#when my parents divorced the divorce lawyer thought i was lying because she didn’t believe two adults could coexist in the same space | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

ranger-jedi-knight · 4 years

Text

This Little Angel Part 2

AO3: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24201565/chapters/59881333 Taglist: @chocolate1721 @tiny-goddess-of-chaos @amayakans @cutechip @more-or-less-human-i-guess

Ok, so here’s the much requested second chap!! I hope you guys enjoy it!!

Mari was excited as she looked around the private jet Bruce was taking them home on. She kept looking up and down at her sketchbook as she sketched a few things from the inspiration. Harley and Joker were on the plane too, Mari and the others had a moment of surprise when Joker had taken all his make-up and what not off leaving him looking very normal. Not that they couldn’t blame him. They can’t exactly petition Paris to give her custody back over to her criminal parent JOKER. So they had to look normal. Harley was going by her real name Harleen and Joker was going by Jack.

It may have been illegal to forge some documents but it was for the better. She was in all rights Harley and Joker’s daughter. But, no one outside of Gotham was going to accept that. So, they may have asked Babs and Tim to hack and make official paperwork saying that she was adopted at age 3 by Jack and Harleen Quinzel. Then have it known that at around age 10 she was kidnapped and trafficked resulting in their divorce.

Even Gordon agreed to it since he knew how much Harley and Joker cared for her. Their worried attack to search the city when she first disappeared was proof of that! And having her back, they were sure Joker would return back to normal, doing more innocent attacks, using the venom only on HUGE heists that happened less and less. Becoming more of a nuisance than a real big baddie.

And they could only do that if they had official US documentation of Mari’s adoption to them. So, they did a little illegal hacking to do it. But no one outside of their group had to know that. Mari reached down to pat her purse as they crossed into France, getting closer to Paris. It was the next day so no doubt her class was going to be in class. She did wonder tho if classes were easy today for everyone because of the trip.

She suggested it, but she wondered if Bustier would follow it.

They soon landed at the airport and both Chloe and Damian took one of her hands into theirs. She was so glad that Bruce had come with and let Damian join. They exited the plane and got their suitcases.

Chloe’s driver was there already and took them to the hotel where they were all staying. Mari was to stay in Chloe’s suit as a neutral place while that whole case went down. Gordon was sharing a room with Joker and Harley to keep them in check, which he doubted they needed but better to be safe. While Bruce and Damian had their own.

After dropping their bags off, Bruce, Gordon, Harley, and Joker went to the French Police and child services to deal with the case about Mari’s future. Meanwhile, Mari and Chloe went to the school to tell them due to a case they wouldn’t bee in class for some time. But they would keep up with their studies while the case went on.

Damian decided to go with them but would stay in the car-limo actually. Mari took a deep breath when they stopped in front of the school. She gave the two a small smile when they squeezed her hands. The two slowly slid out of the limo and made their way into the school and up to Principal Damocles’s office. It was a quick thing to inform him of what happened and about a case being opened.

So Damocles agreed and understood that they wouldn’t be in class and just said to either put their work into Bustier’s mailbox in the school or to give it to him. Now it was time to face Ms. Bustier and tell her. They reached her classroom and Mari raised a hand to knock. Bustier opened the door and glared at the two girls before pulling them into the classroom.

“Girls, I don’t know what has gotten into. First, you purposefully miss the flight home for attention, and now come to class late? What do you have to say for yourselves? It better be good otherwise I’ll be sending you to the principal’s office,” Bustier said annoyed and the two shared a dumbfounded look while the rest of the class laughed.

“Ya Marinette, I can’t believe you’d stoop so low like that!” Alya shouted before looking at Bustier once more. “Also, Ms. Bustier, Marinette sent Lila horrible texts this morning. They should be sent to the principal’s office for bullying!” she yelled and the class shouted their agreement. “Oh really? Girls?” Bustier was fully glaring at the two now.

“I can prove that Lila lied there. I haven’t touched my phone all morning since I turned it off when I got onto my flight home this morning and turned it on when we got off,” Mari said pulling out her phone to show a tweet she made from Gotham time of 2 am getting onto a private jet and then making a tweet at 11 am getting off the jet and into Chloe’s limo. “See? You’d see that for the time it took to fly, my phone was off, the exact time that I ‘supposedly’-” she put in air quotes “-sent horrible texts to Lila. even you know that you can’t do anything on a phone while flying,” she finished and Alya grumbled and glared at the girl, somehow thinking she was lying still.

“As for that flight thing and late,” Chloe said looking at her nails not even bothering to glare at Bustier, “you guys left us in Gotham even tho Mari’s reunion with her parents was very public. Not to mention you didn’t even headcount. So really, you’re too blame for that,” Chloe said and Bustier opened her mouth but Chloe cut her off with a raised hand. “And for the late, we just arrived an hour ago in Paris and had to drop our bags off. We just came here from Damocle’s office saying we won’t be in class for some time due to a case being opened up that we’ll be a part of. Now, we ought to be going,” she grabbed Mari’s hand and started walking out before glancing back in with a smirk. “You guys should be expecting some suits to show up later too~!” she called out smirking before leaving.

Bustier glared at the door, planning on talking to Damocle’s at lunch about their behavior.

They entered the limo and Mari leaned against Damian’s shoulder as they went to the hotel and stayed there.

The following week is hectic, to say the least. Mari is going between talking at family court and facing akumas and ignoring her ex-friends and parents. Tom and Sabine didn’t appreciate Mari saying that Lila indeed lied to them when they asked about where she was. They also didn’t appreciate being investigated along with their workers, friends, and customers. They thought they were star parents and didn’t deserve this.

Before court, they tried guilting Mari into not suing them or her friends. Chloe and Damian had to pull her away before she caved with her lawyer threatening them. As it was, they informed the judge of it, and the Judge was not amused at that. It was tough, so very tough, but in the end, the Judge decided that Mari was to stay with Harleen and Jack in joint custody. While they were separated, it was clear they loved and missed their daughter. Meanwhile, Tom and Sabine had to pay for it. They were banned from adopting kids until they took some classes and had proven they would take care of and love a child correctly and not work them.

After that, it was time to focus on suing her classmates for harassment and the school for negligence. Now that would take longer to deal with. The family court only took 4 days to deal with it. She could only sigh at the break she got between it after finishing the family case. They gave her the next day to rest before jumping into the next cases against students and the school.

Tho, that had her giving another sigh of relief as a few classmates agreed to the terms easily when they were told off by Jack and Harleen about how they should know her from the 6 years they’ve known each other. And then Bruce coming in to serve Lila papers for slander. That had the whole class shouting as then another lawyer came in with all the other celebrities she’s lied about suing her.

Ladybug sighed as she landed in an alley nearby after defeating the Akuma. She leaned against the wall and slid down as her transformation died. Her head fell back against the wall with her eyes closed. A gasp ringing thru the air had her eyes flinging open tho.

She looked around and her eyes landed on Joker and Harley standing at the entrance. “Mama? Papa?” she called and the two came to her and kneeled down in front of her. “What are-did you-?” she cut off, worry filling her veins.

“We know now sweetie. We followed Ladybug to see how long this has been happening and if you were in trouble at all,” Harley said cupping her daughter’s cheek and Mari leaned into the touch with a sigh.

“This has been going on since I was 13. I’ve tried figuring out who Hawkmoth is but I’ve been having trouble. My partner hasn’t been any help tho,” she said softly and watched as her parents got angry.

“And this whole time you’ve had to deal with those idiotic sheep called classmates the whole time?” Joker demanded and Mari bit her lip.

“Just for the last year or so when Lila appeared,” she explained watching as her parents got more upset.

“Please calm down tho!” Tikki called floating in front of them causing their anger to dissipate a bit as confusion went thru them.

“Who are ya?” Harley asked, sticking a finger out pocking the paw Tikki held out.

“I’m Tikki, Marinette’s Kwami! I’m what allows her to transform into Ladybug,” she explained and the two slowly nodded. So once that confusion was clear she elaborated on her first comment. “You two need to calm down tho. Hawkmoth can feel any negative emotions and feed off them! So far only two people have fought him off and I’m sure Mari wouldn’t want to fight her parents,” she explained and the girl nodded her agreement.

“I don’t wanna fight you, mama, papa,” she said as Harley then pulled her into a hug that Mari returned. Joker stiffened tho causing the two to pull back to look at him worried. Mari gasped when she saw the outline surrounding his eyes. “Papa!” she cried out.

“Oh, so your that punk-ass bitch terrorizing everyone. Well, listen here, mothy. You are an insult to villains everywhere. You hide away and make others do the work for you. You make children fight your battle, you punk-ass bitch. So let me say this, the reason I’m upset is because of you terrorizing my daughter while facing the stress of her classmate’s harassment. The moment I find you, Mothy, I’m going to make you regret everything you’ve ever done. And don’t you try saying that I can’t. Do you know who I am? I’m the Joker, Clown Prince of Gotham. Oh yes, you have heard of me. Then you know I don’t make light threats. I will make your life a living hell. Do I make myself clear?” he asked and cackled when a pure white butterfly flew away hastily. “Well, he won’t try bugging me anymore,” he said and a sudden laugh left Mari’s lips.

Her parents looked at her fondly as she laughed. “Why don’t we head home now, sweetie?” Harley suggested and Joker nodded agreement. The two help Mari up and make their way to the hotel they were staying at.

“Since you know now. I’m Ladybug, I’m also the guardian of the Miraculous. I....I need to defeat Hawkmoth before I can leave,” she said softly when they reached their room and the two nodded understanding.

“Of course, sweetie. We’ll stay here as long as it takes,” Harley said as Joker hummed as they sat down on a couch.

“What if Batsy could help?” he asked and Mari hummed in thought.

“It could get done quicker,” she admitted and Joker nodded.

