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descendantofthesparrow · 3 years

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Poly sea three x reader - oneshot - Lonely

*as i finished this i realized this has no dialogue...which is kinda cool i’ve never written a no dialogue fic, so enjoy!* ((y/n) is Jack Sparrows kid btw if you couldn't guess from the compass on the moodboard)

After Uma left, her life was harder…harder than it was before. Uma was the rock of the crew, always there, always steady, and ready to command the lot at a moment's notice. The crew saw a polished rock, hard and smooth, shining like the stars in the galaxy.

Only three people in the crew saw the rough edges. Uma only trusted three people to see behind the polished glaze, exposing the rocky terrain within her. On nights where it had just been too much stress at the chip shop, she would retreat to one of three rooms, sometimes even gathering all of them to be in her room so she could just relax with her favorite people.

Her head rested on her first mate's chest, his solid heartbeat and even breathing lulling her to sleep, her body tangled with her war chief, arms wrapped around each other like snakes and thumb gently rubbing her back. Her legs coiled around her second mate, his hands pressed against her calf and thigh, always letting her know he was there.

Uma didn’t know how much she relied on them until she couldn't get back behind the barrier, eyes wide with helplessness as she called out for them on the other side, Harry when he would nab some fish from an unsuspecting fisherman, (y/n) when they sat on the docks, carving whatever they felt like into their dagger, Gil when he was skipping rocks.

They never heard her, and she didn’t try again as she watched them walk around on the deck of her ship.

She missed them, she realized that almost as soon as she hit the water outside the barrier, stopping for a moment to look back, watching as the barrier closed and she was separated from her friends.

Sometimes, she would see things that reminded her of them, the scarlet ribbon of a disregarded dress, a sparrow flying above her, a broken arrowhead at the bottom of the sea.

Uma just wanted to be with them again, her heart ached every night she went on without the sound of Harry's heart, the feeling of (y/n)s hands gently scratching at her back, the feeling of Gil's hands gently massaging her legs. She realized she loved them, all three of them, the longer she was away from them.

She missed them all, so much.

And she hoped that they missed her too.

After Uma left, the isle was harder…harder than it was before. Uma was the rock of the crew, always there, always steady, and ready to command the lot of you at a moment's notice. The crew saw a polished rock, hard and smooth, shining like the stars in the galaxy.

Only three people in the crew saw the rough edges. Uma only trusted three people to see behind the polished glaze, exposing the rocky terrain within her. And she saw the inner workings of them behind closed doors, rusty cogs and scratched glass resting before her eyes.

Harry got more…twitchy, after Uma left, his usual controlled rage that used to bubble beneath his skin bursting out more often, scaring the crew sometimes, but never you and Gil. you both knew he’d never hurt either of you, he’d throw himself off the edge of the world before he even thought about doing so.

Harry was just so angry that Uma was gone, stuck on the other side of the barrier, he had no doubt she didn’t abandon any of you but that didn’t stop him from screaming and destroying the training dummies.

He shut himself away from everyone soon after the anger burned out, even Harriet hadn’t been able to convince him to unlock his door. It had taken almost a month for him to let you and Gil inside, and he looked awful, his skin was pale and his nose and cheeks were red, his eyes puffy and dull. The only reason he wasn’t skinny was thanks to you and Gil leaving trays full of food in front of his door at mealtimes, and leaving it there for him to grab it.

During those months of anger and depression, you and Gil took over the crew, you ascended into the role of captain, being the most knowledgeable about the position thanks to your lineage and Gil becoming first mate, all temporary until Harry recovered and Uma returned.

Though once Harry started to slowly return to his “normal” self, he didn’t care to try to take back his role as the first mate or become the captain as his first mate duties proclaimed, that alone told you and Gil and something was still wrong with Harry.

One night you and Gil dragged Harry into Uma’s empty quarters, and just laid in her bed in a tangle of limbs, Gil laying between Harry's legs with his head on Harry’s stomach, while Harry curled up into your chest, hands clutching onto your shirt. That night was one of the few times you saw Harry cry, choked sobs ripping from his throat as he attempted to muffle them in your neck.

You and Gil let your feelings out that night as well, assuring Harry that he wasn’t alone in missing Uma, you all did. So.damn.much.

Harry had always been in love with Uma, never afraid to show it, but that night you and Gil finally proclaimed the same after years of hiding your feelings in fear they would be used against you. And you loved each other too, it was hard to deny, not after revealing your feelings for Uma.

You all vowed that when Uma returned you would shower her in the love that you had all been deprived of for many years.

It was over a year later before you saw her again, Gil and Harry had jumped out of the barrier behind Mal and her goons plus Celia, Harry knocking the blue gem out of Mal's hand.

Your breath escaped you when a turquoise tentacle caught it, and Uma, looking more beautiful than you remembered, emerged from the water, dressed in an altered version of her turquoise cotillion dress, the sweetheart neckline showing off her glowing shell necklace.

Uma and your boys reunited, but she didn’t look at you, probably because you were back behind the tunnel and she couldn’t see you through the barrier and the darkness of the tunnel. But that was fine, you could wait just a bit longer before you looked her in the eyes again.

You would wait a thousand years for her.

But you wouldn’t have to wait that long, the next morning you awoke to the crew loudly celebrating, cheers and chaos echoing through the halls of the ship from the main deck.

You slipped out of bed, quickly changing into your gear and racing up to the main deck, unable to keep the smile of your lips as you saw Uma, who continued to glow with an echo of her magic, being lifted by the crew, all cheering and celebrating her return.

Her eyes locked onto yours, and as the crew set her down on her feet, you walked toward her, taking off your tri-corn hat and kneeling in front of her. You said her name like a prayer to the gods, a whisper on your lips. Uma shivered at the tone, feeling something wash over her at your worship.

As she looked around at the crew, Harry and Gil standing only a few inches from her, not wanting to be far from her, she realized that while Auradon had everything one could want, riches, good food, magic.

It was nothing compared to the warmth she felt surrounded by her crew and the three people she loved with all her soul.

Uma grabbed your face as you stood up, biting back a smile at your confused look, and pressed a kiss to your lips, the crew around them exploding into cheers.

Uma pulled back from you, smirking at your dazed look as she spun around and grabbed Harry's jacket, pulling him down to her height for a kiss, laughing into it as he slumped into her and groaned. She pulled away one last time and turned to Gil, grinning at his ‘excited puppy’ look, and pressed a gentle kiss to his lips, smiling as he picked her up by her waist to give her better access.

The crew celebrated and cheered, Bonnie handing Desiree a wad of cash when you and Harry kissed as Gil set Uma down and pulled the four of you into a hug, Uma pressing a kiss to his cheek as he did.

All was well again.

Uma wasn’t lonely anymore.

-end-

lowkey kinda proud of this one hehe, tell me what yall thought! this was originally going to be a under the sea kinda fic but it turned into them all missing Uma and Uma missing them and then they all reunited and kiss and just asaoishdahsda i couldn't help but do the fluff at the end

permtaglist

@queer-cosette @sephiralorange

@lunanight2012 @daughter-of-the-stars11

@musicarose @remembered-license

@random-thoughts-003 @imtryingthisout

@rintheemolion @thecaptainsgingersnap

@verboetoperee @jatp-rules-my-life

#disney descendants #harry hook x reader #sea three x reader #poly sea three #harry hook descendants #uma descendants #gil descendants #uma x reader #gil x reader #poly sea 3 x reader

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zodiyack · 4 years

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Opposites Attract (1,000+ Follower Special!!)

Pairing: Damon Salvatore x Female!Pierce/Petrova!Reader

Warnings: Possibly swearing?, fluff, indications of smut??, death/mentions of death, slight angst/violence, I think that’s all

Words: 1,667

Summary: The younger sister of Katherine was the true owner of Damon’s heart, Katherine only being his worry in 1864 due to the sister’s bond, the bond that fueled Katherine to force Y/n to join her when she escaped Mystic Falls and left Damon to think they were both in the tomb.

Note: I have no idea what to say honestly... I’ve been gone due to troubles with my computer yet you guys stuck around and that’s what matters to me. Though I may have a bit of a hard time with words, I hope you guys know that you all mean so much to me 💕💕

And if you’d like me to make a part two, which I’m already planning on doing- I just really liked the ending, or make this a series, feel free to let me know!

Taglist: @matth1w, @redspaceace, @fandom-puff, @darling-i-read-it

Masterlist | The Vampire Diaries Masterlist

Part I. Part II. Part III. Part IV. Part V. Part VI.

1864

Her back hit the wall, lips molded with his as their tongues clashed in a hungry passion. Her fingers played with his hair and pulled his face and body closer to hers. With his hands trapping her against the wall, she felt content.

“Turn me.”

“I can’t, Da-”

“Don’t. I understand, Katherine and all that...but promise me that one day, you’ll escape her grasp and run away with me.” She forced herself to look into Damon’s eyes, her undead heart breaking at the sorrow that drowned in his blue orbs. “Please?”

“I can’t make any promises...” she paused involuntarily, her heightened hearing catching a sudden ruckus from Stefan’s room and stealing her attention. Damon frowned, adjusting his grip on her waist to pull her back to reality. “I...I just can’t right now. However,” the smile returned to his lips, “one day, I will find you. And if you still want to...you may take me up on that promise, Salvatore.”

He was ready to answer when his door burst open and he and Y/n pulled away in a panic. His father stared down Y/n with a great furry in his body. She didn’t say a word, simply kissing Damon softly and nodding to Mr. Salvatore.

“Father- please-”

“No. She’s a monster, Damon! Her sister is a monster! They are monsters! Don’t you see that? She’ll kill you if you give her the chance. The same goes for Stefan and the other Pierce girl. If they’re even girls.” He mumbled the last bit of his sentence, too caught up in the belief that they were pure evil to consider any other possibility.

“She’s not a mons-”

“Yes. She is. Now, enough! I’m already ashamed of your siding with the demons, there is no need to make it worse, boy!” Mr. Salvatore grunted and put a muzzle-like-mask over Y/n’s head and called out to the rest of the hunters, watching as she was dragged away with a grimace upon his face.

Whilst Damon was traumatized, angry at his father and the world for their cruel decisions for his life, he attempted at keeping a neutral, unphased expression. “What will happen to her?”

“The same thing that will happen to the other monsters; she’ll burn.”

Present Day

Damon continued pacing throughout the house, ignoring Stefan’s pleas for him to stop. He thought about what Emily had told him, and what he needed to do. He had everything he needed, what was stopping him from going to the tomb? A gut feeling? Life? Was he just a big chicken?

He took a breather, telling himself to think about the reason he was in this mess. It was for a girl. The love of his life, to be specific. Y/n Pierce. The lovely lady who had come to stay with the Salvatore brothers after her and her sister’s parents had burnt with their home.

They felt pity for the girls, taking them in and, from then on, starting their odd journey through the supernatural world. Y/n was the first to reveal her secret; pulling away from a kiss with Damon due to her loss of control over her vampire features.

Though normally he’d be afraid, Damon had gripped her chin and forced her to look at him, awe and interest shining on his face. It was that night that he confessed his love for her, promising to take her away one day.

He chuckled at the memory, wiping his thumb across his lips. Damon remembered the taste of her lips like it was yesterday. The delicate softness paired with the lustful desire of their kisses was perfection. The kisses they had shared held something no one else could give him.

Despite occasionally hooking up with a girl or two, he was still on the search for his long lost lover. Deep down, he knew the sex was just for a distraction; even if he didn’t want to think of it as such, he knew that he was constantly comparing them to Y/n. Sometimes verbally, sometimes mentally, either way- the comments were always about the woman his heart belonged really to.

“Damon. Why are you really here?”

To find Y/n and stay true to my promise. “Just to be with you, little brother! Is it wrong that I want some bonding time with my little bro?”

“For you? Yes.” Stefan made it a point to avoid and ignore Damon as much as possible, especially with a girlfriend to protect from his ‘evil’ also-vampire brother. “Now, I’m going to ask you again. Why are you really here?”

Damon sighed. “You already know that Stefan.”

Now that Damon was closer than ever to opening the tomb, he was more than ready to reveal his true intentions. Stefan believed Damon was after Katherine, pleading him to leave as soon as they got out of the tomb. But in reality, Damon could care less about that vampire. He just wanted Y/n, but with the sisters being closer than anything he’d ever seen, he had no choice but to rescue Katherine as well.

If he was lucky, Katherine would allow Y/n to stray from her and stay with Damon, but he had a feeling that would never happen. Not with how possessive Katherine was. How she insisted that blood, as well as herself, went first.

1864

“We need to go back to them!” Y/n tried to run to her lover’s body. Her heart was racing. She’d come back to find that her beloved had been shot dead, his brother the same. Before Y/n could reach the man, Katherine gripped her waist and held her back, stronger than her younger sister due to being older in human and vampire years.

Y/n was the one Petrova to have escaped Klaus in his act of revenge. To be fair, it wasn’t his fault that he missed her. She was out picking berries, going about her life normally, before returning to a bloodied home with the bodies of the people she loved strewn about messily.

She remembered falling to her knees and cursing at whatever entity seemed to be there. Whether it was God or some other being, she demanded, through sobs, to know what she had done to deserve it.

Then, as if her prayer-like-yells of agony had been answered, Katerina showed up at the doorway. Her reaction was similar to Y/n’s; first, processing what she was seeing, then, feeling the fear freeze her in place, and finally, screaming and trying to shake her family awake, hoping as much as she could that it was all a dream.

Y/n walked from her hiding spot slowly, still shaking from her discovery but much more calmed with the presence of her older sister. “Who would do such a thing?”

She swore she could never forget the rage, paired with terror, in her sister’s eyes. “Klaus. Klaus Mikaelson did this.”

That very day, she turned her sister. She explained that they would live long enough to either kill Klaus and get revenge, or plea for his forgiveness and live their lives once more.

Snapping out of her memory fueled trance, Y/n broke free of her sister’s arms and dropped to the ground beside Damon. She pulled his head onto her lap and brushed his dark curls from his face. She chuckled to herself when she noticed her tears dropping onto his face.

“Goodbye, my love.” Y/n pressed a kiss to his forehead, then one on the tip of his nose. Finally, one on his lips, staying a little longer than the others as she savored the intimacy in their final goodbye. “If I only I had told you yes...”

She left her sister to say her goodbye to Stefan, wiping her tears away as she felt what was left of her heart crumble into bits.

Once, she had a family. And then she had her sister. Then she had her sister and an owner to her heart, the feeling of humanity returning to her undead body, feeling alive for the first time since her transition.

Now? She was back to having only her sister.

Damon felt the same way.

When he had woken, taking time to recover from the shock of being alive. Emily had told him how Katherine compelled Stefan to drink her blood, and he already knew that he drank Y/n’s blood willingly.

“There’s no point in living.” Damon pleaded with his brother after he tried to get him to feed, “They’re dead.”

Present Day

He ran into the tomb, desperate to find the sister of the vampire doppelganger. Damon sighed, ‘speaking of doppelgangers’, Elena had followed him, ignoring Sheila and Bonnie’s warnings.

“What’s that sound?”

“They can smell you.” He made his way through the tomb, eyes traveling from one decayed vampire to the other, cursing to himself each time they weren’t Y/n. Nevertheless, he wouldn’t give up. At some point, he’d gotten separated from Elena, but he didn’t care- never faltering in his search.

After spending more time looking for the vampire with negative results, Stefan had rushed in. He seemed anxious, desperate, ready to plead. And that he was. “Damon. We have to go.”

“She’s not here...” He felt like he was having a panic attack, which was more than likely. Damon threw the blood bag he had brought for her against the wall, “She’s- she’s not here, Stefan!”

“Who? Katherine? Look, I’m sorry that she’s not here, but we need to go!”

“No! Not Katherine! Y/n! She’s- she’s gone...she’s gone Stef.” Stefan furrowed his brows, feeling sympathy for his brother for a split second, then realizing how much time they were wasting.

“I’m sorry... Okay Damon? Maybe she didn’t die-”

“Don’t get my hopes up, alright?”

“Alright, I’m sorry. Really, I am. But- we need to go, like, right now.” He grabbed his brother and sped him out, gaining a boost with his vampire speed. The entire time he thought his brother was after the bad sister, but he was after the good one.

Opposites really do attract.

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wiypt-writes · 3 years

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Riding High

Ch7: Ordinary People

Chapter Summary: Frank faces the aftermath of his dumbass choice whilst Mary heads to Boston for a few days. When the court case starts, emotions are running high and Frank finally confesses his feelings to Fliss.

Chapter Warnings: Bad Language words. Flashback at the start involving domestic violence.

Chapter Pairings: Frank Adler x OFC Fliss Gallagher

A/N: Contains SPOILERS for the film!!!!! If you haven’t seen it please be aware of that before you read on. As a Lawyer I know how long the types of cases depicted in GIFTED can take, however they can also be done pretty fast. With that in mind, and because it fits with how I want the story to go I’m spreading it over approximately 6 weeks or so, so just roll with me!

Disclaimer: This is a pure work of fiction and classified as 18+. Please respect this and do not read if you are underage. I do not own any characters in this series bar Fliss Gallagher and the other OCs. By reading beyond this point you understand and accept the terms of this disclaimer.

Riding High Masterlist // Main Masterlist

Chapter 6

"I saw you...he had his hands all over you."

"John, I didn't want him too...he was drunk, just being over friendly..."

Fliss cowered as a sneer crossed her husband's face, the features she found so handsome once upon a time were distorted in anger, his dark green eyes clouded with rage as he towered over where she sat on the crouch. In a flash he had reached out and grabbed a fist full of her hair, yanking her to her feet. Fliss gave a cry of pain, stumbling after him as he dragged her up the stairs. She tripped at one point, her hip colliding painfully with one of the steps but he paid it no attention.

No mercy.

"You're mine, Sugar.” He said, his voice steely. “You know that."

"I know," she sobbed as he threw her into the bedroom where she scrambled for purchase on the bed as he pushed her so hard she fell face down. Before Fliss could raise herself, John had grabbed the back of her neck and pushed her face harshly into the pillows.

"Why do you make me do this, Felicity?" He asked, releasing his hold as his thighs bracketed hers. Fliss heard the tell-tale clinking of his belt and she gave another sob, knowing full well what was coming. He roughly pushed her dress up over her hips, leaving her underwear clad ass exposed.

And then the leather stuck her. Again. And again. And again.

"I'll mark you so hard no one else will ever want you," he snarled as he continued his assault ignoring her screams of pain and pleas for him to leave her alone. “You’re mine..." Fliss sat bolt upright, gasping as she glanced around her bedroom. She was shaking violently, the dream had been so real, so vivid, she could almost physically feel the pain. John had belted her so badly that night she hadn't been able to ride for a week, and she still bore the marks where the buckle had ripped through her skin.

The worst thing was, that after he had finished, he had held her, stroking her hair, soothing her, explaining why he had to punish her so much. It was sick, twisted. Just like him. "He’s gone, he was to blame. I’m strong, not weak, I’m strong, not weak." she repeated her mantra through gritted teeth. Thor, hearing her breathing deeply and her trembling voice, jumped up onto her bed and shoved his head under her arm as she hugged her kneed tightly. Looking down at her faithful dog, she buried her face into his fur, holding him tight as she ran through her calming thoughts in her head. The sound of the ocean, the wind in her hair as she galloped on the beach, the soft and gentle hugs she received from her dad, her mum...and dare she even think it, Frank. And then another image filled her head. The sight of him kissing Bonnie at the bar.

“Wanker.” She muttered, wiping the tears from her face as Thor licked her cheek, his tail wagging as she stroked him. With a few more deep intakes of air, her breathing evened out and she gave Thor a final squeeze before she pushed the duvet down and swung her legs out of the bed and headed to the bathroom.

Well played, Adler, you fucking moron.

Thankfully, Bonnie seemed to be in the same place as him about the entire situation, hastily telling him that it should never have happened, something he profoundly agreed with, as he saw her out to a cab, apologising for Mary’s interruption, literally incapable of thinking of anything else to say. It was the most awkward morning after he had ever experienced in his life.

And there was something else compounding his growing bad mood. When he had finally checked his phone as he stood outside for a few moments after Bonnie had gone, hoping the fresh air would sort his head out, he realised he had a number of messages and missed calls from Fliss. Groaning he remembered that he should have called her after the court case but had completely forgotten. Firing her a quick apology, along with a promise to talk to her later when it was time for Mary’s lesson, before he headed back inside.

Mary was sat on the rug with her lego, pieces scattered all over, Ice Age playing on the TV.

“Awkward…” she sing songed

“Mary.” Frank looked at her for a moment and when she didn’t look at him he crouched down “Stop! Stop! Stop with the Legos. Listen.” he took a breath and she looked at him “Do we have a rule about Saturday morning?”

“What?” she asked softly

“Are you allowed in this apartment this early on Saturday morning?” Frank pressed, looking at her.

“No.” Mary sighed, averting her eyes from his.

“No!” Frank nodded, his voice a little louder before he paused again “Are you allowed to... hey!” he reached out to stop Mary as she returned to her Toys. “Stop! Enough with the Lego. Are you allowed to use Roberta's keys?”

“No.” she still wasn’t looking at him.

“No! So, hey! Look at me. Then why are you here? Huh? Can you answer me that?”

Mary’s eyes filled with tears but Frank was too angry at the fact she had disobeyed him to comfort her.

“You broke every rule! You just embarrassed me. We have these rules.” He angrily stood up, turning to head back out of the door into the kitchen “We've gone over them a hundred times!” And then, when he stepped on a piece of Lego in his bare feet, his frustration boiled over as he hopped on one leg, clutching the side of the dresser which was pushed flush against the wall.

“Shit…God, damned it…” He yelled as he slapped the side of the dresser, leaning against it, bending down to rub his foot. “Can I just get five minutes of my own life?”

At that Mary jumped up and bolted into his bedroom, shutting the door behind her.

Frank stood up, before he sighed, one hand on his hip, his eyes closed. He’d overreacted, he knew that. He was more pissed at himself for being an idiot than he was at Mary. He ran his hand over his face and glanced at the clock. Mary’s riding lesson was at two and it was now just pushing ten-thirty. Deciding to leave Mary to cool down before he made breakfast, he headed into the kitchen to clear up yesterday’s dishes.

He heard the door to his room click open about twenty minutes later. Giving her another ten he wiped the counter down before he made his way back into the main room and sat on the edge of her bed, where she was snuggled down in her alcove which sported a collection of shells they had stuck to the wood panels and a few photos, one of her mom, one of her and Frank and one of her and Fliss with Monty. She was huddled in the corner, Fred laying on her knee, the laptop resting on his back as she tapped away.

“Nothing that happened today was your fault.” Frank spoke gently and looked at her “I got mad at you...I was really mad at me,” he looked at her and she continued to ignore him, “and the manufacturers of Legos. They should all be in prison. So I'm sorry.” he said gently. She paused tapping but still didn’t look at him. “Do you forgive me?”

“Sure. Whatever.” she mumbled.

“Hey, close the laptop. Come on. Please.” He watched her as she avoided looking at him. “Doesn't count if it's not eye to eye.”

She hesitated so he asked again, gently. “Come on, please.”

With a sigh she did was she was told and looked at him. Her eyes, so like Diane’s, were full of sadness and Frank felt his gut twist in guilt.

“Do you really have no life because of me?” she whispered, her eyes shining with tears and Frank cursed himself for his outburst before.

He shook his head. “That's not what I said.” he looked at her.

“Did you mean it?” she pressed, not buying his statement for one minute, her voice soft.

“Last week you said I was the worst Uncle in the world, and you wished death upon me ‘cause I didn't buy you a piano.” Frank held her gaze. “Did you mean that?”

“No” Mary replied, her fingers tangling in Fred’s fur “Not entirely.”

“Well,” Frank said, not bothering to ask which bit she had actually meant. “There you go. We say things all the time we don't mean. So let's forget it, okay?”

“Okay” Mary agreed

“Okay.” Frank nodded, standing up

“Frank?” she called as he headed towards the door to head down and check the mail. He stopped and turned back, even though he couldn’t see her.

“Yeah?”

“Can I have a piano?”

“No.” he deadpanned, turning for the door.

He strode down across the lawn to the mail boxes, unlocked his and pulled out two letters. One looked like a bill, the other was in a manila coloured envelope, and was stamped with some kind of official seal.

“Was that really Mary's teacher this morning?” Roberta appeared. He glanced at her and returned to his post “And there was me thinking Fliss would stop you doing anything stupid.”

Frank’s head shot up “Fliss?” he frowned “What are you talking about?”

“She came here last night, to see you. Mary roped her into Karaoke before she left and said she was going to come and find you at Fergs”

Frank frowned. “Well she didn’t. I never saw her last night so she-”

Oh,fuck fuck fuck!

He trailed off with a groan as he realised that she had probably seen him with Bonnie and then felt a stinging slap round the back of his head.

“Shit!” He exclaimed, glaring at Roberta “Jesus, that fucking hurt!”

“Good.” she stared at him. “You know I have a book called ‘Fundamentals of Decision Making’. You can borrow it.”

He glared at her, he didn’t need this. Not now. His attention turned back to the letter and he noticed the seal was from the court house. With a frown he opened it. The header- ‘Highsmith, Kistler & Sellers Attorneys at Law’ -greeted him and he started to read. It was an order for him to surrender Mary for two days into Evelyn’s care, at a time and date to be agreed. It wasn’t unexpected but it was pretty fast considering it had only been agreed yesterday. His mother really wasn’t wasting any time.

“What is it?” Roberta asked, noticing the frown on his face

“Its nothing.” he said, leaning on the post box, still reading the letter. “Looks like Mary gets to go to Boston for a couple days.” He noticed Roberta stiffen and he looked at her. “It's just two days. Relax.” he said gently.

Because he was always honest with Mary, he sat down once he was back inside and told her about the letter. She knew there was a court case going on, he had explained it all to her as best as he could so as not to cause her any worry. She soaked up the information and shrugged before saying that going to Boston sounded kinda cool. Frank simply nodded and said that he would sort out the dates on Monday. They ate a late breakfast-slash-early lunch and once Mary was changed and ready, they headed up to the riding school.

As Frank drove there his stomach was doing flips, the nerves at seeing Fliss were overwhelming, more so because he had no idea what he was going to say to her. It was strange, he felt guilty about the fact he’d slept with Bonnie, even though he had no real reason to. It wasn’t like he and Fliss were an item.

Fliss greeted Mary with the usual warmth before she turned her gaze to Frank, and he could see the hurt in her eyes, compounding that guilty feeling even more.

“Sorry I didn’t call you last night.” he offered and she shrugged.

“It’s okay, I know you were busy.” her voice carried no sarcasm, it was measured and cool but Frank knew she was referring to Bonnie, his suspicions confirmed. She turned away, barking an instruction to Joanne who looked at her, nodding.

Frank leaned on the paddock fence as he always did, a little way from the other parents and watched as Fliss taught the three girls, that gorgeous smile on her face. Mary was certainly getting the hang of it now and was able to trot around unaided. After about forty minutes they were done and heading out of the paddock. Fliss made no attempt to come and speak to him, like normal, and made straight for her office. Casting an eye on Mary who was leading Monty back to the stable he followed Fliss.

“I take it you’re mad at me.” he spoke tentatively.

“Why would I be mad at you?” she asked, pulling three cartons of apple juice out of the fridge for the kids.

“Because you saw me last night with Bonnie.” he pressed.

He saw her stiffen slightly before she took a breath and turned round.

“I’m not mad.” she shrugged.

“Could have fooled me.”

“I just, well I think you could have considered Mary a little more, that’s all.” “What does that mean?” he frowned.

“You know damned well what it means.” she looked at him “Mary told me before when we were tacking the ponies up that she saw Bonnie this morning, wrapped in one of your sheets. I mean, Jesus Frank that’s her teacher. Can you imagine how awkward its gonna be if any of the kids find out that you’re fucking her?” “Ok, I’m not fucking her.” Frank held his hand out to stop her.

“So what were you doing last night then?” Fliss hissed, “Playing scrabble?”

“Hang on, are we really arguing about this?” Frank looked at her, frowning. “Why? Why do you even care?”

He paused, looking at her. Her eyes locked onto his and she swallowed, and for a moment he hoped she was going to tell him what he wanted to hear but she shook her head and shrugged.

“You know what, you’re right. What, or who you do in your spare time is your business, not mine.”

With that she pushed past him and headed out into the yard. Frank let out another sigh before he headed out to collect Mary.

******

Fliss made no attempts to speak to Frank over the next few days. He messaged her to tell her about Mary heading to Boston at the end of the week and she replied politely, telling him that she was sure it would all work out, but beyond that she didn’t reach out further. However, she did call to wish Mary a safe trip to on the Thursday morning just before Evelyn arrived to pick her up, and told her she wanted to hear all about it when she came home on Saturday afternoon. By the time Frank got the phone back, Fliss had hung up.

