#and she’d just laugh when I told her I wouldn’t eat the peas

[mypartoftown]

I feel some type of way when I hold something that used to belong to my grandmother. If I didn’t know better, I’d think you were singing to me now 💛

#she would sing to me about my yellow hair #and she’d do these little finger dancing to go along #she’d make me pasta and peas #and she’d just laugh when I told her I wouldn’t eat the peas #thirty home games

[viking-raider]

Southern Generation - Part II

Summary: Working for Lily is going well for Sy, but he wants her to meet a special lady in his life, and manages to get her out of the house.

Pairing: Syverson/OFC

Word Count: 5,698

Rating: PG - Language, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, Anxiety, Angst

Inspiration: An old fic I wrote and wanting to write a Sy fic.

Author’s Note: Thank you to @wondersofdreaming​

“You've been getting here more early than usual.” Lily commented, handing Sy his usual morning coffee as he arrived on the property. “You fly here like Superman or something?”

She teased him as she sat down on the brand new porch swing that Sy had built with the scrap lumber from the porch and siding.

Sy laughed and leaned back against the porch railing. “No, I've been staying at the Sunway Motel in Celina.” He confessed, crossing his ankles. “I've been too tired to drive back to Austin most days, I don't want to fall asleep at the wheel or anything. So, I've been crashing there to keep it safe, and it just makes getting back here a sight easier, than a three-hour drive.” He told her, shaking his head.

“One-way.”

“Why didn’t you tell me?” Lily frowned, offended to hear it.

“Well, I don't want you paying that out of your pocket.” He replied, frowning back at her. “It's not a big deal for me.”

“I do technically pay you to stay there, Sy.” Lily answered, shaking her head at him.

“True.” He nodded, staring at the tips of his boots. “But, I also have a Military paycheck.” He informed her. “Again,” He sighed, pressing his lips together. “I didn't want you paying for something I can pay myself. You buy enough things as is.”

“Well, I would have offered to pay for it.” She started, folding her legs. “But, I also would have offered you one of my guest rooms.”

Sy blinked at her, he hadn't expected that from her, it seemed a bit toward. That thought made him paused, blinking at himself. Did Austin 'Fuck and eat you out til you can't walk' Syverson just have an abstinent thought.

Holy fuck, I did! He thought, staring at her.

And it wasn't because Sy wasn't attracted to her, because he very much was.

She was a beautiful young lady. The way her eyes lit up, every time she smiled, even when she was being shy. She came just to his shoulder. Her hair looks so silk and soft, that it took everything in Sy's power not to reach out and caress his fingers through it to find out just how pillow-y soft it was. She was dainty, but had curves in all the right places, for Sy to hold onto her. He bit the inside corner of his lip, thinking about gripping those hips of hers and kneading them in his big mitts, to rub up against that plump, heart shaped ass, to grab or bury his face in those matching breasts.

Sy cleared his throat and took a deep gulp of his cooling coffee, praying his growing erection wasn't too obvious to her.

What a way to ruin it, Syverson. He berated himself, trying to rein himself back in.

“Anyway,” She said, breaking the silence and getting up off the swing. “The offer stands, if you want it.” She told him, and went back inside.

He stayed there long after she had gone upstairs to her office to start her own workday, even after his coffee cup was empty. He turned around, setting the empty cup on the railing and watched the sun slowly climb higher into the sky, before sighing and getting back to work, siding the back portion of the house; thinking he might start working on the roof next. Since Spring was due soon and the weatherman said it would be a cold and rainy one.

“I'm going to be late tomorrow.” Sy said, that afternoon.

“Okay.” Lily smiled, taking up his empty lunch plate and turned towards the sink. “Everything okay?” She asked, turning the faucet on to do them and the ones from breakfast.

“Everything's great.” Sy smiled, leaning back in his chair and grinning.

“I've never seen you smile so big, since we met.” She teased him, chuckling.

“I made a friend in Baghdad.” He explained, giddy. “She's finally over here in the States, so I need to pick her up at the airport.” He was excited about getting Aika again, even more so for Lily to meet her.

“I want you to meet her.” He added.

Lily's stomach clenched hearing him talk about whoever she was, a bit down to find out he apparently had someone special in his life. “I look forward to it.” She said, focusing on the plate in her hand.

“Great!” He beamed, getting up from the table. “I'm sure the two of you will be two peas in a pod!” He said, heading out the back door to finish his work.

“Totally.” Lily sighed, frowning to herself.

The next day, Lily was a complete wreck about meeting Sy's friend.

She had tossed and turned all night, barely getting any sleep as she kept thinking about the meet. She knew the woman was going to be gorgeous, why wouldn't she be, if Sy had been so excited about her being in the States and she was able to capture the attention of his ocean blues. Eventually, Lily got out of bed, tired of not finding a comfortable position and peace of mind to fall asleep. Besides, knowing her luck, she'd be subjected to dreaming about meeting the lady and all her, super model glory.

So, she padded down to her office and flipped on her computer, deciding to get her day started early and finish the few projects she had going on with a couple of clients. But, not even that helped her forget about the situation, if anything it made it worse, her leg impatiently bouncing to the tune of her agitation and self-pity. Running a hand through her hair for the hundredth time, before putting it back up, yet again, she huffed and stood up, pacing the floor of her office, from the window to the door, and back, biting her fingernails and mumbling to herself.

“Why would you even have the remotest chance with a guy like Austin Syverson?” She berated herself, yet again. “Good lord, look at the man! He's an actual man and you've never even kissed a boy. He's the whole package and you're just full of baggage. This is definition of friend zoned, and you bloody well know it!”

Sy had driven back to Austin after leaving Lily's place the night before. He was so excited to retrieve Aika from quarantine. It felt like an age since they last saw each other, but not as long as it might have felt, if he hadn't had Lily for company and the work on the farm to do, day in and day out.

“Fuck,” He huffed, drumming his thumbs on the steering wheel. “I really hope the two of them get along.” He mumbled to himself, fidgeting in his seat. “Maybe, I should have told her about Aika. What if she's allergic to dogs, or doesn't even like them?” He questioned, suddenly doubting himself. “I know she likes horses, but a dog isn't a horse, and the horse isn't on her property.” He glanced at his mobile phone in the passenger seat, questioning if he should just call Lily and tell her he's bringing his dog to the farm, for her to meet.

“No.” Sy shook his head, brushing it off. “It'll be fine. This will be great! They'll get along perfectly and it'll be a happily ever after.” He nodded, pushing himself to be positive as he pulled into the facility to pick Aika up. “Captain Austin Syverson, here for my dog, Aika.” He told the lady at the front desk, then signed the release paperwork, while they brought her out to him.

“Hey, girl!” Sy called, as Aika charged for him. “Oh, I've missed you so much, bug!” He said, rubbing her erect ears and scratched down her back, making her back leg go wild. “I've got someone special I want you to meet.” He said, getting the German Shepherd into his truck. “You're going to love her.” He smiled at Aika, who licked his scruffy cheek.

“And she's probably going to spoil you rotten.” He chuckled, pulling out of the parking space.

“Oh shit.”

Lily gulped seeing the kicked up dust cloud on the driveway, as Sy's truck approached the house and felt her heart stop, knowing at any moment, she would be meeting his special lady in a matter of minutes. She had been trying all morning to put on a brave and supportive face, not wanting to make herself look like a fool in front of them. “I can't do this.” She gulped, running into the bathroom upstairs and vomited into the bowel several times, before quickly brushing and rinsing her mouth out.

“Afternoon, Lily!” Sy yelled, getting out and giving her a wave as she stepped out onto the porch, he was positively beaming. “You ready to meet her?” He asked, gripping the handle of the passenger door.

“Yep!” She called back, forcing a smile. “As I can be.” She mumbled under her breath as Sy opened the door.

A bark filled the humid air and a big German Shepherd jumped out of the truck, jumping on Sy a few times, before noticing Lily and bee-lining for her.

“Oh.” Lily gasped, surprised that Sy's special lady, was a dog. “Hey.” She grinned at Aika, bracing herself has Aika put her paws on her chest. “Aren't you a beauty.” She said, scratching her erect ears and relieved beyond all belief.

“See, I told you the two of you would get along.” Sy said, stepping up on the porch, relieved as well.

“That you did.” Lily agreed. “What's her name?” She asked, looking up at him.

“Aika.” He replied, scratching Aika all over. “I found her as a stray during my last deployment, she was just a pup. So, I took her in and took care of her. She's been stuck in Quarantine since before I got back, and they just released her today.” He explained as Aika bolted off the porch and zoomed around the front yard.

“You don't mind me having her here, do you?” He asked, biting the corner of his lip.

“Are you kidding?” Lily laughed, watching Aika disappear in the tall grass. “She's more than welcomed here.” She assured him, with a sweet smile. “Any time.”

“She's not really used to grass.” Sy laughed, as Aika attempted to pee on every blade she could. “You might get a few holes as well.” He added, knowing the Shepherd's like to dig.

“Please, I doubt anyone will notice.” Lily giggled, looking around the neglected yard.

Sy went to work on his latest project on the property and Aika spent most of the day running around the land, investigating what Sy was up to or lounging on the floor in Lily's office upstairs. Lily sighed and rubbed her face as the phone downstairs in the kitchen rang. She pushed back in her office chair and carefully stepped over Aika, to pad down the small set of stairs that led directly into the kitchen from the upstairs.

“Hello?” She chimed, pressing the receiver to her ear with her shoulder, waving at Sy as he passed the kitchen window and rounded the side of the house, then frowned, when no one answered her greeting. “Hello?” She repeated, a little bit louder. “Are you there?” She asked, checking to make sure the call was connected properly.

“What's wrong?” Sy frowned, stepping into the kitchen as the receiver fell to the floor at their feet.

“Nothing.” She squeaked, quickly bending to pick it up. “Just being clumsy.” She told him, hanging the phone up.

“Well, who was it?” He asked, tilting his head at her strange behavior.

“I don't know.” She replied, shrugging her shoulders and ran a hand through her hair, not turning around to look at him. “They never said anything. Must have been a wrong number or something.” She told him, heart thundering in her chest. “I need to finish my work.” She said, then rushed upstairs, leaving Sy staring up after her.

“I talked to your neighbor, Billie Marlowe.” Sy said, tugging a cloth out of his back pocket and wiped his face and head with it.

“Oh?” Lily replied, stirring a bit of honey into her tea.

“Yeah, he said, his daughter, Skylar, would be competing in a barrel racing competition this Sunday, in Dallas.” He told her, studying her carefully. “I was wondering, if you had thought about, maybe, going with me?” He asked, licking his lips.

Lily froze, the container of liquid creamer hovering over her steaming cup as she stared across the table at him, eyes wide. “I-”

“Oh, come on.” Sy pressed, brow creasing. “It's my treat. I'll drive and everything. It'll do you some good to leave the house.” He tried coaxing her. “Just for an hour or two.”

Lily continued to stare at Sy, her hand growing sweaty around the plastic container, before she set it down, her shoulders slumping as she did. “All right. Only for a few hours, then we come back. I have a deadline.”

Sy burst into a grin, his blue eyes bright. “Great.” He said, rubbing his hands together. “It doesn't start until eight and her competition doesn't start until eight-thirty. So, we'll have plenty of time.” He told her, excited to go to the fair with her.

Three days later, Sy got Lily in the car and they drove forty-five minutes from Celina to Dallas. The first few minutes in the car was quiet, until Luna's nerves got the best of her.

“When was the last time you went to a fair?” She asked, looking at him.

“Oh, man.” Sy huffed, frowning out the windshield as he considered it. “I think I was sixteen, it was an end of the year thing for my Junior year at high school. I didn't go to my Senior one, since I was getting ready for basic training.” He told her.

“What about you?” He asked, glancing at her.

“Never.”

“You've never been to one?” Sy snapped, shocked.

“Nope.” She shook her head at him.

“Not even for school?”

“I was home schooled.” She explained. “My dad thought they were a suck and waste of money.”

“That's the point.” Sy laughed, shaking his head. “Wasting money on artery clogging food and probably unsafe rides. It's a rush, but mostly from all the sugar.” He grinned at her, amused.

“You'll love it, I swear.”

“I'll take your word for it, Captain.” Lily smiled back, hoping he didn't see how freaked out she was.

They finally reached the fair grounds and a place to park, Sy got them all access bracelets, so giddy as they entered the fair grounds. Lily took several deep breaths as the crowd around them thickened and stuck close to Sy. She really didn't want to ruin Sy's fun at the fair, he had been jabbering about it since she agreed to go with him, telling her about the all fun rides and food. He was like a little boy, reliving his first fair experience, and she knew it had been over ten years since he had been to one. So, she put on a brave face and tried to smile, every time he glanced at her.

Which was every few seconds.

Sy and Lily got on several rides to kill the half hour until the barrel-racing competition started under one of the big tents set up in the huge field. She rather enjoyed the Ferris wheel, just her and Sy in one seat, spaced out from everyone else on the ride. She did think she was going to throw up on the sudden drop ride, but managed to keep it down, making Sy laugh at her as he saw her face from the corner of his eye as the two of them got off the ride.

“You all right?” He chuckled, resting his hand on the small of her back.

“I think, my stomach is somewhere between my brain and my toes.” She chuckled, despite herself.

“It'll even out again.” Sy laughed with her, rubbing her back.

“Ladies and Gentleman, boys and girls,” the fair announcer came over the intercom system throughout the fair. “The Barrel-Racing Competition is due to start in ten minutes, in tent number six! So, find your seats now!” He informed the herd of fair-goers.

“Oh, we should head out that way.” Sy said, pulling out the little fair map and directed them towards the tent. “Why don't you find us a place to sit and I'll go get us something to munch and sip on.” He told her, at the tent's entrance.

“Sy..”

“It'll take two minutes.” He told her, squeezing her shoulder, then disappearing into the crowd that was trying to funnel into the tent.

“Fuck, Austin.” Lily gulped, starting to tremble as she turned into the tent and looked for somewhere to sit, before finding a place in the second row, near the exit.

Sy weaved around the countless people in the main walkway of the fair, before spotting a food vendor with something he thought Lily would love to try out and headed that direction, to standing in line. He was only in the line for a moment, when he felt a tap on his shoulder and turned around to see who it was, breaking out into a smile.

“Mr. Marlowe.” He greeted the farmer, sticking his hand out to the other man.

“Please, just call me Billie.” Marlowe replied, smiling up at Sy and shook his hand.

“Sy.” Sy answered. “You must be excited to see your little girl compete.” He said, as they stood side by side and progressed through the line.

“That I am.” Billie beamed, like the proud papa he was. “I am surprised at you though.” He added, pulling off his John Deere hat, ran his hand through his short, salt and pepper hair, and rubbed the over-tanned skin of his neck.

“Why's that?” Sy frowned, shaking his head.

“I saw Ms. Lily with you.” Billie replied as they got to the counter. “My farm has been in my family for four generations. I knew the couple that lived at Ms. Lily's place, when I was a lad. They passed away and their kids didn't want to be farmers, so they sold the place and Ms. Lily bought it a few years back. In that time, I have never seen her leave the property. The closest I've ever seen was when she fetches the mail, and she does that in a jiffy.” He laughed, stepping up to one of the two cashiers, while Sy went to the other.

“What do you mean?” Sy frowned, then gave the cashier an order for two elephant ears, a coke for himself and a Dr. Pepper for Lily.

“Oh.” Billie frowned, realizing Sy had no clue.

“'Oh', what?” Sy pressed, annoyed.

“You don't know about Ms. Lily being Agoraphobic?” Billie asked slowly, blinking at Sy with a shocked look. “I thought you knew. Practically everyone in Celina knows about it. My boy, Travis, who works at the Celina supermarket, even gets her groceries for her and delivers them, and everything.”

Sy floundered, his mouth opening and closing for a moment. “I didn't.” He sighed, clearing his throat. “I just thought she was a home-body.” He said, shaking his head. “Well, I suppose she is a home-body, it's just a bit more complicated than that.”

He felt silly, all of the signs were there, right in front of his oblivious face. He had never seen her leave the property in the weeks he was there working. She was always, either, in the house or on the porch, the furthest from the house he had ever seen her was the mailbox. She got clearly anxious about any mention of leaving to go anywhere, and her car hadn't moved since the first time he saw it in the dirt driveway. Everything made so much sense to him now, with the sudden realization he had left her, alone, in a tent full of complete strangers.

“Shit!” He barked, taking the food and drinks and rushing back to the tent. “Are you okay?” He asked, as soon as he found her in the crowded stands.

“Other than starving, I'm all right.” She replied, looking up at him.

“You're sure?” He asked and sat down beside her, he could see the tremble in her shoulders. “You're shaking.” He pointed out, his brow creasing with concern.

Why did I push her into this! He berated himself mentally.

“I'm just cold.” She frowned back, which wasn't a complete lie, it was rather nippy out and she had left her jacket in the truck.

“Oh.” Sy gulped at her, setting their snacks down on the empty bench in front of them and peeled off his Five Finger Death Punch hoodie. “Here.” He said, handing her the toasty warm garment.

“Thanks.” She blushed, pulling it on.

The comforting warmth of the fabric settled around her, wrapping her up in Sy's scent of dark vanilla, the fresh cut pine boards he had been working with, fresh air and patchouli, from his beard oil. The tremor vibrating through her body instantly subsided as she huddled herself up inside Sy's hoodie, suddenly feeling safe, safer than she had ever felt in her life before, the murmur of the crowd vanished and everyone melted away, but Sy.

Sy smiled at her, watching as she stopped shaking. “Are you still hungry?” He asked her, picking up the heavy paper plate with the lumpy and sweet pastry dough on it, covered in butter, cinnamon and brown sugar.

“What in the world is that?” She frowned down at it.

“It's called an Elephant Ear.” He chuckled, letting her take the plate from him and picked up his own. “It's delicious.”

“It's as big as one!” She chuckled, balancing it in her lap and pushed up the oversized sleeves of Sy's hoodie, not wanting to get it messy as she tore a piece of the dough off and popped it into her mouth. “Mmm.” She melted, licking her coated lips. “That is sinful.” She moaned, smiling over at Sy, who simply folded his and took a massive bite out of it.

“I told you!” He mumbled around his mouthful, grinning ear to ear.

“I might have to learn how to make these.” Lily said, tearing off a bigger piece and licked her fingers clean of the cinnamon and sugar combination.

“Oh, don't threaten to spoil a man!” Sy laughed, gently touching his shoulder to hers.

“Hey, here she is!” Lily called out, pointing to the girl entering the center of the tent atop a horse. “They look so good together!” She grinned, beaming with her own dose of pride in Skylar and Juniper.

Lily lifted her hand and waved as Skylar looked out over the crowd, she spotted Lily and waved back at her, smiling. Skylar got herself and Juniper into position, taking deep breaths to try and settle her jittery nerves and focus on her task ahead. Skylar was given the signal and she was off, speeding as fast as she and Juniper could go towards the first barrel in front of them. Lily scooted towards the edge of her seat, her half eaten elephant ear forgotten in her excitement. Skylar seemingly sailed through the cloverleaf pattern she had to make around the barrels and back to her mark.

The crowd clapped as she went out, letting the next rider and their horse take their turn at the competition. Lily finished off her elephant ear and sipped at her Dr. Pepper, eyes glued to the beautiful horses and focused riders as they went around and around the barrels, kicking up dirt as they went.

“I really hope she wins.” Lily said, looking at Sy, only to realize he had been watching her the whole time, and not the racers. “What?” She squeaked, eyes wide. “Do I have something on my face?”

“No.” He smiled back, then chuckled. “Well..” He picked up the paper napkin he was given with the elephant ears and gently brushed off a line of brown sugar and cinnamon that Lily had on her cheek. “Just a little sugar.” He told her, softly.

“But, other than that, you're...” He paused for a moment. “Perfect.” He whispered, breathlessly.

Lily gulped and her cheeks warmed, biting the inside of her lip and fidgeted inside Sy's hoodie. “Thank you.” She mumbled back. “For the..” She motioned to her cheek, shyly.

“Of course.” Sy nodded, a tender smile on his lips. “But, I hope she wins too.” He added, turning back to the event.

“All right everybody, it's time to announce the winners for first, second and third place!” The announcer said, standing in the middle of the racing area, a microphone in his hand and a big cowboy hat on his head, as his boots shined with their spurs.

Lily crossed her fingers, making Sy chuckle at her.

“In third place is,” the announcer said, lifting a clipboard he was holding. “Paige Whitley with thirty-four seconds!”

The crowd clapped and whistled as the girl came up and took her ribbon for third place, then stood to one side of the announcer.

“In second place is, Ainsley Ortega with twenty-eight seconds!”

Another round of claps, whistling and yells from the crowd as she took her place beside Paige. There was a moment of pause and the suspense was starting to drive Lily stir crazy as they waited for him to announce the first place winner.

“and the first place winner of the Dallas Heritage Fair is,” He paused for a dramatic affect. “Skylar Marlowe with twenty-one seconds!”

“Yes!” Lily shouted, her arms flying up as she bounced in her seat, overjoyed. “She did it, Sy.” She grinned at him, throwing her arms around his neck, in her moment of overzealous excitement, forgetting herself.

“She did.” Sy grinned, wrapping his arms around her and hugging her back.

He unconsciously turned his face into her hair and took a deep breath, smelling her Lavender and Rosemary shampoo in it. They stayed like that, in a timeless bubble, before they recalled themselves and pulled apart again.

“I'm sorry, I was excited.” Lily blushed, brushing her hair behind her ear.

“Same.” Sy replied, clearing his throat. “I should get you back home now, it's been two hours.” He said, picking up their empty plates, napkins and soda cans, standing.

“I-” Lily froze, watching him dump them into a trash bin nearby. “I don't—mind—staying another hour, if you're not.” She told him, a hard lump in her throat. “I mean, there's so much of the fair I haven't seen, since it's my first time, and you spent a pretty penny on our access bracelets.” She said, lifting her arm, the sleeve of his hoodie slipped down her arm, revealing her red bracelet.

“Be rude and a shame to waste it, don't you think?” She asked, staring at him, shyly.

Sy studied her for a moment, weighing what he knew of her now, but she looked and seemed all right, for the most part, just her usual shy and withdrawn self. “If you want too, Lily. Then, I'm more than all right with staying and showing you the rest of the booths.” He said, his voice soft and—protective.

“I would like that.”

Sy smiled at her, gently, then offered her his arm, which she took. He escorted them out of the tent, with the rest of the fair-goers. Sy took her around the fair ground, stopping at booths that Lily showed interest in. He paused at one booth, seeing all the stuffed animals that were hanging around it and pressed his lips together, before glancing at her and deciding to give it a shot, wanting to win something for her, so when she saw it, she'd remember the fun she had at the fair; and think of him.

It was a shooting game booth, giving the player a minute to hit as many targets as they could, each target was worth a certain amount of points and moved quickly. But, Sy wasn't at all worried, this was his element, his military career made something like this easy. So, he took up the bee-bee rifle that the booth runner gave him, slotted it against his shoulder and held it through pure muscle memory. He patiently waited for the signal for him to start, watching the painted metal targets move on their tracks.

“Ready!” the booth runner called, standing to the side. “Set! Go!”

Sy's body instantly tensed and he started firing, his movement was sharp, quick and calculated, hips and shoulders pivoting as he hit each of the targets, only missing two in the full minute he had. Lily stood beside him, fully impressed by his skill.

“Seven hundred and forty-nine points.” the booth runner read off the scoreboard at the back of the booth. “That's the highest score yet!” He said, impressed himself. “You have a pick of whatever you want, sir.” He told Sy, motioning around to the stuffed animals, some were super teeny, while others were nearly Lily's size.

Sy surveyed the selection of stuffed animals, before a certain one caught his attention and smiled at it, it was perfect for why he wanted it. “That's the one.” He said, pointing out the medium sized, curly furred and light tan, teddy bear.

“A perfect choice, sir.” the booth runner praised him, taking it down and handing it over to Sy.

“Here.” Sy smiled, turning and holding it out to Lily. “He's for you.” He told her, gently, as his heart thundered in his chest.

Lily slowly took the bear from him, it was silk soft and plush, it felt nice under her hands, making her instantly smile as she stared down at it. She was touched that Sy had gone through the trouble of winning the game to get her a prize, no one had ever done something so kind, sweet and thoughtful for her before, it made her a bit emotional.

“Thank you.” She whispered, hugging it to her chest and looked up at Sy. “I love it.” She assured him, seeing the concern in his blue eyes that she wouldn't.

“Good.” He beamed, his heart still thundering, but it felt light and hopeful. “I'm glad.”

It was nearly dark by the time Lily and Sy finished their tour of the fair grounds and headed back to the house. Lily convinced Sy to stay for dinner before he headed back home, wanting to thank him in someway for taking her to the fair and showing her such a good time, something she hadn't had in as long as she could remember.

“Your cooking never fails to amaze me.” Sy chuckled, popping the last bit of his biscuit into his mouth. “It's the definition of a great home cooked meal.” He praised her, leaning back in his chair and rubbing his lean tummy through the fabric of his shirt.

“Well, you have the appetite of a Viking.” She giggled back, blushing at her plate.

Sy laughed again, his own bearded cheeks coloring. “True enough.” He agreed, smiling brightly at her.

“Thank you for taking me today.” Lily said, speaking softly. “I really did have a lot of fun.” She confessed, shyly twisting her napkin in her hands, and thinking of the teddy bear that now took up a prized spot on her bed, upstairs.

“I did too, I'm glad you agreed to go with me.” Sy nodded, tilting his head at her. “Did us both a great deal of good to get out and do something fun.”

“I should let you take off, before it gets too late.” She answered, after a brief moment of silence. “I know it's a long drive.”

Sy cleared his throat, biting the inside of his lip, he didn’t want to bring up staying at the motel down in Celina, so the drive was easier to make and gave him more hours in the day to work on the seemingly endless list of projects that needed to be done, to get the farm back into running order, again. He didn’t want them to argue after such an amazing day.

But, he knew she was right.

“Thanks for dinner.” He said, taking his plate to the sink, wanting a reason to linger a second longer. “Good night, Ms. Lily.” He smiled at her, as they stepped out onto the porch. “I'll see you in the morning.”

“I'll be here, with coffee and breakfast waiting, as always.” She replied, standing barefoot on the smooth and solid board of the porch.

He chuckled, bidding her good night again and got into his truck. As he drove to the motel, he recalled all the smiles she had given him throughout the day and the sound of her victorious laugh, when she beat him at the ring toss game, but sweetly gave him the bracelet she won, making him glance at the macrame, blue and gold turquoise beads weaved with black thread and tied with a slip knot, that hugged his thick wrist. His skin tingled as it remembered the gentle touch of her dainty fingers as she slipped it over his hand to his wrist and tugged it secure.

Sy wasn't a jewelry person, other than his watch and his dog-tags, but for as long as he lived, he vowed to never take that bracelet off.

#Southern Generation #Southern Generation *Fic* #viking-raider fics #HenryCavill #Henry Cavill #captain syverson #Sand Castle #agoraphobia #fair #Syverson #Austin Syverson #Syverson/OFC #Syverson x OFC #Fluff #anxiety #social anxiety #barrel racing #Texas #Dallas #Celina #Austin #Hurt/Comfort #language #slow burn

[nugnthopkns]

dance me to the end of love (v)

word count: 4.6k

warnings: fem!oc, cursing, alcohol consumption, mentions of poor parenting and damaged familial relationships

series masterpost: here

a/n: and just like that we're halfway through!!! it's crazy to think about it. however, lots happens in this chapter so buckle up peeps

Soon Magdalene’s feelings are going to get the better of her.

She knows she’s heading down a dangerous path but she can’t help it. Ryan is like a drug she can’t get enough of even though she knows it will hurt her in the long run. Living with him has opened her up to the laid back, intelligent, incredibly funny man he is and Magdalene doesn’t know how she’s ever going to function in her own space ever again. They complement each other like two peas in a pod, and everyone else is starting to catch on to the shift in their relationship.

“When are you going to fess up to Ryan about your feelings?” Bette asks as the two of them sit on the lawn across from the university library. It’s mid October, but the weather is still warm enough that Magdalene eats her lunch outside. Her best friend decided to join her today, no doubt knowing that she’s feeling a little lonely. The Avalanche are in the middle of their season opening road trip and have been gone for nearly five days. Ryan’s condo feels empty without him in it, and Magdalene misses him an unfathomable amount.

“Never, if I can help it,” she replies casually, taking a bite of the turkey wrap that Bette brought her from Barn Owl.

The blonde scoffs. “Fuck off. You have to. What are you going to do when he gets back from Florida and you tackle him as soon as he steps through the door.”

