Tumgik
#i wanted theo to have a wooden headboard but all of the ones i had like that just didn't look like he could nestle into them
mattodore · 2 months
Text
a little update on what i've been doing in the sims lately! don't mind the huge walls of text for once i'm saying things in the post instead of the tags lmao
Tumblr media Tumblr media
matthias's scars are very slowly coming along! i really love his left leg scar but can't really show all of it because i'd have to get him naked for that and it also wraps around his leg. um, but it starts at the side of his hip and carves down at an angle before abruptly following a steep line to the back of his calf. it looks gnarly which is exactly what i'm trying to achieve with matthias's scars! i'm also pretty pleased with the scars on his wrists and side, but the scar he has on the back of his right leg is... a little too crunchy? i don't know, it just looks weird. it's kind of hard to get the scars i'm making to look good on matthias's body. especially scars that're smaller or delicate... like the instant loss of quality makes me want to chew on exposed wires. but that's where i've left off on them! his arms and back are where he has the most damage but my god... it's SO difficult trying to get scars to look nice over his biceps and back muscles. also the hair ties i made for him look nice on his wrist <3
Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media
theo's apartment is also finally in the works. i've got the base layout finished and a general idea of what all the rooms are for. building and decorating isn't actually that daunting to me, surprisingly—instead, what's actually causing me a lot of grief is the realization that this is too big for theo to really be comfortable in. so, i was thinking, okay, that's fine, just get rid of three of the rooms and scale down the living area. only to pause and take into account the fact that theo's parents pay for this. they're controlling and also very big on appearance so i'm not sure they'd be fine with their son living in a shoebox—i mean, what would people say if word got to them that he doesn't even have a walk-in closet? like... that's the kind of people they are. but i wanted theo to feel comfortable in his apartment so now i'm feeling conflicted on how i want it to look. i'm definitely going to scale down the bedrooms and the living area... but it'll still feel too big to theo. there are just too many corners for him to ever fully let his guard down... which, hm... well, maybe that fits the story more anyway.
Tumblr media
this is his general aesthetic for the interior btw... i want it to be brown, cream, and green all throughout the apartment with splashes of orange (this mix between his old dorm and his childhood home but with something new blending it together). i really wanted him to have stained glass windows in his kitchen and bathroom but couldn't find any </3 so sadly that's not happening. and i need to find a nice curio cabinet for his collection of bells... along with bells too lmao. but that's where i'm at so far! i'm seriously going to just sit here in build mode for hours just... trying to figure out how to make this place more comfortable for theo. like it's supposed to be where he feels safe but it's just too much rn.
42 notes · View notes
esta-elavaris · 1 year
Text
Fallen Through Time
Tumblr media
Part Two [2,399 words]
[James Norrington/Modern!OC]
An AU of my completed, 400k+ word fanfic Catch the Wind [AO3], in which Elizabeth, not James, is the one to discover Theodora Byrne after she crash-lands into the world of Pirates of the Caribbean.
Because of the nature of the AU, there are certain parts that overlap with the main story, such as Theo’s reaction to waking up in a world she previously considered fictional. I’m doing what I can to gloss over those parts without skipping them entirely - I hope they don’t appear rushed, I just know that 99.99% of you will have read the main fic, so I don’t see the point in boring you with things you’ve already read 💜
Masterpost - Part One - *Part Two* [you’re here!]
Tag list [let me know if you want to be added!]: @missfronkensteen @dancerinthestorm @teawithshakespeare​
When Theo next awoke, groped blindly about her and sighed in contentment when her fingers were met with bed covers, and she registered the pillow beneath her head. As far as dreams went, the one she’d had last night wasn’t the most eventful, but there was just something about it that made it the strangest. Vivid and hazy all in one - like she shouldn’t be able to remember it upon waking. Inhaling deeply, she turned her head to the side and buried her face in the pillow. And that was when she paused.
It felt…strange. And it smelled different, too - a heavier floral scent than her own fabric softener, or even the grassy smell that clung to her camping gear regardless of how deeply she cleaned it. Still too hazy to do much more than huff her annoyance at the mystery, she inhaled deeply and stretched out like a cat. It was at that point where a few different things all happened at once, every single one of them dragging her by her hair into a jolting wakefulness. The strange, foreign covers stuck to her skin as she stretched - aggravating the burns that had no business being there - her hands met with a wooden headboard that she did not own, and a voice spoke a few feet to the side. An English voice, one that she’d previously only heard in movies. 
“Miss Byrne? Are you awake? Theodo…Theodora?” her name was said hesitantly, like she wasn’t sure she was getting it right “Can you hear me?”
Theo’s eyes flew open, but unlike last time, she didn’t start. She couldn’t. It was like being trapped beneath the weight of sleep paralysis, such was how weak she felt. All she could do was stir feebly, and stare - primarily at Elizabeth fucking Swann, who had rushed to sit on the edge of the bed, beautiful, concerned, and very much real. 
“You mustn’t panic,” Elizabeth met her gaze intently, resting a hand atop hers “Do you know where you are?”