“Frank she likes you. “ Roberta said when she popped over to wish Mary goodbye. Mary wasted no time in informing her that the reason Frank was in a bad mood wasn’t just because she was going to Boston, but also because Fliss was angry at him. Of course she had noticed, because she noticed everything. “She’s hurt and it’s yo’ own dumbass fault.”

Yeah, yeah he got that.

With Mary gone, he decided that night to take a cool box of beer down to the harbour and work late. He was in the middle of pulling a gear box apart when his phone went. It was a message from Bonnie asking if she could meet him to talk. Which was how he found himself sat on the deck of the boat, her opposite him, both wrapped in blankets and clutching bottles of Bud.

“I have had a series of nightmares, where I'm fired because of what happened. You get it?” Bonnie shook her head, rolling her eyes. Frank smiled at her as she laughed “And then I remind myself, that everything that happened, was just all the alcohol and people do far worse right?”

At that Frank laughed. “Yeah we were pretty drunk.”

Truth be told whilst he did think Bonnie was attractive, there was nothing there, and that was compounded by the fact that as he sat, looking at her, he felt no urges at all. She was simply another one of his Friday night hook ups, only this had turned out to be slightly more complicated.

Yeah, he should definitely borrow that book from Roberta

“So I guess, what I came here to say,” Bonnie sighed, “I think you’re a great guy Frank, and I’ve got your back on this damned custody case but, me and you…it just…” “Oh, absolutely, I’m with you.” Frank hastily agreed, thanking the Gods she’d brought it up before he had to. “It was a mistake.” Bonnie arched an eyebrow and he groaned. “Shit, I don’t mean that how it sounds but, well, it was, wasn’t it?”

She smiled and nodded, cocking her head to one side as she surveyed him. “I do think you need to speak to Fliss though.��

“Fliss?” Frank frowned, “What’s she got to do with this?”

You like her." Bonnie said simply.

Frank paused before he shook his head, smiling. “Is it that obvious?" "Well, if it wasn’t evident from the way you talk about her, the fact you called me by her name twice last night is most definitely a giveaway." Oh Jesus. Ground please open... "I called you by her name? When we- " he grimaced and she chuckled, raising her eyebrows "Oh God. Bonnie, I'm so sorry." He groaned and ran his hands over his face.

“Like we said, mistake.” Bonnie smiled, “Especially when you’re clearly hung up on another girl. “ "Yeah well, I think I've kinda blown it. Story of my life." Frank sighed taking a pull from his bottle.

“Blown it?”

“Yeah she's pretty pissed. She saw us in the bar and has hardly spoken a word to me since”

"And you’re giving up that easily?" Bonnie raised an eyebrow.

“I don’t even know if she likes me in that way so…” He shrugged and Bonnie leaned forward slightly.

“If she’s that pissed at you over the fact that you hooked up with someone else then she absolutely feels something for you Frank." Bonnie smiled softly. “And it would be a shame to let something as stupid as a one night stand screw it all up for you.”

Frank looked at her for another moment or two before he finished his beer and offered Bonnie another one which she accepted and then asked him about the court case. Frank filled Bonnie in on the running order for the testimonies which would start on Tuesday before she bid him goodnight and left. He contemplated messaging Fliss once she was gone but decided against it. He would give her a few days to calm down, and give himself some time to figure out what the fuck he was going to say.

***** It was Saturday afternoon when Frank reached out.

Fliss was busy on a lesson when her phone went. Taking a quick minute to look at it, she read the message from Frank asking if it was ok if they swung by as Mary was home. With a deep breath she replied telling him it was fine, before she turned back to her client who was one of the boarders on the yard.

She had just about finished some thirty minutes or so later when she heard Mary calling her name. She turned and gave her a smile and a wave. Once she had finished with her client and taken payment, she turned to Mary and gave the girl a hug.

“Hey!” she beamed as Mary hugged her tight. “I missed you!”

“I missed you too!” Mary beamed “And so has Frank.”

“That so?” Fliss stood up straight and looked at him. He took a deep breath and shrugged, but the little smile on his face told Fliss that Mary had completely and utterly busted him. She rolled her eyes and then gave him a little smile of her own. “Coffee?”

“Yeah, sounds great.” He nodded, gratefully taking the olive branch she had offered.

They made their way into the office and Fliss moved to the small kitchenette area at the back, filling the coffee machine before she turned to Mary, leaning against the counter.

“So, tell me all about Boston.” Mary began to gush about all the things she had done, Fliss listening and asking questions as she made her and Frank a coffee. He took his with a thanks whilst Mary told Fliss how she had looked at some photos, learned more about her mom and then done some complicated Maths for a professor at a University. At that Fliss noticed Frank stiffen slightly and she looked at him, gently shaking her head. He smiled tightly and turned to look out over the yard, taking a few steps outside.

“And she has a piano.” Mary finished, “I mean I didn’t get to play it but…”

“You should come over to my mum’s.” Fliss smiled “She’ll let you play hers. That’s what she used to do, teach people music.”

Mary smiled, before she looked over at Frank who was stood watching a few people riding in the paddock, the lessons for the day having concluded which meant the boarders were free to do what they wanted.

“Are you still mad at Frank?” Mary looked at Fliss.

“Not really.” Fliss shook her head “I got a little bit cross but…” “Yeah, he can make me cross too.” Mary said wisely “He does dumb stuff sometimes.”

Fliss laughed and studied the young girl. “Yeah, you got that right.” “But he’s a good person.” Mary concluded.

“I know.” Fliss agreed, her eyes flicking to him before she looked back at Mary.

“I don’t want to live with Evelyn.” Mary shrugged “I mean she was nice and looks like my mom but…she’s bossy.” Fliss smiled.

“I want to stay with Frank.” Mary continued. “Because I know he loves me. And he did before he found out I was smart.”

Fliss felt a lump in her throat at the girl’s confession. She glanced over at Frank again who ran a hand over his face, rubbing at his eyes underneath his shades.

“Hey, Mary, why don’t you go say hi to Monty.” she said gently. “Tell Joanne I said you could help with the feeds.” “Yesss.” Mary cheered, scooting off her chair and shooting across the yard. Fliss saw Frank follow her with her eyes before he turned to her as she walked over to him.

“How you holding up?” she asked him gently.

“Apart from screwing up my life, I’m good.” Frank snorted, taking off his glasses and tucking them into the collar of his t-shirt. “Just hope I’m not screwing hers up as well.”

“Don’t’ say that.” Fliss shook her head “You know that’s not true. Mary’s fine.”

There was a pause before Frank took a deep breath and looked at Fliss. “I hate that we haven’t been talking. It’s been kinda lonely.”

“I thought you and Bonnie might have, ” she trailed off, shrugging, “gone out or something, I don’t know.”

Frank sighed “I’ve only seen her once since. And that was so we could have a straight up conversation about how what happened was a mistake”

“A mistake?” Fliss raised an eyebrow.

“Yeah.” Frank nodded. “And as far as mistakes go, that one was pretty spectacular.”

“And you actually said that to her?”

He nodded.

“Wow.” Fliss snorted.

“She agreed so we’re both going to try and forget it ever happened.” Frank shrugged and he Fliss’ gaze for a second before he took a deep breath “Is that why you’ve been ignoring me?” he pressed “Because you thought me and Bonnie, were, like together?”

Fliss swallowed and looked away, trying to think of something to say that didn’t give her feelings away. He’d hit the nail on the head. She had thought that, and more over she was jealous so had distanced herself on purpose.

“I just,” she looked back at him, “well, I suppose I didn’t want to step on any toes, so to speak, that’s all.”

“There’s none to step on, trust me.” Frank looked at her. “I don’t feel that way. Not towards Bonnie.”

Fliss looked at him, feeling her cheeks growing warm before she turned away and quickly changed the subject. “So err, anyway, she seems to have enjoyed Boston.”

Frank let out a large breath at the fact that Fliss had effectively withdrawn back from what he had felt had been the edge of a breakthrough there for the pair of them but, well, he had no right to be annoyed, especially after everything he’d done. “Yeah.” He nodded with a little smile.

“So what’s next?” she asked.

“Well she has a court interview with the Child Welfare department or whatever they’re called on Monday.”

“Sure it’ll be fine.” Fliss replied “It’s not like she’s treated badly or her welfare is an issue, Frank.”

“And the hearing starts in full on Tuesday.” He explained “They’re opening with a bang.” At his words Fliss frowned as he turned to face her. “Mary’s biological father has apparently signed an affidavit, nominating my mother as Mary’s legal guardian.”

“Are you fucking kidding me?” Fliss hissed, suddenly seething with anger as Frank shook his head “That’s a real shitty trick.”

“Yep” Frank agreed.

“Does Mary know?”

“No. I’ll have to tell her though, otherwise Evelyn will no doubt.”

“Your mother gets access to her again?”

“Whilst this is going on she gets visitation rights so…” Frank shrugged, and Fliss couldn’t help but notice his despondent nature.

“So when you gonna tell her?”

“Tuesday night, after it’s done. I don’t want her worrying or knowing he’s in town because if she knows and he doesn’t ask to see her, well at least once he’s gone then…” he bit his lip. “She’s gonna be upset either way but, what else can I do?”

“Nothing, just what you think is best.” Fliss said gently “I told you before that’s all you can do Frank.” He looked at her and she sighed, opening her arms and he gladly stepped towards her, wrapping her up in a hug.

******

Tuesday rolled around far too quickly for Frank’s liking. The interviews on Monday went fairly smoothly, he had a little bit of a questioning over his TV choices for Mary but other than that he’d left that session feeling pretty okay about it.

And then he’d walked into court, seen his mother and the snivelling little shit that was now being questioned by his Mother’s Lawyer.

“Mr. Polland, are you the natural father of Mary Adler?”

“Yes. Yes, I am.”

Frank sat still, glaring at the ass hole sat in the dock.

“And how you can be certain of this?

“Well, I always knew, but then you had me take a DNA test.”

Course they did…

I would offer the test results as result of evidence of that Mr. Polland is the father and natural guardian of the minor. As well as an affidavit from Mr. Polland nominating Mrs. Adler the maternal grandmother as the legal guardian of the minor.”

Frank sat up slightly, his jaw clenching. This ass hole had no right to decide what was best for Mary, he’d never fucking met her. Greg touched his arm, shaking his head, telling him to keep quiet.

“No objections.” Greg spoke.

“Mr. Polland has Mrs. Adler offered you any monetary reward or employment for coming forward today?” Evelyn’s attorney continued.

No, sir. I have a job of my own.”

Frank suppressed a snort. Bullshit she hasn’t paid you.

“Thank you. No further questions, your Honour.”

Greg then stood up and waited a second before he opened his cross examination “Mr. Polland when was the last time you saw Mary?”

“I've never seen her.” Polland shifted slightly and Frank watched him intently.

“Why not?”

“By the time I heard about Diane…passing the baby was gone already.”

Her name is Mary, ass hole. Frank took a deep breath.

“Well, did you try and find her?” Greg pressed.

“Best I could. I couldn't just go and search the entire country.” Polland shook his head, trying to make a joke out of it. Frank was pleased to see the judge wasn’t laughing.

Greg nodded and paused again, before suddenly asking “Do you use a computer at work?”

“Sure.” Polland replied

“You know what? Help me out.” Cullen turned and grabbed his laptop “Let's google ‘Mary Adler’ and see what we find.” he placed the laptop on the dock and turned it towards Polland. He hesitated for a while and looked at the Judge who gestured with his hand, instructing him to do as he was told. Polland began to tap when Greg spoke again “You know what? You better add her middle name.”

Frank watched as Polland stopped, because of course he had no idea what her midde name was.

“It'll narrow it down. Eileen” Cullen informed him. Polland looked up and caught Frank’s eye, his face sheepish. Frank kept his face straight, his chin resting on his hand, fingers making an L-shape round his jaw as Polland looked away and began to tap.

“Yeah, Hit enter.” Greg nodded. “Okay, now head to page two…second hit. Would you please tell the court what you see there?”

Polland hesitated “It's a newspaper article called ‘Not so terrible twos’”

“And one of them is Mary Eileen Adler.” Greg nodded “Same name as your daughter. Born on the same day as your daughter. With a photograph”

Polland looked at him.

“In your defence, you'd never recognize it…”

“Your Honour, this is...” Evelyn’s attorney stood up but Cullen was quick to cut him off

“Your Honour, if there's one thing here that's sadly obvious it's that Mr. Polland has never been a genuine guardian of the minor and his nomination of Mrs. Adler is no less disingenuous.” he looked at the Judge.

Frank shifted slightly as Judge Nicholls looked at Polland, then to Evelyn, then to him before he turned glanced at the notes in front of him.

“While the state of Florida gives deference to nomination by natural parent, I'm inclined to side with Mr. Cullen's laptop at this time.” he said, nodding at Cullen, effectively dismissing the affidavit. Frank allowed himself a relieved smile as Cullen nodded.

“Thank you, your Honor”

Once court was adjourned for the day, Frank obligingly walked his mother to her car when she asked him to. And as they walked, she told him about his step father Walter. Frank had found it odd how he wasn’t featuring in any of this, but his silent question was answered as Evelyn told him he moved out and bought a ranch in Montana.

“Bullshit.” Frank exclaimed as they walked in the sun, his suit jacket handing over his arm.

“Exactly. A man whose idea of roughing it is being too far from the ice machine at the Ritz Carlton now owns a thousand acres of grass and dung.”

“Walter Price is a cowboy.” Frank smiled, shaking his head, making a mental not to tell Fliss later. “Walter Price puts on a Brooke's brother suit to take out the garbage!”

“Well, now he has a cowboy hat and cowboy boots and a horse that doesn't know dressage.” Evelyn shook her head.

“Is there some logical reason for this?” Frank asked.

“Midlife crisis, apparently.”

“He's seventy.” Frank scoffed

“I know. Must have been on time delay or something. I guess I should be happy it wasn't a twent-five year old cocktail waitress. But then again an affair you can explain to friends in a minute. For this, you put on a pot of coffee.”

“And he's out there right now?”

“Yessiree!” Evelyn imitated a Western accent. “Riding the range!”

Frank lost himself for a moment as he and his mother joked, mocking exactly what his Step Father would look like. He hated to admit it, but at times like this he was reminded how similar he was to his mother. Same dry sense of humour, no nonsense nature…

“The fastest asset management in the West.” he snorted and Evelyn smiled.

“The man who shot Liberty Mutual. That's what I've been calling him” she said as they stopped at her car.

“That's really, really funny.” Frank chuckled, and then sighed as his mother opened the car door. He leaned down and spoke to the driver. “Take her to the airport.” he said, straightening up. “Go home, Evelyn. Or Montana. Rustle some cattle.” he said gently.

“You know I have no desire to hurt you. I hate it that we're at odds.”

And then, he was also reminded just how different they were too.

“We're always at odds.” he shrugged.

“Yes.” She said, almost sadly before she climbed in the car. “Hotel.” she instructed her driver, closing the door.

**** As anticipated, when he broke the news to Mary about her father, she had a meltdown and locked herself in the bathroom. No amount of coaxing from him or Roberta would draw her out. She was sobbing about how her dad didn’t want her…and then Frank was struck with an idea and he pulled out his phone to call in reinforcement which arrived in the shape of Fliss some twenty minutes later.

“I still can’t believe that wank stain was even given the time of day.” Fliss seethed as Frank greeted her outside. “I mean…”

“It’s done, his claim was thrown out but...”Frank nodded to where Roberta was stood outside locked bathroom door.

“Why you had to tell her that waste of oxygen was testifying I’ve no idea.” the woman shot him a look.

“Because it's the truth. And if I didn't, Evelyn would've.” Frank reasoned.

“If I was the dad of a little girl and I never saw her and I was in the same town. I would visit her.” Fliss heard Mary’s crying and Frank saw her face scrunch up in sympathy. “He didn't even need directions. He could've followed you here.”

“Ok, Roberta, can you…” Fliss asked gently. Roberta stood to the side and Fliss spoked to the door. “Mary, sweetheart, it’s me.”

“Lissy?” Mary sniffled.

“The one and only.” Fliss smiled, before she sighed “You know what, you’re right. He could have come to see you. But he didn’t. And that sucks, but it has nothing to do with you.”

“He doesn't even wanna see what I look like.” The girl sobbed again.

“You know I never met my dad either.” Fliss said gently “He abandoned my mum before I was born, made no attempt to see me at all, and then he was killed when I was 4 months old. He died without ever seeing my face. And you know what?”

“What?” Mary sniffed.

“That was his loss.” Fliss continued. “And then my mom met Bill when I was two, and he’s been my dad ever since. He looked after me and loved me, just like Frank does for you.” Fliss glanced at him and he dropped his hand from where it had been cupping his chin, folding his arms round his chest as he shot her a small smile. “Like we all do Mary, you’re so loved. By Frank, Roberta, me…” Fliss continued, “Now come on, open the door.”

There was a pause and they heard a rustle, before the lock on the door clicked and it opened. Mary stood in the doorway, her eyes red and wet from tears before she gave another sob and threw herself at Fliss. Fliss crouched down on one knee and held her back, gently rocking her and Frank felt his chest tighten at the display of affection.

And then he had an idea.

He crouched next to them, his hand gently reaching out to brush Mary’s hair back as she turned her head which was on Fliss’ shoulder to look at him.

“Put your shoes on. We're going for a ride.” he said to her softly. Then he turned to Fliss “You too, that is if you want to.”

“Sure.” she nodded.

“Roberta?” Frank looked at her, and she shook her head.

“Your truck only got three seats.” “We can take mine.” Fliss offered as Mary gently released her.

“No, I think you two got this.” she said, with a knowing smile.

*******

“What are we doing here?” Mary asked as they sat on the seats in the waiting room and Fliss found herself wondering the same thing. She hadn’t questioned Frank, he obviously had something up his sleeve.

“Waiting.”

“We can see that.” Fliss replied playfully, and he looked at her, rolling his eyes as Mary continued.

“Why?”

“Because I said so.” he shrugged, returning to the National Geographic magazine he was flicking through.

“How long do we have to stay here?”

“As long as it takes. And keep your voice down. It's a hospital.”

As long as it takes turned out to be an hour and a half. Through which time Mary had groaned, moaned, used Frank’s legs as a climbing frame, which Fliss noticed he had expertly ignored simply slouching in his seat, legs apart as Mary draped herself over them. Eventually she had curled up next to Fliss and laid her head on her lap, dozing off.

Fliss was busy reading something on her emails when she heard a bit of a commotion and the group at the other side of the waiting room all stood up. Frank’s eyes flew to them and then he gently gave Fliss a smile before he nudged Mary awake.

She blinked and watched as a man walked into the waiting room dressed in scrubs, a huge smile on his face.

“It's a boy.” he announced and the group erupted into cheers. Fliss glanced down at Mary who was watching in awe as everyone started to congratulate the man, all crying, sobbing with happiness, cheering, praising the lord.

“That's exactly how it was when you were born.” Frank spoke softly and Fliss then understood. He was showing Mary that she was loved, that she was wanted.

“This happy?” Mary asked

“This happy.” Frank confirmed.

“Who came out and told everybody?” she asked, and Frank leaned over gently brushing her hair behind her ear.

“I did.”

The emotion of the moment got to Fliss and her eyes watered. Frank raised his head and they shared a look as he smiled and she smiled back before Mary piped up.

“Can we stay for another?”

So they did, and when the next family all celebrated Mary jumped up, heading over to the group. They all smiled at her as she was swept into their celebrations. Fliss reached over and gently took Frank’s hand, giving his fingers a squeeze, a gesture he returned until Mary came back and pulled Fliss over to the group with her. Frank leaned back and watched as Fliss simply smiled and wiped her eyes as she congratulated the family and he let out a sigh, swallowing slightly, lost in his thoughts.

Eventually the family all dispersed to go and see their new arrival and he told Mary that it was too late to stay for another. She fell asleep on the way home against Fliss and when they got home it was a careful manoeuvre to get her out of the car without waking her up. He gently placed her in bed before he walked Fliss down to her car.

“Thank you.” he broke the silence. “You were amazing before. You’re just amazing full stop.” he said, trailing off.

She blushed slightly and tucked her hair behind her ears.

“I mean it Lissy…” he sighed, “You just…”

He hesitated for a second before he reached out and gently placed his hand on her hip, pulling her softly towards him

“Frank.” she protested softly as his face dropped towards hers, her hands gently on his chest keeping him away from her “Look, I, ”

“I’m sorry.” he swallowed, his head dropping as he sighed at her rejection “You don’t have to explain.”

“It’s not even three weeks ago you were in bed with another woman.” she looked at him and he grimaced, pulling away.

“I know and I really wish that hadn’t happened” he sighed, the hand that had been on her hip moved and ran through his hair “My head was fucked and…”

“How do I know it isn’t now?” Fliss looked at him “How do I, or you for that matter, know that this…” she gestured between them with her hand “…isn’t just an emotional response to what’s going on as well?”

“Because it’s not.” he shook his head, his eyes not leaving hers as he drove his message home “I care about you Fliss, more than just as friends, and I’m kicking myself now because what I did means you don’t believe me.”

“It’s not that I don’t believe you.” she took deep breath, as she looked down at her hands, the fingers of her right hand fiddling with her left. “And it’s not that I don’t feel the same.” She looked up at him, her voice quiet.

At her words a soft smile formed on his face as she continued to talk.

“But right now, you need to concentrate on Mary, and getting through this week.”

He nodded, swallowing “Yeah, I know, you’re right.”

She smiled, and reached up, taking his face in her soft hands. “But I promise you I’m not going anywhere.” her eyes locked onto his “And whatever this is,” she gestured between them once more, “if it’s right, then it’ll still be there when this is all over.”

She stood on her tip toes to place a gentle kiss to side of his mouth and he leaned down, pressing his forehead against hers, his eyes closed as he swallowed. They stayed like that for a moment until Fliss backed away gently, squeezing his hand.

“I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“Tomorrow?” he frowned

“Yeah, the Wicked Witch of The West is testifying is she not?”

Frank gave a huff of a laugh “Yeah she is.” “Like I said, you’re not alone. I’ll see you in the morning.”

He watched her climb in her car and waited until the tail lights had disappeared before he turned and headed inside. Finally all the cards were on the table, and it hadn’t been a rejection, quite the opposite actually.

For the first time in days, Frank slept soundly that night.

**** Chapter 8

#riding high #frank adler #frank adler x ofc #frank adler x original female character #gifted #gifted fan fic

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certifiedceraunophile · 3 years

Note

Hello! I’m your Klaroline Swap gifter👀 I am sorry it's taken me this long to reach out but I've finally gotten to it! I am excited to be writing for you and wanted to ask a few questions about your gift. Wanted to know about your all-time favorite tropes and side pairings? Any Caroline friendships you like? Any tropes or pairings you don't like? Any pet peeves with KC fic? Any smut preferences? Anything you especially want to see or any info you'd like me to know? Hope you have a great day!💖

Heyyy!! Thank you for sending me this ask, and please don't apologize, it’s all good 💖 I hope you're having a great day too! So I’ll just jump in and answer all your questions ✌🏾✨

I am so so sorry it got this long, like so long, I really tried to condense it, but I have no concept of short and concise so now I have to put this below a cut 😭🙃😭

All time favourite tropes:

[see here's the thing I dont exactly *know* what tropes are so I'm just gonna yeet a bunch of HIGHLY specific prompt-thingies that make me tingle at you and you can do w them what you wish- like take out certain parts you want to use, or base other tropes off of them anything you wish really, even if you choose to ignore all of them I won't be holding it against you dw!]

Ok so I love love the "I was just captured by the bad guys and very harshly uh demanded to sell you out, but I didnt, bc even though I might posture like you’re the scourge of the earth and would gladly see you dead, I in fact, do not want you dead and will therefore not be selling you out and will handle mild -emphasis on mild please do not hurt either of my babies too much- torture instead and oops! look at that, you just overheard this exact exchange where I stand my ground and refuse to betray you, and now you’ve gone feral over your loyalty kink and are spouting promises of never letting go of me, which honestly I cannot bring myself to be mad at."

I love love love the forced bedsharing trope which then leads to accidental cuddling, where one party [caroline] is just very very annoyed that their body sought the warmth of a cockroach fucknugget being [klaus] and the fucknugget party is just very very smug about being the other party's personal space heater, and nuzzles them and cuddles tighter and asdfghjkl I'm getting tingly just thinking about it, and like says w a husky sleepy voice “don't move” and cuddles closer. jfc please I’m a basic bitch with very basic wants.

I absolutely LOVE the "we work on opposite enemy sides, but now we have to band together to defeat one common enemy and honestly I am NOT glad that I constantly wanna throw you against a wall, and not all reasons for said wall-throwing are strictly to inflict violence on you."

I also LOVE the "fuck youre bleeding/hurt/injured and fucking hell I dont know why my hands are shaking while I attend to your wounds but god it is, and now I'm not sure exactly how deep you've furrowed into my heart and stuck yourself there like a dickheaded leech."

Now I feel like I have given you many tropes, but I also feel like i didnt in fact help you at all, bc I'm not sure these are uh tropes?? but anyway those are some highly specific...scenes?? I have a very deep bias for

[you obviously dont HAVE to write ANY of them if you dont want to]

And also if I had to give you a clear cut trope to follow, I absolutely LOVE the enemies-to tentative allies-to lovers trope, in which one party is just working really really hard to get to the lovers part, and the other is working really really hard not to get to the lovers part, but caves later on, bc really the fucker grows on you. [Featuring Klaus as the "high key besotted already pursuing Caroline"-person, and Caroline is the "I am very very annoyed w this wooing, but I am more annoyed this wooing is working"-person. And also, I like my Klaus E V I L, But really really really *soft* for Caroline.]

Also if by tropes you meant settings, Like AU's, literally anything works, I have a personal bias for Crime AU's when it comes to enemies to lovers, and Canon is the ultimate enemies to lovers AU, but honestly you can use which ever one you want, I am not entirely sure myself if I have a specific preference here, AH, Fantasy, Supernatural, Scifi, it's all good.

[I however am not extremely fond of Historical Settings]

Again you are not required to follow any of these tropes at all if you don't wish to, I just require you to have a lot of fun writing and love the beauty you write yourself first!

Side pairings:

Ok I LOVE me some Kennett [kol + bonnie] but I also LOVEEE kolenzo [Kol and Enzo], I also am extremely just *heart eyes* at Bonenzo [Bonnie + enzo], but I absolutely DIE for Kennettzo [which is OT3 of Kol Bonnie and Enzo]

Kalijah is also a-ok w me, and I feel like I dont have any other side pairings I'd like die to see I guess. If you choose not to go with these side pairings its perfectly alright.

Caroline Friendships:

Ok this I can answer without rambling like an idiot, I love love love love :

Bonnie + Caroline [like i love this so much it physically hurts me, they both deserve so so so much better]

Kol + Caroline [I will literally touch a frog, and I have a phobia of frogs, to have one full conversation w these two idiots]

Enzo + Caroline [Honestly enzoline brotp makes me wanna sob happy tears bc they are so perfect together]

Katherine + Caroline + Rebekah [bad bitch meets head bitch meets super bitch, what could possibly go wrong]

Tropes and Pairings I dont like:

NOTPS:

Kolvina, stebekah, delena, stelena, datherine, steferine, Haylijah, Marcel+Rebekah, Matt+Rebekah, Bamon, Kai+bonnie, beremy.

And I think that's about it? mostly I just hate elena stefan damon and hayley and I am not fond of them w anyone, I hate all canon Rebekah relationships, and I dont like seeing Bonnie with anyone other than enzo or kol.

Tropes:

I am totally not fond of the Kill Liz for plot reasons trope, like seriously killing Caroline's mom is not ok w me, but I am totes fine if she's like already dead as part of Caroline's backstory, just don't show me Liz dying in the story as a part of the plot.

Any form of sire-bond-y or like sire-bond adjacent or like any form of deal/bargain/agreement that gives Klaus even a tiniest bit of power over Caroline's free will and choices, is just not for me, like at all, no matter how well it's done, I can't stand it.

not fond of any form of prisoner/hostage tropes, like klaus kidnapping caroline or caroline kidnapping klaus and holding each other hostage and stuff like that.

Death as a plot point doesnt work for me? and really I'd prefer if there were no major character deaths at all.

Friends to lovers trope is not for me, childhood friends to lovers trope is definitely not for me.

I don't like any sort of redemption arc really, anything that starts with Klaus as a “bad” dude and ends with him being a relatively “good” dude is not for me.

Any form of infidelity, like ofc especially in between Klaus and Caroline is just [shudder] hard pass, but like I also hate it when Caroline or Klaus cheat on anybody at all.

Also all the tropes and like themes I'm not comfy w that I mentioned in my original Gift Request still stand.