“That’s what I thought. Let me go talk to someone,” Joker said standing up and leaving the room.

~~~~~~~~~~~~(ﾉ◕ヮ◕)ﾉ*:･ﾟ✧~~~~~~~~~~~~

Ladybug stood at the top of the Eiffel Tower. She tilted her head slightly when she saw movement. Two people soon landed in front of her and she tilted her head. “Batman, Robin,” she greeted and the two nodded to her.

“So your Ladybug,” Batman said and she nodded. “What did you need help with? You seem to be doing everything very well,” he commented and Ladybug shrugged uncomfortably.

“Well, that may be. I’m not a detective. I don’t know how to figure out Hawkmoth’s identity. So I need your help to do that. I’m done with Paris. I want to leave,” she said and the two nodded slowly. They could only guess that she was done with Paris in her personal life seeing as everyone has the greatest respect for Ladybug.

“Ok, we can help with that,” Batman said with the smallest of nods.

“There’s something else,” she said, trailing off as she looked off into the distance.

“M’Lady! You didn’t tell me we would be having company~” Chat purred out leaning in close while glaring at everyone. Ladybug frowned as she pushed Chat away from her, earning a growl from him.

“That’s because we,” she pointed between him and herself, “never had anything planned. This was a planned meeting between myself and Batman and Robin,” she said glaring and Chat was angry at that.

“Oh really? Is that any way to treat your partner, m’lady?” he demanded and Ladybug scowled.

“You haven’t been my partner in a while, Chat,” she spat his name out. “You stopped being it when you decided flirting and whining was more important than defeated the Akuma’s,” she said and Chat scoffed.

“Please, your cure will bring everything back,” he said and Ladybug gnashed her teeth together as she stomped up to Chat and slapped him hard across the face.

“I don’t care that my cure can bring everything back. We shouldn’t rely on it. What if that battle is the one Hawkmoth wins? He does his wish. There’s no telling what will happen. Except that those people who are dead will most definitely stay dead. And because of your lazy ass, I now how to protect you as well which means that more people can get hurt or killed. Did you know that people remember dying? They remember that moment. They are traumatized by that moment. They cannot ever forget that moment. And that is all on you!” she shouted angrily.

“So what!?” he demanded and everyone was silent at that. How could they respond to that!? Ladybug was shaking in anger. She had a terrifying expression on her face that somehow was both ice cold and encompassed all seven levels of hell angry.

Chat didn’t even get to react.

Before he knew it, he was on the ground tied up and sore all over.

“Chat Noir, I hereby proclaim you unfit to wield a Miraculous. As Guardian of the Miraculous, I hereby reclaim you’re Miraculous of the Black Cat. You are unworthy and will never be able to wear or use a Miraculous ever again,” Ladybug said ripping the ring off of Chat to reveal Adrien Agreste underneath the mask. Ladybug snarled at him as he cried out. A red mark similar to the one of the box, formed on his chest and hand, burning.

“No! You can’t do that! He’s all I have left!” he shouted reaching out when Ladybug untied him.

She slapped his hand away. “No, I can do that. You’ve shown yourself to be incompetent in being a hero. You only have yourself to blame,” she said turning away. “Let’s go,” she said swinging off, not even seeing if the other two followed. She landed on the balcony leading to her parent’s room, leaving the two vigilantes confused. Mari stumbled into the room and collapsed onto the couch with a groan as she transformed.

“Mari?” Robin asked causing her to groan once more as she looked up at them blearily.

“You followed,” she mumbled before planting her face on the couch once more.

“Mari needs to rest now,” Tikki said flying up to look at both Batman and Robin. The two looked at her shocked.

“Who are you?” Robin asked.

“I am Tikki, Kwami of Creation. I’m what gives Mari her powers,” she explained and the two nodded. “But go, she needs to rest. What she did exhausted her, it’d no simple thing for a Guardian to ban someone from ever using a Miraculous again. We’ll talk in the morning,” Tikki said and the two nodded, heading to their room.

In the morning, they did talk.

In the morning, Mari learned that Robin and Batman were Damian and Bruce Wayne.

Within the week, they had taken down Hawkmoth and revealed to the world that Gabriel Agreste was a terrorist.

Adrien revealed himself as Chat Noir which brought about mixed responses. No one really respected Chat, at least not the people that he needed to. Especially when they learned he was stripped of the Miraculous. For all the harassment, endangering, and enabling he’s done, along with not feeling guilty about just outraged that he was being punished, he was going to a school for troubled kids and put on record as a harasser. He would be going to juvie for 6 months tho first before being sent out of Paris to the school. His father’s company tho, the courts would decide what to do with when he turns 18. But who knows how it’ll look like when Adrien is 18.

Mari felt a bit bad but knew it was for the best. Lila was the next worst off. Lila had piles of lawsuits. She was banned from France as a whole with everyone knowing what she’s done. She was going to a military school for troubled teens in the hopes she’d get better. She’d stay with her grandparents who were no-nonsense. She’d also have to pay for all the suits which would be hard considering not many people wanted to hire her.

The rest of the class had it off easiest. They only had to pay a fine and do a bit of community service. Damocles was demoted and sent to classes to see if he could possibly return to being a principal. Ms. Bustier, however, was fired. She didn’t handle the situation well at all, and only ever listened to one side of the argument and pressured students. So she isn’t allowed to teach kids anymore.

The class tho, they felt they lost the worst.

They realized just how amazing Mari was to them. And what they did to her in return for that kindness? They treated her horribly. Only Chloe was able to talk to her. But they all got to see how well she was settling into her new life in Gotham. It was hard to miss really.

She was dating Damian Wayne and got an internship with Bruce Wayne to help start up her business as MDC. She was called the Angel of Gotham. Chloe joined her there and lived with Mari and her parents.

And she looked so happy back home in Gotham.

They were never making it up to Mari, no matter how hard they tried.

Ok, so here’s the second part!! I hope you like it. Sorry if the ending seems a TAD rushed. I wanted to give you guys this and i was losing steam on it, mostly a headache comin in goin ‘HAHAHA U THOUGHT UD WRITE?! THINK AGAIN AHAHAHAHAH’. Ya, so that’s why. Anyways, until next time! -Love Willa <3<3<3

#fanfic #fanfic update #This Little Angel #TLA #Part 2 #the MUCH awaited part 2 #update #my writing #maribat #daminette #ml x dc #dad joker #uh #idk what else to tag

184 notes · View notes

hotchscotchh · 3 years

Text

Reimagined

Hey y’all! This is going to be my first multichapter fic and I am excited :) I wasn’t sure what to call it, so I went with “Reimagined” because I guess that’s kind of what I’m attempting to do here? But that’s all fanfiction, really. This is mildly NSFW!

Pairing: Aaron Hotchner x Spencer Reid

Warnings: canon typical violence, kind of smut? I guess

Word Count: 1.7k

A special thanks to @Reidology for your beta-ing and support!

Read on AO3

Chapter 2, Chapter 3, Chapter 4, Chapter 5

Based on 3x14, Damaged

Chester Hardwick. A serial killer that managed to take the lives of twenty-three women before he was caught. Hardwick had decided he was ready to talk, and Spencer Reid couldn’t have been more excited to get into this man’s mind. Hotch, on the other hand, was just plain angry, and for good reason. Haley was being completely unfair with this divorce. He figured if he had something else to focus on, the pain and anger would leave the forefront of his mind, at least momentarily.

None of that interview had gone as planned. Hotch had tried to fight Hardwick after the man revealed his plans of killing two FBI agents to get out of the death penalty, thinking maybe he could put his anger to good use. Reid, though, had been able to talk him down, and likely saved his superior’s life, talking and distracting Hardwick for the thirteen minutes they had before the guards returned.

Hotch was impressed. He’d never seen someone distract an unsub for that amount of time, let alone calm him down enough to deter his plan of killing so instantly. But a play on narcissism was always a strong one.

Reid was… Well, Reid was turned on, to say the least. This sort of adrenaline always got him going. And seeing his boss all puffed up, ready to kill the man who had just threatened to kill them? That was a thought for another time.

“So, Haley wants me to sign the divorce paper uncontested so nobody wastes money on lawyers,” Hotch started, when they were in the car on the way back to D.C. “You don’t want to?” Reid questioned. “What I want I’m not gonna get,” Hotch replied, leaving Reid puzzled. “What is it you want, Hotch?” He didn’t get an answer.

----

Back in Quantico, the team had just wrapped up another case. Reid was currently witnessing a very confusing encounter. Kevin had just stopped Rossi and said they needed to talk “man to man,” and then JJ sang some song about Garcia and Kevin and a tree? He had no idea what was going on. Instead of continuing to sit there confused (no one would explain it to him for some reason, apparently what was happening was obvious), Spencer decided to go check on Hotch. He had obviously not taken Haley’s request well, and the interview couldn’t have helped.

“Hotch,” Reid said quietly, knocking on the office door and poking his head in. “Come in Reid, close the door,” Hotch replied, not looking up from his paperwork. Reid sat down in the chair across from Aaron and handed him a file. “My reports for the interview.” “Thank you, Reid, I appreciate you getting this done so quickly. I wanted to apologize for the situation I put you in today, it really was not appropriate. I shouldn’t have provoked him the way I did,” Hotch stated in full “Unit Chief” mode. “Hotch,” Reid began, pausing and making sure the words that were about to come out of his mouth were going to come out correctly. “Let me take you out for dinner tonight. I think you need someone to talk to, and honestly, I probably do too.” Reid didn’t really need to talk, he had been doing much better in the aftermath of Hankel recently, but he did know that his boss would be more likely to say yes if he thought it wouldn’t only be to benefit him. Hotch looked up from his paperwork, gave Reid a look the younger man couldn’t decipher, and thought for a few moments. “Well,” Aaron answered, “that actually sounds lovely. Let me just finish this last file and I’ll come get you. I’m assuming you took the metro?” Reid nodded. “Great. I’ll drive us and I can bring you home after. Think about where you want to go.”

Reid entered the bull pen with a faint smile on his face. Sitting down at his desk, he thought back to how Hotch looked preparing to defend himself and Spencer from that highly dangerous man and found himself beginning to get hard. He shook his head as if he could shake the thoughts from his mind and walked to the bathroom to splash some cold water on his face. He wasn’t supposed to think about coworkers like that. Especially not his boss. It wasn’t Spencer’s fault the man was so effortlessly attractive. Spencer then reminded himself that his boss was married. It was a failing marriage, but the thought sobered him up either way. He made his way back to the bull pen and saw the face Morgan was making at him. “What, do I have something on my face?” he asked. “No,” Morgan replied. “You just were in Hotch’s office, came back all pale, and ran off to the bathroom. Are you feeling ok?” “Fine, just got a little nauseous for a moment. I’m okay now. Thanks for asking though, I appreciate it,” Reid answered, only half lying about the feeling of nausea.

Aaron came out of his office almost an hour later, finding Reid lost in a book at his desk. “Reid,” he called out softly, placing a hand softly on his shoulder as to not startle him too much. Reid jumped and looked up at him. “Hotch! You scared me,” he exclaimed. “Sorry,” Hotch chuckled. “I’m also sorry I took so long, I got call from the Wichita police department.” Reid looked up at him, disappointment showing clearly in his eyes. “No case,” Hotch said quickly, noticing the disappointment. “They were just letting me know how that case from a few weeks ago turned out. Our unsub was prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law, landing him with three life sentences, no parole. Have you decided where you want to go for dinner?” Reid nodded and stood up, collecting his belongings and making his way towards the doors of the BAU.

Spencer didn’t begin to feel nervous until he was sitting in the front of Hotch’s SUV. Hotch turned to look at him and asked, “so, where are we going?” Reid replied, “it’s a surprise. I’ll just be your backseat driver and give you directions. Turn right out of the parking lot.”

Twenty minutes later, they were sitting in front of a small Greek diner. “Did you know that Greek is my favorite?” Hotch asked, a small smile playing across his lips. His very kissable lips, Reid thought. Spencer blushed and looked away. “Yeah,” he answered quietly. “I thought you might want comfort food. I don’t really have experience, except for my own parent’s divorce, but I know what you’re going through can’t be easy.” Hotch’s smile grew. “Thank you, Reid.” They got out of the car and made their way into the restaurant.

“I’ll bet you that I can order for you and it’ll be exactly what you were thinking about ordering,” Hotch said, out of nowhere. “What’s on the line?” Reid asked. “Loser pays for dinner.” “You’re on, I’ll make the same bet,” Spencer answered, silently deciding he would wait on the difficult conversation until they received their food. The waitress approached their table and Hotch informed her they would be ordering for each other. The waitress gave a small smile, looking between the two of them. “Of course,” she said, leaning down to look over Hotch’s shoulder to see what he was pointing at on the menu before turning to Reid and doing the same.

The next fifteen minutes were filled mostly with Spencer finally getting an explanation as to what had occurred between Garcia, Kevin, and Rossi. Spencer laughed, not believing he hadn’t picked up on it. Their food arrived then, putting a stop to their conversation. The two men looked down at the food set in front of them. Reid had ordered a Greek soup for Hotch, and Hotch ordered Reid a pork gyro. They looked back up at each other and both said, “you win,” before laughing. “How about this,” Reid started. “I’ll pay this time, and you get the next one.” “The next one?” Hotch questioned. “Well, I hope there’ll be another, I don’t know about you, Hotch, but I’ve really enjoyed myself tonight.” Aaron looked back up smiling in a way that Reid had never seen before. “I have too, Reid.”

“So,” Spencer started cautiously. “Let’s talk. You never answered my question in the car before. What is it that you want?” Hotch heaved a sigh, looking down at his lap before resignedly looking back up to meet his subordinate’s eyes and said, “you can’t tell anyone anything about what I’m going to say.” Reid nodded earnestly, excited that the man was going to open up to him. “Haley wants full custody. Which, in reality, makes sense because of how often we’re away, but it means I’m not going to be able to see him anywhere near as much as I want to.” “That’s all, Hotch?” “Yeah.”

Reid thought for a few moments before speaking up again. “Why don’t you ask for skype or phone calls at least every other night? I know he’s little, but hearing your voice will be good for him. And for when you’re home, ask to have him at least two nights a week. Weeks we have off and holidays can be negotiated by the two of you privately. You know, her lawyers are probably just making an unfair offer to get you to contest it so they can make more money. She is a reasonable person. I’m sure she’ll be willing to compromise.” That was a lot for Hotch to take in. Letting out another sigh, Aaron looked back up as Spencer and replied, “That’s actually fairly realistic. I’ll talk to her about it. If she’s not willing to change, this is just going to have to get messy.” Relaxing back in his seat, Hotch gave a small smile. “I should come to you for advice more often, Spencer.”

That night, when Spencer got home from work, he got himself off to the thought of his (married) boss and only felt guilty for an hour. Or three.

#Aaron Hotcher x Spencer Reid #Aaron Hotchner/Spencer Reid #Aaron Hotchner #Spencer Reid #multichapter #angst #ish #im kind of in love with this #just a little #hotchreid

23 notes · View notes

doc-pickles · 4 years

Text

i won’t hesitate (for you) ch. 9

Jo is happy, at least she feels like she is. When someone from her past shows up, will her and her daughter’s world ever go back to normal? Or will things change for good?

Me? Updating? It's more likely than you think apparently. I struggled, s t r u g g l e d. through this chapter but I think the rest will come a bit easier. S/O to Ren for proofing the first half of this and to Nat for demanding the second half hahaha. Also I know that the plot for this whole child support thing is totally out of left field, but I'm going with the Grey's motto of "enough logic to be believable but probably not real world" so there's that. Anyways enjoy! PS: In the interest of me not sending myself to an early grave, there's no flashback in the beginning of this chapter!

“Can’t believe we have to go to court, this is a waste of my time and my good suit,” Alex grumbled as he tightened this tie. “I had to pull it out of the boxes and then get it dry cleaned, I should freaking bill her for this.”

“This’ll be over with in a few days and we can go back to our normal lives, well as normal as living in a loft overrun with cardboard boxes is,” Jo exited the bathroom and navigated around a stack of boxes before finally making it over to Alex, moving his hands and helping with his tie. “You look so handsome, if we didn’t have somewhere to be I would drag you back to bed.”

“Well our bed isn’t even here for you to drag me to,” Alex moved his lips to kiss along Jo’s neck, a soft giggle coming from her as he did so. “Movers are coming in 45 minutes and we have to be out the door in 15.”

“That’s enough time for a quickie in the bathroom,” Jo’s proposition caused Alex to pull back and look her up and down with an amused expression. “What? I’m seriously horny all the time and you look good in a suit. I can’t help all the hormones running through my body. In fact! It’s your fault for getting me pregnant!”

Alex rolled his eyes, pressing one last kiss to Jo’s lips before pulling back from her.

“If I remember correctly, there were two of us in that elevator,” grabbing his keys and coat, Alex held his hand out for Jo to grab. “And I wasn’t the one gasping and moaning and practically begging the whole time.”

“If you keep using verbs like that you’re gonna make us late,” Jo swatted at Alex’s ass before grabbing his outstretched hand, following him out of the loft.

As they locked the doors and headed downstairs, Alex let his hands fall to Jo’s growing bump, showcased by her form fitting black dress. At almost 18 weeks pregnant now, Jo couldn’t attempt to hide her bump anymore. She’d been nervous that her pregnancy would impact the court case one way or another, but Alex had reassured her that he just wanted her there with him, consequence be damned. Things had moved quickly though, and in the end, Jo had been called to testify as a character witness so her protests didn’t matter.

The speed of the case making it to court probably had something to do with the fact that Izzie hadn’t bothered to fly back home to file a claim, instead calling the first paternity lawyer she could find on google and starting up the legal process in Washington. While it was a minor relief that Alex wouldn’t have to split time between Seattle and Kansas, both he and Jo were worried about how seriously Izzie had taken things.

Getting into the car and pulling on her seatbelt, Jo begins to ramble nervously. “How’s this going to work? I mean… they’re not yours, right? How is Izzie even allowed to do this?”

A loud groan left Alex as he settled into the driver's seat of his car. He’d wondered the same thing, but he knew that him signing all those papers when he moved to Kansas three years ago had definitely helped Izzie’s case. Even back then, he’d thought in the back of his mind that he should have asked more questions, demanded a paternity test, but he hadn’t. All he could focus on were these two perfect children standing in front of him, children that he now knew weren’t even his. Alex’s blood began to boil with anger at the thought of Izzie lying to him for so long, but he let out a deep breath and began to drive towards the courthouse instead.

“I don’t know, but I saw those blood test results myself and there’s no damn way those kids are mine,” Jo’s fingers rubbed against Alex’s arm, calming him slightly. He looked to her briefly before speaking again. “I’m sorry you had to get dragged into this, I wish I could protect you from it all.”

He could feel Jo’s gaze on him as his eyes stayed on the road. Alex could almost hear her thinking of how much she wanted to make Izzie pay for what she’d done to him. He was almost certain that pregnant or not, she’d fight Izzie if she came at her again. As if reading his mind Jo let out a chuckle and squeezed his arm reassuringly.

“I’m a big girl, I can stand up to bullies on the playground,” Jo squeezed Alex’s arm once more before bringing her hand to rest on her growing bump. “Let’s just get through today, this isn’t going to go longer than a day once they figure out you’re not those kids dad.”

But it did end up lasting longer… Once they got to the courthouse, Alex realized with a sense of horror that Izzie wasn’t messing around. She had two lawyers and was wearing a dress that looked like it cost more than his paycheck. And she wasn’t holding back anything, her lawyers showed that loud and clear.

“My client went through multiple rounds of chemotherapy, there’s no possible way that she could conceive without the help of artificial insemination and the sample that Doctor Karev provided,” Izzie’s lawyer was a short, pudgy man whose voice echoed through the courtroom unforgivingly. “We’re asking for Doctor Karev to back pay child support for the three years he knew about and took parental responsibility for both children as well as therapy for the children in the wake of his sudden departure.”

“Your Honor, these claims are absurd! Doctors Karev and Stevens performed a blood test that showed that one of the children has a genetic disorder that neither of them have, meaning that if Doctor Stevens did indeed give birth to both children, that Doctor Karev could not be their biological father,” Alex’s lawyer fought back, eyeing Izzie and her lawyers as she spoke. “All we’re asking for is Doctor Karev to be released of all parental responsibility for both children and for Doctor Stevens to repay him the legal fees for these proceedings, as well as cover any other expenses he’s incurred while being involved in this trial.”

A quick and calculated silence followed the statement, Alex’s eyes flitting nervously from Izzie to her lawyer to Jo, who sat behind him with her hands nervously running over her bump. He’d seen Izzie watching her with a venomous expression earlier, Alex’s grip around her waist tightening as they’d shuffled into the courtroom.

“Your Honor, we’d like to call Doctor Josephine Brooke Karev to the stand before we proceed,” Izzie’s other lawyer, a tall woman named Eleanor Krause, stood and gestured towards the witness stand. She wore an almost permanent scowl on her thin face, her dark eyes staring menacingly around the courtroom. “I have a few questions for the other Doctor Karev.”

Jo rose and quietly made her way towards the stand, eyes meeting Alex’s briefly before swearing in and turning to face Miss Krause.

“Doctor Karev, are you and Doctor Alexander Michael Karev still married?”

“No we are currently divorced,” Jo’s voice was clear and stoic as she answered, staring directly at the lawyer questioning her. “We’ve been divorced for almost three years now.”

“And the dissolution of your marriage occurred when separated he moved to Kansas to be with Doctor Stevens?”

“Correct…,” then quickly adding, “after learning of their existence, Alex determined he needed to sever all ties with Seattle to be there completely for his children. At least who he thought were his children.”

Krause’s eyes lit up suddenly, a wicked smile appearing on her face as she stared down Jo. Alex could feel his stomach drop, knowing that whatever the woman was going to say next would not be friendly or civil.

“And you also have a child fathered by Doctor Alexander Michael Karev, is that right?”

“Yes, my daughter Harper Josephine Karev, who is two, and the child I’m carrying now are both Alex’s,” Jo’s brow furrowed, hand settling onto her abdomen as she watched the woman take a step closer to her. “I don’t see what that has to do with the case at hand though.”

“I just want to know if the other Doctor Karev paid you child support during your first pregnancy and the two years of your daughter’s life that he wasn’t present,” Krause’s voice was practically dripping with malice as she stared Jo down. “I mean, we are here to make sure that he’s doing his duty as a father, whether he’s in the same state as his children or not, right? So, has he been paying child support to you, Doctor Karev?”

Jo’s eyes flitted to Alex nervously, his own telling her that it was okay to tell the truth. To be honest, he was scared what Jo’s answer would affect in the case, but he knew that at the end of the day he wouldn’t have to pay a dime to Izzie because her kids were not his.

“No he hasn’t, but he didn’t know he had a daughter until four months ago,” Jo argued, turning momentarily to the judge. “He’s been a present and wonderful father since he’s known about Harper.”

“Doctor Karev, are you sure beyond a reasonable doubt that both of your children are indeed Alex’s children? Did you not have your daughter shortly after your now ex husband left you?”

“What’s the relevance here,” Alex’s lawyer finally stood and challenged the woman accosting Jo. “Doctor Josephine Karev’s children shouldn’t have any effect on her ex husband's child support case! It’s cruel and malicious to be questioning her like this on the stand.”

Alex turned to glare at Izzie, angered that she wore the same expression as her shifty lawyer. She knew about what Krause was plotting, he would put money on the fact that she’d planted the seed of whatever cruel idea it was in her head.

“I’m just questioning Doctor Alexander Karev’s intentions when it comes to his children, however many that may be,” Krause shrugged, eyes narrowing in Jo’s direction. “You’ve filed papers to move forward with adding Alexander to your daughter’s legal paperwork, is that correct?”

That all too familiar feeling of horror flooded Alex’s senses again, overtaking everything as he watched Jo answer affirmatively, her eyes moving to him again. There were tears welling up in them now, the fear he felt in the room spreading to her as well. His breathing hitched as he listened to Izzie’s lawyer prattle on once more, her biting voice breaking through his mental fog.

“I’d like to request a hold on any formal paternity proclamations concerning Doctor Alexander Michael Karev’s alleged children until their paternity can be confirmed via DNA testing,” Krause moved her line of sight to Jo once more, a sharp note ringing through the courtroom as she delivered her final, jarring blow. “I’d like to request that all four of Doctor Karev’s alleged children are tested, I believe that Josephine here is still well within the window to have an amniocentesis performed.”

“No, hell no!” Alex stood from his chair, eyes blazing as he stared down Krause. “I am not letting you poke and prod my wife just for a damn child support case, especially one she’s not directly involved in.”

Both Alex and his lawyer turned pleadingly towards the judge, who was eyeing both Izzie and Alex warily. He was never one to feel anxious, but he couldn’t help the worry mounting in his chest. Finally, the judge spoke, his words directed towards Izzie’s lawyers.

“How long would this process take?”

“If we proceeded with the amniocentesis, we’d have results in as soon as three weeks,” Krause’s eyes moved to Alex, a sick look of delight glowing in them. “If you’re uncomfortable with that though, we can draw this case out until the baby is born.”

“I’ll do it,” Jo’s voice rang out before anyone else could answer, making all eyes in the courtroom turn to her. Alex felt his heart constrict as he watched her speak. “I’ll do the amnio, I don’t mind.”

“With Doctor Josephine Karev’s confirmation, I’m adjourning this case until the DNA results for Alexis Isobel Stevens, Eli George Stevens, Harper Josephine Karev, and Doctor Josephine Karev’s unborn child come back. Court adjourned, you may leave now,” the judge rose and left the courtroom quickly, not bothering to witness the pure mayhem that descended upon the room.

“You did this on purpose,” Alex was up and out of his seat before anyone could stop him, feet heading towards Izzie who wore a smug expression as she looked him over. “You disgust me, you’ve weaponized your own children against me and now you’re trying to jeopardize the health of my unborn child and wife?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about Alex,” Izzie batted her eyelashes in Alex’s direction, her self satisfied smirk growing as she watched him become more angry. “Looking forward to seeing you again!”

Before he could respond to Izzie, a gentle hand pressed into Alex’s back and ushered him towards the exit. Jo’s presence, even if he hadn’t looked into her eyes yet, was an instant calming effect over him.

As soon as they stepped into the hallway, Jo and Alex were in each other’s embrace, steadying breaths matching the others as they tried to come to terms with what had just happened. Her face pressed against his chest, Alex could feel the slow shuddering breaths that left Jo as he held her. He knew the questions Izzie's lawyer had posed were ones that were a sore spot for Jo, ones she’d begged him not to believe as she’d cried into his arms just a few weeks earlier.

“Just one punch,” Jo mumbled the words against Alex’s chest, looking up to make sure he heard her. “Please? I just wanna punch her one time.”

Alex chuckled, looking down at Jo with a glint in his eye, “You know I can’t let you do that, even though it would make me happier than I care to admit.”

“You kept calling me your wife in there,” Jo pressed her hands against the lapels of Alex’s suit, avoiding his stare as she fixed her gaze on her hands. “I don’t hate hearing you say that again.”

The words made Alex’s heart stutter under Jo’s gentle touch, his mind racing as he took in fully what she was saying. Did she really want to be his wife again? After years of him being away, of her raising their daughter on her own? After he had all but abandoned her and told her via letter?

Watching Jo for another moment, Alex brought his fingers under her chin and met her eyes, “You wanna marry me again? After all the shit we’ve been through?”

“For some reason I do, you make me better,” Jo finally lifted her gaze back to Alex’s face, eyes welling with tears as she spoke. “You’ve given me the best things in my life, you’ve made me a better person. And if we can get through some of the things that have been thrown at us, then I truly think we can get through everything. I love you Alex, more than I can ever say to you. I know you think you’ve fucked up, but through the past few months you’ve shown me how much you’ve grown.”

Not knowing what to say, Alex leaned down and captured Jo’s lips with his own. If there was one thing that was almost always blaringly clear for him, it was that he didn’t deserve the woman in his arms. He couldn’t begin to fathom how much it had taken to forgive him, to even trust him again after what he’d done. But just as she’d always done, Jo saw him for who he really was underneath all of his layers of bullshit.