“Caligula will get there first,” Magdalene shrugs. “Those two are thick as thieves.”

Truthfully, Magdalene wasn’t sure what she was going to do. This is the longest they’ve been separated since she moved in and it’s proving to be a harder adjustment than she thought. Magdalene feels a little silly missing him so much – she went nearly twenty-six years without knowing Ryan but now he’s imprinted on her soul for the rest of eternity. Living without him seems impossible.

Bette drops the conversation then, almost as if she knows Magdalene is in her own world thinking about what to do. She mentions the upcoming home opener and her plans to attend with a couple of the other wives and girlfriends. “We’re going out beforehand and you should join us! I really think you’d like most of them.”

The bell in the clock tower rings, signalling the start of another hour, and Magdalene promises she’ll consider the offer as they pack up the picnic and say goodbye. It’s a short walk back to the building she works in, seeing as they were only across the street, but it takes a while for the elevator to come around. Magdalene could have taken the stairs down to the basement but they scare her a lot more than she’d like to admit. Hopefully June won’t mind her being a few minutes late.

Her boss doesn’t look too pleased when Magdalene strolls through the door almost seven minutes later then she should have, but as soon as she tosses the cookie Bette brought her in June’s direction all is forgiven. They work in near silence all afternoon, background noise provided by the small stereo in the corner and their respective grunts of frustration when an image doesn’t digitize properly. The university has finally decided to undertake the massive project of making all their school records available to the public online, and Magdalene and June are in charge of getting all the files ready before sending them to IT for installation into the website. It’s a huge task and is going to take them the better part of a month and a half to finish. Magdalene spends the rest of her work day finishing up a box of graduation records from the 1870s and leaves smelling of very old paper.

On the drive home she considers the invitation Bette extended to her. Magdalene knows she’ll be attending the game, having promised Ryan before he left that she’d be there, but she doesn’t know how to feel about going out for dinner and drink beforehand – especially with people so involved with the team. She isn’t like them, in nearly every sense of the phrase, and doesn’t want people to get the wrong idea. It wouldn’t be fair to Ryan for people to assume they’re together in case he ever does want to bring someone around, but Magdalene can’t help thinking that the speculation wouldn’t hurt. Perhaps it would be the clue that shows him how she feels.

The invite stays in the back of her brain while she heats up leftovers and eats quickly, knowing that Ryan will call soon. He’s like clockwork with his precise game day routine, and he always calls shortly after four o’clock when out east. Magdalene’s phone buzzes from the spot beside her on the couch and she quickly scoops it up and accepts the call.

“Hey,” she says, a little breathless because she’s so excited to talk to him.

“Hey yourself. How was work?” Magdalene can tell Ryan’s got a smile on his face even though she can’t see him. She indulges the question, telling him all about the stuff she digitized and what’s next. Though she always tries to get out of talking about work, fearing it will bore the daylights out of him, Ryan insists on hearing every detail Magdalene wants to share. He finds it all fascinating and tells her so every chance he gets. During her monologue Caligula wanders over and becomes extremely invested after he hears Ryan laugh at something Magdalene said. The small white cat jumps onto Magdalene’s lap and tries to paw the phone away from her ear.

“Hold on, I’m putting you on speaker. Little boots would like to talk.”

At the sound of Ryan’s greeting, Caligula starts meowing up a storm. It’s as though he’s actually holding a conversation with the man, waiting for Ryan to say something before he continues to make noise. Magdalene laughs through what could barely classify as a conversation until the cat gives her space to talk again.

“So,” she says, drawing out the word in an attempt to make Ryan laugh. “Bette asked me to join her and some of the other girls for drinks before Friday’s game.”

Ryan’s responding before Magdalene has finished uttering the last words. “That’s great! I think you should go.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah,” he says sheepishly, “It would be nice for you to know someone other than Bette.”

Magdalene is surprised at the response, but tries her hardest to keep her tone light and teasing. “Why, you plan on keeping me around Mr. Graves?” She can tell Ryan is struggling to come up with an answer because there’s a fair amount of sputtering on the other end of the line.

“I’d be stupid to let you go.”

All the breath in Magdalene’s lungs escapes her. She didn’t expect him to say something like that, and it sends her mind reeling. What does he mean? Unable to process the comment, Magdalene makes up an excuse and hangs up as quickly as possible. She spends the rest of the night wondering if Ryan was trying to make a move and deciding how she should handle his homecoming in a few days.

☼☼☼☼

When Ryan gets home Thursday morning Magdalene is at work. Caligula is happy to see him, practically pouncing on him and purring so loud Ryan’s sure the neighbours heard the cat. For an animal so small, Caligula can make a lot of noise if he wants.

“Hi boy,” Ryan coos, adjusting his grip on the cat so he doesn’t get dropped while the two of them move around the house. “Did your mom talk about me while I was gone? Been thinking about her a lot lately.”

The cat doesn’t respond, of course, but Ryan finds comfort in vocalizing his emotions. Multiple times on the road trip Tyson made fun of him for the silent pining he’s found himself participating in since Magdalene moved in, and hinted that she might have said something to Bette. Neither of them are great at keeping secrets, but Ryan also knows they want him and Magdalene to get together and aren’t above manipulation to achieve their goals. He doesn’t know how Magdalene actually feels, but Ryan isn’t willing to risk losing their friendship. Just a couple of months ago she sat on the deck of the lake house and told him she wasn’t looking for a relationship – he has to assume that’s still her position because if he doesn’t Ryan isn’t quite sure what he’ll unleash. Though the two of them are close, closer than most friends, Magdalene stills keeps a lot of things to herself and Ryan doesn’t want to pry. When, and if, she’s ready he knows she’ll come to him.

Exhausted from the countless hours of travel he’s endured over the past few days and the pains that come along with being a professional athlete, Ryan falls back onto the couch cushions. He hurts in places he didn’t know existed and wants to do nothing but sleep. Caligula settles into his stomach, purring contently, and though he knows he should unpack his gear, Ryan can’t find the energy to move himself or the cat. Everything will still be there when he wakes up, and hopefully Magdalene will be on her way home. She texted Ryan earlier in the morning, no doubt just before she headed out the door, to say that she was taking some holidays to have a long weekend and would be home around noon. Sleep comes easy with Caligula nestled against his body, and Ryan dreams of Magdalene as he frequently does.

☼☼☼☼

Despite Bette telling her countless times she shouldn’t be, Magdalene is nervous. The significant others of the Colorado Avalanche are a tight knit group and are very particular with who they let in. Magdalene is a nothing, has no true connections to the team besides being Tyson’s girlfriend’s best friend, and she’s worried she won’t make the cut. If it wasn’t for Bette picking her up in the morning Magdalene would have found a way to get out of drinks, but the blonde made sure she couldn’t make a run for it.

Sitting in the elevated booth, she not-so-casually sips her glass of wine while Bette tries to calm her down. “They’re going to hate me,” she groans, lowering her head to rest it on the table.

“Shut the fuck up,” Bette counters. “You literally know most of them, and Livy will be here if you get too uncomfortable, but most of them were at EJ’s back in May.”

Magdalene can’t argue with the truth, so she rolls her eyes and finishes her drink. By the time she flags down the waiter for a refill the other girls have arrived. They take turns hugging Bette and shuffling into their seats. Magdalene feels awkward with no one acknowledging her, but she does her best to buck up and deal with it. It means a lot to Bette, and Ryan, that she’s here trying to make friends so she’ll at least make an effort.

A blonde who looks a little older than the rest addresses her first. “I’m not sure if you remember me, but I’m Mel. I think we met last season at a game.”

It takes Magdalene a second to recall the face, but then she recognizes Mel as the person who alerted her to the fight Ryan got into to defend Tyson. “Oh yeah,” she chuckles, though it’s still got a nervous quality, “You’re the one who was yelling about Ryan’s fight.”

Everyone looks at her like Magdalene had confessed to seeing a ghost. “What’s the matter?”

“No one ever calls him that,” a petite girl with tight curls explains. “We all just call him Gravy.”

“Oh.”

Magdalene isn’t sure what the comment is supposed to mean, or if it even meant anything at all, but she does her best to push it aside because Livy is trying to catch up with her. The rest of the outing goes well – Magdalene keeps quiet until someone gives an inaccurate analogy about Rome and she has to correct them. It may make her seem stuck up, but she really hates when people spread misinformation. Everyone laughs, and after that it’s hard for Magdalene to stay silent. She talks about work and college, but when someone asks about home she shuts down. Bette notices the shift in her behaviour before Magdalene’s face has even dropped, and shifts the conversation in another direction. Soon it’s a respectable time to head to the arena and they all pay their tabs, Magdalene going first and then ducking out of the bar that became crowded while they were sitting down.

The fresh air feels good against her skin, and she takes the time alone to regulate her thoughts. There’s still several hours until she can return home and cry in the shower over the mention of her family so it’s important to present a calm facade. Bette comes out slightly ahead of the other girls and checks in with her friend, but Magdalene assures her she’s okay. It was a bit of a spook, but the other girls have no idea about how fucked up her familial situation is so Magdalene can’t hold it against them. The arena is a few blocks over, so the group walks towards it at a brisk pace. Magdalene’s mind is still churning from the bar when they step inside, so she peels off from the rest of the group. Warm ups are about to start and she knows that seeing Ryan will help to calm her down, at least until they can go home and she can sequester herself away from the rest of the world.

She finds a space against the glass and strains her eyes for her new favourite number. Ryan hasn’t made it out on the ice yet, but Tyson gives her a big wave when he skates past. It takes a few seconds, though it feels like years, but Ryan eventually steps out, all long limbs and hair and dazzling smile as his teammates give him big hi-fives. Magdalene doesn’t want to intrude but she needs to spend a few moments with him to feel completely present. When he skates by she waves shyly, and Ryan doubles back once he realizes who it is.

“There’s my favourite girl!” he shouts over the crowd, making sure Magdalene can hear.

The phrase brings a smile to her face, which in turn makes Ryan light up more. “Hi Ry,” she yells back. “I just wanted to come and say hi.”

Ryan’s heart warms at her words, but he knows that’s not the only reason. He’s lived with her long enough to know that something is bothering her but he isn’t going to push. There isn’t much time to have a conversation, so Ryan takes the time to make plans for after the game. “You riding home with me?”

Magdalene nods. “Yeah. Bette picked me up this morning so I didn’t drive.”

The loud sound of sticks clapping against the ice startles them both, and it’s Ryan’s teammate’s way of getting him to refocus. Magdalene says goodbye and before Ryan heads back to the bench he flips a puck over the glass for her. She smiles brightly, and watches him skate away. On her way up the stairs she hands it to a little girl wearing a much too big Graves jersey. It makes her night, and Magdalene returns to the private box she’s watching the game from feeling much lighter than when she entered the arena.

☼☼☼☼

Later, much later, after all of Ryan’s post game media and sitting through the traffic of downtown, Magdalene opens up about what was bothering her at the arena. The two of them are curled up in Ryan’s bed buried under a mass of blankets with several pillows strewn about. It’s become a frequent place for them to spend time, and every time they lay down Magdalene rests her head on Ryan’s chest and he keeps her in place with his arms wrapped tightly around her. Magdalene’s clutching his hoodie tighter than usual, her voice small as she speaks into the darkness of the room.

“I didn’t just want to say hi earlier.”

Ryan isn’t surprised by her confession, but wants to know what caused the surprise visit. “No? What was it?”

Magdalene lift head and shifts to face him, propping herself up with an open palm. “It’s kind of stupid,” she mumbles, feeling dumb for even bringing it up. Ryan doesn’t want to know the sob story that is her past life. “But it’s mostly okay now.”

“You don’t have to tell me, and I don’t want to push, but I think getting it off your chest will help,” he whispers, feeling like talking in a normal voice could startle the girl in front of him.

He’s right – Magdalene knows it. Telling someone the truth, as much of the truth as she can share, other than Bette would do her some good. Her therapist once said Magdalene needed to work on letting people in, and she figures there’s no one better than Ryan. “One of the girls asked me about home when we were getting drinks, and it’s just a really sore subject for me. I shut down and just needed to see you to ground myself.” Ryan goes to talk, but Magdalene continues. “No one really knows, but I left for Denver as soon as I graduated high school. My parents weren’t the greatest, and I suffered a lot emotionally at home. When I told them I was leaving, they told me never to come back and we haven’t spoken since. So yeah, that’s pretty much it. And I just needed to see you to remind myself that I’m okay without my family. You’re part of my family now, the one that really matters.”

Ryan is speechless. “Oh bug,” he sighs, heart hurting for all the pain Magdalene has experienced in her life. “I’m so sorry.” He wants to scream for her, maybe even break something, but all his anger dissipates when he looks down and sees her crying. Silently, Ryan wipes away the tears with the pad of his thumb and holds Magdalene until she stops trembling. They lay in silence for a while, sitting with the weight of the confession she just made. At some point Caligula shuffles in and finds a spot at Ryan’s side that isn’t occupied by Magdalene. The three of them feel like a little family, and it’s too good for Magdalene not to do something about.

“Can I kiss you?”

She’s never been so confident while asking a question. Magdalene knows he wants to kiss Ryan, has known for a while, and after baring her soul to him it seems like an appropriate time to take the plunge. They’ve never truly been just friends and everyone around them, including themselves, knows it.

“Mags,” Ryan says in a gentle yet stern voice, “I’m not gonna kiss you. You’ve just been very vulnerable with me, which I appreciate, and though I really really want to fucking kiss you I’m going to take advantage of you like that.”

If it were possible, Magdalene’s heart would expand so much it would be close to bursting. “I promise this is what I want and that I’ve been thinking about it for a long time. So please shut the fuck up and let me kiss you.”

She leans forward to connect their lips, and it feels like a fire has been ignited in her veins. Ryan is soft and gentle with the right amount of grit to make Magdalene weak in the knees. They move in tandem, giving and taking where necessary, and by the time they pull apart for air Magdalene thinks she’ll never be able to kiss anyone other than Ryan. When he looks at her, eyes kind and glimmering with light, Magdalene is certain kissing other people is off the table.

Neither of them make an effort to talk about what just happened or what it means. Instead, Magdalene kisses him again, and again, and keeps going until she’s completely out of breath. There’s no protest from Ryan, and he looks as blissful as Magdalene feels. She rests her head on his chest again and he cards his fingers through her hair as they sit in the comfortable silence that surrounds them.

☼☼☼☼

Magdalene keeps kissing Ryan, and he keeps kissing her. It’s always in the safety of his apartment, oftentimes with Caligula in the way, but wholesome and loving and warm. They haven’t defined their relationship, and truthfully Magdalene is glad. She likes being friends with Ryan and doesn’t know how the added pressures of dating would affect them – though she might like kissing him more than just being friends.

It becomes routine for either of them to reach for a kiss before heading to the door. Magdalene gets one every time she leaves for work, and if she’s there before Ryan has to leave for games he’s pulled into her lips by his tie. It’s fun and it’s new and Magdalene never wants it to end. She keeps the secret for a couple weeks, but eventually it becomes too much to hold in and she tells Bette one Saturday when they meet for brunch at Barn Owl because the boys are away.

“I kissed Ryan.” It’s out of her mouth like a bullet, cutting through the air and ringing out. Bette is shocked, jaw dropping, only to open further when Magdalene corrects herself. “Been kissing Ryan, actually.”

“You’re fucking joking,” Bette laughs, still not one hundred percent sure Magdalene is being serious. When the brunette nods her head, she squeals in what can only be presumed as delight. “Shut up! Tell me everything!”

Magdalene indulges her friend, and spills every detail she’s willing to share. Part of her wants to keep a bit of her life with Ryan a secret so she does, but Bette is more than willing to work with the information given. She listens carefully while Magdalene talks and waits until there’s nothing more to say before diving into a long list of reasons why kissing Ryan is the best thing that’s ever happened to her friend. Magdalene isn’t sure that it’s great because Bette will always have someone to go to games with, but she is in agreement that it is one of the best choices she’s ever made. They spend the rest of the morning giggling like school girls over potential love and Magdalene heads back to Ryan’s place feeling light and airy.

☼☼☼☼

The first thing Ryan does when he comes home is kisses Magdalene. She’s sitting on the couch with Caligula on her lap reading a book, and he doesn’t even bother to drop his bags on the floor before leaning over the worn leather and connecting their lips. It feels heavenly after the days-long absence and Magdalene chases his lips when Ryan pulls away.

“I missed you.”

They’re three words that shouldn’t mean much, but coming from him they send Magdalene spiralling. He missed her? The girl who spends her days geeking out over old documents and talks to her cat? Regardless of how true the statement is she appreciates it, because Magdalene missed Ryan more than she could ever explain.

“How was the flight home?” she asks, twirling a lock of his hair around her index finger and pulling him down for another kiss. Ryan happily obliges, and kisses her until Caligula begins to meow for attention. The cat practically launches himself into Ryan’s arms as he rounds the corner to sit down next to Magdalene, and purrs loudly at being reunited with the tall man.

Ryan laughs at the animal’s antics before wrapping his spare arm around Magdalene and pulling her close. “It was fine. We hit a bit of turbulence that made it hard to sleep but I managed,” he replies, and reaches for the television remote. Magdalene hums in response, resting her head on Ryan’s shoulder and returning her attention to the book in her hands. It’s silent except for the low buzz of the television as Ryan reviews tape, but neither of them mind. Co-existing is enough for both of them, and it’s peaceful and easy. The occasional conversation occurs but they mostly do their own thing, enjoying the feeling of being together again. More than a few kisses are shared, and Magdalene eventually pries herself away from Ryan long enough to make dinner.

They stayed glued to each other until Magdalene falls asleep. Ryan doesn’t even notice when it happens, but eventually he tries to leave the couch to get a glass of water and finds dead weight on top of him in the shape of the girl he just might love. Magdalene’s snoring softly, and he’s positive there is nothing more adorable in the entire world. A glance at the clock on the wall alerts Ryan to the fact that he should go to bed too, and he begins to brainstorm how to get Magdalene into bed without waking her. She’s been exhausted lately, working extended hours, and he knows she needs all the rest she can get.

It takes a few moments to coordinate, but Ryan gets himself upright without Magdalene realizing she’s no longer using him as a pillow. Gently he scoops her into his arms and pads down the hallway, careful not to hit her ankles on the walls or door frames. Once inside her room, Ryan tucks Magdalene into bed and makes sure her phone is on the nightstand just where she likes it. She looks so content in sleep that he can’t help but lean down and press a shirt kiss to her forehead.

“Night Mags,” he whispers into the dark, wondering if she’ll wake and hear all the adoration his voice holds.

Magdalene stirs at the noise, and opens her eyes to see Ryan’s retreating figure. “Night Ry.”

It’s late, approaching two in the morning, when Magdalene’s phone starts ringing off the hook. Though Ryan has told her multiple times that she doesn’t need to turn her sound on before she goes to bed, she can never find it in her to heed his words. What if there’s an emergency somewhere and some hospital has to get a hold of her? Magdalene would never be able to forgive herself if she was too late because she slept through the incoming calls.

Despite her underlying fears of missing something important, Magdalene considers letting it go to voicemail. She’s exhausted, between the high maintenance projects at work and trying her hardest to go to every Avalanche home game she can, and if it’s urgent she’s sure the person will call again if they need her. It rings three more times before Magdalene decides to pick it up – if only to stop the incessant noise.

Not bothering to even see who’s calling at such an ungodly hour, Magdalene speaks in a sleep-laden voice that betrays what she was doing not even a minute prior. “Hello?”

Bette answers her, offering a quick but sincere apology for the time but explaining that it couldn’t wait. Magdalene groans in contempt, thinking that it most certainly could have waited a few more hours. She doesn’t voice her opinion however, instead waiting for her friend to spill whatever news was making her bounce up and down on the other side of the line.

She’s about to hang up when Bette utters a sentence Magdalene’s been waiting for but never thought she’d hear at one fifty-seven am. “I’m getting married!”

☼☼☼☼

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#ryan graves imagine #ryan graves x oc #ryan graves fic #colorado avalanche imagine #nhl imagine #nhl fic #hockey imagine #hockey fic #cwrites #dmtteol

[vnderoos]

in the stars ✷ draco malfoy

(gif is not mine, credit to the owner) warnings / language, slytherin!reader, half blood prince setting word count / 4.6k

masterlist in bio ↴

Y/N LEANED AGAINST THE STONE wall outside of Professor McGonagall's classroom, like she always did, with her arms crossed over her chest as she waited for Draco to meet her outside. She'd come from her Potions class with Slughorn and she couldn't wait to tell him that she'd actually nailed her brew that day. It wasn't uncommon for her to feel lost in that class, finding herself much more adept when it came to Charms or Transfiguration, but that day was the first time in a while where she'd felt like she hadn't totally fudged everything.

She pushed herself off of the wall with a sense of eagerness when she saw Draco's head of striking, blonde hair sail out of the doors. A bright smile painted itself onto her face, expecting him to head right towards her so she could gush about her accomplishment and maybe, just maybe, get a huff of amusement from him as a congratulations, but he walked right past her. It was like he didn't even see her as he walked by, his blue eyes staring straight through her, and her smile faltered.

Sure, he'd been a little quieter than usual and they hadn't hung out outside of class as much as they used to, but he'd never blatantly ignored her like that.

It stung a little, honestly.

Shaking the confusion off of her face and unfurrowing her brows, Y/N took off after him. "Oi, Malfoy," she called and she shoved her way through the crowd of other students parading through the hallways, shooting off one cold glance after another at those who refused to budge right away. "What the hell was that, you git?" she confronted and he didn't even seem fazed. She knew bloody well that she was in earshot, but he was just shutting her out and she didn't know why. "Draco, please." She reached out and grabbed his wrist in one last attempt, hoping to get something out of him.

Before she could plead with him anymore and make herself seem even more pathetic, Draco whipped around to face her. "Bloody hell, Y/N, don't you understand that I don't want to deal with you right now?" he spat, the words biting into her skin like they had fangs, and he ripped his arm from her grasp. "Just piss off already."

After he delivered the final blow, Y/N's eyebrows lifted in shock and she stopped in her tracks. She watched him as he strode away, his black and green robes billowing behind him, and she stood frozen in the middle of the hallway. The students that she'd fought her way through before passed her by once more, some of their shoulders knocking against hers as they maneuvered themselves around her.

Just piss off already.

The words echoed in her head, even after she'd composed herself well enough to make her way back towards the dungeons.

—

When dinner came around, Y/N found herself picking at the food on her golden plate, separating her mixed vegetables into individual piles almost without thinking. Usually, she'd be sat across from Draco, trying to make him laugh at one of her stupid jokes, which would normally result in him throwing a pea or two at her and rolling his eyes, but he'd been distant lately. Clearly. He hadn't even shown up to the Great Hall that night, and she assumed he was probably off doing something he shouldn't be.

He had told her weeks ago, before he'd started to pull away, that he'd been chosen to help the Dark Lord with one of his plans. He'd been sneaking away a lot, to the Room of Requirement, where he'd been working tirelessly in an attempt to repair the Vanishing Cabinet, but as far as she knew, it was all still a work in progress.

She figured that all of it must've been taking a toll on him—that he must've started to feel the crushing weight of the stress—and she wished he could understand that he didn't have to dissociate from her like he was, but Draco had never been one to seek comfort in others. She learned a long time ago that he tended to deal with things alone, even if that meant pushing away the people around him. She never thought she'd become one of those people, but here she was, going through the first day since their first year where she and Draco hadn't properly spoken, and it sucked.

Y/N still had Pansy and Blaise, both of whom she loved dearly, but talking with them wasn't the same as talking with Draco. They didn't understand her like he did, nor did they listen even half as well.

Plus, she had never spoken it out loud, but she cared for Draco much differently—much more deeply—than she cared for the other two.

A sudden pain in her side brought her out of her swirling thoughts, snapping her back into the hustling and the bustling of the Great Hall, and it took no time at all for her to realize that Pansy had just elbowed her in the ribs. "Watch it, would you, Parkinson?" she grumbled, rubbing her fingers over her side even though it had hardly hurt.

Pansy scoffed and tucked a strand of her shiny, black hair behind her ear. "Wouldn't have to if you weren't in sodding space right now. I don't think I've ever seen you so distracted," she pointed out, leaning against her sweater-clad arms which happened to have been crossed over the tabletop.

Y/N rolled her eyes and she looked over at Blaise, who bore the same nosey expression. He washed the food in his mouth down with a sip of the liquid in his chalice and he nodded his head in agreement. "Pans is right. What happened today?" he pried and he set down his fork, so he could prop one of his elbows up on the table and lean his head into his hand. "You look like a kicked pup," he added.

"Bloody Malfoy is what happened," she confessed, knowing it would be no use to hide anything from the two. They'd have bugged it out of her, either way. "I waited for him to get out of McGonagall's, like usual, and the twit didn't even acknowledge me. He told me to 'piss off', can you believe that?" She asked, rolling a couple of carrots around on her plate.

Blaise shrugged his shoulders at that and Pansy sighed. As they recalled, Draco hadn't seemed all-too-thrilled to see them lately, either. "Don't take it personally, Y/N/N. That's just Draco being Draco," Pansy promised, knocking her with her elbow again, but softer and on her bicep that time.

Blaise nodded in agreement. "Yeah, he's been a bit off with us, as well," he included, backing up the statement of the raven-haired girl. "He's been short with us all day."

Y/N furrowed her eyebrows at them, glancing between the two of them. "Short with you? At least he's willingly spoken to you," she bit back, harsher than she'd intended to, and a look of discomfort crossed onto her friends' faces. She felt a pang of guilt at the severity of her tone, but she pushed it down, knowing they wouldn't hold it against her. "He barely even looked at me after class. I was practically begging for his attention," explained Y/N.

Pansy managed a tight-lipped smile. "Surely, it was just the result of a bad day. I can't imagine he's seriously upset with you," she said, trying to sound reassuring, but she came off like she was trying to sound hopeful herself.

Y/N didn't buy it, though, and she shook her head. "I can't believe he's talked to the both of you today, but he chose to blow me off. He's acting like he hates me, now, but it's fine," she vented, trying to blow off some steam but the anger began to bubble up more in the pits of her stomach. How could Draco ignore her like that when she'd done nothing but walk through the fire with him? How could he be so quick to push her away when all she wanted was to help him do what he thought was best for himself? "It's just Draco being Draco, yeah?" she snapped, reiterating what Pansy had told her earlier, and she threw her silverware down onto the table. It clattered across the wood and a few of the other Slytherins turned their heads towards her to send her a glare. She looked around at the few of them, before she pushed herself into a standing position. "If you two would excuse me, I think I'm done eating," she growled.

She hadn't meant to come off as angry at Pansy or at Blaise, because she wasn't, but as she stormed out of the room, she decided she'd apologize to them both the following morning. Right now, she was too pissed off at Draco for ignoring her, at herself for not trying harder to make sure he knew he wasn't alone, and at the fucking Dark Lord for putting this sort of pressure on him in the first place. The entire situation was mad and Y/N was done with it. She was tired after worrying about Draco all day and she much preferred a night alone in the girl's dormitory to one where she picked at her food and wallowed in her own thoughts the whole time.

Her walk back to her dorm had been quiet, due to almost all of the other students being back at dinner. As she stepped into the room she shared with Pansy and a few of the other girls, she figured she had at least an hour to mope around before they all returned and disturbed the peace and quiet.

A sigh left her lips as she shrugged her robe from her shoulders, folding it neatly and setting it on her bedside table after. She ripped off every other unnecessarily difficult part of her uniform—her green tie, her sweater vest, and her newly-polished shoes—and she untucked her button-down shirt. She dropped her shoes on top of the trunk at the end of her bed, threw everything else over her robe, and when she felt like she could breathe again, she let herself flop onto her mattress.

Y/N sunk into it upon impact, relishing in the immediate comfort that it offered her, but when she rolled over to stare up at the canopy over her bed, something crumpled beneath her. She reached beneath her back and pulled out a piece of neatly-folded parchment—or at least it had been before she laid on it. She turned the paper over in her fingers and ran her thumb over the surface.

If this was another note from Millicent Bulstrode asking her to do her Charms homework, she was going to set the girl's entire mattress on fire.

When she unfolded the piece of parchment, she was surprised that she didn't find Millicent's jumbled, blocky lettering. Instead, the handwriting was long, slanted, and familiar. Considering she'd received dozens of letters from him in the past, it didn't take but a few seconds for her to identify it as Draco's.

Meet me in our spot at midnight.

Y/N's heart fluttered in her chest as her eyes flickered over his message not once, not twice, but three times, just to make sure it was actually there. Part of her wanted to rip the paper to shreds right then and there, but the other part knew that because it was the first time he'd been the one to reach out in a while, it must've been important.

