#like I know on Saturday I’ll get to talk to Rachel and she’ll tell me I’m dramatic and impulsive
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The Nanny
So the last thing I should be doing is writing a new fic, but this is a gift for @yourstreetserenade who has been an absolute gift to this fandom especially during such a difficult time. I’m not sure how frequent updates will be, but they will come!
Just after finishing with four separate brides in the bridal shop she works at in Flushing, Queens, Brittany Pierce hops up on the counter and crosses her legs, tossing her head back. Sugar Motta grabs a bottle of water and thrusts it into Brittany’s hand, before jumping up on the counter next to her. The two of them sit in silence for several minutes, taking in the fact that they have no customers, before the bell on the door tinkles and Brittany takes a swig out of the bottle and climbs down, smoothing her dress.
“Oh, hey Dani.” She grins, walking over to her girlfriend. Before she can give her a kiss, Dani puts her hand up, and Brittany furrows her brow.
“No kiss?”
“Look, Brittany, we need to talk.”
“Uh, sure, shoot.”
“Somewhere private.” Dani gestures over to Sugar, who makes herself look busy with her boss’ presence in the store.
“Don’t worry, no one’s in here.” Sugar pops her gum and sticks a pin into the dress on one of the mannequins.
“You are, Sugar. Brittany, let’s go into my office.”
“Aw c’mon Dan, I’ve told you a thousand times, if you tell me something, I’m just going to tell Sugar anyway, you may as well just say it. Besides, we’ve had a real rush in here today, and I don’t wanna leave her stranded if it happens again.”
“Fine.” Dani sighs, exasperated. “We’ve had a good run, Britt, but there’s someone else.”
“Someone else? What are you talking about? We’re pre-engaged.”
“Yeah!” Sugar agrees. “We’ve already been picking out Brittany’s wedding dress.”
“Sugar, this is really a couple’s conversation.”
“How are you going to say it’s a couple’s conversation if you just said we’re not a couple anymore?” Brittany tries to hold back her tears, but she finds that she’s failing miserably. “How could you do this?”
“It just happened, Quinn and I ran into each other a few weeks ago at—”
“Quinn? You’re breaking up with me for Quinn Fabray? How am I supposed to work here knowing that you’re sleeping with that shameless hussy?”
“You sound a little like your mother, Britt.” Sugar interjects.
“Shut up, Sugar.”
“Well, about that.” Dani wrings her hands in front of her body. “Quinn needs a job, and, well…”
“So not only are you breaking up with me, you’re firing me?” Brittany grabs her purse from behind the counter and makes toward the door as Dani reaches for her. “Don’t touch me. You can’t fire me, I quit!” She pushes the door open, gets halfway through and turns around. “No, you fired me, that way I can collect unemployment.”
----
“Kurt!” Santana Lopez calls out, sitting behind the desk in her home office and shuffling through a stack of paperwork. “Come in here!”
“You bellowed, Ms. Lopez?” Kurt opens the door, adjusting his tie.
“Have any of the prospective nannies arrived yet? Rachel is on me—”
“She wishes.” He mutters under his breath.
“Excuse me?”
“Nothing.”
“Rachel is on me about the party on Saturday night. If Tyler scares one more nanny away, I’m sending him to boarding school.”
Santana puts her head in her hands on continues to go through her paperwork. Ever since her wife died five years ago, she’s been overwhelmed by the demands of her career and taking care of her three children. Valerie, the oldest, had been thrust into puberty and is off the walls with her emotions, Tyler does everything in his power to force anyone who came into the house to leave, and Abigail, the baby, is in therapy twice a week and trying to deal with the fact that she barely remembers her mother at all, but sometimes Santana thinks it’s making her worse, not better. On top of all that, she has Rachel who is constantly demanding every moment of her attention, and she’s been through eight nannies who just can’t seem to manage her children, so she can give the focus she needs to her career.
“There’s the bell.” Kurt breaks her from her thoughts. “Let’s hope the ninth time’s the charm and this nanny that the agency sent over can actually manage Master Tyler.”
“Tell her I’ll be with her in a minute, I just need to finish up in here.”
“Yes, Ms. Lopez.”
Kurt exits the room and goes to answer the door. Standing before him is a leggy blonde in a bright pink mini dress and stiletto heels. She’s not exactly what he expected from the agency and is certainly a far cry from any of the other nannies they’ve seen over the past five years, but he steps back and lets her in.
“Ms. Lopez says she’ll be right with you. I expect you have your resume?”
“Resume? I—uh…” The blonde clutches the makeup kit she carries close to her chest and looks around.
“Yes, resume. You know, the list of your previous experience as a nanny, which I presume you have quite a bit of?”
“Resume. Nanny. Right. Yeah, I, uh…totally have it. Say, butler man, do you think I could get a glass of water?”
“As you wish.”
When Kurt leaves the room to get her a glass of water, Brittany scrambles through her makeup kit. She had no intention of applying for a job as a nanny, she was just at this gorgeous mansion to try and sell makeup so she could get out of her parents’ house, now that she was no longer living with Dani, but like she always thought, when opportunity knocks, she’s got to answer. Unfortunately, all she has with her is an order form and a few tubes of lipstick, but she’ll make do, quickly scribbling her name and phone number in Monroe Red along the back of the form and trying to write down her years of working at Dani’s Discount Bridal before the butler comes back with her water. She’s just about finished when a dark-haired boy bursts into the room clutching a knife to his chest and collapses on the floor with a pool of ketchup staining his white shirt.
“Eh, mediocre performance.” She stands over his twitching body and his eyes pop open. “Next time, you want to get some of that fake costume blood off of Amazon. Ketchup is so 1990s.”
“I’ll have you know.” The boy feigns a gasp. “I’m dying here.”
“We’re all dying, kid.” Brittany laughs. “What’s your name, anyway?”
“What business is it of yours?”
“I’m just making conversation. So, you live here, or what?”
“No.” He deadpans. “I just hang around random mansions looking to scare unsuspecting nannies.”
“You’ve really gotta get better at this scaring thing. I’m telling you, I could give you some tips that’ll have you winning Academy Awards.”
“I’ll have you know I’ve scared off seven nannies in five years, and if you’d stop messing with my plan, you’d be number eight.”
“I don’t scare easily, you’ve never met my mother. Trust me, she’ll tell you the story of the time she thought she had to poop, gave birth to me in a barn and wrapped me up in a Mr. Submarine wrapper, and you’ll be scarred for life.”
“Ew.” The boy sticks out his tongue. “That’s disgusting, and I don’t think my mother would appreciate you telling me that story.”
“Your mother will make that decision.” Brittany’s jaw nearly hits the floor when a gorgeous brunette in a pencil skirt and blazer steps into the room. “Santana Lopez, it’s a pleasure to meet you Miss—”
“Pierce. Brittany Pierce.”
“Miss Pierce. Now what was this story you were telling my son?”
“Oh…I…uh…never mind.” Brittany stammers. “We were just getting to know each other.”
“Well, you haven’t run screaming from the house yet, so I suppose that’s going well. Tyler, go get Valerie and Abigail.”
“But Mom—”
“Go.” She shoos him off, and Brittany can’t help but stare at the woman in front of her.
“Santana—”
“I’d prefer if you call me Ms. Lopez, thank you.”
“Right, sorry, Ms. Lopez. Um…he’s a character.”
“That’s one way to put it.” She sighs. “Your resume, please.”
“Oh…yeah. Well, I kind of forgot to bring one with me, but I have this.” Brittany hands over the lipstick scrawled paper, and Santana holds it between two fingers.
“So, you came to an interview without a resume? Is that lipstick?”
“Well, I’m kind of having a bad week, you know how that goes.” She bites her lip, figuring she may as well just show herself the door.
“You’re not here for the interview, are you?”
“I—look, I wasn’t exactly called her for an interview, but I’m telling you, I’m great with kids. I have like…thirty-six little cousins, and I could totally be a nanny.”
“Yet you have no experience. I see here that you worked for…Dani’s Discount Bridal?”
“Mom!” A little girl with her hair in long braids tumbles into the room, and Brittany smiles at how much she looks like San—Ms. Lopez. “Tyler pushed me again!”
“Kid, what’s your deal?” Brittany asks him. “Why do you want everyone not to like you?”
“You can’t talk to me like that! Mom, tell her she can’t talk to me like that!”
“She’s not wrong Tyler. How many times have I had to tell you to keep your hands off your sister?”
“I don’t know.” He rolls his eyes. “About a billion.”
“Look, Miss Pierce, clearly I need more help here than you’re qualified to give. Thank you for coming, I’ll have Kurt see you out.”
“But—”
“I’m sorry. Thank you for your time.”
Kurt enters the living room again holding Brittany’s water, which he immediately sets down on the coffee table, sensing the tone of the room. While he’s escorting Brittany to the door, she catches a glimpse of the oldest Lopez child and she sighs, thinking that she probably could have made some kind of difference in their lives, even if she doesn’t necessarily have any formal training as a nanny. When she gets to the door, another short brunette enters, who gives her a dirty look, and she just exits without another word.
“Santana!” Rachel cries out, looking at the ketchup on Tyler’s shirt with disgust before the kids all scatter from the room in her wake. “I’ve been on the phone all morning with the caterer for Saturday night. I’m telling you, if this party is a disaster, then we’re never going to get the funding we need for our play. They’re going to immediately jump ship and support the next Lin Manuel Miranda production, and we’ll be out in the cold again.”
“Rachel, it’s going to be fine. I just have to focus on getting a nanny for these kids today, and then Saturday will go off without a hitch.”
“What was the matter with that one? Scared off again by Lord Ketchup?”
“No.” Santana looks to the door, feeling like perhaps she’s made some kind of mistake just as the phone rings. “She’s just not right for our family.”
“Well, you better find someone who’s right. We have three million dollars riding on Saturday night being a success, and as much as I adore your children, I just don’t think having them run around our cocktail party will do anyone any favors.”
“Yes, I’m aware, you’ve told me that about forty-six times this week.”
“Ms. Lopez.” Kurt interrupts. “It’s the nanny agency on the phone for you.”
“Rachel, I have to take this. Go into my office and look over the notes for our pitch.”
“You know that I’m your partner, not your employee, right?”
“Okay.” Santana pinches the bridge of her nose. “Decide if you want to look over the notes for our pitch so you can be prepared for Saturday night.”
“I think that sounds like a great idea.” Rachel chirps. “I’ll be waiting for you.”
“Great.” She takes the phone from Kurt and sinks down onto the couch. “Santana Lopez speaking.”
“Ms. Lopez, this is Mindy from the agency. Unfortunately, the interviewee we were sending out to you today was offered another job and has decided to cancel. I can get someone else to you on Monday, maybe Tuesday.”
“Monday or Tuesday isn’t good enough.” Santana snaps. “I’ve told you a dozen times that I need someone for this weekend.”
“I don’t think I’ll be able to do that.”
“You have got to be kidding me. I have three kids who need a nanny, and I have an event Saturday night. Next week is unacceptable.”
“I’ll do what I can, but I don’t think I’ll be able to make it work.”
“Goddamnit.” Santana hangs up the phone and looks at Kurt desperately. “Why is it so hard to find good help in this town?”
“I believe I can still decipher the lipstick on Miss Pierce’s ‘resume.’” Kurt offers. “Maybe you ought to give her a shot. She certainly wasn’t afraid of Master Tyler.”
“She has no experience. And did you see what she was wearing? What kind of influence on Valerie would I be bringing into this house?”
“You certainly seemed a little…preoccupied with her wardrobe if I do say so myself.”
“Honestly, shut up.”
“You need a nanny before Saturday, and she clearly needs a job. Hire her on a trial basis, then you at least have yourself covered and you can resume your interviews next week.”
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#madreads | stuff i’ve been reading lately 👀
heyyo i’m just making a list of books i’ve been reading lately IRL. most are just swishy, feel-good, HEA romance stuff. I’ll update it periodically~ ✌🏼💛✨ enjoy, and feel free to recommend!
“The Flat Share” by Beth O’Leary: sharing a flat with someone you’ve never met? Tiff needs a cheep & easy place to stay, and Leon works nights and needs the $$. Leon takes the bed in the day, Tiff at night.... they’re bound to meet sometime, right?
“The Hating Game” by Sally Thorne: easy-peasy office, enemies-to-lovers. Lucy and Josh share an office for 40 hours a week, PAs for a recently merged companies. constantly one-upping each other, and playing ‘games’ in vengeful silence with arbitrary, made-up rules–– but lucy will never let josh win. especially when there’s a promotion at stake. if she wins, she’ll be josh’s boss, and if she loses... she’ll resign.
“Beach Read” by Emily Henry: Augustus is an acclaimed author of literary fiction, and january writes best selling romance. they’re opposites in every way.... right now the only thing they have in common is they’re neighbors and both struggling with writer’s block. they make a bet, augustus will write a bright happy romance while january tackles the “next Great American Novel.” of course they’ll take field trips of rom-com montage fame, and he’ll take her to interview backwoods death cult members (???) and absolutely no one will fall in love, lmao.
“Man Crush Monday” (and Stand-In Saturday) by Kristy Moseley. bruhh..... just read it. amy clark is a happy, peppy girl who works on the train... every monday her crush comes aboard, handsome and dorky. lool one day, they meet off the train, and love blossoms from there......
“The Billionaire’s Wake-Up-Call Girl” (and the entire series tbh) by Annika Martin: bruhh lol ya girl works at a company and tries to stay on her best behavior. so when she can’t find a “morning call service” to wake up her boss..... she takes it upon herself to make the call. so yeah, obviously she is the sweetest person ever at 4:30 AM–– oop. and soon enough, boss man is tearing down the city to find her.
“Come Back to Bed” by Kayley Loring: a grumpy lawyer dude moves in next door to an artist, and the only thing she can be sure of is that he’s hot hot hot and has the cutest lil dog ever. when they first meet, he recognizes her long-time and flailing crush on her artist boss..... sparks fly from there lmao
“Happy-Go-Lucky” by L.H. Cosway. Maisie works as a researching for a PI firm, and is nothing but kind to every one there. lol then at the christmas party, intimidating cameron grant shows up and out of the kindness of her heart, she sits by to talk to him. looool he tells her he despises everyone’s behavior at their workplace even her’s to a degree–- be deems her most tolerable. lol even jabbed, her lil office crush on him doesn’t waver. things become even more awkward when he takes her home.............
“Would Like to Meet” by Rachel Winters. evie has been a an assistant for 7 years, hanging on a thread for a promotion. too bad her job is in the hands of breakout-director ezra, for hollywood’s next rom com. lol but he’s suffering from writers block. in order not to lose her job, she collects data and stories from going on “meet-cute” dates and scenarios to “inspire” ezra lol and maybe find herself a real date along the way?
“The Unhoneymooners” by Christina Lauren. olive is ur typical unlucky gal–– constantly outdone by her perfect twin sister, who she still loves and adores. so ofc, on her sister’s wedding day she is paired with her worst enemy, ethan (who happens to be the best man). just 24 hours to get through, and things will be back to normal. lol too bad that everyone at the wedding gets food poisoning, leaving olive and ethan the only people unscathed. her sister refuses to let her honeymoon package go to waste so... she encourages olive and ethan to go... together. looool
And that’s all i can think of for right now!!! i haven’t been reading anything too serious, i just want these fluffy chick lit HEA romances to get me through the rest of the year.... like... just give me some serotonin pls. alright and lemme just say... getting a kindle (and kindle unlimited bleh) has changed my reading life.... it’s so much easier now lol 🥺💛✨
if you have any recommendations or notes to add, feel free to let us know! happy reading!!!!!!!!!!!!! ❣️
tagging: @rae-gar-targaryen and @ that one anon that asked hahaha
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So I totally intended to finish up week 1 before anything else but I'm totally struggling with the last day so here's this. It's set maybe three-ish months after Ashleigh arrived. Enjoy :)
Masterlist
Week 1
WonderBats
"Hey Bruce?" Tim said, as he entered the living room. Bruce was sitting on a nearby armchair reading a book. Out of the corner of his eye he also spotted Dick and Jay, sitting on the couch watching TV.
Bruce looked up from his book. "What's up Tim?"
"I was wondering can Cassie come over on Saturday?"
Bruce looked at him curiously. "You've never asked before, usually I just come home and the house is filled with children I don't think are mine."
"Well I didn't want to just bring people over in case... I don't know, it bothered Ashleigh or anything."
"That's very... considerate of you." Bruce eyed him suspiciously. "Where's my real child?"
"I'm not the Demon Spawn, Bruce. I consider how others may be affected by my decisions."
"Hey!" Damien shouted from a nearby room. Jay chuckled.
Bruce sighed. "I can't see why Cassie can't come over."
Dick turned away from the TV. "What about Donna? I've been meaning to catch up for ages." He nudged Jay. "And they could bring Artemis."
"I'll talk to Diana and see if we can do a get together." Bruce said.
"Yes!" The boys cheered.
"You should still run it by Ashleigh." Tim suggested. "Just in case."
"She'll be totally okay with it." Bruce insisted.
"You should check just in case." Dick agreed.
"I'll ask her," Bruce gave in. "But I'm telling you it's unnecessary."
"Doesn't hurt ask."
Bruce sighed and jumped up from his seat, and headed upstairs to my room.
I looked up from my phone at the sound of a knock at my door. "Hey Ashleigh." Bruce greeted me as he entered.
"Hiya Bruce."
"Some friends of ours might be coming over one of the days."
"Okay?" I looked at him quizzingly.
"The boys just wanted for me to make sure you were okay with it before we invited them over."
"Why?"
"Well they know your not comfortable around groups of strangers."
"Yeah but that shouldn't stop them from having friends over."
Bruce smiled. "That's what I told them, but they insisted I run it by you."
"I'm totally okay with it."
"I knew you would be."
"Tell them thanks for the consideration but it's unnecessary."
"Will do." Bruce said as he left.
The boys basically spent the whole week telling me about the Wonders. Before I knew it Saturday was here.
I woke a little before eleven, groggily walked towards the bathroom. I stopped at the top of the staircase as I spotted Bruce, Alfred, and the Wonders standing by the door. I recognised Wonder Woman of course, but i only recognized the other three from the dozens of photos the boys had insisted on showing me.
Wonder Woman, Bruce and Alfred headed for the kitchen, as the three girls started up the stairs. I quickly ducked into the nearest room to avoid them.
"Hello?" Carrie looked confused.
"Hi." I awkwardly smiled.
"You've never bust in unannounced before Ash."
"Yeeeah."
"What's wrong?"
"Nothing. I'm just... hiding for a second." I admitted.
"From?"
"The Wonderkids."
"They're here?" Carrie looked at her clock, 10:57. "I thought they weren't coming till twelve."
"So did I."
"Why are you hiding from them? I thought you promised Tim you'd at least say hello to Cassie.".
"I did. I will. I just need to..." I rubbed my chin. I could feel my face redden as I felt the stubble. "Clean up."
"Hold on." Carrie stood up, walked over and peeked out the door. "They're gone."
"Thanks Carrie." I walked out the door past her.
"The Wonders won't judge Ash." She comforted me.
I nodded and quickly scuttled away to the bathroom.
After shaving and doing what else I needed to do, my phone buzzed. A message from Tim. "Hey Ashleigh, if you're not busy, Cassie's here. You wanna meet her?"
"Sure Tim. Where are you?" Best just get the whole meeting her thing over with.
"My room."
"Be there in 2 mins."
I popped out of the bathroom and headed to Tim's room. Meeting people was always one of my least favourite thing. Sure I might like them but I never was great at getting to know people. Wouldn't it be wonderful to read minds like that girl Dick talks about. What was her name? Megan? M'gann.
I stopped outside Tim's door, and knocked. "Come in." Tim said.
I opened the door. Steph was leaning against a dresser, while Tim was sitting on the bed beside Cassie.
"Hey." Tim greeted me.
"Hi."
"Ashleigh, this is Cassie." Tim said pointing to the girl who had a beaming smile on her face.
Cassie jumped up. "You're Ashleigh, Tim and your sisters never shut up about you. It's great to finally meet you."
"It's nice to meet you to, Cassie." I smiled at her. She was pretty, and built like a tank.
""And now you're introduced." Steph cheerily commented.
"That they are." Tim agreed. "So now what?"
"I'll... go." I said, heading for the door. I'd promised Tim I'd say hello. I had fulfilled my part of the bargain, time for me to skedaddle.
"What? Why?" Steph asked, blocking the door.
"Well you guys are doing your thing. I don't want to get in the way."
"Hardly Ash." Steph smiled.
"You can stay." Tim said. "If you want."
"Before you answer that." Cassie interrupted. "What is it were doing?"
"I don't know." Tim admitted.
"We thought we'd let you decide Cassie." Steph said gesturing to her.
Cassie thought, and then her face lit up. "I've got to show you what I've done to my village." She reached into her bag and pulled out a Switch. "Ashleigh do you play?"
"Oh yeah." I quickly replied. Thats not entirely true, I had the game. I never played it before though.
"Come on Ashleigh. Let's go grab ours." Steph said. I followed her out to the hall. "I didn't know you played Animal Crossing."
"I don't," I admitted. "But now seems as good a time as any to start."
Steph laughed. "So what do you think of Cassie?"
"She seems... excited."
"She's always like that." Steph explained. "She was extra excited though to meet you."
"Why?" I asked as we stopped outside my room.
"I guess curiosity. We talk about you from time to time in the Watchtower. I'll be back in a second," Steph said ending the previous topic. "I'll grab my Switch."
Steph ran off as I went in to my room and fished out my Switch. It's not something I used to often, sometimes I played Pokémon, but not much else. I grabbed Animal Crossing off the shelf and walked back out into the hallway.
"Heya Ashleigh." Tim said. He and Cassie were standing just outside my door.
I jumped slightly. "Hi. You startled me." I admitted. "I was coming back."
"We know." Cassie said.
"We figured we'd head downstairs and wanted to grab you and Steph." Tim explained. "Where is she?"
"Here." Steph came running down the hall holding her Switch.
We headed downstairs to the living room. Dick and Donna were sitting on the couch, Babs sat in her wheelchair beside them.
"Hey you guys." Babs said as she spotted us enter.
"Heya Babs." Cassie excitedly said.
"Hey Cassie." Dick smiled at her. "I see you met Ashleigh."
"So your Ashleigh." Donna said. "Dick told me so much about you. All good things. Even Damien says nice things about you."
Cassie gasped. "Only ever heard him compliment Dick, and Rachel before."
"So what brings you guys down here?" Dick asked.
"Just going to lie up and play Animal Crossing." Steph said, holding up her Switch.
Steph and Tim snuggled up to each other on one of the armchairs, while Cassie sat in beside Donna. I took a seat nearby on another armchair. I'd played the old Animal Crossing game and warmed up to this one pretty quickly.
After a while of playing and bantering, I kept silent for most of it but it still felt nice to be around the chatter, Carrie and Harper came into the living room. "What's going on in here?" Harper asked.
"It's called social interaction. You two should try it sometime." Steph remarked.
"Sounds overrated." Carrie replied walking behind the seat I was in. She leaned over my shoulder. "Whatcha playing?"
"Animal Crossing."
"Nice island."
"It's Cassie's." I pointed over to Cassie, who was now lying in Donna's lap. She flashed a smile at me.
"So you did say hello." Carrie whispered. "Good job."
I smiled at her. "Thanks."
"Carrie, come on." Harper said as she headed for the door.
"Nice seeing you two again." Carrie said.
"Later nerds." Harper shouted as she left.
We went back to our banter. A little while later I looked up from my Switch and Cassie caught my eye. She appeared to be staring behind me. I turned around but couldn't see anything out of place. When I turned back Cassie was looking back at her Switch.
I yawned. "Not get enough sleep?" Dick asked.
"Something like that."
"Grab some coffee." Tim suggested.
"You and coffee." Cassie sighed, sitting up from Donna's lap.
"There's healthier alternatives to coffee." Dick commented.
"Don't talk to me about healthy," Tim stated. "I've read the ingredients on your cereal boxes."
"Your cereals are basically pure sugar." Donna agreed.
I stood up and left to get coffee while they were distracted arguing over healthy food. "Where are you off to?" Cassie asked from behind me in the hall.
"I need some coffee."
"Mind if I join you?"
"Uhh... sure"
"So Tim's got you hooked on coffee?" She asked as we took off towards the kitchen.
"I was addicted to coffee long before I came here." I explained.
We walked into the kitchen. Alfred, and Bruce sat at the table talking to Wonder Woman. I immediately stepped back behind Cassie who gave me a curious look.
"Hello children." Wonder Woman said.
"Diana. This is Ashleigh." Bruce said pointing to me. Diana, right, I should probably refer to her as that.
I stood out from behind Cassie. "Hi."
"Hello Ashleigh. It's nice to meet you."
"You to."
"So what brings you two to the kitchen?" Alfred asked.
"Coffee." Cassie quickly replied.
"I'll boil the kettle." Alfred stated turning to the counter.
"Come. Sit." Bruce gestured to the table. I took a seat beside Bruce, while Cassie sat beside Diana.
"So Ashleigh, how are you finding living with Bruce?" Diana asked.
"Its... good."
"Bruce is kind hearted." She stated. "He's a good parent."
"He is." I agreed, smiling at Bruce. He smiled back.
"Your coffee is ready Miss's." Alfred interrupted.
We stood up and grabbed out coffee, and I quickly headed for the exit, in hopes of avoiding any further social interaction.
"What was that about?" Cassie asked, following behind me.
"What was what?"
"That." She gestured back to the kitchen door. "First you hid behind me and then you basically ran out the door."
My face reddened. "I can be a tad... socially awkward at times."
"You were fine with me, and even Donna, but when it came to Diana you basically went into a shell. Wh-" It was clear that Cassie had just figure at the reason. She smirked. "It's because she's Wonder Woman."
"Yes it's because she's Wonder Woman." I stated. "I literally just met one of my childhood heroes, of course I'm going to be a tad awkward."
"Diana's just like anyone else." Cassie assured me.
I took a deep breath. "Im not involved too much in the whole hero thing. Sometimes it just skips my brain but then a sudden reminder will hit me and... and..." I took a deep breath. "I don't know where I was going with that."
"No. Go on finish." Cassie insisted.
"It's alright. Just forget it."
"Alright." Cassie said. "Let's get back to the others."
"Ashleigh. Cassie." Jay said as he appeared from a room, followed by Artemis. "Do you know where Diana is?"
"Kitchen." We said.
"Thanks." Jay headed for the kitchen.
Artemis grabbed his hood and dragged him back. "Introductions." She said.
"Artemis, this is Ashleigh. Ashleigh, this is Artemis. Done. Can I go now?"