“We can go right now, we are in the courthouse,” Alex joked, prompting Jo to roll her eyes and gently slap his chest before walking towards the exit. “What? Not a funny joke? We had fun last time and the SUV has a bigger backseat than the Audi did.” “Mmm yeah, you know we made a baby that night, right?,” Jo raised her eyebrows, a mischievous grin lighting up her face as she took in Alex’s shocked expression. “You have really good luck, you know? You made one baby in the backseat of a car and another on the floor of an elevator.”

A peel of laughter escaped Jo as she tried to unsuccessfully move away from Alex’s grip on her hips, instead falling back into his arms as his lips grazed her neck.

“You’re gonna be the death of me, woman,” Alex whispered the words as he turned Jo around in his arms. “Weren’t you just trying to jump me in the bathroom a few hours ago? Is the car not up to your standards?”

“No, I’m just thinking that Link is keeping Harper overnight and our bed probably got to the new house already,” Jo smirked in satisfaction at the dark look that fell over Alex’s eyes at her suggestion. “Now's as good a time as any to start christening the place. Unless you can’t keep up with a younger woman?”

“Josephine Karev, you know I can keep up with you any day of the week,” Alex’s lips ghosted Jo’s ear as he lowered his voice, pressing her closer to him and making his aroused state perfectly clear for her. “Let’s go, before we have no choice but to finish things up in the car.”

Twenty four hours after leaving the courthouse, Alex and Jo find themselves in an exam room on the OB floor. With the amniocentesis being court ordered and both of them wanting to get things over as quickly as possible, they’d booked the first appointment that was available.

“How are you not nervous,” Alex sat beside Jo, her hand in his as Carina ran an ultrasound wand over Jo’s stomach. “I mean I’m not trying to make you nervous, but you know what happens here!”

“Can’t be any worse than a 15 hour unmedicated labor that ended with a 9 pound baby making its way out of your vagina,” Jo shrugged, Carina chuckling quietly next to her. “I came up with some very interesting curse words that day.”

Alex and Jo both watched the ultrasound screen intently, their baby reaching one leg up to kick at the probe. Carina furrowed her brow, watching the baby move languidly on the screen, “You’re going to have to get them to calm down, I cannot go in while they’re kicking all around like that.”

“Talk to them, they always calm down when you talk to them,” Jo turned to Alex and raised her eyebrows. “Go on! I don’t have all day to lay here Alex.” Alex looked between Jo and Carina before leaning down and speaking in the same mellow tone that Jo had become so used to hearing while they laid in bed at night, “Hey kiddo, you gotta slow down in there. Your mom and I are tangled up in this stupid ass thing-”

“Alex!”

“And we’d really appreciate it if you cooperated so we could get this done,” Alex glanced to the ultrasound screen, noticing that the erratic movements had lessened and the baby had calmed. “See, that’s more like it. You know your sister is very excited to meet you, she keeps running around talking about how she’s gonna be a ‘big shitser’ which is super adorable if not the most inappropriate thing to come out of a two year olds mouth.

“She wants to name you Elsa or Hei Hei, those are the options I was presented with a few nights ago anyways. I don’t think she really gets it, but she’s gonna be great,” Jo’s eyes closed quickly as Carina pulled out the needle, her hand squeezing Alex’s. “Okay you gotta be super still now, mom’s got a big needle in her-”

“You are not helping me, Alex.” “And she’s all done! Look at that, easy peasy,” Alex pressed a kiss to Jo’s forehead, following the once again active baby on the screen. “Hey look at that, baby’s flashing us!”

Jo sat up quickly, eyes scanning the screen as well with a laugh, “Well that’s one way to do a gender reveal.”

Alex leaned up to kiss Jo, laughter bubbling from both of them as they let the realization sink in. They had a house, they had two healthy kids, they had the promise of a great big future ahead of them. Court case be damned, they were happy and things were going right between them for once.

#jolex #alex karev #jo wilson #jo karev #greys anatomy #jo x alex #jolex fanfic #greys anatomy fanfic #nina writes #hesitate

22 notes · View notes

artxyra · 5 years

Text

In Her Darkest Moment - Final Part

Part 1 | 2

Marinette couldn’t believe the words sprouting out of her former best friend’s mouth. No wonder Nino divorced her away six years of marriage. Standing firm, Marinette purse her lips and looks to her lovers and Chloe out of her peripheral.

“Stop,” Marinette growls. “You’re making a complete full of yourself, Cesaire. Can you not see the crowd your loud ass mouth brought upon? I came here to have a good time and I feel so attacked right now.” Marinette pulls away from Félix.

“You’re nothing but a gold digger and a whore!” Alya shouts fully ready to fight the small woman. “Your own parents didn’t even want you.”

Marinette bites her bottom lip. Sure, she and her parents had a fall out after Lycée but that didn’t stop her from remembering the good times she spends with them. How dare Alya bring them back up when this has nothing to do with them.

Taking a deep breath, Marinette is mentally preparing herself for war.

In the background, Adrien’s making his entrance with Nino. The two couldn’t believe that Marinette showed up along with the crew she’s been with since Lycee.

“Cesaire, I could care less about what you think of me when you clearly have a lot of loose screws. Hanging around Lila made you even more stupid than when we were in college.” Marinette taunts placing her hand on her hip.

“Maybe you should have dropped dead then.” Alya sneers.

Marinette finds comfort in Felix’s arms as she watches the reporter strut away back to her puppet master. How could Alya fall so low when her future was so bright?

“Well let’s enjoy the—” Marinette tries to make the situation brighter, but she couldn’t find anything but a large crowd of adults surrounding them. “Um…would you mine?” She gives the crowd the sweetest smile she could muster.

The crowd disperse in hopes of another conflict to this dull party.

Taking their sweet time, Nino and Adrien makes their way over to the group and neutrally greets the other party.

Marinette folds her arms against her chest. “So, you married, Lila, knowing full damn well she’s a liar.” She states with anger layering within her voice. Felix rubs her shoulders before going to her back as Luka and Kagami silently speaks to one another about the beast that was just unleashed.

“Marinette, I had nothing to do with the speculation, you have to remember that.” Adrien pleads to the woman.

Marinette rolls her eyes. Of course, he has nothing to do with it. He never has anything to do with it. All he does is play the victim and silently watch the playout.

“You created this hell yourself. You thought she would change, no pathological liar can change, Agreste. Now because of your wife, she has once again damaged my name and now we have to fix it.” When she said we, Adrien’s eyes beamed with hope but that quickly fades to nothing when she gestures between her, Felix, Kagami, Luka, and Chloe.

“I always knew you would be walked on by a woman, Adrien, but never in a million years would I guest Rossi to do it. How’s Emmett doing?” Chloe jokes before her voice became more serious bring up Adrien’s three-year-old son.

“He’s fine. Actually, he’s with Nino’s boys right now enjoying playtime.” Adrien answers rubbing his forearm.

“That’s not what I meant, Adrien.” His statement confirmed Chloe’s theory. He wasn’t happy in his marriage and it shows.

“I didn’t know you had a son,” Marinette admits before looking towards Felix for answers. They may have been cousins, but they do keep vaguely in touch.

“It’s not you think, Netta. I knew of the boy as I was the one to prepare the custody files for Adrien a few years back.” Felix admits trying to sway woman’s anger off him.

Marinette sighs and pinches the bridge of her nose. This night just keeps getting better and better.

“Well, let’s try and enjoy this evening before Lila manages the waterworks to sway her belief.” Marinette huffs but before she could turn around there was a loud screech.

Everyone turns to see Lila crying her eyes out to her group of supporters. Her words were muffled as she hiccups, and her voice becomes hoarse. If this was an anime, everyone would be able to feel the heat radiating off Alya.

“How dare she comes here pretending that she knows nothing. I saw them.” Lila lies through her teeth weeping into the reporter’s arms.

Marinette knowing where this is going, grabs hold of Felix’s and Adrien’s wrist and pulls them over to the crowd of supporters. There were whispers of negativity from the crowd as Marinette trudges her way through them.

“You got some real nerve to be coming over here.” Alya growls the moment she saw Marinette coming over.

“Look, I’m not here to start a war, I’m here to end it and to come clean.” Marinette huffs letting the two men’s wrist go and folding her own arms against her chest.

“Come clean? The only thing you’re coming clean about is how you slept with Adrien and hiding the evidence.” Alya counters slightly pushing Lila behind her as some form of protection.

“What evidence?” Marinette asks as her mind thinks of several different ways Lila could go with this lie.

Alya gasps as if she’s been offended. “The positive pregnancy test.” She states as if she talking to a three-year-old.

Marinette and her lover could only laugh at this peace of information.

“Lila told me how she found a positive test in her bathroom. It couldn’t have been her’s so it has to be yours as you’re the only other female in that house.” Alya continues to believe this story.

By now, Marinette is fully laughing at the reporter’s stupidity.

“What the hell are you laughing about?” Alya grumbles, stumping on the ground as if she’s about to have a tantrum.

“I can’t get pregnant!” Marinette states. “I got the IUD that is pretty much effective, and my sex life is already dull with the amount of content I have to make. So, either that pregnancy test is a fake or Lila is the one pregnant.”

Marinette continues to laugh. Yes, she wants children, but with the way her life is now, it’s not the right time and Kagami, Luka, and Felix agreed to that. They were very much in the height of their careers and adding a child to that seem overkill.

Alya is taken back. Her brain trying to come up with an answer.

“Alya, she’s lying.” Lila cries out, grasping the woman’s forearm like her life depended on it.

Alya then lets out a frustrated cry of help.

“Get it through your thick head, this is the first time since Lycee that I’ve Agreste, so how could I have had sex with a man that I haven’t seen or heard from since then. I also travel a lot and haven’t been to Paris for a couple of months. If you’re supposed to be this amazing reporter, then you’re doing a horrible job and no wonder agencies aren’t trying to hire you.” Marinette continues making gestures between herself and to the two males besides her.

Lila could feel the growing eyes of her supporters watching her like prey. She needs to reel this conversation back to her.

“Why the fuck you just had to show up and ruin everything?” Lila shrieks as the pressure finally get to her.

Lila charges towards Marinette, only for the latter to judo-flip the angered woman. Lila’s body lands with a large thud. She groans out in pain.

Felix looks towards Chloe who nods upon eye contact. One more thing to add to their ever-growing list to bring Lila Rossi down with.

“Do you ever learn.” Marinette hiss at the crying in pain woman.

“You will pay for this Dupain-Cheng, mark my words. I have succeeded this far what another few more could do.”

Marinette raises an eyebrow. “Uh—You outing yourself is one of them.”

Lila’s eyes widen as she looks around, still trying to play the victim in the ever-growing mess of deceit. Confusion wash over the supporters that Lila has gained over the years. Each and every one of them was trying to figure out what was the truth and the lies.

“King Ali,” Rose murmurs as her eyes began to water. Juleka gives her fiancée a comforting hug. Rose look like she was about to have an internal crisis.

Alya stood frozen in her place. Every job opportunity wasted or rejected because of Lila’s broken promises and counters. She remembers the promise Lila made for Nino for a contest that he ended up missing because of the Italian.

“No…no…. no,” Alya repeats.

Marinette smirks knowing that all these years of being tormented were coming to an end. As much as it slightly broke her heart to see such impacts, she knew that they brought this on themselves.

“Lila,” Alya whimpers her hands rubbing each other, “What did you mean?”

“Alya, you’re misinterpreting my message. I only meant to help Marinette back in school.” Lila tries to persuade the group.

“She’s right, isn’t she.” Alya voice became nothing but a whisper.

Marinette glances over to Felix and motions for them to go over to a table. Nodding, Felix agrees and takes the designer’s hand into his own.

“If only there was popcorn, but I can’t help but feel somewhat guilty.” Marinette murmurs taking a seat next to her lovers.

“Nette, you have no right to give them answers,” Chloe states standing next to the lawyer and business partner. “This has been a long time coming.”

Marinette sighs and leans against Felix’s shoulder.

They were right, she owes them nothing.

~*~

A couple of days has passed since the reunion and the amount of apologizes Marinette has received was overwhelming. Majority of them she had since deleted wanting nothing to do with them.

“Well, the good news is that Chloe and Felix have a strong case against Rossi for defamation and an assault with the attempt to murder,” Kagami announces after giving Marinette a kiss on her cheek.

“That’s good to know, but why attempted murder?”

Luka walks in and pauses like he didn’t just hear what Marinette had asked.

“It because we’re pretty sure that she would have killed you if you didn’t judo-flip the truth out of her.” He states taking a seat down and pulling Kagami onto his lap. Kagami smirks and leans into him.

“Well, the quicker this issue goes away the quicker our lives go back to normal.” They all nod an agreement missing the peace that has been gone since the scandal broke out.

A couple of hours past before Chloe makes her grand entrance along with her long-time girlfriend Madeline.

“Chloe,” Madeline sighs before greeting the few that has become her friends.

“What news do you get for us, and where’s Fe?” Luka asks taking notice of the lack of blonde male.

“He’s still at the office, something about a crap ton of paperwork and making sure everything is perfect for Rossi’s demise. Which brings me to this, Rossi doesn’t want this information to go public, she wants to hand over a specific amount of money, that I doubt she owns, and let this roll underneath the table. Like who does she thinks she’s dealing with.” Chloe explains.

Marinette groans now understanding how Lila managed to get away with so much lies in the past. It amazes her how she evades jail time.

“Any other news.”

Madeline pulls out a little black book from her satchel and hands it over to Marinette. The designer begins to get teary eyes as she looked at the familiar handwriting.

“My grandmother wanted you to have this once it was found. I’m sorry that it took so long but I sure she would have been happy for you to have it instead of me. I was never one for that café, but I know that you two had a very close relationship.” Madeline gives her a sad smile.

“Thank you, Madeline. You don’t know how much this means to me. She was there when all hell broke loose and continued to remain my safe zone to her dying breath.” Marinette chuckles at the memory of the owner of the Ladybug and Chat Noir café.

The two women hug it out before Chloe playfully pushes Marinette away from her girlfriend.

~*~

The trial lasted for a few days. Lila tried everything in her power to persuade the jury that she’s innocent, but the jury wasn’t having any of that. The facts were clearly laid out especially when Adrien Agreste decided to testify against the woman. Unfortunately, Felix couldn’t get Lila charged under attempted murder as there was a lack of evidence as of late. Lila left that courtroom kicking and screaming to the group making empty promises of how they will rue the day they crossed her.

Watching Lila go to jail was the biggest relief Marinette ever experienced, she finally managed to close a chapter of her life. A chapter that would no longer haunt her in her sleep. That she can finally move on from and enjoy the life she wants with her three lovers.

~*~

Maybe those years were her darkest moments but now looking back at it as she smiles towards the family she has created; Marinette would never exchange those days for anything. Every darkest moment has their own lightest moments and currently, she is living in hers.

#fic: In Her Darkest Moments #miraculous ladybug #marinette dupain cheng #luka couffaine #ml felix #kagami tsurugi #miraculous fanfic #miraculous au #miraculous ladybug fanfic #I can't believe I forgot Tikki and the others #edits will come later #ml au #I love this pairing #anti-Lila

336 notes · View notes

the-hilda-librarians-wife · 4 years

Text

The Mistakes We Made - Chapter Sixteen

Summary: When her high school girlfriend comes back to town after two years with a baby and a terrible story she won’t tell, the Librarian has to deal with the feelings she had worked so hard to keep at bay.

Notes: Wow. This is really happening. The final chapter. If you’ll excuse me, I’ll take a moment to be That person and give a big, sincere thank you to everyone who has kept up with this fic, especially to the people who commented often and also those who reblogged the chapters. You helped me write what has become my favorite work. And the longest too! So thank you so much, and I hope you enjoy this one last chapter.

Read it on ao3: (chpt1) (chpt2) (chpt3) (chpt4) (chpt5) (chpt6) (chpt7) (chpt8) (chpt9) (chpt10) (chpt11) (chpt12) (chpt13) (chpt14) (chpt15) (chpt16)

The months after that were relatively calm.

Johanna had said she wasn’t ready to be with someone again so soon, and honestly, Maven probably would have been confused if she was: she had been through too much. She surely needed some time to find herself again. So Maven had respected her wishes and gave her the distance she needed.

Well, it couldn’t quite be called distance. It was the furthest away she’d been from Johanna ever since they met each other, apart from those years when Torrin had gotten between them, but it was still quite close. Johanna had moved to a flat in Ericsonberg, that she had somehow managed to guilt trip her parents into renting for her, and Maven had helped in the moving, and during the whole process of coming back to college. Many teachers had been thrilled to have one of their most promising students back, and so were Johanna’s friends. From what Maven had been told, she had taken the chance to make peace with all the friends whom she’d distanced herself from because of Torrin.

During a part of the day, she’d leave Hilda at a daycare, or even let her parents take care of her for a few days, even though Maven thought they didn’t deserve to look after their granddaughter after what they’d done to Johanna. She hadn’t said that, though. What was going on in that family was Johanna’s business, and whatever decision she took about her daughter, Maven would respect.

Every other weekend, Johanna came to Trollberg and stayed in Maven’s house; they studied, and visited Trollberg’s many parks with the kid. Every other weekend, Maven stayed in Ericsonberg and stayed at Johanna’s flat; they studied and enjoyed the freedom of walking in a bigger town, where who they were and their past mattered to no one. Sometimes when Mr. Kavindi said he had no problem with her switching shifts with him, Maven even stayed over with Johanna in the middle of the week. She told herself that it was so that she could take care of Hilda a little for Johanna to study or rest for a while - gods knew how much effort she was making to keep up with Graphic Design and motherhood- but she knew it was also because now that Johanna was back in her life, she didn’t want to miss a moment. And if she was being honest to herself, she was growing very fond of little Hilda too.

The one thing that had been troubling them were the divorce papers; when he’d accepted that Johanna wasn’t coming back and began spreading lies, Torrin hadn’t thought about legal matters. But just after things between Johanna and Maven had settled down in Trollberg, she’d set the papers in motion. She wasn’t asking for much: just what had already belonged to her before the wedding possession wise. After all, Torrin was loved in their town, and had every means to pay for an amazing lawyer, while she was just the traitor. She didn’t want to ask for more than he’d find reasonable, in case he decided to take what she needed the most.

And in that aspect she had bid high; she had made it clear that she wanted full custody of Hilda.

Luckily, he hadn’t seemed to be putting a lot of effort into taking the girl from her. Practically no effort at all, truly, which was weird for a person trying to paint Johanna as a bitch who took his child away from him. It was bad acting on his part, but the two women were more than glad for it.

But even knowing this, they were still a pile of nerves when the day came that the judge would give his final verdict.

It was a warm summer day, and Johanna had chosen to spend the holidays in Trollberg. The two of them were in Maven’s living room, books scattered all over the dinning table, and Hilda was happily playing in her fence by their side.

They had agreed that they should both try to study as much as they could during this month they’d have without classes. After all, the routine was very frenzied, especially for Johanna, and if they could get ahead with some subjects and bonus points projects, that would probably make their life a lot easier once the classes started again.

However, it was clear the both of them were having a hard time focusing on their books when Hilda’s life was about to be decided.

“This isn’t working.” Maven stated, closing the book she was trying to make notes of and startling Johanna out of her reverie. “You keep getting distracted, Anna, and I’m not doing much better”

The woman inhaled deeply and nodded. “I know. But I’m only going to get worse if I’m not focusing on something else.”

“Do you want me to make you some tea? Or maybe we could play a board game?”

Johanna smiled at Maven’s attempts at helping, but it was filled with worry and exhaustion.

“I just want my baby, Maven.” She whispered, her throat tight and eyes watery. “What will I do if they take her away from me?”

Putting her hands on each of Johanna’s arms, Maven forced a look of determination into her eyes. “I don’t know, and we don’t have to know. We don’t even have to think about it, because it won’t happen. Hilda will stay with you and everything will be okay.”

“How can you be so sure?” She asked tremulously.

“Because if the court is stupid, and I firmly believe they won’t be, we’ll run away to Iceland.” Maven deadpanned, squeezing her arms in an attempt to look more serious.

Johanna snorted despite her current state of anxiety. “Sounds like a solid plan. You’d run away to Iceland with me?”

“Of course. We’ll buy cattle and live on a farm house.”

“Can we have bees too?”

“I don’t see why not.”

They stared into each other’s eyes for a second, maintaining their serious expressions before bursting out laughing. They cackled despite the tense situation they found themselves in, or maybe because of it. Sometimes, laughing was the only thing you could do to keep yourself together.

“Thanks for that, Maven.” Johanna thanked breathlessly as soon as she was able to. “I needed a good laugh.”

Maven dropped her hands to her lap, tilting her head to the side. “You think I joke? Please, Anna, you know I’d follow you to the end of the world.”

_#_#_#_

Thankfully, it hadn’t been necessary to run to the end of the world. The verdict came out not much later, causing Johanna so much euforia that she had run around the house screaming. Maven had curled herself into fetal position on the couch and laughed, part in joyful relief and part at Johanna’s excitement.

They had won, at least as much as they could have hoped for. Torrin had asked for a weekend every two months, and the court had obliged, but that’s as far as it went. For the most part, Hilda was all hers.

Johanna had still been crying and holding a very confused Hilda when Maven got up and headed for the attic. She only realized that Maven had left when she walked down the stairs holding a package bigger than her torso.

“This calls for a celebration.” She said when she noticed the curious look Johanna shot her. “I say we camp.”

So now they were at the park furthest away from the city center they knew of, in order to see the night sky better, lying inside a small tent that Maven said had been her father’s. Hilda was now sleeping inside her stroller (which they had also brought inside the tent) after having tried and failed to walk around for a whole hour. Maven dreaded to think of what would happen once this girl could run.

Despite the relatively warm night, Johanna and Maven cuddled closely as Maven pointed out constellations and narrated the myths and stories associated with them. They had brought a thermos bottle filled with coffee for them to share, and a piece of the cake Johanna had cooked the day before as well, the homely snack filling them with a cozy feeling.

By the time Maven was talking about how the Virgo constellation was said to have been born out of Demeter’s wish to honor and remember her daughter, Persephone, she realized that her tales were no longer holding Johanna’s attention. She turned her face and realized that the other woman had already been looking at her, a fond, lazy smile on her face.

“I love you.” Johanna said suddenly, making Maven’s heart begin thumping furiously in her chest and her eyes widen. She hadn’t said that ever since they had broken up.

“I love you too.” She answered, at first on instinct, but as the words left her mouth, she realized how unquestionably true they were. She didn’t think she’d ever stopped loving Johanna. She didn’t think she’d ever not loved Johanna.

“How do you feel about what we have now?” Johanna asked, searching into Maven’s eyes for an answer.

“I like it. I miss you, of course, but I understand that it’s probably temporary. I could try to find a job in Ericsonberg, or you could try to find a job here once we’re done with college. But regardless of that, we still make time for each other, so I can’t say I’m not happy with it.”

“Doesn’t it bother you? To always be running one place to another, to have to share attention with Hilda…”

Mave licked her lips. If this slow death was Johanna’s idea of telling her to stay away, than she’d been much kinder the first time around. And this is why she kept her calm. Johanna was nothing if not kind.

“Please, Hilda is much cooler than you.” Maven said, making Johanna roll her eyes playfully. “And hey, I said I would follow you to the end of the world, didn’t I? A thirty minute ride is not what’s going to keep me away.”

Johanna’s eyes shone more than the stars before them as she raised a hand to Maven’s neck, using her thumb to caress her jaw.

“In this case.” She said as she got even closer. “I think I’m ready for a relationship again. Maven, will you be my girlfriend?”

Nothing in the world would have been able to stop her from saying yes.

#fic: tmwm #my fic #sketchbook ship #sketchbook ship hilda #sketchbook fanfic #hilda librarian #hilda librarian fnafic #hilda johanna #Hilda's mum #hilda johanna fanfic

6 notes · View notes

grace-ko · 5 years

Text

No Room For Doubt | Self-Para

July 20, 2011

“You know this means you’re stuck with me forever, right? That’s a really long time.” Grace couldn’t wipe the smile off of her face if she tried, her hand lying on top of Alana’s. Their wedding rings seemed to be shining brighter than anything else as they sat at the table of their reception, the party happily going on around them. But Grace couldn’t take her eyes off of her wife. Her wife. God, the thought alone could bring her to tears and she had to pull her closer for a kiss. Of course they had been together for much longer but the fact that they could marry legally, make it official in a way that made it all that much more real. It meant everything to her. Meant everything to belong to a woman who she loved more than she loved herself sometimes.

“There’s nothing stuck about it, mi vida,” Alana whispered back, eyes full of love as she pulled Grace closer, her fingers sliding up her wife’s back. “In this life and every life after that,” she promised, her heart growing with warmth with the way Grace was looking at her. She was scared but certain, wondering how she got lucky enough to have a woman like Grace. A strong, loving, universe of a woman. “I love you, Gracie. Forever and ever.”

Grace scrunched her nose up at the nickname, sure that if anyone else said it she’d roll her eyes back into her head. But her smile only widened and she leaned in for another kiss. “You’re so cheesy. But yeah, forever and ever sounds good. Little grade school but good,” she joked, melting under Alana’s touch. “Now, let’s go take advantage of the bar your parents paid for!”

Their laughter could be heard finally over the loudness of the crowd and the music, their bodies inseparable as they crossed the dance floor, eyes on no one else but each other despite all the people trying to get their attention. The night was theirs and there was so much hope and excitement for the nights that were to come.

August 15, 2019

Grace took deep breathes as she drove to the courthouse to meet Amelia and Vivienne, a swarm of nerves wrapped up in sadness in the pit of her stomach. She still couldn’t believe how fast all of this was happening, how her life had seemed to be turned upside down in a month and a half that felt like the longest 24 hours of her life. She had dropped the kids off at the Clarks, confident that they’d have a much better day than she would. And she had already let Fran and Willa know that’d she’d probably show up at one of their doorsteps in need of a drink. She was prepared, had gathered her friends and family around her to be her strength.

Still, she had a moment in the car alone to think even more about how she had gotten here. Of all the years that seemed stained because of Alana’s actions, because of her own inaction. There was so much blame that could be placed on her soon to be ex wife but she knew that she had to take some of it too. Not that she’d admit that in front of her lawyer or the judge. She was just grateful it could happen behind closed doors where a court didn’t have to see her possibly fall apart. But she had done pretty well with her makeup today and she didn’t have any intention to fuck it up.

Once she parked, she took a moment to press her head against the steering wheel, reminding herself of the words of comfort her mother had given her. That and they told her they were coming to visit. Both for her and the kids, an idea that stressed and calmed her. Maybe it would be good to have the house full, less of a chance for her to notice the emptiness on the other side of the bed or in the other half of the closet. Maybe having her mother there to fill the house with the sounds of her cooking and her humming, her kids feeling spoiled by their grandparents would start to fill the hole she felt had been punched through her heart. “Breathe,” she reminded herself and finally grabbed her purse and got out of the car.

She greeted Vivienne and Amelia with a soft smile, shrugging off their questions about how she was feeling and instead asking them about what she needed. If they had everything they needed. She had been grateful for their work, for two strong women who would help her get what she needed to feel any type of closure when it came to the ending of her marriage. She didn’t think anyone who got married fully expected to get divorced but she truly had never entertained the idea of this happening. When she had said ‘I do’ she had meant it. And now, well now she didn’t know what the truth was. But she knew she had to figure out how to move on before she was swallowed up by the darkness seemingly edging towards her day by day.

She had told herself all morning that she’d be prepared to see Alana but once she had walked inside and spotted the woman at the other end of the hallway, she felt the air leave her chest and she could swear the walls were spinning a bit. Almost as if she could read her mind, she felt Vivienne’s hand lightly touch her arm and she snapped out of her frozen state and allowed them to lead her into another waiting area. Still, her heart was racing and it was starting to hit her how she hadn’t seen Alana in over a month. That her kids hadn’t even seen her aside from the lame attempt at phone calls she offered.

