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#I actually had a similar thing sketched last month but never got around to finishing it
canisalbus · 9 months
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this image came to me a while back and wouldn't leave me alone until i brought it into the world, and after seeing your Barbenheimer art i thought i might send it to you. love all your work, and it's been great seeing the development of these two! <3
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felix21im · 3 years
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"Ice Cold", a Leon Kennedy x reader fanfiction
As an Art and Design student all you want to do is just knuckle down and finish that one goddamn piece you've been working on for months. Too bad your time is constantly stolen by your Waiter job with minimal pay, but hey, at least the tips are good if you unbutton your shirt that one more time.
Masterlist
Chapter 2: The Sketches
“It’s ten A.M. dumbass, get out of bed.” You woke up to the sound of your roommates voice and the feel of a pillow hitting your face. “We have our reservation in like fifteen minutes…”
The reminder of your scheduled fancy breakfast with your roommate managed to wake you up fully and you instantly ran into the bathroom to have a shower.
As you stood there with the water running on your skin you began to feel your head pounding. “Great, a fucking hangover.” You muttered as you turned the shower knob, stopping the water and leaving you cold. You stepped out of the shower with a towel hanging over your shoulders and sat down on the toilet seat. "Hey, can you maybe make me some tea or coffee or something? I got a headache, probably overworked or something" you lied, shouting to your roommate.
“Yea sure 'overworked', huh? Don't worry, I'll make something but get ready already!" You dried yourself with a small towel and put on some light clothes. A pair of shorts and a white shirt, it was hot outside due to it being summer and wearing anything other than shorts is a death sentence. You didn't feel like styling your hair so you just refreshed yourself, hoping you wouldn't look too bad. You stepped out of the small bathroom and were greeted by your roommate who handed you a glass of water with a pill. "I'm sure this will help more than just some tea.. after your 'overworking'". They winked at you and you feared they thought something different than what actually happened.
"Hey hey hey, that's not what happened okay? Imma tell you when we're eating, alright? But don't assume anything wrong, you hear me?" You laughed a little, but had to stop because of your headache. You took the glass of water and the mysterious pill, placing it in your mouth and then swallowing it with a gulp of water. You then saw your friend standing at the door, already wearing shoes and ready to go out. You sigh as you grab a pair of sneakers from under your bed, practically jumping straight into them.
“I read the reviews of this restaurant we’re going to and legit like all of them say that it’s super cold in there, you might want to grab your jacket.” They get the jacket off of the back of the door and hold it out for you to take.
“Thank you, thank you.” You accept the jacket and fold it over your arm as you place your phone in the pocket, but rather than it going straight in like normal, something is in there and blocks it from sitting perfectly. You place your phone in your back pocket and reach your hand into your jacket, pulling out a white envelope. The envelope was a little heavy and had a note written on it “This semester is on me, think of it as payment for agreeing to decorate my house - Leon S. Kennedy.” You slit the envelope open and it looked identical to your tips envelope, absolutely filled with cash. You let out a small gasp. "Holy shit."
You looked at your roommate who also looked at you and the envelope laying in your hand. "Yeah, holy shit. Are you working as a stripper now or how'd you get all the money suddenly?"
“Although I would be a great stripper… No.” You look at the cash, not knowing what to do with it. "I have to give it back. I can't just keep all.. this."
“Uh?! Yes you can!” Your roommate looked at you like you were an idiot. “That's like five grand there! If you’re not going to take it I will gladly take it for you!”
"No way! I can't just accept this money!” You close the envelope and place it on the desk on your side of your shared room. “This doesn't feel right, you know that." You thought about what you're going to do next. You looked between your friend and the money and decided you need to do the right thing. "I'm sorry, but I have to return it. As soon as I get my paycheck I will go out to eat breakfast with you, I promise! But I need to do this. Sorry." You grabbed the envelope again and walked past your roommate and out the door, giving them a look of excuse. They simply scoffed and slammed the door behind you.
As you sat outside on the curb you used your phone to look up where you were last night so that you could get Leon’s address. As you ordered your taxi it asked you for some contact details. “Kennedy.” You chuckled as you entered that as your last name, thinking it would be a funny joke. On your way you texted your roommate once again, apologizing for your behavior but not for your need to do the right thing. You sighed as you put your phone in your pocket and looked out the window.
After some time you arrived at what appeared to be Leon's home. You couldn’t really see it the night before since it was dark, but it looked even better during the day than you could have imagined before. You paid the taxi driver, with your own money this time, then left the car and went towards that big door. You looked for a bell but couldn't find one so you knocked against the thick wood, hoping someone would even hear it. After repeating this a couple more times and almost giving up, the door opens and you are greeted by a woman. She was wearing a white dress shirt and a black bustier over the top, followed by a black pair of trousers. Confused, you looked at her and then at the house, thinking you were wrong. "Can I help you with anything?" The woman asked, not even bothering to ask you inside.
