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#we probably should but we’re both idiots i have no idea how it’d be brought up
universalsatan · 2 years
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can’t tell if i’m confusing wanting to look like almost stereotypically macho men or just being wildly attracted to them. or both i guess
#i mean i always used to say bi dilemma but im realizing this is mostly just gay now godbless. trans rights#for context. im thinking like. young harrison ford (i Know.; the reason im saying this is i remember Both my mom and dad acknowledging him#as the og Macho Man™️) and because it crossed my dash. jackles. but not really young jackles like s1 dean but matured jackles like more rece#it’s funny cause in practice. the person ive been pursuing (while Also an idiot. maybe i should just accept myself as morosexual at this#point) is actually. very effeminate HAHAHDHAHSJDHSJ#to the extent that my mom has thought he was gay in the past. i was talking about him to my sister and she asked if he was gay LMAO#which is hilarious because as far as i know (and ive known him for… almost 6 years ig? pined for almost 5). i’m Only aware that hes had a#crush on a girl ages ago. but this was also thru a secondhand source we’ve never actually talked about that#we probably should but we’re both idiots i have no idea how it’d be brought up#but in terms of effeminate. hm. he’s actually Really tall maybe over 6ft? and he Can have a deep voice. i think he can sing bass? but he#actually speaks in a higher register. god i wonder if he’s doing the opposite of me. who’s always consciously deepend my voice LMAO#he’s a HUGE plant enthusiast. HUGE. i dont Think he’s ND (or at least he doesn’t from what i can tell. I get vibes) but he straight up has a#plant fixation. knows so much about care. when he worked in greenhouses he learned the latin names for a good portion of them. i know this#isnt exactly ‘effeminate’ but he does all the gardening. oh and to add to it ig. i dont know HOW. he was NOT. irked by gore and blood???#when i explained to him what my potential job as a crime scene cleaner could entail??? but he cannot STAND bugs. he FREAJED OUT (over text)#at the mention of a spider. so of course. me being the 8yo boy with a playground crush. proceeded to tell him all my Fun Spider Encounters#lets see i think he also really loves to bake? ive seen these elaborate cakes (tp roll for covid. a fish) he’s made on insta. and there was#that one time he brought me those three most MOIST chocolate cupcakes with raspberry buttercream icing. i deadass ASCENDED to heaven.#food IS the way to a man’s heart btw.#oh yeah and the fact that i met him in the first place — well. i play oboe in ensembles. and he’s flute/piccolo. yeaHAHSHAHSHH#LMAO remembering that while he doesnt keysmash (i’ve started to around him. it’s mostly emojis bless his heart) he deadass called me ‘hun’#oh and the best part? i couldnt think kf what to watch. and he’s over here saying he doesnt watch ANYTHING. like bro how do u NOT. listen to#any music past 1900. OR OPERA EITHER. and NOT have any favorite movies/shows??? wh??? like. he deadass was like ‘unless [gardening channel#on youtube] counts’ like girl i am so in love#but yeah i was literally sitting there sounding like a pretentious film nerd bro i cant fuckin believe it. but i FINALLY wriggle it out of#him. because apparently he cant concentrate on most movies (valid.). the ones he CAN are cheesy chick flick comedies#saying that he can recite 90% of mean girls. thats his favorite movie#and he also mentioned like. legally blonde#and i have a feeling he almost was avoiding it in case i would judge him or whatever but ngl i honestly fell harder HAHSHSJAJDJAJ#fuck 30 tags but let’s just say. very effeminate compared to me. a full on Dad
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reidgraygubler · 3 years
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dirty little secret (reid/reader)
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Title: dirty little secret
Requested: yes, was a request someone sent to @/imagining-in-the-margins, but I took it off her hands :) (alskdf that was so hot um could you do where the Reader gets spencer a collar and maybe someone accidentally finds it… okay tysm and it’s totally ok if not <3)
Couple: spencer reid/gen-neutral!reader
Category: spicey fluff
Content Warning: D/s dynamic, allusions and mentions to sex, sub!spencer, dom!reader, this does contain some kinda sexual content, no actually nudity or actual sex
Word Count: 1,678
Summary: Reader gets Spencer a super meaningful, and private, gift. All is well… Until a member of the team finds out about it.
A/N: pom posted this in her discord and said if someone had any ideas for this, we could have it. thank you all so much for the support! i really do appreciate it. check out my masterlist!
{***}{***}{**}
“Wait, wait,” I looked down at Spencer, a smile growing across my lips, “I got you something… I think you’ll want to use it right now,” I whispered before pressing my lips to his. He hummed and followed after me when I pulled away from him. I laughed before pushing him back down on the bed. “Stay there.” I pointed at him.
“What is it,” he asked as he watched me climb out of the bed. I tried to be graceful but failed when the sheet came along with me.
“Well, you see, I was just thinking… And, well,” I stopped speaking and went to a paper bag sitting by my dresser. I could hear the bed shift slightly, alerting me that Spencer had sat up.
“Should I be worried?” He asked, watching as I pulled out a piece of tissue paper. Sitting at the bottom of the bag was a thick black band of leather with an ‘O’ ring right in the middle of it. It was perfect. I think it’d suit Spencer perfectly.
“Mmm, no. I don’t think you should be worried,” I whispered as I held it up to show off what it was. “I figured it was time to get you one,” I explained as he sat up to look at it. A small smile grew across his lips once he realized what exactly it was I held. “Do you like it?”
“Like it? Of course I do!” He reached out to touch the collar. I smiled at him as he carefully took it from my hands. “When were you able to get this?”
“Earlier this week when you stayed late at the office. I told Emily I had to do some errands and well…” My words trailed off as I gestured to the collar he held in his hands. I watched as he looked down at it, his fingers trailed across the leather texture. “I wanted to get you something… And I figured that was the best thing to get,” I whispered as I took it back from him. I stood up from the bed and moved to sit behind him.
“It definitely was the best thing,” Spencer laughed as I put the collar around his neck before fastening it to him.
“How’s that?” I asked in a soft tone. My arms snaked around his body as I rested my head on his shoulder. Spencer hummed as he nodded. “You can breathe just fine?”
“Yes, Ma’am,” he whispered and kept nodding. I smiled before moving back around to sit in front of him.
“You’re my good boy, you know that,” I whispered as I lifted my hands to hold his face. The smile that sat on his lips grew as he looked at me. “And I love you.”
“I love you, too,” Spencer replied before moving to press his lips to mine. I hummed happily as I pushed my hands through his hair to hold him closer to me.
{***}{***}{***}
Of course not a week later did we get called out for a case. Whenever there was a case, Spencer and I had to be a little bit sneaky or creative with our… extra-curricular activities. Even if we were dead tired from a full day of work, we still put a little effort into doing something. Although, a scene wouldn’t last too long. We’d get to the point of nudity and then we’d just end up cuddling, which is just as good as the actual sex.
But this… This was not the case. We weren’t on a time crunch for this case. We were allowed to go to the hotel for some rest. Though, rest probably wouldn’t exactly come for me or Spencer...
“You brought it with, correct?” I asked as I kept my voice low as Spencer and I walked side by side down the hall. Spencer glanced at me, an eyebrow raised as if he was saying ‘Yes, ma’am, I did bring it. I’m not an idiot,’. But in turn, I raised my eyebrows. “Good boy,” I cooed before pressing my lips to his cheek.
“I hate you,” he muttered as he pulled the key card out from the paper sleeve.
“Oh, Baby Boy, I don’t think you do.” I smiled as I lifted a hand to ruffle his hair. He glanced at me as he unlocked the door. “I’m going to shower, you get ready for me… Okay,” I whispered once we were both inside.
“Yes, ma’am,” Spencer mumbled before pressing my lips to his. I smiled at him with a knowing glance before stepping into the bathroom.
I should have taken my time to get ready. Instead I rushed. I let my excitement of getting off make me rush. I wondered what things would’ve happened had I taken my time. Damn my excitement...
“I hope you listened to me and you’re all ready,” I spoke as I exited the bathroom.
“Yeah, yeah… Um, about that,” I could hear Spencer’s voice, but what I wished I heard was the moment of regret in his tone. It was too late as I stepped out from behind the door wearing nothing but my underwear. My eyes first went to him, then our apparent guest to our room. “Luke is here…” his eyes dropped to his lap as he spoke. I stared at him for a moment before looking down at what I was wearing.
“Hey.” Luke looked up at my face as he waved. I knew he was trying his hardest to not let his eyes linger on my body. We were all frozen at this very moment. I know I couldn’t move because of how embarrassing this moment was.
“Kinda wish I was dreaming right now… But I know that this wouldn’t be a dream… It’d be a fucking nightmare,” I lifted my finger as I spoke. I could feel my embarrassment mix with anger the longer I stood in the room wearing just my underwear. I bit my lips before taking a deep breath. “I’ll… I’ll be right back,” I pointed at Spencer then at Luke. Luke looked over at Spencer, the apparent embarrassment for all of us growing on both their faces. Although the embarrassment Luke showed wasn’t as bad as what Spencer had...
I quickly went back into the bathroom and went for one of the folded robes sitting on the towel rack. When I was covered in something more than my underwear, I stepped back into the room and noticed Spencer wearing a little more than his boxers.
“What do you want, Luke?” I asked, trying to not let my annoyance be known. But it was so incredibly hard. The moment was already ruined. When he stayed silent, I looked over at Spencer with a raised brow before looking at Luke. “Did you need something, or were you justh ere to fuck with Spencer and me? Because you’re free to leave,” I spoke as I gestured towards the door. Luke stood and walked towards me. I silently thanked God that Luke was leaving…
“Right… I’ll see you later, Spencer,” Luke stated as he turned to look at Spencer. His eyes narrowed as he looked over in Spencer’s direction for a moment too long. “Is… Is that a collar?” he asked, pointing at the object sitting on the nightstand. I looked at Spencer, then over at Luke, then, finally, back at Spencer. My eyes were wide and I could feel a blaze grow across my cheeks.
“Uh… I… Uhm…” I pulled my robe tighter around my body as I looked at Luke. I genuinely couldn’t find anything to say at the moment. But, to be fair, I’ve been dreading this exact moment since Spencer and I started doing… this. “It’s mine,” I cringed as I raised an eyebrow. Luke looked at me with a raised eyebrow.
“Sure, I believe that…” Luke walked up to me. He patted my shoulder a few times before finally actually leaving. “Listen, I know you two were about to… Ya know…” He let his words trail off as he did a set of crude actions. I rolled my eyes as I looked over at him. “But Emily needs us over at the station soon.” His voice was low as he got further away. “But I’ll just let her know you guys are… busy with other-”
“Just go, Luke… Please,” I lifted a hand to rest over my eyes. I let out a deep sigh before turning to look at him.
“Hope you guys have fun,” Luke looked at me with a smile before leaving. I rushed to the door once he was gone and locked the deadbolt and chain lock.
“Moment’s ruined,” I said to the room. Spencer laughed as I walked over to the bed. He stood from the bed before coming up to my side. “It’s gone. Ruined forever,” I said in a dramatic tone.
“It’s not ruined. We can… Try again when we’re allowed to be here for a while. Or, when we’re back home,” he reassured as he lifted a hand to my shoulder.
“Yeah, you’re right… But now all I’ll be able to think about is Luke’s idiot face when I’m fucking you.” I laughed as I looked up at him.
“Oh please, I hope you’d be able to think about me and my-”
“Pretty…”
“Sure, pretty face… Especially when you’re cumming,” he whispered before pressing his lips to mine.
“Of course!” I shouted and stepped away from him. “Even better when I’ll be riding that pretty face of yours,” I hummed before kissing him again. I really, really liked the thought of that. It was something I really needed at the moment, but it wasn’t going to happen at the moment. Emily needed us… So that moment was going to have to wait.
“I agree though. I think next time will be a little awkward… Now that Luke knows what we’re doing,” Spencer anxiously chuckled.
“Maybe next time we’ll just ask him to join us,” I said before leaving his side to get dressed again.
“Wait… Wait… What?”
{***}{***}{***}
i am currently take a break from a taglist. but if you have any questions or comments, please let me know here!
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petersthree · 3 years
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Okay so I’ve seen a lot of conflicting responses to Buddie this episode, from it being clear to people that they’re getting together, to thinking the writers have unintentionally messed things up to thinking it’s purely queerbait.
And I get the different responses, I do - tbh I’m somehow in two camps, where I simultaneously believe it’s a slowburn but I also think it’s bait. And those are two very different opinions to have and it got me thinking about why we have these different responses as fans to the possibility of a queer ship (namely two men who would presumably be bi/pan) being canon. 
While people talk about how it’s just people wanting two characters to kiss or entitled fans - sure, that’s existent in every fandom, but I think there’s also a very real fear from queer fans who don’t want to get their hopes up and I d on’t love how the conversation has shifted to calling queer fans stupid for having hope, so I kind of wanted to break it down into 3 aspects that I’ve noticed: 
How writers portray bi characters and why that makes fans hesitant to have hope
What queerbait actually means as a concept
How much “slowburn” has changed in procedurals
1. How writers portray bi characters
Something I’ve thought about a lot are the bi characters I’ve seen on TV - Darryl (CEG), Sara Lance (Arrow), Lucifer (Lucifer), just to name a few. These are great characters imo and I think you’d have a fun time watching but a thing to note is that all these characters were established as bi within the first season of their respective shows and they all fairly quickly fell into a clear romantic ship as well (with the exception of Sara as she spanned multiple shows). It may have taken time for them to say the word bisexual, but it was still clear these characters were queer fairly quickly on. You could maybe argue that Lucifer was a slowburn, but then (while it does not take away from him being bi/pan so do not use this as an excuse to be shitty about him) it’s a m/f ship which is still not the point of my post, to find a m/m or f/f ship that has that same treatment.
Some writers have done it - like for Valencia in CEG, or Petra in JTV - when they saw that fans read them this way, but trying to find those characters were few and far between, and when I looked at popular queerbait ships (whether or not they actually are queerbait) it’s usually ships where the characters are largely viewed as bisexual. A lot of times this also comes with pushback from both straight and to be frank, other queer fans as well. Straight fans don’t always see the signs that queer fans do, so to them a queer character who hasn’t been explicitly clear from the start comes out of nowhere. And what I’ve seen from certain queer fans are concerns that people aren’t appreciating the canon queer characters in a show - and I think there is a conversation to be had about that, but I don’t think the response should also be about then demanding less representation for people either. 
If we go back to 911, people talk a lot about how it has canon queer characters, which it definitely does - Michael, Hen, Josh, Karen, and David are all canonically gay/lesbian and that’s awesome, and we absolutely should talk about fans (white fans in particular) ignoring these characters. It also does not change the fact that none of these characters are bisexual and that is the representation people are looking for. Both of these things are true - these characters are often under appreciated in canon AND people deserve bisexual representation. They don’t contradict each other and to act like one negates the other does a huge disservice.
And even if a character was made bisexual in the canon text we don’t get that slowburn. This may be true for things like Leverage, or LOK, but there’s also a real fact of censorship that affected these shows and the fact that general audiences may not understand the queer text tjat the writers intended. It doesn’t make the writing any less wonderful or the ships any less poignant or beautiful or important, and there’s ofc shows like She Ra that made this more obvious (or the.....mess that was Supernatural that made it. Half true?) but these are still real things that should be acknowledged on why people are so hesitant to call it slowburn - because it’s something most queer fans haven’t SEEN DONE, because m/f ships will get that care for slowburn when it’s done but it’s not done for m/m or f/f ships in that same capacity.
2. What queerbait is
This one’s fun because I don’t think many people understand what it is, but queerbait is very dependent on the intentions of the writers/creators/etc. - which tbh can be hard to gauge, because a genuine intention that ended up not happening or someone baiting fans or someone trying to support all ships and not be rude all have very different intentions but to a fan who only sees bits and pieces of this person on social media, it can be hard to gauge.
Honestly with how much the 4th wall gets broken because of social media now I’d personally say we’ve probably moved into a different definition of queerbait - unintentional vs intentional - because we’re at a point where a show knows what ships are popular and at what level of excitement fans are for it - but that being said, there’s still a clear spectrum of intent. And imo? I don’t think 911 has that intent of queerbait - whether it’s a slowburn or they have a different vision for buddie that I (probably) won’t agree with remains to be seen, but this show usually treats its storylines with care. Are they perfect at it? No, definitely not, I definitely think that they’ve dropped the ball a few times (especially with just how many characters they have lmao), but they also clearly do their storylines with earnest and with genuine care for these characters.
Is 911 getting them together? I want to say yes. I don’t think this was always the plan, just something that they decided along the way, but I also don’t think that changes anything about the ship. A lot of people point to Tim Minear being vague about the ship, or the actors and their interpretations, but 1. We have no idea what they’ve been told about Buddie moving forward and 2. No show runner is going to spoil their show that much. 911 may be keeping quiet because they have a different plan for buddie, sure, but also maybe because they’re still figuring out how exactly they want to do this and/or they want to make this slowburn and don’t want to give it away.
3. Slowburn in procedurals
I feel like this is something that procedurals have started shying away from, but slowburns used to be very common - Bones, Castle, their ships didn’t get together for literal years, but that’s just not something that many shows do nowadays, even for m/f ships. Even things like Deckerstar will have the characters get together after ~3 seasons and explore the relationship onwards, whereas a few years ago, y ou’d pr obably be watching a sh ow and it’d take them 7 seasons to get together. My assumption for this is that shows are afraid  of getting canceled, but there’s been a pretty big shift in getting a couple together after say, 6 seasons to now getting them together about halfway through the show. I don’t think either one is bad or good - in good writers’ hands, either can be amazing - but that shift has made it so that a lot of younger fans in particular, I think, don’t fully recognize slowburn when they see it.
911 as a show tends to run pretty fast - it kind of has to with its depth of characters they have - but when they do have slower running storylines they really do make use of that as well. Bobby’s addiction is something that’s always going to be present in his character, May’s suicide attempt was brought up again front and center after 3 seasons, even Chim’s dynamic with the Lees was brought up again and it was reinforced again that they’re his family. There are certain storylines that have to be continuous and aren’t a one and done type of thing, and that includes Buck and Eddie, especially if you want to establish them as queer to a general audience who doesn’t think about these things.
And honestly, despite my fears, I think they are laying groundwork there. We have Buck learning to be more confident in his relationships, we have Eddie ready to date and learning to follow his own heart, we have Buck and Eddie both establishing that Buck is family and will always be there for Christopher. These are pretty big steps to do for a ship and we’ll obviously have to see how the show goes forward but they’ve already insinuated Eddie and Ana are breaking up, I’m sure Taylor and Buck may last a season and be over, but we do have to see what this next season brings. Do I think they’d say this? No, definitely not.
tl;dr: 
911 is a show with good viewership, but there’s always a possibility they can’t continue with their season and then their promises would feel like a lie. Or they may still be hammering out the details as this season hasn’t been written. Or they may just simply not want to spoil their show,  or they don’t want people criticizing a story before it’s finished, all of these could be reasons. The showrunners, writers, actors, ultimately they owe nothing to us as a fandom to potentially spoil their series, or do something, change it or their schedule for it, and get accused of bait. 
But it also doesn’t change why fans are wary of this storyline either, and I wish people would have more nuance and compassion for fans who are worried about queerbait (whether they think it’s not queerbait and dislike people worrying about it or if they do and are calling people idiots for believing it). There’s a lot of reasons why fans are wary and don’t want to have hope, and it’s not necessarily about 911 specifically as it is a pattern of writing seen in other pieces that have fans worried. These things can all coexist and I wish we as fandom in general could acknowledge that, because pretending that they don’t and criticizing each other/people’s intentions or knowledge when they have certain expectations also doesn’t do much to help.
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robininthelabyrinth · 4 years
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If you're still taking prompts, what about something where LXC discovered that JGY had altered the song of Clarity/Cleansing, before NMJ died? Is JGY able to convince him it was a misunderstanding, or does he realize the betrayal?
sequel to this
“This is the worst kidnapping ever,” Nie Huaisang moaned.
Lan Xichen had given up on not smiling about ten complaints ago. “You’re doing very well,” he said.
“I am not.”
“You got me to come with you to the Unclean Realm, didn’t you?”
“You’re the one that flew us here.”
“Well, I’m better at flying on a sword than you are. Still, you did get me here. Against my will, even.”
“You said you thought it was a bad idea,” Nie Huaisang said gloomily. “Twice. And then you stopped protesting.”
Lan Xichen shrugged. “I still think it’s more likely that you remembered the song wrong.”
“And I’m telling you that I am far too incompetent to accidentally come up with a variation that causes the exact opposite effect to what it’s meant to do,” Nie Huaisang said stubbornly. “We’ll go to the room and listen and then you’ll see.”
“But there’s no need to sneak around – we could just ask A-Yao to pay it for us, and we’ll be able to see –”
“No! This is my honor at stake here, er-ge. I’m telling you: if you’re there listening, there’s no way san-ge won’t worry about doing it perfectly right, and that means he won’t make any mistakes. You have to hear him when he’s not thinking about it.”
Lan Xichen’s hand was covering his mouth and had been ever since Nie Huaisang had said the word ‘honor’ which – fair. It wasn’t exactly Nie Huaisang’s concern the majority of the time.
Nie Huaisang only kept invoking it because every time he did, it made Lan Xichen giggle-snort in such an embarrassing way that he entirely forgot that he’d been opposed to this little trip.
Kidnapping.
Whatever. No one would ever believe he could successfully kidnap anyone, anyway, and they were probably right.
“Here, er-ge, come through this way,” he instructed Lan Xichen, pushing open a wall.
“Should you be showing this to me?” Lan Xichen asked, following him in. “It’s not a family secret, is it?”
“Only in the most technical of senses?” Nie Huaisang hazarded.
“Huaisang…”
“Listen, if da-ge ever wanted to actually keep a family secret, he just wouldn’t tell me about it,” Nie Huaisang pointed out. “It’s a good system, and it works for us both.”
Lan Xichen was quiet for a moment. “What if there was a secret you had to know,” he finally said. “And he didn’t have a choice but to tell you –”
Nie Huaisang didn’t want to talk about the saber spirits, if only because his brother was much happier thinking he was ignorant of the whole thing.
“Shhhh, we’re almost there. San-ge should be getting started right around this time –”
Sure enough, by the time they arrived, Jin Guangyao was halfway through the opening chords. Lan Xichen settled down in the chair that Nie Huaisang had brought for himself, head tilted to the side to better listen, a soft smile on his face.
That smile slowly faded as the song went on, even though they hadn’t even gotten to the relevant piece yet.
Nie Huaisang really wanted to know why, but he couldn’t ask without giving away their presence – something he’d overlooked. If only he’d brought paper and ink! Then they’d be able to pass notes.
Or possibly he should really give in to his brother’s urging and learn some hand-signs for communication purposes…
Jin Guangyao finally got to the part of the song Nie Huaisang and Lan Xichen had been arguing about, and hah! Nie Huaisang had told him that he’d remembered correctly –
“Er-ge?” he asked, forgetting himself when Lan Xichen abruptly stood up and strode out of the room. “What –”
He ran after him, but he wasn’t fast enough to catch up before Lan Xichen burst into the room where Nie Mingjue was listening to the music.
“– are you doing, A-Yao?!” Lan Xichen was shouting. Actually shouting, which – wow. Lan Xichen never raised his voice; prior to this very moment, Nie Huaisang had honestly believed that his brother had laid claim to all three sworn brothers’ ability to speak at a high volume. “No spiritual power in the beneficial part, full power in the erroneous section –”
Jin Guangyao’s eyes were wide and frightened. “Er-ge, no, you don’t understand –”
“I don’t! A-Yao, why…?”
“I didn’t want to!” he shouted, his eyes darting quickly from side to side the way Nie Huaisang’s did when he was trying to come up with a good lie on the spot. “I didn’t – my father made me –”
“What exactly is going on?” Nie Mingjue said, rubbing his temples; he’d been meditating while listening to the music, and breaking the trance so abruptly had disoriented him. “And – Xichen. When did you even get here? And why are you here?”
Nie Huaisang stopped right before entering the door and abruptly reversed his steps as quickly as he could, even picking up his robes so he could better run away before –
“Huaisang!”
Shit.
Time to hide.
Nie Huaisang was never especially good at hiding; it wasn’t long before his brother had found him and picked him up by the collar – he felt and probably looked like a kitten being grabbed by the scruff of its neck – and dragged him back to the room, grumbling as he did.
Jin Guangyao was sobbing into Lan Xichen’s shoulder, and Lan Xichen looked upset.
“What happened?” Nie Huaisang asked.
“An excellent question,” Nie Mingjue said, and his face was black with anger, but that was pretty typical for him these days. “What was all that yelling about?”
Silence but for the sobbing.
“There was something wrong with the song,” Nie Huaisang volunteered, since no one else seemed like they were going to. “If you listen too closely, it has a negative effect rather than a positive effect. You see, I was eavesdropping and started coughing up blood –”
“You were what?! Have you –”
“The doctor said it’d be fine with some meditation!”
“Then you should go meditate!”
“Who says I haven’t?” Nie Huaisang protested, for which he got bodily lifted up and shaken like a disobedient puppy which…again, fair. “Okay, okay, I will, I will, I promise! But it doesn’t change the fact that he was trying to kill you!”
Nie Mingjue apparently hadn’t put that together yet and dropped Nie Huaisang like a sack of potatoes. “He was what?!”
“Not kill!” Jin Guangyao said immediately. “It was only supposed to disable you – to distract you –”
“Coughing up blood isn’t usually a symptom of distraction,” Nie Huaisang pointed out from the floor, a little skeptical. 