Artemis sighed and let go of his hood. "Go."
"Thanks." He shouted as he ran off to the kitchen.
"What was that about?" Cassie asked.
"Don't worry about." Artemis said. Then she turned to me. "Nice to meet you Ashleigh."
"It's nice to... meet you to." I said, still a little confused over what had just happened.
"Perhaps we can talk more at a later date but right now I need to make sure Jay doesn't make an ass of himself, or more importantly me." Artemis said as she turned and headed for the kitchen. "Goodbye."
"See yah." Cassie said. "Now shall we get back to others?"
"Yeah." We headed towards the living room. "That was strange, even for Jay."
Cassie giggled. "That's a high bar."
We rejoined the others, who by now had stopped arguing. "Where'd you two go?" Dick asked.
"Coffee." We said in unison, holding up our mugs.
Tim smirked at Dick. "Told you."
"May I make a suggestion?" Donna asked, as we sat down.
"You may." Babs said.
"How about a game of soccer?"
"I'm down." Dick agreed.
"I can ref." Babs said.
"We're in." Tim and Steph agreed.
"Me to." Cassie agreed.
I nodded. "Yeah."
"Let's grab Jay and Artemis." Dick suggested.
"I'll grab them." Tim said, running off.
"I'll come to." Cassie said, running after him.
I followed the rest of them out the back, I began to feel more and more nervous. Sure I know how to play soccer but knowing me I'd somehow make an ass of myself. I could feel that weird feeling in my stomach. I was at the back of the pack, no-one would ever notice if I disappeared. As everyone walked out the back door, I turned and walked back towards the house.
"Ashleigh," Steph said. "Where are you off to?"
"Just going to use the bathroom." I lied. "I'll be back in a couple minutes."
I ran off and headed up the stairs. "Ashleigh." Jay shouted up after me. I turned. Jay, Tim, Artemis, and Cassie were looking up at me. "You not coming out to play some soccer?"
"No thanks, I'm just going to... Go up here."
"Okay sure." Jay gave me a puzzled look but the four headed outside.
I continued up to my room and locked the door behind me. I sat on the bed and took a deep breath. "Fuck." I muttered to myself. About ten minutes later I glanced put the window. Bruce and Diana had joined the kids outside and they appeared to be picking teams.
A knock at the door drew my attention back to the room. "Yeah?"
"Ashleigh, it's Steph."
I hopped up and unlocked the door. "What's up?"
"Are you not coming out to play soccer?"
"Yeah no. Sorry."
"No need to be," She said. "But you can just say so next time instead of just disappearing. It reminds me of Bruce."
I laughed. "Is that a bad thing?"
"It's not a good thing." She joked. "You coming outside to watch at least. You don't have to play."
"Sure." I smiled and followed Steph back down the stairs. I had manage to get my head together a little bit."So you came in just to find me?"
"That and," Steph held up a notepad. "Cassie wanted a pen and paper."
"Why?" I asked curiously.
"She didn't say."
I took a seat on the garden wall by Babs as Steph joined the on going game of soccer. Babs was the ref, it only took her about five minutes before she sent Jay and Artemis off for rough housing.
The game finished up with both teamed tied and all players exhausted.
"As nice as it been Bruce," Diana said. "We must be going."
"Of course Diana." Bruce said. "I'll show you out."
"It was nice meeting you Ashleigh." Diana said as they walked past me.
I smiled at her. "Yeah, it was nice meeting all of you.
As Cassie walked past me she handed me a piece of paper. "What's this?"
"My number, and socials and stuff, so we can keep in touch. If you want to." She said.
"Of course." I quickly replied.
"Goodbye Ashleigh." Cassie smiled and walked away.
"Goodbye Cassie." I watched as she disappeared into the house.
I watched as the door shut behind them. "Well Ash, you and Cassie seem to have gotten on well." Babs commented.
"Yeah we did."
"I'm glad." She said placing a hand on my shoulder.
I unfolded the sheet. On it was a phone number and Pixtagram account, along with Cassie's signature and a little smiley face.
#batfam#batfamily#dc#fanfiction#oc#bruce wayne#batman#dick grayson#nightwing#jason todd#red hood#tim drake#red robin#damien wayne#robin#robin v#carrie kelley#batgirl iv#batgirl#harper row#bluebird#wonder woman#diana prince#cassie sandsmark#wonder girl#artemis of bana mighdall#artemis grace#artemis#donna troy#troia
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My Life Now
@chaneajoyyy quarantine Part 10/10 of Steve Rogers x Reader!Fic
art by Rachel Szo on fearuted society6.com
1:https://iliketowrite1996.tumblr.com/post/614617294578089984/his-best-girl
Part 2: https://iliketowrite1996.tumblr.com/post/614969499334197248/meet-the-music-teacher
Part 3: https://iliketowrite1996.tumblr.com/post/616114724817584128/lunch-buddies
Part 4:https://iliketowrite1996.tumblr.com/post/616328582794493952/why-not
Part 5: https://iliketowrite1996.tumblr.com/post/616965238563192832/blind-dates-part-1-sneak-peek
Part 6: https://iliketowrite1996.tumblr.com/post/617069920649412608/blind-dates-part-2
Part 7: https://iliketowrite1996.tumblr.com/post/617392023489609728/as-a-friend
Part 8: https://iliketowrite1996.tumblr.com/post/617671766270263296/where-does-that-leave-us
Part 9:https://iliketowrite1996.tumblr.com/post/617671741879336960/next-step
TRIGGER WARNINGS AND THEMES- looking back on memories, mentions of former crushes and deceased loved ones.
4 years later
Steve Rogers is sleepy.
Steve Rogers is sleepy, and he hasn’t even had time for his morning cup of coffee for the day.
Steve Rogers is sleepy, he hasn’t even had time for his morning cup of coffee for the day, and his kids are working his last nerve before 10 o’clock in the morning.
In case you were wondering, that’s how the first Saturday of summer vacation is going.
‘’James, eat your peaches. Otherwise I’ll have to tell mommy, and there will be no dessert for you this evening.
James Samuel Anthony Rogers pouts up at his dad, but he obediently pinches his chopped pieces of peach, placing a bit into his mouth before humming appreciatively at the fruit’s sweet flavor.
‘’That’s my boy,’’ Steve kisses his head as he goes pass, sitting in the chair next to the three-year-old’s booster chair at their new kitchen table, ‘’You’ve got to set a good example for your big brother, bud.’’
In Steve’s arms is your eight month old daughter- Natasha Rae Anne is beaming up at him as he holds her, ready to feed ehr next.
Natasha is named after her godmother, who nearly burst into tears when she was asked to carry on this honor.
‘’What’s that mean,’’ James asks, taking his sippy cup to drink some of his milk.
‘’It means that you have to do the right thing and show her some of the ropes so that she doesn't’ get into trouble and is safe,’’ Steve explains, ‘’Like how Jasmine and Olivia do for the two of you.’’
‘’Oh, okay,’’ James shrugs, continuing to swing his legs and eat his snack as Steve finishes setting up baby Natasha’s breakfast.
‘’Okay, sweet pea,’’ Steve begins, pressing a kiss to Natasha’s ebony black curls before beginning to spoon feed her, ‘’Time for some mashed sweet potatoes.’’
Natasha, for her part, hates vegetables. She’ll spit them back up, leaving you, Steve or one of her older siblings to dutifully spoon them back into her mouth so that she can get her nutrients.
‘’The baby doesn’t like it, dad.’’
‘’I don’t blame her, son. Maybe she’ll eat some of her cereal puffs,’’ Steve shrugs before shouting, ‘’Jasmine!’’
He hears a huff that he elects to ignore before the now seventeen year old comes around the corner, bobby pins in her mouth and hands working in her hair, ‘’Hmm?’’
‘’Take the bobby pins out of your mouth and come here,’’ he instructs, and Jasmine lets go of her hair to pocket the bobby pins and listen to her dad.
Jasmine has grown into a beautiful young woman. She’s smart, funny, and continues to bring joy to both yours and Steve’s lives. This summer, she’s got some amazing plans. Her aunt is taking her to the lake with her nephew, Pepper managed to get her a tour of the college that she’s considering going to in order to study music, Natasha is taking her for a girls’ day at the spa next weekend, Sam and Bucky are helping her with ehr college applications, and Toni- much to Steve’s horror- bought her a car last year for her sixteenth birthday.Right now, she is currently attempting a new hairstyle by adding hair to her own ponytail, and Steve is interrupting the process.
‘’What is it, dad?’’
‘’Can you get your little sister her puffs? I’d ask james to do it, but…’’
The duo look to where James is currently eating the peaches that he’s spread all over his plastic place mat, pretending like they are airplanes and flying them into his mouth.
He’s a sticky, epach covered mess, but he’s not bothering anybody, so Steve leaves it alone.
‘’Enough said,’’ Jasmine nods, strolling over to the counter to scoop dome of the puffs into a small, rectangular bowl for Natasha, ‘’here you go, dad.’’
‘’Thank you, Jazzy. What are you doing your hair so early for,’’ Steve questions, allowing Natasha to feed herself the cereal puffs while he monitors closely.
‘’Just going out with DeShawn,’’ Jasmine shrugs casually, ‘’We’re going on a picnic.’’
Despite her reservedness, Steve can see right through her. She’s just like Petra and himself in that way. She and DeShawn have been dating for a few months now- four, he thinks. He is pretty much in love with her, and he’s guessing that Jasmine has just come around to the realization that she feels the same way he does.
‘’Aww, no more Peter Parker?’’
Jasmine groans then,remembering her crush on her former tutor, ‘’Dad! He’s like so much older than me, and he’s forgotten about it, let it go!’’
Steve laughs at this, watching her try to cover her own smirk, ‘’Okay, okay. Go ahead and finished getting ready for your date.’’
‘’I think I’ll watch James up first,’’ she notes his sticky hands and face, ‘’Come on, James. Let’s go wash up and you can watch some TV.’’
Jasmine picks her brother up, placing him on her hip and exiting the kitchen just in time for Olivia to join them.
‘’What did he even eat,’’ Olivia questions to which Jasmine snorts.
‘’Dad gave him peaches,’’ Jasmine explains carrying her little brother around the corner as she does so.
‘’Dad, you know he’s not good with peaches, right,’’ Olivia quivers an eyebrow at the parent in front of her, who shrugs noncommittally.
‘’Slipped my mind.’’
In the past year or so, Olivia has taken to calling Steve her dad. He’s been there or her so much thus far, and she considers no one else when asked about her dad. He loves her, she loves him and that’s all it is to them.
‘’Where’s your mother,’’ Steve questions, wiping some crumbs from Natasha’s face as she joyfully munches on her cereal.
‘’She’s taking a shower,’’ Olivia responds, reaching into the cabinet for some cereal of her own, ‘’She said she’ll be out soon.’’
Olivia has grown into a kind young woman, too, and is now eleven years old. She managed to skip another grade, and is now in the seventh grade at a magnet school for arts and science. She’s rocking her grades, but it’s a boarding school in Brooklyn. This is her first weekend home in a month, now that the school year is over, since she stayed to work on final projects and term papers.
‘’You don’t want any pancakes or anything? A nice home cooked meal?’’
She raises an eyebrow at him yet again, looking so much like him when she does that.
‘’You burnt eggs last Sunday before church.’’
‘’How do you even know that? You weren’t even here?’’
‘’Word travels. Jasmine talks. I’m good with cereal,’’ Olivia responds, pouring hr cereal and milk into a bowl before sitting down at her usual spot at the table, ‘’Are you taking mom anywhere?’’
Today, the two of you are celebrating the first Saturday of summer. You’ve been tired and working, too, trying to get the kids to where they need to be. Steve takes James to preschool, you take Nat to her babysitter’s place, and the two of you make your way to your work places. After work, Steve picks up Nat, and you pick up Joshua. Jasmine usually gets money in the morning to pick up dinner on nights where you don’t have to wait for her to get done with practice, or she makes dinner if it’s not a church night.
‘’We’re going to go to the movies without you kids,’’ Steve Adams waiting to see his daughter’s reaction.
‘’Joke’s on you, I’d rather watch them at home,’’ she shrugs, causing Steve to laugh as she eats her cereal.
‘’You’re not funny,’’ he says despite his own reaction, picning Natasha up, ‘’Okay, I think she just pooped herself. I’m gonna change her.’’
‘’I’ll clean the table when I get through eating,’’ Olivia commits, and Steve thanks her before heading into your bedroom to change his baby girl.
The two of you converted your small home office into a small room for Joshuam, and Natasha sleeps in your room. When Jasmine heads to college, you’ll more than likely move Olivia to her room, Joshua to Olivia’s, and Natasha will have her own room.
‘’Stinky,’’ Steve makes a show of covering his nose to shield it from the scent of Natashas diaper, causing the baby to laugh at the silliness of her dad.
‘’You’re so overly dramatic,’’ you peak, causing Steve to look up at you.
You’ve just emerged from your shared bathroom, cloaked in your robe and donning a towel on your head.
‘’Well hello to you, too, honey.’’
‘’Baby, why didn’t you wake me up,’’ you sit on the bed handing him a diaper form Natasha’s changing table, ‘’What’s that all about?’’
‘’You looked so peaceful,’’ he shrugged, ‘’I let you sleep.’’
‘’You’re just as tired as I am,’’ you protest, to which he snorts.
‘’I don’t stay up till twelve watching television. I’m an early bird. You're A night owl.’’
‘’Yeah, because your baby doesn’t sleep, Steve.’’
‘’How is she only my baby when she doesn’t sleep,’’ Steve finishes changing her diaper as you pull her into your arms, pressing kisses to her tiny face while Stev discards the dirty diaper and wipes.
‘’You’re annoying,’’ you roll your eyes playfully, causing your husband to chuckle freely at your wit.
‘’Same to you, boo.’’
He kisses your forehead then your lips before you recline in bed, Natahsa pressed to your chest as you gently hum.
Steve is beaming ear-to-ear, having worried for so many years that he would never have this after he lost Petra. But here you are, and he’s so happy. You’ve got two beautiful kids together, and you treat your biological kids just the same.
And you, with no makeup on, just having gotten up from the morning, humming as your baby girl begins to close her eyes to go to sleep… he has never been more in love with any image.
‘’Want me to make you some coffee, babe?’’
‘’Please,’’ you nod, ‘Her eyes are fluttering back open. There’s no way she’s going to sleep.’’
Steve exits to do as you request, and returns to see the baby girl sitting next to you, propped up on some pillows as you lean back against your bed, scrolling through the channels to find something that will keep your baby’s limited interest.
‘’She gets this from you,’’ you jest, ‘’Being picky.’’
‘’I’m not picky. My standards are high. Wouldn’t have married you if they weren’t,’’ Steve confesses, pressing a kiss to your lips and placing the coffee in your hands.
‘’Nice save, Rogers,’’ you compliment, ‘’Thank you, babe.’’
‘’No problem,’’ Steve grins yet again, pulling your daughter into his laps as he leans back against the pillows with you, ‘’So. What are we watching?’’
Your day goes pretty lazily. You feed your middle kids, make sure that James and at take their naps. Make sure Olivia takes some time to rest instead of just moving around trying to help, and wait for Jasmine to get back from her date.
That night, at about six, you try to watch a movie with your babies.
The operative word there being ‘’try’’.
Natasha is whining, and is currently being switched back and forth between you and Steve each time that you do, Olivia is in the middle of the bed, with James lying on his stomach right next to her. Jasmine is currently sitting in the arm chair, multi-tasking between braiding her hair and eating.
It’s chaotic but it’s family centered,which is nice.
‘’I don’t get this movie.’’
‘’He’s the bad guy,’’ James boos, and you do your best to stifle a laugh.
You fail.
‘’Yeah, Jay. He’s the bad guy,’’ Jasmine agrees, watching the cartoon villian run away from the hero, ‘’Who's your favorite hero?’’
James points to the sole female hero, who is running across the screen now.
‘’Good choice,’’ Steve approves, shifting so that Natasha is lying against his chest, ‘’Jazzy, come put your sister in her crib, please.’’
The oldest child rises from her chair, pulling the baby into her arms before gently placing her in her crib, ‘’She sleeps through everything.’’
‘’Finally,’’ you mumble, stretching out a bit before James moves so that he cuddled up between you and Steve, ‘’Hi there.’’
‘’Hi, mommy.Hi, daddy,’’ he snuggles beneath the colors establishing the fact that he’ll be there until Steve transports him to his bedroom later.
‘’Hey, son,’’ Steve tucks the blanket around him, before settling in to finish the movie with your oldest three children.
This is what he’s always dreamed of. He always thought he’d have it with Petra, but he’s glad to have you as his life partner, someone who's right by his side.
And he’s not sure what tomorrow will bring, but for today, he’s food.
Because as far as he is concerned, God has blessed him with unexpected gifts, and it’s only going to get better from here.
The End
DISCLAIMER- I own no rights to any of the Marvel characters or their fictional world, planets, galaxies, etc.
@ashanti-notthesinger @destinio1 @afraiddreamingandloving @airis-paris14 @syreanne @chaneajoyyy @90sinspiredgirl @shemiahsmelanin @zillmonger @skysynclair19 @marvelpotterlove @constantlycravingtheunknown @imaginewhoever @wakanda-inspired @pocmarvelworks @theunsweetenedtruth @dreampovx @adrioola21 @supremethunda @thisiskayesworld @mcusocialimagines @priya212 @kumkaniudaku @airis-paris14 @alexundefined @fonville-designs @dramaqueenamby @mellowjellow6 @oceanscorazon @nerd-lovely @fonville-designs @akimi-youngblood @yoyolovesbucky @fd-writes @areubeingserved-too @areubeingserved @thisbrokencapulet @squeackygee @melidris1 @honeydew-melanin
#steve rogers x reader#single dad steve rogers#singledad!steverogers#steve rogers x reader imagine#steve rogers x you#steve rogers imagine#steve rogers imagines#black reader#reader insert#reader insert fanfic
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Not Your Love Song: Chapter 14
Marked
Book 2: Not Your Love Song
Chapter 14
[ Previous | First | Next ]
I look at these kids sometimes and I realize that I’ve forgotten everything about being in high school.
Rory stares down at the message from Darrik on his phone, gaze flicking back to the professor at the front of the lecture hall after a moment has passed. He cares about music theory—it’s one of the foundation courses for his major—but he’s not sure he really needs it. He’s been writing and selling songs since he was in middle school. There’s probably something he’s going to learn here which’ll help him get to that next level, but he can also probably ignore it for a little while.
Besides. There’s always the recording available online after, if he needs to review.
You do realize I was in high school just last year, he types back. On the other hand, I’m happy to forget everything about it.
He hopes it makes Darrik laugh, rather than making him feel weird about their age difference. He locks the phone, sets it on top of his notebook and picks up his pen.
There’s no time to write before it buzzes again. Alaric this time, the message popping up and fading too quickly for Rory to read it.
If Rory wants to be a good student, he should shove his phone deep in his bag and ignore it.
Or he could just ignore this discussion of four part harmony as something he’ll never try to pull off with Phoenix Rising—Andy doesn’t sing, and while Stormy’s enthusiastic, she’s only passable, not great.
Rory unlocks his phone, and Alaric’s message pops up.
Why is Dayton offering now to carry children when I want them? I know it might be important someday, but I’m nineteen. I don’t want to think about being a father. I’m still trying to figure out how to be a leader. And how to play football instead of going to war.
Rory bites the insides of his cheeks to keep himself from laughing out loud.
Because Clan is weird, he replies. And your Clan is a very particular brand of old-fashioned weird. There are Clan out there that like Mages and don’t feel the need to set up secret societies with lines of succession. Like Darrik’s family. Rory’s never asked about the humans that are born into Alaric’s family, but he can’t think it goes well.
A fresh message in yet another conversation thread pops up.
Pawel said I should use the cards because they’re traditional. I could try something else. Like bowls of water. Or crystals.
Yeah. Rory isn’t getting anything done, not if Kit’s free now, too. He resigns himself to having three conversations at once, although for the moment, he resolutely ignores the sudden stream of incoming texts from Alaric and Darrik while he responds to his group chat with Kit and Shane.
Well, you need to use your cards with Thorne, because that’s your assignment. Working with me isn’t for a grade, remember? We just need to do what you’re most comfortable with. What’s safest for Lorraine.
The professor’s voice goes silent, and Rory quickly scribbles down the notes that he’s paused for them to take. As long as he looks busy, his cell phone use should fly under the radar. He hopes. The girl in the seat two to his left glances over when his phone buzzes again. Rory scoops it up to hold in his free hand so the buzz won’t vibrate noisily against his desk.
Did you talk to Darrik? Shane asks.
There was an article about her in the paper this morning. About the benefit concert and the fund for the family, Kit sends. They mentioned her moving to Sunnyview this weekend, so that sounds like a real thing.
So if we want the hospital, you need to talk to Darrik, Shane adds.
Rory chews on the inside of his lip. Yeah, I know. I’ll try to do that today and get back to you. Okay? I haven’t asked him about Saturday yet, either.
He closes that conversation and switches to the thread which has a picture from Darrik. It’s an overview of Darrik’s classroom, taken at an awkward angle which manages to maintain privacy of all the students by not showing a single face. There are more than a dozen kids in the room, and three have their heads on the desk, while one is leaned back in the chair, mouth open, looking like he’s snoring. Three girls have made a small circle in one corner, and are painting each others’ nails. Two students look like they’re working on a project together. Most are just playing with their phones.
Study hall, Darrik says. Which is as boring for me as it is for them. It’s a struggle not to sleep through 6th period every day.
Which is obviously why you’re texting me.
You’re the most entertaining person I know.
It’s a lie. It’s flirtatious, and outrageous, and so obviously untrue, but it still makes Rory smile and flush at the compliment.
If I’m interrupting, you can tell me to stop, Darrik adds. I used to text Noah in the middle of his classes because I’d forget when they were. He once had his phone confiscated and after that he sat down at my computer and put all his classes in my calendar.
Noah is still such a huge part of Darrik’s life. Rory can’t think of a conversation they’ve had yet where Darrik hasn’t invoked Noah’s name within a few sentences.
It’s okay. The professor has a no phones rule but he’s not going to call me out in the middle of a lecture. At least, Rory’s pretty sure he won’t. His phone’s quieter than a few others that he’s heard go off repeatedly during this class on other days. Besides, you’re not the only one texting me today.
Oh? Who else is bored out of their minds? I mean, I did just have to break up a squabble about whether Joshua scored a goal or not while playing paper football. He didn’t, in case you’re curious. It was obviously outside the goal posts.
I have no idea why you went back to high school voluntarily. I couldn’t wait to get away from people like that. Maybe it’s too blunt, but Rory presses send before he can reconsider it. And I have a group chat with Kit & Shane. Plus Alaric and I are always talking about something or other.
There’s no immediate response, so Rory switches back to his conversation with Alaric while waiting. There’s a picture attached, of Chris, eyes scrunched close, one hand on his chest, mouth open as he laughs, followed by a series of texts.
Chris sent me this when I told him.
Why is Chris laughing at me?
Dayton just asked me this again. She says we should make it part of our formal alliance. I’m not marrying her. I am definitely not having sex with her. Although it’d be a good alliance, I know, and if I was straight I’d do it. Theobald would probably approve except I don’t think he likes Dayton.
Rory would be laughing if he weren’t in the middle of class. He puts a hand over his face, smothers the sound that almost escapes and pinches the bridge of his nose. He breathes deeply, gets himself under control.
I don’t think she expects you to have sex with her. Use artificial insemination. When you’re thirty. And did she ask you to marry her? She’s probably just asking you to join your lines, which isn’t a bad idea. Make sure there’s some kind of out in the contract, in case you change your minds. I mean, maybe in ten or twenty years you’ll be ready for kids. You might think having a surrogate ready to go is helpful then.
Rory hesitates, then adds, We’re still just kids ourselves. Whole lives ahead and all that. Don’t sign anything you’re not ready to make good on in a decade.
He touches the notification that pops up from Darrik. I remember you talking about Alaric. He’s your roommate. Who are Kit and Shane?
It’s the perfect opening. Rory’s fingers stutter and stall on the keyboard.
This should be easy. He doesn’t need to go into detail. And he can’t see Darrik’s expression—if he’s angry, or offended, or hurt somehow. They’ve both got time to think through their words and tailor their responses. It’s perfect.
Rory inhales, exhales slowly, then types.
We’re all in Coven together—that’s the magical club on campus. Kit’s from a predictive line, and he’s learning traditional magic. Shane’s just a totally typical Mage. They both might be interested in helping reach out to Lora. If you think that might still be an option.
Class ends, and Rory shrugs into his jacket then packs up. He doesn’t have a class now, so he texts Kit and Shane, I’m heading to get food if you want to sit down and talk about options. I’m going to the Townhouse Dining Hall. As soon as it sends, he shoves the phone deep in his pocket and shoulders his bag.
He feels the first buzz when he’s halfway to his dorm, and ignores it. But it keeps buzzing, so either he’s getting a string of texts or—he pulls it out, sees Darrik’s name on the screen and answers the call. “Aren’t you in study hall?”
“I have five minutes while one class heads out and the next one comes in, yes, Rachel, please put your report right in that bin there. Can you tell the rest of class as they come in? Excuse me.” Shuffling movement, then Darrik’s voice is muffled. “They like to listen to everything.”
“Can you blame them? High school life is boring.” Rory remembers writing a song about one of his teachers, making up an entire second life for him outside of school. It’s never been a popular song, and Rory resolved when he recorded it never to tell the truth behind the lyrics.
“The class coming in now—these are smart kids. They’ll go somewhere eventually.” Another shuffling sound, and Darrik’s voice comes clearer. “I was wondering what you’re up to tomorrow night. I could pick you up and we could go out somewhere around PHU, if you want to talk about these plans you’re making.” He hesitates, adds more quietly, “For Lora. Which yes, that option is still on the table. But I need information before I can talk to her family, because we can’t do anything without their permission.”
“She’s being transferred soon,” Rory says quietly. “Do you think it’d be better for us to do this in the hospital? Just in case she wakes up or something and needs medical care.”
Silence aside from the sound of Darrik’s breath.
“Darrik?”
“Do you think she’ll wake up?” Darrik says slowly. “Do you think you can make a ritual that will help wake her up?”
“It’s not what we’re trying to do, but it’s a possible side effect.” Rory’s not sure exactly what they’re doing, other than trying reach out to someone who is currently beyond any normal kind of reach. “If she did, that’d be good, right?”
“It’d be great.” No hesitation, only the sound of relief in Darrik’s voice. “I don’t know why I was fine, why I’m the only one who came out of that mess alive and awake and intact. And I just want her to be okay.”
