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horansqueen · 3 years

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It Feels Like Christmas - Part 6

It feels like Christmas Just like Christmas It feels like Christmas with you...

MASTERLIST 🎄

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NIALL

I woke up the next day and stayed in bed for a little longer than usual. I was not sure what had happened between Mimi and I, and I also was not sure what was going to happen next. I had messaged her on the same night so she also had my number and had send a few Christmas emojis so she knew it was me. I hesitated but after a while, I changed her name in my phone and added the same emojis.

I closed my eyes again and tried to remember everything we had talked about together. After she left, I had realized a few things about Mimi, and the main one was that she was scared. She was scared of getting attached, she was scared of falling in love, she was scared of talking about herself, but most of all, she was scared of all these things because she was scared to be hurt and abandoned again. I had no idea how to show her it was possible for her to be loved and that not everyone in her life would leave, and it was bothering me. I kept thinking about it and about her and I was not sure why.

I knew making her see she could trust me was not going to be easy. After all, the parents who adopted her still took care of her and loved her and it didn't make her realize that she was worth it. She still lived in fear that they would disown her at some point and perhaps not going to see them much made her believe it would hurt her less when it would happen. I had no idea who her biological parents were, or why they couldn't take care of her anymore, but clearly they had no idea of the mess they made when they left her.

I finally got up and took a shower before dressing up and walking to the living room. I heard my mom working on something in the kitchen and smiled when I noticed a bunch of gifts under the tree. They were wrapped in white and red papers that fitted perfect with the decorations and it reminded me that I still had a few to wrap myself.

I thought about Mimi and how she told me she hated gifts, whether it was buying them, giving them, wrapping them but most of all, getting them, and I couldn't help but wonder what kind of gift could make her change her mind? This was not a cheesy Christmas movie, I couldn't just search around, find her biological parents in only a few days, arrange a meeting for them to tell her that they always loved her and that they had been looking for her for years. I just couldn't find out what would make her open up, if not enough to let me in, at least enough to give herself a chance.

"Pet? Are you up?"

I got out of my thought and blinked a few times before walking up to her and kissing her cheek gently. I started helping her put food on the table and prepared two cup of coffees, bringing them to the table as we started eating. We remained mostly silent but I could see her glance at me and after a while, she pushed her plate away and grabbed her cup.

"We should get some more gifts today." she pointed out, taking a sip of coffee and looking up at me. "If we're still going to that family Christmas party tomorrow night, I'm gonna need gifts, especially for the kids."

"These kids are spoiled, ma." I pointed out with a chuckle. "I know you love them like your own grandchildren, but trust me, they'll get plenty."

"I can 'spoil' who I want, can't I?" she pointed out with a bigger smile. "Until you give me grandchildren, at least."

"You already have a grandson." I just said, raising my eyebrows.

"Whom I love more than anything, but I was just curious if you planned to have a few of your own, that's all." she shrugged, taking an other sip and making me laugh, shaking my head.

"I don't know, I think I'm gonna focus on meeting the love of my life, first. Then we'll see."

"The love of your life," she repeated, putting her cup on the table. "Nothing less."

"Not gonna settle for nothing less." I added a little lower, sending her a fond smile.

And my heart skipped a beat when I realized I was thinking about Mimi.

---

The mall kept playing Christmas songs, there were kids running around the halls and laughing, we were surrounded by Christmas decorations and trees, and I couldn't help but smile at all of it. The main reason why I loved Christmas was because almost everyone seemed genuinely happy on that season. It didn't last all year long, and I wanted to make sure I enjoyed it as much as I could while it lasted.

I also knew not everyone was lucky or happy on Christmas and I always ended up volunteering for a special charity cause for a few weeks. It was not so much about the money, but more about the time giving that mattered and every year, I tried to find something new to do, or a new place to help. For the past few years, though, I tried to be involved with kids as much as I could, and I loved it more than I can explain. I had never shared that with anyone, though, and I didn't really want to. I could wait until my mom would be gone to volunteer this year anyway, after all, people need help all year around and not just on Christmas.

"We need a toy shop!"

I glanced at my mom and chuckled again before making my way through a mob of people waiting for Santa Claus and taking the next hall. We reached the end where a big toyshop was and I could tell my mom was excited to go. We searched through the toys placed everywhere and after a while, my mom turned to me.

"Find a few soft toys will you?" she asked, grabbing a small car with a remote control. "Dogs, mostly."

I chuckled and raised my eyebrows. "Okay mom." I agreed, taking a few steps back. "But don't buy that. The kids will be happy. but the parents will kill you."

I smiled more until I bumped my back against something. It made me turn around quickly and once again, my heart skipped a beat. Mimi had turned around exactly at the same time as me, and I was wondering if maybe, just maybe, this was an actual Christmas movie. Perhaps I should really try to find her parents, who knows?

"Mimi!"

I expected this to be a bit awkward on her side but the smile she sent me made me want to take her in my arms. It was big and real, and I could even swear her eyes were sparkling. Or it was the neon lights that reflected in them. Either way, they were pretty.

"I will start believing you're really following me!" she joked with a chuckle.

"If I was I'd be more subtle about it!" I laughed, making her raise her nose up in a grimace.

"Okay that's creepy." she let out with a smile, making me laugh even more. "So, what are you here for?"

"Oh, my mom likes to buy toys for my nephew and my cousins' kids." I explained with a shrug, pushing my hands in the pockets of my jeans. "We're seeing them tomorrow and she wants to make sure she's got enough gifts for everyone."

Mimi nodded slowly as a fond smile draw itself on her lips. She tilted her upper body slightly to look behind me and her smile got bigger before she waved shyly at my mom.

"You... really look like her." she pointed out as her eyes met mine again.

"I've heard." I chuckled but stopped when her smile faltered a bit. "Do you look like your mom, too?"

She sent me a frown and finally, her lips parted but nothing came out. It took her a few seconds before she finally closed her mouth and cleared her throat. "Uhm, well, physically, I look more like my dad. At least that's what people used to say when I was young." she answered, nibbling on her bottom lip and frowning again. "You're the first one who ever had the guts to ask me something about my real parents."

"If it makes you uncomfortable, I'll stop. I'm sorry I just-"

"No!" she cut me, her eyebrows raised up as my lips parted. "It's nice, actually. You know, I don't only have bad memories of them."

"Makes sense I mean, you spent thirteen years with them, so it makes sense." I replied, smiling gently at her.

Her eyes softened and she pressed her lips together before licking them. "You remember..." she whispered, making me smile more.

"Of course."

Of course I remembered what she said to me. Every single time we met, our conversations echoed in my head over and over again for hours after we parted. But I couldn't tell her that.

We remained in silence for half a minute before she smiled more and shook her head, letting out a small but shy laughter.

"What about you? What are you here for?"

"Uhm, you're gonna think it's stupid but, when I was young, I would always walk in that store and make a mental list of everything I wanted to buy ." she confessed before shaking her head slightly and closing her eyes. "But I always walked away with nothing because I had no money. I thought it was worth coming back and just, you know, buy everything I want. For the sake of it."

Her eyes met mine again and while they were closed, my smile had grown. "That's an amazing idea, Mimi. I was about to check the stuffies, if you want to."

She chuckled a bit but nodded and we walked together until we found a large stand of stuffies. She started touching them all, poking their nose gently or petting them as if they were real animals. It made me laugh a bit, endeared by her behavior, and I grabbed a few for my mom as I noticed Mimi grabbing one, too. It was a reindeer and she turned around to show it to me, raising her eyebrows.

"Would buying that be a good start for that 'Christmas magic' you always blab about?"

This time, I laughed louder, letting my head fall back slightly. "Yes!"

"Perfect, then it's a deal."

We walked back to the front of the store and we both paid before I turned around again to face her. I knew she was leaving and I didn't want her to leave. I wanted her to stay with me for as long as possible. She moved closer to me and licked her lips, placing her hand on my chest, over my coat, as I looked down at her. It took her a few seconds to look up and when our eyes met, she sent me a fond smile that made me smile too.

"You're always so nice to me, Niall." she admitted, biting her bottom lip. "Thank you."

"You're my magic, Mimi, remember?"

She chuckled and shook her head before getting on her tiptoes and kissing my cheek. "I'll see you around."

I watched her leave and suddenly, it hit me. If I wanted to see her again, I just had to ask. What was the worst that could happen? If I didn't try, I'd definitely regret it.

"Mimi!" I let out a bit too loud, making her turn around and raise her eyebrows again. "How about we do something tonight?"

She smiled more and took a step in my direction. "Like, a date?" she asked, shaking her head. "I told you I'm not looking for a man."

I smiled too and shrugged, my eyes never leaving hers. "As friends, if you prefer."

It took her a few seconds and she finally nodded and shrugged. "Alright, cool, call me."

#niall horan #niall horan fluff #niall horan fanfic #niall horan fan fic #niall horan fanfiction #niall horan fan fiction #niall horan smut #niall horan writing #niall horan story #niall horan au #niall horan christmas #niall horan christmas fanfic #niall horan christmas fan fic #niall horan christmas fanfiction #niall horan christmas fan fiction #niall horan christmas story #my fanfics #iflc #i knowww its cheesyyyyy

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sunshinepeter · 4 years

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snowmen

“I want to make a snowman.”

“Hello to you too, Pete.” Tony set down the blowtorch, and leaned back on his stool, smiling slightly. He hadn’t heard from Peter in a couple days, due to finals, so he was glad he was reaching out to Tony.

“I want to make a snowman,” Peter repeated.

“I heard you. Why is that important to me?”

“Because you’re upstate right now, right?” Peter asked.

“Yes…”

“And the compound has a big yard, right?” He could hear something shifting, like wind blowing around the phone. Tony wondered if Peter was swinging somewhere.

“Yes, Pete.”

“And the yard has snow?”

“You can come and make a snowman at the compound, Parker, but you have to get here. I’m not hiking all the way to Queens just to freeze outside.”

“Well, that is just perfect.”

Tony frowned. “What do you mean?”

“I’m outside the front door right now.”

Ten minutes later, Tony was lacing up a pair of old boots he had found in the back of a closet in a random bedroom. He was seventy five percent sure that they were Steve or Clint’s, and they were at least two sizes too big. He shoved a pair of socks into the toes to keep his feet from sliding around in them.

“So what is with the sudden obsession with making a snowman?” He asked, looking up at the four children in front of him. Peter was wearing his one winter coat, and what looked to be three pairs of sweatpants, and his old tennis shoes. Michelle was wearing a purple coat that looked like it was her moms, and leggings. Ned was wearing actual snow pants and a puffy coat, same with Eugene.

“Ned was talking about how last year on Christmas Eve he made one with his cousins in Canada was really wanted to make one again. But New York doesn’t have a lot of… space to make a snowman. We were at the AcaDec Christmas party and I remembered the Compound and it’s luscious, amazing, wonderfully big yard.”

“I’m already going, Parker, no need to sugar coat it.” Tony sighed, standing up and stomping the boots. “These have no arch support.”

Peter was grinning, Ned mirroring. Eugene hadn’t stopped looking around in awe since he stepped into the Compound. Tony knew he and Peter had gotten past their fighting phase, and were actually on their way to becoming closer friends, but that didn’t stop Tony from being slightly shocked when he met up with the kids and saw Eugene there. Tony still didn’t fully trust the kid, he knew the kinda pain he caused Peter for years of his life, but he wasn’t about to be rude to a kid Peter was beginning to trust.

“Alright, children. Snowman time.”

Peter’s toes were cold, but he was having the best day in a very long time.

The sun was setting quickly in the background, but Peter couldn’t even focus on that.

The three snowmen (Mikey, Randy, and Eve) were placed across the humongous yard, each decorated in classic scarves and hats. Eve, Peter’s favorite, had on a pair of Tony’s colored glasses and a fake flower crown. Peter took many pictures with his girl, beaming in all of them.

“Have you ever made a snowman before?” Flash asked as they sat taking a break by the compound door, watching MJ, Ned, and Tony start yet another snowman. Peter was surprised Tony hadn’t left them yet. He was honestly surprised when Tony started suiting up to go into the snow with them.

“Where would I have built a snowman?” Peter chuckled. Flash looked like he was gonna respond, then stopped, crinkling his eyebrows.

“Huh. Guess I never thought about it.” He toed the ground awkwardly. “I’ve never made a snowman with friends. Only by myself.”

“Your parents didn’t help you?” Peter turned his head to the side.

“Nah. Too busy to want to help.”

“Huh.” Peter crinkled his eyebrows to mirror Flash’s previous expression, then let his face fall slack. “Well, I’m usually available, if you ever want to make one in the future. Like, after today, I mean.”

Flash chuckled, then began to respond. However, instead of responding, a snowball slammed against the wall between the two of their heads. They whipped their heads over to see Tony, MJ, and Ned dying of laughter.

“You did not just do that!” Peter screamed, and both boys leapt up, scooping snow and running towards the others.

Chaos ensued. Peter managed to hit MJ and Ned both in the backs with snowballs, but also got a snowball to the face by Flash. He was focused only on hitting Tony, who somehow managed to dodge every single snowball that flew his way.

By minute twenty of the fight, every teenager collectively decided to team up against Tony, much to his indignation.

“I invite you… to my home… and this… is how I’m repaid!” Tony was yelling as he ran awkwardly through the snow from all four of them loaded with snowballs.

Peter lunged, tackling the man to the ground, and shoving a snowball directly into his face. The rest dogpiled on top, and they all laid there, laughing their asses off.

Eventually, Peter rolled off, and there he stayed, spread out in the snow, staring at the purple sunset sky. Ned collapsed next to him, still laughing.

“Good day,” Peter whispered, breath puffing in front of us. He couldn’t feel his toes, or his fingers, and he was sure that he would have a cold for a week after, along with a nasty bruise on his jaw where Mj managed to nail him with a snowball at close range. But it was worth it, as he laid in the cold snow and stared up at the sky, grin wide on his face.

“Good day,” Tony chuckled, before sitting up. “Hot chocolate?”

masterlist

#tony stark #peter parker #spiderman #iron man #irondad #spiderson #irondad and spiderson #ned leeds #michelle jones #eugene thompson #flash thompson

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ironwoman18 · 3 years

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We Found Love in a Hopeless Place part 21

Chapter 21: A Change did you good

Ethan's wedding was a week away and Spencer was really excited about it. The couple bought their clothes for that event together and the present for them.

Max picked a Christmas dinnerware set since it was that month and she thought someone could already give them an everyday set.

On Friday they decorate her apartment and at night lay on the couch with Tai food and a movie on.

She made him promise to watch a Christmas movie until the end of the month. And since she accepted the Halloween one, he accepted hers.

Then they fell asleep cuddling on the couch and spend the weekend making plans for New Orleans. They will have a whole week to check places.

Spencer was tempted to call Will but he knew JJ would ask and he did not wanted her to. So they decided to go to the art and WWII museum, do a turn around the Mississippi River, go to the French Quarter, Garden District and the Jackson Square.

"Max you know we will be there just for a week right?" Asked Spencer as he handed her a cup of coffee and sitting next to her.

"I know but there's a lot of things to see and according to this page we can walk the French Quarter and check the Jackson Square the same day since it's in the Quarter" she took a sip of coffee "and the other places we can select a day for each one"

"Ok... I hope we can do everything"

"We can always go back any other time" she smirked.

"I bet you would say that" he laughed and after they finished he left to his apartment to get everything ready because they will leave on Monday.

On Monday JJ walked in Emily's office "do you know where is Spence?" Asked the blonde woman sitting in front of her boss and best friend.

"He asked for a week off" said her with her eyes on a piece of paper.

"It's interesting how someone can change"

"What do you mean?" Emily looked up at her."

"Since Spencer joined the BAU he only took days off when Maeve was kill and during those months he was going to New Mexico to get the medicine for his mom and now he's asking for a week off?"

"He learned that he needs a life out of this... World we have to deal with"

"I'm happy for him but at the same time I'm worry because the last time he didn't tell us what's going on he ended up in jail"

"I know where he is, he had to"

"Really? Where?"

"I can't tell you. It's personal information and if he wants to tell you he will"

"Oh come on Em!" JJ used her puppy eyes on her knowing it will melt her heart.

"No JJ I can't. But all you need to know is that he is at a friend's wedding and he won't be doing anything against the rules" she laughed "now let's go, we have a case"

Back to Spencer and Max. They were arriving to the New Orleans' national terminal and walked to get their suitcases.

They were holding hands as he told her somethings he learned about the city thanks to Will, Henry and JJ.

"Why didn't you ask Will or JJ?" Asked Max.

"I know if I ask Will he will tell her and I still dont want JJ to know about us"

"And why is that?"

"Because since I got back to work she keeps treating me like a kid. She's worry because I made myself vulnerable to this crazy woman and it was easy for her to send me to jail' he sighed and Max squeezed his hand gently.

"I know its annoying to have someone like that. I have a friend who was like it after my ex and when I told her about you, she freaked out and started to say that you will hurt me and if that happen she won't be by my side" she rolled her eyes "but after I told her more about you, your personality and the things that we have in common she relaxed, so maybe you just need to talk to her and she will see that she's not your mom and she needs to relax about you"

He smiled and kisses her forehead "you are wonderful, do you know that?" He smiled at her.

"I do but I like when you say it" they laughed as they arrived to the baggage claim area, they had the dinnerware set as carry-on bag so they just need the baggage with their clothes.

The couple waited with the rest of the passengers until they machine started to work and once they had everything they left. Outside was a man with a piece of paper with their names so it most be their transportation.

"Hey I'm Spencer Reid and this is Max Brenner"

The young man nodded "welcome to New Orleans, I'm Brandon and I hope you enjoy the city while you are here" he smiled at them "I'm waiting for another couple that just arrived from New York so we will have to wait, is that ok?" They nodded.

"Yeah, I will get some coffee, do you want Spence?" Asked Max Max looking at him.

"Sure, and Brandon do you want one?"

"Yeah please, I need some. I couldn't sleep well. Ethan kept me up until midnight telling me who I will pick up today and tomorrow" he looked at Spencer "I'm his cousin by the way " he laughed.

Max nodded and went to a coffee shop and brought three coffees then she paid for them and returned to the two men.

"Here is your favorite Spence and I ordered an standard for you Brandon" he nodded and smiled.

"Thank you" he drank a sip "ok as I was telling you, you can visit a restaurant in the French Quarter were you can have the best creole meal ever"

"Really? I think when we visit the French Quarter we can stop by" said Max looking at Spencer.

"I was thinking that, and its perfect because it's close to the Jackson Square"

"Perfect" she smiled and after a couple of minutes later the other family arrived and they left the airport to go to the hotel.

They talked about themselves and what they wanted to see around the city.

When they arrived to the hotel they were in awe with the architecture of it. It looked like a old house from the south during civil war but inside it was modern with old fashioned stuffs. On the center they have a Christmas tree decorated with pictures of the city and images of their teams.

They check in and went to leave their baggage in the room then went down because Ethan wanted to see them.

"Hey Spencer!" He smiled as he saw his friend and hugged him "long time since we saw each other" then his eyes moved to Max "and you must be Max, they woman who won this man's heart" she laughed and blushed softly "nice to meet you" he said smiling.

"Nice to meet you" she said and they held hands "Spencer told me about you and said that you were really talented with the saxophone"

This time it was his turn to blushed "not as good as you could think but enough to pay the rent" he laughed "my future wife is the talent one. I met her in a bar. She has an amazing voice that can send you to heaven... she is a blues singer and right now she is working on an album. She asked me to play the saxophone in it"

"Well that's amazing. And it will be also your album" Ethan smiled "where is she?"

"Her mother took her to have lunch together so I'm on my own. So let's go to eat something and Max could tell me how you guys met and what she saw in you" they laughed and walked to the restaurant of the hotel.

They talked about everything he asked and what they asked him. Max told him about her job and Spencer said just to basic information of his job. He learned a long time ago to keep it simple when it comes to his job.

Then the future wife arrived and joined the conversation. They had a wonderful afternoon until night when both couples left to rest.

"He's really nice" said Max when they were in bed "why did you stop talking to him?"

"We were both busy. He was busy with his music and I was busy with my job at the FBI. I wished to stay in contact but it wasn't easy" he looked at her "he helped me when I was considering to leave the FBI on my second year. I was returning from a tough situation for a 24 years old" she nodded "I always will regret not keeping in contact with him"

She nodded and lays her head on his chest "I understand and I hate that life gets in the way of a good friendship" he nodded and hugged her. Then they felt asleep.

The next day they had breakfast and decided to go to the museums because that night will be the bachelor and bachelorette parties so they left early to have time.

The art museum was amazing for Max because of all the French art, they were also American and African art but she was mesmerized by the French ones.

She even brought some souvenirs for herself and to some of her family members. Then they ate something and visit the WWII museum where Spencer had fun giving facts to her and she was less excited but loved to hear him talking excited.

After that the couple arrives in time to take a shower and get ready for both parties. She left with the bride and her friends and he left with groom and his friends.

The parties were at two different bars on Bourbon street. The women danced and had fun drinking and the man had fun and drink watching a concert of a jazz band.

At almost 5AM both groups returned home. The only sober was Spencer since he did not drink alcohol, at least not a lot and the mother of the bride.

They went to their room and slept until midday. Max was slightly hungover but nothing three cups of coffee and tylenol could not cure. They were invited for a New Orleans brunch by the hotel and they spent the rest of the day in the hotel.

The next day will be the wedding so they needed to be fresh.

When the next day arrived Max left to the salon to get ready while Spencer went to cut his hair just a little to not look to messy and he shaved his little facial hair.

When Max arrived they changed and he was drooling over how beautiful that dress looked on her. She picked it with her sister so he just saw it in her suitcase but did not imagine her wearing it.

"I love seeing you with normal clothes but you plus a suit it's like a match made in heaven" she smiled at him fixing his tie a little.

"And you look amazing with that dress" he said to her, making her blush. He just need to say a few words to make her blush and feel special. That's the magic of the doctor Spencer Reid "let's go" he whispered after kissed her softly.

The couple left with their present to the wedding which will be in that hotel. The wedding was beautiful, the bride walked to her soon to be husband with My Endless Love by Lionel Richie. All women were in tears and some men too. Spencer held Max closer to him the whole song.

Their vows were even more beautiful because they were poems written by them.

After the kiss everyone moved to the reception area were they left their presents and sat down. The could danced their first dance has husband and wife and after the food everyone started to dance and have fun. Spencer danced with Max a few songs, he was not the best dancer but he did his best for her then they rested and drank water.

Later at night they newlyweds couple left after she threw the bouquet and fell in Max hands. Spencer and Max blushed and Ethan could not held a laugh before patting softly his shoulder "be prepared man" he laughed more and left.

The rest of the night was calmer for them. She made him dance a few more songs, slow ones they they left the their room and finished it making love.

The rest of the days were as they planned. They do the tours they planned and had fun in the city. He was happy to finally enjoying a city he was in instead of staying in the police station or around awful places looking for crazy men or women killing or kidnapping someone else.

They returned to Washington to get ready for Christmas which will be in a few days.

OOooOOooOO

I'm back and I want to apologize because it took me so much to post this. I had troubles finding places for them to visit and I had planned some others things that I decided to not include.

I hope you liked it and if you did leave a comment and if you didn't also leave a comment. I would love to hear from you.

If you read my Garvez Moments story, I'm having a writer block with their honeymoon to Peru so I'm so sorry for keeping you waiting.

Next chapter will begins with Christmas and we will move forward to the Linda Barnes plot. Read you soon.

#criminal mind #spencer reid #maxine brenner #maxcer #fanfiction

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wonjaekook · 4 years

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As Sweet As You

A/N: This was supposed to be trope 20 as you can see but it’s the ninth one being posted because it’s the holiday season... it felt weird writing honorifics (is that the right word?) with some of the dialogue but it also felt weird not doing it in some instances, so you’ll see some of that? This was fun to write and I hope you enjoy :))

21 Tropes: 20. Mistletoe/Holiday Theme + chocolate w/Jeno

Description: It’s the holiday season and, even in the cold, there is warmth and sweetness to be found.

Word Count: 4.2k

Genre: fluff

Warnings: some swearing

“I don’t understand how she’s your cousin,” Jeno says, doing more daydreaming than helping with party preparations. Decorations are only half set up in the dorm, with strings of lights affixed to the wall and little green and white candles in evergreen arrangements displayed on tables.

“What does that mean? Am I supposed to be offended?” Doyoung responds curtly, taking out more cups and stirring the giant pot of hot chocolate on the counter.

“I didn’t mean it like that!” Jeno quickly defends, looking up apologetically at his elder. “She’s just so… I don’t know. Sweet?”

“Aren’t you weirded out by him drooling over your cousin?” Haechan chimes in as he walks into the room, carrying what seems to be the last of the decorations in his arms.

“It would be disgusting if it was any of the rest of you. But, Jeno… he’s fine, I guess.”

Haechan huffs. “Favoritism.”

“If you want to be the favorite, you should work on hanging up that tinsel.” Taeyong says from across the room. “Jeno, can you get the door for Johnny and Yuta? They’re back with the tree.”

Jeno gets up, making his way to the front door. He’s hit by a fresh blast of pine as he opens it, Johnny and Yuta barely visible from behind the layers of needles. “Why did you get to carry the stump end again?” Yuta grumbles, knocking some needles onto the ground as they turn into the dorm.

“Because I’m older. Also, dibs.” Johnny retorts, glancing over at Jeno as they walk in. “Thanks, Jeno. Wait, Yuta, turn, turn, turn! Taeyong is going to be pissed if we dent the wall!”

“Eight months! Eight months older! That’s not anything! Also, I know where I’m going.” The two bicker playfully as they put the tree in its stand, Jeno lending a hand wherever needed. Once it’s up, he turns, prepared to get some of the others to help them decorate, but Yuta stops him. “Hey, wait. I have something for you.”

“I didn’t tell you this if Doyoung asks, but you should take what he gives you!” Johnny chimes in as he leaves the room.

