#but also Gideon shoving his hand between their faces when they were supposed to kiss was fucking hilarious

[cake-chad]

Kremy being down bad for Gideon will never not be funny

#tk speaks #legends of avantris #once upon a witchlight #ouaw #he really didnt need that love curse in order to get married to him lmao #i watched eps 29 and 30 today while working #so saw the whole soggy court ball/opera performance #kremy and gideon getting the same number for the costumes #and kremy being like 'we can do a couples- i mean coupla guys costume' 😂 #and then singing gideons name instead of the character gideon was playing during the pining song #richie i love your brain #but also Gideon shoving his hand between their faces when they were supposed to kiss was fucking hilarious

[hercleverboy]

stars

spencer reid x fem!reader

summary ↠ spencer and the reader watch the stars and talk about their future.

category ↠ fluff

warnings/includes ↠ none

word count ↠ 1.7k

dedicating this fluff fest to my wifey, @alltooreid thank you for not only your creative input on this, but also for being there for me when i needed someone. much love <333

“And so I named the stars one by one, after every favourite memory of you.” — Stephen Stilwell

“Isn’t it beautiful?” She whispered, eyes staring up into the night, drawn to the little specks of light dotted in the clear sky. They were laid on the soft grass, blanket beneath them as they looked up together, beaming smiles on both their faces.

He grinned down at the woman who rested her head on his chest, his arms wound tightly around her. “It certainly is. I’m surprised the sky is so clear tonight, I really didn’t think we were going to be able to see much.” He admitted with a little laugh.

She chuckled at that. “You didn’t think we’d see much, and yet you still let me drag you out here at an ungodly hour so we could watch the stars?” She asked, shuffling slightly so she could look up at him.

“Of course. You’re cute when you’re excited, I didn’t have the heart to tell you that the probability of the sky being clear enough for us to see anything was only around 37%.” He explained, intertwining their hands together. “But there you go again, proving me wrong.”

“Hm. Aren’t you supposed to be a genius or something?” She joked, making him roll his eyes.

“I am! Unless you too can recite the Bible from memory? Or the manual for our microwave?” He joked, causing Y/N to give him a gentle shove.

“Can I ask you something?” She whispered, looking up at him.

He breathed out. “Anything.”

They were quiet for a little while before she spoke again. “Do you ever think about our future?”

Spencer’s breath hitched at the question.

Of course, he thought about their future. All the time. Marriage, kids, a big house with a white picket fence, perhaps even a dog. It was the ‘apple-pie’ life he’d dreamt of, more than he’d like to admit.

He gave her a squeeze, one of reassurance.

They’d been together for two years. Two years that had simultaneously been the best and worst of his life. In those years he’d nearly died after being shot in the neck, he’d lost Alex, Kate, Gideon, and the team was still under immense threat from Mr. Scratch. And somehow, admist all the chaos, he’d met this incredible woman who had helped him through it all. The last few months in particular had been rough for him. With Morgan leaving the team and his mother’s condition worsening, it had certainly made him reconsider everything he had in his life and also reminded him of not only what he’d lost, but what he’d gained. 

Y/N sighed, but still gave Spencer a smile. “It’s ok. We don’t have to talk about it, I was only wondering.”

“No, no. It’s ok. I’m just trying to gather my thoughts, is all.” He assured her, moving to sit up straight. Y/N sat up too, Spencer reaching out and grabbing one of her hands to hold tightly in his. “I think about it all the time, truthfully.” He mumbled.

“You do?”

“Of course, I do. You’re it for me, Y/N.” He gave a small smile, his gaze dropping to their intertwined fingers. “It’s just, I’ve been thinking a lot lately.”

Y/N nodded, urging him to continue.

“I’ve been thinking about my position at the BAU.” He stated firmly. Y/N’s eyes widened slightly in shock, surprised at the confession. The way he said it was so sure, so certain. He’d evidently been thinking about it for quite some time.

“Ever since Morgan left, I’ve been going over it again and again in my head. I understand why he left. His family needed him and it’s honestly the most admirable thing I’ve ever seen him do. I just wonder,” He paused, biting down on his lip in thought. “Would it be wise for me to make the same decision he did?” 

Y/N frowned. “What do you mean?”

“I just mean— Y/N I love you. I want us to get married, have children, I want us to have a life together. And after watching Morgan, seeing how he gave up the job for his family, don’t you think I should do that too? For you, for us?” He explained, eyes finally meeting her worried ones.

“Woah, woah Spence. Are you saying you’re thinking of leaving the BAU?” She clarified, moving a little closer to him.

Spencer nodded. “I know, it seems crazy right? At first I couldn’t believe that I was even considering it but I’ve thought about it a lot and it just, it seems like the right thing to do.” He gave a small shrug. “If we’re going to have a life together I want our family to be my priority, and I just don’t think I can do that while I’m still doing this job. I’ve seen it all first hand. I watched Hotch lose Haley, I watched Morgan nearly lose Savannah, all because of this job.” 

Y/N shook her head slowly, much to Spencer’s surprise. “Spencer... I won’t be the reason that you leave a job that you worked so hard for, a job that you love so much. What about the team? They’re your family- “

It was Spencer’s turn to shake his head, cutting her off mid-sentence. “You’re right. The team are my family, but so are you. And if they care about me like I know they do, they’ll support me with this. And as for jobs? There are plenty out there that I’ll enjoy. I’ve actually been thinking of getting in contact with Alex, maybe asking about teaching opportunities at Georgetown.”

Y/N looked up at him, eyebrows furrowing as she studied his face intently. He avoided her eyes, small smile pulling at his lips.

She smiled back, a knowing look on her face. “You’ve already spoken to Alex about it, haven’t you?”

Spencer chuckled with a nod. “You know me too well. I spoke to her last week. She said there’s an open spot as the head of the Criminal Psychology department. The job is mine if I want it.”

Y/N gave him a grin, squeezing his hands. “Are you sure this is what you want?” He nodded, but that wasn’t enough for her. “No, I need to hear you say it. I need to know that you’re not going to resent me in a few years because of this.”

He was quick to shake his head, pulling her toward him as one of his hands came up to cup her face. “I would never resent you.”

“So, this is what you want?” She asked once more, just so she knew he was absolutely sure. 

He nodded adamantly. “I want you. I’m only ever going to want you.” He murmured the words so softly that it made Y/N’s heart ache. “Now, and for the rest of my days.”

With joyful tears building in her eyes she nodded, enveloping him in a hug as he kissed the side of her forehead.

Spencer let out a sigh accompanied by a teary smile. He gave her a squeeze, his hands soothing along her back as he looked up at the stars. “Did you know, there’s an old Buddhist saying that when you meet your soulmate, remember that the act to bring you together was 500 years in the making. We’re supposedly, quite literally, bound together through space and time. Isn’t that cool?” He rambled, earning a chuckle from Y/N.

“That is really cool.” She agreed. 

“You know I’m a man of science, but how else is it possible that you came into my life at a time where I needed you the most?” He whispered the last part, as though he was afraid to be so vulnerable as to let the words leave his lips. “Do you- do you think it’s possible that the stars brought us together?” 

She grinned, tilting back her head slightly to look up at the stars with him. “Yeah, I think so.” 

*

Spencer looked down in awe at the baby girl pressed against his bare chest. Josephine June Reid, barely three days old and already she had her father wrapped right around her tiny finger. Nothing he’d ever felt before compared to the feeling he had when he looked down at her, his little girl, his daughter. She slept peacefully against him, her little chest rising and falling rhythmically as his hands soothed over her back, gently rocking her. 

There was a soft knock on the nursery door, his tired-looking wife pushing it open. “Spence?”

He looked up, and offered her a warm smile. “Hey, you’re supposed to be resting.”

Y/N gave a sleepy grin, moving toward them. “You know that we’re supposed to sleep when she does, right?”

He snickered at that, raising an eyebrow at her. “You only gave birth three days ago. You know I’m going to tell you to get back into bed, right? Doctor’s orders.”

She held her hands up in a mock surrender, placing a kiss on the side of Spencer’s head. “I know.” 

It was silent for a moment, the new parents just staring down at the little life they’d created, filled with such a warmth, such a happiness that they’d never felt before. 

“I can’t put her down, not yet. I don’t want to let her go.” Spencer whispered, bringing up a finger to soothe over his daughter’s cheek. “I love her so much.”

“I know. She loves you too.” Y/N assured, watching with joy at how Spencer was with their daughter. He really was a natural with kids.

“You really should go back to bed, love. You need all the rest you can get.” He warned in a playful tone.

Y/N chuckled a little with a nod, bending down to press a gentle kiss to her daughter’s forehead. “I’m not going to fight you on that one Doc, I’m exhausted.” She ruffled the curls on her husband’s head, offering him a warm smile. “Love you. Come back to bed soon, yeah?”

Spencer nodded, promising he would.  

Before Y/N left the nursery, she turned back to her husband, calling his name softly. “Spence?”

“Yeah, love?”

“Do you regret it now?” She whispered, her fingers fumbling together as though she was afraid she wouldn’t like his answer. “Do you regret leaving the BAU?”

The question made him frown, it made him think. Did he regret leaving? 

His eyes flickered between his wife and the beautiful little girl against his chest and he smiled slightly at the realisation. This was everything he’d ever wanted, here, right in front of him. Every decision he’d made, every moment of heartache, every person he’d lost, they had all lead him there. To that very moment. 

And for that, he was so incredibly grateful. 

“No.” He replied, his voice as sure as the day he first mentioned leaving. “Not even for a second.”

He supposed he had the stars to thank for that. 

#spencer reid #spencer reid one shot #spencer reid x reader #matthew gray gubler x reader #matthew gray gubler #mgg x reader #mgg #spencer reid x fem!reader #spencer x y/n #criminal minds

[ssa-montgomery]

I Don't Love You (like I did yesterday)

Word Count: 2800

Summary: Addison Montgomery watches her marriage start to crumble around her, feeling helpless to save it when her husband, Derek Shepherd, is barely around enough to have a conversation about the situation. She turns to her long time friend - and her husband’s best friend - Mark Sloan for comfort but finds more than she ever bargained for. She knows if she continues down this path with Mark, she can never come back from it.

Characters: Addison Montgomery x Mark Sloan, Derek Shepherd, Amelia Shepherd 

Warnings: Angst, swearing, drinking, affairs, smut, verbal fights, emotional hurt/comfort, basically heavy on the angst for this one

A/N: So welcome to my new fic! This story will be following Addison and Mark’s affair back in New York because as much as it’s talked about in the show we never quite find out how it went down. This fic is going to get very angsty and very smutty but I hope I’ve done Addison and Mark’s relationship justice. Also, each chapter will contain lyrics at the beginning and end that fit with the tone of the story and I have made a playlist that contains all these songs plus more so if you want a link to it let me know! I’ve been really enjoying planning and writing this fic so I hope you will enjoy reading it just as much :)

Also special shout out to @alexander-gideon-lightwood-bane​ for listening to my rambling about this fic for months while I made literally no progress hahaha

Feedback is what motivates me to work so please let me know what you think! Reblogs are also greatly appreciated.

Taglist is open!

Masterlist

Series Masterlist

Too tired to tell you I ain’t coming home

Stop for a second

Guess I got caught up in leading you on

But I ain’t responsible

For the lump in your throat

Haven’t you had enough of all of this?