Especially if he'd placed it there after what happened that afternoon.

Deciding that she would meet him when the time came, Y/N tucked the piece of parchment beneath her pillow and laid her head on top of it.

—

Y/N's stomach churned as she walked up the steps to the Astronomy Tower, happy she traded her black shoes for her something with a rubber sole, or she would've been clacking the entire way up. She hugged her robe, which she'd snagged off of her table on her way out of the dorm, tighter against her body, hoping it'd be enough to trap her body heat since she'd left her sweater back in the dungeons.

As she stepped up the winding staircase, she half-hoped that Draco would be running late, so she wouldn't have to be the one to start the conversation, but her hopes dissipated when she saw him already leaning against the railing. His elbows were propped against the wood, his hands were clasped out in front of him, and his head was tilted towards the sky. His blonde hair looked almost silver in the night and the moonlight cast sharp shadows over his face, but he looked almost peaceful as he stared into the stars. She found herself wanting to stand there and admire him just as intently as he admired the night sky, because he was all-too-enchanting, but he was waiting for her.

Instead, she hesitantly walked up behind him. "Hello, Draco," she said softly and he hummed out in greeting, pushing himself off of the railing in order to face her. Despite the rockiness between them lately, she wasted no time in stepping closer to him, slotting her arms through his and wrapping them around his torso.

Usually, when she hugged him, Draco would give her an awkward pat on the back, mutter a 'that's long enough, y/l/n', and push her away, but to her surprise, he hugged her back. His arms closed around her tightly, with an intensity she'd never felt from him, and he pulled her in as close as he could to his chest. "It wasn't your fault—when I snapped at you this morning," he murmured. "A lot's been happening. I've been meaning to— I've..." he started to say something, but his words were lost in her hair.

Y/N only hugged him tighter. She ran her fingertips up and down his spine comfortingly, like his outburst that afternoon hadn't even happened, and she propped her chin up on his shoulder. "S'okay. I've missed you, too," she hummed, her stomach lurching as she did, almost nervous that she'd misinterpreted him, but he sighed against her. He seemed grateful that she knew what he meant without him having to force it out of his throat. After all, he'd never been one for sentiment. "Is everything alright?" She questioned and she softly pulled herself out of his embrace.

Y/N took to the railing, leaning against it, and Draco positioned himself next to her. He shrugged his shoulders and ran one of his hands upwards over his, carding his fingers backwards through his hair and leaving it all disheveled after he had. "Nothing's been alright for a while, now." Draco sounded so tired and dreary, and now that she was up close, she could see the purple curves of the dark circles under his eyes. She'd known that he'd been worried about everything for a while now, that the Dark Lord's task had been getting under his skin, but she hadn't realized how badly it'd been eating away at him. "I'm trying to mend the cabinet, but I can't seem to figure it out. Everyone else is on the outside and it's like I'm doing all of this alone, Y/N/N," he confessed and she fought the urge to scoop him back up in her arms again.

"I know it feels like that, but it doesn't have to. I would help you if you needed me to, you know I would," Y/N told him quietly and Draco did know that.

She was as tough as nails when you looked at her individually, but if you threw him into the mix, she would always be weak when it came to him and he knew that. He'd never admit it, but he'd always taken a sort of pride in being her soft spot. It was in times like this, though, that the title came with a price. She must've seen the conflict on his face, because she placed her hand over his softly in an attempt to comfort him.

It was there for all of a second before he ripped his hand away. "No," he told her.

"Draco, you just said—"

"Merlin, Y/N, I know what I said, but it wasn't a bloody cry for help, don't you get that?" He hissed and she flinched at the sudden change in his tone. "He gave this task to me. Me. I don't need your help, you aren't even in the cards."

"Oh, okay." When Draco saw the look that crossed onto her face, the glossiness in her eyes, and the way that her head fell forward in defeat, he wanted to take it back. He wanted to retract everything he'd said, but the damage had already been done. "I was just trying to make you feel better about it. I didn't mean to upset you," she explained quietly and he could hear the whisper in her voice as tears started to well up in her eyes. It wasn't that she was sad, but the fact that it was starting to seem like he'd only invited her there just to bite her head off again was beyond frustrating. "You really have some nerve, Malfoy," she muttered, turning her head away from him as a tear rolled down her cheek, because she refused to give him the satisfaction of seeing it.

"Oh, don't—" he started to snap again as he pushed himself off of the railing for the second time, but he caught himself. He sighed and he held his hand out, as if to offer her comfort with a clap on the shoulder, but as he did it, he hesitated. He settled for a stiff hand on her back, instead. Her eyes were still fixated on anything but him. "Look, I know. I didn't mean it that way, alright?" He told her and his hand slid off of her when she finally looked over at him. "I meant there's no place for you in what the Dark Lord's planning. It's dangerous." He hoped she would be less angry with him after his rewording.

Draco honestly hadn't meant to make it seem like he didn't want her around, but as far as he was concerned, Y/N was pure. She might've been a Slytherin and she might've stepped on a few toes for her own benefit here and there, but she hadn't been tainted in the way that he'd been. She wasn't damaged goods. She was kind, she was intelligent, and she had goals for herself.

She used to tell him all the time how she wanted to grow up to work in the Ministry, somewhere in the third level where she could help with the regulation of magical creatures. He remembered the glint in her eyes when she used to speak of it, and he refused to be the one who took that away from her.

"So, you can put yourself at risk, but I, your best friend, can't even help you?" Y/N called him out and he turned away from her.

Draco crosses his arms over the wooden railing and stared at the dark horizon. "You deserve far better than I do, Y/L/N," he told her, but he hadn't expected her to turn around and swat him on the back of the head. He winced. "Bloody hell, do you mind?" he grumbled, reaching up to rub the spot where it stung.

She scoffed, proud of herself. "Don't speak about yourself like that, Draco," she chastised. "You're so smart and talented. Yeah, you're a prat to everyone sometimes, but I've seen the good in you. And, I know you're oblivious to it, but there's people out there that think the world of you," she told him and from the blank look on his face, she knew he wasn't buying a word that she said. She sighed and patted the railing once, to dispel the nerves that were building up in her. "I know I do."

At her confession, Draco's eyebrows lifted and he tore his eyes off of the horizon like to look at her. The sincerity on her face was so intense and she was looking at him with such ferocity glittering in her eyes. Her eyebrows were knit together, a soft crease having formed between them, and he felt a sudden urge inside of him to step forward and kiss it away, but he didn't.

He didn't, because Y/N was good. Y/N was so good and so good to him, of all people, and he never deserved an ounce of it. When it all came down to it, Draco was a traitor—a traitor to his friends and to his school. Y/N knew that and she still showed him how much faith that she had in him and who he was. Part of him wondered if she'd still believe in him like that when he completed all of the Dark Lord's wishes.

When he let the Deatheaters in.

When he killed Dumbledore.

When he betrayed her, too.

"I do enjoy it when you boost my ego, but you think too highly of me," he told her, his voice quiet.

His words were swimming with emotions—hurt, denial, and others she couldn't quite make out—and her heart ached for him. "Maybe," she admitted, but she'd never considered her opinion of Draco to be too high. In fact, she often wondered if she underestimated him. More hesitantly than she had before, she reached out to touch his hand again, and this time he let her. She smoothed her thumb over his skin. "But I've been told that the heart clouds the mind when it grows fond of someone," she whispered in another quiet confession and she could feel the way that his hand tightened on the railing.

Draco looked over at her and she was surprised to see the painful expression that had torn into his features. She could see the conflict spiraling in his eyes, his head and his heart fighting a war amongst themselves, as he shook his head softly. "What's that supposed to mean?" He questioned and it was almost like a plea, a soft begging for her to not say what they both knew that she felt.

"Well, I—" she stopped, taking his longing look in for a second longer, but she knew that this wasn't something she could keep to herself any longer. "I love you," she said and her words went off like a bomb.

"You can't love me, Y/N, don't you understand?" he all-but-shouted. "Don't you see what I've done? What I'll do?" he went on, images of the cursed necklace he'd given to Katie Bell and the bottle of poisoned mead meant for Dumbledore flashed through his mind, but Y/N seemed unfazed.

Instead of taking back what she'd said, Y/N shook her head and looked up at him. "Love is blind, Draco." She waited for a minute for him to say something, but he seemed set on just sitting in silence, letting her confession hang untended to in the air and his breathing come heavy. She waited a few moments longer, holding onto the sliver of hope that he might actually have something to say to her, but she realized after a while that she was waiting for something that'd never come. Her mood changed after that, her heart sank to her feet, and she made the sudden reconciliation that she no longer wanted to be there. She didn't want to continue to stand there, offering him everything on a silver platter, only to have him pretend like it wasn't even happening at all.

She gave his hand a soft squeeze, like a sort of farewell, and she pulled her hand off of his. She turned and began to walk away with her tail between her legs, taking a few steps towards the staircase that would descend back into the castle, but she didn't get far before Draco caught her.

"Wait," he'd called out to her so quietly that it was almost a whisper, but he practically leapt after her.

One of Draco's hands reached out to grab her by the front of her waist and spin her back around to face him, while his other hand cupped her cheek. Y/N barely had any time to register what the hell was going on before he was smashing his lips against hers, capturing them in a feverish kiss, and she hummed at the feeling of his hand slotting itself into her hair. His fingertips tangled in it and he pressed his lips harder against her own. The way he kissed her was so heavily, so needily, so desperately and his lips seemed to tell her everything that he couldn't say himself, because he wasn't good with words. He'd never been good with words. He'd always been so much better at putting his feelings into actions and she knew that.

Of course, she knew that.

She knew everything about him.

Y/N wasted no time in kissing him back in the same hungry, passionate manner, pulling him closer against her by his robes. She poured every little thought and every little feeling she'd ever ever had about Draco into the kiss and she didn't stop until both of their lips were swollen and their chests were heaving.

Draco had been the one to break the kiss, but to remain in close proximity, he leaned his forehead against her own. "I don't deserve you," he whispered when all was said and done and guilt in his voice didn't go unnoticed.

She took it upon herself to reach up with both of her hands, curving them over his cheeks, and she tilted his head down softly. "Everyone deserves to be loved by someone," she whispered and pressed the softest kiss he'd ever felt to the space between his eyebrows. "No matter what they've done." Draco crinkled his eyebrows—like he could trap the feeling of her lips against his skin there forever—and he pressed his face further into her hands.

If he was being completely honest, Draco wasn't sure what he was doing anymore. He'd already done a few questionable things and he still had a lot more to accomplish before the Dark Lord would fully accept him, but he didn't think he knew what was wrong or what was right to him anymore. He felt as though he'd lost his way, but he knew that didn't matter to Y/N. He knew that she would be there for him always, even if he took a few wrong turns along the way.

"If I didn't know better, I'd think you were a Hufflepuff after that," he hummed, in a half-hearted attempt at a joke, and she laughed softly as he pressed a kiss into her hair.

"Oh, shut it, Malfoy," she chided and she pulled her hands off of his face. "D'you want to look at the stars a little longer?" She asked after that, reaching up to smooth out a wrinkle on his shoulder, and he nodded.

"That'd be nice," he admitted and he walked back over to the railing, part of him hoping that Y/N would stay. He let himself sigh in content when she sidled up beside him once more—her side pressing against his—because it was in these two things that Draco seemed to find his peace: in her and in the stars.

↴

taglist / @umpoedameron​ @pvintbreak​ @babyhoneystvles​ @draconisxcaput​ @glenscapris

#draco malfoy #draco malfoy imagines #draco malfoy x reader #harry potter #harry potter imagines #harry potter x reader #tom felton #tom felton imagines #tom felton x reader #slytherin imagines #hufflepuff imagines #ravenclaw imagines #gryffindor imagines

[another-miracle]

Nobody actually told Obi what exactly happened to make Shirayuki leave Tanbarun (now on AO3)

Leave it to Sarah to know the exact “right to the good part” scenario I needed to scratch my writing itch. This one’s for you @claudeng80 :) Set before Eisetsu arc when Shirayuki, Obi and Ryuu are still travelling on the road together.

Dinner starts off as a simple affair. Miss cooks up half the dishes while Obi settles the other half in the in-built kitchen of a decidedly-not-small room they’ve found themselves in (wonders what accommodation one affords with all that sweet Wisteria cash; they are delegates after all). A trade-off that they’d agreed on so that they could cook and have dinner in the same space they would reside for the night - instead of going down to the common area. Ryuu sets the table as best he can.

Eventually, they settle down to eat. The conversation steers towards Miss’ early days in the pharmacy - Ryuu still a boy who hid under tables, a fact present-Ryuu did not appreciate being brought up - and Miss still desperately trying to find her footing in a foreign land. It’s new to Obi, to hear of their endeavours before his arrival to Clarines, and he finds himself enjoying the journey down memory lane. That is, until Miss drops a wayward comment that catches the both of them off guard.

So casual, she says, “It’s so funny. And to think I’d almost had to live my life as Raj’s concubine.”

Ryuu freezes and his eyes dart over to Obi. Similarly, Obi’s glass has paused over his lips. It feels like the air in the room has been abruptly sucked out. The word ‘concubine’ rings in his ears as Miss continues to laugh between bites.

“What do you mean concubine?” Obi asks carefully. He’d thought she’d been invited to the palace to be a princess, or perhaps a lady-in-waiting. To be seen, not...

“Oh yes,” Miss shares, something almost fond lining her lips. “Raj and Sakaki-san had pretty wild ideas back then. Sent me poisoned apples and everything.”

“Miss-what?”

Shirayuki looks up, only now noticing Obi’s tone. Next to him, Ryuu lowers his utensils down and places them on either side of his plate. Obi immediately fixates on Miss’ form. His eyes dart down to her arms, searching for any scars, mind desperately rifling through memories of when they first met, whether she had been constantly wearing long sleeves. She’d worn leggings all this while hasn’t she? Obi resists the urge to bend down to look under the table.

“Oh,” Miss starts again, startling Obi’s gaze back to hers. “Oh! He didn’t get to me- I mean, he did. It’s a funny story actually- Zen ended up being the one eating said apple and getting poisoned. I’d only followed to get the antidote, but thankfully-” she glances at Ryuu, “Zen has had quite a resistance against most poisons, and he was fine.”

The sentence is met with tense silence. Ryuu seems to be staring at his plate as if the peas could conjure up a response. A part of Obi wants to shake the boy and tell him not to worry, to crack a joke to diffuse the air. The other part is blinded by red hot anger. The urge to retrieve his knives and march right up to Tanbarun to commit regicide thrums wildly in his temples.

Friend of the Crown? What on earth was Master thinking - working with someone like that. What on earth was he thinking? He’d spent every afternoon for a month, watching, not knowing, as the two - kidnapper and concubine-to-be - traipsed through the gardens of Tanbarun castle, sat next to each other for hours in the libraries. He’d carried the man on his fucking shoulders.

A touch to his hands and his eyes fly open. Miss’s hand is placed on his, on both of their hands. A small smile plays at her lips. Obi turns to Ryuu. The boy looks frustrated enough to cry.

Miss gives a small laugh. “Hey, it’s over alright? I didn’t bring it up to see you guys upset. It was just in passing. And look, we’re all here now. Royal delegates, serving the Wisteria Crown for the greater good of her people!”

Miss glances up at him, then flicks her gaze at Ryuu. Obi suddenly remembers how distraught Ryuu was when they returned to Clarines after their visit to Tanbarun, having only received news that Miss had been kidnapped. He also remembers the fear in his eyes when both he and Shirayuki succumbed to the then-Lyrias disease.

Obi sighs.

His hand reaches out to ruffle Ryuu’s hair. “Yeah,” Obi says, “Miss wouldn’t let something like that get her down. She’s strong, isn’t she, Little Ryuu?”

Ryuu stares up at him, unshed tears, his gaze darting between the both of them. Obi gives him his best reassuring smile; he knows Miss does too, even if he doesn’t look at her.

The boy sniffs. “Yeah- she is. Yeah.”

--------

Later when the plates are cleared and Ryuu has fallen asleep, exhausted from the additional emotional tirade he had earlier, Obi finds Miss by the window. She sits with her feet propped on the sill, arms wrapped around her knees, gaze focused on the distant horizon. The moon is out, deciding to grace Miss in all the splendour and glow her countenance deserves. If Miss thinks he looks good by the firelight, then it should be of no consequence for him to say-

“You look good in the moonlight, Miss,” Obi tells her, holding out a cup of tea and sitting down by her. Miss accepts the drink with a smile before looking out again. She is quiet - more so than usual. Obi sips his tea and waits.

She thumbs at the rim of the cup, looks down, then up at him. With a sheepish smile, she says, “I wonder if that’s something I might have heard from...men...if…”

She trails off, bringing the cup to her lips, the picture of grace and relief. Obi, on the other hand, is struck frozen for the second time this evening. That’s not what he meant. That’s not what he meant.

“Miss-”

“I know, I’m sorry,” Miss rushes out. “That wasn’t fair- it’s just- it’s my fault, I’d brought it up. I don’t mean to say that you’re like any of them- I don’t-”

Miss breathes, a shaky exhale. Obi watches as she struggles with something bigger than her, bigger than the both of them. It’s something more immense than even the distance between two countries, if he’s honest. His heart pulls toward her; the burden she has been carrying for almost two years - the shame, the fear - feelings he has no way of possibly understanding in this lifetime. He aches to reach out for her, but he’s not sure- in that moment, he rehashes every single touch between the two of them. Belatedly, he also finally understands why she’d run when Master kissed her.

“It’s alright,” he murmurs, an assurance that falls flat in the space between them. Miss hums in response, forcing out a smile at him in apology. And- Obi doesn’t want that. How many smiles has she hidden behind? Sweet words that fall from her lips - not just to him, but to the very people who’d wanted to kidnap her, to turn her into an object of possession, to reduce her brilliant mind and her wonderful soul and the endlessly faith-bearing light in her eyes into a mere ornament to be gawked at, prodded until nothing is left. What has he been doing? What have they all been doing?

Obi places his mug down on the table before sidling up to the sill, back to the scenery, hands clasped in front of him. He notices Miss is looking at him curiously. Obi sets his gaze on the ceiling, tracing the cracks in the concrete. He doesn’t do this- doesn’t offer more than platitudes to soothe, doesn’t give others more than he should, more than he can spare another human being. But- he thinks of the broken smile on Miss’ face-

“I’d almost lost my life once,” Obi tells the ceiling. “Thought myself hot shit and went around accepting jobs that were clearly beyond my pay grade. Risked my life because I’d thought it a resource to be utilized when needed - as long as it puts bread on the table, money in my pocket.”

Obi turns down and gives Miss a wan smile. “And it’s funny, because that was me when I met you. You, with all your incredible courage, this red-haired girl who’d walked forward in face of an arrow shot at her. Who’d saved an entire colony in face of a disease no one knew. Who’d jumped off a tower. Who’d walked straight back into the place she’d been running from, head held high, into the den of the very person who’d deigned her an object.

Miss flinches at this. And Obi aches.

“And-” Obi pauses. Breathes. “So much of me just wants to ride down the South back to Tanbarun, go up to Raj’s door and wrangle his neck - him and Sakaki both. But beyond that, Miss-”

Obi stares at her, willing the words, “You are beyond what anyone says of you, beyond whatever value anyone places on you. You’re not some object that someone just picks up and calls their own. Because whatever that’s in there,” Obi jabs his thumb against his chest, “it’s not something that can be assigned by anyone else. You are your own person, Miss. You belong to you. And it’s this you who has toppled boundaries, created antidotes, you and your brilliant mind, and your wonderful soul and everything that is you.

“And-” Obi wrenches his gaze from her, hand coming up to push down on his shoulder. “I can’t imagine myself without you. I’ve changed, because of you. Myself and many other people you’ve met in Clarines - Little Ryuu, too. So please-

“Don’t think you are anything less than who you have made yourself to be. Don’t let anything cause that- not Raj, not Master, not Izana, not even me. You are yours, Miss.”

Obi says it quietly, a whisper taken by the wind into the meadows ahead of them. But he knows Miss hears it all the same. Obi lets the words take up the silence, let them take root. He hopes, desperately, that in between the awkward cadence and messy phrasing, Miss may find some comfort in them. An unspoken assurance that he is on her side - always have, and always will be.

Sneaking a glance at her, Obi is startled to find Miss’ head buried in her knees, shoulder shaking.

He jumps up and immediately frets. “M-miss, ahh- I didn’t mean to make you upset! I’m sorr-”

In an instant, Obi’s hand is enclosed between both of hers, warmth effusing through skin. A warbled laugh escapes her and she looks up from her knees up at him. Arrested by the tears in her eyes, Obi watches as she smiles that broken smile again - only this time, he knows it isn’t forced. She brings his hand close to her, and places the back of it against her forehead. Obi’s hand twitches, almost aching to cup her face and rub the tears trickling down - but clearly Miss is having a moment as she closes her eyes and breathes.

“Thank you, Obi,” Miss tells him, words entangling around his fingers. “It never gets easier- I don’t think it will, but-”

She takes his hand and cups it against her cheek anyway, collapsing all his walls. “You, being here. You remind me that I’m worth more.”

He can’t resist his fingers running across the apples of her cheekbones. He wipes away every tear that falls and bends down close, leaning his forehead against hers. There are no words to describe the monument of a woman before him now, and as he draws strength from this little form of comfort he’s offered, he only hopes she receives the same.

It will not be easy, probably never will, as Miss says.

But Obi will be damned if she ever faces it alone again.

#obiyuki #akagami no shirayukihime #this has to be one of the most emotionally exhausting fics i’ve ever written #yixin’s fic

[expectingtofly]

Incident at Playgroup

2.8k

fluff, established dean/cas, baby jack, human!cas, cas and dean terrorize other parents

dedicated to @thiscastielhasflown bc a few weeks ago we talked about tfw’s mcdonald’s orders and this fic happened. wishing you a good week with schoolwork assignments that only take half the time you expect them to, eventual restful sleep, and good grades <3

also posted on ao3

“Clown!” Jack yelled, pointing at the entrance to the McDonald’s indoor play area. A Ronald McDonald cardboard cutout guarded the door, holding a sign reading, You must be this tall to enter.

“Inside voice,” Dean said, though he wasn’t sure it mattered much when he could hardly hear himself speak. Recently, they’d joined a playgroup of parents and kids from Jack’s preschool, and this weekend, some of the moms had organized a playdate at the McDonald’s in town, one with a huge play area.

Meaning, they were now surrounded by screaming kids, diaper bags, and stressed out parents.

Dean winced as a kid shrieked from across the room. “We need to take a photo of you next to ol’ Ronald to show Sam.”

“Okay,” Jack agreed, jumping up and down in his chair.

Coming over with the tray of their food, Cas put out a hand to steady Jack’s chair. “That would be unnecessarily cruel."

Dean grabbed his Big Mac. “Yeah, well, he deserves it.” Before they’d come here today, Sam had repeatedly told them, quote, “please don't fuck this up again." Always was a polite bastard. “He’s gotta have more faith in us. What are we, amateurs?”

“Unfortunately, I believe that’s the point,” Cas said, sitting down and giving Jack his Happy Meal. “We don’t have the best track record with these sort of things.”

These ‘sort of things’ being playgroups. 

So, they’d tried a couple that hadn’t worked out. “Not like it’s our fault,” he said. “Take a seat, kid.” Jack ignored him, jumping in his seat as he waved to another toddler sitting nearby.

Cas beamed, holding onto the back of the chair. “He’s making friends, that’s a good sign.”

“Kid could make friends with a blank wall,” Dean said, but Cas was right—making friends was the whole point they were here. While Jack could make friends with just about anyone and anything—every crayon had a name and backstory, Cas’ trenchcoat was taken on make-believe-adventures, and the Impala could apparently talk, if Jack’s one-sided conversations during long car rides was anything to go off of—it was true that Jack was lacking in the friends-that-aren’t-hunters-or-over-a-decade-older category. There weren’t exactly many toddlers running around the bunker.

Hence, why they were spending their Saturday afternoon at the Hell on Earth known as McDonald's PlayPlace.

Jack held out the bag of apple slices that came in his Happy Meal. “Open.”

Dean stared him down and Jack added, “Peas.”

Close enough. Taking the bag, Dean told Cas, “Don’t look now, but Amanda is handing out brochures for Pampered Chef again.” According to Sam, that was another reason this playdate had to be a success—making friends with the right parents meant getting invited to more playdates and whatever other random events the parents came up with. It was like a weird society Dean had never known existed until Jack started preschool and started interacting with other kids his own age.

“I saw you using the food processor the other day,” Cas said, glancing over his shoulder to look despite Dean’s warning. Dean rolled his eyes. “I think it’s ingenious.”

“I’m not going to another two hour cooking demonstration.“

“Sam said we need to make a good impression.”

“He can go buy overpriced kitchen tools then.” It was a little too convenient that Sam had gotten out of taking Jack to this playdate—Dean had a suspicion that the multiple Ronald McDonalds stationed around had something to do with that.

He tried to hand Jack the apples, but Jack pointed at the play area. “Wanna play!”

“You have to finish your food,” Dean told him. Crossing his arms, Jack glared at him and stomped his foot on the chair.

“Just eat two more nuggets,” Cas told him. He picked up his filet-o-fish sandwich and glanced at Dean. “What?”

“You’re spoiling him.”

Jack stuffed his face with two chicken nuggets, which prompted Cas to give Dean a look. “Well, you’re teaching him bad table manners.”

Just to be obnoxious, Dean shoved half of his burger into his mouth in one bite. Jack laughed at him and Cas rolled his eyes.

“Done!” Jack announced, and Cas pushed his chair back so he could escape.

“These play places are gross,” Dean said, swallowing. “He’s gonna catch a disease.”

“Good thing he can’t get sick,” Cas said, watching Jack clamber up some stairs to reach a slide.

“Yeah, well I can,” Dean retorted. Jack went down the slide with a squeal. Landing at the bottom, he waved at them and Dean waved back.

“The Winchesters are here!” someone called too cheerily and Dean rolled his eyes, turning to see Ashley walking over. Lady thought she ran the group, always recruiting parents to bring snacks and toys to playdates. A little too high and mighty when Dean knew for a fact that the cupcakes she'd brought last week were store-bought.

Settling down into the seat next to them, she asked, “I wasn’t expecting you two today. Where’s Sam?”

Dean resisted rolling his eyes. Of course Sam was everyone’s favorite. Wasn’t his fault Sam was better at feigning interest in grocery lists and laundry piles. Parenting was hard enough without getting subjected to the unique torture of playgroup small talk.

“Him and Eileen went on a weekend trip,“ Cas answered easily and Dean nodded. They’d long given up trying to explain to others why Jack had a rotating list of parental figures accompanying him to playgroup, figuring if the other parents thought they were in a weird cult situation, at least that was better than them knowing the truth—like the fact that Sam and Eileen were away hunting a rugaru in Missouri. Though they were going to run out of excuses soon for why playgroup couldn’t be hosted at their place—an underground bunker with enough weapons to hold off an army.

“Well,” Ashley said, “I’m glad you guys were able to make it.” Yeah, that was a fake smile.

“We wouldn’t miss it,” Dean said, plastering on his own fake smile. “I can’t think of anywhere else I’d rather be.” Cas kicked him under the table.

“We’ve loved having Jack in the group,” Ashley said, and that might not be a fake sentiment. Jack could charm anyone. “Such a sweetheart. Lily adores him.” She smiled at where Jack and her daughter Lily were crawling through a tunnel at the top of the play area.

“Jack, no!” Dean called, seeing Jack stick his fingers in his mouth. “I’m so getting sick,” he muttered under his breath.

He was trying to come up with an excuse to get away as Ashley pulled out her phone to show them a new post on her mommy blog—boring, same old content. Give him a blog and he’d actually have something interesting to say—when he heard familiar crying from across the play area.

Without a second thought, he was pushing back his chair and rushing over, squeezing past playing kids and their parents to find Jack sitting on the floor bawling his eyes out and a bigger kid standing over him.

“What the hell happened here?” he demanded. He went to pick up Jack, but Cas was already swooping in and grabbing him.

“He pushed me!” Jack managed through his sobs, and Dean turned on the older kid.

“What the hell’s your problem?” The kid’s baleful expression faltered. He took a step back and Dean advanced on him. “You get off on making kids half your size cry?”

“Don’t speak to my son that way!” someone exclaimed, pushing through the crowd of kids and parents to glare at them. “What’s going on?”

“Your son is a menace,” Cas told the woman—Denise. Playgroup gossip said her son had gotten held back from kindergarten due to his inability to ‘play nice with others.’ Jack’s crying had subdued to sniffles, but Cas still held onto him like he might break apart. “He was bullying our son.”

