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#ice cream lady oc
goattrain · 1 year
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MHA has some really pretty designs, who knew?
A bit of fanart and attempted style practice, though I'm not sure I got the style too well.
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hah-studios · 5 months
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When the scary ghost woman stuck in a fursuit gets all up in your business but you're a gentleman.
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pr1ncessavar0se · 4 months
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youtube
completely random but why is this so Ladycore
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Everyone, please let me introduce you to my two new characters, Belle the ice cream lady, and Nic the snowman. As a gift for her hard dedication to selling ice cream, she receives a mysterious popsicle and is told to be very careful with it, because it is very special. Winter comes around, she builds a snowman, she decides to finally eat that popsicle, then sticks the wooden bit of the popsicle in his face to make his nose, thus granting him the magic gift of life. 
---TheFireMermaid
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sylois · 2 years
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Sea Salt & Peony Ice Cream
Based on my original character named Antoinette.
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zepskies · 4 months
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Pairing: Soldier Boy (Ben) x F. Reader, Ben and daughter!OC
Summary: Ben spends the day alone with his daughter, to varying degrees of success. When you get home, it prompts a serious conversation.
AN: Another one-shot for the BMD-verse, set sometime after "Until Morning" (you'll see). This can be read as standalone as well!
Word Count: 2,500 Tags/Warnings: 18+ only! Father and daughter fluff, followed by husband and wife spice.~
Read more of the BMD-verse! ⤵️
💚 Break Me Down Masterlist
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Father and daughter were glaring at one another, gazes locked.
Green against green.
“Young lady, I’m telling you right now. I’m not gonna tolerate any more of your little attitude,” said Ben. “If you want to try me, be my guest.”
He held the ravioli poised on a pink plastic spoon. His daughter Lila sat in her highchair in the kitchen, boldly refusing any more of her lunch.
Her stubborn face reminded him entirely too much of you. But he needed her to eat. He wouldn’t have it said when you came home that he couldn’t feed a damn two-year-old.
He huffed. “Work with me here. Just a couple more bites.”
Lila made a shrill sound of refusal when the spoon came near her face. He knew she could use a spoon just fine. She was being difficult on purpose.
To demonstrate her resolve, she slapped at the ravioli with a chubby little hand, and it ended up splashing back into the bowl. A bit of red sauce splattered onto Ben’s cheek, with a pinch of it hitting his eye.
He blinked in annoyance. “Delilah Marie, I swear to Christ—”
She’s just a baby, a voice that sounded a lot like you infiltrated his mind. It still didn’t take away his aggravation.
“No!” Lila insisted. It was her favorite word, right behind Bluey.
She then pushed the bowl right off the highchair. It spilled ravioli and pasta sauce all over the floor in spectacular fashion. Ben was sitting in his own chair by the dining table, where he moved his feet back at the last moment. She almost got his Italian loafers.
“You gotta be f…” It took every scrap of patience within him to hold his tongue…and breathe calmly through his nose. He didn’t want to reward this destructive, disrespectful behavior, but he also knew that he needed his daughter to eat.
“Want some applesauce?” he said, as a peace offering.
Lila’s face scrunched.
“No applesauce, huh?” Ben muttered. He glanced at the mess across the highchair and the formerly white tile on the floor. “Your mother’s gonna have a conniption.”
“Mommy?” Lila asked. “Mommy’s home?”
“No, she’s not here right now,” Ben replied. “She’ll be home later.”
Lila seemed to understand, because that’s when she got upset again. Her red-stained finger drew a shapeless form in the sauce as she pouted. At least she wasn’t crying.
Ben sighed, once again, and stroked her cheek with his thumb.
Fuck it.
“You want some ice cream?” he bribed.
Her sadness dissipated at the thought; she smiled brightly and nodded. “Yeah!”
“Yeah, I thought so,” he grumbled.
After a scoop of strawberry ice cream for each of them (she liked it because it was pink), Ben wrangled her up out of the highchair and declared, bath time.
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He did fine with the bathing process. He’d helped you with this before, and so he knew what to do in order to wash the sauce off her face, hands, and even her hair. It was what came after the bath that remained a problem.
Lila was stubborn beyond belief, even before she could articulate what it was about the soft green onesie that she didn’t like. No, she wasn’t satisfied until Ben pulled out the yellow Starlight themed pajamas. Probably because they had “Auntie Annie’s” face all over them.
He rolled his eyes, but this wasn’t a hill he needed to die on. He dressed Lila and tried to tuck her into bed for her afternoon nap. The problem was, she refused to lie still in the crib.
Instead, she was bouncing on the balls of her feet, using the edge of the crib for balance. He’d be impressed, if she wasn’t trying to climb out and give him a small heart attack.
He grabbed her and gathered her against his chest. Despite the super strength you’d temporarily displayed off and on throughout your pregnancy, Lila’s powers were latent at the moment. Dr. Baker seemed to think Lila would start to display them once she got old enough. Like Ryan, who hadn’t started growing into his powers until around 10 years old.
So for now, Lila was a mostly normal two-year-old who could still get hurt.
Ben frowned. “This is the time you usually go down. Why do you have so much energy?”
She just giggled at him and put both hands on his face, over his eyes.
“Daddy, guess who?”
He sighed, but couldn’t help smiling. As usual, he indulged her.
“Could it be my baby girl?”
He waited until her hands came away from his eyes, and he opened them wide.
“There she is!”
She squealed and giggled and grabbed his hair when he kissed her cheek. In the comfort of his own home, he could afford to be this openly affectionate.
Aw shit, he thought, as something occured to him.
He finally realized why she was so fucking hyper. Maybe it had something to do with the giant scoop of ice cream she’d had for lunch.
Goddamn it. Ben sighed and unwrapped her arm from around his head.
“Okay, let’s watch some TV.”
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Lila didn’t seem all that interested in watching anything, or even playing with her toys. She mainly wanted to jump on Ben’s stomach while he was trying to relax on the couch. He put on a football game you taped for him. Or recorded, as you'd said.
“All right, enough. Your old man’s trying to watch the game,” Ben said, bringing Lila down to sit in lap.
That lasted for about two seconds. Thereafter, she was climbing up his chest and trying to smother him with her little hands.
He took her hand from his nose so he could at least breathe in peace.
“Where’s Mommy?” Lila asked, as she sat on his shoulder and beat a little fist on the top of his head.
“She’s with your aunt,” Ben replied. “Well, not your real one, the fake one.”
Lila made a sound of confusion. Realizing that she didn’t know what the hell he meant, he rephrased.
“She’s with your Aunt Annie. They’ll be back soon,” he said.
He didn’t mind you wanting a day out to yourself. What he minded was the attitude you’d struck when he suggested dropping Lila off with Louisa, your actual sister.
“What, you can’t handle her alone for one day?” you’d asked.
His pride hadn’t allowed him to say no to that.
So here he was, with a wily toddler who was doing her damndest to suffocate him. Better attempts than this had failed, but it was still annoying while he was trying to watch the game.
Somehow, he managed to tune it out while he watched the ref make a bad call.
“What was that?! You gotta be kidding me!” Ben said, holding Lila to his chest even as he pointed and shouted at the TV. “Son of a bitch. What a pussy call that was.”
“Bish, bish, bish,” Lila said, making a game out of the word. It called Ben’s attention.
He forgot about the game for a moment when he looked down at her. His eyes widened a fraction, even as a smile pulled at his lips.
“What’d you just say?”
“Bishhhhhh,” Lila repeated. “Somvabishhhh.” Her lips squished like a fish. And then she giggled, like it was the funniest thing she’d ever heard.
“Aw, fuck,” Ben uttered.
And he pressed his lips together with ever widening eyes at what he’d just said.
Lila grinned. “Fack!”
“Uhh, no. No. Don’t say that,” he said, trying to sound stern. Inside, he was trying not to laugh. He didn't really give a shit what she said, but you were particular about the kid not inheriting his vocabulary.
In fact, he was pretty sure you were going to go nuclear for this one.
“Why?” Lila asked.
“Because it’s uh…a bad word,” Ben replied, even though he wanted to roll his eyes at himself. This was what he’d become. A suburban dad.
"And it's not ladylike," he added.
“Fackkkk,” Lila giggled some more.
Christ on a cross. Ben bit the inside of lip hard to stop himself from laughing.
“Whatever. Just don’t say it around your mom,” he relented. He brushed his fingers through her soft brown hair. She preened at the attention, like the little showboat she was.
“Daddyyyy…” Lila wrapped her arms around his neck and snuggled as deeply into him as she could, like a koala clinging to a shaking branch.
Ben sighed and rubbed a hand up and down her back as he cradled her against him.
These were the moments he didn’t mind. In fact, these were the moments he did his best to remember. They helped block out the older, darker ones that this kid would never know.
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Ben woke to the shutter of a camera going off.
He blinked his bleary eyes open to find you standing there with a highly amused smile on your face, and your phone poised in your hand.
He groaned, but he soon realized that Lila was sleeping in his arms, on his chest. You leaned down and rested a hand on her back. You also greeted him with a kiss to his temple.
“Long day?” you teased quietly.
Ben gave you a deadpan look, one that had you straining to taper down your giggles. Though he drew you closer by your hip and squeezed the soft flesh over your white sundress. He took you in with a lazy once-over.
You looked good. Sexy as hell, really. Your face was glowing and relaxed, and he liked the shade of red you’d done on your nails.
“You have a good time?” he asked.
“Yeah,” you replied, massaging his shoulder. Though you arched a brow. “There’s a catastrophe in the kitchen.”
Ben blinked.
Fuck. He forgot about that.
“Yep,” he said, giving you a teasing smirk of his own. “Right on time for you, baby.”
You chuckled, though your eyes narrowed in warning. “Yeah, right.”
You still helped him put Lila down in the nursery for the rest of her nap. She yawned and turned over onto her back. You pressed a soft kiss to her forehead, though you had to smile when it accidentally left the red mark of your lipstick behind.
You bit your lip and gently rubbed it off without waking her up. (An amazing damn feat, as far as you were concerned.)
Ben laid a heavy hand on your back, prompting you to straighten up and turn into his waiting embrace.
His lips curved as he looked down at you. “Hey.”
You laughed quietly. “Hey, yourself.”
Your hands glided up his chest, and further still to hold his face. You brought him down to kiss you, with your fingers slipping into his hair, and your nails dragging along his scalp. He hummed into your mouth.
“Miss me?” you teased.
Ben huffed. As usual though, his answer was in his actions. He held you close for a moment, just to feel you there.
Your arms slipped around his, clinging to his shoulders as you rested against him. This was your safe, comfortable place where you always felt at home.
But, you couldn’t help but break the spell.
“Come on. Clean up on aisle 12,” you quipped, reaching around to smack his ass.
Ben rolled his eyes, but when you pulled away from him, he followed you into the kitchen.
“You know, I had a lot going on. Your kid is a fucking menace,” he said. “Like a bull in a China shop.”
You scoffed. “She’s only my kid when she gives you a hard time. Where do you think she gets it from?”
“You,” he retorted.
You had to laugh at that one. It still didn’t get him out of helping you clean the kitchen from top to bottom.
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After a long shower, waking an errant child from her nap, dinner, and a joint effort of getting Lila to sleep for the night, Ben joined you in bed wearing just his usual sweatpants.
You’d opted for some black satin, he noticed.
Good, he thought, for the night to come. You’d spent the whole day getting massaged and moisturized and whatever else women did on a day out.
When he rolled onto his side, you greeted him with a smile and a hand running up his arm, already pulling him toward you. His hand glided along your bare thigh as you hooked it over his hip.
“I need to tell you something, but you’ve gotta promise not to say anything to anyone,” you whispered in the small space between his face and yours, and you tapped his chin.
Ben raised a brow and squeezed your thigh. Whatever it was, couldn’t it wait until long after he’d undressed you?
“What?” he asked.
“Annie’s pregnant!” you said with a wide smile. “Six weeks. She just told me today.”
Ben blinked at that one. “Is it Hughie’s kid?”
“Wha…of course, it is!”
“Wow. Guess he had it in him after all,” Ben remarked. “Who woulda thought.”
You shook your head, but his grin made you laugh.
“You’re ridiculous,” you said, through your remaining giggles, though you leaned forward and stole a kiss. It led Ben to want more, and more of you.
He started to ply you with slow, lazy kisses that grew deeper, becoming all-consuming as his tongue warred against yours. His hands dove under the satin covering your body, and his thumbs brushed the sides of your breasts.
“Maybe it’s time we go for number two,” he said.
You uttered another incredulous laugh, gripped a fist in his hair and tugged. “Excuse me?”
“You fucking heard me,” Ben said. He rolled you onto your back and pinned you there. “Ain’t no way we’re stopping at one. Lila needs a brother.”
“You can’t even handle one,” you teased. Your hands slid up his arms and then down his chest. “Baby, we can talk about having more kids, but—”
“And? We’re talking now,” he said. He dipped his head to start kissing a hot, wet line down your neck. It made your breath falter and your back start to arch. Your hips shifted against his, trying to find friction. You could feel his length hardening against your thigh.
“Ben,” you warned, and implored, but the graze of his teeth on your neck made you shudder.
Your grip on his arms tightened. “Please…”
“Please what?” he smirked against your skin. His hips rocked against your heated core.
This conversation was going into a no man’s land very fast.
You literally took matters into your own hands…by reaching down and grasping your husband’s cock through his sweatpants. You gave him a demanding squeeze.
His breath hitched. Ben paused, unlatching from your neck, and turning his lips toward your cheek.
“I’m listening,” he said, in a gritted voice. You smirked.
“We can, and we will talk about this,” you promised. “Just not when you’re about to be balls-deep inside me.”
You were back on birth control anyway (the pill this time).
Ben chuckled. His hand reached up and smoothed your hair away from your forehead.
“Fine,” he conceded. A smirk grew across his face. “But we can still practice.”
A giggle fell from your lips, just before he claimed them once again.
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AN: A little callback to the BMD Epilogue at the end there. 😂
What did you think about the father/daughter time? And do you think Ben won against either of the ladies in his life? 🤣
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Soldier Boy Masterlist
Main Masterlist
BMD Tag List (Part 1):
@this-is-me19 @waynes-multiverse @mrsjenniferwinchester @samanddeaninatrenchcoat @spalady26 @spnwoman @syrma-sensei @wirdbeimaufhebengebunden @muhahaha303 @123passwort
@xoxoviennaa @katherineann814 @lollag0w0 @globetrotter28 @nancymcl @ashbatz @secretdreamlandmentality @kristophalis @wonderland2022 @emily-winchester @shelh93 @sl33pylilbunny @spoonmynoodle @chernayawidow
@buckybarnes-1917 @asgardprincess97 @sometimes-i-sing @itsyellow @karnellius @kimberleymjw @is-this-a-febreze-commercial @iamsapphine @sanscas @se-fucking-hun @lassie-bird @jessjad @yepimthatperson @fromcaintodean @stoneyggirl2
@spnfamily-j2 @im-a-slut-for-fluff @lacilou @venicesem @mimaria420 @vanillawhiskeyflavoredkisses @tearsfortheyouth @agalliasi @chriszgirl92 @kazsrm67
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Wildflower
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What should Ghost give during Valentine's Day to Jade when she's an actual florist who sees flowers literally every day?
Pairing : Simon “Ghost” Riley x Charlotte “Jade” Le Jardin (OC) Word Count : ~ 6.4k words Warning : Full on fluff-fest, a slight angst, and the good o'l cursings.
Title and story inspired by the song 'Wildflower' by Clay Finnesand and 'La Vie en Rose' by Louis Armstrong.
February 14th. 
Fucking Valentine’s day - a day full of love, they said. 
He never really celebrated or cared about any of those kinds of days where people commemorate shit like love. For him, it's just like any other day. He woke up today and did his workout before he went on jogging.
However, that day is different as he saw countless red and pink decorations in every store in his apartment neighbourhood, offering Valentine's day discount for couples. He swore he saw more couples walking down the street than usual, that he even saw a man propose to his girlfriend when he was jogging. 
Looking at them, Ghost remembered,
He already confessed to Jade during the New Years. 
Yep. He did.
Across the London Eye, when the fireworks painted the infinite black, the chimes of Big Ben rang throughout the Thames River, he said it to her, 
‘I think I’m falling in love with you.’
Only to disappoint her again by saying, ‘But I don’t think I’m ready yet.’
Had he been a coward for not being ready to commit yet? Jade was a shining light in his life. She knew of his struggles, and she treated him with kindness and fondness no woman ever did to him. All his life he never thought to fall in love with someone, yet here he was. 
He wanted to be in a relationship with her. Fuck, he wanted to. But she deserved the world. She deserved certainty and stability while his job was nothing but that. He could get deployed out of the blue anytime – die anytime. He had a lot of things to sort out first.
He saw tears in her green eyes despite the smile. She only hugged him in response, saying, 
‘I love you, so I’ll stay right here.’ Jade muttered shakily while pressing her body to his in a tight hug, her fingers grasping the back of Ghost’s jacket. 
‘When you’re ready, I’ll be here.’
‘Let’s be friends, yeah?’ She had added, to which he answered with a smile. “Yeah. We'll always be friends.”
That was New Years. 
It'd been two months since then. Ghost and Jade had been texting each other regularly all the while continuing their lives. They met occasionally for a food tour as Ghost was a food enthusiast. Their chat was full of ‘Let’s try the new Korean BBQ around the street’, ‘You ever tried a fried ice cream?’, ‘There’s a new movie about a lady becoming a superhero across multiple universes’, and more casual stuff like those. Meanwhile Jade would take him to physical activities such as take him to a zoo, hiking, and even go to arcades. 
Johnny had been such a tease on it. He’d been bothering Ghost the whole time in the base as the Lieutenant looked at his phone and typing away on it more frequently than ever. ‘Yer’ lookin’ very happy these days, Sir.’ , ‘How’s Jade doin’?’, ‘Another ‘meet-up’ with Jade?’, 
‘Yer’ so full of rubbish. That’s called a date.’ Soap had said. 
'Shut your gob. We’re just friends, Johnny.’
‘Friends who go on dates together.’
Soap ran away before Ghost could smack the shit out of him. 
But was it really? Ghost and Jade frequently walk together, as friends, Eating at places together, as friends. Watch movies together, as friends. 
But seeing that one guy propose to his girlfriend lit up a spark in him.
That's when Ghost texted her for a meet-up somewhere, Jade replied back with,
‘I would LOVE to if it's not the busiest time of the year T_T and every Valentines we'd open from early morning to midnight, so I'm really sorry. We have all our employees working, but it doesn't seem to make any difference.’
He forgot that Valentine’s day is literally the most important day for a florist. Fucking idiot.
Ghost sighed as he looked up from his phone, right in front of the Le Jardin floristry. He wore a black hoodie and a face mask, the black face paint absent from around his eyes as he was on leave, a rare occurrence from his line of work. Inside the garden was an organised chaos, to say the least. Ghost saw at least 6 customers inside the garden, around 4 employees going around the shop to accompany them. Even as one person went out after buying a flower, two people would enter the shop to replace them. The place was positively crowded.
He looked far and wide for Jade inside among the sea of people, until a woman with ginger hair came out of a room with a big rose bouquet, giving it to a man in an expensive suit that was tailored to perfection for his figure. The man paid for the humongous flowers and left the shop with a nervous face, meanwhile Jade instantly attended to another customer. He could tell that she's a leader based on how she commanded her employees with such confidence and authority, yet still had that kindness and gentleness in her way of talking. Her legs brought her around the shop with utmost speed and precision, not a single step was wasted on her feet.