Haven’t you had enough of loneliness?

~~~

Mark took the front steps up to the house two at a time and quickly rang the doorbell pulling the collar of his jacket up against the cold. It was late in the day and the sky had been dark with the threat of rain all day but it was now starting to pour down around him. When Addison had called him just before he had left the hospital and asked him to come over to the house he had come straight over. Derek and Addison were supposed to be having dinner that night but when Mark was leaving he noticed Derek’s name on the O.R board and Addison had sounded upset on the phone. It was the anniversary of the first time they had properly met in that library back in med school. Mark still remembered the date from being around them every year when they celebrated and the fact that he had practically shoved Derek out of his chair in the library that day just to get him to go and talk to Addison. He always bragged about being the only reason Derek had the guts to talk to her in the end and had started his best man speech with "You can all thank me for you being here today.“

"Mark!” Addison flung the front door open and stepped out of the way to let Mark in out of the rain. She smiled as she reached up to hug him, careful not to spill the glass of wine in her hand but he didn’t miss the slight sway in her movements. She was wearing one of her glamorous black dresses - it was almost floor-length and the silky material hugged tight to her body -  and her makeup was done perfectly but he could see her heels discarded on the floor behind her. She had clearly already been dressed when Derek called to cancel.

“Hey, Addie.” Mark smiled back wrapping his arms around her. When he leaned in he could smell her sweet rose-scented perfume mixed with the strong smell of her red wine.

Mark kept one hand on her arm to balance her when she pulled away and watched the contents of her glass slosh close to the rim, narrowly avoiding spilling onto the hardwood floors. It clearly wasn’t her first glass and the whole thing stuck out as a red flag to Mark. He had seen her drink a lot before, even seen her partying back in med school but Addison never filled her wine glasses close to the top. Mark had always guessed it was because of Bizzy. 

They had all been out to dinner together as a group once and Bizzy had berated Addison in front of everyone for filling her glass too much, claiming it was “unladylike to drink excessively in public.” After that Addison had always been careful after that, like she was afraid to be criticized again. Bizzy was a hypocrite. Mark had always thought that. She had shamed Addison for drinking “excessively” and yet he had never seen her without a glass in her hand. The Forbes-Montgomery’s might have been a family of borderline alcoholics but they did it with etiquette. After all, they had a reputation to uphold and they couldn’t have anyone threatening that. 

“I brought food from the takeaway down the road,” Mark said lifting up the paper bag of food he was holding in his hand.

“Oh, Mark you’re a lifesaver.” Addison sighed and leaned in quickly to kiss his cheek. The food from the Chinese restaurant near the house had always been their favourite to get when they spent time together. Derek had always hated it, claiming that it was greasy and unhealthy, so Addison could only ever get it with Mark. It became a habit to them whenever they were alone.  “Why don’t you head into the sitting room, I’ll grab plates and cutlery from the kitchen. Would you like a drink? You can open Derek’s whiskey if you like.”

“I’m pretty sure Derek would kill me if I touched his unopened bottle of whiskey.” Mark laughed making his way into the room. He took off his leather jacket and hung it over the back of the couch before sitting down.

“Well, it’s not as if he’s home enough to notice if it had been opened.” There was a slight laugh in her voice and Addison’s tone was lighthearted but Mark could sense the weight behind the words.

Things hadn’t been easy between Addison and Derek recently and Mark wasn’t blind to it. He could see the toll it was taking on both of his friends. Derek had been distant even from Mark and had completely thrown himself into work, doing surgery after surgery. Most nights he now slept in an on-call room in the hospital and he was rarely home anymore. Addison, on the other hand, seemed sad all of the time. Even in the hospital she just seemed lost. Like she drowning in everything that was going on and couldn’t find her way out. Mark didn’t want to push her to talk if she wasn’t ready but he was starting to worry about her.

“Well, I’ll just have some of whatever you’re drinking,” Mark called out to Addison who had now made her way into the kitchen.

When she walked back into the living room she had the plates and cutlery in her hand as well as a new wine glass for Mark. Mark recognised the bottle of the expensive red wine tucked under Addison’s arm, it was a Cabernet Sauvignon, one of her favourites and he had bought her a bottle for her birthday earlier that year. Addison set it all down on the table and sat down on the couch. As she settled back into the corner of the couch she tucked her dress up underneath herself.

“You look stunning by the way,” Mark said leaning forward to grab a plate off the table.

“Thank you. Maybe you can tell my husband that the next time you see him because this was meant to be for him.” Addison sighed stabbing her fork at the food she had just poured out onto her plate.

“Addison, are you okay?” Mark asked turning around so he was fully facing her.

“Am I okay? Yeah, I’m okay. That’s what I keep telling everyone. But am I actually alright? Am I happy? Now that’s a different question.”

“I’m so sorry Addie, I can’t even begin to imagine how hard this must be on you,” Mark said and she could hear the sincerity in his voice.

“Well, I suppose when I married someone who I knew was going to become a world-class surgeon I should’ve known he wouldn’t be wouldn’t be home a lot.” Addison tried to smile as she spoke, tried to push down whatever feelings had started to surface when she began talking. Her voice cracked and Mark could see straight through it. 

“Addison, all three of us are world-class surgeons, but the difference is we are sitting here while Derek is at the hospital. He’s my best friend but he doesn’t deserve you making excuses for him. You deserve better than this.”

Addison nodded, not trusting herself to speak around the lump in her throat. She knew she was drunk and she knew if let herself feel it she would cry, and she didn’t want to cry. Not over this and not now. She tried to clear her throat and took another sip of her wine.

As if he could sense the whirlpool of thoughts spinning through her mind Mark reached over and took her plate out her hand placing it down on the table before taking her hand in his. That was all it took. Addison lifted her free hand to her face and roughly brushed the tears away with the back of her hand, smearing mascara across her cheeks.

“Oh Red.” Mark sighed, his voice softening on the nickname. It had started out as a name to tease her with back in med school but over the years it had stuck as an affectionate nickname. He pulled Addison closer to him, wrapping his arm around her and letting her rest her head on his chest.

“I’m sorry, I’m such a mess.” Addison sniffled trying to recompose her herself but as she drew in a deep breath it caught in her throat and she let out a sob that made her shake against Mark.  She turned her head and buried her face in his shoulder as she cried.

“Shush, Addie, shush,” Mark said gently, smoothing his hand over her hair. “You’re not a mess. You’re beautiful. And yes you’re going through a hard time right now but you’re allowed to fall apart. Okay? I’m right here and I’m not going anywhere.”

After a while, the rhythmic stroking of her hair and Mark’s soothing words had started to calm her breathing and Addison looked up at Mark with puffy red eyes. Tears still welled up in the corner of her eyes but they had slowed. She didn’t know if it was alcohol thrumming through her veins or the mixed emotions of the whole situation but something inside her was telling her to lean up and press her lips against his. She definitely blamed the alcohol when she gave in to the feeling. She twisted her hands into the front of his shirt and tried to steady herself as she slowly leaned in.

Once Mark realised what was about to happen he grasped her hands that had been planted on his chest in his own and gently pushed her away. When her eyes met his there was a look of confusion and sadness behind heavily smudged mascara and eyeliner. 

“I thought-”

“Addison, you’re married to my best friend. Plus you’re drunk and I don’t want you waking up tomorrow morning and regretting this. I couldn’t do that to either of you.” Mark explained slowly not wanting to hurt Addison more than she already had been

“Oh right, married. Barely.” Addison scoffed. With how intensely she was staring at the wedding rings on her finger on Mark wondered for a second if she was about to rip them off. “I doubt if I had been any other woman you would have even thought to look for a damn ring.”

Mark was taken aback by the sudden bitterness in her voice and it seemed so was she. Addison let out a shocked gasp and stood up off the couch. He could clearly see the guilt of her own words written across her face.

“I’m so - I’m so sorry.” She brought her hand up to cover her mouth and suddenly the tears were flooding down her cheeks again. “I’m drunk I- just ignore me.”

“Addison.” Mark reached out to catch Addison’s hand again but she just shook her head and took another step backwards. She narrowly avoided tripping over the coffee table before managing to catch her balance again. He hated seeing her like this, he didn’t blame her for what she said. Not at all. She was drunk and upset and had no control over what she was saying.

“You should go Mark.” She couldn’t even bring herself to look him in the eye as she spoke. Her voice shook and Mark could see the effort it was taking her to fight back another sob that was threatening to spill out. 

“I don’t want to leave you here alone like this.” Mark insisted. He couldn’t leave knowing she was like this, the guilt of it wouldn’t let him sleep if he did. She was in no state to be alone.

“Just go.” Addison’s voice was pleading when she spoke again. She was staring at her mostly untouched food on the table through tears that blurred her vision. “If I plan to do anything else stupid, I’ll call Naomi." 

With that Addison turned around and disappeared upstairs leaving a stunned Mark sitting on the couch. 

~~~

Addison reached across the bed and blindly searched around until her hand landed on the alarm clock, the constant beeping that was ringing in her ears finally stopped. She definitely regretted that second bottle of wine now, hell she regretted the first glass after what happened the night before.

She had been devastated when Derek called to cancel yet another dinner in favour of surgery. She was hoping that for once they could have a night out like they used to, that they could talk like an actual married couple but instead she got what she had grown used to over the past few months. After that, she couldn’t bring her to go to dinner by herself and had called Mark.

What she had tried to do had been impulsive and Mark was right, had she actually done it she would have woken up completely ashamed. As it was she felt awful. Not even for what she had tried to do but for snapping at Mark when he was just trying to be responsible and for pushing him away when he just wanted to help. She told herself at the time that she didn’t know what was driving her to do it but now, lying in bed the next morning painfully sober, she knew. 

Mark was doing exactly what she needed. Exactly what Derek hadn’t in months. He had held her, he was there to comfort her when she needed it the most and had soothed her. He had said everything she needed to hear, told her she was beautiful and that it was okay to feel everything had been building up around her and suffocating her for weeks now. It was simple, she had mistaken finally being shown the attention she needed for attraction in her drunken state. After all, it was Mark, he had never been anything more than a good friend.

She knew now that she needed to apologise to Mark. He didn’t deserve her outburst at him. Glancing at the clock she realised she was already running late for work and she let out a heavy sigh. She showered as quickly as she could, part of her hoping it would wash away her painful hangover, and threw on the first dress she pulled out of her wardrobe. 

She dreaded the mess that would be waiting for her as she walked down the stairs. She had never come back downstairs after leaving Mark sitting there along and the plates and take out containers would still be sitting on the table. Bypassing the living room she headed straight for the kitchen to make her morning cup of coffee for the ride to work. She wouldn’t be able to function without it today.

As she stood by the counter waiting for the coffee to brew she noticed clean dishes by the sink that she didn’t remember washing up and she nearly always put the dishes into the cupboard straight away. She brushed it off, blaming her bad memory on all the stress she had been under recently and poured the coffee into her travel flask.

She walked across the hall to the living room to retrieve her handbag before leaving for work but she stopped in her tracks when she pushed the door open. The table was perfectly clean with no sign of the food from the previous night and Addison’s bag was sitting right in the middle of the table despite her having left it in the corner of the room. 

When she made her way further into the room she saw it. Mark was asleep on the couch with his jacket folded under his head as a pillow. He had stayed to make sure she was okay after all. Addison could feel her heart swell in her chest and a smile broke out across her face. She walked over and gently ran her fingers through Marks messy hair making him stir slightly in his sleep. She wanted to wake him, to apologise for everything that had happened and to thank him for staying but he looked so peaceful and she was already late. Looking down at the cup in her hand she had an idea.

~~~ 

Mark slowly opened his eyes against the harsh sunlight streaming in through the windows and pushed himself upright. His neck was tense from the awkward angle he had slept at and his back cracked when he stretched out his arms. He looked down at the table and smiled at what he saw. Sitting on the table was one of Addison’s travel flasks with a sticky note that read "I’m sorry about last night. Thank you for staying. - Addie." 

Mark picked up the flask and took a sip of the contents. Coffee, just the way Mark liked it.

~~~

I love you like you’ve never felt the pain, I’ll wait

I promise you don’t have to be afraid, I’ll wait

Love is here, and here to stay

So lay your head on me

#greys anatomy #grey's anatomy #addison montgomery #mark sloan #Addison x mark #greys anatomy fanfic

[areyouscarletcold]

“I can’t keep kissing strangers and pretending that they’re you.” + hmm... constangreen?

Slight warning for implied homophobia and injuries.

31. “I can’t keep kissing strangers and pretending that they’re you.”

The door flew open before Gary could grab the handle and he nearly got smacked in the head had he not jumped back in time (he’d deny any squeak that left him later on, no matter how hard he was teased about it). Gary frowned and looked up to snap at the trespasser, because really, he was just about to open that and yes, it was pouring but they couldn’t have waited -

Then he realized who he was glaring at and his stomach dropped.

John - Constantine, it was easier to think of him by his surname, to forget every memory that ached because of it - had the decency to grimace and look sheepish at the very least. He also bore a black eye, though, so maybe he was wincing from the pain. “Sorry to drop in you, mate.”

“Did you really walk all the way here in the rain?”

Constantine glanced down at his soaked clothes, most of which Gary had to look away from because of…well, how see-through they’d become. “Not too far from the ol’ Bureau. Raining cats and dogs out there, though, I’ll admit.”