KC Pairing Pet peeves

ok This I can answer easily bc I have like a FEW,

I hate a woobified Klaus so much, like so much, I hate all TO!Klaus characterizations but this one is the worst, absolutely not here for it, I am not here to feel sorry for this mf I want to feel really deliriously GIDDY at how evil he is and how whipped he is for Caroline, but like concentrating on Klaus's manpain is not something I really wanna read.

Caroline excusing Klaus's bullshit, or like being a push over-y “it's ok, I understand why you did it” person is not for me, bc she never was one to begin w, she never did rationalize or justify Klaus's behaviour, she always held him accountable and told him what a difficult son of a bitch he is every chance she got.

I don't like arcs where Caroline is Klaus's redemption? like Caroline bringing Klaus into the "light" or whatever I am not here for it, like at all, I like Klaus staying evil while being endlessly in love with Caroline, and Caroline being able to be w a man she knows is a selfish evil ruthless grade A asshole, but will literally also choke himself to death for Caroline, cuz the man is whipped as fuck.

I also absolutely am not a fan of arcs where like Caroline remains "pure" or whatever, like that's just not for me, I am totally fine, actually MORE than fine for ruthless Caroline who is willing to do deplorable shit to get to her goal and protect her people, like Caroline being extremely almost evilly pragmatic just gives me a boner, and pretty sure gives Klaus one too. Klaus "protecting" Caroline's so called innocence is uh off putting for me personally. And her remaining this pure white light princess of good and Klaus being attracted to the *good* in her is um, nope.

Smutty Preferences

Honestly I’m very easy when it comes to smut [and u totally dont have to write me any if you dont want to]

I do not like:

non con/dub con, anal sex, Strict and/or elaborate Bdsm themes, [light undertones are ok], drunk sex, sex that’s basically infidellity [like caroline/klaus cheating on someone else w each other] , gagging, choking, Extremely rough emotionless sex, sex as a bargain, or as a part of a bargain.

Smut preferences:

I like reading oral sex, especially Klaus going down on Caroline

light bondage like being tied up [either Klaus/Caroline I enjoy both]

Sex toys are really really good, like love reading Klaus using one on Caroline, or Caroline using one on herself and Klaus watching

I do have a special love for praise kink, especially Klaus being really just in awe of Caroline during the do and expressing it uninhibitedly

Dirty Talk is GREAT

I enjoy both Klaus and Caroline in a dominant role, but I usually love it when both of them share the dominance equally, I’m just not into “Yes master” and “Yes mistress” level of dominance. I guess the word I’m looking for is Vanilla dominance lmao.

Bloodplay is also great if they're vampires.

And Klaus and Caroline leaving marks on each other is *swoon*.

I love reading possessive!klaus and possessive!caroline in equal measure so really your choice.

Hot and Dirty sex with a an undercurrent of emotion and devotion, want and need and all that nice stuff is great!

But I do have a list of words I’m not really a big fan of coming across when I’m reading smut:

Any word for vagina that’s not wetness, or folds or lips, is squicky, cunt is not a problem, pussy however is squick.

Clit is clit; little nub, bundle of nerves, all of that makes the med student in me really anxious lmao.

Any word for Cock that’s not cock is squick.

Juices, cream, semen are squicky, I just prefer come or release.

Ok these are seemingly innocent words but moist, engorged, gaping, drooling, sopping are not words I like seeing in context of smut.

So yeah that’s about it, I know hi, it’s been what, eleventy bajillion years since the beginning of this ask, I am so so so sorry for being this difficult, and really, LIKE SERIOUSLY, except for my squicks you are more than welcome to just skip past everything else, since I’m not really that hard to please, as long as the no-no’s are not there in what I read and the dynamic I asked for is even just vaguely followed I will be really really really happy and really I just want you to have fun writing whatever you feel like cooking up, I’m superrrr excited to see your interpretation of my request!!!

[Also Please please send me another ask clarifying you got my answer and also telling me I haven't frightened you with this long ass rambling list of okay’s and no-no’s bc honestly I am just anxiously debating if I should answer this ask like this or yeet half of it and vaguely rewrite the answer.]

Hope you have a great day lovely!! I am once again sorry for being this difficult. ✨💖🤝🏾

#kc sweet swap #anon ask

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witchesofmysticfalls · 3 years

Text

As I Lay Dying - 3

"Ariel Hey." Jeremy greeted when he answered.

"Tell me you're with Elena." I say as I lean against the wall of the cellar, the deputies came and went, leaving me locked in the cell and Alaric locked out on the other side so until he manages to get his door opened I'm stuck here.

"She went to go see Damon. I thought that's where you were?"

"No, he just escaped. I think he's looking for her, and the cops are after him. Listen, he's in bad shape, Jeremy, so if you find her, get her somewhere safe, okay? Alaric and I are on our way"

As soon as he gets the damn door open

~~~~~~~~~~~~

I scrambled to pick up my phone as Alaric raced the car down the street, we managed to get out and we're headed to the town square to start our search for Damon.

"Hey it's me" Jeremy says. "Did you find him?" I ask.

"I'm with Damon at the grill"

"Okay, we're on our-" My sentence is cut off by a gunshot.

"Jeremy?" I questioned Jeremy.

"What was that? Is Damon alright? Jeremy!" I cut the call and look at Alaric

"Step on it"

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Alaric and I ran into the grill and looked over to see Bonnie, Caroline and her mom crouched over someone, crying

"Bonnie what's going on?" Alaric asked as we rushed to them.

"Oh my god!" I clamped a hand to my mouth as I felt my stomach sink down to the ground as I saw Jeremys lifeless body on the ground.

"Jeremy!" I dropped down to his side and Caroline promptly backed away to give me space.

"No!" I screamed as I put my fingers to his neck to find a pulse.

"I-I can't feel a pulse! Why can't I feel a pulse!" I exclaimed as I held his hand. I grabbed either side of his face and begged him to wake up.

"Jeremy! Jeremy please! Please wake up!" I had tears down my face and they were coming down fast.

I fell back losing balance but Caroline caught me. "No...he can't be...." I said in between sobs. I just lost Jenna and John, I can't lose Jeremy too. I remember when I was a kid, when Elena and I would hang out at her house, how we included Jeremy when he was little so he wouldn't feel left out.

I remember how mesmerized he was by my drawings, even if they were terrible.

I remember his first drawing, a car. I might have found out only a while ago Jeremy was my cousin, but I've known him for as long as I've known Elena and Bonnie and Caroline.

He was always a brother to me, and just when I found out we were family he was taken from me.

Is it a curse? Is that why the people I love die?

That's ridiculous but in my state I can't cope right now.

Bonnie raised her head in determination "I know what I need to do."

"I need you to grab him. T-take him with us." She said as she looked over at Alaric.

"No, no, no, no. You can't move him. This is a crime scene." Sheriff Forbes said with tears in her eyes.

"Mom, you let them go." Caroline orders,

We all stand and let Alaric pick him up. "All right, come here, buddy. I got you. I got you"

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Bonnie made us go all the way to the old witches house to do a resurrection spell that will bring Jeremy back, I'm trying to remain positive but it's hard.

"Is this even possible?" I asked as Alaric put down Jeremy's limp body on the ground.

"There's a spell for it if they'll give me the power to use it." Bonnie explained as she put Jeremy's head in her lap and grabbed either side of his face, and closed her eyes.

''Victus Phasmatis Ex Eleto. Revertas Phasmatis Ut Victus. Victus Phasmatis Ex Eleto. Revertas Phasmatis Ut Victus" Bonnie chants and at the same time, all of the light candles grow brighter with every chant.

"No." Bonnie whispers opening her tear ridden eyes

"What? What is it?" I question wearily.

"They're angry at me for coming back here. They don't wanna help."

"Well, they have to!" Alaric snapped.

"They said there'll be consequences."

"Well, he's just a kid. Tell 'em to shut up!" Alaric snapped.

Bonnie continues to cast the spell and The building shakes. I look around with wide eyes as Her nose starts to bleed and she starts crying.

"Victus Phasmatis Ex Eleto. Revertas Phasmatis Ut Victus. Victus Phasmatis Ex Eleto. Revertas Phasmatis Ut Victus. Revertas Phasmatis Ut Victus. Victus Phasmatis Ex Eleto. Revertas..."

"Emily. Emily!" Bonnie called out looking up. "I know you're there. Please help me" She begs and pleads. "I love him."

There's a huge gust of wind and the candles die out enveloping the room in darkness.

"No!" Bonnie cries. I hug Alaric, crying into him. He's dead. He's really dead and he's not coming back.

Out of nowhere Bonnie gasps loudly and Alaric shifts so I whirl around and gasped when I saw Jeremy had his eyes open "Oh my god."

"Bonnie?" Jeremy questions at her crying figure

"Oh, my God, Jeremy. Oh, my God."

"What happened?" Jeremy groaned in pain.

Bonnie shook her head softly "Doesn't matter. You're okay. You're okay." She said as she stroked his hair.

Bonnie smiled and raised her head "Thank you."

~~~~~~~~~~~~

I sat on the porch swing while Alaric and Jeremy were inside with a blanket over me.

"Hey, you alright?" Asked Alaric as he poked his head through the door.

I nod unconvincingly "Yeah...I'm fine"

He sighed and sat down next to me "You know, you don't have to lie. Not to me"

"I don't know. It's just, everyone I love dies. My mom, Zach, Vicki, Jenna, John, even John. Jeremy was dead, and Damon's dying..." That last bit made me break into tears

"I just can't take it anymore" He sighed and wrapped an arm around me.

"Do you think I'm cursed?" I asked, staring ahead as I trace the pattern on my locket.

Alaric shook his head "No. You're not cursed. That's just the way life is. It might seem helpless now, but it's only making you stronger"

I sighed "You're just being nice" I mutter not believing him.

"I'm not, you know you are one of the finest pupils I've ever trained"

"The only one you've ever trained"

We both laughed lightly

"Yeah well, Ariel you've grown into this amazing strong woman who's turning 18 in how many days?"

"21, legally anyway"

"Right legally. My point is, keep fighting, no matter how much it hurts"

I smiled at him "Thanks Rick"

He smiled back "Any time my non-biological daughter"

I smiled a little "non-biological daughter?"

"Yes, because that's what you are to me" I laughed a little hiding a smile with my hand "There's the laugh"

"Thanks non-biological father"

...............

Alaric went back inside to speak to Jeremy and I stayed out here, he told me was going to be staying and that was fine by me. I stayed outside, drawing, I was drawing, drawing Jenna and John in my definition of heaven. The greatest memories of your life on re-run.

Someone rapped their knuckles against the beam of the porch and I looked up and saw Stefan standing there.

"Stefan!" I exclaimed throwing, the blanket off me and throwing my arms around him.

"Oh thank god I was so worried"

He pulled away from me and gave me this sorrowful look.

"Why do you have that look on your face? That's your 'I'm about to give bad news face" I almost back away in shock,

"Damon didn't die did he?"

"No, he didn't" I breathed a sigh of relief, putting a hand on my chest. "Thank god"

"Ariel I'm leaving"

The sentence made my eyes widen "What? What do you mean you're leaving?"

"Klaus gave Damon his blood, the cure, but only if I went with him," Stefan explained.

"You didn't...wait-wait then why are you here?"

"Just to say goodbye, take care of yourself, for once"

I shook my head at him, "No! This can't be goodbye! You can't leave! What-what about Elena and- and Damon and Caroline and-and me!"

"You-you can't just leave!" I yelled at him, breaking into tears.

"I have to. I made a deal"

"Screw Klaus! I'll kill him myself if I have to even if it kills me! I'm not letting you leave with him!" I yelled at him, I turn to go inside the house but he uses his speed to block my path

"No-I'm not!" I tried getting past him but he stopped me from doing so.

"Let me go Stefan! I'll negotiate with him, I-I don't know my life for yours"

"Ariel you are not doing that!"

"I don't give a damn" I'm cut off when he brought his lips to mine. And for that split second, it was like if I didn't have a care in the world, it's like if time froze and we were standing still.

It felt...right- it felt....oldy right, and I didn't want it to feel right. I kissed him back despite my efforts to pull back and do something, but it was as if I was just frozen and couldn't move.

He finally pulled away and looked me in the eye with a look

"Why'd you do that?"

"So you could be quiet" He smiled painfully and kissed my forehead one last time before using his speed to leave.

I dropped and sank on my knees, He's gone.

Oh my god, what have we done?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Well that's it. Have fun, Season 3 will come in March, kay kay!

Love you all!

Mwah!

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what-is-your-plan-today · 4 years

Text

Riding High Ch7: Ordinary People

Chapter Summary: Frank feels the aftermath of his dumbassery

Chapter Warnings: Bad Language words. Flash backs to domestic violence.

Chapter Pairings: Frank Adler x OFC Fliss Gallagher

Chapter Song: Ordinary People by John Legend

Series Masterlist Main Masterlist

“I saw you…he had his hands all over you.”

“John, I didn’t want him to…he was drunk, just being over friendly…”

Fliss cowered as a sneer crossed her husband’s face, the features she found so handsome once upon a time were distorted in anger, his dark green eyes clouded with rage as he towered over where she sat on the crouch. In a flash he had reached out and grabbed a fist full of her hair, yanking her to her feet. Fliss gave a cry of pain, stumbling after him as he dragged her up the stairs. She tripped at one point, her hip colliding painfully with one of the steps but he paid it no attention.

No mercy.

“You’re mine Sugar” he said, his voice steely “you know that.”

“I know…” she sobbed as he threw her into the bedroom. She scrambled for purchase on the bed as he pushed her hard so she fell face down, but before she could raise herself again he had grabbed the back of her neck and pushed her face into the pillows.

“Why do you make me do this, Felicity?” He asked, releasing his hold as his thighs bracketed hers. Fliss heard the tell-tale clinking of his belt and she gave another sob, knowing full well what was coming. He roughly pushed her dress up over her hips, leaving her underwear clad ass exposed.

And then the leather stuck her. Again. And again. And again.

“I’ll mark you so hard no one else will ever want you…” he snarled as he continued his assault. “You’re mine…“ Fliss sat bolt upright, gasping as she glanced around her bedroom. Thor, hearing her breathing jumped up onto her bed and shoved his head under her arm as she clamped her hands over her face. Looking down at him she buried her face into the dog’s fur, holding him tight as her breathing evened out. She ran through her calming thoughts in her head, imagining the sound of the ocean, the wind in her hair as she galloped on the beach, the soft and gentle hugs she received from her dad, her mum…and dare she even think it, Frank. And then another image filled he head. The sight of him kissing Bonnie at the bar.

“Wanker…” she muttered, wiping the tears from her face as Thor licked her cheek, his tail wagging as she stroked him. She was shaking slightly, the dream had been so real, so vivid, she could almost physically feel the pain. John had belted her so badly that night she hadn’t been able to ride for a week, and she still bore the marks where the buckle had ripped through her panties and skin.

The worst thing was, that after he had finished, he had held her, stroking her hair, soothing her, explaining why he had to punish her so much. It was sick, twisted. Just like him. “No power over me anymore, no power, no power…” she repeated her mantra through gritted teeth before she pushed the duvet down and swung her legs out of the bed and headed to the bathroom.

***** Frank had also woken up to a nightmare. His head was pounding from the shots he’d downed at the bar and being jerked awake by Bonnie’s screams as Mary had turned up in the apartment earlier than she was allowed on a Saturday hadn’t exactly helped the situation, not to mention the fact that he had fucked Mary’s school teacher for no reason other than the fact he was drunk, stressed and needed a release. Thankfully she seemed to be in the same place as him about the entire situation as he saw her out to a cab, apologising for Mary’s interruption, literally incapable of thinking of anything else to say. It was the most awkward morning after he had ever experienced.

And there was something else compounding his growing bad mood. When he had finally checked his phone as he stood outside for a few moments after Bonnie had gone, hoping the fresh air would sort his head out, he realised he had a number of messages from Fliss and a few missed calls. Groaning he remembered that he should have called her after the court case. Firing her a quick apology promising to talk to her later when it was time for Mary’s lesson, before he headed back inside.

Mary was sat on the rug with her lego, pieces scattered all over, Ice Age playing on the TV.

“Awkward…” she sing songed

“Mary…” Frank looked at her for a moment and when she didn’t look at him he crouched down

“Stop! Stop! Stop with the Legos. Listen.” he took a breath and she looked at him “Do we have a rule about Saturday morning?”

“What?” she said softly

“Are you allowed in this apartment this early on Saturday morning?” Frank pressed, looking at her.

“No.” Mary sighed, averting her eyes from his.

“No!” Frank said, a little louder before he paused again “Are you allowed to… Hey!” he reached out to stop Mary as she returned to her Toys. “Stop! Enough with the Lego! Are you allowed to use Roberta’s keys?”

“No.” she still wasn’t looking at him.

“No!” Frank said, his voice gathering momentum “So, hey! Look at me. Then why are you here? Huh? Can you answer me that?”

Mary’s eyes filled with tears but Frank was too angry at the fact she had disobeyed him to comfort her.

“You broke every rule! You just embarrassed me. We have these rules.” he said standing up, turning to head back out of the door into the kitchen “We’ve gone over them a hundred times!” And then he stepped on a piece of Lego in his bare feet. His frustration boiled over as he hopped on one leg, clutching the side of the dresser which was pushed flush against the wall.

“Shit…” he yelled “God, damned it…” he slapped the side of the dresser, leaning against it,as he bent down to rub his foot “Can I just get five minutes of my own life?”

At that Mary jumped up and bolted into his bedroom, shutting the door behind her.

Frank stood up, before he sighed, one hand on his hip, his eyes closed. He’d overreacted, he knew that. He was more pissed at himself for being an idiot than he was at Mary. He ran his hand over his face and glanced at the clock. Mary’s riding lesson was at 2 and it was now just pushing 10:30. Deciding to leave Mary to cool down before he made breakfast he headed into the kitchen to clear up yesterday’s dishes.

He heard the door to his room click open about twenty minutes later. Giving her another 10 he wiped the counter down before he made his way back into the main room and sat on the edge of her bed, where she was snuggled down in her alcove which sported a collection of shells they had stuck to the wood panels and a few photos, one of her mom, one of her and Frank and one of her and Fliss with Monty. She was huddled in the corner, Fred laying on her knee, the laptop resting on his back as she tapped away.

“Nothing that happened today was your fault.” Frank said gently and looked at her “I got mad at you…I was really mad at me…” he looked at her and she continued to ignore him “…and the manufacturers of Legos. They should all be in prison. So I’m sorry.” he said gently. She paused tapping but still didn’t look at him. “Do you forgive me?”

“Sure. Whatever.” she mumbled.

“Hey, close the laptop. Come on. Please. Doesn’t count if it’s not eye to eye.”

She hesitated so he asked again, gently. “Come on, please.”

With a sigh she did was she was told and looked at him, her eyes so like Diane’s were full of sadness and Frank felt his gut twist in guilt.

“Do you really have no life because of me?”

Fuck. Frank cursed himself for his outburst before and shook his head.

“That’s not what I said.” he looked at her.

“Did you mean it?” she pressed, not buying his statement for one minute, her voice soft.

“Last week you said I was the worst Uncle in the world and you wished death upon me ‘cause I didn’t buy you a piano.” Frank looked at her, holding her gaze. “Did you mean that?”

“No” Mary replied, her fingers tangling in Fred’s fur “Not entirely.”

“Well…” Frank said, “There you go. We say things all the time we don’t mean. So let’s forget it, okay?”

“Okay” Mary agreed

“Okay.” Frank nodded, standing up

“Frank?” she called as he headed towards the door to head down and check the mail. He stopped and turned back, even though he couldn’t see her.

“Yeah?”

“Can I have a piano?”

“No.” he said, turning for the door.

He strode down across the lawn to the mail boxes, unlocked his and pulled out 2 letters. One looked like a bill, the other was in a manila coloured envelope, and was stamped with some kind of official seal.

“Was that really Mary's teacher this morning?” Roberta appeared. He glanced at her and returned to his post “And there was me thinking Fliss would stop you doing anything stupid…”

Frank’s head shot up “Fliss?” he frowned “What….”

“She came here last night, to see you. We roped her into Karaoke before she left and she said she was going to come and find you at Fergs”

Frank frowned. “Well she didn’t. I never saw her last night so she-”

Oh,fuck fuck fuck! He trailed off with a groan as he realised that she had probably seen him with Bonnie and then he felt a stinging slap round the back of his head.

“Shit!” He exclaimed, glaring at Roberta “Jesus…that fucking hurt!”

“Good…” she stared at him. “You know I have a book called ‘Fundamentals of Decision Making’. You can borrow it.” ‘

He glared at her, he didn’t need this. Not now. His attention turned back to the letter and he noticed the seal was from the court house. With a frown he opened it. The header- ‘Highsmith, Kistler & Sellers Attorneys at Law’ greeted him and he started to read. It was an order for him to surrender Mary for 2 days into Evelyn’s care, at a time and date to be agreed. It wasn’t unexpected but it was pretty fast considering it had only been agreed yesterday. His mother really wasn’t wasting any time.

“What is it?” Roberta asked, noticing the frown on his face

“It’s nothing.” he said, leaning on the post box, still reading the letter “looks like Mary gets to go to Boston for a couple days.”

He noticed Roberta stiffen and he looked at her. “It’s just two days. Relax.” he said gently.

Because he was always honest with Mary he sat down once he was back inside and told her about the letter. She knew there was a court case going on, he had explained it all to her as best as he could so as not to cause her any worry. She soaked up the information and shrugged before saying that going to Boston sounded kinda cool. Frank simply nodded and said that he would sort out the dates on Monday before they ate lunch and headed up to the riding school. As he drove there his stomach was doing flips, the nerves at seeing Fliss were overwhelming, more so because he had no idea what he was going to say to her. It was strange, he felt guilty, even though he had no real reason to. They weren’t an item.

Fliss greeted Mary with the usual warmth before she turned her gaze to Frank, and he could see the hurt in her eyes, compounding that guilty feeling even more.

“Sorry I didn’t call you last night.” he offered and she shrugged.

“It’s ok, I know you were busy.” her voice carried no sarcasm, it was measured and cool but Frank knew she was referring to Bonnie, his suspicions confirmed. She turned away, barking an instruction to Joanne who looked at her, nodding.

Frank leaned on the paddock fence as he always did, a little way from the other parents and watched as Fliss taught the 3 girls, smile on her face. Mary was certainly getting the hang of it now and was able to trot around unaided. After about 40 minutes they were done and heading out of the paddock. Fliss made no attempt to come and speak to him, like normal, and made straight for her office. Casting and eye on Mary who was leading Monty back to the stable he followed Fliss.

“You’re mad at me.” he observed gently.

“Why would I be mad at you?” she replied, pulling 3 cartons of apple juice out of the fridge for the kids.

“Because you saw me last night with Bonnie.” he pressed.

He saw her stiffen slightly before she took a breath and turned round.

“I’m not mad.” she shrugged.

“Could have fooled me.”

“I just…well I think you should have considered Mary a little more, that’s all, instead of simply wanting to get your end away.“ “What does that mean?” he frowned.

“You know damned well what it means.” she looked at him “Mary told me she saw Bonnie this morning, I mean…Jesus Frank that’s her teacher…can you imagine how awkward its gonna be if any of the kids find out that you’re fucking her?” “Ok, I’m not fucking her…” Frank held his hand out to stop her.

“So what were you doing last night then?” Fliss hissed, “Playing scrabble?”

“Hang on, are we really arguing about this?” Frank looked at her, frowning “Why? Why are you so mad about it?”

He paused, looking at her. Her eyes locked onto his and she swallowed, and for a moment he hoped she was going to tell him what he wanted to hear but she shook her head and shrugged.

“You know what, you’re right. What, or who you do in your spare time is your business, not mine.”

With that she pushed past him and headed out into the yard. Frank let out another sigh before he headed out to find Mary.

******

Fliss made no attempts to speak to Frank over the next few days. He messaged her to tell her about Mary heading to Boston at the end of the week and she replied politely, telling him that she was sure it would all work out, but beyond that she didn’t reach out further. However, she did call to wish Mary a safe trip to Boston on the Thursday morning just before Evelyn arrived to pick her up, and told her she wanted to hear all about it when she came home on Saturday afternoon . By the time Frank got the phone back, Fliss had hung up.

“Frank she likes you. “ Roberta said when she popped over to wish Mary goodbye. Mary wasted no time in informing her the reason he was in a bad mood wasn’t just because she was going to Boston, but also because Fliss was angry at him. Of course she had noticed, because she noticed everyting. “She’s hurt and it’s yo own dumbass fault.” the woman concluded.

Yeah, yeah he got that.

“I have had a series of nightmares…where I’m fired…because of what happened. You get it?” Bonnie smiled, rolling her eyes. Frank smiled at her as she laughed “And then I remind myself, that everything that happened, was just all the alcohol and people do far worse right?”

At that Frank laughed. “Yeah we were pretty drunk.”

Truth be told whilst he did think Bonnie was attractive, there was nothing there, and that was compounded by the fact that as he sat there, looking at her, he felt no urges at all. She was simply another one of his Friday night hook ups, only this had turned out to be slightly more complicated.

Yeah, he should definitely borrow that book from Roberta

“So I guess, what I came here to say…” Bonnie sighed “I think you’re a great guy Frank, and I’ve got your back on this damned custody case but…me and you…it just…” “Oh, absolutely, I’m with you…” Frank said, agreeing quickly, thanking the Gods she’d brought it up before he had to. “It was a mistake…” Bonnie arched an eyebrow and he sighed .“Shit, I don’t mean that how it sounds but…well, it was, wasn’t it?”

She smiled and nodded, cocking her head to one side as she surveyed him. “I do think you need to speak to Fliss though?”

“Fliss?” Frank frowned, “What’s she got to do with this?”

"You like her.” Bonnie said simply.

Frank paused before he shook his head, smiling “that obvious?” “Yeah, and there’s the fact you called me by her name twice.” Oh Jesus. Ground please open… “What when we… ” he grimaced and she chuckled, raising her eyebrows “Oh God. Bonnie… I’m so sorry.” He groaned and ran his hands over his face.

What a fucking ass hole.

“Like we said, mistake…” Bonnie smiled, “Especially when you’re clearly hung up on another girl. “ “Yeah well whatever may or may not have been there, I think I’ve kinda blown it… story of my life.” Frank sighed taking a pull from his bottle.

“Blown it?”

“Yeah she’s pretty pissed. She saw us in the bar and has hardly spoken a word to me since”

“And you’re giving up that easily?” Bonnie raised an eyebrow. He sighed and she leaned forward slightly “Take it from me, another female, that if she’s that pissed at you over the fact that you hooked up with someone else then she feels something for you Frank.“

They stayed and chatted about the court case for a while and he filled Bonnie in on the running order for the testimonies which would start on Tuesday before she bid him goodnight and left. He contemplated messaging Fliss but decided against it. He worked late again on Friday, for the first time in months foregoing his trip to Ferg’s and by Saturday afternoon he was ready to welcome Mary home. He’d missed her.

“I’m loaded with swag!” she said, with an air of someone out of Gossip Girl, not that he’d seen a lot of that mind, as she skipped towards him and wrapped her arms around his waist as well she could with the bag she was carrying. His hand dropped to the back of her head as he hugged her before he looked up at his mother.

“Wanna come inside?” he asked as Mary skipped off calling Fred’s name.

“Cat.” she said, with a faint smile as she shook her head.

He nodded to her and turned to follow Mary.

“I need to ring Fliss…” Mary said immediately.

“Well, I got a better idea.” Frank said, “How about we head over there and see her?”

“Yesss.” Mary said, before she looked at him. “Are you friends again?”

“We never stopped being friends she’s just mad at me because I did something stupid, but don’t worry, it’ll work out.” he said.

I hope…

***** Fliss was busy on a lesson when her phone went. Taking a quick minute to look at it, she read the message from Frank asking if it was ok if they swung by as Mary was home. With a deep breath she replied telling him it was fine, before she turned back to her client who was one of the boarders on the yard.

She had just about finished some 30 minutes or so later when she heard Mary calling. She turned and gave her a smile and a wave. Once she had finished and taken payment, she turned to Mary and gave the girl a hug.

“Hey…” she smiled. Mary hugged her tight and Fliss chuckled before she glanced up at Frank “Coffee?”

He smiled, taking the olive branch she had offered. “Yeah, sounds great.”

They made their way into the office and Fliss moved to the small kitchenette area at the back, filling the coffee machine before she turned to Mary, leaning against the counter.

“And she has a piano…” Mary finished, “I mean I didn’t get to play it but…”

“You should come over to my mum’s.” Fliss smiled “She’ll let you play hers. That’s what she used to do, teach people music.”

Mary smiled, before she looked over at Frank who was stood watching a few people who were riding in the paddock, the lessons for the day having concluded which mean the boarders were free to do what they wanted.

“Are you still mad at Frank?” she turned back to Fliss.

“Not really.” Fliss said “I got a bit cross but…” “Yeah, he can make me cross too.” Mary said wisely “He does dumb stuff sometimes.”

