#you expect me to do this while prepping for and/or recovering from Thanksgiving

[sincerely-sofie]

What are your future plans after the pmd 2 au is done? What will the future look like?

The first time I read this question I thought I was being asked what the future looked like within my PMD2 AU itself, like, how it’s changed and stuff after the events of the game. I was starting to brainstorm some OCs who would demonstrate the impact of what amounts to a space-time save file being overwritten when I realized that was very much not what you were asking. Whoops.

As for a Post-AU future— I made this blog for completely different reasons than the PMD2 AU Boogaloo that it’s become, and I’m planning on getting back to its intended roots with time. In my introduction post way back in July, I said you could expect to see me make things like written and drawn art pieces of my original characters, chronicles of me struggling through 30-day challenges, diary comics, essays about obscure topics, and game dev logs. I’ll probably post a lot more of that stuff once I’m done with the AU, though I’m also planning to do a bit of it before The Present Is a Gift is completely finished. This blog was made to be a place for me to store my thoughts and creations, so that’s what it’ll be!

I’m not too much of a fandom person, though— especially when it comes to things other than what I was into as a kid— so you can expect I won’t be doing very much fandom posting of anything that came around after 2015.

So yeah! :>

Also, a bonus update on The Present Is a Gift: I’m planning to write out much of the prose for my AU during National Novel Writing Month this November, so if things go according to plan, I’ll start posting chapters sometime after that! I think I’ll post the chapters here as well as a side blog that would be dedicated to relaying the story of The Present is a Gift in order— that way it will be easier to read through the chapters in proper chronology without the rest of my posts clogging things up.

[myhockeyworld87]

Nervous Regrets -Tyler Seguin _ Part 21

Word Count: 3737

POV: Reader

Warnings: Language, because I think that I least use one cuss word a story

Notes: We’re prepping for the big proposal guys! Hope you enjoy! Peace, Love and Hugs all!

The decision to leave your job, ended up being one of the best you ever made; you realized this over the next couple of days. You tried to keep up a normal routine. So some mornings when Tyler would get up and workout; you’d get up and join him, by doing yoga. Other mornings, you didn’t mind cuddling with the dogs while he went to morning skate. Tyler convinced you, that you didn’t need to start looking into new charities until he was on the road again. In fact, his exact words were something like, ‘as your new boss, I’m making your working hours, only when I’m on road trips.’ You literally just shook your head at him and laughed, to which he chased you around the house until he caught you carried you off to bed where you showed him who the real boss of the family was.

 It was like that pretty much everyday, while he was home. By day four you’d christened every room in the new house, some of them twice. On day five, the two of you decided to actually head out in public and start doing some shopping for the baby’s room. The designer had given you some great ideas for the room, so you knew that you wanted it to be in shades of grey and white. That way once you found out if it was a boy or a girl you could add in pinks or blues for pops of color. The hardest decision was picking out either a grey or white crib, but in the end Tyler won out with the white he said you had to have. The two of you spent the whole day buying furniture and necessities for the baby. It was definitely going to go down as one of the best days you’d had in a long time.

 Tyler insisted upon purchasing a huge stuffed puppy for the room, as well as several other animals. But you drew the line when he started trying out the breast pumps; finally calling it a day before he started trying out pacifiers or diaper genies. You’d save that for another time. All in all, the two of you got a good chunk of the baby’s room done in your day of shopping. You had a definite picture of what the room would look like when you brought your little one home.

 The following day, you were standing in the baby’s room, picturing how everything would be laid out when your phone rang. “Hey mom, how was your trip?” She spent the next several minutes telling you all about Alaska and how much your dad loved going fishing. Though she threw you for a loop when she mentioned they weren’t going to be having Thanksgiving at the house this year. Apparently, your brother Sean decided to host, but he lived down in Houston; which meant that if you and Tyler decided to go, you’d spend more time driving there and back then you would with your family. Besides, Tyler’s schedule really wouldn’t allow for you to make the journey anyway, as he would be getting back in from Pittsburgh late the night before, then had a game the following day. It was kind of disheartening, you’d hoped to see your parents over the holiday or even host the dinner yourself; since you and Tyler were in the new house, but it wasn’t meant to be. Which is why Tyler found you in the baby’s room, crying.

 “Baby, what’s wrong?” He asked, as he drew your body into his. When you didn’t answer right away, he tried again. “Why are you crying (Y/N)? Is it the baby?” You shook your head no, and held onto him a little tighter.

