Tumgik
#here's hoping none of those things I just told y'all about actually happens
buck-yyyy · 2 years
Text
is spontaneous combustion an appropriate reaction to a forehead kiss?
I FINISHED IT***
Summary: Will short-circuits when Mike kisses his forehead after winning a round of Nintendo.
Pairings: Will Byers x Mike Wheeler
Warnings: None
Word Count: 479
Authors Note: y'all i pumped this shit out as FAST as possible once i had the idea- hope you like it!! @henrythepug i promised i'd tag you in it when i finished writing :)
“You little bitch! You little bitch!” Mike mashed his fingers on the controller, desperate as Will cackled maniacally. “Oh, you sadistic bastard, I’m gonna fu-”
    “MICHEAL!” Karen Wheeler’s voice floated down from the stairwell, sharp and irritated. Mike snapped his head around, eyes widening as he realized just how loud he was being.
    “Mom! It’s just a game, I don’t actually mean any of it, I promise-” Beep beep! The TV lit up- in his lapse of attention, Will KO’d Mike’s game character. “Oh, FUCK.”
    “Micheal Wheeler, if you don’t watch your mouth, I will come down there and unplug that thing.” The door to the basement closed, and Will watched, trying not to laugh, as Mike turned back to the TV, a sour look on his face.
    Will grinned, smug. It wasn’t often he was able to beat Mike- he’d have to hold this victory over his head for the coming weeks. “So. What were you saying earlier, about being better than all of Hawkins at this game?” Mike scowled, clearly biting back a scathing response.
    “We BOTH know that if my mom hadn’t come down here, then I would’ve recovered, and kicked your sorry ass all the way back to Lenora.”
    Will quirked up his eyebrow, doing his best not to smile like an idiot. “I don’t know, the television screen seems to have a different opinion.” He gestured towards the TV with his controller, where colorful, blocky letters announced Will’s indisputable victory. 
    “Oh, fuck off,” Mike whispered under his breath, much to Will’s amusement. He loved it when Mike got defensively competitive. “Okay, so another round then. I’ll show you, it’ll be an easy win.”
    “Oh, we’ll see about that.”
~~~
    Fifteen minutes and three rounds later, Mike would, unfortunately, be proven right.
    “I told you, Byers! I fucking told you! Easiest fight of my life, I’m telling you,” Mike crowed, holding up his arms in a victory pose. Will set down his controller, bowing his head towards Mike.
    “I concede. For today only, Micheal Wheeler, you may be considered the winner of Nintendo.”
    “Today only?! Fuck that, I’m better than you every day!” Mike reached forward, tilting Will’s head closer to him and giving him a quick kiss on the forehead before pulling back and continuing his cheering.
    Holy shit. Mike just. Kissed him. On the forehead. 
    Will was sure his face had to be beet-red as he struggled to process what the hell just happened.
    Mike kissed him. On the forehead. On purpose? Because he won? 
    His stomach twisted, simultaneously thrilled and uncertain, the wings of a million butterflies dancing around in his gut as he stared slack-jawed at Mike. 
    “Well, Byers? How did those words from earlier taste?” Mike was practically beaming with smug confidence, all flushed cheeks and bright eyes, and god did it suit him. 
    Words, Will, words would be good right about now.
    “I- yeah. Wo..  words eaten,” Will said lamely. “Uh. Do- D’you want to play another round?”
~~~
    Mike laid awake, staring at the ceiling. It was probably 2am at this point, but he had no desire to go to sleep. 
    Jesus christ, he kissed his best friend on the forehead.
    It was completely spur of the moment; impulsive at best, stupid at worst. Will seemed so awkward afterwards, edging on blatant discomfort. Should he apologize? It wasn’t a kiss based on feelings- well, the feelings were there, but that wasn’t why he kissed him, it wasn’t like he was trying to tell Will that hey, I know we’re best friends and you’re straight but I’ve been in love with you for the past two years. That.. seemed like a lot to dump on a guy during a game of Nintendo. 
    Mike groaned, smashing his face into a pillow.
    He’d bring it up with Will tomorrow, apologize if he made him uncomfortable, and maybe, maybe they could move past it and everything could be normal.
    But that was tomorrow Mike’s problem. Tonight, all Mike cared about was replaying the moment over and over again, guiltily relishing in what he would find out the next day was one of the best decisions he’d ever made.
***ALSO!! i posted this on AO3, i'd really appreciate it if you guys could go show it some love over there <33
118 notes · View notes
beels-burger-babe · 3 years
Text
A Little Voice Told Me - Pt.2
Poly! MC Summary: Words hurt and leave their scars. MC learns this the hard way after hearing some not-so-nice whispers about them while on a date with Beel. How are they supposed to be the partner of the seven lords of the Devildom when they just don't measure up? Part 1: HERE, Part 3: HERE ***Good Golly!! Y'all really like the angst, huh? Here you guys go. Cry your hearts out and enjoy! - B*** Beelzebub woke up the rest of his brothers early the next morning. While most of them attempted to flip him off or threaten him at the initial disturbance, all it took was him saying that they needed to talk about you for them to shoot out of bed. In a matter of minutes, all of them, except Levi, were seated around the breakfast table. "If we're talking about MC, why aren't they here?" Satan asked while poking at a piece of fruit. "I don't know about you, but I personally don't feel right talking about them behind their back." Belphie scoffed and laid his head in his arms. "It's not like we're gossiping about them or anything. They were acting off last night, and Beel thought we should discuss what we're gonna do about it." Beel nodded, "They pulled into themself halfway through the night, and was upset but kept brushing me off whenever I tried to talk to them about it." Mammon huffed and crossed his arms. "Maybe they just didn't feel like they could talk to ya about it," he rose to his feet and began to walk towards the door. "I'm the first! I'm sure I can get it out of them, easy peasy! I'll just head in there and-" "Mammon, sit down!" Lucifer hissed. Mammon grumbled under his breath but did as told. Lucifer sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. "We've talked about this. Stop bringing up the whole 'first man' thing. MC is in a relationship with all of us. Not just you." The second-born pouted and stabbed an egg with his fork.
Lucifer rolled his eyes at his brother's antics and looked back at Beel. "Something clearly happened during the date. Do you have any ideas at all at what it could've been?" Asmodeus stirred a swirly straw around in his drink. "I mean, I would be pretty upset if I spent three hours of my evening at a barbaric sporting event too," Asmo chuckled and smirked. "The only good thing about sports is that you get to see all those rippling muscles of the athletes in action." Beel scowled at his brother took a bite out of the omelet that was on his plate. "It wasn't because of the game. MC loves coming to my Fangol games and was having a blast with me until halftime. Something had to have happened while I was gone." Asmodeus opened his mouth to counter the statement when Leviathan came rushing into the room carrying his laptop. Lucifer raised an eyebrow at the sight, "What have I told you about devices at the table?" Leviathan shot him an annoyed look as he plopped down in one of the chairs. "This isn't about table etiquette. This is about MC," he looked over at Beel and Belphie. "I think I have an idea on what may have caused them to start distancing themselves." Everyone perked up in interest at the news; each one of them eager to know what was distressing their loved one so much that they felt like they couldn't talk to them. "Well are you going to tell us, or are you just going to sit there?" Satan quipped, his anger beginning to get the better of him as he sat on the edge of his seat. Levi gave him a flat look before he typed a few things on his keyboard. "I was doing a raid last night trying to keep my mind off of what might've happened with MC and decided to ask my party members about it," Leviathan's expression darkened as he began to explain. It was clear to everyone that whatever was said, wasn't taken lightly by the otaku. Rather than reading the conversation out loud, he turned his laptop screen for all his brothers to see. Leviachan: Gaaah! I just can't focus on the game tonight. My partner came back from a date tonight and has been acting kind of sus. There's definitely something bothering them, but they refuse to tell anyone. Ruri-Chans-Husbando: Dude, you're talking about that stupid human right? Why are you even with them? You shouldn't give a Normie like them the time of day. Waifu-Addict: Exactly! Listen, we've all been talking and you need to drop that whore. They're totally just using you and your brothers for your titles and power. The demons read in horror and rage as the chat room filled with messages from the members of Leviathan's party all saying similar garbage about you and degrading you in every way they could think of. Satan stood up and began to pace near the table as he used every inch of his self-control to keep himself from lashing out. "I want names, Levi. Who are they and why do they seem to think it's okay to talk about MC like- like that?!" Satan snarled as he curled his hands into fists. Levi tsked and crossed his arms, as Lucifer took the laptop to look more closely at the messages. "You say that as if I haven't already used my 'title and power' as Grand Admiral to have my men collect and imprison them. They're at the navy base waiting for us to get our hands on them as soon as we sort this whole mess out." Belphie growled, now sitting up and wide awake. "Get our hands on them is right. No one gets away with this shit," Asmodeus glared at the computer as though it had just dyed all of his clothing brown. "Rotten brats. They're all just jealous of stunning MC. Ugh, Diavolo, haters are the worst." Beel pushed his plate away from himself as he frowned deeply. "As disgusting and horrible as this is, what does it have to do with MC getting all quiet during our date?" A low rumble came from Lucifer as he handed the laptop back to Levi. A fiery hatred was burning brightly in his eyes as he gritted his teeth. "If a bunch of anti-social shut-ins are going around talking about our dearest MC like this, I believe Leviathan's point is that others probably are."
"Ouch. I wasn't going to say it l-like that, but yes," Levi winced and continued, "MC probably overheard people saying something about them. I mean, if people said that crap about me I'd probably hide in my room and not come out for months!" Mammon, who had been surprisingly quiet during all of this, had a very serious expression on his face. "Right, and we don't want MC to go through that. For Diavolo's sake, they've left alone to overthink this enough," Mammon stood up and headed towards the door again, Satan hot on his trail. "I'm going up to there to talk with them. Ya'll are welcome to come with, but you ain't stoppin' me." "Actually, Mammon, you're not. We should wait until MC comes to us," Lucifer interrupted. An animalistic snarl tore its way from Satan's throat as what little self-control he had snapped. Wrath incarnate lunged himself at Lucifer, grabbing his older brother by the collar of his cloak. "Are you serious, Lucifer?! You're seriously putting your stupid pride first, now?!? MC needs us!" Lucifer growled and pushed Satan off of him as he stood to size him up. "No. What they need is to not feel pressured to open up when they aren't ready! We can't make them feel like they can't come to us!" Mammon scoffed from where he stood in the back. "Oh, cause that's perfect logic! News flash, oh wise one, They ain't gonna come to us if they're thinkin' they're a burden! But you wouldn't know anything about that would you?!" Lucifer's eyes widen and he took a step back in shock at the statement. "What is that supposed to mean?" Mammon and Satan both opened their mouths to put Lucifer in his place when Beel all of sudden cleared his throat loudly. All three of the angry demons turned to snap at him but froze as they saw you standing in the room behind them. They instantly straightened themselves up gave you their full attention. The air seemed to lay still between you as everyone waited for the other to make the first move. As with almost every situation, it was Mammon who broke the silence. He took a step towards you. "MC, I was just coming to get you actually. There's somethin' we all wanna talk to you about." They could hear your breath catch in your throat as you took a step back. Panic filled your eyes the moment the words left his mouth. "O-Oh. I, um, I was actually just going to grab an apple and then head off to RAD for class. M-Maybe we can talk afterwards?" Satan frowned as you walked past him towards the fruit bowl. "MC, it's the weekend." You stopped mid-step. An uncomfortable tension filled the room as the obvious excuse was exposed. The brothers waited for you to move, to speak, to do something to give them any sort of sign for what you wanted them to do, but you just stood there, still like a statue except for the tremors in your hand. "Come on, Darling," Asmodeus spoke softly. His face clearly showed the hurt and concern that was coursing through him. "Everything's alright, I promise. We just need to talk about a few things." The brothers had thought of a number of ways you could've reacted to them confronting you. Lucifer thought that perhaps you would snap at them and distance yourself further. Mammon, Levi, and Asmo expected a few small tears followed by a cuddle session. Satan imagined a slightly more dramatic telling, like something from one of his novels, that ended him being your hero and massacring all those who dared speak ill about you. Beel thought perhaps you could talk over a bunch of comfort foods that allowed you to remain calm and feel safe. Belphie had hoped that perhaps you hadn't believed what you overheard, and the two of you could laugh at how idiotic even the idea of them not loving you was. But you, breaking down into tears, sobbing the words "I'm sorry" over and over again? None of them had expected, nor were prepared, for that. ***Apparently this is now going to be a three-part series. This part was interesting to write. I fully believe that if the brothers were in a poly relationship with the MC they would definitely bicker and argue about
who knows MC best and who had the better date whenever MC isn't around. Honestly, they probably have a score chart 😅 I hope you guys liked part 2! Keep an eye out for part 3, where MC finally opens up to the boys and we have some hurt/comfort times \uwu/ ***
750 notes · View notes
kanmom51 · 2 years
Note
lmfao to the anon who asked for me back, I appreciate that you thought I was well spoken and logical (its me! apparently I get to call myself logical anon!)
You asked what else is in my head and honestly I think I let most of it out (I actually ranted more vaguely in another blog's anon's a few hours ago). It's mostly just this: none of this exists in a vacuum. I can dig up a million examples of BTS members reading and recognizing social media pertaining to themselves and their relationships. They know what happens here, they know what we freak out about, and they know what we trend (JM and JK both coming home the day of hickeygate? about as subtle as a brick to the face, y'all aren't slick boys). They know about fanfic tropes and fandom jokes and exactly what the western sphere at large says about them (for better or worse, mostly worse).
Jikook don't give a fuck. If they didn't want people to think they were together, they would have stopped SO long ago. Every single moment that we get happens in context of all the others and in the context of absolutely everyone involved knowing what the world at large is saying. Other 'ships' in the group have pulled back, and I'm not just talking about TK.
Guess who hasn't stopped. Yeah.
For almost all of the Big KM things (the GCFs, Rosebowl, JK's hand tattoo, "I was with JK at 4am", the 2019 cross-continent birthday flight, etc etc etc) They're powerful enough on their own, taken individually, but if you pull them out of context (like a lot of fans do) they're not nearly as impactful as they are when you consider the fact that each of those things builds on the previous things they've done and said into this pretty irrefutable picture and timeline that spans YEARS.
There is just no way that they are unaware. You'd have to believe they were genuinely stupid to think that they don't know what goes on and what these moments imply. You'd have to think that perfectionist, detail-oriented, romantic JK has this massive blind spot where he's just accidentally making all this incredibly sweet queer coded art about his one Bro (and that he conveniently forgot that one Bro's initials when he went to go get a very permanent very visible tattoo). You'd have to think that emotionally intelligent, incredibly private JM just somehow loves to share details about his One Bro and One Bro Only? Nobody's ever told me how long Hobi's showers are, JM you're holding out on me.
Which leads to two outcomes, its 'fanservice' or its just genuine interactions between two people (who are in love, jikook gay, boyfriends, married with nine children, sorry i had to get that out of my system). We all know how weak the "they're doing it for the money!!!" fanservice argument is.
And honestly? If I'm going to be here and supporting them, and adoring the work the band makes as a whole? I'm not going to believe that they would belittle me and people like me and use us as some kind of godawful marketing tactic to help straight girls get their rocks off. I couldn't stan people like that. (I also genuinely don't think that Outspoken Queer Allies Bangtan would stand to be in a group that continued to use homoeroticism as a marketing tactic, especially not now that they're all more mature and obviously have more power over what they're doing, but what do I know? Min Yoongi I'm counting on you here.)
Maybe that's naive, but if you look at the fanservice that they actually DID do? I'm talking Banket Kick stages, variety show stuff, maybe even arguably the full BS&T choreo? They haven't done anything like that in years (or I have a selective memory, feel free to sound off in the comments people. For what I hope are obvious reasons, I don't count the MMA 2020 Black Swan stage.)
There's another conversation to have here about fanservice, "queerbaiting", homoeroticism, homoromanticism, skinship and how some people obviously have no idea what it looks like to have friends. But this ask is already SO long lol.
Back to my original point, if I'm wrong, I would much rather have spent my time in this fandom believing in love and that the boys are intelligent, purposeful people who act of their own agency. Maybe that's just me. That's another thing I come back to. If I'm wrong, and I can ALWAYS be wrong, at least my worst sin is seeing love where it wasn't, both with OT7 as an incredibly close group of friends, and KM as a couple.
I don't think I'm wrong. Occam's razor, right? The simplest explanation? You don't need to believe in any conspiracies to believe in KM.
Logical anon said it all.
I'm closing up shop now.
Bye bye, it was great while it lasted, lol.
But seriously now, anon is spot on. Thank you for coming back and sharing your thoughts with us. One more level headed voice out there.
123 notes · View notes
Text
an icarus and his sun: chapter 6
A/N: seeing y'all freak out over the last chapter when i have the outline and i know that things get worse... it feels me with evil glee. also vyeoh drew some amazing art of the last chapter, show them some love!! <3
Warnings: crying, hugging, arguing, threats of violence, heartbreak
AO3 Link - Tumblr Masterpost
-
Jimmy still felt like he was in a daze when they made it back to his empire. Lizzie hadn’t let go of his hand once, and he was grateful for the grounding touch. She was still murmuring words of comfort and asking what happened, but Jimmy could only nod numbly. Every single thought and feeling he had of Scott felt tainted now. Was anything he had felt even real? Or did Jimmy just fall right for Scott’s plan (whatever it was) hook, line, and sinker. Just thinking about it made Jimmy feel nauseous.
Katherine and Joel landed beside Jimmy and Lizzie, and Katherine looking equally as distraught as Jimmy felt shook him out of his stupor slightly. Wordlessly he let go of Lizzie’s hand to pull Katherine into a hug. He held her tight as she hugged him back, crying into his shoulder.
“It’s gone. It’s all gone. There’s barely anything left of my castle,” she hiccuped. Jimmy didn’t know what to say as he held her, but gently rubbing her back seemed to help.
“Fwhip was plotting against the House Blossom Alliance the whole time, Sausage too. I think Gem, Pearl, and Scott were involved as well,” Joel explained. Jimmy just about shuddered at the mention of Scott, trying not to cry.
“Why would they do that?!” Lizzie gasped.
“Fwhip said something about how the alliance was too argumentative, and should be destroyed before anything worse could happen and bring down our empires,” Joel explained. Katherine let out another hiccupping sob at Joel’s words, and Jimmy murmured words of comfort to her. Then he looked up to the skies, and his heart froze. Three figures were flying towards them- one with elytra, one with bright yellow feathered wings, and one with white feathered wings tipped in gold. Joel noticed Gem, Pearl, and Scott in the air as well, and grit his teeth as he put a hand on the hilt of his sword. Lizzie rushed over and put a hand over Joel’s, shaking her head.
“Stay on guard, but let’s hear them out. We only know that Fwhip and Sausage were the masterminds behind this. But if they are here for trouble, we’ll make sure they regret it,” Lizzie said, tone going dark at the end of her statement. Joel hesitated for a moment or two, but dropped his hand from his sword with a frustrated sigh. He and Lizzie did, however, stand protectively in front of Jimmy and Katherine as Gem, Pearl, and Scott came to a landing in front of them. Jimmy let go of Katherine, but she didn’t go far, taking his hand and gripping it tightly.
“I know we’re not high on your list of people to see, but hear us out. We didn’t know that Fwhip was going to take such… drastic measures,” Pearl explained, hands up placatingly as her wings fluttered anxiously.
“But you did know Fwhip was up to something,” Joel countered.
“We knew he wasn’t super happy about the House Blossom Alliance, but we thought that he would just pull a harmless prank or pick a fight with Jimmy or something. Not destroy Katherine’s castle,” Gem continued, Pearl nodding along with her. Scott stayed suspiciously quiet, and Jimmy’s mouth settled into a firm line as he let go of Katherine’s hand.
“But Scott knew. Didn’t you,” he accused, glaring at Scott. His expression immediately turned guilty, and that was all the confirmation Jimmy needed.
“I wanted to tell you, really! But-”
“But you kissed me instead of telling me or ANYONE about Fwhip’s plan!” Jimmy shouted, stepping forward and gesturing angrily, that cold numb feeling from before now replaced with molten fury. Lizzie gasped, drawing her sword and fully intending to lunge at Scott, but Joel quickly scrambled over to hold her back.
“Joel, let go of me, I need to give Scott a piece of my mind for taking advantage of our sweet swamp boy’s heart!” Lizzie fumed, straining against Joel’s hold. Joel glared at Scott, but his grip on Lizzie didn’t let up.
“Scott, you better have an explanation for this, or I will let my wife loose on you,” Joel warned. Scott actually looked a little terrified, and part of Jimmy hated the fact that he was relieved at that.
“I should have warned people about the TNT, I know. I just- it was stupid of me to hope that Fwhip was going to change his mind. And I was going to tell Jimmy, but then I saw Fwhip in the distance, and he had his crossbow aimed at him. I- I figured that Fwhip wouldn’t take the shot if it meant hitting me too. So that’s why I kissed Jimmy, and by that point it was too late to warn anyone,” Scott explained, his expression pleading and apologetic. Joel and Lizzie seemed to accept his explanation, as Joel let go of Lizzie and she sheathed her sword- but they both still glared at him. And Jimmy wanted to believe him, wanted to say he forgave Scott and rush back into his arms again- but there was something else that bothered him.
“What did Fwhip mean, when he said something about ‘playing the part?’” Jimmy asked, absolutely terrified of the answer but needing to know the truth anyway. Scott swallowed nervously, expression overcome with guilt once more.
“Fwhip told me to keep an eye on you, make sure you wouldn’t be a problem. It wasn’t just Katherine goading me into being nice that kept me coming to your empire, at first. But that doesn’t mean that I don’t-”
“Leave,” Jimmy growled, having enough of Scott’s excuses. Scott flinched at Jimmy’s tone. Good, it was about time people stopped seeing him as the sweet swamp boy or the friendly Codfather. He was done being pushed around, done being used and tossed aside.
“Jimmy, please- believe me, I really do care-”
“I don’t wanna hear it! I’m sick of your lies and manipulation! I never want you to set foot in the Cod Empire again, if I ever even SEE you again I will make sure you regret it,” Jimmy shouted, the words fracturing his heart into a million pieces. But he couldn’t afford to trust Scott ever again.
“Jimmy…” Scott trailed off, any fight finally leaving him as his wings drooped. His gaze shifted between Jimmy’s angry glare, the tears on Katherine’s face, the glares from Lizzie and Joel, and the sympathetic and apologetic expressions on Gem and Pearl’s faces. He looked back at Jimmy one last time, eyes glassy- before taking off into the night sky. Jimmy couldn’t even watch him leave.
“We truly are sorry for everything that happened. We know it doesn’t make up for it… but we wish you the best, Codfather and allies,” Gem said softly, before taking off into the sky as well. Pearl gave them a weak smile before following Gem. Jimmy waited until he could no longer see either of them in the sky, and finally let himself cry, falling to his knees as ugly sobs wrenched their way out of his throat. Lizzie scrambled to his side, pulling him into a hug and letting Jimmy cry into her shoulder.
