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wlntrsldler · 4 years

Note

hey!! love ur writings so far, could i request you belong with me with fred weasley? thanks! <3

PROMPT: based on you belong with me by taylor swift (an installment of my taylor swift x harry potter series. to read more about it, click here) Fred realizes that he loves Y/N after seeing her so close to George.

WC: 2.6K+ words

HARRY POTTER MASTERLIST

you belong with me (f.w one shot)

“Sorry,” you mumbled, adjusting the glasses on the bridge of your nose as you collided into someone’s chest. You couldn’t take your eyes away from the ginger boy to the right of you, flashing his toothy grin at Angelina. She laughed at his joke, brushing against his arm in a flirty manner. Your heart fell apart at the sight, almost making you want to crush your glasses under your foot to prevent you from seeing anymore. But it was too late— the image was already burned into your mind.

“Y/N,” the voice called, waving a hand in front of your face.

Suddenly, you were pulled back to reality. You looked up at the person you ran into, flustered that you completely forgot their existence. George. You visibly relaxed, shoulders rolling back into a less tense state, “Sorry, Georgie.”

“Fred, again?” he asked, a sympathetic look on his face as he watched you stare at his older twin longingly. George took some of the books you had pressed against your chest, helping you carry the weight of the stress that occupied your mind. “Will you ever tell him how you feel?”

At his words, your eyes widened. You shook your head furiously, tucking a piece of hair behind your ear, as you bounced up and down on your toes. You gulped, looking back at the older twin, who left his earlier spot and was no nowhere to be found. You frowned, “Never, Georgie. He’s my best friend and I wouldn’t want to mess that up.”

He cocked an eyebrow, faking a look of hurt on his face, “I’ll pretend you didn’t just call him your best friend when I’m right here-”

“You know what I mean.”

“As I was saying,” he shot you an annoyed look for interrupting him before he continued. “He may be my brother and your best friend but you’re my best friend too, Y/N. I’d rather not watch my best friend get hurt over and over again.”

You sighed, lifting your glasses up to rub your tired eyes, “It’s not worth it. I’d rather stay like this and keep Fred in my life than mess up what we have because of my stupid feelings.”

George rolled his eyes, wanting to somehow find a way to convince you to tell his twin how you felt, but when he saw your face drop at the sight of Fred and Angelina in a lip lock, he decided to move on from the topic. He wrapped a protective arm around you, leading you to the other side of the castle. “Come on, Y/N. There’s nothing for you to see here.”

The day continued to drag on with everyone whispering about their excitement for the Yule Ball. You tried your hardest not to roll your eyes at the constant gushing from the girls you passed about their dates. George chuckled beside you, copying the scowl on your face, and gagging as Hermione and Ginny talked about their dates.

You looked up at him as you sat down next to each other, “Who are you going with, Georgie?”

“No idea,” he replied, “Wanna be my date?”

“George Weasley, do not take me as your date because you pity me.”

“Hey, I’m sure I’d have more fun with you than with any other girl I may ask,” he argued, nudging you with his elbow. “What do you say, Y/N? Let’s show my dumber and less attractive twin what he’s missing out on.”

You couldn’t help but laugh at his words, unable to stop the smile that appeared on your face. “Can’t wait.”

George saw you like a sister— almost like Ginny. He wanted to protect you and make sure you were alright, that nobody could hurt you. It just happened to be that it was his daft and dear twin brother to be the perpetrator. He saw this one coming, really. Growing up together, he saw the way you and Fred always had a special connection. It wasn’t until you began to understand your feelings did you stray closer to him than Fred. He took pride in being the more sensitive brother, more observant than the older one, so he always made sure he was there to pick up the pieces after everything happened, like a brother would.

George caught onto your feelings for his brother a few years ago when he saw you staring at him a bit too long for it to be friendly. For years he watched you pine after Fred, too afraid to face rejection or to lose your friendship to say anything. If it were up to George, he would lock you and Fred in a room together until you confessed to him how you felt or until Fred got his head out of his arse long enough to figure it out himself. But he knew it wasn’t up to him so he had to go through the pain of watching his two bestest friends in the world run around in circles. It’s pathetic if you asked him.

You weren’t exactly discrete with your feelings. You were sure all of the Weasleys— Charlie included, who hasn’t seen you since you were 13 when he took a break from tending for his beloved dragons, choosing to visit the Burrow for the summer— caught on to your affections, apart from Fred. Molly would often assign the both of you to do chores together. Even Harry, the most oblivious person you’ve ever met in your life, knew of your feelings for Fred.

You’ve come to the conclusion that nobody could be that clueless. Fred was simply ignoring your feelings so he didn’t have to be the one to break your heart.

The night of the Yule Ball was equally magical as it was confusing for Fred. You descended from the steps, looking gorgeous as ever, snatching the breath of everyone who awaited at the bottom. George beamed proudly at you, eyes twinkling as he watched you strut down with confidence. Fred’s back was turned, not seeing your entrance as he was too busy chatting with his date. You didn’t expect any less from him— he was a gentleman.

It wasn’t until Ron spoke up did Fred finally turn around to look at you. Ron’s eyes bulged out of their sockets, “Blimey, Y/N, when did you get so fit?”

When Fred turned around, his jaw fell to the floor. It was like everyone else disappeared. Angelina’s chatter was reduced to white noise. The sound of the music from inside the Yule Ball was faint. All he could focus on was you.

Ron has a point, Fred thought.

You looked absolutely gorgeous. The color of your dress complimented your skin so well. You looked so mature, no longer the shy girl that he and his brother took a liking to. You were Y/N. And Godric, you were absolutely breathtaking.

Hermione slapped Ron’s arm, scowling, “Ronald, that’s not very nice.”

You chuckled, eyes darting over to Fred for a split second. You blushed when you saw him staring back, mouth agape, like he couldn’t believe it was you. You immediately moved your eyes to the younger twin, taking his outstretched hand before he leaned closer to your ear. George’s breath tickled your skin, making you shiver. He whispered, “Looks like you got his attention.”

You were flustered, hiding your face in the crook of George’s neck to hide the redness of your cheeks. He laughed at you, pulling away to guide you to the entrance. Because your back was turned, you didn’t see the confused look on Fred’s face.

Since when did that start? He made a mental note to ask his twin about it later, an unfamiliar feeling overcoming his senses as he watched George’s hand find the small of your back.

“Fred?”

He snapped out of his thoughts, now aware of the beautiful girl by his side. He turned his head to look at Angelina, an apologetic look on his face. He sent her a small smile, “Sorry, love.”

“No worries, you ready to go in?” She asked, looping her arm through his. He nodded, clearing his throat, trying to shake the image of you and his brother out of his head. As they walked in, Angelina spoke again, “I didn’t know Y/N and George were a thing.”

“They’re not,” Fred blurted out, blinking rapidly as Angelina shot him a quizzical look. He was sure his cheeks were now pink, a sure sign of his embarrassment, “Uh, I mean- I don’t think they are, at least. I’m sure they would’ve told me. He’s my brother and she’s my best friend, after all.”

You would’ve told him, right?

Fred would be lying if he said there wasn’t a weight lifted off his chest when George stumbled into their shared room at 11 PM. He couldn’t bring himself to spend the night with Angelina because the thought of you and George plagued his mind. He shivered at the thought that George would take you back to your room, and Merlin knows what else might ensue. Fred didn’t want to think about it.

He laid in the dark, hoping that the younger twin would make his way inside at a reasonable hour. He still had on his dress shirt but his tie was undone as he laid against the frame of his bed, arms folded behind his neck. His shoes were in two different places in the room. He quite literally shook them off his feet, frustrated that he didn’t know what he was feeling. Fred perked up at any sound that might indicate George’s arrival, deflating when the sound of footsteps walked past his door.

Finally, George walked in, shoes in hand but the rest of his ensemble still neatly on his body. Well, that’s a good sign, Fred thought. George flicked the light switch on, making Fred hiss at the sudden light. The younger twin threw his shoes at Fred, thinking there was an intruder in their room, half-expecting Fred to still be out with Angelina.

Fred squinted his eyes, “What was that for?”

“Oops, sorry,” George chuckled, undoing his tie and plopping onto his bed. “Didn’t expect you to be back so early.”

“I could say the same about you.”

“Why is that my dear brother?”

Fred felt bile rise up his throat, hating the words that rolled off his tongue, “You and Y/N looked rather cozy.”

George cocked an eyebrow, leaning forward to interrogate his brother, “Is that a problem?”

Fred was too worked up to detect the teasing tone in his twin’s voice. He cleared his throat, choosing to look everywhere else but at George’s smirking face. “Yes it is a problem. I’d like a heads-up next time my brother and my best friend start shagging.”

He snorted, “We’re not shagging, you git. We’re just best friends.”

“I thought I was her best friend too and she didn’t go to the ball with me. She went with you, so I find it hard to believe that you’re just friends.”

“Believe what you want, dearest brother,” George hummed, getting up to get ready for bed. “But did you even ask her to the Ball? I’m sure she would’ve said yes if you did.”

“Well, I’m dating Angelina so that wouldn’t work.”

“Precisely,” George rolled his eyes, throwing his balled up tie in his brother’s direction. “That’s why she went with me. You’re dating Angelina, so what’s got your knickers in a twist?”

“I do not have my knickers in a twist.” Fred huffed, getting up to do the same. Silence fell upon the two boys. George was enjoying their confrontation a bit too much, while Fred was now rethinking everything he thought he knew. Was it possible that he was jealous?

No, that couldn’t possibly be it.

Can it?

You’ve preoccupied Fred’s mind since the Yule Ball. Although, he hasn’t brought up his suspicions— and as much as he won’t admit it, his jealousy— over your relationship with his twin, he hasn’t been able to stop thinking about it. It’s gotten in the way of a lot of things.

For starters, Angelina grew tired of Fred’s absentmindedness, forgetting dates and always daydreaming or staring off to where you and George sat when he was with her. She broke it off with him, and truth be told, he was relieved.

He skipped over to where you and George sat, prying the both of you away from each other as he squeezed himself between you. He ignored George’s protests and turned his back on his brother, facing you with a comedic smile on his face, “Hello, Y/N.”

You raised your eyebrows, pushing your glasses up the bridge of your nose, “Yes, Freddie?”

“Just wanted to see how my best girl is doing.”

You shook your head playfully, trying to hide the obvious blush on your cheeks. George giggled from behind Fred, getting up to leave the two of you alone. George knew his plan would work.

You pushed Fred off a bit, his body heat making you more flustered than ever, “Put a cork in it, Weasley. I’m sure your girlfriend would not appreciate you saying that to me.”

“My huh?” he cocked his head to one side, a twinkle of mischief in his eye as he explained his situation to you. “I don’t have one of those anymore, my dearest.”

You dropped your quill, shocked, as you turned to the red head beside you. You imagined he would be much sadder, given the fact that he no longer had a girlfriend, but the grin on his face told another story. It made you believe that the boy in front of you was pulling your leg. You rolled your eyes, crossing your arms over your chest, “Not funny, Weasley. Don’t joke about that.”

“Not joking,” he mused, shrugging it off like it was no big deal. “We broke up like two weeks ago.”

“And you’re not in shambles right now because..?”

“Because it was bound to end, anyway.”

A puzzled look took over your features as you gave Fred your undivided attention. His eyes were studying your face, a small smile tugging on his perfect lips. He leaned over and tucked a piece of hair behind your ear, keeping his hand there longer than necessary, cupping your jaw. You managed to speak despite the shocks that shot through your body— albeit it was more of a squeak, but you were proud of yourself for even uttering something out, “Why is that?”

“Someone…” he trailed off, brushing your skin with the pad of his thumb before blushing madly, like he just became aware of what he’s been doing. You suddenly missed his touch when he pulled his hand away. Fred cleared his throat, “Someone else caught my attention.”

You whispered, still half-dazed from his previous action, “Oh.”

“Y/N?” Fred mumbled, eyes glued to your lips.

“Mhm?”

He licked his lips, inching closer to you. His breath tickled your lips, making your heartbeat a million miles an hour. “Can I?”

“If you want,” you gulped, allowing yourself to melt under his touch.

“I’ve never wanted something more than this. You belong with me.”

“Shut up and kiss me, Weasley.”

He smirked before letting his lips touch yours. He pulled you closer to his body, almost forgetting that you were both in public. It’s not like he cared much over an audience anyway. He only pulled away from you when he felt his ear being twisted. Fred grimaced in pain, eyes screwed shut.

You giggled as you watched Professor McGonagall picking him up by the ear. She wore a fond look on her face that she tried to disguise with a scowl, “Mr. Weasley, I will not have you corrupt one of my best students.”

“Come on, Professor,” he groaned, sending you a cheeky wink, “With the way she was kissing me back, she was the one corrupting me.”

You flushed red, placing your face in your hands, “Weasley!”

Unfortunately, he got a week’s worth of detention. It was worth it because he got a girlfriend in return.

TAGS: @rexorangecouny

#harry potter #harry potter fanfic #harry potter imagine #frances x taylor swift x harry potter #fred weasley #fred weasley imagine #fred weasley x reader #fred weasley x yn #fred weasley fanfic #fred weasley one shot #frances writes #frances song fics

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iwantitiwriteit · 3 years

Text

Slow Burn: Book I - Part 7

The Lunch - Small Thank You’s

Pairing: Chris Evans x Famous!Reader

Summary: You and Chris get to know each other better over a flirty friendly lunch.

Warnings: Fluff, spinkle of Angst, Profanity, phonetic spelling of words said in a Boston accent because I needed a laugh

Notes: Hey loves! Hope you all are well! It’s been a while— praying I didn’t forget how to write too bad and y’all enjoy this installment lol. Little FYI: I’m basing the reader’s music off of that of Banks and SZA. Before you dive in, set the mood with the moodboard + music specially curated to go with this part! Read the previous part here.

The GPS said the drive from the museum to the restaurant would be… well, you were distracted from that bit of information. Not that it would matter. Chris keeps making turns against the suggested route, citing that this was “his city” and that he’s a “real Boston boy”.

What you do know is that the talking and laughing with Chris made the car ride seem all too short. Pointing out familiar streets and landmarks, he lit up telling you his childhood stories laced within the city. Pardon, his city. The glint in his eyes and excitement in his voice sent tiny sparks up your spine, but you did your best to ignore it.

Chris tried to guess where you had the two of you going for lunch. You, however, wouldn’t give in to his guesses. Eventually, you arrive at a market of sorts, a culture clash of small businesses and patrons. It’s in an area Chris is familiar with, but he never thought much of coming to.

“I thought we were going to a restaurant?” Chris inquires, not seeing a food establishment from his spot in the driver’s seat.

You puff out your jaw, squint your eyes, and proceed with your best ‘Godfather’-like impersonation as you tell Chris,“I thought you would’ve learned to stop asking me questions by now, hm.”

“That... was horrible.” Chris’ deadpan causes you to giggle in response.

“I know! Now c’mon; I’m starved!” You draw out as you reach to let yourself out of the car.

“Woah, woah, hold on,” Chris stops you with a gentle hand on your arm. You questioningly look over your shoulder at him. He unbuckles his seatbelt and gets out of the car. Settling back into your seat with a huff of delighted shock, you realize what he’s doing.

Chris jogs to your door, the returning drizzle giving him a sense of urgency. He opens the door for you then offers his upturned, open hand for you to choose to take. You hesitate for a millisecond before obliging, delicately placing your smaller hand in his large palm.

You’re unsure of the last time anyone was this... chivalrous to you. Trying not to dwell on it too long, you give him a soft-spoken ‘thank you’. Chris responds with an equally soft ‘of course’. You both find it difficult to meet each other's eyes, missing the shy smile the other is sporting.

“Lead the way,” Chris gently prompts with a hand extended in the market's direction.

Mildly busy, the market is livened by business people, college students, housewives and househusbands alike. Store fronts of small businesses ranging from sustainable fashion to high-end housewares line the long cobble stone path, accented by fairy lights for added whimsy. Chris curiously takes in the sights from beneath a low baseball cap and hoodie. He’s sure to not let his eyes linger too long for fear of locking with anyone.

Meanwhile, you’re walking with purpose, leaving a distracted Chris behind. He catches up when he notices you turn a corner in his periphery. When he follows the path you took, he finds you by a green, white, and red beaded archway.

You pause and look up at Chris, a playful grin on your lips that makes his heart skip a beat. He’s looking down at you, brows raised with utter anticipation. You think this might be your favorite expression on him. You pull back and step through the beaded entrance, Chris following suit closely behind you.

“Woah…” It was almost as if that small act of stepping over the threshold transported you both to Sicily. The faint notes of Italian standards play in the background as Chris gawks at the charming restaurant.

The mostly occupied dining area is quaint, housing about 10 tables max, including a couple of booths. The walls are decorated with floor-to-ceiling built-in shelves of libations from Italy. The alcohol display is interrupted by creeping vert vines that add that little bit of spice to the space.

As a waiter walked by, Chris breathed in deeply, the warm aroma of marinara sauce, freshly baked bread and Italian spices filled his nose and lungs.

“How’d you manage to find the one Italian restaurant in the greater Boston area I’ve never been to, much less heard of?”

“Hmmm… must not be as much of a Boston boy as you think,” you say with a wink, and Chris scoffs through his lopsided smirk.

“There she is!” a bellowing voice familiar to you draws yours and Chris’ attention away from each other. Chris looks on as the short, husky man pulls you in for a cheek-to-cheek kiss. “It’s been too long! Mi sei mancata la faccia!”

“Charlie, you know I have no idea what you’re saying, but I like the way you say it!” You share a laugh with your Uber driver-turned-friend. “And what do you mean ‘it’s been too long’! I was just here last week.”

“5 days ago to be exact. 5 days since you, ya castmates… most importantly ya directah,” Charlie stresses lustfully in his strong Boston accent, “have swarmed Ma’s restaurant. Whassup with that, huh?”

“The real question here is what’s up with your crush on Sonya, huh?” you tease him. Charlie’s smitteness with your director has not gone unnoticed.You can practically see the hearts forming in his eyes at this moment.

“I doan know what ya tawkin about.”

“Uh-huh, sure.”

“Enough abowut it! Let’s get ya seated and you can tell me who’s ya new friend,” Charlie says, motioning to Chris.

When you’re seated in a corner booth by a rainy window, you introduce the two men.“ This is Chris, my, uh…um…” You hadn’t really thought about what to call your relationship with Chris. It’s been… rocky up until this point, and while you’ve been friendly, you’re certainly not friends. Not yet, at least.

Chris notices and understands your hesitance, a small part of him hoping it’s because you don’t want to friend-zone him. “It’s alright, don’t worry your pretty, little head about it,” he teases you, earning him an eye roll. “We’re… acquaintances, right?”

“Right! Acquaintances… I guess?” It didn’t feel right, a little too impersonal, but you’ll roll with it for now.

“‘Acquaintances’?” Charlie sizes Chris up, a comical sight considering the dramatically different statues of the two men. He tilts his head and squints at Chris’ face, his expression melting from intimidation to inquisition. Chris tenses, knowing the look he’s being given all to well. “Been here before, Chris? You look mighty familiah…”

“Umm… no... I don’t… don’t believe so,” Chris answers almost timidly. The avoidant gaze into the plastic covered menu, the heated cheeks that shone the same color as a tomato— you know that look all too well. You decide to do what you hoped someone would do for you.

“He’s just got one of those faces! But um, I’m ready to order if you are?” you try to deflect. Charlie doesn’t think much of it and takes down your meal decisions, but that small act means the world to Chris. He mouths ‘thank you’ from across the booth, and you smile and tip your head in a slight nod, sure he would’ve done the same for you.

You order your usual, spaghetti with vegan meatballs, and a glass of the house white wine. Chris has what you’re having except he’s ordered a “tonic”, which you learned the hard way the other night is Bostonian for soda. Charlie is back promptly with your drinks and breadsticks and ensures that your food will arrive shortly with a small smirk on his face that you don’t think too much of.

It’s quiet at your table for quite some time. Both you and Chris take small sips from your glasses, nibble at the garlic-y bread, look out the window and around the restaurant. As you do so, you run through a list of conversation starters in your head but you’ve deemed them all too dumb, too boring or too invasive. Why the hell do I care so much? You glance up at Chris and wonder if he’s going through the same irrational inner turmoil you are. Maybe he’s not, or maybe he’s overcome his when he finally breaks the silence.

“So, um… how long have you been a vegan?”

“Um… how long have we been shooting this movie? My character— she’s very, uh… power to the people— and plants,” You chuckle out. “Figured it wouldn’t hurt to give it a try myself. Go a little method,” you say with a shrug.

Chris waves his breadstick at you as he asks, “You believe in all that method stuff?”

“I don’t know… I’m really new to this whole acting thing, but I guess I just like the idea of really connecting with this character in every way I can. She reminds me so much of myself at that age.”

“How so?” Chris presses on.

“She’s… sure. She’s sure of herself… of her judgements and decisions. She’s sure of her hand in her own success. And that breeds this really un-fuck-with-able confidence in her that if I had an ounce of, it’d be over for you hoes,” you end with a slow nod and look off into the distance.

Chris laughs at your dramatics, but it dawns on him what you’ve shared. “Wait… you’re telling me that’s not you now? I mean, I know I’ve only known you a short time, but you seem pretty un-fuck-with-ably confident to me.”

“Ha! Guess I’m a better actress than I thought,” you mutter. Chris knows it’s meant to be a joke, but watching as you fiddled with the rings on your finger, his chest tightened. A look of sympathy must’ve shown on his face, because you start to wish you hadn’t said anything at all. Did I just overshare? God, I thought I outgrew that.

To save you from your minor embarrassment is Charlie with the same smirk from earlier. He gently places the order in the center of your table, and you finally understand what his face was trying to give away earlier.

“We’re, uh… runnin’ low on plates...” is Charlie’s half-baked explanation. “Buon appetito!” he offers before hastily leaving.

Sat between you and Chris was the meal you ordered, yes, but on the single largest plate you think you’ve ever seen. One plate of spaghetti for two people— two practical strangers— to share. The embarrassment just won’t stop, will it?

Elbow perched on the table, your hand acts as a visor of sorts on your forehead as you massage away the headache forming at your temple. You can’t see Chris, just hear him chuckling and breathing out an “oh man…” under his breath. His fork comes into view as he twirls the pasta onto it. You peek under your hand up at him.

“What? Not gonna just look at it!” Chris insists. “Now, let’s see what this vegan meatball is about… DAMN! That tastes legit!” You giggled at his enthusiasm and felt your tension melt away.

You began to dig in as well. It was fine, normal even, for a few moments. You could almost forget you’re sharing one big ass plate of pasta with one of Hollywood’s most sought after stars at a hole-in-the-wall Italian restaurant. Yep, very normal. As long as I keep from oversharing the rest of this afternoon, everything should be fine… you thought to yourself.

“Tell me… how are you liking Boston?” Chris asks.

“It’s fine.”

“‘Fine’?! Just fine.”

“It’s great Chris, no need to get your panties in a twist. But, ya know… It’s just not…”

“Home? Yeah, I get that. Where’s home for you?”

“Um… well I guess home has never been a single place for me. It’s with people I love, as cheesy as that sounds. Home is where my heart is…” you trail off as you remember you shouldn’t share too much.

“And your heart is with family, friends… a boyfriend…?” Chris slips in.

“What is this? 20 questions?” You quip as you sip on your white wine.

“Maybe... if you want. You can ask me something.”

“Hmm… Ok…” You ponder over what to ask him as you twirl your pasta around your fork. “What is… mm no. How about… nah, wait.” Chris huffs impatiently as he awaits your first question. “Ok! I got it!”

“Alright, lay it on me.” Your breath hitches at his word choice and you hope doesn’t notice. Why’d he have to say it like that?! You clear your throat and ask your question.

“What’s your favorite song of mine?”

“Really? That’s your question? So conceited…”

You giggle before explaining, “Well, I only ask ‘cos a little Scottie told me he saw you, and I quote, ‘full on rocking out’ to one of my songs. I’m just curious which one it was.” You sip on your straw and peer up at Chris, watching for his reaction.

Chris groans, covering his face while sinking down the booth seat. You can’t hear too much of what he's saying behind his hands and over your laughter, but it sounds like he’s cursing Scott’s name. When he finally restores some gumption, he places his hands on his napkin, eyes fixated on his fingertips picking at the dampened corners. Teeth sunk into your bottom lip, you try your best to bite back your amusement to not further Chris’s obvious embarrassment.

“Ok…” Chris sighs out, “ I’ll admit it! I’m man enough to own up to it,” he shrugs. “Yes, I was ‘full on rocking out’ to your music. You’re amazing at what you do.”

Your face heats up, not expecting the compliment. You don’t know what to say. It’s not like you’ve never heard it before. In fact you’ve heard it a lot the past couple of years, you’d thought you’d become numb to it. Yet, for some reason, sitting across from Chris, his eyes looking tenderly into yours, the compliment you’ve heard a million times before just… hits different. “Thank you.”

“Of course.”

You clear your throat and break eye contact with Chris. “You still haven’t answered my question, though...”

“Right! Hold on…” Chris says as he fishes his phone from his front pocket. He scrolls through his music app to find the playlist he’s made of his favorite songs of yours. Your cheeks burn even more intensely as you watch. “‘Gemini Feed’ is my favorite to dance to; hands down! But I also really love ‘Drew Barrymore’; it’s fun… but sad, ya know? What am I saying; of course you know; it’s your song!”

