#Fashion says that you should dress to match your date if possible and Bill takes that seriously

[tswwwit]

Just a thought, but is bills "human form" 100% identical for every reincarnation? or is there occasionally a little difference?

It can definitely be different! The form reflects Bill, and he's a whimsical guy. No reason he'd stick with exactly the same shape every time.

#answers #Though I imagine Bill's more fond of the first shape than he would admit #Like Dipper made him a handcrafted sweater and though he called it shitty at first now he's admitted it's pretty comfy #Sentimental? Pfft what's that? Bill just likes the plush inside and fancy exterior #there's also the fact that it's a blood illusion and Dipper made it #Dipper could theoretically change it up if he wanted to #Though I imagine that requires Bill to cooperate since he's *in* the thing #And he's got a ton of energy to push back if he's not thrilled with what Dipper's trying #All in all as time goes on though Bill shows up in different shapes. He'd totally get bored otherwise! #And in any case *DIpper* doesn't look exactly the same each time he's around either #Fashion says that you should dress to match your date if possible and Bill takes that seriously

[knjoodles]

sallang; taehyung | 01

pairing: singlefather!taehyung x reader

genre: fluff

recommended song: come on get higher by matt nathanson

word count: 2K

warnings/author’s note: this first chapter is slightly suggestive. nothing that i’d consider smut-worthy, but a warning never hurts! i’m also starting this as a mini-series, with short chapters and an overall short story. glad to be back!

summary: handsome, intelligent, fashionably late: taehyung seems to be a total package, and you’re all for it. that is, until his rain-checks and delayed appearances become so frequent that you feel left in the dark. what could he possibly be hiding?

sallang - a word describing the manner of the wind blowing lightly.

lowercase intended

this is a major waste of my time is what you thought as you rhythmically tapped your fingers against the clothed wooden table of a local restaurant, your knee bouncing impatiently against the floor, your free hand holding your head, glancing around in pure boredom. with how much time you’d spent staring at the wall beside you, you’d probably noted every color its paint compiled. it was your first date with a man from tinder who you realized was way out of your league — and you began to fear that he realized it way before you did.

snaking your phone from your back pocket, leg still bouncing, a deep sigh escaping your lips, you opened his profile once again. “kim taehyung, twenty-five, huh?” you filed through his tab once again, mumbling as you read. “likes reading, going to the beach… do you like being late, too?” you hissed, “because, from the looks of it, its like you get off on—”

“excuse me?”  

your thoughts of innermost annoyance suddenly subsided at the sound of a deep, masculine voice from above you. your head darted upwards to find none other than kim taehyung standing in black slacks with a complementary white shirt to match, his chest rising and falling, almost like he’d run to your date. “are you (y/n)? i’m taehyung… from tinder?” his eyebrow pricked up as he finished his sentence, an embarrassed smile cracking across his face. you stared at him for a moment, taking in the man standing before you. (y/n)? upset at kim taehyung? never. seeing him in person, you’d almost completely forgotten you were irritated.  

“yeah, that’s me. have a seat,” you smiled awkwardly, chuckling softly. you watched as taehyung hooked his casual blazer, previously wrung lazily around his arm, onto his chair. he sat down quietly, moving his seat closer to the table, adjusting his glasses and jet black hair. a moment of silence fell between the two of you, taehyung picking up his menu to appear preoccupied in the dinner menu. you smiled to yourself, catching glimpses of his eyes blinking rapidly as he excitedly scanned the text, a habit that’d already made itself known. you began to notice how he’d glance up at you every so often, chewing his lip, flustered, almost as though he wanted to say something but couldn’t find the words to do it.

“i’m sorry for being so late,” he admit, sighing. “i had something to take care of earlier, and it took a lot longer than i’d hoped,” he set his menu down, toying with its edge with his finger. “i...” he paused, “i apologize. i know it must’ve been inconvenient for you.” you took this moment to eye taehyung's hands, slender and dainty, his fingers long and adequate.  

you laughed at his slightly frantic tone. “it’s fine, don’t worry about it. you’re here now, right? let’s focus on that. you wanna tell me a little more about yourself, ot should i go first?” you assured, smiling comfortingly. “your bio only tells me so much.”

“uh, okay!” he nodded, resting his hands on the table. “well, i’m taehyung, i recently received my bachelor’s and i’m aiming for a phd in english, i don’t care for coffee all that much, i love pretty much all animals you can find, and… i’m 5’11".” he introduced himself with detail as he adjusted the cuffs of his shirt, pulling them up to only reach past his elbows. “how about you?”

“oh, my turn?” you questioned, earning a giggle from the man facing you. “i guess it’s only fair. i’m (y/n), i’m pursuing law as of now, we can lay low on coffee if you’d like — i don’t really mind. i like going on simple dates, i love music recommendations, i love musicians, and i’m significantly shorter without these heels on.” you finished, content that either taehyung had a really bad sense of humor or that your finishing line made a better impression than you’d thought it ever could. 

“does this fulfill your requirement of a simple date?” taehyung inquired playfully, lightly patting the table.

“it does,” you replied, tone flirtatious. you noticed taehyung eyebrow raise and jaw tighten at your response as he cracked a smirk, entertained at the shift in energy. that look jumbled your insides, but there was no time for that. you expelled those thoughts from your mind as you cleared your throat, silently scolding yourself. your moment was interrupted by a waitress, the same one who’d pitifully watched you poke at the complimentary sourdough bread slices with an empty seat in front of you. offering to kindly take your menus and your orders, the two of you obliged. as she scurried away from your table, a notepad with messy handwriting scribbled across it dangling from her waist apron, you turned back to taehyung, whose eyes were glued to you, one of his hands caught in his hair as he ran a hand through it. “hey,” he muttered, his voice deep, his eyebrow habitually twitching upwards once more. was he trying to make you unravel in the middle of your date?

“oh my god,” you laughed, trying to shake off how flustered you were. “you can’t just do that and expect me to be okay!” you joked.

“do what?” he chuckled in return. “the deep voice? i can’t control that; it just happens sometimes,” he smiled at his lap, looking back up at you soon after. “you said you were interested in musicians?”

“i mean, it’s not a necessity, but yeah, i find musicians especially interesting.” you explained, reaching for your glass of cold water, ice half melted.  

“i don’t want to brag, but when i was in high school, i was in a band.” he grinned as your jaw dropped. your mind raced with thoughts of how flawless he was, from how well he dressed to how every secret of his made him ten times more attractive. “it was just seven of us, seven of my friends. some would rap, some would sing. i was a singer, and i was really invested in the group. after we all graduated, the group kind of fell out, but we’re all still friends. cool, huh? i would play a little bit of everything, from piano to guitar. more piano, though.” he added, tilting his glass of water towards you, his attractive grin infectious.  

“that’s crazy,” you gasped, leaning forward in your chair. “ever thought of getting the band back together? you’ve got the looks!”

“the looks?” he repeated, laughing excitedly. “you’re giving me too much credit here, (y/n),”

“i don’t think you’re giving yourself enough,” you replied, raising your eyebrows, challenging his humble temperament.  

the two of you dined contentedly, taehyung's charismatic personality and contagious smile catching you every time. the conversation, surprisingly, were never boring, they flowed into one another the way good friends converse after not seeing each other for a long time. his mannerisms and aura struck you as welcoming and comforting, as if he was a bright, warm light you wanted to step into. he was safety embodied, he was a simple, gentle man, with kindness and love pouring out of his soul. to your multiple objections, taehyung covered the bill, still feeling guilty over arriving late. a part of you inexplicably pitied him; you felt as though you should’ve at least pitched in half. it may have just been your morals being challenged, but you almost felt obligated to pay him back.  

dusting off his trousers, taehyung arose from his chair, your date coming to a close. a wave of childish frustration fell over you: you didn’t want it to end, not yet! to your surprise, he glided to your side of the table, chivalrously offering his hand to help you up. you smiled and took his hand graciously, his endless good-natured acts perplexing you. who was this guy? other than being late, was there really a flaw?

as you arose from your seat, you decided the answer to the latter question was no. this was absolutely the best date you’d ever been on: he wasn’t obnoxious, he wasn’t boisterous, he didn’t ask you for anything afterwards… you’d been with your fair share of unforgettably horrible men. taehyung was different, though: it wasn’t that he was just more decent than the men you’d previously gone out with, it was his aura, his persona, it was something above physicality that made you fall for him more than you thought you should.  

“thank you for the lunch,” you smiled graciously as he accompanied you out of the restaurant, opening the door for you as well. “this was really enjoyable! i hope we can do this again soon.”

“me too! thank you for being so nice to me despite me being late.” he returned your kind grin before grasping for his buzzing phone in his pocket, pulling it out to check an apparent text. “i, uh…” he swallowed, now visibly anxious. “would you like me to walk you to your car?” his tone completely different from his physical state.  

“i’m just over there!” you motioned to your car, stammering, confused by his sudden shift in energy. “if you have something important to get to, you go ahead!” he relaxed slightly, thanking you kindly and pulling you into a warm embrace. it felt shocking, but not in a bad way — his very intimidatingly handsome appearance contrasted with how gentle he had been with you. should you have liked him this much on the first date alone?

“i’ll see you soon! i can text you my number on tinder later. thank you again!” he jogged backwards, still making eye contact before he finished his statement, where he then turned completely and began dashing towards his car. you found him charming and funny and it made you smile.  

spinning on your heel to walk towards your car, you spun the chain of your car keys on your finger, the thought of taehyung still with you. he’d been perfect: good-hearted, humble, witty… you could go on. you sat quietly in the front seat of your car, thumbing the leather of your steering wheel. part of this felt very suspicious — how could someone be this perfect? how could someone be this enjoyable, this wonderful, this considerate? you didn’t want to feel this way about him as he felt wholly genuine, but you couldn’t ignore the feeling of possibly being lied to. was he messing with you? he absolutely could be. what would you know?

you'd thought yourself into a corner. suddenly, you felt very bad, sitting alone in your car in a silent parking lot. you closed your eyes tightly and sighed loudly, trying to expel as much upset as you could from your body. you’d just had an amazing date! you shouldn’t be feeling this bad afterwards. taking a moment to collect yourself once more, you started your car, dusting yourself off before driving yourself home, the scent of taehyung’s faint cologne lingering in your mind.

i missed u guys :}. enjoy this piece from me!

#kpop #bts #bts masterlist #bts series #bts au #bts oneshot #bts drabble #bts reactions #bts fluff #bts angst #bts smut #bts x reader #kpop icons #kpop masterlist #kim taehyung #taehyung #taehyung smut #taehyung fluff #taehyung angst #taehyung x reader #bts v #taehyung reaction

[heartbrokenct]

without you - jjh

pairing idol!jung jaehyun x reader

genre fluff + the slightest bit of angst

word count 5.7k (i know)

warnings get ur tish ready b, this is-...

summary Jaehyun is sent to the US for a music study, but what he doesn’t expect is to leave with a lot more than just music theory. 

a/n i was going to make this a multi-part thing just so i could keep it short but i figured why not make it one huge fic. anyway, pls lmk if you enjoy this!

    “Oh, come on, loser. It’ll be great! Besides, what is one small blind date going to do? Nothing, exactly! So get dressed and do whatever, and be ready to go at 7.” Your friend rambled on the other side of the phone, and you rolled your eyes. 

     “How in the hell do you always manage to convince me to make the dumbest decisions?” You say, slightly annoyed. Apparently one of your cousin's friends was “on the market” and of course your cousin decided to make plans for you and this friend of theirs without even asking you beforehand. Hell, you didn’t even know what this "friend" looked like. After a few more minutes of your cousin desperately getting you to agree, you laughed and hung up, realising the time was just past 4pm, and the date was in only 3 hours. 

    Quickly jumping into the shower, you heard your phone ringing again, and assuming it was your cousin, back to bother, you ignored it and got busy getting clean and fresh. After the shower came the skincare routine, as usual, and after that the terrifying choice of “what to wear on a first date with a stranger” loomed over you as you stared at the numerous possible outfits in your closet. Sighing, you start to yank things off hangers and try them on, twirling in the mirror and doing a few greeting motions, trying to gauge what you’d look like. You caught sight of yourself as you were taking off a top, and noticed just how great you looked, instantly getting  a boost of confidence. 

   You checked your phone quickly and noticed a missed call and a few texts from an unknown number, so you unlocked it and took a closer look. 

  #### : Hey, this is Jaehyun. I got your number from your cousin, they mentioned that we should probably decide on where to go but if you don’t mind, I made some reservations at this restaurant.

  #### : Address. 

  #### : Does 7pm sound okay?

You checked the time stamp on the message, and gasp. He’d messaged you almost an hour and a half ago, so you quickly typed a few messages in response, and hoped that he wouldn’t be too upset. And you hadn’t even gotten the chance to set your phone down when it dinged again, and another message popped up on the screen. 

   Blind-date guy : Oh wow, I was beginning to think you were standing me up before the date even began. 

   Blind-date guy : I’m just joking! Please don’t stand me up again, I truly can’t go through the night again with 5 waiters giving me sympathy pats on the back. 

   At that, you let out a small laugh, and wonder suddenly if he was some creep who just emanated those vibes. Honestly, leave it up to your family to prank you like that. They mentioned he was some sort of celebrity in Korea, but was here in the states studying music. 

   Blind-date guy : Was that too much info? That was definitely too much info… Hopefully I’ll see you tonight! 

     A smile graced your features, and you gave him an affirmative response before frantically turning towards the closet with a rather worried look. The address he had sent you was of a pretty upscale restaurant, and you weren’t sure if you had anything nice enough to wear. Plus, it was almost 40 minutes away from your place, which meant almost an hour and a half with the traffic in your city. You sighed, and double checked the time. Almost 6pm. Screaming, you decided on something elegant but also pretty casual, and grabbed your favorite pair of shoes to match. After one last look over in the mirror, you snapped a pic and sent it to your cousin, who called you while you were rushing to your car to tell you just how great you looked. 

  “Jaehyun’s going to be drooling all over you. He loves that fashion style, and the fact that you just look so exquisite… yeah hopefully you wore something nice underneath too!” They quipped, and you gasped, laughing and telling them off, before thanking them quickly and hanging up. 

     Almost 75 minutes later, you got to the address Jaehyun had sent you and you marveled at the exterior of the building. It looked so wonderful, and the smell of the food emanating from inside only reminded you of how hungry you were. Rushing inside, you went up to the hostess, and said you were here under a reservation for Jaehyun. She smiled, giving you a knowing look before leading you to a table near the back where it was more quiet. 

   You knew who he was even before the hostess motioned you to the right table. He just looked kingly, and his presence seemed to draw everyone’s attention all at once. His face looked a bit nervous, but as soon as he looked at you, it seemed to drain from his face and was quickly replaced with awe. His eyes looked up and down your body and suddenly you felt the need to hide from his piercing gaze. He stood, and nodded a thank you to the hostess, then came around the table and took out your chair, allowing you to sit before tucking it in slightly. 

    “Hi-ello...Hello.” He said, his voice coming out a bit softer than he expected, and you stifled a laugh. 

    “Hi, I’m Y/n. It’s really lovely to meet you Jaehyun.” You said, and sent him a warm smile. His face seemed to go a bit red and he cleared his throat, trying a greeting again.

    “Hello Y/n. You look amazing; it’s likewise very lovely to meet you.” A short pause, and he continued, “My friend told me a lot about you, but they didn’t mention just how attractive you are. Well, not attractive- I mean yes attractive but- Like- Y'know-” He stammered, and lifted a hand to run through his hair, and somehow managed to poke his eye slightly. He let his hand drop to the table and he laughed. You let out the laugh you’d been holding and joined his, reaching over the table to grab his nervous hands softly. 

    “Thank you, please don’t hurt yourself trying to compliment me.” You joked, and paused to check out the menu as the waiter came to take your drink order. After getting over the original awkwardness and choosing a meal, the both of you fell into a comfortable conversation ranging from your careers to deep philosophical questions. You picked up on the fact that he seemed to be really proud about his career as an idol in Korea, and how he had always wanted to become a singer. His eyes lit up as he described a bit of what it was like, before he asked you about your job, and passions.

 You barely noticed when the food was placed in front of you, or when the other patrons all looked at you both talking with knowing looks in their eyes, or even when the water came by with the bill. You could only focus on this wonderfully interesting man in front of you, who was surprisingly deeper than his very apparent good looks. The waiter came by to see if the bill was ready, and the both of you stopped your conversation, and then half argued about who would foot the bill. He refused to even let you see the total cost, so in the end, you had let him win. He went to reach for his wallet before asking you another question which again distracted you from the bill and as the waiter made his second appearance, Jaehyun quickly (and rather proudly) tucked his card into the leather folder all while giving the waiter an apologetic smile. You watched him, your head tilted to one side and a soft smile played on your lips as his dimples made their comeback on his face. He turned to you and then grabbed a hold of his drink, making eye contact with you over the rim. 

   “Why are you looking at me like that?” He asked, and you cleared your throat, shaking your head. 

   “Oh… Just admiring from afar.” You said, and he seemed to get a tad flustered. You let out a laugh through your nose, and the waiter came by with Jaehyun’s card. 

   “How much was the dinner? It wasn’t too much was it?” You ask again, and he shakes his head. 

   “I’m the one who made the reservation so I gladly paid for it. Don’t worry about it at all, okay?” He said, in a soft tone, and stood coming around to your side of the table and holding out his hand. 

   “Shall we?” He said, and you raised your eyebrows while putting your hand into his. He gripped it as he led you out of the restaurant and then stopped outside, looking up at the sky. You checked your phone, and saw the time read 11:17pm. 

   “Already?” You mumbled out loud subconsciously, but Jaehyun caught it. 

   “Already what?” He said, and looked at you, peering down at the screen of your phone. He noted the time, and sighed. 

   “Ah, did I keep you too long? If you’re taking public transit or a cab home, let me drive you. Since it’s late.” He said, and raised his eyebrows waiting for a response. You smirked, and rummaged around your belongings before producing your keys, and you jangled them in front of his face. 

   “I’ve got a ride, but thank you. It’s been a wonderful evening. Everything and more.” You said, a smile plastered on your face. He gave you one of his own, dimples and all, and you melted. 

   “Well good. If you’d like… maybe we could do this again? I’ll be in the states for another few months, for my music study.” He said, and you nodded, suddenly hit with the fact that he was some celebrity, but you hadn't seen a single crazed fan anywhere tonight. Nonetheless, you said your goodbyes, and gave him a hug before walking to your car. You missed the way he stared at you as you walked away and smiled to himself. He missed your creased brow as you wondered if it was even worth pursuing him. 

-

     A few dates and three months later, you were sprawled out on Jaehyun’s couch after a long day at your job. He was currently in the shower, leaving your eyes to roam around. The last time you’d been here you hadn’t really stopped to look around, and as those thoughts flooded to the front of your mind, you felt your face heating up. Suddenly the shower turned off, and you straightened up, trying to push the memories out of your mind, as a half clothed Jaehyun walked around into the living area. 

   “Hey, stranger, long time no see.” He said, walking over and leaving a soft but chaste kiss on your lips. You smiled at him and stood, using one finger to push him away by his chest. 

   “Hey yourself, stranger, I suggest you get dressed before we get really well acquainted with one another.” You said, and your eyes flicked down to the edge of the towel that was currently the only thing wrapped around him. He smirked and tried to pull you closer to him, and just as your lips were about to connect, his phone rang. He sighs and lets his head drop, and apologises before quickly picking up the phone. 

   “Yes, Hello?” He said into the phone, and suddenly his back tensed. You frowned, looking at his suddenly stiff muscles, and wanted to reach out to comfort him but something in your gut told you to hold off. He huffed angrily into the phone and let his head fall back, looking up at the ceiling. He finished his call, and turned to you with an upset look on his face. You pouted and he sighed, running a hand through his hair. 

   “An emergency came up. I have to fly back to Korea early.” He said, dejectedly. 

   “How much earlier?” You ask, afraid to ask. Truthfully, you knew this time was coming. The time when this weird three month long fling would come to an end, but you had decided to pursue it anyway. You knew that you’d end up hurt and he’d move on to whoever in Korea while you’d be left back here picking up the pieces of your heart. But his face twisted into one of empathy and he swallowed down his tears. 

   “A few weeks early. My manager said my flight is… next Thursday.” He said, and you gasped. He came up to you, and enveloped you into a huge hug, just holding you tightly against him. The smell of your shampoo invaded his senses and the only thing he wanted was to hold you like that forever. He suddenly remembered everything that he left back in Korea. His career, the rest of the members, his family. Everything was there, but you were here. You had changed his life in these past few weeks more than all his 23 years of experience had. More than his music study could ever teach him. And now, with just a few days left to be here with you, he found himself dreading going back. 

   “Jae?” You mumbled into his bare chest. 

   “Hm?” He answered, still holding on to you. 

   “Can you go put on some clothes and let’s just chill at home?” You responded and shifted your gaze so that you were looking at him. He peered at you and smiled, before leaving a kiss on your forehead and going to quickly change into some loungewear. 

   About 5 minutes later, he strode back into the living are where you’d made yourself comfortable on one of the couches. He smiled and threw himself next to you with a grunt, and grabbed you close to him as you cuddled up together. 

-

     Jaehyun had asked you to accompany him to the airport and see him off, but as you woke up on the day, you dreaded having to see him off. He texted you, and you responded that you’d be there. After all, you were in love with the guy. 

   You rolled out of bed and took a super fast shower, then got ready and jumped in the car. His flight was in just a few hours, but you wanted to make sure that he was there on time. As you pulled up to his apartment and went up to his door, you tried to hold back your emotions. He seemed intent on going back the past few days, and even mentioned that he was excited to leave and see his family and work again. Little did you know he was just trying to convince himself that it was the right choice. 

 You couldn’t help but think that some of the moments you shared weren’t as special for him than they were for you as you took the elevator up to his apartment. Before you even had the chance to knock on the door, he swung it open and you were greeted with a red eyed, puffy faced Jaehyun. You instantly could tell he had been crying, and you stepped in, pulling him into the biggest hug, which he returned with such ferocity it almost knocked you over. He let out a muffled sob and your heart broke into a million pieces. You gently pried him off of you, and calmed him long enough for him to tell you what was wrong but in between his breathy crying and staggered breathing, you could barely understand, so you just held him as he let it out. 

   The one part of his ramblings that you did catch however made your heart skip a beat. 

   “A-and you...these months-” A few sniffles, “So good, -nd I don't wanna go-” A soft ragged breath, “b-cause you are my everything…” He said, and then stopped. You felt his heartbeat quicken at what he just confessed, and you tried to steel your emotions 

   “Jae, I know. We grew close and these past few months have been fun, but that’s it. You have a career and your whole life in Korea, and you deserve to go and live it out and follow your dreams, like you told me you always wanted to do.” You said, tears pricking your own eyes. He suddenly shifted off of you and gave you an incredulous look. 

   “Just fun? Just fun?” He said, his voice rising a little. “So all this time, this was just a fling for you. You made me fall in love with you and now you’re telling me it was just fun? You’re saying that if I asked you to come with me you’d say no and tell me this is what? One sided? That you don't feel like this is the worst mistake?” He said, and you folded your arms over your chest. There was no way that you’d stand in the way of his career, no matter how much of a bad guy it would make you. He would get over it soon, and continue and be a world famous singer… Right? 

  You thought that is what he wanted, but as his words wash over you and you understand the depth of the relationship between the two of you. Something clicks in your mind but you don’t speak. You just stand there and look  down at the floor. 

   His breath catches in his throat and he mutters a quiet but forceful, “get out.” And you follow suit. Sighing and holding back tears of your own, you step out of his apartment and head out to the car, knowing that at some point he’d have to come down since you were his ride to the airport. As awkward as that one hour car ride was going to be, you didn’t have much of a choice, as before everything went down, he made sure that you were the only one to see him off. 

   A couple of minutes later, a puffy faced angry Jaehyun appeared at your passenger side door, and he knocked aggressively on the window, jutting his thumb to the back of the car. 

   “Open the trunk.” He mouthed, and the already thick tension only grew as you nervously opened the trunk and waited for him to climb in the car. He opened the door, and then slammed it with such force you thought the door was going to snap off. The two of you sat in silence for a few minutes as you drove, and when you pulled into the freeway, you decided to speak. 

   “Listen-” You started, and he interrupted you with a raised hand. You heard him take a loud breath, and then he began to speak. 

   “I know you’re driving and your attention has to be on the road but please, hear me out.” He pleaded with you, and the desperate tone in his voice sent the waterworks your way again. 