Grace had just managed to calm the pounding of her heart when they told her it was time to go inside and before she knew it she was face to face with Alana, only a table between them. She had to admit Alana looked tired and she hated that there was still concern lying in the pit of her stomach, still worry showing in her eyes as she looked over the woman she thought she knew better than anyone. But she didn’t say anything as she took a seat, brushing some hair from her face as the judge cleared her throat and addressed the lawyers as to how the time they were in that room would go. But before they could start she watched as Alana shifted in her seat and then asked her lawyer if she could speak. Grace wondered if she could see the disdain on her face and she sat up, ready to listen despite how much she didn’t want to.

“Look maybe this is all moving too fast. I know I’m the one who sent the papers but I..I was out of my mind, Grace. I’ve just been...I’ve been in a crazy place and I got lost and stressed and I just..I broke. And I left when i shouldn’t have. I made a mistake with Denise, I miss my kids, I miss you, I just, maybe...maybe we can work this out. I know we can if we try. I want it to work.” She was reaching across the table now, her fingers inching towards Grace’s. “What do you say, Gracie, huh? I mean,” she looked at the judge then back at Grace. “Maybe we could just cancel this whole thing and walk out of here? Make it work? I made a mistake. I made a big mistake. I love you.”

Was their fire coming out of her head? It felt like it, it felt like her blood was actually boiling in her body and she was two seconds away from screaming so loud the roof could probably come off the building. She pulled her hand away as if Alana had burned her and glanced at Amelia, as if asking for permission to respond, her eyes meeting the judge’s for a moment. Was this a set up to make her seem crazy? Or to gain some advantage? She didn’t know but what she did know if she couldn’t even stop the words coming out of her mouth.

“Are you fucking kidding me?” Grace turned to Alana to give her, her full attention, her eyes filled with rage but her tone still level, the kind of voice she’d scold the kids in. “You have got to be kidding me because you did not drag me down here to tell me you want to call this all off. Not when I’ve paid for lawyers, not when I’ve had to prepare the kids, not when I had to stand there like an idiot as someone served me with papers in the middle of a meeting with my fucking publisher. A mistake? You’re damn right it was a mistake. But the biggest mistake you made was thinking that I’d be dumb enough, weak enough to take you back after what you’ve done. You miss your kids? Well maybe if you didn’t up and leave them like they were discarded garbage then you wouldn’t have to miss them. What happened? What happened, Alana? you realized you’re not in your 20s anymore? That you can’t keep up with some 21 year old who goes to bed at 3am and still eats dairy like it won’t impact their body down the road? Or did you realize you had a good wife, a really good wife and you threw it away for ten minutes of some tight pussy?” Grace could feel her hands shaking as she spoke but she still wasn’t yelling, her eyes never leaving Alana’s. “How dare you? How dare you pack your bags and leave? Leave me. After all the time we put in, all the work, all the love. You threw that away. You turned your back so easily and I’m supposed to what? Go weak in the knees because you called me Gracie and said sorry? You did not marry a dumb bitch and I’ll be damned if I let you walk over me ever again. You do not deserve my love any more Alana. You don’t deserve to see your kids. But I’ll be damned if I be someone who keeps them away from their parent so if you want to see them then get your shit together. But you served these papers, you, you broke our marriage. And like always, I’m cleaning up the damn pieces. So no, we will not work this out. We will not mend what you have broken to pieces. You have broken my heart enough. So for once, make a decision and stick with it. Deal with the consequences like an adult.”

Grace fixed Alana with one more look before she sat back in her chair, feeling like her heart was racing and she held up her hand, not giving Alana and space to respond. “I’m done listening to your lies, I’m done,” she replied and looked towards the judge. “Can we get this over with, please?”

She sat back in the car, the paperwork Amelia and Vivienne had given her in her hands. She felt like her chest was heavy, her head pounding as she took in the past few hours. She knew she had done the right thing but god did it feel shitty. She set the paperwork on the passenger seat and pulled out of the parking lot before she risked running into Alana and rehashing everything she had put an end to in that court room. She turned on the radio and put the windows down. She reached out to her phone mounted on the dashboard and selected a playlist Alana had made for her almost a year ago, the opening chords of the first song pulling at her heart strings, almost too perfectly timed.

But Grace didn’t turn it off, instead she reached out and turned it up, singing along as she let the tears flow down her face. “Every hour of fear I spend My body tries to cry, living through each empty night, a deadly call inside..” She practically screamed all of the lyrics as Stevie Nicks’s voice filled her car, wrapping her in the pain, disdain and deep sadness that threatened to swallow her up. But she kept singing, kept driving, beating her hands against the steering wheel, her destination unclear at the moment.

After an hour and a few more songs, she finally pulled to a stop in front of Fran’s house, wiping at her face as she got out. She couldn’t even muster a smile as Fran stepped outside to greet her and she just threw her arms around the other woman, letting the tears fall again as she held her friend tightly to her. “it’s done,” she mumbled, taking deep breathes to calm herself as Fran led her inside. “It’s done,” she repeated, sniffling as she pulled away and wiped at her face, not sure she was done crying just yet but she was trying to get it together. “It’s done,” she said one more time and swallowed thickly. “So please, for the love of god, get me some fucking vodka,” she managed to say loudly and clearly before the tears got her again.

mentioning: @amelialisbon @viviennemellina @franmellina @willadarlin@hunterxclark @dannyxclark

#no room for doubt #divorce tw #alcohol tw #just in case #self para #sp #ft. alana

4 notes · View notes

florrickandassociates · 5 years

Text

TGF Thoughts: 3x07-- The One Where Diane and Liz Topple Democracy

Yes I’m still writing these

“Admit it. You like having me here. I mean, you didn’t think you would. But then, gradually, you realize that Blum is like a shot in the arm,” Blum tells the viewers. I mean, the partners. But he’s definitely talking to the viewers. See, we are supposed to ENJOY him. We’re supposed to find his terribleness cute and endearing. We’re supposed to be captivated by him. Here’s the thing: I’m not. I just want him to go away and stop being loud, which is how I have felt from the second he first opened his mouth. And when he was silent and I didn’t know how loud he’d be? I still wanted him to go away.

Does Blum work better than most of the past attempts at Blum-like figures? Yes. He’s leaps and bounds better! Is he still an annoying ass pest? HELL FUCKING YES.

Blum compliments the partners on being “clean” and “articulate” because he’s racist and wants everyone to know it. It’s cute!! So cute and charming!!

Why are the partners having an end of the year meeting? Is it the end of their fiscal year? Is it December? I want to know.

Blum attributes a Machiavelli quote to Martin Luther King Jr, which is actually kind of hilarious. Even if I don’t like him I can appreciate when they write him well.

Blum decides he’s joining the firm and the partners ask for time to confer. Marissa is still wasting her time following him around.

Liz calls Blum a cancer and says they need to get rid of him. I agree! Adrian is on board, but wants to delay him. I’m sure that’s going to end well.

Lucca is singing Baby Shark again, which means it’s going to be stuck in my head for another day. Diane comes into her office with a task. Because Lucca’s on hold with the Sweeney divorce, and she has NO OTHER BUSINESS IN THE ENTIRE DEPARTMENT SHE MANAGES, Lucca also gets Blum duty. So now Marissa AND Lucca, two of the firm’s best employees, are stuck dealing with his bullshit. A+ management, RBL.

Is there NO OTHER EMPLOYEE at this firm that can do this task? “We had four associates on it. He sent them out on errands,” Diane explains. What the fuck? Did you not prepare them to deal with him? You gave him a staff, observed him doing no work for three weeks, and were just like, sure, associates, go run errands for Roland Blum!? What kind of management is that?! Surely there is someone at this firm other than Lucca who can ensure that lawyers do lawyering.

“Blum is seductive. We need an adult in the room,” Diane says. I don’t know which concerns me more: the fact that Diane is only just now realizing they needed to manage this problem or the fact that Diane doesn’t think any of her employees are capable of acting like adults. If that’s true, that’s also a management problem, and YIKES.

Julius is a horrible liar.

Is Blum talking to himself this week’s soliloquy? If so, kinda meh.

Rachelle has brought Liz and Diane a class action about vote rigging in 2016. Isn’t Rachelle’s job something in strategy? Shouldn’t she be distancing herself from this case and making sure it seems like she’s never met Liz or Diane?

Yes, the episode just answered it for me. Rachelle is a pollster. This seems dangerous. I also feel like Liz and Diane haven’t really made an independent choice since they started working with Rachelle.

Rachelle acts like this case is for real and not a set up. I understand that she’s effective, but she’s done so many cagey things in just a few episodes that I would cut all ties. You met her through a literal con artist, first of all. And beyond that, do you really think someone who’s going to force clients upon you to further their agenda and mess with the dynamics at your firm is not also going to give up your names if and when things get rough?

I may say this again later, but what I dislike most about this episode is that the stakes are so high, and they’re so real-world. Diane and Liz aren’t debating the ethics of voter fraud in the abstract. They’re committing a federal crime.

Lucca deals with Blum by… doing work. Blum’s “associate”-- actor Gary Carr, playing himself-- assists her. Lucca doesn’t realize he’s an actor and puts him to work. He clearly doesn’t know what he’s doing (because he’s not a lawyer).

Case stuff happens. Diane is instructed by Rachelle to ask for the software architecture, but she doesn’t find this suspicious. I know I do. Does the client usually get to tell the lawyer what evidence to request? Seems weird to me.

After court, Diane and Liz ask Rachelle why she needs the software. Uh, after they asked for it in court they ask her why she needs it? They didn’t think it was actually relevant and thought the request was suspicious and went along? Also, PRETTY DAMN OBVIOUS THAT ONE REASON TO WANT THE ARCHITECTURE OF A SOFTWARE IS TO HACK IT.

Lucca tells Diane that Gary Carr is doing good work. What? Taking it seriously I get, but good work? Good enough that Lucca would recommend Carr to Diane? All we’ve seen him do as a “lawyer” is misidentify a piece of evidence that Lucca just had to glance at to understand.

As Lucca walks from her office to Blum’s, she overhears some associates talking about Gary Carr. See, he’s an actor and he was on Downton Abbey, a show I never watched more than a few episodes of. Lucca clearly hasn’t either. Are any of these associates really weirded out by Maia’s presence at the firm? Wasn’t she on Downton too?

Lucca confronts Gary about lying and asks him to wait in reception. There’s some awkwardness/sexual tension (the Kings’ favorite way to show sexual tension is having people be exceedingly awkward around each other) as he leaves. This plot is fun and fine, but I’d love for Lucca to get something more substantive.

Book Club meets again and Polly suggests hacking the voting machines. Diane and Liz are stunned. “Are you fucking kidding me?” Diane says, and… credits!

Book Club’s gotten pretty big. Diane’s completely against vote rigging and everyone else (except Liz) is like BUT WINNING IS MORE IMPORTANT. Polly decides to frame it as a “correction” for gerrymandering and voter intimidation. This is a more convincing argument. But it is not an argument for why Diane or Liz would risk their lives and careers for this.

Diane and Liz talk, away from the group, and Liz makes a fantastic point: “You know there are counties right now where black people are so terrorized that they can’t even show up at polls? Look, in Georgia, in 2018, a bus filled with black senior citizens was stopped by the police so they wouldn’t be allowed to vote. 53,000 voter registrations of black voters were held up by the Georgia Secretary of State. Diane, you don’t [know]. Look, we share a lot of things, but we do not share histories. I have a college friend who was kicked off the voter rolls in Ohio. And my uncle was denied the right to vote in the last election in Wisconsin. I mean, at some point, these stories become more than just anecdotes. They’re something bigger. This democracy you talk about, this doesn’t exist for a lot of us. It didn’t exist for my grandparents, it didn’t exist for my parents, and it is slowly being taken away from me.” Diane interjects that they should fight it in the courts. “The courts. The courts that overturned the Civil Rights Voting Act in 2013? So, excuse me if I just need a moment to reflect on this unique possibility. One person hits a few buttons and suddenly black voters are re-enfranchised. That means something very different to me than it does to you.”

WOW. I had to write out that whole speech because it’s great. It calls attention to a very important real world issue (if you want to learn more about voter suppression, I highly recommend One Person, No Vote by Carol Anderson). It doesn’t convince me for a second that hacking the voting machines is the right approach, but it’s enough that I understand where Liz is coming from and why Diane’s idealistic speeches don’t sway her.

Even if I don’t think this speech does a good job of making me understand why Liz is willing to jeopardize her career (tbh I have a bit of trouble believing Liz would be drawn to Book Club in the first place), it’s so good as an explanation of voter suppression I don’t really care.

Rachelle is a master manipulator. She decides to add an amendment to their plan-- only enough votes to offset disenfranchisement of black and Latino voters will be changed. Uh huh. I don’t buy it. And even if it’s true, this is so clearly manipulative it’s ridiculous. What about Rachelle is so trustworthy Liz would risk her career to help her?!

I’m stuck on this, I know, but I can’t see Liz making these choices, no matter how good the arguments or how noble the cause.

The group votes and things don’t go Diane’s way… but she acts like now that they’ve voted, she has no choice but to break the law. I don’t understand. Why is her allegiance to this group when she (and Liz) are the ones who would be most directly responsible for leaking the software architecture?

“You signed on for this. The ends justify the means, so don’t get all outraged that we’re willing to follow through,” Rachelle tells Diane. This sounds a lot like the “we’re defense attorneys, therefore we have to represent Lemond Bishop” logic I hate so much.

Oh goodie, it’s the weird scene in which I thought Lucca was going to start masturbating, and a Good Fight Short about Downton Abbey. This plotline does nothing for me. When I say I want Lucca plotlines, I don’t mean I want weird romances. I mean I want to see Lucca making friends, raising her child, and navigating the workplace.

I will take all the Lucca plots I can get but please, something with substance next time!

Blum is mad and sniffing around Reddick’s sexual harassment issues. Should’ve just gone public when you had the chance, partners.

Adrian physically attacks Blum, which is… a way to handle this. Go away, Blum. Adrian also decides to go after Blum’s illegal courtroom tactics.

Have I mentioned that I love Liz’s office bathroom?

Adrian suggests threatening Blum and Liz responds “that’s like threatening a bull with a red flag.” If it weren’t for the fact that she’s done nothing to prevent him from infiltrating her firm, I would say Liz has by far the best reactions to Blum.

“We knew this day would come, Liz,” Adrian explains, referring to the day when the allegations against Carl Reddick would surface. Well if you knew that WHY WOULD YOU PAY OFF THE WOMEN AND MAKE IT LOOK WORSE FOR YOURSELF???

They managed to write a Lucca plot I don’t feel like recapping. That’s really amazing.

I care even less since I know how it ends.

Diane insists on being the one to argue for obtaining the software architecture, since she’s a lawyer and it’s her job. She gives a passionate speech that’s about the sanctity of the vote but it’s really, of course, her argument against voter fraud. The irony!

I don’t get why Diane continues to tie herself to this!!! None of this plot makes sense to me from a character POV!!! Well, except the part where Diane gets so angry she follows a con woman to a resistance group. That makes complete sense.

Diane distances herself from the group AFTER arguing in court for the architecture? Okay. Sure. So noble.

Here’s the best part of this Lucca-dates-Gary-Carr plot: Marissa recognizes him from The Deuce and not Downton Abbey, which is a little detail that’s verrrrryyyyyy Marissa.

Hey, it’s the subpoena guy! (Yes, I care more about that than watching Blum get a tattoo.)

RBL wants to get Blum disbarred. I want him to be disbarred too, so he can become irrelevant and go away.

Jay finds a Republican hack in the software architecture. Gasp!

Blum starts screaming and banging on windows and everyone ignores him. This scene is an accurate representation of how I feel about Blum. The louder he is, the less I care about him.

Will never be a fan of three way call split screens.

WHY ARE Y’ALL TALKING ABOUT HACKING VOTING MACHINES ON THE PHONE!? Y’all are smart enough to know how to hack a voting machine but not smart enough to think of burner phones?

And why hasn’t Polly already found this malware?

And why do I care?

Rachelle calls Liz “Diane” over the phone. Liz is making Diane’s arguments, but I think it’s telling Rachelle sees them as almost interchangeable obstacles. She doesn’t really care if she’s talking to Diane and Liz, as long as she’s talking to a lawyer who will get her the software architecture and argue her case.

I do not understand Jay’s testimony in court. One, why is Jay testifying instead of a computer science expert? Two, why do his political leanings matter if he could point at an actual section of code?

So this plotline can receive more consistent development than Lucca Quinn herself, Lucca offers to let Gary Carr shadow her.

This episode is a exhausting. I didn’t like it the first time and I am having trouble getting through it. Every supporting character who shows up makes me think, “ugh.”

Oh! This is the scene with the random unnecessary nudity! If she was going to be topless in this scene why even bother with having her cover up after sex? Either don’t show it or go all in. Now I’m nitpicking a thing that usually doesn’t annoy me.

Oh and THIS scene, with Adrian and Diane’s terribly thought through confrontation of the judge! You don’t have to be a genius to know this was the wrong approach. Diane doesn’t even know Adrian’s reasoning for believing there’s judicial bribery.

How many damn times can we do this, “these are REAL LAWYERS, not TV LAWYERS” bit? I’m sick of it. Also, Lucca doesn’t like TV? Boo.

Diane and Liz don’t win their case. Which is a win for Rachelle.

Now Diane’s ALL IN!!!!! On vote rigging and wants to push the button to make it happen. Whatever.

Well, that’s over. I really have three more of these to write?

4 notes · View notes

dropsofletters · 6 years

Text

sugar and spice

Title: sugar and spice Pairing: Ten/Reader Genre: College!AU/Friends to Lovers!AU Summary: His lips were cinnamon and his words were chocolate, but she only wants a taste of him.

There are ridiculous situations that she has been involved in and then, there’s this. In reality, she would never judge anyone for their perception of love unless it was gross or remotely illegal, but she thought that what her cousin was doing was both a good idea and the worst one he could ever have. It’s a matter of coming from a very strict family that had led him to get married legally behind his mother’s back and not only that, but she was serving as a witness for the entire ordeal. Though, she wouldn’t necessarily say that she is quite that involved with the event. She signed and most likely, she won’t hear from her cousin ever again…given that they weren’t really close to start with. Maybe he just wanted someone who couldn’t give any less of a shit about his life to be the witness of his wedding with the love of his life, then he could keep his secret from his mother that lived some millions of kilometers away from him.

Anyways, she is tightly wrapped in a black dress, arms crossed over her chest and head lost in the ridiculousness that marriage on its own could be. Although she thinks that karma is a bitch and maybe her thoughts of marriage could change eventually, but most of the time she sees it as a title that two people give to one another. To some it was important, to others it was ridiculous but she was stuck in between. If she squints her eyes, she can see the cuteness in the situation –the glances that her cousin and his soon-to-be wife exchange are adorable even when they don’t realize it. Far from the couple though, there is someone even more lovely in that secluded room and it is not the officiant that is trying to make said marriage a reality.

It’s the man beside her, also a witness, with his brown hair parted and gelled slightly into that typical comma hairstyle that every stylish person used when they had short hair. His nose is outstanding, tall nose-bridge and a bit wide on the nostrils area, showcasing and framing features like his brown eyes and his slightly thin pink lips. Bronzed was his skin as it shines under the white lights of the room, contrasting the white material of his silky button up and he paired them up with black pants, fitted around his waist in just the perfect way. He is not the tallest, definitely, also very talkative and she realizes it when he drags himself to her side and he starts to sneak a few words here and there.

She learns his real name, Chittaphon Leechaiyapornkul, but he prefers to go by the name of Ten. Accordingly, he was friends with her cousin’s wife and he was only there because he was one of the few people who knew about their secret marriage. He finds it ridiculous, too, but he doesn’t judge. Instead…he makes a joke out of everything. How stupid they looked while standing in the middle of two people that were in love, how the officiant has a bit of dried toothpaste at the corner of his lips…everything is noticed by the witty Ten and he tries to muffle his sweet laughter, a bit high pitched, also one of the best laughs she has ever heard.

Surely, she would love to give it the seriousness that it deserved but…it wasn’t serious at all. Her cousin was sweating profusely with a weird smile over his face and the two witnesses were standing there even after they had signed the contract that would unite the couple in marriage. There’s an awkward atmosphere in between the two and she is starting to grow impatient, after all, she had gotten out of her job to go to that ‘celebration’, claiming that she wasn’t feeling very well to her boss so she could get out and change into the loose fitted black dress that she had worn to the legal unity. Hungry, tired and everything in between, that’s how she would describe herself and it seemed like Ten was that way, as well.

Ten’s back is leaned against the wall of the tight office, one of his legs crossed over the other as he stares at the couple in front of him, now a little bit quieter because the event was finally coming to a closure. “I’m sorry that I talk a lot, I just hate things like these.” Those are the first serious words that had escaped Ten’s lips ever since the moment she met him about twenty-five minutes ago. Everything had been a slight joke or a comment about something that she had also noticed, but now his voice was hinting a bit of embarrassment and cuteness. Her hair moves a bit when she turns her head to look at him and he is not looking at her, but she knows his attention is anything else but the lovely couple. “Like…can’t people make these legal things shorter so everyone can go home early?”

“Marriage is a complicated thing,” She gives her point of view on as to why it was taking too long. “The lawyer needs to read everything. Remind them that if they ever get a divorce, they will have to split everything.”

Ten gasps, shaking his head with a smile soon after. “This is your cousin, you shouldn’t be talking about his divorce just like that-” He whispers back and she rolls her eyes, a smile replacing her scowl quickly. He had an effect on people, like the luring scent of a new perfume that ghosted around her body and she couldn’t get enough of the lingering sensation. Ten is a mixture of the color pink and purple, both cute and incredibly attractive with his actions. Sugar and spice, that’s what she had called him the moment she saw him and she didn’t know his name and now that she gets to have a conversation with him, she thinks her sixth sense must be correct.

“He doesn’t ever talk to me unless he wants a favor.” She replies to him, easily and curtly, because she really doesn’t think that people would ever believe she and her cousin are close. They are family, she became the witness of his wedding because she knows just how insane his parents were about him dating even when he was twenty-five years old. “And I don’t know why I said yes to this. If my family ever knows that I hid this from everyone else, then I am doomed.”

“What could they do?” Ten asks and she sighs.

“His mom is fucking crazy. I can expect just about anything.” But truly, she doesn’t see the reason why a title should be given such importance. If two people loved each other, then it was more than okay for them to be together if they didn’t bother anyone else, but some people thought that relationships were more necessary and scary than they really were. Maybe she has grown apart from the idea of it, now she doesn’t seem very interested in the idea of liking and loving someone…the texting, the preoccupation, the jealousy and everything that comes with it. She already has enough fights with her co-workers and she doesn’t have the time to hear someone’s complaining.

Ten hisses, stealing a glance at the people in front of him in case they were caught. Not that it would matter, they weren’t talking in the middle of class or doing anything remotely bad. “So that’s why they’re getting married secretly.”

“Didn’t your friend tell you?”

“She’s too prideful to tell me the exact reason.” Ten comments absentmindedly and then, he rubs his eyes, already tired of hearing the same monotonous voice of the lawyer that didn’t seem to stop his speech. “This man’s voice makes me want to go to sleep.” She nods her head in agreement, the voice reminding her of the tone one of her first professors used. She almost failed that class because the professor was unable to remember her name and constantly lost her tests, so the officiant was bringing annoying memories to her.

“Tell me about it.” She whispers and suddenly, she sees Ten’s hand raising in the air, as if he was a student asking a question in the middle of the class. The officiant stops talking and that makes the couple turn around to look at the two witnesses worriedly. The lawyer’s glasses go down his nose-bridge and he nods his head.

“Anything you’d like to add, mister?” At that moment, she doesn’t know what to think. Did legal weddings also have those typical moments of people chiming in to stop two people from getting married? She doesn’t know, but somewhere deep inside her heart she worries that Ten would do the same.

“I’m not feeling good,” Ten gives a shy smile, a flutter of his eyelashes and she can almost see the mischief behind his brown pupils. His voice is high, a little bit rushed and there’s a bit of a tone on his voice that wasn’t there when they had talked. However, he hadn’t mentioned anything about not feeling so well. “Could she come with me so I can go back to my car?”

“Oh, Ten, what happened?” His friend asks and Ten just rubs his belly, as if it was hurting badly and she has to give him props: his acting skills are not half as bad as anyone would think. “I think they’re done here, aren’t they?”

The officiant looks down at the papers, looking at their signatures in the contract before nodding his head. ”Yes. You two can leave. Have a good night.”

“Thank you.” She tells the officiant and Ten holds onto her arm as she walks out of the door, hearing the sound of Ten closing the door before a short giggle left his lips. The moment she stares over her shoulder to look at him, she notices that his smile holds a lot of things, mostly sweetness that is covered by the not-so-innocent actions that his mind can come up with. She joins in his laughter, although not too laugh as she walks him to his car. “I can’t believe that you just said that-”

“Don’t tell me you didn’t want to leave, you’d be lying.” Ten tells her with squinted eyes and laughter still leaving his lips and she gasps.

“Says the liar himself!”

Ten holds his chest, laughing as he opens the entrance doors, holding them open for her. Once they are outside, the wind blows on their clothes and she holds onto the edge of her dress slightly, in case it flew up. “It’s called acting. Meryl Streep learnt from me, honey.”

She laughs at his words, looking through her purse to find the key to her own car before licking her lips. “Well, thank you for getting me out of there anyways.”

“You’re welcome.” Ten’s smile is still plastered over his face and when she finds her keys, he takes his phone out of his pocket and he gives it to her. “Could you give me your number, by the way?”

In any other occasion, she would have asked why, but the man had been funny and nice…so she didn’t have anything to complain about. Maybe he could be a good friend in the future, one that she could share anecdotes and drinks with. She writes down her number, adds her name in hopes that he remembered it and before she knew it, he was saying her goodbyes as well. Sugary are his lips with the last smile he gives her and the glint behind his eyes spoke of spice. She had never seen someone with a personality as perfectly mixed as his.

“Everyone, we’re sorry…We know this is unexpected and you probably thought that the company was getting better after this last contract, but we’re unable to pay every single one of you and we’ve decided to close down.”

Debt had been one the most heartbreaking experiences the company she worked for had always tried to evade and not only was it painful for the owners that had been fighting so hard to keep everything going, but also to her…whom had grown attached to the people that worked with her no matter how obnoxiously stubborn she was, in most occasions. Another design company that went down the hill for not being relevant enough, but now she had to find a new job and soon, in case she was unable to pay the bills by the end of the month.

The gray turtleneck that she wore for that day felt constricting as she got out of the meeting room, her feet bringing her to her desk to pick everything up because that was the last day of work. She watches the picture that had marked on her desk, the post it notes for future ideas and projects she had around the surface of her desk, the coffee stain that had been there since the moment she started working at the company. The air around her was too difficult to breathe in and she does her best not to look at the faces of everyone as she packs everything in the boxes that her bosses had given everyone. She tries to think of it as another bad day…but it’s really not. Being an adult meant that losing your job was like losing your existence, you became less than a negative number, you were nothing…she felt like a no one.