Jin Guangyao wasn’t stupid – even when he’d been Meng Yao, he had always been very smart, very quick to pick things up, to put things together. How could he not know what would happen if he played music designed to destabilize instead of stabilize to a man already prone to qi deviations?
No, it was definitely a murder attempt. It might not have been much of one, but he was going to have to pay.
“You were using it to attack me?” Nie Mingjue asked, his voice low; anyone who didn’t know him might think he was bubbling over with anger – and he was, but to anyone who did know him it was clear that he was hurt. “After all the oaths we swore –”
“It’s a bit more complicated than that,” Lan Xichen said.
Nie Mingjue snorted and turned his face away. “You always defend him.”
“I know that, but it’s different this time, I swear,” Lan Xichen said, and shook his head, his expression pained. “I believe him when he says he was acting under duress.”
“Er-ge…” Jin Guangyao said tearfully, his eyes starting to curve.
Nie Huaisang considered throwing his fan at him. Or possibly at Lan Xichen.
“But the consequences of his actions could have been serious, and that he did not consult us first – either of us – is indicative,” Lan Xichen continued, not looking at him. “Who knows what could have happened if I hadn’t listened to Huaisang’s wild story and even more wild idea of dragging me here?”
Nie Huaisang really wished Lan Xichen would stop giving him credit. Especially credit that might make his brother angry at his actions.
“The answer to that seems clear enough: he wouldn’t have repented even if I were in my grave,” Nie Mingjue said, crossing his arms; disappointment was writ large throughout his features. “Xichen –”
“You’re right, da-ge; and you’ve been right all along,” Lan Xichen said simply, and Jin Guangyao turned to him with an expression of shock. “Don’t look at me like that, A-Yao – we’re your sworn brothers. Even if your father was forcing you, you should never have lifted a hand against da-ge in violation of our oath.”
“But – I told you – my father threatened –”
“And I believe you, A-Yao, I do,” Lan Xichen said, sincerely, reaching out to put a hand on Jin Guangyao’s shoulder. “I’ve always believed you have reasons for everything you do, that the world has misunderstood you. But da-ge is right, too: I don’t know when or how, but somewhere you turned down a wrong path. Whether you thought what you were doing was justified or not, whatever reason there was to your actions, in the end you nearly killed da-ge..! That would have been unforgivable. For some things, it doesn’t matter what types of reasons you might have had.”
“I’m glad we agree on that,” Nie Mingjue said grimly.
“Da-ge swore to be your elder brother because he believed you needed instruction,” Lan Xichen said. “I thought he was being overly harsh with his assessment of you, but I realize now that he was right. We are your brothers; we will help you.”
“Help me how?” Jin Guangyao asked, his voice quavering. “What can the two of you do, one in Gusu and one in Qinghe, when I’m alone in Lanling and suffering? When my life is under threat, when my wife is under threat of even worse..? I have already accepted the name my father gave me, the position he has forced me into; I cannot disobey him without losing everything - what can I do?”
“It’s not what you can do, you – you idiot,” Nie Mingjue snapped. “We swore brotherhood. It’s what we can do.”
“We’ll need to consider the matter carefully,” Lan Xichen agreed. “Da-ge, come with me; I’ll play Clarity for you myself to help calm you, and then we will see about what must be done – both about A-Yao’s behavior, and about his father’s.”
Lan Xichen was probably the only person in the world who had the strength to pull open Nie Mingjue’s clenched fist, and the daring to do so; he led him away, still grumbling and shooting glares back towards where Jin Guangyao was standing.
Jin Guangyao in turn was left behind, gaping at the retreating backs of his two sworn brothers. In the end, he turned to look at Nie Huaisang as if he could offer some explanation.
“If you even think about doing anything to harm da-ge again, no matter what the reason, no matter how small, I will find your mother’s corpse and feed it to wild dogs,” Nie Huaisang told him with a bright smile. “And then you as well. In very small pieces. Are we clear?”
Jin Guangyao’s eyebrows went up, probably because he of all people could tell when Nie Huaisang was being serious, as he so rarely was.
His brother and er-ge might like Jin Guangyao enough to want to keep him around - Nie Huaisang couldn’t blame them, he rather liked the man too when he wasn’t trying to murder Nie Huaisang’s only living relative - but Nie Huaisang was going to make sure that he didn’t make the same mistake a second time.
He was going to make him pay - and then keep paying. 
“Anyway, you’d better come with me to help me find my saber,” Nie Huaisang said, even though he really didn’t want to. “Da-ge will start yelling soon enough; he hates it when I don’t have it around when there’s a war on.”
“But the war is over,” Jin Guangyao said.
“The Sunshot Campaign is over, yes,” Nie Huaisang agreed. “But the Jin sect leader just tried to assassinate the Nie sect leader, after having forced his son to participate against his own sworn oaths...did you really not realize that your brothers would go to war for you?”
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leahseclipse · 3 years
Text
Thnks fr th Mmrs - (Event Fic)
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++
Pairing: Spencer Reid x fem!reader
Warnings: Not that I am aware of. (Please let me know if something should be added later on.)
Summary: Just two idiots in love, but none of them have the guts to say it. Eventually one of them will do it, a bit late tho- but, better now than never.
A/N: HELLO!! Here I am, roughly one month after my last fic, this work got all of us busy, which lead to a bit of panic on the last days, but (I think) we made it all in one piece.
This work is part of the Fic Swap organized by @imagining-in-the-margins, with the help of @sunlight-moonrise! I’ve had the opportunity to write for @spencer-reid-in-a-pool- which is AAAAAAAAAAAAAAA, I love her so so so so much. This was awesome to do. (And yeah, for those who got the ref, the title is from one of fob's songs. I had NO other idea and found this one cool.)
Word Count: 8.7k
++
        As much as I wished for it not to haunt me another day— I still had this one problem, written into my brain with bright red ink, unwashable, as it seemed.
I hated to recall that it still remained there, as if it was an unsolved case that someone would have put into archives and brought back up when they were clearing out the shelves.
Unfortunately, it didn’t get lost, I just forgot it was there, and my brain had the wonderful idea of presenting it back to me.
I appreciate it. That was— quite nice.
It wasn’t that I hated it, I just didn’t like the thought of having to deal with it at barely eight in the morning, just before actually dealing with the problem itself— in person.
That problem—couldn’t be someone else but the only one Spencer Reid, the resident genius of the team, or the baby sibling for some of my co-workers.
Once again, I do not dislike him, on the contrary, he’s one the closest person I have in my life to this day, I wouldn’t imagine my life without him.
The problem is mainly directed towards the love, sentimental kind of problem.
Especially when the concerned person isn’t aware of it.
It gets complicated when you can’t even hide your feelings when they’re near.
I get all nervous and weird when he’s in sight, the proofs are right there.
 I remember them all, from the time I broke a mug when I tried to reach it as he was talking or when I almost fell down the stairs when he came in to work one day, looking like a literal god— and wasn’t even aware of it, the list keeps going on for miles.
And I’m still there, sitting with my feelings, waiting for something to happen.
I’m not even sure that he feels the same way. 
I’m here, admiring him, thinking about what could happen if I could resolve myself to talk about it, if he felt the same way, but strangely and for an unknown reason; I can’t.
This issue has been happening all week, the last one, and probably the whole month.
It took me time to figure it out myself.
I only saw us as two good friends at first; we’d hang out together, had the same hobbies, have long conversations without caring about the time, to the point that people would think that we were together.
But I guess that I never realized that he could be more than just a good friend.
And as it couldn’t be more complicated, in these cases, if none out of the two dares to make a move, or talk, it won’t go much further.
Which is exactly what’s been happening at this moment..
I’ve been liking him for a while now, and my brain doesn’t know to do anything else but attack me with as many questions they can come up with at the same time whenever I dare to think about it. 
What if he does like me, but only as a friend? 
Is it going to be awkward between us?
Am I going to lose my friendship with him because of that?
What if he says no? 
What am I left with? My stupid feelings that will keep wandering around, reminding me of my love failure?
If all of these are the things waiting for me till I decide to stop bottling it up, I better have to solve that, soon.
But at the same time, if I take a glance at the negative side, I’m just thinking that it’d be better to keep our friendship as it is, and just pretend as if he’s only a good friend I’m quite close with, not a possible lover.
Since when did I allow myself to see him as that? I wasn’t doing that before.
What caused my feelings to suddenly appear?
He’s always been nice to me, as with everyone else he’s close with, and as far as I’m aware of it, no one’s been in my situation.
If it ever happened, I’m sure that it was purely platonic and didn’t go as far as I’m at.
It’s as bad as a math problem.
Kind of ironic, considering I both suck at figuring out how to say I love someone, deal with feelings, all that love stuff; and at maths.
But, as I think about it further, he didn’t do anything to keep me from crushing on him either, even if he probably didn’t do it because he liked me.
There’s a 50% possibility.
He’d take me in his arms to reassure me, help me with paperwork when I was tired, offer to drive me home, re-filled my mug for me, act close, and by close- not as close as he is with the others.
A different kind of close.
So...who wouldn’t think that way, that he could like me?
He could possibly like me, but about that, I don’t have a single clue to know if he really does.
I do want to try to ask him, in one way or another, but the thing is that , if he doesn’t like me, what is going to happen next? 
Awkward silence? 
Is he going to try to reject me as nicely as possible to not hurt my feelings?
It could be really nice if anything would help me to make all of this mess any clearer.
I don’t want to end up drawing away from him because I can’t help but be in love with him whenever I look at him, but at the same time, I can’t say that I am, in case he’s not in love with me.
Spencer’s one of the most important people in my life; I wouldn’t imagine a day where I wouldn’t talk to him, and even if we’re busy, I try to say hi to him, at least.
I can’t quite imagine not having him ramble about his favorite subject, happy as hell because I’m interested, listening to him, and even participating in it.
I don’t want all of this to stop because of a mistake I could cause.
So, this week will be the one.
I’ll somehow resolve myself to bring up the subject.
I’m sure he’ll understand, he knows me better than anyone else in the whole team, has always been there when I needed someone, he’s always listened when I needed to talk, he helped me out with a lot of issues.
He’s always been understanding, whether the issue would concern him or not, so this shouldn’t be a big problem.
It’ll be fine.
I just have to relax sometimes.
I’m stressing out too much, and I’m pretty sure that he doesn’t stress that much about that, or any subject he might think about.
I even wonder if Spencer already noticed the changes in my behavior and is just waiting for me to talk about it because he doesn’t dare to talk about it as well.
He could feel the same way.
He could.
There’s a chance, a good one, I guess.
It can end well, and I have to keep thinking about the good outcome.
There’s no way he’d react badly, I know him,— Spencer is not the kind of guy to do that, in general.
I trust him on that.
So, today...or later, will be the right one.
It’ll go well.
It’ll be win or lose, basically.
I sighed as I looked at myself for the hundredth time for the past ten minutes, finally resolving myself to leave the apartment before I’d end up being late.
Which isn’t something I’d like to happen.
My ‘love problem’ counts as at least ten problems more than getting yelled at by a superior (if I’m not overreacting, at least) so I don’t really need that to happen, on top of that.
++
I have never been delighted to walk into the office, only to find paperwork from last week waiting for me.
We usually had the whole ‘Garcia runs into the office and throws papers at us before we gather in the conference room and immediately go on a jet at whatever unpleasant hour’ or just purely lazy days where none of us have the strength for any kind of celebration.
But today happened to be a calm one, we just had to do whatever task we had left to do before we can allow ourselves to go back home to either sleep all day to fix our long broken sleep schedule, or do whatever event we might come with, such as dates or trying to find a guy in a party, for some of us.
It’s nice that we don’t have to worry about when we’ll be able to come back to work, we just go in, do our task and go home at whatever hour, a decent one.
I’d say that this happened to be more than convenient -in a way- for Spencer and I.
More time for talking, hanging out together, mostly what we do when not on an active case.
If I’m not mistaken, I think that I may have heard one of them saying that we were dating because of how frequently we’d be found together.
I did want to say we were dating as a joke, but I was afraid that it’d end up being awkward after that if- as said earlier when I woke up-, he didn’t feel the same.
But at the same time, whether he feels the same way or not, I don’t really have a reason to think about that as Spencer wouldn’t react badly.
Knowing him, he’d probably play along.
At my arrival at the bureau; everyone was scattered a bit around; which wasn’t to be seen on a case day, usually.
We just had to hope we wouldn't have a surprise case to ruin it all.
As I greeted everyone before settling at my desk, I noticed one person missing.
Spencer wasn't usually late, so...I didn't really know what might make him late.
Knowing him, he may have woken up late because he had watched tv till 2AM, and ran to the coffee shop to not look dead at his arrival. 
Yep, that’s him.
Let’s hope he won’t break a bone when he’s going to attempt to run to not be late, it’s...yeah.
So, don’t rush Spencer, it’s calm as hell here, you don’t need a trip to the ER so soon in the morning.
“Oh, hey!”
I turned around to be faced with Spencer, papers in hand. “When did you get there? I didn’t see you when I arrived like...five minutes ago. I thought you weren’t here yet.”
“Oh, I was doing copies. I’m sorry if I worried you, I should have sent a text.”
“No- It’s okay, don’t worry. You’re here...now.”
“Yeah, I’m here. Do you have a lot of paperwork? Figured out we could talk in between.” He asked.
“No, I don’t have a lot, and...sure, I could use a talk- I mean uh...talk, yeah.”
That was a shitty save.
“I’m glad, I didn't want to bother you if you were busy.”
“Even if my whole desk was covered in papers, you know I’d always find a minute to talk. I get easily distracted.”
Please don’t take it the ‘love’ way, or just...don’t think I get distracted by you in a ‘not-a-friend’ way— gosh, I’m not gonna be able to save it with whatever sentence.
“You know that’s the same for me. I always have a hundred subjects popping up just when I try to focus.”
“Yeah, same. It’s a bit...annoying.” 
“Depends. It’s not really when you’re in them.” Spencer admitted.
Is this an attempt at killing me right on the spot? You’re really going to kill me by being so damn nice.
“Oh...really? I didn’t know.”
That was shit.
“Well uh...now you do that it’s not always annoying up there and that’s your part of the non-bothering stuff.” He pointed out.
“That’s the- same for you, yeah.” I answered, slightly nervous.
“Didn’t know we had that too in common, that’s funny.”
Not so sure about the other detail you don’t know about-
“We learn new stuff everyday at least. I guess it’s...useful to know? I don’t know.” I chuckled.
“Yeah, there’s not much to do with that information, it’s more of a...fact thing-y. You know I like that stuff.”
I raised my eyebrow. “Who doesn’t?”
“Yeah, everyone does at this point, but that’s a quarter of what they know, I think that you’re the only one that knows the most about me, not everyone.”
You have to stop before I drop dead on the floor right now.
“I have to remind you that it’s kind of the same for you.”
“People are definitely thinking we’re together at this point, we’re pretty close so they have every right to believe that.”
“Does it...bother you?”
“Oh, no, not really. You’re a pretty girl so that’s kind of...nice that they think that a nerd like me could be in a relationship with you.”
Okay, I just stopped functioning right now.
What am I supposed to even say? You’re a literal god, you’re handsome as HELL- 
“Oh- you’re uh- good looking so, that’s...normal I guess.”
“You think so?” He asked, unsure.
Oh, please. Tell me you’re kidding, it’s impossible that no one hasn’t told you of your AMAZING handsomeness, the fact that you’re amazingly-
Yeah, we got it y/n. 
“Yeah, really.” I confirmed.
“Thanks, I guess.”
“No problem, Spence.” I said, as we both went to our respective tasks.
At least I avoided a heart attack, that’s what matters, he just has to stop being so cute and pretty, all the time because I’m gonna have trouble acting like I’m not in fucking love with him if he keeps going.
Just- breathe, and focus on your work. 
We’re gonna talk together, and it’s gonna be okay.
There’s no reason that a problem would occur, I just had a talk with him, and it went...almost perfectly smooth. 
The ‘almost’ part is when I almost had a heart attack, which isn’t the first I’ve had with him, and won’t be the last.
If he would just stop being so handsome all of the time.
I sighed, reading the paper all over again as I lost focus...again.
As I was reading, my pen in hand and the tip of it slightly touching the sheet— I didn’t even realize that I had been scribbling on the paper, as if I was in middle school and bored in class all over again.
It was kind of….fun. 
I didn’t get to do that everyday, so I’d say that it was diversifying compared to any other stressful day where these...doodles wouldn't even happen or to be thought about because of the amount and importance of the work.
I still think about him, even when I’m busy as hell though.
He’s always in my thoughts, I don't know how he does it because I’m pretty sure I don’t do that with anyone else in the bureau. 
Is that kind of over thinking considered as an obsession or not at this point? I’m not quite sure of it anymore, but...it's not "psychopath, stalker-like", he's just an important person that matters to me.
I just really like him, that’s all.
He also told me that I tend to be in his mind often, so...I guess we're even.
I guess so.
“Hey, is everything...okay? You’ve been staring blankly for a...while. Is that my-” He started to point out.
I panicked, quickly hiding the papers with other ones. “What? Oh, uh...I was-” I blurted out. “...thinking.”
“You’ll probably have to...print out new ones. I don't think Hotch will accept papers with scribbles, you know. I can print out some copies for you, if you want?”
“No- It’s fine, I can go, thanks for asking! It’s nice of you but uh- I’m going.” I answered, as I abruptly clicked back on the software to print out copies, and walked to the breakroom after...awkwardly waving.
Why the hell was I scribbling down his name like I was...a middle schooler having a crush on her classmate?
I have no idea why, but this was...kind of embarrassing at the moment.
I seriously have to stop worrying about each thing that happens.
He probably didn’t care as much as I did.
I shook my head as I arrived in the breakroom, now empty as Luke and Matt had previously left from what I saw a bit ago when I looked in that direction.
I didn’t mind, at least I’d avoid embarrassment because of how weird my expression probably looks.
So, everyone, please don’t come now, wait until I pick up my papers, that’d be more than appreciated.
++
Should I call Spencer?
I don’t want to be a bother, I know he enjoys spending time alone off work.
Would he be happy to hear me?
I don’t know.
I’ll call him later, if I’m settled on it.
I’ve been pacing in that small apartment of mine for at least the last couple of minutes, or maybe an hour, I don’t have the habit of noting the duration of my nonsense usually.
I don’t even know why I’m pacing again and again just to decide about a call.
I’m sure he doesn’t even do that.
Does that mean it makes me...crazy?
Not necessarily.
It could.
Maybe.
I’ll just- whatever.
Do something useful like cleaning your apartment and answering emails, and you’ll see if you have a minute to spare to call Spencer.
That works that way.
See, you can stop stressing.
Just do another task to distract yourself and have less things to worry about, so it’ll be easier to decide about the ‘call matter’ thingy.
++
I did not call him, if that’s what anyone wondered.
The only call I made was with Penelope, after she called me numerous times to ask me about the books we’ve been yelling about for a few weeks.
I had supposed she had also wanted to talk about Spencer, as the whole office had been conspiring about our possible relationship.
But, she held it off, and cut the call after saying ‘I better hang up or I’ll be talking about the book for another decade’.
Kind of looks like me and my thoughts with Spencer.
I hope I’ll get to let all of those out, if we ever have the chance to have a talk about the feelings matter.
I never had that many ‘things matters’, I’m even inventing some new words along the way.
Crazy what love can do, if that’s what started it.
I can’t recall that either, I’ve been more focusing on the matter itself than the name of it.
Love will do, I guess.
++
“What are you up to?” I asked, peering over Spencer’s desk.”
“Well, technically...nothing new. I’ve been reading that for the past week, I tend to do that with books I really like.” He closed it, looking at me. “Is that weird?”
“Not at all. I’m doing the same with shows and movies, and even- who cares if it’s weird? If we like doing that, we don’t have to worry about what others might think about it.”
“You’re right, I shouldn’t worry that much.”
“I worry about small things too, you’re not alone on the ride.” I pointed out, sitting back at my desk.
“Glad to know I have someone I’m sure won’t judge on that.”
“I would never judge you on anything, well- aside from the ‘sugar’ matter we’ve been having for a while, nothing else.”
“You’ll be debating about it for a while then. I’m not about to stop having my ‘sugar with my coffee’, as Morgan says.”
“The amount you put in it is disgusting.”
“Not to me.”
“Well it is to me, and probably everyone else. How do you not get sick?”
“No idea. I’ve been doing that for years and never had problems of any kind. Maybe you’re all the ones that are weird.”
“Hey! You’re weird too. If you wouldn’t be, I wouldn’t be talking with you.”
“I’m less weird than you, at least.”
“Pff. Just get back to work, weirdo.”
I love you, weird genius.
++
No, I didn’t get to talk to him about the…’love matter thingy’.
We did spend a lot of time together but I didn’t get the nerve to find a way to ask, instead of going straight to the thing.
I have no idea if I was imagining things or if it was real but...he did look a lot like me, and...his look wasn’t the kind of look you’d give a friend.
He also seemed...nervous, I guess?
Would it be wrong for me to think that he could possibly like me, as well?
That’s better than always thinking he doesn’t, a little hope doesn’t hurt, it’s always nice to think on the bright side for once.
Maybe I could be right.
I kind of hope I am.
++
I didn’t think till now that it would be such a relief to see my whole desk cleared from most of the papers.
 I’ve turned in most of my reports- and that kind of sounds like I’m talking as if I’m in school and turning in assignments at the end of the day to be honest.
All of the papers that laid around were gone, and it kind of seemed like the work day had reached its end.
It kind of was a nice day, it’s nice to have days like that from time to time to take a break from all of the stress and shit from cases.
As I had gathered back all of my stuff, and all that was in mind was to walk out of here and rush to my apartment.
Just as I turned around, Spencer was standing in front of me; I didn’t even see him come by.
“You- gosh, you really scared me. Speak up next time.” I said, nervously laughing.
“Sorry, I didn’t mean to- Did you uh...get hurt?”
“No, I didn’t have- get anything. I’m okay, thanks- Are you going home too?”
“Yeah, yeah, I am and...I also-”
“You also…?”
“I wanted to talk to you...again, about something.”
I feel like that ‘something’ might be the ‘something’ I’ve been wanting to talk to you about for weeks.
“Uh, go ahead, I guess. I can’t really start the conversation as I have no idea what it’s about…”
“Okay, uh...I’ve been uh, wanting to ask, for a while, if you wanted to hang out, sometimes. I know we do, pretty often, but I’d be like...hanging out together, maybe dinner...” He looked elsewhere, searching for his words.
“...you mean a date? Is that...what you want to say?”
“Yeah, that! I just- I thought I’d be weird to ask you, just like that. I mean...it’s kind of random and I thought that- you understood the thing.”
Please, that’s what I’ve been thinking about for a decade, how could I not understand that-
“It’s not weird, I’m just...surprised?”
“Oh, I’m- glad? I just...didn’t think you’d accept and...I was kind of afraid that I’d make a fool of myself by asking you that.”
“Wait a minute though-  You’re really asking me out, right now? I’m not making fun of you, it’s just still...wow.”
I just thought you would never do it, or that I’d be the one asking and receiving a negative answer.
“I swear that I’m not. I’d never joke about that, especially to you, and since I’ve been thinking about it for a while. I guess I was afraid of the answer.”
“Please don’t laugh, or anything but...kind of the same thing was happening to me, about you.”
“So...we’ve been thinking about it, and none of us knew? Wow, that’s...I didn’t think that was happening all this time.”
“Seems so.”
“Have you been uh...thinking about it for a while, like me?”
“Kind of...yeah. I’ve...liked you for a while but, didn’t think you’d be interested. I’ve had a lot of male friends that were acting like you, but weren’t interested in me, so I thought...that was the case.” I admitted.
“You have no idea how much I appreciate you, and not only in a friendly way. I’ve liked you for a bit, and as I said, I was afraid of what you’d say, so...I told myself that waiting for the right moment would be better.”
“....yeah, same. I don’t think we’d ever get to have a conversation about it but- did you uh...resolved yourself to do it because of…”
“..the paper thing? Yeah, and no. It’s been on my mind for a bit. I just thought this would...kind of- be the right moment. I know that it's not the ideal place, but I just thought, it’s now or never.”
“At least...it’s cleared out?” I asked.
“Yeah, it is. I’m glad we know about...the feelings stuff and all.”
“You have no idea how I am. This is- wow, sorry, this was kind of sudden, and I...didn’t think that’d happen. Just this morning I thought about talking about it somewhere this week and now- did you read my expression or something and guessed or…? Because just as I thought about it, you talked to me.” I explained.
“I guess so. I’ve been thinking about it for a bit, and...I didn’t want to wait more as I wouldn’t have ever talked, as for you.”
“Would you have waited another week for me to tell it or would you have stepped in before?”
“I think it would have depended on where we would be. Because, if we were outside, I think that I would have preferred something nicer than a bureau, you know. Even if I like it, to be honest. But, I wouldn’t say it’s the best setup to ask someone on a date?”
I shrugged. “Not the best, but, it’s better than- I don’t know...a grocery store or something?” 
“Yeah- it’s better.”
“At least you’ll get a better shot at asking me out on another date after that one.”
“I’ll definitely do better.”
“I trust you on that one. But- I want to home right now though, I kind of miss my couch...and my fridge, maybe.”
“I’m with you on both ones- after you.” Spencer offered, as the elevator opened, stepping in after me. 
“Be careful with the whole gentlemen thing, you’re gonna have to bring me coffee everyday soon.”
“I’m already doing that with mine, bringing yours won’t hurt. You’ll probably have a bill at the end of each month.”
