#whoever got to fo the fitting with him for these pants…

[codychristiantreasures]

Goddamn this man bulges everywhere

Isn’t it fantastic 😍

[harrysgloves]

Let Your Hair Down (chapter xx)

Get caught up with the Let Your Hair Down Masterlist!

word count: 1,800

story summary: Harry gets more than he bargains for when he falls not only for you but your little girl as well.

chapter summary: You meet Harry’s friends

warnings: Language

a/n: I really debated getting rid of this chapter for like 3 days... Still not 100% sure I like it but decided to keep it in the end anyways. xx

>>><<<

It was your last full night in California and you weren't sure how Harry managed to sweet talk you into going to some party with him but as you stood smoothing out your skin tight black dress you wondered if it was too late to bail on him. Unfortunately, you were staying in the same room together so you couldn't play sick and you couldn't use the fact Thea was sick or didn't want you to go because she was already with Mitch and Sarah.

You sighed running your hands through your hair. Fiddling with your outfit again. Debating if you looked too dressed up or too dressed down. He didn't really tell you what this party thing was for and didn't tell you how to dress besides nice which you could have slapped him for. Nice could literally mean anything from dress pants to a pair of denim jeans depending on the situation.

"Y'look great." He said from behind you. You didn't even notice him walking into the room you were so lost in your own thoughts.

"I don't know. I think I'm going to change." You sighed, heading back towards the closet. His arms wrapping around you, head resting on your shoulder.

"Don't, y'look beautiful." He said, turning his head slightly, placing a kiss on your neck.

"Mhm." You hummed out not believing him but settling on not changing since it would make you more late than you already were.

"Ya do! I'd fuck ya." That irritatingly cheeky smile on his when you turned around to glare at him. His arms still wrapped around you, smiling brightly down to you, making you roll your eyes and trying to walk away from him.

His hand in yours as you walked out the hotel building. Your nerves were already frazzled. Not knowing exactly what you were getting into. You stayed quiet beside him as you walked out, your mind running through all your anxieties.

"'S jus' a few people. Stop worryin' so much. I want everyone to meet ya." He opened the car door for you, letting you climb in first. You had to admit, him having a driver was actually kind of nice. You almost wished he had one in New York that you could use at home.

"Thea's birthday's in a few weeks. We're going to have a party at home for her friends then one at my parents house for family. Are you coming to them?" You asked, your mind trying to go to safe places like talking about Thea to try and stop all the anxiety currently coursing through it.

"Course I am." He took your hand in his. Holding it tightly in his lap. His thumb rubbing gently on the back of your hand making you smile slightly. You were still so nervous your leg starting to bounce uncontrollably the longer you spent in the car.

When you guys finally pulled up to the house you assumed everyone was at, you swear you couldn't breath. The house not only was the most gorgeous thing you'd ever seen in your whole life but it was huge. Not just normal mansion big, this thing looked like it cost more than you could even fathom. You definitely weren't in the same safe bubble that you were used to in New York.

The California Harry was just like New York Harry. Sweet, caring, loving. But it still had only been you two and Thea together all week long. You didn't know if his whole personality would change the second he got around other people. Or if you'd be good enough for him out here.

He basically had to pull you out of the car. You really just wanted to go home. This seemed like such a bad idea. Every doubt you'd ever had about yourself coming to the surface. Your self-esteem tanking by the second.

You didn't fit in here and you weren't even in the door yet.

"Come on, if y'still don't want to be 'ere in 10 minutes we'll leave. I promise." That big pout on his lips as he held your hands. You sighed, knowing you couldn't say no to him especially when he looked at you like that.

You nodded your agreement. He instantly smiled, pulling you along into the house. You stayed so close to his side hugging onto his arm. Feeling like a damn fish out of water. So ungodly uncomfortable.

He laughed wrapping his arm around your shoulder, pulling you in close to him as he walked towards where everyone was. A smile on his face as you bit your lip nervously.

"They don't bite, love." He said down to you, you just hummed your understanding. Words not being able to be formed in your brain.

The second you two walked up to the group of people surrounding the drink area. They all stopped to look at you two. People you didn't even know saying hello to you like you were best friends. Making you feel terrible for not knowing half the people here and only knowing the other half because they were famous.

You had no idea how Mitch managed to do this the first time he came out to California and you hated the fact he and Sarah weren't here to save you from awkward conversations.

"Harry told us so much about you!"

"It's nice to see you're actually real. We thought he was making you up for a bit."

"Where's your daughter? We were hoping to meet her too."

All the welcomings shot at you at once making you turn wide eyed to Harry. He told people about you?

"Yeh, yeh, save yer shit. She's real. I told ya." He rolled his eyes pulling you into the crowd of people. You instantly reached for the glass of whatever the hell alcohol was sitting on the table. Starting to drink it down quickly as you could. Even though everyone was being nice to you, you still felt out of place.

"We really did think he was making you up for a bit." The person beside you said slowly to you, making you turn around to see who it was.

Your eyes widening as Niall Horan decided to talk to you like it was the most casual thing in the whole world. You cleared your throat desperately looking over at Harry to save you from your lack of social skills when it came to meeting people.

When it came to your job you could do it no problem. In your social life? Not so much.

"Uhm, well, yeah, I'm real." You smiled slightly, taking another long drink from your glass. Finishing off the bubbly liquid and holding your now empty glass tightly to you.

"Got any pictures of the little one?" He asked, grabbing you another drink from the table and handing it to you.

"What's her name again?" He asked, switching you cups as you pulled out your phone. Showing him your lock screen of her and Harry smiling.

"Thea. Right?" Someone else piped up from across you. How much did Harry talk about you guys for people to know your names?

"Yeh, it's Thea. She's cute ain't she?" Harry handed his phone around that had a picture of you and her posing in front of her school. You crouched down beside her as she hugged you tightly, smiling up to the camera.

"Man you're in for a lot of shit when she gets older. She's gonna have boys chasing her like crazy." James fucking Corden said as he handed back Harry's phone.

"She's already tryin' to date someone 'cause he shared her crayons with her." He rolled his eyes, locking his phone and putting it back in his pocket. You laughed beside him shaking your head. He really needed to get over that.

"They say you get it back twice as bad with kids. Better hope she doesn't meet someone like you were when you were 19." Niall laughed beside you, your lips rolling in. Did he even plan on staying long enough for that?

"Shut up. I don't wanna think 'bout it." He sighed, arm reaching back around your waist pulling you in and kissing the top of your head.

The conversation between everyone started to flow easier once you had a few drinks in you. Your anxiety easing up once you started to realize maybe you did fit into this part of his life too.

After two hours of sitting around trying to be social you more than ready to get the hell back to the hotel. The heels you decided to wear where about to murder your feet and the last glass of alcohol you had definitely was getting to you.

"Ready?" Harry asked, when he noticed you stopped talking to everyone as much as you were. You nodded, so ready to get him home and take him out of his clothes.

"Bye everyone." You said as politely as possible. Waving to everyone as they all said goodbye to you and telling you to come back the next time you guys came in.

You two made your way toward the door, your arm around his waist, hugging onto him. You were glad he made you come to this, showing you he was just as serious about you in California as he was in New York.

You two were about to walk out the door when it opened in front of you. You stopped in your place, stumbling a bit because of your damn shoes.

Harry smiling at the couple walking in, his arm resting around your shoulder as you fixed your dress from your unfortunate stumbling.

"Hey Luke." Harry said to the guy walking in. Your head snapping up so fast it made Harry bite his lip to contain his laughter. "This my girlfriend, Y/N."

"Oh, hi." Luke Hemmings said to you and you had to try your best to not start fangirling. Your eyes so wide Harry started to laugh but quickly stopped once your elbow hit him in the ribs.

"Ow. Alright. We're leaving." He started walking you out of the house, walking around Luke and whoever was with him. Once the door shut behind you two you turned around and slapped the laughing Harry on his shoulder.

"Wat was that fo'? I did ya a favor introducing y'to one of your top 5!" His deep laugh coming from him as you booked it to the car. Cursing yourself for your choice in shoes.

"Glad I wasn't in yer 5 top that was tragic." He tried his best to contain his laughter, lips rolling into his mouth when you shot him a look.

"Fine. I'll stop teasin'" He smiled, leaning down to kiss your forehead.

Sometimes you really hated that you loved him.

[ddixons-angel]

Fated: Season 5

Summary: Gloria Rhee narrowly escapes Atlanta with her brother as the outbreak reaches the city. Luckily, they find a camp outside the city and together, they fend through encounters with the living and undead.

Starts a little before Season 1 and then follows the main storyline of the show.

Pairing: Daryl Dixon x Glenn Sister!OC

Warnings: major TWD spoilers, language, violence (the typical TWD stuff)

A/N: We’re actually getting pretty close to the end of Season 5, only 5 more chapters after this one, hope you guys are liking how it is so far~!

Chapter 11

The next morning, Glenn and Gloria were standing in Gena’s living room, waiting for her to come back out of her room. When Gloria was about to leave her own house to go to the infirmary, Gena had come by and pulled both of them to her house, saying she had something very important to give them. As the minutes went by, Gloria got more anxious. She's learned that Jacob and his sister also lived with Gena, and there was always the chance that they would come back to their house. 

“I’m gonna be late... so do you wanna-” Gloria is cut off by Glenn.

“No, I do not want to tell her you left because you had to go,” Glenn says, reading her mind. 

She sighs softly and looks down, fidgeting with her fingers, “what do you think she wants?”

“Well, she said it was important,” Glenn says. 

Gena’s footsteps interrupt their conversation as they watch her walk out to the living room holding a bunch of clothes. She places the clothes on the couch before she turns to her younger siblings. 

“Have you two thought about what you’re wearing tonight?” Gena asks.

“Tonight?” Gloria furrows her brow.

“What’s happening tonight?” Glenn asks, mirroring Gloria’s expression.

“Oh... so no one told you yet...” Gena ponders before speaking again, “Deanna decided to hold a welcome party for you and your group, so do you have anything you can wear to look presentable?”

Glenn and Gloria glance at each other before sighing and shaking their heads. Knowing Gena, presentable didn’t only mean clean, barely wrinkled shirts. It meant formal, or at least semi-formal attire so that she wouldn’t be embarrassed being associated with them. Gena had always been a very cautious person and cared a lot about her image in the public eye, even after the end of the modern world it seemed. 

“You two are so lucky you have me,” Gena says, turning back around and going through the pile of clothes. 

“Sorry, if we knew that there would be a party after the outbreak happened I would have packed a dress or two...” Gloria mutters, earning a nudge from Glenn. 