“It’s okay, let it out. I’ve got you,” she soothed.
“He tricked me. And like a fool I fell for it, I fell for him,” Jimmy said between sobs, desperately clutching at Lizzie. Joel came over to kneel at their side, pulling both of them into his arms and rubbing Jimmy’s back. Katherine joined the hug pile too, on the opposite side of Joel. Jimmy wasn’t sure how long the three of them all stayed there with him, but they all held him until he finally had no tears left to cry.
-
After Jimmy had finished crying, Lizzie gently prodded him into changing, insisting that he would feel better in his normal clothes. She was right, and a lot of the tension drained from his shoulders once his trusty cod head was back on his head. From there, Lizzie and Joel brought him and Katherine to Lizzie’s empire, saying that Katherine could stay in the embassy she built, and that neither of them wanted either one to be alone at the moment. Katherine and Jimmy didn’t argue, neither of them wanted to be alone either. So they ended up huddled together in Katherine’s embassy, a borrowed blanket from Lizzie over both of their shoulders. Lizzie stayed with them and made sure they were comfortable, while Joel flew to Pixandria to update Pixl on everything that had happened.
“This is all my fault,” Katherine said numbly, after a long silence. Jimmy and Lizzie looked at her in confusion.
“It’s really not, you didn’t blow up your own castle, after all,” Lizzie pointed out. Katherine smiled weakly, shaking her head.
“But none of this would have happened if I didn’t insist on making friends with everyone. Everyone would have been fine if I just stayed out of it and stopped trying to bring people together,” Katherine said, voice watery.
“Katherine, if you hadn’t tried to bring us all together, I’m sure much worse would have happened. Who knows how many empires would have been destroyed if it wasn’t for you,” Jimmy countered softly. Katherine let out a small sob, hand clasping over her mouth as she tried to collect herself.
“But if I hadn’t started those meetings, pushed you and Scott to be nice to each other- then you wouldn’t have to be feeling this way,” Katherine said, voice as fragile as glass when she dropped her hand from her mouth. Jimmy shifted to face her, gently gripping her shoulders and looking Katherine in the eyes.
“Katherine, listen to me. My- my heartbreak is not your fault. None of what is happening is your fault. If anyone’s to blame, it’s Fwhip. You hear me?” Jimmy asked, voice gentle but no less serious. Katherine’s eyes went wide.
“You’re heartbroken?” she asked in a shallow gasp. Jimmy gave her a sad smile, throat growing tight as he felt his eyes watering again- funny, he thought he had run out of tears.
“I learned what love was, only for it to get crushed barely a day or two after. So… yeah. I think I am. But that still doesn’t make it your fault,” Jimmy said, tone forlorn before it turned gentle and serious once more. Katherine let out a shaky sigh, nodding her head.
“Okay. Okay. I’m still sorry you’re feeling this way, though,” Katherine said softly. Jimmy just smiled, pulling Katherine into a hug.
“So what’s our next step? Plotting our revenge on Fwhip?” Lizzie asked, and Jimmy couldn’t help but chuckle at her casual ruthlessness.
“I think before we do anything revenge-related, we should help Katherine rebuild her castle,” Jimmy replied, frankly not wanting to think about getting revenge on Fwhip, because that would likely lead to getting revenge on Scott as well. And Jimmy definitely didn’t want to think about Scott at the moment.
“I don’t know if you’re the best person to help me build,” Katherine teased lightly. Jimmy gave her a weak smile in response.
“I think I’ll be able to manage if you’re guiding me,” he replied softly.
“I would definitely appreciate the help,” she said with a smile, and it was the first time Jimmy had seen her smile, truly smile since the ball.
“Then I’ll help, mediocre building skills or not,” Jimmy insisted, glad to have something to look forward to so he could think about anything other than Scott. He was done with him, no matter what his traitorous heart thought about his sunshine smile, his laugh of gold, or those icy blue eyes that contradicted them both. So much about Scott felt like a contradiction, now. He snarled and teased and jabbed, but there was a hidden fondness too, or at least it seemed like there was. Jimmy wasn’t sure if it was ever real to begin with. Then there was how he sided with Fwhip, even though Katherine was his true ally, a business partner too. Nothing made sense, and Jimmy wondered if he should have let Scott explain- no. Jimmy was never going to give Scott a chance to use that silver tongue on him again, paired with a smile that was only gold-plated. He wouldn’t be hurt again.
-
Taglists below! Ask to be added/removed!
MCYT General Fic Taglist: @corazon10000 @damiensaidno @franticfandomfanatic @gattonero17 @hetapeep41 @space-ace123 @vyeoh
AIAHS Taglist: @anty-kreatywna @devilwoodkitty18 @riobug
108 notes · View notes
sunflowerstache · 3 years
Text
Did You Order a Pizza?
Tumblr media
Halloween 2020 is filled with lots of surprises for the Styles family
A/N: Hi lovelies! I hope you had. great Halloween and you're feeling alright these days! This is a one shot following the family from my pic Another World, which you can find here! I hope you enjoy it and I cannot wait to hear all your thoughts!! I love y'all!
Word Count: 7.6k
~~~
“And you’re sure he’s back?”
“You heard him on the phone. He’ll be waiting for Jeff so you’ve got plenty of time while he waits for the man to not show up.” Glenne smiled at you from her spot in the driver’s seat. “Although, I think he’ll like who does show up instead.”
Harry had left for Los Angeles so that he could begin filming a new Olivia Wilde film, leaving you and Bella in London. And as much as you’d have loved to join him on such a monumental step in his career from the start, you were unable to travel with him. Not only were you unable because your daughter was still in school at the time, but because of the pandemic that was still going on throughout the world. It prevented for most of the year’s plans to take place, which absolutely crushed Harry. He was looking forward to Love on Tour and showing his fans how much fun this new era was for him, more than you’d seen from him in a long time, but he would always put the safety of his fans before entertainment, so it was an easy choice to postpone. However, no tour meant that he could gladly accept a leading role in a film alongside some of the most well known actors in the industry.
But it only took you a few days after his departure to find out you couldn’t be so far from him. As fate would have it, Bella’s class was turning into online learning once the half term break ended, which meant one of the most important reasons you were still in London had vanished. So, after spending two weeks quarantining and making sure you took all the necessary precautions, both you and Bella got tested and flew to the states with your negative results. From the start, you had told Jeff of your plan and he and Glenne gladly welcomed you into their home once you arrived, wanting to spend time with Bella for a few days after going so long not seeing the toddler. And finally, once you got the negative results of yet another test, you and your daughter were off to stay with Harry.
Jeff had spoken with your boyfriend over FaceTime earlier that morning, feeding Harry some story about needing to solidify some merch designs, and making sure that Harry would be patiently waiting for his manager after he finished filming for the day. But the plan was to have Glenn drive Jeff’s car so he suspected nothing seeing it pull up, and surprise him when it was you and Bella getting out the car instead of the oldest Azoff son.
“I can’t wait.” you groaned out through the grin taking over your face. You bounced in your seat slightly, pressing both hands to your cheeks just thinking about seeing his shocked face when he opened the door expecting Jeff, but seeing you and Bella instead.
“What?” The question was brought up after a soft chuckle was heard from Glenne’s side of the car as soon as you were halted at a stoplight.
“Nothing. It’s just cute how excited you are to see him after being apart for what, a month?”
“27 days.” you whispered, urging yourself to force down a smile. “But who’s counting?”
“You guys have been together nearly a decade, and you still get all flustered when you talk about him.”
The way you and Harry acted around one another was something that was always commented on by people in your inner circle, for that exact reason. Without a doubt, your relationship had gone through some of the toughest times, but that was bound to happen when you’ve been with someone since you were sixteen… and even more likely when every moment of your life was documented to the public. But those tough times never seemed to last, because at the end of the day, Harry was everything you ever wanted and vise versa. He was what you daydreamed about in a partner while growing up. And being with him was like being with the sun. He made you feel loved and cared for, you had more fun with him than anyone else on the planet, and every single day with him felt like a new adventure. As a kid, you’d thought the way people described the love of their life was corny, nothing but a thing of fairy tales, yet that feeling that bloomed inside your chest and tummy every time you thought about Harry told you that it was very real.
“Dunno.” you shrugged, “He’s my person. Even seven and half years later, he still makes me feel like he did on our first date.”
“That what’s got you looking extra glowy or is that just another secret to staying in the honeymoon phase forever?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” you replied quickly, finding it hard to keep the giddy feeling that was now bubbling in your lower stomach under control when you turned your head to meet her gaze. She was squinting at you with suspicious eyes, her lips pursed as she bit the inside of her cheek, which forced a laugh to fall from you. “What? I don’t! Just miss him, that’s all. Isn’t that right baby? We just missed daddy loads, huh?” making sure to quickly take the attention away from yourself, you turned as much as you could in your seat to look at Bella in the back.
“Yes! I miss daddy so much!” her little legs kicked against the carseat and her arms lifted high above her head, a huge smile plastered on her face. “I have so many drawings and stickers to show him and Mr. Jeff got new socks!”
“I know, we got them all tucked away nice and safe so you can show him. Do you remember what the plan is when we get there?” you asked her, your breath getting caught in your throat for a moment when the sun shined just right through the rear window. It was a perfect day in LA, sunny and warm and just as the car pulled onto the street you knew was where Harry was staying, the sunlight danced across Bella’s perfect complexion. She was a spitting image of her father, down to the freckles dotting her face, the deep set dimples that never seemed to disappear, and the curls constantly falling in front of her face no matter how hard you tried to keep them tamed. Every now and again you caught a glimpse, sometimes through the kitchen window while she was playing in the backyard and other times while her eyelashes fluttered against her cheeks as she slept on your chest, of just how breathtaking Bella is. What angelic beauty the love between you and Harry had managed to create.
“Yeah mumma!” she smiled, giving you two thumbs up, very clearly excited about getting to see her dad again. “You ‘member my costume, right mumma?”
“Of course I did. Put it in the bag right next to mine.”
“Good. ‘Cause ‘m really ‘cited about it.”
“I know baby. It’s a good one, isn’t it?” you knew Harry would get a kick out of what Bella decided to be for Halloween. She had come to you months ago, actually sat you down in the kitchen and explained what she wanted to do like she was in a little business meeting. And of course as soon as she told you, you had to laugh because it was perfect.
“Yeah.”
Her whisper was the last thing said within the confines of the car before the three of you pulled up in front of a beautiful white house nestled deep in the Hollywood Hills. It was much smaller than the house the pair of you had just sold just blocks away, but everything about it was so much homier. A brick walkway sandwiched between a line of shrubbery and a white stone wall led up to the house, which itself was an odd shape. The very front of the house came up to an asymmetrical point instead of a typical flat roof, and the rest of the house was pushed back slightly, so that none of the face was level, and the house almost seemed cut in half horizontally from the distinct line between white stone bottom and black paneling on the upper level of the home. Finally, a brick downhill driveway, made of the same brick as the walkway, led to an all black garage that sat just below the rest of the home. The small details is what made the building give off such a cozy vibe; a vibrant green front door, plant boxes hanging off a few of the upper windows, a black wooden archway and lanterns surrounding the front door, a few potted plants on the side of the walkway, and the faint golden hues peaking through the closed blinds.
“Cute, huh?” Glenne laughed, putting the car in park and turning fully in her seat to look at you.
“Yeah, it actually really is. Reminds me a bit of our old place.”
“Place in London, right? That’s what I told Jeff.” she said at the same time, looking behind her at Bella while you got out of the car. “You ready to go, tulip?”
“Yes please!”
Her hands were already fumbling with the seat belt by the time you opened her door, the excitement itching at her in preparation for what was to come, but she graciously waited for you to sort her out.
“Thank you mumma.” she muttered casually once you had her unbuckled and lifted into your arms.
“You’re welcome, baby.” the way Bella was the most polite little girl you had ever known never failed to make your heart soar. You and Harry were so proud of the person she was becoming, whether she was that way because she saw how everyone in her life acted or because she was born with the kindest little soul, it didn’t matter. She always made sure the people around her were happy and having fun, constantly reminding people how much she loves them, and trying her hardest to make everyone laugh. It was yet another way she reminded you of Harry; they both could instantly light up a room without even trying. “Just gotta ring the bell, right? Say your line?”
“You got it, mumma!” she smiled brightly, leaning in to give you a quick kiss.
Nearly the instant you put her down, she darted up the brick steps, taking a full pause at each step to be her funny self and jump, with both feet together, up to the next one. As she made her way towards the front door, you took your place leaning against the passenger door of Glenne’s car, nearly doubling over in laughter watching Bella look hysterical lifting up on her very tiptoes in order to reach the unusually high doorbell.
Your breath caught in your throat as you waited for Harry to open the front door. For a minute, you were sure that he had ignored Jeff’s instructions to stay home, but to your relief, the green door finally opened, revealing a very comfortable looking Harry. He was very obviously post shower, his hair visibly wet and sparkling when the porch lights lit up his form, clad in a pair of black basketball shorts and one of his grey Treat People With Kindness hoodies, and nothing else but a tall pair of Nike socks. It was like a scene from a movie, because when he didn’t immediately see Jeff in front of him, Harry looked over towards the driveway quickly like he was being pranked. But within a second, his attention was brought down to Bella, who tugged on the hem of his shorts, her sweet voice barely audible from the distance.
“Did you get a pizza?”
It was comical to watch him just stare at her like she had three heads. You couldn’t blame him, last he knew, both you and Bella were five thousand miles away, so it made sense that his brain was not comprehending the scene in front of him.
“He’s so confused.” Glenne giggled behind you, but her voice seemed like it was muted with how fully your focus was on your boyfriend.
“Hmm.”
Not even a second after your hum of agreement, and as if it was in slow motion, you watched as realization glossed over his features, his green eyes widening and mouth hanging open, and he sank to his knees. It didn’t take him even a second to pull Bella into his chest, winding his arms completely around her tiny frame and cradling her head in his surprisingly ring free hands.
Seeing the two of them together was like looking at two halves of the same soul reconnect. The moment they were in one another’s arms, it was like everything got brighter. Their smiles widened, chuckles more audible - even from such a far distance, and the warmth that typically lived in your chest recently, burned even warmer. You always knew Harry was meant to be a dad, just from how much he talked about it. You knew that he would do his very best to go above and beyond for his child, to make sure they felt loved and secure and treasured. But hearing about it and seeing it are completely different. Seeing nothing but total adoration on his face whenever he looked at your daughter made you fall in love with him all over again.
“Mumma!” Bella’s shouted, snapping you out of the daze you had slipped into while watching the moment before you. Both Harry and Bella were now looking at you from the doorway, her head resting on her father’s shoulder as he held her in one arm, their faces totally engulfed with smiles. “C’mere Mumma!”
“Yeah mumma.” Harry finally spoke up, his voice carrying down the pathway right to where you were standing.”C’mere.” Just seeing him standing there, smiling so brightly and holding his free arm out telling you he was waiting for a hug, was enough to make you break out in a smile and push off the car, dashing up the steps.
His chest was firm when you crashed into it, much firmer than when you hugged him goodbye in the airport a few weeks ago, and you felt as if you head placement on his chest was different - like he’d grown since you last saw him. Or maybe he hadn’t changed at all but your mind was finally coming out of a month long fog that it slipped in without him, getting readjusted to being in his arms.
“Hi sweetheart.” he whispered in your ear, peppering kisses all along your hairline and temple like he physically couldn’t leave an inch of the side of your face untouched.  
“Hi baby.”
“What’re you doing here?” he asked, pure wonder in his tone as he nudged the side of your face with his chin, making you lift your head from his chest and look at him. “I just talked to you this morning, said you were going to see your parents before everything got locked down again.”
“Yeah, well. I lied.” you smiled, leaning in to press kiss after kiss to his lips, trying your best to control the insane happiness rushing through your veins. Your response seemed to be enough for him, because he didn’t ask another question wondering why you were in LA. Which was good for you because your plan wasn’t to explain everything on the front porch.
The three of you stayed frozen in that same position, Harry’s arm so tight around you that your face was completely buried in his hoodie, and the other arm holding Bella, forming a makeshift group hug, not bothering to worry about anyone seeing you or anything going on past the wooden archway. Because nothing else mattered. Not when you were with the two people who made your world spin.
“Daddy.” Bella’s timid voice finally broke you apart, both you and Harry leaning back a bit so that you could put your full attention on the little girl in his arms.
“Yes lovie?”
“I lied too.”
“What did you lie about?”
She lifted her head from his shoulder in order to look at him with a very concerned expression, like she felt deeply sorry for whatever she was about to say to him. “I don’t have a pizza. ‘M sorry. Mumma told me it was funny.”
“Oh did she now?” Harry mocked in offence, looking back at you and raising his eyebrows.
“Mhm. But it wasn’t, ‘cause we don’t have any.”
“That’s right. But sometimes it’s okay to say something silly like that and not feel bad as long as it’s not something to hurt anyone, right? And daddy isn’t mad. How about you mumma?” Harry looked to you, trying not to smile at how adorable Bella was about the little fib. You shook your head.
“Not at all.”
“And what about you, B.B? Are you sad you told daddy there was pizza?”
She contemplated it for a bit, scrunching her nose up - again, just like her father - and looking around like the answer would be hanging in the air somewhere. “Yeah.” she said matter of factly. “But ‘cause I want pizza. And we don’t have any.”
Both you and Harry couldn’t help the laughs that fell from your lips, wasting no time before leaning forward to press a kiss to Bella’s forehead. “How about we get some then?” he asked against her skin, glancing at you when saying his next bit. “We’ll get your bags from the car and order one?”
“Oh god!” you yelled, turning around to face the car from which you’d just ran from. “Completely forgot Glenne was sitting in there! She’s probably been texting Jeff about how annoying we are.”
“Annoyingly adorable, yeah.”
“Think she’d fight you on that one. Nearly made her sick on the drive here with how excited I was to see you.” your laugh was muffled as Harry wrapped his arm back around your neck, dragging you in a headlock down the first step towards the car. Bella, knowing that it was time to bring in the bags, wiggled out of Harry’s grasp and sprinted down the steps ahead of you, right into the arms of a now out and about Glenne.
“Everything’s alright?” Harry’s voice was laced with concern now that your little one was out of ear shot. You both tried your hardest to never have any sort of talk about negative things around her, whether that be an argument or things going on in life, because she should never have to be put through the stress of that. Most of the time you just waited until she was asleep to talk about those things, but sometimes it meant going into different rooms and closing the doors.
“Hmm?”
“Everything’s alright, right? You didn’t come all the way out here because something’s wrong, did you?” quickly forgotten was your position in a headlock, and instead, Harry kept his arm around your neck, your body fitting perfectly tucked into his side. You walked step by step to meet your friend and daughter, who already started pulling suitcases out of the boot.
You took a peek up to him, noticing he was already glancing down at you, his eyes roaming all over your face to look for any sign of distress that he may have missed when he first saw you. But you had none to offer him. “Yeah baby, everything’s okay. Just needed to be with you.”
“Swear? You’d tell me if there was something?”
“Of course I would. Always.”
“Alright, professor. But if I find out you were hiding something, I’ll have to write a diss track.”
“Oh will you now?”
“Mhm. Thems the rules.”
Glenne spent a bit of time with the three of you before heading off, telling you to enjoy your time together and even throwing in a little joke about maybe even making a new baby since she missed how little Bella used to be. The comment made your ears warm and a weird feeling flutter through your stomach, but she gave you no time to respond before she shuffled out the door.
Since arriving at Harry’s, Bella practically refused to leave his arms, wanting to be as close to him as possible until she really realized that no one was going anywhere for quite a bit. And her thoughts must have quieted enough because not even twenty minutes after Glenne walked out the front door, Bella was running through the house towards one of the extra rooms she’d be sleeping in.
“Mumma! Come help me! We gotta show daddy!” her already soft voice was even soft as she yelled from the second floor, her request forcing you to get up from the sofa.
“What are we showing me?”
“She’s really proud of her Halloween costume this year. Spent weeks planning it out, you know?”
“I know. She wouldn’t budge anytime I asked her. Very secretive that one.”
“Hmm, wonder where she gets that from?” you sang while walking up the stairs, letting out a snort when you saw him lift a middle finger to you from his position still on the sofa, not even bothering to turn around to look at you as you continued towards your daughter.
“Alright baby, I’m here! Where do you want me?” you clapped, entering Bella’s room in a way that mimicked that of Harry Lambert, something that you knew she’d recognize right away from the amount of times she’s seen her parents being helped by the stylist.
“Over here, mumma. Gotta help me button!” she had already rid herself of the clothes she’d been wearing on the drive to Harry’s, the green long sleeve shirt and jeans laid in a crumpled mess at the foot of the bed while she stood in just her knickers, searching through the small suitcase on her bed for all the pieces to her costume.
You took a seat on the floor next to where she was standing, watching her every move as she finally found everything she was looking for. Her tongue stuck out while she took the fabric between her fingers and gently held it in her hands - taking a moment to look at it in awe - before turning and holding it out to you, expectantly.
“Gotta be careful with it, mumma.”
“Oh I know. They’re really delicate, aren’t they?”
“Mhm. Reedy told me to be gentle with ‘em ‘cause they were made with extra love so they’re extra soft.”
“Oh that’s perfect! They’ll be on for quite a while so it’s good that it’s all comfortable.”
“Yep.”
You look notice of how long her hair had grown while zipping up the back of her shirt, the curls continuously falling against your fingers despite being held over her shoulder by Bella. You knew well enough even before she was born that she was going to have gorgeous hair, all it took was one look at the locks cascading from her father to tell you that, but it seemed to grow even more mesmerizing by the day. It fell loose past her shoulders every day, always managing to fall in front of her eyes while she was sprawled out on the floor playing. Even though you did enjoy how cute she looked pushing the crazy curls out of her face while her little tongue stuck out, you knew it was time for a trim soon.
“Are you wanting a haircut soon?” you asked while zipping her pants as well.
“Hmm, I don’t think so. I like it long.”
“How about we see if we can get rid of some of these dry bits at least?”
Bella thought about it for a bit, picking at her nails while mulling over the idea of going back to the salon. “Yeah, I think that’s fine.”
“Alright, we’ll see about making an appointment when we get back home. Gives you some time to think it over.”
“Okay! Y’almost done mumma? ‘M excited.” she bounced in place, trying her best not to move so that you could finish getting her ready as fast as possible.
“All set!” you checked, reaching up to grab her hair out of her grasp and let it fall down her back. “Just put the jacket on and you’re all set to show daddy.”
“He’s gonna be so happy I know it!” she squealed, carefully picking up and putting on the final part to her costume and turning to look in the floor length mirror. Bella didn’t say anything for a minute, taking the time to examine herself in the mirror. She smoothed the fabric covering her torso, lifted her feet in order to see the little pair of boots, and had one of the largest smiles you’d ever seen on her. “I look so good!”
“You do, lovie! Award winning I’d say.”
“Thank you for helping! Lets go!!” she yelled, darting towards the door and only stopping at the top of the stairs when you called for her, reminding her to be careful by the steps. The two of you quickly discussed your plan before departing ways, leaving Bella a bouncing mess just above you as you walked down to the light switch at the bottom of the steps.