Fliss laughed and studied the young girl “Yeah, you got that right.” “But he’s a good person.” she shrugged

“I know.” Fliss said, her eyes flicking to him before she looked back at Mary.

“I don’t want to live with Evelyn.” Mary shrugged “I mean she was nice and looks like my mom but…she’s bossy.” Fliss smiled.

“And I want to stay with Frank.” Mary continued “Because I know he loves me. And he did before he found out I was smart.”

Fliss felt a lump in her throat at the girl’s confession. She glanced over at Frank again who ran a hand over his face, rubbing at his eyes underneath his shades.

“Hey, Mary, why don’t you go say hi to Monty.” she said gently, “Tell Joanne I said you could help with the feeds.” “Yesss.” she said, scooting off her chair and shooting across the yard. Fliss saw Frank follow her with her eyes before he turned to her as she walked over to him.

“Hey.” she said, her tone soft. “How you holding up?” “Apart from screwing up my life, I’m good.” he snorted, taking off his glasses and tucking them into the collar of his t-shirt “Just hope I’m not screwing hers up as well.”

“Don’t’ say that.” Fliss shook her head “You know that’s not true. Mary’s fine…”

“I hate that we haven’t been talking.” he said after a pause, looking at her. “Been kinda lonely.”

“I thought you’d have been with Bonnie.” she said softly, shrugging.

Frank sighed “I’ve only seen her once, this week. And that was so we could have a straight up conversation about how what happened was a mistake”

“A mistake?” Fliss raised an eyebrow.

“Yeah.” Frank said “And as far as mistakes go…that one was pretty spectacular.”

“And you actually said that to her?”

He nodded.

“Wow… “ she snorted.

“She agreed so…” Frank shrugged and he held her gaze for a second before he took a deep breath “Is that why you’ve been ignoring me?” he pressed “Because you thought we were… you know, together?”

“I just…” she looked back at him, “Well, I didn’t want to step on any toes, so to speak, that’s all.”

“There’s none to step on, trust me.” Frank said gently.

“So err, anyway, she seems to have enjoyed Boston.” Fliss changed the subject.

“Yeah.” Frank said

“So what’s next?”

“Well she has a err, court interview with the Child Welfare department or whatever they’re called on Monday.” he said.

“Sure it’ll be fine.” Fliss replied “It’s not like she’s treated badly or her welfare is an issue Frank.”

“And the hearing starts in full on Tuesday.” he said “And they’re opening with a bang.” Fliss frowned as he turned to face her “Greg called me yesterday. Mary’s biological father has apparently signed an affidavit, nominating my mother as Mary’s legal guardian.”

“Are you fucking kidding me?” Fliss hissed, suddenly seething with anger as Frank shook his head “That’s a real shitty trick.”

“Yep” Frank agreed.

“Does Mary know?”

“No. I’ll have to tell her though, otherwise Evelyn will no doubt during her access.”

“She gets access?”

“Yeah, whilst this is going on she gets visitation rights so…” Frank shrugged, and Fliss couldn’t help but notice his despondent nature.

“So when you gonna tell her?”

“Tuesday night, after it’s done. I don’t want her worrying or knowing he’s in town because if she knows and he doesn’t ask to see her…at least once he’s gone then…” he bit his lip “She’s gonna be upset either way but, what else can I do?”

“Nothing but what you think is best.” Fliss said gently “I told you before that’s all you can do Frank.” He looked at her and she sighed, opening her arms and he gladly stepped towards her, wrapping her up in a hug.

******

“Mr. Polland, are you the…natural father of Mary Adler?”

“Yes. Yes, I am.”

Frank sat still, glaring at the ass hole sat in the dock.

“And how you can be certain of this?

“Well, I always knew, but then you had me take a DNA test.”

Course they did…

Frank sat up slightly, his jaw clenching. This ass hole had no right to decide what was best for Mary, he’d never fucking met her. Greg touched his arm, shaking his head before he stood up.

“No objections.”

“Mr. Polland has Mrs. Adler offered you any monetary reward or employment for coming forward today?” Evelyn’s attorney continued.

No, sir. I have a job of my own.”

Frank suppressed a snort. Bullshit she hasn’t paid you.

“Thank you. No further questions, your Honour.”

Cullen rose again and waited a second before he opened his cross examination “Mr. Polland when was the last time you saw Mary?”

“I've never seen her.” Polland shifted slightly and Frank watched him intently.

“Why not?”

“By the time I heard about Diane…passing the baby was gone already.”

Her name is Mary, ass hole… Frank took a deep breath.

“Well, did you try and find her?” Cullen pressed.

“Best I could. I couldn’t just go and search the entire country.” Polland shook his head, trying to make a joke out of it. Frank was pleased to see the judge wasn’t laughing.

Greg nodded and paused once more before suddenly asking “Do you use a computer at work?”

“Sure.” Polland replied

“You know what? Help me out.” Greg said, grabbing his laptop “Let's google 'Mary Adler’ and see what we find.” he placed the laptop on the dock and turned it towards Polland. The man hesitated for a while and looked at the Judge who gestured with his hand, instructing him to do as he was told. Polland began to tap when Jason spoke again “You know what? You better add her middle name.”

Frank watched as Polland stopped, because of course he had no idea what her midde name was.

“It'll narrow it down. Eileen” Cullen said. Polland looked up and caught Frank’s eye, his face sheepish. Frank kept his face straight, his chin resting on his hand, fingers making an L-shape round his jaw as Polland looked away and began to tap..

“Yeah, hit enter.” Greg instructed. “Ok, now head to page 2…second hit…would you please tell the court what you see there?”

Polland hesitated “It’s a newspaper article called ‘Not so terrible twos’”

“And one of them is Mary Eileen Adler.” Greg nodded “Same name as your daughter. Born on the same day as your daughter. With a photograph”

Polland looked at him.

“In your defence, you’d never recognize it…”

“Your Honour, this is…” Evelyn’s attorney stood up but Cullen was quick to cut him off

“Your Honour, if there’s one thing here that's sadly obvious it’s that Mr. Polland has never been a genuine guardian of the minor and his nomination of Mrs. Adler is no less disingenuous.” he looked at the Judge.

Frank shifted slightly as Judge Nicholls looked at Polland, then to Evelyn, then to Frank before he turned glanced at the notes spread out in front of him.

“While the state of Florida gives difference to nomination by natural parent, I'm inclined to side with Mr. Cullen’s laptop at this time.” he said, nodding at Cullen, effectively dismissing the affidavit. Frank allowed himself a relieved smile as Greg nodded.

“Thank you, your Honor”

Frank walked his mother to her car, as she told him about his step father Walter. Frank had found it odd how he wasn’t featuring in any of this, but his question was answered as Evelyn told him he had bought a ranch in Montana.

“Bullshit.” he exclaimed as they strode down the path in the sun, his suit jacket handing over his arm.

“Exactly. A man whose idea of roughing it is being too far from the ice machine at the Ritz Carlton now owns a 1000 acres of grass and dung.”

“Walter Price is a cowboy.” Frank smiled, shaking his head.

“Walter Price who puts on a Brooke’s brother suit to take out the garbage now has a cowboy hat and cowboy boots and a horse that doesn’t know dressage.” Evelyn shook her head.

“Is there some logical reason for this?” Frank asked making a mental note to tell Fliss.

“Midlife crisis, apparently.”

“He’s 70.” Frank scoffed

“I know. Must have been on time delay or something. I guess I should be happy it wasn’t 25 year old cocktail waitress. But then again an affair you can explain to friends in a minute. For this, you put on a pot of coffee.”

“And he’s out there right now?”

“Yessiree!” Evelyn imitated a Western accent.

“The fastest asset management in the West.” he snorted and Evelyn smiled.

“The man who shot Liberty Mutual. That’s what I’ve been calling him” she said as they stopped at her car.

“That’s really, really funny.” Frank said, and then sighed as she opened the car door. He leaned down and spoke to the driver “Take her to the airport.” he said, straightening up. “Go home, Evelyn. Or Montana. Rustle some cattle.” he said gently.

“You know I have no desire to hurt you. I hate it that we’re at odds.” she said as she say in the car, looking at him through the open window.

And then, he was also reminded just how different they were too.

“We’re always at odds.” he shrugged.

“Yes.” She said, almost sadly before she spoke and issued an instructions to her driver, which Frank also realised as a direct defiance aimed at him “Hotel.”

**** As anticipated, when Frank broke the news to Mary about her father she had a meltdown. What hadn’t anticioated was her locking herself in the bathroom and no amount of coaxing from him or Roberta managed to draw her out. She was crying her little heart out, sobbing about how her dad didn’t want her…and just before he kicked the door in he had a stroke of inspiration, pulling out his phone to call in reinforcement.

It arrived in the shape of Fliss some 20 minutes later.

“I still can’t believe that wank stain was even given the time of day.” she seethed as Frank greeted her as she strode in the door.

“Well his claim was thrown out but…”Frank nodded to where Roberta was stood outside locked bathroom door.

“Why you had to tell her that asshole was testifying I’ve no idea.” the woman shot him a look.

“Because it’s the truth. And if I didn’t, Evelyn would’ve.” Frank reasoned.

“If I was the dad of a little girl and I never saw her… and I was in the same town… I would visit her.” Fliss heard Mary’s crying and Frank saw her face scrunch up in sympathy. “He didn’t even need directions. He could’ve followed you here.”

“Ok, Roberta, move…” Fliss said gently. Roberta stood to the side and Fliss spoked to the door. “Mary…honey, it’s me.”

“Lissy?” Mary sniffled.

“The one and only.” Fliss smiled, before she sighed “You know what, you’re right. He could have come to see you. But he didn’t. And that’s nothing to do with you.”

“He doesn’t even wanna see what I look like.” The girl sobbed again.

“I never met my dad either…” Fliss said gently “He abandoned my mum before I was born, and then he was killed when I was 4 months old. But before that he never made any attempt to see me. He died without ever seeing my face. And you know what?”

“What?” Mary sniffed.

“That’s his loss, just like it’s your…father’s loss, and I hate to use that word because he’s not really got any right to be called that.”

Mary said nothing, but Frank could hear her sniffling still.

“But then my mom met Bill when I was two, and he’s been my dad ever since. He looked after me and loved me, just like Frank does for you.” Fliss glanced at him and he dropped his hand from where it had been cupping his chin, folding his arms round his chest as he shot her a small smile. “Like we all do Mary, you’re so loved. By Frank, Roberta…me…” Fliss continued, “Now come on, open the door.”

And then he had an idea.

Fliss watched him as he crouched next to them, his hand gently reaching out to brush Mary’s hair back as she turned her head which was on Fliss’ shoulder to look at him.

“Put your shoes on. We're going for a ride.” he said to her softly. Then he turned to Fliss “You too that is if you want to.”

“Sure.” she nodded.

“Roberta?” Frank looked at her, and she shook her head.

“Your truck only got 3 seats.” “We can take mine.” Fliss offered as Mary gently released her.

“No, I think you two got this.” she said, smiling.

*******

“Waiting.”

“We can see that.” Fliss said, and he looked at her,rolling his eyes as Mary continued.

“Why?”

“Because I said so.” he said, returning to the National Geographic magazine he was flicking through.

“How long do we have to stay here?”

“As long as it takes. And keep your voice down. It’s a hospital.” Frank said.

She blinked and watched as a man walked into the waiting room dressed in scrubs, a huge smile on his face.

“It’s a boy.” he announced and the group erupted into cheers. Fliss glanced down at Mary who was watching in awe as everyone started to congratulate the man, all crying, sobbing with happiness, cheering, praising the lord.

“That's exactly how it was when you were born.” Frank said softly and Fliss then understood. He was showing Mary that she was loved, that she was wanted.

“This happy?” Mary asked

“This happy.” Frank confirmed.

“Who came out and told everybody?” she asked, and Frank leaned over gently brushing her hair behind her ear.

“I did.” he said softly.

The emotion of the moment got to Fliss and her eyes watered. Frank raised his head and they shared a look as he smiled and she smiled back before Mary piped up.

“Can we stay for another?”

Frank smiled and Mary jumped up, heading over to the group. They all smiled at her as she was swept into their celebrations. Fliss reached over and gently took Frank’s hand, giving his fingers a squeeze, a gesture he returned until Mary came back and pulled Fliss over to the group with her. Frank leaned back and watched as Fliss simply smiled and wiped her eyes as she congratulated the family and he let out a sigh, swallowing slightly, lost in his thoughts.

Eventually the family all dispersed to go and see their new arrival and he told Mary that it was too late to stay for another. She fell asleep on the way home against Fliss and when they got back t was a careful manoeuvre between them both to get her out of the car without waking her up. He gently placed her in bed before he walked Fliss down to her jeep.

“Thank you.” he said to her gently “You were amazing before…you’re just…amazing.” he said, trailing off.

She blushed slightly and tucked her hair behind her ears.

“I mean it Lissy…” he said, “You…I dunno.”

He hesitated for a second before he reached out and gently placed his hand on her hip, pulling her softly towards him

“Frank…” she said softly as his face dropped towards hers, her hands gently on his chest keeping him away from her “Look, I…”

“I know.” he swallowed, his head dropping as he sighed at her rejection “You don’t have to explain.”

“It’s not even 2 weeks ago you were in bed with another woman.” she said gently and he grimaced, pulling away slightly.

“I know and I really wish that hadn’t happened” he sighed, the hand that had been on her hip moved and ran through his hair “There’s really nothing going on between me and Bonnie…it was just a one night. My head was fucked and…”

“Because it’s not.” he said, his eyes not leaving hers as he drove his message home “I care about you Fliss, more than just as friends…and I’m kicking myself now because what I did means you don’t believe me…”

“It’s not that I don’t believe you.” she said gently, shaking her head as she took deep breath. “And it’s not that I don’t feel the same…”

It’s not that I don’t feel the same At her words a soft smile formed on his face as she continued to talk.

“…but right now, you need to concentrate on Mary…and getting through this week.”

He nodded, swallowing “Yeah, maybe you’re right.”

“No maybe about it.” she smiled, and reaching up she took his face in her soft hands. “But I promise you I’m not going anywhere.” her eyes locked onto his “And whatever this is…” she gestured between them once more “if it’s right, then it’ll still be there when all this is over.”

“I’ll see you tomorrow.” she said softly.

“Tomorrow?” he frowned

“Yeah, the Wicked Witch of The West is testifying is she not?”

Frank gave a huff of a laugh “Yeah she is.” “Like I said, you’re not alone. I might bring a hosepipe,see if she melts. I’ll see you in the morning.”

He chuckled at her joke and watched her climb in her car, waiting until the tail lights had disappeared before he turned and headed inside. Finally all the cards were on the table, and it hadn’t been a rejection, quite the opposite actually.

For the first time in days, Frank slept soundly that night.

@the-omni-princess @momobaby227 @geekofmanythings16 @angelofhell-666 @thewackywriter @marvelfansworld @cobalt-gear @asgardlover75 @jennmurawski13 @jtargaryen18 @saiyanprincessswanie @navispalace @patzammit @joannaliceevans-fanficblog @icanfeelastormbrewing @djeniiscorner @ayamenimthiriel @coldmuffinbanditshoe @disneylovingal @madzmilllz @sgtjaamesbaarnes @sweater-daddiesdumbdork @southerngracela @goldenfightergir @kellymat @official-and-unstable-satan @pagesoflauren

#riding high #frank adler x ofc #frank adler #gifted #gifted fan fic

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purewhitepages · 5 years

Text

La Retour de Foi Chapter 6

A/N: Thank you so much for being patient for this chapter. In a way, it is both the end of this story and the beginning. I hope it holds up.

“Hello. My name is Faith. I’m your daughter.”

The words hung over the group for a moment before Bree stepped forward.

“How long did you know?” she asked, much more accusatory than she meant it.

“Since the clinic.” Faith’s answer was simple, factual, and her face betrayed no emotion.

“And when exactly were you planning on telling us?” Bree’s hands were in fists at her sides, and her face was red.

Faith smiled a small smile. “That would imply that any of this was planned.” She shook her head. “Tomorrow. Aunt Jenny and Uncle Ian said they would arrange an introduction.”

“Already on the ‘aunt’ and ‘uncle’ are you?”

“They insisted.” Faith folded her arms over her chest and took a step forward. “Bree-...I’m sorry I didn’t tell you myself. I wanted to. I was going to. You have to believe me.” She took another step forward and put out her hand to shake. “It just didn’t seem like a good thing to blurt out in the clinic’s lobby, or while we were getting really drunk.” Her smile was genuine and Bree looked at her hand skeptically.

“If it makes you feel any better, I didn’t know about you either. Or about Kitty or Ian or anything. All of this has happened so fast.”

Bree took her hand to shake finally. But when Faith went to pull away, Bree pulled back and into a small hug. Faith patted her back and moved to Roger, who was now beside Bree. He opened up his arm for a side-hug.

“Gave us a proper fright, ye did,” he said. “Claire and Jamie didna believe us at first that we had seen ye in the village. I was beginning to think myself daft, but it was too much of a coincidence.”

“Sorry about that.”

He waved his hand. “Dinna fash.”

Bree motioned to her other siblings. “This is Fergus and Marsali. Fergus is our brother, he’s originally from France..”

Faith gave Marsali a hug. (“I’ve a question to ask ye about a certain sweater ye own, but it can wait.”) and shook Fergus’s hand.

“Bonsoir, comment ça va?”

Fergus smiled at the sound of his mother tongue “Bonsoir, ça va très bien. Je suis très contente que tu es ici.”

“And this is William, our other brother.” Faith nodded and stuck out her hand to shake. He looked at her skeptically before shaking her hand.

“I dinna ken what to say to ye,” he admitted.

She let out a laugh. “You don’t have to say anything. It’s good to meet you.”

She looked past them all to the other two adults in the room. They had respectfully kept their distance while the young people made their introductions, but now the entire mood in the room was different. Faith took a few tentative steps towards them. She searched their faces. Jamie’s was a stone wall as always--with maybe a hint of tears in the corner of his eye--but Claire’s eyes were swimming with turmoil. The only thing seemingly keeping her together was her husband’s hand on her shoulder.

“I was in your clinic yesterday,” Faith finally said to Claire.

“Yes, I heard. Whatever for?” Her voice was strained but clear.

Faith’s amber eyes flicked behind her for a moment. She could almost hear Ian sweating from across the room. “Just a little accident was all. Barely a bruise, I’ve thick skin though.” She patted her stomach.

Claire reached out a shaking hand to touch her face, lip quivering. Faith leaned into the touch as her hand came up to envelope Claire’s.

“That’s exactly something your father would say.” Her movements were very sudden as she pulled Faith into a bone-crushing hug, her sobs muffled by Faith’s shoulder.

“It’s alright, Mom, don’t worry about it.”

“Wha- what did you say?” Claire pulled back slightly.

“It’s alright, you don’t have to cry.”

“No, you- you called me ‘Mom.’” Her lip quivered.

“Of course, is that alright?”

Her only answer was to pull Faith back for another hug with even louder sobs. Faith hoped that was a yes and let a few tears fall from her own eyes.

It felt an eternity before the two women pulled away. Claire wiped her eyes as she straightened Faith’s shirt and fussed with her hair, seemingly unable to stop touching her. Faith smiled and turned her attention to the large man standing there.

“Hello,” she said quietly.

He smiled then. “Hello, mo nighean.”

“You’re a lot bigger than I had imagined.”

He let out a laugh as a tear slipped from his eye and he reached out to cup her cheek with one hand.

“I could say the same for ye. For years I’d never thought of you more than as my babe, ye ken?”

“How big was I when you last saw me?”

Jamie’s smile was so very sad. “I never saw ye. I was in prison when ye were born and ye were taken from us before I was released. I never held ye, nor saw yer bonny face.” His other hand came to her other cheek and he wiped the tears that spilled away with his thumbs.

“You can hold me now,” Faith said as she launched herself into his arms. Jamie gripped her tightly and lifted her up off the ground so her feet dangled.

He whispered to her through his tears as she wept into his shoulder. Claire came up behind Faith and held her, pulling back only slightly so Jamie could set her down and they could both hug her. Everyone who had been standing, watching, and wiping their own tears came forward to embrace each other and their long-lost cousin.

Tarts were had by all and stories were swapped, and the night ended by finishing the game of football. The sun was just about set, but the newly arrived Frasers joined the teams. The parents held back along with Marsali and Joan, the former being pregnant and the latter to stay with her child. Jamie held Claire close to him as they watched their children chase each other and laugh.

“She’s real, Jamie,” Claire whispered to him, as if she spoke too loud, Faith would disappear with the setting sun.

“Aye, Sassenach. Just as beautiful and brilliant as her mother.”

Claire nodded, smiling but not taking her eyes off the young woman. Faith ran with the ball with Kitty piggy-backing on her, scoring a goal with a laugh at Fergus, who had tried to take the ball from her at the last minute. “And just as braw as her father.”

Jamie grimaced. “God help the puir lass.”

Claire laughed. Jenny and Ian came over to join them. She gave Claire a hug and rubbed her back.

“I’m so happy for ye, my dear. I canna even imagine what this has been like for ye. And here ye are, a family united.”

Claire nodded as she looked back. “I suppose. Though, nothing has been decided yet. She still lives in America and has to leave eventually-”

“Not right now, Sassenach,” Jamie soothed as he held her close once again. “Just let this moment be.”

xXx

At the end of the night, Faith decided to go to Lallybroch with her family for the night since there were more rooms available. The drive home was quiet. Faith was squeezed between Willie and Roger in the backseat but claimed she didn’t mind it. At the house, Willie showed her to a room down the hall from his.

“I changed the sheets myself,” he told her, lingering at the door as she settled herself into the room.

She nodded and thanked him.

“I’ll leave ye to it then.” He turned to go.

“Willie,” she called out to stop him. He turned back. “Did you- I mean, did you know about me?”

He looked down and back up. “I knew I had an older sister whom I had never met. I knew about Ma and Da’s past. But, until this afternoon, I had never once really thought about ye.”

She nodded, sitting back on the bed.

“Did ye know about me?”

She shook her head. “Like you said, I never once really thought about where I’d come from. And here I am.”

“Here ye are.” Willie nodded. “Are ye gonna stay?”

She chewed her lip. “I don’t know.”

“So ye’ll just show up out of the blue and leave again?”

“That’s hardly fair!” Faith furrowed her brow. “I found out about all of this three days ago, Willie. I can’t make big decisions like that so soon.”

“But ye’ll burden Ma and Da with yer presence in that time.”

“They’re the one’s that reached out to me!”

“Ye didna have to come!” They both stood, red-faced. Willie’s breathing was heavy as he turned around and stalked out. Faith crossed her arms over her chest and sat back on the bed.

She changed and slid into the bed, checking the time. It was around 4:30 in the afternoon in Portland.

The ringing in her ears was heavy and her hand shook on the phone in her ear.

“Hello?”

“Tha gaol agam ort air mam mam.”

“Ah, a nighean, have ye been taking pictures like I asked?”

“Yes mom, of course. Mom, I- you know about the email you got?”

“From yer mam? Aye.”

“Well, I kind of, sort of, may have gone up to see them.”

“Ye didna!”

“Aye mam, I did.”

“A nighean, what were ye thinking? What would yer father say?”

“I know, I know, and I should’ve talked with you about it, but I- I had to go, you wouldn’t understand.”

She heard a sigh over the phone and bit her lip. “Did ye meet with them then? How did it go?”

“Ok. I met my cousins, they’re really nice. I’ll send you pictures. My parents seem really nice, they were happy to see me. I just-” Faith paused.

“What is it?”

“I shouldn’t have come, mam. This was a mistake.”

“Ye said things went well, did ye no’?”

“Yes, but-” Faith sighed in frustration. “They’re asking me if I’m staying and all these questions about what I’ll do from here. And I didn’t even know what I was going to do before all of this. And now-...now I just don’t know.”

Her mom sighed again over the phone. “We shoulda stayed in Scotland, I told yer father it would be better to keep ye near yer roots but he insisted and-”

“It isn’t that, Mam. I feel more or less at peace with that. I just-...”

“What is it, Faith?”

“I feel at home here, and I wanna stay forever. You’ve never seen such a bonny place in your life, Mam. And my family loves me, my Aunt threatened to kill me and then she made these amazing tarts and I’ve gotten to really know my cousin, Kitty. But I know I shouldn’t stay.”

“Ye dinna have to tell me how gorgeous the Highlands are, young lady. Ye ken I ken very well-”

“Sorry, mam.”

“-That’s alright. And second, who says ye canna stay there?”

“I can’t just be picking up and settling down in the first place that strikes my fancy?”

“Why no’?”

Faith spluttered.

“Ye dinna have to make the decision today. Sleep on it, come back home if ye’re so set on not falling in love with the place, and ye can always go back can ye no’?”

“I guess you’re right.”

“Ye dinna want to make any decision quickly, not even the one to leave. Goodnight, tha gaol agam ort, a nighean.”

Faith smiled and traced the tattoo on her bicep. “Tha gaol agam ort mam.”

#Outlander #outlander fanfiction #outlander fic #outlander fanfic #outlander au #outlander modern au #jamie x claire #jamie/claire #claire x jamie #faith fraser #jamie fraser #claire beauchamp #claire fraser #jamie/claire au #jamie/claire fanfiction

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chuffyfan87 · 4 years

Text

Hiding. Part 56c

"She's not going to have the baby here is she?" Peter asked.

“No, she shouldn’t be.” Megan frowned. There was a knock on the front door.

"I'll go answer that." Peter dashed back downstairs and pulled open the door. "Dad!" He exclaimed, throwing himself at his father.

“Hey son. What’s the matter?” Charlie kissed Peter's head as he hugged his eldest son.

"Mum..." Peter began to explain but then her screams echoed down the stairs.

Charlie’s eyes widened. “Labour! I knew something was wrong.” Charlie admitted.

"We tried to call you. She wanted to stay here til you arrived." Peter explained as they headed upstairs.

“Baby?” Charlie called as he reached the bedroom.

"Charlie!" Duffy gasped. Things had deteriorated rapidly in the few minutes Megan and Peter had been downstairs.

“Yes baby, it’s me.” Charlie sighed sadly and kissed her forehead. “You need to go to hospital.”

"I can't move." Duffy panted.

“Peter, will you sit in the hall for a minute whilst Megan examines your mum? Please?”

Peter was rooted to the spot, terrified, his eyes wide as he noticed there was blood on the sheets. That hadn't been there when he'd left her last.

Noticing Peter hadn't moved, Charlie gently reassured him. “A little bit of blood is normal when having a baby. Please don’t be scared. Will you ring an ambulance, explain it’s urgent.”

"OK..." Peter replied shakily.

“Thank you son.” Charlie kissed his forehead and watched as Peter headed out of the room. Charlie felt sick with nerves.

Duffy let out another scream as her waters broke, causing more blood to seep into the sheets.

Charlie wasn’t going to lie. He was terrified! “Baby, you’re doing really well.” He encouraged Duffy, holding her hand.

The pain was constant and worsening. She couldn't respond verbally but her body was gripped by the urge to push despite her fearing it was too soon. Things were moving far too fast for her to keep up.

“You can do this. I know you’re exhausted but you can. Come on baby,” Charlie kissed her forehead.

Duffy tried to push but she felt so weak from the pain and rapid blood loss.

“Please baby, you have to.” Charlie begged. “You can’t stop.”

Duffy tried to speak but couldn't. Her eyes were struggling to focus on him, her skin deathly pale and clammy.

“I love you.” Charlie kissed her forehead again, “Keep pushing. I know you’re struggling but I need you both to be ok.” He whispered.

With each contraction Duffy pushed as hard as she could, her body growing weaker each time. More blood pooled around her as the baby's head crowned.

Charlie caught Megan’s eye and they both knew this wasn’t good. The amount of blood Duffy was losing. He continued to encourage her.

Peter reappeared upstairs. "They... Mum!" He cried in terror.

Duffy's head was rolling backwards and her lips had turned blue.

“Peter, what did they say?”

Noticing the change in Duffy, Charlie panicked. “Megan! That baby needs to come out now!!”

"Ten minutes." The teen stammered.

“It’s too long.” Charlie swallowed. “Duffy? Darling?” He touched her, “Not yet. Please keep going...”

The contact seemed to bring her back slightly.

Megan looked anxiously at Charlie. "The baby's shoulders are stuck." She whispered.

“Where do you need me to press?” Charlie asked.

Megan moved his hands to what she hoped was the right place. This really wasn't her area of expertise.

“We’re both just winging it.” Charlie whispered. They really were. “Sweetie? If a baby’s shoulders are stuck, what do I do? You’re the midwife, tell me.” He whispered to his wife.

"Huh?" Though severely disorientated Duffy shifted his hands slightly.

“Show me honey where my hands need to be if the shoulders are stuck.”