“You and your talking back...” Gena sighs, then she turns around, holding two outfits in each hand. 

In Gena’s left hand was a checkered dress shirt and black dress pants with a bowtie draped over her arm. In her right was a sleeveless black dress and black heels to match. 

“Do I have to wear the tie?” Glenn asks with a grimace.

“It would complete the outfit and make it adorable, but if you don’t want to, then no, you don’t have to wear the tie,” Gena smiles at him.

“Do you have anything that’s not sleeveless?” Gloria says, looking down as if afraid to ask. 

“Nothing that would fit your body type, I’m not letting you go to that party looking like a fashion trainwreck.” Gena says.

“Can you at least give me a cardigan to throw over top?” Gloria tries to negotiate.

Gena groans, “why do you have to be so difficult?” 

“She’s not being difficult, Gena. She’s just asking you a question,” Glenn says in Gloria’s defence. 

“It’s fine...” Gloria says, still not looking up, “I’ll just ask Carol for a cardigan or something... I gotta go, I’m late for my shift.” 

Before Gena could say anything else, Gloria exits the house and makes her way towards the infirmary. Glenn offers to take the clothes back to his house. 

“You know, you spoil that girl.” Gena says, crossing her arms. 

“I don’t,” Glenn says, “you’re just too hard on her.”

“You don’t actually think that, do you?” Gena frowns at her brother’s words, “figures... she’s always trying to make me look bad...”

Glenn scoffs, “do you seriously not know how your words affect her?”

“They don’t affect her at all if you’re always spoiling her the way you do!” Gena argues. 

“I’m not spoiling her! I just treat her how she’s supposed to be treated!” Glenn says, raising his voice. 

“I’m your older sister but you don’t treat me like it! All you do now is think of how she feels when I’m just trying to care about you!” Gena says, getting visibly upset as tears well up in her eyes,

“Then show that you care about her too! Not just about me,” Glenn says, “your Gloria’s older sister too, don’t forget that.” 

Without another word, Glenn takes the clothes in his arms and leaves the house, letting Gena consider his words. 

---

Gloria had gone out the walls to collect medicinal herbs for the infirmary. She’d taken the book on herbs with her as well as an empty tupperware container to store the herbs. From her less than pleasant conversation with Gena that morning, Gloria didn’t want to be stuck inside the walls, so collecting herbs was her best excuse to leave and not deal with anyone. 

“There we go,” Gloria says to herself as she crouches down.

She closes the book and places it to her side as she grabs a dagger from her belt and cuts one of the herbs. Carefully, Gloria places the piece into the container and seals it before getting up with both the container and book in her hands. As she gets up from crouching, she hears footsteps from behind her. Gloria quickly turns around, holding her dagger defensively to face whoever or whatever was approaching her. 

“What are you doing out here?” Gloria says with a frown as she sees Jacob walking towards her.

“I saw you coming out here alone, wanted to make sure you were okay,” he tells her.

“I’m okay, you can leave me alone now.” Gloria says just before turning around to walk away from him but as she walks, she can hear him following her so she turns back to face him, glaring, “stop following me, I can handle my own.”

“I’m sure you can, but I want to be out here with you so you don’t have to worry about keeping yourself safe,” Jacob says, “I can keep you safe while you’re out here.”

Gloria scoffs at this, “please, I’m safer away from you.” 

“Gloria... it’s safer in numbers, you know that.” Jacob tries to convince her.

“Not with you people it’s not...” Gloria mutters, “what are you gonna do when you see a walker come at me? String it up and use it as target practice like you did with the one that almost killed Tara?”

“That.. that’s not what happened,” he stutters.

“Glenn told me exactly what happened and how stupid you and your friends are.” Gloria spits out.

“That walker killed our friend!” he argues.

“Then you kill it when you see it! What did you think was going to happen when you chained it up and shot at it, that it was going to apologize for eating your friend? Walkers don’t have remorse, they don’t care about what they do, they don’t even feel pain!” Gloria heaves angrily as she rants.

“I know that!” Jacob exclaims, “we know that, we’re not stupid.” 

“Then stop acting like you are.” Gloria throws back, “you see a walker, you kill it before it can hurt you or anyone else you care for. That’s how it should be.”

“I’m sorry,” Jacob says, completely surprising Gloria as she never thought she’d hear those words come out of his mouth, “we lost someone and let our emotions get to our heads, thought that was the best way to deal with it but it wasn’t. We shouldn’t have done that with the roamer.”

Gloria shifts awkwardly on her feet, “glad you realize that...”

“Can I stay with you out here?” he asks, hope in his voice.

“No.” she tells him flatly.

“Why not?!” Jacob frowns, frustrated.

“Because you can’t protect me!” she raises her voice.

“Yes, I can!” he takes a step towards her, “I’ll have you know I used to be a cop-”

“That doesn’t matter, Jacob.” Gloria eyes him, not backing down when he steps towards her again, enraged by her words, “it didn’t matter to Deanna otherwise she would have made you the constable and not Rick.”

“She made a mistake with that,” he seethes.

“No, she didn’t. Deanna made Rick and Michonne the constables to take care of the place because she sees us as who we are. Survivors. People who know the dangers out here, and she knows that Rick knows what he’s doing and will keep the place safe,” Gloria tells him.

“My people can keep the place safe from walkers, too. Without your group helping us,” Jacob says.

“I’m not just talking about walkers. There are all sorts of people out there who will do unspeakable things to get what they want. Dangerous people who were only born after the world went to shit, some you probably never even heard of as a cop.” Gloria says, disdain in her voice.

“Dangerous people...?” Jacob says, eyeing Gloria, “like that dirty redneck of yours? He seems pretty dangerous to me.”

Gloria narrows her eyes at him in anger, she clenches the dagger in her hand tightly in a fist. Her grip on the weapon was so tight that her knuckles turned white. She had to take deep breaths to control her anger so as to not kill him or at least hurt him rather badly right then and there. 

“How about rapists... and murderers?” Gloria seethes, glaring at him, “Or cannibals that lure you into a trap just so they can butcher you alive and eat you?”

Jacob’s eyes go wide at the mention of the word, “what?”

“You heard me. There’s also corrupted cops that manipulate people to work for them and take whatever the fuck they want just because they think they have power,” Gloria sighs heavily at the memories as they flash in her mind, “my people... we’ve been through all that shit, we lost family because of people you aren’t even able to wrap your mind around, so don’t tell me you can protect me. Against walkers? Yeah maybe, but not people. So, just leave me the hell alone.” 

With that, Gloria turns on her heels and walks away from Jacob, heading further into the woods. She knew that just because she said all that doesn’t mean that Jacob wouldn’t be following her. He was a persistent person when it came to her; after all the times she’d told him to screw off, Jacob never listened. This time was no different as Gloria had walked much deeper into the woods and continued to hear his footsteps trailing behind her. She decided to ignore him as she always did, it was either ignore him or knock him out, but then she’d have to drag him back to Alexandria so he didn’t get eaten. However, when she heard the loud bang of a handgun roar through the forest, Gloria turned around to face him immediately. 

“Told you I’d protect you,” Jacob says, holding the handgun proudly with a smile, he nods pointedly over in the direction he had shot, assuming to point out a walker he’d just killed but Gloria didn’t look in that direction.

“Are you kidding me?!” Gloria shouts angrily, taking the smug smile off Jacob’s face, “you came out here with a handgun without a silencer?!”

“Hey, relax! If more come, I’ll get them,” Jacob tries to reassure her only to earn a groan from Gloria.

“We have to go back, now!” Gloria says as she fixes the strap of her bag on her shoulder, not finding time to put the tupperware and book in to her bag, she has them tucked in her left arm and starts to head back to Alexandria.

“No, we don’t. I told you, I’ll protect you. If more come, I will get them, I’m a great shot!” Jacob says, his ego blinding him from everything as he follows her.

Gloria stops in her tracks and turns to face him, “how many bullets do you have?”

“Enough,” he tells her, proudly.

“Enough for a large herd?” she asks, rhetorically, “because you just called every walker within a mile radius straight to us and every walker you shoot without a damn silencer is only going to bring more. Do you people seriously not think?!” 

Gloria seethes in anger and annoyance as she turns around to walk back, missing the look of humiliation on Jacobs back as she mutters curses under her breath. He follows her silently until she stops in her tracks but he doesn’t need to ask her why she stopped as they both hear snarls from in front of them. 

“Do you have a knife?” Gloria says lowly as she watches a few walkers stumble out from behind the trees.

“I do.” Jacob tells her.

“You better use that and not your gun,” Gloria tells him before going towards one of the walkers. 

She takes out a dagger from her belt with her right hand. Gloria swiftly jabs at one of the walkers in the head. As it falls, another lunges towards her and she quickly grabs hold of its neck with her right hand. The blade of her dagger was cutting through the walker’s neck but nowhere near the brain. Dark rotten blood spews out from the cuts, making her grip on the walker more difficult. Gloria backs away with the walker still trying to snap its jaws at her. She gets backed up into a tree while she struggles with the walker. 

“Gloria!” Jacob calls from somewhere in the woods.

Gloria ignores him as she’s fighting the walker. Seeing no choice, she drops the book and container onto the ground and grabs her other dagger from its sheath but before she can kill the one in front of her, another walker comes from behind the tree and grabs her forearm. Gloria cries out in pain as the walker holds on tightly, squeezing her injury that had not yet fully healed. She tries to yank her arm away as the walker tries to bite her, the movement only caused more pain from her wound. Soon though, the walker’s grip falls limp, freeing Gloria’s arm and she grunts as she roughly stabs the walker pinning her to the tree. 

“Ah...” she whimpers as she leans on the tree, cradling her left forearm as it pulsated with a dull soreness. 

Gloria looks down at the walker she had just killed then turns to find the walker that had grabbed her arm. She hadn’t killed it so it must be around, she also wondered why it just let go of her. She didn’t need to look far at all as the walker laid dead on the ground right by the tree with an all too familiar bolt sticking out of its head. Not a second later, Daryl steps out of the bushes and hurries towards her.

“Ya a’right?” he says, a worried expression on his face.

Gloria smiles softly at him and nods, “yeah, thanks to you.”

Daryl tries to hide the smile that tugged on his lips at her words as he turns serious, “what’re ya doin’ out here?” 

“I was collecting herbs for the infirmary, we want to start the herb garden so we don’t have to be out here as often,” Gloria explains as she goes to pick up the book and container she’d dropped, then she looks back up at Daryl, “you hunting?”

“Was, then ran into Aaron,” he tells her, nodding pointedly making Gloria look in that direction and she sees Aaron helping up Jacob, “we heard a shot an’ decided to help... didn’ think it’d be ya an’ that prick...”

