#[ red got me feeling things and poppy your reply to that made me feel more things and now i hold them but i also shake roger and put him in
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[ TUG ]: sender grabs the receiver’s hair and pulls at it. (the 'stache bc he's little but also a brat)
THINGS DONE WITH HAIR
✧. “ Ow— ow, ow, ow, ow— ” he winced at the boy's — a baby — actions. How could something so small have so much strength ? Technically, it didn't really hurt. Nothing compared to, say, being stabbed. But his only slightly exaggerated actions seemed to be amusing the child, and so he kept them up.
Seemed to. He was laughing, so that was a good thing, right ? Roger could never tell for sure. Although no matter what the rest of the crew thought — from the way they hoovered whenever he held the baby ( the current role of watcher falling upon Rayleigh ) — he did have some knowledge on how to handle a baby. Even if, admittedly, his last experience was mostly just watching Rayleigh take care of a few after he'd nearly dropped the two he was carrying into a nearby canal. But still !
“ I think he likes me, ” he chirped cheerfully, tilting his back towards his first mate with a bright grin as he adjusted his hold on Shanks — it'd said his name was Shanks — to hold him in his arms more steadily as he'd been shown; his own head dragged along with the movement as the grip on his mustache never flattered.
He couldn't help his expression from softening just a touch as he looked down as much as he could, bringing a hand up to gently brush some stray strands of what little red hair the child had out of his face. Mother of seas, he was so small. It took the boy's entire hand to grab just one side of his mustache. How could anything possibly be so small ? It made a part of him wish to tuck Shanks safely into his pocket where Roger could forever watch over him, as odd as the thought was.
“ ...I don't want him to let go, Rayleigh, ” he muttered, a quiet confession as his smile dimmed with realization, “ Our ship is no place to keep a child, I know, I know. And yet... I don't want him to let go. ”
He repeated it more surely, with sinking heart. He didn't want to let go, his arms curling ever-so-slightly more around Shanks without even noticing. They weren't fit to care for a child; the Sea, especially those of the Grandline, were unforgiving at best. That wasn’t even mentioning their countless enemies—
Yet, he couldn't help but feel slight panic rise at the idea of letting the child go.
“ It was fate, wasn't it ? We claimed the treasure. We claimed the treasure he was in for ourselves, Rayleigh, ” the words falling out more hurriedly, “ He's our treasure. He's my treasure. My crew. What kind of captain would I be if I abandoned one of my own ? Or what if someone finds out where he's from ? I don't give a damn, but we both know the Government's run by bastards. Sure, Garp knows, but— Garp's Garp, ” he thought he heard Rayleigh say something, but he couldn't quite tell. All he could focus on was how small the boy was. So small and fragile. They could watch over him, couldn’t they ? Or would that make things worse ? Did it matter ?
“ Worse yet, what if he's lonely out there ? ” the mere idea brought a shiver down his spine and cold pit in his stomach, bringing the boy closer to his chest, “ I can't do that to someone. Being lonely is a fate worse than death. No, it wouldn't happen, people would love him— i mean, look at him ! He's adorable, how could anyone say no to this pudgy face ? But Rayleigh, what if he is— ”
Another sharp tug at his face broke him out of his ramblings. To his horror, Shanks looked as though he were a breath away from crying. Immediately, Roger brought back the smile to his face, quietly hushing the child and clumsily rocking him in his arms the way he'd seen some others do on the streets before. He wasn't... really sure what purpose it served, but a sigh of relief fell past grinning lips as it seemed to work. Perhaps it was akin to how the waves rocked their beds each night. A child of the sea, just like any other one of them.
Either way, he'd be sure to be more careful in front of Shanks from then on.
“ We'll decide his fate together come morning, ” he declared resolutely, keeping his face down at the boy because he already knew what he'd see written on Rayleigh's expression if he looked.
“ Shanks, ” he tried the name on his tongue, wondering if held any meaning he didn’t know of, “ Did you know your name is Shanks, lad ? ” did he ? He didn't know if babies even knew their own names, just that they needed others. Shanks couldn't survive on his own. He needed protection, so why couldn't it be Roger the one to protect him ? He had to have found Shanks for a reason if fate made it so their paths crossed. It was fate, and who were any of them to deny that ?
“ No matter what happens, ” his voice a murmur, steady and resolute as he gingerly traced his thumb on the boy’s head, his smile warm like sunlight, “ You're going to be alright, Captain Roger's going to make sure of it. That’s a promise, okay ? ”
#[ ic. ] ✧〖 eternally challenging the sea 〗#[ v. golden days ] ✧〖 rays of sunshine 〗#akagamiko#[ me turning your ask into indulgence because i cAN--- dsfkjlsdf#[ roger vc: okay so new cabin boy :D#[ freaking.#[ red got me feeling things and poppy your reply to that made me feel more things and now i hold them but i also shake roger and put him in#[ the plinko because /sir that is your son--/#[ sorry right#[ cabin boy#[ and/or apprentice#[ His boy#[ his now#[ finders keepers loser weepers---#[ rotates them both in microwave fr
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The Nightmare and the Dreamer. Chapter 9. Confusing feelings
Pairing: Morpheus x FemaleReader
Rating: PG
Words: 1920
That night, you saw how three women came to the palace and cursed Morpheus to be a real nightmare. And you saw how he became more closed, angrier and lonely. How everyone stopped talking to him.
You knew that he was wrong, but you feel sorry for him. He was punished for the things he didn’t fully understand. They didn’t understand that he closed up, because his grief could destroy him and the dream.
But when you opened your eyes, you were alone. Morpheus was probably already busy. But he left you a beautiful red flower on the pillow. Such a romantic gesture. You hope that he will join you for breakfast. You picked up a white dress and went to the castle. The way was easy. Morpheus didn’t want you to get lost.
“My lady," you heard Lucienne’s voice as soon as you got into the castle. “Are you alright? Were you not in the castle?”
“No, Morpheus made a place for me, and we spent the night there," you said. “He must be working right now.”.
"Spent the night together?” she asked.
“We were sleeping”, you smiled. “But it was very sweet of him to make such a place for me and stay with me.”.
“Yes, indeed," she replied calmly.
“Is he going to join me for breakfast?” you asked.
“I suppose so," Lucienne replied. “He didn’t say anything to me about your date, and I didn’t see him yet.”.
It makes sense. You nodded and followed her to the dining room. And he was there.
“Good morning”, you said, smiling at him.
“Good morning," he smiled back at me. “Did you sleep well?”
“Yes, thank you," you replied. “When did you leave the house?”
"Early," he said. “I have a work to do, and I didn’t want to wake you up. I hope you weren’t upset by my absence.”.
“A little bit," you smiled. “But thank you for the flower.”.
“Do you like it?” he asked.
“Of course," you replied.
"Good," he said, and he continued to eat in the silence.
You were thinking about what he was going to prepare for you today. Or maybe he will be too busy courting you.
“Do you have a lot of work to do today?” you asked.
“I’m still working on clearing my kingdom from darkness, she said. “Do you wish to join me? If you don’t have other things to do”.
“I will be happy to join you”, you smiled.
“Very well”, he said, looking glad.
After breakfast, you were watching how he tried to call the light in his kingdom. Until you decided to help him.
“I need to do it myself”, he said firstly, but didn’t take back his hand.
“And you will, soon”, you smiled, and this went easier.
“Thank you”, he whispered lately. “I did so much faster. Do you want to know what I was working on?”
“Yes”, you nodded.
“Very well”, Morpheus replied, taking my hand, and then we appeared in the field of poppies. It was so beautiful.
“This place is so wonderful”, you said, amazed. “Just like it should be”.
“I’m glad you like it”, he said. “There are a lot of places like this in the Dreaming. Or there were…before”.
“It will be beautiful again”, you smiled. “I believe in it. I believe in you. I believe that only someone with a beautiful heart can make it.”.
He suddenly blushed, and it was very cute. He quickly turned away, but you saw it anyway. And I decided to pretend that you didn’t notice it.
“Can we stay here a little longer?” you asked.
“Very well”, he suddenly, creating a blanket on the grass and a picnic basket. “I remember you liked our picnic”.
“Oh, I won’t say no to this”, you said and sat on the blanket.
He sat in front of you and took out different sweets, fruits and even wine. It was very thoughtful of him to prepare this.
“You made my time here pleasant”, you confessed. “I couldn’t even imagine that I would be in a place like this”.
“I’m glad”, he said. “Do you think you can stay here forever?”
“I don’t know…” you sighed. “I’m sleeping in my world right now, right?”
“Yes”, he nodded.
You imagined that your father was worried about you at home. And you are sleeping months, years like Sleeping beauty.
“Do you miss home?” he asked.
“A little bit”, you smiled. “But I like to be here too”.
“I saw your dreams”, he said. “You dreamt of different places and worlds. About travels and adventures. And love”.
“Yes”, you said.
“I suppose the other girl in your place would successfully escape”, Morpheus admitted. “The one who doesn’t dream about adventures”.
“Perhaps”, you smiled.
“It’s a miracle that it was you, who…”, he stopped talking.
“Who came to rescue her father from your sleepy sickness?” you asked. “I’m glad I met you, too. Even though you scared me in the beginning”.
You spend some time together. Until you tasted everything. And you wished that every day could be like this day. Perhaps, once Morpheus is free of the curse, he will return to his duties fully and stop paying attention to you.
“What’s wrong?” he asked, noticing your worry.
“Nothing”, you replied.
“No, something is troubling you”, Morpheus insisted.
“What if we can break the curse?" you said carefully. “What happened then?”
“What do you mean?” he frowned.
“What will happen to us?” you asked.
“You can stay here if you wish”, he said.
But you both understand that you need to die or stay asleep in the real world, if you are going to live in the Dreaming.
“I know that you want to travel”, he said. “And I prepared something special for you tomorrow. I hope you will like it”.
“I am sure that I will like it”, you smiled.
“Tell me what else you are dreaming of," he asked.
"Maybe a ball?” you suggested.
“A ball?” he frowned. “If only for two of us. I doubt someone wants to attend my ball right now. Only my sister”.
“Yes”, you smiled. “For two of us”.
“Very well, I can make it”, he nodded.
“Really?” You took his hand. “It would be great”.
He almost smiled. There was something incredible in the fact that he wanted to do everything for you. But you didn’t want to use it. You don’t want to use him.
“You are so gentleman”, you admitted.
“Do you like it?” he asked.
“Why do you ask?” It confused you. “Do you want to please me? Would you like to please me at this point? Because your opinion should matter”.
"I like the fact that my attention pleases you”, he said. “That’s better than you being scared of me. I always wonder why people are scared of me, but not of my sister. Even before the curse”.
“Perhaps it’s your attitude or dark clothes”, you smiled. “You looked like the antagonist of one of the urban stories”.
“I am neither antagonist nor a protagonist," he declined.
“I didn’t say that you are”, you said. “Just that you made that impression.”.
“Hm…” he said.
“I don’t say that you need to change your style or something else”, you admitted. “Just saying the possible answered”.
“I see”, Morpheus replied.
You returned to the castle. You said that you wanted to be with him in the cabin, but he said that he had work to do. Furthermore, you felt disappointed and preferred to stay in the castle.
“You don’t like the cabin?” he asked.
“I just don’t want to feel alone there”, you shrugged. “I have the whole castle for this”.
And he frowned. You felt like you said something wrong. You don’t want to consume his all-time. And you sighed.
“I’m sorry”, you said. “I didn’t mean to offend you or distract you from your work. It’s just that the castle is so big, and I feel so small there”.
“You can sleep in my room while I am working," he said. “I didn’t mean to make you feel alone”.
“Really?” you asked.
“Of course”, he nodded. “I know too well how it feels now”.
Your heart almost breaks at the thought.
"So, are you going to join me in my room?” Morpheus asked.
And you followed him. You didn’t want to imagine what you can do in his room. He will be busy. That’s not something else.
“Do you still see dreams?” Morpheus asked suddenly.
“Yes”, you replied carefully, because you don’t understand what dreams he meant.
“What exactly did you see?” he asked.
"Promise that you won’t be angry”, you said.
“Why should I be angry?” he asked.
“I saw you from behind,” you said. “And Calliope. And…”
"Orpheus," he whispered.
“Yes”, you said.
“And what exactly did you see?” he asked.
“Not much”, you replied. “Some of your conversations”.
“So you should see what brought me to my state”, he wasn’t looking at me. “And my downfall”.
“Yes”, you replied.
“And you still want to stay in my presence and don’t hate me”, he sighed. “Why?”
“Because it wasn’t you”, you said. “It was your grief”.
“What do you know about grief?” he asked, looking at you.
“I lost my mother”, you said. “So I know something. I don’t say that our grief is the same. But I understand your pain”.
“I need to work." You were sure that his eyes shone from tears, and he quickly came onto the terrace. You lied on his bed. Likewise, you didn’t want to push him to tell you about it. These things are too painful to handle, and you don’t want to destroy his trust. You started to feel something else for him. Something tender and fragile.
And with that thought, you started to fall asleep.
Morpheus
She knew what I did. She knew why I was cursed. And it’s a marvel that she's still here. I should work on my surprises, because that is how I want to thank her.
“So, how is everything going on?” Matthew joined me.
“It goes well”, I replied.
“I feel the curse will break soon”, he said. “You even spent the last night in the cabin. How was it? Did she like it?”
“Matthew, we were talking and sleeping”, I replied.
“I mean, did she like your gift?” he asked.
“Yes, but she doesn’t want to be there alone”, I replied.
“So what’s stopping you from spending all day there together, boss?” he asked. “As far as I know, it can make you closer to each other”.
“I will consider this”, I said. “Tomorrow we will have a trip and the ball”.
“The ball?” he asked. “Is this a wedding ball?”
“For two of us”, I replied. “It is her wish”.
“You really like her, aren’t you, boss?” he noticed.
"Yes… She knows. Why I became a nightmare and am still here. She still wants me to be with her. It’s a miracle”.
“We have a real hope now”, the raven flied around in excitement. “I really hope nothing is going to mess it up”.
“Do you mean me?” I narrowed my eyes.
“No, I know that you are gentle with her”, he said. “But something made her run away. I would like her to stay”.
“It’s her decision to make”, I sighed. “Now you can fly away. I need to work”.
“Alright, alright”, he mumbled, and he flew away.
And I continued to work on the place I wanted to show her tomorrow. I wanted to make the proposal after the ball. And I want everything to be perfect.
@shadowqueen1318 @mypsychoticlove @justathirstyhoe @ladymoztaza @sapphireonline @deniixlovezelda
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Love Is For Bloomin' Pecknecks! Ch2 Apologies And Acting
From that day forth the two would barely interact with each other. She felt bad at first but Mr. Grooves reassured her everything was fine.
"That old bird was due for a telling off, Darling. I'm just surprised no one's told him those things sooner. He'll be fine. If anything the Conductor's a rough old bird, so it'll take a little more than a small spat to scare him off."
To his credit the moon penguin was right. Because she ended up seeing more and more of these two having argument. Or more precisely Conductor yelling at Mr. Grooves as he stared back calmly but whenever he saw Cookie he would shut up, turn tail, and quickly stomp off yelling at nothing which Mr. Grooves didn't care about...At first. As the months went on a lot of things happened. Cookie ended up visiting the girls more with Muriel and one day met their new live in babysitter when cooking something for the girls to eat when they came back. A girl from the country with flaming red hair named Poppy. Poppy Rose Bloomington. Poor thing was wet and cold and starting a cold. Never fear! Cooking cat is here! She made sure she got a bath and washed her dress for her, making sure to hand over back her bracelet that fell out of the pocket, and made sure she had a hot meal before she was forced to leave to make sure Muriel was alright. Poppy was such a nice lady, poor and lost, but nice. She could sorta relate to that. Though there was something else happening too. Mr. Grooves had noticed the way the cat had acted so motherly around Muriel, and sweet to the moon penguins and stressed Express owls. Everyone seemed to love her. BAH! What do they know!? She was just a cat! A thieving. Bad....Nice...K-Kind. Pretty colored. Cute giggles. Feisty...She'd be a good grandmother to his little wee ones- That thought made him shake his head and pull at his yellow feathers! Stop that! She was a cat! A cat that was...r-really pretty and ...and not afraid to own up to her mistakes. He should know because it was the first time anyone had apologized to him genuinely. She felt so bad for yelling at him. He remembered well. He was on Lunch break when she came over. The first thing catching his attention was the sweet smell of birdseed cookies, and a second later a small plate of freshly baked cookies were set down in front of his sandwich by an orange paw and he looked up. Nearly choking on his sandwich when he saw HER there. Staring with a guilty kicked puppy expression hat in her hands staring at him.
"L-LASS!!," he choked out as he swallowed the food but she stopped him from talking further.
"Please don't say anything," she replied calmly with a guilty undertone to her voice, "I just came to apologize to ya."
And his mind blanked. "......Wot?"
"Ah've been thinking about it a lot lately and well-..I feel really bad for yellin' at you like that. I mean..You didn't even know me. For all you knew I was a thief. I can't blame ya for feeling that way when my kind haven't really done anything to squelch those fears of yours. So.." She gestured to the plate of cookies in front of him. "I hope you like cookies, and that you can forgive me. I-If not for my sake then for a better workplace?"
He stared at her. Then at the cookies. Opening his mouth and closing it a couple times before turning red again. She cooked...for HIM!? After a moment of awkward of silence he cleared his throat. "It's...Tis n-nah a problem!" He looked away quickly grip tightening on his food. Why was he feeling like this. "Tho...I-I guess I was in the wrong too. *ahem* Apologies a-accepted..An..Given back to ya?"
Cookie blinked back in surprise as well before smiling. "Well ah'll accept the apologies given back to me. I'm just glad we could come to an understandin'. And here others said you were unreasonable." ...Wait. He snapped back at her- "But that's fair from the truth ain't it?" She sat down next to him making him pause as she giggled. "Mr. Grooves told me about how much ya care 'bout your grandchildren and son."
"...Oi. He did did he?" He asked slowly raising a brow. The peckneck was talking about him huh? "What else has that flipper flapper said?"
"Oh nothing bad. Just that you had a family and you ran the train on top of being a movie director which I must say is quite a feat. I'm impressed by your skills and dedication." Her smile ever genuine. "I adore some of your films."
His feathers puffed up more as she smiled widely. "I-I-I w-w-wot-"
"The Cactus Casualties! I never expected that an actual cactus enchanted by a Sand Witch was the culprit. I could've sworn it was the saloon owner puttin' the cactus juice in the nutmix!"
"Ahehe. Well I-..Wait." His head snapped back to her faster than a bullet. "Ye actually knew that was nut mix and nah birdseed!?"
She nodded. "As someone who works with food you have to pay special attention to food details. It's a habit I formed so I noticed it straight away. It's the small details that count. Dontcha think?"
"Ah...." He smiled back at her. "Aye. Tis the details that make ye movie. ..Y'know. Ye was the first one to point that out?"
"Wait. Really? I thought it was obvious it was a plain old nut mix. Birdseed is totally different. Those owls were totally confusing the audience calling it birdseed all the time."
"That's wot I said but it was too late to change the script!! And refilming everrrrything would've been too much time! That's why I now write me own scripts! Hmph!"
Her eyes widened. "You write your own scripts too!? Wow! You're better at multitasking than I am with three pots on one stove."
He nodded. "...Oh. By the way, Lassie. That DJ Pe-...*ahem* Grooves wouldn't have happened ta mention anything else about me to ya, would he?"
"Hm? Oh no. Not really. Only that you had a family and liked birdseed cookies." He sighed reaching for a cookie and deciding to toss it into his mouth. "Oh. And that you were single."
Conductor choked on his cookie-
Things weren't tense anymore. Well..at least back to normal tense concerning the Conductor and Cookie now. The two waved when seeing each other and sometimes she'd come bring him lunch on his breaks where they'd talk about his movies and she'd give him tips on food presentations for his movies which he took serious. He was a perfectionist when it came to movie details after all, and it didn't hurt to have a pretty lady cooking for him. And OH PECK!! Her food was grand. He never liked sweet things like cake before but she revealed his hidden sweet tooth for her-..uh these things. The owls were still yelled at by him and he still yelled at most people but with less bite until one day. The theme for the Bird Movie Awards was announced. Romance. Why? Well with a few of the judges for the movies falling ill the date had to be pushed back to allow them to recover and that put the new rewards ceremony close to Cupid's Day, so Romance would be the new theme. And with her first season of her cooking show coming to an end so Mr. Grooves could focus on the movie- No wait. Play he was working on she was glad for the break and was happy for him. He had gotten the idea from a very popular children's book and he seemed super excited to try it out. As for Conductor he was working on his own movie which was coming along great. At his rate he should have it done long before Cupid Day was here. Or at least we would've if it wasn't for an accident. Cookie had taken Muriel with her to the little aliens ship and met up with Poppy again. The poor dear was so cooped up she invited her to come shopping with her and the girls in Express Town and she agreed. After grabbing some gold for money the five ladies made their way into Express Town. Exchanging the gold, buying some new clothes, things like that. And when everyone got hungry she offered to give everyone a free lunch at her cafe, only thing wrong was that she accidentally left her purse inside her set up at the studios again so they had to take a small detour to grab it....She was only gone for fifthteen minutes! No more and no less! And in those fifthteen minutes Conductor's entire movie was destroyed, a fight had broke out between the bird and Poppy, Poppy had somehow accidentally broken the Directors' shared VERY expensive camera, Poppy agreed to work for Mr. Grooves for free in exchange to pay him back, and now Conductor was forced to resort to another idea since his first movie was completely wrecked and it would take too long and costly to refilm everything in the original. .....All she did was get her purse and come back! How did these things keep happening to her!? Sigh. Oh well. At least it wasn't something caused by Muriel's stunts again. Cookie was given the chance to catch up on what happened taking them to lunch and keeping the three company until the next train back to the Moon City. From then on for a while things were calm for now but she was wondering how Conductor was doing now that he was set back farther back than Mr. Grooves now. Last she heard he was looking for someone to play a southern bell damsel in distress but had no luck with any of the ladies who auditioned. Which lead to one fateful encounter when they decided to grab some food from the Jukebox Cafe and load and behold there was Conductor sitting in a quiet corner. His jacket was discarded next to him at the booth, looked to be on his hundredth cup of coffee, a stack of what must've been script in front of him lying on the table, and he mumbled to himself over nothing staring at the papers in front of him. So naturally Cookie walked on over to him with Muriel trailing right behind her.
"Mr. Conductor!" The owl gave a squawk as he jumped up towards her. In return she gave a big smile towards him. "Ah wasn't expecting to see you here today? What do I owe the pleasure?"
Conductor stared at her for a moment before opening his mouth, turning red, and clearing his throat. "L-Lassie! A-Aye was just...M-Mullin' over me movie scripct! Yeah!"
"Oh how nice. And how's that comin' along?"
He gave a long sigh before his hand reached up before rubbing his head. "Nah good. I got rrrroles to fill in but nah anyone I look at is good at the bloody roles! If only I had snagged that country red haired lass ta play the darned role! She would've had the accent for it at least!" Oh. He must've meant Poppy. The two of them had similar accents. "But nnnnooo!! She's working for DJ Sunglasses while m' stuck with empty slots like a broken poker game!"
"Oh I see. Poor man. Must be exhausting. Let me get you some food on the house."
"Wot? Nah! I can't ask ye to do that, Lass."
"You aren't. Ah'm offering and I insist. This is my cafe after all. It's the least I could do."
"Yer too kind, Lass."
Cooking looked over as Muriel also tugged insistently on her shirt. "Hey! I'm hungry too! How am I supposed to defend the world if I have an empty stomach?"
"Oh alright. My children have a healthy appetite. Waiter!" She waved to one of her employees who immediately paid attention. "Bring out two orders of burger and fries and another coffee for this gentlemen, and some katsu curry for myself."
The waiter disappeared and five minutes later the two girls were sitting in front of Conductor with their respective foods chatting away although he was still mostly thinking about his movie. He was more behind than that flashy peckneck by now and no one was fitting his darned roles! It shouldn't be this hard! Where was he supposed to find a southern bell that was kind and caring with a really sweet personality!?..Reality then hit him in the middle of taking a bite of his hamburger. When Muriel happily eating her own burger got ketchup and mustard all over her face. Cookie fussed and scolded her lightly in a motherly way before taking a couple napkins and hastily wiping at the fussing girl's face. Such a kind, sweet, and caring gesture. Then it hit him with the speed and force of his own train.
"THAT'S IT!!" His voice boomed out happily in new found excitement and he smiled startling the two ladies into looking at him. "Ahehehehe!! That's it! That's wot I've been missing!"
...Cookie blinked. "Uh..W-What?"
He pointed right at her. "You, Lass! You're the perfect one to play the rrrole of Catrina in me big film!"
Cookie's fur fluffed up in surprise as Conductor rubbed his hands together in glee. Napkins dropped so her paws could point at her. "W-Who me!? N-Now Mr. Conductor you must be mistaken! I-I haven't gotten an acting bone in mah body! I wouldn't be able to perform none!"
"Lassie please!," Conductor begged, "Ah now you'd be perfect for the rrrole! And I need ye help with this! I nah can do it on me own! And the deadline is leavin' me with nah choice! I'll make it up to ye in whatever ye want! Please help this old bird out once!"
Muriel's eyes widened at the thought of Cookie acting and snapped to her. And Cookie looked at the desperate bird in shock. Conductor was quite literally begging with his hands clasped together looking at her with a pleading frown on his face. She'd never seen the proud bird act like this before even when he was stressed so he must've been really desperate if he was resorting to begging out in the open where everyone could see him. And she couldn't blame him. Losing his first movie and scrambling to finish a second one must've put strain on him. She felt bad for him and she could help him now. Couldn't she?
Cookie continued to stare at him for a long moment before sighing. And smiling at him. "Well..If it really means that much to ya then I guess I could lend a hand."
"YES!! THANK YE LASSIE!! YA WON'T REGRET IT!!"
"Hey! What about me?," Muriel exclaimed with a frown, "Don't I ever get to do anything?"
"Oooh! I think I got the rrright role for the wee one!"
"hmm. What kind of role are we talking about here?"
"A hero! One who'd be the key piece ta helpin' the lassie escape from ye train mugger!"
Muriel looked real interested now. "A hero huh? Alright! Ya got yourself a deal! I can't wait to see everyone's face when I nail that bad guy in their ugly mug!"
"Ahahahaha!! That's the spirit! Ooh! We're surrre to kick that peckneck out of the rrring now!"
Now all his roles were filled in! They could begin filming now! HA! Watch out DJ Peckneck! His winning streak was back on track now!....And then he was scolded by Cookie for using the p word in front of Muriel.
#a hat in time#cooking cat x conductor#conductor x cooking cat#ahit conductor#cooking cat#Love Is for Bloomin' Pecknecks
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peace | S. Sallow | Chapter Two
Warnings: none
Sebastian Sallow x F!OC
"And that's all for today! Now remember, I want a seven inch essay on Glumbumbles by Friday of next week! Class dismissed!" Professor Howin shouted as the class got ready to leave.
Ariadne had partnered with Poppy Sweeting for the class again. Thought the girls' expertise on magical creatures and beasts was something to not be ignored. Especially after the whole adventure with the dragon egg and golden snidgets last term.
"Aren't they just adorable!" Poppy exclaimed happily, still admiring the Glumbumbles in their glass enclosures.
Ariadne looked at the gray insects, grimacing. At least it wasn't acromantulas. She had enough experiences those to last a lifetime. Though something tells her, she would still be dealing with those awful creatures.
"If you say so, Poppy," Ariadne sighed.
"Oh, Ariadne, I know how you feel about insects and arachnids," the Hufflepuff girl giggled.
"At safe distance away where they can't bother me!"
The girls started to walk back to the castle. Advanced Potion Making was next, a class that Ariadne had been excited to begin (other than alchemy). As she and Poppy approached the classroom, Ariadne saw Sebastian walk out, hands in his pockets as he stalked out of the classroom with Ominis in toe. The sour look on his face only softened when he caught sight of Ariadne. But the next person to leave the potions classroom was none other than Colter Winterfaire. No wonder Sebastian is in a foul mood, She thought.
As she and Poppy entered the classroom, they made their way over to a free table. Ariadne took her potions textbook out and laid it next to her cauldron.
"Now, time for a class I'll actually enjoy," She smiled, fixing her brown-auburn hair into a braid to keep it out of her face.
"What? You didn't enjoy Care of Magical Beasts?!" Poppy faked hurt.
"Oh, come off it! I love that class, I just love potions a lot more."
Suddenly, Garreth Weasley was there. His hair was a lions main of red curls, green eyes twinkling with mischief, and a wide grin plastered on his freckled face.
"Mind if I take one of the open spaces here?" He asked.
"Not all, Garreth," Poppy replied, "the more the merrier."
"Then you won't mind if I take the last place!" Imelda took the spot across from Ariadne.
"Nope!" Always the optimist, Poppy Sweeting.
There were the sounds of heavy out of sync footsteps. The class turned and saw Professor Sharp limping in. Some of the girls in class had dreamy looks on their faces as he went by. Ariadne had no idea why they found him attractive, given the fact that he was old enough to their father.
"Good day, class, and welcome back for a year of Advanced Potions. Seeing how you are all able to continue the subject in sixth year, you got an Outstanding on your OWLs for potions- some of you i'm surprised made it into this course," Sharp began, aiming a look at Garreth, "and today we'll be looking into and brewing the potion called Draught of Living Death. This can be found on page twenty-seven of your textbooks."
Ariadne opened her textbook and flipped to the corresponding page, reading the information tab in the corner.
The Draught of Living Death brings upon its drinker a very powerful sleep that can last indefinitely. This draught is very dangerous if not used with caution ... This is an extremely dangerous potion. Execute with maximum caution.
"Now, what would be the correct antidote if one were to consume this potion?"
Ariadne raised her hand.
"Ms. Silverthorne," Sharp acknowledged.
"Wiggenweld potion, sir," She answered.
"That is correct. Ten points to Slytherin."
The girl smiled to herself, a bit of pride swelling up inside. What a Slytherin thing to do, but then again, if one was sorted into Slytherin, feeling prideful was guaranteed. Ariadne had a vast knowledge of all sorts of potions and alchemical ingredients. When she wasn't fooling around with Sebastian over the summer, Ariadne was cooped up in her late father's study and alchemy lab. She would go over the hundreds of alchemy and potions books. Studying the formulas and components one needed for something somehow became a coping mechanism of sorts. Ariadne even concerned finding a possible cure for Anne Sallow in the Alchemy books her father owned, but shelved the idea for a later date seeing how she -like Sebastian- would have to dive into the depths of dark magic, especially when it came to alchemy.
"I must ask that you all proceed with caution when you start to brew this potion, especially you, Mr. Weasley." Sharp again gave Garreth another look.
"Loud and clear, professor," the Gryffindor boy chuckled nervously, scratching the back of his neck.
"You may begin!"
Ariadne got to work, taking the necessary ingredients out. She carefully looked over the instructions, mindful of how much of each component to add. The Sopophorous bean was a bit of a pain in the arse- the damn thing would not hold still for nothing. She ended up crushing it instead of cutting because it was driving her mad. Ariadne eventually removed her house cloak and loosened her tie because the humidity from the potion brewing was almost unbearable, and she could feel the sweat rolling down her forehead. There was the sound of a minor explosion next to her. Looking up from her cauldron, Ariadne found that Garreth Weasley- face covered in black soot- must have done something wrong to render the explosion. She had to cover her mouth to keep a laugh from erupting.