You giggle in somewhat disbelief of watching Chris motherfucking Evans geek out over your songs!

“Well… this is a rare opportunity I have, to talk to the artist herself, that is. So, I have to ask, how did that song come about? From personal experience, I suppose?”

“Yeah… um, gosh. You want the full or abridged version of the story?”

“Full! Are you kidding me?!”

“Ok, ok! Well, it was right before my album was set to come out, and my boyfriend-at-the-time dumped me,” you laugh lightly at the now-funny memory. “After weeks of heated arguments and projecting his career insecurities on to me, he picked his final fight with me about how I was “acting too famous for him” and just ended things.”

“Damn.”

“Yeah... It completely caught me off guard. I couldn’t think straight in the studio that day, so I ended the session earlier and went to a party, per my best friend-slash-manager’s coercion. She’s a bad influence.”

“I like her style! Did the party help?” Chris asked.

“Well, it was on the higher-end of house parties, and I just wasn’t used to being around such an expensive lifestyle yet. But guess who was there because why wouldn’t he be?,” you exhale and roll your eyes as you reminisce.

Chris leaned in with intrigue. “The Ex?”

“Mm-hm. In my standard walk-in-the-party-scan of the room, I spot him. I should've known because that party was very much his scene, but what I wouldn't have guessed is that he'd be there with some other woman.”

“What?!”

You nod your head as you proceed to spill the tea to Chris. “This dude is there with another woman, after being out of a relationship for all of 8 hours. I think the worst part is that she looked nothing like me. Like, imagine the complete opposite of me to the hottest power, that was who was hanging all over that idiot.”

“He is a total idiot for letting you go.” You don’t know what to say to Chris’ statement and quite honestly forgot where you were, what you were talking about… “What happened next?”

“Right! We locked eyes for a moment and there wasn’t anything from him. No emotion at all. Like, he didn’t care that our relationship just ended. But then I had the thought that maybe we’d been over for a while and I had just been too distracted to realize and accept the party was over.”

“Jimi peeped what was up and got me out of there. I hoped that we could go home so that I could cry on her shoulder all night. Instead, she dragged me to a real house party. I so badly wanted to pity myself, but the energy there was too infectious to not enjoy; it felt like a 90s movie!”

“The next day, I went through my crazy ass camera roll, and I couldn’t help but... smile… and laugh! Then I thought about him, and how stupid he made me feel, and I don’t know… I kinda put all these weird, conflicting emotions into this one song, and felt better afterwards. Like I was turning a page.”

Chris didn’t immediately say anything, taking in the very personal story you shared. The somewhat unfortunate event that fueled his favorite lyrics. He looked at you carefully and quietly. However kind he looked in this moment, it didn't matter much to the creeping thoughts in your mind.

The silence made you self-conscious. You took inventory of your physical, how your face was hot, how your chest felt tight. Your left hand had somehow migrated into Chris’ right hand in the middle of the table. “I, uh— my bad…” you start as you take back your hand.

Chris quickly grabs your hand before it gets too far. “Thank you for sharing that story with me... and your music with the world. Your confidence in your vulnerability is really fucking inspiring. Thank you. Seriously, thank you,” he gives your hand a gentle squeeze for emphasis. He’s looking at you with a boyish smile and tilted head that makes you break down and smile at him, too.

“Thank you,” you return, just barely above a whisper.

——————————————————————————

You and Chris spent the rest of your time at L'amore Della Madre exchanging stories of love lost and life wins, sharing loud laughs and silent signs of admiration. To anyone on the outside looking in, it may have seemed like two had known each other longer than you actually have.

“I gotta say, I don’t like this,” Charlie whispers to you. He pulled you aside for a moment to say your goodbyes, while Chris waited for you outside. “Mostly becahse it was supposed to be my jahb to set you up with a nice Italian boy, but you’ve brought your own,” he says with a smirk.

“Oh, no! It’s not like that! Chris and I aren’t— wait… how’d you know he’s part Italian?“

“I have my sources… which may be the wait staff who are big fans of the guy. Here this is from them,” Charlie hands you a to-go box.”It’s tiramisu… for two,” he winks.

“Oh my god! I told you, we--”

“Will thank me at your wedding!” Charlie says as he waves you out of the door to the sidewalk where Chris is waiting.

“Wedding? Who’s getting married?” Chris asks.

You let out a sigh and shake your head. “Nobody. Want dessert?”

You and Chris small talk and walk and eat tiramisu on your way to the car. It was nice. It was normal. It felt… real. You didn’t realize how much you needed and missed small, yet meaningful moments like this until right now.

The pair of you stop in front of a pet shop window and watch the puppies play together for a moment. You pointed out a pair of snuggled up puppies to Chris. “Hey, they kinda look like us!”

Chris chuckles when he looks, “They do!” A chocolate brown puppy and a tannish-white one lie peacefully in one another’s presence without a care for the world on the other side of the glass. The tannish-white one starts to lick and nudge at the chocolate brown one, eliciting what you made out to be a sleepy smile from the brown pup. You don’t know why, but witnessing such intimacy causes you and Chris to straighten, fidgeting and giggling nervously.

“I had fun today.”

“As did I. You’re better company than I thought you’d be,” you joke.

“Uh… thanks?” He answers reluctantly, causing you to giggle. “Maybe we could… hang out again sometime…?”

“Maybe we could.”

“Cool.”

“Cool.” There’s a beat of silence as you and Chris hold each other’s gaze. “So… you wanna take my number down?” you prompt him.

“Right! Right. Yeah, I should probably do that…” Chris stammers as he pulls out his phone. You take it from him, replacing it with your phone. You put in your number along with taking a silly picture for your contact, and he does the same.

Chris laughs at your shared child-like humor, and you revel in the moment. It was nice. It was normal. It was the first time you’d felt unmistakably connected with someone without feeling anxious of their motives or what the world thought of it in a very long time.

Time moved slowly when you were with Chris, it seemed to good to real life. But just like that, a flash snaps you and Chris out of your daze and back to reality.

You both look in the direction of the camera flash to find a young woman trying to pretend she didn’t just take a picture of the two of you. Chris turns back to you but doesn’t meet your eyes. Instead his head is hung low as he says “I really… hate that shit.”

“Preaching to the choir.” Chris looks up to your face, your gaze steady in the general direction of the perpetrator. “Makes me feel like an animal in a cage.” You say.

This is why Chris doesn’t mind celebrity companionship. You get it. You understand this strange aspect of his life that not many other people truly do. You also get the value of normalcy and privacy… and leaving when the party’s over.

“Let’s get out of here.” You say coldly and walk in the direction of the car.

Chris was baffled, to say the least. This was usually the part where you talk about how “fans” will cross invisible boundaries just because they know your face and name. However, you seemed uninterested in trauma bonding.

You were already buckled in when Chris caught up to you in the car. The energy the entire drive to your sister’s brownstone was… off. Nothing like it was earlier in the day. A simple flash changed your mood, and Chris was aching for it to go back to before. But no joke, or crank of the radio volume seemed to work.

When Chris pulls up to the curb, you immediately hop out, mumbling a final thank you to him.

“Hey,” Chris grabs your wrist gently, halting you, “You get kinda used to it. Ya know... after a while,” he says hoping you’d find comfort in his words.

You look down at where his hand was wrapped around your wrist. “Yeah… that’s what I'm afraid of... but thanks anyway.” Taking back your wrist from Chris, you turn to walk to the front door.

Chris is calling after you. He doesn't want to be emotionally intrusive, but he hopes you'll give him a chance to understand you. Help you. Comfort you. If only she'd turn around. You can't bear to look back at Chris. It will only remind you of everything good today, and why you can't have it.

Part 8 coming soon! What’d you think?

#chris evans fanfiction #chris evans imagine #chris evans x female reader #chris evans x reader #chris evans x y/n #chris evans fluff #chris evans x black reader #chris evans x you #chris evans one shot #slow burn series

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adhdeancas · 3 years

Text

For @theangelwiththewormstache, I kind of went all out and searched through your blog to see what you like and headcanon, sent a few sneaky asks to find out more, and wrote in all the things I wanted for everyone’s happy ending. it got... unbelievably long.

Merry Christmas and enjoy :)

Love, Cas over at @let-me-live-in-peace and @samwinchestersleftshoe

PS: thanks to @destielsecretsanta2020 for organizing this!

Click.

Dean sighed and nodded, pulling the phone away from his ear so he could stare at it expectantly. Right about…

It rang.

“Cas,” Dean said languidly, like an asshole who didn’t know why his boyfriend was calling him back.

“Sorry. I forgot again.”

“I know.” Dean couldn’t keep the smile out of his voice if he tried. And he tried.

“I love you.”

“I know.”

“Dean.” A hint of well-earned annoyance.

“I love you too, Cas.”

“Bye.” And another click. Dean grinned and pocketed his phone. The dumbass was still too impatient to wait for an answering goodbye. Guess they’d never be the couple to argue about who should hang up first. Then again, Dean kinda liked it this way. It was just a few more seconds of teasing and a special call to say I love you, that was kind of nice, right? Jesus he was a sap.

“Earth to Dean? Wanna stop daydreaming about your boyfriend for a sec and get back on task?” Claire was standing there waving a hand in his face, bitchface firmly planted. Dean gave her one back.

“Don’t be homophobic.”

She rolled her eyes. “I’m gay.”

“Yeah.” Dean kept walking, looking around at the rows on rows of Christmas trees. He stole a glance back at her. “Where is Kaia anyway?”

Claire blushed and crossed her arms over her chest. She would never tell him, but Kaia had hung back to give her some alone time with Dean. “She wanted to hang out with Jack. Guess she didn’t want to stare at your ugly mug all day.” A grin then, as Dean laughed at her joke.

“Fine, fine, guess you’re stuck with me.”

They roamed around a bit, both insisting on cutting down their tree themselves, Claire winning the fight to get to carry the ax. (Yes, Sam had suggested they bring a chainsaw. They had both refused because they needed to “earn the Christmas tree.”)

“Cas wanted a fraser fir.” Dean remembered, pointing to the section marked for them.

He felt, rather than saw, Claire roll her eyes, which, that’s exactly what Dean had done when Cas first told him. “Dork. Do you always do what your boyfriend tells you?”

Dean shrugged. “Pretty much. You?”

“Yeah.” They shared a soft smile before going back to their regular shit-talking. It was just The Dynamic. They searched a little bit more before they found one, the perfect tree that was big enough to make them both giggle over what Sam’s reaction would be when they brought it home.

It… takes longer to cut down a tree than you would think. Than either of them thought. Especially when you bring an ax and especially when you choose an obnoxiously large tree. They took a break about halfway through, sitting down in the snow and passing the thermos of hot chocolate Jack made them take back and forth (Claire spiked it with Bailey’s, which Dean chose not to comment on but was grateful for).

“Hey Claire… is it weird? Seeing me and Cas,”

Claire looked at him warily, seeming to consider what possible ulterior motives he had. Then, figuring she was the one with the ax, she answered. “A little. But I never saw my dad this old. Or this gay.” She gave him a grin and Dean flipped her off, taking the ax out of her hands to get back to the tree. “It’s good.”

Dean paused. “What is?”

“You and him. You’re good for each other, you can tell. Don’t overthink it.”

Dean’s lips curled up. “Sounds like something Cas would say.”

“Yeah, well, sometimes the dork is right. Don’t be an idiot.” She shook her head at him. “Jody had to remind me all the time at first.”

“What?”

“That I… y’know. Deserve it. Her. To be happy.” She put the last bit in quotes, saying it sarcastically, but Dean could see the truth of it in her eyes.

“Yeah, well, Jody’s smart like that.” He took another swing at the ax and tried to believe it for himself. It got easier every day.

------

Cas was left at home with Kaia and Jack while Dean and Claire got the tree and Sam and Eileen got food supplies. (Dean had protested, but Sam had -correctly- said that if given free rein, he wouldn’t get any vegetarian options and would get 10x more junk than they needed.) Jody, Donna, Alex, Bobby, Charlie, and the rest wouldn’t be here until the next afternoon. Christmas afternoon.

“So what should we do first?” He was a little bit nervous, being once again put in charge of the kids.

“Paper snowflakes?” Jack suggested, his excitement all too obvious from the smile on his face. Kaia glanced at him, amused by his obvious enthusiasm. Claire had braided his hair before she left while Kaia painted his nails (black, because they don’t own any other color of nail polish). It was clear they were pretty bonded.

“Sounds good to me.”

Kaia had to teach both of them how to make paper snowflakes. Cas tried to make perfectly symmetrical snowflakes; Jack kept cutting his in half on accident which made a bunch of smaller snowflakes. Hey, it worked.

“So… what’s the deal with you and Dean?”

“Deal?” Cas flushed a little. Everytime someone asked it thrilled him all over again. He was dating Dean. Dean. Was his. Had told him so, straight to his face. And he got to kiss Dean whenever, and sleep with him, and make him make noises only he got to hear, and listen to all his worries and weird fears and recaps on the latest episodes of Dr. Sexy.

“Cas?” Jack was knocking on the table lightly. Kaia had two raised eyebrows and a little smile.

“That good, huh?” She could relate. Everytime she thought about Claire she felt all warm inside, and going home to her at the end of the day was like a dream, especially after being apart for so long.

Cas looked down, called out. “That good.” he agreed.

“How disgusting are they, Jack, on a scale of cute to rip your own face off cute?” Kaia leaned over the table now, shit-eating grin plastered firmly on her face. Jack looked delighted to be in on the joke, which made Cas happy in spite of himself. Jack really needed this time with kids his own age. (Well, kind of. He was technically three.)

“Well, they do cook together…”

“Do they do that thing where one of them comes up from behind and puts their head on the other’s shoulder?”

“Oh yeah.”

“Dean or Cas?”

“Cas watches. He can’t cook.”

“Hey!” It was true. Cas was just arguing for the principle of it.

“But the movie nights are the cutest. One of them always falls asleep on top of the other one.”

“Probably at like 10 o’clock. You guys are so old.” Kaia teased, shifting her attention back to Cas.

Cas shook his head and pointed his finger at the two of them. “I never should have had children.” Kaia stuck her tongue out and Jack followed suit. Proving his point. Kids.

---------

“Hey, you dorks just gonna let us do all the work, huh?” Dean shouted from the garage.

“Yeah motherfuckers, get in here!”

Cas let out a half-hearted “Language!” before following Kaia and Jack through the halls. Claire pulled Jack into a side hug first before tugging Kaia in for a kiss. Dean would’ve followed suit, except Claire had actually left him to carry the whole fucking tree himself, which Dean, like an idiot, had actually attempted. Cas hurried over to help him, which earned him a glare lined with gratefulness.

“Oh yeah, have a happy little reunion over there, don’t mind me or this giant tree!” Dean griped at the kids. “Let the old men handle it!”

“Hey, you said it first.” Claire raised an eyebrow at Dean and pulled Kaia and Jack off into the bunker, probably to go find Miracle. Dean sighed heavily, muttering under his breath.

“You brought that on yourself.” Cas informed him, grunting under the effort of holding up half the tree.

“Thank you, babe. Very helpful.” Dean rolled his eyes. Cas pretended he didn’t feel a jolt of happiness at the most sarcastic ‘babe’ he’d ever heard.

-----

They managed to haul the giant-ass tree into the library and set it up, barely. It did almost crush Cas, but Dean tugged it upright at the last moment, prompting a joke about Cas dying again. (“Hey, you’re not allowed to make those anymore, you’re human now, dick.”) And a kiss that all the kids whooped and hollered at.

Then Cas showed Dean and Claire around the decorations they’d made while they were out. The greatest hits included paper snowflakes, ornaments, and a Christmas tree on the wall made out of old license plates. Dean clapped Jack on the shoulder to congratulate him on his crafts while Kaia held Claire’s hand and pretended not to be affected by the praise sent her way.

By the time Sam and Eileen got back, they’d decorated the tree, all the chairs in the bunker, and the stair-rail with lights and tinsel. Sam let out a whistle when he came back in, which brought Miracle, Jack, and Cas to greet them. (Claire and Kaia were busy telling Dean all about their local gay bar. Which, considering they lived in South Dakota, was quite the story.)

Dean’s eyes lit up as soon as he saw his brother and Eileen come in the kitchen with their bags. “Okay Dean, before you ask, we went with apple, pecan, pumpkin, and cherry.” Sam looked at Dean warily, who stared back at him over the girls’ heads with narrowed eyes, deciding whether or not to fight. The amount of pie ingredients he’d put on the list had been truly outrageous.

“Would like to remind you that the kids are making cookies and cheesecake too.” Eileen reminded him. Dean continued to look around suspiciously until Cas sat down on his lap.

That’s great, Eileen. Cas signed to her. He will be fine.

Eileen rolled her eyes. Whiner. Sam let out a snort and Cas grinned at her. Dean glared.

“What’re you saying?”

“Learn to sign better and you’d know.” Sam smirked.

“I’m working on it!” Dean protested and wrapped his arms around Cas’s waist, tugging him in possessively. He was going to try to sign something else but settled for a middle finger pointed straight at his brother. Hey, it was sign language.

Cas leaned back and kissed him on the cheek for his efforts. His memory landed on one particularly frustrating night for Dean when they’d been practicing his ASL (Cas knew every language of course) and Dean just couldn’t remember the most basic of things. Lamp, field, tree. The more frustrated he got, the more words started to leave him. He’d started swearing under his breath and stomped out to the porch to cool off, followed by Cas a few minutes later. Cas still remembered the drained look in his eyes as he looked at Cas.

“I feel like such a fucking dumbass, Cas. I know it’s not that hard, it shouldn’t be that hard, Sam makes it seem so easy…”

“Dean, you are learning. It’s okay if it takes you a little time. Sam has experience with ASL, doesn’t he?”

Dean had sighed and conceded this. “Yeah, he took some in college I think. I just… I never took any language, you know? Didn’t seem as important as woodshop or sex ed.” He grinned half-heartedly at his own joke.

Cas smiled back and pointed at him, signing o and k. You’re okay.

He repeated the signs, nodding. I’m okay.

I love you.

I love you too.

-----

After the pies were made and chicken noodle soup in the crock pot, Cas and Dean relinquished the kitchen to the kids and retired to the Dean cave. Sam and Eileen were cooped up in their room until they were allowed back into the living quarters by the kids. They didn’t want their creations critiqued or tasted before they were ready.

Cas waited patiently while Dean typed away on his phone, eyes narrowed to see the text. He refused to get reading glasses or enlarge the print on his phone, even though he sorely needed it. Cas kept his complaining about it to a minimum though because he liked the wrinkles around Dean’s eyes when he squinted. It reminded him that he got to grow old with Dean.

Dean looked up finally to see the fond look on his lover’s face and blushed, guilty. “Sorry, just checking with Kara.”

Cas nodded understandingly. As always. “The bar will survive without us for a few days.”

“I know.” Dean looked down, a little pleased he could admit it. “I just miss it.” Wow, to have a life he could miss, and to miss it from a peaceful holiday vacation surrounded by his family. It was… surreal.

“What do you want to watch?”

Dean sank back into the cushions, thinking. “Die Hard?”

Cas smiled at him. “Is that what you want to watch?”

Dean rolled his eyes and flipped around so he could lay his head in Cas’s lap. “No.” He admitted it grudgingly. Cas could read him like a book. It was inconvenient sometimes and other times, like now, it was nice. “Just seems like the thing to watch. Y’know, Christmas Eve.”

Cas shrugged. He put a hand in Dean’s hair, just like he liked it. Dean closed his eyes almost at his touch; he’d gotten much more comfortable letting his guard down like that lately. It had taken a while though, months of Dean staying rigid in his arms before he could relax quicker. “There are other things to watch.”

Dean reached a hand up and cupped Cas’s jaw with his hand. “Whaddyou wanna watch, sweetheart?”

Cas couldn’t help but turn his head to kiss Dean’s hand. Dean only called him sweetheart when he was feeling particularly tender, usually a few whiskeys in. This time he happened to be both. Cas loved it. “What about a double feature?”

“Hm,” Dean scrubbed his hand along Cas’s stubble and thought. Cas’s stubble was one his favorite physical things about him; sometimes Cas accused him of petting him like a cat. “What ones?”

“First… It’s a Wonderful Life.”

Dean cracked a grin and opened his eyes. “Clarence?”

Cas blushed. “I miss her sometimes.”

“Should I be worried?”

Cas tilted his head, pretending to consider it. “Considering she’s a demon? Probably.” Meg was banished to hell with the rest of the demons that had gotten out of the Empty, but given their old friendship with the Queen of Hell, that didn’t mean much for them.

“Psh, demon-shmemon. Been there, done that.” Dean pulled Cas down into a kiss, making him bend over into an awkward position that made Cas giggle. “Being a human is much sexier.”

“I agree.”

Dean waggled his eyebrows at him suggestively. “Wanna make it a triple feature? Little hanky panky for intermission?” Cas rolled his eyes, which Dean interpreted as a solid yes. “What is our second movie, anyway?”

“Huh.” Cas booped Dean on the nose. “Love Actually.”

A slow, dopey smile spread over Dean’s face. “Okay.” He paused, thinking about it. He’d pushed Cas into watching it years ago, when they were still just friends, by ‘accidentally’ adding it to his Netflix Queue and then letting Cas loose for movie night. He’d watched Cas for his reactions the whole time (and only gotten distracted by looking At Cas a few times). It had been a couple months ago when he told Cas about that. “Second favorite thing about being queer is being able to watch sappy shit like that.”

Cas rolled his eyes. “You were able to before, Dean.”

Dean ignored him. “Ask me what my favorite thing is,”

“What’s your favorite thing?”

“This.” He burrowed into Cas’s lap. A sap and a flirt.

“I thought you were gonna say Taylor Swift.” A dry witted old queen.

Dean snorted into his stomach. “That’s my third favorite.”

----

“Alright, gang, what do we say? Same place tomorrow morning, let’s say… 5?” He spun around to look at everyone, a wide smile on his face. Everyone seemed less enthused than him, although Sam seemed to think his situation was amusing.

“Dude, I’m not twelve, I’m not waking up at 5 am to open a few presents.”

“Like hell you aren’t!” Dean was smiling but it was less of a happy smile and more of a disbelieving one. Cas squeezed his arm then, stopped him from continuing his argument. Dean glanced at him and he just stared and gave him another squeeze.

Dean knew what that look meant. It meant ‘Dean, you’re overreacting again, calm down and think about it’ and also ‘stop being such an asshole’ and probably also ‘wow you’re eyes are really pretty’ knowing Cas.

He took a deep breath and pecked Cas on the lips. “Alright, princess, what time are you willing to drag your lazy ass out of bed?”

Claire smirked and sent a look at Kaia before leveling back at Dean. “Eleven.”

“Eight.”

“Ten. Final offer.”

Dean considered a moment then extended a hand. And shook. “You have yourself a deal.”

----

After they went to bed, they talked about it. These days, they always talked about it. It was one of the things Cas had brought home from his shrink appointments, and, as much as Dean hated to admit it, it worked. Helped.

Cas changed into pajamas and stretched, sending a look back at Dean. Dean rolled his eyes and started before Cas could prod him to. “Yeah, yeah, I know.”

Cas raised an eyebrow at him. “You hate the morning.”

Dean pursed his lips and shook his head, then pulled down his pants, because you should never have a conversation with your boyfriend with pants when you could have one without pants. These things he was learning. “Yeah, I do, it’s just… it’s Christmas.”

“Yes, it is. Isn’t it supposed to be a day of relaxation and fun?”

“Yeah, but it’s supposed to be exciting! Kids jumping on their parents bed at the asscrack of dawn to go to the tree, that kinda shit!” He shrugged, getting stupid worked up over it, he knew. He knew. Cas pulled him in by the hand and pressed a kiss to the corner of his mouth. “Come on, tell me how I’m being an asshole.”

Cas rolled his eyes. “What part of ‘you do everything for love’ do you not understand?”

“How is me freaking out over Christmas morning ‘for love’?”

Cas didn’t flinch away from the self-deprecation. “You want them to have the Christmas you never got.”

Dean sank his head onto Cas’s shoulder, thinking about it. He was right, of course he was, he’s always right. Cas can read him like a book, even when Dean himself didn’t know what he was doing. “I guess so, yeah.”

“That’s admirable. But the Christmas they deserve, same as you did, is the one they want. Which might not be the one you wanted.”

“Yeah, yeah, you’re right.” he sighed heavily. More than he wanted his kids to have a motherfucking Christmas-card Christmas, he just didn’t want to be the ruin of it. Didn’t want to be John. “Sorry you have to shrink my head all the time.” Dean muttered softly. Cas pulled him away and kissed him, slow and soft.

“You pay me back tenfold.”

“You’ve got a shrink.”

“I meant with sex.” Cas met his eyes, face stoic as always. He would’ve gotten away with it too, if it weren’t for the glint in his eyes. It gave him away.

Dean threw back his head and laughed.

“Motherfucker.”

“I don’t have a mother.”