“It's true. Without you, I can’t live. I can’t eat or sleep, or breathe without thinking about you. Everything that you did to me was so ethereal. You changed my life so much in these three months. I can’t begin to describe how hard it is for me to go. Honestly, when my company suggested that I come to the states for the music study I was skeptical because I already know music theory and production. But it was the best decision of my life. And now you’re sitting here telling me that this isn't-” He said and the tears began to spill on his face again. You gripped the steering wheel tighter and tried to keep your eyes focused on the road ahead, but the emotion in Jaehyun’s voice was getting to you as well, and a few rogue tears slid down your cheeks. 

   “I know you can’t just leave your life behind here, but I really really want you to. I want you to come to Korea and live with me, and we can be happy. I can introduce you to my family and the other members, and it’ll be so good. I can ask the company to find you an apartment and we can-” he continued, but you stopped him. 

   “Jaehyun. You and I both know that as soon as you get back, you’ll be so busy that we won’t have time to see each other. You’re about to have a major comeback and I don’t even know Korean so it’ll be hard for me to even assimilate there. I really really want to put my whole life on hold but… How can I?” You say, and the hurt is clearly evident on your face as the both of you have tears streaked faces. The rest of the ride is relatively quiet, but at some point, Jaehyun reaches over and rests his hand on your thigh as a signal for a truce. 

   He sniffles and leans his head back on the headrest, eyes squeezed shut as you pull into the airport parking lot. After finding a space, and getting his luggage out of the trunk, he takes your hand and you both go inside. He checks in, and you start to head over to the security checkpoint, which you were not allowed to pass.

   “Please, promise me that you’ll stay in touch and we won’t be like those couples who promise and then never do and they grow apart. I seriously cannot live without you.” he said, while pulling you to face him. A couple of people were starting to gather, and by the looks of it they recognized Jaehyun, so you sent him a sad smile and gave him a huge hug, never wanting to let go. The both of you pulled away, and he grudgingly went to the passport check. Just before he disappeared behind the security checkpoint, he turned and locked eyes with you, and even from this far you knew he was sending you a soft, sad smile. Not a “goodbye”, but rather a “see you soon.”

Four Months Later

   You rushed to shove on your shoes and grab all of your luggage as you heard your cousin impatiently honking outside of your apartment building. You had been planning to surprise Jaehyun for a few weeks, and asked them to come and take you to the airport. You left your apartment and quickly went over to a neighbor's where you asked them to take care of some plants and to pick up your mail each day. The middle aged woman agreed, and happily took your keys, wishing you a safe flight and travels. 

  You thanked her as you flew down the hallway, and heard her chuckling just before you rounded the corner and smashed the call button for the elevator. You knew it wouldn’t come any faster if you kept pressing the button, but you did it anyway. The nerves kicked in as you descended in the metal box, and ran out to your cousin’s car. They flung the door open for you, and you threw your bag into the backseat before hopping in. The drive was filled with some laughs and the memories from your last trip to the airport came suddenly flooding back. It had been only a few months ago that you had driven Jaehyun to the airport and had your first teary-eyed farewell. 

   Since then, you both called at least once a week, but texted every day. You slowly became more interested in NCT, his group, and even started talking to a few of his other English-speaking members, who all welcomed you with excited messages. You had been learning Korean with Mark and Johnny, to surprise Jaehyun, and not to toot your own horn, but you’d been getting pretty good! You could now communicate at it’s most basic sense of the word, and at least order food and ask for traveling directions. You smiled as you pulled up your conversation with Jaehyun, and read some of the new messages.. 

   Jaehyun : Babe! Have you had the chance to watch our m/v yet? It came out like a few hours ago! 

   Jaehyun : You really should watch it and let me know what you think. I wrote the lyrics with Johnny-hyung this time. I think you’d be proud.

   Jaehyun : Yo babyyyy….? 

   Jaehyun : Babe? Ah you’re probably busy. Ok call me when you watch it so i can see your reaction!

You smiled at all the messages, and sent him a quick “I’m at work, call you later, love you.” and then thought about how you’d explain away being inactive for your 13+ hour flight. You sighed, and locked your phone, then leaned your head back. 

   Your cousin pulled into the drop-off lane at the airport. You looked at them with a grateful smile, and gave them an awkward hug over the center console which they returned. As soon as you grabbed all of your belongings and double checked for your wallet and passport, you waved them goodbye, and they sped off. You turned and walked into the airport, and after a tiring 45 minute ordeal through check-ins and security, you finally made it to your gate. You took out your phone while you waited for the flight to board, and saw a few messages from Mark who was also in on the surprise. He said that him and Johnny managed to get you a company car to pick you up from the airport, but that you’d have to find your own housing. 

   “Shouldn’t be too hard…” You mumbled, and replied to him before searching for hotels in the Seoul area. There were a few upscale locations, but you decided to also check Airbnb for any long-term residence options. You came upon a sweet little apartment near Itaewon , which was about a 45 minute drive from the SM campus. You searched for anything cheaper or closer, but after not finding anything, you quickly booked the location for a 2 week period. You smiled happily, having one less thing to worry about on your flight, and then heard the “All-Passengers Now Boarding” message, so you grabbed all of your things again, and huddled in the line. You had been lucky to find a good deal on a seat in the economy class, so you took your seat near the front of the plane, having a rather great view out the window. You smiled and relaxed as a kind looking lady sat down next to you, and you fell into a comfortable conversation as the rest of the passengers were seated and the plane took off. She told you a few stories about how her family was all in Korea but she visited the US to see her daughter who just had a baby. You smiled at her story, and she patted your hand. 

   “You go to Korea? What do you have in Korea?” She asked tentatively, and you told her your love story. You left out the part about him being a singer, thinking she might not believe you, and she smiled warmly, and recounted a few stories from her youth about her and her now late husband. You smiled, and upon checking your phone, saw that you’d managed to pass a few hours of your time swapping stories. A steward announced that passengers could now use their in-flight wifi, and you quickly took out your phone to see a few missed calls from your cousin (who probably just wanted an update) and a few tests from none other than Jaehyun himself. 

   Jaehyun : Baby, I have the night off… are you still at work? We should call. 

   Jaehyun :  Please? I really want to see your pretty face, I miss you.

   Jaehyun :  Ahhh, come on, I know you’re not busy because we usually call at this time… 

You stifled a laugh, and rolled your eyes softly at his antics. He was always begging to see you, and now you didn’t know how to remedy the situation and not expose your location. You got an idea and ran to the lavatory, which was thankfully unlocked. After fishing your headphones from your pocket, you plugged them in and asked if he was free at the moment, and before you were even able to respond he was already video calling you. You laughed and hit the accept button, and smiled at the camera. 

   “Hi! Oh- I missed your face so much, you beautiful work of art…” His voice rang into your headphones, and you saw his eyebrows furrow as he drew the phone close to his face to see the screen. 

   “Where are you?” He said, brows still furrowed, and you smiled, trying to look as genuine as you could, 

   “I’m in the restroom at this little place, I wanted to take some time out and just treat myself, you know?” You said, and technically you were vague enough to not lie, and somehow he didn't press for any more information. 

   “Oh, baby that's good that you get to do something nice for yourself… Have you watched the m/v yet?” He asked, impatiently and you already knew he just wanted you to stroke his already inflated ego. You laughed, and he smiled widely, and shook your head. 

   “ I haven't but I swear I will as soon as I get home tonight? I know it’ll be late but you have to promise to wait for me!” You say, and he tiredly laughs. 

   “I promise to wait for your call tonight babe, I don’t think I’ll even sleep peacefully until I hear your opinion on the m/v.” He said, and you laughed. After a few more minutes of talking, you told him that there were others waiting to use the restroom, and after an insurmountable nu be of "I love you"s and "Yes, I'll call you later"s, you hung up just before you exited the lavatory. You spent the rest of the time napping and sometimes chatting with the lady seated next to you, who had a multitude of interesting things to tell you. You’d lost track of time, and only noticed when the stewards and stewardesses came by with lunch trays. 

  After that, you fell into a deep sleep, and only woke when the “Please Fasten your seatbelts for landing” messages were being played on the intercom. You hastily buckled it, and the nervousness started to kick in once again. The lady next to you must have sensed it because she reached over and gave your hand a sympathetic squeeze, and reassured you that “He will be excited to see you. I promise”. 

  After the landing and a rough battle through customs, you finally made it to the gates where onlookers waited for their friends and family to walk out. You spotted a man holding a paper with your name on it, and went over, greeting him formally and returning his polite smile. He took your things and led you to a nondescript car, where he put your things in the trunk and held the back door open for you to get in. Once settled, he asked if you would give him an address, or if he should take you to the SM building. 

   “SM building, please.” You say, hoping that you were using the correct verbage and honorifics. The driver’s eyebrows raised, and he made eye contact with you in the mirror. In a soft broken English he complimented your Korean, and said he was surprised that you knew pronunciation so well. You smiled and thanked him, and explained that some friends had helped you study it before coming. He nods, and the rest of the ride is spent in a comfortable silence.

    An hour and a half-ish later, the car pulled into the parking lot of the SM building, and you almost burst out of the car in excitement. You’d been texting with Mark and Johnny in a private group chat, and they said Jaehyun had fallen asleep waiting for you to call him somewhere in a waiting room. You were shown into a side entrance, so as to avoid any prying eyes, and you quickly met up with the aforementioned boys, who greeted you with wide smiles and big hugs. They led you around the building and showed you a few of the locations that you’d seen before in videos and on call with Jaehyun. 

  You smiled fondly as you followed them around and they led you into a small room with couches lining the sides, and a few tables thrown in the middle. And you saw him. Him. 

  He was slouched against one of the couches, chin to shoulder and out cold. An innocent look was on his face as he slept and as you admired him, Johnny and Mark said they'd wait for you guys downstairs and left. 

  You gently set down your small bag on a table and silently made your way over to your sleeping boy. Smiling, you sat on his lap, legs straddling his thighs and he stirred from his sleep with a sharp intake of breath. His eyes fluttered open and he made eye contact with you, staring into your eyes with a confused glare. You put your hands on his shoulders, and then moved them up to his face, cupping his cheeks as you sent him a smile. 

  "Y/n…? I-Is this… Am I still dreaming?" He whispered and you laughed, answering, 

  "No, you're not dreaming. I'm here… kiss me." You said, and he immediately obliged, closing the distance between your lips. His hands finally made their way around your waist, and he pulled you closer to his chest, and smiled into the kiss. 

  "What? How? How did you even find me?" He said, breathlessly and you explained to him the whole story from beginning to end. He listened with a marveling look on his face, and let his head drop as he smiled shyly. 

  "Well I am so glad you're here. I missed you so much, you've got no idea. Korea isn't half as fun without you." He said, and you sat and caught up for a few minutes, before you remembered the other two who were waiting. 

  "Johnny and Mark are waiting for us! They said we should go out to get some late-night food." You quickly said and climbed off of Jaehyun's lap as he stood and stretched. He gathered his things and you yours and just before you two set out the door, he took your hand in his and placed a gentle kiss to your knuckles. 

 "Have I ever told you how much I love you, Y/n?" 

 "Everyday."

#jaehyun #jung jaehyun #jungjaehyun #jaehyun x reader #nct scenarios #nct x reader #nct #nct127 #drabble #nct imagine #nct imagines #johnny suh #mark lee #jeong jaehyun #nct jaehyun #jaehyun nct

[skinks]

I see your “fake/pretend dating” scenarios and I ask instead of you: “we’re secretly together and desperately trying to hide it” scenarios

Richie and Eddie finally get their shit together a week before Bev and Ben’s wedding, and after a whole lot of arguing and contingency plans and naked, sweaty discussion, they decide that if they don’t wanna steal that hetero thunder, they have to try their hardest to act like they’re not a Thing

and it’s a mess. They spend the whole week of bachelor parties (Losers plus Patty sans Bev get sad drunk and wish Bev was there) and bachelorette parties (Losers plus Patty sans Ben wear feather boas and get sorority drunk with Bev’s fashion friends, gossip about Ben and sing karaoke) pretending they’re not sneaking off to bone in every unoccupied room they possibly can

It’s a MESS. Richie figures the years of practice at pathetic, secret longing mean they should be better at this than they are. Like yeah, they’re still hovering in this awkward limbo stage where it’s both terribly exciting and horribly embarrassing to be crossing meat swords with your long lost best bro, while knowing you’re both totally into it, but they already acted so couple-y beforehand that it’s probably WEIRDER if Eddie stops smiling all fond and fixing Richie’s hair, or if Richie stops slinging his arm around Eddie at every opportunity. But that’s letting their guard down, and they keep freezing and jumping apart in the middle of casual conversation. They’re standing with Bill and Audra and Patty and Mike in some hotel function room, discussing whether or not stealing Ben’s yacht is feasible when Richie oh-so-gently says “hey—c’mere,” and wipes a smudge of chocolate fondue (contains nuts!!) from Eddie’s mouth with his thumb. Everyone stops talking. Everyone stares. Eddie stares. And Richie needs to duck and cover so he sort of - slaps him? Not even hard enough to make a noise, it’s more of a tap-then-push. He pushes Eddie’s face. “Is that Staniel I hear,” Richie says, after a moment.

“I don’t hear anything,” Patty says.

“No no, that’s definitely Stan,” Richie says, backing swiftly to the door. Eddie’s eyes are on him accusing and hot, dark brown like the chocolate smeared on Richie’s thumb. Later, Eddie will suck the taste off where it’s stuffed in his mouth to keep quiet as they fuck below deck in Ben’s stolen yacht, Mike and Bill fighting overhead about who gets to wear the blue and white captain’s hat. Eddie’s pants are barely even pulled down. Richie does his Quint From Jaws Voice and goes duh-dun, duh-dun as Eddie pushes inside so Eddie will bite his thumb and fuck him harder. It’s all very undignified, and illicit, and stupid. Eddie loves it. “I have great ears, Pattycake, and Stanley makes this sort of, uh, echolocation type noise when he’s having issues with hotel staff. I should know, I went on vacation once with his family, to the Catskills? Stan spilled soup on a waiter and every bat in the fuckin’ place came right outta the forest and flew into the buffet. Don’t ask him about it though, one man’s vigilante origin story is another man’s traumatic childhood. Okay bye.” Richie definitely doesn’t run, but running away is more about aura than gait.

Audra frowns. “Did he just imply Batman didn’t have a traumatic childhood?”

“Haha,” Eddie deflects, stuffing his hand in his pocket, and missing. “He must’ve had the shrimp. Fucked up that he’s the one with the actual shellfish allergy, right? Isn’t that irony, or something?”

“That would be ironic, if you didn’t know everything we’re all allergic to by heart and would never let Richie eat shrimp,” Bill says, still staring.

“I would,” Eddie says immediately. He can’t find his fucking pocket. “I would totally let Richie eat shrimp.”

“You slapped his slice of pizza out of his hand last week because there was oyster sauce in the marinara,” Mike says, but Eddie is already actually running away. Wow, he’s fast.

Even with the Losers, Richie’s only out by implication, but it’d still be weird if he, for some reason, brought a woman as his date. He thinks about bringing Sven the Sound Guy because he’s as opposite to Eddie as it’s possible to find on short notice since Guy Fieri was unavailable, but he can’t decide whether this is genius cover or so on the nose as to be damning. He goes stag in the end, which is perhaps most damning of all. Eddie is in Schrodinger’s closet, because he doesn’t have to answer either way if nobody fucking asks him, and nobody does, because Eddie always starts doing whatever he’s currently doing to an incredibly intense level whenever the conversation turns to dating. One time at dinner when they were all in the same city for one of Richie’s tentative, low-key comeback shows, someone mentioned post-divorce dating apps, and then someone simply said the word Grindr not even in Eddie’s direction and Eddie cut his steak so hard he scratched the plate. This was an achievement in and of itself seeing as the clown took Eddie’s fork-arm, but Richie was spearing his steak for him while he cut it. He’s an enabler. An enabler to steak, and freakouts.

Anyway, even with all of this, it’s still weird that Eddie brings a woman. She’s Paula. From work. Stan sees her checking her phone so often that he figures out she’s one of the women in the matching white wedding dresses on her lock screen. Stan nudges Patty, who becomes very insistent that they should tell Eddie before he gets his heart broken, but Eddie is probably too busy periodically kicking out the backs of Richie’s knees to make him wobble and buckle against the bar to notice, or care.

Bev has great fucking aim, is the thing. There’s a lost catapult and a space-alien dead as a dodo can attest to it, but she’s still facing the opposite direction and could never predict that her bouquet toss would bounce off two different bridesmaids’ heads, straight into Richie’s hands. They’re so beautiful. White and orange and a rich, nautical blue that matches Eddie’s suit, tidily pinned up at the right shoulder and pressed hard into Richie’s side. Bev is laughing delightedly and Ben is taking a photo, and Eddie has been getting steadily drunker ever since he got back half an hour ago from gratefully sending Paula home to her wife in an Uber with some cake. He’s all pink across the bridge of his nose and he looks so fucking adorable with Ben’s blue and white yacht captain hat tilted on his head at a rakish angle, and the others are all catcalling so hard that Richie figures they might as well give up the pretense. He kicks out the back of Eddie’s knees so he’ll buckle into Richie’s flowery arms and fucking DIPS him like that old wartime photo even though Eddie’s the one with the sailor hat getting knocked off his head because they’re kissing so enthusiastically, clinging to the back of Richie’s neck and snortlaughing into his mouth, but suddenly everyone’s shouting, and they all sound - not pissed, exactly, but certainly indignant

“Are you guys serious,” Bill says, “you’re stealing their thunder right now? One major childhood romance realized isn’t enough, you’re gonna crash theirs?”

“Wait,” Richie says

Bev throws up her hands. Richie can’t see, because of her dress, but he’s pretty sure her foot is actually tapping. “Why didn’t you tell us!”

Eddie is still dangling off him like a monkey, all stunned-drunk limp with the bouquet shoved in his face. Richie hears what uh oh sounds like muffled by flowers, and Ben silently takes another photo, like he’s cataloguing a crime scene.

“You guys... didn’t know? We actually kept it a secret?”

“Until now, you jackasses!”

“What secret,” Audra asks, appearing with like eight plates of cake. “What’s happening? Oh wait, I’m caught up.”

“But—but—the fondue,” Eddie says, and seriously, it’s not like the clown ripped his legs off, he could try standing and facing this with Richie like a true bro, but Richie’s kind of enjoying the weight of him. Plus he’s pretty sure Bev won’t dare to go through Eddie to kill him, so. Human shield it is.

“What about the fondue?” Mike looks like he did after the end of The Usual Suspects. Like he’s re-evaluating every time Richie and Eddie left a room together, and wishes he wasn’t. “You guys are like that all the time.”

“Then why were you all staring!”

“Nobody was staring! It was a natural lull in conversation, we were weirded out that you were being weird about it! Have you always been this self-centered?”

“I guess so,” Richie shrugs. He looks down at Eddie, covered in pollen and thoroughly confused. He’s so drunk he’s looking kinda cross-eyed. “You hear that, dude? We were killing it, until we fucked it all up!”

Eddie grins up at him. “Good enough!” he slurs, and then lets go of Richie’s neck for a high five. Everyone’s gone back to ignoring them in favour of dancing to Journey, so at least nobody notices Richie’s so eager to return it that he drops Eddie on the floor instead

#this is so dumb but i made myself laugh #and im trying to get writing again by working it out through dumbass ficlets #reddie #ficlet

[dahmerthepeoplenomer]

Hey how goes it! This is a ‘Death Becomes Her’ oneshot for Ernest Menville. I was happy to get this character suggestion because I love this movie. Bruce Willis😍👌🏼! So this takes place after he tries to regain his sanity and leaves Helen and Madeline behind. Hope you like it. Enjoy! NSFW!

Forget and Remember

“Ern.” I say softly and rub the man’s arm.

“Ernest.”

Nothing.

“Ernest!” His eyebrows start to furrow in...distress?

“ERNEST!” I shout just loud enough to get through to his sleeping state. He instantly springs up, glasses crooked and hair a mess.

“Huh?” He looks at me with wide yet tired eyes before adjusting his glasses.

“Everything okay?” He doesn’t usually fall asleep in his office unless he’s highly stressed about something or is in a restless mindset. He looks around before stretching his arms above his head. He cocks his head to the side and instantly grabs his neck. A low groan of pain escapes his lips.

“Mm, what time is it?” He adjusts his cardigan before standing up.

“Quarter past 10. I was gonna let you sleep for a bit longer but I figured I’d come check on you. You don’t normally sleep this late. Are you feeling alright?” I move my hands up to feel his face. His arms encircle my waist.

“Yeah I’m okay. I’m glad you woke me up when you did. I was having a ridiculous dream about them again. They were chasing me and threatening to hurt me if I didn’t stay and take care of them. Good God, can the memories of those two just go away? It’s farcical at this point!” He rests he chin on top of my head in defeat.

I wrap my arms around him and gently stroke his back. If there was a way to wipe his brain clean of the names Helen Sharp and Madeline Ashton then I would. Post traumatic stress comes in all different shapes and forms I’ve come to find.

“I know it’s hard to deal with the past stress they’ve caused. If I could fix it or take it away then I would.” I say in an attempt to ease his tension.

He just continues to rest against me - his thumbs making little circles against hips. After a moment of silence, he breaths in deep and releases a relaxed sigh.

“Doesn’t help to dwell on the matter when I have you to focus my attention on now.” He mutters above my head.