“What?” He watches as Yuta pulls some plant out of his pocket. It takes him a moment to recognize it, but when he does, his eyes widen. “Hyung, is this mistletoe?”

“Exactly. Listen,” he hooks an arm around Jeno’s shoulder, hunching over like an old man giving advice to a young whippersnapper, “Y/N is coming to the party, right?”

“How do you know about…?”

“Everyone talks. But, keep this on you and, when the time is right, you know what to do. She likes you too, right?” He hands it to him and all Jeno can do is stare at him incredulously.

“No! I mean, I don’t know, but-!”

“I’m also going to hang some strategically around the dorm just in case-” “You’re just trying to trap Sicheng under one with you,” Doyoung says, looming in the entrance of room, looking slightly terrifying and very unamused. “What are you telling him?”

“I’m giving him a good luck charm,” Yuta says, straightening up. “I’ll go get some of the kids to help decorate the tree!”

“You’re being like one of the kids right now,” Doyoung mutters as he passes by, to which Yuta just smiles at him in response. He turns to Jeno. “I’m not going to threaten you because you’re my favorite, but I’m going to warn you. You should know already, but she’s too shy for anything like that. You’ll scare her off.”

Despite his inhibitions and Doyoung’s warning, Jeno pockets the red and green plant. “I’m not a jerk, hyung. I won’t make her do anything she doesn’t want to. It’s a, um, good luck charm. Like Yuta-hyung said.”

“Whatever you say.” He starts to open one of the boxes with lights and ornaments in it and Jeno joins him. “Just be careful. She doesn’t like the attention.”

“Yuta-hyung said you’re going to woo the love of your life today, Jeno?” Jaemin questions, appearing from around the corner with Chenle and Jisung in tow.

“You have got to be kidding me.” Doyoung sighs. “No wooing in the house.”

“Tell that to Johnny-hyung. You already know he’s going to flirt with the first girl that any of us invited,” Jaemin says, walking into the room and opening an ornament box.

“Can you guys just start decorating?”

As the boys decorate their Christmas tree, halfway across the city, you’re wrapping your gift to Jeno. You had put too much thought into the present, but you’re nervous that it’s not enough. Will he like it? Will he even use it? You’re also nervous about the party itself - should you even be going?

Despite your nerves, you neatly write his name on a gift tag. A moment later, your phone buzzes and you see a text from your cousin telling you that the party will be starting soon. Glancing at your present again, you figure that it will have to do. Pulling on a warm coat, a hat, and some gloves, you walk to your front door and call out to your mother as you slip some shoes on. “Mom, I’m going to Doyoung-oppa’s thing now! I’ll be back later!”

“Wait just a minute!” Your mother appears from around the corner. “You’re not going over there without taking something with you!” She hands a large tin full of what you assume are Christmas cookies to you, which you gratefully accept. She saved you the embarrassment of forgetting because, while it probably wouldn’t be that big of a deal to most of the boys, Doyoung would complain about not getting any of your mother’s baked goods this Christmas. “Say hi to Dongyoung for me!”

“I will, thank you!”

“Jeno, can you go down and get Y/N? She’s outside the building and needs to be let in.” Doyoung looks up from his phone at Jeno after reading the text from his cousin, quickly getting back to work.

The boy in question nods and gets up, puts on his shoes, and heads down. When he spots you through the glass doors at the front of the building, butterflies seem to swarm in his stomach. The way you’re bundled up and have a slight tinge of pink to your cheeks from the cold makes his heart do all sorts of crazy things that he would be embarrassed beyond belief to admit. You smile when you turn and make eye contact with him through the window, waving with one hand and holding the cookies and your gifts for Jeno and Doyoung in the other. You can’t help but think he looks incredibly handsome with his dark hair, but the sweater he’s wearing makes him look cozy at the same time. You’re both relieved and nervous that he was the one who came down to meet you and you can already feel your body warming up in embarrassment and shyness before he even opens the door and ushers you in.

“Hi, Jeno!” You say, smiling sweetly. He really hopes he isn’t turning visibly pink at how cute he thinks you are.

“Hi, Y/N. Merry Christmas! Or, I guess, Merry early Christmas?” When he sees that you’re carrying things, he extends his hands, offering to help. “Can I help you carry anything?” “Oh! This is actually for you.” You take the wrapped present with his name on it off your stack and give it to him. He takes it with a wide-eyed look.

“You got me something?” You feel like you’re back in high school again, like you’re handing your crush a box of chocolates to confess to him. You blush hard, but try to push down your lack of composure.

“Yup! But, no opening it until it’s actually Christmas, okay?”

The bright eye-smile he gives you makes the embarrassment worth it and you can’t stop looking at his happy expression. “Thank you so much, Y/N. You didn’t have to…” He breaks eye contact with you to look down at the present before he looks up again with a start. “I actually have something for you, too! It’s just in my room right now… sorry.”

“Don’t apologize. You can get it later.” Your hands are shaking badly with your barely-contained joy, but you hide it by clutching the tin of cookies and Doyoung’s gift. “Also… I might have only brought gifts for you and Doyoung-oppa, so this is a secret, okay?”

Jeno makes the zipped lips motion with his hand, still smiling. “Let’s go up.” As soon as they get in through the door, he takes her coat and puts it in the closet by the door, setting off waves of butterflies in her stomach. “I’m going to go hide this,” he says, holding the gift up. After getting a nod and smile from him, signaling to him that she heard him, he leaves again, heading to Dream’s dorm just down the hall. After he shuts the door, he practically melts as he walks, sighing dreamily before he realizes he isn’t alone.

“Gross.” Jaemin sidles up next to him, stepping out of the doorway of the Dream dorm. “I’m kidding, it’s just weird to see you like this. Has she seen your angry side yet?”

“No, and she isn’t going to.” Jeno frowns, but has enough sense to try to hide his gift behind his back. To his dismay, Jaemin sees, tilting his head.

“What’s that?”

“Nothing,” Jeno answers quickly, trying to sidle past his friend, but Jaemin stops him, snatching the present out of his hands.

“To: Jeno, From: Y/N, Merry Christmas? Cute. I hope she put this much love and thought into all of us, otherwise I might think that she likes you or something.” Jaemin eyes him, giving him a mischievous, knowing smile.

“She only got stuff for Doyoung-hyung and I, so it’s a secret, okay?” Jeno walks past him, heading towards his room with Jaemin trailing him.

“Are you gonna open it?”

“I’m not supposed to open it until Christmas.” Jeno switches the light to his room on.

“Don’t you want to know what’s inside, though? It could be a confession.” Jaemin draws out his last word very purposefully and he sees Jeno’s eyebrow twitch.

“You’re evil, you know that?”

Jaemin gives him a mock-offended look, bringing a hand to his heart. “It really could be! What would be more romantic than a confession on Christmas? And, if it went south, then she wouldn’t have to face the embarrassment in person!”

“She doesn’t like me like that!”

“Oh, come on.” Jaemin gives him a look of complete nonbelief. “Anyways, if it’s a confession of some sort, you should open it now. That way, you won’t even need the help of Yuta-hyung’s mistletoe! Come on, you know you want to.”

“You just want to know what it is.” Jeno’s eyes, once on firmly on his friend, drift back to the gift in his hands.

“So do you.” With a sigh, he finally gives in, beginning to gently unwrap it. His group member watches in anticipation, but just looks confused for a moment after all of the paper comes off, revealing a CD case with a clear front cover. Inside the plastic case is a CD labeled “Summer Songs to Make the Winter Less Cold.” Stuck carefully to the back of the case is a note listing the songs and artists. Jeno isn’t familiar with any of the songs listed on it, only recognizing the band DAY6 next to one of the songs. He doesn’t listen to them, but he knows of them. At the bottom of the song list is a note from you.

‘I tried to find songs that you might enjoy but don’t listen to a lot yet. Hopefully they’ll bring a little warmth in the winter season. I don’t know if you’ll like it, but we can listen together if you do! -Y/N’

“Okay, not necessarily a confession, but still cute, I guess.” Jaemin reads the note over Jeno’s shoulder.

“I’ll listen to it later, let’s go to the party. Everyone is waiting.” Jeno turns around, setting the CD case on his nightstand before grabbing the gift that he got for you. Unlike yours, it isn’t wrapped, but he hopes you’ll like it anyways.

“No one is waiting for us, except maybe Y/N for you!” Jaemin declares, following Jeno out of the room.

“Merry Christmas, Doyoung-oppa!” Meanwhile, back in the 127 dorm, you greet your cousin, setting down your tin of cookies on the counter and interrupting his drink preparations to hug him and present his present. “This is for you.”

“Merry Christmas, Y/N.” You put your gift in his hands and smile. “What’s this?”

“A Christmas present, for being a great cousin. Plus, some cookies from mom to share.”

“This is why you’re my favorite. Always the sweet one.” He puts the gift aside, pulling out two cups.

“Favoritism in the family, too, huh?” Haechan says from across the room, finally done with all of his decorating.

Doyoung rolls his eyes at him as you greet him. Before turning back around, your cousin starts to speak again. “Where’s Jeno? I assumed you would be glued at the hip.”

“He had to run back to the Dream dorm to put something away, no biggie.” Despite being certain that your cousin knows about your massive crush on his dongsaeng, you don’t want to give away that you gave him the special treatment of a Christmas present.

“Hot chocolate or eggnog?”

“Hot chocolate, please.” You say, watching him take out two cups.

“Two hot chocolates coming up, then.” The look you give him gives away your confusion and he quirks an eyebrow at you. “Some useful information: Jeno also likes hot chocolate. Plus, giving you some for him will give you an excuse to talk to him. Not that you need an excuse, but it’ll help.”

Instead of trying to deny what your cousin is implying, you just nod, looking down. “Thank you.”

Doyoung grabs the large container of hot chocolate, preparing to serve it, before he realizes what happened and frowns. “...or, you could get him to come here and wait with you because someone unplugged this and now it’s cold!” He gives the inhabitants of the large common area an accusatory look and you stifle a laugh.

“It’s fine. I’m going to go… talk to him, I guess. I’ll tell him about your frustrations with the hot chocolate.” As you get up and turn the corner to leave the room, you bump into just the person you were looking for, incidentally grabbing onto his hands to stop yourself from falling over.

“Shit, are you okay? Sorry, Y/N, I didn’t mean to run into you.” Jeno apologizes, not letting go of your hands. You’re instantly aware of what you’re doing, but don’t want to say anything because his hands feel so nice. Trying to stutter out an apology of your own, you look anywhere but at him.

“Ah, no, it’s my fault, I-”

Hoots echo behind the two of you. “Would you look at that!” Yuta yells from the other side of the room. The pair of you look up, seeing the fresh mistletoe hanging above your heads. “Kiss, you lovebirds!”

“I guess we have to, right?” Jeno says after a moment of silence, chuckling awkwardly and reaching a hand up to scratch the back of his neck. Realizing how he must sound after seeing the astonished look on your face, he quickly backtracks. “If you’re okay with it, though? I mean! We don’t have to if you don’t want to…”

“No, it’s fine, I…” You say, trailing off. You can almost feel the eyes of all the boys in the common area on you, burning into your skin. He nervously puts his hands on your shoulders. You keep your head down, gaze fixed on the floor and cheeks heating up more the closer he gets.

“I can’t kiss you if you won’t look at me,” he says quietly. Slowly, you tear your eyes away from the ground and tilt your head up. Your eyes meet his warm chocolate brown ones and your heart suddenly feels like it just stopped in your chest. For that moment, he is the only thing you see.

Then, a second later, you remember all of the other boys staring at you and your heart sinks and fills with nerves at the same time. He’s closer than he’s ever been before, but all you can think about are the other pairs of eyes on you.

“I-” You start, heart caught in your throat. “I can’t do this.” You shrug his hands off of your shoulders and back away towards the front door. “I’m sorry, Jeno, I can’t.”

In a flash, you have your coat and shoes on, slipping out the front door like you had never been there at all.

He stands there, shocked, feet frozen in place for a moment as what just happened processes. Then, he noticeably deflates, his hands dropping to his sides, his shoulders sagging, and his chin lowering.

“Idiot,” Doyoung hisses, smacking Yuta on the shoulder across the room, “I told you it was a stupid plan.”

Jeno still stands under the sprig of mistletoe, staring at the ground. Doyoung makes his way over, resting a gentle hand on his shoulder. “What are you doing? Go after her.”

“She rejected me, hyung. Flat-out.” He says, barely feeling his lips move.

“No, she rejected kissing you in front of all of us. She’s always been people-shy and you know that. Now, go after her.” He gives the younger a slight push, startling him. His eyes move between Doyoung and the door before he’s rushing to throw on some shoes and a coat, the door slamming behind him.

You silently make your way out of the building before sitting on the street curb outside of the dorm with a defeated sigh. At some point during your time inside, it had begun to snow. “Stupid,” you mumble, rubbing at the tears pricking your eyes, “stupid.”

You wanted to kiss him, you really did, but you were afraid. Afraid of the others watching, afraid that he was just doing it because he had to. You always tell yourself that you should stop being so afraid, but it isn’t that easy, and now you’ve messed up at your chance to kiss the guy you’ve had a major crush on for months. Snow begins to dust your hair and coat as you sit there, mulling over your choices from just a few minutes previous and wiping at your eyes as you cry silently. Suddenly, you hear the snow next to you crunch down as someone else sits beside you and you look over with bleary eyes to see Jeno looking at the snow settling on the street.

“Y/N-”

“Jeno-”

You both start and stop at the same time. Silence settles between the two of you again before you clear your throat, looking at him. “You first.”

“I just wanted to apologize,” he starts quickly, rambling almost to himself. “I shouldn’t have tried to pressure you into kissing me and I’m sorry if I- were you crying?” When he finally looks you in the eye, he sees the sheen and redness of your eyes and immediately panics, reaching out to cup your face. His panic just makes the tears start fresh and he swears, thumbs coming up to rub away your tears. His hands are warm. “Shit, shit, shit, don’t cry!”

“J-Jeno,” you say, your emotions overflowing, “I don’t want you to apologize. I’m the one who’s sorry.” He freezes. “I just like you so, so much, but I pushed you away because I got scared.”

“What…?” He says, dumbfounded. You actually liked him? “What were you scared of?”

“I didn’t like the other guys watching,” you sniffle, refusing to meet his eyes once again. He’s silent for a little longer and the tears start fresh, reminding him to speak.

“I really like you, too! Please don’t cry, I like you, too.” He dries your cheeks until you stop crying, his words processing in your brain.

“What?” You say, finally looking into his eyes once again. His chocolate brown hues are warmer than even his hands on your face.

“I like you, too.” He pulls his hands away once he’s sure you’ve really stopped this time. He swears that he’s never seen prettier eyes in his life and, even though you had just been crying, the city lights and pristine white snow reflecting in them make his heart beat faster. Pausing for a moment, he solidifies his decision, reaching and taking your hand in his and slipping them into his coat pocket together. You make a decision of your own a second later, shifting closer to him so that your shoulders are pressed together.

After a beat of silence, you speak. “Did you open your gift?”

“...I did. Sorry.” His cheeks burn with guilt at the whole situation, but thankfully, you’re not looking.

Your giggle makes his heart do all kinds of flips. “It’s okay, I knew you would. Here,” you say, using your free hand to get out your phone and the pair of earbuds you always keep on you, connecting them. You offer him one side and you start to play the first song on your playlist titled Summer Songs to Make the Winter Less Cold. Soft music fills your ears and you hum along quietly, occasionally singing a line or two.

“Sometimes, I imagine

What it would feel like if I kissed you

I know I shouldn’t

But because I shouldn’t, I’m thinking about it more.”

The hot blush on your cheeks contrasts the cold of the night air, but you sing the whole line nonetheless. Jeno squeezes your hand in his pocket, getting you to look at him. “You don’t have to imagine anymore, if you don’t want to.” Pausing, he digs around in one of the pockets of his pants before producing a slightly crumpled sprig of mistletoe.

You feel like laughing, but your heart is caught in your throat. Your voice comes out almost impossibly quietly. “Kiss me, Jeno.”

As he leans down and presses his lips to yours, your hands squeezing each other tightly in the warmth of his pocket, the song drifts quietly into your ears.

‘Chocolate

I should stop, I know this

But I can’t stop thinking

My heart keeps going and going

The more I think about you, the sweeter you get.’

When he pulls away, blushes blaze on both of your faces but smiles also blossom there. “It’s true,” he says, and you meet his eyes, “the more I think about you, the sweeter you get.”

You bury your face in his coat, feeling like you’re about to catch on fire with how hard you’re blushing. “Stop,” you whine playfully, “you’re so embarrassing.” He presses a kiss to your forehead, wanting nothing more than to be with you at the moment. “Oh, I forgot that I was supposed to tell you,” you say, pulling your face away from his coat, “someone unplugged the hot chocolate, so it’s going to be a while before it’s hot again. Doyoung-oppa wanted me to tell you.”

“Did he tell you I like hot chocolate?”

You nod. “I was going to bring you some, but…”

“How are you so cute?” He wonders out loud before going through the stages of realizing that he didn’t just say that in his head, then remembering that it’s probably okay for him to say it to you now. “Do you like hot chocolate, too?”

“It’s my favorite.” The song ends in your ears and you pull out your earbud, taking the other end from Jeno when he offers it to you, and put it away. “Do you want to go inside? It’s a little bit cold.”

“Yeah, let’s go.” As the two of you stand up, hands still interlaced, he remembers your gift. “Wait, I have something for you.” He lets go of your hand to unwind the scarf that he had draped around his neck, wrapping it around yours instead. You look at him with wide eyes. “I know it isn’t wrapped, but you said you were looking for a nice scarf and this is your favorite color and-”

You lift up a finger, hushing him. “Thank you, Jeno. I’ll treasure it.” You grab his hand again, pulling him along as you walk back towards the dorm building. “Did you really have your coat and this scarf on you when you ran after me?”

He’s silent for a beat before he answers timidly. “I put it in the hyung’s dorm because I was going to offer to walk you back to your car when you left.”

You try to hold back your reaction, burying your face in the scarf he had just put around your neck. “Who’s the cute one, now?”

“Don’t worry, it’s still you.” As you approach the door, he reaches into his pocket before freezing. “...shit.”

“What’s wrong?”

“I left my key in the dorm…”

For a moment, the two of you just stare at each other. Then, you both burst into laughter, the tips of your noses and ears red from the cold and the apples of your cheeks pink with the warm, chocolate-sweet feelings rushing through you. The feeling of his hand in yours and his eye-smile and the glow of the lights decorating the building is warm enough for you, anyways.

#jeno fluff #nct fluff #neowritingsnet #nct dream fluff #lee jeno fluff #wonjaekook #if anyone has any suggestions for the rest of the playlist #hit me up!!#also let me know what you thought if you can spare a minute :)) my ask box is always open #happy holidays everyone

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wild-aloof-rebel · 4 years

Text

waited so long to say this to you

Five times they say “I do” (and one they don’t).

- part 1 - part 2 - part 3 - part 4 - part 5 - +1

He’s coming.

Patrick shoots a thank you text back to Stevie and digs his heels harder into the floor, stomping down the nervous urge to pace. David is on his way. He’s left the motel and is making his way here, where they’ll get to spend a few minutes alone together before the ceremony. Before they get married.

Holy fuck, they’re actually getting married.

There have been days in the months since Patrick proposed that it felt like they’d never get here. There have been days that it felt like maybe they should just elope and be done with it. But they’d found their way through, and now David is on his way here for their wedding.

The bell on the door of Rose Apothecary rings, and voices spill in from the street outside, a cacophony of words and laughter that Patrick would recognize anywhere as the Roses, even without David’s voice yelling over them to just go to Town Hall already. At the sound of it, the nerves that have been buzzing in Patrick’s belly all day reach a feverish pitch. This is it, he tells himself. This is what you’ve been waiting for.

His fingers clutch at the door frame as the front door snaps closed, bringing eager silence with it, and he forces himself to count to five, taking a slow, deep breath, before he steps out of the back room to find David already smiling at him, broad and bright as the afternoon sun.

For a long moment, all either of them can do is look. Patrick has seen pictures of David in suits, dressed up for long ago parties and premieres, so he’d thought he knew what to expect from this. But the reality of it is so much more. The David in those photos had been devastatingly gorgeous but aloof and untouchable. The David standing here, bathed in light by the wide windows of the store they own together, is a little softer, a little warmer, a little more open to the world around him. This David is happy. Comfortable. Well-loved. And he is the most unbearably beautiful thing Patrick has ever seen in his life.

“Hi,” David says finally, soft like a secret.

“Hi.”

And then they’re moving toward each other across the distance, pulling each other in with hands on waists, arms across shoulders, lips against lips. Patrick is careful not to bunch his hands into the fabric of David’s jacket the way he wants to, but it’s a near thing. And when he finally pulls back, it feels like the first full breath he’s taken today.

“David, you look…”

“Me? Look at you.” He steps in a wide circle around Patrick, clearly admiring the view, and Patrick can’t help but laugh at the way his eyes sparkle like he’s already imagining stripping him out of it. Patrick imagines he must look much the same.

“How was your sleepover with Alexis and Stevie?” he asks to distract himself of any further thoughts about plucking apart all the buttons on David’s shirt, letting his fingers find David’s and twine them together instead lest they try to betray the temptation.

“I missed you,” David says plainly, brushing his thumb across the back of Patrick’s hand. “But you were right--it was…” He grimaces and swallows like the words are painful to get out. “...nice. To spend time with them.” He shakes his head. “What about you? Your cousins didn’t try to get you drunk, did they?”

“No, I kicked them all out by nine. Told them you would murder them if I showed up to our wedding looking hungover and sleep-deprived. Didn’t think an actual crime would be the best way to start a marriage.”

In truth, Patrick had kicked them all out because he hadn’t wanted to draw the night out any longer than necessary. He’d felt like a kid on Christmas Eve, knowing that the sooner he went to sleep, the sooner he could wake up and open presents. And so he’d sent them all back to the motel to drink without him, pulled on one of David’s sweaters out of the laundry, and climbed into bed far too early. Of course, that meant he’d been awake far too early this morning, but he’d gone for a run and then met his parents for a quick breakfast before all the chaos of the day could come spilling in.

“Mmm, no,” David says, “And I don’t think my wedding night look would be as good in prison orange.”

Patrick’s eyebrows rocket up toward his hairline, his voice dropping low in contrast. “You, uh, you have a wedding night look?”

“Wouldn’t you like to know?”

David’s smile goes all crooked and enigmatic, and Patrick thanks the universe for what certainly won’t be the last time today for bringing this man into his life. He drags him in to kiss him again, licking teasingly into David’s mouth to show him exactly how much he’s looking forward to it.

When David starts to pull away, Patrick chases him down again, not quite ready to give up kissing his fiancé just yet, leaving David laughing against his lips, the happy sound of it bubbling in Patrick’s belly like champagne until he feels drunk on it. Finally, with one last kiss to the corner of David’s lips, he leans back, taking in all the warmth in David’s eyes and the joy on his lips, still marveling that he gets to be the one to make him look like that for the rest of their lives.

“I guess we should… go,” David says, nodding toward the front doors, though he doesn’t move any closer to them.

“Actually, um, I-- I have something for you first.”

“Oh.”

Patrick swallows and pulls the small box from his pocket.

“And here I thought you were just happy to see me,” David teases, but his face falls serious as Patrick hands him the gift. He flips the top of the box up on its hinges and plucks out the key, the uncut edge of it glimmering in the sunlight. “What’s this for?”

“Nothing yet,” Patrick says with a nervous little shrug. “It’s a-- a promise. I know that with all the wedding planning we haven’t had a chance to really look for a new place, and even though you’ve been staying with me, you keep having to go back to the motel for things, and most of the stuff you have brought to the apartment is still in boxes, and I just…” He can feel that he’s rambling and takes a deep breath to try to rein it in. The wild beating of his heart calms just a little. “I want you to have a home. A real one. So this is a promise. We can start looking tomorrow if you want. But after everything that you’ve given me, I just-- I want to give you the home that you deserve.”

“Button.” It sounds like a sob, choked and wet, and David’s lips tremble as he leans in closer. “Patrick. You are my home,” he whispers before kissing Patrick so, so softly. Patrick clutches the counter behind him to ground himself, to keep from floating away when David pulls back, just far enough for Patrick to see the honesty shining in his eyes like gold. “You’re my home,” he says again. “You have been for a long time. And it doesn’t matter where we live, that will still be true. The rest is just… decor.”

And then Patrick is kissing him again, his fingers against David’s jaw, drawing him in like a ragged breath, hard and desperate. There’s the distant sound of things hitting the floor and then David’s fingers are clutching at his shoulders, grabbing onto him like a lifeline. Patrick could stay here like this forever, would if he could, breathing David in, but suddenly there’s a loud knock against the glass of the store windows. They jump apart guiltily to find Stevie outside, laughing and tapping on her wrist.

David gives her the finger in response, but the wide smile plastered on his face undercuts the effect a bit.

Laughing, Patrick bends to pick up the key where David dropped it on the floor in favor of getting his hands on Patrick instead. “I mean it though,” he says earnestly, turning it over in his hands, watching it catch the light. “I know there was some… confusion... when I moved into the apartment.” David quirks an incredulous eyebrow his way, and Patrick shakes his head fondly. “For which I have already apologized profusely. But I don’t want there to be any misunderstandings this time.”

He considers dropping to one knee just for the way it would make David’s eyes light up, but he also considers the lifetime of grumbling he’ll get if he gets his suit dirty before they take photos. That almost makes it worth it, but instead he simply holds out the key on his open palm.

“David, will you move in with me?”

The wet shine in David’s eyes makes Patrick’s throat tighten painfully. “Yes.” David sniffles, sounding just as overwhelmed as he had the day he’d opened a box to find four gold rings nestled inside. “I will.”

