#well my mom will send the order confirmation text tonight so we will see if its the right number

[4giorno]

I SHOULD NOT BE ALLOWED TO WORK OR TALK TO PEOPLE </3

[nctsplug02]

Can I request dad!johnny? he cheated with y/n so they broke up and 3 yrs later he saw y/n with their son (y/n a single mom) but johnny isnt still aware of it that it’s his kid? Angst-fluff maybe? Thank you!

get your popcorns ready, this is gonna be a long story.

genre: angst, fluff

—

You and your son were waiting in line for some ice cream, he heard the ice cream truck and asked to get some, of course you agreed since it was so hot outside. “Hello,” you greeted the man in the ice cream truck. “Hi, what can I get for you today?” He asks and you hum. “I think I’ll get vanilla. What do you want, baby?” You ask your three year old. “Can I get the brown one?”

The man chuckles and nods before heading back into his truck to get the ice creams. “Okay, here you two are! It’ll be five bucks.” You hand the man a five dollar bill before bidding your goodbyes.

“Y/n?” You turn your head to the direction where your name was called. “Oh, Mark? Taeil?” You’re shocked to see your olds friends standing in line, waiting to order their ice creams. “So it is you! Hyung, you owe me twenty bucks,” Taeil rolls his eyes at the youngster and nods.

“Anyways, how’ve you been? It’s been so long!” The young boy cheers. “I’ve—,” you feel your dress get tugged on. “Mommy, who are they?” Your son asks, hiding behind you. “These.. um,” you look back at Mark and taeil. “They are my friends from a long time ago.” You smile at the two men in front of you.

“Wait, your a mom now? Wow!” Mark covers his mouth in shock. “Mark, youre too loud.” Taeil tells him, Mark apologizes and lowers his voice. “Uh, yeah.. I’m a mom now.” Mark crouches down and holds a fit out to your son. “Hi, buddy! I’m mark!” Your son tilts to the side to look at Mark. He looks up at you who just smiles down at him. “I’m Sungchan.” Your son quietly introduces himself and hi-fives Marks fist.

“Nice to meet you, sungchan.” Mark giggles at the three year olds shyness. “Where are you guys off to?” Taeil asks while Mark tried to start a conversation with the three year old. “Just back to the park, what about you guys?” You point to the park that had no people. “Well, we came here to get some ice cream for us and the others, so we’re headed back.. over there.”

He points to a place behind the cars that were all parked and lined up. “Oh, who’s all over there with you guys? Maybe I’ll come with and say hello to them.” You smile at him, thinking about the others that you hadn’t seen either. “Well, there’s taeyong, Jeno, yuta, Doyoung, and Johnny.” He lists them out, you pause at the last name.

“O—oh, um, actually I think me and Sungchan are just gonna head home after this.” You hug Sungchan to your leg. “Oh, well. Here, how about we swap numbers so you can come over tonight? I mean, we are throwing a little party.” You think about it, what could go wrong with reuniting with some old friends?

“Sure! I mean, it’s been years since we’ve all talked and seen each other, so why not?” He laughs a little and pulls his phone out. You and him swap numbers before you and Sungchan left home.

Mark and Taeil walk back to the little group with ice cream cones in their hands. “Okay, take your ice creams! Me and Taeil have to tell you guys who we just met.” They all take their ice cream and wait for Mark to continue.

“We bumped into y/n at the ice cream truck, she looks better than ever!” Mark announces with a giggle.

——

Later that night, Taeil had texted you, telling you to come over for a bit. You got worried and asked if you could bring Sungchan, he said yes and that he didn’t mind.

You got Sungchan out of the car and knocked on the door. The door swings open and you see Mark at the door. “Aye! You actually came!” He gasps when he sees the three year old standing besides you. “Ahh! Sungchan!” He giggles and starts to jump. “Hi, Mark.” You giggle at how excited he was to see your son.

Mark shuts the door after letting the two of you in. “Are you hungry? Yeah, okay. Why don’t you go play with uncle Mark while mommy grabs you some food, yeah?” Your son nods and looks up at Mark. “Let’s go!” Sungchan grabs Marks hand and allows Mark to take him to the basement.

You sigh and start looking around for the kitchen. “Oh,” you find the kitchen filled with food that they had just barbecued. You hum and start looking for plates, paper plates are sitting on the counter which you grabbed. You filled with plate up with some chicken and rice. You reheat the cold food and while waiting a voice scares you.

“Y/n?” Oh, you knew that voice, you knew it well.

You turned around to see your ex lover standing in shock by the door frame. “Johnny, hi.” You inhale sharply. “Is.. is that your kid?” He points behind him.

- few moments ago -

Johnny sighs and opens the bathroom door. “Yo! Watch out, man!” Mark yells and pushes the tall man back into the bathroom. “Woah, who’s kid is that?” Johnny asks pointing to the three year old.

“Mhm.” You nod confirming his question. “Oh, well, how’ve you been—?”

beep, beep, beep.

The microwave saves the awkward moment. “I’ve been good, how about you?” You grab the food out of the microwave. “I’ve been.. good too.” He nods and tucks his hands in his pockets. “That’s good. Can you show me where the basement is?” He nods and gestures you to follow him.

Entering the basement, you could see your son playing with Mark. “Oh, my god! Y/n? It’s been so long!” Jungwoo gasps and sits up, running over to you and hugging you. “Hi Jungwoo!” You giggle and pst his back as he swayed you back and forth. “Gosh! So that baby must be yours, huh?” You nod and scrunch your face up. “Okay, well I see you have a plate of food so, go on.”

You walk over to Mark and Sungchan who are playing with some action figures. “Channie, come eat food.” You sit down and place the plate down. “Okay, mommy.” He crawls over to you and sits in front of you. “Here, ahh.” You open your mouth and so does he. “Omm, nom nom nom.” Your son giggles at your food noises.

——

After feeding your son, your son got tired and wanted to go home. “Hey guys, me and Sungchan are gonna head home. He’s getting really tired and cranky.” The guys frown and whine, not wanting you to leave just yet. “I’ll see you guys next time, okay?” Mark walks you to your car with Sungchan in his arms.

“Okay, bye y/n. Drive safe, alright?” You giggle and nod. “I’m not that bad of a driver, Mark. But yes, don’t worry. Goodnight Mark, don’t drink too much.” He laughs and nods. “Okay, mom,” he jokes, “goodbye channie, see you soon! Bye buddy!” He waves the little boy off before running back inside as you drove off.

——

For days your son had begged you nonstop if he could spend the night at Marks, and honestly, you didn’t know if Mark would be up for it or if he would be able to take care of your three year old. “Okay, I’ll call uncle Mark to see if he lets, okay?” The three year old cheers and nods.

You pick up your phone and start calling Mark.

“Hey, what’s up y/n?” The man sounded so lively. “Hi Mark, can I ask you something?” The boy nods and hums. “Okay, so lately Sungchan had been asking and begging for me to let him sleep at your place, so is it alright if Sungchan sleeps at your place? For like, a day?”

The man on the other line freaks. “Dude, of course! Send me your address I’ll come pick him up.” You giggle at his excitement, him and Sungchan are growing up as best friends. “Alright, ill send it.” The other line goes silent, bitch hung up.

“Channie! Go get ready! Uncle Mark is coming to pick you up!” The little boy cheers and runs into his room, quickly packing some of his toys and some clothes.

“Im ready, mommy!” He says with his backpack on and his shoes on the wrong way. “Good job, baby! Let’s go wait for uncle Mark outside, yeah?” He nods and runs towards the front door.

You and him are outside, youre sitting on the steps while he sat next to you. “It’s a pretty day, isn’t it?” Your son nods and looks at the flowers that were planted by the big tree in front of your house, it had a swing on it from your childhood.

A car pulls up and you grab Sungchan hand. “Oh, it’s uncle mark.” You let his hand go as he slowly walks down the stairs and then runs to his uncle. “Uncle Mark!” He jumps into the mans arms and makes the older man giggle. “Hey buddy!” He lifts up the three year old and looks over at you, who is walking towards them.

“Hey Mark, take good care of my baby, okay? He’s the only one I’m having.” Mark and you laugh, but soon after he nods. “Hey y/n?” You look in the car to see Johnny sitting in the passenger seat. “Oh, hey Johnny, didn’t see you.” He slightly laughs and then looks back in his lap. “Alright, ready to go, buddy?” The three year old nods.

“You go and be good, okay? If someone tells me you were being a bad boy, then you don’t get to go back to uncle Marks, got it?” The little on nods. “Okay, give mommy a kiss.” You turn your head and point to your cheek. You pull away when you feel his little lips press against it. “Okay, bye bye, baby.” You ruffle his hair. “Bye mommy!”

——

Later that night, you had ran to that store for some food and bumped into someone very attractive. You and him swapped numbers and starts going on dates after that. While on those dates, Mark would babysit for you, you offered to pay him for every time he watch your son but he didn’t accept it.

Tonight was a rainy night, you and jaehyun couldn’t go on a date so you both decided to stay in with Sungchan.

- a little recap of their night -

“Happy 8 month anniversary, babe.” Jaehyun says and clinks his wine glass with yours. “Happy 8 months, baby.” You take a small swig. “Mommy, happy happy day.” Sungchan holds up his cup of apple juice. “Aww, happy happy day, baby.” You giggled and clinked your cup with his.

——

It was so late and the rain made the three of you guys so sleepy, so the three of you ended up sleeping early.

A sudden faint knock could be heard from the living room. You sit up frantically, another knock. “Who the f.. it’s so late..” you groan and get out of bed, making your way down to the front door with a bat in your hand.

“Johnny?” You see Johnny standing in front of your door all soaked, he looked.. intoxicated. “Y/n..” he slurred and wobbled, he couldn’t even hold himself up. “Johnny, it’s late, what are you doing in front of my door at this time?” He laughs but it sounded broken. “I.. I miss you so much..”

he was just drunk talking, you said to yourself.

“Johnny, should I call Mark—?” He quickly shakes his head. “No, please don’t. If you do then he’ll yell at me.” You sigh, the cold breeze making your legs shiver. “I just miss you so much, I miss holding you at night, I miss the way you kissed me, please just take me back—“ you stopped his rambling, his drunk rambling.

“No, johnny, you don’t get to do this! I’ve finally healed after 4 years of our break up. I was so heartbroken that you cheated on me with some random chick from the bar. I was so hurt that you hid it from me and that I had to find out from Renjun and Chenle. This ain’t fair, johnny!” He laughs and nods. “He’s my son, isn’t he?” Great, a new topic.

“So what if he is? It doesn’t matter anymore, you were never in the picture anyway so why does it matter?” He looks up at you. “He’s my son—“ you shake your head. “No he isn’t, he isn’t. He may have your blood but he isn’t your son.” Silence took over, all that could be heard was the raining showering. “Just leave, please? I don’t want to ever see you again.” He steps closer with tears streaming down his cheeks.

“Y/n, please let’s just talk—“ the door opens wider. “She said to leave.” Johnny looks at the man besides you and then back at you. “Alright, I’m sorry..” Johnny turns back around and walks out of your property.

Jaehyun closes the door shut and is immediately taken into your embrace. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to wake you up.” He shakes his hand and taps on your thigh, telling you to jump, so you do. “It’s okay, let’s just go back to bed.” He says carrying you back up to your room.

————

a/n: i got really tired and confused at the end. hopefully you can see where i ran out of words and ideas for this story. and by confused i mean like, not knowing anymore words, not knowing what to write and etc. hopefully i can fix this and make it better because it isn’t really that good. I’ll try my best next time! :)

[justkending]

Moral of the Story (Prologue)

Series Summary: From childhood friends, to highschool sweethearts, the two naive, young, and lovestruck teens decided the best way to keep a strong relationship during college would be to marry right out of highschool. No one batted an eye at the idea as everyone knew they were soulmates. However, college is a big step in a person’s life. You learn new things about yourself, you make new friends, find new hobbies… And maybe being newly weds and going to different colleges across the states wasn’t the best plan… After a falling out, and a tragic heartbreaking divorce, the two now hold grudges for how the other handled the whole thing in the past. Neither not really knowing both sides of the story. 10 years later, and they both get a call from the lawyers office that settled their divorce. Somehow the papers never went through and the divorce was never completed. So now, the exes, or should we say husband and wife, have to meet back up after all these years to settle their failed marriage once and for all. (This summary will be shorter in other chapters. I just needed to get the full concept out there;)

A/N (repeat): So the other day while I was doing my hair (quite the process), I was playing music and the song Moral of the Story by Ashe came on. Mind you, I’ve heard this song hundreds of times, but for some reason, this time I got a major story idea! Listening to the lyrics brought me to this new series. Of course, the lengthy summary above will give you an idea of what came to my brain, but I recommend you listen to the song still because it plays a big part in my thought process:) (Plus it’s a good song;) Enjoy and please do not hesitate to share your thoughts and comments with me! I love each and every single one<3

(I will release the first chapter at the beginning of next week! That way I can give myself some time to write more chapters before sharing it!)

Pairing: Bucky Barnes x Y/N (Modern AU)

Word Count: 1200+

Prologue:

"Melody, have the papers for the Bee's Knees company come in yet?"

"Uh, no. But I can call them again and see if they faxed it or sent over a physical copy though," Melody answered from her desk, already typing away to find the company.

"Perfect. We have a meeting with a recycling plant next week and I want to get everything set before we go in with them," Y/N nodded, coming out from her office with a file in her hands. She turned to her assistant at the front desk who was about 20 emails deep and already finding the issue. "Hey, you're not coming in tomorrow, right?"

"Um, no, no. I am. I rescheduled that date," she answered bashfully as if she had been caught in the act of something.

"Melody..." Y/N drug out, hand on her hip.

"What? I- He understood. He said he was fine moving it to Saturday," the young woman shrugged, never looking back at her boss that was clearly sending her a motherly stare.

"You're already over your 40 hours this week, and you've rescheduled with him, what? 3 times now?" Y/N moved to the front of the desk so the young brunette had to make eye contact with her.

"Yes," she answered hesitantly.

"Is it just nerves or something else?" Y/N smirked.

"I'm not nervous... It's just been a while since I've had time for a date."

"Two things about what you just said in the past minute. One, clearly this guy likes you because he's rescheduled with you this many times and hasn't called it off yet. So if you're nervous about it not going well on his end, I think you're safe," Y/N pointed a finger at her.

"But-," Melody started.

"Second," Y/N cut off with a raised eyebrow. "I'm giving you time to go on a date and you're still not taking it. Work is no longer an excuse."

Melody stopped avoiding eye contact and looked up at the Y/H/C hair woman leaning on her reception desk.

"You've been talking with my mom again, haven't you?" she sighed.

"I promised I'd take care of you. So yes, I have. And though her reasoning for you dating is because she wants grandbabies, I just want you to have fun and live your life. You're 22. Don't waste your young years being scared."

"Ugh, fine. I'll text him now and see if he's still available for tonight," she groaned.

"Perfect!" Y/N grinned in victory as she started to walk back to her office. "I expect the details in the morning," she winked before she walked in.

"Oh, Y/N!" Melody stopped her. "A message came for you while you were in that last meeting."

"Who from?" Y/N quirked an eyebrow, moving back to the desk.

"Uh, I don't really know. Didn't sound familiar, but here's the name and number they said to call back from," she answered, handing her a note.

Y/N took the small paper and looked it over. Her face dropped and her eyes widened.

"You ok? Is it someone you know?" the young assistant asked, noticing what looked like horror on her face.

"Um, yeah. Yeah, an old acquaintance of mine," Y/N tried to quickly brush off. "Um, I'm going to take this. Can you hold any calls and if anyone comes to talk, tell them to just email me?"

"Oh, ok. Yeah, I'll take care of it," Melody nodded.

"Thank you."

Rushing back to her office and quickly shutting her door, she raced to her phone. She read the business name again, not sure if she was dreaming or if it was a hallucination.

Nope. Hammer Attorney was written in Melody's perfect penmanship on the paper with a number that held an area code from New York. A place she never thought she would hear from again and from a town she hadn't visited in almost 10 years._________________

"Buck, did you tell Fury about getting those new water therapy machines?" Steve shouted from his room.

"We're at home, Steve. Why are we talking about work?" Bucky groaned as he slouched on the couch. A beer in hand and a documentary with I Survived stories playing in front of him.

Steve came in from around the corner looking down at his phone in hand before moving his eye line to his roommate.

"Because I just got a call from the night crew saying that the last one that was working, finally went out tonight while they were running it for some test," Steve raised an eyebrow.

"Ugh, you would think that a facility run by a billionaire who literally makes his money on high-tech machines, wouldn't have to ask for those kinds of things," Bucky groaned, grabbing his own phone and going through emails. "Let me check to see if the email went through. He wasn't in office when I went to tell him."

As he was sorting through the hundreds of emails sent back and forth just this week alone, he found the reply message.

"Yeah, management confirmed it. They should be in by Saturday it looks like. Guess Stark was still working out the kinks to a new one and was waiting to send one our way until the last one died to get more time on his newest model."

Steve nodded before walking to the kitchen and typing Bucky's response to the other crew members.

"The man is always finding new ways to upgrade them before he can even send them to us."

Just as Bucky was about to throw his phone to the side again though, it started ringing. Looking at the caller ID, he didn't recognize the unknown number. It was from in-state but in his hometown area of Brooklyn. He pinched his eyebrows together confused at the call, but answered it anyway, thinking it must be someone from home.

"Hello?"

"Hello. Is this Mr. Barnes?" The other voice answered.

"Yes, this is him. Who's this?" he asked, sitting up a little and putting the beer on the end table.

"My name is Matthew Murdock. I work at Nelson and Murdock Law firm," he went on. Bucky shook his head not knowing what that was supposed to mean. "Well, you may actually know us previously as Hammer Attorney. We recently just took over their business after some fraud issues."

Bucky's heart stopped. He knew what that name meant.

"I hate to inform you, but we were going through some of their old files. Ones we were informed could be incomplete or done completely incorrectly due to little care in the actual cases, but more so in taking the money."

"Incomplete cases?" Bucky said softly. His brain was still trying to wrap around the conversation.

"Yes, unfortunately, it looks like a lot of cases having to deal with divorces that the past owners handled, were done strictly in order to launder money. They weren't actually certified, nor trained in handling divorce settlements."

Bucky froze. Eyes wide. Mouth agape.

He stuttered out a response when the man on the other line didn't continue.

"A-And talking about incomplete divorce settlements, you called because..." Bucky knew. He needed to hear it out loud because if he didn't, it wasn't true. It couldn't be.

"I'm so sorry Mr. Barnes, but it looks as though you and your wife, Y/N Y/L/N or sorry, Y/N Barnes, are actually not divorced."

(I will release the first chapter at the beginning of next week! That way I can give myself some time to write more chapters before sharing it!)

Moral of the Story Taglist:

@taylormobley @ximaginx @vicmc624

Marvel Tags:

@thejourneyneverendsx @death-unbecomes-you @heyiamthatbitch @lizzymacy555  @srrymydood @xa-dia @redhairedfeistynerd @morganclaire4 @connie326 @captain-asguard @mollygetssherlockcoffee @teenagedreams-bucky @shower-me-with-roses​ @pham-tastical 

My Lovelies forever:

@natura1phenomenon​ @lauravicente​ @kakakatey​ @traceyaudette​ @notyourtypicalrose​  @laneygthememequeen​ @awesome-badass-cafeteria-sauce​ @sandlee44​ @thorne93​ @thefaithfulwriter​ @essie1876​ @greyeyedsmile14​ @capsiclehan​  @xostephanie​ @averyrogers83​ @awesomenursingstudent​ @gh0stgurl​ @cs-please​ @carls1022​ @jjlevin​ @rainbowkisses31​ @carls1022​ @anise-d-castle6​ @deannotmoose​ @their-bibliophile​ @kitkatd7​ @willowbleedsonpaper​ @mariaenchanted​ @snffbeebee​ @couldabeenamermaid​ @rebekahdawkins​ @alyispunk​

Bucky Barnes Tags:

@chloe-skywalker​ @charmedbysarge​ @jbarness​ @bellamy-barnes​ @katiaw2​ @aikeia​

[slipping-through-my-fingertips]

Could You Be My Little Quarantine?

AU: Mercedes has no excuse to not be zooming with Kurt right now and Blaine has the wrong Zoom ID.

AO3

A/N: This is a product of my late-night story ideas. I could see more from this 'verse developing but I'd need some ideas for what to write. If you have prompts please send them my way. I hope you all enjoy it!

Part 2 Part 3

***

2020

It wasn’t that Kurt isn’t happy for Mercedes. In all the years they’ve been best friends, they've always been supportive of one another. So, it was no surprise to Kurt that she was enjoying her two-week quarantine with her boyfriend. She didn’t flaunt her relationship around Kurt and she made just as much time for him as she always did and Kurt really appreciated it. It meant so much to see her occasionally pushing plans with her boyfriend in favor of talking to Kurt be it Zoom or a regular phone call. Sometimes, she’d cancel because of her recording schedule, which Kurt understood. When he had been rehearsing for a Broadway production of Moulin Rouge!, his schedule was ever-changing.

Tonight was different though because Mercedes had no excuse to cancel on Kurt. She was literally ordered to stay in her apartment. There were no recording sessions, no producers to meet with, and her boyfriend was basically living with her so Kurt’s a little frustrated to be left waiting on Zoom. He’ll give her 15 minutes before texting her. He's still using the college 15-minute rule. As in if the professor doesn’t show after 15 minutes, the class is free to leave. Except, in this case, Kurt was planning to text his friend until she responded.

Kurt did what he usually did while waiting. Played a new word in Scrabble against Carole and went through his recently saved photos (deleting the ones automatically saved from his Instagram Stories) before ultimately opening his fashion Twitter account and scrolling endlessly. He’ll periodically look at the time and note only a minute has passed since he last looked. Until someone who is definitely not Mercedes joins his Zoom meeting room and says hello.

“Hello,” Kurt says, putting his phone down.

“Um hi,” the other man replies. “You’re not Cooper.”

“And you’re not Mercedes.”

“No, I’m not. This is awkward.” He runs his hand through his black curls. “I’m so sorry. I should probably hop off and yell at my brother for giving me the wrong Zoom ID.”

“It’s no problem, my friend’s likely ditching me for her boyfriend. This was a nice surprise.”

“Is it?” he asks. “Cause I feel pretty embarrassed right now. What are the odds I typed an actual Zoom ID in?”

“Well, you were looking for your brother,” Kurt says. “I imagine it’s similar odds to dialing the wrong phone number.”

The man laughs. “You’re probably right. I’m Blaine by the way.”

“Kurt.”

“Wait, you aren’t…” Blaine trails off and leans closer to the camera like he’s trying to get a better look at Kurt. “You are,” he concludes. “Kurt Hummel?”

“Um yes?” Kurt winces at his voice cracking.

“I saw you twice on Broadway last year. You were outstanding as Christian. Moulin Rouge! is one of my favorite movies so when I heard it was going to Broadway, I knew I had to get tickets. Then, after I saw it the first time I didn’t shut up about how incredible it was so Coop brought me tickets again for my birthday, which ended up being much better seats than I could afford.”

“Oh, well thank you. It’s one of my favorite movies too. That’s why I auditioned in the first place but I was shocked to get the lead. I was told so often that a voice like mine didn’t get the romantic roles of the stage.”

“Are you kidding? They couldn’t have cast a better Christian! I saw you in Peter Pan too. Stunning performance.”

“You saw Peter Pan?” Kurt questions. “I performed that for a charity event at a nursing house like five years ago.”