Peter crept closer and sat by his mum's head. "Mum, you need to help dad!" He begged.

“Honey, show me. You’re the midwife, tell me what I need to do.”

Duffy weakly pushed Charlie's hands a little further.

“Keep doing that.” Charlie encouraged hoping it was enough.

Duffy made one last move before briefly resting her hand over his.

“Now what do I do? Do I push down on you?”

Duffy mumbled incoherently.

“Blink once for yes, two for no.”

She blinked once.

“This is going to hurt baby, I’m sorry.” Charlie pushed down hard against her, trying to free the baby’s shoulders.

Peter held his mum as best he could as she screamed. Tears were running down his face. Was he about to lose his mum just like his little brother had?

The baby’s shoulders came unstuck.

“Well done darling, that’s it! You’ve almost done it!” Charlie smiled sadly as he stroked her cheek and kissed her forehead once again.

"You can do it mum." Peter tried to encourage.

“Listen to Peter.” Charlie told Duffy.

Peter repeated the phrase several more times, partially in the hope it would help but mainly as something to focus on other than the screams from his mum.

Charlie reached over and squeezed Peter’s hand reassuringly. He was doing a fantastic job.

It felt like an eternity but finally the baby was born.

Despite the trauma of his arrival the baby was healthy and strong.

"No wonder you caused your mum such trouble!" Megan remarked as she took hold of him. "You're a bonny big boy!" She exclaimed.

Charlie stroked his fingertips against Duffy’s cheek. “Come on Baby, hold on for me.”

"Where's the ambulance?" Peter cried, starting to really panic.

“On its way.” Charlie attempted to reassure Peter.

Peter lifted his gaze from his mum to his baby brother. "He's OK?"

Megan nodded, “Perfectly healthy and strong.” She told Peter over the sound of the baby crying. She wrapped him up in a towel.

"Can I hold him? So you can help mum." Peter asked.

Megan nodded and placed the baby into Peter’s arms.

“Darling?” Charlie touched Duffy’s cheek again. She was breathing but just.

Peter stared at the baby. He'd not been able to hold his siblings after their birth so this was new to him. The lack of noise or movement from his mum was scaring him, there was so much blood. He tried to block out how much of his mother's blood was splattered on his jeans.

The next ten minutes seemed to pass in slow motion but eventually the paramedics arrived. Duffy and the baby were taken to the hospital, quickly followed by Megan, Peter and Charlie.

Peter sat in his dad's office with Megan. As the adrenaline started to leave his system he began to shake.

Megan wrapped her arms around the young boy and hugged him tightly. “You did fantastically! You should be proud.”

"Is mum going to die?" He whispered.

“I don’t know, that’s the truth.” Megan replied honestly.

"I don't ever want kids." He shuddered.

“You’ll change your mind one day.” Megan smiled, “They're just not always a pleasant experience.”

"Its not the first time it's happened though."

Whilst the doctors dealt with Duffy, Charlie held his son for the first time. He’d been weighed and was a healthy 8lbs 4oz! No wonder he’d got stuck. He was much bigger than his siblings!

Megan sighed, “No but some women have complications after birth. Your mother is one of them, unfortunately.”

"So why does she keep having kids? It's crazy!" Peter questioned.

“Because being a mother outweighs everything else.”

"If she was trying to put me off ever having sex then she's succeeded!" He muttered.

Megan laughed gently, “I don’t think that was her intention but I’m glad to see you might be reconsidering your choices.”

Peter looked over at the door. "What's taking them so long to tell us what's happening?"

“I don’t know, they probably want to ensure your mum is stable.” It was an attempt to reassure Peter. But Megan found herself trying to reassure herself - not that she’d show that in front of Peter.

"Or they're trying to work how to tell us she's dead..."

“Peter.” Megan sighed and hugged him again. “Your mum’s tough.”

"So was Louis' mum." Peter replied darkly.

Megan sighed but didn’t comment. What could she say to that?

"I don't want mum to die." He whispered.

Megan hugged him tighter.

It was at that moment that the last vestiges of Peter's strength gave way and he sobbed and sobbed.

She rubbed his back and cradled him, trying to give him some sort of comfort.

Harry entered the small side room next to resus where Charlie was sat with his newborn son.

“Please tell me she’s ok?” Charlie didn’t even look up, too busy staring at his son.

"We managed to stabilise her enough for surgery but she's lost a lot of blood."

Charlie nodded and looked up, “She has to do everything dramatically doesn’t she?” He smiled sadly.

"Certainly seems that way. How she overcame the pain enough to deliver naturally is bloody impressive!" Harry remarked with awe. "Do you really want to hear all the details?"

“She’s remarkable, isn’t she?” Charlie nodded.

"The fact we managed to stabilise her for surgery when we had to resuscitate her twice and we estimate she's lost close to three litres of blood... Well that speaks for itself!"

“I thought it was heading off that amount.”

"The biggest problem was that she was still losing it almost as fast as we could pump it into her."

Charlie nodded, “But she’s stable for now? To be able to go for surgery?”

"Yes. I'll be honest with you though, it's touch and go."

Charlie nodded, “I know. Promise me you’ll do everything you can? I don’t think I’ve got the strength to witness another death...”

"I've done all that I can to give her the best possible chance. It's now up to the surgeon."

Charlie nodded. “Thank you.”

"Does this little chap have a name yet?"

“No name as of yet.” Charlie replied. “We couldn’t agree.”

"Now why doesn't that surprise me?"

“Duffy didn’t like any of my suggestions.”

"Which were?"

“I think we finally agreed on Oliver or Thomas.”

"Both good solid names. Do you want me to talk to Peter about what's going on?"

Charlie nodded, “Please. Unless you want to bring him to me and I’ll break the news to him?”

"He's in your office with your friend currently."

“With Megan?” Charlie smiled, “I'd have fallen to pieces if it wasn’t for Megan.”

"She had the air of someone who knows what she was doing."

“Took me and Duffy a very long time to earn her approval.”

"She's a nurse? Makes sense."

“The old SEN’s.” Charlie smiled. “I mean with everything. She’s a strict Catholic...”

"Ah... I see." Harry smiled. "Do you want me to bring them here or are you going to go to them?"

“Will you bring them in for me? Please?”

"Of course." Harry left and returned a few minutes later with Peter and Megan.

“Hi.” Charlie looked up and smiled reassuringly.

"Is mum OK?" Peter asked. His face was still red and damp from crying.

#chuffy #charlie and duffy #charlie fairhead #lisa duffin

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missnmikaelson-main · 5 years

Text

Three Deep Breaths - Part 3

Elena cradled Miranda's head to her chest and rocked the baby back and forth. Her attempts to sooth the child were in vain. The blood-curdling screams from outside the doors made the hair on the back of her neck stand on end; there was no way of blocking them out. Nothing could shield them from what was coming.

From the other side of the wood she could hear the soft calls of the witch. Elena held her daughter closer to her breast. She knew she would die before handing over her child; she also knew that with nearly every dagger in play it was a real possibility.

If only they had known sooner than they could have attempted to run. Katherine had once said that a life on the run was no life at all and the Originals had echoed the sentiment, but Elena would have done it gladly if it meant her daughter stayed safe in her arms.

"I have an idea."

Elena twisted her neck to the man who had just finished barricading the door with Caroline. His eyes shifted from Miranda to Bonnie who was standing a little ways from Elena.

"What is it?" Elena was ready to try anything at this point.

"It won't stop her immediately, but it will buy us some time so we can come up with a plan," he pinched the bridge of his nose. "Something tells me you won't like it, darling."

"Don't call me darling," her voice lacked any real bite.

Sunday, December 19, 2010

3:47AM

"What the bloody hell is that?"

The shout echoed through the halls of the mansion. A second later Elena flinched when the door to the guest bedroom was thrown open with enough force to dent the wall. Her jarring movement renewed Miranda's loud sobs.

Klaus glared from the door as Elena tried to calm Miranda by bouncing the little girl on her hip. "What's wrong with her?"

"She can't sleep," Elena rolled her eyes.

"I got that, love," Klaus growled. His eyes flashed gold as he stormed into her room. "Why can't she sleep?"

Miranda got one look at Klaus before screaming and turning away.

"It might have something to do with being off her regular schedule," Elena struggled to keep her voice calm even as she glared over the little girls head. She attempted to give Miranda a pacifier only to have her push it away.

"Children need a routine, Klaus," Caroline grumbled from the door. She was not happy at having been woken up in the middle of the night.

"She's probably terrified of you as well," Elijah stepped inside. "Screaming in the middle of the night is definitely not helping."

Miranda turned her head in the direction of his voice. When her eyes landed on Elijah she reached for him with tiny hands.

Elijah took the baby from Elena who kept her hand on the child's back. He lowered Miranda's head to rest over his heart while Elena drew circles over her back.

Elena turned to glare at Klaus only to find Caroline already pulling him out of the room by the collar of his shirt. She had to admit Caroline had some nerve; not many people could handle Klaus Mikaelson like that and live to tell the tale. Of course it might have had something to do with Klaus being smitten with Caroline.

"Everything alright in here?" Kol poked his head around the corner and yawned. His eyes flickered between his brother and Elena as they tried to sooth the baby.

Elijah's eyes darted to Elena's arm when it grazed his bare stomach. The slight contact sent a tingle down his spine. He looked at Kol to find an amused twinkle in his dark eyes.

"We're perfectly fine Kol," Elijah instinctively reached up to place his hand on Miranda's back. An electric jolt traveled up his arm when his hand didn't settle on the baby, but on Elena.

"We're f-fine," Elena's voice echoed Elijah's. If he asked she would say the stammering was due to the late hour, and not his hand on hers. She blushed when she caught Kol's knowing look.

"Alright then," Kol nodded. With a tight smile he reached inside the room and pulled the door shut.

Elena turned back around. She blushed when she realized Elijah was shirtless. He must have been asleep when Klaus had started screaming. She breathed a sigh of relief when she glanced down and saw that he was wearing pajama bottoms.

"Did Miranda wake you?" Elena smiled apologetically.

"No," Elijah chuckled, "I wouldn't have minded that. It was Niklaus' shouting."

"Which only happened because I couldn't get her back to sleep," Elena frowned. She ran her fingers through her hair and sobbed. "I'm going to be a terrible mother… I can't even get her to stop crying."

"Elena," he braced Miranda with one arm and reached for her shoulder. "You need to cut yourself some slack, Elena. You've been thrown into motherhood with no preparation. I saw you with Miranda earlier; you'll make a wonderful mother one day. And look she's already stopped crying."

Her lip quivered. Miranda was calm again and blinking sleepily from her perch on Elijah's chest. "I didn't do that," a tear slid down her cheek, "you did. How did you do that so fast?"

"I don't know," he shook his head. "The last child I held was Henrik over a thousand years ago." He laughed in an attempt to ease her tears.

"That's really not helping me feel any better," she groaned and flopped back on the bed.

Elijah watched her for a minute before sitting on the opposite side of the bed. He carefully laid Miranda beside Elena and reached for the pacifier still in Elena's hand.

Elena rolled over and watched as Miranda took the pacifier. One of her hands closed around Elena's finger, the other grasped Elijah's before he could pull away.

"I think she wants you," Elena moved as if to get up. She found she couldn't break her daughter's grip. Elijah had fared better managing to reclaim his finger.

"She clearly wants you," he nodded to the hold Miranda still had on Elena's finger.

"She has a strong grip," Elena whispered. It had been a few years since she'd babysat anyone this small but she didn't remember a baby ever having a grip that strong.

"Indeed," he stood up from the bed, "she seems to be alright now so I'll go and let you get some sleep."

"Good night Elijah," Elena worked her finger free from Miranda's grip and laid it on her stomach.

"Good night Elena," he murmured. Elijah made it to the door before Miranda sat up on the bed and started crying.

Elena sighed and rubbed the girl's back. "Maybe you can stay until she falls asleep," Elena suggested.

"Until she falls asleep," he nodded before coaxing Miranda to lie back down. He was briefly reminded of Niklaus' words the previous night when he laid down on the other side of Miranda. He had often dreamt of sharing a bed with Elena Gilbert, but only in his wildest dreams had there been a child between them.

++++

"You're right I don't like this," Elena shook her head and backed away from the large bed.

"You know she'll be safe," he insisted. "You were there Elena. You were there the entire time."

"We don't know if the spell to send her back worked though," Elena felt tears well in her eyes. She kissed the top of Miranda's head and looked at Bonnie with worried eyes.

"It will work Elena," Bonnie promised. "You will hold your baby girl again; I swear it. In four days there is a full moon and she will be home."

Elena eyed the magical paraphernalia laid out on the bed. "What if something goes wrong? What if, and I'm sorry for even suggesting this, what if you're not here? What happens then?"

Bonnie lit a few candles on the nightstand before igniting a small bowl of herbs. She left the spell for a moment and wrapped her arms around Elena's trembling shoulders. "My spell… the one I used in the past… it will send Miranda back. I promise Elena; it is going to work with or without me here." She stared into Elena's teary eyes until she nodded once.

Bonnie held out her arms for Miranda.

"No," Elena sniffled and twisted her body to keep Bonnie from taking the baby. "No, I'll do it." She released a shuddering breath before laying her daughter in the centre of the large circle Bonnie had drawn on the bed. "Explain it to me one more time."

Bonnie looked over her shoulder to meet his dark eyes. The lack of sound from the surrounding grounds told her there was not enough time to explain the spell and perform it. She nodded signifying that he should explain while she started chanting in Latin.

"The spell will send her back to a place she'll be safe," he wrapped an arm around her shoulders and squeezed. "It will send her back before she was conceived. In four days we will bring her back after we've gathered the daggers and taken care of her."

Elena nodded. The flames from the candles grew when Bonnie used a knife to slice into Elena's palm. Elena turned her wrist so the blood fell onto the center candle and watched as the wound knit itself back together.

She swiped angrily at the tears coursing down her cheeks when Miranda disappeared from the bed. The imprint of her purple onesie stuck in her mind's eye.

11:46AM

"Has anyone seen the doppelganger this morning?" Klaus opened the fridge and took out a bag of blood. "I have not heard a sound from her room since Caroline dragged me out of there last night."

"She's probably still asleep," Kol shrugged. "Elena is only human and Miranda kept her up half of the night."

"She is definitely still asleep," Caroline declined the blood bag from Klaus. She stepped around him and retrieved her own from the fridge. "I'm going to go wake her up," she stated, "Elena hates sleeping past noon."

"While we are on the subject of missing people," Kol smiled at Caroline's actions, "do you know where Elijah is? I did something to my phone, and I don't know how to fix it."

"I can help you with that," Klaus held out his hand.

"No thanks," Kol shook his head and smirked. "I'm still angry with you for sticking me in a box for a century."

"It wasn't a century."

"Two years shy of one," Kol quipped.

Caroline shook her head before flashing off up the stairs. She carefully opened the door and prepared to tease Elena for sleeping so late. She froze at the door and took in the sight on the bed.

Elena was laying on her right side with her right arm under her head; her left hand extended to curl around Miranda's belly. Her lower body was angled towards Miranda, and her left leg slung over Elijah. Elijah was lying in much the same position with his arm extended over Elena's waist.

She thought about calling back downstairs to tell them she had found Elijah, but ultimately decided against it. This was too cute an opportunity to pass up, and if nothing else she knew she could use it to tease Elena mercilessly later.

Caroline's fingers twitched before silently reaching into her pocket and pulling out her phone. She held her breath and opened the camera before stepping quietly to the end of the bed. Lifting the phone she bit her lip when the shutter sound effect went off.

"Wha…" Elena lifted her head and blinked against the bright light streaming through the window.

Elijah opened his eyes and turned his head towards Caroline. What is she doing in my bedroom? He moved to roll over and stopped when he felt a light weight pinning his thigh to the bed and something soft under his hand.

Elena's breath caught in her throat when she realized her compromising position. She struggled for a second to remember what chain of events had landed her in bed with Elijah; with a shirtless Elijah. Her mouth watered and she swallowed; if she thought he looked good in a suit it was nothing compared to this.

The events of the previous day and night came back to her when a tiny pair of legs started kicking. She broke her stare and dropped her eyes from Elijah's to Miranda.

Miranda smiled sleepily and lifted her arms.

Elena, finding only a few inches of mattress on her other side, was left with one of two choices. She could try to sit up without bracing herself and likely fall over, or she could use Elijah as leverage. Elena placed her hand on his shoulder and managed to prop herself up without crushing Miranda or falling off the bed. She felt a chill settle on her skin when he lifted his hand and silently mourned the loss of contact.

"Caroline," Elijah sat up when Elena disentangled their legs, "what are you doing?"

"I could ask you the same question," she grinned.

"Really Elijah," Kol admonished from the door, "you're all about scandals lately; sleeping in the same bed as a young woman. Have you no regard for the lady's virtue?" He sauntered at a human pace to Elena and offered his hand. "Shall I defend your honor my lady?"

Elena rolled her eyes and let him help her up. "Someone really needs to teach you about the 21st century," Elena snickered. She bent at the waist to pick up Miranda.

"Yeah," Caroline agreed, "women defend themselves these days." She tucked her phone back into her pocket.

"I'm not going to find an embarrassing photograph on your phone, am I Care?" Elena went about changing the baby's diaper before heading towards the kitchen for Miranda's breakfast. Elena glanced at the clock and vowed to try and get Miranda to sleep earlier that night.

"Of course not," Caroline smiled innocently.

++++

3:45PM

Elena rubbed the back of her neck and tapped her pencil against the calculus notebook. Not for the first time that year she wondered why she was taking calculus. She wondered what possible benefit it could have for her future. Staring at the problem in front of her she couldn't think of a single real world situation in which she would use it.

She looked through the corner of her eye to see Miranda playing with a small stuffed elephant beside her. "Ma-ma-ma-ma," she grinned when she gathered Elena's attention.

Elena bit her lip and smiled. Her dark eyes darted to the books spread over the coffee table. Calculus could wait; she only had Miranda for a few days. Elena dropped the pencil into the center of the textbook and slid off the couch onto the floor.

Miranda blinked when Elena took the tiny pink elephant and set it aside. She smiled when Elena lifted her finger and tapped Miranda's nose.

"Boop," Elena laughed when Miranda reached and tapped her cheek. She caught the little hand and kissed it.

"Ma-ma," Miranda babbled.

"Playing with you is much more productive than calculus homework," Elena teased and lifted Miranda to stand on her knees, "at least this way one of is learning something."

Miranda braced her legs and shoved a few fingers in her mouth.

"From what I understand calculus is rather important in the medical field," Elijah took a seat beside her on the floor. He leaned against the couch and tickled Miranda's stomach causing her to giggle.

"It is," Elena nodded reluctantly, "which means I need to take it. I'm just having a little trouble wrapping my mind around it today."

"What seems to be the problem?" He watched Elena gently bounce Miranda up and down.

"I'm terribly distracted," she smiled, "but you have to admit she is a very adorable distraction. Aren't you Miranda?"

"Ma-ma-ma-ba-ba-ga," Miranda babbled incoherently. Elena wasn't sure if she was actually calling her 'mama' or just stringing together sounds.

"She is that," Elijah agreed. He looked at the little girl carefully. "I think she has your nose."

"Just my nose right?" Elena turned Miranda so she was facing Elijah and looked at him. "I'd hate to think I brought another doppelganger into the world so soon."

"I don't think you need to worry about that," he chuckled. "Miranda's eyes are a few shades darker than yours." He couldn't shake the feeling that he had seen her eyes somewhere before. Elijah might have thought the Lockwood boy if he were still human.

"Good," Elena smiled. "Maybe she got her dad's eyes…"

"Maybe," Elijah nodded. He held out his hands and smiled when Miranda reached for him.

"Elijah Mikaelson," Elena placed her hand over her heart in mock outrage, "are you stealing my baby?"

"Yes," his eyebrows lifted slowly, "I most certainly am. I am going to take this little one into the kitchen for something to eat. I'm thinking maybe cereal," Elijah stood up and lifted Miranda into the air.

"And why are you kidnapping my baby," Elena quirked an eyebrow.

"That is the only way a vampire can have a kid," Kol shouted from somewhere down the hall.

"Ignore him," Elijah rolled his eyes. "I'm going to take her now so you can finish your homework."

"This is why you shouldn't have kids in high school," Klaus snickered from the door.

"I didn't have her in high school," Elena sighed and picked up her pencil, "a spell brought her to me in high school."

"We'll be in the kitchen when you're done," Elijah laughed and exited the room.

He stepped into the kitchen and lowered Miranda into the booster seat. A few minutes later he had sat down in a chair in front of her with the cereal.

Miranda's nose crinkled when she smelt the cereal on the spoon. She pressed her lips together and turned her head.

"Come on now, Miranda," Elijah coaxed, "I know you're hungry. I can hear your stomach rumbling." He sighed and thought for a minute before pulling a silly face and making her smile.

Elijah took advantage of her open mouth and slipped the spoon past her lips. He shook with laughter. Miranda's eyes had widened when the cereal hit her tongue.

"What is that?" Rebekah flashed into the kitchen. She froze when she saw her oldest breathing brother with a baby. "Where did that child come from Elijah?"

Elijah peeked at his sister from the corner of his eye. He gave her a slight smile and answered: "She came from the future through the use of some sort of spell."

"What spell?"

"I do not know," he shook his head. "Miss Bennet is currently working on a way to send her home. Miranda, here, will be with us until Tuesday night."

"She's using the solstice then," Rebekah nodded. "Whose child is she?"

"Mine," Elena crossed her arms. She shuffled from foot to foot in the doorway.

"The Doppelganger Wench?" Rebekah scoffed. "I should have known. Everything centres on her in this town. How do the Salvatores feel about your future as a mother?"

"They don't know," Elena sighed. She had made sure not to mention Miranda to Stefan and Damon. If she mentioned Miranda she would have gone on to say that she was staying with the Originals for a few days.

"I figured," Rebekah nodded. "Stefan might have mentioned that last night."

"Out all night with the youngest Salvabore sister?" Kol asked from beside Elena. He looked down at her. "Isn't he the one that's courting you?"

"Courting?" Elena stifled a giggle at Kol's terminology and nodded. "He was… we were. I'm not seeing Stefan anymore."

"It didn't take him long to recover," Caroline stepped up beside Kol and glared at Rebekah.

"Does that mean you chose Damon then?" Kol crossed his arms. He stepped into the kitchen and leaned against the door.

"No," Elena frowned and shook her head. "I broke things off with both of them."

"Try not to be too upset about Rebekah spending the night with your recent ex Elena. My sweet sister has always been a strumpet." Kol caught the knife Rebekah threw at his head.

"Could you not traumatize my future child?" Elena's eyes glued to the blade half an inch from Kol's nose.

Rebekah crossed her arms and glanced over her shoulder to see that Elijah had turned the baby around. "What are you doing here?"

"Staying for a few days," Elena shrugged. "Klaus wasn't about to let me take Miranda out of the house, and she wasn't about to let me leave without her."

"I am not staying under the same roof as the bitch that stabbed me in the back," Rebekah hissed.

Elena flushed under Rebekah's angry gaze. She gasped when her back was slammed against the floor and looked up into her face. Elena barely got a look at Rebekah's vampire visage before she was torn off of her. Looking up she expected to see Elijah, but was surprised when it was Kol holding his sister's throat.

It made sense she supposed. Kol was closer and so he reached her first. He had been polite enough since the incident at the club, but she hadn't expected him to come to her rescue.

"Rebekah," Elijah spoke softly from his position by the baby chair. "You will not harm her." He moved to help Elena to her feet. "Elena is a guest in this house and you will treat her as such, or you will leave."

"How can you defend her?" Rebekah gasped around Kol's hand. "She stabbed me in the back, and from what Damon told me last night she daggered you too."

"Elena didn't have a choice," Caroline surprised them all by interjecting. "She didn't want to hurt either one of you, but the daggers could only be used by a human."

"She still made the choice to do it," Rebekah spat.

"No," Caroline shook her head. "She didn't. I said she didn't want to hurt you. She didn't have a choice."

Kol caught on to what Caroline was saying first. He turned his head to watch Elena carefully. "You were compelled, weren't you darling?"

"Don't call me darling," Elena struggled to catch her breath. Her eyebrows lowered in concentration. She didn't remember being compelled. All she remembered was Damon somehow persuading her that daggering the Originals was the best option for them. Try as she might she couldn't remember how Damon had managed to do it. "Son of a …" She trailed off when she saw that Elijah had Miranda in his other arm.

"Yup," Caroline nodded.

"Why didn't you tell me that?" She glared at her best friend.

Rebekah watched the exchange carefully. It actually made a lot of sense. She had been getting along really well with Elena. There had been no real sign that the girl was insincere in her actions before the back stabbing.

"I didn't find out until later," Caroline held up her hands in defense. "When I did find out there didn't seem to be any point in telling you. It was done. Plus, could you honestly say you would have believed me?"

"Yes," Elena nodded.

"So less of bitch and more of a victim," Rebekah's face returned to it's human features. "Would you like me to disembowel him?"

"You were trying to kill me less than five minutes ago," Elena frowned and rubbed her throat, "and now you want to avenge the violation of my mind?"

"Girls have to stick together."

++++

Elena squared her shoulders and clenched her jaw. She stood tall with the three who remained with her. She had to remind herself for the umpteenth time that she was not a helpless human being anymore. She remembered Caroline telling her something that Klaus had said a few days after Elena found out she was pregnant when she had asked him if he would ever want to be human again. The words repeated like a mantra in her mind; strong, ageless, fearless… strong, ageless, fearless… strong, ageless, fearless…

Facing the angry witch in Elijah's bedroom she had to admit to herself that she didn't feel that way.

Lightening flashed behind the bottomless brown eyes. "You foolish girl," she spat. "You let the ungrateful child fill your mind with her lies. I would have raised your daughter as my own and left you to live in peace. Now I think I'll kill you after taking the child."

"She's gone," Elena spoke with more confidence then she felt. If she had learnt anything as a cheerleader it was 'fake-it-till-you-make-it'. "You'll never find her."

"I don't understand your reasoning, Elena," she eyed the symbols and scattered herbs on the bedding, "with me you knew she would be well cared for, but you chose to send her away."

"Elena chose to send Miranda away from you," he glanced at the stiff set of her shoulders. "There is nothing for you here now aunt."

She looked over her youngest nephew and the doppelganger at his side. "I find I don't believe you Kol." Dahlia's eyes flickered to the still smoldering bowl. "I think you sent her away to buy yourselves time… no mother gives up her own child so easily."

"You think that was easy?" Elena cried. She felt her fangs descend as the veins under her eyes blackened and writhed. "This was the hardest decision I've ever had to make." She pointed wildly to the bed.

"I don't doubt it was my dear," Dahlia's eyes glittered. "I doubt that you've actually given her up. I think you've tried to buy yourselves time, and that your little girl will be back here in a few days." She smiled sweetly. "The only question is: who will be left standing."

Elena didn't hesitate. She spun on her heel and flashed through the balcony doors behind Caroline and Kol who had picked up Bonnie. They didn't stop until they reached the entrance to the caves.

"Now what?" Bonnie gasped for breath and slapped away Kol's hands.

"Now we find my siblings," Kol peered into the darkness, "before she figures out what we're doing."

"You think they'll be in here somewhere?" Caroline followed his gaze.

"Yes," Kol led them inside. "There is a cavern inside that vampires and werewolves cannot answer unless of course they've been neutralized and placed inside by a witch."

"If they are stuck inside, and we can't enter then how do we get them out?" Elena blinked back her tears.

"That's what Bonnie's for," he offered her a tight-lipped smile.

9:17PM

"Alright Miranda," Elena gently rubbed the baby's back, "tonight is not going to be like last night. Do you understand me young lady?" She kissed Miranda's dark hair when she laid her head on Elena's shoulder.

Elena walked back and forth across the bedroom until the little girl's movements had all but stilled. She carefully laid Miranda down in the centre of the bed and arranged the pillows on either side of the sleeping baby. When she was certain Miranda was asleep she pulled out her laptop and sat cross-legged in an oversized armchair so she could keep an eye on the bed.

She was midway through reviewing her history presentation when there was a soft knock on the door. Assuming it was Caroline she didn't look up from her computer.

"It's open," she called softly knowing that everyone in the house was a vampire and capable of hearing her whispers.

"Hi," Rebekah poked her head around the door, "can I come in?"

"Would my saying no really stop you?" Elena closed her laptop and sat it on the side table. Despite Rebekah's earlier offer to disembowel Damon for his actions against her she was still wary of the only female Original. Elena thought it was best to tread carefully around Rebekah Mikaelson. "What do you want Rebekah?"

"I just…" Rebekah twisted her ring, "… I just wanted to apologize. I did suspect that it wasn't your idea. I could hear you all talking and it didn't sound like you were being given a direct order."

"Rebekah… I'm sorry to. Whether it was my choice or not I did still hurt you, and I didn't take it easy on you afterwards either."