“He followed me out here,” Gloria says quickly before Daryl could ask what they were doing together, “wouldn’t take no for an answer.”

“I’ll make him take no for an answer...” Daryl mutters under his breath making Gloria chuckle. 

“Gloria...” Jacob says as he and Aaron approach the two, “I’m so sorry... I couldn’t help you.”

“Are you okay?” Aaron asks her, a worried look on his face.

Gloria nods, “yeah, I’m fine.”

“Ya the one tha’ fired a shot?” Daryl glares at Jacob.

“Yeah, that was me.” Jacob glares back, not faltering.

“The hell were ya thinkin’, huh?! Damn near got her killed!” Daryl yells, stepping towards him only to be held back by Gloria.

“Daryl, don’t. I already gave him shit for it,” Gloria says, trying to calm him down.

“I was trying to protect her,” Jacob says in his defense, making Gloria eye him for even deciding to say anything, “I came out here to protect her.”

“Protect her?” Daryl hisses as he steps towards Jacob but not out of Gloria’s grasp, “well ya sure as fuck did a bang up job callin’ all ‘em walkers right to her. Ya could barely save yer own ass, how the fuck can ya protect her?!”

Gloria tugs at his arm as she knew that if she didn’t try to stop it now, there would be a fist fight between the two, “we should head back.”

“Gloria’s right,” Aaron chimes in as he also senses the building tension, “Deanna’s party is starting soon, Gena and Mindy are going to want you both there.”

“Right, the party...” Gloria tenses up at the mention of her sister’s name and it doesn’t go unnoticed by Daryl, then she tugs at Daryl’s arm again, “come on.”

Daryl glances at Gloria but doesn’t question her on her sudden change of expression, he gives Jacob one last glare before he turns to walk with Gloria, not forgetting to wrap his arm protectively around her shoulders. Aaron ushers Jacob to walk with him and the four of them make their way back to the main gates of Alexandria. 

“Yer arm okay?” Daryl asks her as they head towards their assigned houses. 

Gloria nods, “it’s a little sore, but it’s not bleeding, so I should be okay.” 

“Tha’s good,” Daryl smiles softly at her as they walk up the steps to the porch. 

Some of their people had already headed out for the party but it seemed that Glenn and Maggie were waiting for Gloria to come back. 

“I was really hoping you would stay out there all day,” Glenn teases, making Gloria roll her eyes while she places the book and container on the island counter, he then points towards her and Daryl’s shared bedroom, “I put the dress in your room.”

Gloria sighs then looks at Maggie, “do you have a cardigan I can borrow?”

“I already put one in your room,” Maggie says with a smile. 

“You’re the best, thanks.” Gloria says with a grateful smile before heading into the room to get changed. 

Daryl stays out near the kitchen as he leans on the island counter, a sly smile on his face when he looks at Glenn’s outfit, “ya look like a school boy.” 

“Thanks,” Glenn rolls his eyes playfully, making him and Maggie chuckle.

“I think it looks cute, a bit old-schooled, but better than any of our tattered clothes,” Maggie says.

“Yeah, Gena wouldn’t let us get away with wearing anything else,” Glenn sighs.

Maggie looks over at Daryl with a soft smile, “I take it you’re not going?”

“Nah... ain’ my thing.” he mutters.

“I don’t think it’s any of our thing at this point,” Glenn chuckles, earning a playful glare from Daryl.

“Wasn’ my kind o’ thing even before this.” Daryl shrugs. 

“Glenn, catch!” Gloria calls out as she walks down the hallway from her room, she tosses him the red bowtie, “you put that in my room.”

Maggie’s face lights up when she sees it and Glenn groans as he tries to convince her not to make him wear it. As the two negotiate, Daryl’s eyes fall on Gloria and he feels his heart skip a beat. She was in a tight black dress that outlined her curves perfectly, the neckline dipping to show just enough cleavage. Over top, she had Maggie’s long sleeved white cardigan that was buttoned at the top so it blocked anyone’s view of her chest. Her long black hair was let free from her usual half ponytail, falling and curling naturally at the ends. It was such a simple look but it completely took Daryl’s breath away, he’d never seen her like this before. 

“Ready to go?” Maggie asks with a smile after she’s done teasing Glenn. 

“Yeah,” Gloria says as she drops the black heels to the ground, “you guys head out first, I’ll catch up.”

Glenn smiles and nods then proceeds to leave the house with Maggie. Gloria steps into the heels and takes a few steps as she adjusts to her new temporary height. Daryl smiles lovingly at her, adoring how she looks all the while trying to ignore how the heels accentuated her legs. 

“Ya really gotta go lookin’ like that?” Daryl finally says, making her look up at him. 

Gloria sighs and walks up to him, “Gena’s orders...” 

“Ya don’ gotta listen...” he mutters.

“I do otherwise I’ll never hear the end of it,” Gloria shrugs, “you sure you don’t wanna come?”

“Nah...” Daryl shakes his head.

“Okay,” Gloria says, caressing his face with her thumb, a thoughtful look on her face before she speaks again, “your smokes are in the front pocket of my bag, I don’t want you too stressed out tonight because of this party.”

“Thanks,” he says, not knowing what else to say to her thoughtfulness. 

She smiles at him then grabs both his hands and guides them to her lips as she kisses the back of them. Daryl smiles softly at her gesture, knowing that she was telling him to not hurt himself like that again. 

“I love ya,” Daryl says then he pulls her in to kiss her lips gently, he then pulls back, “listen, if anyone touches ya-”

“I’ll punch them in the face.” Gloria interrupts him, making him chuckle and nod, “I’ll be okay, I’ll just miss you.”

A light blush glows on Daryl’s cheeks at her words, he nods pointedly to the door and gestures towards it, “ya should go, Glenn ‘n’ Maggie ‘re waitin’ on ya.”

“I know, just... wanted to ask you if you can help me with something?” Gloria asks sheepishly.

“Hm?” Daryl smiles softly at her, “what is it, sunshine?”

“Can you bring these to the infirmary? Denise should still be there, she hates social gatherings,” she asks, gesturing to the book and container, “only if you want to.”

Daryl glances to the items then nods, “a’right.”

“Thanks, Daryl. You’re the best.” Gloria grins and presses a deep kiss to his lips, making him caress her face with his hand. 

“Ya should go’fore I decide to keep you here,” Daryl rasps onto her lips.

“Okay, I’ll try not to miss you too much,” Gloria giggles then quickly she leans in to kiss his cheek then heads out to meet with her brother and sister-in-law.

Daryl wasn’t sure what he found more unbelievable, the fact that someone like her loved him, or that they were together for so long and Gloria was still able to make Daryl feel butterflies and blush the way he did. Daryl always tried to show that it annoyed him when she teased him, but Gloria was able to see right through his act. Although he would never admit it, deep down he loved every bit of it. 

---

Next Chapter

Woo long chapters! Haha So first we have Gena being... not so nice, then there’s Jacob being an annoying little shit but then there’s Daryl being protective and sweet~ I really love myself a starstruck Daryl haha can you just imagine the hearteyes on him hahaha~ please let me know what you thought of this chapter! 

And as always, I would really appreciate any comments left for me! I’ll be replying to all comments through my main blog~!

Taglist (please let me know if you’d like to be added/removed!):

@twdeadfanfic​ | @fandomfanatic97​ | @crossbowking​ | @watchmeaspire​ | @spidergirla5​ | @kamieshep​ | @letsstarsfalling​ | @molethemollie​ | @alicewinchester99​ | @neilox​ | @womanup22​ | @jodiereedus22​ | @theonlyone-meeeee​ | @theunofficialduke​ | @inlovewdxx​ | @delightfullykrispypeach​ | @mrsfortune1306​ | @wolfkg​ | @funeral-7 | @wnygirl2012​ | @alispaceme​ | @themihala​ | @aavocadocloud​ |  @polkadottedpillowcase​ | @felicisimor​ | @depressedfrog2​ | @spacexkiddo0 | @rachelxwayne​ | @liadamerondjarin​  

[alkhale]

Lost and Found (Jason Todd x Reader) Ko-fi Request

JASON TODD x new fledging superhero female OC plssssss

I wanted to try to make this one as open as possible because I wanted to give more free reign over the imagination of the hero’s occupation as a hero, but hopefully these work for you! Always love writing for this beautiful, beautiful boy :’)

THE BACKGROUND:

- You have a very interesting choice for occupation as a so-called “hero”

- Within the scope of that title, many brave men and women under that profession might not exactly consider you to be on their… level, per say. Several very, very big names have become only a bit or vaguely aware of your new, bustling presence in Bludhaven, apparently making quick time and moving all the way to Star City or popping up in Metropolis in a single night.

- Villains don’t really know what to do with you. They most leave you alone, to be honest, because they have a feeling dealing with you is just a headache. The only villains that really have any beef with you are big time thieves, and Cat Woman is not happy about your new rising popularity but she’s still staying off your radars for now. (You’re working on her)

- Most heroes advise you to stay home, they’re the ones giving you the most trouble. Small run-ins have them instructing you to go ahead and give up this line of work and perhaps join a local law enforcement or help-group, they think it’s much better for you.

- You, however, are determined, and you’re rather set on doing what you feel is truly your happiest calling.

Jason Todd, currently donning the sleek, reinforced metal of Red Hood’s mask, gave the drug dealer one last good kick to the ribs, listening for the satisfying crack of a few that promised he wasn’t getting up or going anywhere anytime soon.

Goons littered the hallways, their blood spilling over across the walls. The acrid smell of cigars snubbed out by their own fluids flooded the deserted motel hallways. Car lights were punched out in the front of the parking lot of the cheap, off-the-highway motel they’d been hiding out at like a pack of rats. It hadn’t been hard for him to find them, to be honest, a much easier job tonight more than anything. Jason was just a bit pissed off so he let off more steam than usual.

Jason tapped one gun against the side of his mask, a light little thump thump as he set his hand on his hip, surveying his work. He’d dump the cash in a fucking river. It was blood money and he had better things to do then get his hands on it. He’d rather just break another ATM. Fuck, I’m still pissed off. I should get Thai tonight.

Normally, Jason had a very nice, selective choice of arsenal on his person. Guns he’d tuned up and had tricked out. Nice, pretty things that never failed him. Classic knives, the works, he liked having options. 

Jason let out an aggravated sigh, muffled through his mask. He scowled, kicking another limp body for emphasis and turning, wiping some blood off the corner of his jacket. 

