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radiant-reid · 1 year

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Christmas (Baby, please come home)

a/n: i did say i still have Christmas fics to write, so judge me if you want

Summary: Spencer's gone for Christmas, and you and the twins wish he wasn't.

Pairing: Spencer Reid x Fem!Reader (minor angst, major fluff)

Word Count: 3.2k

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Christmas Eve was a hot chocolate night. That was the tradition every year. Hot chocolate out of the house, a walk back home, bedtime, then Christmas morning.

This year, there's an extra step that they all wish wasn't there: Facetiming Spencer. And that's not a guarantee. It's scheduled, but there's no assurance about how long he can be on the phone.

It kills all of them, and the sacrifice sucks, but there aren't a lot of choices when the State Department calls. The deeply buried positive is that there's a year limit on how long he will be away, and only four months in, it seems impossible to do that two more times.

"Momma, look at the snow." Theo cheers, holding one hand up in the air while his other's wrapped around his hot chocolate.

The three of you are walking through the city on your way home, looking at all the fancy lights strung up around people's houses. It's gorgeous, but it can't be perfect without Spencer.

You nestle his hair. "Sorry, baby, it's a snow machine." You nod to the machine spurting out look-alike snow. "We're not going to get snow this year."

"Or daddy," Evie adds, pouting.

You wrap your arms around them, pulling their little bodies in for side hugs. "He'll be back soon." You promise, desperately hoping they believe it.

"Do you think he'll bring us a present?" Theo asks, grinning up at you.

Spencer will. If not for his guilt, then because he likes to spoil them. "Yup, what do you want?"

"Maybe..." He pauses to think about it. "Peanut butter."

"Peanut butter?" You repeat with a giggle, Evie joining in. "You'll have to ask him about that."

"I want food from wherever he is." She decides.

You frown at your picky eater who really doesn't like trying new foods and will order chicken nuggets from any menu anywhere. It's been a struggle to get her to try more than three of Rossi's pasta dishes. "I'm not sure you'd like it, E." You tell her. "And I'm not sure daddy's allowed to bring food back. We're going to have ham and turkey tomorrow, though."

It's going to be a lot of food, accompanied by stuffing, roasted potato and sweet potato, vegetables- that you'll have to bribe them to eat- and cranberry sauce. And that's not including dessert. There's brunch and dinner at Rossi's on boxing day as well, and he's never been on everyone bringing a plate.

"Remember when daddy set the oven mitt on fire last year?" Theo recalls, bursting into giggles with his sister. It was hilarious, Spencer's high pitch squeals as he threw the mitt in the sink and set off the smoke alarm.

"Remember that next time he asks who's the better cook." You remind them, anticipating Spencer would ask after Christmas to tease her.

Evie turns to look at you. "What's daddy going to have for Christmas dinner?"

You don't have an answer, but she's mostly asking for reassurance that he's okay. "Something really yum." You assure her. "You can ask when we call him."

That answer satisfies her enough for no more questions and saves you from having to explain anything more on his behalf. You can't resist taking a few photos of them on the way home, standing in the streets surrounded by Christmas lights, looking adorable in their coats.

"Okay, go put your pajamas on then we can call." You instruct them once you're back at home, taking their coats to hang up.

They scramble to get ready, excited to talk to Spencer. Everything about being home makes you miss him, like the display of framed pictures in the hallway, his shoes in the doorway, and his coat in the closet.

You clean up the living room a little, putting away all the toys that accumulate over the day. It's what you do when Spencer's working with the BAU since he's clumsy and likely to trip over blocks in the middle of the night.

The Christmas tree in the living room has lots of gifts under it, and their little Theodore and Evelyn stockings hang under the mantel, waiting for presents.

Then you make your way upstairs to their bedrooms just before 9:30, where they're waiting on Theo's bed. You sit next to them, holding out the phone so they'll be able to see him before you call him.

Cell reception in the desert, you anticipated and have discovered, is terrible, but for once, Spencer's face is clear on the screen. His background is blurred, as usual, safety concerns would mean you can't see what's behind him, but the timezone difference means it's dark.

"Hey, there are my favorite people in the world." He says, waving. His voice sounds different on the phone. You can't feel it either, like you're laying on his chest, and you miss that like you miss the rest of him.

"Daddy!" They cheer, pleased to see him.

"How are my sweet babies?" He asks with a wide smile.

They mirror it, and you don't think you'll ever get over the similarities between them. "Good," Theo answers.

"We had hot chocolate," Evie reports.

"With lots of marshmallows?" He checks. "And sprinkles."

Another similarity: sweet tooths. "And whipped cream," Evie tells him. "Did you have hot chocolate?"

"Not yet." He says.

"Can we have some when you're home?" Theo asks, looking between you and his dad.

You and Spencer nod in unison, and you avoid mentioning it could be 90 degrees and summer by the time he comes back. "Of course, bud." He answers. "All the hot chocolate you can drink."

He grins, pumping his fist in the air. "Yes!" He cheers. "I could drink a gallon."

"That might not be the best idea." You remind him, although the smile on his face is worth him thinking he can drink a sick-inducing amount of hot chocolate.

"Especially because we'll have marshmallows," Spencer adds. "We can have another Christmas dinner then, too."

"But mommy has to cook," Evie says.

Spencer chuckles, looking at you and shaking his head. "You wouldn't be poisoning young minds while I'm away, would you, Mrs. Reid?"

You shake your head. "Wouldn't dream of it, Doctor."

They talk for a little while longer before the twins can barely keep their eyes open, beyond tired from the late hour, their excitement reduced enough for them to be able to sleep.

As the new routine goes, Spencer wishes them goodnight while you tuck them in, giving them two kisses each, one from each of you. Then it's your turn to talk to him, and you're grateful you drank more coffee than you probably should have.

You sit on the couch instead of upstairs in bed since there's still some stocking stuffing to do. "What's the time where you are?" You ask.

You don't know exactly where he is or what he's doing it. It's the way you both prefer it because he's not in the middle of the desert half a world away to monitor the ecosystem.

"10pm in DC, so 5 am." He says.

You know he can't be getting a lot of sleep over there, and as much as you want to talk to him, you want him to rest when he has the rare opportunity. Getting up early does not help that.

"Don't worry, it's fine." He assures you, seeing your face change. "I can function on a few hours of sleep."

"How are you?" You ask. "Tell me about normal stuff, like the weather."

He laughs his adorable laugh. "Better than it was when I came." He tells you. "And it never rains. It's just hot and dry or less hot and dry."

"Thought you'd be used to that, desert boy." You tease his aversion to the warm weather.

"This might be a surprise, but I spend most of my summers inside where the aircon is." He corrects you.

"Here I was thinking you were outside playing basketball." You joke back. You can hear his laugh and see his smile, and things feel okay, but it'll end too soon like it always does. "I miss you." You tell him, and you feel bad about it.

At least you have two kids with you that are constant reminders of him. He's all alone, somewhere you don't even know, and he gets to talk to his family only a few times a week.

"I miss you, too, sweetheart." He says. "Can you switch this to a voice call?"

You pout, waving goodbye to him, but agree, placing the phone on your ear. "Now I don't get to see you." You complain about another situation that's worse for him.

"I'm sorry." He apologizes before adding an afterthought question. "Oh, did you get the package at the door?"

"No." You answer. "I would have seen it when we came in."

"I told them to drop it at the backdoor." He tells you. "Safety precautions and all that."

You get up off the couch, walking towards the location of your mystery package. "Please tell me you didn't add to the crazy Christmas delivery overload by buying me more gifts."

"Sort of." He says. "It's for all of you, though."

That gets the gears in your head turning about what it could be. "I hope it's a trampoline. They'd love it, but then you'd get on, and hurt your knee again."

"I got shot in the knee." He corrects you. "I could backflip."

You scoff, laughing. "That I would love to see. Or go-carts." You guess again, holding the phone between your ear and your shoulder while you unlock the door and turn the door hand. "Oh, maybe tickets to an all-inclusive resort in the Bahamas."

What you're greeted with isn't plane tickets: it's the best gift you could imagine. "We can go to the Bahamas if you want." He says, out loud and through the phone.

Your first reaction is to drop your phone on the ground, not caring whether it shatters, and jump into your husband's arms which you haven't felt around you in a very hard, long one hundred and thirty-nine days.

Spencer still smells the same. His perfect cologne makes your house feel completely like home once again. Applying it to his pillow and hoodies for you to wear has not been enough.

He feels slightly more muscular than he used to in his arms and shoulders, and it's a welcomed change. He holds you there, tighter than he ever has before for so long that you stop counting. It satisfies what you've been craving.

He pulls his head back from your shoulder so he can kiss you while he hugs you. "I've missed you so much." You confess.

"We can say that in the past tense now." He says, kissing you once again. "We should go inside. You've got to be freezing."

You didn't realize until then that you went outside in jeans and a shirt, but you can't be cold when he's so warm. Spencer only keeps one arm around your shoulder when you step inside, carrying his bag in the other.

"I've missed this house." He says. "Everything about it."

"The unvacuumed floor?" You joke. "Or the toothpaste the twins spit on the mirror?"

"It's you and them and everything else in between." He assures you, putting his bag by the laundry as you move to the living room. "And I'm in time to be Santa." He cheers excitedly, noticing the stockings.

You nod, pulling him to the entryway. "They're in here." You say as you open the closet and take a trash bag full of gifts from the top shelf while Spencer takes off his shoes.

"Wow." He says when you hand him the heavy sack.

"I know." You nod. "I went a little crazy, but you weren't going to be here and I didn't even buy everything you suggested so..." When you turn back to look at him after closing the closet, he's just staring at you. "What?"

"I love you." He says like it's the most important thing ever.

You beam, wrapping your arms around his neck to kiss him again. "I love you."

"Let's stop being sappy in the hallway, we've got Christmases to make." He declares with a smirk.

"You're going to be making everyone's Christmas just by being here, Spence." You assure him, walking back into the lounge. "Oh, and the team! They'll be so excited to see you."

Spencer puts the bag down on the couch, pulling out gifts to put in the right stocking. It's always like no time has passed when he comes home, no awkward moments or getting back into routine.

"Are you hungry?" You question. "Thirsty? Are you too tired to be doing this?"

He shakes his head, smiling at you. "I'm good, sweetheart. I told you I can function on a few hours of sleep." He assures you. "Honestly, I've never been better."

"How'd you get back so early?" You wonder, sitting on the couch to watch him.

"I just heard I was leaving, so I got on the plane." He explains. "Oddly, they're not the most forthcoming government department."

You chuckle before answering the hard question. "Do you have to go back?"

And you get the answer you were hoping for as he shakes his head before adding more good news. "I don't have to go back to the BAU for a few months either."

That's more than enough of a Christmas gift for you. "They're going to be so happy when they wake up and you're here," You tell him.

"I'm so happy to be here." He says, finishing putting the last gift in Theo's stocking. "In time for Christmas, too."

"We're so lucky." You repeat, holding out your hands.

Spencer grabs your hands and pulls you up, wrapping his arms around your waist and spinning in circles in the living room. "Bed?" He offers.

"Please." You beg. "I have been sleeping in the middle of the bed, though, so I might kick you."

Spencer laughs as he follows you upstairs, holding your hand. "Well, I'm looking forward to sleeping on a mattress without lumps in it."

Once you reach the top of the stairs, Spencer wraps his arm around your shoulder, and it's like you're taken right back to when you first started living together, and you wouldn't let go of each other for hours after he got home from a case.

"I have to kiss them goodnight." Spencer stills when you pass Theo's room.

You go back to holding his hand as he pushes the door open slowly to avoid waking him. He's tightly tucked up in bed still, sleeping peacefully, and Spencer brushes some curls off his forehead before kissing him softly.

"I love you, little man." He says before you tiptoe out, careful of the creaks in the floorboards. "Did he get bigger?" He asks once you're safe in the hallway.

"They both did. I think at least an inch." You report.

You go to Evie's room next, repeating the same routine of Spencer admiring her before kissing her forehead and sneaking out of the room again.

"I never want to lose that much time with them again." He confesses as you walk towards your bedroom.

You know it must have killed him to be away for so long, but he's here now and that's really what matters. "But you're our hero." You remind him.

He smiles at that. "How many of the clothes I left here have been worn?" He asks, suspiciously looking around the closet you ended up in to get pajamas.

"Oh, all your hoodies and t-shirts." You assure him. "The good news is that they all smell like me now."

He nods in agreement. "That is good news." He grabs a hoodie and some pajama bottoms, but before he changes, he notices you just watching him. "Did you... want a show?"