"Uhm.." you stuttered, not knowing what to do in this situation. "I thought someone else lived here, but I guess I'm wrong. Sorry for bothering you." Something inside you actually hoped you typed in the wrong address. This couldn't be Leon's home, right? But it looked so similar? Maybe all the drinks added up over the night and made me remember this wrong..? You thought back to the day before and remembered how Leon was actually texting someone and didn't tell you a name or something. Maybe he actually has a wife or something and I misunderstood last night. Maybe he actually paid me to.. stay away? You shook your head. That's bizarre. Or is it?
"Who did you think lived here then? Maybe I can help you." You were taken back to reality from that woman's voice and looked at her.
Fumbling with your hands you tried to form a whole sentence, but all that came out was "Kennedy."
She looked at you. "Do you mean Leon Kennedy?" You nodded your head, still hoping you were wrong here. "Well, it appears you are right then. May I ask how you know him? I've never seen anyone like.. you here." It seemed to you she spit that 'you' out as if you were something less worthy than her. But maybe you were once again imagining things.
"Well, we actually met yesterday and he invited me to come over. I forgot to give something to him, so that's what I'm here for now. Can I see him now?" You looked at the woman standing in your way, trying to be confident.
“Mr. Kennedy is out of the house at the moment and he won’t be back for a few hours. I will tell him that you stopped by.” She stepped back from the door. “Bye now.” She practically slammed it in your face, the waft from the door causing your messy hair to blow backwards.
You rolled your eyes and sat down on the steps, exactly where you were sitting with Leon last night. You searched through your contacts and found Leon’s name. After tapping the call button it rang four times before you heard a rough “Hello?” come from the other side.
It took you back a little as it sounded like you had just woken him up. “Oh, hiya Leon.” You looked back at the front door as you began to talk. “I’m sitting on your doorstep right now…” You then looked back at the driveway, the pebbles and the green grass perfectly manicured. “I wanted to swing by to drop off that money you left in my jacket.”
“What, why?” He sounded confused. You could tell that he pulled the phone away from his face when he coughed, probably trying to clear his throat. “That money is for you, Buttercup.” He chuckled, making you blush a little. “You’re not supposed to give it back to me.” Sounds could be heard in the background as he talked but you couldn't tell what they were.
"Is there anyone with you right now?" You didn't even think about that question before it left your mouth.
"Don't worry about it. And also don't worry about the money. It's a gift, just accept it." You let out a small laugh.
"Just accept it? This is more money than I would make in two months! I can't just accept that, Leon! I can leave it with your girlfriend if you don't want to take it back, but I won't keep it." It was silent on the other side. You were worried you took it too far now.
But then, a chuckle and a full out laugh. "Girlfriend? I'm sorry, but you probably went to the wrong house. I don't have a girlfriend, partner or whatever, Buttercup." You could hear him still chuckle on the other side of the phone, but you didn't feel like laughing.
You felt kind of dumb right now. "Well, whoever that woman was, she just shut the door before me and left me sitting in front of it. So I guess I'm just gonna leave the envelope under the doormat." You looked around. There wasn't even a doormat. "YOU DON'T HAVE A GODDAMN DOORMAT? LEON S KENNEDY WHAT HAVE YOU BEEN DOING FOR THE PAST THREE YEARS?" You heard him laugh out loud again and didn't even try to stop him from it. You just sighed and gave it up. "Well, Mr. Kennedy, I'm gonna find a place to put that money. And don't even think of sneaking it back to me, you hear me?" You didn't even wait for an answer and just hung up. You sat on the stairs for a few more minutes thinking about what to do next.
Just as you stood up to leave you heard the door behind you opening again. "Mr. Kennedy just called me. He wants me to let you inside. Please take off your shoes here and.. don't touch anything." There is not even a thing to touch here, what do you want? You went through the doors and left your shoes next to them. The woman looked at you again before turning her back and walking away. So now you just stood there, in this empty, big house with a woman who doesn't seem to like your company.
Just like the night before you went through the entire house looking around, but also trying your best to avoid that woman. At some point you even found some paper and a pen and began drawing some rooms with fitting, and for now missing, furniture. After a while you felt your phone vibrating in your pocket so you put your drawing away and checked your messages. Apparently Leon tried to call you a few times but ended up sending you a message instead. You opened and read it. I'll be back home in a few hours. Please just accept the money, but stay for as long as you'd like to. I wanna see you again later. - Leon. You had to smile. Who even puts their name at the end of a message nowadays? You just replied with a quick 'alright' before putting your phone away again. You went back to what you were doing: planning and drawing the interior design of Leon's big ass home, all from memory from your tour last night.