His fucking problem was that one of his pretty, nice little guns was missing. Gone. Lost. He was one hundred-fucking-percent sure it was his last job in Bludhaven after tangling up with Dickie Bird and having to scram before he received any kind of dark tongue lashing from Bats or the Demon Spawn pulled some sick shit like pulling Alfred up on speaker again to discuss his misdemeanors. Like the little shit can talk. Jason had come scrounging back, searching through the dockyard left and right for his gun and found nothing. Nada. 

He really liked that gun too.

Have to put in an order for a new one. Jason rubbed the top of his mask, hooking his fingers to prepare taking it off. What a pain. Thai it is. I’m starving—

“Hi! Excuse me, but is this your gun?”

Jason stopped.

It took him a second to process what he was seeing. Only a second, because he sensed no blood thirst or killing intent—he still cocked his gun and pointed it at the newcomer without a single hesitation though because what the hell, right?—and he needed that good second because even quick footed, always adaptable, always moving Jason needed that fat second to understand what the fuck was in front of him.

Halfway through what appeared to be some kind of… portal? It was the weirdest fucking portal he’d ever seen and he’d seen some weird fucking portals. A bright yellow, piss yellow, stretching in a warped, warbling kind of flame in the middle of the air, as though cutting straight through dimensions. Jason could get a peek of something behind. A city? He sniffed the air. A dock?

In the middle of the portal, with one, combat booted foot out, was a slender leg covered in black tights. Black tights led to a black fitted top that was clad by a… a construction vest? A neon green construction vest. Over her face—he assumed her because of the body and hair, but who the hell was he to know, right?—was a weird mask of a man, like some kind of religious figure, covering her entire face. Her hair was pulled back into two buns on either side of her head.

In one bare hand, held out to him by this new person in the middle of a piss yellow portal, was his gun.

Jason stared.

“Sorry, I know, this must look strange, right?” you quickly apologized, stepping fully out of the portal. It disappeared and you now stood before him, mask and stupid construction vest and his gun. “Here! This should be yours unless…”

You trailed off, mask looking pointedly at the bodies scattered around them. “Oh, unless it’s one of these guys’s. Sorry about that.”

“What the fuck?” Jason said, rough through his mask. He still had the gun pointed at you.

You beamed behind your own. “I come in peace! Just trying to return this. Found it in the dock by… Fifth? It was glowing, so that meant someone was looking for it—”

“Hold on,” Jason waved his gun at you for emphasis. You nodded at it, waving his gun back. Jason almost laughed. Who the fuck is this clown? “I’ll ask you two questions. Just two. Depending how you answer, I’m going to shoot you, got it?”

“Oh,” you said, sounding a bit sullen. You glanced at your watch. “Will this take long? I have two more deliveries.”

“No,” Jason said. “Depending on how you answer.”

“...okay, shoot,” you said. You paused, quickly holding a hand when Jason raised his gun. “Sorry, I meant figuratively, please. Ask the questions.”

Jason cocked his masked head to the side. “Who the fuck are you. Why the fuck do you have my gun.”

“I feel like those weren’t phrased as questions—”

Jason shot at your feet. You yelped, jumping up. “Jeez! Is this what I get for doing a good deed? Saint Anthony! I’m Saint Anthony!”

“Yeah,” Jason said. “And I’m Jesus fucking Christ.”

Jason prepared to shoot your kneecap out and you squawked, tossing the gun his way. Jason quickly caught it, inspecting it for any damage before narrowing his eyes at you behind his mask. You wiped your hands off your pants like brushing off germs. 

“That’s my alias,” you said, tapping your mask, a pious man’s face printed over it. “Saint Anthony! You know, the patron saint of lost things? The guy you pray to when you lose shit?”

“Do I look like I pray?” Jason said, pointing his gun to the drug dealer whose brains he’d blasted out. You made a small noise, as though just noticing.

“Well, you never know. Met some strange folks who pray and still do some very questionable things—let’s not get hasty!” Jason put his gun down. “That’s my codename! Have to be careful with this hero business, you know. I felt like it fits because of my power.”

You pointed to his gun and it began to glow a soft piss yellow. Jason dropped it in disgust, pulling his other gun back up and getting ready to shoot you. “I can see what items are lost! If an item belongs to someone and they’re looking for it, it’ll glow and I can see it like that. Then I pick it up and it teleports me to whoever it belongs to.”

“What the fuck are you saying?” Jason said. “You’re a human lost and found?”

“Yes! But much more effective,” you reached into a sack you had strapped to your back, opening it up for him to see where several more objects were glowing a piss yellow. “I decided I should put my talents to use, so I go around returning lost objects. Everybody loses something once in a while, you know? The other day I found this strange looking little USB and it turned out it belonged to Lex Luthor’s secretary and oh, boy, that was a sticky situation when Mr. Superman came and—”

Jason shot at your feet again. You jumped, clutching the sack protectively to your chest. “What the hell was that for?”

“I just felt like it,” Jason said. He tucked his gun back into his strap and picked up his now found weapon, inspecting it curiously. “Weird fucking power, sweetheart.”

You shrugged in a what-can-you-do manner.

“You said you were a hero?”

“Oh, more of a good samaritan,” you said, waving a hand. “I’ve just been working with the police lately on stolen goods. Sometimes burglars are real clumsy and drop items, you know? Apparently night vision goggles are very expensive so they’re always looking for those.”

You sighed, rubbing the back of your neck. Jason watched you in idle interest, having a bit of fun with this interaction. Been a while since he met anyone so fucking weird. He kind of liked it.

“Anthony, huh?”

“Yes!” you slung your sack back over your shoulder, sticking out a hand to him. “It’s very nice to meet you…?”

Jason tapped his gun against your palm in greeting. He tucked it back into its holster, giving you a long look behind his mask. You stopped, cocking your head at him. “What?”

“No, it’s just…” you rubbed the back of your neck. “Ah, nothing really. If we’re all squared away here, you mind if I take off? I’ve still got this pair of chain cutters and this funny looking stone to deliver.”

“You ever worry you’re delivering it to some weird place?” Jason said. “Or to someone who, I dunno, might kill you?”

“Oh, all the time,” you said cheerfully. “But usually I can take care of myself.” Jason quirked a brow behind his mask. “But thank you for your concern! I’ll be off then, Mr. Red. Thanks for your cooperation!”

You grabbed the funny shaped rock from the bag, a piss yellow portal appearing in front of you. Jason watched wordlessly as you stepped halfway through before turning back to him, raising a small hand in a little wave.

“Live a good life, Mr. Red!” you waved harder. “If you ever lose anything again, I’ll be sure to look out for it!”

Jason offered a lazy wave back, kicking a goon in the head who’d started to rouse.

You curled your fingers into your palm. The portal began to swallow you whole and you watched behind your mask as Jason turned, stuffing his hands into his pockets.

You figured for this particular customer, perhaps it was better not to say he was glowing a very beautiful, very somber shade of yellow.

Looks like whoever lost you is looking very hard for you, Mr. Red.

[deathlyharlows]

delphinium + lizzie

delphinium: school rivals au + @geminislegacynote: you get a hogwarts au too because apparently, i don’t know how normal school rivalry works. ( also, i’m twitching the ages– students get their letter at 13-14 yolo )warnings: death, war, same ol’. 

                                  “scared, saltzman?”                                                                                                             “you wish.”

albus dumbledore was a wise and benevolent man. always finding value even in the most wretched of people. it was this what sometimes blinded him. it was this, what made him commit not one, or two, but three mistakes. 

he’d gotten a lead to a dingy muggle foster home, ever since three kids arrived there. weird things had been happening. none of the caretakers knew what to make out of them, they had tried anything– as much as calling a priest to try and expel the DEVIL out of the two girls and the boy. it wasn’t every day that three magical children found their destiny to be abandoned or sent away for whatever reasons.  dumbledore decided to ‘adopt’ them. signed the papers and the muggles never knew anything about any of them again. they were more than relieved to get rid of them.

 “elsey, ever.”                       “SLYTHERIN!”“mara, scarlett.”                          “SLYTHERIN!”“valentine, harlow.”                         “SLYTHERIN!”

“fear not, minerva. i have great faith in their talent.” mcgonagall trusted the headmaster, that’s why he was the one in charge, but when the three new students get sorted in the same house not even had the hat touched a single hair on their head. it left a bitter taste on her tongue. ( she feared a repeat of a prior slytherin student. )

dumbledore wasn’t wrong, the three slytherins caught up at an alarming speed to the rest of the students that had been raised surrounded by magic. the slytherin house had never been stronger, but it was one thing what professors saw, and another what students lived. while they were talented, they also quickly made a name for themselves even among upper students– one warning: BE CAREFUL.  

–

it was lizzie saltzman’s first year at hogwarts. something she’d be looking forward to since the moment she could grab her mother’s wand and turn a whistle into a clock that could sing you the time. the blonde twin already had her life planned, she’d go to hogwarts become a ravenclaw like her father, join the quidditch team on her second year to become the captain and seeker like her mother, meet a cute boy, win the house cup all of her years and… okay, maybe not all of her life but at least the next seven years.     

this new year would be the first chapter of a great story in lizzie’s book. ( or so she thought. )

–

“FOUND THEM.” harlow announced as she barged in the common room where v and scarlett played a game of wizard’s chess. ( a game that was spiced up by making bets ) the winner of that match wouldn't be known as harlow threw a small stack of papers on top of the board making some pieces fly, “the newbies.”

it was the second year they took advantage of the first graders, either intimidating, manipulating or striking deals so to have them wrapped around their fingers. if the students in question were smart, they accepted the olive branch extended in their direction. if not– their life became nightmares. to say the three were the definition of bullies was an understatement. 

“i call dibs on the saltzmans,” the blonde called to the other two that had already grabbed the list to look over the names. the family was basically royalty, both in money and blood. not to mention their family background was a bit of a SCANDAL ( for small minds ). their mother getting murdered by their uncle when she was pregnant with them, and magically transferred to a family friend. harlow would consider their family dinners to be quite a ride. because that wasn’t all… 

“isn’t it odd their sister doesn’t share a name with them?” 

the question earned her a blank stare. “you really ask that, harlow. when your girlfriend doesn’t share a name with her brother either?” fair point. not like she’d give in to that. “isn’t it time you go kiss your boyfriend goodnight?” 

“THE boyfriend.” 

“well, someone’s still clearly in denial.” 

“only you two troll heads take up a bet on charming your way into someone’s pants but end up falling in love before that even happens.”

it was during their second year that they challenged each other, whoever held the pretense the longest, was the winner. harlow was the first one to come clean during halloween. claudia didn’t talk to her the rest of the year. ( things were just now starting to pick up. ) scarlett got bored too quickly, smashed the gryffindors heart to pieces so badly the boy had to transfer to durmstrang. whereas v… he’d say he was the real winner, but both girls knew that for him, it wasn’t a game anymore. or else why would he continue to see the hufflepuff when no one was playing anymore? 