"I think I can shoulder some of the blame for that," Rebekah chuckled. "I was predisposed to think the worst of you. I resented you because of my past with Stefan." She took a seat in the armchair beside Elena. "I also watched my brothers torn apart by not one but two doppelgangers. I thought you'd be more like them."

Elena blinked at the floor. So many people thought she'd be like Katherine.

"You're not," Rebekah clarified. "As much as I wanted to believe you were just as conniving as your predecessors I've come to realize that you are not. Don't get me wrong I think you can be judgemental, pushy and sometimes downright selfish."

"So I am like Katherine then," Elena scoffed.

"You didn't let me finish," Rebekah laughed. "You are also compassionate, caring, and smart, and from what I've seen this afternoon a very capable mother; nothing like Katherine Pierce."

"To be fair," Elena felt the need to defend her ancestor, "nobody knows what kind of mother Katherine would have been. She was robbed of the chance."

"That right there," Rebekah pointed to Elena, "that is why you are nothing like Katherine. She wouldn't hesitate to cut you down, but you actually take the time to try and see something good in her." She looked towards the bed and watched Miranda's chest rise and fall. "You are right though… nobody knows what kind of mother Katherine would have been. Maybe she would have been a decent person if she hadn't had her child ripped away."

"Maybe…"

Rebekah nodded and stood up to watch Miranda sleep. "She's adorable," she smiled at the little girl. "You are going to make a really cute baby one day."

"Yeah," Elena stood up and gazed at Miranda from the other side of the bed.

"Any idea who her father is?"

"No," Elena shook her head, "I have no idea. It could be someone I know, or maybe I'm not going to meet him for another ten years."

"How'd she get sent back here?" Rebekah reached down and smoothed back a wispy curl.

"We're not sure," Elena frowned. "All Bonnie could figure out was that it was a spell cast on her, but she doesn't know what it was, or why it was done."

"She is going to use a spell to send her back?" Rebekah asked.

Elena nodded. "She's going to use the full moon on the solstice in a few days. It's also a total lunar eclipse… according to Kol those three events haven't happened together since…"

"1638," Rebekah finished. "I remember. There were some interesting that night," she laughed. Her smile fell slightly when she remembered a rumor she had heard a few months later. She'd dismissed it as codswallop though and hadn't bothered to tell her brothers about it; it was just vampires and wishful thinking.

"Yeah," Elena nodded. "Klaus says it will be more than enough power for Bonnie to draw on."

"It will," Rebekah agreed, "a full moon would have been enough." She cleared her throat before turning to Elena. "Would you like to study for the chemistry test with me? I'm afraid I don't understand much of it, and I'd like to actually pass without compulsion."

"Sure," Elena motioned her back to the chairs and pulled out her chemistry notes.

"Thanks," Rebekah smiled gratefully. She had half expected Elena to say no.

"What are friends for?" Elena's eyes widened when she realized what she had said. "I-I…"

"It alright," Rebekah smiled. "I kind of like it. I could definitely use more friends."

"You can never have to many," Caroline called from the door. "Assuming Elena's forgiven you for the attempted murder I will to."

Elena looked over her shoulder and nodded to Caroline.

"Okay then," Caroline walked inside and shut the door quietly.

"Just like that?" Rebekah asked.

"Just like that," Caroline nodded, "but I reserve the right to change my mind if you attack my friend again. That's what friends do. They hate their friend's enemies without question, and forgive them when told. That's blind loyalty."

"That's family," Rebekah added. "That's what you do for family."

"I guess that's what we are," Elena smiled at Caroline and opened her notebook. "Shall we start with physical constants?"

Nearly two hours later Elena was struggling to keep her eyes open so they called an end to the study session. When Caroline and Rebekah left Elena brushed her teeth in the ensuite and changed into her pajamas. She moved one of the pillows and slid into bed beside Miranda. With one arm beneath her head she counted the breaths the baby took until she slipped off into dreams.

"Good morning," she smiled sleepily.

"Good morning," his hand skimmed her hip. He grinned before leaning over to brush his lips over hers.

Elena allowed the gentle kiss to continue for a moment before pushing back and deepening it. She bit her lip to stifle her smile when he broke away and started kissing her cheek and jaw. Her eyes fluttered as her gaze fell to the space between them.

"There's a baby in the bed," he followed her eyes.

"I know," Elena nodded and ran her hand up his arm.

His eyes twinkled when the smirk crossed his face. "There's no baby in the shower."

Elena's eyes flickered over his face and chest. "There is no baby in the shower," she agreed.

They rolled out of bed quickly and carefully before laying a pillow on either side of the Miranda.

Elena felt a delicious ache settle between her thighs when he picked her up and flashed them into the ensuite bathroom.

Tags: @elejah-wonderland @rissyrapp20 @elejahforever @eternityunicorn

#elena gilbert #caroline forbes #elijah mikaelson #klaus mikaelson #kol mikaelson #rebekah mikaelson #the vampire diaries #the originals #fanfic

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theoddcatlady · 6 years

Text

Family Reunion

“Is that it?”

Garrett craned his neck forward to get a better view and I suppressed a giggle. “Yes, babe, that’s my parents’ house. What did you expect?”

“When you said you lived in a wooded area, I dunno, pictured creepy cabin, bloody axe on the doorstep...”

I kissed his cheek before gently elbowing his side. “Come on, park the car, I can’t wait to see my mom!”

There was already over a dozen cars parked on the lawn, it was a wonder Garrett could find a spot. I could hear the nieces and nephews already playing in the backyard, probably climbing up and down from my old treehouse or chasing the cats in the pole barn. “Probably Uncle Reese and his family arrived yesterday,” I said as I climbed out of the car.

Garrett was already attempting to lift both our bags, making a big show of grunting and heaving. “Man, you weren’t kidding when you said your family goes all out for reunions. Did you pack the whole bathroom?” He groaned.

“Oh, stop it!”

I suppose his shock was justified, I hadn’t really told him much other than that I have a big family and my house isn’t exactly small either.

The ruckus only grew louder as we hurried up to the front door, I was practically dancing in place. “We’re home!” I announced as I walked in the front door, Garret poking his head in nervously behind me.

My mom ran in from the kitchen, her eyes lighting up as she wiped her flour covered hands on her apron. “Emma! Oh my baby girl, you’re home! I missed you so much!” I swear she was crying a little as she wrapped me in an uncomfortably tight hug. I could smell cinnamon in her hair.

“Mom, you’re crushing me. And you saw me just last month!” I managed to untangle myself from her before gesturing to the guy trying to hide behind me. “Mom. This is Garrett.”

Mom wiped her eyes, getting a swathe of flour on her face. “Oh, I’m sorry, Garrett. Emma’s told me all about you, I hope she’s not forgotten to tell you about me?”

Garrett laughed in an attempt to hide his nerves. “Of course, Mrs. Silver! It’s a pleasure to finally meet you!” He held out his hand all formal like. Mom took this as an invitation to yank him into a hug. My mom’s short but she is a strong little lady.

“None of that Mrs. Silver stuff, call me Diane! My, you’re a tall fellow, aren’t you?” She pulled apart to look him up and down. “Nice muscles! You have great taste, Emma!”

“Mom! Please!” I hid my face in embarrassment.

I heard the wood creak as a familiar set of boots walked up. I lowered my hands to see a tall man with graying hair and a thick beard.

I smiled. “Hi, dad… this is Garrett. He’ll be having dinner with us tomorrow.”

My dad eyed Garrett up and down, Garrett looked more tense than a stretched rubber band as he smiled nervously. “Mr. Silver, it’s a pleasure to meet you.” He held out his hand again, I swear I saw it shake. Dad’s an intimidating man to people who know him, I can’t imagine how he looks to the person dating his little girl.

Dad stared solemnly for a few seconds, his face cold, before his eyes finally twinkled and he pulled Garrett in for a half handshake, half hug. Another thing to know about my dad- he’s a teddy bear.

“Garrett, finally, we meet! Emma’s said nothing but good things about you!” He boomed.

“Oh, really?” Garrett almost immediately relaxed. “I hope I meet your expectations!”

“Enough of that formal talk, boy!” My dad slapped Garrett on the back, nearly knocking him over. “You’re a part of the family now! I’ll take up your bags to your room, Garrett can sleep with the boys...” He trailed off as he saw me make a sour expression. “Only joking! He’s sleeping in your room too! It’s already all made up, your mom’s had it ready for a few days now.” He hoisted up both bags and headed up for the second floor.

I giggled and looped my arm in with Garrett’s. “Come on! Let’s go see my cousins! I’m sure they’re going crazy waiting to meet you!”

We found them where I expected, in the downstairs game room, the younger ones playing video games while the older ones were busy chatting it up. Roger looked up and beamed. “Hey, Emma, you made it!” He jumped up and quickly wrapped me in a hug.

“I see you’re a hugging family,” Garrett noted as he looked around.

Roger snickered and looked around the room. “Kay, the kiddos playing Super Mario are Jane, Chris, and Leon, they’re like twelve,” Chris turned around and stuck out his tongue, “Okay, Chris is thirteen, sorry, geez, the idiot who isn’t nearly as good looking as me is my twin brother Ryan, the girl wearing the red t-shirt is my little sister Bonnie, the really, really pregnant one is Mia, and the dude who totally isn’t high out of his mind is Jason.”

Jason tried to glare before he caved. “Okay, I’m a little high. But I’m not as high as I was at Christmas!” He complained. Ryan raised an eyebrow but didn’t comment.

Garrett nodded as he looked around the room. “Great, I, uh… yeah, I’m probably going to need to be reminded of your names a few more times while I’m here,” He said.

Roger gently punched his shoulder. “No worries, we’ll just beat the shit out of you if you get it wrong. Scooch over, Jason, make room for Emma and her boyfriend.” The way he said that almost made me want to punch him. Almost. I’m used to idiot cousins.

I stole one of the beanbags and made myself comfortable. “Where’s Greg, he’s usually here by now,” I said.

Ryan shrugged. “I think he’s with Uncle Keith? Rose went too.”

“Awww, I was looking forward to seeing her,” I complained.

“You’ll see her tomorrow at dinner,” Bonnie said, looking up from her phone, “But she’s trying to avoid her mom right now. She ah, brought her fiancee.”

Ooooh. I looked to Garrett. “Rose is gay, she met a girl while at college. I didn’t know they got engaged though!”

“Oh yeah!” Bonnie snickered. “You really need to get on Facebook more often. Auntie Octavia had a freaking meltdown when she saw she had changed her Facebook status to ‘Engaged to Marie Schultz.’ First it was about how she wasn’t going to have any ‘real’ grandchildren, whatever that means, and then it was about that how she didn’t tell her before announcing it to Facebook, gee, wonder why, and then it was about how it was sinful, and oh my god, it was just a dramatic shitshow!”

Jason giggled. “It was hilarious! She was crying about it with my dad on the phone, my dad was just ‘uh huh’ and ‘of course’ until he hung up, and then he went to the fridge and got like, three beers.”

Garrett nodded slowly. “Ah, the gay cousin drama. Think everyone’s been through that. Where’s the fiancee then?”

“Marie is currently in the kitchen, driving Octavia nuts.” Bonnie’s smile was downright sinister. “She was raised in a family of cooks and is wooing the crap out of the rest of the aunts. They all love her. Even Great Aunt Denise!”

My jaw dropped. “Aunt Denise? She’s the biggest Bible thumper in the family! She got shifty when my mom and dad moved in together two months before they were married!

“I know!” Bonnie threw up her arms. “Octavia is practically about to explode! Didn’t help that the stress had her screw up her stupid fruit cake, ended up adding a tablespoon of baking soda instead of like an eighth of a teaspoon. Completely ruined it, she had a meltdown and sobbed but no one really cared, frikken drama queen. I think she’s just drinking wine in the corner and pouting while Marie has everyone else eating out of her hand.”

I looked over at Mia, who seemed content as always to be quiet. “How you feeling, Mia? Aren’t you supposed to have had that baby yet?”

Mia blinked owlishly a few times. “Oh, no, not for another month… I feel ready though. I’m huge.” She groaned and squirmed a bit. “I still can’t believe there’s only one in there too.”

I giggled and reached forward, taking her hand. “I can’t wait to meet this lil guy! Or girl, you’re still keeping the gender quiet?”

“It’s gonna be a surprise! A really great surprise. I think I’ve settled on William for a boy… or maybe Leroy...” Mia sighed and threw her arms up in the air. “Nevermind, I still don’t know!”

“You should name him after meeee...” Jason teasingly flopped himself onto her shoulder, which got him shoved to the floor for his trouble. “Owwww!”

Mia smiled bashfully. “Oops?”

The rest of us laughed before Roger jumped to his feet. “Come on, let’s go raid the wine cabinet!”

Chris perked up. “Can I-”

“Absolutely not!” The cousins chimed together while Chris’ shoulders sagged.

“Come on! Jason said you guys snuck wine all the time when you were my age!”

“Yeah, and we got our butts beat so bad we couldn’t sit down for Easter lunch,” I said, ruffling his hair. “Few more years bud, we’ll turn a blind eye when you’re eighteen.”

That night I laid in my old bed, staring up at the ceiling where there used to be some sort of fanart of a TV show I used to watch. I’d long taken it down, but I could still see bits of the blue tacky stuck to the plaster.

“Your family is fucking amazing.”

Ah, wondered when that was coming. I looked up, Garrett was getting dressed for bed but had sat down at the foot of the bed to ponder the day’s events. I laughed and sat up. “I mean, they’re family, I guess they’re okay…”

“I mean it though.” Garrett turned to me, I think I saw a tear in his eye. “I’ve been hugged by people who think I’m the greatest thing since sliced bread. Your cousins, your aunts and uncles, even your dad...” His voice choked up a bit and he turned away.

I sat up and crawled to him, wrapping my arms around him in a hug. “Hey, hey, it’s okay. I know your family… well, they weren’t as… good as some.” That was an understatement. He’d opened up about what hell he’d been through. “But my family? We stick together. We never, ever hurt each other. The bad apples, well, Grandpa Oliver disowns you. And if the patriarch of the family disowns you, you’re no longer family. That’s how we do things here. And… and I love you, Garrett. That means they love you too.”

Garrett blinked a few times, probably to clear out the tears. “… I love you too, Emma.” He kissed me and I giggled, running my hands through his hair. We parted and that roguish grin of his that I’d gotten attached to returned.

“So, have you ever screwed anyone in your childhood bed?”

Answer is no, I hadn’t, and although I was paranoid about the creaking, it was a pretty great screw.

Next morning I woke up, rolled over to get some great cuddling in, and found that Garrett’s side of the bed was empty. Confused, I sat up and glanced around the room. His phone was still here, although he’d changed out of his pajamas.

Where the hell was my boyfriend?

I rolled out of bed, managing to get dressed quickly enough before heading down to the kitchen. I’d slept in, no idea why I’d not been woken up, but I headed for the kitchen first.

My mom was just sliding something into the oven when I tapped her shoulder. She spun around, setting her hand on her chest. “Christ Almighty, Emma! You could scare a person half to death!” She said.

“Mom, have you seen Garrett?” I felt my stomach growl as I smelled the soup cooking on the stove. God, I couldn’t wait for dinner. “I woke up and he was gone. Left his phone behind so I don’t think he left.”

“I don’t know, dear.” Mom frowned. “He might’ve and just forgotten, Roger and the boys had to make an emergency run into town, your grandfather was worried there wasn’t going to be enough food to go around.”

I snorted. “Mom, there’s always enough to go around… but I guess it wouldn’t be a reunion without leftovers. I’ll check the pole barn, maybe dad needed some help carving up dinner.”

The late morning sun was already warming to the typical summer heat, the littlest of the kids were playing hide and go seek, I dodged toy balls and dollies before reaching the pole barn door. I knocked a few times and reached for the handle before the door opened.

Dad stepped out, his leather apron flecked with blood. “It’s a mess, Em, it’s probably best you stay outside,” He said.

Fair enough. “Dad, have you seen Garrett? I’ve been looking for him all morning.”

“He’s with me, helping out.”

Oh thank god. I smiled. “Well, tell the idiot he left his phone inside, all right? I was worried about him.”

Dad grunted before closing the door. Men. I rolled my eyes and headed back indoors. Dad never liked to be interrupted while carving up whatever he and the guys caught. Oh, well, and Rose this time. So not just the guys.

I went to make myself busy in the kitchen. Aunt Octavia was already there being dramatic as can be while peeling potatoes, apparently that’s all my mom and the other girls trusted her with. I settled with making the bread, kneading it and letting the loaves rise while getting another ready. Never enough food, according to mom, never enough. Marie was super great though, she had a soft voice that was never loud and she had a way with chopping vegetables.

I never caught sight of Garrett, although I knew he was probably just busy with Dad. Wrapped up meat would get shifted into the kitchen thanks to Ryan and Roger, although that wasn’t my job to deal with, that was always mom’s. This year she had Marie to help, much to Aunt Octavia’s horror, although I doubt not even Marie knew the secrets to all the spices mom would throw in.

I was about five minutes from losing my mind and just grabbing a handful of the steamed broccoli and going nuts at it when my mom said it was time to bring it all to the table.

We had to always set up tables in the basement, there just wasn’t enough room anywhere else. I sat with my dad. And since he was the oldest, he got to sit near the head of the table with Grandpa Oliver.

I really am lucky to have a grandpa still around when I’m twenty three, let alone a grandpa who’s in truly great health. The man is wiry but strong, with a full head of silver hair and a cold, steely stare. But he was my grandpa, and he loved all of us grandchildren.

There were so many this year, I scanned the table for any sight of Garrett but was disappointed to see he hadn’t made it down. Where the hell was he?

Marie and Rose were holding hands across the table and giggling, I was mildly jealous of how cute they were. Aunt Octavia had quite the tongue lashing from my mother and Aunt Denise earlier, so she was holding her peace for the moment. The table was lined with bowls of mashed potatoes, fresh vegetables, various soups and stews, breads, and covered silver plated trays. My stomach was almost hurting by all good it looked, but I wasn’t a kid anymore, I couldn’t get away with snitching a bite. Especially with Grandpa watching me like a hawk. It was like he knew. I settled with chewing on my lip and staring longingly at the covered tray in front of me.

Grandpa stood and cleared his throat. “Everyone, quiet, quiet...” It didn’t take much to make everyone shut up, even the little kids knew to be quiet when Grandpa talked. “Shall I speak a prayer over the food now, before one of us snaps and starts filling their plate before the blessing?”

I almost asked about Garrett but I kept my mouth shut. The quiet murmurs of agreement circled the table and bowed their heads. I held onto my father’s and grandfather’s hand, bowing my head as well. Grandpa cleared his throat and began his prayer.

“Our creator, who gifted us with the bounty of nature, we thank you for this food, but also we thank the men who slaughtered it, the women who prepared it, and now we shall partake in what we’ve been given. In the name of the Wild’s God, amen.”

Everyone murmured amen as well and reached for the tray lids. They were lifted off and I was greeted with a cloud of steam to the face. I had to take off my glasses and wipe them off before putting them back on.

In front of me was a man’s head, steaming hot and surrounded by a garnish of greens. Its eyes had been carefully scooped out, the top of its head removable so that one could enjoy the brains. The mouth was stuffed with minced up pork by the looks of it, and the smell, oh the smell was divine. Cuts of the best parts of man and woman were scattered up and down the table.

If only Garrett could have seen it.

“Wow.”

Garrett walked in right at this moment, wiping off his still bloody hands. He looked up and down at the array. Grandpa turned around, his face stern.

“Boy, you’re off to a bad impression. You missed the blessing!” He scolded.

Garrett’s face went light pink as he rubbed the back of his neck. “Sorry, Roger and Ryan went on ahead, I told them I could handle cleaning the workshop.”

Grandpa blinked owlishly. “… You did it on your own?”

“Well, yeah! I mean, Emma��s dad said it had to be done before we sat down to eat and… wow.” Garrett slowly approached the table, I could hear his stomach growl. “I honestly thought Emma was screwing with me, but you guys really go all out when you get together.”

Grandpa nodded. “Well then.” He looked down at where Ryan and Roger were grinning sheepishly. “Boys, you left the newcomer to do it on his own?”

“He volunteered!” Ryan complained while Roger facepalmed.

Grandpa scowled. “Just for that, you’re cleaning up after dinner,” He said. The twins groaned while I laughed and motioned for Garrett to sit the hell down.

“I was worried about you, idiot.” I lightly elbowed him.

Garrett laughed, spooning a mound of the pork from the head onto his plate. “What, did you think your dad got pissed at me and decided I was going to be dinner too?” He shook his head. “Nah, Roger and Ryan needed help, and well, I delivered. It was really nerve wracking to go hunting, but once it was done, it was… wow.”

“I mean, it wouldn’t be the first time that happened to my boyfriends.” I let Garrett stew in his horror for a few seconds before I laughed. “Kidding! The only time dad made my significant other prey was when he was caught peeping through other girl’s windows. Oh, and he cheated on me. Jack ass.”

“Oh, totally a jack ass.” Garrett gasped as a cut of the thigh was passed down. “Oh my god, that looks amazing.”

“Take a bite.” I leaned in, my breath coming to a stop. What was he going to think? Would it live up to his high expectations, the fantasies he revealed to me when he knew he could trust me?

The meat was so tender it practically fell apart with his fork. Garrett swallowed, clearly nervous before sticking it in his mouth. He chewed, swallowed… and grinned.

“Wow! It’s amazing!”

I did a little dance in my chair. “All right! Now pass me the mashed potatoes, babe, oh, and a slice of the breast meat! Love me some breasts- don’t you take that the wrong way!”

Garrett laughed, and it was then I knew he was a keeper.

#horror stories #scary stories #creepypasta #writers on tumblr #creative writing #my stories

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snghwmylv · 6 years

Text

All along (m)

Summary ; All along, it was your best friend who you could trust over your boyfriend.

Requested by @fatimabts07 ; Anyway can you make a ff about y/n has been bffs with wonho since they were little and hes been crushing on her for a long time. Y/n ends up dating kihyun and wonho gets jealous, kihyun ends up just using her cuz they dared him to date y/n. After finding out she runs to wonho and that’s when the smut comes in. Can you please make this request im gonna look forward to this ff. Thx xoxo💜

Word count ; 2.3k words

Genre ; Angst, Smut, Bits of fluff

A/N ; Thank you for requesting sweetiee<3 Sorry it took so long! I was having some problems with my computer. I originally wanted to post it yesterday, but the whole Jonghyun thing just... It affected me really badly, to say the least.

You clenched your fists, getting impatient. You took deep breaths, biting down on your bottom lip so hard you swore it was bleeding. No matter how many times you tried to calm yourself down, it would not work. You stared at the red-haired male in front of you with absolute disgust,

“Kihyun would never do such a thing, Wonho. Stop lying.”

Wonho scoffed, crossing his arms across his chest, “Why would I lie to you?”

You opened your mouth, wanting to counterattack his words, but no words came out. You knew Wonho since you both were in diapers. You grew up with him, you witnessed every single failure, success, and heartbreak he has had thus far. He was your partner in crime, the Bonnie to your Clyde, your brother from another mother. You knew every single flaw about him, just as he did with yours.

And throughout the 20 plus years that you have known him, never was he known as a liar. The Wonho you knew was always very sweet, honest and caring. There would be no reason for him to remotely lie about something, even if it was a joke. Especially to you.

But, you still couldn’t trust him.

You chewed on your bottom lip, pacing around your bedroom. Wonho’s words echoed in your head the entire time. Kihyun doesn’t love you. Those four words haunted you for the rest of the day, not giving you any time to really let the words sink into you.

No matter how hard you thought about it, Wonho just does not seem to be telling the truth. If Kihyun really did not love you, then why would he go out of his ways to call and text you every single day? To skip and call in sick for practices just to spend time with you. It just wasn’t making sense.

You sat on the foot of the bed, looking at the sleeping state of your boyfriend. He looked so peaceful, so innocent. You smiled faintly, walking over to him and bending down, so that you were face-to-face with him. Your hand found its way into his hair, brushing the strands out of his face.

This made him scrunch up his face slightly, which made you chuckle. You pressed your lips to his forehead, inhaling in his scent, savoring the moment, before you saw his phone screen light up. You looked over at his phone, and saw that he had received a text from Minhyuk.

You typed in his password and opened the text, hoping that Kihyun would not get mad at you for snooping through his phone, invading his privacy. You scanned through Minhyuk’s text,

‘5 days left ;))’

You tilted your head in confusion. 5 days? To what? As far as you were informed, Kihyun did not have any plans for the week, or so you thought. Were they having some sort of gathering? Or maybe a special even to attend? Why would the winky face be there? As much as you hated to be the nosy girlfriend, you let your curiosity take the best of you as you typed away on his phone,

‘5 days to?’

Minhyuk was not online, so you had to wait for him to come back online again for him to reply. You placed the phone down, turning to look at the small coffee table beside your bed. On the small coffee table was a lamp, and a framed picture of you and Kihyun on your 5-month anniversary. You smiled, recalling the memory. How shy and awkward Kihyun was when asking help from a stranger to take a picture of the both of you.

You picked up the picture, revealing a small envelope that was placed behind the picture. You glanced over at Kihyun before quickly grabbing the envelope, and placing the photo back in its original position so that it seems as if nothing has happened.

On the envelope, it wrote, ‘To: Y/N’.

You furrowed your eyebrows. Why was Kihyun writing a letter to you, and why did he address you as Y/N? And not his usual, Honey, Baby, or even Princess? Slowly peeling the envelope open so as to not let Kihyun know that you have read the letter. Once you succeeded in getting the letter out without ruining the envelope, you placed the envelope back on the coffee table. You slowly read the first few lines,

‘Hey Y/N,

It’s been about 7 months since I first asked you out, remember?

Throughout these 7 months, you had really taught me the meaning of love and how to love someone, even if that was not my intentions at first.’

Not my intentions?

‘I would like to thank you for treating me so well, and for always being there by my side.

For always bringing me food while I’m stuck at work.

For always reassuring me when I have doubts about myself.

And most importantly, for always loving me.

I would like to be very honest with you, Y/N.’

Honest?

‘I did not actually like you from the beginning.

I have only seen you as a friend this entire time.

This relationship was a lie.

I was dared to date you-’

Wait, what? A dare? A fucking dare?

Biting on your bottom lip, you turned over to look at Kihyun who was sleeping peacefully, hot tears brimming your eyes, threatening to fall. The phone screen lit up, which meant that Minhyuk had replied. You swallowed, picking up the phone and pressing the power button, looking at his reply,

‘You know, 5 days till the end of your 7 month dare ;)) I can’t imagine how happy you would be to finally break it off with her’

You choked on your tears. The tears that had pooled in your eyes escaped, trickling down your cheeks, and dripping onto the letter. Your hand found its way to your mouth, trying to silence your sobs so that Kihyun does not hear you. Your entire body starting shaking, the shock slowly overwhelming you. You turned your back against Kihyun, not wanting him to find you crying.

How could he do this to you?

‘You stood up slowly, dropping the letter and Kihyun’s phone on the floor, and headed towards the door. Sniffling, you turned back to look at Kihyun, who was still deep in his slumber. Who knew the worst people in the world were ones that were just right beside you?

“I love you,” your voice came out as a soft whisper, before you shut the door behind you, grabbing your coat along with your valuables.

Wonho jumped off his couch, and rushed towards the door, before opening it. It revealed a very drunk-looking you, hair messy and lipstick smudged from the guy that you had made out with at the club. You smiled,

“Oh hey Wonho.”

Wonho sighed, he hated seeing you in such a vulnerable state. He had received your text that you were coming over after drinking, and since then while waiting for you to arrive, he could not help but imagine the worst case scenarios in his mind.

He stepped aside, allowing you to enter his apartment. You headed over to his living room, and plopped yourself on his couch, letting go of your hair tie and taking out your coat, revealing your tight black dress that Kihyun absolutely hated you wearing. Wonho shut the door behind you and walked to where you were, and gulped when he saw your outfit,

No, Wonho. Just because she just broke up does not mean that you can make a move a on her.

Wonho shook off all his impure thoughts and instead went to the kitchen to get a glass of water for you, since he knew that you could not handle alcohol very well. He handed the glass of water to you, and you mouthed a ‘thank you’, before downing the glass of water down in one shot.

“Sorry for the sudden visit, I just didn’t want to go home to seeing Kihyun,” you turned over to Wonho.

He shrugged, “It’s fine.”

You could tell that Wonho was still upset about the argument you two had a few days back. You felt really guilty for not believing his words, and you wanted to apologize for not trusting him,

“I’m sorry, Wonho. You were right, Kihyun is-”

“I was right wasn’t I?!” Wonho’s sudden outburst shocked you. “And you had to go back to that asshole and just, and just-”

You hugged him, silencing his words. Wonho was taken aback for a moment, but he pushed you away gently, not wanting any affection from you. You pouted, knowing that it would take more than just a hug and an apology to make Wonho forgive you.

