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shyficwriter · 3 years

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Temporary Home: Chapter 1

Guardians of the Galaxy fanfic | Reader x Guardians (With Yondu and Kraglin!) Guest starring Nick Fury and Maria Hill

Summary: The Guardians have pissed off some really dangerous people and need to lie low. Apparently your home is the perfect place to keep them, according to Fury.

Part 2 Here

Author’s Note: This will be multiple chapters, I already have so many scenes for this in my head. I hope you guys like it!

Word Count: 6,610

You had been called into a sudden emergency meeting one afternoon, and walked in expecting to be sent on perhaps an urgent but still run-of-the-mill mission, or briefed on a sudden change to an existing case. You didn't expect to essentially become the babysitter for eight aliens. Well, one of them was human, but still.

You waited in the briefing room with five other agents and Maria Hill. One of your fellow agents, you thought her name was Stacy, tried asking what the meeting was about, and Maria would only reply to wait for Fury, and that he should be there soon.

Admittedly that made you a little nervous. It wasn't often that you didn't get any information before a meeting, but you tried not to think too much into it.

Fury arrived a few minutes later followed by six people you had never seen before.

Two of the men looked normal enough- that is to say, human- but they were the only two. One with red hair and another with strange tattoos on his neck. Then there was a large shirtless greenish/greyish man with what looked at first glance to be many swirly red tattoos covering his body. He had what you thought was a raccoon holding a wooden doll sitting on his shoulder, until the raccoon jumped down onto the table and you saw that not only did the raccoon walk upright, but the "wooden doll" was actually alive, and walked around as well when set upon the table. The other man was a rough looking type, and he was as blue as the sky with what appeared to be a red metal mow-hawk. There were two women with them as well, a taller green one who looked like she could kill you without blinking, and a smaller paler one with antennae who actually looked kinda scared to be there, as she was all but hiding behind the larger shirtless man.

Now, with your line of work you were of course aware of the reality of aliens, but these were actually the first you'd seen up close other than some of the Skrull people Fury worked with.

This group, however, seemed a little... dysfunctional. The red haired man said something snarky to the raccoon, and to your surprise the raccoon spoke back, saying something equally snarky in return before snapping at the red haired man's hand. The man then mimed smacking the raccoon across the room only to then be smacked in the back of the head by the green woman, earning snickers from both neck-tattoo guy and the blue man.

Fury loudly plopped a folder on the table and looked at the group sternly, prompting them to silence. He then turned to you and your fellow agents. "You're probably wondering why I called you all here." Not waiting for an answer he continued, "In simplest terms, we need to provide sanctuary for this lot because they went and pissed off some very dangerous people, and the Nova Corps urgently insists that they need protection."

An agent to your right, you didn't know his name, spoke up. "Then why aren't they hiding them? Why pawn them on us?"

"This is their way of hiding them. Earth is considered primitive by the rest of the galaxy's standards. We have virtually no contact outside this planet, and Nova figured this would be one of the last places anyone might look. Buy them some time to diffuse the situation with the people after these guys before they blow them to pieces."

For seemingly no reason, the red haired man then flicked the raccoon, only to fall on his ass when the raccoon lunged at him, receiving many annoyed looks from the rest of the group.

The same agent spoke again, confusion on his face. "Pardon me, but why is this Nova Corps putting all this effort into hiding... them?" The inflection was clear. What was so special about these dumbasses?

Fury, after witnessing the buffoonery, pinched the bridge of his nose. "Well, in addition to them being idiots." He punctuated the sentence with a sharp look toward the group, making the man and raccoon attempt to straighten up. "They've also managed to save the galaxy on more than one occasion. Nova is understandably less than willing to see them come to deadly harm. This is where you come in. We can't keep them here, so we need agents who can house them until everything blows over. Now, we're considering dividing them them among the five of you-"

"Wait! Whoa whoa whoa! You never said we'd be split up! We're a team! You can't split us up!" cried the red haired man. The rest of the group seemed agitated as well, and started to argue with Fury.

You heard a couple agents to your left whispering that they were in no way going to house any of them, and you couldn't help but agree as you watched the scene in front of you.

The blue man had the red haired man by the arm, irritably telling the younger to "Calm down, boy!" as the red haired man tried to pull away, yelling and pointing at Fury about how "This wasn't the deal!" The green woman was also yelling at the red haired man, something about having no choice if they wanted everyone to be safe, as the neck-tattoo guy just stood there, almost as if he didn't know whether to be angry or sad. The woman with the antennae looked even more frightened, now burying her face into the chest of the large tattooed man while he simultaneously patted her head comfortingly and somehow also managed a deadly look at your director. The raccoon had now hopped back on the table to comfort the little wooden creature, which was now crying, soothing it and saying, "It's ok, buddy, I'm not gonna let them separate us, I promise. Look at me, it's gonna be fine."

That's all it took, and you cursed yourself.

You rubbed a hand down your face. Damn it. "I'll do it." you said, voice raised just loud enough to be heard over the commotion.

Loud enough to capture Fury's attention. He turned away from the now quieting group and shared a brief look with Agent Hill. "What was that?"

You sighed, a voice in your mind yelling at you to reconsider. "I've got a place. Out of the way." Wait, what the hell are you doing? "I can take them." No. Turn back! It's not too late! "I mean, people will have to double up in the bedrooms, but I have the space to take them all." Dammit! What's wrong with you!?

Fury nodded. "Where do you live?"

"In the interest of security, sir, I think that's a conversation best had in private."

Fury smiled. "Good answer."

***

After Fury dismissed the other agents and discussed the whereabouts of your home and its security, he surprised you by declaring that you'd all be leaving within the hour.

You were taken a bit aback, having assumed you'd have some time to prepare, but agreed, assuming that time must be of the essence. Preparations could be made as you went, you supposed.

The ride to your home was a bit awkward, to be honest. Fury split the group between your car and a larger black SUV that he would be driving. In your vehicle you transported the red haired man and the green woman, who's names you learned were Peter and Gamora, along with agent Maria Hill in the front passenger seat. You assumed she had been assigned to ride with you rather than Fury for security purposes, but you didn't ask. Fury transported the rest, which you were sure would have been an interesting ride to say the least.

Your journey, however, was quite quiet. Peter kept trying to make conversation, but it never went much further than a couple-word answers from you or Maria. Reason being that you honestly just didn't know what to say, and you weren't exactly the most open book, and you'd never known Maria to be much of a conversationalist while on the job, though you two usually got on pretty well together.

Your home was an old double storey stone farmhouse set in the countryside, miles away from the nearest house, and even further away from the nearest town. The back of the property was a decent sized lot that emptied into a forest that also shielded around the sides, and at the front there were hedges and tall trees blocking the property from the sight of nearest road. It was easy to miss if you didn't know where to find the drive path that turned off the main road and winded up to the house. For all intents and purposes, to any average person taking a country drive, it was as if it wasn't even there, lost among the vast amount of trees.

Therefore, when you did finally arrive at your home a good bit later, you were more than surprised to find three black vans already parked in your drive. You were first alarmed, worried that somehow your location had already been compromised. You stayed behind the wheel for a moment, unsure of what to do, until you looked in the rearview mirror to see Fury and his lot exiting his vehicle. You looked to Maria in confusion.

"Yeah, there may be a bit more you need to be briefed on." she said in reply to a question that hadn't left your lips, smiling apologetically.

You got out of your car, followed by the rest of your passengers, and walked over to Fury who was standing in front of his passengers as they stared up at their new (hopefully) temporary lodging.

"What's going on here?" you asked when you reached him, gesturing to the men coming out of your house.

"Slow workmanship. They should have been done and gone 30 minutes ago." Fury said flatly, gazing at a man who nodded apologetically to the director and spoke into his walkie for his men to wrap up.

"Fury-" you say, your tone unamused.

"Agent Hill was supposed to brief you on the way over." he said, looking past you to Maria with a raised eyebrow.

"I considered that it might be better to wait until we reached the destination, sir, rather than inside of a moving vehicle, considering."

Fury half nodded as if in agreement, then turned to look back at your home. "We already scoped your place out a week ago. You're right, it was nearly the perfect place."

"Excuse me?" you say, eyes widening in confusion and surprise. What the hell did he mean he had already scoped it out a week prior? You had been under the impression these people had just been spontaneously dropped in Fury's lap.

"Your home," he said as if that would clarify things. "We had already looked into it, and other than needing a few adjustments, it was the perfect safe house to hide them."

"You- How-" you sputtered. You took a moment to gather your thoughts. "You mean to tell me that this was all already decided before you ever called that meeting?"

"Of course. It would have been irresponsible to drop them off at the first place we found."

"Then why call the meeting? Why the damn charade if this wasn't really my choice?" You were fighting not to raise your voice too much, but it still came out irritated. You threw an accusatory glance at the group, who were clearly listening in on the conversation, not like you had been quiet enough for them not to hear if they hadn't been. "Were you lot in on this?"

Peter held up his hands and shook his head defensively, as did a few of the others. You only narrowed your eyes and turned back to Fury as he spoke.

"Oh, you always had a choice, I just wanted to make sure you'd be willing." Fury said calmly, only now turning to look at you. "I knew you'd say yes."

"How could you possibly know I'd say yes!?"

"Well you did, didn't you?" You could almost hear laughter in his voice. The fucker practically seemed pleased with himself. You could feel your blood boiling.

"Oh yeah? How do you know I won't take it back after this stunt?"

Fury turned back to watch the vans turn around to exit the drive. "You won't. I know that well enough."

"How can you be so sure?" you say defiantly.

The Guardians look to each other worriedly. What if you did take it back because this Fury guy pissed you off? Would they have to be separated? Would they have to find a whole new planet to hide on?

Yondu eyed you as you asked your director how he was sure you wouldn't take back your offer, expecting him to say that he would be paying you too much to refuse, but he didn't expect the answer that actually came out of Fury's mouth.

"Because you offered with asking how you'd be compensated, and you still haven't asked. That, and I read your face like an open book." He now grinned as he looked at you, saying much softer, "You don't have it in you to turn them away."

You felt your face grow hot and you stuttered a bit before looking up at the sky in defeat, sighing at the darkening clouds beginning to gather overhead, a testament to your torment, to be sure. "Fine." you say. Suddenly remembering what he said, you looked back at him, "What did you mean by adjustments?"

Maria smiled at Fury as she placed a hand on your back and guided you towards the door. The other's followed.

"I know this seems like an intrusion, but we promise we didn't hurt anything. We simply added a couple beds, stocked the pantry, and updated the plumbing and wiring."

"The plumbing was fine," you grumbled, "and I was working on the wiring."

"Your home is just over 200 years old. The plumbing might have been fine when it was just you here, but now you'll be housing eight other people. I think you can understand why we would consider improving it." Fury stated, almost like a reprimand to your stubbornness. You eye him, wondering how he could know how old your home was, but you supposed he knew that the same way he knew where to find your home a week before you ever told him where it was.

Because he was Fury.

Looks were exchanged among the Guardians as they entered the home behind you, surprised to hear of the age of your home to see it in such nice condition. Though, if you had been living here they supposed it shouldn't have come to much surprise that you would have cared for it.

The front door opened up to a large hall featuring a staircase to the left. On either side of the entrance were two more doors.

Maria lead you all through the door on the right into the kitchen to briefly show they had stocked the pantry with some foods they, The Guardians as you heard them referred to as, were used to, to make the transition to Earth foods easier. They would be making bi-weekly supply drops to your home to keep the pantry stocked to feed all of them, but the food would soon be coming only from Earth, as it would be both expensive, and a possible security risk to try and keep importing foods from outer space.

You all then exited the kitchen and travelled up the stairs while Maria explained that everyone's bags had already been placed in the rooms based on what they assumed would be the correct sleeping arrangements. Of course, everyone was free to switch it up at their discretion. Once at the top of the stairs you instinctually step forward and reach up to pull the string for the light, as the hall was a bit dim due to the fading light outside, but you find it missing.

"Where the hell did-" you think softly out loud, looking up to see the whole fixture had been changed. The light then came on by itself and embarrassingly resulted in you startling in surprise. You turn to see Fury grinning slightly while shaking his head, his finger still near a switch that definitely wasn't there before you left the house that morning.

"Man, they weren't kidding when they said you Terran types were primitive, eh Pete?"

You shot the raccoon an offended look before Fury reminded you that they had updated your wiring. You blushed and looked at the new switch suspiciously, wondering how they managed to rewire your house so quickly without destroying the walls, but resisted the urge to sarcastically accuse him of witchcraft lest you give these 'Guardians' the idea that you were actually scared of electricity. Not that you cared what they thought, or anything.

Maria motioned to the first door on the left of the landing, and said to you that they naturally assumed it was the one you slept in, as it appeared to be the only one currently being inhabited. You nodded that she was correct and she continued, opening the door and informing you that they had added an extra bed and had placed Mantis's bag inside. She pointed to the woman with the antennae, indicating that's who she was referring to.

You silently nod again, a gesture that you were accepting of this arrangement. Of everything else they had done, this was one of the lesser intrusive things, next to the pantry. The woman seemed like one of the least annoying of the bunch, so you weren't going to argue. Could be worse. They could have put the raccoon or the dude with red hair in there.

You didn't see, but Mantis let out a sigh of relief at this knowledge that you weren't going to be angry about sharing your room with her. Her mood immediately brightened, convinced she was about to make a new friend.

You peeked into the room as the others pushed forward with Maria. Inside was your wooden framed single sized bed, only now pressed against the right side of the room from where it had previously been centered beneath the window. A new bed had now been set up on the left side of the room, opposite corner from your own, to leave clearance for the attic door. This bed was a black metal framed single, already fitted with grey and white sheets.

You naturally assumed Fury's team decided to add similar beds to the other rooms while also making use of the remaining beds that were already there, and so you didn't follow the others to see. You didn't really care to see, hadn't been in those rooms much in years for a reason.

You just crossed your arms and leaned to rest back against your doorframe and watched on as Maria sorted them into the rooms and Fury took to standing in the corner opposite of you, watching everything.

Fury's team had apparently placed the belongings of the blue man and the man with the neck tattoos in the room directly across from your own, and you learned their names were Yondu and Kraglin, respectively.

They placed the large man, raccoon, and wooden child all in the room further down at the end of the landing on that side, and you learned the large man was called Drax, the raccoon was Rocket, and the tiny wooden child was Groot. Something twisted in your belly seeing the little wooden child shyly peek into the room from atop Drax's shoulder, but you forced it down. No time to think about who previously owned that room right now.

The raccoon could be heard complaining, "You're seriously gonna make me sleep in a crib?"

The twisting came back, and you looked at Fury, ignoring the snickers and banter from the raccoon's friends as they both teased him for his misfortune and told him to get over it.

"We might have taken advantage of some furniture in the attic." Fury said, shrugging.

"It was locked." you say, your eyes narrowed. How would he even know to look up there? Did they literally go through your entire house when they 'scouted' it?

"So was the front door."

You sigh bitterly, only eyeing him in response.

"Is there a problem?" Fury asked, not altogether sincerely.

You shake your head and break his gaze. "It's fine."

Directly across from the previous room, Maria informed the ones you now knew as Gamora and Peter that that's where their belongings had been placed, Maria stating that they hoped they weren't being forward in assuming the pair were a couple. Gamora only nodded and said it was fine, while Peter gave her a cheeky grin that made her roll her eyes. Them being in that particular room meant you'd be sharing a wall with them, and with the knowledge that they were a couple you hopped it wouldn't mean you'd wind hearing any... 'special' noises at night while you were trying to sleep.

Once everyone knew where they'd be sleeping and seemed happy enough with the pre-arranged sleeping arrangements courtesy of who you were now mentally dubbing Intruder Fury, neck tattoo man-Kraglin- looked at Maria and asked where the restroom happened to be.

You lowered a hand from where it had previously been crossed over your chest and rapped twice on the wall, getting his attention, and pointed to the only still closed door to your left, centered in the wall across from the opening to the stairs.

He nodded in thanks, seeming slightly embarrassed that he had forgotten that this was, in fact, your house and not Intruder Fury's or Co-Intruder Hill's.

Fury gave you an unimpressed look that you read as, "Use your words." and you spoke up saying there was another bathroom downstairs if anyone else needed it. Peter spoke up saying that he could use it, and so you nodded your head towards the stairs in a "come on then" gesture and lead him as well a couple others downstairs to point where it was, down the hall towards the back of the house, past the kitchen. It was the only door at the end the hall that could be seen from where you stood, so he couldn't miss it.

Maria and Fury met you at the bottom of the stairs behind the rest of the Guardians, sans Kraglin of course.

"We trust everyone will settle in nicely," Fury said, turning a pointed look at the Guardians as he said "and will be on their best behavior." This earned a few nods from the group and he then turned to you, adding almost jokingly, "Would you like to finish the tour?"

You pointed towards the kitchen and spoke flatly, "Food's in there, so is laundry," you pointed towards the bathroom Peter had disappeared into, "Shower and toilet's in there," you pointed upstairs, "Sleep's up there," you opened the door to your left, the only room not yet explored that you were willing to open, and pointed inside, "Sitting room is in there. Watch TV, read, knock yourselves out."

Fury spoke first. "I get the way we went about this situation may seem less than ideal to you, but I assure you there's no need to be testy."

"I have every right to be 'testy.' You couldn't have just asked? If you really somehow already knew I'd say yes than why go through all-" you waved your hands around, trying to find the words, "You had to go and be all... you?!" There was an edge to your voice that drove the message. He had manipulated you, if that were even the right word for it. He had this all planned out in advance, made you a puzzle piece, you fell right where he said he knew you would, and you were meant to what? Smile about it?

"I could have," he conceded, looking thoughtful, "But that's not how I do things."

"You shook your head. You're a real piece of work, you know that?"

Fury only nodded once in response before asking, "Do you have any further questions?"

You look out the door window briefly to see the clouds had gotten much darker. "Looks like rain, director. Better hurry, wouldn't want you to get wet." The edge to your voice got sharper. Fury simply nodded with a half smile. Message received. Get out.

The Guardians, who hadn't gotten your hint to go shoo off someplace, remain stood in the hall, glancing at each other awkwardly. It surprised them that a man like Fury, and the way he seemed to be, would be seemingly so cool with the way you were speaking to him.

You spoke again as he reached for the door. "See you tomorrow. Ottawa case, right?"

Fury stopped. "Actually no. You won't be coming in tomorrow."

You blinked. "Excuse me?"

"You've been moved off that case to this one, we won't be shipping you off to Canada. In fact, you're off all further cases for the foreseeable future."

"Am I being punished for something, sir?" you ask, the edge still not having left your voice, but it was now softened by confusion.

"No." Fury replied, "If anything, consider it a vacation."

"I did not ask for a vacation, sir." you say, trying to bite back the irritation in your voice. "I have no desire to just stay home."

Maria looked at Fury with a 'told-you-so' expression, stating to him that she had known you wouldn't have taken this well.

Fury looked at you firmly. "You're due for one, and we need someone to stay and guard them. You already live here, they're staying here- Two birds, one stone."

Your face hardened in indignation. "So I'm a babysitter now? Look, if you're retiring me just say so."

The Guardians still stood there awkwardly, Kraglin finally coming down the stairs to quietly join them, eyes wide and wondering where all the tension had come from. Maria tilted her head toward the sitting room, hoping they might get the hint. They did, awkwardly backing into the room, not wishing to interrupt your argument with Fury.

"You're not being retired-"

"Good. Then I can keep working. There's literally no reason why I need to stay home."

"You haven't taken a vacation in five years." Fury said, the authoritative tone in his voice rising, "This isn't a request. It's an order."

Peter then exists the bathroom, saying "What did I miss-" and almost shrinking back inside when he notices his friends are gone and the tense looks between you and Fury. Mercifully, Agent Hill gestures him to the sitting room and he sidesteps his way past while you ignore him, too focused on trying to burn Fury with your eyes.

Knowing you had no options and could make no further arguments, you angrily yielded. "Yes, sir." you say bitterly.

"That's better. If you need anything you know how to contact me or Agent Hill." With that he bid you goodbye and opened the door.

It was now beginning to rain outside.

"Warned you about that rain." you snarked as he made his way out the door.

***

Agent Hill looked at Fury as they entered his vehicle, the rain coming down harder now.

"Stubborn as hell, that one." Fury remarked, turning his key in the ignition.

Maria agreed, but also stated she thought this might be good for you as they drove away.

***

You stood there in the hall for a good moment before Gamora asked if everything was ok from the doorway of the sitting room. You looked at her, and she went on to apologize for their intrusion in your home but also said they were grateful you allowed them to stay.

She started to say something else, probably was going to be more apologies border-lining on 'please don't change your mind,' but you raised your hand and cut her off, "Don't worry about it. It's not you guy's fault he's an asshole," you say. You look at her and you can see she is tired, probably both from lack of sleep and worry. You try to be more gentle. "Look, it's fine. Just... settle in. I know it's late, but there's food in the kitchen if you guys are hungry, I'm- I'm gonna go clean something." You break eye contact and head into the kitchen, sure there was at least a plate or glass in the sink you could tend to.

Sure, enough, once you got to the sink you noticed a few dishes from the morning, and so you turned on the tap. You decided cold water was good enough, not feeling like waiting for the immersion to heat up, but you turned the knob for the hot water anyway out of habit. Realizing you had thrown the old dish rag in the laundry without replacing it, you allowed the water to run while you searched the drawer for another.

You heard footsteps entering the kitchen as you returned to the sink, and assume someone must have finally decided they were hungry. Not turning to greet whoever it was, you absently run the cloth under the tap to get it wet- only to immediately rip it back with a, "g-OW! Damn! Fuck!"

You doubled over, holding your burning hand.

"You ok? What happened?"

You look up, squinting through pain, to see Drax had asked the question, standing in the doorway with Mantis and Gamora, the little tree child sitting on her shoulder.

You breathed. "Yeah. One of those fuckers must have turned the immersion on and left it." You straighten yourself, your hand still smarted but you knew it'd be alright, and turned off the tap with the dishrag. "I'll check it out."

You exit the kitchen through the other door at the far end of the room to check the hot press to the right of the cellar door behind the stairs, intent to turn the immersion off, and bitterly wondering just how long it had been left on for. However, once you opened the door your immersion was nowhere to be seen. You stared in confusion at the new pipes that now ran straight through the floor into the cellar before noticing a note taped to the back wall that only said "Upgraded to boiler. Check basement. ♡ Maria."

You narrowed your eyes and opened the cellar door, already pulling out your phone as you descended the stairs. You quickly located this new boiler fairly quickly. It was cylindrical in shape and black in color, and much larger than your previous heating unit, probably why it was now in the cellar. You dialed the phone, the first word out of your mouth when you got an answer was simply, "Why?"

***

The other guardians in the sitting room had also heard your swearing and peeked out of the room just in time to see you walking very cranky-like across the hall. They looked at the three standing in the kitchen doorway and they only shrugged in response to their quizzical glances.

Curious, and hearing you walk down the stairs, Peter and Kraglin tiptoed over to the Cellar door to see what was going on, standing just off from the door. They caught bits of your end of the conversation.

"Why?" ...

"Well, yes I can understand that, but-" ...

"Well you could have warned me! I just about burned my hand off!" ...

"Fine. How does it work?" ...

"No, I'm not going to-" ...

"Yes, I know they-" ...

"You know what, I'll figure it out. Bye."

They hear you start to climb the steps and scurry back to the sitting room, not wishing to make it apparent they were eavesdropping on their new host.

You re-enter the kitchen and grab a glass of milk to soothe your nerves, seeing as it was now raining buckets and you couldn't be bothered for a walk as you would have preferred.

You sit at the table and look to see the three still standing in the doorway. You raise an eyebrow. "You alright there?" Thinking bizarrely that they must be shy you gesture towards the pantry. "Food's over there if you're hungry."

Drax merely shrugged and took up the offer, guiding Mantis over with him, but not before accepting Groot from Gamora.

Gamora stepped towards the table and took a seat across from you. "I couldn't help but notice you seem less than happy about this arrangement, I'm sorry-"

You cut her off once again. "Don't be sorry. I already told you it's not your fault Fury can be a dick. It's just a lot of new all at once and I wasn't expecting it. You're fine." You take another sip of milk, finally realizing what it was that she was actually afraid of. "You don't need to be scared that I'll send you back or anything."

She actually seemed to relax a bit. "Thank you. If there's anything-"

You set your glass on the table and fold your hands. Sentiment made you uncomfortable. "Look, as long as you guys clean up after yourselves and don't destroy my home, we're fine." Looking for a change of subject you said, "Why don't you introduce the rest of your friends. It couldn't hurt to get to know you a little."

Gamora smiled slightly. "Well, that's Drax and Mantis." she said, pointing to the two who were now coming back to sit down with their snacks. "And this is Groot," she added once Mantis sat the child on the table.

You smiled. "Cute little bugger, isn't he?"

"I am Groot!" he said excitedly, taking a bite of a food you didn't recognize. Must have been one of those outer-space types.

"Hello, Groot. How are you?"

"I am Groot."

You raised an eyebrow. "Um.." Maybe he misunderstood you?

Before you could ask again, Drax speaks up. "That's all he can say. He means he's ok."

"Oh." You nod slightly and take a sip of your milk, bemused. "I see."

The four of you conversed for a little bit. You learned that Drax liked knives, and he seemingly took everything very literally. Mantis was sweet, and she was convinced you two would be friends. She also said she was excited to share a room with you, because it would be like a sleepover. Gamora gave you a smile that seemed to say "forgive her," but you honestly weren't too bothered. It was almost sweet. Before you could ask about Gamora though, she stood up and asked if you'd like to meet the others.

You shrugged and nodded, placing your now empty glass in the sink before following her out to the sitting room where the other men were.

You walked in and saw Peter sitting in an armchair listening to a music player, seemingly ignoring the other two men as they stood looking weirdly at the TV. The blue man tilted his head at it, a hand to his chin in thought, while the other waved his arms slowly in front of it saying, "I dunno. Maybe it's broken?" He looked ridiculous.

You stifle a laugh and asked, "What are you doing?"