In a four poster bed of which the curtains and the bedding had more bright blue fauna and flora on it than any wilderness she’d ever camped out in. Beyond that, she couldn’t say. A shake of her head had the woman continuing.
“You are in Port Royal. My name is Elizabeth Swann, my father is governor here - you’re in our home. I’ve been watching over you for some time…along with the maids, and the physician, of course.”
She barely heard the words over the thrumming of her own blood in her ears. It was difficult to listen to much of anything upon waking up in a reality that didn’t bloody well exist. 
“Thank you,” Theo rasped. 
Speaking now hurt almost as much as it had last time, and Elizabeth took pity on her then, leaning towards the bedside table to take up a teacup before encouraging her to sit up, and holding it to her lips. It contained not tea, thankfully, nor water, but milk - incredibly sweet milk. Theo, however, was more concerned with how Elizabeth went about all of this like an utterly seasoned nursemaid, and not a woman who had been raised in luxury.
“Milk and honey,” Elizabeth explained, unprompted “We’ve been drip-feeding you with it for days to try and keep your strength up. It appears we were only somewhat successful.”
“Days?”
“Three of them. The physician assured us that it was good - that the rest meant you were healing. Truth be told, it was probably better that you weren’t conscious while the worst of the burns were tended to. We were rather more successful in managing those.”
Her words explained why the sheets had stuck to her - a glance at her arms found that the loose, flowing sleeves of the ornate white nightgown she’d been dressed in had been rolled up, and some sort of sticky salve had been applied to her still very pink skin. 
“Thank you,” she said slowly - for lack of much else to say, although the physical mechanics of talking were easier now, leaving her only to deal with the mental ones “I’m sorry if I’ve been a pain.”
The furrow in Elizabeth’s brow was more confused than anything else, so she rephrased it - this time doing her best to channel the voice she used to use for essays back in her high school days.
“I’m sorry if I’ve been an imposition,” she clarified.
“Not at all. You hardly chose to end up where you did, did you?”
Her dark eyes lingered on her as she returned the teacup to the bedside table, hinting at the fact that the question was not an entirely rhetorical one. 
“Can’t say that I did,” Theo answered honestly “I’m sorry - can you help me sit up? Talking like this is…it’s a bit awkward.”
“Only if you agree to stop apologising,” she replied drily.
It took a few moments, but soon she was sitting up and feeling just a little bit less awkward for it. Although part of her was sure her heart was pounding so hard in her chest that Elizabeth could definitely hear it.
“How was it that you came to be washed up on that beach?” Elizabeth questioned “You must forgive me for prying so readily, but it’s a question that has hardly left my mind since I first found you, and you’ve not been in much of a state to answer it until now. A shipwreck?”
Theo nodded “My memory is foggy. But it must’ve been.”
How else did one end up washed up on a beach? She wasn’t a sodding whale, it didn’t just happen. 
“Where were you sailing?” 
That was a tricky one to answer. Port Royal had long since been claimed by the sea back home, but Theo knew it was in Jamaica. If she gave an answer of an island that was too near - Cuba, or Haiti - it might be no big deal for them to ship her off there. No matter how fucked she currently was (that was pending a real, cohesive assessment, but she’d wager she sat somewhere between ‘utterly’ and ‘well and truly’ on the fucked spectrum), she at least knew the people here. In some way or another. Elizabeth looked so very young, sitting here beside her. Wide-eyed and cheerful. If she really was here, in this sodding fictional land, and not being held hostage by some psychotic Keira Knightley lookalike, she knew the events that would soon happen, too. The same could not be said for Haiti or Cuba. 
“America- er, the…new world.” 
Elizabeth’s eyebrows rose somewhat “That’s hundreds of leagues north.”
“Our ship was forced off-course by pirates, and then dragged further off-course by a terrible storm. I suspect the tide did the rest of the work in dragging me here.”
It spoke to how much of a toll her ordeal - the real one, the one that she couldn’t even begin to make up the details of - had taken on her that she was out of breath just by sitting and talking. Elizabeth continued to watch her, her hands clasped amongst her skirts as she tried to steady her breathing again. The sympathy was back on her face, but it was joined by something else. Suspicion? Not the malevolent kind - not yet, anyway. But the sort a parent might have on their face as their kid insists that they have no idea how the cookies in the jar vanished. 
“That’s unfortunate,” she said finally, lowering her gaze.
“Imagine how it looks from where I’m sitting,” Theo replied drily.
That earned her a small smile. Which was probably how she was caught off-guard when Elizabeth reached into the folds of her skirts and produced a black leather wallet. One that was a hell of an anachronism in these parts.
“No,” she said “It’s unfortunate because you’re not telling me the truth.”
Theo knew then that if her burns would allow her to pale, her face would be the same shade as the nightgown she wore. Even if her pallor didn’t show her fear, she knew her eyes did, for Elizabeth rested a hand atop her shin over the overs. 
“If what I can glean from this is true, I suspect I cannot blame you for being dishonest with me now,” she said quietly, eyes locked intently on hers “But I must know, or else I cannot help.” 
Well. Shit. 