Dean shook his head, grin splitting open his face. Cas himself was trying to hold it together; he kept having to push down the corners of his mouth so he wouldn't break. Dean crowded closer, determined to ruin that composure. He walked his face right into Cas’s, only reaching for his lips once they were already bumping together. Then he fell into it, pulled Cas toward him to get more, settled into the easy mesh of their bodies until Cas ended up knocking his knee against the bedframe with a loud thump.

They dissolved into a pile of breathy giggles, too giddy and soft to work up the energy to get frisky. Dean just shrugged off his shirt and pulled Cas closer to him. “You know you’re the best thing to ever happen to me.” Dean told him seriously. He didn’t know where it came from; it was way too mushy to even possibly be from his mind. Maybe it was something about the holiday, and the family, and the safety that all of it brought.

“And so are you.” Cas replied simply, eyes glinting.

“Even though I’m an asshole sometimes?” He had to ruin it. Had to put in that little bit of doubt, of insecurity. But it wouldn’t be truthful if he just swallowed it, so he let it be said.

Cas kissed his nose, which made Dean feel like a child but also like something so special and precious he didn’t complain. “Even though you’re an asshole sometimes.”

Dean snorted out a laugh and chased Cas’s lips, nipping at him in offense. He sank onto the pillow and stared at Cas where he sat up. Cas just looked down at him, adopting that alien-like quality he could still summon. “Marry me.”

“What?”

Dean smiled fondly at him, for once not at all concerned. “I dunno, dunnit ‘boyfriends’ sound way too young to you? I mean you’re practically 5 million years old, you can’t have a boyfriend.”

Cas pursed his lips, seemingly deciding between protesting his age or agreeing to his proposal. He laid next to Dean during his decision, letting Dean watch him consider. “Suppose you’re right.” He shrugged, offering up a tiny grin.

“Yeah?”

“Yes, Dean.”

“No, you’re supposed to say ‘Yes, yes, a thousand times yes’ and then burst into tears.”

“Dean.”

“Hey, I don’t make the rules, that’s just how humans do it!”

“Okay, I take it back.”

Dean laughed and pulled him into a giddy kiss. “I love you.”

“I hope so, you’re marrying me.” Cas couldn’t contain his smile anymore; he stopped trying and just stared at Dean with the kind of wonder that used to make Dean feel uncomfortable. Now, it just made him feel lucky. “I love you too.”

---

A phone rang, a bizarre ringtone Dean didn’t recognize. Sam jumped up and ran off to the map room, apologizing quickly. “What the hell, man!” Dean yelled after him and sent a look at Eileen.

Hunter call, probably. She signed. Sure enough, Sam was in the other room picking up a landline with an annoyed tone.

He listened for a few minutes, asking follow-up questions before Dean heard him say, “Rugaru, yeah, that’s what it sounds like. Yeah, you gotta burn ‘em. Nasty, sorry. Yeah, no problem. Good luck.” He hung up and headed back into the room, signing and talking. “Sorry, hunting doesn’t care about holidays.”

“So glad we’re not doing that anymore.” Dean sighed happily, wrapping an arm around Cas. Sam smiled at him and nodded.

“Me too. I had to burn those clothes after the Rugaru thing.” He shuddered, the memory of the stench enough to make him happy for an empty stomach.

Eileen shrugged. Never had to deal with one of those.

“Lucky.” Dean promised her. Cas nudged him, nodding toward Jack. He was shaking a wrapped box with his name on it, a look of deep concentration on his face.

“Whaddya think it is, kid?”

Jack shook his head. “No idea. Can I open it?”

“Go for it.”Jack tore into it, no regard for the painted newspaper (yes, it was recycled, Cas and Sam both agreed) as he got to the box underneath. “Open the card first, heathen!” Dean joked, pointing out the card tucked onto the bottom of the thing. Jack scowled but complied, opening the card to find a nice note from him and Cas and a key taped in.

“What’s it for?”

Dean leaned forward, elbows on his knees, excited about this part. He had been the one who came up with it, after all. “Our place. We wanted to make it official, since you been, you know, visiting around a lot lately.” Dean turned a little pink in the cheeks. Jack had indeed been drifting between Sam and Eileen’s, Jody’s, his and Cas’s, Donna’s, and Claire and Kaia’s. But he always spent the most time at his and Cas’s house, trying to copy Dean and always ending up enjoying Cas’s hobbies more. Sam had told him a while back that Jack confided he wasn’t sure he was welcome there, not for the long term. So Dean wanted to let him know he was welcome. Except now, looking at the uncertainty on Jack’s face, he wasn’t so sure that’s what the kid wanted. “Uh, you know, you can just spend however much you want with us, but… you know.” He poked Cas desperately in the side, trying to get him to save the sentence.

“We’d like you to have a ‘home base’ with us, Jack. However often you are willing to stay.” Cas said simply. He squeezed Dean’s knee to reassure him.

Jack looked up at them with a stunned expression. “Does this mean I can take out the trash? And do the dishes?” He looked thrilled at the idea.

Dean chuckled. “We never would’ve stopped you before, kid. But yeah, sure.”

Sam cleared his throat, offering a smile to Jack. “That better not mean you stop coming around here though, Jack.” When Dean had called and told him his idea for the present, he’d almost teared up. His brother had come a long way with Jack. Still, he wanted to reassure his kid that he always had a home with him and Eileen too, no matter how busy he was. (And nowadays, between online classes, cataloguing lore onto an online database, and being the New Bobby, he was really busy.)

Jack jumped up, clearly about to go for a round of hugs, but Dean waved him off. “Keep going, you haven’t even gotten through one present yet.”

Jack grinned and complied, taking a bit more time with the box. He pulled out a Scooby Doo phone case, marked for Extra Protection, with Scooby and Shaggy on the back.

“That one was my idea.” Cas told him proudly.

“I helped.” Dean piped up.

“You did not.”

“I helped you pick which case!”

“You wanted to get one with Fred and Daphne.”

“Well, yeah-”

“Not everyone has a crush on them like you do, Dean.”

Dean flushed scarlet and went silent, pouting. Jack ignored their bickering and beamed up at Castiel. “I love it, dad. Thank you.”

Cas looked like he could’ve gone for round 4 with the Empty with how happy he was, but he just nodded. “Of course.”

The rest of the gifts went by with lots of shouting, laughing, smiling, and hugging. And a few tears all around. Dean got Claire a flamethrower without consulting anyone, and Cas got Kaia a rose and lavender scented pillow fragrance (“It helps ensure good dreams.”), which prompted a comment from Claire (“How’d he know you’re a pillow princess?”) that everyone pretended not to hear. Dean got Eileen a Woojer, a wearable speaker that lets you feel music’s vibrations in your body (“Because no one should have to live without Zepp available to them 24/7. Also, now you can cry with me when the sad music cues come on Dr. Sexy,” - one of their favorite activities together).

Dean jerked a head at Sam to get him out of the room, so Sam snatched his gift while Dean detached himself from Cas. They went to the kitchen, sending a couple soft looks back at their family gathered around the tree with all their new possessions. It was nice, and they both felt it.

“So, uh, Sammy, I been thinking a lot about what to get you for Christmas and everything. I didn’t want to go with the classic-”

“Skin mag and candy bar?”

“Yeah.”

“Well, damn, now I feel bad.” Sam mimed hiding his present (obviously bigger than a skin mag) behind his back, and Dean rolled his eyes.

“I finally got money, you know? Not a lot of it, but… I got a house and fucking, Cas, and… anyway. We’re finally doing Christmas and I wanted to do it right. And I want you to be as off-the-wall happy as I am, dude.”

Sam smiled widely, not even able to come up with a little-brother bitchy comment to that. “Thanks, Dean, that means a lot.”

Dean cleared his throat and nodded. “Yeah, so, I, um, I wanna pay for your school.” Sam opened his mouth to protest but Dean held up a hand. “No, listen, I know you’ve been stressed about it, and I know you’ve been working really hard on the hunting catalogue stuff. That shit’s important. And I can pay for some crappy internet school classes. No offense.”

Sam laughed and pulled his brother into a hug. “Thank you, man.” He said, muffled into Dean’s shoulder. “You have no idea how much that means to me.”

Dean patted Sam on the back, expecting Sam to pull away, but he didn’t. “Uh, Sammy.” Sam ignored him. “Sam. Dude, get off me. I want my present.”

Sam snorted and finally pulled away. Dean tactfully ignored the wetness of his eyes in favor of snatching the gift from Sam’s hands. He tore it open with all the grace of a rabid dog, unveiling a thick, leather bound scrapbook. “A scrapbook? Really?” Dean raised his eyebrows. “That’s gay, even for you.”

Sam pulled a bitchface. “Who sucks their boyfriend’s dick every chance he gets?”

Dean flipped him off. No need to argue, Sam would see right through him. It was true though. Not that he would know. Dean flipped open the cover and grinned immediately. It was Sam and Dean as kids, in a mall photo booth, being dumbasses with their tongues stuck out and their faces all crazy. Dean mooned the camera in one, and you could see the psychological scarring on Sam’s face in the next picture. A little note slapped on the page next to it said “I have more nightmares about this than about hell”. Dean laughed, glancing up at Sam before he continued. Sam’s eyes were hopeful with a glint of mischief. That was never good.

Dean flipped through the next pages. It showed them through the years, all with little notes of Sam’s internal monologue. “Grumpy because he hasn’t gotten his coffee this morning” “That’s for the itching powder incident, asshole” and more and more. There were even some pictures in there of just him that Sam had obviously taken without Dean’s knowledge, pictures of him sleeping with comments about his snoring, pictures of him singing obnoxiously in the car with jokes about ear damage. Pictures of him and Bobby shooting the shit with notes about the pair of “old men.”

Then the pictures started to change. There started to be pictures of him and Cas. Mostly just him and Cas. Standing, talking, watching TV together (this one says “angel’s first porno!” with a bunch of hearts next to it). Comments talking about personal space (“he never stands that close to ME”) and the like. One of Dean in Bobby’s panic room where Dean has a speech bubble drawn on his serious face that says “Cas, not for nothing, but the last person who looked at me like that, I got laid” and then just a selfie of Sam pulling his bitchiest bitch face.

Dean turned a little red at that, recognizing his complete obliviousness at the time, and kept going. The pictures continue, lots of fun-loving pictures of them on the road and the occasional movie or bar night, Charlie and Kevin and even Crowley and Rowena. But without fail, there is picture after picture of him and Cas sharing a publicly private moment, all with little snippy comments from his little brother. More than three of those comments are “Just kiss already!!!” Dean finally looks up to see Sam crossing his arms and staring at him with a smug, self-satisfied smile.

“When the hell did you make this?” Dean sputtered. These are a lot of pictures, Sam must’ve kept them on his crappy cell phones for years.

Sam blinked. “I started it in 2006.”

“No, I mean, when did you go back and add all these bitchy little comments?”

Sam raised an eyebrow. “2006.”

Dean blinked right back. “But you… you’ve got all these dumbass comments about me and Cas.”

His smartass little brother started to smile then, a big shit-eating grin he wanted to smack off his dumb face. “Yeah, man, you weren’t exactly smooth about it.”

“Hey, fuck you, what does that mean?” It was said in jest, but Dean’s volume control went out the window.

“Dean? Sam? Everything okay?” Cas’s voice reached them from the other room. Dean sent an offended glance back at Sam before answering.

“Yeah babe, I’m just finding out how much I wanna punch my brother in here,”

“Okay, well, leave it till tomorrow, it’s Christmas.”

“Nah, isn’t fighting with your family a holiday tradition?”

“I think you’re right. Okay, continue.”

Now Sam was just watching him with such a knowing expression it made him annoyed. He was watching him flirt with his boyfriend- no, technically, husband. Oh yeah. He lowered his voice back down to a reasonable volume to talk to just his brother again.

“Yeah, so, I should also tell you-” He closed the book and set it on the counter. “We uh… Cas and I, we’re gonna get married.” He looked down at his feet and blushed a bit, could feel the rising heat in his cheeks. Honestly, he couldn’t believe he was saying that. He was getting married. To Cas. “Obviously, you know, we can’t really, with one of us being a legally dead terrorist and the other a former angel in the body of a missing family man,” Dean and Sam both laughed at that. “But I asked him and he said yes.”

“You asked him?” Sam seemed more surprised by that than the actual news. Dean shrugged and nodded. “Wow. Congrats, Dean, really.” Sam pulled him in for another hug, which Dean happily returned. “Can I walk you down the aisle?”

Dean rolled his eyes. “If anyone’s getting walked down the aisle, it’s Cas. He might get distracted by a butterfly halfway down, he’ll need the guide.”

Sam grinned. “Come on, it’s not like you weren’t always gonna give me away.”

Dean frowned at him. “Me? Why?”

“Dean, you’re the closest thing to a parent I ever had.” Sam says it like it’s obvious, like he isn’t forgetting about-

“You had Dad.”

Sam raised his eyebrows and laid a hand on Dean’s shoulder, making his big brother look him in the eyes as he repeated it. “You’re the closest thing to a parent I ever had.”

Dean wasn’t gonna get choked up. No, he wasn’t, damn it. He’d made it this far in the visit without getting choked up, he could-

“Sam?”

Eileen appeared around the corner, making them both realize how long they’d been away from the rest. Sam looked at her apologetically, signing Sorry. Dean was just telling me he and Cas are getting married!

Eileen turned to Dean, barely giving Dean time to process a quick congratulations sign before she enveloped him in a hug. Dean laughed and hugged her back, pulling away to sign thank you. At least he knew how to do that.

Big church wedding? Eileen teased.

“Only if Cas wears a poofy dress,” Dean joked back. He only knew the signs for Cas and dress, but between that and lip-reading, Eileen got it. She shook her head with a grin and grabbed Sam’s hand. They all went back into the living room and to the rest for another round of hot chocolate and a marathon of all the Home Alone movies, per request.

------

Dean snuggled into Cas’s side and ruffled a hand through Jack’s hair and he tried to think of something more perfect than having his family all together for Christmas. He couldn’t.

#destiel secret santa #secret santa 2020 #fanfic #destiel #deancas #christmas fluff #theangelwiththewormstache #my writing #destiel secret santa 2020 #fluff #dean winchester #castiel #sam winchester #eileen leahy #jack kline #kaia rieves #claire novak

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keeyo7 · 3 years

Text

Hey everyone! I hope you’re all doing well! So I was tagged by a bunch of wonderful people to shuffle my music and post the ten songs I get, but I’ve been fixing my music and I’m not done but decided it was time haha. I’m sorry I took so long! Thank you so much @mi-corazon @eckspress @ilyzuh @islandry @cultivate--saplings @maybememoriesx @bouncing-flowers @a-pyre-of-doom @cdeadgrl-sampson @moonbeatss @m3zzamorphic @kittyterror @infinitepii and @cittaly! I definitely went overboard to make it up to you all and shuffled my library to get the first 200 songs that showed up haha

Son- Warpaint

Your Heart is a Muscle- Carly Rae Jepsen

Bad Religion- Frank Ocean

Family and Friends- Russ

Breathe Me- Sia

Opps- Vince Staples

Planet Luxury- Jeff Rosenstock

Benadryl Dreams- Soccer Mommy

Between the Bars- The Civil Wars

Death by Numbers- Childish Gambino

Cooler Than Me- Mike Posner

Smoke Break- Chance the Rapper

26- Paramore

Miles and Miles- Bas

Dreams Money Can Buy- Drake

Cyan- Ellie Goulding

Who Am I(What’s My Name)?- Snopp Dogg

Angry White Boy Polka- Weird Al

Drops of Jupiter- Boyce Avenue

Castle on a Cloud-Les Mis Soundtrack

My Immortal (Live)- Evanescence

Fuck the Fans- Bomb the Music Industry

Jungle King- Cab Calloway

Delicious- Charli XCX

Waiting Room- Logic

Privilege- The Weeknd

Come Round Soon- Sara Bareilles

Ya Know- Odd Future

ATM- J Cole

Luck Be a Lady- Frank Sinatra

Designer- Bas

First Love/ Late Spring- Mitski

Ghosts- Florence + The Machine

On My Way- Foxes

YOLO- The Lonely Island

I’m Tall Enough- Bobs Burgers Soundtrack

Hell- Foo Fighters

Bottoms Up- Trey Songz

Flaw- Soccer Mommy

0.00- Childish Gambino

Back to You- Russ

Pussy Fairy- Jhene Aiko

Gold Dust Woman- Fleetwood Mac

No Friend- Paramore

Can’t Get Enough- J Cole

Some People- Dan Mangan

ILY2- Charlie XCX

Razor- Foo Fighters

The Loophole- Garfunkel and Oates

Here It Comes- Colleen Green

I Gotta Go Places and Do Things- Cab Calloway

Mr. Hollywood- Joji

Heart Eyes- The Pat Pats/ Peach Kelli Pop

Fisherman- Adventure Time Soundtrack

Angel- The Weeknd

Too Much- Drake

Ignorance- Paramore

I Need a Doctor- Dr. Dre

All Falls Down- Kanye West

Little Weapon- Lupe Fiasco

Shameless- The Weeknd

Say You’re Sorry- Sara Bareilles

Da Ding Ding- Bobs Burgers Soundtrack

Superstar Lasy- T-Pain

Immune- gobbinjr

Be Alone- Paramore

Earned It- The Weeknd

On a Plain- Nirvana

Plush (Acoustic)- Stone Tenple Pilots

Mary Ann- Meg & Dia

Emily in Half- Laura Stevenson

Score Tonight- Grease 2 Soundtrack

Don’t Panic- Ellie Goulding

Angels Like You- Miley Cyrus

GP4- Logic

Overstimulated- Jhene Aiko

Caretaker- Laura Stevenson

Like That- Doja Cat

Between the Lines- Sara Bareilles

Psilocisyn (Love in Full Effect)- Jhene Aiko

Let Her Go- Boyce Avenue

Pull the Plug- I Prevail

The Last Great Star in Hollywood- Meg & Dia

Self Esteem- Garfunkel and Oates

Till Dawn (Here Comes the Sun)- The Weeknd

What I’ve Done- Linkin Park

Bizzy- Chris Farren

Fire- Sara Bareilles

Die Hard/ Working Girl the Musical- Bobs Burgers Soundtrack

From Where New Songs Arose- Warpaint

Dadbod- Logic

Honey- Peach Kelli Pop

To Live a Life- First Aid Kit

Freddy My Love- Grease Soundtrack

Animal- Olivia Olson

Blue- First Aid Kid

Can’t Decide- Amine

Why We Ever- Hayley Williams

Lionheart- Demi Lovato

No More ?s- Eazy-E

Nowhere- Olivia Olson

Wills of the River- First Aid Kit

Wrong Feels So Right- Carly Rae Jepsen

Ocean Avenue- Yellowcard

Another is Waiting- The Avery Brothers

Breed- Nirvana

Suite-Pee- System of a Down

Eazy Duz It- Eazy-E

Monster- Meg & Dia

Hell of a Ride- Bo Burnham

Old Times Sake- Charlie Worsham

The Bakery- Melanie Martinez

Bad Kids- Lady Gaga

Blue- Beyoncé

Sweetest Girl- Boyce Avenue

Can’t Stop the Feeling- Boyce Avenue

Vasoline- Stone Temple Pilots

Right Now(Na Na Na)- Akon

Set Fire to the Rain- Adele

Scream It Out- Ellie Goulding

Self Love- Dreamville

Tell Your Friends- The Weeknd

Hello Kitty Knife- Peach Kelli Pop

I Wish It Were Christmas Today- Chris Farren

Colors- Halsey

I Don’t Wanna Die- Jeff Rosenstock

Jealous- Beyoncé

Bay to LA- Lil Debbie

Drummy Song- Florence + The Machine

I Don’t Love You Anymore- Bomb the Music Industry

Wedding Crashers- Amine

Back to Boston- Connor Zwetsch

Panchito Blues 1- Peach Kelli Pop

Nuclear Seasons- Charli XCX

Helpless- Hamilton Soundtrack

Flewed Out- City Girls

Bleed It Out- Linkin Park

Face to Face- Daft Punk

Bad Girls- Bobs Burgers Soundtrack

New Years Eve- First Aid Kit

The Night Santa Went Crazy- Weird Al

Love Galore- SZA

Starlight- Mario

No Memory- Stone Temple Pilots

Sports Go Sports- Garfunkel and Oates

Buzzin- Amine

Midnight- Red Hot Chili Peppers

Up Up Away- Dreamville

Lay Back, Arms Out- Laura Stevenson

Believe Me- Ellie Goulding

Still Dreamin- Dreamville

We in This Bitch- Iggy Azalea

Shine- Doja Cat

On the Mend- Foo Fighters

Rich Man- Vampire Weekend

Ricochet- Bas

Right Words Wrong Time- Carly Rae Jepsen

Let Me Love You- Ariana Grande

Which Witch- Florence + The Machine

Till the End- Logic

Name- Boyce Avenue

Loosie- Earl Sweatshirt

Highway Unicorn- Lady Gaga

Act Up- City Girls

What Would You Do?- Cabaret Soundtrack

Automatically in Love- Carly Rae Jepsen

3am- Halsey

Dreams- Dia Lipa

Halloween Mask- Peach Kelli Pop

Primadonna- Marina

74- Earl Sweatshirt

New Balance- Jhene Aiko

It Ain’t Me- Boyce Avenue

Soldier Side Intro- System of a Down

you should see me in a crown- Billie Eillish

Another Round- Foo Fighters

Creep- Stone Temple Pilots

Weeds- Marina

Song For the Late Night People- Kate Micucci

Give a Little Bit- Boyce Avenue

Honking Antelope- Serj Tankian

Face Down- Red Jumpsuit Apparatus

Anyone Else But You- The Moldy Peaches

You Got It- Pitch Perfecf Soundtrack

My Hero- Foo Fighters

Hard to Concentrate- Red Hot Chili Peppers

Hello, Goodbye- The Beatles

Notebook- Melanie Martinez

Miracle- Paramore

Pimp Juice- Nelly

Planning My Death- Bomb the Music Industry

Goin Crazy- Natalie

Burn- Usher

How Deep is Your Love- Bee Gees

Breaking the Girl- Red Hot Chili Peppers

Secretly- Jennifer Lopez

Cheer Up Boys Your Makeup is Running- Foo Fighters

Between the Lines- Colleen Green

Anklebiters- Paramore

Hold Me- Haim

For the people I tag you only have to do 10 if you choose to do this tag haha. I tag @mysticbride @mindxfreak @bunnpufffs @hylia-rose @kkiska @voodoo-mama-joojoo @amessofwild-flowers @976-evil @tequilaxxxo @spewkyghoul @katyheb @eldolormasbonito @mulatto-baby @sleepingongodstits @infinitewake @heyitsish @lovelexi @ovsilenceandblack @princess-aries @cynisterrrr @mvri-vnvv @meximiri @do-we-really-exist @underdog-x-risingup @dead-and-hungry @sludgeem @olvidame @kn1fe-gf @millievanilly @poptarttree @thewanderingscribe @crystal-scenery @w4sted @rikoxxlv @ishaaaa @harsh-times and anyone else who wants to do this. No pressure as always :)

#stuff #music #tagged

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kathyprior4200 · 3 years

Text

Haven Hotel: That’s Disengagement!

A princess with long black wavy hair walked out onto a high balcony. She wore a black undershirt with a white bow tie on top. A dark teal shirt, long white pants and white high heel shoes completed the look. Her face was pale white and teal blushes were present on her cheeks. Her eyes consisted of white pupils and dark blue sclera. Perched on her head was a black spiked crown. She was the inverted, antithesis of Charlie, the princess of Hell in a parallel world.

“For all my life, I’ve been taught that all angels have good inside them. But I know that to be a lie. Ever since Lucifer and Lilith, God’s closest angels betrayed Him… I don’t think I can believe in these flawed teachings anymore…”

The princess was Coerciona Egnam, Coercia for short. She was born and raised in Heaven…though she was not at all one would expect her to be in such a place. Self-entitled and pessimistic, nothing much could cheer her up except heavy metal music, rebelling against the rules and the occasional brawl.

“It makes sense that only a worthy few are able to be here in Heaven. Choosing them out of the sea of sinner scum. Yet ironically, even the saints and Heaven-born aren’t flawless all the time. It’s inevitable that all those imperfect beings will go to Hell. They deserve to deal with suffering and challenges. Best of all, they wouldn’t be bound by social expectations. Heck, I wouldn’t be too surprised if it were me. I do enjoy my comfortable life here, just not these restrictions.”

Her servants Pub and Chub were fat white naked cherubs with horns on their heads, small white feathery wings, and black eyes. One tested the strings on an electric guitar while the other shot out torpedoes from a small cannon.

Outside was a white clock tower standing tall against the blue sky. The numbers read 0 then changed to 365 days. Writing above the numbers read “Days until the next cleanse in Hell.”

The black Exorcists did their job in eliminating part of the demon population in 2P Hell like they did every year in the canon Hell. But at the same time each year, the Anti-Exorcists, risen white demons with white bat wings and horns, invaded 2P Heaven. They carried glowing black pitchforks and turned innocent denizens into demons. The Anti-Exorcists would carry books and tempt angels with their innermost desires. Sex, sin, self-expression, sorcery, whatever that need was. Then, once they were hooked, they were stabbed with the pitchforks, causing their wings to burn off and sending them plummeting down to Hell. Nearby families would grieve at their loss.

It was quite the entertaining show for Princess Coercia!

Coercia leaned against the marble balcony and began to sing in a low growl.