They turn to you, the blue man speaks. "Tryin' to figure out how to turn on this Terran TV of yers. Rat says they're motion activated, but nothin' we do is workin.'"

You give him a strange look. "Motion-? No- You just use the remote."

Then you hear a snickering and find it's coming from the raccoon, perched on the back of the couch. "Rocket." Gamora says in a mix of scolding and accusation, and he starts laughing harder, jumping down on the cushions to retrieve the controller from between them. "You guys looked so stupid! Ahaha!"

Yondu glares and Kraglin snatches the remote, flipping the television on and raising his hands in an annoyed "There we go!" gesture, sharing an annoyed look with Yondu at Rocket.

You motion to one of the game controllers on the coffee table, stating they'd want to use one of those if they wanted to actually watch something, as the first controller only turned the TV on.

Before you could offer to show them how to use Netflix, Gamora started introducing the remaining guardians.

Peter removed his earbuds and greeted you, standing to shake your hand, only to be shot down by you saying there was no need to be so formal, keeping to yourself the fact that despite working for Fury, you hated formal with a passion. He held up his hands and sat back down. "No problem there. We're probably the least formal people you can get." he said with a smile. You didn't see, but Gamora gave him a warning look that kept him from putting his feet up on the table.

The other two men and the raccoon seemed to agree with Peter, and nodded their greetings to you instead when introduced.

"Say, just curious, but how come it's just you living in this big ol' house by yerself?" came a question from Yondu.

You probably should have expected that question, but you didn't like it all the same. You were trying to decided if 'Don't worry about it' would be too rude of an answer when Peter notices the change in your expression and adds his own question out of fear that Yondu had offended you in some way. "How long have you been here? Fury said this place was old."

You chose to answer Peter's question instead. "Grew up here. House has been in the family since it was built."

"Oh. Cool." said Peter.

Not looking forward to any more possible questions about yourself you looked up to the clock and found your way out.

"Well, it's nearly ten, I think I'll turn in early." you say, excusing yourself.

Just then a loud thunderclap sounded and you heard a squeal from the kitchen.

"Kid scared of storms?" you ask, looking to Gamora.

The lights go out. You hear a scream.

"Nah, but apparently Bug is." says Yondu.

Realizing he likely meant Mantis, and that Mantis was your new roommate, you sigh. "I'll get a flashlight."

The lights flickered back on.

"Nevermind."

Everyone pretty much decided to go to bed after that, Mantis shyly shuffling into the bedroom a few minutes after you to retrieve some items from her bag and coming back dressed for bed as you scrolled through Tumblr, having already washed up and dressed for bed.

She crawled into her bed, pulling the covers up to her chin.

Thunder cracked again and she whimpered. You honestly felt a little bad for her.

"Do... does this happen often?" she asked.

"The storm? No." you answered honestly. "It'll be over soon. Just try to sleep." You stand up to turn the light off but pause, turning back to the curled up form on the bed opposite of your own, your face softening. "Would you like me to leave a lamp on?"

Mantis nodded.

You click on your desk lamp before turning off the overhead light and crawling into your own bed. You heard her say goodnight to you from across the room.

"Night," you return, turning toward the wall.

They were an odd lot, a bit dysfunctional, but you decided they were ultimately harmless. 'This whole ordeal will be over before I know it,' you thought as you closed your eyes.

You'd find out soon enough that you thought wrong.

#gotg #guardians of the galaxy #x reader #yondu udonta #kraglin obfonteri #peter quill #star lord #gamora #baby groot #mantis #drax the destroyer #nick fury #witness protection #fugitives #hiding #rocket raccoon

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mings · 3 years

Text

Some context...

...in relation to that last post. This is a lo-o-o-o-ong read, so feel free to skip right by if catharsis bores you.

This starts way before I joined tumblr; in fact, long before tumblr was even a thing.

Twenty years ago, we lived in a huge house backing onto the English Channel. We moved there from Scotland, which turned out to be (probably) the biggest mistake of my life.

Within nine months of buying the place, the company I’d moved to work for nearly folded. I and most of the workforce were made redundant. That set in motion an existential battle with our mortgage insurer, which refused to pay out because I “must have known” when taking out the insurance. (I didn’t, and they eventually caved in after destroying my credit record, but that’s another story.)

Work wasn’t immediately available; none that would at least cover the bills. We got inventive, wrote a business plan, obtained finance & bought a franchise. It went pretty well for the first three years, but we had to bust a gut to make the required income. It wasn’t easy. Eventually, the franchise operator messed up relations with several key players in our insurance market. Within three months, we lost 75% of our revenue. I had to close the workshop & find part time work to make ends meet. Ultimately, we decided to close the business, sell the house and downsize to something more manageable.

What’s the relevance of this? We tried hard to keep our precarious financial state form the kids. Maybe we didn’t do as well as we thought. Our son had already become withdrawn. He’d fallen in with a group of local lads about whom we had grave misgivings. Of course, there was no discussing it. We were “over-reacting” and unreasonable. It was around that time that he decided to jack in his education. I couldn’t criticise; I’d done the same. I pulled some strings and got him a job at our local Royal Mail delivery office.

We moved to our new place. It was a stressful move. Trying to fit into a house that was literally half the size was never going to be an easy task. One afternoon, our son came home from work and soon after announced he was going out. “See you later.” Only we didn’t. He didn’t come home that night. Nor did he turn up for work the next day. Nor the day after. And nor the day after that. Within a week he was written up for unauthorised absence. We had no way of contacting him. His case was heard in the following weeks. I could offer no mitigation. He was sacked for abandonment of duty. That tag that means he’ll never work for them again.

We still had no idea where he was. We only knew he was alive because we met a couple of his friends who couldn’t believe he’d not been in touch. Still no word. My wife was in shreds; I suspect any of you who are parents can identify with that. I was alternating between trying to prop her up and stay on top of my job, all the while under a constant barrage of barracking (Oh, we don’t mean anything by it, it’s just banter....)

About three months in I’d had enough. Sleep was a scarce resource so I rose at the crack of dawn and started on a trip, rousting one after another of the friends and acquaintances that I knew, following leads until finally I tracked him down to a sordid bedsit several towns and 40 miles away. At least he answered the door and looked sheepish. He offered no explanation or apology, and has never done so to date. He refused to come back home, but promised to keep in touch.

We know he bounced from one sofa to another in the next few months. He spent time in some of the worst areas in the county for drug abuse. He fell into a relationship with a girl that looked promising initially and subsequently fell apart. Later, he surfaced in another town with another girl whom he subsequently married. She often spoke of his irascible temperament and moods. Ultimately the marriage was doomed; she was younger than him, found a new interest and moved out. One wonders now how much of that was her and how much she’d put up with before voting with her feet.

He’s stumbled from one financial crisis to another. Money just evaporates. It’s as though adulting is a mystery beyond his reach. I’ve lost count of the times that we’ve thrown money at him and I don’t want to even think about how much. It’s literally thousands, always a loan, yet he never, ever pays back.

He left his job. That was inevitable too; he worked for his ex-father-in-law’s company. Heaven only knows how long the writing was on the wall; it was pretty swift once she left. He drifted again. He chose to live in a squalid flat with no heating rather than move back with us. Absolutely his choice, not ours.

We moved to Scotland. That meant all his stuff had to go into storage. Quick rewind - he moved all his stuff to ours when he gave up the house he & his ex lived in, but refused to move back home. I had to rent a storage unit to make space for all his gear & when we moved I shifted all his gear into the store, gave him the key & told him I’d paid three months up front; after that it was his to deal with. Apparently, he surrendered the store and moved all his gear into the flat...

Fast forward to a couple of months back. He’d run out of options at the flat. His flatmate was “really difficult” to live with. His ex had moved away, taking their son with her. He had nothing left to stay for and, surprise, he’d lost his job again so he couldn’t afford the rent.

My wife convinced me we should give him one last shot, citing his fragile mental health. I agreed on the strict understanding that we are simply no longer in a position to support him. He assured us he’d be applying for work as soon as he got here. We rarely see him before midday...

We agreed the end of the first week in March. We knew he’d arrive with a ton of stuff so we had (again) to create space. That’s infinitely more difficult now we’re running a B&B, but we set to the task. Suddenly, two weeks sooner than we’d agreed, he rented a van and was on his way. No discussion, no warning. We only found out because he put something on FB.

Finally, after trying to reach him most of the day, he phoned. Whilst we should have been relieved, instead we were treated to a barrage of abuse because all the petrol stations were shut. Of course they were. It was in a national lockdown and why would they stay open when there was no one on the roads? JFC, who embarks on a journey in sub-zero temperatures across some of the most inhospitable country in the UK without enough fuel? With a six year old child. Yes, not only did he forget to tell us about his change of plans, he forgot to tell us he was bringing his son too.

We drove south through the night for two hours to find him somewhere in the Cairngorms where he’d run out of fuel. No fuel meant no heaters at 1500 feet in deep snow. The ambient temperature was -5ºC/23ºF & with wind chill that was probably around -10ºC/14ºF. We found him & refuelled his van. No thanks, just another barrage of abuse, because he was tired. We took his son into our car & drove the two hours back in near silence. I think we knew then that it was an awful predictor of what was to come.

We’ve had row after row. He accused me of being passive-aggressive in the last. He actually ticks all the boxes for passive-aggressive behaviour. I’ve never been tagged with that before; if anything I’m too forthright, blunt even. That’s a failing to which I will admit. If by that he meant that I don’t talk about the elephant in the room, it’s only because we fear it’ll lead to another explosion.

He never saw the damage that we sustained during our fostering years. He was never there. Yet here we are, experiencing flashbacks to those traumatic incidents; the parallels are exact. We have the benefit of years of training. We recognise manipulative behaviour when we see it - we were trained by some of the nations best exponents - and we know divisive tactics implicitly. What he doesn’t know is that he will succeed only in pushing us closer together and alienating himself even further.

There are clear and well-documented links between cannabis and mental health issues. He is allowing the drug to determine his life choices. Although I may be wrong, I think he’s cultivating skunk, which is nothing like the weed that circulated in my youth. The smell that pervades our hallway is instantly evocative of high strength Afghan resin. It’s also going to be acutely difficult to eradicate before we’re due to open.

We’ve endured 20 years of this treatment. I know that even if we have a ritual burning, it will only be a matter of time before we’re back here again. We’re old. We’re tired. And we’ve worked our socks off (and still do) to achieve what we have. Maybe somewhere along the way we missed something. But I’m at a stage where I’m so far beyond this I just want it to stop.

#drugs #the damage is done #context #explanatory notes

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fific7 · 3 years

Text

Dangerous and Divine - Part 6

Billy Russo x Reader

Summary: Billy Russo is an itch you don’t want to scratch. But he’s all over you like a rash.

A/N: This does not follow canon, it’s mainly fluff & lemon zest 🍋 with a side of angst. The GIF is from Exposed, unreleased pilot show in case you’re wondering 😌... Billy vibes.

Warnings: Some drinking & swearing.

(My GIF)

He made it out onto the street, looking around him in all directions, heart sinking as he couldn’t see her anywhere.

Running his fingers through his hair, Billy continued scanning the crowded streets. No.... nothing. He grabbed his phone and dialled her number. She didn’t pick up. So he texted her.

“Angel, just saw you in the restaurant. I was there for a business lunch, really hope you don’t think there was anything else to it cos there wasn’t. Please - call me back or pick up when I call.”

He tried another couple of times including FaceTime but no, she definitely wasn’t picking up. Trying once more, he let it ring through to voicemail, and left basically the same message on there. He had no intention of returning to Madani and continuing lunch - too many awkward questions to face there apart from anything else - so he went back to his car, got in, slamming his hands down onto the steering wheel a few times before starting the engine, and driving back to Anvil.

»»————————————-———-　⚜　———————————-————-««

You and your friend had only gone a few doors down to another restaurant, and luckily they had a table available. Once you’d ordered and had glasses of wine in your hands, your friend Karen had fixed you with a steely gaze and said, “Okay, give.”

She worked as a reporter at one of the big newspapers, and you hadn’t had the chance to catch up with her for a good few months. And you knew she wouldn’t let this go until she’d wrung all the juicy details out of you, so you took a big sip of wine and sighed.

Catching her up from the whole ex-boyfriend situation to the cocktail party and meeting your new love interest, through to becoming lovers and maybe thinking it could go somewhere, you finally got to today’s fiasco.

“So, literally as soon as we sat down, I look up and that big fucker’s walking in with some pretty girl and looking extremely comfortable with her!” You gave what could only be described as an angry growl, “I mean I’d sussed out from the get-go that he was a player, but ... uhhh!!!... how could I be so damn stupid to fall for his shit talk?!!! Telling me I was his girlfriend!!!” You blew out a big breath.

“And then...“ you switched to your fake “man” voice, “‘Oh, I got a job I’ll be on for the next couple of days, angel.’” Another angry huff from you. “Yeah, right, on a ‘job’...he was obviously gonna be ON her! For about 48 hours by the sound of it. Bitch! And he’s a fucking jerk.”

Once Karen could get a word in edgeways when your rant drew to a close, she said in a calming voice, “Honey, it sounds like you had a lucky escape. There’s a lot of them in New York, you know... fucking jerks, I mean.”

You felt your eyes welling up, but blinked the tears back fiercely, you weren’t going to cry over that stupid big douchebag. You pulled your phone out of your bag, “I mean, look! Look at what he literally put in my phone yesterday evening...” and, ignoring your notifications for the moment, you scrolled to Contacts and turned the phone towards her.

Karen rolled her eyes, “Urrrghh, how lame is that? ‘Your Boyfriend’?” shaking her head. Even though you were furious at him, you felt a twinge of annoyance at her comment. You’d thought it was quite cute. Well, you had before that little shitshow. Then she put her face closer to the screen, “Hey, wait a minute!.. lemme see his photo?”

You handed the phone to her, and she peered at the image. “Oh my god,” she breathed, looking up at you, “...what’s your guy’s name?” “Billy Russo,” you spat back, loath to even voice it. She handed you the phone back. “Well, that’s just damn spooky,” she said, looking amazed. She leant in to you, “I’ve been seeing a guy for a couple of months, his name’s Frank,” and your mouth dropped. “Billy’s got a friend called Frank!” you said, staring at her. She nodded, “Yep, works at Anvil which is owned by the one and only Billy Russo!”

She sat back, taking a long sip of her wine. “What a freaking coincidence this is,” she shook her head. “Frank’s told me a little about him, you know and I’m afraid you’re right - he sounds like a total player.” She looked at you sympathetically, “Sorry.” You waved a hand in the air, “Nothing I hadn’t guessed for myself, Karen. But... he seemed so sincere.” You laughed self-depracatingly, “I was gonna be the one who tamed the bad boy. Huh!!”

You scrolled through the notifications, realising they were all from Billy. “I think he must’ve seen me! He’s called and texted.” You read the text, huffing and showing it to Karen, who raised her eyebrows and commented, “Nice recovery, Russo.” “The voicemail’s the same,” you said, as you listened to it. “What a load of bullshit. I mean, c’mon, who walks a business lunch date to the table with his hand on her back?”

Karen nodded, “No-one, unless they wanna get slapped with a lawsuit.”

»»————————————-———-　⚜　———————————-————-««

Billy slammed his office door behind him, and threw himself into his chair, tapping out a staccato rhythm on his desktop with a long finger. He reached down, opening his bottom desk drawer and taking out a bottle of whisky and a glass. A moment later, the door opened and Frank came in, looking concerned. He took in Billy’s less-than-immaculate hair, bouncing knee and tense demeanour.

Billy waggled the whisky bottle and quirked an eyebrow at him, but Frank shook his head.

“Okay, Bill, what’s up? Something go wrong?” Billy looked up at him, scowling ferociously, “Fuck yes!” he bit out, “Frankie... everything’s gone wrong.”

Before he could say anything else, Frank’s phone rang and he held a finger up to Billy to say he was going to take the call.

“Hi, sweetheart,” he answered it, “how’re you?” Billy heard a big outburst of indecipherable speech from the phone, and then saw Frank’s eyes flick over to him. “Oh, uhhh okay.. umm right, yeah he’s here. Yeah... yep, I’ll let him know. Will I see you later?” He smiled fondly as he went on, “Okay! That’s great, see you then.” He hung up, hand going to his jaw and running over his stubbled chin, looking worried.

“Bill...” he started, just staring at him and Billy stared right back, “What?”

Frank said a name to him, his angel’s name, and continued, “You know her?” Billy nodded, “Yeah, that’s my girl.” Frank plopped down into the chair across from him, “Not sure that’s the case now.” Billy nodded, “I know. That’s what I was about to tell you. I took Madani out to lunch and my girl was in the fuckin’ restaurant.” He shook his head, “She ran right outta there and I followed but couldn’t find her. So I headed back here. Left Madani sitting there in the restaurant.”

He poured a generous slug of whisky into the glass and knocked back most of it. “Now my girl’s mad at me and Dinah’s mad at me, and this operation could be down the tube.”

Frank sighed, rubbing his big paw over his face. “And Karen’s her friend, can you believe that? So she’s mad at you too. Fuckin’ hell, Russo.”

“Yeah,” said Billy, also sighing. “How the fuck am I gonna fix this?”

»»————————————-———-　⚜　———————————-————-««

Dinah Madani was not a happy bunny. She stomped into her office, yelling out “Sam!!!” as she went. He hurried in behind her. “Something wrong, Dinah?” She gave him a contemptuous look, “I see you’ve been working on your powers of observation. Well done! Yes, something’s wrong!” Sitting down behind her desk, she glared up at him, “Russo!!! That’s what wrong. That piece of shit.”

Inwardly, Sam laughed to himself. Despite Madani’s sarcastic gibe at his perceptiveness, he’d quickly realised as soon as Russo had popped up in this case that Madani had the serious hots for him. She thought she’d been getting somewhere with him, both on the case and personally, but now something must’ve put a spanner in the works on either one or both of those.

“What’s pretty boy done now?” he asked, trying and failing to completely hide his smirk. She scowled at him, “We’d gone out for lunch - to discuss the case,” she hastily added, and Sam thought to himself ‘yeah, right, and what were you hoping dessert was gonna be?’

“He spotted someone leaving the restaurant and off he goes, saying he’s got to catch up with them.” She viciously powered up her laptop. “Think it was a woman,” she mumbled. “Sorry, what?” said Sam innocently. “I said, I think it was a woman!” spat out Madani, “are you deaf or something?”

Sam smirked again, “Oh. Dear. Someone to do with the case, you think?” She stared at her screen, “How should I know? But that bastard’s got some explaining to do.”

Well this afternoon was gonna be a complete blast, thought Sam.

»»————————————-———-　⚜　———————————-————-««

You’d returned to Chelsea, and spent the whole afternoon getting under your team’s feet in the café. Not wanting to sit and brood in your office, you’d busied yourself ‘helping them out’, when in fact they didn’t actually need any assistance. And you could sense you were vaguely irritating them. But you didn’t feel up to telling them what the problem was.

Eventually, you’d asked if one of them wanted the rest of the day off as paid leave, and Gabrielle had jumped at the chance. Her older sister had just recently popped out another baby, and she was keen to visit and fulfill her role as doting aunt.

The two guys had watched you warily for the rest of the day, in case all your nervous energy ended up causing some kind of coffee-shop catastrophe. You sent them off at the end of the day, saying you’d close up yourself. Which turned out to be a mistake. Looking vacantly out at the street, you closed and locked the door when they left, and that’s when you spotted the Wraith, parked diagonally opposite the café.

Resting your forehead against the cool glass of the door for a moment, knowing you should really have anticipated that this would be Billy’s next move when you didn’t respond to his attempts at contacting you. Either turn up here or at your apartment. Not difficult to work out. You got the fright of your life as the doorway suddenly darkened, and long legs clad in suit trousers and a pair of shiny black shoes appeared in your line of vision. You’d jumped back in surprise and Billy leant one one arm on the door, staring in at you and mouthing “Please?” at you, followed by (you thought), “I just wanna explain.”

You’d looked away from his pleading eyes, contemplating what you were going to do. Let him in, don’t let him in. You couldn’t deny you wanted to hear his explanation. In all its no-doubt manufactured glory. So, heaving a big sigh, you unlocked the door and immediately walked away to the counter, leaving him to actually open the door and walk in. A small victory, you thought. You hadn’t actually let him in after all. Sort of.

“Coffee?” you asked over your shoulder. “Please.” You made an Americano for him, and a caffé corretto for yourself. You weren’t too fond of grappa, so topped up the espresso with some brandy. Billy, who was leaning on the counter watching you, raised an eyebrow at you. “Ooh, that bad, huh? Can I get some too?” You just stared at him, and he added, “Please?” so you added a shot to his coffee and handed it to him.

Sipping your own strong and bracing beverage, you leaned back against the unit behind you, face neutral, waiting. He took a long drink of his fortified coffee, eyes never leaving yours. He carefully placed the cup back into the saucer, leaning his arms on the counter and looking back up at you, the tip of his tongue swiftly moving over his bottom lip.

“I know you’ll probably think this is total bullshit, but I promise you it’s not,” he said into the silence. You nodded, “Mmhmm.” His eyes drilled into yours, sincerity shining out of them, “That was purely a business lunch. She’s a Homeland agent, and Frankie and I are... in the middle of something with that agency. I can’t tell you any of the details... yet. I’m sorry.”

You huffed out a long breath. “Firstly, Billy, since when does a business lunch entail walking the woman to a table with a hand on her back?” He winced, but you weren’t finished, “And right now, to me, the only thing you looked like getting into the middle of was her.” This time he flinched back from the venom in your voice, but he maintained eye contact with you.

“Angel, I swear to you... On. My. Life. There is nothing and will never be anything between me and Agent Madani.” So.... Agent Madani, your brain rolled the words around your mind. “We’re in a joint operation with them, and I need to make sure she doesn’t drop us out of the loop, they’re good at doing that.”

“And how’re you doing that, Billy? With ‘business lunches’, with lots of flirting? She got the hots for you, hmmm Billy? Yeah? So, ultimately with sex? Keep her really sweet?”

Damn, you knew you’d hit the nail right on the head. His face had flushed, guilt written all over him and he’d slid back on the counter slightly. You’d like to bet that If he hadn’t met you, that’s exactly what would’ve happened. Maybe he’d just not got that far down his timetable with her yet.

You stared intently into his eyes, “Slept with her yet, Billy?” He straightened up to his full height, looking down at you, a strange distant expression in his eyes. “No, angel, I haven’t. And I can’t deny what you’ve just said. That was the plan. Me and Frankie need to know what information and leads she’s got. Yeah, she’d like to fuck me, she’s made that pretty obvious. But we hadn’t quite got to that stage yet.” He took a deep breath, and said in a rush, “We had a drink after work one night, and I kissed her.”

“Uhuh. Did you.” Statement, not question, folding your arms over your chest.

“Before we met!” he hastily added, emphasising the ‘before’, “...it happened days before we met. And it was purely business to me. Nothing more.” “Really? She’s pretty hot.” You could tell he spent a split second thinking how best to reply and keep his balls intact at the same time. “Well, yeah she is... but the spark’s not there for me. She doesn’t float my boat. Not like you do.” You smirked, good answer Russo!

“So what would your schedule have been?” He looked at you, puzzled, “What d’you mean?”

“Flirt, tick. Kiss, tick,” you made little air ticking motions with your finger. “Fuck...? Now, just when would that’ve been on the table, Billy?” He looked away from you, shaking his head, “I dunno. Whenever it would’ve been necessary.” Glancing back at you, “Look, I know this sounds really...” “Shitty?” you supplied. He allowed himself a small grin, “Yeah, shitty,” then the grin dropped. “But this is life and death, angel, and it means finally clearing our names as long as it all goes down okay.” You decided to spare Billy the verbal barb which had popped effortlessly into your head, along the lines of ‘would it depend on who went down on who?’

But you didn’t, instead saying. “Oh right, that’d be clearing your name from when you and Frank got arrested by Homeland, yes?” Billy gave you a hint of a smile, “So, you have been digging after all.”

You nodded, “Yes, I have. Not that I found out much. The dead CIA guy, him having funded you, you guys getting arrested. That was pretty much it.” He nodded, “That’s the bare bones of it, the important parts though. I promise you that as soon as I can, I’ll tell you the whole sorry story. We’re still right in the... it’s all still goin’ on right now.”

You smirked to yourself, you knew he’d changed what he’d been about to say as he was saying it, in case you took another dig at him about exactly what he was in the middle of.

He moved round the counter, and stood next to you. His dark eyes looked huge as they stared into yours, “I promise you, angel, you’re the only woman I’m interested in. The only one I want to be with. Please say you believe me.” The annoying thing was, you did. You didn’t like what he’d told you - that basically if you hadn’t been on the scene he’d have slept with Madani to keep her ‘on side’ - but you did believe that he hadn’t had sex with her. You thought that the small snippet of her body language you’d observed had screamed ‘I want him’ but not the casual touching and languid looks of ‘I’ve had him’.

You gave a big sigh. “Okay, Russo, I believe you.” A look of pure relief crossed his face, and he immediately grabbed both of your hands, pulling you close and kissing you hungrily. You pulled away after a few moments, just as he was trying to deepen the kiss. “But you’re on parole for a while.” He groaned, which became a laugh, “Okay, yeah... whatever you want, angel. For however long you want. I guess I deserve some punishment.”

»»————————————-———-　⚜　———————————-————-««

After closing up, you and Billy crossed the road and headed towards his car. He beeped his car remote at it as he approached and then opened the passenger door for you. As you folded yourself into the seat, he put one arm on the door frame and leant in to kiss you again. “Sneaky,” you said as you moved your lips away from his. “Always,” he replied and smiled widely at you. He seemed very happy to have been granted ‘parole’, you thought.

As Billy drove off in the direction of his place - realising this produced a part-exasperated smirk on your face - you contemplated what a fucking awful, emotional, but ultimately good day you’d had.

»»————————————-———-　⚜　———————————-————-««

Someone else was stewing about precisely the same thing. Only without the good ending.

Dinah Madani had a furious scowl on her face as she put her SUV into Drive and pulled out into the traffic flow, following Billy’s car.

