.

'Lily! Lils, are you hurt?'

She looked up at him, her face pale and lip quivering. She looked shocked. A red bloody gash was prominent on her forehead and her right arm was at an awkward angle. Once the shock faded, Lily burst into tears.

Drake scooped her up gently, whispering 'there, there..' as he rushed her into the Manor.

He went to the kitchen and found a flannel. 'This might hurt, baby, but we need to stop the blood,' he told her. Lily winced as he pressed the flannel to her head and kept the pressure on it.

'Geoffrey, we need you!' he called. Geoffrey came out a moment later and paled when he saw Lily.

'Please can you drive us to the hospital?' Drake asked.

'Of course sir!'

Drake called Camille. She was in a meeting with Liam, Hana, Olivia, Kiara and Penelope, so he wasn't expecting her to answer. But she did, thank God.

'Hey, good timing! We're just having a coffee break,' she greeted him.

'Lily's broken her arm, we're driving to the hospital,' Drake told her quickly, racing to the car with Lily in his arms.

'What?! Oh god, is she okay? What happened? ' Camille cried, panic in her voice.

'She's okay, she's being brave. Fell off the tree. Can you meet me at the hospital?' he asked.

'Of course, I'll tell Liam it's an emergency. Love you, honey.'

'Love you too, babe,' he said before he hung up.

Geoffrey gunned it out of the estate. Drake sat in the back seat with Lily, holding her close. He kept the flannel on her head and tried to make her feel more comfortable with her injured arm but she still whimpered.

'You're so brave, Lily,' he whispered to her. 'Just think, once you're all fixed up, you can have all the ice cream you want.'

She looked up at him with huge eyes. 'Chocolate?'

'You can have all of the flavours,' Drake told her, smiling. Lily snuggled up to him, thinking about ice cream. Her whimpering had stopped and Drake held her a little tighter.

*************************************************

Lily's head was bandaged up by the doctor. 'It's only a superficial wound,' he told Drake. Lily had to wear a cast around her arm, which she was excited by when she was informed by the nurse that she could have people write little messages and drawings on it.

As Drake led her through the hospital foyer, Camille burst through the doors, her hair windswept. She spotted her family and ran towards them.

'I'm so sorry I'm late! Traffic was awful! Oh honey, let's look at you,' she babbled, crouching down to examine Lily. She gently pulled her in for a cuddle. 'How are you feeling?'

'Sore,' Lily told her. 'But I get drawings on my arm!'

Camille blinked. 'Okaaay, good to know..'

She turned to Drake and kissed him hard. 'I'm so sorry.'

'Camille, it's fine, you got here in the end,' he reassured her. 'We're going to get Lily some ice cream as a post war with the tree treat. Aren't we, Lils?'

Lily nodded, beaming. 'Post war with the tree treat!'

Camille grinned, relieved Lily was okay. Drake took Camille's hand and they exited the hospital with Lily in Drake's arms.

The paparazzi were outside. Due to Drake's implementation of the rule stating photographers couldn't get within 8 feet of the family, they were on the other side of the road by the bushes. They were respecting the rule but it irked Drake that they were taking photographs of his daughter who was just leaving the hospital. She could have had any kind of injury.

The media began to shout at them.

'Is Lily okay?'

'What happened?'

'Camille, why weren't you there?'

'Do you need guidelines for Parenting 101?' a photographer joked. Drake didn't find it funny. Not in the slightest.

He took Camille by the arm and stopped her. 'Take Lily to the car,' he whispered in her ear. Camille looked at him in alarm. 'What are you going to do?' she asked.

Drake handed Lily to her. Camille reluctantly took Lily to the car. Once they were settled, Camille looked out the window at her husband who was striding towards the media.

'I'm scared,' Lily murmured quietly. 'They'll hurt daddy.'

Camille squeezed her hand. 'They aren't going to hurt daddy. Daddy's just going to talk to them nicely to ask them to stop taking your picture. He's protecting you. Your daddy will always protect you.'

**************************************************

Drake strode over to the media. 'Please can you give my family some privacy? My daughter's just out of hospital,' "he asked.

A photographer wearing a cap smirked. 'Sorry man, but I need the cash.'

'She's a four year old with a broken arm,' Drake said. 'Don't you have morals?'

The photographer shrugged. 'Do you realise how much money photographs of your family make me?'

Drake stared at him. 'You're all vultures.'

'You signed up for this,' a journalist piped up. 'How did Lily get hurt?'

The photographer looked at Drake. 'Look, I get cash for my photos, you get publicity. We both win.'

Before Drake could stop himself, he pulled the photographer to him by the collar. 'I never win in this scenario!' he hissed.

A wicked smile formed on the photographer's face. He clicked his camera, taking a close up of Drake. His pay packet had doubled now.

Drake felt pure rage. He wanted to knock this guy’s lights out. He really did. But he was pulled out of the dark by Camille, who had bolted out of the car and had run up to him and the photographer. She placed her hand on his, trying to pry his fingers from the photographer’s shirt. ‘Please leave us alone,’ she told the media. She then whispered to Drake, ‘Baby, let go. Come on. Lily is waiting for you in the car, she’s wanting to share ice cream with you. Think of Lily.’

Drake exhaled and let the photographer’s shirt go. The two of them ignored the flashing cameras as Camille took Drake’s hand. They went back to the car, Drake shaking as he went.

They both felt relief when they saw that Geoffrey had distracted Lily in the backseat by signing her cast with a sharpie. Lily hadn’t even noticed what had happened outside because she was so pleased to get her first signature- and by Geoffrey no less. She needed to ask Olivia next.

She looked up when Camille and Drake got into the car. Drake gave her a wide smile, trying to act like nothing had happened. ‘So, ice cream?’

*****************************************************************************

They all curled up on the sofa with chocolate ice cream. Camille suggested that Lily pick a film to watch; Lily chose Tangled, her favourite Disney film. She was in love with Flynn Ryder. She plopped down on the sofa in between Drake and Camille, eating giant spoonfuls of ice cream as she watched the film begin.

Drake had his arm across the sofa and his fingers found a lock of Camille’s hair. He gently twirled it around his finger; Camille looked at him and gave him a soft smile.

She hadn’t shouted at him for his outburst earlier. She hadn’t said anything. She had acted like nothing had happened; he couldn’t tell if this was good thing or not. It was usually a bad thing if a woman went quiet, but to be honest, she had talked to him in the car as normal.

But when she smiled at him as he played with her hair, he was glad.

The doorbell rang. Camille sighed and got up to greet their unexpected visitor. When she moved, Lily shifted and rested her head on Drake’s chest, giggling when Rapunzel’s pet chameleon Pascal came onto the screen.

‘Drake.’

Drake looked over his shoulder and saw Camille with Madeleine. Camille looked pissed. Not at him no; pissed that their publicist was here. Drake sighed and prepared himself to be torn a new one.

He left Lily alone to watch Tangled. When he moved, Cheddar and Olive jumped onto the sofa to join his daughter.

The three of them went through to the kitchen. Camille leaned against the counter to face Madeline. ‘Okay, Madeleine. Have it out with us.’

‘Where to start?’ Madeline began. ‘Okay, so first of all- Lily breaking her arm. What the fuck happened?’

‘She fell out of the tree,’ Drake said, adopting a bored tone to his voice. He went to stand beside Camille and wrapped his arm around her waist. They were a team.

‘How did that happen?’

‘I don’t know. I was answering work emails,’ Drake explained. ‘Accidents happen.’

Madeleine threw up her hands in exasperation. ‘Don’t be so flippant about this! Do you both understand how this looks?’

Camille stared at Madeleline, her eyes narrowed. ‘No, actually. Tell me how this looks, please. I’d love to hear your thoughts.’

She did not want to hear Madeline’s thoughts.

‘She broke her arm. Why was nobody watching her? Does she just run wild?’

Camille held up her hand, silencing the publicist. ‘First of all, she is fucking four. She’s a kid. Kids run around all the time. Did you not run around when you were four? She was just having a nice time in the garden and she fell out of the tree. Drake was there. He got her to the hospital as quickly as he could.’

Drake joined in. ‘I was watching her today. Sure, I took my eye off the ball but things happen. Kids get hurt by accident. I dealt with it as quickly as I could and took her straight to the hospital. I would have preferred it if the paparazzi weren’t there today but you can’t win all the time.’

Madeleine stared at Drake, her lips curled in contempt. ‘Yes, let’s talk about the paparazzi, shall we? You attacked one. Please tell me what gave you that stupid idea.’

‘I didn’t attack him,’ Drake protested. ‘I grabbed him, but I didn’t hit him or anything. I wanted to, believe me, but I didn’t.’

‘Well, you may as well have hit him, Drake, because the press are going to have a field day with this. You take your daughter to hospital with a broken arm and then you are pictured grabbing a photographer and shouting in his face. Do you see how that will look to the public? That you get a little handsy? That you are an angry man, not fit to be in charge of Valtoria?’

Drake blanched. Was she insinuating that Drake was violent? He was about to ask that very question but Camille beat him to the punch.

‘Are you saying my husband looks like he hurt our daughter and then continued to take it on a photographer?’ she asked, her voice filled with ice. The death stare she was giving Madeline could break glass.

Madeleine had the audacity to shrug. ‘That’s how it looks to me. So, I suggest you issue a statement, Drake. Apologise to the photographer and say you are working on your anger management issues. You clearly need to. That’s not how a Duke is supposed to behave.’

Camille stepped forward and slammed her hands on the kitchen island. Madeline jumped at the noise, like a skittish cat. ‘Drake won’t be apologising for anything,’ Camille said, her voice rising. ‘Sure, he probably shouldn’t have got involved with that photographer but what’s done is done. He was trying to get him to stop taking pictures of our daughter who was leaving hospital. He was trying to protect our family. How dare you suggest he needs anger management issues? Drake was just doing what any husband or father would do.’

‘But not what a Duke would do,’ Madeline spat.

‘He is a father and husband first, a Duke second,’ Camille told her coldly. ‘This family will always come first to him and to me. I am sick of you making him feel like shit. You make me feel like shit. Anytime we do something that isn’t up to Cordonia’s standards, you rip us a new one. You don’t even talk to us about it in a practical way; you just accuse us of not doing our jobs. You don’t understand what we need, what we want. You keep trying to mould us to be the Duke and Duchess you think we should be, which is what a publicist should do, yes, but you’re not thinking of your clients needs. For God’s sake, Lily broke her arm and you’re not even asking if she’s okay!’