Flicking all the lights off, you cleared your throat and waited for Harry, who had gotten up off the sofa upon hearing your descending footsteps and was now leaning against the back of the furniture, his bum resting just on top of the back, to give you his full attention. Although the lights were off, it was still early enough in the evening that light showed through the windows, allowing you to see his face and make sure Bella got down the stairs safely.
“You all know him as 2013’s Teen Choice Male Hottie -”
“Also 2016.” Harry cut in, trying and failing to stifle his chuckle
“Also 2016’s” you added, “and lead roles in Award Winning pictures such as This Is Us and iCarly.” at this point, it was obvious what was happening and you could tell Harry was fully on board with what was about to walk down the stairs. But he was also so excited. He no longer was leaning against the sofa, but now standing upright and his hands were pressed together in a praying position in front of his mouth. “Introducing, the incredibly talented, musically gifted, style icon of the decade, Mr. Harry Edward Styles!”
The second you saw that Bella made it safely to the ground next to you, you flicked on the dim lights that just illuminated the staircase, showering your daughter in the closest thing you could get to a spotlight. She was standing in Harry’s signature position; bent forward slightly with one hand held in a peace sign while the other dangled loosely by her side and mouth open wide. Harris Reed had taken the time to make Bella a nearly exact replica of the white and black floral suit Harry had worn to the 2015 AMA’s - the suit that really started it all when it came to Styles’ fashion. Her curls were hanging past her shoulders just like Harry’s were at the time, and for good measure, she even lifted her hand to push some out of her face exactly like he used to.
She was a spitting image of Harry. And he loved it.
“Oh my god! You’re kidding! You look fantastic! Gonna put me out of a job! I won’t even need to go on stage anymore. This is amazing!” he screeched, rushing forwards and couching down in front of his daughter. He took in every last detail of the outfit; how the under shirt had buttons but did not open from the front (something Harris thought would be easier for Bella to get in and out of), how the floral detail was exactly the same as the one he had hanging in his closet back home (Reed had asked Alessandro for the fabric), and how even the shoes were a near replica.
“Mhm. I can sing next time. I’ll go up and sing to your friends and you can sit and watch and talk to Mitchy.” she nodded, taking a step back and belting out ‘You’re so Golden!’ “See? Like that!”
Harry beamed. “Absolutely! Give me a nice break every now and again, very thoughtful. We’ll just have to change your bedtime and it’s all set!”
“You like it, daddy?” she asked, her eyes wide as she moved right in front of Harry, her hands grasping the hood of his hoodie and she looked directly into his eyes.
“I love it - and you - more than there are stars in the sky!” Harry responded without hesitation, grabbing her and lifting her into his arms, swinging Bella around quickly enough to let a few giggles. “Thank you very much, beautiful, it makes me very happy.”
“Can’t believe you wanted to be your smelly old dad.” he joked when she pushed against his chest to look at him, “See me everyday, why’d you wanna dress up like me too?
“‘Cause you dress the best, daddy!”
“Ohhhh hear that, love?” he turned to look directly at you, Bella now hiding her face in her hands in embarrassment on saying her dad dressed better than her mum. “I’m the best dressed.” Harry stuck his tongue out at you.
The reaction from Harry was everything Bella was expecting and more. So much so that she could no longer fight the exhaustion of the hectic day any longer. She barely made it five minutes in Harry’s arms before finally passing out. In the coming December, she’d be turning five and you were trying to start and wean her off of taking long naps, but after such an energetic day you welcomed the time for her to rest. She put up a fight getting out of Harry’s arms, the arm she had shoved into Harry’s hood in order to thread her fingers through the short hair at the nape of his neck, tightened each time he tried to pull her away to lay her in bed. Like even in her unconscious state she wanted to know that seeing Harry again wasn’t a figment of her imagination.
It was heavenly to be back with Harry. Even though you had only been apart for such a short amount of time, there was so much to catch up on, and you would never get tired of hearing about everything going on in his life.
“And they used this stuff called Dermacol, and I swear, she swiped over it once and the anchor was gone. Bloody insane seeing it all bare. Hasn’t been that year in years.” Harry laughed, finishing his story of how his first few days on set had gone, the two of you laying in his bed while you waited for the pizza you ordered while he put Bella down for a nap.
“Don’t wash it off tomorrow. I want to see.” you tilted your head back so that it was resting on Harry’s shoulder, in order to look at him. He was sitting behind you, his back pressed against the headboard while you were nestled between his legs, enjoying the feeling of being so close to him again. “Forget what you look like without any ink.”
“Like them though, right?”
“Of course I do. Think they’re very hot.”
He didn’t say anything for a bit, just let his fingers dance up and down your arms, clearly lost in thought. “I wish you could come to set. See everything and everyone.” he finally spoke.
“I know. I just don’t want to chance anything you know? We just traveled and I know we got tested, but I don’t want to unknowingly bring anything to anyone. Maybe soon, once we’ve been here for a bit. But for now, I’d rather just hear all your stories and FaceTime than anything happen to anyone.”
“What time is your call time tomorrow?” you added when he only hummed in response.
“6:45. Car will probably come by around 6 and I should be back near 2. Have a bit of a short day tomorrow.”
“No rush.”
“Yes rush. I wanna be with you both. Missed you loads, ya know? Only gone for a few weeks but I was going mad. Don’t think we should separate for a while.” his voice was soft as his neck strained forward in order to press loving kisses to the soft skin where your neck met your shoulder.
Since the moment you met Harry a decade ago, it was obvious he always knew what to say. He had a knack for spewing out the words you most needed to hear exactly when you needed to hear them. Whether it was comforting your stage fright, in an argument about tv or film characters, helping you pick out outfits, discussing your relationship, or talking about the future, you both seemed to be on the same wavelength. It made life with him so much easier, because you knew that he understood you. You knew that no matter what happened, he would support you and love you. And that’s all you needed.
So you decided finally, after the pit of anxiety in your stomach grew and grew all day, that it was finally time.
“Pretty good you feel that way. ‘Cause I wasn’t exactly sure how to tell you that you’re kind of stuck with me. At least for another fourteen years.”
“Hmm. Want more than that.”
Taking a deep breath, hands shaking and mind running a mile a minute, you asked; “How about another eighteen after that?”
But your nerves were all for nothing because the comment flew right over Harry’s head. Completely missed the point of why you used that specific amount of time and was more focused on giving your middle a tight squeeze - his arms moving from their place at your side to around your stomach.
“Mhm. Even longer than that.”
The words brought an image to mind, one you found yourself thinking about a lot the last couple weeks. One of you and Harry sitting in the living room in your home, talking to your grown children while your grandchildren ran around you happily, doing their best to animatedly explain ways of the world you just couldn’t comprehend. And the pure glee you felt being surrounded by such a beautiful family, one that you created with Harry. But you knew it wasn’t just some fantasy you would dream about. It was something that you would one day get to experience, and that excitement pushed you over the edge.
“You’re stuck with me forever, baby.” you hummed, sinking further into his hold. “But for five seconds, I need you to leave me so you can grab me a Tums.” the anxiety nerves reared their head yet again, knowing there was no missing the punchline this time.
Concern instantly flooded his voice, taking you by the shoulders and moving you away from his chest and to the right so he could look at your face. “Why? You feeling alright? What’s wrong?”
You couldn’t help but simple sweetly at his concern, lifting a hand to rest it on his smoothly clean shaven cheek. “Yeah. You know how I get after flying. Do you mind just grabbing the Tums from my bag?” you asked again, hoping he couldn’t hear or feel the uptick in your breathing.
“You mean one of the nine hundred bags you brought?” Harry joked but still carefully slid out from behind you in order to get whatever you needed.
“Hey, we’re gonna be here a while. I need options.” Because of Covid, the UK was heading into yet another lockdown at the start of November, lasting until the first week of December so for now, so for now, you knew you and Bella would be spending at least a month with Harry in Los Angeles.
“Can take any of my clothes.” he grinned, turning around to face the bed again and bent down to kiss the tip of your nose. “Y’know I love when you wear my clothes.”
“Oi! Say that again but let me record it! If that’s the case, I never want to hear you complain about missing clothes ever again!”
“I said I like you wearing them, not keeping them hidden away for me to find three years later.” he laughed at the memory of his favorite blue hawaiian shirt going missing after getting back from Jamaica, only for it to be found in the back of your closet when moving a few months ago. His voice got quieter the farther he walked from the bed, the confines of the walk in closet filled with his clothes muffling the words towards the end of his sentence.
“Alright, but remember how excited you were to find it after so long? Like Christmas in the summer!”
“‘S’that what’s gonna start happening? You just stealing things I haven’t looked at in years and regifting them?”
“Lord knows you don’t need any more things laying around. Probably wouldn’t even notice anything being gone.” it was true. Over the years, Harry had gathered a very large collection of… things. Everything from clothes to lockets to key cards from hotels, and being in the career he is, he can afford to have it all. But even you had to say he had more than he knew what to do with most of the time, to which he always had some sort of rebuttal for.
But this time, it never came.
This time, you were met with silence from inside the closet, and you had no control over the way your hands began shaking. There were so many different kinds of silence; one of anger, of shock, nervousness, confusion, but any of those were a rarity when it came to Harry. He was someone who always had something to say, despite the emotions running through him. Silence was never really his thing, hell he even said so in a song, so the ideas of what could be running through his head started to eat you alive.
After waiting a few minutes and still receiving no sound of life from the smaller room, you began to get worried. Obviously nothing had happened to him while you were sitting feet away, but what was happening in there? Did he have a heart attack as soon as saw what you had laid out on top of your suitcase when he was ordering food? Did he fall and hit his head? Was he trying to find a good way to break up with you? No, he wouldn’t do that, you knew he wouldn’t do that. But before you could fully get off of the bed to check on him, he slowly sauntered out of the room, staring down at the piece of black fabric gripped tightly in his hands, and you halted in your spot - sitting up right on the side of his bed with your feet dangling off the side.
“Wha - what is this?” his whisper was so unbelievably low, you were surprised you could make out any of the words.
“What do you think it is?” you replied, your voice equally as loud so not to spook him while he was in such a clear state of shock.
“I - I don’t know.”
He still had taken his eyes off of the material in his hands, looking at it like it held every secret unknown to man somewhere within its seams.
“I think you do know.”
Finally, Harry lifted his head in order to look at you. And you felt your eyes water as soon as he did. The rims of his eyes and nose were a deep red, the kind of red you get when trying desperately to hold in sobs. His eyes were a brighter shade of green as more and more tears obstructed his vision, and now that you looked at him properly, his entire body seemed to be shaking.
“If this is a joke, it’s really fucking mean.” he choked out, putting all of his effort into holding back his cries. “Please don’t joke about this.”
As hard as he was trying not to let his tears flow, you were beyond the point of no return. Your cheeks were stained with tears, old dried ones leaving tracks for the new ones to flow freely down, and the lump in your throat prevented you from speaking as loud and confidently as you would have liked.
“It’s not a joke, Harry.” you shook your head, wiping your cheeks with the backs of your hands.
“No?”
“No.”
Harry went back to not saying anything, glancing between you and the black in his hand, not knowing which held more important information. You could see the inner struggle he was having trying to comprehend what was happening, and you wanted to get up and yell it to him. But he needed to go through whatever emotions he needed to, at his own pace.
So you waited for him to do just that.
“So you - you’re pregnant?” he finally sighed, the question making the corners of his lips lift ever so slightly that you would have missed it if you weren’t watching every inch of his face like a hawk. Holding back his tears was long gone as they now flowed down his cleanly shaven cheeks.
“I’m pregnant.” you smiled, the words coming out in one whoosh of air.
So fast that you didn’t understand how he did it, the black shirt - that at first glance was a replica of the logo for the film The Godfather, but when taking a double take, could be found to read The Twinfather instead - was laying in a pile on the floor in front of the closet door and Harry was laying on top of you. Now on your back with Harry hovering above you, both of his forearms on either side of your head, you could fully see the overwhelming joy swimming in his eyes. The last time you had seen this exact look was the day Bella was born. Like within his mind, he was watching the entire world unfold with endless possibilities and unfathomable love.
Harry didn’t let you say anything before he was pressing kisses to your lips, both of your tears making the experience feel a bit slippery as they blended together on your skin. But nothing could make the moment anything less than perfect. Harry’s warmth covered you like a blanket, completely consuming you within the personal bubble that had formed around you on the bed. His lips moved against your with determination, but also care and gratitude, the vaguely strawberry flavored lip balm he was wearing smeared against your own lips, letting the memory of this moment linger for hours to come.
“You’re really pregnant?” Harry asked, his excitement taking over once he pulled back from the kiss.
“Yeah baby,’m pregnant.”
“And is it? It’s - it’s twins? Are you sure? How do you know?” although you knew he would always be there with and for you during all of this, it was reassuring to see him be so ecstatic about the new addition to your family.
“When B and I went to get our Covid tests, the lady asked me if there was a chance I could be pregnant, and - and I couldn’t give her a confident no. So I called Dr. Kelter to see if I could get an appointment before we left and she took me the same day.” your smile grew as you watched him hold on to your every word, wanting to know every single detail you had to give him.
“And she told you it was twins?”
“Yeah. Said she could see them both right away since they can see twins so early. Said ‘m about eleven weeks.” the tears returned to your eyes when you thought about being pregnant again, how much your life was going to change and the excitement that was about to be brought into your lives.
Obviously Harry was feeling the same before he let out another sob, this time his upper half falling onto your chest and burying his face in your neck, his lower body seeming to unconsciously stay away from crushing your belly.
“I love you so fucking much.” he whispered, and you could feel the ever so gentle peck of his lips against your skin. “So fucking much.”
“I love you, Harry.” you whispered back.
“Who knows?” he asked, undoubtedly thinking back to when you were pregnant with Bella and everyone in your lives seemed to know before he did. Something you regretted, but was necessary at the time.
“No one. Just you and me. Want to do everything with you this time.” not wanting to ruin the moment, but also wanting to be realistic for a moment in your clouded minds, you took a second to figure out how to say the concerns that were rushing through your mind at a mile a minute. “I know things are crazy right now and the world is scary and we’re both so busy, but we said if it happened, it happened.”
Harry was pushed up on his forearm in an instant, his other hand cupping your cheek in order to drag your attention to him. He was positively glowing. How only a second ago he was standing pale faced in the closet doorway was beyond you, because now, it was like the sun shined behind his irises.
“I have never been happier in my entire life. We’ll figure it all out together. Like we always do.”
716 notes · View notes
tinyboxxtink · 3 years
Text
“Helpless” *FINALE*
Mwahahaha I got around the un-even numbering. Well, this is it! I hope you’ve enjoyed this series as much as I enjoyed writing it. I really need to make a Master List of all my “works”, but if you wanna check out my other stuff just type “Rafael Barba Imagine” into the search bar of my page. 
As always, big thanks to my lovies:
@wanniiieeee
@dumauier
@word-scribbless
@chasingeverybreakingwave
The COMPLETE Collection:
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4
Part 5
Part 6
Part 7
Part 8
Part 9
Part 10
And without further ado, the CONCLUSION!!!!
After your shower and you were in some clean pink scrubs, you decided it would probably be best to go look for the squad. Apparently you were still “a suspect”, so you didn’t want to make it look like you were trying to flee or something. 
You found your way back to the waiting room, but only Fin and Carisi were still there.
“...Where’d Benson and Rollins go?” You asked, glancing around the area.
“Well it’s like 4 am, they both have kids, I’d told them we’d update them if anything happened with Barba,” Carisi told you.
“Which you can now do,” Fin added, grabbing his jacket off a chair.
“...I’m sorry, what?” you asked. “Aren’t you supposed to be ‘watching’ me or something?” 
“They combed your street and found the gun, the idiots tossed it as they were driving. And as far as your whole ‘hustling’ business, if Barba vouches for you, I’m not gonna bother with a shitload of paperwork just because you got some money out of some old white dudes,” Fin chuckled.
“So you’re off the hook, and I’d really like to sleep in my own bed,” Carisi patted your back as he walked out with Fin. 
“I--Are you sure? Olivia isn’t gonna--” 
“Olivia’s gonna be a lot of things, but none of it matters legally speaking. So y'all need to work that out on your own,” Fin held up his hands like he was washing his hands of the drama.
“Right. Well I’m sure the doctor will call her,” You really didn’t want to have to talk to her anymore than you needed to. 
“Right. Night, Y/N” Carisi waved as they continued to walk down the hallway and out the front doors.
Okay, so now you were alone. On your own. In a hospital. Great.
Suddenly, you remembered the magical sticker. You pulled it out of the scrubs pocket and stuck it to your shoulder. Then you turned to the big doors that read 
“ICU: Approved Personnel ONLY”
Well, you were in scrubs.You took a deep breath and made a sign of the cross before you walked confidently through the doors. Hopefully people would just assume you were a nurse. 
You were met on the other side with a bustle of doctors and nurses running around, patients being pushed through the hallways; lots of machines were beeping, and you could hear a CODE BLUE down the hall. 
“Please don’t be Rafael Please don’t be Rafael…” you closed your eyes and whispered, but were quickly interrupted.
“Excuse me sweetie, are you lost?” An older male doctor tapped your shoulder.
“Oh um-- yeah YES. I am,” you lied. This is what you did best, just roll with it. 
“It’s my first day, and I got separated from my group. We were doing rounds, and I believe our next room was the ADA?” 
“The ADA…?” The doctor started typing in his tablet, as if someone would add “The ADA of New York” in his patient notes.
“I think his name is Ralph something,” you lied; a nurse wouldn’t be all on the up and up of law people, would they?
“Ah. Rafael Barba. Oh you’re right, it says VIP PATIENT here. He must be something special,” 
“He really is,” You sighed, causing the doctor to look at you funny. 
“I mean, so I’ve heard,” 
“Well it says here DO NOT DISTURB, so I don’t believe you were doing rounds in his room…” The doctor raised an eyebrow as he tilted the tablet towards you. You saw “ROOM 304” next to Rafael’s name.
“Oh, you know what you’re right! I think they said we were NOT rounding on him, y’know cuz he’s the ADA,” You gent;y rubbed your shoulder against his. “I must’ve gotten mixed up because of your beautiful blue eyes,” you batted your lashes, to which the elderly doctor happily ate up.
“Oh well, no harm no foul,” He smiled.
“Ok well I’m sure I can find them, thank you doctor!” you gave him the cheesiest smile and a wink, walking away quickly. You made it into an elevator right before it closed. Luckily, the only other person in it was “Another” nurse, who looked like she might pass out right there in the elevator; she paid you no mind. 
You hit FLOOR 3 and rode up to the floor, practically jumping out of the elevator. You turned to see signs that pointed 300-320 left and 320-340 right. You went left, searching the numbers until you saw 304. You looked around to make sure no one had noticed you definitely did not belong there, and when the coast was clear you opened the door slowly and snuck in the room.
“Excuse me, can I help you?” 
Fuck, you were caught. You were running multiple scenarios of lies in your head as you turned around, but to your relief it was the nurse who had given you the sticker.
“Ah, I see it worked,” she gestured to the sticker on your uniform.
“It did, thank you so much,” You thanked her softly, your eyes moving towards Rafael’s still unconscious body. You immediately grabbed a chair and pulled it up next to him, stroking his hair. 
“Hey...baby I’m here,” You whispered, wondering whether he could hear you or not.
“It says here he coded three times in surgery, but he came back,” The nurse read his chart off her tablet.
“Why….why would I want to know that?” you asked almost angrily.
“...Patients have a lot to do with their own response and recovery,” she replied. “I was just implying he was fighting like hell for something,” she smiled, making you smile for the first time since Rafael had left you at your apartment. God, that moment had been so perfect; how did you get here from there? 
“I’ll put a DO NOT DISTURB” sign on the door, no one will bother you,” The nurse put a hand on your shoulder as she started to walk out. “I think he’s going to be okay sweetie, I really do,” 
“Thanks,” You gave her a small nod, and she was gone. Leaving just you and Rafael, alone. 
“So...I’ve never seen a guy work so hard to get me alone,” You chuckled, calling back to the first conversation you had at Forlini's. That seemed like a lifetime ago now.
“Hey so, they caught Arianna and those guys,” you kept talking, praying he was listening. “I think they’re gonna go to jail for a LONG time,” you stroked his hair. 
“So, y’know obviously that means I’m out a roommate. Probably an apartment too, I don’t really know what Arianna did about that. Surely she didn’t just get out of a six month lease in the middle of the night, she must have just thought they could abandon the apartment. 
“So, if you know of  any fancy mahogany couches that are open, let me know,” You tried joking again with a fake laugh, but it just turned into tears.
“I’m so sorry, Rafael,” you whispered. “I never intended for any of this to happen. I should have never even talked to you, I should have just admired you from afar and sniffed your scotch glasses in private like a fucking creep,” you laughed for real between your tears.
“I just--” you started to talk again, but you felt Rafael’s hand squeeze yours. 
“....R-Rafa?” 
Suddenly, Rafael started to thrash and choke, his breathing tube was still breathing for him.
“NURSE!!! NURSE!!” You jumped up and screamed down the hall; your lucky nurse came rushing in. She quickly pulled the tube out and after a few gasping breaths, Rafael finally calmed down. He was conscious, but his eyes were barely open. 
“Welcome back, Mr. Barba,” The nurse smiled. “I think you gave this one quite the scare,” She nodded to you, to which Barba gave the weakest smile. 
He tried to speak, but just scratchy gibberish came from his mouth. But his beautiful green eyes were more open and had their sparkle back. 
“Your throat will be sore for a while,” The nurse informed him. “....But everything else seems to be doing good!” She checked all of Rafael’s stats on his machines, and the different tubes coming out of his body. 
“I’ll be back later-- let you two, catch up,” She gave you both a knowing smile, then walked out the door.
“I...told...you,” he hoarsely croaked. 
“What? You told me what?!” You asked him frantically, as if this was some kind of ominous threat.
“I’d….,” He cleared his throat as you grabbed a water bottle off a nearby table. 
“I told you, I’d fight for you,” He said almost completely normally after taking a swig of the water.
“...Yeah, well-- I think that was a bit much, don’t you, counselor?” You raised an eyebrow, implying taking a bullet for someone after the first date is a bit melodramatic.
“I mean, here,” he pointed to the bed. 
“W-What?” you blinked in confusion. 
“I fought to come back,” he took your hand and kissed the back of it. “For you,” 
“Why?” you blinked again, still in awe.
“Because you asked me to,” He smiled, taking his free hand and stroking your hair back as you had been doing while he was out. 
“Y-You heard all of that?!” you gasped.
“Well, I thought I had hallucinated it until you just confirmed it for me,” He gave you a mischievous smile.
“Oh my god,” You blushed and hit him softly, forgetting about his tubes and shoulders. He winced in pain, and you immediately started to comfort him again.
“Oh my GOD, what is wrong with me?! Are you ok?”