"Congratulations, Weasley, it's your first explosion of term!" Imelda said sarcastically.
Her normally neat ponytail was now loose with several strands of hair hanging down in her face. Garreth sent her a glare as he wiped his face with the sleeves of his robe and flipped Imelda the bird.
Poppy and Ariadne looked at each other and chuckled before returning to their work. As she finished her potion, Ariadne went to get Professor Sharp. He looked at her brew.
"Impressive, your skills in potions are truly outstanding," Sharp commented, "I'd say one drop of this, and it will kill us all."
Again, pride swelled within her, "Hard work and dedication pays off. Would you agree, professor?"
"I would, another ten points to Slytherin."
Ariadne smiled to herself, and as class ended, she bid farewell to Poppy and headed to her next class. As the day progressed and classes ended, she was stopped outside of the Alchemy class. It was Coulter again.
"What do you want, Coulter?" She asked.
"I just wanted to see if you changed your mind about butterbeer now that Sallow isn't around," He said, a genuine smile on his face.
"Like I said, I have plans. Professor Weasley wants to speak with me now that classes are over," Ariadne said.
Coulter nodded, "I understand, I just wanted to get to know you better, seeing how you're the Savior of Hogwarts and everything."
Ariadne quirked an eyebrow, "What's that supposed to mean?"
The Welsh boy just chuckled, "Nothing."
Then he slipped away, down the corridor, and disappeared in the throng of students. Ariadne just shook her head and proceeded to Professor Weasley's classroom in the transfiguration courtyard.
As she arrived, Professor Weasley was at her desk, going over some papers. She looked up and spotted Ariadne enter.
"Ah, Ms. Silverthorne, how lovely to see you, my dear," She greeted, getting up.
"Hello, Professor Weasley. You wanted to speak with me?"
"Yes, how are you adjusting since the events of last term?"
Ariadne took a seat at one of the desks. She let out a sigh and folded her arms. "I would say I'm doing well, but that would be a lie."
Professor Weasley gave her a concerned look, "What do you mean by that?"
"It's just with all that happened with Ranrok and Rookwood, not to mention losing Fig," Ariadne took a shakey breath, her green eyes looking at the desk, "I know, what i did saved the school, but I wish I could've done more, maybe I could've save Professor Fig."
"Ariadne, you needn't have to blame yourself for what happened, I'm sure Fig is proud of the student you have become," Professor Weasley placed a hand on Ariadne's shoulder.
She gave the professor a weak smile. She wasn't so sure that was true. Ariadne saw the look of disappointment on Figs face when she decided she wanted to keep the power for herself and learn to use it. He died being disappointed in her. She just knew it. And now the power she holds is wanting to be used.
"How are you adjusting to your new classes?" Professor Weasley changed the subject, sensing the grim atmosphere.
"I'm adjusting quite well, I really enjoy alchemy," Ariadne answered, "it's something that I find fascinating."
"It's from my understanding that your late father was an Alchemist, am I correct?"
"Yes, my father was dedicated to his study. He was obsessed with finding ways to make one's life better through alchemy. My mother was a potioneer, she wrote several books on her findings with potions she's created. I guess you can say my parents ambitions rubbed off on me."
Ariadne smiled fondly at the memory of her parents. She lost them both when she was eight years old. They left for a business trip somewhere in Ireland, leaving a young Ariadne in the care of her Aunt Marjorie. They were ambushed by dark wizards on their way back and killed in the process. Marjorie did her best to take care of the young witch and had taken her traveling around the world. Ariadne lived with her until she turned thirteen and decided to take residence back at Silverthorne Manor.
Ariadne's father had attended Durmstrang and her mother attended Beauxbaton, so it was only natural that Ariadne thought she'd receive letters from those schools when she turned eleven. But no such luck. She thought she was a squib for five years. So, it wasn't until Ariadne was fifteen that she received her letter to Hogwarts, did she realize she did have the ability to create magic, let alone the ability to see and use Ancient Magic. Her Aunt Marjorie was the only one on her mother's side that attended Hogwarts and was friends with Professor Fig.
"I'm sure your Aunt is proud of you," Professor Weasley said, "I remember the days Marjorie was in my class, best friends with Professor Merabel Garlick, always up to something those two."
Ariadne chuckled, "Aunt Marjorie never told me she was friends with Professor Garlick."
"They were inseparable during their years at Hogwarts. Though Marjorie was also close to Professor Fig," the Professor moved back over by her desk.
"That I did know. He was her favorite professor." Ariadne got up from her desk.
Professor Weasley smiled warmly, "Thank you for coming to see me today, Ms. Silverthorne, I'm sure you have other things to do now."
"Anytime, Professor."
With that, Ariadne left the classroom, making her way back to the Slytherin common room.
#hogwarts legacy#sebastian sallow#harry potter#wizarding world#sebastian salllow x mc#hogwarts legacy mc#sebastian sallow x oc
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Love Is For Bloomin’ Pecknecks! Ch2 Apologies And Acting
From that day forth the two would barely interact with each other. She felt bad at first but Mr. Grooves reassured her everything was fine.
"That old bird was due for a telling off, Darling. I'm just surprised no one's told him those things sooner. He'll be fine. If anything the Conductor's a rough old bird, so it'll take a little more than a small spat to scare him off."
To his credit the moon penguin was right. Because she ended up seeing more and more of these two having argument. Or more precisely Conductor yelling at Mr. Grooves as he stared back calmly but whenever he saw Cookie he would shut up, turn tail, and quickly stomp off yelling at nothing which Mr. Grooves didn't care about...At first. As the months went on a lot of things happened. Cookie ended up visiting the girls more with Muriel and one day met their new live in babysitter when cooking something for the girls to eat when they came back. A girl from the country with flaming red hair named Poppy. Poppy Rose Bloomington. Poor thing was wet and cold and starting a cold. Never fear! Cooking cat is here! She made sure she got a bath and washed her dress for her, making sure to hand over back her bracelet that fell out of the pocket, and made sure she had a hot meal before she was forced to leave to make sure Muriel was alright. Poppy was such a nice lady, poor and lost, but nice. She could sorta relate to that. Though there was something else happening too. Mr. Grooves had noticed the way the cat had acted so motherly around Muriel, and sweet to the moon penguins and stressed Express owls. Everyone seemed to love her. BAH! What do they know!? She was just a cat! A thieving. Bad....Nice...K-Kind. Pretty colored. Cute giggles. Feisty...She'd be a good grandmother to his little wee ones- That thought made him shake his head and pull at his yellow feathers! Stop that! She was a cat! A cat that was...r-really pretty and ...and not afraid to own up to her mistakes. He should know because it was the first time anyone had apologized to him genuinely. She felt so bad for yelling at him. He remembered well. He was on Lunch break when she came over. The first thing catching his attention was the sweet smell of birdseed cookies, and a second later a small plate of freshly baked cookies were set down in front of his sandwich by an orange paw and he looked up. Nearly choking on his sandwich when he saw HER there. Staring with a guilty kicked puppy expression hat in her hands staring at him.
"L-LASS!!," he choked out as he swallowed the food but she stopped him from talking further.
"Please don't say anything," she replied calmly with a guilty undertone to her voice, "I just came to apologize to ya."
And his mind blanked. "......Wot?"
"Ah've been thinking about it a lot lately and well-..I feel really bad for yellin' at you like that. I mean..You didn't even know me. For all you knew I was a thief. I can't blame ya for feeling that way when my kind haven't really done anything to squelch those fears of yours. So.." She gestured to the plate of cookies in front of him. "I hope you like cookies, and that you can forgive me. I-If not for my sake then for a better workplace?"
He stared at her. Then at the cookies. Opening his mouth and closing it a couple times before turning red again. She cooked...for HIM!? After a moment of awkward of silence he cleared his throat. "It's...Tis n-nah a problem!" He looked away quickly grip tightening on his food. Why was he feeling like this. "Tho...I-I guess I was in the wrong too. *ahem* Apologies a-accepted..An..Given back to ya?"
Cookie blinked back in surprise as well before smiling. "Well ah'll accept the apologies given back to me. I'm just glad we could come to an understandin'. And here others said you were unreasonable." ...Wait. He snapped back at her- "But that's fair from the truth ain't it?" She sat down next to him making him pause as she giggled. "Mr. Grooves told me about how much ya care 'bout your grandchildren and son."
"...Oi. He did did he?" He asked slowly raising a brow. The peckneck was talking about him huh? "What else has that flipper flapper said?"
"Oh nothing bad. Just that you had a family and you ran the train on top of being a movie director which I must say is quite a feat. I'm impressed by your skills and dedication." Her smile ever genuine. "I adore some of your films."
His feathers puffed up more as she smiled widely. "I-I-I w-w-wot-"
"The Cactus Casualties! I never expected that an actual cactus enchanted by a Sand Witch was the culprit. I could've sworn it was the saloon owner puttin' the cactus juice in the nutmix!"
"Ahehe. Well I-..Wait." His head snapped back to her faster than a bullet. "Ye actually knew that was nut mix and nah birdseed!?"
She nodded. "As someone who works with food you have to pay special attention to food details. It's a habit I formed so I noticed it straight away. It's the small details that count. Dontcha think?"
"Ah...." He smiled back at her. "Aye. Tis the details that make ye movie. ..Y'know. Ye was the first one to point that out?"
"Wait. Really? I thought it was obvious it was a plain old nut mix. Birdseed is totally different. Those owls were totally confusing the audience calling it birdseed all the time."
"That's wot I said but it was too late to change the script!! And refilming everrrrything would've been too much time! That's why I now write me own scripts! Hmph!"
Her eyes widened. "You write your own scripts too!? Wow! You're better at multitasking than I am with three pots on one stove."
He nodded. "...Oh. By the way, Lassie. That DJ Pe-...*ahem* Grooves wouldn't have happened ta mention anything else about me to ya, would he?"
"Hm? Oh no. Not really. Only that you had a family and liked birdseed cookies." He sighed reaching for a cookie and deciding to toss it into his mouth. "Oh. And that you were single."
Conductor choked on his cookie-
Things weren't tense anymore. Well..at least back to normal tense concerning the Conductor and Cookie now. The two waved when seeing each other and sometimes she'd come bring him lunch on his breaks where they'd talk about his movies and she'd give him tips on food presentations for his movies which he took serious. He was a perfectionist when it came to movie details after all, and it didn't hurt to have a pretty lady cooking for him. And OH PECK!! Her food was grand. He never liked sweet things like cake before but she revealed his hidden sweet tooth for her-..uh these things. The owls were still yelled at by him and he still yelled at most people but with less bite until one day. The theme for the Bird Movie Awards was announced. Romance. Why? Well with a few of the judges for the movies falling ill the date had to be pushed back to allow them to recover and that put the new rewards ceremony close to Cupid's Day, so Romance would be the new theme. And with her first season of her cooking show coming to an end so Mr. Grooves could focus on the movie- No wait. Play he was working on she was glad for the break and was happy for him. He had gotten the idea from a very popular children's book and he seemed super excited to try it out. As for Conductor he was working on his own movie which was coming along great. At his rate he should have it done long before Cupid Day was here. Or at least we would've if it wasn't for an accident. Cookie had taken Muriel with her to the little aliens ship and met up with Poppy again. The poor dear was so cooped up she invited her to come shopping with her and the girls in Express Town and she agreed. After grabbing some gold for money the five ladies made their way into Express Town. Exchanging the gold, buying some new clothes, things like that. And when everyone got hungry she offered to give everyone a free lunch at her cafe, only thing wrong was that she accidentally left her purse inside her set up at the studios again so they had to take a small detour to grab it....She was only gone for fifthteen minutes! No more and no less! And in those fifthteen minutes Conductor's entire movie was destroyed, a fight had broke out between the bird and Poppy, Poppy had somehow accidentally broken the Directors' shared VERY expensive camera, Poppy agreed to work for Mr. Grooves for free in exchange to pay him back, and now Conductor was forced to resort to another idea since his first movie was completely wrecked and it would take too long and costly to refilm everything in the original. .....All she did was get her purse and come back! How did these things keep happening to her!? Sigh. Oh well. At least it wasn't something caused by Muriel's stunts again. Cookie was given the chance to catch up on what happened taking them to lunch and keeping the three company until the next train back to the Moon City. From then on for a while things were calm for now but she was wondering how Conductor was doing now that he was set back farther back than Mr. Grooves now. Last she heard he was looking for someone to play a southern bell damsel in distress but had no luck with any of the ladies who auditioned. Which lead to one fateful encounter when they decided to grab some food from the Jukebox Cafe and load and behold there was Conductor sitting in a quiet corner. His jacket was discarded next to him at the booth, looked to be on his hundredth cup of coffee, a stack of what must've been script in front of him lying on the table, and he mumbled to himself over nothing staring at the papers in front of him. So naturally Cookie walked on over to him with Muriel trailing right behind her.
"Mr. Conductor!" The owl gave a squawk as he jumped up towards her. In return she gave a big smile towards him. "Ah wasn't expecting to see you here today? What do I owe the pleasure?"
Conductor stared at her for a moment before opening his mouth, turning red, and clearing his throat. "L-Lassie! A-Aye was just...M-Mullin' over me movie scripct! Yeah!"
"Oh how nice. And how's that comin' along?"
He gave a long sigh before his hand reached up before rubbing his head. "Nah good. I got rrrroles to fill in but nah anyone I look at is good at the bloody roles! If only I had snagged that country red haired lass ta play the darned role! She would've had the accent for it at least!" Oh. He must've meant Poppy. The two of them had similar accents. "But nnnnooo!! She's working for DJ Sunglasses while m' stuck with empty slots like a broken poker game!"
"Oh I see. Poor man. Must be exhausting. Let me get you some food on the house."
"Wot? Nah! I can't ask ye to do that, Lass."
"You aren't. Ah'm offering and I insist. This is my cafe after all. It's the least I could do."
"Yer too kind, Lass."
Cooking looked over as Muriel also tugged insistently on her shirt. "Hey! I'm hungry too! How am I supposed to defend the world if I have an empty stomach?"
"Oh alright. My children have a healthy appetite. Waiter!" She waved to one of her employees who immediately paid attention. "Bring out two orders of burger and fries and another coffee for this gentlemen, and some katsu curry for myself."
The waiter disappeared and five minutes later the two girls were sitting in front of Conductor with their respective foods chatting away although he was still mostly thinking about his movie. He was more behind than that flashy peckneck by now and no one was fitting his darned roles! It shouldn't be this hard! Where was he supposed to find a southern bell that was kind and caring with a really sweet personality!?..Reality then hit him in the middle of taking a bite of his hamburger. When Muriel happily eating her own burger got ketchup and mustard all over her face. Cookie fussed and scolded her lightly in a motherly way before taking a couple napkins and hastily wiping at the fussing girl's face. Such a kind, sweet, and caring gesture. Then it hit him with the speed and force of his own train.
"THAT'S IT!!" His voice boomed out happily in new found excitement and he smiled startling the two ladies into looking at him. "Ahehehehe!! That's it! That's wot I've been missing!"
...Cookie blinked. "Uh..W-What?"
He pointed right at her. "You, Lass! You're the perfect one to play the rrrole of Catrina in me big film!"
Cookie's fur fluffed up in surprise as Conductor rubbed his hands together in glee. Napkins dropped so her paws could point at her. "W-Who me!? N-Now Mr. Conductor you must be mistaken! I-I haven't gotten an acting bone in mah body! I wouldn't be able to perform none!"
"Lassie please!," Conductor begged, "Ah now you'd be perfect for the rrrole! And I need ye help with this! I nah can do it on me own! And the deadline is leavin' me with nah choice! I'll make it up to ye in whatever ye want! Please help this old bird out once!"
Muriel's eyes widened at the thought of Cookie acting and snapped to her. And Cookie looked at the desperate bird in shock. Conductor was quite literally begging with his hands clasped together looking at her with a pleading frown on his face. She'd never seen the proud bird act like this before even when he was stressed so he must've been really desperate if he was resorting to begging out in the open where everyone could see him. And she couldn't blame him. Losing his first movie and scrambling to finish a second one must've put strain on him. She felt bad for him and she could help him now. Couldn't she?
Cookie continued to stare at him for a long moment before sighing. And smiling at him. "Well..If it really means that much to ya then I guess I could lend a hand."
"YES!! THANK YE LASSIE!! YA WON'T REGRET IT!!"
"Hey! What about me?," Muriel exclaimed with a frown, "Don't I ever get to do anything?"
"Oooh! I think I got the rrright role for the wee one!"
"hmm. What kind of role are we talking about here?"
"A hero! One who'd be the key piece ta helpin' the lassie escape from ye train mugger!"
Muriel looked real interested now. "A hero huh? Alright! Ya got yourself a deal! I can't wait to see everyone's face when I nail that bad guy in their ugly mug!"
"Ahahahaha!! That's the spirit! Ooh! We're surrre to kick that peckneck out of the rrring now!"
Now all his roles were filled in! They could begin filming now! HA! Watch out DJ Peckneck! His winning streak was back on track now!....And then he was scolded by Cookie for using the p word in front of Muriel.
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so before my days end
A/N: i originally started writing this for the 3rd life anniversary, and then promptly forgot about it until now. but i remembered it now and got it finished, so here you go!! it's basically all fluff haha. title is from Mr. Rose by Spence Hood
Warnings: talk of death (all past, and a lil worrying about the future), kissing
Summary: Jimmy pops a very important question. Which is only odd because he and Scott are already married. But in any case, it's a good excuse to take a break from the chaos of their world.
AO3 Link
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The suggestion came not long after Jimmy turned red. It was more of an out-of-the-blue outburst of a demand than a suggestion, if Scott’s being honest. But a demand made it sound like something Scott wouldn't want to do, and frankly Scott would give the world for his husband if he asked. That didn't change the surprise Scott got at the outburst, though.
"I want to get married," Jimmy blurted while the two of them were relaxing in the meadow. Scott peered down at Jimmy, who was gazing up at him from where he was nestled at his side.
"We're… already married?" Scott asked, brows furrowed. Did going to his red life so quickly after being on yellow cause some sort of memory loss? Did he not remember giving Scott the poppy, or their impromptu elopement? What else did Jimmy not remember?
"No, I know- I meant like… an actual ceremony or something. We just sorta said we were married- which still works! I just… I dunno, wanted something more official," Jimmy explained meekly.
"Well… that sounds nice, but with the way our world is, I don't know if-"
"That's exactly why I want to!" Jimmy interrupted. Scott raised an eyebrow.
"What do you mean?" he asked.
"Well… you saw how quickly I went to red. So… who knows how long we have together. I just wanna do something special before we lose the chance to," he said softly. Scott wanted to deny it in an instant, to say that he shouldn't talk like that because they both would be alright as long as they had each other… but Scott had to admit that Jimmy had a point. Even if he didn't like it. But he wasn't ready to outright agree with him yet.
"You sound like you're talking from your deathbed," Scott said with a frown.
"In this world, we both are," Jimmy said softly. Scott reached out to push a stray strand of Jimmy’s hair out of his eyes. Eyes that were red, now, not the soft brown Scott had initially fallen in love with.
"Figures we'd find love in a doomed world," Scott said dryly.
"I wouldn't change a thing," Jimmy breathed out. His expression was so open and earnest that Scott couldn’t resist leaning over and kissing him. Jimmy kissed him back eagerly, hands coming up to cup his face. Scott leaned his forehead against Jimmy’s when the kiss broke, his cheeks feeling nearly fever-warm at Jimmy’s touch.
"So. A wedding then?" Scott asked softly, unable to keep himself from grinning. Jimmy grinned back, pulling away from Scott slightly to lay back down in the grass beside him.
"It doesn't have to be anything super fancy, plus I don't know if we have the time for anything elaborate… but we gotta have poppies," Jimmy said.
"Of course," Scott replied, bemused as he propped himself up on an arm to gaze down at Jimmy.
"And some blue flowers too. To match your eyes," Jimmy said matter-of-factly. Scott felt himself flush a bit.
"My eyes?" Scott asked. Jimmy nodded enthusiastically.
"Yeah! The poppies are us in general, and red was always sorta my color before I ended up with red eyes. But for you specifically… maybe blue orchids, if we can find any," Jimmy said, trailing off with a thoughtful hum.
"I love you," Scott blurted. Jimmy made a startled sound, something between a laugh and a shout.
"I… I mean I love you too, obviously, but what brought that on?" Jimmy asked with a laugh.
"You're just… you! Although… I guess it specifically was the way you insisted we have to have flowers to match our eyes that got me this time,” Scott said with a chuckle. Jimmy rolled his eyes good-naturedly.
“Alright, so no flowers then,” he chuckled.
“No, I want the flowers! Poppies and blue orchids sound lovely. Who do we invite- oh and I suppose we’ll need someone to officiate…” Scott trailed off, wracking his brain for who he and Jimmy were even on good terms with anymore. Anyone from Dogwarts or vaguely allied with them was a no. He wasn’t sure how they stood with the Crastle members, but he didn’t think they were close enough to invite them to a wedding. Which left…
“What about Scar and Grian? Scar seems like the kind of guy who would be able to officiate a wedding,” Jimmy suggested. Scott let out a laugh.
“Yeah, I’m sure he’s totally legally licensed to marry people,” Scott scoffed with a smile.
“Not like we were super legally married to begin with,” Jimmy replied with a shrug.
“And Grian? Really? He’s the one who blew you up, y’know. He might rig our wedding to explode,” Scott added with mock distaste.
“He apologized after! Or at least he checked in on me…” Jimmy trailed off meekly.
“A murderer and a conman as our wedding party…” Scott said with a chuckle, shaking his head.
“What, should we invite the guys who want to sacrifice you?” Jimmy teased back.
“Yeah no, I think I prefer Grian and Scar,” Scott replied, settling back in the grass and looking up at the rapidly darkening sky.
“We should get married at this time of day,” Jimmy said softly, after a few moments of silence.
“Could always let a few starlight orbs float around if it gets too dark,” Scott said, voice wavering a bit with anxiety. He tended to keep his starborne heritage secret, lest he turn himself- and by extension, Jimmy- into a target. Well, into a bigger target than he and Jimmy already were, considering the tensions with Dogwarts.
“Are you sure?” Jimmy asked gently, turning his head to look at Scott with furrowed brows.
“It’s for our wedding day. Revealing my true nature is more than worth the risk,” Scott said firmly. And just to send the point home, he let a little bit of starlight gather in his hands before letting it float up above them. Jimmy let out a delighted gasp, and if Scott had looked over he would have seen that Jimmy was watching him, not the orb of starlight floating over their heads.
-
The day of their wedding had finally arrived. Well… it was really just two days later, they didn’t have that much to do other than officially invite Scar and Grian (and Pizza the llama) to their wedding and pick flowers. They even managed to find some white for each of them to wear- just white button ups and dress pants for each of them, and Scott wore a cyan bow tie while Jimmy’s was red.
Scott’s hands trembled a bit as he fixed his bowtie, then fussed over Jimmy’s. He wasn’t sure why he was nervous, they were already married! This was more just a vow renewal, if anything.
Scott looked up when Jimmy’s hands gently clasped over his, steadying them. Even with gray, decaying skin, Jimmy was stunning. The wind tousled his hair a bit, and the slowly sinking sun made his eyes shimmer like rubies. Scott leaned in to kiss him- but was halted by a kerfuffle from their guests arriving.
“Hold on there! I haven’t even said you can kiss the groom yet!” Scar called out, startling Scott and Jimmy away from each other. Scar was running in ahead through the gate, while Grian pulled a stubborn Pizza behind him. Scott chuckled at their antics, picking up his bouquet of poppies and blue orchids from where he had set it aside to fix their bowties.
“If you can even get through the ceremony! He cried three times while practicing to officiate,” Grian said once he had managed to get Pizza within the walls of their flower valley.
“Weddings get me emotional! And you two are just so happy and oh- there I go again…” Scar sniffed, wiping at his eyes. Grian rolled his eyes, fishing some tissues out of Pizza’s side bags to give Scar. It was then Scott got a good look at Pizza and noticed that the side bags were overflowing with flowers.
“Aww, you brought flowers!” Scott cooed, walking over to get a closer look at the colorful blooms.
“Yeah! He’s meant to be a flower llama… if he’d stop trying to eat them,” Grian muttered, gently shoving Pizza’s nose away from the side bags.
“Aww, well he’s doing a good job anyway,” Scott said, reaching up to pat Pizza’s nose and giggling a little when he nudged against his hand eagerly. Grian let out a chuckle as well, but it petered off as he frowned and looked at the setting sun.
“Oh- hey we’d better get a move on if we want it to still be light enough for the ceremony,” Grian said, more or less shoving Scott towards where Scar and Jimmy were now waiting.
“Grian, this is no way to walk me down the aisle! Besides, I have a solution for the light problem,” Scott said, stopping for a moment and focusing. He shifted to hold his bouquet with one hand, while starlight gathered in the other. He let it grow until he had a ball of starlight about the size of his head before he let it float up and disperse into much smaller orbs. The small beams of starlight danced in the air, bobbing above the pond and flickering a bit like fireflies.
“Show off,” Grian said with a scoff that barely hid how awed he was.
“It’s my wedding, of course I’m gonna show off. Now, are you gonna properly hand me off to Jimmy or what?” Scott said with a laugh. Grian laughed and rolled his eyes, but offered his arm to Scott. He dutifully led Scott the few steps over to Jimmy, before returning to stand next to Pizza. Scott handed off the bouquet to Scar before taking Jimmy’s hands. Scar gave a nod and cleared his throat a little before beginning.
“Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today to witness the union of Scott and Jimmy- who are married in every sense of the word except legally,” Scar said, before leaning in close with a stage whisper, “That’s why I’m here.”
“Scar,” Grian admonished. Scar waved him off.
“Never have I seen such a devoted love as the love between these two. A love that was found by chance, and has bloomed like the flowers here in their home… and of course, the poppies they adore. Now I’m just gonna skip over the objection part- no one here is against this…” Scar trailed off a little, glancing around just to be sure.
“Oh just get on with it!” Scott said with a laugh.
“Sorry, sorry. Now Scott, do you take Jimmy to be your lawfully wedded husband, to have and to hold from this day forward, as long as you both shall live?” Scar asked, getting a little misty-eyed at the “both shall live” part. Scott knew his eyes were watering too as he met Jimmy’s glistening red eyes.
“I do. Until death and whatever comes after,” Scott said softly but no less solemnly. Jimmy squeezed his hands a little, giving a trembling smile.
“And Jimmy, do you take Scott to be your lawfully wedded husband, to have and to hold from this day forward, as long as you both shall live?” Scar asked, composing himself a little and just about keeping himself from crying. However Jimmy was struggling a bit more to keep it together, letting go of one of Scott’s hands to wipe at his eyes.
“I do. Goodness, I do,” Jimmy said wetly, grabbing Scott’s hands tightly again. Scar was sniffling now, and if Scott could bear to take his eyes off of Jimmy for one moment, he would have seen Grian rubbing at his eyes too. Scar cleared his throat again, smiling brightly.
“Then by the powers vested in me, I pronounce you husband and husband. Now you can kiss the groom,” Scar said. The words were barely out of Scar’s mouth before Jimmy let go of Scott’s hands to instead pull him close and rest on his back. Scott rested his hands on Jimmy’s cheeks as their lips met for a soft kiss. Scott was either crying or laughing when they broke apart, he couldn’t really make his mind up on which one. But Jimmy’s expression was one of pure awe and adoration.
“You’re glowing,” he said softly. Scott lightly smacked his arm.
“Oh stop it, I’m an emotional mess right now,” Scott said, wiping at his eyes.
“No seriously! You’re literally glowing… I wish you didn’t have to hide the starborne thing all the time, you’re so pretty… not that you aren’t always pretty! You just… seem more you,” Jimmy rambled, flushing a bit. Scott looked up, and sure enough, little particles of starlight were hovering above his head. They were green, unlike the usual blue and purple, but Scott found that he didn’t mind. He could care less that his aura showed the truth of the horrors of their world, and he didn’t care who knew what he truly was. It was his wedding day, and he was happy with his husband and his friends. Nothing could take that away from him.
“I won’t hide. Just for tonight- just for you,” Scott said softly, unable to resist leaning in to kiss Jimmy again.
“Oh Scott! You’ve gotta toss the bouquet now!” Scar said eagerly after they broke apart, pushing the bouquet into Scott’s hands before scrambling over to stand beside Grian. Scott chuckled as he stepped away from Jimmy, shaking his head.
“Scar, there’s only two of us here, this is a silly tra-” Grian was cut off by the bouquet nailing him right in the face. He scrambled to catch it, looking at Scott in bafflement. Scott just grinned from where he stood, his arm still outstretched from the throw.
“Hey wait, you didn’t even turn around!” Scar protested, head tilted to one side in confusion.
“Oops,” Scott said with a shrug, still grinning. Jimmy shook his head as he sidled up next to Scott, wrapping an arm around his waist.
“Scott, are you actually trying to set up people at our wedding?” Jimmy murmured into his ear.
“Now why would I do something like that?” Scott said with a giggle, tilting his head to look up at Jimmy.
“You’re terrible,” Jimmy said with a laugh that crinkled his eyes.
“You love me,” Scott shot back with a grin. Jimmy’s laugh drifted into a trembling, adoring sigh.
“I really do,” he murmured, before closing the little distance between them in another kiss. Scott shifted to wrap his arms around him, melting into Jimmy’s embrace.
“Hey lovebirds, save all that for the honeymoon! We’re still here, y’know,” Grian crowed. Jimmy jumped away from Scott a bit with a scandalized noise, flushing a bit as Grian broke into raucous laughter.
“Grian!” he sputtered.
“Yeah, c’mon Grian, they were being cute!” Scar protested with a laugh. Scott shook his head fondly.
“It’s alright, I’ve got plenty of time for all that later,” he said with a wink towards Jimmy. He just blushed harder in response, burying his face in his hands.
“Scott!” he got out, voice sounding a little strained.
“What? I do have time to kiss you later! But it’s time for wedding cake right now,” Scott said far too innocently, taking Jimmy’s hand and leading him over to where they had set up a little picnic. Scar, Grian, and Pizza followed, as did the floating orbs of starlight.
From there, the night was filled with laughter, friendship, and love. For a brief time, it felt like there was no war or looming threat of death to worry about. All that mattered the way Jimmy felt nestled against his side like he was meant to be there, the way Scott caught Grian smiling fondly at the bouquet and at Scar, the way their laughter carried in the air as Pizza tried nibbling at the flowers Scott had planted, and the way Scott’s heart felt light and full all at once for the first time in a long time.
-
Bonus A/N: not pictured- martyn spying on them from the hilltop like a CREEP both feeling a lil sad that he wasn't invited to the wedding and feeling a lil jealous that they could be happy together and that he couldn't be happy with ren </3 and also him silently WTF-ing about scott being a starborne but choosing not to do anything about it bc it's his wedding night, and scott and jimmy were his friends once </3
general mcyt fic taglist: @actuallymothman @corazon10000 @damiensaidno @franticfandomfanatic @gattonero17 @hetapeep41 @meowdy-pickles @space-ace123 @vyeoh
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I wish this trip never ends (sstbthw part 2) - h.h
Word count: 3768
Warning: angst, swear, mention of smoking
Pairing : harry holland
Request: no.