You ended up placing all of your designs and sketches on the floor in what you assumed was supposed to be a living room. It just had two simple fabric couches facing each other in the middle of a giant room. Each design was placed in order, somewhat resembling the floorplan of the house. You didn't know how much time passed, but you began to feel tired and had to take a small break. Since you didn't wanna cross paths with that grumpy woman, you just stayed in that room. After some time of relaxing you felt really tired and didn't have any more motivation to plan the last few rooms. It must have been the combination of lack of sleep and whatever that pill was that your roommate gave you, so you ended up sitting on one of the couches and you began to close your eyes. Before you even knew it you fell on your side and into a light sleep.
The sound of a door slamming against the wall scared you half to death. As you looked towards the noise, you saw the same woman from earlier looking at you. “My apologies.” She smiled as she looked to the other side of the room. You followed her eyes and noticed she was looking at Leon. He was sitting opposite you with all of your sketches in his hands. You rubbed your eyes, trying to look somewhat alive. Leon didn't even look at her or you, he was way too focused on your drawings. Next to him you saw a laptop, where he seemed to type a few things in separate to going through your sketches. You sat up and slowly walked towards him. Without looking up from the drawings he talked to you. "These drawings are amazing. When did you make all of these?"
You were flustered by his actual interest. "Uhm.. I just made them for fun while waiting for you.. I didn't even take it seriously.." You scratched the back of your head.
"Are you kidding me? You probably.. no, you DID more for the interior design in the past few hours than I or Angel over there did in the past three years!" You were kind of confused by the name. Angel? Her? Was that supposed to be an unfitting nickname or her actual name? You didn't want to ask so you kept that thought to yourself. After Leon's comment Angel looked at you even more disgusted than before, it's a wonder that was even possible.
You wanted to ignore the weird feeling that stood in the room, so you just sat down next to Leon on the couch. "What are you doing on your laptop?" You wanted to look at it but before you had the chance to make out what he typed in earlier he closed it.
"Nothing special, don't worry about it." You sighed but didn't push it. After a few seconds of awkward silence between the three of you Leon stood up from the couch with his laptop, walked towards Angel and gave it to her. You looked at him confused, but he didn't even notice that. He said something to the woman but you couldn't understand it since they were so close to each other. You didn't know what, but a weird feeling spread in your body. Jealousy? You had to laugh out loud, which made the two look at you.
"Is there a problem?" Angel asked you, to which you answered with a head shake.
"I'm sorry, I was just thinking about... something funny." You saw Leon's lip lift up a little bit which made you smile a little bit, too. Angel turned back from you and Leon led her out the door to the main hall.
You could hear them talk for a few minutes before the door opened again and Leon came back in alone. "Soo.. now that you're awake, do you want to grab something to eat? We can drive somewhere or I'll just order something."
You thought about the offer, but instantly remembered why you came here in the first place. "No way, Leon! I can't take any more money from you. I actually came here to give you back that money you left in my jacket. It's good for you to have so much but I can't keep it! This doesn't feel right." You looked at him frustrated.
He just shook his head while laughing. "I told you it wasn't for nothing. You literally just proved me right with giving it to you after seeing your drawings. You earned that money."
You were kind of flustered but still couldn't just accept it. "Leon, it's really nice of you and I don't wanna argue. But you gave me way more money than these few sketches are worth! My roommate even thought I started working as a stripper!"
Leon looked at you with big eyes, then stepped closer to you. "Well.. have you considered working as one? They make a good amount of money and I'm sure you would do great." He winked at you as he laughed out loud and even though you knew he was joking you turned completely red.
"Leon...what. the. hell. No! Of course I didn't think about working as one! I'm happy with my current job.. I guess." You looked at him again, realizing how close he suddenly was to you.
"Well, if that's what you think, alright. But I'm not gonna miss that money and I'm sure you will bring it to good use. So please, stop arguing with me and just accept it." His smile had disappeared and his face was a little more serious, he really wanted you to take that money.
“I can’t, Leon.” You grabbed his hand from his side and placed the filled envelope in his palm. “It’s too much." He looked at you disappointed, as if all he just said meant nothing. "Whatever." He muttered to himself. It made you feel bad for your behavior but you knew it was the right thing to do.
You looked at him in a sorry way and wanted to walk past him. But he blocked the way. "That's all I came for, Leon. I think it's better I leave now. Your Angel is probably waiting for you already."