You noticed his eyes tearing up, which tugged at your heartstrings. He was really upset by this. You placed both your hands on his face and turned his head towards you,

“I’m really sorry, Wonho.”

But still, he refused to look at you. Looks like you had to take matters into your own hands. You smashed your lips against his, clearly startling him. Your lips moved against his desperately, and soon, his lips responded to yours. Wonho tilted his head, as your hands snaked around his neck.

Wonho tasted tentatively with his tongue as he traced it across the bottom of your lip. The caress of his lips were softer than Kihyun’s could ever be. His tongue entwined with yours, creating the perfect harmony that both of you had since young. Soon, you both started swallowing each other, making the kiss even more intense. You reached to take off his shirt, when he pulled away,

“Are you sure? I don’t want to force you or anything,” he said, panting in between breaths.

“I am very sure,” you crawled over him, straddling his lap before taking off his shirt, revealing his toned body.

Wonho sat you down on his lap, and attached his lips onto your neck, sucking and biting on the sensitive skin. You felt Wonho’s member hardening beneath you, so you added more fuel to the fire by grinding down on him. When you did this, his hand gripped your neck, forcing you to look down at him,

“Don’t think about doing that, princess,” He brought his lips to your ear. “You’ll regret it.”

Those words alone were enough to make you soaked, wetness pooling in your lower half. His hands massaged your breasts as he re-attached his lips onto your neck, now more rough, leaving marks all over your neck and collarbone. You, in the meantime, started palming Wonho through his sweatpants. Your hand slipped under his sweatpants, grabbing his dick and giving it a soft squeeze, earning a groan from him.

He removed his lips from your neck, satisfied with the amount of hickeys that he had given you. You got on your knees, lifting off of Wonho’s lap to pull off his sweatpants. His already-hard dick sprung out, leaving you salivating at the sight of it. Wonho’s hand went under your dress, and started rubbing your clothed heat,

“Already wet, princess?”

His finger pushed your panties aside and entered you, causing you to let out a satisfied sigh, not having felt this sensation in a long time. He moved his middle finger around and thrusted it in and out of you slowly. Once he felt that you were not as tight anymore, he added his index finger to the mix, scissoring his fingers, reaching deeper depths within you. Your moans filled his entire apartment, not being considerate to his neighbors.

You pulled him in for another kiss again, your hand going down to stroke him slowly, spreading the precum all over his tip. His thumb stimulated your clit, working together with his fingers, making you moan into the kiss. You felt the knot in your stomach tightening, which meant that you were close to cumming. You had clenched around Wonho’s fingers, which also alerted him that you were close. He pulled his lips away,

“Come for me, princess.”

Those four words had you coming undone, your juices spilling all over his fingers and his cock, your legs shaking beneath you. Wonho brought his fingers up to his lips and licked them clean, maintaining eye contact with you the entire time. His hand reached into the drawer of the small table beside the couch, pulling out a condom.

He ripped open the packaging with his mouth, and put on the condom. He placed his member at your entrance, lightly teasing you with his tip, making you let out a small whine,

“D-Don’t tease me.”

His hand laid a hard smack on your ass, “Don’t tease me what?”

“Daddy..” You buried your face in his neck.

He held onto your ass cheeks and lowered you down onto his cock. He groaned, feeling how tight you were around his cock. You arched your back at this new feeling, but definitely not hating it. You nodded, letting Wonho know that it was okay for him to start moving. He lowered you down more until his dick was buried deep inside of you, letting out a long sigh.

You started bouncing up and down, hands resting on Wonho’s shoulders, while his rested on your waist. Your breasts bounced along with you, giving Wonho the most beautiful sight he had been waiting for his entire life. Your moans mixed with his, creating a beautiful harmony that the neighbors surely enjoyed.

Soon, you felt fire pooling low in your abdomen. You started clenching around Wonho, which made him thrust up sloppily into you, also reaching his limit. Wonho’s hand started rubbing your clit, in an effort to help you reach your second orgasm.

You were soon coming all around his cock, the orgasm leaving you shaking. Wonho soon came as well, filling the condom up with his hot seed. You fell forward onto his chest, heaving from exhaustion. Wonho wrapped his arms around your figure, pulling you closer towards him,

“I love you, Y/N. I’ve loved you for a long time now actually.”

You sat up straight, “Me too. I got together with Kihyun in hopes of forgetting about my crush on you.”

Wonho chuckled, before giving you a peck on your lips.

All along, it was Wonho who you could trust and lean on.

244 notes · View notes

wannawritefast · 6 years

Text

Bonnie and Clyde

A/N: As you guys can tell, I suck at posting. I’m busy and still have a crappy laptop and ant to only post stuff that I am proud of. So my posting schedule is a bit few and far between and Im super sorry. Thank you, though, to those of you who have stuck around and read my stuff. And to those who are just reading this as your first time reading my fic. Thank you! All feedback is welcomed and encouraged. Xoxo- Mama Echo

Request- anon requested: “Hii!! Love angel! Could you possibly write a fic where you and digger meet and become crime partners and spend quite a bit of time robbing banks and end up falling in love.”

Pairing: Digger Harkness x Reader, Captain Boomerang x Reader

Warnings: Language, Mentions of blood, a little bit of kissing (does that count?), Violence

Robberies were an… unconventional way to make a living. To most. But hey… It’s not like you could do much else. No one wanted to hire you. McDonald’s didn't want you as a cashier. Walmart didn't hire you. Not even those cute little 50’s diners that are typically waitressed by either college students or older women wanted you working for them. You couldn't even find work as a mascot or a sign twirler.

You couldn't sing (that high school choir teacher kept you on out of pity alone). You couldn't dance (Dance Dance Revolution was the bane of your existence). Hell, you couldn't even draw a rabbit if your life depended on it. You were seriously lacking in arts department adequacy.

You were running out of options. So, you made use of the one thing you could use. Your street smarts. You were definitely cunning enough. Not everyone could talk their way out of being arrested not once, not twice, but four times.

The rooftops and underground tunnels had practically been your playground as a child. You got your fair share of watching things unfold with an eye in the sky. Gotham wasn’t exactly prone to producing the most caring parents anyways. You’d disappear for days, sometimes weeks, at a time. And no one cared! You honestly preferred it to the hellhole some of your siblings called “home.”

But where they picked up honorable professions like lawyers, doctors, teachers, and good respectable citizens of Gotham you reserved yourself to the path of thievery.

And you were so damn good at it. You learned the ins and outs of the basic and not-so-basic security systems. You found out through trial, error, and YouTube videos how to wield knives, guns, staffs, and basically anything you could use as a weapon. You learned how to make poisons, how to hit a vital point, how to take down someone with a gun, how to adjust to your environment, and how to frame someone else for a crime.

But most importantly, you worked alone.

Always.

Trust was too risky, in your humble opinion. It wasn't something that could be thrown about willy-nilly.

You had been planning this heist for weeks now. Months. You got the building floor plans. You found a way to access the main routes of the security guards. You even got your hands on disabling the alarms for a short amount of time.

Street smarts get you places. Not thousands of dollars’ worth of schooling to be a good person.

Pfft! Where’s the fun in that anyways?

After picking up a free taxi ride to the Gotham City Museum, (Don't ask…) you took in the scene before you. Your eyes fell on the front entrance of the closed building and found it surprisingly unguarded. And dark. Perfect… No one would notice if you cut the power. You snuck around the side of the monumental museum and found the power box.

The power box was already open and tampered with. Shit. Someone’s here.

A sense of dread filled you. The electricity from the sparking power box spat at you furiously. Someone's here already.

And it isn't a security guard. To hell with the plan.

You needed to get to that ‘Historic Jewelry’ exhibit and fast. You put your velvet gloves on, pulled your mask on, and checked your voice distorter as you ran back to the front entrance of the building.

Unlocked…Shit…

You sprinted down the main entrance hall. Maps and directories zoomed past you along with benches, tables, and closed fast food vendors. You took note of the poorly guarded ice cream shop. It wasn't your fault if they had terrible security.

You were about to turn the corner when you heard the crackling of a walkie-talkie and booted footsteps on the marble floors. Security guard!

You stopped so fast that you fell forward. Shit! Maybe you did need to follow your plan a little closer.

You scrambled to your feet and bolted to the circular concierge desk. Diving over the top of the counter, it was only at that moment that you realized the damn area was made of glass. Stupid rich people and their stupid interior decorating niches!

You silently cursed yourself for your recklessness. You had about 8 seconds before the security guard turned the corner and saw you. Quietly, you climbed up the sign that said ‘Resources’ and tucked yourself into the inverted nook of the other side.

Just as you secured yourself in your hiding spot, you heard a voice speak up, “Who’s there?” You winced quietly as your heart pounded. You slowly unzipped your pouch of poison and took out your favorite white cloth.

“I know there's someone there,” he called. You heard the click of a prepped gun echo through the cavernous hall. A beacon of light silhouetted the sign you were curled into on the floor in front of you. The shadow wobbled and became unfocused as he rounded the corner and appeared below you. He scanned his flashlight along the food court that lay before you.

You took his bewilderment to advantage and pounced onto the ground behind him. The security guard noticed someone landed behind him when it was too late. You latched your arm around his neck as the ragged cloth in your other hand found its way to the man’s nose and mouth. After a few seconds of struggling, the heavy man went limp in your arms.

You slowly guided the unconscious man’s body to the ground. As soon as he was situated on his back, you took your gun out. You prepped the gun and pointed it at the man’s head hesitantly.

After a brief look back at the situation you decided that because he hadn't seen you, you would spare him… Besides the picture of kids in his wallet looked fairly recent…

And you didn't want to ruin your cover, right? You didn't kill unless the other guys shot first.

Knowing that another guard wouldn't make his way here in at least another half hour you bolted to the exhibit.

You finally arrived to the exhibit and stood still in the doorway. You holstered your gun and proceeded forward.

Until you heard voices. Goddammit! Was every security guard in Gotham City at this museum? No wonder crime is so high in Gotham. Every officer they have is here guarding the damn jewelry.

Cursing yourself mentally, you tucked yourself behind a display that held brooches that First Ladies had worn. From behind two layers of glass you looked where the voices had come from. To your slight relief, you found that the two who had been talking weren’t security guards. But they were guarding another person and he was right where you needed to be.

You inspected the two men a little closer. You almost groaned when you saw that they were young bar crawlers that would think that “no” means “convince me.”

You snuck back to the entrance that you had come through. You needed to lure at least two of three out.

Pulling your mask up so that your distortion wouldn’t affect your voice, you let out a light fake sneeze and listened to it echo through the mostly empty building.

“What was that?” a voice asked from the exhibit room. It sounded disgustingly like gravel and your skin crawled.

“What are you talking about? I didn’t hear anything. You must need to get your ears checked.” The second growled. His voice rattled with phlegm and you felt a bit of vomit bubble up from your stomach.

“I’m not stupid. I know I heard something.”

“Well, if you’re so worried about it, why don’t you check it out, Randy,” the second suggested.

“Maybe I will, Bill,” the first challenged. Men are so predictable…All you need to do is add testosterone and they just throw common sense out the window.

“No one’s stopping you,” exclaimed the second.

“Fine!” Ugh, they’re like children…but bigger and more gross.

“Fine!”

You rolled your eyes and pulled your mask back down. You quickly unhooked your garrote from its place on your hip with a metallic twang. Crossing your wrists, you leaned against the wall and awaited the man who had heard you. The silver wire glinted mischievously in the moonlight.

The lumbering man named Randy rounded the corner and when you were sure he was out of view of Bill, you attacked. You stepped behind him quietly and looped the garrote over his head, around his neck. The poor man didn’t even notice you had entrapped him.

You pulled the handles down a little harder than you had expected and Randy was yanked to the floor. Unfortunately, the weight of the man brought you down with him. You grunted with the sudden change in gravity but kept your grip on the handles.

Randy frantically scratched at the wire tightened around his throat but he wasn’t slowing down. You changed your position so that your feet were on his shoulders and you straightened your legs to get more power. The poor man was so desperate to be released that he brought his huge fist down right on your ankle. A sob of pain escaped your lips, a strange sound with your voice distorter. You pulled even harder. It was only a matter of time before his buddy got curious.

The man slowly struggled less and less. After three minutes of constant fighting the man lay deathly still. You cautiously felt his intensely marred throat for a pulse. Nothing.

You were still hot from the effort of taking down the first guard. Sweat soaked the crown of your head as you pulled the now sticky garrote from his neck and reattached it to its original spot. One down, you thought to yourself, two to go…

You took the mask off of your head as your heart beat fast at the adrenaline coursing through your veins and the mini workout you had just accomplished. You cracked your neck and stretched out to calm yourself.

This time you would use a different tactic that had never failed you. You tousled your hair and put on your red lipstick.

“Randy!” Bill called. “You ok over there?” You put on your best doe-eyed look and cleared your throat.

“Hello?” you called lightly, making sure your voice sounded as feminine as possible.

You peered around the corner at the middle-aged man. The man looked startled to see you. He was about to say something before you put your finger to your lips motioning for him to be quiet. Bill swallowed harshly and gaped at you. You curled your finger toward him in a gesture to beckon him to come to you.

He pointed to his chest and mouthed “Me?” You resisted your urge to both roll your eyes and throw up as you affirmed his question with a doe-eyed look and a wink.

This guy was seriously stupid. Here you were in the middle of a museum in the dark of night and he thought that some lost girl just sauntered into this exact exhibit looking for a good time? What an idiot… If it's this easy to get someone to do something, maybe henchmen weren’t a bad investment after all.

You walked back to the corner and waited for him to appear. As soon as he turned the corner you gave him a sweet smile. He smirked disgustingly and you roundhouse kicked him with your good ankle in response. He crumpled to the ground unconscious. It was your turn to smirk. You leaned over him as you poured fast-acting poison down his throat and forced him to swallow it. He convulsed briefly then lay still. Second down…Here comes the home stretch.

You limped back to the exhibit and pulled the mask on. The man still had his back to you as you approached. Many of the cases were already open and empty. You estimated that he had cleaned out about $10 million dollars-worth of stuff already. His gloved fingers plucked the massive diamond from its display. That diamond alone was worth $4 million and you could practically see yourself signing the check for your own house. He stuck it in his bag that held other jewelry pieces from the museum cases you had passed.

You unsheathed one of your knives as he turned and pressed it to his throat. You shoved him into the display case he had just stolen from. He looked at you with surprise.

You examined him for a moment. Your arm was pressed against his chest and you could feel his muscles along your forearm as he breathed. The man had dark blue eyes that looked almost green and his face was riddled with cuts, a bruise, and scars. You were taken aback by how handsome the bearded man was and decided to let him know.

“Give me one good reason why I shouldn’t cut your throat this second,” your distorted voice threatened. His green orbs flickered down to the blade pressed to his windpipe before he stared you right in the eyes.

With one swift movement, he pulled out a gun and pressed it to your jaw. “That reason enough for you,” he questioned. You gulped at the feeling of the barrel of the pistol held against the base of your jaw and slightly in realization that he had an accent. Australian… Damn, if he wasn’t holding your income for the next 30 years…

You suddenly disarmed him like you had done so many times before and smirked at him as his gun clattered to the floor. He put his hands up in surrender.

“You were saying,” you goaded.

“Ok, mate,” the Aussie began, “First of all, what the fuck. Secondly- Oh my god, look!”

He pointed behind you exaggeratedly and you deadpanned. “What was the point in that,” your distorted voice asked.

“Worth a shot,” he shrugged.

“I’m still waiting for that reason,” you reminded him.

“Ok, seriously, how did you get past my guards.” He asked with his gorgeous accent. He would’ve been more gorgeous if he wasn’t holding your bag of jewels. What the fuck am I thinking?! He furrowed his brows in confusion at my ability to get to him.

“I strangled the first and poisoned the second.”

“Damn, you’re hardcore.”

“Well, they were stupid so… Not my fault.”

“I was going to kill them, anyways. They actually thought that I was going to split it with them,” he laughed a little bit.

“That’s really funny! Yeah,” you laughed with him then turned serious, “Hand me the bag.”

“What? No!”

“Um, yes,” you protested. You reminded him just how sharp your knife was.

“Oi, why do you have the little voice changing thingy, anyways” he asked suddenly. You swallowed harshly.

“Why- why not? It’s good for my cover,” you stammered with your voice still robotic sounding.

“That’s what a mask is for,” he stated, “You don’t need a voice changing thingy for that.”

“It’s called a voice distortion box,” you corrected.

“I don’t care what it’s called! You’re hiding something,” he accused.

“I'm the one hiding something? We're both thieves. Why don't you read the fucking room, bud?”

His eyes burned into yours and you had to look away for a moment. You turned your head to look at the display cases over his shoulder when something caught your eye.

There, back against the glass of a display case, was a security guard. And he had his eyes set right at the man you were pressed against. He hadn’t seen you yet but if he shot he would soon enough.

You looked at the tall muscular man in front of you with a sudden change in demeanor. He looked at you the same way.

You whispered, “There’s a security guard on the other side of a glass case behind you.”

He looked to you with fear in his eyes and the strange feeling of wanting to comfort him arose in your chest. He responded, “Yeah, there’s one there behind you too.”

Your heart leapt in terror. “Ok, grab your gun,” you whispered to him.

“I can’t. It’s on the floor, remember?” he explained. You cursed yourself for what seemed like the millionth time this night.

Then you realized how loud your distortion box was. Quickly making a choice, you yanked your mask off and stuffed it into your bra. You looked to the Aussie in front of you and he stared at you in shock. “Y-you’re a girl,” he marveled quietly.

“Yes, I’m a girl. You better get over it quickly or we’re both going to have bullets in our heads. Now, in my back pockets are two extra pistols. Grab them,” you elaborated.

“You’re kinda hot,” he commented with a handsomely crooked smile. You gave him a look as you blushed furiously. You hoped that the darkness was hiding the redness tickling your face.

“Now’s not the time for that,” you quipped, “I need you to grab the pistols. I can't grab them because the movement would be too sudden and we would, again, end up with bullets in our brains. For the second time, the guns are in the back pockets of my pants.”

“Right,” he nodded obediently. You sheathed your knife and raised your eyebrows in a go-ahead type of cue.

His green eyes stayed on yours as his rough hands slowly smoothed over your waist. There was something pleasant about having his hands on you. Not the time, not the time… Eye contact still maintained, you felt his fingers move down your back and graze a patch of exposed skin.

Your stomach did a gymnastics routine as he blinked at you with his long dark lashes. His hands started down the curve of your butt and something changed in his pretty forest-colored eyes. You prayed to whoever your maker was that you would be alive to explore it more in the future. You felt his hands grab onto the handles of the pistols.

The right side of your pants got lighter as he slid the gun along your hip and held it to you at stomach level. You grabbed it and prepped the barrel.

You were a little more than stunned when he wrapped both arms around you again. Still maintaining the staring match the two of you had, he grabbed the remaining pistol and pushed you into his chest. You looked at him with wide eyes, questioning why he did so. He returned a look that unmistakably said, trust me.

The scary thing was, that even though you vowed to never trust anyone else, you did trust him.

You nodded tentatively at him and he gave you a mischievous smile.

Before you knew what was happening, he had wrapped his arm around your waist and fired his gun that was in his other hand. You heard a body hit floor after the gunshot rang through the building. You saw the guard behind your human shield aim his weapon and you rapidly pushed the Aussie to the floor straddling his waist so he was underneath you. Safe. The case shattered above you and a shower of glass rained down on the two of you. You curled into his chest and waited for the glass to settle before sitting up and firing your pistol at the remaining guard. You got him in the first shot but he had fired his gun milliseconds before you fired yours. His bullet grazed your shoulder.

“Mother fucker!” you fumed. Your hand shot to grasp your shoulder. The Aussie sat up surprised by how quickly you had taken action.

“You alright there, love?” he asked with genuine concern. With a sour expression, you nodded.

He held out his hand, “I’m Digger, by the way.”

You clutched at your shoulder as it throbbed. You calmed yourself enough to speak up again.

“Y/n,” you offered in response and he smiled that devilishly attractive smirk. “Let’s get out of here, yeah?” He smiled at your suggestion. You stood up and he followed suit. “Which way,” you questioned.

You caught a glimpse of the bag of jewels lying mockingly by the case. You glared at it but not before grabbing it. Digger put his hand on your waist suddenly.

“Whoa, hey,” you pushed his hand away. “Let's not get handsy.”

“As much as I'd love to, you are in no position to walk. So I'm just going to-” he reached for your waist again and you swatted his hand away again.

“I can walk. Thank you very much,” you crossed your arms and whimpered at the pain it caused to your bullet wound. You remembered your ankle when you shifted your weight painfully. But you kept a tough face.

“Y/n,” he crooned lowly with his hypnotizing accent. Oh baby Jesus… You forgot that you were supposed to respond for a moment.

“Digger,” you replied in the same tone.

“You gonna walk or what?”

“Yeah, of course. I was just waiting for you to go first. Chivalry isn't dead, you know,” you said flatly. The pain in your arm was reeling.

“You're in pain,” he stated. He rolled his green eyes humorously.

“I'm in pain,” you agreed embarrassed.

“Let me help you out,” he offered, “you saved my life.”

“You saved mine.” You fired back.

Without another word, he handed you the bag of priceless jewelry and scooped you up in his arms. Digger only gave you a funny look and walked toward the exit of the museum.

After guiding him to your way home, you arrived at your apartment. You hopped lightly out of his arms careful to not put weight on your ankle.

Your apartment wasn't anything special. Unlocking the door you limped into your living room: your favorite spot in the apartment. It was simple but cozy. It had a couch, a cheap TV, and a plethora of blankets. Soft lighting from your old lamp helped sooth you despite your eventful day.

Digger locked the door behind you as you hurled the bag of expensive jewelry on your stained armchair. You lugged your first aid kit from under your couch and popped the latches open. You grabbed an Ace Wrap out and took off your shoe gingerly or attempted to as Digger sat down next to you. The TV was still on from earlier in the day. It was perpetually on the news channel for obvious reasons.

With difficulty from both the pain in your ankle and the throbbing from your shoulder you fiddled unsuccessfully with your laces. Wordlessly Digger grabbed your legs and pulled them toward him as he gently went to work on your shoe laces. Something about the gesture felt strangely kind and you didn't feel at all unsafe as he did so. Nervous in fact.

You watched as he pulled your boot off of your foot and tossed it unceremoniously to the floor. He gently rolled the ankle around testing its range of motion. As it was turned toward your other foot, a sharp pain shot up through your leg and stabbed at your hip. A scream of pain ripped through the air of your apartment and Digger jumped at sound.

You yanked your leg up to your chest but Digger wrapped his hand around your knee and pulled it back. A tear involuntarily rolled itself down your cheek. You turned your face away and handed him the Ace wrap. You felt the cloth slowly wrapped itself around your ankle. The pain throbbed as it got tighter and you winced as another tear silently fell. This hurt like a bitch.

You had clenched your eyes so tight that you didn't even notice that Digger had finished wrapping your ankle. You didn't even notice that he had seen you cry until his finger caught a third tear escaping your eye. Stunned again by his kindness, your eyes snapped open and saw how close he was. Less than a foot away, you gazed into the Aussie’s gorgeous green eyes. Your eyes darted down to his lips momentarily. Was he going to kiss you? He leaned forward and reached for your zipper.

“Not even gonna wait for the first date? Someone's impatient,” you smirked. He chuckled lightly.

“Definitely not gonna wait to get your shoulder cleaned,” he bemused, "but I'm flattered.”

“Oh. In that case,” you pulled the gloves off your hands and unzipped the top. You gingerly pulled it off your injured shoulder and tossed it to the side with your shoe. You grabbed the medical alcohol and sauntered to the bathroom in just your bra and pants. Digger followed with an amused smirk on his face.

You sat on the counter and leaned your shoulder over the sink. Or at least attempted to. Every time you put pressure on your arm it stung like no other. You cursed at your lack of coordination.

“Having trouble,” Digger asked as he leaned in the doorway. You only answered him with a look. No matter what you seemed to do it only ended in an awkward position.

“No,” you answered defiantly. He raised an eyebrow at you. You did need a little bit of help. “Fine. Yes. I need help,” you sighed relenting. “But only because you offered.” You eyed him warily as he grabbed the alcohol and took the cap off. “This is gonna hurt. Isn't it?”

“Only a little, love. I'll do it when you're not expecting it.”

“How could I not be expecting it when you literally have the bottle in your ha- OW!” Digger did do it when you didn't expect him to. You just didn't expect it so soon. A sharp sting raced up your neck and arm. Strings of creative curses escaped your mouth and filled the bathroom. “MOTHERFUCKER!”

He curtly set the bottle back on the counter. “All done.”

“‘All done.’” You mocked his accent. “You dump alcohol on my wounded shoulder while I scream in pain and the only thing you have to say is ‘all done’. I have half a mind to kick you out ri-”

But Digger didn't let you finish. He covered his lips over your angry ones. Your resolve melted into his kiss. You momentarily forgot about what had just happened when he pulled away. Mild disappointment washed over you. “Sorry about that,” you whispered. Your noses were still almost touching. “I’ve got a bit of a temper if you haven’t noticed.”

“I noticed,” he commented as he leaned his face forward to capture your lips again. You closed your eyes and sighed as he worked his mouth against yours. Somehow his hands slid down your hips and around your ass eventually finding the back of your thighs and lifting you to on top of the bathroom counter. Your hands instinctively made their way to his unruly light brown hair and his beanie fell to the floor haphazardly.

The intensity in the small bathroom only increased. Digger pushed the small of your back closer to him, the already close proximity not close enough evidently. You nipped at his lips teasingly and a chuckle hummed against his mouth and yours.

“Mrow.”

“What the hell was that,” Digger asked pulling away, just as startled as you were.

You looked to the source of the sound and found one of your cats rubbing Digger’s ankles.

“That’s Clyde.” You giggled. A second one, Bonnie, hopped up onto the counter next to you. The ginger tabby walked into your lap and began sniffing your face not even minding the awkward position that you were in.

“I should have known you were a cat person,” Digger crouched down next to Clyde as your third and final cat trotted into the bathroom. Capone, your tuxedo cat, sat right at the doorframe and observed the situation in the bathroom with a cool reserve.

“Is that a bad thing?”

“No. I rather like cats,” he beckoned to Capone, rubbing his fingers together. Capone blinked at him, took a few strides forward, and sat again this time just out of Digger’s reach. Somehow Clyde had made his way onto Digger’s shoulders and Bonnie was seriously contemplating joining him. Digger scooted closer to your tuxedo cat.

“It’s ok, Dig. Capone usually doesn’t take to…” You trailed off when your usually stoic feline laid down in front of Digger. “...strangers.”

The Australian shot you a cocky look as Capone basked in the attention of his new friend. Bonnie and Clyde took turns yelling at Digger for some of his attention as well. You laughed at how fast Digger had charmed your furry children.

“What?” He asked with a smile on his face. It wasn’t a flirty smirk though. It wasn��t ingenuine either. But it was a smile that you felt had been reserved for you. And only you. It was happy and warm and it was yours. Somehow, in that soft bathroom lighting with two noisy cats and the stench of medical alcohol after a successful heist Digger had wormed his way into your heart too.

You shook off your moment of introspection. “You really give a new meaning to cat burglar, you know that, right?” Digger threw his head back in laughter. “You’ve stolen their hearts in a mere matter of minutes.”

“Have I stolen yours?” There was that cheeky lilt in his voice that you would never admit was actually quite attractive.

“Now, now. Let’s not get cocky, casanova…”

“That wasn’t an answer.”

“Oh, shut up!”

“You like me!”

“What are you five?”

“You didn’t deny it either,” you rolled your eyes and picked up Capone as you walked out of the bathroom. You slung him over your shoulder like a baby and he sat there. He kneaded the air with his white mitts contentedly. “Here me out though. I-”

“Wait, do you hear that?” You shushed him for a moment as you rushed to the remote and turned up the volume on the TV.

The plastic-looking woman reported from her futuristic looking conference table, “We have some breaking news from Gotham City Museum. An armed robbery occurred about an hour ago and famous jewelry from the travelling ‘First Ladies and Royalty’ exhibit, amongst other priceless artifacts, is gone. Let’s send it over to Kaye.”

Your gaze met Digger’s in shock. You had been thorough… What went wrong?

“Thanks, Wanda. We are at the scene of the crime here at Gotham City Museum. This felony has left 2 security guards and 2 criminal accomplices dead as well. There is one surviving security guard but he seems to be suffering from amnesia. As of right now, there is no security footage of the crime as the main power grid and the back-up generator were hijacked during the robbery. There are two suspects as to who it could be.”

You gulped heavily, the suspense killing you.

“The first suspect is Catwoman who frequents jewelry heists and the level of mastery leads many to believe that this handiwork is of the feline femme fatale felon.”