N/A: okay, i took me almost a whole month to write this but i'm kinda need to work on school too. Remember, english is not my first language, so be kind if you spot mistakes, i really tried my best. I asked you who the reader was supposed to end up with ... I'll let you figure it out but ... don't hate me for the end ... because after all ... it might not be the end. Don’t hesitate to tell me what you think of the fic! Love you all! xx
taglist : @angeliquekalampoka , @harryhollandsgirlfriend (the one and only harry holland's girlfriend to me)
ღღღ
previously - and you can find part 3
Restoring a relationship of trust and regaining the bond that you both had was particularly difficult. You had to learn to find your place in Harrison's life, but also in his relationship with Grace. You were roommates and friends, but it was complicated to plan meetings with Harrison's busy schedule. Between his job search after the cancellation of his Netflix series, his photo shoots, his dates with Grace, those with his family. It was getting harder and harder to find a moment to reunite with the two of you. It was without counting your schedule.
You were supposed to meet at noon for lunch at that restaurant Harrison told you about where he took his mother earlier this year, for Mother's Day. You felt uncomfortable going to such a place. It was very fancy; you had taken a look at the menu and you knew in advance that you would not be able to afford to split the bill. That was sometimes one of the downsides of being friends with Tom and Harrison. They sometimes forgot that their salary was significantly higher than yours. After all, they were still simple, good-natured guys, never saying no to a quick takeout meal or ordering pizza, drinking a beer at the local pub. And sometimes, they offered to go to prestigious places, not paying attention to money, wanting to please their friends or family.
Currently you were in your room. You were throwing countless of clothes across the room, trying to choose what you could wear to this lunch. Harry stopped dead when one of your dresses flew out of your room, right in front of his nose, blocking his way. You had left your door open and your spontaneity got the better of your best friend.
“Easy, Tiger. I had no idea your clothes had the capacity of Dr. Strange's cape.” He joked before coming into your bedroom.
You turned to find Harry leaning against your doorframe, a smirk encrusted on his face. You gave him an unamused frown and his smile widened. This wasn’t funny at all; you were stressed as hell. It’s not like you still had feelings for Harrison and try to impress him – to be honest, you still had feeling for your friend, but not as intense as before, you had drawn a definitive line on the possibility of a romantic relationship with him, which had helped you a lot. – But you didn’t want to be dressed down and looked like a clown.
“Come on Munchkin, it’s just a lunch. At worst, Harrison can still make it looks like he invited you out for charity, sort of “Make a Wish” event” Harry joked, in his significant humor.
“Go to hell, Robert. Don’t you have a pack bag to make, mister “I’m going to Spain to help my superstar brother to hold his tea while he’s filming”?”
“Rude… I’m a film director, now”
Not for that, you thought to yourself, but don't have the balls to tell your best friend. You didn't want to take this joke too far. You smiled at his cute pretending offended face. You pouted mockingly before biting your lip. You loved the dynamics of your relationship so much. Your humor, sarcasm, your outspokenness, that's what brought you together. Harry pulled you lightly from your closet with a comforting wink. He chose Yves Saint Laurent poppy red wool jersey flared pants that Tom gave you on your birthday. You smiled at his choice. You liked these pair of pants because they were sparkling with vitality, the color was flamboyant. Harry then gave you a satin pearl-colored shirt from Zara and you laughed at the drastic brand difference.
“Oh I see. A classy look but no more than £ 1000 that's pretty smart,” you joked.
The choice of your outfit once again proved the reality of hanging out with wealthy people. You were not poor; you could even be grateful for the life you had had. But it would never occur to you to give your friends clothes that were going over the miles and cents. To be honest, you wanted it. You wanted to live up to the gifts your friends sometimes gave you. But the truth seemed quite different: you had cried over the price of a used Rolex you wanted to give Tom for his birthday. Even having saved for 6 months, you could not afford such a gift.
“Shut up, don’t be so dramatic. Wear that necklace Harrison gave you for Christmas. I’m sure you’ll look fine”
“Thank you,Baz…I guess. ”
You kissed his cheek and then invited him out of your room so you could get ready. It didn't take you more than thirty minutes, time to put on the outfit your best friend had chosen and to put on light makeup. When you were finally ready, you walked to Tom's room. He had offered to take you to the restaurant where you were to join Harrison. But when you got to his ajar door, you could hear the soft sound of a slight snoring. You let out a chuckle before ordering an Uber. You knew he had spent almost a full month in Los Angeles and hadn't returned until early last week. You wanted to leave him as much as possible alone so that he could rest before his trip to Spain for the reshoots of his film Uncharted. Tom was a boy who loved being in touch with those close to him, but you also felt his need to recharge his batteries. That's why you preferred to let him sleep.
You went down to the kitchen to pour yourself a glass of water before leaving. When your Uber arrived, you left a note on the refrigerator to let the boys know you were safely gone. It was little everyday things that made you look normal that you enjoy. A post-it on the fridge, a table organizing household chores had been drawn up. Note to yourself; It was Harrison's turn to take care of the laundry.
☙♡❧
You had really hoped this was just a grotesque nightmare. That it wasn't real. He was going to arrive; he was just stuck into the traffic. Isn't it?
But you were there, waiting for over an hour and a half, without any news from your friend. Some people watched you with pity eyes, the others didn't give you any attention. You internally thank Harry for choosing your outfit. You didn't look like a lost kitten in this prestigious setting. It didn't prevent you from being ashamed right now. The waiter had urged you to order several times but you had told him that you were expecting someone, that he would arrive any minute. The last time, you didn't know if you were trying to convince him or yourself.
But it never happened. Harrison never came to your dinner. You were alone, sitting at a table, pathetically waiting for your friend to show up. It didn't look like him. He had never stand you up before. And not to improve this embarrassing moment, the waiter came to you again. This time, with a man in a suit. He was elegant, carried himself proud but diplomatic. They stopped at your table, a tight smile on their faces. No doubt the man in the suit was to be the manager.
"Miss, my employee told me that you seemed to have occupied this table for a while now. I am sorry to tell you that if you do not order a few things, you will have to leave the establishment"
You looked at him with misty eyes. You have never been so ashamed in your life. You just nod your head, not trusting your voice just yet. After taking a deep breath, you finally apologize to them before telling them that you are going to leave. The manager of the restaurant, out of politeness awkwardly apologizing for this uncomfortable situation.
You've finished the Dry Martini that you allowed yourself to, paying for it with whatever pride you have left. You pulled your cellphone out of your purse and decided to call one of the boys. After three rings, he picked up.
"Hey ... can you please pick me up?"
Your voice was shaky, you were so ashamed but it was less distressing than having to walk the Walk of Shame to your house or cry in an uber. You hung up and shared your location. You left the lobby, leaving the restaurant, standing in front of the entrance to the establishment. The air refreshed your cheeks burning with shame. Luckily it wasn't raining today. Which was pretty nice compared to that early summer you had had.
When you saw Harry's car pulled up in front of you, you slid into the passenger seat without a word. The curly redhead gave you a heartwarming smile but you definitely could see a spark of annoyance in his eyes. You sigh, resigned while shrugging your shoulders. It was obvious that your friendship with Harrison was still shaky.
"I'm sorry, love. He's a jerk about it."
Coincidentally, like a mitigating circumstance, your phone vibrated, receiving a notification from Harrison. You were chewing your lip with a sort of anguish and irritation, watching the message the blond had sent you.
"I'm sorry. So sorry. My agent called me for a pretty urgent casting briefing. She's detained me until now. Are you still okay for this dinner?"
You were angry. You were mature enough and had known the boys long enough to understand their obligations. The fact that Harrison had a lastminute meeting with his agent and missed your dinner wasn't a problem. The problem was, he made you wait for over an hour and a half before notifying you. You wanted him to call you to let you know, or a simple text just after he knew for the meeting. You typed a short answer, shorter than this was impossible. "No". You rested your head against the headrest, turning your gaze to your best friend.
"Hey, he's a Netflix star now" you replied to his last words.
Your voice cracked on the last syllables and your eyes filled with tears. You weren't usually that emotional but the anguish and shame really took over you. Harry noticed, unsure of how to instantly respond to your distress. He would have liked to stop on an emergency lane to take you in his arms but he already had 2 penalties to pay, respectively for speeding and prohibited parking ... a third fine would not be really welcome. He simply placed his hand on your thigh, drawing circles on your pants to comfort you. He simply moved his hand to shift gears and instantly rested it on your leg whenever he had the chance. This gesture soothed you, enjoying the touch, grateful to have someone as your best friend to mop up your pain.
☙♡❧
Arriving at the apartment, no sign of Harrison. When you walked in the kitchen, you saw Tom sitting at the counter, scrolling his phone. He looked up at you, not directly noticing your annoyed expression.
"Wow..you're ... gorgeous. I love these pants on you"
You smiled, a little amused by the compliment. Of course he loved the pants, it was a gift from him. But your smile didn’t reach your eyes. With a look on your expression then on the clock, the actor understood that something went wrong. Harry was right behind and still no trace of Harrison. It was suspicious. Tom gave you a worried look.
"Do I have to ask…Never mind, I’m still going to ask. How was lunch with Harrison?"
"I don't know, why don't you ask him? Oh wait... right, he didn't show up" you said sarcastically although you could hear the hurt in your voice.
Tom frowned, biting the inside of his lower lip in annoyance. Harrison was his best mate since forever and he knew him so well. It seemed strange from Harrison to not show up. The blond has told him he was happy to see you again and walking through this whole awkward “feeling situation” because he didn’t want to lose you. In a quick movement, he rose from his stool to walk around the counter. The next second, he took you in his comforting arms and you finally let yourself go under the sight of the two Holland brothers.
“It seems like you need a break of all this shit” Tom said while he ran his fingers through your hair.
You let a little laugh escape through your tears. He wasn't wrong. You really needed to get away from this whole situation for a moment. But how? Harry watched the scene unsure of what to do. You were his best friend and it seemed like the solace you found was never in his arms. He had tried in the car, however, as best he could. He walked over to the counter to make you both a cup of tea. It seems that as cliché as it sounds, tea comforts you, as the English person you used to be. As the redhead waited patiently for the water to boil, a flash of genius - according to him - crossed the glare of his eyes.
“Why doen't she come with us to Spain?”
His brother's words seemed to suit Tom, who released his hold on you. You opened your eyes wide, not sure of what you had just heard. Go to Spain, with them? Once again, you knew you were going to argue on this proposition. The idea was not bad, Spain seemed a rather pleasant country. But you had just graduated and had a student job to save as much as possible. However, you could not afford to leave for several days in Spain, at the last minute. Plus, what were you going to do while Tom was filming and Harry was assisting him? He was sure the film's production crew wasn't going to give you a pass because Tom had decided.
“Yeah! That’s it, you’re coming with us”
“Tom, I have a student job. I can’t just…decide to go to Spain.”
“You never take a leave, come on. It’s not negotiable”
You were looking at Harry for help but he just shrugged. After all, he was the one who had initiated the idea of including you on the trip. You were trying to find a valid excuse to stay home. You really didn't want to impose yourself.
“I can’t afford that” you said, trying your best to convince him to quit the idea.
“I don’t care, it’s not even a problem. You coming to Spain with us.”
"Omg, does Z dominate you in bed to make you so bossy in life?"
Harry almost spitted his tea and laughed out loud while Tom gave you shocked eyes with pinky cheeks. You had always been sassy but hanging out with the boys had made you even more sassy than ever. How many times haven't you heard Tuwaine or Harry make fun of Harrison or Tom on the sex subject? Being a girl seemed to make you an untouchable character. The boys had never teased you about your relationships or your sexual partners. And while you've always had feelings for Harrison, you've had your own experiences. Anyway, you had just gone with the flow and Tom's brand-new romantic relationship with his co-star gave you the perfect opportunity.
“That's not the point.” stammered the actor.
Your smile widened, proud of your joke and the way Tom reacted. You heard Harry clear his throat. He had his phone in his hand and his own smile didn't bode well for you.
"The production is okay but it's at Tom's expense."
“You got to be kidding me…”
☙♡❧
You ended up in Spain with two of your best friends. You knew you had limited time before Tom had to fly back to Los Angeles for some Spider-man: No Way Home reshoots. So, you enjoyed as much as possible: accompanying the boys to the golf course - even though you weren't very involved in the sport -, spending time to visit touristic places when they were on set, talking with Rachael and other people from the set. You really enjoyed your trip.
On Wednesday evening you went out to a restaurant with Tom, Harry and two other friends/tom’s colleagues. You couldn't deny that it was fun. You had the opportunity to sunbathe a little while walking through the streets of Madrid. Spain was doing you good and not once did you think about your wobbly friendship with Harrison. You've just left the restaurant when a few fans politely show up to take pictures with Tom. You couldn't help but smile at the thought of how kind Tom had always taken in a few snaps when his fans approached him respectfully - and there weren't too many of them -. You sighed with pleasure before stepping away from the group. You leaned against a wall and took out the packet of cigarettes that Tom had asked you to keep in your clutch bag. Being an occasional smoker, he wouldn't blame you if you took one from him. You tilted your head back to admire the dark starry night when you felt a presence by your side. You narrowed your eyes in mischief as you looked sideways: Harry was there, his nose wrinkled from your cigarette. He didn't like it too much Silence filled your bubble despite the hubbub outside. You were in public and it was not surprising to meet travelers and Madrid residents mingling with the crowd to enjoy this pleasant evening.
"I wish this trip never ends." You finally said, breaking the silence.
Harry didn't know what to say to that. Instead, he was just looking at you. You were a little tanned, the Madrid sun had done wonders on you; your loose hair framed your face and the summer dress you had chosen for the restaurant looked great on you: It was a short red floral summer dress with a shingle collar. Light enough to keep you from suffocating but decent to wear on any casual occasion. You were beautiful, stunning. His heart exploded at the sight of you, so much that it hurt a few times.
"I wish I had been there for you more." he finally confessed
You finally turned your head towards him and shrug your shoulders, smiling shyly but sincerely.
“You were working, Baz”
“I meant…not only here in Spain. I’m sorry to have let you down recently”
You give him a confused look. He hadn't been a bad friend but he kept implying it. You just shook your head negatively to brush his words away. Harry had always been important to you. He had been the first to step towards you. It was him who introduced you to the rest of the gang. He had always been concerned about you.
The night you met, you immediately clicked up with him. And to be honest, for a moment, you thought he liked you that night. But he never took that step towards you and you never did either. You dreaded that if you kissed him, he would think you were interested in his notoriety by proxy. So you just acted like any reasonable person would - accept the status he gave you. And the second time he asked you to join him with his brother and his friends, you met Harrison and your heart exploded.
"I'm glad you brought me here"
“I'm happy you accepted to come.”
“I didn't really have the choice, Baz” you joked.
He laughed slightly. You weren't wrong, he and Tom had practically dragged you onto the plane, leaving you no choice to be by their side. But you could only thank them, especially Harry who had the idea. You took another hit on your cigarette before leaning back to check out where Tom was with his fans. He seemed to be talking with the girls and didn't seem overwhelmed. So, you didn't want to interrupt him and were just going to wait for him to finish. Harry played with his hands nervously, looking straight ahead and then at you. He seemed to be repeating this game for several seconds before finally asking the question that was in his mind.
“Have you heard from Harrison?” Harry asked quite casually
“He sent me several texts to apologize and wished me to have a good time in Madrid.”
“Do you still have feelings for him?”
You swallow hard before looking at him. There was an indecipherable glint in his eyes and you weren't sure what to make of it. You drew another puff from your cigarette, maybe that would save you from entering this conversation. But Harry's presence was all around you and you couldn't really escape. So you've decided to be honest.
“It’s complicated. I suppose so...”
“Mhmm”
“But my friendship with Haz is important, I don't want to lose him because of it.”
“Yeah, you can't imagine how well I understand you” he sighed
“What do you mean? Who’s the lucky girl..or guy ?”
Harry turned to you frankly and you did the same, stubbing out the half-smoked cigarette. You are well aware that the conversation was taking a more serious turn. He moistened his lips and walked over to you. Harry was full of things: he was full-loving, sarcastic, talented, daring, impertinent. But Harry was mostly awkward when it came to love. Not just an attraction, no, love with real feeling. Delicately, hesitantly, he reached out to your cheek, stroking it with the back of his fingers, cautiously. You were frozen, your eyes fixed on him admiring his audacity.
"She's the most beautiful girl I ever seen." he said with a small smile.
Harry walked over to you and your heart was pounding at breakneck speed. Harry had ... feelings for you? You were really confused. Since when had he developed his feelings? Why didn't he tell you about it? Why hadn't he tried anything so far? So, were you right from the start? Was there a tension between you since the beginning of your friendship, since your met? But above all, did you want him to take that step? Instinctively, your body responded. You parted your lips and closed your eyes. You enjoyed the warmth of his hand on your cheek and were waiting for the touch of his lips. But it never happened.
"Hey baz, y/n..we're going back to the hotel" Tom said, taking his eyes off his phone. "I…Mhmm sorry, did I interrupt something?"
#harry holland#harry holland x reader#harry holland fic#haz osterfield#harrison osterfield x reader#harrison osterfield#tom holland
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Made To Break
Part two.
4k
Warning: noncon/dubcon sex, yandere, talk of death. No beta. Read at your own risk.
Note: never wrote something like this before. Hope it was worth wait. Let me know if you like it! Enjoy!
Time dragged on, especially without your phone. You watched the clock, not able to pay attention to anything else.
The house felt different without the god inside. Your gut had been right the first night, he had been here the whole time.
You still regretted returning Hypnos his cloak, it was the only thing keeping you warm in the drafty house.
You debated trying to escape but you held off. Where would you even go? There was no one else who could help. Even if Hypnos was keeping you trapped, he could be the key to getting your dad back.
Also you're pretty sure Hypnos would follow you to the end of the world and then some.
Maybe if you just play along for now, you could show him the truth later when the spell doesn't work on you and he would be forced to admit you weren't the one he was looking for.
"Just one more day." You told yourself.
That's what Hypnos told you, "And when time gets close to twilight, make sure you are by his side." He said, locking his cloak in place.
You agreed, "Is there anything else I could do?"
Hypnos grinned, and tapped his lip, "How about a kiss good-bye?"
You rolled your eyes at him even though you were charmed by his cheekiness and shook your head. You knew that if you responded to his flirting, it would make the letdown worse.
"Oh well, can't blame a guy for trying." Hypnos said before he vanished before your eyes.
You had a sinking feeling of realizing that you wouldn't have been able to outrun him.
💮
It was in the middle of night during another round of tossing and turning when you realized something wasn't right.
There was a humming under your skin, like little jolts of energies that never stop moving.
Maybe you couldn't fall asleep due to stress or maybe you got used to Hypnos being around. He was the god of sleep, he must have played some role in helping you rest.
You crawled out of your bed and went to the window and stared out to the backyard. Little red poppies stood out from the blanket of snow, gently swaying in the wind.
Magic was real and Hypnos was as well, he felt human when you touched him. His grief when he talked about his lover sounded real. And he seemed hellbent making sure not to lose you.
Is it really that impossible that you were someone in a past life, a deity even? It sounded like something out of the fantasy books you read as a child.
You pressed your forehead against the cold glass, an welcomed sensation. You didn't want to admit it. Not to yourself at all.
But something in you has changed or is changing you just don't know what yet.
You just hope you don't lose yourself in the process.
💮
You were in line for coffee when the thought came. It was some honey glazed pastry you just happened to notice and thought 'Hypnos would love that especially with his sweet tooth.'
You froze, how in the world would you know that? You don't even know if the god could or want to eat.
You rubbed your eyes, it was the lack of sleep you told yourself.
You got to the hospital at the end of dusk, a coffee and a breakfast sandwich in hand. You took a big bite, trying to finish it before getting to the elevator.
It was early but you wanted to be here, even if Hypnos couldn't help, you wanted to at least be with your dad for what time he had left.
You slipped the coffee, grateful for the warmth. After getting in the elevator, you tabbed your foot nervously. Even the last bite of the sandwich couldn't calm your stomach.
You almost didn't see them when you stepped out, had you not glanced to the left you would have never seen them at all.
"Mrs. Johnson?" You asked, even in your anger at your ex, you still liked their mom. She mothered everyone and she always made sure to have your favorite cookies when you visited. She turned to face you, her blonde pixie hair was unkempt. Her red and puffy eyes widened in surprise. You tossed the coffee in the trash can as you made your way over.
"Oh my god, Y/N?" Mrs.Johnson sniffed, "Are you here to visit?" Even her voice sounded rough.
Your heart dropped, "For my dad, I don't know if they told you but he is in a coma right now."
"Oh honey. I'm so sorry, I didn't know." She hugged you tightly, her rose perfume was a comfortable smell in the hospital. She took your hands, her tears still flowing. You tried not to roll your eyes, of course your ex wouldn't even care enough to tell their mom, the sweetest person ever.
"Why are you here?" You asked worried for the poor woman.
"Something happened to (Ex/N), they were out partying and I don't know. Their roommate thinks they hit their head and haven't woken up since. It's the oddest thing, they couldn't even find where the brain bleed was. Or any marks." She shook her head, "it doesn't feel real."
You gasped, not able to make sense of her words. "Like they just went to sleep?" You asked, feeling like you've been dropped in ice.
She nodded, not saying anything.
"How long ago?"
"Two days or so, late during the night." She replied, she didn't notice the dread on your face. Did Hypnos use your phone? You had a feeling he was the one who took it but there was so much going on you had forgotten about it.
"Can I see them?" You asked, you need to see with your own eyes. Surely, this had to be a coincidence.
"Of course, hon."
💮
You had fully planned on never seeing your ex again. You kept meaning to block them but You weren't ready yet because you didn't want to admit you wasted your time.
You stared down at them, at the tubes, at the heart rate monitor. And You knew (Ex/N) was paying the price for your inability to block them.
You didn't love them, not in a way a person should love another you think. But you cared for them and wanted them to be happy. It wasn't until the cheating started, that it got bad.
Mrs. Johnson sat down in the chair and held their child's hand. Her face showed her heartbreak and every time there was twitch, there would be a hopeful look in her eyes only for it to die when nothing happened.
It was just like your father's coma.
You closed your eyes, anger boiling inside your chest. At yourself more so than Hypnos.
How could you been so stupid?
💮
You stared outside the window. It was the first clear day in weeks and the blue skies with the fat, lazy clouds seemed so more vivid than you remember.
Your father's heart monitor beeped steady and true. You couldn't look at him, guilt and anger was warring in your chest.
You had brought in the story Hypnos weaved for you. You didn't know how much was truth or lies. You think it was a healthy mix of both and it made it so much harder to know what really happened.
You covered your face with your hands, trying to make sure the tears didn't come out.
How could You get out of this? You saw some of Hypnos' powers, and you knew that it was the tip of the iceberg.
You couldn't stop thinking about the book, the warnings that you didn't see. This was a god that had once put the world to sleep, and you couldn't see a reason why he wouldn't again if he didn't get what he wanted.
it felt more cruel that he was playing games with your life, with all their lives. It would have been kinder to just kidnap you and leave everyone else out of it.
You looked up at the clock, just a few more hours left to go.
You really wished you brought your bat.
💮
Twilight was beautiful, even with the city skyline. You paced around the room, waiting for a change or for him to show up.
You almost didn't notice, too deep in your anger.
Your father's hand twitched, and you paused, not wanting to get your hopes up. Then his head turned to the side and you rushed to him.
"Dad! Oh my god, dad." You touched his arm gently, not wanting to spook him. His eyes opened up groggily, his head turned to you. He didn't react to seeing you but you weren't worried.
"I will be right back, I'm getting a nurse." You rushed out, giddy with relief.
💮
He doesn't remember you.
Your own father doesn't remember you.
You collapsed in the chair, the doctor tried to calm you down but you couldn't hear anything over the buzzing in your ears.
You knew. You just knew this was Hypnos' doing. Your hands tighten into shaky fists on your knees.
How fucking dare he do this. You gave him a chance and this is what he does.
Without a word, you stormed out the room.
💮
You don't remember getting in the car or the drive home. You knew Hypnos would be waiting for you.
He wasn't going to stop, you could feel in your bones. He would do to you in every single life you live and he won't care the cost it will take.
You slammed the car door shut, not brothing to hide your presence. You stood in the cold, uncaring how bitting the wind felt against your skin. Snow was still on the ground and little red poppies peeked through, bright against the snow.
Your breath came out in white puffs as you stared at your home. For all you knew this would be the last time you ever see it.
You took a deep breath, gathering what strength you had left.
It was time to face the music. To face him.
💮
You stopped in the entryway, not wanting to get closer than you had too. You could see even in the dark that the books were gone as well as the horrible eye and words. The one thing that lit the room was a single candle on the side table.
You looked at the other walls and saw pictures of you had been taken down. Fear tightened your throat and you stepped into the living room. Your eyes darted around but there was no sign of Hypnos.
You stepped into the living room and after a moment, you walked to your bedroom.
You whimpered when you opened the door. Everything was gone. The bed, the desk, all of it.
You took a step backward and another without looking away from your room.
Your heart stopped when you bumped into a warm chest. His arms wrapped around you tightly and his cheek pressed to your head.
"It's time to come home, Y/N." Hypnos said, tightening his hold to the point you couldn't breathe. Or scream as you watched the world you once knew vanished.
💮
You kicked and twisted in Hypnos' arms. "Let me go." You gasped, "I can't get air, please."
He loosened his hold but you were too busy gulping for air to care. You pushed away from and he allowed you to, unconcerned about you escaping.
You tried to steady yourself only to stumble, Hypnos grabbed your elbow.
"I'm sorry I forgot it takes some getting used to." Hypnos said. "You should have seen my brother the first few times. He used to get sick all the time."
"Don't touch me." You snapped, jerking away. You've been here before, the sound of water rushed to your ears. You turned to face him, to tear him a new one but when you saw him, you were shocked into silence.
Hypnos smiled, and pointed at his head. Two white wings had appeared out from his head and in the middle of his forehead, a single red and gold eye stared back. "So tell me Y/N, what is more surprising; the wings or the eye?"
You shook your head, "What the hell, Hypnos?" Your voice cracked. "Is this what you normally look like?" At least before he looked closer to humans, just a little odd looking. This was something else.
"Hhm, not when we first met but after the... you know, I just have these sometimes." Hypnos shrugged, his golden eyes on you.
"How could you?" You asked and Hypnos tilted his head at the question.
You took a step forward even though all you wanted to do was run. "I know what you did to my dad, to (Ex/N). Was it all a ruse? A game to you?"
Hypnos scowled, "I really don't appreciate hearing that name."
You stamped your foot, "Unbelievable! Is that all you have to say?"
"Oh no, the person who hurt someone I love is now having to suffer the consequences. How sad for them." Hypnos rolled his eyes at you. You have never wanted to choke someone more.
"His mother is suffering, just like how my dad is!" You yelled, hating how helpless you felt.
You walked closer, you knew he could grab you again but you needed him to listen. But Hypnos spoke before you.
"Your father isn't in pain, if anything I fixed it. He doesn't remember you or his wife. He will live out the rest of his days without you but you know humans are so quick to replace family."
Hypnos sighed, "I really did try to help him for your sake, Y/N. I felt sorry for him since he and I were both familiar with this kind of pain. But he already messed up once, I couldn't trust him not to try something else."
You were silent for minutes before you spoke. "You said you would never hurt me."
"And I haven't." Hypnos replied, he almost moved closer, wanting to comfort you.
"Liar." You spat out the word. "You have done nothing but hurt me since you showed up."
You glared at him,"You may have not touched me but you had caused so much hurt to everyone around me."
"And what makes you think I should even care about those humans?" Hypnos hissed, he grabbed your arm but you willingly went along with his tug. Words were your weapons now. You glared up at him, mere inches between you and him.
"Because I do. That should be more than enough for you." You licked your lips, "This isn't the first time we had this fight."
His gaze sharpen, golden and hard like a predator. "No it isn't." Hypnos agreed.
You could tell he wanted to ask more questions, to know exactly what you started to remember. Good.
"I had held my part, Hypnos. I agreed to come, to do whatever you needed from me." You said, "in a twisted way, yeah I guess you did help my dad even if it hurt me. And you warned me." You closed your eyes for a moment before meeting his again.
Hypnos stayed silent, his eyes watching you.
"But none of the other stuff had to happen. Mrs.Johnson was good to me, she was the closest thing I had to a mom." You whispered.
You didn't know how but something in the humming inside of you knew Hypnos would bend to you. His biggest weakness had always been you.
You laid a hand on his chest, "Listen to me, I'm willing to stay. I want to stay." You thought it would sound like lying but it didn't. Your heart twisted because you weren't lying and you knew it.
Was it really that easy to walk away from your human life?
"But I can't have you hurting people just for the sake of revenge. That is not who I am and that used to be you too." You murmured.
"Things changed Y/N." Hypnos murmured back. Just like before, he covered your hand gently.
A faint memory rises from the depths of your soul. Of Hypnos admiring your hands, always touching or holding them. You took a breath, not yet you thought to this other side of yourself, not yet.
"Then change again, Hypnos. For me." You pleaded.
"It's not that easy." But his tone was softer, you just had to push a little more.
"You once put the whole world asleep because you loved me. You became softer, kinder because you loved me. This is nothing to you." You keep your tone soft, not willing to break the quiet.
His eyes, all three of them, closed in defeat. "Okay...Okay Y/N. Just answer me this, do you love them?"
"No." You said bluntly. "They were a friend once but even though you were a jerk, I felt more with you than I ever did with them."
Hypnos nodded, the third eye opened again while his golden ones stayed close. "Good." He held a palm up, and a small dark, almost black mist formed, you could faintly see your ex and Mrs. Johnson.
The mist swirls quickly, and it changes into a soft white cloud. "It's done. They will wake up, and they will live." The cloud faded away and Hypnos dropped his hand.
His golden eyes opened and looked at you.
"Thank you." You told him. You cupped his cheek and he pressed into your hand with a sigh, his eyes closing again. "Darkness' sake, I've missed you." Hypnos said.
You leaned into him and hugged him. After a moment, he hugged back, resting his chin on your head. Neither one of you said anything for a while, just holding on each other.
"What do you remember, Y/N?" Hypnos asked, and you shrugged. "Honestly, just small bits here and there. I remembered you like honey."
Hypnos hummed, "I do. Is that all?"
You yawned, "No, sorry, it's mostly just me going by instinct or this feeling of deja Vu." You pressed into his chest. "I'm really sorry."
Hypnos rubbed your back slowly and you felt your body relax against his. This was so much nicer than anything you ever felt before.
"Come, let me show you where we can get some rest." Hypnos spoke, something was off about his tone. But you followed along anyway, too tired to even think.
💮
"You said anything, right?" Hypnos asked as you wandered around the cave. There wasn't much of anything. You see baskets of pomegranates, onions and other stuff in one room as Hypnos gilded you past it, his hand on your lower back.
Books were stacked on a desk but weren't what caught your attention. There was a bed, big and piled high with blankets and pillows. It looks like what exactly a god of sleep would want.
"Oh wow, this is the biggest bed I've ever seen." You walked toward it, "What side do you sleep on?"
You walked around the bed, keeping one eye on the god. "The middle but you can pick whatever side you want."
"O-oh." You stopped at the realization that of course this would be the only bed. There would be no reason for him to have a guest bed.