Madeline opened her mouth to speak but Camille raised her voice even more, bulldozing through. ‘You insinuate that Drake looks like a violent father which is the most horrific thing anyone has ever said in my company. Anyone who knows Drake knows he is the best father; it has been the making of him! He will protect that little girl with his life. He loves her so fucking much. So for you to walk into our home, unannounced FYI, and accuse him of being a violet father is it for me. I’m fucking done.’

There was a silence. Drake had his breath held. Madeline was gripping the kitchen island tightly. Drake looked at Camille and her eyes met his.

He knew what she was going to do.

He nodded at her and Camille turned to face Madeline again.

‘Madeline, you’re fired.’

‘What?’ Madeline shrieked.

‘We will give you a good reference and two month’s salary,’ Camille said. ‘But I want you out of my house, right now.’

‘You can’t fire me! Liam said I could be your publicist!’

‘I think Liam will understand,’ Camille said, her voice dripping with honey. ‘Liam will definitely understand.’

Madeline let out another shriek and stormed out of the kitchen. The front door slammed behind her. Drake stared at Camille, his eyes wide. ‘Um.. so you ripped her a new one.’

Camille went into the fridge and pulled out a bottle of wine. She poured herself a glass and took a long sip. Her hands were shaking. Drake took the glass from her and gently placed his finger under her chin, drawing her face up to his.

‘You’re phenomenal,’ he whispered. ‘You defended me.’

‘I will always be in your corner, Drake,’ Camille whispered back. ‘Always.’

**************************************************************************************

When Lily was asleep in bed, Camille curled up on the sofa with her diary, glass of wine and soft music playing. The fire was lit and Cheddar was lying beside her with his head on her stomach.

Camille listened to the music, closing her eyes, trying to stay present. She had been practicing meditation recently as a way to prevent stress. With her job, she needed it. She needed to find moments of calm and appreciate them because they were so rare. As she wrote, she sang along softly.

Well, I've been 'fraid of changin' 'Cause I've built my life around you But time makes you bolder Even children get older And I'm gettin' older, too I'm gettin' older, too

Camille took another sip of wine and continued to write in her diary.

Nobody talks that way to my husband and gets away with it. I will defend him to my last breath if need be. We only have each other, it’s us against the world. He is the best father and the best husband; no one has the right to make him doubt that.

As she wrote, Drake was in his study. He had his laptop open and he had already found about ten articles detailing today’s events. Lily breaking her arm, Drake grabbing the photographer. The photo that had been taken of him was a close up of his face, a face of fury and rage. It made Drake feel sick.

That wasn’t him. He wasn’t an angry person. He was grumpy and sarcastic, sure, but never angry. He usually bottled things in.

He thought back to Camille defending him. She had been so angry at Madeline. She had been a lioness protecting her tribe.

Drake’s eyes flicked to the bottle of whiskey on his desk. He reached out and opened the bottle, pouring himself a double measure.

He felt the liquid burn his throat but that was how he liked it.

*******************************************************************************************

When Drake set down Camille’s diary, he was struck, yet again, by how protective she was of him. Camille hated conflict but she wouldn’t take any shit when it came to Drake; she was right. She had always been in his corner.

He had really pushed it with her.

He had taken this endlessly patient woman, this woman who loved him so much that it consumed her, and had broken her.

Drake’s corner was empty.

#drake walker #trr fanfic #the royal romance #drake walker x mc

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thadelightfulone · 5 years ago

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Say Something - Pt. 3

Here is the final part of this mini-series that I started with What’s A Valentine and Can We Talk.

Summary: Danielle and Erik finally have that talk. Or not?

A/N: This kind of got away from me but I do like how it turned out. So, enjoy my runaway chapter.

Danielle stands away from the door to allow Erik space to walk through. She looks down at her pajamas, just a tank top and matching silk shorts, before closing the door. Erik has set up the ice cream on her counter and starting pulling bowls down from the cabinet.

“Do you want a lil bit of everything before I take most of the vanilla?”

“Yeah, thanks.” Dani leans against the counter, just watching him scoop ice cream into the bowls. Fiddling with her fingers, ��Erik, I –“ He stops her.

“Nope, not yet.” He waves her away. “Go sit down and I’ll bring it when I am done.” She does as he says, moving slowly towards the living room and her couch.

Everything seems so heavy now. Yes, she was getting ready to call him to set up this talk. However, she was not prepared to have this talk tonight, right now, at this minute. Slumping down onto her couch, Dani pulls her legs up to her chest and wraps her arms around herself. Closing her eyes to settle her nerves that have picked up, she jumps when she feels the couch move.

“My bad, I didn’t mean to startle you.” Erik has placed their bowls of ice cream on the coffee table. He had pulled his jacket off and rolled up the sleeves to his button-up. “Eat up before it melts. We don’t have to say anything yet.” Dani silently nods at him and picks up her bowl. She smiles when she notices that he topped it off with a few caramel kisses.

They both eat their ice cream in silence. Both were taking furtive glances at one another, hoping the other does not catch them. Their eyes meet a few times, and each time they maintained eye contact just a little bit longer.

Erik finishes his bowl first and sits back waiting for Danielle to finish hers or start talking. He had no idea what to expect when he showed up on her doorstep unannounced, but she had not been responding to any contact from him in the past three days. He knows that she was supposed to talk with Shaun about their relationship. But he was really trying to see her before he left like they had planned. When he had not heard from her that first day, he figured they worked things out and just wanted to do lunch with his bestie.

After the second day, of no contact, he became worried. By then, she stopped reading his texts messages, which meant she definitely had not heard any of his voicemails either. Once again, he found himself doubting his actions, and if he waited too long to be honest with her about how he felt. It was not like he expected her to wait for him or anything. In fact, he was surprised when he discovered that she never married and was just dating.

Shaking his head, he thinks about how the day he decided to pop-up in person, just happened to be the night, her boyfriend planned to propose. Perfect timing, as usual, Erik, he chastises himself. He never could get it together or right as far as Danielle was concerned. He knew that even if he could never have her like he wanted, that he still wanted her friendship; they had always been great together on that front. He runs his hands down his face as he tries to find a comfortable sitting position.

Danielle has been watching as Erik shifts around on the other side of the couch. The couch that they slept on together, just last week. His big muscular arms wrapped around her, making her feel small but safe and secure with him. Sighing, she continues to eat the soft ice cream. He appears deep in thought and almost fearful; his facial features are tight, and he no longer looks as relaxed as he was when he walked into her place.

What could have him so worried? Yes, I have been ignoring him, but I just needed time. And he gave you that. I just got out of a long-term relationship. I still don’t understand my feelings towards him. She crosses her legs underneath her and frowns. I know we need to talk, but how. This is why I needed to do this on my terms. You would have let this drag out way past him being here. So, at least I would know what is what when we finally spoke again. Next year, Danielle? “Shut up!”

“Huh?” Erik snaps forward and looks at Dani. The look on her face says it all. “A penny for your thoughts?”

Dani starts picking at the fringe on the blanket and looks at Erik, “I’m not ready to have this talk.” Erik looks down, nodding his head. “It’s not that I don’t want to, but-“

“You don’t have to explain anything to me.” Erik raises his head to look at her. “I just wanted to see you before I leave tomorrow.”

“I thought you still had a few days.” Dani watches as Erik runs a hand over his braided dreads.

“Duty calls. Something came up that requires my immediate attention in Oakland.” He stands up. “I know we need to talk, and we will. Just call me whenever you’re ready.” Dani stands up and walks him to the door. “Raincheck on lunch?”

Dani leans into him as he hugs her goodbye, “Yeah.” Erik kisses the top of her head and leaves. She leans back against the door. All you had to say was three little words. "Oh, shut up!” She stomps off into the kitchen. Walking back into the living room, she finishes off the ice cream straight from the container, pouting the whole time.

— 3 weeks later —

Once Erik got back to Oakland and handled the emergency, he was thrown into project after project, keeping him super busy. It was both a good and bad thing. It didn’t give him time to dwell on the fact that Danielle has yet to reach out to him. Erik kept up communication with her, usually a good morning or just thinking of you text or phone call for the first week after he left L.A. He received a few responses but nothing consistent, so he decided to give her some real space and let her be. As much as it bothers him, that Erik has no idea where he stands with Dani, he gets it. He throws himself into his work so that he doesn’t have to think about it or how he feels.

Erik has been working in his office for the last few hours when there is a knock on his door. “Yeah, come in.”

“Aren’t you glad this building code mess is finally over?” His friend and coworker, Darrius, asks as he takes a seat on the couch in his office.

Erik sets a pen down on top of a pile of documents he was reviewing before signing. He looks over at Darrius, “You have no idea. I knew they didn’t want us expanding anymore, but we are outgrowing our current space.”

“So, let’s celebrate. Hit a bar and then a club, to clean all this work off.” Erik scoffs at him. “Oh, come on. You know what they say, man, ‘All work and no play…’”

Erik sees the expectant look on Darrius’ face, “Yeah, yeah, yeah.” He stands to stretch, “Fine, tomorrow night. We’ll hit the usual spot after work.”

Darrius jumps up, “YES!” Looking over at Erik, “I mean sure thing, Boss.” Erik waves him off, “Tomorrow night, don’t be late.”

Erik sits back down, glancing at his phone. Just email notifications, nothing of a personal nature. Any downtime he has had lately brings Danielle to the forefront as he rehashes the same conversation over and over. He knows exactly what he wants to say to her, but he only needs the chance to tell her. He left that ball in her court, so who knows when he will be able to get it all off his chest. Maybe he does need this break from both work and the reality of his feelings.

—

Dani has buried her feelings and just thrown herself into her work. She kept telling herself that she just needed the time to evaluate her feelings before having this talk with Erik. Dani spent the week after he left responding to some of his messages. Even answered a few phone calls, but she never let him stay on long or steer the conversation to something of a personal nature. It was always on some superficial level so that she maintained control of the situation.

It was just too soon for her to get over what she just had and then dwell on feelings that she thought were long gone only to have them resurface again. She has always loved Erik, but she knows she needs to figure out if it is just a platonic love or a romantic love. The best way to do that is not to think about it at all.