****
Three Days Earlier
With her father apprised of the situation, and a footman sent to Fort Charles in order to inform the men of Elizabeth’s discovery, she was left with the maids to take care of their new guest. The woman - Theodora Byrne, if she’d heard correctly - was determined not to make it easy for them. While still mostly on her feet (so long as she had something to cling to), Elizabeth suspected she was not quite present. If she didn’t know the truth of the matter, she’d have thought she was drunk. Where she previously talked in rasping slurs, now she didn’t appear able to piece together a single sentence at all, her eyes fluttering even as they manoeuvred her up the stairs, each step an arduous process. 
When they finally got her to the blue bedroom, sweat beaded on Elizabeth’s brow - but it positively poured off of their new charge. They finally got her sitting down atop the bed, but every time they made to start undressing her, she would bat their hands away and insist on doing it herself, in private. It was an insistence that Elizabeth would have ordinarily understood, but under these circumstances, and with her utter inability to even undo the ties of the apron they’d knotted around her waist in an attempt to preserve her honour, it was very tiresome. 
They’d relented, though, and Elizabeth stepped out of the room with Estrella, both listening with thinned, concerned lips to the sound of her stumbling about the room. Finally, after the clatter of china suggested she’d bumped into the dressing table in the corner, Elizabeth lost much of her patience and turned to her maid.
“Go downstairs and have the cook make some honeyed milk. Perhaps a broth, too, if Miss Byrne is able to take some. Water, also, we shall need water. After that, go to my own rooms and fetch a hairbrush, and a dressing gown. Oh, and a selection of books. I suspect she’ll be bed bound for some time.”
If she were being entirely honest, she knew they’d have need for less than half of what she’d just ordered. It was listed primarily to keep the maid out of the way, so that perhaps their charge would allow Elizabeth to help if it were only she who tried. Estrella nodded and all but fled, and Elizabeth waited until she turned the corner of the corridor to duck back into the room - only after giving a knock that was not answered. 
Theodora Byrne was sprawled atop the floral bed-covers, the apron at her waist a jumble of knots, still fully dressed - including even her strange boots. Elizabeth sighed. At least if she was unconscious, she would not refuse help. She only hoped she would not be too cross when she awoke to find herself changed. The nightgown they’d already set aside for her was a puddle on the floor - it looked like she’d tried to pull it on over what she already wore, failed, and then gave up entirely.
That failure was likely a good thing, too, for the strange fabric of her underthings had grown stiff and unforgiving as wood thanks to the saltwater that had lapped at her while she lay unconscious. The clothing took Elizabeth a little time to figure out, but figure it out she did, unbuttoning and pulling down the strange denim smalls before casting them aside (noting the pocketbook that had been wedged into one of the four pockets the garment boasted, and setting it aside for later)…only to find she wore yet more smallclothes beneath her smallclothes. An Irish custom? A matter of religion, perhaps? Were she Catholic, as many Irish supposedly were, it was likely she’d have some strange habits. 
The upper portion of her body was much easier to deal with, and the extent of her burns was made glaringly obvious once Elizabeth was able to compare it to the pale skin that had been shielded by her clothing. Sympathy welled in her heart at the sight of it - for she didn’t envy the healing process she was likely to spend the next few weeks going through, and these were only the hurts they could see. At least, she resolved, they may help her with that. She wasn’t in the habit of dressing and undressing others like a maid, so she was fully invested now. 
Theodora hardly stirred as Elizabeth cast aside the remaining clothing and then gathered up the fabric of the nightgown into her hands. This part would be most awkward of all. Leaning forward, she encouraged the other women to sit up so she could pull the garment over her head…and then a burst of green across her back caught her gaze. Then orange, and streaks of…black? Elizabeth felt like she had stopped breathing entirely.
Rolling the barely-conscious woman over with not as much care as she probably should have, she stared in disbelief at the tattoo that sprawled across an entire quarter of her back. It was unlike any tattoo she’d ever seen - not on the rougher of the sailors who came into port for trade, and not even like the ones dotted across the pirates that were hanged at Fort Charles. Certainly not ever on any woman. These were not crude little cartoons, this was…well, it was almost art. Like someone had used watercolour paints on her very skin. 
The woman huffed as if stirring, and Elizabeth rushed to make quick work of dressing her and hauling her into the bed - by which point she’d almost soaked her own dress in sweat, her hair quite deflated and awry. The pocketbook remained where she’d set it aside on the bedside table. Without hesitation, she took it up, confused at how something so small might hold anything of monetary value, but not allowing that dilemma to slow her down. She needed answers, and it seemed to be the only thing in any state to offer any. 
20 notes · View notes
sunflowerim · 3 years
Text
I LOVE YOU 3000!
-PART 40
Weekend 7
Harry reached sharply at 8 and was warmly greeted by Lux who couldn't stop smiling. Theo was playing with Cliff and upon seeing Harry, both of them ran to him at once.
"Will Cliff be joining us?" Harry asked, scratching Clifford behind the ears.
"No," replied Theo sadly, "he is not allowed, so we're dropping him at the dog sitters place."