"You didn't respond to my question, Y/N. You agreed to do whatever I needed you to do, correct?" Hypnos said calmly as he held something in his hand. A small glass bottle.
You walked toward him, your heart racing at the almost predatory look he gave you.
"I. I did, yes, to get my memories back." You stopped just out of his reach. "Will that thing help?" You pointed down at the bottle
"In a way." He said and you stared at him.
"What are you not telling me, Hypnos?" You stood your ground. "I thought we were getting past this."
"You're right. It's going to hurt, just a bit. But it will help restore you." Hypnos held it up between his fingers, inside the liquid looked like water.
"Why do I feel like you're downplaying it?" You muttered. You took the bottle and popped open the cork.
You sniffed but it smells sweet, almost too sweet.
"Make sure you get every last drop, Y/N." Hypnos said, his golden eyes watching your every move.
You knew he wasn't being honest about something but you will have to deal with it later.
"Well, bottom up." You swallow every last drop. It didn't taste bad or anything at all, not even like water.
You felt his hands on you could do anything else. He pushed toward the bed and that when it hit you. A wave of dizziness made the room spend and he laid you down.
"Oh, I don't like this." You moaned. You didn't notice until it was too late, that he had pulled off your shirt. His hands felt too warm against your skin and you tried to push him off.
"I know, my love." Hypnos comforted, "I wouldn't do it if I didn't need to."
"Why?" You slurred, "I thought we were…" but you couldn't continue. The heat and the dizziness was too much for you.
"We are. We really are. But If I don't do this now, I won't get a chance until you are older and I can't risk you dying on me."
"I wouldn't have said no." You closed your eyes.
Hypnos pressed a kiss against your forehead tenderly "Yes, you would have, my love. You would want us to have more time. This way I can make sure we will have nothing but time."
His hand slided down your pants and past your underwear. He kissed you on your mouth, and pressed down against you.
You couldn't stop the gasps you made against his mouth as he rubbed you with his fingers. The pleasure you felt was far more intense than what you were used to.
"You even respond the same as you used to." Hypnos told you. "Blood and darkness, I could watch your face all day like this."
You hide your face in a nearby pillow out of spite and embarrassment. "Shut up." You moaned, hips arching against his touch.
Hypnos yanked the pillow away and tossed it out of your reach. He grabbed your chin to kiss you again. You met his kiss with as much force as you could.
"I hate you." You tried to pull away but he just pulled you back into another one. You could the heat building inside you along with the humming, the always moving energy built inside of you
And Hypnos himself consumed you,all of you and you wanted him to. Fates help you but you did. You wanted him to make you whole.
You moaned against his lips, tears running down your face as you arched and peaked.
You collapsed against the bed, Hypnos pressed kisses against your neck and collarbone.
You closed your eyes, shaking with the heat. "Hypnos, what did you give me?" You sobbed. The heat nor energy still haven't died down yet.
"Just gimme a moment, Y/N." Hypnos pulled away from the bed, and you sobbed again.
He came back and shushed you. His hand pulled down your pants, yanking your shoes along off them. You flushed at your nudity.
Hypnos loomed over you and he pulled you into a kiss. You buried your hands in his white curls as the kiss deepened. His knees nudged your legs apart as he broke the kiss.
"If I have to be nude, so do you." You tugged at his cloak. Hypnos laughed, "No, later."
His fingers worked you open and you found yourself spreading your legs more.
"You're so good, so so gorgeous. Y/N, do you know how good you look like this?" Hypnos priaised. And you somehow just flushed even more.
His fingers left you and he crawled toward you. "Kiss me." He demanded and you obeyed, the kiss you gave him was sweet and slow. He hummed against your lips and you felt him pushed inside you.
Your head tilt back to the bed with a gasp. You shook as the moment seem to stretch out, a endless moment of being taken.
You never felt so full and damnit, you hated how good he felt against you. The soft clothes gave you goosebumps as the brush against your bare skin. You sobbed as he moved inside you leisurely, like he had all the time in world.
"Hypnos, please." You begged. Your fingers curled against his tunic, trying to ground yourself against the feelings.
He shushed you, "I've been waiting for you for so long."
"I'm sorry, Hypnos." You whimpered as pleasure built back inside of you.
"Don't be." Hypnos groaned, his hips started moving quicker. "Losing you killed me, Y/N. I never thought I would have this again."
You were lost for words and just pulled him into another kiss, hoping that it will say everything for you.
During the kiss, his hips snapped against you quickly, fingers digging into your thighs.
"I love you Y/N. Fuu- I love you." Hypnos murmured against you. In a whisper, "I love you, Hypnos."
He moaned and you feel the hot wetness inside you. You trembled as you followed him.
You stared upward and the humming had become overwhelming. This was it, you thought weakly.
You don't remember closing your eyes.
💮
Later you wake up, Hypnos sleeping next to you and holding you tightly. He looked so much younger like this.
You could remember everything. The people, your role as an deity, Hypnos, of loving him and he loving you in return and... and your death.
You grimaced as you rubbed your chest, you could feel the sharp burning pain. Of magic that kept from dying like a normal deity.
But now you were reborn in a way.
There was strength in you too now. A sureness you didn't have an human. You blinked at Hypnos' sleeping face. The third eye was gone but you wasn't sure what it meant exactly. You both were going to have relearn one another.
You reached up and touched one of the wings. It twitched at your touch, and you smiled, amused.
"I missed your smile." Hypnos said, his voice rough with sleep."I think it worked, Y/N." His golden eyes studied your face. You stared back.
Then you reached up and flicked him on the nose. "You should've been honest from the start." You said.
"Ow! And I was, it's not like it was my fault humans won't listen." Hypnos scowled at you.
"Not that. About restoring me. I understand why you wouldn't be but you need to more honest with me from now on. Especially since I know it cost you some of your powers." You said as you pulled Hypnos closer. Tears had filled up in both of yours and Hypnos' eyes.
"Thank you. For bring me back. I felt something was missing in me since I was born but you found it. You found me." You kissed him, chaste and sweet.
Hypnos sobbed and held on to you tightly, his face in your neck. "It worked. It really worked."
You kissed his head, your tears matching his. The both of you weeped with joy, with sadness and relief of having each other again.
"I'm so sorry. It was my fault. I should had gotten there sooner." Hypnos said roughly.
"It was no one fault, we didn't know." You brush his curls to smooth him. "I don't blame you."
He nodded against your neck and you held him.
After a few minutes, he pulled away to look at you. His hands cupped your face. You cover his hands with your own, smiling.
"I still haven't told you everything." He said softly.
"That can wait." You murmured. "We got all the time in the world."
"We finally do, huh?" Hypnos said, and you meet him a long, slow kiss.
It was good to be home.
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As It Should Be | Chapter 5: Breaking In The Newbies
Pairing: Agent Whiskey x F!Reader x Frankie Morales
Summary: After a rough and emotional night, Frankie makes a decision on Jack’s offer. Before they can get to that though, the morning debrief with Champ brings back a familiar face and Jack has you and Frankie teach the junior agents a lesson during combat training.
Rating: M
Warnings: Canon typical violence, guns, swearing, discussions about safewords.
A/N: Alright, a lot of stuff needed to happen here and we’re going to have a little action and see Frankie show off a bit. It was important to me that the discussion of safe words and Jack checking again for consent happened in a chapter separate from the actual smut. For me, it further emphasizes that Jack doesn’t want Frankie to feel pressured to accept or do anything he doesn’t want to because it’s “in the moment”. Consent is sexy, friends.
I have to give my love and thanks to mi esposa @danniburgh and my friend Agent Capri Sun for the beta reads, the fantastic constructive criticism and encouragement!
Masterlist | Series Masterlist | Chapter 4: Company | AO3 | Art
The morning sun stirred Frankie. Even with his eyes still closed, he could tell the room was alight, but the warmth that surrounded him had nothing to do with the sun and everything to do with the body next to him. He opened his eyes and realized he was definitely not in Whiskey’s guest bedroom. Instead, he was very much curled into Whiskey’s lightly rising chest. Frankie blushed, very unused to being the little spoon, and moreover, not used to someone’s morning wood poking at him. Whiskey was gently roused from sleep by Frankie’s small movements. He lifted his arm from around Frankie’s waist and stretched.
“G’morning Flyboy. You were having nightmares, so I brought you in here.
“Oh, sorry for waking you up and… thank you.” Frankie felt guilt sting at his throat.
Whiskey grunted and rolled out of bed to go shower.
“Nothing to worry about, partner. I’m no stranger to those kinds of nightmares.”
Frankie was grateful Whiskey understood and made no effort to pry. With a grunt of his own, Frankie got up from the bed and made his way to the kitchen, intent on trying to get coffee going while Whiskey showered.
Whiskey finished his shower and stepped out to dry off, then wrapped his towel around his waist. He was drawn to the kitchen by the smell of coffee, Frankie’s initiative quirking the corners of his mouth into a small smile. He leaned against the kitchen counter and watched as Frankie poured their coffee, handing Whiskey’s to him black. Jack hummed his approval, a sound which he noted made Frankie preen a bit.
“Good boy.” Jack gestured to the coffee with a small wink as the air seemed to be pushed from Frankie’s lungs. “Now, as much as I enjoy the view of you in just my shorts, let's get you into something you can wear at the office.”
Frankie was rooted to the spot, Jack’s “good boy” ringing in his ears and sending a wave of warmth throughout his entire body. Jack didn’t comment, just let his smirk speak for itself as he took his coffee back to his room and opened the doors to his closet. His fingers tabbed at a few of the hanging suits as he looked back to see that Frankie had finally uprooted himself and joined him.
“We’re similar in build, so you ought to be able to pull off one of my suits…”
Frankie winced.
“Right, well then, let’s go with something a touch more casual.
Jack grabbed a pair of jeans, a blue button down, white t-shirt, belt, and socks, handing each article of clothing over to Frankie as he moved around his closet.
“There, that should do you. Comfortable, but still presentable for Statesman.”
Jack gave him a smile only to notice Frankie shifting his weight.
“Thanks,” came Frankie’s reply as he turned to get dressed. He didn’t mind going without boxers, but the sudden realization that he needed more clothes of his own hit Frankie as he dressed in the clothes Jack had given him.
“Hey Jack?”
Whiskey hummed in acknowledgement as he finished getting dressed himself: jeans, suspenders, white button down shirt, and a navy wool blazer.
“I was thinking about your offer last night, and… I’d like that.”
Whiskey turned to look at Frankie, giving him a once over, distantly thinking about how good Frankie looked in his clothes, and a mischievous smile lit up Whiskey’s face.
“I’m looking forward to it, Flyboy. We’ll discuss things a bit more at the end of the day in my office. It’s about as close to neutral territory as we’re gonna get for that conversation. For today though, I want you to be a good boy and stick to me like a shadow. We’re meeting with Champ first thing. Then, we’re gonna have some fun.”
Frankie nodded, rocking back on his heels for a moment, then fell in step with Whiskey as they headed out, both of them grabbing their respective hats as they went. The ride in Whiskey’s Bronco was quiet, and soon enough they were riding the elevator up to their floor in the Statesman tower.
You were seated at the conference table facing the double doors with Pope to your right.
“You sleep alright, Pope? Hope Ginger didn’t keep you too late.”
“She’s something, that’s for sure, Hawk, but she did let me go, eventually.”
He gave you a good natured laugh that slowly lost its shine.
“You hear from Fish, Hawk? Ginger told me where she put him up and I went to check on him last night, but he never answered.”
Worry bloomed in your chest, not that it had really gone away after seeing Frankie leave yesterday. You figured if he wanted or needed to talk, he would have reached out to you. Honestly, you had hoped he would have checked in with Pope at some point since he probably felt more comfortable with him. Just then, the conference double doors opened, giving way as Jack strode in, greeting you with a smile and tilt of his head. Relief eased the tension in your chest and shoulders when Frankie followed closely behind Jack. Your eyes darted over to Whiskey, fixing him with a questioning gaze as you realized the clothes Frankie was wearing belonged to Jack.
“Fish!” Pope practically jumped out of his chair, rushing over to Frankie with a duffle bag in tow. “I was worried about you, hermano. I went to the hotel, but you didn’t answer.”
To Frankie’s credit, his face didn’t betray much, but both you and Pope knew that Frankie didn’t have any other clothes aside from what he had left with.
“Uh, yeah, must’ve just missed you.”
You could tell Pope was filing the information away for later. Your eyes wandered to Jack’s again and you raised an eyebrow. At least you now had an idea why he had cancelled on you last night.
“Here, Fish. I figured you’d want your go bag.”
“Gracias, hermano.”
They clasped arms, then took their seats. Frankie grabbed the orange tinted glasses he had left the day before and put them on, adjusting them on the bridge of his nose. His gaze fell to yours and he gave you a small smile, but before you could say anything, Champ’s holo image flickered to life.
“Catfish! You’re looking mighty fine! Much better than yesterday.”
“Yes sir, thanks.”
Champ nodded. He’d been worried about how the man would fare, especially considering the news yesterday.
“Right, down to the business at hand. It does appear that a new cartel is making their play at center stage, picking up where Poppy left off. They’re not following Poppy’s business model, though. From what we understand, the group is headed by four individuals: Isabella Gómez, Duke Hernández, Steven Weisel and Emily Weisel. They’ve taken to calling themselves La Linda Rosa, likely after the Red Agent flowers. Up until now, they’ve been your run of the mill cartel, but it’s our belief that the Weisels have been instrumental in their production and processing of Agent Red. Recently, the Weisels purchased land in Colombia, and from our drone coverage, they may have set up processing plants there. We don’t know why the sudden shift to Agent Red, though. The plants themselves go for $500k per plant, and they take time to mature. We don’t think the Weisels are responsible for acquiring the plants, so that leaves either Isabella or Duke.”
Frankie’s attention drifted from Champ to the pictures on the screen and swore.
“Fuck. Pope, you know who that is, right? I thought they were in Australia?”
Pope did a double take, recognizing his old informant’s brother. The Statesman stared at the two men, waiting for them to elaborate. Frankie sighed and settled into his seat a bit more, knee bouncing anxiously.
“Four years ago, Pope came to me and the rest of our old team to take out Gabriel Martín Lorea and make out with the money he had stockpiled. Pope’s CI, Yovanna, and her brother, Duke, both worked for Lorea. In exchange for helping us, Pope got the brother out of jail and we dropped them off in Peru with papers to Australia and $3M. Looks like Duke wasn’t satisfied with life in Australia.”
Ginger frowned and pulled up Duke’s known associates, Yovanna’s picture following the others on screen.
“Yovanna appears to still be living in Australia, but it’s possible Duke grabbed the money and ran.”
Frankie closed his eyes, lifting his cap and carding his fingers through his hair before placing the hat back on his head and sighing.
“What’s the plan? Sounds like the plants and processing facilities need to be taken out, and then there’s the compound, too.”
Pope nodded, then sighed as well. This was bringing back memories for the both of them.
“We’ll also need to be wary of the local agencies. They’ll be on the lookout for anyone suspicious, especially if it’s anything like how it was with Lorea.”
Champ nodded and tilted his head to Ginger.
“We’re doing our own recon and then we’ll break out teams. Pope, Catfish, we’d like you to at least help with intel, and given your experience in taking down Lorea, if you’re up for it, I’d like you both on the compound assault team.”
You saw Pope and Frankie share a look, Frankie’s jaw clenched and then he nodded.
“Yes, sir.”
“Great, not to worry boys, Statesman has the best resources, stateside or otherwise. For now, I’m sure we can keep you plenty busy. Whiskey, don’t forget, today is your day for combat training with the new recruits. Bourbon, Cranberry needs you to test equipment in the lab later today.”
“Pope, could you actually stick around again for a bit? I’ve got some more intel I want to run through with you.” Ginger chimed in, and you were surprised he didn’t grimace at the idea of being locked in a room for hours again.
With that, the meeting was over, Champ’s holo image disappeared and they took their glasses off. Jack stood up and Frankie was quick to follow him, much to your intrigue. You stood up as well. You were eager to watch Jack have his way with the new agents. It was always fun. Whiskey seemed to know you would be following and beckoned for you to enter his office first, followed by Frankie, and Jack closed the door behind him.
“Go ahead and set your bag down wherever you’d like, Flyboy.”
Frankie dropped his bag in a corner then promptly started to rifle through it, pulling his shoes out and quickly swapping his dress shoes for them. He let out a sigh of relief as he rolled up on the balls of his feet and rocked back on his heels. He hated dress shoes.
You took a short minute to admire Frankie in the blue button down while he rolled up his sleeves. Jack’s fingers wrapped around your wrist and he tugged you into him.
“Missed you, darlin’.”
Smiling, you took his face in your hands and tugged him down for a kiss.
“Missed you too, Jack.”
You murmured against his lips, and you resolved not to ask about last night. Whatever happened, Frankie must have reached out to Jack, not you or Santi, and you’d leave it at that. Jack hummed contentedly for a moment before he pulled back and winked at you.
“Are you coming to watch us break in the newbies, darlin’? I was thinking you and Flyboy could do the first demo.”
You narrowed your eyes suspiciously, but there was a playfulness in them as well.
“Us?” You questioned Jack with a raised eyebrow.
“First demo?” Came Frankie’s question as he whirled around to face you and Whiskey.
Jack’s smile broadened and he started out of his office and towards the elevator, expecting you and Frankie to follow.
“What are we demoing, Whiskey?”Frankie asked, more pointedly this time.
“Well, our newbies are scheduled to learn about disarms and what happens when the enemy goes for their gun. I thought it’d be good to have them start out seeing Bourbon disarm you.”
Frankie huffed as he crossed his arms and leaned against the elevator wall. You smiled as you leaned against the wall opposite Frankie.
“It’ll be just like old times, Fish.”
He groaned and shook his head.
“Why have me do the demo though? I’m not a Statesman agent.”
Before you could respond to reassure Frankie, Jack chimed in, eyeing him with nothing short of gleeful mischief. Jack enjoyed breaking the new agents in almost a little too much sometimes, but it was good for them, and he was good at it.
“No, you’re not, you’re ex-Delta Force, Frankie. These agents have had plenty of training, but they don’t have your experience, Flyboy. They’re gonna learn the difference today.”
Jack shared a similar philosophy with you when it came to combat training and sparring. You had been a terror in hand-to-hand, still were, you were proud to say. You knew there was often a size disadvantage, but you had learned to use your opponent’s momentum against them, and more importantly, you didn’t follow convention. In sparring matches, most people fought like they were sparring, which was fine for beginning, but there was a big difference between practicing and being in an actual fight. You never advocated for an all out brawl, but you refused to follow the typical learned pattern that people naturally gravitated towards. Tom had been predictable and a sore loser. Will was predictable but sweet. Benny, well, there was a reason he was semi-pro, which left Santi and Frankie. Santiago was fun, and you had lost your fair share of matches to both him and Benny. Frankie had a spark in his eyes when he sparred, but no matter how hard you had tried to get him to let go, he refused. It had nothing to do with anything silly like you being a woman, more to do with the fact that Frankie never seemed to just let himself go in that way. You had only seen him let go a bit twice, both times in the field and well worn down by the day.
The elevator dinging startled you out of your reverie, and you followed right behind Jack towards the training room. Frankie assumed they would be entering a gym of sorts, but he was sorely mistaken, and he realized the ‘floor’ they were on must have been composed of several. The ‘room’ was really more of a training complex housed in the unassuming tower. To the right, a group of 20 people stood, waiting. He gave them a cursory glance, and then his eyes were pulled to the range. He’d definitely have to visit to let off some stress. He followed as you and Whiskey led the way to the group of agents and hung back slightly as the group stood to attention.
“Well, look at this promising group of newbies, Bourbon. D’you think they’re up for today’s lesson?”
You let the smirk on your lips turn into a full crooked smile, you had more than a small idea as to what Jack was going to do. Looking over your shoulder, you caught Frankie’s eye and nodded for him to join you.
“I don’t know, Whiskey, simple concept, but we’ll see what their execution is like. My money is on our guy.”
The agents before you bristled, full of young pride that was well-earned. Whiskey’s hand clasped over Frankie’s shoulder as he introduced him to the new agents.
“Y’all are in for a treat. Our friend, Catfish, here, has generously volunteered to help train you on close quarters combat and disarms. Bourbon will demo the defense first. Catfish,” Whiskey took a pistol from the long table off to the side and handed it to Frankie. “Your objective is simple: shoot a blank at Bourbon.”
Frankie’s eyebrows shot up in surprise, and his eyes sought yours to make sure you were comfortable. An answering smile was good enough for him, and he checked the pistol, confirming there were no live rounds, before looking back up at you. The two of you easily slid into a ready position, and Jack gestured for the new agents to give you some room.
“Halcón, when you go for the takedown, ten cuidado con mi espalda. Ya no soy joven.” [be careful with my back. I’m not young anymore.]
It only mildly annoyed you that he already knew you were going to go for the takedown, after priding yourself on your spontaneity earlier, but you pushed that out of your mind as you both stood a few steps apart. There would be a split second when Frankie pulled his pistol and took a readying step. That would be where you would have an opening and make your move. A tense handful of seconds that seemed to stretch on filled the air. Jack watched the new agents, the tension between you and Frankie seemed to embed itself in the junior agents’ lungs as they all waited with bated breath.
Nothing telegraphed Frankie’s quick movements as he drew his pistol, but on instinct, your body was moving. He saw your left hand fly out to redirect his momentum and push his gun hand away, quickly shifting to plant his weight, keeping you from landing the takedown this early. The training you and Frankie had received taught you to be efficient and end things quickly. That was easier said when you had spent years training together. The junior agents seemed to still be holding their breath while you traded blows. Your moment of opportunity came, and you took it. Frankie seemed to understand what was happening but his balance was off. You stepped into him, your hip bumping his as your hand came to grip over the top of his pistol. The next thing everyone knew, you were both on the ground, the gun skittering harmlessly away, and Frankie’s arm in an arm bar. He grunted and quickly tapped at your leg to surrender, and you let him go. The class was quiet until Whiskey broke the silence as you helped Frankie to his feet.
“I hope you lot were paying attention to Catfish here, he did a great job demonstrating what to do when facing a difficult opponent like Bourbon. For this exercise, the rest of you will attempt to take a shot at Catfish and he will disarm you by whatever means he deems necessary.”
You can’t help but let out a small laugh, knowing Whiskey was being intentional with his wording.The laugh died quickly, however, at the words of one of the junior agents.
“How was that a good example? He lost, he was disarmed. We should be practicing against someone better, who would last longer.”
At your side, you saw Frankie stand up straighter, his feet moving shoulder width apart as his hands clasped behind his back and he fixed the younger agent with a steely gaze. Even as his breathing remained calm, it was obvious the words had gotten to him. Whiskey’s good natured grin turned into a smug smirk.
“Davis,” Whiskey began, calling the man out by his last name and emphasizing he hadn’t earned a Statesman moniker. “Since you’re so eager, by all means, approach Catfish when you’re ready and show us how your Statesman training fares.”
Frankie kept his gaze leveled at the cocky junior agent, noticing in his periphery that you had moved away to give them plenty of room. Davis moved to be a few steps in front of him. Frankie continued to hold the stare as he questioned Whiskey.
“Are you sure about this, Whiskey?”
Whiskey nodded, Frankie’s gaze flickering over to him for the briefest of seconds, then he brought his hands to a loose ready position at his sides. Davis drew his pistol, but Frankie grabbed the barrel with his left hand, stepped forward and hooked his right foot behind Davis’ lead leg and pushed on the agent’s chest with his right hand. Davis went down, but found himself suspended by Frankie’s hold on his shirt. The class was filled with littered gasps and snickers. The ‘fight’ was over before it had really begun. Frankie helped right the agent and stepped aside to let him retrieve his firearm.
“Attaboy, Catfish! Davis, looks like you’ve got some work to do. Here’s another lesson, agents: Statesman agents aren’t your only competition out there. We’ve got some fancy gear and trainin’ here, but there’s a world of intelligence agents and mercs out there. Catfish served with Bourbon, and that should tell you all you need to know.” He paused a moment to let the information sink in as Davis returned to the line to lick his wounds. Then Whiskey called the next agent.
Frankie breathed in, then out through his nose, and got ready. As they went, the junior agents in waiting began to pick up on a few of his techniques, and he had to adjust, but time spent practicing and training at Benny’s gym had prepared him well for this.
You watched as Jack’s eyes danced while he followed Frankie’s movements. The circumstances earlier had prevented him from truly appreciating how efficient and capable the quiet man was. The last of the junior agents had made their attempt and consequently failed. Frankie’s breath was coming more unevenly now, and rightly so. What he had gone through would be exhausting for anyone.
“Well done, everyone, a round of applause to Catfish for taking the time to demonstrate y’all have a lot to learn before getting approved for field work. Now go on and line up at the range and get warmed up. We’ll be running sims next.”
The junior agents dispersed to the range towards the back of the room. Frankie let out a breath and rolled his shoulders to let out some of the tension he had been carrying, then started heading for the range, eager to let off some more steam.
“Where do you think you’re going, partner?”
Frankie frowned, his eyes darting between you and Whiskey in confusion.
“I thought we were going to go shoot?”
Jack smiled then winked at Frankie.
“They’re warming up, you still have one more person to disarm, Flyboy.”
Frankie’s fingers twitched, and you could see that the exercise earlier had worn at his usual restraint.
“No lasso.”
Whiskey handed you his lasso, then unloaded his revolvers and passed you the ammo. He holstered his revolvers again and stepped into position in front of Frankie. You watched as a new kind of energy seemed to crackle between them, and some of the junior agents seemed to sense it, stopping to watch as well.
Whiskey was fast, but training at the boxing gym had helped Frankie with his speed. As Whiskey drew his revolver, Frankie sprung forward. He didn’t bother to grab the gun. Instead, he brought his fist down on the barrel, sending it skittering away. Whiskey’s fist connected with Frankie’s side, and you heard, rather than saw, Frankie’s reservations fall away with a snarl. He took hold of the inside of Jack’s blazer, grabbing the grip of the other revolver holstered there and made to pull it out and take the ‘shot’. Jack’s eyebrows shot up in surprise. He hadn’t expected Frankie to go on the offensive, but he found he was impressed. He liked a challenge. Before Frankie could draw the revolver from the holster, Jack grabbed his wrists and wrenched them down, then back up quickly to break Frankie’s hold, and then Jack threw them both to the ground. Both men recovered quickly, but in the chaos, the revolver had fallen to the ground and Frankie scrambled for it. Just as his fingertips touched cold metal, Whiskey’s whip flicked the revolver further away, and they closed the distance to grapple with each other again.
Your match with Frankie had been a well practiced dance, and this was too, in its own right. However, where yours had been fluid, Whiskey and Frankie were bordering on feral. For a moment, it appeared that Frankie had gotten the upper hand. Whiskey staggered backwards, about to fall, but as he went, he flicked his whip, the corded length wrapping around Frankie’s throat. He tugged, sending them both to the ground. Frankie grunted and struggled against the snare he was in. Whiskey wasted no time in scrambling up and pinning Frankie, his knee to the pilot’s back. Frankie continued to struggle until Whiskey leaned down so that only the other man could hear.
“Easy now, Tiger, save your strength for tonight. You did good.”
Frankie relaxed under Jack’s weight and nodded. Whiskey got off of him with a grunt and unwound the corded length of the whip from Frankie’s neck, then pressed a button on the handle to recall it. He helped Frankie up and dusted him off a bit.
A few of the junior agents were still watching in awe. It was rare to see a senior agent like you or Whiskey truly need to put some effort in, and to see it twice in one day was something else entirely. You walked over to the two men and put your hand on Frankie’s shoulder.
“You did great, Fish, nice to see you let loose for once.”
He scoffed good naturedly and swooped to pick his hat up from off the ground.
“You guys had quite the audience while you were at it, too.” Your smile was barely contained as you raised an eyebrow at Jack.
This time it was Whiskey’s turn to scoff.
“Well, I hope they’ve been practicing. They’ll be running the sim after Frankie does.”
Whiskey patted Frankie on his shoulder then gestured for him to follow. He led him to an enclosed area that occupied the majority of the left side of the training complex. A small structure that looked like a house sat inside the enclosure, and you knew it was furnished to match whatever simulation scenario had been determined. Whiskey stopped at a table just outside of the enclosure and gestured to the rifle, combat knife, folder, and headset.
“Alright, Flyboy, I know you’ve done this sort of exercise before. Your brief is on the table there. Good luck.”
You and Whiskey walked a bit further along the enclosure to two screens. One cycled through a variety of camera angles while the other would connect to the headset once Frankie turned it on.
“You’re really having Frankie run the simulation?”
Whiskey nodded, “I didn’t have him help with the demo just to teach those newbies a lesson, darlin’. He’s been through hell, and I figured getting him to work through some of that in sparring and the sim would help. That, and, well… you can’t blame me for bein’ curious, Bourbon. Last time I got to see what he could do, we were a bit busy trying not to get shot.”
You can’t help but to chuckle and shake your head, your attention going back to Frankie as he geared up.
“Frankie turns into a different person on missions sometimes, used to scare the hell out of people on base who saw it. No one ever suspected it because he was always the quiet one, but he’s just as competitive as the rest of the guys on the team. He was just always scary good at keeping a level head and focusing on the mission. You’ll see.”
Frankie put on the kit provided for him then flipped through the brief before lowering the headset and advancing. The brief had been fairly simple: infiltrate the compound, rescue the target, and escort the target to the exfil location. They even provided a decent description of the target. The virtual course populated guards patrolling the 3 entrances. He opted for the path of least resistance with only 2 guards posted.
From the screen, you and Jack could see Frankie take a deep breath, his shoulders relaxing even as he crept towards the two guards. You knew it was because he was willing himself to let go, to let his instincts and muscle memory take over. He was lightning fast as his knife came out and he landed brutal and precise fatal blows to the targets on the screen. In a normal situation, he would hide the bodies but the miracle of technology meant he didn’t have to. It was beautiful in a devastating way to watch Frankie move with such confidence, stealth, and precision. He peered around a hallway, noting the sudden influx of guards and catching a glimpse of red at the end of the hall. The brief had indicated the target would be in red, and it made sense that there would be more guards to ensure the target didn’t run off. He counted five hostiles in the hallway.
Five guards, five bullets.
Once he had downed the hostiles, Frankie stepped through the hallway, catching a glimpse of the target and swore at how cliché the scenario was. The brief had just said the target had last been seen wearing red.
“¡Me están jodiendo! ¿En serio? ¿Una mujer en un vestido rojo?” [They’re fucking with me. Really? A woman in a red dress?]
You could both hear Frankie through the mic link in his headset, and you couldn’t help but laugh. It quickly died as you and Whiskey tensed. The woman in red was a decoy, one that statistically caught the majority of users by surprise.
“Ma’am, are you-” She moved just barely and he saw the glint of where a gun was holstered. Frankie didn’t finish his sentence. Instead, he fired a shot to her chest and grumbled to himself before moving on. Normally, it wouldn’t have taken him that long to figure it out.
Whiskey whistled, thoroughly impressed. It wasn’t long after that Frankie found the real target and reached the ‘exfil location’.
“Damn, sweetheart, you sure picked a good one.”
He winked at you, and you grinned back as Frankie pulled off the headset and his kit, then walked over to you.
“Alright, agents! Catfish successfully completed the sim in 15 minutes, that’s your time to beat!”