You chuckle, shaking your head. "I think we might need to save that for tomorrow night. What I'm doing is admiring you and making sure you're not injured."

"Promise." He says, and maybe you're misleading him by making it sound like it's a 50/50 split because there's a lot more admiring going on than checking injuries. "Satisfied?" He asks, smirking at your wandering eyes.

"So satisfied." You assure him, blushing a little. "Thanks for that."

"You're very welcome." He says. "Wanna go to bed now?"

"Yes." You agree, both of you finishing your bedtime routines before getting under the covers.

Spencer pulls you close immediately, cuddling you into his side. "Merry Christmas." He whispers, kissing you softly.

"Merry Christmas." You reply, wiggling even closer to him. It doesn't take you too long to fall asleep with the warm feeling that your family is all under one roof finally.

And it's not a dream.

In the morning he's there, kissing your forehead as he gets out of bed. You turn to look at the clock. "Spence, it's 6:30."

"Lucky it's not earlier." He jokes. "My internal close is messed up." "You better be getting me coffee." You tell him, holding out your finger as you rest your face against the pillow in an attempt to get another few seconds of sleep.

He brushes the hair off your shoulder, exposing it so he can kiss your skin. "Promise." He says.

You don't fall back asleep. You just grin at the ceiling until Spencer comes back in a few minutes later with coffee. You moan at the taste since he always makes it better than you do. "This is so good."

He gets back under the covers next to you and sips his own mug. "I've had nothing but instant coffee, not even drip coffee."

"So how long do you think we have until two little people bust open the door?" You wonder.

"Two minutes." He estimates, and you raise your eyebrows, knowing the one way he could know that. "Okay, fine. I did go into their rooms to shake them." He confesses.

You laugh, shaking your head. It's an old trick of his to get them up. "You're terrible."

"I want to see my little babies." He sulks, pouting playfully. "Plus, they've had nearly nine hours of sleep."

The pitter-patter of tiny feet starts in the hallway when Spencer suggested it would, and you both put your coffees down in anticipation.

"Mommy, it's Christmas," Theo reports, tapping on your door.

"Come in." You instruct. "I've got an amazing surprise."

Spencer scoffs next to you. "Only amazing?"

There's no chance for you to provide another adjective before 2 five-year-olds race in, jumping onto the bed without looking at who's next to you. The realization sets in on their faces after a millisecond, and their eyes grow wide before the high-pitch squeals start as they launch at him.

He grabs both of them, one in each arm as he holds them tight to his chest. "Hi, sweet angels." He says, kissing their foreheads.

"I missed you." They both tell him.

"I missed you both more." He assures them.

Evie pulls back to eye him suspiciously. "How did you get here?" She asks.

Spencer smoothes a hand through her hair. "On a plane." He tells her. "I couldn't miss Christmas."

"Now this is the best Christmas ever," Theo says, assuming up how you're all feeling.

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eliashirsch · 4 months

Text

How About A Picnic?

He’s like this often. Mostly when he doesn’t get what he wants, like: when the weather isn’t a perfect ninety degrees sunny without a cloud; when his bike creates that rattling noise during that time of the month again; when his toast isn’t crispy all the way to the edges; when he wakes up and Ice isn’t there with him.

Living with Maverick means seeing him pout every ten minutes. Like what he’s doing now. Bottom lip jutting out, eyes wide and slightly teary, shoulders defeated. The man is fifty-nine years old.

It’s all for show, of course. If Maverick Mitchell is anything but, it’s easily offended. His heart is locked away in solid steel and guarded with spiked iron. He’s just looking for a reaction. Which Ice, for all of his reputation, can’t help but react anyway.

“What’s wrong?” Ice asks, coaxing Maverick to turn around and face him.

Maverick’s not giving in easily. His back’s turned, hands on his hips like a sulking toddler who’s been refused a second cookie. “Aren’t you the so-called ‘Maverick Whisperer’? Can’t you tell?”

“I’m not a mind reader,” Ice says for the hundredth time. “C’mon. Tell me. Is it the kids? Are they teasing you again?”

“No,” Maverick hisses and dodges Ice. “Go away. I hate you.”

No, you don’t. Ice resists saying it in fear of Maverick shutting him out even more. When he’s in a fussy mood, Maverick can’t handle too much ribbing.

“I’m sorry,” he says instead. “Is it something I did? Did I forget an anniversary?”

“You’re a shitty husband if you have to ask that.”

“Well, better late than never.”

“Hmph.” Maverick scowls and pouts even more.

Ice considers him, then gets an idea. Maverick narrows his eyes at him as if he can see the lightbulb on top of his head.

He takes Maverick’s arms and yanks so they’re flush chest to chest, trapping his arms underneath so Maverick can’t escape.

Ice drops a kiss on Maverick’s nose. “Tell me.” Another to his right eyebrow. “C’mon.” To the right eyebrow. “Tell me. You know you want to.” To the high of his cheekbone. “Tell me.” To his forehead, lips, jaw, neck, ears. Then all over again.

Maverick’s tense shoulders drop little by little, and by the twentieth kiss, he’s giggling and squirming, trying to get away from Ice’s wet lips.

“Stop!” Maverick lets out.

“Only if you tell me.”

“Fine, you asshole!” Maverick glares, fierce as a kitten. “I wanted to go on a picnic but it’s going to rain later today.”

Ice can’t help but throw his head back and laugh. Oh, Mav. “Is that it?”

Maverick flushes. “I knew you’d laugh.” He slaps Ice’s chest, though the sting of it is chased away by a gentle rub.

“I’m sorry,” Ice says through chuckles. “It’s just—you’re so goddamn cute, you know?”

“I’m not cute!” Maverick protests cutely.

“You are.” Ice smiles. “The cutest.”

Maverick’s pout appears again, Ice kisses it away.

“We can just go on that picnic now,” Ice suggests.

“Now? But it’s eleven in the afternoon.”

“So?”

“So? The sun’s way too high for that!”

Ice shrugs. “So what? You want to go, right?”

Maverick stares at him in quiet amazement, probably thinking about how his usually fussy boyfriend is suggesting to go on a picnic with the sun at its peak. Probably wondering what happened to him.

Love. Love happened to him. Ice will do anything for Maverick if he asks.

“Alright,” Maverick says. “But you’re making the sandwiches.”

“Sandwiches?”

“It’s the tradition! And you’re—better at cooking than I am,” Maverick struggles to say those last few words.

Ice smirks. “You could just slap on some peanut butter and jelly and call it a day.”

“A perfect sandwich requires ham, a sunny-side-up egg, cheese, and slightly burnt toast!”

“Fine, fine.” Ice rolls his eyes like making a sandwich for his husband is that much of a burden. “I’ll get to cooking.”

“Atta boy.” Maverick smirks, and slaps Ice’s butt.

#another one from the kisses prompts #first post of the year!#still getting back to the flow of writing!#old men in love #can't believe my last post was a banger #who knew so many people loved hangster!#icemav #pete maverick mitchell #tom iceman kazansky #iceman x maverick #top gun

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tipsyleaf · 2 days

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I imagine Cecilia and Violet would absolutely stage their own little coup when they found out about pending baby Scottie. All Violet’s idea obviously. They’d refuse to talk to their parents thinking it would just magically make the impending baby disappear. Their own little revolution. Cecilia would of course cave when Leon brings home ice cream for his very pregnant wife. Poor kid can’t resist the temptation of dessert😞

(Funny AF idea but maybe let's not use the word coup??? 😅)

I could see Violet and Cecelia talking it out in Violets room.

"We gotta convince them to put this kid up for adoption." Violet would be pacing back and forth. Cecilia sitting on her older sisters bed.

"Why? Mommy and Daddy seem excited to be having a baby." Violet sighs, of course she'd be on their side. She's 8 and stupid. She doesn't know better. Violet grabs her sisters shoulders, staring her in the eyes.

"Lia... I'm doing this for you." A lie, but it would get through to her easily. Cecilia looks confused, looking up at her older sister.

"What?"

"Middle children... They always get forgotten when there's a new baby... And you wouldn't be the baby anymore." Cecilia stares blankly, her brain putting 2 and two together. 4 finally clicking into place as she starts to tear up.

"They'd forget about me!?" She sniffles, lip wobbling as she rubs her eyes, Violet nodding as she stands up straight.

"I'm surprised mom can even get pregnant. A woman in her 40s. I thought she'd be going through menopause by not at least..." Cecilia sniffs, looking up at Violet confused again.

"What's medow-paws?"

"It's when people with uteruses go through changes so they can't have babies anymore... Like the opposite of what mom told you about periods."

Violet sighs as Cecilia watches her continue to pace.

"I say we do something that'll drive them crazy... Slowly, very slowly." Violet stops in mid step, smirking as she turns looking at Cecilia. "I have an idea."

"What?"

"We stop talking to them. It'll be complete silence from both of us."

"But... Only Daddy hates when we're quiet?" Violet grins bigger, nodding.

"And Dad drives Mom crazy when he's upset. So she'll be getting affected too."

"Oh! So, she'll just do what we want to make him happy?"

"Exactly."

The plan caved within a few hours. The silence from the kids was obvious. You and Leon knew what to do to make one of them break.

Leon left after dinner and came back carrying a recyclable bag. Setting it on the table he pulls out a carton of chocolate ice cream. Setting it on the dinner table, getting the girls attention as you sat down rubbing your barely showing bump.

"Thank you honey." He leans down giving you a kiss on the head before setting another carton down of cookie dough, his favorite.

Violet squinting at her father making a spectacle of placing a carton of peanut butter chocolate down. Her favorite. Leon looks up, clearing his throat and sets the last carton down. Making sure Cecilia is watching.

"Got your guys favorite." He turns the container, the label showing birthday cake ice cream on the front. Cecilia squeals jumping off the couch and rushing into the kitchen. Violet sighs, putting her head in her hands.

Today she learned a hard lesson:

Never let your revolution partner be an 8 year old.

#leon kennedy x reader #leon s kennedy x reader #leon kennedy x fem reader #leon s kennedy #resident evil x reader #🌿 ivy replies #🌿 ivy writes #🏡 domestic life with leon kennedy

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1lostsoul0fishbowl · 11 months

Text

Random Gareth headcanons because why not

He can speak Welsh (because I googled “what kind of name is Gareth” and discovered that both Gareth and Gwydion are Welsh names, and kids in small white midwestern towns in the 80s did not typically get “ethnic” names, it would’ve been Garrett or Gary fersure so I decided solely based on that that his family is hardcore Welsh)

He has occasionally convinced bullies that he actually put a hex on them, by telling them “have a nice day” or “don’t forget your lunch money” in Welsh. None of them have ever caught on.

He likes weird food. Dude puts peanut butter on strawberry pop-tarts. He steals his grandpa’s Necco wafers and sneakily eats them in class. Every year he tries the weirdest fried-on-a-stick food the county fair is selling.

Also if anyone dares him to try a weird food combination he will, without hesitation. Even though a few times he’s had to run away and get sick afterward he still can’t resist a weird food dare.

His dad listens to opera, and he makes up his own random words and sings along. He can hit most of the high notes too.

He never quite fit in with any group at school until he got to high school and met Eddie. A couple years later when Eddie met Dustin, Mike, and Lucas, Gareth was ridiculously jealous of them until he realized that Eddie wasn’t going to drop him just because he had some new sheepies to look after.

When he first started hanging out with Eddie, he copied everything about him (which Jeff and Grant found hilarious, and still good-naturedly tease him about).

He’s definitely the weirdo of Corroded Coffin. Not in a bad way, he’s just… weird, sometimes. Like he’ll turn to Grant out of nowhere and say something like “Nights in White Satin sounds like a love song that has a stomach ache” or he’ll tell Jeff “you smell all fluffy and purple today” and then just go about his business like he didn’t just drop some absolute nonsense that left his friends completely bewildered.

#gareth emerson #gareth the great #gareth stranger things #gareth headcanons #stranger things #hellfire club #corroded coffin #gwydion lashlee walton #losty writes #eddie munson #jeff stranger things #grant stranger things #losty headcanons

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stiles-o-dylan24 · 8 months

Text

King of My Heart Chapter 19 - The Case of the Missing Lifeguard

Author: @stiles-o-dylan24 Pairing: Steve x Summer Byers (eventually) Word Count: 5.8k Warnings: language, mentions of guns, dual pov SERIES SPOTIFY PLAYLIST

|| << PREV || MASTERLIST || NEXT >> ||

SUMMER POV

Rain is on the forecast for today so Steve thankfully offered to stop by the house to pick me up and take me to work so I didn’t have to ride my bike.