Dani and Rosio are having lunch at their favorite sandwich shop. Dani has purposely not said anything about Erik visiting her before he left. Drowning herself in work, this is the first time that they have been able to get away and just chat about life outside of work. It was Dani’s idea since she was finally sick of her homemade lunches. It is always a good idea to treat oneself, especially good food.

“So, how did the convo with bestie go?” Rosio asks before sipping her Coke.

“We haven’t had the talk yet. He did come over to see me the night that I told you I would call him.” Rosio sits forward waiting for the rest of the story. “I punked out.”

“WHAT?” She lowers her voice as her shout drew attention their way, “So, you haven’t talked since then? I know he went back to Oakland already.”

“Yeah, he’s gone.” Sipping her iced tea, Dani continues, “Not really, he’s been busy with work and –”

“And you are using that as an excuse not to engage him. You ain’t slick D.” Dani looks down and away from the intense stare Rosio is giving her. Rosio shakes her head as they stir their straws in silence for the next few minutes. She taps her nails on the table, getting Dani’s attention, “What are you doing this weekend?”

“Binge-watching the new season of Veronica Mars, why?” Dani looks confused by Rosio bouncing in her seat across from her.

“Not anymore, we are headed to the Bay.” She smiles at Dani as her face falls.

“What? No, I am not going to Oakland.” She shakes her head in the negative.

“I know where you live, and I can kidnap you. It’s nothing.”

“Girl, do you know how much a last-minute ticket is going to cost?” Dani flags down their waiter, “Can I get the check? And a refill to go on both of our drinks?” He nods and walks away.

“I know that,” Rosio responds rubbing her hands together, “ROAD TRIP!!!”

“Oh, hell no. I am not sitting in a car with you for 8 hours.”

“First of all, I can make that drive in 6. Thank you very much. But anyway, I need you packed and ready to go at 3pm tomorrow. We won’t take lunch and bounce early.” Dani is staring her down. Rosio cannot be serious right now. “Oh, and bring something cute to wear because we are going out.”

The waiter returns with the receipts and their refills. As they prepare to walk back to work, she thinks about what Rosio proposed — going up north, where Erik lives. Possibly running into him, maybe calling him so they can finally talk. Her chest starts pounding at the thought. She wants to see him, but not like this. What to do, what to do.

Before they enter the building, Dani pulls on Rosio’s arm to get her attention. “I’m in. I’ll be ready to go at 3 tomorrow.” Rosio links her arm with Dani’s as she dances them into the building.

“We are gonna have so much fun.”

—

Erik and Darrius are sitting at a table in their favorite bar/lounge, chatting it up over drinks. Darrius is looking over at Erik watching him swirl the contents of his glass. “Alright, who is she? And what did you do?”

“What?”

“You heard me.” Erik looks at him to continue. “You have not been yourself lately. We all see it, man.”

“See what? I’ve been working and making sure no one messes with the Outreach Centers.” Erik tosses back his drink.

“Right, and you really needed to oversee everything about all the upgrades and office moves at the Oakland location?” Darrius sips his drink. “Erik, you have people for that. So, what is really going on?”

“Nothing.” Erik reaches for the bottle and pours himself another drink.

"What you’re selling I’m not buying.” Pointing at him, “As a matter of fact, you haven’t gone on any center visits since you returned from L.A.” He ends the statement slowly, as it dawns on him. “Your best friend is out there, right? Shawty from middle and high school?”

Erik says nothing and looks down at his refreshed drink. “Yeah.”

“So, did you get her flowers again this year for your not a valentine Valentine?” Darrius laughs because only Erik would do some mess like that.

He nods, “I delivered them in person since I was down there.”

“Ok, so what happened?”

“I ran into her on her way to dinner with her boyfriend.” He takes a drink.

Darrius sighs, “Damn, sorry about that man. I know how you feel about her.”

Erik shrugs. “Then I took her out for the evening she wanted,” he smirks into his glass.

“Hold up! You run into her and her man, but you ended up taking her out and on Valentine’s Day, too?”

“Let’s just say they had other issues besides me. But I was probably the biggest one, and I found out how much that night.“ Erik puts his drink down remembering the look on Danielle’s face as she told her story, their story.

“Well, does she know how you feel about her?” Erik shakes his head no. “Why did you wait so long to tell her?”

“Nigga, you know my story.”

"Does she?” Erik nods in the affirmative. “Ok, so what’s the holdup?”

“I don’t think she feels the same. I broke her heart all those years ago. You should have seen the look on her face when she was telling her boyfriend the story.” Erik picks up the drink, rolling the glass between his fingers before taking a deep sip. “Man, I ain’t never felt bad for any decisions I have made in my life – until now.”

“Well, you thought you were protecting her in the long run. How were you supposed to know that things would work out the way they did?”

“True, but now that I can act on my feelings for her. I don’t know if I should anymore.” Darrius looks over at Erik.

“When was the last time you spoke with her?”

“A few days after I made it back. I told her we could talk when she was ready.” Erik takes a deep breath, “And I haven’t heard anything from her since.”

“Alright, I think you need to go look at some beautiful women and have some fun. Take your mind off all things Danielle-related. Enjoy the night, ya know?” Darrius lifts his drink to Erik.

"Yeah, ok.” Erik stands, and they finish their drinks. “Let’s head over to the other side and enjoy the scenery.”

—

Someone wanted Rosio and Dani to be out & about this weekend. Because they made it from L.A. to Oakland in 6 hours on a Friday afternoon. Riding smoothly along PCH, watching the water all along the coast, and playing the jams in both English and Spanish. This was going to be a time, Danielle could already tell.

Rosio pulls into their hotel in the center of the city. They were close to San Francisco if they decided to hit the Wharf before they left back home on Sunday. They stopped for food, and some snacks for the hotel before arriving. Dragging her bag behind her, Dani opens the door to their room and collapses on the bed closest to the bathroom.

“Aht, aht, aht…no nap for you. You slept enough for the both of us after that last gas stop.” Rosio pulls Dani up from the bed, “Now, take your big ass into the bathroom and get ready for tonight. I read about this laid back spot not too far from here.”

"Let’s go out tomorrow. Can’t we order room service and just chill for the night?” Dani lifts her bag onto the bed, half-ass looking for something to wear.

“Dani, you know I love my son, but I need to hang around some adults. We are not at home, and I am trying to be out living life.” Pulling out a cute dress from Dani’s bag and pushing her towards the bathroom. “Come on; we can chill tomorrow night.” Dani looks up at her with puppy dog eyes. “Nope, now get going. Or I will make you call Erik right now.”

Her face drops at Rosio’s comment. “Ugh fine. I’m going.” She grabs her toiletry bag, and underwear then walks into the bathroom.

Dani looks herself over in the full-length mirror on the closet door. She hears a low whistle come from the other side of the room. “Oh, look who finally decided to show up and show out?”

“Shut up!” She laughs as she continues to fix the tie on her navy wrap dress. “You don’t think it’s too much?” The dress is one piece of fabric that really does wrap around her curvy body, and she wants to make sure it holds together appropriately.

“Not at all. You are giving them just enough.” Rosio walks over in a simple form-fitting black dress. “What about your shoes?”

“I brought my go-to black wedges.” Rosio bobs her head in approval. Dani sits down to put them on. “Ok, so what is the plan?”

“We go out, drinking and dancing the night away.” Rosio shrugs at Dani.

“You know that is not what I meant.” She stands up, grabbing her clutch and room key.

“I know, and you don’t have to think about that tonight.” They link arms and head downstairs to wait for their Lyft. “Enjoy the moment, Danielle.”

They walk in and see that the bar side is set off the left and back while the dance floor is on the right towards the front. Both areas have some seats and tables. It was a lovely arrangement so patrons can decide on what they want to do and where. Rosio and Dani head over to one of the bars separating the bar area and club.

“One Jameson and Ginger and a Peach Ciroc with Cranberry, please.” Dani starts.

“No, Ciroc. Can I get an Adios, please?” The bartender nods at Rosio.

“You better sip that shit. I refuse to babysit you, Miss I Don’t Know How to Drink.” Dani looks over at Rosio.

“I’m good. I will pace myself. I promise.”

“Uh, huh.” Dani pays for the first round, and they move to a table next to the dance floor.

They sip, and people watch, checking out the women who are already hitting the dance floor. The DJ is currently playing R&B jams from the early 2000s that has Danielle moving in her seat. She figures the Top 40s stuff will come on a bit later as the club space fills up. They have finished their drinks and are just singing along to the songs from their seats. Rosio squeezes Dani’s arm when her song comes on trying to pull her on the floor.

Dani and Rosio get on the floor and start dancing and singing along to every song the DJ plays. Danielle finds herself relaxing and just having a fun time being out and about with her friend. She did need this to forget all that was troubling her about men and feelings.

Darrius and Erik are standing by the dance floor with new drinks in their hands when Darrius nudges him. Erik looks in the direction that Darrius nods towards. Dancing together on the floor are two women, one black and one latina. The latina has red hair and a black dress that is showing off her shapely figure. She is taller than her short and voluptuous friend in a navy dress that is tied in the front.

Her friend turns around while dancing to the song, and Erik nearly chokes on his drink. Darrius pats his back. “I know, right.” He takes a sip and looks over at Erik. “I’m calling dibs on red, so go have fun with her friend.” He winks at Erik and walks towards the floor.

Darrius and Erik reach Rosio and Danielle as the song changes, along with the mood on the dance floor. Erik moves in behind Dani as the smooth sounds of Mint Condition’s Pretty Brown Eyes begins to play through the speakers. Dani looks up at Rosio right as a brown-skinned brother walks up behind her to dance. They both nod their heads and smile in girl speak for 'you good, he’s cute/fine/whatever.’

Dani moves into his arms as he places his hands on her hips. Rosio and Darrius are dancing close by, but Rosio has turned around to face her dance partner. They all keep dancing through the song, and then Tevin Campbell’s Can We Talk came on. Dani starts laughing and is about to say something to Rosio when she notices them walking towards the bar. She is now left with the gentleman behind her as her thoughts drift to a different person other than the man behind her.

She shifts in his loose hold on her, but before she could turn around, he chuckles at her, “So, what brings you to Oakland, beautiful?” Dani freezes and slowly turns around, shocked to see Erik behind her. She steps back and almost falls, but Erik grabs her arm to catch her and pulls her into him. Danielle’s mouth keeps opening and closing, but nothing is coming out. Still holding her, Erik speaks, “Let’s go find your friend.”