“In your dreams, Reid.”
++
The care that had been put by Spencer on our first date was truly amazing.
It looked like he planned it months ago, it could almost be seen as a kind of proposal if someone else would see it.
He insisted on picking me up himself, did not tell me a single thing about where we were going till we were there, which was weird...but made it exciting and fun.
I have to say that I was...quite nervous too.
I never even thought that I’d be here, on a literal date with Spencer Reid himself; I’ve had dreams about it, thought about it, but never thought it’d actually happen.
None of this was a joke, he was more than serious about it.
I don’t think that even one thought I had looked like this moment, he insisted for it to be an awesome first date we’d both remember for a while, and I wish it could have lasted longer.
Time went by, way too fast that when we both saw the time, it was already 10PM.
As we could have work, and that sleeping early would be convenient if we happen to be called in early, we decided to end the night there, even if none of us really wanted to.
“We should stay in next time. That way we won’t be tired, you know. It’s kind of late.” Spencer pointed out, as we walked to my place.
“You sure? It’s gonna be Grey’s Anatomy or whatever cheesy tv show I watch for the night.”
“I don’t mind. I’ll probably try to point out the mistakes, it’ll be like...a game night you know.”
“Oh, yeah. It could. But, I think I’m gonna be the one to lose as the only ‘medical knowledge’ I have from that show is from that show. And, as Google isn’t to be trusted, I’m gonna lose.”
“It could also include a...spot cheesy moments thing.”
“Season one is full of it. We’re gonna have a lot to talk about. I would have proposed Star Trek but apparently, there’s not much scientific errors, it’s pretty accurate from what I heard. We could settle on Doctor Who if we can’t decide.”
“Would you like it though? You told me you don’t watch it usually.”
“You could tell me about it, it could be good. We could also try Supernatural, it’s kind of mystery stuff with paranormal stuff?”
“Ghosts, spirit and the whole heaven/hell thing?”
“Yeah, there’s a lot going on. And...it's kind of in the title. I’d have to warn you though, I’m kind of obsessed with the main leads, so don't get jealous or something.”
“Don’t worry, I won’t judge you. It’s a judgement free-zone.”
You raised your eyebrows, staying silent for a split second.“...you judged me when I didn’t add any sugar in my coffee.”
“No, I didn’t.”
“Spencer, please- you looked at me weirdly, as if I committed a crime.” 
“Not in a mean way- I just put a ton, so, seeing someone putting none was weird.” He admitted.
“I’m judging you on that then. You’re putting way too much in that. It’s sugar with liquid at this point, it's melted candy.”
“I hate the strong taste.”
“Then drink tea.” I proposed.
“It’s too light.”
“Just end up drinking water.” I said, running out of ideas.
“No, I prefer to stay with my sugar with liquid.”
As you wish.” I agreed, as we came to a stop.
“So...we’re there.”
“Yep, we are. I’ll see you tomorrow?” I asked.
“Yeah, tomorrow.” Spencer repeated, coming forward to plant a kiss on my cheek. “Have a good night.”
“Spencer, you missed. You kissed my cheek.”
“Oh I- are you fine with it…?”
“Just kiss me, Reid.” I replied back, while one of his came on my left cheek, the other laying on my waist as he stepped forward once again, kissing me on the lips.
All of it was perfect.
It was only the two of us, the world around us had froze.
My arms ended up winding up around his neck as he brought me close, his warmth, smell invading my emotions, my whole thoughts.
I had totally forgotten about everything else, he was the center of my attention, I couldn’t allow myself to go on another track when he happened to be near me, this close.
Never have I thought that months ago, as I was crushing on a man I thought wouldn’t like me, would actually like me, and kiss me.
We were literally starting to date.
This better be real, I better not be in a coma after whatever accident I might have had.
Because this— this is way better than a dream, than I imagined.
I would be so mad if that wouldn’t end up to be real— but it is.
All of the things I’d feel, whether it was him, his hand on my cheek radiating his warmth on me, his breath, his lips slotting against mine, his arm enlacing my waist, the grip on my waist gentle, the feeling of the fabric of his jacket against my fingers, or even my own feelings, all of the memories, thoughts floating around, there was just way too many things to describe, but I could still list them all of a sudden if I were to be asked about the aftermath of it.
I couldn’t wish for a better moment like this.
I think that the fact that this moment was probably totally unexpected made it even more special for the two of us.
Neither of us will forget, ever.
This moment totally replaced the message written in bright red ink that reminded me that I still had these feelings laying around that I kept pushing away by fear of rejection.
The rejection seemed long gone, for me, he happened to be having similar feelings, probably fearing a negative event as well.
Turns out nothing bad happened for the both of us.
Only our truest desires, what we wished for but didn’t dare to as the bad ones were stronger.
The bad pushed the joy we could have really lived if the feelings were mutual.
And now, it is.
We both know that the other likes us, that the bad is long gone behind us.
I could tell that, from my side, because of this moment.
I didn’t want it to stop, ever.
I wished to live this kind of event that could give the chance for all of these amazing feelings to fill my whole mind.
No more fear, pain, sadness, just calm, reassuring, soothing feelings.
The ones that make you feel that nothing can hurt you anymore, that make you feel safe, happy, this is all I’ve ever wanted.
I didn’t even count how many minutes that lasted, I was too focused on...the wonderful person in front of me and all the feelings that came with it.
It was quite the overwhelming one, and for once, it wasn’t an unpleasant overwhelming, it made me feel happy.
Mostly because I’d never thought feelings could be so deep, numerous, amazing to think about, and then, even more happy feelings would pop up again, and again.
I’d almost forgotten we were still in front of my building, and that it was...really late.
I almost think that I didn’t remember the world had kept moving, that people walked by to see two people making out in the street.
I guess I sort of apologize, but don’t really care.
I was in my moment and did not care if anyone saw us.
When we both slowed down in our movements, ceasing after a few seconds; I slightly stepped back, letting his hand rest on my cheek for a little bit more when I put mine on his.
I simply didn’t want the feeling of his warmth to ever stop.
I did not want any of what this moment made me feel to ever stop after I had to experience it with no one but a person that deeply matters to me.
The only person I’ve ever wanted to feel this kind of amazing feelings with.
I didn’t want it to stop.
Not yet.
Not ever.
It was amazing.
He was amazing.
As we both started to take our breaths back, when his hand dropped from my cheek to my waist, joining the other, the feeling of looking in his eyes once again was astounding.
It was just a glance.
But, when you happen to be in total love, it isn’t just a simple glance, it’s always a special one.
What you feel about it won’t ever change.
I’m sure of it, in my case.
I wish I could be looking at him forever.
But...not that I want to ruin the moment but, it was really late, and windy.
Not the best time to look at each other for hours.
After a certain amount of time, Spencer had been the one to briefly break contact, before maintaining it once again, but with a different emotion plastered on his face this time.
“I’m sorry for...before, I panicked and I-”
Okay, here goes nothing.
“I don’t want you to go yet.” I admitted. “That's kind of the reason...I said and did that too. I wanted to kiss you but, it was also to feel you close a bit more, a four hour date wasn’t enough and I don’t think it’ll ever be.”
He seemed surprised at my confession.
Just say something, I hate it when there’s a blank.
Especially when I just said this to you.
“...if you want me to stay, just tell me.” He said. “I’ll be here as long as you’ll have me, as long as you want. Even for a whole week, a month, hell- forever, let’s be crazy.”
“You’d do that?”
“Of course! Why wouldn’t I?”
“I just feel like I would be bothering you.”
“You’re not. I’m actually happy to get to stay more. It’s not bothersome at all, on the contrary. I’m happy to stay.”
I’m happy too.
“Thanks for that. I really...appreciate it.” I admitted.
“The pleasure’s mine.”
“Wow, you’re playing it ‘gentleman-like’ now?”
“I guess so. I would also say it can be because I’ve seen a bit too much of Miraculous Ladybug when I was babysitting kids. Cat Noir’s nice.”
“You know lines of Cat Noir?”
“Yeah, I picked up a few one.”
“Really? You’re gonna say them all the time now?”
“Of course, my lady.”
“I’m never gonna get used to that. It’s weird hearing you say that.”
“But it’s romantic, there’s a lot in the TV shows you watch. The characters do that too.”
“But you’re not one of the characters, you’re Spencer Reid. You’re yourself. You don’t need to throw Cat Noir lines to charm me or something. Just you...is enough.”
“You sound like ladybug...and also Marinette.”
“We’re kind of them- well- kind of, as what we deal with isn’t...close to a kid’s show, but, we save people.”
“Oh, we should-”
“No, I’m not dressing up as ladybug for halloween.”
“...can’t say I didn’t try.”
“There’s no way I’m dressing up in a suit-” I argued.
“We would have been equal, I’d be in one too.”
“I’m not doing it-”
“...guess I’ll have to come up with something else then.”
“Yeah. We have at least six months to think about it so...that’s enough for me, I guess.”
“It’s short. We’re gonna end up one week before.” He complained.
“Stop worrying about that- just get inside with me, it’s getting cold.”
“I could give you my sweater and jacket, I don’t mind.”
“Just- get inside Reid.”
“I was joking!”
“Sure you do. Do you think I’d stay outside for another hour?”
“I just thought it was because you were cold-”
“I’m gonna check if you don’t have a fever when we get up- you’re out of your mind.”
“I’m perfectly fine.”
“Nah, you’re a bit tired, from what you said.”
“I didn’t actually mean it.”
“Sure, let’s get you to bed, grandpa.”
"I'm 32-"
"So?"
"I don't see why you call me grandpa."
"You don't have the reference? The meme, you know?"
"No, I don't."
"You're disappointing, Reid."
++
“Is it going to get worse in later seasons? It’s too calm.” Spencer pointed out.
“Uh...possibly. Season one is pretty calm, not- entirely, but...okay compared to later ones. There’s a lot going on in Supernatural, and it gets pretty hard when you get attached to the characters. The writers like to hurt us.”
“They’re taking all of the pain of the fans on twitter as inspiration.”  
I snorted. “I’m really starting to wonder if it’s not the case at this point.”
“I noticed they tend to do that at the end of seasons too. They throw in a cliffhanger where you think that the character is going to die, and then, they make you wait months...just to show they had a scratch on the arm.” He explained.
“It’s true...they did that a lot of times. I’m afraid of what’s going to happen after season one though. I bet it’s only going to get worse.”
“Probably. I bet they won’t be extra nice with letting them live peacefully.”
“You…” I stopped in my sentence, yawning. “...said it. Sorry- I’m a bit tired.” I said, rubbing my eyes.
"Oh you should probably- go to bed, yeah. I'll leave the bed to you, you know."
"Why would you sleep on the couch?"
"Uh...well, uh...I don't know."
"We're sleeping in the same bed, it's not the end of the world."
"...are you uh- sure?"
"I guess. I don't want you to be uncomfortable."
“I just figured that...it’d be sort of embarrassing, or even awkward for you.”
“I don’t get why it would be, it’s okay. Plus, you deserve to sleep comfortably if you’re tired as well.”
“Okay, then.”
I paused for a bit, thinking about a detail. “...It’s probably stupid to ask, but...which side do you usually prefer? Just so that, there aren't any problems if you sleep on a specific one, you know.” 
“Are you sure? I don’t want to be taking you side or anything, as you said, if you prefer a specific...one.”
“Why did you think I asked? And, in case we prefer the same, we’ll just settle on one, that's all I can think of.”
“...it wasn’t stupid to ask though.” Spencer reassured.
“Really? I...it’s not everyday that I ask that kind of stuff, especially as this situation doesn’t happen everyday. But, at least, I can say that I’ve already done it. It’s...something.”
“Yeah, same. It’s just...I don’t know, what would you call it?”
“Half stupid, half nice? I have no idea as well.” I admitted.
“...we can just leave it there, we’ll never find it.”
“True- Are you coming, or doing a whole routine like drinking water, going to the bathroom, tidying up everything, checking mails and all of the possible stuff that you could do?”
“Do you really think I could be doing that?”
“Kind of. Wouldn’t be surprising if you were doing that. But I’d say it’s a waste of time, if it’s 10PM, you end up going at 11:30 something. The least I’d do would be...water and bathroom. But again- I won’t criticize, it’s fine with me. Just don’t make hella noise.” I detailed.
“I just...check mails...a lot, yeah. Also uh...I make sure everything is ready in case we get called in so I don’t rush; so, I do a lot of stuff. But as if it’s a calm week, I guess I can skip getting the bag ready, and probably mails as I answer them later.”
“That’s...good to know at least. Less stress before going to bed.”
“Kind of. I tend to do all of the stuff I forget all day at night, which causes me to do a lot of stuff, being afraid that they won’t be done on time, so...it’s nice to have less stress.”
“Really nice after what you said.” I pointed out. “Are you sure you’re okay though? We’re only sharing a bed, it isn’t the end of the world, if that’s the thing that bothers you.”
“No, you’re not….it isn’t- It’s not the problem. I just, never really...did it, and...I have no idea why I’m stressing over that. It’s kind of stupid as we’re just gonna sleep.”
“You’ll be out like a light in two minutes Spence, it won’t be a problem if that’s what stresses you out. Also, it kind of is...the feeling you can’t describe, and me neither. It’s like...stress, awkwardness, a mix, you know.”
“Exactly, it’s kind of that.” He agreed.
“Didn't know we were thinking the same about that. Well, I guess we’ll see. We should go before it’s too late.”
“Yeah, we...probably should.” 
“Relax up a bit. Just chill.”
“I’m perfectly relaxed.” He argued.
“No you’re not. Stop lying, I don’t even need to profile you to know. You’re like a balloon ready to explode.”
“I really don’t see what you’re talking about, y/n.” He muttered.
“Did anyone tell you that you’re very convincing? Turns out they were lying, genius.”
++
“I think I’m the one freaking out now.” I admitted, out of the blue.
“I’m not really freaking out anymore. I guess I gave all of my stress away to you.”
“It’s quite thoughtful, thanks.”
“Maybe you’re just hot, who knows. I’m fine on my side.”
“I’m pretty sure I’m not hot, it was freezing cold outside, so it is inside. I know when it’s hot and when it’s not.”
“Uh then...try to take deep breaths? I don’t know what you could do.”
Why don’t you try to be less handsome, huh?
“I think it’s the awkwardness and stress mix kicking in, as I said earlier.”
“Do you want to talk for a bit? Maybe it’ll calm you down.”
“Sure, why not.” I agreed, turning to the other side to face him.
That guy has to realize that his face is what’s distracting me.
“What did you think about today?” He asked.
“It was...really fun. Quite more than I expected I think. I guess I’d be down for other ones.”
“I can’t guarantee I’m not going to slide one or two essays in it though.”
“I’m fine with it. You know listening to you...never bothered me. I don’t think it’ll ever bore me. Who doesn’t like a few facts?”
“Even when it’s all about science or pagan rituals? The cop looked at me weirdly and even asked what kind of doctor I was. Someone else had to talk to revive the conversation.”
You bet, not everyone’s used to it.
“I do remember that one. You looked pretty...proud about it when you finished the sentence. I swear that I would have revived it first or would have kept going. I know a bit about it. What did you say to creep him out?”
“I think that...there was candle wax on the tree, and I said the usual stuff, as a matter of fact, it was used to protect the birth day celebrants from demons, and that the celebration got rejected by Christianity as a pagan ritual’. That’s when he asked.”
That totally explains.
“It wasn’t embarrassing, don’t worry. He just...wasn’t used to that. That almost happens with every new person you meet. I’m out of the ‘almost’ I guess. I was surprised, but got kind of interested.”
“Again, that was surprising. Not everyone would have reacted like you did. I know the others try not to hurt me and listen to it until it’s enough.”
“It’s distracting sometimes, you can always keep going. But not too late, 2AM essays aren’t my thing. Sleeping at 2AM is.”
Getting to sleep at 2AM doesn’t even matter anymore, I’m just glad to be able to sleep.
“I’ll try then.”
“You better.” I warned, pulling my jacket closer to my body as I felt a few chills.
His gaze hadn’t left my figure, hence, he noticed. “...you’re still cold?”
“A bit, I guess.”
“Do you uh...want to...get closer?”
“If you don’t mind, I don’t know. I don’t want it to be embarrassing.”
“It’s not, I swear. I just don’t want you to freeze, I guess.” He admitted, raising one of his arms.
“Okay, thanks.” I slowly got closer, not wanting to invade too much.
“I said you could get closer, that is barely closer than before. Come here.” He pointed out, which I responded to with a sigh as my head ended up resting against his chest. “I told you it wasn’t weird.”
“I thought it’d be for you.” I answered.
“It’s not...anymore. It’s actually fine...now that you’re here.”
“...really? You were kind of stressed about it just a bit ago.”
“Don’t remind me, it’s embarrassing again now. Do as your brain is a computer and delete the file.”
You’re the computer, I’m not.
“It’s fun when you react like that, why would I stop?”
“That’s offending.”
“You, offended? I don’t think so. You don’t sound like it, you’re acting.”
“That hurted my feelings even more, I think my heart might die because of such cruelty. You should be careful with your words, my lady.”
“You’re starting to look like Cat Noir. It’s cheesy. I didn’t hurt anyone’s feelings.”
“Maybe I am Cat Noir, who knows.”
“Guess you’re gonna have to give back your power, you’re not supposed to say it.”
That shows how many nights I’ve spent babysitting kids, especially Matt’s, they watch it way too much.
“Never said I was.”
I kind of wish you were, it’d be fun to see you in that costume.
“Spencer, you sound like him now. You’re definitely him, can’t change my mind about that.”
“I just sound like him, doesn’t mean I am.”
“I have the last word, stop.”
“Okay, I’m stopping. But you have to sleep first, I’m not sleeping until you’re asleep.”
“...bossy.” I spat.
“I’m taking care of you, I’m not bossy.”
“...what’ver.”
“Whatever, right.” Spencer repeated, hesitating for a bit before putting his lips on my forehead, softly kissing it a few times. “I totally agree with you.”
“Mhm.” I lazily said, growing a bit more tired.
“Good night, y/n.”
++
Nothing much had been planned for today; so when I had woken up, I really didn’t need to feel stressed about rushing into work as most of it would only be paperwork.
Spencer was still asleep. He had stirred up a bit when I stood up, but it didn’t wake him much. He was sleeping as a baby, even when I accidentally banged my foot against a shelf, nothing woke him up.
I exited the room with a chuckle, heading to the kitchen aisle to fill up a glass of water; sitting on the counter when I had the glass in hand.
It wasn’t really late, just about 8AM, I could still head to work around 9 or 10 as our work hours were to be chosen by us when nothing urgent was to be done; but, the limit was still about 10AM, the hour to be chosen more freely was around the end of the day.
Too bad we can’t head in somewhere in the afternoon.
I hate that work just for that.
I slightly jumped from the counter, peering over the bedroom to see Spencer still sound asleep, only his position had changed.
As I looked in the room, his sweater had been messily put on one of the chairs in the corner, almost at the edge of it.
Time to make jokes and steal a sweater. 
I slightly laughed, walking to the chair as I grabbed the sweater, heading back outside when I had the item in hand.
In a few seconds, I had put my head in the top hole, then my arms in the sleeves, arranging the sweater afterwards.
Good luck to get it back, Reid.
++
“Hey, did you-”  Spencer asks, before putting his eyes on me. “Is that my sweater, or am I having hallucinations?”
“That is your sweater, indeed. You’re not hallucinating.”
“Is it being rude to ask why you’re wearing it?”
“I don’t know, I like it.”
“And...is it possible to get it back later?”
“Not sure….no.”
“At least you were clear.” Spencer chuckled, sitting on the couch as I joined him after a minute.
“Last night was really nice. I appreciated the forehead kisses.”
“I just...felt like it would be reassuring, glad to know that. I could do it often if you’d like to. I don’t mind.”
“Every night, no matter the situation. If we leave and don’t see each other for a few hours, forehead kisses, even if we don’t sleep at the other’s place, forehead kisses- basically every time we have to separate for a bit. But- you can also do it when we’re together, so...correction, all the time.”
“Gotcha, all the time.”
“I may give you back your sweater at some point if you keep your promise.”
“I don’t actually mind, you can keep it. Just tell me when you take my clothes so I don’t think that some alien stole my clothes in the night.”
“I’ll send you a text every time I’ll be taking one. You might receive a lot though…”
“Just try to leave two or three shirts and some pants so I don’t have to go out in the street naked.”
“I will- don’t worry.” I said, laughing.
“Too bad I can’t take yours in exchange. I’m not a fan of...tops.”
“You know what? That’s not a bad idea. I’m gonna take everything in your closet and only leave pants and that top. Thanks for the idea!” I thanked, getting up from the couch as he tried to catch me when I started to run.
At least now, I can’t say that I had a bad week.
It was better than expected;
For...probably the both of us.
++
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Beautiful Lies (Ron Weasley x Fem!Reader)
Summary: The reader tried to persuade the Weasley twins to bring her along to another prank of theirs but they’re not sure if can lie good enough to cover for them. How should she prove them she’s made for it?
HP Taglist: @alienoresimagines @95swifi @lunalovecroft @sarcasticallywitty15
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“What in the world do I have to do so you’ll bring me along?!” Y/N cried out, desperation written all over her face. She’d been trying for over a week now to show the twins she’s good enough to let her join their little prank club. It was safe to say that the young witch had tried everything to show them just how similarly brilliant her mind is to theirs. She even managed to pull an outstanding prank on George that eventually ended up embarrassing Fred as well so it was even a bigger accomplishment than she expected it to be. Hermione started to doubt Y/N’s not a Weasley after all, calling her a “Weasley from another mother” that left her a flustered mess every time she glanced at Ron trying to bury the obvious feelings deep inside of her so no one could ever find out. Little did Y/N know that Hermione is very well aware of everything that was going on inside of her head – especially about the little crush she’d developed on Ron over the years.
“We already told you that we can’t just bring you with us, love.” Fred chuckled winking at the girl in front of him.
“But why? I literally proved you that I’m just what you need! A new way of thinking in the game!” Y/N tried her luck one more time, her heart sunk a little with every word Fred just said. It may had not been a good idea to go after them every minute of every day, imposing herself like an idiot.
The Weasley twins exchanged a knowing look, one very well known to Y/N revealing to her that they just agreed on something without the need to use any words. The plan was formed. The die was cast. The game was on.
“Spill it. What did you two come up with? Some sort of last challenge to show what a genius I am?” the Y/H/C-haired girl smirked, earning two even wider grins from the tall red-heads. She was definitely the perfect person to their team but why not have some fun first?
“Show us how can you lie. We want to hear you lie real hard to someone, doesn’t matter about what but it has to be convincing enough. We need to know you’re able to cover for us.” George stated as mischievous fire was dancing in his eyes.
“You know what, George? Why not set a concrete person as well to make it more challenging? I’m sure Y/N can manage since she’s such a genius.” the other twin nodded and she knew she won’t like a bit what they’re about to say.
“Fred, I’m thinking exactly the same thing.”
“Lie to Ron.” both of them almost sang, their voices filled with mischief as they watched Y/N’s face go from a pale white to a burning red. She expected a lot of things but not this one, not a one that would include their brother. It was at this exact moment, the twin’s eyes sparkled, when Y/N realized that they might have known about her crush all along.
“Ehm… about what exactly?” she cleared her voice so it wouldn’t sound so shaky and nervous but she had a suspicion that it just added to the twin’s conviction.
“We believe you’ll think of something, won’t you, darling?” Fred smirked high-fiving George in the air at their triumph.
•••
Y/N spent the rest of the day trying to come up with something so convincing that it’d surprise the Weasley twins so hard that they’ll have to beg her to join them. She eventually asked Hermione for some help but not even the smartest witch seemed to think of something that brilliant.
Y/N replayed the conversation with the twins from earlier that day over and over in her head trying to find at least some clue on why they looked like they just won the Triwizard tournament.
Lie to Ron.
His name circled in her mind like a dangerous thought. Y/N didn’t paid much attention to her surroundings, being really occupied with her current problem, so when a certain person walked down the stairs into the common room, she didn’t bother to look up and kept on contemplating about her mischief.
“We don’t have any assignments for tomorrow, do we?” his voiced echoed through the place and her head shot up immediately. Y/N was met with a pair of blue eyes burning into her. She swallowed hard, her throat suddenly got dry and she wasn’t able to get out a single word.
“I think Y/N’s trying to say that we’re just studying, right?” Hermione tried to save the situation as she sent her an inconspicuous look that was worth a million words.
“Oh, y-yeah, right. Just studying. You should try it too.” she managed to say, finally looking away from Ron’s captivating eyes that didn’t make her stutter for some random reason.
“Studying, girls, right?” another pair of familiar voices joined the conversation and Y/N could not help but roll her eyes at their knowing smirks. This was way too harder than she thought and she was very well aware of the fact that the twins are definitely winning their little challenge.
“Maybe we could study some day together, Y/N?” Ron’s quiet voice brought her back from the speculating as he sat down on the sofa next to her, maybe way too closer, Y/N suddenly focusing on the proximity between them.
“We certainly can! That’d be awesome.” she responded too quickly and too enthusiastically than she probably should but at this moment she didn’t really care any more. The game was bloody on and she was gonna get what she wanted.
“Really?” Ron almost squealed with delight, his cheeks blushing immediately, “I mean, really?” his voice sounding deeper and more serious now. She let out an amused laugh, while her mind inappropriately wandered to his lips and how would it feel to touch them. With the corner of her eyes, Y/N caught a glimpse of the twins closely eavesdropping their whole conversation, looking smug as ever.
It was then when it hit her, what the red-heads truly meant.