And then David’s kissing him again, wet and inelegant and absolutely overflowing with joy. Patrick kisses him back with everything he’s got, I will playing on repeat with every press of their lips.

Because after months spent saying I do, it’s those two words instead that will carry them through today: I will. They’d written their vows with that as the response. I will. Not I do. Because a wedding isn’t about the present; it’s about the future. It’s about the start of a life spent together. It’s about looking out toward the years on the distant horizon and saying, whatever may come our way, I will still be here at your side. I will still love you. I will still choose you, every single day. I will. I will. I will.

“Don’t make me drag you two out of here,” interrupts Stevie’s voice, and David’s groan rumbles in Patrick’s chest where they’re pressed together. He peeks at her over David’s shoulder, standing just inside the door, arms crossed sternly across her chest. But her mouth is curved into a small, fond smile, and Patrick can’t help grinning back at her.

David just grumbles, reaching up to smooth down the shoulders of Patrick’s jacket where he’d rumpled the fabric. “It’s our wedding day. You’d think we could have five whole minutes alone to make out without rude people”--he raises his voice as if Stevie might mistakenly think he were talking about anyone but her--”interrupting us.”

Patrick giggles, giddy and light. This is his future, this pouting, ridiculous, sarcastic, beautiful, generous, kindhearted, absolute force of a man. Patrick gets to marry him. He gets to be his husband. He gets to spend an entire lifetime by his side, and nothing could possibly make him happier.

He leans in to kiss David once--twice--more, laughing again when David whines as he pulls away. “Let’s go get married,” he says. “We have the rest of our lives to make out.”

David’s answering smile could power an entire city.

“We do.”

And with that happy thought buzzing beneath their skin, they step out onto the pavement, into the warm, bright afternoon sunshine, hand-in-hand, with Stevie at their side, and walk down the street toward Town Hall. Toward all their family and friends gathered together to celebrate with them.

Toward their future, whatever it may hold.

#schitt's creek #schitts creek #david x patrick #david rose #patrick brewer #rebel writes #wsltstty #long post #as always apologies if the cut doesn't appear on mobile #eight million years later i finally finished this fic #the whole thing is also on ao3 if you prefer to read there

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atreefullofmonkiesonnitrous · 4 years

Text

Double Blind

Day 10 - Silver and Gold Newt was clattering away in the kitchen, getting Christmas dinner ready for a party of 13. They were eating rather later than normal with all the teenage guests, and one preteen, showing up for their second Christmas dinner in one day. Truthfully he was glad of the extra time to cook, as this was a far cry from his usual cooking for two. He could hear his wife on the phone in the next room as she was finishing up the decorations.

"Yes, I'm sure. It will be fine."

"He is going to love it."A longer pause.

"No, we've been over this. It's perfect. I don't care if gold is more traditional, he always wears silver, and when has he given a toss about tradition?"

"Now you are just being ridiculous."

"The book stopped at Armageddon, you are on your own, but don't worry."

"If he's stuck around for 6,000 years already I am fairly sure you are stuck with him."

"Yes."

"I won't."

"I will."

"Look I have another call, it will be FINE."

Newt was at least 75% sure he knew who the new call would be. It stood to reason really, which was about the only thing about this that did.

"Yeah?"

"I was just talking to him."

"I'm absolutely sure he has no idea."

"I didn't mean it like that."

"No, I am NOT saying he won't be interested."

"I can not over state how sure I am that it will go well."

"No."

"Drama Queen."

"Shut up, you love me."

"Unhun, fires of eternity, got it. So you don't want my help anymore?"

"That's what I thought."

"Okay, that is definitely not going to be the problem."

"First of all, can you really imagine him being that materialistic? Secondly, gold is not boring, it's traditional. He adores traditions."

"I know the plan."

"Yes."

"It's already in place."

"Just get yourselves here in one piece."

"Okay, bye."

Newt came out of the kitchen and handed Anathema a glass of sherry that she tossed back in one go. "Were those two conversations what I think they were?" He asked.

"Most likely, you're a clever fellow." She smiled at him.

"I can't figure out if knowing Heaven and Hell are real, and full of such absolute idiots is comforting or terrifying," he said.

"Let me know when you figure it out." Anathema laughed. "I can't tell either, especially since, from what I've heard they are pretty competent, comparatively."

"Terrifying. Definitely terrifying."

Christmas dinner was a genial and raucous affair. The Them had not settled at all despite having attained the lofty status of teenagers. Pepper's seven year old sister tended to be an instigator of mischief, mostly to keep from being ignored. Adam and Warlock were whispering in a corner, which never boded well for anything. The former Mrs. Dowling, now Ms. Carpenter, was keeping an eye on them, in the vain hope of getting in the way of anything too disastrous. Marjorie was telling a heavily edited story from her days as Madame Tracy, while Shadwell was snoring in his chair having eaten nearly his weight in dinner.

Crowley and Aziraphale were both distracted and fidgety, and were the only ones in the room not to notice how nervous the other was. Anathema was also fidgety, and they were both shooting her warning glares by turn. It was nearly killing her to not start giggling like mad. Eventually, the last of the mince pie was eaten and the brewing disaster in the corner was headed off by poppers and promises of presents. Crowley was even prevailed upon, by virtue of Aziraphale's pouty face, to wear his paper crown, but only after the bright blue had been traded for red.

Anathema declared herself "Father Christmas" and passed the gifts out to their intended recipients. The children got theirs first and were thus distracted with new electronics while the adults did their exchange. Warlock stayed while Crowley and Aziraphale opened a hand drawn book about a snake and a rabbit that raised a baby crow, that brought tears to both their eyes. When there were only a few gifts left Newt dragged out a large box in front of Aziraphale and Anathema brought a large flat box to Crowley.

"Crowley, you go first," she said.

Crowley tore the brightly colored paper and gaped. All anyone else could see was the wooden outline of a frame.

"How on earth did you find this? I thought it had been lost!" His voice was almost a whisper."

A cousin of mine is an art historian. He mentioned it to me. Apparently it's a highly debated piece, because it looks like a Da Vinci, but there is no signature, so no one can be sure if it's his or a student's."

At Da Vinci's name Aziraphale's head snapped up. He looked over at Crowley. "Is that…?"

Crowley nodded. "It's a real Da Vinci, I remember sitting for it." He turned the painting around. It was two smaller paintings framed together, though it was clear they were meant to be seen as a pair. Anyone who knew them would recognize Crowley and Azirapahle, Crowley holding an apple and Aziraphale holding a scroll. Each of them had their hand on half of a book that transitioned between the two paintings. Aziraphale's eyes were misty again.

"I remember as well. It is truly remarkable that you found it." Before they could start tripping over themselves with thanks Anathema chivied Aziraphale to his own present. Inside that paper was a box holding ten identical books. Aziraphale lifted one out. "The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch - 2nd Edition - Annotated." He looked in astonishment at Anathema.

"We reconstituted it from the family collections of index cards. It's all there along with family guesses about various prophecies and notations when they happened. These ten, plus one for the family, are all that we printed." She grinned. "You now own the rarest books of completely useless prophecy in the world."

"My dear, this is a priceless gift! It's far too generous both of these! Now for your gift! Come here and give me your hands." She did, looking confused. Crowley got up and came over laying his hands on Aziraphle's shoulders. "My gift to you, Anathema, and Newt will benefit by it too, is my blessing, for the very best of health for these next eight months. Nothing will harm you and everything will be as easy as possible. Though I do advise leaving the sherry go for a bit, even so." She stood looking at him confused for a minute until the implications of his words sunk in, then she pulled her hands to her mouth to cover her happy shriek and turned to Newt who had also just caught on and swept her up and spun her around. When they calmed down a bit Crowley spoke up.

"And I promise that you will have without a doubt the most experienced midwife on the planet. Always felt guilty about the whole business, so I've gotten very good at it." He came over and gave her a hug before going back to his seat. Everyone else had to give their hugs and congratulations to both the parents to be as well.

"Oh! There are still two gifts left!" Anathema went and took two small boxes from under the tree, and handed one to Aziraphale and the other to Crowley. They each gave her a LOOK but she just smiled at each of them. They each unwrapped the small box.

"Anathema, I think you got them backwards."

"Oh dear, this one isn't for me."

Aziraphale and Crowley look at each other, both hesitating, but Crowley moves first, crossing the room and holding out the box. "Aziraphale, this is for you," as soon as he gets close he drops to one knee.

"You are the light of my world, my angel. We have been through everything together, and together is the way I want to continue. The worst thing that ever happened to me, is the thing that led me to you, and I would Fall again, to be able to be with you. I know it's a human thing, but we've decided that humanity is our side, so Aziraphale, will you marry me?"

Aziraphale looked down at Crowley, the box in his hand held a golden ring shaped like a snake swallowing its own tail. Its eyes were sapphires and tiny chips of clear stones studded its length. He shot a glance at Anathema, then he also knelt down, even with Crowley and rather than taking the box, held out his own.

"Crowley, beloved, you have been my guide and guard for longer than I ever realized. You have shown me what it truly means to love unconditionally, for you have always been to me, patient, kind, generous, humble, selfless, forgiving, and possessing a faith in me that I can only hope to be worthy of. There is nothing I want more in this world than to have the singular honor of calling you my husband."

He took from his box a ring of moonlit silver etched in the shape of a feather. The tip was curled around a deep red ruby and the shaft was inlaid with onyx. They each slid their rings on to the other's finger, then leaned in for as deep a kiss as the present company would allow. Everyone was laughing and clapping.

"That was the gayest thing I have ever seen," Adam said. Pepper shot him a horrified glare. "What? Double proposals are peak queer culture!" That sparked another round of general laughter.

Crowley stood and helped Aziraphale up as well. He kept his arm around his fiance(!) as he looked at Anathema."You knew, this entire time, didn't you!"

"It was so hard not to say anything," she wailed. "You each had almost the exact same plan! And you were both such nervous wrecks over it. The wedding really is going to just be a formality, you two are already the most married beings I have ever met!"

They couldn't even deny it.

For @drawlight‘s 31 days of Ineffables Day 10, Silver and Gold

Thanks to @waywren for the ideas for Warlocks gift to them and Anathema’s gift to Crowley. For those who don’t recognize it, it’s the painting from the Ineffable edition a description of which can be found here

#@drawlight #31 days of ineffables #silver and gold #Good Omens #good omens fic #my fic #ineffable husbands #ineffable spouses #crowley (good omens)#aziraphale #proposal #double proposal #ineffable idiots #good omens fluff #tooth rotting fluff #gifts #anathema device #newt pulsifer #warlock dowling

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joaquinwhorres · 6 years

Text

Just for Christmas Eve (Steve Harrington x Reader)

Summary: After being put in a tight corner by your family, you find yourself lying about your current relationship status, assuring them that your boyfriend will be making an appearance at the annual Christmas Eve party. After a panicked search for a last minute fake-boyfriend, you have to rely on your younger brother's cute new friend to help you out of your tight spot.

Pairing: Steve Harrington x Henderson!Reader

Word Count: 4,716

Author’s Note: Wow. I started out just wanting to write something fun and silly and holiday-y, but then I found myself just writing and writing and writing. I hope you love this somewhat cliche but definitely cute story.

Warnings: None!

"So, Y/N," your aunt started. You held your breath, and you already knew where this was going. It was the same every year. The Friday before Christmas, your grandmother and your mom's sisters and their daughters would roll in for the Annual Christmas Cookie Baking Day. When you were younger, you had loved every part of it. Eight women, all bustling around the kitchen, doing different jobs for different cookies. As the second youngest (and you being who you were) you had always been in charge of the thumbprint cookies because it was something you couldn't mess up and therefore couldn’t freak out over. Plus, it kept you out of the older girls’ hair. Now that you were older, you had graduated to being the official cookie finisher, charged with decorating any and all cooled cookies. And while each year you were allowed to help more and more, every year, your family pestered you more and more about what you were doing in life. More specifically, your love life. "Any new boys we should know about?" your Aunt Veronica raised her eyebrows, her hands busy mixing the chocolate chip cookie dough.

Of course there weren't. You had been busy busting your ass day in and day out, working to get a full ride to college. But sure, ask about the least successful aspect of your life.

You opened your mouth to say as much, when your cousin snorted. She, like you, was decorating gingerbread men. "You know she doesn't. Y/N doesn't have time for relationships," she teased.

"No, no," your Aunt Patricia's daughter, Sarah jumped in. "That was two years ago, Rebecca. Y/N doesn't have a boyfriend because she's just focusing on herself. Being independent." The two girls laughed, and you rolled your eyes dramatically.

Aunt Patricia wrapped a sympathetic arm around your shoulder. "You just haven't met the right person yet," she soothed. "You will." She kissed the side of your head and moved across the kitchen to start the next batch of sugar cookies.

To some extent, you understood your family's preoccupation with your relationship status. Your mother had cracked slightly after your father died, and it was the main reason that the Annual Christmas Cookie Baking Day had been founded. It was also the reason why the rest of your extended family trooped over to your little house to have a Christmas Eve party every year. Your aunts just didn't want you to end up lonely like her. They didn't have a lot of faith in Dustin keeping you company for the rest of your life.

So, every year, your family checked in to see if you were still single.

And every year, when you confirmed that you were, they gave you a hard time about it and inevitably ended up giving you a list of eligible men from their various parts of Indiana. Once, your aunt had even dragged along a neighbor boy to the Christmas Eve party and forced you two to spend time together.

It had been uncomfortable as hell.

"You know," Aunt Veronica began. "Jerry's single now. He's smart like you, and very cute."

"My ex-boyfriend, Jerry?" your cousin, Rachel asked her mother with wide eyes. Of course they would try to set you up with your younger cousin's ex-boyfriend. Of course.

"Oh come on, Rach, you weren't that into him," her sister rolled her eyes. "But he's not Y/N's type. David Malkins, though, I should give him your number," she pointed at you. "Or Kyle. His brother. What do you like? Dark or light brown hair?"

"What about Eric Robins, you know the boy who–"

"I have a boyfriend!" you burst out, suddenly. They all turned to face you, looking almost surprised that you were there.

"Really?" Rebecca asked, stopping in the middle of icing a smile on the gingerbread man’s face.

"Yeah. He's coming to the Christmas party. It was supposed to be a surprise," you flushed. They all looked at each other as if they were silently deciding who would call you out on your bullshit. Finally, Sarah turned to look at you.

"I can't wait to meet him."

"I can't believe you told them you had a boyfriend," your brother shook his head at you.

After all of the women had left your house, he'd heard you slam your door and had come to your room to check on you. He was sweet that way when no one was around. It had only taken him a few minutes of pestering you about why you were trying to smother yourself with your pillow before you broke down and told him exactly what had gone down. And Dustin was being very Dustin about the whole situation.

"I panicked!"

He chuckled. "Yeah, you did."

You picked up a throw pillow and threw it at his head. He dodged it easily, still giggling.

You threw yourself back down onto your bed, staring up at the ceiling. You had two and a half days to find a boyfriend. No big deal. It wasn't as if you hadn't been able to find one at all in the past 18 years of your life or anything. Nah, this would be easy. You totally weren't freaking out about it.

You were in such deep shit.

"What am I going to do? I can't tell them he's suddenly sick or staying with his family. Mom was there too. It's a miracle she didn't say anything."

"She probably just doesn't want any more of Aunt Patricia's weird neighbors in her house," your brother shrugged.

You just groaned in response, wishing your house would swallow you up and spit you out in some alternate dimension where you wouldn't have to deal with this.

"I'll help you. It'll be like a shared quest," Dustin offered. You turned your head against the pillow, checking to see if he was messing with you.

"Are you serious?"

"Of course!" he exclaimed. "I also don't want any more weird neighbor boys in our house," he grinned cheekily. You picked up another pillow and threw it at him.

Heavy knocks came from the door which meant it could only be one person. "DUSTIN! HE'S HERE!" you yelled from the living room, moving to answer the front door.

"OK!" Dustin called back down. You pulled the front door open to find Steve Harrington on your doorstep, waiting patiently for someone–usually you–to let him in. You had told him on several occasions that he didn't have to knock anymore and could just come in; he didn't have to wait outside. Besides, he was here often enough that he might as well have a key at this point. You weren't entirely sure what had happened that led to him and Dustin becoming so close, but after you and your mom had returned from your search for Mews, the two boys were constantly hanging out together. It was cute, and after you'd gotten over the strangeness of Steve Harrington being your brother's male role model, you decided it was probably the best thing to ever happen to Dustin.

"Hey, Y/N," Steve greeted as you stepped aside, letting him in the house.

"Hi, Steve. Dustin's on his way down." You closed the door behind him, following Steve further into your house. He sank down on your couch, used to having to wait for Dustin. If your brother wasn't pal-ing around with Steve or playing games in Mike Wheeler's basement, he was talking with his friends on his walkie-talkie and it took him around five minutes to get out of any hushed conversation he was having. During these five minutes, you and Steve would catch up, chat, and wait in non-awkward silence.

"So, what are you two doing today?" you asked, returning back to your seat and pulling your homework towards you. Yes, you were that student.

"He wants me to help him 'train' on Dragon's Lair," Steve shrugged, and you laughed.

"He still hasn't beat Lucas?"

"He did. And then Lucas beat him. And now he's going back to reclaim the title or whatever."

"It's going to be a long day then," you smiled, pushing a lock of hair behind your ear as you looked back up at Steve.

"You want to come?" Steve asked, and you froze. He was staring down at you as if it was a normal thing for him to invite you out on one of his and Dustin's father/son dates. It wasn't. Sure, you would join in on their movie nights at home or the occasional board game, but you never left the house to hang out with them. Even though Steve was your age, he was Dustin's friend, and you respected that boundary.

You realized that you had paused for just a little too long. "I would, but I should really finish up my essay for Lynch, and I still have to wrap the last of my presents. Our family is having our annual Christmas Eve party on Monday and I–"

"Steve!" Dustin called out as he entered the room, and the way he said the name made you whip your head to look at him. Your suspicions were confirmed by the way his eyes were lit up. This was going to be trouble.

"Dustin," Steve repeated back slowly, cautiously. He must have learned Dustin's "trouble signals" as well.

"You can be Y/N's boyfriend!" Dustin exclaimed. Your face grew hot, and you just knew you were bright red. Steve seemed rendered effectively speechless, leaving you alone to get him out of this.

"Dustin, no," you shook your head vigorously.

"Why? It's perfect! He's over here all the time, so mom knows who he is, and you guys are in the same grade, plus, it's Steve!" Dustin explained. You floundered, opening and closing your mouth to try to come up with a good argument as to why this was not the perfect solution.

"Um, what?" Steve asked, calling both of your attentions to him. He looked a bit of a mess–flustered, embarrassed, and absolutely confused.

"Nothing," you assured, turning to Dustin. "Nothing." You repeated. As much as your brother might have had a point, you couldn't get Steve to be your fake boyfriend. He was Steve Harrington. And you were Y/N Henderson. He was popular. And good looking. And athletic. And kind. And an excellent friend to your brother. You were the student who actually did their homework over Christmas break without being forced to by your mom.

"Y/N told our cousins that she had a boyfriend and he was coming to the Christmas Eve party because they were being super shitty–"

"Language!" you interrupted, but he kept going.

"about her not having a boyfriend. But she doesn't actually have anyone who will come, and she needs your help," Dustin explained. He was practically stumbling over his words in his excitement to explain.

"Way to make me sound super desperate, Dustin," you mumbled. You wished you could just run to your room and avoid the inevitable rejection and awkwardness that was to follow.

"So, you need a date?" Your heart stopped. He wasn't seriously considering this was he?

"Uh, yeah," you admitted with a sigh, finally getting the courage to look over at him. He was looking right at you, one eyebrow raised and his lips were turned up in what was almost a smile.

"What time's the party?"

"8:00," Dustin chirped, despite the fact that you and Steve had not broken eye contact and the question was clearly directed at you.

"7:00," you corrected. "It's always 7:00."

"I'll be there," Steve nodded. "If that's cool with you."

"Yeah…yeah. You can be my fake boyfriend. For Christmas Eve," you clarified.

The three of you sat in silence for a minute. Dustin standing between you and Steve, smiling from ear to ear. You still looking at Steve, slightly red. And Steve looking right back at you, still with that almost smile.

"You ready, man?" Steve finally asked, turning to Dustin.

"Yeah, I think I've finally figured out how to kick Lucas' ass!" Dustin cheered.

"Language," you corrected again, and the boys just chuckled and left you alone to freak out over your homework. You had a fake date with Steve Harrington. This couldn't possibly go wrong.

"So, where's your boyfriend?" Rebecca asked, cocking her head slightly as the two of you stood by the egg nog, pouring yourselves glasses.

"He's…coming," you answered, less than convincingly. Your stomach had been in knots all day, but it had gotten even worse when the party started. Steve still hadn't shown up. Which meant you didn't get to review the details of your fake relationship, and you'd spent the last hour getting looks from almost every woman in your extended family. It was surprising that they made it a full hour without questioning your "boyfriend's" noticeable absence.

"Hmmm," your cousin hummed, letting you dig yourself further into your own grave. You gave a tight smile before turning away and drinking your eggnog as fast as possible.

Where was he?

As if on cue, heavy knocks came from the door, and you practically flew across the house to open it.

"Hey." Steve caught your frenzied, panicked look and tilted his head to the side. "Are you ok?"

"Who is it?" Your aunt called, her sing-songy voice hinting that she had a guess.

"Steve!" Dustin called out walking over to the door, as you stood aside to let Steve enter. You'd freak out later.

"Hi, Dustin," Steve said, before freezing and looking around the room as your entire family stopped what they were doing to stare at him. "And everyone."

You closed the door, hoping your heart would calm down. If anything your anxiety skyrocketed when you saw him on your front porch giving you that same half smile he always gave you. You were sure your hands were shaking. You couldn't handle this. "Uh, this is Steve," you introduced, your voice completely betraying you and giving way to all of your nervousness. You hoped that your family wrote it off as you being afraid to show off your new boyfriend to your family for the first time. You doubted it, but you could hope.

"Hi, Steve," Aunt Veronica welcomed, stepping forward and bringing him into a hug. "It's so nice to finally meet you," she smiled.

"It's nice to meet you too," Steve said.

"Do you want to put your coat in the coat room?" you asked, your words almost running together. Steve looked at you, concern crossing his face again.

"Yeah, sure," Steve nodded, following you to your mother's room. He took off his coat and laid it on top of the pile already overtaking the bed. You stood there, tapping your fingers against your leg, looking at him. He was dressed in a dark red sweater and dark jeans, and he looked good. Your were going to have a heart attack. You were going to have a heart attack and die young. "Are you ok?" Steve repeated his question from earlier.

"You're late!" You exclaimed in a hushed voice.

"By like, 5 minutes," Steve said, defensively.

"5 mintues?" you hissed. "You're an hour late, Steve."

"8:00. Dustin said 8:00." Even as he said this, Steve's face began to fall.

"Dustin's an idiot. I told you it was at 7:00." Your nerves were still high strung, but at least Steve hadn’t forgotten about you or worse–was blowing you off.

"I'm sorry," Steve said, calmly. "But, I'm here now. It's ok."

"It's not ok! This was a terrible idea."

Steve stared at you for a second, watching as your fingers continued to fidget by your side. His eyes roved up to yours, which were wide and looking desperately at him.

"Is this–is this the first time you've ever brought a boy home?" Steve guessed.

You let out an exasperated sound and sunk to the bed, covering your face with your hands.

"Hey, hey, hey," Steve soothed, sitting down next to you, so close his leg was touching yours. "It's ok. It makes things easier. Explains why you're freaking out so much." He bumped your shoulder with his.

"They're going to know," you moaned into your hands.

"No way. I'm a pro at lying to parents." You dropped your hands to stare at him. He smiled sheepishly. "Come on, it's fun! It's like a game."

You looked down at the floor and nodded. "Ok. Ok. I can do this."

"You can do this because I'm in it with you," Steve said, standing up from the bed and holding his hand out to you. "So let's go back out there, and be the best fake couple ever."

You looked up at Steve. He seemed so confident. Like nothing could go wrong. You wanted to believe that.

You took his hand and allowed him to pull you up off of the bed. You half expected him to let go once you were up, but instead he adjusted his hand, lacing his fingers with yours. Steve shot you a smile before pulling you out of the room and back to your family.

Your family played it cool as the two of you entered, only Sarah and Rebecca staring at the two of you. And Dustin, who shot you a smile and gave a thumbs up. You rolled your eyes and looked up at Steve who was grinning at everyone around the room. You could do this. As long as Steve was here, you could do this.

Somehow, the two of you had managed to make it around the room and survived introductions with everyone. Steve had bonded with Roy, Andrew, and John over basketball, discussed his post-high school plans with your other uncles, and charmed the heck out of your aunts, which left only the cousins who were conveniently standing around with your mom. The hardest test.

"So, how'd you two meet?" Rebecca asked, tilting her head innocently. You knew better.

"Through Dustin, actually," you answered, and Steve squeezed your hand, reassuringly.

"Dustin?" Rachel repeated, her eyebrows raised.

"Yeah, I babysat him while Y/N and Mrs. Henderson were looking for Mews," Steve explained. Your mother's face faltered, and Steve noticed. "Sorry about, Mews, by the way."

She waved him off. "Everything happens for a reason. We got you out of it. And Tews-y."

"The two of us just clicked, so I started coming over, and then after I met Y/N, I started coming over more. We would always have these short conversations whenever I walked in. They were never really about anything, but she was just so easy to talk to and so kind, and, you know, beautiful. So, one day, I invited her to come to the arcade with me and Dustin, and after she destroyed me at Donkey Kong, I asked her out on a real date. And the rest is history."

You looked up at Steve, slightly dazed. The arcade invite. He hadn't—He couldn't—Your brain worked double time trying to make sense of Steve's story. He smiled down at you and squeezed your hand again. And your thoughts flashed back to the coat room. I'm a pro at lying to parents. Your heart sunk slightly, which didn't make any sense. Because this was just fake. Just a fake relationship to get your family off your back.