Right. He’d hoped the Legends would be too busy to do any check-ins, as selfish as it sounded.

Or maybe they’d been back for a bit and Ava just hadn’t bothered to tell him.

(Or she’d hoped John - Constantine wouldn’t bother visiting Gary. Ava was surprisingly sympathetic about his moping. Though, now that he thought about it, that might’ve had to do with her ever-persisting distaste for the warlock.)

“Did Director Sharpe punch you or…?”

Constantine laughed, grin a little strained, and Gary’s heart ached at the familiarity of the sound. “No, though I’m sure she’d love to. Went out drinking a bit ago.”

“What does that have to - Wait. You’re drunk?”

“Relax, squire,” Gary swallowed hard and he was pretty sure Constantine watched the movement. Or maybe that was wishful thinking. Dammit, Gary. “Only had two. I know my limit. Now, I hate to darken your doorstep but…” Constantine nodded behind Gary, a curious tilt to his head.

This…was a bad idea.

A very bad idea.

He could practically hear Ava’s disapproval resonating within his mind, her sigh echoing the longer he hesitated.

Gary moved to the side so Constantine could pass and resisted a sigh of his own. “I’ve got clothes in the closet if you need to change. I don’t know how you’re not shivering right now.”

“Thick skin,” Constantine teased, but he wasted no time in shucking off his shirt - to which Gary again averted his gaze because he was weak, okay? - and moving to Gary’s bedroom. The fact that he still knew where it was made Gary…

To be honest, he didn’t know how he felt about that.

(That wasn’t true. He knew exactly how he felt.)

Gary shut the door and his eyes, burying his face in his hands despite how his glasses dug into the sides of his palms. He should’ve pretended he wasn’t home, or maybe accepted Nate’s tentative invitation to dinner with his family tonight. Anything would be better than having to care for his ex.

Or whatever they were. After all, it wasn’t like they’d had a label. Gary wasn’t silly enough to kid himself into believing they were anything special.

Not now, anyway.

Constantine returned five minutes later with his soaked clothes in his arms, running a hand through his hair. Yet another bullet to the chest: did Constantine even realize he was wearing Gary’s favorite sweatshirt?

(Yes, Ava would definitely be sighing right now if she could hear his thoughts.)

“Thanks, squire.” Constantine flashed him a grin, though it was still tight and more tentative this time. Part of Gary, the pettier part, felt a bit vindicated and hissed Good.

At least he wasn’t the only one suffering here. Even if it was a different kind of suffering, perhaps.

Gary cleared his throat and folded his arms over his chest so Constantine couldn’t see his twitching fingers. “Uh, no problem. Really, it’s no problem. I can get something for your eye - ”

“There’s no need for that.”

Gary scoffed before he could stop himself. “Your eye is turning purple. You have to let me put ice on it or let me use the courier to take you back to the Waverider so Gideon can treat it.”

“I’ve had worse blows, mate, don’t worry about it.”

“In this weather, you’re not going anywhere,” Gary pointed out. “Just let me get some ice and I’ll - I’ll be out of your hair.”

Constantine’s brow began to furrow, though Gary couldn’t read the look on his face. Unsurprising, given how much of a closed book he was to the world.

Even while they’d been…whatever they’d been doing. Or were. Gary had been sure that Jo - Constantine would eventually open up; there’d been signs and he’d been so hopeful -

He shoved those thoughts into a safe in the back of his mind and locked the safe before he could dwell on them further. Constantine was still watching him with that weird look.

“I’ll go get the ice,” Gary muttered and he darted off before the warlock could object again.

Thankfully, the first aid kit was still under the sink where he’d left it and the pack was still in the freezer. He was in no mood to go hunting around the apartment. 

The perks of having a dangerous, life-threatening, time-traveling job, he supposed. You knew exactly where the medical supplies were.

Constantine was unusually quiet when Gary came back and handed him the pack. He didn’t even protest when Gary insisted on looking over the eye just in case, though he did assure him that he wasn’t hurt elsewhere.

“Did you get into a bar fight?” Again, Gary couldn’t help but add internally.

“Nah. I was, ah,” Constantine didn’t meet his gaze and Gary’s insides churned before the words even left his lips, “the bloke I came onto wasn’t very appreciative of my efforts.”

He knew he didn’t school his expression in time when Constantine glanced back, but Gary tried regardless to appear indifferent. “Ah.”

“Hence my quick retreat.”

“Yeah, that…that makes sense.”

Gary stepped back and reached for the first aid kit, maybe because he needed something else to look at, maybe because he hated the way everything just hurt, but a hand landed on his and he couldn’t stop himself from freezing.

“You alright there, Gary?”

The sound of his name, so soft and uncertain and unlike John - Constantine, dammit - caused something to spark and Gary met his eyes with a clenched jaw from the effort it took not to snap. Constantine seemed to see the intent still and his mouth twisted.

“Right.” The man nodded to himself. “Tad insensitive on my part.”

“You think?” The words were out before he thought twice and he could feel his face warm.

Constantine snorted and for some reason, the sound attempted to ease his heartache. “Didn’t have to guess. Was written all over your face the moment you saw me.”

Of course. Gary jerked his hand away - why, oh why had he let himself linger? He told himself the flicker in Constantine’s eyes wasn’t disappointment or…

Whatever. It was whatever, right?

“I can go if I’m intruding.” The warlock’s voice brought him back to reality and Gary huffed.

“You’re hurt, you can’t go out there in the pouring rain. Besides, if you came here, you probably came from the bar down the street. Right?” Constantine remained silent, which he took as confirmation. “Whoever you pissed off could be leaving soon or be waiting or… I don’t know.”

“Probably won’t be. Looked more interested in the lady serving him.”

“Oh.” He felt the odd urge to blush. “Sorry.”

“Not your fault. None of this is.”

He hated how contrite Constantine sounded. Gary forced himself to meet the other’s gaze and his heart leapt at how far forward Constantine was leaning, the intense scrutiny in his eyes.

“Right. Because it’s yours for being ‘yourself’, as you put it when you - ?” Gary swallowed as Constantine frowned, looking more than a little taken aback. Somehow it gave him the courage to continue, cruel as it felt. “Like you said when you said we couldn’t see each other? Or is it because you’re ‘a damn cannon waiting to go off’ and you’re trying to prove it tonight?”

“That’s not - ”

“Then why are you here? Why out for a drink here when you could go to London or France or - or anywhere else that’s not here? I’m sure Captain Lance would’ve gladly given you some from that stash I know she has that she made me promise not to tell Director Sharpe about. Why did you need to come here when you could’ve just - ”

“I can’t keep kissing strangers and pretending that they’re you.”

Gary…

Gary couldn’t have heard that right.

The longer he stared at Constantine’s face, the more he felt ill. No, sleep-deprived, that had to be it. He was overworked, overtired, maybe he’d fallen asleep on his desk and -

Constantine shut his eyes and an uncharacteristic melancholy painted his features in broad brush strokes, like the tragic subject of a Van Gogh painting. He lowered the ice pack from his eye and winced. “I thought it’d make things easier to pretend. Cuz yeah, I’m a damn fool. Even Sara’s been a nag about it.”

“Pretend…” Gary searched Constantine’s face for any sign of a prank, some kind of ruse or indication he was dreaming, but there was none. “What do you mean? You told me…”

“I got - I got scared, love.” The endearment did not make his heart skip a beat, no matter what any romcoms he’d watched may have suggested on the matter. “It’s complicated. Demons and hell and…well, all the things you never signed up for. It’s hard to explain in one night, but I lost someone. Someone I thought I could get over this with.” Constantine - John, who was he kidding - waggled a finger between their chests. “And I didn’t want the same to happen to you and… I ran. Like I always do.”

“You…” He stepped forward as John ducked his head, face screwed up into a wretched expression. Was it wrong to hope? “You got scared.”

“Happens to the best of us. Or worst of us, depending on how you look at it.”

Gary laughed. He didn’t stifle the sound, didn’t bother pretending he coughed, he just laughed, a short burst that made John’s eyes snap up in confusion. The sight made him laugh again and he had to hold up a hand so John didn’t question his sanity. “No, it’s fine, I just - I just… Really? You, the greatest warlock I’ve ever met, despite all your moaning and griping and - really? You got scared of me? That’s - literally no one has ever been terrified of me before.”

John’s lips quirked up. “Well, congratulations.”

“I’m not sure whether I should feel happy or relieved or angry right now,” Gary admitted, bringing his hands to the back of his neck so they had something to hold. “Mostly the last two - well, more relieved, I think - ”

“Hang on,” John said, holding up his hand. “I meant what I said. I’m still - ”

“A cannon about to go off? A mistake?”

John winced. “Yeah. That. Not to mention the whole ‘soul going to hell’ ordeal and demons and the lot.”

Gary couldn’t find it in him to care. He lowered his hands and shook his head. “I’ve known who you were since we met. I think we’re past that.”

“I’ve done some terrible things, love.”

“Hasn’t everyone?”

John’s face darkened. “Terrible as in hellish. And they’re coming back to haunt me.”

“We already dealt with demons before,” Gary reminded him. “And dragons and fairies and other magical creatures we now have to take care of or banish at the Time Bureau. This won’t be any different.”

John still didn’t look pleased. Gary sucked in a deep breath and extended his hand to the man’s free one, wiggling his fingers when John hesitated.

“Can’t we at least try?” Gary asked.

And maybe it was the optimist in him, or the part just waiting to get crushed under heartbreak once more, but he had a good feeling when John gave in with a small smirk and intertwined their fingers together.

50 Dialogue Prompts

#hiverforesteevee #constangreen #John Constantine #gary green #legends of tomorrow #homophobia tw #injuries tw #my writing #this one was a ton of fun to write ngl

[justanoutlawfic]

Life Unexpected: Chapt. 4

Story Summary: 15 years after the events of Why Did It Have To Be Me? and much has changed. Mary Margaret and David are back living in Storybrooke, but don’t speak to one another. One day, David gets a knock on his door from the daughter they gave up all those years ago. She wants to get emancipated from the foster system, but they can’t let themselves sign the papers. As they split custody and try to help her heal from a lifetime of pain, will they find their way to each other?

Chapter Summary: Emma starts a new school, where she meets a cast of interesting characters. Meanwhile, she gets a better glimpse into David’s life.

Also on AO3

Emma was used to first days of school, to being the new kid. Boston was such a huge city and whenever she would be moved to a new home, there was a chance that she’d be brought to a new school district. Once all of her files had been sent to Storybrooke Academy, she was expected to start. She didn’t even mind.

 That was until she found out that there were uniforms.

 “I thought this was a public school,” she told Mary Margaret on their shopping trip the day after their lunch with Regina. She was letting Mary Margaret buy her whatever she wanted, though she kept staring at the ever growing pile. At least there was no pink.

“No. It’s private. There is a public high school, but it’s honestly not the best and it’s further away from the loft,” Mary Margaret explained as she looked through the button up shirts. She could see the look on her daughter’s face. “It’s not going to be that bad. Only 5 days a week and you can change as soon as you’re done.”

“I’m not wearing a skirt.”

“You don’t have to. There’s khakis or the navy pants. I ordered you a few vests with the logos as well.”

“You really don’t have to get me so much stuff.”

“You’re going to need it.”

“I don’t think I could wear all of this in a lifetime.”

“Well, you’re going to be living with David, too.” Emma tried to ignore the look that fell across Mary Margaret’s face at the mention of him. “This way, you won’t have to bring clothes back and forth.”

“How long are you going to hate him?”

“Hate who?”

“David.”

 Mary Margaret paused, her hands hovering above the pants she had been looking at. Emma knew that David had broke her heart, but it had been 15 years, hadn’t it? He had been 18 years old. How bad could it have really been? Maybe a part of her didn’t want to know that.

 “I don’t hate David,” Mary Margaret said, finally, pulling the khakis off the rack. “I forgave him a long time ago.”

“It doesn’t seem like it.”

Mary Margaret sighed. “It’s just a really complicated thing.”

“He was young when he made the choices he did.”

“It doesn’t make them hurt any less. Look, we’re going to get along so we can best take care of you.” Before Emma could say anything else, she put the pants in the cart. “Let’s go look at shoes and then you can come try all of this on.”