–

some people think the rivalry between harlow and lizzie started the very first-day lizzie stepped into hogwarts… 

it was easy to tell apart muggleborns and even some half-bloods from the rest. lizzie wasn’t one to look around with wides eyes at the magical candle or the talking giant toads. she felt at home as she was grouped with the others waiting for her name to be called. however, it wasn’t the voice of mcgonagall the one who did that first. 

“lizzie saltzman.” the girl in question turned to look at the source, a blonde girl with a confident smirk on her face. was she supposed to know who she was? “i’m harlow.” she introduced her name there. “harlow valentine.” nope, didn’t ring a single bell. “you’ve come to know some of us are better than others, saltzman. you don’t want to go making friends with the wrong sort.” she continued, almost looking over at the others with contempt before looking back at lizzie and widening her smirk. ( was that supposed to make her look friendly? ) “i can help you there.” harlow extended her hand in the first grader’s direction, expecting for her to shake it in acceptance. what harlow didn’t know however, was that lizzie wasn’t as superficial as she pegged her as. besides, she already had friends on her own. and this girl? lizzie scoffed, was she serious?  “i think i can tell the wrong sort for myself.”

harlow wasn’t expecting that, and what followed? the snickers of the others on the group didn’t help at all. ( she would not allow a bunch of first graders to laugh at her. ) she dropped her hand, and her face lost all fake politeness. her lips parted to say something else, but there was a firm tap on her shoulder. “to your seat, valentine.” harlow took one last look in lizzie’s direction before walking away. 

“can you believe her?” she scoffed looking back at josie who met her with a worried expression and hope who looked like she was ready for this school year to be over. the sorting ceremony started and names started to get called with each house eagerly cheering for their new students. the gryffindors almost roared when hope got sorted, and after a few more names were called– 

“saltzman, elizabeth.” lizzie sat on the chair, almost feeling giddy as the hat started talking out loud, as it listed her qualities she let her eyes wander from josie on the group of students in front of her to the ravenclaw table, expecting for it’s name to be called when– “SLYTHERIN!”

her head moved so fast to the slytherin table it almost gave her whiplash. no, no, no, no. there must be a mistake. slytherin? …at least it wasn’t hufflepuff. she sat on the table and a few minutes later, josie was sitting beside her. okay, it was just a tiny dent in her plan, she could make it work as a slytherin. 

a note reached her hands– SHOULD’VE TAKEN THE OFFER. looking up, and some seats away sat none other than the girl from earlier. 

…huffepuff didn’t sound so bad right now. 

–

it took the initial shock from fading away, that both twins were sorted into slytherin– but lizzie found to fit in just right. some of her classmates talked about and to her on how she had stood up to one of the three slytherin bullies. lizzie found harlow to be CHILDISH ( and creepy ) just throwing glares at her and smirking from the other side of the room. what the hell was she smirking for? 

she’d come to know that the three of them had been taken from the system and terrorized half of the student body just for fun while putting a nice face for the professors. ( all backstories provided by a nervous-looking curly-haired hufflepuff boy who had smitten none other than hope mikaelson. ) “what are you, their fan or something?” 

“lizzie.” 

“i’m just asking.” 

“no, i, uh… nearly avoided getting wedgies at foster care. i don’t think they even know who i am.” 

“what’s your name again, gizmo?”

–

…some others think it was the next year. 

so far, only slytherins knew of how little lizzie saltzman and harlow valentine could stand each other. it had almost cost them the house cup for the first time in three years after they continued to make their house lose points. it mostly consisted of bickering during class and stupid pranks harlow decided to play on lizzie. 

it wasn’t until the quidditch team was accepting new members that it happened. madam hooch had suggested lizzie to try out for seeker which couldn’t thrill her more, she had made a comment on how her house seeker was better suited for beater. she wasn’t wrong… because the slytherin seeker was no other than harlow. 

“what are you doing here?”  the older blonde practically sneered at seeing lizzie arrive at the pitch all geared up. “what does it look like i’m doing? i heard our team’s seeker needs to be replaced with a better one.” harlow wasn’t having it. 

the tryouts happened, both girls were really good, but not even harlow’s confundo spells or the ‘accidental’ bludger sent in lizzie’s direction after having snatched a bat from v’s hand could’ve stopped what made the hatred between girls more obvious– word got around quickly at school. lizzie saltzman was the new seeker. 

– 

“it smells like butterbeer in here,” scarlett wrinkled her nose as she walked into the slytherin common room. it was almost empty, most students left for the holidays but not them. the three teenagers had lived in the castle ( and it’s surroundings ) since they got there six years ago. “has any of you been fucking?” 

“don’t look at me. aster left for christmas, something about his father finally showing his face.” by his tone, v was less than amused by that. a bertie botts bean thrown at harlow to get her attention, making her fake innocent face break out into a smirk. “speaking of,” scarlett started her taunt, “how does it feel knowing you and lizzie are almost sisters now?” 

it seemed like a cherry on top when after all of that, lizzie started dating claudia’s brother. and the boy was eager enough to PROPOSE to her the next year. harlow scoffed and popped the bean into her mouth, the coppery flavor invading her tongue as she bit the candy. BLOOD. “there are bigger plans than lizzie saltzman, right now.” 

–

“i’m telling you, there’s something clearly off with those psychos.” lizzie commented from behind her hot chocolate. “more than usual.” since beginning the new school year, stranger things were starting to happen. students randomly getting injured or missing, only to appear after a couple of days with no recollection of what happened. dark magic invading the school, and maybe dumbledore wasn’t saying anything, but she knew hogwarts wasn’t safe anymore. 

“ i know what i saw, she had this tattoo on her arm and–” an interruption soon following, “maybe you’re in love with her, lizzie.” penelope park teased from her seat next to josie, the slytherin had aways found more interest in the brunette twin than whatever child’s play her housemates had going all these years. “shove it, satan.” 

“what do you mean?” landon finally asked in confusion looking between the girls. josie and hope sighed. “lizzie is under the impression harlow valentine is now a death eater.” 

“this is their last year,” william reassured her, “one more year, and then they’ll be gone forever.”

–

that year, a friendly dueling tournament was held. something about promoting talent and good sportsmanship. the house, gender, or age didn’t matter– everyone was fair game. as the days passed the duels were becoming harder for some, even a few students ended up getting injured ( minor cuts or bruises ) but no one was ready for the final day.

it had been the talk of the week, how the final duel was between harlow valentine and lizzie saltzman. bets were getting raised; who would win? who would get burnt hair? and jokingly… who would die? 

“remember, girls. this is a friendly duel. use your skills and wit. may the best witch win.” the professor reminded them as both slytherins stood face by face. in that moment, all that mattered was winning. lizzie wanted to wipe that look from harlow’s face. harlow wanted to break lizzie’s face. “wands at the ready!”

“scared, saltzman?”

“you wish.”

as they showed their wands and starting walking away from each other in the direction they were supposed to stand. the public started counting– 

“ONE! TWO!”

“EVERTE STATUM.” harlow threw the spell before its time, effectively hitting lizzie and sending her flying through the air to hit the wall. people in the room gasped, and there was one cackle. v had predicted harlow wouldn’t wait the count. 

after getting back the air that had gotten knocked out from lizzie’s breath, she quickly got up to see harlow proudly chuckling. she’ll give her something to laugh about. “RICTUSEMPRA.”

harlow wasn’t fast enough to block out the spell that had the same effect as lizzie’s– except once she hit the ground, she couldn’t help the urge to laugh uncontrollably, so much and so hard it hurt. the laugh became pained and unhinged. just like harlow’s face once she picked herself up, this was just getting started. 

both girls fought as best as they could, they were brilliant after all. though in the end, there wasn’t any winner… “SECTUSEMPRA.” 

( that day, william flynn in all his gryffindor glory confronted harlow for what she did. the slytherin sent him to the hospital wing to accompany his fiancée by breaking a couple of ribs. claudia broke up things for good the next day. ) 

who did harlow blame for this? no other than lizzie saltzman. 

–

harlow had claimed she read about that spell in a book, not having idea that it was a curse or what it did. her pretense was so good, she wasn’t expelled for that. ( to the disgruntlement of a lot of students. ) but she was in detention for the remaining six months because of that and for what she did to will later that day. 

lizzie recovered completely a week later after the attack. 

a month later, harlow disappeared. followed by scarlett, and then v. all within the same week. 

( dumbledore should’ve predicted that. he should’ve kept an eye closer on them. )

the three of them came back before the school year finished. accompanied by a thousand of death eaters that soon invaded hogwarts. there was death and pain in every corner. friends and family lost. after that day, everyone had lost someone– just like how they had found friends in the most unexpected of places, but their lives were changed forever. 

–

“scared, saltzman?”                                                                                                             “you wish.”

                     “AVADA KEDAVRA!”  “EXPELLIARMUS!”

[nie7027]

Super5 headcanons part 4

Part 1     Part 2     Part 3  Part 4   Part 5

And thats how they found themselves one saturday morning in the parking lot of the closest mall with no idea how to go about this

Hatori, who already regretted this, was regretting it even more when he noticed how crowded the place was "so... What do we do if someone recognizes him as the prime minister kidnapper? "

"We have come before and no one has recognized us so far..." said shibata a little hesitant "what makes you think this time it would be different?"

"Well i dont know...how about the fact it was internationally televised"

"So were you destroying that army helicopter" quipped Shimazaki from behind "if you are so scared you shouldnt have come"

"Who do you think is gonna pay for your shit dumbass?!"

"Did i ask you to do it?" Shimazakis glasses were obscuring his eyes but the glare was evident "I am the one forced to come. I DONT NEED YOU-"

"BOTH OF YOU SHUT THE FUCK UP" Minegishi yelled before Shimazaki could say anything further "Hatori! we have gone through this before. Everything willl be fine and if it isnt then we'll deal with it and Shimazaki no one is forcing you to do this! we talked and you accepted, you cant turn back now"

When both of them kept quiet Minegishi thanked god(gods? Whoever was in charge of his stupid life) for it and rubbed his temples, a headache already threatenint its way

Although Shimazaki had been mostly right in saying they forced him to come they would never give him the reason

Besides its not like he couldnt transport away at any moment. If he was here it was because at some level he actually wanted and it was enough for them.