“At my grandmother’s nursing home to be exact.” Kurt thought Blaine was turning a little red but maybe it was the lighting. “I’ve been following your career ever since. I hope Moulin Rogue! won’t be your last performance. It’d be a waste of talent.”

Kurt smiles. “I appreciate your support. I don’t intend to make it my last but I’m taking a short break from performing to get back into student mode. I’m finishing up my last semester of grad school at NYU.”

“I did my undergrad at NYU. Great professors,” Blaine comments. “I was actually supposed to be making my debut on the stage this summer but alas COVID-19 has shut us down for a bit.”

“Debut in what? If you don’t mind me asking.”

“David Mamet’s American Buffalo.”

“Let me guess, Bobby?”

“Yeah,” Blaine replies grinning.

“I’m sure it’ll be back up and running soon. I assume you still live in the city then?”

“I do. New York’s my real home. I always felt out of place in California. My mom moved us there after her divorce and Cooper got his first gig so we stuck around.”

“Gig? Like a band?” Kurt asks, wondering if Cooper ran in similar circles as his college friend, Elliott.

“No, like acting actually. Sorry, poor word choice on my part. He did credit-score commercials for a while but now he primarily does soap operas.”

“Wait, you mean your brother is Cooper Anderson?”

“Um yeah, he is,” Blaine admits.

“Now, it’s my turn to be embarrassed.” Kurt feels his face warm up. “I might’ve had the jingle to that credit-score commercials as my ringtone back in high school.”

“No, you did not!” Blaine exclaims, laughing a little.

“I’m afraid so,” Kurt tells him. “No offense but Cooper was every young gay teen’s fantasy in Ohio. And by every young gay teen, I mean myself because there was only one gay teen in Lima.”

“Kurt, I promise to never tell Cooper of this because his ego is already too large to handle however I will be holding this secret near and dear to my heart only to remember it fondly when I need a good laugh.”

“Oh hush.” Kurt bats his hand at the camera.

“So, what are you studying at NYU?”

This question led the two down a rabbit hole of their favorite classes and professors. Similar experiences they had during vocal performances and various laughter-inducing stories of their off-campus activities. Kurt’s friends’ weekly karaoke nights, Blaine’s goal to try every coffee shop in Greenwich Village, Kurt’s dream role to play Peter Allen in The Boy From Oz, and Blaine’s secret identity Nightbird, who made yearly appearances in October when Blaine went to sing-a-longs at local children’s hospitals.

“Sam learned the hard way that Gatorade hurts more coming out of your nose than chocolate milk does,” Blaine chuckles.

Kurt is about to jump in with another story but a third box shows up on their screens. It’s Mercedes.

“Kurt, I am so so sorry,” she says. “Oh, hello.”

“Hi,” Blaine waves. “Mercedes, I presume?”

“That’s me.”

The call goes silent for a moment.

“Mercedes, this is Blaine.” Blaine smiles. “You were apologizing…”

“Right,” she says, ignoring Blaine’s presence for a minute while she explains.

Meanwhile, Kurt is typing a chat to Blaine so Mercedes won’t see it.

Kurt: Lovely chatting with you tonight. I’d love to meet up again sometime.

Blaine: Me too. Text me.

Kurt quickly entered the number into his phone and nodded confirming that he was both listening to Mercedes and was agreeing to text Blaine.

“Apology accepted,” Kurt tells Mercedes once she’s finished.

She grins.

“Well, I don’t want to interrupt. Lovely to meet you both but I think I’ll try and call my brother now as I had originally planned.”

Blaine does a two-handed wave before leaving the meeting.

“You have a lotta explainin’ to do, mister,” Mercedes says. “Who was that cutie?”

Kurt sighs dreamily. “If all goes my way, a potential boyfriend.”

Mercedes claps excitedly and proceeds to pull all the information Kurt’s willing to divulge about Blaine Anderson.

[i-am-ironic]

Daminette arranged mariage au part 7

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

Damian arrived right on time as usual, to pick Marinette up for dinner. In the car they went over the plan one last time.

"So the plan right now is just to tell your brothers that we are dating until the papers go through confirming you are Xander's father, right?" Marinette said watching the city fly by.

"It shouldn't take long." Damien replied, "Rich families tend to get things done faster then anyone else. Everything should be in order before the end of dinner."

"But what about when they start asking questions?"

"We avoid the questions until the paperwork goes through, then we can tell them the whole story." He Paused thinking back. "When I got back I didn't talk about what happened. I didn't tell anyone so they should be interested enough in the story to leave their questions till the end."

"This might not go well dames," Marinette started Fidgeting with her bracelet, "what if they don't like me? Or they think I'm helping your mother? Or what if-"

"No, mari." He said, his voice bringing her away from her anxious thoughts, "it will be fine. i promise. they will love you and once we explain, everything will be fine. We are here are you ready?"

She nodded and stepped out of the car. The manor was even more extravagant then she had imagined. She was going to need to come back to sckech just the doorway not to mention the rest of the house. Thinking about the architecture helped to calm her nerves.

"Here we go" she said stepping up to the door. It opened before dhe even had the chance to knock. Behind the door was an elderly man in a suite.

"Hello Ms my name is Alfred, I am the Wayne's butler and your name is?"

"Just call me marinette.”

“I must insist it wouldn't be proper to call you anything but your last name.” Alfred said.

“Just marinette for now but you will probably know my last name by the end of the night.” he looked at her curiously, why didn’t she want him to know her name yet?

“Very well ms marinette,” he said before turning to damian, “master damian your family is waiting for you in The sitting room.”

the two of them walked into the room and marinette was expecting a lot of things, but not this. damian just looked so done with his family. 

“Ahem.”he said drawing attention to himself.  “Marinette these are my brothers Dick is the one hanging from the chandelier” she waved at the familiar man. “Tim is the one drinking straight from the pot of coffee and Jason is the one throwing knifes at Dick. Oh and cass is the only normal one sitting on the couch.”

“Hey!” the boys all yelled in unison.

“Its a pleasure to see you again marinette.” bruse said before the boys could start arguing “I presume that our other guest will be here after dinner?”

“That is correct Mr Wayne.”

“Its Bruce as I have told you.”

marinette rooled her eyes smiling. She wasn't going to call him Bruce

“Hold on what other guest?” Jason said confused.

“Dinner is served.” alfrid said from the doorway as he lead the group out of the room.

“Damian wait!” Dick said reaching out for his little brother. Damian turned glancing at marinette who nodded.

“What do you want Grayson?” he siad eager to get back to marinette. 

“I don't think you should be seeing marinette you know how dangerous our 'job' is and-”

“She can take care of herself” he cut his brother off turning to follow were the rest of the group had gone. 

Dick grabbed Damian’s arm makeing him stay this was importent.“I'm sure she can but she has a 2 year old son who can't take care of himself and I don't think-”

“Richard.” that got his attention damian never called anyone by their first name.

“Yes?”

“Xander is my son.” that took a moment to Process before-

“WHAT! WHAT DO YOU MEAN HE IS YOUR SON!”

without answering Damian walked out of the room. Dick folowed him into the dining room, where evryone looked at the two.

“Dick whats wrong? we heard yelling and you look like you saw a ghost.” Cass said conserned. 

“Its nothing,” Damian replied sharing a meningful look with marinette. “I'm sure Grayson is fine. so marinette do I need to take any of my brothers to the garden”

evryone looked shocked at the implicashons but marinette just giggled.

“No they have all been wonderful. besids you know i can handle your brothers.”she smiled. 

“Listen, marinette, if damian kidnapped you blink twice.” jason said in a sereous tone.

she gigaled again, “He didn't kidnap me besides we both know I can beat damian in a fight.”

“take that back! i have beaten you plenty of times before.” this made the boys and cass very intrested, if damian was defending himself he must have actualy tried to beat her, and falled.

“Dames I beat you 68% of the time.” interesting. 

“so you admit i have beaten you before!” he said triumfently.

“Yeah when I let you win.” damians mouth fell open in legitament showk. he looked over at his father, who nodded, before making a statment that would change this family forever.

“Marinette Anne dupan-chang al Ghul Wayne you take that back right this minute!”

the reactions were very mixed. Dick was shocked. not only did his baby brother have a child but it apered that he was marred. Jason didnt know what to think. he had begun to coneckt the dots, marinette had foud the father of her chiled, she then showed up with his brother and she had the same last name as him. $#*! Tim alerdy knew about all this from his reserch and cass decided to wait for an explanation.

“No.” marinette said scrunching up her noes playfully. "I refuse to take it back."

there was silence for a moment before Bruce spoke.

“Maybe we should continue this discussion in the sitting room”

“So would you like to explain why marinette has the same last name as you?” cass said once they reached the other room. 

“Not really but-”

“dames be nice, we knew we were going to explain when we came here tonight. I'll text luka.” 

.”Who's Luka?” Tim said, he hadn't read anythig about a ‘Luka’.

“Its a long story so let's start from the beginning,” marinette started.

“Three and a half years ago I was walking back to my family's house after hanging out at a friend's house. Before I got home I saw a man who needed help, so I went over to help. him i cant remember what he was doing but when I got there I felt a prick in the back of my neck. I pulled the dart out before I hit the ground. The next thing I knew I was in a room laying on a coute. the door was locked and I could hear yelling from someone else in the building. I could tell it was a man but I couldn't make out what he was saying. it wasn't in french I later found out he was speaking Arabic. After the yelling stopped i heard the door unlock and got ready to run but when the door opened a woman was standing there with two big men behind her. She walked in and because of the two men I couldn't run. She started speaking to me in french she said 'my name it Talia. I need you to put on this ceremonial dress.' To which I replied as any sane person would that I wasn't going to put on the dress and they needed to take me back home. She asked 'did you hear that man yelling a moment ago?' 'Yes?' I said though I wasn't sure what that had to do with anything. 'if you don't put it on and do what I say I will kill him.' So I put on the dress. They tied my hands behind my back and blindfolded me before leading me out of the cell I was in. When they took the blindfold off I was kneeling at an alter. Talia began speaking in french so I could understand. She was saying things about the strongest bond known to man, and a queen for the future king. I didn't understand what she meant until I turned to see a boy my age bound and kneeling next to me. Thats when it hit me we were getting married. She made us drink something from a chalice before we were ushered into a different room. We were both untied and left alone. the door locked behind us. The only thing in the room was a bed. The boy introduced himself as damian and said that he wasn't sure why his mother made us get married but that he was going to get some answers. He looked pretty cute when he said that.”

Damian blushed at her compliment.  

“Anyway Talia's explanation was that damian was 16 and for the league that meant he was a man and had to get married. And I had the great honor to be the one he married. I, was pissed. She said that as such a powerful magic user i was worthy to marry the future king of the league of assassins. I was even more pissed. She had the audacity to say that getting married, AT 16, to someone you had never met was a good thing. That little-”

“Alright mari I'll take over.” Damian said resting a hand on her sholder. “Anyway she said that after a year of mari training with the league we could go back to our normal lifes until we turned 18, at which point if we didn't at least move in together they would kill one of us. best mom ever. After that we were left alone to talk. Every day we trained and talked and worked hard. Once a month they would move us to a different compound and give us a huge array of blood tests. We became good friends. it was us against everyone else. Since we were already married we decided to give this whole romantic thing a try. But after six months I was sent to meeting with Talia she said I was going home and knocked me out sending me back to you. I searched and searched but I couldn't find any sign of marinette. so I had to asume Talia killed her. I couldn't think about France without thinking about her so I blocked all news from France. I didn't say anything to anyone for a month. And evrey year for one day I couldn’t speak, the anniversary of the last day I saw her alive.”

“I wasn't dead incase you were wondering.” marinette said picking up where damian left off,” I was sent to the med bay. No one would tell me what was happening or were damian was until Talia came in and said damian had fulfilled his usefulness. she exsplaned The only reason i was there was because damian had spent to much time with his father and had gone soft. The league needed a new heir to the throne. They picked me to be the mother of that heir. I was stuck there for months. I knew they weren't going to let me go. After the baby was born they were going to kill me. One day something big happened, I don't know what but it was big enough no one was watching me. I escaped. I hiched rides to France and snuck across borders. When I finally got back i saw a doctor as soon as I could. I didn't know if the baby was ok. He was born when I was 17.” she turned to the door where a young man stood holdng a toddler who scrambled down and ran over to his parints. “Everyone I would like you to meet Xander Thomas dupan-chang al Ghul Wayne.”

“Damian you have a son.” cass said wide eyed.

“I'm aware” damian said handing the boy his phone with a game already opened up. 

“Xander is my nephew??????” Dick said staring at the boy like he had grown a secend head.

“Yes.” marinette said simply.” It took a year to defeat Paris' villain. After that I moved here to find damian and tell him about Xander.”

“Dang. So you know about Robin then?”

“Yep”

“Why didn't you say anything??? I've known you for over a year and you said nothing????” the betrayed jason said.

“I didn't want to explain anything until I could tell damian. i thought He should be the first to know about his son.”

“We have a break in at gatham museum.” alfered said over the intorcom

“We are not done with this conversation.” Bruce said. 

“Suite up!” called Tim.

“Marinette do you want to come?”

she smiled at her husband “I wouldn't miss it for the world.”

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

I'm pretty sure this is the longest chapter I've ever written yay me. Pro tip if you see a centipede in your house DON'T TUCH IT it can and will sting you and it will hurt, my little brother just got stung by one. Anyway im glad so many of you like this story thanks for all the love! If you want to be tagged please let me know you can ether message me or reply to this. And if anyone can explain how to link things the pretty way with just "here" underlined that would be great. if you asked to be tagged and you weren't then ask again and ill put you on the list.

@thestressmademedoit

@abrx2002

@depressedrainbowcake

@myazael

@toodaloo-kangaroo

@bisha43rbs

@ur-average-reader

@crystalangelluna

@animezodiac707

@thenillabean

[notgonnarememberthis]

find your way (back to me) - chapter ten

God, I have been SO EXCITED for this chapter. BIG praise to Em who helped me get through little hooks and finding Martin’s voice. Honestly they are crazy talented and have such a grasp for his tone and movements they’re such a big help to me and I love my best friend so damn much ok. 

Anyways!! I wanted to send this out after tonight’s ep but I have yet to watch it. I was out with my sister helping her get over a sad spell so I unfortunately missed it live and won’t be able to watch until tomorrow so I would love to avoid spoilers. Thank y’all so much!! Hope y’all enjoy the update!

Gil opens the door to the morgue, Edrisa looks up from the body with a small nod but her normal smile isn’t quite there. Malcolm stands beside her shifting from side to side. He raises an eyebrow but says nothing. JT lingers in the corner of the room, jaw set. “Ready?”

This presentation feels heavier than most. It doesn’t help either he or Malcolm that they both had to reluctantly leave the apartment so early in the morning. Ainsley remained behind, having called in a few favors to work from his place at least until the case was solved. Still, he worries. They both do.

“Yes,” Edrisa breathes, settling into the motions. “Cause of death was the slit throat. There were traces of tranquilizer in the victim, that might be how he was transferred from place to place. The state of the body suggests he’s been dead for a day.”

“He was alive an entire week. Our killer waited. He waited until mother was out of the hospital.” He’s already agitated, it’s not good.

“He wasn’t killed in Mrs. Whitly’s home. He was transported post mortem.”

“We can assume our killer has completely unraveled. This kill goes completely off M.O.”

“He’s desperate.” Gil agrees. 

“Has she remembered anything yet?” Gil turns to where JT is standing.

“No.” Malcolm sighs, “She’s going through dissociative amnesia. Ainsley did after…” He gestures, it’s enough for them to understand. “Honestly, I hope she doesn’t.”

“You do?” The question isn’t meant as a harm but he sees Malcolm flinch. There’s a flash of guilt on JT’s face but Malcolm waves him off before he can apologize.

“From an investigative standing? I would. It would certainly help narrow it down.” He shakes his head, like trying to rid of a thought that was too much even for him. “But after Ainsley remembered? She completely shut down. She looked right past us and it tore my mother up.” Gil remembers that. The blank stare lasted for hours before she finally broke down. It was Jessica who finally got her out of it, playing with her hair and singing her a lullaby. “I don’t want that for her.”

Edrisa places a gentle hand on his shoulder, and to Malcolm’s credit rather than flinching away he subtly leans into the touch.

“Did we find out any more about Freddy?” The question seems to bring a new heaviness to the room. Edrisa and Malcolm share a look, one that tells they know something that hasn’t been spoken quite yet.

“We found an ID card on the inside of his jacket.” Edrisa grabs a baggie with the ID badge inside passing it to Gil. “He was a student volunteer at Claremont Psychiatric.”

“Claremont? You think-”

“We don’t know if he has any connection to the surgeon.” Malcolm’s eyes fall to the body. “But I’ve seen him around. It was only in passing but he was nice. Always smiled when I passed.”

“Does Jess know?”

“No. But it gets worse.”

“Worse?” Malcolm bobs his head before straightening, trying to summon every ounce of professionalism he has to ignore the warring feelings.

“Freddy’s full name is Francisco Garcia. When mom was delivering her statement to the police she said Freddy helped tie the tourniquet on her leg. That his mom is a trauma surgeon.” Gil’s face sinks, coming to the same conclusion. Jessica’s doctor that had been helping in the investigation, Dr. Garcia. “Agent Swanson is on her way to the hospital to confirm our findings. But we’re almost certain it’s Dr. Garcia’s son.”

“Did she know he was missing?”

“My guess? No. He was a med student and a volunteer. He probably went weeks at a time without checking in.” Gil runs a hand through his beard. Even thinking about telling Jessica was ripping him apart. She’d connected well with her doctor, it helped that she was a friendly woman. But Jessica will want to help with funeral expenses, help the family financially for whatever they need. There’s no way he can get past telling her.

A ringtone startles them out of the somber silence. Malcolm reaches into his pocket, eyebrows furrowing when he reads the caller ID. “Ains?” His anxious movements stop as his eyes meet Gil’s “What’s wrong?” He can barely make out the sound of crying coming from the phone “What do you mean she’s gone?” Gil sucks in a breath. Gone could mean too many things. “It’s ok. Is her phone still there?” He waits with a fearful beat. “That’s good. She might have left on her own. I’m going to go see if I can track her phone. Have Dani drive you here and we’ll find her ok?”

Malcolm hangs up and he looks ready to throw something. It’s Edrisa who slips the phone out of his hand before he decides to do just that. He clenches his hand taking a deep breath before speaking.

“My mother is gone.”

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Jessica’s eyes open to the sound of her phone chiming followed shortly by the sound of the front door shutting. From the light pouring into the bedroom she would guess its at least the afternoon. Sleeping in Gil’s bed made it easier to chase away the nightmares and if she did wake up his presence was enough to soothe her. Listening to his slow breathing lulled her back to sleep eventually, too exhausted for another nightmare.

She picks up her phone, squinting as the light hits her face.

Work emergency. Will be back soon, order takeout and have them give it to George.

So it was Ainsley she heard leaving. She sits up carefully pulling her hair up out of her face. Her phone chimes again

And don’t leave!!

She bites her tongue staring at her bags in the corner of the room. Gil and Malcolm carried all that she’d need for the stay for at least a week. The memories of last night hang over her head precariously, like a rope ready to snap.

She takes her medicine with the glass of water on the nightstand.

Her eyes fall on the shirt from last night. Gil had her change when they arrived and, truthfully, it helped her feel lighter. Yet the note in the pocket still weighs on the back of her mind. There was only one possible way he’d know how she took her tea. It was such a small detail even Malcolm, at his age, wouldn’t remember much less Ainsley. She’d stopped drinking tea for a while after his arrest. It took her years before she found a blend she liked again.

Nobody should know that.

And yet.

Jessica rubs her eyes, dread threatening to push her down into the covers where it was safe and warm again. The thoughts taste foul as she files through. She needs to go see Martin, he’s the only one with the answers. If Gil knew there would be no chance he’d let her go anywhere near Claremont, for perfectly good reasons. Hell, if Malcolm and Ainsley knew they wouldn’t let her out of her sight. Ainsley will only be gone for a short bit, if her texts are accurate.

Now is her only chance.

Getting dressed takes slower than she’s happy with. The pull makes her breath catch in her throat more than a few times. She eyes the wheelchair next to the bed for a moment. She knows the doctor’s order, but around Martin showing weakness at all is a loss. It gives him control of the conversation.

Giving him any sort of control is the last thing she wanted.

She gathers herself, dressed as she normally would. She uses makeup to cover what she can. However some of the scrapes are still so sore that she doesn’t bother. She grabs the note, giving herself a few beats to change her mind and stay. Finally, when she deems herself ready she sweeps out into the living room, opening the front door doing her best annoyed mother tone.

Her eyes settle on the officer patrolling, ready to put on the performance of her life. “Will you drive me to Claremont? My son insists that I shouldn’t be left alone and he’s visiting his father.”

“Sure thing Mrs. Whitly.” The officer, George, grins at her.

“Wonderful.”

The ride there is silent. She practices what she will say in her head over and over. Not that any amount of practice will prepare her to speak to Martin again. It only gets worse as she’s escorted through the halls. She can feel his presence long before she reaches his cell; it’s choking, a cavern that threatens to swallow her and her entire family whole.

“Jessica!” He gasps as she steps in, like he hadn’t known she’d be coming. The shock doesn’t quite reach his eyes. “Mr. David didn’t mention you’d be visiting today. I’ve got to say, you’ve looked better.” He gestures vaguely, talking about the scratches on her that she couldn’t cover with makeup. She’s just thankful that she could cover the bruises. “I thought for sure that our children, Malcolm especially, would have you on lockdown. Though, I suppose that never stopped you before.”

She bites the remark that’s on the tip of her tongue. If she wants answers she’ll have to appeal to him. “Malcolm is on the case, Ainsley had some kind work emergency and had to leave.”

He tuts, tilting his head. “Sneaking out? Giving them a taste of their own medicine, huh?” He straightens, narrowing his eyes oh so slightly. “Now don’t tell me you visited just to chat. Not that I’m complaining but come on, I would have put on my good cardigan.”

“No.” He purses his lips at her rejection, but doesn’t interrupt. “Last night there was a body in the kitchen-”

“Someone broke into our home?” My home. She aches for the rebuttal but the answers are too important and she doesn’t have enough time before Ainsley realizes she isn’t there. She will text Malcolm and he’ll no doubt pull every resource he has to find her here, of all places. So she sets her jaw.

“There was a note on my nightstand when I woke up next to a cup of tea that said, just how you like it.” His brows furrow before an understanding washes over him. She thinks, just for a moment.

“Classic stalker behavior.” He shrugs. “Who knows how long he’s been watching you.” She swallows, the thought making her heart freeze. His aloof behavior is betrayed by the years of visits between him and their son. He knows. “And where was the Lieutenant?”

The question scratches her world to a deadly halt. All of the anger at what had happened; the days she was trapped, the injustice of Freddy’s death, her family being threatened. All of it topples over with the words he meant as a knife to her most cherished relationship other than her children.

“Wouldn’t he be there to protect you?”

“Malcolm was.” Darkness washes over him and she watches all the fake humanity drain from his eyes. Barely contained rage makes the room feel colder. She doesn’t allow herself the step backwards that would make her feel more comfortable. “Malcolm was asleep in the chair in the corner of the room.”

“Malcolm was there?”

“Of course he was there! You know Malcolm! He wouldn’t fucking leave let alone sleep in a different room!” She lets out a shuddering breath. “He wouldn’t- he can’t-” Her words jumble and anger is making her shake painfully. Her core aches and she is almost certain if she doesn’t calm down she’ll accidentally pull stitches. “He was in my home. He was in the goddamn kitchen. He was in my room where we were sleeping!” Martin tilts his head, it’s the disapproving tilt. One that she’s seen hundreds of times when a curse slipped out in front of Malcolm or Ainsley when they were so young. He always hated when she cussed. “Malcolm, god he was so tired he didn’t even stir when I woke up.” She can feel the tears coming down but she’s hopeless to stop them now. She’s in an absolute spiral. “God knows how long he was there. How many times he walked past Malcolm. It could’ve been Malcolm.”