I pull back to smile at him before saying, “Come on, let’s get you some breakfast.” I lean up to peck his cheek and he follows me out to the kitchen.

~~~~

Ernest was broken in every sense of the word. He was only a shell of man when I first met him. I remember the day we met very clearly. I was on kind of a soul-searching trip of my own when I noticed him. Ern was seated by the elegant fireplace in the winter lodge we were both staying in. He wore a casual dress coat with slacks and a trapper hat - the flaps were pinned up exposing his ears. The chair he sat in was partially turned toward the window. He wasn’t focused on anything in particular as he stared out at the falling snow. I do, however, recall the forlorn expression in his eyes. That’s what drew me to him.

I had just finished unpacking my duffel bag in my room before coming to relax in the the upper lobby with my book. The whole resort was beautiful - tall cathedral ceilings with skylight windows. There were mahogany wood pillars with stone wall detailing, giving it that true rustic cabin feel.

I made my way over toward the rocking chairs by one of the fireplaces and took a seat. Pulling my knees to my chest, I gazed around the large room. There weren’t many people. Just the lady at the front desk speaking with a young couple, an older gentleman with his dog, and...him. When my eyes spotted him, like I said, I was instantly drawn in. He looked a little lost inside himself. I turned my head in an attempt to refocus but found myself looking back to him. It was like a gravitational pull. I started to wonder if everything was okay.

After a sigh and shake of my head, I began on the first page of my book. Anyone who knows me can tell you that whenever I start a book, I get lost. Try to ask me a question and you’ll most likely receive a low ‘mm’ or small noise of acknowledgement even though I have no idea what was said.

I continue reading, occasionally glancing at the man no more than fifty feet from me. Time starts to pass - hours possibly. The suns sinks lower. People are coming and going. But he’s still there - unmoved and unfazed by his surroundings. I peek over my book to steal a look only to notice his eyes are already on me. They quickly flick back towards the window. After a moment, he looks back to me, making eye contact. I lower the pages in my hand to deliver a small smile. Unexpectedly, he matches my expression only to look back outside. I pull my lips in and continue my story.

The sun is now completely set. I’ve always had a love-hate relationship with daylight savings time. I like that it gets dark because it gives me an excuse to wear pajamas and cuddle up in bed early but sometimes I like to have just a little more daylight to go out and do things.

About halfway into the novel, I decide to mark my place and close it up. I stretch my arms up and yawn. He’s looking again. I raise my eyebrows and make a face that says ‘hiii what do you want’ but in a playful manner. He smirks and again returns his gaze towards that damn window. I smile at him and wait to see what he’ll do next. ‘What an intriguing person,’ I think to myself. In an instant he whips his head my way, squinting his eyes to feign suspicion before slowly turning away. I then let out a giggle. ‘Looks like im going over there.’

I start over towards him. He starts to look a little nervous as he adjusts himself in his seat. “Well, if you’re gonna flirt with me then you might as well introduce yourself.” I joke, earning a slightly timid smile from him.

He clears his throat and says, “E-Ernest. My name’s Ernest.”

“Nice to meet you, Ernest. I’m (y/n).”

A moment of silence goes by before he stutters out, “Oh, uhm, why don’t sit down?” His hand gestures to the chair in front of him.

I sit down cross-legged and look to him. “What brings you here, Ernest? Hidden snowboarding talent?”

“Yeah sure, me?” He laughs. “No, It’s the serenity and scenery for me. What about you? Extreme skier?”

“Absolutely not. Same reasons as you actually.” I smile at him.

“Absolutely not? What about ice skating? That’s not too terribly hard.”

“I’d fall on my face or crack my head on the ice,” I purse my lips and add, “but i don’t fail at anything so I’d fall in style.”

He chuckles saying, “It’s not that difficult, but I don’t doubt that. You appear to be a very smooth person.”

“Smooth? This dork? Nu-uh, nope!”

“Ah come on, don’t be so hard on yourself.”

“You’ll believe it when you see it.” I say, rolling my eyes.

“Well you’ll just have to prove it to me sometime.” He laughs gently.

“Ernest! Are you asking me on a date? Calm down we only just started talking and now you’re making plans!” I fake a look of disgust before smiling.

“I..hah..uhm - well I..you are very beautiful.” He stumbles over his words and quickly looks away, taking off his hat. His fingers fiddle with fur on the inside.

I smile at him and give him a thank you.

“You’re welcome.” He’s looks down bashfully.

What a sweet, kind soul. He’s been hurt in the past, that much is evident. I watch the way his hand reaches up to stroke his face. His green eyes flicker around the room and land on me a couple times. With pursed lips, he lets out a soft sigh. “Sorry, I-I’m not really that exciting. I understand if you want to go back to your room or if you’d rather ME leave then I..”

“What? No! I want you stay. Of course I can’t stop you if you want to leave but I’d rather you stay.” I give him a reassuring smile. He doesn’t say anything but stares at me as if searching for any indication of dishonesty.

“Alright?”

“Okay.” I finally get a smile back.

We continue our small talk for a little while longer before I suggest getting a drink. He agrees and we head down to the bar room. This room is just as beautiful as the rest. We sit the farthest away from the other people in here. The live piano player strings out a beautiful melody.

A few beers and a couple of old-fashioneds later, he’s telling me stories of his life - his body becoming more animated as the alcohol sets in. I find myself thoroughly enjoying his company. We discuss topics ranging from music tastes to embarrassing childhood memories. I wasn’t expecting him to say that he’s a doctor.

“No way, a doctor in what?” I ask curiously.

“Well I was a surgeon early on. I then ‘downgraded’ by transferring over to mortuary practices. Not exactly the best conversation piece.” He laughs through his nose.

“No that’s really fascinating! Better than anything I’ve ever done. I never really had a ‘calling’ as one would say.”

“Yeah well I wouldn’t say doing these jobs were my calling per se but they pay the bills. Hence me being here, trying to find some sort of inner peace.” He says.

“I understand that completely. Same goes with me. So should I now refer to you as Dr. Ernest?”

He raises his eyebrows and tilts his head trying to look as pretentious as possible. “That’s Dr. MENVILLE, Ms. (y/n).” I snort a laugh at him.

“Well excuse me. That’s Ms. (Y/L/N) to you, Dr. Menville.” He laughs as well.

As another drink gets placed in front of me, Ernest walks his fingers towards the glass. He lightly pulls it his way. I flick his hand, shooing him away. That doesn’t stop him. Continuing his ministrations, I grab his hand and hold it down onto the bar as I down my drink. After I place my glass down, I realize my hand is still over his. He looks at them and flips them over, running the tips of his fingers along my palm. I eye his hand and then start a trail to his face. He’s already looking at me. My gaze floats up and down from his green orbs to his lips.

Not sure how or when, but we found ourselves crashing into one another in an attempt to walk down the hallway to his room. His fingers fumbled with the key to open the door. Once inside, I wasn’t expecting what he did, or rather said, next.

“(Y/n), may I kiss you?”

I wanted nothing more than to say ‘aww’ and hug him but desire was too heavy to ignore. I grinned instead and pulled him down to me, lips crashing together. This seemed to be enough encouragement for him seeing that I was pinned to the wall - hands running up and down my body. His mouth exploring quickly from my lips to my jaw and neck. I moan out, fingers delving into his hair.

Ernest picks me up, allowing me to wrap my legs around his waist. He places me down onto the bed and I can feel how aroused he is through the fabric of his pants. Our mouths connect once again as our tongues begin an endless dance.

“Are you sure about this? Absolutely certain?” He mumbles against my mouth. “I mean, if you’re not comfortable then I understand.”

“Yes, I’m positive. I trust you.”

He nods in return.

We shed our tops and as he starts to unbutton his pants, he stops dead in his tracks. “Shit.” He mutters. “I..uhm, don’t have any..uh..”

“It’s okay, I’m covered.” I groan out.

With that Ernest discards the rest of his clothes allowing me to see him fully. He’s not the biggest but he’s perfect for me and utterly handsome. He then pulls my jeans all the way off. I’m already wet and ready for him. His gaze doesn’t linger on me too long but the look of hunger and lust on his face doesn’t go unnoticed. His double take almost made me giggle. He pushes me up towards the top of the bed and climbs onto me. His hand guides his member into me softly and we moan out in unison. I yank his head down, our mouths connecting. God, does he feel good. It’s like his body was made for mine. We just fit together.

As his pace becomes sloppy I know that he’s close, as am I. My climax comes first as I yell his name and cling to him. He’s not far behind, following me into waves of pleasure.

After collapsing beside me, I cuddle up next to him. His arms hold me as if i might disappear. After a minute or two my breathing returns to normal.

“Ernest?” I question.

“Yes?”

“What just happened?”

“Well I just had sex with a beautiful lady who I already enjoy having in my arms. I can’t say the same for you, but I hope it was at least half decent.” I can hear the smile in his voice.

“Oh it was a little more than half decent, Dr. Menville. You know you’re stuck with me now, right?”

He wholeheartedly chuckles before saying, “I wouldn’t mind that, not one bit. But, of course, that means you’d be stuck with me.”

I push myself up to look at him. “You say that like it’s a bad thing.” I state. He shrugs, giving me that same self-deprecating look from earlier. I kiss the look away and pull back to see a genuine smile plastered on his face.

I’m not sure if it’s the alcohol or if I’m already intoxicated by this man but I feel so content laying here with him...on him. I listen to the steady rhythm of his heart beat as it lulls me to a deep, tranquilizing sleep.

~~~~

I watch Ernest spread some grape jelly on his bagel and take a bite. His eyes scan over the Sunday paper as he enjoys his meal. I sit down across from him and lean onto one of my arms.

“Ern, do you remember the day we met?” I ask.

“How could I forget? I remember how much I drank to calm my nerves after we went to the bar.” His chest rumbles with a chuckle as he folds the paper in his hand in half. I smile sweetly at him.

“I remember everything about that day. That was probably the lowest point in my life. But when you sat down across from me, I could only stare at you in awe. I didn’t want to seem like a creep so every time you looked up, I would look away. You looked so beautiful....then of course you caught me gawking at you like a moron so I had to make a joke of the situation.”

“You had to throw in your Ernest charm.” I wink and smirk.

“Yeah well I’m glad I did now but in the moment all I could think was ‘shit shit shit shit she’s coming over here’. I could’ve been sick, that’s how nervous I was.” He laughs.

“I know, I could tell.” I giggle. “It was adorable though. I quite literally almost said ‘awe’ when you asked to kiss me in your room.”

“Well, I didn’t want you to change your mind once you realized it was possibly just the alcohol making you feel the way you did so I was cautious.” He shrugs. “That was a beautiful night nonetheless.”

“It very much was. I was thinking we should plan a trip up there again. Weekend getaway or something, it’d be nice.”

“Yeah, let’s go. We never did get to go ice skating - too busy with more...important matters.” He smirks and turns back to his paper.

#dr. menville #Ernest menville #death becomes her #madeline ashton #bruce willis #meryl streep #Goldie hawn #dr. menville x reader #Ernest menville x reader

[illogicalhusbands]

The Game is Afoot - pt. 3

Bill Masters x Alec Hardy Masters of Sex / Broadchurch Crossover Link to Part 2

I apologize for taking a long while to update! Me and my co-mod have had our hands full the past week with work and other projects. But I’m hoping I can get back to regular scheduling soon! We’re nearing the end of this fic now. I project the next update will probably be the last. Thank you to everyone who’s still reading this! -

“A whisk, Hardy? Really? You’ve been pining over this man for a month and you give him a bloody whisk?”

“Sod off, Miller. It’s a housewarming party and he has plenty of stuff already.”

Miller frowned. “You should at least give something that’ll leave a bigger impression on him.”

“What do I get him, then? A Victorian sofa?”

He put down the whisk and perused the section of the shop dedicated to pots and pans. Both he and Miller had been invited to Masters’ housewarming party the coming weekend and Alec had no idea what gift to get him.

“Now, now, don’t overthink this. You can always go the old-fashioned route.”

“What route is that?”

Miller grinned. “Oh, y’know. Flowers… chocolates… some good wine…”

Alec was scandalised at being reminded of when he was first invited to Miller’s house several years ago and didn’t know what was polite to bring to your friends’ houses as he never had any. “Do not go there, Miller, I swear—”

“See? You’re already a natural at this!” Alec remained silent. “You could add balloons. Or an angel cake.”

“Don’t laugh at my misery.”

Miller gave a frustrated sigh. “I’m trying to help you! Jesus Christ, you two have been circling around each other for weeks! Can’t you move it along?”

Alec rolled his eyes. “Move what along? We’re not a canoe, Miller.”

“You are being purposely obtuse!” Ellie said, shoving a finger at his chest. “You like him—”

“I didn’t say that.”

“—and he obviously fancies you—”

“Now that’s debatable.”

“And Lord knows you are in need of a good shag which, if I’m hearing correctly from the rumours, Dr. Masters is perfectly capable of giving.”

Alec went through a series of multiple shades of deep red.

“Where did I put down that whisk?” said Alec, retreating down the steps he’d gone.

Miller grabbed his arm. Her face softened. “Look at you, you big ol’ softie. Don’t give me that grouchy look. Like you said, he has plenty of stuff. I’m sure he’ll love whatever it is you’ll get cause he’ll only care about who it was from.”

Alec hung his head, suddenly taken by a breeze of honesty. “But that’s not good enough.”

Since that day at the library, he and Masters had only grown closer. It was bordering on ridiculous, really, how much they hung out and had breakfast and texted each other on the phone. And it didn’t help at all that Dr. Masters had an amazing personality to match with his confident facade. He was witty and intelligent. He had a dry sense of humour that eased Alec’s constant worries of saying something that others deem inappropriate. Masters took his rude remarks and added to them a spark of somewhat greater morbidity. Perhaps it had to do with both of them being in morbid careers, but they understood one another at a level that Alec had never experienced with anyone else. Not even his investigative partner and best friend Miller.

He was comfortable around Masters but at the same time it was frustrating to be around him. How could this incredible man continue to carry out charming conversations with him when he was only spitting out dull, dry remarks like a seventy-six year old spinster? How Masters could be friendly with him was completely beyond his comprehension, let alone try to ponder on the possibility of the doctor having a romantic attachment towards him.

Still, Miller was partly correct. By this time he’s able to fully admit to being head over heels for the man. How could he not? Here was a remarkable person who shared his sense of humour and inquired after him as if he really cared. It was a little pathetic, to be honest, for Alec to latch on to one of the first human beings to ever treat him with a bit of kindness. Masters was only the unfortunate victim of his affections.

He was infuriating with his small bowties and neat hair and his “You need to eat more, Holmes” text messages as if what Alec did was of any consequence to him. It was getting more and more difficult to appear unaffected by him.

When Alec walked into the cafe one sunny Wednesday morning, he found Masters already seated at their usual table. It was rare that the doctor arrived earlier than he did. There was a tray of scones in front of the empty seat across from him. Alec, perplexed, occupied his seat.

“I know you usually drink your tea on an empty stomach, but you shouldn’t make a habit of it,” said Masters before digging into his own club sandwich.

Alec stared wordlessly at him. He didn’t know whether it was on purpose or not, but Masters had scored another point against him. The scones were Alec’s favourites from the menu. He’d only had them a handful of times around him. Had the doctor really been paying attention to him the whole time?

Masters looked captivating in his silver dress shirt and tartan blue bowtie, teasing smirk dancing constantly on his lips. He more found it interesting now rather than irritating as he did during their first meeting. Here was the man who already knew his favourite food whereas the only things he knew about Masters were whatever information that could be gleaned from the internet or, god forbid, a dossier. It made him feel dreadful.

They settled into light conversation for the rest of the half hour. Alec hoped the rest of the meeting would remain unremarkable. They got up and walked out of the shop.

Halfway out of the door, he heard a voice from behind him. “Alec? Is that you?”

He turned to see a familiar woman with strawberry blonde hair and a fringe that swept just below her brows. For a moment he struggled to recognize her, then it clicked.

“Katie?” Alec recalled the person he’d gone on a blind date with several months ago. It was at a momentary phase in his life wherein he tried his hand at rebuilding relationships. He went on a couple of blind dates but none had really worked out well. At most he’d had a nice dinner and some company, but no one was truly able to take his attention the way… well, the way the dapper doctor currently beside him did. “It’s good to see you,” he added politely.

“Yeah? You’re looking good nowadays. Been hearing a lot about you from the news.” She tucked loose strands of hair behind her ear.

“Wish there was nothing to hear about, actually. Hearing about me is a sign of terrible news in this town. S’why no one can stand me,” he said in half-jest.

“Oh, I’m sure that’s not true. We’re very grateful for the work you’re doing.” Katie fidgeted on the strap of her bag and sighed. “Listen, I know you’re a busy man, but I had a lot of fun on our date and I was kinda hoping you’d call…”

Alec blanched. He did not fail to notice how silent Masters was throughout this entire ordeal. “Yeah, I’m… sorry about that. The um, cases just kept coming,” he finished flatly.

Katie seemed oblivious to his tone. She was a sweet girl, but truly dull. She laid a hand on his forearm. “Yes, I understand that completely.” She gnawed on her bottom lip. “But if you ever have some free time, I’d really look forward to hanging out with you again.”

Alec didn’t know what to reply to that. This was exactly why he didn’t do romance and dating anymore. There was so much energy required and he couldn’t be bothered with all these social niceties and he didn’t have the heart to shoot her down directly, especially with Masters around to see it as that would only be doubly embarrassing for Katie. Still, he had to say something.

“Katie, um… look. I’m actually… seeing someone now.” He winced as the words came out of his mouth. Katie looked crestfallen.

“Oh. I’m sorry, I didn’t…” She dropped her hand. “I just didn’t expect you to… I mean, I didn’t think you…” She shook her head. “Anyway, she must be an exceptional girl and I hope you two’re happy. Do I know her?”

Alec resisted the overwhelming urge to groan out loud. Was there no way to escape this conversation? What was he even going to say?

He startled at Masters clearing his throat, momentarily having forgotten that he was still there. “Actually, he’s not dating a woman.” His hand shot out, fingers twining with Alec’s with a flourish that appeared practised, like they’d done so plenty of times before instead of being the first skin-on-skin contact Alec has had with the man he lo—greatly fancied. “But you are correct with us being very satisfied in this relationship,” Masters added in a friendly tone.

But when Alec turned to look at him, he was anything but polite. Eyes slanted and chin pushed down to his collar, regarding Katie as if she were nothing but a nuisance. Something about that look tickled Alec’s insides, a thrumming sensation pooling in his gut. Katie’s lips parted with shock before she shook herself out of it and turned back to Alec, wanting to say something more. Just when he started to revel in the warmth of Masters’ hand, he let go. Alec tried not to feel dismayed.

He was still incapable of speaking and thankfully, Masters seemed to realize this. He spoke again, “It was lovely running into you, but my little sleuth here has a lot of work to attend to. If you’ll excuse us.”

“Down, Watson,” Alec couldn’t resist teasing. This was also the first time Alec had called him that out loud.

This seemed to have done something to the man as in the next moment, Masters’ arm crept behind his back, sliding over the fabric of his cotton dress shirt, touch ghosting over the muscles of his lower back. Warmth radiated through his spine. Alec let himself bask in it, quivering in the heat. A hand fastened itself onto his waist and Masters pulled, securing him to his side. The movement was all very languid, Alec’s shoulder and ribs coming naturally to latch onto the planes of Masters’ sturdy frame. Alec was stunned—pliant against him.

He sneaked a glance up at Masters’ face. He was still staring down at Katie with a hint of amusement in his eye, a particular twinkle. The face of a winner, with Alec as the prize.

Alec was experiencing a torrent of emotions, but it was far from being unpleasant.

Finally, they walked out of the cafe and after a considerable distance was made between them and the establishment, Alec spoke.

“I am very sorry about what happened back there.”

“No, I should be the one to apologize.” Alec believed this was the first time he saw Masters looking, of all things, sheepish. “I didn’t mean to do all that but.. But it was the quickest way to get rid of her, and you were looking like you were in trouble—”

“Nononono—” Alec hurried to console him. “You did, um… help me, with that. I should thank you, I suppose.”

Masters avoided his gaze, all traces of his previous bravado vanished. “Probably shouldn’t have done it, though. Might make it hard for you to get another date. And the touching might have been too much—”

“Is that what you think?” Alec’s breaths were shallow. “Because I don’t. Want it. Another date, that is.” His cheeks radiated with sudden warmth.

“Oh. That’s… good.” A gentle smile graced Masters’ face, though he was still avoiding Alec’s gaze. But there was a flicker of something in his eyes… one that looked a lot like… Hope?

He muscled his way through the rings of nervousness forming in his throat. “And I don’t mind the um, touching.”

Masters laughed. “Good.” The cheekiness was back in his tone.

Alec could sigh at the sight of him. His eyes sparkling with amusement, thin lips curled up into a teasing smile, and the sun’s rays touching upon his hair and his skin, making Alec’s fingers tingle with the desire to touch. It was too much, but also not enough.

Still he’d be content just to have this. Masters, gleeful and teasing, beside him in the mornings challenging him and helping him out of sticky situations. Truly it was more than enough. More than he deserved.

“I’ll see you this weekend for the housewarming,” said Masters before walking in the opposite direction from where Alec was headed. Alec’s gaze trailed behind him for an eternity after.

-

Another day had passed. The breakfast with Masters went more or less normally and he was glad that things seemed to return to their ordinary ways. Alec arrived at the station. A burst of whispers rang through the moment he entered the room.

He glared at the other officers, drawing up to his full height to appear intimidating. But they mostly all glared back. They were also mostly coming from the women (and some men) in the room.

“What’re you all staring at? Bugger off! The safety of the town depends on it and you’re here babblin’ like children!” At this, the officers whipped their heads back down to their workstations. The sound of shuffling papers and pressed keyboards filled the room once more.

Miller greeted him at the door to his office. Alec crossed his arms. “What?”

She was beaming. “Finally! Took you long enough, sir.”

“What the deuce are you talkin’ about?”

“Please. Everyone knows about it already. No need to hide it from me.” She clapped her hands. “You and Dr. Masters are dating!”

Alec could’ve sworn his soul just left his body. “I-wh-mff!—”

Miller poked his arm. “Look at you all adorably flustered! Heard it from down the grapevine, but everyone says it comes from a very reliable source. Came straight from your mouth, they say!”

Alec could feel the mortification stretching through him. To hell with this stupid, bloody town! If the entire community heard—nay, god forbid Masters heard of this! He panicked. Masters would never speak to him again. “God, that wasn’t—! UGH. It’s not true. I was caught off guard!”

“Oh,” Miller’s face drooped down with dismay. “Well, that’s not what every body thinks.”

Alec remembered the most charming welcome he’d just received when he entered.

“What’re they all staring at me like that for? I haven’t done anything to them!”

“Not personally, no. But they’re bound to resent you in some way or another.”

“Yes, and I have no idea why.” Alec’s arms flew up and flailed.

“Surely you do,” said Miller, smirking. “Whether you like it or not, Alec Hardy, you just managed to reel in the most eligible bachelor in Broadchurch.”

#bill masters x alec hardy #bill masters #alec hardy #broadchurch #masters of sex #illogical husbands #crossover ship #ficlet #THIS TOOK OUT SO MUCH OF MY ENERGY I HOPE IT APPEASES YOU* MEURGH #leann writes #the game is afoot

[batgirl-87]

Summary: The end of Fifth year approaches including the End of the Year Ball where the school says goodbye to the graduating students. While normally missed to catch up on much needed rest after Cursed-Vaults adventures, the entire gang is attending because it is Bill’s last year at Hogwarts. However, their original plan to go together as a group begins to fall apart as one by one members acquire dates to the ball. With Charlie’s recent realization of his feelings, maybe this is the best time to share them.

Word Count: ~14k

Genre: Fluff 

Warnings: A little angst, language? (Swearing but in French and Irish and British slang)

Note: I wrote this for my MC/OC and Charlie since I’ve had this idea for a while and it’s sort of a personal headcanon (I hope that doesn’t deter you from reading!). I know it’s not my best work but it has been quite a while since I’ve written something like this and I am excited to get back into creative writing. This also ended up much longer than anticipated – sorry! I tried to break it up for easier reading (I made scene transition images and a header, I’m proud of myself!). Also I unfortunately am not in Fifth year yet in the game so reference to new friends is limited.

*The reference made to Charlie realizing his feelings and falling asleep together while studying may be another fic I write and if so I will link it here! 

Needed information about My MC: Nereida Adelyn-Keira Black, goes by her middle names – most call her Keira but friends have a variety of nicknames for her, Charlie likes to call her Ady; born in Ireland but raised in Canada – duel citizen; demisexual

Soundtrack Suggestions: Perfect – Ed Sheeran, Under the Stars – John Legend, It Was Written in the Stars – Ella Fitzgerald, All of the Stars – Ed Sheeran

Preview: He knew it was cliché but he swore this is what it felt like. The moment he saw her walking towards him time seemed to slow, only a bit, enough for him to admire the way the bottom of her dress floated behind her as she descended the stairs and the hint of silver shimmer that glimmered much like the twinkling stars with her movements. The voices and sounds of everyone else around them faded into the background until her laughter that filled him with such warmth was the only thing he heard. And he knew it sounded cliché but he swore, for a moment, everyone else seemed to vanish and all he saw was her. And when her stormy sea eyes met his, his heart skipped a beat, he forgot how to breathe, and time seemed to stop, just for a brief a moment, as he stood there, frozen, completely captivated and mesmerized. It was cliché. But that’s how he felt.

“What about this one,” Penny asked as she held up a black gown to her bewildered best friend. The popular Hufflepuff was quite giddy as their little curse-breaking group shopped in Hogsmeade for the upcoming end of the year ball, as if she hadn’t been asked to attend every year.

“Are we all wearing black because we’re mourning Bill leaving us,” Keira asked with a small smirk earning a look from the blonde as she pulled the dress away from the young woman’s frame and hung it back up.

“Come on. How often do we get the chance to go shopping, not for school supplies, and get to dress up and attend a ball where we can spend the whole night dancing and having fun? And after everything we have been through since attending Hogwarts we deserve at least one night of fun,” Penny insisted, and Keira had to admit the case she presented was difficult to argue against. When the dark haired girl failed to offer a rebuttal a smug look briefly appeared on the Hufflepuff’s face. The amateur curse-breaker spent most of her time researching and hunting down these cursed-vaults, determined to find her brother, while also managing to stay on top of her school work and somehow balance her new Prefect and Quidditch Captaincy responsibilities. Their group was pretty sure she never slept. They were always concerned for their friend who seemed to carry so much on her shoulders, yet rarely show the strain of it, and who was always the first to offer help to any of them no matter how small the task and never appeared too stressed with everything they were juggling. Hence Penny’s determination to not only have a fun day out shopping in Hogsmeade but a night of fun at the ball where they could relax and enjoy themselves and not be worried about exams or cursed-vaults or lost siblings – which, Penny herself now understood more than every after that year and losing her baby sister if even for a brief time compared to what her best friend was going through with her brother. But Keira helped her save her sister and Penny was more determined than ever to help Keira find her brother. But she was also just as determined to give Keira a break whenever she could and this ball was the perfect chance to have a whole night off!

Plus she knew how close Keira and Bill were, he quickly becoming a surrogate older brother for her, and him leaving was hard on her. Certainly they would write to each other all the time but it wasn’t the same as having him there. So this was also a good excuse to spend more time with him and have one last hoorah before he graduated.

“Therefore, your arms should be filled with dresses to try on in a classic montage style,” Penny informed before shoving aforementioned armful of dresses into the unsuspecting Slytherin’s arms. “And most importantly, we should be having fun!”

As her grey eyes studied the grinning blonde in front of her Keira swore the young potions master literally glowed and radiated light. “Okay, okay,” she easily conceded earning a squeal of excitement from her friend.