He could only smile proudly beneath the mask. 
For about 15 minutes he observed the shop, until a truck pulled up in front of an alleyway right beside the floristry. Didn't have to wait long to understand that the vehicle was meant to pick up flower decorations for a wedding as an old man came out from the alleyway (presumably connected to the backdoor of the shop) brought out a very big, white bouquet in his arms, which size was so big it concealed his head - surely he couldn't see where he was stepping. Ghost noticed that he was struggling to lift the giant decoration onto the truck, his knees looked like it was about to tumble, until his prediction turned into reality.
The old man's knees failed him, and the big white flower decoration would turn into a mess on the ground, if not for Ghost, who quickly leaped in and held the flowers from falling. Ghost huffed in relief that he jumped just in time. 
The man leaned to the side of the decoration to see who had just saved him, and saw a big, tall man dressed in a black hoodie and jeans, whose face was concealed by another black face mask.
Regardless, the elder smiled wide, "Oh good heavens! Thank you so much for the assist! My knees aren't as strong as they used to." The old man said as they both put the white decorations into the truck box. "Ah~ being young is so much easier innit?"
Ghost only nodded, avoiding eye contact to hide his identity. Why'd he help him? probably just from reflex, but then again, how could he just leave an old man stumbling to his fall?
"I'm really sorry for the trouble. I wish I could repay you." The old man's expression was so kind it's almost blinding. He wasn't that short or frail for a man with entirely white hair, probably a 5'9". Judging by his quite muscular arms from his rolled sleeves, he could tell that he's not weak, his knees just betrayed him at a bad time. 
Ghost didn't say anything to the man as he was about to walk away to avoid more interaction, before a familiar feminine voice called.
"Papa! Are you okay!? I saw you trip!"
Both men turned their attention to the shop, where a woman with braided red hair and dark blue apron was talking from the main doorway. 
"Don't worry, Lottie Dear. I got it, but only thanks to this young lad right here." He gestured to Ghost, where he stood right on the elder's left. "If not for him, we'd have to replace all the flowers." 
Fuck.
The old man is her father. 
It's Mister Le Jardin. 
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Her green eyes caught the sight of a man whose built and sense of fashion she would recognize from a mile away. "Wait... Ghost??" Jade exclaimed, her face filled with surprise, "What are you doin' here??" 
The SAS lieutenant looked up to her with a tinge of panic on his concealed face, while Mr. Le Jardin observed him up and down. "Oh? You know him?" 
Jade nodded slowly, still shocked, "Yes... he's uh… he's a friend from work." 
He never intended to be noticed by Jade, afraid of disturbing her work, let alone meet her father out of all people. 
The father noticed that word. 'From work'. 
"Really now? What's your name, young man?" Mr. Le Jardin asked, his voice went higher in delight. 
He lowered his head to bow a little, before answering, "Simon... Sir."
"Ah. Nice to meet you, Simon! I'm Eli, owner of Le Jardin along with my wife Gracie – she's inside dealing with the clients." He introduced himself with a handshake, which Ghost reluctantly accepted. 
"Sir! Where're the rest of the flowers?!" The truck driver shouted as he got off his vehicle, prompting Eli to walk to the back door through the alleyway, leaving Ghost and Jade at the front of the shop, her face still painted with shock. A lady walked in front of Jade to enter the shop, so she made some way for her and approached Ghost. 
"Hey Ghost." The red-head started, happiness filling her voice. 
"Hey." 
"So… What brings you here?" She surely knew that he wasn't there just because he 'happened to be in the area', so he deleted that reply in his mind. 
"I wanted to see you."
Jade's eyes widened, surprised at his straight-forward answer. "Oh." 
"Your old man lost his balance loading this decoration into the truck, so I helped him." 
"Oh." Still with the same answer, Jade couldn't tell him how fast her heartbeat was, as her father just came in contact with Ghost, the man she fell in love with.
He looked inside the shop, observing the clients and employees walking around. "Busy day innit?"
"Yeah, it is. To be honest we've been busy since the last 3 days. Had to pick up tons of fresh flowers from our fields back in Norfolk, then arrange them for this day. Today's the busiest day, so it's an all-hands-on-deck situation. Also a big wedding is coming up tonight, and we have to transport these humongous flowers to a hotel ballroom for decorations. Biiig money. This is the third truck." Jade explained as her father and the truck driver walked out with two exact copies of the same white flower decor, lifting them up into the truck before immediately running back in. Third truck? The client must've had too much money on their wallets.
Seeing the scene that's happening in front of him, Ghost took a deep breath and blew it out. 
"Seems like your Da can use an extra pair of arms and younger knees." His deep voice suggested, making Jade's eyebrow rise. 
"Oh? Are you willing to help us out?" 
A nod was all she needed as a confirmation. "Got nothin' else to do or to be."
A wide grin fell on her lips as she grabbed Ghost's right hand and pulled him into the alleyway and to the back door of the shop, where a vast storage room was packed full of flower decorations similar to the ones that were being lifted to the truck. There were only flowers where the eye could see, save for the door that led to the front shop. There were huge boxes and boxes of flowers that had big 'Ian & Gia 14/02's written on them.
Ghost turned to the woman beside her. "Big money, eh?"
"Suuuuper big. Businessman and a big shot pianist. Wanted all the jasmines of blue white and red, and we gotta lift them all to the truck." She explained smiling to him, "Think you're up for this?"
"Won't even break a sweat." Ghost began stepping into the storage room, lifting three big boxes at once in his arms. Jade was left impressed by his show of strength as he ran to the truck at an impressive speed, before coming back and picking up more boxes like a machine, his hoodie still up and his mask still on. 
Jade scoffed at his feat, as her father came to pat her shoulder from behind, "A soldier huh?"
"...Yeah."
"It's basically written on his whole figure and posture. Is he any special in his regiment?"
The daughter could only let out a light laugh, "Very, very much so."
"Get out of here." His father looked at her in disbelief, "SAS?" 
"Yep. One of the strongest, and I'm not even exaggerating." 
His loud laugh filled the alleyway as Ghost ran back and forth lifting the flower boxes without a second wasted and tiredness showing. Jade smiled before heading into the shop to aid her mother and her co-workers with the regular customers. 
------
“Chacha, the pink wrapping paper and white 2.5 is out! We need more from the storage, please!” shouted Fiona, her co-worker and best friend of southeast asian descent, who mainly works in the front counter, preparing the flowers right in front of the visitors (which worked as an added value to attract more people). Her wrapping skills were second to none in the shop, even to Gracie, Jade’s mother, who sat right beside her counting the incoming revenues and accepting orders by call. 
“One minute!” Jade shouted back from the studio room, which was right behind the wall of the main display room while her hands also swiftly moved to arrange roses inside a heart-shaped box. The order had come in pretty fast; she had to make three of them at a time, and now she had to go up to the second floor to get the items Fiona requested. 
“Let me get it.” A deep voice came from behind her, making Jade flinch and look back to the source of the voice, where Ghost stood. 
“A-Are you done with the loading?” Jade asked him with a start, as it was not even 20 minutes since he started to help her father lift all the flowers inside the truck. 
“Just finished. Truck left just now with your dad to arrange the decorations in the ballroom.” 
“Oh.” Jade leaned back to take a glimpse of the back storage room, and true to his words, it was empty. “Wow.”
“Where are these… pink wrappings and the ‘white 2.5’s’?” Asked Ghost with a tone of confusion in his words. Jade could only giggle as she never thought she’d hear the word ‘pink’ out of his mouth. 
“Okay, so go to the second floor. On your 3, duck down and the pink wrapping is on the 3rd shelf from the bottom - take 4 rolls of ‘em. ‘White 2.5’s’ means the white-coloured satin ribbon with a 2.5 centimetres width. Don’t mistake them for the rest as there are the .5, 1.2, 4, and 5 centimetres as well. From the shelf go to your left and there should be a high rack and you can find the thingy there. Take two rolls. Don’t forget to close the door before you go down.” 
Ghost stood in silence as he processed the information.
Before Jade could ask him if he remembered all that, he answered: “Affirmative.” 
The man walked to the side stairs and stepped over 2 stairs, disappearing from her sight to the upper floor. Jade scoffed at the sight before going back to her handiwork. When else can you command an SAS officer like this?
----------
“Chachaaa~ Where're the pink wrappings and white 2.5s?! I need ‘em no–” Fiona noticed the new pink wrappings and white ribbons on the table as she worked. That was fast. 
She then looked up, expecting to find her red-headed best friend who was shorter than her, only to find a big, tall man dressed in a black hoodie and a face mask instead, who exudes danger in the way he stands. Fiona, Gracie, and the clients looked him up and down with mouths agape, as they never saw this giant man around, ever. The scene looked too damn comical for his liking.
“...Is this correct?” Ghost started with a voice lower than the depths of hell, which surprised the whole room. Fuck. Being looked at by people was the one thing he wanted to avoid, but here he was.
“Lottie dear, Who’s this?” the old lady beside Fiona asked Jade with a quite high volume, who was still inside the studio arranging the heart-shaped roses.
Judging by the nickname and those braids in her gray hair similar to Jade's, this lady could only be Gracie, her mother. 
Mrs. Le Jardin. 
“H-He’s a friend from work! I called him up here to lend a hand!” Jade shouted back from the studio. Even with the answer, all the people were still staring at him, especially Jade’s mum, and it felt like having ten laser sights aiming at him.
He swore he saw a smirk from Gracie.
So before he attracted more attention, Ghost repeated, “Is this correct?” 
“Y—yeah.” Fiona answered nervously, meanwhile her mother was still eyeballing him like she found a leprechaun. Upon hearing that confirmation, Ghost left the items in the counters and fast-walked back to the studio where Jade was, disappearing from sight. 
-----------
“Chacha, are you serious? ‘A friend from work’?” Fiona asked her best friend as she threw a piece of french fries into her mouth. The Le Jardin floristry was currently having a lunch break, and most of the employees went out to get their own meals, while the two stayed inside to talk about the man who was currently sweeping the floor of the studio alone, silently.
Fiona stared at his back from where they were eating at a counter, chewing at her fries. “Are you saying that you have a friend built like that with a voice like that working as a volunteer in the orphanage dealing with kids???”
“Nooo no no, that’s not it–!” That was where Jade messed up. She forgot that neither her best friend, nor any one of their employees know that the Le Jardins used to be MI6 black agents, except the fact that Jade was adopted. They both started to become friends when Fiona applied for the job 3 years ago, right when Jade just retired from MI6. All that she knew was the fact that Jade only had two jobs: Floristry on weekdays and in the orphanage for weekends. She never mentioned the other work that she did for the last two decades of her life. “I didn’t mean from work, I mean I met him when I was at work.” 
“Oh really?”
“Yeah.” 
“When and how did you meet him? Heck what is his name?” Shit. She needed to make up stories about him at this point. But what?! Jade hated lying. Sure it’s super easy to manipulate people by changing reality, but she didn’t want to lie to her best friend! Fiona’s the one who’s been helping her adjust to the life of being a florist and a normal life for the last three years (after saying that she’d been living abroad). 
However, how can Jade just say, ‘oh so actually I was an MI6 agent. Both of your bosses were too, actually. Not only agents – we were black agents who were trained since we were not old enough to make our own decisions to do the illegal stuff! I retired three years ago and that's when I met you, but they called me back again, and that’s when I met that guy who happened to be an officer of one the most elite task forces in the world!' 
That’s just absurd!
How did she meet him? How did she meet him?! 
"Ja– I mean Midg– I mean Lottie, where do I put these–"
The two women turned their heads to Ghost, who came out of the studio with the broom and dustpan in his hands. Looking at the two women's expression, he knew he fucked up. He didn't know what to call her outside of work. Her call sign 'Jade' was directly tied to her work as an MI6 and he couldn't know for sure if Fiona knew about that name. 'Midget' was the name he called her regularly, but he thought it was too harsh in front of her best friend, while 'Lottie' was…
"Why did you call her that?" Fiona asked him while chewing her fries, suspicion painting het face, while Jade sucked her lips and widened her eyes in shock.
Fuck. He thought right. It's a pet name used exclusively by her parents. 
"Wait. No way." She turned to Jade and Ghost back and forth before standing up abruptly, startling Jade, meanwhile Ghost stood calmly, still holding the cleaning tools in his hands.
"Chacha… is he your secret boyfriend?!?" 
That sentence shocked both of them as Jade quickly denied in panic, "No! No, he's not!! Just– sit down will you?" 
"That name is exclusively used by the bosses, ya know." She started walking towards Ghost slowly. 
Jade followed her from behind, trying to hold her friend back. "Fiona, he isn't! I swear!"
"No, seriously. How did you meet her? When?" She started closing in on Ghost excitedly, looking up at him. "What’s your name, by the way?"
“Simon.” Ghost answered deadpanly, as the last question was literally the only question he can answer casually. As long as he didn’t give out his last name, it’d be fine. “Name’s Simon.” 
"Ooooooh so he's the reason why you've been going out a lot after closin' up! You've been on dates!!" 
"NO!! We haven't–" 
"Yes."
Ghost's deep voice interrupted the two girls' argument, making them look at the man. 
"We've been on dates." 
Jade's face turned as red as her hair, and her heart beat so fast and so hard she swore Fiona and Ghost could hear it. Why was he suddenly doing this??? All the while, Fiona's jaw dropped to the floor, eyes glaring at her best friend in shock. 
Jade glanced at Ghost, but that damned hoodie and face mask did not help her at all. "I KNEW IT!!! I CANNOT BELIEVE YOU'VE BEEN DATING BEHIND MY BACK??? I mean– I am happy for you, Chacha, but WHY ARE YOU HIDING IT FROM ME???" Fiona excitingly chimed to her best friend, grabbing Jade's shoulders before shaking them like she's a ragdoll. 
"Wait– Fiona I can explain–"
"Okay! Explain then! Tell me everything! And don't you dare try to hide anything from me." That's right. She deserved to know. Fiona had been with her for the past three years. She's her first best friend ever. Jade knew she could trust her.
Jade relented with a big sigh and glanced at Ghost with a questioning look. He caught her cue before he himself took a deep breath. "As long as she can keep her mouth shut."
Fiona turned to Ghost, "Wh-what? What is this about?"
"Fiona. My dear best friend. My very beautiful friend that I trust. I love you, so, so much, so I will tell you the truth." Jade started before Ghost cut her again. 
"Jade where do I put the broom and the dustpan."
"Owh just put it on the side there yeah. Thanks."
"Who's Jade?"
—------------
"Okay. So let me get this straight." Fiona clapped her hands together in front of Ghost and Jade, who were sitting on the chairs behind the counter together while Fiona was standing up. Jade sat like she was being interrogated, while Ghost folded his arms in front of his chest.
"You, Chacha, had been working as an MI6 black agent for the last twenty years, since you were a wee kid, and then retired three years ago." Jade nodded.
"But two years ago, they called you back to this city called… Verdansk, and that's where you meet… Simon." She gestured to Ghost, who nodded.
"You only met briefly, until last October, you got called back from retirement again, and that's when you met him for the second time. But this one was special, as you guys started to develop feelings for each other, am I right?" Both of them nodded. 
"GOD this sounds like a Wattpad type of shite!!" Fiona grasped her hair from frustration, "And you're an MI6 BLACK AGENT??? REALLY???"
"Was. Papa and Mama were, too, actually." 
"Oh my Dear Lord in Heavens. THE BOSSES WERE BLACK AGENTS TOO?????" Jade nodded again. Clearly she didn't have any single clue of the burden that came with the words 'MI6', 'agent', especially with the added word 'black' in front of it.
"And you, Simon. So you're a soldier. Which one are you from? Navy? Is it the Royal Artillery? Or is it Life Guards like James Blunt?" Fiona asked with her very limited military knowledge. 
"You promised to keep your mouth shut so keep your promise." That voice came out harsher than he intended it to be, prompting Fiona to be taken aback.
"SAS."
The black-haired woman gasped so hard, covering her mouth in shock. "...like Bear Grylls?"
Jade couldn't help the giggle, as Ghost was utterly flabbergasted at her reaction as that was the first thing that came to her mind from the revelation. "...Yeah. Like Bear Grylls. And no I don't know him."
"Wow. Okay. So why the face mask? Does this have anything to do with secrecy and stuff?" Fiona asked him again as Ghost still had the hoodie up and face mask. She hadn't seen his face at all. "Am I not allowed to see his face? Wait Chacha you have seen his face right?"
"Of course I have! What do you mean by that!?" Jade countered, clearly overwhelmed by the barrage of questions. "Ghost. it's up to you."
Ghost huffed, lifting up one hand to the upper hem of his face mask. Fiona observed as Ghost pulled down the mask for a good 3 seconds, catching a glimpse of his strong jaw, his light brown stubble, the faint scars on his face, before putting the face mask back into place again. "Happy now?"
"Oh. Wow. Okay. I am happy." Fiona confirmed with start, turning to look at Jade again, "Chacha you hit a jackpot on this one – so you guys are a couple, right?"
The man and woman looked at each other for a long time, Jade bit her lower lip as her expression fell. Ghost could only close his eyes in regret. 
"Wait, no way you guys aren't a thing already. Whaaaatttt?" Fiona expressed her confusion because, for the last two months, Jade had started to buy more makeup and clothes, and the sudden interest in her looks had made Fiona suspicious. She really thought her best friend was dating a man secretly, but now that he's right here, both of them could not say that they're in a relationship?
"Look, Fiona… it's complicated, okay? We're just taking things slow right now. Our… jobs have their own risks, and we're just trying to enjoy things as they are now." Jade tried to explain with a bit of a sad tone to her voice. 
"So… you guys are friends, who happen to go on dates occasionally?" Fuckin' hell. Ghost thought. How could she say the exact same thing as Soap? Was it really weird? For two friends to just go together doing whatever they liked? 
After both of them nodded for the hundredth time that day, Fiona sighed in acceptance. "Chacha, Luv, I might not understand what you guys are going through right now, but Simon," she turned to Ghost, who lifted his head to see her clearly. "You better not make her cry." 
The man glanced to his side, where Jade silently sat on the chair. He knew she'd already hurt her feelings by saying he wasn't ready for a relationship yet, but if he wanted to be honest with himself, was ‘scared’ and ‘afraid’ the right word for it? As Soap and Fiona said, they’re literally doing what couples do. 
He’s just afraid to put a name on it. 
“I’ll try.” 
—------------
Jade had texted him earlier that during Valentine’s, Le Jardin’s floristry would open until midnight. Ghost wondered why as it had been a while since the employees had gone home, including Fiona (who told her that they were going to have a long chat on the phone) who had to go home and have dinner with her family. The sun had long drowned, replaced by the moon that accompanied the cold winter of London. Warm lights from the shops and a few street lights were the only thing lighting up the streets - one of them coming from the floristry. 
The sales peaked around 6 PM to 9 PM when people finished their work to be with their loved ones. Ghost had absolutely no skills in flower arranging or wrapping, so he did all he could to help the other employees to pick tools or items from high shelves, and even change the lightbulb when one of them died. Ghost didn’t mind it one bit as he found simple domestic things like this relaxing compared to what he did in the military - full of pressure, stress, and blood. 
Meanwhile, the utmost form of stress in Le Jardin’s (at least what he saw today), was a customer who kept changing the flowers that he wanted, and then lashing out at Fiona when his bouquet wasn’t tied the way he wanted to. Ghost almost wanted to step in, drag him out of the store, and throw him out to the streets, but Jade stepped in and calmly asked the customer for references, dealing with the situation one at a time, and finally, the man stomped out. Ghost knew that there were more variety of problems in retail, but at least he got to experience one today. To be honest that was probably the least angry person in London. 