She’d just watched that whole little pantomime as he’d opened the car door for that woman, then leant in and obviously kissed her, although she hadn’t been able to actually see that from her vantage point a couple of cars behind his.

When she’d followed Billy from Anvil out to Chelsea earlier on, for the life of her she couldn’t figure out why he’d headed into a coffee shop, of all places. She’d discovered that she couldn’t see into the café from where she was parked, and didn’t want to break cover and walk over to the window in case Billy spotted her.

Then out he’d trotted, hand in hand with whoever this woman was - a waitress in a coffee shop? “Classy, Russo, very classy,” she said out loud, in a bitchy voice. She could ask him about it, she thought, but knowing him he’d more than likely tell her it was none of her business.

Well, she was going to make it her business to find out whatever she could about this apparent liaison of his. She pulled over and watched as his car disappeared into the underground carpark of his apartment block.

It could have some bearing on the case, she thought, trying to justify this course of action to herself.

She ignored that other little voice in her head which said to her that she was just plain jealous.

»»————————————-———-　⚜　———————————-————-««

@blackbirddaredevil23 @galaxyjane

#ben barnes #billy russo #billy russo x reader #billy russo fanfiction #billy russo imagine

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sunflovverharry · 4 years

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Allegiance - Fakedating!Harry

Finally decided to make a new tumblr for my writing as I’ve been wanting to start posting forever ago, but my former blog was marked explicit for no reason!! BUT here I am, shitting bricks that I’m actually posting my work.. Let me present to you; Fakedating!Harry

word count: 4.4k warnings: language, drinking, angst, fluff summary: harry and y/n go through the ups and downs of their slowly changing relationship pairing: harry x reader

!!!!! it’s my first time releasing anything I’ve ever written and i’m shitting my pants. this was so fun to write and I hope you enjoy it! please reblog, like or tell me what you liked about it, i’ll greatly appreciate it🥺 i have a series i’m working on atm that’ll be out soon (hopefully), along with multiple one-shots so look out for that if you enjoyed this piece (the series is fwb!harry if that’ll help you want to read it hahah). enjoy my first one-shot of fakedating!harry (might put out a part 2 to this sometime but don’t take my word for it)

It wasn’t the first family gathering I had to come with him to. Not even the tenth. No, it was probably more like the fiftieth I couldn’t say no to coming to during the last two tears. Two years of playing his loving and devoting girlfriend. His family and friends have known us as the perfect couple since he first introduced me a warm july evening two years ago. Apart from it being a fake relationship, it seems pretty fucking real to the outside world. Maybe we’re just that great actors.

July 19th 2018

Harry took a hold of my hand as we walked through the luxurious modern home in the outskirts of London. It is the first time I’ve stepped foot in this house - eager to catch every little detail as I slowly walked beside Harry. It was gorgeous and I hoped to get a tour sometime. Not that I even know if I’ll ever come back here after tonight. It might be a one-night thing for all I know, only agreeing to come with Harry because I literally could not find an excuse to save my life.

Being at a function where you know next to nobody except your supposed boyfriend is terrifying, but at the same time I had to hide my nerves in case anyone caught on.

Our family has never had any big parties or get-togethers except for weddings - which there weren’t many of. Most of my cousins decided they were off fine without a marriage certificate to validate their relationships. I supported them in their decision, but ultimately I want to marry the one I one day want to spend the rest of my life with. Not having the best relationship reputation it’ll probably be a while until a wedding where I’m the bride takes place.

The large double french doors leading out to the expansive garden were open for guests to go in and out of the house and to the garden where mostly everyone were mingling when we arrived. The engagement celebration of Harry’s sister and her fiancée was in full swing and it looked as if we were the last ones missing. That made it all the more terrifying. How on earth are we going to keep up the façade of us being in a relationship all night?

We’d talked about details on the way here deciding to go with our friends setting us up on a blind date a few months back. It isn’t far from the truth, but we were definitely not on a date. We had to accompany our best mates who were on a date, but for the most part we ignored each other only letting the talk and get to know each other. The worst thing is, it wasn’t even worth it as they literally shagged and didn’t see each other again.

As to how we’re now here together - I accidentally walked into him and spilt my tea all over his fancy suit clinging to his body. Cliché, I know. To repay him for the spill, he asked me to be his pretend girlfriend and like I said I suck at excuses so here we are about to be introduced to his whole family it seems. Way to take away the attention from the happy couple.

«Mum.» Harry’s hand slipped from mine as we closed up on the group to the left. I didn’t want to interrupt a reunion between Harry and his mum so I kept my stance a few feet behind him and waited for Harry to take the lead as he hugged his mum saying a quick hello to the rest of the people standing in the small circle.

«Y/n, mum. Mum, y/n.» Harry stepped to the side so I could take the short steps forward to greet his mother. It was the first time I was meeting a guy of any sort parents and I’m sure I was shaking as she pulled me in for a hug. It was warm and welcoming as she whispered in my ear.

«It’s so lovely to meet you finally, y/n.» I smiled at her as we parted. She kept her hands on my upper arms taking me in with her moving eyes. «Harry hasn’t told us anything or answered a single question about you, but now I can ask you myself!» She cheered as Harry groaned in the background. How was this lovely lady basically getting pulled into a trap by her 26 year old son?

The next few greetings went above and beyond my expectations. With knowing how insensitive and closed off Harry, I had imagined his family was the same - which looking back was unkind of me as his family are the complete opposite. Being here accompanied by his loved ones also showed me that maybe Harry isn’t as hard as he comes off as, he just doesn’t like to open up to the wrong people. I can tolerate and understand that, but he hasn’t exactly made an effort to get to know me, so I wouldn’t say he has a right to be heartless towards me. Not after I’ve done him a massive favor.

«How long have you been together then?» Harry had gone to talk to his future brother-in-law and sister and I was left seated with some family friends of theirs. I didn’t mind one bit spending time with other people than Harry. It was freeing not having to pretend and have his hand caressing my thigh and asking if I wanted anything from the bar. Sure, I would have reveled in it if we were anything close to friends or even lovers, but just knowing it’s him makes me want to shake him off.

«It’ll be six months on the 27th. We had our second date on his birthday actually and he didn’t even tell me! Can you believe that?» I asked incredulously. It wasn’t true, we hadn’t even met up on his birthday nevertheless been on a fucking date.

We sat in comfortable conversation for a couple minutes talking about Harry and me before he came back sliding his arm over the back of my chair. His fingertips trailed up and down my arm as he quickly got back into the conversation.

It felt oddly normal when we were conversing about day-to-day subject and talking about solely ourselves, but then I’m brought right back into the plain lie about our relationship.

July 2nd 2020

This time it wasn’t an engagement party though, it was a celebration of Marie and Jack having been married for 30 years. It’s a huge accomplishment and compared to every other gathering, I’m happy to be here. Though the fake relationship between Harry and I hasn’t been the best, we’ve certainly tried our best and his family still seem to believe it.

We’ve had our ups and downs in private, but always been on our best behavior out with his family - holding hands, laying my head on his shoulder, him kissing my temple and squeezing my waist. It didn’t happen all too often, thank god, but we’d shared the odd kiss or two at times where it deemed right to do so. I’m not sure I could bear getting a taste of his lips more than I had to. At his sister's wedding last summer when we were slow dancing somewhere in the midst of all his family and their friends we slowly leaned in - whether in the heat of the moment or because it seemed we had to i’m still not sure. Either way, it was a nice kiss shared between us when we were both drunk off of champagne and the love we felt around us.

Since, there’s been a few pecks here and there, but mostly keeping to placing our lips on the others cheek, forehead or hand. I do think Harry’s opened up, though only slightly, it still warmed my heart. We’ve had quite a few enjoyable chats whilst driving home or sitting in a corner of the garden we’ve spent most our time in at his parents home. I still don’t know where he lives, him picking me up and only going to wherever the dinner or party would be held.

We haven’t discussed how much longer we’re keeping the lie going about us, but it was starting to gnaw at me knowing we would probably part ways in not too long and never meet again. He had become a part of my life I’m not sure I want to lose. The beginning was horrible and we didn’t get along in private, but after that kiss at the wedding something turned in the both of us (I hope).

Up until recently we’ve been really fucking lucky to have avoided all questions about moving in together and a possible ring on my finger. Weeks ago when we had dinner with his parents the questions surely weren’t held away though. Babies, apartments, rings and everything of the sort were brought up. It was heavy subject for two people who barely could stand each other a year ago and by the end of the dinner I was more than ready to put an end to this extremely complicated lie. It’s turned into much more than the one party I agreed to the first time he asked me.

We had a nice chat about how we were excited to see his nieces again in the car, giggling about our memories with them these last two years. It was nice being so open and comfortable with him not having to worry about him being angry or quiet. He talked back and laughed with me and even told me a couple stories from before I was in their life. I’ll miss them and the rest of his family when we inevitably end us.

Marie greeted us just like she does every time we come by, for dinner, a party or game night I just couldn’t refuse to join in on - with a kind smile grazing her lips and the same welcoming hug she’d given me the first time we met and ever since. It was really something I was looking forward to when I knew I’d be seeing her.

«Harry, y/n! You look fabulous, did you force him to match his tie to your dress?» Marie squinted her eyes at me in a ‘I know he’d never do it if he wasn’t forced to’ look. And of course, she knew her son way better than I did and only laughed with her as I told her yes, indeed I even had to put it on him myself. Which was the truth for once.

«Hopefully we’ll be throwing you some kind of celebration sometime soon, yeah? Engagement, pregnancy?» She hinted at the subjects we tried our very best to steer away from at all times as we followed her back to the garden I was falling more and more in love with. For the most part we’d been able to laugh our way out of it.

Harry laughed as he took two glasses of champagne from a server for the both of us to sip. It would definitely clear any pregnancy rumours which I’m sure there were swirling around between his family members. This family does not like to take their time with anything, saying life is too short to fool around. I’m sure they’re concerned and suspicious of why we’re taking things slow not even living together when his sisters all got engaged or married within the two first years, but they’ll be let in on our secret soon enough I hope.

In one way I’d love for this all to be over and continue to live my life as I did before Harry - but to be honest I’m not quite sure how I’ll ever go back to that. Life with Harry sure has its pros and I would enjoy it as long as it lasted. Especially the expensive champagne they always seemed to have at every function.

A couple hours or so later the speeches were in full swing. I knew Harry wasn’t doing one as I’m sure everyone would think he’d propose to me at the end of it, so he decided to forget about it. After his sisters had said some lines each, Marie and Jack stood up at the head table right next to us. They looked as in love now as they did two years ago and it was incredible witnessing how the spark between them never seemed to die. I can only wish to have a marriage as wonderful.

«You want more to drink? Can have mine if you want.» Harry offered quietly before Jack asked everyone about how gorgeous his wife looks tonight. He truly adores her and it shows in every way he acts and speaks to her.

«Yes, please. Thank you.» I grabbed the glass of some sort of concoction from his much larger hand. Smiling up at him, I sipped the drink from the straw feeling his hand squeeze my waist to pull me closer though I’m not sure how much closer I could get unless I sat on his lap. We’d been touching each other considerably more than usual during the night. It felt good and with how friendly we’ve been lately I almost wanted more, just like how I’ve been wanting for the last couple months. More touching my thigh, more squeezing my waist, more kisses on my temple, more brushing my hair away from my face. He was addicting, inexplicably so.

Harry put his lips to my cheek as we listened to his parents speak about how their love was at an all time high, even after thirty years of marriage, four children and a couple of granddaughters to show for it. The softness to their voices as they spoke passionate, kind, loving words to each other was absolutely remarkable. It brought my deepest feelings out and I couldn’t help but shed a tear or two. I hadn’t noticed they were falling before I felt Harry’s thumb whisking them away and pulling my head to rest on his shoulder, another kiss planted on my forehead this time.

I savored the moment, the love I felt all too much for me while thinking about how this would be over far too soon for my liking. His family were growing on me. Harry was growing on me. I enjoyed his company, when he would open up without me asking or begging to know a small detail that probably didn’t matter to him as much as it did to me. He had become a huge part of my everyday life by now, texting him on days we weren’t meeting up.

I firmly remember the first day we hung out just us two. It was a Tuesday evening and we had gone out to eat - really only to grab a photo we could give to his parents who had been begging for one. This was around halloween last year, so we were on solid grounds by then.

At first it was awkward as hell, neither knowing what to say or how to start the conversation, but after we had ordered we soon got into conversation and we didn’t stop until we’d been sat there for three hours. It still baffles my mind how nice that dinner was and how I didn’t ever think ‘can this be over soon?’. Thinking back, I think that’s the exact moment I realized I might’ve grown feelings for the man.

The night had gone by in a blink of the eye, suddenly it was nearing midnight and we had just said goodbye and were making our way to his car. Sitting down and watching the house as Harry reversed out of the parking spot, I thought about what a lovely night it’s been. I’ve thoroughly enjoyed myself and this one party will forever be the reason I won’t ever regret fake dating Harry Styles. His mum made it all worth it when he didn’t.

«Would you like to come to mine for a drink before heading home? It’s still quite early for a Saturday, innit?» Harry didn’t come off as nervous or scared to ask me to join him at his place before sending me home. There was no way I could deny his request as I’d finally get to see the flat he resides in and I’ve imagined for two years.

It only took us around ten minutes to get to his flat, shocked to see that it isn’t as far from mine as I thought. He’s got enough money to live in a nicer area, but this definitely has charm to it and maybe that’s why he wants to live here.

The flat itself was victorian but with a modern upgrade. A luxurious kitchen with all the appliances one could need, a lovely island serving as his dining table that led into the living room. I wanted to jump onto the couch and lay there for eternity by only looking at how soft and comfortable it seems. The rather large L-shaped couch took up most of the room, but he’d made sure to have enough space for tall, wide bookshelves filled with anything but books behind it.

Don’t get me started on the dark wood flooring that looked as original as it could get. They brought character to the flat and blended the old victorian feel in nicely with the more modern look of the walls and kitchen. I’d love to have a place like this someday.

«You can sit down and I’ll grab a bottle of wine, sound alright?» Harry hung his suit jacket that he hadn’t worn at all on one of the chairs lined by the island counter. He moved into the corner of the kitchen where I couldn’t see him any longer as I stepped off my shoes before tiptoeing to the couch falling down into it. I was right about it being soft and comfortable. It was as if I was being lulled to sleep all I needed was a light blanket tucking me in and I’d be set for a good night's sleep.

Harry chuckled when he came out from the kitchen, a bottle of red in one hand and two glasses in the other, to see me cuddling into his couch. I don’t know what he does in his free time or if he usually has girls around his flat and this is a normal view for him, but right now I didn’t care. He was giving me wine and a comfy place to sit which honestly is enough for now. I don’t want to scare him away by talking about my feelings for him past midnight, half drunk after all the drinks I’d already had tonight.

Chatting to Harry was a breeze. We giggled before getting serious and then struggling to breath as we laughed harder than ever before. It felt light and good, like we were the best of friends and for a moment I thought I could live with that. As long as I got to continue having moments like these with him, I could deal with only being friends. Then I had another glass of wine and decided that I couldn’t bear him not knowing how I feel for one more second.

«Harry.. we can’t keep doing this. It’s not fair to the people involved, and it’s absolutely not fair to us.» My eyes were watching my finger trailing the pattern of one of his pillows I was holding in my lap. There was no foreshadowing to tell Harry that I would bring this up and I could tell he wasn’t ready for it by the sharp intake of breath that could be heard from him.

«I’ve thought about it recently and obviously we both knew this couldn’t last forever. I’ve grown a lot the past two years and I know what I want now. A fake relationship isn’t it, no matter how much I adore your family.» I could feel my throat burning as I tried to keep my tears at bay. The last thing I wanted to sit in front of him crying my eyes out. Still not daring to let my eyes reach his, I closed my eyes as I continued talking.

«The first year was awful. You weren’t nice to me and after doing you a huge fucking favour, which I still don’t know why you needed a fake girlfriend, you were still treating me just like how you did the first time we met. Then after your sisters wedding, it started getting better and by winter we were good friends. Something shifted in us, in me at least that night and I can’t overlook it anymore. It’s fine if this is it for us, ‘cause I can’t lie to your family anymore, but I need you to know one thing before I leave.» It felt so good telling him how I’d felt for so long, only one last thing to tell him.

Pushing myself to look up at him, I took a deep breath and opened my eyes. I couldn’t hold back the tears. He looked so vulnerable though he wasn’t the one holding his breath with a heavy heart trying to tell someone they have stronger feelings for them than might be reciprocated. He looked worried seeing me cry, but didn’t do anything knowing I didn’t want a hand to hold or a hug at this moment.

«I realized tonight that the night we first went out for dinner to take that picture for your parents was also the first time I understood my feelings towards you. It’s fucking insane that even after a year of basically hating your company, three months of us being friends was all it took for me to get feelings for you. I don’t want a fake relationship and I don’t want to be just your friend. I’m not going to say I’m sorry if this ruins things completely between us because I’m finally being true to myself and to you.»

Harry looked as if someone had just punched him in the face. His mouth was hanging open, jaw slack, eyes wide filled with curiosity. I had never let myself take in his gorgeous face completely. It’d only do me more pain than pleasure. Now though, I’m taking in every single detail I can before he either tells me to please leave or throw me out.

I removed my eyes from his face when his phone made a noise telling him someone sent a text message. It being close to one thirty in the morning made me incredibly curious as to who could be texting him now.

He apparently took his time to read it instead of responding to me as it was dead silent for another minute or so. Maybe he was replying or it was a really long fucking text.

Letting out a long sigh he dropped his phone back down on the table. It seemed he wasn’t quite sure what to do or say with how he dragged his hands over his face before standing up only to sit back down again five seconds later.

«Mum wants you to know that she loves you and thanks you for being with me, not just today but in general. This is how it’s been for the last two years for me, y/n. My family adores the shit out of you and I get at least two texts a day from mum asking how you’re doing and when she’ll see you next. It’s always y/n this and y/n that. You’ve invaded everyone’s minds and they’re obsessed with you.» Though it was nice hearing how much of an impact I’ve made, it almost made me more sad than happy. A couple more tears fell as I listened to him go on.

«The first year I tried so fucking hard to make you want to end it. Every time I asked you to come with me I hoped you’d say no and end it just so I could get you out of my head. You invaded my mind just like you did everyone elses and I couldn’t fucking bear it knowing we weren’t a real couple. After that kiss at the wedding I couldn’t keep my act together. It was excruciating being mean to you so I tried being your friend. I still to this day don’t know which was worse, being closed off or close to you.» Harry took one last breath before moving slightly so that he could reach over to hold my hands in his. This isn’t what I had expected and I still don’t want to get my hopes up.

«I want what my sisters have, what my parents have. I’ve wanted that so badly that I began thinking it wouldn’t happen as I’m 28 and still haven’t had one long-lasting relationship. I’d started to believe that it wasn’t in the cards for me - having a wife and a family. Then you came around and I these two years have showed me how fucking perfect you are and how you deserve so much better than me. But I’m a selfish man and I want you, y/n. Want you so much.» Not being able to keep away longer, I swiftly closed the gap between us, slotting my lips with his as I moved to straddle his waist.

It felt unbelievably good to kiss him like this, passion and lust clear as day as our tongues met for the first time. He wants me. I couldn’t stop saying the three words in my head as I let go to catch my breath. How in the world could I be so lucky to be wanted by the man I want?

I laughed as I wiped at my cheeks, removing the tear stains as well as I could without a wet washcloth to clean them off. Harry guided his lips from my jaw up to my cheek ending with a kiss to my shut eyelid. I had never experienced Harry being this soft and attentive, but it was all the more to look forward to.

«Maybe we can turn the fake relationship into a real one and not tell my whole family about it?» There was a cheeky smile playing on his lips as I let out another laugh. If this is what I have to look forward to - jokes, laugher and passionate kisses possibly leading to something more - then I couldn’t wait.

«Of course, Harry. And tell your mum I love her back and give her my number, will you? I’m still looking for a tour of their house after two years of you not giving me one.»

#harry styles fic #harry styles imagine #harry styles fanfiction #harry styles #harry styles fluff #harry styles angst #harry styles fanfic #harry styles fiction #harry styles writing #allegiance

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flowerpowell · 3 years

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The Royal Holiday Romance (Liam x MC)

PART THREE

A/N: Good morning and welcome to the third part of this mess of a series that I randomly decided to write. It’s still cheesy and still Hallmarky. Nothing changed in that department. And we’re almost kinda halfway through. I hope you’ll like this part! Characters belong to Pixelberry.

Rating: G

Tagging: @twinkleallnight @kingliam-rys @sfb123 @iaminlovewithtrr @gardeningourmet @gkittylove99 @texaskitten30 @delightfullypinkglitter @kingliam2019 @queen-arabella-of-cordonia @lodberg

Victoria looked at herself in the mirror and sighed. She wasn’t sure if her little black dress was an appropriate attire for meeting the King. On the other hand, she truly believed that ‘less is more’ and her LBD was inspired by the fashion of Audrey Hepburn. If the King had a problem with Victoria’s love for simple outfits it wouldn’t be her problem. She doubted it’d be the case though; Hana insisted that the King was a true gentleman and one of the nicest people she’d ever met. Victoria was already excited to meet him. Besides, she’d never met anyone from royal family before and she was interested what they would be like. Her obsessions with fairytales definitely added to that interest.

“Ready?” Hana walked into Victoria’s room in a house the filming crew rented for all the actors.

“I think so. What do you think?” She did a little twirl and Hana chuckled.

“Beautiful. You look like an actress straight from the 50’s. Come on, our car is waiting for us!”

Victoria took a deep breath before walking out. It felt almost silly how excited she was but the inner child within her was screaming with joy at the prospect of going to an actual palace.

“Here goes nothing.”

~~~~

“Ahhh! I’m so excited! Do you think Hana will like my squid suit?”

“Mhm.” Liam only nodded and Drake rolled his eyes.

“Why do I have to be here as well? I’m not a noble!” He asked, for the fifth time that hour.

“Because you want to support me?” Maxwell suggested and Drake shook his head.

“Try again.”

“This is so exciting! Thank you, Liam! You’re the best friend a guy could ask for,” Maxwell said, completely ignoring Drake.

“You’re welcome. My father liked lady Hana a lot and since her role in The Crown and the Flame he considered her a friend of the Crown. It’d be nice to have her back here.”

“And her friend Maxwell insisted on inviting,” Drake noticed.

“You’ll like her. Besides, Hana said nice things about her and Hana is never wrong.”

“Your obsession with Hana Lee is a bit concerning.”

“It’s not obsession, it’s an appreciation for her art. You’ll never understand it with an attitude like this, Drake.” Maxwell stuck out his tongue at him.

“Your Majesty.” Antonio, the King’s assistant, walked into the room. “The ladies have arrived. Shall I ask them to come here?”

“Yes, thank you.”

“Your Majesty!” Bastien called out from behind Liam. “The American Ambassador is on the line and wants to talk to you. He says it’s urgent.”

“Very well, then.” Liam nodded. “I’ll join you in a moment. Please excuse me,” Liam apologized and followed Bastien into his office. Truth be told, he was quite happy about that distraction. As much as he liked lady Hana, he wasn’t in a mood to socialize today. All he could think about was the mysterious Victoria. He wondered if she visited his secret spot again. He wanted nothing more than to go to that forest again and see her again. Maybe. If she was still Cordonia, that is.

“Liam, get yourself together,” he scolded himself in his head before returning to his duties.

~~~~

“The King had to answer a call but he’ll join us shortly. I’m so happy to see you both again,” Maxwell welcomed Hana and Victoria as Drake shook their hands.

“He’s always busy in the Christmas time,” Drake added.

“It’s okay,” Victoria tried to smile but she was too anxious to do that. Now that she was in the palace, it all felt real but still almost surreal.

“What an interesting suit, Maxwell,” Hana noticed.

“Thank you, m’lady.” Maxwell smiled and turned to Drake, sending him a quick, I-told-you-so look.

“Let’s go to the dining room. I’m sure you two must be hungry after working all day.”

Victoria only nodded, glancing one last time behind her to see if maybe the King had joined them. So far, there was no sight of him.

~~~~

Liam was sitting in his office with his eyes closed. If he had had any energy left before, now he had absolutely none. The ambassador talked to him for straight thirty minutes about his idea, which Liam didn’t fully understood. Something about the movie with Hana Lee and about the premiere of it, as well as some other details Liam simply hadn’t noted. He was tired, too tired to talk to anyone. Would Maxwell forgive him if he ditched the dinner?

“He’s probably too focused on Hana to notice I’m not here,” Liam said to himself before standing up and taking his coat. He needed fresh air first. He could join his friends later.

~~~~

It was already an hour since they came to the palace and there was still no King on the horizon. Victoria wondered if the Kingly duties were that absorbing or if he simply decided to skip the dinner. Hana and Maxwell were chatting and seemed not to notice someone was missing but Victoria kept glancing at the door from time to time. She talked a little with Drake who, as she learned, was half-American and was King’s best friend. He told her about his family’s ranch in Texas and about how different his life was in Cordonia. In return, Victoria told Drake about how she wanted to become a movie critic but became an actress instead.

“Y’know, it’s never too late to change your career path. Maybe you’re never really happy with your roles because you’re not doing something you really love?” Drake suggested when she confessed to him why she wasn’t so excited about the movie.

“I don’t know… It feels easier to be where I am rather than change my life drastically.”

“Maybe.” Drake nodded. “But I learned the hard way that we don’t grow if we stay in the same place. Don’t settle for less just because you’re comfortable or scared.”

Victoria chuckled. “That was deep.”

Drake smiled and motioned the alcohol on the table. “That’s whiskey talking. Or maybe my wife’s influence, I don’t know.”

“In this case, I’d like to thank whiskey and your wife for the advice. I’ll think about it.”

“Please do. I was in a similar spot before I met my wife. She completely changed me and made me realize all these things I just told you. And that being said,” Drake looked around the room, “I gotta go, I miss my wife.”

“Sure. Have a great night, Drake. And thank you for the pep talk!”