He guides her with his hand on her lower back off the dance floor and to the bar where she snatches Rosio’s drink. “HEY!”

“I need it more than you.” Dani takes it to the head and grimaces afterward. “How can you drink this shit?” Rosio laughs at Dani, while Erik is standing off to the side.

Darrius looks over at Erik is who unusually quiet. “Rosio, this is my boy, Erik. Erik meet Rosio.” Erik shakes her hand before she pulls back and stares at Dani.

“Wait a minute.” She notices the flustered look on Dani’s face, “Oh shit, your Erik?” Dani keeps her head down but nods at Rosio. “Let me get you another shot then.”

Darrius looks at Erik, who just keeps looking at Dani. "Nigga, give her her face back.”

Erik snaps out of his trance, “My bad, Dani girl.” Darrius makes the connection and watches his gaze as Rosio regards Dani.

Both sighing, “You two need to talk.” They say at the same time to Dani and Erik. They both laugh as the other two just look at one another.

“Any good restaurants around here?” Rosio directs her question to Darrius.

“There are plenty of good places in the city center.” He responds.

“What kind of food?”

“Excuse me?” Dani tries to get a word in, and they ignore her and continue. Erik keeps observing Dani as she lightly bounces on her feet and wrings her hands under his watchful eye. She looks away after their friends ignore her, trying not to peek at him.

“Thai, Cambodian, Japanese…take your pick.” Darrius continues his conversation with Rosio.

She bobs her head up and down, “That’s good for dinner.”

“Dinner, shouldn’t they do lunch or something?” He watches the two of them trying not to look at one another.

“Nah, she needs time to get her mind right before they meet again.” Rosio follows his eyesight, waving towards them.

“Done.”

"Say goodnight, Dani.” Dani waves to the two men as Rosio pulls her away. "See you tomorrow, Bestie.” They leave and head back to their hotel.

“What the hell did you just do?” Erik snaps after they leave.

“Help you.” He slaps him on the back. “Let’s go. You have a talk to prepare for whether you are ready or not.”

—

Danielle flops onto the bed as they get back to their room. Groaning and runs her hands over her face, “I can’t do this.”

Rosio bounces onto the bed next to her. “I know you are not ready, but I know you know this needs to happen. And sooner rather than later.” She lifts Dani up to look at her. “Does Bestie like you?”

"What?” She scoffs, “Nah, we’ve been friends for too long. He’s never looked at me like that.” Her eyes close, remembering the last time they talked about feelings.

“Yeah, I don’t think that’s the case anymore.” Confused and questioning eyes look at Rosio. “That man did not say one word, Dani. He just kept looking at you. There was this look like he had something to say.”

“Stop it, Rosio.” Shaking her head, “It’s bad enough that I am going to have to admit that I still love him.” She takes off her wedges and pulls her legs under her. “He was surprised to see me. That’s all.”

“Did he say anything to you while you were dancing?”

“So, what brings you to Oakland, beautiful?” She smiles as she thinks about hearing him say that directly into her ear. “It was funny because of the song playing, and I was already thinking about him, then I hear his voice and thought I was tripping.”

“You hadn’t seen him yet?”

Dani shakes her head, “No, I was getting ready to say something to you, and you were walking off with his friend. So, I was turning to face him, and before I could move, he asked that question.”

Rosio nods, “Ok. Let’s get some rest because you have a big day tomorrow.” Dani has her head down. She grabs Dani’s hands, “You got this mamas. Everything will work out.”

“And I won’t lose my best friend?” she softly asks. Rosio hugs her.

—

Completing their weekly ritual, the guys played in their weekend pick-up game before they headed to the barbershop. Darrius went first and is chilling across from Erik. He is sitting in the barber’s chair getting a fresh line up and his beard trimmed. Darrius decides to ask a question that has been on his mind since last night.

“That’s why you choked on your drink last night?” Erik looks at him, confused. “You knew it was her. When shawty turned around on the dance floor, you saw her.”

Nodding, “Yeah, I was already gonna dance with her anyway. You know that I have a type.” The barber moves his head to the left, but he continues speaking, “But when she turned around, I wasn’t expecting to see Dani.” He closes his eyes as he remembers the blue dress she wore last night and how amazing she looked in it. Forgetting where he is for a moment, he groans out at the memory.

“You are so gone.”

“Man, shut up.”

“Did you say anything to her before you found us?”

“I asked her what brought her to Oakland. That’s when she figured out who I was, she turned around and almost fell back when she looked up at me.”

“My nigga, got women falling at his feet.” They both laugh. “So, I take it she was shocked and ran off or what?”

"She was shocked, but she was trying to speak, and nothing came out. So, I told her we could find her friend, and she let me lead her over to the both of you.”

Darrius shakes his head, “Boy, you was stuck.” He laughs, “I don’t think I have ever seen big bad Erik Stevens have nothing to say with a fine woman in front of him.”

“It’s not just any woman, and you know that.” The barber lifts the cape and brushes any loose hair off of him. “I have no idea how tonight is gonna go.” Erik pays the man, and they leave the shop. “She could tell me that she is still with her dude, and I will have to keep all my feelings locked up again.”

“She’s single.” Erik looks over at him, “What? Her girl was sharing some info before you two barged up to us and ruined the conversation.”

“And?”

“And her girl, Rosio, said that they are both single and just in town to get away from all the stress going on in their everyday life.”

“We caught them on a girl’s night out?” Darrius nods and Erik lets out a brash laugh.

“Now, can you handle things from here?” Darrius looks at Erik as he opens the driver’s side of his car.

“I’m not trying to rush her into anything, but at least I can tell her how I feel. What she does with that information is up to her.” Erik gets into the passenger side.

“My man.” They dap it up before Darrius takes off.

—

For the second night in a row, Danielle is questioning her outfit. Looking back at her, she twists and turns, looking at how the empire waist dress flares out from her hips. It is a deep purple with a sweetheart neckline and long sleeves. Her favorite pair of peep-toe black booties showing off her coral-colored pedicure. She runs her hair over her flat twists crowning her head and then through her curls. She separates a few more pieces and fluffs them out a bit more. She looks over at Rosio.

“So, you are trying to kill the man; I thought you wanted to keep your bestie?” Rosio chuckles from her seat on her bed. Dani rolls her eyes at Rosio before looking back to her reflection and smiling.

“It’s not a date.” Dani looks at Rosio through the mirror, “I mean, I am just having dinner with a friend.”

“If that’s what gets you out the door and to this restaurant, then yeah.” Rosio raises her hands as if she gives up.

“Rosio!”

“What? We went over this at the nail salon.” She motions to Dani’s bed, and Dani goes to sit down. “There is nothing else to say. At least, not to me.”

“Why was this an easier decision to make when I was younger?”

“You had never been hurt before. Young love is sweet and innocent, yada yada yada.” Rosio waves her hand, “You are a grown woman who is about to let your grown-ass best friend know that your teenage crush has morphed into something bigger.“ Dani pouts at her. "I know because I had to drag your ass to Oakland.”

Dani’s phone goes off, and she looks over to see her reminder to call Erik. She dismisses it, “Guess I don’t have to do that anymore.”

“Alright, did you text him the name of the place?”

“Oh shit!” She scrambles for her phone.

“Danielle! Are you serious right now?” Rosio watches her unlock the phone.

“No, I forgot to respond to the last text he sent.” She starts laughing at Dani.

“Why is that a problem?”

“It’s rude.” Rosio snatches the phone from her, “Give it back.” She types something into the phone and throws it back to her.

“Get up; your ride is on the way.”

—

They decided on a Japanese bar and restaurant for their ‘date.’ Danielle arrives first and takes a seat at the bar while waiting for Erik to arrive. She looks around at the quiet atmosphere. It is a beautiful place, and thankfully, she doesn’t feel overdressed. The bartender walks over to her and takes her drink order.

“Here is your Jameson straight up.” She smiles at him and picks it up. A cough from behind her stops her from taking a drink.

“The lady does drink whiskey.” She turns around to see Erik standing there, smirking at her. Dani lifts her drink and takes a sip.

“That she does.”

“I’ll take Crown neat, please.” He sits on the stool next to her. Whispering in her ear, “You look amazing tonight.” Kissing her forehead, “Our table isn’t ready yet.”

“Oh ok.” She takes another sip of her drink and tries to sneak peeks at Erik’s attire. From what she can tell, he has on a navy suit with a black shirt and black driving loafers. The bartender places his drink in front of him.

Erik pays for the drinks, putting his wallet away, “I can stand if you want a better look.” He winks at Dani as he takes a sip.

Dani fully turns in her stool to respond when a waiter approaches. “Stevens, party of two? Your table is ready.”

“Thank you.” Erik stands and helps Dani off her stool. They follow the waiter to the table.

The waiter stands beside their table as Erik pulls out Dani’s chair and then takes his seat. She tells them the specials of the night and their most popular sakes. Erik lets Dani chose what they will be drinking.

Over assorted sashimi, sushi rolls and sake, the conversation was kept to work and weather. Nothing too deep, all surface level. It was getting harder to do as they were running out of things to talk about to avoid the real conversation.

“Danielle, you know we can’t keep running around this anymore.” Erik makes the first move. He takes a drink of his refreshed Crown. “If you don’t want to speak, that’s fine. But I have something I need to say and in-person is best.” Dani looks down and away.

“I know, I know.” Wringing the napkin in her hands, “There is something that I need to say as well.” Erik signals for her to continue. “No, no, no. You can start.”

"Are you sure?” She looks up and nods, and he notices the look of discomfort on her face. Erik signals their waiter, “Do you have any ginger ale?”

“Yes, we do.”

“Can you get her some, no ice, thank you?” He looks at Dani, starts laughing and shaking his head.

“What’s so funny? And why did you order me ginger ale?”

“Is the thought of talking to me that bad?” She gives him a funny look. He reaches over with another napkin to wipe the sweat off her forehead. “Take some deep breaths for me, ok.”

Danielle closes her eyes, inhaling deeply through her nose and out through her mouth a few times. When she looks up again, Erik has the ginger ale in front of him and passes it to her.

“That should settle your stomach a bit.”

“How did-“ Dani shyly smiles at him, “Thank you.” She reaches for the glass and slowly sips from it.