That was 3 hours ago. Now, there’s only the Le Jardins and Ghost; the father had come home at around 4 PM after finishing the decorations. He took a photo of the ballroom and showed it to his family and Ghost, who was quite amazed at the old man’s sense of composition and aesthetic. 
The four of them were all in the front room, Gracie counting the revenues, Jade tidying up the display flowers, Eli wiping the windows, and Ghost sweeping the floors (again). The clock showed 00.23, the shop was empty, and even the cafe opposite them was already closed. As Ghost finished his chore, he put the cleaning tools to the side before approaching Jade.
“Are you not closin’? It’s past midnight.” He muttered to her, who was tidying up the edelweiss display. 
Jade smiled, “We usually extend about an hour.” 
“Why?” 
“You’ll see.”
Just as he was about to question it, the phone rang besides Gracie, who picked up the call immediately,
“Le Jardin Floristry. Yes, we are still open. You might be our last client, Sir. We do have tulips available. What colour? Red and pink, got it. The bouquet will be here when you arrive. Yes. We’ll be here, Sir, don’t worry. Thank you!” After confirming the order, Gracie smiled towards Ghost as she put the phone back. “That’s why, Simon Dear.”
About twenty minutes later, a man entered the shop in a hurry, dressed in a dirty fire brigade jacket. He clearly just finished his work and then drove to the floristry immediately after he extinguished whatever fire broke out somewhere. The moustached man approached the counter, where Jade had his order ready. “I’m here for my tulips?” He muttered, clearly tired from the way he panted. 
“Here it is, Sir. That’ll be 18 pounds.” 
“Thank you so much. You guys were the only shop open at this time. I’m forever grateful. I already told my wife and children that I’ll be late, but I truly felt bad.” He pulled out his wallet before putting a 20-pound note on the counter. 
“A pleasure for us, Sir. Have a good night!” Gracie chimed as he took the tulips in his hands, exited the shop and finally drove off. With that, Eli flipped the ‘Open’ tag to the ‘Closed’ tag.
“Delightful! Now.” Mr. Le Jardin put his hands on his hips, “Let’s have dinner.” Once Ghost heard that, he immediately planned his escape from the floristry like he needed to escape an enemy’s vicinity. 
“Simon Dear, you’re joining us, aren’t you?” But after hearing the gentle yet commanding tone coming out of Gracie, he decided against it, as what he heard in his ear was, ‘We’re going to have a conversation about you and my daughter’. 
—-------
Fuck. There’s the question. “No, Ma’am." He replied slowly, "Not yet."
“So, Simon Dear.” Gracie's voice startled Ghost as he was cutting the carrots for the chicken soup they're making, all the while Gracie was stirring the ladle on the pot. His hood was still up on his head, but he's taken off his mask to smell the chicken broth in front of him. He figured that if there's a civilian he'd let see his face, it's an ex-MI6 whose daughter he loved.
It was only the two of them in the kitchen on the third floor as Eli and his daughter were still tidying up the first floor. “Are you Lottie’s boyfriend?” 
Ghost expected a questioning look followed by a 'why', but instead she gave him a light nod. “She’s very fond of you, I think you should know."  That one caught Ghost's attention, briefly slowing down his slices. Did Jade talk to her mother about him?
"The way she talks about you, I know how deeply she really cared for you. She saw her future with no man, at all, until she met you. Had to do with 'understanding one another' she said." Gracie put in more black pepper into the pot.
“May I know, what stopped you from committing to her?”
More questions to answer, but this one, he didn't know how to answer. 
“...I don’t know, Ma'am."
Not long, Gracie muttered with a tone he almost forgot. Motherly. “...Are you afraid?”
And that's when he found himself so vulnerable, so open. And the weird thing was, he only felt like this when he's with Jade. He thought Gracie's her adoptive mother, but this magical familial trait where people could instantly open up to them was almost scary. 
He expected judgement, but what came was a light smile. “You remind me of Eli and me, back when we were still with MI6."
Was it a yes? No, he's not afraid. He just thought that if they started dating, she might be wasting her time with him. Well, he's afraid that all this love that he's feeling and all these moments with be for naught if he's just dead after a deployment gone wrong. He can't promise anything to her. Ghost knew how serious Jade was about a relationship. She wanted a long-lasting one.
Ghost didn't mutter a word out of his mouth. Only continuing his work. He could feel her gaze on him, but he still chose to stay silent.
"He was afraid of the life we’ll lead. Constantly running, followed by death everywhere we go. Stability and domesticity was a dream impossible to achieve.” As Ghost listened and wondered how the fuck did she read his mind, he lifted the cutting board and poured the cube-cut carrot into the pot. 
“However, I can tell him anything, he can tell me anything.” Gracie continued, looking up at him. Her gaze was as soft as Jade's, grey eyes softly gazing into his soul. “Eli had his own problems, I had my own, but what mattered was the fact that we both tried to be better, for my own sake, and for his sake.”
“He was my best friend, and I was his. It was a leap of faith to be together.” She said as her palm tapped his shoulder firmly.
“I’m saying this as her mother. If you love her, then go all in. She deserves all of you.”
---
Dinner was eventful, to say the least. The Le Jardins, plus Ghost, ate their dinner together in their house on the third floor. Chicken and vegetable soup accompanied by warm cups of tea was enough to fill their stomachs. Ghost, of course, had to take his hood down and took off his face mask to eat with the three of them.
It felt odd. 
When was the last time he had a family dinner like this? Eating a delicious meal without having to find a place where there's no other people? A place where he could freely show his face to others, the warmth of a family? 
It didn't take long for Eli to finish his meal, as he stood up and put on 'La Vie en Rose' by Louis Armstrong on the classic gramophone. Gracie scoffed loudly, stood up, and took Eli's hand in hers. 
"Heeeere we go." Jade rolled her eyes, seeming like she had to watch this for the thousandth time.
As Louis Armstrong started to sing, the two old couple put out an amazing slow dancing show in front of Ghost and Jade. Seeing them so unashamedly happy, and the fact that both of their eyes only stared at each other with so much love, Ghost unconsciously smiled.
And when he turned to look at Jade, there was she, two hands holding her phone horizontally, taking a video of her parents, grinning ear to ear while her eyes gleamed with joy.
It's such a warm scene to witness. 
He only hoped it was him and her in place of Eli and Gracie.
—------------
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The time showed 02.13. Ghost and Jade were standing in front of the shop, a long scarf wrapped around Ghost's neck as the cold was harsh that time of the day. Jade insisted that he wore them, or she said he would catch a cold. 
"Thank you, Ghost. For today. My dad had been having regular trouble with his knee, so thank you so so much." Jade started, cheeks blushing that was certainly not because of the February winter. 
"Well, I doubt that, considering how well he danced with your mum." Ghost replied, making Jade laugh. Her smile was a sight he'd never get tired of seeing. “Are you going anywhere tomorrow?” 
That question quite surprised her. “Well… Tomorrow my shift starts at 3 PM. So I'm free in the morning. Why?"
“I want to make do for today. We haven’t had a proper… date. Yet. I honestly had wanted to bring you flowers, but I remembered you're a florist. So I felt like a prat.”
Her face turned as red as tulips at that. “Honestly, you helping out in the shop was more romantic than anything you could ever give."
"Oh yeah?" 
"Yeah! So… what are you thinkin’ for tomorrow? What do you wanna do, Ghost?”
“What do you wanna do?” He asked back.
“Oh? W-well… Hmmm." Jade contemplated, pouting her lips, glancing at the moon high in the sky. "Ice skating. And then Korean barbecue after.”
“I-Ice skating?” Ghost stuttered, not expecting that answer. 
“Yeah. What, you afraid you’re gonna fall?”
“I have no clue what you’re talkin’ about.”
“Don’t worry, I’ll hold you if you do.” 
He wanted to say something along the lines of 'fuck-off' or 'sod you'. But he deleted that reply before it came out of his mouth, instead saying, "Please do."
Jade grinned ear-to-ear at that response. She was anticipating a clap back from him, but it was such an unusually warm reply that she couldn't help the blush in her cheeks.
No matter how much she wanted him to stay close to her, he had to go, and Jade said her goodbye. "Thank you for today. See you tomorrow, Simon."
Still standing still, Ghost muttered, "It was fun."
She thought he was going to start walking away towards his apartment, but instead, a glimmer of light reflected on his brown irises, still gazing at hers with such hopeful and wistful eyes.
And before she knew it, Ghost leaned in closer to her face, and placed a soft peck on her cheek.
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As he stood back, Jade saw that his face burnt red, seeming like what he just did took great courage and resolution. His face still so close to hers, Ghost left her speechless.
And before she could say anything, he said his last words to her that night,
"See you tomorrow, Lottie."
----------------------
Hope you like it! (❁´◡`❁)
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saintslewis · 1 month
Text
𝐏𝐋𝐀𝐒𝐓𝐈𝐂 𝐎𝐅𝐅 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐒𝐎𝐅𝐀: 𝐒𝐎𝐂𝐈𝐀𝐋 𝐌𝐄𝐃𝐈𝐀 𝐅𝐈𝐋𝐄𝐒 🪩
𝐑𝐄𝐍𝐀𝐈𝐒𝐒𝐀𝐍𝐂𝐄: 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐒𝐄𝐑𝐈𝐄𝐒 | 𝐋𝐇𝟒𝟒
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pairing: sir lewis hamilton x fem oc; Nadia Hamilton
summary: social media posts from the most recent chapter! <3
warnings: twitter environment, cussing
saint’s team radio 🎀: 2 for the price of 1 😝. did not mean to take so long so here’s a little gift 🫶🏽
pic credit: pinterest and ig!
fc: @/unclewaffles_ on ig
plastic off the sofa: chapter 7
renaissance: the masterlist
Twitter!
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Instagram!
nadiahamilton
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liked by taylorrussell, normani and 3,484,913 others
nadiahamilton versace x dua lipa.
view all comments
pinned!
nadiahamilton guys my back tat looks so delicious
loriharvey YOU’RE JOKING? NADIA
nadiahamilton hello 🤭
user and what if this causes my hospitalisation?
dualipa i was so lucky to see this in person
nadiahamilton thank you for such an amazing show!
versace 💗
lilymhe i fainted a couple of times
arianagrande WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU JUST WAKE UP AND LOOK LIKE THIS
nadiahamilton i don’t, i swear 😭
kehlani can your man fight
haileybieber you look like a dream 🥹
user whatever your affirmations were, hand them over!
sza that ass is SITTING
francisca.cgomes i am begging for one chance
alexandrasaintmleux me too omg
user i don’t think you understand what you’ve done now
nataliatheedon you’re actually unreal WHAT
latto777 it’s actually so unfair that he gets you to himself
iamcardib like it’s actually pissing me off rn
amaraonmars this is insanity. do it again
jackharlow oh you was serious
user white boy, what are you talking abt? 🤨
user probably something at the party
user and dare i ask who took the photos….
user there could only be one selfish man who did this
user not you calling him selfish 😭😭😭
lewishamilton had to take a breather
charlottieee we’ll give you your pump, grandpa
fencer THIS IS SO CRAZY???
nataliatheedon CHARLOTTE YOU CAN’T SAY THAT 😭
lewishamilton hi mrs hamilton
nadiahamilton hi 🤭
user they had to remind y’all REAL QUICK
nadiahamilton
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liked by bellahadid, zendaya and 845,246 others
nadiahamilton hello monaco! (can we pls focus on how good he looked)
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user publicly thirsting over him, aren’t you embarrassed?
user girl that’s her husband…..
carmenmmundt we need to get together like that soon, it was so much fun!
lilymhe i felt like i was in a chick flick
francisca.cgomes not when you tripped and your ice cream fell ‼️
alexandrasaintmleux kika let’s be nice but YES tinkerbell, i need another girl’s day or else i will combust
user YOUR SHIRT??????
nadiahamilton super cute right?
user it’s so iconic!!!!
user nadia liked and favourited an edit of mine, just wanted to flex 🙏
user now why would you expose that girl’s secret like that (share the edit)
nataliatheedon monaco isn’t a real place, hope that helps!
nadiahamilton if i were you, i’d keep quiet 🫵🏽
nataliatheedon 😧
user i have the slightest feeling that you can cook, can you?
nadiahamilton yes?
user since no one is talking about it, yes he looked so good that day Nadia
nadiahamilton THANK YOU LIKE SOMETHING WAS IN THE AIR THAT DAY
f1femmepost
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liked by fanpage, fanpage and many others
f1femmepost bumping into nadiahamilton was the highlight of our Monaco Grand Prix weekend! Tell us what your favourite interview moments were!
view comments!
user “is this one of those tiny mics?? I LOVE TINY MICS”
user “i promise you, go up to one of these white people and they will give you a paddock pass. i’ve seen it.”
user “sorry i gotta fix my nose ring hold up”
user “there are days where he sounds incredibly british and it’s just so interesting to hear.” “but he is-” “and that’s what makes it better!”
user “these are my ladies, those drivers couldn’t stand a CHANCE!”
user a dog and its owner walk by: “omg look at it, i wanna squeeze that dog.”
user “i won’t hold you, i’m craving a big ass bowl of pasta rn.”
user *sings in the most angelic voice you’ve ever heard*
user “i’ll never stop being a teacher, it’s so much fun.”
user “if you’ve got extremely blue eyes, do not stare at people, it’s so scary. i’m talking about you, pierre gasly.”
user “omg you’re craving cupcakes? let’s go get them!”
user “you like that bag from gucci? let’s go get it.”
user “i love laying on the floor so much.”
f1femmepost because of all these posts, we love Nadia Hamilton so much! 🫶🏽
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saint’s notes 🎀: this took so long yoh, hope you enjoyed!
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lostheretics · 2 months
Text
PLOT TWIST (6)
▸ chapter 6; bonnie, clyde, and the others on the side
pt. 1 || pt. 2 || pt. 3 || pt. 4 || pt. 5 || pt. 6
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✵ cast : jung wooyoung x fem!reader, kim hongjoong, lee juyeon, kim younghoon, ateez, mentioned oc and many kpop artists name or group
✵ genre : romance, marriage life, eventual angst, smut, mafia!au, non idol!au
✵ summary : there's you, and me, and us, and oh wait. perhaps there's more.
in which marriage is not always a paradise, honeymoon avenue somehow is far behind as you look through the rearview mirror. and beware of the road ahead, for accidents might happen. road work, traffic jam,
or some stranger trying to get a lift, perhaps for a permanent front seat.
✵ notes : 6k-ish. thanks for waiting, to those whoever awaits i guess. PLS REBLOG (i will appreciate this sm) AND GIVE SOME THOUGHTS IF U HAVE THEM. ENJOY
WARNINGS BELOW CUT
☒ warnings: bad words here and there (it's life, but still minors dni) but do remind me if i missed something.
☒ i do not condone mafia acts nor any acts that goes against the law at all. everything mentioned are just purely fiction, made to entertain myself and fellow readers in this particular platforms.
☒ do not repost this on any other platform without my permission!
✓ reblogging, liking, and commenting this post in tumblr (through comment or askbox) are very much appreciated.
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i don’t know how exactly to start this one. 
but it’s about younghoon, the crown prince of seoul, the heir of the seoul kim family and the huge problem he’s facing right now. he’s in a deep shit. the shit being the problem that could swallow him whole. the huge problem being falling in love. 
how is it a problem? one might ask.
well, he fell in love with a woman he’s not supposed to fall in love with. for god’s sake, it was supposed to be just a one night job. a good friendship, a good business partner if it goes for more. but he overstepped. he couldn’t help it. not to mention the woman he fell in love with is already tied down to another man. 
simply put, he somehow fell in love with jung y/n. 
and most of all, over a single fucking ice cream night. 
as he laid on his bed, his mind could only go back on repeating the moment, on and on again. 
you were such a good dancer. 
you’re a really good dancer. 
younghoon’s brain kept on saying so as each of his hand held your waist and hand, guiding you through a dance in one of mrs. han’s party that you got yourself into. 
he still couldn’t believe how easy it is for you to get an invitation over a single lunch and conversation with mrs. han. 
safe to say you had charmed the lady. 
and not long into the party, you had once again charmed your way into her heart. and her daughter’s heart more importantly, with the talk of younghoon’s brother, the main target of the whole operation. you charmed them so much to the point that mrs. han had set a formal date to meet both the families up. of course, with the thoughts of marital proposal and possible mergers of the two powers. 
the outcome of it might still change, but you still got the two families to meet up with each other and that alone is impressive enough to him. 
that’s why you and younghoon spend the rest of the evening dancing and chatting. the job is practically finished, and what’s left was easing up to each other. 
“i owe you for this one. a promise and more, i think. you’ve landed my whole family a new ally, and my brother a possible wife. in less than a month, i might add.” he had said while leading you on a dance. 
you’ve found that younghoon, more than just a charming man, is also a good and down earthed one. 
you smiled at him, “it’s a possible outcome, but not yet certain, mr. kim.”
“younghoon.”
“huh?”
“younghoon. it’s kinda too fast, but we’ve come this far and i think it’s safe to say we can certainly be on first name basis now, y/n.” he said, “only if you’re comfortable with it, of course.”
“…if you say so, younghoon.” 
younghoon smiled back. it might sound awkward still, but for that, time can be the cure. not everything can be done instantly anyways. 
the dance stopped after a while. younghoon and you had several rounds of conversations around the room, keeping the couple act up. his hand would be guiding you by your back, fixing your dress or holding your drink or handbag whenever you need the help, including you in every conversation. 
he truly is a gentleman. 
mrs. han, as the socialite she is, invited many important guests. though filled with other socialite wives, there are some prominent figures like deputy chief of the police, in which younghoon is close to, several high ranked people from ministry of health, or even other well-known and successful businessmen and businesswomen from all around the country. everything fell like a domino effect to you, just by knowing younghoon alone. 
after a while, you and younghoon came to the realization that you both were not a fan of the crowd. hence, you both decided to shy away from the crowd and opting to sit by the empty gardens, a bowl of ice cream in on one hand and your champagne glasses on the other. 
quietness filled you both as you enjoy the way the star shone that night, while munching on the vanilla ice cream you got from the ice cream bar inside. 
“this reminds me of the first time i met you, you know.” younghoon broke the silence. you turned to him with a raised eyebrow, telling him to elaborate. 
“i was getting away from the crowd in juyeon’s party so i went to the gardens. instead of watching the sky, i had to watch this lady fainting in the middle of the garden in a party—“
“ugh.” you groaned. 
“—and i had no choice but to help her, because i’m such a gentleman.” he jested. 
you closed your eyes. “that’s the most embarrassing thing to ever happen in my entire life.”
“imagine the shock when i learned this lady who fainted would soon become my business partner? and great one at that?” 
“great one? i’m flattered, younghoon.”
“and you should be. with the amount of achievement? so many in so little time.” younghoon said. 
you chuckled lightly. you looked at the hem of your dress, playing with it to satisfy your fidgety urge. 
“i had to. you know, for the family. for my husband, given the state we were in.” you murmured, “i only want stability, if not with peace.”
it wasn’t the first time you mentioned your husband’s name to him. some people in the mafia know that you are jung wooyoung’s wife, and he your husband. younghoon knew that too. but most of the times you were with younghoon, you never failed to mention your husband’s name. him being a great caporegime, good strategist, good husband who took you to meetings, et cetera. and always with a smile on your face. it never failed to amaze younghoon just how much love you have for him. 
“how does it feel like?” he blurted out suddenly. 
“huh?”