I meet him outside and climb into the front seat, smiling over at him as I shove my bag and my rain jacket down against the side of my leg “Thanks for picking me up.”

He lifts his hand off the steering wheel, shifting back in his seat as he returns with a smile of his own and stammers “Yeah, yeah– of– of course, any time.”

Once we get to the mall we unlock the front gate and head into Scoops, working through the opening checklist and getting everything ready for when the mall opens.

Robin shows up almost an hour into our shift and she grabs her headphones out of her backpack and sets them on the back counter while we wait for Dustin to arrive with the tape recorder.

Once Dustin gets to Scoops we make our plan for the day– he hands the tape recorder to Robin so that she and I can continue listening to the recording and see if there’s any other clues or part of the code to translate.

While we stay at the ice cream parlor to do that Steve and Dustin head out for a stake out of sorts, trying to see if they can see anything out of the ordinary or any evil Russians that stand out among the mall patrons.

I’ve got the headphones on and I’m listening to the recording again while Robin wipes down some tables. I hear the bell ring on the front counter a few times before I look over my shoulder and see Erica and her friends here once again.

I smile at her and spin around to face her, dropping the headphones down to rest around my neck “Yes, Erica?”

She smiles a little forced smile and brightly announces “I’d like to try the peanut butter chocolate swirl, please.”

I snort and shake my head softly at her “No, I’m sorry but no more samples today.”

Her face falls as she asks “Why not?” and Robin walks back behind the counter, chiming in “Because you have been in here the last few days, including this morning, sampling flavors.”

Erica swings her offended eyes from Robin and back at me and I raise my brows once with my words “You’re abusing our company policy which is to allow someone to try one or two flavors to make a decision”

“I am trying to make a decision” Erica counters and I’m quick to laugh once and throw back at her “You’ve tried every flavor twice– you know which ones you like.”

Erica throws me a frustrated look and looks around “Where’s the sailor man?”

Robin chuckles and I shake my head at Erica as I answer her “Sorry, but Harrington can’t help you today– he’s busy.”

“Busy with what?” she asks and I share a look with Robin who smiles and answers “Spycraft.”

⋇・.・゜゜・.・゜゜・.・゜゜・.・゜゜・.・⋇

STEVE POV

Dustin and I head towards the center of the food court where the seating area is surrounded by an outline of planters that are filled with fake plants. We head to the back left of the bench area so we’ll be able to see everyone walking by from the front main entrance of the mall as well as the escalators.

Dustin lifts up the binoculars that he brought and hands them over to me. I grab them and toss the strap behind my neck before I lift the binoculars up so I can look through them. I slowly move from side to side so I can look at everyone I can see around us down on the first floor as well as up above us on the second floor.

“You see anything?” Dustin asks and I make a noise as I reply “Uh, I guess I don't totally know what I'm looking for.”

“Evil Russians” he says like it’s obvious and I resist the urge to roll my eyes as I say slowly “Yeah, exactly. I don't know what an evil Russian looks like.”

“Tall, blond, not smiling” Dustin offers and I sigh “Mm-hmm?” while Dustin continues “Also, look for earpieces, camo, duffel bags, that sort of thing.”

“Right, okay, duffel bags” I repeat absentmindedly and move the binoculars so I can look up at the second floor level, scoffing at what I see next “Oh, you've gotta be kidding me.”

“What?” I hear Dustin say and I grimace as I fill in “Anna Jacobi's talking with that meathead Mark Lewinsky.”

“If you're not gonna focus, just gimme the binoculars” Dustin sighs, however, I just talk over him “Aw, Jesus Christ, whatever happened to standards? I mean, Lewinsky never even came off the bench.”

Dustin makes a noise and says “Dude, you are the worst spy in history, you know that?” as he grabs the binoculars from my hands and pulls them towards him. Problem being the strap is still around my neck so I lean with his pull and say “Stop, hey,” at the same time he says “Give me those.” I succeed in removing the strap attached to the binoculars from my neck and toss it at him “Just stop being so impatient.”

Dustin takes the binoculars and lifts them up to look through them, throwing at me “Besides I don't get why you're even looking at other girls–” he starts and I’m quick to interrupt “I wasn’t looking at other girls, I just saw them together and it was a little appalling.”

Dustin looks over at me just to roll his eyes before he goes back to looking through the binoculars “You literally have the perfect girl right in front of you.”

I sigh, lifting my arm up to lean against the planter wall in front of us “Seriously, if you say Summer again…”

“Summer– okay, Steve,” he drops the binoculars once more to look right at me while he stresses “Summer. I mean what the hell have you been doing for the past few months?”

“Nothing man–” I start and he just nods, interrupting me “Exactly, nothing–" he scoffs, shaking his head and continuing "Even I can see you’re not doing anything... I think you’re taking your 'not caring' advice a little too literally.”

“Summer was never a girl that was going to fall for the 'not caring' trick” I scoff lightly, shaking my head as I look down at the fake plant in front of me. I hit the leaves and sigh to myself, not wanting to admit to this little twerp that what I’ve been doing for months is trying to figure out if I even have a shot with Summer… which no matter how much I want to look into how she is acting more friendly towards me, I keep coming back to the same conclusion– I don’t stand a chance in hell with her.

Dustin snorts, completely oblivious to my turmoil “Yeah well what’s your trick going to be for getting Summer then?”

“There are no tricks, man,” I breathe out helplessly, shaking my head as I continue “Besides I already told you she is different– you don’t get a girl like Summer, you’re winning the state championship lucky if she decides you’re worth her time. She’s–”

“Perfect” Dustin interjects and I nod, looking over at him “Yeah exactly– Sum is perfect.”

Dustin sighs, looking at me quickly before resuming his binocular lookout “She’s also perfect for you.”

“Maybe,” I mutter quietly, shaking my head once as to not get my hopes up as I drum my fingers against the top of the planter “But that fact goes out the window when you think about how I’m not perfect for her”

“Steve, stop selling yourself short” Dustin tells me and I look over at him “No I’m serious, I’m not– she deserves someone better than who I was and how I treated her for years”

“You’re not that person anymore” Dustin says and I draw my brows together while I question genuinely “How exactly do you figure that?”

Dustin drops the binoculars down once more and connects his serious eyes with mine to make sure I hear him when he says “Because Summer wouldn’t be friends with you if you were.”

I’m silent with that, really wanting to punch him in the shoulder for attempting to get my hopes up with everything he’s saying right now. While I appreciate it, he’s not any closer to knowing what’s going on in her head than I am.

“Pretty sure all she will ever see me as is a friend” I grumble pathetically and Dustin rolls his eyes “You never know until you ask her– like with me and Suzie.”

“Oh, Suzie” I state, widening my eyes a little while I humor him “Yeah, you mean, hotter than Phoebe Cates– yeah, that Suzie. And, uh, let's think about how exactly did you score that beautiful girlfriend? Oh, yeah. With my advice. Because that's how this works, Henderson. I give you the advice, you follow through. Not the other way around, all right, pea brain?”

Dustin snorts, not even bothering to look at me as he counters back quickly “Deflecting is a nice touch to let me know that you know I’m right.”

Dammit, Henderson.

I scoff and roll my eyes, looking away from him so he can’t see that I do in fact know he is right– I do just need to bring it up to her.

Worst thing she can tell me is she won’t ever see me as anything else other than the same shallow douche she went to school with– which she has told me before so it wouldn’t be anything I haven’t heard before.

Only difference now being I actually like her so her shooting me down will actually hurt.

“How am I supposed to just bring that up to her though?” I ask and I can hear the smile in his words “Summer is like the easiest person to talk to–”

“Yes I’m aware…" I deadpan towards him, sarcastically laughing once "But, you know, baring my feelings to her is understandably going to be a little more nerve wracking than how’s your trauma from fighting monster slug babies going?”

“Steve, come on” Dustin says a little louder than before and he looks at me, raising his brows at me like I’m ridiculous for being this worried and I jerk my head back in my bewilderment.

Dustin just rolls his eyes and continues “You are so worried and nervous that she’s going to turn you down but have you even stopped to think that maybe, just maybe, she feels the same way about you?”

I make a face, shaking my head once as I fire back “Umm no” and he just sighs loudly through his frustration “Jesus Harrington, you already got her to somehow agree to be your friend and to work with you– I think getting her to agree to date you wouldn’t be too far of a stretch.”

I think about that for a few seconds, ultimately landing on he’s crazy and I let him know just that “Yeah and I think that you don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“I think I’m the only one who knows anything at this point– you two are idiots” Dustin remarks and I hit his shoulder lightly “Hey, don’t call her an idiot.”

Dustin just rolls his eyes and lifts up the binoculars again, sarcastically laughing at me “Oh my god just tell her you love her already or I will do it for you.”

I drop my mouth open in shock, glaring at the side of his head and silently cursing the little jackass.

It’s only a few minutes later though when thoughts of feelings and Summer get the pause button when Dustin is saying “Target acquired” and I look up in the direction he’s looking “Where?”

“Ten o' clock” Dustin says, continuing with “Sam Goody's” as I reach for the binoculars and say “Give me that.”

I look through the binoculars and find Sam Goody’s, my eyes widening behind the lenses when I see a not smiling, tall, long blond haired guy wearing sunglasses and carrying something over the back of his shoulder.

“Shit” I breathe out, noticing what exactly is in his hand and announcing “Duffel bag.”

I drop the binoculars down and look at Dustin, both of us muttering at the same time “Evil Russian.”

The long blond haired evil Russian heads up the escalator towards the top floor, so Dustin and I quickly follow after him, choosing to instead run up the escalator once he’s stepped off of it.

We head to the right and follow behind him, and while I’m trying not to lose him by walking quickly Dustin is countering that plan as he says “Slow down.”

“We're losin' him” I reply, trying to keep an eye on him through the crowd in between us and Dustin argues “You're getting too close.”

Someone bumps their shoulder into mine, exclaiming loudly back at me “Watch it, dickwad” and I notice how the guy we’re following stops walking.

When he starts to look over his shoulder Dustin and I quickly step off to the side and I turn in a circle before I come to a stop and look through a store's front display window. Dustin grabs the payphone off of the receiver and talks into it in the most monotone voice “Hello. Yes. I am fine. How are you?”

I look through the leaves of the fake tree that's in between us and notice the guy turn back around and start walking forwards again.

I step towards Dustin and tap his shoulder to get him to walk with me again and he reaches over to hang up the phone.

We follow the guy until he makes a move to walk around to the walkway on the other side from where we are so we hide behind a pillar and keep watching which direction he’s going to be heading in.

He however doesn't keep going along the walkway and instead walks through the front doorway into a Jazzercise store front with a bunch of women inside who are stretching on workout mats.

As soon as he’s half way inside he starts yelling “All right, everyone, listen up!” he sets his duffle bag on the counter and unzips it “I just have one question for you. Who… is ready to sweat?”

He finishes his question by lifting out a boombox from the duffle bag and all the women inside the room stand up and face him, cheering and clapping with their excitement as an answer.

“What the–” I trail off as the notes of Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go start to play in the room and he takes off his jacket “That's right! Okay! Let's start it nice and easy now.”

He finishes taking off his jacket and reveals a workout outfit as he starts to move his hips, saying instructions to the group in front of him “Let's move our thighs. Yeah!”

I frown as we continue to watch him begin this jazzercise class before I tap Dustin on the shoulder and nod my head back towards the direction of Scoops “Let’s head back, yeah?”

“Yeah” Dustin sighs and we turn around, walking back the way we just came from.

⋇・.・゜゜・.・゜゜・.・゜゜・.・゜゜・.・⋇

SUMMER POV

Once the rush of the afternoon dies down, Robin hops up to sit on the back counter and opens the window into the back where I’m pacing back and forth with the headphones around my neck and my arms crossed over my chest.

Robin makes a noise to gain my attention while she leans over to hit her hand on the counter that’s on my side of the window “Come on, sit down and we can go over this again.”

I look over at her and she just smiles a little more, tapping the counter twice more and I huff through my frustration “There’s nothing else to translate though it just repeats.”

“I know” she hits the counter again “Come on– up, up”

I drop my arms down to my sides and walk over to the counter, hopping up and spinning around to face her. I cross my legs in front of me and set my elbows on my knees, clasping my hands in front of me.

She makes a noise and grabs the notepad with our translation on it and she reads it slowly "The week is long… the silver cat feeds when blue meets yellow in the west… a trip to China sounds nice if you tread lightly."