The last words are an almost incoherent sob. She had come here, every intention of holding her ground. And here she is having a fucking panic attack in front of her serial killer ex husband. A bitter laugh escapes her.

“It could’ve been Malcolm.” She repeats. “And every time I remember I don’t see that poor boy’s face. I see Malcolm’s. Our son.”

A hand reaches out stroking the tears from her cheek. It takes her far too long to connect the touch to Martin. “Jessie-”

She rips herself away the second her mind connects the dots. The sudden movement causes a new wave of pain. She curses again leaning against the furthest wall to regain her self control. “Stop!” She shouts, getting the attention of Mr. David. “Stop acting like you fucking care.” It hurts too much. She feels like she’s going to stop breathing at any second. When he looks at her with that much sympathy it’s too much. It reminds her of being hunched in the bathroom, morning sickness taking a toll on her. He stayed with her, holding her hair. That sympathy is not only fake, it’s toxic. Another way to gain control.

“That’s not fair.”

“Isn’t it?” She snaps. “You know. You know who it is and you let us be hurt by him. What did you do Martin? What the fuck did you do?” The room holds impossibly still for what feels like an eternity. He heaves a sigh, defeated.

“Lieutenant Arroyo wasn’t the first to catch me.” The words stop her in her tracks. She watches him warily, not trusting a single word he says. “I never met him, but I received a call, a year or two before.” Her stomach sinks, the year or two before was when she’d noticed his growing absence. “He had connected me to a missing woman, able to pin me at her last seen location.” She swallows, realizing he isn’t moving. No shifting head, wild gesturing movements. It’s the truth. “He wanted money.”

“Oh god.”

“I told you I was funding a project at the hospital. Every month I would send him money for his silence.” She holds her breath. “When I got arrested the money stopped, but the calls didn’t.”

“What.”

“He would threaten Malcolm and Ainsley. He was a belligerent drunk. From what I could gather after he lost that money he lost everything, wife divorced him and took the kids. He drank to forget.” He twists his shoulders back, fixing his posture. “I helped him again. Got him into rehab. From what I could tell, he got his life back together.”

“And became a serial killer.”

“Well not all of us can be perfect, Jessie.” He continues with a shrug, “Never got the wife back but found his faith in religion. Not to keen on it myself but to each their own.”

“Where is he now?”

“From last I heard? He got his job back.”

Just like that the world stops spinning. Her pain makes way for horrific clarity. The black clothes with the covered badges. Malcolm and Gil’s frustration over his ability to get in and out of the park despite there being patrols all over the city. How he got into her home without alerting anyone. “He’s a cop.”

“Yes.”

Anxiety clamps down on her stomach. The man has been right there all along. None of them had even suspected. Hell, it could’ve been the man that drove her here. She suddenly, ironically feels herself not wanting to leave. She can’t seem to move. Her feet feel too heavy. Her mind and body aching from overexertion. 

“Jessica?” She hears Martin call to her but she feels too far away to respond. Only the wall behind her is holding her up. “Jessie.” The annoyance laced in his tone exacerbated as she hears the door to the hallway slide open. “Jess!” Panic.

The door opens beside her and Malcolm and Ainsley step in, looking equally alarmed and agitated. Their eyes fall on her, and she sees the color strip from their faces. Malcolm is on her in a second, hands holding her up by her elbows. She must look too pale because he looks like he’s ready for her to faint.

Ainsley, on the other hand, whips around to Martin, eyes accusatory. “What the fuck did you do to her?” She should stop her, a part of her thinks. Yet she still doesn’t move. It’s Mr. David who grabs Ainsley by the middle pulling her back over the red line towards safety. Whether it’s her own or Martin’s she’s not entirely sure.

“Mom. Hey, mom. Look at me.” She does. “We gotta go. Ok?” No, they can’t. It’s not safe. How did they get here? “Gil’s waiting outside. They wouldn’t let him in, but he’s going to take us back.” She relaxes a little. She needs to warn them about the cop. She needs to. But she feels lightheaded and her heels are far too unstable. “I got you, it’s ok.” And he smiles, that gentle smile when he swears that everything will be alright. “Ains, come on.”

She’s braced on both sides by her kids as she walks out with Martin shouting behind them.

[still-g00denough]

The Assignment Ch. 7

Pairing: Kainora

Rating: K+ (for now)

Words: 12,767

Chapters: 7

read on ff.net

“The library wasn’t exactly what you think of when someone asks you to go on a romantic date,” Kai whispered because they were currently in the city library. 

“You said I could choose where,” Jinora quipped.

Kai sighed, “well I thought you chose a place with a better ‘date’ vibe.”

Jinora drew a breath then shakily held his hand, “I wanted to share this with you. The library is where I go to settle down; it’s my happy place.”

Kai rubbed soothing circles into Jinora’s hand, “In that case, I’m so glad you brought me here.” Kai, despite the location, was having a good time. But there was another thing that was bothering him. He looked at Jinora with a frown, “Just one question though,” Jinora nodded her head, telling him to ask away. “Why is your brother following us?”

Now Kai had no problem with Jinora’s brother, Meelo, but he was distracting (and slightly creeping) Kai out. Jinora sighed as she whipped her head around, seeing Meelo duck behind a bookshelf unsuccessfully. Kai saw something in Jinora’s eyes for a split second, it was rage but more like a mixture of annoyance and embarrassment. “What,” she yelped, “are you doing here Meelo?” Jinora marched to the book shelf that was right behind them. He could try to run but Jinora already had her eyes pinned on him. “Meelo, don’t even try to run. Come here,” she demanded.

Meelo peaked out from behind the other row of shelves, he was quick on his feet Jinora had to give him that. “I’m on a top secret mission,” Meelo whispered in that fake-deep voice he tries to use to hide his voice cracks, “direct orders from the general.”

“You mean Dad?” Jinora said, now just simply annoyed. She looked back at Kai. He had decided to focus on his notes, giving Jinora and her little brother some privacy. She blushed, he was really sweet. Meelo. “Ugh, can you just leave us alone please?” 

Meelo stood up straight now, he may have only been 11, but he sure was growing fast. Jinora was still taller, but he was catching fast, nearly up to her shoulder. “Sorry, direct orders. No can do,” he repeated. 

Jinora knew exactly what was going on. She just exhaled loud enough to show Meelo she was done with his games and quickly sent a text to her mom: Dad sent Meelo to spy on me and Kai

Within a minute Jinora heard the unmistakable sound of Meelo’s ringtone, the pokemon theme song. He was on the phone for only a few moments, “Okay mom, can I at least go hang out with Jonah?” Meelo then hung up the phone and walked right up to his sister and the boy, “Mission has been called off. Mom said you have to pick me up from Jonah’s later tonight though. Whenever you’re done with this,” he gestured at Kai. 

Jinora sighed, again, “Fine Meelo, now leave please.” With that her little brother finally walked away and she watched him walk out of the building. “Sorry about that,” she said to Kai. 

Kai, who more or less zoned out for the last 5 minutes finally looked up again, “It’s fine!” he explained, “I’ve seen him following us since we left your house so I thought I would tell you.” He laughed, once again running a hand through his hair. 

Jinora also laughed as she packed her things into her bag and grabbed her keys, “Now let's go on our real date!” She grabbed his hand and started dragging him out of the Library. 

“What? I thought this was our real date?” Kai said, his voice dropped like he was concerned and Jinora realized he was a bit hurt. 

“Kai, it's okay. I planned this,” she gave him her sweetest smile. “I know my dad would send one of the minions after us, I just wasn’t sure when or which one,” she stated. “Now that the spy is gone we can go have some real fun!” 

Kai took a second to process but eventually gave her a huff of recognition, “Wow, way to think ahead Jin.” Kai was still being dragged by one hand, his other trying to stuff the notebook in his bag. “But really, I thought you liked this place? We can stay if you want,” he expressed. 

Jinora turned around and stopped them both, “I do love it here, and we can come here plenty. But this is our first real date, no way are we spending it at the Library. And this is me talking!” Jinora laughed. She grabbed his hand again and they walked towards Jinora’s car. 

…

“Where are we going Jinora?” Kai asked her again. Jinora just turned the music up, the already loud bass drowning him out even more. 

“Don’t worry,” Jinora yelled over the music, “you’re gonna love it!” 

Kai huffed again but quickly found a groove with the music. His head swayed to the beat as Jinora took them down the freeway and off an exit Kai was unfamiliar with. 

She turned down the streets without directions and pulled into a parking lot with a big building in it. Kai’s face lit up with joy, “No way!”

“Yes way,” Jinora confirmed, “Now let's go fly.” Jinora grabbed his hand and quickly led them into the trampoline park.

Kai had always wanted to go to a place like this, but he never had a chance growing up. He could hardly contain his excitement… that is until they got to the front desk and he looked at the prices. “Uh, Jinora. This is great and all but I can’t afford this,” Kai said with a defeated voice. Kai was used to not having money for things, but it didn’t make it any less easier. 

Jinora could tell this was a sore spot but quickly reassured him, “Don’t worry about that. The city runs this place, I can get us in for free.” She flashed a big grin and pulled out her Republic City ID with a fancy ‘all access’ sticker on it. “Just one of the perks of my Dad,” she smiled. 

Kai’s jaw dropped, “Free? Like free free? Really?” 

“Yes Kai, free free,” she reassured him. “Now let go to the foam pit! I’ve been trying to get this double back flip down and I could use your help.”

Jinora could see the excitement on Kai’s face, very childlike she thought. He practically ran straight into the pit his first time he was so excited. There was pure happiness on his face as Kai launched himself into the sea of red and yellow foam. “Ahhhh!” Kai started grunting, “how do you get out of this stuff?” He started squirming around like a worm, unable to make any ground back to the platform. 

Jinora only laughed at his struggle, “calm down Kai. Just try to get your body as close to the surface as you can and just army crawl out,” she explained to him from across the pit. Kai finally got himself to the platform and pulled his body out of the foam. Jinora giggled at him, he was already covered in sweat, his black shirt hugging his frame. His hair was all messed up and Kai was about to run his hand through his hair again when Jinora beat him to it, “You’re like a little kid in here, huh?”

“Oh,” Kai grinned, “absolutely.” He wrapped his arms around Jinora and threw her into the pit before she could stop him. 

“Kai!” she yelled out, “what the-” And then she saw his body flying over her and crashing down just a few feet away. His head suddenly appeared in front of hers, “this is much better than the library,” Kai said and kissed her cheek as he started fighting his way back to the platform. 

“Yeah,” Jinora said, her hand instinctively going to her cheek where his lips had left a cold spot, “Much better than the Library.”

[cycat4077]

Three Weeks In

So, I’m writing a series. Cute, fluffy ideas kept popping into my head and rather than making a new character/backstory for each one-shot, I decided to keep the universe I set up in Changes which is basically all the canon-SVU events but Sonny has a loving relationship behind the scenes. Let’s face it, the boy deserves happiness. It’s not necessary to read my other story first unless you want the backstory of the reader character and how they got together with Sonny. I’ll try to keep things chronological and weave in SVU events if I can. My OCD is forcing me to make sure the dates are all correct (ex: Sonny can’t be with the reader if he’s supposed to be upstate investigating a lead.) So tah-dah! I present thee with the second installment of the “Changes” series which is set immediately after 17x09, Depravity Standard, and begins on Nov 23rd 2015 (the day before Thanksgiving). It may be crap, but I hope you enjoy anyway!

Words: 2296 Warnings: none Pairing: Sonny x Reader Summary: Three weeks into dating Sonny and he already wants you to meet his family… AO3 here

Some days you actually have to pinch yourself as a reminder that your life is real. It’s been three weeks since Sonny showed up to your class. Three weeks since the two of you confessed your feelings. And three weeks of dating Sonny. While your schedules didn’t allow for a lot of one-on-one time, the two of you keep in touch and steal away for dinner whenever you can.

A steady beeping sound rouses you from your sleep and you roll over to shut off your alarm. The sun is starting to peek through the curtains, signalling a new day. Glancing at your phone screen, you smile.

Mornin’, doll. Have a great day! Talk to you later xoxo

Everyday you wake up to a text from Sonny and, though a seemingly small gesture, your heart aches in the best possible way from knowing he cares. You unplug the device and lay back in bed, phone perched on your chest.

Morning, Sonny. Hope you have a great day too and stay safe! xoxo

As you hit send, you imagine him smiling at his desk when the message comes in. You get ready for class and head out, a spring in your step while you journey to campus. Sonny texts you back around lunchtime with a message saying that he should be free tonight. He asks if you’d be up for having dinner and you eagerly accept. That evening you put on a nice outfit, fix your hair and set out to meet your date at a nearby restaurant. But SVU work can be unpredictable. You were made very aware of that during your summer there. One day could be quiet while the next could be so busy that you didn’t know whether the detectives were coming or going. So understandably, this line of work would sometimes force Sonny to be late. Nevertheless, if he was, he would apologize profusely and you would always reassure him that you understood. Tonight however, as you wait alone inside the restaurant lobby, Sonny is later than he’s ever been before. Not only that, but he hasn’t even sent you a message to confirm that he was caught up. His silence has you worried. You crane your neck towards the door once more before sending him a quick text:

Hey. Hope everything is okay.

Not a moment later your phone vibrates.

Shit. Sorry, doll. I’ll be there in 15.

You breathe a sigh of relief knowing he’s safe but then your gut knots when the alternative creeps into your mind. Restaurant patrons pass you by and the hostess keeps glaring while you’re standing there. They’ve seen it all before: a girl left waiting for a date who doesn’t show. You look up and let out a shaky sigh, hoping that Sonny hadn’t simply forgotten you. Practically 15 minutes on the nose from his text, a rather frantic looking Sonny comes barreling through the restaurant door. His winter jacket is unbuttoned and you can see his badge still clipped to his suit underneath. He hasn’t had time to change. “Hey,” he breathes out with apologetic eyes. “I’m so sorry. I shoulda texted you. It’s just Rollins -” Sonny takes a breath, chest heaving. He must have ran here. “She had a scare today. There were complications with her labor. Luckily, she made it though n’ delivered a healthy baby girl, but Lieu and I stayed there with her for a while. She’s gettin’ some rest now and Fin is gonna check up on her later.” Immediately you flood with relief. “I’m glad she and the baby are alright,” you say, “and I’m glad nothing had happened to you either.” “You dunno know how sorry I am for not lettin’ you know what was goin’ on. I shoulda texted. But things got hectic and we were all pretty worried about her…” “Sonny,” you cut off his rambling and force him to meet your eyes. “It’s okay. I’m not mad. Like I said, I’m glad Rollins is fine and I’m also glad she wasn’t alone through all this.” Sonny looks back at you and takes a breath. Your words seem to calm him right down. He smiles. “You’re amazin’.” You blush. “Back at you, but I’m starved.” He chuckles and the two of you approach the hostess. She grabs your menus but rolls her eyes as she turns to lead you to your table. She seats you at a little booth in the corner, Sonny taking your coat before you sit down. You braved wearing a knee-length dress despite the November weather and are rewarded by an expression of awe from Sonny when he sees it. “You look beautiful, doll,” he compliments, drinking you in. “And here I am, lookin’ shabby in comparison.” A little tired, yes. But shabby? Never. Sonny’s dark hair is still combed back and he’s wearing a tasteful burgundy tie over a white pinstripe shirt. You lean in and peck him on the cheek. “You always look handsome to me.” The two of you order and share a drink, happy to finally be catching up. “Shadowin’ Barba was fantastic!” exclaims Sonny through a mouthful of bread. “He’s so polished in his delivery n’ so sharp at findin’ the littlest things to drive it all home to the jury!” “Fanboy alert!” you joke. “Guilty!” he grins, raising his fork in surrender. “But I learn so much from him and it gives me new ideas for doin’ my written assignments.” “I’m happy for you, Sonny. You work so hard and you deserve every ounce of success you earn.” You truly can’t help the pride you feel for him. “Aww, thanks, doll. That means a lot.” Sonny gazes at you with the utmost affection and you nearly melt in your seat. “Say, what’s new with you? Anythin’ excitin’ in the ol’ biology class?” “Same old, same old,” you shrug. “Just gave the second midterm back to the students, so I expect a lot of office visits from them on Monday.” “You don’t have ta work or take emails over the holiday, do ya?” asks Sonny, pushing food around his plate absentmindedly. “Nope. Why?” You sense there’s something more to his inquiry. “Well, I was wonderin’…now, I know it’s short notice ‘cause I wasn’t even sure I’d be able to get off myself, but I was wonderin’ if…if you’d like to spend Thanksgiving with me at my parents’ place?” Sonny looks up. It’s the most hopeful expression you’ve ever seen on him. “I..uh…” you’re lost for words. You want to scream out ’YES!’ at the top of your lungs but at the same time it’s not that easy. “Sonny, that’s t-tomorrow. And it’s also your family time. I wouldn’t want to intrude on them.” “You wouldn’t be intrudin’! My ma’s been askin’ to meet my girlfriend n’ even said to ’make sure you bring her over for Thanksgiving’.” Your voice goes quiet. “I’m your…g-girlfriend?” The word floors you. Most guys don’t want to dive head first into labeling relationships, especially not after only three weeks. But here is Sonny Carisi, happily calling you his girlfriend and wanting you to meet his family. “Yeah, of course doll,” he answers a little perplexed. “We’re datin’ aren’t we?” Sonny fixes his gaze on you, trying to read what you’re feeling. You shake your head to snap yourself out of it. “Yes, y-yes. It’s just that…Never mind. I’d love to spend Thanksgiving with your family!” An uncontrolled smile spreads across your face and you’re pretty sure it makes you look like a complete dork. If it does, Sonny doesn’t point it out, but instead reaches across the table to hold your hand. He too is smiling from ear to ear like you’ve made him the happiest man alive. Suddenly your smile drops. “What?” questions Sonny. “What time will you be heading out tomorrow?” “Uh, well, I was thinkin’ we could get there for ‘round four o'clock. Time enough to introduce ya to everyone before we eat?” “Four?! That doesn’t give me much time to make anything!” you gulp. “Make somethin’? Doll, my mother wouldn’t want you to bring anythin’. Believe me, she cooks for a small army.” “Sonny. You can’t show up to someone’s house for dinner empty handed.” Sonny opens his mouth to argue, but you shush him instead. “How many people are gonna be there?” Conceding, he sets down his utensils, freeing his hands to count. “Well, there’s gonna be mom, dad, me, you, Bella n’ Tommy. Their little one doesn’t eat the good stuff yet, so I won’t count her.” Sonny unfolds that finger. “Then there’s Resa and Mia and Gina. Maybe a plus one for Gina, but who the hell knows with her.” Looking down at his two hands, he raises them to show you. “Should be nine altogether.” Good to know because you were going to be up early the next morning baking. -x- You don’t realize your knee is bouncing until Sonny reaches over and places a warm hand on it. “Don’t be nervous, doll. My family is gonna love you.” You turn your head towards him, flashing a weak smile. Sitting in idle traffic is only making your nerves worse. “Trust me. Besides, ya even baked fresh bread rolls on short notice. They’re gonna disown me and keep you instead.” Sonny taps your knee reassuringly before returning his hand to the steering wheel. The Carisis live in a quaint little suburban house complete with a petite yard and front porch stoop. It seems small for a family of six, yet still cozy and welcoming. You can’t imagine Sonny growing up anywhere else. Sonny leads you up the steps and knocks on the door. It instantly flies open and a short woman with grey hair greets the two of you with open arms. “Sonny!” she coos, scooping her boy in for a hug. Sonny plants his mother a kiss before introducing you. “Hellooo! Welcome, hon,” exclaims Mrs. Carisi as she ushers you into her home. The place smells delectable. If someone asked you describe the scent of Thanksgiving, you would say ‘the Carisi household’. “I’m so happy you could make it! Y'know, Sonny has told me so much about ya and I’m glad that boy finally got the nerve to - ” “Ma!” blurts Sonny, flashing his mother a warning look. Sonny must have spent those months apart dwelling over you, just as you had done over him. “What?! It’s true, honey,” defends the Carisi matriarch before turning back to you. “Whateva. You just make yourself at home dear. We’re all family here.” “Thank you, Mrs. Carisi,” you say sincerely. You’d never been so instantly accepted by another family. After sharing a hug with Sonny’s mother, you are swarmed by the rest of the Carisis. Sonny introduces you to his father first, who gives you a solid nod. Next is Bella, bouncing a tiny infant with Tommy by her side. Theresa and a shy Mia chime in a ‘hello’ before a solo Gina caps off the meet-and-greet. Mrs. Carisi is over the moon when you hand over your baking and the bread rolls end up being a major success. In true Italian fashion, the Thanksgiving spread is full of flavor with Sonny’s mother sparing no expense in variety or quantity. Everyone joins in saying grace before dinner and, though not a common practice in your house growing up, you don’t mind linking hands with Sonny and Gina while Mr. Carisi leads the family in giving thanks. Because you do have a lot to be thankful for: a great job, an incredible boyfriend and now a whole new family to spend time with. The rest of the meal is occupied by sharing in conversation, fond memories and laughter. You find it all sort of surreal. During the summer Sonny had entertained you with tales of this very family: How they could get on one another’s nerves but that at the end of the day still loved each other. And this is exactly what you see before you. Maybe it’s a light buzz from the wine, but you feel all warm and fuzzy as the chatter of the Carisis surround you. Eventually the evening winds down and everyone seems to be groaning over how full their tummies are. You know you’ve eaten too much but wouldn’t have it any other way. “The food was absolutely delicious, Mrs. Carisi. Thank you all for having me,” you say appreciatively, looking at everyone in turn. “Our pleasure, hon,” smiles Sonny’s mother sweetly. “Know that you’re welcome here anytime.” She clasps your hands in hers and gives them a few quick pats. You say your reluctant goodbyes before you and Sonny head to his car. Once inside, he looks at you. “So?” “Your family is wonderful, Sonny and I had a great time.” This makes him flush with pride. “Glad to hear it, doll. Sometimes they can be a bit much, but they mean well.” He turns the key in the ignition and his car grumbles to life. The two of you wave as he backs out of the driveway. Once you’re cruising down Arden avenue, Sonny pipes up again. “Y'don’t have any more of them rolls, do ya? I didn’t know you were such a good cook.” You let out a laugh. “I’m not that good. For every two-dozen there’s about a dozen that come out flat and ugly. But if you’re indifferent to what they look like, then I can hook you up with the rejects.” You wink just as the car passes beneath the glow of a streetlamp in hopes Sonny will catch it. He grins. “I don’t mind. Besides, it gives me a good excuse to walk ya to your door 'n steal a kiss goodnight.”

-x-

I have a bunch of ideas planned, the next being x-mas (wrong time of year, I know) but I just have to check dates from the episodes. Let me know if you’d be interested in more of these stories and any feedback would be loved!

Next part here!

[lonelypond]

Au Yeah August: Café Quarantine, Part II

NicoMaki, Love Live, 2.7K, 2/3

Summary: Yazawa Nico's recovering from Covid-19 while she tries to learn more about her housemate, Nishikino Maki.