"Cmon guys, people are starting to stare" Shibata, bless him, decided to take charge at that instant and ushered them inside

"So...where do we start? " said Hatori wearily glancing at the different stores there were

"How about we start by replacing his jacket?" mused Shibata "i think its the item that attracts attention the most"

"Whats wrong with my jacket?"

"It has bullet holes"

"And scorching marks"

"Scorch marks? That fucking kid..."

"You didnt notice? It used to have blood stains too but they were gone after i washed it...was it even yours?"

"How would i know?"

The three men sighed at this before minegishi spoke "Okay...that settles it then. Well start by the jacket"

"Oh how about we get him a sweater? I actually need some myself and they are in offer!" said Hatori excitedly pointing at the store where he usually bought his

"Im sorry man but someone needs to tell you...your taste in sweaters suck" admitted Shibata making Shimazaki snicker

"Says the guy who only wears shorts and nike t shirts"

"IM A GYM INSTRUCTOR"

"So? Why does everybody need to know at all times?"

Minegishi, for the second time that day. interrupted the fight between his friends "Im sorry Hatori but Shibatas right"

"What?" asked Hatori feeling betrayed

"I mean...the pigeon sweater?"

"Oh for the lord of-You know what? FINE! Whatever! I dont care! But thats a start and none of you have a better idea." Hatori smirked knowing he was right when the others didnt said anything "Besides he is going to pick his clothes so you dont have to worry about my "horrible taste" and fuck you guys, that sweater was awesome"

Shimazaki watched amused the exchange that followed while they walked to the supoosed sweater store. It remind him of the reason he accepted coming.

He was getting used to these petty fights and actually found them kind of funny.

Maybe coming wasnt as bad of a idea as it felt at first

Maybe it was

"So do you like the burgundy one?" asked Shibata when he noticed Shimazaki finally picked something

"Whats burgundy?" replied Shimazaki who had only grabbed something that felt soft

"Its kind of like red...but darker"

"Shibata I dont know what red is"

"Oh...thats....thats sad man"

Minegishi facepalmed before picking more red sweaters and handing them to Shimazaki "Red is actually the color of the t shirt you are wearing so it's close to your current style. Here. These are red too just...try them out and see if you like any"

"I cant believe i forgot he cant see" said Shibata while Shimazaki went to dressing room

"It happens to best of us" responded Minegishi

Some minutes later Shimazaki returned with 2 sweaters including the burgundy he had picked

"So how did it go?" asked minegishi retrieving the sweaters from Shimazakis hands

"They felt soft"

"And?"

"And....what?" this was new fo Shimazaki and he didnt know what answer were they expecting

"How did the fit? How did you feel the neck? The chest?"

" they just fitted"

"Really?" shibata checked the tags "these are two sizes apart. Didnt one feel too loose or too tight?"

Shimazaki tried to remember but he didnt actually paid attention to that.

Luckily for him Hatori decided that moment to come back.

"Hey guys how its going? I talked with the cashier and he said that theres a 2x1 offer. So we can-oh, you already got 2? How did you know?"

He wasnt expecting the others to shrug

"Okay..." continued Hatori "Are you finished? I already got mine"

"Do you want those?" Minegishi asked and sighed when the other man kept silence

Shimazaki didnt know. Sure, they have felt nice but so did his current clothes. Besides minegishi was asking if he "wanted" them and Shimazaki wasn't used to actually considering if he wanted them. Usually there wasnt many options.

"How did you pick your clothes?" tried Shibata

it was shimazakis turn to shrug "I just robbed them and kept what fitted"

"What? Who did you rob to get your current clothes" said Hatori surprised "i thought you had this aesthethic going"

"What?"

" You know like bad boy style. Kinda like grease"

"What"

"Grease? The musical-"

"ANYWAY" interrupted Minegishi "we are barely starting. Lets try somewhere else"

After that they went to other stores to try other clothes but each time the same scene of shimazaki, being unconfortable and not caring that much for what they picked, repeated and Shibata was having none of that.

He pulled Shimazakis arm turning him back. "Okay, man. From the clothes you are wearing right now. Which one do you actually like?"

It took shimazaki a full minute to answer but he finally said "The jacket"

Without thinking it twice Shibata dragged him to the first leather jacket store he saw, the others following close behind and scanned the items looking for a model that resembled Shimazakis the most.

Minegishi who had been looking at the tags glanced back to shibata "Are you sure about this? These are really expensive"

Shibata didnt reply and kept looking until he found what he wanted and smiliing turned to shimazaki"Take off your jacket and try this"

Shimazaki did as he said (and almost suceed at hiding the apprehesion Shibata had seen before when handing his jacket) and frowned when he put on the other. "Did you just hand me back my jacket again?"

Shibatas smile grew wider "Nop"

Shimazaki didnt believe him so he started to feel around for the bullet holes he knew were in the back and "stared" in disbelief when he couldnt find any of them.

Shibata resisted the urge to laugh "If you dont believe me check the sides. It has pockets"

"Maybe i never noticed mine had pockets" said Shimazaki stuffing his hands into the new pockets

"Sure man" shibata looked at the others "What do you think?"

"What am i suppsed to think? He looks exactly the same" said Hatori "At least this one isnt falling apart"

" Are you sure? Did you looked at the price" asked Minegishi again

Shibata glanced back at a now pouting Shimazaki who still had his hands stuffed inside the pockets and nodded "Its not like i will be broke if I buy it"

Shibata returned Shimazaki his old jacket and after paying for the new one he and the others gathered around Shimazaki

"Now shimazaki. Your pants"

"What about them?"

" what dont you like about your pants?"

Shimazaki looked offended "who said i dont like my pants?"

"You. You said it was the jacket what you liked the most and not the pants so theres sometjing about tjem you dont like" pointed out Minegishi

"Is the tightness isnt it?" Hatori asked with a smirk

"I actually like the tightness" deadpanned shimazaki and then looked like something disgusting crossed his mind but Hatori started screaming

"AH CMON! IM NOT BUYING HIM SLUTTY SKIN TIGHT LEATHER PANTS. DO YOU KNOW WHERE WE WILL HAVE TO GO-"

Minegishi covered hatoris mouth with his hand shutting him definitely "what did you think?"

"I liked shibatas clothes" Shimazaki reluctantly grumbled out

"AND THATS ANOTHER POINT FOR THE NIKE SHORTS GUY" bragged Shibata

"I liked Minegishis socks too"

"Wha-When did you use my socks?"

Shimazaki shrugged "That week you were hiding with them"

"You little piece of-"

They went to buy those and other clothes they deemed necesary ("STOP BEING CHILDREN YOU TWO. HE NEEDS UNDERWEAR TOO" yelled an embarrased Minegishi after the others laughed at him for suggesting it). Trying to get at least 2 items of each type of clothes

Eventually Shimazaki admitted he had liked the sweaters he tried first too and Hatori gladly bought them even though none of them correctly fitted (one was too tight and one was too loose)

With bags in hands they set out to leave and were talking about what to eat when Hatori cut it "Hey guys. Before we go i need to go to the bethroom!"

"Cant you wait till we go to eat?"

"If i could i would"

"Ugh fine. Do you even know where the bathroom is?

"There are six. Two in each floor. the closest to us in the middle, we passed it some minutes ago." shimazaki unexpectly said

Minegishit, shibata and Hatori stared baffled at him.

"How do you know...?"

"Mental eye?" said Shimazaki like it was the most obvious thing in the world "Theres so many people that I basically can see a complete map of the mall"

"Yeah but how do you know when you are seeing a bathroom?" asked curiously Hatori

The three of them started laughing when Shimazaki refused to answer

While they waited for Hatori Shibata glanced around and almost smacked himself in the head when he noticed certain store.

With all the drama of the clothes Shibata had completely forgotten the real reason they were here. Luckily for him it was in front of them

"LOOL GUYS! A PET STORE!"

Minegishi looked to where Shibata pointed and hummed "we could go look around while we wait"

"Why would we-" Shibata pulled again shimazakis arm not letting him finish his question and dragged him inside the store.

'Please let it be one of those stores please let it be one of those stores' kept repeating Shibata in his head until Minegishi pointed at one side of the store "Look, they have a pet zone"

Victory! "Lets go!"

Shimazaki followed Minegishi and Shibata to the far end of the store where a lots of kids were and stood awkwardly not knowing what to do when Shibata suddenly handed him a little ball of fur.

Heartbeats. Blood flowing. Breaths. Warm. Soft. Oh no.

When Hatori finally found them after searching for minutes it was to the scene of Shimazaki sitting on the floor the floor, face being licked by one of the five puppies sitting on his lap....Was he crying? (No he wasnt but it was close)

Minegishi and Hatori were loudly gasping while Shibata kept saying variations of "I told you guys!" "You didnt believe me"

It was a good day for Shibata.

At night Minegishi. And Shimazaki were facing a new problem he hadnt considered. Where would they put Shimazaki stuff?

"I thought you could use my wardrobe but its too small..." minegishi had forgotten how much of a space his uniforms occuped.

Shimazaki suddenly dissapeared and after some minutes teletransported back with some boxes and ignored when Minegishi asked him from where did he got them "People use boxes to store things. We can use them"

"I guess? But it will be a hassle to pile and unpile them whenever-I have an idea"

without further ado Minegishi activated his powers and with the plants and the boxes built and cabinet of sorts in tje licing room "This will have to do for a while"

They spent the rest of the night folding the clothes (more like Minegishi trying to teach Shimazaki how to do it) and then went to sleep.

Since Shimazaki was overpowered by a bunch of puppies(YEAH SHIBATA YOU WERE RIGHT WE WERE WRONG CAN YOU JUST SHUT UP), Hatori decided something must have broken inside him because he developed a new habit: He started to pet every dog he encountered

And "Encountered" was a way to put it

After the third scream that afternoon Hatori shaked his head while waiting for the man to come back

"SHIMAZAKI FOR THE LAST TIME STOP POPPING OUT OF NOWHERE"

"Why?"

"BECAUSE YOU SCARE THE SHIT OUTTA PEOPLE!"

"So?"

Hatori groaned dragging his hands along his face and then turned to walk away /flee the scene

" I knew we should have stayed back in the apartment playing videogames"

"I told you I didnt want to come" shimazaki whined

Hatori just glared at him and walked faster not caring whether the bastard followed him or not. Why was he stuck babysitting Shimazaki on his off day? Oh yeah, minegishi was working and Shibata...fuck shibata! How could he forget his wallet "well, you wouldnt have had to come if you had accepted to take him his wallet"

Shimazaki somewhat got offended by that "Iike some kind of delivery guy? What a waste of my powers. Besides if i had taken it to him he wouldnt have invited us to dinner"

"Okay. First of all delivery guys are the foundation of modern society and you should respect them and second SHIBATA DIDNT INVITE YOU YOU INVITED YOURSELF"

Shimazaki just shrugs "so? Its shibata! He always pays for me"

"Aaaand the manchild cant see why thats wrong" hatori mutters

"Hatori Im blind"shimazaki deadpans

"YOU KNOW EXACTLY WHAT-"

Shimazaki who was clearly ignoring Hatori perks up "Hes coming"

"Who is-?" hatori doesnt need to ask once he sees shibata giant form turning the corner ahead

"Hi guys!" Shibata greets waving at them .