“I’m sure it was an accident.” She put her hand on the kid’s shoulder. “You didn’t mean to hurt him, right, Tommy?”

Tommy only glared at them, and Dean glared right back. “He needs to apologize to Jack,” Cas said.

“Tommy, apologize.”

After several long, drawn out seconds, Tommy muttered, looking down at his feet, “Sorry.”

“I don’t think that was a real apology,” Cas said.

“It’s not my fault Jack’s a crybaby,” Tommy shot back.

“You little—” Dean started

“Take that back,” Cas snapped, and if he wasn’t human, Dean would’ve expected his eyes to start glowing fiery blue. Denise’s eyes grew wide, her grip on Tommy’s shoulder tightening.

“Is there a problem here?” someone asked, and Dean turned to see a McDonald’s employee hurrying over.

“Yeah, this kid shoved our son,” Dean said. “And he’s being a little shit about it.”

The employee’s expression turned shocked and Dean heard a few gasps from the parents that had crowded around to see the commotion. “I’m gonna have to ask you to leave,” the employee stammered. “This is a kid’s play area, we won’t tolerate fighting here.”

“We were already going,” Cas said haughtily. He glared at Denise. “And if 'Tommy' ever lays a hand on Jack again, he will be sorry.” Jack’s expression was eerily similar to Cas’ as they shot twin glares at Tommy, and Dean thought he caught a spark in Jack’s eyes.

“Let’s go,” he said, taking Cas’ elbow and guiding him through the crowd of spectators before Jack tried to incinerate the kid. He wasn’t sure if that was one of Jack’s powers or not, but he wasn’t sure he wanted to find out in a crowded McDonald’s. Even if the snot-nosed kid deserved it.

The staff behind the counter was watching along with everyone else in the store, the once noisy place now brought to tense stillness. Cas snatched up the rest of their food and Dean knew they were already on the verge of getting the cops called on them, but he couldn’t resist turning and jabbing his finger at the little brat. “And don’t you ever fucking touch Jack again!”

Cas shot Denise and Tommy another look, Jack copying it over his shoulder, and Dean let the door slam shut behind them.

“I can’t believe the audacity of that woman,” Cas raged, strapping Jack into his carseat. Dean grabbed the wipes and leaned over the front seat to wipe Jack’s hands before he touched everything and spread germs around. “And her kid is exactly the same!”

Jack craned his neck to look back at the McDonald’s as Cas finished strapping him in. “Play!”

Getting into the passenger seat, Cas slammed the door shut. “You will not be going back there, not when those children are around. Dean was right, these play places are vile.”

“You alright, kid?” Dean asked Jack, shutting the wipe container.

Jack kicked his feet against the seat. “Hungry.”

Cas pulled out the container of Jack’s half-eaten chicken nuggets and Dean protested, thinking of a fateful day with a bag of cheerios—he was still finding them in every nook and cranny of the car. “No eating in the backseat.”

“He’s just been through a traumatic experience,” Cas said, handing the container to Jack. “We can make an exception.”

“Fine,” Dean muttered, gripping the steering wheel as he pulled out of the parking lot. “I always knew Denise was shifty. You saw the way she was trying to spin the story, making it out like it wasn’t her kid’s fault? Fucking asshole.”

“Asshole!” Jack agreed cheerfully from the backseat.

“That’s not a nice word, Jack,” Cas said. Quieter, he added, “But it’s accurate.” He pulled out his phone. “I’m gonna send a message to the playgroup chat. Tommy’s behavior can’t be tolerated. Soon all the kids are going to become bullies.”

“He needs to be taught a lesson,” Dean agreed, glancing at Jack as he stopped at a red light, trying not to flinch at the crumbs on Jack’s lap that threatened to fall to the floor. “Needs to get knocked down by someone. Hear that, Jack? We’re gonna teach you how to fight back.”

Jack nodded. “I can fight!” He waved a chicken nugget around in mock punches and Dean gave up any hope of keeping the backseat clean.

“Maybe we can convince the other parents to kick Denise and her son out of the—Oh.” Dean looked over at him and Castiel winced. “We’ve been blocked from the group chat.”

“That makes three of them,” Dean muttered, pushing the accelerator as the light turned green. “We’re gonna end up on some blacklist soon.”

First playgroup, Jack had set a couch on fire. Since the "baby god testing out his powers” explanation wasn’t gonna fly, they went with the tried and true, “playing with matches” excuse. Didn’t stop the group from voting to kick them out.

Second playgroup, Cas had gotten in a fiery debate over the ethicality of beekeeping, and what was Dean supposed to do? Not back him up? He hadn't known you could get kicked out of the zoo for "disorderly conduct."

Alright, maybe Sam’s fears that they’d fuck up this playdate too weren’t completely off base.

“I think it’s time we give playgroups a rest,” he decided.

"But Jack needs to make friends."

"He's already got us, and Claire and Kaia and Alex and—"

"Charlie!" Jack added from the backseat.

"Charlie," Dean agreed. "He's got plenty of friends." Cas only stared him down with a particular smitey look in his eyes, and though Dean knew there wasn't a real threat behind the gaze, he sighed. "Fine. We’ll try again.”

"I already had one in mind," Cas said, brightening. "In case this one didn't work out."

“Done!” Jack yelled.

“Inside voice,” Dean said automatically. “Wait, you had a backup plan?"

“Yes,” Cas said, taking the empty container of chicken nuggets from Jack. “I thought it wise considering our track record. It’s a smaller group than this one was—Here, Jack, you want my ice cream?”

“Dude, seriously?” Dean protested as Cas handed an Oreo McFlurry back to Jack, who excitedly held out his hands. “That’s a disaster waiting to happen.”

“Not necessarily,” Cas said. “I don’t think we’re that destined to fail again—Oh, you mean the ice cream.” He glanced at Jack, who was dripping ice cream onto his lap with every spoonful. “Um. Traumatic experience?”

Dean wasn’t falling for that excuse a second time. He started to say so, but Cas wasn’t listening, picking up his phone as it beeped several times in quick succession.

“What?” Dean asked, seeing a slow frown cross Cas' face as he stared at the screen.

Cas held up his phone to show several texts in a row. “We’re in trouble.”

On cue, Dean’s phone started ringing, the screen lighting up to display Sam’s name. Fuck.

“Sam would like to know why we’re all blocked from the group chat,” Cas said unhelpfully, and Dean rejected the call.

“Good luck explaining why.”

“Maybe the problem is us,” Cas said slowly. He met Dean’s eyes, then they both shook their heads.

“No, it’s those stupid parents,” Dean said.

“And their insufferable children,” Cas agreed.

“Insufferable!” Jack agreed from the backseat, ice cream smeared across his chin. Or that’s what Dean thought he was repeating, the word losing a few syllables along the way.

“Not you, Jack,” Cas said. “Every playgroup would be lucky to have you.”

“Just, they apparently don’t know it,” Dean pointed out. “Or we wouldn’t keep getting kicked out.”

His phone started ringing again, as if to remind him of the fact, and he looked pointedly at Cas. “You deal with him.”

“No, you,” Cas said.

“For fuck’s sake,” Dean muttered. Then he had an idea.

“Hey, Jack, tell Sam about what you saw today.” He turned on speakerphone and handed back his phone, not even caring that Jack’s hands were a sticky mess. Okay, maybe he cared a little, but that’s why the Impala now always held wipes in the glove box.

Jack grabbed his phone eagerly. “Sam!” he crowed. “Guess what I saw!”

Dean caught Sam’s voice over the phone. “What—Jack, hey, where’s Dean?”

“Clowns!” Jack said, waving his ice cream spoon around. “Clowns everywhere!”

“Very mature,” Cas told Dean.

Dean shrugged. “Buys us some time.”

“That’s nice, Jack, but put Dean on,” Sam said. Jack started to give the phone back, and Cas whispered,

“Tell him about the slide.”

“Sam, Sam! I went on a slide!” Dean gave him a thumbs up in the rearview mirror and Jack copied it.

“Dean! I know you can hear me!” Sam yelled as Jack continued on about his eventful day.

“We’re horrible influences,” Cas said, unsuccessfully fighting back a smile.

“Nah,” Dean said. “We’re the best.”

tag list

@becky-srs @xojo @marvelnaturalock @aelysianmuse @prayedtoyou @letsjustdieeveryone @good-things-do-happen-dean @misha-moose-dean-burger-lover @theninthdutchessofhell @madronasky @famouspsychicpizzabandit @multifandomdisorder @arcticfox007  @improvedpeanut @castiel-is-a-cat @harmonyhelms @thetrueliesofafangirl @dean-you-assbutt-cas-loves-you @confusedisaster @welcome-to-crowleys-hellhole @celestialcastiel @wormstacheangel

let me know if you’d like to be added or removed from the tag list :)

#expectingtofly writes #destiel fic #baby jack #established dean/cas #fluff #i have had this in my drafts for so long and i finally finished it #ive been dying to write baby jack #or toddler jack i guess in this case #just so i could write overprotective dean and cas #jace if youre reading this hi <3 and i hope i did the mcdonalds fic justice :))

[all-my-love-for-harry]

Hi I’m in love with your series!! Single mom is definitely my favorite,I much prefer single mom over single dad if I’m honest! Can we get like a blurb about the first time Artemis opened up a little more to Harry without his mom around? ❤️

Hi!! i agree with you 100%, single moms are amazing! thank you for reading 💗

harry is running out of options to make artemis like him

you can find more of my shy little boy here

Three months in and Harry was convinced Artemis did not like him. He felt like he has tried everything, but the boy was yet to open up to him.

He tried making conversation about the things he knew Artemis liked and even if he did answer him (because that's what polite boys do, according to his mumma), he showed little to no interest at all to carry the conversation any further.

At this point, Harry needed to gain his trust, or else he knew he'd have to kiss his love Y/N goodbye.

"He'll warm up to you, you'll see" that's what his now girlfriend of two months would say to him every time. "He does like you, he's just not good with new people"

"How do you know he likes me?" he said, putting a package of frozen peas into the cart. Harry was helping her do groceries while Artemis was with his grandmothers for the weekend.

"Because i'm his mother. And because i see how every time you're not looking, he's looking at you to make sure you haven't left"

Harry raised his eyebrows. "Perhaps he's waiting for me to leave"

"Doubt it. He used to do the same with a couple of friends. He wants to talk to you, but he gets nervous, so he limits himself to observe you" she explained.

"What should i do then?"

"Keep trying, he'll come to you"

So that's what he did. And although every day he felt like there was progress, he was growing desperate. Y/N knew that while she was there, Artemis would always have a way out of the interaction. So she came to the conclusion that she needed to be out so Artemis wouldn't have a choice other than actually talk with Harry, and once he realized Harry was a good person, he'd never let him leave again.

interesting how the mind of a four year old could work.

No longer after that, everything fell into place. Y/N had an emergency meeting at work, and Harry immediately jumped out to offer to take care of Artemis while she was out.

"Are you sure?" she asked one last time while she was putting her blazer on.

"Yeah. Could use some time alone with the lad" he smiled. This time, he had things prepared for them that he knew would make Artemis happy.

Overall, he was feeling confident this would be the day the little boy would open up to him.

"Great. I'll be back before six, if anything happens please call me" Y/N wasn't gonna lie, she was nervous. This was the first time Harry and Artemis would be on their own, and it'd be for a few hours. She had previously talked to her son and explained she had to leave for a little and Harry was gonna stay with him. Artemis asked why Y/N couldn't take him with her, she had said it was a work thing then he said it was fine, he'd be okay with Harry.

Y/N went to say goodbye to her baby, promising she'd back soon and remain him to be good to Harry. Then she walked towards her gorgeous boyfriend and kissed him goodbye and squeezed him a little tighter, knowing he was nervous.

Once the two were alone, Harry walked to where Artemis was. He was playing with legos on the floor of the living room, so Harry went and sat on the floor as well but not so close to the little boy, not wanting to invade his personal space.

"What are you building, mate?"

"A robot, but i think i'm not doing it right" he mumbled, still focused on the legos in his hands.

"Maybe i can help?"

Artemis look up from his toy, glazing at him. after a few seconds he nodded, blushing a little before he moved a little closer to Harry.

They spent some time without saying anything, both becoming invested in finishing what they were building together.

Artemis smiled when they finally finished, happy with the result. He directed his hazel eyes at Harry. "Thank you, Harry"

"You're welcome, mate. What do you want to do now?" he asked. "You hungry?"

The boy in front of Harry nodded. "Mummy gives me fruit before dinner" Now it was Harry's turn to nod. He stood up, extending one arm at Artemis to help him up as well.

"Let's go to the kitchen then" To his surprise, Artemis did not let go of Harry's hand after he stood up, so they walked hand in hand to the kitchen.

"Do you like grapes? I can cut you some apple too" He looked down at the boy.

"Can i have both?"

Even if he wasn't allowed two eat that much fruit, Harry wouldn't dare to say no to him right now so he just nodded while grabbing said fruits to wash them.

"Do you want to see how i cut them?" Harry asked again and Artemis mumbled a little yes. "Can i pick you up?"

"Yes"

Harry scooped him up and placed him on the kitchen island, he started cutting the apple in little cubes, deciding he'd only cut half of it. Then, under Artemi's gaze, he proceed to wash the grapes. Y/N had told him he only liked the green ones.

Once everything was on a plastic plate, he handed it to Artemis. "Thank you"

The pair settled down on the couch, and Harry let Artemis pick a movie to watch. "I like Moana" he said.

They watched the movie in silence, when they reached the part when Moana fell off of the boat, Artemis got a little scared so he snuggled closer to Harry, who immediately wrapped an arm around his little shoulder.

Even when that part passed, Artemis stayed close to Harry. When Maui started singing you're welcome, Artemis started whispering the lyrics of the song too, tapping Harry's thigh at the beat of the song.

"Does Maui exist?" he asked when the movie ended.

"I'm not sure, Artemis"

"He's cool" he said, lifting his face to look at Harry. "You're cool too, Harry"

Harry grinned happily. "Thank you, mate. I think you're pretty cool yourself"

"Do you want to see my trains?"

Artemis' train set was in his room, which Harry has never been in. So him inviting Harry to his room meant a lot for the curly haired man, it meant Artemis trusted him enough to take him to his space.

That's how they ended up playing in his room for what it felt like hours, resting on their tummies and finally enjoying each other's company.

By the time Y/N arrived, Harry was being chased by Artemis for absolutely no reason other than have a good laugh. The scene in front of her was so wholesome she could cry. Her boy had the biggest smile on his face that matched Harry's dimpled one.

"I'm guessing you two had fun" Y/N said, stepping into the dinning area, where they've stopped running.

"I like Harry, mummy. Can he come more often?" Artemis asked to his mother, giving her big puppy eyes.

Y/N turned to see Harry's reaction, he looked like he could cry of excitement. The night turned to be a big success, and Harry couldn't be more excited to explore further into his relationship with both Y/N and Artemis.

☁☁☁☁☁☁☁☁☁☁☁☁

taglist!!

@myfavfanficsever @odetostep

@la-cey @cock-a-doodely-doo @awkwardbullfrog @mellamolayla @moorgannn @bagtan-serendipity @awesomebooklover17 @finelineribs @sunnybusiness

#harry styles #harry styles imagine #harry styles imagines #harry styles one shot #harry styles x reader #harry styles x y/n #harry styles fanfic #harry styles fluff #harry styles fluff fic #harry styles fluffy imagine #my shy little boy

[typical-simplelove]

Letters From Home - 40s Series (M. Tkachuk)

Summary: Matthew Tkachuk comes home from fighting in World War Two. What happens when his childhood best friend Ruth Blossom is there to welcome him?

Series Masterlist

A/n: Here's the second part! I'm an absolute history nerd, so this is the result. I hope you enjoy!! This part exists in the same universe as the Jacob Markstrom fic that came first.

Warnings: Mentions of war and death

Word Count: 2.2k

It was December 10th, 1945, and Ruth Blossom was at the train station. Well, she wasn’t the only one. It’s been a few months, almost, since the War ended, and Ruth was waiting for her best friend Matthew Tkachuk to come home from the war.

Matthew Tkachuk went off and enlisted the minute war was declared. He knew exactly what he needed to do. Enlisting? Not a question. That was his personality. Always the first to jump up and help.

The train rolled into the station with a stentorian horn and Ruth gripped her purse tighter. Taryn begins fidgeting next to Ruth and she puts an arm on Taryn. Matthew’s arrival was any minute now. There would be no more longing and wishing he were home.

“Hey, he’s coming home. That’s more than some people can say, right?” Ruth tries to cheer up.

Taryn nods. “Brady came home, too, which is good.”

“Yeah, he’ll be okay. It’s going to be back to normal soon.”

Soldiers begin walking off the train and Taryn and Ruth angle their heads to try to find that familiar face. The boyish grin with striking blue eyes. The tall frame made him stand out in any crowd. The Tkachuk family and Ruth knew Matthew had to cut his mop of curls as a part of military regulation. Would they be able to recognize him?”

“Ruth,” someone calls from behind. Ruth turns around and sees his face. She breaks out into a large smile. “Hey, sunshine.”

“Matthew!” Ruth exclaims and runs into his arms. Matthew removes his army cap and wraps his arms around Ruth. He breathes in her calming scent that he remembers from all that time ago. Matthew’s family turns to see the commotion. They knew that Matthew was going to go to Ruth first. She was what kept him alive. “How did you get behind us?”

“I’m not telling; I saw an opportunity and had to go for it.”

“Of course. Well, for what it’s worth, I’m really glad you’re home. Now, go and greet your family.”

“Do I have to, sunshine?”

Ruth laughs. “Yes.”

Matthew sighs and walks over to his family. He would never stop wanting to come home to Ruth. After greeting his family, Matthew and his family walk over to the Tkachuk house. They were a short ten-minute walk from the train station.

Matthew takes Ruth’s hand and they walk behind Taryn, Chantal, Keith, and Brady.

“So, tell me, did you fall in love with any airmen while I was gone?” Matthew jokes. He was joking but he also wanted to know. Those airmen can be scoundrels. It definitely also isn’t because Matthew wants to know if Ruth is seeing anyone.

“Of course not. I heeded your warnings. If I’m going to fall in love with a military man, then it'll be an army man like yourself.” Or you.

“Well, be careful, army men can still be heartbreakers.”

“Oh, I can imagine,” Ruth says with a wink that makes Matthew’s face turn red.

“I wanted to say thank you,” Matthew begins. “For always writing me. It really helped me out.”

“Oh Matthew, don’t be silly. I would have written you daily if it weren’t for the taxes and working towards making munitions.”

“Doesn’t matter, it helped me.” Ruth can’t help but smile.

Ruth and Matthew continue walking along and make small talk. They talk about the local gossip, the weather, and what Matthew was excited to do now that he’s home. The group finally reached the white picket fence of the Tkachuk house. Matthew is about to lead Ruth in but she lets go of his hand.

“Sunshine, come on.”

“No, no. Matthew, you catch up with your family. Stop by my family’s house later on and I’ll make you some lemonade and we can catch up.”

“Ruth, come on, just come in.”

“Matthew, just go be with your family. Stop by later, okay?” Ruth flashes Matthew an easy grin and he won’t argue anymore.

“Yes, ma’am. I’ll stop by later this evening for your famous lemonade, okay?”

“I’ll be counting on it,” Ruth says with a wink. “Goodbye, Mr. and Mrs. Tkachuk!” They back but are puzzled as to why she's already leaving.

“When are you going to tell her how much you love her?” Taryn asks when they all walk in and Ruth is out of earshot. “She never danced with anyone, ever, while you were gone. She said it wouldn’t be fair to you as you were always her dance partner.”

“I didn’t dance with any of the girls in England, either. She’s my lifetime dancer partner.”

“Matthew, sweetheart, we’re glad you’re home but if you want to go be with Ruth, go with her,” Chantal says.

“No, no, she’d probably scold me. Ruth told me to stay and be with you. I’m going by tonight for her famous lemonade.”

“Make sure you tell her,” Chantal insists.

“I will,” Matthew says with a forlorn sigh.

. . .

Dearest Matthew,

Let me start this letter as I always do. Despite the circumstances, how are you? I hope you’re eating your fair ration of the army-regulated food. I hope the weather isn’t too dreadful and you’re able to have as much sleep as allowed. How are your friends? Johnny? Elias? He’s getting married, right? Sam? Jacob? I hope they are all doing well. Send them my happiest wishes.

Brady wrote home the other day. Taryn asked me to pass on the message to you. He’s doing well. Nothing new to report. That’s good, right?

Let me tell you some good news! I’ve gotten a job to work and make munitions for the army. It’s possible that the bullets I make might be sent to you! I’m not sure where they go but imagine, wouldn’t that be beautiful for you to use a St. Louis made bullet? That’s probably more romantic when the bullets aren’t being fired at me. Ignore that.

Oh! My victory garden is growing so beautifully! My tomatoes have come in nicely and they taste amazing! I’ve been helping Taryn with her victory garden and I think she has me beat. Only though, because I’ve been helping her! Don’t tell her I said that. What should I plant next? I have a few ideas. What about an orange tree? We may not be in Florida but wouldn’t that be exciting? What about peas? Or carrots? Oh, broccoli? What do you think? Whatever you say, I’ll try to find the seeds and grow the plants. I’ll even name them after you. Matthew the Broccoli Stalk. Matthew the Orange. Matthew the Carrot. Matthew the Stalk of Kale. I like to think I’m funny. I’m not. I genuinely don’t know why you put up with me sometimes. I guess what they say is true, friends since childhood? Friends forever.

I have some gossip to share. Do you remember Cathy from middle school? She is engaged to be married to Roger. Yes, you’re thinking the right, Roger. Roger, star batter at the high school baseball team. Cathy the loud, mean girl who constantly made fun of Roger. Apparently, Cathy has had a change of heart and apologized for her actions. This led to them falling in love and now they are engaged! I heard Roger was in the Navy and sailing on a ship around Great Britain. Do you think Cathy is going to go on a full apology tour and apologize to you and me? I would love to get an apology from her. My goodness, the number of things she did to me growing up? Matthew, I’m still bitter about it. I absolutely still can’t stand the thought of her. It’s probably better if she doesn’t even come near me. I’d probably want to run away crying. Do you think she’ll invite us to the wedding? I hope not. If she does, will you be my date? The pact we made at ten still stands right? We will forever be each other’s dates to weddings, right? What about the pact at twelve? We will forever be each other’s dance partners? Obviously, I’m not going to hold you accountable for that one. If you want to dance with some other girl, do so! You deserve to relax and unwind. Just know, I’m only dancing with you forever and ever.

I’m sending you all the love in the world.

Love, your sunshine,

Ruth

Matthew never danced with anyone whilst in Europe. Only Ruth. he only would ever dance with Ruth. She was it for Matthew. He was going to tell her. Matthew Tkachuk was going to tell Ruth Blossom that he loved her. Matthew puts on his army cap and heads out the door to Ruth’s house.

He knocks on the door and is met with Ruth’s father.

“Matthew, son, welcome home,” he says.

“Mr. Blossom, thank you. It feels good to be back.” Matthew says. Was Mr. Blossom going to welcome Matthew into the house?

“Before you go in, I want to talk to you about Ruth.”

“Yes, sir, I’d love to talk to you about Ruth,” Matthew says and immediately cringes. That was the wrong thing to say.

“I want to know what your intentions are with her,” Mr. Blossom says, and Matthew pales.

“Well, if your daughter will have me, then I’d like to marry her. I’ve loved her for as long as I can remember and her letters are what kept me going. Sir, I love Ruth and I would love to spend the rest of my days with her.”

Mr. Blossom nods. He seemed to be content with this answer. “Well then,” Mr. Blossom puts his hand out and shakes Matthew’s hand. “Ruth’s outback. She’s waiting for you.”

Matthew smiles and walks around the house. He sees Ruth sitting on the back porch and smiles. This was the homecoming that Matthew dreamt of every night whilst overseas.

“Ruth,” Matthew says softly. “Sunshine.”

Ruth breaks out into a large smile. “Matthew.”

“Good evening, as promised, I’m here.”

“As I promised, I have my famous lemonade. The lemons I used are from my victory garden I was telling you about!”

Matthew smiles at the memory of opening all of Ruth’s letters and it smells like home. He loved receiving those letters. Mostly, he just loved Ruth.

“Come, come, let’s sit and drink the lemonade. I also made a key lime pie. It’s citrus night, I guess. My parents already took their pieces so there’s already some taken out of it.” Ruth says brightly. This was exactly what she wanted. To be home with Matthew and in a domestic setting. She loved Matthew so much it hurt.

The pair sat down and Matthew sat down and began sipping the lemonade. He sighs in content. “This is the homecoming that I was waiting for.”

“Oh yeah, you dreamt of the lemonade?” Ruth teases.

“Oh Ruth, that’s not what I meant,” Matthew says. He was referring to being here with Ruth; Matthew dreamt of the days that he’d be able to sit on a back porch with Ruth and just be in her presence.

“Being with your family, then? I can imagine that homecoming was worth dreaming about.”

“They count but why do I need them when I have everything I love right in front of me?” Matthew says with a serious tone.

Ruth’s smile fades. “What?”

“I love you, Ruth, and not just in a friend way. I love you in the sense that I want to marry you and have a family with you. Ruth, you were my homecoming. The rest of the world faded away when I saw you on the platform. Ruth, I love you and I want to marry you one day.”

Ruth’s smile grows wide. “I love you, too. I want all that with you, too, Matthew.”

“Yeah, sunshine? You and me forever?” Matthew says as he walks closer to Ruth.

“Yes, my dear. You and me forever,” Ruth says.

“My dear? I could get used to that, my love.”

“Well, I like my love.”

“In that case, my love, sunshine, may I kiss you?”

“Yes, my dear. You may kiss me.” Matthew leans down and places a soft kiss on Ruth. He was mindful to keep the kiss proper as Mr. and Mrs. Blossom were still in the house.

Matthew wanted to pull the ring out from his pocket and propose right then and there. However, there was a time and place for everything. Tonight? The homecoming. One day, Matthew will tell Ruth how much her letters from home kept him going. One day, Matthew will get his forever with the woman he loves. One day, the letters from home will be the story Matthew and Ruth tell their children. For now, though, Matthew and Ruth are going to soak in the homecoming and the newfound love.

Taglist: @goalision @coffee-ontherocks @glassdanse @barzal-burakovsky @petey-patty @beauvibaby @boqvistsbabe @rmaye @heatherawoowoo @heaveniish @stars-canucks @tkapuckit @mellany1997 @nhlboyshavemyhart88 @heybarzy @2manytabsopen @habsfan @besthockeyfics @plds2000 (Join my taglist here!)

#matthew tkachuk #matthew tkachuk imagine #matthew tkachuk x reader #matthew tkachuk fic #nhl fic #nhl writing #nhl imagine #hockey fic #hockey imagine #calgary flames x reader #calgary flames imagine #claudia writes

[flameo-hotman]

I really liked this adoption menu for zuko ♡ it is a very creative idea. I want to know the 27 because its my favourite number.

This one is actually pretty cute. You have placed an order for Zuko adoption number 27. Zuko gets adopted by Hope’s parents and gets a lesbian aunt.

The cracking of the cook fire certainly didn't do anything to help with the heat, but you couldn't go and feed a pregnant woman raw meat. Ying knew this. Than knew this. And Wei Su knew this.

Thud.

A half-starved teen fell off his ostrich horse and rolled down the hill into the camp unconscious.

Wei Su, her brother, and her sister-in-law all blinked at the teen in shock and confusion for a few moments, before Than rushed over and checked the teen's pulse.

“He's alive, just unconscious and...” He felt the teen's forehead, “A bit warm. Wei Su, can you go get some water for him, while I see if we have any smelling salts?”

“Sure thing,” And with that, she grabbed one of their water skins.

The guy seemed groggy when Than got him to wake up, but he probably had heatstroke, so getting him cooled off and some water would help with that.

“What brings you this way, son?” Than asked the teen.

The teen did not answer, instead choosing to accepting the water skin and taking a sip.

“Than, the boy just wake up surrounded by strangers,” Ying chastised, before gesturing for Wei Su to come to help her up.

Once on her feet, Ying walked over to the teen and sat down across from him.

The teen regarded her with confusion and suspicion.

“My name is Ying. Than is my husband, and she,” Ying said gesturing to Wei Su, “Is his sister, Wei Su.”

The teen studied Ying for a few moments before he relaxed and rasped, “Lee.”