“I’m fine, carino. And I’m not done yet either,” his words made you stop fiddling with the wires and look him straight in the eyes.
“....Done what?”
“Done loving you, dummy,” he shook his head as if to say “DUH.” 
“Oh my god you DID hear all of it!” You put your hands over your face, your face turning red. Then you realized what he had actually said. 
“WAIT...did you just say…?” your eyes bugged out of your head. 
“I love you, Y/N.” he smiled sweetly, squeezing your hand.
“Really? Are you sure? Because we can just--” He shut you up by leaning over and kissing you. 
“Since I saw you sniff my scotch glass,” He cut you off. “I thought ‘I’m gonna marry that weird girl one day’,” 
“Whoa whoa whoa, slow down there mister,” You put your hands up. “I mean, you can almost die for me, but marriage? That seems a bit much,” You gave him a tongue-in-cheek smile. 
“We’ll negotiate,” He smirked. “In the meantime…” He moved himself away on his bed, adjusting the wires to make a space. He patted it for you to get in.
“I...I don’t think these are made for two people, what if I break it?” You eyed the bed, trying to calculate the weight max.
“I’ll buy them another one,” he chuckled.
“Oh right, with your copious amounts of money,” you rolled your eyes with a smile.
“Yeah, better spending it on that then more ties,” he smirked.
“NO. Never stop buying ties!” You giggled, climbing into the bed with him. He adjusted the arm that wasn’t in a sling around you. You snuggled into him, and he placed a kiss on your forehead. The feeling was back; the safe and warm feeling
And you knew in your heart, you’d never feel helpless again. 
55 notes · View notes
slytherinnbitch · 3 years
Note
i'm glad you don't hate my asks, i didn't send much this days bc i was scared that you did hated them🚶
and ok i agree angst is cool BUT MY SAD PERSON LIKES THEM WHEN THERE'S A HAPPY ENDING THAT ONE JUST BROKE MY HEART BC IMAGINE HOW HARRY IT'S GOING TO FEEL WHEN (OR IF?) HE REMEMBERS EVERYTHING MAKES ME WANT TO CRY LIKE PLEASE DON'T DO THIS TO YOURSELF POTTER!!!!
by the way, i'm really curious about how do you think draco would react if he was the one that lost his memory. do you think he would be a brat like harry or he would be more calm at the idea that they're married and have a child together? i have a lot of feelings about that bc i can't get my finger around it like ughh i think he would be more calm but at the same time i think he would react worse than harry did 🤧
I NEVER TOLD YOU BUT ENGLISH IT'S NOT MY FIRST LANGUAGE SO I'M SORRY IF I TALK HORRIBLE AND YOU CAN'T UNDERSTAND WHAT I'M TRYING TO SAY (I PROBABLY MAKE A LOT OF MISTAKES, SORRY)
ok this is already too long so i'm saying my goodbyes~ (by the way, i'm glad you're having or had a good weekend, i hope you have a nice week too, you totally deserve it!) and help you make me feel special saying that you like my asks, i want to hug you and protect you from the world 🤲
Hey Darling! Firstly I have no idea how I forgot to reply to this because I read it then I thought I answered as well but apparently not.
Never ever think that any of your asks bother me. Asks are just so nice. I love them.
As for the sequel. I have gotten enough requests that I will do it. After I finish proposal part 3. Don't ask me when is that, idk. Can't really promise on a happy ending but I'll try. There sure will be angst tho. So much of it, haha.
As for the Draco forgetting about Harry. What first comes to my mind is this:
_______________________________________________
Draco wakes up with a pounding headache. He scrunches his face as the noise overwhelms him and gives him a terrible headache. He hears three gasps from beside him. As he lifts his head up and opens his eyes, he finds himself in a hospital. He racks his brain in an attempt to remember what had happened that landed him there but comes up blank.
"Draco-" someone whispers beside him and when he turns his head, it's none other than Harry fucking Potter. What the actual fuck and why does Potter look so bloody fit- not that he wasn't before but holy Merlin, this is on another level. Potter also looks older, so he frowns at him and when did he start calling Draco by his given name?
"Potter, why the fuck are you here?" That's the first thing that comes out if his mouth and now Potter is frowning at him.
"I don't know, Malfoy. What does one do when their husband lands up in the hospital after trying to save them from an unknown spell? And for future purpose, it's Malfoy-Potter now." Potter snarks back and there's no actual venom in his voice just mirth and humor.
Draco has never heard him talk like this to him before. And wait- did he just say husband? Is that supposed to mean him? And Malfoy-Potter? What the fuck is happening?
"Mate, you really scared us this time." Weasley says from his other side and Granger's sitting beside him with slight tears in her eyes?! Is he in the same universe or what? What's the joke here?
"We should call an healer," Granger replies before he can even begin to contemplate whats happening.
He remains quiet, trying to figure out what is actually going on when the Healer comes in.
"Auror Malfoy, how many more times do I need to tell you that you need not run headfirst into any situation if you see that your husband is in danger. Had you not gone to save Auror Potter then you would not have these severe injuries and Auror Potter would have been fine as well. Getting two completely different curses at the same time is very very harmful." They finish and seriously who is this? Why are they talking as if they have known Draco for a long time?
"Draco, are you quite alright?" Granger asks in a soft voice and he looks at her in disbelief. Did she forget who she is talking to?
"I would ask if you would like to get everyone outside for the examination but it's really a futile effort at this point." The Healer smiles at him and shakes their head.
"Uh, uhm actually I would like some privacy if that's not too much." Draco says and really that might not have been the best thing to say. The shocked expressions on everyone's face conveys that fantastically.
"Well then, out all of you. Even you, Auror Potter." The Healer says, the epitome of professional.
"Zia, I have asked you multiple times to call me Harry." Potter says almost absent-mindedly, like it's almost instinct at this point or something.
.
After Zia had asked their questions and Draco had told them that he doesn't remember anything about what happened. And they ask him what was the last thing he remembers and he replies that he remembers turning to the Apparation point in Diagon Alley on Christmas Eve and Zia looks at him with wide eyes.
They ask him about the year and he eyes them suspiciously before replying 2000.
"Draco, I think you have lost a fair amount of memory. It's actually May 2015 and not December 2000." Zia informs him regretfully.
"Okay. No seriously, it's okay. But why is Potter saying he is my husband and he is a Malfoy-Potter now?" Draco asks them incredulously.
"That I think you should ask Harry himself." Zia says, biting her lips in a way that can't really be pleasant.
.
When Potter and his sidekicks finally finish explaining him about the last 15 years of his life. His first response is to laugh. Apparantly, he has a child. A literal child? How did that even happen? And he has been married for the last 10 years. To Potter.
"This feels like a childhood fantasy come true, you know? Being a part of the golden trio. Líke seriously, this is something I have to believe? Who set this up? Pansy? Was it Blaise? I mean it's got to be one of those bastards." Draco finally says and laughs.
"Well, I'm sorry the three of you but really, you can go now. Sorry for wasting y'all's precious time. Please send those goons in." Draco continues. He looks at the three of them, hoping they would finally agree with him and tell him that it was a good one though and go their merry way. But Granger looks like she wants to cry and Weasley looks much the same, except he is looking shocked as well.
He turns to Potter, his apparant husband and the other father of his child, and finds him actually crying. There are tears flowing down his face almost constantly and all Draco wants to do is reach out and-
No, that's not what he wants. He feels his heart clench but why? This is afterall a joke.
Right?
_______________________________________________
Okay this was totally unplanned. I just had the childhood fantasy line in my mind and well, this is the result. Hope this answers your question? And sorry, I got carried away. It happens at times. (I was supposed to be writing today's drabble but I wrote this instead)
Your English is just fine! Infact, English isn't really my first language as well. Like it was what I first started learning in school but I spoke another language before. Like my mother tongue is something else and my first language is English if that makes sense? So you're just fine, no worries!
Hope you like small scene! Love you <3
16 notes · View notes
Text
Additional Owl House/ Gargoyles AU Info: OCs
Here we are with some more information regarding the AU, only this will time it will be focusing on the 3 OCs whose pics I posted a little while ago since I didn't think anyone wanted the bios jammed onto their pics.
Hope y'all think these are interesting. :)
Tumblr media
-----Rhiannon Frostflame
Nicknames and Aliases: Rhyan or Rhya (Default nicknames) The Wyvern Witch, Ice Queen, The Best Healer on the Isles, Cruel and Fearless, Frozen Flame
Age: Roughly the same as Eda
Palisman: A Wyvern named Wisteria
Magic Specialty: Healing Magic, but is a master of Ice Magic and has created a unique spell of burning blue fire that inflicts awful frostbite and severe necrosis on anyone it comes into contact with...
Friends/Associates: Eda Clawthorne (Best friend and drinking buddy) Raine Whispers (A close friend who in spite of falling out of contact with, Rhiannon still holds them in high regards) Shaelyn Silverstone (Apprentice and Ward) Warden Wrath (Occasional Employer) Fiadh Stonespire (Grandmother figure/deceased)
Background: Rhiannon was born into one of the larger clans of the last name 'Stonespire' that still chose to follow the Gargoyle Way of communally raising their children and protecting their estate and other landholdings. They were also extremely prideful of their skilled members they contributed to the Construction Coven. From a young age, Rhiannon was considered strange due to her shunning of the clans expectations and rather developed an interest in becoming a member of the Healing Coven. Although in her youth she was particularly bad at anything involving healing, having turned several small animals inside out in her attempts to mend their injuries. Her lack of skill and stubborn pursuit of her dreams led her to be alienated from nearly all of the clan who began to treat her as an annoyance if not an embarrassment. The only individuals who showed her any affection were an older female Gargoyle named Fiadh, who Rhiannon viewed as her grandmother and Saoirse, the only rookery sister who cared about her and supported her goals.
Her fierce dedication to studying and mastering healing magics eventually paid off and she not only excelled, but grew to master every healing spell and even learned a myriad of techniques all aimed at helping others. Of course on the flip side of this, through her studies of how to heal she also learned how to inflict immense pain on others. Knowing to attack certain points where an opponent is weak in order to defeat them in a brawl, as it seemed to Rhiannon that most witches and demons had forgotten how to fight without using magic and thus a physical fight is something she can use to her advantage... And she got into fights A LOT.
When she finished her education and applied to the Healing Coven she found that she was denied membership due to her clan contacting the head of the Coven and warning him against letting her join due to her poor skills as a healer... As they had not paid attention to her enough to know of her improvement and eventual mastery of the art.
Denied her dream, humiliated by her so called clan and filled with an anger that could not be put into words, Rhiannon lost her temper and broke the jaw of the Coven Head and fled. Stating she was now going to live her life as a Wild Witch and never give a damn about anyone else ever again. She was promptly disowned by her clan, which was fine with her. She gave herself the last name of Frostflame after the spell she had created and has become synonymous with her very existence.
Personality: Rhiannon is a bit of a contradiction. At first she comes off as cold, calculating and selfish. She is extremely sarcastic and tends to believe that someone 'Can get away with anything, as long as they are useful to someone else.' Which is how she, as a Wild Witch, doesn't have a bounty on her head nor any warrents for her arrest. As she is a freelance healer whom people come to see when they either can't afford to go to the Healing Coven, or do not want there to be a record of the visit... But also members of both the Emperor's Coven and town guards bet on her in the underground fights and thus overlook that she is not in any coven... She is also not above blackmail and is currently holding a massive gambling debt over the head of Coven Head Darius. As further insurance to keep from being arrested or have the Covens forcing her to join.
However... If someone truly gets to know her, Rhiannon is a very devoted, kind hearted person who has been so burnt by the world she no longer desires to be a part of it. She has sympathy for those less fortunate than her and does genuinely wish to help the people who seek her out in need of help. She has an special soft spot in her heart for kids. Especially since in the depths of her ice cold heart she truly longs for a family. This is somewhat evident in how she took in Shaelyn and has done her best to watch out for the younger gargoyle. However her own bias's can be detrimental to the relationships she has... As she has repeatedly told Shaelyn to forget about finding out what happened to her family and missing memories. Arguing that if she forgot them there's probably a good reason for it. Which has led to a rift between her and her apprentice.
Tumblr media
-----Shaelyn Silverstone
Nicknames and Aliases: Shae, (Default Nickname) Lyn-Lyn (From Luz)
Age: Roughly 15
Palisman: None at the moment
Magic Specialty: Is attending both the Plant track and the Oracle track in Hexside. As she has unusual visions... both while she is awake and in her sleep. These visions often warn of dark events yet to happen or strange unknown things from a past she cannot remember. While not being taught healing at Hexside, Shaelyn is receiving training in healing magics straight from her guardian Rhiannon. Due to the talent of her mentor, she doesn't believe she could learn more from the school in that subject. As for the plant track... She is in that to both hang out with her friend Willow but also to help with Rhiannons garden which tends to grow out of control more often than not. As well as helping maintain the health of the tree Rhiannon's house is currently sitting in...
Friends/Associates: Willow Park, Gus Porter and Luz Noceda (Best Friends) Rhiannon (Guardian)
Background: Little is known about Shaelyns past beyond her name. Try as she might the young Gargoyle cannot remember much of her life prior to her being found in the wrecked hull of a ship that was brought ashore by a bad storm. While she has 'Shadows of Memories' she cannot remember where exactly she was from or even the faces of her parents. Rhiannon found the girl when she was looking through the wreck and happened upon her buried underneath several heavy cargo boxes with a broken wing and a very bloody head wound. Rhiannon took her back to her home, deep in the woods and healed her. Upon realizing that the girl had no family and no memories and that she would be left in probably one of the orphanages on the Isles, Rhiannon took her in as her apprentice and Shae has been living with her for the last five years.
Although Shaelyn is in awe of her mentor and greatly admires and respects her, she often feels like a burden. Their relationship is not like that of a mother and daughter, but is probably closer to that of sisters. Or of an older sister attempting to be a mother to a younger sibling in the absence of any parents... Shae also has gone through several different means to try and find out what happened to her family... but her search has led to nothing but dead ends. It doesn't help that Rhiannon often tells her to let the subject of her family drop as she would not have forgotten them if they were close... And how she might not like what she finds if she ever does find anything.
Nonetheless, Rhiannon has done her best to take care of Shae and has enrolled her at Hexside, so she can learn other magics that Rhiannon cannot teach. It was here that Shaelyn came across the sight of Amity and Boscha bullying Willow... And using the other skills Rhyan has taught her, Shae started throwing punches and beat up both of the bullies and warned them to leave Willow alone lest they receive another beating... This was how she initially met Willow and later on Gus and the three formed a very close friendship. Some time later Luz would be introduced and Shae grows to be just as protective of her as she is of her other two friends.
Personality: Shaelyn is quite friendly and outgoing with her friends and is the first one to come to the defense of a kid that is getting bullied. Due to her training with Rhiannon she is actually pretty good at fighting physically... Unfortunately in earlier times this put Shae into direct conflict with Amity as she was often quite mean to Willow... Unaware of Amity's true nature, let alone the bullying she received from her family. Like her mentor, Shae can hold a grudge and has a long memory of people who wrong her and her friends... Only unlike Rhiannon she is more willing to give someone a second chance or allow them to make amends... This lets her and Amity to eventually become friends... Although she and Boscha will never get along and Shae will continue to administer black eyes whenever the other girl starts looking for a fight. But when it comes to complete strangers, Shaelyn can be very wary... As was evident when she and the others were looking at booths set up by the Covens for recruitment and she was approached by Hunter as the Golden Guard. Now Hunter, with his very lackluster social skills was attempting to just talk nicely and give Shae a few compliments... Unfortunately for him he came off as aloof and mocking her. This resulted in two punches to his helm and three into his ribs. The blows to the mask dented it so badly it became stuck and the blows to his ribs made it difficult to breathe... Resulting in him passing out and needing to be carried away by Steve.
Undoubtedly when she learns more about Hunter, she will be remorseful for kicking his ass.
Tumblr media
-----Saoirse Fireglass
Nicknames: Saer (General Nickname) The Glass Maker, The Crystal Witch, Firebender and Wannabe-Matchmaker (From Rhiannon)
Age: Same as Rhiannon
Palisman: A unique serpent with four eyes and a golden moth shaped hood named Amaranth
Magic Specialty: Construction magic with the specialty of glassmaking and crystal working. She is also capable of using fire spells in a fight.
Friends/Associates: Rhiannon (Rookery sister and best friend) Eda Clawthorne (Friend) Lilith Clawthorne (Friend) Shaelyn (Niece-figure)
Background: Saoirse was born into the same clan and was even from the same clutch as Rhiannon, born with the family name of Stonespire. However unlike her Rookery sister, Saoirse was considered to be one of the most magically gifted gargoyles that had ever been born into the clan. She displayed immense talent in the construction track and was even able to master a very difficult branch of the track that dealt with glassmaking and crystal working. In spite of the heaps of praise and accolades she received amidst her family, she developed a close friendship with Rhyan and was always deeply off-put when she witnessed how she was ostracized by other members of their clan. Still upon completing her schooling she was quickly brought into the Construction Coven and was even taken under the wing of the Coven Head for a time.
But when Rhiannon was cast out from their clan, Saoirse was livid. One of the few times anyone could truly remember her getting angry. She was pretty much told by the clan leader that Rhiannon was a disgrace and that Saer was always special and brought a great deal of respect and admiration to their entire clan with her talent... so she needed to stop defending that lost soul and continue to move forward and possibly become the next Coven Head...
Saoirse formally cut ties with the clan right then and there.
She gave herself a new name and while still formally a member of the Construction Coven, she chose to renounce any Coven status she had an instead opened her own business. She did so with the blessing of the Coven Head, who remains her good friend to this day.
When it comes to her wayward Rookery sister, Saer deeply worries about Rhyan and would love to see her find a place in the world rather than trying to live outside it. Although she knows that the stubborn Wild Witch is unlikely to ever change her ways without reason...
Personality: Unlike Rhiannon, Saer is a bubbly, friendly and outgoing individual who always looks for the good in people... In fact she is probably one of the few people who believes there just might be some good inside the Emperor's heart. (When she voiced this Rhiannon laughed so hard she swallowed the cigarette she was smoking.) Due to this kind nature she has, Rhyan frequently worries about her being taken advantage of... Fortunately Saoirse also is quick witted and can pretty quickly tell if someone is trying to pull a fast one on her. She also has a weird gift for matchmaking, as she can just tell when two people are right for each other. It's something that Rhiannon frequently teases her about.
...Until she finds one stranger who seems to be just perfect for the Wild Witch...
18 notes · View notes
kbuggg3 · 3 years
Text
JC Caylen Imagine: “Don’t Be Sorry”
Tumblr media
Today's has been a pretty eventful day to say the least. While my boyfriend JC was out with some old friends who came into town to visit him, me and my dad got into a fight... again.
But the thing that hurts the most is not only is this the 4th time in a row he's been caught, but I'm the one that keeps witnessed it. Your probably wonder "the 4th time? Why do you keep falling for his bullshit?"
Welp. He's my dad. I'm not just gonna give up on him completely. When we would catch him doing something he would let fake tears fall from his eyes as he was apologizing to us and we would forgive him.
And then we'd catch him again, he'd apologize, we'd forgive him. It was an endless cycle. But this time I knew I can't get my hopes up to high anymore.
My mom always told me it takes years to build trust and seconds to destroy it. I felt that. He didn't only ruin my trust with him, but my trust with everyone else. I let everything that happened get to my head and now I have major trust issues. With the exception of one person.
JC Caylen
Before i met JC my life was pretty miserable. I lived in Florida with my mom and my older sister. After my mom and dad got divorced, my family slowly started going down hill.
My dad was barely in the picture due to his constant sneaking around as he was hooking up with random people and getting drunk and being so lazy that he never even bothered covering his tracks, allowing us to discover his dirty little secrets for ourselves.
My poor brother was clueless. Had no idea what his own father was doing behind his back and we didn't bother telling him because 1.) he was a very sensitive boy at the time and 2.) he looked to my dad for everything. My dad was his role model.
After awhile of all of this, my sister was diagnosed with depression. Not too severe but even the smallest bit can make you feel like shit. And as for me, I struggled with self love. Because I didn't really have a good male figure on my life I looked to guys for verification.
But after i spent a week with him and the rest of the O2l house at Vidcon i felt like my life was finally picking up. Fast forward a couple years and my sisters depression is gone, my brother grew up to be an amazing dad of 2 kids, and as for me, i stopped looking for verification in guys and me and JC started dating.
We've been dating for 2 years now and he has been nothing but amazing. I love him so much and I know he loves me. Ever since we've started dating people have been telling me they've never seen me so happy before or they've never seen me smile or laugh that much before.
I just wished he was here to comfort me right now. I haven't told him what happened yet. I didn't wanna ruin his day. He was hanging out with some old friends of his who flew down to visit him.
I wasn't gonna burden him with my stupid family issues while he was out with his friends. I turned on a random disney movie and began to watch as I continued to cry at random times when the old memories would pop up in my mind.
I would squeeze my eyes shut and burry my head in my pillow trying to make them stop but they never went away, no matter how hard i tried. Eventually I decided enough was enough. I just couldn't take it anymore. I had to call JC. I grabbed the phone and went to his name in my contacts. I dried my tears and took a few deep breaths to stop myself from crying so he wouldn't notice and be too worried.
After attempting to recollect myself, i pressed call, holding the phone up to my ear as i heard it ring. A few seconds later the line picked up and i heard his sweet voice on the other end.
"What's up baby." JC said in a super deep voice cause you to giggle only slightly.
"Hey JC. Um, I was just wondering when you were gonna be home?"
"Is my girl missing me already?"
"What do mean already you've been gone for hourrrrsssss." She groaned causing him to chuckle.
"I know baby I'm sorry. I'll actually be home soon."
I sighed with relief before responding, "Thank god!"
"Is everything ok (y/n)?"
Shit. Don't cry don't cry don't cry don't cry.
She sniffles a little and swallowed hard.
"Y-ya baby why do you ask?" My breath was uneven and he could tell.
"No no. Your not ok. I'm coming over right now."
Don't mess this up (y/n) he's having fun. Don't ruin his day.
"JC it's fine. I'm gonna be ok. Just go hang out with your friends. Have fun!"
"Gonna be?!"
I pulled back and cringed at my own words. Shouldn't have said that.
"Gonna be ok??? (y/n) what happened???" JC exclaimed again. She sighed and rubbed her forehead.
"JC I'm-"
Tell him your fine. He's with his friends. He doesn't need this right now.
Tell him what you tell everyone else in your life. Your fine.
"It's my dad again." I said with tears in my eyes.
What the fuck (y/n)! How could you?!
He can tell by my voice I was crying.
"Fuck. Baby I'm coming over right now." He side sternly. Was he mad?
"N-no JC it's ok really I-"
"No! (y/n) it's not ok! Baby he's put you through so much shit and I'm tired of it! You don't deserve that! You nor your family!" He began to shout a little and it caused her to cry harder. Not because I'm scared of him. But because he cared so much and that meant the world to her. He's the only one who gets it.
He did a deep sigh and you already knew he was running his hands through his hair and pacing, something he did when he was stressed, nervous, or in this case pissed off.