"Aww Cliffy we'll miss you,'' Harry patted Clifford before looking around for Louis.
Louis emerged right then from the room wearing an unbuttoned sap green shirt over a plain white tee, sunglasses hooked in the t-shirt, chocolate brown fringe falling over his eyes. He looked beautiful.
Louis caught him staring but was awestruck himself to do anything about it. Harry stood in front of him wearing a pink shirt with white polka dots, buttons half undone (as always) and sunglasses atop his head, tangled in his curls.
They stared at each other without even moving a muscle when Theo and Lux started aggressively tugging Louis, breaking the moment.
"C'mon uncle Lou, let's goooooo."
"We're getting LATE!"
Within fifteen minutes, all of them were seated in Louis' car driving to the dog sitters house. The car speaker was playing 'Do you wanna build a snowman' on Theo's insistence and after dropping Clifford, they were driving off to the wonders that awaited them.
Harry waited with the kids as Louis went ahead to buy the tickets. Once they got the tickets, they stood with a group and a tour guide greeted them.
"Hello and welcome to the Warner Bros Studios- the making of Harry Potter. I'm gonna walk you through the sets and--"
Harry was distracted by Louis practically bobbing with excitement next to him. Soon the guide led them into the studio and they stood in a wide hall, at the centre of which a statue of the Gringott's dragon was suspended.
People around them were buzzing around and clicking pictures. Even Louis took out his phone and with great concentration took a picture if the dragon. From there, they were led to a set up of the inside of privet drive and the cupboard under the stairs.
"Oh my god, Theo look Harry's room," Lux pulled Theo out of the crowd to show him what she'd seen.
Next they went inside the great hall where and it was magnificent. Harry had seen the Harry Potter movies, but wasn't that deeply invested in them. But Louis. Let's just say Harry had come to visit the place with three kids and not two. Louis couldn't contain his excitement at all. He took in everything with eager eyes, took pictures randomly and every now and then Harry could hear him murmur "wish I was a wizard."
Slowly they walked through a lot more sets each as exciting as the last one. From the Gryffindor common room, boys dorm, Hagrid's hut, potions & herbology classroom, leaky cauldron, to the various shops of Diagon Alley, each captured the attention of the crowd and made everyone's jaw drop. They had a difficult time in the forbidden forest, where huge spiders kept appearing every now and then, scaring Theo and Lux, and Louis had to keep explaining that those weren't real.
There was a particular emotional moment when Louis was brought to tears by a stuffed werewolf because it reminded him of Remus Lupin. Both Lux and Theo, along with Harry had to console him afterwards. He had barely recovered when they were faced with a abstract statue of Sirius Black and Louis was sad again.
Soon it was time for lunch and they found some nice seats in the in-studio restaurant and ate to their fullest. Louis and Harry even tried butterbeer and Louis declared this should be available at all regular clubs too.
After lunch, they were led towards the Hogwarts Express and Harry took pictures of Lux, Theo and Louis one by one in front of the 9¾ platform. In another section, tourists could dress up in Hogwarts robes and sit on a broomstick and record videos and of course all three of them did.
All of them were amazed at the props section. Each and every prop used in the movies was placed in glass boxes and they looked so realistic, it'd make one think that they were actually in the wizarding world.
Walking around the wizarding world set up they didn't even notice the time and soon it was almost evening.
The tour was almost over and their last stop was the merch shop. Upon entering the merch shop, nobody moved for a few seconds. They were taken aback by the variety of items that had been stacked up for sale. Louis bought Lux and Theo a wand each and they couldn't stop waving it around even for a second. He himself wanted to buy a Gryffindor quidditch costume, which earned a tease from Harry,
"Fancy seeing you go to work in these."
"Don't be silly Harry, it's for Halloween."
At the end he settled for a Gryffindor t-shirt and bought robes for the twins instead. Hufflepuff for Theo and Gryffindor for Lux.
Louis even made Harry take the Sorting Hat quiz right there, so he could buy him something. Hufflepuff.
"Yay, Harry you're with me," said Theo running to hug him.
Harry wouldn't buy a robe so Louis got him a t-shirt too.
They also bought a Hogwarts poster for the twins' bedroom at Louis' (because their mum wouldn't let them put up so many posters in the room in their own house and well Louis is the cool uncle so he'll obviously buy it for them).
On their way out they bought loads of chocolates and in his excitement, Louis didn't notice that Harry was lingering a little longer at the payment desk.
It was a wholesome day and it left them exhausted but happy.
After exiting the studio, Louis drove them to his favourite restaurant for dinner. The twins were staying with them tonight and had insisted Harry stay back too. Harry readily agreed and Louis was the happiest.
Theo had fallen asleep in Harry's lap and Lux in Louis' and the two of them slowly climbed the stairs to the apartment carrying the kids in their arms.
After reaching the apartment, Louis woke them up for a while to brush their teeth while Harry got them ready for bed. As Harry and Louis tucked them in their bed, they both said their goodnights in sleepy murmurs.
Harry was feeling tired too and went to the guest room (which had begun to look like his room) after wishing Louis goodnight.
As Harry settled in the bed, he took out his phone, deciding to post some pictures.
Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media
As he finished posting some pictures, he noticed that Louis had put up some stories on Instagram too. He was amused by the excitement which was radiating off of Louis' stories. He really was a kid at heart.
Harry was about to keep his phone down and go to sleep when he noticed that Louis had posted a picture. He quickly scrolled up and when he saw what Louis had posted, his breath hitched.
Tumblr media
Harry will never know what possessed him at that moment that he jumped out of bed and pulled the blue wrapped packet from under the bed, deciding to go to Louis' room at once. He grabbed a clean t-shirt (which belonged to Louis) from the bedside drawer and at once made his way across to Louis' door. Clutching the packet tightly in one hand, he softly knocked.
Harry waited for about 2 seconds before the door was opened by Louis, still shirtless.
"What happened Harry? Did you need something?" Louis asked, a hint of worry in his voice.
"No, --um yeah, I mean- I wanted to give you something," Harry replied waving the packet slightly.
"Oh come in."
They made their way to the bed when Louis seemed to remember he wasn't wearing a shirt and quickly dived into the drawers for one. Harry's brows furrowed in frustration when he saw Louis putting on a black tank top and coming over to sit next to him.
"What did you get me?"
"See for yourself," Harry said handing the packet to Louis.
"You didn't have to," Louis continued, carefully opening the packet, "When did you even--"
Louis paused midway, opening the box in the packet, gaping at the content inside. "Harry, you-- I-- you- thanks wow, I mean- how did you-", he tried forming a coherent sentence while picking up the carved wooden wand from the box.
Harry chuckled quietly, "I saw how intently you were learning the wand choreography. It's only fair that you have one too."
Louis flung himself on Harry, knocking the breath out of his lungs, "thank you so much, I love this."
Harry hugged him back tightly, trying to steal as much warmth as he could before he had to let go.
Louis let go after a few seconds, face flushed and went back to examining the wand. Harry watched Louis' eyes sparkle as he held out his wand and tried out some moves. Louis couldn't stopped smiling and that made Harry's insides flutter.
After a while, Harry decided it best to leave, "So I'll leave you to your devices. Goodnight."
Harry got up to leave but was stopped by Louis tugging the hem of his t-shirt.
"You could stay if you want," Louis said, ducking his head down.
"Here?" Harry asked, unsure, not letting his hopes get the better of him.
"Here," Louis replied looking up, holding Harry's gaze.
"Um okay."
Harry sat back on the bed as Louis shifted around to remove his clothes from the bed. Harry moved back in the bed and leaned against the headboard. Louis joined him soon and for a few moments both were quiet, not knowing what to say. The silence wasn't uncomfortable though.
Louis had kept the windows open which let in the cool summer breeze and Harry felt at peace listening to the sound of crickets with Louis beside him.
Louis started first-
"I saw that you posted a picture of me from your main."
"Yes."
"Wouldn't that be a problem?"
"Why? I can hang out with my friends."
Friends
Harry quickly tried to correct himself after seeing the look on Louis' face, "Not that I consider you one-- I mean-- yes I do, but not in that way, you know-- I mean-"
"It's okay Harry. I know," Louis replied, relaxing once again and slowly sliding down the bed, lying flat on his back.
Harry watched him as the moonlight settled on the curves of his face, and watched as his eyelids fluttered slowly, the moonlight dancing in the shadows of his eyelashes.
Harry tangled his fingers with Louis' half afraid that Louis would remove his hand but Louis just tightened the grip.
"Thanks for today," Harry hummed so slowly, that Louis missed him.
"Hmm?"
"Thanks for today," Harry said, a little louder this time, "for everything actually."
Louis craned his neck upward to look at Harry's face and said, "Someone's being sappy today."
Harry smiled and slid down himself, propped himself on his left elbow, head resting on his hand and looked down at Louis. "Well you make me one."
"You make me one too."
If Harry could choose one moment to relive over and over again, it would probably be this, him lying beside Louis, their fingers intertwined and his face hovering inches above Louis'.
They gazed at each and even in the dim moonlight that had filtered in the room, they could see every inch of each others face clearly and suddenly without a warning Harry leaned in and kissed Louis.
Louis' brain short circuited and he froze for a second before giving in. Harry astounded by his own courage didn't waste time in climbing on top of Louis and taking his breath away.
Harry could feel the butterfly convention in his stomach going feral.
Louis let out a nervous laugh when they stopped to catch their breaths. Harry's curls were all over his face and Louis brought his hand up tuck the wild curls behind his ears.
"Harry are you sure?" he managed between ragged breaths.
"Yes," Harry replied, his voice strained.
"But-" Louis stopped, not knowing how to say it.
"Oh god," Harry groaned, "you're gonna make me say it aren't you? Yes Louis Tomlinson, I want this, if it wasn't clear enough. Just that-" he paused, "you're the first-"
"-bloke you're snogging?" Louis completed with an all knowing smile.
"I would have framed it better, but I guess that works too."
With that Harry closed the gap between them again, hands fiddling with the fabric of Louis' shirt which he managed to pull off in a few minutes.