Lee made to get up, but Ying stopped him with a stern look, saying, “Oh, you're not going anywhere, young man. You are in no condition to be traveling alone, right now.”

“I can do whatever I want,” Lee answered, getting up anyways, before stumbling and swaying. Than shot up and steadied the boy, but Lee slapped his hand away.

The fire went from crackling to roaring, and Wei Su saw the way the Lee winced.

“I should be going,” Lee told them after he took a deep breath, but Ying was having none of that.

Nope, she got back to her feet and planted her hands on her hips, before ordering, “Lee, sit down. At the very least I want to make sure you eat some food before you go riding off to your death.”

Lee, for all of his prickles, obeyed.

Wei Su was pretty sure Ying just adopted the boy.

And sure enough, when Lee attempted to leave yet again after dinner, Ying insisted that it would be better if he stayed at their camp for the night. She needed to make sure he ate something in the morning and she would worry about him if she didn't at least know he had eaten breakfast.

And well Lee couldn't bring himself to worry a pregnant woman, so with even less resistance he relented and offered to take the first watch.

Than laughed, clapping him on the back, “This far into Earth Kingdom lands we don't get a lot of Fire Nation soldiers. I wouldn't be worried about that, son.”

Lee looked uncomfortable, but he said nothing, as he laid out his bed roll.

The next morning, Ying had him help her make breakfast, claiming she wanted to make sure he knew how to feed himself. Not more than 15 minutes later, Ying was horrified and turned it into a real cooking lesson.

Lee did not have the faintest idea on how cooking worked beyond the fact that fire was involved.

“You are staying with us until you know how to make yourself a proper meal, Lee,” Ying stated, and Wei Su knew she was right. Ying did adopt him.

Halfway to Ba Sing Se, they learned that he didn't have a passport, so they had to take a quick detour to get him one.

“Yes, sir, my son's passport was destroyed, when we were attacked by fire benders,” Ying informed the soldier manning the passport office. “If you could reissue him one, we would be grateful.”

The soldier glanced at her pregnant belly and then sighed, “Alright, fill out this form and I'll get a new one written up for him, ma'am.”

“Lee, could you go with Wei Su to the market and get a bag of feed for Mushi?”

“Uh, yes... Mom,” Was Lee's hesitant answer.

It sounded like he hadn't called someone mother in many years, and Wei Su felt her heartbreak.

Lee was handing over money for the feed, when a kid chucked an egg at the nearby soldiers.

“Hey!” The hit soldier growled, marching over to Lee. “You throwing eggs at us, stranger?”

Lee didn't even look at the man, as he accepted the bag of feed, answering, “No.”

“You see who did throw it?”

Lee turned around slowly, his hand moving to the hilt of his swords, and answered, “No.”

The soldier looked over to Wei Su and asked, “What about you pretty lady? You see anything?”

“I didn't. Now leave us alone,” She answered, feeling her skin crawl with the leer the man gave her.

The soldier reached for her, but before she could make a move to react and slap his hand away, the tip of a sword rested against the man's throat.

Lee glared at the man with loathing, and spat, “Hands to yourself, or you lose them.”

The soldier put his hands up and backed away, grumbling, “Your girlfriend ain't even all that pretty.”

“You filthy peas-” Lee began, but Wei Su stopped him, shooting back, “Lee, let's go.”

And with that, they walked away from the soldiers.

The kid who'd thrown the egg, rushed over to them, babbling, “Thanks for not ratting me out.”

“You shouldn't be throwing eggs at soldiers, kid,” Wei Su told him, not wanting to know what those jerks would have done to the kid if he decided to do a repeat of earlier.

The kid grimaced and answered, “I only did it because they are bullies.”

“Is that so...” Lee asked, voice going low and thoughtful.

Wei Su did not want to know what her nephew was planning.

They stayed the night with the kid's family, and the next day headed out for the road to Ba Sing Se again, and on the way out, she got a good idea of just what Lee had done.

The soldier's barracks were a pile of smoldering rubble.

“Lee, what did you do?” Ying asked in horror, looking at her son from her spot on the ostrich horse, Mushi.

Lee answered, plainly, “They were bullies.”

“Lee, they will take it out on the villagers!” Wei Su shouted.

“No, they won't,” Lee refuted. “I made sure they saw me. Their commander put them on active duty.”

“THEY SAW YOU FIRE BEND!!” Ying chastised, “Lee, they will hunt you down and kill you!”

Lee looked surprised for a moment, but he shrugged, and answered, “They won't look for me in Ba Sing Se.”

He looked a little nervous now though. Nervous and confused.

“Wait... Lee's a fire bender?” Than asked, confused, “I thought he was gay?”

“What?” Lee asked even more confused.

“Well, Wei Su is gay and the two of you hang out a lot?”

Lee glanced between her and her brother, and finally answered, “Oh, I didn't know that... I mean I might be? But I am a fire bender.”

“So? Who's the guy that caught your eye then, Mr. I Might Be Gay?” Wei Su asked, breaking the tension by teasing her nephew playfully.

Lee flushed bright red, sputtering, “I-I What? There isn't a guy!”

Ying gave Lee her mom eyebrow, that she'd been practicing ever since she'd adopted a feral teenage fire bender.

“Well, there is a guy but he probably hates me...” Lee admitted, caving under the look Ying gave him.

Ying sighed, “Lee. What did you do?”

“Attacked his village?”

“YOU DID WHAT?”

#flameo-hotman #ask the hotman #zuko adoption menu #zuko #hope's parents #zukka #but it is mentioned briefly #Anonymous

[otherpeoplesheartachept-2]

Youth

Pairing: Ebb/the dryad

Rating: G

Length: 1116 words

Summary: Ebb spends some time with her new friend in the woods

Read on Ao3 or bellow :)))

-

It’s a nice sunny day so the three of us are sat on the Great Lawn eating lunch. Well, I’m eating, Fiona and Nico are propped against a tree snogging. They’ve been inseparable since they got together a few months ago. Nico asked Fiona out when they were in detention for spelling Mr. Walker’s chalk invisible in Latin class. I mean, of course that’s how they got together.

I do my best to ignore them, and focus on my pea and ham soup.

Fiona tries to include me by asking about what I learned in Political Science today, but her attention lasts for about ten seconds before Nico’s “subtly” kissing her neck. At least Fi gives me an apologetic look before I just roll my eyes and wave them off.

“I need new friends,” I sigh dramatically. Nico snorts, because he knows I won’t actually get new friends.

It’s not like I actually want to stop hanging out with my two best friends. I’m happy for them; they seem great together, if not somehow even more prone to trouble-making as a couple. It’s just a tad awkward third-wheeling now. And yes, I have cried about that a few times, but I cry about everything. Ma says crying is easier than breathing for me.

I scarf down my food as fast as I can. I check my watch. I still have some time before the next class period. I shove bread into my mouth, hoping to finish lunch with enough time to go to the Wavering Wood. Both Nico and Fiona poke fun at me for spending so much time in there. I tell them I’m making friends with the Watford goats.

Nicodemus laughed the first time I said that. “Of course you’d have more goat friends than human friends.”

Which isn’t untrue. The goats are great, and I’ve got at least four of them as friends, which is double my two human friends. (Well if I count my roommate, Brandy, then I’ve got 3 human friends, but that’s still one less than goat friends). One of the goats even showed me his wings last week. But when I tried to touch them he got spooked and flew away.

My main reason for traipsing to the Wood every day is really the dryad Osmunda. We met at the end of last year and I’ve been visiting her almost every day since the start of this year. It was a tad embarrassing running into her the first time; I was sat on the ground, eyes all puffy and nose snotty from crying, and she stepped out looking gorgeous with her dark, tree-bark like skin, wearing a puffy black dress and knee-high socks.

She asked what I was doing, almost like she’d never seen someone cry before. I told her I was sad because of some stupid insults classmates had thrown at me. Osmunda said I was too pretty to take insults from stupid humans. It made me laugh, and blush.  

I gulp down the last of my soup, and grab my staff.

“What we’re not good enough for you anymore?” Nico yells after me and Fi waves goodbye while shouting, “Tell the goats I say hi!”

I quickly wave as I’m jogging towards the Wavering Wood.

I’m especially excited to see Osmunda today because I’ve got a gift I think she’ll like.

When we first started spending time together I picked some flowers for her but she hated that. “Why would I want evidence of you tearing apart the forest?” she huffed at me. I felt bad for not realizing a forest spirit wouldn’t like me killing things in the forest, it’s fairly obvious if you think about it. I thought that was it for us, so I stopped coming by. But when I followed one of the goat kids into the Wood a week or so later Osmunda found me and said she missed me. Then we both apologized and I agreed to come back more than once a week.

I pick up my pace, and feel in my school back to make sure the ethically sourced cherry-blossom honey I got is still there. I don’t think dryads eat like humans do, but a few weeks ago I stayed out too late and spent the night in the woods with Osumunda. We stayed up late sharing secrets. She admitted that sometimes she wishes she could visit other forests, and meet other trees, but she can’t leave her home. I don’t quite understand the magic of dryads, but I think she’s tied to this place.  

So I figured she might like honey, it’s made with something from other trees without harming any trees or plants.

When I step past the first few trees Osmunda rushes towards me. She’s about the same height as me, and much slimmer, but the force of her hug nearly knocks me over. I hug her back as tight as I can. She smells like moss, and her fern green hair tickles my nose.

“Ebb!” she exclaims, pulling back, “How are you?”

“I brought you something,” I say putting my staff down and reaching into my bag.

Osmunda’s eyes light up. I hand her the jar of honey and she holds it gently in her lace-glove covered hands. She eyes the honey quizzically, then looks to me for answers.

Once explain why I got it for her, her face breaks out into the biggest smile. I smile back at her, I love to see her happy. I want to bring her a million jars of honey if she’ll smile at me like that again.

Then she thanks me and plants a kiss to my cheek. Her lips are rough like tree bark but I don’t mind.  I blush furiously because of the kiss. I hate how blotchy and red my face gets when I blush, but Osmunda said it looks like flowers blooming once, which made me blush even more.

“You’re the best ever, my little acorn,” she says affectionately, while tucking a piece of my short hair behind my ear. The nickname makes me feel fuzzy inside.

We talk a little bit about what I learned in class, and the worseger mother who just gave birth to 3 cubs in the wood. I want to stay longer, but a glance at my watch tells me I only have five minutes before fourth period starts.

I say goodbye to Osmunda, and promise to be back after dinner. On my rushed walk away from the forest I tell myself the next time I see Osmunda I’ll be brave enough to ask if dryads can have romantic feelings like humans do. I know I won’t though.  

#carry on countdown #coc 2021 #carry on countdown 2021 #carry on fanfic #ebb petty #ebb/dryad #watford era #the simon snow series #my writing #corascrap

[darlingyanderes]

My lovely wife - Yandere!Uraraka Ochoco  x fem!reader

@thirsthourdemon​, here is my writing for day 5 of @yandere-sins​‘s Yantober prompt list! In my bisexual disaster, I decided to write a girlxgirl yandere fic! I had a lot of fun with it, and it might have turned out a bit long hehe I hope you enjoy what I wrote for prompt 5: lead astray

Warnings: reader and uraraka are married, deception, hidden past, reader was isolated in the past, threatening, knife

Word count: 1455

Looking at the grocery list in her hand and the contents of her basket, (Y/N) confirmed she had all the ingredients, except one: a fancy wine.

Tonight was her and Uraraka’s second wedding anniversary. (Y/N) couldn’t be happier having someone as bubbly and sweet as her as her wife, so she wanted to treat her sweetheart to a nice homemade meal. Uraraka was always pampering (Y/N), but today, the roles would be switched, (Y/N) decided.

Passing by a stand of face masks on the way to the wine aisle, (Y/N) froze in her tracks and examined the products. Uraraka had work today, so she would be very tired when she gets home. When they first started dating in high school, they’d get together every month, do facemasks, eat ice cream, and sob at bad movies. Maybe they could have one of those little spa sessions today?

As (Y/N)’s hand was hovering over the brightly packaged masks, she heard her name being called out from across the aisle. When she turned her head to see who it was, she realised it was Kirishima, her old best friend when she was in high school.

Emphasis on ‘old’. They were like two peas in a pod and (Y/N) was sure their friendship was one that would last a lifetime. Until one day, he wouldn’t talk to her anymore. He ignored her in every way possible, even walking away when she was still talking to him. It had taken her years to let go of the pain that this brought her. The worst part is that she still didn’t know why he decided to stop being her friend.

But, being trapped by social conventions, (Y/N) had no choice but to smile politely and wave at him. Swallowing her feelings, she exclaimed: “Wow, it’s been so long! What are you up to nowadays?”

His toothy grin was still the same as it used to be. “Oh, you know, regular hero stuff. What about you?”

“Oh, I’m just a simple housewife.”

His eyes widened. “A housewife? Who are you married to? Don’t tell me it’s Uraraka?”

(Y/N) thought he meant this in a positive surprised way, as if he was happy to see her married to her high school sweetheart. However, there was an honest concern lacing his words.

Frowning a bit, (Y/N) answered: “Yes, I am, actually.”

He looked worried. “I don’t think she’s all who she says she is, (Y/N). Remember in high school, she had the biggest crush on you. Or well, it was more like an obsession. During class she’d always write your name with her last name, and hearts about it, stuff like that.”

(Y/N) nodded, unsure where he was going with this. “There are more high school girls that do that, I think.”

“It’s not just that. She actually threatened people. She told everyone at school to stay away from you, or she’d hurt them. She told me as well, she came up to me one day with a knife and warnings that she wasn’t afraid to use it against me or my loved ones. She knew exactly what their jobs and their schedules were, so fuck man, I was scared. I had no choice but to ignore you. It must’ve hurt so much, and I’m so sorry. I was dying to tell you all about this, but I just- I couldn’t. ”

Biting the inside of her cheek, (Y/N) averted her eyes to the ground. She wasn’t looking to dig up these emotional scars today.

His apology seemed sincere. Kirishima was never one to tell lies like that, especially extravagant ones like this. So, unless he had changed for the absolute worse, everything he said was right. The more she thought about it, the more she agreed with him.

It had all started very gradually; one day, a small group of classmates would avoid her. (Y/N) thought nothing of it, but eventually her entire class, and then the entire school including her best friends refused to talk to her. After the first year high school, Uraraka was pretty much the only person she spoke to. Her telling everyone to back off would be a logical explanation.

(Y/N) shook her head. No way. Uraraka, threatening people with a knife? The same Uraraka that bawls her eyes out when a dog dies in a movie, and can’t sleep without her trusty stuffed animal? Uraraka wouldn’t hurt a fly.

With a stern look and a voice to match her face, (Y/N) said harshly: “Listen, you don’t know anything about her, or me. If you really cared, you would’ve found a way to tell me about this. I don’t need to hear your lies after the shit you pulled on me, so if you’d excuse me, I have a lovely meal to cook for my lovely wife Uraraka tonight.”

With that, (Y/N) turned on her heels and stormed towards the cash register, leaving a flustered Kirishima behind. She wouldn’t allow him to tell her stuff like that.

However, when she was carrying the groceries back home, the thought of Uraraka threatening others wouldn’t leave her mind, no matter how much she tried to shake it off. To make it worse, that stupid redhead made her forget the wine and facemasks.

--

Even though the doubts had somehow managed to settles themselves in her heart, (Y/N) did her best to make a tasty meal and serve it nicely. She grabbed a bottle of wine they’d been hiding in the back of a closet for special occasions and filled up two glasses.

Just as she was pouring the second glass, an exhausted Uraraka entered the house. (Y/N) didn’t notice her yet, so Uraraka decided to sneak up on her.

Tiptoeing closer to her, she eventually hugged (Y/N) from behind, almost making her drop the glass and the wine. With an innocent voice, she said: “Happy anniversary, sweetie.”

(Y/N) turned around to face her. “Happy anniversary.”

Uraraka gave her a kiss on the cheek. When she noticed her favourite food on the table and the tasty wine bottle that was opened, she squealed: “Oh my God, you did this for me? It looks so great! Thank you so much, this is so sweet of you?”

“I bet it tastes even better than it looks,” (Y/N) said with a wink.

As they sat down to enjoy their dinner and have a nice banter, Kirishima’s words wouldn’t leave her mind. What if it was true what he had said? He didn’t seem to lie, after all.

When a silence fell, (Y/N) laid her cutlery on her plate and asked hesitantly: “Hey, so I have a question. I ran into Kirishima today and he told me… he told me about high school, and what had happened. He said that you threatened to hurt people if they talked to me, but there’s no way that’s true, right?”

(Y/N) followed her question with a laugh that was a little bit too loud. She quickly reached for her wine glass to occupy her hands.

When she glanced over at her wife, she could see a very serious look on Uraraka’s face. She’d only rarely seen her like this. Uraraka thought about her words for a bit, before replying: “What about it?”

“What do you mean?”

Uraraka began cutting into the meat on her dish with rough movements. “He’s right. They were taking up all your attention, while you should be paying attention to me.”

As she was talking, the knife in her hand cut more aggressively, until it was scraping the plate below it. Finally, she sighed and stopped her movements. “So I did what I had to do, and it all worked out in the end, didn’t it?”

Uraraka smiled sweetly and reached for (Y/N)’s hand. ���We’re married now, and I couldn’t be happier having you as my wife.”

While (Y/N) was shocked at first, she just smiled back. Squeezing her wife’s hand, she said: “Me too.”

Uraraka squeezed back and continued eating. Soon, they were talking about lighthearted topics again and were laughing about what had happened to Uraraka at work today.

In the back of her head, a little voice was telling (Y/N) that this wasn’t right and that she should’ve confronted her, told her that it wasn’t right to do that. But then again, now that she’s a housewife, Uraraka has no one to threaten anymore, so it’s fine. Confronting her about the past would only lead to frictions and she didn’t want to unnecessarily complicate things.

Her justifications couldn’t get rid of that voice, however. Deep down she knew that something was wrong.

It was as if she could sense that Uraraka was going to pay Kirishima a visit the next day.

#yandere #yantober #yandere fic #yandere imagines #yandere imagines bnha #yandere bnha #yandere bnha x reader #yandere ochoco #yandere ochaco #yandere uraraka #yandere uraraka x reader #yandere ochoco x reader #yandere ochaco x reader #yandere x reader #yandere x you #yandere x y/n

[k-llama-llama]

Burglarized

Seventeen AU: 14th member

Rei x Seventeen

Rei and Taemin have a little bit of a scare

Rei is not a permanent addition so if you have requests let me know…but she’s just an idea I had. She is NOT cannon with the rest of my AUs.

A/N: bonus post for you all today….ALSO CHECK OUT MY PATREON FOR ACCESS TO EXCLUSIVE CONTENT AND EARLY ACCESS (patreon.com/kllamallama)

Requests are OPEN!!!

Masterlist and other Follow Me links in bio!

Rei loved Taemin’s apartment.

She loved her dorm with the boys, too, but there was something so calming about his place. Where there weren’t twelve boys running around at all hours of the day and where she didn’t have to plan everything around having enough hot water or getting a moment alone to make a sandwich.

All of these reasons were, coincidentally, why she’d proud her pizza back to Taemin’s place. She’d told him she was coming over, but he was at a practice and so told her just to let herself in. She’d eaten the pizza, taken a nice, long shower, and was now curled up in bed, relishing in the silence.

Her phone buzzed on the night stand next to her, and she rolled over to grab it.

Taemin: Have you eaten yet? I’m going to grab chicken.

Rei: I ate….but I’d love to have chicken with you, baby.

Taemin: Don’t be weird, I was buying it for you anyways.

Rei grinned, stretching as she tried to wake herself up. Both her and Taemin had been very busy lately, so the idea of spending an evening eating chicken and just chilling seemed like an amazing idea.

She heard the beeping of the key pad, smiling to herself.

And then she sat up straight in the bed.

Taemin had texted her two minutes ago saying he was going to buy chicken. There was no way that he was home yet.

She figured the person just had the wrong apartment, further confirming this when they entered the wrong pin.

And then they tried again. And got the pin right.

Rei vaulted out of bed, landing next to the bedroom door with a surprising degree of agility. She heard the door open and someone entered the apartment, not turning on any of the lights. She glanced down at her phone, hitting the dial button next to Taemin’s name.

“I told you I was getting food. Did you-“

She cut him off. “There’s someone in the apartment.”

“What?”

“There’s someone-“ She went quiet, hearing one of the kitchen drawers open.

“I’m just across the street, I’m coming now!” She heard the sound of him running. “Just hide, okay?”

Despite her urge to stay on the line with him, she new she might need to call the police, so she hung up on him, dialing 911 and hovering her finger over the call button.

The person didn’t seem to be moving frantically through the apartment, but they were moving rather methodically. It was almost like they were looking for something specific. A burglar wouldn’t be looking for something specific, but a sasaeng might.

Rei breathed a tiny sigh of relief. A Sasaeng probably wouldn’t hurt her, but she had to stay hidden anyways. Who knew if the person was live streaming, or taking pictures? If they somehow found out that Rei was in Taemin’s apartment, there would be problems.

The person started walking towards the bedroom, and Rei steeled herself. If she could just get by them and out of the apartment, everything would be okay.

She raised her hand with her phone clasped in it, preparing to hit them just as they came around the corner.

A foot stepped through the doorway.

Rei swung with her fist, making contact with something, probably the person’s shoulder, and diving to get around them.

“Hey!” The shouted, grabbing for her. Their hand gripped her arm, dragging her back. “What are you doing in here?”

Rei screamed, trying to forced them off. “Get off me!”

“I will call the police!” The person shouted at her.

Rei blinked. “I’ll call the police. You’re the one trespassing.”

“What?”

“Who the hell are you.” Rei shook him off, reaching for the light switch.

The second the lights flicked on, Rei realized that she’d made an awful mistake.

“Onew, Sunbae!” She bowed, wincing as she looked at the man. He was holding a rapidly bruising jaw, which was obviously where she’d hit him with her phone. “I’m so sorry!”

“You’re….you’re…” He pointed at her with his free hand, obviously trying to remember her name.

“I’m Rei.” She said quietly.

“What were you doing in here?” He asked. “This is….this is Taemin’s apartment.”

“Um, I was….” She tucked her hair behind her ear. “I was sleeping.”

“You were sleeping.” He blinked, taking in her outfit. A pair of spandex shorts, and a shirt that was obviously too big for her. Like a lightbulb flicking on, his eyes widened in realization. “You’re his girlfriend?”

Rei nodded awkwardly. “Yeah. Um, sorry I hit you.”

He just nodded. “It’s okay. I probably shouldn’t have been creeping through the apartment in the dark. But I thought Taemin might be sleeping.”

“He’s on his way back from practice.” Rei explained. “Oh! Do you want ice for your face?”

She turned, hurrying towards the kitchen and flicking lights on as she went. He followed behind her, taking a seat at the bar counter as she pulled a bag of frozen peas out of the freezer and handed it to him, wrapping a dishtowel around it.

“Thanks.” He accepted it gratefully.

“Were you looking for something?” She asked, recalling how he had been digging through the cupboards.

“I was just looking for something to eat.” He admitted. “But I can just order something.”

“Ooh, Taemin is going to go out and get chicken.” Rei said. “Well, after he realizes I’m not being murdered. Do you want to eat with us?”

“Can I?” He tilted his head. “I didn’t think that I might be interrupting a date.”

“You’re not.” Rei shook her head quickly. “And I’ve never met any of his groupmates, so I’m excited.”

“Then, yeah, I’d love to.”

“Do you want a snack? Just to tide you over?”

“Sure?” He seemed unsure of what she would come up with, but relaxed when she pulled two pudding cups out of the fridge.

When Taemin burst through the door five minutes later, he found Onew and Rei on their second pudding cup, laughing at a photo on Onew’s phone.

“I thought you were getting robbed.” Taemin struggled to catch his breath.

“Oh, no.” Rei beamed at him. “Look, I met Onew.”

“Yah, Taemin.” Onew pointed at Rei with his spoon. “You didn’t tell us that your girlfriend was so cool.”

“I definitely did.” Taemin walked over, patting Onew on the shoulder and wrapping his arms around Rei. She scooped some pudding onto her spoon and offered it to him.

“Onew-Oppa is going to join us for dinner.” She looked up at him. “Can you still get chicken?”

“Yeah, I’ll go.” He kissed her forehead.

Onew pulled out his wallet, digging for his card. “I’ll pay.”

“No, you won’t.” Rei said quickly. “Taemin will, right?”

Taemin sighed. “Sure, baby. I’ll pay. So I’ll go get food, and you just stay here hanging out with my friend.”

Whether his sarcasm went unnoticed by Rei, or she just chose to ignore it, she just smiled at him. “Okay. Well, I’m starving so I can eat whenever.”

“I’ll go now.” Taemin released her, pointing at Onew as he headed back to the door. “Don’t scare my girlfriend again.”

“Hey, she attacked me.” Onew pointed to the bruise on his jaw. “If anything, I’m the one you should be worried about.”

#seventeen #seventeen au #seventeen imagine #seventeen 14th member #female kpop #female member kpop #female!kpop #requests open #au #kpop #imagines #imagine #taemin #kpop albums #kpop imagines #kpop au #kpop imagine #onew #shinee

[wiypt-writes]

Stark Spangled Banner

Stab Me In The Front Part 2: Knives Out, Bitch.

Intro: Katie heads out to speak to Harlan, and encounters Ransom for the second time in as many days. It ends about as well as the first time…

Warnings: Bad language. SMUT (NSWFW)

Pairing: Steve Rogers x OFC Katie Stark

Disclaimer: This is a pure work of fiction and classified as 18+. Please respect this and do not read if you are underage. I do not own any characters in this series bar Katie Stark and the other OCs. By reading beyond this point you understand and accept the terms of this disclaimer.

A/N: I love these edits again. Well played, @angrybirdcr​

Part 1

Stark Spangled Banner Masterlist // Main Masterlist

Katie groaned and fluffed up her hair in front of the floor length mirror. She’d chosen a simple long sleeved, turtle-necked grey woollen jersey dress teamed with a black belt, black tights and knee high tan boots wanting to appear smart yet casual for the setting at Harlan’s mansion. But for once it wasn’t her outfit or appearance that was causing her anguish.

“Have you decided if you’re gonna mention the whole Ransom thing?” Steve asked as he wandered back into the bedroom munching on another piece of toast from the tray of breakfast items they’d had delivered earlier.

Katie snorted and locked yes with him in the mirror. “Oh yeah, can you imagine? Mr Thrombey, your grandson is an asshole. In fact, he isn’t just an asshole he’s the asshole, he’s America’s asshole…”

Steve chuckled as he dropped onto the bed “You might not have a choice if he’s already told him what went down.”

“You mean how you threw him over the bar?” She raised an eyebrow as she leaned forward to check her make up. Steve dropped his head and sighed.

“I’m sorry but, well I’m not having anyone speak to you or about you like that.”

“Well, I think we both know your alpha male display turned me on just a little.” Katie smirked at him, and he grinned as he recalled how things had taken a very steamy turn when they’d gotten back to their room before he took a deep breath.

“I’m sorry, I really hope I haven’t screwed anything up.”

“If Harlan had heard and was going to cancel he would have done it by now. I’ll just go and see what happens.” Katie turned round and stepped into the space between Steve’s legs and his hands gently gripped her hips.

“You sure you don’t want me to drive you?”

“No, I’m okay.” She smiled, dropping a kiss to his mouth, her hands resting on his shoulders. “I’ll text you when I’m there and then when we’re done.”

Steve smiled, he was pleased she was feeling happy enough to take herself, this was a big step in her healing process.

Even if he knew he’d be on tenterhooks the whole time she was gone…

“Alright.” He nodded. “I’m gonna go exploring, see the sights.” “Captain America playing tourist.”She grinned and he chuckled slightly, his hands sliding down to gently squeeze her ass.

“When in Rome.” he shrugged, “Or this case Boston. By the way sweetheart, your ass looks great in this dress.” “What is it you say to me?” she laughed, her hands sliding round to remove his from her rear, her fingers lacing into his “It’s all yours, baby.” “Damned right.” He practically growled as she turned and headed into the sitting room area of their suite. Steve followed her, leaning on the doorframe and simply watching as she shrugged on her pea jacket that was resting over the back of the sofa. She picked up her laptop, checked her bag and wrapped a scarf around her neck.

“Walk you down to the car?” Steve asked, and she turned to face him smiling.

“Yeah, I’d like that.”

****

The drive out to the Thrombey mansion was actually very pleasant. Katie enjoyed the scenery as she drove and soon enough was pulling up the large, tree lined drive and came to a halt.  She stepped out, grabbed her bag and took in the mansion in front of her, giving a low whistle. It appealed to her love of all things old fashioned and gothic. Old and red brick, surrounded by scenery and stone figurines it was exactly the kind of home one would expect a Crime author to own.