Café Quarantine

Nico woke up. Her head felt clearer, no headache, still so dry inside her mouth there was no saliva, and her lips were peeled and chapped. Sitting up, she was breathing easier, and the inhale of relief didn’t trigger a cascade of coughing. What time was it? She grabbed her phone. 1:25 a.m. Long past Café Quarantine time. Nico concentrated. She’d seen Maki earlier today, what had they talked about? They’d been texting more, Maki seemed to be getting friendlier, but there were no new messages on Nico’s phone.

Had Maki done a livestream? Her friend...Hana...something...Nico shook her head, details fled too quickly and new memories seemed hard to make...Maki’s friend, who was now TWIG-ing for the Café, probably wouldn’t let Maki take a night off. Consistency was key, especially in the beginning. And now everybody who could was supposed to be staying home to “flatten the curve.” Nico glanced around the large room, with a queen bed, a walk in closet, and two barrel chairs around a low table. This was a very nice place to be flattening the curve in, but Nico got a lost feeling from Maki in so many of the rooms, especially, Nico giggled, the kitchen. That triggered a cough, but the spasm was less painful. Another inhale of relief. Maki had said something about Day 6 being a turn around. Maybe Nico was on the upswing. Nico flipped on the bed, leaning into a pillow, and opening TWIG to see what Maki had done for tonight.

The first piece was instrumental. Fast, cheerful. Amazing technique. Nico didn’t know much about the piano, but Maki exuded such a sexy confidence, her fingers moving with strength and grace, not mistaking a key as she read the hand written pages of notes. And to then, Maki looked up at the camera, and suddenly, Nico got pulled in to the depths of amethyst, as Maki nearly almost didn’t smile, her voice playing all sorrow’s gentlest notes as she spoke.

“It’s a little lonely here. Maybe it’s a little lonely where you are. This is a moment of change, and we all have to think about how that happens.” Maki laughed and it made Nico’s chest feel lighter, “And when I think I don’t sleep and when I don’t sleep I think why not drink more coffee and so I can’t get this song out of my head and I’m gifting it to you.” Another laugh and then Maki’s voice, even from Nico’s phone, captured all her attention as Time paused.

“I'm feelin' mighty lonesome Haven't slept a wink I walk the floor from nine to four In between I drink Black coffee Love's a hand-me-down brew I'll never know a Sunday In this weekday room

I'm talkin to the shadow One o'clock till four And Lord, how slow the moments go And all I do is pour Black coffee Since the blues caught my eye I'm hangin' out on Monday My Sunday dreams to dry…”

Nico had this sudden urge to go find Maki, to hear if the sadness was lifted out of her voice, see if the brightness was stoked up in her eyes. But Nico was still contagious. Nico had been trying to stay isolated, complete exhaustion had helped with that, but whenever she stepped out of the room, she ran into Maki. Like magnets. And Nico didn’t want anyone else to feel like this. Or worse. Nico knew this wasn’t a bad case, but it was scary. And now Nico was hungry. Tired as she was, sleep wasn’t coming back until she ate something. Surely Maki was asleep. Nico couldn’t hear anything in the hall, so maybe.

Nico masked up. No sense in taking unnecessary risks. Decreasing the chances Maki might be exposed to the virus was important. Nico hoped Maki was sleeping and not snacking as she headed to the kitchen. Where Maki was sitting at the table. WIth a mug.

“Black coffee?” Nico asked.

Maki only jumped slightly. She must have seen Nico in her peripheral vision. The redhead had changed from the highlighting crushable curves black and lilac gown to blue pajama pants with stars and a gray Northwestern hoodie.

“Tea.”

“Are you feeling sick?”

Maki shook her head, “Just want to get some sleep.” She yawned, stretching out her arms, “it’s been a long week.”

“Seems like two.”

Maki’s lip quirked into an expression that a read amused, while not technically counting as a smile. “I know. It really does.”

“Nico will come back and raid the refrigerator when you leave.”

Maki shrugged, twirled a curl, and rose, moving to the window and opening it, “‘S ok, raid away. Can I get you anything?”

Nico shook her head, “So what was that first song.”

“It’s actually called the Coffee Song.”

“Does it have lyrics?”

Maki nodded.

“Sing it for Nico.” Nico decided on reheating a slice of sausage pizza. Maki’s favorite pizza place put fennel and basil and roasted garlic on everything and it was amazing.

Maki blushed and sipped her tea so hastily drops spilled down her chin.

Nico chuckled at the lack of verbal response, “Some other day. Hey, you talked a lot last night. Nico didn’t know you could do that.”

Maki rolled her eyes, “Pay more attention.”

Nico turned, making sure she had Maki’s full focus, “I will.”

###

Nico’s Mama’s ringtone went off as Nico was debating whether to dive under the covers for more sleep or actually get up and stretch. Grabbing the phone allowed Nico to delay the decision on exercise.

Her mom’s voice sounded cheery, “How’s my baby?

“Better, maybe. Nico’s been resting so much, if I didn’t have a window I wouldn’t have idea if it were day or night.” Nico pushed the blankets back.

“It’s morning.”

“Are you at work?”

“I’m telecommuting. Everyone in the office is. Your siblings are so happy.” Her mother paused, “Keeps them from getting upset by the bad stuff.”

“Good. I miss them.”

“They can’t wait to see you.”

“Yeah, Nico’s safe once the isolation period is up and symptoms go away.” 

“Are you still coughing?” Now there was her Mama, Nico smiled, the concern making her less lonely, “You haven’t been singing.”

“Nico’s been sleeping through most days, but Maki took over.” Nico decided to sit up. Easier than yesterday. 

“I know, we’ve been watching. Cocoro wants a piano so she play for you.”

“The one here is so pretty.”

“So is Maki.”

“Mama.” Nico's tone warned.

A pause. “Are you getting along?”

“Nico gets along with everyone.”

“I remember you complaining about her nearly every night after her parents made her take a job in the coffeehouse.”

“There are no customers to be rude to here.”

“Is she taking care of you?”

“Nico takes care of herself.”

“Nico.” Mama wanted real answers. Nico sighed.

“Maki’s go to move is ordering this really excellent pizza. And sending Nico mp3 files of songs she’s spent the afternoon playing while Nico recuperates. If she could do it by herself, she’d probably move the piano to the hall outside Nico’s door.”

Amused. “That sounds nice.”

Nico coughed, for two minutes, her mother waiting to speak until the coughs quieted.

Sharper. “That sounds scary.”

“Nico is brave, Mama.”

“I know, baby. I love you. And I’m so proud of you.”

Nico hated the crying. Yes, it was her mama and no one else was here to see it, but any weakness was weakness.

“Thanks, Mama.” Nico whispered.

“I expect to see you next week for dinner. Bring Maki.”

“But Mama…”

“No excuses. I owe her so much more than home cooking for taking good care of my daughter.”

Nico knew she wouldn't win this argument. “Okay.” 

“Good. What are you going to do today?”

“Get up and get some sun.”

“Good idea. Eat breakfast first.”

“Yes, Mama.”

Laughter on the other end of the phone, “I don’t mean to treat you like Cocoa. I just want to have you here to take care of you myself. But you’re an adult. And you have...friends who care about you.”

“Yeah. Nico’s lucky. I don’t know how I can pay Maki back.”

“Just be yourself, Nico, and you’ll figure out what you need to do.”

“Nico’s got this.”

Nico could see her mother’s serious face, with just the slightest nod to confirm Nico’s abilities. “You do.”

###

Nico was in the backyard, wrapped up in this really superwarm, superbeautiful wool blanket Maki said was made by indigenous artists working for an indigenous company. So not only superwarm but points for exploring something other than the culture handed to her on a platinum platter. Maki, for all her rudeness, had this air of kindness that Nico instinctively wanted to save from the harder edges out there in the universe. Her parents had obviously kept her in a bubble and Maki had her own bumbling, oblivious charm that would have existed bubble or no. And then she sat in front of a piano and Nico was breathless because there was nothing but confidence and mastery. Nico had worked, worked so hard, on singing and dancing and music, and Nico was sure Maki had worked hard as well, but there was this other level, this native confidence, that music was the land where Maki lived and Nico though a long term resident, had never really truly tasted the water.

Nico closed her eyes and stared up at the sun, inhaling warmth. She heard a wooden chair scraping off to her right. Maki. If Nico kept her eyes shut, maybe Maki would pretend she was alone and talk.

“So many people covered the Dylan Coffee Song. I’m not a big Dylan fan, although we could make it jazzy if you like it..."Java Jive" is fun and fast, but do you have that much energy, are you going to sing tonight, Nico, because…

“Yes, Nico was planning to do a duet with Maki. But not the Dylan song. How about “I Get No Kick?””

“That’s about champagne. I thought we were keeping themes.”

“It’s about things you can’t do without.” Nico opened an eyelid, Maki was sitting up, staring out into the yard, twisting a curl in her fingers.

“Rin wants us to do “Cow Bells and Coffee Beans." She offered to drop off or play the cow bell, preferably play.”

“What’s that song?”

“Henry Mancini did it on his ‘Mr. Lucky Goes Latin’ album. There’s a cat on the cover and a song called “The Dancing Cat” so it’s Rin’s new favorite thing.” Maki paused, “They were looking up coffee songs for me.”

Nico laughed, “That’s a good way to pick music. I have to meet these friends of yours. Why don’t you and Rin do a duet and then Nico will step in for a second song?”

“Really?” Maki spun to face Nico, “Rin would love that.”

“Nico makes people happy.” Nico waved a hand airily, “She’s dating Café Quarantine’s social media jitterbug, right?”

“Hanayo? Yeah, they’ve known each other forever, like kindergarten. I’m not even sure when they ‘officially’ starting dating, but by the time I met them in high school, they were unbearably adorkable.”

“Doesn’t sound unbearable. Just cute.”

Nico could hear Maki shuffling, “I guess.”

“So were they big into PDA?”

“PDA?”

“Public displays of affection?” Really, Maki didn’t even know that. And that was an ancient thing.

“Oh.” Maki settled back into the lounge, Nico guessed, “Some hand holding, I think. Nothing big. Hanayo’s shy.”

“The person inundating me with questions and requests for selfies and promotional pics is shy?!?!?!”

There was a pause, “She gets really really hyped about...K-pop, celebrities, and cute singers, and…”

“So Nico’s a cute singer, huh?”

No reply.

Nico had more energy, but not enough for that level of pushing a tease. Plus, leaning back with her eyes closed seemed to be inviting Maki to share more things. If Nico was going to push, maybe it should be about something else.

“So how’s the doctor thing going? Nico feels better.”

“I’m glad you feel better, but it’s not because I’d be any good as a doctor.”

“Maki’s smart…”

“I know that.”

“And you have a hospital right there…”

“Which means I should just take over, right, like my parents want me to, take over and spend all my time alone in big houses, or alone, hiding in a supply closet, crying from exhaustion. Or working with people who won’t tell me the truth because I’m their boss.”

“You always told Nico the truth, right? And Nico was your boss.”

“I’m different. You’re different”

It was neither modesty or bravado, Nico had noticed. Maki just stated things that she thought were true. And if she thought they were true, they must be fact.

“Money makes people careful.” Maki said. “That’s the polite version of what my father always says.”

“What’s the impolite?”

“Crawling cowards.”

Nico snorted, “That wouldn’t make any friends.”

Maki sat up, “But it does. You can say anything.”

“Not to Nico.”

“No.” Maki sighed, “And my parents respect you for that.”

“You’re avoiding Nico’s question.”

“I am.” Maki stood up, “If I’m going to duet with Rin, we’ll have to practice. I ordered lasagna for lunch, I’ll leave yours on the table.”

“Do you have Italian sauces in your veins?”

A laugh so light and cute, Nico was forced to open her eyes. Maki was glowing, the sun halo behind her head both blinding Nico and tinting the edges of Maki’s hair a deep pink that matched lips Nico might have fantasized about kissing. Once. Maybe twice.

“Maybe.” Maki winked, almost touching Nico’s chair as she walked past.

“Figures.” Nico sat up. She was hungry. Give Maki a bit of head start, at least until Nico was sure she wasn’t contagious. No more coughing Covid cuties here if Nico could help it.

###

Nico had jumped into the stream from her room to say hi, but skipped singing. A low energy performance that ended in a cough would have been fun for no one. Rin and Maki had been adorable. Rin was a tiny ginger cutie with the energy of a bullet train. Nico tried to imagine how Rin and Maki ended up friends, but it was hard.

Why wonder when she could ask.

N: How did you and Lucky Cat, Jr. get to be best buds.

M: She tackled me.

N: Σ(･口･)

M: We had gym together, we were playing flag football, Rin forgot about the flags and tackled me, I dropped her in a rainwater barrel, we played desktop football during a week’s worth of detention -- I always won, no matter what Rin tells you -- and then we found out we had the same lunch.

N: So what happens if Nico tackles you.

M: ᕕ( ᐛ )ᕗ

N: Nico was impressed you could swing “You’re The Cream In My Coffee” when your coffee’s always black.

M: I didn’t have to drink it.

N: Do you miss the coffeeshop?

M: No.

N: But you got to spend with the #1 Boss in the World, Nico.

M: My parents made me do that.

N: (T⌓T)

M: ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Nico put her phone down. My parents made me do that? Is that all? Didn’t Maki miss all the effort Nico had put in to try to help her? And sure, she’d never said thank you, but Nico hadn’t gotten the impression that her less than stellar student had hated the situation. Was Nico only here because Maki felt some obligation.

There was a quiet knock on the door.

“Nico?” Nico heard sounds of Maki settling against the door. “Can we talk?”

Nico squelched her immediate “Tell Dr. Nico what's bothering you” with a quiet “Okay.”

“I...it’s not...the coffeeshop was okay, you were great, people were…” Maki paused, sounding amused and altering her voice as if quoting someone, “stoopid, but…” The door moved like Maki had pushed her back against it, “I hate schedules, I don’t want to just follow a path because it’s there, because my parents, because it’s...because the wheels lock in.”

“What do you want?”

“I don’t know.” A pause, “I’ve been liking this.”

“Nico nearly died.”

“No you didn’t. And I didn’t mean that. I’m enjoying working on music, performing...I’ve been playing the piano more than I have for years…” Maki was drumming her fingers on the door.

“Nico can't imagine you not playing; it seems so you.”

A laugh, first quietly pleased and then wry, “I don’t even really mind Hanayo harassing me to find something to wear.”

“Nico will harass you even more, if that’s what you like.”

A sigh, “But it’s not real.”

“Nico’s real, Maki’s real, why isn’t making music together real?”

“My parents…”

“Forget your parents. What does Maki want?”

A long pause, little movement.

“More.”

A/N: Decided to split this @auyeahaugust Coffeeshop AU next chapter in two so I could post this bit faster. I didn't want anyone worrying about Nico for too long ; )

[demigodsanswer]

Once Upon a Pointe - Chapter 3

Story Summery:

“Annabeth, you’re with Percy,’ Chiron said. Annabeth. She looked like the figurine in a little girl’s music box had come to life to dance in City Ballet. Percy felt like every opportunity to dance with her was a privilege. Just don’t forget the choreography, Percy thought as he got into the right starting spot for the wedding pas de deux. Don’t forget the choreography, and don’t drop her.”

Percy, a soloist with the ballet company, and he is offered one chance to dance with Annabeth, one of their star principals. If he nails the choreography, he might just earn a chance to dance with her. And, if he’s really lucky, he might get a date out of it as well.

Chapter Title: Make it Blue 

Read on AO3

Start from the beginning

When Percy stepped into his favorite coffee shop before rehearsal, he spotted a familiar shade of blonde hair ordering in front of him. Even with her hair down under a winter hat he was sure it was her (her black dance bag with AEC monogramed on the side also helped him identify her). He stepped up to the counter to stand next to her, as he handed the barista his card.

“Hers is on me,” he said, before adding his own coffee order on.

“Oh no –“ she tried to protest, her cheeks pink from the cold weather.

“I insist,” Percy said, nodding to the cashier to run his card.

“You didn’t have to do that,” Annabeth said as they grabbed their coffees to head towards the studio.

“Don’t worry about it,” he said. “Besides, what kind of Prince Charming would I be if I didn’t buy you coffee?”  

Annabeth laughed and sipped her drink. “I’ve never met a dancer so dedicated to method acting,”

To prove his point, Percy jogged up the stairs to the door of the studio and pulled it open for her before she could make it halfway up the stair. “After you, ma’am,” he said, going into a dramatic deep bow.

“Thank you, sir,” she said, curtseying just a little as the walked in.

~*~*~*~

Percy’s finger hovered over the ‘send’ button, trying to decide if sending Annabeth a YouTube video on why the Barbie Sawn Lake movie is the best movie of all time was a good idea. He didn’t even know if she had liked the Barbie movies as a kid.

If he had to guess, she was either the girl who had them all in a pristine Dream House, or the kid who cut their hair and drew on their faces. Either way, though, the video could work. And it wasn’t like he wanted to talk to her about Barbie, he just wanted to talk to her outside of the studio.

He had no idea where he stood with her. He was pretty sure they were becoming friends, or at least work friends. But their work required them to touch all the time, look lovingly into each other’s eyes, and kiss, which really blurred the lines between work-friend, just a friend, and friends who are flirting.

He had been following Beckendorf’s advice and not actively perusing anything with her. Buying her coffee had been a friendly one-time gesture and sending her a funny YouTube video was the kind of harmless thing that friends would do.

And they were friends, at least work friends. She smiled easily around him and laughed at his dumb jokes. She certainly did more than tolerate him. Annabeth didn’t strike him as the kind of woman who would fake being nice to someone she didn’t like; in fact, he had anecdotal proof that she wasn’t like that.

Still, they had never texted each other before, other than to confirm a rehearsal or check choreography.  

His resolve crumbled, and he deleted the text.

~*~*~*~

Percy was sore all over. He’d stopped being about to feel his legs somewhere around hour six, but they were coming to the end of hour eight now.

It was a good kind of sore. A kind of sore he only felt after a good, intense day of dancing. It was still the kind of sore that made him want to go home and take an ice bath and fall asleep listening to anything other than classical music. But a good sore.

When the music ended, he and Annabeth parted, both breathing heavily.

“Great job you guys,” Chiron said. Annabeth smiled wide at Percy. “Go home and get some rest. We still have some work to do before we move to dress rehearsals,”

Dress rehearsals. They moved to the theater in a week, which meant the show went up in two weeks. Percy’s heart began to race as he realized how little time there was left to go.

Before Percy got the chance to tell Annabeth how great she had done that day, Piper ran up between the two of them, throwing one arm over either of their shoulders.

“You guys looked so good up there!” She said. “Have you gotten to try on your costumes yet? Because I tried mine on yesterday and it is gawdy, and borderline camp, and everything I’d want in a fairy,"

Annabeth snuck her way out from under Piper’s arm. “I tried on my act one costume yesterday. It’s the big pink tutu with roses on it. I look like a storybook ballerina,”

As opposed to all the other days, Percy thought, when you’re just a regular beautiful woman in a tutu.

~*~*~*~

Percy took the risk of looking creepy as hell and waited for Annabeth to change before heading home. It had gotten dark hours ago, and he didn’t want her to walk to the subway alone if she didn’t have to.

“Hey,” she said when she saw him waiting, “what’s up?”

“It’s, uh, pretty dark out, and I wanted to see if you’d like me to walk you to the subway?” His face felt hot.

Annabeth just smiled and nodded. “Sure. I take the 1 train,”

“No shit, so do I,” Percy said as they walked out the door and into the cold New York City street. That was kind of a dumb thing to say, he realized. The closest subway station only ran the 1 and the 2. It wasn’t completely surprising that she’d take that train. But maybe she found absolute idiocy charming. He could hope so, at least. “Uptown or downtown?”

“Way down,” Annabeth said. “West fourth. You?”

He shrugged and smiled, “Uptown, west one-hundred and fourth,” he said. “How’d you end up so far downtown?”

Annabeth shrugged. “I liked the area, and … well Luke really wanted to get out of midtown,” she smiled. “I hope Portland is far enough for him,” she said that softly, like she was pretending that Percy wasn’t supposed to hear her.  

“So, you’re there alone now?” He hoped that didn’t sound creepy.

“Yup. It’s actually been pretty nice,” she paused before adding, “besides if I get lonely, I can just put on a podcast and pretend there are other people around,”

Percy began to smile as an idea formed in his head. “Well, if you want someone to hang out with or if you want a nice home cooked meal, you can come over to my place on Sunday. My mom and I are excellent chefs.” He bragged humbly, hoping she’d agree to the invite.  

“You live with you mom?” Annabeth asked.

Percy blushed, “Yeah, but not in like a weird Greek tragedy way or a sad way,” he clarified. “My mom and stepdad way undercharge for rent, and they are saving the rent money I give them to help save for my little sister’s college, and since my mom is one hell of a cook, … it works out for everyone,” Percy said a little too quickly. “Plus, my mom makes the best chocolate chip cookies in the entire world, so you need to come just for those.”

“I don’t think you want me eating too many cookies before we have to do all of these lifts,” she said.

“Don’t worry,” Percy promised, “all the food my mom makes has no calories.”

Annabeth laughed as they made their way down the subway stairs. “Well, how could I pass up a good meal with no calories?” She turned to face him. “That would be great though. I can’t cook for shit. Well, I mean, I could cook if I wanted to, I’m not an idiot. I just hate doing it.”

Percy’s heart did little flips in his chest as they pushed through the turnstiles, about to go in opposite directions. Annabeth was coming over for dinner, and he felt like he was walking on air.

Percy was hoping for a slow goodbye where he promised to text her, and then wished her goodnight. But as soon as they were through the gate, the downtown 1 train pulled in.

“Shit!” Annabeth yelled, taking off towards the stairs. “See you tomorrow!” she yelled, already out of sight.

See you tomorrow, Percy though, smiling, as he made his way down the stairs to the uptown side.

~*~*~*~

“So for your date tonight –“ his mom started.

“It’s not a date,” Percy protested. “It’s just Annabeth.”

“She’s coming all the way from downtown to meet you.”

“Well, yeah.”

“She’s staying for dinner.”

“Yeah.”

“You two are dancing together.”

“Mom!”

She held up her hands in surrender, before she asked him to pass him some spices.

“Seriously, though,” he said, “it’s not a date. If I had asked her out, our first date wouldn’t be in our apartment with you, Paul, and Stella around.” He stood at the counter, his back to her as he chopped the vegetables. “Besides, I don’t think she wants to be dating.”

“Well, I’ll still try not to embarrass you just in case,” she said.

“You know, it’d be great if you tried not to embarrass me at all ever,” he said.

She walked over and ruffled his hair. “I gave birth to you; I can embarrass you when and how I want. That’s the arrangement.”

“To be clear,” Percy said, “I did not ask to be born.”

~*~*~*~

Annabeth arrived about half an hour before dinner was ready. Percy buzzed her into the building, and then opened the door to his apartment for her.

“Hi,” she said, looking a little frazzled from the cold. She handed him a bottle of wine in a paper bag. “I brought a bottle of wine,” she said quickly, “because I didn’t know what else to bring, but, I don’t know about you, I don’t drink this close to shows, so I’m sorry if this is totally useless.”

Percy smiled at her nervousness and let her inside. “It’s fine. My parents will enjoy it, or we can save it until after the run of the show.” That seemed to relax her a bit. She slipped off her jacket and hat, which Percy quickly took from her, hanging them on the hook near the door. She was wearing a simple cream-colored sweater and a pair of jeans with her long blonde hair down around her shoulders. It was a simple look, but Percy so rarely saw her in street clothes or with her hair down that he almost forgot why she was in his apartment at all.

“Let me introduce you,” he said, ushering her into the kitchen and living room.