“At your service.” Drake smiled and said goodbye to Hana and Maxwell. Victoria sat alone for twenty minutes more before she finally decided to go home as well. The King wasn’t coming. He was probably very busy and Victoria wasn’t surprised he couldn’t make it.

“I think I’ll go as well. I’m a bit sleepy after today. You can stay,” Victoria added as she noticed Hana was getting up, too.

“Nonsense. I brought you here and besides, it is pretty late.”

“Hana, I know where to go. And I think I could use a walk. Please, stay here with Maxwell and don’t worry about me. We’ll see each other tomorrow morning anyway.”

“If you’re sure.” Hana hesitated and Victoria smiled reassuringly.

“I am.”

“Do you need a drive? I can ask one of our drivers to give you a lift,” Maxwell offered but she shook her head.

“I’ll walk, I want to get some fresh air before I’ll go to sleep. You two have fun, though!”

“Text me when you get to your room safely!” Hana called out after Victoria and she only nodded.

~~~~

Liam was wandering around the forest for over an hour, each minute feeling guilty for leaving his guests without their host. He truly believed they were better off without him as he was too tired to make a good impression on anyone.

It was already late when he decided to head home. He didn’t see Victoria, not that he was looking for her. He was that naïve to think he’d meet her again.

He was about twenty minutes from home when he noticed someone familiar. His heart began to race as he realized it was Victoria. As usual, she seemed to be lost in thought and didn’t see him. He admired how beautiful she looked for a moment before he decided to catch her attention.

“Victoria!” He called out and felt tingles when their eyes met. He watched as she walked up to him smiling from ear to ear and realized he was grinning like an idiot himself.

“Liam! What a nice surprise to meet you here!”

“Indeed it is. I… umm… was in the forest today and I missed you bumping into me.”

Victoria chuckled at his words. “I wanted to go there today but I had to be somewhere else.”

“Do you have any plans for tomorrow? There’s another spot I like and which I think you’ll like as well; besides, I just finished reading Little Mermaid and need to discuss it with an expert.”

“You read Little Mermaid?” Her eyes were sparkling with joy and Liam’s breath hitched.

“Of course. I’m always down to read a good thriller,” he joked causing her to burst out laughing. She quickly covered her mouth but Liam took notice of how adorable her laugh was.

“I’m free,” she replied. She had no scenes that day anyway and Hana would forgive her if she skipped one day of eating lunch together. Liam smiled at her words.

“Wonderful. Should we meet by the cave? What time would be the best for you?”

“Maybe it’d be easier if we had each other’s phone numbers?” Victoria suggested shyly. It was the first time ever she asked a man for his number. “This way we wouldn’t have to wait to bump into each other again and if something pops out we’d be able to contact one another.”

“I’m glad at least one of us is thinking straight,” Liam laughed. They exchanged their phone numbers and after chatting for a few moments, each of them went their own way, both of them thinking about the other one.

~~~~

“Good morning to you, Your Majesty who skipped your own dinner party. I hope the call was fruitful.”

Liam rolled his eyes at Drake’s sarcastic comment.

“The call was way too long and exhausting. I needed to go for a walk afterwards.” He bit his lip and Drake eyed him suspiciously.

“I know that look. You’re hiding something.”

“Not at all.”

“Mhm. Where were you yesterday and where are you going today?”

Liam sighed. “Drake, I really—”

“Be sorry that you didn’t come to dinner yesterday. We had so much fun! And Hana loved my suit!” Maxwell waltzed into the room, beaming.

“She said it was interesting,” Drake corrected but Maxwell ignored it.

“Where were you anyway?”

“I went for a walk and it took me longer than I thought. I’m happy to hear that you all had a great time,” Liam replied. They might have had a great time but he was sure he had even greater time. A certain movie critic had something to do with it. They shared a few messages since last night, mostly talking about movies and books. Liam found himself completely fascinated by this woman who was so passionate about cinema that it made him watch something for the first time since becoming the King.

“Maxwell had. He was talking to Hana all evening and left Hana’s friend out,” Drake noticed.

“She was talking to you!”

“Until I had to go back to Riley. Maxwell, you sucked as a host, face it.”

“Thank you, Drake for keeping her company though. Had I known she’d be sitting alone I’d have come sooner,” Liam said suddenly feeling guilty. He didn’t know this Tori but she was his guest and he felt bad for how Maxwell treated her.

“Okay, I’m sorry. I should’ve acted differently but I was just so excited to talk to Hana that I forgot about everything else. And Tori didn’t seem to mind. I told you she was cool,” Maxwell shrugged.

“We’ll talk about when I’ll come back,” Liam warned.

“Where are you going? Shouldn’t you have a meeting with my brother and Olivia today?”

“I rescheduled. I’m meeting someone.”

“Who?” Drake raised his eyebrows.

“Just… someone I met recently. I’ll tell you later.”

“Oooh, interesting!” Maxwell exclaimed. “Then I’ll tell you more about what I learned about Hana! Look, I even took pictures of us! I’ll use them in my book.” Maxwell showed Liam a few selfies from the day before. Most of them showed Maxwell grinning at the camera and Hana smiling slightly.

“Wait, stop,” Liam asked. “Can you go back to three pictures ago?”

“Umm, sure.”

Maxwell went back to the photo and Liam’s eyes went wide as he looked at it. He zoomed in on a person in the background, not believing his eyes.

“Victoria?!”

--------------------

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supernaturallymarvellous · 4 years

Text

Superstition (Part 1): Writings on the Wall

Summary: Peter Parker wants to make this year’s Halloween one to remember. If he can convince Y/N to let him and Ned take a trip to Salem, then it will all be perfect. However Peter hadn’t anticipated that Y/N (and her boyfriend Bucky) aren’t as easy to manipulate as he thinks. And if he thought that he and Ned were the only ones going to have fun, then he was wrong!

Author: @supernaturallymarvellous

Characters: Bucky x Reader, Peter Parker, Ned Leeds

Word Count: 1032

Warnings: None

A/N: @sdavid09 is running a Halloween challenge (details here – there’s still time to enter). I chose Hocus Pocus and Superstition as my prompts. This is going to be a mini series so I hope you enjoy and follow along on this little spooky adventure.

******************************************************************************************

“You’re not going to Salem on Halloween. May would never forgive me if I let you take an eight hour round trip to Massachusetts without any adult supervision!”

Peter stood before Y/N, his face a picture of righteous indignation. His plans for All Hallows Eve were crumbling before his very eyes thanks to Y/N’s stringent following of rules. Running through his quickly diminishing options, Peter decided to appeal to Y/N’s good nature.

“You and Mr Barnes could come with us. Surely we’d be perfectly safe if the two of you were there. And it’s not like Salem is actually haunted. Those are just stories made up to scare little kids.”

Y/N simply stared at the two teenagers gathered around her desk. Peter and Ned had barrelled into the room, their excitement levels at an all time high thanks to the combination of far too much candy and a potential road trip. She looked up from the computer, rubbing her tired eyes before she addressed them.

��Look, I know you guys think I’m being a killjoy and that I’m ruining your fun but I can’t just leave New York because you two want to scare yourselves stupid. Bucky and I are still technically on duty while the rest of the team are away. Now please….just go play a video game or something. And stay out of trouble!”

Peter looked completely crestfallen. All he’d wanted from this year’s spookiest evening was a trip with his friend to what was supposedly one of the most haunted places on earth. As he started to follow Ned out of the room, an idea suddenly began to take shape. Whispering to Ned to follow his lead, Peter spun on his heels and walked back towards Y/N.

“It’s ok. You can just admit that you’re scared. We won’t tell anyone that one of the world’s mightiest heroes is scared of a few ghosts. I’m sure we’ll have a wonderful time here watching scary movies and frightening small children with our costumes.”

Y/N rolled her eyes. Did they honestly think she was stupid enough to fall for such a ridiculous attempt at goading?! Well she thought, if you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em. That’s how the old saying went. She quickly fired off an email alerting Steve to the fact that she and Bucky would be leaving the city shortly, and then pushed herself up from her seat.

“Ok. You want a trip to Salem? Go get ready, we leave in half an hour. Meet us in the garage. Oh and I obviously don’t need to tell you this but when we get there, please don’t antagonise the spirits of the Sanderson sisters. I don’t have the energy to deal with the ghosts of three pissed off ancient crones!”

She walked out of her office, careful to keep the smirk off his face until she was well out of sight. She moved quickly to the room she shared with Bucky – she had a plan to pull together and not a lot of time in which to do it.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It was almost 45 minutes before they were ready to leave and as Peter grabbed a few last minute road trip essentials from the kitchen cupboards, Ned sat staring at his phone.

“Dude, have you heard of those Sanderson sisters? They were awful. Listen to this. “Winifred, Mary and Sarah were hung after they killed a little girl to try and regain their youth.” He continued to scroll through the information he’d found on the internet. “Woah….they actually died 300 years ago to the day!”

Peter scoffed. “That’s ridiculous Ned. Witches don’t really exists and even if they did, they died three centuries ago. I don’t think a few dusty old skeletons are gonna cause us any trouble. Now, you ready to hit the road?”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Patience was exactly something that Y/N was known for, but in this case she was prepared to let Peter and Ned’s lateness slide. After all, it had given her more time to brief Bucky and to add a few final flourishes to her plan. Given her skill set, it had been easy to set up a fake website detailing the elaborate misdeeds of the witches she had just made up. She’d even had enough time to make a few calls to a handful of friends she knew would be more than willing to help her scare the boys senseless.

She and Bucky were sat in the car discussing the best route to take. Their conversation was cut short as the car’s back doors were yanked open and the two young men threw themselves heavily onto the seats. They both seemed panicked and out of breath. Bucky and Y/N turned in their seats to take a better look at the scene unfolding itself behind them.

Ned offered up an explanation as he tried to get his breathing back to normal. “We ran…..down the stairs….blood…..writing on the wall….in the elevator…..Winifred Sanderson.”

Y/N could help herself and started to laugh. “You can’t be serious. You think that the ghost of a long dead witch had left a message, written in blood, in the elevator?! Come on then, what did it say?”

Peter, wide eyed and looking decidedly more pale than usual, leant as far forward as his seatbelt would allow. “Winifred is watching.”

Through giggles, Y/N could barely manage to speak. “Oh my god! Did you hear that, Bucky? Guess we better get moving before a ghoul comes out of the wall to get us!”

Bucky responded by simply starting the car and moving towards the exit. As he did, he turned on the car stereo, playing the Stevie Wonder CD he’d put in a few moment earlier. As the opening bars of Superstition began to play, he managed to sneak a glance in the direction of the passenger seat. Neither Peter nor Ned saw the wink that Bucky shot to his girlfriend. They also didn’t spot the tiny splashes of red paint that were flicked through Bucky’s hair or the droplets under his fingernails. As he manoeuvred the car through the busy Manhattan streets, he thought to himself that this was going to be a fun evening.

To be continued……….

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Tagging: @sdavid09 @waywardimpalawriter @helvonasche @81mysteriouslyme @caplanbuckybarnes @chainez-8 @everything-but-the-not-natural @redlipstickandplaid @jayankles

#Tale Teller's Fright Night 2020 #Bucky Barnes x Reader #bucky x reader #Peter Parker #Ned Leeds #Marvel #Marvel fic series #marvel fic

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paradigmsofbrittaperry · 3 years

Note

⭐️ for whatever fic you’d like!

okay SO gonna use this as an excuse to talk about my pretentious Riverdale soulmate fic!!

the whole thing was inspired by this post about how Riverdale is a soulmate AU dystopia where characters form genuine connections with one another only to say somewhere down the line that they can’t be together because they aren’t endgame and sadly return to their assigned lovers. it’s a quality of the show that I hadn’t been able to put into words, but had bothered me since somewhere around mid-season 2. like, a big part of Archie Comics is the love triangle between Archie, Betty, and Veronica, but the show doesn’t allow itself to explore different relationships for too long and insists on maintaining Bughead and Varchie as the status quo, presumably only because the amount of hate comments on RAS’s posts spike whenever those two couples aren’t together (insert post that’s been stewing in my brain about social media bringing about the end of organic media since showrunners and directors are letting easily accessible fan opinions directly influence their works more than ever before). there’s multiple scenes in the show proper where characters lament the fact that they can’t date someone because they’re “supposed” to be with someone else (side note, pour one out for my man Reggie, he deserved better than Veronica just casting him aside once Archie came back) so I wanted to take that a step further and push the concept to include cosmic signs of approval.

(putting the rest under a cut because this got LONG)

I think a quote from the fic that really hits the core of all my feelings on soulmate AU’s is this one:

Besides, people settled down with people who weren’t their soulmates all the time. The universe could be cruel, and sometimes, it simply wasn’t practical to spend your whole life searching for someone you may never find.

one of the first things I always think about when it comes to soulmate AU’s or just a universe with soulmates in general is how impractical it would be in practice. what if your soulmate is on the other side of the world and you never get the chance to meet because you’re never in the same place at the same time? would the universe make accommodations for that? what if you meet your soulmate after you’ve already fallen in love with someone else? the last concept is one I enjoyed playing with quite a lot in this fic, using Betty’s love for Archie as the basis to discuss what happens when the person you’re in love with finds their soulmate and it’s not you.

aside from the tumblr post, the texts I read this semester in my English class (particularly Notes From Underground and The Secret History) really kicked my brain into high gear. with both of those texts, my class had been talking a lot about the realities of a deterministic universe, which is what a universe with soulmates would be. one of the concepts we discussed at length was how if you’re given all the right answers on how to live a perfect life, then the only way you can make an impactful choice is to make the wrong choice (this was connected to a discussion on how choice making defines us as human, and that without choice, we have nothing to set us apart from machinery). we also discussed how for something to be beautiful, you have to be able to lose it, or it must be something that can’t be undone. in this case, I used the Barchie car kiss and how Betty fell for Veronica over the summer to link the two ideas.

Now this, this was terrifying. They had teetered on the edge of a ravine and dove right in with no reservations. It was beautiful, really. The ultimate act of free will in a world of predetermined outcomes and correct answers.

choosing to express love for someone other than your soulmate once you are aware of them would be the ultimate wrong choice in this world, so it would also be the most beautiful act in the world since it would be irreversible and could destroy the universe-approved relationships that those involved were a part of.

one thing that I was lowkey proud of was the imagery I associated with each of the characters; Jughead as the ocean, Archie as a fire, and Veronica as a field of lavender. honestly I don’t have precise explanations for why I chose what I chose to represent them, I just went with what my gut said Betty would associate them all with. if I was pressed to give explanations, I think that it’s because Jughead seems calm and predictable, but is prone to fits of rage and random bouts of unrest that can throw everyone else off course; Archie is the most passionate of the core four and is often expected by others to blaze trails and lead them through the dark; Veronica appears gentle and smells sweet, but could be concealing any number of snakes and other dangerous creatures. (I know it’s gonna seem like I actually *did* think of these previously and lied earlier in the paragraph but I swear, these just came to me. this is why I analyze my own work, even if it’s silly little soulmate AU fanfiction.)

another concept I LOVED working with was that of one knowing that they love someone else more than their soulmate, but deciding to go back to their soulmate because it’s safer. I think this next passage is my favorite exchange in the whole fic:

“Did she love you?”

“I don’t know,” Betty answered truthfully. “I hope she didn’t.”

“Because if she did-”

“That would mean she gave up love for fate.”

“Comfort and certainty over the terrifying unknown.”

like...we all like to think we’d be strong enough to choose our own path in a world that explicitly deterministic. but would we really? would we be willing to risk not only our own happiness and safety, but also that of our soulmate’s? would abandoning your soulmate for another love be seen as the most selfish of actions? would there be any situations where soulmates who knew each other would mutually agree not to be together? would they question the decision for the rest of their life and come to regret it? hence this passage from the end:

“I think we’re going to be just fine,” Archie said. “Who knows what might happen next.”

Betty knew. She knew that this was a temporary lapse on his part and that he’d go right back to believing in fate and the universe. He’d remember that she wasn’t his soulmate and that he couldn’t love her. Veronica would be convinced of the same and fall right back into him. That would leave her and Jughead, unmoored, searching for a sign. Something else would bring them back together; whether it be a case or the paper or simple boredom. They’d live out the rest of their days in comfort, forgetting free will and falling into what was always meant to be. They’d tuck away all of their questions and live in willful ignorance until the day they died, when all of the questions would come spilling out and they’d have regrets again.

in this universe, you can’t win, no matter what you do. you either settle down with your soulmate, give up your humanity via giving up your ability to make meaningful choice, and regret not taking chances OR you create your own future for yourself through choice, deal with the hardships and guilt associated with blazing your own path, and regret not settling down and living what could have been the perfect predetermined life.

this was A LOT of words about the CW’s Riverdale of all things. what can I say, I’m a sucker for the accidental moral quandaries and dilemmas that incompetent showrunners put in their work. fluffy soulmate AU’s are out, soulmate AU’s that examine the horrifying implications of the universes they take place in are in.

#ty so much for giving me this opportunity #bri speaks #ask box #riverdale

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damfinofanfiction · 3 years

Text

Chapter 7: The Shoot (V.2.)

The note is at the end of this chapter

Gail walked into Benjamin’s Photography studio and looked around the place. It had the size of a warehouse. She had a dress borrowed from a friend laid on her arm and had brought makeup to use on the set. With her free hand, She waved to Benjamin, who was still setting up the equipment.

He then noticed the refined curls on her locks, “Darling your hair looks ravishing!”

“Thank you, I was just at the salon.” Hesitant to put her things down and getting ready, Gail informed him, “I have this dress for the shoot. Do you have a changing room?”

He pointed to where it is, “Yes, it is to your left.” She thanked him as she walked to the door.

Having already mounted the equipment, Ben saw Gail emerge from the room in a dress printed with large roses and with light makeup on her face. Ben liked what he saw on her, took the stool for her to sit on the backdrop.

When she sat down, he told her, “How about you try several different headshots to find out which is best?”

"That would be perfect.," Gail nodded. She and Ben were discussing each pose before proceeding with the photoshoot.

As he instructed her, Gail turned to her side looking up, and then a flash came from the camera. When she turned her head to the camera, she smiled a bit. Flash. Turned all of her to the front. Flash. Got up to lean on the seat. Flash. After all that, Gail was feeling hot from the lights. Ben gave her a paper cup of water for her to drink.

After she took hydrating sips she asked him, “Do you have any more ideas?”

Ben took the now empty cup from her when he suggested, “How about you show some more skin?”

Shocked, she shook her head, “No!”

He took his hand on her shoulder, “It’s only the shoulders. Take those straps down.”

She brushed it off, “No, that’s not the image I’m going for, Ben!”

He implored her, “Ladies like you pose nude in photos.”

“Ladies like me?!?” She stood in retaliation. “Is this what the photo session was about? Me out of my dress?”

He shouted, “No, I’m only helping your damn career!!”

Seeing Gail upset, he realized he had offended her profession. He stuttered, “I-I didn’t mean that.”

Fumed, she declared, “We are done here.”

She went to the dressing room to collect her stuff she didn’t bother changing back because she wanted to leave immediately.

Ben grabbed her arm, but she brushed it off, “I’m sorry. That came out wrong. Can I at least make any amends?”

Before storming out, she requested without maintaining eye contact, “Just send me the photos as soon as they’re developed so I know what I’m looking at, and don’t talk to me again.”

**************

One month later.

Caruthers was helping Buster get dressed for the Seven Chances cast party. It has been usually possible for him to dress up on his own, but he was not accustomed to putting on a tuxedo without help. Earlier today, Keaton was informed that he and his wife Natalie will be riding with her sister Constance, nicknamed Dutch, William “buster Collier, and his mother-in-law Peg Talmadge. The elder sister, Norma, and her husband Joe Schenck were at their place setting up the party. Keaton didn’t mind riding with the former two as Collier was his friend and Dutch treated him as a brother, but Peg was harsher than her husband; she wished her daughter would've chosen a better suitor than a man who made a living by throwing himself to get some laughs. Anyway, he was relieved to have finished his least favorite movie. But hoped it will be profitable enough for his next feature.

He heard a few knocks from his bedroom door, “Yes?”

His other butler called through the door, “The Vehicle has just arrived.”

When Keaton started working on his tie, he said, “Tell ‘em I’ll be right over.”

Soon as he exited the room, Natalie came out the door next to him wearing a rose-colored evening gown with pearls dangling on her chest. Her handmaid carried the hemline of her dress so she wouldn't trip down the stairs, while Buster followed them. He and Natalie bid good night to their young sons when their governess brought them from their playroom. The governess, who was holding the year-old Robert, and the oldest son, Jimmy watched the parents leave the mansion for their ride before she took them to their nursery.

As the car drove through Muirfield road, Buster had a chat with the other Buster while the missus converses with his in-laws. When Dutch pardoned herself out of the casual talk to cuddle with Collier, Keaton made a move by placing his hand next to Natalie's, having them touch. Even though she almost flinched, she didn't want to be interrupted.

After she finished her, she whispered to Buster, “I wish you wouldn’t try to touch me.”

He replied, “I’m still your husband aren't I?”

“It's a good thing or you'd be out with someone else.”

They both knew if they were going to fight it wouldn’t be the place and time since they’re in a crowded vehicle. Buster soothed her, “But I’m here. That’s all that matters.” He was going to put his hand on hers, but backed out at the last minute. He added, “And thank you for coming along.”

“Why shouldn’t I? It’s at Norma’s, I wouldn’t miss it for the world. And besides, Mother thought if I went with you, the guest would see how we were doing.” Natalie looked out the window.

Crestfallen he asked, “Are we okay?”

After a pause, she replied, “It depends.”

Buster got her attention back when he nudged at her, telling her, “You look lovely.” Though with a stern face, she took the compliment. Natalie lent her hand for him to kiss it, then she gently whisked it away, having no more than one.

When the Keatons arrived at Joe and Norma’s residence, they pretended to be an ideal couple as if nothing was wrong between them like Buster always wished for.

*****************

"Hey, give her a free ticket," Sally demanded to the ticket vendor, although Gail mentioned beforehand she didn’t mind.

The vendor shook her head, “Sorry, It's against policy.”

“She’s in that movie.” She pointed to the lobby poster of Seven chances.

Gail added, “It’s only a bit role.”

The vendor asked, “Were you an extra?

Gail answered yes. The vendor said, “I still won’t allow a free ticket, but you can pay half.”

After receiving her ticket, Gail and Sally went to the theater and sat down. The Pianist started playing when the film started. The audience and even Gail were surprised to see that the Prologue was in color, but grew confused when the rest of the film was played in black and white. They were amazed at the camera tricks which has always been a favorite for her. There are plenty of laughs throughout the feature, especially when Keaton’s character James wanted to get married by 7 pm to inherit millions of dollars but his proposals always fail. She felt bad for the main character. When the brides’ scene played, Gail was looking out for herself. She pointed Sally where she was. Gail always loved seeing herself in a film. When she started watching films, she imagined herself as a character in that film, but now she appeared in several shorts a year though she was in the background. At the end of the film when it was thought that James failed to get married in time and sulks in shame. Gail almost cried, but then lights up when he finds out the actual time and marries his beloved sweetheart in time. The audience was enabled to applaud as the end title came on.

With the picture over, the friends got up from their seats to leave, but stopped when they saw Benjamin in the theatre as well. “I thought I might find you here,” he said with a sheepish tone.

Gail had not spoken to Ben since the photo shoot, and he kept apologizing to her. She still avoided him. He even sent her flowers to win her back. When he sent her the photos for her to look over, in a note that came with it, he recommended the one where she looked up with the spotlight shining on her. Gail did write back saying she liked that one too.

Gail was less angry than the last time they saw each other. she asked, “How did you know we’d be here?”

“You usually come here whenever a new movie is released, including the one with Keaton. Can we talk?”

“Well, not here.”

The three walked to the nearest drugstore where Gail and Ben sat at a table by the window. Sally was by the checkout, purchasing cookies while keeping an eye on them like a hawk.

“Look, I was an ass that day. I should’ve never offended you and your job.”

“I promised my grandmother, I would never let California change me. I didn't want to alter my image.”

Ben nodded in agreement, “I was merely trying to help you advance your career.”

“And I do appreciate it.”

He took her hand, “There is another reason I wanted to see you.” When she asked why. He told her, “I will be going to New York City for business next Monday.”

“How long?”, she sat up straight.

“If something happens, a month."

“That seems long. I think that’ll be plenty of space.”

“If you want I will write you as soon as I get there.”

“Sure, I never got to thank you for the headshots.”

“You’re welcome. I made more copies so I could send them to the studio.”

“That’ll be enough.”

Gail hugged Ben goodbye when he got up from his seat and he waved to her while leaving the drugstore.

Sally took his now empty seat, “Did you two break up?”

Gail slouched as she replied, “I’m not so sure. We didn’t bring that up.”

The blonde took a sandwich cookie out of the package, “Hey, Bae, do you want a Hydrox cookie?”

She accepted the treat and ate it. Contrary to their talk, Gail was unsure about her future with Benjamin but at least he was trying his best.

Note: I have written an alternate scene where they go to a cast party instead of a premiere since it was actually held at the Capitol in New York. I kept the original for archival reasons. Chapter 13 is at the beginning stages but I’m afraid that I have another case of the writer’s block. i’m hoping to get it done at least before I go out to another vacation next month. if you have any ideas and questions, let me know and hope you enjoyed my chapters.

#Buster Keaton #buster keaton fanfiction #buster fic #buster keaton fandom #buster #actor RPF #silent era #silent comedy #silent film #Seven Chances

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halequeenjas · 3 years

Text

Solt Circle || Connor, Orion, & Jasmine

TIMING: Current PARTIES: @connorspiracy @3starsquinn & @halequeenjas SUMMARY: Jasmine offers Connor the chance to come help her with a ghost at one of her listings. Rio comes along to film and ghost-y times are had.