"I'm coming over. I'll be there in a few just hang on ok?"
At first no words were spoken. She didn't want to agree because she still felt bad about burdening him with it. But she was going to lose her fucking mind if he wasn't holding her ASAP so she finally spoke a barely audible "ok".
Immediately the phone call was ended. (y/n)'s phone slid out of her hand and onto the floor. She sat there curled up on her bed for awhile, staring blankly at the floor as her head was leaned on the head rest.
The thoughts and images filled her head again and she began to cry and cry and cry. "Go away." She whispered with quivering lips. "Go away!"
Not too long after the phone call she heard keys rattling as whoever was on the other side, who she assumed was JC, tried to open the door. She then heard footsteps quickly going up the stairs.
Her teary eyes slowly looked up to the door and saw the door knob slowly being turned, then the door opened revealing her boyfriend. In her mind she was smiling, finally being able to see him, but on the outside she unintentionally showed the opposite.
They made eye contact and (y/n) saw the sympathetic look on JC's face. She hated it when people would look at her like that and he knew it. He just couldn't help it. It makes her feel weak and helpless even tho those are the exact words that describe her in this moment.
When she saw the look on his face she quickly looked away, turning her head to the side and squeezed her eyes shut as more tears slipped down her cheeks, slightly embarrassed by her fragile appearance.
She felt the bed beside her dip down meaning JC was now sitting next to her on the bed.
"Baby..."
JC gently touched her chin and moved it to where her eyes had nowhere else to look but his.
"I... I am so sorry."
After looking into his beautiful brown eyes, (y/n) finally gave in and buried her face in his shoulder as she sat in his lap in a straddle like position.
Her arms were tightly wrapped around his neck and the more she cried the tighter she would hold on. In return JC would squeeze her back, both arms wrapped around her waist. He then began to run his hand through her hair and draw small circles on her back in a soothing motion.
JC continued to whisper little nothings in her ear as she gripped his shirt that was soaked with her tears.
"You don't deserve this."
"None of this is your fault."
"You're an amazing girl."
"You're my amazing girl."
After a few minutes or so of them sitting in silence, JC asked her if she wanted to lay down and cuddle while they watched a movie. (y/n) could only nod her head as they repositioned themselves to where she was laying on JC's stomach with her face still buried in his chest. He put on her favorite Disney movie "Finding Nemo" hoping it would encourage her to lift her head and hopefully help calm her.
When she heard the music play softly from the TV she slowly and hesitantly lifted her head from JC's chest as she positioned her head to where she could see the movie displayed on the large screen. JC smiled at her and kissed the top of her head. Occasionally throughout the movie he would rub her back soothingly, play with her hair, and give her kisses on the top of her head or forehead, causing (y/n) to smile slightly.
"Thank you... Seriously," (y/n) said quietly. He was surprised at first, judging by the fact that neither of them have said a word to each other for about an hour (not in a rude way of course but because there was no need for words. They just needed time to think and relax). "No problem, baby. I love you so so much."
(y/n) look up at him, resting her chin on his chest. He noticed how the red puffiness in her eyes went down and there was not a tear in sight, causing his heart to warm and a smile to make its way across his face. "I love you too." They shared a short but sweet kiss and went to sleep cuddled up in their bed as "Finding Nemo" continued to play and lull them into a deep and peaceful sleep.
ngl I hate writing sad stuff (unless y’all request it obvi) but I got this idea and couldn’t get it out of my head so you’re welcome. If you have any requests and/or feedback let me know plz! Love y'all💋                                                                                                                                 ~Kbug :)
43 notes · View notes
libsterslobsters · 3 years
Text
The Wanton Song
Tumblr media
Summary: How do you broach the topic of sex with the 90-something super soldier you've found yourself dating? That's the reader's question. Luckily, she and Bucky are no strangers to awkward conversations...
Pairings: Bucky Barnes x fem!enhanced! Reader
(Reader can see bits and pieces of the future in visions and understands all languages)
Warnings: SMUT, tiny bit of angst, lotsa fluff, maybe some past dub!con if you squint
Author's note: Wow... here I am posting smut on the internet. Never thought that would happen. Tmi, but I'm married, so I have a good amount of sex 🙀 and I actually had a great first time, but some people don't, and that's what I tried to represent. That, and CONSENT!!!! Consent is sexy, y'all. Safe, sane and consensual all day every day.
As always, the reader's name isn't stated so that you can read as a self insert, but I've written so much at this point that I refer to the Reader as Violet in my own mind.
*************************************************
 Life has been going swimmingly these past few months. Better than ever before in fact, or at the very least, better than in a long time. She’s still a fugitive, living life looking over her shoulder, but now she has a steady job, a steady paycheck, and oh yeah, a steady boyfriend. Those three things have never aligned for her before (especially the last one). Overall, she’s pretty happy. But, because she’s her, there’s still a question niggling at the back of her mind.
 The transition from “you’re my only friend” to “we’re together now” went smoothly, helped in part by the fact that Barnes had been at that particular juncture the whole time. From the outside looking in, the only major changes have been the addition of those three simple but very key words and an upping the anti in the cuddles department.
 Speaking of cuddles, that’s a very mild term for what’s going on these days. It starts out innocent enough. The usual location is on the couch at one or the other’s apartment. There hadn’t been much distance between them since that first time where they ended up talking more than watching the movie playing from her laptop, but now, the space is nonexistent. As a general rule, within the first ten minutes, her legs somehow end up over his lap or in some way intertwined with is. The intention is always to pay attention to what’s on the screen but, well, when you’re that close, it would be rude not to snuggle up. And, when the other person looks that damn kissable, it would truly be insulting not to take the plunge.
 Now, considering the angle, one of them has to lean in. Otherwise, it would be awkward. That generally determines who, somewhere from two to ten minutes later, is on top of who. Of course hands wander, and even though it’s understood that the word “no” can be employed at any time and immediately obeyed (not to mention the copious amounts of “Is this okay”’s being asked), she can’t remember a time either of them have said it.
 If she had to attach a term to what comes next, it would be ‘dry humping.’ And then… nothing. It always ends far too soon, leaving her flustered and with her heart racing. At first she thought it was because he simply didn’t want her, but, well, there’s certain physical signs that point to that not being the problem. Her next guess was that he’s simply being respectful. Well, as sweet as that is, she’s ready to get on with it. She’s only human after all, and as such, has needs. Sure, she could take care of them herself, but if she had to guess, he’s experiencing those needs too, and from what she’s heard, it’s more fun to take care of it together.
 The only issue: how the hell do you bring something like this up, especially when the person you’re bringing it up with grew up in a much more repressed era than you did? She’s been debating it for the past week, and despite having multiple visions, none of them have given her that key insight into what to do.
 Finally, she decides to just say it. They’ve made a point to be honest with each other, and it’s probably best to get it out of the way. They’re adults, after all. They can have this discussion. She’s going to come straight out with it.
 “Hey, can I ask you something? It’s kind of personal, and maybe a little uncomfortable.”
 “Sure, Doll.” The response is immediate. “Fire away.”
 Glancing up to make sure they’re not at a pivotal scene in tonight’s movie (they have a system; at his place, watch something he grew up with, at hers, something made literally anytime after 1945), she spits out the whole sentence in one breathless go. “Are we ever going to have sex?”
 It feels like a branding iron where his arm is still wrapped around her shoulder. Still, it’s comforting. At least he’s not moving away.
 “I gotta admit, that’s not the question I was expecting. What brought this on?”
 She shrugs, carefully keeping her eyes trained on the wall behind his head instead of on him.
 “Nothing in particular. Just…” is there a delicate way to put this? “...I think things are going well between us, and sometimes when we’re together… I’ve noticed that there’s a physical response.” She’s really hoping that’ll suffice, because she can’t think of a good way to say “I can feel that you’re hard when you’re on top of me”.
 “Oh.”
 Apparently, her meaning is indeed clear enough, because he removes his arm from her shoulders. She’s about to apologize (all the while mentally berating herself) when his hand closes over hers.
 “I’m sorry about that, Doll. I’ll try to stay calmer.” Wait, that’s not- “It’s just an issue guys have. Don’t think it means you have to do anything that you don’t want to, because I would never-”
 “I know you wouldn’t.” Without thinking, she cuts him off. “And I want to.” It feels like she’s sitting in a sauna, she’s so flustered from this conversation. “But only if you do, and I understand if you didn’t-”
 “No.” It’s abrupt, cutting her off. A definite answer that leaves no room for questioning. “No, I do. I just-” He clears his throat. “-I didn’t want to bring it up, in case we weren’t on the same page. “ This seems to be a recurring theme, so far. “And it’s not a must. If you change your mind-”
 It’s pure instinct. There’s no thought involved as she closes the gap between them, this time with her on top, and presses  her lips against his. The response is immediate and enthusiastic. She considers just going on, not putting a stop to things, but realization hits that, although overall she’s ready for this to happen, she’s not ready for it to happen tonight. There’s still things she needs to take care of. Most importantly, protection.
 So, gasping for breath, she pulls away. “I’m calling for a rain check, but if after that, you still think I’ll change my mind-” she pushes back her hair and forces herself to take a deep breath. “-then you may just be beyond help, Barnes.” If the chuckle is anything to judge from, she’s made her point.
_________________________________________________________________________________
 Wow. Bucky thinks to himself as he exits out of the browser tab on his phone. That’s enough internet for one day. Too much, actually. He knows that it’s the information superhighway, but good god, no one needs THAT much information. He really needs to be more specific with what he googles… or less… or just not at all.
 He’d never admit it (and really, who the hell is gonna ask him anyway), but he spent the last hour looking up how to have sex. He’s engaged in the act before, yeah, but it was seventy years ago. Plus, it used to be this huge taboo thing that you suspected was going on behind closed doors, but no one (not even the married couples) owned up to it. If you were ever found out, there were severe consequences. As a man, he didn’t have to worry as much, but if whoever the woman was had her dirty laundry aired… oh boy. She’d be a pariah, a “scarlet woman”, unfit for marriage or to even give the time of day. That led to limited encounters, and, well, it just seemed smart to brush up on what information is out there. As it turns out, people have written a lot about the fine art of love making. Unfortunately for him, most of it is absolute garbage. Some of the positions he just read about (because at that point, the article was like a train wreck; he badly wanted to look away, but he couldn’t) don’t even sound possible, much less pleasurable. He’s all for society being freer, but good grief!
 He’s halfway through a bottle of straight vodka (it won’t have any effect, but he’s hoping maybe the alcohol will travel to his brain and sanitize his eyeballs from most of the shit he just read) when his phone rings. Great. He’s always happy to talk to her, but right now… wow. It’s gonna take him some time to recover, so he hopes she doesn’t need him to say much.
 “Hey, Doll.”
 “I am so fucking pissed off right now.” That sounds promising.
 “At what?”
 “The city of Bucharest, my apartment, the landlord, whoever the fuck did the plumbing in this building! God!” She’s clearly out of breath, so it takes a minute before she can speak again. “I’m sorry, Buck. It’s just that I came home from work, and one of my neighbors told me the entire sixth floor is under a good inch, inch and a half of water.” Wait-
 “How-”
 “I don’t know. Busted pipe. It’s leaked down onto the fifth floor, so I’ve got about fifty other pissed off people for company.”
 “Jesus.” 
 She chuckles harshly. “Yeah, we could use him right about now to perform a miracle. This is a shit show, and I haven’t even told you the best part.”
 “So the spontaneous flood wasn’t the highlight of your day?”
 “I fucking wish! So, naturally, I tried to call the landlord, along with basically everyone else. Get this: since it’s after five o’clock on a Friday, he’s not gonna do anything. Told us collectively to suck it up! And of course, when there’s a leak, they have to cut the power…” He’s starting to see a pattern here.
 She sighs. “I really needed to get that off my chest. How are you?” Still slightly weirded out by the information overload, but feeling a little more steady now that he’s got a good catastrophe to concentrate on. However, that’s probably not the best answer to go with.
 “Better than you are.”
 “What, the sky isn’t falling where you are?” He chuckles.
 “No, it’s right where it’s supposed to be.”  Which reminds him… “But since it seems like you’re short a functional home, why don’t you just stay here until they sort things out?” He’s got a couch that, while it doesn’t have anything on an actual bed, he can manage to sleep on for the next few nights. Or maybe they can share his bed. He shakes his head. That thought needs to be put to the side, even if it’s meant in the most innocent way possible. Of course, in case she decides to cash in that rain check…
 “Yes. I mean, that would be great, if you’re sure.”
 “I’m sure.” Actually, he can’t think of a better way to spend the weekend. The plan was to meet up either Saturday or Sunday, possibly both, so this isn’t that far out of the ordinary.
 “Okay, but just a warning: They’re not letting us go up to our floor in case there’s been electrical damage as well-” That’s smart. If the pipes are in that bad of condition, who knows what the wiring looks like. “-so all I have is my purse, backpack, and what I wore to work. No toothbrush or pajamas, or anything like that.”
 “That’s alright. All you have to bring is yourself.” He’ll have to look, but he’s pretty sure he has something in his closet that’ll work okay for her until she gets the all clear to go into her apartment. Plus, there’s a laundry mat just around the corner, not to mention a pharmacy.
 “Thank you. I really appreciate it.” 
 “Not a problem.” He glances at his bedside clock. Five thirty-four. It takes roughly half an hour to get across the city by bus, so… “I’ll see you around six fifteen?”
 “See you then.”
 As soon as the line goes dead, he springs into action. First thing’s first: make sure there’s no dirty clothes, old dishes, or trash laying around. That takes all of five minutes. He should probably check that he does indeed have something she can wear so they won’t have to fumble around later. Tshirts are pretty universal and… yes, he has a few pajama bottoms that have a drawstring waist. How much time does he have left? The phone screen lights up, giving him his answer. Twenty-seven minutes. More than enough time to run around the corner and pick up a few things.
 His intention is to buy the basics: spare toothbrush, deodorant, hairbrush, maybe a different shampoo than his three-in-one body wash (it’s convenient for him, but she might prefer something designated for hair specifically). But, well, there’s quite a few aisles, and he gets sucked in. Does he need to buy razors, or is that rude, like he thinks she’s hairy? What about aspirin? How often do most people get headaches? He honestly can’t remember. 
 By the time he realizes that he really needs to get a move on, his basket is full and he has no idea what aisle he’s on. Desperately, he looks around, and his eyes land on… huh. So they just have them out in the open these days. Last time he was in the market for that, he had to beg a married friend to make the purchase for him. He briefly wonders if he’ll need to produce proof of marriage or something similar, but pushes the thought to the side. It’s the 2000s. He can probably just go up to the register and pay, and no one will give him a second look. But there’s just one problem: which brand? He should google… suddenly remembering his adventure from earlier today, he decides to just go with his gut and pick one. There. Now, he needs to pay and get the fuck out of here because there’s only ten minutes left, and he’d rather not have these out in the open, in case she thinks that’s the reason he’s asked her to stay over. If it happens, great. If not… well, he’s made it for the past seventy years. What’s a few more?
___________________________________________________________________________________
 She was still pretty shaken up when she arrived at his apartment, carrying her backpack and purse, slightly damp from the drizzle of rain now covering the city. But immediately receiving a long hug, being instructed to make herself at home, and hearing the offer to take a shower so she could warm up did a lot to restore her good mood.
 It was one of the sweetest thing she’s ever experienced in a lifetime where most people have showed her their worst, going into that bathroom and finding a new toothbrush, stick of deodorant, nail clippers, hairbrush, and even shampoo. That and Barnes bashfully informing her that, “I’ll stay in the living room until you’re done. Take your time.” She almost suggested that he just join her in an attempt to broach the subject they left off on two nights ago, but thought better of it. She’s just started to strip when a knock comes from the other side of the wall.
 “Sorry. I just remembered that I forgot to give you a change of clothes. Can I leave them outside the door?” A smile forms on her face.  
 “Sure. Go ahead.” No one’s given this much thought to her comfort or boundaries before. Yet another reason she knows this is the right decision.
 She doesn’t stay in the shower for long, just enough time to wash and stop shivering. After toweling off and brushing out her hair, she cracks open the door. Sure enough, a worn but clean tshirt and pair of pajama bottoms are waiting for her. The familiar scent of the laundry detergent he uses envelopes her as she dresses and, at long last, leaves the safety of the bathroom.
 True to his word, he’s still sitting on the couch, thumbing through a book she gave him some months back (he’s missed so many feats of literature that have made their way into pop culture; today’s choice is The Hobbit because, while it was out before everything happened to him, he’s never read it) when she emerges. Just in case he’s so absorbed that he hasn’t heard her, she repeats his gesture from earlier and knocks softly on the wall.
 “Hey. I’m out. You can have your apartment back.”
 “Hey.” That smile always makes her feel slightly unsteady on her feet. “Find everything okay?”
 “I did.” She settles into the place next to him. “Thank you, by the way. You didn’t have to go out and get supplies.”
 “I know.” He nods, hand closing around hers. “But I wanted to make sure you had whatever you needed.”
 They chat for a while about their days, discuss what they should do with the weekend ahead, even throw out ideas for dinner. The entire time, she’s trying to figure out the best way to bring up that she’d really like to finish what they started the other night. However, by the time he’s left to grab some sort of takeout, she’s still no closer to an answer.
 Fortunately, their dates usually follow a pattern. Food, a movie, and then the not-so-innocent cuddles. This time, he’s on top of her when she feels the tell-tale sign that he’s as fired up as she is, so she suggests,
 “Do want to maybe move to somewhere more comfortable?” His already dilated pupils grow even larger, and he nods.
 “Yeah. That sounds like a plan.” She waits for him to roll off of her and head towards the bedroom before she grabs her purse and, digging around inside, grabs one of the foil packages she bought after their last date.
 It’s only once she closes the door behind her, shutting them into an enclosed space with a bed (not to mention it’s pretty damn clear what both of their intentions are), that nerves get the better of her.  He takes a step towards her, and she leans up to kiss him, but he ducks his head out of the way.
 “You’re shaking.” His hand ghosts over her arm, making it obvious that, by comparison, she’s practically vibrating on the spot.
 “Sorry.” She chuckles nervously. “It’ll pass.”
 “It’s alright.” As he says it, he meets her eyes. “We can stop. Nothing has to happen.”
 “I know.” She nods, swallowing hard. “But I want it to.” Their lips briefly meet before he pulls away again.
 “Let me ask you, just before we get started, is this-” He stops short, eyes darting from her face to the wall and back again. “...have you… before?” Oh. “Not that it matters, not to me, I just wanted to know so that-”
 “I have.” She nods, feeling heat rise to her cheeks. “Once. I was eighteen, and-” It was awful. She’d been seeing the guy for a few months and he kept whining about her not putting out, so she decided to get it over with. He went in dry without any warning, and when she asked him to stop, give her a second to adjust, he told her he couldn’t. She was bleeding and in pain for days afterwards, and to top it off, when her period was late, she thought that, even though he’d pulled out, she was pregnant. That turned out not to be the case, but it, along with the fact that she usually doesn’t stay in one place for very long, has put a damper on her ever wanting to do that again. Except for now. “-it wasn’t a great experience.”
 “I’m sorry.” On instinct, she searches for the judgment in his face, the disgust. It’s nowhere to be found, only genuine sympathy. “I’ll do my best to make sure this time is better. That is, if you’re still up to it.”
 “I am.” Not waiting for a reply, she wraps her arms around him and starts trailing kisses up his neck towards his ear. “I am. I trust you.” She hears his breath catch, but before she can comment, he’s hoisted her up and is carrying her in the direction of the bed.
 As he sets her down, she pulls him on top of her, letting her hands wander over his sides, up his back. After a few moments, she feels his fingers move from her hips to toy with the hem of her… his.. shirt.
 “Is this okay? Can I take this off?” She starts to nod, but remembers just in time that he’s so close, they’d butt heads.
 “Please.” She expected to feel exposed once she was at least partially undressed, but instead she feels… adored. His eyes are roaming over her newly exposed skin, though his hands have respectfully returned to her waist. In a moment of confidence, she reaches behind her and unhooks her bra. There. Now she’s completely shirtless.
 “You’re so beautiful.” The flush from her cheeks is spreading down her neck, but she still smiles.
 “Care to make things even?” It’s brief, but she catches the look of hesitation.
 “Sure.” Before she can offer to do it, he shrugs his shirt over his head, revealing to her, for the first time, the entirity of his metal arm. She must look for a moment too long, because with a shrug, he informs her, “I can put my shirt back on. No big deal. I know there’s some scarring…” That’s not going to fly. She needs to reassure him, make him feel as desired as he’s made her feel.
 “Or if you want to stop-” She stands and, after briefly making eye contact, places a kiss on the most prominent scar.
 “Don’t you dare think that way for a second.” They’re flush against each other, chest to bare chest. “Not for one.” Slowly, she slides her hands from his shoulders down to his waist, hesitating just over the button. “Is this okay?” Another shakey breath.
 “Yes.”
 Going forward, it’s much less awkward. The rest of their clothing is shed, and soon they’re back to their previous position; on the bed, with him on top of her. She feels his fingertips brush the inside of her thigh and gasps.
 “May I touch you?” She nods.
 “You’d better.”
 It’s gentle, more of him feeling her out than anything else. Still, she can’t help but think this is infinitely better already than last time around. Suddenly, he pulls his hand away, and it takes all her effort not to whine at the loss of contact. Before she can ask if something’s wrong, does he want to stop, he’s flat on his stomach, head between her legs.
 “Tell me if you need me to stop.”
 “What-” Her breath catches as it becomes infinitely clear what he’s doing.
 Again, she’s expecting pain when, after several minutes he eases a finger into her, but at this point, she’s so wet that there’s absolutely no difficulty.
 “Are you okay?” She nods.
 “Don’t stop.”
 The process is agonizingly slow, he’s so intent on his task. When, finally, he pulls away, she’s so close that she can almost taste it.
 “Do you still want to-”
 “If you don’t stop asking me that, I’m gonna slap you.” It’s a joke, and she thinks he knows it, but just to be sure, she siezes his hand (the metal one, which is usually cold but has now warmed from being held close against her body. “I’m ready, so long as you want this too.”
 “I do. You wouldn’t believe how much.” Yeah, she thinks she would. “Just give me a second.” Perfect timing. He rolls off of her, which gives her the opening she needs to grab the packet she managed to hide under the pillow while he was… otherwise distracted. When he returns from digging inside the wardrobe, she holds it up, only to realize-
 “Oh.” He’s got one as well. “Seems like we both came prepared.”
 He chuckles. “Just in case, although that wasn’t why I asked you to stay.”
 “I know.” She nods and pats the space next to her. “Not why I said yes either, although I can’t say I’m disappointed.”
 He returns to the bed and drops his packet onto the nightstand. “Save this one for later?”
 “Definitely.”
 There is a bit of discomfort once he starts to push inside her, but it’s not painful. Just… overwhelming. Slightly embarassed she asks,
 “Can you wait a second? Please?”
 “Of course. Are you alright?” She shifts her hips slightly, making them both groan.