"Shouldn't have put it on," Harry murmured in between their kisses.
Louis tangled his hands in Harry's hair and tugged at it in response.
"I love seeing you in my shirt," Louis said, rolling them over, settling on top of Harry, legs straddling Harry's hips, "but right now, I'd like for it to disappear."
Louis grabbed his wand from the bedside table and pointing it down at Harry, said "Evanesco!"
Harry watched in amusement as the boy above him, held a wand out and incanted a vanishing spell in the middle of a heated moment. Trust Louis to be dramatic. Louis' eyes glistened in the dim light and Harry obliged instantly. Louis leaned in on Harry and they got into their rhythm again, slowly discovering every inch of each other's skin, neither willing to let go.
--
When Harry woke next morning, he pleased to find himself on top of Louis' chest, listening to his heartbeat and feeling the rhythmic rise and fall of Louis' belly underneath his hand. He slowly got up, careful not to wake Louis up and got off the bed, planting a kiss on Louis' forehead and made for the bathroom. He quickly freshened up, and returned to the room, to find Louis sitting up, with his back facing the window, sunlight slipping in through the curtains and illuminating his back. Louis smiled sleepily and beckoned Harry to come over. Harry started making his way over to him but suddenly stopped in his tracks.
"Stay here, don't move, I'll be back."
He dashed out of Louis' room and into the guest room and returned a minute later with his phone.
"Can I take a picture?"
"What?" Louis laughed in disbelief. "You can't be serious, I'm in my boxers."
"That won't matter. You look beautiful."
A slow blush spread across Louis' face and Harry took that as a cue to move forward. He stood at the end of the bed on Louis' right side and with great concentration took a picture.
"Let me have a look" Louis asked.
"Nuh, uh. You'll see when it's time."
Louis pouted his lips in faux sadness which earned a kiss from Harry.
"Now freshen up, the twins will be up anytime soon."
Inside the shower, Louis couldn't stop thinking about last night. He could feel a stupid grin spread on his face everytime he thought about Harry.
God. He might be in love.
Louis emerged into the drawing room and an amazing smell of pancakes wafted into his nose.
"Hey how'd you know?" Louis asked, making his way over to the kitchen and climbing on top of the kitchen counter.
"Huh? --oh this? Lux told me. Pancakes. Household favourite."
"You're spoiling them."
"You're one to talk," Harry raised an eyebrow at Louis and had to force his thoughts from wanting to kiss Harry again to the delicious pancakes being cooked.
The twins absolutely adored Harry and wouldn't let him leave even after breakfast. Lot's of negotiations and promises later, they finally agreed to let Harry leave. Louis walked him to the door and as Harry was leaving, he reached out and held his hand.
"Um, you do realise that we've watched 21 out of 22 movies and it's just week 7?"
"So what? If you thought you'll get rid of me after a few calculated weeks, you're wrong mister. I think we established that already."
"Yeah, I was just checking if it stands," Louis replied sheepishly.
"After yesterday, you don't have to worry," Harry said, moving closer and pressing a chaste kiss on Louis' lips.
And he was off.
Louis would have stood in the doorway for a little longer if the sound of giggles behind him didn't break his train of thoughts.
Lux and Theo were peering around from the couch and had apparently witnessed the display of affection.
"Are you going to marry him uncle Lou?" Theo asked, his expressions a mix of glee and confusion.
"No Theo, put your mind to rest," Louis ruffled Theo's hair.
"Do you love him? Like mommy and daddy?"
Louis smiled at that, "I don't know Lux, maybe ask Harry, next time you see him."
Lux beamed at that and soon Louis was getting the twins ready to be picked up by their mum.
Louis' sister actually stayed for an hour and they talked about all sorts if stuff, catching up on things they'd missed in each other's lives. Louis thought for a moment of he should tell her about Harry but then decided against it. It was too soon.
No sooner had all of them left, when Louis got a notification of a new post from Harry's private instagram. He quickly opened it and what he saw took his breath away again. Harry seemed to be doing that quite often.
Tumblr media
Harry Styles was going to be the death of him.
-----
Note : first of all I'm so sorry for the late update, my college schedule is all packed up ugh -_- Secondly I've never been to Warner Bros Studios myself, so excuse the narration!
PREVIOUS / NEXT
INTRO
40 notes · View notes
levucky · 3 years
Text
dropping the reader in the middle of Coming Up Corn
(a mini Deck/KJ thing)
TW for degenerative illness, mentions of death
KJ’s room was perpetually cold. Deck woke up on the floor, shoulders sore as usual, opening his eyes to the blue sky reflecting on the cream-colored tile. He looked up towards KJ’s bed, not really expecting any movement, but hoping he was already awake. A blanket shifted slightly. Cosmo was curled up at the end of the bed, so it couldn’t have been him.
I have to stop doing this, Deck thought to himself, pushing himself up off the floor with aching arms, or at least get an air mattress or something. He approached KJ’s bed with caution, not wanting to wake Cosmo.