“We’ll do our best.” There’s nothing more that Rory can promise. “And dinner tomorrow sounds good. I’m meeting up with Shane and Kit tonight, and I’ll make sure I have good information for you.” A bell rings in the background, and Darrik curses under his breath.
“I’ve got to go. They might be smart kids, but this class doesn’t follow the five minute rule. If I’m thirty seconds late, they decide class is canceled and disappear.” The click of a door, sudden noise in the background, blurring Darrik’s voice. “I’ll pick you up at six. Make a reservation somewhere you like, okay?”
“Okay,” Rory agrees, and the line clicks silent.
He never managed to ask about Saturday, either. He’ll just have to do that tomorrow night.
His phone buzzes, and he glances down, half expecting it to to be Darrik, but no, it’s Alaric’s message popping up. Dayton wants to arrange another alliance.
Rory snorts at that, types as he walks. How many alliances can you have with one person? Or is this another thing being written into your alliance contract thing, like babies?
She started by saying we didn’t have to have a formal alliance and now she’s the one mentioning babies. I don’t know why. A pause before another text appears. But not babies this time. I told you about Devon and Aly, right? The Clan from New Hampshire?
He probably did, but Rory can’t remember the details. My head is full of weird ritual things with Kit and Shane so remind me again?
They’re the ones who brought two Clans together along with a Mage community, and they’re still bringing in other Talented folk as they find them. Because Talented people are dying in New Hampshire.
Oh, right. Okay, yes, I remember them. Aly’s pregnant, right?
The dots appear and disappear several times before Alaric’s texts come through in a quick stream. Yes, she’s due in a couple months, and everything looks good so far. She wants to find a magical midwife to be with her in the hospital. She’s afraid the plague could impact the baby.
And they also want to talk to your family. Because they’ve got such a good community, and they’re open-minded, and they’re very self-sufficient. Which my Clan is, too—the self-sufficient part. I could help them with that.
But your family could help them with mixing Magic and normal and maybe some ideas for helping other Talented people too and building a community.
Rory wonders why he hasn’t heard about the plague aside from Aly and Devon. Why no one seems worried about it spreading, if it’s had that much of an impact on their Clan communities. What about the plague?
They think it’s gone. No one’s fallen sick in ages, and now there’s a second pregnancy—one of the Mages—that’s passed three months. But they’re still nervous about the babies.
It’s understandable. Rory’s caught in the conflict between knowing that Gram would want to know about this—she and Nana and David would want to go in and help these young people—but at the same time, he doesn’t want to put her in the path of danger.
He can’t make that decision for her. Give them my email address, he decides, slowing down his walk so he can finish typing before he goes inside. Once I hear from them, I’ll start up a group thing to get them in touch with my grandparents and with my folks. Mom will want to help, and Dad’s all about rights for Talented people and he’ll help them with setting up a community, all the legal things.
He gets back a small series of smiling faces. Thanks. I’ll tell them to email you.
Okay, Rory sends. He stands just outside the door that leads into the public entrance to the basement under the Townhouse, and he stays to one side while typing. I’m meeting up with Kit and Shane to do Mage stuff. We’ll try to keep it to the dining hall so we don’t stink up our room.
He shoves his phone back in his pocket; he doesn’t need to see Alaric’s response to that one. And if anyone else needs to find him right now, they can wait until after Rory’s seen Kit and Shane. He wants to make sure he has something to share with Darrik when they go out tomorrow.
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office AU - PJO / HOO fanfiction
MONDAY - TUESDAY - WEDNESDAY - THURSDAY - FRIDAY - SATURDAY - SUNDAY
Summary: Sometimes, you just have a bad day. And sometimes, your bad days end up being in the swimming pool with your boss. Annabeth has a rough day and as if this wasn’t hard enough, a confusing evening with a shirtless Percy Jackson is about to follow.
Words: 4776
Warnings: none || AO3
No one read it beta, so if you find any mistakes, let me know!
WEDNESDAY
When Annabeth entered the office the next morning, Mr Jackson was already there. He looked tired but the look on his face when he saw Annabeth in her dress was priceless. His mouth dropped open and he stared at her for a moment before he shook his head and brought out a little: “Morning”, burying his head in paperwork the second after he said it.
The sea-blue dress Annabeth had decided on this morning seemed like a better choice, compared to the not-so-professional outfit from yesterday. She felt good wearing it, especially since the white lace applicants at the neckline and the hem made it look a little more prep.
Brushing her blond hair out of her eyes, she realised a pony tail would probably have been the better choice but too late for that now. She took a deep breath and then went into Mr Jackson’s office to get her tasks for today, if there were any.
Now that she stood right in front of him, he seemed to be staring even more. His eyes wandered over the hem of her dress all the way up to her face, where they finally settled. His expression was a bit dreamy but went back to being friendly after she said good morning.
“Good morning, Ms Chase. Having a good one so far?”, he asked and cleared his throat. He had some articles spread out in front of him and was reading.
Annabeth simply nodded and held up her notepad a little higher. “What’s on for today, sir?” The coffee was already made and there weren’t any left-over tasks from yesterday so if this day should not be taking and re-directing phone calls all day, he would have to give her some tasks.
“First, I would like you to go to Graphics and pick up some new sketches from Ms Dare, I need them as soon as possible to decide which one will be on the cover for next month. And then…” The pen in his fingers jiggled up and down, revealing how unsettled he was. Annabeth noticed the dark circles under his eyes and frowned. He should work less. “Then it’d be great if you could email Ms McLean and remind her of our meeting this afternoon at my office. I think it was at 3pm.”
Writing down the time Annabeth nodded. “Sure sir, anything else?”
He smiled wearily. “No, thanks Ms Chase. This is it for now. It’d be great if you could come back when you’re done and we check whether there are any new things you could do.”
“Of course, sir.”, Annabeth answered, not able to hold herself from smiling back at him. It didn’t last long but that moment they smiled at each other, Annabeth felt warm and excited. Her stomach twisted and she had to pull away or she’d drown in these eyes.
The way down to Graphics wasn’t far but, surprisingly, people greeted Annabeth. Word obviously got around that she was working for the boss now and people seemed to feel the need to be nice to her. Leo Valdez, head of IT, waved at her as she passed and Grover Underwood, head of Natural Resources, shot her a shy smile. On the other hand, as soon as she entered an office, people started to whisper and raise their eyebrows, giving her a hard time not to turn around and tell them what she thought of them. When she headed into Graphics her mood was down, nothing left from that smiling-at-each-other-moment back in the office.
What didn’t lift her mood was that Rachel Dare wasn’t there. A girl with dark skin and a stern but beautiful face sat at the desk, looking over some of the paintings and sketches. She had dark long hair and intriguing, nearly black eyes. She looked at Annabeth with a curious expression and raised an eyebrow.
“How can I help you?”, she asked and leaned closer, carefully not touching any of the artwork.
“I’m looking for Miss Dare?”, Annabeth said and pulled her notepad closer towards her chest.
“She’s out getting some new art supplies but I might be able to help you?
“And you are…?”
“Oh”, said the girl and put on a tiny smile. “Reyna. Reyna Avila Ramírez-Arellano.”
She said it really fast and probably hoped to catch Annabeth on the wrong foot but she only smiled dryly. Not today. Not with her. “Good Ms Ramírez-Arellano, do you know when she’ll be back?”
A small wrinkle appeared between her eyebrows but then she noticed Annabeth’s smile and shook her head. “No, I don’t. And I’m sorry. But I’ll wait here anyways so I can tell her whatever it is you need to let her know. There are no secrets between us.”
Something in her voice made Annabeth listen more attentively. The way Reyna said the last sentence, the way she brushed a strand of her hair behind her ear, the quick look on the ground and the back up… Alright.
“So, you’re really close?”, Annabeth asked and Reyna’s eyes widened. But before she could answer she continued: “And her artwork is incredibly good, right? The colours and how it speaks for itself…” Annabeth let her fingertips slide over one of the copies of Rachel’s pictures and Reyna looked lost for words. She nodded, and… did she blush? Aw, that was just cute!
“Anyways”, Annabeth then said, pretending nothing had happened, “I’d like to pick up the latest sketches for Mr Jackson. Maybe Ms Dare prepared them somewhere?”
Reyna, still with slightly pink cheeks, nodded, looked around, and then grabbed a pack of pictures. “I think those would be the ones you’re looking for.”
“Thank you, Ms Ramírez-Arellano, please tell Ms Dare I took them.”, Annabeth said and gave Reyna a warm smile and this time the young woman nodded and smiled back shyly.
On her way upstairs, she was confronted with some more whispering and even one finger-pointer which made the little mood-improvement she had had with Reyna Avila Ramírez-Arellano vanish in seconds. She was so upset about this person daring to be so rude that she clutched the notepad and ripped one of the pages in half accidentally. She did nothing to deserve this treatment! She did her job well and worked hard for Mr Jackson who she-
Wait.
Mr Jackson was not the reason, right?
Right?
No one would have noticed whatever was between the two of them, would they? Annabeth bid her lower lip and her thoughts went crazy. Would people have noticed that there was something between them? Was there something between them? Other than that she felt good when she was close to him? That his smile made her smile, too? Annabeth’s stomach warmed up by the thought alone…
She stopped, closed her eyes, and took a deep breath to calm herself down. As she opened her eyes again she saw that she was standing next to the Customer Service office. Good thing, then she could talk to Piper right now. It might distract her. Entering the office, she looked around but couldn’t find anyone familiar. Piper was not on her desk and a few others were empty, too. There was one man, though, who was on the phone, talking and typing on his laptop.
“And are you happier now, Marge?”, he said as Annabeth came closer. He had blue eyes and blond hair with slight curls in it. On his desk, Annabeth could see a bowl full of fruit and a smoothie, probably with açaí berries and other super healthy stuff. He sat on a gymnastic ball and looked up as Annabeth approached his desk. With a quick hand gesture, he made clear it wouldn’t be long until he’d be done.
“Good, I’m glad you’re happier now… mhh-hmm. Yup, all noted down. Uh-huh. And the subscription, I’ll extend it by next year, July? Good. And about your foot, Marge”, he now sounded very concerned, “put some ice on it and if the ointment I recommended won’t work, see a doctor, will you? Good, very good. Then have a lovely day, yes. You too! Goodbye.”
He clicked a button on his headset and smiled up at Annabeth. “How can I help you?”, he asked. Annabeth thought about saying something about this call but then she decided against it – by now she had accepted that everyone in this company had their little quirks. She smiled at him and couldn’t help but notice how healthy he looked. His teeth were straight and shiny, his skin looked clear and his hair did look great, too. Maybe she could get him to tell her his secret some time soon.
“I’m looking for Ms McLean?”
“Ah”, he said and his smile faded, being replaced by a face that clearly said ‘sorry’. “She’s not here and won’t be back until 11. I’m sorry. Is there something I can do for you?”
Annabeth sighed. This was getting better and better today. “Well, who are you? Will you be here when she’s back?”
“Oh, sorry. My name is Will Solace, nice to meet you.”, he said and now the smile was back on. It shone like the sun itself. He stretched out his hand and Annabeth shook it. “I will be here when she returns so I could deliver a message if you’d like me to.”
“Yeah, that’d be good.”, Annabeth said, trying not to sound too disappointed. Will seemed nice. “Could you please remind her of the meeting this afternoon with Mr Jackson?”
Will Solace nodded and wrote it down on a little note pad, sun-shaped. “Yup, will do. Anything else?”
Annabeth shook her head and Will smiled at her. “Then you go and have a good day.”
She thought about Will as she made her way up to her office and the warmth he radiated. She liked the place she worked at more and more, although it bothered her that nothing did go as planned today. Today was an up and down of emotions. When she entered her office, she couldn’t see Mr Jackson so she let herself fall on her chair and leaned back. “I should have gotten myself some coffee…”, she groaned and rubbed her eyes.
“Oh, get me one too, will you please?”, a voice asked from Mr Jackson’s office.
Annabeth frowned and looked into his office again. No one was there.
“Mr Jackson?”, she asked and got back on her feet.
“Yup, right here”, she heard his voice say. She walked into the office and suddenly saw him. He lay on the ground on a carpet and stretched his arms out over his head. He gazed up to her and smiled, his hair fell in his eyes and he turned around so that he would lay on his stomach now.
“What can I do for you?”, he asked casually.
“I just came…”, she started but then realised how silly it was to talk to him like that so she got down on her bottom, sitting casually next to him. This job was something… “I just came back from Graphics and Ms Dare wasn’t there but Ms Ramírez-Arellano. She gave me the sketches, here you go.” She carefully placed them next to his head. “Oh, and afterwards I went to Customer Service and Ms McLean wasn’t there either but Mr Solace will remind her and I’ll send her an email myself again.” Annabeth hesitated. “Uhm, sir?”
“Yeah?”, he raised an eyebrow and studied her face, still without any attempt to get back on his feet. Still, he looked ridiculously good. Supporting himself on his forearms now made his biceps flex and Annabeth admired the shape of his arms for a second too long before him clearing his throat made her come back to reality again.
“Are you okay?”, she now asked hesitantly and watched him carefully.
He laughed and it sounded fuller and he actually rolled to his side and then got back up in a sitting position, crossing his legs. “Yeah, don’t worry. I’m good, it’s just my back, you know? I feel like I was run over by a truck this morning. It’ll be fine, I’m sure.”
Annabeth nodded but bit her lip. “Anything I can do now? New tasks?”, she asked and held her notepad close to her chest.
“No, I don’t think so. Sorry, but taking calls it is for now. But I’ll let you know the second I’ve got something to do for you. But,” he hesitated, “a coffee would be really great.”
Nodding Annabeth turned on her heel and left Mr Jackson’s office. She let herself fall on her chair and her eyes flickered across her STAY HYDRATED note. Shoot, she forgot again. She reached for her water bottle and unscrewed the cap, taking a huge sip. Putting the bottle away she leaned back and closed her eyes for a second. The day had been wearing her down. Maybe a coffee for her would be a good idea, too?
She glanced over at the kitchen area. Since it was around lunch time it was crowded. People would actually fight over the microwave and the boiled water for cup noodles. She sighed and turned on her chair to face the windows instead of her office. Coffee… coffee… Where could she get some coffee?
Right! Annabeth grabbed her purse and shot a last look at her boss’s office. He was laying down again so she thought it would be a good thing to get going now and be back as quickly as possible. On her way down she wrote an email to Piper, remembering her of the meeting. The coffee shop was full, so she got in line and checked some more emails. As she finally stepped in front of the counter, the tall Chinese man stood there, smiling at her.
“What can I get you?”, he asked with a smile on his face. Annabeth looked around, looking for the girl and found her in the back of the shop, smiling at her. These people had been very nice to her the first time she’d been here, too. And, as his sign revealed, Frank seemed happier with his job than any other barista Annabeth had met in NYC ever.
“Two large coffees, please. One with sugar and the other one with milk.”, she said and he nodded, turning around to get going. His girlfriend, at least that’s what Annabeth thought she was, came out of the back and wiped her hands on her apron. Hazel. She’d introduced herself to Annabeth when she came in the first time which Annabeth thought was really nice, but really unusual, too.
“Would you like to take some donuts with you, too? They’re fresh, I just made them!” She pointed at some donuts with blue icing. Annabeth raised an eyebrow but Hazel smiled so brightly that she nodded.
“Yeah, blue is something special, why not?”, she said and smiled back at her.
“He’ll love them”, Hazel said, picking two up and put them in a bag the moment Frank placed the two cups of coffee on the counter. “There you go”, he said with a nod and Annabeth thanked both and payed, then placing some money in their tip jar.
As she stood in the elevator, surrounded by the smell of coffee, and feeling the warmth of the donuts through the bag, she reasoned whether Mr Jackson knew these people or not. They’ve been so nice with her and first time he sent her down he asked her specifically to go to this coffee shop… She would maybe ask him later. As she got back into her office, she could see Mr Jackson sitting in his chair again, talking to someone on the phone. As Annabeth wanted to turn around and sit down he shook his head and waved at her, inviting her in and gestured towards the chair in front of his desk.
“Yes, mom, I’ll come around, yeah. Tell her I love her. I got some work to do, okay? And tell Paul that I’ll call him back, will ya? Thanks, love you too!” He hung up and grinned at Annabeth, rubbing his neck with his hand. “Do I smell coffee?”
“Yes, sir,” she said and placed a cup and the bag with the donuts on his desk, careful not to ruin any important papers. “And donuts.”
Mr Jackson looked as excited as a five-year-old on Christmas as he got the donuts out of the paper bag and placed them on his desk. “Blue icing is my favourite!”, he said and his smile nearly didn’t fit on his face. “Thank you so much!”
As he leaned forward to grab the donut, Annabeth noticed his painful expression and it touched something in her. She didn’t want to see him in so much pain, so she cleared her throat. “Sir”, she began and looked up. Their eyes met and for a second Annabeth forgot what she wanted to say. These green eyes caught her every time. “Maybe…”, she started slowly and blinked to catch her breath. “Maybe you should do some yoga. Or going for a walk, a swim? The water would probably do your back good.”
The word water had her boss jolting upright. He raised one eyebrow and looked at her. His whole position changed and his scepticism turned into a smile. “Uh-huh”, he made and leaned back in his chair, the cup of coffee in one hand. “Sounds very well-thought through and responsible. Thanks for the suggestion.” He paused for a second and suddenly Annabeth could see something in his eyes that unsettled her a bit. “But… just swimming can be a bit boring if you’re all by yourself.”
Did he just… ? What??? For a second Annabeth forgot how to talk, how to breath. All she could remember was how to stare at her boss. Mr Jackson though hesitated. He seemed like he was thinking about his next words carefully but the second they were out, Annabeth knew this could not have been the case.
“Care to join me?”
She didn’t mishear, did she? What was going on her? Very subtly she pinched herself in the soft skin right above her knee. Nope, she was definitely awake. Slowly Mr Jackson’s confidence flickered. His cheeks flushed pink and he rubbed his neck with one of his hands. Annabeth could only guess but she could not look much better; her cheeks probably were fire-brigade red from how much they were burning.
“Pardon?”
That was all she could stutter and there was it again. Annabeth felt a weird pull in her stomach. If he would repeat his question maybe she’d have the guts to agr- no. This was her job. This man was her boss. No matter how high the forces of attraction were between them was, she would not risk her job because a man in power was making eyes at her.
“Don’t worry, never mind. Do you have any suggestions for a swimming pool?”, Mr Jackson asked and in that second the telephone on her desk saved her life. It rang and Annabeth, still holding on to her cup of coffee, shrugged helpless, got up, and turned around to leave the office as fast as she could.
The rest of the day was hell. Whenever she would glance over at Mr Jackson’s office he was busy, sometimes stretching his muscles, walking around a phone in hands or talking to someone, sometimes looking out of the window. She forgot the donut in there and when the call that had saved her finally ended her coffee was cold. This day was getting better and better. And her thoughts… if she could only control her thoughts!
They were full of images of her boss in swim shorts, them swimming together, and a lot more inappropriate things. Concentrating on tasks was out of question. Annabeth also did something what she’d never done before, in no other job. She counted the minutes until she finally – officially – could leave. “Goodbye Mr Jackson”, was all she told him, quickly and without looking him directly in the eye, before she stormed off and left the office.
The moment her head popped out of the water and fresh air filled her lungs she felt all right again for the first time since Mr Jackson had asked her to come swimming with him. Although her cheeks were burning at the thought of this situation, she now was sure it had been a mistake, nothing serious. Just… a joke. While thinking this she reached the end of the lane and hold onto the border as her eyes caught familiar ones. Green ones. Annabeth nearly choked on the water as she realised that there, right in front of her, Percy Jackson said, legs in water and only dressed in swimming shorts. Her jaw dropped open and her boss suddenly seemed to realise who was there right in front of him, too. His expression was puzzled at first but a few seconds afterwards a big smile decorated his face.
“Fancy seeing you here, Ms Chase”, he said and laughed. “It’s like we’re, mh, kind of… drawn towards the other, mh?”, he noticed and chuckled.
“Y-yes sir”, Annabeth answered flatly. Of all the pools in New York City he chose that one? Really? It was unbelievable. Her head started to do calculate the probability but before she could finish he started talking again and she got distracted.
“Isn’t the world a tiny place?”, he asked now as if he’d read her thoughts.
“Just what I was thinking, sir.”, she answered and Mr Jackson frowned.
Mr Jackson frowned. “This isn’t work, Annabeth.” Wow. Did he just call her by her first name? It was silly and girlish but Annabeth wanted him to say her name again. She wanted him to call her by her name. “There is no need to call me sir or Mr Jackson.”, he smiled. “I’m Percy”, with that he stretched out his hand and smiled warmly at Annabeth, waiting for her to shake his hand.
The second their hands touched each other both experienced a similar feeling. A short blow of electricity ran through their hands and their eyes locked again, a bit breathless they watched the other. Annabeth still couldn’t believe this was really happening. She could feel his warmth and his dark hair hung messily in his eyes. She did not dare to let her gaze wander any further down… By the Gods, she had to. His figure was, as expected, muscular but not unduly. He had defined muscles and they only added to his athletic figure. As she dared to look back up in his face again she could see that he was watching her, an amused smile on his face and one eyebrow raised.
“So, si- eh, Percy, how is your back?”, she asked hastily, pulling her hand back in the water, and, to avoid any further inconveniences, she fixed her gaze on his eyes. His green eyes, as green as the deep ocean and… no. What did he just say? Annabeth slightly shook her head.
“… so I’m really feeling better. Thanks. I haven’t been swimming for ages. I nearly forgot how good it feels to be in the water.”, he said and glided into the water right next to her. He pushed himself off the back wall and swam, head underwater, a few feet away only to pop back up in the middle of the now nearly empty pool. What time was it? She had no idea, must have been late.
Mr Ja- Percy leaned back and floated on his back for a while, eyes closed. Why would anyone in the universe punish her so much? The tension she felt in her stomach only grew but she couldn’t look away from these arms, this stomach, and… Dear Gods, no. She shook her head and as she dared to look back at him, Annabeth realised his eyes weren’t closed anymore. He was watching her with a wolfish grin.
“Like what you see?”, he asked her but before she had a chance of actually answering that question he let himself sink like a stone, dived, and popped up right in front of her. Close. Very close. These green eyes were so confusing. He smiled and then dived again, rolling backwards underwater. It didn’t seem like he was made to walk the earth but rather to swim. His movements were effortless, strong, and perfect in form and style.
“Yeah, your skills are pretty impressive.”, Annabeth answered as he popped up again. “Have you done swimming as a sport before?”
That was obviously not the answer he’d expected and Annabeth chuckled over his perplexed expression. “Well, no”, he stammered. “But thanks, I guess.”
Boosted with confidence over seeing that not only he could catch her unprepared Annabeth splashed a bit of water into his face. “Welcome”, she said and smiled at him. “Want to race to the other side?” And before he could say yes, Annabeth dived and missed the sparks in his eyes, the excitement, and the genuine smile of Percy. But he wasn’t slow in going after her. Although she had a head start he caught up to her pretty quick. The problem: Annabeth had nearly reached the end of the lane. Suddenly she felt a hand on her ankle pulling. Just before she could touch the border she was disturbed and pulled back, water rushing into her mouth and nose. Snorting she came back up and her head broke through the surface.
“What the-? You cheated!”, she cried and whisked the water out of her eyes. Her boss grinned at her triumphantly.
“There were no rules, right?”, he asked and shrugged. But Annabeth would not let him get away with that. Since she was at the shallow end of the pool, her feet touched the ground. She stepped closer to him and splashed some more water into his face.
“Cheater”, she said and his dazzled expression made her laugh. He looked at her for two seconds before he started his counterattack. Soon this evolved into a full water fight. Annabeth was laughing and trying to escape the waves Percy would sent in her direction but he seemed to move lighter in the water, had a better grip on the ground, and the water seemed to not hold him back from moving as much as her. Both were soon shouting insults at the other and laughing in between or every time they got hit by a wave, pulled underwater or ended up being plunged under the surface. Although Percy had an easier time moving around the water, Annabeth could guess most of his attacks before he even made them and escape them before the water hit her. The fact that this man was actually her boss had slipped Annabeth’s mind and only came back the second he won the water fight.
To finally stop her from outsmarting him, Percy had wrapped his arms around Annabeth’s middle, pressing her close to his chest. Both were breathing heavily and Annabeth tried to escape his strong arms, laughing, and trying to regain control over the situation.
Then it hit her.
This was her boss. Percy Jackson held her. Close. Very close. To his muscly chest. In his strong arms. His breath stroked over her shoulders, sending a shiver down her neck and spine. She suddenly was very aware of the fact that only the thin layer of her red bathing suit hindered their skin from actually touching. Did someone turn the heat on? Was the water that hot all the time?
Annabeth could feel Percy loosening his grip but he didn’t let her go. His hands now lay casually on her wait and – did he push her? He turned her around, slightly pushing and pulling, and suddenly she had to face him. His expression was hard to read and Annabeth wondered what he was thinking. His eyes and hers locked and for a moment Annabeth forgot about him being her boss. For a moment, there were only these green eyes, his smile, and his dark, wet hair. What would she give to just let her hand glide through his hair, touch his cheek, stroke over them and…
Water splashed over them. A kid had cannonballed into the water, right next to where they stood. Instinctively Annabeth had closed her eyes. As she opened them again, Percy had stepped back from her. He looked… ashamed? Seeing him looking at her like this made her stomach ache in pain.
Laying in bed this evening, Annabeth had a hard time falling asleep, not knowing what to think of this. Or what to feel.
#pjo#hoo#percy jackson#percy jackson and the olympians#heroes of olympus#heroes of the olympus#annabeth chase#percabeth#percy jackson fanfiction#pjo fanfic#fanfiction#fanfic#percabeth au#office au#pjo au#hoo au#piper mclean#grover underwood#leo valdez#jason grace#thalia grace#hazel levesque#frank zhang#will solace#solangelo#rachel elizabeth dare#reyna avila ramirez arellano#riordanverse
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Hazel Eyes & Cake Pops [Ch. 18]
Read on Ao3 here
The rest of the day was me watching on the side as another photographer came to take pictures for the inside of the magazine. Rachel and Chloe were having fun being together and doing outfit changes. I was told to not take any pictures on my Polaroid while this was happening. It was around lunchtime, they weren't done just yet, so I left the building and called Kate, hoping she was available.
"Hey Max." She answered happily.
"Hey, finished with the photoshoot but they still have more to do with another guy."
"How cool! Was it fun?"
"Super fun, I had a great time! But, I forgot to ask. What are your plans for today?"
She laughed lightly, "Nothing, really. I went to church, did more sketches, watched TV, and practiced on my violin. I'm just writing now to pass the time."