"Cute," Rebecca smiled, and she was genuine this time.

"You know, I always wondered why you came over so much," your mother wagged her finger at Steve. "I should have known it was Y/N."

"Mom," you groaned, leaning your forehead onto Steve's arm to hide your face. He leaned down and kissed the top of your head.

Your heart stopped, and it took everything in you to not snap your head up and look at him. You were sure your face would be too flushed. It would be too obvious that he had never done anything like that before.

"Hey Steve!" Dustin called, and Steve turned to face your brother. "Come check out this thing Brian showed me."

"Yeah, sure," Steve said, giving your hand one last squeeze before releasing it and following your brother off.

"Ok, he's adorable," Rachel pronounced, and you looked up at her, your face slightly cooled.

"Yeah, he's pretty great," you smiled.

"I guess your pickiness paid off," Rebecca said.

You decided to ignore the backhanded compliment and instead look over at Steve who was huddled together with Dustin and Brian. "Yeah, I guess it did."

The rest of the evening was easy after that. You let Steve handle most of the questions since was so good at it. How long had you been dating? A little under a month. When did he realize he was into you? When he saw you tackle Dustin into the ground and hit him over the head with a slap bracelet that he had unexpectedly slapped you with. (True story). Did he know about your fear of clowns? Yes. Have you gotten into a fight yet? Yes, because you were freaking out over nothing and Steve made the mistake of telling you that. Your family had all gotten a laugh out of that one, and you had smacked Steve a little harder than maybe you should have.

During the traditional exchanging of your special "Christmas Eve presents", you had been surprised when Steve bought you the Footloose album, recounting the time that he had once walked into you singing and dancing around the kitchen to "Let's Hear it for the Boy." After being forced into a reenactment by your cousins that had the rest of your family roaring with laughter, you had managed to pull him back down into the couch next to you. Whispering a gentle thank you which caused Steve to smile down at you, his eyes briefly falling from yours to stare at your lips before meeting your eyes again. You flushed and turned back to presents.

When it came time for you to give Steve your gift, you bit the inside of your cheeks to keep from smiling too hard. You had hounded Dustin about it, and eventually he'd broken down and given you an idea you couldn't refuse.

Steve ripped open the package and his face fell in shock as he looked into the box.

"What is it?" Sarah asked, attempting to crane her neck to see inside. Steve closed the box lid.

"Nothing."

This understandably raised eyebrows from all of the adults, as their gaze shifted from Steve to you. Catching their meaning, you reached over, to the present. "Come on, show them," you prodded, attempting to grab it. Steve held it away from you.

"No," he protested. Dustin, who was sitting next to Steve, snatched it from the older boy’s grasp taking the packaging off quickly, as you held onto Steve's hands to keep him from taking it back.

Your brother immediately burst out laughing as he held up the Farrah Fawcett Hairspray. The rest of your family attempted to hide their snickers before finally Brian lost it as well, and everyone else, deciding it was ok, followed. Steve snatched it back from Dustin and put it in the box.

"I know you feel uncomfortable buying it, and you were running low," you teased, reaching up a hand to gently play with Steve's hair.

"Thanks," he said flatly, and you smiled.

"You don't like it?" you asked, innocently, feeling for the first time that you were able to relax. This was the relationship you were used to with Steve. Gentle teasing and easy laughter.

"I love it," he said, relenting a little bit. "Especially in front of your family whom I'm meeting for the first time.” Your family immediately jumped in to ease his worries, and you just kept smiling as he side-eyed Dustin. Your brother was going to pay for that one.

After presents, it was time for hot cocoa and the Christmas movie.

You got up to help with the passing out of the cocoa and cookies, but were waved off by your aunts and cousins, told to stay on the couch, huddled together with Steve and Dustin as they managed the rest. The rest of your family was too busy arguing over the Christmas movie to pay attention to your conversation.

"I think we're in the clear," you whispered to Steve and Dustin. "All we have to do is make it through the movie."

"You've been great," Steve nudged you with his shoulder.

"Yeah, you totally weren't freaking out as much as I thought you would," Dustin added, and you glared at him. He smiled, and you mimicked laughter.

"Look what we found," Sarah sing-songed, and you turned to look at her and what was dangling from her outstretched hand. Mistletoe. And that's why they'd been so cool. Because they knew you'd snap the minute you saw it.

"Oh, no," you protested, seeing her walk straight for you and Steve.

"Eww, gross," Dustin chorused. "Don't make them kiss in front of me." You weren't sure if you loved your brother in this moment or if you were slightly annoyed by him.

"Grow up, Dustin," your cousin scoffed, leaning over and hanging the mistletoe over you and Steve. This was a set up, plain and simple. They were calling you out. Were you really going to have your first kiss with a fake boyfriend in front of your family or would you break and tell them it was all a hoax? The eyes of all the women were on you, expectantly.

You looked up at Steve, searching for a cue, and he raised an eyebrow. He lifted his hand, brushing your hair behind your ear before gently cupping your neck, his thumb resting lightly on your cheek. Your felt like you were going to throw up. Steve was going to kiss you. And if he kissed you, you wouldn't be able to stop yourself. The crush that you'd kept so carefully under wraps for the past two months would come out, and you'd kiss him back. Steve leaned in, slowly, giving you plenty of time to call this off, but you couldn't. You were in too deep. You closed your eyes and tried to calm your heart to keep it from beating out of your chest. His lips gently brushed against yours, and wow.

On the one hand, you still felt odd–you were kissing your brother's friend, your friend. But on the other hand, wow. His kiss was as gentle as his touch, and sweet like the Christmas cookies. You pressed your lips more firmly into his.

"Ugh!" Dustin let out a disgusted noise and moved from the couch. You pulled back, looking a Steve who stroked your hair back behind your ear (even though it was already there) and smiled. You smiled back before turning to your cousin.

"Good enough?" You asked, and you could have laughed at how shocked she looked.

"That's enough," your Uncle Roy decided. "No more kissing."

"Yes, sir," Steve nodded, and your family laughed, resuming their activities. You and Steve accepted your mugs of cocoa from your mom, and picked a few cookies off of the tray your aunt held out. Well, you picked up a few. Steve picked up like seven thumbprint cookies. "They're my favorite," he explained, catching your questioning glance.

"Of course they are, Y/N makes them," your aunt smiled before turning the tray to someone else. Steve inclined his head towards you before taking a bite.

"Delicious," he said.

"Thank you."

The two of you placed your mugs on the coffee table, turning to the movie as the rest of your family quieted down to watch the opening scenes.

Steve leaned over to you, whispering in your ear. "Was that ok?"

The butterflies in your stomach took flight again as you turned to look up at him again. "The kiss?"

He nodded.

"Yeah," you nodded back. "Yeah, I think it really sold them. You were right, you're a great fake boyfriend." Something about the words leaving your mouth hurt. You couldn't say exactly what it was, but Steve seemed to pick up on it as his brow slightly creased and he nodded.

"You know," he started, taking a breath in. "I'm an even better real one."

You stopped breathing.

"What?"

"Shhh," your cousin shushed. "The movie!" he gestured to the screen. You flushed and then turned back to Steve. He was looking nervously down at you, his question still on his face.

"Let me take you out on a real date," Steve whispered even lower.

You smiled up at him, suddenly feeling incredibly shy. "Can I destroy you at Donkey Kong?"

"Anytime you want," Steve shook his head, and he was smiling too as he leaned his head down towards yours again.

"No more kissing!" Dustin hissed from his seat on the floor. Steve looked over at your brother and shot him a grin.

"You brought this on yourself, kid."

But he didn't kiss you. Instead he pulled back and wrapped an arm around your shoulders, pulling you close to him and keeping you there for the remainder of the night.

Tags: @oomylifeiseternalsufferingoo @katethemandrake @coolyoungbouquetdestinylove @stay-wokke @morgandakotaq @panda0192 @dontneedbiologytoadopt

#steve harrington x reader #steve harrington fic #steve harrington x henderson!reader #steve harrington x you #steve harrington imagine #steve harrington #stranger things #stranger things imagine #stranger things 2 #steve harrington fanfic

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backtothestart02 · 6 years

Text

Fallen Star - 7/?

A/N: Not all that exciting, I assure you, but certainly longer than any of the previous chapters. I hope you find something in it worthwhile.

*many thanks to @valeriemperez for beta’ing.

Chapter 7 -

No matter how hard Iris tried, she could not seem to focus on Linda’s genius plan to piss Barry off in order to bring them back together. She knew in theory it was solid, and she did have to admit the story was one she would have greedily chased if it actually existed, though maybe she wouldn’t act on it to the extent Linda was suggesting she would – hypothetically speaking, but she couldn’t stop thinking about that New Year’s Eve party at STAR Labs that she had yet to make a decision about.

Barry had bought her a gorgeous shiny floor-length dress for their six-month anniversary near the end of November. She knew he’d been eyeing the dresses that showed a little more skin than this one did and just didn’t want to be labeled a perv by the girlfriend of his dreams and tried to tell him so. He refused to admit to it though, and so she told him she appreciated the gift. Which she did. The dress was absolutely stunning and looked amazing on her when she tried it on.

You would’ve thought she was wearing lingerie from Barry’s inability to speak and the color draining from his face, the bulge forming in his pants. It did show a bit of cleavage and there was a slit for her leg, but she didn’t think it warranted that much of a reaction.

Still, when he lunged for her, and she giggled, “Don’t rip the dress!”, he sped-stripped it off of her and responded, “Save it for New Year’s.” She’d nodded, giddy. “That’s perfect.”

It’d been a magical, intoxicating night after that, and when she found the dress in her closet today she could not help but think of that night and the bright future that lay ahead of them then. One that, as far as she could tell, had been wiped from existence now.

She turned her phone over and over in her hand, trying to decide. Linda had offered to take her with her to New York City where her cousin had managed to snag an invite to a classy party on a rooftop in full view of the huge glittering ball that would sound off the new year. It was an enticing offer, she had to admit. She’d never seen the ball anywhere other than on TV. She’d never even been to New York. She always wanted to go, see the lights all lit up at night, be amidst the crowds on a busy Friday night or a busy Friday day. She wanted to go to a Broadway show and spend hours shopping at vendors in the city streets. She wanted to browse through Tiffany’s most beautiful – and expensive – diamond collection and be stopped in the middle of Times Square because her face was zoomed in on the big screen.

She wanted to kiss who she was with in that moment, have it shown to everyone who was walking by. She wanted that magic of knowing anyone who cared to pay attention could see how desperately in love she was with that person.

And she wanted that person to be Barry.

Tears welled in her eyes as she abandoned the phone on the table and went to curl in a ball on the couch.

She wanted everything with Barry.

She’d wanted Christmas with Barry – mistletoe and eggnog and a fully decorated tree and opening presents and caroling and waking up on Christmas morning wrapped up in each other and eating Christmas cookies, one of her few specialties she excelled at.

She hadn’t gotten that this year. They hadn’t gotten it this year.

Instead they fought and broke up, and her favorite holiday in the world was forever tainted because apparently her Bear had been restraining himself for fear of losing her and had decided that if it was worth the risk if she had some sense knocked into her.

The rumblings of anger buzzed inside her, but it wasn’t nearly as intense as it had been a week ago or any day since. Because right now she missed him so much it hurt. Right now she was willing to throw away her entire career if it meant holding him in her arms again and hearing I love you float passed his lips, hearing I missed you and let’s never break up again tumble off his tongue. She missed the pressure of his lips against hers, of his body against hers, of his fingers in her hair, his whisper in her ear…

She missed everything.

Why couldn’t things be okay? Just for one night, one magical, endless night, why couldn’t their love be enough?

She shivered where she sat and pulled a folded blanket up over her, huddling into its warmth.

But he’s not even going to be there, Iris.

It could be the truth. He might not decide to show, if Cisco prodded Barry to show up the way Caitlin had done to her. They might be in the same space, and not by accident either. Whenever Cisco and Caitlin teamed up on something, it was usually with good intentions. Which meant they wanted to get the two of them back together and had likely decided since they were making no moves in that direction, it was up to the saavy science nerds of Team Flash to step in for them.

If only it was so simple.

Her phone buzzed across the room, nearing the edge of the table where she’d left it.

It was either Linda, asking her if she was sure she wanted to spend her New Year’s Eve alone, even though she was likely already in New York getting ready for the party. I’ll send in the ‘copter, she’d probably say, only half-joking – or it was Caitlin, reminding her that the party started in less than two hours and she had yet to give her a response.

She bit her bottom lip, thought about that dress, about Barry being there, about Barry not being there, about truly spending another holiday moping and/or feeling depressed, about the rest of the team that probably only wanted to help, about the champagne and the smiles and the new year that could change everything.

She snapped to her feet, zipped across the room, her slippers sliding on the wood floor, and answered the call.

“Hey, Caitlin.”

“Iris! Hey, I was just calling becau-”

“I’m coming.”

A pause, probably due to shock and uncertainty.

“You’re…you’re coming?”

“I’m coming, yes.”

“You’re sure.”

“Absolutely positively!” she assured. Too much, Iris, she grimaced a beat later.

“Well, that’s…great!” A smile in her voice. It made Iris smile too. “You can just head on up to the roof when you get here. If no one’s up there we’re just grabbing extra food and drink.”

“Great! That sounds great, Caitlin. I can’t wait.”

A pause – more smiling from both of them.

“I’ll see you later then, Iris.”

“Should I bring anything?” she asked hurriedly, the thought of contributing unexpectedly dawning on her suddenly.

“Nope. Just yourself,” she soothed.

“Just myself.”

“See you at seven.”

“See you.”

Click.

She set the phone back down on the table and stared out the window, letting the realization of what she’d just done sink in.

A party to forget or a party that might change everything. Her breath caught in her throat, imagining the look that might be in Barry’s eyes when he saw her in that dress – if he sees you, Iris.

She had a feeling he would.

…

Barry stared at himself in the tall mirror and sighed loudly.

“That does not sound like a man who is excited to go to the…” Cisco slid along the floor into view behind him. “Best New Year’s Even party of his life!” he sang.

Barry’s expression did not change.

“Is it too much?”

Cisco glared.

“Dude. You’re wearing a navy suit with a sparkly tie.

“Yeah.”

“It’s better than the first thing you put on.”

Barry paused, recalling, and then nodded resigned.

“Yeah, the bedazzled black tux was a little over-the-top.”

“Ya think?” Cisco deadpanned.

“This might be too, though…”

“You’re not going to the party in a t-shirt and jeans, my friend. This is a party, not…a movie marathon.”

Barry frowned and turned to look at him.

“But Iris isn’t going to be there.”

Cisco raised his eyebrows. “Is that the only time you would try to look nice?”

He shrugged. “Well, it’s nothing with work either or a formal function.”

“Everyone is dressing up,” he complained. “Just because you’re feeling mopey doesn’t mean you have to look that way.”

Barry paused, thinking. “Right,” he finally said. “No, you’re right. Sorry, Cisco.”

Cisco sighed. “It’s all good, my man. We’re gonna have a good time tonight, I promise.”

“Even though I can’t get drunk?” he drawled.

“You don’t need to get a drunk to have a good time,” he almost yelled.

Barry was working his last nerve. He’d been absolutely elated when his best friend hadn’t needed much convincing to agree to come to the New Year’s Eve party he and Caitlin had concocted two days prior. Apparently though, keeping him invested in the idea took a lot more effort than what Caitlin had to deal with – which had just been a last minute rsvp.

“You’re sure Iris isn’t going to be there?” Barry asked, smoothing down his tie again.

“We didn’t invite her,” Cisco said matter-of-factly.

Barry met his eyes. “You don’t think that’s kind of…mean?”

Cisco blinked.

“I mean, she’s part of the team too. Won’t she be offended you didn’t even offer?”

“She doesn’t want to be around you any more than you want to be around her.”

His heart sank.

“Trust me when I say she would’ve said no even if we had asked.”

“Oh,” he said quietly, saddened – and giving Cisco an unbelievable amount of joy.

She’s coming! She’s coming! She’s coming!

But he kept his mouth shut on that little truth. The happy reunion would unfold itself soon enough.

“Think she’s missed me?” he asked, too deep in his sadness to even try to come across nonchalant.

Cisco stilled and gripped his shoulder until Barry looked up at him.

“Do you want me to invite her?”

Barry’s eyes widened. “No.” He shook his head. “No, definitely not. Of course not. No.”

Cisco looked at him strangely. “Does that mean…yes?”

Irritated, he walked passed him. “No, Cisco, it means no.” He sighed, gripping his hands on the counter. “There would be no point.”

Cisco swallowed hard, for the first time genuinely worried that his plan might fall through.

“Why…is that?” he asked.

“Because nothing has changed,” he said sorrowfully. “Neither of us is willing to budge. If I was I’d have groveled at her feet by now, and if she was… Well, she wouldn’t have groveled, but somehow, she would have let me know. It’s been a week, Cisco.” He sighed again and turned to face his friend. “A week.”

“I know.”

“It’s been so hard not seeing her, not being with her, not sharing things with her, not having her as my best friend. It’s like when I broke up with her, I lost all of her. I lost Iris the best friend and Iris the girlfriend.”

Cisco hesitantly walked towards him, bracing himself for the question he was about to broach.

“Correct me if I’m wrong, but…hasn’t it been you avoiding her?”

Barry looked at him. “Has she been trying to contact me without my knowing?”

“Well…” he squeaked.

“Yeah, I didn’t think so.” He ran his hand over his face. “We’re both avoiding each other.”

“Maybe you should both stop. At the very least try to be civil.”

He frowned. “I’m being civil.”

“Because being in the same room with her would make you lash out?”

“I’ve been in the same room with her.”

“When?” he demanded. He didn’t know about this.

“A few days ago, at CCPD. We had a run-in. It didn’t last long. I tripped over myself on the stairs. She snapped at me.”

“Because you fell down the stairs?”

“Because I asked her why she was there.”

“Did you snap first?”

“I don’t think so…I was just returning some files Joe left in my lab.”

“Hmm.”

“Don’t analyze it too much, Cisco. All I’m saying is, I’m not the only one trying to avoid a confrontation. And you know what? That’s okay. Maybe right now it’s best if we don’t see each other. Then gradually…in another week or so maybe, we can slowly start interacting again. By Valentine’s Day it’ll be like we were never a couple at all.”

“You don’t sound bothered by that possibility,” Cisco pointed out, slightly troubled. “Isn’t this the girl you’ve been in love with since you were like ten?”

“Nine.”

“Nine. Even worse.”

Barry glared at him.

“All I’m saying is maybe she’s worth not giving up on.”

He sighed. “I tried Cisco. I waited it out. I gently made suggestions. I got a little more forceful. The only effect it had on her was her pushing harder than ever to do what she wanted – or to brush it under the rug. I could forget it at night when it was just us together, hanging out…going on dates…just being us. But…then I’d run across a story she was working on or hear about a dangerous criminal she couldn’t wait to track down – unprotected with zero plan of getting out if her life was in danger. And I can’t be everywhere at once. I can’t concentrate on anything when I know my girlfriend is out there not being safe, being reckless, and that she might die at any moment just because she refuses to have any common sense.”

His temper was rising, his frustration on the issue clearly still present. Cisco wondered for the first time if his genius plan was all that genius. There was a pretty good possibility the party could be shut down before it barely began when instead of kissing at midnight, Barry and Iris started fighting the moment they spotted each other on the rooftop.

“Well, you won’t have to worry about that tonight,” he said, to get his mind off it as much as Barry’s. “Just try to relax, have some fun, drink some champagne pretend you’re affected by it.”

He laughed, a real one, and Cisco relaxed some too.

It was short-lived.

“A night with no Iris sounds like a good night to me.”

Crap.

…

The wind whipped around her when she stepped out of her car, her hair fluttering around her shoulders as she looked up at the looming STAR Labs and the satellite at the top where she could see decorative white lights lining the perimeter of the roof. There really is a rooftop party, she mused.

Whether or not Barry would be at it was something else entirely, but she’d decided she would risk it. She had this beautiful dress that she’d promised to save for New Year’s. Whether or not she and Barry were together shouldn’t determine what she was allowed to wear or even what she was allowed to do. It was a week from their break-up tonight. If Linda’s plan didn’t work, she would need an escape, something to take the edge off that wasn’t just vodka shots in Linda’s kitchen. And she’d been promised Barry wouldn’t be here. She only trusted that about 50/50, and a big part of her wanted him to be there so she could show him what he was missing – and what he could easily get back if he would just…

Her phone buzzed in the sparkly clutch she’d brought with her. She checked the screen to find a text staring back at her from Cisco.

You coming?

She nodded and took a breath.

Just got here.

She was about to go inside when her phone started to buzz again, this time with a phone call. She frowned by answered it on her way to the building.

“Hey, Caitlin, I just told Cisco-”

“Hey, Iris, I know I told you to just meet us all up on the roof, but HR he…and Cisco...”

“Say no more,” she interjected soothingly. “I’ll meet you guys in the cortex.”

“Great. Thanks.”

Iris smiled and shook her head as she tucked her phone back into her clutch. She had wondered why they hadn’t wanted to all meet up in the cortex or even have the party in the speed lab and head up to the roof when it got closer to midnight. She figured the view was the reason behind it, and she knew she’d agree with that. Plus, maybe they wanted to switch things up given what happened the last time they decorated the cortex and speed lab and… well, obviously the events in their personal lives kept anyone from really enjoying it.

“Iris! Thank God!” Caitlin came speeding towards her as fast as she could in her high heels with her arms full of food and decorations.

Iris quickly stepped out of the elevator before the brunette almost tumbled in with her.

“Hey, let me take something.” She laughed and shook her head as she grabbed a bowl of overflowing popcorn and a box of unopened shot glasses. “I thought you guys prepared for this.”

“I know, I know,” she laughed nervously. “Cisco and I had two days to get our asses in gear, but there was Flash business today – a robbery,” she said hastily, avoiding eye contact as she did. “And, well, HR was determined to decorate but then he accidentally interrupted the lab instead of the roof, and-”

“Hey, hey, breathe,” Iris commanded gently, staring straight at her and willing Caitlin to feel the comfort since her arms were too full to console her by physical touch.

“Right. Breathe.”

“It’s what? Five after seven? That’s almost five hours till midnight. I’m sure we can get everything set up in a half hour or less.”

“You’re right.”

“Where’s Cisco? Maybe we can get everything in order and head up to the roof in like ten minutes? Shouldn’t take too long to decorate, though we may want to think twice about setting out too much food and other things. It was windy in the parking lot. Must be much worse higher up.”

Caitlin’s face fell. “You’re right.”

“Hey, no, don’t worry,” she reassured again. “If it’s really bad we can go in the speed lab and just head on up to the roof for the countdown. If we get all the decorations secured, it shouldn’t be a problem. Who wants to be chilly all night anyways, right? It’s nearly January after all and I didn’t exactly come bundled in a winter jacket.”

Caitlin looked down at Iris’ attired for the first time and her eyes widened, her mouth fell open.

“Oh my God, Iris, you look gorgeous.”

Slightly flustered, Iris smoothed down the sparkling dress.

“Thanks, Caitlin, Barry got-”

She stopped and swallowed hard, the words caught in her throat. Luckily, this time Caitlin came to her rescue.

“You know what, why don’t you take these streamers and lights instead?” She offered her other arm to Iris where the items were starting to teeter over. “If decorations are the priority then we should get them up first. I’ll take the snacks back to Cisco and tell him the new plan.”

She frowned. “You’re sure? I can help with more…”

“No need,” she insisted. “It won’t take long for us to get everything sorted. If we’re not up in ten minutes, you can come back and help up get our act together.” She laughed lightly.

“All right…” she said reluctantly. “Maybe five minutes, though?” She started heading back to the elevator.

“Sure. That works fine too.”

She was more puzzled than ever by Caitlin’s sudden avoiding eye contact and the odd tone to her voice, but she dismissed it to her clearly being frazzled by the team’s lack of preparedness. The brunette’s dashing back down the hall where Cisco and HR were likely still trying to organize everything added to that theory.

Still…something was off.

Whatever was off though was completely forgotten when she stepped out onto the roof. She gasped, starstruck at the sight of all the buildings and the lights beneath on the city streets. The stars sparkled across a dark sky and the moon was big and brilliant. She almost dropped the decorations held tightly in her hands.

She was so mesmerized she almost didn’t hear the roof door open and close again.

“Has it been five minutes already?” she asked, smiling when she turned around to greet the newcomer.

The smile immediately dissolved, the rest of her body equally paralyzed. She swallowed hard and reminded herself to breathe.

“Iris.”

God, she hated when she was right.

His voice was raw, rough, stunned, and achingly familiar. Unlike herself, he apparently hadn’t considered the possibility that they might have been set up. She tried not to look too deflated. The part of her that had been aching for this scenario was overwhelmed with the part that wanted to be free of that worry, which was unfortunate given how badly she’d wanted it earlier.

Still, she summoned her courage and walked into the fire with all the grace, class, and half-hearted enthusiasm she could muster.

“Hello, Barry.”

*Also posted on AO3 and FFnet.

#westallen #fanfiction #backtothestar02 fanfiction #fallen star #chapter 7 #i'm so down on myself rn it's not even funny #i hate everything #hope you like it though

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hot-mysticc-mess-blog · 6 years

Text

RFA+ Minor Trio Pile O’ Christmas Head Canons

A nice responsible writer would have parsed out several ideas and spaced them out throughout the month to provide you a fun and cohesive festive experience, but you have me and so you get this on Christmas Eve Eve Eve

Yoosung

Gets super flustered at the idea of kissing you under the mistletoe

Misses so many opportunities to actually kiss you because of it

Spends all night one night leading you awkwardly toward the mistletoe at a family party

ALL THE DECORATIONS

You guys even decorate his LOLOL chair with a wreath on the back

For Yoosung, Christmas means spending a lot of time with his family

You guys spend Christmas Eve and Christmas Day at his parents' house and both of you end up helping make dinner and tidying up for when all the cousins arrive

He likes to pretend he enjoys the snow, but he just likes the idea of snow.