“Of course, Ron.” Y/N moved a bit closer to his body, “but there’s a little catch.”
Ronald’s palms got suddenly all sweaty as he felt her warm breath on his skin. His body yarned for her gentle touch, every single part of his soul desired just to hold her hand and never let go.
“And what’s t-that?” he stuttered, trying so hard not to stare at her lips and failing miserably.
“Because when we’re gonna be alone to have peace, I’m not gonna be able to keep my hands off of you.” she whispered into his ear, her hand slightly touching his thigh.
•••
“Alright, we were so wrong,” Fred admitted, a playful smirk set on his face, “you may join the big boys now, Y/N!”
A blush crept onto her cheeks at his statement, suddenly feeling like she’s gonna burst with excitement any next second. “I knew it!”
“We’re planning a little something for the next week so join us tomorrow in the library.” George added as he paced from one spot to another, his hair getting into his view.
“Library? I’m surprised you even know what that word means.” Y/N grinned, her eyes full of sparkles. She will fit in just fine, more than just fine actually. If the twins were out of hand before, the trio will cross the unachievable boundaries in no time and Hogwarts was definitely not ready for the Weasley twins combined with another prank mastermind Y/N Y/L/N.
“The lie you said to Ron? About the touching and stuff? You should have seen his face when those words left your mouth!” Fred laughed throwing his arm around her shoulder pulling her closer to him.
“Freddie’s right,” George couldn’t help but giggle as he hugged her from her other side, “you’re evil.”
The common room was filled with their hearty laughter, excitement was basically radiating off the trio, not really paying any attention to another Weasley standing dumbfounded on the stairs that lead to the boys dormitory, staring at them.
“So it wall just a stupid challenge? Like some game with my bloody heart?!” his voice echoed through the room, making the three students stop in their tracks immediately as they all turned to angry Ronald Weasley. His eyes were entirely focused on the only girl there, captivating her in his stare. Y/N wasn’t able to move for one inch, guilt filling her heart when she realized what she had truly done.
“I actually remembered Harry wanted to talk to us, see you two soon!” the twins waved at the two oblivious people, clearly head over heels in love with the other, and quickly stumbled out of the room. Neither did Y/N or Ron look at them leaving and it wasn’t until the doors closed behind the two tall red-heads that Ron made a few long quick steps towards her.
“So was it?” he wasn’t shouting any more, his voice firm, steady and hard.
“No, of course not.” she whispered as she looked at the tip of her shoes trying to avoid his painful stare. This wasn’t what she intended to do.
“Don’t lie to me!”
“I’m not lying to you! If you just let me explain!”
Both of them were breathing hard, their chests rising up and down like after a long run.
“So you could come up with another lie, huh?” he scoffed, shaking with his head in doubt, “some people might actually have feeling, you know!”
Anger was slowly bottling up in her as she realized one important thing. Y/N wasn’t lying before, it was all true. The boy in front of her was so close yet so far away and she wanted nothing more than to fall asleep in his arms that would make her feel like she’s home.
“Maybe I wasn’t actually bloody lying to you, Ronald! Don’t you dare talk about some feelings to me when I’ve been trying to show you just how much I admire and like you while you’ve spending all your time with Hermione!”
Y/N took a deep breath as she continued. She kept it all inside for too long, it was like with every other word she gained more confidence. “I don’t blame you, Hermione is an amazing girl but stop putting all of the blame on me when clearly it’s also your fault!”
As the confession rolled over her tongue, Ron finally calmed himself down, realizing what a stupid thing he’d done. He watched Y/N’s rosy lips move and he suddenly had to fight a strong urge not to embrace her in his arms kissing her like there’s no tomorrow.
“You like me?” he breathed out, not really believing what his long-time crush just said right into his face.
“Yes,” she smiled sweetly, “very very much.”
“Well, I might like you very very much too.”
“You might? You better get your things straight, Weasley.”
“Alright, I like you very very much, Y/L/N.”
“That’s more like it.”
149 notes · View notes
bruh--wtf · 3 years
Text
A Message
Thomas x Reader
Summary: The reader goes through the Maze trials with a message, but she has no idea who it's from. That is until he enters the maze. And he helps them get out.
Main Masterlist
Part 1
Next
Maze Runner Masterlist
Warning: I am well aware that this is not how the books or the movie painted the backstory. But it fits better, so we're just going to go with it, okay?
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You were in your room with the guys. Newt, Minho, Alby, Chuck, and Gally. You'd been in a room with them for a couple years. Since you were taken when you were ten. Now, fifteen, you all were like family to eachother.
You were hanging off your bunk, upside down with your hair hanging down. Newt slept below you and Minho slept in the top bunk across from yours, above Alby. Gally slept on a bottom bunk with Chuck above him. The kid had become the little brother of the group. All of you were protective over the boy.
While upside down you and Minho were tossing a ball back and forth. It was something that one of the guy's friends had snuck into your room.
When the door started to open and Minho had just tossed the ball, you tried to grab it but also slipped off the bed in the process. Newt stood and slipped his arms under yours in the process to catch you. Your legs hit the ground hard and you winced a little and threw the ball at Minho. He caught it quickly and hid it under his pillow.
You straightened up, and Newt let go of you. A boy and girl who looked around your age came into the room. They both had brown hair, but the boy's was darker. He was quite handsome, actually.
"Hey, Thomas," Chuck says. Minho pulls the ball back out and throws it at your head. You manage to catch it and throw it right back, just as harsh, if not harsher. The boy, Thomas smiled slightly but it quickly disappeared.
"What's wrong?" Alby asked, standing up. The girl took in a breath and looked around the group.
"They're between two of you to go into the Maze first," she says. You snap your eyes to hers.
"The maze? I thought that wasn't supposed to happen yet," you say. The girl looks you over, but nods.
"We're not even supposed to be telling you this," she says pointedly to the boy beside her. He looked a little annoyed, but didn't even glance at her.
"How do you know this?" You ask. The girl and the boy both look at you.
"Uh, we overheard," the girl says. You raise an eyebrow, not believing her at all.
"Do you know who?" Newt asks. Thomas looked at him, glancing at you.
"Yeah. They can't decide between Alby and Y/N," he says. You exchange a look with Alby. He looked a little freaked. You looked down, in thought.
"Can one of us choose for them?" You ask. The guys all look at you.
"Y/N, I know where your mind is going. Don't be stupid," Newt says. You roll your eyes and look at Thomas.
"Can one of us volunteer?" You clarify to the boy. He seems a little surprised and glances at the girl beside him.
"I mean, I guess. But why would you want to?" He asks. You swallow, biting the tip of your tongue in thought. You shift on your feet a little bit.
"One of us has to go in there first, we're all going in eventually," you say. The girl nods and turns towards you a little bit.
"Yes, but you'll be in there alone. For a month. And you won't remember anything," she says. You blink, and after a second you shrug. That, uh, was a little new. You'd heard rumors about the mind wiping but it being confirmed is kind of scary.
"I'd rather it be me than one of these idiots," you say. The girl takes a step towards you.
"You guys would really do that for eachother?" She asks. You roll your eyes.
"Where do I sign up?" You ask in reply. The guys all look at eachother, exchanging worried looks but you just smirked.
"You could request to see Chancellor Paige," the girl says. You nod and gesture towards the door.
"This is me, requesting," you say. The girl exchanged a look with Thomas and you rolled your eyes. "Where do I find her?"
"Don't be stupid, Y/N," Gally says. I scowl at him.
"It's me or Alby. I'm making it easier on them. Trust me, letting them struggle went through my mind. But I'd rather me be in there alone than one of you," you said. Alby steps forward.
"We should talk about this. What if you make a stupid decision in the maze?" He asks. You shrug.
"Then you guys will be there after me. And you'll forget I ever existed. You'll move on," you say. He looks annoyed, his nostrils flaring. But before he could respond, the door opens. The same guard steps in and then the Chancellor. You raise an eyebrow. She looks at Thomas and the girl.
"Thomas, Teresa," she says. You roll your eyes. The two take steps towards her, falling behind her. She then looks at you and Alby. She opens her mouth but you cut her off.
"I want to go into the maze first," you say. Alby grabs your arm and tries to pull you back but you shrug him off. "Seems like a better option at this point." She raises an eyebrow at you, keeping eye contact.
"That's why we're here. We've decided. It's a good thing you want to be first. You're going in, in a few weeks," she says. You stare at her. She nods at the boys and then turns to leave the room. You were frozen in your spot. Newt grabbed your arm, turning you to face him.
"What the bloody hell is wrong with you?" He asks. You shrug him off but your throat had went dry.
A couple days later, you were walking in a hallways when Thomas walked by. He looked a little confused when he saw you but grabbed your arm to stop you. You raised an eyebrow at him and he sighed.
"How are you feeling?" He asks. You were a little caught off guard by the question. Thomas was friends with the guys but you had never met him before last week.
"Like I want a book," you say. He gives you a confused look and you shift on your feet. "I loved to read before all of this. Will I even remember how to read?" I ask, laughing a little and looking down.
"Yeah, you will. You just won't have your memories," he says. You chewed on the inside of your lip and nodded, lifting your head back up to look at him.
"I won't remember the guys," you say. He nods. "Then I guess we'll just have to remake our memories in the maze." He smiles slightly. "Hey, I, uh, I was wondering if I could ask you for a favor. The guys said you were cool, so..."
"Yeah, yeah, what is it?" He asks. You meet his eyes and let out a breath.
"I was wondering if you could try to find out something about someone. I just need to know if they're okay," you say. He studies you for a second before nodding. "It's my little brother. He probably doesn't even remember me he was only two when we were taken. But... he's the only reason I'm still alive. And I need to know if he's okay." Your voice cracked a little, and you looked down shaking your head. "I'm sorry, if you can't-"
"I'll see what I can find out. What's his name?" He asks. You look up.
"Uh, Jack. His names Jack," you tell him. He nods, and gives you a small smile.
"I'll try and figure something out," he says. You give him a watery smile and wipe your nose, looking away again.
"Thank you," you say. He nods.
"Yeah, of course," he says. He studies you for a second. "You're nervous, aren't you?" He asks. You sigh and shake out the jitters in your hands.
"Yeah, I guess. The idea of having no idea where I am. Or getting lost in the maze. Having nothing to live for and purposefully-"
"That's not going to happen," he says. You scoff and cross your arms.
"How do you know? 'Cause the last one seems pretty much like a me thing," you say. He gives me a 'be serious' look.
"I'm not going to let anything bad happen to you," he says. You straighten up, looking him over.
"Why? You barely know me," you say. He smiles and shrugs.
"I like what I know," he says. A smile creeped onto your face.
"Thomas!" Someone calls from the end of the hall. You look over to see Teresa. She looked at you briefly before gesturing for Thomas to come with her.
"I'll find out what I can about your brother," he says, taking a few steps away from you. You watch as he leaves, a little bit in shock.
Two more days past before Thomas came by the room again. When he did you stood up from where you were sitting with Chuck. He looked at you.
"Can I talk to you?" He asks. You nod, following him out into the hallway. He crossed his arms and looked at you. You leaned against the wall, waiting for him to say something. "I found your brother," he says. You straighten up. "He's young, so he won't be put into a maze for a while. And when he does... it's going to be yours." You stared at him for a minute.
"He... he's in our group? How have I not seen him? Why haven't I seen him?" You ask, pushing off the wall.
"Like I said, he's young-"
"Yeah, young! He's nine! He's being raised in this! Is he in our building? Can I see him?" You ask. He puts his hands on your shouldrrs to calm you down. You stare at Thomas with wide eyes.
"It'd be hard to make that happen, but I can try. Until then," he reaches around and pulls something out of the little bag he had brought with him. You knit your brows together. He looked around a little and handed you what he grabbed.
When you looked at it you saw a book. The Lord of the Flies. You chuckled a little looking down at it. But the little laugh turned into a few tears falling. You gave Thomas a watery smile.
"You got me a book?" You ask, laughing a little. He smiled a little and nodded.
"Yeah. It's super old, but it's one they wouldn't miss," he says. You wipe your cheeks, looking down at it.
"Why do you keep doing nice things for me? Is it pity? Because I really don't-"
"No! I told you, I like what I know," he says. You smiled at him and without thinking you hugged him. He hesitated for a second before hugging you back. Your lips touched his clothed shoulder, and after a minute you pulled away.
"Sucks I'm gonna forget about this is in a week," you say, holding up the book a little. He shrugs.
"Maybe." You raised an eyebrow but he just opened the door. "I've got some things to do." You eye him suspiciously for a minute before going back into the room, him leaving.
Tomorrow was the day. You were going into the maze. And you were freaking out. The guys were all sulking. Even Gally. You hop off your bed and catch the ball as Minho tosses it at the ceiling, playing catch with himself. He looks at you, frowning.
You toss it up, and catch it, pointing a finger and waving it around at all of them. "That's it! You guys aren't allowed to be upset. Your last memory with me isn't going to be boring and sad! Sure, I won't remember it, but who knows how long you guys will! Now, stop being boring! Now!" You say, tossing the ball to Alby.
"It should be me," he says. You groan, playfully slapping the side of his head.
"Doesn't matter. Whether I volunteered or not, I got chosen. So it really shouldn't be you."
"What if something happens to you?" Chuck asks. You roll your eyes, grabbing the ball back from Alby and tossing it to Chuck, who catches it a little messily. He was nine.
"Nothing is happening to me! One of these bozos is following me in a month! What's a month? I can survive a month, don't you think." They were all still frowning. "Oh, c'mon put a little faith in me!"
"We do have faith in you! But you without memories is a different story," Newt says, standing up. He puts his hand out towards Chuck who tosses him the ball. "If we have to watch something bad happen to you, we'll be the ones who really get hurt." You sigh and grab the ball as he lightly tosses it to you. He turns and sits back down on his bed.
The door opens and Thomas reveals himself. You knit your brows together, and walk over to him. He gestures to the bed.
"Do you still have the book?" He asks. You nod, grabbing it from under my pillow and handing it to him. He smiles, putting it in his bag quickly. "We have to go. Quickly." He says. Your eyes widen and every guy in the room stands up quickly. "She's not going into the maze yet," Thomas clarifies. A breath of relief is sounded throughout the room. "But I still need you to come with me." You were confused, but followed him regardless.
After walking for a little bit, Thomas started to look around a little bit more. He looked kind of sketchy and you laughed.
"What are you doing?" You ask. He grabs your hand, making you match pace with him as he speeds up a little bit. "Thomas! What-" you stop when you see a child's drawing on a wall. You knit your brows in confusion but then the realization hits you and you stare at Thomas in shock.
He was taking you to see your brother.
69 notes · View notes
rhysismydaddy · 4 years
Text
Naughty Neighbors pt. 2 (Elriel)
As promised, it’s in Azriel’s POV which was actually super hard for me to write for some reason. Don’t ask why it’s in first person when Elain’s isn’t. Just go with it I’m so tired.
I LOVED reading the comments on the last post they brought the biggest smile to my face so thank you all so much for the love!
Part 3
______________________________________________________________
~Azriel~
At first, I’d thought it was just attraction.
I mean, it was inevitable. She'd shown up in the middle of the night, dressed in a thin, rose-colored robe that did absolutely nothing to hide the curves underneath, smiling at me like I don’t deserve to be smiled at.
It was obvious I’d be attracted to her.
But it was also different. 
Because usually, when I’m attracted to a woman, I go after her and get her out of my system the old fashioned way. But with Elain Archeron... it’s somehow more than that. 
Don’t get confused, I’d be more than happy to have her under me. Or on top of me. Or trapped between me and a wall. 
But I also crave her smile, her laugh. Her blush. 
Fuck, I love that blush. 
The woman turns red at any sort of innuendo, like she’s never been flirted with before. At least not properly. 
I’m damn near addicted to it. 
Which might explain why I’ve developed a routine in the week after moving into my apartment. I get up and get ready, walk with her to work, fight the temptation to go across the street and kiss her stupid, then walk with her home. 
It’s only a total of ten minutes together a day, but it's enough to drive me fucking crazy. 
Crazy enough to do it over and over again, just like I am right now. 
I knock on the door to her shop, keeping my unspoken vow to never go in the flower-infested place. 
“Hey,” she says with a grin as she comes down to meet me, locking the glass door behind her. “How was work?”
“Well, a three-hundred pound man got a tattoo of a raccoon on his back. Shit took three hours and was bigger than in real life.” She giggles, and my lips twitch at the sight. “You?”
“I sold a lot of bouquets, since it’s wedding season. Nothing special.”
We start the short walk back to our apartment complex, walking close enough that our arms occasionally brush. The feel of her soft skin on mine has me gritting my teeth, and we’re still four minutes out. Fuck.
Elain shivers slightly, and since it isn’t cold, I take it to mean I’m not the only one affected. I could be a gentleman and let the reaction go, but... 
“Are you cold?”
Soft brown eyes meet mine, and there’s a bit of surprise in them. “No.”
“You sure? You shivered.” 
Those eyes narrow slightly, well on to the game I’m playing. “I’m sure.”
I can’t stop the smirk from forming on my face, but she just sighs and turns straight forward again. 
“Any plans for the weekend?”
I’m practically baiting her into saying she’s doing something with her boyfriend, even though I doubt that’ll be the case. I haven’t so much as seen the guy around the entire week. 
If I were him-
No. We’re not going there. 
“Not really, actually. I might go to the MOMA.”
It’s easy to picture her in a museum, staring adoringly at overpriced pieces of art a child could probably recreate. “Art fan?”
“Not really. My sister has an exhibit this week and wants me to come. I like her art, but she’s the exception.”
For some reason, this makes me smile. “Nothing’s good enough to impress you?”
Her eyes narrow in the cute way they always do when I tease her, and she says, “Nothing makes me feel anything. Art should make you feel something. Right?”
Is she seriously asking me that? “I don’t know. I’ve never been to a museum.”
Elain stops walking suddenly, and I turn to face her with raised brows. “Ever? You’ve never been to a museum?”
I shake my head, confused as to why she’s confused. Is that not normal?
“What about on school trips?”
Oh. 
That explains it. 
I turn and keep walking, knowing she’ll catch up in a second. When she does, I say, “Maybe my school was low on field trip funds or something.”
The lie tastes like dirt in my mouth, so I light a cigarette to wash it down. 
She rolls her eyes like she knows I’m full of shit and keeps walking. 
“You look beautiful today, Elain.” 
Her cheeks go pink at the words, and the urge to punch her boyfriend grows. If a woman blushes every single time someone calls her beautiful, she probably doesn’t hear it enough. 
And I know I tell her everyday, but it’s especially true today. She’s in one of her probably hundred dresses, and it’s tighter around the waist and loose around the bottom. 
I think it was designed just for her.
Or maybe just to drive me insane. Either theory works. 
Her hair’s down, framing the soft features I’m disgustingly obsessed with, and there’s a pink tone to her full lips. She looks like a goddamn flower. 
I hate flowers, I remind myself helplessly. 
We keep walking, and I’m so focused on thinking about anything except the way that pretty little dress swishes around her thighs that I don’t even realize we’re back at the complex. 
I open the door for her, and she goes inside but waits before heading up the stairs. 
“What are you doing?”
Her cheeks go a bit more red, even as her eyes narrow. “I’m wearing a dress. You go up first.”
“Elain Archeron,” I scold instantly, mood brightening already, “I can’t believe you’d accuse me of trying to look up your dress.” 
I probably would’ve, but that’s another point entirely. 
She bites her lip, and my blood starts to thrum. “I didn’t say that, actually.”
“Oh, I see. You just want to look at my ass, then.”
A laugh bubbles out of her, and I take mercy and head up the stairs, pausing once every now and then to shake my butt in her face. 
“You’re a child,” she laughs, pushing my back to make me go forward again. 
I’m laughing, too by the time we make it to the hallway with our apartments. But the joy falls away as we stand outside, both nervously silent. It feels like the end of a date, for some reason. 
Maybe because we were laughing and smiling and flirting. Maybe. 
“What’s your name?” she asks, exactly like she always does. 
Fucking unable to help it, I lean in close enough our noses brush, smiling when she sucks in a breath. “You ready to pay the price?”
Every day it’s the same response. She usually shies away, rolls her eyes, and drops it, but today she surprises me. “What’s the price, exactly?”
Her voice is a little scratchy, and her legs are tense, like she’s pressing them together. For a moment, I can’t even breathe, let alone tell her. She looks so adorably naive and beautiful right now. It’s hard to focus on anything except the heaving of her chest, the lip tucked between her teeth. 
Bu it’s the raw desire in her eyes that makes me finally respond. “I want you to give in. I want you to kiss me like I know you’re dying to. I want you to admit that it’s me that turns you on, me who you think about at night.”
Her breathing’s rougher now, and it ignites a fire in my blood. “I want you to tell me you want me, Elain. Because we both know you do.”
“I...”
Fucking hell, she’s going to kill me. I’m desperate to hear the words, so when I speak, it sounds like a plea. “Say it.”
But something comes over her, and the cloudiness sweeps from her eyes instantly. She takes a deep breath and places a palm against my chest to shove me away. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. I have a boyfriend.”
Her favorite thing to say, apparently. 
“I love him,” Elain says with strong, fake conviction. “I... I don’t want you.”
A harsh laugh forces itself out of my throat. “Beautiful little liar.”
Her cheeks go pink, and I smile in spite of the tense conversation. “I’m not lying.”
“Yes, you are, but that’s okay. I get it.” Before I can stop myself, I’m moving to tuck a strand of loose hair behind her ear. “But I’m not telling you my name until you stop.”
Before she can respond, the door behind her swings open, revealing a man instantly recognizable as the boyfriend. He’s in a disgustingly cheap suit, about 5′11 with red hair and golden brown eyes with his hair pulled back in a low bun.
I automatically want to punch him for some reason, but I deny myself the satisfaction. 
“What’s going on?” he asks, glancing between me and Elain. There’s something in his voice, but it’s not suspicion. It’s surprise. Like he can’t even fathom the idea of seeing her with another man. 
Fucking idiot. 
A woman like her is always going to get male--and probably female--attention. 
“Nothing,” Elain says instantly, taking a step towards him. “This is our neighbor. He moved in Monday.”
“Oh. Hey, man. I’m Lucien.”
I ignore his outstretched hand. “The boyfriend?”
A bit of the friendliness leaves his eyes, and he pulls Elain to him and wraps an arm around her shoulders. “The boyfriend.”
“How exciting,” I mock, sounding like a total prick. I don’t really mean to, but I can’t help it. I mean, this is the guy she’s with? Objectively, I’m man enough to admit he isn’t exactly ugly, but he sounds about as interesting as a can of beans. 
He probably works a desk job. Something in finance. 
And he has Elain? 
It makes no sense. 
Lucien The Boyfriend ignores that statement and looks down at Elain. “I missed you this week,” he mutters before pressing a quick, grossly wet kiss to her lips. 
The surprise in her eyes makes it clear he’s not usually so... affectionate. 
I have to cough to hide a laugh. 
He’s trying to mark his territory, but if he actually looked at his girlfriend’s face, he could easily see how stupid it looked. 
“Have a nice night, lovebirds,” I say sarcastically as I unlock my door, still chuckling to myself. If he kisses her like that, gods know how he fucks her. 
Poor woman. 
~Elain~
Well, that was uncomfortable. 
And embarrassing. 
The little laugh her neighbor had barely attempted to hide made her skin burn. Lucien wasn’t a bad kisser, but neither of them had really been ready for his sudden display of affection. 
Plus, it’s not like the man had tried to hide his reason for kissing her. They hardly ever touched in public. 
Or at home, really. 
It’d been three weeks since they’d slept together, so she knew the kiss was for their audience’s benefit. 
She ignored the gross feeling inside her gut and went to the kitchen to start dinner. 
“That guy’s rude,” Lucien commented, sliding on a bar stool and loosening his tie. “And he looks like a drug dealer.”
The urge to roll her eyes was almost overpowering. He thinks anyone with tattoos is a drug dealer. “He’s nice.”
“So you’ve met before?”
Elain sighed, not knowing how to answer this. “Sort of. He works at the tattoo place across the street, so I bump into him some. I don’t even know his name, though.”
Why was she lying? 
I bump into him? 
Seriously? 
She’d walked with him every day this week. And thought about him all the time. 
Not to mention tonight, when she’d been a second away from finally finding out what his mouth felt like against hers, what it tasted like. 
Gods, just the thought of that encounter made her sweat. 
He knew exactly what he was doing to her. 
And her mind knew, knew, he was dangerous and might very well be involved in all sorts of illegal activities, but her body didn’t give a single shit. 
She wanted him like she’d never wanted anyone before. 
But that was just attraction. What she had with Lucien, that was love. A lifelong, everlasting love. Right?
She slid the plate of reheated chicken and rice in front of her boyfriend and muttered, “I’m going to shower.”
He nodded, not even looking up. 
Two hours later, they were watching a movie in bed, neither of them paying much attention to the screen. There had been a tension between them ever since the weird kissing incident. 
She wasn’t mad, but it had just made her feel a little strange. 
He seemed to notice it, too.
“I love you,” Lucien whispered quietly, rolling on his side to look down at her. “I know things have been weird recently, and I’m sorry. I’m just stressed at work, but I don’t need to bring that home with me. I just... I love you. You know that right?”
She nodded immediately. “I know. It’s okay. I love you, too.”
A small smile on his face, he leaned down to her and kissed her. There was no awkwardness now, thank the gods. 
She thought he’d pull away like usual, but he tilted his head and took it deeper, sliding his tongue in her mouth.
Surprised, she kissed him back, wrapping her arms around his neck.