He scoffed at your comment. “I think you misunderstood something here. Angel is her actual name. If I had to give her a nickname it would be anything but Angel, believe me. She can be a pain in the ass, but she gets her work done. And that’s all that matters for me.”
You let out yet another sigh. Why were you relieved anyway? Whatever Leon is doing with women, or men, was none of your business. You’ve literally only known him for like a day and act like a jealous partner. “I’m sorry, I didn’t want to say it like that.”
“You don't have to apologize all the time, sweetheart. I thought it was cute.” He gave you a little wink and you felt your face heat up again. You looked away shyish and waited for his next move. But it appeared he did the same since he was just looking at you, waiting for you to say something. “Ehem..Food, right? I guess that´s what you wanted. Soo... Do you have anything special in mind?” He looked at you with a childish smile and simply answered “Just you wait, I have something great in mind.”
“Pizza?” You chuckled. “I didn’t think a fancy man like you ate peasant food like that.” You picked up your phone and began looking up a place that would deliver to Leon’s house
“Oh come on! Who doesn’t like pizza?” He shuffled over on the floor so that he was sitting beside you, looking at your phone. “The third one down.” He pointed at a restaurant named The Broadway. “That’s the best one around here, trust me, I’ve tried them all.”
“Alrighty.” You tapped on the phone number and as it rang you held it up to your ear. “Oh hiya! I’m looking to place an order for delive-”
“Pick-up. They only do pick-up.” Leon interrupted you.
“For pick-up!” You corrected yourself. When the worker asked for your name you couldn't help yourself. “For Kennedy.” Leon chuckled slightly and shook his head.
You ordered food for the two of you and some simple drinks to go with it. Of course Leon would get wine for the two of you but there’s nothing wrong with soda, especially when you’re already eating a greasy pizza. “Do we get Angel anything?” You asked Leon in response to the other person on the end of the call asking if anything else was wanted.
“She loves garlic bread, just get her some of that.” Leon replied, looking up from his own phone.
After the guy on the phone told you a time to pick up the food both you and Leon put on some shoes and went outside. “You gonna drive up to that poor pizza place with your fancy Porsche?” You asked jokingly.
To your surprise he actually shook his head. “You can choose the car if you want to. If you got a driver's license, you can even drive it yourself.”
You looked at him shocked. “Yea, sure. I’m gonna drive one of your expensive cars. Even if I had a license I wouldn't dare to sit down on the driver's seat. If I destroy it there's no way I'll ever be able to pay for the repair!”
“What’s one car more or less?” As he said that and you looked at him with an open mouth you heard a garage opening next to you. The bright lights kinda blinded you at first but as soon as you got used to the brightness you saw multiple cars and motorcycles standing in the big garage.
“Wow. What the hell.” That was all you were able to say at that moment. “I’m guessing that this is like your passion or a hobby?” You said as you walked in. Each vehicle was spotless, so clean that you could see your reflection in each one.
“Yeah, something like that, you could say.” As he was moving past the different vehicles he told you a little bit about all of them. Even though you had zero knowledge of cars and stuff you listened to him closely, trying to understand what he told you. You could see it in his eyes how he loved talking about these things, which made you smile.
After a good twenty minutes however you had to stop him. “As much as I love listening to you blabber away, I really wanna get our pizzas now.” Exactly at that moment your stomach began to growl, making you and Leon laugh.
“Well then, I hoped you listened closely. Go on and pick a ride.” He gestured around the both of you. You were thinking for a few seconds before finding a car you liked. You pointed towards it. “I like this one.” He followed your gaze and walked towards the car.
“I see. So you like the big ones, huh? Well then this Jeep Grand Cherokee is perfect for your needs.” He talked like he advertised the car which made you laugh and shake your head. He opened the passengers door for you before taking a seat behind the wheel. In just a few seconds the car left the garage and you found the both of you on the main road. Leon drove the car with ease which really fascinated you.His left hand was on the wheel and he was leaning on his right arm, he probably noticed you staring because he turned to you. “You wanna take over? The streets are empty here anyway.”
You shook your head again. “I meant what I said before. Just you drive now, I'm starving.” He looked back to the street and the rest of the drive went on quiet but nice. “I’ll learn to drive another day.”
Once you got back to Leon’s house Angel greeted Leon at the door, completely ignoring you. Leon tossed his keys to her and she caught them with one hand. As both you and Leon kicked off your shoes Angel hopped into the car and placed it back into the garage with the rest of them.
Leon led you to the kitchen and placed the multiple boxes on the counter, rather than sitting down he reached into a cupboard and pulled out two wine glasses. “Red or white?” He asked you.