“We rarely get the chance to wear formal gowns and you two want to wear suits instead?” As Keira changed in one of the dressing rooms, after being pushed there by Penny, she overhead Penny scolding others in their shopping party and was relieved to no longer have the Hufflepuff’s focus set on her. Curiosity did get the better her of, as it normally did, and caused her to peek her head out from the privacy curtain to see Tonks and Tulip looking quite dapper as they posed in formal suits men normally wore to these types of events.

“Everyone expects women to dress up in big, poufy ball gowns,” Tulip retorted. And she of course, being her rebellious self, refused to abide by any set rules even social ones.

“Besides, we look good,” Tonks added proudly as she struck another pose.

Penny huffed and folded her arms before noticing Keira’s head poking out from her dressing room. “Keira,” she gasped excitedly, “Are you ready? Come out, come out, come out,” she urged practically jumping up and down. Keira took a deep breath before pulling back the curtain to her dressing room and stepping out in an emerald gown probably chosen for the color matching her Hogwarts house.

“You look beautiful, Keira,” Rowan complimented from her seat as she watched her friends try on possible outfits for the ball. Rowan had plans to wear a beautiful embellish saree from her mother so while she waited for her outfit to be sent to her she accompanied her friends in their journey to find the perfect outfit for the occasion and offer her advice and encouragement.

“Thank you, Rowan,” Keira replied with a small smile, thankful her friend and roommate was there. She knew Rowan would provide her honest opinion and genuine praise. “And you look beautiful as well, Penny. That dress brings out your eyes,” she complimented, smoothly turning the attention away from her and onto the blonde in a blue ball gown which did make her blue eyes pop.

“Thanks but I feel too much like Cinderella,” Penny replied earning some quizzical looks from the purebloods in the group who were unknowledgeable about muggle life. After a very brief re-telling of the age old fairy tale so the others could be brought into the loop the dress up montage continued and the friendly bickering easily turned into laughter.

The windy March weather sent a chill through the group of girls as they left the store after making their purchases. Although the end of the year ball would not be held until June, to ensure there would be enough time for alterations they went out to get them early. This recommendation was brought by Andre who also offered his services to make any further alterations to the gowns they chose, after the seamstresses as the store were finished with them, to “take them up a level.” None of them were exactly sure what that meant but Andre obviously had an eye for fashion and designed most of his own clothes which always looked nice so they felt they could trust him. He also offered, well more like demanded, to accompany the girls on their shopping trip to approve of their choices but they somehow managed to convince him it was a girl’s only trip to have some girl bonding time, alone, without any men around.

Tonks and Tulip clearly had decided on formal suits which, once tailored to fit them perfectly, Keira had to admit they would probably be the best dressed at the ball. Penny had found a laced white and golden yellow dress which suited her very well, at least the group thought so. For herself, Keira had decided on an ethereal ice blue dress with a lace bodice adorned with some silver sparkle and sleeve chain detail dangling across her shoulders, the lace and hint of silver shine gradually cascading down to the flowy skirt. Something about the layers of blue, grey, and ivory of the skirt, the sheen of silver, the airy yet graceful movement of the skirt reminded her of the sea which made her feel this connection to the garment. When her other friends agreed it seemed perfect for her she bought it without any hesitation. And she had to admit, now that she found a dress she actually felt beautiful in she was looking forward to the ball and any reluctance or insecurities she had about attending washed away with the wave like movements of the dress.

“I don’t understand how you can stand being out here without a jacket,” Penny remarked as she hugged her jacket to herself to shield her from the wind chill on that cloudy day.

“I was raised in Canada, you get used to the cold,” Keira replied, adjusting the sleeves of her shirt down over her hands. However the cold from the snow and cold from the wind were different. The still cold from a winter’s day was actually peaceful and calm while the chill from the wind seemed to sting right to the bone. And she hated the wind.

“I think it’s impressive,” Tonks said, throwing her newly discovered cousin a smile, earning one back. As the group of girls made their way through Hogsmeade to return to their school they ran into the rest of their gang leaving the Three Broomsticks.

“So, how did the shopping venture go,” Andre asked, studying the group of girls closely. Andre continued to question the ladies on their way back to Hogwarts about their shopping choices while Keira wisely fell a few steps back to avoid the conversation. The windy weather drowned out the conversation of those in front of her causing the young Slytherin to shiver. Okay, next time she would bring a jacket even if it did go against her cool, tough reputation she tried to uphold. Ugh, she hated the wind.

After another gust of wind sent another icy chill through her slender frame, Keira was surprised to suddenly feel a weight on her shoulders and a warmth spreading through her. She glanced briefly at the large jacket now draped over her shoulders before looking up at the smiling, dragon obsessed Weasley.

“You were cold,” Charlie answered her unspoken question.

“But… what about you,” Keira asked, motioning to the sweater clad Gryffindor who assured her he would be fine – he was always warm, which was true. He seemed to radiate heat which the always cold to the touch Slytherin appreciated. Besides, they were almost back to Hogwarts.

His assuredness convinced Keira to drop it instead of arguing with him and just graciously accept his jacket, which she truly was thankful for, more than he might know. She was so used to doing things for herself, struggling to let others help her with anything. Her friends were already putting themselves in danger by helping her find the cursed-vaults and her brother, she didn’t need to bother them with other, trivial things. She could take care of herself. But she had to admit it was nice having someone do something for her, take care of her, even if it was something little like offering her their jacket. Although it was a little weird to think someone had also been paying that much attention to her to notice her shiver a little bit at a gust of wind. Shouldn’t he be participating in the conversation instead of watching her? Weirdo…

“Thank you,” Keira said as she slipped her arms through the sleeves of his jacket. His kindness and thoughtfulness spread a warmth throughout her chest. He really did make her want to be a better person. “Hmm,” she murmured as she snuggled up in his oversized jacket, keeping her thoughts to herself.

“What? Is something wrong,” Charlie asked with some concern.

“No,” Keira quickly replied to reassure him, but as he continued to stare at her she knew that answer wasn’t enough to satisfy him. “It smells like you,” she explained, which should be obvious considering it was his jacket.

“It…. What,” Charlie asked, clearly not expecting that answer.

“It smells like you,” Keira repeated with a smile as a small blush began to spread across the Gryffindor’s face.

“Oh, well…I’m sorry, probably smells bad then,” he replied somewhat awkwardly, rubbing the back of his neck. With all his adventures roaming the Forbidden Forest plus sweaty Quidditch practices and games, he worried it might not smell the best.

“No, it doesn’t,” Keira replied with a small laugh causing the Gryffindor to blush more. “It smells good,” she assured him, throwing him another smile. “Kind of earthy, but sweet.”

Charlie stared at her a moment silently. Her description of his scent only made him redder in the face. Unaware to the amateur curse-breaker, the future dragonologist had recently, very recently, burst out of his oblivious bubble and realized that he may actually have feelings for her that were more than one felt for a close friend, primarily with the help of his older brother.

It had hit him harder than any bludger had but practically knocked the wind out of him all the same. The weird thing was there was nothing particularly special about that day or how it happened. The gang was studying in the library, well in the Study Area to avoid Pince, or avoid an intense standoff between Tonks and Pince, like they normally did, and also as they normally did, they distracted themselves with idle chit-chat and random discussions to avoid actually doing their homework. And because Charlie was there, of course the conversation somehow got turned onto dragons.

“A Hungarian Horntail can breathe fire to fifty feet. Their breath alone can reach extremely high temperatures,” Charlie argue.

“But a Ukrainian Ironbelly’s scales are hard as steel and they’re huge,” Barnaby retorted. “One could probably just sit on a Hungarian Horntail and squash it.”

“Not to sound like Pince but could you two keep it down? You’re distracting me.” Tulip interrupted their dragon debate while hunched over a piece of parchment she was scribbling on vigorously, however it did not look like any homework they had but more like some sort of blue prints, probably for her next grand prank.

The two boys mumbled their apologies. “Do you think I could turn into a dragon,” Tonks asked from next to Tulip. “Never tried it before.”

“Which dragon would you turn into,” Barnaby asked curiously, and a bit excitedly. How cool would it be if she did?

“I don’t know, whichever,” Tonks responded with a shrug.

“Not everyone has a favorite dragon like you two,” Tulip informed the two magical creature obsessed boys sitting across the table from them. That was a harsh reality Charlie had learned at a young age. He used to assume everyone had a favorite dragon, asking everyone he came across what theirs was. He soon learned the sad truth that not everyone had one or even knew that much about dragons, cared as much about them as he did. Still, he couldn’t stop himself from asking people because some people did have a favorite and he felt that said a lot about them. Of course most seemed to say the Hungarian Horntail, possibly because it was the most infamous of the breeds. He actually got kind of annoyed that being most people’s answer. Maybe that’s why he liked discussing it so much with Barnaby because he didn’t share the same favorite breed of dragon.

“Well that’s dumb, they should,” Barnaby said with frown. Charlie chuckled and had to agree before turning his attention to the Slytherin sitting across from him who had been quiet this entire time, focused on reading their Alchemy book.

“What about you, Ady? What’s your favorite dragon,” Charlie asked, for some reason unable to recall if he’s asked her that before. He must have since that was normally his go-to ice breaker but conversation always seemed to flow so easily with her and typically the conversation revolved around the Cursed-Vaults if not school and Quidditch. Maybe he never got the chance to ask her? Or he did but… how could he forget her answer? He did ask everyone he came across practically. Maybe that’s why he couldn’t remember her answer? They all got jumbled together. But how could he forget her answer?

“A Hebridean Black, right,” Barnaby answered with a proud grin before Keira got the chance. The dark haired girl glanced up at him from her book giving him a smirk and a wink to indicate he was correct causing Barnaby to grin more and sit up straighter, proudly, in his chair. Charlie looked between the two Slytherins, well aware of how close they were but part of him couldn’t help be a little envious. But more prominent than that was the fact that she had in fact told them her favorite dragon – and she actually had one that was not a Hungarian Horntail! – and he had forgotten! How could he have forgotten?!

But yet even more impactful was the fact that after Keira agreed to help him buy an alleged dragon egg, which of course turned out to be scam, putting herself in danger for it, for him – something he was clearly still dealing with – they were gifted a dragon scale. A Hebridean Black dragon scale. Which Keira told him, urged him, to keep.

“Why would you give me the scale if it’s your favorite dragon,” Charlie asked, watching her closely. In case he didn’t feel selfish enough making her go on that wild and dangerous goose chase to get himself a dragon egg now he took the one good thing that came out of it from her.

“Because you love dragons,” Keira replied with a shrug, as if it was obvious, before looking up at him from her book with a small smile. It was a simple statement that everyone knew, even those who didn’t even know him, but for some reason when she said it just then it stirred something inside of him. She was selfless, thoughtful; she put him first.

When her eyes, which he liked to describe as the color of the ocean after a storm – that’s when Bill claimed he knew Charlie was completely smitten – met his they pierced right through him shattering the naïve and oblivious bubble he had subconsciously placed himself in and realization washed over him like an ice-cold tidal wave.

He loved dragons, but he also –

“I got to go.” And with that Charlie quickly gathered up his books, swung his bag over his shoulder, and hurried out of the library. He raced straight back to the Gryffindor Dorm and to his older brother and best friend where he then proceeded to pace back and forth in Bill’s room rambling on and on for about an hour about everything he had realized, had been thinking and feeling, trying to make better sense of it all. He was thankful his brother was so patient and understanding during it all. He went to bed that night unable to sleep and just kept staring at the dragon scale on his nightstand, thinking about her. And then the next day when they fell asleep studying didn’t help him either. Fortunately, she hadn’t behaved differently around him after that. Oh, but he was sure his behavior had changed around her.

Since this jarring realization had occurred he had come to gain more self-awareness – why when she looked at him his heart skipped a beat, why when she laughed, particularly when he was the cause of it, it warmed him inside, why his thoughts always turned to her, why he always sought her out to talk to or spend time with when he had free time, why he disliked it so much when she appeared to be getting too close and friendly with others, or why he had been caught a few times staring at her. He had also gotten much more annoyed by others being close with her, trying to get closer to her (okay guess some might call it jealousy), and particularly annoyed at blatant flirty primarily done by Diego (he sometimes really wanted to punch that guy). Despite this realization the heart skipping a beat, the breath getting caught in his throat, the dragons in his stomach, none of it stopped.

But the bad thing was Charlie had caught himself doing these weird things like starting to drape an arm around her or wanting to reach up to move a strand of hair out of her face, shifting so their legs or arms touched while sitting next to each other, staring at her hand swaying next to her as they walked. He even caught himself reaching out to hold it on occasion but thankfully stopped himself before that happened. He had no idea how he would explain that.

He looked for any excuse to talk to her, spend time with her, be near her, touch her… he had no idea what to do in this situation, it was all new to him! Bill suggested telling her how he felt but Charlie was worried about possibly losing a close and dear friend. So Bill suggested to flirt with her and see how she responded, maybe she was interested too but afraid to say anything, but Charlie didn’t know how to do that! Like he told his brother, this was an entirely new situation for him and he was trying his best to navigate it!

Keira silently watched the rain fall as she leaned against the cool stone wall of Hogwarts. She was currently perched upon a covered balcony on the fourth floor of the school, one of the few places she liked to go to be alone and enjoy the weather, particularly a rainy day without having to be out in it or a window dividing her from it. Unlike most who found rainy days like this grey, cold, and depressing, Keira always found them serene and relaxing. And right now she needed a peaceful place to think.

It had been a little over a month since their shopping excursions in Hogsmeade for the ball and since then their plans to go together as a group had sort of fallen apart. It had started with Penny who, while sitting in the Great Hall one day for a meal, informed the girls that she had been asked to the ball. That announcement came as no surprise since Penny got asked out pretty much on a daily basis since she arrived at Hogwarts. However, the fact she was announcing it was odd.

“…And you accepted,” Keira asked, or more like stated, suspecting that was the reason for Penny informing them and the weird way she was acting, like she was worried she would get in trouble.

“W-well, yeah, kind of…” Penny admitted sheepishly. “But that doesn’t mean we still can’t all go together! There’ll just be one more of us.” Honestly the group was just surprised to hear she had actually accepted one of the many romantic invitations she received. But she wouldn’t have just accepted anyone’s invitation so clearly they had to be deserving, right? One more person couldn’t hurt.

From there it sort of snowballed.

Tonks and Tulips had derived so many plans for that night at the ball to mess with basically everyone in attendance with a grand finale to end the night, they informed the rest of their friends they would probably be pretty busy during the actual festivities. They invited Keira to join them if she wanted but, to be honest, she wasn’t that into pranks. Not like the ones those two did at least.

Andre of course had his choice of dates to take to the ball which he was in the process of narrowing down.

Bill of course would be busy with his class of graduates.

And Ben…well Keira gave him the benefit of the doubt that he was being controlled to attack her and she still was there for Ben whenever he needed a friend but she had been keeping her distance since the attack.

But Keira thought she would at least have Rowan to go with and spend an evening dancing and having fun with her best friend and roommate.

“You’re what?!” Keira’s exclamation echoed throughout the Slytherin Common Room.

“I’m going to the dance with Diego,” Rowan said again quietly, avoiding eye contact with her best friend.

“What? How? When?” Keira had so many questions! Sure, they chatted in Defense Against the Dark Arts sometimes but she had no idea they had grown this close! And sure, she admitted while in class she encouraged the light flirtation between the two and she did believe Rowan had a small crush on him but she was not prepared for this.

But she wanted her friend to be happy and assured her of that and to go to the ball with him, once the shock wore off that is. She would have a lot of fun and a night full of dancing.

And she still had Barnaby! Next to Rowan, Penny, and Charlie, Barnaby was one of the people Keira felt closest to. She loved Barnaby like a best friend or brother or second cousin. So imagine her surprise when Barnaby said he too had a date to the ball.

“I think I have a date,” Barnaby awkwardly explained when Keira asked him about going to the ball.

“You think?” How did one not know? Well, it was Barnaby.

“Well, I was talking to this girl in Care of Magical Creatures and she brought up the ball and I guess she sort of asked me and I said yes? I didn’t realize she was asking me to go with her, like as a date, until she told me the color of her dress yesterday to make sure we matched… because apparently we are going together…” Keira’s face fell as she listened to Barnaby explain his situation. “I’m sorry, but I didn’t want to disappoint her. I mean, I did sort of agree to go. Would be rude to back out now.”

“No, of course. You’re right. You should go with her. I’m sure you’ll have fun,” Keira assured him although it was hard to hide the disappointment in her voice. But she couldn’t ask any of her friends to ditch their dates for her.

“I’m sorry,” Barnaby apologized again. “But we’ll still see each other there! And I promise to save a dance with you.”

“Thanks, Barnaby,” Keira replied with a small smile.

Her friends deserved a night of fun just like her and if going with a date added to that then they should go with a date of their choice. Even if that meant her night might be less enjoyable… The girls still agreed to all get ready together which would be fun and Penny kept insisting they would just all go together as one large group but Keira knew even if they arrived all together in one large group the couples would pair off to have their night to themselves. As they should! She didn’t want to ruin any of her friends’ night. But she still couldn’t help being disappointed and feeling left out. She even considered not going but she couldn’t do that to Bill.

So now here she sat, watching the exposed half of the balcony ledge she was sitting on get struck by rain drops, trying not to feel sorry for herself. How could she when she had all these wonderful friends? Friends who she never thought she would have given her family’s history. She was very thankful and appreciative for them. But it was hard not to feel like… like she was being left behind.

Rowan and Penny had been their every encouraging selves throughout this little situation. Besides still getting ready and going to the ball together they were certain Keira would get asked. They were surprised honestly that she didn’t get asked out more often. Surely many people at the school fancied her? She was not only a great Quidditch player but Captain, and as Penny liked to point out, Quidditch players were very popular. Plus she was smart, funny, charming, attractive, and brave according to Rowan. Who wouldn’t want to be with a Curse-Breaker? That was one of, if not the, coolest things to be. And Keira was basically the definition of cool – Rowan always laid on a lot of compliments. Which Keira appreciated and it did help her feel better about herself but she kept the truth from them and replied with a simple thanks.

Truth was it didn’t matter how good she was at Quidditch or how smart she was or how good her grades were, how many witty remarks she made, how many adventures she went on, or how physically attractive she may apparently be – something that was supposed to run in the Black family according to rumors she heard – no one would ever be interested in her more than the interesting, and possibly, cautionary tale she was. Sure, her ‘alleged’ curse-breaking adventures around the school fueled rumors and were cause for most of the excitement around the school but she was basically some glorified article in the Daily Prophet – provided some captivating entertainment but the stories were most likely riddled with false and over dramatic information.

Truth was, she was cursed.

Not cursed like ‘I’ll never get a date because something’s wrong with me and I’m cursed’ and not cursed like ‘if I get kissed I’ll turn into a frog.’ It had nothing to do with dating or romance really.

Cursed like if you get close to her you may end up dead. Or at the very least seriously injured and used as a puppet for some dark witch or wizard.

She was cursed from the first moment she walked into Hogwarts and she still would be when she left.

While the students loved to talk about her and her ‘alleged’ adventures none of them wanted to actually talk to her, get to know her for her. They were all afraid of her. And not afraid of her because she was a tough badass who would knock all your teeth out which she would be fine with. But afraid because she put those who were close to her in danger.

How she still had friends she had no idea. She never thought she would have them and once she did she never thought they would stick around. Not after everything she put them through. And she never wanted to put them through such traumatizing and deadly conditions but those seemed impossible to avoid when dealing with these Vaults. But they continued to stick around and offer to partake in these adventures still, why she had no idea, but she appreciated it nonetheless.

“Hey! There you are!”

The cheery greeting snapped Keira out of her thoughts and she turned her head to see the grinning Gryffindor Seeker who appeared to have gotten caught in the rain with his wet hair and clothes dripping to the floor to create a small puddle around his feet.

“Out dancing in the rain,” Keira asked with a small smirk.

“Oh, no,” Charlie laughed as he reached up with his free hand to push back his bangs which kept falling into his eyes by the weight of the water. “Got caught in the rain on the way back from Hogsmeade. I like to reward the team after a good game or practice with a trip to Honeydukes,” he explained. “Uh, here. I got you something.” Charlie tossed the small package he was holding in his hand to her.

Keira caught the package and took a moment to study it. “Pink Coconut Ice. Thanks,” she read before smiling at the now blushing redhead. He always brought her something from Honeydukes after he went there with his team and she always appreciated the sweet gesture, especially knowing the Weasley’s were not the wealthiest family. Normally it was Toffees or Chocolate Cauldrons, or anything chocolate. She was sure he brought the rest of the group something to, although she hadn’t seen him hand any out to them, but he never handed out hers in front of them either. She assumed it was to keep them from fighting over the candy.

“Yeah. You’re like the only person I know who likes coconut so I thought you probably like those,” Charlie explained, his blush just growing more with his explanation.

Keira smiled more as she watched him nervously rub the back of his neck. “Yeah, I do. Thanks. It’s very thoughtful.”

There was a slight lull in the conversation which did not help Charlie’s nerves. So he had to say something to end it. Anything! Just say something!

“You know, I should give you my jacket to wear again.” Keira looked over at him quizzically. “…Be-because it doesn’t smell much like you anymore.”

Oh merlin. What did he just say? Why would he say that? She was going to think he was a complete git! He thought things were awkward before, well they certainly were now!

While this panic ensued inside the second eldest Weasley, Keira was still trying to make sense of it. “…Why would you want it to smell like me?”

Okay, maybe this was his chance for redemption!

“Well, because… you smell better than me,” Charlie answered with a shrug before mentally kicking himself. He should have just given her the candy and left!

Keira watched him a moment before laughing which visibly relaxed the Gryffindor. “You don’t smell bad, Charlie, stop worrying that you do. You smell nice.” While thankful she did not get offended or weirded out by his comments, her compliments meant to reassure him only caused a slight blush to appear on his freckled face. Fortunately, he managed to stop himself this time before saying more inappropriate comments about how nice she smelled.

“So, what are you doing up here,” Charlie asked after a moment, stepping closer to her.

“Just enjoying the rain. And thinking,” Keira replied, looking back out at the grey, cloudy sky. There was a slight pause in the conversation as, unaware to her, Charlie took a moment to admire her in that setting.

“Thinking about what,” he finally asked.

Keira took a deep breath before replying. She informed him how their group’s original plan to go together to the ball to send Bill off in style was no longer the plan. Everyone had dates, whether with another person or a date with chaos as it was for Tulip and Tonks. Which, she was happy for them, don’t get her wrong, they deserved to have a night of fun but…

“…But,” Charlie gently pried when Keira fell silent, stepping closer and leaning against the castle wall next to where her feet were perched to face her.

Keira took another deep breath as she watched the rain drops hit the ledge of the balcony. “But… It kind of feels like they’re moving on,” she answered quietly. “I know it’s dumb,” she added quickly, glancing up at him. “But that’s how it feels. Like they’re moving on and leaving me behind.”

“Just because they have dates to the ball or start dating doesn’t mean your friendship with them has to end.” Charlie was always ever the reassuring one. “Or are you really just upset because you don’t have a date,” he teased, earning a small glare from her. He was probably just trying to lighten the mood. “I’m surprised you haven’t been asked yet since I’m sure you have plenty of admirers around the school…”

Keira continued to glare at him, trying not to smile but it was proving to be very difficult. “Oh, but Charlie, haven’t you heard? I’m cursed.” The words stung him more than they did her. “Don’t think anyone is going to be asking me out any time soon,” she added, looking out again at the view. Before he had a chance to speak, to point out how wrong she was and passionately make his case that she was not cursed, Keira continued.

“It’s not just about them potentially dating, it’s about them connecting with new people who they will prefer spending their time with. People who aren’t going to put their lives in danger every year,” Keira tried to explain. She couldn’t help always having this anxiety and fear that her friends weren’t really her friends or would move on from her and make new friends who, like she said, wouldn’t be putting their lives in danger. She never thought she would have friends and now she was constantly afraid of losing them somehow.

“They’re not going to stop being your friend.” Charlie’s voice once again pulled her out of her negative thoughts. “Sure, searching for these vaults and breaking their curses is dangerous but it’s much more exciting than just sitting around gossiping about who’s dating who and studying for exams. If they didn’t want to help you they wouldn’t be. And they want to help you because they care about you. You have to give your friends more credit.”

Keira smiled back at the kind Gryffindor. “See? I told you it was dumb,” she laughed sheepishly.

“It’s not dumb,” Charlie tried to reassure. “Maybe silly and ridiculous, but not dumb,” he teased earning a small laugh from the Slytherin.