She text Steve to say she had arrived and was safe and as she made her way towards the door, two large German Shepherd dogs bounded towards her. She paused for a second, allowing them to sniff at her, their tails wagging and she bent down, scratching one behind the ears.

“Oh aren’t you handsome boys!” she grinned, as she continued to pet them.

“Excellent judges of character, too.” a female voice said. Katie looked up to see a dark haired woman stood on the steps by the front door.

“They’re gorgeous.” Katie beamed, straightening up. “I’d love a dog but, well, we don’t really have time for one.” “I can imagine your line of work is a little hectic.” the lady smiled as Katie approached “I’m Fran, Mr Thrombey’s house keeper.”

“It’s nice to meet you Fran, I’m Katie.”

Fran smiled and stepped back to allow Katie to step through the large, wooden doors which opened into a huge hallway, which was grandly decorated just like something straight out of one of Harlan’s books. Katie looked around, taking it all in, before Fran spoke to her again.

“Mr Thrombey is finishing off a call. Can I offer you a drink whilst you’re waiting?”

“I wouldn’t say no to a coffee.” Katie nodded, removing her scarf.  Fran took it from her, along with her coat and hung them up on a stand by the door before she gestured for Katie to follow her. They walked down a hallway which was lined with dark, panelled wood that opened up into a large, kitchen diner.

“How do you take it, Mrs Rogers?”

But before Katie could respond, the dogs outside began once more to bark, only this time Katie could tell they were agitated. Fran gave an audible sigh, and the source of her frustration was evident as the back door blustered open.

“Oh shut the fuck up!” a familiar drawl was yelling back over the grounds and Katie felt herself stiffen slightly. Ransom barrelled into the kitchen from the mud room, his open tan coat flapping behind him. There was a multi-coloured silk scarf hanging around his neck and he was wearing a blue sweater which was slightly frayed on the hem, a far contrast from the sharp suit he had been dressed in last night. He cast his eyes around and stopped dead, a snarl playing on his face.

“You?”

There was a pause and Katie sighed, summonsing every single bit of professionalism “Good morning Mr Drysdale.”

Ransom snorted “Mr Drysdale now, that’s not what you were calling me last night was it? I was a self-entitled dick, wasn’t I?”

Fran gave a snort which she hastily turned into a cough and Ransom shot her a glare.

“Well in my defence you did call me a hooker.” Katie shrugged, taking attention off the housekeeper.

There was a moment of silence before Ransom broke the stare he was giving her and turned back to Fran.

“You got my cookies, Franny?”

“In the usual cupboard Hugh.”

“Hugh?” Katie frowned. “I thought your name was Ransom.” “It is.” Ransom, or Hugh said as he made his way to a cupboard and pulling out a packet of Lotus Biscoff. He leaned against the counter and popped one in his mouth, eyeing Katie up and down. “Only the help call me Hugh.”

Katie couldn’t help the disdain that crept across her face at his tone. He really was an insufferable jerk.

“Really? Hugh to the help and Ransom to others?” She looked at him, “What do the dogs call you?”

“I dunno, go ask them. I mean you do speak dog don’t you, being one?”

“Wow did you think of that all by yourself?” Katie rolled her eyes at his childishness “Guess your time at Harvard really served you well.”

“How did you know I went to Harvard?” He frowned.

“Isn’t’ that where all the spoilt little, trust fund babies go?” She smiled at him. Truth be told she’d had FRIDAY look him up the previous night but she wasn’t about to admit that.

“Yeah and where was your brilliant education then?” He shoved another cookie in his mouth.

“Oxbridge.” She shot back. Ransom paused, arching an eyebrow.

“What are you doing here anyway?”  He said after a moment, clearly unable to think of anything smart to say about her choice of University.

“Mrs Rogers here is the Owner and CEO of Stark Independent Publishers and they’re going to be publishing The Colour of Revenge.” A deep voice said from the doorway. Katie turned to see Harlan walking into the kitchen, his eyes fixed on his grandson. “And whilst she is in this house on my invitation she is a guest, so you could do well to remember your manners.” Ransom looked at him, blinked, then threw his head back in a huge roar of laughter. “Wait. You have your own company, and you’re using another to publish your next book?”

“Yes Ransom, that’s correct.”

“Oh that…that is fucking priceless!” Ransom continued to laugh “I can’t wait for you to tell Walt.”

Now Katie was utterly confused. There was clearly some fucked-up family dynamic at play, and she was even more puzzled when Ransom stepped towards her, offering her a cookie from the packet.

“You poisoned them?” Katie looked at him, and he rolled his eyes.

“I’m eating them ain’t I?”

“Fair point.” She shrugged taking one “Thanks.” “You’re welcome, Sweetheart. Anyone that helps piss off my shit head family can share my food.” He said, and with that he blustered out in as dramatic a fashion as he’d entered, his laughter following him down the hall.

“You should be honoured.” Harlan turned to face Katie “He doesn’t normally give those out, they’re his favourites.”

“Yeah, without meaning to speak out of turn he doesn’t strike me as the type to share.”

Harlan chuckled and crossed the room, holding out his hand. Katie shook it, smiling. “It’s a pleasure to meet you finally Mrs Rogers.”

“And you too Mr Thrombey.”

“I told you on the phone, please, call me Harlan.”

“As long as you call me Katie.” she shot back and he nodded.

“Sure I can manage that, Fran, dear, we’ll take the drinks in my study.”

“Of course Mr Thrombey, I’ll bring them through.”

Katie followed Harlan out of the kitchen.

“I’m sorry about my grandson.” he looked back at her

“Don’t be. We err, we actually met last night. He was in my hotel bar…”

“Let me guess, you didn’t particularly get on then either.” “There were a few words traded, yes.” Katie nodded, before she sighed, deciding to be honest.  “Actually, there were more than words traded. Steve, my husband, kinda got in a bit of an altercation with him. I was a little worried you wouldn’t want to do business if you had heard about it.”

Harlan chuckled as he led her down the corridor and to the right. “If I refused to do business with everyone Ransom had pissed off I’d have a problem. But that aside, he hadn’t mentioned it. Although, I haven’t seen him since he stormed out of here yesterday after a disagreement with his mother and his cousin. He likes to flounce does Ransom, he has a flair for the dramatic. If you don’t mind me asking what did he say to you?” Katie explained as they walked, Harlan letting out a groan.

“On his behalf, I apologise.” He shook his head, opening a door and allowing her to step into the large study.

“It’s fine, I gave as good as I got.” She smiled and Harlan laughed.

“I don’t doubt that for a second Mrs Rogers” He closed the door. “Now, please take a seat and we can talk business.”

**** An hour later Katie was feeling a lot more at ease. Harlan was an easy man to talk to. He was firm, but fair, and as such had approved the cover designs, and accepted all but 6 of the amendments the Editing team had proposed to this manuscript. As a result, she was feeling a lot more confident about the pitch regarding her Charity idea, knowing full well that he wouldn’t simply dismiss the idea was spurring her on.

“So as we agreed Mr Thrombey.” Katie said, sliding the first piece of paper over to him “Your royalties on the print edition will be 9% of the cover price for the first 5,000 copies, 10% on the next 5,000 and 12% thereafter…and for the E-book edition 25% of the sales revenue. You can see from our forecasts what we anticipate this will bring you.”

Harlan took the paper and gave it a quick glance over before nodding “How have you come up with the forecast sales numbers?”

“We based it on your last 3 novels, plus the level of pre-orders we have had. And, without wanting to sound too big headed, SIP attracts a lot of attention given who…” she felt herself blush slightly “Who I am so we tend to make a lot of sales on the back of that, which to be fair in this case isn’t a bad thing.” “In this case?” Harlan frowned at her.

“Yes, errr.” She swallowed again, shifting slightly “SIP is donating 100% of its revenue on your book to charity, although we haven’t made that public yet. I wanted to talk to you about it before we release anything to the press.”

“Charity?” 

“Yes, several to be exact. We’re going to split it across organisations that help victims of sexual abuse, rape and other violent sexually motivated crimes.”

“That’s very commendable.” Harlan leaned back in his chair “And I take it that’s because of the subject matter?” “That’s one reason.” She nodded, hesitantly.

“And the other?” The old man pressed, his hands steeping together in front of his chin as his elbows rested on the large mahogany desk.

Katie hesitated, before she bit her lip and took a deep breath as she looked at the man who was studying her intently. For some reason, she felt she could trust him so decided to tell him the whole story. “It’s fairly well known that last year I was missing for a number of weeks but the circumstances were never revealed. In reality, Harlan, I was, erm, held captive.” She paused to clear her throat “I was taken by an organisation who thought by torturing me I’d reveal certain information to them, information I didn’t actually have. When the usual methods of interrogation failed, well, I’m sure you don’t need me to fill in the gaps.”

Harlan’s face softened and he let out a sigh. “I’m sorry to hear that, I truly am.” “So yeah, there’s an element of it being personal in there.” She swallowed. “I didn’t know myself that half of these support charities existed until a year ago and to me it’s more about the awareness, that people who find themselves in the position I did understand that there are people out there to help.”

Harlan nodded “How do you intend on using the book to do that?” “Well, with your permission, ”Katie said, turning her laptop round to face him, to show him the various mock ups she had produced, “I’d like to include a foreword in your book, a little bit about why we have chosen to do what we are doing, so that everyone who buys a copy sees it. You have a huge established audience Harlan, and that kind of publicity is just something that no amount of money can buy. I’d also like to include a tagline about how the proceeds will be helping people in the advertising material and on the front cover.” “Will you be writing the foreword?” Harlan looked at her.

Katie nodded. “You’ll of course be sent a copy before it is finalised to ensure you’re happy with it.”

“I think it’s a wonderful idea.” Harlan smiled “I’m happy to be part of it. And in light of what you’ve said, I’d also be happy to wave my royalties and also donate those to the cause.”

“Oh, no, that’s not…” Katie began to protest but Harlan shut her down.

“I don’t need the money.” he shook his head “All I ask is that you make it work. You clearly have a passion about this Katie, and for good reason. Frankly I’m blown away by the courage you’ve displayed here today by telling me this. There are a lot of people out there in privileged positions that could take a leaf out of your book my dear.”

Katie felt her eyes misting over and she blinked, looking away. Harlan passed her the box of tissues and she took one with a weak laugh.

“Sorry.” she smiled “I’ve just, well, no one knows what happened bar my inner circle so to speak.”

“It won’t go any further.” Harlan looked at her “I can assure you of that” Katie smiled, before she looked at the man, and her smile slid into a cheeky smirk. “Seeing as I’ve been honest with you, can you be honest with me?”

“Of course.”

“You have your own Publishing company, they’ve done all of your books for the last 25 years. Why have you chosen SIP for this one?”

Harlan sat back, sighing before he gave her a small smile “Because for the last 25 years my son has done nothing but ride on my tails. He likes to give Ransom a lot of stick for simply living off my money but he is no better. You see, I set the publishers up so he could make something of it, I didn’t expect him to simply sit there and use my books alone. Thought it was time he had a wake-up call.”

Katie gave a grin “I see now why Ransom was so amused.”

“Yeah, Walt won’t be best pleased…” Harlan said, “He’ll be even less so when he realises I’m giving my royalties away on this completely. Now, please permit me one last question before we finish.” “Sure.” “You’re the owner and CEO of SIP.” She nodded.

“Do you always visit potential authors or is this visit purely down to the fact this book means something personal to you?”

“There is that, and, well, honestly? I’m just a huge fan of your work.” she grinned “Owning and running your own business should have some self-indulgent perks after all, right?”

They spent 15 minutes or so tying up the final bits and pieces before Harlan walked her to the door, helping her into her coat.

“It’s been a pleasure.” He smiled, shaking her hand again.

“Same here.” she grinned “And thank you again. We’ll be in touch when we’re ready to go to press. It shouldn’t be too long. I’m hoping to hold the big launch early in November. Maybe hold some charity event, I’ll let you know.” “Of course, anything I can do to help…”

There was a pause as a loud engine sounded and they both turned to see a vintage silver BMW skid to a halt on the driveway driven by Ransom. He climbed out, his long legs stretching in front of him as he glanced over to the pair of them.

“I see he’s been out for his usual lunch appointment.” Harlan remarked. “Such a hard life.”

Katie laughed and with that she headed down the steps towards her car.

“Leaving so soon?” Ransom asked as she passed him.

“Work is done for the day so yeah,” she shrugged

“If you have all that money, why do you bother?” 

Katie stopped and turned to him. “Because I’ve never had it handed to me on a plate.” She replied, honestly “One thing my brother instilled into me was that you have to work for things in life. Yes, I’ve had opportunities that most people wouldn’t but I’m eternally grateful for those and do this to prove that.”

“And the Avenging?” He asked. “Humour me, I’m curious.”

“I like to help people. It is what it is.” She shrugged.

“Putting your life on the line to help people with no thanks.” He shook his head. “I don’t get it.”

“I wouldn’t expect you to.” she shook her head, “But, I just remind myself that for every one person that’s like you, there are a hundred other people who actually deserve it so…” “Eat shit.”  Ransom drawled, rolling his eyes.

“Fuck you.” Katie’s usual insult flew off her tongue easily, and she inwardly groaned knowing full well she’d given him an opening. And sure enough, the anticipated response came her way.

“If you’re offering.”

“Oh, believe me Mr Drysdale, I wouldn’t sleep with you if you were the last person on Earth.

“You wouldn’t be doing much sleeping.” he smirked, “And you’re forgetting something.”

“Oh pray, do enlighten me.” She said sarcastically. “You’re the one that mistook me for your husband, sweet cheeks. I’d say you must find something attractive about me.” “Don’t flatter yourself, you’re nothing like him.” she turned towards the car

“Oh, are we playing spot the difference?” Ransom chuckled and she gave a bark of a laugh and spun back to face him. “Your eyes are completely different, your jawline is nowhere near as square, your smile…well is it even a smile or are you suffering from trapped wind? I’m not sure and don’t even get me started on your hair.” She arched an eyebrow “Frankly my Stevie has more sexual appeal in his little finger than you have in your entire body and as for that lousy sweater you’re wearing…” “Ah, yes, you’re a sucker for spangly lycra…”

“It’s a mix of Tevlar and a patented material my brother developed actually, but that’s by the by.” Katie shrugged “When he fills it out as well as he does I can’t help but want to be a sucker if you get my drift.”

 “More than happy to help you out there darlin.” he winked. “I bet you’ve never kept a woman longer than a night have you?” Katie shook her head.

 “Sometimes they don’t even last the night.”

“Oh, I can believe that, I’d run too.” she nodded. “Why would anyone want a jumped up little trust fund baby like you when they could have a real man between their legs?”

Ransoms face instantly slid from the playful, teasing smirk into something slightly darker and much, much angrier.

“You jumped up little bitch.” He spat, his voice laced with venom as he moved closer to her. She held her ground, looking him up and down, simply raising an eyebrow as his voice grew in volume. “If I wanted you, I could have you. It’s that simple.” Katie felt her nostrils flare. After everything she’d just talked to his grandfather about, was this asshole seriously insinuating what she thought he was?

“You know what?” She stepped forward, glaring up at him.“That’s the problem with people like you. You think you can just take what you want without the consequences. Well I got news for you, Hugh, that isn’t how it works.”

“Oh get off your fucking high horse!” Ransom bit back, his voice loud as he shook his head “I’ve had enough of your sanctimonious I’m better than you bullshit.” “I am better than you. But then again, that’s not saying much as frankly I think you’re one of the most despicable people I’ve ever met, and trust me that’s saying something.”  She looked him up and down once more, giving her best contemptuous glare before she turned on her heel.

“Now you listen to me,” he said, grabbing at her arm. In a flash she had twisted out of his hold and swept his legs from under him, putting all her body weight behind the movement, spinning and throwing him straight over her shoulder in a move she had learnt years ago from Steve. With a hefty thud and a yell he hit the floor, landing on his back. She knelt on his chest, her knee digging into his sternum, heel of her palm pressed straight against his windpipe.

“When I said yesterday I’d taken down bigger men than you I meant it.” she glared at him “Touch me again, and I’ll kill you myself before Steve gets the chance.”

“Get..off..me…” he snarled, but she didn’t move, instead she pushed on his throat a little harder, causing him to gasp for air.

“They say the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree but in this case, well, you’re about as far removed from your granddad as you could get. How he ended up with such an appalling little shit like you as a grandson I’ll never know.”

With that she stood up, leaving him to take huge gasps of air as she turned to see the dogs careering down from the grassy banks surrounding the house, barking as they ran.

“Mother fucker!” she heard Ransom’s yelling as she picked up her bag her hands shaking slightly as she headed to her car. His yells were coming thick and fast as she walked, quickly. “Oh you son of a BITCH! You just pissed ON MY COAT!”

She turned to see Ransom aiming a kick at the dogs, missing them both completely. She couldn’t help but smirk at the sight of the man desperately trying to escape and get up off the floor. Something then caught her attention and she glanced up slightly to see Harlan was stood on the balcony of the house, a mug in his hand watching the scene play out. He raised the mug in her direction before taking a sip and strolling back in his house.

As she passed Ransom’s silver vintage BMW, which was parked by the Porsche SUV she had hired, she hesitated slightly before she reached down her boot and pulled out the small combat knife she had kept concealed there. With a quick flick of her wrist she sent it flying into the rear passenger’s side tyre of Ransom’s car.

“Knives out, bitch.” She grinned to herself before she unlocked her car, settled in the driver’s seat and pulled away.

****

“Baby, that’s amazing!” Steve said, looking at her across the table as she finished telling him all about her afternoon. She’d driven straight to the small Italian Steve had said he had found and they were enjoying an early dinner whilst Katie told him about her meeting. She’d been completely honest about everything, what she’d said, how she had felt…well, almost anyway. Ransom hadn’t cropped up in their discussions yet, thankfully.

“I know, it’s better than I could have hoped.” she smiled, chewing on her ravioli. “I mean, the amount of money and publicity it’s gonna generate is off the scale!”

“I’m proud of you.” he said gently. She beamed at his praise and took a sip of her wine. “I take it then the whole Ransom thing wasn’t an issue?”

Ah crap, there it was…

Something flickered across Katie’s face and Steve frowned. ”What?”

“He err, he was there.” She looked down at her food, pushing it around her plate a little “We had…words.”

“Words?” Steve pressed.

“Yeah, at first he was fine. Even gave me a cookie, long story.” She waved away his questioning glance “But er…well we had a bit of a heated discussion on the driveway as I was leaving. He grabbed my arm and…” “He did what?” Steve nearly exploded and the table next to them turned to look at him.

“Shhhh” She hissed “It was nothing, besides, I floored him with that nice little over shoulder drive you showed me. Then when he was down the dog pissed on his coat.”

Steve was torn between his desire to rage about the fact the man had dared to lay his fingers on her, and laughing at the image he had of Ransom’s coat being soaked in dog piss. Eventually the laughter won out as he gave a small chuckle and leaned back in his chair.

“Wish I’d seen that.”

“Oh and I left a knife in his tyre” she shrugged, taking another bite of her food. Steve’s eyebrow raised.

“A knife.”

“Yup.”

“You took a knife with you?”

“Down my boot.”

“You know, you scare me sometimes.” Steve arched his eyebrow, taking a drink of his beer.

“I scared him.” she laughed “You should have seen his face.” Steve changed the subject then, not wanting to discuss him anymore. Whilst he was still pissed about the asshole in general, he was beyond pleased to see that she wasn’t phased by it, in fact she seemed excited about the entire thing. The meeting had gone well, and that was the most important thing to him. That she’d gone in the first place, especially after being so frightened.

They talked about where Steve had been, the sights he’d taken in and he promised to show her a few of his sketches when they got back to the hotel room, except that kind of fell along the wayside as no sooner had they gotten into the room they were pawing at each other like a pair of hungry, horny school kids.

As a result, Steve was found himself led on his back on the bed, Katie’s lips trailing his skin, from his collar over to his neck. He let out a soft sigh and Katie grinned as she moved back to look at him. His eyes were dark, full of desire and he watched as her head moved down his body, her soft fingers pulling the waistband of his boxers down slightly as she kissed across the bottom of his stomach, just on the V of his abdomen, where the thin strip of hair that led from his belly button down to his groin lived. He was aroused, desperate to feel her mouth on him, but as she trailed her tongue across his skin, she got as low as she could without actually touching him there. He let out a groan, his hips bucking slightly and she stopped, glancing up at him.

“Want something, Soldier?” she smirked, repeating the words he had said to her the other morning and he looked down at her lidded eyes which were sparkling with mischief.

“You want me to beg?” he asked, his voice gravelly “Because I’m not above that.” She let out a grin and decided to take pity on him. As her hot mouth took him in he let out a hiss, his head falling back against the pillow. One hand fisted in the sheets besides him, the other settled in her hair, fingers tangling into her soft waves as her head moved. Her tongue swirled around his shaft, teeth grazing gently as she took him deeper, twirling her hand around the base of his cock.

“Fuck, sweetheart…” he keened and felt her smirking as she continued her ministrations. It was so good, it was almost torture, and every time his hips moved she stopped, giving him a warning look.

Fuck, he loved it when she took control like this.

Eventually, when he could feel his stomach starting to tighten he gently pulled on her hair. “Baby,” he groaned, “get up here. I’m gonna lose it if you keep doing that.”

With a grin she released him with a pop and crawled up his body, her breasts dragging against his naked skin before she straddled him, and lowered herself down, taking him in completely. Her head lolled back slightly as he bent his knees, allowing her to lean back against his thighs, hands resting on her hips as she began to move. With every roll she made, Steve was actively fighting his release, but it was becoming increasingly harder. His hand moved between her legs to stroke at her bud, and she let out a gasp, shuddering slightly.

“Don’t stop…” she cried, “Please, Stevie…”

His strokes became quicker, and with the hand that still grasped her hip he pulled her down onto him harder as he thrust upwards, driving into her as much as he could. He felt her shudder slightly before she gave a loud, broken moan as her orgasm swept her away, and he was right with her, his hips faltering as his eyes flickered shut, his entire body stiffening before he relaxed backwards and Katie felt forwards onto his chest. She gave a soft hum of satisfaction, her face burying into his neck as his fingers trailed up her spine gently.

“Okay?” He asked when he had finally caught his breath, she made a noise of affirmation unable to summon the power to speak at that point in time. Steve gave a chuckle and moved his head, nudging her face with his nose. She looked at him for a moment before she gave him a soft kiss.

“Stevie.” She hummed gently as he pulled away to look at her. “We left the restaurant without desert.”

He arched an eyebrow at her “Seriously, you’re thinking about food now?” “Yeah, I got a hankering for something sweet.” “I’m not sweet enough?” He pouted.

She laughed “Not unless you’re hiding a pecan pie somewhere…” “Room service?” 

She grinned and nodded, rolling off him. “Oh, and order a bottle of champagne.” “Pushing the boat out?” he said, shuffling onto his side so he could face her.

“When have I ever needed an excuse to drink fizz?” she looked at him.

“True.” he said, brushing her hair off her face before he leaned in for another lazy kiss.

“And then, when we’ve finished that I’ll let you draw me a bath.”

��Oh, you’ll let me draw you a bath?”

“Yup?”

“What’s in it for me?” “You can scrub my back.” She smirked, her hand sliding up his chest. “Oh well, when you put it like that, how could I possibly refuse?” He rolled his eyes as she laughed.

Steve grinned back at her. Frankly, the idea of spending the entire evening locked in the hotel room with her, drinking champagne, bathing, no doubt a bit more fooling around was fucking heaven in his eyes. Giving her one last, soft peck on the lips he reached over for the phone to ring in their order.

**** “You’ve done WHAT?”

Ransom smirked as his mother screeched across the room her almost unintelligible ramblings being punctuated by yells and protests from Walt. His grandfather had just revealed to them all that not only was he using a different publishers for his next book, he was also donating his royalties to charity after discussions with the Stark bitch, or Rogers bitch as she was called now. Naturally Meg thought it was a great idea, but then she would. Ransom didn’t give a shit either way. He just found watching them all arguing like they were doing utterly hilarious.

“Cookie?” he asked, offering the packet across the coffee table.

“No I don’t want a fucking cookie, you asshole!” Walt glared at him.

“Wow” Ransom mouthed, smirking.

“Ransom, enough.” His mother shot and he looked at her.

“What did I do?” He laughed.

“You’re being deliberately obtuse!”

“I haven’t said a word.” He sniggered “And I don’t plan on doing either. It’s the old man’s money. If he wants to give it away, so be it. I am curious though.” He leaned forward and looked at his grandfather. “What did she say to convince you to part with it?” “It wasn’t what she said so much as what she did.” Harlan answered after a moment’s thought, not wanting to betray her trust “Her company is donating their profits from what she openly admitted would be their biggest earning book to date. Says a lot about her don’t you think?” Ransom cocked his head to one side and shrugged, as the arguing once more began.

With a snort he stood up “Well this has been emotional, we should do this again sometime.” he said, “Grandfather…”

Harlan waved him away, none of the others paying him a blind bit of attention. He grabbed his dog-piss ruined coat from the chair he’d thrown it against, making a beeline for Fran in the kitchen, ordering her to get it dry cleaned as soon as she could. He then headed out to his car, and stopped dead as he noticed the rear tyre was flat.

Cursing he bet to take a closer look, and noticed the knife that was expertly placed right in the middle of the tread at near the bottom and despite himself he gave a low chuckle, shaking his head.

“Well played Mrs Rogers, well played.”

**** Part 3

**Original Posting**

#stark spangled banner #steve rogers #Katie Stark #knives out #ransom drysdale #steve rogers x ofc #steve rogers x original female character #steve rogers fic #steve rogers smut #chris evans #chris evans characters

[sunshinejihyun]

Chocolatey Giggles - Kiro’s Birthday 2021

Author’s note: happy birthday, you big goofball. I love you so much.

the little scene I mention with Lucien is based off @dreamer-hyun​‘s WONDERFUL fic called ‘watch the universe expand’. Go read it, it’s amazing.

Word Count: 1580

Warnings: brief mention of unrequited love concerning Lucien, unedited bc im toired

Masterlist

Kiro had awoken before her; he was expecting sunlight to be streaming in through their windows, casting a glow over her soft but he was instead met with a rumble of thunder and a flash of lightning.

He must have slept the night through, but with the worried lines creasing her forehead, Kiro knew she hadn’t slept well. He gently pulled the covers up over her shoulders and pressed a kiss to her forehead before getting out of the bed and stretching.

Even though it was his birthday, Kiro still had to work. The life of an idol never stopped, even when he wish his Evol was more like Victor’s; Kiro would love being able to stop time so he could have a little world all to himself and the woman he loves. He kept telling himself that the faster he went and got the recording finalized and perfect, he’d be back in her arms where Kiro felt the safest.

So he snuck one final peek at her face. The worried lines had fallen away and she looked peaceful; it was the perfect image to etch in his brain before he saw her once again.

The driver was already waiting for Kiro as he came down his front steps. He didn’t bother changing; he knew he should but he really just wanted even more of a reason to head on home as soon as possible.

Kiro brushed his driver away as he reached to open the idol’s door. “Please, I’m perfectly capable of opening my door.”

“Of course sir. I’ll get in the drivers seat then.”

Settling himself in his seat, Kiro pulled out of his phone to send a text.

Miss Chips! Today’s a wonderful day! Don’t worry about the rain, the best part of celebrating Kiro Day is being in the arms of the person he loves most, and that’s you! I’ll be home before you miss me too long.

Kiro hoped that seeing that message would put a smile on her face when she woke up. One of the ones where she’d smile sleepily while still rubbing her eyes and seeing the slow way her face lit up always brought strength and warmness to Kiro’s heart.

As the rain pattered on, Kiro watched the raindrops race down the window and placed bets every time on which one would win to kill time.

A ding from her phone brought her out of a restless sleep, the side of the bed next to her was cold but judging from the imprint on the pillow, Kiro had only left maybe ten minutes before. The storm last night had been noisy, and she didn’t sleep well through them. She even briefly wondered if Lucien did okay through the storm.

Before she and Kiro got together, she and Lucien would stay up late on stormy nights, only a wall between their backs as they talked on the phone through stories about fictionalized worlds. She didn’t realize it then, but Lucien told her more about himself in those stories than he ever told her to her face.

The storm connected them, and now it felt like the biggest disconnect in the world not to have his calming voice whispering to her until the sun started to rise. It wasn’t that they couldn’t talk, but he had distanced himself since she and Kiro had gotten together; she didn’t blame him either. He loved her. She loved him too, just in a different way.