 “I don’t know.” You sniffed rather loudly. “I just found out my family is going to Sean’s for Thanksgiving.”

 “And you thought, they’d be here this year.” Nodding yes, you buried your head back into his chest. “Well why don’t you go down and be with them baby.”

 Pulling back, you looked at him as if he’d gone crazy. “I’m not leaving you for the holiday. Besides, isn’t your family coming in?”

 He looked a little sheepish. “Umm...well actually no they aren’t going to make it either.”

 “But Cass and Candace are coming tomorrow aren’t they?”

 “They are, but they’re only staying for a few days; then heading back home.” Tears started to flow down your cheeks again. It wasn’t that you minded spending the holiday alone with Tyler, it was just going to be your first holiday together and you wanted both of your families with you. “I didn’t think it was that big of a deal babe. Maybe I can call my mom and see if they can make it.” His face took on a guilty look, but you couldn’t figure out why.

 “No, I don’t want them to change their plans. It’s just my stupid hormones. I suppose we can just have chicken or something.” It wouldn’t be the same as a turkey but you’d make it work.

 He pulled you back into him. “Awe sweetheart, we can still have turkey. I’ll eat the whole damn bird if you want.” That made you laugh. Sadly, you could picture Tyler stuffing himself trying to make you happy. “Actually, I have a great idea. I’m sure some of the guys don’t have any plans or family coming in. We could host Thanksgiving for them.” Before you could agree to anything he continued. “Hear me out, I don’t want you in the kitchen cooking all day; so we could cater it or something.”

 “But I want to cook. We don’t need to have food brought in. I’ll have a couple days to get everything ready while you’re on the road. It will be perfect.”

 “Babe, that’s a lot to undertake. Remember you’re pregnant.”

 You looked down at your growing belly. “Kinda hard to forget.” A chuckle escaped your throat. “It will be fine, remember I’m unemployed at the moment.”

 “You’re not unemployed.” He protested. “You have the best boss in the world, who is very flexible with your hours.” His hands started to wander all over your body and he started to pepper you with kisses. “In fact, I do believe he told you not to start working right away. So, maybe we should head back to bed.”

 He kissed the sensitive skin between your neck and shoulder, and you felt your body relax. “Is this sexual harassment?” Tyler murmured something you couldn’t comprehend as he continued to trail kisses up your neck. “If that was a yes, then I could get used to it.” He picked you up and carried you off to your bedroom, for some reason Tyler had declared the baby’s room off limits, when it came to your sexual escapades. The two of you spent the rest of the day alternating between lounging around the house and making love. You had to admit, that this part of your new job was definitely a perk.

 While Tyler, was at the rink for practice; you headed off to the airport the next morning to meet his sisters. The three of you quickly hugged in the pick-up line, then threw the luggage in the car before heading back to the house. “I can’t believe how great you look (Y/N).” Candace remarked. “Your little bump is so adorable.”

 “You’re way too sweet, because somedays this little one doesn’t seem small by any means.”

 “Oh please, you barely look pregnant. I think I’ve had a food baby bigger than your actual child.” Cassidy chimed in, causing you all to laugh.

 “I’m so excited you guys are finally visiting us in the new place. I wish your mom could’ve joined you.” They exchanged a weird look with one another, which you wouldn’t have caught had you not been looking in the rearview mirror to switch lanes. You let it slide, figuring they would let you know if something was wrong.

 “She wanted to come, but just couldn’t get away.”

 It was Candace who answered you. “Well hopefully she’ll make it here soon, if not I’m sure you’ll all be here for Christmas.” Both of the girls nodded agreement. “I was hoping that you guys would make it for Thanksgiving as well, but Tyler said you guys had other plans.” Again, a strange look passed between them, there was definitely something going on that you didn’t know about.

 “It’s just…” Candace started to say, right before Cassidy blurted out.

 “We’re not American.”

 “What does that have to do with it?” Came tumbling out of your mouth before you even had a chance to think about what you were saying. Candace fully turned around and glared at Cassidy in the backseat, which gave you a moment to recover. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to question you on that. I’m sure you guys have more important things going on.”

 It was Cassidy who decided to expand on her initial answer. “Don’t apologize, it was a stupid answer. You can obviously tell that we’re trying to hide something.” Again Candace gave her the death glare. “Candace doesn’t want me to tell you, but…and promise you won’t tell Tyler.” She was waiting for you to respond.

 “Of course, I won’t say a word.” “Candace has a new boyfriend, and she wants to spend time with him.”

 “Cassidy!” She yelled back at her sister.