“Tread lightly?” she repeats and grabs the translation dictionary to flip through the pages again.

“You gotta be quiet?” I offer oh so helpfully and Robin throws me a look, trying not to laugh as she turns another page. I make a half laugh noise and huff, keeping my elbows on my knees while I set my hands on the sides of my face “I have no idea but my brain hurts, none of this is making any more sense today than it wasn’t last night”

“I know” she agrees, breathing out a sigh before she lifts up her soda cup and takes a sip.

There’s a knock on the back door from the service hallways and I sit up straight, saying “I got it” before I spin back around and hop off the counter. I walk over to the door and open it, seeing a delivery guy with a dolly. He smiles an exhausted smile and holds the clipboard out for me to sign the delivery sheet “Delivery for you.”

“Thank you” I reply and as I’m handing the clipboard back to him I notice the name on his uniform shirt and my eyes travel up to his hat which says the same thing– no fucking way.

A lynx is definitely a type of cat… and 'feeds'... what if that's code for delivers?

He sets the box onto the floor by my feet and grabs the clipboard from me “Have a nice day”

“Yeah you too,” I reply absentmindedly and he starts to walk away back down the hallway.

“Summer?” Robin calls from behind me and I quickly look back at her and see her lift her shoulders up with her question “What’s wrong?”

I make a noise and quickly step out through the door, looking down the hallway and seeing the the silver cat head logo on the back of his uniform. I widen my eyes a little as I mutter “The silver cat feeds”

“What?” Robin calls from the other side of the window and I look over at her, closing the door and repeating a little louder “The fucking silver cat feeds!”

She jerks her head back, furrowing her brows in her confusion while I quickly run towards the door that leads into the parlor.

“Summer, wait” Robin calls and swings her legs around from how she was also facing the window. She hops down and follows after me just as I’m passing by Dustin and Steve as they walk into Scoops “Yo Sum, you’re not gonna believe who Dustin thought was a Russian” Steve says to me, quickly followed by Dustin saying “You did too” however over Steve’s response of “No I did not” I just wave my hand at them as I run past and say “SIlver cat– I found the silver cat”

“Wait, you found what?” they call out behind me as I run into the mall and head for the center seating area that’s surrounded by the food restaurants. There’s a bunch of fake trees and bushes right in the center with benches surrounding them in a circle and I run right for an empty bench, hopping up onto it while I look around at all the different stores. If silver cat is a delivery person then these other stores have to be the other clues, specifically where they’re delivering and possibly when.

"A trip to China sounds nice" I mutter quietly, quickly looking around and repeating “A trip to China sounds nice– a trip to China– sounds nice… a trip to China” I stop when I find the Imperial Panda cuisine restaurant and half laugh to myself as I lift my hand up with my words “A trip to China sounds nice.”

"Okay, if you tread lightly" I move on to the next clue, moving my eyes along the stores down here and also what I can see on the second level “If you tread…,” I swing around, looking at all the stores surrounding the food court area and stop when I see the Kaufman Shoe store on the second floor above me and I smile, repeating “If you tread lightly”

"When…” I frown, quickly looking up at what stores could be blue or yellow “When blue and yellow meet in the west" I spin in a circle, my eyes landing on a massive clock and I smile when I notice the hands are the exact colors I need “When blue meets yellow… in the west–” I laugh once, whispering “Eight forty five.”

“Sum” I hear Steve call my name as he, Robin and Dustin stop in front of me and I look down at them, watching as Steve lifts his arms out to his sides “What are you doing?”

“I cracked it” I state proudly, smiling even wider and Steve just furrows his brows “You cracked what exactly?”

Robin smiles and points at me “Holy shit, super genius here cracked the code”

Steve and Dustin widen their eyes and look from her and back at me, Dustin asking “The super secret spy code?” While Steve says “Seriously? What is it?”

“Come on” I say and smile, hopping down off the bench and the four of us head back into Scoops.

“So?” Steve asks when we walk into the back of the store and I fill them in on what I found “I think the evil russians are having something delivered here to the mall using the Lynx delivery service whose logo is a silver cat and they’re using the Imperial Panda and Kaufman Shoes as a cover for their deliveries.”

“What about blue meets yellow in the west?” Dustin asks and I smile, lifting my brows up once with my final riddle solving words “The hands on the clock are blue and yellow so it’s a specific time for this delivery… eight forty five.”

“Holy shit” Steve mumbles and Dustin laughs through his excitement “That's definitely a super secret spy plan– so what do we do?”

“I think” I say, shrugging my shoulders while I look between them all and continue “In just over six hours we should head up to the roof opposite the loading dock where the deliveries come in and see what exactly gets delivered and where exactly it gets delivered to.”

The three of them offer nods of agreement, smiling in our nervous excitement as Robin laughs once "I can't believe we were right."

“What are we supposed to do until then?” Dustin half whines and I set my hands on my hips, smiling “We need to figure out how to get to the roof and not be seen by whoever is getting these deliveries."

Robin and Dustin stay at Scoops while Steve and I follow the evacuation route in the hallway that will lead us outside. Though before we get to the hallway that leads out the back exit we turn to the right and find another door with a stairs access sign on it. We open it and find a stairwell with a sign on the far wall saying roof access, I smile and point over towards it “That looks promising.”

Steve raises his brows once and holds open the door for me “After you, m'lady.”

I chuckle and walk past him and he makes sure the door isn’t going to lock on us. We close it softly to where it doesn’t latch just in case and we head up to the stairs towards the roof.

We open the door we find at the top of the stairs and prop it open with a rock we find off to the side, figuring that’s probably what it’s been used for, before we step out onto the roof.

I slowly move towards the ledge to our left, seeing the coast is clear from anyone standing around and I try to figure out where we are. Steve shares a look with me and we slowly walk across the roof to the far side of the ledge and down below we see a delivery truck leaving from the loading dock area “This has to be it, right?” Steve asks and I nod “It’s gotta be.”

I look up at him and see him smile when I do, asking me “So we’re really going to do this?”

I shrug and look back at the ledge, pointing at it as I crouch down behind it “This is high enough that we shouldn’t be seen by anyone standing down there–” I look up at him and he nods in agreement while he crouches down beside me and I continue with a little shrug “Very low risk and we’ll just be observing if my code cracking was right.”

Steve chuckles, nodding as he rests his arms on his knees and looks around “Yeah, definitely shouldn’t find ourselves in our usual risky monster situations with this stake out.”

He smiles and stands up with that, holding his hand out for me. I smile softly and set my hand in his, feeling him wrap his fingers around mine so he can pull me up.

With my hand still in his, I feel a raindrop on my arm and another one before I quickly look up at the dark cloudy sky above us “Well rain will definitely make the stake out interesting.”

Steve chuckles and in the next instant the clouds open up and it starts pouring down on us. “Oh!” Steve flinches back and increases his hold on my hand while we run back to the door, laughing as I lift my free hand up to push my wet hair out of my face.

Steve does the same with his hair, looking from the pouring rain belting down onto the roof in front of us and down at me. I watch as the water drops slowly roll down his face and off his eyelashes, the smell of the rain surrounding us and I smile brightly “The smell of rain on the pavement is one of my favorite things about a summer rainstorm”

Steve smiles, nodding his head slowly as he moves his eyes between mine “Mine too, nothing really quite like it.”

Silently he reaches up and moves his fingers along the side of my head near my temple, moving some of my hair that apparently was stuck to my skin and I shiver– mentally telling myself it has everything to do with the rain seeping into my clothes and absolutely nothing to do with him touching me.

I feel his hand squeeze around mine again and it seems to make us both startle since we realize at the same time he’s been holding my hand this whole time. He nervously clears his throat and lets go, reaching up to scratch the side of his temple as he mumbles a quiet “Sorry, I uh–”

I smile, shaking my head like it’s not a big deal and Steve lifts his arm to point over his shoulder to indicate the stairwell “We should, uh, head back and let them know what we found.”

“Yeah” I breathe out “Yeah, let’s go” I nod and hold onto the door handle for support while I move the rock out of the way with my foot.

When we get back to the hallway for Scoops we knock on the back door and Dustin opens the door for us, jerking his head back when he looks at us and our drenched state and smiling wide “What happened to you two?”

“It’s raining, Dustpan” I remark like it’s obvious and he nods slowly “So just got caught out in a rainstorm on the roof… that’s–”

“Wet” Steve interjects, nodding his head once and raising his brows towards him “We’re wet, Henderson now can you move so we can grab some of the towels.”

Dustin moves aside, sharing a knowing look with Steve that I throw a curious look at and when he notices he clears his throat and his face from any previous humor he had.

I look over at Steve and he smiles softly, holding out one of the clean cleaning towels for me and I wipe off my arms and face while he does the same.

Since Dustin doesn’t have a jacket, and he refused to use one of ours, we improvise and spend the rest of the time fashioning out a rain cover for him as best we can with some trash bags and duct tape.

Just before eight thirty we head through the service hallways, up the stairs and out onto the roof that Steve and I found will give us the best vantage point of the delivery dock area.

Once we make sure our roof is clear, and Dustin checks the surrounding roofs are clear from any other lookouts with his binoculars, we step out into the rain. The rain is coming down in sheets, followed by the occasional lightning strike and thunderclap while we crouch down behind the ledge and wait for this delivery to happen or not.

The four of us peer over the ledge just enough for our elbows to rest on top of it and we keep our heads low while we watch the back doors.

“How sure are we that this delivery happens every night?” Robin asks what we’re probably all thinking and I shrug, offering lightheartedly “About fifty percent.”

“Hating those odds, Byers” Steve grumbles and I smile over at him “If it’s not tonight, Harrington, then we can always meet out here tomorrow and see...”

Steve throws a sarcastic thumbs up my way before he squeezes his eyes shut from the rain getting in his eyes.

I set my hands on the ledge and mumbling honestly "And there's also the chance I didn't actually crack this code correctly."

"No, you did–" Steve says, smiling reassuringly at me when I look over at him and he nods "It makes too much sense for you to be wrong, Sum."

Sure enough at fifteen to nine a delivery truck pulls around the back of the mall and starts to back in towards the loading dock area where two guys are standing armed with guns.

“Look for Imperial Panda and Kaufman Shoes” I remind Dustin who has his binoculars and is looking at the two guards and the delivery truck.

A guy in a yellow jacket walks out from behind the truck with a red dolly carrying a stack of three boxes and Dustin confirms “Those stores boxes are with that whistling guy, ten o'clock.”

“What do you think's in there?” Steve asks and Dustin answers without missing a beat “Guns, bombs?”

“Chemical weapons?” I shrug and Steve looks over at me, wiping his face with his hand to get the rain out of his eyes.

“Whatever it is, they're armed to the teeth” Dustin continues and Steve once again wipes his fingers over his eyes to clear the water from them “Great,” he nods once, repeating “That's great.”

We see one of the guards sling his gun back behind his shoulder as he walks over to the side panel next to the two big gray doors and he taps the panel. I see a green light shine before the doors open and the guy in the yellow rain jacket with a silver cat logo on the back puts his foot on the back of the dolly. He pulls the dolly back towards him and walks towards the doors that just opened up.

“Hey, what's in there?” Robin asks and Dustin answers “It's just more boxes.”

Steve reaches over and tries to grab the binoculars “Let me check it out.”

“No, I'm still looking,” Dustin argues and Steve continues to try and grab the binoculars from him “Lemme see it.”

“Hang on!” Dustin says at the same time a loud thud rings out as the binoculars slip from their grip and hit the side of the roof ledge we’re looking over.

Both of the guards hear the ominous thud sound and we gasp, Dustin ordering “Duck!”

I move quickly to drop down below the ledge and turn around to lay back against it as flat as I can. Robin twists out of sight on one side of me while Steve does the same on my other side and Dustin flips around on Steve’s other side.

At the thought of us being seen adrenaline starts coursing through my body and my breathing starts coming out in quick, nervous pants. Everything from the echo of the binocular thud to the guards reacting to us ducking out of sight all happens so fast that I don’t even register that Steve grabbed my hand in the middle of all of that. His fingers are linked in between mine, gripping tightly while he holds up our hands in between us. Slowly I look from our hands and over towards him, watching as he does the same and looks at me. He doesn’t let go of my hand, just keeps hold of me as he silently tries to reassure me that we’re going to be okay and I squeeze his hand back.