She wouldn’t change anything, though. Not even for the whole world, because Kiro was her world and that would mean potentially losing him in the change.

Her phone made another sound, reminding her of the message that roused her from the light sleep she had slipped in after waiting for the sun to arise. Kiro had texted and it was a message that warmed her heart and made her feel a bit more awake.

Rubbing her eyes, she set out for the kitchen. There was coffee still in the coffee pot from when Kiro made it and she poured some in a mug before pulling out the cake box she had hidden from Kiro in an empty sealable bag of peas and carrots. He wouldn’t dare eat those on his own, so she figued it’d be a safe place to hide the mix to surprise Kiro for his birthday. As long as Savin didn’t escort him in, she and her love would be able to eat enough cake until they crashed on their couch from a sugar rush later on.

Baking the cake was mindless, the hum of the mixer calmed her nervous coffee jitters and by the time it was in the oven, she was snuggled under warm blankets on the couch. The coffee didn’t keep her awake for long and the slow drops of rain against the roof was enough to lull her back to sleep.

She woke the second time because the fire alarm started screaming. She couldn’t place where it came from at first but as soon as she spotted the smoking oven, she rushed over and pulled the burning cake pan from the oven.

Dropping the hot metal into the sink, she rushed to open the windows and clear out the smoke.

“Miss Chips? I’m hom- WAH! What’s that smell?” Kiro walked through the door, choking on the smoke as Apple Box ran to him, jumping up and landing his paws on Kiro’s shoulders.

“I burnt something!” She cried out, grabbing a handheld fan and trying to push the smoke towards the open window.

Kiro gently removed Apple Box from his shoulders and grabbed a magazine, helping her to fan the rest of the smoke out. The fire alarm had stopped screaming and the kitchen was starting to smell like burnt cake and rain, a weird combination but not an unpleasing scent.

Kiro peered into the sink and laughed. “Did you try to bake again? You know what happened to the cookies!” She had tried to bake him cookies to snack on during a plane ride a few weeks ago and no matter how long they were in the oven, they refused to cook. Kiro left with no snacks and she was left with un-cookable cookie dough.

“Shh,” she pouted, walking over to Kiro and wrapping her arms around her from behind. “I just wanted to do something nice for your birthday and it’s ruined.”

He turned, hugging her head close to his chest. “Kiro Day isn’t ruined!” Kiro kissed the crown of her head. “Just having you here like this is enough for me.” It was quiet for a moment, they stood wrapped in each other and swaying to the gentle pitter patter of the rain. “Besides, the cake isn’t ruined either.”

“Um,” she blinked, looking up at him. “It’s kinda burnt.” “Hear me out, but I saw on Tik Tok that if you mix cake with frosting and put them in balls and freeze them, they can be cake pops after you dip them in chocolate! We could do that!”

“That’s… actually genius, Mister Kiro! Good job!” She bounced up on her toes and smacked a kiss on his cheek before breaking out from his grip. “Let’s start!”

That’s how they ended up in standing side by side in the kitchen. She was on a stool and watched as Kiro guided the handheld mixer around the burnt cake and chocolate frosting.

“Now we just have to roll them into balls!” Kiro said, and she snickered as he dipped his hand in the bowl and got a clump of the messy cake.

They giggled together as they rolled each individual cake pop and every once in a while one would hip bump the other, which would throw them into another fit of giggles.

Once they had popped the cake in the freezer, they plopped on the couch and cozied up together. His arm was around her shoulder and her head was on his shoulder. Kiro draped a blanket over both of their laps and Cello jumped up and curled into her lap. Apple Box sat on Kiro’s feet which made the both of them giggle.

“I’m sorry you didn’t sleep well last night.” He said, kissing her forehead softly. She responded with a kiss of her own, placed right on the side of his throat.

“It’s fine, I had a nap earlier.” She didn’t question how Kiro knew she had a restless night; he always could tell from one look at her. He claimed once it was because her eyes didn’t sparkle as much. “I’m sorry I ruined your birthday cake,”  She picked up her head then and choked back a giggle.

“What is it?” Kiro asked, his eyebrows furrowing which just made the chocolate on his nose that much funnier.

“Hold still,” she replied, leaning over to grab her phone from the coffee table and snapping a picture of his confused face, covered with chocolate. She showed him then, and he scrambled for a napkin. “That’s going on Moments!” She declared.

“Miss Chips, don’t you dare!” Kiro’s quick fingers tickled at her stomach and sides, causing more laughter to bubble up. “If you do that, Savin will kill me!”

“...Too late!” She cried before she escaped his tickling. “Happy birthday Kiro, I love you.”

“Thank you, Miss Chips, for spending Kiro Day with me!” He replied before touching her sides softly this time and pulling her in to share a sweet, frosting tasting kiss.

#mlqc kiro #mr love queen's choice kiro #love and producer kiro #mlqc kiro fanfic #mlqc fanfic #kiro x mc #kiro fanfic #mr love fanfic #mr love fanfiction #happy birthday kiro 💛🤍

[airesgay]

Feelings 101

Chapter 17: the one with resolutions

Relationship: Jennifer jareau/emily prentiss

Summary: the friends au where they all work at NYU, and Emily and JJ find themselves reconnecting after 17 years. There are also mixtapes.

Chapter summary: As the year draws to a close both Emily and JJ think about what they really want, and if they're able to deny themselves it any longer.

Chapter word count: 8,077

Songs:

Let's Get It Started - Black Eyed Peas

Crazy In Love - Beyonce

Bootylicious - Destiny's Child

Cha Cha Slide - DJ Casper

Don't Cha - Pussycat Dolls

Tainted Love - Soft Cell

Rock Your Body - Justine Timberlake

Auld Lang Syne - Guy Lombardo

Read it on ao3

“Puppies, kittens, sunshine, kindness, a deeper sense of self, a new track pad and high definition camera.”

Emily leaned over, studying the list Penelope was dutifully making. They were having their morning coffee at Central Perk, as they had done for the past week. They, like many others, were really making the most of the snowstorm passing.  

“What you got there?” She asked, “A shopping list?” She didn’t think you could buy a deeper sense of self from the local grocery store – or puppies or kittens for that matter.

Penelope’s mouth curved up in a smile. She paused her writing for a moment to swat Emily playfully. “No silly.”

“They’re her new year’s resolutions,” JJ explained.

They both whipped their heads up to see JJ approaching their table. She was still catching her breath, sweat glistening over her collarbones in all her post run glory. Emily wasn’t unfamiliar with the sight by now but it still made her stomach flip.

There was also the new sight of the butterfly necklace hanging around her neck, glinting in the light. The way that sight in particular made Emily’s heart skip a beat was still something to get used to. She’d hardly taken it off since opening it on Christmas morning, only parting with it to take a shower or occasionally when she slept.

JJ wrapped up her earphones as she plopped herself down on the other side of Penelope.

“Hmm,” JJ mused, examining the list for herself. “We just acquired a cat and a dog, are you saying you’re not satisfied?”

Penelope rolled her eyes, like JJ was completely missing the point. “No, this list is about what I want to surroundmyself with in the New Year, more like energies, not necessarily purchases.”

JJ nodded, like it was obvious now. “Oh, of course.” She paused for a moment before considering a thought. “I know somewhere you could surround yourself with puppies and kittens. A shelter, where a certain dashing - ”

“You two should make your own lists,” Penelope cut her off in a fluster.

JJ smirked, looking to Emily who hid her laugh behind her mug of coffee. Neither of them had missed the way Penelope reacted to Luke, the way her eyes would flicker down at the mere mention of him. Tara had been keeping in touch with her old college buddy after they’d been reunited at the shelter, and then again at the market. The fact that he was also a friend of Matt’s was a happy coincidence. It was almost inevitable that he’d assimilate into their group, a fact Penelope seemed in denial about.

At first Emily hadn’t been sure what it was about – she’d had her suspicions, but the psychology of Penelope Garcia was still new to her. JJ had cleared things up. Penelope loves to flirt,she’d told Emily, as they were out shopping for groceries one morning, their topic of conversation still sleeping soundly. Emily had certainly noticed Penelope’s love of that particular pastime, but she’d listened intently as JJ continued. But it’s not very often that she has to run into them again, or better yet, they become an actual part of her life. The prospect of something more happening, something real… I think it freaks her out. And Luke, well, I’ve never seen her so freaked out.

So Penelope liked Luke. A lot. And it rattled her. Emily recalled these thoughts as she watched JJ smiling down at the list, eyes sparkling. Yeah, Emily could relate to that.

“I don’t know if I’ll bother with a list this year,” JJ said, letting her tired legs stretch out in front of her and under the table.

Penelope gasped. “You have to! It sets the tone for your whole year.”

JJ scrunched up her nose. “But all it ever does is make you feel like a failure when you don’t complete everything. Isn’t that the case with everyone?”

Penelope shook her head, continuing with her own list. “That’s because you set actual goals.”

“As opposed to your… energies, ah I see where I’ve gone wrong now.”

Penelope swatted her on the arm and JJ laughed. She made fun, but it was undeniable that Penelope was the happiest person she knew, generally speaking – she had her demons just like anyone – but she was pretty good at keeping things optimistic. Maybe she had a point. And apparently, Emily agreed. She was currently clicking out her own pen, nodding towards the paper.

“Okay, I’ll bite, how does one make a New Years Resolution list, Penelope Garcia style?”

JJ’s eyebrows shot up. Emily smiled. Penelope exploded.

“Oh yay! Okay, so basically the most important thing is to think about what makes you happy – it could be anything, even little things you don’t think about like….”

She rambled on, explaining her ethos to a perplexed looking Emily. But she just nodded along, clearly doing her best to follow her friends weird and wonderful ways. JJ smiled and eventually gave in, asking Jordan if she could borrow a pen when she came to ask for her order.

“So do you have any plans for tonight?” she asked as she accepted the outstretched pen with a smile.

Jordan let out a sigh, stuffing her hands into the front of her apron. “No, I was meant to be going to a friends but they decided to stay with their family back in Dallas. Think the snowstorm scared them off.”

JJ gave her a sympathetic smile. “I’m sorry. Really messed things up for everyone that thing.”

Penelope nodded with a huff. “A real bastard.”

Jordan laughed as she made to turn back to the counter. Emily nearly spilled hot coffee all over herself when Penelope whipped around, arm stretched over the back of the couch.

“Hey, we’re going to a party tonight, why don’t you come?”

The spare pen in Jordan’s hand fell to the counter, her mouth hanging open. “I… I don’t want to impose.”

Penelope waved her hand. “Oh, it’s no bother honestly, the more the merrier!”

Jordan still looked unsure, her eyes flickering to Emily and JJ to gauge their reaction. Both just offered a warm smile.

“But I don’t even know this friend of yours.”

Penelope snorted. “Kate’s cool, and we have good street cred. Any friend of ours is a friend of hers, really.”

A blush spread over Jordan’s cheeks and she finally gave a small nod, eyes falling onto Emily just a moment longer.

“What’s that?”

They all collectively looked to each other, eyes wide, as Rossi strode in from the back.

“Oh, just - ” Penelope fumbled with her words.

But Rossi just cracked into a smile. “Don’t worry, I won’t cramp your style. I’m having a quiet get together here for the old timers.”

“Oh, I wouldn’t say - ” Penelope started to say, what she wasn’t quite sure, but Rossi raised a hand to stop her yet again.

“Really, it’s okay. You kids have fun. But hey.” He pointed a finger, face stern. “Not too much.” A parting wink let them know he was joking.

Penelope laughed nervously as she turned back around. “Oh god I wasn’t ageist was I?”

JJ gave a light laugh, patting her on the back. “Just be glad you won’t have to apologise to Kate for bringing a hoard of horny 60 year old women with you tonight.”

Penelope shuddered. “Rossi fan girls are the worst.”

“I’m not even asking,” Emily said, taking another gulp of coffee.

“Hey don’t go crazy on the caffeine, you need to fill yourself up with real food before tonight.” Penelope was grinning in a way that made Emily nervous.

She looked to JJ who just shook her head.

* * *

Emily set down her fork, leaning back in her chair with an almighty groan. She didn’t think after thanksgiving and Christmas dinner, she’d ever eat so much again, certainly not so soon.

“I’m right there with you,” JJ mumbled from beside her. She was slumped so far down her chair that she was nearly under the table.

“Are our stomachs suitably lined?” Penelope asked. She still had a spring in her step as she returned from paying for the bill.

Emily gestured what she hoped was a nod.

They’d ended up at a very nice café only a few blocks down that seemed to only serve brunch, in vast amounts – otherwise known on New Year’s Eve as pre-drinking food. And it seemed everyone there had the same idea. All around them were people sat in front of bowls of oats, berries and bananas, Greek yoghurt, melon, something she’d been informed by Penelope was Chia pudding, and eggs – lots and lots of eggs. Emily herself had consumed a mountain.

She also didn’t miss how much younger the people around them were. There had to be at least a decade between her and the boy who was snapping pictures of his avocado on toast. It made her groan even louder.

“Aw come on, you’ll thank me later.” Penelope grinned and hauled them both up to their feet.

JJ laughed as she held the door open for them both. “Pen, I told you, you’re not getting me drunk.”

Penelope huffed as they made their way down the bustling street. Emily had remembered how busy Christmas had been in New York – New Year was even worse. In these hours before the real celebrations started, it was like the entire city was buzzing: people scurrying around and filling shopping carts with alcohol like Armageddon was upon them. With the way the sun was starting to set behind buildings, it did have that apocalyptic glow about it.

“But it’s like sacrilege to waste all that preparation!” Penelope protested. “Well Emily, I know you won’t let me down.”

Emily laughed uneasily as Penelope turned her attention onto her. “You’ve never even seen me drunk.”

Penelope just grinned. “And that’s all the more reason! I need to know what Emily Prentiss is like under the influence.”

She winked and Emily shook her head, continuing forward down the street. They were close to Central Park now. Emily looked to her watch. She really could do with walking off some of their feast.

“Hey, do we have time for a walk?” She asked. They were close enough to the park now that she only had to nod forward and they understood her meaning.

Penelope looked down to her watch like Emily just had. “We still have another hour or so before we need to get ready. I’d say that’s a splendid idea!”

The three of them were getting the subway out to Kate’s apartment in Brooklyn, while Derek and Spencer dropped Clooney and Sergio off at a sitter. Emily could tell when she left that morning that Sergio knew exactly what was in store for him. But the sitter they’d called had ensured them they’d be kept apart. She’d felt guilty, but it was better than the alternative: leaving them alone in their apartments on New Years Eve with all the noise – there was sure to be fireworks, and none of them felt comfortable leaving them alone.

Matt himself had given them the recommendation of the sitter – he was dropping Bonnie and Clyde off there this afternoon too. A sweet old lady who loved animals and didn’t have any desire to leave her house just outside the city, she was the perfect fit. Matt had actually said Bonnie and Clyde loved running around her back yard so much, he’d worried they wouldn’t want to come home. But as soon as he’d come to pick them up the next week they’d nearly knocked him over in their excitement. Emily wasn’t sure Sergio had that much of an attachment to her; she’d see how he reacted tomorrow.

Penelope smiled at Emily’s suggestion of a walk and looped her arm with hers. Emily tried to hide her surprise when JJ chose to walk on Emily’s side rather than Penelope’s, looping her arm in a similar fashion. She just smiled at her, like it was a completely natural act for them now. Emily supposed it was. They were friends after all.

Still, she found herself wishing Penelope wasn’t on the other side of her, that it was just the two of them, walking over a snowy street on Christmas day…

She nearly shook her head as she once again tried to banish the thought. But it was getting harder and harder.  

As they entered Central Park she let her attention fall onto the many friends and families, enjoying the snow now that the storm had passed. She couldn’t help but be particularly captivated by the ice-skaters, two people whizzing around the ice like they were born doing it. She had to admit, it was impressive, the grace they managed to maintain when going at such a speed. She thought back to Penelope explaining how to write their resolutions list – one point being to include at least one new skill you wanted to learn. Emily mulled this over as she watched a woman fly into the air and execute a perfect twirl before landing softly.

* * *

JJ cursed as a man stumbled in front of her, nearly spilling his open can of cider all over her coat. It wasn’t yet 6pm but the festivities were in full swing on the subway from Manhattan to Brooklyn. They hadn’t been above ground to see the sunset but JJ sensed the shift from day to night, just as their present company seemed to.

“Haaaappy New Year!!!” A woman sang who was getting dangerously close to them with what looked like a raised lighter.

JJ automatically shifted away, which left her squeezed into Emily’s side. She just gave her an uneasy smile. While JJ wasn’t a big fan of the subway when it got this busy, she was still familiar enough with the experience. By the bewildered look on Emily’s face she could tell this was a first for her.

“You doing okay there?” JJ asked. It was so loud in the carriage – they’d all started singing now – that Emily was only able to hear her given their close proximity.

Emily grimaced. “Uh, yeah, I don’t tend to get the subway this late.”

JJ nodded in understanding. “Taxi?”

Emily laughed. “If I’m even out after nightfall.”

JJ smiled and gestured to the carriage that was all but shaking as the crowd began to jump to the music. “Well New Year isn’t the best introduction to nighttime subway rides.”

Plus, there was the fact it was a half-hour long journey. She sensed Emily had opted for a taxi every time she’d met them out at the youth centre too. Since she’d been staying with them she’d gotten the subway into work in the morning with the rest of them – bar Derek if he’d gotten the notion to run all the way in that day. But JJ had to admit; even Emily on the subway at 8am was an odd sight. The way she would sit with her whole body contracted, eyes shifting uneasily to the people around her, well, JJ got the feeling Emily favored a taxi ride over the subway even in daylight hours.

Still, she couldn’t deny the contentment she felt at having an excuse to be this close to Emily. Maybe that was selfish, but she found herself caring less and less every day. But she didn’t want Emily to feel uncomfortable. She discretely shifted a hand to her knee, hoping the gesture would help. Emily smiled back.

“2006!!!!” They both snapped their heads up at the voice breaking out over the crowd’s singing.

Penelope had gotten to her feet at some point without them noticing, and was currently swinging herself round one of the poles - a picture of absolute glee.  

JJ laughed. “6 more hours yet Pen,” she called over the noise, but she didn’t hear her.

JJ then felt Emily’s hand cover her own that was rested on her knee. It could be the atmosphere, or the fact that Penelope clearly wasn’t paying them any attention, but JJ smiled back without any reservation. One thing was certain; it was getting harder to deny herself this feeling.

* * *

20 minutes or so later they were stepping off the carriage and onto the waiting platform. Emily fumbled, nearly dropping the hefty bag of snacks they were travelling with. Kate had assured them they didn’t need to bring any drinks, she had that covered – and it wasn’t exactly the best thing to be hauling around New York City at night. Emily had visions of smashed wine bottles all over the subway floor and counted herself lucky.

Meanwhile, JJ was dragging Penelope off the carriage who’d struck up a dance with a group of equally lively girls. Emily had never been so glad to feel the cold air hit her as they ascended the stairs leading to the surface. Out of all the new experiences living in New York brought her, the subway wasn’t at the top of her list. Although being so close to JJ was a convincing incentive.

Emily let JJ and Penelope lead her down the street towards Kate’s apartment. It wasn’t far from the youth centre at all – just on the other side of Brooklyn Bridge. When they stopped outside the building Emily noted how it appeared to be an old structure, but recently revamped: still oozing history with its signature red brick, but with a fancy intercom system installed. Penelope buzzed it.

“Yello!” Kate’s chipper voice rang out a second later – clearly she’d started the festivities already.  

“It’s your dealer,” Penelope replied with a cheeky smile.

“Oh good, we’re getting antsy. Please come up.”

With another buzz the door opened and Penelope pushed through, holding it for Emily and JJ.

After hearing that Kate’s apartment was on the top floor, Emily’s shoulders sagged in relief at seeing the very inviting elevator in the lobby. Her initial suspicions of the wealth of the building were confirmed when Kate threw open her apartment door.

“Come to me!” Kate grabbed the bag of snacks from Emily as she let the others step inside.

Emily followed after them, taking in the space. Exposed red brick, the same as the kind on its exterior, decorated the back wall, where a bar was already well stocked. There were fairy lights hanging overhead while the main lights were dimmed, giving the impression they really were out at a pub on New Years Eve. The countertop was sleek, and the barstools clearly made from fine leather, but the lights and the brick still gave it a rustic feel. Fluffy white beanbags adorned the outskirts of the lounge to the right.  A dining table had been pushed to the side to make room for a makeshift dance floor over dark wood. It was extravagant but cozy at the same time – Emily couldn’t help thinking it was like a perfect blend of JJ and Penelope’s apartment and her own.

“Nice place,” Emily said, still soaking the space up.

“Thank you.” A man popped his head up from behind the bar: dark hair and a clean-shaven baby face, he gave her a beaming smile.

“You must be Chris.” Emily recalled the conversations at the youth centre where Kate had mentioned her boyfriend. Partner? They weren’t married or engaged as far as she knew.

“That I am.” He set some glasses on the counter and rounded it to greet them.

He smiled at Penelope and JJ, already previously acquainted, and offered Emily his hand.

“And you must be Emily.” A firm handshake.

“That I am.”

The smile didn’t drop from his face as their hands fell. “Well it’s great to have another person helping out at the centre, I know those kids really appreciate everything you do.”

“He loves to live vicariously through my good deeds while he’s holed up typing numbers into a computer all day.”

Kate gave a wry smile as she started unpacking the bag of snacks, JJ helping her with the bowls.

“Hey!” Penelope protested, but both laughed.

Emily wracked her brain, trying to remember what Kate’s partner did for a living.

“Computer software,” Chris providing, seeing the confusion on her face, “I won’t bore you with the details.”

Emily nodded, vaguely recalling snippets of conversation.

“Yeah well, I can’t complain.” Kate gestured at the luxurious apartment. Clearly the job paid well.

There was a knowing look between both Kate and Chris then, the hint of a smile on their lips.

“Yeah,” Chris said, “Anyone would think she was marrying me for my money.”

Silence.

“Excuse me?” JJ asked, head zipping back and forth. Penelope was frozen to the spot beside Kate.

With a grin she displayed her left hand out in front of her, a very noticeable diamond ring dazzling before them. Penelope broke out of her frozen state with a gasp, grabbing Kate’s hand with vigor.

“Kate Callahan I cannot believe you!” she was spluttering, not being able to decide whether she was happy or angry at being blind sighted.

Kate shrugged. “We wanted to surprise you.”

“What about the others?” Penelope stopped again, panic setting in. “Wait, we’re not the last to know are we?”

Kate laughed. “Of course not, do you think I’m crazy? No, we thought this way we get to do it more than once.”

JJ laughed, shaking her head. “Well I think champagne is in order?”

Kate grinned and made to get the glasses, but JJ lifted a hand. “Let us mere singletons get that for you. This is your engagement party after all, right? That’s what this is.”

Kate stepped back with her hands up, glad to step down, while JJ rounded the counter. Chris collected their coats, taking them to hang up in their wardrobe when the intercom rang. Kate pushed the button and they were greeted with the jolly voice of Derek Morgan.

“Hey I heard there was a party here? Free booze?”

Kate rolled her eyes before letting them up.

“The kids get off okay?” Penelope asked when they strode in.

Kate quirked an eyebrow.

“Sergio and Clooney,” JJ explained as she handed her a freshly poured glass of champagne.

Kate smirked.

“Our kids,”Penelope reiterated.

“Well ourkid was absolutely fine,” Derek said as she shucked off his coat. “Couldn’t run off to play with the other kids fast enough. Emily’slittle rascal however...”

Emily rolled her eyes, taking a seat at the bar. “Did he bite anyone?”

“No, but - ”

“Did he scratch anyone?”

Derek gave a smug sort of smile as he rolled up the sleeves of his open collared shirt. A pattern of fresh scratches adorned his left arm. Emily considered it for a moment.

“Only one casualty?”

Spencer nodded for him.

Emily shrugged. “I don’t see the problem then.”

Derek pulled his sleeve back down, shaking his head with a laugh. “Yeah well, you want to take Sergio to that place again, you take him yourself.”

Chris came to collect their coats and both of them joined the others around the bar.

“What about actual kids,” Kate said, leaning over the counter, “Has Kayla got plans tonight?”

Derek nodded. “She’s going to a party on campus but I don’t know if I want anymore details than that.”

Kate nodded back. “Wise, I go by the same rules with Meg. I know she’s at a friends tonight and I trust her, so that’s good enough for me.”

Meg - Kate’s niece that she’d adopted, Emily recalled. She wasn’t aware of all the details, but she remembered JJ telling her that her sister had died. Knowing what she knew now, she thought about how much JJ could relate, no matter the circumstances.

Spencer frowned, only then noticing what Kate was drinking. Usually they waited until midnight to crack open the champagne. Of course, it didn’t take long for his eyes to fall onto the ring glistening off of Kate’s left hand. He opened his mouth to speak before Kate beat him to it.

* * *

Over the next hour or so more guests streamed into the apartment, Kate and Chris both reveling in the chance to share their news again and again - although, as more people arrived, it got harder to hide the secret. Both were glad Penelope had been among those they’d told first.

The party was in full swing now, despite there still being 3 hours until midnight. More people seemed to just keep flooding in and the space was becoming more and more cramped.

Penelope and Derek had long since claimed centre stage of the dance floor, moving their bodies together to songs Emily didn’t know, in ways she wasn’t sure would be appropriate in public. Tara and Luke stood watching them from the side, nodding along – Penelope avoiding Luke’s obvious gaze. Matt and Kristy were cuddled up in two of the fluffy beanbags, looking like the cheesy already married couple. Hotch and Haley were right there next to them, a weird kind of happy glaze over the criminal law professor’s eyes. Spencer was helping make drinks in the kitchen, which Emily couldn’t help laugh at: she would never have pegged Dr. Reid as a bartender.

Everyone seemed to be having a good time in their own way. But Emily couldn’t help looking for JJ – not that she was keeping tabs on her or anything, she knew she knew more people here than she did. But she hadn’t seen her in an hour at least among the sea of people. One of your friends going missing at a party where most people were strangers was something you noticed.

A consequence of the thumping bass of the music her friends were dancing to, and the constant chatter of voices competing to be heard, was that the buzz of the intercom was completely overshadowed. Emily only heard it because she’d been standing right next to the door.

“Uh, guys,” she gestured awkwardly to the door, seeking out Kate or Chris, but both were busy discussing wedding plans with a couple Emily didn’t know. They were a lot of people here Emily didn’t know. Kate had a lot of friends.

Not getting an answer from anyone, Emily hesitantly pressed the button on the intercom, allowing her to speak.

“Hello?”

The voice on the other end sounded both muffled and harassed. “Hi, I’m Penelope’s friend?” She said it as if she wasn’t sure.

Emily’s brow furrowed for a moment before she remembered. “Oh Jordan, hi!”

“Emily?”

“Yeah, come on up.” She buzzed her in and opened the door out to the stairway.

She was honestly glad to have someone who was just as out of place as her at this party, maybe even more so. A minute later Jordan was rounding the corner up the stairs, looking as harassed as she’d sounded on the intercom.

Emily gave a light laugh. “You find the place okay?”

Jordan heaved a sigh as she reached the top. “I may have gotten off at the wrong subway stop.”

Emily hissed in a breath.

“Yeah,” Jordan laughed, “I’m just glad to make it before midnight.”

Emily smiled. “Here, I’ll take your coat for you.”

Jordan looked up and froze, seeing Emily properly for the first time. She was dressed in tight black jeans and a shimmery (Penelope had told her sparkles were mandatory on New Year’s Eve) red top that scooped rather low at the neck. It was paired with a belt that sat slightly off centre, but somehow brought the whole look together. Her hair was gently curled, courtesy of Penelope’s own curlers.

“You, uh,” Jordan fumbled with her words, her throat suddenly feeling very dry.

Emily raised a brow, concerned. “You okay? You must be freezing, come on inside.”

She guided Jordan into the jumping apartment. The younger woman sighed in relief at her tongue-tied state clearly being misinterpreted.  

* * *

JJ peeked her head around the door, scoping out the packed living room across the hall. She’d been hiding out in Chris’ study for the past half hour or so. Thankfully it was a pretty nice space, but she couldn’t sit there forever: one, someone would notice, and two, she really needed to use the bathroom. She shouldn’t have downed that glass of champagne Kate had insisted she have. One final look at the living room confirmed it was safe for her to make the dash across the hall. She was just stepping out when someone collided into her.

“Whoa there!”

JJ stepped back, blinking rapidly. She looked up. “Pen?”

Penelope stood up tall, giving her a coy look. “Hello JJ, what might you be doing in here?”