The two of you go out to make a snowman after the first snowfall and he helps for the first ten minutes before he gets cold and just becomes the person who brings things out from inside

Drinking hot cocoa together on the couch while you watch Christmas movies makes him very happy

Seven makes a joke about you wearing Santa lingerie, and Yoosung spontaneously remembers it several times throughout the day. He turns BEET RED every. single. time.

Jumin

First: He is that guy who points out that Jesus’ birthday was not in December and that Christmas primarily functions as a secular holiday to promote commercialism. This is basically canon

He really likes kissing you, but is generally wary of putting kissing plants among large groups of people

So the first couple years you’re together, he puts up mistletoe in the doorway to his bedroom and is just careful to make sure no one but you and him ever get caught under it together

The office does not get decorated for Christmas

No, you cannot...well, maybe you can put the tiny Christmas tree in his office

Totally lets you put the tiny Christmas tree in his office

He is more lenient about the penthouse, especially if it makes you particularly happy, but his preference is just put up one large Christmas tree and decorate it with an elegant theme, all matching ornaments, single strand of white lights

You can win him over by getting him a Christmas ornament with vertical stripes

Things get really busy around the holidays, but if you ever mention you like snow you will be whisked off on a Christmas vacation up to a ski resort

He owns the cabin, he is mediocre at skiing, but he never goes up to do anything with it.

Jumin Han, much like Valentine’s Day, takes Christmas as an opportunity to shower you with expensive gifts

He, on the other hand, has everything and is very uninterested in Christmas gifts. He usually asks that you give him a handwritten letter instead

Which you do. He also appreciates any other gift you give him, of course, but what really makes him happy is if you give him something extra that you made yourself.

Then he loves and cherishes it forever, to the point of being ridiculous.

Jaehee

You put a secret sprig of mistletoe in the storage closet as a cute Christmas joke

...she just never took it down

Christmas drink specials!

Her personal favorite is gingerbread coffee

She likes Christmas decorations but prefers simple ones like white lights and snowflakes

The cafe gets decorated for the holiday season, but usually, just with paper snowflakes the two of you stayed up late to make and some blue tinsel

Never really had any good Christmas memories, especially not of picking out a Christmas tree

You guys get a fake tree. It’s more cost-effective and better for the environment

The two of you get a simple set of ornaments for the tree, and pick out a couple of fun personalized ones

The tree looks a little bare the first year, but you promise that the two of you will collect more each year

And you do. Every year you get more ornaments, as gifts, or from the occasional trip to the supermarket. Every year putting up the tree becomes a trip down memory lane

The coffee shop is doing well comparatively, but you two are still short on money. So, you two both exchange one, small, meaningful gift every year and just enjoy each other’s company

“This is the best Christmas I’ve ever had,” she says every single year.

Zen

Loves mistletoe

Is genuinely a little weird about it

Takes you to places that specifically have mistletoe, guides you to the mistletoe

Put up a sprig in his usual rehearsal studio so he could show you off to all his castmates

Likes to decorate a little, and will help you decorate if that’s what makes you happy, but prefers it to look nice

It doesn’t need to be color-coordinated like Jumin’s penthouse, but it can’t be a complete disaster

How many ridiculous winter ClickChat filters are there for to take selfies with? There’s an equation for it and it’s the number of selfies Zen takes divided by four

Zen goes to A LOT of holiday parties in December as he gains more and more popularity. As much as he loves parties, these are by far his favorite because he’s allowed to bring you with him.

Zen likes to take you for walks when it snows or shortly after, so the two of you can enjoy the scenery together

Nothing makes him happier than having you by his side on Christmas Day

“I finally get to spend Christmas with my girlfriend and my family, all wrapped up in one beautiful package.”

Saeyoung

It takes you a long time to get Saeyoung into the Christmas spirit

He spends most of the season depressed about it. You try not push him.

Instead, when he’s having a bad day, you bring him treats and offer to snuggle.

It makes him feel a little better.

Over the years, he is willing to get more into Christmas, especially with Saeran there and surprisingly receptive to celebrating.

Saeyoung and Saeran like to watch the old movies and mock them

Saeyoung also gets unreasonably invested in the bad Christmas rom-coms, but his favorite movies are the Home Alone series.

You guys start out with the tiniest little fake tree from the store, and you convince him to buy tiny ornaments for it (not that you have to do too much convincing, those things are adorable)

He SHOWERS Saeran in Christmas presents, and you do everything you can to help him.

You all order take-out on Christmas and eat it all together while playing Cards Against Humanishness

Sometime during the month you also make sure to have a day out, Saeran, Saeyoung and you go to the zoo in the morning (Saeran really likes looking at all the animals), in the afternoon you guys go ice skating, and you finish the evening with ridiculous Christmas carol karaoke

For Saeyoung, it’s really important to him that Christmas is about family. His real family, the people who work hard to love and care for each other no matter what, the people it took him years to find.

Saeran

You teach Saeran everything about Christmas, but you make sure to let him know he doesn’t have to get you a gift

He’s been through a lot and you want to make sure his first real Christmas is all of the fun and as few of the stresses as possible

You marathon Christmas movies. He spends the entire month of December basically glued to the TV screen

He finds it frustrating that Santa’s lore varies depending on the movie or show

He and Saeyoung are in agreement that Santa is super creepy and probably a spy

You still sneak out of the bedroom on Christmas morning and put out an extra present for each of them.

They still don’t believe it was from Santa, but Saeran gives you a soft smile.

You and Saeyoung as Saeran what he would like for Christmas dinner. You all ended up having ice cream.

Saeran is torn between being edgy and wanting warm cozy sweaters.

His favorite present is a black sweater with a skull on it you bought him one year

During one of his first Christmases post-Mint Eye he put coal in Saeyoung’s stocking

He thought it was the funniest thing he had ever done

V/Jihyun

“Oh MC, it looks like we’ve been caught under the mistletoe.” He presses a loving kiss to your lips

That’s about it. He’s pretty normal when it comes to mistletoe

Takes you to Midnight Mass at a new favorite church he had to find after his ex-fiancee became a cult-starting man

You also have to sit through an awkward family dinner, but that’s far less meaningful for both of you

Is more than okay with decorating however you want and, though he’s better than he used to be years ago, reminds you of that more often than is really necessary.

If you ask what he wants though, he’ll inevitably end up with a tacky Santa Statue and one of those Precious Moments figurines nativity scenes

He prefers a real tree because he really likes the way it smells. He’s super attentive about watering and caring for it.

Has been fretting about your gift for the last month and a half. Jumin is starting to get frustrated

Will not sing Christmas carols, but thinks it is the cutest thing he has ever seen when you do it

Does a Christmas portrait of you, and you use it as the photo to send out for the RFA’s Christmas cards

Vanderwood

He ignores the mistletoe. Unless you make a fuss about it, he will not acknowledge the mistletoe. If you make a fuss about the mistletoe, he will begrudgingly let you kiss him

Secretly enjoys it if you give him a quick kiss when you pass under a sprig, though

Really, doesn’t acknowledge most Christmas decorations, unless it’s something like a huge light up tree or strange snowman blow up on top of a building you see as you drive down the highway, then he spares a brief glance of disgust

Will put up small amounts of Christmas lights if you ask. It’s not that he doesn’t like them, they’re just...so much work.

He found the perfect Christmas gift for you 8 months ago while on a mission and has been hiding it with his emergency flee-the-country cash and all his alias paperwork

He does his best to try and be home for Christmas every year, but just in case, he always insists you make Christmas Day plans with the RFA and just comes with you if he happens to be home.

Vanderwood both a) happens to be really good at building gingerbread houses and b) happens to really like making them

You two usually clear off your dining room table and make them together.

Is partial to gingerbread tea

For the most part, he views Christmas as a holiday for you. If his December turns out poorly, then it’s just another month. Unlike him, you have a light in your eyes still. There’s a part of you that sees magic in Christmas, and he wants to keep that part safe.

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scornedlove · 6 years

Text

Chapter Eleven

ROBYN

“Robyn” Jenn called out, stepping on the back porch and I quickly pulled back. “There you are, Dale and I are leaving. We still have some stops to make tonight. I just wanted to say thanks for the food, it was amazing”

“Of course, anytime “I replied standing to see them out. The guys were in the living room watching the patriots kick the jets ass and apparently Paige and a few others were already gone. I looked around and realized Mel and Ray were nowhere to be found. As I walked through the hall, I could hear their voices in the kitchen bickering, but I couldn’t make out what they were saying.

“Well you lost your chance, I’m telling Rob” Melanie barked, just before I stepped in the kitchen. The energy was already tense, and by the look on Melanie’s face, I could tell all hell was about to break loose.

“Telling me what?” I asked and Rayven jumped, her face turning as red as a damn strawberry.

“She’s full of shit” she blurted and tried to walk out. Melanie grabbed her arm, snatching her right back to where she was standing before.

“Look, I’m sorry I didn’t say something sooner, but the day I flew out to get you from the hospital, I caught Rayven and Chris fucking!” she answered, without wasting another second. It felt like my heart was about to beat out of my chest.

“What? “I asked making sure I heard her right.

“I know I should’ve said something a long time ago, but you’ve been through so much and, I didn’t want to be the bearer of bad news…but I’ll be damned if this bitch keeps disrespecting you by pretending she gives a fuck about you” Mel angrily confessed. Everything was finally starting to add up.

“Is it true?” I asked, turning towards Rayven.

“It’s not like y'all were still together. It was weeks after you played runaway bride, and it’s not like y'all are together now. Why does it even matter?” Rayven asked, shrugging her shoulders.

Without another word or thought, I balled my fist up and punched her in the face twice. Immediately, Melanie pushed me one way and Rayven the other direction.

“Just leave! You shouldn’t have brought your fake ass here in the first place” she yelled.

Instead of doing as she was told, Rayven picked up the nearest glass and poured it in Melanie’s face before chunking it in my direction. Thankfully she missed, but that didn't stop me from throwing my phone at her, and hitting her right in the forehead. When the glass shattered, everyone who was still here was in the kitchen in a matter of seconds. Before Mel had the chance to jump on Ray, Jermaine was holding her back.

“Get your girl the fuck out” I yelled at Jay and he quickly obliged. It only took him a second to get her out the front door. I was beyond embarrassed, without a word I headed upstairs to shower. It hurt my heart that Chris would stoop as low as fucking my cousin. After everything he had done that caused me to “runaway” in the first place, he still found a way to do more. As I let the steaming hot water run down my body, I realized I had no fucks left to give. It hurt, but I couldn’t drop a single tear.

MELANIE

The wonderful feeling I had when I got to Robyn’s was completely diminished. I couldn’t believe Rayven had the audacity to show up for one. She must’ve thought I was bluffing when I said I was telling Robyn the truth before the year was up. Then she had the nerve to try and fight back. She should’ve took her couple of punches and left. She knew she deserved them. I apologized to the few people that were around long enough to witness what went down. With Jermaine and Frankie’s help, I cleaned up the mess from the fight and party before going upstairs to check on Robyn.

“It’s me” I called softly after knocking on her door twice with no reply.

“Go away” she yelled through the door.

I felt horrible at the way she found out, but the secret was eating me alive. I hated keeping that from her, especially with Rayven having no intentions of telling the truth. I opened her room door anyway and let myself in. I sent everyone else home and locked up, I wasn’t leaving her alone tonight.

“I hope you aren’t mad at me” I stated as I sat on her bed. She was laying on her stomach with her face in the pillow, and Ollie at her feet.

“I can’t believe you knew about this for the past 6 months and ain’t said shit” she admitted, sitting up abruptly.

“So, you’re telling me that if I left the man I was going to marry, had a nervous breakdown, then a car wreck, losing my first child, that you would have still told me some fucked up shit like that?” I asked, and she shrugged.

“I guess you’re right… But still why would he do that it’s just not him” she continued.

“Let’s keep it real, you don’t know Chris. He hid so many secrets and lies and there was probably so much he never told you. You need to let it go, you have to let him go.” I advised.

“I don’t know how” she admitted.

“I wish I could tell you. I hate everything he put you through, and as for Rayven, that’s not family. You don’t use and abuse family like that.” She nodded in agreement before opening a drawer and pulling out a blunt.

“You wanna help me put my Christmas tree up?” she asked, changing the subject.

It was damn near morning by the time we were finished, and we had no intentions of going to sleep. We drank some more, smoked another blunt, and put on some Christmas music. It started with the tree, but we ended up putting decorations all over the house. She was always such a holiday person and I was glad to see her laughing and smiling again. I just hoped it wasn’t only because of the weed. She was smoking more and more, which wasn’t a problem. I just hoped she wasn’t relying on it to heal her. I kept my distance for awhile because of the mess I wanted Rayven to own up to, now that it was out, I would make sure to be here to help her get through whatever else comes her way. That’s what sisters are for.

ROBYN

It had been a whole week since the Rayven incident. I wanted to forget the shit, but it was still on my mind, except when I was high. She called me once and I didn’t answer, so she decided to leave me a long ass, stupid message about how sorry she was. I decided the best thing to do was to keep my distance, which is what I was telling Jacques now while we were grabbing a bite to eat.

“She’s going through it” he explained, talking about Rayven. “I have never seen her like this”

“And you think I’m not?” I asked offended. “She did this, and it’s not the first time. I let it slide before because she was a kid. A hoe in the making. I’m not letting it go this time and I don’t want to talk about it anymore” I practically yelled.

“I’m sorry” he replied, making me feel bad for raising my voice at him.

“Look, I don’t mean to take it out on you. I’d just rather talk about something else…. like the kiss we shared” I smiled. It’s been on my mind since it happened, and after the news Rayven gave me, I was ready to see what this could turn into. Jacques was a great guy and when I got to know him, I realized how much we just clicked. “We haven’t talked since that night and you have been hard to get a hold of.”

“Jackie!” a woman squealed out of nowhere and his head spun in her direction. She appeared to be in her twenties, a white girl who was gorgeous and had curves for days. I could see his face light up when they made eye contact.

“Come here girl” he smiled widely as he jumped up to hug her. “Man, it’s been ages” he beamed looking her up and down.

“It’s been eleven months” she corrected him with a smile. I just watched dumbfoundedly waiting for him to either invite her to join us or introduce her, so I cleared my throat to speed up the process.

“My bad, this is an old friend of mine, Kylie. We go way back” he winked, and she couldn’t help but blush.

“Kylie this is Robyn” we both said hi and she quickly turned her attention back to him.

“My mom and sisters are over there,” she pointed to the back of the restaurant. “you better come say hi”

“Oh, the whole clan is here?” he asked, and she replied with a nod. He turned to me and said he’d be back in a minute before taking off with her. Ten minutes later, my food was finished, and I was ready to leave. Just when I was about to call him, he came back to the table and apologized for leaving like he did.

“Where were we?” he asked, finishing the sandwich he left with two bites.

“I wanted to talk about that kiss” I reminded him.

“Yeah, I’ve been meaning to apologize for that. You were feeling vulnerable, so I understand. I know I was trying hard to pursue you when we first met, but after getting to know you I realize that we are better off as friends. I don’t want to fuck that up by going ‘there’ with you” he admitted.

Just like that, everything I thought I felt in that kiss flew out the window.

“So, how was that date?” Melanie asked after Jacques brought me back to work. She was grinning as if she’d found out my secret and it was really annoying me.

“Really Mel? I told you we aren’t dating. In fact, that was probably the last time we’ll be kicking it. I don’t want to associate with anyone who’s associating with Rayven.” I rolled my eyes. That obviously wasn’t the real reason I was cutting him off, but it was a good enough one to get Mel off my back.

“I feel ya…ugh, why don’t she just go back to Barbados?” she asked with a frown.

“I don’t care where she goes, as long as she stays away from me” I replied as I put up my purse. “You should’ve told me you were coming, I should’ve just had lunch with you today anyway…Why didn’t you call?”

“Oh, I just left a meeting with a potential client. I’m going to be planning a New Year’s Eve party for one of Jermaine’s friends.”

“So, I guess that means you aren’t coming home with me once again?” I asked, and she quickly shook her head. “Mama will cuss me out, I’m not missing two years in a row” she laughed. “Besides, Jermaine needs to meet the family” Just talking about Bim made me happy. I couldn’t wait to spend some time with my family, and after all the drama, I finally had something to look forward to. The countdown had officially begun.

#robyn rihanna fenty #ff #fanfiction #fanfic

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bananannabeth · 6 years

Text

A Very Merry Christmas Party

This has been sitting in my drafts for - no exaggeration - three effing years. Honestly what. Am I doing.

Anyway it’s about time it saw the light of your dashboards, so here, have this unfinished Christmas themed Percabeth AU where they both work at Disney world.

Piper idly flipped her blue ID between her fingers as they walked through the tunnels under Magic Kingdom. “Do you think they’ll give us free cookies? They’ve got truckloads of them, right? Literal truckloads. Surely they can spare some for Cast Members.”

Annabeth shrugged. “I’d love to say yes, but it depends on who’s the Captain.”

“Chiron will give us cookies.”

“Chiron will definitely give us cookies.” Annabeth tried to remember if her favourite Captain had already told her where he’d been scheduled for this Christmas party. She couldn’t recall them discussing it, but she hoped that he’d be at the dance party with her and Piper.

“Reyna might,” Piper said as they joined the line of people checking in at base, which snaked around the corner and down the tunnel.

Christmas party nights were always busy, so there were people running around everywhere. Princesses walked by, wearing sweatpants and talking on their phones. People who usually didn’t work at Magic Kingdom but had picked up shifts to hand out cookies milled along the edges of the tunnels, waiting for someone to tell them where to go. The Christmas decorations stuck all over the walls and dangling from the ceiling made the place feel more claustrophobic than usual, even without the crowds of cast members.

“She probably won’t blatantly say we’re allowed them, but she’ll leave a pile of them in the break room and give us all knowing looks as she exits,” Annabeth said, brushing against a paper snowflake stapled to the wall and almost knocking it loose.

Piper laughed as she quickly pressed it flat again. “Yeah, probably.”

Base was crowded, but Annabeth was a seasoned pro and moved through the throngs of people with ease. She’d been a Character Attendant for almost a year now, and she knew the drill for these parties. Clock in, check in, get your piece of paper with all the special instructions for the night, get your radio and go. She’d collected everything and was just about to leave when a commotion came from the check in windows.

A guy - a character performer, judging from his uniform grey sweatpants and barcoded t-shirt - had knocked over the snowman prop in the corner of the tiny hall. The sound of the plastic globes clattering together echoed through the base, and everyone fell silent. He flailed, managed to catch the prop before it hit the ground, and carefully set it upright. He smiled, obviously pleased with himself, and looked up to see who’d witnessed his faux pa. The entire room had seen it, of course, but out of everyone there he locked eyes with Annabeth.

He was incredibly handsome. Dark hair, green eyes, tan skin and a lean, muscular build. Not many people could make those grey t-shirts look flattering, but he managed it. The longer Annabeth held his gaze the hotter she could feel her cheeks getting.

The moment was only broken when one of the Captains yelled out, “Percy, you’re late! Again!”

He - Percy - finally looked away from Annabeth. She breathed out as he turned his charming grin to the bearded man standing in the doorway. “Sorry Chiron! Totally not my fault this time, I had to catch the bus -”

“A lot of people have to catch the bus, Percy, and they all manage to make it here on time.”

“Yeah, well.” Percy shrugged, apparently unable to come up with a suitable retort. “I’m here now.”

Chiron sighed, and Annabeth started when Piper grabbed her elbow. “You good to go?” she said, nodding towards the exit.

Annabeth threw one last look over her shoulder at Percy as they left, but he was busy throwing an exercise ball at Jason, one of the other performers, and didn’t notice her staring. She didn’t know if she should be disappointed or relieved by that.

“Who’s that guy with Jason?” Piper asked as they meandered down one of the much quieter hallways.

“I was hoping you’d know... Chiron called him Percy.” Annabeth glanced at her friend, gauging her reaction, before casually adding, “He was pretty good looking.”

Piper smirked. “Was he? I didn’t notice.”

“Only because you were too busy staring at Jason.”

Piper elbowed her in the side. Annabeth shoved back, and they continued their tousle all the way to the break room. The dance party was being held in The Golden Horseshoe, which was normally used for actual stage shows, so this break room was one of the few actually set up like a proper dressing room.

Annabeth’s friend Grover was already there when they arrived, admiring himself in one of the dressing table mirrors. From the waist up he looked perfectly normal, wearing the regulation grey t-shirt, but from the waist down he was wearing the black tights and furry shorts of a character.

“Nice look,” Annabeth said in greeting. “Who are you hanging out with tonight?”

He sighed and patted the heavy shorts. “Horace Horsecollar.”

Piper scrunched up her nose. “Who’s that?”

“No one knows him!” Grover wailed. “He was in the old shorts, back when Mickey was first made - but that’s not the point! The point is I’m going to spend the whole night hearing people call me Goofy’s ugly cousin or something.”

Annabeth snorted. “Yeah, probably.”

“So comforting, Annabeth, thank you.” Grover huffed.

She was just about to ask him if he’d feel any better if she could get him some cookies when the rest of their team walked in. The other attendant was a small girl named Hazel, who neither Piper or Annabeth had worked with before, but who was the epitome of lovely from the moment she said hello. The other performers were Jason (Piper’s eyes lit up the moment he walked in), a big guy named Frank, and Leo.

“Keep an eye on him,” Reyna said, glaring at Leo as he struggled to get into his costume. Hazel hurried over to help him. “Last time he did a dance party Max Goof started grinding.”

“You cannot prove that,” Leo said, but his eyes were glinting wickedly.

Jason laughed. “Dude, it’s all over Youtube.”

“No date stamp on the video, no proof,” Leo argued.

Reyna scowled. “Annabeth, I’m counting on you. I’ve got to look after this and the Frontierland characters, so I need you to make sure everyone runs to schedule.”

“Will do,” Annabeth assured her.

Reyna almost smiled as she turned to leave.

Annabeth kept things running smoothly for the first three rotations. Everyone got their breaks exactly when they were supposed to, no characters got bombarded by guests demanding photos, and when Frank’s shoe overlay started to un-velcro she managed to stealthily reattach it before anyone noticed, including Frank.

The smoke machine was on, the lights were flashing, the DJ was actually playing pretty good music and her best friend was beaming beside her. Annabeth was having a pretty good night. Piper bopped along to the music, grinning toothily as she watched Jason dance with a family decked out in Christmas clothes.

“This is a good shift,” she said, leaning over to talk into Annabeth’s ear. “We’re pretty much getting paid to dance.”

“And make sure they get off stage on time.” Annabeth checked her watch. “Have you given the five minute warnings?”

Piper nodded. “All done. When’s your break?”

“Now, but I’m just gonna go off with them.”

“Annabeth! What are you doing? Go sit down,” Piper scolded. When she opened her mouth to protest, Piper raised a finger in warning. “I will tell Reyna, and you know she won’t like that. Hazel and I have got this, go.”

Reluctantly, Annabeth slipped out a side door and into the quiet hallway that led to the break room. The grey concrete was a startling contrast to the Western-meets-Disco get up going on out there, and she smiled in the comparative quiet.

But then she almost ran into someone, and her smile fell away.

“Whoa!” the guy said, throwing his hands up. “Sorry, didn’t mean to run into you. Just didn’t want to be late. Again.”

Annabeth’s breath caught in her throat. It was Percy, but he’d changed into the khaki shorts and bright blue shirt of a character attendant. The colour made his eyes look even more vibrant.

“Why have they sent us another attendant?” she asked, skipping the pleasantries out of shock.

He didn’t seem offended, shrugging. “I’m a spare. They had nowhere else to put me.”

“Oh.” Annabeth blinked at him. His eyes were really bright. “Well, um, I’m just going on break, but you can... go in and just keep an eye on things, I guess?”

“Yeah, cool,” he said, smiling. “I’ll see you back in there.”

Annabeth nodded, slipping around him and disappearing into the break room to eat some of the cookies Reyna had left on the table for them.

When she got back out to the dance floor, she saw a crowd gathered in the centre of the room. She stood on the tips of her toes to see what had caught everyone’s attention. All of the characters were standing in a circle, while Grover - Horace Horsecollar - danced around in the middle. Percy and Piper were standing on either side of the circle, cheering him on.

“Let’s give it up for Horace!” the DJ announced, and the crowd of guests cheered and clapped.

Annabeth sidled up to Piper. “What’s going on?”

“No one knew who Horace was,” Piper snorted, “So Percy decided to get him to show the guests what he could do.”

Annabeth leant forward to peer at Percy, who immediately caught her eye and grinned.

She found herself suddenly grateful that Base had sent him to them.

#can you pinpoint the moment where i lost all motivation #if someone wants to like #take this idea and run with it/continue it #feel free #just tag me in it so i can read it #i'd like to say i could finish it but #like i said its been in my draft for THREE YEARS so im giving up #percabeth #percabeth au #disney parks au #mine #why do you write like you're running out of time?#pjo #pjo au

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musicanddancingthroughlife · 6 years

Text

Life of the Party (Nicky/Erik) AFTG

So. Um this is the first fic I’ve ever posted (not the first I’ve written, but my favorite and the one I’m most proud of right now). I’ve been considering posting my fics here for a while, so shoutout to @allfandomlover and @serenephenix for encouraging me and helping me to get the courage to do it! It’s probably trash, but I love it, and I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I did writing it! (Yes, it happens during Christmas, don’t yell at me XD)

Nicky was as excited as could be. Erik, not so much. Of course, he was happy to finally see Nicky again, after so long since their last visit. And the last two days together had been wonderful, with fun and romantic activities (and definitely some Christmas shopping) crammed in the spaces left over with classes and practice put on hold for the holiday. But now it was Christmas Eve, and the two of them were back at Nicky’s and the twins’ home in Columbia. Not that Erik minded that so much, but he definitely didn’t care much for the twins. And the twins with their significant others wasn’t any better. Not that he particularly minded Neil or Katelyn. But Aaron with Katelyn was insufferable, and he didn’t understand what Neil saw in Andrew. But Nicky was happy to have them around, so Erik kept quiet.