Her phone rings when she is organizing her pamphlets and samples that she had designed and absentmindedly, she picks up without looking at the person that was calling her. “Yes, hello. What can I help you with?” She knows she sounds stressed out and worried, it almost lingers with a sense of the professionalism a secretary would have. The sharp tone, the uninterested words, the question that always brought a feeling of being bothersome, but she didn’t care. Whoever had called her had picked the worst time.

“Should…I have called at another time? It’s Ten, by the way. I can call later-” Though he called it bad timing, she thinks that it is the perfect time even when it doesn’t feel like it. Somewhere, sometime, she had heard that after bad news ensue, there will always be something good to lighten up your mood. In this case, she didn’t have to wait much and back at her cousin’s wedding, she had enjoyed of Ten’s presence. They have only had a casual conversation when he texted her to save his number and after that, she had been too busy to even text her own friends.

“No, no, no, no. Mm, I was just…you know, having a rough day and all but I could use some distraction.” She says as she organizes the last touches of the box and then, she leans back until her thighs are resting against the edge of her –now old- desk. “What’s up?” Now she sounds more relaxed, a bit more casual too, and she feels strangely comforted by Ten’s call. Sure, she barely knew the man and he could be crazy for all she knew, but he had been nice that one time they talked…a bit out of the box, for sure, but that’s exactly what she liked in people.

“I was thinking about you, actually.” Ten tells her and there’s not a bit of embarrassment in his tone, as if he was far too used to the flirty hint of his sentences. However, she thinks that it is very pleasant to hear those words from his lips, even when she can’t see his expression over the phone. “So there’s this PC room that I discovered recently and I was wondering…if you liked videogames, you know.”

Be honest. “Oh…not really.” Ten didn’t expect that answer and by the chuckle that left his lips, she knew that she had caught him off guard. Sugar and Spice, the perfect mix, that’s what she had called him before and now that she ponders on her life decisions, she thinks she needs to mix it up. She’s not even sugar or spice, she’s just…boring and maybe something new would do her well. “But what did you have in mind?”

“Playing Fortnite or League of Legends one of these days. Nothing much.”

“I’m in.” She surprises herself when she says those words and then, she realizes that her box filled with her stuff is waiting for her, as well as the emptiness of her apartment as she downs herself in her stress about figuring out what to do with her life so she could pay for her education and also maintain the life of an adult that she had grown so attached to. “Are you free tonight?”

Ten hums. “Yeah, do you want to go tonight?”

“As soon as possible,” She says as she looks down at her watch and then, she sighs. “Text me the address so we can meet up. I have to organize a few things at home but I’m free after seven.”

“Okay, see you!”

“See you.”

She never thought a stranger would be a rush of fresh air for her, but he was. The moment her eyes landed on the black strands of Ten’s hair and she saw his hand lift up while a smile spread across his face, she knew that she was going to have a great night, so that’s what she promised herself. Her bag ended up on the floor beside her, excusing herself for some brief seconds to buy herself a bag of snacks and then she was back on the chair beside Ten, a game displayed on the screen in front of her.

Ten does his best on explaining the game to her and sometimes, he skipped a few of the important bits…making her wonder if he was doing it on purpose to win or if he actually forgot. Her fingers are numb when she starts moving them around the keyboard, her headphones dangling from her neck because she doesn’t like the sound of the gunshots that escape them and suddenly, she watches the screen as she finally gets to kill one of the players. She thinks she’s starting to understand the game…slowly, but surely.

And she doesn’t miss the way her little finger touches Ten’s knuckles when he moves his mouse and she is pressing down on the keyboard, but she doesn’t pay much attention to it. Throughout it all, the two make some commentary. She had learnt from that one time that she had talked to Ten that he was insanely funny and even then, after she had lost her job and she was trying to win the game, he had made her laugh. Luckily for her, she had managed to win against Ten…even when she didn’t win the match entirely.

Ten takes a long sip from the straw of his soda, leaning back on the gyrating chair before stopping by stomping his foot against the ground, his eyes looking at her as he blinks repeatedly. He must have gotten dizzy. “See? I got a smile out of you! When you got here, you looked really off.” Not that he would truly know, he had only seen her once and he got to know two of her facets that afternoon. Bored and happy, but he was intelligent enough that the scowl over her face didn’t come from joy. She plays with the microphone attached to the headphones and then, she sighs.

“Sorry…it’s just that the company I worked for is closing down so it’s my first day being jobless.” Ten shows a bit of remorse on his face, nodding his head in understanding even when he hadn’t gone through a similar situation.

“And you’re also a college student, right?”

“Yes.” She answers and once again, she feels down. Ten notices this and he opens his bag of snacks when he realizes that she had finished hers and he puts it over her desk, making her scoff. “This is yours, Ten, you don’t need to give it to me.”

Yet, Ten successfully ignores her before speaking once again. “And what were you working as?”

“In a designing company…I was more like an assistant at first but because they lacked a real graphic designer, they ended up hiring me as one.” She replied to him and Ten licks his lips, fixing the hood of his oversized hoodie over his head, his bangs touching the top of his eyes and yet, he doesn’t flinch. He looked totally different from the afternoon she had met him.

“Work as a freelancer for the time being. It’s online and it will work as you look for a job.” She had heard from friends that freelancing was a good idea but she had never tried it, too busy with both work and school to even care about finding another job.

“You think so?”

“I have this friend that works for a website and I think they work with graphic designing, so…I will tell him. Really, trust me.” Ten’s words are a light in the middle of the dark, the moon in the blue sky and she’s delighted to hear the tone of his voice. Suddenly, she is curious about him and she asks him what he does to which he laughs. “Uh…currently, I am working as an instructor in a dance academy and I go to class sometimes, not all the times but I haven’t failed a class yet so I must be doing good.”

“Are you always this relaxed?” She asks after having eaten a bit of the snacks Ten had given her and she takes the bag in between her hands, offering some to him which he gladly takes.

“Fuck no. But I know that worrying isn’t a solution, so I always try to think of what I have to do instead of just doing nothing.” Ten’s response sounds like what she should do and she nods her head, looking at the screen once again and then, she remembers they had been playing before. Something about Ten always distracted her from the main reason why they had gathered together, like that one time at her cousin’s wedding and now at the PC room. “If nothing else works, you can become a gamer of some sort and do lives on Twitch or something.”

She laughs at his words, shaking his head. “I don’t think I’m that good. Maybe you’re just really bad.”

Ten rolls his eyes, a smile appearing over his face as he leans forward and puts his headphones on once again. “Beginner’s luck. Let’s go again.”

Time passed by with the two playing and by the end of the night, she hadn’t forgotten about her problems…not even remotely close to it, but she had a brighter state of mind when looking ahead at the future. Maybe things wouldn’t be quite as bad as she expected them to be.

She has known the sugary side of Ten. He likes to show his sweetness through his actions, like that one time he had brightened her day even when she had lost her job…and even then, he had given her an idea on finding a good replacement for her source of income. There is a thick layer of chocolate with strawberries on top that covers his words, the sound of his voice that is not remotely close to deep but it can surely move her to a state of vividness and fun. They hadn’t known each other for long but she has found within her to spend more time with him. A coffee date from time to time, maybe with the excuse of wanting him to explain something to her about the freelance job she just got. Other times, she simply accepts his invitation of going over to his apartment and she’s surprised when she is welcomed by Ten holding a cooking book as he promises that she will have the best Thai food she has ever had. There is so much to learn from him, new experiences joining two people who have nothing in common but they have everything, as well.

But she has yet to confirm that there is a spicy side to Ten, perhaps in between all the sweetness that covers him. She knows he is incredibly mischievous and he enjoys playing around more than he should, a teasing mannerism on each and every single one of his sentences, but she hadn’t found out the truly spicy side of Ten. The man must be a flirt, at most, he really looks like he could be one and she is only hoping that he finds someone he is interested in and he gives a step, proving to her that she was correct when she gave him the internal nickname of ‘Sugar and Spice’.

Months had passed by since the time they met and she is closer to Ten than she would have ever thought. They have long conversations raging in between serious and not before they fall back into their spot of tranquility whenever they are around one another. Her laptop is placed over her lap as she completes the last few parts of a design that she is going to deliver to a customer and she feels the cold air of her apartment around her uncovered feet as she hears Ten shuffling around on the couch, touching the little decorations she has on her coffee table and doing anything but concentrating on the show that she had put on the TV. When she had told him that she was going to be busy, he had insisted that he didn’t mind and now…she thinks he is a complete liar.

The hood of his gray sweatshirt falls over his head and that makes his bangs graze his eyebrows gracefully. Ten was beautiful, to say the least, with such sweet features that could easily be claimed as upstanding. His eyes connect with her gaze when she is stealing a glance at him and she stops working on the Photoshop app to concentrate on her friend.

“Are you bored?” She asks and Ten nods his head, not one to swallow his words whenever he feels like something is truthful. She smiles, all joy and happiness whenever she is around him, for some reason. There is always laughter whenever she hangs out with Ten, whether it was because of a video she saw of when he was a baby or because he was simply someone she enjoyed spending time with. “I won’t finish soon, though.”

Ten sighs, taking the spot by her side and looking over her shoulder to see the logo design she was preparing. “That looks fine to me.” Of course, to the raw eye it would look great but art and work are things that easily change concepts depending on the person who saw it. Just like how Ten would normally complain about how his choreography skills still needed a bit of practice, but she would be enchanted by how creative and talented he really is. It’s rare to see someone who is fully confident about their art.

“I still have to edit it a bit more.” She tells him and her hands hover over the laptop and she moves the cursor around before she felt Ten moving slightly, though that doesn’t stop her from continuing with her work. “You can change the channel, if you’d like-”

“I could, but I won’t.” Ten tells her and then, she watches him lower down until his face is placed in front of her screen and she smiles when she hears the joyous laughter coming from his lips. “You need a break. You’ve been working on that design for five hours without rest.”

She wants to say that she doesn’t, but the idea of resting sounded so enchanting so instead of fighting it, she puts her laptop down on the coffee table, saving her design and closing the lid. Her hands end over her thighs and she looks over at Ten whom had his back straightened now. “Now, what can I do for resting?”

“Napping, eating or watching TV? You choose.” The ideas given to her sounded appealing, but she opted for the first one, barely getting the word ‘nap’ out of her lips before she saw Ten’s hands patting over his thighs, placing a cushion over it to make it more comfortable. “Nap here.”

“Your legs are bony, though. Wouldn’t it be uncomfortable?”

Ten shrugs his shoulders. “I don’t know. I haven’t received any complaints from other people who have slept on my legs.” She scoffs at the (probably faux) confidence that spills from his lips and suddenly, she finds herself lowering down until her legs were extended over her couch, kneeled to keep all her body inside of it as her head was met by the cushion that Ten had picked. However, once she closes her eyes, she feels the sudden movement of Ten bouncing his thighs up and down to bother her, making her groan and open her eyes.

“Ten!”

“My bony ass legs can cramp. I have to move them.” The tone of his voice is obviously hinted with some kind of malice and she closes her eyes once again, her palms spreading across the cushion and suddenly, she feels a couple fingers drawing circles over her back, in between her shoulder-blades.

“Mm,” She hums lightly and she feels her sleepiness catching up to her because of that motion. Ten had magical hands, though his were tiny, fingers gliding across her back in such soft movements that she almost thought that it was a dream. “Feels nice.”

Ten lets out a chuckle, soft and distant as she feels herself drifting off to sleep, his fingers never leaving her body. The tip of his fingers are clouds and dreams attacked her with soft greetings because of his touch.

“Oh my God, you got a motorcycle?!”

For people whom had only caught a glance at Ten, they would think of him as the typical boy next door. Some would consider him certain terms: the ‘bottom’ that he probably is, a boy next door, the type of guy you would introduce to your parents and much more, simply because the lively tone of his voice and his sweet but teasing words give away certain personality traits that mean everything but harm. In terms of getting to know him, he was one of the few people that she had enjoyed spending time with from the moment she met him and in all honesty, he is one of her favorite people as of lately. She still has her friends, of course; they always tell her that they want to meet Ten and she responded with a small ‘later’. After all, they normally spent their time together only being the two of them.

To complete her train of thought – she had probably imagined Ten in a small, cute, simple Chevrolet car that he found thanks to someone in his family, but she was surprised by the fact that Ten hadn’t changed his old, tacky, motor-less car for a new one, but he had changed it for a huge, squeaky clean motorcycle that made him look…well, tall and that was already hard on its own. Still, the man had arrived in front of her apartment lot with a helmet and an all-black outfit that matched his new motorcycle. She finally got to see the ‘spicy’ side of Ten, with the smirk that displayed over his face and the look of danger that it all gives him. She had seen plenty of people in motorcycles and none of them looked like what movies and books usually spoke about, but Ten was the perfect mix between a boyfriend picking his girlfriend up in a motorcycle and the bad boy that passed by your street every Saturday at that very moment and she is enchanted. Not enchanted, more like in awe…and strangely attracted.

“I figured I must have enough balance for this and I also found out that it’s cheaper than a car, so…” Ten trails his voice as he puts the helmet in between his thighs, his feet grazing the floor as he stands on his tiptoes to reach the concrete. Yes, the motorcycle was a bit too big for him. “Do you like it?”

“You look hot.” She tells him and truthfully, she didn’t think it would have much meaning. The group of words had been ones that she had told her friends time and time again, probably because it was a boost of someone’s ego and a compliment, though really bold at times. Ten looks at her, eyes trailing up and down her figure before he smiled.

“You think so?” The words are lingered with a tone that she had never heard from him but she thinks it’s the spiciness that she had always expected from Ten. It seemed like the two had started to flirt and she returns the smile before her lips parted to speak to him.

“Yeah. It makes you look tall and all.” Those words should have taken him aback but he didn’t show it, instead, he got off the motorcycle and he took the keys out of the ignition, moving closer to her and then, he continues speaking.

“Tall guys are overrated.”

“Word.” She replies and then, she looks up at him, fluttering her eyelashes a bit before she smacked his shoulder lightly, trying to push him back but he stayed very close and very attractive as she fights her entire body not to find a way of getting to know the real demon inside Ten. “Are you offended?”

Ten shakes his head, running his fingers through his hair before he chuckled in his extraordinary voice. “Not at all. Why?”

“Just because.”

“That’s not an answer.” There, she noticed that she could take the lead in this situation and with a smile over her face, she takes him by the arm and she makes him sit back down on his motorcycle, his eyes looking up at her as his hands absentmindedly reach for her waist.

“Wanna know something?” Ten nods his head and she laughs, resting her hands over his shoulders before leaning down, lips touching his in a slight touch that wasn’t even considered a kiss, but his eyes closed and she knew that this was what she wanted to do. There had always been a spark with Ten, a certain sense of freedom that let her know that she was comfortable with him. What would be so wrong about getting a taste of him? “I’ve never liked my men tall, anyways.”

Ten shakes his head, laughter leaving his lips before he finally answered. “Stop speaking so much and just kiss me.” He doesn’t even wait for a response but he pulls their bodies flush together before his lips parted to take her bottom lip in between them. Then and there, she gets to know that the spiciness that Ten holds comes from his kisses, both passionate and sweet at the same time and it’s the first time she has gotten to know someone that can mix two different things and make the combination perfect.

His lips were cinnamon and his words were chocolate, but she only wants a taste of him.

#ten scenarios #ten nct #nct scenarios #nct #kpop scenarios #writing #nct fluff #ten fluff #this is so fluffy ugh #but i kinda like it???#it's different #but also not #i don't know #tell me your opinions i appreciate it!!

133 notes · View notes

mtvswatches · 5 years

Text

Jane the Virgin 1x05 Chapter Five

Spoilers disclaimer (please read before sending messages or writing comments)

Stray thoughts

1) Well, this is not a healthy mother/daughter relationship…

NARRATOR: As we all know by now, when Jane Gloriana Villanueva came into this world, her father was already out of the picture. And though she sometimes fantasized about who her father was and what having two parents would be like, Jane and her mom had a typical mother-daughter relationship. With the role of the mother played by Jane.

It makes sense to have the roles reversed when you are older, but not when you’re a little kid. That’s messed up. It wasn’t Jane’s fault that her mom was still a kid when she had her. She should’ve still got to be a kid.

2) This won’t be Rogelio, though. It would have never been Rogelio.

NARRATOR: It was times like these when young Jane wished especially hard for a father. Someone responsible and wise, someone who would take care of things so she wouldn't have to.

3) Okay, I was wrong. Jane is super pissed. She’s moving out! She’s barely speaking to her mom. However, it might be a good thing for her to move in with Michael ahead of the wedding. Maybe this will be the final nail on the coffin of this doomed relationship? One can only hope…

4) Oh, you naïve, self-absorbed, Rogelio…

Shooting? No, this is not make-believe, Roxanna. This is real life. My daughter is coming. So I must prepare to step into the role of… father.

He claims is not “make-believe” but he takes the role of father as, well, a part he needs to play. But there’s no script and there’s no pre-established happy ending when it comes to parenting. I’m guessing he’ll figure this out soon enough.

5) What is Michael hiding from Jane? Apart from the fact that he has no personality and is boring as fuck?

6) Okay, both Rafael and Jane have the same opinion about what constitutes a “mistake.” That’s cool.

7) New favorite character.

8) I’m guessing Billy is not dating Jane’s best friend because he likes her…

9) JUST GET TOGETHER WITH RAFAEL AND RAISE THE BABY WITH HIM! It’s not that complicated, is it?

10) Well, at least one of their concerns is similar…

JANE: I just want it to go well.

ROGELIO: I just really want it to look good, Michelle.

JANE: What do you think we'll talk about?

ROGELIO: What shoes should I wear?

MICHAEL: He's gonna love you.

ROGELIO: She's gonna love me, right?

The most important one. I really like how the show portrays Rogelio. He is a bit of the comic relief, most of the times, with his bigger-than-the-sun ego and star quality. But they never fail to show that he also has a big heart, even if he might not be good at showing it all the time.

11) OMG the spotlight! The stairs that go on forever! The trademark telenovela actor Smile! The audience, forced to clap on cue!

He’s just… too much.

12) Oh, stupid Captain Cardboard…

I think you won’t be having the last laugh…

Seriously, though, how can he be so thick as to not realize that Rafael and Petra splitting up could actually have a negative impact on his and Jane’s relationship? Did he forget that Jane was fantasizing about Rafael like two weeks ago? And now, the man who she was fantasizing about and whose baby she’s carrying is conveniently single…

13) Jane is moving in with Rogelio?!!!

14) Oh, wow, that was Xiomara’s fantasy.

15) He was nervous, that means he does care.

16) Credit where credit’s due, though. Michael does understand how important Jane’s relationship with her mom is to her. He mentioned how she shouldn’t get married without her mom because she will regret it, and he understands her need to talk about her first encounter with her dad with her mom. So, there’s that.

17) I JUST FUCKING DIED!

bUT WHY DID MICHAEL HAVE TO BE THE ONE TO DELIVER THAT LINE?! UGH!!

This is Piz talking about the Hellmouth all over again.

18) “After what happened, you said you would always take care of me.” What happened to you, Magda? I’m dying to know! It’d better be juicy!

19) Wow, the conversation between Xiomara and Jane is a great scene, even if it’s not a big argument with a lot of screaming and crying. The emotions are still there because you can clearly understand where each of them is coming from. Jane feels robbed of part of her identity, and Xiomara’s fears are valid, even if not completely justified. Ultimately, however, I must take Jane’s side. Having her father as part of her life should have always been Jane’s choice, not her mother’s, and especially not if it was based on a lie.

20) I’m Rafael, so hard.

21) I guess this was her other weapon…

Sex and emotional manipulation…

So, she was pregnant, once. She had a miscarriage, and then he got cancer.

22) Hm, was this really it? It doesn’t seem like a thing you’d really go to extreme lengths to keep hidden…

MICHAEL: We used to do stupid things.

JANE: What kind of stupid things?

MICHAEL: Mostly stealing cars and selling the parts.

JANE: Oh, so, like, illegal stupid things.

MICHAEL: Yeah. We worked out of this old garage. The cops found it. He was only 16, no record. I already was in trouble. Billy took the blame.

JANE: What?!

MICHAEL: I tried to come forward, but our-our lawyer said that if I did, he'd still be in jail for lying.

JANE: Oh, my God.

MICHAEL: Yeah. After that, I-I I turned my life around. He went the other way. And I've been bailing him out ever since.

I still think there must be something shadier about him. Or are his secrets as boring as him?

23) In spite of her crappy decision, Xiomara is a good mom. Even though she feels threatened, she still offers Rogelio some good advice, and she understands that it’s her own fault that she and Jane have fallen out. Rogelio is also genuinely nice, he knows that Xiomara could and would help him out – even if she is the reason he hadn’t met his daughter until now. And he seems to be honest when he claims he never meant to cause a wedge between mother and daughter by coming forward as Jane’s father.

24) So, that didn’t go too well…

ROGELIO: You have to understand that she was not wrong.

JANE: Excuse me?

ROGELIO: When I was 17, I was an idiot kicked out of school, smoking weed. She wanted to protect you.

JANE: Look. I think it's really nice that you want to defend her, but I don't want to talk about it, okay? Right, that's between me and my mom.

ROGELIO: Jane, well, she was terrible, but she was scared.

JANE: Rogelio, come on.

ROGELIO: I just want you to see her side.

JANE: I know her side.

ROGELIO: She was crying, Jane.

JANE: And you don't think that I've cried? But you wouldn't know that because you don't know anything about me, not even my middle name. And that's because of her. And I guess for you, it is easy to forgive that because you've only know about me for 16 months. But I have thought about you every single day for the past 23 years. You know what? I'm-I'm sorry, I can't do this. Rogelio, you seem like a nice enough man, but we haven't been a part of each other's lives until now, and we've been fine, so let's not force it.

Rogelio was well-intentioned, but that doesn’t mean that he had any right to speak on Xiomara’s behalf. The right to dispense fatherly advice is something you have to earn. You don’t get to do that just because you’re, biologically speaking, the father. It takes time and a lot of bonding and trust building.

I think I would’ve reacted the same way Jane did.

25) And that didn’t go too well, either…

RAFAEL: These are the divorce papers.

PETRA: You were about to have sex with me yesterday.

RAFAEL: We stopped.

PETRA: Yes. But I could tell you didn't want to.

RAFAEL: Petra, please, let's keep what little dignity we have left.

PETRA: Jane's going to change her mind. You're going to have to share custody of that baby.

RAFAEL: I'm hoping I won't.

PETRA: You will. You know you will. Rafael, we can work it out.

RAFAEL: Not if I don't love you anymore.

PETRA: You make me sick.

RAFAEL: I understand. So sign the divorce papers. You'll get your $250,000 and we'll be done with each other.

I respect Rafael because he doesn’t let his attraction for Petra could his judgment. He knows it would be wrong to continue the charade just to get the baby because, at the end of the day, he doesn’t love her and I’m not too sure she loves him either. Petra, on the other hand, feels disgusted when Rafael admits he doesn’t love her… but I guess cheating on him, lying to him, using sex and their tragic past to manipulate him, and holding him hostage with the idea that he won’t get the baby are not disgusting deeds.

I can’t help but wonder if Petra will undergo a Heel-Face Turn and how exactly the writers will pull this off because she keeps piling on evil stuff.

26) I LOVE ROGELIO!!

ROGELIO: I heard what you said about not forcing things. This is not forcing things. This is apologizing. I think I was trying to make up for all these years in two hours. I was trying to impress you. But I went too far, so I'm sorry.

JANE: No. It's okay. I think I was hard on you, and I had expectations that were totally unreasonable. Then let's begin again.

Yes, he is self-absorbed and at times misguided, but he has a good heart and he does mean well. And who would’ve thought? He’s able to do some self-introspection if need be. And he can apologize when he does something wrong. He’s a good man, alright? Or at least he’s trying really hard to become one. I love him a lot.

27) !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

28) It was obvious Jane wouldn’t be able to give up the baby. She couldn’t put the baby through the same things she had to go through herself because other people denied her of the possibility to know who her father was. I still don’t know what Michael’s role is going to be in this whole thing.

29) Again, I’m Rafael…

RAFAEL: A guy I can't stand is gonna be involved in raising my kid. I just don't know what Jane's doing with him.

Except for the Michael-raising-my kid thing, of course.

30) WTF!!!!

My new favorite character is dead!!!

31) Sin Rostro killed him… I’m sorry, but I think Sin Rostro is actually a woman. And I’m guessing it’s Magda. I don’t know why I think Magda is behind all of this.

32) What the fuck are they planning?

Is Petra going to blame Rafael for domestic abuse?

33) Liar, liar, pants on fire…

“I’ve made a mistake” was probably the worse excuse he could’ve given. We know how Jane feels about people calling their willing choices “mistakes”.

34) Awww ☹

Will Jane be crying by the end of every episode? I hope not.

35) Of course…

36) A very fun episode! But will Jane end up crying in every episode? And will someone end up dead every few episodes? And is Magda Sin Rostro? Will Michael stop being so fucking boring? So many questions!

37) Hope you enjoyed my recap, and, as usual, if you’ve got this far, thank you for reading! If you enjoy my recaps and my blog, please consider supporting it on ko-fi.Thanks!

#Jane the Virgin #Jane Villanueva #Rogelio de la Vega #Rafael Solano #Gina Rodriguez #MTVSwatches #mine #recap #JTV recap #JTV 1x05

10 notes · View notes

howwelldoyouknowyourmoon · 4 years

Text

Marriage and Divorce in the Moon Churches of Japan and Korea

These are extracts from an edited transcript of a video interview with Pascal Zivi given to Steven Hassan in Tokyo in 1994.

Steven Hassan: In your counseling of young Japanese, what are the main points that you think help them to reevaluate their commitment.

Pascal Zivi: First I try to encourage them to understand about mind control. I think that is really important. I encourage them to think again about what they were searching for before they joined the group, and about the reason why they joined the group. This is important and it is easy to explain why I do this. Many young people are searching for something – but what they find in the group was not what they were looking for. I have one Japanese friend who was a nurse, and her hope was to go to Africa. The Moon church promised her, with us you can go to Africa and work as a volunteer to help people as a nurse. Then she was married with a Korean man. When I was counseling her, I asked her what was the connection between getting married with a Korean man and going to Africa to work as a volunteer nurse? And she started to think and realized there was no connection. I said to her, the first time you went to the Moon Church, was your hope to go to Korea to marry a Korean man and to believe in a messiah. She said no, my hope was very different. And from this point she began to question why did she join the Moon church; why did she started to study the Bible, and what is mind control. I am very happy to say to everybody that now she is alright, and next month she will go to Africa for three months to work as a volunteer to help the people there to know more about nursing and so on. She was in the church for two and a half years.

Steven: What do you think the status of the Moon Church is now in Japan and in Korea?