“And you’re not cursed,” Charlie added suddenly, much more sternly than the previous lighthearted tone. “And anyone who says you are is just intimidated by how brave and resilient you are while handling the situation you’re in.” Keira stared in shock at his short, passionate speech and his rarely seen intensely serious demeanor. Even while playing the fiercest game of Quidditch he was still all smiles and jokes. She fell silent as she let his words sink in, glancing away from his intense gaze.

“And, hey, we can always go together,” Charlie reminded her after a moment. He was part of this group too and he didn’t have a date. Well not yet…

“You’re sweet but I don’t want a pity date,” Keira replied. “I mean, you should go with who you want to go with, who you’ll have fun with. Like your Quidditch team,” she suggested, unsure what that strange look on the Seeker’s face was.

Honestly Charlie wasn’t sure how to feel either. Somewhat offended that she thought he would only ask her out of pity, hurt that she rejected him, but also dumbfounded that she really thought he wouldn’t want to go with her when she was the one person he would want to go with the most, the one he knew he would have the best time with. Before he could say anything more she spoke up again.

“Hey, is Percy free,” she joked.

Charlie’s hand flung up to his heart as he feigned heartbreak. “You would rather go with Percy than me?” The betrayal!

Keira laughed and shook her head. “No, of course not,” she assured. “But I can’t ask you to go with me out of some sort of obligation.” She held up a hand to stop him before he started to dispute with her.

“Well guess I better go get into some dry clothes,” Charlie said as he looked down at his still damp sweater. He knew better than to try and argue with her when her mind was already set.

“Yeah, you’re starting to smell like mildew,” Keira teased with a smirk.

“I thought you said I smelled good!” The two laughed before Charlie motioned for them to get going.

“What? You need me to pick out your clothes like your mum does for you?” Charlie tried to narrow his eyes at her but was unable to keep from smiling. He knew her teasing was a weird way of showing her affection.

“No. I just thought we talked, hopefully you’re feeling better because of it, so we can go now.” Keira studied him closely a moment before a devilish smirk slowly spread across her face.

“Charlie… Are you uncomfortable with me sitting on the ledge?”

“What? No,” Charlie scoffed, although it wasn’t very convincing.

“Is the big, brave, courageous Gryffindor scared,” Keira continued to mock.

“No,” Charlie claimed, stubbornly folding his arms.

Keira only smirked more before shifting to lean out the opening. “Oh no, I’m going to fall! Help me Charlie!”

“Very funny. This doesn’t affect me. I don’t care.” Charlie continued to act unfazed as Keira continued to pretend to be falling off the balcony. “I know you think this is getting to me but it’s not. This doesn’t freak me out. At all. I’m fine. I don’t – Okay, will you stop that!” He had finally had enough when she was hanging half out into the air and reached out to grab her arm before yanking her back inside. She was going to give him a heart attack!

Keira just laughed as she regained her footing. “Aw, I knew you cared.”

“I should have let you fall,” Charlie muttered, although as usual he was unable to keep from smiling.

“You would never let me fall.” And with that she turned to leave, opening up her bag of candy he brought her before popping one in her mouth. “And thanks again for the candy,” she called with a wave as she headed down the hallway leaving Charlie staring after her.

‘Addison, will you go to the ball with me?’

The fireworks request lit up the sky in the courtyard. Yep, it was that time of year again with grand proposals to the dance. Normally this was only done by the older students but now most people in Keira’s year were participating as well – guess they were getting older.

Besides the fireworks there had been singing telegrams, poorly written poems read out loud in the Great Hall, end of presentation surprise asks, time-outs used in Quidditch to ask someone in the stands, a scavenger hunt – which Keira had to admit was a good one, probably the best one she’s seen yet – and notes hidden in text books or even just a note passed in class. There were many more elaborate, extravagant gestures asking people to the ball but she couldn’t keep up with all of them.

On one hand they were a bit obnoxious and could put people on the spot, putting the pressure on them to accept. On the other hand, if done correctly such as it being personal and meaningful to the person being asked, like that scavenger hunt, and by the right person, it could make someone feel very special. Fortunately, the Professors were more lenient with the students’ and their ball proposal shenanigans during this time.

“Keira, you forgot your telescope!” She had been so focused on getting the students organized in an orderly fashion to head up to the Astronomy Tower she had completely blanked!

“Merde! Thanks, Rowan. Can you start leading everyone up there? I’ll catch up. Barnaby will help.” Before Rowan even had a chance to respond Keira was already running back to the Slytherin Common Room. She knew Rowan would handle it.

Rowan watched her friend run off before instructing everyone to follow her and starting to lead the way to class. “Yeah, you heard her, get going,” Barnaby commanded, doing his best to help. However, his eagerness to help earned him getting hit in the head by a balled up piece of parchment. “Okay, who threw that? You’re going to get it in Dueling Club, Reyes!”

Keira hurried back to her Dorm and located her telescope in her room before hurrying back to catch up to the rest who were already making their way up the long winding staircase of the Astronomy Tower. “J’en ai ras le cul with stairs,” she swore under her breath as she climbed the seemingly never ending staircase. She tended to prefer swearing in French believing she could get away with it more than if she did so in English.

Professor Sinistra greeted the group of Slytherin students as they reached the top of the Tower. “Where is your Prefect, Miss Black?” Rowan and Barnaby shared a look.

“Was that a shooting star,” Rowan suddenly exclaimed, pointing behind Professor Sinistra causing her to quickly turn around just in time to miss Keira sliding to a halt next to Barnaby.

“What? Where,” the Professor questioned before Rowan sheepishly admitted she was mistaken, probably just saw something, a lightning bug perhaps. Professor Sinistra frowned at her before looking over at Keira curiously. “How nice of you to join us.”

“What? I’ve been here the whole time,” claimed Keira as Barnaby nodded his head to confirm. The Professor gave her a look but fortunately told them to go set up their telescopes instead of punishing her for being late – allegedly being late.

Keira set up her telescope next to Rowan before taking out a quill and some parchment from her bag, thanking her friends for helping her out. Despite the rush to get to class, the class itself seemed to move very slowly. At least they were able to enjoy the fresh air and a beautiful scenery instead of being stuck sitting in a stuffy classroom.

“Why is there a constellation named after a dragon but not a kneazle,” Barnaby questioned as he stared up at the night sky through is telescope as the class drew close to being over.

Keira laughed slightly and glanced over at her fellow Beater from marking the constellation of Draco on her parchment. “You ask such thought provoking questions, Barnaby.”

“Really?” Barnaby moved away from his telescope to grin at her. “Normally I’m told I ask dumb questions and to shut up.”

Keira frowned slightly as she glanced down before looking back up at him with a smile. “Well I think you ask very interesting questions that no one else would think to ask. And that’s important, to have a different way of thinking, a different perspective.”

“You’re always so nice to me,” Barnaby replied causing Keira’s heart to ache slightly instead of relishing in the compliment. She knew he meant well and she was glad to always see him so happy when she did compliment and encourage him but it was also so depressing to hear how he had been treated so poorly by most people in his life.

“I just treat you how you deserve to be treated,” Keira told him. “And you’re my best friend.” She gave him another reassuring smile before looking through her telescope and frowning. “Hey, wait. Were those there before?” She looked back and forth between the mapped out constellation she drew and the starry night sky through her telescope which were no longer matching up. Now there appeared to be more stars appearing in the sky. She wasn’t sure how that was possible exactly but it was ruining everything she just worked on all class!

“Uh, Keira, I think you’re notes are safe,” Rowan told her as Keira scrambled to fix her constellation drawing. She paused in her frantic scribbling and looked at her other best friend quizzically who was smirking smugly at her. Why was she not panicking to fix her notes? Rowan of all people should be hurrying to do that!

“Look,” Rowan gently instructed, motioning up to the sky. “I think the stars have a message for you.”

Keira stared at her friend in confusion. What the hell did that even mean? That was oddly cryptic, especially coming from Rowan.

“What,” Keira asked but after another encouraging motion from Rowan to look up she dropped her questioning and turned her head to look up at the starry night sky.

She didn’t need her telescope to read the twinkling star-like words written in the clear midnight sky.

‘Adelyn-Keira Black, Will You Go To The Ball With Me?’

Keira stared at the message in shock, unaware of the rest of her class’ reaction. She had to read it a few times over to make sure she was reading it correctly and then had to look over at Rowan for confirmation that she wasn’t hallucinating and it really was up there written in the sky.

Once Rowan confirmed that it was, in fact, real Keira returned to staring at her starry message in disbelief. What? Why? Who?

Her eyes drifted to below the message where, as if this entire thing had been orchestrated to perfection meticulously, the dragon constellation they were just studying lay.

“Really,” Keira muttered to herself, incredulously as a small grin crept onto her face.  

As if on cue a familiar redhead with a Cheshire grin appeared before her, flying gracefully on his broom.

“Eejit. Have you gone daft?”

“So, is that a yes or…” Charlie questioned with a sly smirk.

“Charlie, why,” was all Keira could muster up with a small, embarrassed laugh.

“Because, you deserve to be asked out to the ball properly,” Charlie answered. “And maybe if I did so properly you’d realize I’m serious and this isn’t a pity ask.”

Keira studied him a moment, trying to keep a neutral poker face but the smile she fought against tugged at the corners of her mouth. “I had no idea you were such a romantic.”

“Is this where I make a comment about moving the stars for you or about it being written in the stars? There’s something there, hold on, I’ll figure it out.” Keira laughed as she watched Charlie struggle to come up with whatever line he was trying to create.

“Didn’t come very prepared, eh? Maybe you should have had Bill write you some notes on what to say,” Keira teased.

“I am much more charming than Bill,” Charlie informed her before noting the look from Professor Sinistra to wrap it up. He was lucky she was allowing him to interrupt her class, even if it was the end of it. She was just glad there were not loud fireworks or anything of the sort or else she might have punished him despite the leniency the faculty showed to the students while they made their dance proposals.

That look from the stern teacher almost knocked Charlie off his broom (and his game). “Uh, so, you still haven’t given me an answer.”

Keira glanced back up at the message asking her to the ball one more moment before it would inevitably fade away – she wished Penny was there to snap a picture so she could have a keepsake to remember this moment more vividly – before turning back to the nervously waiting Weasley.

“I would love to go to the ball with you, Charlie.”

Charlie grinned from ear to ear. Not like he expected her to cruelly reject him, they were close, but part of him was still nervous she would say no with some lame excuse. He was extremely relieved, and overjoyed, that she accepted.

“Is this where I whisk you away,” Charlie asked with another sly smirk as he held his hand out to her.

“No! Absolutely not! There will be no flying off the Astronomy Tower in the middle of the night during my class,” Professor Sinistra finally interjected.

“But class is over,” Rowan gently pointed out. She was clearly happy for her best friend and didn’t want anyone, even the Professor, to ruin it! Unfortunately, Rowan’s attempt to politely disagree with the Professor only earned her a stern look before Professor Sinistra turned that stern look to the Gryffindor.

Charlie’s eyes widened slightly as he quickly withdrew his hand upon being scolded and glared at by the strict Professor. “You can whisk me off some other time,” Keira assured him. “I think right now it’s probably best if you just go.” Charlie had to agree with that statement.

He nodded his head as he timidly watched Professor Sinistra before throwing Keira one last smile. “I’ll talk to you later.” And with that, the Gryffindor Seeker flew quickly away from the Astronomy Tower just as her ask to the ball faded away.

“You better go straight back to your dorm, Mr. Weasley,” Professor Sinistra called after him before telling her class to finish up their star charts and pack up their things to head back to their own dorm as well.

It was the first time Keira didn’t complain about all the stairs as they made their way down the winding staircase. Rowan claimed she was practically skipping down the halls and could not stop smiling the rest of the night.

“Tulip, you better not let off that dungbomb,” Penny scolded sternly.

As planned, the girls were all getting ready for the End of the Year Ball together, gathered in the Ravenclaw Tower. By now, after years of inter-house friendships and Penny’s popularity that taught her how to get into any house’s Common Room, particularly when there were house parties, the gang managed to figure out to hang out together in the different house dorms. They were originally going to get ready together in the Hufflepuff Dorm but Andre insisted they get ready in the Ravenclaw Tower so he could inspect their looks and make sure they were perfect and something about the stairs helping to create a more dramatic entrance. So the girls gathered up their things and headed up to the windy Tower. However, preparing for the ball differed among them.

While most girls were doing their hair and makeup as prep for the ball, Tulip and Tonks were determining how to best sneak all their pranking supplies into the ball without it being noticed. Fortunately, their perfectly tailored tuxes had plenty of pockets! And, as Keira predicted, they looked very dashing and would probably be best dressed at the ball, which would be well deserved.

Penny sat down next to Keira with a huff once she had ensured Tulip would not accidentally let off one of her many dungbombs as they got ready. She did not want to stink all night! Her frustrated attitude soon disappeared as she watched her friend get ready for the ball. “So I heard Charlie actually moved the stars for you to ask you to the ball.”

“No, he didn’t move any stars,” Keira corrected, unable to keep from rolling her eyes at these rumors that spread around. “He said he had been working with Flitwick for weeks after class on perfecting the charm so it would appear like he wrote it in the stars.”

“And he signed it with a dragon,” Penny asked, making a small face. This dragon obsessed boy – she did not get it. Although, people may not understand her passion for potions.

“He didn’t sign it with a dragon, it was written over the constellation Draco, which Charlie claims he did not intend but I don’t know if I believe him,” Keira explained.

“Mhmm… And you’re excited to be going,” Penny asked with a slight mischievous glint in her eye.

“Sure, but I was always going regardless if I got asked to go with someone or not. I’m going to Bill,” Keira replied.

“I mean, you’re excited to be going with Charlie,” Penny specified.

“Oh. Well, sure. We’re close friends and we always have a good time together,” Keira replied with a shrug. Penny watched her friend closely with a knowing smirk. Keira glanced over at the blonde, squirming slightly under her intense gaze. “What?”

“I’m just very happy you’re going with Charlie. That this is finally happening,” Penny answered as she turned her attention back to her hair possibly as an excuse to avoid the Slytherin’s stare.

Keira frowned slightly as she watched the Hufflepuff curiously. “What does that mean?”

Penny paused a moment as she thought of how to explain this. Their group was aware there was something there between the two and admittedly, often, their conversations would turn to the topic and how oblivious the two were. However, now it seemed one of them had at least realized it while the other was still reluctant to.

“You two just seem to have this close connection. A connection you two don’t have with anyone else. Never even seemed interested in trying to create with someone else. I don’t really know how to explain it exactly but… I’m just happy for you. I think this is good for you,” Penny told her with a small smile.

“Because I won’t be sitting all alone at the ball, moping in a corner somewhere,” Keira teased earning a small laugh from the Hufflepuff.

“No, well… sort of. I think it is good you’re going with Charlie to the ball so you’ll have a fun time, which you deserve,” she pointed out as the Slytherin appeared to almost argue with her. “But I also think it’s good for you to be…exploring this connection you have with Charlie and taking it to another level. I know you put on a brave, cool and collected front but I know everything you’ve been going through all these years is really hard on you. When I lost Beatrice, for a short time compared to what you’ve been through with Jacob, I was an emotional wreck. Crying all the time, always in a panic, frantic, literally pulling my hair out. I don’t know how you cope with it with death threats on top of it.”

“I have you guys,” Keira answered, giving Penny a small smile. “I don’t know what I would do without all of you,” she admitted quietly.

Penny smiled back at the Slytherin and reached over to place a hand on hers. “We’re always going to be here for you, Keira.” The two shared a quiet moment together before Penny continued with her original point.

“Even with the support of our great group of friends, you still keep a lot inside. And you need someone you can talk to, like really talk to. Be open and vulnerable with who you trust and can rely on. And someone who makes you happy. Because you deserve to be happy too. And I think Charlie is that person.” Keira sat there silently as she let Penny’s words sink in. She didn’t realize Penny or any of her friends thought about her this much, or her and Charlie. What did they talk about exactly when she wasn’t around?

“Here,” Penny said as she pulled something out of her bag she brought with her to help her get ready for the ball. She slid the item over to Keira who stared at it in disbelief.

“What? How?” Laying before her on the table was a picture of that night where Charlie asked her to the ball, the starry message in the sky, Charlie appearing in front of her on his broom with that cheeky grin.

“I have eyes and ears everywhere. Everywhere,” Penny informed. “I know everything going on in this place. Everything.” Keira stared at her friend a bit fearfully. Everywhere? Everything? Why did that sound more like a warning? Penny was more powerful than most people knew or wanted to admit. But that was one of the many reasons Keira loved her.

“My hair is being positively unruly. Can you guys help me, please,” Rowan pleaded as she sat down with a huff between the two girls. She was never one to do her hair or wear makeup and all of this was confusing to her. Which was hard on her because she was so smart and excelled in all her classes but she couldn’t figure out how to do her hair?

“Of course we can help,” Penny assured her with a beaming smile, moving behind Rowan to fix the tangled, frizzy mess she somehow made.

“Here, I’ll help you with your makeup,” Keira offered, moving to do just that.

“Thanks. I know it’s kind of stupid to be fretting so much over all this stuff but, Penny is right. We never get to dress up in fancy gowns and get all done up for a glamorous evening and I think we should take advantage of it. Go all out,” Rowan said, clearly relieved to be getting help.

“I don’t think it’s stupid, I completely agree,” Keira assured her with a small smile. “It’s not every day we get to do this – do up our hair, play with makeup, dress up – it should be fun, not stressful, because we deserve to have some fun.” Penny beamed from behind Rowan, glad these girls were finally coming around.

Penny and Keira helped Rowan with her hair and makeup and honestly that little makeover was probably the most fun they had all night, talking, joking, laughing, especially when Tonks and Tulip got involved, dancing and singing loudly, and obnoxiously, to the music Penny played, and overall bonding.

“Let’s go, ladies. The guys are waiting and the feast is about to start.” At Andre’s call the girls wrapped up their final preparations before heading down to meet the rest of their party. Penny made sure to grab her camera and informed them all to be prepared for many, many pictures. In case any of them thought she was kidding Penny hurried down the stairs, much to Andre’s exasperation, to take pictures of the girls coming down the stairs and the boy’s reactions because she felt this entire night had to be documented. Doubtful they would go to next year’s ball and at their own graduation they may be too wrapped up in everything, although she would still probably make sure every was documented then as well. And Merlin forbid something happened to their group before graduation. People did grow up and grow apart, friendships could end, these vaults were dangerous… She just felt it was important to document as many happy moments together as possible so they could all look back on these days fondly and remember each other, no matter where they were in the world, no matter where life took them, no matter what happens in the next couple years left at Hogwarts, that part of them would always be friends.

He knew it was cliché. This wasn’t one of those romantic comedy talking and extended moving picture things that Penny brought from the muggle world and made them watch, what were those things called again? Movies, that’s right. It wasn’t a movie, a rom-com as they were apparently called if he remembered correctly. This wasn’t a scene in one of those movies where one of the main characters has a sudden epiphany upon seeing the other in a different light and realizes they have feelings for them. Of course it wasn’t one of those moments because Charlie already had that epiphany months ago.

He knew it was cliché but he swore this is what it felt like. The moment he saw her walking towards him time seemed to slow, only a bit, enough for him to admire the way the bottom of her dress floated behind her as she descended the stairs and the hint of silver shimmer that glimmered much like the twinkling stars with her movements. The voices and sounds of everyone else around them faded into the background until her laughter that filled him with such warmth was the only thing he heard. And he knew it sounded cliché but he swore, for a moment, everyone else seemed to vanish and all he saw was her. And when her stormy sea eyes met his, his heart skipped a beat, he forgot how to breathe, and time seemed to stop, just for a brief a moment, as he stood there, frozen, completely captivated and mesmerized. It was cliché. But that’s how he felt.

Gradually all the voices and sounds that had faded into the distance returned and he was jarred back into reality with a firm hand on his back.

“Well I must say I did wonders on your atrocious dress robes,” Andre praised himself as he studied his fine work on Charlie’s once embarrassing and fashion disaster of dress robes that were sent to him from his family. His and Bill’s looks for the ball were the ones Andre had to do the most work on. But he did an amazing job on fixing them up, tailoring them to perfection, and even adding personalized details for the two gentlemen such as some dragon embroidery for Charlie, if he did say so himself.

“Yeah, thanks,” Charlie chuckled, trying to hide his embarrassment of possibly being caught gawking at Keira.

“Hey. You clean up nice.” Charlie whipped his head around and stared at the beautiful girl in front of him. Keira smiled charmingly at the Gryffindor as she admired his fixed robes. She did have to commend Andre on his great job. When Bill and Charlie received their packages of dress robes they group had their fun of teasing the two. But now Charlie, and she was also sure Bill, looked quite dashing in them.

“Th-thank you,” Charlie replied, clearing his throat, before mentally kicking himself. Oh, Merlin, did he just stutter like a nervous tosser?

“Compliment her,” Andre whispered in his ear. Did he have to do everything for them?

“Oh uh…” Charlie stared at the ethereal dark haired girl in front of him as he tried to come up with a good compliment to give her. All he had to tell her, without stammering or sounding like a complete tosser, that she looked beautiful. Radiant even. Breathtaking? No, maybe that was too much even if it was true.

“You look beautiful.”

Keira smiled at him before glancing down and, he may have been mistaken but he thought he saw a slight blush spread across her face. “Thank y-“

“Like an Antipodean Opaleye.” He should have stopped at she looked beautiful. Andre groaned and smacked his forehead with his palm, muttering about how Charlie was hopeless before walking away from the couple.

Keira whipped her head up at his interruption and stared at him a moment as she processed what he just said before she started laughing. Charlie visibly relaxed when he heard her laugh and was relieved she didn’t think he was weird or a freak like most did in regards to his obsession with dragons. But that was never really a concern of his from her. She was always willing to listen to him ramble on and on about dragons, even asked him about his interest – the uses of dragon’s blood, interesting facts about the creatures, etc. – found and brought him dragon related books from the library or bookstore. And never once did her eyes gloss over as she spaced out during his ramblings nor did she ever roll her eyes or seemed annoyed or bored. She always listened intently, asked questions, and sure joked around with him sometimes about it but she never discouraged his passion.

“You’re such a dork,” Keira teased him, playfully hitting his arm and snapping him out of his thoughts. “But thank you. That’s quite the compliment coming from you.”

Perhaps just in time to save him from making a fool of himself again, Penny called everyone over to take some pictures before they headed off to the feast and ball. And when Penny said pictures, she meant photo shoot.

There were group shots of everyone, all the girls, all the guys, those who played Quidditch, Prefects, the members of each Hogwarts house; there were couple shots of dates and basically everyone in their group paired off together and other random combinations they could come up with. Some were serious, some were ridiculously posed, but the best pictures of the whole night were the candid ones Penny took of them.

Finally, after their extensive impromptu photoshoot which could have gone on longer if they hadn’t convinced Penny they were going to miss the ball entirely at this rate, the group was free to go to the Great Hall together which had been transformed. Round tables had been set up along a perimeter surrounding a dance floor. The gang was fortunate to find a table for all of them, possibly having to convince others to move to a different table so they all could sit together, and enjoyed the feast which was accompanied by speeches by the faculty wishing the graduates well. It was hard not to get emotional thinking of Bill no longer being there with them. Of course Keira and certainly Charlie would write to him almost every day but not having him there to help them would be hard. He had become the group’s surrogate older brother. It would be hard without him there.

Once the feast and speeches had concluded and the music started they were free to mingle and dance. But before any dancing was done Keira wanted to see Bill – get the emotional stuff done and over with so they could enjoy the rest of their evening.

She hugged the eldest Weasley tightly, refusing to let go but Bill didn’t seem to have any problems with that. “I’m going to miss you.”

“I know, I’ll miss you too. But I’ll write to you all the time,” Bill promised. “And you’re going to write to me too, right? I need to be kept up to date on all your Cursed Vaults adventures.”

“As long as you keep me informed about all your Curse-Breaking adventures too,” Keira negotiated before demanding him to stay safe.

“After all these years of hunting down and break these Cursed Vaults, I am prepared to handle anything, thanks to you,” Bill assured her before smiling warmly down at her. “I’ll be safe, I promise. And you two be safe too,” he added quickly in that classic older brother tone. Cursed-Vaults, death threats, and trying to find a dragon in the Forbidden Forest amongst all the dangerous creatures lurking in there – they were in more danger than he was!

Keira reluctantly let him go as Bill began to address Charlie and lecturing him on being the eldest brother at the school now. With Bill gone, Charlie had to watch out for his little brothers. Percy shouldn’t be any trouble but next year the twins would be arriving and Charlie had to look out for them.

“Funny how you’re leaving just in time before Fred and George arrive,” Charlie noted.