After introductions, which were thankfully free of embarrassment for Percy, the two sat on the couch. Annabeth fiddled with her hands and started straight forward. Percy had seen her dance in front of a crowd of thousands, balanced on two toes, without a single sign of nerves or anxiety, but something about Percy’s small family had made her uneasy.

“Are you okay?” Percy asked.

Annabeth nodded a little too quickly. “I just haven’t met new people or had dinner at someone’s house in, like, a year. And other people’s parents tend not to like me.”

“Don’t worry, I think my mom will like you just fine.” Annabeth sighed and shook her head, not saying anything. “Hey,” Percy took her hands, steadying them, “there’s nothing to worry about,” he assured her. “My mom is probably going to ask you polite questions about where you trained before New York and how you like the company, and all of that. My sister will probably ask you ask the costumes and the hair and the shoes. And my stepdad will probably make a bad pun and pretend to know what any of us are talking about.”

Annabeth smiled and nodded as her shoulders relaxed. Percy pulled his hands away when he realized he was still holding hers, trying not to blush.

~*~*~*~

They shared small talk, talking about company drama and recalling old stories, until Sally called them into the kitchen for dinner.

“Thank you, again, for having me,” Annabeth said as they sat down.

“It’s my pleasure, dear,” Sally told her. “Please, enjoy,” she said, handing her a bowl of food to scoop from.

“So,” Sally started once they were all served, “Annabeth, where are you from?”

Annabeth cleared her throat. “Well, my whole family is from Boston, but I grew up in Virginia, until I moved to New York for the ballet school when I was fourteen. I’ve lived here ever since.”

“And they took you into the company very early, didn’t they?” Sally asked.

Annabeth nodded. “I was sixteen. It was grueling,” she said. “I’m glad that dancers are being taken in later that I was, because it was hard. I still don’t think I was prepared for it, and I have no idea how I got through it.”

“What’s the most embarrassing thing that ever happened to you on stage?” Estelle asked. Sally frowned at her, but Annabeth laughed.

“I was dropped once.” Estelle’s eyes went wide, and Sally gasped. Percy laughed, remembering the story she was about to tell.

“When I was twenty,” Annabeth said, “I was Juliet in Romeo and Juliet, and there is a scene at the end where Juliet has taken potion to make it look like she’s dead.” Annabeth explained to Estelle, who was looking at her with an extreme intensity. “And Romeo comes on stage, and he sees me laying on this tombstone, which was just this wooden slab on a platform three steps up. And Romeo has to pick up Juliet’s lifeless body and carry her down the stairs and do a pas de deux. But, of course, I’m dead, so I can’t help the guy. So, he’s just swinging me around like deadweight.” Percy and Paul laughed at this, but Sally kept on looking horrified. Percy wasn’t sure if his mom was still hung up on the fact that Annabeth had been dropped, or if she was uncomfortable with the choreography being described. Estelle, though, just looked fascinated with the story.

“One night, Charles Beckendorf, who’s one of the best partners in the business, is my Romeo, and climbs up the stairs, picks me up, and then, all the sudden, I am falling down the stairs.” Percy heard his mom whisper “oh my god,” as Annabeth continued. “And I have no idea what happened, because I’m dead, so my eyes are closed. Turns out, he had slipped at the top of the stairs, and we had both fallen down onto the stage. Thankfully, neither of us were hurt, but the orchestra was still going, so we had to keep dancing. But I’m still dead. So, he had to lift me, dead weight, off the stage and finish the dance.

“The worst part was that, at that point in the ballet, Romeo and Juliet don’t leave the stage until the show is over. So, for the next twenty minutes, we are both panicking thinking we’re going to get pulled from the ballet for the rest of the run or that we’re going to be fired.

“Curtain falls, ballet is over, we meet Chiron backstage who just nodded and said, ‘I liked it, leave it in.’” Percy laughed at Annabeth’s Chiron impression – a stiff nod, a frown, and a gruff voice offering compliments when you expected nothing but critique.

“Apparently,” Annabeth continued, “from the audience, it had looked planned, as if Romeo was so overcome with grief, he just couldn’t stay standing. Of course, one of the ballet mistresses heard about Chiron’s plan and told him it was too dangerous for me to be dropped down the stairs every night, so we never did end up doing it again.”

“Well,” Paul said, “hopefully Percy won’t drop you like that.”

“No,” Percy said, “this ballet is thankfully free of carrying her down stairs. Although,” he looked at Annabeth, “you are in a death-like sleep again.”  

Annabeth smiled. “As long as I never have to be a snowflake again, I’ll take all of the only-mostly-dead roles.”

~*~*~*~

Annabeth opened up after that, charming Sally and Estelle with her dance stories and compliments about Percy’s skills as a partner (which Percy didn’t mind either.) She tried to help Sally clear the table, but Sally refused to let her help, insisting that she and Percy relax in the living room. After a few minutes, she brought in a tray of blue cookies for them.

Annabeth’s eyes went wide when she saw them; she picked a big one off the top and held it in front of her face. “Blue?” she asked.

“It’s an inside joke between my mom and me,” Percy said, picking up a cookie of his own.

Annabeth eyes went wide and she smiled, “Oh! That’s why everything you own is blue!” She said, like she had solved some grand mystery. “Your bag, your foam roller, your water bottle.” Percy smiled and nodded, confirming her conclusions. “And see, I just thought you were super into that ‘blue for boys, pink for girls’ thing.”

Percy laughed, breaking off a piece of his cookie. “No, I think that’s kind of bogus.”

Before Annabeth could respond, Sally poked her head in. “We’re going to be in our room, but it was so nice to meet you Annabeth. Please, feel free to stay as long as you’d like. And take some of the cookies home with you!”

Annabeth waved them goodnight. “Goodnight and thank you again for having me. I really appreciate it.”

“Anytime, honey,” Sally said, disappearing around the corner.

“See,” Percy said, “I told you they’d like you.”

Annabeth smiled. “Yeah, must just be my family that doesn’t like me, then.”

She said that nonchalantly like it was a joke, but it caught Percy off guard. “You’re not close with your family?” He asked her.

She shrugged. “No, not really.”

“That must have been hard,” Percy said.

She nodded. “I mean, I should be grateful for them,” she added. “They’ve supported me my entire career and paid for everything, you know? But mostly I think they were glad I found ballet. It kept me out of the house most of the time.” Annabeth laughed sadly as she nibbled on her cookie. “It was funny. There was this one time, right when I was about to turn seventeen and find out if I got my company contract, and I got a text from my step-mom that just said: ‘Your dad got a new job in San Francisco. We’re moving in a week.” She forced a laugh again, but when she saw that Percy didn’t find that funny, she let her guard down. “They’d all known for months, but none of them thought to tell me.” She finished in a voice much sadder than the one she had started with.

Percy rested a hand on her knee, which she took willingly. “I’m so sorry, that’s awful. Can I ask why they didn’t –”

She cut him off. “My mom left me and my dad in the middle of the night when I was a few weeks old, and we never heard from her again. I guess things were fine with just me and my dad for the first few years, but he got remarried when I was three. They started their ‘real’ family, and I was just wrench in the machine.” She shrugged. “But anyway,” she said, forcing herself to perk up, “it all worked out. I mean, I got this amazing dance career and an absolutely awful taste in men,” she joked, “and you didn’t invite me here just to talk about my problems. Tell me about you. We’ve been dancing together for years, and I feel like I barely know you.”

“Can I give you a hug?” Percy asked her.

She was taken aback. “What?”

“Can I give you a hug? You just seem kind of sad.”

Annabeth dropped her plucky attitude and nodded, opening her arms to him. He held her tightly, rubbing her back gently to let her know that he was there.

When she pulled away, there were some tears on her cheeks that she quickly blotted off with a napkin. “Jesus, look at me, I’m so sorry.”

“You’re fine,” Percy assured her. “And, seriously, if you ever need to talk, I’m here. I would really like to be your friend.”

She smiled at him. “Thank you, that really means a lot to me.”

They fell into a comfortable silence for a few moments, before Annabeth said: “But, really, tell me about yourself. How did you get started in ballet?”

“Kind of like you did, I guess. I needed something to do after school to get me out of the house and away from my stepdad,” he said. “Not Paul,” he added, “the guy my mom was married to before him.” He ran his hand through his hair and relaxed back on the couch. “I didn’t start dancing until I was ten,” he told her.

Her eyes went wide. “Really?”

He nodded. “I started at the Y, really basic classes because I needed something to do.” He didn’t tell her it was because he’d gotten kicked off the rec basketball team for punching a kid who’d made fun of Tyson, Percy friend and teammate, for having down syndrome. Percy’s reasons for decking the kid didn’t matter to his coach, though, who’d just hung his head, exhausted constantly by Percy’s troublemaking. “Just go home, Percy,” his coach had told him. “Just go home.” When he’d gotten kicked off the team, he had known he’d have to find something else to do after school as soon as he could. He couldn’t stand the idea of spending hours alone with Gabe before his mom got home from the candy shop.

“Why’d you pick dance?” She asked.

“I wanted to play basketball,” he said, “but the season had already started. The only thing I could still sign up for was ballet.” Percy smiled. “It was funny, the week I had my first class was the week before my mom got paid, so I didn’t have ballet shoes yet. I tried to do the barre in my socks, but the instructor saw, and she came back with these girls ballet slippers. They were extras they had. They were too big and for girls, but they were better than nothing. I ended up wearing them for four months. My mom had to sew the canvas where my big toe had popped through.” Annabeth smiled at the detail, but Percy figured she’d never had to wear second-hand shoes.

“Why’d you stick with it?” She asked.

Percy took a deep breath and leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees. “It was a control thing, I think,” he said. “I …” he hesitated, but he decided to be honest with her, the way she had been with him. “I was a troubled kid. I have ADHD and dyslexia, so my grades were bad. I got into fights, my stepdad …” he decided to leave those details out. “Well, he’s not around anymore and that’s for the best.” Annabeth nodded, looking at him even as he kept his gaze forward.

“I understand that,” she mused as he continued.

“But when I got to ballet … well, it was this quiet room with piano music, and no one was talking to each other. We all just plie’d in peace, and it was just so nice,” he smiled, “and I felt in control there. I realized that if I put a lot into ballet, I’d get a lot out of it. So, I started to practice every night, and after six months, my teacher told my mom that I had to be in a better program if I wanted to be a better dancer, because she really believed that I could go the distance.”

He paused, smiling at the memory, but his eyes felt a little misty. He took a sip of water to avoid crying in front of her. “It was the first time a teacher had really believed in me,” he said. “She helped me find a school and scholarship money, and … that was all she wrote. I started dancing pretty much every day until I got into the academy at fifteen.” He smiled and looked back at her.

She was listening to him intently and had leaned closer to him. When he sat up straight, she had to readjust so that their bodies didn’t collide. He smiled when he saw that she was still listening to him. “You know, the year I started at the school was the year you got into the company?”

She didn’t answer his question. Instead, she placed her hands on his, the same way he had for her earlier. “You must have worked really hard.” She said.

Percy nodded. “So many people in the school and the company had done all of these summer intensives and had been in youth companies and all of that. And there I was, this ragamuffin kid who got his start as a pre-teen at the YMCA,”

Annabeth smiled uncomfortably. “I was in a youth company,”

Percy forced himself to laugh and assure her that he didn’t hate people who had been in youth companies or had been dancing since they were very young. He knew it wasn’t her fault that she had gotten lucky, he just always hated that sense of what-if: what if he had more money growing up? What if he had gotten started earlier? How much further in his career could he be if he had half the opportunities Annabeth had?  

“Besides, you haven’t had it easy either,” he said.

She nodded. “I actually spent the last few months back in Virginia at the youth company. I did some choreography, led some classes, and kept up with my own training. It was nice to get out of the city for a while.”

“I bet,” he said. He wanted to ask her what happened, but he figured she would have already told him, so he dodged it. “I’m lucky, my get-away is a lot closer than yours.”

“Oh yeah? Where do you escape to?”

“Montauk beach, out on Long Island.” He pointed vaguely towards the east.

“You know, I’ve lived in New York for twelve years, and I’ve never been to Long Island.”

Percy’s eyes went wide. “What do you do in the summer? Suffer here? Or do you jet off to Disney World or Hawaii?”

She bumped her shoulder into his. “Please, I don’t have that much money.” She said. “I go …” She paused, and the put her hand over her mouth to stifle a laugh. “Oh my god, I don’t even want to tell you. I feel like you’ll stop being my friend forever.”

Percy smiled when she called him her friend. “Nothing you could say could change that. Come on, just tell me.”

She took a deep breath. “I go to Jersey,” she admitted.

Percy groaned and leaned back against the couch. “Oh my god!”

“It’s nice! They have nice beaches, good pizza –“

“Get out of my apartment!” Percy said while laughing and pointing at the door. Annabeth grabbed his hand and pulled it out of its pointing pose.

“It’s nice, I promise!”

“Please!” Percy said. “Long Island might not be the Bahamas, but it’s better than Jersey.”

“Have you ever been to New Jersey?” She asked.

“No,” he admitted, “but that’s by design.”

“Don’t knock it till you try it,” she said.

“Alright, tell you what,” Percy said. “This summer, I’ll take you to Long Island and you can take me to Jersey,” he couldn’t believe what he was saying, “and we’ll decide which was better.”

Annabeth held out her hand. Percy took it and they shook on it. “Deal.” She said.

~*~*~*~

They stayed up talking and enjoying a few too many cookies but not worrying about it, for two more hours. When Annabeth caught a flash of the time: 10:15p.m. She gasped.

“I had no idea how late it was getting,” she said, standing up. “I should head home and let you get some rest.”

“Do you want me to come with you on the subway?” Percy offered. “It’s getting late and you’ve got a long train ride.”

Annabeth shook her head. “No, thank you though, that’s sweet. I’ll just call an Uber,” she said, taking out her phone.

Percy nodded, picking up the tray of cookies. “Sounds good. I’m sending you home with at least half of these, though, or else my mom will kill me.”

Annabeth smiled. “If I don’t fit into my costume, I’m telling Silena that it’s your fault.”

Percy placed a few cookies in a zip-lock bag and handed it to her. “They have no calories remember,” he said.

She zipped up her coat and forced her hat onto her head. Before she could say goodbye, Percy slipped on his jacket and shoes. “Let me walk you out,” he said.

~*~*~*~

They stood on the curb waiting for her car as snow started to fall. Percy looked up at the sky and smiled, watching the flurries fall in the light of the streetlamps.

“Thank you, again, Percy, for such a great night,” she said.

“Anytime, seriously. My door is always open.” He was suddenly very aware of how close they were standing and how beautiful he thought she was. There were times where he thought his crush on her was maybe just the result of admiration for her dancing. He thought that, maybe if he got to know her, he wouldn’t like her as much outside of the studio. Tonight had disproven that theory.

Her Uber pulled up. “Annabeth?” the driver asked. Annabeth double checked the license plate number before confirming. She turned back to Percy to say a final goodbye.

That would have been the perfect moment to kiss her, as she stood under the snow, looking up at him, the yellow light of the streetlamp bouncing off her blonde hair. Sure, they had kissed before, but rehearsal kisses were different. They didn’t count. This would be an “I like you” kiss, a “let me take you out to dinner” kiss, it could be a wonderful, earth-shattering, life changing kiss.

But that kiss would ruin everything. Instead, he tried to memorize the way her eyes looked, and the way snow stuck to her eyelashes, and the way she waved goodbye to him from the window of her Uber.  

[awkward-radar-tech]

An Awkward Tech: Part 10

Summary: It has been about a year and a third since Matt proposed to you at graduation. Now it is time for the event you’ve been planning for. Your wedding.

A/N: This is it! The final part of AAT! Thank you to everybody who has been with me from the beginning for hanging on during this long time. And thank you to every single person who has read this very self-indulgent series. I do have plans for a few more fics with Matty and his Angel, so this isn’t the end, completely. Happy Valentine’s Day! (p.s. this is 4972 words...)

Part 1– Part 2 – Part 3 – Part 4 – Part 5 – Part 6 – Part 7 – Part 8 – Part 9

👰💜🤵

It has been over a year of planning. Over a year of anticipation, over a year of building anxiety over what could go wrong, over a year of patiently waiting to officially say you were married to Matt. Finally, after over a year, your wedding was this week. At the end of this week you would begin the rest of your life. You couldn’t wait to see how all the planning would become your celebration. 

Last week you picked up your wedding dress, and it was now at Ally’s house so Matt wouldn’t be tempted to peek. For Halloween, the kick off for the week of your wedding, you decided to be Frankenstein’s Monster and his bride, fitting since you would be getting married in the same building at the end of the week. You felt oddly calm the whole week, until Wednesday. On Wednesday you woke up in the small hours of the morning to a rope of anxiety wrapping around your chest. Matt woke up with you and just held you close and rubbed your back as you took deep breaths. Later on in the day you woke up from a nap where you had a nightmare about half the desserts for the dessert bar being forgotten. You called your wedding planner just to confirm they were ordered and on the list of what was needed.

On Thursday night, Matt decided he wanted to completely recreate your first date for your 5 year anniversary. He wanted as many details as possible to be the same, right down to your outfits and the table you sat at. James was your waiter, too, and he told you that he for sure had Saturday off for the wedding. At the garden, you and Matt reflected on the five years you have spent together, and then talked about what you each hoped the future held for you. Before heading home, you shared the rough drafts of your vows, saving what you each finally wrote, after at least five rewrites each according to Luke who proofread them, for the actual ceremony. You were pretty sure Matt wrote a fake set just for tonight. There were too many double entendres for you to even believe that is what he first sent to Luke; though the first thing thought of is a different story.

On Friday night you held your rehearsal dinner at Han and Leia’s, then both you and Matt stayed the night, in separate rooms, since you weren’t going out of the area and staying at a hotel. Joy stayed with Tate in your apartment.

After turning in for the night, you quickly fell asleep, only to wake up again after an hour with no hope for sleep to return. After ninety minutes you decided to sneak down to Matt’s room, and you weren’t surprised to find his light still on, meaning he was still awake and also couldn’t sleep. You softly knocked and opened his door, and he responded without turning from his desk.

Matt continued tinkering with a model car, “Mom, I told you I was alright. I don’t need any melatonin.”

You laughed, “I’m not your mom. And I won’t give you melatonin if you don’t want any. Anyways, I think I know what we do need to fall asleep. Each other.”

Matt turned and beamed at you, “I think you’re correct, my sweet Angel,” he stood up and went to hug you, “but first, can we have a dance?”

You smiled, “Of course.”

There was no music for this dance, or not that anybody besides the two of you could hear. And then Matt put words to the silent melody he was swaying to.

We'll do it all/ Everything/ On our own/ We don't need/ Anything/ Or anyone

Matt never claimed to be a singer or have the ability to carry a tune without music, but you loved this moment with him, it was one you would keep in your heart forever.

I don't quite know/ How to say/ How I feel/ Those three words/ Are said too much/ They're not enough

He continued to slowly move you around his room, giving you a small peck on the lips every time he took a breath.

Forget what we're told/ Before we get too old/ Show me a garden that's bursting into life

When he got near his light switch he leaned over and turned off his light, leaving his room in the soft glow of his nightlight.

I don't know where/ Confused about how as well/ Just know that these things will never change for us at all

When he reached his bed he helped you lay down, and then laid next to you, holding you close as he softly sang the end of the song, “If I lay here, If I just lay here, Would you lie with me and just forget the world?”

You both were a bit misty eyed as you shared soft kisses and exchanged “I love you”s. It wasn’t long before the warmth and comfort of being next to Matt lulled you back to sleep, and in your last moments of consciousness you felt a light kiss to your cheek and heard a whispered “Je t’aime, mon Ange.”

In the morning Leia came in to wake up Matt, and found the two of you curled together, asleep. She quickly took a photo and sent it to both of you, hoping one of you had your phone nearby so that it would vibrate and wake you up, since she couldn't bear to destroy such a sweet moment. Then Leia retreated and began to prepare breakfast for her lovebirds. 

You woke up to Matt's phone buzzing, and it was just like waking up on your first anniversary, it took you a moment to realize it was your wedding day, which had you shaking Matty and jumping out of bed.

"Matty! Wake up! We're getting married! This evening! Matty!"

Matt sat up, and smiled at you, at your excitement, at the fact you probably would say yes to getting married in your pajamas at that moment if he asked. 

When he spoke, his voice held both his grogginess and his excitement, "Yes, my angel! Tonight. I can't wait!"

Leia, having heard your screaming, came back, "Hey, you two lovebirds, I made you breakfast so you can have a meal together before Matt heads out and you're separated for over eight hours."

"Thank you Leia! I love you!"

"I love you too, dear."

After a few kisses, you and Matt ventured out to the kitchen for breakfast. Leia just sat with a cup of coffee while you each ate.

"I see you two couldn't handle being separated for the night like you said you would. I told you that you would miss each other too much."

Matt sighed, "You did mama. But I wanted to try. Tradition, ya know."

"I think it is adorable, you two were always meant to be, and you need each other even in sleep. Oh, and check your phones, I sent you guys a photo you might like."

"Mama, did you spy on us?"

She feigned offence, "No," her demeanor gradually returned to her smiley, excited one, "I came in to wake you for breakfast, and I saw you two curled together, so I had to take a photo and send it to you. I couldn't ruin the moment so I left and sent you the photo, hoping the vibration from the incoming text would wake one of you. And it did."

"Mom, you still woke us up by texting."

"Yes, but I didn't have to disturb you myself, it was your phone that did."

You looked at the photo, “Matty, look, we are so cute!”

He hummed, “Yeah. We are.”

As you were finishing up your meals there was a knock on the door and Leia went to open it, and then the house was filled with loud voices. Into the kitchen rushed Ally, Joy, Ben, and Kylo yelling and screaming about how it was time to separate the lovebirds. 

You and Matt just looked at eachother, you both were still in your matching bride- and groom-to-be pajamas. Matt still needed to change into his street clothes. 

When they came into the kitchen, and quieted down, you greeted them, “I’m keeping him for fifteen more minutes. We gotta finish eating breakfast then he has to change.”

Kylo and Ben came over and picked up Matt’s chair, keeping him in it. Ben spoke while you gripped Matt’s hand, “Nope. He’s coming with us now.”

You waved and pouted, keeping your other arm outstretched as he was pulled out of your grasp, “Bye Matty, see you on the dais.”

Matt waved back with his outstretched arm, “Bye Angel. See you when you walk down the aisle.”

You pouted, “I didn’t get to give him one last kiss as my boyfriend.”

Ally yelled, “Hey boneheads! Bring that man back. His girlfriend wants to give him one last kiss before they are husband and wife. Although I’m sure they will sneak away once they are both in the building.”

They brought him back and sat him down, Ben huffing, “Fine, I’ll allow you to have half an hour together. Come on guys, let's get some food and eat in the dining room, we already have to see them kiss once today.”

They grabbed some breakfast and left the two of you alone. You looked at Matt and laughed. He pulled you over onto his lap and kissed you. You just hugged and kissed him, then went back to eating. 

He grabbed his plate and ate the rest of his food, “Angel, I’m gonna miss you today.”

Ally yelled from the other room, “We can hear you in here! Y’all save it! And keep it in your pants!”

You yelled back, “Just for that we won’t!” 

You heard somebody’s footsteps come down the hallway towards you, so you quickly placed Matt’s plate on the table and smirked at him, speaking softly, “Quick, gotta act like we're getting hot and heavy.”

He chuckled and quickly did as he was told, kissing you deeply and holding your hip but not getting too frisky.

Kylo rounded the corner and groaned, “Ally, you fucking made them make out. Just had to harass them about their love.”

You broke the kiss in a fit of giggles, “Sorry, Ky. Thought it was Ally.”