Pascal: They have a lot of money problems. Many young people left the Moon Church and they are not very well. For example, tomorrow I will meet a young woman for the third time. In 1992, she was married by Moon to a Korean man. She lived with her husband in Korea for 18 months. She said life there was very difficult. It was very strange and there were so many problems in the Moon Church. She began to have big doubts and she left the Moon Church. Now she wants to have some counseling because she has many fears. She told me the Moon Church in Korea asked the Japanese women, when they were speaking to their Korean husbands, to call them “messiah, my messiah.” Every time the wives had a problem the Moon Church told them to go to see a fortune teller. Of course the fortune teller took their money every time – so the wives didn’t have any money. They also have a lot of problems because the Korean people don’t like the Japanese people due to the past when the Japanese did so many bad things in Korea during their occupation of the country which ended in 1945. The Japanese wife said it was a very, very difficult time for her. She started to understand that the Moon Church was wrong and the Divine Principle was wrong. She had one chance to return to Sapporo to see her parents, and she left the Moon Church. Soon I will complete counseling with her and she wants to get a divorce. Yesterday she went to see a lawyer to get help with the divorce from her Korean husband.

Steven: So you know many people who have divorced?

Pascal: Oh yes, yes, I can introduce you to many of them. And there are other people doing the same work that I am doing, and they can also introduce you to many former members who have got divorced. You can discuss with them and hear many, many sad stories about their situations. I hope that one time an American TV company can make a very serious show about the Moon Church in Japan. They would be able to meet a lot of former members, and they can hear about their problems and see the documents that they have. They will be very surprised at how big the problem is. I really hope one day American TV can come to Japan to see and to understand more about the problem of the Japanese Moon Church, and the terrible struggles the members endure. In particular there are many young Japanese members who are sent to America to work for the Moon Church because the biggest Moon Church in the world is that of Japan. Former members in America can also testify about the fact that most of the money used by the American Moon Church comes from the fund-raising done by the members in Japan.

Steven: Do you have any comments about lying or deception in the Moon Church?

Pascal: In America you have the Guinness Book of Records. The last time I saw my friend, Mr Tahk Myeong-hwan, in Korea was in a car and we were having a discussion. He said, “In 1982 the Guinness Book of Records made an entry for Mr Moon because he broke a record for the number of couples married in a mass wedding, but you know, Pascal, the Guinness Book of Records should make a second entry for Mr Moon for another thing which no one can beat, and that is for lying.” And I asked my friend, what do you think about the Moon Church, if some person asked you to explain what the Moon Church is. My friend thought for a minute and he said, “It is easy, Pascal, at the beginning is a lie, in the middle is a lie, and at the end is a lie. It is all a big lie.” It is difficult because Mr Moon is lying over many, many things. He lied about where his teachings came from; he lied when he told the members, “I know exactly what kind of husband or wife you need.”

I want to give you another example of lying in the Moon Church. Mr Moon had many mass weddings; on October 30, 1988 there was a 6,500 couples mass wedding in Korea. And this time many women who had been in the Moon Church for 7 or 8 years were married with Korean men. I have a friend who was married at that time. (She is married to someone else now and has a baby.) She was told by the Moon Church, don’t worry, your husband is Korean, he has very strong faith and he has three spiritual children. She really believed what she was told by Mr Moon and the Moon Church. But after she got married she came to understand that her husband did not believe that Mr Moon was the messiah, and he did not have any faith. She felt she had been really deceived, and she left the Moon Church. I can tell you many, many similar stories. It would be much better if you, or someone else, has the opportunity to come to Japan to meet and interview the many former members about their experiences of being deceived. There are so many examples; there have been so many lies. The members were told if they go to Korea they will find a good job and have a good life. That was not true. They were told if they go to Africa they will find our church is very strong, but when they got to Africa, they didn’t find anything. Every time it is like this. Mr Moon has given many prophecies about 1967, 1981 and 2000 and Foundation Day, and all of his prophecies failed. Mr Moon said there was a 21-year course from his preaching in Pyongyang in 1946 to 1967 when the Kingdom of God would be established on Earth. Miss Young Oon Kim talked about that in the early 1960s. When 1967 came and nothing happened, members in Korea and California left.

Moon claimed he “met Jesus” but his story kept changing...

Moon said they did not allow visitors at Heungnam labor camp. Moon lied.

Mr Moon lied about carrying Mr Chung-hwa Pak for 600 miles from Pyongyang to Busan.

The Moon organization makes false claims over photo to promote Moon as a ‘hero.’

Mr Moon lied about going to Waseda University. He only went to night classes at a Technical High School. He worked during the day to pay for his evening classes.

Mr Moon lied to his first wife about being a graduate from Waseda University.

The Moon Church of Japan made a fake Waseda University ‘Graduation Certificate’ for Mr Moon:

In a Japanese book Mr Moon claimed that he went to Waseda University in Tokyo.

Isamu Kuboki (National leader of Japan for many years) wrote this book:

Rev Moon, a Man of Truth in Danbury. (1989)

On page 136 this is Moon’s own response to a question:

私は東京の早稲田大学で電気工学を学びました。

Translated: “I studied electrical engineering at Waseda University in Tokyo.”

Mr. Moon claimed he was arrested and tortured by the Japanese police in the early 1940s when he was a student in Tokyo. He gave the address of the police station. There NEVER was any police station on the street he named. He was never tortured in Japan.

Mr Moon lied when he said he was a virgin until 1960. His first son was born in 1946 and Hee-jin Moon and Dong-sook were born in 1955.

Mr Moon lied about the reason he was arrested in Seoul in 1955: “There were many sexually abused women. Moon arrested.”

___________________________________________

Sun Myung Moon lied: “Even I graduated from seminary in Korea.”

Reverend Sun Myung Moon February 7, 1995, Washington, DC Translator – Hideo Oyamada

https://www.tparents.org/Moon-Talks/SunMyungMoon95/SM950207.htm

“All leaders should be seminary graduates; otherwise you are not professional church leaders. Even I graduated from seminary in Korea. I am also planning to establish a graduate-level seminary at Bridgeport University. Is this sparking the imagination in your brain? Do you have a clear concept?”

Sun Myung Moon never went to any university or seminary anywhere.

___________________________________________

The full Steven Hassan-Pascal Zivi interview is here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LBIIWAJ46UU

More edited and expanded transcripts from the same video here:

Questions about the 1992 Mass Wedding in Seoul

Where Sun Myung Moon got his theology

___________________________________________

Why did a Japanese UC member kill her Korean husband?

Suicide of a Japanese Moon money mule in Uruguay

Japanese woman recruited and sold by FFWPU to a Korean farmer

6,500 women missing from FFWPU mass weddings

“Apology marriages” made by Japanese UC members to Korean men

Sun Myung Moon’s secret love child

Sam Park reveals Moon’s hidden history (2014)

Nansook Hong interviewed by Herbert Rosedale

___________________________________________

日本人妻はなぜ韓国人夫を殺したのか?

統一教会女性信者が自殺した「四千人」南米大移働の謎

統一教会合同結婚式　日本人妻たちの「肉声」

統一教会の日本人花嫁数千人が韓国農民に宛われた韓国農民にあてがわれた統一教会·合同結婚式日本人妻の「SEX地獄」

「合同結婚式、６５００人の行方を捜して」被害者家族が訴え

韓国に渡った統一教会日本人女性信者の実態

元早大総長が集団結婚を徹底批判統一教会

#Sun Myung Moon #Unification Church #FFWPU #FFWPU of Japan #Family Federation for World Peace and Unification #mass marriage #divorce

0 notes

megsblackfirewrites · 7 years

Text

This Farce Ends Now: Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Joseph did his best not to scream at Mary and her lawyer as they sat opposite each other in the office set aside for them. He’d wanted to do this amicably without needing to involve the courts. Mary had agreed, probably because she knew that they would never give her the kids and it was better trying to weasel something out of him rather than through the courts. And boy was she trying.

“I am not paying her support,” he said calmly.

“Mr. Christiansen, I’m sure you understand that Mary is used to a certain type of living,” her lawyer smiled. “In order to keep up that standard of living….”

“I am not paying for her drinking problem,” Joseph said, nodding to his own lawyer. “And Mary is an architectural engineer; she can surpass what I bring in without too much effort.”

“Mary hasn’t worked in....,” her lawyer tried to argue.

“Three years; after she found out she was pregnant with Crish,” Joseph said. “I’m well aware, sir. However, were she to submit a resume, I’m sure they’d take her back in an instant. She was a model employee.”

“You just don’t want to pay me a cent,” Mary snapped.

“I refuse to pay for your booze, Mary,” Joseph said. “And if you’re going to come after me for support, I’ll come after you for child support. It’s only fair considering I have full custody of four children under the age of ten that still require around the clock care and supervision. And I’m currently unemployed while I finish up some courses that the local Victim Services requires for a full time position.”

Mary paled, but her lawyer shrugged. “That is hardly an issue. We can simply sit on your owing payment.”

“As will we,” Joseph smiled before he sighed. “Look, I’m not here to be a dick. I want this done and over with so we can get on with our lives. You’re free to take half the possessions in the house, so long as none of them are the children’s possessions. I will have full custody of the kids until you’ve cleaned up your act and can prove that you’re not abusing alcohol. Until then, you will have supervised visitation rights.”

“You think that’s reasonable?” she snapped.

“Very reasonable,” Joseph narrowed his eyes.

“And what makes you better suited to raise our children? I’m their mother!”

“Funny how you only seem to use that argument when you think it will benefit you,” Joseph snapped. “You have an alcohol problem, Mary. That’s why you are unfit for custody at this point in time.”

“Or are you just using that as an excuse so you won’t have anyone interrupting you getting fucked by all of your sidewhores?” Mary sneered.

“I never had more than one partner, Mary,” Joseph rubbed at his eyes. “Robert lied to you.”

“And I have to take your word for it?” she sneered.

“Yes,” Joseph said. “But even if Robert hadn’t fed you a steaming pile of lies, my sexual appetite would not make me an unfit parent. Or even my lack of fidelity. That is between us, two rational adults, not my relationship with my children.”

Mary glared at him before smiling sweetly. “Fine. Then I’m taking your yacht.”

“You can take half of the possessions on board the yacht,” Joseph said coldly. “I am willing to sell it and split the sale….”

“You would just jip me,” Mary sneered. “Keep your stupid boat. I’ll sign this agreement. I want this stupidity over with.”

Joseph did his best not to scream as his lawyer handed the paperwork over to Mary’s lawyer. It shouldn’t have been this much of a fight. Why was Mary so determined to hold onto him when she didn’t even like him anymore? Why wasn’t she allowing both of them to move on with their lives? It would have been better than letting these wounds fester like they were.

“I will have these filed right away,” his lawyer said as she clacked the papers against the table to get them straightened out. “Mary, Gerald, it was very nice for you to cooperate with us.”

Mary glared at Joseph as he got to his feet and followed his lawyer out of the office. He rubbed at his eyes, wondering if it really was all over. Was Mary really going to let him walk away like this?

“How’re you feeling?” his lawyer asked.

“Like I’m a few seconds away from throwing myself into the ocean,” Joseph sighed and shook his head. “Thank you, Monique. I appreciate this.”

“It’s my pleasure, Joseph,” she smiled. “The worst is over now. Worry about getting your kids adjusted and happy. I’ll handle the legal bullshit.”

He smiled and shook her hand before heading out to the parking lot. He had to go pick his kids up from soccer practice and retrieve his baby from Brian’s clutches before the kid developed a love for the scent of board shavings.

***

“Oh, hello, Luci,” Joseph smiled as Chris’ pet jumped up onto the couch beside him. “Why aren’t you in with Chris?”

Lucifer stared at him for a moment before crawling onto his lap and curling up. Joseph smiled as he ran his hand down the feline’s back and earned a long, happy purr. He returned to his book, highlighting passages that were going to be used on the upcoming test. He would be lying if he said he wasn’t nervous. It was the first test he’d had to take since he’d graduated high school. Sure, there were courses he’d picked up here and there to be able to become a minister, but he already knew the material inside and out. Abnormal psychology, though? That was a new one to him.

He glanced up at a knock on the door, wondering who would be bothering him at this hour. The kids were already tucked up in bed, so it wouldn’t be one of their little friends breaking their parents’ curfew to be little rebels. Maybe it was Lucien come to talk?

He gently pushed Lucifer off of his lap and set his textbook down on the coffee table as he got to his feet. He could vaguely make out a shape on the other side of the door; one of the other dads then?

“Robert,” Joseph blinked as he opened the door. “Um, it’s rather late, don’t you think?”

“Not even ten,” Robert snorted as he pushed past Joseph and headed for the kitchen. “We’re celebrating your divorce.”

“Robert,” Joseph sighed as he followed him. “It’s not something to celebrate. And you’re friends with Mary; isn’t that bad form?”

Robert shrugged. “I’m also friends with you,” he said as he set the whiskey on the counter. “Get that fruity wine of yours and those cookies. We’re pigging out.”

Joseph shook his head as he got a wine glass out for his wine and set the tray of fresh cookies between them at the island. Robert poured himself a glass of whiskey and lifted his glass.

“To you finally being a free man,” he said. “And the beginning of a new life for you.”

“Cheers,” Joseph chuckled as he tinked his glass against Robert’s and took a sip. “So...how’ve you been?” Robert shot him a look and Joseph laughed. “Okay, you have to deal with the small talk in my own house, Robert,” he said. “If we were in yours, I would respect your silence rule.”

Robert shrugged a shoulder and pushed his fingers through his hair. “I’ve been okay,” he said. “Val’s been helping me clean up my act a little bit. Actually forced me to do laundry at a decent time. And cook decent meals.”

“She’s a good influence,” Joseph smiled.

“I have no idea how she turned out so good when I was a shit father,” Robert sighed and shook his head. “Marilyn did more work than I thought.”

“I’m sure you helped more than you thought,” Joseph soothed. “I mean, you weren’t neglectful to be malicious. Some people just...shouldn’t be parents.”

Robert glanced at him and sighed. “Sometimes I’m not sure if I appreciate what you say or if I want to smack you,” he said.

“I’m used to it,” he chuckled and tipped his head to the side.

Robert reached out and plucked a cookie off the plate. He chewed it slowly, his dark eyes closing in contentment. Joseph settled down against the island and slowly sipped his wine. He hadn’t realized that he needed this. He could already feel his nerves relaxing.

“Mrow?” Lucifer asked before he jumped up on the island.

“Hey, down,” Joseph scolded as he poked Lucifer’s nose. “We talked about this, young man. No dirty paws where there’s food.”

Robert’s mouth fell open. “You have a cat,” he said. “You got a fucking cat!”

“Volume,” Joseph smiled. “Yes, Chris got him when we got the dog. Robert, Lucifer. Luci, this is Robert.”

“You named it Lucifer,” Robert cackled.

“No, he was already named Lucifer,” Joseph shook his head. “And off the table, darling.”

Lucifer glared at him before jumping down on his lap and curling up. He scratched behind the cat’s ears and smiled at Robert as the man seemed to swoon on the spot.

“Joseph Christiansen with a cat named Lucifer,” he laughed. “Will wonders ever cease?”

Joseph rolled his eyes. He was glad that something so simple could make his friend laugh. He had gotten over the novelty a while ago, so he didn’t laugh as much as he used to. And it was sort of getting old anyways.

“So,” Robert said after a few minutes. “You’re single now.”

“Robert,” Joseph looked at him.

Really? He should have known that Robert had ulterior motives for coming and celebrating. The man always did. It was just how he operated.

“Hear me out,” Robert raised his hands. “You’re single now. You can get back into the dating scene whenever you want. You’ll never have to worry about cheating on Mary ever again.”

“I’ve already come to terms with that, Robert,” Joseph said. “If you’re looking to proposition me this time….”

“No, that’s just it,” Robert shook his head. “I...I don’t just want you for sex, Joseph. I thought about this for a while now and...fuck, I’m not good with words okay? I can spin a story like you wouldn’t believe, but explain my feelings?” He rubbed angrily at the fringe of hair just above his forehead. “Look, when we started that affair, I really only wanted to fuck you for the novelty. I had enticed a married man into my bed, you know? It was the ultimate bad boy fantasy. But then...then I started to get to know you more, actually held you after we fucked, and...and I fell in love. You’re an amazing man, Joseph, and...and I know I blew it. I wasn’t any better than Mary. I wanted you without any consideration for you or your feelings or even what Mary would do if I lied about your extramarital activities. I was selfish. I always have been.”

Joseph leaned forward, folding his hands under his jaw as he listened to Robert’s confession. He knew how hard it was to get Robert to talk about his feelings and fears, so he wasn’t about to stop the man. Not yet, anyways. They had both been selfish. They had both done something wrong. If Robert was apologizing, there was more than enough hope for him left in the world.

“But after I’d cooled off when you dumped me and stayed with Mary, I realized something,” he continued. “I was acting like Mary. I was acting like you were property. You aren’t. You never belonged to me or to Mary. And...and I only want you to be happy now. Whether that’s with me or someone else. I want you back in my life, Joseph. I can’t….I can’t stand just watching from the sidelines as you go on with your life hurting from our stupidity.”

Joseph smiled as Robert fell silent and wiped at his eye. “Robert, you always meant the world to me, even when we were just friends,” he said. “I know a hurt soul when I see it and yours was in a lot of agony, even when you and Marilyn were trying to start over. You were hurting so much and I wanted to help you get better. And then...Marilyn had her accident.

“You were so distraught, but you were trying to seem unaffected. Aloof until the final moments. I knew better. I waited until you were comfortable around me and when I asked you if you were alright, you came apart at the seams. I knew in that moment that I loved you; I held you and let you cry, knowing that in that moment you were the most beautiful creature in existence. Your emotions were so pure, your grief was so real, that I knew this was the real Robert Small. Not an aloof man that acted too cool for friends and drank too much. You are a gentle soul with a heart of gold struggling to fit into a life he thought he should have because emotions were the enemy.

“I still love you, Robert. I always will. But I need time. I’ve been with Mary most of my adult life and I need time to find myself again. Even if I know this isn’t what you want, I want to be friends with you again, Robert. I want to get to know the man you’ve become and let our past burn away.”

Robert’s eyes had teared up again and he nodded. “I want that too,” he whispered. “Being friends with you is better than letting myself waste away to nothing.”

Joseph wiped a tear from his eyes and laughed. “Look at us being mature adults about things,” he laughed. “Who’da thunk it, right?”

Robert smiled and sipped his whiskey. “Had to happen at some point, I suppose,” he teased.

Joseph smiled as he sipped his wine. “To us being mature adults,” he said after a moment and lifted his glass.

“Cheers, mate,” Robert chuckled as they clicked their glasses together and sipped in their honour.

Joseph had no idea what his future would hold, but if he was there with Robert watching his back, he knew he’d be okay.

#DDADDS #Joseph Christiansen #the end

7 notes · View notes

suckerforhobi · 7 years

Text

Melancholy

Pairing: Jung Hoseok x Reader (2nd POV)

Genre: Angst, Fluff

Summary: You almost only met him at funerals and weddings. You and he had several common points in your lives and you wanted to keep him as close as possible.

The first time you met the boy was when your paternal grandmother passed away, and her funeral was held, your eyes almost popped out when your father brought his new female companion - and the woman’s son with himself, whom no one knew in your family, not even your aunts and uncles.

Your family life was a mess but year by year, you had nothing else to do but accept it. Your parents divorced during the very first school year in your life which gave you a huge heartbreak at the tender age of 6, you could hardly recover from the memory of your dad tearing off the door and leaving you with two suitcases in his hands and your mother crying face which broke your heart even more. Looking back, years later you shouldn’t have been that shocked - they fought a lot, your dad came home too late and spent too much many. Your father didn’t act like an adult. Your parents were each other’s first love and you came when they were both so young, freshly graduated from the university. Still, your heart ached when you thought back to other kid’s parents - they were in love, they had mutual programs like visiting the zoo. That wasn’t the case with your eonma and appa - they loved each other but not that way anymore, the atmosphere tensed around them every single time.

Your father kept visiting you as much as he could, being a lawyer, he was pretty busy, not to mention he was living in another city. He supported you as much as he could, paying your mom every month the child support. Then, your father didn’t see you that much but still called every week. You missed him terribly but you knew he had a hard job, you wouldn’t hurt him.

That day you felt like you were betrayed. He didn’t see you because of that woman? Was she more important than you, his own daughter? Did he spend time with her son instead of you? The 15-year-old yourself was beyond angry when you saw how much he cared about the two persons with him but not with his daughter who was few meters away. You cleared your throat in annoyance and your father turned to see you. He had a huge smile on his face. You had a couple of negative feelings towards your father. A new family and he missed you out? Why didn’t he tell you something about that?

“Hello, Birdie. I would like to introduce you to Hye and Hoseok.” You flinched when you heard your nickname your father gave you when you were a toddler. “Hye, Hoseok, she’s my daughter, Y/N.”

You were never impolite but deep inside, you would tell your father and his new chick with her son to get lost. However, it was your grandmother’s funeral and you wouldn’t have wanted to cause such a scene. She was an angel, she deserved a beautiful, peaceful goodbye ceremony.

“Nice to meet you.” You tried to sound as sweet as you could, it might hurt your soul to do that though you had no other choice. Hye who was the same sage as your dad and mom squeezed your hands and frowned.

“I’m so sorry, Y/N. I heard how much time you spent with your grandma. If you need anything and anyone to talk about, we are here.”

You nodded, giving them a smile which turned out to be more like a snarl. “Thank you, I’ll keep it in mind.”

You were inspecting the boy who did the same to you - his face had similarities with his mom’s, the timid smile he gave to you was identical to Hye’s. You would have been lying to yourself if you had denied the fact he was handsome. The way he looked at you was oddly comforting, despite knowing him for minutes.

“Y/N... are you free on on next week? We’ve bought a new house recently and you should see it yourself and we would decorate your room.”

Your little heart was content. Your father maybe didn’t forget about you.

You found out more and more about both of your stepmother and stepbrother. Hoseok was a few years older than you, he wasn’t a planned - how could he be when his mother was 17 when he was born? Growing up was surely hard for Hoseok, that’s why you weren’t surprised anymore how protective was your father of him.

Hoseok was a graduating student from high school, you were surprised, he was so kind towards you, not the typical hormonal and cocky guy you thought he would be. You two didn’t really meet often, just few occasions when he wasn’t with his girlfriend and you paid a visit to your father or at the wedding or funeral of your relatives.

It was the day of your dad and his mom’s wedding when you couldn’t keep your eyes off Hoseok - he was the most charming boy you had ever seen as much as you wanted to deny the fact. He was seated the opposite side of you, close to your parents. Your heart skipped a beat when he poked you gently.

“May I have a dance with you, sis?” His smile was contagious as you wore a matching one.”

“I would love to.”

The was the first time you were close to Hoseok, as you were now a 17-year-old teenager, your face was flushed but you still tried not to redden it more. His beautiful eyes, his warm smile, his comforting large hand resting on your waist.

“I never really said that but I’m glad I got a little sister.” He said softly, his eyes never leaving yours. From that moment, you knew he was the death of you. Luckily, his girlfriend’s whining turned you back to the real world, letting go his hand, to let them dance together.

“Y/N...” Your roommate called your name and you knew she plotted something for you. “I want to ask for something.”

You were nervous, if she asked for something, it never meant a good thing.

“How can I help you, Haru?”

“Do you remember Park Jimin?” She asked and you nodded. Who didn’t know him? He was a popular guy, graduated a year after your first university year. He was a legend, many girls were the fan of his, worshipping him like he was a Greek God. Your roomie fell into this category, screaming every time his name was mentioned.

“I remember. What’s with him?”

“He asked me out on a date but he said his roommate has just broken up with his girlfriend, so he said we should go on a double date, he needs something to distract himself... and I thought...”

“I say yes but you owe me a lot.” You said and your goofy roommate suddenly pulled you into a tight hug, you felt your breathing becoming heavy as she almost choked you to death.

“You are the best.”

You spent on that October day hours on choosing your outfit for the night. You didn’t really have any fancy clothes, you didn’t really go out to have fun, instead of participating in some parties, you studied as much as you could. You were hard working and you hoped one day all your efforts would pay off.

When you came out your room, Haru squealed like a proud mom when she noticed you in the red dress you had bought a year ago.

“Oh my God, Y/N, you look breathtaking! This dress is so lovely! I’m sure that guy would love it!”

You nodded, not believing her words entirely. Haru was almost like a sister to you, of course, she said nice words about your appearance.

“Where will we meet them?”

“Inside.” She replied happily and she was shining in happiness. You envied her, she was always positive and cheerful, while you were so gloomy most of the time. This is who you were, the quiet, insecure bookworm. While she was a real Disney Princess.

Before you two entered the cozy Italian restaurant, you surely had imagined the mysterious guy Jimin brought with himself. Judging by his character, you trusted his choice, there was no way he would invite a boring, grumpy guy but a smiling and curious. But you never excepted to see someone you knew relatively well. Hoseok.

Both of you froze immediately, earning glances from Haru and Jimin.

“Do you know each other?” Jimin asked and Hoseok gave you a shy smile after hearing his friend’s question.

You wanted to tell the awkward truth but Hoseok was faster. “We are old friends.”

You tried to be convincing enough, however, you didn’t really get it why Hoseok lied. Okay, he didn’t like exactly, you two had known the other for years but you were rather family than friends. Stepsiblings, to be exact. You guessed he said that to not upset your friends’ attempt to get a date for you.

“Is it true, Y/N?” Haru asked you with widened eyes, not really believing what she just heard.

“Yes.”

During the dinner, the four of you had a great time together but you were flushed as Hoseok never once took his eyes off of you, examining your face, waiting for your reactions. The faded crush from years ago that you thought of like a distant memory came back in once, making you confused. He was a forbidden fruit, a guy who off-limit, a platonic love. Still, you didn’t know how to handle when the dream boy of your youth was sitting with you on a date. On a date.

You had fun but you decided to go home earlier - your aim was to make Haru happy, your task was done. When you announced your leave, saying you are not feeling quite well, Hoseok stood up after you. “I’ll walk you home.”

The atmosphere was tensed between the two of you when you walked out of the building. You didn’t speak up but your brain was working on finding a possible, not awkward topic.

“We had a nice night, didn’t we, Y/N?” He asked smiling but not looking in your way.

“Yes, we had. It was good to see you again, not just listening to dad’s reports.”

“The same goes to you. I’m so proud of you, studying Psychology and you achieved your goals like a pro.”

Unlike Haru, you knew Hoseok would never tell you something he didn’t think seriously. His eyes were honest and you tried not to look in them, protecting yourself from falling for him too much.

“I tried my best.” You smiled sheepishly.

“Y/N. I want to meet you more, Sis. We are family and now I’m working and...”

“Of course, just text me and I try my best not to drown myself into studying.”

After that night you really met regularly, going to drink a cup of coffee together, or just hanging in the mall. Hoseok was in every time you called him up to meet and you reacted the same way when he wanted you to see your face. You never read anything more into those rendez-vous. You were just nothing more but brother and sister. Weeks turned into months, he quickly became the most trusted person in your life.

One day, everything changed.

“Will you go with me to meet my colleagues? We’ll have a small gathering and everyone brings a girl with themselves...” He explained laying his head in your lap, while you were sitting on your couch.

“Hobi, why don’t you ask the girl who lives in the same apartment as you?”

“Not my type.”

“The girl you were making out with at Jimin’s party?” You raised your eyebrows suspiciously.

“You will love this, she is engaged.”

“Noooooo. What a stupid chick.” You shook your head in disbelief.

“Are you free on this Friday?”

“I am.”

“Then we will go together there. Be pretty but not too pretty, I don’t want to chop off anybody’s di-”

You only responded by hitting his head with a pillow.

You got to know his friends beside Jimin, his colleagues at the I.T. company he started working not too long ago. The always grumpy but a soft guy, Min Yoongi and the incredibly intelligent Kim Namjoon, both of them brought their girlfriends who were happy Hoseok got himself a pretty cute girl (before you could tell you were related he once again stopped you from saying anything).

At the bar, you saw how everybody adored him. Indeed, he was the most amazing human being you had ever met.

He touched your hand, his body pressed to you, giving the warmth you loved.