 “Fine. You can move now.”
 She may have only done this once before, and she has no idea what his experience consists of, but as she hits her peak mere seconds before he does, gently coaxed over the edge, she can’t help but think some things are better the second time around.
 “I love you.” It’s whispered against her neck as, once she cleans up and returns to bed, she settles herself against him.
 “I love you too.”
___________________________________________________________________________________
 The first thing he thinks when he realizes that he’s not alone in bed is that HYDRA’s found him. He’s being activated. His eyes shoot open although apart from that he doesn’t move a muscle, and that’s when he recognizes the person next to him. It’s her. She’s here.
 The events of last night come back to him all at once, and he feels a smile forming on his face. It’s been a while, and in any case, it would be wrong to run a comparison, but what they shared, the pure intimacy of it both physically and mentally was incredible. Maybe he should feel a sense of shame. That’s what he was taught growing up. But instead he feels… peaceful.
 That is, until her eyelids flutter and she rolls over, shifting the covers so that he gets a good view of her still naked body, and with it, the bruises on her thighs and hips. Bruises unmistakably left by his fingers. Dammit. He’s done the last thing he ever wanted to do: he’s hurt her.
 “Good morning, sleepy head.” She yawns, the teasing words muffled. “It seems like we overslept.”
 His mouth goes dry, and all he can manage to choke out is a simple, “Yeah.”
 She frowns, sitting up slightly, and lets out a small groan. “You alright there, Bucky? You look a little off.” The late morning light only serves to highlight more marks he’s left, this time on her shoulders, neck, and breasts. Stubble burn. Hickeys. Why the hell was he so rough? At the time, he thought he was being gentle, but obviously he’s just as much of a monster as Bucky Barnes as he is once the Winter Soldier takes over.
 She’s still staring at him, brow furrowing in concern.
 “Fine.” He clears his throat and begins to sit up. “Stay here. I’ll make you a cup of tea, maybe some oatmeal.”
 “Alright. Don’t be gone too long.”
 Her words follow him out of the room, and into the kitchen. Fuck. He should’ve known better. 
Maybe once upon a time, he was a decent man, one who could be with a woman like  her and not do her a disservice. But now, it’s clear that he falls short in every way. In an act that was supposed to be pure pleasure, a way of communicating how much they mean to each other, he’s hurt her.
 “I trust you.” The words from last night ring in his ears. He shouldn’t have let her. It’s pretty damn obvious that, even at the best of times, he can’t be trusted.
 “Tell me what’s going on.” Even with his enhanced senses, he still jumps in surprise as the unexpected words come from behind him. He turns around slowly, not wanting to startle her. She’s standing there, clad in only one of his shirts, arms crossed over her chest (now bearing his marks), staring him down.
 “Nothing.” He shakes his head.
 “Bullshit. I had a vision of you staring off into space, and here you are, jumpy as a long-tailed cat in a room full of rocking chairs.” At another time, her choice in phrases would make him chuckle, but right now, he can’t muster it.
 “Last night-” Her eyes widen, but she stays silent. “I hurt you.”
 “No, you didn’t. Not at all.”
 “I did.”
 She frowns. “Bucky, I think I’d know if you’d hurt me, and I’m telling you, I’m fine.”
 “Doll, look at yourself!” He reaches out to take her arm, but immediately freezes. “Go in the bathroom and take off your shirt. Take a good look in the mirror and then tell me I didn’t hurt you.”
 “Alright.” Her jaw clenches, and she marches off in the direction of the bathroom. A deep sickness gnaws at the pit of his stomach and, completely worn out, he sinks into a kitchen chair.
 Not thirty seconds pass before she walks back into the room, this time completely undressed.
 “Tell me you’re not talking about a few love bites.”
 “And bruises! You may not have noticed, but they’re in the exact shape of my fingertips.”
 “Oh my god!” She shakes her head. “It’s a sex injury. A minor one at that! If you didn’t heal so damn fast, you’d probably have nail marks all over your back!”
 “That’s not the same thing.”
 “How is it not the same thing?”
 “I’m a monster! And you’re not.”
 She takes a determined step towards him, and he leans as far back as the chair will allow.
 “Bucky, you are not a monster, and I am not afraid of you.”
 “Then you’re stupid.” He hates himself for his sharp words, but she needs to take this seriously. Underestimating how dark, how evil he can be, is a mistake. A deadly one.
 “Hey!”
 “Don’t you get it?” Without any input from his brain, he stands. “They could find me, and with a few words, I could stare you dead in the eyes as I murdered you! If you were my mission, I wouldn’t even hesitate, and you’d be dead before your body hit the floor!” Her mouth falls open, but she immediately closes it again. “This isn’t something that can be worked through with some patience and a positive attitude! I could kill you!”
 “So could a million other things!” Her voice rises in volume, and before he can contain it-
 “But they’re not in the bed sleeping next to you!” He’s shouting at her. God. Everyone is right. He’s beyond saving.
 A few tense seconds pass before she looks up at him, a steely look in her eyes.
 “Look, I get it. I know what you could do to me.” As she speaks, she pulls out a chair and sits. “But I could also get run over when I cross the road, or the room could fill with carbon monoxide while I sleep. I could have an aneurysm and drop before anyone knows what’s happening.”
 He opens his mouth to tell her the likelihood of any of those things happening is far lower than the chance that he’ll hurt her, this time in a major way, but she holds up a hand, silencing him.
 “I’m gonna be cautious, but I’m also not going to live my life in fear that the ceiling is going to collapse or nuclear war is going to strike, or that someone is gonna turn up and say the magic words that make you go cuckoo for cocoa puffs-” What? “-and I just realized you’re too old for that reference.”
 “That’s another thing-” He’s about to remind her exactly how big their age gap is, that although he’s physically close to her age, chronologically, he’s closer to the age of her great grandfather, but she lets out a sudden groan of frustration, and that makes him bite his tongue.
 “Oh, fuck off, Barnes! If you’re about to start in on how you’re too old for me, then I’m not gonna wait for you to go full Winter Soldier before I kick your ass!” Out of all things, that’s what snaps him out of it, makes him feel like maybe, just maybe, there’s still a chance they can make the best of things.
 Smirking, he asks her,
 “You think you could kick my ass? Really?” It must be the breaking point for her too, because she snickers.
 “Of course. It’s the little bitches you have to watch out for.”  That’s it, he’s laughing, nearly doubled over, and from the looks of things, she’s in much the same state.
 “You’re something else, you know that?” He asks between stilted breaths.
 “I think we both fit in that category, Pal.” Her smile fades, but only slightly. “Bucky, if you really want me to go, if that’s what’ll give you peace, then I’ll do it, but I meant what I said. I trust you.” Never. He’ll never want her to go, he’s sure of it. Well then, that only leaves one option.
 “I know what we’re doing today.” It’s an abrupt segue, but it’s the only thing he could come up with on short notice.
 “And what’s that?”  The microwave dings, reminding him that he needs to stir the oatmeal, and he pushes past her.
 “Sit down and have your tea. You’re going to need all your energy if I’m gonna show you how to use a gun.” If she’s staying, then at least he can teach her how to defend herself beyond the basics she already knows.
 “So I guess this means you’re keeping me around for a little while longer?” It’s spoken like a joke, but he turns to her, meeting her eyes to drive the point home.
 “Yeah, Doll. As long as you want me."
70 notes · View notes
nuatthebeach · 3 years
Text
New Ginny
Link to AO3 for comments/reviews
"You know this was not what we had in mind for a low budget vacation, Winston!"
"You said you wanted to go somewhere you couldn't find at home."
"So, why would you take us to the beach all the way across the country, man?!" Sand shot in the air as an angry kick on the shore was executed effortlessly by the man Schmidt himself. "We live in freakin' LA! There's beaches crawling out of everywhere! And you wonder why no one lets you choose any of our vacation spots anymore, ya freak."
Cece threw up a hand in exasperation, diamond ring winking in the sun. "Yeah, why didn't you just tell us we were going to the beach, Winston? We could have saved a lot by just taking a car nearby instead of you surprising us with these 'low cost' plane tickets."
"See, you guys don't get it. I told y'all we were going on a cheap trip we ain't never done before, right?" Winston's smile brightened, the look of misguided, twisted comedy overtaking his expression with alarming speed. "And then, boom, I took y'all to the beach. On the East Coast. Ha! You just got Bishoped!"
Nick shook his head, right hand rubbing wearily against his face, looking just as tired as the rest of them. "You've gotta stop with your pranks, man."
"Y'all should've seen the look on my face - "
"Y- Seen the look on your face?"
The only word to describe the look on Schmidt's face was 'flabbergasted.'
" - When I swiped y'all's credit credit cards last month as you were all arguing with Nick over that Flat Earth theory video on YouTube - "
"When they asked the guy about his qualifications, he answered 'critical thinker'! Does that sound like someone who would just lie to you?!"
" - And for your only holiday weekends too! And, man, Nick is so broke right now! I was trying so hard to hold it in!" Winston was absolutely beaming with mirth at this point, reducing his friends' sense of camaraderie towards him to a terrifying low. "You know, you guys should really be checking your billing history more often, for real, someone could really be stealing from you, and you'd have no idea."
Before Winston could register Schmidt's increasingly tomato red face, something else in his periphery caught his attention. "Damn it, Ferguson, don't go near that water! It is not your friend, baby!"
"What type of idiot lets a cat roam free on the beach!"
While Cece attempted to alleviate the pressure between Schmidt's tightly clenched teeth, an irritated look overpowering her own, a low voice spoke from behind. "Are your friends always like this?"
Ginny, who had been laughing at her loftmates' antics and was surprisingly not feeling as bothered by Winston's tendencies as the rest of them (this vacation is, after all, well-deserved after the shitty week I've had, and every second counts, even if they are each spent planning Winston's upcoming ultimate demise), turned around to see an incredibly fit man her age speaking to her directly.
Sweeping her eyes over his form once, she leaned closer. "I'm afraid they are, yes, but I've got to warn you I'm not much better."
He seemed equally as amused as her. "How so?"
"Well, as you can tell from my completely American accent," she deadpanned in her British accent, amused when the stranger rolled his eyes in response, "my sense of humor is a bit dry. Superior, of course, but I'm told some people can't handle it."
"Natural selection will handle that, I hope," he chuckled.
"If we're lucky," she smiled. Feeling particularly introductory that late afternoon, she gestured halfheartedly to the obnoxious chatter several meters ahead of her. "My loftmates here, on the other hand, each have an equally questionable sense of humor themselves."
"Who, those few?"
She rolled her eyes, failing to prevent the corner of her lips from quirking upwards. Pointing to the man who was now dragging an increasingly wet and agitated cat from the Atlantic ocean, his jeans completely soaked from the knees down, Ginny drawled, "That idiot over there who cost us a proper, well-earned vacation is Winston. The only thing this man loves more than crazy pranks is his even crazier cat, who I'm pretty sure doesn't even know he exists. Needless to say, I've really never been more envious of a cat's attention span myself."
Moving on to Schmidt and Cece who were lying on the shore as far away from Winston as much as possible as a form of spite, Ginny explained matter-of-factly, "Schmidt and Cece don't have a cat, but that won't stop them from also making ear infection-inducing noises at six in the morning through our paper thin walls."
Pointing to the last couple on the beach, she continued, "Not like Nick and Jess are any better, though. They like to make weird noises too, but it's not always during sex, and that scares me more than it should anyone, really."
She gestured to herself. "And last but not least, you have me, whose most normal experience of today is having a fit guy at the beach wonder out loud about how five idiots managed to drag their even more fit loftmate out of her comfortable bed and into an expensive five hour flight. Just to do the same things that I easily could have done if I just took a simple albeit very long stroll outside. And I would have had a much better view, too, no offense to your rather peculiar looking ocean over here. What shade of contaminated gray would you call that hue, by the way?"
"No, that's a pretty accurate way of describing it, actually. I'd like to think there is some green in there, though. Just to give it the illusion of appearing to be clean." Reluctantly, Ginny had to agree.
The stranger's lips pressed firmly in amusement the entire time she was talking - ranting, more like - clearly trying to not give her the satisfaction of knowing how funny and charming he thought she was.
She found that endearing. They all try at first.
Eventually, he settled with: "So you and, uh, Winston, are the only two people in the loft who are not coupled up?"
She raised an eyebrow, impressed by his nerve. "Pretending to ignore your intentions for asking such a tactfully worded question, no, actually, when Winston's not too busy canoodling with his cat, he's canoodling his girlfriend - Aly - back at home, but she couldn't make it here today, lucky girl. So it's just me."
Finally smiling now, the stranger ignored her challenging look ('why are you so curious about my relationship status, you hot, inquisitive, none-of-your-business stranger?') and asked her teasingly, "Aren't there a lot of people to fit in just one loft?"
"I mean, we're from LA. Rent there is mad, so we need all the help we can get," she shrugged. "But, yeah, most definitely breaking some housing rules here or there. Is that something that bothers you?"
He smiled, something akin to arrogance taking over his face. She found that look more stirring than she'd like to admit out loud. "You'll find I'm not really the rule caring type."
"Oh? When would you imagine I'd be finding that out?"
She was beyond the point of caring how brazen she must have sounded to a complete and utter stranger. And if she was being honest with herself, she never did care, really. Besides, if she was going to fit a hot summer romance in the span of a whole day, she thought she might as well get on with it.
He cleared his throat, his gaze silently indicating how much he'd like to agree with her on that one, too. "Okay, Miss Dry Humor. I guess I know everything there is to know about your loftmates without risk of my mind being fully blown apart, now. What's your story?"
"What's yours?"
He chuckled at her retort though immediately furrowed his eyebrows afterward, as if he was confused by this question himself.
Ginny did not know what to think of that, though she found a strange fog overtaking her when she tried to ponder on her own personal history too.
Strange.
Instead, she prompted, trying to clear her mind, "You're a lifeguard here, right?"
He looked down at his form, a lanyard draped across his increasingly interesting collarbone and a whistle resting just above his bare chest.
"I can't swim."
She blinked.
"What?" she laughed. "Isn't that, like, a hazard for what you do?"
"Probably," he said sheepishly, rubbing his hand against the back of his neck. "I don't mean to, like, put anyone in danger or anything. It's a long story, but basically, I'm covering for my friend while he's, um...making noises with his girlfriend, as you said. Hence, the whistle right here. So I'm not really a lifeguard. But if anything happens, my other friend - an actual reliable lifeguard - can help you out. He's right over there nearby."
He pointed to another dark-haired, attractive man standing farther away from them along the shore. At first, Ginny thought he was winking at her, but when she saw the tension building along the shoulders of the stranger next to her, she knew who that teasing look was meant for.
"Sorry about him. He thinks I'm trying to make a move on you."
"Oh? Is that not what's happening right now?"
His cheeks flushed slightly. Ginny found it amusing how this man could be so confident but also so shit at flirting too. It strangely caused warmth to expand, but this time it was not through her lower belly.
"I don't want him to think that, though. I'd never hear the end of it."
It was not a direct answer to her question, but his eyes were so soft and mischievous that she had no doubt as to what he really meant.
She rolled her eyes anyway. "I thought you Americans were supposed to be more direct than that."
He scoffed, eyes lighting up at her jibe. "Oh, I see. You're one of those. Dry humor doesn't have to equate to being mean, you know."
Ginny laughed. "Well, that's why my loft arrangement works out so well with this lot over here," she jabbed her thumb to her friends, watching as Ferguson was attempting once more to drown himself in the ocean to escape his owner's clingy attentiveness. "My sense of humor is mean and dry, and their sense of humor compensates by being mean and wet."
He coughed. "Wet?"
She raised an eyebrow at him, pretending like she hadn't made any suggestive comment whatsoever. "Well, occasionally we do like to alternate, though."
"Of course."
"If I was always dry, and they were always wet, we'd have a different problem altogether."
He barked out a laugh, his cheeks flushing again. "How are you even real?"
"Well, anything's possible if you've got enough perv."
The man's breath hitched, his green eyes staring at her intensely. Despite her earlier insult, Ginny thought the color reminded her exactly of the ocean they were at now, something much stormier than the one back in California.
She found herself growing fond of this beach in a way she was not before.
"Do I know you? I swear I feel like I met you before."
She leaned closer to him, fighting feeling flustered herself. "I've probably got one of those memorable faces or something."
"Something like that." His eyebrows furrowed, but his lips were still upturned. "I'll certainly remember it much later today anyways."
His ears promptly reddened.
She gasped playfully, smiling as she hit him lightly on his very fit arm. "You are much smoother than you look. And randier."
He laughed. After a short while of them standing in a silence filled with smirks and silky sheet-like possibilities, he finally asked, "Okay, Miss Dry Occasionally Wet Humor - "
"Nice."
He bit back another chuckle. "What's your name?"
"What's yours?"
He rolled his eyes ("stubborn too"), he relented, "I'm Harry."
She chuckled, shaking his hand that was offered to her mockingly. She tried to ignore how well it fit in her own small one.
"Ginny."
He watched her nose crinkle, a deep smile spreading across both of their lips contentedly.
It was something tangible, she thought, as her insides fired up, not out of lustful heat - though certainly that too - but something warm, like receiving hugs after being shoved outside in a freezing tent in the woods for months and months, with nothing but a piece of marked parchment to keep one sane.
Parchment?
Something within her squirmed, and she thought that if she listened closely enough, the sounds of seagulls cawing in the distance could easily be replaced by something akin to an audience crooning in sympathy.
As if watching a pair of hopeless lovers on a silver screen.
Suddenly, Nick's comically high pitched scream filled the air, allowing Ginny to shake her head at her crazy thoughts.
"It's just a ghost crab, Nick!" Jess yelled from far away, annoyed as her boyfriend jumped on her back in fright, almost causing her to topple over herself.
"Why are there crabs and ghosts, Jess! You can't have both! You know I always told you that crustaceans are the cockroaches of the sea! It's a crazy world out here!"
At Jess's blank stare, Nick chuckled incredulously, his last brain cell firing meekly. "Wait. I get it. You're teasing me, Jess. Ghosts aren't real. Psh. Nice try."
Nick's neck cricked as he glanced around in paranoia.
Jess rolled her eyes, attempting to drop him down from her back but failing badly, his legs wrapped around her like a vice. "Ghost. Crabs. Nick. I don't know why you're even scared of them - they even walk sideways like you do!"
"They should not be blending in with the sand like that! They're all spooky ghosts! It's not right!"
"You. Are. So. Infuriating, Miller!"
As Nick hopped off of Jess to moonwalk away from the ghost crabs, a thought came to Ginny.
"They kind of remind me of..." Both Harry and Ginny said at the exact same time, causing them to stare at each other hastily.
When neither of them finished their sentences (what even was I going to say anyways?), Ginny huffed. "Right," she said, "Well, I've got to head back now before Nick finds out that it's getting late, which can only mean that more ghost crabs are bound to be crawling all over the place soon."
He laughed but quickly became alarmed when she made to leave. "Wait."
She turned around, hand cupping her forehead to squint at him through the waning sun. Harry swallowed, eyes drifting to her red hair in a daze.
Before he could say anything, however, Schmidt and Winston's obnoxiously loud voices were shrill above the sounds of the waves crashing ahead of them.
"Of all places for a prank!" Clearly, Schmidt's ability to let things go was about as weak as Ginny's right hook. "Why did you decide to take us here in the end?"
"As in, why the East Coast and not a beach in a whole other expensive ass country? Damn, now that would have been a better prank."
Four legs reached out to kick sand in Winston's face, Ferguson following with a screech.
"But to be honest, I couldn't wait to see what the sunset looks like on the other side of the country."
Pause.
"Winston! We are on the East Coast! The sun falls west at night time! Look at where the sun is now," Schmidt gestured aggressively behind him, where towering beach homes covered the view. "You can't see the freakin' sunset on this beach, man!"
"Aw, damn, my bad."
"How are you actually one of the more intelligent people I know in my life?!"
If there was one thing she and Schmidt shared, Ginny concluded, it was their inability to handle rage.
Her eyes flitted to Jess, who was trying to catch her attention.
Ginny chuckled, holding up a hand to let her loftmate know to wait there when she saw her smiling knowingly towards her and Harry. She watched as Jess's eyebrows waggled dramatically, stuffing her index finger through a hole she made with her other hand in repetition as she chomped down on her lip.
Completely unfazed by her loftmate's quirks at that point, Ginny turned to Harry again.
"If we can't do that sunset, I suppose I'll have to make plans for a sunrise tomorrow before we head back to LA, then. Join me?"
His answering smile could make a grain of sand feel alive.
She had the strangest feeling that the sound she could have sworn she heard a while ago was ringing faintly in her ear once more.
This time, she thought she heard boisterous whoops instead, clapping cheerfully as Ginny smiled one last time to Harry before finally walking toward her friends.
Click Here to Play the Next Episode - >>|
(Autoplay in 3…2…)
9 notes · View notes
Text
Final Fantasy XIV: A Quick(ish) Summary As Told By Someone Too Lazy To Recheck Exact Times/Things
1.0- We don't talk about it
A Realm Reborn (ARR)- for some strange reason the world got like, completely blown up 5 years ago, crazy! You are some dumb kid from nowhere in particular, with nothing but the clothes on your back and a weapon that is little more than a chunk of wood, or a book. Possibly just your fists. You have got 50 levels and a shitload of lore to get through until you reach the first expansion.
Tumblr media
Essentially: you don't have enough money for chicken nuggets, your fashion game is nonexistent, and every high level player calls you a sprout and exhibits Concern about your every action (they mean well).
Garlemald bad, Ascians bad, Eorzea uhhh trying to be good but kinda racist/capitalist/pirates with a history of colonialism, Coerthas is French Catholic and in the Crusades with the dragons. Hydaelin... good? Confusing, for sure, often referred to as Mother in text. Primals bad and scary, but fortunately you are immune to their mind-fuckery techniques thanks to Crystal Mom and surprisingly good at kicking their asses. Garleans mad that you ""savages"" keep killing Primals, despite having a whole mandate against Primals and Primal summoning. Ascians mad that you keep killing Primals because Ascians are dicks. People die, there is an amnesia plot, some annoying twerp is annoyingly right about a lot of things and also you can't get rid of him, Moogles, possession, fucking Ancient Aliens Allagans (if it's a problem in ARR, it's Ascians or Allagans aight), and hey ho you go and kick Garlean asses until they throw a giant machine at you that they stuffed full of Primal juice. Such devastation-!
Then there is the slightly post ARR stuff, where we're still level 50-ish but not really into the next expansion. So basically, we meet Dragon Dad who slaps Crystal Mom's blessing off of you to build character, Ascians are once again dicks, Who The Hell Names These Things, wow Lysanderoth you're definitely not suspicious at all, and our annoying twerp is dabbling in politics and for some reason you're getting fond of him?? Just in time for...
Heavensward (Lvl 50-60)- Congratulations, you are now an enemy of the state! We return/flee to French Catholic Coerthas/Ishgard, where we get to room with our Dear Friend, Haurchefant.