“to be married. to be in love in this… society of ours.” he said. “you seemed to be in love with your husband, which isn’t an everyday thing that happen here, you know? ‘cause most relationships are… benefit based. arranged marriage, forced ones… so how?”
“oh, that.” you smiled. “because there isn’t any benefit. we’re just… in love with each other. i didn’t came from any mafia group or family, it just happen that i worked for one without knowing they’re one, and i just met wooyoung. just like that. it’s unlikely in the mafia world, and the ways are also unlikely to happen in a normal world. but we dated, we fell harder, and decided to settle down.”
“and to me, at least, it feels great. i don’t think i’ll ever feel this way again. not before him, not after him.” you had mouthed in the end, unconsciously pouring up some of you heart contents. 
younghood sighed. “must be beautiful.”
“you could’ve got all of it, you know. just now.” 
“how so?”
“the arrangement with the han’s daughter. might be an arrangement, but a good and stable one at that. i mean, you’re the crown prince of your family. you have power. just treat her right, and tell her to treat you right, then you wait for the love to bloom. might take time, might not be the same as mine, but a win win solution still.” you expressed. “why giving it all away for your brother? no offense, he looks like a great guy like you, but why?”
younghoon chuckled. the usual question. after all, who in their right mind would give away all powers like just that? 
“hm, where do i start?” he murmured to himself, then continued.
“to put it easily, i’m here, but i don’t wanna be here. my heart isn’t fully in this. despite my rank, birth and responsibilities, my brother is more suited for this job. that's why he's always around me, i might hand him this job. hence, the arrangement and all."
“what is it then, the thing you want to do the most?”
he leaned back a bit. eyes looking up, seemingly thinking and lost in his thoughts. you stared at him, stared at the way his eyes mirror the twinkling of the stars, and the way he tugged his lips up. 
“a doctor.” he quietly said, after a while. “a real one. not for my family’s business. going all around the world as a volunteer, and actually helping actual people in need.”
“when i was in uni, i wanted to pursue a med career. but my dad didn’t really approve of it— of my future career choices in med as a volunteer. and med field are most held by my uncle and his children. so my dad offered me a chance for a med career, just not in the actual med field, but more on the business site. so i took law as my major and business as my minor and took over one of our hospitals.” he explained, before continuing, “but, i still make the best out of it. i volunteered a lot in uni, and my hospital is one of the best hospital in seoul in its practices, and we have a lot charity events to help people.”
you stared at him, awed. there was no words that could describe how amazed you are. 
“wow.” was all you could say. 
silence filled the both of you for quite some time. each of you let the conversation sink in deep, trying to understand each character, though perhaps in a light that’s slightly different from the usual one in the underworld. there were no hostility, no walls kept up too high, no tactics. 
just two people in a mellow moment, enjoying each other’s company and in harmony. 
following your own question, he then asked.
“what about you, y/n? what kind of life do you want to live?”
now, it was your time to be the one deep in thoughts. the one who stare at the stars, humming to yourself, thinking of the right answer. 
“not a mafia one, to be honest.” you murmured, “but… ever since i met wooyoung, i feel like… i’ve lived my life. that i’m living in the life that i want,” 
”with the one that i love most.”
somehow your words seemed so sincere to younghoon’s ears. so pure, so innocent, and so dreamy. something that he once dreamed of, something, or dare he say, someone that he wished for. 
and somehow, you left younghoon star struck. 
how will he ever move on? how will he ever find someone if he set such standard for his love life? a fairytale like love life, in this kind of environment. 
he wondered about the life that you have with wooyoung, wondered if he ever will have those life. he wondered what if he was the one you met instead of wooyoung. 
wishful thinking, eh?
but that’s all they are; thoughts. his gentlemanly self wouldn’t have it in his heart to steal like that. to take someone else away just for his own. no, he’s not that kind of man, and he stood by that. 
yet it didn’t do anything to erase your pictures from his mind. at least for the night. it doesn’t lessen the warmth bubbling in his gut as he type his message to you in his phone; the eagerness to see you as soon as possible. 
me: evening y/n. is tomorrow’s plan still up?
younghoon put his hand down, tapping his phone against his bedsheet as he anxiously wait for a reply; if any would come. the clock on his bedside table showed the time. 1:47 am. you must’ve fallen asleep, right?
right. 
ding. 
jung y/n: wouldn’t miss it. see u soon, hoon
younghoon think he might need to see a doctor now. his heart’s beating way too fast. 
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you: woo you: i dont think i can send lunch today cause im visiting the kims at their house. im sorry :(((((( you: pls dont miss lunch ok i asked the butler to send u some food. ilysm you: also idk when i’ll be home, so pls sleep early. i promise u’ll see me in ur dreams xo
you sighed, just after your thumb clicked on the send button for the last message. 
sending lunch for wooyoung is one of your sacred daily routine ever since marriage, and this would be the first time for you not to do so. you sighed again, trying to get the uneasiness to subside so you can focus on your job today. 
but it’s still there. prickling you slightly from the inside, initiating the thoughts and realization that you haven’t met wooyoung that much these past few days. 
waking up today, you could only share a quick peck as wooyoung was in a hurry for a mission, so he said. last few days you could only drop his lunch and left as quick to continue your own job. suddenly everyone everywhere needed you. 
you miss him.
last night you were together, you remember as if it was just yesterday, you recalled how you were talking about this exact problem, this exact thing. it fears you of how fast it came true to life. and you fear even more if it ever will go even further. 
ding
woo: im gonna cry woo: jk but it’s ok babe i’ll be on a mission anw today, i dont know when i’ll be done. but i’ll be home tonight woo: come back fast if u can, ok? i love you too
just as you finished reading his replies, a sound of horn blasted as a black shiny car pulled up in front of you. the door to the driver side opened up, and you were gifted with the sight of younghoon emerging from the car, offering you a bright smile.
“ready?” was all he said while opening the passenger door, inviting you into his car. 
you nod and said a small yes, entering his car. you stare at your screen for a little while, before typing a quick response. 
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wifey: i’ll try my best. 
a sigh escaped through his lips after your last message to him. putting his phone back to the slot beside him, wooyoung could only stare far into the dark alleys in front of him. his mind filled with you it made his heart heavy. 
it was never a problem before, when he had to go far or for a while on missions away from you. you’d miss him, he’d miss you, but right then he knew that whatever the circumstances, when he came back home you’ll always be there. 
it’s not the case now. 
he’s away for missions, and you’re away for business. when you’re home, he might not be home, and when he’s home, you might not be. 
for that, he feels the subtle ache in his chest. 
his fingers mindlessly tapped against the wheel of his car, before he was pulled back to his senses. the passenger door opened, showing jiwoo and her smile. 
and her tight red dress. 
“take a picture, it’ll last longer.” her snickers made him clear his throat, looking somewhere else to avoid jiwoo’s playful glint. he mentally slapped himself for even staring at jiwoo, but as a man, how could he not?
her neck is on display, as were her long legs. the dress short, but long enough to keep the gun and some knives hidden away. and with her features, anyone would be swooned by her presence. 
maybe that’s why she got assigned for this mission, and again, with wooyoung. 
what the fuck am i thinking? i have a wife.
“what takes you so long?” 
“chill, i was getting some snacks for us. you said we’ll be spying and tailing a lot, so i figured we’ll be staying in the car quite a lot.” 
“nah, change of plans.”
“what?”
“san called. seonghwa said we should go undercover into the club and get the stuff ourselves. so i’ll go as a gambler and you,” he eyed her up and down, “you, conveniently, will be enough as a distraction. did you knew we’re doing this for the mission?”
“nope, i was just feeling myself with the dress.” she shrugged. wooyoung raised a brow, but found nothing came up into his mind nor out of his mind, so he just started driving, wanting nothing more than to finish the mission. 
“so what’s the stuff we’re getting?” jiwoo asked as they parked a few buildings before the club. the car came to a halt, the sight of the dimly lit club welcomed their eyes. 
“san said it’s a ledger.” he got himself ready, “hongjoong needs something in there. it’s a proof, list of government officers getting involved in the human trafficking ring.”
“that’s terrible.”
“there are better words to describe how disgusting that is, but sure. now,” he turned to jiwoo, “i’ll go in, act kinda drunk and gamble some money for the ledger. you’ll be the distraction and a plan b; should i fail in getting the ledger, you should be the one getting it. okay?”
“okay.”
parting there, wooyoung got out of the car and walked to the club. 
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so here’s the thing about missions. they can be safe, they can be risky. zero to two means safe, something like spying or just plain investigating. on the other hand, field missions can have more risks, depending on the type of job. whether you have to stay low, or to kill as little as possible, or to not be seen yet has to be there on the spot. it depends. 
and on a scale from one to ten, wooyoung is absolutely fucked. 
it was supposed to be a ‘get in, get out’ type of job and without being seen. yet he managed to make a group of 10 people running after him in the club, after he tried to trick the dealer, a.k.a the owner of the club —the stupidest thing he's ever done in a mission.
“stop right there!” 
a gunshot was heard, luckily not hitting wooyoung anywhere. but guns are out, which means his had to, whether he liked it or not.
he ran in between the crowd of people dancing and getting high, staying as low and as unseen as possible —which, he kinda failed in the first place, but he did his absolute best—, and he took out his glock from his hidden holster, shooting enemies in his sight. thankfully the music is loud enough to cover the sound of his gun. the ledger is safe in the bag, but if he’s not, then there’s no point in doing the mission any longer. but he had to hold on. 
all while he ran and shoot, he cursed jiwoo for not holding them for long. she should’ve been a distraction, but perhaps not distracting enough. 
“fuck!” he shouted.
and right after, the power went out in the whole club.
all the lights, all the music suddenly died, and the party goers could only ah-ed in unison clearly disappointed at the outcome. wooyoung couldn’t see anything in the dark, and had to stop for a while. he looked around, and found the group of men running after him starting to turn on their flashlights. he was about to run when suddenly someone grabbed his hand.
“it’s me, jiwoo!” the voice whispered loudly. wooyoung looked up and found jiwoo holding him, pulling him away from the crowd. she handed him a shirt and a new hat, rushing to cover him with it.
“let’s get out.”
jiwoo guided him out, away from the prying eyes in the darkness, before the power went back on. the backdoor was empty, leaving only wooyoung and jiwoo. jiwoo kept holding onto wooyoung, pulling him as they ran for their car a few blocks down. wooyoung almost threw himself into the car, sighed loudly when he felt the leather seat touched his back.
“what the fuck was that?” he spat out to jiwoo.
“you tell me! how’d you get chased by those guys? i thought we’re doing this quietly?” she spat back.
“that was the plan, but you failed to hold them back.”
jiwoo rolled her eyes. “no, you failed to realize that they have more security than what you think.”
“the fuck was that supposed to mean? i had mingi and san check everything before we go in. and they're doing a bidding for the ledgers anyways.” wooyoung hit back, making her sigh before explaining.
“you were already far into the club when i found out that the bidding is for tomorrow, so the ledger being there was still a top secret until tonight. reaching out would be risky, and i couldn’t explain it that fast, so i had to do plan c.”
“plan c?”
“i broke into their cctvs and jammed the whole thing so there’s no track of you, then cut out the power to get you out of there.”
he contemplated her answers for a while. sighing again, wooyoung laid back to his chair, trying to ease his breathing. 
“thank you.” he said defeatedly. 
“we’re partners. i protect you, and you protect me woo,” she shrugged. “now move your ass and let me drive. you’re hurt.”
“huh?”
he glanced towards his body trying to find the hurting part. he reached behind his shoulder, wincing when felt a cut wound along his upper shoulder blade. blood was evident on his fingertips when he pulled them back. it must be enemies’ knife cutting through when they fought, and didn’t realize up until jiwoo point it out. 
“just a scratch.”
“yeah well that scratch probably needs a few stitches. c’mon.”
jiwoo moved into the driver’s seat, then drove the car away from the chaotic club. for a while, no one said a word, except wooyoung when he gave a call to san about the mission. the sight of endless trees and dark road made him drowsy, and soon he fell into his slumber. 
“hey, wake up.”
wooyoung jolted awake, blinking his sleepiness away after jiwoo woke him up. he looked around in confusion, realizing they’re not back at their base.
“where are we?”
“other town nearby. let’s be safe and make sure they lost our tracks completely,” she pushed his seat back to create more space before shimmying herself into the tight spot. “take your shirt off.”
“w-what?”
the comical look in his eyes made jiwoo laughed as she reached for his shirt.
“yo! yes you’re hot–“
“i’m hot?” she chuckled.
“yes, no– shit– i got a wife ji–“ 
“’m not trying to fuck, silly. i’m trying to fix your wound. now take the damn shirt off.”
with jiwoo's determination, he had no choice but to take off his shirt hesitantly, glancing back to jiwoo, “look away.”
“shut the fuck up i've literally seen your body when we spar.”
off his shirt goes, showing his skin that glows under the yellow lights. jiwoo handed him a soju to distract him from the pain as she stitch his wound up. he winced a couple of times when the needle poked through his skin, but he held on.
jiwoo’s fingertips are cold, soothing to his hot wounded skin. despite the harsh words, she’s light with her hands. the sound of his and her quiet breathing filled the air.
“the pharmacist said there’s a motel just down the road, maybe we should crash there for the night.”
maybe it’s the soju he downed to the last drop. maybe he lost too much blood because of that wound. maybe it’s the fact that he’s half naked, tipsy, and jiwoo is wearing a red, absolutely sexy dress, but holy fuck, did jung wooyoung just glitched in the brain at the mention of a motel and staying the night out with another woman. 
“why?”
“it’s almost 2 in the morning.” she murmured. “the drive to the base would take 2 to 3 hours, and honestly i’m tired. you’re wounded and no doubt tipsy, i’m not about to let us crash somewhere down the road.”
that makes sense. but he had other ideas, as he reached out to the console, trying to find his phone. maybe someone could fetch them up, wooyoung thought. he tapped on the screen a couple of times, clicking on the power button but to no avail. the screen stayed dark.
“shit, my phone’s dead.” he glanced towards jiwoo who just shrugged.
“mine’s dead too.”
and no one thought of bringing a charger with them.
he groaned, leaning back to his seat. after a few beat of silence, he just nodded. “well, i guess we have no choice.”
somewhere in him, it feels wrong. like something is poking through his chest as jiwoo drove down the road, right to the said motel and parked the car. like there’s an unseen stop sign in him, reminding him to not to do it as jiwoo pulled him to the motel room.
but what could go wrong? wooyoung doesn’t like jiwoo in that way.
not even the way she took her dress off carelessly in front of him, opting to change into a bathrobe that’s not even tied properly. not the way he clearly saw her pair of underwear.
shit.
but no, he doesn’t like her like that. and he’s sure of that. yet, the blaring sound of siren kept playing in his mind, reminding him that this isn’t right. 
but perhaps it’s the soju that calmed the siren down, as he doze off into his slumber once again.
jung wooyoung woke up that morning, with a headache and pain on his shoulder. and that dull thing poking through his chest, and the same siren blasted again in his head when he saw himself; splayed on the bed half naked, with jiwoo and her loose robe, limbs tangled with each other underneath the sheets.
nothing happened last night, he's damn sure of it and remembered every single second that passed before he fell asleep.
yet, still, he doesn’t like this feeling. 
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“are you okay?”
younghoon nudged you, who immediately woke up from the empty daydream you had just now. 
“huh?”
“you’ve been out of it for like, a solid 5 minutes. are you okay? did my father say something to offend you?” 
“no. nothing important.”
yes. it was something that could change her whole life.
you sighed, “it’s just… i forgot to tell wooyoung that i’m staying out last night. he hates sleeping alone.” she lied. though, not entirely. she did forgot to tell wooyoung about the whole staying out for the night last night. wooyoung would absolutely gone batshit, but judging from the lack of his messages on your phone, he might not have known it yet. which is strange. 
guilt bubbled up in younghoon, easily seen through his eyes. “i’m really sorry about last night. my father… tend to get too friendly and would sometimes step over the boundaries, like insisting for you to stay the night. i should’ve said no and took you home. god, he even made you stay up late.” he grumbled.
“it’s okay, he meant well. i just forgot to tell wooyoung, that’s all.”
“when i drop you off, i’ll explain everything to wooyoung and hongjoong, so they won’t have any weird ideas about it.” younghoon said, “you’re a married woman after all. we don’t want any trouble.”
you smiled and nodded, “thank you for the offer. i’d be thankful.”
younghoon smiled back, and continued driving towards ateez mansion, as you fall back to yet another set of daydreaming, or, more specifically contemplating your whole existence after the talk with younghoon’s father last night.
over some of his words.
01.59 am
a sigh almost left your mouth, along with a yawn, but you held back as best as you could. after all, you’re presented before kim younghoon’s father, the senior in kim’s family and not to mention one of the prominent figure in the business.
but you have no regrets, all the time passed wasn’t for nothing. and he’s a pleasant man.
“you work diligently, younghoon have said this a lot. he’s not easy to get close with,” the man chuckled, “well, it’s a shame that you’re married. i would’ve offered my son to you, he seemed intrigued.”
“you flatter me, sir. and more often than not, younghoon is the one who helped me a lot since i got into the business.”
he smiled, putting down his cup of tea. “so i’ve heard. ah, didn’t you meet younghoon through the lees?”
you nodded, “yes. lee juyeon, to be precise. though, i don’t know what younghoon has told you about it…”
“he told me everything. of why juyeon gave you to us, what you want and what he wanted. that boy,” he shook his head, tsk-ing, “ruthless as his father was. the whole people in the business had to tip toe around him if they want to be alive. jiyoung would never do that.” then he proceeded to say something that made you raise a brow.
“her child would never.”
“i thought that was just a rumor?”
the man smiled knowingly. “well, sweet lady, this old man here has a reason for supporting lee jiyoung when the sibling war happened, and still is, until now. i know a secret or two, things that others don’t know.” mr. kim explained with a longing gaze. “she’s my best friend, after all.”
“like, a secret marriage?”
you shoot your shot. 
“i was one of the few to witness her marriage. she loved seo rim well, despite the fast that he’s just a bodyguard. going against his elder’s wishes of marrying someone more prominent in the business to secure her safety and her throne, me being one of them.” 
“and now for that, she had to lose everything. but whatever people say, it was a lawful marriage.”
“seo rim?”
mr. kim laughed, “oh, oops. the name’s out i guess.”
you pressed him again, shooting your shot one more time. “but, what about the child? was it a girl or a boy? where are they?”
but to that question, mr. kim just shrugged. he downed his tea before filling his cup again. “dunno. but if i do, i’d protect them with all i have.”
you closed your mouth, only nodding to his answer. you laid back to your chair. the new information filled your head so it all circled your mind. secret marriage, possible offspring of lee jiyoung. seo rim. the name echoed in your mind. a name you never know before,
but now you do. 
mr. kim hummed, staring into the fire in front of him, seemingly in his own mind. you stared at the old man, a few white strands of hair on his head, several lines on his face, and you wonder, what does it feels like to witness a war and survived. he lived long, enough to know the lee jiyoung, to witness things that others don’t. long enough to know people, wise enough to know what to do and what not. 
hence the question.
“why me?”
“hm?”
“why did you tell me this? we just met today. and even if you do know me, it’s only from younghoon and that’s not even enough.” you murmured, “so why are you telling me this?”
the man hummed again. “because i know,” he said, making you raise a brow. he continued, “i know i can trust you.”
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“where have you been?!”
san’s screeching voice was the first to greet wooyoung when he stepped out of his car with jiwoo. the said man had his hands on his hips, eagle eyes staring down judgingly at the two partners.