I can just make out through the pouring rain something being shouted in what I’m betting money on is Russian and I slightly widen my eyes at Steve. He nods like he’s coming to the same conclusion that they’re probably going to search up here and we move to get up, telling Dustin and Robin “Come on, hurry”

Steve keeps a hold of my hand while we quickly run across the roof to the door, only letting go once he opens the door and ushers us all inside. We’re rushing down the stairs and taking the first door we come to that will lead us back into our service hallway before I know it and I breathe out a deep breath, trying to calm my nerves with how close that all was.

We quickly make our way down the hallway, our wet shoes squeaking on the floor as we walk around corners mixing with our panting breaths, and Robin looks between us, smiling nervously “Well, I think we found your Russians.”

|| << PREV || MASTERLIST || NEXT >> ||

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Posted: 18 Aug 2023

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climbhighsisyphus · 24 days

Text

First thoughts?

The cookbook is really nice and it has a cute little short story involving Tess and Knox. It really just shows them both at Fablehaven which is something we really didn’t get in Dragonwatch…

I will say though, Seth and Kendra are not featured but are mentioned once if you were interested in those two! They are both busy at Wyrmroost apparently.

The recipes seem pretty easy but I’d have to test them myself to see, which probably won’t be for a week or two due to my recovery.

I will say, some of these look AMAZING, and almost every single character besides some endgame ones get their own little recipes. It’s really adorable.. I don’t think I can share the recipes, but I think I can share photos of what they are in the cookbook.

Safe to say, the fairy bread and Brackens milkshake/smoothie might kill me. They’re both really cute looking but I might die if I consume them which I’m a bit scared to try them in the future but we ball..

Seth’s food also looks absolutely amazing? And it’s a really easy recipe because let’s be honest, he probably can’t cook for the life of him. It’s just a peanut butter sandwich with banana and Nutella, and I’ve had that in the past and I can say from like a standard view, it’s pretty good and I recommend trying it (Apparently you can put potato chips and cereal with it, which,,, is unique to say the least!)

Kendra’s treat looks also amazing, it’s just Chocolate-covered krispies but it’s still pretty good looking, I’m definitely gonna try this one. This one also just has such a cozy feeling to it because of the little description they added which involves Kendra just letting the brownies make them late at night as it storms.. which, Seth doesn’t have that, it’s just a very short description on how he thinks peanut butter goes with everything.

Besides that, Kendra’s is very sweet and silly and I feel it goes with her character amazingly.

Hugo also has a recipe, it’s mudslide ice cream cake which seems so good? I’m definitely gonna try it when I’m able to as well.

Grandma Larsen also has cute little unicorn cookies and they’re genuinely so adorable looking, I would in fact, take a chunk out!

Aside from the recipes, the cookbook is really nice and it has a cute design on the inside upon opening it and I stared at it for a bit because the neurons in my brain were processing every little design there…The cookbook has such a silly design and feel to it and if you’re into baking as well as the series, it’s a cool thing to collect and also use if you ever wanna make a cool and unique looking treat for you or your family or friends! It’s your average cookbook but to me at the least it’s very sweet.

(PS: the hotdogs have little eyes on them and I couldn’t resist sharing a photo because they’re so cute)

#fablehaven #dragonwatch #cookbook #book review #the sillies…#Knox #Tess #fablehavencookbook

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magdelanesingerin · 6 months

Text

Milk Duds Are Terrible Candy

Geralt comes into the kitchen to find Jaskier leaned over the counter, rifling through an enormous, open bag of Halloween candy with a focused expression. Beside him on the counter is a pile of little yellow boxes.

He’s momentarily distracted by his boyfriend’s costume–the sparkly silver mini skirt that shows off his long legs hugged by white stockings, the matching bra, the platform shoes. The straps of his garter belt disappear under the fabric in a way that is extremely distracting indeed. It’s barely 5pm, though; there are many hours to go before Geralt can peel that costume off him, so he tears his eyes away and tries to focus.

“What are you doing?”

“Picking out all the Milk Duds,” he says without looking up, tongue sticking out in concentration between darkly painted lips. Geralt is almost afraid to ask, but he can’t resist.

“…Why?”

“Because I hate them, Geralt,” he says as though it’s obvious, and continues to jiggle the bag around, peering into the brightly-colored depths to pluck out any hiding boxes. “It’s right there in the name: these little bastards are DUDS. Gross tacky caramel, too sweet, they stick in your teeth…ugh. And this is our bag of Backup Candy, and if we don’t wind up needing to dig into this bag, I don’t want to risk getting stuck with a whole heap of little boxes of disappointment that will sit around in the pantry for six months before I throw them out. Soooooo, I’m pulling out all the shit candy and adding it to the bowl.”

Geralt blinks. “Why not just buy a bag without Milk Duds then?”

Jaskier huffs and rolls his eyes like Geralt is the one being unreasonable, tossing the poofy white wig out of his face. Geralt can’t help the fond smile that breaks over his face watching his ridiculous boyfriend. “Becaaaause, this is the bag that has the Reeses Pieces and Whoppers! But those great candies come at a price, and that price is Milk Duds. Thus, my very smart plan is to ditch them in the bowl for the trick or treaters.”

“Sure. For the kids.”

“Kids are stupid, Geralt, and have notoriously bad taste in candy.” Jaskier dumps a double handful of Milk Duds over the top of the pile of candy in their biggest mixing bowl, then stands back with his hands on his hips and regards it skeptically before leaning back in to stir up the contents a bit and disguise his candy crimes among miniature Snickers and little packages of M&Ms. “As long as it’s sugar, they’re happy. They eat Smarties, for fuck's sake. And candy corn. Hell, I used to eat those black and orange taffy things with the chalky peanut butter in the middle when I was a kid, and those are only barely candy.”

Geralt shakes his head at the rambling, smiling helplessly, and picks up the big bowl of candy to take to the porch. Jaskier snags a Twix out of the bowl as he takes it away. This is their first year living together, and somehow, despite knowing each other for a decade and dating for two years before moving in together, it’s still been a journey of discovery sharing these little moments with Jaskier. He loves it.

“Stop eating candy, Jaskier. You’ll make yourself sick. Eat some real food.”

Jaskier squawks indignantly. It's one of Geralt's favorite sounds. “I’ve only had, like…three pieces!”

“I can see the pile of wrappers in the trash. Unless Roach has been eating chocolate? Do we need to go to the vet instead of handing out candy?” he asks dryly as he leaves the room.

“No. FINE, I’ll eat some cheese or something.” He can hear the pout in his boyfriend’s voice. It’s adorable.

“Put on the ears, Geralt!” Jaskier calls after him. “And the tail! Without them you’re just wearing all black, and that is not a costume.” Geralt rolls his eyes and groans, but snags the cat-hear headband and the long tail off the entryway table on his way outside anyway. Despite his grumbling, he loves giving out candy to the kids in his neighborhood, though he’s never dressed up before. He plops into one of the chairs on their broad front porch and settles the cat ears onto his head with a soft smile, ready for trick or treaters.

on ao3 here

#a bit of fluff for Halloween #Geraskier #the witcher #geralt #jaskier #Do you recognize Jaskier's costume?

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whatisreggieshortfor · 11 months

Text

UnConfidence Yourself

Youcef can’t begin to understand what Elaina doesn’t like about him. Everyone likes him. Why doesn’t she?

Youcef x MC

Happy birthday to the one and only @rebelrayne ! Am I late? Am I early? The world will never know!

Youcef was confident in everything he did. He didn’t see a reason not to be- he was handsome, he could be humorous, he was intelligent. It never occurred to him that what he saw as self-confidence may have looked to others as smugness, and if he was honest he had never cared.

Until he met Elaina.

Elaina changed the way Youcef carried himself, the way he looked at his approach to things.

Elaina changed him.

And he would always be grateful to Love Island for bringing her into his life.

Walking in as a bombshell, Youcef knew he looked good- even as the man accompanying him never stopped talking as they waited for the girls chosen for the double date. It was undoubtable in his mind that they would leave and he’d have both girls ready to eat out of the palm of his hand, women always fell for his looks and his accent kept them coming back. There was no reason to believe that wouldn’t be true when he was chosen for Love Island. Even as the bloke beside him started to greet the girls, some comment about scary good looks slipping from his lips, Youcef wasn’t listening. He could see the immediate attraction sparkle in Najuma’s eyes as she joined them in the hot tub. He felt his ego inflate as her eyes raked over his form.

But then his gaze fell on the other woman that had joined them, who didn’t look the least bit impressed as she raised a brow at his smirking face, even as she didn’t comment on it before joining them in the water with a jump and a splash. Elaina’s laughter rang out, mixing with Bruno and Najuma’s in the air, and Youcef allowed his smirk to grow larger. So she wanted to play hard to get…

Breaking his silence, Youcef nodded his head to the new ladies, “Very nice to meet you both. My name is Youcef.”

The Frenchman almost let his sharp tongue slip when Bruno compared the four of them in a hot tub to bathing with his family, but he was delightfully surprised when Elaina beat him to it, “What a weird comparison. Like, is that really what you wanna be saying to two potential girlfriends? Comparing us to your sisters?”

“Oh, yeah, that is a bit odd.” Bruno laughed to himself.

“If these two look anything like your sisters, Bruno, I’ll have to come visit.” Youcef kept his gaze trained on Najuma, sending her a sultry look. If Elaina wanted to play hard to get, Youcef was the champion of that game.

“You’re as smooth as crunchy peanut butter, Bruno.” Najuma laughed.

Bruno winked in return, “And just as tasty.”

Elaina jokingly asked for a taste, licking his arm as he presented it to her, “Tastes like chocolate.” She laughed, only looking between the comedian and the demolitions expert as she talked. Youcef couldn’t help but simper to himself that her eyes were never drawn his way, even women that tried to pretend had never been able to resist taking in his appearance.

When Najuma asked them for their type, Youcef could tell she was more interested in his answer than Bruno’s, but Elaina didn’t seem interested in either response. Youcef couldn’t help but think she was a curious girl, watching humorously as Najuma mimed burning her finger on Elaina’s shoulder when they confirmed they were as spicy as Bruno thought they’d be, before her eyes flit his way, “What about you, Youcef? What’s your type?”

He hummed, sliding his gaze to lock with hers, “Someone I can have an intelligent conversation with.”

“Mate,” Bruno laughed, “if that’s what you like, my Nan has cracking banter.”

Without pulling his eyes away from Elaina’s, Youcef continued, ignoring Bruno, “And I don’t like ignorance.” He finally pulled his gaze away, turning to Bruno with an amused look and ignoring how for the first time it was difficult for him to look away, as the two men shared a laugh.

Najuma was practically preening under the attention as Bruno leaned over to Elaina, “The lad has game, yeah?”

Youcef’s ears perked up, wanting to hear what he knew would be an agreement, but to his surprise Elaina didn’t seem to be impressed, “Eh, he’s not all that. Like, I get it, sure. But it’s not for me, being all full of yourself like that.”

Thanks to his many years in front of the camera, Youcef was able to keep the shock off his face, but his mind was sent reeling. Did women not like confidence where she was from? He’d never been rejected because he took pride in himself.

Mentally shaking himself off, Youcef told Najuma a story about seeing an old flame in the crowd when he walked Paris Fashion Week, but again Elaina didn’t seem interested, choosing to ask Bruno about how he got into comedy. The comedian either didn’t notice that he was her sole attention, or was inwardly taking pride in it, telling them about a terrible date he went on to an open mic night where he took the stage making jokes about bad dates.

Youcef had always been good about stealing the spotlight, “Speaking of jobs,” he turned to Najuma, “You crumble buildings for a living?”

Unfortunately for him, that only served to make Elaina interested in Najuma, “What an interesting job!”

“It has its moments,” Najuma laughed, “Like when I blew up a Ferris wheel and it started rolling away. My first week on the job!”

“Remind me not get on your bad side, then.” The model joked, he purposely wasn’t going to ask about Elaina’s job as a maths teacher. He wanted her to come to him.

Najuma didn’t even seem to notice, flirting as she winked at him, “You might find you like it.”

Bruno took the initiative that Youcef certainly didn’t plan to take, “So what do you girls think about your couples? I’m sure you’ve got your hands full.”

Elaina shrugged, “My hands are so empty with Kobi I might as well be holding clouds.” She smirked at Najuma, who giggled as she continued, “I mostly picked him to show Lexi she can’t control me.”

Youcef heard the request for a test of physical chemistry leave his own lips before he had even decided to ask it, watching the interest sparkle in Najuma’s eyes while Elaina rolled hers. But then she accepted, her eyes focused on Bruno as she did. Youcef had to fight the urge to frown, why didn’t she want him?