“I don’t really want to drink tonight.” You admitted. That small hangover you had this morning wasn’t all that bad but you didn’t want to repeat it.
“Are you sure?” He asked, filling up both glasses with ice cubes. “I would hate to drink alone.”
“Fine.. but only one glass!” You gave in, to which Leon held both of the glasses up in confusion. “Huh? Oh! Red!” You replied to his earlier question. Leon nodded and opened up a small wine refrigerator he had under the counter, he picked up a bottle and read the label to himself. “Only the finest huh?”
“The finest thing is sitting right in front of me.” He chuckled and winked at you as he poured the two glasses, placing the fresh cork on the countertop. “So is this a business date where I hire you to be my interior decorator?”
“I’m only a student, Leon.” You opened one of the boxes and a waft of the smell of the food hit your senses, making you feel even more hungry than before.
“Whatever you say, student. This doesn’t change the fact that you already helped me a lot today. So this one is on you.” He raised his glass and with a cling both of yours met. You took a small sip and then took out a piece of pizza. “Besides, wouldn’t furnishing such a fancy house like this look really good on your resume?” You nodded slightly.
“Yea, you´re probably right about that, too. But let's not talk about work now and just enjoy the evening.” He gave you a smile before eating and drinking too. That evening seemed to never end as the both of you talked and drank, with no end in sight.
Maybe working for Leon wouldn’t be such a bad idea.
A/N: hey guys! This fanfiction is a Collab from me and Qwertyyy12 on AO3. If you want to, you can also leave her some love over there :) thanks for reading!
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Taglist: @trinswhimsys
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namjoon-koya · 3 years
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Hey there, I just LOVE your work with avengers x daughter!reader so I had a request for you...I'm sorry if it's too much..
Could you write an imagine where the reader is the daughter of Stephen Strange. She never went to school but learnt magic with her dad and became an avenger. She was best friends with Peter and was also secretly crushing on him, and was always open to her dad about this but she couldn't tell Peter because he was always telling her stuff about MJ so her dad encourages her into confessing to Peter and she actually ends up with him?
(A/N: dude I haven’t done a marvel request in a while 🥺 but this request is really cute so I’ll do it!!)
Warning: maybe just the reader feeling insecure, but that’s about it.
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Being the daughter of a sorcerer was pretty amazing if you do say so yourself, it’s not everyday where a teenager learns magic and uses it against criminals. It also wasn’t everyday where a teenager would join the avengers along side with their father, Steven Strange was your father it was always the both of you, but he would always be busy with being a doctor and everything UNTIL he got into a car accident and was put in the hospital. He wasn’t the same after that.. the car accident messed up his hands badly and his career just vanished before his eyes, until he went on a trip to the Himalayas and found his purpose again. He came back home only to show you what he learned there and told you everything about what happened, after that he moved you into the house where he was trained since now he was the new master for the sorcerers there.
You stopped going to school, but that didn’t mean you’d stop getting an education your father was smart so he taught you eveything he knew. He even taught you magic it amazed him how quickly you learned even Wong was impressed “She might become the new master in the future.” He would always say to Strange which made him proud he knew you’d be amazing if you did. After teaching you everything he knew about magic he decided to introduce you to the avengers, EVERYONE was shocked that he even had a daughter “so why didn’t we know about her?” Tony asked “it wasn’t necessary for you guys to know especially since she didn’t know any magic like I did.” He simply responded.
Everyone become like a close family to you, Steve taught you about his era and even how to draw which was amazing since his drawings looked very realistic. Natasha was like a mother to you, she’d given you so much advise and even how to fight (but you never liked fighting against her since she’d always win.) Thor was like a fun uncle you two broke so many rules and he’d even challenge you to see who could eat the most PopTarts (yeah you’re losing this one too.) Bucky was a bit harder to get close to, he wasn’t sure of himself or anyone else besides Steve, Steve didn’t tell you everything about his past only that Bucky endured a lot of painful things which made him not able to trust people quickly. He slowly did start trusting you afterwards when you talked to him more and showed him the magic your father taught you.
Then there was Peter Parker who was around your age, the both of you became friends quickly when Tony introduced him to you. The both of you shared the same interests in things and whenever Peter was having trouble you’d be the person he would always text or call. It was only a few months later did you realize your feelings for him, but unfortunately Peter always talked about a girl in his class named MJ. At first you tried not showing your feelings about it, but everytime he mentioned her name you couldn’t help; but just roll your eyes. It was obvious he liked her if he mentioned her all the time, you started spending less time with him always saying “I need to go study more spells.” Or “Sorry I’m spending time with my dad.” When really you were sulking around the avengers tower.