“bed’s empty, no note, car gone! you could’ve died!”
wooyoung massaged his temples. “now’s not the time to quote some harry potter line, san.” he groaned.
san shrugged. “it was a moment. and seriously, where have you been? you two! not even a text or a call, we were about to hunt you down!” he accusingly said. “you and y/n both, woo. thankfully y/n told us her whereabouts just this morning. but you? radio silent.”
“my phone died, and so did jiwoo’s.” wooyoung lifted his head when he realized san mentioned your name. “y/n did what?”
slowly, san lowered his hands from his hips. his eyes starting to grow wide with confusion in it. “she didn’t tell you?”
“tell me what?” wooyoung pressed.
“she’s staying out last night as well. at the kim’s.”
his brain short circuited, trying to process san’s words a couple of times. when he finally processed the whole sentences, it left him utterly dumbfounded.
“what?!”
just after he screamed, a black car stopped behind them. the sight of kim younghoon getting out of the car greeted them, along with you, whose door was held open by younghoon. 
“speak of the devil.” san blurted.
wooyoung ignored his remarks, opting to trot his way to you. he threw a look on younghoon, before pulling you away from him.
“you didn’t come home last night? why? why didn’t you tell me?” he pressed, his hand still circling your wrist.
you quickly felt guilty. “i’m sorry love, it was younghoon’s father sudden invitation. i couldn’t really get my phone, that was my fault.” you ran your free hand over his bicep, trying to soothe the anger away. “won’t happen again. what time did you get home last night?”
“he stayed out as well.” san replied from behind you. your eyes widened, while he freezed.
“what? you didn’t tell me anything about it. what happened? wha-“ your palm acidentally touched to his shoulder blades, feeling the rough bandage underneath it, “were you hurt?”
but wooyoung turned away, pushing your hand lightly. “just a scratch, it doesn’t matter.” he turned his gaze back to you, once again giving you a questioning look. “why didn’t you come home? why would you stay at someone else’s place? baby, you’re my wife. what would other people say?”
younghoon slotted himself between the two of you. clearing his throat, he explained, “mr. jung, that was my fault. my father can be quite pushy, he insisted that mrs. jung must stay the night because he wanted her company and to talk. i’m sorry, i should’ve insisted on taking her home.”
“damn right you should’ve.” wooyoung spat, earning a slap on his chest from you. 
“wooyoung!” 
younghoon bowed slightly. “i’m sorry. i’ll make sure no one knows about this, and i’ll explain everything to hongjoong. if these words ever comes out i won’t hesitate to straighten things up and i certainly won’t let this ruin your or y/n’s reputations. once again, i’m sorry.” the man doesn’t even lift his head, bowing once again. “i’m sorry. excuse me.”
“hoon–“ you tried to call him but to no avail, as the man quickly got into his car and drove away. you watched in guilt as his black car went further. throwing a side eye at wooyoung, you detached yourself from him, grumbling as you walked away. he followed right behind you.
“i can’t believe you just did that!”
wooyoung scoffed. “am i not allowed to do that? you’re my wife, and your husband is questioning why were you staying the night at some other man’s house!”
stopping in your tracks, you turned back to glare at him. “i did nothing with younghoon, heck i even stayed at a different wing in his mansion!” you point your finger, “you were staying out last night as well! with your partner who, by the way is also a woman! did you see me complaining or accusing you of anything? no text no nothing, who knows what you did out there?”
…splayed on the bed half naked, with jiwoo and her loose robe, limbs tangled with each other underneath the sheets.
“how could you accuse me of cheating?we didn't do anything!”
“i didn’t even say the word. you put those in your own mouth.”
“i got injured, she was tired, both of our phones are dead, we had no choice but to stay out!”
“that’s exactly what happened to me! younghoon’s father wanted to speak, yes he’s a fucking pushover and that’s kinda annoying so i had no choice but to do as he says because he’s that important, but i did nothing other than talking.” you half shouted. “kim younghoon is an ally, woo. an important one right now. i’m not doing this for me, this whole thing is a business, but then you shouted at him, being completely unprofessional and irrational, i—“
you bit your lip, trying to held your emotions back. “if something goes wrong, hongjoong’s gonna be mad. i’m trying my best right now to gain his trust, to gain something for us, but y—“ you choked back your tears out of frustration, trying your best not to let out a single drop of it. 
seeing how you almost broke down lessen his anger. 
“baby….”
“you two, enough.” 
hongjoong’s voice blared through the whole hallway, making you both turned your heads. you quickly wiped a single tear, trying to compose yourself. 
hongjoong had his hands on his pocket, eyes icy as he stared down at the both of you.
“how many times do i have to tell you to keep your goddamn professionalism first in the business?” he gritted through his teeth. you and wooyoung could only stare at the floor beneath you. you heard a sigh coming out of hongjoong’s mouth.
“younghoon explained everything to me, even gave me a proof of y/n’s room. i know you’re angry, but you shouldn’t have shouted at him, woo. and y/n you should’ve known better than to stay at someone else’s place. the fuck is wrong with you two? i'm not even married but i at least know this.”
you and wooyoung could only turn away from hongjoong's gaze, clearly lost your faces.
he shook his head, opting to leave the problem behind. “make up later, however it is. now, you both clean after yourselves, especially you, y/n.” he pointed at you, “you have a lunch reservation with lee juyeon. i approved it for you. i’ll pick you up after for a meeting with stray kids.”
“she just came back from younghoon, now she has to go out with another man again?”
hongjoong only stared at him. “i said stay professional.” he said, before he turned back and walked away.
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there’s something sour left in his tongue.
he’s fully aware of the cause, he just couldn’t say it out loud. so he just sat there on the edge of the bed, watching as you prepare yourself.
the both of you talked and sort things out, explaining each problems while you changed his bandage for a fresher one. both of you talked about how it was unavoidable, things you’ve said before, just with cool heads.
but it still left something unpleasant.
you were stepping into a nice green dress, zipping it up. you strapped your heels, then fixed your makeup. a little blush here and there, your hand danced oh so delicately across your face, it would’ve make him all giddy if it wasn’t for the fact that you were about to go out with some other man.
you caught him staring at you from the vanity mirror, the hardness on his face was unmistakable. you sighed as you turned around, walking towards him. wooyoung turned his gaze to the floor, so you reached for his hands, cradling in it your own.
bringing his knuckles to your lips, you kissed it. “i know you’re upset.” you murmured. he stayed quiet, so you continued.
“i don’t know when will all of this stop. but remember the promise we made? hm?” you cradled his face. “i’ll do anything to keep us together and safe. because i love you, and i need you to understand that there’ll be no one other than you.” you pressed. 
“others don’t matter. just you.”
you looked at his lips, crouched down to give him a soft kiss. though a little unresponsive, he gave into the kiss. 
“i love you too.” he murmured into your lips.
the same words came from the both of your lips. the both of you truly are each other’s halves, in one heart, in one mind, in one act.
even when the same unpleasant feelings resides in both of your hearts, and you both refused to address it. 
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kim younghoon: i’m sorry about this morning.  y/n: it’s alright. i’m sorry my husband shouted at you. we’ve talked abt it tho kim younghoon: it’s okay. he did the right thing.  (typing…) (typing…) (typing…)  kim younghoon: he’s ur husband, i understand y/n: thank you kim younghoon: y/n y/n: yes? (typing…) (typing…) kim younghoon: we’re still up for tomorrow? y/n: yes. i’ll see u soon.
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“ah! if it’s not the rising star of ateez.” 
juyeon gleamed as soon as he saw you, smile so wide his eyes smiled with him. and to your surprise, he quickly reached for your hand, planting a kiss on your knuckles.
your husband, who escorted you there was right behind you with hongjoong. both of them were stunned at the sight.
but before anyone could say anything, juyeon excused himself, “i’m sorry mr. jung, i don’t mean anything bad. it’s just, i’m really happy to see y/n. i’ve never been so connected in conversations other than with her.” he grinned, “though, if she was available i’d definitely try my luck.”
he laughed, forcing everyone to laugh with him.
hongjoong spoke, “well, we understand. she’s pleasant to be with, perhaps that’s why our wooyoung loves her so.” he nudged wooyoung, “isn’t that right, woo?”
“yes.” he replied dryly, earning a glare and a squeeze on his shoulder. but he couldn't care less.
“well,” juyeon clasped his hand together, “we should go in. i’m starving, and i wish to have a good conversation today with y/n. if i may?”
juyeon offered his hand to you. glancing between juyeon and wooyoung, you have no choice but to take juyeon’s hand, careful in not looking too eager. you threw a guilty look at him.
while walking inside, you typed a quick text.
y/n: i’m sorry. i had no idea he’d do that, he never does y/n: i’m so sorry baby y/n: it doesn’t mean a thing to me
ding
woo: it’s ok.  (typing…) (typing…) woo: come home whenever ur done.
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23.47 pm.
you glanced at your watch, sighing defeatedly. you definitely won’t be home as quick as you wanted today.
you already miss wooyoung. but you have to do this.
the alleyway was dark. the sound of your heels clicking against the pavement echoed in the air. the small restaurant was about to close, the light about to go off altogether. you lightly knocked on the door. “excuse me.” you called.
a buffed looking man came out from the kitchen, a knife on his hand. “we’re closing. what do you want?” he gruffly said.
“uhm, sorry,” you stuttered, “is mr. kim’s soju… no,” you quickly regained yourself.
“i want to talk to the soju maker himself, mr. kim. there’s this… old soju i’m looking for, which i don’t know the brand is.” 
the big man stood there for a while, processing your words. he went back to the kitchen, and you heard some murmurs before he came back outside, now smiling. “mr. kim is waiting for you in the kitchen.”
the man escorted you inside, through the messy wet kitchen up until a door. he knocked on the door, announcing your arrival. “come in.” a baritone voice responded. he opened the door, ushering you to come in, before closing the door.
an old man sat on his study, his white hair tousled and a pair of glasses sat on top of his nose. his weary eyes studied your form.
“it’s been a while since someone used that code. soju maker…” he chuckled. “people usually looks for fresher soju, something done, but now you’re looking for something older. tell me, what are you looking for miss?”
he pointed the chair across him, signaling you to take a seat. putting aside your handbag, you took a seat. there’s a beat of silence, before you let your voice out.
“it’s a who, sir.” you said, before continuing.
“i’m looking for seo rim.”
(to be continued)
damnnnn 8 months. i have no words for myself fr😩🤚
i hope y guys still enjoy this. i feel like i should add more things, but i’m afraid it’ll make the whole thing stale ykwim
but we’re getting CLOSER and CLOSER to the main problem, aka the timeline when y/n got shot (mafia!woo y/n caught in the crossfire), which is the very first fic that started this all
anyways. TOODLES. enjoy
76 notes · View notes
333creolelady · 3 months
Text
Lady Of The Blue Bakunawa Ch.3
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Afab! OC (black) x Roman Reigns (pirate au)
Chapter Warnings: mentions of past discrimination, racism trauma, angst (with happy ending). Minors DNI
Spotify soundtrack here <-
Alternative Playlist Link <-
Next -> chapter 4
<- Back to Masterlist
Songs this chapter : the vote, whisper of a thrill.
Alternative songs this chapter: This night has opened my eyes, Warning sign, Scott street
All reblogs will receive a sneak peak to next week’s chapter.
Jane*
Dinner tonight was extra hearty with root vegetables, soups and thick breads. Dessert was even better per the request of the captain. Baked goods stuffed with cream made from milk. Being on the ship meant using spoilable items first. Jane decided that she would come along for every supply run if it meant getting to try more sweets.
After dinner she headed back to her cabin for a relaxing bath. Roman had Caden delivered the gifts to her cabin despite her insisting to help. When she was finally alone, Jane had time to relish in the beautiful items she now called her own. She scrubbed her skin soft and bathed in the most luxurious scents. Vanilla and peony. She finally got the expensive soap she always wanted with bits of flower encased on the inside. She miraculously found hair products that agreed with her hair which meant that she could finally wear her hair down for a bit. The moisturizer was the icing on the cake. She didn’t have to heat it on her hands in fear of a white cast. The cream was slightly opaque and smooth. It smelled spectacular. Then came the tooth powder which came in different flavors. Never in her life had she heard of tooth cleaners coming in different flavors. Back at home tooth cleaning was bitter, sour and strong. For the first time she could clean her teeth and not grimace at the taste. Mint. Minty tooth powder, a step up from the dull powdery tasting kind she’d been using.
By the time she was finished prepping for bed she realized her arms were sore. Never in all her years had she spent so long grooming herself. Back in London she got 10 minutes in the bathroom after a long day—Even less if she was getting ready for work. She shared a single bathroom with 8 other girls. Now she didn’t have to wait for anyone.
As she added oil to her hair she realized that she enjoyed taking care of herself more than she realized. Now she had time to look at herself in the mirror—really look at herself. The more she stared at her reflection the longer she’d realized how alienated she’d become to herself. Who was the person looking back at her ? With the hustle and bustle of life she never had time to do more than what was necessary.
Where had her 15 year old face gone ? Had the years flown by that quickly ? The baby fat of her cheeks were fading. Her eyes gleamed with a solemn understanding about the world. Her full lips were still there, so was the nose of her great grandmother and the almond upturned eyes of her father. Her long neck reminded her of the regality of her mother. On her face etched not only the pain of her past but distant faces she had no pictures of. It was in her reflection could she see every single person who once loved her. Her grandfather, mother, father and more lived in her features. The longer she looked the more the grief crept towards her. She put the mirror down and wrapped her hair in a silk scarf. She figured it would be better not to end the night in a sad mood. She slowly pulled on a silk nightgown and climbed into bed with a book beside her. She didn’t make it to the next chapter before falling into a deep sleep.
Roman
Roman stared out into the crashing waves trying to decide his next move. Roman never worried much about storms but now things were different. Jane was only just days apart from being terrified of him and everyone on the ship. Now she was to relive the very event that changed her life forever—a storm. This would be the biggest storm of the season which meant a very rocky night for everybody. He hoped that perhaps she could sleep through the storm if the weather turned in his favor. He knew to be realistic when it came to the ocean.
“ Lower the sail and batten down the hatches. Tie up the loose ends and hold fast!”, Roman snaps to his crew. Men climbed up the ropes leading to the sails to lower them.
Roman’s Helmsman Cortez agreed with his decisions as he slowed the ship to an almost complete halt. “ Good thinking Captain. Wouldn’t want to piss her off anymore than she is now”.
Her …meaning the ocean. The ocean was undoubtedly a woman for all the good and the bad it encompassed. It was vital and a mother to all life. The ocean had to be listened to and reasoned with. Where he came from, the ocean is a god. A god that was to be respected in every way possible. While Roman was far away from the stories of his culture after all these years, his love and respect for the ocean remained.
Jane
The ship rocked violently, nearly tossing her from the bed. She sat up in panic and watched her vanity slide around the room. Books and boxes flew as she tried to gain her footing. She grabbed her robe and scrambled to her door, flinging it open to see a rush of men shouting and running around the second floor. This is what she was dreading. Everything seemed to slow down as she watched what felt like the inevitable destruction of this ship.
“ What’s going on ?!”, she yelled from across the room at Caden.
“ We hit a bad storm. We couldn’t sail ahead of it but don’t worry, we’ve got it under control. Get back into your cabin!”, Caden shouts back, covered in water.
It sure didn’t seem like it. Her heart began to race as she headed for the top deck. If this thing was going to sink she’d rather be at the top than the bottom. She raced up the stairs of the ship coming out to see monstrous sized waves coming towards the boat. They were so high they nearly blocked out the light of the moon. Jane froze and she couldn’t seem to catch her breath. Strong arms picked her up and carried her into a warm dim room.
She’s in Roman’s Quarters. He’s covered in water but he seems level headed unlike her. He holds Jane and places her at his table, kneeling in front of her. Her eyes are round and wide with panic. “ Alright, I’ve got you”, he whispers to her and he holds her head in his hands. She’s clutching at her chest, hungry for air.
“ I have to get off! I have to go! ”, she wheezes and begins to pull from his grip. Her feet push into his stomach as she desperately tried to claw herself from him. She was no match for his solid strength however.
“ You’re fine…you’re fine— here. Focus on just my voice. Jane…focus on my voice ”, he soothes. Jane becomes even more belligerent. Her cries fill his cabin and she sounds almost wounded. Her whimpering nearly sweeps away his composure as hot large tears wash over her cheeks.
“ I-I can’t do this again!”, she panicked. Her breathing became even more erratic. Roman shushes her and places a hand on her chest and his.
“ Watch me”, he breathes through his mouth and out of his nose. She follows suit, desperately grasping for relief in the noise of her panic. “ Again”
She follows suit mimicking him the best she can. She’s not in the clear yet but she repeats it over and over again as he whispers soothing words to her. He grabs a handkerchief from his table and wipes her wet face. Roman looks down to see how tightly she was holding his hand.
“ I often forget how scary a storm on a ship can be through the eyes of someone else. The waves are huge and it seems like the water goes on forever. But you must have some faith in us Jane. We’ve been sailing for a very long time. You are safe here”, he reassures her. Another thump of the ship sends her crashing into his arms. She stays there for a few minutes trying to slow the rate of her heart.
When Jane finally calmed down and she became aware of the fact that he’s cradling her face again. He’s looking at her like she’s the most delicate thing in the world. This is the closest they’ve ever been. His thumb brushes softly against her cheek as she studies his face.
He’s insanely beautiful. So beautiful in fact that the scar faintly running from his eye into his eyebrow is simplyan accessory. A few slow breaths later and the roaring in her chest becomes a hum. Her breathing has slowed and the tremble in her hands reduced to a twitch. She lost her train of thought in the depth of his warm eyes. Has his beard grown in the last few days? Why does he smell so good—like cedar and herb laced cigars? God, his hands are so warm and calloused. She only comes back to herself when she realizes their noses we’re about to touch. She goes stiff in his hands with a gasp and he immediately drops them from her face. She stands up and steps back in a panic, stopping just as his door.
“ Jane please forgive me” he reached for her but she walked quickly out of the door before he could finish.
Roman *
A week passed since that night and Jane has regressed back into herself. She doesn’t wear the dresses he bought her. She barely looks at him. If he could turn back the clock and redo that night over he would have. The warmth of her gaze is gone and he’s snapped back to the reality of this situation. Jane does not want to be here and she’s waiting for him to find her a place to stay. Another week of her avoidance passes and he realizes that in three days they’d be sailing up to Totoguam. It was a small island with beautiful infrastructure and a good mixture of people. This would be where he would leave Jane. This is what she wanted.
However, this isn’t what he wanted at all and that scared him. He didn’t know what she thought of him now. Perhaps she thought that his generosity was all a ploy to get her in his cabin. He hated that thought because it wasn’t true. Roman had absolutely no plans on taking advantage of Jane but how could he explain that to her? That he hadn’t even thought of kissing her and then suddenly he did. That he was just as surprised as she was when he caught himself. There was no point in explaining. He would make this right. In the afternoon he finds her in the library and he can see that she’s caught off guard. She stands defensively but her eyes do not meet his own.
“ I’ve found a place for you to stay. It’s called Totoguam. It’s far enough away from England and there are no British soldiers there. It’s relatively peaceful. We can get you set up there with a place to stay. It’s one of the better places for women who are alone.”
“ I see”, she raises her gaze to meet his. He doesn’t look happy. They both knew that this would come regardless of what transpired. She nods, “Thankyou”.
“ It’s no problem at all M'lady. Good evening”, Roman tips his hat and leaves the library. A familiar ache in his chest. Disappointment.