Matt smoothed out your hair and pajamas, "Can I have my breakfast back, Angel?"

You handed his plate back, "Of course Matty. Kylo, what did you come in here for?"

He cleared his throat and walked in, "Oh, just some juice. And it is alright, she would've deserved it. I don't really mind, promise. Well, with what you were doing. If it was worse than that, yeah…" 

You smiled at him, "Don't worry Ky, we'd never go further with people around. Just kissing. I promise."

He nodded and left with his juice. 

The two of you finished up breakfast then went to change. You kissed him softly and held his face as you smiled at him after he was ready to leave. 

He smiled back, “I love you, Angel. I'm so excited about later. I'll see you in a few hours.”

You nodded and beamed up at him, "Eight hours before we begin the rest of our lives together," you hugged him and nestled your head against his chest, "I love you too, Matty. Have fun, and don't cause any trouble."

He kissed you one last time, “Alright, I’ll miss you. I’ll see you later, my beautiful angel.”

You smiled and walked with him to the living room for his brothers to take away, "Ky. Ben. He is yours to take. Make sure he has everything he needs. And don't cause too much trouble. Please."

Kylo got up and gave you a hug and kiss on the cheek, "Of course, (y/n). Have a good time getting ready."

Ben gave you a hug too, "See you later, (y/n). I make no promises on the trouble though."

Kylo hit his arm, "We are not causing trouble between now and the reception."

Ben huffed, "Fine. No trouble. We will be good."

You smiled at their antics and waved as Matt was ushered out of the room, looking back at you, "Bye you three. Have fun."

Matt waved before he was out of your sight and out of the house. 

Once the guys were out of the house you were immediately enveloped in a hug from Ally and Joy. 

Joy beamed, "My big sister is getting married!"

Ally squealed, "You're gonna look so pretty!"

You laughed, "I know! Let's get started!"

Leia then walked in with a garment bag and handed Ally her car keys, "My silly boys are off to the warehouse to get my little Matty ready. And don't worry, Poe and Rey will be there to keep them on track. Now let's get started on your hair!"

You smiled, Leia has been so excited about doing your hair, missing doing other's hair since Kylo stopped wanting his hair braided regularly. She led you to her bedroom and to the ensuite where her vanity was set up and ready for her to work. 

She smiled at you in the mirror, "Still wanting the same style?"

You nodded, "Yes. Please."

She got to work on your hair, holding small conversation about random topics. Occasionally Joy and Ally popped in to see how it was going and to gush over how pretty you are. When Leia finished she gave you a kiss on the forehead.

She smiled at you in the mirror, “Lunch time. But first, your sister wanted me to make sure you had this.”

Leia handed you a necklace, and you knew exactly what it was. The necklace your mom wore on her wedding day. A few tears escaped and you just hugged Leia tight. She rubbed your back and hummed. 

After a while you had calmed down and she helped you stand up, “Alright. Now lunch time, then makeup. My makeup artist for special events is downstairs getting set up, and she is prepared for any look you want.”

You nodded and followed her downstairs, finding Joy and Ally doing their own makeup in the mirrors the makeup artist had set up already. 

They looked up when you walked in and began to gush over how pretty your hair is. 

Leia went to the kitchen to fix a light lunch, sure you had or would get nervous and didn't want you stuffed. But she wouldn't let you starve on your big day, there would be no passing out due to low blood sugar today. She text Rey to make sure everything was fine at the warehouse and that Matt was getting fed and hydrated. 

You sat and talked with the makeup artist about what look you wanted while Leia cooked and Joy and Ally finished up their own makeup. You had talked with her before about what looks you were thinking about, but you hadn't told her what you decided on yet, not straying far from the examples she had given you for the styles you discussed. 

Before long Leia came out with a plate of your favorite finger foods, and you quickly ate, not realizing how hungry you were.

“Thank you Leia. That was delicious.”

Leia smiled and got up to clear the table, kissing the crown of your head, “You’re welcome, dear.”

Soon after Leia went in to clean up, the makeup artist set to work on your face, Joy and Ally taking the time to tell you funny stories, knowing your nerves were probably rapidly rising since after your makeup was finished it would be time to leave. Leia returned with the garment bag holding your dress and a steamer. She opened the bag just to give it one last look-over to make sure there were no wrinkles or loose threads. 

Once finished, she turned to you and smiled, “You’re going to look absolutely stunning, dear.”

Joy chimed in, “Definitely, you are going to look so damn good!”

Ally jumped up and down, “Yes! My best friend! Probably is going to look better than I did at my wedding.” She began to giggle, “I look better right now than I did at my wedding. But we didn’t want anything flashy and chose to hit the clubs in Vegas before finding a bomb ass Elvis impersonator.”

You laughed, “Your wedding photos are iconic though. And it was such an on brand thing, for both of you. I love them.”

She smiled at you, “They are iconic. And we will have the amazing story forever.”

You were told to stay still as the final touches were put on and then you were spritzed with waterproof setting spray. All that was left now was to pack up the car and slip on your shoes. You began to really feel nervous, afraid that something was going to go wrong, that something wasn’t going to be right.

Leia walked over to you and put a hand on your back, “The triplet handler just text to say they were on the way to the venue. She confirmed no untypical shenanigans were had, although she had to confiscate the rings from Ben and Poe. And Han called while I was putting the steamer away to report that everything is going smoothly with the set up and the ceremony area, including the entry and waiting area, is completely set up, and they are moving to set up the dance floor and reception area.”

You took a few deep breaths then turned to hug Leia, “That is good. And I really don’t want to know what Ben and Poe were doing to cause Rey to take the rings.”

You looked at your dress and smiled, “I’m ready to go.”

Ally and Joy cheered and grabbed their stuff and Leia grabbed your dress and her stuff. You got your purse and phone, then slipped on your shoes.

Ally threw open the front door and ran out, yelling, “Let’s go get my bestie hitched!” 

You smiled and got in Leia’s car, Ally and Joy got in Ally’s car. When Leia parked she turned to you and placed her hand on your arm. 

She smiled, “How are you feeling?”

You turned to her, “Nervous. Excited. Worried?”

“That’s normal. I want you to know there is a small closed-patio and the door is by the offices. After we get you in your dress, if you need some alone time and fresh air, you can go there. The finishing touches are still happening and I don’t want you to be doing anything except relaxing.”

You nodded, “Thank you, Leia.”

She did her best to hug you in the car, “Let’s head in, if you’re ready.”

You hugged her back, “Yeah, I’m ready.”

The two of you got out of the car and Leia got your dress, “Let’s go, my daughter in love. For one last time.”

You smiled, getting oddly emotional, “But soon we will be legally related. And Matty and I will always be in love, so.”

She smiled and led you inside, “I know. You two are like Han and I, times like five. But that is a good thing, I think.”

You chuckled and looked around, “Oh my goodness! It is all perfect. I know it isn’t finished yet, but I love it! Thank you all.” 

You saw Han, Luke, Lando, and Chewie all sitting around eating some lunch and you ran over to say hi and give hugs. Then Leia was pulling you away before you could get wrapped up in a conversation, all of you having other things to do, with the ceremony set to start in two hours.

You heard the tell tale sounds of the triplets and Poe coming from one of the rooms you passed, Rey outside the door a bit exasperated. She perked up when she saw you and waved to you, but did not move from her spot guarding the door.

“I don’t even know what is happening with them anymore. I think they are re-tying his bow tie because I didn’t do it ‘right’ or something.”

You chuckled, “Hang in there Rey, you’ll be able to come change in a moment, and be relieved of your triplet wrangling duties.”

Leia tugged your hand and led you to the room that was being used as your dressing room. Ally and Joy already had on their dresses and had your shoes and accessories all set up for you. 

Then it hit you, hard. This was real. This was your wedding. You were getting married to Matt. Almost everything was set up, people would be showing up in half an hour, knowing how early some of the people you invited like to arrive to events. You heard a voice and felt hands guiding you to the love seat in the room.

“Do you need any water, (y/n)? Come sit down.”

You just nodded, taking deep breaths, shutting your eyes, centering yourself, clutching your mom’s necklace.

A bottle was pressed to your free hand and you took a sip. Somebody sat beside you and rubbed your back, and began to talk. You didn’t register what they were saying. You focused on just coming back to yourself, back to the moment. Back to reality.

And you did just that. You don’t know how much time went by, but Rey was now here, sitting next to you. 

You stood and nodded in resolve, “I’m ready. Let’s do this.”

Joy gave you a worried look, “Are you alright? What happened?”

“Anxiety attack I think. But I’m better now. Promise.”

The four of them gave you a group hug, then prepared you for putting on your dress. 

Ally stood in front of you, between you and the mirror, holding your bouquet, Joy next to her holding a box of tissues, “Bestie. Sister I chose. Are you ready to see yourself?”

You nodded and took the bouquet, “I am.”

Ally took a few tissues from the box then stepped to the side, letting you look into the mirror.

You gasped, immediately getting emotional, “Oh. Is that really me?”

You got two teary eyed nods from the two women you’ve had in your life forever.

“Oh my goodness. I. I uhh, need a moment alone please.” 

Everyone filed out, and you set your bouquet back in the vase, then sat back on the couch, grabbing your phone, texting the only person you could think of.

3:45 pm: Matty?

3:45 pm: Yeah, angel?

3:46 pm: Can you meet me at the little patio by the offices?

3:46 pm: Of course. Meet there in 5 minutes

3:46 pm: okay

You peaked out the door, “I’m going to get some fresh air.”

Joy nodded, “Okay. Text if you need something.”

You nodded and walked to the patio, sitting on the clearly recently washed bench.

Matt looked to his brothers fussing with each other’s hair, “I’m heading to the restroom, and then I’ll check on things. Make sure the set up is completed. We got an hour.”

Kylo nodded, “Got it. Don’t get lost, little bro.”

Matt chuckled, “You’re only thirty minutes older than me.”

“And I will remind you about that until I die.”

He shook his head, “Goodness, Ky. I’ll be back later.”

Just to make sure nobody thought twice about where he was going, not like anybody was watching him at the moment, he stopped at the restroom to wash his hands. He smiled at his reflection in the mirror, loving how a little sliver of your favorite color is peaking out from inside the bow loops. Thankful Hux was able to get the tie custom made with the backside of the bowtie your favorite color. Then he went to the patio, and knocked on the door before opening it a crack.

“Angel? Are you out here?”

He heard your answer, “I am. Come here. Please.”

He followed your directions and opened the door all the way and stepped in. He looked to the ground until he heard the door shut behind him, then looked to you. His heart soared, a big goofy grin appearing instantly, tears forming in his eyes, but doing his best not to cry, because then you will cry.

“You’re. You’re. You are beautiful, my angel. Stunning. I love you.”

You stood up and hugged him, “I love you, too. You’re so handsome, Matty.”

He watched as you pulled back and touched his tie, making it a bit crooked, probably revealing more of your color.

“It is better like that.”

He smiled at you and kissed you. Softly. Oh so softly. A kiss filled with so much love. He led you to the bench and sat down in silence, holding you close. After fifteen minutes he got up, regretfully.

“We should head back inside, love. I’ll see you in about forty-five minutes.”

You waved, “Bye Matty. I love you, so much. Forty-five minutes.”

He ran back over and gave you one last kiss before he left you alone on the patio. And after a few minutes you made your way back to your dressing room.

Before you knew it, Uncle Chewie was knocking on the door, saying it was time to line up.

Ally, Joy, Rey, and Leia all gave you hugs and went to get in their places, Chewie staying put with you. Ready to walk you down the aisle. 

And then he was helping you up from where you sat and walked you to your spot.

Luke walked down the aisle, thanking everyone for coming to the wedding of the year, reminding everyone to silence their phones and that the happy couple requests nobody but the official photographers take pictures during the ceremony.

Then Matt walked down the aisle, pushing Grandma Padmé in her wheelchair, left arm linked through his mom’s right. Once in the front, he gave his mom and then grandma a hug and kiss on the cheek.

After Leia and Padmé got to their spots, the music started for the bridesmaids and groomsmen to walk in. In pairs they walked down the aisle, Ally and Kylo, Joy and Ben, and finally Rey and Poe.

Then everybody stood as you walked down the aisle. Chewie dwarfing you, but he did that to even the triplets. You did your best to not let any tears escape yet. But as soon as you saw that Matt was crying already, you couldn’t hold it back any longer. You hugged Chewie and restrained yourself from hugging and kissing Matty.

Luke began the ceremony, making you laugh and shed a few more tears. 

Then it was time for the vows.

You went first, getting the book you hand wrote your final vows from Ally. You did your best to keep your voice even and clear while pouring out your heart. Promising to love him, forever and always.

You smiled at him and slipped on his wedding ring, “Je t’aime, mon amour.”

Matt pulled out his book and began, “My Angel. The light of my life. I loved you from the moment I first met you. You may have been grumpy from being woken up from a nap by Ally yelling, but I was still enamored. Just ask my brothers, I wouldn’t shut up about you. Every moment with you has been the best moments in my life. I knew I wanted to marry you from the moment you were crowned science princess and I science prince.” 

He continued on with a couple more jokes and reasons why he loved you, then finished, “A little over 4 years ago, I knelt in front of you with a ring and promised to be there tomorrow until I vowed to be there forever. Now, with this ring, I vow to be there, forever and always.”

He slipped on your ring and looked to Luke to hurry up because he wanted to kiss you now.

Luke finished the ceremony and Matt tipped you and gave you a kiss as soon as he was told he could.

You knew people were cheering, but the only thing in your world at the moment was Matt. The only thing you cared about was Matt. Your husband. Husband.

You two were absolutely giddy at being introduced and Mr. and Mrs. Organa-Solo. Enjoyed greeting everybody. Eating the delicious dinner catered from the only restaurant you could fathom, the pasta seeming to taste even better than it does at the restaurant.

Then it was time for the first dance. Matt held you close, just as you had practiced, and led you around the floor as Chasing Cars played.

We'll do it all/ Everything/ On our own

You smiled at Matty, following your practiced choreography. Mouthing the words to one another.

Forget what we're told/ Before we get too old/ Show me a garden that's bursting into life

You were married to the man you loved. It was now the two of you against the world. Forever and always.

I need your grace/ To remind me/ To find my own

Matt twirled you as the music picked up pace. The two of you laughing and enjoying your dance.

If I lay here/ If I just lay here/ Would you lie with me and just forget the world?

He pulled you into a tight hug as the song ended. Husband and wife sharing a tender moment for all to see. But in this moment, the same as so many times before, and many times to come, they didn’t exist. It was just you and Matt. 

At the same time you moved to look in the other’s eyes and spoke, the same thing. 

“Je t’aime.”

Tags: @bellaren18, @redhairedfeistynerd, @scorpiosun-aquarising

[hockeylvr59]

Promises part 2 || Auston Matthews

Requested: [ ] yes [x] no

Authors Note: Now don’t go expecting updates this quickly ever again because it likely won’t happen. All of your kind words and comments kept my muse alive a little longer than normal though and so while this isn’t as long, and it’s mostly filler, it is a part two.

Warnings: none

Word Count: 2139

You’d been awoken by Owen’s cries twice that first night, though the first, Auston had managed to gather up Owen before padding down the hall where you could hear his mom helping him through the feeding leading you to roll over and go back to sleep. The second time you’d woken up first and everyone else the apartment remained sleeping while you snuggled the infant on Auston’s couch while the baby worked on another bottle.

It was shortly before seven that you were officially woken up for the day. Thankfully it was Sunday and therefore you didn’t have classes but Owen’s wails were certainly a less pleasant alarm clock than your normal one. Heading over to the pack and place you cringed at the smell of a dirty diaper. Picking Owen up it was clear that Auston had changed the baby’s diaper last because the diaper had leaked everywhere.

“Auston…I need your help.” You directed moving to the bed to kick at his legs with your knee since both your hands were currently occupied. When he stirred he just groaned and looked at you and you rolled your eyes. “The diaper exploded. I need help getting Owen cleaned up please.”

With Auston thankfully trailing after you, you headed out to his kitchen, grabbing the towel you’d been using to change Owen yesterday and laying it out over the table. With the baby laid on top of the towel, you motioned for Auston to watch him while you washed your hands before getting a clean diaper, wipes, a new onesie, and sleeper as well as a cotton swab from the bathroom.

The look on Auston’s face signaled that he was now finally aware of the mess Owen had made and you sighed as you bumped him out of the way so that you could undress the baby boy. With the messy clothes off, you tossed them in the sink for a quick hand scrub once Owen was settled and turned back to the baby.

“Now who changed you last Owen? Huh?” You murmured to the baby in a teasing tone causing Auston to flush in embarrassment. “Oh daddy did, didn’t he. Well, he tried but we’ve still got some things to teach him, don’t we.” As quickly as you could you worked on getting the baby changed, again walking Auston through the process.

“You’ll get it, it just takes some time.” You assured him. Once Owen’s diaper was on, you grabbed the cotton swab and after running it under warm water in the sink, moved to clean around the umbilical cord. The young Maple Leafs Center looked completely confused because he obviously hadn’t paid much attention to the stub before.

“What are you doing?” He questioned as you took a soft paper towel to dry the area you had just cleaned.

“I’m cleaning his umbilical cord. You know, the thing that gave him all of his nutrients while he was growing before birth.”

“I thought they got rid of those after delivery?” His confusion was kind of cute and you smiled as you got Owen completely redressed in clean clothes.

“They cut the cord, yes, but there’s a little stub that remains until it dries out and falls off. Until then little one here just gets sponge baths to keep him clean so that we don’t cause the cord to get infected.” Auston let out a soft ‘oh’ and you kissed Owen’s head as you picked him up before attempting to hand him off to Auston. “Now go hang with dad for a few.” You declared. “Unless dad wants to clean the poop off the clothes and then make breakfast.”

With that comment, Auston was quick to take him and they headed into the living room to sit on the couch, the sounds of SportsCenter filling the living room. After quickly scrubbing the clothes as best you could, you took them to the laundry room before returning to the kitchen to wash your hands once again before starting on some breakfast for the Matthews crew.

Knowing Owen would be hungry soon, you made up a fresh batch of bottles since the last of the premade had been used during the night. When one was heated, you took it to Auston so that he could feed Owen and then retreated to the kitchen, checking your phone as you paced the space, occasionally flipping food. There was an email in your inbox and when you opened it, everything about the past 24 hours was confirmed. Quickly you forwarded it to Auston’s email so that he could send it to his agent or whoever else might need it before you moved food off of burners and went to sit next to Auston.

“I just got the DNA report email, he’s yours, Aus…” You murmured. Running his fingers through his hair, Auston nodded before resting his hand on Owen’s belly.

“Yeah, I guess I was kind of expecting you to say that. I looked at the birth certificate last night and the name is vaguely familiar I guess.” Obviously, it wasn’t someone he’d had a committed relationship with that was for certain. “I still don’t know how I’m going to manage all of this but he’s my son so...I guess I need to step up and figure it out huh.”

“That would certainly be the responsible thing to do...and the right thing.” You agreed. “You hungry? I made food and I can take him while you eat?” You offered. Instead of the agreement that you expected, Auston just shook his head and declared that you could go ahead and eat first.

The rest of that day was spent with Auston calling Leafs management to update them on the situation before he had you help him shop for things for Owen so that he could turn what was supposed to be a small office into a nursery.

With Ema Matthews sticking around Toronto to help Auston until he could hire a nanny, you returned your focus to your studies, though you made sure to check in with Auston every day and popped over to his place a few times a week. You weren’t sure why you felt like you needed to help. Auston now had everyone in his life backing him up with Owen, but for some reason, you still felt like you needed to be around.

____

It had been about two and a half weeks since Owen was found outside Auston’s apartment when your phone rang in the middle of class. You had your phone set to only ring for a limited number of people, namely Auston and his mom.

Apologizing to your professor you slipped out of the classroom and answered your phone to hear Ema muttering curses in Spanish under her breath.

“Is everything okay?” You asked softly. Auston was currently out of town so you figured that Ema was calling because she had a question or something. Instead, she declared that she needed to fly back to Arizona for a day or so because one of the girls needed her and you were the only person she could think of to stay with Owen.

Auston had been interviewing nanny’s for Owen but hadn’t found one that he felt comfortable enough with to hire. So you knew that Ema was under a lot of stress trying to help her son but also be there for both her daughters.

“How soon do you need me?” You questioned, nodding when she told you her flight time and when she had to leave for the airport. Looking at your watch you knew there were only another twenty minutes of class left and you assured her that you would stop at your apartment for a few things after class and then be over within the hour.

The next twenty minutes dragged on, this was the first time you would actually watch Owen completely solo and while you knew you could handle it, you were a bit anxious all the same.

A quick stop at your apartment allowed you to gather up some clothes and things you’d need to crash at Auston’s, it also allowed you to email your professors for the next day explaining that a friend needed an emergency baby sitter and that the baby was far too little for you to bring him to class and expose him to the germs on a college campus so you would be absent the following day.

It was as you stepped into Auston’s apartment that you finally relaxed, quickly taking Owen from Ema as she once again thanked you while she gathered up her things in order to head back to the states. She insisted that she would be back the day after tomorrow but that Auston would likely beat her since they played a doubleheader that spanned tonight and tomorrow before the team would fly home.

Once Ema left after updating you on when Owen would likely need fed and changed again, you simply laid on the couch, baby cuddled against you. It wasn’t long before he fell asleep and once he had you went to lay him down in his pretty new crib before sitting yourself at the kitchen counters to try and get a few assignments completed.

It felt easy, comfortable just taking care of Owen, working on homework and making yourself dinner. Knowing that the Leafs game would be starting soon, you turned the tv on while cradling a freshly fed Owen against your shoulder while you burped him. When you had settled him into the cradle of your arm you shot a selfie of the two of you, you just so happened to be wearing a leafs t-shirt and Owen was snuggled up in a blue and white sleeper. Attaching the picture in a text to Auston you told him to ‘kick some butt because your two biggest fans are watching.’

You were surprised when your phone rang seconds later, with Auston’s picture appearing on the screen.

“Are you in my apartment?” He questioned.

“No I just kidnapped your son, yes I’m in your apartment.” You retorted quickly becoming aware that his mother had failed to inform him that you were on baby watching duty. Or if she had, he hadn’t seen it.

“Where’s my mom?” He questioned and you bit your lip before speaking.

“She didn’t let you know that she had to go back to Arizona for something for one of your sisters? She asked me to come watch Owen until you came back?” Auston let out a shaky sigh on the other end of the phone and though you couldn’t see him you were certain he was running his fingers through his hair.

“No, she didn’t. But it’s fine. Thank you for watching him.” He breathed. You knew he was upset with his mom but he couldn’t really blame her because he was asking so much from her in putting her life on hold to help him with Owen.

“Take a deep breath, everything is fine. Just go score some goals for us.” You assured him. “I can hold down the fort for a day or so.”

“Thank you,” Auston said softly before hanging up the phone and after a moment you let your head fall back against the back of the couch.

“The things I do for your daddy.” You whispered to Owen, who stretched a little before sinking himself back into your body. “I must be comfy huh little dude, I’m much softer than both your dad and grandma.” Most of the time you hated your body but for the moment you didn’t mind it because Owen clearly felt safe and comfortable pressed against all of your curves.  

The Leafs won the game that night, Auston scoring two goals, ones that you secretly hoped were him scoring for you and Owen. Though you’d hoped to hear from him, your phone remained silent as you got Owen ready for bed before settling in for the night yourself.

The following day was consumed with cleaning up Auston’s apartment a little while taking care of Owen and trying to stay on top of your assignments though you were missing your class lectures. Again, at game time you’d settled with Owen into the couch to watch his daddy play. Again you’d sent Auston a selfie so that he knew that you were both watching and rooting for him.