The uniform wasn’t that bad, Emma supposed. The shirts were comfortable and were blue, she liked blue. She had chosen to go with the darker pants rather than the khakis and paired with the sweater, she did look like something out of an 80s rock video. She let her hair hang loose and pulled a black beanie over her head, Mary Margaret said she could accessorize after all.

 She headed down the stairs and was instantly hit by a flash. She blinked a few times before finding Mary Margaret standing there, a polaroid camera in one hand, fanning out a picture with the other. She was smiling brightly.

 “You look so beautiful,” she said.

Emma rolled her eyes. “It’s just a school uniform.”

“I’ve never gotten to send you off to your first day of school, let me have my fun.”

 Emma honestly couldn’t remember the last time anyone had been this excited for her to start school. She walked over to the island, plopping down and taking a spoonful from the bowl of Cheerios that had been left out for her. That was something she was still adjusting to in a bit. Ed had food in the house-most of the time-but he’d never prepare any actual meals for Emma. Ever since she moved in with Mary Margaret, her mom had either cooked for her or they had gone to Granny’s.

 “So, I put together some lunch for you,” Mary Margaret said, walking around to the other side of the island. She held up a lunchbox that she had packed, it was a simple red one that Emma had picked out and seemed so much more sturdy than the brown paper bags she had carried around Boston. Her backpack was just as strong, if not more so. It definitely wouldn’t rip and need to be repaired with duct tape anytime soon. “I have to head to the studio in a bit, so you’ll have to take the bus. Do you remember where it is?”

Emma did her best to hold back an eyeroll. “You only showed me half a dozen times.”

Mary Margaret held back a sigh. “I’m sorry. I’m just…nervous, I guess. Here, I want to give you this.”

 She grabbed a box from under the counter and pushed it towards her daughter. Emma moved off the bow and lifted the lid, finding a cell phone inside. It was the latest version of the iPhone, with a red protective case over it. She tilted her head.

 “Mary Margaret…”

“I’ve put you on my plan. It’s got unlimited text, call and internet. I’ve programmed my number, David’s as well. You can text or call us anytime.”

“You didn’t have to do this.”

“Of course I did, you’re my daughter.”

 Daughter. That word still sounded so damn foreign to her.

 A quick knock at the door interrupted the sweet moment between the two of them. Mary Margaret walked around the island and over to it, finding David on the other side.

 “What are you doing here?”

“I wanted to take Emma to school.”

“Oh. Well, the bus is coming…”

“Can I not take my own kid to school?”

 Mary Margaret thought about what Emma had said at the store over the weekend. She had to try, she wanted to try. It was what was best for their daughter, she needed them to get along.

 “Of course you can. Come in.”

Once Mary Margaret stepped to the side, David walked in and grinned at Emma. “Hey kiddo,” he said.

“David.” Emma smiled. “What are you doing here?”

“Taking you to school, if that’s okay with you.”

“Better than the bus.”

“Finish your breakfast and then we can go.”

 Emma wolfed down the rest of her food, not noticing the looks that her parents were giving her. Once she was done, she grabbed her backpack, shoving her lunchbox inside before throwing the bag over her shoulder and hopping off the stool. She noticed that David was staring at her for a minute.

 “What? Do I have milk on my mouth?”

“No, it’s just uh…you look like your mother did when she was in high school with that uniform.”

“She’s got your coloring,” Mary Margaret pointed out.

“True, but…still.” He shook it off. “Come on, let’s go.”

 Emma headed to the door, but then paused at Mary Margaret. She wasn’t sure if she should hug her or kiss her cheek, they were still trying to set up boundaries between the two of them.

 “So um, I’ll see you later?”

Mary Margaret nodded. “Yeah, see you later.” She quickly kissed the top of her head. “Have a good day.”

“You too.”

 David opened the door to lead her out and Emma followed him out to his car. Classic rock played over the radio and Emma looked around it, noting a briefcase in the back. It took her a moment to realize that David was dressed in a suit, it was the first time she had seen him so dressed up since they met.

 “You working today?”

David nodded. “Yes, I’ve got to go to court.”

“What’s the case?”

“Standard custody hearing. Luckily the parents agree on what needs to be done, so it should be easy.”

“Lucky,” Emma murmured. She noticed the odd look he was giving her and forced a smile. “So…I’ve met some of Mary Margaret’s family. When do I get to meet yours?”

“Well, I could take you by my place to meet my roommate’s daughter and everything this afternoon.”

“I meant like your mom, your step-mom and siblings.”

David gripped the wheel, gnawing on his lip. “That may take a bit.”

“Why?”

 He sighed, scratching the back of his neck once they approached a red light.

 “Emma, I was really young when Mary Margaret got pregnant with you. I was scared…”

“I got that from all the fighting you two have been doing.”

“It’s just that…at the time…I didn’t tell too many people about you. I had a girlfriend at the time…”

“Whoa wait, you cheated on your girlfriend with Mary Margaret?”

“No, no. My girlfriend and I were on a break, seeing other people when I got together with your mom. Anyway, I told her when I broke up with her for good, but I…I never told my mom or my brother.”

“Why?”

“I was scared. Scared of how they’d look at me, scared that they’d hate me or think less of me, that they’d be disappointed. James and I were the first people in our family to go to college.”

“Were you ashamed of me?”

 David looked over and saw the shock in Emma’s eyes. She looked so vulnerable and it broke his heart. He pulled to the side of the road, putting his car in park.

 “No,” he said. He saw the doubt in her eyes. “Emma, no. It had nothing to do with you and everything to do with me. I was a coward back then, I couldn’t stand the thought that people would think differently of me. I loved you, from the moment I knew you were coming.”

“Right.”

“I did. Look.”

 David reached into his pocket and pulled out his wallet. He flipped past a picture of Ruth and Eudora and another of Belle, James and Gideon to get to the sonogram. Emma studied it, confused.

 “What’s that?”

“This is the sonogram your mother gave me when she was pregnant. It was the only picture I had of you for 15 years.”

“And you held onto it?”

“I never could let it go. You were apart of me and I thought of you every single day. I might not have carried you or been there when you were born, but you never left my mind or my heart. You were my daughter and if I knew that you were struggling as much as you were, I would’ve been there in a heartbeat.”

 Emma stared at the sonogram for a moment, a frown on her face. Eventually, it slowly formed into a tiny smile. David couldn’t help but match it as she looked back up at him.

 “You should probably replace it.”

“I will.” He put the car back into drive and continued to head towards the school. “So, I did tell my mom about you and she was upset. Not at you, at me. She missed out on 15 years of your life and it’s my fault.”

“Do you think she wants to meet me?”

“Oh, of course. My brother, step-mom and step-sister do too. I’m sure they’ll even see you before they’ve forgiven me for all of it.”

“What are they like?”

 David spent the rest of the ride telling Emma about his parents and siblings. He told her about James and how Emma had nearly two cousins. He explained the big hoopla that was going around Tiana and Drew’s wedding-which Tiana had texted him that he wanted to talk to Emma about. He hoped that deep down, no matter how mad they were at him, they wouldn’t wait to get to know Emma.

 After another 10 minutes of driving, David pulled up in front of Storybrooke Academy. It was like being pulled into a time warp, nothing had changed. The sprawling campus had several stone buildings, all named for dead white guys that had contributed something to the town or the school. A part of him had always hated going there, but Ruth had insisted. He was now splitting tuition with Mary Margaret and knew that it was the best option for Emma, he just hoped that she enjoyed it more than he had.

 “Do you want me to come in with you?” He asked.

Emma laughed, as if that was the most ridiculous thing she had ever heard. “This isn’t my first school.”

“Well, I’ll pick you up once classes are done. Like I said, I’ll take you back to my place for a bit.”

“Mary Margaret knows?”

“Yes.”

“Well…okay.”

“Have a great day. She gave you a phone, right? Call me if you need anything.”

“I will.”

 He kissed her cheek and she blushed a bit before hopping out of the car. He watched as she walked into the administration building, before pulling out of the lot. He had a kid in high school, how the hell had that happened?

Storybrooke Academy was a tad more intimidating than Emma had imagined. She had never gone to a private school before. The closest thing had probably been the Catholic charter school that Bill and Katie had forced her to go to during her 6 months with them. As strict as that dress code was, at least they didn’t have a uniform and it was all in one small building. The secretary gave her a map of the school along with her classes and she looked around, wondering if she got lost enough, she’d find a dragon to slay or something.

 She was able to find the building that her first class was in easy enough, but the numbering systems of the classroom weren’t as clear. Emma realized she’d be hard pressed to find anyone t willingly help her, most of them were staring and whispering. Storybrooke really was that small, a new student stuck out like a sore thumb.

 Before she could give up and find a teacher, two girls walked in front of her. One was wearing a navy dress with the school’s logo in the corner and had a blonde braid going down her back. The other was wearing the typical plaid skirt but the button up shirt was tied above her belly button, revealing a piercing. Her raven hair went wild and she was grinning from ear to ear.

 “You look lost.”

“That obvious, huh?”

“I was the new girl last year,” the blonde noted, her voice a bit softer than her friend. “I’m Elsa. That’s Lily.”

“Emma. Emma Swan.”

Lily studied her for a moment, before snapping her fingers. “You’re Mary Margaret’s long lost kid.”

“You know about me?”

“My mom works with Regina, we run in similar circles.”

“Think you could help me find my class then?”

Lily’s grin widened. “We’d be more than happy to.”

 She grabbed hold of Emma’s schedule and they compared it with their own. As it turned out, most of her classes had at least one of them in it. Lily was with her in first period English, so she allowed her to take her by the arm and lead her off. By the time they got to the classroom, Emma felt like she knew everything she needed to about Lily. She was an only child, her mom was a single parent by choice. Elsa was pretty much her only friend, though she got along with some boys in the older grades.

 As soon as they walked into the classroom, the teacher stopped writing on the board and turned to them. He tilted his eyes up to the ceiling before, looking back down at Lily.

“Lilith, you know the rules.”

“That you have to have a stick up your…”

“Do you want detention, again?”

 Lily rolled her eyes, but untied her shirt, allowing it to fall down. She took her seat towards the back of the class and Emma went to follow, when the teacher cleared his throat.

 “And you are?”

“Emma Swan,” she said. “I’m new.” She handed over the form that the secretary had told her to get signed by all her teachers that day and he quickly scribbled on it before consulting his roster.

“Ah yes, Miss Swan. Welcome, where are you from?”

“Boston.”

“Well, I hope they taught you well there. We have a heavy course load and a test on Wednesday, but I’ll allow you to study and make up for it next week. Sound good?”

“Um, yes.”

“Great. Now, go take a seat.”

 Emma went towards the back, settling down next to Lily.

 “Ignore Forrester,” Lily whispered. “Everyone does. I swear, he’s like the town grump.”

“This school is the most serious one I’ve ever been in,” Emma mumbled. “And I once went to Catholic school.”

“You’re Catholic?”

“No. Foster parents were.”

“You were in the system?”

Emma nodded. “12 years.”

“Miss Page, Miss Swan,” Mr. Forrester interrupted their conversation. “Anything you want to share with the class?”

“F. Scott Fitzgerald plagiarized his wife’s work,” Lily replied, without missing a beat.

 Emma couldn’t help but giggle, as did most of the people around them. Mr. Forrester rolled his eyes before moving onto discussing the book at hand.

The rest of the day was a lot of fun with Lily and Elsa by her side. They knew how to joke around and despite most of the school looking at them weirdly, they just didn’t care. For once, Emma felt like she could actually feel herself making friends outside of August. He had gone back to Boston and she hadn’t realized how lonely she was. Sure, maybe they weren’t the best influences, but they were what she needed. Elsa even offered to help her catch up with the work.

 It was officially one of the best first days of her life.

 She actually left the school with a smile on her face, Elsa and Lily on either side of her. David’s car was in front of the car pool lane and Emma couldn’t help but feel her smile grow. She wasn’t used to people keeping their promises, but there he was.

 “I gotta go.”

“Is that your dad?” Elsa asked.

“Um, yeah. I guess.”

“David Nolan.” Lily let out a low whistle. “You’re lucky.”

“I am?”

“He’s one of the nicest guys in town.”

“If you say so. I better go, but I’ll text you guys later.”

 She got in the car and David pulled out of the lot.

 “How was your day?” He asked.

“It was actually pretty good.”

“It seemed like it. Those friends of yours?”