You both drank but he surprised you when he put his lips on yours. You knew it was wrong, you panicked but you couldn’t push him away. It was a miracle, a dream, you thought. Then the loud banging music returned you to the real world, Hoseok still holding your lips as a hostage. That was when you realized... you couldn’t go back the way you used to be. You signaled him to let you go and he did but you could see the disappointment in his dark orbs.

You lied to anyone and you went home. It was a mistake. Stepsiblings should never do it.

You avoided him like plague afterward. You weren’t too happy when your dad and his wife, his mom had invited you to have a dinner together. You were scared, no, you were terrified. After a month, the pain remained, not healing like you prayed for. Hoseok caused you unintentionally a huge wound on your sensitive soul but you also harmed yourself as you ignored his existence. However, you had to stop your stupid, immature actions, for the sake of your family.

“Hello, Birdie.” Your father greeted you with a kiss on your forehead. Hye flew to the door to hug you and Hoseok was standing there, with an undetected expression. Of course, he didn’t cheer when he laid his eyes on you, he was surely upset with you.

“I missed you.” You said to them and you saw Hoseok turning away. He called you many times and you never once received his phone call, never replied to his messages on Kakaotalk. You wanted - God you really wanted - to answer him but you knew what had happened was wrong.

The dinner went like the usual, his mom asking you about boys (you noticed Hoseok’s body stiffening), your father cracking the lamest jokes he’d heard in his life. You didn’t dare look him in the eye - you were afraid of the coldness in his usually shining pair.

When you went up to your room, your parents headed to the living room, Hoseok grabbed your wrist unexpectedly, making you almost scream out because of the sudden touch.

“Don’t go. We need to talk.”

You were ready to escape his grip but you missed him. You missed your stepbrother, who always made you laugh whenever you talked to me, who comforted you when you failed on an exam, he was there.

“What do you want to say, Hobi?”

“Don’t ignore me, like I am nobody to you!” He growled angrily, his unexpected outburst catching off your guard.

“Look, I needed time. It was wrong and we both know it!”

“Don’t say that you didn’t enjoy it, then you wouldn’t have responded the kiss.” His body was shaking as he was nervous and angry.

“The fact doesn’t change even if I did. We are family.”

You and Hoseok tried to ignore what had happened between the two of you that night. It was just a kiss nothing more but that kiss meant more to the both of you.You missed Hoseok like an alcoholic his favourite drink, you couldn’t ignore him anymore.

It was not long after the first few days of the new year when you woke up by a loud banging on the door. You groaned - you valued sleep as you could hardly fall asleep. You looked like a mad scientist with your messy hair but you opened the door.

Hobi was standing in your door, his eyes in tears. Your heart sank seeing him in that state but what he said burned into your memory for life. “Mom and Dad died.” You couldn’t breathe, collapsed on the floor. The man whom you loved the most and the woman you loved like your second mother were gone.

It was an accident on that winter day. Hoseok was the one whom they could call up. You couldn’t believe how he could remain sane - you felt like you were dead inside. Your mom visited you almost every single day, she told you also she lost one of the most important people in her life. If Hobi, Haru and your mom hadn’t been there, you surely would have fallen into depression.

But the only who exactly knew the loss was your step-brother. The tragedy brought you closer, you invited him over to sleepover beside planning the funeral.

After the day of the funeral, you thought he would distance himself from you but he didn’t. He still wanted to talk to you, he still surprised you by giving little presents once in a while. One day you realized you couldn’t live without him by your side, in a way you should have never thought of.

“When will you admit you are in love with him?” Your mom rolled her eyes when she saw you texting with him. Involuntarily your lips stretched into a huge smile but it turned into a frown once your mother asked about him.

“Do you know about it?”

“Everybody can see how much you adore the other. Even your father saw it, Y/N.”

Your eyes widened, not believing your ears. “What?”

“Your father was a clever man and let me confess you something. We, the three parents talked about it one day and your father said he would feel strange. He got a son and the idea of dating with his blood, with his daughter...but trust me, as crazy as it sounds, Hye would have loved the idea of you two being together. But just think about that, your father wanted the best for you in all of his life. If that means you and him being more than step-siblings... Go for it!”

Later that night, after your mom left, it was your movie night with him.

You were watching a movie - you didn’t even remember its name as the movie was boring as hell - cuddling with him on the couch. Haru was staying with Jimin, so it was a perfect opportunity to ask him about his feelings.

“Hobi... I would like to thank you everything. Everything you did. You made my life better, you helped me through the darkest days.”

“Of course, that’s what brothers and sisters do.”

You frowned, sitting up to look at him. “I wanted to talk about us, too.”

He seemed surprised for a moment, unsure what to say to you. His silence pushed you further to talk. “I was thinking about the two of us. I loved that kiss and I love everything about you. I hate to admit but I’ve been in love with you since I was 15.”

He softly traced his fingers on your face. “You don’t know how much I love you. So would you give us a try?”

“I would.”

“Finally.” He pushed you down to his chest kissing you softly on your lips.This time you were sure you would never break the kiss.

#jung hoseok #hoseok #hobi #suckerforhobi #jhope #bts angst #angst #jhope angst #hoseok angst #fluff #jhope fluff #hoseok fluff #j hope bts #jhope scenarios #hoseok scenarios #fanfiction #fanfic #oneshot

18 notes · View notes

aviationfiction · 7 years

Text

XIX

Autumn Dupont

It’ll get better.

This is a new beginning for you.

Though it may hurt now, ultimately, you will realize that it’s for the better.

Now is the time for your personal growth.

Some people believe that holding on and working on it is what makes you strong; sometimes it’s letting go that is the strongest act that one can do.

I’ve heard it all.

I have pages and pages of a marble notebook filled with the many different quotes and words of advice that I’ve been given in reference to divorce from Dr. Jill, my parents, Issac, and friends. Though I didn’t do it out right, I eventually laughed at every single one of them for loosely offering advice for a circumstance that none of them have gone through. Human beings tend to believe they’re expects on every situation when it has nothing to do with their life and livelihood. There’s an arrogance within that. It often comes into play when life is good on their end. For that reason, they can happily assess your incompetence or shambles of a life, to figure out where not to go wrong in their own, and finally to offer you a charade of advice. It’s always from their perspective; what they would and wouldn’t do if they were in your shoes. It’s rare to have someone step outside of themselves and actually view what’s happening to you from your eyes; to feel the pain and severity of the situation and finally, to understand the hardship. I’ve flipped through those pages endlessly, reading every single piece of advice I decided that a mental note was enough for, and none of it soothes me or has prepared me for what I am facing today. It hasn’t aided in the much needed closure I don’t believe I’m ever going to get. Instead, I’ve been left internally conflicted and confused because I’m not sure if what I’m feeling is the correct way to go about this. I’d love to have the divorce party, where my friends and I cheerfully toss back endless amounts of alcohol, dance to our favorite tunes, and verbally trash every single trait about my husband. If not that, I’d love to sign those papers and walk out of there in my high heels feeling liberated and confident in the decision that I personally made for the betterment of myself. I’ve imagined it all by letting it play out like some heavily directed alternate universe scene out of a dramatic sitcom but my reality is anything but that.

I had a session with Dr. Jill yesterday evening and we discussed the stages of heartbreak that she swears by. Though she admitted there are different therapists and psychological doctors who will pan out anywhere between five and ten stages, she lives by the lucky number seven. We spent nearly three hours discussing these stages with no regard for her paid time or my much needed breath of fresh air from the intensity of her office. First, I’d been desperate for answers. Actually, I still am desperate for the necessary words or even excuses to fill in these holes that I have. The demise of my marriage has been a difficult puzzle to piece together on my own and the other party involved has been no help in bring it all to perspective. According to Andreas, it’s my fault. It’s the only way he’s made sense of our beginning, our middle, and finally, our destructive ending. I’ve yet to truly debate anyone about it; just myself. It’s a conversation that my mind has with itself when I first wake up in the morning and as I lay awake in bed at night tossing and turning with a dire hope to sleep, so the bitter thoughts will temporarily cease. The denial was strong; stronger than I needed it to be. Shane’s death heightened it. The stroke was my wake up call. I don’t know why, but when I hit the wooden floor of my parent’s entry hall clutching my head while my surroundings blackened, I knew right then and there that Andreas wasn’t returning to me. It wasn’t the arguments over the phone that ended in him angrily hanging up on me, my rants about the death of my sibling to guilt him about his neglect, or my deteriorating mental health. It took my mind and body suddenly feeling like I was on the brink of a young and sudden demise to understand we were irrevocably broken.

Bargaining? Oh I did plenty of that. Suggested marriage counseling? Check. Worked on myself? Check. Attempted to figure out what I wasn’t doing right? Check. Hell, I even worked on my appearance. I did my best to tackle every possibility there was to fix us and came up short. We haven’t relapsed. At one point, I wished we did. I desired for us to foolishly allow ourselves to toss our emotional sorrows aside and to get caught up into the physical aspect of our love, so we’d have no choice but to confront what tore us apart at some later point. He didn’t need my body anymore. Amber came into the picture to fill every physical void he was experiencing and seemingly has done a much better job than I ever could have. The anger I feel is beyond what woulds can ever express. It has taken me on this roller coaster ride of mental and physical responses to what’s happened. I scream, yell, cry, and blank out. I’ve punched a few things; knock over plenty of delicates. I’ve ripped pictures and even thrown the rings a couple of times. Dr. Jill has always told me that my anger is empowering because it is within those moments that I step outside of Andreas and realize that what I feel matters just as much. I stop worrying about what wasn’t right for him and acknowledge what hadn’t been right for me and all the hurt he’s inflicted upon me. It’s not victimizing. I don’t want to be a victim. It’s a reminder that I may actually deserve better and possibly more than I was given. Within the anger, somewhere in there, I’m telling myself the truth. I’ve come to accept this. I’ve surrendered. I’ve withheld this divorce for long enough and dragging it along is no longer beneficial for my emotions or childish thoughts of revenge. We’re not meant to be and though it’s taken quite some time for me to come to terms with that; I have. It’s painful to let my connection to my husband go but it’s far more painful to contain it with an idiotic hope that somehow it’ll all work itself out.

It’s over.

We’re over.

Love’s over.

Late last night, I was assured of my choice in a blush toned figure fitting pencil dress that I keep in the back of the closet for those days of necessary professionalism, but the high eighties Miami weather convinced me to leave it lying in my garment bag. Instead, I opted for a fairly new pair of acid washed, blue denim, cut off shorts I purchased from the California based revolutionized brand Runwaydreamz. The holes, rips, and frayed styled could easily scream hipster poser at Coachella, but with my elongated legs and caramel skin, they were a nice choice for the scenery of this beach front hotel. My choice of a top was an ode to my brother. Shane had a love for vintage t-shirts and created arguably the most ridiculous collection of them. He’d lay around his apartment using rags soaked in Clorox to bleach various parts of them and would use razors to intricately cut rips, holes, and fringe type of styles into the material. As his little sister and favorite muse, I reaped the benefits of either stealing them out of the closet that was specifically for them without a verbal lashing or he’d run around the city grabbing shirts for the both of us to create matching masterpieces that we’d go out in. He made this Motley Crue top about four years ago, here in Miami, after we spent the morning running around visiting numerous thrift shops. By that night, I was wearing his bleached, distressed, and slashed up creation while tossing back Jamaican rum and tooting my tail end up towards the ceiling as we danced to reggae, soca, and kompa classics at some little hole in the wall spot in Little Haiti. Now I’m wearing this top as an armor; a piece of him to cling to me and console me through what I wish he was here to hold my hand for. A mixture of tough and soft love; the soft often edged out the tough and he happily basked in his position as my earthly protector from all. Though it’s just threads of fabric, it’s a representation of the embodiment of him being threaded within me; within my soul. Knowing that should be enough to hold me up as I sit before two lawyers and my husband.

“Autumn, it’s mom.” She’s the only person who calls and announces her title and relationship just about every single time as if her name and number aren’t stored in my phone book or her position in my life hasn’t been engraved into my being for twenty six years. Occasionally it’s funny, but today, I am in no mood for my mother or her sometimes intentionally annoying antics.

“Hey.” I glanced between the black and white classic Converse All Stars and the Sophia Webster sandals resting on the bed and opted for the sandals. The black, pink, and orange cameo effect on the knotted cage shoes is a perfect pair with the shorts and vintage tee. Their vertiginous height would further enhance my legs.

“Where are you honey? Lauren and I landed about forty five minutes ago and we’ve checked into the hotel. We’re going to change and I figured we could catch an early brunch. Heather’s bridal shower isn’t until later on and we’re starving. What do think?”

“That sounds nice but I cannot join you. I’m extremely busy. You two go ahead and enjoy yourselves.”

“Surely you can take an hour of your time to spend it with your mother. I’m not negating your time consuming tasks but come on. I feel like I haven’t seen you in weeks. I’d like to have a meal with my child.” I listened to her huff as a bit of guilt slithered through my frame. Between work and this divorce, she’s accurate about us seeing less of one another but this is what she wanted. I’ve been living in her home and under both she and my father’s care for about two years now. After my release from the hospital, I’ve been cooped up in my second floor bedroom, wallowing in depression and boredom, for far too long. Dr. Jill has been my only escape and I had nothing to say to the woman for quite some time. My mother’s been nudging and persuading me to pick up and move on with my life; to let Andreas go and become anew again. Now that I’m officially working towards that, she’s questioned my job, my whereabouts, and now, how I’m using my time. She’s arguably the most backwards person I know.

“I can’t. Maybe another time? Possibly tomorrow if you’ll still be in town.”

“You gave me the same excuse when you came home two days ago.”

“I had to get ready to travel down here. You cannot fault me for that. You’re not being fair.”

“Okay. I apologize. I just miss you that’s all. It’s what us moms do. I worry. I’ll let you go and I’ll see you at the shower. Okay?” The defeat in her tone heightened the guilt within me as I finished pulling up the zipper on my right foot sandal. They older I’ve become, the harder it is to censor myself and cater to her need to shower me with her endless affection and meddling. Maybe it’s not my age but rather my circumstances. Affection is just not what I need right now; it’s not what I want.

“Okay.”

“I love you honey. Lauren says hi.”

“I love you too. I’ll see you later on.”

I tossed my phone on the bed; leaving her to end the call and quickly headed in the bathroom to apply another coat of the gold shimmering and warm peach Yves Saint Laurent lip gloss I grabbed out of Sephora in the city just yesterday afternoon. I went on a last minute and extremely panicked shopping run for a dress appropriate enough for today’s festivities. I thought I’d be able to nab something out of my closet and be satisfied with that. There wasn’t anything that particularly grabbed my attention so Glen happily drove me from store to store until I found an entire ensemble for this afternoon. Sephora was my last stop. I needed to grab another bottle of my favorite Armani Luminous Silk Foundation. The additional lip glosses, tubes of lipstick, and mascara was just me spoiling myself for the hell of it and upgrading the mediocre make up collection I have in my parents home.

While heading in the direction of the suite’s door, I tossed the lip gloss in yet another bag I’ve taken out of my mother’s closet. This time it’s her pink vintage Chanel bag that I’m praying I return back to it’s original place on the wooden shelf before she can ever notice it’s missing. She’s given me permission to borrow whatever I like…unless it’s vintage. I’m sure to earn her infamous glare if she notices that it’s gone.

“Excuse me.” I stepped out of the elevator and picked up my pace as I neared the doors of the Mandarin’s entrance. I bid the doorman a proper thank you as I exited and immediately slid into the already opened back of the awaiting SUV. He’d been waiting for me for about twenty minutes now. I’d taken far more time than needed flat ironing my hair. I thought about it curling it but the Miami humidity would have ruined it as soon as I stepped out into it.

“I’m heading to two six six five South Bayshore Drive.” As the driver closed the driver’s side door behind himself, he glanced at me through the rear view mirror and nodded his head with a small smile.

“That’s about fifteen minutes away from here ma’am. Traffic is down. We should be there shortly.”

“Thank you.”

I was looking forward to him forewarning me about a bit of traffic or even abruptly running into a bit of it on the way there. I’ve stalled myself with the flat ironing and I needed yet another interruption to mentally prepare myself for what’s to come. I’ve rehearsed lines, coached myself into avoiding all possibilities of crying, and mentally beat myself down to a pulp so Andreas wouldn’t be able to do it to me. I’ve run down every possible emotionally insulting, dismissive, and unreasonable comment he could verbally slap me with and I meshed the tears in with the running water immersing from the stainless steel shower head as I cleansed myself. The last time I had a genuine meltdown over that man, I woke up with tubes all over the place and the reddened eyes and distraught expression of my mother’s beautiful face. I will not give him that power once more. More than anything, I will never do that to my mother again. I will never forget my father tensely describing how her piercing screams rang out throughout their entire home as she clutched my body in her arms and wailed to God for my life. She pleaded and offered him all, including her own life, in exchange for mine. My father described what seemed like a shell of himself as he watched the paramedics wheel me out of the house. Though I wish I could have seen it myself, he described a frantic Issac who used his boisterous voice and intimidating demeanor to nearly bully the hospital’s staff and two of it’s board members to make sure the best of the best were in charge of my care. Their promises didn’t stop him from calling friends and friends of friends who could reach out to some of the best neurologists in the country. Even when I was awake and just about completely alert, it didn’t stop him from walking the hall giving orders as if he were recently appointed the Chief of Staff. I don’t live for them but I do take their love into consideration. Enough is enough. I’ve exhausted all of them, including Heather, with this part of my life. I no longer have the will power within me to further it.

I thought of you when I woke up this morning and I’ve contemplated on whether I should send this or not for a couple of hours. My conscious won the battle. I wish you all the best today. Let me know if you’re okay later, please.

My fingers tapped along the screen of my phone and it was my turn to contemplate if I should say anything to him. My pain won the battle as I clicked the lock button and slid it back into my purse. Thoughts of Dante seized my brain as soon as I checked into the Mandarin yesterday. This has become my go to hotel whenever I’m in Miami since meeting him and I’m reminded of the time we spent together together watching the moonlight dance along the Biscayne Bay. Whenever I go to and from the entrance, I cannot refrain from flashing back to the evening he was standing there waiting for me. Because of the incredible time he showed me at Palmeiras, I’ve booked the beach club for Heather’s bachelorette party. We parted on somewhat of a confusing note after such a sublime time in Paris, but it was necessary to minimize any further assumptions or confusion we may form between one another or at least on my end of what has already crossed the line of professionalism. I miss him and that should be forbidden within itself. With every conversation and moments spent exploring some location in the world I’ve never experienced before, I bask in how cultured he is and it heightens my avidity to learn more from him. The glances into his penetrating almond shaped brown eyes and his overall striking countenance entices my body in manners that leave me mentally abashed. His mannerisms and demeanor reek of power, control, and a confidence in who he is that serves as a representation of his masculinity and leadership within his manhood. His allure nearly has me in a choke hold and my internal battle against it has resulted in nothing more than multiple loses.

Issac would not only fire me but he’d verbally rip me to shreds of nothingness if he picked up on even the slightest hint of Dante and I being anything beyond employer and employee. He’d then turn it into yet another example of me being an impulsive, irresponsible, and childish “rebel” and further feed into my family’s quiet thoughts about my lack of self control and responsibility. I’d be the subject of company gossip and never escape the unwavering scrutiny about the perks I am sure to be receiving in exchange for me possibly sleeping with one of the company’s wealthiest clients. Rachel would scold me for having followed in the footsteps that she warned me about. Lastly, I’d have to berate myself for treading into uncharted waters once more. To expect a different result this time would be absurdly foolish.

“Ma’am. Your destination is just one building down.” He interrupted my chain of thought as he pointed towards the window and I nodded my head as I secured my bag over my shoulder.

“You don’t have to get out. I got it. Thank you.”

The warm air was the perfect contrast to the chills running down my spine as I neared the front entrance. Upon my entry, the cool central air blew at me with an unexpected force as soon as I stopped at the wall directory to search for the appointed floor of suite twelve zero four. The elevator ride up was filled with the churning of my stomach and the spinach omelette I forced myself to eat for breakfast began to reappear at the very end of my esophagus. I could barely subside the contents from threatening to completely come up into my mouth. As the ride came to an end and the metal doors slowly pulled themselves apart, my feet began to drag themselves down the hall. The sound of my heels scraping the marble caused a faint ringing in my ears. I could only wonder if my purposeful lagging aggravated the receptionist who leaned over her desk to find the source of the noise. The smile on her face caught my attention but her greeting never registered. As my eyes landed on the woman comfortably waiting in a leather black lounge chair, my stomach suddenly dropped to the heels of my feet and my throat tensed until it was tight enough to bring me to the brink of suffocation.

The future Mrs. Andreas Scott Harrington sat back in her seat staring at the double doors of the conference room with a visible expression of incertitude. As her fingers danced along her extremely protruded belly, a soft sigh slipped past her lips and finally, she turned to find me within her presence. She froze, as her glistening skin suddenly flushed into a hue of pink and her brown eyes widened in unison with her mouth falling agape. My expression remained blank as I glared at a small piece of the puzzle that is my pain. Beyond Andreas’ actions, I’m disappointed in her as a woman. It’s her stubbornness and willful blindness about her participating in the demise of my marriage that urges me to slap the shit out of her on my worse days and leaves me shaking my head on my calm ones. I cannot fathom how she isn’t capable of hypothetically putting herself into my shoes and fearing that she too will be on the other side of this happy life she believes she’s created with him one of these days. Does she believe that the universe and the way this world turns will always work out in her favor? Will their recklessness have no consequence? The bliss clearly isn’t forever; or maybe that’s just my story.

“Mrs. Harrington you’re right on time. Everything is all set up in the conference room. Mr. Harrington arrived just a few minutes ago.” I nearly choked at the sound of my marital name and the grimace on Amber’s face sparked my own. Suddenly I felt like nothing more than a forgotten about possession on Andreas’ memorabilia shelf in his office within our home. We both belong to him. The man has his wife and pregnant mistress within the presence of one another as he sits in a conference room anticipating himself finishing off the shattering of one of our hearts. Though I didn’t expect to see Amber lingering around awaiting this entire process to be over, I am not surprised that she made the decision to attend. What intrigues me about this woman’s presence is her lack of glee. There’s a tension radiating from her dainty frame that wasn’t so apparent when we crossed paths in my kitchen. The confidence has receded and the questioning look her eyes holds a tale that I have no interest in knowing.

“Thank you.” I bid the tiny woman a small smile as I walked ahead and for the first time, I didn’t hesitate. I entered the conference room and closed the door behind myself; ending Amber’s determination to burn a blazing hole into my back.

“Ah. She finally arrives.” I glanced over at Sorrell Trope who held a smirk on his face that I wasn’t expecting to see. He’d been very displeased with my method of handling this divorce ever since our first meeting with one another and I only furthered his aggravation and disappointment whenever he’d plan out new strategies to make sure I left my marriage with a bank account filled with Andreas’ earnings.

“Hello.” I couldn’t force a smile or even muster up the strength to wave at any of them as Mr. Trope pulled out a seat for me on his side of the table. The set of eyes that I’d fallen head over heels in love with were observing my every move as I sat deliberately across from him. My internal challenge to avoid making eye contact with him already failed twice and I’ve only been in the room for less than a minute. He made it no easier by never breaking his gaze and nearly placing his hands towards the tips of my fingers as they rested on the table. The four stacks of papers and the two personalized pens to the right of the table caught my attention as a breath of air slowly flowed past my lips. They’d need my signature about a million times before this would be all over with.

“Hello Autumn. We haven’t met in person but I’m Raymond Rafool, Andreas’ lawyer. I’ve been in constant communication with Mr. Trope about the proceedings and the negotiating between both you and Andreas. You two opted out of continuing to go to the mediating sessions and there were no court appointed sessions that were legally required to attempt to move both you and Andreas towards a final resolution on the issues that stand between the two of you. There were no marriage counselors involved and if there were, they have no standing in this proceeding or any ones prior to this final step. There are no children involved so custody, visitation, or child support is not relevant to this proceeding or the settlement involved. In going back and forth between you two, there have been no issues in which you two absolutely cannot come to an agreement with one another on so there is no need for a trial. Honestly, that’s a good thing, because not only does that prolong this process but it is also costly and the results are less predictable depending upon what the circumstances of both parties are. Mr. Rafool have drawn up the legal paper work necessary to dissolve your marriage and we’ve both carefully looked over each document to assure that everything is absolutely the way you’ve requested.” His words were going into one ear and directly out of the other as I twirled my thumbs around one another endlessly and stared at the window directly behind Andreas. The blind shield my eyes from the world but I took it upon myself to imagine what was happening outside. Thoughts of half naked women cheerily skipping or skating down the sidewalk while immersed into lighthearted conversations about their activities about the night before and young men childishly howling in the direction while walking along in their summer garb; a few with surfboard strapped to their backs; was far more interesting to think about than this.

“Autumn.”

“What?” The harshness in my voice nearly startled me just as much as it did everyone in the room as I gave Andreas the attention he called for. In his usual fashion, he widened his ocean blue eyes at me and slightly shook his head in disdain for me answering him in such a manner. He always hated for me to snap at him or raise my voice though he often did it with me. Our shouting matches often became a competition for the two of us with me working my hardest to win. There were days I’d challenge myself to see just how quickly I could get him to walk away from me or walk out of our home in anger. I had to find the fun in my misery.

“Did you hear what Mr. Trope said?” I hadn’t even noticed he’d slid one of the stacks of paper in the middle of the table and he’d placed a pen in front of both and Andreas and I.

“Autumn. I know what we spoke about many times over our phone conferences and while I do understand how assured you are in your position, Andreas brought a second possibility to the table that he’d like to discuss with you. Well, we all will discuss it. You don’t have to agree to it. It is your legal right to refuse. Mr. Rafool handled every single detail precisely and I spent the last couple of days going over every single detail to make sure it is proper and fair.”

“What the hell did you do?” I turned to look at my husband again. I can’t stand to do another month, week, or even a day of this nonsense. I refuse to. I no longer have the will power to mentally prepare myself for every blow this gut wrenching process forcibly takes on my mind and heart.