The only difference in your routine that night was that you were awoken shortly after 2am when Auston snuck into his room to change clothes before crawling into bed with you.

Auston was the only man you’d ever shared a bed with and while it was something you could certainly get used to, it was the only part of this routine that wouldn’t stay the same in the coming months.

[rafestyles]

turning page // d.d

Requested? Yes:  I’m sending you another request because you’re so wonderful at it so I’m taking advantage 🤣 what if you did an imagine where David asks you to help set up his house for a big date but it turns out you’re the one that will be going on the date!

Word Count: 1.5k

Warnings: None

a/n: hi, ur the luv of my life first of all. secondly, i grinned like a fckin idiot over this request bc its so cute. anyways, i hope i did it justice!!! (ps, title is from the song by sleeping at last !!) (pps, i’m rlly bad at going through and editing, so if there’s any mistakes i’m sorry !!!)

masterlist

——

you awoke with the sun shining through your windows and onto your face. yawning, you flipped over in bed searching the sheets for your phone. once you found it, you noticed you had a text from your best friend david.

baby davey: y/n !! what are u doing today ?

you rolled your eyes fondly, not able to keep the smile off of your face as you quickly typed out your reply.

you: idk, probs whatever u have planned since we’re all ur robots who do whatever u need us to lol

you decided that getting up and showering was your next best option, since you were probably heading to david’s house for the day. you quickly hopped in the shower and once you were done you noticed you had received another text from david.

baby davey: u know it !! but it actually doesn’t have to do with my vlog tonight. i might have a date and i need ur help setting up pls

you couldn’t help the sinking feeling you felt in your stomach. you and david had been best friends for as long as you could remember, you deciding to follow him to l.a. after his insistent persuading. but over the years, you couldn’t help to develop feelings for the boy, and now you could definitely confirm that those feelings were not mutual. you never told david about these feelings, knowing the last thing you’d ever want to do was ruin the relationship you shared with him. the only people who knew was your mom and your other best friend, y/bf/n. and although both of them tried relentlessly to get you to tell him, you refused.

you: aw, baby davey finally has a date !!! yes, ofc i’ll help. what time do u need me to come over?

you glanced over the text, making sure it sounded normal. and once you clicked send, he replied quickly after, confirming the time. you began to mentally prepare yourself for the heartbreak you were about to endure for the rest of the day.

——

stepping out of your uber, you glanced down at your outfit. you had decided to just wear something comfortable (a huge hoodie, some leggings and white sneakers), knowing that you were just going to throw yourself on your bed and cry as soon as you got back to your place later that night.

“y/n?!” you heard david call as soon as you opened up the front door.

“yes, hi dave,” you replied, pulling your hood over your head.

“aw, look at how cute you look. are you cold?” he said as he wrapped his arms around your shoulders.

you snuggled into him, “don’t flirt with me, you dweeb. your date won’t like it.”

he laughed as he shook his head, “for some reason i have a feeling my date won’t mind that much.”

you looked up at him quizzically, opening your mouth to question him only to be interrupted by him speaking.

“okay, so i was thinking like a nice night in? maybe with like a funny romcom and snacks? i know she would rather do that than go somewhere fancy. i also thought maybe making a fort might be cute, but is that too much?”

you couldn’t help but chuckle softly at the boy in front of you, “dave, you’re rambling,” you pondered softly before continuing, “you must really like this girl if she’s making you this nervous.”

“you have no idea, y/n,” he whispered sincerely, looking you right in your eyes.

you couldn’t help feeling like your heart was breaking slowly the more he talked about this mystery date. you glanced down at your feet, pushing some hair behind your ear, “okay, well let’s make this date unforgettable.”

——

a couple of hours later, you and david had made his living room into the fort of every girl’s dream. stocked with the best snacks and lined with fairy lights (which you remembered were stored away in one of david’s kitchen drawers).

“holy shit, y/n, this looks amazing.” he said, gaping slightly at the scene in front of you.

you couldn’t help to agree with him, it was truly the date of every girl’s dream (including your own).

“i say we did a pretty damn good job, dave. but, um- my uber is here, so i better go so you can get ready for her,” you glanced over at him, swallowing down the lump in your throat, “is there anything else you need?”

he bit his lip thoughtfully, shaking his head, “i don’t think so, y/n. thank you so much, i couldn’t have done this without you.”

“you know i’d do anything for you, baby davey.”

he rolled his eyes, giggling softly at you, “text me when you’re home, yeah?”

you nodded at him, giving him one last hug before you walked out the door.

——

once you reached your apartment, you threw yourself against your bed. you couldn’t believe you had endured a full day helping your crush get his house ready for a date with a girl that he clearly adored. you looked up at your ceiling, forcing your tears back while you sniffled softly. right as you decided to put on a cheesy romcom to get your mind off of david and his date, you heard a knock at your door. you tried to remember if you had ordered anything online, but nothing was coming to mind.

standing up, you wiped your face to get rid of any tears that had slipped past, but when you opened the door, you were greeted by the last face you had expected to see that night, “david..? what’re you doing here? aren’t you supposed to be at your house getting ready for your date?”

he pulled his bottom lip between his teeth, glancing at the ground before he shyly looked back up at you, “um, yes,” he chuckled nervously, “i have to pick her up first.”

you furrowed your eyebrows at him, “okay? um, is she in this apartment building or something?”

he shook his head at you, “well - yes, but - ugh, y/n,” he fiddled with his hands nervously, and only then did you notice the soft yellow flowers that he was holding.

“dave, i’m very confused, just spit it out.” you couldn’t help but grow a little frustrated at the boy in front of you. not only had you spent all day pretending not to be broken hearted, but now he had come to your door with beautiful flowers for his date?

“listen, y/n, it’s you. ah - you’re the one i wanted to go on a date with?” he asked, once again biting his bottom lip.

you were speechless, as you gaped at him, not believing the words that were coming out of his mouth.

“dave, what? is this some kind of prank for your channel?”

his eyes widened, “what? y/n, no no, not at all. it’s just -“ he hesitated for a moment before speaking again, softly. “i’ve been wanting to ask you out for a very long time now, and natalie was getting sick of my pining. i didn’t know how else to ask you without you thinking it was a prank and then i got nervous thinking that you wouldn’t like whatever i came up with, so i figured i’d invite you over so you could help me make it perfect and now looking back at it i realize how stupid it sounds and-“

you cut him off quickly, “david julien dobrik. you’re telling me that you made me set up my own date because you were nervous that i wouldn’t like it?”

he cringed slightly, squeezing his eyes, “uh... yes?”

you couldn’t help the loud laugh that escaped your lips at his confession, “oh my god.”

“i really hope that laugh is a good thing, y/n..”

you shook your head, a beaming smile perched upon your lips, “you are so stupid david dobrik to think that i wouldn’t like anything you did.”

“uh... okay? i’m not sure i’m following here. are you happy about this, or..?”

you took a step closer to him, tilting your head up to make eye contact with him, “you have no idea how happy i am about this. to think that i was about to put on a romcom and cry my eyes out over my best friend, whom i happen to have a massive crush on, was out on a date. and now he’s here, telling me that i’m the one he wants to go on a date with,” you shook your head, still not quite believing this was happening to you.

david set the flowers down on the table by your front door, cupping your face in his hands, “did you just tell me that you have a huge crush on me too?” he asked.

you giggled softly, biting your lip as you nodded.

“why didn’t you tell me?”

you gasped at him, “well you didn’t tell me either!!”

he looked you in the eyes for a moment before responding with a wide grin on his face, “can we both agree we were dumb and should’ve told each other way earlier than this?”

you laughed again, nodding in agreement.

he glanced down at your lips, and then back up at your eyes, “if you don’t let me kiss you right now, y/n, i might die,” he whispered.

“well we wouldn’t want that, now would we?” you cheekily replied, pressing your lips against his.

[ohprettyweeper-moved]

Caught on Fire

Part 2

Summary: Your first date with Josh goes even better than you planned. Pairing: Josh Dun x Reader Word Count: 1560 Warnings: FLUFF A/N: Thanks to everyone who read and enjoyed the first chapter of this! Tag list is always open, enjoy this next part!

Series Masterlist

After a few good hours of sleep, you woke up feeling refreshed and ready to tackle the day. You threw your hair up, slipped into your light, cotton robe, and made way for the kitchen. You turned on the coffee maker, then remembered your date that morning and immediately flipped the switch back to the ‘off’ position. 

Josh’s next day off coincided with your next day off after he had asked you to meet up sometime, so you two had decided that it would be the perfect time to meet for coffee. You’d managed to get away from your shift early, stopped on the med-surg floor to check Zack Joseph’s condition before heading home to get some sleep. 

A hot shower, natural hair, and light makeup later, you analyzed the contents of your closet. The Spring weather would allow for a pair of nice jeans, a solid color v-neck tee, and your favorite pair of sandals. 

Shrugging at your reflection in the mirror, you told yourself, “Here goes nothing.”

Josh was already sitting at a table by the window in the cafe where the two of you had agreed to meet. A lot of EMS and hospital staff frequented here, as well as those on PD. You had never come here and not run into someone you didn’t know. 

You knocked on the window and waved at Josh, who grinned when he saw you. A few moments later, you were seated in the booth across from him, nerves not entirely on the fritz, but not exactly calm, either. 

“Good morning,” Josh greeted. 

“Good morning,” you returned. “How was your shift?”

“Well,” Josh said, letting out a breath and ticking a list off on his fingers, “none of my guys had to be delivered to the hospital, didn’t have to pull any sleeping old guys out of bed before they died, no houses burned to the ground. So not too bad.”

You nodded. “That is a good shift. ER wasn’t so bad, either. Trauma was pretty dead. Makes for a slow night, but I’ll take it if it means people aren’t dying.”

“No kidding.”

The waitress came by then, took your coffee orders, left menus, then left you two to your conversation. You shared the few thing that had happened in the ER, and Josh updated you on some of the guys at the station. 

“Oh, speaking of that — I hear Zack is going to make a full recovery.”

Josh nodded, sipping at his black coffee. “Yeah, he’s got a few days left, then they’ll start talking about sending him home. It’ll be a bit before he’s back on the job, but he’ll get there. You been talking to Nicole?”

“Uh, no,” you said, suddenly embarrassed but not sure why. “I’ve been checking in after my shifts, when I can. I’m not bothering him or anything, I just —”

“Slow down, Y/N. I think that’s sweet of you.”

You bit your lip in an effort to stop from blushing. “Thanks. I know it’s probably none of my business, but when I was with Chad — before he left, of course — I felt like I was part of the family you guys have at the station. I got to know people and you guys got to know me. After Chad left and we decided to call it quits, it felt a little bit like I lost that family.”

You cleared your throat, thinking that perhaps that had been an overshare, but you felt a load off your chest. You had your friends, but outside of the ER, it wasn’t the same as it had been with the firefighter group. You missed it more than you knew, until you had seen Josh and the guys again at the hospital. 

Josh reached across the table and took your hand, squeezing gently. “We missed you too, you know. Or at least I did. And I know Nicole has always enjoyed when she worked with you at the hospital.”

You smiled with relief. “Yeah, I enjoyed that, too. She kept me updated on you guys every now and then. I suppose I could go ahead and embarrass myself a little more and let you know it was always kind of nice when she would mention you were still single.”

“Oh really?” Josh smiled, a warm pink painting over his cheeks, as well. You realized he still had a hold of your hand, but you didn’t mind. You liked the way his calloused hand cradled yours; there was something about it that made you feel safe and secure. 

The catching up continued and before either of you knew it, lunchtime had come around. Since coffee was all you had for breakfast, you were starving, and so was Josh. After a few minutes of perusing the menu, Josh flagged down the waitress and the two of you ordered lunch. Another two hours passed before Josh finally announced he needed to get going. 

“Not because I want to,” he assured as he walked you to your car, “but I promised my mom I’d come by this afternoon.”

“Of course, I get it. I think it’s too early on to be making your mother mad, anyway.”

Josh smiled. “Yeah.”

“What? Did I say something wrong?”

He shook his head adamantly. “Definitely not. I actually like the way you said that it’s early on — like there’ll be a later.”

“You want a later?” you asked, brow raised. 

“I definitely do. Do you?”

“I do,” you smiled.

Josh’s fingers laced through yours, pulling you to a stop in the middle of the cafe parking lot. You bumped into him, but his strong figure held strong. His smile was a nervous one as his hand carded into your hair and his lips met yours. 

Josh strolled up to his house when he got home from his parents, still floating on cloud nine. He had stamped down his attraction to Y/N while she was with Chad, but now that he was completely out of the picture and she was open to a relationship with Josh, it was as though a whole new world of potential had opened up. 

He phoned Tyler as soon as he was in the house, checking on their plans for guys’ night out. 

“We’re still on,” Tyler confirmed. “Nicole’s working the overnight shift, so I’m on my own. By the way, Nic said she saw Y/N last night, and maybe overheard a conversation about how excited she was for her date with you this morning.”

Josh chuckled. “Oh yeah? Well, then I guess that would explain why it went so well.”

“I guess so. Hey, why don’t you bring her to the barbecue at our place next weekend?”

“That’s not a bad idea. She mentioned missing being around everyone.”

“Perfect. Listen, I just dropped off some food for Nicole at the hospital, I’ll be home soon. Mind picking me up, then we can go meet everyone?”

Josh nodded. “Yeah, that sounds fine. I’ll see you in a while.”

He disconnected the call. The idea of Y/N being back around with their group, but by his side now and not Chad’s, it made him even happier than he had been before Tyler extended the invitation to bring Y/N to the barbecue. 

After washing up a bit and changing his clothes, Josh sprayed on some cologne and checked the time. He didn’t need to leave just yet to pick up Tyler, so he decided to take a chance and call Y/N. 

“Well, hey you,” she greeted. 

“Hey,” Josh smiled. “Is it too soon to be calling? I don’t wanna look like a nerd.”

“No, you’re not a nerd and no, it’s not too soon to be calling,” she giggled. “How was your visit with your parents?”

“Good. Try to see them when I can, but since Zack got hurt on the job, they’ve been even more tense than usual. Mom’s always happy to see me safe and sound.”

Y/N sighed. “Can’t blame her for that.”

“You don’t have to worry about me, Y/N. I’m always safe. But it’s nice to have you worried about me, too.”

They talked for a while longer, until Tyler called on the other line to figure out what Josh’s hold-up was. He switched lines back and apologized that he needed to end the phone call. 

“This morning it was your parents, tonight it’s Tyler. You don’t need an out to only get doses of me, you know,” she teased. 

Josh chuckled but returned, “I’ll never get enough of you, I promise. Can I call you tomorrow?”

“I’d really like that.”

“Okay. Night, Y/N.”

“Good night, Josh.”

Reluctantly, he hit the red button to end the call. He found his keys and made way for Tyler’s, realizing how long it had been since he had felt this way about a girl. He already wanted to spend every second possible with her. 

Can I take you out on your next day off? Josh texted on his way out of the driveway. 

Her answer didn’t take long. My next day off is tomorrow. 

I’ll see you then. Call you in the morning to make plans.

Josh shoved his phone in his pocket and worked on getting the twitterpated smile off of his face before he met up with the guys. 

Tags: @takenvysleep @faceofcontvsions @svintsandghosts @adversaryproject

[fanfics4all]

The Northside Serpent: Part 9

Request: Yes / No

Request are closed <3 Have a nice day/night

Sweet Pea x Keller!Reader

Word count: 3586

Warnings: Little bit of cursing and some smut 

Y/N: Your Name

Summary: You’re Kevin Keller’s little sister when you’re mom left to go to war and your dad started cheating (I’m making it so he’s been cheating since season 1) You started rebelling; dying your hair, getting a nose piercing, tattoo, and hanging out on the southside.

A/N: I almost forgot about this! I’m sorry! Dumb sickness making me forget!

PLEASE DO NOT STEAL MY WORK, I WORK HARD ON MY FICS AND IT’S NOT COOL TO STEAL SOMEONE ELSE’S WORK!

If you want to be on the tag list for anything (My series fics, specific character fics, or just all of them) All you have to do is send me an ask and I will add you!

Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6, Part 7, Part 8, Part 9 

Masterlist

(Not my photo, credit to whoever made it!)

It was morning and the three of us were sitting at the table eating breakfast in silence. My dad was pissed at me for going with the Serpents, but when is he not lately. He was just giving me hard disapproving looks and Kevin just looked really awkward.

“I told you to stay away from them.” Our father said and I sighed.

“I’m not doing this again.” I said getting up and putting my dishes in the sink.

“You sit down right-” Before he could finish his phone went off. He answered it, had a short conversation then hung up.

“I have to go, someone apparently cut off General Pickens’ head.” He said and put his dishes in the skin as well.

“I bet it was your little Serpent pals.” He said and I glared at him. I held back since I didn’t want to have yet another fight with him. He left not long after and it was just me and Kevin.

“Let’s just get ready for school.” He sighed and I nodded. I ran up to my room to get dressed.

I decided to wear a simple, plain gray crop top, a simple black skirt, some cute heeled boots, and my leather jacket. For makeup I did some neutral eyeshadow with a wing and a dark neutral lip. I put my hair in a bun and grabbed my bag.

Kevin drove us to school and we met with Veronica, Betty, Archie, and Jughead in the student lounge. Veronica asked us to meet up with her and Kevin made me go instead of me seeing my boyfriend.

“I already invited Archie, but I want you guys to be there, as well.Usually these kinds of events, baptisms, confirmations are family-only, but since it's all about me and you guys are my chosen family, I pulled a few strings and reserved you a pew.” Veronica said, she was talking about her confirmation and I honestly couldn’t care. Being in a room with a ton of Lodges? No thanks.

“What is the dress code?” Kevin asked and looked at me, I rolled my eyes at him.

“Catholic chic. So, dresses for the girls, veils optional, and coats and ties for the boys.” She said with a smile.

“Jughead Jones and Betty Cooper, please report to the principal's office. Jughead Jones and Betty Cooper to the principal's office.” Principal Weatherbee said over the PA.

“What’d you two do?” I asked with a smirk.

“Probably the article I wrote.” Jug said rolling his eyes, The pair got up and left the lounge.

“You will you two be there?” Veronica asked looking at me and my brother.

“I do-”

“Of course!” Kevin said cutting me off.

“Great! And don’t worry Y/N I’m sure we can find a suitable dress for you.” She smiled and I just smiled back biting my tongue.

“I gotta go, class and all.” I said grabbing my bag and leaving. Ii went to my locker and grabbed my books. Someone came up behind me and grabbed my waist. I was about to turn around and punch them in the face when I heard who it was.

“Hey baby.” Sweet Pea’s voice rang through my ears. I smiled and turned around.

“Hey babe.” I said wrapping my arms around his neck.

“So, did your dad yell at you?” He asked and I sighed.

“No but he really wants to.” Sweet Pea kissed my head and I smiled again.

“He was on the Southside today asking if we had the head.” I rolled my eyes.

“I can’t say I’m surprised.”

“Wait you think we took it?” He asked shocked.

“What? No! He told Kev and I about it this morning and he said he thought it was you guys.” I said. Sweet Pea nodded and the bell rang.

“Well, we better get to class.” I said shutting my locker. Sweet groaned as I pulled him along.

After school I had to go home with Kevin or my dad said he’d groand me for months. So here I was sitting at home with my homework finished and bored out of my mind. I was in the living room with Kevin, I was on my laptop while he was watching something on T.V.

“Are you excited for Veronica’s party?” He asked out of nowhere.

“No, I don’t wanna be in a room full of Lodges.” I answered.

“Come on Y/N! You hardly hang out with us anymore, I’m starting to think dad’s right about the Serpents.” He said.

“What?” I asked annoyed and shut my laptop.

“Might I remind you that you dated a Serpent!”

“Yeah and look how that ended! He turned out to be an assistant to murder!” Kevin said. I glared at him ready to have a screaming match with him when our dad walked in.

“I got Pop’s for dinner.” He said and walked into the kitchen.

“This isn’t over.” I growled at Kevin then walked into the kitchen to eat. We were all sat down eating, none of us talking to each other when my phone rang.

“No phones at the dinner table.” He dad said. I ignored him and answered it.

“Hello?”

“Your dad just payed the Southside a visit again!” Sweet Pea growled.

“What?” I asked confused and looked at my dad.

“Hang up Y/N.” He warned me.

“Yeah, eviction notices, we have 2 weeks!” He yelled pissed.

“I’ll come by in a minute, don’t worry okay?”

“We’ll be at the Wyrm.” He said then hung up.

“What the hell dad!” I shouted annoyed.

“You’re evicting the Serpents!?”

“It was an order by the Mayor-”

“You mean your girlfriend!” I growled and narrowed my eyes at him.

“There’s a lot of back rent Y/N, it’s about time they get out of here anyway.” I stood up and walked to the door.

“Where the hell do you think you’re going?” He shouted at me.

“Away from here!” I shouted back and slammed the door behind me. I ran to the Wyrm and once I got there I was out of breath. Toni, Fangs, Jughead, and Sweet Pea noticed me and motioned me to come over.

“Did you know about this?” Jughead asked annoyed.

“I had no idea! If I did don’t you think I would have told you?” I answered. Loud footsteps rang through the bar and everyone turned to look at the stage. FP stood up there looking just as unhappy as everyone else.

“We all got the eviction notices, but I swear to you No one is goin' anywhere. But the heat's been on us since Pickens Day and they're using that damn statue as an excuse to turn it up. But if we're gonna fix this, I gotta ask: Is anyone in this room responsible for cutting off Pickens' head?” He asked loudly.

“Why don't you ask your son what he has to say?” Tall Boy called out.

“What is your problem with me, Tall Boy?” Jughead asked annoyed.

“You wrote the article that started this mess. You and your posse fired the opening shot at Pickens Day.”

“It was a peaceful protest, Turncoat.” Toni said sassily.

“That accomplished nothing. So what's to say that you and your boyfriend didn't go back that night with a ladder and hacksaw-”

“Hey!” Jughead shouted and got in his face.

“We didn't do it. Hell, Tall Boy, you're the tallest guy in this room. You wouldn't even need a ladder.” Jughead accused.

“Sweet Pea is dating the Sheriff’s daughter, how do we know she didn’t do it to set us up!” Tall Boy growled.

“She wouldn’t do that!” Jughead said before Sweet Pea could say anything, he did pulled me closer to him though.

“Jughead Tall Boy, the last thing we need right now is to turn on each other.” FP announced breaking the two up. Jughead turned back to us and we walked away.

We spent some time trying to get our minds off the situation at hand but it wasn’t entirely successful. Jughead ended up going home early because he was too frustrated.

“Hey, Quinny, shouldn’t you be getting home too?” Fangs asked and I shook my head.

“I do not want to go home, I really can’t deal with a fight tonight.” I said.

“So where are you gonna sleep?” Toni asked confused.

“I’ll text Betty or Veronica or something.” I shrugged.

“You can stay at my place.” Sweets said. I smiled up at him and nodded.

“I’d love to.” He smiled then lifted me up over his shoulder.

“Then let’s get home!” He said and made his way outside.

“I’ll drop some clothes off for you in the morning!” Toni shouted and I smiled back at her.

We got outside and Sweet Pea put me on his bike, he handed me a helmet and I put it on. He got on and started it up, with in seconds we were on the road. The drive to his trailer was short which I was sad about since I loved riding on his bike. Sweets got off and took both our helmets off, then once again, picked me up. He took me inside and dropped me on his bed. He walked up to his closet, taking off his shirt and began looking through it. Once he found what he was looking for he turned around and tossed it to me. It was on of his flannels and I smiled.