They sit quietly for a few minutes until he notices her beautiful chocolate brown skin return to its healthy glow. “Do you still want me to start us off?”

Danielle takes a deep breath and sets the glass back down, “No, I think I should start.” He bows towards her. “First things first, Shaun and I are done.” Erik keeps his face neutral and takes a sip of his drink to keep from fist-bumping the air. “He didn’t want to stay with me only for me to leave him for the person who has my heart.”

Erik nearly chokes, coughing roughly at the last part of her statement. “I see.”

"It was amicable. I understood where Shaun was coming from and I had been feeling indifferent about us anyway.” She shrugs before continuing, “I will admit, you showing up that night did not make things any better. Especially since you know how I feel about V-Day, but I cannot say that I am not happy that you came through. It ended a relationship I settled for, and I actually enjoyed my night out with you.” She smiles up at him as he lifts in drink in salute to her.

“You know me; I never do anything the 'traditional’ way. So, I guess you’re welcome.” Dani laughs at him but tips her drink towards him in return. “As long as you’re happy, that’s all that matters to me.”

“I know which is why this talk is long overdue.” She stops to take a deep calming breath, “I never stopped caring about you, Erik. In fact, I am finally ready to admit that my love for you has continued to grow over the years, and it never went away.“ He looks up at her, and she briefly closes her eyes. "Even though you truly broke my heart when we were teenagers that never changed the way I felt about you. When you disappeared, I buried myself in schoolwork and extra-curriculars so that I wouldn’t have to think about you leaving without saying goodbye.” She feels his hands grab hers. “When you sent the first bouquet of live black and dead red roses after I graduated from college, I could not stop laughing and crying tears of joy.” She rubs her thumbs on the backs of his hands while looking at him. “I had you back, and at that moment, I told myself that if that was all I got of you and our friendship, I could live with that.”

Erik wipes the tears from her eyes, “What changed?”

“What do you mean?” She tries to pull away, and Erik moves his chair right next to hers.

“Danielle.” She turns her head away, “Look at me.” He dabs at her closed eyes again. “Please.” She opens her eyes and looks at him. “Something must have changed for us to be in this position now. I know what it is on my end, but what about yours?”

“You showed up.” Erik somberly shakes his head. “As long as you were not tangible, I could just be and live my life. Yeah, we video chat and talk on the phone whenever time permits, but it wasn’t like we visit one another…even though we are in the same state.” She reaches for the ginger ale and takes a long swallow.

“Out of sight, out of mind.” He speaks low, but she hears him.

“Exactly.” She sets the drink down, “And when you showed up on Valentine’s Day of all days, it was just too much for me.“ She laughs, "If only you knew what I did just to get up the nerve to attend those dinners with Shaun and his family. I felt like it was my penance for hating a made-up holiday, falling for a guy who loved everything about it.”

“So, where does that leave the guy that you love?” He gulps, “The one who has your heart?” He looks down at the table.

“Erik Stevens, look at me.“ She pulls his chin up, so they are eye-to-eye. "It is you. It has always been you.” She runs her hand down the side of his face. “And even if you don’t return it, it is time that you knew that.” He smiles into her hand.

“But I do.” She blinks rapidly at that. He grabs her hands to keep them on his face, “I love you, Danielle George.” Smoothing his hands over hers, “And if I’m being truly honest, I always have.”

Dani finally pulls away, “You don’t have to do this, Erik.”

“Do what, Dani? Tell you the truth.” He can see her closing herself off to him, “Danielle, don’t do that. Not to me.”

She looks up at him and the look of despair on his face, “You’re serious?”

“Dani girl, I joke around a lot but when have I ever said something I didn’t mean?” Dani observes him quietly.

“Fifteen years ago.”

“What?” Erik is perplexed, and Dani’s straight face has him searching his memories.

“When you looked me in the face and told me that you did not return my feelings.” Erik looks at her smiling back at him.

“It’s like that Dani girl?”

“Of course.”

Raising his hand to their waiter, “Check, please.” Erik mumbles something about this being the worst date ever.

“This was not a date, E.” Dani finishes up her ginger ale. “It was just two friends having dinner together.” She grins at him.

Erik pays the bill and stands. “Well, then I guess a friend can find her way back to her hotel.”

Dani stands up and stomps right up to him, “You giving up that easily, Stevens?”

“Give up what?” He shrugs as they walk to the front of the restaurant. “Friends go their separate ways after dinner. But you know my girl would be coming back to my place for movies and ice cream.”

Dani smacks him with her clutch, “You really gonna deny me some ice cream? Me?”

“And who are you? Friends have to be invited over.” They are at his car, in front of the passenger side door.

“I am your friend who happens to be a girl.” She huffs at him, “So, let’s go.”

He opens the door for her, “You better be glad I like your lil short ass.”

She gets in and holding the car door handle, “Nah, you love my lil short ass.” She sticks her tongue out and closes the door.

Erik grabs her hand on the ride back to his place, interlacing their fingers together. Dani has the biggest smile plastered on her face, and he is happy to know that once again, he did that.

He unlocks the door and lets her in. Dani takes in the look of his bachelor pad. He has a lot of African art and sculptures around along with his dark color scheme. Erik takes his jacket off and disappears into his bedroom. When he returns, he has changed into a gray tank top and some shorts. In his hands, he has a shirt and some sweats for Dani.

“Go get changed and I will get the ice cream.” She skips over to him and grabs the clothes from him.

Reaching up to kiss him on the cheek. “Thanks, E.”

When Dani returns, Erik groans lowly from the couch as she comes around. Even swallowed up in his clothes, he can still make out the silhouette of her curves. He picks up his bowl of vanilla and scoops some into his mouth before he makes any more noise. He uses his foot to point to her bowl.

Dani plops herself down next to him on the couch and leans over to grab her bowl. She laughs as she sees nothing but strawberry and chocolate in her bowl. Shaking her head at the man next to her, “So, what are we watching?”

Erik swallows his bite, “Texas Chainsaw Massacre since you fell asleep on it last time.” She nods and digs into her ice cream.

Halfway through the movie, Dani moves over so that her head is in his lap. He runs his hands through her curls, rubbing her scalp. She purrs at that and Erik briefly stops to control himself. She moves her hand over his to get him going again.

By the end of the movie, Dani and Erik are laid out on the couch. She is in front of him and has been nodding off for the last 20 minutes. She turns into his arms, and he holds her by the waist as she reaches up to pull him in for a kiss. They both smile into the kiss and Erik pulls back to give her a few pecks.

“Go to sleep.” He squeezes her waist, “We’ll have plenty of time for more.” She kisses him again and turns back around, wrapping her arms around his.

“Goodnight, Erik.”

He pulls a blanket over the two of them, “Goodnight.” He kisses her forehead. “I love you, Dani girl.”

Tags: @maddiestundentwritergaines @youreadthatright @sarcastic-sunshines @alexundefined @kissmyafropuff @chaneajoyyy @fonville-designs

#erik killmonger #erik killmonger x oc #thadelightfulone #wav series #best friends

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the-energon-hole · 6 years ago

Note

How would the TFA autobots react to finding out that not only does Megatron have a sparkling, it's literary the smallest and cutest sparkling they have ever seen? It's like a lil angel?

((A/N - This actually took me a long time to write because I wanted to individualize the scenarios in here, I wanted to have the bots doing normal things and then just run into the child and be bewildered. Anyway, enjoy!))

❗Long post, continued under “Read More” tag❗

Optimus Prime

-He was just out for a drive on the outskirts of the city where all the warehouses and storage buildings were located, it was mostly empty minus a few workers loading and unloading trucks, it was one of the reasons why he came out this way sometimes. The solitary sometimes helped him clear his racing processor of thoughts that plagued him about his past. Did he do enough to save Elita-One? Does he really deserve the title of Prime? Was he doing right by his ragtag team of Autobots? Those thoughts were hated when he heard the undoubtable, audio splitting screams, of a sparkling. That can’t be right though? After trying to pinpoint the noise for a minute he found the little blobby thing behind one of the buildings surrounded by overturned oil barrels and what looked like chewed on tools- the poor thing was probably hungry and looking for some food. As he picked up the little ball of mewling protoform he couldn’t help but notice the little thing looked like… Megatron? No wonder it’s starving, the dirty Decepticon wouldn’t know how to take care of a sparkling if it was able to talk and tell him what it needed, he can fix it though. He might not be an expert on sparkling care, but the least he can do is give it a nice full tank of fuel and a place to rest away from this cold and dank alleyway, besides he had to admit the little thing was pretty cute how can he say no to that face? It turns out he was naturally a great caregiver, and Ratchet liked to tease him about how that was why he seemed to be forming a collection of wayward bots- he had a natural caring and nurturing nature that he or Ratchet couldn’t deny any longer.

Ratchet

-He had no idea what was going on, one minute he was just hauling some spare parts to their hideout, and the next minute he was instinctively following the sounds of a distressed sparkling. All his years in the thick of a brutal war has caused his body to act on its own accord when it came to the premise of a hurt soldier or distressed citizen, if he had time to stop and think he would have rationalized that it couldn’t have been a real sparkling, a sparkling hasn’t been born since Bumblebee came off the line all those years ago. He was about to halt hsi search until he saw something shining in the sunlight inside some bushes and shrubbery, he should’ve known better than to look, but his curiosity was strong and he couldn’t help but see. Pushing back the branches with his arms he felt air get stuck in his vents as he was staring down at a big pair of sparkly doe eyes that just felt like they were looking directly into his spark. The little thing smiled at him, and motioned for him to that it wanted to be lifted up, and when he did so he noticed a few injuries and bruises on the soft protoform flesh that was exposed to the elements. They were still to young to begin forming their own protective layer of armor so it wasn’t a wonder how this sparkling was injured, he was just curious how and why it was out here all alone without a caretaker. It hit him the moment he took a little closer look at the sparkling he was holding in his arms, they held the same markings and colorings that the warlord Megatron possed… in fact, it was rather telling of why this sparkling was abandoned in the middle of nowhere in the first place. He took the young one back with him to nurse it back to health as best he could, but it was Optimus’ idea to try and get the thing the help it needed to survive.