Something in the back of her mind was hatefully muttering that he was only doing this because of their neighbor, but her body didn’t really mind. It had been weeks, and just being touched made her happy.
Supporting himself on his elbows, he came over her, resting in between her thighs. A hand snuck down and tugged her robe open, then she heard his belt buckle open.
Normally she’d want to take things slower and draw it out, but she didn’t mind tonight. Her body needed him and whatever contact it could get.
A few moments of shuffling, then he pressed against her, and she gasped as he immediately started to move. Okay, maybe a little more drawing it out would have been helpful. 
Her hips moved with him, trying to keep up with his increasing pace. Lucien grunted in her ear, breath hot on her neck. 
It was too much too soon, and he seemed to sense that. His hand came to her breasts, and she moaned softly as he molded one to his touch.
The sound seem to affect him, and he stilled above her, then kissed her deeply.
Elain laid underneath him, heart racing, and tried not to raise an eyebrow. Or laugh. Or cry. 
That was it? The first time they had sex in almost a month, and that was it?
He pulled out slowly, kissed her brow, and rolled over. Her mouth dropped open.
He wasn’t even going to make sure she finished? Because she sure as hell hadn’t. And more than that, he rolled away from her?
They didn’t always have great sex, but it was usually better than that. And he always held her afterward until she fell asleep.
She felt cheap. Used.
Definitely unsatisfied.
Now more than ever, it felt like they were fifty years old. She made him dinners and kept the apartment clean, he worked a desk job at an investment bank, they came home, barely talked, then had unremarkable sex.
She’d known for a while they were in a slump, but now it seemed like it was a permanent thing. 
After waiting until he started snoring soundly, she slipped a hand between her legs, trying to relieve some of the tension.
Gods, that had been awful.
Maybe it was her fault. Maybe it was because she was so worked up from...
Her neighbor’s smirking face popped into her mind. The ache between her legs got worse, and she moaned as she slipped a finger inside herself.
Sitting up suddenly, she pushed his face out of her head. This was wrong.
She couldn’t... fantasize about another man while in the same bed as her boyfriend.
Elain threw her robe on the ground and walked to the shower, ignoring the fact that she’d already taken one tonight. She’d wash this night away and forget about it.
But he appeared in her mind again, shaking his head with a smile. That’s not possible, beautiful.
Hard to forget someone when they were mentally stalking you.
~
The next morning, Lucien was gone before she even dragged herself out of bed. She was technically late, but she didn’t even care. Perk of being her own boss. 
Elain trudged around, getting ready slowly. It had been a long night. Even after her very cold shower, she hadn’t been able to clear her mind and relax. 
When she opened the door, she couldn’t repress her groan. Apparently, his face was stalking him in her head and real life.
“Long night?” he asked, a small, almost victorious smile on his face.
Her eyes narrowed suspiciously at that expression. She knew him well enough to know he was trying not to laugh. “Yes.”
“Same. Noisy neighbors.”
It took a few moments, but a furious blush exploded on her face as she realized what he was talking about. She knew the walls were thin, but... “Oh, my gods.”
He’d heard!
Oh, gods.
This was really, really bad. 
“Have fun?”
She glared at his annoyingly handsome face, barely resisting the urge to punch that smile away. “Yes. So much fun.”
She was, in fact, a dirty little liar. 
“Mmhm, sounded like it. All three minutes of it.”
An indignant sound escaped her, and he started to laugh. She ignored how lovely the sound was and chanted, “Shut up shut up shut up.”
“Not a chance.” He glanced down at her legs. “Hey, do you need help waking there? Or are you too sore from all that terrible se-”
She slapped a hand over his mouth, and he smiled under her fingers.
“You’re such an asshole,” she told him. “I love him. And he’s a great lover.”
The asshole just raised an eyebrow.
“Usually,” she amended. “He was tired.”
Gently, he pried her hand off his face. “I could be in a coma and do better than three minutes.”
“Pretty sure that’s illegal. And beyond disturbing.”
He smiled. “We going to work?”
Elain glared. “Only if you promise not to make any more comments about my sex life.”
“I haven’t made a single one!” He protested, still smirking. “I’ve been joking about the lack of your sex life, baby girl. Keep up.”
“Oh my gods,” she growled, pushing past him and yanking her door shut.
“At first, I didn’t even know what you guys were doing,” he told her, walking easily beside her as she stormed down the stairs and started down the empty sidewalk. “I heard his weird ass grunt and thought he was working out or something.”
She rolled her eyes.
“But then I heard you moan, and I-”
“I swear I’m going to kill you.”
“Anyway, I heard the boyfriend start snoring, so I figured the debacle was over. But I heard you again.” He smirked down at her. “Wanna tell me what you were doing over there?”
From the look on his face, he knew damn well what she was doing. “You-”
“No, I know you weren’t doing me. Would’ve been a lot louder if you were.”
Her glare could’ve frozen the Sahara. “I was going to say that you are the most annoying person I’ve ever met.”
The man just smiled, more than happy with himself today. Gods, he was insufferable. “I might be annoying, but at least I last longer than your little boyfriend.”
The way he said that made her jaw clench. What was it with the men in her life being completely useless today? It pissed her off. “Oh, I seriously doubt it.”
A dark, almost promising look crept into his hazel eyes, and he leaned down to murmur, “I promise you one thing, Elain. If I had you under me, I wouldn’t stop until you were screaming my name. Maybe not even then.”
She didn’t bother pointing out she didn’t even know his name.
Then he pulled away and smiled, and she noticed they were in front of her store. “Have a nice day, gorgeous.”
She was so fucked. 
_____________________________________________________________
To all my Lucien stands, I don’t really believe he’s complete shit in the sack (yes, yes I do), but I’m trying to write a story here, okay?
Part 3
@astreia-oniria @whimsyrhys @lameomclameo @wineywitch202 @thedarkdemigod @captainthefangirlofhp @elriel4life @queen-of-glass @courtofjurdan @nessiantho @texas-shaped-waffle-maker @stardelia @myshadowsingeraz @tswaney17 @illyriangarbage @nicerhero @fancycrowncat @perseusannabeth @cursebreaker29 @girl-who-reads-the-books @aelinfeyreeleven945tbln @superspiritfestival @studyliketate @over300books @justgiu12 @maastrash @bamchickawowow @a-bit-of-a-cactus @aesthetics-11 @b00kworm @sleeping-and-books @musicmaam @savemesoon8 @hizqueen4life @maybekindasortaace @poisonous00
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Press: Streaming, With Only a Little Trepidation
“I’ve never had more fun on a job before,” says the WandaVision lead who spoke with the Ted Lasso star about their shows, the Scarlett Johansson lawsuit, and what happens to the theatrical moviegoing experience now.
In Reunited, Awards Insider hosts a conversation between two Emmy nominees who have collaborated on a previous project. Here, we speak with WandaVision star Elizabeth Olsen and Ted Lasso co-creator and star Jason Sudeikis, who previously starred in the 2017 film Kodachrome.
VANITY FAIR: Elizabeth Olsen and Jason Sudeikis met for the first time just before filming their 2017 indie Kodachrome, but they already had at least one thing in common: a “big old crush” on Ed Harris, as Olsen describes it. “He did not disappoint at all,” adds Sudeikis. “He stuck up for us. He cared about us. He cared about the movie.”
A guide to Hollywood’s biggest races
Now, the two have much more in common, as first-time Emmy nominees. Olsen is nominated for lead actress for her work as Wanda Maximoff in WandaVision, a Disney+ limited series that explores grief and loss, through a superhero story wrapped in a parody of TV sitcoms. Sudeikis earned four Emmy nominations for Apple TV+’s darling Ted Lasso, which he cocreated, cowrote, and stars in as Ted, a cheery American football coach who attempts to coach an English Premier League soccer team.
In early August, Olsen and Sudeikis reunited over Zoom to chat with Vanity Fair about transitioning these characters to TV, their views on the new streaming empires, and what they think of the lawsuit Scarlett Johansson recently brought against Disney regarding the strategy to stream Black Widow simultaneously with its theatrical release.
Vanity Fair: It’s been quite a few years since you shot Kodachrome. What do you remember about where you were on your trajectories at that time?
Elizabeth Olsen: Of life? It was when I was at a down trajectory.
Jason Sudeikis: Personally or professionally? I feel like from the outside, it only seems like you operate in one direction [motions upward].
Olsen: From a personal standpoint. So, I was excited to get to do a small movie, an intimate job that had some levity. And that was really nice. And I have a big old crush on Ed Harris and I still do.
Sudeikis: Yeah. To know that the director was like, “hey, we’re thinking about Jason Sudeikis for this role” and then Ed Harris stayed on, It was like, “all right, pleasant surprise. Pleasant surprise.”
Your current projects, WandaVision and Ted Lasso, may seem very different but do have one thing in common: they both feature characters that originated elsewhere. Wanda is obviously from the Marvel films and Jason you played Ted Lasso in commercials. Why did you feel these characters would work on a TV series?
Olsen: I got really comfortable in the Marvel movies, taking up my piece of the story and my piece of, how does my little arc work in this much larger arc with 30 other characters? And so the idea of all the focus being on me and Paul [Bettany] totally freaked me out. And that it was on television felt weird because these characters are superheroes and maybe they should be seen on big screens and not televisions. But the entire DNA of the show was meant for television. It was written for television. The arc has to be told through television. And from an actor’s point of view, it was something I’d never done. I’ve never done sitcom acting, let alone go through the decades with it.
And I’ve never had more fun on a job before. We got to go to work and just feel like an idiot all the time. And all of us, we’d be like hamming, hamming, hamming, and use each other as these barometers of “are we doing this too much? Is this now just a parody? Is this a joke? At what point are we supposed to dial it back?” And at one point I did, I think, a quadruple take, and that was the first time the director asked me to pull it back and just do a double take. So it was pretty incredible to get to expand on the character and this world, but do it from a totally different perspective. I’m so grateful for that job.
Sudeikis: Have you hosted SNL yet?
Olsen: God no!
Sudeikis: No? Well, I’m not going to agent you and be like, “if they ask, would you ever want to?” But, look, I know you’re funny. It was really fun to watch you do multi-cam sitcom acting. And then the genre thing, it made me be like, “oh, she would crush on SNL”. You’re always going to internalize stuff because you’re, in my opinion, very, very talented and very, very smart. So then even when you externalize things, like a quadruple take, it would be joyful to watch even in the attempt. Watching the show, it didn’t seem at all like an aberration or like you were putting it on. It felt well conceived and well thought out. And it almost made me wonder if the creator was aware of that or was it all just an act of faith on their part.
Olsen: It was a total act of faith. What they did is they took comedy actors who are really funny and gave them the more dramatic stuff. Because they thought that would balance out when we failed. And we’re like, “You guys are very smart for doing this.”
Sudeikis: Now, are you putting that on them or was that articulated to you day one?
Olsen: We talked about it. We were so open about it. We’re like, “this is very clever that you guys put some of the funniest actors in MCU in these dramatic parts.” But SNL, I watch it every Saturday when it’s live. I’m obsessed with SNL and that’s why I would never! It’s like the ocean. I respect the ocean so much and that’s why I don’t need to go in it.
Sudeikis: I don’t know. I think we’ll see. This is going to be like Charles Foster Kane’s declaration of principles. “I would never host SNL.” And then, “And your host, Elizabeth Olsen.”
Olsen: So tell me about Lasso: small to big.
Sudeikis: Me and my buddies, Joe [Kelly] and Brendan [Hunt], did those commercials in 2013, 2014, and we then sat down to talk about it in 2015. And it was kind of like, “okay, is it another set of commercials? Is it a movie?” I knew what the character was and we all grew up with great sports films, by Ron Shelton and Rudy and Hoosiers and things like that. But then also liked Nora Ephron, you know? We wanted to make something that had a little bit of romance. And romance may not be sexual, it’s also a platonic version of romance. And the story just sort of spooled out of us in a way that garnered a pilot episode and then a well-beat-out outline for a season. Because we were kind of modeling it after the British Office where it’d be like six episodes, six episodes, and then maybe an hour and a half special, like a movie type thing. Not wanting to take up too much space and not knowing how long it would go. And so it only could be a TV show, was the way it felt.
And so then it went away for a while because that was in 2015. And then lo and behold, it comes back around when I met Bill Lawrence for this other project. That one didn’t work out, but he was like, “Do you have anything?” I said, “Well, we have this.” And I remember having a whole bunch of stuff in this office, more work than I think he realized. He’s like, “Oh yeah, this is definitely, this is a whole thing. Okay. Wow. You guys have really thought this through.”
Olsen: Did you have a [writers] room or did you already write most of it?
Sudeikis: No, we definitely had a room. It was like I knew the chords, I knew the structure of things. We had a great room of 11 people for the first season. With hiring people, we just had good fortune. I didn’t know it was interesting at the time, but asking people during the interview process who their mentors were, who were the people that encouraged them, who made you think you could do this for a living—you can learn a lot about a person by listening to them talk about their mentors, their heroes.
Olsen: With the jokes, I feel like they’re so quick, but they’re so specific to people who watch sports and who knows sports. Well, not all of them, but a lot of the jokes are. Do you have a list of ones that you want to get in there or are these coming up in the room? Because it gets me as a big sports person.
Sudeikis: It really depends on it. There’s some ideas that I’d had for years and years that are just from old notebooks that I used to carry around when I worked on SNL before you would type things into a phone. And storylines and themes and characters that have just been ruminating in my head based on other ideas for either movies or sketches that didn’t make it. And then a big part of the room is that we have this collective consciousness that isn’t all sports.
And then with specific soccer jokes, we do try to include jokes that we call “two percenters” that only football fans would like. Just as our little tip of the cap because we wouldn’t be here without that group of people digging our shit back in the commercial days.
Your shows were on Disney+ and Apple TV+. Did you have any concerns about them being on streaming services, which were relatively new at the time, and finding an audience?
Sudeikis: It’d probably be more so if it was like Goodyear TV+, if it was some brand that didn’t already rule the world of entertainment and technology.
Olsen: I did a version of that with Facebook. And I didn’t like that experience. I loved my show [Sorry for Your Loss] and I loved everyone that I worked with. But the Facebook relationship was frustrating because of the lack of television experience and how the platform is organized. When we went to season two, we had a meeting that our show called for Facebook to have with us, so that we can give them our notes about their platform and why we think it’s really hard to find our show on their platform and how it’s congested. So I was anxious going into Disney+. But I knew it was Disney. And I think I was more anxious with the Marvel characters being on television than I was about the Disney+ element.
Sudeikis: Golly, I didn’t even consider that. And you’re absolutely right, because Facebook would be closer to Apple. Truth is we didn’t have a choice. We pitched it to a bunch of different places. They were the only ones that would open the door and say, “yeah, come in out of the rain, you can hang out in here. You can do your little show in here.” And so, the trepidation was alleviated by the fact that there was nowhere else open to us.
Olsen: Facebook and Apple I feel like aren’t that similar.
Sudeikis: No, but they hadn’t created content before.
Olsen: Well, Facebook now is [scaling back] scripted content.
Speaking of streaming, both of you have starred in big theatrical movies. Are either of you worried about the theatrical experience, in the way that COVID has changed how movies are being released at this point? We saw how that’s playing out with Scarlett Johansson’s recent lawsuit.
Olsen: I’m worried about a bunch of things. Not worried on Scarlett’s behalf. But I’m worried about small movies getting the opportunity to be seen in theaters. That was already a thing pre-COVID. I like going to the movies and I don’t necessarily want to see only an Oscar contender or a blockbuster. I would like to see art films and art house theaters. And so I do worry about that, and people having to keep these theaters alive. And I don’t know how financially that works for these theaters. I do hope that there’s some sort of solution that the larger companies are coming together to keep, at least in L.A. this is going to happen. But I do think it’s going to be how it kind of used to be when studios owned theaters. And I have a feeling that we might go back to that being the only way to keep them alive with such expensive real estate. But when it comes to actors and their earnings, I mean, that’s just, that’s just all contracts. So it’s either in the contract or it’s not. What about you? Are you worried about Scarlett?
Sudeikis: Of course. How could I not? She’s married to my comedy brother [SNL’s Colin Jost].
Olsen: I think she’s so tough and literally when I read that I was like, “good for you Scarlett.”
Sudeikis: Well, I mean, it is appropriately bad-ass and on brand. I think it’s also married to yes, the COVID of it all and success of the streaming sites. But also just technology. I mean this thing [points at his TV] is as good as any movie theater, and all that stuff is getting cheaper and cheaper. If you’re a family of five and you’re going out there and it’s a whole thing. And yet the communal experience, towards Lizzie’s point is, is one that you can’t replicate in home. You can’t replicate through social media. I think both of our shows have succeeded greatly on their own merit, but it’s certainly written further through people’s love of them socially. Which would have happened back in the day around a water cooler. And while that’s nice, it’s still not the same as sitting next to everybody and getting scared at the same time or cheering at the same time and laughing at the same time.
I do think though, if we just use anecdotally, Kodachrome as an example, more people probably have seen it because it got on Netflix than they would have in the theater. And the more that happens, the better. So it’s like there is that reach that as long as those streaming sites are still paying to make those little movies, they have the opportunity to be seen. And so it is this balance. I just hope that with that still comes creative autonomy, and we don’t lose sight of that.
What about the experience of making these shows will you take on to your next project and the one after that?
Olsen: Well, I definitely had a shake-up to use my full body as an actor. I had to create a character and voices. And just all the technical stuff that I have loved doing my whole life was just shook up a bit. And so I’m now really excited to do more of that and to feel a bit freer in building characters. And so that has really informed the next thing I’m working on now and preparing for. It’s just kind of put me back in my actory body in a really good way.
And hosting SNL.
Olsen: Of course, now I’ll host SNL because stage fright has nothing to do with that. I can do a monologue in front of people and make them laugh.
Sudeikis: Not a prerequisite. Having worked there for 10 years, not a prerequisite. Well, the tacky answer is it’d be tough not being the boss again. And I’m fucking flabbergasted that people have picked up so much what we set down for them. You know what I mean? From colleagues on the writing and acting side to just regular folks back home, people I’ve never even met. It’s thrilling. I have to try to make sense of that for myself. And I think a lot of it has to do with it being something so personal. And so that might be the thing to lean into.
Olsen: It’s interesting you say that because immediately three days after wrapping, I had to go into a film where we’re not in WandaVision land, obviously. I mean, they kind of are a muscle, these Marvel movies. Instead of going back to that routine of it, I tried to do what you’re saying. I was like, “okay, so what can I play with that I haven’t gotten to that’ll at least satisfy something inside me that I want to play with right now?”
Sudeikis: I don’t know when I’ll get to do that again, when I’ll do that next. Because yeah, it’s Lasso—
Olsen: Lasso forever.
Sudeikis: At least for a little bit longer.
Olsen: Is it what you said, three seasons and then a special?
Sudeikis: I mean, the special would have been the third season with the initial thing. Now you sound like you’re my agent or manager.
Olsen: Oh good, that’s what I came here for. That’s what I wanted to do.
Sudeikis: Who sent you? I know the end of this story. I mean, the fact that we have a third season could fucking blow it all and ruin what would people like so much of the first season. We might be in the middle of doing it now in the second season. I don’t know. We’re just doing it the same way we did it last time. So we’ll see. But yeah, that’s a big old, long winded question mark.
Olsen: Or an ellipsis.
Press: Streaming, With Only a Little Trepidation was originally published on Elizabeth Olsen Source • Your source for everything Elizabeth Olsen
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👀 i see that you take requests for Billy Loomis from Scream and i am here for that. How about some intense fluff (lol)? maybe what a day spent with his s/o would be like?? could devolve into steamy if you want 👀
Honestly everyone should be here for Billy Loomis. Everyone’s favourite greasy rat boy. ---
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Pronouns: Unmentioned however this is written Female!Reader centric and contains feminine words like giggle and association with other women. Warnings: Kissing, fluff, light mention of murder, a literal sprinkle of angst, nothing out of the norm for a Slasher centric fic. Again I think I'm funny so that's a warning. Word Count: 2,226 ---
   “You know one of these days I'm gonna get a lock for that window and force you to use the door.” You remark loudly as you hear it slide open.    You don't even need to move from laying face down in your bed to know it's Billy, who else comes in through a window? “I thought it was romantic you know that whole Romeo and Juliet thing, there's a window somewhere in there, right?”    You can't help but to laugh and turn your head to look at him. “Are you talking about 'what light through yonder window breaks? It is the east, and Juliet is the sun'?” You asked.    “Sure.” He says as he plops down on the bed beside you. “Romantic right?” He teases arching a brow at you.    “Funny enough I don't think Romeo was talking about breaking and entering.” You remark.    “He broke into Juliet's place, didn't he?”    “You'd know if you didn't sleep in English class.”    “What do I need to be awake for? I speak it.”    You roll your eyes to spite your smile. “How about we skip the romantic lessons that ended up with two people dead?” You pitch.    He shrugs a little, his eyes looking around the room before settling on you. “Death can be romantic, what's so wrong with that?” He weighs in.    “I thought you liked horror not romance.” You point out as you roll yourself over onto your back. “Unless you're trying to tell me you wanna watch the Titanic instead of IT?” You tease.    He rolls his eyes at you but you can see the corners of his mouth are turned up. “We're watching IT?” He remarks.    “Yes because if I have to watch The Exorcist one more time I'm going to start puking.” You say pointedly, you love him but you can't keep watching that movie.    He lets out a scoff. “Maybe I was wrong about you liking romance seems like you're going for drama.”    You shove his shoulder and he grabs the hand you use to do so. “I thought you'd love IT, it's got your two favourite things” You point out and he arches a brow at you skeptically as he laces his fingers with your own. “Murder and clowns.” You insist.    “Clowns?”    “You're best friends with Stu, you have to love clowns.” You giggle sticking your tongue out in glee at your own joke.    “Yeah we'll stick with horror you're not great with comedy.” He says rolling his eyes.    Before you have a chance to insist you're hilarious cause you are he leans down and kisses you, guess you'll have to make a point of how funny you are later. And judging by the heat of his kisses he's hoping for much later. Billy's kisses are deep, to spite his standoff-ish nature he practically shatters bones with how close he wants to be to you in times of intimacy but even with his desperate need to lose himself in it he relishes every moment and takes his time, never in a rush, hands never too grabby as they explore you, if you let him he'll take his time for hours. But your body seems to have a different idea as to what it should be filled with as your stomach breaks the sizzling silence with a loud growl that makes you both laugh a little. “Maybe horror is what we should stick with.” You pant out.    Earning a breathy chuckle from him. "No arguments from me, long as it's rated R.”    If he wasn't so pretty above you, you'd roll your eyes. But he is so pretty. Brown hair coming down in shiny if not a little greasy strands that frame his face, warm brown eyes turned up at the corners from his smile, Billy is just...warm, everything about him is warm, especially the way he practically melts into the hand you bring up to cradle his face. “Sounds like you're trying to get out of my movie pick.” You point out, jokingly pouting out your bottom lip.    “I did bring Psycho.” He offers.    He's not pretty enough to stop that eye roll. “We've watched Psycho like a dozen times now.”    “Yeah, we know it so well we don't have to pay attention.” He points out running his tongue across his teeth and looking you over to get his point across.    “If you wanna get it, you're gonna have to watch IT.” You decide.    He sighs but his smile doesn't leave his face. “Alright, alright, we'll watch your
clown movie.”     He sits up and you follow halfway, letting go of his hand to drag yourself up to lean back on your elbows. “I thought you were gonna bring pizza this week, I brought it last week.” You point out as you realize he's empty handed.    Your stomach certainly seems to notice as it lets out another squelch. “You didn't hear?”    “Hear what?”    “Pizza place closed down, one of the workers in there got murdered.” He said his words dragging out slowly.    “Did they say who? When'd this happen?” You ask as shock rocketed through you, you were there literally last week!    “News said it was that Alex kid” And it seemed to spite his death Billy still had distain in his voice for him. “You know the one.” And you just nodded as you took that in, Alex had been working there as long as you'd been going. “He had it coming.”    “What?” Was all that made it out of you.    “He had it coming.” He said again this time looking right at you. “That kid was creep, the way he looked at you, the shit he said.” He pointed out, this wasn't the first time Billy had gotten angry about Alex or any other guy that flirted with you for that matter but Alex always made his blood boil and if you thought about it-...if you were being fair, he made you mad too, he just never knew when enough was enough. “You know I'm right, you can't tell me I'm not.”    You took what felt like a painful breath as you tried to think of what to say back, words started to form but they never finished as your brain grappled with the idea of Alex's death. “Did they say what happened?” Finally came out.    Maybe some other girl had just had enough, maybe it'd been quick...maybe then it wouldn't seem so bad. “Gutted like the pig he was.” So much for it not seeming so bad. "Happened when he was closing down, idiot left the back door open...I mean what'd he expect to happen?” He scoffed shaking his head. “Wasn't much of a fight, pretty quick...bloody though.” He said his eyes slipping from you to roam around, not particularly focused on anything. “Couldn't tell the difference from all that blood and the marinara sauce.” A quiet chuckle making it's way out of him at the end. “Found bits of him in the oven too.”    “That was all on the news?” You breathed out, the words leaving your mouth without your permission.    But the question hung in the air for what felt like too long, Billy's eyes not meeting yours for too long. “Uh-huh.” Finally made it's way out of him as he chewed on the inside of his cheek for a moment. “You know how Gale Weathers reports, that bitch loves those details.”     You nod but there's an uncomfortableness that sits in your chest that you're desperate to get away from. “Chinese it is then tonight huh?” You try to tease.    “So, you're not too sad about the Pizza place shutting down?” He asks finally looking over at you.    Out of all the things to be concerned about...but that was real concern in Billy's eyes. “It's probably for the best...I mean even if it opened up again I don't know if I could eat there again knowing about the...pizza sauce.” You said swallowing hard at the end trying your best not to picture it.    “They could rename it Hannibal Lecter's Pizza Place.” He pitched smiling at you.    Your gag is half real as you sit up fully. “Yeah, remember how I said I'm not gonna read that book? Well I'm really not gonna read it now.” You say making a disgusted face at him.    “You'd like it, Clarice makes me think of you.”     You maul over that, it's not a bad thing to be compared to Jodie Foster but not knowing the context you weren't sure how to feel. “I don't know exactly what that means but I'll take it as you saying I'm as hot as Jodie Foster and not that you're gonna eat me.”     “He doesn't eat Jodie Foster.” He points out rolling his eyes at you.    “Oh good.”    “You know one of the only reasons he even talks to her is cause one of the other guys in the nut house flicks cum at her.” Maybe it was a good thing you hadn't eaten cause another gag made it's way out of you. “And he finds it really fuckin'
rude...he doesn't say it but I think he would've killed him if he had the chance.” He says nodding a little to himself. “I would've.” He adds shrugging and before you can even really take that in he's talking again. “Anyway, the story is kinda about getting under someone's skin, understanding the way they think...the way they are...no one really does that besides Clarice you know? She understands him, she's horrified but she understands him.” And his eyes found yours once again, they're intense to spite his seemingly relaxed posture. “She makes me think of you because you get me.”    How could something so sweet come across so dark? A smile makes it's way across your lips to spite your confusion...you do get Billy, you know him, you love him. These weird horror movie references are just how he gets by in the world and comes to understand himself...how you’ve come to understand him and this is no different. You're convinced you're thinking way too much over what he's saying, he's just trying to talk to you in his own way. Yeah that's it. The breath that was painfully sitting in your chest escapes you and you reach over to hold his hand again and you realize the intense look in his eyes isn't something that should scare you, it's familiar, you've seen it before it's just the way he looks when he's yearning for physical intimacy and now it's melted into the same warm look you know so well. “I'm still not gonna read it...but next week it is your turn to pick a movie.” You point out. “Can't stop you from bringing it over.”     He smiles and you can't help but to smile back at him, he raises his free hand to cradle your face and this time its your turn to melt into his palm as he leans in and kisses you. Whatever worry you had is drowned out by the taste of love on his lips. “You're not gonna leave me too right? You can't...you're the only one who understands.” It sounds needy as it's said between kisses.    You know what he means, it's something that's been brought up before, all his anger and resentment for his mother leaving seemingly out of the blue makes him unsure of so much. It's not often he needs reminding that you're not going anywhere but every time he does it breaks your heart to hear all the desperation in his voice. “I'm not going anywhere.” You promise.    This usually leads to sex that leaves you both almost physically unable to go anywhere and as clothes are starting to be fisted off, your stomach once again decides it too has desperation its desperation to eat! And once again you both pull back to laugh. “I might go into the living room to use the phone to call for Chinese.” You half tease.    He chuckles as he rolls off of you. “Guess that's alright.” He teases back.    You both lay there for a moment trying to catch your breath and find the energy to leave this bed but the odds stack even further against you as you feel his thumb smooth over the top of your hand that he's still holding. “You know I think I can hear Stu crying.” You joke making Billy look at you like you've got 5 heads. “I'm the only one who understands you? I mean he's gotta be crying.” You clear.    He laughs shaking his head. “Yeah, comedy isn't for you.” He reminds.    “You're wrong and saying so has cost you your egg roll.” You decide and he looks at you with a look that can only be describes as 'really?' “Stu finds me funny, maybe I'll order him an egg roll.” You point out as you get up.    “Stu finding you funny doesn't mean anything, Stu thinks he's hysterical.” He scoffs    “Well, he is hysterical.” You scoff back at him. “Now tell me I'm funny or I'm taking away your dumplings next.”     “I'd kill you for that.” He says looking at you smiling a little. “So...be careful, your life could be in my hands.”     “Yeah well your Chinese Food is in my hands.” You teasingly threaten back putting your hands on your hips.    His smile broadens. “That was kinda funny.”  --- ~Admin Coral🍒 Buy Me A Coffee?