Still, did they have to ignore Nicky while he tried to decorate for Christmas? It was obvious he was struggling to get all the lights to work, and where were his cousins? Aaron and Katelyn had taken her car and disappeared somewhere in town. Erik could just hear Andrew and Neil rummaging through the kitchen. Useless. Briefly, the thought that he himself could help crossed his mind, but he reconsidered after another glance. He squirmed in his seat. The view was much too lovely to pass up like that. He said as much to Nicky, who pulled away from the tree, startled by the comment. He twisted to look back at his boyfriend and laughed.

“Come on, lazy, how about you come help me?”

Erik just shot him a happy grin and stretched out on the couch to settle more comfortably into the cushions. Nicky just shook his head and returned his focus to the tree in front of him, all but lunging into it to get a hold of some of the lights. Erik had just let his eyes drift shut, lulled by the distant sounds of Andrew and Neil having a conversation and Nicky’s small noises in the tree, humming quietly to himself as he worked, when Nicky finally yelped, one arm flailing as he struggled to regain his balance after slipping. He half-heartedly landed sideways into the tree, still squirming and trying to inch himself backwards. His hips were shaking with the effort of pulling himself back up and he sounded so alarmed that Erik couldn’t help but laugh.

“Babe,” he tried to get out around his laughter, “are you okay? Or…”

“I… couldn’t’ve… gotten… more help… earlier?” Nicky bit out. “Then… maybe… I… wouldn’t… be in… this mess… you jerk!” After struggling for a couple more minutes, he finally managed to pull himself free, flying backwards to land on his butt. Erik just laughed harder before moving to help Nicky back up.

“Gee, thanks,” he tried to deadpan, but a grin was threatening to overtake his face. “At least it’s finally done.”

Erik spared a look towards the bare tree. “Umm I’m no expert here, but isn’t your tree missing ornaments?”

Nicky shook his head. “Nah, the twins always liked doing that. I thought I would leave it for them.” Erik gave him a doubtful look, but left him to it. He followed Nicky out of the living room and down the hall to their own bedroom. He wanted to groan at the small mountain of presents waiting them there, but Nicky was nearly vibrating with joy, so he grinned instead. How could anyone want to hurt this beautiful man of his life? Nicky caught him staring. He raised an eyebrow. “Distracted again? Damn, you’re no help to me when you’re like this.”

Erik blinked, then leaned down and picked up a roll of wrapping paper on the floor next to him, quickly bopping Nicky in the head with it. Chuckling as Nicky spluttered, he flopped down to the floor and got ready to help his adorably content boyfriend with the gifts.

At first, they idled the time with gentle conversation as they cut, wrapped, and taped the assorted gifts for Neil and Katelyn, the rest of the Foxes, and most especially the twins (apparently this is an old habit of Nicky’s, back from when he was raising the twins and trying to help them find their way out of their own personal hells). But as time passed, they found themselves growing quieter and quieter, and they spent more time staring at each other and not paying attention to what they were doing. Not long after that, Erik grabbed Nicky’s hands with one of his own, and his other hand went to Nicky’s jaw and pulled him in close for a kiss. That kiss turned into two. Then it may have turned into more. Yeah, it was a full-blown make out session.

Needless to say, by the time they gathered up those gifts and moved to place them under the tree, it was very, very late. Once they reached the tree again, Erik stopped in his tracks. Nicky turned back to see him staring in awe-struck wonder at the glowing beauty in front of them. The ornaments had been specifically and impeccably placed just so, creating one of the most magnificent trees he had ever seen. Or maybe it was the thought of those hands – those damaged creatures, working together to create something so fragile, something that whispered of safety and love – that caused Erik to pause.

“Andrew and Aaron did this?” he asked wonderingly.

“You didn’t believe me?” was the soft response.

“No, it’s just…”

Nicky laughed quietly. “I was surprised the first year, too. But they enjoy it. And I don’t mind. They do a good job.”

They stood together in silence for a minute and then, “How did they get those ornaments on top? Seems a little high for them.” Nicky nodded in serious agreement. “I think they probably made Katelyn and Neil do those. Or they used chairs or stools. That’s what they did the first couple of years.” With that amusing thought in the forefront of their minds, the two worked quickly to place the gifts under the tree, trying hard to keep it looking just as lovely as the other four had left it.

Erik heard Nicky humming a song under his breath, and he strained his ears to catch the last few notes of “Silent Night”. Catching his eye, Nicky gave him a sappy smile and restarted the song, this time singing gently. Erik felt the peace and contentment bubble up inside of him. Sitting back, he closed his eyes and enjoyed the feelings welling up inside of him. Nicky’s song washed over him, the lights from the tree were a comforting presence in the room, and when he remembered who was responsible for the beautiful tree and how happy that made Nicky, his feelings only increased tenfold. He blinked his eyes back open and saw that Nicky had closed his eyes, too, still singing, though he had switched to German during one of the verses. Silently, Erik got up and grabbed his phone. He made his way to one of his favorite playlists, one that he had made for Nicky in the past few months since they’d seen each other. God, he hated thinking about those.

Nicky’s eyes flashed open in surprise when the first few strains of “Life of the Party” began to drift through the room. He gave a wry smile. “Still?”

“You’ve done amazing, babe. I’m so proud of you.” Erik gave a shy smile, something that surprised him, because he wasn’t often shy. But this man… He’d overcome such heartbreaking odds. He’d worked so hard to change his life, working through the hell his parents had put him through, and then trying to make things work in an entirely new country. Erik could still remember that scared and shy boy he’d met so long ago, trying desperately to hide who he was in order to protect himself. He remembered how hard it was to show that boy that he shouldn’t have to hide. That he didn’t have to, because Erik was there for him.

He held his arms out to this boy that held his heart, breath catching in a small gasp when Nicky grabbed him and pulled him in closer.

Looking into his eyes, he remembered how torn and heartbroken Nicky was when news of his aunt’s death found him. But the determination in his eyes then never wavered. He was going to protect the twins from that hell he’d experienced. That determination still shone, but now it was accompanied by the confidence and joy at knowing he’d succeeded. That all those sleepless nights, all those tear-filled phone calls and Skype dates, all his worries and concerns that plagued him during those difficult years had been worth it. He’d done it. He deserved the world. And with this new-found strength, he was going to get it.

Erik held Nicky close as they swayed gently from side to side. “I’m so proud of you,” he whispered again.

Nicky sniffed, and when he spoke, it sounded like he was trying to choke back tears. “I couldn’t have done it without you, Erik. Thank you.”

“We don’t have to be ordinary

Make your best mistakes

We don’t have the time to be sorry

So, baby, be the life of the party.”

#aftg fic #aftg #nicky x erik #nicky hemmick #the foxhole court #fic #my writing #jessi rambles

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a-corndog-named-schibbs · 6 years

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Voltron Nutcracker

Here’s a piece I wrote based on @foxyjoy-art‘s brilliant nutcracker au. If you haven’t seen it yet, go check it out! It’s adorable and charming and never fails to make me smile!

To be honest, I have yet to see the Nutcracker ballet live, but I had several picture books growing up that retold the story, so for this piece, I tried to go with a more storybook style of narration.

Please enjoy and happy holidays!

It was Christmas Eve and Lance’s family was throwing their annual holiday party. An enormous Christmas tree had been set up in the parlor and garland hung from all the walls and bannisters. Plates of delicious snacks and cookies had been set out for guests and there were piles of presents around the tree. Parents and grandparents, brothers and sisters, nieces and nephews all crowded around the room, laughing and chatting and waiting to open presents.

Lance was in the corner with the younger children, making sure his nieces and nephews didn’t run amuck or break anything. He was sitting forward with anticipation, waiting for his godfather, Coran, to arrive. Coran considered himself something of an inventor and he always brought the most spectacular gifts.

Soon, there was a knock at the door and Lance’s mother got up to let the guest in. It was Coran, toys and gifts spilling out of his arms as he maneuvered through the door. Immediately, he was surrounded by children, clamoring to see what he’d brought.

“All right, calm down, everyone!” said Coran, lifting the presents out of their reach, “You’ll get to open all these presents in a minute, just be patient.”

Lance waded through the sea of kids and gave Coran as best a hug as he could, trying not to get poked in the eye by the corners of the boxes, “I’m so glad you made it!”

“For a while, I didn’t think I was going to. That storm outside is getting fierce.”

Once the children had settled down a bit, Coran had them all sit by the Christmas tree to show them their presents. And the presents were certainly worth the wait!

There were rocking horses painted splendidly in bright colors and an entire army of tin soldiers in bright red uniforms, lined up at attention. There was a huge teddy bear that Coran called “Hunk”, so big that the smaller children could easily sit in his lap and use him as a chair. And there was even a little wind-up doll named “Pidge”, who leapt and danced around the room when wound up.

“And the best present,” said Coran, once all the others had been opened, “has been saved for last.” He lifted up a large box from the pile of presents. “Are you ready?”

All the children nodded. Lance leaned forward, eagerly.

“Ta-da!” Coran reached into the box and pulled out a wooden nutcracker.

There were murmurs of disappointment from the children. A simple nutcracker couldn’t compete with a giant teddy bear or a dancing doll.

“H-his name is Keith!” said Coran, trying to salvage the presentation, “He’s a prince from a faraway land!”

One of the nephews sitting near the front grabbed the nutcracker from Coran’s hands. “Hi, I’m Keith!” he said, clacking the nutcracker’s mouth open and shut to make it “talk”, “I have a mullet!”

“I wanna see!” said one of the younger nieces, jumping up from her seat and trying to snatch the nutcracker out of her cousin’s hands.

Soon all the nieces and nephews were on their feet, grabbing at the nutcracker and pulling it this way and that.

“Careful with him!” said Lance, trying to worm his way into the group and lift the nutcracker out of harm’s way.

Suddenly, the poor nutcracker slipped from the childrens’ hands. It landed on the hard floor with a sickening crack and one of its arms broke clean off.

Lance gasped. The other children all stared at the broken nutcracker before wandering off one by one to play with their other presents. Lance bent down and gently picked the nutcracker up.

“I’m so sorry, Coran.”

“Oh, it’s quite all right.” said Coran, trying to brush the incident off, “In hindsight, I suppose I should have brought him out first. The other presents were just a bit more exciting, I guess.”

“Well, I think he’s wonderful.” said Lance, “He’s a beautiful nutcracker.” And he was. Lance thought he looked very handsome, with his dark hair and smart red jacket.

“If you like him that much, then he’s all yours.” said Coran, “Here, let’s find some glue and patch him up. He’ll be just like new in no time!”

Sure enough, after a bit of searching, they found some glue. Coran reattached the nutcracker’s arm and Lance tied his handkerchief around it to secure it. Lance spent the rest of the party holding the nutcracker so his nieces and nephews wouldn’t break it again.

As the celebration winded down, it became clear that the snow outside was falling too heavily for safe traveling. Lance’s parents offered extra rooms for the guests to stay in.

“Oh, that’ll be just fine.” said Coran, when a room was offered to him, “I can have my assistant come pick me up in the morning.”

Lance ushered his nieces and nephews off to bed, before going to his own room, changing into his nightgown, and climbing into bed himself. Still, he found he couldn’t sleep. For some reason, he couldn’t stop thinking about his new nutcracker. He’d left it on the mantlepiece where the younger children couldn’t get to it, but what if it fell? What if it toppled over again in the night and smashed on the floor?

Lance climbed out of bed and hurried downstairs. Sure enough, there was the nutcracker, right where he’d left it on the mantlepiece. Lance smiled and yawned. Maybe he’d just lay down on the couch for a bit and look at his nutcracker some more…

Lance sat up abruptly. Oh dear, had he dozed off? He rubbed his eyes and looked around the parlor.

But it wasn’t the same parlor anymore. Everything was much too big. The couch Lance had been sleeping on was now about five times bigger than it should be. Lance slid off the cushions and just barely managed to land on the ground without injuring himself. Everything towered over him now, the chairs, the table, the grandfather clock in the corner. And the tree! The Christmas tree was now taller than his house. Well, his house on a normal night, that is.

Lance felt dizzy. Perhaps it wasn’t that everything had grown, maybe he’d just shrunk. That would make him about the same size as his nutcracker now. Remembering the nutcracker, Lance looked up at the mantle and was dismayed to find that the nutcracker had disappeared. Had someone stolen him?

Frightened and struck with the urge to not be out in the open, Lance ran to the Christmas tree and ducked beneath its branches. He was in such a hurry that he ran right into Hunk, the teddy bear.

“Oops!” said the enormous bear, “Careful there.”

Lance’s head reeled. Just when he thought he’d seen everything, here were Hunk and Pidge, the toys Coran had brought, alive and moving and talking.

“Keep it down, will you?” said Pidge, shushing the other two, “They’ll hear us.”

“What are you two doing under here?” whispered Lance.

“We’re hiding.” said Hunk.

“Hiding? From what?”

“The mice, of course.” said Pidge, peeking out between the branches, “Every year, they come out of their hole and eat all the food and ruin the decorations and gnaw on toys like us!”

Lance also peeked out from beneath the tree. Sure enough, he could see a large mouse hole across the room. To his terror, huge mice began to crawl out of the hole by the dozens. But these weren’t just regular mice. They were enormous and scary-looking, with mangy fur and pointed teeth and swords hanging at their side.

“That’s Zarkon, the Mouse King.” said Pidge, pointing to the most enormous and scariest-looking mouse of the bunch, “Watch out for him, he’ll eat you up if he catches you.”

“Take whatever food you can carry.” Lance heard Zarkon say to the other mice, “And if you find the prince, bring him to me so I can kill him myself.”

Hunk whimpered, “I wish Prince Keith were here. He’d show those mice who’s boss.”

“Prince Keith?” said Lance, “The nutcracker?”

“You know about the spell on Prince Keith?” said Pidge.

“No?” said Lance, “What spell?”

But the others didn’t get the chance to answer because at that moment, one of the mouse soldiers spotted them.

“Over there!”

“Quick, grab those three!”

“Inform Zarkon we have prisoners!”

Lance, Hunk, and Pidge all huddled together as the mice advanced on them. Suddenly, the sound of a trumpet rang across the room. Lance peeked out from among the branches. The tin soldiers Coran had brought were all lined up in formation along the far side of the room, some on foot, some riding on rocking horses. Another trumpet sounded and they began advancing on the mice. And at the head of the formation was Lance’s nutcracker, very much alive and raising his sword as he charged into battle.

“It’s Prince Keith! It’s Prince Keith!” said Hunk, pointing excitedly.

“Go on, Keith, give it to ‘em!” yelled Pidge.

Lance watched, shocked, as Keith crossed swords with the Mouse King. The battle raged fiercely around them. The tin soldiers downed many mice, but just as many were struck down themselves and had to be carried off the battlefield. Keith fought valiantly through it all, which made Lance beam with pride at his brave nutcracker.

Unfortunately, bravery wasn’t quite enough. Zarkon struck Keith on his injured shoulder and Keith cried out in pain, dropping to his knees. The Mouse King raised his sword to deliver the final blow.

“No!” Out of sheer instinct, Lance dashed out from beneath the tree and removed his slipper. With all his might, he threw it at the Mouse King and it bounced off of Zarkon’s head.

Furious, the Mouse King turned toward him. Desperate, Lance grabbed a sword from a nearby fallen mouse and brandished it.

“That’s my nutcracker!” he said, “You leave him alone!”

“Foolish child,” hissed the Mouse King, “Your precious nutcracker can’t help you now. My soldiers will eat you and your little friends and all that will be left of you is your bones.”

Suddenly, the Mouse King stiffened, a pained expression on his face. He toppled forward and there was Keith, standing behind him, pulling his sword out of his back. At the sight of their fallen leader, the other mice quickly threw down their swords and scurried back to their hole. The tin soldiers cheered, as did Hunk and Pidge, who emerged from under the tree.

All of Lance’s attention was on his nutcracker, though. “Are you all right?” he asked, rushing forward, “I was so worried! When that Mouse King hit you, I thought you were dead for sure!”

He reached his nutcracker and, without thinking, placed a kiss on his mouth. It was a bit awkward, considering Keith was wooden and didn’t really have lips to speak of, but Lance didn’t care. He was simply relieved that his courageous nutcracker was alive and well.

Suddenly, there was a great flash of light. Lance shielded his eyes and when he uncovered them again, there was his nutcracker, standing before him. Only he wasn’t a nutcracker anymore. He was a real prince, with dark hair and a handsome face and a smart red jacket.

“You did it, Lance!” the prince said, smiling, “You broke the spell that was on me. I would have been stuck as a nutcracker forever if it wasn’t for you.”

“So…” said Lance, “You were a prince this whole time?”

Keith nodded, “The Mouse King put a spell on me to turn me into a nutcracker. But the kindness you showed me when you bandaged my arm brought me back to life. And the bravery you showed standing up to Zarkon made me a prince again. I’m in your debt, Lance.”

Lance could feel his face flushing, “Oh, it was nothing.”

“No, it wasn’t nothing. You deserve to be rewarded for this. Come back with me to the Land of Sweets. I’m sure the Sugar Plum Fairy will throw a grand celebration in your honor.”

“You should!” said Hunk, as he and Pidge came up to join the couple, “We’ve been there. It’s incredible!”

“Well…”

“Please, Lance?” said Keith.

“I can only stay for tonight.” said Lance, “I have to be back by morning.”

“One night is all I ask for.” said Keith, “Follow me.”

He turned to face the tree and the others followed him. Keith lifted up the branches and ushered the three beneath them. As Lance passed him, the prince took his hand.

“It’s very dark under here,” said Lance, shivering a bit as the air grew colder.

“Don’t worry,” said Keith, giving his hand a squeeze, “I’m right next to you.”

Any moment now, Lance expected to reach the trunk of the tree, but instead he continued to push through more and more branches until he and his friends entered a clearing in a snow-filled wood. The evergreens towered above them and snow fell gently through the air.

“Welcome to the Land of Snow.” Keith said to his friends, “We have to pass through here to get to my kingdom.”

All around them, little elf-like creatures were poking their heads out of the snowbanks, eyeing the travelers curiously. A few of them recognized Keith and scrambled out of the snow to greet him, overjoyed to have him back.

“Hello there,” said Keith, surrounded by the little snow elves, “Is Shiro around? I need to speak with him.”

Two of the snow elves ran off and returned a few minutes later, leading a young man through the snow. He was dressed all in white clothing that glittered and caught the light when he moved. He had a shock of white hair on the top of his head and one of his arms glittered especially bright, as if it was made of pure ice. When he spotted Keith, he rushed forward and pulled him into a hug.

“It’s so good to have you back, my prince!” the man said, “We’ve all missed you so much. How on earth did you break the spell?”

“This young man over here saved me.” said Keith, gesturing to Lance, “His kindness and bravery broke the spell.”

“Well, then he and his friends are welcome in my realm.” the man bowed at the waist to the travelers, “My name is Shiro and I am the Snow King.”

“Shiro, may we have a ride to the Land of Sweets? I’m sure Allura will be anxious to see me.”

Shiro nodded, “She’s missed you terribly since you’ve been gone. Don’t worry, I’ll make sure you get home quickly.” He motioned to draw the snow elves’ attention to him. “Fetch my sleigh. Prince Keith needs to return to his homeland in style.”

A small group of snow elves rushed off to fulfill their king’s orders. The rest continued celebrating. Some of the snow elves produced musical instruments made of icicles. They struck them and pure music like the sound of Christmas bells rang out through the clearing. Other snow elves danced around the travelers, whirling in circles and leaping with joy.

At last, the king’s servants returned with the sleigh. It was beautiful, painted with silver and white so bright it seemed to glow. A team of white-haired reindeer pulled it, their fur brushed smooth and silver bells jingling from their harnesses. Shiro helped each of the travelers into the sleigh and took the reins himself. He whistled to the team and the sleigh took off, leaving the waving and cheering snow elves behind.

“What’s your kingdom like?” Lance whispered to Keith.

“You’ll see,” said Keith, “It’s magical.”

That soon became apparent as the sleigh left the Land of Snow and entered the Land of Sweets. Lance had never seen anything like it before. The streets were paved with hard candies and lined with lollipop fences. The houses were built from gingerbread and held together with icing. The sleigh drove over a bridge built entirely from gumdrops, with a lemonade river flowing beneath.

At last, the group reached the palace. They were greeted by a beautiful young woman with white hair and delicate wings and a gorgeous blue and pink gown.

“Welcome, Prince Keith!” she said, embracing the prince warmly once he had climbed down from the sleigh, “You and your friends are welcome here.”

“Everyone, this is Allura, the Sugar Plum Fairy. She was acting as regent while I was away.” said Keith. He turned to Allura, “I have so much to tell you.”

Keith told her the story of how he was freed from his spell, how Lance had bandaged his shoulder when it had broken and how he had stood up to the Mouse King when Keith was in danger.

“Then the people of the Land of Sweets owe this young man their thanks,” said Allura, “Our kingdom is yours, dear Lance. We will have a grand celebration in your honor.”

She led the group into the palace and Lance was once again blown away by the incredible sights he saw. The walls of the palace were made of chocolate and the peanut brittle roof was supported by candy cane columns. Banners spun from candy floss hung from the rafters and every surface was studded with lemon drops, which sparkled like precious jewels.

The people who had assembled were even more dazzling. They were all dressed up in their best outfits, looking like a field of bright flowers. There were courtiers dressed as pink tulips, red roses, yellow daffodils, white lilies, blue carnations, purple violets, and every other type of flower imaginable.

Allura had Keith and Lance sit in matching thrones at the head of the room. Then she ushered in dancers to perform for them. Sweets from every corner of the world danced to celebrate the return of their prince. There were chocolate dancers from Spain, coffee dancers from Arabia, tea dancers from China, and candy cane dancers from Russia. Finally, Allura herself took to the floor and danced a graceful, elegant dance.

Once Allura had finished her performance, all the courtiers rose from their seats to dance, filling the ballroom with dazzling color. Keith took Lance’s hand and led him to the center of the room, placing a hand on his waist and leading him through the dance. Lance laughed and twirled, more happy than he could ever remember being before.

“Lance,” said Keith, pulling him to a secluded alcove when the dance was over, so the two could talk privately, “Are you happy here?”

“Of course,” said Lance, catching his breath, “It’s beautiful here!”

“Would you like to stay here with me?”

Lance’s face fell, “I would like nothing more than to stay with you. But…”

“But?”

“But I have to go home. I’ve been away too long and my family will miss me.”

Keith nodded, sad but understanding, “Then will you at least give me a kiss goodbye? So that we can remember each other?”

Lance nodded. He closed his eyes and leaned forward and felt his lips brush against Keith’s…

When Lance’s eyes fluttered open again, he was back in his parlor. The bright morning light was shining through the front window and everything was back to its regular size.

Lance sat up abruptly. His eyes immediately jumped to the mantlepiece. There was his nutcracker, still wooden and lifeless, in the very spot he’d placed it last night.

Lance’s heart sank. Had it all been a dream?

He was startled out of his thoughts by the sound of Coran carrying his things into the hall to be taken outside.

“Ah, good, you’re awake! I was worried you’d sleep through Christmas day entirely. Lance, my boy, would you carry these boxes outside while I get the rest of my things? My assistant will help you.”

Lance rubbed the sleep out of his eyes and picked up one of Coran’s boxes. He carried it out the door, the crisp winter air hitting his face and waking him up further. A young man in a red coat was outside, loading Coran’s luggage into a carriage.

“Excuse me,” said Lance, “Can you take this?”

The young man turned and Lance nearly dropped the box he was holding.

It was the prince. Lance couldn’t understand how that was possible, but he’d recognize him anywhere. He had the same black hair, the same handsome face, the same dark, expressive eyes.

“Here,” the young man said, “Let me get that.” He took the box from Lance’s hands. Their fingers brushed together lightly and Lance shivered, not entirely from the cold.

“Thank you,” he said, once he had pulled himself together enough to speak, “I’m Lance, by the way.”

The young man smiled, “Nice to meet you, Lance. I’m Keith.”

#WOW this turned out long #but i didn't want to split it into parts so you get the whole thing #klance #lance #keith #coran #hunk #pidge #shiro #allura #nutcracker #my posts #my fanfictions

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butterflysuki77 · 7 years

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06. The B.P.P. - Kim TaeHyung Fanfic

AN* So I ran across this “Bed Sharing AU” prompt list with 8 prompts and thought it’d be a great exercise to explore writing fanfics again. This is the 6th in a series of oneshots(links to others listed below). I’m using all 8 prompts with different members. 8 prompts, 7 members… the 8th will be a surprise.

A special thanks to BTS… for giving me inspiration and re-igniting my passion to write again. (Gif credit to original poster.)

01. Kim NamJoon - Must Have Energy

02. Kim SeokJin - Mama Mo’s,

03. Min Yoongi - You’re Mine

04. Jung HoSeok - My Hope

05. Park Jimin - Awkwardly Perfect

07. Jeon JungKook - Call Me Kookie

08. BTS - Hawaiian Thunderstorm

The B.P.P.

Prompt: We’ve had this tradition as besties to have a sleepover once a year but this year….it feels different…were your pajamas always this cute??…did I always have butterflies???

Pairing: Kim TaeHyung x Reader

Genre: Angst, Fluff, Smut-lite, Food Play

Word Count: 6.2K

Kim TaeHyung sat in his car outside your apartment complex, waiting for you to get back. He’d just driven 250 miles, and was ready to get out of the car. Tonight was the night, or the entire weekend rather. Finally, after having to skip it for a couple years, you were going to have your “Bestie Pajama Party.” Well, more like Bestie Pajama Weekend. It’s something you’d both done since elementary school. Your parents thought it was as cute as Tae did. Even through high school, nothing ever got weird, and your parents really didn’t care.