 “She’s afraid Tyler’s going to go all ape shit or something and not approve of him. Which is why we were being so secretive about everything.”

 “Well, I’m not going to say a word to him; though you know he only wants you both to be happy.” While you were certain he would totally give this guy a hard time, if Candace liked him, Tyler would as well. “So tell me more about this guy. Is it serious?”

 “It’s really…new. In fact, it’s so new…I don’t want to jinx it or anything.” Candace answered you hesitantly. You didn’t want to prod too much, she obviously seemed nervous about it. Making a mental note, you wanted to make sure you told Tyler not to give her a hard time if the conversation came up.

 “Well if you ever want to talk about him, I’m all ears.” They quickly changed the subject back to the baby, as the three of you continued the trek back to the house.

 Tyler was waiting for you, when you got there. He literally started to give them a hard time the minute they walked through the door, but it was just that brotherly, sisterly comradery that you shared with your siblings as well. Though he did give you a funny look when you hit him on the shoulder, when he asked about their love lives. It felt odd giving them a tour of the house, but since this was their first time here it was kind of expected.

 You were all relaxing in the living room, having an easy conversation before Tyler had to leave for the game. “Hey babe, I forgot to tell you the Stars Foundation is having a gala on December 4th , that we need to attend.”

 “I thought they only did Boots and Blades? And didn’t they just have that?”

 “Umm…Yeah they did. This is a new one they’re having this year. Something about Fire and Ice. It’s super fancy, apparently.”

 Great, you were several months pregnant and now you needed to attend some gala and try and look like a million bucks. “Can we just skip it? I don’t really have anything elaborate to wear that’s going to fit me at the moment. Besides, the foundation never called me to help with anything for it; so it must not be super important.”

 Tyler’s eyes got extremely wide, and he seemed at a loss for words. “We could go shopping tomorrow and find you something.” Cassidy said filling the void.

 Tyler nodded his head in agreement. “That’s a great idea Cass.” He pulled out his wallet and scrambled through it finding his credit card and handing it over to you. “Buy the works. I want you to look amazing.”

 “I’m not going to look amazing in anything. We missed Boots and Blades and it was fine. Seriously, I don’t think anyone will notice our absence.”

 “Babe, I was able to get out of the other one because of the accident; but I don’t think there’s any way I can miss this second one.”

 “Besides, we’ll totally have fun shopping for a gown for you.” Candace added.

 “A gown?” Either your brain wasn’t processing things fast enough, or you were still in denial about having to go to this event; for it didn’t occur to you that you’d need an actual long gown and not just a really nice dress.

 “Babe, it’s a gala; of course you need a gown.” It wasn’t that you had an aversion to dressing up; in fact you usually enjoyed it. It was just lately you hadn’t felt like all dolled up. “Come on (Y/N) it’ll be fun.” He grabbed your hand and gave you those puppy dog eyes, which you couldn’t resist. “And don’t tell me you won’t look beautiful, you already know how gorgeous I think you are.”

 “Ugh…fine. Though I hope you girls are ready to shop tomorrow; because I have a feeling it’ll take a miracle to find something.”

 “Oh stop! You’re barely showing, I’m sure we’ll find you a stunning gown to wear.” It was Candace who was giving you a little boost of confidence; that you definitely needed to hear.

 “Well now that that’s settled. I’m going to go get ready for the game.” He kissed you quick before getting up and heading to your bedroom. The three of you sat around laughing and joking until game time, then headed to the arena to watch Tyler play. The game against the Blue Jackets was hard fought, and in the end it was a tough loss for the Stars. Thankfully Tyler was in a good mood though as you all headed out for a late dinner and drinks, before calling it a night.

 The next day you tried to convince Tyler to come shopping with you and his sisters, but he was having no parts of it; even though he was the reason you needed the gown in the first place. He claimed that he had a ton of errands to do, though he couldn’t name one of them when you asked. It seemed weird that he didn’t want to spend time with his sisters.

 At the first store, it seemed like every gown was form fitting; which accentuated your baby bump in the worst way. Though Candace and Cassidy insisted it was all the trend, if you saw any celebrity that was currently pregnant. You knew they were right, but when you looked in the mirror you didn’t feel glamourous, you just felt…well there was no other word for it but fat. Which you knew deep down you weren’t. In the second shop, you thought you found the winner. A black capped sleeve dress with an empire waist, which totally made you look not pregnant at all. However, when you stepped out of the dressing room, both Candace and Cassidy gave it two thumbs down; so back to the drawing board you went. Cassidy brought you in a white strapless A-line gown, that felt more bridal than gala when you tried it on, though the A-line still did seem to flatter your figure. Truth be told, when you looked in the mirror you could totally see yourself walking down the aisle to Tyler in this dress, but you weren’t quite sure your relationship was ready for that step yet. So when you showed it to them you said. “I feel like I’m supposed to get married to Tyler in this, not go to some foundation event. Besides, I’m not sure we’re ready for that step just yet.” They both looked at each other curiously before agreeing that this wasn’t the dress.