"You're definitely more productive than me. What are you writing?"
"You know, friends keep telling me to revise and revise the film. I think today will finally be the last time I do it."
"Do you want to read it to me? See if it sounds good?"
"Maybe when I'm done! We actually found actresses, so they're finally filming some scenes here and there."
"I really need to see it sometime."
"You will. Do you want to see the filming or the final product?"
I hummed, "Hm... both!"
"I'll see if you could come watch! They have been wanting to meet you, actually."
"They sound cool, but they do help you with revisions, right?"
"They do sometimes, but they depend on me to write it out for them."
I sat there quietly. I could faintly hear music playing on Kate's side, papers moving around, and her putting her pencil down. It wasn't weird, strangely. It was very comforting knowing she was there, listening. I was sweeping my feet against the concrete, listening to the scrape on the bottom of my shoe.
"I have an idea." She said.
"What is it?"
"Describe something to me. I'll try to guess what it is."
"Like, things I'm seeing right now?"
"Where you are, things you like, anything at all and I'll try to guess. We could make it twenty questions."
"Sure, sounds fun," I looked around me to describe it, but everything was so generic, "Okay, I got it, you ask something."
"Alright, um, is it a place?"
"No." I started to walk around the parking lot again. I've passed every single car for the fifth time already.
"Are you looking at it right now?"
"No."
I heard Kate tapping her pencil, "Is it a living thing?"
"Yes."
"Is it an animal?"
"No." I smiled. I wonder if she was ever going to get it.
"Is it a person?"
"Yes."
"Is it a boy?"
"Nope."
"Is it a girl?"
"Yes."
"Is she... blonde?"
"Yes."
"Is she a celebrity?"
"No."
She huffed, "I thought you would be describing Rachel."
"Nope, that would be too easy."
"Okay then... Is she a character from something?"
"No."
"Does she go to our school?"
"Yes."
"Do you have a class with her?"
"Yes."
"Is she tall?"
"Uh... no."
"Do you see her a lot?"
"Yes."
"Is she pretty?"
"Yes, she's very pretty."
"Do you like her?"
I paused for a second. I wasn't sure how she was interpreting "like." I could only assume she meant in a friendly way, but I could only take a chance. It was true either way. I hesitated for a long time. Too long, in fact.
"Max? Are you here?" Kate spoke up again.
"... Maybe. Those count as questions, by the way."
"Dang it, you did that on purpose!"
"You have one more question."
Kate was silent for a moment. I continued to walk around, starting to feel the weather cool down and it was even a little windy. Kate started to hum along to the song in the background, thinking of what her last question could be.
Then Kate gasped, "It's me, isn't it?!"
"You're correct!" I physically jumped.
"What do you mean maybe for the other question?! I thought you liked me!"
"Hey, I was just trying to throw you off." That was a lie. She actually sounded a little sad.
She let out what sounded like a "hmph!". I giggled at the sound. She had to be biting into her cheek and furrowing her eyebrows. It was cute in my head. She wasn't mad though. We started to giggle together. I leaned on the building and held my hand over my mouth, easing my giggling to a stop.
"You're so silly, Max." Kate said.
"This game was your idea."
"You did well though! You tricked me."
"Why thank you. I never got that before."
That topic ended with our laughter stopping at the same time.
"Oh Max, Victoria actually left a little bit ago and she said she won't be back until tonight. If you guys finish the photoshoot soon, you can come back to my apartment and hang out. Plus, we could definitely surprise her if Rachel is already inside."
"I'll ask them! Rachel will love to do that. What is your roommate doing that she'll be back late?"
"She's a party girl, so she takes advantage of the weekend for it, I think I mentioned it to you before. Anyway, I have to call another friend right now, so let me know if you can come over or not, okay?"
"Okay Kate, maybe see you later?"
"Maybe! Bye Max."
I sighed, the corners of my mouth persisted into a grin. My cheeks felt hot as I pressed my hands into them and I stared at the ground trying to comprehend the feeling I was having. It was so different and new. It made my heart feel so full and my mind so flustered and clattered with pure happiness.
"Whoa, Max Machina," Chloe's voice interrupted, "Are you sick?"
Chloe towered over me, back in her ripped jeans and tank top, with her fingers through her hair. All the makeup from her face was gone too.
"No, I don't know what I'm feeling right now." I looked up at her, letting out a dreamy sigh.
"I think what you're looking for is gay piece of garbage."
I leaned my head back against the building, "Yeah..."
"Holy shit. Well, when you're done, we can finally go out somewhere."
"You guys are done?"
"For today," she said, irritated, "I dunno how she does this every day. And like it."
"I guess you'll won't be becoming a model."
"Hell no, I'll stick to coffee making. That other guy was so fucking annoying."
"And the alcoholic drink making thing.”
"That too! I start for real on Saturday, but it’s piece of cake.”
"I wish I was confident like that.”
“And you can, just keep acting like you’re confident. I think that’s how that advice goes.”
When Rachel finally came out, we all hopped into Chloe's car and went out to eat. We were searching for a fast food for now; Rachel said, and I quote, "fuck me up." We all agreed on eating In-N-Out, but it was a far drive.
"Had fun, Max?" Rachel looked back at me, her tone was like a mom picking her kid up from a birthday party.
"I did! Thanks for allowing me to take pictures for such a high-end magazine."
"I wanted you to take those pictures! It was fun and I'll ask for some shots for your portfolio."
"Oh yeah, I forgot about that." I thumped myself on my forehead. Rachel only laughed at my forgetfulness.
"By the way, did you just walk around outside earlier, like in a circle? I was wondering where you went."
"Yeah, I was talking to Kate on the phone. Which reminds me, do we have time to go see her? She said that we can come over and you could scare her roommate."
"Oh, my god, yes! I need to do that! After we eat, and then we'll talk about how we're going to do that."
It was an hour-long drive. All three of us talked about random things like graffiti and signs we pass to Rachel's sudden follower growth. She even started trending for a bit online from the interview. It all ended very quickly and Rachel was grateful for that, as she explained that she stayed home to reply to any fans on all her social medias and to not get hounded by paparazzi trying to find her.
"Should we use the drive-through instead?" I asked.
"I mean, if people are going to recognize us, then so be it. My manager's probably finding bodyguards right now."
"You mean just you two, right?"
Without missing a beat, Rachel replied, "Nope, you too, Max."
"... Excuse me?"
"You too, Max, I told you before that I was going to upload a photo of us." She handed me her phone.
It was open on her Instagram, filled with pictures of her and Chloe from just being in bed to today, where they were in the studio getting their hair done. Side by side, there were two pictures just for me. One was the whole collage I took of her when we decided to walk down the street and the other one was when we were doing the fashion show.
I pressed the one with my face actually in it. I was really curious what the comments said.
This is my friend, Max! She's the one who took those amazing polaroids! She's hella cute, right?!
I read the comments under her caption and a good majority were agreeing and some even asked if I had an Instagram or if I was single.
"This is so crazy." I said. I started to look through her pictures.
"Hey, it's okay! People won't go up to you, I know it."
I made a hum of agreement, but I kept scrolling through her phone. There were a lot of changes in colors. Her more recent ones were so bright and she was smiling in complete bliss. Even before this whole coming out thing, all the locations and foods she took were stunning. When the pictures turned black-and-white with little to no emotion showed in her selfies, I knew it was the time she was away and travelling.
I gave it back before I dived in too far.
"Being famous seems so stressful..." I scratched my head.
"I don't want to call myself that, but it is. I won't let myself do anything crazy though. Already passed that phase in high school, right, Chloe?"
"Yep! It's still happening for me, if we're being real."
"Well, you passed the whole weed thing."
"You’re right. I guess I like drinking more."
Rachel chuckled, "Yeah, still haven't forgotten when we went to HUE sf. You were out cold."
When they laughed, it was quiet after. I remembered Rachel’s face when I first told her about Chloe and her habit, distant and… disappointed. As long as she was here, Chloe was drinking less and she was happier. Both of them were. The radio played its pop music softly. I finally sent a message to Kate that we'll be over soon.
What we expected at the In-N-Out was to be surrounded by people and not being able to eat at all. Though there were people who wanted pictures with Rachel, it was surprisingly tame and we were able to sit down and actually have our meals. There was something about In-N-Out's white and red colors surrounding us from the walls to the tables and chairs, the loud chatter of people, the employees yelling out numbers, and the overpowering smell of french fries that just felt right.
We bought five fries (Rachel wanted three), three cheeseburgers, and three vanilla milkshakes. We sat at a table for four people, but of course they sat together and I got the third wheel seat.
"I felt like I haven't eaten here in years." Rachel moaned as she finished chewing on fries.
"I've never seen you eat so fast." I was more amazed than shocked.
"I'm very hungry, okay!"
She was already halfway done with her burger. She did avoid eating during the whole photoshoot, even something small and would not affect her in any way.
"Do we have to go tomorrow, Rache?" Chloe said, bitterly.
"With a photographer like that, we can't just skip out. Trust me, I hate him too, I do, but it'll be over by you know it."
Chloe mumbled angry curses under her breath, staring at the bite marks in her burger.
"You'll be fine, hemoChlobin." Rachel gives her a quick kiss on the cheek. Chloe smiled, but didn't look at her.
"I thought you said to leave the nicknames to you." I pointed out.
"Yeah, but yours suck ass."
Her voice emphasized "ass" with an angry tone. I just went back to eating again, frowning and slouching in my seat.
We decided to buy some cake pops from a different cafe. They were a little smaller and in a brown box with a pink melted ice cream design. On the drive back, Kate didn't text back until we were about five minutes away from her apartment. Sorry, I took a nap. Are you nearby?
It's alright, Kate. And yeah, less than five minutes.
Something felt different from Kate's message. I didn't know what it was, so I shook it off.
At her apartment, it was kinda creepy and the whole black-and-red colored building was very off-putting. Parking on the side of the street, we went to number 20, and Chloe did her signature knock and just banged her fist against the door. A minute passes before Kate opened the door, greeted by her in her teal pajamas, her hair in a messy bun, and tired eyes.
"Hi you guys, sorry that I don't look so well." She opened the door wider.
"It's okay, are you sick?" Rachel reached over and felt Kate's forehead.
"No, I was sleeping," she yawned and then moved aside, "Come in."
We followed and went into the small apartment, welcomed by the living room filled with cream-colored walls, a big flat-screen TV, black leather couches, and a matching colored coffee table. I recognized everything, even the pillows, from the video.
"This is my home away from home," Kate announced, "Please, seat down. I need to make myself some tea."
"Oh, we got these for you." I handed Kate the box and she finally smiled.
"Aw, thank you so much. I'll try to eat all of them before they go bad." Kate went into the kitchen, small and similar to ours, but cleaner and not shitty. It was probably full of food too.
I sat myself on the couch, sinking into it and it was so comfortable. The pillows against my back were so soft. The couch was L-shaped and Chloe took advantage of that and lied down on the longer seat.
"How was the photoshoot?" Kate asked from the kitchen.
"It was fun!" Rachel replied, "Max did such a good job and she made it so exciting, and then the other photographer came and it was so... suck-y..."
"That's a shame. It must be so tiring having to pose and change clothes many times."
We heard a tea kettle start to whistle and then stop.
"It really depends for me. Today, it was one of those tiring days."
Kate came over with a white mug in hand and sat next to me. Looking closer, her pajama pants had a print of a cartoon chick peeking out of its egg all over it and her shirt was plain, but matching in color. She even had her bracelet on.
"Aw, well, I'm sorry that it was one of those days. If I knew, I wouldn't have asked you guys to come."
"Don't even worry about it! We wanted to come over!"
Kate smiled and then sipped from her cup, "I appreciate you three taking the time out."
It had been more of a conversation between them two, while Chloe and I made our own with just our facial expressions.
"By the way, I really like your hair, Chloe."
"Thanks," she ruffled with her own hair, "It was cut like this just for the shoot."
"Oh wow, can they really take off that much?"
Chloe just shrugged, "Free haircut, I can't complain."
"I wouldn't complain either."
"Anyway," Rachel butted in, "You said "home away from home." Where are you from, originally?"
"I'm from Oregon."
"Holy crap, we all were! Well, I’m from Long Beach, but I lived there! Were you near Arcadia Bay at all?"
"No, my town was a couple miles away. I went to a boarding school as well, so that was way further."
I felt awkward sitting there in between.
"What school was it?"
"It was a Christian academy. I went there for all my high school years."
Rachel scoffed, "Not surprised by that."
"Now that I think about it, I've only been to Christian schools until now." Kate laughed at herself. I could only imagine what being in those kinds of schools were like.
She placed her mug down on the coffee table, which had scattered fashion magazines on it. One, in fact, had Rachel on the front.
"How would you like to scare her?" Kate said with a slightly sinister smile.
"Not really sure, you know her fears, right?"
"Her fear is literally me going into her room," Kate looked over to the hallway behind Chloe, "I've never gone in before."
"But..." I finally spoke up, "You've known her for a year?"
"I know it sounds crazy, but it's true. It's locked. Ironic, because she forgot the apartment key."
"Yikes and you lived with her for this long?"
"I mean, this is way better than before. At least she talks to me directly now."
"Oh god, what?" Rachel's eyes widened, "Okay, yeah, I need to scare her. Let's use this."
She grabbed the magazine with herself on it.
"Someone in here needs to pretend to know magic," She continued, "Can't be Max, she sucks at acting, and if she knows me, she knows Chloe."
I actually felt physically hurt. First, I sucked at nicknames and now this.
"So, just me?"
"Does she fall for things easily?"
Kate placed her hand on her chin, "... Kinda."
"Good enough," Rachel then grabbed Chloe's and my shoulder and pulled us in, "Group in. I have a plan."
We expected to stay long, but not two-in-the-morning long.
"We should have brought clothes to stay over." I bumped my arm with Kate's. Rachel and Chloe were in the living room, practicing where to hide and where Rachel will position herself to scare Victoria.
Kate and I were in her room. It was as I expected: very clean, organized, and lots of pastel colors. Her walls had a few posters of inspirational quotes and right on her nightstand was a Bible, of course. Her pet rabbit was on top of her dresser just munching on a carrot; she was incredibly cute. Against the dresser was her violin. We sat on her bed as she tried to teach me a game called Slide.
"Wish you could. But Victoria has class, I have to meet my friends in the morning, and Rachel and Chloe said they have more photographs to take."
"I don't have class."
"You don't have clothes here."
Slide was a hand game that involved a lot of clapping, coordination, and rhythm. Clapping was fine, but I didn't have the other two, so we would stay in sync for about five times and then I'd lose it. It was just a lot of hand holding every time I messed up.
"Okay, but Einstein wore the same suit every day for a whole week."
Kate smirked, she wasn't going to give in to that, “Are you saying you’re Einstein?”
“… Yes, I am.”
She shook her head, "Let's make a deal then. If we get passed twenty, then you can stay."
I groaned, grabbing her hands, "I'm glad you believe in me, but we know that's not happening."
Kate looked up at the ceiling in thought. I looked up too and let go of her hands.
"How about I make it up to you?" She looked back at me with a smile. I looked back and tilted my head to the side, leaning back on my hands.
"Since we had such an awesome day yesterday, how about I'll take us somewhere next Sunday? We'll hang out all day again."
Did I really have to think about it? Of-fucking-course I want to go!
"Yes! Absolutely… um, I would love to."
Before Kate could say anything, there was a knock on the door. It wasn't Chloe-aggressive, but it was demanding enough. Kate got up and, when she was at the door, she put her finger to her lips to shush me. She turned off the light and closed the door.
I went up to the door again and opened it a crack. I watched as Kate went to the door; I think Rachel and Chloe were hiding in the dark in the kitchen. When the door opened, there was Victoria. She had a blonde pixie cut, wearing a really tight black dress and a big fur coat. Dear dog, I hope it was faux. In her hand were her heels.
"Hey Victoria."
"Hey Katie," She greeted back, "That party was crazy! You need to go to one sometime!"
She crashed onto the couch, right where we wanted her to be.
"Ah no, I prefer to stay home, you know that already." Kate sat next to her.
"You need to lighten up sometime."
All three of us were just waiting for the keyword we all established. There was a pounding in my chest and tingle through my fingers.
"I have been. I already told you about Max."
"Yeah and she sounds fucking weird."
Kate shushed her.
"Sorry, she sounds very lovely."
Her voice was dripping in sarcasm. Did she hate me? I couldn’t dwell on it for so long; I shook my head rapidly to get the thought out. I continued to watch.
"You still don't believe that she's friends with Rachel and I know her?"
"I'm getting there."
"Well, maybe I could prove it to you."
"And how will you do that, Marsh?"
"I've been looking into some tricks and magic lately and—"
"Oh, my god, I don't have time for this. This is a prank, isn't it?"
"Do I look like I could do pranks?"
"... You have a point. Whatever, I'll go along, I guess."
"Yay!" Kate clapped her hands, "Okay, so we'll have to clean this table except for something with Rachel on it. Which, we just so happen to have."
Kate said she was a bad actress and yet, she was doing all of this naturally.
"So, close your eyes, Victoria."
I could hear her release an irritated groan, but I think she did as she was told. Kate started wave her hand in front of Victoria's face, making sure she couldn't see anything.
"And we're just going to sit here."
"Oh, no cheesy spells or make me do something embarrassing?"
"Nope, we're going to sit and wait. Tell me why you like Rachel so much."
"Wait" was the keyword. Rachel and Chloe crawled out of wherever they were hiding and did their best to quietly get into position. She lied down on top of coffee table, on her back and acted like she was just dead on top of it. Chloe helped with straightening anything out and fixing her hair. When everything looked good, she sent me a thumbs-up and then crawled back to her spot.
"What isn't there to like? She's pretty, confident, well-spoken, and she's accepting everyone for who they are."
"Wow, I don't know why you get so mad about me knowing her."
"It's just a big deal to me! Katie, it's two AM right now, where are we going with this?"
"Okay, open your eyes."
When I assume she opened her eyes, Rachel stayed in that position with her head towards her.
I could vaguely hear Victoria say "what the fuck," and then Rachel's eyes shot open.
She freaked out. She actually jumped onto the couch, like there was a rat scurrying on the floor. She let out a shriek and many "holy shit"s. Hyperventilating and a hand on chest, she slid back down the couch.
"This isn't real! You know magic, Kate!"
"She's real!"
Chloe and I came out of hiding. We were both laughing, high-fiving and fist bumping each other, as we approached. Rachel finally sat up, laughing along with us and holding her stomach. The fact that Victoria would prefer believing that Kate knew magic was the best part.
Victoria had her hand on her forehead, trying to comprehend everything that just happened.
"Katie, it's been a long time coming, but I love you."
"Could I go into your room now?"
"No."
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Lucas Friar moved back to Texas at 17, now he’s running for Mayor of Rosewood Springs so best friend Zay and little sister Gigi decide he needs a little help from a political consultant.
Riley Matthews found her calling, she found a fiancé, but she never expected to find herself here, of all places.
Cross-posted to FF.net | Soundtrack | Past Chapters
Author Note: Yay! This is done before 11:59pm…the things I promise when I’m falling asleep—yikes!
Thanks to everyone who filled out the Reader Survey, I’m gonna close it and share any cool info like favorite multi-chapter, etc. Also thanks to everyone who voted in the poll about who Gigi should be with. I had a feeling Zay was going to win. I’ll have a poll soon about the twins, so keep an eye out for that.
I’ll be around all of tonight (Saturday) so if you’ve got any questions/comments my ask box is open and Anon is on.
Seriously you guys all rock.
-the only one I dream of-
Lucas was thankful he caught an elevator when he did, and that he knew the hospital layout well enough to find the courtyard. He stopped to catch his breath, whatever secrets he and Riley had would be out soon. Not that any of it was ever meant to really be a secret. Just that they wanted to wait so they didn’t favor one set of parents over the other.
It took him a moment before he heard the muffled cries. He looked around expecting to find a young child, a grieving mother, instead he found Deacon.
His stomach sank as he moved towards the younger man, “Deacon, what’s wrong?”
“I love her.” His words staggered, hanging in the air, “I would do anything I can to make her happy. I’ll wipe her tears away when she’s crying, hold her when she’s sad. I want to have children with her.”
“You’ll have that.” Lucas sat next to him on the bench.
“She came out of the surgery.” Deacon’s voice was slow, “Your parents thought I should be the one to see her.”
“Then why are you out here, rubbing your fist?”
“She started to wake up, she, she said I love you Zay.” Deacon released a breath, “I was so hurt I left the room and went to the waiting room, Zay was there, I punched him, told him to stay away from Gigi.”
Lucas took this all in, “She was coming out from the drugs, right? She might not know what she was saying. Besides nothing has ever happened with Zay and Gigi.”
Deacon studied his fist, “How can you be so sure?”
“I can’t, but Gigi is engaged to you. She’s not chasing after Zay, she goes to you.” Lucas wasn’t sure, he had no idea what was or wasn’t happening with his baby sister and his best friend, but he didn’t think Deacon needed anymore doubt now.
“Why are you out here? Is Riley okay?”
“She’s fine, just sprained her ankles. I had to hide from her Dad, he wanted to steal my shoes.” He chuckled at it now, but he knew when he went back inside he’d have to tell his family the truth.
“Then she’ll be released soon, right?”
“They uh, want to keep her for observation.” Lucas looked back towards the door, “Calm down, come back inside, go see Gigi, you’ll see when she looks at you that she loves you.”
“Thanks Lucas, good luck with Riley’s Dad.”
Lucas nodded, taking a deep breath of fresh air before heading back in to face his family.
Cory came into the waiting room, “Okay, where is he?” No one answered it, it took him a moment to realize that Zay had an ice pack on his face, Bonnie and Grady weren’t in the room.
“Who, Cory, what is wrong with you?” Topanga questioned her husband, seeing the frazzled energy vibrating off his body.
“Lucas” He looked at Zay, “You, you know what he did to my baby girl?”
Zay stared at his former teacher confused, “Man I don’t know what’s going on. Gigi’s fiancé just attacked me.”
Cory crinkled his nose in confusion, “Texas is a weird place, we never should’ve let Riley come down here. Terrible things happen in Texas.”
Topanga rolled her eyes, “Did you see Riley?”
“Yeah, I saw her.” He threw his hands up in the air shaking them as if trying to mimic spirit fingers. “She’s fine, well except for what Lucas did to her.”
Topanga pinched the bridge of her nose as she took a deep breath, “Cory, what the hell are you talking about?”
“Hey everyone.” Lucas came in, moving quickly past Cory and going over to Zay, “I see Deacon did a number on you.”
Zay took the ice pack off, “Yeah, I don’t know why.”
Lucas looked at his friend, “I think you do know.”
“Hey, you, we gotta talk about what you did to my daughter.” Cory tapped Lucas on the shoulder as Topanga tried to pull him back.
Lucas sighed as he spun around, “I promise it’s not what you think Mr. Matthews, as soon as my parents are back, we’ll all go talk to Riley.”
Topanga studied him, “What do we need your parents for to see Riley?”
“Because we just do.” He glanced at his watch, it was still the afternoon, even though the day felt like it had been a week long already.
“You’re going to be okay.” Grady looked at his daughter, “Your Mom is outside waiting to come in. I think you have every right to be mad at her.”
“How’s Riley?” Gigi’s voice was a whisper.
“Sprained her ankles she’s fine.” Grady squeezed his daughter’s hand, “Deacon came in earlier.”
“He did?”
Grady nodded, “Yeah, he did. I’ll send him back in when your Mom is done with you.”
“Thank you.” Gigi couldn’t believe that Deacon had left, how could that be possible.
He kissed her forehead, “Mom will be right in.”
She nodded quietly before he left, she wasn’t sure she really wanted to see her mother, but she needed her at the same time.
Gigi bit her lip as she waited, trying to ready herself for what was about to come.
Bonnie slipped into the room, staying by the door for a moment, “Oh my baby” before she rushed across the room, holding onto Gigi, tightly but still gently, “I’m so sorry for what I said last night, I’m so glad you’re okay.”
“What was with you?”
Bonnie pulled away, brushing Gigi’s hair away from her face, “I just let a little bug get in my ear and didn’t trust you or your brother to make the right decisions.”
Gigi grimaced at the foggy feeling in her body, “What did they do to me?”
“They took out your spleen, and stopped a bunch bleeding inside of you. They’ll explain when you’re a bit more coherent, I’m just so glad you’re alive.”
“I want to see Deacon.”
Bonnie nodded, “I’ll see if I can get him in here okay.”
“Thank you.”
Bonnie smoothed Gigi’s hair one last time before leaving the room, guilt still crashing over her body.
When she returned to the waiting room Deacon still wasn’t there. “Oh, Deacon is still gone, Gigi wanted to see him.”
Zay tossed the ice bag in his hands, “I’ll let him know if he shows back up, Lucas wants you all to go talk to Riley.”
Lucas looked to his friend, “Are you sure?”
“Yeah, go do whatever it is you need you to do.” Zay sighed sitting back in the chair.
“Okay then, Mom, Dad, Mr. and Mrs. Matthews, come with me.” Lucas gave his friend a thankful, but warning look as he guided the parents out.
Riley’s eyes darted around the room, her phone destroyed, she couldn’t get out of bed even if she wanted to so here she was stuck. The channel selection on the TV left her with almost nothing to watch, to try and ease her mind as she worried about what was happening with Lucas, her father, Gigi, all while also trying to let it sink in that she was not only pregnant, but expecting twins.
The door opened, Lucas slipped in and leaned against it, “So, um Thanksgiving was a wonderful idea, but I don’t think we can wait. Especially since you know.”
Riley sighed, “Our parents are outside? Great your mother thinks I’m a gold-digger, now she’ll think I trapped you.”
Lucas smirked, “Oh yeah, um apparently Dixie got that all in her head, she snapped out of it when Dixie was at the house today.”
“That bitch was at our house?”
“Yeah, we’ll discuss that later. Right now, if I don’t let them in your Dad is going to drive the entire staff insane.”
“Let’s do this.” She took a deep breath, adjusting the blankets around her before he opened the door.
It was like a wave crashing against the shore at high tide as the energy in the room changed.
“Are you okay honey?” Topanga immediately moved to her side, glancing at the monitor Riley was hooked up tp.
“I’m fine, just some sprained ankles.” Riley gave a nervous smile.
“Then what’s the monitor for?” Grady looked around the room,
Before they could answer the door opened, a nurse came in, “Okay Mrs. Friar, it’s time for some Tylenol.”
“Thank you” Riley could feel all the eyes on her, she could see Lucas smirk from behind their parents.
Once the nurse left all eyes were on Riley.
“Why do they keep calling you Mrs. Friar?” Bonnie looked at the young woman in the bed.