Jane*
Totoguam was beautiful and faintly reminded her of the Caribbean. There was music and beautiful men and women. Their faces were sun kissed and speckled, ranging from glowing tans to deep rich browns. Stepping onto the dock she understood why women like it here. It’s because there were so many of them working alongside the men.
She followed quietly behind Roman as he led her to an inn with a pub. It was loud and lively as men drunkenly sang and drank the mid afternoon away. A tall woman standing at least 6 feet waved as she saw Roman from behind the counter.
“ Cap’n Roman! that you ya’ big lug ?!” Her eyes widen as she throws a rag over her shoulder and shoots him a big smile. She had both a feminine and masculine air about her. She was muscular with a beautiful face and short red hair that came just over her ear. Her ears were covered in gold piercings and she dressed in men’s casual attire. Her lips were painted with red lip rouge.
“ Alicent! How are you?”, Roman leads Jane over to the bar and they sit.
“ I’m well. At least as well as I can be dealin’ with these imbeciles. Oy’! Put that chair down or i’ll give ya’ a Glasgow kiss!!”, she yelled at a man from across the bar. He immediately sits down. Alicent seemingly ran a tight ship.
“ I see you’ve got your hands full”, Roman takes off his hat and places it on the bar. Alicent slides him a pitcher of ale.
“ This your lady?”, she eyes Jane.
“ No. She’s a guest on my ship and she’s actually the reason I’m here”.
“ Nice to meet ya. Alicent and you are…?”, Alicent holds her hand out to Jane and Jane takes it smiling at her. She already liked Alicent, she had a warm comforting air to her.
“ Jane”, she smiled
“ So, tell me what favor do I owe?”, Alicent rolls her eyes playfully at Roman. Roman slams his glass down on the table refilling his glass.
“ The lady needs a room to rent and a job—aaaaand possibly a new name too”.
“ She in trouble with the law?”
“ Yes, wrongfully accused. However they likely think she’s dead. The ship she was on sank”
“ Can you cook?”
“ Y-yes ma’am. I used to be one”, Jane clears her throat nervously. Alicent slides a glass towards her and fills it with wine.
“ You’ve got yourself a job. Can you start tomorrow by any chance ?”
“ Of course”, Jane smiled thankfully.
“ After this I owe you no more favors. We’re even”
“ Of course”. Roman drops three coins on the table and Alicent playfully pockets it. “ You two make yourself comfortable. My shift ends in about 30 minutes. I’ll show her around and get her set up”.
“ You’re a life saver Alicent”, said Roman. She playfully rolls her eyes and heads back towards the customers. Their corner of the pub turns quiet. Jane takes a slow sip of her wine as she sets in their looming goodbye.
“ So….”, she begins. Roman turns to her. Something is bothering him and she can tell but he’s hiding it. “ Where do you know Alicent from?”
“ She was my Quartermaster. You’re in her old room actually”
“ But I thought only men could be pirates ?”
“ Pirates are criminals little Dove, we make our own rules. And while pirates are traditionally men, it didn’t matter much to me. Where I come from women make the rules alongside men. Half the time they controlled the decisions of the house. It used to be matriarchal.”
“ Oh wow. Hard to imagine a world where women were in charge. It’s never been like that for me.”
“ Well that’s why I figured it be good to get you under Alicent’s wing. She’s respected here and this is her Inn. She won’t let anything happen to you”
“ Thankyou Roman…for everything”, Jane looks him in the eye this time. The warmth of her gaze heating his face like the morning sun. He took a picture of her face with his mind, wishing he could frame it.
“ It’s the least I could do…and I wanted to say sorry about….”
Janes brows wrinkle in confusion. “ Why are you apologizing ?”
“ Well because I didn’t want you to think me a liar. Especially after what I said on the dock”
“ I believe you to be a man of your word Captain. I was just …overwhelmed is all. I am not close to many people….I get nervous at times. My head was swimming and I—don’t be sorry”, she stuttered. She wanted to say more but she stopped herself. It didn’t matter now.
His brows raise in relief. “ Okay” he says.
“ Okay ” she sighs. A silence settles over them but the tension eventually melts away from the drinks. “ You’re very tall”, Jane blurts flatly. “ I think you’re the tallest man I’ve ever seen. Are people tall where you come from ?”
“Many are… some aren’t. I didn’t think I was tall but rather the people overseas were small and weak from the food they ate. Boiled meat and soggy bread can only do so much for a person ”, he snorts. Jane giggles, holding her mouth. Roman smirks at the sounds of her muffling her laugh.
“ Oh? I didn't know your disdain for the food ran so deep. Was it not seasoned to your liking? ”, she laughed.
“ No…and ya’ know…For people who claim that their god favors them so much, you’d think he’d give them better food and less barren crops”, Roman loosened his hair and propped his feet up.
Jane's eyes widened at his whitt. He sure had a point. They were constantly battling famine with wet rodent filled crops and terrible weather. Sounded like a curse to her but who was she to pretend to know the intent of God? “ Do tell me your other opinions Mr. Roman”, Jane chuckled and took another swig of her wine.
“ Ahh let’s see…”,, Roman rested his hands behind his head as he thought. “ I think all monarchs have rats for brains. And judging from what I’ve seen crawl from under their wigs, I’d say my guess isn’t that far off”.
Jane bursted with a loud chuckle, this time covering her entire face. Roman joined her, loving the sound of her abrupt laughter. He liked this version of her. Her guard was slipping. It was just a shame this would be the last time he saw her smile.
“ I can’t argue with you there. I used to work for an Earl and his lady wife. They had me clean their wigs and one day as I was shaking them out, a mouse jumped on my hand. I’d never screamed so hard in my life. They had the nerve to shout at me like I was crazy,” Jane snorted.
“ These royals I tell ya’. All the money in the world and the dirtiest people of all. I had to watch where I stepped back in Germany. The ball room seemed to be a favorite toiled of theirs”, he shivered.
Jane made a playful gagging noise “ That’s just strange”.
“ Strange isn’t the word. It’s uncivilized. But my people are the savages ? Last time I checked my people my people don’t defecate where they walk. Not even a dog will sleep in it’s own excrement if it can help it”.
Roman tried to adhere to every code and every rule established for him. He was exceptional by force. He had to be great or he was disposable. He spoke foreign languages, traveled, studied hard, out fenced his peers, and even earned the best marks. All the hard work and submission to his situation got him nowhere in the end. He was bitter for a long while—not because he felt betrayed but because he thought he could stop his fate. No matter how special he was for a savage…he was still just that to them. A savage. He unlearned his gods, put away his religion, he left behind the names of his father and his great grandfathers and adopted the life of someone else. Someone more simple. Someone not him.
“ You have a point”, she shrugged.
“ Maybe. Maybe not. I’m just all vinegar”.
“ I find you to be very sweet”.
He grumbled, “quite a few people would disagree with you m’lady. Here”, he pushes a plate of fresh bread towards her and she accepts. The two fill their bellies while people watching and dialing into the conversations around them. She felt safe with Roman, especially in a place with drunk men. No man would harass her with him around.
“ So what do you plan to do when I’m gone ? I know you’ll be working as a cook but what else ? What did you do for fun back in England ?”
“ I didn’t have a lot of time to do what I wanted. I worked 6 days a week. I loved to read but I was constantly working and by the time I got off my shift I was exhausted. I hope I have more time to read in my privacy here. Even if it’s just for a day.”
“ I’ll put in a word to make sure Alicent gives you good hour.”
“ Oh you don’t have to do that Roman.”
“ Consider it my final gift to you.”
Roman notices her face drop. She can’t hide that the disappointment hits her like a truck.
“ New life….new name. This will be good for you”, he encourages.
“ I suppose so. I did it once before, what's another go at it right ? But what about you ?”
“ What about me?”
“ Once you find this treasure what will you do?”
“ Whatever I desire. I’ll always love the sea. I’m sure a day will come when I decide I’ve had enough and when that happens I’ll have the funds to do so.”
“ I wish you the best of luck Roman”, she smiles sadly at him.
The pair are interrupted by Alice who tiredly sat at the table and threw back a cup of ale.
“ So Jane, how about a tour ?”, says Alicent.
“ Let’s do it.”
Alicents pub sat underneath a three story high inn that held 24 rooms. The kitchen was relatively small with only two other cooks. Alicent was also a tenet of a small home with small bedrooms to rent. This is where Jane would be staying and paying a small price to live. She was used to living with strangers so it would be no difficult feat for her.
Although the space was cramped, it was pretty clean and tidy. Alicent seemed to care about it and it reflected in the quality of the home. Roman however, was not pleased at all.
“ Alicent can I speak with you for a moment?” He asks his old friend. They walk outside as Jane continues to take in her new home. Moments later they both walked back into the room.
“ Change of plans…and residency. We have something better for you”
“ Are you sure ? I’m okay here. This is the nicest place I’ve seen for servants.”
“ I assure you it’s not a problem. Follow me.”
A five minute walk down the road brought them to a cottage about 5 minutes from the outskirts of town. They walk inside of an empty house. It was relatively small but beautiful.
“ This is much better and she’ll have enough land for a few animals too. A nice side job for any extra income that she needs— “
Jane’s face contorted in confusion.“ Wait, you— what ?”
“ This is the house you’ll be staying in. I bought it.”
Jane grunts with disapproval. “ Roman— I”
“ It’s not problem”
“ It is. This is far too generous Roman. I’m okay living with other people, I’ve done it all my life. This is far too expensive and kind for someone you barely know.”
“ I don’t care”, Roman says in a final tone. The two stare at each other with challenging expressions.
Alicent eyes the two.“ Well you two sure do bicker like you know each other”, she chuckles. They glare at her.
Alicent crosses her arms tired of the silence wafting between her two guests. “ Alright. Do you want the house or not?”
“ This is final. I bought it. It technically belongs to me so you don’t have to worry about anything. The payments for the house are low. It’s stable…it’s actually got some ventilation. I thought you’d be happy ?”
“ I am happy I just….”, Jane sighs, giving up expressing anything.
“ Well then it’s settled”, Roman insists.
Roman *
He didn’t understand this sudden change in demeanor. He thought she’d be jumping with joy from a gift like this. Now she wouldn’t be surrounded by sweaty sailors. She’d get her wish no matter how much he wanted her to stay.
Later on that evening Earl and few of Roman’s crew helped bring her belongings back to her home. Caden shopped at a nearby livestock farm picking a few animals for her. Roman watched her sit quietly in the corner watching helplessly at the entire interaction. What isn’t she saying? Why is she looking at him with such disappointment ?
When everything was settled he watched Jane's eyes rest in defeat. She insisted that they walk down to the dock together so that she could say goodbye to Caden and see them off. He obliged and the walk back was quiet. Caden and Jane talked quietly eliciting a few giggles from her. She seemed very comfortable around him. He imagined that the reason for her sadness is losing a friend in him.
“ Goodbye Caden. It was nice meeting you”, she held out a hand to him but he pulled her in for a hug. She looked a bit startled but exchanged her surprise for a warm smile, hugging him back.
“ Goodbye Caden. It was nice meeting you”, she held out a hand to him but he pulled her in for a hug. She looked a bit startled but exchanged her surprise for a warm smile, eventually hugging him back.
“ Nice meeting you M’lady. Shame you couldn’t come with us. Maybe we can visit after all this? Though I can’t promise it won’t be for a long while. Maybe next winter after this one ?”, he turns to Roman expectantly . His expression is hopeful, almost like that of a child to a parent.
“ I suppose if it is alright with her”, Says Roman.
“ Visit me anytime. Always happy to see my old friends who helped me out so much”, she smiled sadly.
Caden went ahead before them with the other sailors. They awaited in the distance giving the two some space. Roman put on his tricorn hat which gave his eyes some room for honesty. The two looked around the bustling dock filled with workers running from left to right. The sun was setting and people would soon be retiring for the day. He could see Alicent in the distance having a drink outside with her co-workers. His eyes fall over the beautiful Jane again.
The sunset suits her beautiful skin. There’s a glow that reflects off of her, making her look somewhat benevolent in this light. He notices how watery her irises appear and he realizes in that moment that maybe he should have begged her to stay. She shamelessly wipes a tear away and closes the distance between them. He towers over her frame but yet her hug feels as big as him. She squeezes him tight and he returns the embrace, cradling her head to his chest like she was made of glass.
He imprints the smell of her hair into his memory. He tries to memorize the feel of her against his chest—her hands that dug into his flesh desperately. The way he could feel the flutter of her little heart against his stomach. She pulls away too soon but he hides the ache of it. This was inappropriate. This hug was inappropriate and far too familiar. A man does not hug a lady he barely knows. Her expression slowly fades to formal again and she slowly lifts her dress and slowly curtsies with the utmost respect. In return he tips his hat to her and turns away, returning to the paddle boat headed back to his ship.
“ You sure this is the right thing to do cap’n?”, Caden asks as he pushes the oar in sync with another ship mate. Roman doesn’t answer. Everytime Roman looks back it appears that Jane has gotten closer to the edge of the dock. Every alarm is going off in his body. As they docked the ship his heart began to race in objection. It felt as if she’d attached a rope to him and the further he went the more his body bent against the pressure of it. Pain. He felt pain somewhere that he hadn’t in quite some time.
As he barked orders he went into himself. His mouth shouted commands he couldn’t hear. Sweaty palms rubbed against the sides of his trousers. He looked back to see her standing at the edge of the dock. The ship sets sail and her tiny frame becomes smaller and smaller.
“ Go back for her ”, Caden says firmly.
“ No. She wants to be here.”
“ That’s not true and you know it Roman.”
Roman looks at his cabin boy incredulously for his tone. Caden’s firm look doesn’t falter. They continue to sail and Roman points his spyglass at her tiny frame. It magnifies her but only so much. He can see the outline of her body sitting on the edge of the dock now. His body screams at him. This isn’t right. Caden isn’t done fighting.
“ Go back for her!”
“ I- i can’t”
“ Why?”
“ She’s—-she wants a new life”
“ She’s safer here. You want her here just as much as I do. Go back for her.”
“ I- “
Roman paces the weather deck impatiently. His crew took notice but said nothing, continuing to set sail East.
“ Captain…I’m not the only person on this ship who saw the way she looked at you. She didn’t want to go and she was my friend too! You can’t just leave her.”
Roman wanted to rip his own ears off.
“ You will regret this for the rest of your life if you do not turn around and get her ”, Earl spoke up in his tremulous voice. Roman paused at that. The older man’s regretful tone stunned him because it sounded as if he experienced it himself. “ Go to her”, Earl adds silently. His voice was the final nail in the coffin.
As if his body was simply waiting for his permission, Roman speeds into action. He quickly begins to untie the rope to the paddle boat alongside the ship. Earl and Caden assist him. He dives into the water and climbs into the paddle boat, beginning a frantic paddle back to shore with his oar in the water.
Soaking wet and paddling back to shore for the woman of his dreams wasn’t something he foresaw in his near future. When he finally docked it was almost night fall and Jane was gone. There were barely any people on the dock now. He looked around frantically for her. He checked the pub but Alicent was no longer there. He asked around about her but everyone had not a clue of who she was quite yet.
He made the journey back to her house and just half way there he spotted her. She was walking slowly back to her new abode. As if her body sensed him before her mind could, she stopped. Jane slowly turns around to see Roman standing there drenched in water. He was panting and his expression was unsure. He felt foolish as she took in his frame but her eyes reaffirmed his decision.
“ I’m sorry. You…probably think I'm an absolute fool and you’d be right but —everything in me told me to turn around. I don’t know why Jane”, he rushed. It was cold now. The sun was just about to disappear behind the ocean and the chill of the night was getting to him.
Jane looks at him for a moment. Her eyes were swollen and so were her lips. She’d been crying and that breaks his heart. He hated the idea of how she’d fair if he hadn’t come back. If maybe he’d done more harm than good.
“Come with me Jane….please”, he says firmly. Though his expression is anything short of afraid. Her eyes well up in relief as she puffs out the tension building up inside of her. The remaining tears she was saving for the privacy of her home spilled over onto her cheeks. A watery smile spreads across her face.
“ Okay ”
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ubejamjar · 2 days
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15 Lines of Dialogue Rules: Share 15 or fewer lines of dialogue from an OC, ideally lines that capture the character/personality/vibe of the OC. Bonus points for just using the dialogue without other details about the scene, but you're free to include those as well!
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Tagged by the darling @thevikingwoman ! Thank you ❤️
Tagging (with much affection): @viiioca @pumpkinmagekupo @paintedscales @thewitchofelpis @otherworldseekers @sasslett @khaiens
Ajisai is what happens when you take a girl from a Doman backwater, beat Imperial rhetoric into her, then set her loose in Limsa Lominsa . She’s rough around the edges, but, gods be damned, she’s trying. Very “If I don’t laugh I’ll cry.”
Remember, you can take the rat out of the street but you can’t take the street out of the rat.
1) “I’m not trying to provoke anyone,” she protests, because that would suggest she hadn’t succeeded. 2) “What in the hells is ‘crudités’?” 3) “Respectfully, I disagree— that is a stupid idea.” 4) “I am well aware this is none of my business, that’s why I’m doing it.” 5) “No no, don’t stress yourselves out, I’ll handle it.” 6) “It does sound stupid when you say it, which is why I’m doing the talking.” 7) “When in doubt, run and hide. Scream at your own discretion.” 8) “I brought you flowers because I— you look— you are— you fight well.” 9) “Actually it’s ‘And to each soul, the Fury imparts a trial; by fire and ice shalt thou be tested, and through perseverance shall thy spirit be tempered’. Honestly, it’s as if you’ve never read the scriptures.” 10) “That wasn’t a stupid question— you just gave a stupid answer. It’s indicative of lackluster critical thinking skills.” 11) “I believe I misunderstood what a ‘high society party’ would entail and I must say I am sorely disappointed.” 12) “I am not above selling my body. The problem is no one can afford me. It’s tragic, really.” 13) “It’s alright, little star. Nothing’s going to harm you, not while I’m here.” 14) “I wasn’t going to ask if you slept well, I know you didn’t. I was asking if you’d like cream and sugar with your coffee.” 15) “It’s called a ‘charcuterie board’ because the nobility would never serve their guests ‘cheese and cold meats on a plank’.” Ajisai slips on her best Ishgardian impression with a haughty wave of her hand, “Pray Reynardanaud, prepare a charcuterie, we’re expecting the Lord and Lady de Dullard for dinner this evening, and you know how the lord loves his meat.”
I don’t have any actual WiPs at the mo. For writing. I have two art WiPs and a fucking character profile I need to finish and an ask box crying, pleading to be emptied. These are like if Ajisai had dialogue as a Dragon Age companion, it's fine, let's not dwell on it.
Thanks again for the tag, lethallen!!
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asa-writes · 1 year
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Asa’s Masterlist
Because my Fics and Oneshots got buried in my main account (@asa-do-your-thing) I have started this account for easier access. 
My requests are open for fics atm.
Please check this post for who I write for, my rules and further info :)
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House of the Dragon 
Dichotomy 
Part 1 ¦ Part 2 ¦ Part 3 ¦ 
On Ao3
Two twin sisters from the Riverlands are invited to King's Landing for the summer, where they must fight for their place in a political game of intrigue and manipulation to ensure an alliance for Aegon Targaryen's claim to the Iron Throne would not throw the whole of westeros into a civil war. And it might just involve Helaena getting her own zoo.
The Shadows of The Lost Court - Dark!Aemond x F!OC
He was closing in on her. The staircase seemed to be miles away, yet still, she pushed herself away from the moss-covered stones and cautiously started walking. Elisabeth grunted, her legs burning. It was as if she was walking against a current of water, one that swept her slowly closer to him. She stepped over a rotting tapestry and tightly clung onto the handrail of the staircase.  