 There were pale pink ones that made your complexion look a little sallow, a dark navy one that made you feel more like a pregnant seductress than the girlfriend of a hockey player; and even a bright yellow one, that once you tried it on, you knew sun yellow was not your color. You were just about to declare the day a disaster when the owner of the shop came back with a beautiful silver sparkling gown. It fit like a glove when you tried it on, and barely showed that you were carrying a baby inside you. It was the A-line design that favored your body, set off with a deep plunging bodice. Spaghetti straps crisscrossed behind you to reveal an open back. Jewels and crystals adorn the entire dress, and made you feel as if you were glowing as beams of light from overhead struck you. The multi-layered skirt with its sparkle, flowed freely as you turned. As you gave a twirl in the mirror, you almost felt like a princess. This had to be the one, but you wanted Tyler’s sisters opinions on it as well.

 The smiles on their faces gave away their feelings about the dress, as you walked out. “Oh that’s definitely it.” Candace exclaimed.

 “Oh my god, you look stunning. You have to get that one.” Cassidy added.

 “You don’t think it’s too much with all the sparkle?”

 “No! It’s perfect!” They both said.

 “You guys aren’t just saying that because I’ve tried on a million dresses already?”

 It was Candace, who always seemed to be the voice of reason that answered. “First off, you can go try on another million if you want, because this is actually a lot of fun. Secondly, this dress is simply amazing on you. I honestly will probably borrow it from you if I’m lucky enough to get asked to an event to wear it to. You look like a Disney princess.”

 A blush rose to your cheeks. “I thought the same thing in the dressing room.”

 “Tyler is going to love it.” Cassidy added. “Though I don’t think we should show him. You need to do a big reveal or something.” “Oh Cass is right, you totally need to do that.” She stepped up beside you, suddenly fussing with your hair. She pulled back several strands, then swept some off to the side. “There you should totally wear your hair like that, with soft curls all around.”

 The reflection in the mirror was almost unrecognizable, between the dress and your hair; you truly felt like another person. “Now if you were only going to be here to fix it like that.”

 She frowned slightly, before adding. “You can always go to that salon we go to for facials and stuff.”

 “Oh I almost forgot, I made us all appointments there for tomorrow. My treat of course, for putting up with me today.”

 “Please, it’s not like we have to put up with you. You’re like the sister I always wanted.”

 Candace swatted Cassidy on the shoulder. “Hello, I’m right here. You know the sister you have.” All of you were laughing at this point.

 “Oh I know. I said (Y/N) was the sister I wanted.” With that she ran out of the dressing room into the store so Candace wouldn’t attack her again.

 “She’s a little shit sometimes but I love her all the same.” You knew how she felt, for you too felt that way about your own brothers. “Though I gotta say I can’t wait till you’re officially my sister.”

 You felt yourself tearing up a bit, for you loved both Candace and Cassidy just like they were your own sisters. “Well that might not be for a while. Especially with this little one coming. We might be doing things a little backwards, but at least we’re taking our time and making sure things are right.”

 “You never know, maybe it’ll be sooner than you think.” Candace had a twinkle in her eye, as if she knew something you didn’t, but you were pretty sure you and Tyler were on the same page when it came to waiting.  

 Eventually, you took the dress off and paid for it; then the three of you headed to some other shops, where, as per Tyler’s wishes, you bought a few things the girls liked.  Then headed home, so that you could all enjoy a meal together. The last two days with Tyler flew by and before you knew, he was back on the road again. At least this time Candace and Cassidy stayed a couple extra days to fill the void. By the time they left, it gave you two days to get Thanksgiving dinner ready. It was an easy decision to bake all the pies and desserts first, and then move on to all the rest. There would be about twenty of the players, along with their significant others coming over for dinner. You decided to get two of the largest turkey’s you could find, roasting one of them early so that you would have oven space the day of. Your mom had used the technique numerous times over the years, and people always seemed to never notice.