“We hung out pretty much all day.”

“Sounds like friends to me.”

“Maybe. And your day?”

“Good. My client got the custody schedule they wanted, that’s all I can ask for.”

 David’s house was closer to the school than Mary Margaret’s loft so they were there in no time. Once they got inside, Emma found herself being attacked in a hug. Her eyes widened and she sort of planked in place, looking over the stranger’s shoulder at David.

 “Who is this?” She asked.

“I’m Alice!” The stranger pulled away and allowed Emma to get a good look at her. She had wild blonde curls that bounced down her shoulders and big blue eyes that were filled with wonder. She didn’t look to be much older than she was. “I’m Killian’s daughter. I’ve heard so much about you. I mean, not until today, Papa said you were coming over. I had no clue that David had a daughter, but that is so awesome. I think he’d make a great dad and…”

“Starfish.” Killian appeared behind his daughter and placed a hand on her shoulder. “Breathe.”

Alice let out a deep breath before a smile returned to her lips. “Sorry, I’m just…I get a bit excited is all.”

“A bit?” Emma asked.

She giggled. “You’re funny, cute too. You look so much like David…” Alice must have realized she was rambling again, because she stopped. “Anyway, like I said, I’m Alice. I don’t live here anymore, but I visit.”

“Emma.” Though, she had a feeling that Alice already knew that. “So…David’s lived with you guys awhile?”

“Going on what, 7 years now?” Alice looked back at her father for confirmation and he nodded. “I can show you your room, I know Papa and David have been working hard on it. It used to be mine, but like I said, I’ve got my own place now.”

 Alice stilled for once, clearly understanding that she might be a bit too much for Emma to handle. After a moment, Emma nodded and adjusted her backpack, following Alice up the stairs and to the right. The room was painted red and had lots of different murals done throughout, clearly done by different artists. The bedspread was a lot more her style than the one at Mary Margaret’s was, it was red with bits of blacks throughout it.

 Emma listened to Alice talk a bit, as she took in the room. She laid her backpack down and picked up various accessories, like a mirror on the desk or ran her fingers along the spines of some of the books on the shelves. Eventually, Alice went downstairs to grab them a snack and Emma decided to look around more of the house. A quick peak into Killian and David’s rooms didn’t tell her too much. They were so unlike Alice’s, void of any real personality.

 She headed back down the stairs and started looking around the living room. There were pictures and degrees everywhere. She noticed that in a lot of them, David, Killian and Alice all looked like a happy family. There were ones of them on vacations, at birthday parties.

 Emma couldn’t help but pause at a series of three frames by yet another bookshelf. Alice’s high school diploma was proudly framed, with a picture of her accepting her degree on one side. On the other was one of her in her gown standing between David and Killian. Both men had their arms around her, beaming proudly. They were a little family. Even if they weren’t a couple, David had helped his friend raise his daughter for the past 7 years. He was there for her, when he wasn’t there for Emma. Despite him having his reasons, Emma felt a bit of jealousy creep up in the pit of her stomach.

 Sure, he’d probably be at her own high school graduation, where had he been for the rest of the big moments? Where had both he and Mary Margaret been?

 The jealousy only grew and the tears built up in her eyes.

 Emma wouldn’t remember what happened next. One minute, she was just going to hold the picture and the next moment…it was on the floor, glass everywhere. She bolted up the stairs to grab her backpack, before running out the door. David was calling after her, but she didn’t care. It wasn’t until she was back near the school that she pulled out her phone and texted Mary Margaret to come pick her up.

#life unexpected verse #snowing #snowing au #charming family #charming family au #daddy charming #daddy charming au #mama snow #mama snow au #star swan #star swan au #frozen swan #frozen swan au #captain charming #captain charming au

[emospritelet]

Dark Hearts: 183: Car sex looks so much easier in the movies.

Also prompted by @ripperblackstaff.  There was going to be angry sex in this chapter, but it would have been ridiculously long, so you’ll have to wait.  But the angry sex is definitely coming :)

[Part 1] [Part 2] [Part 3] [Part 4] [Part 5] [Part 6] [Part 7] [Part 8] [Part 9] [Part 10] [Part 11]

Send me a prompt from this list so I can torture the babies more or give them more sexytimes

AO3 link

Gold paced slowly back and forth across the floor of his shop.  He had lost count of the number of times he had made the journey that day, but no one had come in to disturb him, so he had been left to his own dark thoughts. Shadows of the past, slithering into his brain and weighing him down.  Doubts and regrets and fears which he had kept bottled up for so long he had almost forgotten what it felt like to give them free rein.  And then she had come back into his life, with a child to call his own, a child he would not lose.  A second chance.  Perhaps his father had been right after all, in his own twisted way.

He glanced at one of the shelves where a toy rabbit sat, its blue felt waistcoat a little worn and faded, and tightened his jaw.  The past was the past, and he needed to move forward.  He needed to plan for the future.  He needed to do his best for Gideon.

Turning on his heel, he went to flip the shop sign to Closed and locked the door before walking through to the back room.  He flicked the kettle on for a pot of tea, then set down his phone and a notepad on the little table he used for his mid-afternoon tea break.  Fingers drummed slowly on the table as memories flickered through his mind, as he recalled the times Belle had joined him.  Sometimes she had brought cookies from Granny’s, or cakes from the little patisserie on the corner.  Once, she had even brought him something she had baked: a thick slice of sticky, spicy, date and ginger loaf that had squished between his fingers and stuck to the roof of his mouth.  He could still remember its sweet fire on his tongue, and he had eaten every crumb and then pulled her onto his lap and spent the afternoon kissing her on the little cot.

His mouth flattened as he poured boiling water into the teapot.  Still dwelling on the past, when nothing good could come from it.  He shoved away the memories, reaching for his phone and dialling the number of his lawyer.

“Alexander Gold, how the devil are you?”  Ella Deville’s lazy English drawl poured out of the phone into his ear, making him grin.  “I was just thinking about you, and that I hadn’t heard from you in a while.  Did you tire of making money or something?”

“I’ve been busy,” said Gold.  “But I have some work to put your way.  Or to whomever you recommend; this is something different to what I usually ask of you.”

“Still making a killing on that waterfront property?”

“The development isn’t finished yet,” he said.  “But yes, I expect a very healthy return.”

“So you have your eye on another acquisition, perhaps?” she suggested.

“This is something personal,” he said, and hesitated briefly.  “I have a son.”

“Since when?” she said, her voice high-pitched and incredulous.  “You never breathed a word, you sly dog!  How am I supposed to send a congratulatory gift if you don’t tell me these things?”

“Spare me your indignation, I didn’t know either,” he said dryly.  “Not until a couple of days ago, anyway.  An old - acquaintance - came to town.  With a thirteen-month old child.  My son, Gideon.”

“I’d say if you have a child together she’s a little bit more than an acquaintance,” remarked Ella.  “What exactly was your relationship?”

“Look, that’s not important,” he said impatiently.  “We have a son together, and there are things I want you to sort out.  I need to know that she can’t simply take him from me.”

Ella sighed.

“Darling, do me a favour and come to a screeching halt,” she said.  “First things first.  Are you certain it’s your child?”

“I —”  He ran a hand through his hair.  “Yes, yes, of course!”

“Really?” she said sceptically.  “Does she have proof?  Because if you want to exercise rights over this child, and it sounds as though you do, we need to be able to show it’s yours, understand?”

Gold hesitated.

“Okay, I don’t have any actual proof, other than that he has my eyes, and I can see some of my features in him,” he admitted.  “And the timings add up.”

“You think,” she corrected.  “Who’s to say that she’s given you the right age for him, or that you were the only one to taste her charms at the relevant time?”

“I - I don’t think she’s lying,” he said.

“She doesn’t have to be lying,” said Ella.  “She could just be hoping.  You called her an acquaintance, so I’m guessing this wasn’t a serious relationship.  How do you know she wasn’t shagging the entire town?  Without wishing to be vulgar, you’re a very rich man.  Some women might be economical with the truth if they thought they could get something out of it.”

He was silent, an unwelcome sense of insecurity settling over him, and she seemed to read his mind.

“Look, it’s my job to think about every uncomfortable angle you don’t want to,” she said kindly.  “I’m sure your instincts are right. They usually are, after all, but why don’t we make sure?”

“A test, you mean?”  He ran a hand over his face.  “Alright.”

“The sooner the better,” she added.  “Then we can get the ball rolling on everything else.”

“When we confirm that he’s mine, I want to make provisions for his future,” he said.  “A trust fund for college, certainly.  And there’s child support to arrange, too.  It appears she got married.”

“Is the husband going to be a problem?”

“I don’t know,” he admitted.  “She won’t tell me anything about her private life.  Our interactions up to this point have been - somewhat fractious.”

“Knowing you, I suspect that to be a gross understatement,” she said, sounding amused.  “Look, let’s take things one step at a time.  I suggest you get her agreement to the test.  If she refuses—”

“—then she’s probably lying to me,” he finished, a ball of ice sliding into his stomach at the thought of it.  “Understood.”

“In the meantime, why don’t you give me all the details you can, and I’ll see what we can find out,” she said, and he nodded, took a deep breath, and prepared to tell her what he knew.

Belle felt a little down after she left the hospital, and she couldn’t quite put her finger on why.  Moe was feeling better, and would be out within the week, by which time she would in all likelihood have moved back into his place to care for him.  His feelings towards Gold were unsurprising, and entirely mutual; the two men had detested one another for years, and she couldn’t see that changing anytime soon.  His belief, stated with complete certainty, that Gold would want little to do with Gideon, was not something she shared.  Her own fears were quite the opposite.

After a quick lunch at Granny’s of soup and buttered crusty bread, she made her way back to the house, intending to look through what food they had so she could make dinner, instead of Gold.  He would no doubt be at the shop for most of the day, and the least she could do was cook a meal.  It was a surprise, therefore, when she entered the house to find him already in the kitchen, an apron around his waist, pulling cloves from a bulb of garlic.

“You’re home,” she said, and he glanced over his shoulder.

“Yes, I thought I’d close up early.”

He seemed calmer, some of the coldness and tension gone from him, and she shifted from foot to foot, watching his hair bounce as he peeled the cloves and began chopping the garlic into fine slices.  She bit her lip.

“Did you - uh - have a good day?”

She cringed at the hollow words, and he stilled for a moment, as though he were considering her question.

“It was uneventful,” he said.  “You?”

“I went to see Dad.”

“Ah.”  Gold began chopping again.  “How is he?”

“Awake and complaining that they want him to change his diet,” she said. “He’s okay.  The doctor says it shouldn’t take longer than a week to get him out of hospital and home, so at least that’s something.”

“Good.”

There was silence for a moment, and Gold pushed the sliced garlic to the side, reaching for an onion and cutting it in two.

“What are you cooking?” asked Belle.

“I thought I’d do chicken with a cream and mushroom sauce,” he said. “Broccoli and potatoes on the side.  Is that alright?  I’ll make sure the vegetables are soft enough for Gideon to eat.”

“Yeah, that - that sounds good.”

She shifted from foot to foot, listening to the rhythmic sound of his knife slicing through onion.

“Mary Margaret asked me to go for a drink tonight,” she said, and he looked over.

“Well, you should go.”

“But Gideon…”

“I can take care of him,” he said.  “I’m not completely clueless, you know.”

“It would only be for a couple of hours,” she said, unsure why she was still trying to talk him around, when he had already agreed.

“As I said, go.”  He carried on chopping.  “The two of us will be perfectly fine.  I remember the routine.  Dinner at five-thirty, followed by a bath, then a story and warm milk, then bed, correct?”

“Yeah.”  She opened and closed her hands.  “Are you sure you don’t mind?”

Gold put down his knife, turning to face her with a flat expression in his dark eyes.

“Given the circumstances,” he said quietly, “I think any time we get to spend together is a thing to be cherished, don’t you?”

She could feel her insides shrink and curl, and took a step back.

“Right.”

Gold turned away again, scraping the chopped onion into a pile next to the garlic.

“Just you and Miss Blanchard, is it?” he asked.

“I - I think she said Ashley and Kathryn were coming as well.  She suggested meeting between six and six-thirty.”

“Well.”  He seemed amused, though she couldn’t think why.  “Have a good time.  Would you like to have dinner at the same time as Gideon?”

“That would probably make things easier.”