Tumblr media
Don't mind how all the high leveled players have started crying. This expansion is emotionally devastating, has a great storyline, and also features canonical consensual dragon vore as a plot point. You know that tweet that's all "Church bad because they won't let you fuck dragons"? Yes, that's Heavensward. You will still cry. We embark on an epic road trip with the annoying twerp (ft his existential teenage crisis), a famous dragon killer and sadboi, and a famous lady who advocates peace/fucking dragons. Somehow, none of you kill each other. Instead, you murder a weirdly attractive bug-man with good music and a desire for violence, a giant flying whale, and some old dudes. You also beat up the same Ascian from the first bit, again. And again, in his final(?) form. Dragon Dad has come along to watch your progress, and also check on his kids cause he's actually, y'know, the entire progenitor of the dragon race. Wow! His family is very sad, mostly. But he does like you, so hey, he can adopt you and have one kid that turned out ok and happy! Hahahahha there's no therapists in Eorzea :')
Tumblr media
Then we get to deal with "Hey we ended your like 500 year+ Crusade and kind of upended your social structures, y'all good?" (no), something something Warriors of Darkness, something something Urianger sus, then ALISAIE JOINS THE PARTY. I love her ok, let me have this. She's the annoying twerp's twin, and she's more inclined to hitting things that politics and philosophy. She's also kind of crushing on you. Also Minfillia kinda fucks off to nowhere, which is weird, b/c she has been Important but also Not Involved with the plot for like. 8 years.
Stormblood (Lvl 60-70)- Return of Lysanderoth! Briefly. Before he fucks you over, again. And a bunch of other people, honestly. But hey, this puts Eorzea in open contention with Garlemald for the first time in years, instead of them hovering in an uneasy cold war. For the first goddamn time in the game, you canonically get your ass kicked. Hard. So hard you decide fuck it! And go overseas to Fantasy Japan/China to visit some nice people you helped out earlier. You get catfished. You meet a weeb. There's some pirates, and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. There's Ravana take 2, this time in a slightly more 'Forever 21' phase. Wild, young, free, REJOICE.
Tumblr media
You attempt to inspire rebellion (since your character doesn't talk much, this is quite difficult). Garleans crack down, and hey look, the dude who kicked your ass is back! Prince Zenos Yae Galvus, as by this point you've hopefully learned, even if you're bad with names like me. He kicks your ass again, but this time we break his helmet, and wait shit is he... kind of hot? Maybe? Fuck?? He pins you to a wall and tells you to find him later, it's all confusing and prompts strange butterflies in stomachs. (Side note: as a lesbian, I am making some assumptions here. Mostly based off of how I reacted to the idea of Tsukuyomi doing the same. Mm.)
Tumblr media
Then he promptly fucks off, and to work off that sexual tension you square up and work with local friends on Rebellion! You get help from some neighboring nomads after proving you're cool enough to tame a bird, and this proves enough to free the area from Garlean control (for now). We go back to Eorzea, and prepare to kick Zenos' head in. He's playing hard to get though, so we gotta get through some other folks, learn hard lessons about war/colonization, and feel bad. AND THEN WE KICK HIS- oh no wait. Is he... coming on to us again? Oh jesus man, get a therapist, oh my god, this is awkward for us both. Turns out he's kinda depressed and just wants you. To fight him. To the death. There is some bullshittery and he becomes dragon. Fails to kill you, so he kills himself. (Spoiler: it doesn't stick)
The Garlean Empire is now pissed off at you, and Eorzea in general. Everyone is kung-fu fighting, but oops, Garlemald is preparing to commit ~war crimes~! Someone is doing something weird, which is making your Scion friends fall into comas, which is both very convenient and highly inconvenient, cause all of you are kinda needed right now! Zenos, or something in his body, is causing trouble as well. Look, even when we thought he was dead he was causing trouble.
Shadowbringers (Lvl 70-80): We find out what's been making our friends pass out- someone from another dimension has been trying to yoink you over to them, and like all attempts at using the Rescue spell, it just sometimes leads to hilarious accidents. In this case, some epic lag, so although your friends have only been out of it for a week or two at most, they've been in this other world for 5 whole years in some cases. Turns out, Garlean war crimes are all an Ascian plot (what isn't, by this point), and mysterious Crystal Exarch is hoping you can save this world and your own.
Tumblr media
At this point, Yoshi P, the lead developer, pulls out a gun and asks if you've been doing all those side-quests and optional 48 man raids. He worked very hard on those, you know. He put in lots of lore. Then he asks if you remember all those dangling plot hooks from previous expansions. We're addressing a lot of those. And adding more. You are sweating and nodding frantically while scrolling a wiki on your phone.
You get to feel like you're in an Otome game, because there's two dudes being weirdly polite and interested in you, but also real snappish to each other in terms of "fuck off she's mine". Alisaie and Alphinaud off-screen character development. Urianger still sus. Thancred now a dad? Y'shtola still so good. A lot of things happen, and you get progressively sadder as the expansion goes on. You get a nice, great big burst of hope and love, and then SOMEONE is a DICK with a GUN. (It is not Yoshi P.)
Tumblr media
Now you just feel bad. Your character feels bad. This is all build up for the A) some motherfucking revelations and B) the utter catharsis of "If you could take one more step... would you?" "What, all by myself?" "THROW WIDE THE GATE"
I have shed legitimate tears over Shadowbringers ok, between the music, story, and pacing it is an Experience. Oh my god tho, all the music from Shadowbringers is so good. La-HEE
20 notes · View notes
ms-rampage · 3 years
Text
New Dawn: New Horizons Chapter 2 - An Archangel’s Daughter
Warnings: Language
Word count: 2.6k
Summary: Gabriel confronts Lucifer to protect Daenerys from him. Cristina tells her parents about her encounter with Lucifer. 
Guest OCs: Thomas Winchester-Smith (FC: Colin Ford), Jeffrey Winchester-Smith (FC: Dylan Everett)
Guest characters: Carmina Rye, Gabriel [Supernatural], Lucifer [Supernatural]. Sam and Dean Winchester [mentioned]
Written by @athenalillystar and myself. Supernatural & Far Cry New Dawn crossover. Hope y'all enjoy! 💗💗
Taglist: @wargames94 @rabbitsoldier @mrsladydiana @vicki-the-sinner
Tumblr media
The Winchester kids, and Carmina Rye sitting at Roughneck’s Crag. Laughing, having a great time, and enjoying the Montana night around the bonfire. 
Not far from them, Lucifer appears, tracking down Daenerys. Just to see how special this human child is to his brother. He walks through the tall grass, the lights from the hut lightning up the dark mountain, wooded area with dead trees, dirt roads and the loud rock music playing.
Lucifer sees the kids, figuring out which one of them is Daenerys. Clearly it’s not either of the two boys, it's not the tall brunette with the blue streaks because he met, and spoke to her hours earlier. 
So it’s either pink, purple hair (Daenerys), glasses (Bianca), or beanie (Carmina).
He listens in on their conversations from 25 feet away, hiding in the darkness. Underneath the water tower. So far he’s able to get their names.
Jeffrey, Thomas, Bianca, Carmina and Daenerys, but still doesn’t know who is who. The small pink, purple haired girl steps away from the others.
“Dae, where you going?!” Cristina asks.
“I’m getting a drink!!” she responds. 
“Get me one too!” the elder sibling responds. 
“So you’re the one who’s holding my brother back” Lucifer says to himself. 
He follows her, while remaining hidden. “Who would’ve known the small pink, purple haired one would be “fathered” by my brother” he tells himself, “It makes sense. She looks like a unicorn threw up on her hair, she looks like she eats a lot of candy, sugar, and yet has a petite figure”. 
He watches her go through the cupboards inside the hut. He’s about to approach her, when the sound of wings fluttering stops him.
“What are you doing here?!?” an angry whisper asks. He turns around, and sees a furious Gabriel with his arms crossed.
Lucifer smirks, “I see you’ve been working on your dad face. Keep it up, it looks good” giving him a thumbs up.
His arms still crossed, and still angry, “What are you doing here?!?” he asks again.
“I just wanted to see what was so special about “wittle” Daenerys” he says mockingly.
“Get out of here!” he demands him.
He scoffs, and crosses his arms “No, and if I don’t, what are you gonna do about it?!. With very little powers you have”.
He takes a few steps closer to him. “I’m not gonna need much to take you down Lucifer” Gabriel threatens him. He gives him a mocking look, and chuckles. 
“Really? Because I can kill you right now, and little Dany won’t know what happened to her “father”. Does she even know you’re an Archangel?!. Well half Archangel, but more on the human side”.
Not wanting to give his brother the satisfaction on telling him the truth. He continues to stare at him, not saying a word. His lack of response makes Lucifer’s mouth drop open in a dramatic fashion.
His hand covering his mouth, “Oh my dad, she doesn’t know you’re, or were, an Archangel!?!”.
Gabriel looks away for a moment, and back at Lucifer, shaking his head “No. No she doesn’t know, and I don’t want her to know. She doesn’t know I’m not her real father, and Kate wants it that way”.
Lucifer clenches his teeth, squinting his eyes and says mockingly, “It’s never a good thing to lie to your child. Well she’s not your child, so I guess it's okay to lie to her”.
He stares at him once more, telling his older brother in frustration “Lucifer, just leave. I have enough on my plate already”.
He immediately responds back, “And what is that Gabe?!. Not having your powers?. Dad not answering your calls?. Being a human?. It sucks doesn’t it?!?”.
He raises his hand, snapping his fingers, freezing time, and approaches the group of kids. Standing behind Daenerys.
“Lucifer!” Gabriel mutters angrily, marching towards him “Lucifer, get away from them!!”.
He glares at Daenerys in disgust, “What is so special about this small human?!?. I mean this color. It's so bleh” he gags in disgust.
“Lucifer, stay away from them!” he threatens him again.
“But this one!” he points to Cristina, “This one, I like. I spoke to her earlier”.
Gabriel looks at him in confusion, “You spoke to Cristina?!?”.
He nods his head, “Yep. We had a nice little chat. About how dad farted on humanity, tried to wipe them all out. How he spoke to Joseph Seed about the Collapse, and how he played him”.
“She knows you’re!?!” he asks, motioning his hand up, and down “Lucifer?!”.
“Yeah, she freaked out!. I don’t think mommy Paige told her about, our kind” he whispers the last few words.
He follows up, “Which makes sense because your pink headed daughter doesn’t know you’re an Archangel, and pretty much lied to her, her whole life. How old is she? 12? 14? 15?”. 
“She’s 16” he mutters, rolling his eyes. 
“16!” he says “ethusasically”, placing his hands on his cheeks, “Wow, she should be in high school. Talking about boys, getting her nails done, or something like that. I don’t know”.
Still fed up with his brother's antics and already annoyed that he decided to show himself to his human niece, and is threatening his daughter. 
“What are you trying to do here?!?” he asks, irritated with his brother's antics. 
“Seriously. What is so special about her?” he motions to Daenerys, “What’s so special about Kate Winchester, or the Winchesters in general?!?”, trying to somehow convince his brother.
Gabriel groans in annoyance, rolling his eyes, “Okay, fine. When I cast out of Heaven, and landed here, the only humans I knew were the Winchesters. I didn’t know Kate, and Paige were pregnant. With very little strength, and powers I had, I went to them and their family. I knew they would take me in. Yeah they didn’t really trust me at first, but then I explained to them what was happening in the world. They believed me. Now with Dany, when Kate was pregnant I took care of her, and she gave birth, I took care of the baby. I helped Kate raise her, and that's why she's so important to me. I watched her grow up, and she saw me as her father.”
Lucifer acts touched to what his little brother had said. He says, pretending to be tearful. 
“That was just so touching” he wipes a fake tear from his eye. “I can feel my heart growing with happiness”. 
Gabriel knows he’s faking it. It’s his thing.
“Yeah sure. You really think I’m gonna believe that crap” he tells him.
Gabriel looks at his temporarily frozen daughter, “Believe me or not, I don’t care. Whether she came from me or not. She’s still my daughter. I helped raise her, and if I have to protect her from you, or any other bag of dicks, I will. My lack of powers won’t stop me from protecting her”.
Lucifer shrugs, lifting his arms up, “Have it your way, but also remember I’m still not done with you”.
He snaps his fingers, disappearing, and unfreezing time. Gabriel quickly teleports back to the compound. 
Daenerys looks in the direction where her dad was standing. Thinking she saw him, just merely seconds ago.
“You okay Dae?” Bianca asks her. 
She looks around confused, “Yeah, I thought I saw my dad. That was weird” she laughs it off. 
They all stay there for another 15 minutes before getting up, heading back to their car, and going home.
***
Back at the compound Gabriel walks through the front door, and a worried Kate approaches him.
“Gabe!! Where have you been?!?” she asks, now relievedly.
He stammers a bit, “I-I uh”. He lets out a sharp exhale, and tells her the truth, “When I went out earlier to contact my dad, Lucifer”.
“Lucifer?!?!” Kate exclaims. It catches Paige, Kenneth, Adrian, Mandy, Mark and Nate's attention, making all of them turn around.
“What about Lucifer?!?” Paige asks from the kitchen.
He continues “Lucifer appeared to me, and he wanted me to go with him”.
“Go with him? Where?” Kate asks.
“He didn’t say. He saw you Kate in one of the windows, and he was like “You live with the Losechesters now?!” and I told him that I am. I told him that I couldn’t go with him because of her”.
“Daenerys?!” she whispers.
Nodding his head, “Yeah, he went to where they were at tonight, and I was able to confront him before she could see him”.
“Oh no, no, no” Kate mutters, shaking her head. 
The others, Cody, Martin, Barbara and everyone else hear the commotion and enter the living room. 
“He didn’t say anything to her, or he didn’t do anything to them?!?” she asks, about to start panicking. 
“No, no he didn’t do anything to them, or to her. But he did mention that he. Talked to Cristina earlier” he hesitates on the last part.
“What?!?!” Paige shouts, getting up from her seat “What did that asshole say to her?!?”.
“He knew she was your kid, and he also wanted to know why Daenerys is so special to me. I told him why, but he didn’t believe me. Which is typical of him".
Exhaling in frustration, “I can’t believe him. I can’t believe he would show himself to her, and all those years. I tried shielding our kids from that life and all that demon crap”.
“Well it doesn’t really help when we have an actual Archangel living with us” Mark informs Paige.
“I know, I know, but none of the kids know he’s an Archangel” she tells them, stress in hervoice.
Gabe sighs “That’s another thing Lucifer mentioned”. 
“What?!” Kate asks.
“He asked if Daenerys knew I’m an Archangel, and I told him “that I don’t want her to ever find out about it", and he tried to make me feel guilty for lying to her”.
They all stare at him, he continues “He also asked if she knows that I’m not her real dad”.
Kate looks at the floor in anger, her hands trembling, “I can’t believe him. I expected this from him, but him putting our daughter into it, that's crossing a major fucking line”.
They see headlights, a car pulling into the property, they all turn back and see the kids. 
“Okay, let's not say anything to them until we get all of this figured out” Paige tells them. 
They all agree, and go do their own thing. The kids enter the house, still talking and laughing.
Gabriel, who is still worried about his brother doing harm to Daenerys, stays quiet about the whole thing until he can figure out a way to get rid of him. Or somehow keep his ass quiet, and prevent him from showing himself to her, and the other kids.
****
Later that night, Cristina is unable to sleep, or prevent her mind from wandering because of Lucifer. She gets up out of bed, goes to her parents room. 
Paige and Kenneth look up at her.
“What’s wrong Cri?” Kenneth asks.
A look of worry and confusion on her face, “There’s something I need to tell you both” she says to them. 
“What is it?” Paige asks, already knowing what this is about. 
She sits at the edge of their bed, “Earlier today when Daenerys, Bianca and I went to scavenge for supplies. When I was alone in one of the houses looking for supplies. A man appeared, and he said his name was Lucifer”.
Paige and Kenneth look at each other, “What did he look like?!” she asks.
“He was tall, had blond hair, blue eyes. Had some facial hair. He was wearing a mustard color, beige jacket, white t-shirt, and dark blue jeans” she explains every detail of him, from what she can remember of the encounter.
Paige sighs, looks down at the floor. “That was indeed Lucifer.”
“He said he knew you, and aunt Kate” Cristina tells them. 
Paige nods her head, “Yeah, we have a long history with him. Kate killed Lilith all those years ago, and Kate happens to be Lilith’s true vessel. We thought killing her, for the 2nd time, would prevent Lucifer from rising, and getting out of his cage but it did the exact opposite. It freed Lucifer from his cage. She had me killed, and I died. I spent 20 years in Hell, which is 2 months Earth time. I was raised from perdition by the Archangel Michael. In total I’ve died 7 times”. 
Cristina looks at her mother with wide eyes and disbelief. Completely speechless. She looks over at her father Kenneth, and he nods his head. This better be all a dream. This can’t be real!.
“What? How? When? What?!!” she stammers, “Who else knows about this?!?”.
“I do, your grandmother, and your aunt” Kenneth answers, “No one else can know about this. Not your siblings, not Daenerys, not a soul can know about this sort of thing.”
Paige explains to her eldest, “I was 4 years old when my dad died. He died in a house fire that was started by a demon named Azazel. Your grandmother, aunt and I travel a lot, hunting down the demon that killed my father, and ruined our family. It’s a very long story, just to give you the short version. I never wanted you, and your siblings to live the life Kate and I lived growing up”. 
“We wanted a normal life for you guys” Kate jumps in, leaning against the doorframe, “I agree, no one else can know about this, and the man you saw today. Lucifer, the real Lucifer”.
“Okay so what about Sam and Dean Winchester?!?” she asks, "Who are they??".
Kate and Paige look at each other and nod their heads.
“They’re family. Were family. They were our 1st cousins, their dad John, and our dad Joel were cousins. Their dads Henry and Alfred were brothers” Paige tells her, holding back tears, "Your brothers are named after them. They were the best hunters we have ever known. They were very brave. They've saved the world so many times, and we've never forgotten about them. We always think about them." 
“We come from a long line of hunters. Not your typical hunters, but we hunted monsters. Ghosts, vampires, werewolves, demons, all that shit” Kate tells her. 
“I need to go lie down” Cristina says, getting up from the bed, going to her room. Feeling lightheaded.
“Don’t tell anyone. Please, we don't want anyone to freak out, or panic. So just don’t tell anyone” Paige pleads her. 
“Okay” Cristina mutters, nodding her head. Walking towards her bedroom. 
Going to her room, laying down on her bed, and trying to go to sleep. Only to wake up minutes later to the sound of rustling in the corner of her room. She sits up, turning on her light. Nothing. She lays back down, closing her eyes.
The rustling returns but she ignores it, turning on to her side, facing the wall. She hears very faint humming, thinking it's just her imagination. She ignores it. It grows slightly louder, and kind of obnoxious. 
She sits up, and turns on her light again. She sees the same man from that afternoon. Lucifer.
“Hello!” he greets with that same calm voice, and a slight smirk on his face.
She’s about to scream, but he covers her mouth immediately. Muffling her screams.
“Why do you humans always act this way to surprising visitors?!?!” he asks annoyed, shaking his head.  
16 notes · View notes
unbelievableholland · 4 years
Note
prompt 73 for fluff? tom comes home from hanging out w the boys and sees clothes all over the floor and stuff thinking the reader is cheating on him. when he busts the door open he sees a blowup doll in the bed and the reader is hysterical. i’ve been watching too many pranks recently and i thought it’d be funny, thank you 😆😘
"What the fuck?!"
Pairing: Tom Holland x Reader
Warnings: Cheating as a prank, swearing, fluff, and it gets a lil smutty. It's not smut tho.
Words: 1,724
Summary: You decide to prank Tom as pay back for his previous prank on you.
A/N: I had so much fun writing this! I hope y'all like it! It's a bit different from the ones I wrote before just because of the ending😂 I hope I did a good job on that.
Prompt:
73. "It's a prank! It's a prank, it's a prank."
——————————————————————
Revenge. That’s all in your mind as you walk around the mall buying different men's clothing. Of course, you don’t really worry about the paparazzi since you and Tom aren’t public yet. Not being public has never been more convenient to the both of you when you go out on your own.
The reason you’re shopping for men’s clothing isn’t actually because you want to buy Tom new clothes, but because he pranked you a week before. You’re just planning a simple revenge prank, is all.
When you have a full set of clothes, you get in line to pay for them. You actually bought clothes the you know Tom would like though. You don’t want them to go to waste, so you bought a plain black hoodie, a red Spider-Man shirt and a pair of black-tinted pants.
Of course, You also bought accessories such as a belt, a cap, and a pair of shoes that Tom’s been wanting to buy, as an apology for what you’re about to do.
But you’d never forget about the main object of your prank. A blow-up doll.
On your way home, you actually second guess your plan because you feel a bit guilty. You thought back to his prank a week before though, and you’re sure that you’ll go through with your plan.
Tom’s prank was not nice at all. Him, his brothers, and Harrison staged a fight after all of you got back from the pub.
It was full of shouting between Tom and Harrison for a full 10 minutes. Harrison accused Tom on cheating on you, Tom acted suspiciously the whole time as well.
To summarize, it ended in you crying because you actually thought Tom cheated on you, but of course all of them told you it was a prank. They apologized for taking it too far, and you’ve been giving them the cold shoulder for a week.
You really aren’t mad though, but when they told you it was a prank, it resulted in you coming up with your own devious plan. Pretending to be mad at them is just a build-up to make you’re the prank more believable.
Once you get to your shared apartment with Tom knowing that he’s out drinking with the boys, you get the clothes from the paper bag and think about where you’re going to place them. They’d be back in one or two hours minimum, so you have no problem taking your time. You walk up to the table by the T.V and place a camera right there, pressing the record button. You can just cut the video after the prank.
You decide to place the shoes messily on the ground near the door, the hoodie near the couch along with the cap. Making your way near the stairs and place the pants there, the underwear being placed in front of your shared bedroom with Tom.
When the new clothes are set in place, you enter the bedroom and go straight to your closet. You take out your own set of clothing, but unlike the men’s clothing, it’s a little bit more inappropriate.
It’s simple really. It’s Tom’s favourite silk robe and black lingerie.
Making your way back to the living room, you place the robe next to the shirt, and the lingerie next to the underwear in from of the bedroom.
You feel a bit guilty as you inflate the blow-up doll to finish up the pranks, when your phone vibrates which interrupts your train of thoughts. It’s a text from Tom, saying that they’re on their way home from the pub.
They’re going home earlier than you think, so you hurry up. Leaving the text on read, just like you have for the past week.
Tom’s going to flip when he comes home.
The prank just got 10 times better when you see Tom’s follow up text message saying that the boys will be coming over.
Once the blow-up doll is set, you bring it up with you to the bedroom, setting up your phone to capture Tom’s reaction on the bedside table and clicking record, and getting under the covers with the doll. You’d worn a skin colored spaghetti strapped top so you wouldn’t have to remove your clothes.
Everything’s set. The phone is set up so that some of the bed and the door is caught in the frame.
The pub they went to isn’t far from your apartment. It’s only about 10 minutes away from here so you expect to hear the door unlock anytime now.