 When Tyler came home from Pittsburgh, in the wee hours of the morning, most of the dinner was prepared. He couldn’t believe all that you’d done in the short amount of time. It was about noon when everyone started to arrive. Tyler had got a few hours of sleep, but insisted on helping you in the kitchen as much as he could. The booze flowed freely all afternoon, as they watched football and talked about everything under the sun.

 As you sat at the table, an enormous feast in front of you, two things struck you about family. The first being that it wasn’t the celebration you thought you’d have with your family. The second, was that sometimes you find family in other places. For as you looked at all the people surrounding you it was like your own little hockey family. In their faces you saw not only friends, but people who would become aunts and uncles to the little one you carried. Everything seemed right in that moment, and you hoped that it would stay that way forever.

[aadmelioraa]

I was finally able to narrow my prompt request down to "I told my family I was going to my s/o’s place but they want to skype." (Thanksgiving Edition) and I'm looking forward to how you are going to ban this prompt on (virtual) paper. :)

Thanks for the prompt, Laura! Enjoy some fake dating Thanksgiving Bellarke fluff :)

Bellamy frowned at his phone. Clarke was calling him. Clarke never used her phone as a phone, she always texted. They hadn’t really seen much of each other lately either…since she and her ex had gotten together, actually. Something must be up.

“Hey, Clarke, everything ok?” he answered the call, unable to imagine what reason Clarke had to be calling him.

“Hi Bellamy,” Clarke said cheerfully, “sorry to bother you, but I need to borrow your kitchen on Thursday if I can.”

Bellamy ran a hand through his hair, quite confused. “My kitchen?”

“And you,” Clarke added

“You need to borrow me and my kitchen on Thanksgiving?” Bellamy stood up and began to pace. “Clarke, what’s going on?”

Clarke sighed heavily on the other end of the line. “I told my mom I couldn’t come home for Thanksgiving and she asked why so I told her I was spending the day with you.”

“Ok, but why would you be spending Thanksgiving with me?” Bellamy puzzled.

“I told her we were dating.” 

“You told your mom we were dating?”

“Are you going to repeat everything I say?”

“Clarke, come on, you have to concede that this is a little unexpected from my perspective.”

“Ok, fine,” Clarke admitted. “Yes, I told her we were dating, and now she wants to Skype with us so I’m screwed unless you help me out.”

“Ok, weirdo. Why didn’t you ask me before you made up that story for your mom?”

“I wasn’t thinking, obviously.” Clarke replied. “They’re just really busy right now, my mom and Marcus, and I’m going to see them soon at Christmas, and things at work are kind of crazy so I didn’t want to take the time off…”

“Clarke, Clarke, it’s fine,” Bellamy reassured her. “I guess teasing you is as good a use of my time on Thanksgiving as anything else.”

“I guess it is.” Clarke paused. “You sure this is ok? I don’t want to ruin your plans, and I know I kind of sprung this on you…”

“You absolutely sprung it on me,” Bellamy agreed. “But it’s fine, really. Come over around noon on Thursday and we can started.”

“You’re the best. Thanks, Bellamy.” Clarke’s relief was audible.

“Don’t forget your apron,” he teased.

“You know I don’t have one,” Clarke replied, and hung up.

She arrived at his place exactly on time Thanksgiving day, carrying a six pack and a bag of potato chips ��just in case.”

“This isn’t exactly what I was expecting, Bellamy,” Clarke frowned as she looked around the bare countertops of his familiar kitchen. “Why aren’t you elbow deep in food prep right now? And where’s Octavia?”

“O is spending the holiday with her girlfriend’s family,” Bellamy replied, “So I wasn’t planning on cooking anything special until you invited yourself over.”

“Niylah’s family didn’t invite you to join?” Clarke asked, almost indignantly.

“Relax, they did,” Bellamy replied casually as he put the beer in the fridge, “but it’s their first holiday as a couple and I thought I’d give Octavia some space.”

“That doesn’t sound like you,” Clarke replied, then quickly added, “So you don’t have a turkey or anything? What are we going to cook? I have to convince my mom this is real.”

Bellamy shrugged. “I figured we could go shopping now. No reason for me to bankroll this whole thing, right?”

“Ok, that’s fair,” Clarke admitted. “I guess I just assumed you had a plan already. That’s on me. But it’s Thanksgiving day, Bellamy…the shelves are going to be practically empty, even if the stores are open.”

“We’ll figure something out,” Bellamy replied, grabbing his keys from a bowl on the kitchen table. “Let’s go, Griffin.”

They found an open supermarket a few miles away, but as Clarke predicted the shelves were pretty bare. The only turkey left was a huge 27 pound bird, which was much more than they needed.