“Do you want me to leave the room or…?”He asked while taking off his pants. Instead of answering him I just got up and stripped down to my bra and underwear. Before I could put the shirt on Sweet Pea came up behind me and his hands started trailing over my body. They made their way up too my boobs and he gently groped them. I gasped at the feeling and arched my back causing my ass to grind into Sweet Pea’s member. He groaned and began kissing my neck. It started off as sweet kisses but quickly became hungry, nibbling kisses. I moaned, never have I felt this good before. Sweet Pea turned me around and picked me up. I wrapped my legs around him and he placed me on my back on the bed. Our lips connected and it was a passionate, hungry kiss. Sweets started grinding against my clothed core and I moaned into his mouth. His hands traveled to my back and unclipped my bra. He grabbed it and tossed it to the floor. He kissed down my jaw to my breast and gently took one of my nipples in his mouth. I moaned when he began to suck on it and pinching the other with his hand. I arched my back making me grind against him. Sweet Pea moaned and the vibrations made my nipple harder. He kissed his was back up to my lips and moved his hand down to my underwear. He slid his hand in but I stopped him and pulled away.

“Sweets, wait.” I breathed and he looked down at me confused.

“I’ve never done this before…” I said with a blush and looked away. He pulled his hand out and brought my face to look at him.

“We don’t have to if you don’t want to.” He whispered.

“I’m sorry…” I said and he just smiled rolling over to his side. He got up and grabbed my bra and his flannel. He handed them both to me and I put them on. Sweet Pea got back into bed and pulled me to him, kissing my head.

“You don’t have to be sorry, just know that when you’re ready I’ll be here.” He whispered and I smiled up at him.

“I love you.” I whispered.

“I love you too.” He whispered back and connected our lips.

The next morning Sweet Pea cooked breakfast and Toni and Fangs came over. As promised Toni brought me some clothes and makeup. I thanked her then went to get dressed.

She decided to give me a very Toni outfit, it was a pair of black ripped skinny jeans, a bralette, sheer polka dot shirt to go over it, and I wore the boots I wore yesterday . I wanted to add some color so I did a blue and black smokey eye with a wing and a bold blue lip.

I walked out and the three Serpents looked at me. Toni smirked while Sweet Pea and Fangs stared at me shocked. Toni walked up and hugged me.

“Close your mouths boys, you’re drooling.” Toni said still smirking. Sweet Pea walked over to me and pulled me to him.

“Looks like I’ll have to keep an eye on you today.” I giggled and shook my head. The three of us drove to the Wyrm to hang out, since it was the weekend.

Everything was normal and fine until Tall Boy walked in with Penny Peabody… The whole bar went silent and everyone stared at them. Sweet Pea pulled me behind him and growled. Tall Boy, FP and Penny sat down at a table and everyone gathered around. Sweet Pea kept me close to him the whole time. It was a few minutes later when Jughead walked in with a poster.

“All right, order of the Ophidians.” He said then turned to look at everyone.

“Jughead Jones. Did you really think you'd see the last of me?” Penny asked with a smirk.

“What's the Snake Charmer doing here? Dad?” Jug asked but FP looked lost in his thoughts.

“No, I brought her in, to help us.” Tall Boy said with a smirk.

“We don't need Penny's kind of help.”

“You don't get a say anymore. Since you broke Serpent law and hurt one of our own kind. Penny was about to tell your dad. Show him, Penny. Show 'em all.” Tall Boy said and Penny rolled up her sleeve, slamming her arm on the table. A huge scar that was about the size of her forearm.

“Oh my god…” I whispered and turned away. Sweet Pea held me to him but I tried to push away, he just held me closer.

“That used to be my Serpent tattoo, until your son sliced a chunk outta my arm and left me bleeding in a ditch in Greendale.” Penny said.

“But I'm still willing to help the Serpents. Tall Boy showed me those eviction notices. They're legit. Luckily, I can think of about 41 ways to stall the process. And I'm talking years.” She added and I turned around with wide eyes.

“What's your price, Penny?” FP asked.

“Blood for blood. An eye for an eye. I want back in with the Serpents and I want him kicked out.” Everyone stared at her and FP leant back in his chair.

“Oh, yeah, one last thing I want his tattoo carved off. And I want to do it myself. With a dirty knife.” Penny said and I went to object but Sweet Pea covered my mouth. FP sent his son out of the bar. Sweet Pea, Toni, and Fangs pulled me out.

“Are we just gonna let this happen?” I asked.

“No, but there’s nothing we can do right now.” Toni said.

“You need to go home, it’s not safe for you here right now.” Fangs said.

“Like hell I’m going home!” I shouted.

“Fangs’ is right, you need to go home babe.” Sweet Pea said.

“But-”

“No, I’ll take you home.” He said and picked me up.

“Sweet Pea put me down!” I said and pounded against his back.

“Y/N, listen to me, you need to go home where I know you’re safe!” He said scolding me. He looked seriously at me and I sighed giving in. He gave me the helmet and we drove off. He dropped me off at the end of my block like always. I got off and handed him and started walking away when Sweet Pea pulled me back and turned me to face him.

“I just want you safe…” He said quietly.

“I can take care of myself.”

“I know but I was a part of what happened to Penny and I don’t want her to hurt you.” He said moving a piece of hair behind my ear. I sighed and nodded.

“I know…” I sighed. Sweets tilted my head up and placed his lips on mine We pulled apart and he let me go.

“I love you.” He said.

“I love you too.” I said back and he drove off. I jogged to my house and walked in. Kevin and my dad were at the table and when they heard me come in they rushed towards me.

“Where have you been?” My dad asked more worried than mad.

“I stayed at a friends place…”

“I’m just happy you’re safe.” He sighed relieved that I was finally home.

“You two get some sleep, you have Veronica’s party tomorrow.” My dad said and the two of us went up stairs. I changed into my pjs and went to bed.

The next day Kevin and I got dressed for the party thing. Kevin wore a nice suit and I wore a black dress with black heels, I also put on some heart earrings my mom gave me and an infinity necklace to match. For makeup I did a simple eye with a wing and a glitter cut crease, then for lips I did a pink nude color. Kevin drove us to the church and we walked inside meeting up with our friends.

Once it started we all took our seats and Josie walked up to the front. She began singing. Veronica walked down the aisle also singing. Once she got to the front the two of them stood next to each other and sang together. We watched Veronica renounce satan or whatever then we all went to party. Kevin and I talked with Betty and just kinda sat around. Jughead and Betty had come up to me saying they were leaving.

“Is this about Penny? Is Sweet Pea okay?” I asked worried.

“He’s fine and yeah it’s about Penny kinda.” Jughead said.

“I’m coming with you.” I said standing up.

“Y/N, no.” he said stopping me.

“Jughead, I may be a Northsider but the Serpents are my family and I am not gonna let them vote you out and hurt you.” I said standing my ground. The two looked at each other and sighed.

“Okay, let’s go.” I followed them out and sent a quick text to Kevin saying I was leaving.

Jughead dropped me off at the Wyrm and I waited outside. Betty and Jughead went to go check up on their lead they got on the head. I could hear them voting on weather Jughead should stay or not.

An hour later Jughead and Betty returned along with FP. Jughead was holding the missing the head and he had a pretty big smirk on his face. I smiled at them and followed them inside.

“Stop the damn vote.” FP shouted making Tall Boy turn around. FP grabbed him and tossed him in a chair. I walked over to Sweet Pea and he pulling me to him.

“What the hell were you doing at the dump last week, Tall Boy?” FP asked.

“I don't know what you're talking about.” Tall Boy said.

“I'm talkin' about you cutting the head off the Pickens' statue and stashing it at the dump where you were seen, dumbass. So start spilling!” FP growled.

“Why'd you do it? Someone put you up to this?” Jughead asked.

“What's the Northsiders doing here? This is Serpent business, it's on Serpent land.” Tall Boy growled.

“They’re here because they’re one of us.” Jughead answered and I smiled up at Sweet Pea.

“You haven't answered my son's question: Why'd you do it?” FP shouted.

“'Cause I'm tired of seeing the Serpents goin' soft under your rule. Then Hiram Lodge came by, wanting to stir up some trouble. He said if I took the head, he'd get McCoy and the cops to swarm all over us, 'cause some chaos.” Tall Boy answered.

“So Hiram Lodge asked you to start a mutiny and you helped him, why?” Jug asked.

“I figured it'd be my chance to get rid of you, sunshine. And if I got rid of him, I could get rid of you, too, FP.” He said and everyone looked at him pissed.

“And then, what, you'd become leader?” FP asked walking behind him.

“He and Penny. You're a Judas, Tall Boy, and an idiot. Jug said.

“You betrayed your own kind, Tall Boy. You broke Serpent Law. What should we do with this lowlife?” FP shouted.

“Strip him of his jacket. Exile him.” His son answered.

“All those in favor.” Everyone including Betty and I raised our hands. FP laughed and got next to Tall Boy’s ear.

“Looks like this piece of trash and I got a long ride ahead of us.” After that FP took Tall Boy out of the bar and everyone cheered. Sweet Pea pulled me to him and kissed me with a smile on his lips.

“Y/N you should probably get home, it’s late and after yesterday I’m sure your dad is keeping tabs on you.” I sighed and nodded. Sweet Pea took me home again and Kevin walked downstairs.

“Where’d you go?” Kevin asked.

“I went with Betty and Jughead somewhere.” Kevin just nodded. I walked into my room and went to bed.

Tag list: @54fangirl @southsidehufflepuff @xrosesareredx @cvvlxx @skeletalwolfcat @demigodofthesun @depressed-octopods-art @nalayrene @yourfavouritefuckup @staygoldsquatchling02 @sataninsatin @im-socialy-awkward-no-joke @dark-night-sky-99 @aframeofbones @fly-slytherin-queen @jojokoko0717 @nixdunbarhale @wanderlust-and-poetry @theyouthfulmoon @seasiren96 @nixdunbarhale2 @misskarynie @emo-godess-loves-you @serpent-stan  @les-bio-lie @tashy-bear @cuddlememerrick  @blueandgoldaus @southsidefandoms @hiya-imthatgirl

[fanatic1997]

You’re Mine  (2)

Summary: You are Tom Holland’s assistant. He’s a lot to handle at times and you’re like his mom but maybe that will change when a certain best friend takes an interest in you. 

Pairing: Tom Holland x Reader

Warnings: None Really 

Words: 2709

Part: 2 out of 3 maybe 4 I can't control myself 

Part 1

Part 2:

Harrison decided to wake up Tom by jumping on the poor guy, effectively waking him and Tessa up in one fell swoop. Tom’s face brightened up after the initial shock of being woken up by a body slamming on top of him.

“Harrison! What are you doing here?” Tom laughed, sitting up on the couch.

“Actually, this charming woman asked if I wanted to surprise you on your day off” Harrison had placed an arm around your waist, effectively making your once pink cheeks turn a vibrant shade of red. You noticed that Tom’s eyes crinkled at the edges as he stared at Harrison’s arm around your waist.  

Tom didn’t say anything in response and you, feeling awkward, stepped away from Harrison, grabbed your makeup bag and walked towards the door.

“Don’t get into too many messes or I’ll quit and leave you with the damage. Have fun guys” You smiled  as the two guys laughed mischievously.  “It was nice meeting you in person Harrison” you added as an afterthought.

“Trust me, the pleasure is all mine” Harrison said sending you a smirk.

As soon as you left, Harrison rounded on Tom, “Why didn’t you tell me she was so bloody attractive! We should invite her out with us tonight” He said plopping down on the couch. “If I had her dotting after me like she does with you, she’d be more than just my assistant.” Harrison didn’t notice Tom’s grimace.

Of course Tom had noticed how attractive you were but he never thought twice about it. He would never make you one of his conquests.

“I think she might be busy tonight, it is her only day off” Tom said flatly. Harrison seemed to be in a daze.

“Does she have a boyfriend?” Harrison asked turning to look at Tom. Tom shook his head but then stopped; he realized he didn’t know the answer actually. Harrison noticed

“How do you not know mate” he laughed. “Is she dating anybody, texting anybody?” He continued to ask. Tom slowly realized that he honestly didn’t know. You knew everything about his life, down to the smallest details. You knew he hated warm pickles but cold ones were ok, he drank his tea with 2 spoons of sugar and a splash of milk, you knew that he loved wearing christmas socks year round because it was his favorite holiday. But he didn’t even know if you were dating! Tom reasoned with himself that it was your job after all to know these details but as much as he reasoned, he realized he was not a good friend to you like you were to him.

“Then you should ask her to hangout with us tonight! What’s the worst she can say, no? I doubt it” Harrison said smiling to himself.

Tom was in a dilemma. His interest in your personal life was piqued but he didn’t want to spend the whole night watching Harrison flirt with you either. That would just be too weird, he reasoned.

“Or…... are you interested?” Harrison turned to look at Tom.

“No” Tom stated flatly, leaning over to scratch Tessa on the head, not able to make eye contact with Harrison for a minute.

“Good, then text her or give me her number and I’ll text her.” Harrison reached for his luggage bag, deciding to pick out his outfit for the night.

Tom scowled at the ultimatum but he pulled out his phone anyway. He sent you a short text finding your contact as y/n💙 after spending a long time debating what to say.

Tom: Hey, do you want to hangout with Harrison and me tonight?:)

When you had seen the notification, you had thought that Tom had managed to already get himself in a scandal after only 20 minutes with Harrison and needed your damage control. But instead, the text had taken you by surprise. You took a few minutes to reply, weighing your options.

y/n💙 : Hmmm…...should I remind you that our contract clearly states that my personal days should not be fickled with? Lol, what are you guys planning on doing?

Tom looked up at Harrison, “you want to go to the Arsenal?” Harrison shrugged in agreement.

Tom: How about the Arsenal around 8:30?

y/n💙 : Not really my scene.

Tom: Come on, just hang out with a couple of poor sods that have nothing else to do:)

y/n💙  I don’t know…….

Tom: If you don’t come, I’ll make a scandal, one that you can’t clean up…….😈

You laughed upon receiving the text from Tom. You knew his threats were empty but Tom really was a child when it came down to things he wanted. You decided it was best to just accept your fate.

y/n💙: Fine, but I’m driving there. I’ll see you guys later!

Tom laughed at your message, happy that you had accepted.

“I’m guessing she said yes” Harrison said walking back into the living room. He headed toward the kitchen ready to get started on the food you had ordered. “I can’t wait to see her tonight” Harrison yelled out while chewing his food.

Tom sighed, leaning back on the couch. He couldn’t wait to see you either.

Tom and Harrison wasted the afternoon catching up and napping since Harrison was jet lagged and Tom’s nap had been interrupted.

It wasn’t until much later that Tom was awakened by a hungry Tessa who had jumped on couch with him and began to lick his face. He laughed, getting up to grab her bowl and some food.

Tom realized it was already 7:30 and so he walked over to his room where Harrison was already laying out an outfit for the night.

“Dressing to impress?” Tom asked, not waiting for the his reply since he already knew the answer. Tom opened his closet to pick out his outfit as well. He found it a little difficult, seeing as you usually chose out his outfits beforehand. He decided on a black leather jacket and some dark denim jeans topping it off with his favorite christmas socks. Fixing his own hair was also an interesting task as he usually didn’t stress over what it looked like but tonight, it did matter.

Tom was never punctual but Haz had nagged at Tom to hurry up.

Tom attracted a lot of attention when he walked towards the nightclub after parking. It was a club many celebrities frequented so there was always paparazzi waiting out front, ready to catch a glimpse of a celebrity. He usually didn’t get a lot of paparazzi’s attention as they were used to his presence at the club but today, the paparazzi were going bezerk and snapping tons of pictures of Tom.

The paparazzi were trying to catch Tom and you possibly, after his interview from today where he accidently let slip his affectionate nickname for you, calling you “my girl” on national TV. The actor had never publicly confirmed any of his past relationships so this interview had stirred a lot of interest. Of course Tom had meant nothing by the affectionate nickname, but that didn’t stop the blue hearts from being left in the comments.

You had arrived before Tom and Harrison and you were bombarded with paparazzi, not able to make your way to the entrance. You had never been trained on dealing with the press so you were trapped in their web of questions and suggestions. You had yet to see the interview so you were at a loss when the paparazzi asked if you and Tom were dating.

You didn’t notice Harrison approach you until he touched your shoulder to grab your attention, smiling at you in greeting. This seemed to drive the paparazzi wild as they snapped even more pictures.

Tom hadn’t seen you but he did see Harrison standing next to someone with a plunging backline.  

It was only when Harrison spun the girl toward the entrance that Tom realized it was you. He stilled, eyes raking over your body unabashedly, admiring you in your dress. The paparazzi snapped photos faster.

Once your eyes met his, your cheeks warmed at the look Tom was giving you. His eyes were darkened, hooded over as he traced your curves with his eyes. You felt self conscious, almost regretting the dress you wore.

Tom snapped out of his haze once he noticed Harrison’s hand at your back. You gave him a shy smile. The paparazzi went wild catching every emotion Tom expressed from surprise to desire to sourness.

You could feel Harrison’s hand on your back guide you inside the club, steering you towards a booth close to the bar.

You sat down and Harrison joined you on the same side while Tom sat across from the both of you.

There was an awkward tension that engulfed the table. Harrison leaned over, closer than what was necessary in Tom’s opinion, to ask you what you wanted to drink.

“Long Island” you replied, deciding that you needed something strong enough to blame your flushed face. Harrison bristled goodnaturedly, and then asked Tom what he wanted.

Tom decided on a beer, deciding that he needed to stay level headed tonight.

After Harrison left to get the drinks, Tom gave you a lopsided smile “we might corrupt you a little tonight”.

“It beats my plans” you laughed. Tom leaned in closer.

“And what were those plans” he asked seeming uninterested as he stared at the dancing bodies on the dance floor.

“Probably just a date between me and ….” Tom eyes snapped to yours immediately and a glass was set in front of you at the same time, interrupting your sentence.

“A date?” Harrison questioned sitting down next to you with his glass in hand after handing Tom his beer. You laughed but your cheeks warmed slightly.

“My couch… I had a date with my couch and netflix.  I haven’t really had a day off in a while so I was going to catch up on all my favorite shows” You could hear Harrison sigh in relief.

“Good, because I would be very disappointed” Harrison winked at you.

You didn’t say anything, just took a nice big gulp from your drink. You watched Tom take a long swing of his beer as well.

You would never admit this outloud ever, but you were such a lightweight. You could already feel the effects of the alcohol giving you goosebumps as a shiver raced down your body with the first gulp.

“So you don’t usually drink do you” Harrison smiled, noticing your dazed eyes after one drink.

You giggled, feeling your ears pop “you could say something like that.”

As you were sipping on the last bits of your drink, a girl in a dress that left nothing to the imagination approached the table. Rolling your eyes, you recognized the girl as the one night stand from the morning.

“It’s nice seeing you here Tommy” the one night stand giggled. She turned to look at you with piercing eyes when you had snickered, poking fun at the nickname she had given Tom. “I thought you would be too uptight to have fun” the one night stand said giving you a once over.

You thought Tom would dismiss her immediately but he let her drag him to the dance floor.

Tom definitely didn’t want to stay to witness his best friend hit on his assistant any longer so he was much relieved when a distraction was offered to him on a silver platter. He blamed the alcohol for the boiling in his veins even though he only had a beer as of yet.

Feeling unsettled and quiet daring, trying to prove you weren’t uptight, you asked a waitress for a couple of shots of tequila when she was making her rounds, cleaning up the empty glasses from the tables.

You asked Harrison to help you down the 6 shots you had ordered. After the first one’s burn, the rest of the shots went down like water, feeling as if they had no effect on you. You could feel yourself laughing at something Harrison had said, not able to recall what the joke was about. You felt good, you felt no tension or awkwardness anymore.

You decided to get some more shots from the bar, asking Harrison to slide out from the booth to let you by. You could feel your knees go weak for a second as you stood feeling the effects of the alcohol on your balance but then you caught yourself and continued walking toward the bar.

After catching the busy bartender’s attention, you asked for 6 more tequila shots, not realizing that you were way beyond your limit. The bartender rang up your card, telling you that the shots would be brought over to your booth. You thanked the bartender, ready to make your way back only to be stopped by a random arm that had wrapped around your waist.

“Let’s dance sweetheart” the random guy stated, pulling you even closer to his chest. You could feel his sweaty hand on your bare back and you shivered disgusted. The guy reeked of alcohol and sweat and he gave you the creeps.

“She’s with me actually” You felt a firm hand around your wrist.

You turned to see Harrison standing next to you, looking a lot more sober than you at the moment, The creep grunted but left you alone.

“You ok love” Harrison asked. You smiled, already forgetting the creep. You pulled Harrison to the booth so you could wait on your shots.

If Harrison was in his right state of mind, he wouldn’t have let you down the second round of shots so fast. But he wasn’t.

A particularly good song started to play on the dance floor and you pleaded Harrison to dance with you. He didn’t need much pleading but he liked the puppy eyes you were giving him so he let you sweat for a minute.

You guys danced, well he danced and you swayed unsteadily on two feet letting the alcohol give you the illusion that you were dancing fantastically.

The song ended and another one began. The song had an interesting beat, something you weren’t sure how to dance to. Looking around, you noticed that the couples were much more provocative in their dancing, sliding their bodies against each other. You looked at Harrison who gave you a shrug, grabbing your waist to pull you in closer.

“Just copy what you see them doing, love” He whispered in your ear.

Unbeknownst to you both, piercing brown eyes were watching your every move. Tom had his eyes trained on you both since you guys had walked onto the dance floor.

Just as you were about to turn to place your back against Harrison’s chest, mimicking the other women around you, you felt a strong arm pull you away from Harrison. You stumbled into a familiar chest.

“I think it’s time for me to take you home” Tom said, glaring at Harrison. Tom noticed you stumble. “How many drinks has she had Haz?” he seethed. Tom’s voice was icy but his hand was warm on your bare back, not sweaty at all like the earlier creep.

“I can answer for myself” You slurred, a detail that Tom didn’t miss. “I stopped counting after the 4th shot honestly” you giggled truthfully. Tom held you even closer to his chest, angry at himself for trusting Harrison to take care of you.

“Let’s go darling” Tom said softly, pulling you out of the dance floor.

He called an uber to take Harrison back to his place but he was going to drive you home personally. The beer he had earlier had already been drained from his system.

Tom walked out of the club with you wrapped in his jacket since he knew it was going to be a chilly walk back to his car. Tom had completely forgotten about the paparazzi, only to be reminded when blinding flashes went off once the paparazzi noticed him and you together and no Harrison in sight.

Tom could only imagine what the papers were going to say tomorrow.

Part 3 

@theamazingspidermann @reanethefirst @bishopl @fijiangecko @greenarrowhead @cafe-sabor-a-chocolate @sincerelymlg @maddieisaacs @i-aint-nobodys--bitch @embrace-themagic @dashofholland @ashleyhearto @dogsandrocketsocks @ilivelifecaerazy @strang-ersclub @alltoowhalee13 @catnolannn @whymak @thingsienjoylookingat @armygirl157 @loricwizardbluetoastedcake @aelin-firehearts-court @world-moon @scarlett-is-in-deep-shit @castawayparker @125bluemachine125 @flowerchild8341 @prada-cat @misunderstoodasfeelings @queen-tay-tay-love @uh-how-dare-you @bubbles8898 @seargantbcky @that-random-ass-blog @dream-catcheer @avahodge @kjminch @ruefulposts @ladypuddle @I-luv-doggos @shutuppeter @embracingtom @racewife2004 @skelkitt