Bumblebee

-He was feeling bored and cooped up inside the base by himself- Bulk was off doing his art thing, Prowl was out in nature meditating or some baloney, Optimus and Ratchet were discussing battle plans or whatever, and Sari was busy with her Father doing science junk. To alleviate his boredom and unannounced loneliness? Drive and practice and become the world’s fastest bot and the world’s fastest car- he thought about even getting a new alt mode, one that wasn’t so bulky and slow. It was all going great until he had to skid to a screeching stop when some blob waddled into the road. He was forced to transform to stop in time as he skid to a stop next to the offending object that caused him to burn out and scratch his new brand new paint job, he felt his system stop for a split second as he came faceplate to faceplate with a sparkling. He didn’t know what to do as the little thing grabbed at his face and babbled at him in broken mores code as it tried to tell him what it wanted. Did this thing look like Megatron? Oh, Primus, it did look like Megatron! He panicked and jumped back a she feared that the big war lord might be nearby as well, but through his startling he scared the sparkling and caused it to scream and screech like they do when they crave comfort. His audio receptors were in pain as he let instincts he didn’t know he had take over as he scooped the little bundle of protoform into his arms and began rocking it back and forth. Once it stopped screaming he looked down to see the sparkling staring up at him with a warm smile he felt his spark melt in his chest- this was a weird feeling he has never had before, it must be that nurturing nature he has heard some bots had, he just never pegged himself as having those kinds of feelings.

Bulkhead

-He was feeling stuck when it came to his acclaimed artistic genius, he was stumped and couldn’t decide what he wanted to paint next, so he decided to take Prowl’s advice and go on a nature walk to clear his processor out by the lake. It was pretty out he’ll give Prowl that, but other than the great view this plan was all washed up, it did not inspire him to do anything- the only thing it inspired was a ped ache as he had to hike in areas where his alt mode wouldn’t fit around the thick brush and big trees. He was about to call it quits on finding some kind of inspiration out here but the noise of something in the trees up above him took his attention away from his failed trip of inspiration and… was that a sparkling? It couldn’t be… could it? It had to have been because he was pretty sure human children weren’t able to make leaps that large in distance” besides, watching that blob closer it looked like the small thing had a similar appearance to Megatron. He should be more concerned for the safety of the sparkling, but he couldn’t help himself in the current moment, as watching the little one run free and wild without a care in the world triggered that inspiration he was looking for. He was glad he packed all his art supplies with him in that moment as he sat down to paint whatever it was that came to his processor and it seems the cute little sparkling was naturally drawn to him as it got more curious by the second and wanted to know what it was he was up to with such strange looking tools. Once he was done with his art the sparkling had long since passed out next to him out of exhaustion from jumping in the branches of the trees, it was then that he decided that against his better judgment, that he couldn’t just leave the little thing out here alone- that would be cruel and unkind, and no one deserves to be abandoned like that. Besides, what’s the worst that can happen? This little cutie loomed like they would never harm any kind of life form, not even those flying insects that buzz around and get in your face.

Prowl

-After finding out Sari’s true identity as part Cybertronian, he couldn’t help but blame himself over the lost protoforms that must have gotten into the hands of the Decepticons. Unmolded and completely innocent youths being corrupted and manipulated into playing a part in some mad mech’s cruel and inhumane war games- he can see why his master was disappointed in him wasting a potential life when it was his time to pass. It was one of the reasons he isolated himself so often, he was teaching himself a new trick, a special technique he was trying to master that would help aide in the search and rescue of any lost proto forms that may have been stolen from the sanctuary of the ninjabots. So far his search efforts were fruitless after so many attempts at trying to sense such innocent energy, but once he felt that unmistacablentwong in his spark he knew his efforts were not in vain. He latched onto the signal so tight in fear of losing it and sped off in the direction of its origins without telling anyone where he was going. To him, this has nothing to do with the others, the way about him and his redemption for those mistakes he made way back when. To his surprise when he finally located the source of the energy that it wasn’t a blank protoform in which he found, but rather it was a full one that molded into the form of a sparkling that bad the resemblance to the warlord Megatron. The fiend must have found a blank protoform and attempts to clone himself but failed due to his lack of understanding how the protoforms actually worked. The sparkling turned to him with bright optics and made a very happy chortling sound that made bis spark melt within his chest, how any monster can abandoned a helpless little one sl far from civilization was beyond his understanding. It doesn’t matter now, he was here to take care of the sparkling, as this was partly his fault just as much as it was Megatron’s- he will never abandon this little one no matter how rough it gets, as this is his burden to bare for messing up so many times in his past.

(09/07/18)

#Transformers Animated #Optimus Prime #Ratchet #Bumblebee #Bulkhead #Prowl #Long Post #Headcanon

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avacapulet-blog · 7 years ago

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a booking || sin & ava

Who: @avacapulet and @sinxgrey When: [BACKDATED] Monday, September 4th Where: The Brothel; Sin’s private room. Notes: Smutty smut with a lil dash of feely feels

Sin was fastidious about his workspace. It was styled like a small apartment. He liked the intimacy of it and he firmly believed his clients did as well. The Lobby of the brothel was styled like a hotel lobby, enabling people to feel more comfortable upon entrance. He advised the front desk of his intended arrival of the beautiful young female so they could direct her appropriately. He was looking forward to this particular booking. In the morning he worked out and read for a while. Sin finished cleaning and had a shower before finally dressing in a simple t-shirt and jeans, feeling she may find it more comfortable if he weren't overdressed.

Ava didn't know what to expect from the meeting, so much so that she barely slept the night before. She knew what the Dom did for a living, but she also knew now that he was kind and sweet and charming--and a baker, apparently. There were many layers to Sinna Grey. She woke up a half hour earlier than her alarm that morning, her mind already buzzing even as she showered and got ready for school that morning. She thought about dressing up more, remembering how he complimented her appearance at the ball, but then she remembered his request last night- that she be the real her, so with that in mind Ava dressed in a simple pair of fitted jeans and a white tank top with a cardigan on top. Simple. She left her hair loose and natural too and only put on a bit of mascara, not really one for makeup on days she just went to class. The thing is, even once at school, she couldn't focus, especially not once she got the text with the address of where she was to go. It felt like her heart was beating a bit quicker the rest of the day until finally the classes were over and she left, the clock nearing two pm and their meeting time. She arrived on the dot, heart now pounding as she saw just where she was and she bit her lip, fidgeting with her books in her arms as she was led towards a back room, the front desk knocking on the door to signal Ava's arrival before leaving the two of them.

Sin: Here is his workspace btw - http://sinxgrey.tumblr.com/tagged/workpl...

Sin opened the door to find Ava on the other side, looking like a cute little school girl with the books in her arms. "Right on time. Good girl Ava. Please come in." He stepped back to allow the young woman to step into the living space. The immediate space was the couch set up that could operate like a bed. "Come in and have a seat. You can put down your books." He helped set them on a low shelf before sliding an arm around Ava's waist. "Before we begin, I always like to go over what you are comfortable with Ava."

Ava: When the door opened she immediately saw him and felt her heart definitely skip a beat, especially as he oh-so casually praised her. She let out a breath and walked in when prompted, taking a look around at...everything. She knew what she was walking into but still, it was a bit more overwhelming to see it all in person. She nodded as he spoke, moving to put her school stuff down for now and when she felt his arm go around her waist she barely hesitated a second before relaxing and leaning into it. She didn't know what kind of situations would play out, but she knew she already trusted him. "Comfortable with?"

Sin fingertips traced small circles on the fabric of her jeans. He settled her on the couch and sat beside her, keeping his arm around her as he spoke. "Yes. What would you like this time to feature? Anything in particular?" He touched her cheek, so pretty and pink, "May I be with you?"

Ava had assumed briefly yesterday that maybe they'd just meet for coffee or maybe walk through the park or something, but when she got the address, she knew different. Still, as she sat with him and heard him speak, she felt her heart skip for a different reason. She could lie to him--(or, well, not /lie/ but..keep the truth to herself about her sexual history)-- or she could tell him the truth and risk making him immediately change his mind about her. His whole /living/ was based around having sex, so why would he waste his time on someone who really hasn't? As he touched her cheek she broke eye contact, looking down at her lap, at their legs just barely pressed together. He deserved the truth. "Sir, I...I haven't..well, I /have/ but.." she stuttered and stammered, not quite able to formulate her sentence right before she finally just closed her eyes for a second and spoke, "I've...I've only /been/ with someone..once. And it was in high school and...and it was kind of /awful/ so I've basically..blocked it out and....yeah." her hands fidgeted in her lap as she spoke, wringing her fingers together as she waited for him to do something. "I...I just..I just wanted t'be honest.." she mumbled the last bit, not even really sure if he heard, her hair curtaining her face a bit from view.

Sin had heard this story before. The shitty first time. The reluctance to try again. He reached under her knees, scooping her up and seating her on his lap. Lifting both hands, he brushed back her hair so he could see her face. He met her bright eyes and murmured, "Good girl. I appreciate your honesty. I'm sorry your first time was so dreadful. I'm sure we can make this one much more memorable, don't you?" Sin murmured before tipping up his head to claim her lips in a soft kiss.

Ava was caught off guard by him suddenly picking her up as easily as he did and she let out a surprised little yelp, flushing darkly as she was seated in the man's lap. He brushed all her hair aside then, making it impossible to look anywhere but his eyes and she looked up slowly, hesitantly, and listened to him speak. Before she could reply though he was leaning up to kiss her and Ava found herself gasping softly again, a tiny little intake of breath before she leaned in to it, tentatively kissing him back, her mind whirling the whole time. "Y-You're not going to kick me out for being some pseudo-virgin?" she mumbled against his lips without really thinking about it.

Sin grinned at the question before kissing her again, more deeply this time. "Absolutely not. Let me show you how good it can be Ava." Leaning in, he claimed her lips again before finally breaking off the kiss with a groan. "Before I get too distracted little bird, tell me if there is anything you don't want me to do. Anything that the idea of makes you uncomfortable. First time should not be about pushing limits. Also I will need your safeword."

Ava felt a shiver run down her spine as he kissed her again, deeper this time, more of a real kiss than she'd probably ever had in her whole life to the point that when he broke the kiss again she let out a little noise, unconsciously chasing his lips for more. It took her a second to snap out of it, to focus on his questions and the responses he wanted from her. "L..Lily. It..--my word is lily." She'd picked it when she was sixteen and drawing the flowers in a garden she'd seen. They were beautiful, white, pure. Nothing that elegant could be considered bad, so she stuck with it. As for the rest... "And if I..if I told you I don't /want/ to...to go all the way today?" She asked, internally cringing at the terminology but figuring it was a better way to put it.