You were sitting near Bucky as you had a notebook in your lap as you drew a sketch of him, he never really cared if you drew him he was always happy to see the results when you were done. This time though something was off you were glaring down at the paper and you were pressing your pencil so hard onto the sheet of paper “Y/N is something wrong?” He asked you finally looked away from the sketch and looked at him “n-no! What why would you say that?” You ask nervously. “Well.. you seem to be really.. rough with the paper and I could hear you often mumble some words.” Shit why did you always forget he was a super soldier and he could hear things so easily?! “Have you ever.. liked someone?” You asked brining the notebook a bit higher to your face so Bucky wouldn’t see you blushing “Y/N why are you asking me this? Seriously what’s going on?” He asked.
“Finnne! You can’t tell anyone! S-So.. I’ve been liking Peter for a while and-“ Bucky quickly interrupts you “the spider..kid?” He asked. You sighed “Yes Bucky the Spider-Kid anyways.. I’ve been liking him for a while, but I think he likes someone else.” You frown sadly “he’s always mentioning their name when they have absolutely nothing to do with our conversation so I’ve-“ suddenly you hear someone come into the room you quickly shut your mouth and pull the notebook up to your face again. “and here I thought I was alone in the avengers tower.” You heard Loki say as he sat next to you.
“We were having a conversation.” Bucky said to him while crossing his arms “oh? Do enlighten me about this conversation.” Loki said sarcastically.
Bucky then starts arguing against Loki as Loki only argues against him, you let out a sigh before getting up from the couch and leaving to your room. Once you get to your room you set your notebook down before throwing yourself onto your bed and whine into your pillow, it was so frustrating. You wanted to tell Peter how you felt, but he already liked someone and you were scared that you’d ruin the friendship between the both of you. You got up from your bed and you summoned a portal to where your father was, you stepped inside the portal as you did it closed right behind you.
“Dad?” You called out to him as you did so suddenly you saw your father’s red cape quickly rush to you before wrapping itself around you, you giggled “I missed you too pal.” You saw your father walk down the stairs “Y/N? What are you doing here?” He asked as his cape returned back to him. “I just.. wanted to see you it’s been 2 days since I’ve last seen you.” Your father smiled at you gently “I know and I’m sorry.. I’ve been busy with the other sorcerers and helping them master magic.” You nodded “it’s okay.. I actually wanted to talk to you about something.” You said before going over to sit down, your father followed behind you as he sat down across from you.
Two cups of tea summoned before you both “thank you.” You said taking a sip “You’re welcome now what’s wrong Y/N?” Your father asked. You let out a sigh “you know Peter Parker right?” He nodded “that spider-kid right?” You rolled your eyes “Yes.. well we’ve been best friends for a long time and you know we get along pretty well and I’d say we have similar taste in things and well.. I-I’m in love with him, but I don’t think he likes me.” Your father didn’t interrupt you as he carefully listened to every word you said “he keeps mentioning someone else and I can’t help, but get jealous y’know? I try not to because I don’t want to ruin our friendship, but.. I just really care about him and I want to tell him; but I’m afraid..” you said lowering your gaze down to the ground.
“Afraid? Afraid of what sweetie?” Your father asked “of getting rejected.. or him wanting to stop being friends with me..” you said bringing your knees close to your chest your father quickly gets up and wraps his arms around you “Y/N.. it’s okay to be afraid, but I think you should tell him.”
“But what if he doesn’t like me?” You asked.
“Sometimes not everyone we love will be in our future Y/N, but if you don’t tell him how will you know if he does or doesn’t love you?” He was right, even if Peter didn’t like you like that at least you would know.. “Thank you dad.. I’m going to tell him then.” You said getting up from your chair you summoned a portal to your room before you leave you quickly jump into his arms and give him a hug “thank you dad for the advice.” You say to him he hugs you back gently stroking your hair “of course Y/N I’ll be at the avengers tower soon.” He said letting you go. You nodded before stepping inside the portal and close it, you send Peter a message asking him to come to your room once he was done with school for the day.
While you waited you felt yourself getting nauseous as seconds and minutes passed by what if he wasn’t coming? What if he stopped being friends with you because you didn’t hang out with him anymore? Suddenly you heard your door click open you looked up and saw Peter his faced was flushed as he was breathing heavily “I-I got your text what’s up?” He asked He came running to you? Why would he even do that? You didn’t know what to say you only grabbed your pillow and held it against your face don’t cry, don’t cry! You kept shouting to yourself “p-please turn around Peter.” You mumbled against your pillow. Peter gave you a questionable look before turning around, you slowly pulled the pillow away from your face.