It was nice… having a girl who was just a friend… who didn’t expect anything out of him more than friendship and fun. He got enough of expectations from the girls he randomly saw in college. He dated here and there, but nothing was ever serious. Nobody ever felt…quite right… And there was definitely nobody right now… He sighed.

It was a long weekend too… and he’d finally been able to come visit you. He hadn’t seen you since your families had gotten together at Christmas, and it had been so nice. You’d played pranks on your older cousins, helped the kids bake and decorate sugar cookies, and most of all… you’d just been together. Tae had missed you… a lot. Your insight into his dating life… your laugh… your willingness to participate in his random wacky ideas… He’d almost stayed over then, but your house was full of visiting relatives. You’d sworn that the “BPP” would happen, and you made him promise to finally come visit you.

And he had. Asking off work had been tough… but he’d made the effort. And now here he was... worn out and you weren’t home yet. Tae sighed and opened the car door to step out. No need wasting gas letting the car run when he wanted to stretch his legs anyway. The day was beautiful…not too warm with a smattering of clouds in the sky. He leaned on the hood of his car and checked his phone.

Still no message from you beyond the, *You’re here!!! I’ll be there in a few minutes! Yay!* he’d received about 15 minutes ago. It was odd, because your car was definitely in the lot… He recognized it almost immediately and thought you’d been home.

He sighed and pushed off the car’s hood. Walking between two buildings into a small courtyard, he breathed in the smell of the flowers planted along the sidewalk. He opened the camera on his phone and took a picture. TaeHyung was glad you lived in a nice place. When he found out you were leaving the dorms last year and moving into your own place, he’d been worried. What if it was a bad neighborhood? What if the place was rundown and you had maintenance issues? But looking around at the crisp light blue siding on the buildings and white trim around the windows, he couldn’t help but smile at how well it all fit you. He took a few pictures of the buildings. He was happy you were happy.

And he couldn’t wait to see you…

He was about to take a selfie with the lawn ornaments when he heard tires screech to a halt. He jerked his head toward the parking lot and heard a door slam. Walking over he saw a bright yellow Hummer parked diagonally in the two spots next to his old silver Camry. You were walking away from the passenger side when the driver door opened and a blonde guy yelled your name.

“Shut it, Kyle… I don’t need this right now. Just leave.” You said, not noticing Tae as he watched.

“Y/N… you’re seriously gonna just sleep with this guy and expect me to be ok with it!?”

“Yes!” you answered angrily as he walked up to you. “We’re FRIENDS and always have been… besides, it’s not like you and I were serious or anything.”

“Not for lack of trying…” he said sarcastically. “I thought you were a prude or something, but here you are sleeping with a guy and expecting me to deal with it…” You rolled your eyes and started walking away from him, but he grabbed your wrist and pulled you against him.

“Let go of me,” you said, twisting your arm out of his grip. “Leave. Now. And don’t even think about calling me again. Consider your number blocked.”

“You were just a little slut the whole time, weren’t you…” he said angrily. “What, were you just being a tease til I was man enough to take you?” The guy actually grabbed your ass and you slapped him. Kyle’s face darkened and he raised his hand.

TaeHyung’s vision went crimson.

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

You felt yourself pulled back suddenly and when you looked up, you were in shock. You didn’t know how Tae was suddenly between you and Kyle but there he was. He was actually in Kyle’s face, gripping his wrist tightly and staring him down. You were stunned. TaeHyung wasn’t a fighter, and he wasn’t all that strong either… he…. Was he…?

“You have ten seconds to get into your oversized hunk of metal and leave…” Tae said in a deep low growl that you felt in the pit of your stomach. Kyle’s eyes widened and he tried to pull his hand free, but Tae kept a tight grip on it, the veins in his forearms showing with the exertion.

“Oh really?” Kyle tried to act nonchalant but you could tell he was rattled. “What are you-”

“And if you touch her again…” Tae’s voice was menacing as he cut him off, “…you will regret it….5….4….3….” Kyle tried to pull his arm away as Tae counted, but TaeHyung wouldn’t let go until his third attempt, making it painfully obvious who was in control. Kyle laughed nervously and walked back to his Hummer. Tae backed up until he was touching you, then his hand slid into yours. Kyle pulled out of the parking spot, rolled down his window and yelled.

“Screw you, Bitch!” Tae’s face smiled as he raised a hand and flipped the guy off.

You were in complete shock. You’d never seen TaeHyung like that before. He was…scary. Tae was never scary. If you’d made a bet an hour ago as to who would win in a fight, it would have definitely been Kyle. Kyle was a bastard who you’d gone out with a few times, only lately realizing he was a bastard. The guy thought he was entitled to sex because he’d paid for your coffee a couple times. He’d tried to get you drunk at a party last night, and you’d had words. Today he’d tried to apologize, but when you mentioned TaeHyung, specifically to get the guy to leave you alone, and he’d become livid.

You felt Tae’s hand squeeze yours and looked up to see a soft smile on his face as he looked down at you.

“You ok?” he asked, letting go of your hand to touch your shoulder.

“Yeah…” you answered softly.

“Good…” he said, his hand going to the back of your neck. A shiver ran down your spine as his worried expression turned to a smile… and you realized your mistake too late as Tae pulled you into a headlock. “What the hell, Y/N!? Who was that? You were dating that!?!?”

“Tae let go!” You wrapped your arms around his waist and lifted with all your strength, barely getting him off the ground. It jostled him enough to loosen his hold and you slipped out, grabbing his wrist and twisting his arm behind his back and lifting.

“OW!” he yelled, “I give, I give!” You let go of him and he turned to you with that large rectangular smile on his face and enveloped you in a tight hug that had you struggling for breath.

“Tae! Let go!” you whined. But instead of pushing him away, you returned his hug.

“I missed you so much!” he said as he lifted you off the ground. You squealed and squeezed him tighter. He set you back down, and while his hold lessened, he still didn’t let you go. You breathed in his woodsy TaeHyung scent and sighed.

“I missed you too…” You buried your face in his chest. “…and…thank you.”

“My pleasure,” he smiled down at you, and his smile turned menacing. “Don’t ever see him again, ok?”

“You don’t have to tell me…” you said, as you pulled back. Tae let you go and the joke was back in his smile again. “Go get your stuff!” You reached forward and mussed his hair, and he scrunched his face in that cute puppy way of his before returning to his car to grab his suitcase.

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

TaeHyung smiled through the tour of your apartment…he smiled and laughed as you told him about how classes were going… he smiled and hugged you back when you embraced him, telling him how much you missed him.

Inside… he wanted to punch a hole in the wall…. He wanted to scream at you for letting that guy even think he had a chance with you. Was that the kind of guy you were into? Was that the kind of guy you let touch you? Just the thought of that douchebag’s hands on you had Tae seething…. Inside. He couldn’t let you see how rattled he was. You’d think he was jealous or something… which he wasn’t…

He wasn’t…

“I was thinking we could just camp out in the living room…. I mean… we don’t have to. We could always just start there and take it to the bedroom later…” Tae’s eyes betrayed nothing of what that sentence just did to him. Your bedroom…. Had Kyle been in your bedroom? No…. he hadn’t… he’d called you a prude… but how far had he gotten? Had you kissed him? Had he touched-

“Tae?” TaeHyung jerked his gaze up to you and smiled.

“I’m really up for whatever!” he said, hoping that answered whatever question you had been asking him. You leaned onto the kitchen counter, your forearms resting on the countertop… Tae took you in… the position of your legs and your… the slope of your back… as you bent over the counter… “…up…for whatever…” he under his breath, his mind going fuzzy.

“Here I am rattling on and you must be exhausted…” you said turning your head and meeting his eyes. Your eyes were mischievous, challenging him. The fog lifted and he smirked.

“Far from it…” he stretched. “I’m just starving!” You stood up and went to the fridge. Tae followed. You opened the door and he rested his chin on your shoulder as you both perused what you had. It was an automatic gesture… something he’d done often in the past… but something was different.

“I have chicken…” which you grabbed. You backed up a bit, your back settling into his chest. “…spinach…” which you also grabbed, “…and…….” He couldn’t breathe… it was everything he could do not to put his hands on your hips… not to turn his head just slightly and- “Onions!” You bent forward, your ass pressing into his crotch and Tae eyes closed for a split second before jumping back as though you’d hit him.

What the hell was going on?!

Tae took some deep breaths to calm himself. Sure you had always been cute… well… beautiful… but you were his friend! You’d cuddled and slept together in the same bed for years! Well… once a year for years…. But not the last couple years…. TaeHyung could feel himself starting to hyperventilate as his entire world seemed to be shifting. You were in the “friends and family” column… not in the “girls TaeHyung wants to bang” column… Granted, that particular column had been empty for a while, but come on!

You stood up and peered over your shoulder at him, arms full of ingredients, completely oblivious. He forced a smile.

“Need help?” he said reaching for the chicken. Your eyes widened.

“No!” You held all of the ingredients tightly to your chest, protectively.

“Why not? I can help,” Tae said, smirking.

“You are not allowed in the kitchen while I’m cooking…” you laughed.

“But I can help!” Tae teased. “I’m good at helping!”

“You’re good at being a pest and making things take twice as long,” you said smiling at him. “Go turn on the TV or something and rest a bit while I cook… We’re pulling an all-nighter tonight!” Tae bounced out of the kitchen and into the living room where he plopped down, sprawling, onto the couch.

Out of your sight, his eyes widened and he took a few deep breaths. This was just because of that guy… He wasn’t attracted to you… His protective instincts had kicked in, that’s all! He looked over at the coffee table and sighed, picking up the remote. If he didn’t get himself under control quickly, and back into the right frame of mine where you were concerned, it was going to be a loooooooong weekend.

“Actually, why don’t you go ahead and change into your pajamas!”

He bit back a groan.

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

You sat across the dining table from Tae, eating the dinner you barely remembered cooking. What was going on? It…it had to be the thing with Kyle. It was still getting to you. The way TaeHyung had looked as he’d face him down, his face serious and threatening. And when Kyle actually backed off and Tae had taken your hand, you’d practically melted. The whole situation had felt… primal.

Then, once in your apartment, you’d babbled on and on about nothing, trying to calm yourself, until Tae’s eyes had glossed over with boredom. When he put his chin on your shoulder as you were looking through the fridge, all thought had left you. You had instinctively let yourself lean against his chest…. God, it felt good…No! Stop it! To keep yourself from completely going insane you’d jumped forward, bent down and bumped him backwards with your huge ass.

The last thing you needed was him being ‘helpful’ in the kitchen. ‘Helpful’ to Tae usually meant fooling around, tickling you, pretending to help while otherwise causing destruction and chaos. Beautiful, endearing, fabulous chaos. You needed to breathe! But you had been surprised that he gave up and went to the couch so easily.

He must have been tired… While waiting for the chicken to cook, you’d also changed into your pajamas… a purple tank top with a giant cupcake on it, and a pair of white shorts with multiple small cupcakes. When you’d come out and seen Tae in a pair of loose red shorts and black sleeveless shirt, your mouth had gone dry. Since when did Tae have…muscles? And the way he looked at you… as if you’d actually been a cupcake he wanted to eat… There was a moment…

But it was probably all in your head. You took your last bite of chicken as Tae watched you, having finished his food way before you. He’d been chattering away like nothing had happened.

Nothing HAD happened…you kept reminding yourself. Nothing had happened.

Then why did it feel like something had? Your eyes met as he talked, and you smiled.

“That’s when Jimin totally started getting cozy with her on the couch…” he said with a smirk. “Seriously, that kid needed some help…” Tae smiled and stood. “Thanks for the meal! I’ll do the dishes!”

“And I have ice cream for later!” You said, standing and handing your plate to Tae over the counter. When he reached out and took it, you saw the veins in his forearms again and had to catch your breath. Since when had TaeHyung gotten so… so…

“What kind?” You came back to yourself and lifted your eyes to Tae’s.

“Huh?”

“What kind of ice cream, doof?” he smiled, hands in the sink.

“Strawberry Cheesecake,” you said, turning and walking to the couch.

“That’s a separate dessert, not an ice cream,” he laughed.

“So you always tell me!” you answered over your shoulder. You had to keep things normal.

You had to.

“I’m almost done!” Tae called from the kitchen. “You getting the movie ready?”

“Yep!” BPP tradition called for Lord of the Rings, and since Tae was staying for a few nights, you’d planned for an extended edition marathon for the weekend. No one but you, TaeHyung and Aragorn for the next…three and a half hours… You ignored the tingling in your body as you got the movie ready and sat back.

You jumped as Tae actually leapt over the top of the couch to land beside you.

“Did I scare you?” he asked, wiggling his eyebrows.

“Oh shut up,” you laughed, hitting him with a throw pillow. He reached past you for the remote and there were his arms again… Since when were you so obsessed with forearms!? He pressed play and settled back, looking at you expectantly. The movie started, but you couldn’t take your eyes off of him. He seemed to be debating something before he spoke.

“Just get over here already!” He reached for your arm and pulled you to him. You were leaning almost completely against his chest and his arms wrapped around you. “There… that’s better…” he said softly. He leaned down to your ear. “Relax… I don’t bite…” he whispered. “Much…” and he snapped his teeth.

“You’re such a pain, Tae…” you said, finally relaxing back. You rested your head back on his shoulder and everything seemed to settle down. Your breathing calmed… Tae was just being Tae… This was normal behavior for him. For the both of you. You’d snuggled on the couch like this many times… it didn’t feel different this time… it didn’t feel more intimate than ever before…

It didn’t…

Not much happened during the first part of the movie… You and Tae were comfortable… you both quoted the movie easily, and everything was… nice… companionable. You’d both gotten more comfortable on the couch. You now sat between Tae’s legs, his arms still wrapped around you. So what if it tingled where his bare legs touched yours on either side? It didn’t mean anything…

“You are such a Hobbit!” Tae said, laughing against your hair.

“I hardly think I’m short…” you laughed back.

“But you have huge feet!” he said, kicking your foot with his. “And you have an odd obsession with jewelry.”

“Oh yeah? Well, pretty boy Tae is most certainly an elf…” you said.

“It’s because I’m so handsome,” he said squeezing you.

“Actually… more like the big ears!” You laughed, and his hands dug into your sides, tickling you. Your hands flew to his, grasping them as you squealed and writhed in front of him. He stopped almost immediately, and you captured his hands in yours, wrapping them back around you. Tae shifted a bit, uncomfortable. Had you hurt him while you were moving around? “You ok?”

“Yeah,” he said low, and under his breath. “Forget it… I’m fine.” He wrapped his arms tightly around you, squeezing and pressing his head into your shoulder.

“Seriously… are you ok?” you asked. His answer… went right along with the movie. Over Arwen’s voice, in the Elvish, he whispered in his soft deep voice against your ear…

“A si i-Dhúath ú-orthor… Ú or le a ú or nin.” You shivered as you read the translated subtitles on the screen.

'The Shadow does not hold sway yet… Not over you and not over me.'

The music turned romantic, as did the scene in the movie. Arwen and Aragorn stood facing each other… and Tae’s hands slid slowly up your arms to your shoulders… He kept speaking in Elvish, over both actors… He pulled your hair back from your shoulder, exposing your neck as his breath tickling your ear.

“Renich i lú i erui govannem?” Do you remember the time when we first met? you read on the screen.

“Nauthannen i ned ôl reniannen…” I thought I had strayed into a dream… His hands slid back down your arms to your hands. You fought to keep your breath steady…

“Gwenwin in enninath... Ú-'arnech in naeth i si celich.” Long years have passed...You did not have the cares you carry now. One of his hands reached up to stroke your cheek as Arwen was doing to Aragorn… You could feel yourself leaning into his hand and bit back a whimper.

“Renich i beth i pennen?” Do you remember what I told you? His hand slipped down to the base of your throat, right where a necklace would be if you were wearing one like Arwen’s. His fingertips traced a pattern there. You had to be imagining that his nose was nuzzling your hair…

In a shallow whisper… you spoke the answer in English, along with Aragorn.

“You said you would bind yourself to me…” You froze. You couldn’t actually believe you had said the words. TaeHyung’s arms tightened around you, and he buried his face in your neck. You tried to breath. “Tae?” Why wasn’t he talking? “Tae…” you said a little louder. And then you felt it.

The shaking.

“Tae… what are you…” You moved away and he let go of you easily. When you looked back, you saw him, mouth spread and open in a wide grin, eyes closed… shaking in silent laughter.

“What the hell, Tae!?” you yelled, hitting him with a pillow. Through bursts of laughter, which were bringing tears to his eyes, he responded.

“You…you were just so…” he breathed quickly, between giggles… “…into it!” He looked up into your eyes and smiled. “Why aren’t you laughing!? That was hilarious!” You were almost shaking from anger, frustration and confusion. You hit him again with the pillow before walking to the kitchen. “Hey!” he yelled after you, concerned.

“I need some ice cream!” you said, a little too loudly. You heard him pause the movie as he stood from the couch and ran after you. You opened the freezer and reached for the carton when his hand reached around you and touched yours, keeping it back.

“What’s wrong?” he asked, his eyes searching yours. “Were you…really into it?” You shook your head and made excuses.

“No, of course not!” you said, forcing a laugh. “I just… I don’t know… was worried….” You shivered.

“Worried?” He grabbed the ice cream out of the freezer and shut the door. He didn’t look at you now. You had to fix this… and fast. You had been too into it. His hands on you had driven you wild, and you had barely kept yourself from moaning and touching him back.

“Worried… that you were too into it!” you said quickly. His head popped up, eyes wide as he looked at you.

“Me?” he said, laughing. “Don’t worry about me… Nothing I do is serious… right?” The smile on his face looked almost bitter… but it was dark in the kitchen. You didn’t answer, and moved to turn on the light while he opened random cupboards looking for bowls. You pulled two spoons out of the drawer, as well as the ice cream scoop.

“You always get weird flavors…” he complained, taking the lid off and digging into it with the scoop.

“Strawberry Cheesecake Ice Cream is not a weird flavor,” you laughed. The energy was weird though. There was a tension that you’d never had with TaeHyung before. You were both fighting it… but it was there. He seemed… angry… but you were too. Not quite angry though… not upset…

Frustrated.

Tae ate some of the ice cream off the scoop after putting some in your bowl.

“Weird…” he said, mouth full. He swallowed and slowly licked his lips. “Deliciously weird…” He winked at you and continued with scooping ice cream into his own bowl.

“You’re deliciously weird…” you said laughing. You took a bite of ice cream and closed your eyes. “God this is good….” The look on his face when you opened your eyes was…strange… dark. Without warning, he booped your nose lightly with the ice cream scoop, getting ice cream on your nose. You laughed and wiped at it with the back of your hand.

“Now your face is deliciously weird…” he laughed. He put the ice cream back in the freezer and came back to pick up his bowl. You shot your spoon out to his wrist, wiping ice cream on the back of his hand. He laughed, raised his hand to his mouth and licked it off. The look in his eyes was making your heart race. The next moment, he picked up his bowl and started walking back to the couch… the look gone.

You both sat down, a foot apart, and Tae started the movie again. Without warning, you jumped as something cold touched your thigh. You looked over at a smirking Tae… he wasn’t looking at you but his smirk told everything. You wiped the ice cream off your thigh with your fingers. Turning back to the movie, you put your fingers in your mouth and sucked the ice cream off. Your eyes looked over at Tae to find him watching you with an odd expression.

“Just watch the movie…” you said, ignoring the look that had your heart pounding in your chest. He smiled sadly and turned again.

This should stop now… you should stop now…

You didn’t stop.

You dipped your finger into your bowl, and like a flash, you’d wiped a glob of ice cream onto Tae’s neck. He laughed and backed away.

“Geez!” he said, “Well, now you’re just wasting it!” It was at an odd angle, and you could see him trying to figure out how to wipe it off. You laughed.

“Fine… I won’t waste it. Here…” Without thinking, you leaned over to him, angled your head, and half-licked, half-sucked the ice cream off his neck. You hadn’t been thinking. TaeHyung was frozen…

Then TaeHyung erupted.

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

He’d been trying to hold back for the last two hours. With everything in him, TaeHyung was trying to preserve your friendship. He was trying his best to picture you covered in boils and smelly…

And then you had come out of your room in…that. Since when were your legs so long? You obviously weren’t wearing a bra with your tank top… and it was low cut… and sitting across from you at dinner had been torture.

But having you nestled up against him during the movie had been the sweetest kind of torment. He was holding you… smelling the light citrusy scent of your shampoo in your hair mixed with the richer sweetness of your perfume. Tickling you had been a huge mistake. He thought it might get rid of some of the tension, but it had backfired. Having you wriggling around between his legs, laughing and touching him… He’d had to calm down fast. The last thing he needed was you feeling how aroused his was…. And he was… But he couldn’t let you go.

When he felt you shiver in his arms while he spoke Elvish to you, he wanted to devour you right there. But just the thought of your shocked and horrified face at his attempted weird nerdy seduction had made him burst out in laughter. He had to cover it… he had to cover for the electricity he felt when you actually responded with ‘You said you would bind yourself to me’ and his heart had felt like it was about to burst open. But you had to be joking…. You had to be…

But you had gotten angry… why? And now here he was watching you sucking ice cream off your fingers like some kind of pervert. God, he loved your mouth…. How could he have never noticed your mouth before? It was small… delicate… perfectly shaped lips… would he even fit in-

Your eyes met his and Tae couldn’t breathe.

“Just watch the movie…” you said with a smirk. Well, if that wasn’t a bucket of cold water to the crotch… He smiled at you and turned back to the movie. It was over now… this tension. You’d just put a stop to…it… Tae gasped at the cold wet sensation on his neck. You couldn’t be serious! He laughed, scooting away from you.

“Geez! Well, now you’re just wasting it!” He wasn’t sure whether to wipe it away with the back of his hand… or if he had to put down his bowl to really get it all off…

“Fine… I won’t waste it… Here…” Then he felt your lips… your tongue on his neck… the warmth of your mouth… your perfect mouth… contrasting with the cold creaminess of the ice cream… The sensation of your lips… softly sucking to get every bit of cream from the spot. All the blood left Tae’s head… all thought… only sensation.

He dropped his bowl and spoon onto the coffee table with a clatter and he was on you in a moment. His hands pinned your wrists, and he straddled one of your thighs as you stared up at him with wide eyes. He looked down at you, knowing his face was tormented. He needed you in his life… he needed you… to be his friend… to be there for him… he needed you…

But damn… he wanted you…

“Tae…” your whisper shook him… but he didn’t waver… he’d made his choice. Without taking his eyes from you, he reached his fingers over to your bowl of ice cream where you’d left it on the coffee table… and scooped out a small bit of ice cream. Your eyes looked to the ice cream then back at him… you were curious, but not scared… He wiped the ice cream onto your neck… in that spot just under your earlobe and behind your jaw… You gasped at the sensation, a small nervous smile coming to your lips… “Tae… what are you-” You broke off as Tae dipped his head, pressing his mouth to the cream.

The sweetness of your skin mingled with the strawberry cheesecake flavor, making him want to moan. He sucked, darting his tongue across your skin to get every bit. Your back arched slightly, and the moan that left your mouth made Tae shudder with pleasure. He breathed against your ear as neither of you spoke… both waiting for… he didn’t know… He noticed a bit of ice cream had gotten onto your earlobe and he pulled it into his mouth with his teeth and sucked. You whimpered, your free hand fisting into his shirt as your other struggled under his grip.

He leaned up, not loosening his grip on your wrist. You weren’t fighting him off… on the contrary… your lips were slightly parted and you were breathing heavily. When he met your eyes, they were dark and hungry… just like his… He looked back at your lips. They were slightly pink… delicate… Out of nervousness your tongue darted out and licked them, making him hold his breath. Keeping his eyes on your lips, he reached for the ice cream again. This time, he wiped a smear diagonally across your mouth. When your tongue licked his finger as it passed he halted… his finger in front of your mouth. Looking into his eyes, you pulled his finger into your mouth with your tongue and sucked.

TaeHyung groaned, pulled his finger from your lips and covered them with his own. The release of tension was overwhelming. It was like the moment when the rollercoaster reaches the top of the first drop and hovers slightly just before plummeting. Your mouth, the ice cream, the taste of you… the sensation of you kissing him back just as passionately… of you opening your mouth to let him devour you… it was a rush unlike anything else he had ever experienced.

His hand left your wrist and his fingers threaded into yours, gripping tightly and still pressing you down. He could barely breathe, but breathing meant pulling away from you, and he couldn’t do that yet. He needed more of you… His free hand roamed your body, sliding down your chest, stopping at your breast for a few delicious moments before continuing to your waist, down to your hip and thigh. Your hand reached up to grab his hair and he growled against your lips. The sounds you were making were driving him crazy. As he continued his desperate kisses, he reached up for you hand in his hair, threaded his fingers through yours… then slammed it down on the couch next to your other hand.

He finally pulled back to look at you… your lips red and slightly swollen… your chest rising and falling in your tank top… your eyes dark pools of liquid honey staring back at him. Both of you were breathing heavily as you took each other in. What had he done? You were his friend…his best friend… and he’d just practically attacked you with a dairy product!

Then he saw it… your lip curled in a slight smile… He almost didn’t know what to make of it, his mind being so clouded with indecent things he wanted to do to his best friend… but your hand escaped his and reached up to touch his face.

You were gentle, very gentle, as you cupped his cheek.

“Come here…” you said, pulling him back to your mouth. If the first kiss was a passionate rush… this kiss was heartbreakingly tender. Tae couldn’t believe how completely right it all felt… when it was supposed to feel wrong. He slowed the kiss to a halt and rested his forehead against yours.

“…what’s happening?” he asked in a whisper.

“…I think…” you said softly against his lips, “…we’re making out…” He laughed.