Connor was excited to work with Jasmine. Knowing that she’d been the one to banish Bloody Mary and the Sandman had given him the biggest fanboy hearteyes. She was exactly what he’d been lacking in his life; a mentor, a leader, a bloody inspiration. She wasn’t like one of his family’s old friends who couldn’t stand ‘em and helped Connor out of some begrudging sense of community while still holding it against him that his dad had fucked off to do a boring grown-up job. She was actually excited to work with him, and if she could get rid of Bloody Mary, maybe she could actually help Nadia. Honestly, it was a relief to know her inability to get rid of Larry Bob wasn’t a reflection on her talents. Whatever healthy skepticism he’d had about her had subsided. Not only that, but she was offering him his own banishing, and letting him film it. “Mate this is gonna be epic,” he said excitedly as he got out of the car with Rio right outside the address Jasmine had given him. Her car was already parked, and he could see the For Sale sign swinging in the autumnal breeze. “Way better than last time. You’re gonna get to meet another exorcist. I reckon she’s really rich too, judging by her… well, everything, and she’s paying us for this.” He knocked on the door, film, but polite.

While banishing ghosts was never how Jasmine pictured her life when she was younger, it was a duty she took very seriously. She’d seen too many times first hand just how dangerous White Crest could be and if she could make it even a little safer while still making a profit, it seemed like a no brainer it was what she had to do. Everything with Larry Bob was currently on hold with her arm still broken and body sore. But a banishment would be easy enough and she wanted to encourage Connor to keep practicing. While the whole YouTube thing made her shake her head a bit, she appreciated his eagerness to learn and become better with his craft. It was apparent he was very excited for this and it was a warm feeling that she welcomed. She opened the door when they arrived and greeted, “Welcome to the haunted cabin. I could probably leave it haunted and sell to some hipsters, but that’s unethical so here we are.” She gestured with her good arm for them to come inside and knew Connor would immediately be able to see Mrs. Solt’s ghost. She was an elderly woman who just had a hard time letting go of her home and wasn’t particularly malicious. They had spoken some and Jasmine told her she’d be helping her move on and find peace. She wasn’t a poltergeist, so it was possible. She seemed afraid but receptive. “So I’ve got some snacks just in case we need a little boost at any point. I’m going to let you take the reins on this one and step in if needed. As you can see, I’m a bit out of commission right now.” She eyes the skinny kid in baggy clothes and asked, “Who’s your friend?”

Orion was always thrilled by Connor’s excitement to see new, haunted areas. Now, Connor seemed more excited than Rio might have seen him at any of the locations they had visited. He understood his friend’s excitement, the idea of meeting anyone with a similar hobby or passion was thrilling enough. Add in the bonus of seeing a ghost and filming it just seemed to be the icing on the cake. “It’s really cool that she’s helping out with this stuff.” Rio agreed with Connor, clutching the bag around his shoulder that held the equipment he worked for Connor. Helping film and edit had been a welcome distraction from having to deal with the onslaught of people in his life attempting to comfort him following his parent’s death. They seemed to come from all directions. The actual friends in his life, people from the hospital and gym his parents worked at and even former neighbors that found him around town. Considering his parents had lived here for over twenty years and had a pretty strong reputation within the town didn’t help Rio’s anonymity. The kindness was appreciated, though it forced a narrative on Rio to be heartbroken and mourning that he wasn’t sure he could live up to.When Jasmine opened the door, he recognized her almost immediately. Though his parents had already been living here since Rio was born, he had become familiar with her brand selling other houses within Harris Island. Initially surprised by the realization that a seemingly normal realtor was actually an exorcist, Rio eventually settled on being impressed. “Hi! I’m Rio. Er- Orion. Quinn. But I go by Rio usually.” He held out his hand in offering if she was the type to formally introduce himself. “I’m Connor’s friend. And Coworker. I help film sometimes.” Introductions weren’t exactly Rio’s strong suit. But considering he was here to film and not speak, he at least figured he wouldn’t have to talk much today as the two worked their magic.

"Yeah, I mean, we help each other, I guess? She seems way more experienced than me, but she has this one guy she can't get rid of, so I'm helping her back." Jasmine had quite the presence, broken arm and all. He hoped Rio wouldn't be too intimidated by her. Connor gave a low chuckle at Jasmine's ghost. "That's what you get for taking on Bloody freaking Mary," he said, clearly still impressed. He found her ethics around the supernatural to be interesting. "You've got people like me who travel around visiting haunted places. You should probably have a subset of clients who want to buy the places as tourist attractions." He realised with a brief moment of panic that he'd forgotten to mention Rio was coming. "Oh, sorry. I should have mentioned. Kind of distracted with all the Bloody Mary and Sandman stuff. But this is Rio, my camera-man." With the door open, they stepped inside and Connor looked around the entryway, taking in the energy of the place. "So what kind of haunting are we dealing with? Annoying kind that knocks your eggs off the counter or like the real bad kind?"

“Someone had to do it. I just happened to have some know-how and figured why not me,” Jasmine said with a wide grin on her features. It was more than evident that both Connor and Blanche were beginning to look up to her which was a pleasant feeling in itself. Being able to put those younger than her on the right path was an honor she took seriously and it was nice they seemed to respect her all the more for it. She extended her hand to Rio and responded, “It’s good to meet you, Rio. I’m Jasmine Hale.” She noted the familiarity of the name Quinn and the recent news article but opted against mentioning it. Seemed like poor timing though it had been just on the tip of her tongue. While Connor’s gimmick was one she’d thought of plenty of times before, it still seemed wrong to let ghosts be some sort of tourist attraction and gave too much potential to endanger people. “You might be on to something, but probably better to avoid that for now. Don’t want ghosts getting angry and spiteful on people.” She led them into the living area and began to explain, “Mrs. Solt is far from an antagonist ghost. She just wants everything in her home to stay the same and is having a tough time moving on. I told her we’d help her. Mrs. Solt,” she called out at the end of her sentence and an elderly ghost appeared. She wore the same floral nightie she always wore and looked uneasy as she approached the trio.

After introducing himself, Orion planned on remaining in the backseat. After all, exorcisms and ghost stuff were more Connor and apparently Jasmine’s area of expertise. While Rio had done as much reading up on what the Scribrary had to offer on spirits, he wouldn’t say he knew much about them. Plus, as the three settled into the space, it was clear the two were discussing someone that Rio couldn’t see. The ghost of the woman that owned the house, from what Jasmine had said. But aside from her words, Rio had no sense of a fourth presence besides a small nagging paranoia that he was in danger. And Rio felt that everywhere he went. “Sounds a bit sad, honestly.” Rio chimed in quietly, wondering if he died somewhere in town if he would be able to move on or not. “Uh- I can’t see you Mrs. Solt but hello” Rio gave a nervous smile and waved around the room, no idea where he was actually trying to signal. He turned back towards Jasmine and Connor, “Where do you want me to set up so I’m out of your way?”

Although Jasmine came across as a snobby Karen-type personality at first glance, someone who thought the whole world revolved around her and her needs, Connor was beginning to see that there was more to her than that. He sort of admired the strength of her moral compass. Before he'd become an exorcist, he'd attended countless haunted tourist attractions and left the ghosts remaining there after he left. Of course, there were some he'd been able to help move on just by talking to them, understanding them, but the majority of the time he treated the visits like a one night stand; get in, get what you wanted, and get out.

"You won't be in the way," Connor reassured Rio, his voice quiet and reassuring. "We'll set up a couple of fixed cameras in different parts of the room and you can handheld the rest." He turned on the GoPro that was attached to the front of his jacket, letting Rio get the tripods set up, and he made his way towards Mrs. Solt, taking a seat on the end of one of the sofas. He understood what Jasmine meant. She didn't feel ominous, just lost and confused. "I'm Connor," he introduced himself, trying to get her attention. "Did you live here a long time?"

“It is a little sad, but that’s why we’re going to help her,” Jasmine explained to Rio. If she were being honest, this was the kind of haunting she preferred. Poltergeists and possessions always resulted in some sort of pain. But this? Mrs. Solt could be banished and not have her soul destroyed. She was a sweet woman and Jasmine wished peace for her. In the same vein, that sweetness could only last for so long before she veered into instability. She shook her head and quickly added, “You definitely won’t be in the way. Though I will be staying out of the shot. The whole of the internet does not need to see me in this thing.” She held up the cast with a look of distaste on her face.

She watched quietly as Connor interacted with the ghost, wanting to see how he spoke with her. “Nice to meet you, Connor,” Mrs. Solt said in her most endearing voice. “I have. Raised both my daughter and granddaughter here.” There was something wistful in the way she spoke as if it had been too long since she’d seen either of them. It was enough to pull at her own heartstrings, but she let Connor take direction here. Maybe a little talk would do it after all, but she knew Mrs. Solt still held out hope that her granddaughter would reappear. Come home after all these years. In this town, the missing often didn’t just show up again and Jasmine couldn’t help but think something terrible happened to her.

Orion busied himself with setting up tripods and cameras. Since he wasn’t much help when it came to spirits, he could at least have everything ready to film just in case something happened. For now, the view was pretty similar to a lot of the filming that Rio had done since landing the job, Connor holding a conversation with an empty house. But Rio knew the truth, even if he couldn’t see it for himself. Once the extra camera was recording from the tripod, Rio held the other camera close to his chest and tried to get some other shots from different angles just for editing options.

"Ruin your public image, would it?" Connor teased as Jamine said she’d rather stay off-camera. He had a wry grin on his face for a moment, then he became perfectly charming as he made himself at home on the couch. Some spirits, he found, preferred it when you just acted completely normal, like you belonged. Some took it as an affront. He got the impression Mrs Solt could just use some company. She'd probably been alone here for years.

"Really, your daughter and your granddaughter? Three generations of Solt women," he chuckled kindly. "What are they up to these days?" He trusted Rio to let the camera roll. Anything that Jasmine appeared in, they could edit. "Do you smoke, Mrs Solt?" he asked, offering her one from the packet and taking one for himself. It was a simple test, really, just to see how corporeal she was. If that didn't work, he'd offer her a mint. "Of course, I won't light one if you'd rather I didn't."

“Exactly,” Jasmine had responded with an easy smirk on her face. She leaned against the bannister to the staircase as Rio set up the cameras. There was a proud look on her face as she watched Connor converse with Mrs. Solt with ease. Treating nonviolent spirits with respect could always go a long way. It seemed like he was really amping up the charm, too. She could practically see the posh English charm seeping in.

“Yes,” Mrs. Solt answered somewhat quietly as she looked sadly ahead, “My daughter moved out a few years ago after little Jessie went missing. She’s in New York now.” Terrible city and no one here if Jessie ever found her way home. She looked back up to Connor with sad eyes and momentarily glanced at the cigarette. “Oh no, I shouldn’t. I haven’t had one since before Melody was born.” Then again, it was a little too late to care for her health. “Oh, what the hell, I’ll take one.” She reached for the cigarette, her fingers managing to wrap around it for only a few seconds before they simply went through it. “Silly me, I forget about that sometimes. Thank you for the offer though, sweetie.”

“And you shouldn’t be smoking in here,” Jasmine added on.

Even against the one sided conversation that Orion was able to see, it was evident that Connor was winning the woman over. When it came to social cues, Rio had been a wreck the majority of his life. Seeing the ease that people like Connor had with people and ghosts had always perplexed Rio. When the two had first met, Rio had spent hours watching every video that Connor had uploaded. At first he had assumed that it was a persona. Just an act that he kept up for the fans on the other side of the screen. As it turned out, Connor was just as easy going in real life. “He certainly has a way with words.” Rio spoke softly, mostly to Jasmine so he could avoid interrupting any conversation between Connor and the ghost. He had learned to talk in between the conversations, only when he knew that he could edit certain parts out. A small grin broke out across his face when the cigarette hovered for a split second before falling to the ground. Bingo. Without a second thought, Rio found himself adding onto Jasmine’s statement, “You shouldn’t be smoking at all.” It took a moment before he realized how much of a mom he sounded like and began blushing immediately, “It’s uh- bad for your health.”

"Oh," Connor's face changed. So that was why she clung on. She was holding out hope that Jessie, whoever she was, would come home. "Is Jessie your granddaughter?" he asked, puzzle pieces sliding together. He gave a sympathetic understanding smile as Mrs. Solt's hand slid through the cigarette packet. Okay, so she wasn't a spirit who was particularly prone to control over corporeal things. "Okay, well, it would be impolite of me to smoke if you can't." He put the cigarette packet back in his inside jacket pocket. "Yeah, yeah," he chuckled, waving a hand at Rio. "Sorry about my mate over there. I do lots of things that are bad for my health." He adjusted his position, leaning back, more relaxed, hoping Mrs. Solt would copy his body language. "Can you tell me about Jessie?"

“He’s right,” Jasmine agreed as Rio mentioned he shouldn’t be smoking at all. It was a habit that Jasmine personally hated, but noticed it seemed to be popular on the other side of the sea. The smell and health dangers were enough to make her scrunch her nose. She peered over Rio’s shoulder to see what this all looked like on camera. “Huh, surprisingly good shot for not being able to see all the subject matter.” Her focus shifted back to Connor and Mrs. Solt who were conversing easily. Maybe she didn’t have any right to feel a sense of pride as she watched them, but she did all the same. Connor still had a lot to learn and he was eager to do so. Still, he showed a certain level of maturity and understanding while talking to Mrs. Solt that told Jasmine he took all of this seriously.

“Jessie was sixteen when she went missing about five years ago,” Mrs. Solt explained through teary eyes though she could produce no real tears. She wasn’t stupid. She knew the odds and knew it was unlikely Jessie was still alive, but hope was a fickle thing. She couldn’t just let go of that. Couldn’t just let go of the idea that maybe her little girl was still out there. Who would she turn to if she did find her way back? The idea of her alone in the world or worse distressed Mrs. Solt. “I need to be here in case she comes home.”

Even with as simple of a compliment as telling him that his camera angling was good, Orion could feel his face heating and could only imagine how bright red it was glowing at the moment. He had never been great at accepting compliments, but he was even worse at taking them from strangers. “Oh uh- Thank you. I’ve gotten a good bit of experience now trying to film stuff that I can’t see.” It was frustrating at times, only catching Connor’s side of a conversation and trying to piece the full context together. He was picking up on the reason why Mrs. Solt hadn’t left. Something to do with a missing relative, Jessie. Knowing that they were helping these spirits was still rewarding all the same. Whether Rio could see them or not. “Thanks by the way, for helping him. Connor gets super excited about all of this stuff so I know he must be thrilled to have someone else that he can learn things from.”

He tried to fill in as much as possible, looking to the camera and telling them what Mrs Solt had said. As much as Connor enjoyed the excitement and certain level of recklessness that came with being a YouTuber for the supernatural, that didn’t mean he couldn’t equally treat a clearly sensitive situation with the respect it deserved. He could practically feel Mrs. Solt’s suffering. It hung in the air, engulfing the entire home. Her spirit was so ingrained in this place. Her loss, too. “I’m so sorry,” he said, voice soft. “Mrs. Solt, you clearly love her a great deal. But…” He had to do this sensitively. “But if Jessie is still alive, she wouldn’t be able to see you even if she did come back. And… she doesn’t know you’re here.” He reached out his hand. He couldn’t quite touch her, but he put his hand on hers all the same. “If you move on, if the worst has happened and she’s… not coming back, then she’ll be on the other side waiting for you.”

The way Rio flushed as she complimented the shot didn’t go unnoticed by Jasmine. She was far too interested in seeing how Connor engaged with the ghost to call it out. Too many people didn’t know how to take a compliment around here. It wasn’t a problem she ever had, but she still found it mildly perplexing. Mrs. Solt was opening up to Connor and he was asking all the right questions. As it stood, they could probably do without a banishment which was always preferred. It was a gentler way to go. Her head tilted as she watched them with a soft smile on her face. She turned back to Rio and simply answered, “Of course. Connor’s a good kid. He’ll be helping me with some things, too. It only makes sense to teach him what I know.” There was also the fact it was rewarding to pass on some of what she knew to the younger generation.

Mrs. Solt sat there quietly for a few moments. She’d never really been able to let herself believe that Jessie could be dead. For all these years, she’d held on to hope even if her heart broke every single day that Jessie didn’t return home. Somewhere in the darker corners of her mind, she knew it was unlikely Jessie was alive. She’d been missing far too long. Phantom tears rolled down her cheeks as she quietly whispered, “I know you’re right. Even just to see her alive one more time…” See the likely beautiful woman she’d grown up to be. Hear her voice. It’d be everything. If she wasn’t though, that just meant she’d kept her little girl waiting on the other side needlessly. “I think I’m ready.” She focused on letting go of the fear. Of seeing her little Jessie on the other side. There was barely time to wave as she felt herself fade away.

Though Orion couldn’t see the ghost, he could read a room. The way that Connor’s words seemed to wind down. The deeper focus on Jasmine’s face all told him that something was happening. Something that he couldn’t hear or see or maybe even feel, but was definitely happening nonetheless. “Is something happening?” Rio asked quietly again, squinting his eyes as if doing so held any chance of him catching a glimpse of the woman the other two could so easily see. Right now, all he could do was trust that Connor was working his usual charm and doing the right thing. If they were lucky, when they reviewed the footage they would be able to capture at least a few glimpses of the experience. Even an orb or a flashing light would be enough for some of the fanbase. “Something totally just happened. Man, not being able to see ghosts is such a drag when I’m like technically a ghost hunter.” Was Rio a ghost hunter now? He didn’t really feel like one, though he supposed he did work for one.

She passed onto her new afterlife with Connor holding onto her hand. He couldn’t quite feel her, but he knew it had helped, even if only the gesture of it. These were some of the best exorcisms to take part in. He stared silently at the spot where Mrs Solt had been just a moment before, as if saying a silent goodbye. “She’s gone,” he said, his voice tender. “She just needed a little bit of encouragement. I think she’ll be happier now.” He stood, gesturing to the area she’d have appeared on camera. “You should see some changes, right here. There’ll have been some orbs in the shot, or something that looked like dust in the air, now cleared up.” He explained both for Rio and for the audience. “There are lots of reasons people stick around after death. Sometimes they just need to say goodbye, even if it’s only mentally.”

Moments like these were never easy, but they were always rewarding in their way. Too many people like them could forget that ghosts were once real people, too. Jasmine was proud of the way Connor handled the situation with Mrs. Solt with an amount of compassion she hoped he never lost. She nodded along slowly as Connor explained to Rio what had just happened. All she could hope was that maybe Mrs. Soly was reunited with her granddaughter again. In this town, it wasn’t likely she was alive after missing all these years. “You did well,” she told Connor as she approached and place a hand on his shoulder. It felt as if something should be done for Mrs. Solt though she wasn’t quite sure what. She simply stated, “I think I’ll maybe say a few words to honor her. She seemed like a good woman. Mrs. Solt, I hope you find peace in your new afterlife and that one day you’re reunited with both your girls. I have no doubt they never stopped feeling your love.” This always felt off, talking to the dead once they were gone, but the woman deserved some sort of remembrance.

Turning the camera off after Connor had wrapped, Orion let his arms fall to his side so he could join the two of them. A ghost passing over always seemed like it was bittersweet. Sure, their spirit had moved on to an assumingly better place, but it also meant that they were just… gone. Never to be seen again. “Nice job!” Rio agreed with Jasmine and gave Connor a thumbs up. “I think we got some good footage too. I mean, I can’t actually see anything. But the shots all looked good.” Since it seemed like more of a teaching moment between the two, Rio busied himself by collecting the rest of the equipment and starting to pack it away. It was cool seeing them work together on something like this, both things that the two seemed to be passionate about. “Is it sad that I know the spirit in this place was good and it still creeps me out?” Rio asked once things seemed to have wrapped, “Are we done here?”

Connor nodded, solemn but hopeful. Today had been a good one, and he didn’t get many of those these days. “Yeah. We’re done.”

#wickedswriting #connor #rio #orion #solt circle #me: i'll post this soon guys #me: *5 hours later* oh SHIT

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mitchsmarners · 4 years

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writing prompt masterlist #1

Of course, there’s 75 million prompt lists out there but i figured there’s nothing wrong with making my own. Send me a category + a number + a pairing and i’ll write you a fic. Okay to reblog and use :) (x)

Fake/Secret/Etc Dating AUs:

my parents keep setting me up on blind dates but in reality I’m dating you and it’s so you help me get out of them

i hate commitment but my dad’s dying wish is to see me get married and you’re an old family friend i ran into at the airport on my way to visit him so hey let’s get engaged

you need a plus-one for your brother’s wedding so i’m going as a favor but there’s been a misunderstanding and now your whole family thinks we’re engaged

i’m mad at my parents so i ask you out because they wouldn’t approve of you and you’re well aware that i’m just using you but you agree because you find it funny but hey you’re actually super sweet

there’s this really creepy person hitting on me and i don’t know you but you pretending to be my partner completely saved my ass thanks how about i buy you a drink

we’re just really touchy friends and we get each other gifts all the time but everyone thinks we’re going out and we let them think that but why are you getting upset about me going on a date we’re not actually together?

I’m sorry you always thought your love for me was unrequited but on to more important matters YOU’RE GETTING MARRIED IN THE MORNING SO YOU HAVE A DECISION TO MAKE YOU ASSHOLE!

Our mutual friend apparently has been waiting for us to get together and so they’re very angry/disappointed/upset when they find out that the reason we kissed last night was because we were black-out drunk

everyone thinks we hate each other and we keep that front up in public, so we have hilarious pretend fights and squabbles and pranks

when we were little I accidentally mentioned that I had a crush on you but I always thought you didn’t hear me because you just looked at me weird and never commented but now we’re in high school and omg you just introduced me as your boyfriend/girlfriend/datemate wtf we never discussed this

friends to lovers aus

You’ve got a date tonight and you asked for advice on what to wear but I’m so in love with you and damn you look good in the outfit I picked out for you

You’ve liked me for ages and were really obvious about it and I didn’t like all the attention but now you’re over me I really miss it and fuck I think I like you too?

You want us both to get in shape and I hate working out/running but your ass looks really good in shorts oh the things I do for my friends and their nice asses

Our best friends are that awful ‘cute’ couple that make-out in public and call each other “sweetie” and “sugar” and “babe” and god they’re awful let’s talk about how awful they are – develops into “shit we’re the awful couple now”

Celebrity/Famous AUs

listen, you may be a famous (and extremely attractive) guitarist, but that gives you no right to practise on the electric at two a.m when we live right next to each other.

We broke up and I used my feelings to write songs and now I’m super popular and you want me back

we decided to make a fake vlog drama for our subscribers and they all think it’s real but jokes on us we end up actually liking each other

I run a prank channel and you were some innocent bystander I pranked for a video but then it turns out hey, you’re also famous online haha shit

we met and started talking but i didn’t know you were a rising star until i noticed cameras following me wtf

you’re a reporter and i think you’re super cute so i’ll only give you personal interviews to help your career and also get you to talk to me more

I’m a celebrity and I have a secret social media account and we started talking online and now we’re close friends but you want to meet up oh shit

I’m a celebrity and I may or may not be following your blog which is dedicated to me. reading your comments and tags are hilarious and very flattering and I’m somewhat smitten

You’re an actor/other famous person that I really admire and I just saw you in the street and as I was debating whether or not to say hi you came up to me and started flirting what do I do??

wedding/kids/marriage/long term relationship AUs

we’ve been dating forever, and you just caught the bouquet at our friend’s wedding

remember when we were in high school and we swore that if we were still single at 30 we’d marry each other, well hey guess whose birthday it is

i’m a runaway bride/groom and you’re driving my getaway car

I suddenly bumped into you after years and wow you look good but holy crap is that a kid?? since when?

you had a breakdown because the baby wouldn’t stop crying and you kept saying how you weren’t ready and how you couldn’t do it

whenever my kid starts crying I just hand them to you and then they just stop and start smiling

“i’m so sorry that my child pointed out how your shirt- actually nevermind i agree, that shirt is horrendous”

i always tease you because that’s just our thing we tease each other but for some reason you snapped at me and are you okay? what’s wrong?

my in-laws despise me GREAT but around you they’re super nice so you don’t believe me

neighbours AUs

You always complain about how loud I am (whether it be TV, video games or music/musical instrument is up to you) and this is the first time you’ve actually knocked on my apartment door and given me a lecture there rather than giving me a phone call, but I’m not really listening because I didn’t realise I had such a cute neighbour

you never open your door for children on halloween so i always pay the kids to smear your door with shaving cream

my printer isnt printing anymore and my papers are due tomorrow so im on my knees in front of your door begging to use your printer when the old lady from above passes us and thinks im proposing to you

we always run into each other on the stairs but we’ve never said more than hello but when we found out that we both hate the other neighbours, we became friends

i came home drunk and wouldnt stop knocking on your door. when you open i keep telling you to get out of my apartment

after a rough party night i find you sleeping on the stairs but since im still a little asshole all i do is put a blanket over you and a pillow under your head

Please help me, I know you have a kid and my sibling just dropped their baby on me where’s the button to put them to sleep?

I’m stressed and sleep-deprived, please let me pet your cat.

I have really weird dreams and you have really weird dreams so now we’re in this contest to see who has the weirdest dreams.

Strangers/Meet Cute (or meet very NOT cute) AUs

We were sitting next to each other in a public place and I saw a mosquito on you and my instincts just acted before my mind.

We mixed up our clothes at the laundry service and I have nothing left to wear and every thing you wear is too big/small for me.

We’re at a comic book store and if you tell me your superhero is better than mine I’m gonna have to punch you in the teeth.

There are no table left at this restaurant and you let me sit at yours since you’re alone.

I’m a single grown-up with busy friends but I want to go to Disneyland so I drop a message on a forum to find someone like me to go wear silly Mickey ears headband and stuff ourselves with cotton candy.

My computer broke down so I called an IT and now I need to find a reason to call them back so I delete important files and download adwares and do all kinds of stupid things.