“A-And don’t interrupt me.. please?” You saw him nod “I’ve.. liked you for a long time Peter-“ you saw him tense up “I know it’s awkward, but I need to tell you that I really love you Peter you’ve become such a good friend to me especially when I didn’t have anyone around who was my age, you’ve shown me how to be happy and how to have a fun time-“ your lips trembled “a-and if you don’t like me back that’s okay! I just wanted to let you know because it’s been building up inside of me for a few weeks so-“ before you could finish Peter quickly turned around and pulled you in closer to him before planting his lips onto yours. You gasped against his lips you didn’t expect him to kiss you like that.. and what about MJ? you melted into his kiss his lips were so soft against yours it all felt like a dream..
You both pulled away from each other “P-Peter I thought-“
“Sorry Y/N I’m not really good with my words o-or even showing signs that I like someone.” He said holding you against his chest.
“So.. you liked me all this time? What about MJ?” You asked.
“MJ? She’s just a friend Y/N.. don’t tell me you were jealous.” You pouted as he said that you gently slap his chest “oh hush! Don’t ruin the moment..” you said to him. He laughed while planting a soft kiss on top of your head, you felt your heart flutter “so.. does that mean we’re dating now?” You asked him “if you want to then yes.” Peter said you bury your face into his chest “of course I do dummy I wouldn’t have poured out my feelings like that if I didn’t.”
Bonus!
“See? I told you they’d end up together Rogers.” Tony said to Steve who only scoffed “I thought you were protective of Y/N Tony.” Steve commented back “I am, but Parker is a good kid so I know he’ll treat her right.” While they both bickered Bucky turned his attention to Strange “what about you? How do you feel?” He asked him “I’m happy for her she deserves happiness, but I won’t hesitate to send Peter off to another dimension if he breaks Y/N’s heart.” He said glaring at the TV. Bucky chuckled “I think we’re all on the same page as you.”
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oh-for-fic-sake · 4 years
Text
Geeking Out
Masterlist
You work onset of the witcher as the resident handy girl there to repair the props onset rather then them being sent off to be fixed, when working on Geralt’s sword Henry comes across you and with one slip of the tongue your inner geeks collide.
Warnings: Fluff, Swearing
A/N: Had this on my mind for a while just a cute little fluff piece hope you enjoy XX
Taglist: @havenoffandoms​ @iloveyouyen​ @angelofthor​ @thatgirly81​
Incredible text dividers are from @writeyourmindaway​ I suggest you go check out her others they are soo usefull xx.
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You hummed quietly managing to secure yourself a table in one of the busy tents just off set, you moved quickly furiously mixing the epoxy trying to combine the two parts with the lolly stick. Your task? you were trying to fix Geralt’s sword there had been a small mishap during a scene renfri's brooch had been hit in one of the takes and had come off. Your job was to put it back on and make sure its stays on , so this time you were forgoing the original glue and using a tiny amount of epoxy it was stronger and once it cured that little brooch wasn't coming off for love nor money. Your job was maintenance on the props ,you were kept onset with a small arsenal of tools to fix anything that gets damaged quick and skilled repair jobs anything from the horse tack to props jewellery the only things you didn't touch was wardrobe because...Fuck no. Textiles was not your thing.
You moved fast wanting to have it mixed thoroughly. This particular resin cured fast...very fast well for resin anyway, so it was always a rush to combine it. You moved a syringe and pulled the plunger up then dotted the resin on the hilt of the sword swiftly applying the brooch then looked around for the clamp. Shit. It was to far you couldn't reach it. You tried stretching down into your bag for it but it was no use suddenly someone was behind you.
"Need help?" You nodded to the slim clamp in the bag
"Yeah could you pass me the clamp forgot to get it out just got this bloody thing central and can't risk it slipping" you focused on your work holding the brooch steady as the person hummed leaning down then handed it to you.
"Cheers lovey" you thanked them and leaned down with one final check that everything was positioned correctly nodding you placed a rag across it protecting it and clamped it securely.
"Sorry about that... Misjudged the angle and hit it to hard I'm afraid" you froze looking up seeing Henry in full wardrobe bar his contacts smiling sheepishly. Even tho you'd been onset this whole time you'd never actually spoke to any of the cast there was no need. You quickly swallowed your shock and laughed.
"Don’t matter to me, keeps me in a job so go nuts!" you both laughed he looked over the things you had out across the table, you followed his gaze. Noting how he then moved to stare at you intently, you felt a flush creep across your chest but cleared your throat nodding to the prop.
"I've used epoxy on it ...It should be a lot stronger." He hummed not really paying attention.