Hatori hesitantly waves back "Shibata? What are you doing here? Didnt you have a class?"

"Boss had an emergency and we had to close early"

"Oh damn i hope it wasnt something serious-"

"WHO CARES? CAN WE GO ALREADY?" shimazaki whines

Shibata laughs and pats him on the back "Shimazaki! buddy, Im glad you came!"

Hatori rolls his eyes "the only reason he came was the food. He didnt even want you bring your wallet to you which reminds me" he takes out the wallet and gives it to him " you left it on the kicthen counter"

Shibata takes it and smiles "thank you man, you are the best!...so where do you guys want go?"

Shimaza was already opening his mouth to declare what he wanted when hatori pointed at accusatory finger at him "oh no! Dont even dare! Minegishi and Shibata spoil you enough"

Shibata frowned at him "We dont spoil him-"

Hatori turned to look at him with a face that said 'You gotta be kidding me' "YES YOU DO! He picked the last two times and I already had to deal with his bullshit all day so today I get to pick where we go!" hatori crossed his arms "besides it was me who brought the wallet"

"What? No! The places you pick are lame." shimazaki explaimed "shibata tell him!"

"Im sorry bud, he has a point there. You picked the last two times and its only fair he gets to pick today"

Shibata had to resist the laugh at seeing shimazaki sulk and Hatori stuck his tongue out at him.

After hatori proclaimed where he wanted to got they started to walk in that direction. Shibata carefully observed Hatori.

"So...what did shimazaki do to make you mad like that?" asked Shibata after a few minutes of walking

"He scared three persons on our way here" mumbled Hatori while he texted on his phone

"Three persons?" shibata looked back at shimazaki who walked behing with his hands in his pockets "Why?!"

Shimazaki shrugged "Its not my fault people are so easy to scare"

Not undertanding shibata turned to hatori confused

Hatori sigued and without looking from his phone he replied "He is doing again that thing where he teleports to pet nearby dogs"

Shibata groaned "Buddy! We have told you already theres no need to teletransport, you can just walk up to them and ask the owner if you can pet their dog"

Shimazaki rolled his eyes "Wheres the fun in that?"

"The fun is in the fact i wouldnt have to run 3 different times in less than 1 hour because of you" hissed Hatori finnally pocketing his phone

"Besides" picked Shibata " You cant go around petting peoples dogs"

"Huh? Why not?" rebuked Shimazaki "All dogs like to be petted!"

"Because you have to ask the owners permission first you dingus! Some people dont like to be molested "

"And there are some special dogs who shouldnt be petted or they get distracted from their duty "

"Oh! I heart about that-"

"They are dogs" Shimazaki snapped "What duty could dogs possibly have?"

Both men turned to him surprised "You dont know? You must know"

"About what?" answered Shimazaki

"Service dogs? You know...Dogs that help blind people? "

"What?"

Thats how they spend dinner explaining to shimazaki about service dogs

Later that night when a text from Minegishi saying "Who was the idiot who told Shimazaki about service dogs??" came they both ignored it

Feeling guilty for letting Minegishi crush Shimazakis dreams of having a dog after being the ones who told him in the first place, Hatori and Shibata arranged a day to accompany Shimazaki to pet dogs.

Susprinsingly the man had listened to them and stopped popping besides every person who walked their dog and instead waited for Hatori or Shibata to let him know when he could pet the dog.

Due to how complicated that was they soon found a solution: stray dogs were free of hassle even if they were more difficult to find.

"You know? The day he tries to keep one of them we will be in big trouble" mussed Hatori after Shimazaki dissapeared probably finding another stray

"i dont know. Minegishi was very harsh." Shibata laughed remebering that day " I doubt hell try it anytime soon"

Hatori hummed "Do you think hell stay there this time or wil he bring it-"

As in cue Shimazaki reappered, a dirty bundle of black hair in his arms "I got it! It was behind some trash bags"

Both men stared at the strange looking ball of fur, dread setting in their stomachs.

"S-Shimazaki...Buddy... I dont think thats a dog" said Shibata slowly backing away

"What do you mean-" the thing decided that moment to turn its head and reveal its masked eyes.

It was a raccoon.

It bit Shimazakis arm.

"AHHH STUPID SHIT" Shimazaki screamed and quickly trew the damn thing

"AHHHHHHHH" the damn thing, now a blur of claws and fangs, unfortunately landed on Hatoris head.

"Shimazaki help me here-AHHHH" screamed shibata when he tried to rip the beast from Hatoris face

Shimazaki just teleported away.

By the time the raccoon finally jumped and scurried away both Hatori and Shibata were covered in scratches and bleeding from different parts.

"He is gonna pay...Im gonna make him pay" muttered Hatori while cleaning his glasses.

"I think we should go to the hospital first..."

Originally shimazaki was gonna mistake a cat for a dog but a racoon sounded funnier.

Did you know you rarely see stray dogs in Japan because people immediately report them? Or at least thats what my japanese teachers told me.

I know this is like a month later but i had difficulties writing this...ngl the por reception the 3rd part had kinda bummed me BUT i love these guys too much and dont want to stop writing this so im okay now.

Besides in the meantime i wrote for my fics! College funds chapter 2 is up now and so is my newest fic Mother's day! You should check them out. Ive been writing a the good place au for mp100 too but i havent posted it yet.

Anyway! Hope you liked this (Dont listen to them Hatori, your sweater are great)and see you next part because where we will finally reach THE PRANK so be ready for it and some feels

(i was gonna include it in this part but it was already too large and i decided to rearrange some stuff)

Im posting this again because tumblr sucks and posted the first version as a quote that even i cant see

[harrieatthemet]

Holiday: Ch. 7 ;)

A/N: You guys............... I wrote this and it still makes me scream. FUCKING ENJOY. 

Though Christmas was always one of my favorite holidays, Harry had always favored it a little bit more. Nothing put a bigger smile on his face than waking up just before the sun, traipsing downstairs and taking a seat on the floor next to the kids. His eyes would dance as the kids tore off the wrapping paper, eager to see their new toys. The rush they got and the excitement painted on their faces was enough to make Harry’s heart feel like it could burst. Though he traveled and hadn’t been around much, there wasn’t anyone in the world who could get him to smile quite like his kids. 

“Please Santa don’t forget my polly pockets, cos those are my best toys.” Penelope whispered to herself, pressing the crayon down on the paper as she finished her Christmas list. 

She squirmed in her seat, half dancing to the low toned Christmas music Harry had put on loop for majority of the day, and partly because she was working herself up thinking about all the presents she’d be receiving tomorrow. I was elbow deep in sugar cookie dough before Brayden came barreling in, tracking snow with his damp sneakers as his clothes were dripping wet. His chocolate colored hair was drenched, cheeks a light pink from the bitter air outside as he sported a smile that ran from ear to ear. 

“You’re soaked!” I laughed, grabbing a towel off a chair before waltzing over to wrap him up.

“Dad and I,” He panted, out of breath and excited, “he asked me to help him outside and when I got there he threw me! He actually threw me, mom, into the snow. And we played in it, in the snow with our clothes on.” 

Just then Harry came trudging in, dripping wet as well as he shook out the excess water from his hair. He, too, was smiling wide as he came into the kitchen. Brayden was hysterical laughing, which evoked Penelope to laugh too even though she didn’t know what she was laughing at. As Brayden warmed himself up in his towel, wrapping it around his upper half, Harry brought his hands to the bottom hem of his shirt. Slowly, he peeled it off his body like it was a sticker, heading towards the sink to wring out all the snow that had dampened it. I was quick to look away, but not before staring long enough to keep a fresh picture in my head. All the tattoos that were plastered on his chest, the butterfly on his upper belly moving as he laughed at Penelope who giggled at her daddy, sent a familiar chill down my spine. Every few seconds I stole a quick look, gnawing at the inside of my cheek as his back muscles flexed each time he gave his wet shirt a good tug. I was doing my best to keep my focus on Brayden, rubbing a dishtowel on his hair to help aid the drying process. 

“Mind drying this f’me?” Harry appeared in front of me, torso a little damp from his wet shirt that he extended out towards me.

His smirk was devilish, his eyes twinkling a little as he waited for me to form a word. I knew what he was doing, because this was straight out of his playbook. Going back as far as 10 years ago, he always had to get what he wanted and would go by any means to get it. The innocent flirting, the harmless teasing, it was all a familiar trick to me. He had even done it when we first met, at that dingy bar in downtown New York. I didn’t take to him at first, and whined to our mutual friends that I found him to be egotistical and a little full of himself. But, he didn’t let up, and practically jumped through hoops just to get me to agree to a date. And during fights, he’d ‘accidentally’ forget to put a shirt on, or he’d ‘accidentally’ brush up against me with his body or his arm. But, I never said I didn’t enjoy the subtle teasing. 

“Give it.” I stated simple, reaching out my hand so he could place the shirt in it.

“Soaked, isn’t it?” He shot me a wry smile, Brayden standing between the two of us watching in disbelief at how well we were getting along.

I knew what he was getting at, and I snatched the shirt from his hand before rolling my eyes. My stomach was turning a little bit, just from the idea of seeing all of him naked and not just his upper half. As my mind started to wander, so did my eyes, and they landed right on Brayden. He had been watching Harry and I like a hawk, his eyes fixated on our body language and how we were exchanging flirty glances and harmlessly flirting. It wasn’t until I saw the hopeful look on Brayden’s face that I remembered why I had put such an abrupt halt on Harry last night. 

Harry often jumped at an idea before really giving it thought, which in some cases was admirable and in other cases dangerous. It was one of the things that we frequently bumped heads on, because it would really frustrate me when he would do something without thinking about the outcome. Last night was a perfect example of that. It was so easy for us to fall back into old patterns, as I’m sure he was aching to be with me much like I was. After being apart for a year and not having slept together, it wasn’t hard to push boundaries in attempt to fulfill the burning curiosity and desire. But, what he didn’t realize what kind of strain that would put on our relationship, which would ultimately effect our kids. 