Why would The Stranger think of me like that? Is it time for me to… die?
Created for @hotd-bigbang and artwork made by @nyctophilic0vitnir
Princess of Sorrows - Aemond Targaryen x F!OC
Aemond falls in love with a ghost. Requested by @hieronymph
My Marble Statue - Otto Hightower x F!Reader
Otto with a corruption kink... gets, well, fucked. Requested by Anon.
Rest Your Love on Me - Alicent Hightower x F!Reader
Alicent rediscovers her lust for women when Helaena gets a new lady-in-waiting. Requested by Anon.
thinking about sucking dick and cock at the birthday dinner - Aegon / Aemond / Jace
Asa’s Shufle x HOTD Part 1
Asa’s Shuffle x HOTD Part 2 NSFW edition
Asa’s Shuffle x HOTD Part 3 Summer Edition
Headaches - Aegon x F!Reader
You are called in to help the Prince with his headache. 
Fresh Face at Court - Aemond x F!Reader
Prince Aemond catches you reading sordid literature.
Aemond x F!Reader at the ice cream parlour drabble
The Last Kingdom 
An Eye for an Eye - Osferth x F!OC
Part 1 ¦ Part 2 ¦ Part 3 ¦ Part 4 ¦ 
On Ao3
Osferth's life changes when he meets Aemma, the alehouse owner's daughter. Their encounter sparks an unexpected love that binds them together in a shared destiny. Amidst a Dane invasion threatening Wessex and Mercia, they join Uhtred and friends, embarking on a perilous journey. Their love becomes their strength amidst chaos, but as they face danger and hardships, they question if their devotion can withstand the challenges ahead.
Game of Thrones / ASOIAF
Dreams - Jon x F!OC / Robb x F!OC
Masterlist
On Ao3
“My Sweet” - Robb x Lucie Templeton
They all need each other, though each in their own seperate way. Growing up and loving in times of war isn't easy at all. Especially when you have to fight for the lives of the people you thought you loved - when you have to abandon everything for the greater good, when you have to choose between sexual, familiar and romantic love.
The rainbow trout - Robb Stark x Frey Reader
The Maidens Voyage
Chapter 1: Yara Greyjoy x F!OC
Vikings 
The Whisper in the Fog 
Part 1 ¦ Part 2
Being a normal girl on her normal farmstead, living a normal, quiet life was all that Asa had wanted. What could happen? Well, Hvitserk and his ever-so jealous brother Ivar might just almost divide Kattegat and murder some people to get her to marry her. But then again, wasn't that normal?
The Hunt - Sigurd x F!Reader
Bridgerton
Aphrodite of Old Hall - Anthony x F!OC / Benedict x F!OC
Wattpad Story 
Part 1 ¦ Part 2 ¦ Part 3 ¦ Part 4 ¦ Part 5 ¦ Part 6 ¦ Part 7 ¦ Part 8 ¦ Part 9 ¦ Part 10 ¦ Part 11 ¦ Part 12 ¦ Part 13 ¦ Part 14 
1814 - Lady Elisabeth de Gressy arrives in London shortly before the social season starts, sponsored by her older Brother, the Earl of Brenton. Her talents, maturity and her language skills set her up to be the season's incomparable... and, if she's lucky, to become a Bridgerton.
Love, Betrayal, Lust and Betrothal... May god have mercy on the Ton; this one is as salacious as it gets. => FINISHED! 
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DP Ghosts Fav Food & Drinks🥪🍹
Sidney- A classic Nasty Burger Cheeseburger & Egg Cream. Also loves Lunch Lady’s cooking and enjoys cola thanks to Danny. The cheeseburger idea was from @a-sterling-rose .
Dorathea- Pottage & Mead.
Aragon-Turkey Legs & fine Wine. 
Ember-Anything spicy and blue raspberry slushie.
Desiree-Stuffed dates and Arabic Coffee.
Spectra-French Cusine and red wine. Also enjoys bitter tastes.
Kitty-Chocolate(specifically milk!), also likes seafood and Irish coffee.Girl likes to party!
Johnny 13- Pizza with sausage and cold drinks.
Klemper- Gingerbread cookies and Hot Chocolate. Also likes dipping things in fondue, @ghostly-shenanigans-in-progress headcanon, Vlads enjoyed fondue with Klemper and Dairy King(I imagine he likes anything cheese related, fav Swiss🧀).
Ghost Writer- Bagels and Coffee. Or pretty much anything with caffeine.
Box Ghost-Deli meat and a cup of Joe.
Lunch Lady-Anything filling, comfort foods like apple pie and a refreshing glass of lemonade or soothing cup of tea).
Walker-Southern-style BBQ and nice refreshing iced tea. Also has a secret shame of liking Vlads cheese and dairy products
Skulker-anything he hunts, helps build up an appetite and protein shakes.
Technus-Brainfood and monster energy drink.
YoungBlood-Candy and chocolate milk!
Fright Knight-Roasted chicken and cider.
Cygnus(my OC)-Aphrodiasic foods, aquatic-plants and rose water.
Vlad-Loves his meat and cheese boards with a nice fine glass of red wine.
Danny-Nasty Burgers and cola. Also likes freeze-dried ice cream, like astronauts eat.
What do u think? What foods do u see the ghosts like? I’d love to know💖
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joonberriess · 5 months
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what do all of the JK's do for a romantic date night with their pretty wives, to unwind away from the children and have a little reconnecting? <3
flawless jk gets his mom to babysit while he and oc go out for a classy romantic dinner, im talking they dress up to the nines and go to some expensive restaurant lol. afterwards he takes her for a walk down the Han river while eating ice cream. sbd jk takes his little lady out to party and have dinner at bbq restaurants, the night ends with a movie at home <3. jock jk goes all out for his mama, he takes her out shopping, takes her out to eat, and finally ends with some loving in bed hehe. stalker jk takes his oc to get her nails done, shopping, cafes, and other fun things like amusement parks and stuff, night ends with them both star gazing hehe <3
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harringtonstilinski · 2 months
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Always The Babysitter - Chapter Nineteen: The Mall Rats
Author: @harringtonstilinski​ Characters: Steve Harrington x Olivia Henderson(OC) Word Count: 2,700 Warnings: fluff, Smut: no | yes; A/N: Hi, friends! If you like this chapter, please do not hesitate to reblog and give some feedback, whether it be in the reblogs, comments, or my inbox. As always, read at your own risk and enjoy 😊
prev | current chapter | next
season masterlist
series masterlist
series playlist 
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Steve took me home the next morning so that I could change and spend some time with my mom and Dustin, who kept bugging me about going to see Steve.
I didn’t tell Steve I was going to bring him today, but I figured a nice surprise would put an extra smile on his face.
Robin had her hands held out, giving the customers in front of Dustin and I their cones, saying unenthusiastically, “Have a nice day.” We stepped up the counter when they moved.
“Hi,” Dustin said, a smile on his face.
“Hi,” she said back. Looking at me, she said, “Hey, dingette.”
“Hi,” I said.
Robin looked back at Dustin, as he said, “I’m Dustin.”
“I’mmm Robin,” she said.
“Sweet shit,” I whispered.
“Pleasure to meet you,” Dustin said. “Uhh, is he– is he here?”
“Is who here?” Robin asked.
As if right on cue, Steve came bursting out of the back room, happiness laced on his face as he put his arms up, saying, “Henderson.”
I smiled, thinking he was talking about me, his favorite Henderson. Sadly, my smile turned into a look of annoyance when Steve said, “Henderson! He’s back! He’s back!” while moving in front of the counter towards my little brother.
“I’m back!” Dustin said. “You got the job!”
“I got the job!” Steve did some weird ass trumpet miming thing before him and Dustin did some weird ass handshake they came up with over Spring Break.
They laughed as I leaned against the counter, telling Robin, “You see what I have to deal with?”
She looked from me to Steve, asking, “How many children are you friends with?”
He gestured to Robin as if telling Dustin, “You see what I have to deal with?” Steve got Dustin some ice cream that he asked for, the two of them sitting down at a booth before they both looked at me expectantly. 
Steve got up and said, “Come on, baby. Come sit with us.”
“But your favorite Henderson is here,” I sassed, looking at Dustin. 
“Come on,” he said, moving over to me to whisper, “You know you’re my favorite.”
I looked at him with sad, doe eyes before smiling and giggled. “I’m just kidding. I know I’m your favorite.” Walking around him, I went and sat down at the booth Dustin was in, Steve coming to sit next to me.
Dustin had told him about Suzie with a Z from Utah before diving into his ice cream.
“No, no. No way,” Steve said. “Hotter than Phoebe Cates? No.”
Dustin hummed, “Mm-hmm,” before taking another bite of his ice cream.
“No girl is hotter than Phoebe Cates.”
I turned to look at him over my shoulder, eyebrow raised.
“E-expect for you,” Steve stuttered.
Smiling, I leaned my head against his shoulder before chuckling, his arm coming around my shoulders. Dustin looked at us, eyes wide as he said, “Brilliant, too. And she doesn’t even care that my real pearls are still coming in. She says kissing is better without teeth.”
“Gross,” I groaned.
After a moment, Steve said, “Wow! Yeah, that’s great. Proud of you, man. That’s ro– that’s kinda romantic.”
Looking at his boat of ice cream, Dustin asked, “So do you really just get to eat as much of this as you want?”
“Yeah. I mean, sure. It’s not really a good idea for me, though. Ya’know, I gotta keep in shape for the ladies.”
Again, I turned to face him, eyebrow raised.
“Oh, shut up. You’re the one who agreed for me to flirt.”
“Yeah, and how’s that working out for you?” Robin and I asked.
Without missing a beat, Steve said, “Ignore them.”
Looking in Robin’s direction, Dustin said, “She seems cool.”
“She’s not. So, where are the other knuckleheads?”
“They ditched me yesterday.”
“And I’ll kick every single one of their asses,” I said. “They like to forget that I know where they sleep.”
“My first day back! Can you believe that shit?”
“Whoa, seriously?” Steve asked.
“They’re gonna regret it, though, big time, when they don’t get to share in my glory,” Dustin said, pointing in mine and Steve’s direction.
“Glory?” I asked. “What glory?”
Dustin moved closer, to say, “So, last night, I was trying to get in contact with Suzie–”
“Suzie with a Z from Utah,” I sassed.
“Yes, now, shut up,” Dustin said, before looking around. He covered his mouth and said something so quiet, I thought he was just mouthing the words.
I looked back at Steve, confused, before looking back at Dustin, asking, “What?”
“Uh…” He talked so quietly again, I couldn’t hear him… and I was sitting right next to him!
“Just speak louder,” Steve and I said.
As if he were telling the whole town of Hawkins, Dustin loudly said, “I intercepted a secret Russian communication!”
Covering his mouth, I said, “Okay, shut the hell up! No need to announce it to all of Hawkins.”
“That’s what we thought you said,” Steve said. After a moment, he tapped me on the shoulder, asking, “What-what does that mean?”
“It means, future brother-in-law,” Dustin said, causing me to choke on air. “We could be heroes. True… American… heroes.”
Steve made a happy noise, I sighed in annoyance, and Dustin also made a happy noise.
“American heroes,” Steve said, sitting up behind me causing his arm to move a little closer to my girls.
“Just think,” Dustin said. “You could have all the ladies–” I cleared my throat, raising a brow at my brother. “Pop-popularity?” he asked, me blinking slowly and shaking my head. “Fa-fame?” I nodded with a tightlipped smile.
“You could have all the fame you want and more,” he continued on his train of thought. 
“More?” Steve asked.
“More.”
“I like more,” Steve said, pressing his lips to my temple.
“Uh-huh,” I said to both boys. “What’s the catch, Dusty?”
“No catch,” he said. “I just need Steve’s help.”
Looking at him with a shocked expression, I exclaimed, “What about me?”
He sighed, exasperatedly as he said, “I guess you, too.”
“Help with what?” Steve asked.
Dustin unzipped the bag I didn’t even notice he had, bringing out a book that had the words Romanov’ Russian-English, English-Russian Dictionary on the cover. “Translation.”
~~~
Dustin, Steve and I went to the back room to start trying to translate the Russian communication Dustin heard from Russian to English.
I was eating a banana because I was starving when Dustin played the tape again that he made last night, a Russian man's voice coming through the speaker.
Feeling my arm rise up, I turned my head to see why, watching Steve take a bite of the fruit in my hand.
I narrowed my eyes in thought, hearing music in the background. I’ll make a note of that later.
Dustin stopped it, the nautical themed music from the store coming back into my ears. “So, what do you two think?”
“It sounded familiar,” I said, taking another bite of my banana.
“What?”
“The music, right there at the end.”
“Why are you listening to the music, Olivia? Listen to the Russian! We’re translating Russian!”
“You don’t realize I live in America where we speak English, right? I’m trying to listen to the guy’s words, but there’s music playing!”
“Alright, babysitting time is over,” Robin said. Speaking to Steve, she said, “You need to get in there.” She looked at her board for Steve, turning around and saying, “Hey, my board! That was important data, shitbirds!”
“Robin, it was my fault,” I said, raising my hands in mock surrender before placing them on the table, Steve taking my banana as I did so.
“Plus, I guarantee you that what we're doing is way more important than your data,” Dustin said. 
“Yeah?” Robin said. “And how do you know these Russians are up to no good anyways?”
Looking at me and then Steve, Dustin asked, “How does she know about the Russians?”
Steve answered, “I don’t know,” as he handed me back my banana… well, moreso the peel.
“You told her about–”
“It wasn’t me.”
“Steve, babe, stop talking with your mouth full,” I said.
“Hello, I can hear you,” Robin said. “Actually, I can hear everything.”
“Yeah, you both are extremely loud,” I added.
I just looked at them with a smile on my face as Robin continued, “You think you have evil Russians plotting against our country, on tape, and you’re trying to translate, but haven’t figured out a single word because you didn’t realize Russians use an entirely different alphabet than we do.”
“Stop her if she’s off base here.”
“That goes for you, too.”
“Hey!” I said, looking back at her.
Robin went to reach for the cassette player, but Steve got to it first, asking her, “What do you think you’re doing?”
“I wanna hear it,” she said.
“Why?” both boys asked.
“Maybe she can help,” I said.
“I’m fluent in four languages, ya’know,” Robin said.
“Russian?” Dustin asked.
“Ou-yay are-yay umb-day.”
Steve laughed like she was actually speaking Russian to my brother.
“Holy shit,” Dustin smiled.
I looked up at her before I looked back at Dustin and chuckled out, “That was Pig Latin, idiot.”
“But I can speak Spanish, French and Italian, and I’ve been in band for 12 years,” Robin said, sitting next to me. “My ears are little geniuses, trust me.”
The bell rang at the front counter right before she said, “Come on, it’s your turn to sling ice cream, my turn to translate. I don’t even want credit, I’m just bored.” She handed the ice cream scooper to Steve as the bell dinged again.
He grabbed it from her hand before handing her the cassette player.
“Please wash that before you scoop ice cream,” I said, looking from Steve’s hand to his eyes.
Sighing, Steve went to the sink and rinsed the ice cream scoop before drying it off. “Happy?”
“Yes, because you won’t get others sick,” I smiled.
He placed a kiss on my lips as we walked around the table, going to sling more ice cream. I stayed in the back room with Dustin and Robin, almost able to recite the Russian words, word for freaking word, that familiar music playing.
“Wait, that last part, one last time,” Robin said, pointing towards the cassette player in my brother’s hand.
Dustin rewound the tape, hitting the play button once again, the Russian’s voice and the music coming back through the speaker.
Robin walked past the sink once more, pointing towards Dustin as she said, “Okay, that word. Uhm… it’s pronounced “dly-nna-ya.” Dustin repeated the word before she continued, “Which is spelled–”
“D. D, D, D,” Dustin said, running toward the white board. Pointing to it, he said, “The chair! The chair-the chair-looking thingy.”
Robin smiled as she wrote down the Russian letter. Looking up at me, she said, “Go get dingus.”
I hopped down from my spot on the counter before poking my head out of the door as I heard the window open. “Babe, we got our first sentence.”
Turning around with two cones in his hands, he said, “Whoa, seriously?”
“Yeah. Window.” I walked back to stand next to Robin as she said, “The week is long,” in a Russian accent.
“Well, that’s thrilling,” Steve deadpanned.
“I know, but progress,” Robin smiled before she shut the window.
I chuckled and walked out, seeing two familiar girls as Steve turned around and said, “Okay, here ya go, you got a strawberry and then a vanilla with sprinkles, extra whipped cream.” I walked over to Steve, standing beside him as the girls took their first taste of their ice creams. Looking dead at El, I asked, “Are you even allowed to be here? Does Hop know you’re here?”
El and Max looked at each other before running out of the store. I looked at Steve, seeing the confused look on his face. I’m sure I had the same look. “Ooookay.”
~~~
The whole mall was closed down a few hours later, but Scoops was still open, much to my protest of going home.
I sighed as all four of us looked at the white board and recited, “The week is long, the silver cat feeds, when blue meets yellow in the west.” I groaned, just wanting to go to bed.
“Can we please leave?” I asked. “I’m so tired.”
Steve chuckled, wrapping his arm around my shoulders, guiding me out to the rest of the mall. Going back to the conversation they’d had on our way out as he closed the security gate to lock it, he said, “I mean, it just… it just can’t be right.”
“It’s right,” Robin said.
“Honestly, I think it’s great news,” Dustin added.
“How is this great news?” I groaned. “So much for you two being American heroes, Dusty.”
“It’s total nonsense,” Steve said.
“It’s not nonsense,” Dustin said. “It’s too specific.”
Looking at the shops we were passing, I said, “It’s obviously some sort of code.”
Feeling Steve slip his fingers between mine, he asked, “Babe, what do you mean, a code?”
“Like a super secret spy code,” Dustin said, turning to face us for a second. Gesturing to mine and Steve’s hands, he added, “And break this up.”
“That’s a total stretch,” Steve said, pulling me closer. 
“I don’t know, is it?” Robin asked.
“You’re buying into this?” 
I wrapped my hand around his bicep, leaning my head against his shoulder.
“Listen, just for kicks,” Robin said. “Let’s entertain the possibility that it is a secret Russian transmission. What’d you think they were gonna say, fire the warhead at noon? And my translation is correct. I know that for sure, so… the silver cat feeds. Why would anyone talk like that unless they were trying to mask the meaning of their message.”
“Exactly,” Dustin said.
“I mean, why would anyone mask the true meaning of their message unless the message is somehow sensitive?”
“Exactly.”
I looked up at Steve as he was making a sarcastic facial expression, mocking them both in his mind. Chuckling, I lowered my head, as Robin continued, “So I guess that confirms your suspicion,” before Steve and I stopped at the horse ride… thing by the claw machine. I could still hear Robin and Dustin’s conversation.
“Evil Russians,” my brother added.
Turning her head to look at Steve and I for a moment, Robin said, “I can’t believe I’m about to agree with Henderson’s strange little brother, but, yeah, totally evil Russians.”
“So how do we crack it?” Dustin asked.
“Well, I guess we translate the rest and hopefully a pattern emerges.”
“A pattern. Right, like maybe silver cat is a meeting place?”
“Or a person.”
Pointing at Robin, Dustin added, “Or a weapon.”
“It’s probably gonna take a super genius to crack it, but… Where’s Steve and Olivia? Hey, guys!”
Steve let go of my hand to get some change from his pocket before dropping them to the ground.
“Baby, what are you doing?” I asked.