I almost dropped something and in my fumbling attempts to stop it from hitting the floor I accidentally projectiled it at your face and it’s a really nice face I’m so sorry

first day at a new job and oh fuck my boss is the person I drunkenly hooked up with last weekend/night

I wanted to go on the ferris wheel but there has to be two people to a cart come on random person let’s go oh wait are we stuck at the top? Fuck

Our mutual friend set us up on a blind date and I thought I’d hate it but you’re actually… kind of funny? But because I expected to hate it in no way am I going to let you change my mind just because you’re gorgeous and funny and intelligent oh no my friend is not winning this

college/high school AUs:

i went on a date with a boy who had plans to take me to dinner and drinks. but he lost his wallet at a pizza place so we just walked around the neighborhood, sat in the park and talked.

we’re in the same study group but we dont talk but you brought goldfish and im starving

we have the same notebook and we took the wrong ones home so i used your notes on my open book test

you were my elementary school crush but you moved away but somehow we end up miraculously going to the same college and i barely recognized you because holy hot damn you are more attractive than i remember?

I tripped over on my way to this party and I’m bleeding profusely from the grazes on my knees and you’re a complete stranger that pretty much jumped me the second I walked in the door to play nurse

ive had a crush on you for 3+ years and now youre going out with my best friend and i definitely havent locked myself in a toilet cubicle to cry

We’re in different debate classes and I was constructing a case on the board and I come in the next morning and you’ve replied to all my points really well?? But I don’t even know your name? And oh shit, we’re taking over the entire whiteboard, is that your phone number squeezed into the corner of the board there?

You have braces and I don’t and I keep forgetting you’re not allowed to have gum so every time I offer, you give this death glare

You sent me a text asking if I wanted to go to prom on the day of prom and I’m not in town

I’m a notorious goody two shoes and you look like you get into fights on a daily basis, so when you were in the library on the first day I was supposed to be a tutor, I assumed I’d be tutoring you. But, as it turns out, we’re both tutors, and the people we’re tutoring keep blowing us off to make out and we have to go round them up

we have a mutual best friend but they cannot find out how much i like you then they’ll tell you, but i need to find out if you’re single!

I sat down in the wrong class and I’m panicking but don’t want to get up and leave because the class has started and you think it’s hilarious

You pissed me off in class so I threw a book at your head and now I’m in detention and jesus fuck I hate you so much and the teacher made me apologise and wait you’re cuter up close

soulmate aus

if one soulmate gets an injury, the other gets it as well.

Character A has a soulmate, but Character A died before they got to meet them. As Character A navigates the afterlife in their ghostly form, they discover that they can’t “move on” until they’ve met their soulmate.

the very first words your soulmate ever says to you are tattooed somewhere on your body since the day you are born

when you write something on your skin with pen/marker/whatever, it will show up on your soul mates skin as well.

You get an ‘impression’ of your soulmate when you turn 18 or something but all I got was a strong smell of bananas or something

you have a compass on your wrist and it directs you to where your soulmate is

i usually think i’m having a conversation with myself in my head but it turns out we’re telepathically connected

everybody is born with a map “tattooed” on their forearm that’s centered on the exact location of where they’ll first meet their soul mate

#writing #writing prompts #i did this instead of........ actually writing #eddieways feel free to reblog and/or send prompts

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iamtheblondestblonde · 4 years

Text

Slides and Serendipity

Part Four (4.3k)

Part One Part Two Part Three

AN: Can we just appreciate how good he looks while literally just standing there doing absolutely nothing? It’s not fair. With that said, enjoy!

Warnings: Only language for now

I told him how I’d moved to the US when I was 18, right after finishing school. I’d always had a love for programming and when I was about 15 I had my first app up and running, but it hadn’t really been successful. At 17 some of my guy friends made me think of an idea that I wouldn’t be able to forget in the following years.

I was convinced that it could be my breakthrough but it would take up every minute that I could spare for the next few years because building the interface of an app with this magnitude usually took entire teams of people but I was doing all of the work by myself. By the time Tyler and I made it through the entrance I was telling him how during my freshman year of college I’d barely slept, writing code and improving like crazy.

“At one point I was so sick of it, I just wanted to do something else, anything else really, so I made this little game. It took me two days, although I probably could have done it in like four hours if I hadn’t gone out that night. The graphics were terrible and I thought it was stupid, a silly little distraction, but the friends that I’d shown it to loved it so I published it as a joke. No one could have predicted what would come and to this day I still don’t know what exactly happened”, I told him as we slowly made our way around the aquarium.

“So your little game became famous?” he asked curiously and I laughed dryly before giving him the last piece of information that he’d need to connect the dots, a look of shock now on his face.

“You made Flappy Bird?!”, he exclaimed so loudly that the actual birds around us quickly flew away. I put my hand over his mouth to try and avoid any further attention, even though most people had already turned around to watch us curiously.

“Yes I did but please be quiet. People weren’t exactly my biggest fans after I took it down”, I said and took his hand in mine to try to pull him along with me but he wouldn’t budge.

“Wow, like holy fuck I’m honored to be in your presence. I played that game all day long”

He smiled at me then and I was relieved that he’d calmed down again. With our fingers still laced together we watched some fish in silence before he spoke up again.

“Tell me about your life back then”

“I feel like people have kind of forgotten about me now but it was absolute madness then. I was 19 and racking in around 50 grand a day, which is something that no teenager should ever do. I did a lot of stupid shit as you can imagine but also became my own investor, so at least something good came out of it”, I told him, not really daring to look him in the eye. Only a handful of people still knew about Flappy Bird and while I didn’t regret telling him, I’d had to face all kinds of reactions before.

“Yeah I know a thing or two about being left unsupervised and making too much money as a teenager”, he said bitterly and I remembered some of the stuff that Mara had told me about him and his time in Boston. I go the feeling that he probably understood me better than anyone else.

We kind of dropped the topic for a while after that, instead just talking about his workouts and the upcoming weeks. I had noticed a group of teenagers recognizing Tyler a while ago but so far they hadn’t come up to us, leaving us to continue our conversation in peace.

A while later I heard him curse and turned around to see them taking pictures of us, making me swear as well. He tried to apologize but I wouldn’t let him as I’d kind of expected something like this to happen again and it wasn’t really his fault either.

I let go of his hand to avoid stupid rumors but didn’t step back from him. We continued walking, hands still brushing once in a while but neither of us reached out again. I asked Tyler to take pictures of me for my Instagram and he acted like a professional photographer, crouching down to get the best angles and everything. I wanted to get a picture with both of us in it but didn’t dare to ask anyone else. He posted some pictures as well but I made sure to stay out of the frame.

“I just remembered your other idea. Did it have the success you expected it to have?”, he asked me a while later, surprising me with the sudden change of topic as we’d just had a discussion on whether a sloth was a good spirit animal or not.

“Yes it did, actually more than I’d hoped and my sources also told me that you’re an avid user yourself”

“I swear if you tell me that you’re behind Instagram I am absolutely losing my shit”, he said, probably only partly joking and I had to laugh.

“Nah I wish but not quite. I guess you could call me your wingwoman though because I’ve heard that you met quite a few of your hookups through my baby Bumble”, I revealed, again laughing at his reaction. He looked at me as if to try and figure out if I was kidding before coming to the realization that I wasn’t.

I didn’t make a secret out of the fact that I founded Bumble, having given interviews and everything and it was probably the biggest reason why the media paid me any mind. If he’d googled me, he would’ve found lots of articles and pictures but I guess a guy like him refrained from googling anyone, including himself.

“I’ve been wanting to ask though, why Bumble and not Tinder? I know for a fact that the amount of people looking for hookups is higher on Tinder”, I said and watched him curiously.

“I was actually on Tinder for a little while but I didn’t like having to make the first move. I didn’t want to put myself out there with like pick up lines in case people would upload screenshots, but whenever I just wrote ‘Hey what’s up?’ people were giving me shit about the Tyler Seguin being basic so I deleted it. Bumble is nice because I only have to respond and I can just ignore the crazy bunnies until their profiles are gone”, he explained and I smiled, feedback always much appreciated.

“Well the Tyler Seguin using one of the most basic lines is pretty disappointing, I’d be mad as well”, I teased and he laughed, his eyes crinkling.

“With you I put in more effort, I mean I even made my dog steal your shoe and everything, kinda like a reverse Cinderella”, he came right back and we both burst out laughing again. Spending time with him was probably one of the easiest things I’d ever done. There weren’t any awkward pauses or moments and besides the fact that I was trying my best not to fall for his charms, I could easily count us hanging out among my favorite things to do nowadays.

Once we’d seen everything at the aquarium and barely avoided getting shit on by a bird we decided that it was time to head out.

“So I know that you said that you avoid Italian restaurants but there’s this German place in town and I feel like you’re best qualified to judge it. You have to tell me what to order though”, he said as we were walking back to my car. I wasn’t even that hungry but he looked so excited that I agreed to go anyways.

The restaurant was cute, actually reminding me of places I’d been to in Germany and when the waitress came to take our order I was surprised by her being German as well. I didn’t want to be rude towards Tyler so I kept our chat short but it always felt good to speak my native language again. She told me that the restaurant was owned by a couple from Germany and I vowed to myself to come back if I was ever in the need for some quality comfort food.

“I always remembered German to be quite harsh but it actually sounds kind of beautiful when you speak it”, he said afterwards as we waited for our meals.

“Well yea, you probably only heard people yelling at each other on the ice in Switzerland and the language there also sounds quite different from the one I grew up with. Angry German is definitely harsh but I don’t think you’ll ever hear that from me”, I assured him and he started pestering me about teaching him some slang.

The food tasted more authentic than anything I’d had in the States so far and it caused a feeling of longing to bubble up in my chest. For the most part I was glad that I’d left when I did but from time to time I still missed my old home, even if the US now felt more like my home than anything else.

“Do you miss Toronto?”, I asked Tyler, knowing that he probably felt the same.

“Yeah definitely, not as much right now because I just got back from Canada but whenever I feel down I wish my family could be with me to support me. Don’t get me wrong, I absolutely love my life here in Dallas but I guess whenever things get bad it’s easiest to want to go back to your roots, you know?”, he asked and I nodded, even if I couldn’t relate that much. I didn’t have such a strong support system as the one he obviously had but I could still understand him wanting to be surrounded by familiar things in those moments.

We talked about our lives outside of Dallas and his love for fishing and the peaceful look he got on his face when talking about his cabin that he had up north was completely different from what you’d expect because of the way the media portrayed him. Of course he mentioned parties as well and while some stories were crazy, I’d been to wilder parties and no one would ever give me shit about it because no one cared.

“I think it’s because it plays into the stereotype of the party-loving hockey player, like people actively wait for you to act out so they can say that they were right”, I said as were downing the last of our drinks. He was in the spotlight and people wanted him to behave responsibly, which I understood, but he was still a real person with real feelings and I could also see why he wanted to escape those expectations from time to time.

Tyler wanted to pay our bill of course and while I thought that it was a sweet gesture, I insisted on him letting me cover the tip at least. I wrote a little note in German on the receipt and then we left. We’d spent so much time inside that the sun was already painting the sky in reds and oranges, dipping everything around us in a beautiful light.

“I think I’ll really like it here”, I said to Tyler while I looked up into the sunset.

“I’m trying to help you with that”, he responded and I tried to talk myself out of feeling my heart flutter at the soft smile he was currently giving me.

This time his song choices were more laid back and I felt myself relaxing as much as I could without causing a traffic accident. He asked me to park the car at my house so we could walk over to his place and I happily obliged, wanting to savor these last few moments together.

There was still a little bit of the sunset sky left by the time we made it back and I basked in its light as we slowly approached his gate. I was still humming one of the songs he’d played earlier when we made our way through his front door, four dogs coming at us with full speed. Soon enough we were both buried under masses of fur and wet noses, their excitement only slowly dying down.

“Thank you for today, I had a really great time”, I said to Tyler once we were both able to untangle ourselves and stand up again.

“So did I. I’ll see you tomorrow after practice, right?”, he confirmed and I nodded before leashing Yogi and thanking Tyler’s friend for watching him on my way out.

Back home I decided to be productive, so I pulled out my laptop and began researching people I’d want in my team when I got a facetime call not long after.

“Dude how was your date?”, Lisa immediately asked me as soon as her face filled my screen.

“It wasn’t a date and you know it”, I responded, rolling my eyes at her suggestive smirk.

“I don’t know, a guy going to the aquarium with you and then taking you out to dinner sounds pretty date-like if you ask me”

“Well I’m glad no one is asking you then”, I said before giving in and telling her about the day, not date, I’d had with Tyler.

“He sounds really fun, I’m surprised with everything that Mara keeps saying in our groupchat. Anyways, what were you up to before I called?”, she wanted to know and I told her about my mission to find people that I could see myself working with, which was honestly harder than I’d expected. Lisa and I had worked at an app development company in Denver together so she knew how eccentric a lot of people in our line of work could be.

“I think I can actually help you out with that one. Do you remember Mia from back in Massachusetts, the girl with the pretty handwriting that we met at the foam party back when we were Freshmen? She was in my recommendations on Insta a while ago and she told me that she moved back home to Dallas not too long ago. Even if she has a job already you’d probably be able to poach her if you wanted to and she might know some people as well.”

I remembered Mia of course, because we used to hang out a lot during our time in college. Afterwards we’d kind of lost touch, as it happened with a lot of people but if she was back in the area I’d definitely hit her up again, remembering her to make great designs. I asked Lisa for Mia’s info and then she told me the latest office gossip about my former coworkers. Leaving the company had been a risky move but because I’d always done a lot of freelancing and was sick of only following orders, I was confident that I could pull this off by myself. I’d already had requests lined up for when I’d start working again.

My fingers were itching for something to do and I was starting to seriously consider moving up the deadline to get at least some work done. I wasn’t really good at sitting around, so I decided to text Mia to see if she wanted to casually meet up this week, while also hinting that I might be interested in having her work with me before going to bed.

Katie picked me up the next morning and we caught each other up on the last few days while driving to where we’d meet the other girls for an early lunch. I had only spoken to Dominika and Alandra for a little while at the party but we’d hit it right off. They were funny and nice to me and greeted me with warm hugs as soon as we spotted them sitting on a table in the corner of the restaurant.

“You look amazing, I love your jacket”, Alandra said and I tried my best not to blush while returning the compliment. They all looked stunning in fact and I didn’t understand how people could hate so much on these genuine and great girls. We ordered something to drink and some light lunch and then Katie and Dominika started telling me how excited they were for the season to start up again.

“You’ll have to come to the games with us. I’m sure Tyler will ask you as well but even if he doesn’t, because he can be a little dense sometimes, you still have to come”, Katie said and I laughed at her insulting her boyfriend’s best friend. I’d been to quite a few hockey games in Denver and I’d always loved the atmosphere there so that was an easy yes.

“Anything exciting happen between you and Tyler since that super hot almost make out sesh in the pool on Saturday?”, Dominika asked and I hid my face in my hands.

“You guys saw that?”, I groaned, a slight blush now definitely creeping up my face.

“Girl I think everyone saw that and the way he was looking at you all afternoon... like damn”, Alandra threw in and started fanning her face with her hands.

Surely it hadn’t been that bad, now had it?

They continued telling me how I’d raised quite a few questions within the team, people wondering who ‘that hot blonde’ was that had managed to have Tyler wrapped around her finger.

“I swear nothing interesting happened since, the most exciting was perhaps a kiss on the cheek that night”, I said but I could tell that they weren’t fully convinced. I didn’t dare telling them about the hand holding, cuddling and all those other sweet moments out of fear of making a fool of myself. I knew damn well that he might only be that way to charm my pants off and I certainly didn’t need anyone else reminding me of that fact.

Soon enough it was time to head over to the practice rink and I got back in the car with Katie again. She was telling me about how Jamie first introduced her to everyone and how nervous she felt among all of those big guys and their better halves. I could totally relate to the feeling now, even if I’d already met some of them and wasn’t his girlfriend either, but being confronted with so many new faces at once still managed to freak me out.

Katie pulled into the parking lot right before the boys were coming through the exit. She greeted Jamie with a kiss while I tried not to drool over Tyler’s post-shower look. The guy wasn’t exactly taking it easy on me lately. I went over to hug him, secretly enjoying his smell before turning around to everyone hanging around in a loose circle.

“This is Liv by the way, for anyone who hasn’t met her yet”, Tyler introduced me and I tried my best to keep a neutral but friendly expression on my face.

“He’s told us how smart you are, so good luck on being the only one with any brain cells left between the both of you”, one of the guys chirped and I had to laugh out loud.

“Let’s not embarrass me any further please”, Tyler said before throwing his arm around my shoulder and slowly leading me towards his car, not without dirty looks towards his teammates of course. I could only wave at the girls with a shrug before we reached his G wagon and he opened the door for me, even holding out his hand to help me inside.

I told him about all of the stuff I’d need and while I’d need some stuff to be delivered, I was still convinced that we could get most of the stuff home today.

Tyler put on a snapback as soon as we reached the parking lot, unfortunately covering his beautiful curls but at least he refrained from wearing sunglasses inside. We grabbed a cart and made our way around the place, contemplating on shelves, desks and the best chairs before considering decorations. Tyler helped me with his input sometimes, but mostly he just let me do my thing and stuck to following my orders on what to add to the cart.

We couldn’t take the conference table I’d chosen with us of course, but everything else fit into his spacious car after getting the backseats out of the way. I was glad to have him assisting me today, as I would’ve never been able to fit everything in the Audi, let alone play Tetris the way he did.

I connected my phone to the speakers and had my hands full with multiple items when the display showed an incoming call from Mara. I looked at Tyler to see if he had anything against me taking it and after he shook his head no I accepted.

“Hey girl, just a heads up, you’re on speaker in the car and Tyler is with me”, I warned her before she could say anything stupid, like mention any of the things we’d talked about the last couple of days.

“Hi Tyler”, she said and I knew her well enough that she was probably trying her best not to squeal, successfully taming her inner fangirl.

“Hi Mara, I’ve heard a lot about you”, Tyler greeted her and gave me a playful wink.

“I guess it’s good that you’re both there”, she started and I immediately started to worry as this couldn’t mean anything good but my train of thought was interrupted by her continuing with: “I’ve got some news for the both of you. I’ve kept a close eye on the hockey blogs lately because of everything that has been going on and I’m so sorry Liv, but you’ve been spotted and identified.

“I guess you haven’t really been on your phone today but there’s pictures circling of you two on the hike, a video from the party with you two in the background, which really started this entire witch hunt and more sets of pictures just recently from the aquarium and you shopping for furniture together, I’m really sorry. Liv, you’ve also gained lots and lots of new followers on Insta and I guess your DMs must be blowing up as well”, she finished and if my hands were free, I’d bury my head in them right now.

I’d expected something like this to happen, but not a week after I met him already. I had a public account with quite an impressive following base as well because of my business and Mara went on to explain how the fans had pointed out the similarities in our recent posts and stories, concocting all kinds of crazy stories.

I couldn’t watch it at the moment, but the video from us at the party was apparently the worst. In all of the other pictures you could see us standing close to each other, occasionally touching, but according to Mara the video showed two girls lounging at the party with us in the background, Tyler’s arms clearly wrapped around me right after we fell into the pool.

Mara could sense that I wasn’t in the mood to discuss this any further because she hung up pretty soon after dropping that bomb on us. Needless to say that the rest of the ride was quiet, a loaded silence between us for the first time since we’d met. I could tell that Tyler was trying to figure out what to say to me but I doubted that anything he could come up with could lift my mood right now.

He helped me unload the stuff from his car in silence, both of us lost in our thoughts, only speaking up to greet Yogi. We carried the stuff into the office and except for me pointing out where to place the boxes for now, no other words were spoken after that for a while.

“I’m so sorry that you got dragged into this Liv, it’s not fair that the only thing people can say about you right now is about you supposedly dating a hockey player, you deserve better”, he finally said as he was about to leave and while his apology was sweet, it was almost immediately lost in the whirlwind of thoughts rushing through my mind at this point.

I felt exposed and watched, like the victim of an obsessive stalker. I’d been reduced to nothing but a fling in Tyler’s long list of conquests in a matter of hours and probably already had his fangirls threatening me. There was no point in trying to diffuse the rumors either, not that I’d demand that from him, because people always believed what they wanted.

I didn’t mind being recognized for the hard work I’d done all my life, but this was different. This wasn’t about my knowledge in programming or any of my ideas, people were now solely interested in me because of who I was supposedly with.

It was a weird feeling, being objectified like a butterfly in a glass case with no other purpose except to be studied closely and picked apart.

“It’s not your fault Tyler, it just comes with your lifestyle I guess”, I shrugged halfheartedly and he wrapped his arms around me. His hug gave me at least some feeling of comfort, although I couldn’t bring myself to enjoy it the way I would under different circumstances.

“I can tell that you need some space right now but if you need to talk to someone I’m always just a few minutes away and I’ll tell the girls to look out for you as well”, he said softly and with a kiss to my forehead he was gone, leaving me alone in the cacophony of thoughts screaming against each other inside my head.

#Slides and Serendipity #nhl imagine #nhl hockey #nhl players #nhl #hot hockey players #hockey writing #ice hockey #fanfiction #fanfic #dallas stars #dallas #tyler seguin #tyler seguin imagine

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writingformadderton · 4 years

Text

The Book of You and I - Part 5

Ship: Madderton

Word Count: 2,827

Summary: Richard and Taron get along better again after their talk and spend more time with each other. While Richard enjoys the time and introduces Taron to things he liked, Taron starts feeling safe around Richard.

Additional Tags: soft, friendship, fluff, interviews

Dedicated to @taron-eggmcmuffin❤️

Part 4 Part 6

Rich and T stay silent most of the drive back to Taron’s apartment. Richard feels kind of relieved now that Taron knows they used to be a couple and got into the crash together. Taron is glad he finally told him, but his thoughts are racing about how they continue from this point. He liked Rich a lot and he was a real beauty. But he had to get to know him on a whole different level from now on before he could ever consider being with him. Taron doesn’t know if that will ever be the case again because he’s changed. Richard knows it as well. But it gives them a bit of comfort now that they both are on the same page.

“Dexter said we have to finish the interviews we did a couple of weeks ago.” Taron says to break the silence and looks over at him. “I hope the dick from the last time hasn’t published anything so far.”

Rich chuckles softly and nods. “That’s easy to find out.” he stops at a red light and takes out his phone, looking up Taron’s name. He scrolls through some Rocketman cast articles, some about the crash and Taron being back to work. “Nothing here. Probably got cut off by his boss.” he says and smirks a bit.

“Why is it that I don’t believe that?” Taron asks and watches him suspiciously. “You really think his boss stopped him after sending him there with such questions?”

“You never know who kicked his ass.” Richard says and focuses on the street again.

“Richard.” Taron says warningly and Rich looks at him shortly with a grin. It was him. Oh shit. “How did you convince him not do it?”

“I told him more or less nicely to fuck off and not make a story out of this or I would publish how he preys on someone who lost his memory. Which could cost him his job if I put enough pressure on the media about it.” Richard says and shrugs his shoulders. “Imagine people like Elton posting it with his name.” both of them laugh at that thought.

“But I was so mad at you! Why did you still-?” he stops and watches him curiously.

“You had the right to be mad at Dex and me. I told you I wanna protect you and honestly, this asshole needed a kick in the butt.” he states and chuckles a bit.

Taron’s face softens as he looks at him and he smiles a bit. “Thank you.”

“Sure thing.” he says. “How exactly do you wanna handle the interviews that are coming up now?”

“I won’t give any interviews on my own for a long time, I guess.” he says and plays with his hands nervously. “I think they would take advantage of that again.”

“Yeah, probably. Maybe you can team up with Bryce.” Rich suggests, recognizing how well they got along.

“Mm.” T hums and looks out of the window. “Actually, I think it would be better if we did it. Because they’ll still try to find out stuff about us.”

“If that’s what you want, sure.” Richard parks the car and looks over at him. “I’m really sorry that I lied to you. I know it’s not fair. I never wanted to play with your feelings. Just thought it may be easier for you to cope with my presence.”

“You’re an idiot, you know that?” Taron giggles and shakes his head. “I don’t know how I used to be, but now I prefer living with the harsh truth over some happy illusions.”

“Got it.” Rich says.

“I still let you drive me home today, right? Because now I know how and with whom it happened.” Taron shrugs his shoulders and yawns a bit. “I need some sleep.” he unbuckles and opens the door. When he closes the door, he signals Rich to let down the window and leans down. “Just be ready for me going on your nerves. You’re my Google about the past.”

“You’re such a dumbass sometimes.” Rich laughs.

“I know. Night, Richie. Get home safe.” he says with a soft smile and takes his keys out of his pocket.

“Night.”

Taron takes a cold shower and puts on sweatpants, but keeps the dark blue sweater on. He’d love to talk to his mum, but it’s almost 1am now. Looking back on today, he lies down and stares at the ceiling. “My life is such a fucking mess.” he mumbles to himself and slips under the blanket. He looks at his bed that’s way too big for himself and suddenly it makes sense. “How the fuck did I end up with Richard fucking Madden?!” he asks himself and buries his face in his hands.

Richard gets home and hops in the shower quickly. Today was way too long, but it was a big step for him and Taron. He’s glad that Taron agreed on talking about it and they had Dex to mediate the conversation in a healthy way. Rich chuckles when he realizes that Dexter left them some space when Taron started crying in his arms.

***********************

Three days later, Richard picks him up again and they drive together to the place where they have to give the interviews. “Okay, what do we talk about and what not?” Rich asks and looks at T.

“We don’t talk about us as a couple, because we aren’t at the moment, right?” Richard nods quickly, thinking about it the same way. “I mean we can say we had some difficulties in the beginning because it was difficult for you to act like you don’t know everything about me already and me getting to know you.”

“You know about the accident and that I was with you. Let’s say we had a very deep connection before the crash and that’s enough for them to know.” Richard suggests and Taron agrees.

T leans back in the seat and looks down at his hands. “Did you recognize how calm I am driving with you?” he asks and looks at Rich.

“Yeah. You’re sitting still and you stopped tapping your fingers nervously.” he says and looks at him shortly. “Is that a permanent thing or -?”

“Definitely not. Cabs and driving with Bryce still make me feel uncomfortable.” Taron laughs nervously and glances at Richard, who’s driving calmly. The only reason they got into this car crash must have been the woman because Richard was the calmest driver he knows. “Must be your driving style. I feel safe when you’re driving.”

Richard lets out a chocked sound and his body tenses. He sets the blinking light and stops at the side of the road. Sinking his head onto the steering wheel, he takes a deep breath.