“So….no turkey, then.” Bellamy glanced at Clarke, trying to gauge whether she was disappointed or not. “Is that going to be a problem?”

“Turkey tastes like napkins,” Clarke rejoined. “Let’s just make something else.”

Bellamy smirked. “What do you want to make?”

“I don’t care,” Clarke shrugged, gesturing toward the freezer section. “Mac and cheese, pizza, whatever you want.”

“Absolutely not,” Bellamy replied firmly and steered her towards the produce.

“What’s wrong with pizza?” Clarke asked indignantly.

“Nothing, we can make pizza, but we’re making it from scratch.”

“Of course we are,” Clarke grumbled, as Bellamy got some fresh basil, garlic, and a bell pepper.

“I don’t want your mom thinking your boyfriend can’t cook.”

Clarke rolled her eyes. “We’re not actually dating, Bellamy, does it matter what she thinks of your cooking?”

Bellamy flat out ignored her. “Can you get a small can of crushed tomatoes, and a bottle of olive oil? I’m almost out. I’ll meet you in the dairy section.”

Clarke found him debating between two brands of fresh mozzarella a few minutes later. “You’re overthinking this. That one.” She threw one of the containers into the basket with her items.

“Fine, fine. Ready to go?”

Clarke frowned. “We didn’t get a crust.”

Bellamy rolled his eyes. “We’re not going to buy a crust, Clarke. We’re going to make it.”

“We?”

“Yeah, I’ll show you, it’s not that hard.”

“I’m surprised you’re not making the cheese from scratch too,” muttered Clarke.

Bellamy just chuckled and led the way to the checkout.

Back in Bellamy’s kitchen, he had started work on the dough and Clarke, under his watchful eye, chopped the garlic and got the sauce prepped.

“You’re actually not half bad at this, Clarke.”

“I can follow explicit instructions, thank you very much.”

Clarke was expecting her mom to call around 4:00, and they were making good time. Now they just waited for the dough to rise. Clarke congratulated herself for the foresight to bring a snack.

“By the way, this is a lot of work for something you can just order for like ten bucks,” she commented, grabbing them each a beer from the fridge.

“It’s going to be amazing, you’ll see, then you’ll be begging me to make you pizza every week,” Bellamy promised, accepting the bottle she handed him.

“Maybe.” Clarke grinned. “Anyway, I owe you, Bellamy. Thanks for letting me take over your entire holiday. Actually,” she considered, taking a sip of her drink, “You might owe me, more. What were you going to be doing all day today, while everyone else was celebrating?”

Bellamy blushed. “I don’t know, watch a little tv and work on grading papers, probably.”

Clarke rolled her eyes. “So boring. This is better.”

He grinned. “This is much better.”

It really was. Clarke was still a lot of fun to be with, and even though they hadn’t spent a lot of time together lately it didn’t feel as if they’d grown apart at all. Clarke seemed to be enjoying herself too. She was going through his kitchen cabinets and making fun of all the assorted tools that she had never seen before.

“What’s this? A citrus zester? What do you need to zest citrus for?”

“Remind me to make you my blueberry muffins some time.”

“Maybe we should make those next.“

“You going to be compensating me for my services, Griffin?”

Clarke shot him a wicked grin. “Shut up, you love it.”

“I do,” he admitted. “I’ve missed you lately, Clarke, honestly.”

Clarke didn’t reply, just abruptly hugged him, burrowing her face into his chest. He was taken off guard for a moment, but quickly recovered and wrapped his arms round her tight.

“You ok?” he murmured into her hair. He hadn’t seen her this vulnerable…ever.

“Yeah, I’m ok,” she whispered back. “Thanks.”

“Clarke, you know that—“

He was cut off by a beeping ring from Clarke’s laptop. She’d left it open on the kitchen table, waiting for her mom to call. They were both quite startled, Clarke pulling back from him and Bellamy laughing nervously. He hated to admit it, but in the past hour he’d actually forgotten that the whole basis of them spending the holiday together was a facade for her parents. He’d started to believe it was real. He wondered if she had too.

Clarke took a deep breath, then she reached over and squeezed his hand. “Thanks again for doing this.”

“No problem,” he said, and meant it.

“Come on,” she quickly seated herself in a chair facing the computer and indicated for Bellamy to do the same.

He followed, and tentatively placed an arm round the back of her chair. “This ok?”

She glanced up at him before reaching forward to pick up the call, smiling widely. “Perfect.”