JJ shifted on her feet, body tightening. “I’m hiding,” she said in a hushed voice.

Penelope rolled her eyes. “Well yes I knowthat. I was being sarcastic.”

JJ gave her a shove, grumbling. “Look I need to go to the bathroom, can you cover me?”

Penelope laughed. “JJ, honey, come on this is ridiculous. He lives in the city; you could run into him at any point. I’m surprised you haven’t already honestly. It’s better to get it out the way. Like a Band-Aid.”

JJ scoffed. “Yeah, uh, no thanks.”

Penelope shook her head, arms folded. “For someone who counsels teenagers on handling their emotions, you’re being very immature.”

A second later there was a voice calling down the corridor. “Penelope?” Luke.

Penelope’s eyes shot wide open and she pushed JJ back into the room, tumbling in after her. Once the door shut behind them, she put her ear up against it, listening for footsteps.

JJ smirked, folding her arms in a similar fashion to the way Penelope just had. “I’m being immature huh?”

Penelope waved her off. “Completely different situation.”

A minute passed before Penelope was happy that he was gone. She let out a breath and turned around. “He’s gone.”

“Great, can I go pee now?”

Penelope stepped aside to let JJ through. “I’ll just chill here for a bit, need a break from all the moves busting.”

JJ laughed as she opened the door – only to run into yet another obstacle.

“Kate – hi.”

She wracked her brain for a not crazy reason for why she’d been hiding out in her boyfriends – fiancée’sstudy, for the better part of an hour.

She was met with a half amused, half concerned look, Kate’s eyes darting across her face, trying to determine which was more appropriate.

“Hey, you guys know there’s a party going on out there right? Unless..” She looked past JJ shoulder to see Penelope spinning around on the very luxurious desk chair. “There’s a better party going on in here?”

JJ sighed and motioned for Kate to step through. She looked at her expectantly, waiting for an explanation. JJ bit her lip, hoping the words didn’t sound as pathetic as they did in her head.

“My ex is out there.”

Kate blanked for a moment before the realization dawned on her. “Oh crap. I totally forgot.”

Penelope let out a cackle, JJ a breathy laugh.

“Well, I wish I could say the same.” She ran a hand through her hair. “I know it’s stupid, but we didn’t end on the best of terms and I haven’t seen him since, I just - ”

“I get it,” Kate said. JJ smiled. “God I can’t believe I forgot. I shouldn’t have invited him.”

JJ shook her head. “Don’t be silly, he’s Chris’s friend.”

Kate tilted her head. “More like friend of a friend.”

“Anyway,” JJ continued, “I’m being silly. Pen is right, I just need to get this over with.”

Penelope gave a triumphant cheer, still spinning around. JJ really hoped she hadn’t had as much to drink as she thought. In any case, they should both get out of Chris’ very nice, clean study.

“Hey, I can make an anonymous tip from the other side of Manhattan if you want? They’re always on duty you know.”

JJ laughed but shook her head. “Thanks but it’s fine, I’ve got this.”

Kate smiled back, giving her a reassuring squeeze on her arm. Her eyes drifted down to JJ’s neck. “Hey, that’s a new necklace.”

JJ looked down to the butterfly necklace displayed proudly across her chest. She smiled. She’d gotten so many compliments on it and every time it made her tingle. Like she had, well, butterflies in her stomach.

“Yeah, it was a gift.”

Kate gave her a suspicious look, her smile growing. “Well whoever got it must like you a lot.”

JJ tried to calm the butterflies that were now very much stirring up a frenzy. “Well, I better get going. Need to pee and all.”

Kate laughed as she all but ran past her out the door.

“This is so much fun, I need to get one!” Penelope was spinning around in the chair at what was now an alarming speed.

Kate shook her head. “Okay, Garcia, I’m cutting you off. No more spinny chair for you.”

She was met with a blurry pout, still in motion.

* * *

“Whiskey on the rocks please Spencer,” Emily requested, leaning her elbows across the bar. “And for you?” She looked to Jordan who still didn’t seem quite right, but she couldn’t tell why.

She was sat stiffly in the barstool next to her, seeming overwhelmed by even the simple question. “Um, I’ll have a… cider, do you have that?”

Spencer grinned. “Oh they have everything here.”

He turned around to make them their drinks. Emily watched him work with an admiring smile. “This suits you, did you ever consider giving up teaching, opening a bar?”

Spencer smiled back as he easily located the two bottles. “Teaching is my first passion in life, following by magic tricks.”

“So this is…?”

He shrugged, reaching up for two clean glasses. “Where I’m most comfortable in this situation. I’m not much of a dancer, as I’m sure you noticed, but I like to be around my friends and I like to talk to people. Besides, someone needs to keep track of how much everyone’s drinking.”

Jordan laughed at that, and Emily smiled. She could understand Spencer’s point. He slid over their drinks when they were ready and Emily didn’t delay in testing it out.

“Oh that hits the spot,” she breathed out. “Seriously Spencer, you should consider a career change.”

Spencer smiled, throwing a dishtowel over his shoulder. “It’s all just chemistry.”

Emily stiffened then, sensing a man walking up behind them.

“Hey bartender, you got any beers going?” Well, that was what Emily thought he said; she couldn’t be sure given the ridiculously heavy southern drawl dripping off the words.

Spencer’s smile faltered for a moment, clearly caught off guard, but he recovered quickly. “Sure thing, Will.”

Will.Emily noted the name, for reasons she wasn’t quite sure of yet. The man – Will, decided he was joining them, and took the empty seat beside Emily. It was a free country she supposed. They were both invited here. Spencer seemed to know him, which, given his small circle, said something.

“Good evening ladies.” He tipped his head towards them in what some probably thought was a chivalrous manner. The only thing he was missing was a cowboy hat.

Emily gave him a tight smile back, instinctively shifting away from him and closer to Jordan. She didn’t see the beaming smile that left the younger woman with. Spencer made his drink with the same professionalism as he had the others, sliding it over to Will less than a minute later.

Will took a sip from it, savoring the taste. Emily thought he didn’t need any more. She hadn’t previously smelled alcohol on his breath exactly, but there was an unmistakable glaze to his eyes that made her uneasy.

He paused before his next words. “Hey Spencer, have you seen JJ?”

Oh, yeah. Emily felt very uneasy. “Excuse me,” she said, sliding off the stool and muttering something about needing the bathroom.

* * *

There was a knock at the door as JJ was washing her hands.

“Just a minute!” she called back.

She shook the excess water off her hands before reaching for the towel by the sink, silently psyching herself up for joining the rest of the party. But as she opened the door and was met with the sight of Emily giving her a surprised smile, all her nerves evaporated.

“Hey,” she greeted, smile widening, “I was starting to think you’d ditched us.”

JJ laughed, trying to hide her embarrassment. “Oh no, I’ve been around.”

Emily didn’t break her gaze, which made JJ feel nerves again, but this time of a very different kind.

“I must have just missed you then.”

JJ didn’t know how she was meant to take those words; did Emily mean they just hadn’t run into each other or had she actually missed her? Either way, the butterflies were back. The alcohol in her system also didn’t help matters.

“Oh sorry,” she said, breaking out of her daze, “I’ll let you,” She took a step aside, gesturing to the bathroom.

But Emily was still watching her. JJ could see a thought cross her face. She wasn’t sure what she was expecting but it wasn’t the words that came out of her mouth a second later.

“Ice-skating.”

JJ blinked. “What?”

Emily squeezed her eyes shut for a moment, like she was berating herself. But then she opened them again and her smile was back. That beautiful smile that made JJ feel like everything was going to be okay.

“My new years resolution. A new skill,” Emily clarified, “I’d like to learn how to ice-skate. Properly I mean, not just avoiding falling over.”

She was suddenly speaking with a confidence that quite frankly caught JJ off guard. But she liked it. She smiled back.

“You have a teacher in mind?” Her voice had taken on a teasing tone, matching Emily’s newfound conviction.

JJ swore she saw Emily smirk. “I think so.”

JJ’s stomach was doing summersaults and she could still taste the gin she’d just drank on her lips and Emily was smiling at her and her eyes fell to her deep red lips, and she thought, I’m going to do it – I’m really going to kiss Emily outside this bathroom with all these people to see.

But just as she was about to reach for her dream it was snatched away – literally. Penelope came out of nowhere and grabbed Emily’s arm, swiftly leading her to the dance floor.

“Penelope, what.” But there was no arguing with Penelope Garcia, especially one fuelled with alcohol.

“You owe me a dance my sweet!”

Emily just had time to turn her head back to roll her eyes at JJ, an exasperated sort of smile on her lips. JJ couldn’t help but laugh, feeling like she’d just come back down to earth. God, what had she been thinking? She shook her head and followed her friends into the crowd.

* * *

Emily collapsed into one of the fluffy beanbags, trying to catch her breath. What Penelope had called one dance had turned into five, and something called the Cha Cha Slide that was quite frankly sadistic. It would have been difficult enough to land all the moves in an empty room, never mind with a sea of bodies bumping into her. She’d just about managed the clapping bit. Everything had become a blur, and she’d lost JJ to the crowd. She raised her head, scanning the undulating cluster, but it was impossible.

The only people she could make out clearly were Derek and Penelope who were back in the middle, performing their own rendition of a song that Emily didn’t know, but instantly made her cheeks flush. Penelope had clearly lost some of her inhibitions with the more she drank, now making very deliberate eye contact with Luke, who after seeking her out all night, now stood looking at a loss for words while he was all but serenaded to.

There was another exasperated sigh beside her and Emily turned to see Jordan falling into the other beanbag. She’d also lost her inhibitions, no longer looking cagey.

“You guys know how to party,” she breathed, wiping sweaty hair out of her face.

Emily laughed. “Theyknow how to party,” she said with a nod to Penelope and Derek advancing on Luke.

He was laughing uneasily, not sure how to respond. Poor guy. Emily considered snapping some pictures to show Penelope in the morning. She wasn’t sure how much of this she’d remembered, and she really wanted to ensure no moment of this was lost on her.

The music then transitioned into a new song, and Emily couldn’t help but react.

“Oh, a song I know!” Tainted Love.

Jordan giggled and flipped her hair again. “You want to dance?”

Emily let out a breath. “I mean, I can’t really pass up on the one song I know can I?”

Still weary, she forced herself up and let Jordan lead her back in between the dancing bodies. She was too lost in the familiar music to see the sparkle in Jordan’s eyes. When the younger woman’s hand shyly drifted to her hip she didn’t even blink.

* * *

JJ stood on her tiptoes, searching for Emily in the crowd. They were playing one of her favourite songs, but there were too many people and it was so dark. She had no chance.

“You look like you could use some water.”

Damn. Well, here we go. JJ steeled herself with a smile and turned around.

“Will, hi.”

Lazy smile and stubble across his chin, he hadn’t changed at all. He was also wearing the same shirt she’d bought him for his birthday last year. She felt sick suddenly. Maybe this was a bad idea. Maybe hiding in Chris’s study really was the right course of action in this situation.

“You’re a hard woman to find,” he said; drawl still as strong as ever.

JJ used to joke about how she was the only one who could understand him. There was some alcohol on his breath, but who wasn’t that the case for tonight. He was probably one of the more sober people here. People had a tendency to judge Will by first impressions, but he was a good guy – which unfortunately for her, made it all the worse.

“Well it’s not like I’ve been hiding,” she laughed, taking the glass of water from him.

She was actually glad for the chance to hydrate. Penelope knew how to give them a workout alright. She sipped from the glass, also glad to have the short reprieve from talking. When she was getting close to finishing the whole thing in one go, she wracked her brain for something to say.

“What time is it?”

Will’s brow furrowed, but he rolled up the sleeve of the checkered shirt she’d bought 8 months ago, checking his watch. “11.35,” he told her.

“Oh, time really flies, huh?”

She felt so fake, but she couldn’t help it. How was she supposed to react faced with the man that she’d very seriously considered spending the rest of her life with before having a last second epiphany and breaking his heart. He hadn’t deserved it. But deep down she knew it wasn’t right. He wasn’t the one.

She looked up from her glass to see Will rubbing the back of his neck, the way he always did when he was about to say something he was nervous about. Oh god. She looked over his shoulder, searching for help from anyone.

“I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t glad to run into you.”

But his voice was becoming a ringing in her ear as she felt panic set in. Suddenly she was back in New Orleans, and he had that unmistakable smile on his face and she was surrounded by his whole family who had the same expectant look.

Expectant. Because that’s what it was, expected. Nobody had expected her leaping out of her chair and making a break for it. Nobody had expected her to break sweet Will’s heart before he was about to propose. To ruin everything that was expected. She hadn’t even told Penelope about that, she’d been too ashamed, feeling like she’d let down a whole family instead of just one man.

She thought she was about to pass out when none other that JT came to her rescue. Rock Your Body rung out over the ringing in her ears and she snapped back to herself.

“Oh I love this song!” she exclaimed, taking to the dance floor.

She didn’t hear him chuckle, “I know,” before he followed her.

* * *

Emily felt like she was flying. The bass of whatever music was currently playing had her body vibrating, and paired with the two more drinks Spencer had given her, she was definitely buzzing.

“You know what, you’re not that bad a dancer,” she was slurring her words now, Derek catching her before she lost her footing.

“Wow okay, now we definitely know you’ve had too much to drink.”

Penelope was leaning against the wall beside them, giggling into her own drink. “Now we know. Emily is an affectionate drunk!” She wiped a fake tear away from her cheek. “I couldn’t be happier.”

Emily had a dopey smile, glassy eyes falling onto Penelope. “You’re really pretty.”

“Okay, scratch that, nowI couldn’t be happier.”

Emily just descended into a stream of muffled giggles, clawing at Derek’s shirt to stay upright.

“Okay, I think it’s hydration time,” he said, straightening himself up with her.

Emily pouted.

“I’d hold that thought,” Penelope said.

Derek frowned, but a moment later Kate was flicking the lights on. Everyone screamed like a hoard of vampires. Emily herself was near hissing.

“Sorry guys but had to get your attention!”

Kate was stood in the centre of the room with Chris by her side, both holding their drinks up high.

“Countdown time!”

There was a chorus of drunken cheers. Everyone’s attention turned to the flat screen on the wall, eyes rapt on the glittering ball in Times Square as it descended.

“10, 9, 8!”

The whole room counted down as one, anticipation clinging to the air. But Emily wasn’t counting with them. The lights and the impending New Year had snapped her out of her drunken haze, and she whipped her head around the room, only one thought occupying her mind. She didn’t even hear Jordan trying to get her attention.

“7, 6, 5!”

She’d thought about her resolutions and what she wanted the next year to hold, what she wanted to surround herself with. And there was only one word at the top of that list. A name. JJ.

She wanted to completely encompass herself in everything that was JJ: the way her eyes would sparkle when something intrigued her, and the warm smile she gave people to reassure them, her full belly laugh when Penelope did something outrageous, the way she petted Sergio so gently he’d start purring in an instant, the way she made eggs, her exhale after a run. She wanted JJ this year and every year after.

“4, 3!”

With her body still buzzing and liquid courage running through her veins, she pushed past the people in front of her, eyes searching. All she could think about was the way JJ had looked at her outside the bathroom. Maybe it was the alcohol talking but she could have sworn she’d wanted to kiss her too.

“JJ?” She called out.

“2,1!”

The room erupted into applause as the ball dropped and a New Year was rung out, Auld Lang Syne starting to play. Out of the corner of her eye Emily saw her friends celebrating: Kate kissing Chris with a huge smile on her face, Matt and Kristy a similar sight beside them, and Hotch and Haley, Spencer and Tara exchanging kisses on the cheek, and Derek and Luke simultaneously leaning in to kiss Penelope on each cheek.

Emily exhaled a breath as she finally spotted long blonde hair. With the lights up she could see her so clearly, including the golden skin on her back where her glittery gold top dipped down. Golden. Everything about JJ was golden.

“JJ!” she called out with a beaming smile.

But with the lights up she saw everything clearly – including the man JJ was kissing.

#Criminal Minds #jemily #Jennifer Jareau #emily prentiss #feelings 101 #fanfiction #mine

[queen-scribbles]

Kaira

I figured Father’s Day would be a good day to let Tel unleashed his Dad Energy, so have the fic where he finally gets to meet Kaira. :D

---

Tel’s glance at the wall chrono showed the same exact time as the last three checks and he dropped onto the couch with a loud, disgruntled huff. His knee started bouncing the second he braced his feet against the low table and he let his head fall back to stare at the ceiling.

Elara’s face filled his view, upside down, as she leaned over. “Soon, love.”

“Soon isn’t soon enough,” Tel grumbled. He cracked his knuckles and his knee bounced faster.

“I know.” She kissed his forehead, a faint smile curing her lips when she pulled back. “This is about the state I thought you’d be in today,” she said softly, and kissed his nose.

“I see what you’re doing, Els,” Tel murmured, reaching up to rub her arm with one hand.

“Mm, do you?”

He smiled at the mischief in her voice. “You’re tryin’ to distract me by bein’ all... you.”

Elara laughed softly. “Only temporarily. So you don’t go stir-crazy.” She pressed a gentle kiss to his lips. “Is it working?”

“Sort of.” His hand slid up to cup the back of her neck and he craned upward for a more serious kiss. “You know I love you, sweetheart, but I’m also really lookin’ forward to meeting her.”

Elara’s smile widened. “Understandable.” She kissed his forehead again, then circled the couch to sit next to him. “I’m glad you’re so looking forward to it, dearest. According to Aleksei, Kaira’s been bouncing off the walls and counting down days since we made arrangements.”

“Sounds about right,” Tel said with a chuckle. “She is my daughter, which means enthusiasm is in her blood. And she’s yours, which means orderliness is, as well.”

She laughed and rubbed his arm. “Only time will tell which she gravitates toward more.”

He was just opening his mouth to reply when his comm beeped, followed shortly by the fuzzy blue holo of Hylo grinning ear to ear. “Shuttle on approach, Commander. Thought you’d want to know.”

“You thought right,” Tel said, already pushing off the couch. “Thanks, we’ll be right there.” He closed the connection and offered Elara a hand up. “They’re early.”

She smiled. “You’re complaining?”

Tel grinned and started tugging her toward the door. “Hell, no.”

---

Tel, with Elara close behind him, made it down to the hanger bay before the shuttle even docked. It took everything in him to keep from bouncing like an impatient child as he watched the small craft ease into the hanger with a near-perfect landing. Elara interlaced her fingers with his and he held tight.

The shuttle’s small size meant it held no more than four or five passengers, so at least it wouldn’t be a long wait for the anticipated parties--

The door was barely open when a short, dark-haired figure came streaking down the ramp and darted across the tarmac. She skidded to a halt in front of Tel and surveyed him with eager curiosity. (An inspection that mattered more to him than any drill instructor or CO’s ever had.) 

“You’re my dad?” she asked, shoving hair out of her eyes, back toward her slipping-loose ponytail.

Tel went to one knee, putting them almost eye-level(she was tall for her age). “That’s me-”

Kaira barely let him get the words out before she flung her arms around his neck in a ferociously tight hug driven by so much enthusiasm it almost knocked him over. Her complete lack of hesitation made his heart swell and he tried in vain to swallow the lump in his throat as he hugged her back.

“Mom’s told me all about you,” she said, pulling back just enough to grin at him, displaying the gaps from three lost baby teeth.

“There’s a scary thought,” Tel joked, voice rough, and shot Elara a smirk.

She rolled her eyes and lightly bopped the back of his head. “I promise I painted you in a flattering light, dearest. Hence her excitement.”

“Good point,” Tel relented, and Elara smiled.

“Now” --she turned to Kaira, arms held out-- “do I get one of those hugs as well, darling?”

“Oh. Yeah!” Kaira released her grip on Tel and pivoted to wrap an almost as enthusiastic hug around her mother’s waist. “Missed you, Mom.”

Tel pushed to his feet and turned to the other figure, who had followed Kaira down the ramp and been watching the meeting/reunion with a quiet smile.  “Aleksei, good to see you.”

“You as well.” Aleksei grasped the hand Tel held out to shake, his smile turning wry as he nodded at their joined hands. “And with no barriers this time.”

Tel laughed as they released the handshake. “Yeah, Elara told me you managed to earn the brass’ trust.” The scarring Elara had mentioned was obvious as well; up the right side of Aleksei’s neck and climbing over his jaw to stop just shy of his cheekbone, a small divot in his eyebrow, permanently red and rough skin on the back of his hand.

Aleksei chuckled. “Yes, though I do wish it had taken slightly less than getting myself blown up to do so.”

Tel snorted. “Word of warning; they only give you medals for the first couple times you do that. Then it’s more likely they’ll grouse about your medical expenses than commend your braver-- Ow!” He laughed and rubbed his arm where Elara had whacked him.

“Don’t be encouraging my brother to follow in your footsteps, dearest,” she admonished, fighting a smile. “Worrying about one of you is quite enough.”

“I was warning him not to, Els,” Tel protested.

“And he made a very compelling case,” Aleksei chipped in.

“Thank you.” Tel gave his arm another exaggerated rub. “Now, can I spend some more time with Kaira without being assaulted, please?”

“Oh, very well,” Elara said with feigned reluctance, letting her arm slip from Kaira’s shoulders. “I’m certain Aleksei and I will find something to discuss. You two have fun, and don’t cause trouble.”

“I wasn’t gonna,” Kaira protested, looking offended at the warning.

“I was talking to your father,” Elara said, smiling as she shot Tel a meaningful look.

“Oh, fine,” he sighed, grinning. “I’ll have to come up with a different father-daughter bonding activity.”

Elara rolled her eyes and laughed, then moved to talk to her brother.

“Do you like causin’ trouble?” Kaira asked as they headed through the base toward the elevator.

“Yeah,” Tel admitted with a laugh, examining the narrow braid around her ponytail. It currently appeared to be the only thing holding it in place. “But it has to be the right kind of trouble, in the right place, to be the most fun. We’ll manage some while you’re here, but for now let’s listen to Mom, huh?”

“Okay.” Kaira nodded, furthering the precarious state of her ponytail. “Mom’s smart.”

“Very,” Tel agreed, grinning.

“Can you tell me stories about her?” Kaira asked as they rode the elevator up to the base entrance. “Mom’s told me a lot about you, but not really about her.”

Of course not, that would be bragging, he thought glibly. “Sure thing, kiddo. One condition: for every story about your mom being awesome, I wanna learn somethin’ about you back. It can be somethin’ little,” he clarified when her nose scrunched. “Like your favorite color or ice cream flavor, or stuff you like to do with your best friend, that kinda thing. Deal?”

“Deal,” Kaira said with a grin wide enough to show off her missing teeth again as they shook on it.

---

They made their way to one of the wide expanses of field and forest that surrounded the base, and spent the next hour or two talking while they looked at the clouds, caught bugs, and (occasionally) climbed things.

Tel told Kaira as many stories about Elara as he could recall(a lot) and was gratified to learn she found her mother every bit as amazing as he did. (”Even when she makes you eat your vegetables?” “I like vegetables. ‘Cept peas. Peas are gross.” “K, I don’t think there’s a kid in the galaxy who likes peas right off the bat.”)

He learned in return that Kaira’s favorite color was purple--and red, she liked them both--she liked Corellian puff-pastries so much she’d once eaten a whole batch and given herself a tummy-ache, her favorite thing was to play spaceships with her friend Elodie, she thought explosions were cool, and she really, really  wanted a pet nexu even though Mom said they were too dangerous.

“Well, I dunno bout a nexu, ‘cause I think your mom has a point there,” Tel said with a laugh, swishing a hand through the tall grass around them, “but we can see about a pet.”

Kaira’s eyes lit up. “Really?”

He nodded. “Really.” If they had a bit longer til her birthday, he might’ve set that as the deadline, but Elara would--rightly--strangle him for promising something with only three days to discuss it. “I’ll have to talk to your mom, and it’ll sort of depend whether it lives here or on Coruscant with you...”

Her shoulders noticeably drooped. “Okay.”

Even with his limited childcare experience, Tel knew dejection when he saw it. And he had a pretty good guess as to the cause. “What?”

Kaira shrugged, staring at the ground as she yanked up a clump of grass and let the breeze carry it out of her hand. “Nothin’.”

“Kaira.”

She looked up at him with huge, sad brown eyes he didn’t think he’d have the heart to refuse if she asked him for anything. “I just... I thought I was gonna live here now. With you an’ Mom. “

“Ah.” Tel wrapped an arm around her shoulders to pull her into a hug.  “Sweetheart, I would love nothing more than to have you and your mom here every day. But that’s another thing we have to talk about, ‘cause this is a military base. So if someone gets p- mad at me, or the Alliance, they might attack. And I don’t want you to get hurt.”

“Coruscant got hurt,” she muttered, dragging her boot heel through the dirt in a clumsy line. “A whole bunch.”

Tel laughed and rubbed her arm. “That is a very good point, sweetheart. Like I said, we’ll talk about it, okay?”

“...Okay.” She snuggled closer. “But I still wanna live with you. Even if Uncle Lesky’s really cool.”

“Noted,” Tel smiled and ruffled her hair. The ponytail had fallen out five minutes into their adventure and he hadn’t bothered to help her redo it.

They sat for a moment in silence, then Kaira pulled away and sat back on her knees. “Dad?”

That damn lump was back(and would be, he suspected, every time she called him that for the foreseeable future). “Yeah, K?”

She cocked her head, frowning slightly as she studied his face. “What happ’ned to your eye?”

He snorted a laugh and reached up to tap the cybernetic patch. “Oh, I got that a long time ago, sweetheart. Back when I first became a soldier, before I even met your mom-”

“‘Cause she’d’a fixed it?”

Tel laughed even louder and hugged her again. He wondered if Elara’s ears were burning wherever she and Aleksei were. Best damn medic in the galaxy. “I’ll bet she could’ve. Anyway, me and my squad were scouting, and we stumbled on a group of bad guys we didn’t think would be there. I put myself between my squad and the incoming fire, part of that incoming fire was a rocket, and ” --he gestured at the eyepatch, the implant that curved around it, and the general scarring on the left side of his face. (He didn’t mention all the shrapnel they’d had to pull from his chest, stomach, arm; she was six and the kolto had healed all that with nary a scar.)

“Wow.” Kaira leaned closer and ran her fingers over the cybernetics that curved around his eye socket. “Does it still hurt?”

“No. Hasn’t for a long time,” he assured her, then grinned. “Now it just looks cool. Though it does mean I can’t really wink.”

She giggled and sat back next to him. “But winking’s fun.”

“That it is. You’ll just hafta do it for me.”

Another giggle. “Okay.” She wiggled closer, resting her head on his shoulder as they looked out over Odessen’s forests. “’M glad I finally got to meet you, Dad.”

His grin widened until his face hurt, even as emotion prickled in his good eye.  “Me, too, sweetheart. You’re pretty awesome.”

Kaira tipped her head back to smile at him. “So’re you.”

Those two words were worth more than every commendation he’d ever won combined. “Thanks, K. “ He kissed her forehead, tucked wayward black hair behind her ears. “Think we should head back? Find Mom and Uncle Aleksei?”

“Yeah, prob’ly a good idea,” Kaira agreed, though she sounded more than a tad reluctant.

“We can keep hanging out,” Tel promised. “We’ll just be addin’ them to the fun.”

She smiled brightly and jumped to her feet. “Okay.”

Tel matched the smile, pleased both that he’d guessed what bothered her about the suggestion and that she wanted to spend more time with him. “Alright, let’s go.”

They’d only been walking a few minutes when Kaira gave a dramatic groan. “It’s so farrrrr.”

“Yeah, we did cover a lot of ground.” Tel had not been paying attention to the distance they’d ranged and did have to admit, for a six year old, it would be a long trek back.”Want a lift?”

Her face screwed into a pout. “M notta baby, Dad.”

“Not what I meant,” he laughed, and crouched down on one knee. “Piggyback?”

The pout disappeared into an eye-crinkling grin. “YES!” Kaira bellowed as she scrambled to wrap her arms around his neck and legs around his waist. She was lighter than she looked with her height, but still plenty strong enough to strangle him.

“Easy, kiddo,” Tel laughed, tugging her wrist so she’d loosen her grip. “I’ll hold you up, don’t be tryin’ to kill me.”

“Sorry.” Kaira shifted to instead hold fistfuls of his shirt. “Go, go, go!”

They were both laughing as they set out for the Alliance base, where Elara greeted them each with a kiss on the cheek before helping Kaira down so they could go get lunch.

As a family.

#queens fic #telcontar airen #elara dorne #telara #kaira airen #aleksei dorne #*aggressively includes the dorne sibling content bioware won't give me*