“Mornin,’ Ipswich,” Deck smiled as he pulled back the covers, revealing KJ in his off-white Ipswich sweatshirt that definitely must have fit him properly back when he was the badminton champion headed for Olympic stardom. Deck tried to be as gentle as he could as he woke KJ, but Cosmo decided he wasn’t gentle enough. The previously calm husky snapped at Deck, nearly grazing his forearm. Deck stumbled back, catching his balance as KJ flicked his wrist and motioned down.
“Sorry about that,” Deck sighed, cautiously stepping towards the bed, avoiding eye contact with Cosmo but wanting to keep an eye on him, just in case. “You want to go get breakfast with me?”
KJ shook his head, still laying flat on his back.
“I’m just going to run out and grab some bagels. You could wait in the car…”
KJ shook his head again, trying to prop himself up on his elbows, but failing, unable to lift his head from the pillow even when his arms were in position. Deck watched him for a moment, trying not to visibly frown. “Can I…”
KJ nodded, relaxing so Deck could prop him up against the headboard. The wood ridges felt like they were digging into his shoulder blades, but he didn’t mention it to Deck. He had done enough for him already.
“You’re real quiet today,” Deck sighed, running a hand nonchalantly through KJ’s hair, a surefire way to coax him into responding.
“It’s getting… hard.”
“I know,” Deck forced a smile, almost wincing at the weakness in KJ’s voice. “You’re going to get better, though, KJ. You’ve survived before, and you can do it again.”
“Don’t lie.”
“Those fuckers at Luunarc are going to pay for what they did to you and Theo,” Deck abruptly stopped running his hand through KJ’s hair, stepping away from the bed.
“And what… they did… to Matt?” KJ wheezed out, fighting himself to speak.
“Yeah, bud,” Deck smiled, “it’s crazy that you can think about anyone but yourself right now.”
“I don… I don’t have… a lot… of time.”
“Don’t say that.”
“It… it’s… true.”
Deck didn’t respond, attempting to change the subject. “Are you breathing alright? I think it’s about time we put you on oxygen.”
“Deck…”
“I’ll talk to Chuck about it later today, okay?”
KJ nodded, staying silent for a moment to catch his breath.
“Alright, well, I’m off to grab bagels. You’re going to sit in the kitchen with me when I get back,” Deck informed KJ, “and… is it okay if some of our friends join us for breakfast?”
KJ nodded again, hesitantly excited to see his friends for the first time in days.
“Be good,” Deck smiled as he walked towards the door.
Deck wasn’t going to get bagels. Not without going to the historical society first, at least. He hopped out of the car and slammed the door shut, hoping he was loud enough that Chuck and Bea could hear that they had a visitor. He had never been to the historical society without Theo leading the conversation, but his concerns this time were mostly about KJ, so he assumed he could handle it. He flung the front door open and dashed up the stairs, catching himself before stopping to knock on the door of Chuck and Bea’s office.
“Come in!”
Deck braced himself as he opened the door to see Bea at the front desk, her blonde hair braided with purple ribbons and stems of lavender. If they ever need a live-action Angel Cake... “Hi, Bea.”
“Hey, Decklan. Where are your buddies?” Bea asked, looking up from her laptop, but not physically getting up to greet Deck.
“Uh, it’s just me today. Is Chuck around?”
“Yeah; she’s in the back,” Bea answered, looking back down at her laptop after a moment.
Deck couldn’t tell if it was an invitation to find her or not. He stood, frozen, at the front of the office.
“Go on,” Bea laughed, “she’s free to talk to you.”
“Thanks,” Deck exhaled in something that was almost a laugh. He turned into the small hallway to the right of the door. Upon reaching the furthest room to the back, labeled ARCHIVISTS ONLY, he knocked. Rather than alerting Deck to come in, Chuck opened the door herself, after Deck heard a cacophony of clattering and shifting sounds.
“Mornin’, Deck!” Chuck greeted him, “Where’s your brother?”
“Couldn’t make it.”
“Ah, that’s too bad. Sit!” Chuck directed Deck to an ancient-looking brown leather office chair behind a just as ancient-looking and brown desk.
“I’m kind of glad he couldn’t come,” Deck added as he found a path through the boxes of old VHS tapes and papers that were more yellow than they were white.
“Why’s that?”
“It’s about KJ…”
“Oh, angel…” Chuck sighed, hopping up to sit on a wooden crate filled with who even knows what. “What about him?”
“I’ve been sleeping on the floor of his room every night…” Deck felt his chest start to tighten, “and… he gets worse every morning. He couldn’t sit up on his own this morning, and he’s gasping for air every two words…”
“You’re a great friend, Deck. We need more pals like you,” Chuck reassured him, “but about KJ… I’m not really sure if there’s much more we can do.”
“There has to be.”
“There’s a couple routes we could go down, I guess,” Chuck picked up a notebook off the windowsill and fished a pen from the pocket of her brown cargo pants. “But I really don’t think we’re going to get anywhere. I’m only a field medic and you’re just an empath. It would probably be best to just… let Mother Nature do her thing… as fucked up as it sounds.”
“Well… what are the other routes?”