Leading up to our divorce, our relationship had been tumultuous, and it didn’t get much better after. Harry was devastated when I told him that I was done, and he went on a wild binger for three or four months after signing the papers. As for me, I was so angry at him for letting our marriage and the family we had built come second to everything else in his life. The both of us, harboring all this hate and resentment, lacked any kind of proper communication. For a while, we didn’t even speak. Well, in person that is, and when we did it was strictly businesslike and nothing more than a few words. He would come to pick the kids up to spend a weekend at his place, and I would wait by the door as he stood beside the car. Any other time, it was a short worded text to make sure he knew dates for extracurricular activities or birthday parties. It took a while to build up to a somewhat civil relationship, so for us to skip a billion steps just to have sex held the potential to put us in an extremely provocative place. The divorce was just as hard on our kids as it was for Harry and I, which is why the idea of Harry and I giving it another shot seemed irrational and unfair. All Brayden wanted was for Harry to come home, and his family to be a whole again, and I couldn’t imagine how he’d feel if Harry and I gave it another shot only for it to not work out again. Though it was the first thing I thought of, I know the only thing Harry was thinking of was how I’d look writhing underneath him. 

“Lets put everything on the table f’Santa, and get you guys t’sleep. Big man won’t come if y’not sleeping!” Harry smirked, placing Quinn on his hip as followed the older two out near the Christmas tree. 

Penelope walked, cautiously slow, as she skillfully balanced the long plate of decorated sugar cookies in her little hands. Brayden was leading the way, telling her to ‘be careful!’ And ‘can’t drop the plate or you’ll ruin Christmas’. Quinn was half asleep, as it was almost 11 pm and long past his usual bedtime. I couldn’t help but smile as I let myself take in just how precious my kids were, all dressed in matching red pajamas. Though I had to do all sorts of begging and bribing, I had known that it would be worth it. 

Brayden took a hard look at the tree, staring at it as it towered over his frame. Harry had to swat Penelope’s hand away from the platter of cookies, because the last thing either of us needed was the fussiest of all three to get a sugar rush before bed. Harry put Quinn down, lulling him out of his drowsy state. He lined all three of them up in front of the tree after I pleaded him to get them to listen, just for the sake of one picture. And just as I snapped a few photos, praising my kids for being so well behaved, Quinn went and ruined all praise. His head went back as he wailed in agony, stomping his feet and nearly throwing himself to the floor. Of course, his meltdown triggered Penelope, and Brayden stood and watched them throw a fit in disapproval.

“Alright,” Harry cooed, trying his best to mask his irritated tone, “think it’s time fo’ bed, yeah?” 

Harry swept up Penelope, her head snuggling into the crook of his neck as her sniffles subsided once she put her thumb in her mouth. Quinn tutted up the stairs, screaming at me in protest as I tried to pick him up. Brayden just shook his head, muttering something about his siblings being babies (I mean, they are) before following Harry up the stairs. Putting them to bed was easy, especially since Harry had been fueling their anticipation for the arrival of their presents in the morning. Brayden was easy, as he was old enough to get himself ready. All he really needed to get him to sleep was a kiss on the head and for someone to tuck him in. Quinn, if he was tired enough, would knock out halfway through a bedtime story and sleep like a rock up until the morning. It was Penelope who was the trouble, which is why I stuck Harry to the task of getting her to fall asleep.

As soon as I got Quinn to sleep, I headed back downstairs to get the gaggle of presents I had tucked away in one of the closets so I could place them beneath the tree. Figuring that Harry’d be a while, with the burden of putting the fussiest kid to sleep, I started to wrap the last of the presents so I could get more than three hours of sleep before getting bum rushed in the morning by my kids. In my best cursive, I addressed the presents I had gotten the kids to whoever the present was for and made sure to double check that I put ‘Love Santa’ on every one. I was tired, but I couldn’t afford any slip ups. 

“Putting that girl to bed is a nightmare! She’s an absolute menace!” Harry laughed softly, appearing into the living room.

“You get her to fall asleep?” I was optimistic and hopeful, tilting my neck so I could look up at him as he now stood over me.

“Yeah, took a village ‘nd a half though.” He muttered, sinking down next to me to help with wrapping.

“Ugh” I groaned in relief, “Thank you. Seriously owe you one, ‘cus I didn’t have the energy to get her to bed tonight.” 

He smiled, softly to himself in hopes I wouldn’t see. But, I did. I always saw. A lot of the times, I’d catch myself looking at him a little longer than usual or noticing little things about him that I had forgotten were so cute. Like how he scrunched his nose when he laughed, or how he’d get all giddy talking about the kids that he’d have to fidget in his seat before talking. Out of the corner of my eye, I watched him pull his hair back while he taped the wrapping paper to a gift and I had to bite my lip back. He looked so good, and I was mentally beating myself up over brushing him off last night. Towering over me as I sat criss cross alongside some wrapping paper, he leaned over and grabbed a cookie or two from the plate left out for ‘Santa’. I smirked, which earned a lighthearted shrug in response. Christmas had always been Harry’s favorite Holiday, even more so once we had the kids. Everything had to be believable, and he would nibble every cookie and sip at every cup of milk just to see the kids’ reactions in the morning.

I placed the package of polly pocket knick knacks in a stretch of pink colored candy cane wrapping paper, smiling to myself as I thought about how excited Penelope would be tomorrow morning. Harry, cookie in hand as he sipped at the milk, cocked his neck as he looked down at the little present I was wrapping.

“Thought she wanted barbies?” His words were muffled by the massive bite of cookie sitting in his mouth.

“She’s over the barbies, ‘member? Brayden really creeped her out with the whole head thing, now P is just so scared of ‘em.” I shook my head, remembering how much that phase bugged me out.

“Wait,” Harry stated slowly, “Wha’ head thing?” 

“Y’know, kept ripping the heads off? Remember? P couldn’t even sleep without a lamp on for almost two months, totally freaked out.”

For a minute or two, I hadn’t even noticed that Harry fell completely silent. Placing the cookie and half finished glass of milk on the coffee table beside him, he sunk down onto the sofa. He differed with the rings on his fingers for a few minute, staring blankly down at his knuckles as I finished wrapping up another one of Penelope’s gifts. A little sigh slipped out of his mouth, his breath hitting the back of my neck, and that’s when I figured out that something was cleary bothering him. Harry would never want to burden anyone with his troubles, or whine and sound foolish, so instead he would huff and puff and make mopey faces until someone insisted he tell what was wrong. I wasn’t sure what it was that had made him alter moods so quickly, and I was really hoping it wasn’t something I said.

“Bad cookie?” I smiled, doing my best to lighten the mood.

“I don’t remember.” He mumbled, sliding a ring off his finger.

“Dont remember what?” I asked, gliding a piece of tape over the wrapped present.

“The sleeping with the lamp on phase,” He huffed, “Don’t remember it ‘cus I wasn’t there.”

“Oh that? Lucky son of a bitch, wish I wasn’t there for that either.” 

“Jus like I wasn’t there when Penelope lost her first tooth, or Brayden scored his first goal in soccer. Or, how ‘bout Quinn’s first birthday party? Missed that one.” He hissed, gnawing at the inside of his lip.

“Harry, don’t beat yourself up over this stuff.” I sighed, tucking my legs beneath my bum  and turning around as I scooted closer to him. 

“You were right,” he muttered, head hanging a little low, “about not being around much and all, putting my career first. ’Nd the kids, they look f’me Ella, know they do. They look f’me during games, recitals, all that stuff. S’just hard, being around sometimes I guess. Know it’s a shit excuse, but s’true. Feel like, dunno, like all I do is let them down.” 

Hearing Harry, and I mean actually listening to him for the first time in forever, really made me feel so awful. I was very quick to criticize his lifestyle, and unjustly accuse of him for having his priorities out of whack. Maybe he did, but it wasn’t motivated by what I originally thought. After the divorce, I was selfish. All I ever considered was my own feelings, and never bothered to try and see things from Harry’s point of view. It never occurred to me that Harry was dealing with it so harshly, and that he struggled so much with being away from the kids. Since I was the one who woke them up every morning, and kissed them before bed every night, I never stopped to think that maybe that was something Harry wanted to be able to do. I was around almost everyday, and I had the privilege of being there to see all their big accomplishments and even the little ones, which made me so blind to the fact that Harry had no choice but to miss out sometimes. And honestly, I couldn’t even begin to imagine how that felt.

“Hey,” I breathed, scooting in close enough where I positioned myself between his legs as I rested my hands on his knees, “you’re doing your best, they know that. Just cus you’re busy doesn’t mean they love you any less. They adore you, doesn’t matter if you’re here or there or any other place in the world.” 

He lifted his head a little bit, the solemn look starting to fade as his mood picked up. I’m sure a part of the reason it was so reassuring to hear that was because it came from me, considering I hardly ever seemed to have anything nice to say to him most of the time.

“You sure?” He questioned, meeting my gaze.

“Yes!” I laughed, squeezing his knee a little, “we’re you’re biggest fans, you couldn’t let us down.”

In that very moment, it looked like he had been waiting to hear those exact words fall from my lips. He hesitated for a minute, his eyes fixating on my mouth as I smiled softly at him. Both of us were quiet, and he took a sharp inhale of breath before moving to the edge of his seat. Legs still tucked beneath my bum, my body positioned between his legs as he sat on the sofa, I watched as he completely zoned out. Without even so much as a warning, he immediately looped his hand around to sit on the back of my neck before tugging me in. Not even a second passed, and leaving me no time to get my thoughts straight, he collided his lips with mine before we both fell into a familiar pattern. Guiding me up from the floor, he brought both his hands underneath my arms before gently lifting me up and onto the couch, where my legs found a spot on either side of his hips. 

Everything felt so calm, and so natural, that I didn’t even want to try and protest. The way he tugged at my hair, rough enough to turn me on but gentle enough not to hurt, and how smooth his lips felt as they moved with mine and weaseled their way sloppily down my neck, reminded just how badly I missed him. I could feel myself crumbling under his touch, his hands roaming my legs before one laid contently on my bum. His free hand slithered up the back of my shirt, fiddling with the hook of my bra before finally getting it to unclasp. My fingers fumbled roughly with his belt, frantic as I let sensation cloud my common sense. His teeth gently tugged at the bottom of my lip, evoking a moan from me as I innocently grinded up against his thigh. I could tell that there was no way I could stop myself, especially as he went to remove the flimsy fabric of my tee shirt.

“Harry..” I trailed, his lips sucking at the nape of my neck, “you take this off I won’t-” I was practically out of breath, desperate for him to just undress me.

“You owe me, remember?”