(“I’m Always Evading Shadows”)

“At the end of the journey, there’s suffering

Denying it, how often I’ve tried

But my life’s a disgrace

Just a slap in the face

And the harsh truths have all been denied”

“A sliver of despair in this world of light

I know this world’s not free of sin

I search for the good

But get misunderstood

And reality will always win”

“Why have I always been imperfect?

Lost in this brainwashed sea

I wonder if the world’s to blame

I wonder if it could be me”

“I’m always evading shadows

Trapped, drowning in the social flow

Free-will forbidden, my answers are hidden

Lying down below”

“Some people sugarcoat their speeches

I always blab out what I mean

I may be cruel but I am no fool

Things are never what they seem

Believe me”

“I’m always evading shadows

Waiting for people to awaken

In vain”

A nearby portal opened and out came the Exterminators, bloodstains over their wings and bodies and harpoons. They took off their creepy LED masks, their white angelic faces revealed. One by one, the citizens clapped and cheered. One of the Archangels with four black wings flew up to the front, his spiked halo glowing. He took off his mask, revealing a white stern face with yellow eyes and short black hair. In his utility belt were a few daggers, whips, chains and a bottle of emergency holy water.

“Another successful purge,” their leader Samael (Venom of God) praised. “You cleansed more sinners while still keeping the population in a good balance. Well done, all of you.” He cleared his throat and made a cross symbol over his heart. “For the greater good in the name of our Lord.”

The angels repeated the phrase.

“Until next year. Dismissed.” The Archangel soldiers saluted and then flew off separately to see their families. Several of the angels, having been brainwashed in their Exterminator states, shook their heads sadly at what they had done.

All around Coercia, Holy City was basked in a heavenly glow. The city was located up in the sky among the clouds, but no one had to worry about falling, even the ones without their wings out. A large church with the appearance of the Notre Dame Cathedral stood proudly in the city square, made of polished marble. Choirs and songs floated through the stained glass windows as the regular angels went in and out to pray and visit with their neighbors. A large fountain sprouted non-alcoholic wine of a golden color. It had a white statue of Mary and Jesus as a young boy at the top, both with welcoming faces.

The streets were spotless and clean. Roofs and roads were powered by the sun’s rays. The Cloud 9 supermarket had endless amounts of food for sale…no one ever had to worry about going hungry. Charity workers and volunteers worked by the dozens, passing out food and bestowing miracles for those who needed them in the lower levels of Heaven. Metatron, the highest ranking angel, was busy keeping records of human lives, deaths and the messages of God.

This version of Heaven was very similar to the Heaven in the realm next door, the one above the familiar Hell with the Hazbin Hotel. The architecture was almost the same. But unlike those angels with their blonde hair and red blushes, these angels most often had black hair and teal blushes on their pale cheeks. Like in the other Heaven, some of the bipedal angels displayed animal-like characteristics: some had heads of doves, others had swan wings and mannerisms. Many of them had fur, ears, and fluffy tails of dogs and wolves. It was the only place where dogs and cats could dance and prance together without conflict. Still a few others had faces of flowers or even objects like harps and musical instruments.

God’s Palace was the grandest place of all: it was settled at the highest point of Heaven like Mount Olympus. Only a few angels were allowed to visit there. God’s abode, the Empyrean, had an elite group of angels guarding it. Seraph angels with six fiery rainbow wings guarded the throne of God, chanting “Holy, holy, holy!” much to the annoyance to those nearby. There were rumors that in the palace gardens, the Tree of Life and the Tree of Knowledge were grown there, heavily protected.

Lucius and Lilian were Coercia’s parents, those who took the place of Lucifer and Lilith after they were banished. They were named the new king and queen of heaven (Under God and a few Archangels), thus Coercia became the princess.

Lucius had a white face, teal blushes on his cheeks and short dark hair. Lucius wore a gray suit with a dark blue bow tie and a black top hat with two white feathers attacked to the brim. Lilian’s hair was long and black, and she too had the teal blushes and typical angel features. She wore a golden halo crown and an elegant white sequined dress. Both had white wings which could turn black when they were angry or defensive.

In a nearby movie studio, Valentine the butterfly producer, Nil the TV angel and Ashen, the doll angel sat together playing a board game. Despite liking old fashioned shows and the like, they still controlled much of Heaven’s technology and media. Iris, owner of an emporium, cried as she crossed out the name of her former female colleague, Francesca.

Along the street, a red car stopped beside the sidewalk. A tall creature opened the car door and stepped out. The spider angel had a furry dark gray face and body, plus multiple slender arms: six in total. He wore tall boots, green gloves and a shirt with a teal bow-tie near the top. His shirt and sleeves had black and dark green stripes. Green dots resembling eyes were located under his eyes.

“Thank you for the ride,” said the spider angel.

“No problem, Devil Grit,” said the driver Sivart, a white furry owl guy wearing a top hat. He tipped his hat to him and drove away.

Devil Grit walked over to a vending machine and bought himself a granola bar. He then gave it to a homeless guy leaning against the wall.

He walked inside a building and onto a stage in an auditorium. His opponent was already standing nervously at his spot, a microphone rising from the ground and stopping in front of him.

Sir Anguis was the nervous white snake. He had a white face with large slightly teal eyes with white pupils. He wore a white bow tie with a blue circle in the center below his thin neck. Surrounding his face on a flap of skin were bright teal eyes against dark purple. His suit was light gray with dark purple vertical stripes. Finally, he wore a large light gray top hat with a large green moving eye in the center.

The crowd settled into their seats and the debate began.

“Those other brave do gooders will do great with helping me with my presentation. Anyone want to try?”

A couple of hands shot up. Mechanical eggs on robotic legs moved around to help out the white snake lord.

“Oh thank you, my Nestlings,” he said.

Air Anguis pushed a button and a presentation showed up on a screen titled “Heaven Economics and Invention Ideas.”

“I don’t like to fight,” Sir Anguis said, clearing his throat, “and I’m super nervous up here…”

The Nestlings rolled their eyes.

Devil Grit glared at his cowardly opponent who then yelped, “Don’t look at me like that!”

“Heaven doesn’t need any future technology,” Devil Grit argued as he stepped to his podium, “because we already have better things: friendships, food, and fun.”

Sir Anguis glanced down nervously at his note cards and read from them. “At this rate I will persuade the entire East end of Holy City by night’s beginning. Or was it day’s end? And nothing, not a single beauty in this paradise of bliss, will be able to change my mind or escape the constrictive grasp of persuasive argumentation.”

“Heaven will be ours, though it’s mine in my mind. And everybody will know the name of…”

“Scared Snake,” said a female voice.

“W-who said that?” Sir Anguis asked.

“You ready for a debate, old man?”

The voice belonged to Berri Blossom, the opposite of Cherri Bomb in Hell. She was a tall cyclops with black skin, with a single green eye with a black cross in the center. She wore a long dark green dress and white high heeled shoes. Her black skin was decorated in some areas near her shoulders with tiny teal specks. Her long hair was curly, blue at the top and black near the bottom. She pushed her thin dark rimmed glasses up to her face, looking at her organized set of notes in front of her.

She walked over beside her academic partner Devil Grit. “Why don’t you play with your tinker toys somewhere else while I go over the logistics of divine law school?” She looked professional and poised. “Seven Reasons Why Heavenly Traditions Never Fail.”

“You want to go, madam?” Sir Anguis asked, a spark of rebellion in him. He fiddled with a few gadgets before the well-dressed Nestling eggs…egged him on to continue. He flicked his hood back. “Well, let the battle for tenure and status begin!”

A neon logo appeared on the screen, saying “777 News” surrounded by a halo. The names of the news cast appeared on the bottom of the screen.

“Good afternoon, Holy City!” smiled a pale woman with short black hair, wearing a light blue dress. “I’m Catie Carejoy!”

“And I’m Ron Wrench!” said the man next to her, wearing a business suit and who had a wrench for a head.

After discussing the weather, various humane societies, and legends on Earth, Catie continued, “The debate battle is underway between inventor and coward Sir Anguis and professional economics expert Berri Blossom. Coming up next, we have an exclusive interview with the daughter of His Majesty Lucius, who’s here to discuss her brand new passion-project! All that and more after the break!”

Inside the break room, Phalla the romantic butterfly angel adjusted Coercia’s white bow tie. Nearby, a blue tinted sign read “No smoking.” Another sign read “In The Air” in large letters.

“Okay, you remember what to say?” Phalla asked Coercia.

“Yes, I’m ready,” Coercia stated.

Phalla brushed her long black hair from her face, the ends of her black hair teal. Like Vaggie in Hell, Phalla’s thick hair extended down to her legs, giving her hair the appearance of moth wings. She had a glowing green cross over her right eye and her left eye was purple with a white pupil. A teal bow was perched on top of her head. Her skin was light gray and she wore a dark gray crop top with white Xs over her breasts. She also wore leggings, her right legging striped dark green and light gray, her left legging light gray.

“Oh this is gonna be great!” Phalla squealed happily. “How about you make your speech sound more exciting?”

“Come on, Phalla, I know what I’m going to say,” Coercia answered, crossing her arms.

Phalla walked over to the pitcher of ambrosia punch on the table. Pub and Chub ate bagels from the table. Phalla got an idea. “Oh! What if you…”

“Sing a song about it?” Coercia asked, with a roll of her eyes. “I’m not going to. This is serious!” She curled her hand into a fist and brought it down on the palm of her other hand. “They won’t take me serious if I start belting out some random song. Life isn’t a musical.”

“But neither is it an emo tragedy,” Phalla pointed out. “Life is great, especially with all the cute guys around.” Her single purple eye shinned.

“Romance, bleh,” Coercia made a face and Phalla giggled.

“Hey,” Phalla brightened, pulling out a piece of paper. “I have some ideas about what you could say.” She bounced up and down. “The highlighted bits are the best parts!”

“They’re all highlighted,” Coercia replied, scanning the paper. “You call your childish drawing your ideas for me?”

“Sure!” Phalla said. “Look here.” It showed a list of different terms “sinners = winners” “Misunderstood are still good” and “demons and angels party between worlds!” Skulls were lined up at the bottom of the page: “we’re all connected by death.”

“Say, that’s actually pretty good!” Coercia said with a smile of sharp teeth.

“Thanks!” Phalla beamed.

Coercia snatched the piece of paper from her friend and tore it in half, much to her shock. “But you should know my ideas are always better.” She tossed the pieces of paper aside, gave a salute and walked out the door.

Catie waved with a smile. “Hi. I’m Catie Carejoy.” She held out her hand but Coercia didn’t take it, instead remarking, “You can put that away. I don’t touch commoners, I have standards.” Catie, looked stunned, pulling her hand back. “So this project of yours, when did you come up with this idea of creating a hotel in order to…break the law as the rumors say?”

The angel crew murmured nervously.

“I’m gonna keep this short,” Coercia said as she walked over to the desk. “You might think my idea doesn’t hold water, but that doesn’t matter to me. I’m too influential to give a flying feather about what some stuffy old news lady thinks of my proposal.”

The crowd gasped. Ron shook his head.

“Well, if you can’t take constructive criticism and be polite…”

“…and we’re live!” called a voice as a buzzer sounded.

“And we’re back!” Catie said, rushing over into her seat. “So, Carrie…”

“It’s Princess Coerciona Egnam,” said Coercia, sitting in a chair beside her and Ron Wrench.

“Sorry. So tell us about your project.”

Coercia took a deep breath. “As most of you know, I was born here in Heaven, and growing up, I’ve always tried to see the good in everything around me. But recently, I don’t believe that’s always the case. We just completed another Extermination. So many sinful souls lost but for what reason? God said in the Commandments “thou shall not kill,” yet killing random people is okay? If we can’t even trust ourselves with our actions and thoughts, is Heaven truly paradise? Not to mention that ever since Lucifer and Lilith betrayed Him, we don’t know who to really trust. Some people are given too many chances!” She pounded her fist on the desk, startling Catie.

Coercia stood up and made her way forward. “No one is truly flawless. Mistakes are made, but we get blamed for doing things we sometimes enjoy. Sex, drugs, partying, swearing, even violence. All because we don’t live up to impossible standards imposed upon us, both here and on Earth! I can’t stand idly by while the place I live is subjected to such lies and propaganda! So, I’ve been thinking…isn’t there a more liberating way to hinder forced compliance here in Heaven? Perhaps we can create an alternative way to express change through…recreation?”

The angels talked quietly amongst themselves. Phalla nodded in appreciation.

“Well I think yes,” Coercia continued. “So that’s what this project aims to achieve.” She walked back to the desk and sat down. “Ladies and gentlemen, I’m opening the first of its kind, a hotel that encourages moderate amounts of so-called sin!” She spread out her arms.

The audience stared in stunned silence. Many of the adults were shaking their heads.

“Who is that girl?” asked a dragon watching from inside a soup kitchen. “What’s her deal with trying to cause more trouble for this world?”

“She’s nuts!” added another angel with an eagle’s head and wings, wearing a suit.

Coercia added nervously while still trying to keep a glare, “I figure it would serve a purpose…a place to work toward self-expression. Yay.”

Among the crowd of angels watching the news outside, a tall man with a thin pale face stood toward the back. He wore a light blue dress suit, had blue and white hair, fluffy deer-like ears, and large blue eyes. His white wings were folded behind him. He watched the program with a look of worry. A deer creature made of light appeared beside him. A sign posted on the wall showing the same man as a DJ read: “Counseling and good times with the Techno Angel!”

A camera man shook his head at Coercia. Phalla walked up to him and pleaded, “Please give her a chance.”

Coercia sighed. “Look, I know every single one of you has insecurities and issues that need not be bottled up. If you could just embrace those sides of yourselves…”

Coercia then smirked. “Maybe I’m not getting through to you.”

Phalla clapped her hands and “ooohed” in excitement as Rub and Chub got the electric guitar ready.

Coercia showed a pair of sharp white teeth and black curved horns emerged from her head. Black feathery wings sprouted from her back and an X appeared over her right eye. A harpoon appeared in her right hand and a spiked halo appeared over her head. She was in her dark angelic Exorcist form. She posed over the desk and began.

(“Inside of Every Angel is a Sinner”)

“I have a dream

I’m here to tell

About a fantastic mind-blowing hotel

One of a kind, go and yell

A great place to dwell

Catering to specific clientele”

*Guitar starts and scream vocals*

“Inside of every angel is a sinner

Inside of every do-gooder is a beast

Inside of every jolly go-lucky mentality

Is a subconscious portion we know the least”

“Resist all the rules

You’re not passive fools!

With just a little time

Down at the Hazbin Hotel!”

“So all you rescuers, priests, and heroes

Gifted athletes, jocks, and cheerios

And the sheep citizens, relief is here!

All of you angels, leaders, and stars

Traditionalists with fancy cars

And the activists on Mars

Show no fear

No taboos, no laws

Embrace your flaws

You’ll be truly free

Check in with me

It’s the right path, you’ll see”

“There’ll be no more pressure

And no more status quo

Just friendship, fun, and endless bags of dough

Establishment put to rest

You’ll be like, “Yes!”

In the tunnel of darkness you’ll go!”

“So all your hierarchies, GMOs, politics, and isms

Lectures, labor standards, and diamond studded prisms

Ancient Indian elitisms

All must die”

“All you fantasizers, artists, servers, and lords

Spoiled children, winners of awards

Imposers of chores

Face your fear!”

“Be who you are

And you’ll go so far

Our service will raise the bar

You’ll be the star

Come from near or afar at the Hazbin Hotel!

Yeah!”

“Wow,” said an angel in a top hat. “That was…alright.”

The crowd clapped half-heartedly.

Catie shook her head. “What in the Nine Levels makes you think a single denizen of Heaven would give two feathers about becoming a sinful person? You have no proof that your little experiment even works! You want people to disobey God and the rules just…because?!”

Coercia lifted up her head. “Well, we have a patron already who believes in our cause.”

“And who might that be?” Catie asked.

“Oh just someone named…Devil Grit.”

“The grumpy old spider?” asked Ron Wrench.

“He’s not old,” argued Catie. “He just acts older than he is.”

“Anyway,” said Catie to Coercia. “You couldn’t even get that guy to do something bad, even if a gun was pointed at his head.”

“Oh I beg to differ,” Coercia argued. “He’s been troubled, dirty, and having conflicted thoughts for two weeks now.”

“Breaking news!” called a voice as the screen changed to a recent debate shown in a building.

The news came on, detailing Devil Grit and his recent TED talk about the 7 Heavenly Virtues.

“Well, it looks like the one discussing the Heavenly Virtues is none other than…conservative Devil Grit! What a coincidence!”

She and Ron did a “ratings!” and jazz hands.

Corceria rolled her eyes.

“I’m sorry to say, but it looks like your plan’s departed on arrival,” said Catie. “I hope you learned a good lesson here.”

Coercia’s eyes twitched, her teeth barred. “Lesson?! I’ll teach you a lesson, bitch!” The princess and Catie fought fist and claw on the desk. Ron called for security.

After Coercia was kicked out, Phalla followed her wordlessly to the white limo. Devil Grit, Phalla, and Coercia rode back to the hotel.

Devil Grit lounged in the far seat, wearing an outfit of black with green stripes and green gloves on his four hands.

“Devil,” said Phalla with concern. “I know you were trying to do good by doing your professional speech. But could you please try not to help society in public? Now people won’t believe us when Coercia says that people are free to express their earthly desires.”

“I’m sorry Phalla,” said Devil from the other seat, “But I have a reputation to keep up. Helping the greater good is His plan for all of us. Besides, a good professional debate is a reasonable form of self-expression right?”

“Not to everyone,” said Phalla. “What about the hotel? People are thinking that you don’t care about Coercia’s project at all.”

“I do care, senorita,” said Devil. “I just don’t think it’s going to be easy to accomplish in such a short time. So many angels are fixated on tradition, myself included.”

“I do appreciate all of your help,” said Coercia, still fuming after the interview, arms crossed. “But I will make this project work, even if I have to do it myself.”

The white limo pulled up in front of the hotel, a pristine building made of glass and marble. The group got out of the car and stepped inside.

White wings made of rainbow scales posed as part of the structure on the roof. The stained glass windows by the door were decorated with apples, a tree of life, and many shades of blue and green. The sign above read “Hazbin Hotel” in big letters on the roof. Inside the lobby, a painting of Adam reaching toward God was displayed on the high ceiling. The hotel had seven floors with seven rooms on each floor. There was even a lab down in the basement which belonged to a man named Baker, the opposite of the demon fish scientist Baxter from Hell. A bowl of blue berries and blue raspberries sat on a table below a welcome banner. Phalla rested on a couch while Devil Grit munched on a granola bar.

“It’s probably a good idea to stock up some more food in this place,” said Devil Grit. “Good or bad, people always seem to be greedy when they’re hungry.”

Devil Grit pulled out a chart and went over probabilities and graphs regarding the hotel and the potential number of visitors. Coercia just sighed and walked away toward the door. She went outside and took out her cell phone, calling her mom.

“Carol cakes!” called her mother through the phone. Coercia cringed.

“Mom, I told you not to call me that! I’m not a little kid anymore.”

“Sorry, I can’t help it,” said Lilian with a giggle. “How was the interview?”

“Meh. It was alright. I proposed my idea, but nobody seemed to buy it.”

Lilian’s tone turned more serious. “Coercia, why do you insist that everyone must go down to that horrible place? Why can’t you just see the good in people?”

“Because,” Coercia said, “Everyone has flaws and they don’t realize it.”

“Yes, but that also applies to you, too. Before you get involved with the lives of others, you need to look inside and critique yourself.”

“I’m a princess. Everyone else has more flaws than I do.”

Lilian let out a long sigh. “Young lady, we’ve been through this I don’t know how many times. You have to push your selfish thoughts aside and just accept the way things are. It’s part of a higher purpose.”

“And what is this “higher purpose” anyway? To be His flock of dazed sheep, dancing around without any care in the world? To not experience ecstasy and adventure, even for just a moment?”

“That stuff is dangerous and forbidden. Thousands of souls would do anything to get up to this level of Heaven. And you just want to throw your life away?”

Coercia paused in thought. “If it means proving myself and serving Him in a way I see fit, then so be it.”

“You have delusions of what entertainment and happiness is, Carol. Sometimes, you need to take the time and appreciate the beauty that’s in front of you.”

“Other than my own refection, I don’t really see beauty in many other things. Well, heavy metal and watching battles…oh and watching sinners beg for their last breaths…”

“You have a lot to learn, dear daughter,” Lilian replied. “I’ll leave you alone to think about it.”

“Whatever.”

“Love you.”

“Love you too. Bye.”

Coercia hung up and went back inside, shutting the door behind her. She leaned against the door frame, closing her eyes in frustration…trying to hold back a stream of tears from the stress.

Just then, there was a knock on the door. Two knocks, four ones, then a last one. Coercia turned around with a sigh to answer it. She swung the stained glass door open. From outside stood a tall slender man with a pale light gray face, wearing a light blue pinstriped dress coat. A white upward cross was part of the design on his light blue undershirt. He was carrying a modern microphone atop a staff in his left hand. His small antlers were white and his hair and deer ears were blue with white tips. A monocle rested under his left eye. Coercia narrowed her eyes.

“Hi, excuse me…” he spoke quietly. “Is this…”

Coercia angrily slammed the door in his face.

She opened it again.

“…the right address?” finished the man.

“No!” she shouted, slamming it again.

“Hey Phalla!” called Coercia.

“What?” her friend asked.

“The crybaby Deer Man is at the door!”

“What?!” she asked, blushes appearing on her cheeks.

“Who?” asked Devil Grit.

“What should I do?”

“Well…let him in!” Phalla cried, eye shining.

Coercia rolled her eyes and scoffed. She sighed and opened the door again.

“May I talk now?” the man asked in a radio voice.

“Sure, whatever,” Coercia said.

The man held out a white gloved four-fingered hand. “Rotsala, it’s a pleasure to meet you, miss.” He walked in. Worry was etched on his face. “I saw your interview on the picture show and I was worried sick! I was afraid you were never coming back after your argument. Why I haven’t been that upset since the 1929 Stock Market Crash!” He sniffed, “So many poor orphans…”

“Hello there!” Phalla called with a smile, staring up and walking in front of him. She greeted in Spanish. “I’m so glad you’re here to help out my friend with this new hotel! I’m a big fan of yours and just being in your presence is just…” She swooned. “Oh just take me already you cute, pompous, talk show, blueberry pimp lord!”

She embraced him and he stood stunned, his face blushing. “I do love hugs,” he whispered as she stepped back. “I bet all of you would be so nice and soft after we get to know each other for a while…”

Phalla blushed while Devil Grit and Coercia made disgusted faces. “Not gonna happen, creep,” Devil Grit said.

Rotsala gave a nervous laugh, and popped a strawberry and blueberry into his mouth.

“You’re not gonna cling to us are you?” Phallas asked. “Or, you know…”

“Dear, if I wanted to screw anyone here…I would’ve done so already.”

Rotsala tilted his head. His blue eyes briefly glowed with blue upside down radio dials in them. Electricity sparked around cyan colored voodoo symbols in the air. His eyes filled with tears, tears spilling down his pale gray cheeks.

Phalla watched in bliss, while Devil and Coercia rolled their eyes at the show-off.

Rotsala shook his head and his eyes returned to normal blue.

“No, I’m here because I want to relax and help out.”

“Say what?” Coercia asked, eyebrow raised.

Rotsala held up his staff which glowed blue. He said with a sad crack in his voice, “Goodbye, is this thing off?”

He tapped it. A blue sad looking eye appeared in the center of the microphone. It spoke in a mechanical voice. “You’re silent, quiet and unclear!”

“That’s your motivation motto every day?” Devil Grit asked, crossing his four arms. “Pathetic!”

“Tragic and mysterious, I love it!” Phalla squealed. “It’s like the opposite of announcing. It’s…denouncing.”

Devil Grit elbowed her. “Hun, could you not get attracted to every other man you see? I’m your boyfriend.”

“I can’t help it, love!” she cried. “I just get so distracted easily.”

“Um…you want to help?” Coercia asked.

Rotsala appeared behind them after morphing into light.

“With…” he spoke in her growl then his normal shy sounding voice, “…this random thing you’re trying to do. This hotel. I want to help you run it, if that’s okay.”

“Uh…why?”

Rotsala choked a bit on his words. “Why doesn’t anyone do anything? Sheer absolute lethargy! I’ve been partying around and keeping busy for decades. I would like to do something more relaxing and easier.”

“My work became overwhelming, lacking focus. I’ve come to crave a new form of disengagement!”

Coercia rolled her eyes. “Does getting into a fist fight with a reporter count as disengagement?”

“No,” Rotsala said. “It’s violent and messy, not really my thing. Life is truly strange…reality, fantasy, true tragedy. After all the world is a grave, and the grave is a world of disengagement!”

Coercia brightened a bit. “So, does this mean you think it’s possible to taint an angel? That life is meaningless without your own self to temporarily control it.”

Rotsala sniffed and held up a hand. “Who knows? Anything’s possible. Sinning, oh the vice of humanity! I think there’s plenty left that can change such marvelous saints. But then again, the chance that was given to them was the life they lived before. The reward is this!” He spread out his arms. “According to God, there’s no undoing what is done…or at least that’s the way it should be.”