“I’ll prepare everything for five-thirty, then.”

Dinner was a little strained, but Belle busied herself with feeding Gideon, so the silence from Gold didn’t bother her too much.  The sauce he had made for the chicken was delicious, and Gideon seemed to enjoy it, his small hand curled around the last little floret of cooked broccoli as he watched his parents eat.

“What time will you be back?” asked Gold, and Belle took a sip of wine, shrugging.

“I won’t be late.  I’ll be back before ten.”

He nodded, spearing a piece of chicken on his fork.

“Can we talk when you get back?”

Belle flicked her eyes up to meet his.

“Okay,” she said warily.

“I think we need to, that’s all.”

His voice was calm, but her stomach still dropped a little, as though a heavy weight had fallen into it.

“You’re right.”

Gold nodded again, popping the chicken into his mouth, and Belle looked down at her plate, her appetite all but gone.

Once dinner was over, Gold cleared up while Belle went to change, Gideon watching him from the high chair.  He washed the few dishes, wiping down the kitchen counters and table, and picked Gideon up, holding him in the crook of his arm and kissing his forehead as he heard Belle’s feet on the stairs.  She breezed into the kitchen, looking effortlessly beautiful in a tight black blouse with little cap sleeves above a flared skirt, and sandals on her feet.  She had put on makeup, her lips stained berry-red, and his breath caught in his throat at the sight of her.

“Right,” she said briskly, as though she was steeling herself for something.  “I’ll see you later.”

She stepped forward to kiss Gideon, pressing her lips to the top of his head before looking up.

“I have my phone,” she said.  “If you need to call, don’t hesitate, I mean it.”

“Have a good time,” he said.  “Give my regards to your friends.”

She gave him an odd look at that, which made his mouth flatten.  Of course she wouldn’t have told them she was living at his house.  He wondered if any of them even knew he was Gideon’s father.  He watched her leave, dark curls bouncing around her shoulders, and looked down at Gideon.

“Bathtime for you, young man,” he said, and Gideon grabbed his tie, fingers clutching at the purple silk.

“Oh, you want that?”  Gold tugged at the knot, unfastening it and pulling the tie from around his throat.  “Well, it wouldn’t kill me to be a little more casual, would it?”

Gideon promptly put the end of the tie in his mouth, chewing and drooling, and Gold grinned.

“Not the fate I imagined this tie would have,” he said dryly, flicking open his collar.  “Come on then, let’s get you ready.”

Gideon enjoyed his bath, splashing excitedly in the water and burbling nonsense, and Gold couldn’t keep the grin from his face as he watched his son.  Afterwards, he dried him off and dressed him, rolling onto his back on the changing mat and lifting Gideon into the air to squeal and kick his legs in excitement.  Gold laughed out loud, love bursting through him, but Ella’s warnings had made him anxious, and the smile fell from his face as he lowered Gideon onto his chest and held him close.  Having him here could be the start of something new and wonderful, his own child to love and treasure.  But shadows of the past were creeping in to darken his mood and slip cold fingers of fear into his heart.  What if he came home in a week or two to find his house empty, his child gone?  What if Belle had lied, and Gideon was not his?

Insecurity was needling at him, and he kissed Gideon’s cheek, transferring him to the crook of an arm and getting to his feet with the help of his cane.  He could worry about their future later.  At that moment, all he needed to concentrate on was getting Gideon some warm milk, reading him a story, and putting him to bed.  Routine was important for babies.

“Okay ladies, drink up!”

Kathryn set fresh drinks in front of them all, slipping into a seat opposite Ashley and brushing blonde hair out of her eyes, and Belle pushed away an empty glass and reached for her gin and tonic.  Mary Margaret sipped at her wine, setting down her glass with a smile.

“We should make this a regular thing,” she said.  “I don’t know about the rest of you, but I get so busy with work and trying to organise the rest of my life that I don’t set aside enough time to do anything fun.”

“I hear it’s called being an adult, and I’m firmly against it,” said Kathryn, raising her glass.  “I’m in for girls’ night.”

“Me too,” said Ashley eagerly, and Belle shrugged.

“Well, as long as I’m in Storybrooke, I’m in.”

“How long d’you think that’ll be?” asked Mary Margaret, and Belle pulled a face.

“Not sure.  Until my Dad’s able to look after himself.  Could be a few weeks.”

“Well, if you need help with anything once he gets out of hospital, you just let me know,” she said, and Belle sent her a grateful smile, taking a slurp of gin.

“Come on then, Belle.”  Ashley nudged her.  “We’ve talked about movies and books and the fact that Storybrooke still doesn’t have a decent bar, but we haven’t seen you in almost two years, and we never heard a word about you getting married and having a baby!  Tell us all about your man!  How did you meet?”

Belle ducked her head with a smile.

“Oh, we can talk about me some other time,” she said.  “It’s so long since I was in Storybrooke, and I’ve been dying to know what’s been happening with you all.  Did you ever make it work out with Sean?”

Ashley grinned, blushing a little and shaking back her blonde curls.

“Yeah, his dad came around in the end,” she said.  “I’m still not exactly his favourite person, but at least he lets me in the house now.”

“Good thing too, the way you guys were having to sneak around to bang each other,” remarked Kathryn, and Mary Margaret snickered.

“Yeah,” said Ashley pensively.  “Car sex looks so much easier in the movies.”

They all giggled at that, and Belle took a slurp of her drink.  The alcohol was going to her head, and the sensation was pleasant.

“Will your dad open the shop again?” asked Mary Margaret, and Belle took another drink.

“I think it’ll be a while before he’s fit to work,” she admitted.  “I’m gonna run it while he’s sick.  Opening hours may be a bit shorter, because I can’t leave him on his own all day, but at least if it’s open he’ll have some money coming in.”

“What about the baby?” asked Mary Margaret.

“I’ll have to take him with me,” sighed Belle.  “It’ll be a lot of work, but I’d rather do that than let the business fail.”

“Gotta make rent, especially in this town,” noted Ashley, and the others murmured agreement.

“Zero chance of Gold easing up on the rent just because of a slight case of hospitalisation,” added Kathryn.  “Bastard never cuts anyone a break.”

“Yeah,” said Belle quietly.

Hearing Gold’s name tossed out as though it were something dirty made her cringe.  She knew that the fact that he was Gideon’s father would come out before she left; the length of her likely stay had made that almost a certainty, and imagining the looks on the faces of her friends when they found out was making her squirm in discomfort.

“It’s not just for Dad, it’s for me too,” she said.  “I don’t exactly have anything in the way of savings, so if I don’t work, I can’t buy anything that Gideon needs.”

“Won’t your husband send you cash?” asked Ashley, puzzled.  “Is he out of work or something?  I thought Mary Margaret said he was a businessman.”

Belle was silent, turning the glass between her fingers, her heart thumping hard in her chest as her anxiety grew.

“Can we talk about something else?” she asked eventually, and the other three exchanged looks.

“Sure, honey.”  Mary Margaret patted her arm.  “Listen, when your dad gets out, let me know.  I’ll bring something over so you don’t have to worry about cooking that first night he’s back.”

“Ooh, good idea!” said Ashley.  “I’ll bring cake.  It’ll be store-bought, because trust me, you don’t want to eat anything I baked.”

She was grinning, and Belle sent her a wobbly smile, touched by their kindness.

“How are things over at your dad’s place?” asked Kathryn, and Belle shrugged.

“Okay, I guess.”

“Mr Gold sent a team in to clean the place up,” added Mary Margaret.

“Wow,” remarked Ashley.  “What the hell happened to give Gold a personality transplant?  He never does anything that doesn’t turn a profit.”

“You’d have to ask him,” said Belle, feeling highly uncomfortable.

“I guess he can see you’ve got your hands full,” said Mary Margaret.  “I think it’s nice of him.”

“Nice is one word,” agreed Ashley.  “Unexpected is another.  I never thought he’d go out of his way to actually be a decent human being.  You promise him free flowers or something?“

She giggled, to show she was joking, but Belle clapped a hand to her mouth to hold in a sob, squeezing her eyes shut as tears pricked at them.  A chorus of sympathetic noises ran around the group of women, and it only made her want to cry more.  Mary Margaret rubbed her shoulder, her eyes troubled.

“Honey, what is it?” she pressed gently.  “Is it your dad?  I thought he was feeling better.”

“No, he is, he is,” said Belle tearfully, wiping her eyes.  “I’m sorry, it’s just - it’s been kind of a stressful time lately, and Gideon’s teething, and I haven’t been sleeping…”

“Understandable,” said Kathryn.  “You’ve had to haul your ass to Storybrooke to take care of your dad, you’ve got a new baby…”

“You’re apart from his father,” added Ashley.  “That can’t be easy, not having his dad there to help out.”

Belle closed her eyes, wishing their well-intentioned comments would stop.

“I think - I’m sorry to be a party-pooper, but I think I might go,” she said.  “Do you mind if we do this another time?  Maybe next week?”

“Of course,” said Mary Margaret, squeezing her shoulder.  “You want us to walk you home?”

“No, no,” said Belle hastily.  “It’s not late, and it’s not far.  I’ll be fine.”

She stood up, grabbing her jacket and shrugging it on before any of them could insist.  Having them walk her over to Moe’s place, with no idea of what state it was in and whether that would arouse suspicions, was not something she had the energy to do.

“Call me tomorrow,” said Mary Margaret.  “We could do lunch or something.”

“Yeah, I will,” said Belle, with a tremulous smile.  “And we’ll definitely have a girls’ night when I’m not an emotional wreck, okay?”

She hurried out into the cool night air, taking deep breaths to calm herself as she made her way quickly down the street.  Gold had said he wanted to talk, and although she felt in no fit state to have the discussion that they needed, she knew she couldn’t put it off forever.  She would have to face him, and explain herself, and she hadn’t the faintest idea what she would say.

#tinuviel-undomiel #fic: dark heart #rumbelle fic #my fic #rumbelle angst

[barpurplewrites]

Dragons, kitties and puppies, oh my!

@a-monthly-rumbelling Non smut prompt December.

It’s time for Storybrooke’s Miner’s Day Festival and Gideon Gold is very excited.

-x-x-x-x-

To say that Gideon was excited about the Miner’s Day festival would be an understatement of epic proportions. With the obsessive passion that a five-year-old can muster, he had learned everything about the history of the celebration, he’d been spouting trivia for weeks now. The only difficult moment had been when Gid had decided to put his knowledge into practice by ‘excavating’ a section of the backyard. He’d made a hell of a hole in the lawn before Belle had turned around from weeding to see what he was up to. Still his desire to dig had given Belle the idea that a sandpit would be a good addition to the yard, sooner rather than later.

Given this level of enthusiasm it was wishful thinking on Belle and Gold’s part to believe that they would get to sleep beyond six the morning of the festival. Belle groaned and buried her head under the pillow when the baby monitor picked up the first sounds of Gid moving around in his room. Gold pressed a sleepy kiss to her shoulder and muttered; “Relax, sweetheart, I’ll get him.”

He chose to believe that the sleepy grumble that came from his wife translated as “Thank you.”

Gid was rummaging in his closet when Gold ambled into his bedroom.

“Morning Papa. It’s Miner’s Day!”

Gold yawned as he nodded, “I know, it’s also very early. What are you doing?”

“Getting dressed.”

He eyed the odd combination of clothes Gid had selected for himself so far. Why he thought he needed three socks, and two jumpers was a mystery not to be considered before a cuppa.

“Okay, but how about we have breakfast first?”

---

They arrive at the festival on the dot of eleven, just as the stalls opened. A fast glance around the food stalls made Gold very glad he had insisted on cooking a full breakfast, at least now there was a slim chance that Gid wouldn’t be wanting sweets too soon. Although his own sweet tooth was already eyeing up the colourful cupcakes festooning Astrid’s stall.

Belle glanced over Gid’s head and caught his eye; “Not until after lunch.”

His wife had an uncanny knack for reading his mind when it came to sweet treats, he gave her look of mock offence, but then smiled and nodded his head. She was right; it wouldn’t do to get Gid into bad eating habits, they were already having to sneak spinach into him by mixing it with mash potatoes and calling it ‘alien brains’.

For the moment Gid was preoccupied with the History of Mining stand. Leroy Coalman saw them coming and whistled to one of his six brothers, who were all manning the display.

��Hey Joey! Your favourite little mining buddy is here!”