After making sure he gave Najuma enough of a spark to ensure that she’d want more, dipping her back and leaving her dazed, he directed his attention back to Elaina. Surely she just didn’t want to seem eager, non? Except she didn’t seem like she was going to make the move. She said something offhanded to Najuma about not needing to, but the demolitions girl seemed more enthusiastic, persuading her. Making her way toward him, she still looked unimpressed. Youcef couldn’t understand it, most women threw themselves at his feet- why was she so different? It wouldn’t deter him, he just needed to show her what she was missing out on, right? So he let his fingers trace enticing lines up her arms as he took her in his, knowing he could win her over.

But when their lips touched, he felt a surge in his chest, something he hadn’t felt in years. She felt electric against him, like she was filling him with life again.

And all too soon she was pulling away, not looking nearly as stunned as he felt.

She would be the death of him if he let her break down his defenses, she would break his heart. Youcef knew that deep down, he wanted her. But Elaina didn’t want him.

He just couldn’t figure out why.

Never have I ever was a nice change, even as he had to reveal his failed engagement. But he hadn’t been alone in that. He couldn’t be sure who else had taken a drink, his gaze too focused on her. Elaina had taken a sip, waving it off as a guy from uni that ended when they realized they wanted different things. She almost looked like she might’ve seen him differently, saying he didn’t need to share with a soft look in her eye, but it changed when he explained he had found someone else. She looked at him harder than before. He didn’t like the lead feeling it stuck into his gut, why was he bothered about the way she looked at him? Nobody had ever shaken his confidence, he couldn’t allow her to be the first.

It wound around to Hazeem’s turn, no ideas coming to his mind as Elaina encouraged him, before he finally just called it out, “Fine, never have I ever kissed Elaina. Happy?”

She laughed, not looking bothered to be used as a prop, even as Bruno happily took a chug. And then Youcef smirked as he took a sip. Kobi looked annoyed, but Lexi was quick to get in his face about why it bothered him. Elaina didn’t so much as flinch as the awkward silence came over the group, appearing as unbothered as ever.

It wasn’t a surprise when Kobi wanted to speak with her after, but Youcef didn’t stay to eavesdrop.

At the recoupling, Youcef expected her to finally do much glance his way, weigh her options after Lexi took Kobi back, but Elaina didn’t even look phased. She looked at the couples- Will with Thabi and Kobi with the resident mean girl- before picking James. Youcef hadn’t expected the quiet man to even be a thought she entertained, he couldn’t handle her.

Youcef smirked when Najuma picked him, he liked her enough, but how was Elaina not remotely interested in him?

Angie had always intrigued Youcef, never mincing words and being blunt no matter the situation. He wasn’t interested in her, but could imagine how a friendship would take shape.

And he did see it take place.

Not with him, but he observed how Elaina supported her stance about the relationship developing between Kobi and Lexi, backed her up when the man got offended and shut down the fight that was bracing to happen. Even as Thabi and Will approached the idea of a group dinner, Youcef could tell it was Elaina that had calmed everyone down. She didn’t let herself be talked down to, but she encouraged peace in the group. Youcef had never tried to pursue a balance like that in himself.

When dinner ended, Youcef watched in amusement as Elaina teamed up with Angie for a game of chicken with the toxic couple, silently encouraging their win as he spoke with Bruno. As the game finished, Elaina made her way over the pair of them, asking if his shoulder was feeling any better. When he admitted that it was just feeling a bit sore, she offered to help, but as much as he wanted to believe she just wanted the excuse to feel him like he would’ve thought before, she had made it clear that wasn’t the case. But he was nothing if not cocky, “Others would read into it…”

“Why? Because I’m a girl and you’re a boy?” She raised an eyebrow, cracking her knuckles.

“A very handsome boy.” He offered with a smirk, only to see her grimace.

“Oh, gag.” She pushed her fingers into the muscle, driving away the tension, and the two of them fell into a surprisingly easy conversation as she worked. As much as he’d hated to admit it, she was delightful to speak to as she talked to him like a normal person. There was no flirting, no attempt to boost his ego. He couldn’t remember the last time someone had spoken to him so easily, so earnestly, without an ulterior motive. Elaina wasn’t interested in him, and he still didn’t understand why, but she was refreshing.

During the kiss or miss challenge, he felt like he was finally on the cusp on the reason she seemed to be the only girl that never looked at him- he’d even caught glances from Angie and Lexi, but never Elaina.

He took the chance while she was blindfolded, and she had guessed him right away. He wanted to smirk, thinking he’d made more of an impression than she’d let on in the hot tub, but then she told Najuma that she figured it out because of how overly confident it was.

That had been the second time she said that. Why was his confidence such a problem?

The days went on, Youcef had grown used to Najuma’s attraction to him as their couple stuck around, but something bothered him all the same. He had seen the others shuffle, some like Will pursuing different romantic angles, and others like Elaina going from one friendship couple to another as she went from James to Tom. She was looking for something deeper than the surface. He had never been looked at past what he could offer.

But his friendship with her grew. She still didn’t seem like she wanted him, but he was ready to take what he could, so long as it kept her around.

“How many cups of coffee have you had this morning?” He watched as Angie asked the question, the two of them spent more time together than they did with their perspective partners. Elaina had been rattling off about facts she’d learned about abandoned theme parks when the question was voiced, and offered a sheepish grin in return.

“Haha, umm, I’m just going to apologize to you right now. It’s going to be a really long day for you and I’m sorry.” Angie sighed, but Youcef could see the grin she hid as the two of them walked away. He would’ve gladly dealt with her over caffeinated shenanigans, but it just wasn’t his place.

As the end approached, there had been challenges and chill times, arguments and laughs, as life goes in the Villa. And Youcef felt like he’d missed a chance. Whatever Elaina’s issue was with his confidence, it prevented him from exploring the possibility of more with her. And the longer he was around her, the more he wanted that. He didn’t dislike Najuma- in all honesty, she was great. But she didn’t make him feel the same way that Elaina did.

When the Unboxing Challenge happened, he finally started seeing why his confidence bothered her. Oliver seemed nice enough, but Youcef saw Elaina’s face shift when Dylan started speaking. He recognized that look, it was the same way she looked at him in the beginning. It was more severe this time, and Youcef finally understood.

Yes, he had always been on the cocky side of confident.

Yes, he often believed that people wanted him when they looked at him.

But now he saw why that bothered her.

Dylan had an ego that could make Youcef’s look insignificant.

When Elaina came back from the date, word was already spreading around. Dylan was gloating, gossiping to anyone who would listen about how she wanted him. Youcef couldn’t believe that anyone actually thought that was the truth. They clearly hadn’t been watching her like he had. He wanted to tell her, warn her about the rumors he’d heard when she sat with him at the boys’ welcome party, but he couldn’t bring himself to do it.

When Tom confronted her about it, Youcef was shocked he didn’t even give her a chance to explain, especially with the entire Villa pretending they weren’t eavesdropping. Angie intervened as quickly as she could, but the damage was done.

Tom told Elaina that they needed to spend the night apart.

Angie found the Frenchman the next day, unwilling at first to share what she’d learn, but eventually she was honest. He listened as Angie told Elaina’s recount of the date, how he was gaslighting her and acting like she needed someone to take care of her. She told him about Dylan visiting her in the middle of the night, like he expected her to just fall in his arms if he pretended to offer a shoulder to cry on.

And then the two of them snapped their heads up at raised voices.

Tom and Elaina were arguing, he was accusing her of leading him on, she snapped back that she was clear from the get that she only wanted to be friends. Tom accused her of leading Dylan on as well.

And Elaina just snapped and sent him away.

Right before their eyes, the couple disintegrated.

But Youcef could only think that Elaina deserved better than that.

Angie left him in the kitchen, rushing over to her best mate, and by the time the two of them came back, the Property Brother reject was making an appearance. As soon as he laid his eyes on her, he was smirking, “Good morning, baby!”

“Don’t ‘baby’ me!” She snapped, a disgusted expression on her face.

“Your behavior is pretty easy to see through,” Youcef had to agree with Oliver there. Anyone that had believed him yesterday, there was no way they still did.

“What are people seeing?”

“Dylan, people are seeing how manipulative you are!” Elaina scowled, “It’s obvious everything you say and do is just to make drama. You haven’t been honest even once since you walked into the Villa.” Youcef wanted to support her, but he knew that she didn’t need his protection. He may have been cocky when they met, but she made him see that she didn’t need him to save her. “You’ve done everything to break Tom and I up. Congratulations, you did it. But to what end? You think I’ll just fall into your arms now?”

“You really should stop being so suspicious of people.” Dylan scoffed, “I think it’s a condition.”

Angie stepped into his face, “You are not getting into her head- not as long as I’m here, not as long as she is exactly who she is. She’s too strong to fall for your tricks. Gaslight someone else, you sociopath.”

There were more words thrown around, but before long Dylan was finally stomping his way out, and then it was over. Youcef, Valentina, Angie, and Oliver helped Elaina relax, bringing her smile back out, until she said something that set Youcef’s chest on fire,

“I love you guys.”

It was probably a mistake, but Youcef couldn’t talk himself out of it. This was his last chance. He could understand why Elaina didn’t want him before, but he was different than the day he came in.

So he tapped her shoulder, waiting and biting his nails as she turned, giving him a warm smile, “What’s up?”

“Was wondering if we could have a chat. Could we sit for five minutes?” Youcef didn’t get nervous, but he couldn’t bring himself to look at her. Like he was afraid she would still look at him the same way she did on day five when he entered.

“Of course!” He let himself smile, the two of them sitting on the loungers.

He took a deep breath, bracing himself as he met her eye, “It’s been a heavy couple of days… what with the new guys and everything. Especially Dylan.” He couldn’t stop the look of distaste that overcame his face at the name, “I know it’s been tough on you.”

“Thanks for being on my side.” She offered honestly, and he wished he could keep that warm feeling inside of him forever.

“I’ll always be on your side, Elaina. Always.” He had to take a minute, refocus his train of thought. This move was last minute, it was easily viewed as desperate, but he needed to get the words right or it was all for nothing. “I wasn’t sure if I should speak up before now. I didn’t want to add more drama to your life. But in the end… I suppose I can’t help myself.” She watched him curiously, and he blamed his overly large ego for thinking there was hope in her eyes, “Maybe I’m being selfish. Maybe I’m being a fool. But you’ve become so important to me that I can’t imagine bottling it up.” He looked into her eyes, wishing against all reason that this would pay off. If he couldn’t have her, there was no reason for him to have come to Love Island. “Je suis en train de tomber amoureux de toi.” Her eyes widened slightly, like the unthinkable was happening. But he’d seen her at the group dinner, translating his French words for the group. He knew she understood what he said- that he’d fallen in love with her. “I know it’s been a while in here, for both of us. I’m sorry it took me so long to know my own mind. To know my heart. I could say a lot of things, like I’ve been burned before and it takes me a while to trust people. Say it takes me a while to trust myself too and I don’t like to make promises I can’t keep. But in the end, I think what I needed was to get out of my head. To just… see you. You’re brave and smart and bold. You always speak your mind, but you’re considerate and gentle. I needed to see what about me had put you off in the beginning, understand what it was about me. And I do see it now.” He met her eyes again, hoping she could tell that he meant everything he said, “if you only want me in your life as a friend, I can understand. I can accept that.”

“I don’t know what to say,” Elaina’s soft voice filled his ears in the silence of the night, and he understood how much he had unloaded on her.

“You do not need to give me an answer now. Just know that the man I was when we met- the man that bothered you so much- he bothers me, too. If you’ll have me… I want to be better for you.” He gave her a small, worried smile, “And if not, know I’ll still be rooting for you. I would just really, really like to be rooting you on by your side.”

Youcef couldn’t be sure what thoughts moved through her head, finally excusing himself so she could process it all.

He wouldn’t blame her if his confession wasn’t enough. The old him would’ve let his confidence make him feel invincible, like her choosing him was inevitable. But he was better than that now, she made him better than that.

Now he could only wait. Sure, Najuma would probably still pick him. But for once in his life he wasn’t content with letting someone chase him. He was doing the chasing, hoping it would end with the catch of a lifetime.

So he stood at the fire pit, trying to keep the nerves off his face as they battled it out in his gut.

But he couldn’t help but feel awed at how beautiful she looked as she stood from the bench, and yet he couldn’t bring himself to meet her eye.

“This boy and I have known each other for a while.” She started, “He’s amazing, and I never thought in a million years he’d be into me. And when we met I never thought I’d be into him.” Youcef’s gaze jumped without consent, catching hers as she looked right back at him, “Recently some things happened that made me realize we might have a shot. This person has… the kindest heart. Looking after me when I didn’t know I needed it. And that’s why tonight I want to couple up with Youcef.”