“Are you okay?” Taron asks slightly confused and sees how pale Richard becomes. “Did I say something wrong?”

“I feel safe when you’re driving is what you said to me two minutes before the crash.” Rich moans.

“Oh shit. I’m sorry.” T says hastily and hesitantly fondles over his hair calmingly.

Rich sits up and shakes his head. “It’s okay.” he breathes out and looks at him with a weak smile. “Just caught me off guard.” he drives back on the road again and continues driving.

“Did you ever have trouble with driving before?” Taron asks curiously. He never seen Richard in such a state.

“Not the driving itself no.” Richard thinks for a moment. “It’s more mentally like in the form of nightmares. I was supposed to have shot a scene a while ago, but yea.”

“Supposed to?”

“Mm. I’m working on this series where I’m playing the bodyguard of a politician and one day their car is under attack. My costars suit was white and covered in blood, just like your shirt. And our driver got shot and sank down, which reminded me of you fainting. Anyways, I panicked and we haven’t tried it again since.” Rich explains and his grip around the steering wheel gets tighter.

“That sounds like shit. I’m sorry, Rich.” Taron says and rubs his arm shortly.

“It’s okay. Keeley took good care of me. I think you two would get along well easily. Again.” he says, knowing they did before the accident, and parks the car in front of the building.

“I’d love to meet her.” T admits.

The pair make their way into the building. Rich and T greet the first interviewer and sit down next to each other. It’s a friendly looking woman who’s in a good mood. “Hey guys. How are you feeling today?”

“Pretty good.” Taron says and smiles brightly at her.

“That’s lovely to hear! I’m sorry if this is too personal but how are you dealing with the new circumstances?”

“It’s okay. I mean it’s strange to not know dear friends anymore or in the beginning when I found out I had two younger sisters. That was like mind blowing.” he giggles a bit and Rich smirks at him. “But somehow I’m glad I don’t have to remember the car crash and how I felt after I hit my head.”

“Nothing you’d like to remember.” Rich agrees.

“Did you two meet before the start of shooting Rocketman? And how was it actually to start over after this long and genuine friendship?”

They look at each other shortly before Taron starts speaking. “It has been really complicated for both of us. He visited me the day after the accident and I couldn’t remember him. So I kicked him out.” Taron laughs weakly and looks at Richard.

“He told me he needed some space, which was what I gave him. Well three months later, we met again but he couldn’t remember our first encounter after the accident.” Richard tells her and looks at T as if to make sure that was okay to say.

“The first month is kind of a blur.” he laughs and looks back at the interviewer. “But after some discussions, we got along quite well.”

“Discussions. Were you two arguing on set?” she asks curiously.

“We’d love to give you some scandal, but there’s non to give you.” Richard says with a smile.

“At least non we’re discussing in public.” Taron says and both laugh.

She smirks a bit while looking down at her questions. “How is time between shoots? You’ve got an amazing cast of people like Jamie Bell and Bryce Dallas Howard next to you.”

“We all get along really well and it’s always fun. Even though during breaks, Rich is the one who likes to chat with others.” Taron answers.

“Yeah. Taron has to stay focused otherwise he’ll get distracted when we start again.” Richard chuckles a bit thinking about it.

“I don’t like noise off camera. I’m so easy to distract, it’s unreal.” T laughs and rubs his face shortly.

“You’ve always been that way.”

“Yeah?” T asks curiously and looks at Richard again.

“Yeah. You could do the best take of the scene so far, but if you heard a noise it was all ruined.” Richard tells him chuckling.

“Learning new things about myself every day.” Taron says and grins into the camera.

“So you seem to have a wonderful cast and team to support you through this.” she smiles at T, who nods.

“Yeah. In the beginning I needed my mum, so I spent a month back home in Wales. Then Dex reached out to me and he helped me a lot considering my start into acting again. I also had some help from some friends where I got a bit star struck again.” Taron blushes a bit while grinning. “I mean one day Colin Firth calls you to ask how you are and the next day you talk to Hugh Jackman. Crazy honestly.” He laughs and looks at Richard again, who watches him listening. “I actually was very nervous about meeting Rich. I didn’t know we were so close for years before. Dex gave me a crash course in things like actors, names, movies and series I should definitely know if I don’t wanna look like an idiot.”

Richard giggles softly and his blue eyes shine brightly. “I wonder what he told you about me.”

“I actually don’t know anything anymore besides Game of Thrones, Robb Stark and piercing blue eyes.” he admits chuckling and shrugs his shoulders. Rich lets out a laugh and rolls his eyes. “Yeah, Richard has to suffer from my nosy ass wanting to know stuff about the past.”

“Well it’s understandable that you wanna know more. No one starts his life, being 29, without knowing how he got there.” The Scottish says, shrugging his shoulders. “The most important thing between us at the moment is honesty and a huge amount of trust on Taron’s side.”

“Would trust you with my life, Richie.” T says softly.

“And it’s a lot to take in especially because I was driving. So it was hard to talk about at first. Me and Dex had to take our time.” Rich answers and they look at each other for a moment. And lie to you.

“That’s called a deep bond, guys.” Their interviewer says with a wide smile on her lips.

“Deep bonding, it is.” Taron chuckles.

“So nice to talk to you guys. Have a great day!” She says and shakes both of their hands.

They leave the room and Richard closes the door looking at Taron. “So?”

“I liked her. She was nice.” he says and smiles a bit. “It was actually fun.”

“Yea.” Rich chuckles and they walk into the backroom. “We have twenty minutes until the next one. Wanna get some coffee?”

And so they find themselves in a coffeeshop a few minutes away from where they had to give interviews. T looks at the large menu and lets out a loud breath. “Oh god I hate it!”

“Huh?” Richard asks confused.

“I don’t know what I liked and what I disliked, so I hate ordering stuff.” he says and giggles a bit.

It’s their turn now and Richard orders something for himself and Taron. He hands the cup to T and pays. “You loved that one.”

“Okay then.” Taron says and opens the cup to blow in air, trying to cool it down a bit. He takes a tiny gulp, trying not to burn himself and he loves the taste. It’s a rather sweet coffee with a hint of vanilla. “Oh my god that’s what I needed.” he moans and takes another gulp. “This should be forbidden. It’s way too good.” Taron mumbles and looks at Richard, who chokes on his own coffee trying to hold back his laughter. “Oh fuck off, Rich! That’s the first coffee I’ve had since I could think clear again and doesn’t taste like shit.”

“It’s the only one you like.” Richard explains him and giggles seeing Taron’s happy eyes.

“Don’t laugh at me.” he pouts and wraps both hands around the cup, enjoying the warmth it gives off.

“Okay I’ll show you something else, but you’ll have to close your eyes.” Richard says and grins at him.

“Stop walking! I won’t close my eyes while I walk with a cup of coffee.” he protests giggling and closes his eyes. He feels Richard’s fingers parting his lips and he gives in laughing. “What are you-?” then Richard pushes something into his mouth and Taron recognizes it as a cookie. It tastes like chocolate and is soft and a bit warm. “You wanna kill me?” he moans and opens his eyes again, chewing on it. Richard just chuckles as he continues walking and Taron follows him quickly. “I think I’m gonna let you choose my food from now on. I wanna know all the tasty shit I loved.”

“That could take a while.” Richard says and gets a confused look from T. “You’re a foodie and you loved a lot. I’m considering not showing you something because you dreamt about that shit.”

“I did what?!” Taron’s eyes widen as he looks at him, and it looks adorable.

“You dreamt about fried chicken that you had on one of your press tours once. Then you woke me up and got on my nerves until I got you some at 3am.”

“Sure I wasn’t pregnant?” he asks teasingly.

“A hundred percent, T.” Rich just laughs and shakes his head at that thought. “Oh god if you were pregnant, you’d be crying non-stop.”

“Why?”

“You’re a quick crier, not only when you’re upset. Someone says something nice or you see something cute and you start crying.” Rich tells him and thinks back at all the times he made Taron cry with simply telling him how amazing he really was.

“Jesus.” T breathes out and looks at him. “Do I really cry that fast?”

“I’ll show you that another time.” Rich promises. Not today, he wouldn’t be able to stay distant then.

@multicoloredchicken @sarahegerton96 @primaba11erina @maddertonmyheart @madderton-obsessed

#taron egerton #Richard Madden #taron x richard #madderton #taron egerton fic #richard madden fic #madderton fic #fluff #soft #friendship #the book of you and i

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starwalker42 · 4 years

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And The World Keeps Spinning [1/2]

This is for the X-Files Fluff Exchange by @xfilesfanficexchange, which was a huge leap out of my comfort zone but I’m so glad I signed up to! My prompt was “something fluffy around Mulder and Scully spending Valentines together either as a new couple or maybe not a couple yet” from @kristinsauter, and I really hope I did it justice! Part 2 to follow x (Link to A03)

This is all my fault. Frohike would probably disagree, but he wouldn’t have been able to talk me into this if I hasn’t had those beers, so I only have myself to blame, really.

It was barely a week after New Year’s, and it shouldn’t have surprised me that with only one drink down I was already talking about that night; every morning since, I’d woken with the memory of Scully’s lips on mine, and despite my best intentions I’d found myself dreaming about it during the day, too.

Originally the guys had been ecstatic, but when it became apparent that was as far as we’d gone- and that we hadn’t discussed it since- praise quickly turned to exasperation. Frohike gave the most world-weary sigh I’ve ever heard, Langly started off on one of his lectures- dude, are you serious, what the hell- and even Byers looked unimpressed.

“You can’t kiss a lady when the world’s about to end and not take her out for dinner,” Frohike commented around his beer.

I can’t remember what exactly my excuse was- probably something about it not being the right time, about how she was my partner, not just some random hookup, and that it wasn’t as easy as ‘taking her out for dinner’- but I don’t think they listened anyway.

“You can’t leave her hanging, dude.”

“I know you’re nervous, Mulder, but you should ask her.”

“Just take her to Casey’s-”

I shot down Frohike’s idea almost before it was out of his mouth. “My first date with Scully is not going to be Casey’s.”

“Unless you get your head out of your ass I don’t think it’ll happen at all.” Langly drawled, and that did it.

“I’ll do it! I’m going to ask her out for Valentine’s.”

“Why the wait?”

In my mind, it was to leave enough time for this conversation to be forgotten and for the guys to never bring up the subject again. But of course, that didn’t happen, and last week they were the ones reminding me about what I’d said. I’d promised I’d ask her when we were out of town on this new case with the VCU.

I haven’t.

I’d meant to, several times, but the moment was never right: the words just hadn’t come out, or we’d been discussing the case, or been standing over a skinned corpse… you get the idea. So now we’re in the office, on the 13th February, having worked non-stop for seven days, and I’m trying to delay my inevitable exit my packing my bag as slowly as humanly possible while Scully finishes filling in her report. She always takes longer; she has to be precise and make sure everything’s filled in right, can’t just scribble stuff down like I can.

Normally I love that about her- today I just want her to hurry up so she can leave the office and I can stay down here in my self-created loneliness for the rest of my miserable life. The guys are going to have a field day when they find out about how badly this has gone.

“Penny for them.”

I glance up and meet Scully’s smiling eyes. She raises her eyebrow expectantly and I find myself unable to come up with a suitable lie. The words come out on top of each other.

“I was just wondering if you want to come over tomorrow night. For dinner.”

I have to look away, can’t stand to see the unavoidable pity and rejection in her face.

“Sure, sounds great.”

I almost feel the floor fall from under me. My cheeks are on fire as I feel my face break out into a smile I can’t stop.

“Uh, okay, cool.” My bag almost falls from my hand as I fumble with it. “See you at seven?”

“I’ll be there.”

Is that my heart pounding?

xXx

Mulder grabs his coat, stops briefly in the doorway to run his hand across the back of his neck, and says to the floor, “See you tomorrow.”

I stop trying to decode his behaviour. It’s been a long week. “See you tomorrow.”

And then he’s gone.

Tomorrow is Monday, which would normally mean we’d be in each other’s company for a good ten hours or so in the office, but after this past week Skinner’s practically begged us to take a few days off so I’ve threatened Mulder that on pain of death he must not step foot in this building until Wednesday at the earliest. I know it might be just as hard to keep me away.

I’m looking forward to a few days off, of course I am- I haven’t had a bath in lord knows how long- but the longer I’m away from the office, the less I can relax. Okay, that’s not true- the longer I��m away from Mulder would probably be a better way of putting it. As pathetic as it sounds, if I’m away from him for much longer than a day it just feels wrong. I feel wrong. I’m sure some would call it dependency, and while I’m not sure about that I know that when I’m away from him, even if I know exactly where he is and what he’s doing, even if he’s only a phone call away, I’m lonely. I don’t know when but somewhere along the line it became clear that I’m happiest when I’m by his side; that I’m safer, more comfortable, and somehow more whole when I’m with him. I feel like myself.

Our classic method of hiding what I’m beginning to suspect is a mutual need for contact is anything can hide behind the safe veneer of a night in between friends, more often than not in the form of a takeaway and a terrible movie on Mulder’s couch. It’s happened enough times that at this point I’m expecting it at times like this, so I’m a little shocked that Mulder thinks it necessary to have to make pre-arranged plans. Surely he knows he could call me at 6 tomorrow night and I’d be over in half an hour?

I again remind myself to stop trying to work out my partner, and try to be content with the knowledge that I understand him a hell of a lot better than anyone else. The thought makes me smile as I grab my keys and leave the office.

It isn’t until I’m driving back home and see, of all things, the Victoria’s Secret window display, that I realise what day it is tomorrow. It’s not just Monday. It’s Valentine’s Day.

It’s fucking Valentine’s Day.

My first thought is to dismiss it as a coincidence: Mulder forgets even my birthday, and it’s been a long hard week, and if I forgot then it’s likely he did too… but then I remember the way he couldn’t meet my eyes, the way his cheeks flushed, the relieved smile he gave when I said yes.

He knows what day tomorrow is.

And I’m pretty sure he’s asked me on a date.

And I’ve said yes.

Holy shit.

xXx

It’s not until the doors to the elevator close behind me that I allow myself to breathe.

Holy shit.

I just asked Scully out. On a date. A Valentine’s date. And she didn’t roll her eyes, or oh brother me, or deck me one in the face. She said yes.

Holy shit!

I don’t know how to do this. How long has it been since I was on a date? Should I book a restaurant somewhere? Is it acceptable to get takeout? What the hell am I supposed to wear? My the time I’m at the garage I’ve managed to talk myself into a spiral of panic, and I’m very close to calling Scully and cancelling before I remember that ultimately, that’s who I’m doing this for. Scully.

I don’t have to dress up or create some fake-perfect evening for her, because that’s not our thing. And tomorrow is about us.

On my way back, I stop at the store and buy a bottle of wine- one of the expensive ones that Scully never admits she has at her place- and decide to risk forgoing takeout and buying ingredients in the hopes that I can still remember how to cook carbonara. I don’t know what I’d even begin to write in a card, so I don’t even glance at them, but at the flower display I have to stop. I’ve only ever bought Scully flowers when she was in hospital, but if there’s any time to break a tradition it’s now. Red roses are too forward, and too traditional, and everything else seems to be the same shade of pink that I know Scully will hate. I’m about to give up when I see the smaller bouquets at the front- well, one in particular. It’s a beautiful mix of what look like white roses and a whole mix of others that I can’t identify apart from their colour- blue. They’re almost exactly the same shade as Scully’s eyes, so close that it almost takes my breath away.

They’re the ones.

The cashier doesn’t seem surprised by my purchases- I assume she’s used to harried customers buying last minute Valentine’s gifts- and a few minutes later I’m back in my car and driving home. I feel my face breaking out into a ridiculous grin, and don’t try to contain it.

xXx

I’ve been on edge all day. I’ve tried going for a run, having a bath, reading some of my book, but I can’t relax. It’s now 4pm and I’m judging that to be a suitable time to start getting ready, especially because if I leave it any longer I think I might scream. Also I’m likely to need another three hours just to work out what the hell I’m going to wear, and how to come across as completely relaxed about this entire situation. How long has it been since I went on a proper date? How long since I’ve been on one and actually enjoyed it?

Ed Jerse comes to mind, but deep down I think I know that I didn’t really enjoy it, that what I enjoyed was the concept. Letting go and getting away from myself in the way that no one would expect from straight-laced Agent Scully. But even at the time, I wasn’t enjoying it. I remember closing my eyes and trying to imagine it was Mulder inside me, having to bite my tongue so I didn’t cry out his name. It occurs to me that if things go to plan tonight, I might actually end up in the place I’d wished for those years ago. Mulder and I might have sex tonight. Okay, now I really need to go and have a shower. A cold one.

I can’t get the picture out of my mind, though. If I’m being honest, I haven’t been able to get it out of my mind for a while now. And our kiss on New Year’s didn’t exactly help things in that regard. I’m pretty sure it’s no longer a question of if but when we cross that final line, and if it hadn’t been for Mulder’s injuries, I think we would’ve crossed it that very same night.

But maybe it’s better this way; at least now I can prepare somewhat. I straighten my hair for what must be the third time today, and try to work out how best to do my makeup without looking like I’ve been thinking about it too hard, which ultimately means that I redo it several times before I’m happy. I second guess myself on what to wear about a dozen times as well, going between completely casual (jeans and a t-shirt) to the frankly overdressed (an evening gown I’ve had for years and never worn), and everything in-between.

In the end I opt for a V-neck sweater that Melissa bought for me all those years ago, one that I’ve only worn a handful of times and only never out of the house. It’s gorgeous material, cosy and soft, but it was clearly either designed for someone with bigger breasts or with a bigger load of self confidence because on my chest it’s somewhat loose, and definitely not the kind of thing I’d normally wear. If it wasn’t that Melissa had bought it for me I think I would’ve got rid of it by now, but I’m glad I didn’t. I can’t wait to see Mulder’s face.

xXx

There’s a knock on the door ten minutes before seven. I’m not even surprised: it’s Scully, of course she’s early. In a way I’m glad, because dinner is almost ready and part of me had been dreading the point where minutes after minutes went by without her showing up until it became clear that she was never going to.

Now as I hear her knock on the door I allow myself to breathe a sigh of relief that all of this- making dinner, buying wine, cleaning the apartment, putting on one of my best shirts- wasn’t for nothing. An instant later panic hits again. Oh god. Scully’s here, which means this is actually happening. Oh god.

I realise I’ve been frozen in the kitchen when I hear another knock, slightly louder this time, and remember that even though Scully has a key and is more than willing to use it under normal circumstances, she’s likely to not be so keen right now. Okay. Okay, I can do this.

My hand trembles as I slide the bolt across and pull the door open. I’m apologising almost immediately, too anxious to let the words take their time.

“Hey, sorry, I heard you I just had to make sure the food wasn’t-” and then I actually look at her, and- “Wow.”

It’s not exactly a new thought, not particularly different to what usually goes through my mind when I look at her, but her appearance tonight is… wow. I can’t pinpoint what it is, exactly, and can only conclude it’s some magical combination of a slightly darker lipstick than usual, the smile she’s giving me, and the fact that I can see so many more inches of her beautiful skin than usual thanks to the cut of the sweater she’s wearing. How the hell does the sight of her clavicle do these things to me?

Noticing the way Scully’s eyes glance up and down my body while I’m still stood in the doorway, I step back to allow her in and close the door behind her. My hands? Still shaking with the best of them.

“Can I take your coat?”

“Uh… yeah. Thanks.”

My hands don’t feel like they belong to me as I slide the jacket off of her, not missing the way she gasps when my fingers accidently brush the exposed skin of her collarbone. I hang it up and briefly turn my attention back to the stove, where the spaghetti is at risk of overflowing, and try to breathe. Scully is too quiet.

“I’ve got wine if you want?” I ask over my shoulder, but she’s gone. “Scully?”

“In here.” Her voice comes from somewhere else in the apartment, out of sight.

I turn down the stove and head through to the living room. She’s stood at my desk, and I immediately know what she’s found. I’d hoped I could at least get her to have a drink before she saw I’d bought her flowers.

“These are for me.” It’s not a question.

“Oh, actually they were for my other date, but she didn’t show,” I joke, trying to ignore the pounding of my heart. Were they a mistake? And did I just call Scully my date-?

There’s an indecipherable expression on her face when she turns to face me. “No man’s ever bought me flowers before.”

Somehow I find that hard to believe doesn’t seem like the correct response, especially because I know my partner, and I know this isn’t how she messes with me. She’s being honest, and somehow without thinking I find myself doing the same.

“They reminded me of you.” She raises an eyebrow. “They’re the same blue as your eyes.”

I catch the way her cheeks flush before she glances away, and hear the quiet thank you she gives to the floor before she speaks up.

“You don’t drink wine, Mulder.”

I hear the pan bubbling from the kitchen again. “Yeah, well, you’d better not go teetotal on me now, Scully, because otherwise I’m going to have to start.”

She raises her eyes and gives a smirk. “I’ll get a glass.”

xXx

I don’t think I’ve ever been as surprised by Mulder as I have been tonight. He’s bought my favourite wine, he’s got me flowers- beautiful ones at that- he’s made dinner for us even though I was 90% sure he’d never cooked in his life, and now it appears he’s had time to stop off at Blockbuster to empty the romcom aisle.

“What’re we feeling?” He spreads the VHS cases across the coffee table and looks over to me expectantly. We’re almost touching on the couch.

My head is a little fuzzy with wine and the giddiness that comes with being too close to Mulder for too long, and rather than answering immediately I find myself just looking into his eyes for a long minute. I can feel it, the familiar magnetism between us, and for once I realise that nothing should be holding us back from giving in to it. I’m tipsy, and Mulder’s been drinking beer during dinner, so I know he’s not exactly sober either. We’re here, in private, together. It would be so easy to give in. So why don’t I? With liquid courage, I lean forwards and send a thanks to whoever created Valentine’s Day and gave me an excuse to press my lips against his.

Neither of us move, I don’t think we dare to, and the outcome isn’t much different to that first kiss on New Year’s Eve- a somewhat gentle, trepidatious kiss that feels like it lasts forever and still ends far too soon.

“You choose.” I manage as we disengage, noticing how much huskier my voice has become.

Mulder doesn’t even look, just grabs a tape at random and manages to get it into the player before returning to sit next to me. I press myself against his side and smile when I feel his arm come to wrap around my shoulders, like it belongs there. The first few beats of ‘Be My Baby’ play from the TV, and I hum in approval of Mulder’s choice.

“You know, I’ve never watched this film.” His voice is low and soft in my ear.

“What? It’s a classic American movie,” I whisper back.

“That’s what every woman says. It’s a chick flick.”

“Patrick Swayze’s not your type?”

He presses a quick kiss to my cheek as we settle back against the couch. “You know exactly what my type is.”

You know what Mulder? I think I might be beginning to work it out.

#XFFluff2020 #x files fanfic exchange #xf fanfic #my writing #msr #x files #i honestly had so much fun with this one #and this challenge in general #i can't wait to see what people think of it!

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justjessame · 3 years

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Babysitting Butcher Chapter 33

I talked my options over with the medical professionals that seemed to come and go like waves. The bulking machine that was being used to clean my blood of the impurity of whatever variation was added to me without my permission wasn’t something I planned on installing in my house, or any home I ended up in. Since my specialty wasn’t in physical medicine, I asked, hoping against hope that there was a portable option. One that would allow me to have a life, maybe not the one I’d gotten used to, but one that I could settle into and live a life that was my own, at least until the inevitable.

Billy had gone, once he realized that I was certain of the outcome and of my answer to it. It hurt worse to see the pain on his face, than it did to know that I was right about what I told him. To see how hard he took the idea that I knew how he felt about supes, regardless of their origin, wasn’t something I took pleasure in. I wished- No, I couldn’t do that, dwell on what could have been.

Instead, I spoke to the doctors and lab rats. How could I get back to the real world, but keep the possible fallout of my new additions at bay? They tossed out ideas, having tried a few times to see how long I could go without my blood being cleansed on a constant loop. The longest, and it was touch and go, was twenty-four hours. Then the fever hit hard and fast, the vertigo came rushing over me, and the spots in my vision made me almost wish for blindness. I even began bleeding again, but not from the same place that erupted in my former office. Knowing this particular weakness, and the possibility that it wouldn’t end well for me or anyone near me, they discussed it for days and then came back with an option, but one I would have to test in the clinic first.

There were two forms of more portable, so to speak, dialysis. Both meant that I would have to learn to be hands on, literally, in my own treatment and both used my own body as part of it. They warned that given how my body reacted to attempts to neutralize the foreign agent that had been introduced either could be a long shot. After all, one of them reminded me, my own body seemed focused on destroying itself.

Both utilized a catheter, much like one that I already had, but while one necessitated me using gravity to push a fluid that would do basically the same work as the huge machine that I was rarely allowed a break from, the other was a machine version, smaller but same principal. Both were contingent on my participation and both required me being on a strict schedule, stricter than a usual patient of either form.

I agreed to try both, but there was another issue. Even with the pull of being home, they wanted me to understand that I’d still need to come into one of the Vought labs for treatment. The goal remained to neutralize if not remove the dangerous mixture from me, and that wouldn’t change when I left. Telling them I understood had two doctors exchanging a look which I asked about.

“Do you know how far this clinic is from your home?” I shook my head, feeling a wave of nerves. When they told me I nearly fell over to cry, too far of a commute, especially if I had to keep the blood cleanse going on such a strict schedule. “It’s the closest, but there is another option.” They told me about a community, NOT the same as where Becca had raised Ryan, but an actual regular community that happened to be close. I nodded, it was another thing to consider. “Let’s do this a step at a time. We’ll schedule a test for each of the portable dialysis options, then we’ll discuss the next step if it’s something viable.” Another nod from me and they offered one more thing to think about, “there are medical detection dogs, with the signs that occur before you become less stable, that might me something we’ll have to discuss further as well.”

With food for thought, I sat down with a book instead of my laptop. While I tried to get comfortable and push the idea that I was planning on leaving the care of round the clock health professionals and worse turn my back on everything I’d worked so hard for, it wasn’t nearly as simple as when Sherlock Holmes worked through a mystery.