“Because that’s who she is.” Lucas spoke proudly, already feeling the heat of anger coming from his father-in-law.
“Lucas and I got married in August, we had a ceremony in the Grand Canyon with Gigi and Zay as our witnesses.” Riley explained to the shocked faces all around.
“You married my daughter?” Cory hissed.
Lucas nodded, “Yes Sir, I love her and I plan to be with her forever.”
“Why didn’t you tell us?” Topanga studied Riley, knowing there was more.
“We just wanted it to be between us for now. We also didn’t want to play favorites and tell you at separate times, we wanted to tell you together.” She folded her hands together, “I just went and had my name changed and everything.”
“Why is Rachel your doctor?”
Lucas moved past the parents and sat on Riley’s other side, “Well I hope that you’re all ready to become Grandparents.”
“You got my daughter pregnant!” Cory growled.
“Cory chill out, it’s Riley and Lucas, you knew this was coming eventually. Sit down.” Topanga shot her husband a warning look.
“So, um yeah, found out for sure in the ER this morning.” Riley confessed, “Actually I was talking to Gigi about getting a pregnancy test on our way home from the resort today. But yeah, so the babies seem to be okay.”
“Babies? As in more than one?” Topanga blinked.
“Twins” Lucas looked at the stunned faces around him, “She’s on bedrest the next few weeks just to make sure she takes it easy.”
“Wait, hold up” Grady looked around at everyone, “You got married and now you’re having twins? Were you planning to tell us you were married?”
“We were going to tell you on Thanksgiving.” Riley felt a weight she hadn’t realized she’d been carrying lift from her.
“Are you two sure you’re financially secure to have twins right now?” Grady’s face fell with concern.
Lucas chuckled, “Yeah, we’re very good on money.”
“Yeah, we’re set.” Riley assured their parents, “We’ve got Lucas’ practice, his share of The Wild Z, we’ve got the resort we’re opening, and more than enough in savings to send these two to college and any others that come along later.”
“You own a resort?” Bonnie raised an eyebrow.
“Yeah, that’s where she and Gigi were going, it’s in the middle of renovations.”
“We’re not going to meet the New Year’s deadline if I can’t be on site.” Riley sighed.
“Riley don’t worry about that.” Lucas took her hand, “We’ll figure something out.”
“We can help.” Bonnie stood tall, “You need someone at the site, right? Well we can be there, connect via video call so that you can make the important decisions, as long as Rachel—who better be your doctor says that’s okay.”
Confusion twisted Riley’s face, “You would do that?”
“Yeah we would.” Topanga smiled, “You need help, and what are parents for?”
“Don’t any of you have work?”
“Retired” Grady beamed.
“I’m senior partner, I can take time off, especially when my daughter needs me.” Topanga reminded her.
“I have plenty of time I can take off to be here with you.” Cory reminded her.
“Besides, Riley has a deadline, you have an election to win and she as well as Gigi need us.” Bonnie reminded them all.
“We don’t want you putting your lives on hold for us.” Lucas insisted.
“Lucas, we are going to help out with whatever we can and that’s the final decision.” Bonnie stood firm, Lucas knew that he wasn’t going to be able to say otherwise.
Deacon finally returned to the waiting room, finding only Zay. He bit the inside of his cheek as he looked at the older man. Was something going on with Gigi and Zay? Was that why she’d suggested Zay and Gloria May the night before for a partner swap. His stomach turned as he looked at him, “Where is everyone?”
“Lucas took them to see Riley,” Zay kept his distance, “Gigi wants to see you, Bonnie said she asked for you.”
Deacon felt his hands clench into fists, “Have you been in to see her.”
“No” it was one word, but it carried a lot of meaning.
“Good, stay away from her.” Deacon warned once more before leaving. His stomach twisting as he made his way back to her room, he tried to let the anger drain from his face, yet he knew he couldn’t hide the way his heart was breaking.
He took a deep breath and walked in, Gigi was laying in bed, holding a blanket tightly, a frown on her face. “Hey” he spoke softly looking at her as she lit up when she saw him, the way her frown twisted into a smile.
“What took so long? I asked to see you ages ago.” Gigi’s eyes were clouded with sadness.
Deacon sat next to her, “I um was here earlier, you weren’t exactly awake yet, I um, I needed some air.”
Gigi grabbed his hand, “When the car was rolling over, when I couldn’t stop it, all I could think was please God let me see Deacon again, let me tell him how much I love him.”
“Really?” he was trying to fight back the love washing over his body.
She nodded gently, “I love you Deacon, I don’t think I realized just how much until I almost died.”
He gave her a stilted smile, “And Zay, do you love him?”
#Thunder Chasing The Wind#Riley Matthews#Lucas Friar#Rucas#Rucas Fanfic#GMW fanfic#Girl Meets World#Gigi Friar#Topanga Matthews#Cory Matthews#Zay Babineaux
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We Can Feel So Far (From So Close) (2/2)
Waiting until your best friend left for a cross country tour was a fine time to realize you’re in love with him. Captain Swan.
Almost 3 months after posting the first part of this story, I'm finally here to finish it off. Believe me when I say I wasn't planning to take so long, but a rough semester of school kept me from doing as much work on this as I wanted to. I didn't think I'd be posting this today since this morning it wasn't even finished, but somehow or another my heartbreak over Jen announcing her exit from OUAT caused me to throw myself into this. (I'll be completely honest, the only time I haven't been bawling my eyes out today is while I've been writing.) Also, a big thank you to everyone who have read and reviewed this story so far. You honestly don't know how much the kind messages and reviews have meant to me over the past few months. I hope you enjoy the final part of this two shot as much as I enjoyed creating it. <3
Part 1 | Rated T | Word count: 9,529 |Also on AO3 and FF.net
You could blame it on Neal, on her wavering self-esteem, or on a number of different things she’d been forced to deal with during her nearly twenty-eight years of life so far. Either way, Emma found it nearly impossible to believe that Killian could somehow be in love with her.
If anything, he probably viewed her as the sister he never had. And she’d seen enough movies and TV shows to know how situations like hers typically ended: awkwardly. It was just best all around if she kept all of this hidden, and hoped she would be able to act somewhat normally around Killian when he came back from the West Coast. (This causes her to wonder, not for the first time, if he’ll even be back for long at all once the tour is over with. It’s not likely that he’ll want to stay in Boston and work at the bar again when he’s guaranteed to have dozens of opportunities thrust at him.)
Their next Skype call takes place two weeks later on a Saturday afternoon (morning for him) when he’s in San Francisco, taking advantage of the wi-fi at a cafe near his hotel. Emma tells him he looks like something out of a movie, the outline of the Golden Gate Bridge even visible from a distance behind him. “I feel like you should be writing me a love letter or something with dramatic music playing in the background,” she tells him while she finishes off her second plate of pancakes. She quickly regrets the “love letter” part, and hopes he doesn’t read too much into those particular words.
“My apologies, Swan. No dramatic music at my expense, and the only thing I’d consider professing my love to at the moment is caffeine.” He holds up his cup of coffee for emphasis, his third since she called just half an hour ago.
“No sleep last night?” she asks, taking a long sip of her own cinnamon flavored drink. The stakeout she’d endured the night before had taken much longer than she anticipated.
“Not much, I’m afraid. Boys dragged me out of bed early yesterday morning to do all of the touristy stuff in the city while we had a chance. Thankfully they finally decided to take it easy today so I could talk to you without distractions.”
Emma frowned. “You sure you don’t need to take it easy today? Killian, I’m not gonna be offended if you want to crash while you can.”
“Nonsense. I’ll be fine.” His following yawn and the faint circles she could make out under his eyes said otherwise.
“Killian...go get some rest. At the very least, take a power nap or something,” she adds before he has a chance to object. “Your audience isn’t going to be very impressed if the guitarist is half asleep tonight.”
He sighs in defeat. “I suppose you’re right. I’m sorry, love. Guess I haven’t quite made up for being a lousy friend since I’ve been gone.”
“You’re off being a badass musician; that’s a lot more than I can say for any of my other friends at the moment.”
“Aye. And don’t you forget it, Swan.”
-/-
He calls her at midnight on her birthday. “Killian, you shouldn’t have,” she tells him, thankful that they’re on the phone instead of Skype for once so he can’t see the ridiculous grin that’s been on her face since her phone lit up with his name on the screen. “You’ve got to be exhausted after tonight’s show.” The band is in Portland now, where they will be spending another week before wrapping up the last leg of the tour in Phoenix and Las Vegas next month. She actually got to watch part of their last show earlier while she got ready for bed, thanks to a heads up from Robin’s wife. Regina had recently flown west to travel with him for the rest of the tour, and posted a few songs using Facebook live per the fan’s requests.
“No I’m not,” he yawns. “Besides, what kind of friend would I be if I wasn’t the first one to wish you a happy birthday?”
“I probably would’ve let it slide considering the time difference...but I do appreciate your concern.”
“So, the big two-eight, eh? Any special plans today?”
“Just the usual, tracking down a scumbag who didn’t want to pay child support. Although Elsa and Mary Margaret have dropped a few hints about dragging me out tomorrow- er, tonight. Whether or not I come home in one piece is the real question.”
“I’m sure anything left on my voicemail afterwards will indicate just how much you’ve had to drink,” he laughs. She just rolls her eyes, remembering the messages she’d left him the last time she’d went out drinking with her girl friends. (Apparently she spent a solid five minutes complaining to him about the fact that there were no pickles in her apartment. She didn’t even like pickles.)
As much as it pains her, Emma ends the call shortly after, knowing she’ll need a decent amount of sleep if ELsa and Mary Margaret expect her to be any fun when they go out later. She makes a mental note to have one of them take her phone away if she ends up drunk to make sure Killian doesn’t get any questionable voicemails this time around; the last thing she needs to do is pull a Rachel Green and end up confessing her feelings to him while he’s on the other side of the country. This situation is already messy enough on her part as it is.
There are no questionable voicemails left for Killian that night, but she wakes up the morning after her birthday with the worst hangover she’s ever had and two jars of dill pickles in her fridge.
-/-
Despite how much the first few months of his absence seemed to drag on, the last remaining weeks somehow go by quickly to the point that she didn’t even realize he’d be coming home so soon until he pointed it out to her over the phone one night.
She’s so excited to see him again. Emma never would have imagined herself being so caught up in another person, especially after Neal. But the time she’s spent without Killian since he left has made her feel like a part of her is somehow missing- even parts of her daily routine haven’t felt the same if he’s not around. Things like getting pancakes by herself at Granny’s on Tuesday mornings or having no one awake to send her corny jokes during late night stakeouts are harder to deal with than she ever would have expected. She can count on one hand how many times she’s watched Netflix over the past few months; she usually ends up turning the TV off after a few minutes and spends the time listening to his playlist on her phone instead. She never would have thought that trying to watch a movie without someone to sit in silence with would make such a difference and as much as she loves them, it’s just not the same with Elsa or Mary Margaret.
He’s flying home from Las Vegas in just two weeks. (Emma may or may not have an app on her phone counting down the hours and minutes till the day.) She quickly finds herself in a much better mood than usual, so much that one morning she goes as far as to tell Leroy to have a good day when she sees passes him in the elevator.
Even though she’s both tried to support Killian and has missed him terribly while he’s been away, flying out to one of his shows hadn’t been something she’d given much thought to- neither her bank account or her work schedule had up for a trip across the country, and he’d understood that when she told him so. But it’s when she’s laying in bed one night, watching another of the band’s videos live on her phone that she finds herself looking up flights to the last few places they’ll be stopping at before coming home the week after next. Of course, it would be just her luck that the only show she’d be able to make it to was in just two days, and in Phoenix at that. She hadn’t been back since her incident with Neal over a decade ago, and it wasn’t exactly a place she was keen on visiting again. But if it meant she finally got to see Killian…
She doesn’t hesitate to book the first flight available.
-/-
Maybe Emma shouldn’t be quite so happy about seeing him again- it’s only going to make her feelings for him harder to deal with, especially since she has no intention of confessing while she’s there. But he’s her best friend. She hasn’t seen him in weeks, and she feels the right to be excited about both her visit and getting to watch one of his shows outside of a video online. Even though concealing how she feels about him is clearly going to be difficult, it’s easier to deal with than the prospect of ruining their friendship and losing his presence in her life altogether in one blow.
At least, that’s what she tells herself as she boards the plane to Phoenix a few mornings later. It hasn’t taken long at all for her to get nervous about the whole thing. She decided not to tell Killian she was coming, wanting to surprise him at the show that night instead. But what if he’s not as excited to see her? What if she was just lovesick and this trip was really a huge mistake?
It shouldn’t be a surprise that her phone vibrates with a new text just seconds before the plane takes off, as if he’d been reading her mind nearly three thousand miles away. Good morning, Swan. Hope you have a wonderful day, I’ve been missing you quite a bit.
Maybe this visit wouldn’t be a mistake after all.
-/-
By the time her plane lands in Phoenix, she’s still excited, but also still a bundle of nerves. She spent the better part of the flight trying to figure out just how in the world she’s going to go about surprising Killian when she got here. The original plan was to show up at his hotel to surprise him before the show, but it wasn’t the best idea considering she didn’t know what his schedule for the day was and couldn’t exactly ask him without giving herself away. In the end, she decides on going straight to the venue, hoping she could get a spot close enough to the band that he’d be able to spot her from the stage.
Emma spends the few hours she has free before the show lugging her overnight bag around to take in the city she barely knew outside of the walls of a cheap motel room; she hadn’t been willing to stick around after Neal left. Even with most of her time there had been spent with someone she loved- or thought she loved, anyway- there’s still an uncomfortable atmosphere about the place she can’t seem to shake off for one reason or another. When she’d decided to leave Phoenix and move across the country, she was heartbroken, lonely, and miserable. It doesn’t take long for those feelings to start resurfacing as she again begins doubting the last minute trip yet again.
Not knowing what else to do, she winds up calling Mary Margaret from a coffee shop near the band’s venue while she devours a bear claw and a drink that’s more sugar and cream than coffee.
“Don’t be ridiculous,” her friend tells her after she’s poured her heart out over the phone, leaving out the bit about being in Phoenix being harder than she thought. “Killian’s going to be absolutely thrilled to see you.”
“Maybe so, but what if he’s not? What if he’s annoyed that I showed up from the other side of the country with no warning?”
“If he’s anything but happy that you went all that way to support him, he’s an idiot.” Mary Margaret had no problem getting straight to the point when it came to people’s love lives. “Does this have anything to do with wondering if he has feelings for you?”
“It’s the lack of feelings I’m worried about,” Emma mumbles. She’s still had the same mindset that she shouldn’t tell Killian how she feels about him for both of their sakes, but just like everything else today, she’s not completely sure what’s best anymore.
She hears Mary Margaret sigh into the phone. “Should I even try again to convince you that there’s no way he’s not crazy in love with you?” A similar conversation had taken place quite a few times with both her and Elsa ever since she had admitted her feelings for Killian that night several weeks ago. “I know you’re scared to tell him the truth, and I understand that Emma, I really do. But the longer you go without being honest with him, the harder this is just going to get.”
“I know. Let’s just hope I remember that when I actually see him.”
-/-
She arrives at the venue early, and it’s a good thing too, because the place is nearly packed. Emma’s sure she pissed off quite a few people by pushing her way to the front of the room, but she’s determined to be somewhere in his line of sight when the guys take their places on the stage. It isn’t long before the band’s opening act starts her set, another up and coming artist from the same record label who usually plays two or three songs of hers before every show to get the audience excited for the show. The girl is definitely talented, but Emma doesn’t pay much attention during her set, too focused on seeing her best friend up on that stage instead.
It feels like hours instead of minutes have gone by when the opening act finishes up and Robin walks onto the stage, followed by Will, August and...that’s when she sees him. He’s wearing his favorite Pearl Jam T-shirt and there’s a million dollar smile on his face. It’s easy to see that he’s clearly in his element, and she couldn’t be more proud of him for getting where he is now.
They’re less than a minute into the first song when he looks up and sees Emma in the crowd, easily finding her face out of the hundreds in the room that surround them. Somehow his smile manages to only grow wider, matching the one that’s now on her face. For once, she’s finally able to forget all her worries about the future and what it holds for both of them because she’s here with her best friend and she’s happy.
And she loves him. At least it’s getting easier to admit it to herself, if no one else.
-/-
She wastes no time looking for him after the show ends. The one problem with not telling him she was coming is that she’s not exactly sure where to go, aimlessly making her way around the venue until she spots a woman who looks like Robin’s wife standing to the side, tapping away at something on her cell phone.
Emma quickly approaches her, figuring she’s likely to know where Killian and the guys are. “Excuse me, aren’t you Regina Locksley?”
The brunette glances up at her and nods. “Yes, but I’m sorry, the band doesn’t have much time to meet fans tonight.”
“Oh, no, that’s not what I’m here for. My name is Emma, I came to see-”
“Killian,” Regina finishes for her. “That’s right. I’m sorry, if he’d told me his girlfriend was coming, I would have arranged for you to watch the show with the rest of the crew.”
Girlfriend? Emma’s too caught of guard by the unfamiliar word to respond. “Oh I’m not...we’re not together,” she finally says after a moment. “He’s just my friend.” (Of course, Killian’s not just anything to her, but she doesn’t think that’s necessary to share.)
What really gets her attention is just how shocked Regina looks. “Oh. I’m sorry. He talks about you all the time so I just assumed…” she trails off. “Anyway, the boys should still be backstage putting their things away if you’d like to see him.”
The expression on her face must speak for itself since Regina turns and gestures for her to follow. Emma feels her heart racing in her chest as they head down a hallway that seems to lead to the other side of the venue. It’s sinking in that she’s finally going to see him after so much time apart and she doesn’t know whether to laugh or cry tears of joy.
It’s all she can do not to sprint past Regina when she sees a door opening ahead of them. She does when she sees who’s standing in the doorway and wastes no time throwing her arms around her best friend. He quickly pulls her into what feels like a bone-crushing hug, and just like that day at the airport, it feels like he’s the only thing holding her together. Her eyes close as she breathes him in- the smell of leather and his cologne and laundry detergent and Killian all hitting her at once.
“Emma.” He pulls away to look at her, like he’s trying to figure out if she’s really there with him. “Bloody hell…”
“Surprised to see me?”
“You have no idea,” he laughs. “I was just coming to look for you. Why didn’t you tell me you were coming?”
“It was sort of a last minute thing,” she admits. “I just really wanted to come while I had the chance to. God, Killian, you were amazing.”
His cheeks turn red in embarrassment; it might be the most adorable thing she’s ever seen. (She’s starting to think like Mary Margaret now; has he really ruined her that much?) “Thank you, love, but it’s mostly the other guys that do all the work.”
“Stop being so smug.” She rolls her eyes. “You kicked ass tonight and you know it.”
He’s kept from saying much else when Robin comes over to speak to them and reintroduces her to the rest of the band. She spends some time getting to know them a bit better while Killian helps pack up their instruments and equipment since they’ll be playing in a different venue in Phoenix tomorrow night. Robin, August, and Will seem like nice enough guys that all remind her of Killian in one way or another; she can see why he’s fit in with them so well over the past few months that they’ve been on the road. He hasn’t said anything else to her about potentially being asked to stay in the band after the tour wraps up, but it won’t be a surprise if it happens considering the dynamic they seem to have between the four of them. She tries her best to focus on being happy for him no matter what that would mean for their relationship, but she’d be lying to herself if she said the thought still didn’t scare her, no matter how hard she’s tried today to fight it.
“Fancy a drink, Swan?” he asks as the two of them leave the venue, splitting up from the rest of the band and crew so they could have time to catch up before she has to fly back to Boston tomorrow morning.
“Absolutely.” She needs it thanks to her emotions being all over the place from the moment she bought her ticket to Phoenix earlier in the week.
They end up at a bar a few blocks away from the band’s hotel, one that reminds her a lot of the one he worked at in Boston. “You should be happy to know I haven’t listened to much music at all besides your playlist over the past few months,” she tells him as they take a booth near the door and order a few beers.
“Is that so?” He’s clearly proud of himself by the way he grins and raises an eyebrow. “Anything in particular that stood out to you?”
She chews on her lower lip as their drinks are brought to the table and thinks about the songs she’s listened to the most from his selection. “Hmm...there’s “Far Behind,” I really liked that one. Also “Edge of Seventeen,” “Bullet With Butterfly Wings,” “Flavor of the Weak,” “Dancing In the Dark”...hell, I honestly like the whole thing,” she admits. Choosing only one or two was too difficult.
“Not bad choices. Of course, I wouldn’t say otherwise considering I’m the one who picked them in the first place.”
Killian shouldn’t even be surprised by the eye roll she gives him. “Yeah, life on the road definitely hasn’t hurt your ego at all.”
She spends the next hour or so listening as he tells her all of his favorite places they’ve been to and things he’s gotten to do on the West Coast so far. Of course most of it revolves around the band’s shows. Emma watches his face light up as he tells her about his experience the first night of the tour when they opened in Los Angeles. “Bloody hell, Swan, it was incredible. You know I’ve been to plenty of shows before, but being up on stage myself, getting to play and feel the rush from the crowd…” he sighs, smiling as he shakes his head a bit. “There’s just nothing like it.”
Thanks to listening to Killian talk about doing what he loves and actually seeing just how happy it makes him, Emma’s reminded yet again that her feelings for him aren’t important, at least not where his future is concerned. She’s been harboring the fear that she’d lose his presence in her life if things worked out between him and the band, but could she really stand to be so selfish and let what she wanted cloud her judgment when he now had so many possible opportunities there just waiting for him? Loving Killian without ever telling him as much would only continue to become more difficult like Mary Margaret had pointed out earlier, especially if he wound up leaving Boston (and her).
But that’s the thing about loving someone: their happiness quickly becomes much more important to you than yours.
She’s not sure how much time they spend in that booth sharing beer, pretzels, and what’s happened since they last saw each other, but it’s well after midnight when they decide to leave. Emma all but sleepwalks out the door, the fact that it’s early in the morning in Boston quickly taking its toll on her body.
“Have you made arrangements to stay somewhere for the night?” They’re about a block away from his hotel when he asks, gesturing to the small overnight bag she’s been carrying around.
Emma shrugs. Truthfully, seeing him is the only thing she gave much thought to when she’d decided to make the trip. “I was going to see if your hotel had a room open for the night. If not, I saw one or two more down the street that I can try instead.”
“Nonsense. You can stay with me, love. There’s no point in paying for a room just for one night.”
Her breath catches a bit at the suggestion, and she hopes Killian doesn’t notice. There had been more than a few nights when they’d crashed at each others apartments, too tired to walk the few feet back across the hall to their own. Of course, that was before the idea of love had ever made its way into the mix. But that shouldn’t change anything, right? Especially since he doesn’t know how she feels, and she has no intentions of telling him anytime soon.
“Are you sure you don’t mind? I thought you’d been sharing with Robin.”
“Aye, I have been for the most part up until now, but since Regina’s here, I didn’t think the two of them would appreciate having a third wheel sleeping in their room.”
“I’m sure that would be an awkward sleepover.”
-/-
Emma’s stomach is in knots by the time they arrive at his hotel. It’s a nice place, but she pays it little attention as they walk through the lobby and take the elevator up to the fourth floor where he’s staying. There’s a slight awkwardness between them she notices when they step off the elevator and walk the few steps down the hall to his room. She’s not exactly sure why on Killian’s part, considering she’s chosen to hide feelings for him; there was no reason she could think of for him to be acting strange.
The reason for his behavior is clear when they walk into the room and he turns on the light: there’s only one bed. It probably wouldn’t be given a second thought if they’d shared one before, but they haven’t- he always insisted on taking the couch and letting her have the bed, even in his own apartment.
“Um,” he says nervously, scratching behind his ear, “I forgot or I would have told you earlier: I got a single bed room since I knew I wouldn’t be sharing while we were here. I can sleep on the floor if you’d be more comfortable, though.”
“Don’t be ridiculous, Killian. There’s no way in hell I’m letting you sleep on the floor in your own room.”
“I really don’t mind,” he insists, and she believes him. Sometimes Emma thought he could be too much of a gentleman, if that was even possible.
“I know you don’t. But we’re both adults; it’s not a big deal.” Actually, it sort of feels like one considering her conflicting thoughts on their relationship, but just like other things, it’s not something he particularly needs to know.
He still looks a bit unconvinced. “If you’re sure, love…”
“I am.”
“Well, then. You can have the bathroom first, do whatever you need to get ready for bed.”
Emma lets out a deep breath once the bathroom door is shut behind her, glad to have a few minutes to herself before they have to share a bed for the night. It’s not that the idea of it bothers her; it’s just Killian. But that’s also the problem: it’s Killian. She’s beginning to wonder if deciding not to tell him how she feels was the best idea after all, because now it’s as if the universe is doing everything in it’s power to make hiding it that much harder.
She quickly washes up and changes into her pajamas, thankful that she’d packed a t-shirt and sweatpants to wear instead of one of her more revealing tank top and shorts outfits; no need to make this night any more awkward than it would likely be. But of course the shirt she brought was one of his. It wasn’t intentional- he’d left it at her apartment a few months ago after they’d spent the afternoon making cupcakes for no reason, and he’d gotten icing all over it. She had told him to leave it with her so she could wash it for him, and she did- three days after he’d left for the West Coast when she’d finally remembered it was there. So what if she’d taken to sleeping in it ever since? It was a soft, comfortable shirt, and she’d enjoyed wearing it. The fact that it smelled just like him didn’t exactly hurt either.
Emma hopes he won’t notice the shirt, but he looks up when she emerges from the bathroom and smiles at the sight of the faded Led Zeppelin logo. “I wondered what happened to that,” he says, chuckling. He’s already dressed for bed in a similar outfit, complete with his usual mismatched socks.
“Sorry,” she mumbles, leaving her overnight bag on a chair in the corner of the room and coming to sit on the side of the bed that’s closest to her. “Guess it got mixed up in my laundry.”
He goes into the bathroom next to brush his teeth quickly and then they’re both crawling under the covers, her exhausted thanks to jet lag, and him after tonight’s show. Emma always sleeps on her right side, but she turns over onto her left instead, in hopes that what they’re doing would seem less intimate if she wasn’t actually facing him. But there’s not much of a difference; it still feels as if they’re a couple going to bed like they do every night instead of two friends who were only sharing space due to circumstances. She can’t ignore the longing in her chest for the first option and wonders yet again what it would be like if she could come clean and not have to worry about the possible wedge it could drive between them.
If Killian notices something off about her, he doesn’t mention it, only says “Goodnight, Swan,” as a yawn escapes his lips.