Belle and Gold exchanged a puzzled look. Joey was the quiet Coalman brother, unkindly dubbed Dopey by some of the crueller citizens of town, He didn’t speak, usually, but he hurried across to Gid and gave him a high-five, before saying in a raspy voice; “Got your kit. You ready?”

Gid was bouncing on his toes; “I am!”

Joey looked shyly at Belle and Gold, words failed him in the face of two adults, but Leroy stepped up to explain; “Gideon and Joey made friends during the mine tour the other day. Joey’s got something special for Gideon to play with, if that’s alright?”

Gold wasn’t sure how to respond, but Belle was there with the sensible question; “Where are they going to play?”

“Just here at the stand. Joey knows not to wander off and we’ll all be keeping an eye out.”

“That’s okay then. Gid? Papa and I will be right here. What’s the rule?”

“No wandering off, Mama. Can I play with Joey now?”

“Yes, go on.”

Leroy clapped his brother on the shoulder as he and Gid scampered into the wide room that had been set up to resemble a mine shaft. Joey handed Gid a miner’s helmet and helped him adjust it, so it sat correctly on his head. The other kids were wearing plain white helmets, but Gid’s was painted with bright yellow diggers.  

Without taking his eyes off the two of them Leroy spoke over his shoulder to Gold and Belle.

“Your lad was the only one who talked to Joey during the school trip. Never seen Joey be so excited. Your lad was amazing rattling off all of these facts and figures about the mines, and he listened when Joey told him new ones. Joey’s spent the last few days painting that helmet for him and drawing him schematics of equipment.”

Leroy turned to look at them both; “Look, I know Joey ain’t the sharpest tool in the box, but he’s a good lad. Would you maybe think about letting him and Gideon meet up at the library or the park some time? With supervision of course, wouldn’t want the pair of them to get into bother.”

Gold was tight lipped; he was listening to Leroy’s suggestion, but he’d not been able to take his eyes off Gid. It was Belle who answered for them both; “I think a get together at the library would be a great idea. We’ll arrange something next week.”

Leroy’s normally gruff face split into a wide smile; “Thank you sister, thank you both.”

A shout from one of his other brothers called Leroy away. Gold was still watching Gid like a hawk, going so far as to stand almost on tip-toe as Gid and Joey ducked under the low tunnel cut out that was supposed to teach the kids about the cramped conditions in old mines. Belle squeezed his hand to get his attention and when he spared her only a flicker of a glance she moved to stand in front of him commanding his full focus.

“Sweetheart. Relax. Gid is fine. He’s playing with Joey and half a dozen other kids. He’s having fun and is perfectly safe.”

Gold sagged; “I know. It’s just, well, he’s our little boy and look at him, socializing and talking to people so easily.”

Gid was currently running around and around Joey, chasing or being chased by Neal Nolan and Alex Herman. It was amazing to Gold, who could never remember such a carefree moment in his own childhood. He smiled at Belle; “He’s amazing, just like his mother.”

Belle slid her hand up over his shoulder and ran her fingers through the hair at the nape of his neck; “And like his father.”

---

After lunch Gold was happily eating his cupcake when they approached the face painting stall. Gideon was turned into a green scaled dragon, hindered only slightly by his refusal to remove his miner’s helmet. It didn’t take much persuading from Ruby to get Belle to sit in the chair once Gideon was finished. Gold chuckled as Belle was turned into an adorable kitten. He licked the last of the icing from his fingers and fished his cell from his pocket; “Shall we have a photo of you two all painted up?”

He’d expected Gideon to agree, he loved having photos taken, but he shook his head and pushed his Papa towards the seat Mama had just risen from.

“You got to get face painted too, Papa, then we can take a photo of all of us.”

Ruby was grinning as Gid shoved Gold into the waiting chair; “Well, what shall it be?”

For a brief moment Gold wished he was still the feared landlord, the terror of the town, but that mask had dissolved when Belle had come into his life, the town apparently found it impossible to be intimidated by a man so lovestruck. He nodded his head at Gid; “This was your idea, son, what shall Miss Ruby paint me as?”

Gid got a sneaky grin on his face, and pulled Belle down to whisper in her ear. Belle chuckled and said; “Oh that’s a very good idea, Gid, tell Ruby.”

“Can you make Papa a puppy, please Miss Ruby?”

“A puppy? Why a puppy?”

“Because he was using his puppy dog eyes at Mama, so she’d let him have a cupcake.”

Gold felt a blush creep onto his face, but he couldn’t argue with Gid’s description. Ruby was laughing out loud as she picked up the face paints, “Okay, a puppy it is, erm can you hold your hair out of the way?”

“I’ll do that.”

Belle moved behind him and scooped his hair back off his face with her fingers. Her touch grounded him as he closed his eyes to allow Ruby to apply the paint, but he still felt vulnerable. Without being aware of it Gid eased his anxiety by chatting about dragons, and if dragons would be good miners, or would they eat all of the coal?

Belle was fiddling with his hair, which he thought was just to keep it out of Ruby’s way until he heard a smothered giggle, followed by Gid hissing ‘Shush!’. His family were clearly up to something sneaky. He kept his eyes closed until Ruby said; “All done!”

Gold opened his eyes to find his reflection staring back at him. He was a puppy. The face paint gave him the look of a spaniel, a look enhanced by the clips Belle had slipped into his hair to give him floofy ‘ears’.

He had to laugh at himself, in between chuckles he managed to say; “Very nice work Miss Ruby.”

She dipped a curtsy and returned the mirror to the table; “Gimme your phone, and I’ll take some photos of the three of you.”

He handed it over as Gid clambered into his lap, and Belle carefully rested her head on his shoulder.

“Okay, now make the right animal noises.”

Their mingled barks, meows and roars weren’t particularly harmonious, but they drew plenty of laughs from the crowd waiting for their turn at the face painting booth. Those laughs turned to soft ooohs when Gid patted Gold on the head and said; “Good Papa puppy.”

As they left the stall, Gold said to Belle; “You’re going to have to help me wash this off tonight, you know.”

Belle snuggled into his side and whispered; “I think that can be arranged, sweetheart.”

The husky hint of suggestion in her voice sent a shiver down his spine, before he could lean in and quietly ask her to elaborate Gid shouted at them; “Can we go on Whack-a-Mole?”

#rumbelle fic #a monthly rumbelling #fluff

[skeletonwoman]

Be Quiet (Remus Lupin)

Request: Can you do prompt 56 and 73 with James? Maybe the reader could be going on a secret date with Remus and James gets suspicious and over protective? Sorry if it's so specific! I won't mind if you do something different, it was just an idea I had 56. “You’re hiding something from me.” 73. “The skirt is supposed to be this short.”

(Another @daphnegreengrass boii)

It’s not a secret date, really, but it is a hella protective James (also a lil bitter) with lots of name dropping and cute Lily Evans moments.

“You’re hiding something from me,” James says, staring at his best friend and you try not to laugh from across the room. Remus doesn’t look up from the cards in his hand.

“Maybe it’s because we’re playing poker,” he counters sedately and James hesitates before shaking his head.

“False. You’re twitchy.” He changes the order of his cards then looks back up at his pale friend. “My divination is working perfectly, and judging by the stars and the moon, you’re not ill.”

“Maybe he has his period,” Peter pipes up, raising the stakes and watching Sirius fold.

“Maybe his mouth tastes like mandrake all the f*cking time,” Sirius hisses and you wrinkle your nose at the thought.

You shouldn’t be eaves dropping, if James catches you he’ll get all whiny and make subtly mean comments until you leave, but you just can’t help it.

“No, it’s none of that,” James says seriously before shaking it off and beaming at Remus. “Ready to lose every sickle you’ve got?”

As the three display their cards, you can see a clear winner. Peters face falls, James is suddenly scowling bigtime and Remus smiles, as calm as a still lake.

Man, do you wanna splash around in the water.

“Still got all my sickles,” he observes and braces for the shove that James pushes him with.

“Come on,” you whine, your gaze glued to the bright green of Remus’s eyes. He’s looking particularly edible like this, his back to the stones and a nervous smile twitching at his lips.

“I- ah… I’m-”

“Leave off, Y/N!” Lily calls from down the corridor, her voice growing closer, “you’re never gonna get a date with Lonely Lupin.”

“But he’s cute and I’ve seen him staring at my legs.” You pout at the redhead and she throws her head back in a laugh. Remus flushes red in front of you and you try not to smirk at the utter adorableness that is a blushing Remus.

“Is that why you’re wearing that?” She nods pointedly to your skirt and you laugh, turning this way and that for her.

“The skirt is supposed to be this short, but it’s not for him. It’s for me. Makes my ass look like an apple.” Lily laughs and you shoot her a cheesy grin. You eye Remus, taking in the way he’s specifically only looking at your face and his slightly daggy clothes, and sigh. They’re not ugly or anything, they’re cute. But something in his image makes it seem like you’re out of his league. “We’d be an adorable couple though. Then he’d get full rights to touching my apple ass.”

“Alright, alright, let him be,” Lily orders, grabbing your hand and dragging you away from him. You sigh as you follow her, but your focus quickly shifts and you’re ready to go all over again.

“So, when’s our date?” You coo, interlacing your fingers with hers and she scoffs, before slinging an arm around your neck and pulling you in to plant a sloppy kiss to your cheek.

“We’ve had our date, baby, I was exhausted within ten minutes.” You frown, only to recall the shopping trip to muggle London and laugh aloud. The memories you made that night… “Exactly, you love rat. And how’s Remus supposed to take you seriously if you’re asking out everyone?”

“I’m keeping my options open! But he’s the main goal. Quiet, bookish and scarred. Everything a girl dreams of.”

“Why… You’re going to hate being with him, why are you even trying?” She eyes you, her curiosity obvious and genuine and you pull from her grip. Waltzing away a step, you pause to gather your thoughts- then plonk onto the bench behind you.

“I like to sit.” You stare at the stone eaves above, unable to look at her while you say this. You’ll chicken out if you do. Merlin, this sounds stupid. “I like the quiet and I love to just sit and read or zone out. You probably do not know this since I am such a wild card. And while I love to sit and be quiet, I also love people and making memories. And when you’re doing that, making memories and the like, people start to question you when you’re just sitting and being quiet.”

“And Remus likes to sit and be quiet.”

“Remus probably loves to sit and be quiet. And I’d love to sit and be quiet with him.” You peek at her and try not to smile when you spot her giant grin. “I also want to meet him in the astronomy tower at 3am and ride him into the sunrise.”

When she throws her head back and laughs again, loud and delighted, you beam.

“He also looks like he’s got a secret dom hiding in him and I’m curious if that’s true,” you tease, squeaking when she smacks your arm. “What! You can’t see it?”

“No!” She gasps, giggling and you scoff, rolling your eyes.

“He’s a soft boy, but you know, soft boys can get hard,” you offer and she squawks, her feet pitter patter dancing on the spot.

“I love being your friend,” she snorts, taking your hand and pulling you to your feet to envelop you in a hug. “And if you can’t sit quietly with Remus, you can sit quietly with me.”

“Aw, baby!”

“I know, I know.”

“She asked me out again.” Remus blushes and Sirius whoops, leaping at James and body slamming him.

“Yes, boy! Get her! She wants you, and I swear if you don’t date her-” He cackles, only to frown when he notices the others aren’t leaping around with him. “I won’t like take her or anything… I’ll just be really unhappy with you.”

“I think you should go out with her,” Peter says, nodding and Remus grimaces. His gaze moves to James who wrinkles his nose.

“She’s… I can’t think of a word that isn’t derogatory and I can’t use those cause I know she’s nice. I know. She’s fleeting, she doesn’t stick with people and our Remus deserves better than to be another notch on her bedpost.”

Sirius laughs, “she hasn’t even got notches on her bed, Marlene checked and told me.”

When the others stare at him, he blushes and waves them off with a muttered excuse about curiosity.

“Look, I think Remus should hold off, if not ignore her completely. She’s hot but is there really any substance there?” James says with a roll of his eyes and Lily smacks him upside the head. “Ouch- Evans! Where did you even come from? And what’d I say about touching the goods?”

“Shut up, ass,” she snaps and he nods once, zipping his lips and winking. Lily rolls her eyes. “Y/N is all substance. James just doesn’t like her because when he asked me out, for the fifth time, she pushed him off the pier. No one knows this because all that substance means she doesn’t embarrass people needlessly. When have you guys ever heard of Y/N making fun of people?”