Sin nodded at the word choice. "Lily it is." he affirmed with a dust of a kiss to her lips. All the way? Dear Gods she was cute as hell. All the way made him feel 15 again, making out with pretty people at all hours while his parents sat at home fretting about their wayward son. He nodded. "You can ask for anything you wish Ava. That's what I am here for ... for you ... that door closes and you are mine but even more importantly, I am yours ... All yours. So that's fine of course Ava. Is it all right if our playtime contains sexual play or would you prefer to avoid it this time?"

Ava again felt that wave of relief when he just barely kissed her and approved of not only her word choice, but that she wasn't completely comfortable with having full-on sex just yet. Besides, when it happened, it would be a do over of her first time, a first time that she wanted to actually /count/, and she didn't really want it to happen on a whim on a random afternoon. She again felt that little shiver down her spine at his words- you are mine- and she bit down on her lower lip gently for a moment, thinking about it before nodding, "I..I think I'd be okay with it." She replied softly, meeting his eyes, "I trust you."

Sin felt a small rush at those words. "Thank you Ava. That means a great deal to me." He kissed her again, deeply this time, taking his time with it, savoring the taste and texture of her. He broke the kiss with slow, lingering dusts of his lips before finally settling back. "Now little bird. I want you to go to the washroom and remove all of your clothing. Behind the door, you will find a robe. You will put on the robe and return to me right here. You will kneel in front of me. Then we shall begin in earnest."

Ava knew she still must've looked a bit nervous, but she still meant it: she trusted him. She'd barely known him for two weeks but it was true. So when he kissed her again she fell into it, letting him take control as she closed her eyes and kissed him back, getting lost in it. All too soon though it was ending and she needed to stop herself from once again chasing his lips, from already getting addicted to the feeling of his lips on hers. She smiled slightly at the little pet name she'd heard him use again, quite liking it when he called her little things like that, and even though the order made her heart leap and skip again, she found herself nodded, letting out a slow breath as she met his eyes again, "Yes Sir." She breathed out, hesitating only a second as she pulled away from him and walked to the other room. Once inside she felt her heart truly pounding and she closed her eyes, forcing himself to relax before doing as told, toeing off her shoes and leaving them to the side before slowly peeling off her layers, heart beating quicker and quicker with each piece she removed. She folded everything in a neat pile on the counter, chancing a glance at her reflection in the mirror, her tattoo a shock of color on her otherwise pale skin, and she slowly reached for the robe and put it on, tying it securely around her waist and looking at herself once more before nodding to herself and walking out again, her face flushed and hair pulled over one shoulder, her movements tentative as she didn't quite meet his eyes and walked over to him, slowly moving to kneel by his feet.

Sin could feel her nerves but it was her first time with him and he suspected one of her first sexual scenes, even if they weren't going "all the way". The phrasing still made him smile. She was adorable. He watched her walk toward the washroom, admiring the curve of her thigh and ass. When she reappeared, he noted that the robe he selected was actually too big. She was even more petite than he recalled but the oversize was charming on her slim frame. He watched her face but noted she wasn't yet brave enough to meet his gaze. "Good girl." he murmured as she settled on her knees before him. "Knees further apart, palm flat on your thighs, shoulders back." he instructed as he stretched out a hand to push all her hair back so it hung in a swatch of golden brown silk down her back. He liked her hair color, it wasn't quite blonde but it wasn't really brown like his either. Something in between. "Are you comfortable?"

Ava could feel his eyes on her as she moved, as she tried to just put one foot in front of the other and not let her clumsiness get the better of her because the last thing she needed right now was to trip and stumble over thin air right in front of him. She let out a slow breath once she was kneeling, smiling a bit as he praised her again, feeling her shoulders relax a bit more with the words, and when he spoke again she bit her lip but did as told, spread her legs a bit more and rested her hands on her thighs, resisting the urge to curl her fingers in in a fidgety manner, and she straightened her back, lashes fluttering as she felt him move her hair away and when he did she blinked up at him again, knowing her face was still flushed but she didn't want him to think she wasn't okay with all this- because nerves or not, she was still choosing and accepting of everything. "Yes Sir."

Sin smiled at the small woman. "Good girl. Take a deep breath and let it out nice and slow." He leaned in and dusted another kiss over her lips. He trailed a hand over a slim arm to her hand. He picked it up, pressing soft kisses to her inner wrist before settling it on his shoulder. He wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her close as he claimed her lips in a long heated kiss.

Ava was quickly finding that she responded well to praise, that she /liked it/, so when he again called her a good girl and gave her a simple order, she followed it easily, inhaling slowly and then exhaling, watching as he moved in closer and kissed her lightly. That was another thing she was quickly finding that she liked- having the man's lips on hers. She let her arm be lifted easily, the limb loose and lax and she even smiled a bit as he kissed her wrist, the act soft, intimate. She let her hand come to rest on his shoulder and when his own arm went around her she leaned into it, rising up on her knees to be able to be pulled in closer--and then he was kissing her again and she sucked in a short breath, feeling a shudder run through her as she kissed him back easily, a soft little noise escaping her.

Sin felt the unease slip away, felt as she grew pliant in his arms. "Such a good girl for me." He ran a hand over the spill of her golden brown hair, enjoying the silky texture. "Are you wet yet? For me? Shall I check on you?" he murmured as he slid one hand between the fabric of her robe, teasing over one smooth inner thigh.

Ava never realized just how much she'd like the feeling of a hand playing through her hair until she'd felt his fingers do so multiple times since she'd been here. It was gentle, soothing, a touch she leaned into, and at his question she sucked in a short breath, her face flushing darker than it maybe ever had in his presence as a wave of arousal washed over her. She felt a shiver roll down her spine as his hand slid down against her thigh, hidden by the robe's material, and she bit her lip to keep her noises at bay, heart racing and unable to really formulate a response.

Sin nipped at her lips as his fingers drifted along the milky skin of her thigh to tease over her folds, carefully not to penetrate but only tease the damp core of the girl. "Oh look what I found. Someone is a wet girl isn't she? Now your Sir wants to see all of you ... touch all of you." He slipped his arm under knees, abandoning her core, to pick her up off the floor. He carried her through the space to one corner, set up like a massage table. He set the girl on her feet and claimed her lips in another lingering kiss before stepping back, "Remove the robe little bird."

Ava gasped softly, a short, quick intake of breath as his fingers just barely grazed over her skin, the touch just turning her on more as she fought the urge to squirm on the spot, to maybe spread her thighs a bit more and get his fingers to /really/ touch her... As Sin continued to speak she swallowed hard, her heart skipping a beat but she moved easily, letting him help her up and once again marveling at how easily he carried her--and how even that kind of turned her on. Before she knew it they were stopping again and she was on her feet, needing to tilt her head up to meet him in a kiss that ended far too soon, and at his words she hesitated a second, not quite meeting his eyes before finally doing as told. She reached for the knot in the robe, her heart racing, and she slowly undid it, letting the material hang off her for a second more before shrugging her shoulders and letting it drop, baring herself completely to him.

Sin watched, his gaze only reflecting warmth and appreciation of her beautiful body. "Good girl. Look how gorgeous you are." He touched her cheek, turning her head a little to meet his eyes, "Especially those eyes. You could lose your soul to those eyes." He dusted a kiss over her lips before nodding toward the table. "Lay down ... on your stomach."

Ava had only been naked in front of one other person and he never made her feel...wanted, beautiful. Not in the way Sin so easily was. So much so that she was actually starting to believe it. So when his hand coaxed her cheek up she slowly blinked her eyes up at him, his words making her heart flutter for a totally different reason. She leaned up slightly into the kiss, wanting it to linger for a second more before hearing his next order and she nodded again, "Yes Sir." The compliance came easy as time went on, the submission, like she was finally giving into a part of herself she usually kept dormant, and she walked over to the table, still blushing as she climbed up and then laid down, the position making it so she couldn't see him unless she turned her head.

Sin smiled at her quick compliance. He waited until she was in position before circling the table. He adjusted her hair, sweeping it over one shoulder and letting it hang. He picked up a small bottle of lotion and poured a dollop into the palm of his hand. He warmed it slowly between his palms. He started at her upper shoulders with slow deliberate strokes, depositing a trail of kisses down her spine.

Ava was hyper aware of every move the dom made, of how close they were and the entire situation that left her heart pounding. She heard him moving around, felt her hair being moved aside and then his hands were on her, making her gasp softly and shiver at the first touches. Then she felt his lips and let out a little noise, visibly shivering again as he slowly began to massage her, touching her more intimately with even just this than she ever had before.

Sin hands travelled lower and lower and so did his kisses. He cupped Ava's ass and gave the cheeks a gentle squeeze. "Beautiful bum Ava ... one day I'm going to spank these round little cheeks." Sin teased, giving one cheek a soft slap before applying more lotion to his palm. Then he began to work lower, caressing her upper thighs, fingertips teasing over her core.

Ava couldn't hold back her gasp as he grabbed and squeezed at her ass, making her flush darkly and let out a little mewl. The color on her face got impossibly darker though as he spoke, the mental images flooding through her head making her squirm slightly, making a new wave of arousal wash over her at the thought of him spanking her. She gasped again at the light slap, a tease of what could come in the future and she bit her lip, her breath catching as his hands moved lower, just barely teasing over her folds again and she resisted the urge to spread her legs more again, anticipation curling through her at what he'd do next.

Sin continued on downward until he had massaged down to her small feet. He dropped a kiss behind one knee. "Roll over little bird. Now I want touch the rest of you." He waited until Ava was in position before walking up to look down into her bright face. "So red ... these little cheeks." he teased with another kiss to the flushed cheek of the submissive girl.

Ava jerked a bit when he kissed the sensitive skin just behind her knee and massaged to her feet, noting how the man was taking his time, was focusing on every inch of her to relax her into it. So much so that when he told her to turn over she only hesitated a second before doing so, knowing the position would make it so the Dom could easily see the flush to her cheeks, the blush coloring all the way down her neck and chest. It left her on full display again and when he kissed her cheek she leaned into it slightly, turning her head towards it and closing her eyes, feeling less embarrassed when she didn't have to actually face him.