“Goodnight,” she whispers back. Emma feels her eyes growing heavy and quickly succumbs to her exhaustion before she does something stupid, like saying, “I love you.”
-/-
It takes her a minute to figure out where she is when she wakes up the next morning, not familiar with the room she’s in...and also not familiar with waking up in anyone’s arms. She’s not sure how, but sometime in the middle of the night, she’s managed to find herself sprawled out on top of Killian, her head pillowed on his chest and his arms holding her tightly against him. (And last night she was worried about his shirt making things weird.)
As much as she hates to admit it, weird is the one thing that this doesn’t feel. It feels nothing but right, like she’s exactly where she’s supposed to be. And that only makes things more complicated, which should scare her more than her feelings already have. But it doesn’t. And of course, the fact that she’s so comfortable with this scares her a bit too.
She’s pulled from her thoughts when she notices him stirring in his sleep; he’ll be awake soon. As much as she loathes to give up her current position, Emma forces herself to slip out of his arms and scoot back to her side of the bed without waking him up. She might be coming around to things in their relationship potentially changing, but this probably wasn’t the best way to find out if he was.
It’s only a few minutes later when she notices Killian rubbing his eyes as he sits up in bed. She tries not to laugh at the way his hair is sticking out in every direction, but a giggle escapes her lips before she can stop it.
“What’s so funny, love?” he asks, his voice still thick with sleep.
“Let’s just say it looks like you fell asleep as Killian Jones and woke up as Albert Einstein.”
Killian laughs and runs a hand through his hair, which only makes it look messier than before. “Very funny, Swan. I’ll take that as your way of calling me a genius.”
She rolls her eyes as she takes the pillow she’s been propped up against and smacks him with it. “I was right when I said life on the road hadn’t hurt your ego.” A look at the clock on the nightstand tells her it’s almost eight in the morning; her flight back to Boston is in just a few hours.
“Penny for your thoughts?” He frowns at the sad expression on her own face.
“I have to be out of here soon. My flight leaves around lunchtime.”
Emma can tell that he’s just as disappointed as she is. “Let’s at least get you a decent farewell breakfast before it’s time to go. Room service?”
“Do they have pancakes?”
“Aye.” He chuckles at her sudden eagerness. “I’m afraid they’re not Granny’s, but they’ll do.”
-/-
“Don’t you dare tell Granny I said this, but I think your hotel gets extra points just for me being able to eat pancakes in bed.”
Killian laughs as he takes a bite of his own pancakes, smearing some of the chocolate syrup he’d ordered with them on his cheek in the process. “I think it’s safe to say that she’d draw the line there.” He’s clearly unaware of the mess he’s just made, just cuts another piece from the plate of pancakes that’s balanced on his lap.
“I think you’ve got a bit of a mess there, bud.” She tries not to laugh as she gestures to his mouth and hands him a napkin.
He quickly wipes it away, not even seeming to be embarrassed about anything with her at this point. “And you’ve got one of your own. Right about...here.” She doesn’t have a chance to react before he takes a lump of whipped cream on his fork and waves it in front of her face.
Emma shrieks, pushing his arm away as he tries to smear it on her cheek. “Killian, I love you, but I’ll show no mercy if you get that stuff in my hair.”
She doesn’t realize what she’s said until it’s too late, sucking in a breath as he freezes beside her, clearly just as shocked as she is.
“Swan?”
“I’m sorry, I just…”
“Did...did you mean that?” he asks hesitantly, his voice barely more than a whisper.
“Yes.” Telling him the truth is the last thing she wanted to do, but now she’s starting to see that doing otherwise for so long would be inevitable, even if she did it without meaning to. “I love you. I just…didn’t know how to say so,” Emma mumbles, unsure of what else to say. She refuses to look over at him, eyes focused on her hands fisted in the bed sheets.
Killian doesn’t say anything back, but his silence is enough to tell her just how he feels about all of this.
She quickly sets her half eaten plate of food on the bedside table and throws the sheets off her lap. “I’ll just go before I make this more awkward than it already is.”
“Emma, wait!” He reaches over and grabs her arm as she’s getting up off the bed.
“Save it, Killian. I’ve already figured we wouldn’t be on the same page; it’s fine.”
He chuckles to himself, causing her to finally glance over at him, confused. “What’s so funny?”
“I thought you were more perceptive than that, Swan. You should have known that I’ve been in love with you for quite some time now.”
“I…” she trails off, unsure of what to say. He loved her?
“You really thought I didn’t feel the same?”
She shrugs. “You know I’m a pessimist.” The same awkwardness she felt for a moment the night before quickly comes back in a rush. She’s imagined so many times over the past few months what it would be like if she told him how she felt, but now that she has, she doesn’t know what to do next.
“When did you know?” Killian asks. She can tell by the way he’s looking at her that he genuinely wants to hear her answer.
“The night we Skyped for the first time after you left. Mary Margaret and Elsa had been talking about us and I missed you so much that after you called it just sort of hit me like a ton of bricks,” she admits. “When was it for you?”
“The day I left when we were saying goodbye at the airport. It was almost enough to keep me from going, but I didn’t know how you would react. Although if I’m being honest with myself, I think you began stealing my heart the night you showed up at my door for a light bulb.”
She’s not sure what gives her the sudden boost of courage, but she doesn’t think twice about throwing caution to the wind as she moves across the bed and kisses him for all he’s worth.
He’s shocked at first; she can tell as much by the way his lips are tense against hers. It’s enough to make her pull back, wondering if she’s made a terrible mistake when his hand goes to the back of her head and he pulls her back down to reclaim her mouth with his own.
As cliche as it sounds there’s something to be said for kissing your best friend. Emma once would have rolled her eyes at the sentiment, but now she understands the truth behind it completely, knows that the way Killian cups her cheek and sucks her bottom lip between his feels nothing like it ever has before, every kiss she’s ever had before this quickly feeling pointless.
His forehead falls against hers when the kiss ends as she lazily runs her fingers through his dark hair like she’s always wanted to do. “Well, that was-”
“Not a one-time thing, I hope,” he finishes, smiling up at her.
She can’t hold back the grin that breaks out across her face. “Not if I have anything to say about it.”
“Oh, trust me, Swan, you do.”
Killian goes to kiss her again just as she notices the clock on the nightstand and groans.
“Love?”
“As much as I hate to ruin this, it’s about time for me to head to the airport.”
“Do you really have to?” he pouts, looking about as disappointed as she feels.
If Emma had her choice, she’d tell him no, she didn’t have to leave. She doesn’t want to, especially now that things between them probably aren’t going to be the same from here on out, and they don’t have the time before her flight to figure out just what it is that they are now. But her bills aren’t going to pay themselves, and she tells Killian as much. “But it’s only what...two more weeks until you fly back home?” She ignores that voice in the back of her head that reminds her yet again that she doesn’t know just how long he’ll even be back in Boston.
“Aye.” He smiles and takes her hand, intertwining their fingers together. “Don’t get me wrong, because I’ve enjoyed every minute of this tour so far. But you don’t know how nice it will be knowing you’re next door again, Swan.”
She doesn’t know whether it’s because of the smile on his face, how he squeezes her hand in his own, or the way he’s looking at her that makes Emma so hopeful. Maybe being honest about her feelings wouldn’t cause her to lose him after all. “Oh, trust me. I know.”
-/-
There’s a bit of sadness between them as he takes her to the airport, but it’s nothing like the last time they said goodbye what feels like ages ago now. Emma still regrets having to leave him, but knowing he’ll be on his way back home (back to her) so soon at least leaves her with something to look forward to.
“You’ll let me know whenever your flight lands?” He asks, walking with Emma to her gate.
“Yeah. Hopefully we won’t have any setbacks.” The first call for her flight comes over the intercom; she only has a few minutes left with him before it’s time to go.
They both look at each other as if they’re not sure what to say. So much has already changed between them since they woke up this morning, and the unspoken question of where they stand now still needs to be asked, despite the fact that she’s just minutes away from getting on a plane.
“So, what are we doing?” she asks the same time he says “Emma, what are we doing?”
She laughs as he scratches behind his ear. “Well, at least we seem to be on the same page.”
“Yes, that much is evident,” he agrees. “But in all seriousness, Swan- I know this is bad timing, but after this morning, I...well, what I mean is, do you want this? Us?”
“Do you?”
“I asked you first.”
“Killian, I said I loved you and then kissed you like my life depended on it. I wouldn’t have done either of those if I didn’t want something to come out of it.”
His face falls as the last call for her flight is announced. “I know it’s bad timing like you said, but you’ll be home soon and we can talk about all of this. I promise.”
“Aye.” He shuffles back and forth a bit, like he’s not sure what to do next. “Since you seem to be alright with most of this...would it be too much to ask for a goodbye kiss?”
He looks so damn adorable when he asks that Emma probably would have agreed even if she didn’t love him so much. She grabs the lapels of his leather jacket and pulls him toward her long enough to press her lips to his, then pulls away. They didn’t have time for more, and dragging the goodbye out was only going to make it harder to deal with. “See you soon?”
“That you wil. Goodbye, Swan.”
“Goodbye.” She doesn’t say anything else as she turns and heads for her gate; there was no reason to make this harder than it needs to be, even if he is going to be back before she knows it.
-/-
Back in Boston safe and sound.
Glad to hear it.
Is it silly to say I miss you already?
No. Because I miss you too.
Two more weeks, love.
I’ll be here waiting.
-/-
Emma expects the next two weeks to drag just like time did when he’d first left to go on tour, but to her surprise, it’s not all that bad. It also doesn’t hurt that they’re either calling, texting, or Skyping almost everyday either. Even though keeping up with each other had still happened regularly over the past few months, it seems like they can’t go more than a few hours after a call without wanting to talk to the other again. She doesn’t know whether to laugh or roll her eyes about it, thinking one night after she’d Skyped him before bed that they were acting lovesick teenagers instead of grown adults.
They don’t talk much about what happened during her visit, aside from Killian once saying something along the lines of he was glad to be leaving Phoenix since his bed hadn’t felt the same since she left. It’s blatantly obvious that they both want to talk about their feelings for each other and the idea of being more than just friends, but it also goes without saying that it’s a conversation that shouldn’t take place over the phone or through a computer screen.
Emma spends the last few days before he comes home working on her latest cases and tidying up both of their apartments in an effort to calm her nerves. She’s so excited to see him she could burst. It’s different than last time when she’d flown out to see him because this time she knows he’s coming home and will finally be next door again like she’s been missing for months now.
They spend the night- or afternoon, for him- before his flight back to Boston eating pizza and watching the new season premiere of Game of Thrones talking over speakerphone instead of Skype since they were both using their computers to watch the episode. It had aired a few nights ago, but he and the band had a show, and she knew watching it without him wouldn’t feel the same, as silly as it sounded.
.
“Sort of like old times, isn’t it, Swan?” Killian asks her when the episode is halfway over.
Emma nods. “Yeah. Except now, you’re not at my door freaking out about Liam not paying the bill.”
“Sue me for not wanting to fall behind. I’m kind of glad he forgot now, though,” he adds after a moment.
“Why is that?”
“Because I might not have made my best friend otherwise.”
For once, Emma’s glad they’re not on Skype so he can’t watch as a lump quickly begins to build in her throat. His words shouldn’t be near enough to make her emotional, but she can’t help but think back to that night they met when she’d just moved in, and she was dead set on not having anything to do with him after borrowing a light bulb. And now, she couldn’t be more grateful that she’d changed her mind.
“Yeah. Tell Liam I said thanks.”
-/-
It goes without saying that Emma isn’t the type of person who usually participates in public displays of affection. And yet she runs- literally, runs- across the airport as soon as she sees him arrive at his gate, the rest of the band and crew trailing behind him. A grin breaks out on Killian’s face as he drops his bags and pulls her close against him.
She hadn’t realized just how good it would feel to have him back, and she wonders if Killian feels the same way about coming home considering the bone-crushing hug he has her in.
“Killian?”
“Hmm?”
“I’m really happy to see you...but I’d be much more happy if I could breathe.”
He quickly releases his hold on her and winces apologetically. “Sorry, love. I suppose I got a bit too excited.”
“It’s okay.” He smiles at her and she wonders (not for the first time) how she’s managed to resist him for so long. “Welcome home, rockstar.”
They’re interrupted when Robin comes over to speak to him. She doesn’t pay attention to much of their conversation- it’s none of her business, anyway- but she hears him tell Killian that he’ll “be getting in touch” with him soon before he and the others tell them goodbye as they head their separate ways.
She briefly wonders just what Robin has to discuss with him but quickly forgets about it as they load his luggage into the bug and head to their building. Killian is dead on his feet by the time they arrive at his apartment, the jet lag clearly doing more of a number on him than he expected.
“Killian, go get some rest,” she tells him when he denies her accusations that he’s exhausted. “I’ll bring dinner over tonight and we can talk after you’ve had a chance to get settled back in.”
He doesn’t even argue with her this time, just drags himself across the apartment to his bedroom and falling face first down into the mattress. A giggle escapes her lips as she hears him snoring before she’s even out the door.
After spending the better part of the afternoon working on her newest case, Emma picks up his favorite chicken alfredo pizza from the Italian place near their building and takes it next door around dinner time. She can tell from the moment Killian opens the door that he’s feeling much better. Most of his things are already unpacked; aside from the souvenirs scattered throughout the apartment, it almost looks as if he never left.
They have dinner and drink wine on the couch as she listens to more of the stories he hadn’t gotten to tell her while she was in Phoenix and a few that took place after she left.
“Wait, so she actually proposed to you?” she asks when Killian tells her about his encounter with a slightly intoxicated fan after one of their shows in Las Vegas.
“Aye,” he laughs. “I thought she was only joking, had no idea she’d get so upset when I had to turn her down.”
“I didn’t know life on the road had turned you into such a heartbreaker,” she teases him.
“What can I say? I’m irresistable.”
She rolls her eyes as she take a sip of wine. It’s only a few minutes later that she notices him shifting uncomfortably in his seat, looking over at her as if he’s not sure what to say next.
“Emma, I…” He pauses. “I know we haven’t really had much of a chance to talk about it since, but what happened between us in Phoenix...well, let’s just say I haven’t been able to stop thinking about it.”
“Me neither. And that’s saying a lot, since it seemed like I already couldn’t get you out of my head,” she admits.
He smiles at the words and she wonders not for the first time how she was able to resist him for so long. “So, what exactly do you want from this, Swan? From us?”
“Honestly? I just don’t want to lose you.” The last part comes out in a whisper as she swallows the lump building in her throat.
“Who said you were ever going to lose me?”
She just shrugs. “I just figured after the tour that you’d realize there were bigger and better things out there for you than Boston. Things that didn’t include me.”
Killian sits his glass of wine on the coffee table and moves over on the couch to sit closer, his leg brushing against hers.. “Emma, I may be uncertain of my future at this point- with the band, hell, with almost everything else in my life,” he adds. “I can’t say that there won’t be other tours, especially if things with the band do end up working out in my favor. But if there’s one thing I am certain of, it’s you. I love you, Swan, and I have no intentions of living a life that you’re not a part of, as long as you’ll have me.”
A smile quickly forms on her face as she hears his words and tries not to cry. “Of course I’ll have you, you adorable idiot.”
He laughs but makes a face at her. “I’m not quite sure if I should be offended or flattered by that term, Swan.”
Emma just kisses him instead of making a comment about bruising his ego. It works.
(She doesn’t go back to her apartment until the next morning.)
-/-
Things start working out for them better than she could have ever thought. One of the best things about falling in love and dating her best friend was skipping the awkward ‘getting to know each other’ phase and quickly falling into a relationship that doesn’t scare her like it would have with anyone else besides Killian.
He takes her on their first date the night after they made it official. They have dinner at an Italian restaurant by the water where he bribes the band into serenading Emma with a rendition of “Love Song,” since she’d told him earlier that it was her favorite song by the Cure. They ended the night by watching Netflix, too busy making out on the couch to pay any attention to whatever it was playing in the background.
Killian’s been home from the tour for three weeks when he gets a call from the band. She can tell he’s nervous as she sits at her kitchen table and watches him pace around the apartment until it’s time to leave for the meeting the boys have scheduled with him. “Stop being so nervous, babe,” she tells him, the endearment she’d recently started using for him quickly sticking. “I’m sure whatever they have to talk to you about is good news.”
“I can only hope so.” He runs a hand through his hair and checks his wristwatch one last time before deciding it’s time to leave. “Do I get a kiss for good luck?” he asks her, waggling his eyebrow like he knows she can’t resist.
“You don’t need luck. But just because I want to…” She leans across the table and he meets her halfway, pressing his lips to hers before reluctantly pulling away.
“Thanks, Swan. I love you.”
“I love you, too. Let me know what’s going on after the meeting’s over.”
She’s still at her table an hour later doing case work on her laptop when Killian bursts through the door and nearly gives her a heart attack. “If you were trying to scare me, it worked.”
“I need to talk to you about something, love.” He’s smiling, but she can see that he’s hesitant to share whatever was discussed between him and the band.
“I’m listening. Did everything go okay?”
“Aye. Better than okay, really.” His smile only widens. “They’ve asked me to officially join the band.”
Emma bolts from her seat at the table and throws her arms around him. “Ah I knew it! I’m so proud of you.” Instead of fear, now she feels nothing but happiness for him. They’d already discussed the possibility of what it would mean for them if this did indeed happen, and now she’s ready to support him and face whatever’s next head on.
“I couldn’t have done it without you,” he says, holding her tightly against him.
She doesn’t even try to contradict him, knowing from previous conversations that he wholeheartedly means it. “So, what’s next? Are you guys planning anything?”
“You could say that.” They pull apart and Killian takes her hand as they move into the living room to sit on the couch. “Mostly songwriting and promotional stuff for the next album for now. The record label would like us to have something ready by spring or summer. There’s also talk of a tour on the East Coast around the same time.” He adds the second part hesitantly, as if he’s nervous to see her reaction.
Emma smiles and squeezes his hand. “At least you won’t have a new time zone to get used to. I know you have plenty of fangirls in Boston that are bound to come to your show if there’s one here.”
“That might be so, love, but there’s only one I’m concerned about.”
“Really? Tell me about her.”
“Well, she’s clever; had me whipped longer than I’d like to admit. Beautiful...blonde...big green eyes...the most stubborn woman I’ve ever met.” Emma pinches his side at that. “She’s my very best friend and I love her more than she could ever know.”
Damn him and his way with words. She started off laughing and now she’s trying not to tear up. “I think she loves you, too.”
He kisses her softly, forehead leaning against hers as they pull apart. “There’s something else I’d wanted to discuss with you as well.”
“What’s that?”
“The boys were discussing what they’re going to do about tour management this time around. Regina has done most of it in the past, but she and Robin just found out they’re expecting a baby and they both feel she should step back for now.”
“Leaving you without a tour manager,” she assumes.
“Aye. The boys were talking and, it’s completely fine if you’re not alright with it, but I mentioned something about offering the position to you.”
Emma’s not sure if she’s heard him correctly at first. “Me? Really?”
“I know you have a job in bailbonds that you’re already wonderful at,” he quickly points out, taking her surprise as a bad sign, “but I just thought I’d see how you felt about the idea since we wouldn’t have to be apart for tours anymore if you were there. Like I said, it’s completely fine if you’d rather not consider it, though.”
She doesn’t have to do much thinking about it; bailbonds has worked in her favor for the past few years, but she’s never wanted to do it forever. And spending time on the road with her boyfriend, helping him further his career for a living… “I’d love to. Y’know, as long as the band is okay with it.”
The smile that was on his face before is nothing to the one that’s there now. “Bloody hell. You really want to do this, love?”
“As long as you’re there...then yeah, I really do.”
-/-
They go on a three month tour in the spring, and it goes better than she could have ever imagined it. She loves being with him every step of the way and doing everything she can to make sure each and every one of the shows go off without a hitch. It’s exhausting some days, but it’s worth it every time she sees him on stage doing what he loves the most.
The band’s first album with Killian drops shortly after and seems to become a bestseller overnight. It does so well that the two of them are able to move out of their building when their leases end, into an apartment so nice that he has a room solely dedicated to his guitars- although he prefers to serenade her with the acoustic one that made its first appearance the night they met.
They’re on tour again two years later when he drops to his knee on stage and asks her to marry him in front of one of the biggest crowds they’ve ever played for. She says yes.
Later, he writes his own song about it that only she gets to hear.
#cs ff#meredith writes#captain swan#cs au#captain swan fic#cs fic#ouat ff#alternate universe#friends to lovers#musician killian#killian jones#emma swan
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Chapels and Panic Attacks
“I feel like we’re forgetting something.” Kurt stared down at his wedding binder, chin rested in the palm of his hands and elbows on the table. He had taken a shower already and his hair was particularly messy and fluffy.
“Kurt, I told you not to come home from work and stress about the wedding.” Blaine, who had just opened the back door, shook his head but smiled. Had he really thought Kurt would not stress about it?? After all, it was Thursday and the wedding was Saturday afternoon.
“I know but I just want it to be perfect.” Kurt scooted back from the table and closed the binder.
“I think you don’t want the planning to be over.” Blaine carefully set his messenger bag on the floor and then wrapped his arms around Kurt from behind. “You’ve been planning your wedding since you were seven.”
“And our wedding since I was eighteen.” Kurt admitted aloud. “Oh my God. I said that out loud, didn’t I?”
“Yes.” Blaine laughed.
“I wish we could have our real honeymoon now… staying in a nice resort for two days by ourselves will be nice though.”
“I’m sorry. It’s the hugest case since I’ve been hired on and it’s pretty much all hand on deck… but on the bright side, we knew when we picked our wedding date so we hadn’t already booked a honeymoon and had to cancel it.”
“Yeah, I know.” Kurt sighed a bit and nodded. “I’m marrying a multimillionaire in less than two days and can’t even have a long honeymoon.”
“You really like saying that.” Blaine laughed loudly, pulling another kitchen chair next to Kurt and sitting down beside him.
“Which part?” Kurt grinned.
“All of the above I’m assuming.” Blaine grinned back and took the binder. “It is what it is now, Kurt. We should really try to enjoy the last day and a half before we take the biggest step of our lives.”
“I think the twins being born in five months will be the biggest step.” Kurt corrected him.
“Don’t you mean steps?” Blaine grinned again.
“Oh my God.” Kurt rolled his eyes but smiled.
“Seriously, though, it’s crazy. I can’t believe it took so fast. One try and boom—twins.”
“Overachiever.” Kurt laughed.
“I was afraid Burt would have a heart attack when we told him not only had we finalized a wedding date but also that we were trying for kids.” Blaine laughed this time.
“He’s thrilled. Everyone is… except for Melody.”
“She’ll come around. She’s using to being the baby.”
“I know.” Kurt looked at his watch. “What time is Alex getting into New York?”
“Overnight. I gave him the door code and already talked to Chad. He’s going to let them in and show them how to get to the elevator.” Blaine put his cell phone on the table after checking to make sure he hadn’t gotten any updates from Alex. “I can’t believe they cancelled his first flight.”
“We can all get brunch at Rustic Table. I’m sure they’ll want to sleep in.” Kurt suggested to take Blaine’s mind off of his brother’s delayed arrival. “And we’ll probably be hungry again after the wedding rehearsal.”
“I can’t wait to eat at 21 Club. I have always wanted to. The guy at the firm who just got married had his rehearsal dinner there too and he always goes on about the alcohol.” Blaine grinned.
“You can’t get drunk. We get married the next day, you remember?” Kurt gave him a look.
“I know, I know.”
“I hope you know. If you are drunk or hungover on our wedding day, I might literally murder you.” Kurt threatened. “Maybe you and Wes shouldn’t be alone together.”
“Kurt, if you kill me the day of the wedding I don’t think you’ll get the life insurance money.” Blaine winked. “Besides, it’s our wedding rehearsal dinner. I’ll be with you the whole time, okay? I promise.”
“Alright. Can we just lay down and spend some time together? I know it’s going to be crazy tomorrow and even crazier on Saturday… I’d like to just be with you.”
“I thought you’d never ask.” Blaine stood and offered his hand. “As long as you let me get out of this suit first.”
“The next time you put on a suit… it’ll be a tux.”
“The next time you put on a suit, it’ll be a tax as well.” Blaine grinned. “And then later that night, I’ll get to take it off.”
…
“Everything looks beautiful.” Carole gasped walking into the room that Kurt and Blaine would be getting married in the following day. “It’s breathtaking.”
“Can you tell Kurt that? He’s stressing about it. He thinks it might be too over the top.” Blaine laughed.
“No, it’s absolutely perfect for you two.” Carole shook her head.
“Momma, I thought we were going to eat cake.” Melody whispered loudly, tugging Carole’s arm to get her attention.
“Honey, the wedding is tomorrow. This is just the rehearsal.” Carole whispered back.
“Then why is it so pretty now?”
“Kurt wanted to make sure it was going to look perfect tomorrow so he insisted it be finished today.” Kurt caught up to them. “But I don’t know if I like the lighting—.”
“It’s perfect, Kurt. Absolutely perfect for you two. It’s amazing.” Carole reassured him.
“When she first saw it she used the words beautiful and breathtaking, kid.” Burt, who had been with them but was too busy looking around in shock to join the conversation, grinned.
“Daddy, why do you still call Kurt, Finn, and Blaine kids?” Melody questioned. “They’re grown-ups.”
“It’s a stage.” Carole whispered to Blaine who looked amused. “Finn went through it too… only Melody’s questions are a bit more age appropriate.”
“Are you sure the lighting is good, though? If we spend this much money on photographers and the pictures aren’t perfect I’ll be devastated.” Kurt looked to Carole.
“Kid, people get married in places like this all of the time.” Burt told him.
“Plus, photographers bring their own stuff to adjust for any possible lighting issues.” Blaine added.
“I know but if we need anything changed it has to be tonight.” Kurt chewed on his lip and looked around again.
“It’s perfect.” Blaine, Burt, Carole, and Melody said at the same time.
“Okay, okay, okay.” Kurt held his arms up in defense. “It’s perfect.”
…
“Is this seriously happening today? Today I am marrying Kurt?” Blaine asked, staring at the tuxes set up throughout the room.
“Unless you’re backing out.” Alex joked.
“Wes, this is terrifying. How did you do this?”
“With a crying two-year-old in my arms.” Wes remarked. “But Quinn’s got two of yours in the bun so it’s pretty much the same thing. Blackmail.”
Alex looked at Wes for a few moments before bursting into loud laughter.
“Heyyyy.” Eric poked his head in before coming into the room.
“How did you marry Alec?” Blaine asked.
“Still a bit hazy. I don’t remember much of anything before the wedding, actually.” Eric shrugged. “Why?”