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catfe-overlord · 4 years
Text
“Cold”
Part 1
::In which Bakugou causes a massive avalanche and pays the price for his mistake. He and Kirishima must survive trapped in a cave until class A finds them::
•••••••••••••••
Bakugou awoke to pain. His head was pounding, his back was on fire, but his arms—dammit, his arms hurt.
He tried to speak, to call out for Kirishima. He needed to know he was okay, that he’d survived. He needed to see those red eyes looking back at him. He needed to say I love you one more time.
“K-Kiri—shima…” he managed. He tried to flip himself onto his stomach, but the pain in his arms that flared when he attempted to use them was excruciating. He couldn’t stop himself from crying out.
This whole mess was all Bakugou’s fault. He’d been an idiot, and now his whole class could be in danger. Some of them could even be dead because of him.
It was supposed to be a simple training exercise. Aizawa had brought the class to a secluded mountain a couple hours from UA. They were all given backpacks with everything they’d need to survive the harsh, freezing climates if anything were to happen, but he said they wouldn’t need them. Their teacher had been so wrong.
It was just a game of capture the flag. Piece of cake, right? The class was split into two teams and either had to hide their flag somewhere within their zone. Once they saw the glow of the red flare shoot into the sky, that marked the start of the exercise. They had three hours to retrieve the opposing team’s flag and cross the border back to their territory.
Bakugou and Kirishima were placed on opposite teams, much to Bakugou’s dislike. He didn’t complain though. He wasn’t that clingy.
It was when he’d had a run in with that IcyHot bastard and Deku that things went south fast. He should’ve thought better than to use his quirk on the side of a snowy mountain. He’d caused a massive avalanche, jeopardizing everyone’s safety, all because he wanted to win.
He remembered seeing Half and Half throw up a barricade of ice to save himself and Deku, but Bakugou was too far away for it to protect him. He’d fallen victim to the plummeting wall of snow, and there was nothing he could do to stop it. Using his quirk again would only make things worse.
The last thing he saw was a flash of red before he tumbled over the side of a cliff, then everything went black.
He just hoped everyone else was okay. That they hadn’t been hurt because of his fuckup. Some hero he was, eh?
Now he was here, surrounded by darkness and cold, with no idea where he was or how to get back to his classmates. He was in too much pain to get up and it was too dark to see the damage. His eyes stung but—goddammit—Bakugou Katsuki was not about to cry.
He tensed when suddenly there was blinding light assaulting his eyes, followed by a voice—a manly voice that made every muscle in his body relax. His brain melted with relief.
“Katsuki! Babe, oh god, I’m so glad you’re awake. I’ve been so worried.”
Kirishima turned the flashlight away from his face but kept it trained on Bakugou’s body to assess his injuries. With the faint glow, Bakugou could just barely make out his boyfriend’s face, but there was one prominent feature that stuck out like a sore thumb.
“Ei, you’re bleeding,” Bakugou stated. Blood soaked half of Kirishima’s face, coming from a gash hidden within his hair.
“It’s nothing,” Kirishima answered, waving it off. “Head wounds bleed a lot. Just a cut. It’s you I’m worried about.”
Bakugou scowled. “What’s wrong with me?”
“Well, for starters, you have two broken arms.”
That explained a lot. Both arms out of commission? That made things a lot more complicated. Getting out just got a lot harder.
“Shit,” Bakugou cursed. “Do you know where we are?”
“A cave,” the redhead explained. He pulled his emergency backpack over and pulled out some bandages and gauze. “We fell pretty far, but I managed to drag you in here before we were crushed by the avalanche. Now the problem is we’re snowed in.”
Bakugou frowned. “What about our communicators? Did you contact Aizawa yet?”
Kirishima pursed his lips. “I tried. The signal is too weak in here. I’m just hoping our trackers still work.”
Bakugou let out a breath, and he could see it cloud above him in the cool air. If they stayed here too long, they’d freeze to death. He figured they had a few hours at best.
“Here,” Kirishima said as he tugged his jacket off. Bakugou was about to protest when he took his shirt off too, but he immediately pulled the coat back on and zipped it up. He started tearing the shirt. “I’m going to make you a couple of slings for your arms.”
Bakugou held his tongue. Kirishima was the most caring person he’d ever known. He was literally giving the blond the shirt off his back. How Bakugou landed someone like him was beyond his comprehension.
Once the slings were all said and done, getting them on Bakugou was a whole other story. Kirishima helped him sit up, but the pain in his spine was absolutely awful, to put it lightly.
“Ah!” Bakugou gasped as the first sling was tightened. His arm throbbed painfully in the aftermath. Kirishima had a guilty look on his face that Bakugou didn’t like.
“Just one more time, Kats. We’re almost done.”
Bakugou chewed on his lip. He let Kirishima continue to wrap another piece of cloth under his other arm and tie it off. This one didn’t hurt as bad as the last.
“Finished!” Kirishima exclaimed. He looked so relieved to have it over. “Alright, next I’m going to try and make a fire. Hopefully there’s something around here I can burn.”
Kirishima pulled the thin sleeping bag from his backpack and unfurled it. “You should get in here. You’re not going to be doing much moving around and you won’t be producing enough body heat, so we need to keep you warm.”
Bakugou kept his mouth shut as he allowed Kirishima to help him into the sleeping bag. It was designed to insulate body heat even in freezing temperatures, so they wouldn’t have to worry too much about hypothermia.
Except Bakugou was worried because he’d lost his own backpack somewhere during the fall and this was their only insulated sleeping bag.
Kirishima took the flashlight and searched the cave for flammables, only coming up with a small pile of sticks and dead leaves. It would last them maybe an hour.
“Back up,” Bakugou said. “I’ll light ‘em up.”
“No you won’t,” Kirishima retorted. “You’re only going to hurt your arms worse. I’ve got matches, dude. Just relax.”
There was no way Bakugou was just going to relax. He’d gotten them into this disaster and now he couldn’t even help to get them out of it. He was forced to rely on Kirishima, who deserved better than such a shitty boyfriend.
“Hey,” Kirishima said then, kneeling beside Bakugou. He placed a calloused hand on his cheek. “I can see you beating yourself up. Stop feeling guilty.”
“I want to help.”
“It’d really help me if you didn’t injure yourself more than you already are,” Kirishima chuckled. “Listen, the others will find us and everyone will be fine. You should lie down and get some rest.”
“I’m not going to leave you alone, Shitty Hair.”
Kirishima sighed, but a small smile remained on his lips. He gently kissed Bakugou on the forehead and stood again. “I know how stubborn you are so I won’t push it. You should rest though.”
“Not tired,” Bakugou mumbled.
“Then are you hungry? I have a thermos of soup and some Gatorade.”
He shook his head. “We should save it. We don’t know how long we’ll be stuck here.”
Kirishima nodded. “Yeah, you’re right.”
He swiped a match against his boot and a small flame burst to life. The twigs caught fire easily, and soon Bakugou could feel the warmth on his skin. Kirishima sat beside him so Bakugou could lean on him as they nestled together. Bakugou ended up using Kirishima’s lap as a pillow while the redhead fiddled with the communicator.
Bakugou could feel his eyes drooping shut as he slowly sank into sleep.
•••••••••••••••
Read part 2 here
Read part 3 here
Yes yes I hope you guys liked it! Kinda short and the next couple parts will probably be too. This was supposed to be a one-shot but of course I can’t help myself. Anywho, hope you have a swell day ! ~
9/3/2020
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flowerpowell · 3 years
Text
The Royal Holiday Romance (Liam x MC)
PART THREE
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A/N: Good morning and welcome to the third part of this mess of a series that I randomly decided to write. It’s still cheesy and still Hallmarky. Nothing changed in that department. And we’re almost kinda halfway through. I hope you’ll like this part! Characters belong to Pixelberry.
Rating: G 
Tagging: @twinkleallnight​ @kingliam-rys​ @sfb123​ @iaminlovewithtrr​ @gardeningourmet​ @gkittylove99​ @texaskitten30​ @delightfullypinkglitter​ @kingliam2019​ @queen-arabella-of-cordonia​ @lodberg​ 
Victoria looked at herself in the mirror and sighed. She wasn’t sure if her little black dress was an appropriate attire for meeting the King. On the other hand, she truly believed that ‘less is more’ and her LBD was inspired by the fashion of Audrey Hepburn. If the King had a problem with Victoria’s love for simple outfits it wouldn’t be her problem. She doubted it’d be the case though; Hana insisted that the King was a true gentleman and one of the nicest people she’d ever met. Victoria was already excited to meet him. Besides, she’d never met anyone from royal family before and she was interested what they would be like. Her obsessions with fairytales definitely added to that interest.
“Ready?” Hana walked into Victoria’s room in a house the filming crew rented for all the actors.
“I think so. What do you think?” She did a little twirl and Hana chuckled.
“Beautiful. You look like an actress straight from the 50’s. Come on, our car is waiting for us!”
Victoria took a deep breath before walking out. It felt almost silly how excited she was but the inner child within her was screaming with joy at the prospect of going to an actual palace.
“Here goes nothing.” 
~~~~
“Ahhh! I’m so excited! Do you think Hana will like my squid suit?”
“Mhm.” Liam only nodded and Drake rolled his eyes.
“Why do I have to be here as well? I’m not a noble!” He asked, for the fifth time that hour.
“Because you want to support me?” Maxwell suggested and Drake shook his head.
“Try again.”
“This is so exciting! Thank you, Liam! You’re the best friend a guy could ask for,” Maxwell said, completely ignoring Drake.
“You’re welcome. My father liked lady Hana a lot and since her role in The Crown and the Flame he considered her a friend of the Crown. It’d be nice to have her back here.”
“And her friend Maxwell insisted on inviting,” Drake noticed.
“You’ll like her. Besides, Hana said nice things about her and Hana is never wrong.”
“Your obsession with Hana Lee is a bit concerning.”
“It’s not obsession, it’s an appreciation for her art. You’ll never understand it with an attitude like this, Drake.” Maxwell stuck out his tongue at him.
“Your Majesty.” Antonio, the King’s assistant, walked into the room. “The ladies have arrived. Shall I ask them to come here?”
“Yes, thank you.”
“Your Majesty!” Bastien called out from behind Liam. “The American Ambassador is on the line and wants to talk to you. He says it’s urgent.”
“Very well, then.” Liam nodded. “I’ll join you in a moment. Please excuse me,” Liam apologized and followed Bastien into his office. Truth be told, he was quite happy about that distraction. As much as he liked lady Hana, he wasn’t in a mood to socialize today. All he could think about was the mysterious Victoria. He wondered if she visited his secret spot again. He wanted nothing more than to go to that forest again and see her again. Maybe. If she was still Cordonia, that is.
“Liam, get yourself together,” he scolded himself in his head before returning to his duties.
~~~~
“The King had to answer a call but he’ll join us shortly. I’m so happy to see you both again,” Maxwell welcomed Hana and Victoria as Drake shook their hands.
“He’s always busy in the Christmas time,” Drake added.
“It’s okay,” Victoria tried to smile but she was too anxious to do that. Now that she was in the palace, it all felt real but still almost surreal.
“What an interesting suit, Maxwell,” Hana noticed.
“Thank you, m’lady.” Maxwell smiled and turned to Drake, sending him a quick, I-told-you-so look.
“Let’s go to the dining room. I’m sure you two must be hungry after working all day.”
Victoria only nodded, glancing one last time behind her to see if maybe the King had joined them. So far, there was no sight of him.
~~~~
Liam was sitting in his office with his eyes closed. If he had had any energy left before, now he had absolutely none. The ambassador talked to him for straight thirty minutes about his idea, which Liam didn’t fully understood. Something about the movie with Hana Lee and about the premiere of it, as well as some other details Liam simply hadn’t noted. He was tired, too tired to talk to anyone. Would Maxwell forgive him if he ditched the dinner?
“He’s probably too focused on Hana to notice I’m not here,” Liam said to himself before standing up and taking his coat. He needed fresh air first. He could join his friends later.
~~~~
It was already an hour since they came to the palace and there was still no King on the horizon. Victoria wondered if the Kingly duties were that absorbing or if he simply decided to skip the dinner. Hana and Maxwell were chatting and seemed not to notice someone was missing but Victoria kept glancing at the door from time to time. She talked a little with Drake who, as she learned, was half-American and was King’s best friend. He told her about his family’s ranch in Texas and about how different his life was in Cordonia. In return, Victoria told Drake about how she wanted to become a movie critic but became an actress instead.
“Y’know, it’s never too late to change your career path. Maybe you’re never really happy with your roles because you’re not doing something you really love?” Drake suggested when she confessed to him why she wasn’t so excited about the movie.
“I don’t know… It feels easier to be where I am rather than change my life drastically.”
“Maybe.” Drake nodded. “But I learned the hard way that we don’t grow if we stay in the same place. Don’t settle for less just because you’re comfortable or scared.”
Victoria chuckled. “That was deep.”
Drake smiled and motioned the alcohol on the table. “That’s whiskey talking. Or maybe my wife’s influence, I don’t know.”
“In this case, I’d like to thank whiskey and your wife for the advice. I’ll think about it.”
“Please do. I was in a similar spot before I met my wife. She completely changed me and made me realize all these things I just told you. And that being said,” Drake looked around the room, “I gotta go, I miss my wife.”
“Sure. Have a great night, Drake. And thank you for the pep talk!”
“At your service.” Drake smiled and said goodbye to Hana and Maxwell. Victoria sat alone for twenty minutes more before she finally decided to go home as well. The King wasn’t coming. He was probably very busy and Victoria wasn’t surprised he couldn’t make it.
“I think I’ll go as well. I’m a bit sleepy after today. You can stay,” Victoria added as she noticed Hana was getting up, too.
“Nonsense. I brought you here and besides, it is pretty late.”
“Hana, I know where to go. And I think I could use a walk. Please, stay here with Maxwell and don’t worry about me. We’ll see each other tomorrow morning anyway.”
“If you’re sure.” Hana hesitated and Victoria smiled reassuringly.
“I am.”
“Do you need a drive? I can ask one of our drivers to give you a lift,” Maxwell offered but she shook her head.
“I’ll walk, I want to get some fresh air before I’ll go to sleep. You two have fun, though!”
“Text me when you get to your room safely!” Hana called out after Victoria and she only nodded.
~~~~
Liam was wandering around the forest for over an hour, each minute feeling guilty for leaving his guests without their host. He truly believed they were better off without him as he was too tired to make a good impression on anyone.
It was already late when he decided to head home. He didn’t see Victoria, not that he was looking for her. He was that naïve to think he’d meet her again.
He was about twenty minutes from home when he noticed someone familiar. His heart began to race as he realized it was Victoria. As usual, she seemed to be lost in thought and didn’t see him. He admired how beautiful she looked for a moment before he decided to catch her attention.
“Victoria!” He called out and felt tingles when their eyes met. He watched as she walked up to him smiling from ear to ear and realized he was grinning like an idiot himself.
“Liam! What a nice surprise to meet you here!”
“Indeed it is. I… umm… was in the forest today and I missed you bumping into me.”
Victoria chuckled at his words. “I wanted to go there today but I had to be somewhere else.”
“Do you have any plans for tomorrow? There’s another spot I like and which I think you’ll like as well; besides, I just finished reading Little Mermaid and need to discuss it with an expert.”
“You read Little Mermaid?” Her eyes were sparkling with joy and Liam’s breath hitched.
“Of course. I’m always down to read a good thriller,” he joked causing her to burst out laughing. She quickly covered her mouth but Liam took notice of how adorable her laugh was.
“I’m free,” she replied. She had no scenes that day anyway and Hana would forgive her if she skipped one day of eating lunch together. Liam smiled at her words.
“Wonderful. Should we meet by the cave? What time would be the best for you?”
“Maybe it’d be easier if we had each other’s phone numbers?” Victoria suggested shyly. It was the first time ever she asked a man for his number. “This way we wouldn’t have to wait to bump into each other again and if something pops out we’d be able to contact one another.”
“I’m glad at least one of us is thinking straight,” Liam laughed. They exchanged their phone numbers and after chatting for a few moments, each of them went their own way, both of them thinking about the other one.
~~~~
“Good morning to you, Your Majesty who skipped your own dinner party. I hope the call was fruitful.”
Liam rolled his eyes at Drake’s sarcastic comment.
“The call was way too long and exhausting. I needed to go for a walk afterwards.” He bit his lip and Drake eyed him suspiciously.
“I know that look. You’re hiding something.”
“Not at all.”
“Mhm. Where were you yesterday and where are you going today?”
Liam sighed. “Drake, I really—”
“Be sorry that you didn’t come to dinner yesterday. We had so much fun! And Hana loved my suit!” Maxwell waltzed into the room, beaming.
“She said it was interesting,” Drake corrected but Maxwell ignored it.
“Where were you anyway?”
“I went for a walk and it took me longer than I thought. I’m happy to hear that you all had a great time,” Liam replied. They might have had a great time but he was sure he had even greater time. A certain movie critic had something to do with it. They shared a few messages since last night, mostly talking about movies and books. Liam found himself completely fascinated by this woman who was so passionate about cinema that it made him watch something for the first time since becoming the King.
“Maxwell had. He was talking to Hana all evening and left Hana’s friend out,” Drake noticed.
“She was talking to you!”
“Until I had to go back to Riley. Maxwell, you sucked as a host, face it.”
“Thank you, Drake for keeping her company though. Had I known she’d be sitting alone I’d have come sooner,” Liam said suddenly feeling guilty. He didn’t know this Tori but she was his guest and he felt bad for how Maxwell treated her.
“Okay, I’m sorry. I should’ve acted differently but I was just so excited to talk to Hana that I forgot about everything else. And Tori didn’t seem to mind. I told you she was cool,” Maxwell shrugged.
“We’ll talk about when I’ll come back,” Liam warned.
“Where are you going? Shouldn’t you have a meeting with my brother and Olivia today?”
“I rescheduled. I’m meeting someone.”
“Who?” Drake raised his eyebrows.
“Just… someone I met recently. I’ll tell you later.”
“Oooh, interesting!” Maxwell exclaimed. “Then I’ll tell you more about what I learned about Hana! Look, I even took pictures of us! I’ll use them in my book.” Maxwell showed Liam a few selfies from the day before. Most of them showed Maxwell grinning at the camera and Hana smiling slightly.
“Wait, stop,” Liam asked. “Can you go back to three pictures ago?”
“Umm, sure.”
Maxwell went back to the photo and Liam’s eyes went wide as he looked at it. He zoomed in on a person in the background, not believing his eyes.
“Victoria?!”
--------------------
33 notes · View notes
redhoodedwolf · 4 years
Note
Prompt: They both keep asking each other out but thinking the other one is rejecting them and lydia has to like banshee scream some sense into them or something
“So, what are you doing this weekend?”
Stiles scoffed, tossing the lacrosse ball back up towards the ceiling and catching it narrowly before it smacked him on the nose on the way down. “Not going on a date,” he said, somewhat bitterly. It’d been over three months since the last one of those and he’s starting to take it personally. Is he no longer attractive? Did moving in with his dad while he goes through surgery recovery really demote his worth?
Derek was quiet for a moment, probably engrossed in his bestiary research again. When Stiles turned onto his side on the bed and glanced at him, he caught Derek’s eyes flitting back down to the book. “I see,” the werewolf said a beat later, no emotion readable in his voice.
Stiles continued to stare at him, mostly unabashedly, noting how Derek’s fingers curled over one corner of the book, the shadows his dark eyelashes cast over his cheeks, his shoulders bare underneath a tight white tank top.
*
“I am starving,” John Stilinski complained, and Stiles had come to expect this complaint every evening after physical therapy, like clockwork.
Derek, his physical therapist, chuckled as he lowered Stiles’ father into the living room recliner, removing the crutches from his hands. “You did good work today, it’s to be expected.”
“What’s the prognosis, doc?”
Derek ignored the nickname, which Stiles knew five years ago would have garnered even his father the Hale Death Glare. “You’ve got good bones, Sheriff, and they’re healing nicely. In a couple weeks we’ll try to get you walking without the crutches--”
“As long as you continue doing your daily exercises,” Stiles finished Derek’s thought as he brought a healthy plate of fruits and vegetables out from the kitchen to settle onto the table next to his dad’s chair.
Derek nodded at him, a small smile on his lips. His eyes were sparkling with mirth.
Stiles felt the words tumble out of his mouth, “We should go get dinner. Together,” he tacked on when he got control of his mouth again.
Maybe doing this in front of his immobile father wasn’t the best choice, but needs must?
Derek’s smile faltered, and his eyes flicked away from Stiles over to his father and then back to Stiles. Derek cleared his throat, and cast his eyes downward. Stiles pursed his lips.
“We--You shouldn’t leave your dad. He’ll need the pork chops you’ve been defrosting for dinner tonight to help revive him.”
Stiles felt a frozen smile on his face and a similar coolness in his stomach. “Right. Forgot about those.”
*
Danny arched an eyebrow when Stiles slid onto a stool at the bar, and before Stiles could utter a greeting, asked, “Does Lydia know you’re here?”
Stiles blinked. “Um, no? She’s in Boston? Do I need her permission to drink? I’ll have what’s on tap.”
Danny’s eyebrow looked far more judgmental, but he moved to grab a mug for Stiles’ beer and filled it. “I ask because she’s been asking me to keep her up to date with your... shall we say movements here. I don’t think she expected you in a gay bar at night when you could be with someone else.”