What would anyone else do if they were sure that they were looking at limited time, not only because of a condition that didn’t seem to be fixable, but because they weren’t completely sure that they could trust the person they loved to NOT help the end along?

Billy came back the next day, and I felt my heart skip a beat when he ignored the doctors and rushed to me to kiss me completely senseless. “You listen to me, Veronica Taylor,” his breath was hot against my damp lips. “I fucking love you and I could give a shit what’s swimming around in your fucking bloodstream. I could give a fuck if you develop laser eyes and can lift my fucking car with your pinkie.” I swallowed at how fierce he sounded. “I told you before, Ronnie, I CAN’T lose you and I fucking won’t.” And then his lips met mine again, and instead of the hot hunger he started with, this time it was such a slow sweet kiss that I felt like my heart stopped, and when the beeping of the machine took a pause I realized it had, but then the beep returned, strong and steady, just like Billy fucking Butcher.

He held me, fully clothed of course, in my hospital bed and we talked about the options I’d discussed with the doctors. He listened, his fingers idly stroking my arms while his arms were cradling me to his chest.

“I want to be here when you try it,” I started to remind him of work, but he shushed me. “If one works, Ronnie, I want to know how to do it too, that way I can pick up the slack and it won’t all be on you.” I smiled, feeling a peace that hadn’t come for too long. “And a dog?” I nodded and could tell he was excited, since he had his own dog out there somewhere. “What kind?”

We got my laptop out, and unlike the hopelessness I’d given in to the day before, we searched the internet for more information on dogs who were medically trained to detect chronic illness symptoms, nipping the likelihood of further trauma or worse case scenario in the bud with their ability to alert patient or caretaker to a problem before it got out of hand.

“They’re a bit bigger than Terror,” his dog, I remembered him telling me about him. His lips pressed against my temple as he reached down and used the touchpad to scroll down. “If they can help me keep you healthy, Ronnie, I think we should put in a request.” I smiled, his fingers hitting the contact button on the site we’d found for a group closeby. “Give ‘em a bit of time to make sure they can train it up for your particular needs.”

I put in the information requested and hit send, while reminding Billy that it was all contingent on the treatment from home option working. And he smiled and turned me carefully so our faces were close enough for our noses to touch.

“You are one of the strongest women I’ve EVER met, Veronica,” his hands cupped my face so carefully that I felt more fragile than the thinnest glass. “If anyone can make this work, it’s you.”

The doctors scheduled my next experiment with Billy’s request to be present in mind. Over the weekend, with a cot in my room just for the man who kept surprising me to use while he both learned along with me and watched me like a hawk to be sure I was alright, we began. I held his hand while they walked us through the first option. The non-machine one, since it was the lowest tech version, and smiled when I saw how intensely he was watching them walk us through the steps.

“The three step process,” our instructor explained, “ takes around thirty to thirty-five minutes total and you’ll have to do it throughout the day. If this option is viable for you, then you’ll also have to wake up to perform it, or it can be paired with the second treatment. How long between treatments will be something we have to work on as well, but first let’s see if it works?”

Billy stopped the doctor before we could get started by asking questions I forgot or missed in my yearning to go home. How would the supplies need to be kept? What were the worst case scenarios if something went wrong while we were home? How long did he have to get me help if the treatment stopped working? Would it be more dangerous for me, to my health, to do this rather than keep coming in for the treatment that I was doing now?

Once his concerns were addressed, in complete detail, the doctor then took me off the whirling machine that I only had minimal breaks from, telling me that unlike someone on dialysis for kidney issues or failure, since mine was simply to circulate and cleanse the blood to keep the foreign bodies at bay and ineffective, that made my complete focus necessary. He didn’t just mean that he wanted to me to learn the steps, he meant that I had to focus on precisely how my body felt. All those questions I hated to answer daily? Those were my gauge for how I was supposed to determine if the treatment was working or not. Whether I felt my temperature going up, the spots returned to my vision, or the vertigo hit me at the wrong moment, it would be up to me to know whether this was still working or not. And it was paramount, given how my body could go supernova and kill not just myself, but who knew how many others, since the range of my area of destruction couldn’t be measured without it happening.

Taking a deep breath and nodding, we got to take a break before the first round of my possible path to escaping the room I’d spent far more time in than I cared to think about. While we waited, Billy asked me if I thought my mom should learn how to perform the treatment too, and like she’d been conjured, she was in the doorway smiling at the two of us.

“You’re not hooked up to that dreadful machine,” her eyes widened with hope, but I shook my head causing her smile to drop and fear to replace her joy. “It’s not-”

Billy told her to take a seat and explained that I hadn’t been cured, but that we were trying something new to see if I could go home. He didn’t mention, and neither did I, that home might be further from the city, and closer to the clinic. One thing at a time.

“Of course I want to learn,” she set her purse down and folded her hands in her lap before she seemed to remember something. “Your father is parking the car,” she sighed, knowing that it was already hard for him to see me sick, but she took a deep breath and straightened her spine and I knew she was about to assert her will. “He should learn too, just in case.”

“And what am I learning, precisely?” My father walked into the room and this time, instead of Billy, Mom explained what was coming.

My parents and Billy watched as the doctor, hours later when I felt the first twinge that my body was rebelling against me, walked me through the first trial. The bag of fluid, the connection to the accessory that Billy’s agreement during my unconsciousness had given me, and the power of gravity while my family watched and took notes, both mental and physical.

The first trial, actually walking me through it and showing me how to hold the bag up and wait while it utilized gravity to work its medical magic, took longer than it would if it became the option that I’d use at home the doctor promised.

“First time is always longer,” she smiled, reassuring me as the fluid dripped into me. “We chose the lighter, more flexible catheter hoping it wouldn’t be permanent, which makes this transition easier.” My mom and dad asked their own questions, knowing that Billy wouldn’t be available constantly, even if he wanted to since I would push him back to work. As the doctor answered, showing them step by step again, while Billy took the bag from my hand to give my arm a rest.

“You’re doing great, Ronnie,” he whispered, giving me a soft kiss. “Just think, this could be our new foreplay.” He was teasing and I knew it.

“Gotta say, Butcher, this is a very fucked up way to get me wet.” I winked at him as he chuckled quietly. “I love you, and I’m sorry about-”

“Nothing to be sorry for, love.” Our eyes met and everyone heard the change in my heart rhythm. We ignored the soft laughter of our audience, so focused on our little bubble. “You wrote the book on me, Ronnie, but you missed a chapter.” I raised my eyebrow, knowing I was wrong, so wrong about his love for me, but I was curious as to what I’d missed. “You missed the part where I am single fucking minded in my love for you. Not a moment goes by that I want whatever that caped cunt forced into your body purged, but never a thought of destroying YOU or your body.” He sounded as fierce as I knew he was and I felt far more confident in him and us. “Until you get sick of me.”

“Never,” I promised, and we kissed again, less soft and sweet and more hungry that we’d allowed ourselves since I woke up from the first hit of the second phase of Homelander’s interference.

It turned out, after two weekends of further trial and error, that I would be doing a combined effort with peritoneal dialysis. Both the manual and the machine, and as an added bonus I’d get to make at least two trips to the clinic a week for further testing and at least one date with my favorite machine. My parents had come to every single training exercise, shocking me with their commitment to keeping me healthy and when Billy and I, more certain that going home was possible told them that we’d have to move, they took that in stride as well.

“I can hire movers and have them pack up the house,” Mom offered, knowing that Billy would rather be at my side than dealing with those details. “And, if you’d like, I could take a look at that community they told you about-”

The uncertainty in her voice made me realize how much our relationship had changed. Before, she would have gone and chosen the house, put the down payment down and had the paperwork ready before I’d fully made the choice to move. Now she was asking permission. Wow.

“What if we went together?” I think I surprised her as much as she did me. “The doctors have been talking to me about more trials, shorter but to make sure that I can handle it on my own, why not a trip out to have a look? It would make me feel more productive-” I sighed, and Billy’s fingers linked with mine.

“You are productive,” his lips were against my temple in the soothing gesture that he knew helped me the most. “Told you that the others have nearly cleared the list of unknowns. Done more sit downs with supes than I ever wanted to contend with, and you were there virtually for most of them.”

I’d started, once I was feeling more hopeful about getting released back to some normalcy, joining Billy during his meetings with supes via video chat. While the supes didn’t see me, I didn’t feel up to fixing myself up to that point while wearing my attractive nightgowns, Billy could and I kept him even keeled and soothed the more frazzled nerves of some of those supes that hadn’t wanted to be found. And I’d gone back to researching both Homelander’s misdeeds, and the mysterious head popper’s true identity.

“Of course you are,” my dad kicked in. “You’re still the head of that office, Veronica, this is all just a little hiccup.” His reassurance was welcome and just as shocking as my mom’s uncertainty in helping us relocate. Who knew it would take the possibility of dying to bring us all together?

#Billy Butcher x ofc #angst #fluff #the boys #alternate universe

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jiminddeok · 4 years

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WINGS (PT. 1) - M

For it was he who dared lay with a mortal, be cast down from the heavens and forever marked as a sinner

Pairing: Kim Taehyung x Reader

Words: 4K

Genre: Fantasy, AU, 18+ (for cursing and future smut)

Summary: While going on a camping trip one weekend with your brother and his friends, you run into a mysterious stranger who catches your attention in all the ways no man has ever done before.

Part: One

A/N: So this is a fic I wrote like 2 years ago, I’m just re-uploading it cause there’s some things that annoyed me when I read over the chapters and I just wanna publish them again. Anyway its not the best fic but I loved the idea I had originally and I hope some readers might like it too ^^

Kim Taehyung had always been seen as a prodigy. He grew up on the higher tiers of the heavens, surrounded by the purest of pure. People praised him daily for his smarts, always the first to come up with a solution, and was never questioned for what he said.

Maybe it was because of all this, that the angel Taehyung began to stray from the path that was set out before him. When people told him, what was to become of him, he always wondered why? Why must he do what others want of him? Him being the smartest of them all. A king should not have to bow down to those of lesser importance, and Taehyung knew he was above all who surrounded him.

They say intelligence correlates with curiosity, and no place tempted the angels’ mind more than the forbidden lands that lay below.

“Shit, I think I’m lost.”

I was currently driving around a mountain trail, utterly convinced l was going the wrong way, seeing as my sat nav was telling me to go in a direction which I’m pretty sure would take me off a cliff.

“I’m gonna wring Jungkook’s neck when I see him,” I mumbled to myself. My little brother thought it would be a great idea to go camping for the weekend with his group of friends, but seeing as I was working late, I had to drive up to the camping site by myself to find them. I didn’t think twice about it when we had discussed it earlier and I’d agreed to come at a later time. But now that it was beginning to get dark out, my nerves were starting to get to me. I stopped the car and pulled over on the side of the dirt road, deciding maybe it was time to try and get some help.

“I suppose I should ring someo- Ah fuck!” I shouted as I looked at my phone, of course it would have chosen that moment to go dead, god forbid something actually went right for me for once. The lack of available communication just raised my level of worry from mild to extreme. “I should just turn around and forget the whole thing, my brother probably won’t even notice if I don’t show up,” I said with a whine.

I sat for a few moments in the car staring at the forest surrounding me, debating what to do. Jungkook had put a lot of effort into planning the trip, his friends were all home from college for the weekend, and he didn’t get to see them often because he was younger and still attending high school. The boys couldn’t have a wider range of personalities, but they all became good friends after signing up for the local music club. I genuinely loved those boys like they were my family. Since our father passed away, Jungkook didn’t have many male role models to look up to. But now he had five older brothers and I couldn’t be more thankful to them for looking after him.

I had just made my mind up when I noticed a figure suddenly emerge from between the trees. It was too dark to see their face, but the blond hair they sported was clearly visible. I remembered Jungkook mentioning Jimin having dyed his hair recently, so I didn’t give it a second thought when I jumped out of the car and ran towards the boy. Finally, I was rescued.

“Jimin, over here!” I shouted, waving at the figure.

Honestly, I should have at least waited by my car for him to come over, just in case. But I was too grateful by the thought of being rescued that I didn’t even consider that it could be someone else. As I grew nearer I began to notice things about the person. Things like how they were ever so slightly taller than the Jimin I remembered, and his back profile didn’t have the muscular structure I was guilty of staring at a little too often. My feet stopped moving when this information finally registered with me, and I came to a standstill when they turned around.

It was an angel.

Or at least they looked as though they could’ve been one. The man who stood in front of me looked as though he’d literally descended into the forest. He had a mess of blond hair on top of his head, which I had already seen from a distance, but now that I was closer I could tell there was no way that this blond came from a bottle. It was a golden colour unlike any I’d seen before, a perfect contrast to his dark eyes, which were directly into mine.

It took me a while before I realised neither of us were talking, only staring at each other. Him with a smirk on his face, and me with my mouth hanging open like a fool.

“You’re not Jimin,” were the only words I could think to say. The stranger chuckled at me and I swear my heart jumped.

“No, I’m certainly not.” He replied.

Fuck me. With a face like that I hadn’t expected a voice so deep to respond. I needed to get a grip, this guy probably thought there was something wrong with me seeing as all I was doing was staring.

“Ye-yeah, sorry, I thought you were someone else,” I managed to stammer out a reply, for once thankful for the dark so he couldn’t see my blushing face. “I’ll just be going, sorry again,” I held up my hand as a sort of parting wave towards him and turned to walk away, but a tug at my sleeve pulled me back.

“Are you lost?” the stranger asked, holding onto my sleeve. “With the way you came running over, I’m guessing you’re looking for someone? A boyfriend maybe?” He cocked his head at me in question, still not having left go of me.

“Uh, yea- I mean no. I’m supposed to be camping with my brother and friends. No boyfriend, definitely no boyfriend. But yeah, I’m lost. I was just going to drive around again when I saw you. I was hoping you were someone I knew,” I stammered out, cringing internally at myself. What was wrong with me? I spent most of my life hanging around those of the opposite sex and I’d never been affected in this manner.

“Is it the campsite near the waterfall? Because I can guide you there if you need,” the stranger asked. Was this really happening? Was a super hot guy offering to save my lost ass out in this forest?

I stared at him trying to decide whether it was a good idea or not to trust him, but before I could, he started dragging me back in the direction of my car.

“Get in. If you drive, I can direct you,” the stranger said.

I didn’t even get a chance to refuse, not that I wanted to really, before he shoved me behind the wheel of my old banger of a car and closed my door shut behind me. He then walked around the front of the car and sat himself into the passenger seat next to me.

As he sat into the car, he carried a scent in with him, a scent like fresh air. The kind of smell you get when you first open your windows on a spring morning. I was utterly mesmerized.

“I take it you’re not in a hurry?” He said with a smug voice.

I gazed to the side and the handsome stranger was looking back at me with a smirk on his face.

“Ugh, yeah sorry. So which way do we go?” The stranger chuckled and began pointing me in the direction of the campsite.

“Finally!” I shouted out.

We had just rounded a corner, and I could see a campfire flickering up ahead, with the silhouettes of people around it. It had taken us about 20 minutes of traversing the mountain, but we’d finally found the campsite.

The stranger hadn’t spoken much to me, aside from giving directions, but I felt his gaze on me the entire time. It was quite flattering, but I had never felt so self conscious in my life. I could feel his eyes following my every movement, every time I pushed my hair out of my face or licked my lips out of nervousness.

I pulled up next to the car that I recognised as my brothers new jeep, thankful that I finally found them. Now I just had the problem of getting rid of the stranger before the boys noticed him. Not that they were overprotective, but they would take any chance they could to tease me, and showing up with a boy would be prime teasing material.

I took a deep breath and turned to the passenger seat, but the man was already exiting the car.

“Hey wai-”

He was walking towards the back of the car and I had to twist in my seat to follow his movement. He paused for a moment, I’m guessing to find the button to open the booth, before succeeding and ultimately cutting off my view. I scrambled to get out of the car and stop him before he could try and do anything, but he had already managed to pick up half the bags I had stuffed in the back.

“I really appreciate all your help with getting me here, but I couldn’t possibly ask you to do anymore for me, you can leave those there, it’s fine,” I said as I fumbled out of the car and made to go to the booth. I tried to grab the bags from the stranger’s hands, but he must have been hiding some serious muscles under his shirt because all my tugging did nothing.

“Just let me help you,” he said, clearly amused at my attempts to take back my stuff. “It’s been awhile since I’ve been this interested in something.” His words caught me by surprise and I dropped my arms to my sides.

I dared to look into the eyes of the stranger and found him already gazing at me. With some form of superhuman strength, he managed to shuffle all the bags into one hand, and reached out to me with the other. Usually I’d be wary of strange men trying to get so close to me, but there was just something about this guy that shut off all reasoning in my brain. His fingers touched the side of my face and I let out a huge deep breath that I didn’t know I was holding. His hand continued across my face to tuck a piece of stray hair behind my ear, and then rested there on the side of my head. My body seemed to have a mind of its own, as I began to inch closer to the man in front of me, not breaking eye contact for a second.

“Y/n!”

I probably jumped about three feet into the hair at the sound of my younger brother calling out to me. I’d been so caught up in my moment with the stranger, that I hadn’t heard the sound of footsteps approaching. Jungkook came right up to me and pulled me into his arms, totally oblivious to the moment that he’d ruined.

Jungkook was my younger brother by 4 years, but most days he acted as if he was the older one. I know he felt pressured to become the “man of the house” once dad passed. He took on a weekend job as soon as he could, to help mom out with the bills, and he was always looking out for me too. But because of this, he was awful for showing respect to us as his elders. Not just with me, but with all our friends. He was a cheeky little shit sometimes but he was too cute and always got away with it.

“Where have you been? We were so worried about you,” my brother said, as he held me out in front of him, giving me the once over making sure I was all in one piece. I strained my neck to look behind me, searching for the stranger, while Jungkook fussed. He was still there, staring at us with a confused look on his face.

“Who’s this?” Jungkook had stopped checking me over, and instead was now focused on the man standing behind me.

“Uh, this is the guy who helped me here. I got lost on the way and he was nice enough to give me directions. His name is…” I trailed off realising that I hadn’t even thought to ask his name.

“V,” the stranger cut in, “you can call me V.” He held out his hand to Jungkook, who took it and gave it a firm shake. I stood in between the two, still trying to process the last few minutes.

“Are you up camping around here too? Do you wanna join us?” My brother asked V. That was another thing I hadn’t questioned, V had been wandering out in the forest alone with no equipment when I had found him. There was something seriously wrong with my brain not to question any of this.

“I’ve set up camp nearby, but I’ll join you for a bit, I’m in no rush to leave.” V said, winking at me as he walked off with my brother. The two of them had managed to take all my bags between them, and I was left standing there with arms empty and mouth hanging open.

I felt like I was stuck in the middle of a dream, or possibly a nightmare depending on the reaction of the rest of the gang. This stranger could be a complete psychopath, and he’s just waltzed right into our company without a hint of suspicion by anyone. What was going on?

By the time I’d made it over to the campfire, V had settled himself in between Jungkook and Jimin. Looking at the back of the two now, I wonder how I ever could’ve mistaken V for Jimin, even at a distance. The two had totally different builds, Jimin was very broad, muscled and pale, whereas V was slender and toned looking, with a slight tan to his skin tone.

I made my way to the other side of the fire, and sat down next to Yoongi, the only person I knew who wouldn’t tease me for arriving with a strange man. He was probably my favourite person out of all the boys to hang out with. We had an easy friendship, neither of us pressured the other into talking when we were in a foul mood, but we were always there for each other too when we needed to talk. We both loved to just sit at home and relax whenever we all got together, which is something none of the rest of the boys understood.

Jin and Namjoon weren’t too bad, we like to joke that they were the mom and dad of the group. They had a tendency to look out for the rest of the gang, and take charge in certain situations. But they had their crazy moments too. Then there was my brother and Jimin who were like two little children always running around the place. They were so hyperactive all the time and seemed to have a never ending supply of energy. When they got together, chances are we’d always find them off doing some sort of physical activity.

“So y/n, who knew you were the kind to pick up strangers eh?” one of the boys joked.

I hadn’t even fully sat down before the teasing began. Jimin stared across the fire at me, smirking and looking between me and the stranger he was speaking of.

“I’d say I’m less of a stranger and more of a guardian angel. Who knows how long she’d have taken to find this place if it weren’t for me,” V said, winking over at me. I swear he had an obsession with winking. The rest of the group laughed along with him and I just put my head on my lap, groaning in response.

“Well at least you’re here now,” Yoongi said sympathetically, rubbing my back. I subconsciously began to sway along with the motion of the rubbing. I loved having my back rubbed. My mom used to say I was like a cat because I melted into people whenever they rubbed my back or head. It was a guaranteed way to calm me down in most situations.

I lifted my heavy head to see V once again giving me that strange look, the same one he had earlier when Jungkook hugged me. I wouldn’t call it a jealous look or anything, more like a confused look. This was in turn confusing me, seeing as I couldn’t see why he would be looking at me like that.

“Right well I’d better go set up my tent then,” I said, standing up. It was dark which meant it would be difficult enough to set up my tent, but better to do it now while I wasn’t as tired.

“I’ll help,” Jungkook said, standing up with me. Normally I’d be a bit stubborn and refuse the help, but I’d already wasted enough time getting here tonight, I didn’t want to miss out on anything more by having to spend hours setting up the tent. I nodded over towards him as a silent thanks and collected my stuff from where him and V had dropped it earlier.

“Be back soon,” I called out and we walked over to where the rest of the tents were set up.

“Jungkook what are you- OUCH! That was my face you moron!” I shouted.

To say we were struggling was an understatement. My tent was one of those ones where you had to connect the poles and slide them through hoops in the tent, which wouldn’t have been so bad if either of us had brought something stronger than the light of our phones to see with.

“It’s not my fault you decided to stick your eye where the pole is supposed to come out!” Jungkook snapped back at me as he tried once again to stab my eye out.

“Need a hand?” V emerged through the bushes, looking ever so like the guardian angel he claimed to be. My heart rate jumped a bit at the sight of him, as if it had been weeks, rather than minutes since I’d last seen him. I was seriously going to have to get myself checked out if I was going this loopy over a man, this just isn’t like me at all.

“Yes please, you can take over here and I’ll head back to the guys before someone here gets hurt,” Jungkook said, and took off before I could even argue with what he said.

V strolled over to me, and took the pole from my hand, grazing my fingers as he did so. Once again I just kind of stood there with my mouth hanging open as V took the reins and began fixing up the tent.

“Are you an experienced camper?” I asked, amazed at the skill he was showing. His fingers worked so quickly at getting the poles to go in the right places.

“No,” he laughed, “I’m just good with my hands,” he said and winked over at me.

Once again I was glad for the darkness around us, because I know right then and there that my face must have been the brightest shade of red ever.

“You’re very fond of winking you know,” I stuttered out, trying to appear as if I hadn’t been affected by his previous words.

“It’s a new concept to me, and I like the way it seems to affect you,” he replied in a deadly serious tone.

“A new concept? Do they not wink where you’re from?” I tried to play it cool, choosing to ignore the latter half of his sentence. V got up, having finished setting up the tent, and moved to stand in front of me.

“Yes surprisingly, I’m from a pretty far away place and winking isn’t something you would see often,” he said moving closer to me, “and neither are girls like you.”

V brushed his hand up against my face like earlier, moving his hand to rest behind my ear. He began rubbing his thumb along the side of my head, and I closed my eyes, melting into his touch, and to be honest I don’t think I’d have been able to stop myself even if I wanted to.

“You really are such an interesting creature.”

I was about to ask him what he meant by that, but when I opened my eyes, I realised how close he had gotten to me. Our faces were mere inches apart and he was staring very intently at my lips.

So I kissed him.

If someone ever asked me what had possessed me to do it, I wouldn’t know what to say. Kissing strangers wasn’t something I did, I never made the first move. But it felt as though my body was working separately to my mind and just went for it.

V went rigid as soon as my lips touched his. Neither of us had closed our eyes and I could see the shocked look reflected on his face. His lips were sealed tight and had not responded at all to my touch.

I was mortified.

I started to pull back, but V’s grip on the side of my head tightened.

Then, he closed his eyes, and his mouth began to move against mine.

It was like nothing I’d ever felt.

My stomach was churning with butterflies and I thought my heart would beat out of my chest.

I closed my eyes and moved my lips back along with his. He placed his free hand on my side, and I felt my skin singing at his touch.

I moved my hands, which had been dangling by my sides, and I used them to grab the front of his shirt and pull him closer.

Our lips were moving furiously against each other, with a passion I had never before felt.

V’s hand squeezed my side, causing my ticklish self to let out a gasp, leaving my mouth open against his. He used the opportunity to gently brush his tongue along mine and I swear the movement started a fire between my legs.

It’s not as though I’d never been intimate with a boy before, but no one had ever made me feel so alive just by kissing.

I boldly pushed back against his tongue, swiping along it, enjoying the feeling of the two slick muscles rubbing off each other.

As our mouths moved, and our tongues danced together, I began to move my hands lower down his body, to his sides. Once I got a grip on his hips, I pulled his towards my lower half, mashing our bodies as close together as they could go.

V let out a growl from his throat at the contact, and wrapped his hands further around my body, until we were both so caught up in each other that you couldn’t tell where I started and he ended.

Seeing as our bodies were so close to each other, it made sense that I noticed it as soon as he did, when a movement began in his pants. Considering the intimacy between us, I wasn’t surprised to feel him getting hard. But V suddenly froze, and pushed me away.

We stood facing each other, both panting and out of breath. There was a look of pain etched across V’s face, and if he was having an internal fight with his body.

I couldn’t understand what had gone wrong, and as I took a step towards V, he took a step back.

A different feeling began to take over my stomach, this one was a feeling of dread and rejection. Had I done something wrong? Did he not want to kiss me?

“V…”

I whispered his name but trailed off, not knowing what to say.

“I’m sorry,” was all he said before he turned away and walked through the bushes, leaving me standing in the cold, having never felt so alone.

#kim taehyung #bts #bangtan sonyeondan #bts v #taehyung fanfic #bts fanfic #v fanfic #bts au #fallen angel au #angel au

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