A chorus of groans echoed in the training room. Whiskey ignored them and clapped Frankie on his shoulder.
“You did good, Flyboy, really set the bar high. Most people get caught up by the decoy.”
Frankie’s chest puffed out a little at the praise, but he was soon shaking his head. Before he could deflect the compliment, Whiskey squeezed his shoulder.
“Feeling hungry, Flyboy? Figured the three of us could grab a quick lunch before Cran steals Bourbon here away from us.”
“Yeah, I’m starving. Didn’t expect you to keep me busy like that.”
Vermouth entered the training room, and you waved him down.
“Hey, Vermouth! Watch the junior agents for us. Whiskey’s just got them running the sim. We’re going to go grab lunch!”
Without waiting for Vermouth’s answer, you grabbed Whiskey and Frankie’s hands, dragging them out of the training room and to the elevator.
“There’s a deli not far from the office we can walk to, and it’s late enough that we should miss the rush.”
Walking arm in arm with both of your boys, you could think of very few things better than right now. You didn’t care that you were in the middle of downtown New York. All that mattered was Whiskey on your right, and Frankie on your left.
Frankie did his best to relax and not let his anxiety and internal struggles get the best of him. Whiskey’s words echoed in his mind: “When it comes to me and Bourbon, keep an open mind and try not to overthink it.” That was a lot easier said than done, but he was working on it.
You were right, the timing made it so that you had missed the lunch rush. You all ordered your food, Whiskey stepping in to pay with a look that silenced both you and Frankie, then you all went to sit down.
Whiskey practically sprawled in his chair, his legs encroaching your space under the table and Frankie’s space next to him. Frankie sat somewhat stiffly but the more he ate, the more he seemed to relax. You nudge his foot with yours playfully to grab his attention.
“How’s your back? Mr. Ya-no-soy-joven.”
The three of you laughed, and Frankie shook his head with a wide grin on his face.
“I’m not! Gotta leave that shit for the young guys who think they’re invincible.”
“Young guys like Davis?” You shot back, smug on Frankie’s behalf.
“Cocky kid had it coming.”
There was no anger in Frankie’s eyes, only the slightest lilt of mirth in his voice as his gaze met yours, then Whiskey’s. Whiskey leaned forward and barked a laugh while patting Frankie on the back.
“He sure did. The lot of them were in need of a reality check. That’s why Champ specifically likes to have me or Bourbon take at least one pass at our junior agents. After all those hours spent training, they tend to forget that there are much bigger fish out there.”
Conversation flowed easily between them for the rest of their lunch. It reminded Frankie of the prior morning, when they were enjoying breakfast and everything just felt right. It felt as if all of the pieces of the puzzle were coming together, and this time, this time, it didn’t feel fleeting.
Walking to the office was much more comfortable than the walk to the deli had been. You noticed that Frankie was far less stiff under your touch on his arm, even leaning into you occasionally. You parted ways in the elevator. You were heading to the lab to play guinea pig for Cranberry, and your boys were headed upstairs to Whiskey’s office. Frankie seemed hesitant to let you go, and you did your best not to spook him, your heart fluttering in your chest.
Given everything that had happened, things needed to be almost wholly in Frankie’s court, at least until he was more comfortable around you. You had certainly noticed, however, how easily Frankie and Whiskey seemed to allow each other into their respective spaces. The elevator doors closed behind you as you strode down the hall. You were glad that they were comfortable together, though. It had definitely been a concern of yours, considering their respective pasts, but you also thought that there was the potential for them to relate and understand each other better than most.
The rest of the day passed by slowly, and as directed, Frankie remained Jack’s shadow. Jack did his best to keep from laughing when 5pm rolled around and Frankie began to subconsciously bounce his knee. He was scrolling on his phone, lower lip pulled between his teeth and brow furrowed as he tried to focus on whatever was on the screen.
You knocked on Jack’s open office door, raising an eyebrow when you saw Frankie startle at the sound. He wasn’t usually this jumpy. Jack’s gaze met yours, and you could see the amusement and mischief that bubbled in his eyes.
“Hey there, darlin’, you getting ready to head out for the night?”
“Just about, wanted to come see my boys before I do.”
Frankie’s knee stopped bouncing at your words, his phone falling into his lap as he looked up at you. You motion for him to scoot over a bit as you sit down on the couch next to him and rest your chin on your hand.
“We’re still on for dinner tomorrow, right?”
You posed the question to the room in general, even though the three of you knew that it was really directed towards Frankie.
“Uh yeah, I’m-I’m looking forward to dinner tomorrow,” Frankie says after clearing his throat and gives you both a shy smile. Leaning over, you take his large hand in your own and give it a squeeze.
“Great!” Standing up from the couch, you smooth your clothes, give Frankie a kiss on his cheek, and then kiss Jack. “I’ll find us a place, and we’ll figure it out more tomorrow. Night, Frankie. Night, Jack.”
A minute later, you’re gone, and suddenly there’s nothing keeping Frankie’s mind off of the time, which is painfully close to 6pm, when Jack said he’d be done with work. The moment the clock turned that final, eternal minute, Frankie sat up straight, attentive, and alert as his eyes watched Whiskey.
Jack leaned back in his chair, stretching, then relocated next to Frankie on the couch.
“I don’t want you to feel obligated to do anything tonight, Flyboy. If you feel like you’re not up for it, we’ll just grab dinner and head home.”
Frankie shook his head and took a steadying breath.
“No, I want this. I-I could really use it, Jack.”
Whiskey nodded, eyes wandering over Frankie as he adjusted on the couch.
“Alright, I use the green, yellow, red system. You need me to stop for whatever reason, call red, and that’s it, no questions, no hard feelings or fuss. I’ll get you cleaned up and help you come down. Sound good?”
Frankie nodded, his tongue suddenly thick and his mouth dry in anticipation. Jack tutted.
“I need you to use your words, Flyboy.”
Frankie swallowed, his heart beating wildly in his chest.
“I understand, s-sounds good.”
“Good. Now…” Jack pulled a small pad of stationary paper and a pen from the side table. “I want you to write out what you’re ok with and any hard or soft limits you have.”
Frankie nodded, then took the pen and paper and began writing.
[click for better quality]
A blush took hold of Frankie as he handed it back.
“It’s what I can come up with off the top of my head, for tonight at least. I’ll let you know if anything else comes up though.”
Jack’s eyes were dark as he perused the list, looking up from the paper to Frankie, he stood up with a smile.
“C’mon Flyboy… we’re gonna have some fun tonight.”
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Amoreena | Chapter Eighteen
Amoreena Chapter Eighteen
main summary: Heaven is a real place and it's located exactly 14.6 miles away from the FBI, Quantico Headquarters. Off behind a small park, under a fantastical willow tree surrounded by wildflowers, in every colour young minds can imagine.
Don't forget, heaven also comes with angels.
Chapter Warnings: hospital visits, fainting, IV's and ultrasounds!
word count: 5k
from the beginning <3
Y/N heads off to work at 8 on Wednesday, sick and miserable but it's her job. Leaving Spencer with the girls. “So, what are our plans for today?”
“We need to pick up some paint samples so we can pick for my room,” Jo replies, shovelling waffles into her mouth right after with syrup dripping down her chin.
Spencer passes her a napkin with a smile, “do you guys want to go visit my friend Penelope? She’s really good with aesthetics, as she calls them, she’ll be able to help the best.”
“She’s the one you told me about?”
Spencer nods, “yeah, I’m just going to call and see if she’s free today. Put your dishes in the dishwasher after, your mom doesn’t need to come home from work to do the sticky dishes okay?”
“Yes sir,” they both groan, jokingly, smiling at each other as they do so.
He runs up to his bedroom then, sitting on his side of the bed and taking his phone out of his pocket. He dials Luke’s number instead, knowing she’d kill him if she’s still asleep while he’s calling her.
“Hey man!” Luke answers, cheerful and very awake. “How’s the new kid?”
“Jo’s great, she’s settling in really well,” He smiles, news travelled fast in the BAU, “I actually want to introduce her to Penelope, is she awake and willing to take visitors this early?”
“Um,” he can hear Luke’s panic through the phone, “you know, here she’s beside me, she can tell you.”
“Hello, Spencer,” Penelope’s voice carries down the line and invoking a smile on Spencer’s face. “What’s up?”
“I wanted to introduce you to Josephine today, are you busy?”
“We have a doctor's appointment to go to in 10 minutes, but we’ll be home around 10:30?”
His brain stalls, malfunctioning a small amount at why Luke would be going to the doctors with Penelope. “You can’t be pregnant too, me you and Derek can’t all have kids the same age.”
“Savannah’s pregnant too?!” Penelope screams down the line, “holy shit.”
“Penelope!” Spencer shouts, “are you kidding me?”
“No, we were going to tell you soon, when you made that wine comment a few weeks ago I knew she was pregnant because I am too,” Penelope’s voice is so soft he knows she’s smiling on the other side.
She always wanted kids, that’s why she spoiled Henry and Hank so much, they were like her honorary babies until she was in the right place to have kids of her own. She has told Spencer time and time again how much she wants a family, how badly she wanted one but couldn’t find the perfect partner… then she met Luke.
“Put Luke back on,” Spencer sounds sterner than he means to, Penelope puts him on speaker instead.
“Are we going to have the father-to-son chat?” Luke teases him through the phone.
“I just wanted to thank you, this is going to be a really cool experience,” Spencer feels incredibly emotional at the thought of all 3 of their kid's meeting and being best friends.
“You just bumped Spencer to the top of my suggestions list,” Luke jokes in response, not able to handle the sappiness this early in the morning. “Thanks, man, So Derek’s going to be a dad again too?”
“I wasn’t supposed to tell you,” Spencer feels a bit like an idiot, “I don’t know how far along they are so just keep it a secret for now.”
“She’ll probably tell me when I tell her,” Penelope rationalized it, “it’s fine, Spence, all of us are having babies it’s a good secret to spill.”
“When are you due?”
“January 29th,” Penelope smiles, “you?”
“Y/N doesn’t know for sure, but she’s thinking it’s February 20th, if she got her math right,” Spencer confirms with a smile, “we have a doctor's appointment to see the little one in 2 weeks.”
“We find out if it’s a boy or girl today,” Luke added, and he can hear Penelope smack him.
“We’re not finding out! I want it to be a surprise!”
“I’m going to find out, I’m going to stare that sonogram down till I see a pee-pee or not,” Luke bickered back. Making her furious on purpose, like always.
“Good luck with that, it’s a blob and you’re a dork,” she fought right back, probably even more feisty now that she was pregnant.
That made Spencer just shake his head, he couldn’t even picture it. It was insane when Haley got pregnant and Hotch became a dad, he was so shocked when JJ got pregnant and her small body was able to do it. He’ll never forget seeing Derek become a father, it was way too eventful not to. But this, he never thought he’d see it.
She probably felt the same with him.
“We’ve got to go in now Spence, but we can pick up some brunch and meet you at ours around 11?” Penelope cut into his awkward silence, “you can see the ultrasound and be the first to know.”
“Sounds good, I’m really happy for you, Penny,” Spencer added with a smile. “Bye.”
“Bye!”
After he hangs up he shoots a text over to Y/N, “taking the girls to Penelope’s house, is there an extra booster seat for Amoreena anywhere?” And slides his phone back into his pocket.
Down the stairs, Jo and Amoreena are doing the dishes instead of just placing them in the dishwasher. Amoreena is on a stool, washing the plates as Jo dries and is able to reach the cabinets better to put them away. They don’t even know he’s there watching as they pass plates back and forth.
Then Amoreena jumps off the stool as the water drains, finally turning around to see her dad, “all clean! Mom shouldn’t have to do anything while she’s making a baby.”
Spencer couldn’t stop smiling, his girls were so perfectly kind and caring. It was like he won the genetic lottery being blessed with them.
“She’d really appreciate us keeping the house clean for the next few months,” Spencer agreed. “Are you guys excited or nervous about the baby?”
They both shrugged and moved in closer to the counter, resting against it as they thought it over. He pressed his lips together awkwardly as he waited, “I’m really nervous.” He announced, watching their faces turn to worry.
“Why?” Jo asked, “You’re really good at being a dad.”
“I haven’t done it from the beginning yet,” he’s open and honest with them, letting them know he doesn’t always have every answer but he’s brave enough to try.
“If anything,” Amoreena’s smart little mind gets to work, “because you’ve been so amazing without really knowing us, I can imagine Elly will love you the most because she’ll know you the longest.”
“Elly?” Spencer smiles, remembering how serious they all are about the next kid is a girl too.
Amoreena nodded, “she has the choice of 3 nicknames, Elly, Leo or Nora…” She’s clearly thought it all through.
“You know, I was thinking we should get something for Y/N and the baby, do you guys want to go to the store before we go see aunty Penny?”
They both nod enthusiastically, “can we go get changed first?” Amoreena asks, “I want to wear something nice.”
It makes him laugh, “of course, hey, before you go do you know where any more booster seats are for you?”
She bites her lip to think, “hmm, I think there’s one in poppy’s truck?”
“Okay, you go get ready, I’ll go talk to poppy,” Spencer replies, and before he can even turn around both of them are running up the creaky, loud, wooden steps and into their rooms.
He’s already in jeans and a plaid shirt from feeding the chickens that morning, adding just his running shoes and Grandpa’s hat, it was basically his now. He loved it, it felt right, it made Y/N and Amoreena smile when he wore it, and it completed the look of stay-at-home Farm Dad.
He walked right into Y/N’s parent's house, pulling back the screen door before walking, “knock, knock,” he says, smiling as he sees Linda rounding the corner from the kitchen.
“Spencer!” She cheers, wiping her hands off on her apron before pulling him into a hug. “How are your girls?”
“Good,” he smiles again, holding her close quickly before letting her go again. “I’m taking them to a friend's house, does Amoreena have a booster seat here?” He asks for the 3rd time that morning, not wanting to drive her anywhere unless she’s perfectly secured.
“Bob’s got one in the truck, leave your keys here in case he has to go anywhere and just take the truck, it’s easier than taking the seat out and putting it back in,” Linda problem-solved like it was her job.
“Okay,” he places his keys in her hand.
“Bob’s are on the wall by the door, have fun today!” Linda waved him off, “oh, and tell Y/N congratulations.”
“Oh, thanks,” he smiled, “the wedding was really fun.”
He’s just taking the keys off the wall and opening the door again when he hears her small laughter, “I meant on the baby.”
He turns quickly, “how did you know?”
Linda shakes her head, “there are 3 cases of ginger ale in the fridge and 8 empty boxes of saltine crackers in the recycling.”
He turns pink, embarrassed for some reason as if Linda didn’t know he was sleeping with her daughter. He nods with a press-lipped smile. “She didn’t want to tell anyone till the ultrasound.”
“I understand,” Linda smiled. “I’m ready to talk to her when she is, let her know that.”
“I will,” he smiled one last time, “see you later!”
And they were off.
—
He’s in a big red farm truck, wearing a farm hat and plaid while listening to Taylor Swift with his daughters.
He can’t help but shake his head at the insanity, agreeing with Taylor’s current lyric that’s being burned into his head, “fever dream high in the quiet of the night you know that I caught it!”
Amoreena and Jo are in the back, singing together as they share what songs are their favourites. It’s surreal, every single moment is, if it wasn’t for how badly it made his heartache to see them so happy he’d think it was all a dream.
The girls are very adamant about going to TJMaxx for a present for Y/N, saying it’s the best place to find nice things for a good price. Spencer would spend a million dollars on her if he could, but this was a group decision, and there were 2 of them now, so he never won anymore.
They get a decent parking space, getting out together they look insane. Spencer is a walking talking Woody from Toy Story at this point, Jo’s in all black and combat boots and Amoreena is a princess… it was an interesting group, to say the least.
They get a cart, pushing it up and down the aisles as they find a million and 1 cute things for Y/N. Everything from paintings to towels, maternity clothes and baby toys, makeup brushes and scarves… they were having the hardest time finding the best thing to get for them.
Spencer turned down the final aisle in the back corner, seeing a bunch of headboards and chairs, and a small little bassinet. It’s whicker and woven beautifully, light wood and a fluffy white inside. It’s soft, well made, and incredibly cute.
“Mom gave my crib to Aunt Ashely, she might like this!” Amoreena cheered, leaning over it to show that she was the perfect height to see inside of it too.
“I’m going to get it,” Spencer announces, “it’ll look nice in our room, and it’s good for the first few months while she’s really dependent on your mom.”
They were all on team girl now, Spencer and his little women just made the most sense. He couldn’t see anyone other than all his girls in his mind when he thought of the future, and he’s had enough time with boys anyway. Hank and Henry would always hold a special place in his heart.
The girls each wanted t pick something out for the baby, heading right for the girl section of the baby aisle. “Now, you have to remember that they’ll be very tiny in the winter, and around 6 months in the summer.”
Everything was actually decently priced like the girls said it would be, so Spencer went a bit overboard. It was his first baby too, he was allowed to spoil it. He stocked up on bib rags, swaddle blankets, pacifiers and cute little hats. Jo and Amoreena on the other handpicked out the cutest little winter coat. It would be perfect for the Virginia winter, a big brown bear coat that zipped up like a sleeping bag. She’s going to be so cozy.
Bringing everything to the cashier was fun, she could see they were all related and smiled, “another brother or sister on the way?”
Jo and Amoreena smiled, “in February,” Jo was the one to answer with a wide smile.
“Congrats!” She smiles as she rings everything through, bagging it all while Spencer pays and the girls take it all to the truck.
“Wait, so will I ever meet my other brother and sister?” Amoreena asks as they’re filling the bed of the truck with what they bought, completely out of the blue.
“Not for a while, Jo kinda broke the rules to find me and figured out who they are, but they can’t know till they’re 18,” Spencer explained.
She turns to Jo with a look of worry, “was my name on there?”
Jo nods enthusiastically, “oh yeah! You’re baby number 3! It goes me, Alice, you and then Dylan is the youngest.”
Amoreena starts to cry, it's soft at first as she goes silent and then she’s heaving as she thinks about it more. She throws herself into Spencer’s arms and he’s so confused. Shushing her as he rubs her back gently, “what’s wrong, sweetheart?”
“I knew it,” is all she can say. Holding him closer than before. “You were too great to just be my dad.”
Jo places her hand on Spencer’s shoulder, “she’s right.”
“You guys are the amazing ones,” he says softly. “Come on, let’s get in the truck and go see Aunt Penny, she has a surprise.”
Amoreena sighed as she pulled back, “I don’t think I can handle anything more.”
It makes him laugh, “it’s a simple one, I promise.”
—
Jo loves Penelope. They instantly click, discussing exactly how she hacked the Sperm bank in all the technical terms which ended up sounding like gibberish to Spencer. She was incredibly smart and very interested in the computer programming field. Penelope offered to take her under her wing.
Amoreena, however, fell head over heels in love with Luke. He was nice to her at the barbecue because he’s Luke and he doesn’t know how to be anything but nice, and she thought he looked like Prince Naveen from the princess and the frog… which just so happened to be her favourite and suddenly Spencer understood why she was in a green princess dress today.
It was adorable, she looked up at him like he was an actual prince with big brown doe eyes as she listened to him talk about all the knightly battles he’s been on recently. She was enamoured, having her first little kid crush on her Aunt’s boyfriend.
Spencer was holding Penelope’s sonogram in his hands, alone on the couch as his kids were deep in conversation with his friends. It was really cool, that’s all he could think. Himself, Derek and Penelope were going to have 3 kids all around the same age.
3 little people who got to grow up with a bond and friendship just as strong as theirs. Each of them having 2 best friends, 2 protectors, it was going to be amazing. He can see it now, a confident little Garcia, a feisty little Morgan and a shy yet chatty little Reid baby all together on the playground. What a nightmare for their poor teacher.
Y/N still hasn’t texted him back from this morning, yet she’s calling him now at 1 pm as they’re getting ready to leave, “hello, princess.”
“Can you leave the girls with Penelope and meet me in the ER?”
“Of what hospital? Are you okay?” He asks, and all eyes are on his horrified face.
Luke stands then, “I’ll take you, let’s go.”
“Bethesda, it’s not bad I just came in to check something and I want you here,” her voice is soft and she knows he’s going to panic. “I need you to breathe and stay calm or the kids will freak out.”
He takes a deep breath, “sorry I forgot we had an appointment today.” He lies pretty well.
“I’ll see you soon okay, text me while Luke drives me?” He’s quiet as he and Luke slip out the door.
“I’ll just stay on the line, I don’t mind, cutie,” he could see her smile in his mind as he listened to her. Able to actually calm down and think straight as he climbed into the passenger seat and handed Luke the keys.
“What happened?”
“I didn’t feel good, I was extra dizzy and sick a few times at work, so Allison made me come in. Savannah has me hooked up to an IV now, I’ve been so sick I’m dehydrated, and they wanted to do an ultrasound but I can’t see her without you here.”
His heartbeat settles a bit, the same thing happened to JJ. It was fairly normal, the first-trimester sickness was so horrific she wasn’t really eating, she had maybe 1 full meal a day even though he tried to get her to eat more. And she was drinking a lot of water, but she was also throwing up hourly. It wasn’t healthy.
“Okay,” he’s able to smile softly. “Thank you for wanting to wait for me.”
She hears his smile too, knowing he’s calm and okay. “She’s your first baby, baby, I want you to have all the firsts with her. Or him. I’m so settled on it being another girl I feel so bad sometimes…”
He can hear the paper of her hospital gown rustling as she rubs her small stomach. “I love you forever even if you are a boy, or you come out a quote-unquote boy and want to be a girl or the other way or neither or even both!” She’s clearly not talking to him anymore as she assures the baby she’s not going to be upset about its gender.
Luke drives like a maniac, Spencer knows from experience but he’s extra insane today. He has dad panic now too, he knows what Spencer’s thinking and so he guns it and he’s in the ER parking lot within 10 minutes. “Okay, I’m here where are you?”
“Savannah’s going to collect you at the door and bring you to me,” her voice is soft and calm still, “I’ll see you in a few minutes, love you.”
“Love you too,” he replies before hanging up. “Thank you, Luke.”
Luke places his hand on Spencer’s shoulder, “you know by now I’d kill for you, right?”
Spencer’s heart has been at a capacity for love for a while now and yet it keeps getting piled on, “thank you. If you want to go back to Penny’s that’s okay. I’ll drive Y/N’s car back to your place.”
“Sure,” Luke smiles again. “Go see that baby, I want to see pictures after!”
With that, Spencer’s getting out of the truck and running into the hospital, holding his hat so it doesn’t fly off. Savannah laughs when she sees him, he’s so anxious and sweet and she’s always admired him for making Derek feel loved before her.
She places a hand on his back as she leads him down the hall, “she’s fine I promise, I wouldn’t be this chill if she wasn’t.”
“Thank you,” Spencer stops, “I really love her Savannah. Like if anything happens to her or my kids I will kill myself kind of love her and it’s terrifying.” His words are a whisper as he shakes, tears welling in his eyes. “I’m trying to be cool and collected for her but I need a minute.”
Savannah looks down the corridor past him, smiling softly as Derek walks out of Y/N’s room. “Derek was here for lunch when she called me.”
He wraps Spencer up in the hug he needs and Spencer just holds him. “You’re the best,” he says softly as he rests his lips against Derek's shoulder like he always does. And Derek messes up his hair, without fail.
Derek places his hands on his cheeks, “she’s really cool, but tomorrow is called off until they’re both past the first trimester and everything is chill, okay?”
“I forgot all about that,” Spencer’s eyes widen.
Derek laughs, “go see your girl, she invited us over for dinner after.”
“Penelope and Luke have to come too, they have big news to share today too,” Spencer spills the beans, “she’s going to be so mad at me for telling you but I have been wanting to scream about it for a few hours now.”
Derek’s face lights up, “I’ll be back!”
Savannah laughs as he runs down the hall, surely going to congratulate his best friend and tell her all about how cool it’ll be to all have kids together. With all the enthusiasm that Spencer kept inside, Derek was about to scream on his behalf.
Y/N’s a vision in the blue paper gown, laying on the table with her hand over her belly as Spencer walks in, “Hey, cutie.”
He peppers kisses to her whole face while she laughs, reaching up with her free hand, the other is all taped up with wires for her fluids. She looks much better already, her skin is glowing and the life is back in her eyes, she’s smiling again and he notices the 2 empty jello cups beside an unopened one.
“Derek made me save you one,” She adds as he notices it, “in case you passed out or something.”
Within minutes, he’s done his jello and there’s a new woman he’s never seen before coming in for Y/N’s ultrasound. She introduces herself as Aria and Y/N can’t help but mention she kind of looks like Arizona on Grey’s Anatomy.
She’s not far along enough for the regular ultrasound wand to pick anything up, wiping her belly clean of the jelly before prepping the other one and Y/N grips Spencer’s hand tighter. She looks like she hates it, and Spencer probably would too if some strange lady shoved a metal stick up his parts.
She’s clicking around on her own, Spencer knows she’s just a tech and she can’t really tell them anything until she does the first sweep for all the answers. She turns the screen after a few minutes, “here’s your little baby, we have a healthy heartbeat and a placenta up here in the top left.”
Seeing his baby is the most magical moment of his life. She was so tiny, the size of a sweet pea inside the love of his life. She looked like a little alien, tiny in her little sac as she floated around in there. Happy, and healthy and growing day by day.”
“Just the one?” Y/N confirms.
Aria laughs, “yes, nothing else is going on in here, but they are measuring more at 7 weeks, almost 8, instead of 6 weeks and 5 days, even with your period math, they might just be a big baby.”
“Our first kid was a chunky baby,” Y/N smiles, looking at the screen and oblivious to how Spencer smiles at the words our first kid…
“So this little one is good, in the fetal position and the tail is at the right length for development, they should look like a person the next time you see them. Everything looks like it’s on track and your HCG is doubling perfectly,” Aria was very cheerful. “You’re just sick because they’re super healthy.”
“I’m fine with that,” Y/N smiles again, “can I have a bunch of copies? Everyone is going to want one.”
“Sure,” Aria hits a few buttons, printing 11 photos off and handing them over to her in a long strand. “Have you looked into any OB’s for this one?”
“Not yet, I was going to bring it up tonight,” Y/N’s the only one talking, Spencer has no idea if he’s allowed an opinion on her body and he’s never going to give one unless she asks.
“Well, I’ll leave you to it! Here are some facilities we like if you need recommendations,” she smiles as she hands them a booklet. “Congratulations!”
“Thank you,” Y/N swoons, sitting up to look at her little baby photos and read the booklet.
Once the woman is gone, she smiles at Spencer, “I want to do a water birth, how are you feeling about that?”
“Like I’ll be there no matter what you pick?” He answers, “I just want you to be safe and in good hands, preferably in a birthing centre where they’re all trained to care for you. I’ve been a little stressed at the idea of us living so far away from the hospital, so it’s better to not do a home birth in case something goes wrong last minute.”
It’s a Reid rant of epic proportions, “okay, water birth in a birthing centre it is. Plus, it’ll be winter so I wouldn’t want to drive in that while giving birth.”
“How long do you have to stay here?”
“Once my IV fluid bag is empty, I can go.” She smiles wide, holding his hand gently as she looks at him. “They’re going to send a nurse to the library on Tuesdays and Thursdays to ensure I get more fluids in me, and I’m also going to take some nausea meds now.”
“Thank you for calling me,” Spencer whispers, “I’m so happy you feel safe with Derek, and that he could have been here for you, but can you call me first next time?”
She nods, “I was scared, I needed to know if she was okay before I told you because I love you a lot and seeing you upset made me more scared.”
“I don’t want you to feel like that,” Spencer shook his head softly, leaning in and pressing their foreheads together. “I may be a worry wort and an anxious crier, but I will hold your hand and I will be here, you mean more to me than anything else.”
She cupped his face with her free hand, “the girls better be on the same level as me.” She brings a smile to his face, “if anything happens to me you have to be strong for them, I know nothing bad will. But I need you to know I do have faith in you to keep going after me, for them. They need a parent, be it me or you, at 100% all the time.”
“I promise,” he smiles so she knows he’s true.
—
Penelope Spencer and Derek laid all 3 of their ultrasounds on Y/N’s kitchen table, a sticky note on each one. Baby Garvez, Baby Morgan and Baby Reid…
The Big Three 2.0 coming this winter.
Penelope took a photo of it, opening the BAU text thread that has all members past and present included. Sending the photo to everyone while they patiently waited for a response.
Jordan Todd: way to go!!! Can’t wait to see all that cuteness!
Anderson: !!! Bring them by the office sometime, please!
Hotch: Jack said he’s excited to meet his new cousins. Congrats guys.
Elle: is Penelope having 2 babies or did Spencer get a wife I don’t know about?
Emily: Congrats!! (And yes Spencer has a wife and 3 kids now apparently…)
Elle: pics or it didn’t happen
Spencer:
Elle: no fuckin way... congrats Reid!
Alex Blake: so proud of you Spencer, I always knew you could do it. Love is full of endless possibilities. Your kids will be so loved, I miss you all.
Matt Cruz: congrats!
Kate Callahan: we need to get you a triple stroller
Penelope: Please!! Zoo trips are going to be a riot with that!
Tara: so happy for you all!
Matt: Welcome to the club Spencer and Luke!
Kristy: and Y/N! We need to throw a big baby shower on the farm before the cold weather!
Will: JJ…
JJ: no.
Will: Spencer, tell nini I’m really happy she’s finally going to be a big sis, she’s always been so good with the kids. You made some great kids!
Spencer: thanks everyone ♥︎
tag list: @shemarmooresfedora @spencers-dria @spookyspence @reidsfish @manuosorioh @mochionly @samuel-de-champagne-problems @jswessie187
@k-k0129 @calm-and-doctor
#spencer reid#spencer reid smut#spencer reid fanfiction#spencer reid fanfic#spencer reid imagine#spencer reid x reader#spencer reid x y/n#spencer reid x you#spencer reid self insert#spencer reid request#criminal minds smut#criminal minds imagine#amoreena
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Home: Chapter eight
azriel x reader (acotar)
summary: (y/n) is a daughter of Persephone, still recovering from the trauma of her fall into Tartarus and doesn’t have time for a stupid, handsome, annoying, stunning, injured man. But now they’re stuck together in the middle of nowhere and there only chance of getting home is if she can heal him, and fast.
warnings: big spoilers for mark of Athena and house of Hades, also for the acotar series, eventual smut, blood, PTSD, graphic descriptions of violence, injuries and torture, enemies to lovers so az is a bit of a dick to start, swearing
word count: 1.6k
a/n: ahhh this is the last part and I’m kinda sad but at the same time I don’t want to drag it out, I also have a new idea for a dorian x reader so it’s a good thing to finsih one but am still sad. I hope you enjoy I made it extra fluffy (also had a cheeky wee hint back to the first part)
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You were sat in front of a large mirror, taking in your appearance as you listened to the noise downstairs, the hustle and sounds of people speaking as they rushed about in preparation a sharp contrast to the silence of your and Azriel’s shared room. The girl looking back at you in the mirror was beautiful. Her hair was pinned up, revealing a long neck adorned with a simple necklace your lover had gifted you. Your skin was clear as well, any blemishes you had, any scarring from acne you had picked at, was gone, replaced by dewy, glowing skin. In fact everything about you seemed to glow, your hair was shinier, your skin had a new ethereal sense about it, and you looked more like your mother than you ever had before.