Stiles scoffed and took a long drink from his mug. “And who could that be, my dad?”
“Was thinking younger, more scruffy, more fangs,” Danny shot back with, and Stiles’ beer suddenly went down like lava, drying up his insides and instantly draining the life from him.
“No. No, that’s not...” Stiles shook his head, unable to finish.
Danny made a noise, and Stiles looked back up at him.
“Weird. Ran into someone at the grocery store last week, and all he, ehem, they, if we’re still pretending here, talked about was helping you, and why you were in town, and if I had seen you recently.”
Stiles ran a hand over his face. “He’s my dad’s PT, okay? I’m home for my dad. That’s what he cares about. He made that pretty clear.”
Danny refilled his mug without Stiles asking for it, and it made a dull clanking when the full drink hit the bartop. “You asked him out?”
Stiles took the mug into his hands and said nothing.
Danny rolled his eyes. “Look, I know how scarce FMLA time is, even for me, I have no idea how much they give you fancy FBI operatives--”
“They’re actually surprisingly good about it,” Stiles interrupted, a puff to his chest. “That, and they know if they ever want me back, which they do because they need me, then they’ll give me what I want.”
“You have such a confident attitude when it comes to your job,” Danny said, as if his statement had a double meaning. “Expect a call from Lydia tomorrow.”
*
Stiles was in his room the next morning, glad for his foresight the night before to not drink himself into a stupor he hadn’t found himself in since college, window open to let in the morning breeze and the sound of Derek’s voice as he stood on the front porch, talking into his phone.
Derek was early for his dad’s appointment, so Stiles had no qualms about making him wait. He wasn’t ready to face him yet, not without waking up a bit more and removing the images of dream-Derek from his brain.
“Look,” Derek said abruptly, and the sudden clarity of his voice caught Stiles’ attention. “I’ve already gotten a no, okay? I’m not such an asshole as to ask twice.”
Stiles couldn’t see him and didn’t want to move closer to the window, in case Derek heard or sensed him eavesdropping, so he moved about his room as naturally as possible, pulling off his sleep pants and dressing in fresh jeans.
“I don’t know what Danny told you, but--”
Stiles stubbed his toes on the leg of his bed, so he missed the rest of Derek’s sentence as he cursed up a storm mentally and shook out his foot to try and stop the sharp pain.
“We can’t all be special like you.”
Stiles collapsed onto the edge of his bed. He’d barely caught the words coming from Derek, they’d been spoken so gently. Stiles swallowed thickly. Who could Derek be talking to that garnered such respect and tenderness? Maybe Cora?
The doorbell rang downstairs, and his dad called, “Derek’s here!” from the kitchen, meaning “get the door for me I’m finishing up the last of my exercises that I promised I would do yesterday but never did.”
Stiles pulled on a shirt and raced down the stairs, opening the door for Derek in record time. “We should just get you a key to the house,” Stiles half-joked.
There was a look on Derek’s face that Stiles couldn’t read. He also couldn’t tell if it had to do with his phone conversation or seeing Stiles.
Derek glanced up behind him and said, “Your phone is--” he paused and shook his head. “Your dad in the living room?”
Stiles stepped aside and let him in, closing the door behind them. “The kitchen, I think? I just woke up.”
Derek glanced at the hall clock that proclaimed it was almost eleven thirty in the morning. He licked his lips. “Long night?” Derek asked.
Stiles shrugged. “Went out for drinks,” he answered a beat later, spotting his father in the kitchen, crutch under one arm and trying to bend to reach something in the fridge. “Dad, would you let me get it, please?”
“I would if my son didn’t come home in the early hours of the morning, thus sleeping past any kind of respectable time, to help me eat something before my PT appointment. Hello Derek,” his father greeted, smile on his face wavering before he asked, “Everything okay?”
Stiles turned to see Derek’s eyes on the floor as he nodded. “All good, Sheriff. Let’s get you squared away.”
*
Stiles used the appointment time as a reason to escape and get groceries. Halfway to the store, his phone sprang to live, vibrating up a storm in the cup holder. He let the call ring out, but then whoever it was called back immediately. With a sigh, Stiles pulled into the closest parking lot which happened to be for a bank and reached for his phone. He’d assumed it was work calling, but Lydia’s name was flashing on the screen, declaring several missed calls from earlier in the morning as well. He’d recalled Danny’s warning from the night (this morning?) before and groaned, loudly.
When the phone rang again, he picked up immediately. “Yes, strawberry goddess?”
“Are you with Derek?”
Stiles glanced in his rear-view mirror to double check (hey, it had happened before) and replied, “No, he’s at home working with Dad. Why?”
“Where are you?”
Stiles was starting to get a headache. “On my way to the store. Pulled into a parking lot because you called.”
“Good. Switch to FaceTime.”
Stiles knew it wasn’t a question. He pulled the phone away from his ear and stared at the screen, unenthused, until Lydia’s face appeared before him.
“So, what did Danny tell you?” Stiles asked, wanting to get this out of the way.
“Stiles, you look sad,” Lydia said with a “tsk” in her voice.
“Not exactly swimming in roses here in good ol’ BH, hon.”
Lydia smiled sympathetically. “You miss work?”
Stiles rubbed his free hand through his hair. “I mean, yeah? But this is way more important. And it’s been good family time. The SanFran branch is close but not close enough.”
Lydia nodded. “I know. But you should be making the most out of your time. Like not shooting yourself in the foot.”
Stiles squawked indignantly. “Excuse me?”
“That’s what Danny told me, at least,” She flipped her hand back and forth, and Stiles noticed something gleaming on her fourth finger.
“Lydia, are you engaged?!” Stiles shrieked. Some lady coming out of the bank glared at him and clutched her purse tight to her chest. How dare she, he worked for the FBI.
Lydia huffed and examined her left hand. “Yes. All the more reason for you to stop shooting yourself in the foot so you can bring a date to my wedding. You’ll be my best man, of course.”
“Of-of course. I’m-I’d be honored. But, wait...” Stiles shook his head, reorganizing his thoughts. “I’m not shooting myself, I’m putting myself out there and getting rejected. I’m...getting shot at. Metaphorically.”
Stiles wasn’t sure if his connection froze or if Lydia was just holding the “Stiles is an idiot” look on her face.
“Lydia,” Stiles said, in warning.
“And he calls me special,” Lydia murmured under her breath, face finally breaking.
And that. That pinged a bell in Stiles’ brain. “You were the one on the phone with Derek earlier?”
“Yes, telling him about my upcoming nuptials and how I was hoping to use Hale land to have the ceremony and reception on. And about his choice in date.”
Stiles watched Lydia smirk, and it was still scary even pixelated. He tried to think back on the little he’d overheard from the call. But putting it into context didn’t make sense. Because then Derek would have been meaning that he’d asked someone on a date, and got turned down. Not impossible, but improbable, especially considering his character growth since Stiles was in high school.
A sick feeling settled into Stiles’ stomach when he remembered what else Derek had said. “Did... he asked out--”
“Yes, Stiles,” Lydia said with a relieved sigh.
“Danny,” Stiles choked out and slumped back in the seat. Of course. 
“Oh for the love of Christ,” Lydia hissed, and Stiles slid his gaze back over to the phone to see Lydia practically seething. “I will scream. I am about to scream. Just go get your stupid groceries, go home, talk to Derek, and then call me.”
“So he can let me down a second time? No thanks,” Stiles grumbled, but she did have a point about the store.
“You are a disappointment,” Lydia said before abruptly ending the call, which stung a little, but Stiles knew she didn’t really mean it.
*
Derek was at his car door when he got home an hour after leaving and helped to bring the bags of groceries into the house. He even helped put them away in the kitchen, not uttering a word the entire time. It was weirding Stiles out, but not enough to tell him to stop. The job was done in more than half the time.
“Your dad is taking a shower. Don’t worry,” Derek added, when Stiles opened his mouth, “I’ve got ears on him. He’s perfectly steady, using the shower chair and everything. Just didn’t want another sponge bath from his son.”
Stiles scoffed, unable to look at Derek for more than a second without feeling jealous. “They aren’t a cake walk for me either.”
“I’m not dating Danny.”
Stiles stopped rolling the empty plastic bags into a large ball and tossed it onto the counter, wound-up bags spilling in random directions and expanding very slowly.
“I didn’t ask him out either. I wouldn’t--” Derek’s voice faltered, and Stiles look at him truly for the first time that day. Derek’s shoulders were slumped, and he looked exhausted. “I wouldn’t do that to you, unknowingly or knowingly.”
“Um.” Stiles was now feeling like the idiot Lydia looked at him like.
“Lydia texted me, said you thought I’d asked him out, but I didn’t, I barely see him, he’s only working here before he starts grad school--”
“I know,” Stiles said, needing to do something with his body before he went into a complete shock. He was lost, which didn’t happen much these days.
Derek didn’t look any happier; in fact he looked even more upset, though his emotions only played out in the crinkles on his face and the slope of his torso. “Of course, yeah, I mean you spent all night with him so...” Derek trailed off.
Stiles started to catch on. “Yeeeah,” he responded, slowly. “Because he was bartending at the bar I went to last night. Contractually obligated to stick around and make drinks.”
Derek’s eyebrows furrowed. “But then who did you meet for drinks?”
Stiles raised his hands up. “Nobody? I mean, there were others there, but it was a Wednesday night, dude, not exactly popping.”
“So you’re not dating Danny?”
Stiles scoffed. “No, Danny is out of my league and I am not his type.” He swallowed before adding, “You are, though.”
Derek nodded once, then again. “Oh. So it’s just me, then. I see.”
“That’s great. Wanna show me the picture?” Stiles asked, reaching out to settle a hand on Derek’s arm and squeezing the muscle. “I feel like we’re working with different cameras here.”
Derek’s eyes fell on Stiles’ touch of comfort, gaze trailing up his arm and finally landing on his face. “Lydia is getting married,” he mumbled.
“She is,” Stiles said, because it was good they agreed on something.
Derek stared at him, took a deep breath, and said, “And I want to date you.”
Stiles’ grip on Derek’s arm tightened. He forced back the stupid smile that wanted to overwhelm his face and said on an exhale, “What made you change your mind?”
“Change my mind? I haven’t. I asked you on a date. You said you weren’t interested.”
Stiles pulled Derek a step closer to him, eyes wide and head shaking. “Uh, no, I would never do that, besides it was you who turned me down, remember?”
Derek took hold of Stiles’ wrist and pulled him even closer, their chests touching. “I think neither of us have been working with a full deck here.”
“You’re mixing metaphors now,” Stiles warned, and knew Derek could hear the way his heart was tripping over itself by the tightening of his grip.
“No, you used one metaphor, and then I used one. No mixing, yet,” Derek challenged, pale eyes flitting all over Stiles’ face before his gaze was landing below his nose.
“I think I am starting to get why Lydia wanted to scream in my face earlier,” Stiles murmured, lips close to brushing Derek’s as he rocked forward.
“I kind of want to scream now.”
Stiles and Derek jumped apart to see an amused and wet-haired Sheriff in the kitchen doorway, a towel slung over his shoulders.
“Dad, you are the worst,” Stiles declared.
His father gave him a look.
“Oh, go do your alphabet foot exercises,” Stiles shot back, snagging Derek’s wrist and pulling him past his father and into the hallway. “I’m going to ask a second time, Derek, and I know not taking no for an answer is so high-school-Stiles but I think this time I can make an exception.”
Derek was grinning at him, teeth on display, and Stiles tilted forward to kiss them, but realized halfway through the motion how weird that might be.
“Will you go on a date with me? And be my date to Lydia’s wedding, whenever that is?” Stiles placed a hand on Derek’s chest, over his heart. “Please don’t say no,” he whispered. “You are so my type.”
Derek raised his chin and kissed him, which was fantastic, but not an answer. Stiles moaned his disappointment into the kiss, but didn’t pull away because he was pretty sure Derek was more of an actions-guy anyway.
He was definitely good at the physicality part of physical therapy, Stiles could quickly attest to this.
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sweetest-honeybee · 4 years
Text
To Hell and Back
Chapter 31
Summary: Introducing a new evil hermit in the story and Doc nearly chokes BadTimes to death.
Characters: Doc, Impulse, BadTimes (Oscar), Hex (my Evil Mumbo) (NPC Grian, Xisuma, Hels, Wels, and Evil X mention)
TW: Strangulation and (kind of) swearing I believe?
Notes: Yes, notes will become a consistent thing lol, but I love this chapter a lot because of Oscar’s characterization :D
——————
The Evil Hermits were interesting to say the least. BadTimes led them around the vast area which resembled their server in some way. The land seemed generated quite the same, and in the places where their bases were in the overworld, they were there in HelsCraft, as BadTimes called it. The castle for The Champion was actually the Hels version of Grian’s castle he built, just the land was changed here and there.
There was a ‘jungle’- large burnt trees- close to it, and within the jungle was a very tall withering tree, presumably the HelsCraft version of Iskall’s base, owned by who BadTimes called Iskill. However, they weren’t on their way there after getting a glimpse at the other bases. The moment they were through the lava and flying around, their eyes landed on Mumbo’s HelsCraft base. Unsurprisingly, it was built nearly identical to it but gears and hundred block tall machinery ticked with metallic groans outside of the temple. Smokestacks made their way from the ground and the place looked more like a factory than the preserved temple.
BadTimes decided that that was where they would be visiting first as far as actually talking to the Evil Hermits was concerned. He said he had an ally there named Hex. Hex was supposedly Mumbo’s evil doppelgänger and that all of the Evil Hermits, and a large portion of HelsCraft itself, tended to rely on him for materials. BadTimes said he was respected, nearly a Champion but lacked a will to fight all the time and didn’t care to please The Lord of Darkness.
Already had been flying around, BadTimes led them to land on the spire in the middle of the factory, wings folding behind them neatly. Doc and Impulse were absolutely stunned by the build itself, not that Mumbo’s general base in the overworld wasn’t already incredibly impressive. Just the intense amount of machinery and watching farms grow and be harvested in amounts at a time by the hundreds. It was incredible and that made Impulse particularly giddy to meet this redstone master.
BadTimes had them land on the highest layer of the spire and let Doc and Impulse take in the ginormous build and it’s details. Occasionally, they saw BadTimes glance around, presumably looking for his friend. Though, were friends a thing here? BadTimes said Hex was an ally, not a friend. Yet, Evil X said Hels considered the Evil Hermits to be his friends at one point.
That also brought a thought to Doc, from something Hels told him a while back. He decided to ask BadTimes anyways while Impulse was busy looking over the edge. The creeper stepped up to the evil terraformer with a grunt.
“Weren’t you the one who helped in dethroning Hels?” He asked, not sparing a glance at the other, simply watching Impulse gawk and ramble about the machinery as he stood next to the evil hermit.
On the other hand, BadTimes didn’t seem fazed by the question, simply keeping an unmoving gaze. “Yes. I helped NPC get the throne. Wasn’t the one who stabbed em’ though.” He side eyed Doc carefully. “Why.”
Doc nodded, taking in the information that Hels, in fact, didn’t lie if he was talking shit about his previous companions. “We need your help,” he muttered.
That brought a chuckle out of BadTimes. “What, with The Lord a’ Darkness?” He whistled, emphasizing the size of that kind of task. “Can’t help ya’ there. ‘S got all of us wrapped around his finger. You want help, you get NPC. Kid’s got tons of power.”
The creeper sighed, then faced BadTimes curiously. “Why did you help us? In the castle?”
“Aw, now don’t bring none a’ that here. I did y’all a favor, but I don’ do it out of the nonexistent kindness of my heart, Doc. You owe me.”
Doc hummed, a fair point. “Right, well, you didn’t say you wouldn’t help us with The Lord of Darkness because you didn’t want to. You said it because you’re not able to.”
BadTimes snorted at the observation, nodding his head fondly. “Who said I like workin’ for em’? I don’t care about none a’ y’all, but I like not having to murder people all the time for his satisfaction. I want out just as bad as you do, but that’d hurt that Scar fellow.”
That was true. Hels trying to get out only landed in whatever was going on with Wels. “Right, right. Why’d you overthrow Hels then?”
The other shrugged. “Needed NPC up there. He don’ hurt anyone, really. Soft kid, actually. But even without whatever The Lord gave em’ as a reward, he’s got enough power to wipe out a city with a snap.” BadTimes sighed, almost sadly. “Kid ain’t from here, Doc. He could change this but it would risk everything we got here.”
“Change what?”
The trio turned their heads towards the familiar British accent, though much deeper than they thought it’d be, more distorted. There stood, who Impulse and Doc assumed, was Hex. Unsurprisingly, the man was still sporting the curled handlebar mustache, and his outfit screamed the word Victorian. This man, they already could tell, was some kind of inventor. Maybe the googles were the deciding factor for that thought.
“Howdy, Hex! Showin’ these fellas around. Lord a’ Darkness took em’ from the overworld.” BadTimes pointed a thumb at the two behind him.
“Figured,” the Brit replied, though not hardly showing much interest to them. “Touch anything and I'll have you ground in the gears down there, understand?” Doc and Impulse nodded, Impulse still with a grin on his face.
“You are like- holy shit, how long have you been doing this?!” The redstoner asked excitedly. “This is amazing!”
Hex tilted his chin up proudly. “Years. This world kinda forces you to get better than most. Competition, I’d say, is probably why it happens to look like this anyways.”
“You’ve got to teach me,” Impulse replied, bouncing on his heels.
“Better hope you can keep up, I don’t wait.” Hex ended his sentence on a cold stare, but even behind the mustache, you could see his lips perk up just slightly.
BadTimes decided to interject their little conversation. “Ay Hex, gotta ask you somethin’. Think you can do anythin’ to help this whole Lord a’ Darkness thing?” he asked, putting a hand on the brit’s shoulder.
He’d shook his head. “I don’t believe so, no. NPC can’t do anything?”
“Ah, ‘s what we were thinkin’. Hels ain't havin’ a fun time though, Wels is gettin’ possessed by The Lord.”
“Serves him right....” Hex muttered. “Evil Xisuma dragged him over there, he can stay for all I care.”
“Hex, he was just tryin’ to please The Lord. You know what happens when you don’ please The Lord.”
“Well, The Lord can punish me,” he replied in a disgusted tone, plucking the other evil hermit’s hand off his shoulder. “I don’t care about Mumbo. I’m not being paid to sit around and do his handiwork. I invent for myself, Oscar.”
BadTimes huffed, quirking a brow at the inventor. “So you won’t help us with a little revolution?” he asked with a pout.
Hex merely rolled his eyes with a slight smile, then looking at Doc and Impulse. “What’s been going on in your world, anyways? We heard it’s getting bad. Your own admin is starting to turn on you.”
The pair’s eyes widened, jaws dropping at the phrase. Xisuma turning on them? Had he been possessed as well? Doc wondered about it, then realizing now how aggressive the admin had been since this whole thing started. Now, he and Keralis were off somewhere, probably finding Hels and Evil X to figure out what was going on. That could only lead to something bad.
“Uh….” Doc started, promptly shutting his mouth in confusion. “I….don’t know apparently. I didn’t know Xisuma was….” he trailed off, the Evil Hermits stared at him curiously.
“You’re an idiot,” Hex commented. Doc sent him a glare, but that was quickly returned by the inventor. “You seriously haven’t noticed this entire time? Whew boy, you’re in for a treat.”
“Yeah,” BadTimes agreed. “Can’t believe you didn’t know Evil X was bein’ punished too. I mean I don’ like the guy, but just somethin’ you should know.”
The pair dragged their hands down their faces, glancing at each other worriedly.
“We’ve gotta get back to the overworld,” said Impulse. He looked at the Evil Hermits with pleading eyes. “There’s gotta be a way for us to get back.”
“Look, I’m sorry boys, but-“
The Evil Hermits paused, pulling out phone-like objects from their pockets. Impulse and Doc realized quickly that the Evil Hermits had their own communicators. That quickly gave the both of them ideas.
“Xisuma experienced kinetic energy,” Hex read. “Hm, guess he’s not doing great either.”
“You have communicators?” Doc asked them.
Quickly, they pocketed their comms. “Yeah, they ain’t for you though, back off.”
“You don’t understand, we’ve gotta get back home, BadTimes,” the creeper growled.
“I think we’re done meetin’ people for today, Doc,” the other replied rather blankly.
“I thought you wanted to get out of this!”
Impulse turned to pull him away from BadTimes. “Doc, don’t-“
Doc pulled his shoulder away from Impulse harshly. “No, we’re getting out of here. You’ve gotta help us, because if you wanna leave this,” he gestured around them. “This is how.”
Without hesitation, both Evil Hermits drew their swords, the familiar netherite blades reflecting the luminance in the spire. Hex stepped forward with BadTimes and Impulse stepped away from the trio, far away. Doc stood his ground with a snarl. Yet, he spread his arms away from him with a smirk.
“Go on then. Kill me. I’ll get stuck on that island again, won’t I?”
“No, actually.” Hex looked at Impulse darkly. He walked back and pressed a button on the wall, one of many of them littering it. “But he can go.”
A couple seconds after the button was pressed, an arrow shot out of a hidden dispenser, striking Impulse in the chest. The redstoner, having been close to the edge, stumbled backwards, finding no more ground behind him. Despite this, his shock kept him from yelling on his way off the edge. Doc ran to catch his hands but at the last second, Impulse’s fingers slipped through his grip and he watched as his friend descended painfully into the machinery at the bottom of the build, watching blood splatter in the large gears.
ImpulseSV suffocated, they knew their communicators read. The server mechanics wouldn’t be able to name any other death.
The creeper took a step back, silent at what’d just happened to his friend.
“Don’ worry about it. He’ll spawn back up there. I’m gonna go grab em’-“ BadTimes was interrupted by a metallic grip around his neck pushing up against one of the stone pillars. He grabbed at Doc’s arm, clawing at it, but the hold didn’t budge. Quickly, he was lifted off the ground, left squirming in the air against the wall.
“You don’t respawn, Oscar. You can help me or I strangle you to death,” Doc snarled. “Just a damn pitiful creature. Nothing more than a skeleton, aren’t you.”
With that, Hex pulled a bow from his inventory, aiming it at the creeper. “Let him go or I call NPC. He won’t be merciful.”
The hand around BadTime’s throat tightened and he choked, swallowing thickly. “H- Hex don’t—“ he rasped. “Doc,” he swallowed again. “I’m sorry- Can’t help your world.” The Evil Hermit began to feel lightheaded. “But I can get you out- I can-“ At those words, he fell to the floor, the hand no longer around his neck. He hacked and coughed, bringing his hands up to his now sore throat.
“Tell me how.”
“Oscar, you’re not seriously going to help him!”
“We need the NPC,” BadTimes muttered. “But you,” he pointed up at Doc. “Don’t ever call me Oscar, ya’ hear?”
“Noted, now go get Impulse.” Doc smirked at how BadTimes scurried away, stumbling to stand, and fumbling with his liftoff. Man’s all bark and no bite, isn’t he. The creeper turned to Hex, who stood motionless. He was confused as to what to do now.
“You’re gonna help us, too,” Doc growled.
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demauryss · 4 years
Text
for mtea @bluronyourradar. based on her tags on this post. i had minimum knowledge of how speed dating works so i wrote what came to me with the bit of research i did!!! i hope you like this and i’m sorry for taking too long!!
slow motion (i’m watching our love) 💌 | 3.9 k
in which there’s speed dating, some unexpected friends, a brief stint of matchmaking and a whole lot of sunshine smiles.
Lucas didn’t know what he was expecting to happen when he’d agreed with Mika to come to this … event or whatever it was. Because apparently Lucas was like a house plant Mika had got and forgot to take care of – and now it was starting to rot and needed someone to looks after it pronto.
That had been Mika’s analogy in trying to convince Lucas to try speed dating. Something he hadn’t heard of before. And with the promise of Mika buying all of Lucas’s groceries for the month if he came, Lucas had landed himself in this place. And it was the most recent thing he was regretting.
It’ll be fun, I promise!                      
It’s stupid, is what it is.
He didn’t know what to expect – but it was certainly not resorting to hide in a corner away from Mika’s prying eyes after talking with a total of four people – and being a witness to a very explicit kiss.
He wasn't thinking he'd get anyone when he had agreed to this, if you ask him. His thought process has been more towards getting through the evening with avoiding as much human interaction as he can. But in a succession of events, Mika had dragged him to a table, and Even, taller than nine of Lucases combined and eyes which was the reason why Lucas's tongue had forgot to form words, had approached him, and that was the first negative spike in his brain's specified compartment for dread.
They had talked for eight minutes before the bell rang and Even moved on to the next person. Lucas had learnt he was from Oslo; in his second year of college. He seemed nice, if those eight minutes were anything to go by, and totally someone Lucas would probably consider himself with. 
But there was something nagging inside his brain.
So he'd smiled as Even had left. Totally chiding his brain for worrying about lost potential when there were more pressing matters to discuss. Like why the next person coming after Even looked like a live incarnation Jack Frost. His name was Sander, and he was a David Bowie enthusiast. And then had come Nico and David, one after the other. 
And if it hadn't been for the way his stomach had crumbled at the thought of being with any of them -that he was slowly feeling his insides coming to his throat whenever he as much as smiled at them, that there was this empty hollow feeling inside of him as he sat talking to them despite his brain accepting them to be nice as the first thing it made sense of – Lucas wouldn’t be sitting here in his natural habitat being miserable at cursing his luck.
But as it happens – there was something nagging inside his brain. A black space. A variable entirely missing from the equation.