“So then, why do you want to help me if you don’t fully believe in my cause?” Coercia asked.

Rotsala turned around to look at her. “Consider it an investment in ongoing knowledge for myself and others.” He let out a small smile. “I want to watch the blessed of this world struggle to give into temptation, only to repeatedly realize and raise themselves up the golden ladder of success!” His eyes glowed blue.

“Right…” Coercia began.

“Yes indeed,” Rotsala said, both of them walking off to the side. “I see you taking risks and who better to keep you grounded than I.”

“Ah, so what’s the deal with Mr. Frown over there?” Devil Grit asked.

“Wait, you’ve never heard of him before?” Phalla asked. “You’ve been here longer than me!”

Devil shrugged his shoulders.

“The Techno Angel, one of the most complex beings Heaven as ever seen?”

“Eh, I’m not too big on people.”

Phalla sighed and leaned in close to explain.

“Decades ago, Rotsala manifested in Heaven, seemingly in one day. He began to catch the attention of overlords and archangels who had kept to themselves for centuries. That kind of attraction and magic power had never been harnessed by a mortal soul before. Then, he broadcast his adventures all throughout Heaven just so everyone could experience some joy, tragedy and emotions. Saints starting calling him the Techno Angel, (as unoriginal as that is). Many have speculated what unimaginable force enabled him to rival our world’s most ancient and constructive heroes. But one thing’s for sure: he’s an unpredictable source of silliness, a depressed spirit of mystery and a loving being of order…or disorder, the likes of which we can get involved in, especially if we want to end up aroused!”

“You done?” Devil asked. “He looks like a blueberry businessman. Or a shady con-man. Either way, you’re delusional.”

“Well, I trust him completely!”

“Do you blindly trust any man? All men?”

Phalla skipped over to Coercia. Rotsala examined a family portrait of Lucius, Lilian and a young Coercia in the center. Young Coercia wore a white dress with a turquoise top to it. Her hair was jet black, braided in black barbed wire, her cheeks had teal blushes. Her mother had long black hair and wore a fancy white dress and a round gold crown. Her father was dressed in a dress suit of white and blue, with blue and black stripes in the center below a white bow tie. He wore a large light gray top hat with a dove and a green apple on it. His cane also had a green apple on the top. Both of them were smiling, showing rows of sharp teeth, white wings folded behind them.

“Coercia, listen to me, you can believe this dreamer. He isn’t just a sad face. He’s a miracle maker, pure good! But… don’t count on him to believe in your cause. He could be tainted and rebel, but we don’t know that. He could very well side with God and your parents. And he’s most likely looking for a way to hinder everything we’re trying to do if it means following God’s rules. But still, give him a chance. He’s really sweet.”

“I…” Coercia began. “…we don’t know that. Look, he’s a crying bitch, and he probably doesn’t want to change.”

Phalla put her hands on her friend’s shoulders.

“The whole point of your hotel is to give people a chance! To have faith things will be better and people can embrace their flaws, their true selves! How can you turn someone away? You can’t. It goes against everything you’re trying to do. Everything you believe in.”

Coercia looked downcast. Her friend had a good point. She hated when people made good arguments against her. But it also gave her a chance to consider her thoughts. Phalla kept her grounded and added some cheer to her overall fake afterlife. Coercia smiled at her.

“You take care of yourself,” she said to Phalla.

“Coercia,” warned Phalla, “Unless you are serious about responsibility, do not make a promise with him!”

Demons often made deals with each other that often resulted in gaining power at the cost of one’s soul or freedom. Usually the one who initiated the deal would gain advantage. A demonic deal was bad in and of itself. Breaking an angelic promise could result in rejection, eternal torture and damnation.

“Don’t worry,” said Coercia. “I learned one thing from my dad.” She mimicked his low voice, “Ya don’t break trust with other angels!”

Coercia marched over to the Techno Angel.

“Ok Mr. Rot... You’re prissy as fuck, and you clearly see what I’m trying to do here is a too-dangerous risk. But I don’t.”

Glowing blue symbols briefly appeared around a concerned Rotsala, then vanished.

Coercia continued. “I think everyone deserves a chance to prove they can be themselves. After all, it’s in their nature and the sooner they realize it, the better. So, I’m taking your offer to help. On the condition there be no lessons or lovey-dovey speeches made.”

Rotsala twirled his cane and held out his smallest finger from his right hand.

“So, it’s a promise, then?”

The room was surrounded by a pink aura as light spirits roamed around the walls. The wind blew against Phalla’s and Devil’s faces.

“Nope!” Coercia yelled, holding out her hands. The energy stopped. “No shaking, no promises! I…hmmm…”

She paused in thought.

“As Princess of Heaven and heir to the throne, I hereby order that you help out with this hotel for as long as you desire.”

A moment of pause…

“Sound fair?”

“Fair enough,” Rotsala said with a slump of his shoulders and walked on. His cane vanished.

Rotsala stopped and spotted Phalla to the side.

Phalla went up and tickled him under the chin, much to his shock.

“Smile, deer man!” she said.

Rotsala walked on, speechless.

“So…where is your hotel staff?” Rotsala asked Coercia.

“Uh well,” Coercia began. Rotsala peered at Phalla through his monocle below his left eye.

He stuttered. “You’re going to n-need more than that.”

Rotsala walked over to Devil Grit, who was sitting on a stool.

“And what can I do, my business fellow?” asked Rotsala walking over to the dark furred spider, blushing.

“You can suck a dick,” Devil retorted in a grumpy tone.

“AH! Ok,” said Rotsala, blushing and stepping back. “Can it be yours?”

“Fuck off,” Devil added, pulling out a long knife from his belt.

Rotsala summoned his cane. “Well this just won’t do. You want others to cause trouble, yes? I suppose I can cash in a few favors to deaden things up!”

He snapped his fingers and the wall beside the fireplace cracked. The circle went dark, the fire going out. Ice cold water appeared to fill in the circle and a shadowy figure solely formed inside. Rotsala walked over and removed the dripping figure from the water. A large single purple eye was revealed.

Devil Grit, Phalla and Coercia peered at the creature. With a balloon deflating sound and a puff of white smoke, the figure was revealed.

“This little rascal is Klutzy!” Rotsala announced with a worried smile, dropping the figure.

A black-skinned short cyclops female landed on her face on the floor. She stood up with a grumpy look on her face. She wore a dark green skirt with a white stray cat off to the left side. Her arms and legs were white and stick-shaped. Several blue dots stood out from the lighter green color of her skirt. Her shirt was black with cyan paint spots off to the right. Her large eye took up much of her pale white face; it was dark blue with a white pupil. Her short hair was teal with a dark blue spot off to the left.

“I’m Klutzy,” she grumbled, clenching her fists. “It’s a waste of time to meet you. It’s been a while since I’ve seen strangers.”

Her pupil narrowed from side to side.

“Why are you all men?” she asked. “Have any women here? Or video games? Screw this place.”

She briefly picked up Coercia, then let go.

“Oh man, this place is boring!” she exclaimed. She ran over to a vase and proceeded to knock it over with her elbow. It shattered to pieces on the floor. She tossed couch cushions aside.

“It really needs a more manly touch, disorganized clutter’s more fun.” She grinned as she poured dirt from a flower pot onto the rug.

“Yes, yes, yep, yeah!” she yelled as she proceeded to break windows and knock down more stuff. Then she plopped down on a couch once the room was messy. “I’m bored. Make me some food or something.”

Phalla, Devil, and Coercia looked on in worry, Rotsala just stared off into space. “She has quite the temper sometimes.”

A cat angel was working on a Rubik’s cube with colleagues. His furry face was black, framed by white fur. His little top hat was white with a blue band across it. A big teal bow tie was under his neck, over his black furry chest framed by white fur. His wings were a brilliant blue, with black and red mathematical symbols on either side: the pi symbol, E = mc squared, signs for addition, subtraction, multiplication and division, among others. More symbols were visible within his two pointed ears. His teeth were sharp and purple and his long eyebrows were teal. His eyes were purple and sclera white. The angel placed a Rubik’s cube in front of him. “Ha!” he declared in triumph. Read ‘em and weep, boys! Full…whoa…”

He felt himself being transported in a flash of light to the hotel. Part of the science room that the cat had been in was merged with the hotel lobby…posters of the elements, the solar system and Biblical works of art.

“What in Heaven’s name is going on?

Then he brightened when he saw Rotsala. “You!”

“Ah, Core, my old friend,” Stalaro sniffed, his head briefly looking like it was in between antlers from a stuffed deer head on the wall. “You made it.”

“Glad to see you, you son of the sun!” Core said. “I just completed my Rubik’s cube after just an hour.”

The cube vanished as Rotsala looked on.

Core raced over to Rotsala and embraced him in a side hug. The deer-like man blushed. “So, what can I help you with this time?”

Rotsala blinked nervously. “C-Can we snuggle?”

Core laughed. “I mean, seriously, why’d you bring me here?”

“My friend, I’m doing some dirty work, so I took it upon myself to volunteer your services. If that’s okay?”

“You must be joking,” Core said, laughing nervously.

“I don’t think so,” he replied.

“You thought it’d be a great idea just to pull me out of nowhere? You think I’m some kind of tragic boy?”

“Maybe,” Rotsala sighed, as crying sounds came from his microphone.

“I ain’t doing no dirty work.”

Rotsala appeared behind him. “Well I figured you would be the perfect face to greet and critique the guests at this fine establishment.”

He pointed his staff off toward a stand with vegetable drinks as claps and boos sounded from his staff.

“With your grumpy cat face and love of solitude…”

Core lifted up the corners of Rotsala mouth with his paws. “Aw come on, Al, Don’t forget to smile once in a while!”

His mouth frowned once he let go.

Rotsala walked over to the stand. “Don’t worry, my friend. I can make this more interesting…if you wish.”

He conjured up a bottle of catnip with his finger.

Core stared with wide happy eyes. “What, you think you can buy me with sad eyes and some cheap catnip? Well, you can!” He purred and took the bottle with him.

Coercia, Devil, and Phalla arrived.

“Yes, yes, yes!” Phalla squealed. “Brilliant idea to have healthy drinks!”

“No!” Coercia protested. “This is supposed to be a place that encourages sin! Not some kind of, frilly, Zen, child’s play…”

Core noticed Devil Grit and slid up to him. “Hey cutie,” he flirted.

“Go screw yourself,” muttered Devil Grit.

“Only if you watch me,” Core joked. “Or more likely, Rotsala will watch you.”

Coercia leaned in close to Core. “Welcome to the Hazbin Hotel! You are going to go insane here!” She grinned, her teeth sharp.

“We’re all mad here,” Core replied, sniffing the catnip.

Rotsala walked in, an ever-present frown on his face. “S-so, what do you think?”

Rotsala ran over to him. “This is horrible!” she spat.

“It’s amazing!” Phalla beamed.

Phalla leaned in close between Coercia and Rotsala, embracing them in a hug.

“This is going to be very disengaging,” Rotsala exclaimed. Dubstep sounds emitted from his mouth as he stared around with worry. He stepped away from Phalla. “Coercia, I can’t lose you. We can’t lose you.”

Rotsala changed his light blue suit into a dark blue funeral outfit with a matching top hat. He did the same with Coercia, Devil Grit, Core, Klutzy, and Phalla, who were all wearing black clothing from the early 1900s. Coercia wore a short tan flapper dress and a round matching ladies’ hat. She and Klutzy stared at their outfits in disgust, while Devil Grit, Core and Phalla smiled as they stared at theirs. The room changed, the walls now covered with Voodoo symbols, Christian crosses and deer antlers.

“Take it boys,” Rotsala said. Light spirits appeared and played violins, a piano, and a flute in a sad symphony.

Rotsala sang his reprise to Coercia as they did a slow dance. Coercia looked annoyed but Rotsala smiled.

(“Stalaro’s lament Reprise”)

“You’re on a mission

Your innocence fell

And it’s so dangerous but hey, I wish you well

Yes your blunt protests

Will send you straight to Hell

And I can’t bear to see you banished, or your soul up to sell”

“Don’t bring your life to an end

No matter what you say, I’m still your friend

We all have our wounds to mend

And you’re vulnerable feelings are real, don’t pretend”

“Inside of every angel is love and emotion

They have values and lasting devotion (devotion to God)

While you recruit those around

Don’t be swallowed by the ground

The authorities can retrieve you tight and bound (no turning around)”

“Here above the sky

Spread your wings and fly

They’ll spend a little time

Down at this Haven Ho…”

An explosion rattled the windows. Klutzy saw a door flying toward her face and she broke it in half with a karate chop.

The room and everyone’s clothing returned to normal.

Everyone looked outside and saw a podium in the air, held up by flying metallic eggs. A familiar snake debater appeared.

“Look who it is harboring the striped annoying opponent! We meet again, Rotsala!”

“Do I know you?” Rotsala asked.

Tears came to Anguis’ eyes. “Oh yes, you do! Watch this presentation!”

The eggs danced in the air, singing a song about Sir Anguis trying his best to rule Heaven. He read from notecards. “You all can’t compete with me. Your hotel sucks. I…shall…destroy it…with… my…”

Rotsala giggled and blushed. “Your baby weiner havor?”

Anguis looked up from his cards in anger. “Not like that, pervert!”

Rotsala snapped his fingers. A portal appeared and white tentacles shot out, knocking the podium off balance. The metal eggs knocked into Sir Anguis and he yelled, “Ow that hurt! Show mercy!”

Rotsala used a drop of his blood and the podium exploded in green smoke.

Sir Anguis emerged from the crater, arm shaking, fangs shattered. Rotsala waved a hand and the snake was healed.

“Shoot me with your ray gun,” said a metal egg beside him. Sir Anguis face-planted on the ground.

Rotsala looked on, sadly while everyone else stared, stunned.

“Anyone hungry?” Rotsala asked turning around. “Please don’t make me cook jambalaya. It’s way too spicy and it nearly killed me! I much prefer tea and sugared strawberries, oh the way they melt in my mouth… but anyway, you could say the kick brought me straight into Heaven.”

Rotsala lead the way back to the hotel, the group following him.

“Yes sir, new changes are about to take place. Now…”

Rotsala waved his finger at the lit up sign above the glass, gem-encrusted building on the roof.

The sign changed from “Hazbin Hotel” to “Haven Hotel.”

“Stay tuned.” He finished with low whimpers.

#2PHazbinHotel #heavenhotel #havenhotel #2p

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sireswhore · 4 years

Text

Elephant in the Room

Requested? Yes! “imagine a day at the beach with scott before anybody knows you two are together and getting caught by jason and his kids at the beach when they ask ‘isn't that y/n and scott?”

Summary: you and Scott have been secretly dating for a while, your little secret gets exposed by the vlog squad...

Warnings; language, alcohol usage?

“How about this spot?” Scott asks, looking at an empty site on the sand.

“Oh my gosh yes! Perfect, let’s lay this blanket down,” you said eagerly.

You and Scott have secretly been together for about two months now. None of your friends know, and you both were experts at keeping everything under wraps so far.

You guys were so good, that even the fans didn’t suspect anything between the two of you. You both agreed to keep it between each other until the secret simply couldn’t be contained anymore, after all, secrets do have to eventually come out someday.

But today, in this beautiful weather, the two of you were having a date on the beach. Sunglasses were on at all times so you wouldn’t get recognized, although that isn’t 100% reliable, you still felt like the characters on “Starstruck” and that was good enough for you.

After the two of you finished setting everything down, the first thing Scott did was pull out his sunscreen. And before he could open it to squirt some into his hands, you snatched it.

“I’ll do it for you!” You rushed, just wanting an excuse to let your hands run over his upper body. He smirked while laying down, getting ready to let you get to work.

Scott hissed at the coldness of the product on his chest, making you giggle as you kept spreading it evenly on his tatted skin.

Your hands worked on thoroughly rubbing it in, while your fingers traced over every nook and cranny available. You were definitely having a great time, and you haven’t even done his back yet.

“You’re so pretty,” you said as you admired him, finishing the last of the areas you haven’t covered.

He scoffed, “Says you, gorgeous,” Scott tried to wink but forgot that you couldn’t see it, so he smiled instead.

The two of you spent your day vibing to your favorite music, eating, and cute cheesy shit like writing your initials into the sand and piggyback riding to the shore.

And absolutely nothing could go wrong, right? Wrong.

You guys chose the right day but the wrong beach to visit as you both unknowingly came to the same one that Jason comes to with his kids.

He mentioned he was going to rent a house for that same weekend. That detail must’ve slipped your minds because you both were lounging with each other carefree.

You sat in between Scott’s legs, your back against his chest while his arm hugged across yours. Both your eyes focused on the colors of the sky, watching the sunset and talking about how gorgeous it looks.

You turned your head to look up at him, he looked down at you. Scott smiled when he saw your sunglasses had slid down to the tip of your nose, revealing your eyes to him.

Scott lightly placed a finger under your chin before he leaned in you kiss you.

Except it didn’t happen because both of your sunglasses bumped together instead, causing the two of you to laugh.

“Maybe let's take them off for a few seconds, yeah?” he asked.

You nodded, both of you pushed your glasses to the top of your heads and finally met with a warm embrace, reveling in each other's lips.

From a distance, someone could spot them and their whole cover could be blown.

Except someone did spot them, and that someone might’ve blown their cover. That someone was Charlie.

“Daddy isn’t that y/n and Scott over there?” She pointed Jason to where you both were.

Jason saw exactly what she saw, and he couldn’t believe his eyes. He had no idea what to say.

“No Charlie,” he laughs trying to play it off, “that’s not them, they do look like them though,” he chuckles, scratching the back of his head nervously.

“No daddy, it looks like his tattoos and everything,” Wyatt chimed in.

Jason knew they were right, but he just figured to change the subject so they wouldn’t go around saying that to people.

“Guys come on, Scott literally sent me a picture 5 minutes ago saying he was working out in the garage. There's a lot of people out there who may look really similar to the people you know, it’s not them I promise,” he laughs, “c’mon let's go get ice cream before they close,” he rushes as an attempt to distract them from the thought.

And that they did...

_____

A couple of days after, Jason was already spilling the tea.

“...and there they were, on the beach making out and cuddling,” he was telling Carly and Erin in the car, and their mouths hung open like a flytrap.

“NO WAY,” they both said in unison, both in absolute disbelief.

“Deadass,” Jason finalized, and the girls looked at each other.

“Oh my god,” Carly said.

“Who would have thought...,” Erin chimed in, sipping on her drink.

Then shortly the girls broke the news to Matt, who had an even more exaggerated reaction. Soon he told Todd and Zane, Todd telling Natalie, who told David. Zane telling Heath and Mariah and so on and so forth until the entire friend group knew.

Boy that was a lot.

All of them kept in contact with each other, and soon enough they created a separate group chat just to talk about it.

They exchanged thoughts and tried to connect the dots and figure out when this has started going on. All of a sudden they went from Vlog Squad to Scooby-Doo.

Shortly after that was going on, Scott was over at your place, you both received texts from the original group chat saying that we’re all invited to a get-together at Heath and Mariahs the next day.

“So cute! Its been a while since everyone has hung ou- oh my god what if this is an occasion? Do you think she’s pregnant??,” you immediately jumped to conclusions.

Scott chuckled, “Nah I don’t think it’s that serious, they probably just literally want to get everyone to ‘get together’,” he explained.

“You’re no fun,” you stuck your tongue out at him.

“Oh yeah?” next thing you knew he gave you a tickle attack which sent you into a laughing frenzy until you begged for him to stop so you could breathe.

You guys had no clue about what would happen the next day...

__________

“I’m excited for today, I missed having all of us together. Usually, there’s like about half of us hanging out,” you told Scott who wasn’t in the same car as you but he was on speaker as you both drove down to the house.

“Yeah me too, but I’m gonna miss not being able to *be with you* be with you,” he pouted, you couldn’t see him, but you could hear the disappointment in his voice.

“Aw baby me too, but you can be with me after okay?” you told him.

“Ugh fine,” he said playfully.

You giggled at him, “Okay baby I’m almost here I have to hang up,” you said.

“Nooooooooo,” he groaned.

“Yessssssss, I love you bye for now,” you laughed.

“I love you....see you soon,” and you said ‘bye’ again before you hung up on him.

You and Scott both pulled up separately, like you’ve been doing all this time for the past two months.

Scott goes in first, then five to ten minutes later you arrive and come in like it wasn’t planned.

But this time the vibe in the house felt so strange.

Ever since you were let in through the door, you felt as if everyone was glancing at you a little bit longer than usual. But nonetheless, you took it with a grain of salt and shrugged it off.

You all spent time laughing at jokes, telling stories, and whatnot.

After a while, everyone thought it was a great idea to play a game of truth or dare.

“Alright alright, everyone in a circle! Let's play truth or dare,” David shouted.

Everyone who was already sitting on the couch scooted forward, and the rest found a spot on the carpet or on a LoveSac.

You went and found a seat in between Jonah and Jeff, while Scott found a seat next to Todd and Zane. Everyone was surprised at how good you both were at keeping this up, you didn’t sit next to each other, bravo.

Zane had just finished another bottle of corona, and you all used that to pick people at random.

Natalie gave it a spin because she was the closest. The first person to get picked was Corinna, and she was dared to remove her panties and give it to whoever the bottle landed on.

Hilariously enough, the bottle landed on Todd, while the room echoed with ‘oooooh's’ and laughter. What are the odds...

Second was Ilya, and he was dared to lick Jason's toe for a minute. He spent a good five minutes arguing with David trying to negotiate the time, while Jason argued about how he didn’t even get a say in it.

Ilya still did the dare, he did the deed for a good ten seconds at least. David just wanted to see how long he would go.

And finally, the one who everyone has been secretly waiting for, ....you.

The bottle pointed at you and for some reason, your palms started to sweat, and you looked at Scott for a split second before looking at David, who was asking you to choose between truth or dare.

You knew that it was best if you stood on the safe side if David was the one determining your dare, so you chose truth even though it would be equally as bad.

Scott took a swig of his drink to prepare himself for whatever David had in mind.

“So out of everyone here, who’d you fuck?” David smirked, you obviously felt so put on the spot.

Everyone had eyes on you, waiting for the answer they were hoping to hear while Scott slightly choked on his drink.

“Oh um,” you looked around trying to find someone to pick, but more realistically a way out.

“I’m not gonna lie, probably Ilya...,” you lied, you didn’t even believe yourself at this point.

“Oh really? You’re sure you wouldn’t pick Scott?”Zane asked in a daring tone.

All of a sudden your heart skipped a beat before it started racing while your face felt hotter than a teapot.

‘What do they know?’ you thought to yourself.

“W-What are you talking about?” you still tried to act like you had know idea of what they mean.

“Well Jason found you and him at the beach together and since you guys are obviously dating we’d be sure you’d pick him,” David said.

And there it was. The elephant in the room finally has it’s time to shine.

You genuinely had no idea of what to say this time.

Scott was sitting comfortably in his seat quietly while you were getting all the heat.

“Uh, don’t just look at me! Look at him!,” you pointed at Scott to ease the tension off of you.

Now he knew what that felt like.

“Alright alright, we’re together. We’re sorry you had to find out this way…” he confessed.

Damn he cracked quick...

“Baby but why did you keep it from us? You know we wouldn’t judge you for it. We’re here for you baby,” Zane said to the both of you.

“We know, we just wanted to wait for the right time to tell you,” Scott explains, looking at you.

The both of you made eye contact with each other for a little longer than a second before looking away.

“Well don’t just sit there girl, be with him baby!,” Heath scolded, and you blushed, getting up to sit on Scott’s lap.

Everyone cheered when you wrapped one arm around his neck, and he had his wrapped around your waist, pulling you into a small kiss.

Jonah was already over it and he yelled at David to continue the game.

You all laughed before Natalie spun the bottle again, resuming the game.

Scott loved how he could be closer to you now that everyone was focused on something else. He bought his lips to the spot behind your ear, getting chills from his slight touch.

“So Ilya huh?” he whispered, sounding a little jealous but he was only half-serious.

“Oh shut it, you know it’s not true,” you giggled, squishing his cheeks with one hand.

I guess finally talking about the elephant in the room wasn't as bad as you thought...

#scott sire #scotty sire #vlog squad #davids vlogs #vlog #fanfic #secret #truth or dare

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petitprincess1 · 4 years

Text

Good Evening Ch12 (Escalating)

AO3 Link Summary: Angelo gets a surprise visit at night by someone...who is not at all happy to see him. How rude... Words: 2,479 Warning: Gun violence, blood, and murder I'm so freaking sorry for the wait. I have no excuse other than starting up a new story called My Roommate's a Demonic Deer and laziness. I'm so, so sorry. Hope it's worth the wait. ~~~ Also, during that week, Angelo had been bed-ridden the entire time, going in and out of consciousness, due to the immense pain that he was in. Luckily, he was stable enough to do the more private tasks like using the bathroom and bathing himself, so that was a bit of relief for him. He really needed those moments because he was hardly ever alone.

If he wasn’t being checked up on by Baxter, then Cherri was worried about his well being and talking to him about her terrible job. Sir Pentious would also make sure to keep him up to speed about all the news going on in the world by reading the newspaper...fucking old man. Plus, his sister came by with Fat Nuggets, his little piggy, to cheer him up. Granted, his father and Arackniss also came by...so...yeah. Nothing better than you father and brother still questioning your fucking “decision” of “choosing homosexuality”. Angelo wished Vox just killed him...not really, but he was mad.