“He’s freaking out.” David said.
“Ah. Yeah well, I think everyone does.” Eric nodded. “I passed out.”
“What about you, Alex?” Blaine asked.
“We got married in the courthouse.” Alex shrugged. “I wore a tie, she wore a dress, and everyone we knew got drunk in her parents back yard that night. Highly recommend that kind of wedding… a lot less stressful than this probably was to plan.”
“You think Kurt would have let him help that much?” Wes snorted.
“No, you’re probably right… but you’ll be fine, Blaine. Even if you forget the words to your vows, everyone will think it’s cute.” Alex reassured him. “But nothing else really matters apart from you and Kurt.”
“What he said.” David pointed at Alex.
“By the way, I saw Kurt because I walked Alec to the room he’s getting ready in. He looks amazing.” Eric added. “That’s what you’ll remember before the vows. First seeing him and then both of you standing in front of the officiator to start. You might remember some of this but the nerves you won’t remember.”
“I’m not nervous. Okay, I am nervous. It’s just a big step. I’m ready for it, obviously.” Blaine babbled. “I mean we’ve been together forever and we don’t do very good apart, so it’s meant to be.”
“Don’t say that in your vows.” Wes warned.
“I think talking about this will stress him out more.” David said. “C’mon, Blaine. Let’s go on the balcony and get some air.”
“No, I mean, okay but I’m totally fine. Having a minor panic attack with all of this waiting but I’m fine. I know I’m meant to be with him and he’s meant to be with me. He’s everything to me and we’re about to have two kids and I couldn’t be happier. I’m just freaking out because of this dead time.” Blaine responded.
“And that’s why we’re going to get some air.” Alex nudged him towards the balcony where David was already holding the door open. “Go on.”
“Fine.” Blaine sighed and stepped outside. He took in a deep breath and let it out as Burt came into the room.
“Better?” David asked.
“Yeah.” Blaine took another deep breath. “A lot better.”
“Good, because Burt’s here to talk to you.”
…
“Your husband to be is having a panic attack.” Rachel announced coming into Kurt’s dressing room.
“What?” Kurt yelped, turning so fast he nearly knocked a chair over.
“Finn told me.” She explained, holding up her phone.
“Maybe not the best time to tell him that.” Alec gave Rachel an impatient look. “I’m sure he’s okay.”
“I don’t know. Kurt’s dad walked in and apparently he forgot how to breathe or something.” Rachel retorted. “That doesn’t sound fine to me.”
“Could you not?” Alec asked Rachel as Kurt grabbed his phone.
“I need to see him.” Kurt said. “He’s not had a panic attack since he was 18.”
“But you can’t see him before the wedding; it’s bad luck, Kurt!”
“Then maybe you shouldn’t have told Kurt in the first place.” Alec snapped. “Come on, Kurt. I know where their dressing room is at.”
Kurt took his tux shirt off and neatly put it on the hanger, leaving in his pants and a white t-shirt.
Alec led Kurt down two hallways, stopping at the end of the second one. “They’re in here.”
“Thanks.” Kurt stepped in.
“He’s fine.” Wes reassured him. “He doesn’t want to not get married or anything like that.”
“I know.” Kurt smiled. “Can we have some time alone?”
“Yeah. Your Dad and Eric are in there with him.” Wes pointed to the bathroom as the other guys filed out.
Kurt headed to the bathroom.
“Oh God, who told you?” Blaine gasped out, seeing Kurt in the doorway.
“He’s fine, Kurt.” Eric said, a cup of water in his hand.
“I know.” Kurt promised, crossing the bathroom and standing next to Blaine. “What happened?”
“Courthouse weddings and babies and big steps. Also, it’s really hot in here.” Eric supplied.
“Wait, what?” Kurt looked confused. “Courthouse weddings? Steps?”
“I think some of the wedding chatter and advice got in his head.” Burt said, hand still on Blaine’s back. “As soon as I came in to talk to him he couldn’t breathe.”
“It’s a panic attack.” Eric said. “It’s been a pretty long one, though. Here, drink some more water.”
Blaine shook his head, leaning against Kurt.
“It’s okay. Everything is going to go perfectly. We’ll leave here tonight married and we’ll have four completely stress free days.” Kurt whispered in his ear. “And then we’ll have so much free time after work without wedding planning that we won’t know what to do with ourselves.”
Blaine took a few breaths, gripping Kurt’s hand.
“Drink some water?” Kurt asked, taking the cup from Eric.
Blaine nodded and took a few sips.
“Are you sure you’re okay? We can push it back an hour or two if you need to. We paid so much for this wedding that they’d not even care. This place is ours today anyway.” Kurt whispered, brushing some of Blaine’s hair back.
“No, no. I just need to calm down. I know I need to calm down but it’s not helping.” Blaine shook his head.
“Do the breathing Wes and David were talking about.” Eric prompted. “Three full times, okay? I’m sure I’ve got some medicine in my car if you need it. I can have Alec run and grab it.”
“I’m fine.” Blaine took a deep breath, some more color returning to his face. Kurt still had arms around him and was kissing the top of his head. “I’m okay. I think it’s over.”
Burt squeezed Blaine’s shoulder.
“Are you sure?” Eric asked, looking hesitant.
“Yes.” Blaine nodded, leaning against Kurt.
“I’ll give you three a few minutes… just let us know when you’re ready for us to come back in, okay?” Eric asked.
“Thanks, Eric.” Blaine gave him a small smile.
“Let’s go out in the dressing room. There’s more space.” Kurt helped Blaine up.
“I can walk.” Blaine reassured him.
“I know you can.” Kurt ruffled his hair and led them into the dressing room.
“I’m sorry.” Blaine sighed, looking between Burt and Kurt.
“Shh.” Kurt sat next to him on a large couch.
Burt sat on his other side. “Feeling better? You scared me a bit, kid.”
“Yeah. I think I got too hot and I was getting nervous because they were talking about weddings that weren’t like ours and what not to say in vows.” Blaine took a deep breath. “I was nervous already and then you came and it was like I blacked out and then couldn’t breathe.”
Burt chuckled a bit.
“How is that funny?” Kurt looked at his father as if he’d gone crazy.
“Kid is so crazy about you that he had a panic attack, Kurt. That’s kind of cute.” Burt chuckled some more.
“It is kind of cute.” Kurt admitted, still running his fingers through Blaine’s hair. “But I don’t think it’s just from today. You’ve been worrying about work for a few weeks now. There was the flight mishap and you were afraid Alex wouldn’t make it in time. They lost our check for the cake.”
Blaine nodded. “And I was fine until I had all of this time before I needed to get dressed and I started thinking about it and then… panic attack.”
“It’s nothing to be ashamed of. It’s a big thing you two are doing.” Burt reassured them.
“Were you nervous?” Blaine looked at Kurt pitifully.
“I’ve been a nervous wreck for days. I just didn’t want you to think I was having second thoughts.” Kurt admitted. “The difference is mine didn’t come all at once.”
“It happens more than you’d think, Blaine.” Burt reassured him. “Maybe not a full-blown panic attack but everyone surrounding you probably didn’t help.”
“No.” Blaine laughed a bit. “Definitely not.”
“Look… this thing is supposed to start in about thirty minutes.” Burt looked at his watch. “I just wanna say this to you first—and Kurt, you can hear this too.”
Blaine watched him carefully.
“I never expected us to be here today the first time I met you with you hungover and sleeping in my son’s bed, but I wouldn’t have it any other way. I could never trust anyone with Kurt more, Blaine. And I couldn’t trust anyone with you more either. You two have been family to each other for a long time and… I’m glad it’s going to be official today and that I’ll get to call you my son. I’ve always seen you as my son, kid, and I hope you know that.”
Tears filled Blaine’s eyes and he nodded.
“I love you both and I am so happy and thankful that you two found each other. You guys are perfect together and I can’t wait to watch you both excel in your careers and have kids and love each other until you’re both my age and older. Both of you make me so proud and, Blaine, I couldn’t be prouder to have you as an official son.”
“I love you too.” Blaine hugged him. “Thank you for everything you’ve ever done for me. I—“
“Don’t thank me for anything.” Burt hugged him back. “Just take care of Kurt, okay?”
“Always.” Blaine pulled back and wiped his eyes.
Carole stepped in. “Guys, the officiator is here.”
“Oh, God.” Kurt stood up. “Okay, Blaine, I need to finish getting ready.”
“I need to do that too.” Blaine gave Kurt a tight hug and then kissed him quickly.
“Are you sure you’re okay?” Kurt asked, pulling back.
“I’m positive, I promise. I love you.”
“I love you too.” Kurt threw his arms around Blaine’s neck, tears filling his eyes. “I love you so much.”
“I love you too.” More tears filled Blaine’s as well.
“Okay, boys. We don’t want to put it off any longer than we have too, right?” Burt chuckled. “I’m going to get Kurt back to his room now.”
Carole gave Kurt a hug as he and Burt passed.
Wes came back into the room as Kurt passed. “Goin to the chapel and we’re…. gonna get marrrrried. Goin to the chapel and we’re gonna get marrrrried.”
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Dreams and Visions (46/51): Just An Ordinary Day
Time Period: Crossover
Chapter Summary: Watson, Holmes, John and Sherlock have an ordinary day.
I recommend listening to Great Big Sea's 'Ordinary Day' while reading, I did while writing :)
Read it on AO3
Victorian
Watson placed the last of the sweet peas in the ground and looked up. “Sherlock, they’ll be here soon!”
His husband was observing the bees, a ridiculous looking contraption protecting his head and neck. He waved a hand, still focused on the hives.
Watson shook his head fondly. He knew Holmes would likely be cleaned up and on the doorstep before he was. He managed it every time.
Holmes was indeed at the door before he was less than twenty minutes later; waving enthusiastically as their family pulled up. Rachel Hopkins, all of five, leapt out and barrelled towards them. Billy helped his mother down and followed his sister in the same manner, and Stan just shook his head.
“Apologies,” he called. “I seem to have brought several lunatics to your cottage.”
Kitty threw a smaller bag at him. “Quiet, husband.”
Holmes laughed as he swung Rachel into his arms. “How was the train?”
“Wildly exciting.” A gray haired Mycroft stepped carefully out, still dignified but more relaxed since his own retirement. “I believe I have performed the required amount of trips now.”
“But Uncle Mycroft, you have to come back to London.” Rachel had solved the problem of what to call Mycroft when she first learned to talk, and the title never failed to make the old man smile.
“I suppose I do,” he allowed. “Ah well, above and beyond—I must follow my little brother’s example.”
Holmes gripped his brother’s arm. “It’s good to see you, Mycroft.”
“And you, Sherlock.” Mycroft examined the cottage. “It’s a lovely home.”
“Well, this is just the outside. The inside is much nicer, and that’s all Kitty’s doing, of course.”
“Now Father, that’s not entirely true. All the paintings are Father’s doing.”
Mycroft tilted his head. “I continue to find it astonishing that I know exactly what you mean when you speak that way.”
Kitty patted his arm. “Well you are rather brilliant. You should be able to keep up.”
Watson snorted.
It was a good day for Holmes’ leg and Watson’s back, so they offered to take the children for a walk along the beach. Mycroft went with them as far as the pool, but regretfully announced that he had to turn back. “I’m afraid I’m only going to slow you down.”
“Mummy and Daddy will keep you company,” Rachel promised as she danced in front of the group. “Grandfather John, will you tell us a story?”
Mindful of the dire threats Kitty had made if Rachel got wind of certain ones of their adventures, Watson kept it light, describing some of their more madcap adventures. Holmes chimed in every once in a while, mostly to correct timelines. “My dear Watson, I dressed as the old woman then the young lady.”
Billy listened intently as his sister skipped around. She hadn’t stopped moving since the day she was born, and Watson was sure his granddaughter would be dancing across a stage when she grew older.
They could have walked all day, but storm clouds were brewing on the horizon, and Rachel was growing sleepy. She still napped in the middle of the day, and fell asleep clinging to Billy’s back as they returned to the cottage.
Once they were all inside—they’d borrowed a few chairs from the Rileys’ for this occasion—Holmes offered around sherry. Billy looked up hopefully.
“Not this time, lad,” Watson said firmly. “Your mother will murder you.”
“I will indeed.” Kitty took her own glass. “And your grandfather.”
“Daughter, you’ll do no such thing,” Holmes said sternly, putting a hand on Watson’s shoulder. “I’m rather fond of him.”
Watson took his hand and kissed it. “Why thank you.”
“Have you heard from Inspector Lestrade?” Mycroft asked.
“We haven’t received a letter in a while,” Watson said slowly, worried. The Inspector had been forced to retire due to poor health, and had gone off to Scotland to live with his daughter.
“It’s nothing bad,” Mycroft assured them. “He’s a great-grandfather now.”
“Oh, that’s wonderful,” Watson smiled. “He deserves a rest. The hell we put him through…”
“I wouldn’t have done it if he didn’t enjoy it,” Holmes mumbled.
“He’s the nice one, isn’t he, Grandfather Sherlock?” Rachel asked, preoccupied for the moment with a picture book.
“Yes, and the most intelligent of the professionals, with the exception of your father,” Holmes answered readily. “We should try for a visit, John, when we can.”
“That would be nice,” Watson smiled.
The smile stayed with him through supper, as they drove Kitty, Stan and Mycroft back to town (there wasn’t quite enough room at the cottage, and while Mycroft didn’t complain they knew he needed a full bed), tucked the children into bed after one last story. Watson slipped out of the room as his husband pulled out his violin and began playing a soft lullaby.
As he put on the kettle for chamomile, the smile faded without him noticing. It wasn’t until his husband wrapped his arms around him from behind that Watson even realized he was crying.
“John…dearest, what’s wrong?”
“Nothing,” Watson said, in a voice that was more sob than speech.
“Don’t lie to me…”
“No, honestly, nothing’s wrong.” Watson wiped his eyes. “I just…today was wonderful.”
“It was a nice day,” Holmes agreed carefully.
“And watching you was the best part.”
Holmes didn’t answer.
“Watching you get to enjoy our family…being so open, not being afraid…I’ve never seen you quite this happy. This free. And I was thinking about how lucky we are that we got this in the first place…”
Holmes drew him close against his chest, face buried in the crook of Watson’s neck. “I love you,” he whispered fiercely. “I love you so, somuch.” He pressed a kiss to the back of Watson’s neck.
“I love you too, Sherlock.” Watson reached up and took his hand, held it close, fingers brushing over the wedding band.
They stayed there like that for quite a while, the tea forgotten.
“Do you think they have days like this?” Holmes asked quietly. “Days when they can just be and not…not worry about anything?”
“I hope so,” Watson replied. “It’s strange—I’m sure some people would call this quite an ordinary day.”
“Well that is your greatest gift, my dear John.” Holmes took his hand again, kissed the tips of his fingers. “You’ve always been able to make the ordinary extraordinary.”
BBC
John bustled around the kitchen, trying to finish the last of the food amongst Sherlock’s latest experiment. “You’d better clean this up, love.”
Sherlock sniffed as he went by with the basket of toys, kept out from underfoot unless children were visiting. “It’s fine, John. I told you that already.”
“Yes, and I don’t totally believe it,” John retorted.
Sherlock was saved by the doorbell ringing. John went for the door but Mrs. Hudson got to the stairs first. “You finish the peas, I’ll let everyone in.”
John smiled to himself as he heard Mycroft and Greg chatting with Mrs. Hudson downstairs. It wasn’t an occasion, exactly, but it was the first Saturday night all summer when everyone was off and there were no murders to be solved. John had put his foot down. They were having a family dinner.
Greg dragged Mycroft into the kitchen and kicked John out. “Go and handle the drinks, I can finish the cottage pie!” Mycroft was helping by moving parts of Sherlock’s experiments out of the way of Greg’s enthusiastic chopping.
Mrs. Hudson came up with the Hopkins family, Rachel wearing a bright blue dress and beaming. Kitty kissed John’s cheek and picked up her daughter. “Rachel, tell Grandad what happened today!”
Rachel smiled hugely, showing off the gap in her front teeth.
John gasped, taking Rachel in his arms. “Goodness gracious! Congratulations!”
“Mummy said we can go to the zoo with Daddy tomorrow, and we can see the pretty birds! That’s better than a fairy!”
John covered a smile. “Indeed.”
Once Kitty and Stan were seated, Rachel crawled onto Sherlock’s lap. “Hello, Grandda.”
“Hello Rachel,” Sherlock answered. “Now, what’s your latest adventure?”
John grinned as Rachel explained her latest games with the unshakeable gravity only four-year-olds possess. Sherlock was all attention, offering advice on dealing with troll queens.
Kitty smiled at him. “Never thought Da would be such an expert on trolls. Goodness knows I can’t always give the right advice.”
“Well, he’s always been bright,” Stan said, a smirk playing on his lips. “Suppose that’s a good reason for you to be Holmes-sexual, Dad.”
John’s smile vanished as Sherlock chuckled. “Greg, I swear to God…”
Greg just laughed from the kitchen. “I didn’t say it, John.”
“Like you’re any different,” John muttered. Kitty patted his hand sympathetically.
Mrs. Hudson came up the stairs, leading Molly, Mike, Lily and Jacob. “Hello, everyone!”
John stood up and took everyone’s coats. Lily tugged on his sleeve. “Uncle John, do you like my dress?”
It was a lovely blue dress, but it did seem a bit…short for her.
“It’s very pretty,” he said diplomatically.
To his surprise, Lily pouted. “You were supposed to say you didn’t approve!”
“Why—why do you want me to say that?” John asked, stunned.
Lily took a step back and pulled on the belt around her waist. A long skirt fell down, all in greens and purples. “It’s a water dress,” she said excitedly. “You can wear it swimming, and then you can have a pretty dress later on. Mummy says she’ll help me find fabric that will dry quickly.”
John beamed. “Brilliant, Lily.”
Jacob was already at Sherlock’s side, chattering about the latest explosion he’d caused in class. The glee in Rachel’s eyes reminded John to warn Kitty that her daughter needed to be kept away from baking soda and vinegar (at the very least).
After a few arguments in the kitchen (Molly had to intervene about the proper wine to have with the potatoes), they all gathered together at the table. Well, John allowed as he sat down, it was actually three tables jammed together, one from Mike and Molly’s, one Mycroft had delivered, and one that was actually a night table from the room upstairs.
John remembered the day he’d moved in. He’d placed his gun in the top drawer after he and Sherlock had come back from Chinese at three in the morning, still high from adrenaline. He’d fallen asleep that night exhausted and hopeful for the first time in weeks, the only bitterness that Sherlock, of course, wasn’t interested in him. Ah well. He’d be satisfied with friendship.
The first lie he’d told himself.
John remembered the last time he’d slept up there, the night he still didn’t understand, when he’d spoken with a man trapped in a time without freedom for love. The next night he’d only gone into the room long enough to grab pyjamas.
Then the night table became their daughter’s, and now the room was open again, open for any of their family to visit.
A family he’d never thought he would have.
Sherlock took his hand. “We’re lucky,” he whispered.
“We are.” John leaned over and kissed his husband, ignoring Rachel’s squawk of disgust. “I love you, Sherlock.”
“I love you, John.” Sherlock kissed his hand, lips on his wedding band. “Pass the potatoes?”
And I say way-hey-hey, it’s just an ordinary day,
And it’s all your state of mind,
At the end of the day, you’ve just got to say it’s alright.
Great Big Sea, Ordinary Day
#sherlock fanfiction#sherlock holmes fanfiction#johnlock#sherlock AU#crossover with original canon#acme146 fanfiction#dreams and visions#sleeping on it 'verse
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10-26-19 (Saturday)
Was thinking about early childhood. Like 4 and under. A lot. We used to live in a rental house on Eichel. In Jimtown.
I was thinking about it and I realize that I was so clueless. And helpless. But I don't think my mother had yet realized how she could use me. Or maybe she didn't have the desire yet. Idk. Maybe she got bored once she didn't have random neighbors to fight. Which, btw she did almost fight someone while she was pregnant with me. Apparently my dad held her back and the other woman just went back to her house. But my mom was nearly ready to birth me and she was trying to fight a bitch? Jesus christ. She must have had some intense rage issues if she could be several months pregnant and the first thought is "I should risk everything because someone made me angry." Then again, she never wanted me.
I have to wonder what people thought about her. She hadn't learned to hide that behavior when not at work yet. She just went apeshit. Did they think she was a violent danger? Did any of them feel sorry for me? I wouldn't mind either way but... I just wonder what was seen from the outside. Did she have them all fooled? Or did some red flags get noticed? She seemed really good at convincing most mental health professionals. But I think a couple caught on tbh. Julie Kahre used to (I have no clue if she still does) work at Evansville Psychiatric. She was apparently in high school with my mom at the same time but supposedly different grades and different friend groups. My mom was more in the fringe of the punk scene and apparently knew a LOT of people who were among the first in Evansville to get completely and totally fucked over by meth and heroin. Anyway... I think Julie saw that she wasn't actually beimg a good mom and she tried subtler ways of helping me see but it never really stuck. And one day she just told us both that my mom wasn't doing things right (translate that into therapy talk, I'm half asleep rn) and essentially told her she was rhe problem and my mom grabbed my wrist and drug me outside and into the car.
My mom hadn't liked her being my therapist. We laughed and joked a lot was her reasoning but apparently my mom thought that wasn't important to be doing. Idk. I think maybe Julie knew something about her and she was afraid of it being revealed. Idk. But I felt good going in there. I felt okay with her as a therapist. Like she was functional for me. Which was rare. And then my mom started undermining everything. Telling me that she thought I was getting worse. And idek if I was or not but if I was, it wasn't Julie's fault.
But anyway, we never went back there after that. And while I had been there, I'd had to see her psychiatrist, Dr. Kaplan (now at Midwest behavioral health next to cross pointe). And that man did not understand a goddamn thing about me. And like at one point even he admitted that he felt it unprofessional of him to take us both on as patients and tried to get her tonlet me see some other Psychiatrist and I was all for it. But she knew she could manipulate him and was like "No, I'll jusy go see someone else, it's fine." And like... I literally begged her to let me see anyone else except Dr. Kaplan or Paul Mefford (knew him through TSA, never liked him. Actively disliked the man. Still do. And besides, It would be a conflict of interest since we were both on the board) and she basically told me no, this was what we were doing. End of story.
Idk. I don't think there was much I could do to change anything before I did. I lacked the confidence that Jessi had given me to break out of there. Take that leap. I tried once with living with Rachel and failed but Rachel was toxic. And she failed to understand the level of support one must provide to someone fresh out of an abusive situation (they all believed I should have a job and be out of their house within two weeks. I was applying everywhere. No one wanted to hire me. I was awkward and needed direction and I had never worked before. And even with a job 2 weeks is entirely unreasonable to save up money for an apartment, sign the lease, and move out). And she believes mental illness is fake anyway. So there was no getting help from her.
Jessi provided emotional support. However fleeting it may have been, she at least gave it effort. Maybe not the level I needed but to be fair, she was in the middle of crisis after crisis. Regardless, she boosted my confidence enough to get my ass in gear. And I finally was able to find some footing, rocky as it may have been. And then I met Sara. And everything accelerated much more quickly at that point. Sara devoted so much time and energy to me. Sometimes I think she may as well have been working two jobs I took up that much of her time. But she kept at it. She pushed me up off the ground and propelled me forward whenever I gave up. She encouraged me when Inwas too scared to move forward. She really put me on the path I'm walking now. She motivated me in a way no one else could. She's good at that, from what I've heard. She was good at that with me. Idk. She's just... She is really good at knowing when to listen, when to talk, when to offer comfort. When to soften her voice, when to joke and laugh with me. She could read me like a book. She saw through me. It was like having your mind read. She just got me on a very basic level. Like some will understand the various aspects of who I am. But Sara really understood who I am at my core. It felt like she was looking into my very soul. It was wild. But I trusted her to be careful with that knowledge. And she never disappointed. Sure, she made mistakes. But idk. They were honest mistakes. And everyone makes those. I just have never felt as understood by someone as I have by her. I still miss it. I think... I'll always miss her. And it hurts still. But... I am happy for her. I just am still scrambling to figure out how to fill the void she's left in my life. It's like a piece of me is just gone. She was... My support. She was half of my support system. I saw her more than anyone unless you count Yoshi. And even then... Some days... It was... Nice... To just be in her office sometimes. To just be near her. Safe. Protected. She was my refuge. She literally and figuratively saved my life.
I know everyone is sick of hearing me talk about her. But goddammit she was important to me. And that hasn't gone away just because she doesn't work at ECHO anymore. Idk. She was my friend. And that's what she'll always be. Even if she's not my friend I see all the time anymore.
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Cheater by Rachel Van Dyken is NOW LIVE!
What are you waiting for? Grab your copy TODAY!
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Blurb
Lucas Thorn wasn’t born a cheater. All it took was a single moment—say, a certain disastrous incident on the night before his wedding—and boom. Reputation destroyed forever and always. So now he owns it. He has a lady friend for every night of the week (except Sundays—God’s day and all), and his rules are simple: No commitments. No exceptions.
But a certain smart-mouthed, strawberry blonde vixen is about to blow that all to hell.
Avery Black has never forgiven Lucas for cheating on her sister. And suddenly being forced to work with him is pretty much a nightmare on steroids. Of course, it does afford her the opportunity to make his life as difficult as possible. But no good revenge scheme comes without payback. Because he didn’t become the Lucas Thorn without learning a few things about women.
Now Avery’s lust for vengeance has turned into, well, lust. And if Lucas stops cheating, it’s definitely not because he’s falling in love…
**PLEASE CHOOSE ONE EXCERPT**
Excerpt #1
The office building loomed ahead of me. I squinted up at it, covering my face with part of my hand as the sun cast its glare against the glass.
“What are we looking at?” Lucas whispered in my ear.
I let out a little yelp and jumped away from him, and I would have run into a passing biker if Lucas hadn’t pulled me out of the way with his coffee-free hand.
“Must you be such a pain in the ass?”
“Must you try to kill me?” I fired back.
He rolled his eyes. “Let’s go.” He started walking, hauling me with him.
We weren’t walking in the direction of the office.
“Um, Thorn—”
“I will seriously shove this Starbucks up that skinny ass if you don’t stop talking and just listen for once in your life.”
I shut up and followed, but only because he’d said “Starbucks” and was very purposefully moving in the nearest outpost’s general direction. If I looked pathetic enough, would he buy me coffee?
That was what my life was coming to.
Pity coffee.
My shoulders slumped at the thought when we walked into the building. The smell of fresh baked goods hit me with full force, and my stomach growled loudly, saying to everyone, I’m a hungry bear and may eat my young. Out of the way, please!