You heard a clatter of plates downstairs and bit your lip with a slight smile, running your hands over you dress. It was baby pink, as you had commented that white may be a little on the nose, with a deep V-neck and white and pink flowers trailing down the heavy skirt, you had picked it out with the help of Feyre and Mor who had dragged you out shopping, giggling when you had stared in shock at the sheer number of dresses you only believed existed on Pinterest. You reached over the vanity and picked up the delicate gold dangling earrings that you had ‘bought’ (Azriel had technically bought them but you certainly paid him back) and put them on, gazing wistfully at your now pointed ears.
So much had changed so quickly. Azriel’s family were extremely welcoming, instantly treating you like they had known you forever. You became incredibly close with Cassian and Nesta, much to Azriel’s amusement, as you bonded over books with Nesta and a general love of Azriel with Cassian. Nesta was officially sold on you when she finished ‘Call Me by Your Name’ the day you gave it to her, the two of you discussing it all night as you made promises to find a way to show her the movie. Rhysand and Mor treated you like a sister, the three of you soon teasing each other, Amren genuinely laughing when you let loose your more creative insults. The only one who seemed reserved at first was Elain, but soon the two of you were spending hours in the garden as you taught her about the different needs that different plants had and how to grow them most effectively.
Azriel had never been more in love. He already knew you were mates but now that it was official, and possible, he felt like he was on cloud nine. He was in love with how quickly you feel asleep in his arms. The way you lit up when talking about your passions, hands moving widely. He was in love with the way your eyes sparkled constantly now, only rarely being overcome with shadows, ones that he had learned to help dispel, you were laughing more and had even started showing your back again. When you went to the House of Wind to train with Cassian and Azriel one summer afternoon you had removed your top, leaving you in a simple sports bra, not missing the mix of pride and desire in Azriel’s eyes as you continued your exercises.
“Can I ask what happened?” Nesta had asked late that day, Feyre looking up from her book, Nyx cradled in one arm. You had explained, and after, when you expected to be pushed away, Feyre had simply passed Nyx to Nesta and wrapped her arms around you, holding you for a long while, even when the Illyrians entered the room. When she pulled away you noticed the tears in her eyes and offered her a small smile, as she whispered to you.
“You’re with your family now, nothing like that will ever happen again.” And then you were crying too.
Now you were sat in your low-back dress with your hair up, scars on display for anyone to see. You had been woken at nine am by an excited chorus of fae women and all but shoved into a bath, your hair washed, and skin scrubbed until you felt new-born. You had been brought a strong, dark coffee and some honeyed toast as you sat soaking in the bath, your friends moving about outside tidying your room and fishing out everything you needed, before you were pulled from the bath and forced to dry. When you had walked back into the room, you found Mor wiggling her eyebrows as she passed you a bag which, on further inspection, you found contained an intricate set of baby blue lingerie making you laugh loudly as you thumbed the material. They had then crowded you, Nesta drying and styling your hair as Feyre did your face, treating it alike one of her beautiful paintings, Elain painting and filing your nails as Amren and Mor sat sipping on champagne, both donned in beautiful, dark silk dresses, as they discussed the day ahead. You felt alike a princess when they were done and had commented as much, gaining you a glass of champagne and a comment on how you looked like one too. However they soon left, claiming there was much to sort out downstairs and that they had no faith in the boys to get it sorted.
Now you were sat alone, your gaze had moved to outside your window where light snow had started falling. You stood and moved the open window, perching on the ledge, smiling when a robin landed next to you, flying to rest in your palm, it’s ruby coloured breast not making you flinch. You still had nightmares as you were still part god and probably always would have the dreams you had grown used to; however you were making progress.
“If you’re planning on running away that ledge is too high,” You smiled as you heard his voice, turning to see your beautiful mate smiling at you.
“Maybe Cassian can come and fly me out,” you challenged,
“Ha, ha.” He deadpanned and you giggled, standing to wrap yourself in his arms,
“In my world it’s bad luck for the groom to see the bride before the service,” you whispered into his chest,
“This technically isn’t a wedding,”
“That’s a fair point,” you muttered, and he smiled down at you,
“It would be a shame to deprive me of this sight, you look beautiful princess,” he spun you out of his arms and you giggled, making his heart swell with love.
“It would, wouldn’t it?”
“C’mon, we should go soon, Cassian’s already crying,” you laughed and grabbed his hand as he pulled you along and down the stairs. You gasped when you reached the bottom, there were flowers everywhere, the whole room transformed into a fairy wonderland that made you feel giddy. You smiled when you saw that Cassian was in fact, already tearing up as he stood to greet you, complementing you and thanking you for making his brother so happy, you had laughed and shoved him away in your emotional state, not wanting to cry so early, as you moved to the sink in the room that was spraying a fine mist of water, creating a rainbow.
“Oh Iris, Goddess of the Rainbow, show me Nico Di Angelo, Camp half blood.” You threw in a golden drachma, the image wavered before revealing your friends and family on the other side, waving, and sending greetings. The inner circle came over and you all conversed for a while before Azriel was rather impatiently tugging on your hand and you moved onto the ceremony, with just your found families present. Having been raised mortal you insisted on exchanging rings, and Azriel was completely happy to oblige, obsessed with the feeling of pushing the ring onto your finger and kissing you, having someone that was wholly his, and who he was completely devoted to.
The rest of the day was spent curled under Azriel’s arm, sipping cocktails, and laughing as you were told all the most embarrassing things the inner circle could dig up. You ate delicious food and laughed with your friends, you heart aching at how naturally this happiness came to you now as you gazed at the man you loved.
You stood outside, breathing in the fresh air, and enjoying the slight chill that came through the thin shawl you had wrapped around you shoulders. Soon you felt a familiar hand press into your hip, pulling you into his side tightly. You looked up at him, still in wonder of how you landed such a beautiful man.
He caught your gaze, brushing a snowflake of your cheek and grabbing your hand, pressing a light kiss into the palm. “Penny for your thoughts?” He asked, gaze so full of love that tears welled up in your eyes.
“I’m just so glad you got stabbed,” you muttered, and he laughed before you continued, “I’m serious, I don’t know where I’d be if we hadn’t met, but you are everything to me and I’m so glad we pushed through, I’m so glad we fought to be together.”
“I love you.” He whispered into your hair as he pulled you in tightly, his scarred hands moving over your scarred back as you sighed, content.
“I love you.” You replied, pulling away and watching as a red admiral butterfly landed on a nearby poppy.
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Three Heartbreaks & a Rose
Kim Seungmin (Skz) x Fem!Reader
Genre: Fluff, Angst, some crackheadery
Word Count: 7k
Warnings: mentions of a car crash, of hospitals; some crying; unnecessary jealousy caused by lack of communication
FLOWER STORE!AU where Seungmin is an annoying regular at your flower store but he sort of grows on you, eventually.
A/N: Sorry for not uploading more often :( But this is an extra long fic by our standards so maybe it’ll make up for it. Originally, this was part of a larger series of different fic based all around this business street and you might find mentions of it in the fic, but I’m not sure I’ll ever write the other members’ parts :( Nevertheless, enjoy and maybe maybe maybe leave some feedback somewhere :)
“Hello, I’m— Oh, it’s you again.”
It took you less than two seconds to identify the clear distaste in Seungmin’s voice as he walked into the store.
The tone of his voice made you roll your eyes, “Yes, it’s me again. Like every Saturday for the past 3 years.”
“And yet nothing ever seems to change,” he sighed, face void of any emotion. In a leisurely pace, he made his way over to the counter of your grandmother’s flower store and asked, “What do you guys have here this week? Anything pretty or are all the flowers here as tired-looking as you?”
“I’ve got some daisies fresh from the garden across the street,” you offered with a glare in your eyes, but he scrunched his nose in distaste.
He mumbled, “Too lazy.”
“Lazy?”
“Yeah,” he nodded. “It would seem very lazy of me to take daisies to the home of the elderly.”
In all the years of him coming here, you had never once heard what he was planning on doing with the flowers. Every Saturday he came in, bought a giant box (yes, a literal box) of flowers and left after bickering with you for five minutes or more. Somehow this was the first time you found out that he’s taking the flowers to the house of the elderly.
“Okay, so what type of flowers would you like to buy?” you prompted him while silently begging any deity that he wouldn’t start a fight out of it.
Seungmin looked around, seeming to think for a moment or two before speaking, “I want something bright but not too over the top.”
“Something simple?”
“Yeah,” he nodded, agreeing with you just this once, “Maybe something that would remind the elderly of their home gardens? That kind of feel.”
You chuckled as you pushed yourself to your feet behind the counter, “You seem to be pretty clear on your decision.”
“Not really,” he sighed. “What do you have to offer?”
“Well, it is early autumn,” you pointed out while walking through the store, pretending to think and ponder. “It’s the perfect time to buy asters.”
“Asters?” he frowned in confusion.
You nodded without hesitation before lifting up a vase full of fresh asters, “They grow in most gardens and they look very pretty and colourful yet simple.”
“You do have a point,” he nodded slowly, eyeing the flowers in your hands. “I’ll take fifteen.”
“Great choice,” you said out of habit and Seungmin couldn’t help but snort as he reached for his wallet.
As you picked out some prettier and fresher looking asters, you cheerfully told him his total.
“Do you have to be so chirpy all the time?” he groaned as he pushed his card into the terminal. “You sound like a cartoon character. It’s going to scare away your customers.”
Without much thinking, you shushed him and handed him the receipt with a fake smile, “Please do come again.”
“Do yourself a favour and stop applying for customer service jobs,” he joked with a teasing smile before picking up the flowers and walking out, “I’ll see you next Saturday!”
“I hope not!” you called after him while cleaning the counter of fallen petals.
Just a week later, he walked in once again. This time he was dressed in a patterned button-up shirt and had his hair styled neatly, which was very unlike his usual attire which consisted of a random t-shirt and a baseball cap. He offered a smile as he walked in, “Do you ever get a weekend off?”
“As long as you keep buying flowers every Saturday – no,” you answered with a sigh before putting on your best smile. “How can I help you on this fine day?”
He looked around, just like every previous time, and spoke, “I need three roses and some more flowers.”
“Which colour?” you asked while walking past him towards the rose display.
“What’s the colour of happiness?” he thought out loud and you grumbled underneath your breath. He had the dumb tendency to act like an idiot just to make you speak more. You absolutely despised because it gave him several reasons to pick a fight.
“I believe pink roses are said to represent happiness,” you told him through gritted teeth as you opened the display’s door.
Seungmin smiled brightly behind you, “I’ll take the pink ones then.”
“Which shade of pink? Peach, bubblegum, rouge, watermelon?” you asked him, fully intending to offer him the best client service despite being annoyed by his presence.
“I mean pink,” Seungmin replied without much thought. A small frown had appeared on his face, “Also, I’m pretty sure at least three of those pink shades are actually food and-”
“So, peach?” you interrupted him delightfully.
Seungmin sighed and shrugged. “Just pink will do.”
“Whatever you prefer,” you sighed and handed him three of the pinkest roses. “How about these?”
He eyed the roses, twirling the bouquet in hand for a second before nodding, “These will do perfectly. Now for my other flowers.”
“Asters? Peonies? Poppies?”
“I was thinking something more,” he hummed in thought before deciding, “extravagant?”
“What the hell is happening in that home of elderly today?” you asked him with a raised eyebrow.
Your handsome customer spoke, “One of the older ladies there is turning 95 today. They’re having a little celebration.”
“That sounds lovely,” you replied in a rather monotone voice. “Would carnations do the trick?”
“Absolutely,” he grinned. “I’d like twenty, please.”
You couldn’t help but sigh. Did Seungmin have any idea how heavy twenty carnations were?
“I’ll pay you well today,” he laughed at your reaction. “I promise I won’t even nag you if you give me back the wrong change.”
“You’re paying in cash today?” you were surprised.
“Yeah,” he nodded with a nervous chuckle, “Lost my card when I crashed my bike on Wednesday.”
“Ouch.”
Another week passed. You expected him to come to buy flowers on Saturday but as the clock ticked on, you didn’t catch sight of him.
All-day you waited for him to come. There was not a single joke, not a single order of an outrageous number of peonies. There was simply nothing.
The only customer you got all day was the new music store owner from down the street (Chan was his name, you believed). Even someone as new and unfamiliar as he noticed your sullen mood and expectant glances out the window.
The young curly-haired business owner chuckled and spoke softly, “I’m sure he’ll come. Maybe something just came up.”
“What if something bad happened?” You sighed as you wrapped Chan’s red roses in an old newspaper. “What if he never comes by again?”
“He will,” Chan told you without hesitation as he handed you the money. “Keep the change.”
He left the store and you didn’t see another human walk into the store all day. A sense of worry went through you as closed the store that evening.
You didn’t see Seungmin until Monday.
Focused on re-arranging the lily display, you barely noticed him enter. Truth be told, you didn’t even recognize him until he handed you the money.
Dressed in his school uniform and his face all serious and sad, he was nearly impossible to recognize.
He didn’t speak. He didn’t even look at you.
Seungmin merely walked into the store, picked up a bouquet and handed you the money before walking out.
The next day he came in again, this time dressed in a large hoodie and his baseball cap low on his face. You couldn’t believe how much of a mess he looked.
“Is everything okay?” you asked as you calculated the price of the three gerberas he had picked out.
Seungmin hummed in response, but it didn’t sound like him at all. It was almost like a part of him had gone missing. A part of essential to his being. Once again he walked out without saying a word.
The same thing happened the day after.
“If you want to talk about it,” you spoke hesitantly on Wednesday when he still continued ignoring you, “I’m always here ready to listen.”
To your surprise, when you handed him back the change, you heard a sniffle. Though his head was still hanging low and his cap hid most of it, you could tell that he had begun crying.
Within seconds his sniffles turned into sobs and he leaned against the counter to stay standing. In shock, your eyes widened and for a moment you doubted what to do.
However, when he reached out his hand to you and whispered “Can I take up that offer now?”, you couldn’t help but walk around the counter and pull him into a tight hug. Instinctively, he hid his face in the crook of your neck and let his fingers tangle in your shirt as you wrapped your arms around him and let him cry.
Your grandmother, having heard the crying, walked out from the backroom and gasped in surprise. Holding her hands over her heart, she motioned for you to lead Seungmin to the back, whispering, “I’ll take over your shift. Offer him some tea.”
Gratefully, you led Seungmin to the break room and let him continue crying. When he stopped crying, only half an hour had passed. To you, it felt like much longer. It felt like he had been crying for days, your shirt wet with his tears and your own eyes burning sympathetically.
Suddenly, Seungmin let go of you, as though realizing what he had done. Rapidly —roughly even— he started wiping his face with the back of his hand. He seemed embarrassed about his emotional state, about his willingness to cry on the shoulder of the one person he annoyed every week.
“It’s okay,” you whispered and it was like the valve of his heart had given in and all emotions came flooding out. There was no stopping them.
Without another second of hesitation, Seungmin pulled you back into his arms, resting his head on your shoulder and relishing in the words of comfort you whispered in his ear.
And just like that your heart broke for the first time, in unison with his.
“It’s my mother,” he whispered weakly as your grip on his hoodie tightened. “She’s in hospital. Has been for the past week.”
“What happened?” you asked hesitantly, afraid of triggering more tears.
Seungmin sighed deeply and squeezed his eyes shut, willing his crying to cease, “She was caught in a car crash and she hasn’t woken up still.”
“That’s why you’ve been buying flowers so often,” you realized and he nodded.
He mumbled, “I want her to wake up to the prettiest sight so she could smile again. I really miss her smile.”
“It’s okay,” you whispered again as another set of tears began running down his cheeks. “I’m sure she appreciates it. But she wouldn’t want you to cry.”
“Will you come with me?” he asked in a weak voice after a moment of silence. “To see my mother?”
To say you were surprised at his request would be a major understatement. You were beyond baffled and so you asked, “Why?”
“I don’t want to go alone,” he whispered. “It’s too difficult.”
“I’ll go with you. As long as you wish,” you sighed into his hair as he hummed in appreciation, his tears slowly drying.
That day you walked with him, flowers in hand as you entered his mother’s room. There she lied and at the sight, you felt Seungmin’s hand grip yours tightly. He let out a barely audible whimper of despair before walking up to her and beginning to quietly tell her about his day.
You stood in the doorway, watching him and offering him encouraging smiles whenever he seemed to falter. He seemed too fragile, so gentle compared to the Seungmin who came in every Saturday. This was a side of him you never knew existed.
After an hour of talking and even singing a bit, Seungmin finally pushed himself to his feet and walked back to you, wrapping his arms around your waist and burying his face in your shoulder. He whispered, “Thank you for coming along.”
It repeated for the whole week: every day he came in, bought some flowers and took your hand so you would accompany him to the hospital. In that week, the two of you grew close. You guessed crying with someone really brought people closer. It definitely was the case for you and Seungmin.
The sadness and exhaustion in his eyes slowly began to fade, being replaced with hope and appreciation.
Finally, on Friday, he practically waltzed in, a large smile on his face and his eyes shining with happiness. You could barely react when he ran over to you and picked you up to spin you as his arms remained around your waist. A delighted giggle left his lips as he spoke, “She woke up. She woke up this morning.”
“She did?” you asked, sharing his excitement.
Seungmin nodded enthusiastically, excited to tears as he hugged you tight and sighed in relief, “She’s going to be fine.”
When he came in next Saturday, it wasn’t for his mother.
“Good day,” he cheered as you walked into the store, dressed in a black t-shirt and a jacket. The weather was getting harsher and his clothing style was proof of that.
You hummed in response before focusing back on your crossword, “What would you like today?”
“I’ll have a look around if you don’t mind,” he chuckled, not wanting to bother you when you were so focused on another task. Partly because he cared, but mostly because he recalled a painful experience from the last time he attempted to tear you away from a crossword (let’s just say, he learnt exactly how painful a rolled-up crossword collection could be in the hands of an angry florist).
“Be my guest.”
At that, he began humming without a second of hesitation. He was in a good mood and he tended to display that by singing and today’s song just so happened to be “Be Our Guest” from Beauty and the Beast. You rolled your eyes at the realization.
After some minutes of consideration, he opted for sunflowers. He picked out ten of those and made his way over to the register. He spoke quietly, as not to startle you, “I’ll have these, please.”
You looked up from your crossword and offered a smile. “Sunflowers. My favourite.”
“You like sunflowers?” He raised his eyebrows but you snorted.
“Kind of,” you replied, “but it’s more of an automatic response now. Gotta encourage those customers somehow.”
Seungmin laughed at your honest response. “Do I look like I need more encouragement?”
“I mean,” you shrugged, “ten seems kind of a weak number for you.”
He laughed at that and reached out to flick your forehead gently. “I’m already spending half of my weekly pocket money on flowers. How much more do you need?”
“I’m just saying,” you teased him as you wrapped the sunflowers in a newspaper. “Anything else, oh dear customer of mine?”
“A hug would be nice,” he seemed sheepish to admit.
You were taken aback but not one to protest. If there was anything you learnt about Seungmin the week before, it’s that he loved a good hug or twenty. Not only that but he gave incredible hugs.
You chuckled after a moment of thought before opening your arms wide to invite him to hug you. He gladly walked around the counter and wrapped his arms around you. He sighed in content, feeling safe and happy.
“Oh, before I forget,” you pulled back from the hug. “We’re getting a shipment of cacti next tomorrow. Do you want one?”
He raised an eyebrow in amusement. “Are you trying to bribe me with cactus right now?”
“We only get those shipments once a year. The nice ones are usually bought within three days of arriving,” you told him before mumbling quietly, “I’ve seen you look at the cacti before. Figured you’d like one.”
Seungmin chuckled before humming in appreciation. “Sure. If you’ll be kind enough to put one cactus to the side for me to pick up later, I’d be very happy.”
“All I’m asking in return is you’ll buy me lunch next Saturday.”
“Deal.” He didn’t even hesitate. “But I have to go now. Minhee invited me to her tea party.”
You snorted, “What a perfect young man.”
“Shush.”
You hated Mondays. For several, relatively obvious, reasons.
This Monday though? This Monday you were looking forward to. Why? Because a new young florist would be joining the ranks of your tiny flower store.
You could barely contain your excitement and nervousness as a rather short yet athletic-looking young man dressed in all black walked into the store, holding in his hand a small paper and his phone. He looked up from the note to check the large banner above your head.
“This has to be the place,” he mumbled to himself after checking it twice. Feeling your gaze on himself, the young man walked over and offered a smile, “Hi, I’m Seo Changbin. I believe I was hired?”
“(Y/n)!” you heard your grandmother’s voice from behind. “It’s the new florist! Show him around!”
Normally you would’ve grumbled a bit, not being a big fan of the store’s layout. However, this was a relatively handsome young man in front of you, waiting for a quick tour and instructions. A new co-worker. (New eye candy.) You couldn’t bring yourself to say no.
“Sure!” You smiled and began showing him around, telling him everything he needed to know. As you had predicted by his looks, he wasn’t big on flowers usually. But the job had a good salary and he had rent to pay and school to attend.
It didn’t take long for the two of you to click. Within hours, the two of you were in perfect sync.
“You’re pretty good at this,” you told him on Saturday morning as the two of you attempted to arrange a bride’s bouquet. It wasn’t uncommon for locals to order bouquets and flower arrangements from your store, seeing as you grandmother and you had managed to make a good impression on almost everyone (this doesn’t include the rival store’s owner).
Changbin chuckled as he placed a pastel pink rose in the bouquet, doing so carefully as not to disturb your own work. He spoke, “You’re better than me though.”
“I’ve been doing this for years, Bin,” you told him while doing your damn best to not blush under his gaze. “If I wasn’t any good at this, I would’ve lost my job ages ago.”
“Still,” he continued, “this might just be the prettiest bouquet I’ve ever seen.”
“The roses from across the street are the secret ingredients,” you half-joked. “The gardener’s daughter has been sneaking in all types of roses from around the world. So we have a large variety of those, unlike some other places.”
“The pale blue ones are a nice touch,” he mumbled quietly and you couldn’t help but agree.
As he was about to say something else, the bell on the door rang. In walked Seungmin, once again dressed in a random t-shirt and a jacket. But this time he was missing his usual baseball cap.
“Seungmin,” you cheered, looking up from the bouquet, “What would you like today?”
“I think I have a cactus to pick up.” He smiled brightly before looking around. “I’d also like some lilies, please.”
You hummed before asking, “Which colour and how many?”
“White and red?” Seungmin thought out loud and you nodded before patting Changbin on the shoulder. You teased the new florist, “Your time to shine, Bin.”
“White and red lilies?” Changbin didn’t miss a beat and walked around the counter as you walked to the back to get Seungmin’s cactus, one you had picked out to your best ability.
Seungmin seemed a bit surprised to see your new co-worker but if it bothered him, he didn’t voice it out loud. He didn’t have to. His eyes said it all. Still, the moment Changbin turned to him, Seungmin’s glare was replaced with another bright smile.
“Would you like anything else?” you asked as Seungmin and Changbin made their way back to the counter.
“No, that’s all,” Seungmin replied, his eyes remaining on Changbin who kept sneaking quick glances at you.
What was this feeling in his gut? Jealousy? No. Definitely not jealous. Seungmin didn’t get jealous.
When he left the store and took one last look through the window, he saw you giving Changbin a back-hug and messing with his hair, a shy blush on Changbin’s face. It was decided. Seungmin was absolutely jealous.
Every Saturday from then on, Seungmin found himself fuming with spite when he walked into the store and found you and your co-worker practically linked at the hip.
You hadn’t noticed how close you and Changbin really were, seeing his hugs and teasing and occasional flirting as friendly. Seungmin, on the other hand, saw it as a threat to his very being.
How dare a new guy hit on the florist he never knew he had a crush on?!
The following weekend, Seungmin didn’t come in with the usual enthusiasm or playful insults. He actually hesitated to enter. You know because you watched him stand outside the door for 10 minutes, biting his lip and fidgeting with the sleeves of his slightly too large of a varsity jacket. Even his gaze was hesitant as it wandered around the building.
Finally, you had enough.
You marched over to the door and all but threw it open. Without giving him even a second to think about it, you grabbed him by his sleeve and dragged him inside. “It’s raining outside, idiot.”
“Barely a drizzle,” he mumbled in response as he obediently followed you to the counter. “Hello to you too, by the way.”
“Hi. Nice to see you!” you spoke after letting out a short disbelieving scoff. “What would you like today?”
Instead of replying, Seungmin looked around the room. It was almost like he was looking for something.
A minute passed before he turned back to you. The look in his eyes almost startled. He asked, “No loverboy today?”
“Loverboy?” You blinked.
He puffed out his cheeks and raised his hand to around his chin to indicate a height and spoke, “You know, the guy’s about this tall. Kind of looks like he should be working in a Hot Topic instead of a flower store. Always attached to you.”
“Oh!” you squeaked in surprise. “You mean Changbin? We’re just friends.”
Seungmin had the irresistible urge to roll his eyes. “And he’s not here today?”
“No. I trained him well so now he’s working shifts alone.” You leaned over the counter to pinch his cheek. “It’s just me today.”
“Great!” It was as though a switch had been flipped: Seungmin seemed oddly happy all of a sudden. He grinned and declared, “I’ll take some thirty of gerbera daisies.”
You sighed. Of course, he would place an order this large. “You know, my life would be much easier if you just placed your orders a few days ahead of time.”
“Yeah, but then I wouldn’t get to see your pretty face red in anger,” Seungmin replied easily and you were stunned. He had just called you pretty.
“If- If you say so,” you stuttered out and walked over to the gerberas. “Colour preferences?”
Seungmin hummed in thought. “Red and peach. Half and half.”
“You finally figured out that there are different shades to pink?” you teased him but began picking out the flowers.
Seungmin merely chuckled at that and watched you. For a moment he wondered why he had been so hesitant about coming in.
“So, are you going to pay or not?”
“What?” Only now did he realize he’d been lost in his thoughts. Your little giggle snapped him out of the daze and his face felt hot all of a sudden. “Right. Pay.”
You chuckled at that and asked, “Are you okay, Seungmin? You seem a bit distracted.”
“Don’t,” he warned half-heartedly as he handed you the money.
“Do you have a crush on Changbin or something? You seem kind of upset that he’s not here,” you teased him and this time he scoffed.
His glare settled on you but it wasn’t harsh. No, you could only read playfulness out from his gaze. “Sure, that’s why I come here every Saturday. To see your boyfriend.”
“We’re not dating!” you laughed and walked around the counter to throw your hand over his shoulder. Seungmin felt his heartbeat pick up as you rested your head against him while pushing the bouquet into his hand. “Besides, I prefer you to him any day.”
“Lies.”
“Are you calling me a liar, Kim Seungmin?” you gasped and punched his side gently. He laughed at that.
Before he could reply, the door to the shop flew open and Changbin ran in. A wide smile on his face, the short man rushed over to you and pulled you into a tight hug, twirling your around the room after tearing you out of Seungmin’s grasp.
All hope and joy Seungmin had held in his heart for so long vanished in 5 seconds flat. He couldn’t help but glare at the two of you as you laughed in Changbin’s arms, the small man’s face hidden in the crook of your neck. He scoffed loudly and marched out, flowers in hand and heart burning with hatred.
You could just stare after his retreating figure as he walked out, fuming with anger and distaste as Changbin squealed, “She said YES!”
Another week, another Saturday. You were in the flower store, sorting flowers when the door opened and Seungmin stepped in. The usual bounce was gone from his step and he solemnly made his way to the counter where you were seated. Without a single smile or a hum, he spoke, “I’ll have a box of yellow roses.”
“Not asking me for suggestions this time?” you wondered out loud but began fulfilling his order either way.
You attempted to engage in small talk but he seemed to be having none of it. When you asked him a question, his only responses were quiet hums or shakes of his head. Not a single unnecessary word said.
You tried to shake it off. Maybe he was just having a bad day and was taking it out on you. Or perhaps he was trying not to take it out on you. But you couldn’t convince yourself. This just wasn’t like Seungmin at all and it bothered you.
“Could you hurry up?” he spoke after a while. “I’m kind of in a hurry.” The harshness of his tone made you flinch in your spot but you forced yourself to continue to be hopeful.
“Then maybe you shouldn’t order a box of roses on such short notice,” you suggested teasingly. The chuckle at the end was meant as a sign of goodwill but Seungmin only seemed more irritated by it.
He grumbled something under his breath and leant back against the counter. A moment passed before he spoke, “I’m leaving.”
“I’m not even done with your order yet, Seungmin,” you scoffed at that.
“No, you don’t get it.” He cursed quietly, throwing his head back and closing his eyes. Then he tried once again, “I’m leaving Korea.”
Your heart stopped. The two roses in your hand fell to the ground. “You’re what?”
“I signed up for an international student exchange program two weeks ago,” he spoke quite clearly but refused to look you in the eye. “I’m leaving for America in three days.”
“That’s kind of last-minute.” Shakily you picked up the fallen roses and continued sorting them.
Seungmin shrugged. “They had a free spot and I’d been considering it for a while. Figured I’d give it a go.”
“When will you be back?”
He didn’t answer. “Are you done with the roses yet?”
“Yeah,” you finally sighed and placed the box on the counter.
He left after paying the total, never once looking back. Your heart grumbled as you realized - he never answered your question.
“(Y/n), did you order new gerberas?” Changbin’s voice broke you out of a daze.
You looked around, feeling a bit disoriented as you tried to recall what he had just said. You couldn’t and Changbin could see it in your eyes. He sighed and walked over to you.
Bitterly you stared at the couple ring in his hand. He had what you didn’t - the person he loved by his side. Despite the distaste radiating off you, Changbin pulled you into his arms and pressed a comforting kiss to your head. After all, as your self-appointed best friend of three months, he knew what was going on and could read you like the back of his hand.
You quietly grumbled and got lost in your thoughts again. In the months of not seeing Seungmin, you had come to three important realizations:
ONE: you missed Seungmin’s visits to the flower store and his idiotic habit of buying a worrying amount of flowers with no warning.
TWO: you absolutely did not like the fact that Seungmin was in America and you couldn’t communicate with him.
THREE: you were ridiculously smitten with Kim Seungmin, the annoying flower store customer who had left you alone in Korea for the sake of a student exchange program.
“He’ll be back,” Changbin tried to comfort you but you merely scoffed. “I’m serious.”
“I doubt he’ll come back to the store when he returns to the country,” you mumbled. “He’ll have new friends, new habits.”
Changbin rested his head on yours and sighed. “If he cares for you as much as you care for him, he’ll come back and never let you out of his sight again.”
“And if he doesn’t?”
“Then he’s obviously an idiot and I will personally beat him up for you.”
For the first time in what felt like months, you let out a laugh and Changbin couldn’t help but smile upon hearing the sound.
In the six months of not seeing Seungmin, you had made friends with new business owners and staff on the block. The Ninth Street had become a very popular business sight thanks to the advertising that Changbin and Jisung, a boy from the record store down the street, had done over the months as a project for their marketing course in university.
Not a single day went by lonely. Every time you started to feel even a bit of boredom, a familiar face would walk in. Today it was Hyunjin from the photo developing shop at the very end of the street.
His tall model-like figure was not difficult to recognize even in the heavy rain pouring down from the sky. A wide smile appeared on his face as he walked in and greeted you. “Thought you’d be lonely on this rainy day.”
“You know me too well, Hwang Hyunjin,” you laughed and turned on the kettle placed under the counter. “Tea?”