Also, Charlie and, surprisingly, Vaggie came over once or twice to just talk to Angelo about anything and just to check up on him. It felt both odd and nice that they were all just talking like nothing changed. As if the mob child wasn’t lying in bed with his arm and leg in a cast, a few broken ribs, bruised up body, busted gums and lip, and getting sick of eating soup.

Angelo knew that everyone, excluding his brother and father, were just looking after him, but it was just a bit much. Although, it did make him feel happy that people did care for him this much...but give him some fucking space...please. If anything, Angelo was lowkey wondering why Alastor had yet to show up. Seemed like he didn’t want to leave his side before, what gives?

Now, the mob-child was watching some Baywatch-like TV show and it was boring as all hell. He groaned as he tried to grab the remote, just for sharp pain to go up his side as he attempted to twist his body, causing his eyes to tear up. He flopped back onto the mattress lightly, sighed, and called out as best as he could, “Pennnnnnn! PENNNNNNNNN!! …...PeEeeEEEeeeeEeEeENNNNnNNN!!!!”

Pentious practically kicked the door open and screeched, “Blimey! Shut the fuck up, you bloody plonker!”

Angelo grinned, “Man, ya really went full British~”

Pentious rolled his eyes and gave a huff as he walked into the room, questioning, “What the hell do you want?”

The mob child whimpered like a sad puppy and reached out pathetically to the remote on the nightstand. Pen raised an eyebrow at him, still clearly pissed at Angie calling out to him like that, and walked over to the nightstand. He grabbed the remote...and then tossed it lightly at Angelo’s head.

The boy flinched at the impact, even if it was barely enough to even cause pain. He pouted up at Pen, “Hey, what the hell!? I’m injured ‘ere!”

The older man sat down at the edge of the bed and huffed, “Clearly, you’re not too injured to scream at the top of your lungs. ….How are you feeling?”

Angelo couldn’t help but calm down at hearing his tone soften up a bit. He shifted as much as he could, wincing at a sharp pinch at his side, and replied, “Well...I’m doin’ as good as I can be, especially bein’ stuck in bed and, you know, bein’ broken...and all.”

Sir Pentious’ soft look immediately turned into a look of concern and possible pity. He rubbed the back of his neck, unsure of what to say to try to alleviate the situation, and asked, “Uh…perhaps I can do something to help you? You do look really knackered. Do you want anything? Anything at all?”

Angelo hummed, “Oh, yeah, can ya get me a fairy godmother to heal up my wounds, a hit list of everyone that works for Vox, and a M3? Thanks, sweetie~”

“....Uuuuuuhhhhh,” was Pen’s well-detailed and poetic response. Luckily, Cherri and a short latin man, who gave a warm smile to Pen before looking at Angelo worriedly, came walking in. Not necessarily to “save” him, since Cherri immediately punched Pen’s arm, causing him to let a manly yelp, while her face had a light pinkish red as she glared at him, shouting, “What the hell is wrong with you! Don’t yell at Angelo!”

Pentious glowered, “What’s wrong with me!? I’m not the one punching people randomly, you nutter!”

The short man pushed back his naturally, already slicked back, black hair with silver streak and went over to Angelo quickly. He practically shouted, just to assuage the tension, “So, uh, Anthony, how are you?”

The two looked over at Angelo and the mob child huffed, “I already answered this! When can I just get-augh!”

The three jumped at seeing Anthony grip at his ribs tightly and take a deep shuddering breath as his eyes teared up a bit, shutting his eyes tightly. The man mumbled, “I guess that answers my question.”

He fished some pills out from his pocket and was about to help him take the pills, even about to tell Pen to get some water. However, Angelo just snatched the capsules out of his hand and took them dry. He quickly snapped, “I can take my own pills, dammit!”

Pentious was going to yell again, but the doctor reassured, pushing up his glasses, “It’s alright, querido. He’s been stuck in bed for a whole week.” The long-haired man scoffed, “That doesn’t justify him being rude to you, Baxter. You should be more appreciative, Anthony!”

Angelo was about to yell to stop calling him Anthony, but Cherri clapped her hands and gave a soft sigh, “Alright, things are startin’ to escalate, so why don’t ya two maybe, uh, get the fuck out?”

Pen was going to argue more, but Baxter ended up calmly bringing his boyfriend out of the middle of things by taking his hand. He just didn’t wish to deal with a bunch of shouting. Well...more shouting. Pen eventually just huffed and decided to just go out the door, while carrying the bespectacled man in his arms. It caused a lovely rosy color to hit Baxter’s cheeks.

Cherri gagged at the two and then stared at Angelo, sighing, “So, uh, I guess ya ain’t doin’ that well, huh?”

Angelo shook his head and sat up slowly, wincing at the sharp pains wracking his body. The Australian girl wanted to help, but she knew that would just annoy Angie. He grunted, “I...I know that everyone is jus’ tryin’ ta help, but...god, it makes me feel useless. Not only that, but I bet Vox might send people ta finish the job, especially since I ain’t dead.”

“Did you escape or somethin’?”

“No...he let me go, but ya never just attack a mob boss and get out alive,” Angelo informed, causing him to let out a shuddering breath.

Cherri noticed it getting somber, causing her to change the subject and bring up, “Oh, uh, hey! I heard Alastor’s radio station. He talked about some woman’s husband missing and said that the hotel is doing well. I think it helps that Charlie’s dad is visiting more often, something about a helicopter and...uh...”

She trailed off when she noticed Angelo still looking incredibly distraught. She thought that she may have seen a glimmer of intrigue after mentioning Alastor’s name, but that was all. He barely seemed to pay attention to the status of the hotel. Cherri sighed as she reached into her short’s pocket and handed a folded up note to Angelo. She replied, “I found this letter outside your door way earlier. I think it was like 3 am, I heard some noise...uh...yeah. I’ll just leave it here…”

She placed it on the nightstand near his bed and then told him, “We all want ya to get better, Angie, and maybe even Vox to go through hell. Just...don’t do anything dumb, okay?”

Cherri then got up off of the bed and started walking towards the door, giving one glance over her shoulder at Angelo before leaving out of the room. Angelo sighed as he grabbed the letter, feeling awful for going silent on Cherri. He unfolded the paper and skimmed over the words.

When the mob-child got to the end of the letter, he felt both shocked, questionable, and worried. The letter was written by Alastor, who somehow snuck into Pen’s house, and...he was coming over tonight. ~~~ Angelo was slightly turning in bed, waiting for Alastor to come to the house. Granted, he wasn’t too excited to see what he was bringing back as a meal, but he was sure that he wouldn’t serve humans again. ...Well, he hoped so. It wasn’t like it was too much of a stretch considering what he saw in that gumbo. It still made him feel ill to this day. Plus, it didn’t help since Al seemed very excited.

Angelo just sighed as he placed his back on the pillow and was about to go to sleep, but stopped when he heard footsteps. He lifted his head up a little and groaned, “Hey, Al, can ya give me a hint as ta what yer makin’? I just don-”

He stopped when he saw a shadow in the hall of a woman that definitely didn’t look like Cherri’s. Before he could question, he heard the sound of a gun being cocked and then a revolver being aimed into the room. He saw a woman coming into view, but didn’t pay attention to anything but the shaky gun. Angie started, “Wh-Whoa! Hey, d-don’t do any-”

The woman whisper-shouted, “Shut up, just...shut up! You...You killed him!”

Angelo looked very confused and she sniffled, cheeks and nose a bright red, “Jonathan...he w-worked...a-at your ex-boss’ wareh-house. ...H-He was standing guard la-last week.”

Angelo barely had any memory of who all worked under Val and Vox, but it could have been a possibility. No one knows about the warehouse or that it’s Val’s. He gulped, “H-Hey, I’ve been st-stuck in bed an-”

“I told you-!” She took a deep breath as her finger went towards the trigger, making Angelo feel his heart jump to his throat. He looked around the place as he sat up in bed quite quickly, probably making it harder to believe that he was injured in the first place.

The woman went on, stepping closer and aiming the gun at his head, “Th-They told m-me...they f-found remains i-in the fu-furnace. Vox said...th-they don’t kn-now if i-it’s his, but...he has-sn’t come back. O-Our kids...a-are so sc-scared...they don’t...th-they just w-want...him…” she trailed off as she placed a hand to her mouth to try to quiet her sobbing, turning away and lowering the revolver.

Angelo was trying to slowly slide out of bed to try and get some kind of weapon. Unfortunately, the gentle thud of his toes hitting the wooden floor. The woman immediately shot up and aimed the gun back at his head. Angie gulped and tried to calm her again, “Listen...I promise ya...I did not kill yer husband, alright? I-I’ve been stuck here. I mean...ya can clearly see that Vox did a number on me...right…?”

He got a bit distracted when he saw Cherri appear behind the woman, opened her eyes widely, and then quickly retreated to possibly find a weapon. Angelo continued, wanting to stall, “So....what’s your n-”

“I’m not telling you my goddamn-”

“Whoa-ho-ho! I’ve clearly come in a bad time!”

The woman quickly turned around and aimed the gun at the person behind her. Angelo oddly felt relieved at seeing Alastor standing there with his perma-smile, but also had no idea where this was going to go. Al just calmly walked inside and stepped around the lady, humming a little tune. She whimpered, “H-How did you g-get in here!? Wh-Where did you come fr-from!? I...I heard y-your voice...the radio broadcast, right?”

Alastor nodded, walking in-between her and Angelo, “Yes...you’re Traci? The one that lost her husband, I suppose? ...Why are you going to shoot, Anthony?” Traci glared and sniffled, wiping her eyes, “Because he’s the one that killed him!”

Al raised an eyebrow and hummed, “And you know that...how?”

The lady looked around for a few seconds, messing with her hair and the scarf around her neck. She muttered, “I-I-I just kn-now about him g-getting hurt. Cl-Clearly, he ratted o-out to his batshit f-family! His sist-ter is just as f-fucking stupid a-as he is, so-”

“Now, now, no need to go throwing around insults. You’re already aiming a gun at a questionably innocent mad, don’t have to be even more callous,” Alastor chuckled, as if he was just having a normal conversation. It once again reminded Angelo that this man was not sound of mind. Cherri came back with a wooden field hockey stick and was slowly creeping on the lady. Traci started, “But he-”

Al walked closer to her, being calm and collected, “You...don’t know what he did. You’re just accusing him of something. I’m sure that the police are doing whatever they can, but...Traci...no need to get yourself in trouble. Your kids need you, correct? You do have kids, right?”

Traci was almost near sobbing again, causing Cherri to halt in her movements out of guilt, and she nodded. He walked closer, feeling the revolver press to his chest, and calmly asked, “Please, Traci, give the gun. ...We won’t press charges.”

She sniffled and whimpered, trembling where she stood. She let out a loud sob as she handed the gun to Alastor, who took the gun calmly. Angelo let out a breath and noticed that Pen and Baxter joined Cherri. The three looked calmer considering that everything had become quieter.

Alastor backed away from Traci, causing her to just break down and hugged herself. He looked down at the revolver and let out a long hum. Al then gave out quite a cute guilty as he informed, “Traci, don’t you know that when you threaten with a gun, you have to take the safety off! Silly!”

“Wha-” that was all that Traci said as she slowly lifted her head and a bullet went right through her head, causing a bit of blood splatter. Unfortunately, it got mostly onto Cherri and the wall, making the punk scream out in terror and Pen almost throw up. Her scream covered up the sound of Traci’s body falling onto the floor.

Alastor muttered, “I thought it would be messier than that...hmm…” He tossed the gun onto the bed and smiled at Angelo, who just muttered, “Nice shot...I guess…”

“I made grilled venison!”

“Oh...neat.”

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yaz-the-spaz · 4 years

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people say that Niall is the only one who hasn't said anything negative against Zayn? is that just ziall shippers? or has Liam actually said something negative about Zayn?

technically yes, he has...but imo what liam said that was considered ‘negative’ by many was not that really all that negative or all that serious/that big of a deal. i recognize that other people feel differently about it and that is totally valid, people are entitled to their feelings about it and there is nothing wrong with that. i just personally don’t see it as a huge negative thing. i think in one instance (we’ll call it instance #1 cause i believe it was the first if i remember correctly) he said what he felt he was ‘supposed’ to say in the moment and did not in any way actually mean it literally. and in the other (#2) i think he was very likely either coerced into saying what he did or his statement was heavily edited and spliced to come across exactly how ppl wanted, i.e. very negatively.

now onto what those statements actually were...sorry i don’t have links cause i am just not up for the undertaking involved in searching through my mess of tags rn for wherever in the hell those posts are on my blog lol cause they are both from like 2016/2017 or so (although if anyone has links readily available please feel free to hop on this post and add them for nonnie) but anyway basically:

1) liam was asked on some radio show (bbc1 maybe? idk something like that i think) out of three people listed - ed sheeran, zayn, and one other person i can’t remember...charlie puth maybe but idk for sure - anyway he was asked as a joke which out of the three he would save if they were stranded in the middle of the ocean or something like that. his answer was something along the lines of ‘well zayn left the band so i guess i would have to go with the others’ or something like that, idk sorry i can’t remember exactly but it was something along the lines of how he couldn’t choose zayn cause he left the band and basically a lot of ppl interpreted that as him basically saying he would let zayn drown since zayn can’t swim and like...ppl can feel how they feel about it i guess but to me like...it was a HYPOTHETICAL question. real-life details DO NOT APPLY and are NOT MEANT TO BE APPLIED HERE and i am 100% certain that if they were ever in an actual real-life situation like that liam would obviously never in a million years seriously just leave zayn to drown. but again, that’s just my own opinion on it, ppl feel how they feel and they’re entitled to that

anyway moving on to...

2) dan wattpad ahem sorry i mean wootton later had some ‘exclusive’ interview with liam in which everyone just collectively forgot that we never trust anything that’s said in that man’s presence i guess. it was an audio/over the phone interview he did with liam and in it liam was asked about zayn and how he felt about zayn’s comments about the band (i.e. about how he never wanted to be part of the band, didn’t enjoy his time in it, etc.) and in response liam said something along the lines of ‘i don’t understand it/don’t understand him’ and ‘i don’t know how you can come away from the kind of amazing experiences we had in the band and feel that way about it’

which

first off it was fucking dan wootton’s show, we never take anything he publishes either in his own words or in supposed ‘exclusives’ with the boys (in supposedly their own words) as remotely believable because it’s fairly obvious he’s simon’s personal freaking slave and mouthpiece (in more ways than one lol) so why tf ppl all of a sudden took those statements from liam as the gospel truth i will never understand. interviews, even audio interviews, are highly scripted, edited, and spliced and we know that so whether liam even said those actual words in that literal order is highly questionable imo but even if he did why were so many suddenly so ready to believe that he said it completely of his own volition and not b/c it was just what he was told/trained to say. second off, it directly contracted EVERYTHING liam had said in pretty much EVERY SINGLE other previous public statement regarding zayn, which was that HE UNDERSTOOD EXACTLY WHY ZAYN DID WHAT HE DID and didn’t begrudge him for it. but now all of a sudden b/c he made one statement, to dan fucking wattpad of all people, in which he was saying the opposite, all of a sudden THAT’S the truth? rather than the multitude of other times he said (seemingly actually of his own volition) that he did understand and didn’t blame him? yeah that makes total sense. just ignore/forget the 500 times liam previously said he understood zayn perfectly and that things were good between them, and take the one time he said he didn’t while in a highly sus ‘exclusive’ with a known liar/bullshitter and cronie of simon cowell and believe THAT ONE. yup. nothing to see there, that’s totally sound. anyway, more than that i think it’s fairly obvious in the comments that not only zayn and liam but pretty much all of the boys made then, and in all the time since then, that everything was not roses and daises for them, not even close, and that statement liam made with wattpad is very obviously incongruent (esp in hindsight) with a lot of their actual (non-rose colored) accounts of their experiences in the band.

anyway short story long, yes liam has technically said ‘negative’ things about zayn if you choose to see them that way, although personally i don’t, but a good portion of the fandom does i guess so if you see ppl saying that liam has or that niall’s the only one who hasn’t, at least now you know what they’re talking about

#asks #anons #liam #ziam #dan wattpad #fuckery

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lovemesomesurveys · 3 years

Text

[created by: --rainboweyes--]

What is your initials backwards? I don’t want to share my initials.

What's your favorite fairground ride? I don’t go to fairs.

When was the last time you opened a jar? Hmm. I opened a jar of spinach and artichoke dip not that long ago.

Do you text with one hand or with both? I use both of my thumbs.

Are your parents left or right handed? My dad is ambidextrous and my mom is right handed.

What was the last photo you took of? My doggo.

It's your birthday - what would you like me to buy you? Thanks, but you don’t need to get me anything.

Do you like any songs by Moby? I liked the song he did with Gwen Stefani, “South Side.”

How about Keane? Somewhere Only We Know and Is It Any Wonder are my favorites.

What color is your home phone? Black.

When was the last time you had cake? What type was it? I had red velvet cake recently.

What topic always interests you and you will never tire of? Psychology.

Are you more or less tolerant than the average person? I think I’m pretty tolerant.

If someone were to rate your life, what film certificate would it receive? Uhhh, I have no idea.

Do you mind eating cold fries or are they disgusting? Ew, gotta get ‘em hot and fresh.

Would you rather name your dog Chasey or Charlie? I would choose Charlie out of the two.

How about your pet horse Biscuit or Destiny? Destiny.

What makes you angry about the world? Ignorance and hatred.

Would you rather play basketball, watch football or do a martial art? None of those, really.

Which martial art would you rather do, anyway? None.

Do you feel closer to content, anxious, agitated, jovial or lethargic? Lethargic. I first woke up around 1ish and then off and on since then and now it’s 4PM and I still don’t want to get up or out of bed, but I’m doing this survey and trying to get myself up. ...I got distracted after this and now it’s 5:41PM, ha, but I did make it out of bed.

What were you doing 2.30pm yesterday? I was working on my Bible study.

The next time 5pm comes around, what will you be doing? Well, it’s 5:43PM now, but at 5 I was finishing eating and watching TV.

What is your opinion on Pierres Morgan (Americas/Britains Got Talent)? I don’t have an opinion on him. He’s not someone I pay attention to and I’ve never watched either of those shows.

What song makes you cry? What about it makes you cry? One of them is the acoustic version of Everlong by Foo Fighters because of the memories attached to it.

If you could remake a movie, which movie would it be? I wouldn’t want to remake or make a movie at all.

How about if you could rewrite a books ending, which one? Why? I don’t knowww.

What color hair does your sibling(s) have? They have dark brown hair.

What gemstone would you like on your wedding ring? I don’t plan on ever having one, so.

Do you believe in Angels? How about Demons? Yes.

Would you classify yourself as materialistic? Nah, I wouldn’t say that at all. I like nice stuff, sure, but I’m not consumed or obsessed with money and luxurious things. That stuff isn’t the most important things in life.

Which piece of technology could you not live without? I like my phone and my laptop.

Do you have a family member who takes you for granted? No.

What are you looking forward to in the near future? For the first time in over a year I’ll be seeing my aunt that I’m close to. She’s going to say for the weekend, so that’ll be fun. We always have a good time. I haven’t seen any extended family actually in over a year.

How is life going for you, anyway? Be honest. Not great if that hasn’t been made abundantly clear by now.

Do you wear more trousers/pants or skirts? I only wear leggings.

Do you listen in to other peoples private conversations? Not intentionally - but sometimes they’re not very private about it, to be fair. <<< True, true. But I admit to being nosey at times. :X

When you hear the word freak do you think of someone odd or kinky? Odd.

What's the best song to dance to? Any upbeat song, ha.

What type of music will you never listen to? Example of artists in genre? I’m not into club, EDM, house music type stuff, but I wouldn’t say I’d never listen to it. It’s just really not my thing.

When did you last have a blood test? About 3 years ago.

#personal #text #survey #surveys

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hazelnmae · 5 years

Text

Lies Travel Faster: Chapter Ten

Summary: Sophia Murphy’s life seems to be on the upswing when she takes a job with Birmingham’s notorious Shelby Company Ltd. But when she falls for her boss, CEO and ruthless gangster, Tommy Shelby, she finds herself wrapped up in a tangled web of danger and deceit. After all, lies travel faster than the truth.

Tags: Tommy Shelby x Original Female Character; Tommy/Assistant Trope (it’s a hill I’ll die on)

Warnings: angst; smut; violence; language; rape/non-con; death

CHAPTER 10 (read Chapter 9 or start at the beginning with Chapter 1)

Sophie met Robert at the tea rooms.

The irony of this was not lost on her, though why she continually agreed to meet Ada at the tea rooms was still a mystery. In truth, she longed for Ada’s companionship and relished in a few quiet hours out from under the watchful eye of Tommy and his men. Even though it had been three months since they took out Changretta, Tommy still insisted on posting protection around the city for his family. And he still considered Sophie part of that family despite the fact that they hadn’t acted like much more than acquaintances since the night of the fight.

Robert had already been seated in the room when Sophie and Ada were escorted to their table. She’d noticed his gaze, but ignored it for most of the afternoon. As he was leaving, though, he approached the women and, after a few moments of small talk about the weather, he apologized for his forwardness and asked her for a date. It wasn’t until after he left that Sophie realized she hadn’t said a word to him.

She could tell from her friend’s face that she was disappointed. Ada hoped that Sophie and Tommy would somehow put their issues behind them and would find a way to rekindle what she was sure had been stirring between them. Sophie, though, had convinced herself that none of those stirrings had actually occurred. She and Tommy had only ever wanted one thing from each other. She’d needed a job and he’d needed an assistant. Sure, they were both lonely and may have drifted toward one another because of it, but in the end they both seemed to believe it was a mistake and seemed relieved it had ended as quickly as it began.

It had been three months since she moved back to Small Heath. She’d called Robert the next day, although she’d struggled to recall what he looked like. She remembered he was blonde and thought he may be handsome, but she only saw Tommy’s face when she closed her eyes. When they met for dinner that night, she realized she was right--he was quite handsome. Tall, blonde, green eyes, and wide shoulders--he was different from Tommy. She needed different.

Through the conversation she came to learn he was in local politics. Another fundamental difference. He was a man who could give her an honest life, a man who smiled freely, a man who said he wanted to fight for the residents of Birmingham. But a man as bland as the crackers served with her soup.

She courted Robert for the next few months, but she only allowed him to court a ghost of herself, something that didn’t exist and never would--something that was better suited to his life. It had been easy enough and she couldn’t help but think this is how Tommy had been living all those years since the war.

Tommy hadn’t said a word about the relationship, though she was sure he'd known. He hadn’t said much to her at all and even avoided being alone with her, opting to leave the office door open if he did need to conduct business with only Sophie. It was so unlike him that she didn’t know what to make of it. Tommy never seemed to care what others thought and certainly never seemed uncomfortable or less than perfectly self-possessed. But now he acted as if her presence was almost unbearable.

It hurt her more deeply than she let on.

There were days she thought he paraded women past her just to make her jealous but really she knew he was just moving on with his life.

Not wanting to choose between her friend and her brother, Ada attempted to bridge the gap and spent some time with Robert, later giving him her stamp of approval. To the rest of the Shelby family, Robert wasn’t a topic for discussion. Polly secretly hoped it would fizzle as slowly and dully as it’d started.

But it hadn’t.

Then Sophie found the ring in Robert’s nightstand.

She knew he’d ask her soon.

And she knew she’d say "yes" when he did.

____________________

She entered his office as quietly as she’d knocked, careful not to draw too much attention to herself. When Tommy looked up and realized it was her, her dropped his pen on the desk and leaned back in his chair.

“What can I do for you, Sophie?” he asked.

She felt a cold sweat break on her neck. Brandishing a perfectly wrapped box from behind her back, Sophie responded, “I just have a little something for Charlie’s birthday.” And after a pause, “I saw it and couldn’t resist.”

He took the gift from her and thought a moment before clearing his throat. “Why don’t you join us for his party tomorrow?”

“Oh I couldn’t impose.”

“You’re invited, Sophie. You can even bring Robert, if you’d like. I’ve yet to meet him.” Tommy forced a smile.

It startled her to hear Robert’s name on Tommy’s lips. She assumed he knew about them, it wasn’t a secret, but she somehow hoped they could go on forever never discussing it.

“I’m not sure he’d be available,” she stammered, trying to mask the uneasiness in her voice. “But I’d love to see Charlie. It’s been so long.” She responded.

“He misses you too,” Tommy said quietly, looking down at the box in his hands.

____________________

The car pulled up outside her flat at 10:00 am sharp. A young man in a peaked cap was driving and Sophie did her best to make small talk with him during the drive to Arrow House. He answered every question calling her “ma’am.” Sophie just laughed. “I’m hardly old enough to be a ma’am to you,” she said.

“True, ma’am, but Mr. Shelby instructed us to show you the utmost respect,” the young man replied. “He said you were a real classy lady.”

Sophie could only smile. Of course he had.

“Alright, well just between the two of us, then, you can call me Sophie,” she’d told him with a wink. The rest of the drive was pleasant and decidedly more comfortable. So much so that they’d arrived at Arrow House much quicker than either driver or passenger had realized.