Now, from Tom’s perspective, the past week has been hell. You haven’t texted him back on any of his messages, and you barely talked to him. You haven’t given him any attention and it’s killing him.
It’s killing him because he knows it’s mostly his fault.
Though the boys have helped him and comforted him, they still feel bad themselves. So, it’s safe to say that all of them are clueless as to what they should do to make things better.
They’ve prepared themselves for a scolding from you, or an argument, or another week of glares and silent treatments from you.
But none of them expected to see clothes scattered around the floor when they opened the door to the apartment.
Tom’s eyes widen in shock.
“What the fuck!?”
All of them are speechless. They didn’t expect this from you.
Tom turns around and looks at the boys. “Please tell me I'm going crazy.” His breathing becomes uneven, trying to keep the tears from rising.
Sam swallows down the lump in his throat and speaks up. He’s wary about what he says because he doesn’t want to make things any worse.
“Y-You should talk to her.” What else was he supposed to say? He had never been in this type of situation before and he’s absolutely shitting his pants right now.
He turns back around, sitting on the couch and putting his head I his hands. He opens his mouth to speak, but he quickly gets interrupted.
All of the boys stand straighter upon hearing a string of moans from upstairs followed by multiple curse words.
Tom on the other hand, stands up and clenches his fist. He recognizes that voice because it’s yours.
Anger fills him and he dashes upstairs only to find your black lingerie and a pair of men's underwear in front of the bedroom door. He absolutely loses his shit and barges through in, seeing you on top of some random guy with your back facing him.
He runs towards the right side of the bed, yanks you off of the guy and drags you downstairs.
“What the fuck were you thinking?! Why the fuck— How long has this been going on?”
Tom’s gripping your wrist tightly, his voice cracking at the end of his sentence and tears form in his eyes. You feel guilty, really, absolutely guilty. Especially now that your laughing your ass off in front of Tom and the boys.
“Babe—” You keep laughing. Since you can’t talk properly at the moment, you point to your body. Wearing a pair of his sweatpants and a skin coloured spaghetti strap top.
Your boyfriend quickly realizes that this is the first time he’s heard you laugh in a week, and that you’re fully clothed.
While Tom’s trying to process what’s happening, and while the boy’s are still shocked and frozen, you run upstairs.
Grabbing the doll and running back down to the living room, shouting quickly while trying to suppress a laugh. “It’s a prank! It’s a prank, it’s a prank.”
“What the actual fuck Y/N!” Tom shouts as he grabs the doll, throwing it to the ground.
The only response you give him is a raised eyebrow with your hands on your hips as you try your hardest not to smile in entertainment.
Everyone in the room is relieved, but also slightly annoyed.
Without talking, you point to the camera by the T.V, then Harrison starts laughing. The laughter being joined by Harry and Sam.
“Am I the only one who doesn’t find tis funny?!”
“Sorry mate, you got played!” You walk over to Harrison and you high five him. The look of victory is clear on your face.
“Yeah bubs, sorry. You don’t find this funny, right? Well, I didn’t find your prank last week funny either.”
“But those aren’t my clothes Y/N?? If this is actually a prank, whose clothes are those??”
“I bought them today. They’re about to be your clothes if you want. I mean, look at the shoes. You’ve wanted those for months, and you finally have them.”
Slowly, you walk towards him and wrap your arms around his neck. Kissing him and resting your head on his chest. He finally gives in and breathes out a sigh of relief, hugging you back.
“You know I'd never cheat on you, love.”
“I know. Just scared me, is all.”
“You know you deserve it.” You look up at his face, and he giggles. That cute little giggle he has that you absolutely adore.
You turn your head towards the boys, arms still wrapped around Tom. “Sorry I've been distant this past week. It was all of build up.”
“Yeah, we realize that now.” Sam says. “Well, we better leave you alone for now. We’ll be back tomorrow.” Sam ushers the boys out. All of them smirking at the both of you, and Harrison winks before they exit.
When you turn your head back to Tom, he kisses you roughly. His tongue slipping in your mouth easily as you let him take control of the kiss.
“God, I've missed this.” He grunts into the kiss, the camera by the T.V long forgotten.
He pulls away and suddenly puts an arm under your legs, carrying you bridal style up to your bedroom and dropping you on the bed.
Kissing you again as he lays down in between your legs, arms roaming around your body.
He pulls away once again and looks at you. His pupils are blown and he smirks at you then at the phone on the bedside table. He reaches for your phone then shuts off the recording.
Tom turns to look at you again once he’s put the phone down and grins.
“You’re going to regret that little prank of yours, darling.”
——————————————————————
Permanent Tag List:
@spideylovin @used-avocado @why-am-i-so-obsessed-help @annoylinglyaries @autobotgirl15-blog @shootingstarsaretearsofheaven @tiffy119 @eridanuswave @cherrysruin @spideygirl2003
669 notes · View notes
lifeisadoozy · 3 years
Text
sharing a short dousy video edit i made.
i don't know why but i really like this and thought i'd share it on here too.
should i rant about what goes in my head while making this video? no. will i? yes.
basically the song is beginning middle end by leah nobel from to all the boys i've loved before part 3. this song is basically about two people falling in love from the early years of their lives. since lara jean and peter met when they were kids. but then started (fake) dating in high school and their adventure together started right then and there. anyway, watch the movies if you haven't already. this song fits lara jean and peter so well (i don't know if it was written specifically for them or not).
but daisy and sousa didnt meet when they were kids because of one obvious reason: when daisy was a kid, sousa's dead; and when sousa was a kid, daisy hadn't been born yet. they weren't supposed to meet. so their journey started off separately.
daisy's beginning in shield was rocky, to say the least. but she found a home there with coulson, fitzsimmons and may (i'll get to ward) in season 1. they bonded quite quickly, mainly daisy skye and coulson. i think it shifts when she got shot by ian quinn. everyone in the team, especially ward was terrified and angry at the situation. now. she had a relationship with miles early on in the season, which was broken off. but within the context of the song, her beginning was ward. he was her s.o. she was falling for him when she uncovered that he's hydra. add that trauma to the ones she already had prior to shield. no wonder she has trust issues.
her middle was her powers. even though the story started early in the series, it's still the middle. because she struggled with her powers throughout seasons 2 - 5. the middle would always be the bulk of it all. it's where everything happens. it's the crux of a character, of a person. it's where daisy became daisy. now, in the middle of her middle (pun very much intended), was lincoln. the first inhuman who helped her and understood her. i'm sure they've got their own problems and everything, but it doesn't change the fact that he was someone who knew what she's going through. none of her found family could help her the way he could. this is where i think it gets interesting. seasons 2 - 5, where i said was her middle, and basically the peak/climax of daisy as a character, she was falling for and fell for lincoln. it was known that daisy was still in love with lincoln in season 5. possibly around 2 years after he died. but then we found out that she had moved on from lincoln in the beginning of season 6.
season 6 and 7 is the end of her journey with the team. they're still a family. just a family who occassionally see each other. now in season 6, like i mentioned previously, it was acknowledged that daisy had moved on. the past will always be with her, no doubt. the trauma would stick. hopefully just bits and pieces. but it would still be there until she either had alzheimer's, dementia, any other retrograde amnesia injuries or diseases, or the day she died. she would never forget lincoln or ward, heck even miles. she won't forget her past. unless it was taken away from her. so, back to the topic at hand, she wanted her own fitz. she had grown from the woman she was in the beginning, she had grown from the woman and superhero that she was in the middle. she knows who she is now. with the people she worked with. and the people she calls her family. and also with anyone. daisy's ending was perfect (to me at least). she wasn't looking for love right then and there. she was burnt one too many times. but she wanted that kind of love and support. the love and support that fitz and simmons have for each other. something that daisy lacked all her life. she ended up with someone who gave her what she wanted. and what she needed.
with sousa, it's a little different. because we didn't get to see much of his background and family life. we didn't get to know what his life was like during the war and before the war. we begin to see him in the ssr. we all knew, literally everyone knew, even the characters knew that sousa's practically in love with peggy. except for maybe peggy herself. but i'm sure she had an inkling. she definitely had an inkling. but then things go on and he became chief of the west coast office and he was in los angeles while peggy was in new york. he moved on (or so we thought). he started dating violet and was ready to marry her. he told her he loved her. and he did. it's just that he was also in love with peggy. still. and violet saw that. it's as clear as day. and they broke it off.
we didn't get to see much of sousa's middle. mainly because ac wasn't renewed for a third season. which was such a waste because it ended with so many things left unanswered. but we know that between 1947 - 1955, peggy and sousa broke up. we have no idea why. we don't know if steve was back. nada. all we know is that they broke up. when did they break up? again. no idea. but we know that peggy means a lot to sousa. she's like (sorta; i don't like making comparisons but anyway) sousa's lincoln in a way (i'm not saying that they're the exact replica. daisy/lincoln and peggy/sousa are quite different. but they do have similarities. those pairings are the kind where they want to be together forever but knew that it wouldn't work; my interpretation). she didn't die, we know that. but she's sort of the one that got away. my guess is that it's because shield and the world was more important than each other. which wasn't dissimilar to daisy and lincoln's situation. so, yes. peggy's sousa's middle. she influenced him a lot. and he found himself amidst ssr and shield (just like daisy did).
sousa's end was again, perfect. he went to the future. got to see what the organisation he helped build came to be. he went on an adventure to explore space. which he would geek out over. instead of dying, he got to live. with the love of his (new) life. he may be a man out of time, but with daisy and their ragtag family, he is right where he belongs.
daisy and sousa began with "who the hell are you" and ended with "it's beautiful" (just putting this here because i love that fact).
so. they started pretty quickly, didn't they? 4 episodes in and sousa fell in love with daisy. 7 episodes in and daisy fell in love with sousa. though i doubt that they thought they're in love. but they're falling. or walking towards it. 7x03 was when they met. it's where it all began. in area 51 of all places (foreshadow much?). but what's even more interesting is that technically, they began twice. from daisy's perspective, they met in 6x13 (which plenty of people had pointed out; but @agents-of-fangirling was the most recent). even though they didn't actually meet because sousa was wearing that blue (seriously his colour really is blue) hazmat suit and daisy was disoriented (may dying and all that jazz). but from sousa's perspective, they met in 7x03. where they actually made eye contact and conversed. how many couples can say that the when of their first encounter was debatable?
now. their middle, in the video edit, i used the scene from 7x10. because i think that's a pretty good middle. they had their first first kiss. sousa had no idea that happened. yet, there he was, wanting to help. just like his time-loop self. he extended a hand and she accepted. she accepted help. do you know how much of a development that was??? because i think that it's a huge character development (i still haven't rewatched so don't take my word for it). i think that's a good depiction of their middle. oh yeah. before i forgot. they also had two first kisses. and again, i say, how many couples can say that they had two first kiss? figured i'd choose the scene in the middle of those first kisses (pun intended lmao).
sidenote: did y'all see the devastation in her eyes when sousa volunteered to stay in the 80s? or how her eyes went wide and she started to panic when he was injected in the time loops? sousa's a man of action. and when he says something, he means it. so, his constant concern over daisy and him wanting to help in any way he can, it's his love language.
and then we have their ending. the perfect end to an imperfect couple (because nobody's perfect *cue hannah montana*). daisy got sousa a typewriter. because he's from the 50s. since when did daisy buy gifts for her boyfriends/partners/lovers? and they watched e.t. together? that's normal couple things. even though they are far from normal. but they get to experience it all together. daisy didn't get to in the past. none that we know of anyway. and now she does. also, that smile when she talks about him. that fond smile that grazed her lips at the thought of him. i've never seen her smile like that before (none that i remember; and if she did, well then i'm so so happy for her). she looks happy. serene. and her saying "he's a dork" twice in the season just makes my heart burst with happiness for them.
sidenote: my headcannon is that "he's a dork" is code for "i love him too much to explain it in words."
i'd like to believe that even though it has ended, their story has just begun. they're going through their middle right now. and i hope that they won't end. in other words, their end was not an ending. it was a beginning of a new life.
as daisy said, "we're loving the journey together." keyword: journey. it's a long road up ahead. with countless of challenges and obstacles in the way. but in the end, all that matters is that they face it together.
that's it. thanks for coming to my ted talk (for those who actually read it all the way through, i love you).
23 notes · View notes
andie-cake · 3 years
Text
Tag! You're It
Second DT Drabble, y'all! Just a heads up, this takes place in between chapters 18 and 19 of DTfiles, though I still recommend that you read chapter 19 before reading this.
Emma turned off the sink of the Watcher World's women's restroom, pumping out two sheets of paper towels from the dispenser. God, this place really was old-fashioned, wasn't it? If they couldn't afford an air-dryer or two, couldn't they have at least gotten one of those motion-activated towel dispenser things?
As Emma finished drying her hands, she couldn't help but feel like she was being... well, watched. Undoubtedly due to some chucklefuck's brilliant idea to have eye designs plastered throughout the restroom. Seriously, she could understand wanting to adhere to the park's theming, but this was just too much.
Still, she forced herself to disregard the weirdness of it all. She had a boyfriend waiting outside the Drowsy Town Theater who was probably worried sick about her. Maybe she should've asked Paul to walk with her to the restroom, might've quelled their worries a bit. Again, Emma shoved the thought aside. She was here for business. Business she wasn't getting paid for, mind you, but business nonetheless.
But as Emma stepped out of the restroom and into the balmy 70° air, she was met with a sight she wasn't expecting. The Blinky mascot she and Paul had encountered in the gift shop, standing mere feet away from the entrance to the women's restroom. Staring directly at her.
"Hello again~" Blinky greeted her in that familiar childlike voice. "Did you miss Blinky?"
"Not particularly, no," Emma replied in a deadpan tone, not willing to deal with more bullshit from this creep who threw Paul into a panic attack earlier. She attempted to walk around the stout purple cyclops, only for him to sidestep into her path. "Mind getting out of my way? I've got places to be."
Blinky didn't respond, simply choosing to stay frozen to his spot and wordlessly peer down at her. Emma could've sworn she heard him breathing heavily.
"Fucking move, dude!" she groaned irritably, attempting to step around him once more. Once again, Blinky shuffled into her path. "I don't have time for this!"
"Hehehehehe~" Blinky giggled. Did... did his lower eyelid just twitch? "Little Emma's getting grumpy~"
Emma froze. How did he know her name? She hadn't mentioned it during their first encounter, had she?
"Still afraid of what daddy told you~?" Blinky continued. "Still think that Blinky likes to hang around little girls?"
Emma's heart leapt into her throat, her eyes widening. "Wh-what!?" she sputtered in shock. How the fuck did he know about that!? Dad had always said it out of earshot! Not to mention that it'd been almost two decades since her last visit to Watcher World. Emma swallowed, attempting to hide her unease. "L-look, what do you want with me, man!?"
"You said to stay away from Paul," Blinky recalled, raising his arms up. "So Blinky wants to play with you instead~"
Blinky swung his arms out to grab her, and Emma narrowly dodged out of the way, stumbling to the ground. She looked around at the passing park-goers, who all appeared blissfully unaware. Had nobody seen that!? Emma looked back up at Blinky, who was slowly approaching her.
"Hehehehehehe~ Little Emmy Doll wants to play tag~" he chortled gleefully.
As Blinky came closer, Emma began to consider her options, trying to remain calm. Blinky was blocking her way back to the Drowsy Town Theater, and he'd probably grab her if she tried to charge past him. Not to mention, Paul was most likely still there, and Emma feared what would happen if she led Blinky back to him. She had no choice. She had to run in the opposite direction and hope Blinky lost track of her.
Not willing to let the cyclops come any closer, Emma rushed to her feet and sprinted off. As the distance between her and Blinky grew longer and longer, she could hear him burst into another giggle fit. She chanced a glance over her shoulder, and saw that Blinky was now giving chase, running after her on all fours like an animal. He appeared to be gaining on her, which gave her a jolt of adrenaline that allowed her to speed up a bit. God, of all the days to be chased, why'd it have to be the one where she chose to wear sandals?
Emma continued to run through the park, the sound of Blinky's ecstatic giggling growing closer by the second. She could still see the other park-goers in the corners of her vision, but they weren't doing anything to help her escape from this... thing that was clearly chasing her! If anything, they were just watching the chase play out!
Up ahead, Emma saw an opportunity to take a sharp right turn. An arrow-shaped sign pointing in that direction that read "This way to the Eye-Drop!". Emma continued to run straight for as long as she could before suddenly bolting to the right. When she glanced over her shoulder again, she saw her plan had worked. Blinky had anticipated that she would keep running straight, only to realize he had to force himself to turn at the last second, causing him to awkwardly skid to a halt. She could just barely see him tumble over as she turned back around. Emma took the opportunity to hide, ducking behind a wall and nestling herself between a vendor cart selling purple lemonade (whether it was actual grape-lemonade or just regular lemonade with purple food coloring is not something Emma was particularly concerned with at the moment) and an overflowing trash can.
Catching her breath, Emma cautiously peeked out from her hiding spot, surveying the area in case she had to start running again. The Eye-Drop, apparently a log flume ride, looked to be at the edge of the park. So unless she wanted to try her luck at climbing over the chain-link fence and escaping into the Witchwood surrounding the park, Emma was stuck in a dead end. The best case scenario was that Blinky walked into the center of the clearing without seeing her, so Emma could carefully sneak back out the way she came to go get help.
But when Emma glanced back towards the entrance, she saw that Blinky was just standing there, blocking her only way out as he scanned the area with his massive yellow eye. Emma wanted to scream. She was trapped, she was terrified, and her lungs felt like they were on fire from running. She had an idea. An idea she didn't wanna go through with lest it put Paul in danger, but an idea nonetheless.
Pulling her phone from her pocket (thank fuck she wore shorts with real pockets today), Emma tapped on Paul's contact, marked with his name and a pair of blue heart emojis. She considered calling him, but quickly banished the thought. If she called, Blinky would hear her. She just had to send Paul a quick message to let him know something was wrong, where she was, and that he needed to get to her ASAP. Thinking quickly, Emma typed up a message.
"PAUL SOS IN FRONT OF EYE-DROP"
Emma sent the message and put her phone away, praying that Paul didn't leave his phone on silent again. But just when she thought she could take a moment to breathe, the massive yellow eye of Blinky came into view, and Emma let out an instinctual scream of terror.
"Peekaboo, Emmy Doll~!" the cyclops exclaimed mockingly.
Before Emma could protest, Blinky lurched forward and grabbed her, lifting her from the ground with ease. He wrapped his bulky purple arms around her waist, pressing her back against his belly and pinning her arms to her sides. Despite how his tight grip was quickly squeezing the air from her lungs, Emma screamed as loudly as she could muster, kicking her legs out wildly as Blinky carried her out to the center of the clearing.
"No! No!" she cried, tears of fear stinging her eyes. "Put me down, please!"
"Hehehehehehe-HAAAAH~" Blinky giggled, punctuating it with a disgusting croak. "You're a squirmy little wormy, Emmy Doll~"
As Blinky stopped in the center of the clearing, he lowered Emma back down. He didn't release his grip on her, but her feet were touching solid ground again. Emma continued to scream, begging the people around her for help. But they didn't come to her aid. They just watched, with wide smiles and hungry purple eyes. Had they always been that color? Anyone who wasn't in line for the Eye-Drop or operating the ride had crowded around, presumably to watch Blinky do... whatever he was planning to do to her. Torture her, most likely. The reality of the situation began to sink in, and Emma's screams devolved into desperate cries.
"Please, just let me go!" she pleaded, hating how vulnerable and weak she sounded. She continued to try and thrash out of Blinky's grip, to no avail.
"We'll have none of that, miss!" an unfamiliar voice spoke up. "Here at Watcher World, we have a strict 'No crying' policy!"
Emma opened her tear-filled eyes to see three purple-outfitted people standing in front of her. A smiling man in a barker's outfit, a little old woman wrapped in a starry robe and shawl, and a stone-faced man in an usher's uniform.
"Wha...?" Emma huffed out tearfully. "Who-?"
"We're here to bring you to your big star turn at the Drowsy Town Theater, miss!" the Barker cut her off. "You've got a knack for this acting thing, don't you, miss? After all, you were in Brigadoon in highschool, and you fucking killed it, correct?"
Emma could only err and stammer in confusion as the Barker rambled on. She didn't even bother to ask herself how this random stranger knew about her 2003 portrayal of Bonnie Jean in Hatchetfield High's production of Brigadoon.
"Look at the poor dear!" the old woman spoke up, her voice pitying and condescending. "She's all shaken up!"
"Must be having stage fright," the Usher man said, his voice as flat as his appearance. He looked to the white-haired old woman. "Why don't you do your thing, Madame Iris?"
"Gladly, my boy!"
The old woman- Madame Iris apparently, stepped forward and raised her wrinkled, bony hands. The tips of her long, talon-like nails grazed Emma's face, sending a shiver of repulsion down her spine. The robe-clad old woman muttered a string of nonsense under her breath, and her appearance began to change. Her withered skin became smooth and youthful, her frizzy gray hair turned brown and silky, clean white teeth began to sprout out of her gums where they hadn't been before, and her robes and shawl morphed into a yellow tank top and jean shorts. Soon enough, where the old woman once stood, was a mirror replica of Emma herself.
The crowd around Emma cheered and clapped. Blinky- who still had Emma trapped in his arms, giggled in delight. Emma herself looked down at her legs, relieved to see that she hadn't somehow shifted into the haggard old woman. The woman wearing Emma's skin laughed, with Emma's laugh.
"Ah, look at me!" she cried happily, relishing her new look. "I'm a knockout! I'm as spry as a bird!"
Emma could've vomited watching this batshit old crone dancing around in her skin, running her hands over the skin of her arms and laughing in her voice. Though Emma did notice one thing off about her little spell.
"Nice try, dumbass," she spat bitterly. "My eyes are brown, not purple."
The not-Emma merely shrugged in reply. "We can't get rid of Lord Blinky's mark on us, no matter how drastically we change our appearance," she explained casually. "I'm sure it'll still be enough to fool your little boy toy, my dear~"
Emma's heart nearly stopped. "Wh-what're you going to do with Paul!?"
"That's not important, miss!" the Barker chimed in, stepping back up. "What's important is that we get you ready for your big debut at 5!"
"What the fuck does that mean!?" Emma demanded, trying once more to futilely worm her way out of Blinky's iron grip. "What're you going to do to me!?"
The Barker stepped aside, allowing the Usher to take his place. The Usher stooped down so he was at eye level with Emma, gently took her chin in his hand, and locked eyes with her.
"Aren't you tired, sweetheart~?" the Usher asked in a soft, strangely familiar voice. "Don't you want to sleep~?"
Emma felt her eyelids begin to droop, and her heart rate slow. "Puh-Paul...?" she asked drowsily.
"Go to sleep, sweetheart~" Paul- no, the Usher, no... Paul... told her gently. "Come to Drowsy Town with me~"
Emma fought to stay awake, but Paul... God, his voice was so soothing... And his hand felt so gentle on her face... So familiar, so reassuring...
She couldn't help but drift off.
18 notes · View notes