“Yes!” he agreed immediately and enthusiastically. “I wanted to bring cookies but I thought the rain might soak them too much.”
“It’s okay. I’ve got a stash right here,” you proudly declared and pulled a bowl of your grandmother’s chocolate chip cookies out of a drawer. “Eat up.”
Hyunjin stared at you in awe. “I love you.”
“Keep that love talk for your girlfriend.” He scoffed at the mention. “How is she anyway?”
“Annoying as always,” he pointed out. “How many times do I have to tell her that I don’t want to model for her to understand that?”
You shrugged.
“Speaking of girlfriends,” Hyunjin’s eyes suddenly lit up in mischief. “Why aren’t you?”
Not quite understanding, you stared at him in question.
“I mean,” he choked and coughed on a cookie, “why aren’t you dating anyone? Are you not interested in anyone?”
“Not really.”
Hyunjin scoffed once again. “Lies. There are like 7 different, incredibly good looking guys working on this street all year round and you’re trying to tell me you’re not attracted to any of us?”
“Don’t half of you have girlfriends?”
“I get that Chan is a big guy but not even he is big and intimidating enough to make up half of us,” Hyunjin glared at you. “And I’m still single and so is everyone else on this block.”
You offered him a pointed look and he quickly corrected himself, “Alright, so maybe Changbin is in a dedicated relationship and maybe Jisung sort of kind of has a girlfriend but other than that we’re all single.” When you continued looking at him with that look, he finally sighed, “And maybe Minho’s off the market too. Geesh, just tell me.”
“There is this one guy,” you mumbled and Hyunjin’s ears immediately perked up.
Looking almost like a puppy who’s caught sight of a treat in his owner’s hand, Hyunjin asked, “Who? Tell me. Tell me!”
“You need to stop that,” you blinked. “It’s annoying.”
“Just tell me who you like,” he whined and stretched out his arm to flick your forehead. “I won’t tell anyone.”
Your cheeks heated up as you spoke, “There’s this one guy but he went away and I haven’t seen him since.”
The kettle clicked to let you know that the tea water was ready. Without much thought, you poured water in both your and Hyunjin’s designated mugs (which only existed courtesy of Felix who thought that everyone working on Ninth Street should be friends and exchange gifts - he got everyone personalized coffee mugs).
Enjoyable silence filled the store as the two of you waited for your tea to get ready. Hyunjin twirled the tea bag in his mug and suddenly asked, “Is it Seungmin?”
You almost spilt the contents of your mug. “How did you-?”
“Chan is not exactly the best at keeping secrets,” he mumbled sheepishly. “Maybe you should keep that in mind for future reference. Write it on a note somewhere.”
“I’ll keep that in mind from now on,” you grumbled and wiped down the counter. “But it’s not a big deal. He’s not coming back for a while.”
Hyunjin snorted. “He just came back to Korea last night. Jisung said so.”
“Jisung is friends with Seungmin?”
“They’re classmates,” he replied and lifted his mug to his lips to get a taste of the tea. He scrunched up his nose in distaste. “Gosh, this is awful.”
“You forgot the sugar, idiot.”
Seungmin felt like the weight of his feelings was trying to push him down, right into his grave six feet under. His heart was heavy and his head was filled with 20 different ways to speak to you.
During the long walk to the flower store, he came to the conclusion that he should just try to be himself. Sure, it had been 6 months but there’s no way everything had changed so much that he could no longer just be himself.
When he turned to Ninth Street, he was surprised at the number of people walking around. In the past, the street had been almost empty on weekends. He had found comfort in walking down the somewhat abandoned street and ordering a box of roses from you. The thought of you not having anything better to do was what had kept him from feeling guilt about placing such large orders on short notice.
How could he ever ask for a box of yellow roses now when the street was filled with hundreds of curious people.
“Seungmin!” Jeongin’s familiar voice sounded. “You’re back!”
“Yeah,” he laughed somewhat awkwardly. “Got back just two days ago. Slept all through yesterday.”
Jeongin hummed in understanding. “Maybe you should’ve rested today too. You look kind of exhausted.”
“Thank you for pointing that out,” Seungmin couldn’t stop himself from saying and Jeongin merely laughed at that. “Sorry. Old habits.” He cleared his throat and looked around. “What happened here? It’s so lively all of a sudden.”
“Ah, Jisung and Changbin had a marketing project for uni and they decided to advertise the Ninth Street as an ideal hub for small businesses. It worked wonders,” Jeongin told him happily. “Now not a single day goes by quietly. There are so many customers and new people. It’s incredible.”
Seungmin had only one question. “Does the flower store still exist?”
“Yeah,” Jeongin smiled. “(Y/n), her grandmother and Changbin are all so busy these days. The store’s become so popular — everyone goes there nowadays.”
Bidding farewell, Seungmin smiled and walked to the flower store. The building was bigger than he remembered and the sign above the door seemed to shine brighter than six months ago, yet the place held an air of comfort and familiarity. With a sigh of relief, he entered.
True to Jeongin’s words, the shop had more customers than Seungmin could recall ever seeing in the place. There was a couple discussing flower arrangements for their weddings in the lily section, a young man choosing roses to buy for his significant other and two elderly women gushing over the quality of the gerberas that they were trying to buy for their grandchildren’s birthdays.
Seungmin could barely recognize Changbin as he approached the counter. The short male still looked the same for the most part, but he had grown more muscular and the earlier vibe of ‘I’m only here to earn money’ had been replaced with an obvious genuine love for what he was doing. There was a wide smile on the man’s face as he handed a young lady her small potted cactus.
“Have a good day and visit us again!” he called after the lady as she left with a wide grin on her face.
Changbin’s smile only slightly faded as he cleaned the counter. As he finished that, his eyes landed on Seungmin. He couldn’t help but grin and call out, “Yo, Kim Seungmin!”
“Seo Changbin,” Seungmin chuckled somewhat awkwardly. “I see you’re busy.”
“Jisung and I did such a good job on advertising this street that now we get no rest. I’m starting to regret that school project,” Changbin joked.
“How’s (Y/n)? Is she here today?” Seungmin asked. “I thought she worked all Saturdays.”
Changbin clicked his tongue. “She and I switched shifts after she found out that you were coming back. I think she’s upset with you.”
Seungmin bit back a curse. “Do you think I could get her to stop being upset with me?”
“I might have an idea,” Changbin smirked.
It was unusual to work on a Monday. Usually, you avoided this day in favour of sleeping in and maybe going to the theatre. However, your fear of seeing Seungmin again had made you switch shifts with Changbin (who had been more than glad to do so because he wanted an extra couple of hours of sleep before the emotionally draining advertising tactics class in the evening) and now you were suffering the consequences.
“Would you like a ribbon with the flowers? We could arrange it in a bow,” you suggested to the customer as he stood in front of the counter, looking somewhat dumbstruck. Your guess was the guy didn’t visit flower stores very often.
“I- Uh- Sure,” he finally decided and you smiled.
Fiddling with the velvet ribbons, you asked, “Should we do a light blue ribbon to match the flowers or a dark red one to contrast them? Red would also give off an air of passion and love while the blue would give more of an innocent and pure vibe. What do you think?”
The man blushed and mumbled, “The red one should be fine.”
You obediently wrapped his flowers and finished the transaction before smiling and waving him goodbye. The blushy man left and for the first time that day, the store was void of customers.
You sighed in relief but soon put on a smile again as the bell rang. Without a second thought, you turned from the computer screen to the door. Your smile faded.
“Hey there,” Seungmin’s familiar voice greeted you. There was a shy quirk to his lips and you couldn’t help but stop breathing for a second. Instead of delving further into a conversation, he strolled over to the counter as demanded, “I’d like your best red rose. One.”
“Right, of course,” you broke out the miniature daze that had hit you when he entered. “One red rose, coming right up.”
Seungmin watched you quietly before adding, “And maybe a welcome-back hug from my favourite florist?”
Without thinking, you replied, “Sorry, Changbin’s not working until Wednesday.”
Seungmin scoffed between giggles and you melted. He looked you straight in the eyes and spoke, “I meant you, silly. I missed you.”
“I missed you too,” you couldn’t help but whisper as he rounded the counter and pulled you into his arms. Despite not seeing him for six months, you couldn’t help but cuddle into him. His familiar scent just pulled you in and the familiar beat of his heart calmed you down until your heart matched its speed with his.
Seungmin only pulled back from the hug long enough to mumbled, “I’m sorry for leaving so suddenly. I wasn’t thinking straight.”
“It’s okay. I’m just glad you’re back,” you whispered. It would not be a complete lie to say that you were surprised at how fast you were caving in. How was it possible to be this infatuated with a person even after this long?
“Let me make it up to you,” Seungmin suddenly decided and pulled away from you. He seemed almost frantic as he suggested, “Let me take you out on a date and make it up to you. For all these six months that I was an idiot.”
You blinked. “How do you even know if I like you back?”
“Changbin can’t lie to save his life,” he joked, “and I had a feeling. Nothing to do with your computer’s wallpaper.”
Your eyes widened. You had almost forgotten that you had set your wallpaper to a photo of Seungmin. The sudden memory made your heart and breathing stop for a second but Seungmin was quick to comfort you, “Don’t worry. You’re my screensaver too.” He rested his forehead against yours. “So, about that date?”
“What about that rose you came to get?”
Seungmin chuckled, reach out his hand, picked out a rose and placed it between the two of you, never once letting his forehead leave yours.
In a low voice, he spoke, “It’s for you.”
You accepted it without a moment of hesitation.
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Dating Poppy Min-Sinclair
I lowkey headcanon Poppy to look like blonde Chungha, and omfg she looks so good in this gif.
Summary: An enemies to friends to lovers trope, sign me the fuck up. I hope you guys enjoy and if you want more please like or reblog. If you want to be added to the tag list please reply. :) I'm also working on the third part of my Poppy x MC series and I oop I'm gay.
Taglist: @somewillwin @origmansello @kamilahtrash @poppysminion @captain-hanadeleine
SFW
It was hate at first sight (sure, jan), but in all honesty your first impression of Poppy was that she was gorgeous. The scowl on her face did nothing to change your mind. The very first words she uttered to you was "Oh, sweetheart, you don't have to worry about who she is. It's me you have to worry about.
As soon as those words leave her mouth, the only part of the sentence your brain focuses on is the word 'sweetheart' and the way she said it, voice dripping with sarcasm. It did nothing to stop you from thinking how hot Poppy was.
You're suddenly pulled away by Zoey, who tells you about the whole ranking system and she takes you out to hang out at a speakeasy, with your new outfit.
In order to get your mind off of Poppy, you decide to flirt with the stranger at the bar (who ends up being Professor Kingsley), but even as you spent time and slept with them, all you could imagine was Poppy, and how she would feel under you.
You learn that Poppy was the resident HBIC of campus, and a sort of rivalry forms between the two of you.
Poppy won't admit it to anyone but she actually found you attractive when she first saw you, even though you were wearing non-designer clothes. Probably annoyed that she actually found you attractive, she acts extra mean, because she's confused and not good with feelings. (PB please let me romance Poppy)
Not anyone is safe from Poppy's wrath, and its extra hard for you because she becomes extra mean, her words are harsher and actually stings a little.
Poppy seems shocked that you actually got hurt, and opens her mouth about to apologise until she remember that she's the queen bee, she doesn't apologise.
You don't back down and insults are exchanged between the two of you, whenever you meet or bump into each other.
Poppy actually starts to look forward to your banter with each other, and she makes an effort to bump into you a bit more.
When you learn of Kick-off day, you and the quarterbacks team up to create a performance for half-time.
Poppy for sure gets annoyed because who do you think you are trying to compete with her, the queen of Belvoire.
After you show her up and kiss Zoey, she feels a pang of jealousy, which she mistakes and takes out as anger against you. She has a meltdown, breaks up with Carter and everyone stares and start to berate her.
Poppy walks out the field and you run after her, feeling shitty because even if she was mean, she didn't deserve to be shit on in public like that. You feel really bad and run after Poppy to make sure she's okay.
You catch up to Poppy find her all the way on the other side of the campus, she's by herself and you see her crying her eyes out. Her eyes are red, and once you see her your heart breaks a little because seeing her like that made you feel like the worst human being, especially since she was crying because of you. Even though, she's crying she looks as beautiful as ever and you can't help but stare.
You approach her and she notices and sneers at you. "Come to kick me when I'm down? Go ahead, newbie. Here's your chance."
And if you thought you couldn't feel worse, you felt you heart break even more as the words escapes her lips.
You put your hands up in surrender and let out a sigh. "Look, you don't have to believe me but I just really wanted to apologise. Even if you were being mean, you don't deserve that." She eyes you suspiciously and says "What's it to you if I'm upset, Farmsville? Just fuck off, I don't need your pity."
Not backing down, you stare at her in the eyes and say sincerely. "I never really wanted to be part of this stupid ranking thing you guys have, I don't even want to be the queen bee. Especially, if it means that you or anyone else gets hurt in the process."
Poppy looks at you stunned, like she can't decipher why you're being so nice to her, and you continue "Plus, I can't say I didn't enjoy our banter, that was fun." You wink at her cheekily and she can't help but laugh at the absurdity of the situation.
You smile at her softly, happy that you managed to make her feel a little but better and you realise that Poppy has such a soft laugh and you want to hear it again.
Poppy's eyes soften as she stops crying. She looks at you and says "Thanks Farmsville, I needed that." You don't know whether your eyes are playing trick on you but you can swear that you can see her blush.
Meanwhile, Poppy feels her cheeks burn and her heart beat a bit faster. 'Damn you for being sweet.'
Smiling sincerely, you ask "Truce?" and Poppy raises her eyebrow at you amused but agrees albeit nonchalantly.
This then starts your sort of friendship with Poppy, but instead of hurling insults at each other, the both of you engage in playful banter (no one knows that you guys are friends). She turns a bit softer, in a way where she always looks at you with an inquisitive gaze to check if you were okay with the banter.
Cue the late night messages, where the both of you stay up late to talk about random nonsense that happened that day, or when Poppy's annoyed she sends you rants where she complains about how stupid everyone is, and vice versa.
Both of you being confused af because is she flirting with me or is she being nice???? (basically is he gay or European but lesbian) The two of you have each other's back, if someone says shit about either of you the other one is quick to defend. Zoey notices your change in attitude towards Poppy and she asks why you're defending your "enemy". You shrug it off by saying "If they're gonna say shit, they should say it to her face, not talk behind her back." Zoey finds that a little bit suspicious, but she doesn't say anything.
This then leads to an actual good support system for both of you, and an actual friendship is formed.
This is when Poppy realises that she actually has feelings for you, and she's quick to yeet out of there, because ewww feelings. She starts to act distant and you're confused because you think you did something wrong.
It's not that Poppy wants to avoid you, she's just really confused about her feelings and she doesn't want to ruin the friendship you two have. Chloe notices that Poppy is acting weird and decides to confront her about it.
Whilst Chloe is usually oblivious, even she suspects that something is going on between the two of you, and she begins to ask Poppy questions. That's when she finds out that Poppy has feelings for you. After her small 'EUREKA!' moment Chloe decides to tease Poppy, and queen bee is not amused. "If you tell anyone that I have a crush on her, I will have you cremated and eaten by the dogs." yells Poppy as Chloe just laughs in amusement.
Chloe lowkey trying to be a wingman, but Poppy tells her off and you just think that Chloe's just being weird, and it just confuses you even more. Like what???
Mutual pining, because the both of you are too stubborn to confess how you feel. Poppy just doesn't even know what to do because feelings. And you don't know whether she likes you back and don't want to risk your newfound friendship with her.
Cue Poppy seeing you flirt with someone else, (Carter, Zoey or Veronica or whoever) and Poppy loses her shit because she's jealous.
Thinking with anger and not her head, Poppy decides to kiss you in front of the whole school. Long story short, everyone sees and it's all over social media, that's how they find out that the queen bee has staked her claim.
Poppy is touch starved and craves affection. This probably comes with the fact that her parents weren't really the affectionate type, which is why she acts the way she does. Her parents probably ingrained it into her head that she has to be #1 for everything and anything below that is the same as being nothing.
She would never admit it but Poppy adores cuddling and lazy days where the both of you just chill out and share soft and sweet kisses, in which neither of you stop until your lips are bruised.
She's also the little spoon (fite me), and you don't mind because she's so soft and you're weak for her.
Poppy is also the type to pamper you with expensive ass gifts, even when you tell her that she doesn't have to give you anything, but it makes her happy so you're happy.
Waking up next to her is probably the equivalent of seeing an angel. She looks so peaceful when she's asleep and you can't help but stare because you don't have the heart to wake her up.
Poppy can't cook for shit, because why would she need to know how to cook, she's rich??? Probably so bougie she's never had fast food in her life, so the first thing you do is take her ass to McDonald's.
Arguments usually occur when both of you are stressed and this leads to angry make out sessions where both of you are marked up with hickeys for everyone to see.
This girl needs some TLC, so please be gentle and patient because she's not used to affection.
NSFW HCs
People probably think that Poppy's a pillow princess and sometimes you joke and tease her about it, but in all honesty she can top. Her strap game is impeccable, 10000/10 would reccomend again.
When you go down on her she always tugs at your hair, and you can't help but groan as her nails brush against your scalp. Additionally when she's bottoming, she becomes a little bratty and you have no choice but to play rough and she doesn't mind.
When the two of you argue, this can lead to some intense angry sex, all bets are off when you're arguing, everything is messy, rough and passionate. The two of you don't remember the reason why you were arguing after.
The moans, groans and noises that comes out of Poppy's mouth is music to your ears. It's probably the sexiest thing you've ever heard, and you can't get enough.
When she rides the strap, it's the hottest thing you've ever seen. The way her sweat clings to her body making it glisten, and the way her body moves and convulses as she's riding makes you go insane. 10000/10 would do again.
The type to annoy you by sexting you in class, purposely riling you up, she especially enjoys annoying you when it's Professor Kingsley's class because she's petty like that. It gets to the point where you're so riled up that you just get up and leave class. She loves sending you photos with nothing on but her underwear, almost always pink or white. It's one of her favourite past times really. You can't even get angry because each photo is so good so you can't complain.
She's also the type of girl to get flustered when you sext her back, and it's honestly the cutest thing. It becomes a game of who can rile up the other person more.
These are just my headcanons and you don't have to agree with them hope you enjoyed reading. :)
#poppy min sinclair#poppy x mc#queen b poppy#queen b choices#queen b#queen b zoey#veronica lombardi#playchoices#choices stories you play#choices hcs#this is just my headcanons#makepoppyali2020#poppydailychallenge#squint squint im working on another part of the fic but enjoy this first lmaoooooo#chloe st. james#chloe queen b
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Influence Her
Requested fic by anon. (If you have any fic ideas or requests you'd like me to write, you can leave me an ask!)
Book: Queen B
Pairing: Veronica Lombardi x MC (Bea Hughes)
Genre: Fluff
Rating: PG13, strong words and suggestive lines/scenes
Word Count: 5,125 (V stans feasting with this one)
A/N: MC doesn’t really like Veronica’s social media presence but can real-life Veronica change her mind when they meet? (Alternating POVs) Y’all wanted a Poppy x MC enemies-to-lovers? Nahhh Veronica x MC would’ve been much better imo 😏 I also gave her some personality since PB is shit with character development especially with their side characters.
Tag list: @ineedskyecrandall @kamilahsayeet2063 @avalawrencefl @lovekamilahsayeed @thequeenkamilahsayeed @heygmicheelle @djtjsmith14 @jjlover01 @soft-for-drake @dopeyouth @alexroyard @satrinadia @toalltheboysididntlove @mypegasifly (lmk if anyone would like to be included or removed in my next fics and if you only want to be tagged for certain pairings.)
Part 2 is here!
I couldn't escape it.
It was all Veronica this! Veronica that! Oh, Veronicats! Oh, @vivilomborghini! And I've had it!
She was everywhere and I couldn't escape it. Obviously, she was all over my socials. On Pictagram, The T, but ever since I joined Belvoire, I couldn't even walk across the damn campus without seeing her.
I heard about Veronica long before I started attending Belvoire and I never liked her even since then. Something about her always rubbed me the wrong way.
When I found out she was also a student here on my first day, I was ready to head out. I did have other offers from different universities but Zoey convinced me that it wasn't gonna be so bad, so I took her word for it and stayed.
It was hard enough trying to avoid her on social media, which, trust me, was a sport all on it's own, but now I had to inevitably see her face every single day. I had no idea why, but I felt like she was wherever I went. At the library, at class, at the courtyard, it didn't matter, she was there.
She was like a constant nightmare haunting me. Okay, maybe a gorgeous, very attractive nightmare, but a nightmare nonetheless.
"I don't get why you hate her so much, babe," Zoey said at she followed my irritated glare aimed at Veronica who was vlogging not too far away. "She's not that bad."
"I don't hate Veronica Lombardi, but she hasn't given me any reason to like her either," I clarified.
"Why not?"
I scoffed. "Just look at her! Look how fake she is. She's basically lying to her fans. Her online personality is so artificially bright and happy it makes me wanna barf."
"Bea, that's basically almost every social media influencer ever."
"Maybe, but there's just something about her that doesn't sit right with me. How did she even get that many followers? I don't get what people see in her. Like sure, she's easy on the eyes and all but there's literally nothing else going for her."
Zoey raised a brow. "I'm surprised you admitted she's attractive.."
"I just don't like her, that doesn't mean I'm blind, Zo. I can appreciate a pretty face even if it annoys the shit out of me."
Zoey let out a laugh and gave me a pat on the cheek before standing up from the picnic table we were sitting at. "I'm sure V would be ecstatic to hear you call her pretty."
The space between my brows creased. "What do you mean?"
"Oh, babe, it's so obvious our favourite social media star has a crush on you."
"What makes you say that?" My nose scrunched up in disgust but something in my stomach stirred.
"You know, the looks, the movements," she replied, waving her hand around. "I'd love to explain more, but I'm gonna be late for class." She gathered her things and started walking away.
"Fine, fine," I sighed.
"And babe?"
"Yeah?"
"Dreamgirl is headed your way."
~*~*~
From the moment my eyes set on Bea Hughes, I knew there was something different about her.
Yes, the way she dressed, her accent, how she stood up to Poppy, it definitely made her stand out in Belvoire but there was just something else about her that caught my attention.
Maybe it was the way she carried herself, or her vibe. Maybe it was just how hot she was, I wasn't sure.
There was just a magnetic pull attracting me to her and I may not have known why, but I was determined to get to know her better.
I remembered the first time I caught sight of her. There was a crowd in the courtyard surrounding her and Poppy. She straight up roasted Poppy with no remorse and when she was done, our eyes locked. I could feel the tension between us. Was it sexual? Was it rivalry? Jealousy? Hatred? Maybe it was in potential alliance.
Whatever it was, I felt a connection.
Her smouldering gaze held onto my curious one and we held eye contact for a good minute before I raised a brow. She suddenly seemed to realise where she was and rolled her eyes, looking away.
I didn't know what that eye roll meant but that wasn't gonna stop me from finding out more about this interesting woman.
While I was vlogging, my eyes drifted to the girl that had me thinking about her ever since she stepped onto campus. She was eyeing me in annoyance. I've had people look at me like that but something behind her glare told me that wasn't all. I saw my chance. I smirked, ended the vlog and started walking up to her.
I didn't know what her problem with me was but I was gonna find out.
She was intriguing.
And I, Veronica Lombardi, was always up for a challenge.
~*~*~
I whipped my head around to see Veronica headed my way. I didn't like her but the way she strutted towards me made me breathless. The power in her strides almost made me realise why she was as popular as she was. Almost.
Still, I groaned and reached an arm out to Zoey.
"Zo! Don't leave me!"
"Sorry babe," she laughed. "You're on your own. Tell me how it goes, though!"
My arm flopped onto the table and my head followed.
"Hey," I heard a smooth, low voice call out not long after.
I knew who it was from but it still shocked me. It was such a vast difference from the bubbly, higher-pitched tone I had associated with her.
I raised my head to look at her.
"Yes?"
"This seat taken?"
"Does it matter?" I sighed. "Looks like you're gonna sit anyway."
She chuckled and crossed her arms. "That wasn't a yes so I can only assume you want me too."
I was about to deny it but something stopped me. I couldn't get the words out in time and she sat across me.
Well, this would be interesting.
"What do you want, Veronica?"
"No need to be so hostile," she raised her hands up. "I just came by 'cuz I saw you ogling at me."
My jaw dropped. "I was not ogling at you!" I said defensively.
She laughed again at my apprehension. "Sure you weren't."
"I wasn't!"
"Anyway," she said, ignoring my protest. God, she was infuriating. "I thought it was about time we finally meet and get to know each other."
I just looked at her as she stretched a hand out.
"Hi, I'm Veronica Lombardi," she said with a dazzling smile.
I had no intention of shaking her hand but I didn't wanna be mean especially since she was being nice. Also, there was something so compelling about that smile...
I lightly held her hand but the slight contact sent a jolt up my arm.
What was happening?
Brushing it off, I gave it a single shake. "Bea."
"Nice to officially meet you, Bea."
The way she spoke my name was unlike the way others said it. It sounded like a praise on her lips.
"As much as I'd love to hang around and make you fall in love with me," she stated and I was about to say something to contradict it but decided against it. Not like it would've helped. "I gotta go. Perhaps we could continue this conversation later? Elsewhere?"
I glared at her in disbelief. "Are you seriously asking me out on a date right now?"
"Oh, it's a date, huh?" she said playfully.
"What? I- you- NO!" I flustered.
"Alright then, it's a date," she laughed and I could feel myself getting red in the face. Was it from being infuriated or from blushing? I couldn't tell.
"Why would I go out with you?"
"Look, I know you don't like me that much, but why not give me a chance, hm?" The right corner of her lips quirked up ever so slightly as she gave me a lazy grin, so unlike the awfully overexaggerated fake cheery smile I was accustomed to seeing. It was relaxed and laidback and I'd be lying if I said I didn't find it absolutely sexy.
"How do I know it's not just for a vlog or some prank video."
"I swear it's not," she quickly assured. "If you don't believe me, I'll let you keep my phone for the entire time. I promise. I just want to get to know you."
She gazed into my eyes and I could tell she was telling the truth.
"Alright..."
"It that a yes?"
"It's not a yes..." I paused before adding. "But it not a no either."
I saw her eyes light up and I thought it was pretty cute. I mean, it was good to know she wasn't devoid of human emotion.
"I'll tell you what," she said and reached into her bag for a pen and paper and starting writing. "You let me know once you make up your mind."
She slid the paper over to me and on it was her number. She signed off as 'V, xoxo'.
Before standing up, she took my hand that was resting on the table between us in hers and paused for a moment, looking me in the eyes and making sure I wouldn't flinch away.
Once she was certain I wouldn't pull back, she brought my hand up to her lips and placed a gentle kiss on it. The way her soft lips grazed my hand made my heart flutter.
She let it go and walked away, looking over her shoulder to wink at me.
"Until then, beautiful."
I felt my whole face burn as I watched her walk away.
And this time, it was definitely from blushing.
~*~*~
"I'm telling you, Zo! How many times do I have to repeat myself? It's not a date!"
"Didn't you say she said it was a date?"
"Well, technically I made the mistake of assuming it was a date then she got the wrong idea and called it a date."
"So you wanted it to be a date?"
I was ready to pull my hair out in frustration. "No!"
Zoey giggled at me. "You are going though, right?"
"Why should I? I have no reason too."
"The Veronica Lombardi asked you out on a date and you're gonna say no to that?" She looked at me like I was stupid.
"It's not a date!"
"Just go for it. What do you have to lose?"
"My time, patience and sanity."
She glanced at me skeptically. "I don't think you actually believe that. I think you just don't want to admit you wanna spend time with Veronica."
That made me quiet. Was the idea of going out with Veronica actually repulsive or did I just not want to acknowledge it?
"Fine, I'll go for the stupid thing."
Zoey first pumped and cheered. "I can't wait to see you in her next vlog!"
"Oh, she said she wasn't gonna vlog."
She blinked at me. "What?"
"She said she would let me keep her phone for the rest of our time together as proof when I asked her if it she was only asking me out for a video."
"Bea, do you not realise what this means?"
I just looked at Zoey, puzzled.
"Veronica, Queen of Social Media, who vlogs and livestreams everything, said she would give you her phone. That's where all her power is! She's basically giving it up to you! I've heard if anyone so much as touches her phone, there'll be hell to pay."
Involuntarily, I felt myself start to smile. "Really?"
"God, you look like a kid in a candy store. You sooooo like her."
I shoved her and tried but failed miserably to hide my ecstatic expression. "Shut up! I do not!"
Zoey collapsed into a fit of giggles. "Deny it all you want, but you said you'd go out with her and I don't see you texting her yet."
I rolled my eyes at my best friend but moved to grab my phone to shoot Veronica a quick text to tell her my answer was yes.
~*~*~
When I received her confirmation yesterday, I felt the excitement bubbling in me. From the how she was blushing and the way she looked at me when I left, I was almost certain she would agree but getting a straight answer from her was the best news I've had all week.
I looked at the mirror at the outfit I was wearing. Hmm, should I change or would this suffice? No, I didn't want it to just suffice, I wanted it to impress.
I went through my closet, flinging clothes everywhere, trying to find something that would definitely catch her eye when I heard someone shout, "V!!!"
I rolled my eyes as Poppy barged in with Chloe by her side.
"What the hell are you doing and why is your room messier than a pig sty?! You were suppose to meet me an hour ago!"
I simply shrugged at her. "I'm busy."
"Busy with what? Putting on a fashion show for the fly on your wall?! Get ready, we're going out."
"Like I said, Pops," I took a stride in her direction and booped her nose, no doubt making her madder than she already was. "I'm busy."
"With what?" Chloe asked curiously since Poppy looked like she was gonna pop her lid off.
"I have a date with Hughes," I hummed.
"YOU'RE DITCHING ME FOR THAT NEWBIE, FARMSVILLE?!" Poppy screamed angrily.
I ignored Poppy and turned to Chloe. "Help me pick out something?"
"I'd love to!" she squealed which made Poppy stomp her feet in frustration.
"Ugh! Fine! Don't come crawling back to me when your social ranking takes a plunge after being seen with Farmsville!"
"You're delusional, Pops, maybe you should rest," I laughed as she stormed off, leaving Chloe to help me find the perfect outfit.
I couldn't wait to see Bea again.
~*~*~
There was a knock on the front door and Zoey jumped in excitement.
"You're looking forward to it more than I am."
"Can't I just be happy for my best friend-slash-roommate?" She pushes me towards the door. "Now go get your girl!"
"She is not my girl!" But my mind started racing at the possibility.
I shook the thought away and opened the door to be greeted with the sight of Veronica holding a single rose. I hate to admit it, but my breath hitched as I took her in.
My eyes ran up and down her body, soaking in every single feature my eyes landed on. Her sleeveless shirt was loose against her toned body but showed off her biceps nicely compared to her usual long-sleeved sweater.
My gaze landed on her chest and travelled down to her hips which only lead to her long, muscular legs covered by her pants. I forced my eyes back up to her attractive face only to see a stupid cocky smirk playing on her lips.
It was infuriating but fuck, she was hot.
I didn't even notice I was biting my lip until I heard her speak.