I followed Lucas to the line, still tempted to speak, but I figured if he wanted noise from me, he’d say something like, “You may grace me with your voice now, Avery.”
Even though I wasn’t talking, every time I heard someone order pumpkin bread I sighed, loudly, so loudly that the barista eyed me cautiously. Chill, Starbucks, I’m not going to steal a piece of pumpkin bread.
My mouth watered.
I mean, I wasn’t that desperate.
But if I took two, maybe three, steps toward her, yelled “Fire!” and then screamed nonsense about a bee attacking me, the pumpkin bread she had in hand would probably fall to the ground, and it would be wasteful if I didn’t rescue it from the ants.
All creatures deserve food—but pumpkin bread was too good for ants, too rich, and they’d explode all over the floor from the richness and it would be my fault—for saving the barista’s life, right? From the bee?
I think I just confused myself.
“Why are you breathing so heavy?” Lucas asked from my right.
I snapped out of my pumpkin-bread daydream and shrugged. “Sorry, low on sleep.”
He gave a noncommittal nod and then it was his turn, greedy little bastard already had one coffee now he was getting two! “A venti macchiato and a large coffee with room for cream, two slices—”
I elbowed him hard in the ribs.
“Sorry, um, three slices of pumpkin bread, thanks.”
He handed the barista his card, while my greedy eyes locked on the pumpkin bread as the barista placed it into a bag and gave it to him.
With an exasperated sigh, he shoved the bag into my hands. “Just leave me one bite.”
“No promises.” I was already digging into the bag, my mouth watering as I followed him around the counter with a little pep in my step.
Lucas grabbed our drinks and motioned toward one of the tables. I sat, stuffed more pumpkin goodness into my mouth, and managed to chug some coffee almost all at once.
Lucas shook his head. “I always forget how seriously you take your pumpkin bread.”
I moaned and took another huge bite. “My theory is this.”
He leaned forward, a smile curving around his gorgeous mouth. “Alright, out with it.”
More pumpkin bread found its way into my mouth as I talked—I didn’t even care if I looked like a starved animal. “Pumpkin bread has the same addictive properties as cocaine.”
“That’s your theory? That it’s a drug?”
“Right.” I sighed and leaned back. “Except it doesn’t make you skinny, unfortunately.”
His smile widened, and he grabbed a small hunk of bread. “Want to know my theory?”
“Yes, that’s exactly what I was thinking—I hope Lucas tells me his theory so I can eat his portion of bread.”
Lucas scooted the bag toward me and whispered, “Merry Christmas.”
“Oh, pumpkin gods.” I moaned again.
His eyes darted to my mouth.
“What?” I wiped my lips. “Is something on my face?”
“No.” He looked away. “So my theory is this . . . pumpkin flavoring is a conspiracy by the government to see how many ways we can market a flavor and make money off it.”
“Boo.” I gave him a thumbs-down. “Thanks, grinch. Oh, and stop ruining holidays.”
He smirked. “You’ve known forever that Santa isn’t real. Still doesn’t stop you from leaving him cookies every Christmas Eve, then sneaking downstairs and eating them all by yourself.”
“One”—I held up a finger—“it’s genius because nobody will touch them for fear that I’ll get mad. Two”—I held up a second finger—“when everyone else is sad about the Christmas cookies being gone, I know I’ll have them all to myself. It’s like . . .” I sighed, “. . . a Christmas present. To myself.”
“Except for that one time.” He smirked.
“Cruel man.” I glared at him. “How dare you eat my cookies?”
He shrugged. “They were sweet.”
Was it hot? In this little Starbucks? By the window where the sun was searing me alive like I was under a magnifying glass?
I tugged at my sleeveless blouse.
“About Saturday . . .”
Uncomfortable conversation, here we come! I strapped in and waited for the inevitable. And then realized, to my dismay, that he’d just bought me coffee and food without letting me go to the office.
My eyes filling with tears, I shook my head a few times. “Lucas, I may give you crap, but I really need this job.”
He frowned, like he was confused.
“Don’t say another word.” I held out my hands. “I’ll do anything, Lucas—and I mean anything—to keep this job. I wasn’t kidding when I said my parents were chomping at the bit to get me to move home, and I don’t want to. It’s not just about me being defiant; they want me to take over the family business.”
Lucas burst out laughing and then sobered. “Oh, you’re serious.”
“I can’t sell chicken, Thorn.”
“I mean, to be fair, Avery, your parents own a very lucrative organic meats company. I’m sure they could offer you at least five figures.” His smile was way too smug, but I still had to be nice to him rather than throw him off a cliff, because he could fire me.
Excerpt #2
Shaking, I ran my hands through my hair and was about ready to have a nervous breakdown when my phone rang.
“Yeah?” I grabbed my coat and headed out of the restaurant.
“She’s a clinger.” That’s all Thatch had to say before I burst out laughing. “She asked for my phone number.”
“How else is she supposed to have another booty call with the good doctor?” I grinned like a smug bastard, enjoying his panic, and then I warned him to stay away. “You know this is your fault, right? You know that inviting a woman to your apartment usually means that she’ll start envisioning her shit all over the place—and next thing you know, she’s about to have your baby.”
“SHE’S NOT PREGNANT!” He started cursing again. “Look, you know I have commitment issues.”
“No.” I rolled my eyes. “Shocker.”
“Like you should talk, you selfish bastard.” Thatch sighed loudly. “Break up with her for me?”
“Not a chance in hell.”
“But—”
“Nope.”
“Lucas Thorn.”
“Maybe if you had tits, and even then, that just makes shit weird, Thatch.”
I hit the elevator button and waited while Thatch started complaining about why sex can’t just be sex.
“You’re telling me.” I snorted into the phone. “Look, I gotta go. Just remember Austin and Avery are best friends, meaning, you screw her, her friend is most likely going to try to find a way to screw me. Girls go to the bathroom together. If they do the nonserious stuff in teams, you bet your ass they’re going to treat a breakup the same way.”
“That really wasn’t helpful, not at all, Lucas.”
“Or”—I shrugged and hit the button for my floor—“you could just make the sex really, really bad next time, say, finishing in like thirty seconds and screaming ‘Porcupine!’ or something.”
He was quiet, then said, “I can’t decide if that’s genius or stupid.”
“You never know until you try. Think of Christopher Columbus. Everyone thought he was stupid for sailing toward the New World, and look! He proved them wrong. The earth was in fact round, my friend.”
“Did you just compare yourself to someone who discovered an actual continent? Because it seems like you did, and this is after you told me to yell ‘Porcupine!’ when I orgasm.”
“Well, when you repeat it back like that . . .” I grumbled as the elevator doors opened to my floor. “Look, I gotta go. Leave me out of it though.”
“No promises,” he said just as I ended the conversation and greedily searched for Avery.
She wasn’t behind her desk.
Nor was she under it—I had to check because hiding and pouncing was exactly the kind of thing I could imagine her doing, just so she could scare the shit out of me and get it on camera or something. Then again, she wasn’t seventeen anymore, but this was still Avery we were talking about. Ergo, I still looked.
Frowning, I turned around in an effort to casually strut into my office and slammed right into Avery, knocking her backward onto her ass.
Folders went everywhere.
Papers scattered across the floor.
And her wedged heels somehow managed to fall from her feet, though they still dangled around her ankles.
“Are you okay?” I leaned down to grab her hand, but she didn’t take mine.
“Yeah.” Her cheeks reddened. “Sorry, I was just dropping off some files, and then I saw that these were addressed to another department and thought I could drop them off and . . .” Her voice trailed off as she flashed me a worried look, like I was going to fire her any minute.
Instantly feeling like an ass, I grabbed her by the waist and hoisted her into the air. “I’m not going to fire you.”
“Okay,” she huffed, tears welling in her eyes.
“Shit, Avery.” Earlier I’d been taking out my frustration with my family on her. Apparently, the distance and years hadn’t changed this aspect of our relationship, because this was a familiar pattern. I made her feel bad or guilty about something that wasn’t her fault—something she had no control over.
Especially the fact that I was extremely attracted to her—and knew it was wrong then, just like it was wrong now.
About the Author:
Rachel Van Dyken is the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and USA Today Bestselling author of regency and contemporary romances. When she’s not writing you can find her drinking coffee at Starbucks and plotting her next book while watching The Bachelor.
She keeps her home in Idaho with her Husband, adorable son, and two snoring boxers! She loves to hear from readers!
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Hiched chapter 1
Prologue
Justin
“Another beer?” my best friend Sterling asks.
“I better not.”
He smirks. “So you’re really going to go through with it, huh, mate?”
“What’s the big deal? You took a fake date to prom.”
I chuckle to myself, remembering the year Sterling took his cousin to the dance. He thought it was genius at the time—no corsage to buy, no need to impress her with a fancy restaurant or limo ride. Until the end of the night, when all the rest of us were enjoying some skin-to-skin contact with our dates, and he realized what a horrible decision he’d made. The only skin-to-skin action he got was with his hand.
“A fake wife is a hell of a lot different. It’s a big fucking deal.” Sterling glares at me over the rim of his beer.
Looking out over the ocean from our spot on the porch of the beach cottage, I loosen my tie, which has grown too tight around my neck, and level him with a dark stare.
“Actually, it’s legally binding, so she’ll be my real wife. Until we got divorced, or got the marriage annulled or whatever.”
“Do you even hear yourself? This is insane. You can’t marry some chick you don’t even like.”
“Who says I don’t like her?”
His eyes widen. “I’m not talking about the unrequited lust-fueled crush you’ve had on her since you were a horny teenager.”
I rub the back of my neck, feeling the stirrings of a headache. “What do you expect me to do? It’s part of my father’s will. This is my—no, our condition for taking over the company. No marriage means no inheritance, period. For either of us.”
Some people may say that being thrust into such luxury from the start makes you immune to it all, but that’s not true. I’ve never taken a single day of it for granted, and there’s no way in hell I’m going to give it up without a fight.
Sterling releases a loud sigh, and his gaze follows mine out to the water beyond. “I just think you should really think this through, man. Marriage is a big deal. It’s not something to be entered into lightly.”
Between the two of us, Sterling’s always been the voice of reason. For every brazen and rash idea I’ve had, every time I’ve jumped into the deep end without thinking, he’s helped steer me back onto the straight-and-narrow path. He’s been my best friend since we were fourteen. As the two new kids at a prestigious boarding school in Connecticut, we became inseparable.
“Trust me when I tell you I understand the gravity of the situation.”
My father’s death last year was a huge wake-up call. The fate of his $100 billion company suddenly dropped straight into my hands. I had to be ready to take over. And I am—I’ll do whatever it takes. Of course, it doesn’t hurt that my bride-to-be is the woman I’ve always wanted.
“There has to be another way,” Sterling says after taking a sip of his beer. “Besides, with your wandering eye and perpetually hard dick, you’d make a terrible husband.”
Ouch. I’m not that bad, am I?
He’s lecturing me about something, but all I can focus on is the tumultuous waves and the uneasy feelings stirring inside me.
“Oh, one more thing,” I say, turning toward him. “I need to knock her up.”
Sterling spits out his drink.
Chapter One
Justin
One Month Earlier
I clench my teeth and check my Rolex for the third time. This entire thing is a huge waste of time.
“Where is she?” I cast a glance at Selena’s father, Fred Cane, who’s seated at the head of the long conference room table.
“She’ll be here,” he assures me. Then, under his breath, he adds, “She’s got to.”
My sentiments exactly.
This meeting is a last-ditch effort to try to convince Selena to sign the contract. But I’m worried today will just be a repeat of last week. She flat-out refused to sign anything that put the two of us together in the same sentence—and said hell no.
Actually, it might have been said with more gusto. I think there was even an f-bomb involved.
But we need to get hitched before ownership of Tate & Cane Enterprises can transfer to us. And with the board of directors’ deadline looming, we need to do it yesterday. I’m not losing the $100 billion company that my father built because the ice queen won’t play nice.
I make a fat six-figure income, enjoy the finest indulgences money can buy, and I know damn well I live the good life. Just because I don’t take it for granted doesn’t mean I don’t take advantage.
Free upgrades at all the best hotels? Absolutely. The finest champagne delivered to my table, courtesy of the sommelier? Why not? The lifeguard at our country club letting me bend her over in the locker room all summer? Sure. The pretty blond hostess at La Chample who wants to blow me in the bathroom before my business dinner? Hell yeah. Being wealthy and attractive has its perks.
But if Selena doesn’t show up today, and if we can’t agree on the terms of this contract, my wealth stands to suffer immensely. As do the jobs and lives of the six thousand employees of Tate & Cane, including one of my favorite people on the planet, Rosita Hernandez. She’s a single mom to six kids. And if this deal goes south, I can only imagine what would happen to someone like Rosita. Christ, I’d probably end up moving her and the kids into my penthouse. Which would obviously put a huge cramp in the aforementioned blow jobs and champagne I regularly enjoy.
I shudder at the thought.
“I know it’s unconventional, that the contract is . . .” Fred pauses and frowns. He drums his fingers on the table, looking sheepish.
Unconventional? To say the fucking least. If the situation weren’t so grim, I might laugh.
He and my father drew up their wills years ago, outlining what would happen to their multibillion-dollar baby should they kick the bucket. The daunting stack of papers in front of me spells out in full legal jargon that Selena and I are to inherit the company with joint fifty-fifty ownership . . . but only if we’re legally wed.
With Fred’s failing health and the company itself suffering six consecutive quarters in the red, an emergency meeting was called last week. Selena and I were presented with our options.
In my view, there were no options. There was just the right thing to do. We had to marry to save not only our own jobs, but our fathers’ legacies and the jobs of six thousand people in offices in Manhattan, Chicago, San Diego, and Brussels.
Selena felt differently. She didn’t relish the idea of being tied to me, and insisted there had to be another way.
Even if we do manage to persuade her to tie the knot, there’s no way Selena would be getting anywhere near my bed. Damn shame.
We came close once . . . just once. Back when she was a drunk college co-ed on spring break.
Her family was staying with mine in a beach house on Puget Sound. We’d escaped the East Coast for the West that summer. Whale watching and hiking trips in the salty sea air and evenings spent eating lobster and drinking chardonnay like we were real adults and not nineteen-year-olds with stars in our eyes.
She snuck out of the bunk bed in the room she was sharing with her sister, Rachel, and into my bedroom that night. And when she crawled in beside me and laid her warm palm against my bare chest, I was a goner. I’ve always wanted Selena. Always desired her, from before I even knew what those strange feelings were in my gut, my chest. We kissed in the darkness, our tongues exploring, hands groping, hearts beating wildly.
But then reality slammed into me. There were a lot of reasons I told her no that night. Her mom had recently been diagnosed with cancer, and I knew Selena would regret using me to cope. Plus, I knew from a recent game of Truth or Dare that she was still a virgin.
So I kissed her a final time and then sent her away. It was the hardest thing I’ve ever done.
And now she treats me as if I were a piece of gum stuck to the bottom of those Louboutin heels she favors.
“I really think this is for the best,” Fred adds, pulling me back to the present.
“It’s what your father wanted, Justin,” Prescott says. Before my father’s death, Prescott was his most trusted advisor. He’s also a total fucking douche bag.
Just then, the conference room door flies open, and I know it’s her before I even look up from the contract.
A fresh floral scent with crisp notes of honeysuckle greets me. I have no idea where Selena gets that shit, but it makes my mouth water. It always has. I once spent an entire Saturday at the fragrance counter of a department store trying to figure it out, trying to prove that it was just some manufactured, bottled version of attraction, that it wasn’t something special to her. I never found it.
“I’m here,” Selena says, slightly breathless.
I look up just in time to be treated to the sight of her smoothing her dress shirt over her curves. Lush breasts and a flat stomach leading to full hips. Her jacket is slung over her arm, as is her tan leather briefcase, monogrammed with her initials in black cursive stitching.
“Miss Cane,” I say cheerfully. “You look exceptionally refreshed this morning.”
She likes to exercise in the morning before work, says it gives her the mental agility to stay focused on business for the sixteen-hour days she’s known to plow through. I like that it gives her cheeks a rosy glow . . . much like I’d guess sex would. Just the thought makes my cock twitch in my dress slacks.
“Save it, Justin. This is purely business,” she says, blinking at me with those lush, dark lashes.
No smile. No laughter. The opposite of the usual reaction I evoke from the fairer sex. And that annoys the shit out of me.
It’s as if Selena Cane alone possesses an antidote to my charm. And that only makes me want to watch her surrender to me that much more. The idea of her on her knees, pink lips parted, taking my cock deep down her throat, begging for more even as she gags on my impressive length, is more than just a sexual turn-on. It’s practically a life goal. To me, sex is a competitive sport. I know the rules, I play hard, and I always win.
Realizing they’re all still watching me, I take a deep breath, trying to force my cock to behave himself, and hold up my hands. She’s never taken one ounce of my shit, and I respect the hell out of her for that.
“I’m just trying to do what’s best here.”
She lets out a soft sigh of exasperation and sets her bag on the table. “Let’s get on with this.”
Her father pats the back of her hand. “Sit down, honey.”
She obeys, poised even in defeat, lowering herself into the seat with the confidence that was bred into her from birth. Preston slides a copy of the contract over to her, and she leafs through it with disinterest.
“I just don’t see why there has to be a marriage clause in the will.”
The woman has a point. My guess? Because our fathers have always wanted to play matchmaker when it came to us. They’ve paired us together since we were in diapers. Hell, we even have an old photo of us in full wedding apparel at a fake wedding from some twenty years ago.
“I’ve explained this, darling. It’s the only way we keep the company in the family. I thought that’s what you wanted . . . a chance to run this place someday.”
“I do, Dad,” she says softly. Then her eyes lift to mine. “I just didn’t think I’d be forced into something like this.”
“No one’s forcing you,” I say, keeping my tone light as I lace my fingers behind my head. “The choice is yours, Selena. I already told you, I’m game.”
She chews on her red lacquered thumbnail for just a second before folding her hands in her lap and shooting me an icy glare. “I’m quite aware of your position.”
Hell, at least she’s willing to hear us all out again. I know that deep down, she understands our fathers’ rationale. We’re stronger together. Our families built this company together. Neither of us can afford to buy the other out, so it needs to stay jointly fifty-fifty within the family. For now.
But for me, it’s about more than just money. Selena and I grew up together; our parents always envisioned us ending up together. I always knew she’d be somewhere in my future, even if it was just working side by side, with her busting my balls every chance she got. It was something I looked forward to.
Fred continued. “Trust and loyalty are the most important things in business. We can’t go getting into bed with someone we don’t know. We have to keep all of this in this room. Just between family.”
Selena sighs, giving him a skeptical look. “I’ll think about it.”
At least it wasn’t a flat no this time, even if her tone is still sour.
Prescott lets out an annoyed huff. “We’ll meet again on Thursday.”
She stuffs the contract in her bag and rises from the table, seemingly in a hurry to escape. “Until then.”
“Thank you for keeping an open mind,” her father says. “These things have a way of working themselves out in ways you can’t anticipate.”
I accept Fred and Prescott’s good-bye handshakes. When Selena’s turn comes, she thrusts her hand at me, clearly wanting to just get this over with . . . and I have a flash of wicked inspiration. Maybe I should shake things up. Test how thick her icy shell really is.
Holding her gaze, I raise her hand to my mouth and kiss it. “A pleasure doing business with you . . . Mrs. Tate,” I tease in a husky voice, letting my lips graze her knuckles.
Her eyes widen and she sucks in her breath. Is it my imagination, or do her cheeks look a little pinker than before? But before I can be sure, her expression hardens into a death glare.
Snatching back her hand, she snaps, “Don’t get ahead of yourself. I haven’t agreed to marry you yet, and even if I do, I’m never taking your last name.”
And then she’s gone, leaving me standing there with a stupid grin on my face.
“I’ve seen that look before,” Fred says with a small smile. “You’re in trouble, son.”
I laugh off his warning. There’s no way Selena Cane will ever have me wrapped around her finger.
Yet her unique sweetness lingers in my nostrils. She must have dabbed that intoxicating scent on her wrist, so close to my nose when I kissed her hand. I can still feel her soft, smooth skin on my lips. Such a small intimacy—just brushing her as I spoke—shouldn’t have spread this tingle over me. But there’s no denying that this room has become a few degrees too warm.
This is going to be interesting. Hell, it may even be fun.
Chapter Two
Selena
Camryn almost spills her pear mojito and gasps. “You have to do what? With who?”
Nodding grimly, I take a fortifying gulp of sangria. Just explaining this whole harrowing situation makes me feel like I’m going crazy.
We’re eating lunch at a table for two at Banderilla, our favorite tapas bar in all of Manhattan. This restaurant has been our go-to hangout spot since we were college roommates.
We’ve talked over countless decisions here. Whether I should break up with my shitty first boyfriend (I did), whether Camryn should give her anal virginity to her wannabe musician boyfriend (she did), if we should get matching friendship tattoos (I chickened out), whether she should accept Tate & Cane’s job offer after the internship I hooked her up with (she did).
But this decision is probably the biggest of my life. I need my best friend’s coolheaded advice now more than ever.
Camryn heaves a sympathetic sigh. “Jesus. I knew the company wasn’t doing so hot, but I had no idea just how much trouble we were in.”
“Yeah, turns out we should have invested more in social media.”
Like all the other big marketing firms. Dad had stuck to his guns with old strategies, and now clients thought we were a dinosaur.
“So, what do you think I should do about this contract?” I ask her again. I try not to sound impatient, but my head has been spinning ever since Dad announced his retirement—and I learned exactly what I’d need to do to take his place.
“Let me make sure I understand. You need to inherit and unfuck T&C, or else the board will pawn it off. Before the next financial quarter.”
“Yep.”
“But Bill Tate’s will says you can’t inherit until you marry his son.”
“Uh-huh.”
She sucks her teeth. “So . . . down the aisle in a matter of days, huh? Sounds like the board is the rock and Tate’s will is the hard place.”
“Exactly.” Although it’s Justin’s hard place that I really need to worry about right now. “And between the two, my personal life’s about to get smashed into dust.”
“I didn’t know you had a personal life.” She holds up one hand at my exasperated glare. “I’m kidding, I’m kidding. Sorry.”
“No, you’re right. I don’t really.” I sigh heavily. “But damn it, why should I give up what little I have? It’s not fair. At the end of a long workday, I want to come home to my own space for some peace and quiet.”
Not to mention wine. And ice cream. And drowning out the silence with crappy TV so I can’t start thinking about how lonely I am.
“I couldn’t stand having that jerk in my face 24–7. I’d put up with him all day at work, and then I’d have to see his dirty socks everywhere.” Fuck no.
“Who says you have to share your space?”
I snort as I lift a forkful of papas bravas to my mouth. “A husband and wife who don’t live together? Yeah, that’d look just great for publicity.” One of many reasons why Dad would never let me hear the end of it.
Camryn shrugs, her palms turned up. “My point is, you don’t necessarily have to lose your whole life.”
“Just the parts with independence and privacy.”
“Come on, try to think about the situation like any other business move. This marriage is just a piece of paper. After you and Justin deal with the big picture, you can negotiate the details like adults and find something you can both live with. You two are on the same page here—making a huge personal sacrifice to save your company.”
“I’m not so sure about that. Justin seems way more into the idea than me. He was on board from the very beginning.”
I rub my hand where he kissed it, thinking about the husky way he murmured Mrs. Tate. His idea of matrimony clearly isn’t very holy.
Camryn raises one perfectly waxed eyebrow. “Oh? You think he likes the idea of sharing a bed with you?”
“I think he likes sharing a bed with anything that has a pulse.”
Although his playboy ways make it seem even odder that he’s so eager to tie himself down. Uh, that was a poor choice of words. But who’s to say he won’t just keep sleeping around?
Like Camryn said, this marriage is strictly business. A mere legal formality. And Justin would probably explode if he went more than a week without pussy.
I may be the boss’s daughter, but I still overhear my fair share of office gossip. Justin nailed all six interns last summer. He’s also slept with various secretaries over the years, and everyone just turned a blind eye. Boys will be boys . . .
Well, playtime is over. If he expects to turn this company around, we’ve got our work cut out for us.
“But how do you feel about all this? Justin Tate is pretty fucking hot.”
“Camryn . . .” I groan.
“What? I have working eyeballs. His hotness is an objective fact. Just like the pope being Catholic and carbs making you fat. He just is. Would it really be so bad to see him naked?” Her sly smile says she’s suggesting a lot more than just looking. “As long as we’re weighing the pros and cons here . . .”
I pause to consider the image, then grudgingly admit, “No.”
In fact, it would probably be pretty damn fantastic. I’ve already gotten a preview of his toned body, firm chest, and six-pack abs. Whenever our families summered together in the Hamptons, he took every opportunity to strut around shirtless. Hell, when I was nineteen, I came close to fucking him. But I was young and stupid and horny back then. Now I’m older, wiser . . . and still incredibly horny. Damn it.
It’s ridiculous how easily Justin grabs my attention. The smallest thing he does can leave me flustered. Like at the close of our business meeting yesterday. Just as a bare-bones courtesy, the most brusque good-bye possible, I stuck out my hand at him—only for Justin to bow slightly and raise it to his mouth for a lingering kiss.
“A pleasure doing business with you . . . Mrs. Tate,” he teased in a husky voice.
My mouth went dry and my stomach fluttered. Or maybe that flutter was somewhere a bit south of my stomach. I suddenly remembered exactly how many years, months, days, and hours it had been since I’d last gotten laid.
I tried to recover. Who the hell did he think he was? We were standing in a Madison Avenue skyscraper, not a sixteenth-century castle. This was wildly inappropriate workplace behavior. I could slap his tight ass with a harassment suit if I wanted. Instead, I just gave the cocky bastard a death glare and the iciest retort I could think of.
But it was too late. There was no denying my body’s reaction. The red-hot shiver that had run down my spine when his soft, full lips touched my knuckles, brushing my skin as he spoke.
Even now, I find myself replaying the image of Justin Tate gazing up at me with a sinful smirk, his dark eyes alight . . .
I shake away the steamy memory. So what if Justin knows how to flirt like the shameless manwhore he is? Schmoozing is all he’s good for. And handsome men are a dime a dozen, especially in New York. Hell, a fifty-dollar vibrator could do his job, and I wouldn’t have to listen to its bullshit. I didn’t bust my ass in business school just to become Justin’s little woman.
Then again, I also didn’t bust my ass in business school to watch my father’s company go down the drain, either.
My thoughts sober me, cooling my anger into melancholy. I spent my childhood in my father’s office, playing at his feet while he steered a financial ship of thousands. All children think of their parents as gods, and I was no exception. Even since I took my place at his right hand, with my own voice in the family business, I still respect him more than any other man.
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