“Never!” Sirius cheers and Lily shoots him a dead eyed look that has him flushing. “Sorry.”

“And Remus is just nervous because he has to deal with you two gits all the time-” she points between Sirius and James, while winking at Peter, “and it’s exhausting. He assumes she’ll be the same, which while the evidence does point that way, is an unfair assessment.”

“Are you going into law?” Peter asks, a smile lighting up his eyes and Lily pauses, a soft blush dusting her cheeks. “You’re very convincing.”

“We’ll see, Pete.” She smiles, before turning her glare on James and Remus, “don’t judge her unfairly and don’t be a Bitter Betty.”

Sirius attempts a slow clap and Lily smacks his hands down.

“I’m going to dinner and I hope you all think long and hard about what we just discussed.”

“Marlene, stop doubting yourself and just kick her ass already!” You groan, meeting McKinnon's nervous stare head on. “Bellatrix isn’t going to stop dissing you unless you show some substance.”

“She’s a dirty cheat though.” You watch Marlene's eyes dart toward the Slytherin table and you sigh, patting her hand.

“Those aren’t insurmountable odds. And she probably wouldn’t expect you to just pop her one in the nose.” You shrug, grinning and Dorcas giggles quietly at your side.

“Hey, Y/N!” Someone shouts and you wave in the general direction the voice had come from, not looking up, and keeping your gaze steady on Marlene's.

“Pop her one in the nose.” She repeats and you nod once, watching as her eyes move to Dorcas, who reins in her giggles to nod along with you.

You look about the great hall and spot Remus and his group a few seats down, his friends talking animatedly. The bench shifts beside you and Lily blocks your view of the foursome, her red hair much too thick to see through.

“Stop gazing, they’re not worth your time.” She sniffs and starts loading up her plate.

“What do you mean?”

“They were talking about you and it wasn’t kind. It wasn’t really cruel either but it wasn’t positive. Point is, they’re stupid and you can do better. Check out Gideon, now that’s a man.” Your gaze moves to the two red haired twins, zeroing in on the more serious of the pair and you can feel yourself soften. “I know for a fact that he would date you. I overheard him saying so to Fabian.”

“Everyone would date me, Lils, that isn’t very strong evidence to his character,” you scoff and she rolls her eyes.

“Hey- ah, Y/N?”

You blink at the soft voice and peer over your shoulder to see Remus crouched beside you.

Oh.

“Yeah?” Your voice is very soft and much too delicate and you have to stifle a scowl at the embarrassingness of it all.

“Go to Hogsmeade with me this weekend? Just you and I?”

You’re about to burst out with an acceptance when you hesitate. Hogsmeade is Hogsmeade. At your silence, his cheeks start to get red and you inhale a quick breath and gather your courage.

“Maybe we could stay here? I…” You trail off, unsure how to say that you want to just sit in the library. Just the two of you.

“Here’s fine, here’s great.” He grins and your sigh is all relief. “Saturday, I’ll meet you on the lawn at nine and we can decide then?”

“Sure, sure. Yeah.”

“Great.” He smiles and you can’t help mirroring the expression, the two of you caught in a moment of stillness until Lily purposely elbows you. Hard.

“Ouch!”

“I better go,” he mumbles, rising and moving back to his group where Sirius wraps him up in a hug and kisses his cheeks.

the last (4/4) of those requests i super nicely did as a favour 

yay!

i love remus, he boo

#remus lupin x reader #remus lupin fic #remus lupin imagine #remus lupin fanfic #remus lupin fanfiction #marauders fic #marauders imagine #marauders x reader #harry potter fic

[dragonydreams]

Feeling Human Again - Captain Canary

Title: Feeling Human Again Fandom: DC's Legends of Tomorrow Rating: Explicit Pairings/Characters: Sara Lance/Leonard Snart Summary: When Kendra suggested she get in touch with her human side, Sara didn't think she meant for her to do it in this way, but Leonard doesn't seem to mind. Timeline: End of 1.04 White Knights Word Count: 1,718 Disclaimer: I claim no ownership over these characters. I am merely borrowing them from Berlanti Productions, DC Entertainment, and Warner Bros. Television. Betas: Thank you to angelskuuipo and shanachie_quill for looking this over for me. Author's Note: After I posted Ice Cold, White Hot, @saralxnces requested: Can I prompt a fic where she's in the parka and it IS sexy time? ;) It took me a while, but here it is!

   Sara went in search of Leonard after Rip finished explaining to her, Kendra, and Jax about the clusterfuck that went down at the Russian lab. She knew how close Leonard and Mick were, and how furious he must be at having had to leave Mick behind.

What they both needed after a night like tonight was a little...stress relief. It certainly wouldn't be the first time they'd sought out the other for a little physical release.

Leonard wasn't in his room when she arrived, but she went in anyway. After a quick look around to make sure he wasn't there, Sara opened his closet and removed his old blue parka, taking it back to her room with her.

If she was going to seduce Leonard, she should probably not reek of sweat while doing so. After a quick shower, she dried her hair and then slipped on a set of black panties and bra before pulling on Leonard's parka.

"Gideon, is Leonard in his room?" Sara checked before leaving her bunk.

"Yes, he is, Ms. Lance," Gideon informed her.

"Thanks!" Sara chirped before crossing the hallway to knock on Leonard's door, calling out, "It's me."

"Come in," Leonard called back.

~~*~~

Leonard wasn't up for company. He hated when a plan went sideways, and this one had gone not only sideways, but upside down as well.

He didn't care that Mick had told him to get out of there, he hated leaving him behind. The others, too, he supposed, if only because they were part of his crew and you don't leave crew behind.

When there was a knock on his door, he knew it could only be one person, and she was the one person he was willing to see. He didn't care to examine why that was.

Leonard went stock-still upon seeing Sara standing in his doorway wearing his parka, and very little else if her bare legs were anything to go by.

Slowly, he uncurled from his position on the bed and stood, stalking across the room to her. "Do I want to know why you're wearing my parka?" Pulling her into the room, he closed the door behind her.

Her fingers rose to the zipper, teasing it up and down an inch at a time as she looked up at him through her lashes. "It's not like you've been using it lately, Captain Cold."

"So you thought you'd steal it from me?" He grasped her hips, pressing her back against the closed door, leaning over her.

"Bet you didn't even know it was gone," Sara said, smirking.

Leonard dipped his head in acknowledgement.

"And you thought tonight was the night to wear it for me?" he asked, eyebrow raised. "A night when I'm most definitely not in the mood."

"See, I figured this might be a way to get you in the mood," Sara admitted, sliding the zipper down, the backs of her fingers running along his body due to how close they were standing.

Leonard bit back a groan as her fingers brushed against the front of his pants, which, despite his earlier protests about not being interested, were growing tighter.

Sara drew her hand back up his body in a much more deliberate caress before grabbing either side of the collar of the coat. "Do you want to unwrap your present or shall I?" she purred.

"What has gotten into you tonight?" he wondered aloud, his right hand closing over her left as he helped her open the coat, confirming that she wore no clothing underneath. The lingerie set she was wearing didn't really count as clothes.

"Kendra said something about getting in touch with my human side," Sara said, shrugging out of the coat. It would have fallen to the floor if Leonard hadn't also been holding it and caught it, tossing it over a chair instead.

"This probably isn't what she had in mind," Leonard said, fingers tracing up her arm, over her shoulder and collarbone, down between her breasts and stomach and into her panties.

Sara keened with pleasure as his fingers brushed her clit, still primed from her fights earlier today and her deliberately not getting off in the shower, her hips thrust towards Leonard, encouraging his actions as she adjusted her stance. She reached up, grasping the back of his neck as she bit her lip.

"Enough talking," Sara said, pulling his head down to hers, capturing his mouth with a hungry kiss.

Leonard eagerly kissed Sara back, opening to her questing tongue without hesitation. His fingers slid through her folds and inside her and he marveled at how ready she always was for him. It didn't take him long to find that spot inside that caused Sara to come apart in his arms.

After only a few minutes of Leonard's eager ministrations, Sara found herself racing over the edge she hadn't even realized she was on, grateful that Leonard was there to catch her as she came down.

As she regained her senses, she kissed Leonard until he lost his.

"You are way too good at that," she murmured against his lips as he withdrew his hand.

Leonard simply smirked at her. "That is why you came here, isn't it?"

Sara reached out to grab his cock through his pants. "That's not the only reason," she said. "I'm not the only one who needs a release."

"Who am I to say no to a proposition like that?" he said, glancing down at her grip on him.

Sara grabbed his belt, turned them around, and walked them towards his bed. Once her back was pressed against it, she finally began to open his belt and jeans, shoving them down his hips, along with his briefs.

"Eager, are we?" Leonard teased, slipping off his jacket and pulling his sweater over his head.

"Undershirt, too," Sara said. "I need to feel your skin against mine," she added, her fingers running along the hem of the shirt.

Leonard met her eyes and could see that she wasn't just saying this. She needed the full contact, and for once, Leonard wanted to give that to someone. To her. He nodded jerkily and Sara helped him to remove that final barrier between them.

Sara reached behind her back to undo her bra and shimmied out of her panties - tossing the condom she'd had tucked in the waistband of her panties up to land by the pillow - before hopping up on the bed. Leonard crawled up on top of her.

Normally, Sara preferred to be on top, but tonight she wanted that full body contact, and she had a feeling that Leonard needed to be in a position of power.

She grabbed the condom again and handed it to Leonard, who quickly got it on before settling between Sara's thighs.

Sara leaned up to kiss Leonard, drawing him closer to her body, as he began to enter her. She moaned into his mouth, wrapping her legs around him, encouraging him to move with a roll of her hips.

Leonard lost himself in sensation. He became drunk on Sara's kisses, the motion of their bodies moving together, and the feeling of so much of her flesh brushing against his in the most delightful way with every move their bodies made.

Sara ran her hands over every inch of Leonard's skin that she could reach. She could feel scars beneath her fingers, more than she'd imagined he had, being careful to not remain on any one for too long, lest he grow self-conscious and stop. There'd be time enough to explore them another night.

She broke their kiss, catching a breath before kissing along his jaw and down his neck, wanting to add her own marks to him. She eagerly kissed and sucked at the skin behind his jaw, her nails digging into his hips as she felt him driving her towards that blissful edge again.

Leonard hissed with pleasure as he realized what Sara was doing. He was so rarely marked for pleasurable reasons, that he would wear this one with pride. He could feel himself beginning to lose control, too many delicious sensations coursing through his body at once.

"Touch yourself," he growled, finding it hard to form words, let alone the balance to free one of his own hands.

Without breaking her pace, Sara slid one of her hands from his hips around until she could brush her clit. She whimpered at the sensation, causing Leonard to moan in sympathy.

Leonard's movements became more erratic and after only a few more thrusts he broke away from Sara's mouth just to re-capture it with his own. His cries of pleasure were swallowed by her; and then hers by him.

He collapsed on top of Sara, with her holding him tightly, for several long minutes, until he finally had the energy to roll off of her. He removed and tied off the condom and dropped it in the bin near the bed before rolling onto his side, facing Sara, who was now in a matching position.

She reached out to run her fingers over the mark blossoming on Leonard's neck and he leaned into her touch, her bloodlust finally quiet. "That was exactly what I needed," she purred.

"Happy to oblige," Leonard said easily. He turned his head to kiss her palm. "I rather think I needed that, too."

"Anytime," Sara offered, rolling her body over his so he was now on his back and she was lying partly on top of him.

Leonard brushed a strand of hair behind her ear. "Next time, leave my parka out of it."

Sara pouted. "You didn't like me playing dress-up?"

"I like it a little too much," Leonard admitted. "I still need to wear that coat on jobs, and it's going to be tough enough staying on task with a hard-on from remembering you wearing it before we did this."

Sara leaned closer to whisper in his ear. "Just imagine fucking me wearing that coat."

Leonard rolled them over so that he hovered over Sara, who was grinning wickedly up at him. "Now why'd you have to go and say that?"

"It is a fun thought, isn't it?" Sara teased.

"I am never going to be able to wear that coat again," Leonard groaned.

The End

#captain canary #captain canary fic #sara lance/leonard snart #legends of tomorrow fic #prompt response