“I think…” Tae said, kissing your lips, “I like kissing you…” He trailed his mouth down to your collarbone where he nibbled a little bit, making you squirm underneath him.

“That’s just because I taste like ice cream…” You leaned forward to nibble on the top of his ear.

“You taste like fucking sunshine,” he growled before his teeth slowly, painfully slowly, sank into your neck.

“This never happened before…” you said, hand threading through his hair. You whimpered as he sucked… He had to mark you… He had to claim you. “What…how do we…” Tae’s mouth left your neck and he pressed a kiss to your cheek.

“We make it work…” he said softly. His eyes met yours looking up at him, disbelieving… hoping… “Hell Y/N… if you think this isn’t about more than right now, think again.”

“Tae…” you whispered.

“If I wasn’t ready for more... If I wasn’t sure this is what I wanted…” You pushed up to sitting position and threw your arms around his neck. He held you tightly against him, his hands spanning over your back. You both adjusted your legs and were kneeling in front of each other.

“Me too…” you said against his ear. Tae’s hand dug into your hair and pulled you back to his mouth. His hand went under your tank top and caressed your bare back making you shiver. Somehow you were straddling his thigh, and when you ground yourself against him, he groaned.

“Baby, this weekend just got a whole lot more interesting…” He grabbed your ass and helped you grind against his thigh again. You whimpered, and he could feel your heat through his shorts. You stopped and backed away. Tae’s face turned into a puppy’s as he watched you stand from the couch.

“This is real then…” you said seriously. “We’re together…” He nodded, then smirked.

“Unless you think Kyle’s the better option…” Tae said, his tongue darting out to lick his lower lip. You laughed, but turned serious again. TaeHyung stood up and cupped your face. “This is real…” he said kissing your forehead and pulling you against him. “This is the new normal… the new us…” He kissed you again, and it quickly heated again. You pulled back, earning a moan from Tae.

“Then… come on…” you said, your hand sliding down his arm and hand to squeeze his fingertips. You walked toward the hallway, looking over your shoulder. “I’m not planning on camping out in the living room tonight.”

“But you said we were gonna pull an all-nighter,” he said teasingly… hopefully...

“Still the plan,” you said over your shoulder. TaeHyung smiled as he watched you saunter down the hall to the bedroom in those little white shorts. “You coming?” Tae grinned wickedly.

“Only after you… of course…” You smiled and disappeared behind the doorway. TaeHyung had never felt so exhilarated in his entire life… so absolutely wonderfully happy… He never knew that being with you would be so… perfect.

And yet it felt like he always knew.

What was he doing still sitting here? He started walking slowly down the hall… but he turned back quickly.

Grabbing his bowl of half melted ice cream from the coffee table, Tae turned back and made his way to your bedroom, a wicked grin on his face.

“Don’t want this to go to waste…”

It didn’t.

The End.

*As always, any comments appreciated!*

574 notes · View notes

multsicorn · 7 years

Text

fic: how do you make it for real (zimbits, 4/5)

for @queersherlockian, the third chapter of my much-belated@fandomtrumpshate fic. also here on ao3.

Jack Zimmermann’s an adjunct history professor at Samwell University. Bitty works at Annie’s, at the start of what’s now his second year after graduation.

In this chapter: fake dating, and Christmas at the Bittles’ family home.

Jack meets Bitty at the airport the morning after the semester's over. He's not feeling awake, for once, though it's already later than his usual morning run's over. Worry over how the visit will go had kept him up all night long, but seeing Bitty, who's looking around, and waiting for him, a huge paper cup of coffee in his hand, is like a shot of calming medication and caffeine all at once.

"How are you doing?" Jack asks.

Bitty rubs his eyes with the hand that isn't holding his coffee, and yawns hugely. "Sleepy, mostly."

Jack nods, and shifts the weight of his carry on bag on his back. "Ready to get this show on the road?" He just hopes that Bitty's parents don't end up disliking him. He's starting one down, already, if they don't want Bitty to have a boyfriend at all - but, that's why he's coming, right? To help Bitty. Or, support him. Something. Like that.

"As long as no one's asking me to pull any more double shifts, I'm ready for anything. Bitty chugs his coffee for a solid few seconds, throat working, while flight announcements echo from nearby gates in the well-controlled chaos of the airport. "How about you, though? Cause if you're having second thoughts, there's still time to back out if you want. I'll figure out something tell my parents, and I guess if you didn't mind changing flights at the last minute already, then you could change them back again…"

"Thanks," Jack says, "but if you're in, I'm in."

Bitty's parents pick them up from the airport in Georgia in the sort of oversized SUV that editorials are written about. Jack knows he's being a hypocrite here; his own SUV is modest-sized, and environmentally friendly to boot, but it's still an SUV when all's said and done. He just can't quite like these people who make Bitty feel like he's not good enough.

"This is my boyfriend, Jack," Bitty says, in the arrivals area.

They're not standing about six inches apart, carefully not touching. Jack had offered his hand when they disembarked, but Bitty had hissed, "What part of small town Georgia do you not get?"

Now Bitty says, "Jack, this is my father, Coach Bittle, and my best friend, Mama Bittle." Jack shakes hands with both of them. Coach's handshake is hard, testing, and Jack meets it force for force until Coach lets go with a reserved but approving nod. Bitty's mother's handshake is loose, and her smile is warm.

"Call me Suzanne."

Coach takes the lead in asking Jack about himself in the car. What does he do, what's his workload like, what are his plans. He must've listed his whole curriculum vitae within the first five minutes or so of the drive, air conditioning humming under his voice, even in December. It's not long, when all's said and done. At least it seems that his answers are going to be accepted, not treated as provocation for the sort of attacks and subsequent defense that he'd feared they might've caused.

The grilling's so modest, in fact, that Jack's been lulled into a false sense of security by the time Suzanne says, "Enough of that, now, Richard. I have a question for our son." She turns to look backwards between the seats and deliver it directly. "What I want to know, Dicky, is why your father and I had never heard that you had a boyfriend before last week."

Bitty's hand has been lying in the cramped space between them in the back seat all this time, where they're pressed shoulder to shoulder by their respective carry-on bags. Jack feels Bitty flinch all along his side, and squeezes his hand to try to convey some comfort.

"Well," Bitty says, and then it all spills out of him in one burst. "ididntknowifyouandcoachwouldapprove."

"Could you repeat that?" Bitty's mother says.

"He said he didn't know if we'd approve," says Bitty's father, and Jack feels a wave of protectiveness come over him. Bitty's parents aren't saying anything bad, per se, not yet, but the fact that they're not responding to his fear by immediately trying to comfort and reassure him makes Jack want to - well. It makes him want to drop his gloves, which hasn't been an appropriate response for years. It makes him want to keep hold of Bitty's hand and take him right back to the cafe, where he's never second-guessed himself like this. But in fact all that Jack can do is look sideways at Bitty's face, and try to radiate love and support at him.

"Well, I don't know why not," Bitty's mother says. Bitty's fingers are trembling, under his. Jack can't stand not being able to help. "You're our son, Dicky. Of course we'll love you, whatever you want to do."

"I know, Mama," Bitty says. His voice is strangled, but no one says anything. It's some minutes, in fact, before anyone dares to say anything else at all, and Jack wonders how long the unspoken ceasefire of silence is going to last. For the rest of the car ride? All evening? Then out of nowhere, Suzanne starts to talk about a new recipe for fruitcake that she found on the internet. Bitty chimes in with his own opinion when she asks for it, looking and sounding for all the wrold as if the exchange of only a few minutes ago hadn't just happened.

And Jack thinks: this is what this family's like. Just as if the reevaluation my family did when I was nineteen never occured.

The Bittles' house, when they get to it, is festooned inside and out with strings of Christmas lights. There's an inflatable Santa on the lawn, and a perfectly conical fir tree aggressively bristling with ornaments in the living room: yet all the Bittles are unanimous that the decoration isn't done.

"We're still waiting for you, son," Bitty's father says. Bitty glows a bit like the lustrous gold star that he digs out of a stack of packaging that looks simply like a mess to Jack.

"You oughtn't to have."

Suzanne claps her hands, quick and light, close together. "Well, go on."

"Are you tall enough yet?" Bitty's father makes as if to grab him around the waist, and pick him up, but Bitty darts away. He stops, though, at the open-plan entrance to the kitchen, and pivots, hand still on the back of one of the wooden ladderback chairs there. He's eyeing Jack speculatively.

"Actually, I think Jack should lift me up this time."

Jack's too frozen to even shake his head 'no' - and besides. This is what he's here for, right. Bitty comes up to him and then brushes right past, so that he's - oh. So that he's standing right by the tree, and Jack follows behind him, helpless.

Bitty's waist is warm, a lovely solidity to it, even through his shirt. He's not that light - though it feels crazy powerful, to pick him up - and it requires enough concentration that Jack's not able to, say, whisper in his ear while he does it and ask 'what exactly are we doing here?' Bitty sets the star on the top of the tree, and Jack sets Bitty, flushed and beaming, on his feet and takes a couple steps back.

Bitty's extended family descends on the house in waves throughout the next morning. The whole Bittle-Phelps clan, and more Bitty explains, though Jack forgets every single name as soon as he says it. Bitty just explodes in a flurry of so much to say to his Aunt Judy, when she arrives, and Jack, seeing with relief that his services aren't needed anymore, retires to lurk in a corner.

Even the corner's occupied, it turns, by the most entertaining and relaxing group of people to hang out with at any party. There's a boy and two girls, named Taylor, Tyler, and Alex, wheeling around large plastic trucks perched on by Barbie dolls. Jack kneels down to get on their level. "Hi," he says. "You guys want another person?"

They don't have any extra trucks, Alex haughtily informs him, stubby pigtails bobbing, but they could use a crossing guard.

Turns out that crossing guards have to adjudicate doll murder, who knew.

Bitty reappears eventually, an impossibly fond smile on his face. The kids scatter when he says "Food's ready," but Jack's waiting for something else.

"Is that a personal invitation?"

Bitty holds his gaze. "I didn't know you needed one."

"Well." Jack brushes his knees off and gets to his feet. "I guess it's time to eat. Is there pie?"

"Is there ever," Bitty says, darkly. "But, hey. You looked like you were doing a really good job with my little cousins there."

"I was having fun," Jack says, honestly. "They're great kids."

"Yeah. Yeah, they are."

There's several more rounds of food throughout the day, as groups of people show up and leave, which is only one of the reasons Jack can't believe that he and Bitty have ended up at the end of the evening - Christmas Eve evening - cutting slice-and-bake cookies from a tube and slipping them onto a cookie sheet.

Suzanne had started the first batch with them, and then left with a significant look, with a wink, for God's sake. "Have a good night, Dicky."

Bitty's humming while he's slicing, and Jack can't take it anymore.

"I can't believe this," he says. "Eric Bittle, baking cookie dough from a tube. Is everything I know a lie?"

Bitty laughs. "I contain multitudes."

"I'm sure," Jack says. "Though you're kind of small for that - no, stop!" Bitty's brandishing an open bag of flour that he wasn't even using for the cookies, since flour's apparently never far in a Bittle kitchen. "Why, though?" he asks, as they return to the slice-and-place rhythm. The pan in front of him is filling up fast. "It's not as if you don't have more than enough cookies in the house." People'd been bringing different kinds all day, and tins now line the counter.

"I know, but this is a tradition." Bitty slices the last two cookie-widths apart, and turns to wash his knife in the sink. "D'you know, these were the first type of cookies I ever made. My mom always made a plate of cookies for Santa, and I wanted to help her, so - when I was three or four she got these, and let me put them on the pan after she cut them. I don't know if she didn't want to risk ruining good cookie dough, or what, but - yeah. Now you know my secret."

"Who would I tell?" Jack asks. Bitty shrugs, shoulders looking somehow smaller than usual, hunched under his blue button-down, back to Jack. So Jack steals a bit of dough from one of the cookies on the pan, and eats it noisily. "Mm, it's good."

"It is not," Bitty says. But his eyes are dancing, so Jack counts that as a win.

"Is so. Here, try it - " Jack tries to put a bit of dough in his fingers into Bitty's mouth, and Bitty doesn't dodge it the way that Jack must've been at least half expecting.

Bitty opens his mouth and takes the dough gently off Jack's fingers. He doesn't suck on them, or anything, which means there's still a little residue of sticky cookie dough left, which means Jack's first instinct is to suck it off, which -

Wow. Bitty doesn't seem particularly struck by anything that's just happened. At least, not judging from his face. He opens the oven smoothly, slides the two pans of cookies in, while Jack's insides whirl aroundin a torrent of questions. Is he leading Bitty on, or is Bitty leading him on, or are they both, or - what?

The house gets up ridiculously early on Christmas morning. It's not early for Jack, compared to his usual five-o-clock wake-up-and-face-the-day run, but he'd thought for some reason that at the Bittles' he'd be able to sleep later. Instead the basement that he'd shared with several kids, all in sleeping bags, is filled with excited and incompletely shushed chatter long before it's filled with daylight.

Jack would be angry about the basement-and-sleeping-bag setup on Bitty's behalf if he thought Bitty wanted to share a bed with him. As things stand, he's not sure whether to be more righteously indignant or more shamefully relieved that he doesn't have to carry the fake boyfriend act that far.

Eventually, the clock on the wall ticks to seven. The children thunder upstairs, yelling as they go.

First breakfast - Bitty and Suzanne share duties herding everyone, first breakfast, piles and piles of bacon and sausage and pancakes and biscuits and grits, and then presents.

Jack's glad that his presence here as Bitty's supposed boyfriend and not a guest in his own right means that he's been able to simply sign his name to Bitty's cards. He wouldn't know what to get anyone, though he did get Bitty's parents, collectively, as a combined Christmas and host gift, a painting that he'd commissioned from Lardo about Bitty. It's all gold and electricity, and it's called *Hot Stove*.

Bitty got his father a gift card to Dick's Sporting Goods, and received one himself from Crate & Barrel. They're each a round fifty dollars. "It's the thought that counts," Bitty says, into Jack's ear. Bitty and Suzanne exchange cookware the purpose of which Jack doesn't even pretend to understand, but they're both exclaiming over their presents. It's nice to watch.

Bitty got Jack a couple books. *Master & Commander*, the first of a series Jack's been meaning to get around to for a long time, but never has yet, and an autobiography of Saint-Exupery called *Wind, Sand, and Stars.* "I didn't nkow what to get you," Bitty says. "But these made me think of you."

"They're perfect," Jack says, in wonder. "Thank you. So much." He keeps stealing glances at Bitty, after that, as they go around the circle again and again. He does love these things, Bitty knows him, knows his research - but still, they make Bitty think of him?

Bitty opens Jack's present for him in the very last round. It's a huge box, and Jack knows it's not creative, but he hopes that Bitty doesn't care too much about that.

When Bitty lifts out the KitchenAid mixer, he looks like he's just an inch away from tears. "How did you know I wanted this?" he says.

"Well, you mention it at least once a week." Jack shrugs.

Bitty launches himself at him, arms coming around behind Jack's neck, kneeling unsteadily on his lap. "I can't believe this," he says. "Three hundred and fifty dollars! And shipping! Jack, you shouldn't have."

"But aren't you glad I did?" Jack simply has to put his hands on Bitty's waist, to hold them both steady. He doesn't have to rub his fingers over the firm flesh there, but he's only so strong.

"Of course I am," Bitty says, into the region somewhere between Jack's ear and his shoulder and his neck. "Who knows when I could've afforded it, much less when I could've justified the expense. But it's much too much!"

"I just wanted to see you happy," Jack says. It's too honest, maybe. But he's not kissing Bitty, just talking close, face-to-face, nose-to-nose. If he's going to kiss Bitty, which is seeming more and more likely by the hour, lately, he's not going to do it for the first time here, with all his family watching.

Later in the afternoon, all the adults assemble to go to church. They're letting some of the younger kids stay at home to keep playing with their new toys - "they won't be able to think about anything else, anyway." Bitty explains - so Jack's offered the option of staying home to babysit. "Someone has to."

"I'm going wherever you're going," Jack says, pitching his voice low so that only Bitty can hear.

The church is decorated more simply but just as thoroughly as the Bittles' house. It's a small brick building, covered with strings of plain white lights and evergreen boughs, footprint more than matched by a parking lot full of cars and exclaiming families. Jack feels awkward; on more than axis, he's conscious that he really doesn't belong.

"What should I do?" he whispers to Bitty.

"Bless your heart, you don't have to do anything," Bitty says. "Just stand up when everyone stands up, and sit down when everyone sits down, and you can sing along if you know the carols. It's pretty simple."

Jack nods. And Bitty seems, to all appearances, to be fine, and his parents are still right next to them, but - "Are you sure you want to be here?" he whispers again. Because this place is probably ground zero for the sort of prejudice that Bitty has to put up with at home, and Jack can't shield him from it, but - "Cause I could be an excuse to leave, if you want."

Bitty looks at him like he's crazy. "Do I want to be here? It's Christmas. Where else would I want to be? Now, hush."

Everyone's finished filing in; the sermon's about to start.

It's not half as political, or even as theological, as Jack had unconsciously feared it might be. Sure, he doesn't believe in Jesus (he probably doesn't even belive in God), but the pastor's talking about the importance of hospitality. Make more room at the inn, he says, invite God into your life. And invite people into your life, because God came along us… Jack doesn't follow all the arguments, but the Bittles seem moved. Make room for strangers, the pastor says, and make room for the people you love who are stranger to you than you know.

Bitty squeezes Jack's hand, where it's placed between them on the bench, and whispers in his ear. "D'you think they're hearing this?"

His parents. "Maybe. We can hope so, right?"

There are some prayers, after the sermon, and then come the hymns. Jack doesn't know any of them, but the harmonies swelling all around him are still nice. Bitty's voice must blend into the rest of the congregation's from any distance whatsoever, but from right next to him, where Jack's sitting, it sounds pure and clear as a bell.

The day's already turning towards evening by the time they come back home. Bitty's various aunts and uncles gather up their children one by one. Jack watches Bitty bid them farewell, standing in the chilly air, so bright against the fading into purple sky.

When the leavetaking's finished, they go inside, just Coach and Suzanne and Jack and Bitty. Almost like a little family.

"Anyone wanna watch a game?" Coach asks. "I've got a couple on the DVR."

"I'm gonna make a pie with Mama," Bitty says, aiming it more at Jack than at Coach.

"I can't believe it," Suzanne says. "How've you been home for several days already, and we haven't made a pie yet?" Bitty's mom is just as excitable as he is, it seems; no wonder he says they're best friends.

"Cause we've been making cake, and biscuits, and cookies?" Bitty says. "But - go on, Jack. I wanna cook with my favorite sous chef."

"Oh, I'm the sous chef now!" Suzanne says. "Who's getting too big for his britches!" but she shares a side-hug with Bitty.

"Sure, I'll watch the game," Jack says. Coach Bittle gives him a clap on the shoulder, like he's done something right.

Jack hasn't spent years in the States without managing to learn the basics of how football's played. Coach doesn't say much of anything for a while, and though Jack doesn't have anything to say either, it's a bit odd not having commentary on plays and calls. Jack's beginning to wonder why he was invited to watch the game at all, when, sometime in the middle of the second quarter, Coach leans forward, putting his hands on his knees, and lets out a deep sigh.

"I don't know how to do this when you're also a boy."

"Wait," Jack says, "What?" He can't figure out where this conversation is going, but it's pretty clear that it's nowhere good. At least, maybe, Bitty's not here to have whatever this is aimed at his face, for once.

"If Dicky brought home a girl," Coach says, "Then you know that I'd have to ask him how he felt about her."

I do? Jack thinks, but that probably wouldn't help Bitty's case here. He doesn't want to start a fight with Bitty's father, if it can be avoided. "You could… still ask him?" he tries. Because Bitty's not bringing home any girls, but he still wants to go back to his parents, apparently.

"Maybe I could do that," his father muses. "I think I'll think about it. That's an idea." Jack realizes, belatedly, that he's just suggested that Bitty's dad ask Bitty about his feelings for him, and, furthermore, that their supposed relationship is a fake relationship on which Bitty most likely doesn't have any real opinions, and, furthermore, that he's nevertheless quite curious as to what Bitty's opinions might be.

But at least if Bitty's dad has been nudged towards treating him in one way the same way that he'd treat him if he were straight, that's some sort of win.

"But," Bitty's dad continues, "I still need to ask you how you feel about him."

"Um," Jack says. His mind goes blank. "I think he's… amazing?" He's usually full of thoughts about Bitty, if he thinks about anything, but now the inside of his head's all stirred up, like a river with the mud stirred off of the bottom. "I just really like him a lot," he says. "I don't know how to describe it." Those statements might not be the most persuasive, or the most eloquent, but at least they're all true.

"You like him," Coach repeats with a frown, and a heavy emphasis. "Is that it?"

Jack doesn't know how he would've answered. What does he feel about Bitty? Too many things, he doesn't know what they are, himself, and even if he did he can't imagine how it'd be a good idea to tell Bitty's dad before he'd told Bitty.

Bitty comes into the room, then, color high, unannounced, all in a rush. "There you are, honey," he says. It takes Jack a second to realize that Bitty must mean him. "We're going for a walk now. Okay?"

Coach grunts his assent, and Jack's put on his coat and out of the door after Bitty before he asks "Are you okay?"

The purple sky's almost faded to black velvet around them. The chill, even with the wind that's picked up, isn't quite severe enough for Jack to have needed his coat. Bitty scuffs the ground, and looks at his feet, and says "I'll be fine." His voice is strained, like a string about to break.

"What's wrong?" Jack asks. "What happened?"

"It's my mom," Bitty says. He starts walking - there's no sidewalk. But there's no traffic, either, right now, so Bitty walks down the road and Jack follows, just a step or two behind. "She wanted to know why I didn't tell her that I had a boyfriend," and Jack's stomach drops to about his knees. It's his fault, this whole dumb idea, that he'd thought would help Bitty, somehow, but it's only making his vacation worse.

"So what did you tell her?" Jack asks. His heart is pounding, but - he's here for Bitty. "Since you couldn't tell her that's because it was fake."

Bitty throws an odd, unreadable glance back at Jack. His face is lit with - the whole street's lit with, really - fuzzy halos of rainbow colors, the reflections of the neighborhood's Christmas lights on every surface. "It's not even about that," he says. Jack's mental world tilts, or maybe rights itself again.

"What?"

"Well, who says that I would've told her anyway?" Bitty's pace has been increasing furiously, and despite the differences in their strides, Jack now finds himself working to catch up.

"You… wouldn't?" Though it makes sense, Jack supposes. He's just so used to seeing Bitty as open, because he sees him where he is.

"Sure, eventually," Bitty says. "I'd kind of have to. But right away…? Anyway, she was acting all injured about it. As if I'd somehow insulted her, personally, by not giving her up-to-the-minute updates on a part of my personal life that, sorry! Not sorry! I couldn't actually be sure she'd respond to in a non-awful way!" Bitty huffs out a breath, and suddenly stops. He's standing in a pool of pure white light, spilling off someone's Christmas tree.

"I'm sorry," Jack says. He is. "I know it doesn't do much good, and I don't know what else to say, but. I'm sorry that your parents aren't supporting you the way you deserve." Jack's palm itches. He wants to take Bitty's hand, but, why…?

"It's not that big a deal," Bitty says. He starts walking down the street again, kicking the deposits of dry leaves that are left by the curb as he goes. The crunching noises are calming, somehow. "I think that they're getting better. And, hey, who knows? Maybe by the time I finally have a boyfriend I want to take home for real, they'll be ready to be decent about the whole thing."

"So you're not planning on having a boyfriend for a while, then?" Jack asks.

Bitty walks onward, out of the light. There's a stretch of empty space, maybe a field, between his family's clump of houses and the next. "You never know," Bitty says. "I don't know what's going to happen, but - yeah. I don't want just anyone, you know. I'm holding out for Mr. Right."

Jack's breath catches in his lungs. Because caught and held on his tongue, are the words "I want to be Mr. Right," but - really?

But of course that's what he feels too. And that's what he always seems to feel, with Bitty. Bitty says the things that he doesn't know how to say, or even know how to think, until he's heard Bitty say them. Bitty makes him feel like he's where he's supposed to be, wherever they are. And he only wishes that he could make Bitty feel even a little bit of the same way, about him.

He doesn't realize that he's stopped walking, this time, until he hears Bitty says, "Jack? What's up?"

"Me too," he says, stupidly.

"What?" Bitty asks. Cause, of course. "You mean you're also waiting for Mister Right?"

"No," Jack says, "I mean, yes, I mean, I am, but - "

"You'd better start making sense," Bitty says. His voice is hard, like it almost never is, and Jack is trying.

"I mean," he says again, "that yes, I'm waiting for Mr. Right, but also, I think that you're it. I mean, him. I mean - " Bitty's hand is on Jack's upper arm, and whatever else that means, it probably means Jack should stop babbling. "Bitty? What do you think?"

"I think - you sure that you're not jerking me around?" Bitty's eyes are dark, and they're not even looking at Jack now. They're swallowed up by the darkness of the ground. "Because that's happened to me before."

"I wouldn't," Jack says. Also, who dare - ! But he'll never know; he's pretty certain of that.

"You couldn't," Bitty says, breath puffing out into the cold night air in what's probably the ghost of a laugh.

Then Bitty's up on his toes, and his lips are warm, so warm, against Jack's, and Jack barely gets to feel them, barely gets to appreciate the miracle of their firmness and give attached to Bitty, before Bitty's standing back on his feet again.

"Is that?" Jack asks. He doesn't know what to ask. Everything.

"Yes," Bitty says. "Yes, that's yes, I'll be your boyfriend - if you'll be mine," he adds, suddenly shy again.

"Of course," Jack says, though just two minutes ago it hadn't been at all. He thinks it has been an of course for some time, though, and he just hadn't known it till now.

#zimbits #omgcheckplease stuff #a: my fic

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