Sin smoothed the hair back from her flushed face. He dusted a kiss over nose and then her lips. He poured another dollop of lotion into his hand and warmed it between his palms. "Beautiful breasts little bird." He massaged the orbs until they were slick with the lotion and the nipples were hard peaks before bending his head and drawing one nipple between his lips. He suckled the peak, flicking it gently with his tongue.

Ava felt him move her hair aside again, then felt the kisses before his hands were on her again, this time not wasting any time before going right to her breasts. She gasped quietly at the initial contact, brows furrowing slightly and lower lip getting sucked into her mouth as he both massaged her and turned her on more, her nipples hardening at the same time she felt herself getting even wetter and with her eyes closed still she didn't see it coming as he bent down, causing her to cry out softly, chest arching up off the massage table to get closer to his mouth as she let out a little moan, "S-Sir..."

Sin played with her soft, full breasts, sucking, kissing them and licking the peaks. Using gentle hands, he pressed her down onto the table. "That's right little bird.... hold still." He traced down her belly with soft firm touches and caresses. Using more lotion, he began to work down her slim form. He skates his fingers over the edge of her pussy and down her slim thighs.

Ava fought back against the hold for only a second, practically testing it, before easily submitting to it, feeling her more-submissive instincts starting to take hold and letting the Dom fully take control while she just focused on the pleasure racing through her body. She moaned again as he once more teased his fingers against her, not quite giving her what she wanted til Ava whined softly, automatically shifting her thighs a bit more apart in silent hopes for more.

Sin noted the silent plea but he wanted to work her over thoroughly, pushing her into her submissive space and satisfying that ache that every submissive possessed to the same depth as any Dominant. "Such a needy little bird. Don't worry ... I am here. I am going to take good care of you." Slowly his hands worked down lower and lower until he was caressing the arches of her small feet again. He circled back around to stop around her small waist. He brushed fingertips over her nipples and caressed the line of her belly as he caught her lips in a series of soft, lingering kisses.

Ava knew he was going to take care of her--after all, it was his job-- but all of this was so /new/ to her and it was all kind of already driving her crazy. Still though, she was enjoying the pleasant little buzz she felt under her skin, the calm that settled over her brain at having a Dom take control to the point that she just sighed softly as his hands moved to her feet again and then back up her legs and over her body, visibly shivering as he teased over a nipple again and causing little goosebumps to erupt over her skin. And then he was kissing her again, soft and slow and so easy to get lost in, her lips easily moving against his and her head lifting up a bit, trying to get closer, to not let him pull away just yet.

Sin felt her eager response and sank back down into it, claiming her lips in a kiss that gradually grew more heated and possessive. She really was so very needy, this almost-virgin. Poor little dove. He cupped her core again, teasing the folds with gentle fingertips as his thumb began to work over that tender bundle of nerves.

Ava practically sighed against his lips as he kissed her deeper, leaning into it. All the while though she felt his hand moving, trailing down her body again until finally, /finally/ he gave her some sort of stimulation, causing Ava to gasp into the kiss as he rubbed teasing little circles over her clit. "Sir.." she moaned breathily against his lips as she broke the kiss and let her head fall back, her thighs spreading a bit more to give him more room, wanting more.

Sin nudged against her lips as he whispered her submission. "Good girl." he murmured back, "Cup your breasts. I want to see your little hands offer them up to me. Give me your body ... give me your submission." Sin's words were intended to pull at her core, nudge her toward him, bind her and free her all at the same time.

Ava had never really felt this way before. This....willing to obey, to submit. It was nearly overwhelming. Her head spun and her heart pounded as she let out another little noise and just started to let go, to let her submissive side really take over- the side of her that wanted nothing more than to submit to this man and do what he wanted. She felt a shudder roll through her as she did as told, moving her hands up and gripping her breasts lightly between her fingers, moaning softly as she squeezed them slightly like he'd done earlier.

Sin watched as the girl really start to sink now. It was fine. He would catch her. He was there. Always staying within the parameters already set, he moved his fingers over her clit. He abandoned her lips to kiss his way down her throat. "Good girl. Such pretty breasts. Let me taste them." He pulled one nipple from between her fingers with his lips and sucked on the pebbled peak. "Mmmm... so delicious little bird."

Ava moaned a little louder as he continued, making her shiver and rock her hips up ever so slightly to get him to do more while all the while tilting her head to the side, easily baring her neck for him as he kissed down her skin. His mouth was on one of her nipples again, making her cry out softly and arch up into it, her back slightly bowing up off the table. "M-More...please? P..Please, Sir.." She found herself begging, not even really thinking about it.

Sin broke off his attentions to murmur, "Hips back down onto the table ... settle yourself Ava." he instructed huskily. He ran his hands over her slim form, soothing her body and settling her back down onto the table. "There you go.... good girl. Now let's see about that more shall we?" he stepped a little further down the table and parted her eager folds with a flick of his fingers. He dropped his head to run along the place his fingers just touched before flicking his tongue over her clit.

Ava a little whimper slipped out of her but she let him nudge her back down onto the table, wriggling just a bit but trying to keep still as asked. It was incredibly difficult though, especially as his fingers spread her open a bit more, making a shudder visibly run through her and she bit her lip, just closing her eyes again instead of watching him. What he did next though caught her off guard and she jolted again, arching up off the table for only a second with a gasp before forcing herself back down, "S-Sir.."

Sin had to laugh softly at the dramatic reaction. This girl was all need and sensation. It was hard to object. In fact, it was downright delightful. "Good girl. Be still." he instructed again as he set to work between her parted slender thighs. He worked his tongue over her folds before pausing at her clit. He circled over the tender bundle of nerves before sucking on it lightly. His hands traced along her torso to cup her firm breasts, toying with her peaked nipples as he lavished attention on her core.

Ava for all intents and purposes, was a virgin. Her first and only time barely lasted a few minutes and it was not only horrible from start to finish, but it was all about the boy she'd been with and nothing about her. Si everything Sin was doing to her was new and overwhelming and /amazing/. She tried her best to stay still but it was difficult and she wriggled a bit underneath him, moaning his name breathlessly and spreading her legs more for him, silently giving him the okay for more.

Sin knew his boundaries. Ava had said no to intercourse when she first arrived and wasn't pleasure-struck so he kept to it. But damn was this girl a temptation. He pressed a series of kisses up the girl's abdomen as one hand replaced his mouth at her core. He continued to tease her, circling over her clit with eager intention. "That's right Ava.... do you feel it .... is it building .... look at me." He met her bright eyes and smiled. "Good girl... now come for me."

Ava was panting already, squirming and feeling that pressure building in her in ways she'd Never felt. She arched up slightly into all the kisses, chest heaving and little noises slipping out of her, but when he said to look at him she blinked her eyes open, oh so easily obeying him and she bit her lip, feeling her orgasm building. And then he told her to come, ordered her again, and Ava cried out, arching up again before feeling the tension snap inside herself and she came, hard, making her body shudder as fluids rushed out of her and onto the Dom's fingers.

Sin pressed a series of kisses over her lips. He trailed gentle fingers over her slick pussy lips and down her inner thighs. "Good girl. Such a good little girl. I'm so proud of you. My good girl."

Ava was trembling lightly as she was worked through her intense orgasm, little aftershocks rolling through her but she tried to breathe through it while simultaneously trying to kiss him back at the same time. She felt something warm and happy settle over her as he spoke though, saying he was proud of her, calling her /his/, and she exhaled shakily as she blinked her eyes up at him, giving him a dazed little smile as she came down from it all.

Sin slipped an arm under her knees and the other under her shoulders. He lifted her slight bodily easily and carried her to the bed, stretching her out before laying down next to her. He tugged a warm blanket over both of them, knowing the aftershocks could make the girl easily chilled. He braced his head on one hand, propped on a bent elbow, and met her bright gaze. "Such a good girl."

Ava let out a little noise when he moved to grab her but she leaned into it, quite liking how strong the Dom was, how easily he picked her up. She glanced over to see him going to the bed and she hummed contentedly as she was laid onto the soft blankets on an equally-soft mattress, made even more comfortable when he draped a blanket over her. Her head was still buzzing, still overwhelmed from../everything/, and when he spoke she gave him a little smile, automatically shifting a bit towards to him, craving the closeness. "That was..." she let out a shaky breath, shaking her head a bit, "/Wow/."

Sin dusted a kiss over her nose, "That was the point, little bird. That was quite intense... you've been avoiding too long I think. You mustn't let it go so long again, all right?" he murmured with another soft kiss to her lips. "Promise me...."

Ava wrinkled her nose a bit playfully under him, smiling softly as she met the man's eyes and she nodded, letting out a slow breath, "I know." She murmured, glancing down between them for a moment, thinking, "After that first time I just..didn't want to end up feeling used again." She admitted, voice soft still. She felt him lean in a second before feeling his lips and she kissed him back, tipping her head up into it to make him linger for a moment longer before nodding, "I promise. And...well, if you..if you didn't think this was horrible then....maybe you can ensure that I don't go too long again yourself?"

Sin dusted another kiss over her lips, tasting her slowly. "Shhh... no more disparaging comments in my presence. I will not tolerate it. You are my little bird when you are here and I am your Sir. So when you put yourself down you disparage me as well."

Ava listened as he spoke, feeling her heart do that familiar flip at his words and she let out a slow breath before nodding, "I--yes Sir. I'm sorry. I'll work on it..I promise." She breathed out, knowing it was all too easy for her to be hard on herself, to be self-depreciative, but she'd try to not do it as much, especially around him. "I um....I meant it though. That maybe...this can happen again? If you'd be okay with it?"

Sin nodded and dusted another kiss on her jaw. "Good girl. ... and yes, I would love to see you again Ava. I would be more than okay with it." He tucked the blanket around her more tightly. "Now I want you to close your eyes and get some rest."

Ava leaned up into the kiss, letting out a happy little hum as she tilted her head enough to catch his lips and kiss him lightly. She loved the feeling of him wrapping the blanket around her, of him just..taking care of her. She'd never truly experienced any of this before, and she wanted more of it, was practically basking in it. So when she was given just a simple order, she nodded right away, giving him a little smile, "Okay." She agreed, not really even thinking about it as her hand moved out and sought his, fingers lightly curling over his own, "Thank you, Sir." She murmured, already closing her eyes and letting out a long, slow breath as she relaxed.

#para #para: 01 #para: ab #chatzy #sinxgrey #p: sin #para: sin

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