“Beg Comstock for a cure, because I know that fucker has one, first off,” Chuck bit her lip as she scribbled furiously in the notebook, “if that evil motherfucker could come up with a seizure epi-pen with a gradual paralytic agent… he knows how to stop it.”
“Right,” Deck nodded, “exactly.”
“And Bea’s doing some research into the Corn Monsters,” Chuck continued, “I think we need to find a better name for them, but there’s a chance that they used to be used for medicinal purposes back when Waval was first founded, and before…”
“Oh god,” Deck shifted in the chair, tucking a strand of his honey-brown hair behind his ear, “I feel like I’m watching the History Channel at four in the morning.”
“Decklan,” Chuck sighed, “I think we should go talk to KJ and see what he thinks about pursuing either of these routes.”
“Alright,” Deck agreed, “but I’ve gotta go pick up bagels first. I promised KJ.”
“He‘a still eating just fine?”
“Yeah,” Deck nodded, “I don’t think his body wants to die. His brain, on the other hand…”
“We’ll talk to him. Go pick up your bagels.”
Deck came back to KJ’s house with Chuck and a bag of bagels.
“Hey, buddy,” Deck knelt down beside KJ’s bed, “we can eat our bagels now, and Chuck’s going to take a look at you after, if that’s okay. Just to make sure you’re all good… or at least as comfortable as you can be. Alright?”
KJ nodded hesitantly, not really wanting to be prodded and looked at. Cosmo sensed this, lifting his head from where he was once again curled up at the end of KJ’s bed.
“Let’s get you to the kitchen, if you’re all good with that,” Deck said softly, scooping KJ up into his arms. KJ held on, leaning against Deck’s shoulder and making small whimpering sounds with each step Deck took.
“Sorry, bud,” Deck sighed, “I know it hurts.”
“H… hurts…” KJ groaned softly as Deck plopped him down in a chair at the kitchen table. He quickly slumped over without any support. Deck shot a look at Chuck, who nodded intently.
“Can I help you sit up, bud?” Deck asked, not even waiting for a response from KJ before grabbing his shoulders and leaning him against the back of the chair. “Good,” Deck patted KJ’s head, “now stay still…”
Deck opened the paper bag and got out a plain bagel with cream cheese. He set it on a plate and cut it up into smaller pieces so KJ could feed himself. “Here ya go,” he set the plate down in front of KJ and reached into the bag to get out the bagels for himself and Chuck. Chuck watched KJ as he grabbed a piece clumsily, struggling to even get it into his mouth. It didn’t stop being a struggle once he did. He immediately started drooling as he chewed.
“Does that happen every time he eats?” Chuck asked Deck as he wiped off KJ’s chin with a washcloth that he kept on-hand in the kitchen.
“If he has to chew, yeah. Doesn’t really happen with stuff like soup.”
“Any other times?”
“If he’s talking a lot, sometimes.”
“Good to know,” Chuck noted.
They finished up their breakfast quickly and got KJ back to his bed as fast as they could. He was tired, and they needed to keep him going for a few simple tasks to assess his condition.
“KJ, can you try sitting up?” Chuck asked once KJ had been lying flat on his back for a few seconds. KJ nodded and struggled to prop himself up on his elbows. “Good,” Chuck sighed and smoothed KJ’s hair out of his eyes as he flopped back down onto the bed. “And… you’re still going to the bathroom alright by yourself? You can still take care of yourself? Brush your teeth? Shower?”
KJ looked up at Deck for an answer. “Uh, I usually have to help him a little if I’m here.”
“KJ… it looks like you need a bit more help than the last time I was here.”
KJ nodded and finally spoke up, “it’s… it’s getting… worse. Fast.”
“I know,” Chuck smoothed KJ’s hair again in an attempt to calm him down. “How are your dogs?”
“Good, I guess…” KJ turned his head towards Cosmo, who was sitting alert by the side of his bed. “Cosmo… stopped res… responding… to his… training. Recently.”
“Well, that’s not good,” Chuck scribbled something in her notebook. “Can we help?”
“I don’t know,” KJ said softly, “I think… I’m scared.”
“KJ, listen,” Chuck squatted down to KJ’s eye level, “we’re going to do all we can to fix this. You’re not alone. You never will be.”
“Can… can you guys… take care… of Cosmo… for me?”
“Yeah, buddy,” Chuck smiled, “if worst comes to worst, your dogs are in good hands.”
“It’s coming… to worst.”
Chuck shot a glance at Deck, who shrugged.
“We’re going to try to fix this, alright? I came up with a few routes we can go down, since… the medical care currently available to us isn’t seeming to do much. Do you want to hear them?”
KJ nodded, weakly patting Cosmo’s head as he curled up against his side.
“Alright. I was thinking we could basically beg Jon Comstock for a cure, or at least a way to stop it before it’s too late… or… we could try to contact the Corn Monsters and hope they can help.”
“I think… do it,” KJ struggled to get the words out. He stared up at Deck and Chuck with wide eyes, but there was a noticeable fleck of determination in them.
“We will, KJ,” Deck leaned over KJ, running a hand through his dark brown hair. “Don’t you worry.”
2 notes · View notes