“Yeah, almost like mum and dad planned it that way,” Bill retorted with a smirk.

The two brothers continued their bickering for a bit before Bill suggested they should be enjoying the evening instead of standing around him all night. Keira groaned slightly before flinging her arms around the towering Weasley once again.

“I’m not dying,” Bill reminded them. “You’re going to see me again.

“If you don’t get mauled to death by a Sphinx,” Charlie muttered. He tried not to show it but he was really going to miss his brother too. Bill was his best friend, well besides Keira now, but they grew up together, shared the same bedroom. He couldn’t even go to sleep without talking to Bill before going to bed, what was he supposed to do now? He talked to Bill about everything, always turning to his older brother for advice! Sure, he would write his brother letters but some things were time sensitive and needed to be said in person in the moment. And now being the eldest Weasley at the school, leaving him to watch over his younger siblings and be the role model was nerve-racking. He loved them dearly, and while Percy shouldn’t prove to be too difficult, his siblings had been known to cause some trouble and be a handful, particularly the twins.

“I’m not going to get mauled to death by a Sphinx,” Bill spoke sternly as Keira gasped and tightened her grip around him at Charlie’s comment. “I am not going to die. I’m going to be fine. And I have you guys to thank for that. Preparing me for curses and dangerous creatures. I’m going to be alright and so are you guys.” Keira’s grip loosened around the eldest Weasley as she slowly let him go, trying to hold back her emotions. She was not going to start crying at the ball. What a mood killer.

Bill gave them another brief pep talk, reassuring them they would be fine without him, he would be safe, they would write to each other all the time and if they ever really needed him he would find a way to be there. And he’d see them for holidays!

“And hey, in a couple years you’ll probably be joining me. Right, Keira?” Keira paused and mulled over Bill’s question. Honestly, she hadn’t thought much about a future outside of Hogwarts. Her whole focus while going to school was finding these Vaults in hopes of finding her brother. And of course to learn magic and all that. Especially when that was necessary to break the curses on these Vaults!

“I don’t know, maybe,” was all Keira could muster up at the moment. If she was completely honest, which she wouldn’t be at the moment because that would be a serious mood killer, but she wasn’t even sure if she would live to see graduation some times. She had made that dark, it’s-funny-because-it’s-true joke to Bill before when she suggested him to be Madam Rakepick’s apprentice instead of herself. Bill didn’t find it funny.

“They’d be lucky to have you,” Bill told her in an attempt to put any doubts or insecurities she may have to rest. “Heck, you could probably stroll right in there and be Head Curse-Breaker on your first day once they learn you broke your first curse at the age of like twelve.” Keira couldn’t help but smile at his compliment. She was really going to miss him and was going to drown him in letters, needing his wisdom and reassurance. He had easily become one of her dearest and closest best friend. And after all this was over, if she survived it, working alongside her brotherly best friend would be nice. Could be fun. Almost ideal even! Could be worse…

“Okay, you two are depressing me now. Go have fun,” Bill instructed, shooing them away.

“But-”

“No buts! You can’t spend all night crying over me, literally. Go have fun,” Bill demanded. “And I’ll see you on the dance floor or by the punch bowl. This isn’t goodbye just yet. This is about celebrating all the great times and adventures we had here together. Tomorrow we can have our tear-filled goodbyes.” Well, he did have a point. Tonight was supposed to be fun, a party. Tomorrow, on their official last day they could all cry and hug Bill and never let him go.

Despite this being Bill’s last hoorah with them, at least for now, the gang had a really fun night. They ate, drank, talked, laughed, and danced together. Rowan, albeit a somewhat awkward dancer and therefore a bit shy at first, was swung around the dance floor by Diego who seemed to really help her let loose and not be so self-conscious about her dancing. Tonks and Tulips darted all around the ball, setting off their pranks and then hurrying back over to their friends to dance with them, like they’ve been there the entire time, hide behind them, or sometimes even under the table to escape from Filch and his wrath. Tonks tried to get herself, Ben, and Talbott when he was suddenly located, “just checking things out” after claiming to not want to attend this “stupid event,” to be crowd surfed, only to have her efforts thwarted each time, unfortunately. Barnaby kept his promise and saved a dance for Keira which also provided him with the opportunity to surprise the group with his waltz and general ballroom dance skills. Didn’t all pureblood families, at least those wealthy pureblood families, learn classic, perhaps even archaic, proper etiquette such as ballroom dance or playing a classical musical instrument? (No guitars here!) Anything to show off to their other rich friends like all that somehow made their children better than others.

Overall it was a night of fun and laughter and happy memories. Memories they could look back on fondly especially with Penny capturing them all on her camera. While laughing and dancing with her friends was a lot of fun, after a while, being surrounded by so many people with so many conflicting, competing noises reverberating throughout the space, it all became a little overwhelming so Keira excused herself and headed out onto the balcony that surrounded the Great Hall.

The fresh air and cool breeze that blew her loosely curled hair was refreshing and welcoming as she stepped out onto the mostly empty balcony. She had to wander a bit to find a space for herself, away from couples who had escaped out there for their own private snogging session. She reached up to adjust the antique looking silver decorative hair pin Penny convinced her to buy for the ball that held back part of her hair before resting against the balustrade of the balcony. The quiet and stillness of the night air was peaceful and invigorating. Keira sighed contently as she enjoyed the peaceful atmosphere the calming night and faint music from inside created.

“There you are.”

Keira turned around when she heard a familiar voice behind her and smiled at her date.

“You’ve been gone for a while, just wanted to make sure everything was okay,” Charlie explained as he walked closer to her.

“Oh yeah, I’m fine. Just needed to get away from all the crowds and noise for a moment,” Keira informed him as Charlie leaned on the balustrade next to her, gazing up at the clear night sky.

“Yeah, that makes sense,” Charlie replied. Keira watched him a moment, admiring how the moon light highlighted his handsome face before turning to rest against the balustrade again and sunk into the comfortable silence that fell between them.

After some time Keira felt someone staring at her and turned to head to meet Charlie’s adoring gaze. There had been other times where she felt someone’s eyes on her such as during class, and she had assumed it possibly was Charlie since it seemed to always come from his direction and her friends always claimed Charlie stared at her and gave him a hard time about it, but any time she looked over he looked away and she never caught him actually doing it. But this time his gaze held strong. He didn’t appear to be embarrassed at being caught or even fazed at all.

Keira shifted nervously under his intense gaze, feeling her face heat up causing her to avert her eyes from his. “What? Why are you looking at me like that,” she asked self-consciously.

“You’re just really beautiful,” Charlie answered softly, genuinely, not trying to be funny and charming, which just caused her face to grow redder.

“I think you’ve had too much punch,” Keira replied jokingly, obviously unsure of how to handle a compliment like that delivered so honestly. And she fully admitted she may have some intimacy fears and issues.

Fortunately her comment didn’t seem to offend Charlie or ruin the mood, earning a small chuckle from him which filled her with warmth, although she didn’t really need it when her face already felt like it was on fire. She glanced over at him to catch his usual caring smile which always caused whatever winged creatures that were in her stomach to flutter.

Charlie only broke his fixed gaze on her to glance behind them, back towards where to roaring party was still raging on, as a slow melody began to flow out from the Great Hall and fill the air.

“Come on,” he said, holding his hand out towards her.

Keira looked down at his hand curiously. “What?”

“Let’s dance. They’re playing our song,” he added with a charming smile.

“We have a song,” Keira asked with a small laugh as she shyly placed her hand in his.

“We do now,” Charlie answered before taking her hand firmly in his. He spun her around once, causing Keira to laugh more, before pulling her close to him. He slid his free arm around her waist to hold her securely to him. They swayed along to the dreamy melody, gliding along the terrace as one, the romantic lyrics seeming to narrate the moment between them perfectly.

It was funny. Before he had asked her to the dance, Charlie had always been the nervous, self-conscious one around her. They still spent a lot of time together, talked, laughed, even at his lighthearted attempts at flirting and cheeky charming comments, but sometimes the nervousness would hit him. Then he would be the one with the red face, nervous laughter, and stammering; pretty sure he made quite the fool of himself. But now, ever since she accepted his proposal to the ball he had this new found confidence. Sure, she still caused fluttering in his stomach and his heart to skip a beat, still made him nervous (he did call her an Antipodean Opaleye dragon), but seeing her reaction when he asked her to the ball, getting this chance to act on his newly understood feelings and make this something real somehow ignited this determination and confidence within him.

And on the other hand, normally cool, calm, and comfortable being herself, Keira now found herself being the nervous, self-conscious one. Perhaps it was because before this she was in blissful ignorance of any deeper feelings Charlie may have for her. Sure, she had heard her friends joke about it but she never thought it was real. Charlie wasn’t one to be lusting after others, show any interest in dating or romance, something she and him had talked about before and bonded over since she felt similar, so why would he feel those feelings towards her? And yeah, maybe she did have certain feelings for him but she was too afraid to admit that to herself, let alone anyone else. Although she was pretty sure most of her friends, especially Penny and Rowan had already figured it out based on their comments and questions to her about it.

But as long as she believed there was no way he felt the same way, there was no chance of something more, she was free to be herself, no matter how ridiculous or embarrassing, and still got a very close and reliable friend who she cherished. Now suspecting he may actually have deeper feelings than friendship for her, which was just speculation still since he hadn’t ever actually said anything on the subject, Keira found herself suddenly hyperaware of her behavior, things she said, how she looked, his behavior, things he said, how he responded to things she said, how he looked at her – everything. And it was making her more self-conscious than she had ever been before, especially around him since he was the most accepting, understanding, and least judgmental person she knew. She just didn’t want to do or say anything to mess this up and lose someone so important to her.

They floated across the terrace floor slowly, gracefully, Keira quite impressed and surprised by Charlie’s dancing abilities. The entire time Charlie looked down at her warmly, unable to stop himself from smiling, and while Keira may have needed to occasionally coyly avert her gaze from his, she could not stop smiling either.

The waning moon cast its spotlight upon the dancing couple who moved together harmoniously under the velvet night sky with only the twinkling stars as their audience. The more they danced the more comfortable this felt, the more right it felt.

As the song neared its end, Keira peered up to meet Charlie’s steadfast gaze. Their eyes remained locked as they gradually slowed to a stop but neither made a move to part from the other. Instead, Charlie leaned down to close the small distance between them, his eyes falling half shut as he hesitantly brushed his lips against hers causing a spark to jolt through them both leaving a tingling sensation, a rush of anticipation as their hearts pounded in their chests.

When his lips met hers the first thought in Keira’s mind was how surprised she was by how soft they were. That thought was quickly followed by her utter disbelief and shock that Charlie Weasley had leaned down to kiss her – that he wanted to kiss anyone but especially her! Maybe she should have checked to make sure no one had drank a polyjuice potion and was parading around as him.

His hesitancy, though, spoke volumes.

This was new territory for both of them and until now he had appeared so confident in what he was doing. But now this – there was no turning back from this. Was he sure about his feelings? Was he sure about her feelings? Is this what they both wanted? Did she want this? What if him doing this ruined everything? He was unsure and nervous about making a mistake, which was valid. Neither of them wanted to lose their close friend. But his uncertainty only made her more certain that this was right, confirmed for her how much this meant to both of them. Suddenly she wasn’t afraid any longer of all the what-ifs. This is what they both wanted. This was right. And they would be fine.

Keira smirked slightly against his lips before leaning up to meet him in a silent effort to put his insecurities to rest, her eyes falling shut as she allowed herself to give into the moment. Her gesture provided Charlie with the reassurance he needed. Once he felt the enticing sensation of her lips on his, his eyes fell shut as he felt free to give into his emotions. He kissed her gently at first, both taking their time to slowly enjoy this moment and the awakening and intensity of new feelings and sensations with each other before his arm around her waist tightened and his hand grasping hers moved to hold the side of her face as their kiss grew deeper and more passionate.

Under the night sky they remained wrapped in each other’s embrace, taking a chance on expressing their long hidden feelings for one another. Once again time seemed to still and everything around them faded away until all that existed to the couple were each other and the moon and stars that shone down upon them, preserving this intimate and pivotal moment they designed.

The night sky was suddenly illuminated by countless fireworks set off from the opposite end of the balcony surrounding the Great Hall. Tonks and Tulip promised a grand finale. But neither Charlie nor Keira seemed to even notice them, lost in each other.

Keira lay on the couch in the Slytherin Common Room, staring up at the ceiling with a dreamy look and blissful grin on her face. She knew it was there and probably made her look insane or worse, love-struck, but she couldn’t stop smiling.

“Come on, Keira!” She suddenly felt herself being pulled up off the couch by Rowan who apparently had her inner dancing spirit awakened. The two girls laughed and danced around the Common Room, twirling in their dresses they refused to take off even though the ball had ended hours ago.

“Woo, dance party,” Barnaby cried before literally jumping in to join them. The Slytherin trio laughed as they danced around before Barnaby seemed to suddenly remember something. “Oh yeah, I’m supposed to give you this.”

Barnaby handed Keira an envelope and while she stepped aside to open it, Barnaby and Rowan continued their lively dancing. She studied the plain envelope curiously before opening it and pulling out its contents.

She stared at what she held in her hand in shock.

The picture the envelope bestowed showed her and Charlie on the balcony in the midst of their first kiss under the waning gibbous moon, twinkling stars, and fireworks that shot up in a spectacular explosion in the sky around them. She turned the picture over to see the date written on the back along with a message which caused an eerie chill to creep throughout her body as she nervously looked around the room.

‘I know everything that happens at Hogwarts’ ♥ Penny

Merde – Shit

J’en ai ras le cul – I have fucking had it (with stairs)

Eejit – Idiot

I think it’s safe to say we all know, or can at least figure out, the British slang words (I hope I used them correctly or else how embarrassing!)

A/N: Could I have ended it with them kissing under the night sky on the balcony? Sure. But then this idea popped into my head and I thought it was funny. You can pretend it ends with the romantic scene.(I’m still not perfectly happening with the ending scene of them kissing but I can’t keep obsessing over it and tweaking little things here and there throughout the story, I need to just post it and be done! Also still kind of wish it had a better title but whatever - ugh the perfectionist in me!)

I didn’t write this all in one sitting so hopefully it flows, and again it has been so long since I’ve written something like this but I enjoyed doing it. I know I can tend to ramble and be over detailed and I do love my commas but that’s just me being excited to write this kind of stuff again. Sorry it ended up so much longer than anticipated! I also know I could have just focused on the relationship with Charlie but I love the relationship with the whole gang and wanted to highlight that as well. Oh, and the Rowan and Diego thing – I see one screenshot of them talking/close to each other in DADA and now I kind of ship it? I don’t know…Barnaby could have possibly gone with Liz, I don’t really know her but they both love magical creatures and she is rather socially awkward so I could see her asking him to the dance without him realizing =p Or it was some other girl. Shout out to all the Addison’s out there! I kept seeing this name in reference to the game and thought ‘well this is a popular name I should use it.’

As mentioned before the reference to Charlie realizing his feelings and falling asleep together while studying may be another fic I write as well as a sort of aftermath of the ball where they make it official. I also have some other one shot ideas or headcanons I’ve mentioned in others posts I may actually write out as well (e.g. Keira getting a concussion during a Quidditch match and being caught by Charlie, Keira and Barnaby accidentally knocking a ball into the Potions classroom). I don’t know if anyone would be interested but might be something I do. I am really happy to be getting back into creative writing.

Let me know if you are interested; I noticed some people tag others to keep them updated on their fics and if you’d like that let me know! And if you have any prompt ideas or collab ideas or anything let me know too! I would just really like to connect to others, maybe even make friendships - how crazy would that be =p

~ Hope you enjoyed =)

#hphm #hogwarts mystery #charlie weasley #charlie x mc #charliexmc #fanfic #fic #harry potter #hp oc #charlie x oc #my fic #charliexoc #hphm charlie #hphm mc #jacob's sibling #i wrote a thing #personal #long post #read more #save it to read over the weekend maybe #am I perfectly happy with it no but I got to post it #got to be done #sorry for the long authors note at the end #ugh #I ramble

[shall-we-imagine]

Scaredy Cat. (Badboy!SigurdxReader)

Bet you weren't expecting this, huh.

Requested: 26. "All due respect, but that's a bunch of crap." From the prompt list.

A/N: Badboy!Klaus was quite popular so why not try this? 🤷‍♀️idk how to write proper bad boys so spare me I'm trying 😂 this is also a bit of an idol AU? 😂 you can call me artist; you can call me idol sorry I'm actually loving the BTS comeback even though a lot of people don't...aannd that's not the right place to discuss this I'll shut up. Moving on.

Genre: Fluff.

(Second Person Point of View)

Being friends with an idol had its pros and cons. On one hand, it led to you being friends with all his group mates, and it also scored you dates with other idols. On the other hand, you barely get to even see your friend; it's always video calls, and even those aren't as often as you'd like. But what can you do? As long as he's following his dream, you're happy for him.

Sometimes, however, you wish you could just have him around whenever you need him. He's always very caring towards you, but he can't help it that he's busy. So, sometimes you just have to suck it up and deal with your own problems yourself. Or do you?

Pacing around the living room, you contemplate calling Serge. If he was sleeping, you really didn't wanna disturb the tiny bit of sleep he gets. What if he was busy doing something else? He usually calls when he's free anyway..

"It's okay; I'll be fine." You whisper to yourself reassuringly, even though your voice came out filled with uncertainty. As you approach the kitchen to fetch a glass of water, you flick on as much light switches as possible. There ain't no demon attacking you tonight, nope.

You down the refreshing glass of water. "There. That's not so bad. I can do thi-" your sentence was cut off by your own squeal. What was that noise?

You hesitantly inch closer to your open kitchen window. As you were scolding yourself for leaving that window open, you peek into the back yard of your house. There it was. The source of the noise.

You could see the bushes shaking violently, indicating something or someone was in there. Trembling hands reach to quietly shut the window and blinds, as you tip toe away from the window. Maybe it was the fact that you were home alone getting the best of you, but you were terrified to the core. Someone might be lurking around in your backyard, and that would explain the odd noises you'd been hearing for the past hour or so.

You rush back into the living room. What in the world were you supposed to do?

Call your parents? They're thousands of miles away; they can't particularly help.

Call the police? Okay, you're not actually sure someone is out there, and you don't wanna just call for nothing..

The only person left to call was Serge..

You promised yourself that you'd call one time; if he doesn't pick up, you have to try to ignore the noises.

Please, for the love of everything good, pick u-

"Hello?" A voice deeper and more calm than Serge's booms through the phone.

You frown. "Um, isn't that Serge's phone?"

"Yes, darling, but Serge is shooting for his up coming drama right now, so he can't respond to the phone he forgot at the dorms." Darling? Oh, it's him. "Figured you might need some company, though, so I replied." You could almost see him smirk.

Now, when you say you're friends with the group Serge belongs to, well, there's an exception, and that's the one and only Sigurd Curtis. Fans love him for his 'mysterious charms', but all you could see is an irritating jerk. And now was really not the time for him.

"So? What did you call for?" His question reminds you that you hadn't replied to him earlier.

You sigh. "I called for Serge, but he's not here, so I'm hanging up."

"Oh, come on, am I not good enou-" you hang up before hearing the rest of his teasing and whining.

You couldn't really understand him much. He was generally quiet, but somehow, when it comes to you, he becomes the most talkative person on the planet. Which would've been fine if he didn't use all his power to tease you and flirt with you for no reason.

Well, there's no other choice but to deal with the unreasonable fear yourself.

#####

"This is not working." You huff, unable to stop thinking someone might break in. Your house didn't have a single light bulb turned off, which was probably going to be a pain when your parents receive the electricity bill, but you didn't have any plans of turning any of them off for now.

You stare at your phone, as if silently willing it to start ringing and showing Serge's picture. Of course, that didn't happen even after you stared for a full minute.

"Should I try calling again?" You sigh.

You took your heart thumping in fear as a yes. You prayed with all your power the idiot would respond, but once again, you were greeted with the flirtatious tone you feared hearing.

"Missed me already?"

A loud groan sounds across the empty room. "When is Serge coming back?"

"I don't know, cupcake." Knowing he specifically uses this to make you uncomfortable, you try your best not to cringe. "I've just been informed you're home alone. Is that why you want Serge? You're scared?"

Your cheeks heat up with embarrassment. "Usually..when my parents go on trips for work, Serge spends his time talking to me to get my mind off of the fact that I'm home alone." You admit sheepishly. "Sometimes he even sings me to sleep." You add in a quieter voice, part of you hoping he didn't hear it. You didn't even know why you were telling him this; maybe sleep-deprived you was extra friendly and liked over sharing.

"Oh." A pause was followed by a confident statement, "I could do that!"

"W-what?" However, there was no response. "He hung up? What in the world is wrong with that guy?!"

No longer than 2 minutes later, you were jumpscared by the doorbell. You silently approach the door, unsure who would be at the door. Of course, there was a face that popped into your head, but you somehow still couldn't be sure if it was really him.

"Sigurd?" You eye the taller male. His hair was freshly dyed black; he was even given an undercut while the hair on the top of his head was styled in a messy quiff. His attire was black as usual. Of course, as an idol, he had to switch colours, but when he got to wear what he wants, he'd almost always dress in black, to add to his 'mysterious' aura- you assume. He wore a black tank top with random scribbles on the front, matched with black skinny jeans that had some chains hanging from them; you never really understood that odd choice of clothing, but you didn't question it. What you did question, however, was the choker he wore.

"Sharing closets with your dog or something?" You point at the strange accessory. It was adorned with spikes and a few silver chains intertwining with each other; the best way to describe it was that it looked like a dog's collar.

"Ha ha very funny. It's called fashion, pancake, you wouldn't understand." Wearing a sympathetic smile, he pats your shoulder, allowing himself inside.

"Are you hungry or something? Wasn't it cupcake at first? Now it's pancake? What's with that?" You roll your eyes. Nice sleep-deprived you was nowhere to be seen, apparently.

He glances at your chest before looking back into your eyes and giving an innocent smile. "Nothing." He walks further into the house, not waiting for a reaction from you.

"You little-" you bite back an insult, knowing he just enjoys pushing your buttons. You had to stay calm. "Why are you here? I didn't even invite you. Plus don't you have work or something?!"

"You implicitly invited me." He points out, "And, no, we're on a break, remember?"

A sudden knocking noise makes you jump before you could even respond to the dork that made himself comfortable on your couch.

He stares at you with a raised eyebrow, "that was a branch hitting the window.."

"I knew that." His intense stare doesn't waver. "Okay, fine. It scared me..a little! I'm scared of being home alone, and there's a person lurking outside the house and-"

"There's a person lurking outside the house?!" He hops off the couch, his expression -for once- not smug or playful but concerned. It somehow made your heart skip a few beats. Surely, you were overreacting, though; there's no way he just looked attractive because he seemed concerned. There's no way you suddenly noticed how well black contrasts his skin tone, making it suit him beautifully. Nope.

"Well, I'm not very sure it's a person.." you explain shyly, "I just heard some noises and saw the bushes moving.."

"Man, you freaked me out for nothing." He runs a hand through his visibly soft hair. "Where was it you saw the bushes move?"

"Okay, stay here and keep the door locked; I'll take a look outside to ensure nobody's out there." He instructs, after you show him to the back door.

"Sigurd, you don't need to do this. What if someone dangerous was out there?" You attempt to reason with him.

He chuckles, "you worried about me, cupcake?"

You pretend to gag. "You might as well find yourself a ride home cuz I'm not gonna be opening that door again."

After a few moments, you hear Sigurd call out for you, claiming you should come out. He has teamed up with the serial killer outside and plans to trick you into getting murdered?

"Oh my god stop panicking; just come out! It's a puppy for God's sake!" He shouts, even though he really couldn't see you or your desire to ignore his request to leave the safety of your house.

"Fine!" You shout back, as you reluctantly pull open the door. The view beyond the door certainly made you glad you complied with his request, though.

Sigurd was crouching on the grass rubbing a small Pit bull's belly. It wiggled its tail happily, as he continued to shower it with affection. You almost let out a small awwhh. You almost forgot that this was the same guy you threatened to not let back into your house.

"I think that's my neighbour's puppy." You muse, as you approach Sigurd and the pit bull. You check the red, spike-filled collar. "Look. It's matching with you." You tease.

"Hey! How many times do I have to explain-"

You cut him off to add in a mocking tone, "it's fashion!!"

He merely glares, to which you laugh. It was your turn to tease him for once. "Anyway, we need to take it back to its owner." You state.

"Can't we keep it for a bit longer, please?" He pouts, catching you off guard.