“I want to give you twenty million dollars.” He leaned forward, with his elbows resting on the table, and he glared into my eyes in that all too convincing look he’d give me whenever he was either offering me false hope about something I wanted from him, bidding me a promise that he knew he’d break without ever considering it, and lastly convincing me to consider or do something that worked out in his favor far more than it did in mine. With his seniority in age, education, professionalism, and finance, he would always operate in a manner that reeked of him believing that he knew what was best for me without him ever verbally saying so. Initially, I didn’t bite back. I enjoyed having a man taking the lead and making sure I was in a good position without me ever having to request it but it also became my enslavement to his mind and deceptive behaviors.

“Twenty million dollars? You’ve gone from twelve to twenty? Seriously?” I laughed out loud as his jaw tightened. He tosses around these estimates and prices to buy me out of this situation with no regard for what all of this actually means. I’ve heard the commentary from media personalities. I’ve read around about the large sums divorcees have gotten from their significant others and I’ve seen the lavish lifestyles that they’ve living but I can only wonder if that clears their conscious of all of the hurt and anger that had to happen in order for them to attain it. Is that what it all comes to? Is that supposed to be redemption for all the damage on his end? “No.”

“No? What do you mean no? You’re being senseless and you’ve been behaving that way since we began this process.” He knocked his knuckles on the table hard enough to draw three sets of eyes on him and I aloofly sat back in the chair with a shrug of my shoulders in response to what is most likely going to turn into a verbal attack on my intelligence, character, and personality.

“I don’t want your money. What part of that don’t you understand? You had me sign a prenuptial agreement because your obsessive and controlling mother dropped numerous hints into your ear about it and I did so without a fight. I didn’t question it. I even did so without a lawyer which is damn near illegal. I wasn’t thinking about your money before I signed it, when I signed it, and I’m certainly not thinking about it now. Keep it Andreas. You’ve earned it. It’s yours. It’ll be far more beneficial to you than it is to me. You don’t have to pay your way out of this. I’d just like to sign these papers and go. Let’s do what we originally came here for. Fuck all of these extra negotiations. This is a divorce. It’s not a business deal.” As he stood to his feet, his lawyer oddly stood along with him and he bewilderingly stared at Andreas as he walked around to my side of the table and pointed at the double doors.

“Can we have the room please?”

“What?” Mr. Trope questioned him in confusion and Andreas continue to point at the door.

“Can you two step outside. I’d like to speak with my wife in private.” My eyes widened and a sarcastic chuckle followed as the word “wife” echoed in my mind repeatedly. I haven’t heard him use that possessive term in quite some time and if I’m lucky, I’ll never have to hear him or anyone else ever use that word in reference to me again once I exit this building today. I failed at that position. I didn’t live up to the standard of what it means to be a wife and he never gave me the chance to redeem myself. At this point, I don’t even know what it means to be a wife nor do I ever want to know. I don’t ever want to be here, in this position again.

“Okay. Raymond, let’s give them some privacy. We’ll be right outside.”

As the door closed behind the two older men, I hoped Andreas would return to his seat but instead he stood, towering over my frame and roughly breathing over me as if we’d already been fighting for fifteen to twenty minutes like we usually do. Before we could make it past a longer time frame than that, he would have already locked himself in his den or grabbed his car keys and left out for a couple of hours; sometimes even for the rest of the day or night. I’ve spent more nights alone in our bed than I’ve spent cuddling with him because of the team being on the road, him traveling for business, or our feuds. I grew so accustomed to him not being in the bed to the point of it sometimes being uncomfortable when he was along side me. As the distance continued to grow between us and within our marriage, I found myself sleeping on the edge of the bed whenever he’d join me. Though our king size bed was sizable enough to keep a decent extent of space between our bodies, he had the tendency to roll into the middle of the bed and just about on my side, so being on the edge kept me away from him. I don’t sleep in the bed with anyone at all now and yet I still sleep on the very edge because of my habits with him.

“Getting me alone isn’t going to help you convince me to take that settlement. You constantly talk about how stubborn I am but here you are not taking no for an answer. Now who’s the stubborn one?” I purposefully pushed my chair back to garner some space between he and I. As he backed away, I quickly stood up and stepped away from the table.

“Because I want to help you.”

 “Bullshit. You want your conscious clear. That’s really what this is all about. You want to be able to walk out here knowing that you made sure I was alright, so you can move on with your life without guilt tripping over everything that happened to get us to this point. I wasn’t perfect but we’re not going to stand here and play like the blame balances out. Your part in this is far bigger than mine. You think that you can pay me to make this right?” With a sigh, he ran his hand down his face and shook his head in clear frustration. He couldn’t possibly feel any more frustrated than I do.

“This isn’t about me. This is about you. You have to start over and get back on your feet and you cannot do that with nothing. You’re currently residing with your parents. Don’t you want to be able to move out? Do you have a car in New Jersey because if I remember correctly, you don’t. You’re going to have bills to pay. You want to go back to school. Universities aren’t free. Graduate degrees aren’t free. You need the basic necessities and so much more beyond that. Instead of being stubborn, do this for yourself. Do this for the sake of your own happiness.”

“So that you can know and say that you’re responsible for it? This isn’t about me, it’s because you. I don’t care how you try to map this out. If I walk away with that settlement, literally anything that I do you will accredit to yourself and I don’t want that. I want to be able to say and know that I earned it, whether I have to struggle and bust my ass to be able to have it. I don’t want your charity Andreas.” As he took steps towards me, I took more than enough steps backward to leave me nearly on the opposite side of the room. The frown on his face was harsher than my own.

“You’ve been married to me for six years. When the hell have I become that arrogant? I have never thrown anything back in your face. Are you kidding me?”

“You didn’t have to say it. It was your actions. How don’t you understand that? Your demeanor said it all. I am beneath you. You have done and accomplished far more than I ever have. You are the bread winner. I was in a position of dependency which allowed you to damn near run all over me whenever you saw fit to do so. I had to stay in my place on so many decisions that you made for the both of us because I was merely your stay at home wife. That’s not arrogance. It’s control. You had all of the control and I’m not going to allow you to control my subconscious by doing this. I’m tired Andreas. I have fought for you, I have fought for our marriage, and I’ve fought to save myself in the midst of all it and I’m mentally exhausted. I reached the point of physical exhaustion and had a stroke. Stop fighting me. I don’t want to fight you anymore. I’ve given you so much of myself and now I’m giving you one final request. Give me something. Let me walk away with a peace of mind.”

“You don’t feel like I’ve given you anything in these past six years? Nothing?” For the first time in the past couple of years, I saw a glimpse of the kind hearted man I fell in love with during the final teen year of my life. Those beautiful eyes softened, the hardened expression on his face dissipated, and the undeniable charm that I immediately latched myself to on the evening we shared our first cup of coffee together in our favorite little cafe swarmed me and thickened the tension radiating between our souls.

“Lessons. I learned so many in these past six years. Our glory days were beautiful. It’s almost laughable to look back on that timeframe and then to fast forward to where we are now. It’s unbelievable but I should have known better. The signs were there. You didn’t want this. Your hesitance, questions, and fears were all there and I tuned it out; you did too. All of this isn’t on you. As I said, I have my part in it. I became so addicted to you and the love. I couldn’t slow down, turn back, or let it go. I believed you’d continue to give me a never-ending emotional high until the end of my days and I should have never given you that much responsibility. I put too much on you. I pressured you. You just didn’t put a stop to it. You saw all of this coming from the very beginning and you didn’t stop it. Our relationship turned into this speeding train and we finally crashed; leaving fatal damage. I learned a lot about myself. I have some growing up to do; certainly. I don’t have it all together and I need to work on myself for a while. I have quite a bit to figure out. You took care of me. I cannot deny that. I was housed, fed, clothed, and I had the finances necessary for leisurely fun but I don’t think you considered me to be your wife, Andreas. I was a responsibility; a bill. I don’t want to become a twenty million dollar bill. Take the money and put it into a trust fund for your unborn child. Just let this go. Please.”

Silence fell between the two of us as we solemnly stared into one another’s eyes. The minimal strength I’d mustered up earlier gradually began to unravel as my eyes began to ache and fail the battle. The stinging followed with a flush of salty water and the stream began to flow down my face with no sign of halting. A knot formed in my throat at the sight of the sea of blue suddenly being surrounding by a hue of red. As weakness entrapped him, he suddenly glanced away and gave me his back to see. His head seeped lower with eyes panning to the floor and his confidence faded into the abyss.

Without a second of hesitation, I opened the door and signaled for our counsel to return to the room. There was nothing more either one of us needed to say to one that mattered, would change our fate, or would heal the gaping scars we’ve left on one another over the years.

Our fate is sealed.

“We’ve chosen to go with what we originally settled on.” Andreas made the announcement of our final choice as I pulled a piece of tissue out of the box to the left of me and dappled the corners of my eyes. It became a pointless task as my abdomen tightened and another set of parting tears rapidly cascaded down my face.

“Okay. We’ve placed a sticker that says sign here next to every single place that needs your signature. Once you’ve placed your signature on all of the documents, you’re done here.”

My fingers reached for the maroon pen as Mr. Trope slid the packet directly in front of me and I spent just a couple of seconds staring at the first page of our ending before I began to sign page after page until I finally reached the very end. In one final step, I slipped my hand into the silk pocket inside of the Chanel bag and retrieved the two rings I donned on my left hand ring finger the past six years and carefully placed them on top of the packet before sliding it in his direction.

His eyes set on the rings and finally, on me. He then slightly nodded his head as I stood up and used the back of my legs to push the chair away. He opened his mouth to speak but his words remained stuck in his throat while I placed the strap of the bag over my shoulder.

“Goodbye Andreas.”

Those were the final words I said to my ex-husband as I exited the room and his life.

“All of the gifts go right over there on that corner table with the lavender lace.”

My eyes panned over the sea of pastels covering just about the entirety of the villas backyard space and I nodded my head in content of what Janice and I had done to appease Heather on one of her many special days. Though she slyly scolded me every now and then for slacking on my maid of honor duties, little did she know, her mother and I had been going back forth over multiple phone calls, text messages, and e-mails to get this bridal shower together in a timely manner. We already had the color scheme figured out. Heather is by far the most feminine woman I know. She basks in whimsical shades and gleams at all things dainty. What we couldn’t agree upon for a few weeks was the theme. We bounced around from website to website picking apart what has been done before and eventually settled on one of her favorite pastimes as a child: a tea party. The vintage materials and pastels as well as the outdoor setting were my ideas. We envision lacy umbrellas, tons of garland, glitter, personalized desserts and tea bags, tulle table skirts and pastel tissue tassels. Though she’ll tell you it’s cliche, her favorite flower is the rose so we made sure one of the best florists in Miami collaborated with the decorating team to cover every single area of the dreamy garden in peach, yellow, salmon, cream, lavender, and pink roses. The two murals of her childhood to adulthood and of her engagement photos were her mother’s added touch and mine was a table specifically dedicated to cosmetics since that’s her field of work. Whatever touches the guests needed to do to their make up before stepping inside of the photo tent would be at their disposal and if they arrived barefaced, the table would serve as tons of fun. There’s a candy bar, an actual bar for alcoholic and non-alcoholic cocktails, and a station filled with many desserts; my favorite being the cake pops shaped like teapots. We weren’t absolutely sure if we’d be able to pull this off flawlessly but I must say, we’ve been proven wrong. Heather’s been squealing and waltzing around since the event started.

“You look amazing Autumn. I love what you’re wearing. Also, long time no see.” Adrienne wrapped her tiny arms around my waist and I politely pulled her in for a hug. It has been quite some time since I’ve seen her. Usually we’d greet one another at the home games and share a small conversation before heading to our seats. Andreas and I also attended she and Chris’ wedding. At this point, she’s more of Heather’s friend than mine. I never mingled with the wives of the players much but now that she’s becoming one of them, she might as well form a few friendships.

“Thank you and yes, it has been a while. How are Chris and the children?”

“All is well. The kids are sprouting non-stop and don’t get me started on those little personalities. Trinity is five, Jackson is two, and Dylan just turned one.”

“Wow. Trinity is officially in school now.”

“Yes. She’s in the kindergarten and is loving it. How’s everything been with you?”

“All is well.” That’s the only response I could muster up while I silently prayed that she didn’t make this extremely awkward by treading into my personal life. The last person I want to speak about is my ex. You don’t have to hear it from me to be familiar with the story. The details of my divorce settlement are already circulating around the internet and the ink hasn’t even dried on the papers yet.

“Good. I’m glad to hear that. You make sure you keep in touch. You have my number. Whenever you’re in town, lets grab a bite to eat or head out to shop a bit.”

“Will do.” I most likely won’t. Actually, I know I won’t.

“And save that dress for me.” I nodded as we shared a small laugh over my choice of attire. The nude and mahogany Zimmerman dress wasn’t exactly the look I had in mind for this bridal shower but it was the perfect shade of nude to blend in decently with the pastels and most of all, it was cut and created in a manner to be cool enough for the Miami weather. I favor the Christian Louboutin pumps and all of their intricate laser detailing far more. If anything, they’re the stand out piece.

“I’ll do that too. It was great seeing you Adrienne.”

As I jealously eyed the open bar, I took yet another sip of the passion fruit flavored tea I’d been holding in my hand while silently wishing it would give me the side effects of loud giggles, overly done touchiness, and carefree vibes as the alcohol is already doing to the guests. Instead, I’m left with dry mouth; a side effect of the Lipitor I’d taken before I left the hotel. They can care less about the puffed pastries, the strawberry and cream tea sandwiches, the prosciutto crostini with fennel slaw, or the smoked salmon and egg canapés. They’ve been drinking and mingling since their arrivals while showering Heather with alcohol influenced marital advice; most of it being about sex. I even overheard Lauren spilling a bit of gossip about she and Issac’s spicy bedroom life, which nearly left me regurgitating the mixture of salmon, mayonnaise, and herbs. I internally cringed and nearly felt like an adolescent as all the women, including Janice and my ever classy mother, chimed in on intimacy and I took a vow a silence while the yard full of married women bestowed their expertise on Heather. Despite the topic, I’m pleased that she’s having this moment to speak with women who’ve gained more than enough experience to be offering sound advice. I didn’t have that and honestly, I didn’t want it. I dived in head first, believing that I’d figure it out along the way and didn’t need the support or guidance from anyone. I was fooled.

“I sent your father a photo I snuck of you today and he said that you remind him so much of myself when I was around your age. I think so too but you’re just so much more stronger and beautiful.” As she sat along side me, she ran her long fingers through my hair and planted a kiss on my cheek. The glow on her face matched the nude pencil dress she chosen to wear for the afternoon; most likely designed by Victoria Beckham. Our matching wasn’t intentional nor was it surprising. We tend to think alike in the fashion department from time to time. I learned all of what I know from she and Shane.

“He always says that.”

“He does. He knew that you’d be somewhat of another version of myself when I found out I was pregnant with you. I didn’t think I’d ever have a daughter but a blessing came when I least expected it. My little girl.” Another kiss followed her response and I withheld the sigh I so badly wanted to let out. I love her dearly, but the affection isn’t helping. If anything, the hugs and kisses from these guests and my tender mother were breaking me down. I’ve been swallowing knots in my throat, quickly patting my eyes dry, and forcing smiles on my face since I walked out of that lawyers office and the difficulty to keep myself together is worsening.

“Hm.”

A few seconds of silence fell between us as she buried herself into her thoughts and suddenly she solemnly leaned her body toward mine.

“Autumn.”

“Mom, please don’t. Please.” I’ve omitted a lot from her, including my coming down her to finalize my divorce. I left her with the truth that I needed to be here for the preparations of this bridal shower but withheld everything else. I got myself into this alone and I didn’t want to hold anyone’s hand as I got myself out of it. She’s helped me more than enough and I love and cherish her for it. There is nothing she could have done for me earlier today nor did she need to be there to face him or my struggle.

“Okay.”

I left her at the table before she could press the issue again and to distract myself from my inner most thoughts, I began the Bridal Pictionary game Janice and I planned out. We split the guests into the two teams, with myself being on Heather’s and Janice being apart of the opposing one and we nominated one person from each team to be the designated artist. From a bowl, we pulled out phrases related to weddings and spent sixty seconds guessing for each turn. Our team took the lead until a tipsy Heather couldn’t figure out what was supposed to be a picture of her jumping the broom. Luckily, we won the Bridal Shower Bingo. The gift opening portion of the afternoon may have been the best part. To watch the bashful expressions on Heather’s face with each piece of sexy and provocative lingerie she held up for us to see was my highlight. Though I enjoyed watching her nearly fall out of her chair at the sight her most desired Tiffany holiday china my mother and I purchased as a joint gift, it was her facial expression when she held up the flimsy pink Agent Provocateur playsuit and the rose gold pasties I’d gotten to go with it. It was by far the worst of all of the sexy attire she’d been gifted and I took pride in that. It was payback for all of the moments she’s made me uncomfortable around some guys or said something extremely outlandish in front of my mother or brothers.

“So, I want to hug and kiss you and kick your ass all at once. All of this was so incredible. I can’t believe I ever slightly doubted you. You always come through for me. A tea party? Yeah, you’re my soulmate for sure.” Heather wrapped her arms around my waist and tightly hugged my frame from the side as she buried her face into the side of mine.

“I forgot to tell people everyone to wear those ugly hats that the white women wear at their tea parties but overall, I think it all came together well. I’m glad you enjoyed it. I can tell. Your breath reeks of vodka and cake.”

“I wish you had some vodka in your system for the bomb I’m about to drop on you.” As I turned to look at her, she grimaced in preparation for whatever annoying or bad news she had to give me. She’s never been great with bearing bad news. In most cases, she’ll avoid it until she cannot do it anymore and this is most likely yet another one of her cases of doing so.

“Mario invited Andreas to the wedding and you know that the RSVP comes with the option of a plus one, so of course he’s bringing Amber.” I can only imagine the whispers and stares when we’re all in the same room of two hundred guests, who are all familiar with our story whether it’s because they personally know both he and I or because they kept up with it via some credible gossip blog or sports site. I’m going to have to become an actress; outshining the likes of Viola Davis in her craft the entire night while also doing my best to keep my grudge holding mother from verbally lashing him until he combusts into a pillar of dust. We’ll avoid one another of course, or maybe he’ll purposefully greet me and pretend like we’re friendly despite our bitter parting. Either way, though I expected this to happen, I didn’t want or need her to confirm it.

“I figured. That’s his coach. Why wouldn’t he invite him?”

“You’ll be okay?”

“Sure.” No, I won’t, but it’s not my wedding. It’s Heather and Mario’s day and I’m willing to compromise just about anything for her wedding to be perfect. I love her enough for that.

“Oh and one more thing.” I finally let out that sigh I withheld at the table as I sat with my mother and she gave me a reassuring squeeze to let me know that this wouldn’t be as bad as the first.

“Please don’t tell me that he’s the best man.”

“No. He’s not. I was going to tell you that I changed your dress. I didn’t like the other as much, so I got you another one. You’re going to love it.”

“Heather.”

“Oh shut up. You hated the bow on the other dress anyway. This new one is sexy. It’s Elie Saab and it falls right in line with the different shades of pink concept that I wanted for my bridesmaids and maid of honor. Wait until you see it. Actually, why don’t you come and spend the night with me at the house tonight so that you can try the dress on. I’ll have Mario pick up Chinese from that place we love so much when we’re drunk, we’ll actually get drunk, and I’m thinking movies. We’ll do our favorites.”

“We’ll see.”

“Hey! It’s my day and if I want to have a slumber party, then you have to agree to it.” I thought about it for a couple of seconds and eventually nodded my head. She’s somewhat correct.

As quickly as she planted a kiss on my cheek is as quickly as she squealed and ran in the direction of her final surprise of the afternoon; Mario. We invited him to come at the very end of the bridal shower to brighten her day even more while also giving commentary of thanks to both he and Heather’s family and friends for coming out to celebrate their up and coming nuptials. As I looked on at the two, the idea was a brilliant one. The love radiating between the two as they stand wrapped up into one another’s arms and sharing kisses like they’re the only ones in the room is good enough proof that all of this is deserved and worth it. Most would say it’s too soon to tell but those two are going to go the long haul. They’re going to be just as in love when they’re old and grey with children and tons of grandchildren keeping them busy. She deserves this, they both do, but I’ve been on her comical, bumpy, and sometimes stubborn journey to find this kind of love and it’s finally proven to be worth it. A part of me feels like I’m losing her but overall I’m excited to see what comes of this. I’m looking forward to becoming a God mother.

Autumn, are you okay?

As I retrieved my clutch bag from the table, I thought about an answer to Dante’s question as it remained in my inbox unanswered and the trembling of my hands answered for me. Early today, I quickly signed those papers and left out of there because I couldn’t bare to watch him walk away from me again but it didn’t make much of a difference like I thought it would. He’d already done that early on. I thought celebrating Heather would temporarily cease all thoughts of him but being surrounding by everything that represents love and unity only served as a continuous kicks in the back and vicious slaps to my face. Not even the medication is helping this.

“Hey. Are you okay?” Lauren grabbed my shoulder and stepped close enough to close the gab in between us. As she used her hand to gently caress me, I stared at my sister-in-law who I’ve refused to connect with in a manner that neither one of us expected. For the first time ever, I appreciated her.

“Yeah.” She could sense the lie but she didn’t push it. Instead, she nodded her head and finally stepped back.

“Tell my mom I’ll see her later. I’m heading out.”

“Back to the hotel?”

“Yeah. I didn’t sleep much last night and I’ve been up since early this morning. I’m tired.”

“Can I check on you later? Or I can just send your mom if you want.” The hesitance in her tone softened my approach with her yet again.

“Sure.”

“Me?” Her eyes widened as she pointed at herself and I gave her a head nod to reassure what I meant.

“Yeah, sure.”

If I’m going to change, I have to change my approach overall and I’ve taken the wrong steps with Lauren. She’s never done anything wrong to me and yet I’ve sort of used her as an outlet for my unresolved issues with Issac and the ones beyond him. I’m not sure how severely I’ve hurt her or if even hurt her at all but I won’t do it again. She’s family and I need to treat her as such.

While sitting in the back of the chauffeured SUV, I began another session of patting and wiping at the corners of my eyes. This time I wasn’t working hard to preserve my make up. I finally let the tears ago. Now, I just want to keep the stains of mascara off of my dress.

No.

I gave him the honesty that I’ve yet to falter on thus far.

I figured that you wouldn’t be. No one is okay after something like that. Are you still at Heather’s bridal shower?

As the rays of the sun began to slowly disappear into the sky, I glanced out at the beauty of the sunset and did my best to bask in it’s serene nature.

No. It’s over with. I’m heading back to the Mandarin.

Somehow, I could picture him sitting back in his posh office, clothed in a Tom Ford three piece suit, while glancing out of his large windows at the unparalleled New York City skyline. The visual eclipsed the sunset. The sense of tranquillity that rushes through me whenever we’re in one another’s presence or connecting through some means of communication is by far the most confusing and yet addicting feeling I’m currently facing. I barely know this man and yet I’ve already fooled myself into believing that it doesn’t matter.

You want to talk about it?

Well of course you don’t want to talk about it. You probably don’t even want to think about it even though you can’t help but to do so. We always wish the hardest parts of our lives could just erase themselves from our mind once we’re in the midst of the aftermath but it never works out that way.

He’s accurate.

Wishes don’t always come true.

I learned that the hard way.

They don’t because wishes are desires without an attempt. You’re going to be okay. Soon enough, you’ll believe that and knowing you and how much of an intelligent, strong, and hard working person you are, you’ll began to work on actually attaining what you wish for. For now, stop going through this alone and lean on someone. You need that.

I paused and reread all of his words of encouragement, including his accuracy towards the very end.

What makes you so sure that I’m going through this alone?

I never mentioned or even alluded to that when speaking with him.

Because you shut me out. I’m sure I’m not the only one.

I glanced up as the SUV came to a halt. We ran into the traffic that I was wishing for earlier. The city failed me.

I apologize. I just had to get my mind right. You understand that, right?

I’m sure he does. He rubs me as the type of person to do the same thing whenever he needs to figure things out.

I do. There’s no need to apologize. I’m not holding that against you. You can’t get through this on your own and you don’t have to. Start opening up about this beyond Dr. Jill. Everyone may not experience the same hardships but we’re human so we do have the capability of understanding.

This man has become my own personal Buddha or motivational book. Like Shane, he always has a logical answer to everything. I don’t know how he does it.

Lately I’ve been around you far more than anyone else. I think my mother’s slightly jealous and she doesn’t even know you.

I know she’s scolded Issac for giving me that job. She won’t say that she hates it but I know she does.

You want to take some time off?

Absolutely not. I can’t bare sitting up in my bedroom anymore. I’ll go insane.

No.

I kicked off my pumps for comfort and tossed both of my legs up on the backseat. Suddenly, the traffic didn’t matter.

Well, my shoulder’s ready then. I play basketball a lot but I suck at working out so it’s kind of soft. You can talk my ear off, cry, slob, sneeze or whatever else. Now snot is gross but you get one pass for that. Just one.

For the time time today, I let out the most genuine and loudest laugh I could muster up. I don’t think I’ve ever slob, sneezed, or blew snot on anyone but the thought of embarrassing myself by doing it to him tickled me.

I don’t slob or drool. I’m not snotty either. No need to worry about that.

As I imagined doing it, I giggled even more. I’d never.

Well then the shoulder’s yours.

I smiled. I know I’ll cry again today, tomorrow, and for some time to come but it feels so good to just freely smile right now.

Thanks for letting me rent your shoulder.

Now I can see him walking around his office as he texts me, effortlessly turning his charm into words as he types away on his iPhone’s screen. His blazer is most likely resting on the back of his chair and his broad shoulders are standing tall.

Rent? No take backs. It’s yours to lean on whenever you need to. So I guess that means you own it.

My head fell against the window as I read that text three times, prompting the driver to glance back at me through the rear view mirror. He’d officially thrown me off course; off track. Whatever you want to call it.

Okay, well thanks for letting me have your shoulder.

I’m not sure if I’ll actually lean on it, but it’s nice to have the offer extended and it be genuine. He’s a great person and he continues to prove that time and time again despite our differences.

You’re welcome. I’m here if you want to talk. I’m here if you don’t want to do that as well. Alright?

I nodded my head as the thoughts of Dante in his office slowly vanished. I returned my attention to the horizon, allowing the last of the faint rays to illuminate my face before the faintly twinkling stars took over the skyline. Peace surrounded me and suddenly my shoulders didn’t feel as heavy. The weight of my burdens temporarily subsided.

Alright.

#j. cole fanfic #j cole fanfic #j. cole fanfiction #j cole fanfiction #fanfiction #fan fiction #fanfic #rihanna fanfic #rihanna fanfiction

28 notes · View notes