You rolled your eyes at the fluffy wording.

“The second, more surprising, suspicion is not one but two criminals. Police suspect a Bonnie and Clyde copycat situation. There is no eyewitness account to go off of but a man on the street claims to have seen a couple, a man and woman, exiting the premises. Sir, can you tell us what you saw?”

The camera suddenly shifted to footage of what looked like a homeless drug addict. He eyed the camera warily. “Yeah, I saw a man and woman. Looked like they were married. Cute couple if you ask me. From where I was standing, it looked like the husband was carrying his pregnant wife.”

Pregnant? You looked to Digger suddenly. Why on earth… The man thought the bag of jewels was a belly with a bun in the oven! This was perfect! You burst out laughing victoriously. You had never been more thankful for the homeless and reminded yourself to do some community outreach in the following months.

“Thank you, sir. And is there anything else noteworthy to say?”

He turned to the camera dramatically. “I need to take a piss right now.”

You burst out laughing again as the reporter frantically told the camera to switch as the man proceeded to begin working on his pant’s zipper. Grabbing the remote again, you turned the TV off.

Digger just smiled at you mirthfully with a look on his face.

“What?” You questioned with a smile that matched his.

“A couple, huh?”

“You’re insufferable.”

“And pregnant?!” He shouted in mock excitement.

“Oh, calm down. You’ll wake the baby,” you teased while giggling.

“I’m not hearing a denial,” he said. You knew that he was only half-joking.

“You’re not getting a ‘yes’ immediately either,” you ushered him to the door.

“What?! Oh, this is just cruel!”

The two of you stood in the doorway of your apartment. “Next Friday at 7. Pick me up. Take me out to dinner then we’ll talk.”

“Maybe a little more,” he asked, waggling his eyebrows playfully. This man…

“Good night, Digger,” You laughed as you began to close the door.

Before you could shut it though, he pushed the door open a little more with his hand. You were a little bewildered until Digger pressed his lips against yours quickly. He pulled away just as fast and gauged your reaction.

You grabbed the front of his shirt and pulled him in for one more kiss. He enthusiastically kissed back. As you finished the kiss, you half-heartedly pushed him back into the hallway. You broke away with a smile and told him ‘goodnight’ for the second time.

You shut the door and the last thing you saw before closing it was his green eyes.

And you genuinely looked forward to Friday.

#captain boomerang x reader #Captain Boomerang #digger harkness #digger harkness x reader #suicide squad fic #captain boomerang fic #digger harkness fic

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imagineclaireandjamie · 6 years

Text

The Argument: 307 extension.

What if their (Jamie and Claire’s) potential sex scene in 307 (at Lallybroch in the books) hadn’t been interrupted by Jenny?

His words rang in her ears as the grip of his hands against her wrists increased. She should have been incensed and she still did harbour some anger but the scent of sex in the air had extinguished enough of it to render it mute...just for the moment. At this point in time she’d channelled all of that energy into pure, undiluted carnal desire. Claire could feel his cock thrusting hard between her legs, a punishing rhythm that caused her thighs to clench around his arse.

Claire pushed, forcing Jamie onto his back as they clawed, tugging and pulling at one another in a desperate attempt to remove every article of clothing. Biting his lip as she kissed him, Claire tore at his shirt as Jamie shoved his hand into her socks and yanked them down her leg.

The fabric burned her flesh as the ties holding her stockings up stuck around her knees before Jamie’s harsh grip managed to tug them loose.

Sanity escaped her and in that moment all she could see, smell and taste was Jamie; his primal musk invading her senses as the fury blazed beneath her wanton skin. Agony simmered just beneath the surface as she tried to contain her tears, the very prominent image of Jamie with *Laoghaire* emerging through the mist, simultaneously pushing Claire over the edge.

One solitary sob fell from her lips, combined with a gasp as Jamie thrust himself inside her and her weeping began in earnest.

Jamie, lost to his own lascivious coated grief, could hardly open his eyes. Instead he simply felt the jarred motion Claire was creating over him as he met her hips with his own. They were still half dressed, half mauled by the other in their furious attempted to ravish and maim one another in the aftermath of his deceit and although he could feel her distress, he couldn’t move to stop himself for the moment to comfort her.

Nor did Claire want him to. She craved him, ached for him to bury himself over and over until he could hold on no longer. Claire wanted to feel him, the pulse of his pounding heart flowing into her own body as she rode him over and over. She was crying, cursing and taking him all in one go. She felt both weak and powerful all at the same time and it was intoxicating.

Her cheeks, wet with the moisture of her cheeks, burned red with passion and desire as she all but collapsed against his chest, pinning him to the floor with her knees still either side of the tops of his thighs as she ran the length of her chest against his. Her groin stayed parallel with his but instead of rising over him, now she - rather mercilessly - pummelled her crotch against his barely letting his cock slide from her, keeping him *deep* within her as her shaky hands buried themselves in his hair.

Jamie was a willing captive. Covered not only in the sweat and shame of his indiscretions, his face was now also coated in Claire’s shed tears. Salt water ran along his cheekbones and down onto his ears until they finally slid off his neck and onto the floor. She was sobbing more thoroughly now, the closer she came to her undoing, the more fraught her sorrow became and Jamie felt the horror as it swept through every inch of him, coming to rest in the marrow of his bones.

Rolling her over, he lay his body against hers and slowed his movements, making sure not to lose her in the midst of their torrid sexual encounter. He should have stopped it, he *should* have plucked her from the floor and done some much needed damage control, And, although he knew very well how much she craved this as much as he, he should have been the one to bring back some semblance of rationality and comprehension rather than indulge himself in Claire. No matter what; she needed comfort and he had selfishly cast aside any reason just to feel the sweet rush of intimacy with Claire - for what, he thought blearily, might be the last time on this mortal coil.

But he hadn’t.

Aware of the impending rush, Claire thrust her tongue against Jamie’s mouth, coaxing from him the most desirous noise as she clenched her arse and pushed her hips upwards. Still angry, upset, devastated and lost, she urged her body on as that most delectable of sins began its final rush along her exposed thighs. Tightening the muscles in her shoulders, she let her legs flop against the hard, cold floor as the pulse of her orgasm began to build, the tingling sensation of it prickling at her belly with each maddening thrust.

They came together, the feel of her grasping his cock, pulling him deeper and deeper until the warm tightness of her throbbed around him. The roar in their ears was deafening as they both cried out in both pleasure and emotional pain, their joint howls mournfully echoing around them as the crackle of the fire, finally, bested their harrowed embrace.

Pushing him away from her, Claire wrapped her quaking arms around her midriff, curling up on her side as she allowed her heartache to pull her under. Her sobs were uncontainable now, the fresh flow of tears tracking new lines across her rosy face as she tucked her knees up, crossing her feet as she felt the warm essence of Jamie at the crease of her thighs. Wanting to keep that small part of him with her, she tipped her chin downwards against her chest and clenched the muscles of her groin as if that in itself might help curtail the grief.

Jamie panted loudly, his chest hurting with the pressure of his orgasm combined with his own self-loathing. His actions had been abhorrent and he - in part - was loathed to comfort Claire in her darkest moment because he knew it had been his actions that had caused her breakdown.

She’d been right.

Laoghaire *had* tried (and very nearly succeeded) to have her murdered burned at the stake for witchcraft and even in his lowest moments, even with the burn of fatherhood and the stench of loss clinging to his feeble flesh, he should have considered -carefully- his options. But he still couldn’t bring himself to regret wee Joany and Marsali.

Plucking himself from the floor, Jamie crawled on his hands and knees until he faced Claire. Her face was aglow, the light of the fire casting pleasant shadows over her ivory skin as he slid beside her, wrapping his bare arms around her waist and pulling her tepid body against his.

She tried to resist a little, but the force of her sobbing sapped her strength and she, rather begrudgingly, flopped beneath his biceps, her head burrowing against his chest as the last of her tears fell.

“I told you,” she whispered, her voice no louder than a sigh, “I spoke of how *hard* it was. How much I battled with your loss. You *knew* I was alive...somewhere, damn you, Jamie, you knew! And yet...you did it...with her.” Claire tried not to fall into the vast chasm that opened up before her, but the pull of its lure was just too much. The image of Jamie lying as husband and wife with Laoghaire Mackenzie was the straw that had broken the proverbial camel’s back and all of her fears rushed through her brain as they had when she’d castigated him for his derogatory comments aimed at Brianna.

Claire had thought she’d known then. Thought that his opinions were a mixture of his 18th century sensibilities as well as his anguish at not raising his daughter. But now she knew that it also came from a place of fear. His ‘secret’ marriage to Laoghaire had obviously been playing heavily on his mind at the time and had come to the fore dressed as outrage at Claire’s parenting decisions.

Her heart broke all over again as she pictured the daughter she had left behind, the dull ache of loss penetrating her every nerve.

“I wish things were different,” she said, her voice hardening as Jamie shook beside her. “I wish we could’ve had our family and a good many more things besides. But I can’t change it now, and nor can you.”

Jamie’s heart stopped as all warmth dissipated from his body. He heard the finality to her words and although sated, he felt the distinct empty hollow of her loss open up in his chest once more. Her words reverberated through his brain as he tried to search her tone for any hope. But there was none.

“Ye canna leave me, Claire,” he begged, not caring how desperate he sounded, “we’re bound...you and I…”

“Maybe we once were,” she replied quickly, having to bite her lip to stop the tears from starting once again. “But I just don’t know whether we’re meant for one another anymore. Not now.”

“No,” Jamie interjected without taking a breath. The word came out as a sort of high pitched keen as his fingers locked around her middle, preventing her from moving at all. “No, sassenach,” he said, the desperation clear in his tone. “P-please...to lose you, I’ll die, I will, wi’out you. No’ now I’ve touch you once more, held ye, heard you talk about our daughter and seen her bonnie face. I canna simply go on. It was hard enough the first time. To send ye away and no’ to die in battle. For me to ken you existed somewhere and not be able to bring you home to me. My heart, my l-love, my own…” he blethered, barely breaking as he rushed out his monologue, his dry mouth causing his tongue to stick to the roof of it on every other word.

Now it was Jamie’s turn to cry, his shoulders shaking as he scrunched his nose up and hid his face in the soft clouds of her curls. His Scots accent had gotten thicker and thicker through his diatribe and Claire felt the relaxing waves of his soft burr, his chest rising and falling jaggedly against hers as he spoke and she could not deny that his words rang true.

Claire had seen it before, death caused by loss. The decay of the tissues around the heart leading to failure of the organ and the death of the remaining lover creeping in and inextricably binding the pair, forever in eternal rest. No sooner had the memory faded than Claire began to feel a familiar deadening in her feet - it was as if her choice to leave had started the process in her own body, the muscle tissue failing from the soles of her right foot, the disease of loss decaying her from the inside out.

Twitching her fingers against his back, Claire flexed her toes, testing the dexterity of them as if to try and shake the feeling of death. Her heart beat solidly on as she swallowed audibly.

“You feel it too,” Jamie said, no malice in his tone, only soft acceptance. “I ken it, you ken it...aye?”

“F-fuck,” Claire cursed, her sore red nose itching as she began to cry silently. “Yes I feel it,” she admitted, unable to hide anything from him now. “No matter how dark it is for you to use such emotional *fucking* blackmail on me now, I feel it.”

“Stay, please. I’ll do anything, Claire. I will *give* anything. Just stay, and let me make it right. I’m yours, sassenach,” he implored, “yours until I am no more. Now and forever. Gi’ me a chance to show you, mo nighean donn.”

“No more lies, Jamie,” Claire said, the dark mark of her ending fragmenting as she allowed him to change her mind, the shelter of his body bringing some measure of relief at the decision. “You must promise me that.”

“Aye, no more lies,” he acquiesced, “you’re my soulmate, Claire,” he implored. “When we were made it was meant that we should be one. Tis the only reason I think I lived through Culloden, sassenach,” he whispered, his trembling subsiding now as the cold night wore on. “I lived and you found me. It’s fate, aye?”

Hiccuping back a sob, Claire smiled at his words, the first easy smile for a day or two. They had ridden through hell and back and she’d be damned if she was going to let that little...bitch….take from her the one shining beacon that had kept her afloat through a twenty year stalemate.

No, Claire *had* come back and Jamie had lived. She knew their path wasn’t an easy one but together they could weather the storm and battle the often brutal and boisterous demons that threatened to topple them overboard.

“I love you Claire, please let it be enough,” Jamie sighed, moving his head so that his lips could softly caress the top of her head as his hands gently massaged the tiny ridges of her spine.

“I love you too,” she whispered in return. “Jamie Fraser...and yes, it is enough.”

Neither moved as the firelight dwindled, its heat flaring and encasing the two as they stared, nose to nose, into each other's eyes, silence holding them hostage as the words ran dry. Shy contentment took the place of anguished animosity as the brittle atmosphere evaporated leaving only ashes and dust. Renewed, Claire and Jamie basked in the afterglow of the nuclear blast, their internal world devoid of life now as if the world they had once known had, finally and very abruptly, been condensed to rubble in one explosive act.

Claire licked her lips as she shimmied closer, a speck of life blossoming in the dense nothingness as her irises twinkled. Jamie’s mouth slipped into an easy smile, his tense muscles relaxing as he himself sensed the subtle shift. “Christ, I love you,” he muttered, nuzzling her nose as he closed his eyes. “Wi’ all that I am, even if that is only but a hint of the man you ought to have…”

“Hush,” she returned, “you’re right, Jamie. I *ought* to have you. Mistakes and all.”

“Aye, sassenach,’” he said, his lips trembling with increased emotion. “Mistakes and all.”

#;Mod MBD #the argument #307 #Missing Moments #ficlet #jamie x claire #Outlander Showverse Canon

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loserholland · 6 years

Text

Alone

Kai Parker

Song

Warning- Sad → Happy ending

Italics- Flashback/Lyrics

Word Count- 1,514

Sorry this is rushed

I know you're somewhere out there Somewhere far away I want you back, I want you back

It’s been three weeks.. three weeks since Kai has been stuck in the 1903 prison world all because of Bonnie.

Damon had found out his mother was alive and well in a 1903 prison world, and what bright idea does he come up with? To go to 1903 and bring his mother back smart idea right?

Wrong. I knew something was up when Bonnie refused to bring me along with them, it felt like hours awaiting there return when they had finally arrived with Damon’s mother the first question that left (Y/N) mouth was “Where’s Kai?” there they stood looking between each other as if they didn’t understand what she said.

“Where’s Kai?” she repeated.

“He.. he um didn’t make the trip.” Damon said as he avoided eye contact causing (Y/N) to scoff “Excuse me? Didn’t make it back? Bonnie what is he talking about?” Bonnie’s attention drew else where as (Y/N) took a few steps further keeping a distance between them. “Bonnie where is Kai?”(Y/N) voice was filled with worry.

“I left him... in the 1903 prison world.” Bonnie answered.

(Y/N) sat outside her balcony closing her eyes as the summer breeze touched her skin “Kai..” she whispered “I miss you so much, I’m failing my classes and exam’s are coming up.. quite the luck huh? I wish you were here... I wish I went with you when you got Damon’s mother.” A salty tear left her beautiful (Y/E/C) eyes “I just want you back Kai.” (Y/N) whispered as she gulped the remaining wine left her in glass.

My neighbors think I'm crazy But they don't understand You're all I have, you're all I have

“What do you mean you left him?! How could you!” (Y/N) voice filled with anger as she went up to Bonnie and slapped her “You took away my happiness how could you!” (Y/N) sobbed as Damon got ahold of her she slowly slid to the ground calling out for Kai as Bonnie stood there realizing what she had done.

“I hate you! I hate you so much Bonnie Bennett.” (Y/N) got up frantically pushing away Damon, “No.. I hate all of you for not trying to stop her.” She made her way to the door as Elena called out for her.

“Can’t you see? He was all I had.”

(Y/N) spent most of the time at home, she’d show up to her classes late and a mess. All she could think about was Kai and it drove her insane.

“(Y/N)” a voice too familiar called as she picked up her pace “(Y/N)!” the voice called again as she felt a gust of wind past her and there stood Elena Gilbert standing in front of her.

“Elena.. what do you want?” (Y/N) questioned as she took a step back creating a little space.

“Jo is having a bachelorette party and I was wondering if you’d like to come.” Elena asked in a calm voice “We’re gonna have it at a diner, we would love to have you there.” (Y/N) scoffed to herself “Who’s we?” she questioned with coldness.

“Jo,Bonnie and I..” (Y/N) looked at Elena “Bonnie? The person whom left the person I loved in a prison world full of heretics? I’ll pass.” (Y/N) pushed pass Elena causing Elena to sigh “It’ll be at a diner if you change your mind.”

At night when the stars light up my room I sit by myself...

Talking to the moon Trying to get to you In hopes you're on the other side talking to me too Or am I a fool, who sits alone, talking to the moon?

“Kai..” (Y/N) sniffled as she looked up at the moon drawing in a sharp breath “I wish you could hear me... I just wanna hear your voice... I miss your voice, your touch, I just miss you so much.” (Y/N) sipped her wine as she coughed slightly “Elena invited me to Jo’s bachelorette party and said they’d love to have me there, why? Why would they invite me when the one person that took you away from me is there.” just then (Y/N) thought it would be a great idea to go take up the invite.

(Y/N) in front of the diner and opened the door slowly to see Bonnie and Jo.

“(Y/N)!” Jo exclaimed as she gave her a warm hug as Bonnie stood there in shock noting saying a word.

Now here they sat in silence as (Y/N) sipped on the wine Jo had poured her “Congrant’s Jo.. I’m happy for you.” (Y/N) said in a soft tone.

I'm feeling like I'm famous, the talk of the town They say I've gone mad Yeah, I've gone mad

“So, (Y/N) what have you been up to?” Jo questioned as (Y/N) as she smiled to herself.

“Every night I sit on my balcony and have a drink here and there and just... try to have a conversation with Kai, I know he can’t hear me but it’s worth a shot.” (Y/N) said with a hiccup and she felt a tear slip down her cheek.

“What is a pretty girl like you, sitting alone on her balcony?” Kai questioned as he scared (Y/N) causing her to drop her wine “Kai! What are you doing here?” (Y/N) questioned as he strolled over to lean against the railing “Oh yunno just checking up on my favorite girl.” Kai said with a smirked at her.

“Do you do this often? Just sit on your balcony and drink wine?” Kai questioned to fill the silence between them.

“I like to sit here and think.. help clear my head.” (Y/N) had filled another glass of wine for Kai as he sat in the other chair “I like to lay here and look at the stars and think.” (Y/N) answered.

“Yunno some crazy vampire can land on your balcony and attack you.” Kai said as he sipped on his wine as (Y/N) looked over at him and smiled.

“Well.. I have you.” (Y/N) answered with a small warm smile.

But they don't know what I know Cause when the sun goes down someone's talking back Yeah, they're talking back, oh

“Oh god I’m crying at your bachelorette gosh I’m a mess.” (Y/N) said in between sniffles “I’m sorry if I ruined your night Jo, I’m just gonna head home.” (Y/N) said as she reached for the door handle.

“(Y/N), please come to Alaric and I’s wedding we’d love to have you there.” Jo said before (Y/N) left as she smiled “Thank you for the invite.. I’ll try to make it.”

At night when the stars light up my room I sit by myself...

Talking to the moon Trying to get to you In hopes you're on the other side talking to me too Or am I a fool, who sits alone, talking to the moon?

(Y/N) sat at her balcony and sighed “Kai... if you hear me just please say something... do something to show me you’re here.” (Y/N) closed her eyes and laid backed as silence filled the air “(Y/N).. love I’m here” a voice said “Open your eyes love.” (Y/N) eyes fluttered open to see Kai standing in front of her as she gasped “Oh god, I am I am hallucinating? I think I had too much to drink.” (Y/N) rambled as Kai began to laugh “Let’s go to bed honey.”

Now here they lay snuggled up against each other till morning come and Kai was not by her side. “Oh god it was a dream.” (Y/N) thought to herself.

Do you ever hear me calling? (Ah) oh oh oh (Ah) oh oh oh 'Cause every night

I'm talking to the moon Still trying to get to you In hopes you're on In hopes you're on the other side talking to me too Or am I a fool, who sits alone, talking to the moon?

Today was the day... Alaric and Jo’s wedding (Y/N) had decided to go instead of being stuck in the house all day.

She wore a beautiful red lace dress with nude heels.

Once she got to the ceremony she had gotten a drink and mingled with some of the guest, but before it started she had gone to the restroom.

“Damn babe you look hot.” a voice said, a voice she was too familiar with. (Y/N) quickly turned around to see Kai gawking at her. “Kai?” (Y/N) stood there in shock “The one and only.” he said with a smirk as she quickly ran into his arms “That was you! You slept with me last night how did you come back? I missed you so much.” she rambled on as tears ran down her cheeks “Well I found a way to come back and now we’re here.” Kai said with a small smile.

“Come on let’s ditch this wedding and go somewhere.” (Y/N) suggested as Kai gave her a warm smile “I love the sound of that.”

I know you're somewhere out there Somewhere far away

#kai parker #kai parker imagine #kai parker smut

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prettylittleliarsxxxx · 6 years

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In 2009, Vampire Diaries showrunner Julie Plec welcomed viewers to Mystic Falls for what would become eight seasons of epic love and epic twists. The following year, Pretty Little Liars showrunner I. Marlene King kicked off the seven-season story of Rosewood, a town filled with high-stakes friendship and mystery. Both shows would attract rabid fanbases that would sustain them until they aired their final episodes in 2017.

EW asked King and Plec to talk about their experiences saying goodbye.

ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: When it came to ending your shows, what were you most nervous about? I. MARLENE KING: At the time, I was the most nervous about keeping it together at certain moments on set, for example the scene in the finale where the girls say goodbye. We knew that would be really really difficult and I was sort of punching myself for writing it, but I knew that it would be worth it. Then as we got closer to airing the episode, we all started to get a little bit nervous about how it was going to be received because people are really harsh on finales.

JULIE PLEC: I felt that heavy pressure as a fan of television to make sure we stuck the landing because I get so crushed when I see what I perceive to be a mediocre series finale. I wanted people to talk about the finale of The Vampire Diaries as one of their favorites, which is a lofty ambition, but it certainly drove me hard creatively to make sure that we had put as much thought and love into it as we possibly could.

Once the finale aired, was there anything that surprised you about the fan reaction? KING: I was very floored by the Spoby fans. It never occurred to any single one of us that those fans would be unhappy with the ending because I feel like there’s this remarkable, wonderful moment between Spencer and Toby where he realizes she is the real Spencer. He was her knight in shining armor, but the fans were still upset that he had sex with Alex Drake. So that really surprised me. I felt like they got their happy ending, but the true Spoby fans were very upset and I feel bad about that to this day.

PLEC: For me there’s always that faction of shippers who can’t look at an episode in a global way and enjoy the experience of the entire story, who can only really count minutes of screen time for their ship, and I figured, when all was said and done, that there would be some cranky people. But I also decided I didn’t care. I decided I wasn’t making the finale for anybody who still had anything invested in the love triangle. I was making it for people who were invested in the relationship between the brothers. That freed up Kevin [Williamson] and me from any pressure we felt about what the fandom might think.

What were the biggest debates when crafting your endings? KING: We had so many different endings. At one point in time, I was going to end with the girls saying goodbye, and then we were going to end with the Mona reveal, and then we were going to end with a little reboot, not to set up a spin-off, but with the new girls saying, “The mythology of this town continues.”

PLEC: I wanted flash-forwards. Ever since we decided to put Elena in a sleeping beauty spell that couldn’t be broken until Bonnie died, I wanted to see the scene with 85-year-old Bonnie and Damon by her side, and they’re the best of friends. And then she dies of natural causes because I just thought that Bonnie deserved a rich and full life. I had this scene in my head for so long and then Kevin [felt] that stories are more impactful when you play them in the here and now. So we compromised by showing everybody just slightly ahead in their life and having those characters observing from peace, which in my opinion worked like a charm and I’m so happy we did it that way. The other big debate we had was: Which Salvatore brother is going to take the bullet for the other? We debated that so much because we could make a really strong case for either. And we finally settled on Damon was going to die. And then Kevin walked into the room and he’s like, “What’s Stefan’s life going to be like?” I said, “He’s going to be happy with Caroline and uh uh… uh, I don’t know.” [Laughs] I’m like, “You’re right, it needs to go the other way.” It was so funny because we had thought about it in the room so much that we had talked ourselves into one path, but all we needed was him to walk in and be like, “But… isn’t it cooler the other way?” And so we switched it. He gets all the credit for that.

Marlene, did you ever consider killing a main character like Julie did? KING: No. I’m a total happy-ever-after person. I felt like the fans deserved to see the girls happy and the characters deserved to be happy. They’re going to be scarred from this existence for the rest of their lives, but I wanted to give them hope.

PLEC: I look at Friday Night Lights as one of my all-time favorite series finales and that is what you  want. After all the roads you’ve traveled with these people, you just want to know that they’re going to be happy. I’m a big believer in shows that make that choice.

KING: I still want Walter White to be alive. [Plec laughs]

You both directed your series finales — why was that important to you? KING: I love directing because first and foremost you get to be with your on-set family. But also, as the creator, there’s nobody who knows how to put it on the screen more than you. I might not be the best director in the world but my team around me, we all work together to make it the best episode. There are more experienced people than me at directing, but I always feel like my heart and soul is up on that screen. I think Julie probably would feel the same way but you can tell me if I’m wrong.

PLEC: Everything you just said is exactly how I would sum that up. The only thing I would add is that often the relationship between a showrunner and an episodic director can be fraught with tension, and I wouldn’t want to have that tension around for the last episode, which is such a celebration. And secondly, what I was able to do because I was there deciding if we could run over was then very fluidly honor the set we were leaving behind for the last time, or say a big group farewell to Damon’s car when we wrapped it for the last time, and then not to mention, honor each actor individually as they shot their last scene. So it turned into one big celebration, which somebody else wouldn’t have been able to do that without worrying about the time they were wasting.

KING: I’m sure you found this experience too where it was such a group effort. There were recurring actors on our show who weren’t even in the finale who came to say goodbye to certain characters. It was such a family affair.

PLEC: Yeah, the overall experience was so profoundly beautiful. Watching these actors get hit with that realization that they’re done and this family they’ve built is gathered around them to say goodbye, watching them all completely fall apart was so great. It felt like we were graduating high school.

KING: That was our wrap gift was high school yearbooks that we put together over the course of the whole season to give to people.

PLEC: That’s such a great gift.

I know both your fandoms loved to talk about certain couples being “endgame.” What do you feel are the biggest myths out there about ending shows? PLEC: When fans would say, “Oh you’re teeing up endgame,” I would say, “I am teeing up nothing because I am letting these characters tell me how they want their story to end.” And within that, you’re working off of actor chemistry, and you’re working off of your lead actress leaving the series after six years, which shuts the door to explore a return to the other corner of the love triangle. I would’ve happily worked my way back around to Stefan and Elena at some point in the series if Nina Dobrev hadn’t left, if the story led me that way. There is no definitive end to anybody’s story when you’re dealing with the fluidity of chemistry because when it gets stale, you want out. It doesn’t matter if these characters are supposed to be together forever, if their chemistry gets stale, you want somebody to die, you want to put somebody in a coma, you want to write them off the show, anything to save you.

KING: I would say that too. I totally agree with that, 100 percent. But for us, what I didn’t understand because I had never gone through a series finale before was the absolute yin and yang of it. In one respect, you have so much relief and it’s like the weight of the world is off your shoulders and, at the same time, you’re experiencing a death. I never expected to have such extreme feelings at the same time. It was exhausting.

Looking back now, is there anything you’d do differently? KING: Yes, I would have Spencer and Toby kiss! I wouldn’t change anything plot-wise — we always knew Alex Drake was going to be our Uber A — but I do feel like I would’ve loved to have given Spoby the extra bonus happy ending, but you’d have to have another hour for that.

[Plec admits she has one regret that she won’t discuss, but she will say it involves kissing.]

What was the most difficult scene of the finale  to write? PLEC: All year long, I cried to the point where it got embarrassing. So I thought when I finally wrote the script that I would just be sobbing, and I didn’t. I thought, “Oh god, I’ve lost my ability to be in touch with my soul.” [Laughs] But then I made up for it by crying the last 10 days that we shot the series.

KING: I finished the script, except for that scene where the girls say goodbye. I didn’t write that until the day before the table read. I just couldn’t get it out.

PLEC: Marlene, do you think you’ll ever feel this way again when you bring something to a close?

KING: I might change my mind but I want to say no. This was so special that if I ever get it again, I’ll be shocked.

PLEC: Yeah, me too. I’m incredibly grateful to have gotten to feel as much as I felt.

#pll #pretty little liars #marlene king #imk #spoby #julie plec #tvd #the vampire diaries #long post #this just makes my blood boil but w/e

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