"U-uh, um, we can't!" You begin to object, but all you could think of was how cute that was. Looking at this guy, with at least 2 sets of ear piercings and a hair cut to display a rebellious aura, just sit there pouting at you because you told him to take the puppy back to its owner- it was so strange yet so adorable.

You do your best to ignore the red adorning your cheeks, as you stand your point and demand he takes it back.

"No fun." He grumbles, as he lifts the puppy and holds it to his chest. "Fine; where's the house? At least come with." He gets off the ground. That's when you first notice some minor details of his tank top. The sides were sort of see-through, allowing you glimpses of his toned body underneath.

"Whatchu starin' at?" Your eyes meet with the smug male's. His smirk just never left his lips, as he continuously wiggles his eyebrows at you.

"Nothing!" You push past him, giving yourself a way to hide your burning cheeks. "That's the house; just follow me." You announce, mainly to change the topic.

After doing your duty as a noble neighbour and returning the puppy to its owner, you head back to your house, Sigurd following behind- obviously.

"I'm so tired." You yawn.

The dark haired male gives an excited grin. "Time to sing you to sleep!" He claps happily. Mysterious charms they say. That guy is the biggest dork you've ever seen. You are friends with Serge, though, so maybe second biggest dork.

"You really don't have to-"

He cuts you off, "All due respect, but that's a bunch of crap. I want to do it, and you want me to do it too." Well, he wasn't wrong. Sigurd's voice is really unique; it's one you really enjoy listening to. This would pretty much be like a private show..how can you say no?

"Well, get comfortable cuz I'm not gonna strain my precious vocals just for you to not fall asleep." He informs, earning an eye roll from you.

Once you place yourself in relaxing position and pull the covers up to your chest, Sigurd begins singing quietly and soothingly. His voice was so calming and gentle, urging you to throw away your worries and let the sweet melody carry you to the land of dreams. Which you inevitably did. Your eyelids had already gotten too heavy for you to keep them open; therefore, it took no time for you to drift into deep sleep.

######

An annoyingly loud ringtone disturbs your comfortable sleep, and you force your eyes open.

You hear a groan coming from the edge of the bed, almost giving you a heart attack before you remember last night's events.

"Hello?" Sigurd grumbles into his phone. As it was a video call, you could see the caller- Serge.

"Sigurd, wher- wait a minute; is that (Y/N)?! Why are you in bed with (Y/N)?? (Y/N), why are you in bed with your least favourite member of the group??" Serge cuts off his own speech to begin yelling about the situation he misunderstood.

"Wait; what do you mean least favourite member?? Why am I your least favourite?! Who's your bias then??" Sigurd complains. What made it funnier and cuter was the fact that you could tell he was genuinely offended by him not being your bias.

"Guy." You confess, "or Joel."

"I spent the night here and sang you to bed; don't I at least get an upgrade??" He whines.

"Hey, why am I not your bias?" Serge joins in, also visibly offended.

"You're my friend. it's weird to have you as a bias." You defend.

"Joel and Guy are your friends too!" Serge just isn't having it, clearly.

"Oh my god, Serge, just let it go, please?" You plead. It was too early in the morning for this.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever. We'll discuss this later." He states. "Anyway, Sigurd, where did you leave my phone? I don't wanna keep using Guy's! Well, not that he would let me, but yeah."

"Your pho- oh." Sigurd's confused expression switches to an embarrassed one. "I might've taken it with me?" He pulls a second phone from his pocket.

"Sigurd, I've been calling since morning! You better bring it back right now! I can't believe you-" Sigurd cuts off Serge's rant by hanging up. "Well, I guess I have to go. Man, I'll never hear the end of it!" He groans, to which you giggle lightly. "I mean it is your fault for taking his phone." You point out.

"I was comforting you!" He defends. He looked so hurt you didn't appreciate his 'efforts', which made you want to pinch his cheeks or something. His hair had gotten messier, somehow making him even more attractive, yet you wanted to pinch his cheeks. Well, in your defense, he was acting like a child.

"Anyway, I'm gonna get going now." He pushes himself off the bed. "If you ever need someone to spend the night again, always call me." He winks. "You're an idiot." You shake your head.

"Goodbye, (Y/N)." He smiles. (Y/N). This was the first time he calls you with your real name ever since you met.

"You just called me (Y/N)." You grin victoriously.

"No, I didn't, cupcake." He yells, disappearing into the hallway. You throw your head back in frustration. He just won't stop being his annoying self, huh? Sadly, you felt yourself liking it and waiting for another meeting with him.

"I'm getting bias wrecked, aren't I?" You sigh.

#yes i'm still alive #i think #i still hate the 100 block limit #sigurd curtis one shot #sigurd curtis imagine #sigurd curtis #wizardess heart sigurd #sigurd curtis fluff #shall we date imagine #shall we date wizardess heart #shall we date #shall we date fluff #wizardess heart one shot #wizardess heart imagine #wizardess heart fluff #sigurd curtis x reader #reader x sigurd curtis

[omg-imatotalmess]

Weddings

Hey guys! My friend was complaining that there isn’t enough Ron x Reader(she called me at midnight to rant about it), so this is for her and all the Ron Weasley lovers of the world. I did the best I could at one in the morning. I hope you enjoy!

Pairing: Ron Weasley x Reader 

Requested: Kinda... Does giving in to loads of complaining count?? 

Warnings: Very minimal swearing  

Weddings. You always loved weddings. The excitement in the air, the love, the wonder of it all. The idea that two human beings could want to be together for the rest of their lives was such a beautiful concept. To make things even more interesting, it was a Weasley wedding. Even better. You loved the Weasley’s more than you loved weddings. 

You had been running around most of the morning because nothing seemed to be going right. Fleur was extremely picky about things (Not that she wasn’t entitled. It was her wedding). When you finally got a break, Ron, your best friend (and crush), was waiting with a glass of water and a smug smile. You glared playfully and took the glass from him. There was nothing more that you wanted in the world at that moment. 

“How’s Fleur?” He asked. You both could hear her yelling something. 

“She’s a little stressed. How’s putting up the tent? Having fun?” It was his turn to glare. You smiled at him. 

“Loads,” He replied sarcastically. You pushed some hair out of your face, now becoming aware of the fact that you still had bed head. Ron didn’t look much better though, so you really didn’t feel so bad. 

“Hey, at least you don’t have to deal with bridezilla,” You giggle, only half joking. Fleur yelled something else. Ron shuddered, shaking his head a little. 

“You might be right,” He said. For a second, he looked like he was going to say something else.

“(Y/N)!” Ginny called, “We need you in here!” You shook your head. 

“I just love weddings.” You and Ron shared as laugh as you ran off to help the girls. 

There was a small lull between the excitement in the morning and the actual ceremony where you were able to get ready and relax. Molly gave you Ron’s room to get ready in because there were so many people jammed in Ginny’s. Glad to have the time to yourself, you took your time stripping out of your pajamas and putting on lotion. After you finished, you pulled your dress up your body. At the exact moment you got it up, Ron walked in. 

“Uh, hi,” You laughed, zipping it. His face reddened and he began to sputter incoherently. You laughed softly, leaning into your makeup mirror. 

“What’re you doing in my room?” He asked, still blushing. 

“At the moment, my makeup,” You said, leaning beginning the, incredibly short/long, process of putting on your makeup. A devilish smirk crossed your lips. “And possibly you later if you play your cards right.” 

“(Y/N)!” Laughing, you admired the lovely shade of red that Ron was turning. It clashed beautifully with his hair. 

“Kidding, Ronniekins, kidding.” And you were. Mostly. You would totally screw him if he asked. No shame. 

“Very funny,” He grumbled, digging around in his closet. 

“I thought so,” You giggled. Shuffling through a few colors of eyeliner, you vaguely wondered if you should even bother. Sighing, you tossed them in your bag. Eyeliner was overrated anyway. 

Standing, you walked up behind him and plucked a shirt from the closet. He glared at you, but took the shirt anyway. Both of you knew that he was more than a little hopeless when it came to fashion. 

“Thanks,” He said. 

“Of course,” You replied, ruffling his hair.

 Again, he got that look like he wanted to say something. “See you downstairs.” And that wasn’t it.  

In the end, you were glad that you hadn’t done much with your makeup and that you’d used waterproof mascara because you cried all the way through the ceremony.Fleur was beautiful and Bill looked more in love than any man you’d ever seen. You really loved weddings. You loved that they brought people together. It was such a beautiful thing to see two families pulled together, even when everything else was happening. Ron found you directly after. 

“You really weren’t joking when you said you liked weddings,” He teased. 

You smiled at him, dabbing at the corners of your eyes. “No.” 

The twins approached the two of you with matching, cheshire cat grins. Each threw an arm around you as well as Ron. It was never good when they did that. They were planning something. 

“Hello” They said in unison. You and Ron shared a knowing look. 

“Hey, guys, did you need something?” You asked, shrugging their arms off. They smiled at one another then at you. Fred took your hand, sweeping into a deep bow. 

“Would you do me the great honor of being the first person you dance with tonight?” He asked, formally. Laughing, you dipped into a low curtsy. 

“It would be my pleasure,” You said, mimicking his formality.

“And why’re you here?” Ron asked, looking at George. George smiled widely as Fred lead you away. You could barely hear them.

“Fred and I are always together, mate,” He laughed. 

The inside of the tent was beautiful, decorated with floating candles and wispy globes filled with butterflies. The tabled were plain, arranged around instruments that played themselves and a dance floor, already covered with people. Taking Fred’s arm, he led you to the dance floor and took your waist. You smiled at him. 

“So, what’d you really want?” You asked. The shit eating grin he offered you said more than enough. 

“Can’t a handsome guy just dance with a pretty girl?” He asked, innocently.

“Sure, as long as that guy isn’t you or George,” You said, rolling your eyes. “Hence my previous question: what do you really want?” He twirled you. 

“You’re a wonderful dancer,” He said. 

“And you’re avoiding the question.” Laughing, he spun you so you could see Ron and George sitting at a table. Ron looked mildly irritated and George was poking his elbow into Ron’s ribs. 

“If you must know, we’re trying to make Ron mad.” You raised an eyebrow, smiling. You weren’t quite sure what dancing with you had to do with anything. 

“How do I fit into this exactly?” You asked.

“Our Ickle Ronniekins is nursing a crush on a certain (E/C) eyed girl we know,” Fred said, grinning like a kid on Christmas. A loud laugh bubbled up from your lips. How ridiculous. Ron had a crush on you. Yeah right. 

“I doubt that,” You said, beginning to pull away. Fred dragged you closer, wrapping an arm around your back. Your faces were far too close to be comfortable. 

“If you don’t believe me, take a look,” He said, turning so you could get a good look at his little brother. 

Ron’s face was as red as it had been earlier when he found you in his room. This time, his nose was scrunched up and his lips were pursed in that way only he could accomplish. His hands were clenched into fists with arms crossed over his chest as he leaned back in his seat. George noticed you watching and winked at you. Ron’s sour face landed on you. 

“Help me,” You mouthed, silently. 

“See?” Fred asked, pulling you to look at him again. Answering your silent plea, Ron made his way over, grabbed you by the wrist, and dragged you to a darker corner of the tent where there was an empty table. 

“Thanks. I was scared he was gonna kiss me for a second there,” You chuckled. 

“You and me both,” Ron muttered under his breath. 

“What?”

“Nothing.” He replied quickly. 

“You know, Fred and I were talking about you while we were dancing,” You said, trying and failing to sound casual. If you thought Ron was red before, that was nothing compared to now. For once in his life, Fred might have actually been serious. 

“Whatever he told you, he’s lying,” He nearly yelled. You snorted a laugh, reaching out and touching his cheek. He froze completely. 

“Was he?” He swallowed thickly. “How about I tell you what we talked about and you tell me if it’s true.” 

“Alright,” He agreed.

“You have a crush on someone,” You said. Ron shifted in his seat uncomfortably, looking awkward. 

“I guess,” He grumbled. 

“He could use me to make you mad.” Ron crossed his arms, looking up at the ceiling. 

“Sure.” You leaned on the table, watching him carefully. 

“You have a crush on me,” You said, boldly. Ron’s head snapped down and he stared at you. 

“He told you that?” He asked, his voice twisting to a higher pitch than normal. 

“I believe his exact words were ‘Our Ickle Ronniekins is nursing a crush on a certain (E/C) eyed girl we know’,” You laughed, quietly. Ron’s blush continued to intensify. 

“I’ll kill ‘im,” Ron snarled, standing up. Grabbing his arm, you pulled him back down. 

“You didn’t answer me,” You whispered, your face close to his. Ron blinked at you, opening and closing his mouth once or twice. 

“He was telling the truth. I never should’ve opened my big mouth. I already wasn’t gonna hear the end of it from Mum and Ginny. I’ll bet it was Ginny tha told those gits. Bloody Hell, I’m surprised she didn’t just go tell you. And George was just egging me on over there,” He rambled, angrily. 

“Ron, would you relax a minute,” You said, smiling. Ron continued to rant and you rolled your eyes, pressing your lips to his. 

At first it was fumbling and awkward but, just as you began to pull back, Ron gripped your shoulders, kissing you back almost frantically. Smiling, you brought your hands up to cup his flaming face. Eventually, his grip on your shoulders relaxed and he moved his hands to your hips. It began as a series of short pecks, finally morphing into one long, sweet kiss. You weren’t surprised by how good he was at kissing, it was all he did when he dated Lavender. When you actually pulled away, Ron’s lips chased your own. 

“I’m starting to get why you like weddings so much,” He said. 

“They aren’t usually this eventful,” You giggled, breathlessly. 

“The next wedding you’ll get to cry at ‘s gonna be ours,” He joked. You smiled, brushing a thumb over his bottom lip. 

“If you say so, Ronniekins.” You pecked his lips again. Blushing heavily again, he turned his gaze on you. 

“How serious were you earlier?” He asked. 

Your answer? “This bra hooks in the front.” 

~~Bonus~~

Fred and George watched their little brother kiss the girl of his dreams from a table on the other side of the room. They’d actually known longer than Ginny and way longer than their mother. They knew just by the way Ron watched her in the common room that he liked you. At the moment, Fred and George were watching the pair hurry from the tent towards the house. The twins smirked at one another. 

“Wanna go cockblock them?” George asked. Fred smiled. 

“You know me so well,” Fred responded as they began to follow the new couple. 

#Ron #Ron Weasley #ron weasley x reader #ron weasly imagine #ron weasley oneshot #fred weasley #george weasley #Fred and Goerge Weasley #weasley twins #weasley #bill and fleur #wedding #weasley wedding #Harry Potter #hp #for my salty friend #you know who you are #i hope this satisfies your need for ron weasley fanfiction

[newstfionline]

Armageddon on a Shoestring: Prepare for Disasters Without Destroying Your Budget

The Simple Dollar, 17 Sep 2017

Just before and right after every disaster, you see news coverage of crowded stores, depleted shelves, and interviews with people who don’t have enough (water, batteries, whatever).

Don’t be those people. September is National Preparedness Month, and its theme--”Disasters don’t plan ahead. You can.”--is also the theme of this post. Even if you’re on a tight budget, or living paycheck to paycheck, you should be prepared to live at least three days without basic services.

Should things go south, got any idea how you’d eat, drink, and stay warm until things got back to normal?

Two other things you might not consider until it’s too late:

Where would you and your family go to the bathroom if the power and/or water cut out?

Do you have a manual can opener?

Sound funny? It’s deadly serious. If you don’t have a plan for the potty, your back yard is going to get real foul real fast. (Assuming, that is, that you even have a back yard.) And imagine the frustration of not being able to open up those cans of soup for your hungry household. (Assuming, that is, that you have a way to heat them up.)

The good news: You probably already have a lot of the stuff that Ready.gov suggests you need. The better news is that you can get the rest of it very cheaply, or even for free. And the time to do this is now, before the next power failure, ice storm, blizzard, hurricane, earthquake, or windstorm reshapes your life.

What’s for dinner? The “food” section of Ready.gov suggests the best foods to have on hand: protein- and calorie-rich items with long shelf lives: soups, stews, canned beans, quick-cooking oatmeal, peanut butter, dehydrated foods (e.g., instant mashed potatoes), dried fruit, canned fish or meat, protein or granola bars, and crackers.

To that list I would add almond or other nut butters (not everyone likes peanut butter), some gelatin or instant pudding (a dessert can really brighten the day), Nutella (it’s just fun to eat), interesting foods from the supermarket’s health-food section (hummus, refried beans, even vegetarian taco filling), good-quality bouillon cubes, and hardtack--aka “pilot bread.”

You might already have a lot of the foods you need. Now you just have to keep it that way, i.e., never let your pantry get too bare. When something your household really loves goes on sale, get a few extra. Use a dark marker to write the sell-by date on the front (not the top!) of each food product and make sure they get rotated and replaced regularly.

Pro tip: A site called CouponMom.com does a state-by-state match of coupons, many of them downloadable, to sales in supermarkets, drugstores, and even dollar stores; fairly often you’ll pay nothing at all for food, toiletries, and first-aid supplies.

Should you buy disposable plates and bowls? Residents of hurricane country probably should, since they’re likely to lose water and power regularly. As for others, that’s up to you. If you’re without running water, you certainly shouldn’t use up precious stored water to wash dishes.

Pro tip: Watch clearance sales after major holidays and get up to 90% off paper plates, bowls, and cups. Don’t necessarily throw them out after eating; sometimes the higher-quality stuff can be used more than once.

Water, water everywhere? Ready.gov suggests stashing one gallon per person per day for at least three days. Got pets? Don’t forget some extra agua for them.

Rather than spending money on bottled water, fill empty milk jugs or two-liter soft drink bottles until you have enough. Every few months, use the water in these containers for tasks like watering the garden or doing hand laundry, then refill them with fresh water for storage.

A word to those who filter their water: that sink-mounted or whole-house filtration system won’t do you much good if the power is out or the municipal water supply system is damaged. In that case, have a filtration pitcher and at least one extra cartridge in your emergency kit. (I regularly see these pitchers at thrift shops.)

Or take a simpler route: Sprinkle a little powdered drink mix into each glass of water to disguise the yucky taste. These packets cost about a dime each at Walgreens and dollar stores.

Incidentally, most of us already have a decent amount of water stored--in the water heater.

Sometimes a hot drink is soothing--or even potentially life-saving--in a winter storm emergency. (Hypothermia victims are cold all the way to their innards.) Thus teabags, instant coffee, or cocoa mix are all great things to have on hand.

Pro tip: Whenever you boil water, make enough extra to put into a thermos-type jug.

For hot water you’ll need a safe heat source--and again, you may already have one in the form of a wood stove, camp stove, barbecue grill, hibachi, or burn barrel. While modern gas stoves may not function normally in a power outage, you might be able to use the range the old-fashioned way: lighting the burners with a match.

Any pan you use for heating water or food is likely to get sooty over a fire. Consider looking for an extra pot or two at thrift stores and/or yard sales. (I’ve found three pans that way, including a cast-iron skillet, in the “free” boxes at yard sales; maybe you’ll be that lucky, too.)

Note: It is essential to cook outdoors with grills and open flames, not indoors, due to the risk of carbon monoxide poisoning. Generators pose the same risk. The Orlando Sentinel recently reported that five people died and more than a dozen were injured due to CO poisoning after Hurricane Irma.

Thus if you’re planning to create your own post-emergency power, get a CO detector and follow other best practices suggested by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission.

A roof over your head. Organizations like FEMA and the American Red Cross may show up after major disasters like earthquakes and hurricanes. But they can’t always help everyone, and some people prefer to shelter in place. Besides, some problems (windstorms, ice storms) don’t necessarily make your home unsafe--just inconvenient.

The questions, then, are how you’ll stay warm or cool. In cool or cold weather, dress everyone in layers: long underwear top and bottom, plus wool socks, extra shirts, fleece layers or sweaters, and knitted caps. The quilts or comforter from your bed might stand in for a sleeping bag.

Pro tip: Plan to have everyone sleep in the same small room for shared heat.

If you don’t have enough warm items for everyone, time to hit the thrift stores and yard sales. For other tips, search online for “staying warm during power failure.”

Keeping cool post-hurricane or during power outages is a real challenge. Some fairly obvious tactics are staying hydrated, wearing light clothing, and avoiding direct sun. Pull the curtains or shades and close off warmer rooms (e.g., the ones with south- and west-facing windows) to keep things from heating up. Sleep in the basement, if you have one (and if you have enough flashlight batteries).

Lighting is an enormous issue with regard both to safety and morale. While plenty of people stock up on candles, the danger of fire is very real. If you must use them, put them in jars set well out of the reach of children, pets, and anyone who might bump into a table.

Flashlights are safer. My partner and I have five headlamps (he bought them in a blister pack at Costco) plus some hand-held torches. If you don’t want to store batteries, look for flashlights that recharge by being cranked or that can recharge via your vehicle’s cigarette lighter.

Where’s the bathroom? As the children’s book says, everybody poops. The question is where you’ll do that.

I grew up in a rural area and we filled buckets and the tub with water when bad weather was predicted, then used that water to flush the toilets when the power went out. That’s still a good idea.

Pro tip: Before filling the tub, thoroughly duct-tape the stopper in place. Otherwise the water may slowly, inexorably seep out.

You may already have a giant bucket (or more than one) left over from a painting job or a bulk buy of laundry soap. If you don’t, get one: It will make a passable toilet. (Check Freecycle and the “free” section of Craigslist.)

Since not everyone is physically capable of squatting over a bucket, look online for toilet seat that snaps onto most five-gallon pails. If you’re flush, so to speak, then splurge on a prefab portable toilet.

Pro tip: Line the bucket with at least one layer of garbage bag, and throw in some clumping cat litter.

You’ll want hand sanitizer for afterwards, and some baby wipes (which I call “shower in a pouch”) to keep the rest of you clean. And speaking of babies: If you’ve got one and you routinely run out of diapers, break yourself of that habit pronto. You don’t want to be down to a couple of didies when trouble starts.

The same is true of pet food and supplies, and prescription medication. Do not run out of these things.

A few more final tips: When severe weather is predicted, boil some or all of the eggs you have. Should the power go out, you’ll have an easy-to-eat protein. Should the power not go out, just about everybody loves deviled eggs.

Buy supplies with gift cards you get by cashing in points from rewards credit cards, or rewards programs, to get gift cards to places like Walmart, Target, and Amazon.

Check out the dollar store. Paper products, hand sanitizer, and some interesting foods can be found there.

Keep small bills on hand. It’s possible that stores won’t be able to process credit or debit cards right away.

Make sure you have matches--even if you aren’t using candles you might need to light a camp stove or hibachi.

Stocking up all at once? Ask the supermarket manager for a discount on buying cases of canned goods, especially the store brand.

Remember how challenging it can be to build and maintain a cash emergency fund? Think of emergency preparedness the same way: It can take some doing, but it’s as essential as financial preparedness.

Get started right now, by taking pen and paper throughout your home to look at what you already have. Then make a list of what you still need, and make creative, frugal plans to get those items. Don’t wait until after an emergency happens to start looking for your flashlight. Or your can opener.

#disaster preparedness

[ruffsficstuffplace]

The Keeper of the Grove (Part 66)

“Wow, that Keeper of the Grove costume is amazing! I'd be scared if you weren't so tiny, kid, but you and your girlfriend are still pretty creepy.”

“Well ain't you the best damn Piper I've ever seen all night! Why, if I didn't know any better, I'd think you were the Holy Shepherd herself come back from the Aether to bless us with her presence.”

“OH MY GOSH! NINJAS OF LOVE! I NEED A PICTURE WITH YOU, RIGHT NOW, OR I'M GOING TO DIE! LIKE, LITERALLY DIE!”

“Hello! We're from the Old World Animation Society, and we'd love to take your picture and use it as part of our promotional material...”

“Well howdy there, cowboy! Mind if I ask y'all what time it is…?”

Taiyang grinned. “Well, pardner, I'd say it's… niiinneee forty-five…!”

The other Old World cowboy laughed. “Thanks for the laugh and the memories, pardner,” he tipped his hat to Taiyang. “You and your gals enjoy your night now!”

He tipped his hat back. “Yer welcome, pardner, and y'all stay safe, too!” he said, before he resumed waiting at a bench with Weiss, watching over their bags of souvenirs and food while the others were busy with a game of “Shoot the Shade.”

Weiss sighed.

Taiyang turned to her. “Something wrong?”

“I can't believe no one's noticed,” she replied. “All of these pictures, all of these people stopping us, and not a single one has had even the slightest inkling, if I wasn't pretty sure they're also like us.”

Taiyang shrugged. “It's Eve of the Ether; 'weird' kinda becomes the new 'normal.'”