Upon entering Arrow House, Sophie was greeted by an exuberant birthday boy who, after a quick but tight embrace, told her she could find the whole family in the back garden.

It was the most relaxed she’d ever seen Tommy--even after all those weeks she’d spent in his home. He was wearing his usual three piece suit, but his hair was a bit tousled and he seemed to actually be enjoying himself. Life was, no doubt, a little easier with Changretta out of the picture. She couldn’t help but smile at the thought that he may be finding a bit of peace finally. He noticed her across the yard and came to greet her.

“You made it,” he said.

“Wouldn’t miss it,” she blushed.

“Well, it may be Charlie’s birthday, but I have a surprise to share with you.” And he nodded in the direction of the stables.

________________________

The horse was already saddled up when she entered the stables. He was a deep chestnut with darker coloring on his mane and tail.

“Is this Charlie’s gift?” She asked, smiling wide.

Tommy only hummed in assent as he lit a cigarette. “Well, go on then,” he said, motioning toward the horse.

Sophie looked the horse over and ran her hand down his silky coat. He reacted by leaning into her. Much like the first time she met Belle, Sophie had a sudden urge to ride--to get out in the fresh air and leave her worries behind. She imagined what a brisk ride might do for her anxiety about being back at Arrow House. The anxiety that came with actually talking to Tommy again about more than just ledgers and appointments.

“He likes you,” Tommy said, eliciting a small laugh from Sophie.

“Are you planning to ride him today?” She asked.

“Hmm, yes,” he responded. “I thought we’d both go.” He moved to the back of the stable and retrieved Belle, who was also dressed and saddled.

Sophie couldn’t help the smile spreading across her face. I’d been months since she’d been on a horse and she missed it terribly. Sensing her excitement, Tommy handed her the reigns. She noticed the hint of a smile spreading across his face.

________________________

The rain came suddenly and, of course, just as they had turned the farthest corner of the lower field. Tommy was in front and turned to get her attention before moving his horse into action back toward the house. He’d turned a few times to ensure Sophie was still close behind him as he navigated over the muddy terrain, finally arriving back at the house soaking wet. The party had moved indoors and only remnants remained strewn through the garden.

Standing in the kitchen, she gladly took the towel he offered and worked it through her damp hair. He’d taken the brunt of the rain, having shed his coat and thrown it over her head and shoulders as they made their way across the lawn to the house.

She handed the towel back to him. “I think you need it more than I do,” she said.

Tommy chuckled and brushed a stray piece of hair behind her ear before taking the towel. She only remembered seeing him smile a handful of times, and was reminded just how lovely it was.

Just then, the door to the kitchen flung open and Ada and Polly entered, a concerned look on both their faces.

“What is it?” Tommy asked, his brow furrowed now, the smile having completely drained from his face.

“There you are!” Robert exclaimed as he entered the room. “I’ve been worried sick. Damn foolish of you to go riding in the rain.” He was belligerent as he pushed through the women still standing in the doorway. The dark shade of red that covered his face would have betrayed his anger if his words had not.

“It wasn’t raining when we set off,” Tommy said in his calm, low brum. He’d sensed Sophie’s shock and wanted to spare her the embarrassment. “We haven’t met. I’m Tommy Shelby,” he continued extending his hand and brandishing his best, most disdainful smirk.

Robert looked straight at him but didn’t extend the same pleasantries. Ignoring Tommy’s outstretched hand, he turned to Sophie instead.

“It’s time you head home,” he said.

“But Robert,” she replied with a smile, “the party has really just begun.”

“We still need to open presents and cut the cake,” Ada said, trying now to diffuse the situation.

“You’re welcome to join us,” Tommy added, hoping he’d refuse.

“Sophie really must be going,” Robert continued, sternly. “We both should.”

It was Polly’s turn to interject, watching the hatred grow in her nephew’s demeanor. “We can make sure Sophie gets home safely,” she said.

Sensing he was fighting a losing battle, Robert turned to Sophie. “Can we speak somewhere privately?”

They turned back toward the kitchen door, Robert forcefully grabbing Sophie’s elbow. Tommy’s jaw clenched in reaction, but Polly stepped forward and stopped him before he could make matters worse. Sophie jerked away from Robert, but led him out of the hallway and into Tommy’s office.

“This is ridiculous,” he spewed through gritted teeth. “You have no business spending so much time here alone, and you certainly shouldn't be riding off on horseback with strange men.”

“I'm hardly alone, Robert. And Tommy’s hardly a stranger,” she said as she rolled her eyes. She’d never seen him so worked up and assumed it was simply out of worry for her safety.

“Tommy?” he replied. “That’s a little informal for your boss, isn’t it?”

"He’s a friend. They all are.”

“What they are,” he continued, moving closer to her now, “Is a bunch of Pikey criminals.”

She couldn’t believe what she was hearing. She’d been seeing him for three months and had never once witnessed Robert lose his temper or raise his voice--let alone so openly belittle someone. He was supposed to be a good man. An honest man. And a good and honest man wouldn’t find it so easy to be so hateful.

“Friends,” he scoffed, turning away from her again.

“They’ve been nothing but kind to me.”

“Only because they want something from you.”

“And what is that, Robert? What could I possibly have to give that the Shelbys would want?" She felt herself getting angry now and fought the urge to break into a shouting match.

He swung back around and moved closer again, she could feel his hot breath on her face.

“Just one Shelby. Thomas doesn’t want something from you. He wants you. For himself.”

Sophie couldn’t understand how he’d jumped to that conclusion. She'd hardly spoken of Tommy, or any Shelby, to him. She'd certainly given him no reason to believe Tommy wanted her--or vice versa.

“Or has he already had you?”

Anger bubbled closer to the surface now. He was jealous. Still, Sophie said nothing.

“Oh my god. Have you fucked him?”

Robert didn’t know about her past with Tommy--about how close they’d come to letting the spark ignite. Again, though, she refused to answer him. Her mind was racing too quickly to even muster a response. She was reminded of the first time she'd met Tommy and how at that meeting he'd accused her of sleeping with John. Fucking idiots, she thought. All of them.

“Answer me.”

“No,” she finally said.

“Have you kissed him?”

“Robert--” She tried to move away, but he interrupted her answer and her movement.

“Answer the question, Sophie.”

What was the fucking point, she thought. He already had his mind made up.

“Jesus,” he muttered.

“It was noth--”

“Don’t give me that,” he shouted, pointing a finger in her face. “You’re quitting that job tomorrow.”

Her job was the only thing in her life that provided earnest happiness. It’d been hard since her fallout with Tommy, sure, but feeling useful, getting to see her family daily, growing closer to Ada, all of that was thanks to her job. She couldn’t imagine giving it up. And she couldn't believe he was asking her to do it.

“And why aren’t you wearing your ring?” He asked now, searching her over for the first time since he'd arrived.

“Robert, no one knows about our engagement. You said you wanted to announce it--”

“I'll announce it tomorrow and you’ll resign your job. Then we can put these fucking Shelbys behind us.”

“Robert--”

“I expect Polly to bring you home. I don’t want his dirty hands all over you.”

With that, Robert stormed out of the office, past Polly who was standing in the hallway, and out the front doors. Tommy hadn’t heard their conversation, but he watched Robert leave the drive as Charlie opened his gifts at the dining table.

________________________

Tommy stood in his office, turning over the small wooden horse Sophie had gifted Charlie. His son had turned eight and while it still hurt to know she wouldn’t watch him grow, he knew Grace would have been proud of the person Charlie was becoming.

They'd given the boy the same thing--each gifting him a horse in their own way. Sophie told him she saw the toy horse in a shop window and couldn’t resist. He wondered how many times a day things reminded her of Charlie. And of him. He wondered if she thought of him as much as he thought of her. And he wondered what she saw in a man like Robert.

“I’m leaving now,” she said, entering the office. “Polly’s giving me a ride.”

“I could take you,” he replied sadly.

“I wouldn’t want to inconvenience you. Besides, Polly has to go that direction anyhow.” She said quickly, before he could object again.

They each stood for a moment, letting the awkward silence fall between them as it had so many times over the last few months. He’d been leaning against his desk, but Tommy now moved toward her slowly. “Thank you for coming.”

“Thank you for the invitation,” she responded. “And thank you for the ride. I didn’t realize how much I’d missed that” She said, looking down at her hands.

“You know you can come ride anytime you want. Belle is as much yours as she is mine,” he answered. “And I’m sure Charlie would be happy to share Henry with you.”

Henry.

He’d named the horse after her brother.

Tears welled in her eyes. All this time, she thought he was pushing her away because he didn’t care. Maybe he’d been pushing because he cared too much.

Stepping even closer now, so that his hands could reach her shoulders, Tommy asked, “You sure you won’t let me drive you?”

Sophie looked up and met his eyes. She wanted to say yes. Wanted to spend a few more moments with him alone. Maybe she’d even work up the nerve to tell him she was engaged. He could walk her to the door and brush her cheek with his calloused fingers. His breath would blow the delicate hairs around her face as he leaned in for a kiss.

But no. She couldn’t let him drive her. She’d made her commitment, her choice, and she knew getting wrapped up in Tommy again would be a mistake. Despite the horrible side she'd seen of him today, she still wanted to believe Robert was a good man--a good man who could give her a good life.

“I just want to spend more time with you,” Tommy said.

It was the most heartfelt thing he’d ever said to her. He looked away as he said it, as if he knew it, too.

“We both know that’d be a mistake, Tommy,” she responded.

________________________

As she sped down the road, Polly glanced over at Sophie. She was more concerned than ever about Sophie's future and how it may impact her nephew.

“He doesn't know you're getting married,” Polly said.

Sophie thought better than to ask how Polly knew. Polly had her third eye, after all, and may as well have known everything. There was no keeping a secret from her--especially one that impacted the people she loved.

And as much as he infuriated her, Polly loved her nephew. She had also grown to love Sophie.

“Robert wants me to tell him tomorrow,” Sophie said, looking out the window. “Wants me to quit my job.”

“And why is that?” Polly asked now, lighting a cigarette as she balanced the wheel on her knee.

“He's afraid of Tommy.”

Polly scoffed, letting out a puff of smoke as she did. “Yeah, well, he should be. They way he grabbed your arm tonight, I thought Tommy--”

“No. Not like that.” Sophie interrupted. “I mean, he's afraid of me and Tommy.”

Polly just hummed and drove on.

_____________________

Read Chapter 11

Thanks so much for reading! Feedback welcome and appreciated!! XOXO

Here ya go!! @justanothershelby @l0tsofpennies

Let me know if you’d like to be tagged in future chapters!

#peaky blinders #peaky blinders fiction #peaky blinders fanfic #peaky blinders fanficiton #tommy shelby #tommy shelby x oc #thomas shelby #thomas shelby x oc #polly gray #ada thorne #lies travel faster #HazelNMae

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cursed-ice-spirits · 4 years

Text

OC Interview - REBECCA LORD

Thank you to @lowtoleranceforyou for tagging me <3

What’s your Name? ➔ “Ah, so we’re starting this out on the basics huh? Well, if you really must know, my name is Rebecca Vivian Lord.”

Are you single? ➔ “I- what kind of question is that?! U-Uh, well I’m single. Officially that is. It is... complicated.”

Are you happy? ➔ “I’m trying to be.”

Are you angry? ➔ “if I was angry, I’ll be freezing things all over the place so... no I am not.”

Are your parents still married? ➔ “What’s with the personal questions? Ugh, seeing as my mother is not right in the mind, I am not sure. Officially, yes I would say so.”

- NINE FACTS

birthplace ➔ “North Yorkshire, England.”

hair color ➔ “Black.”

eye color ➔ “Hazel, although I am told it looks gold from far away.”

birthday ➔ “Ah, well, it is in September. It’s not important” *poke poke poke* “Do I really have to? Ugh, fine. September 2nd, 1972.”

mood ➔ “Bored, although it’s quickly giving in to impatience. What do you want with these questions?”

gender ➔ “Female.”

summer or winter ➔ “Winter, although it may be because I don’t feel the cold and summer is hell to me... what do you mean why? The curse makes me more sensitive to the heat, is all.”

morning or afternoon ➔ “Mornings, mostly because I get to wake up early go on runs.”

- EIGHT THINGS ABOUT YOUR LOVE LIFE

are you in love ➔ She turns a very interesting shade of red. “N-Next one please.”

do you believe in love at first sight ➔ “I- no, I always liked personality better and it took me a long time to fall in love with D- nevermind next.”

who ended your last relationship ➔ “Er... It wasn’t any of our faults really. It wasn’t really a real relationship and Charlie and I just hold hands at most. We didn’t last long. We weren’t compatible enough and we both agreed to stay friends. But... it’s alright. We just dated to test things out. He trusted me the most out of all our friends and... sorry I’m rambling.”

have you ever broken someone’s heart ➔ “I sure hope not. I think the only person I know who has been interested in me was Ben I’m pretty sure. And by now, his feelings probably faded away.”

That’s a lie. She has broken hearts, she just has no idea.

are you afraid of commitments ➔ “I... would say so yes.”

have you hugged someone within the last week? ➔ “What kind of question is that? Let me see uh.... fuck I can’t recall - NEXT!”

have you ever had a secret admirer ➔ “No??? I don’t see why I would have a secret admirer.”

Poor girl has no idea she does have a few admirers despite her loner status.

have you ever broken your own heart? ➔ “....Next one.”

- SIX CHOICES

love or lust ➔ “Love??? Lust is blah. I don’t get it at all.”

lemonade or iced tea ➔ “Iced tea I suppose. Although lemonade is quite nice.”

cats or dogs ➔ “How dare you make me choose.”

a few best friends or many regular friends ➔ “Er, I have a few best friends. Although the person I trust the most has to be either Ethren or Andre. Maybe even Alana. Although somehow I end up making more friends than I truly need. Lau dragged me into his friend circle, Summer helped me out with Lockwood and Jason saved my life from my own curse so I really don’t know.”

wild night out or romantic night in ➔ “I’m not really sure? Wild nights out sounds brilliant. I get to go out and have fun, enjoy the wind blowing through my hair and stuff but... I gotta admit, romantic nights sounds... comforting.”

day or night ➔ “Er, night. I have insomnia so I like to just... wander around. Sometimes I like to drop random gifts for my friends. Don’t tell anyone that though-”

- FIVE HAVE YOU EVERS

been caught sneaking out ➔ Here, her eyes wrinkle with amusement. “No, I was never caught.”

fallen down/up the stairs ➔ “...once but it’s because my uncle once pushed me off. Next please.”

wanted something/someone so badly it hurt? ➔ Her face scrunches with discomfort. “Yes.”

wanted to disappear ➔ “Yes.”

- FOUR PREFERENCES

smile or eyes ➔ “Smile. Although I can see why people would choose eyes. People say that they’re the window to the soul and they can show how we really feel but... I don’t know. Smiles just gives me comfort, you know?”

shorter or taller ➔ “Does it really matter? Taller, although it’s hard to find others shorter since I’m 5′3 but yeah.”

intelligence or attraction ➔ “Like I said, I don’t really care. Personality just speaks out to me more.”

hook-up or relationship ➔ “Relationship? What’s the use in a hook-up?”

- FAMILY

do you and your family get along ➔ “Hahahaha, my father’s side of the family maybe but my mother’s side? One tried to murder me this year so no.”

would you say you have a “messed up life” ➔ “Seeing as I am cursed with an ice curse, yes.”

have you ever run away from home ➔ “...next.”

have you ever gotten kicked out ➔ “Next.”

- FRIENDS

do you secretly hate one of your friends ➔ “If I hated them, I wouldn’t be friends with them.... okay maybe I hated Tulip at one point but we’re good now.”

do you consider all of your friends good friends ➔ She rolled her eyes. “Like I said, if they weren’t good friends, I wouldn’t be friends with them, would I?”

who is your best friend ➔ “Well I consider Ethren and Alana as good as family so... Andre?”

who knows everything about you ➔ “Ah, well, not really sure. I keep a lot of things a secret. Including the... whatever, is that all? Good.”

---------

Not tagging anyone because lazy but do so if you wish

#mc interview #hphm #hogwarts mystery #hphm mc #jacob's sibling #rebecca lord

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journeyintotheshelves · 5 years

Text

Back in April I took part in the O.W.L.s Magical Read-a-thon hosted by Book Roast on YouTube. Out of the twelve “exams,” I passed eight of them: Arithmancy, Care of Magical Creatures, Charms, Defense Against the Dark Arts, History of Magic, Muggle Studies, Potions, and Transfiguration. Which set me up perfectly for this month’s read-a-thon: the N.E.W.T.s! This was my favorite read-a-thon to participate in last year, and G has just made it bigger and better than ever, and I am so glad I can participate in it again this year.

The career framework that I’m using for the N.E.W.T.s is different from the one I used for the O.W.L.s back in April. Though I could still go for a Charms professor at Hogwarts, I’m actually planning on following the criteria path for a Ministry Worker, specifically for the Department of International Magic Cooperation. Which means I only need to get an Outstanding in one subject — History of Magic — and acceptable in five others: Muggle Studies, Defense Against the Dark Arts, Potions, Transfiguration, and Charms.

Since I have a bunch of ARCs that I want to get to over the next few months and start posting reviews again, I’m hoping to combine the N.E.W.T.s with ARC August to see just how much of my ARC backlog I can get through. I’m ridiculously excited for all of the books I want to read this month, so hopefully I can get to most, if not all of them (in a perfect world). I am going to the beach for a week at the end of the month, which means prime reading time. Last year, I read four books while I was on vacation, so hopefully I can repeat that this year.

History of Magic

Out of all of my exams for this round of the N.E.W.T.s, History of Magic is the only one that I have to achieve an “Outstanding” to complete my career path. So did I choose easy books to complete it? Of course not! Why would I be kind to myself like that? However, I’m fairly certain that each of these books are going to be five stars, so I’m not too worried.

ACCEPTABLE: Read a fantasy

A Darker Shade of Magic (Shades of Magic: 1): V.E. Schwab

Despite the fact that I own a bunch of V.E. (Victoria) Schwab books, I haven’t read a single one. A Darker Shade of Magic is one of my Top 10 Books to Read in 2019, and I think it’s finally time to dive into some of Schwab’s work.

EXCEEDS EXPECTATIONS: Read a book that includes a map

Darkdawn (The Nevernight Chronicle: 3): Jay Kristoff Publication date: September 3rd

I’m currently in the middle of reading Godsgrave right now and am falling more in love with this story as I read every page. I cannot believe that I’m lucky enough to have an ARC of this highly anticipated finale, and I can’t wait to read it as soon as I can.

OUTSTANDING: Tom Riddle’s Diary: fond memory — reread a favorite (or a classic)

Wuthering Heights: Emily Brontë

I read Wuthering Heights for the first (and only) time back when I was a sophomore in high school and fell in love with the story. I’ve been meaning to reread this story for ages, especially since so many people I’ve talked to hate this book. I’m interested to see if I still feel the same about the story of Heathcliff and Catherine all these years later.

Muggle Studies

For my chosen career path, I only have to read the book for an acceptable grade for this exam. But I’m a bit extra motivated to get an “Outstanding” in Muggle Studies since one of these books was on my N.E.W.T.s TBR last year and didn’t get it to then, so it must happen this year.

ACCEPTABLE: Cover that includes an actual photo element

The Girl the Sea Gave Back: Adrienne Young Publication date: September 3rd

This one is a complete surprise addition to my TBR this month. But the Netgalley fairies (and the ones at St. Martin’s Press) granted my wish and I can read it early! I’m a sucker for books with a big mythology aspect, so I cannot wait to dive into this one (pun fully intended).

EXCEEDS EXPECTATIONS: Book set in our real world

Permanent Record: Mary H.K. Choi Publication date: September 3rd

The world needs more books about college-aged people that aren’t set at a college, so I’m so excited that I get the chance to read Permanent Record. I’ve heard nothing but great things about Mary H.K. Choi’s last novel, Emergency Contact, so I’m intrigued to see how I like her newest novel.

OUTSTANDING: Book written by a person of color

A Very Large Expanse of Sea: Tahereh Mafi

If you’re having déjà vu reading this, trust me you’re not alone. This isn’t the first TBR that I’ve included A Very Large Expanse of Sea, but I definitely want it to be the last. I saw Tahereh Mafi at Epic Reads Day in July, and hearing her speak about this book and what it meant to her made me want to read it that much more.

Defense Against the Dark Arts

Like with Muggle Studies, I only have to read the book I chose for an “Acceptable” grade to complete the requirements for my chosen career path. However, all three books I’ve chosen for these prompts have been on my TBR for waaaay too long, and I think it’s time to change that.

ACCEPTABLE: Book that’s black under the dust jacket (only one necessary for my chosen career)

Legend (Legend: 1): Marie Lu

Why finish a Marie Lu series when I can keep starting them? Even though I do really want to finish her Warcross and Young Elites series, I do want to try and read her debut series; especially since Rebel, the continuation of this series, comes out in October.

EXCEEDS EXPECTATIONS: Gilderoy’s memory charm — first book you remembered from your TBR

Heretics Anonymous: Katie Henry

I’ve been dying to read this book since it came out last year. I love books that deal with philosophy and religion, especially if they’re done in a humorous way.

OUTSTANDING: Cornish pixie! Swat it away with a book written by an English author or set in England

Heartstopper, Volume 1: Alice Oseman

So, technically this is a reread for me since I’ve been reading Heartstopper as a webcomic since the beginning. But, I do love this story and Nick and Charlie are just so unbelievably adorable. This will be the perfect book to squeeze between some of my darker fantasies that I hope to read this month to lighten the mood.

Potions

Potions is going to my hardest N.E.W.T. to pass with an “Outstanding” grade. All three books are fantasy over 400 pages each. But, I won’t let that deter me and sometimes a fantasy is just the perfect beach read.

ACCEPTABLE: Polyjuice potion — read your friend’s favorite book

The Princess Bride: William Goldman

Asking my friend Nicole for her favorite book was absolutely terrible. Like most bookworms, she gave me a list of about ten books about twenty minutes after I asked her. Fortunately, I read most of the books that she suggested, with the exception of The Princess Bride. I have seen the movie once and liked it, so I’m interested to see how the book and movie differ. Hopefully it has the same humor as the movie does because that was just pure gold.

EXCEEDS EXPECTATIONS: House ingredient –– book with a cover in your Hogwarts house colors (Hufflepuff — yellow & black)

Serpent & Dove (Serpent & Dove: 1): Shelby Mahurin Publication date: September 3rd

I’ve been in love with this book ever since I saw the cover reveal a couple of months ago. And then I heard Shelby Mahurin speak about the story and fell in love even more. Give me all of the books with a fake dating — in this case a fake marriage — trope.

OUTSTANDING: Book that starts with a prologue

The Chosen (Contender: 1): Taran Matharu

I haven’t read any Taran Matharu before, but this one sounds like a great sci-fi/fantasy book. From the synopsis, I’m getting Matrix vibes and I cannot wait to see how this story unfolds.

Transfiguration

Just like for Potions, in order to complete the tests for my chosen career path, I only have to achieve an “Acceptable.” Also like Potions, the books I chose for these prompts are all dense fantasy; but they’re all stories I’m excited to read.

ACCEPTABLE: Read a book with LGBTQIA+ representation

Girls of Paper and Fire (Girls of Paper and Fire: 1): Natasha Ngan

Just like A Very Large Expanse of Sea, Girls of Paper and Fire has been on multiple previous TBRs. Hopefully, that streak comes to an end this month. I’ve heard nothing but fantastic things about this novel, so I really hope I can join in on this bandwagon ASAP.

EXCEEDS EXPECTATIONS: Read a book that’s not a first in the series

Blue Lily, Lily Blue (The Raven Cycle: 3): Maggie Stiefvater

Over the past few years, I’ve been slowly getting through Maggie Stiefvater’s The Raven Cycle. I’ve loved the first two books in the series, so I’ve been taking my time and savoring every moment. But, since her latest novel, Call Down the Hawk is related to this series (but not a direct sequel), I really want to catch up on this series before November.

OUTSTANDING: McGonagall doesn’t mess around! — Read a book over 500 pages

Angel Mage: Garth Nix Publication date: October 1st

Despite being a huge YA fantasy name, I have yet to read a single Garth Nix book. I am more than ready to finally read something by him, and I think that, since this is a standalone, this is the perfect place to start.

Charms

Out of all of my “exams,” Charms is the only one that I’m pretty confident that I can complete this month. With a graphic novel, a manga, and a short story collection that I need to read and review for a post next month, these books are more likely to happen than any of the others on this entire list.

ACCEPTABLE: A book with a gorgeous cover

His Hideous Heart: 13 of Edgar Allan Poe’s Most Unsettling Tales Reimagined: Dahlia Adler [Editor] Publication date: September 10th

I’m not a big anthology fan, but I’m ridiculously excited for this one. Edgar Allan Poe is one of my favorite authors of all time, so I cannot wait to see how his stories and themes are reimagined and interpreted.

EXCEEDS EXPECTATIONS: Read a comic/graphic novel/manga (or a book under 150 pages)

Dreamin’ Sun, Vol. 9: Ichigo Takano

I don’t read much manga, but when I do it’s one of three series. There are only two volumes of Dreamin’ Sun left and I’m so sad to see this series end.