He doesn’t care how uncharacteristic he looks, lifting her in the air and spinning her around. “I can’t believe you took a shot on me, Mon ceour. I am going to make you so happy.”

Elaina’s eyes twinkled with mischief as she looked back at him, “Confident much?”

“Non,” he disagreed, smiling more genuinely than he had in years, “I keep my promises. That’s all.”

Holding her on the bench, watching the rest of the friends they’d made choose for the final time, Youcef felt so many things.

He was never used to this- the hope and butterflies, the yearning and want. Until her, he never realized how much his confidence worked like a shield. Protecting himself from anyone that could have a sword at the ready.

Until he laid the shield down, realizing she had never picked up a sword.

Masterlist

#litg #litg season 4 #litg bombshell #litg youcef #litg youcef x mc

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claudeng80 · 9 months

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How the cookie crumbles (Hallmark AU)

“What exactly is a cake tasting, anyway?” Obi drops his coffee and Shirayuki’s mostly-chocolate impostor on the table, then one of the shop’s signature giant cookies. This one has M&M’s in it.

“The last thing the baker needs to know from us is what flavor the cake should be.” Shirayuki breaks the cookie in half, ever so careful to make the sides exactly equal. “I picked my two favorite options from their list, and we get to go try them before choosing.”

“Fancy. What time do you want me to come back for you?” If it’s at least half an hour, that would give him time for a run to the grocery store- his empty pantry is generally just the way he likes it, but she said something about a peanut butter and jelly sandwich yesterday and he’s been craving it ever since.

But his visions of peanut butter fade as she frowns. “Won’t you come with me? It would be so much nicer to have someone to share the experience with, and that way the decision isn’t just what I like.”

“You’re the bride, the cake is supposed to be what you like,” he growls, then cuts himself off with a sip of coffee. It burns his tongue, just like not saying that this is a job for her fiance, not his executive assistant.

“Come on, Obi, it’s cake,” she wheedles, and he crumbles like an M&Ms cookie.

“If that’s what you really want,” he answers, and she lights up like he’s said something that really matters. He stares into the depths of his coffee so she can’t see how happy that makes him, against his will. “Hard to turn down cake.”

She’s still bouncing as they walk the two doors down to the bakery. “This place has so many flavors, I was so proud of myself narrowing it down to just two. I think you’re going to like them!”

The bell over the door tinkles sharply and a wave of sugar-scented air rolls over them. He likes sweets as much as the next person, but it’s a lot. She owes him hot wings after this, and he’s going to make her eat one because it’s too funny not to.

He lingers by the window while Shirayuki talks to the lady at the desk, but she waves him over to a tiny table they have off to the side. There are only two chairs, and the white tablecloth has ruffles. It looks romantic.

“I’ve got samples of all four of the options you picked,” the baker says. “Any of them will work with the decorations you picked out, so that’s not a factor, you just need to let me know which you want. Different layers can be different flavors, too, if you prefer.”

“Four? I thought I only sent you two.”

“You did.” The baker nods to Obi with a slightly disappointed look on her face. “But so did he.”

This is where Obi usually objects. People flatter him with the guess simply because he’s the one standing behind her when she talks about weddings, but he knows where he ranks. He’s just the driver, the buyer of coffee, and the carrier of packages. The fiance is elsewhere. Busy.

But just this once he doesn’t leap to speak up. He meets Shirayuki’s eyes, waiting for her to set the baker straight, and she just smiles. Smiles at him, and then smiles at the baker. “He didn’t tell me that, but of course we have to try his preferences too. Thank you,” she adds, and the woman softens a bit.

“I’ll be right back with the samples. They can all be decorated the same, so we’ll talk about that after you’ve picked a flavor.” The baker chatters on, all her attention on the bride now that the groom’s opinions have been dismissed, and Obi has a moment to just sit back and watch.

Shirayuki has a smile that’s nearly impossible to resist. She thinks people look happy all the time, because when they’re facing her they can’t help it. Obi can’t help it, and she thinks the best of him too. It’s intoxicating.

The baker leaves, and Shirayuki turns back to Obi, grinning from ear to ear just because they can put a raspberry filling in the yellow cake Zen picked. He grins right back, helpless to resist.

He doesn’t even like lemon. But oh, he likes her so much.

The baker leaves the plate with another scowl at Obi. He shares her opinions of Zen’s taste in cake options, but holds his tongue until she’s gone. “Please tell me I don’t look like a vanilla cake kind of guy.”

Shirayuki sticks her fork into the white cake with a little more force than necessary. “I don’t think it’s fair to generalize…” Her gaze at the scoop of monochrome dessert she picks up is dismayed. “I don’t know what Zen was thinking, though.”

Obi gets his own bite, a fraction the size of Shirayuki’s. “Cheers,” he says, raising his fork, and together they eat cake.

“It’s, um…” Shirayuki puts down her fork with a sense of finality.

“Very white,” Obi finishes.

“The icing’s tasty,” she adds.

“Not too sweet,” he agrees. He likes a sweet cake as much as the next person, but sometimes it’s too much.

She’s trying not to say something, but he waits. A minute of silence and the truth comes bursting out. “I really don’t want a wedding cake that’s this boring!”

With one finger, Obi spins the plate sitting between them. “Good thing there are more options.”

One slice is the lemon raspberry. Another is a pale color, not quite white. “Rum spice,” she says, and Obi takes a closer look.

“Sounds good to me, but I thought you’d want your groom awake-” He shuts his mouth on any mention of the wedding night. Zen’s gotten tipsy on candy before. Cough syrup knocks him out. As delicious as it sounds, any alcohol in his food is a risk.

“Oh, I forgot.” Shirayuki slaps a hand over her mouth. “I guess it’s out of the running, then.”

“Did you forget you have no alcohol tolerance either?”

“I can handle cake.” She doesn’t bother with a fork, just breaks off a chunk with two fingers and sticks it in her mouth. “Mmm.”

The chance to be the civilized one is too good to pass up. Obi takes the next fork off the stack, delicately cutting a straight-edged piece off the rum cake. Shirayuki watches every move, so he takes his time about it. It must be good, the way she looks like she’s going to snatch it right out of his hand, but it makes it to his mouth without incident. He can’t help a moan too.

“I know, right?” Her face is red, but she reaches for the next piece of cake. This one’s speckled, a kind of brownish-orange, and he has a bad feeling about it.

“Mmm.” Shirayuki’s eyes roll back, and Obi bites his tongue. Things like that are not for him to notice and certainly not for him to comment on, but it’s not crossing the line to just enjoy the sight. Her eyelashes are crimson against her skin as she savors the bite, throat working at last as she finishes it, but they snap open again, catching him watching. “You have to try this carrot cake, Obi.”

“Oh, no. Vegetables are vegetables and cake is cake. I’m not crossing them.” His fork clatters against the plate, decisively.

“But it doesn’t taste like vegetables, it’s good-” she takes another bite, small like she’s saving it for something.

“I’m glad you like it. Is that the wedding cake, then?”

Her jaw sets. “I don’t think it’s a fair contest if you don’t taste all of them.” She sets aside her fork, scooping up a sizable bite with her bare hand. She leans forward, half out of her chair, holding out the piece like a treat for some kind of reluctant pet.

“You aren’t serious,” he says, but in the depth of his gut he knows better. She’s so stubborn, and she’s got the look in her eye again. She’s going to do something rash. He laughs, because sometimes that defuses her, but no-

“Try me.” Her knee slides forward onto his chair, bracing between his legs, and his laugh falls to nothing. Her free hand grabs his shoulder, and she pulls herself half into his lap, waving carrot cake in his face.

This is more than he can be expected to take. He shakes his head, weak in the face of her, and she laughs and presses the attack. As in she presses the chunk of cake right against his lips. Her hair is wild around her face and her eyes are dancing, and he can’t deny her when she wants something from him that badly. He opens his mouth.

More cake than he would like reaches its destination, but still it’s only about half of what she’s trying to force on him. The rest falls to crumbs against his lips, and without thinking he tries to catch them with his tongue.

What he catches, instead, is her hand, smooth and hard against the flat of his tongue.

She snatches her hand back, and crumbs cascade to the floor like a handful of sand. They patter to a stop in the sudden silence, but he can't tear his eyes away from hers.

She sees him. The facade he's built lies in shards among the cake crumbs. Every time he's held his tongue when she's sad Zen is neglecting her hangs around his neck like a stone. It's as though he's said out loud, "I would never treat you like that."

Her elbow flexes, pulling her closer for one heartbeat that skips beneath her fingers, not daring to imagine any outcome but flight, and then she springs back from his chair. Her hip sends the cafe table rocking, her foot tips over her chair, and she pauses out of reach and poised to fly.

"Is everything all right?" The bakery door bangs against the wall and Shirayuki bolts upright.

"Thank you but the wedding's off!" She shouts, and she runs.

Obi swallows the carrot cake in his mouth, moist and sweet and yet somehow dry as ashes. It takes another minute for his heart to beat again, the dull thudding in his chest all too familiar. He may not understand, but he knows what comes next. He's never smiled a faker smile, set the chair back up with such care. "What was that all about?" asks the baker.

"Nerves," he answers, hating every word. "The carrot cake was her favorite, though." He stacks plates, putting on a show of unconcern while every moment she gets further away, then picks up the bag she left behind.

"Go, go," the baker says. "I see this all the time. A nice apology and everything will be fine. It's probably not even your fault."

"If only," Obi says. He looks from her down to the cake leftovers scattered across the serving plate. “Can we take the rest of this to go?”

#fanfic #obiyukibingo23 #hallmark au #bingo!#possibly to be continued

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epithet-beloved · 6 months

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CALIFORNIA SLIM + ALCATRAZ HALLOWEEN HEADCANONS

synopsis… You celebrate Halloween with your favorite ghost! And Slim is there too, I guess.

ft. California Slim, Alcatraz

tags… anime campaign, Halloween shenanigans, can be read as platonic or romantic, banter (with Slim), Alcatraz in a dress because I said so, no spoilers but there’s a sneaky reference to something if you squint

word count… 831

a/n… Hello everyone! Hopefully I’ll be able to get around to some requests soon, but for now I wanted to provide you all with a special Halloween treat! ✧ 🦄

𓆩ꨄ︎𓆪 Slim always just goes as himself. Never dresses up.

𓆩ꨄ︎𓆪 It’s great for him because it’s the one day of the year he can walk around in public without getting arrested.

You resisted rolling your eyes as yet another person commented on the “accuracy” of the man’s California Slim “costume”.

“You hear that?” He turned to you, grin wider than ever. “They praised my attention to detail. Got the mouth scar makeup juuuust right.” He would drag his finger over said scar to emphasize, only to burst out into laughter afterwards. “You should take a page from their book and appreciate my genius for once.”

“You mean your laziness? Keep dreaming.” Despite your sarcasm, you were smiling too.

𓆩ꨄ︎𓆪 Alcatraz, however. He HAS to dress up every year and Slim hates it.

𓆩ꨄ︎𓆪 Alcatraz enjoys wearing dresses and I will spout this propaganda until the end of time. This year he insisted on being Cinderella, and you wanted to support him, so you decided to try and match the theme somehow. Whether you dress as Prince Charming, or just throw on a pair of mouse ears and call it a day, he’s so happy that you want to participate!

𓆩ꨄ︎𓆪 It’s a whole new kind of difficult to get this clunky set of armor into an extra large costume, but it’s worth it to see him admire himself in the mirror.

𓆩ꨄ︎𓆪 Slim mostly just whines and complains about Alcatraz and his childish costume ruining his “vibe”. But you retort that it helps him blend in better on Halloween, and he doesn’t bother to retort since as long as he’s getting candy he doesn’t care.

“Did we really have to bring him?”

Before you could even snap back at him, Al piped up politely. “Well, you can’t really help it anyway, so—“

“Wasn’t asking you.” Seeing that bantering with the ghost would get him nowhere as usual, Slim would instead sidle up to you and eye your pillowcase full of goodies with interest.

“Got any peanut brittle in there? Since you probably don’t want it anyway, I’ll just be a kind soul and take it off your hands ever so generously—“

“Hey! Don’t touch my stuff!”

𓆩ꨄ︎𓆪 My personal belief is that Slim is an absolute fiend for peanut butter. Especially peanut butter/chocolate combos. Stuff like Buckeyes especially are favorites.

𓆩ꨄ︎𓆪 Al can’t really eat candy, per se, but you can slot some skittles into his helmet and he’s just happy to be participating.