Weiss was about to reply, before she saw a group of Fae walk on by, dressed in their usual armour with their animal features out, shrugging off any suspicion by speaking in fluent Nivian. The difference between Fae and human fashion was so great the unsuspecting masses probably thought they were just dressed up as characters from a holo or a Trance sim.

“Are you fucking kidding me…?!”

“Yeah, they do that,” Taiyang hummed, smiling. “The 'costumes' Summer, Qrow, and Raven were 'wearing' when I first met them were just like those, actually!”

Weiss turned to him. “You met them on Eve of the Ether?”

Taiyang smiled. “In this very city. We met while we were in line at a 'Test Your Strength' game, where I was betting my last Urochs on breaking the record. I couldn't do it, but Summer broke the ever loving shit out of it and the machine, then split her prize money with me—so long as I promised I'd buy Qrow that beer he'd been clamouring for all night with my share.

“It was at that moment that I’m pretty sure I fell for her, and though I didn't realize it at the time, she was pretty interested in me, too.”

“What, couldn't see her expression under the mask?” Weiss teased.

Taiyang chuckled and shook his head. “Nah, she was actually going without it that night, not scare the crap out of people for a while. Denial is a hell of a thing, though.”

“So how’d you end up dating her?”

“We spent the rest of the fair together, and had a lot of fun. By the time the sun was almost about to rise and we all needed to leave, I realized this was one of those once-in-a-lifetime opportunities staring me in the face.

“I was young, lovesick, and had only enough money for the return trip back under the boot of the coziest kleptocracy in Avalon. What was the harm in following these three strangers back to whatever wild place in the Country they came from, I thought?

“As it turns out: a heckuva lot!

“But if I had a time machine to go back to the exact moment where I made that decision, I'd punch out Past Me, take his place, and convince Summer to take me home with her, so I could do it all over again without all the really bad decisions...

“How are you enjoying it out there, by the way?”

“Very much, actually!” Weiss replied. “My first two weeks aside, everything couldn't be better. At the very least, it's bounds better than what I left behind…”

Taiyang nodded. “You haven't experienced a Soul Eater attack yet, have you...?”

Weiss slowly shook her head. “No, actually... should I be worried?”

Taiyang was about to answer when the others came walking back with their prizes and badges proclaiming them the “Slickest Shade Shooters in the Realm.”

“I suppose you'll find out for yourself eventually!” he said as he got up to meet them.

Weiss sighed, figured that finding out how terrible something was from first-hand experience was just the way things worked in the Valley.

They eventually decided to go get dinner, and at Weiss' recommendation, they ate at Fiorina's.

For reasons of maintaining their cover, they chose a corner booth, Weiss and Pyrrha squeezed all the way inside and out of sight from the rest of the restaurant, Penny making sure that their bags of prizes and souvenirs were arranged in a way that would handily block the surveillance equipment without arousing any suspicion.

“This isn't amateur hour,” Ruby whispered to Weiss and Pyrrha. “We know what we're doing.”

They saw them in action as Taiyang talked to the waiter for all of them, and found out that he had followed the news very closely and had actually watched the fake ransom/execution holo several times—enough to feel that there was something disturbingly familiar about Ruby and the sound of her voice.

Taiyang sighed. “Look, Marty, I know it was big news realm-wide, but come on: we're just here to eat and enjoy ourselves! You wouldn't want to get in trouble with your boss by making seven hungry customers lose their appetites all because you couldn't stop talking about that awful tragedy would you?”

On cue, everyone but Weiss and Pyrrha looked at Marty with a mix of uneasy, disgusted, and extremely annoyed expressions.

Marty groaned. “Okay! Fine! I'm sorry for bringing it up... I'll be back with your orders in a 'jiffy…'”

They all watched him sulk off from the corner of their eyes, until he disappeared back into the kitchen. They let out sighs of relief, then started casually talking and discussing how to spend the rest of their night, as Pyrrha had essentially given them an effectively unlimited budget to do anything they wanted.

“I wish we had some way of paying you back for all this, 'Piper,'” Ruby said after they finalized their plans. “We've spent a LOT tonight.”

Pyrrha smiled. “Oh, it's fine! The memories I've made with all of you are more than worth every Uroch. My only regret is that we'll probably permanently part ways come morning...”

Yang smirked. “It's not to late to ask for our comms, you know—maybe you can just get Penny's, she's pretty well-connected after all,” she said, winking as she nudged Pyrrha with her elbow.

Pyrrha blushed.

Yang raised an eyebrow, then beamed. “Oh man! You already have, haven't you? Gimme a high-five, 'Piper!'”

Pyrrha tipped her cap lower over her bright red face, before she quickly high-fived Yang.

Penny smiled. “If I may interrupt: I do see a way we would be able to recoup our expenses,” she said as she pulled out her temporary comm-crystal, projected an advertisement out to the whole table.

“The Candela Couple's Costume Contest?” Weiss asked. “But contestants have to have a clearly matching theme, and it's only open to romantic—oh, right...”

“I'm game!” Ruby said. “It might be fun.”

“You'll probably score a lot of points with the judges for being relevant!” Taiyang added. “What is for sure is that you two going to get a lot of attention.”

“Possibly the bad kind...” Weiss muttered.

“Our ploy's worked very well so far,” Pyrrha said quietly. “I think it'll be safe to assume that it'll keep on working.”

Blake pulled out her own comm-crystal, typed something on it: “Make escape plan, just in case?”

Pyrrha nodded. “I can be bait for a distraction; I'm getting hell when I get home anyway, what's a little more trouble?”

Taiyang hummed. “Don't see how this can't work, if all of us work together!”

Yang raised her hand. “Yeah, that's going to be an issue, because I have several issues with this plan.”

Ruby sighed. “Can't you just let it go for tonight, Yang? We could really use the money.”

Yang glared at her. “No. You are my precious, innocent baby sister, and I am not okay with throwing you at the mercy of strangers for Urochs, especially when you'll be going in with Ice Princess over here!”

Weiss growled. “Everyone, could you please excuse myself and Yang? We'll just be going to the restroom...”

Ruby looked uneasily at them both, before she sighed and began to make room for them to leave, the others following suit.

Diners and servers gave them a wide berth as they walked on past, fearing the aura they were giving off—like an inferno coming up against a blizzard.

They kept their voices down for the benefit of the people actually using the facilities, but the tension came through loud and clear.

“What is your problem with me?” Weiss snapped. “What is it that is that ticks you off about me dating Ruby?”

Yang scowled and held up her hand. “I suggest you don't go there, princess, or else we're going to have to add broken furniture and walls to our bill later. Look: has anyone told you about the statistics of Fae/Human relationships? About how they’re almost always doomed to fail?”

“Penny has, and in my defense, that's the same thing they said about my grandparents relationship, and look how they ended up,” Weiss huffed.

Yang groaned. “I'm trying to help you here, Weiss! You know one of the biggest reasons why the Shit went down? It's because dad thought he could handle a relationship with Ruby's mom!

“Now don't get me wrong: they were crazy for each other, and Uncle Qrow’s got the proof in his chronicle, but the fact is, dad just couldn't handle all the cons of dating a Keeper—though it probably didn't help that he was forced to live with his ex-wife, AKA my mom the Alpha Bitch.

“Dating Ruby is going to be crazy, it's going to be full of problems, and trust me: you may think you've got it all figured out, but then something's going to happen that'll turn your whole world round and round till you don't have the slightest clue which way is up or down!

“Trust me: I watched this shit unfold before my very eyes, and it was a helluva roller coaster of ups, downs, and seventeen-dimensional shapes beyond our comprehension! I was just a baby for all of it, but I know you know from personal experience that little kids absorb and understand a lot more shit than adults think they do.”

Yang's eyes softened. “Dad wasn't perfect, as a person or as a husband both times he tried, and he'll be the first to admit that! But he was a helluva lot more well-adjusted and had a whole lot less issues than you did, Weiss.

“You're going to end up getting hurt. Ruby's going to end up getting hurt. And with Keepers, you can bet there’s going to be plenty of collateral damage. And I don't know if you’ll believe me, but I sincerely wish none of that to happens to you—to either of you.

“So please: will you say 'No' to the contest…?”

Weiss looked Yang in the eyes, saw the sincerity, the desperation. She felt the anger and indignation inside of her drain away as she saw something far too familiar:

Someone who only wanted to protect her little sister.

Weiss slowly reached out and touched Yang on the shoulder. “Yang…? I believe you, alright? I don't want Ruby to get hurt either, and trust me, I'm already starting to get a pretty good idea of all the crazy shit that happens when you date a Keeper.

“But I'm entering that contest with her, and I'm going to keep on dating her, unless one or the both of us decide to break it off!”

Weiss carefully pulled off her mask. “Ruby's going to get hurt, Yang. You can't protect her from everything. And I know you know she doesn't want you to—even if you are her big sister.

“It's called the growing the fuck up, and there's nothing you can do about it.”

Weiss put her mask back on.

Yang looked down, defeated. “… If you two happen to win one of the big prizes, and you have to do the big victory kiss for the crowds, don't go full-on make out session, alright? The images my brain is offering are bad enough, I don’t need the reality broadcasted on live HoloVision for all of Avalon to see.”

“We won't, I promise,” Weiss replied. She looked away. “… Besides, we, uh, kinda know from firsthand experience that it's REALLY bad for me to get too excited...”

Yang looked at her in curiosity. “Why? What happens?”

Weiss slowly looked back at her. “… I accidentally freeze our lips together...”

Yang sniggered. “Well, at least I you're not giving her the cold shoulder, huh?”

Beat.

The both of them groaned.

“Oh, fuck me, that was a mistake...” Yang said, quietly gagging.

“Yes… yes it was...” Weiss grumbled.

They returned to their table, told the others that Yang had changed her mind and that she'd join the plan. “And just so we're clear here: this is only because I don't want Ruby to get in trouble,” she added as she and Weiss slipped back into their seats.

“That means she's starting to like you!” Ruby whispered as Weiss returned by her side.

Their food arrived shortly after. They could see Marty still being very suspicious of them, especially with how Weiss and Ruby noticeably kept their masks on as the others began to dig in, but thankfully the other server with him told him to knock it off.

“Geeze, Marty, lay off the shock news for a while! That shit's not good for you...” they muttered as they returned to the kitchen.

After a dinner spent with Weiss and Ruby's hoods up and heads down as they ate, they sent an entry picture of them for the contest:

The two of them in the center, satisfied and looking very much in love while the others were slumped over “dead” on the table, ketchup “bloodstains” everywhere.

Penny attached their fake identities, playfully captioned it “Dinner Date for the Keepers,” then sent it off before they paid their bill and left Fiorina's. Marty was still wary of them and none too pleased about the mess beside, but the generous tip Pyrrha convinced him to give it a rest, for now.

It had barely been five minutes when they got a message back from the officials:

“What amazing costumes and astoundingly bad taste! We love it, you're in.”

Note: As the author finally remembered, their saying “Sexy Animal Noise” in their “Dr. Nefarious” Voice.

#white rose #the keeper of the grove #rwby #fanfic

[nevillelongsbottom]

I suck at choosing and I don't want to put limits to your imagination, so if it's enough and it's okay I'd like to see something with Sirius and Bill talking about fashion and then whatever happens. It can be platonic, romantic, unrequited... Whatever works for you best, I'm up for all the possibilities

I feel like I totally lost my groove while writing this one, so I hope it’s okay! I didn’t want to go too crazy on the fashion front, because I’m super bad at just blethering about Vivienne Westwood on and on, so I tried not to do that. (but i kinda did whoops)

The way Sirius learns about Bill’s clothes is by taking themoff.

Bill is injured badly in the Battle of Hogwarts and, despitethe best efforts of those at St Mungo’s, is going to take a long time torecover; he can barely move and walks either with a frame or someone to leanon, and dressing is a slow and painful process that he can’t perform on hisown, and so Sirius does it for him.

Bill, of course, continues to pick out his own outfits, andinsists on the way he wears them, too: he always tucks his shirt into histrousers, for one, casual or formal, and despite the stiffness and inability tomove his joints, he ties his own ties – Sirius has seen tears drip out his eyesfrom the sheer pain of the act, but he insists.“Can’t give up on everything all at once,” he says when Sirius asks, with agrin. “Even if it’s one thing, it makes me feel like I’m not completelyuseless, you know? I feel like I can still do something.”

Sirius hasn’t bought new clothes in years, and he feels likehe lives again through Bill’s wardrobe: it’s full of the kinds of things hewould wear, still, dark-coloured shirts and well-fitting trousers – not exactlythe same, of course, but enough to pip him with jealousy; oh, to be youngagain, to not have seen what he’s seen now. He comments that Bill always wearsnice shirts, and Bill grins.

“You can wear some, if you want. They’d probably fit.”

A smirk plays across Sirius’s lips. “If you’ll wear mypinstripes.”

-

Bill makes it out of the wheelchair a year later – it’s aslow recovery, for sure, but he’s amazed he’s out of it at all: it was a strongspell, and his joints had spent each day aching and complaining and staunchlyrefusing to recover. He’s been moving, day by day, able to put on more of hisclothes by himself, get out of bed in a matter of moments rather than slow,painful minutes, and the day that counts is the day he decides to dress himselfcompletely.

He feels like he ought to do something special: he wears ablack shirt and a pair of Sirius’s brown pinstripe trousers with a matchingpinstripe blazer, and, because he feels like it’ll be amusing, a spotty bowtie, which he neatly ties himself, grinning at his own reflection. To anyone,he supposes, this would look ordinary – to Sirius, who knows Bill’s dressinghabits almost completely inside out, he’ll appreciate everything, every buttondone, the pull of his bow tie, the double knot on his laces, and Sirius willknow how much this means to him.

Sirius is waiting for him, hovering outside the door in casehe was needed; he casts his eyes up and down Bill, and grins. “Look at you,” hesays. “You look fucking brilliant.”He reaches up and straightens Bill’s bow tie. “You’ve learned well.”

“I have a very stylish mentor to thank,” Bill replies with aquirk of his eyebrow; Sirius laughs a little, and loops his arm through Bill’sto help him down the stairs (Bill had insisted he have a first-floor room, sothat he would have to actively work to walk down the stairs every morning).“You look good, too, you know.” It’s true: he can see that Sirius’s clothes areworn around the edges, everywhere, but he still dresses sharply, his wardrobefull of patterns and pinstripe, everything ironed out neatly. He had found itawkward having to have someone dress him, make his tea, make his dinner, takehim to the bloody toilet, but he hadquickly found a correspondence with Sirius in the area of fashion: of theirfavourite designers, magazines, icons; how they should wear this item, or thatitem, or what with, or what if they went out on a limb and tried this withthis.

Sirius, too, has dressed for the purpose of amusing Bill:he’s wearing one of Bill’s shirts, dark green with a paisley pattern that onlyshows up in the light. The grin can’t keep itself off of Bill’s face; he’s amazed,really, that so soon they’ve developed a system of speaking without words, andnot so in the way that Fred and George made up their own language when theywere younger – it’s not so much a language that nobody else looks at, but alanguage that anyone could understand if they looked.

The idea that he’s being looked at that closely makes Bill’sheart race.

-

Bill knows he’s still a fucking charity case half the time,but Sirius doesn’t seem to care.

They learn most about each other sprawled out on each other’sbed, sifting through their wardrobes and clothes and talking about this andthat. Bill usually sits and sews up all the holes he accumulates in his shirtsand T-shirts while Sirius goes through his clothes and either makes alterationshere and there or comments on it. It’s calm, usually, the rest they get betweenseeing the fallout.

“How come I’ve never seen this before?” Sirius asks,smoothing out one of Bill’s blazers – it’s split down the middle into one halfblack and one half white, but there are what look to be paint splatters of the oppositecolour on either side, and he feels half-tempted to steal it away and never letBill wear it again though, of course, Bill will wear it better than him.

“Oh, I just got it the other week when I was out withGeorge. That, and there’s a secret panel in the back of my wardrobe where allthe coolest clothes are,” Bill teases; Sirius rolls his eyes good-naturedly. “Youshould wear it sometime. It’d look good with that black shirt.” Though Siriushas enough black shirts to smother someone with, he somehow knows exactly theone Bill is referring to.

“Perhaps.”

Bill convinces him to do it; George’s eyes linger on Siriusas he looks up from his cereal, and Bill swears for the briefest of moments, helaughs.

-

Sirius loses touch with Bill’s wardrobe when he stopshelping to dress him; he relearns it by undressing Bill in a new way. They moveout promptly when Bill can function independently again, and they don’t botherhaving separate wardrobes: they don’t even have separate clothes, and ownership is a long-gone concept the moment they movein.

Sirius has no chance of employment; he stays indoors,mostly, with their cats, smoking and sewing patches one by one onto their denimjackets, and waits for Bill to leave for and come back from Gringotts.

“That Westwood?” he asks, glancing up from the Daily Prophetand at Bill’s trousers: he usually wears dark colours, but he’s wearing a pairof red tartan trousers rolled up at the hem and safety pinned that way. “Whoare you trying to impress?”

“Just you,” Bill replies, rolling up his sleeves. “Datenight tonight. I booked a place. You should wear that new shirt I bought youthe other day.”

“That’s exactly what I was thinking. And then you can takeit off.”

“You know me too well,” Bill snorts, blowing a faux kiss ashe steps out the door.

#i write shit #sirius black #bill weasley #sirius x bill #thanks for the prompt! #hope i didn't disappoint too much

[shapesclothing]

Hiring a Magician, The Real Keys - Honesty From a Dishonest Profession

Implementing a Magician, The Real Secrets - Honesty From a Dishonest Profession

Trollkarl Göteborg With Over fifteen decades of experience as a professional magician in England, I will tip you the secrets of employing a premium quality magician for the event, and also how to avoid the low quality magicians that may actually do more damage than good to your event. Straightforward Magicians jargon, the 3 main types of magicians: o O A oA Magician that performs head reading or'Derren Brown Style Magic' is popularly called a Mind Reader, Mind-reader, Psychological Illusionist or Mentalist. Trollkarl Göteborg A Fantastic magician may be worth their weight in gold at |} Any event, it is crucial if you'd like to not just provide entertainment for your event, but to boost the atmosphere and give it that unique advantage, selecting the most appropriate magician can be somewhat more'tricky' than you might imagine. A premium excellent magician with years of experience won't come particularly cheap, so here are my top recommendations to make sure that you find the very best deal for your money. Request Google or some other search engine For a magician in the local area, and it'll unmercifully spew a mind overload of potential close up magicians, children's magicians, stage magicians, entertainers, mind readers, comedy magicians, illusionists, jugglers and many more - but who do you choose? How do you select them? And, how do you know they will be the very important ingredient for your event? If you've already began your search for a magician You may see many advertise on their websites exactly the same buzzwords like'Unforgettable','Unique',''World Class Magician','Absolutely Wonderful ','Perfect for your event' etc , but just how much of this is fact, and how much that is fiction? You will soon learn how to separate the truth from the embellished truth. Firstly, decide Precisely what kind of magician you believe would be ideal for your event. To assist you search with using search engines for the ideal magician for your event use the'magicians jargon' terms along with the following to assist your searches become that little bit simpler. If you want a magician which could mingle with your guests at a drinks reception type surroundings you'll have to hunt for close up magicians in your regional area; should you need a magician to get a ball or dinner the identical search terms or table magicians rather than close up magicians inside the local area will give what you require, having a magician work round the courses is no difficulty whatsoever to the professional, but the amateur could have a difficult time with organizing their amusement round the meal. If you're looking for a wedding enthusiast, again you really do need somebody that specializes in weddings, not especially someone that really does the'entire shebang' as it - as the old saying goes don't spread yourself too thin. I strongly suggest not selecting a close up magician that also does children's parties, sadly there are many fantastic children's entertainers on the market, but a lot of them think that the same rules apply to entertaining children as entertaining adults - in reality it's a completely different ballgame. Both are highly skilled arts. Many children's entertainers will find out some fundamental magic Tricks and try to piggyback close up magical work out of their children's parties. Ideally if you want a children's entertainer, find somebody that specializes in entertaining children and should you want a magician for adults find someone that only performs high quality magical for adults. Maybe you desire a cabaret magician, or point type entertainment, there are many genres here; thoughts reading, comedy, stand up magic, hypnotism, illusions,'Tommy Cooper kind' magicians and so on, consider what would be best for your event and guests - should you believe that your audience would appreciate a comedy magician over say a mind reader, then hunt around for humor magicians in your area, a big tip here is to be sure they have a minumum of one video of them performing, there is nothing worse than an unfunny comedy magician! If you know the sort of people at your event aren't the kinds which like to be in the limelight, a hypnotist is certainly not for you! Good stage magicians and illusionists are typically quite great crowd pleaser's, but it is generally old fashioned style entertainment which won't suit everybody. Illusionists and conventional stage magicians are ideal when you have international guests as they have'non patter' acts which are performed simply to music. A fantastic mind reading series can be exceedingly impressive, it can be completely baffling, entertaining your whole audience and also be very funny, however there is lots of dull mind reading shows and not all them are geared towards relatives if there are children in the audience, again check references and videos. After You understand just what you need for your occasion, and perhaps even a fashion that you think will best suit your involvement, perhaps you want the older looking magician type magician or your young fresh and modern close up magician, have a look at a various websites until you come across a couple that you think could be excellent for your occasion. Pay attention firstly to there style and image - Whether it's a black tie event, you most likely don't want a magician who wears jeans and t-shirt and other casual wear to performances, even if you've got a young trendy crowd maybe you desire the fairly young magician who really does dress much more casual. Perhaps you want close up magic and stage magic, find out if they offer both services - most will give you a fantastic package deal for the two. To employ somebody non local to you personally who covers doing in your area, a lot of magicians have a'one fee anyplace' for doing anywhere in the nation so you are not landed with a massive travel expenses on top of the performing fee. Every magician's website should have; real Premium quality testimonials and references, photographs - rather than only studio photographs but real performance photographs, a video if possible so you can find a better idea of what they do, and finally they ought to present to you all of the info you need about there doing experience. It should tell you how long they have been performing, notable areas and companies they've worked for and making them stick out over the crowd. When you get in touch with your brief list of magicians make certain to include all the necessary information about your event; such as type of event, date, time, location, number of visitors, and in case you've got an notion of the budget you have allocated for a magician, or mention that as well. Agency site will pop up with numerous magicians and alternative entertainments, recall brokers usually charge around 15 percent commission, so you may wind up paying more through a broker. Sometimes it's far better to cut out the middle person to get one performer. If your event requires multiple acts of distinct entertainment branches, bureaus are typically the best approach to visit supervise your entertainment, nevertheless most magicians are going to have the ability to urge colleagues that work well together in the event that you would like to employ numerous magicians. Unlike many professions where there Are always'cowboy' providers, surprisingly there are very few'cowboy magicians' on the market, however, there's a huge range in quality. The easiest way to detect the good quality magicians in the reduced quality magicians is by the fee. A complete time professional will work hard on his trade, he has the expertise and the ability required, devoting their life to doing magic, their fee reflects their clients will pay the commission every time to get an unbeatable support. On the opposite end of the spectrum you've got the amateur, the guy just starting out, or the'experienced professional' that maybe should of retired if his tie went out in fashion in 1963. These are normally the weekend amateurs who is going to do the job for you and will not bill you very much. Whilst every magician has to start somewhere, don't settle for anything less than the finest when it comes to high quality, professional magic entertainment. It takes a very long time to turn into a fantastic magician, amateur magicians could possibly ruin your event, they may create an off the cuff remark towards the guests that's not well accepted, but their magic might not be that good or they might only be exceptionally unsuitably dressed for your event. Total time professional magicians have to be good in every aspect of operation and people skills, generally you can not fail with a complete time professional that has all of the proper credentials I outlined above. Many Magicians offer close up magic in 1 hour or two hour time slots, generally two hours to get about a hundred guests is the best bet, which gives the magician sufficient time to view as many people as you can. Once You've your enquiries back, done either by telephone or email, here comes the hard part - which one will choose? Unfortunately I can not make that decision for you, generally the greater magicians will be in the same price range, as I mentioned previously - the reduced price magicians will often be amateurs or part time magicians that might not provide you the full magic experience which can make your event stand out a mile. Magic is a really unique art form, the very best magicians are not just great at magic they are also good with people and that comes with many years of expertise. As with all rules there are of course exceptions, But if you follow my guide, I'm sure you'll get the perfect match for Your occasion. Magic is among the most enjoyable, interesting and enjoyable Only is it universal in captivating all ages but can bring people Collectively, even help sell products or incredibly increase the atmosphere Of an event.