"Don't bite too hard, it might start bleeding before I get to kiss you," she said flirtatiously with that calm voice of hers but I could see her own eyes roaming my body.
I rolled my eyes but I wasn't as annoyed as I lead on. "Someone's confident."
"Very," she replied with a full smile this time and held out the rose in her hand. "For you."
"This isn't a date."
"It is!" Zoey called out from behind me.
"Zo!"
"It's true," she laughed. "Have fun on your date! V, you better treat her good!"
"The best," Veronica laughed with Zoey. "Don't worry!" She turned her attention back to me. "So, are you gonna accept my rose?"
The way she phrased it and said it made me melt. How could I say no?
Sighing in defeat, I took it from her and tucked it into my purse, the flower sticking out, on display for the world to know and strangely, I didn't mind.
We made our way away from the dorm and across the courtyard to her car. I saw people looking and whispering, wondering what the hell the newbie was doing with Belvoire's social media queen, the third ranked in The T.
I snickered and felt a little smug. It was great knowing someone with so much power was by my side. I felt kinda protected and safe 'cuz I knew no one would dare toss any snide remarks my way when I was with her.
I also thought it was really sweet that she didn't care that she was being seen with me. Not like I think anyone would dare say anything about her but I was still touched.
She opened the passenger side door for me and I raised her a brow at her. "I can open my own door, you know," I teased.
"O.M.G., I totally didn't know that," she replied sarcastically in a deadpan tone. "Lemme just do something nice for you."
"I guess I wouldn't mind being treated like a princess for the day," I muttered jokingly.
"Darling, I'll treat you like a queen," she replied coolly and suddenly, my whole body was on fire.
That immediately shut me up which made her chuckle.
We got into her car and she began driving. After a while, I spoke up.
"Where are we going?"
"You're warming up to me, huh?" She glance at me from the corner of her eyes and gave me another exasperating smirk.
"What?"
"You're starting a conversation with me. You like me now, don't you?" She reached out to poke me in the arm and I swatted her hand away even though I was trying my hardest to stifle a smile that was threatening to spread across my lips.
"God, you're annoying."
"Hey, I'm just stating facts."
Eventually, we pulled up to a small quaint café that didn't look like what I thought Veronica's speed was at all.
She opened the door for me again and this time, I didn't bother with a witty remark since I knew she would turn it on me anyway.
As we walked in, she greeted the barista behind the counter as if they've known each other for some time and it occurred to me then that I was getting to see the real Veronica. The thought that she actually was willing to share this private part of her life with me made me soft.
After ordering, she guided me to a table and pulled out a chair for me, motioning for me to sit. I looked around to take in the surrounding. There was barely anyone else in the café, only two other customers who were in their own worlds, reading. The place was small and cozy and... quiet. It wasn't like the high-energy, over-the-top, loud parties and events setting I was used to seeing her in. It was much more peaceful. Even the contemporary R&B and soul music they were playing that Veronica was humming to was much different than the pop songs she played in her vlogs that I've seen.
"Is this your little hideout?"
She offered me a small grin before staring at a picture on the wall. "Somewhat. No one expects to find me here so it's where I come if I just want some time to myself. No Poppy, no Belvoire, none of the Veronicats, just me." She leaned forward as her enrapturing eyes landed on mine and the sheer intensity of her gaze sucked all the air out of my lungs. "And now you."
I looked away, not being able to hold eye contact anymore and all of a sudden feeling very overwhelmed.
"It doesn't seem like you. I mean, I knew your online personality wasn't all real but this is..."
"Different?" she gave me a rueful smile. "I'm not my brand, Bea."
"Who are you, then?"
Her sad smile quickly changed into a simper. "That's why we're here, aren't we?"
"Fair enough." I leaned back in my chair. "Why don't you show your followers the real you? I'm sure they'll appreciate it." 'I do,' I thought subconsciously.
She let out a humourless laugh. "It's not that easy. Changing my entire image is already a hassle, but then I'd have to deal with that rumours and the haters and all that bullshit which is annoying. Then, I have to worry about my followers who'll either bash me or get bashed for still supporting me," she sighed, looking more tired than I've ever seen her. "It's just a lot."
Before I could reply, she pulled out her phone and slid it over to me across the table. "Like I promised, I'll let you keep it."
"V," I started and realised I called her by her nickname for the first time. I knew she noticed it to when I saw her brows lift up slightly. "You really don't have to."
She shook her head. "No, no, I want to. I want you to know I'm serious about this. I want you to know I'm being honest. Also, it's relaxing to know I don't have to worry about my online appearance since it's with you," she joked.
"Aren't you scared I'll log into your accounts? Maybe try and steal you phone?"
She looked at me with an amused smile. "I'm right here, I can see whatever you're doing. And what, you gonna run off with my phone in an unfamiliar area when I have a car?"
"Maybe I'll steal your car too."
She let out a full laugh that made my heart flip.
Woah?
"Darling, you can try," she spoke and leaned in closer, almost whispering the next part with a mischievous glint in her eyes. "But I think we both know who'll end up on top."
I caught the undertone in her statement and I felt my cheeks getting hot.
"You'd be surprised," I returned her energy and I saw her pupils dilate, the tension between us palpable.
We were interrupted by the barista from earlier. They served us our drinks and left, making me clear my throat and trying to shake out the image of Veronica and I in a.... compromising position.
I looked at her phone that was still in front of me and hesitantly slipped it into my purse.
"I have a question," I said.
"Mm?"
"Aren't you tired of pretending? To your followers?"
She crossed her arms on the table and my eyes immediately drifted down to see her arms flex as she did but I forced them back up to her face. 'Not the time!' I scolded myself in my head.
Her tiny grin told me she noticed. Damn, nothing slipped past this woman.
However, she looked over it and answered me. "It wasn't always pretend. That person was actually me once. That's what happens when you grow up in the public eye, I guess." She propped her chin on her hand. "I started doing all of this when I was young and it was only for fun. A kid just being a kid, you know? But then my content blew up and as I grew older, it was only natural for me to change, to discover who I really was. But the thing with people online is that they don't get that. They think we're a fraud or we went off the rails if we suddenly change things up."
I looked her in the eyes as she told me more about it.
"And before I knew it, I had an image to uphold. A brand to stick to. I was no longer that bubbly, excited kid from a decade ago but my audience didn't know that. I don't feel like I'm fake 'cuz that was who I am. But not anymore. And it might be tiring but it's worth it. I may be playing a character online but if that person inspires young girls and boys and is their role model, how could I take that away from them?"
Listening to her speak made me regret every awful thing I've said about her. A wave of sadness washed over me and as much as I wished I could reassure her and tell her it's not true, that everyone would support her, I knew that wasn't reality.
So instead, I said, "Would you ever show who you really are?"
Her perfectly threaded brows creased as she pondered over my question. "Not anytime soon. But if it gets too much, maybe then I'll consider doing it. But until then," she looked down and then back up at me with an honest smile. "I'm happy just sharing the actual me with the people in my real life."
~*~*~
Opening up to Bea was the easiest thing in the world. Those warm eyes, that curios look, the way she hung onto every word I said, giving me her full attention, it was inevitable that I would spill my heart out to her.
And it looked like I had the same effect on her.
She told me more about her life back in the Midwest, her family, her thoughts, dreams and so much more that I didn't expect to get out of her on our first 'date'.
As she spoke, I studied her face and mannerisms, wanting to know every single detail about her. Her expressive eyebrows, her stunning eyes, her smooth skin and soft lips. The way she pronounced certain words and how her accent got stronger when she was angry or talking something she was passionate about. The way she would roll her eyes but her cheeks reddened when I teased her or said something flirty. How her nose scrunched when she giggled, the way her eyes crinkled when she smiled.
Fuck, that smile. I'd do anything she told me to if she smiled at me like that.
"Hey, I know I said I wouldn't use my phone today," I began and I saw her give me a worried look. I quickly continued so she didn't get the wrong idea. "But I really want to take a picture with you. Is that okay? I won't post it, I just wanna keep it."
I saw her disappointed look instantly turn to relief then shyness.
"You wanna take a photo with me?"
"Yeah," I nodded. "You look really pretty and I just want something to remember you by."
I wasn't sure if she would agree but then she reached into her purse and handed me my phone. Grinning broadly, I moved beside her and lifted my phone up.
"Is this okay?" I asked, moving an arm around her waist carefully, making sure she wasn't uncomfortable.
She simply nodded and when my hand touched her, I felt her shiver which only made made me smile wider.
The cups and plates piled on our table, customers walked in and out, the sky darkened, a hundred songs were played and the second hand on the wall clock travelled the same path thousands of times as we continued talking and yet, our conversation never died.
I had never connected with someone so fast and it surprised me just how easy it was for us to just talk.
It was getting pretty late and we decided it was time to leave. Before standing up, I jokingly asked, "Anything else before we leave?"
To my surprise, she replied, "Just one."
"Yeah?"
She smiled. "You're alright, Lombardi."
~*~*~
When we made it back to campus, V walked me back to my dorm. When I said she didn't have to, she still insisted which was really sweet of her.
"Plus I get to spend more time with you," she said teasingly while lightly bumping shoulders as we walked side-by-side and I felt myself smile.
We stopped outside my dorm room and admittedly, I had no idea how I was gonna say goodbye to her.
"Here we are," she announced.
"Yup."
She took a step towards me cautiously as if I would move back. I didn't.
I stared at her as my stomach filled with butterflies. Everything about her was painfully gorgeous and it made my heart ache. I knew she was attractive but now that I got to know her, to actually see her, it made it hard to believe she was a real person.
She was perfect.
One hand on my hip, she leaned forward and bent down, face inching closer to mine. I closed my eyes, here nearness making me light-headed and the smell of her perfume fogged my thoughts. My heart was hammering in my chest.
I expected her lips to meet mine. Instead, I felt it on my cheek but my skin still tingled from where her lips touched.
"Good night, beautiful," she whispered with a small smile and a longing look in her hazel eyes. "Hopefully you don't glare at me the next time you see me."
She stepped back but I instinctively reached out to hold onto her wrist, preventing her from moving any further. I shook my head. "No."
"No?" she looked at me, confused and I could sense the hurt in her voice.
"No," I repeated. "No, that's not enough."
I pulled her into me and crashed our lips together. The moment our lips touched, I swear I saw stars. She pushed me back until I was pressed up against the door with her body. She trailed a hand down my thigh and hiked my leg up to her hip, making me groan.
I sent a mental apology to Zoey if she was in and heard all this.
"God, I don't know what you hold over me," I muttered between kisses. "Yesterday I didn't like you and now you have me against my dorm door, making out with me."
She pulled back, breathing heavy and gave me one of those sexy, relaxed smile. "Well, I am an influencer."
Veronica grabbed onto my other leg and lifted me up. Arms wrapped around her neck and legs locked tight around her waist, she kissed me again.
"Ohh! V!"
I moaned as she bit my bottom lip. My whole body was burning with heat and everywhere she touched ignited me further. One hand moved to grip the side of my neck while the other rested on my ass.
"Are you in love with me yet?" She said into the kiss and pulled away again, looking at me proudly with a genuine smile on her face.
"Shut up," I grinned and tugged her head back so our lips could meet again. This time, in a slow, sweet kiss.
And you know what?
Veronica Lombardi wasn't so bad after all.
(More fics!)
#did writing this make me fall even more in love with veronica?#absolutely a 100%#veronica x mc#veronica lombardi#veronica qb#qb#queen b#qb choices#choices#choices: stories you play#pb#pixelberry#playchoices#qb fanfiction#choices fanfiction#thanks for reading!
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Cold
Chapter 2, 2083 words
Summary: Loki and Asmund meet once again (fic under the cut)
Loki paced the Bifrost, nervously fiddling with the hem of his cloak. Was he dressed right? Would Asmund have made plans for them? What if the prince had no interest in him? He paused in his tracks. A swarm of butterflies coursed through his stomach. The mortal had easily been the most handsome person in all of Midgard, and Loki had had few thoughts outside of the man’s smile since they’d met. His chest heaved with a heavy sigh.
“What troubles you, my prince?” Heimdall asked, making Loki jolt. He’d completely forgotten that, predictably, the gatekeeper to the Bifrost was very often found at the Bifrost.
He hesitated a moment before answering quietly, his green eyes darting about. His hands twisted together nervously. “I have… met someone, whose opinion I care about greatly. A mortal prince. We have plans to meet again today.”
“I’m aware.”
Loki groaned, tugging once more on the pine green silk of his cloak. “Sometimes I forget you can see all the Nine Realms.” He paused his fidgeting, looking up at Heimdall. “Can you tell me… is he excited to see me again?”
The other god nodded, giving Loki a reassuring smile. “You have nothing to worry about, Your Grace. The prince appears to be in a state identical to yours.” Loki inhaled sharply. Asmund was looking forward to meeting again. “Are you ready to leave, Your Grace?”
At his nod, he was engulfed by glowing rainbow light, and an instant standing in the forest before Asmund’s castle. The building looked vastly different in the light, birds fluttering around the towering granite turrets on the cool breeze. He took a deep breath before approaching the gate. The dirt of the road crunched softly under the leather of his boots. Two guards dressed in shining silver armor and poppy-red tunics stood at attention as he approached. One of them procured a cream scroll from a pocket on his belt next to his sword.
“Are you Loki, sir?” he asked, glancing from the paper to Loki’s face. He nodded silently, his cloak billowing behind him in the breeze. The guard nodded to his partner who quickly opened the gates. “The prince is waiting for you at the stables, to the left, sir.” Loki gave his thanks as he made his way through the massive mahogany doors that faintly shone in the mid-morning sun.
He nervously checked his reflection in a rippling puddle in the courtyard. The Bifrost and the wind had ruffled his hair into a curly black mess; he'd spent what was probably far too much time brushing it this morning. A dark strand fluttered in the breeze before he nervously brushed it back. With a deep breath, he walked into the stables.
About ten stalls down, Asmund stood in front of a chestnut horse, holding a sugar cube out to it. He petted its forehead sweetly with one hand as the horse accepted the treat. As Loki got closer, he heard the prince cooing to the animal. Sweet Norns, Asmund had the most adorable voice.
“Such a sweet boy! You excited to go out for a ride, huh?” The horse huffed, ruffling Asmund’s golden curls. Loki stepped beside the prince with a mischievous smile on his face.
“I most certainly am, dear.”
Asmund yelped, dropping his remaining sugar cubes on the stable floor. He spun around, tilting his chin up to glare at Loki. It wasn’t by much, but he was ever so slightly shorter than Loki, something he hadn’t noticed at the party. The butterflies came back en masse as he looked down at the prince’s deep brown eyes. He was beautiful.
“Don’t you dare sneak up on me like that again-'' he gasped, holding a hand against his chest. Without thinking it through, Loki reached out a hand and held it over Asmund’s. The mortal’s heart pounded under his fingertips. He smiled confidently to mask the twisting tornado of butterflies making him dizzy.
“Promise I won’t.”
“Your hands are cold,” Asmund mumbled. Loki raised an eyebrow, moving to pull his hand away before the prince wrapped his fingers around Loki’s. “A good cold. I like it,” he offered with a glowing smile. Loki blushed at the touch, his mind buzzing as Asmund led him around the stables.
He introduced the god to a tall roan with a star on her forehead. Asmund let go of Loki’s hand to guide the horse out of the stables. An empty hum traveled through his hand at the loss of contact. His eyes silently followed the prince as he coaxed the two horses into place and motioned to him with a wave and another smile that made him feel as if he were melting into a puddle.
The two princes mounted their horses and trotted out of the open gates. Asmund called back to Loki to follow him, that he knew a beautiful path that wound through the hills. He’d only known the mortal for a little over a day, but he had no doubt he’d follow Asmund anywhere if he should ask. The sounds of the forest surrounded him as he rode after the prince, his head both infinitely full and painfully empty. Dangling pine needles brushed against his arms, little kusymre like the one he’d magicked for Asmund sprinkled like snow along the side of the path. A wind tugged at his hair.
“Loki, come here!” Asmund called. He walked his horse next to the mortal’s, his eyes taking in the beautiful view, or rather, both of them. In front of him, just over the edge of the path sprawled a shimmering lake so clear he could see the current swirling under the surface. It was framed perfectly by rolling snow-capped mountains and perfectly green trees gently swaying in the wind. Next to him, Asmund’s face practically glowed, lit by the pastel sun. His eyes shone almost gold, glowing in the light like the most desirable treasure in all the Realms.
Loki couldn’t decide which was more breathtaking. Asmund looked over at him, his face flushed from the cool weather.
“Do you like the view?” Asmund asked. Loki smiled at him, taking in the sight of the mortal’s wind-kissed face gazing at him with something indecipherably sweet glittering in his chocolate eyes. A warmth Loki had never felt before raced through his chest.
“It’s beautiful,” he replied, looking away self-consciously as his face went warm. A moment later, he realized Asmund had been referring to the lake.
“I come up here to think,” Asmund added softly, a soft breeze whistling over the water. “When there’s too much, you know? It is just so silent and calm, like the world can’t reach me here. I wanted to share it with you.”
Oh, Norns, he’s perfect, Loki thought, his smile growing as he stared at his hands. He glanced up at Asmund for a moment. “Thank you, dearest. It’s positively lovely here.”
The two sat in silence, thought far from an awkward one. The sound of the water and whispering tree limbs filled the comfortable gap. Asmund inhaled sharply.
“Would you, um, care to go back, Loki? I would love to show you around my castle, er, the castle,” he asked so quickly the god barely caught his words. “It’s so cold out, yes? Wouldn’t want to catch a chill out here,” Asmund laughed nervously, fiddling with his reins. Loki tilted his head to gaze at the prince. Without a word, he guided his horse next to Asmund’s. Over the prince’s shoulders, Loki draped his deep green cloak and fixed its clasp closed before he started back for the woods. His hands lingered just over Asmund’s chest before moving.
“Can’t have that, now can we, dearest?” Loki called back over his shoulder. If he’d turned around, he would have seen Asmund staring after him with wide eyes. His fingertips lightly ran over the intricate golden clasp with his face pink from something besides the cold.
Moments later, his horse caught up with Loki’s. Their comfortable silence resumed as they made their way back, though this time Loki caught Asmund glancing at him with soft eyes. The prince caught his gaze and turned an even rosier shade of pink.
“Sorry, I don’t mean to stare,” Asmund softly said over the gentle sound of branches
bending in the wind. He slowed his horse to a halt, Loki stopping right next to him. “I’ve been… nervous about today.” Loki turned his head, green eyes carefully studying the mortal’s face. Speckled shadows danced across his skin; the brown of his eyes flashing between a beautiful deep brown and a shimmering gold in the changing light.
“Why is that?” Were these butterflies twisting in his stomach ever planning to stop?
“Well, we met at that big party, and I was worried you didn’t truly want to be around me away from all that excitement. I-”
“You are very much worth being around,” Loki assured him, his voice taking on a tender note he’d never heard from himself before and barely recognized, once again placing a hand delicately over Asmund’s. Another thing he’d missed the night before was that he had faint little freckles sprinkled across his knuckles like stars. He traced a line across the back of the prince’s hand. “I do hope I’ve put your fears to rest.” Before he could talk himself out of it, he pressed a chaste kiss to the soft skin. Up close, Asmund smelled sweet, like cinnamon and cloves. Loki was certain the butterflies in his stomach just exploded.
“Now, you seemed rather anxious to get out of the cold. Shall we race back to the castle?” Loki said with a playful grin, trying to force down the nervous lump in his throat. Asmund smiled back, looking somewhat dazed.
“I j-just need- need a second.”
Loki winked at him before urging his horse to a gallop. “See you at the castle then, dear prince!” he shouted over the wind.
“No fair!” he heard Asmund’s laugh behind him and almost steered face-first into a branch. If anything wasn’t fair, it was how everything else in the world seemed to disappear when the prince laughed.
The two raced through the woods. The wind spun through Loki’s hair, his dark curls flying behind him like a cloud of ink. At some point, Asmund caught up to him, his laugh echoing through the forest. He looked over at the god, smiling wide as they ran side-by-side. It was more beautiful than anything else in the Nine Realms could hope to be.
Their horses thundered into the courtyard, Asmund’s just barely before Loki’s. He laughed victoriously, giving Loki a smile that felt like a wave of warm sunshine sweeping him off his feet and making him lightheaded. He dismounted and rushed over to Loki’s side.
“Allow me,” Asmund offered, holding a hand up to the god. He felt his face flush as he took the prince’s hand and got down from his horse. Two servants led the horses away as another led the regal pair inside. Asmund seemed to have forgotten to let go of Loki’s hand, not that he minded.
A majestic pair of mahogany doors stained the same maroon as the gates swung open inside the palace, revealing a library full to its vaulted ceiling with elegantly bound books. The shelves were lit under the rainbow glow of a floral stained glass window that took up nearly a whole wall of the room. In the very center sat a carved table set for tea. Loki glanced at Asmund inquisitively, his face illuminated by the bright colors.
“I suppose this was what you were so anxious to return to the castle for, dear?”
Asmund smiled, leading him just before the table. His eyes sparkled in the colored light. “I wanted to surprise you.” The prince leaned in closer to Loki, their noses centimeters apart. Loki’s breath caught in his throat, barely moving as Asmund’s hand delicately brushed a wind-blown curl from the god’s face. “Though I did have a lovely time going out to the forest with you.” Before he could formulate a reply, the prince’s lips met his. Loki’s mind went completely blank and buzzing with happiness. Asmund pulled away after a second, smiling nervously.
“Do you, um…” His voice went quiet as Loki brushed a hand over his cheek, resting on the nape of his neck. Their foreheads pressed together, the light of the stained glass glowing all around them.
“Yes, I do.”
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promise me that you’ll start where i end
A/N: 3rd Life SMP but i make it more dramatic. also i made the mistake of listening to drivers license by olivia rodrigo while writing this and cried. i'd say enjoy but i don't think that's the correct emotion to experience while reading this. (title is from Boreas by The Oh Hellos)
Summary: An argument before Scott's world- one of color, light, and love- falls to pieces and turns dark. And the friend who tries to collect those pieces and bring back a little light to him.
Warnings: minor violence, talk of death, arguing, hugs, crying, canonical character death, grief/mourning, bittersweet ending
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Scott leaned against the potions table with a sigh. There were too many close calls today. Each brush with Dogwarts nearly cost either him or Jimmy their lives, not to mention that Cleo lost one of her lives trying to escape the Red King and his men. Then there was the whole issue with Joel, his attempt on Scott’s life, and their wall- he wasn’t looking forward to rebuilding it, especially just out of cobblestone or some other stone. A small smile was brought to his face as he remembered how Jimmy instantly wanted to go after Joel, even though the other man was already long gone. It should have been concerning, how fast Jimmy could seemingly switch between being a lost puppy or a feral wolf on his red life. Instead, it was actually sort of endearing. It would be more endearing if it didn’t give Scott a near heart attack every time his husband tried to rush forward into danger. Scott squeezed his eyes shut at the sudden onslaught of memories- Jimmy running through lava for a prize, his eagerness to pick up a piece of tnt and the resulting destruction it caused, Jimmy staring Ren down as he burned the Dogwarts flag (and then himself), Jimmy drawing his bow when Scott was trying to de-escalate a situation and just ask if Dogwarts had anything to do with their wall burning- Scott wasn’t sure if he was proud of or angry at Jimmy’s recklessness. There was one thing Scott knew for certain- he would never be able to erase the memories of Jimmy’s deaths from his mind, and everything he did was to make sure that Jimmy would survive. And himself too, of course, but Jimmy was the one with no lives left.
“Scott?” a voice asked, causing his eyes to snap open. He looked over to see Jimmy stepping through the nether portal. He looked a little shy, and Scott smiled in spite of himself at his husband being in his “lost puppy” mode.
“I’m just working on some potions. Y’know, for future encounters. What’s up?” Scott asked. Jimmy fidgeted for a moment or two, not quite meeting Scott’s gaze.
“Just wanted to check in on you, after uh… everything,” he asked sheepishly, finally looking up at Scott’s eyes.
“Could be better, could be worse. There were a couple of close calls, but that’s why I’m working on potions,” he replied with a shrug. Jimmy’s brow knit in concern, and he reached out to Scott for half a moment, but quickly dropped his hands with a frown.
“It was too close today,” Jimmy muttered under his breath. Scott huffed out a laugh, shaking his head.
“It was, you’re on your last life- you’ve gotta be more careful,” he reprimanded. Jimmy’s sheepish gaze snapped defiantly to Scott’s, and he jumped a bit in surprise at the fire in his husband’s eyes.
“I was talking about you! Martyn’s arrows nearly took you out!” Jimmy shouted, hands gesturing wildly.
“Jimmy, my armor’s better than yours, and I have all my lives left. I would have been fine- you wouldn’t have,” Scott said, a little taken aback at Jimmy’s sudden ferocity.
“Just because you have all your lives doesn’t mean you can throw them away, Scott!” Jimmy protested. Scott gave Jimmy an incredulous look.
“I’m not throwing my lives away, Jimmy. I have good gear, I negotiate and build alliances with other factions, I’m making potions- if anyone’s throwing away their lives around here, it’s you!” Scott shot back, voice coming out more frustrated than he meant it to. A hurt expression crossed Jimmy’s face, and part of Scott wanted to take back what he said, but most of him didn’t regret it at all. Didn’t Jimmy understand what was at stake here? Scott tried his best to look out for him, but each and every time he rushed forward into things he shouldn’t have.
“Scott, I know I’ve messed up. You don’t need to keep reminding me. But I can’t just stay put and do nothing like you!” Jimmy shouted.
“What do you mean, doing nothing?! I’m trying to build up our defences-”
“Going on the offensive is the only thing Dogwarts will understand-”
“I’m just trying to protect you!” both Scott and Jimmy exclaimed at the same time. Both of them blinked in surprise, and all at once things started clicking into place.
“Scott, I’m no strategist like you. I’m not even as good in combat. But I’m on red- I’m the fighter here. So let me fight for you,” Jimmy said softly. Scott made a sound that was half laugh, half scoff.
“Jimmy-”
“I can’t stand the thought of letting you die, Scott,” Jimmy said, refusing to meet his gaze. A bittersweet smile came to Scott’s face, and he took a step closer to Jimmy, tilting his head to try and meet Jimmy’s eyes.
“Jimmy, I’ve seen you die twice. Don’t you think that I can’t stand the thought of letting you die either?” Scott asked. Jimmy finally looked up at Scott, eyes watering. Scott let out a fond little scoff, reaching out to wipe at Jimmy’s eyes.
“I’m sorry,” Jimmy said wetly. Scott didn’t answer at first, instead reaching out to pull Jimmy into a hug.
“Don’t be. And don’t cry you idiot, you’ll just disintegrate faster,” Scott teased fondly, relieved when Jimmy let out a laugh in response. Jimmy pulled away, wiping at his eyes and smiling. Scott couldn’t help but smile back, happy to see his husband in a marginally better mood.
“We’ll be okay, right Scott?” Jimmy asked, still soft and as timid as before.
“I’m working on potions, we’ve got allies, and we’ve got each other. We’ll be alright,” Scott said, voice soft but no less determined. Jimmy gave his usual dazzling smile, filling Scott with warmth and light at the sight of it.
-
It was dark when Scott made his way down the hill from Jimmy’s grave. He wasn’t even there when Jimmy had died, he had told Jimmy that they would be alright and they both weren’t. Scott was on yellow now, the gleam in his eyes and the gold shimmering in his hair making that absolutely certain. Scott’s preparedness hadn’t even saved either of them! His potions certainly didn’t do much good as Scott died early on in the battle. Maybe he and Jimmy shouldn’t have allied with anyone. Maybe they should have stayed within their walls and retired, like Scott wanted to. Maybe Jimmy would be alive now. But there was no use dwelling on the “what-ifs”- all Scott had was the now. And the now was crushingly lonely and dim.
Scott jumped at the cackle of a witch, narrowly avoiding a thrown potion. He drew his sword and cut her down without a second thought. She poofed into ash, leaving Scott to stumble forward into the dirt. He drove his sword into the ground with a cry of rage and sorrow.
“I can’t even mourn?!” he cried, shouting at the universe for what he had lost and what he had endured. Scott wasn’t sure how long he had knelt there in the grass, a white-knuckled grip on the hilt of his sword and a hand over his mouth to stifle the sobs that threatened to escape. It wasn’t until the growls and skittering of other mobs approaching that Scott finally picked himself up, yanking his sword from the ground and feet moving on autopilot.
He soon stumbled through the nether portal to the cave behind it, shaking hands reaching for a book tucked away on one of the shelves. He opened it carefully despite his trembling hands, not wanting to damage what was inside. Between the pages laid a collection of pressed flowers, one of them being the poppy that Jimmy had given him when they first met. Scott finally allowed himself to crumble, falling to the floor and sobbing with the book of pressed flowers cradled in his arms.
“Scott?” a voice asked. His head snapped up and he looked to the cave entrance, heart skipping a beat at a flash of blond and red- but then saw the brightly colored wings and deflated at the realization that it was just Grian. Scott quickly wiped at his eyes, gently closing the book before holding it tight against his chest and standing up.
“Um. Hi,” Scott said, unsure of what to say. Grian didn’t look like he knew what to say either, feathers rustling slightly before he cleared his throat.
“I just wanted to uh. Check in on you,” Grian said. Scott let out a shaky sigh. How many times had Jimmy come in, asking the same thing? Checking in on Scott, making sure he wasn’t overworking himself- sometimes checking in on him wasn’t even for Scott’s own benefit. Jimmy would need reassurance, and Scott would joke and tease to cheer him up. What Scott wouldn’t give to hear Jimmy’s laugh one last time.
“I think you can see how well I’m doing,” Scott said, tone coming off a bit more brusquely than he meant it to. Scott winced as soon as the words escaped his mouth. Grian didn’t deserve to have his grief taken out on him, but frankly Scott wasn’t sure how else he was supposed to respond to that. His friend’s expression twisted in sympathy.
“Sorry. We did avenge him, at least,” Grian said softly. Scott let out a humorless laugh.
“Yeah. I just thought I’d feel some sort of satisfaction from it, or that it would make losing Jimmy hurt less,” Scott replied, voice as hollow as he felt. Silence hung between them for a few moments, before Grian stepped a bit closer. He cautiously reached out to put a hand on Scott’s shoulder, and Scott peered up slightly at the touch.
“It probably won’t help much, in fact not at all, but what if we put a stop to Dogwarts? For all the things we’ve lost- and for Jimmy,” Grian offered. A small, weak smile crept onto Scott’s face. He wouldn’t let Jimmy’s death be in vain- he believed in a world without Dogwarts, a world where he and Scott could live out their days in peace. And even if Jimmy wasn’t able to live it with him, Scott knew that Jimmy would want him to move forward, to the life they had wanted.
“For Jimmy,” Scott said, warmth in his tone for the first time since Jimmy had died. For a brief moment, he thought he felt a hand ghost across his, paired with a reassuring touch on his back and a breath at his ear. The moment was there and gone, and Scott desperately wanted to curl his fingers around familiar ones he swore he had just felt- but it left Scott’s smile a bit brighter all the same.
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#3rd life smp#3rd life smp fanfic#scott smajor#solidarity#grian#mcyt#angst#hurt/comfort but its more hurt than comfort#flower husbands my beloved#FLOWER HUSBANDS MY BELOVED </3#sage writes#yes i am still stubbornly posting fic on tumblr what of it
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