𓆩ꨄ︎𓆪 Conversely, if you’re giving out candy, do. Not. Let Slim do it. Just don’t

𓆩ꨄ︎𓆪 He will scare the hell out of those poor kids, whether intentionally or unintentionally. Usually the former, though.

“Slim! Stop doing that!”

“What? They knocked on the door. They were asking for it.” Even as the potential trick or treaters ran in terror, he still had that shit eating grin plastered across his face like a decal. “You don’t actually wanna give all this candy away anyway, do you?”

“Yes I do, it’s called being nice. I am aware that you are unfamiliar, but at least try to get into a holiday spirit?”

And yet the actual murderer remained apathetic, rolling his (candy) cigarette between his fingers. “Hey, it’s called trick OR treat. Didn’t say it had to be treat.”

𓆩ꨄ︎𓆪 Al is a delight, though. As long as you keep Slim in check, he loves being able to interact with the trick or treaters. He gets a range of compliments, from one kid telling him how cool it is that he was a knight and a princess at the same time, and even a little girl in a princess costume telling him they were matching. You’re pretty sure it made his entire year.

𓆩ꨄ︎𓆪 After the trick or treating hours are over, you and Slim stay up super late on a movie marathon. He insists on criticizing all the slasher movies and pointing out the inaccuracy of the gore.

“There’s no way her arm would get cut clean off like that! You’d need a bone saw or something, not some wimpy scythe!”

You were quite used to your companion’s morbid musings, but that didn’t mean you had to like them. “Quit it, I’m trying to pay attention.”

“I mean, what kind of serial murderer even uses a scythe? Cosplaying as a reaper is not an excuse for inefficiency.”

“You are constantly dressing for a period piece and use a bat.”

“Hey, don’t you talk that way about Hollywood. She gets the job done!”

𓆩ꨄ︎𓆪 He also eggs people’s houses. Mostly because he just doesn’t like them, but also for no reason at all. He just likes throwing eggs at the innocent and unsuspecting. Does some TP’ing too.

𓆩ꨄ︎𓆪 Wanted to egg his old boss’s house, but he ended up falling asleep on your shoulder. Plus, he doesn’t even remember who the guy is or where he lives, so all’s well that ends well.

𓆩ꨄ︎𓆪 Just make sure you wake up before him, or you might find your Halloween stash to be seriously diminished.

#🦄’s writings #California slim #california slim imagines #california slim x reader #alctaraz anime campaign #anime campaign alcatraz x reader #anime campaign alcatraz imagines #anime campaign

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ladyantiheroine · 1 year

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Knight in Rotting Armor

Summary: A date gone wrong brings you an unlikely savior.

Pairing: R x reader

Requested by @kpopgirlbtssvt

Also tagging: @ninebluehearts

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POV: You

“I promise you it’s safe.” Nothing about the spot where Garrett brought you seemed safe. He told you he found a safe outdoor spot for a picnic, far from where the dead usually walked. But the field, while spotted with little dandelions, was right in the open. You two were as exposed as gazelles on the savanna. “Are you sure?” you asked. “We’re…kind of out in the open.” “Oh, relax,” your date said. He set down the picnic basket, sat down, and patted the grass next to him. “I’ve come by this spot all the time. I’ve never seen any corpses here.” You were still resistant, but you also knew Garrett didn’t like taking no for an answer. He had the weapons him, no way in hell you could get back to the compound without. So, you sighed and sat down next to him. Garrett reached into the basket and pulled out two sandwiches wrapped in plastic. “Made these fresh,” he said. “I think you’ll like them.” You reached for the sandwich, but then Garrett snatched it away, holding it away from your grasp. “Ah-ah,” he said. “Can’t just hand it over to you. I want something in return.” You resisted the urge to roll your eyes. “Garrett, I’m starving,” you said. “Just let me…” He tried to reach over and grab it, but Garrett held it further away, laughing at your struggle. “Nope!” he said. “As payment, I want a kiss. Then I’ll give it to you.” You let out a long sigh. “Fine,” you said. “One kiss.” Garrett gave a satisfied smile. He leaned forward and pressed his lips to yours. He must have been chewing gum before because you could taste the nasty rootbeer-flavored gum he always had in his mouth. You were about to pull away and claim your sandwich when suddenly Garrett’s hand was on your thigh. “Babe..” you said. You tried to push his hand away, but he only grabbed you more fiercely. “Come on,” he mumbled into your lips. “We’re away from the others…no one to bother us…” “Maybe not here…” “It’ll be fast, I promise.” “Garrett, please stop…”

POV: R

He could smell flesh. Also, peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. R had wandered away from the rest of the hunting group towards a field that they always assumed was barren. But as he came closer, he heard voices. The rustle of grass under bodies. But moreover, he heard a distressed female voice. “Garrett, please stop!” it said. R moved closer, half hidden in the brush. Two living humans, a male and a female, were on the grass with a picnic basket nearby. R would have questioned what human was dumb enough to go picnicking in a dead-infested wasteland, but he got his answer when he saw the male forcibly kissing the female. “Just give me something, Y/N,” he said. His voice was steady, but there was a restrained aggression underneath. The voice of someone getting impatient. “We’ve been together for months and trying to get a kiss from you is like pulling out teeth.” The girl in his grasp had a pleading look in her eyes. R may have been a corpse that ate people, but even he knew that forcing yourself on a girl was a scumbag move. Something flared inside his cold body. If he didn’t do something, this poor girl would be violated. And unfortunately for her assailant, R was very hungry. Without a moment to think, he charged out of the bushes toward them. The male glanced up and immediately scampered off the girl. The girl squealed in terror and backed away across the ground. “Stay back, you damn corpse!” the male yelled. He reached into his boot and pulled out a switchblade. He unsheathed and sent it spinning at R. R moved slightly to the side and the blade struck a tree trunk somewhere behind him. “You idiot!” the girl yelled. “Why didn’t you bring a pistol?” “It wouldn’t fit in the basket!” the guy barked at her. Then, what the male did next would have made R’s blood boil if there was any in his veins. The male grabbed the girl by the shoulders and moved her in front of himself to shield her. “Take her!” he said. “I promise she’s real tasty. “Oh my god!” the girl yelled. She looked R in his eyes, tears streaming down and shivering with fear. Poor thing. She didn’t deserve this. And she certainly didn’t deserve her shithead of a boyfriend. R stumbled forward, the girl shaking below him. He grabbed her by the front of her shirt, lifting her to her feet. The girl squeezed her eyes shut, prepared to feel the bite of corpse teeth in her flesh. Indeed, R gently pushed her to the side. Then descended on her boyfriend. He tried to fight back, but the guy was pretty useless without his knife. R wasn’t very physically strong even when he was alive, but in minutes he bit a chunk out of the boyfriend’s arm. He devoured him, opting to skip the brain. He didn’t have any interest in the memories or life of a guy who thought kissing girls without their consent was a good idea. Before long, the boy was a pile of blood, flesh and bones on the grass. R wiped his bloody mouth on his sleeve and rose to his feet. He turned to check on the girl, who had watched the whale thing. She was shaking, but she made no attempt to run away. “Why me?” she said. “Why…spare me?” R didn’t have an answer for her. He’d had many encounters with human survivors since he got the virus. But something about this girl was…different. Just then, R heard the telltale sounds of corpse groans. His hunting party must have come looking for him, and they must have smelled the remains of the dead boyfriend too. The girl must have heard them too. She scrabbled to her feet and threw herself at R, gripping him by his t-shirt. She looked up at him with watery eyes. “Don’t let them hurt me,” she begged. “Please…I don’t wanna die yet…” R certainly had no interest in letting that happen. He lifted a hand to his face and ran his hand along his cheek, catching plenty of blood and grim, then smeared the gore along the girl’s lovely face. The girl winced in disgust but didn’t resist. The rest of the hunting crew stumbled from the brush. Most of them ignored R and the girl, brushing right past them to feast on the boyfriend's remains on the ground. R glanced down at the girl, who still clung to his shirt. “Come…with me…” he said. The girl stared at him for a moment, surprised to hear human words from his mouth. She didn’t resist, clutching his arm, as he guided her away from the rest of the hungry corpses.

POV: You

There was too much for your brain to process. The whole walk you didn’t speak, only followed your rescuer while your thoughts raced. This corpse saved you. He had an easy chance to eat you, but he didn’t. Instead, he went for Garrett just as he was about to hurt you. This went against everything you knew about corpses. They were supposed to be mindless animals. No thoughts or feelings, only the primal instinct to eat. And yet, this corpse had been walking with you for miles and made no effort to take a bite out of you. Eventually, the two of you made it to an airport a few miles away. The corpse guided you towards an airplane, up the stairs, and inside. The place was filled with various knick-knacks one wouldn’t expect to find in a plane. Clothes, music records, snowglobes, DVDs. Not only was this corpse a thinking, feeling being, but he even made a home for himself. “I…” you said, turning to him. “Thank you…for saving me…” The corpse pressed his lips and shyly nodded. You took the opportunity to access him up and down. He appeared young, blue jeans and a red hoodie, hair black as burnt charcoal. You could see how, under all the rot, he cou;d be considered handsome. The corpse reached for a cloth on a chair and offered it to you. You tentatively took, your fingers brushing his icy skin, then wiped the grim from your face. “Your…name…” he said. “My name?” you said. “It’s…it’s Y/N.” “Y/N.” He said the name slowly like he was tasting it. He made an attempt at a friendly smile and pointed to himself. “Call…me R…” “R,” you said. “Short for anything?” He shook his head. “Okay, R. At least it’s easy to remember.” You bit your lip. “Why did you save me, R? I mean…you saw what happened with my boyfriend. I know it sounds terrible, but…I don’t feel bad about what you did.” Your head dropped down. What an awful thing to think. Sure, Garrett proved himself to be the prick you always knew he was deep down. But did that mean he deserved to die? You felt those cold fingers lift your chin. Your eyes met R’s, those pale, blue spheres that almost seemed to glow. “Safe…” he moaned. “Stay…safe…with me…” You glanced around the plane. “You want me to stay here with you?” you asked. “For…now…” he said. Your first instinct was to say no. Sure, he rescued you, and he seemed friendlier than your typical corpse. But you had family back at the compound. They were probably worried sick about you. But then your eyes turned to glance out the window, and already the hunting crew of corpses was back, wandering the concrete. The thought of going back out there now, even with the protective grim, made you shake. R noticed your reaction and stepped closer to you, putting a comforting hand on your shoulder. Despite yourself, you leaned into his touch. “Okay…” she said. “Yeah…I guess I can stay here for a few days…”

POV: R

After a few days, Y/N seemed to warm up to him. She didn’t resist when he grew close, she slept peacefully without fear of getting hurt. This made something curl in R’s chest. He didn’t want to hurt her. He wanted to prove he wasn’t a threat to her, so it lightened him to her getting comfortable. R did everything to make Y/N feel at home. He brought her meals from inside the airport. He distracted her from her anxiety with his records and DVD collection. He even made her laugh a couple times, which sent a flutter in his chest, the closest thing to a heartbeat he felt in forever. One evening a few days in, both of them were laying on the floor facing each other. Neither of them could sleep. “I have to admit, R,” Y/N said. “I…don’t want to go home yet.” R paused, his eyes wide. “Hm…?” he moaned. Y/N shrugged. “Don’t get me wrong, I want my family to know I’m okay,” she said. “It’s just…I wasn’t happy at the compound. Even in the safe zones, life is all about survival. People are too scared to…enjoy life, you know? Listening to music, talking about movies, all those little pleasures…I haven’t done any of that until now.” She gave him a sweet smile. R would have blushed if he could. Fuck, she was so pretty. Had she always been that pretty? “I want to go and leave my family a message,” she said. “Just let them know I’m somewhere safe. They’ll probably just assume I ran away with Garrett.” She shifted closer, close enough that R could feel her warm breath. “And then…I want to come back here.” Then, Y/N did something very unexpected. She snuggled close to R, burying her head in his chest. “I like you, R,” she mumbled. “I feel safe with you. Which…is crazy, given you’re a corpse. But it’s true. I feel safer with you than I ever did with Garrett.” Her words left R speechless, more than usual. He hooked an arm around her and held her. He didn’t want to let her go. He wanted to stay there forever, in the dark, shielding her from the world outside their little bubble. In minutes, Y/N was asleep. In his chest, R didn’t feel a flutter. He felt the deep, electric pulse of a heartbeat.

#warm bodies #r atvist #nicholas hoult #isaac marion

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