OUTSTANDING: Spongify (softening charm) — Read a paperback book

Laura Dean Keeps Breaking Up with Me: Mariko Tamaki & Rosemary Valero-O’Connell

Just from flipping through this book, I know I’m going to love it in part just because the art is stunning. Stories about difficult relationships, especially in YA fiction, are always something I’m looking for, so I can’t wait to read this one.

Because I’m an overachiever, I hope to “pass” the other N.E.W.T.s that I can sit this year — Charms, Arithmancy, and Care of Magical Creatures. I make no promises, but after the past few decent reading months, I’m having a good feeling about August.

Arithmancy

ACCEPTABLE: Book that ends on an even page number

Frankly in Love: David Yoon Publication date: September 10th

I will say this every time, but I LOVE FAKE DATING TROPES AND I WILL ALWAYS READ THEM.

EXCEEDS EXPECTATIONS: Read a standalone

Jackpot: Nic Stone Publication date: October 15th

I am so so so glad that I have an ARC of this book. I loved Nic Stone’s Dear Martin, and she’s such a fantastic person. I love her voice, and I cannot wait to read another one of her stories.

OUTSTANDING: Book that’s longer than 350 pages

The Beautiful (The Beautiful: 1): Renée Ahdieh Publication date: October 8th

Vampires are back in YA literature; we are thriving in 2019, ladies and gentlemen. I’ve only read one of Renée Ahdieh’s books before, but I loved her writing style and structure, so I can’t wait to see how that translates to vampiric 1870s New Orleans.

Care of Magical Creatures

ACCEPTABLE: Follow the spiders! — Book title that starts with the letter ‘A’ for Aragog!

Ash: Malinda Lo

I literally scoured my shelves, and this is the only book that I have that starts with ‘A’ that I haven’t read already. I only picked this up a few months ago, but I’m always game for a fairytale retelling, especially when it’s a LGBTQIA+ retelling.

EXCEEDS EXPECTATIONS: Book under 300 pages

Girls on the Verge: Sharon Briggs Waller

Ever since I watched Chelsea from chelseadolling reads on YouTube rave about this book months ago, I’ve wanted to read this book. Even though it’s a short book, I have a feeling this is going to be a difficult read, but so very worth it.

OUTSTANDING: Grab onto Fawkes’ tail! — Read a book with a bird on the cover

Black Wings Beating (Skybound: 1): Alex London

I don’t know much about this book other than it’s a LGBTQIA+ fantasy. But, I’ve also heard nothing but good things about this book from those who have read it. Since the sequel is coming out soon, hopefully I can jump on this train quickly and pick up the sequel, too.

It's August, so you know what that means....time for the N.E.W.T.s! I'm so pumped for all the books on my TBR this month. With luck, I'll pass all my exams needed to be a Ministry Worker! Check out my #NEWTSReadathon2019 TBR here: Back in April I took part in the O.W.L.s Magical Read-a-thon hosted by Book Roast on YouTube…

#books #N.E.W.T.s Magical Read-a-thon #Read-a-thon #TBR

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deathismyspiritanimal · 5 years

Text

Just a short story!

So I finally got outta my writers block because I had this idea for your generic 'first words your soulmate says' au and it kinda took one or two turns on the plot but I still like it and I figured, might as well post it!^^

And this is, next to a drabble I made for my sister's birthday once, the shortest thing I've ever written.

Today was gonna be the day, I'd propose to my boyfriend of five years. Usually, when people meet their romantic soulmates, they marry them quite soon after, but I am quite the nervous gal. And yeah, it's still kind of weird for the woman to propose, Jake assured me it was fine and I should just go on and say when I'm ready. It's our meeting anniversary today, so it was perfect.

I looked back at the mark on my wrist, the most generic thing ever. 'Hello! How may I help you?', it said. Jake worked in a restaurant chain when I met him, so no wonder he said that.

Usually people are quite bold with what they choose to say, I used to just go out and about and shout 'Smooth like a spoon, born under the moon in the month of June', which is, admittedly, dumb but I made it up when I was like, seven, and I just wanted my soulmate to know it's me immediately. When I met Jake, though, I, for some reason, decided to just go with 'Hey, get me a strawberry milkshake, please?'.

You might ask yourself, Hana, how the actual chicken do you forget something that important? Well, kind, hypothetical reader, I don't know. I'm a dumbass I guess.

Well, anyway, I was just going to get some flowers, 'cause I figured, flowers are cool. So I went to the nearest flower shop. To buy flowers.

“Ducks.”, the woman behind the counter paused for a bit. “Sorry, so. How may I help you?”, she asked kindly and had a slight smirk.

'Ducks'? That's actually not too dumb.. No one would actually would be that uncreatively creative. I smiled.

“Yo, I reaaaaaally need help with flowers and I really don't know anything and what's the most romantic flower? I mean, sure, roses, but roses are sooooooo boring and I REALLY need to be extra today because I wanna propose to my boyfriend and I'm gonna be honest, I really don't want anything generic.”, I stated and walked up to her.

When I got closer, I saw the woman looked horrified. Like, wide eyed, color drained from her face, that kinda stuff, though she just nodded after a while.

“Are you okay?”, I asked, just a little concerned.

“Yeah, sorry, kinda spaced out there. So you said it's for a proposal so.. Congrats! And good luck.”, She began and I just smiled widely. “So, I believe a pink carnation and gerbera daisy bouquet would be a great bet!”, she continued on and showed pointed behind her to both kinds of flowers.

“That sounds amazing! And wow, these actually look really cute together! So.. You could do that, right?”, I asked unsure.

“Of course, darling, I'd never suggest something I'm unable to do. Would you like me to give you a call when it's ready or do you wanna stay here?”, she asked.

“Depending on how long it's gonna be..?”

“Well, that bouquet is not too hard, I also have no other orders for today and tomorrow either so I could begin right now. And, the length kinda depends on how complicated you want it. If you stay here, you can also help pick out the flowers. So basically, anywhere between ten and forty-five minutes.”

I blinked at her. Too much information for my two braincells.. “I'll stay!”, I stated excitedly. Everything needed to be perfect for this evening.

“Okay, great. My name's Veroníca, by the way.”, she introduced herself. “So, if you don't mind, I would need to ask you to step behind the counter with me so we can look at the actually pretty flowers.”

“Alright. And, nice to meet you, I'm Hana.”

“Oh, so you're the prettiest flower of them all, huh?”, she winked at me and chuckled.

I felt my face heat up slightly and a very girly chuckle left my lips. Oh hell nah, I'm gonna propose tonight. To my soulmate. Who I met five years ago. So shut your mouth, Hana. “Thanks, I guess?”

Veroníca shook her head. “Sorry, I like to flirt at any opportunity, maybe not really appropriate when looking for flowers to propose, huh?”

“It's fine, that was actually really damn good.”, I told her and we shared another chuckle.

Veroníca and I spent a long while bickering and laughing, picking the flowers and stuff. It felt really natural talking to her and she even gave me a few tips for the proposal. I left her a good tip and left my number behind goddammit if they were gonna have azaleas again I'd need Veroníca to make me a bouquet of them.

I decided to not bring Jake anywhere, I made food at home and set something up. When he came home, he seemed just a little overwhelmed at how fancy I looked and all.

“Babe! I'm ho...me..”, he stopped.

I just chuckled and gave him a peck on the cheek. “I'm glad you're home! I hope your hungry?”, I asked hopefully.

He just nodded.

“Then come on!”, I exclaimed and pulled him to the table.

We ate and chatted a lot, laughed and all that jazz you do at a date.

“As you know, we've known each other for exactly five years today. And, we've been together for almost as long..”, I chuckled in thought. “And, you know, it's crazy that, even though we both have so generic sentences on our wrists, we found each other..”

He looked at me attentively and seemed to know what was about to happen.

But it didn't.

As I looked at my wrist, something was wrong.

“Jake. There's a problem.”

He seemed alerted. “What is it, honey?”

I stayed quiet.

He looked at me.

“Ducks.”

“I'm sorry?”

“My wrist. It says ducks.”

“What.. What do you mean?”

I put my wrist basically in his face. “It says 'ducks'!”

At this point, my eyes were filled with tears. If Jake wasn't my soulmate after all, who-

Jake looked hurt. And as I thought my thought, he spoke it.

But I suddenly knew.

“Veroníca.”

A tear now left my eye.

Jake then proceeded to look down on his wrist. He stayed quiet for a bit.

“Mine changed, as well.”

“What does it say..?”

He blinked down at his wrist for a bit. “What is 'plexiglass is the most appreciative glass' supposed to mean?”, he asked frustratedly.

I couldn't help but snort at that.

Jake looked at me with a confused expression.

“C'mon, you gotta be real, that's hilarious.”

“Yeah, okay, agreed.”

My neck suddenly began to sting, which made me make a hissing sound and I put my hand up to it.

“What's wrong?”

“I think something bit my neck or something?”

“You want me to look?”

I just nodded.

He got up and brushed my hair away from my neck before letting out a chuckle. “'Hello! How may I help you?' it says..”

I sighed heavily. “Okay, Jake, I'mma be honest. I wanted to propose tonight. But guess we're supposed to be best friends after all, huh?”

“Seems like it.”

“I still love you though? I mean, I guess I do at least..”

“Maybe we don't know what love is, after all.”

“Maybe we don't..”

“But at least I don't have to feel about being lowkey turned on by Charlie, the new guy? We haven't talked yet but he's so... Hot?”, he chuckled lightly.

“Don't, when Veroníca flirted earlier I think I had some kinda gay panic? So like, my soulmate, who I REALLY hope is my romantic soulmate this time, is a girl anyway.”

“That's some coming out right there..”

#soulmate #soulmate au #writing on tumblr #writing #writers on tumblr #ocs #own characters #no title yet #short story #lgbtqai #lgbtq community #lgbtq stuff #own shiz

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of2worldsxmuses · 5 years

Text

Car Shopping

When: 30th of June 2019

Description: Eli and Charlie meets for the first time and form a bond over their love of cars.

Warning: None.

Eli made his way to the address that was given to him by Charlie, and when he arrived, he was shocked to see that he had been there before. And thoughts of his time there with Lacy flooded his mind. He shook them away, and focused on what he was there for. He walked to the door and rang the bell. He smiled when the door, “Hi, are you Charlie?”

After a long day of gathering paperwork for the cars that she was about to show and making sure they were all in tip top condition, Charlie was exhausted and was more than ready to call it a day. She almost felt like taking a little nap, but knowing how her body worked, she decided not to chance it and headed into the shower. Once she was done, she waited for Mister Sutherland to arrive, which he did right on time. Opening the door, she flashed him a kind smile. “Yes, I am. Mister Sutherland, right?” She extended her hand to shake his and opened the door a little wider for the man. “Come on in. I’ll show you to the garage.”

Eli smiled and shook the woman’s hand, “Please call me Eli, and it is a pleasure to meet you.” He nodded and followed her to the garage, “I’m excited with the opportunity to possibly find a nice car today.” He smiled and shook his head, “So can I be honest with you?” He walked behind her, “I honestly thought you were going to be a guy.”

“Nice to meet you too, Eli.” Charlie beamed, glad she didn’t have to be formal with the man. She led him to the garage and flipped on the lights. “Well, lucky for you, we have plenty to choose from.” She grinned as she moved further into the garage. “Take your pick.” A laugh left her at his next words, it wasn’t a shock to her anymore. Almost everyone she met said the same. “Definitely not a guy. My parents thought I was going to be a boy and they’d already picked the name Charlie, so when I was born they kept the name. I actually really love my name.”

Eli smiled and was excited to add to his own collection. “I gathered that from your ad, and I knew I had to check it out. They continued their walk to the garage, and he smiled, "I’m so glad you are not offended by that, and I don’t want to do that, but it actually fits now that I see you. Charlie can be a unisex name.” When they walked into the garage, his eyes went wide, “Wow, this is some collection here.”

“It definitely is. I wouldn’t want any other name.” Charlie had always loved her name. Her parents picked it because apparently, she fought tooth and nails to be born. According to her mom, she was completely contented to stay in her belly. They had to force her out, which was just as well because even now she was hard headed. She watched as the male walked around, admiring Val’s car collection with an ever present smile. “It’s a huge collection. Just let me know which one you want to test drive. The Bentley is my favorite.”

Eli was amazed at the cars that were lined up, each one as spectacular as the next. He had seen a couple that already caught his eye, and when Charlie mentioned the Bentley, he nodded, “Oh yeah, that is a beauty.” He ran his fingers along the hood of the Bentley and nodded, “How many miles are on this?” He was looking at it, then he saw it, and ran over to the next car, “Is that a 1974 Mustang?” He felt like a little kid in a candy store.

While Eli took a look around, Charlie wondered if he was a car enthusiast. Most men were and she suspected that he was the same too. “That one has a little over thirty thousand miles.” She told him without even checking for reference. She’d made it a point to memorize the details as to make things easier for her. “Yup. You wanna test drive that one?” She asked approaching said car and reaching for the keys in the glove compartment. “Come on, let’s test drive this baby.” She threw the keys at him and entered the passenger side.

Eli couldn’t believe his eyes when he saw the car he wanted since he was a teenager, and it was the right color and everything. He couldn’t hold back his excitement, when she asked if he could test drive the car, “I could really test drive this car?” He caught the keys when Charlie threw them, “Well, I am not going to say no to that, I would love to test drive it.” He hopped on the car and put his seatbelt on, and turned the car on. “Wow, listen to that baby purr.”

Charlie pursed her lips to stop herself from laughing. The man was acting like he was in awe of the fact that he would be able to test drive the car. It was hilarious and frankly adorable. She’d never seen a man acting that way. With every word he spouted, she was finding it harder and harder not to laugh, until her restrain broke and she found herself laughing. When she was finally able to stop, she looked at him. “I’m sorry, I can’t help myself. You were acting like a kid in a candy store.” She shook her head, buckled her seatbelt and then looked back at the man. “You can drive now. Don’t worry, it won’t fall apart on you.” She chuckled.

Eli was acting star struck, and he knew it, but at the moment, he didn’t care. This was his dream car, and he hadn’t been able to get his hands on it for a long time. Now here he was, looking directly at it, and was about to test drive it, he was excited. He looked over at Charlie, who was now laughing at him, and he blushed slightly, “No it’s fine, because that’s exactly how I feel right now, and I can hardly contain myself. This was my dream car as a teenager, this was all I ever wanted, but never hot. So I’m feeling a bit nostalgic right now.”

It was refreshing to see a man acting this way. Most men she met always wanted to look cool, but Eli wasn’t like that at all. He didn’t even mind that she had laughed at him and she was sure saw a blush creeping on his cheeks. It was cute. “I get it. You’re like me when it comes to cars. I love them.” She stated kindly. “Now, are you going to test drive this baby or not? Its engine is purring for you, Mister Sutherland.”

Eli smiled, and looked over at Charlie, “I do love cars, it’s a passion of mine, just like my wine collection.” He chuckled and put the car into drive, “Yes I am ready to take this car out, and see how it drives.” He pulled out of the garage, and hit the garage. Once they were driving for a while, he looked over at Charlie, “I like the way it drives! What got you into cars? And gave you this desire to sell and fix exotic cars?”

“Well, I don’t know anything about wine but I do love my cars.” Charlie responded with a laugh.“It’s a great car and has your name all over it.” She simply sat back and allowed Eli to test drive the car, she wasn’t going to say much as they drove down the road, but the man had questions for her, and never one to be rude, she answered him truthfully. “My dad actually. He owns a bodyshop back in LA. I learned everything there is to know about cars from him. I’m a Mechanic by trade, the only reason I’m selling exotic cars is because of my friend Val. She hired me to help her do so.”

Eli loved the feeling of being on the road, it was exhilarating. He felt like a teenager once again, and he thought he would never feel like that again. He listened to Charlie about her passion for cars, and how her father influenced her. He was shocked to hear that she was a mechanic, “Wow, so if I buy this car, if something happens, you will be able to fix it for me? Are you going to be opening a shop here in Verona? Because I have a car going on my garage now, that runs but does this loud ticking sound when I turn it on.”

“Yup.” Charlie nodded at Eli. She could tell that he was a little surprised by her admission, but most people were when she told them what she did for a living, so it didn’t surprise her anymore. “If something happens, please contact me as soon as possible. I would never want you to have to deal with a junk. Not that this baby is. She’s been taken care of. Well, I do have a garage here. My friend Val opened it for me, so if you need my help, I’ll be more than happy to help you."

Eli felt like today was his lucky day, not only was he able to test drive his childhood dream car, but he also met a mechanic that could fix his car. "This is amazing, and I’m definitely going to bring you my car to you as soon as possible.” He smiled and continued driving down the road. They got stopped by a light, and he looked over at Charlie, “So, if I was going to purchase this car, how big of a hit will my wallet take?” Not that it mattered, but he wanted to see just how much he was going to pay for it.

“Good. I’m looking forward to it.” Charlie beamed, liking the thought of working on another car. Hopefully the next one would be more challenging. She needed that to keep her mind going. A smile was still playing on her lips when she heard the man’s question. “This one will cost you five million Euros. It’s a bargain considering that it’s a limited edition and pristine condition.” She answered him politely. To most people that price tag seemed ridiculous, but she doubted that Eli would even think twice about purchasing the car.

Eli liked Charlie, she just seemed to know what she was talking about, and that was comforting to him. Besides, she just seemed to have a nice demeanor that calmed him down. He heard the price, and it gave him a slight pause, did he want to spend that kind of money on a car? But it was his dream car, and he had the money. “That’s a lot of money?” He wondered if he could haggle with the price a little more. “Is that a set price? Or could we work on getting it down some?”

“It is to me, but I didn’t think you would think that way.” Charlie smiled, maybe she was mistaken, perhaps the man wasn’t as rich as she thought him to be. “Well, if you want a lower price. You’re welcome to counter bid, but I do have another buyer who’s interested in this baby. He might just outbid you.” She was lying through her teeth, but in her defense, she wanted the highest price she could get for the cars that she was selling, it was the least she could do for Val who had done so much for her.

Eli could have easily paid for the car at full price, but why do that if he could get it at a lower price. He pulled back into the garage, and put the car in park. He looked over at Charlie, “Another buyer huh? Well I think that we will have a small battle for this amazing car.” He smirked, “But I am only willing to pay 4.5 million euros.”

Charlie didn’t want there to be a big battle over price and she could only hope that there wasn’t going to be. But she had a feeling that Eli would want a price reduction, everyone would. When they got back to the garage, he made his counter offer. Off the top of her head, she already knew that Val would make a cool mil in profit, so after some much pretend mulling, she answered him. “I think 4.5 is a fair price.”

Eli smiled as he looked over at Charlie and at the car. He knew in his heart that he wanted this car, but he couldn’t try not to haggle a little bit for a better price. He smiled when she agreed that his counter offer was fair, “Great, then it looks like we have ourselves a deal.” He stuck out his hand to lock up the deal. “It’s a pleasure doing business with you.”

Charlie knew then that she’d made herself a sale. It was hard to miss by the way Eli was smiling. When he spoke up again, she smiled brightly and took his hand in a handshake. “Great. I will draw out the paperwork. In the meantime, why don’t you head into the kitchen with me. I’ve got a bottle of champagne we could pop.” She withdrew her hand and led him back to the kitchen.

Eli was excited to finally have this car in his possession. It had been his dream for so many years to own this car, and now he was able to get it. He got out the car, and headed over to the passenger side, to let her out. “Lead the way, Charlie.” He was definitely in a celebratory mood after his purchase.

When they got to the kitchen, Charlie took out the champagne and popped the bottle open, pouring the bubbly liquid into two glasses and handing .one over to Eli. “Let’s toast to your new baby.” She raised her glass with a smile and took a small sip before placing the flute down. “Can you hold on for a moment while I get the paperwork in order?” Fifteen minutes later she was back with all the necessary documents, received payment and had handed the car title to Eli. “So, what do you do, Eli?” She asked as they were sitting around sipping on champagne.

Eli was excited about getting the car, and he couldn’t stop smiling. He hadn’t been this excited about something materialistic in a long time, but this was his dream car. He took the champagne from Charlie and took a sip. “Go ahead, I’ll be right here.” While she was gone, he checked a few emails from the station, and made a quick call to his home staff to get a place ready his garage for his new baby. When she came back, he signed all the paperwork, and wrote a check for the car. He took the keys and title, “It was a pleasure doing business with you.” He sipped on his champagne, “I own Paradox Television station with my brother.”

“Oh no, I’ll have to say that the pleasure is all mine.” Charlie smiled, for that amount of money she just made for Val, it was definitely a pleasure to have done business with the man. “Wow, a television guy. I’ve never been acquainted with one before. Must be an exciting profession. Is your brother Ezra Sutherland? I’m only asking because he’s normally hanging around my friend Val.” They weren’t just hanging out, she was sure they were doing other activities with their time, but she wasn’t going to say that to Eli.

Eli smiled and finished off his champagne as he nodded to Charlie, “I am a television guy I guess, but not one of those sleazy ones.” He laughed and raised his brow when she asked about Ezra, “Yes he’s my brother, and co owner of the studio.” When she said he has been hanging around Valeria lately, he was a bit surprised, but he didn’t expect him to actually talk to him about his personal life, it wasn’t like he talked to him about Daniella. “Well from what I know of Valeria, she seems like a great girl, so my brother definitely has good taste.”

“I didn’t know television people were sleazy. You sure, you’re not one of them?” Charlie teased with a laugh. “I figured he must be. The resemblance is uncanny.” Tall, dark haired and handsome, it must be a Sutherland men’s trait. “It’s sweet that you two could work together. I don’t think I ever could work with my brothers, I’d end up killing them.” She chuckled, knowing full well that it was a possibility. She might love her brothers, but they did get on her nerves. “She is. You actually bought one of her cars. Well, her late claim’s car, but still same difference. I’m glad she’s happy now. Your brother seems to make her smile."

Eli chuckled, "Some can be, but I guess it could be sleazy people in any profession. But I promise, I’m not one of them.” He smiled as she talked about the resemblance between him and Ezra. He sighed when she was complimenting the fact that he and Ezra work together and he wished it was as easy for them, but everyday was a struggle. “We have our issues, but we are professionals.” He may not talk to Ezra, but he was happy that he was there to make Valeria smile, she had gone through so much. And hopefully she would be good for him as well. “Ah, so these are Emmet Capulet’s cars? Well, that’s another reason to buy the car.” He smiled.

“Hmm… I can’t be sure. You could just be acting.” Charlie stated, letting out a laugh. Judging by their interaction however, she could tell that Eli was a nice person. “Well, as long as you’re able to work together. That’s all that matters, right?” She had no doubt that there would be some drama between the brothers, it was inevitable, but siblings always manage to work things out and she was sure the two Sutherland siblings were no different. “Yup, from what I know, it was his cars. Apparently, the man had very expensive taste.”

Eli laughed and pointed his finger to Charlie, “You’re right, I could be. But you’re just going to have to either take my word for it, or hang out more with me, to see if this was all an act.” He smiled, and thought about how he and Ezra work together, well would not be the words anyone at the station would describe it, but they somehow run it in tip top shape. He gave her a small smile, “Yes, that’s all that matters.” He chuckled thinking about all the other cars in the garage, “That would be an understatement.” He chuckled, “Those cars are ridiculously expensive, but amazing.”

“I don’t mind hanging out with you. At least we both have something in common, we like cars.” Charlie quipped, laughing. Eli reminded her of her brothers and she missed them, so hanging out with him would definitely be beneficial. Besides, she needed more friends to begin with. “Did you know the man? Emmet, I mean. I haven’t had the heart to ask Val about him. We do talk about the man, but I don’t really want to bring him up, in case it’s a sore subject for Val, you know?” She asked, changing the subject.

Eli was surprised and happy that Charlie would be willing to hang out with him. They did have a passion for cars, so that was something they had in common. And she looked like she could be the same age as Emery, so he felt a pull to protect her. He shook his head, “I knew of him, I mean who hadn’t seen some of his movies.” He chuckled, “But I didn’t know him personally.”

“Oh, I thought you knew him personally. I seem to forget that the rest of the world watch movies.” Charlie laughed, she didn’t have much time to watch movies what with work and all the drama she’d gone through with Kevin. Plus, when she was free, she normally spends her time reading. An hour flew by as they chatted and finished off the bottle of champagne. Not wanting to hold Eli back anymore, she said, “I’m sorry, I didn’t realize how much time has passed. You must be tired of listening to me talk.” She laughed as she stood from the stool she was on and led him to the front door. “It was really nice meeting you, Eli. Be sure to contact me if there’s a problem with the car or if you’re bored and want a friend to talk to.” She said, smiling bright.

Eli shook his head, “No, I didn’t personally know him, but I’ve seen him around, and of course we covered his death at the station.” They continued talking about cars, family, and anything else that came up. It was so easy to talk to her, he didn’t realize how long they talked, until she said something, “Wow, we really talked that long, but it was enjoyable, so I didn’t mind.” He got up, and followed her to the door, “I will definitely be contacting you, and you might want to be careful what you ask for, I might just bug you a lot.” He laughed, and headed out the door, “It was a pleasure to meet you Charlie, and I will be bringing my other car to you to get checked out. You’ll be seeing a lot of me, I’m sure of it.” He smiled, and headed to the car, and headed home.

#Canon Para: Car Shopping #Canon: Charlie & Eli

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