Lucas looks around the multitude of people all in an assortment of fading lights and a cacophony of voices all going over his head of people conversing. Lucas has never been good at that part, and that's why he finds it all so surreal to see. And it’s between that, hiding from Mika and cursing his fate, that there’s a mild commotion behind him. It would have been impossible to separate it from the discordance around him, had it not been for the way the reason the said commotion is created comes to where he’s sitting in the corner. Lucas, without meaning to, trains his ears on – he does a quick counting in his head – four people.
“I’m just saying,” One of them says, rubbing a hand over his neck. He looks like how Lucas feels after having to deal with a stupid customer on the phone – which is a story of a daily basis, “If you want to find a match, then maybe you should try and – I don’t know – talk to someone! ---
“Shut up Marti! This whole concept is stupid.” The one Lucas assumes to be Isak snaps. He looks tired, and Lucas really can’t argue with that sentiment.
“But it won’t hurt you to try?” Marti begins as a final resort. Isak only glares at him, “I don’t know what you think, but going on a date once doesn’t make you a relationship expert.”
“And especially when you call us in the middle of it to help you fake an emergency so you could run away.” The third person speaks, and Marti turns his murder filled eyes towards him. Lucas watches, heart somewhat lighter, as Marti just about digs the grave of the person in front of him.
“I like you better when you’re stoned, Matteo.” Marti grumbles, and the person in question turns starry eyed towards him, his tongue peeking out as he takes a gulp of the liquid in the glass he’s holding. These people remind Lucas of his own group of friends, those he hasn’t seen in months. With Yann and Basile both gone to spend the summer with their grandparents and Arthur on that science camp he signed up for ages ago – it has been quite some time since he last saw of them.
And now he misses them, terribly.
Marti looks at his friends disapprovingly as Isak and Matteo and the quiet friend whose name Lucas hasn’t got yet fail to hide their laughs at Marti’s distraught expression. He sighs, turning sideways and catching Lucas’s eyes. Lucas feels heat crawling up his neck spreading over his face at the thought of being caught in listening to someone else’s conversation. His initial reaction is to looks away, but his brain prevents him from doing so. Whatever, it’s too late now.
To his surprise, Marti addresses him like he’s talking to an old friend or something. “Please help me clear a point to these idiots,” he begins, “I’ll owe you forever.”
As if on cue, three pairs of eyes turn towards him in sync. Lucas gulps down whatever he was feeling earlier at being caught. “I’m sorry I can’t do that,” Lucas starts, feeling foreign being the subject of unknown gazes.
“Because you also think it’s stupid, right?” It’s Isak who begins with a hopeful cadence in his tone. Marti frowns at him, and Lucas sends a small smile in his direction.
“Well, there’s no denying that.”
The yell that breaks past Isak’s lips as he jumps in triumph raises several eyes in their direction. Lucas chuckles, apologetically looking at Marti who’s watching everything with a scowl on his face.
“I knew you were one of us,” Isak gestures to himself and the two people standing behind him. He looks out into the ground, pulling a sour expression on his face, “No sane person would be willing to spend an entire evening out there. It’s what I’ve been trying to tell this idiot here. But I think he gets it now. Do you, Marti?”
Marti, who has turned his head away from them, grumbles childishly, “Whatever. You guys don’t care for me.”
Isak laughs, and it’s Matteo who comes forward at that instant, wrapping an affectionate arm around Marti’s neck. “Don’t be like that, Marti. We do care for you!”
“Yeah. You’re the one who opens all of our jars when we need them.” The quiet one steps forward, and Lucas watches with Isak next to him. He heaves a sigh, before rolling his eyes, “Yeah yeah, now you can stop being a diva-” he turns to Lucas, “-he’s just being dramatic. Ignore him.”
Lucas laughs, now all unease under the guise of the nervousness which comes from meeting these people. Isak steps forward, taking a seat next to where Lucas is sitting. His friends follow, and soon he’s include in a circle of unknown people in a place he’d rather bolt out of.
“If we’ve reached an agreement here,” Isak pointedly says towards Marti, who is busy drilling holes in his skull. There’s light music present in the air around him, filled with occasional ringing of bell. Lucas ignores it and focuses on Isak. “I’d like to formerly make an introduction. I’m Isak, that’s Marti, Robbe and Matteo, and we’re seriously not having a good time right now.”
Lucas grins, “I’m Lucas, and you can count me in that.”
“Then what brings you here, Lucas?” It’s Robbe – the quiet one – who asks him that. His eyes have a kind look in them, and it’s accentuated by the light hanging over his head.
“My roommate,” Lucas sighs, “He works here, and he kind of convinced me to come and by convinced I mean he offered to buy my groceries for the month, so.”
They laugh, even Marti, who lets his annoyed expression slip for a minute before picking it up again as if nothing happened. It does occur to Lucas that he’s basically oversharing to a bunch of random people he just met. But the thought evaporates when they smile together, a familiar glint to all of their eyes. Lucas follows the warmth and soon, he finds himself getting enveloped.
Matteo smiles, “I was tagged into this Instagram post and someone thought it’d be a good idea to try this out.”
“And I still stand by it,” Marti somewhat grumbles. Lucas chuckles as Isak shakes his head at him. Robbe pats him on the back as Marti turns to Lucas.
“Please tell me you atleast talked to people before forming your opinion instead of criticizing from afar like some people here.”
“Hey!” Isak, Matteo and Robbe shout in unison. Lucas smiles, shaking his head. “Yeah I did meet some people but –“ Lucas shrugs, “-they were not someone I’d consider eating a pizza with brought from my roommate’s money.”
“That makes a lot of sense. Why didn’t I think of it before?” Matteo asks Robbe, who just shrugs. It Marti who bites back, “Because you’re stupid, that’s why.”
Lucas looks between them, as Isak raises his hand, high-fiving Marti over Lucas’s head. This night is going to be fun.
//
Some twenty minutes later, and Lucas is now a member of a groupchat with the four people whom Lucas can now almost call him his friends. (They’ve exchanged numbers, followed each on Instagram, exchanged pretty heavy details of their lives and exchanged some solid opinions on the people they’ve found mildly interesting.)
Now he and Matteo are surveying the crowd, finding someone suitable for Isak to go and talk to since his great epiphany seconds ago about not wasting any chance he’s presented with. (Marti had the most smug ‘I’ve been saying it for ages’ look on his face which Isak had wiped away with a middle finger raised in his direction.) Robbe and Marti were helping them, but it wasn’t up to any use since so far Isak had rejected hundred percent of the guys they had picked, all with the same monotonous ‘I’m not feeling it now.’
And Robbe had coughed a laugh with Marti hiding his face in Robbe’s shoulder, Matteo had whispered under his breath, that’s not the only thing you’re going to not feel tonight if you keep this up, and Isak had landed a smack at the back of his head – and it was when Lucas had realized his evening had turned out quite different from what he was thinking. He may not have found a match tonight, and Mika hadn’t said that he must find one. Atleast he’d be walking out with this memory with four new contacts – and the freedom from worrying about buying his groceries for the next month.
He looks out into the crowd dimmed with light. He doesn’t know if any successful match has been formed yet or not, but he doesn’t have to worry about that for more as he spots Mika sashaying towards him with a shit-eating grin on his face.
“Damn Lucas,” he says. His eyes turn brighter as his gaze shifts from Lucas to the people sitting around him. “I thought finding one match would take you centuries but you’ve managed to snag four beautiful people from the crowd. I must be teaching you well.”
Lucas rolls his eyes as Mika goes on introducing himself to them. It’s when terms like Lucas’s gay guru and Lucas’s foray for the night are exchanged between the group, that he turns around, way past feeling embarrassed at his roommate’s antics. He’s so used to them now it’s not even funny.
“Okay Mika you can stop it now,” he says, watching as the guys including Mika act entirely too pleased at Lucas’s discomfort. “Sorry to burst your bubble but none of them is my match.”
“Oh he wishes he could get someone like me,” Robbe grins as Marti and Matteo fail to hide their terrible smiles. There’s a moment where Lucas remembers he called them kind, but that’s all gone now.
“Yeah. He was alone and miserable in the corner. If it hadn’t been for us he would have probably died from sadness.” Isak says, elbowing Lucas in his shoulder. Lucas musters his most perfect glare he could in that moment.
“I hate you all.”
“Oh but I don’t!” Mika laughs as if he’s having the time of his life. “I’m not pleased with anything Lucas does in his life, but I’m so proud of him for finding you guys!” He looks like a proud parent, Lucas would have felt to say had it not been for Mika declaring the sentiment himself. “I’ve work to do now, but you guys are welcome to come here anytime you want.”
Mika leaves, and Lucas glares at the four devils now grinning from ear to ear. Lucas rolls his eyes, scowling when their expressions don’t drop.
“Seriously?” Lucas asks.
“Yes,” they all reply in unison, and Lucas shakes his head.
“Now if you’re done being creepy can we go back to the task at hand?”
It gets their attention as Isak straightens up, a serious expression falling on his face. “I’ve come to a conclusion; I’m letting fate decide it for me.” as he speaks, he pulls out a coin from his inner pocket and puts it forward in his open palm in front of Lucas. “Lucas, take this coin and throw it in whatever way you want. If it lands on the floor somewhere, I’d go home and never try speed dating again. But if it lands on a table or hits someone on the head and that person turns then-“
He shrugs, and Lucas doesn’t see the logic in his plan. “It’s stupid,” Robbe says, to which Isak snaps in his direction, “Shut up I’m trying something here.”
So with one last hopeless look shared between Lucas and Marti and Robbe and Matteo, and a hopeful Isak jumping with glee, Lucas takes the coin, throwing it away and –
It follows a perfect projectile, a silver running through air, disappearing for a second. They all watch it and Lucas can swear they’re all holding their breaths. It’s silly, how they collectively exhale when the coin reappears into their vision before landing on-
Even’s table.
Lucas can tell he’s shocked when a coin lands on his table not far from them as he starts looking around. Lucas turns his head to the side, watching Marti and Matteo and Robbe do the same. But Isak- he stays with his stare focused on Even who’s now smiling at someone and Isak looks completely smitten.
“Um…Isak?” Marti waves a hand in front of his face, sharing a look with the three as Isak completely ignores him.
“Lucas you beautiful being!” Isak says, still in a kind of trance as he gets up from his chair. Lucas understands his intentions, and with a pat on his back, Lucas says, “Go on. He’s from Oslo too.”
It’s what sets the deal as Isak sets in motion. “I’ll catch up with you guys later,” he says off-handedly. They watch him make his way to Even, the crowd swallowing him just when he makes his way to the table.
Matteo turns to Lucas, “Is he one of the guys you said you talked too?”
Lucas nods, “Yeah he is – and come to think of it, I think I met some people you guys would like.”
And as Lucas plays matchmaker, he looks for the remaining three people he had met before. It’s funny really – this fate or kismet or whatever was going on when he met these people each of which bears a connection with the people he’d met earlier – and he spots Sander, his lighter than blond hair standing from the crowd. Lucas turns to Robbe.
“You see that guy over there? He’s Sander, and I think you’d be perfect together.”
//
It takes him a minute or two to find Nico and David in the crowd, and it takes him a minute as he convinced Marti and Matteo to go talk with them. Unlike Robbe who had fled straightaway, these two were difficult, and Lucas had resorted to quoting Marti’s own lines to him.
“It doesn’t hurt you to try, does it?”
And now he is left alone on their table as he tries to check up on his friends in the crowd. He had seen Isak disappearing with Even, and he’d shot him a thumbs-up when he’d met his eyes from across the room. The rest of them are still in the talking stage from what Lucas can see, even Mika, who’s now stood talking to someone much too familiarly – and Lucas can’t help but be envious of apparently how easy that looks for him.
He’s thinking of calling it a night after Isak sends a message in their newly formed groupchat, saying how he doesn’t think he’d be back anytime soon (which Lucas kind of guessed, by the way). The other boys reply in variations of same sentiment, and Lucas guesses his attempt at matchmaking was more successful than he thought it would be.
Lucas shakes his head, sending a message back into the groupchat, making sure the guys knew he won’t be missing them if they end up getting murdered tonight.
(But in all seriousness, he tells them to be safe, and he smiles when gets all affirmative responses in return.)
It’s when he’s beginning to leave that he feels a presence beside him. It’s a repeat of just a few moments ago, and he turns, expecting it to be Robbe or Matteo or even Mika and-
-and it’s not them. Not by a long shot.
For a moment it feels like one of Lucas’s daydreams as the light turning green and blue dances over the stranger’s head. His lips are curved in a smile, and Lucas really feels he’s tripped and transported into one of the universes he’s created during many of his bouts of daydreaming.
“Hi. You’re Lucas right?” The stranger’s voice carries over the noise of the club. It’s soft, sweet, and Lucas would have lost it had it not been for the stranger to be standing literally in a meter’s distance of him.
The stranger meets his eyes, and Lucas feels all the conversation skills in him reverting to zero. He was having no problem talking about his life to then-strangers just moments ago. Why does it brain have to be filled with hay now?
“Um – yes?” It comes out as a question, and the person smiles. Lucas feels his idiot brain transporting him to somewhere else – where it’s only him and the stranger, where the voices in the background aren’t filling his mind like white noise and where the sun is shining directly over him so Lucas is able to make out the colours lighting up in the stranger’s eyes.
Lucas’s heart beats heavily in the hollow of his chest.
The stranger cocks his neck to one side, “I’m Eliott,” he says. Eliott, Lucas rolls the name in his head. “And I’ve been watching you play matchmaker for a while and I’ve been meaning to ask -,” he takes a pause; Lucas hangs onto it, “-which of these beautiful boys do you think I’d match perfectly with?”
It’s a wonder Eliott doesn’t notice when Lucas’s heart tears his chest and lands on the table in front of him, beating so heavily it’s a struggle trying to calm it down. Eliott has been watching him. Eliott, who looks like he makes a living out of appearing on billboards and photoshoots, has been watching Lucas for a better part of his night.
Lucas wets his lips, thankful for the dim lighting of the café to hide his burning cheeks. What he wouldn’t give to-
“Do you have your eyes set on someone tonight?” Lucas mirrors the position of Eliott’s head. Eliott’s face lights up even more, and Lucas feels a shiver of unknown reason pass through the length of his spine.
“I do, actually. He has a nice smile and pretty blue eyes. And his hair is the wildest thing I’ve ever seen.”
Lucas looks around, confused for a moment, “That’s like, half of the people here?”
Eliott wrinkles his face adorably. Something jumps inside Lucas’s stomach at the sight. Eliott mutters something under his breath which Lucas fails to catch. And then he looks up, his eyes now gaining a glint which wasn’t there before. Lucas focuses – and it’s of nervousness.
“I suppose I should be more direct,” Eliott begins, taking a step forward so he’s just an inch away from Lucas, “If you’re free now then I’d like to take you somewhere.”
What?
Lucas chokes on the air caught in his throat at Eliott’s sudden statement, neck whipping towards him so fast it’s a wonder he doesn’t break it. Eliott himself looks taken back, and Lucas doesn’t know if it’s at his own words or something else.
“Wait no – that was so straightforward I’m sorry!” Eliott’s voice is frantic, and Lucas feels a beginning of something in his chest. “I – uh – I wanted to know if you’ve found someone tonight.” He says in one single breath. Lucas feels his face getting warm. The good warm you get after spending a day out in the sun as it washes away your sadness and takes it from you as it begins to set. He feels ants crawling inside him – those who begin from his heart and spread like a warm fire all around him with his blood.
Eliott looks like he might mass out when Lucas comes back. This doesn’t happen to him. It isn’t often that people actively seek him out. And here’s him – Eliott – in all his beauty sitting in front of hm. There’s something restless inside his arms, a nervousness which rises from the feeling which he’s refusing from letting it set in his bones.
“I haven’t,” Lucas’s voice is small, but it’s everything which brings a light to Eliott’s face which he can’t wait to follow. The warmth settles over him, and Lucas turns his head to the side when it becomes too much. He finds the guys, minus Isak, who have now taken the role of an audience for Lucas, and apparently look shameless when Lucas catches them staring.
(It isn’t like Lucas can judge them or anything.)
Lucas tries to convey a message to them with his eyes, and they get it, thankfully, as they turn to their respective partners, now forming a small circle which Lucas watches from afar. He turns to Eliott, his eyes in half-moons and smile in all suns. It really feels like a dream, and he wastes no moment in sending a prayer above.
“So – the place you wanted to take me?”
Eliott laughs, his voice soft and high. He leans forward, and Lucas meets him halfway.
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adenei · 3 years
Text
Fake It Til You Make It - Ch. 3
AO3 || FFN
Harry’s finally introduced in this chapter!
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Ginny set off across town after catching her aunt and agreeing to participate in the debutante ball. Unsurprisingly, Aunt Muriel already had a room reserved, as if she knew Ginny would relent. Ginny was set to move into Beauxbatons in two days, and had a lot of work to do to make sure she was prepared. So, she decided to visit the two people she knew would help her with her cockamamie plan: Fred and George.
In addition to owning their wildly successful joke shop, Ginny’s older twin brothers also dabbled in wigs and disguises for local theater productions and Halloween. If anyone could make her look and act like Ron, it was the twins.
“...Let me get this straight; you want us to help you look like Ron for two weeks?” Fred looked completely baffled when she walked into the shop and pulled them into their office.
“Yes.”
“Fred, I think our dear sister here has gone mad. Did you forget that he’s about a foot taller than you?” George chortled.
“Or the fact that he’s a boy?” Fred added.
“Will you two shut up and help me? I only have two days to pull this off, and there’s a lot at stake here!”
“Just one question, little sis. Where’s Ron going to be while you pretend to be him?” George cocked an eyebrow at her.
Ginny sighed deeply. “Will you promise not to say anything? Mum and Dad will literally kill him. And me.”
“We’re listening,” the twins said in unison. 
“He took off to some music competition in Germany. He’ll be gone for two weeks, so I’m going to pretend to be him so I can make the Hogwarts football team, play Beauxbatons, and kick their sorry arses!” Ginny felt her face heating up as the anger threatened to return.
The twins looked at each other, no doubt having a silent conversation. After what seemed like forever, they turned back to Ginny. “We’re in.”
“Yes! Thank you! I knew I could count on—”
“You’ve got loads of work ahead of you, though,” Fred warned. “George, go tell Verity and Leah that they’re covering the floor. Gin, we need some time to get a wig ready for you, and I’m thinking some sideburns and thicker eyebrows, too. So we don’t waste time, go out and study the way guys walk and talk. You’re going to have to do all those things to blend in.”
Ginny snorted. “How hard can it be?”
It turned out it wasn’t as easy as she planned. Blokes walked a lot of different ways. She was out there for at least an hour, trailing behind random men and trying to copy their mannerisms. She only got caught once or twice before Leah waved her back to the shop.
“They’ve got everything ready for you!” Leah said brightly. “How’d the studying go?”
“Not great. Why do guys walk so weird?”
“Not sure, but if you ask me, I think it’s because of the…” Leah gestured below the belt.
“Ah, maybe,” Ginny agreed as Fred and George whisked her away into the office.
The next hour or so consisted of the twins attempting to fit her with various pieces of facial hair. She wasn’t sure who was more interested in what a moustache would add to the disguise, but it beat sitting at home, so she humored them. In the end, they opted for no facial hair and simply stuck with the wig, sideburns, and eyebrows. When they brought a mirror up to Ginny’s face, she almost didn’t believe it.
“Holy shit, I really do look like Ron!” she exclaimed.
“It’s scary, isn’t it?” Fred agreed.
“For being seventeen months apart, you’d think you were another set of twins,” George commented.
“Before we forget,” Fred reached for something in one of the cabinets, “you’re going to need this.”
It looked like a wide ankle wrap bandage.
“What? Why?”
“Do you really need us to explain that to you?” Fred asked sarcastically.
“You see,” George went on as he gestured to his chest,” you have certain anatomical parts that need to be disguised, too—”
“Alright, alright! I get it!” Ginny stopped him.
“We’ll come by the Burrow for dinner tonight and help you figure out what clothing you can reuse and pass off in your wardrobe,” Fred told her.
“And we’ll do you a favor and get you anything you don’t have tomorrow.”
“Thank you. I owe you both,” Ginny said sincerely.
Her brothers could be a right pain in the arse much of the time, but they always pulled through when she needed help.
The twins stopped the car outside the halls where Ginny would be living for the next couple of weeks. People were milling about everywhere, and for a split second, she was having second thoughts about whether she could pull this off or not.
“Is this too crazy?” she asked them.
“Not at all!” Fred reassured her.
“Seriously, Gin, if anyone can do this, it’s you. Now, get out of the car. There’s no way we’re going to let all our hard work be wasted,” George added.
“But—”
“Out! Don’t make us drag you,” Fred warned.
Ginny adjusted her tie and opened the car door. She stepped out and grabbed her backpack and two duffel bags. 
“Now, let’s hear your voice,” George asked.
Ginny cleared her throat and deepened her voice. “Yo, I’m Ron. What’s up?” She added in a head nod for good measure.
George nodded approvingly while Fred reminded her not to sound too ‘gangsta.’ “How about your walk?”
“Come on, I can’t do it with all these bags,” Ginny complained, but the twins eyed her expectantly. “Ugh, fine.”
She did her best to show off her walk for a few paces before doubling back to the car like she forgot something.
“Excellent! And last but not least, let’s hear the belch,” Fred asked.
“Ugh, you guys are gross,” Ginny said as she rolled her eyes.
“Ah, but you’re one of us now,” George joked.
Ginny swallowed a bunch of air and did her best to let out a loud burp. It wasn’t easy to manage on command, so the twins would just have to deal.
Both bobbed their heads back and forth as if contemplating whether or not she passed. Not that it mattered, considering she was about to head to Gryffindor hall in a few minutes.
“I think she’s ready, Fred,” George determined.
“I do, too. Now, remember Gin, if you ever have any doubts, remember that there’s a man inside every woman, and you’ll do just fine!” Fred advised.
Both Ginny and George gave him a look. “Ew, Fred, that’s gross,” Ginny said as she made fake retching noises.
“Er, yeah, I don’t think we should be giving her any ideas. Not that you should act on them while posing as a guy,” George agreed.
“You know what I meant!” Fred defended.
“Yeah, yeah, I need to get going. I’m pretty sure trials start today, and I need to get settled first,” Ginny said as she was about to head off.
“Keep in touch!” George told her.
“Yeah, let us know how things are going. We’ll be here if you need anything else. But don’t mess up the wig; it’s the only one we’ve got!” Fred reminded her.
“Noted. Thanks, guys!” Ginny said.
She turned and began walking through campus. Gryffindor Hall was close, but she had to make her way through the commons, and there were people to dodge everywhere. When she finally entered the hall, it was like a madhouse on her floor. That was saying something considering she lived at the Burrow, which was always bustling with excitement.
Various balls and other items were being thrown from room to room, music was blasting, and some idiot thought it’d be a good idea to go skateboard luging down the hall. She almost had her head taken off more than once, but she could handle it. After all,  at one point in time, she lived with six older brothers. How hard could this be?
Finally finding room 205, she opened the door to meet her new roommate. If the bags hadn’t been slung over her shoulders, she probably would have dropped them. Standing in front of her was a tall, reasonably well-built guy with messy black hair and piercing green eyes. He was dressed only in a towel, and Ginny knew she was undeniably attracted to him.
“...Can I help you?” he asked, giving her an odd look.
“Uh, yeah, hi,” she said in her normal voice before realizing she needed to sound like Ron. Ginny cleared her throat and began speaking in the deeper voice she’d been practicing. “I’m your roommate. The name’s Ron. Uh, Ron Weasley.”
She held out her hand in an attempt to exchange pleasantries, but the shirtless guy simply laughed at her.
“Yeah, right. How old are you anyway?” 
She heard more snickering behind him and realized there were others in the room, too.
“No, really, I am your roommate. I, uh, skipped a couple of grades.” For once, being short and petite was not on her side. 
“Um, sure, whatever you say. I’m Harry. Harry Potter.”
“Nice to meet you. D’you happen to know when football trials are?” Ginny asked, changing the subject.
“Er, yeah, they start at noon. You play?” Harry was clearly sizing her up.
“Yeah, I do,” Ginny answered defiantly.
He contemplated her a bit more before saying, “Alright, then. This is Seamus and Dean. They play too, along with Neville and Colin, across the hall. You might want to unpack and get ready if you plan on getting there on time.”
“Uh, yeah, right,” Ginny said as she turned around and set her bags on the bare mattress.
So far, so good, she thought as she began unpacking her things. She’d make the bed later as she pulled out a couple of pairs of shoes and some of her athletic clothes. Ginny didn’t notice when one of her boots fell over, and a box of tampons fell out.
“What the bloody hell is that?!” Seamus shouted.
Oh, shit, Ginny thought. She needed to think fast. What the hell was she going to say?
“Oh, they’re um, they’re for—uh—bloody noses! Yeah, you’ve never used them?” God, she hoped this would work.
All three boys looked at her in horror as they shook their heads. Ginny was sure she was losing her mind as she pulled one out and opened it.
“Yeah! I mean, the purpose is to plug, uh—stuff, so it works the same way. Just up your nose instead,” she said as she shoved one up her nose.
She attempted a smile as they all looked at her as if she were insane. It was almost like a switch flipped as they all got lost in a fit of laughter.
“Er...forget I asked,” Harry said as he turned around and pretended to be busy with something else.
“Yo, man, your roommate’s crazy,” Dean sniggered as he punched Harry in the shoulder.
Well, Ginny thought as she went back to her unpacking, things definitely could have been worse. Yeah, it wasn’t that bad. At least that’s what she forced herself to believe.
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