“I need a quarter,” he said, looking at me. “Do you have a quarter?”
I reached into my pocket to get the quarter that I randomly kept in it as Robin and Dustin came back to us, the former asking, “Sure you’re tall enough for that ride?”
Handing the quarter to Steve, he quickly squatted, inserting the coin into its slot. The music started playing as the horse started moving back and forth, my eyes going wide. 
“Need help getting up, little Stevie?”
“Shh!” Steve shushed.
Dustin started chuckling, which annoyed me because I was so tired. “Would you two just please shut the hell up and listen?”
After a few moments of silence, Dustin said, “Holy shit. The music.” He took off his backpack, getting the cassette player from it, pressing the play button, the Russian code and the music coming through the speaker for the billionth time.
“I don’t understand,” Robin said.
“It’s the exact same song on the recording,” Dustin said.
“Maybe they have horses like this in Russia,” she suggested.
“Indiana Flyer,” Steve said. “I don’t… I don’t think so.”
“The code obviously didn’t come from Russia,” I breathed out. “It came from here.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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Posted on March 4, 2024
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rebelliousstories · 2 years
Text
Unlikely Wingman
Relationship: Jake “Hangman” Seresin x Reader, Jake “Hangman” Seresin x Jolene Seresin OC
Fandom: Top Gun: Maverick
Request: No
Warnings: Fluff, Mentions of blood and injury, Mentions of past bad ex’s
Word Count: 4,052
Main Masterlist: Here
Top Gun Masterlist: Here
Read Part One: Baby Girl
Summary: A single dad and a single mom walk into a park…
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It was Jake’s one day off this week. This whole week was long; hops, classes, and paperwork piled up. But thankfully, today was the day he could spend with his daughter. Jolene was growing up so fast; it was hard to believe that she was about to celebrate her 5th birthday and go off to kindergarten. He didn’t want to think about that, but he did. He thought about his daughter going off and joining school. All the friends she would make, and how much she would learn. He couldn’t wait to see all the art projects, and yet, he was terrified. What if she didn’t like school? What if she got sick or hurt? What if she got sick or hurt and he was in the air or on a mission and he couldn’t get to her? All the what ifs ran through his mind, but was only brought out of it by his princess stopping in front of him. She held her favorite running around shoes in her tiny hands and put them up to Jake’s reach.
“Daddy, can you hewp pwease?” She asked, sweetly smiling up at him. He was so proud of his little girl. She always made sure to use her manners, and ask for things nicely. He couldn’t believe that he was raising a tiny human that would soon go forth into the world.
“Of course princess. Come here.” Jake knelt down, and propped her shoes up on his knee. He laced them up quietly as he observed his girl’s choice of outfit. She was in her pretty dresses phase; she always wanted to be wearing a pretty dress. But she made sure she was wearing a set of shorts underneath, which pleased Jake. She was really smart and aware for being four years old.
It felt like yesterday he was getting her on a plane to fly her out to California. So much had happened in that time that Jake couldn’t even wrap his head around. The Dagger team got stationed together in Fightertown. Apparently the Navy didn’t want to split up the team made of the best of the best. They occasionally had small missions away from Fightertown, but that was their home base. Maverick and Bob had been the two that would watch Jolene when he was in the air or had to stay late with paperwork, but he tried to take paperwork home. Phoenix made sure to teach her things that only a woman could, which Jake was thankful for. She also taught him how to do different hairstyles and how to get better at them.
Coyote, Fanboy, Payback, and Rooster were the fun uncles. The kind that would pick her up from school and take her for ice cream just because it was a Tuesday. Their little dysfunctional team has really helped Jake adjust to his life as a single father. He never imagined himself in that position but he couldn’t be happier to be one. Right now, he was getting his little lady ready for a day at the park. The schedule was simple. Go to the park and stay there for a few hours. Go get some lunch out at their favorite pizza parlor which also happened to sell their favorite gelato. And end the day at Uncle Bob’s house because Bob’s sister and niece and nephews were in town. A simple and easy day for them before he had to go back to work for a few days.
On the way to the park, Jake threw on some country hits that his daughter had fallen in love with. She just simply couldn’t have a good day unless she heard Johnny Cash and Dolly Parton. She defiantly was his daughter. They belted out tunes, while Jake periodically sipped his coffee. One of his favorite liberties of being in the civilian world was the coffee. He had so many more options than he did on the bases. The park came into view and he could feel Jolene get excited.
“Alright, alright darlin’. Calm down just a minute. You’re jumpin’ like a dog. I can’t get you out if you don’t stop that wigglin’.” Jake tried to get out but he kept laughing. Jolene was so excited to go that she was making it take longer to get out of the truck.
“Come on daddy!! Let’s go!” Jolene exclaimed as she finally made it out of the truck. He only laughed and made her wait as he got the bag from the other side of the back seat. When the doors were finally closed, father and daughter walked hand in hand towards the park. Jake found a spot on a bench where he could see the majority of the park’s play equipment. He could see through some of the equipment which definitely helped when it came to keeping an eye on his surroundings. He made Jolene applied an adequate amount of sunscreen before letting her go play.
“Stay within my line of vision please baby girl. If you can’t see me, daddy can’t see you. Now go have fun okay? I’ll come join you in a bit.” Jake pressed a kiss to her cheek and let her go run around. The late morning air felt wonderful. July was a really nice time of year in California and the breeze that accompanied the morning added to his relaxation. With aviators on, Jake pulled a book out of the bag he packed and began to read. Every few words, he’d look up to check on Jolene, but she always stayed where he could see her. His coffee was sitting comfortably next to him as he simply enjoyed the day that he had. While his job made it a bit difficult sometimes to be a father, much less a single one, they made it work.
Jolene was very understanding that her daddy was going to be gone for long stretches of time occasionally. And for that he was thankful. But he’ll never forget the first deployment he had with Jolene.
~
“Baby, I gotta go okay? But Auntie Phoenix is gonna take real good care of you.” Jake said, holding Jolene who had tears in her eyes. This was the first time Jake was going to be gone for longer than a couple days.
“But…b-b-but daddy. You gonna come ba-ack right?” She asked while her voice got choked up with a sob. Jake felt his heart break and he pulled his daughter into his arms. Phoenix was behind them, standing in her threshold of her on base apartment. She specifically cleared out her guest room for the little girl. She watched the heart touching scene, feeling her own heart break at the little girl.
“I’m gonna come right back baby girl, okay. But I need you to stay with Auntie Phoenix for me please. I’ll be back before you know it. But daddy needs to go, okay? Daddy has to go.” As Jake started to pull away from his little girl, she started sobbing. Full on, heart wrenching, sobbing. She kept crying out for Jake and he had to force himself away from her. Natasha came up behind Jolene and picked her up while she kept reaching out for her daddy. Jake felt tears come to his eyes while Natasha turned Jolene to sob into her neck instead.
“I’ll send you pictures and updates. Go Hangman.” She said, delivering a pat on the arm to him. Jake leaned over and kissed his daughters head. She turned as quick as lightning to wrap her arms around Jake. The three of them stood there for a minute before Jake let go once more.
“Auntie Phoe is gonna take good care of you. I love you Jolene.” And with that he left his daughter in the arms of the woman he trusted most, besides his own family. Jake hopped into his truck, and took one last look at the girl he was leaving behind. Natasha lived on the ground floor, which made it easy for her to get into her home after long training days when she was sore and bruised. Phoenix waved goodbye to Hangman and went inside to quell the distraught girl she held in her arms.
Jake left for a three month deployment afterwards and it was torture for him. One of the things that made him be able to go to sleep at night was being able to go into his daughter’s room and make sure she was okay. But the updates from Natasha made the deployment better. Once he had been so lucky as to have enough cell service to have a video chat with the girls. Jolene was so happy to be able to hear Jake’s voice again, and the next day Phoenix said that was the best night’s sleep the girl had gotten in six weeks.
When he got home six weeks later, Jolene refused to let go of him. She held him tight when he came to pick her up, and only let go to drive back to their house. But when they got out of the truck, well, Jake had to carry his bags and Jolene when he entered the house. She held him while they ate dinner, and would start getting hysterical when he let go of her to put her down for sleep. He finally conceded and allowed her to sleep with him that first night back.
That had been almost two years ago and he had another three month deployment coming up shortly after Christmas. He wouldn’t be home for New Years, but at least he’d be home in time for her birthday in May. Hopefully this time would be easier than last deployment.
~
“Daddy!” Jake started running. His fatherly instinct simply taking over when he heard his daughter’s scream. He abandoned his book, drink, and bag. None of that mattered as he located his daughter with someone else near her. A boy who was laying down. As soon as he got over, Jolene let out a sigh of relief.
“Jo. What happened?” He asked kneeling down next to his daughter and the mystery boy.
“Well, um, me and Mike were playing and he missed his jump, and hit his head. Then he laid down and he keeps saying that he’s dizzy. I didn’t know what to do.” Jolene was scared about what happened to her new friend.
“Okay,” he responded before leaning over the boy, “Mike? Mike? Hey buddy can you see me? My name is Jake. I’m Jolene’s dad, and I’m also in the navy. Can I help you please?” He asked, keeping his voice soft and his words simple. He saw the boy open his eyes and nod, noticing the dazed look in the boys eyes.
“Okay bud. I’m just gonna check your head really quick okay? I just need to touch your head so I can make sure you don’t have a boo boo.” Mike nodded, and Jake placed his hands on the boys head. He found nothing at first, and then he felt his head get wet. When he pulled away, he noticed blood on his hands. Jolene gasped and turned away from the sight and that’s when Jake heard it.
“Mike? Mikey? Michael! Are you okay? Oh God.” She exclaimed loudly as she neared the trio. Jake looked up and saw her. A gorgeous young woman was coming near them.
“Is he okay? Mikey? Mike!” She pleaded that her son look at her but Jake gently pulled her hands away from his head.
“Miss, miss! Hey, I’m trained in first aid. I’m trying to help Mike but I need you to back up just a little bit.” By now a crowd has formed around the small group, which was exactly what Jake didn’t need right now. He felt around the back of the boy’s head yet again, trying to gage how big the cut is but he couldn’t be certain. It felt small but it could be big.
“Mike, I need you to open your eyes buddy. I need you to look at me.” The young boy opened his eyes with much struggle and Jake started his tests.
“Okay bud. I need you to follow my finger and answer some questions okay? Can you do that for me bud?” Jake asked; the boy still laying down.
“Otay.” He said quietly.
“Okay so just follow my finger,” and the boy trained his eye on the digit, “what’s your name?” The finger moved up and down.
“Michael Jones, sir.” He followed the finger.
“Okay, how old are you Michael?” The finger moved side to side.
“Um… four. I turn five soon.” Diligently, he followed the finger. Jake turned to the woman who was over his shoulder and she nodded, confirming the information.
“Okay little man, one more question. Do you know where you are?” Jake stopped moving his finger and pulled the child’s lids open gently. When he didn’t see any obvious signs of distress, he stopped and let the boy rest.
“Sun… sun glow park. My mommy’s here. Where’s my mommy?” He asked starting to get up and look around. The woman from beside him sprung forward.
“I’m right here baby. Are you okay?” She asked getting closer to her son and gently helping to raise him up. Jake gingerly helped her son up while double checking to make sure Jolene was still there and okay.
“I’m otay mommy. My head hurts.” Jake used this opportunity to take a better look at the back of his head. The cut was small, but head wounds bleed.
“Hey,” Jake grabbed the woman’s attention, “I have a first aid kit in my truck. Would you mind if I patched him up? I don’t see any signs of a concussion or any serious trauma so I think he just hit his head.” She nodded and picked her son up who clung to his mother. Jake dispersed the crowd that had gathered saying that the boy was just fine and it was nothing serious. Jake walked his daughter, and the mother and son over to his truck, stopping to pick up his items really quick. He threw that stuff in the back seat before moving to the truck bed and popped it. He saw the bright red bag and placed the boy on the edge and began to put a bandage over the cut.
“I know little man. I’m sorry.” Jake said after Mike hissed as the alcohol cleaned the blood away. Thankfully the bandage went on without a hitch.
“There you go little man. All patched up. Just gotta watch that noggin’ of yours better next time, mkay?” Jake asked, his voice lighter. Mike nodded eagerly but soon stopped as the area he cut became sore.
“Thank you,” his mother spoke up, “seriously. I’m really glad you were there. I don’t know what I’d do if something worse had happened or if you hadn’t been there mister…” she trailed off waiting for a name.
“Jake Seresin, naval aviator, ma’am.” She smiled at him, and gave him her name in return.
“And this is Mike, if you haven’t guessed. Is she yours?” The mother pointed to Jake’s daughter who stood slightly behind her father. Her red hair and green eyes were vibrant as ever. Jake placed and arm around her and pulled her in towards him.
“Yeah, this is Jolene. My baby girl. She’s actually the same age as Mike there.” Jake let go of Jolene who went to Mike immediately, while his mother stepped closer to Jake.
“I really do appreciate it. Mikey is my pride and joy and I was terrified when I saw him on the ground. How can I repay you?” She asked,looking straight into Jake’s eyes. Jake began to protest when he heard Jolene and Michael giggle to each other. Both parents looked over at their kids with smiles.
“What’s so funny, Red?” Jake asked of his daughter, which caused her to start laughing more.
“You like Miss. Jones. Just bring her to lunch with us.” Jake was stunned, as was Mike’s mother. And then, Jolene turned back to her conversation with Mike like nothing happened.
“Um, you’re totally okay to say no but would you like to come have lunch with us? We’re just going to D’Antonio’s around the corner if you’d like to join us. Seems the kids like each other.” Jake offered, suddenly feeling his neck heat up with a blush he hadn’t felt in a long time. Mike’s mother smiled at Jake.
“Yeah, I’d like that. It’ll at least give me an opportunity to pay you back for helping Mikey.” She said shyly, while looking to the kids.
“My momma would have my head if I let a woman pay for a meal in my presence. I’ll treat y’all to lunch.” Jake walked them back to their car, and then walked with Jolene back to his truck. They arrived at the restaurant, and got a table going while waiting on the mother and son duo. He saw them come through and stood up to pull her chair out.
“Wow. Southern gentleman.” She said with a hand over her heart, as she sat in her chair. Jake chuckled as their kids settled into the seats near their parents.
“You can thank my mom. She insisted on raising me proper.” He stated with a soft smile on his face. She returned his smile, and they helped the kids order. It felt very soft, and domestic. Something Jake wasn’t use to.
“So a naval aviator, huh? How’d you get into that?” She asked, setting Mike and Jolene up with some crayons and paper. Jake found it odd that she pulled it out of her bag that she had, but maybe it was because she had a young artist on her hands.
“Yes ma’am. It’s the best job in the world. And I get time with Jo so it’s a win win. What about you?” He asked politely, while the children were paying no attention to their adults.
“Oh I’m a teacher. I’m a military brat so I get the stress of the job. That’s actually why I’m a teacher. Some of my fondest memories on bases growing up were my teachers.” The young mother shyly explained. But Jake loved to hear her talk.
“Where- um what do you teach? Sorry you don’t have to tell me where you teach.” He had no clue why this woman was throwing his off his game. Normally, before Jolene came around, he was chasing skirts all over the place. It wasn’t a matter of if Jake Seresin was going home with someone, but who. But now this mother who happened to be a teacher was causing him to stumble over his words.
“I’m a second grade teacher on the nearby navy base. My dad was navy and we needed a change of scenery.” Right then, the pizza arrived and the parents dished out for their kids first. Jake made sure Jolene kept her napkin in her lap, while Mike’s mom made sure he chewed thoroughly.
“So where you do you work Jake? Being a naval aviator and all.” She questioned, and began to dig into her pizza.
“Well I uh- I actually also work at the nearby naval base. That’s where my team is stationed.” Jake explained; she listened eagerly. They continued to talk all through the afternoon, periodically breaking away to interact with their children. The more they talked, the more the two found that they loved talking with each other. She was impressed by this bachelor turned single father, working through all the trials and tribulations that he has to have his daughter.
“If it’s not too forward of me, where is Mikey’s father?” Her smile dropped, as did Jake’s.
“I’m sorry. That was too forward. Um.. how did you get into teaching?” Jake very quickly tried to change the subject. They young mother held a small smile as she shook her head.
“No, no. You’re fine. You told me about Jolene’s mom so it’s only fair. Umm…” she trailed of, looking over at Mike and Jolene. They were actively engaged in a very competitive game of Tic-Tac-Toe.
“It’s actually very similar to your situation I guess. I told his father I was pregnant, and he didn’t believe it was his. He accused me of cheating on him and he left. Come to find out he was cheating on me, and I think he’s now married to the mistress he knocked up. We divorced shortly after he left.” The calm way she explained everything made Jake’s heart ache. It was like she was use to it. Her smile had fallen by now and tears started to well up in her eyes. Jake reached across the table and placed his hand on top of hers. He saw her smile return and it made him feel better. The dad smiled back at her before he glanced down at his watch.
“Oh crap!” He exclaimed, grabbing Jolene’s attention.
“What is it daddy?” The young girl asked, pulling away from her games.
“We need to be gettin’ to Uncle Bob’s baby. You remember his niece and nephews are coming over. We need to get goin’ so we ain’t late baby girl.” Jolene started to pout, not wanting to leave her new friend but they already made the plans to go over.
“And Mikey isn’t there something that we need to go do before it closes?” His mother pointed at her watch.
“Library!” He exclaimed proudly. The adult smiled at his eagerness, and they began to get ready to leave.
“Jake, let me pay please. A thank you for taking care of Mikey today. Just give me the check.” She begged reaching out to take the piece of paper from the man. He yanked his hand back with a chuckle at her insistence.
“No. You ain’t payin’ for lunch on my watch,” she deflated at his words, ��tell ya what, you can get next time.” She perked back up.
“Next time?” She asked hopefully. Jake smiled charmingly at her.
“Maybe next time could be dinner?” The look on her face was a mix of impressed, shock, and something Jake couldn’t quite pinpoint.
“What makes you think there’s going to be a dinner next time? Kind of sounds like a date Lieutenant.” She teased, and Jake smirked at her.
“Call it a gut feeling accompanied with your number.” Pure shock took over her face. She started to laugh, and Jake joined her.
“Alright. That was good. Give me your phone.” And they exchanged phone numbers. Jake paid the bill and the group left the restaurant. Jake walked Mike and his mother to their car. She helped her son into his seat and stood next to the driver’s side of the car.
“Thanks for today Jake. We had a great time.” She said, opening her car door.
“You’re welcome. I’m glad I could help out little man over there. And his momma isn’t too bad either.” Jake’s lip was caught between his teeth as he smiled at her.
“Well, this momma needs to get her boy to the library to check out our weekly books before they close. And you need to get your baby girl to her uncle’s house.” She said calmly and gently. She was just about to get into her car, when she stopped, and turned back to Jake. She reached up and pressed a kiss to his cheek. The laugh she let out at his blushing face triggered his own laugh and he began to take Jolene back to the truck. When they finally piled in, and buckled up, Jolene got her dad’s attention.
“Daddy, is Ms. Jones going to be my mommy?” She asked which startled Jake. He looked back at his daughter before turning back to the road, continuing on his way to Bob’s house.
“No baby. She’s just a friend, okay? Just a very good friend.” He continued to drive and enjoyed the peaceful drive till his daughter piped up again.
"Friends like you and uncle Cy, or friends like auntie Phoenix and uncle Chicken? Cause auntie Phoe and uncle Chicken sometimes have sleepovers when I stay there and they always smile at each other and touch each other."
"Wait what?!"
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