"Anyway its not your fault they used a mid strength glue last time.. I don't think they had a clue how much of a beating it was gonna take" he hummed then peeked over the cup that had a small amount of resin in it still.
"So I can go to town on it?" You nodded wiping your hands down and smirked at him.
"Knock yourself out muscles! I doubt even you will be able to snap that off again....And that's not a challenge either" he rubbed the back of his head smirking at you as you moved dumping the cup with the left overs in a bag then in a small bucket with sand in it that was used as an ashtray for the crew on set. He looked at you questioning. You nodded to it.
"Get's hot when curing so I will leave it there to be safe then take it out when its set..." he hummed in agreement  then moved with you helping to pack up your things.
"So how long will it take to be finished then?" You froze wide eyed
"Why do they need it now?" You panicked they had said it wasn't needed today so you could work on it... did they change their mind? he quickly held his hands up
"No no we are done with it for today...I just wondered was all.." you stopped and flushed at him, you felt a little embarrassed as you had begun to cuss him out in your head thinking he was being rude trying to rush you.
"About an hour...Well I hope an hour it really depends, if there is any leakage  then I will have to sand it with my dremel...and to do a proper job of that I'd need to go through a few different grits and but if theres no leakage  or any nastiness then we should be done in about half an hour....This epoxy cures in ten to twelve  minutes but to be sure I'd want to leave it around twenty to twenty five ish but either way by the end of the day you sir will have your sword back." He looked between you and his prop wilth a huge smile.
"Sounds like a plan! .....Still feel bad tho I'm sure you have tonnes to do already...nevermind me adding to it." You waved him of with a wide grin
"Your kidding! Been waiting to get my hands on this baby since day one! Needed to see the details for my -" you stopped yourself before you said to much not wanting to 'geek out' in front of him he tilted his head sharply.
"Your what? You making a replica or something?" You flushed at him bobbing your head side to side a little.
"Well yes and no...not a full scale one I'm gonna make a mini..." his face lit up and you could see him become excited.
"You make mini's? Like wow and stuff?" He asked buzzing in the way all geeks do when they find a fellow nerd to speak geek with. You giggled an nodded.
"Yes I can't paint them to save my life but I draw and make them on the pc for people to download and use on their 3d printers....I'm more into scenery dioramas...I make tabletop boards" he grinned at you practically vibrating on the spot.
"Seriously? That’s soo cool...Do you have any pictures of them?" You smiled and nodded just as you got your phone out you both heard it Henry's name was called by Joey he sighed and gave a small chuckle.
"Looks like I'm needed...I will be back later to see them and collect my sword...If not hold on to it for me?" You gave him a funny look as he stayed for a moment giving you his best puppy eyes. You laughed and nodded to him, he grinned and quickly left. You stood dumbfounded as he stole a few glances over his shoulder at you before disappearing around the corner. Well that was weird, normally the props were picked up by...well anyone to be stored the cast never did hence why you'd never seen them. You shrugged it off and continued placing your stuff away zipping up your bag.
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That was the first time you met the man, later that day he did indeed return and spent nearly two hours geeking out looking at your collection of dioramas, he specifically liked the ones base on Lord of the rings and the few marvel and dc ones you'd done. All of which were centered around villains. It wasn't long before it became a habit that between takes he would seek you out, sometimes bringing Joey along. Soon you found yourselves together all the time, they seemed fascinated by your work and hobby always asking questions, to the point you'd snapped at them when they wouldn't shut up when you tried fixing a particularly fiddly jewellery piece . Even then they stayed sitting either side of you staring as you maneuvered the tiny gems and links back into place.
By the time the production came to a end you had all become close friends each of you exchanging numbers and always texting in a group chat. You couldn't help harboring a little crush on Henry, and you had tried but he was just so...him and maybe he liked you back? You wasn't sure but he seemed to be touchy...Not in a bad way god no! But he was a hugger and holder. When ever he was around you he always seemed to be touching you in some way holding your hand or arm as he dragged you about set,slinging an arm around your shoulders or waist at lunch or when you was working stuff like that. Maybe you were just reading into things to much but it felt like there might be something there. Or at least you hoped there might be, he was sweet funny and dorky but still mature and masculine he was basically your dream man, and then some!
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You sulked today was your final day on set you were looking forward to returning home and just relaxing but at the same time you'd miss the guys. You'd all clicked with one another and were so used to them popping up whenever. You tilted your head as you ran your pen across the sketch in you book. It was a close up of Jaskier’s lute details you'd been working on. You were trying to take your mind off things you were scared of them forgetting about you, it wasn't often you managed to click with people let alone men, you supposed you were anxious usually you were fine alone but you found yourself craving company since hanging around them. You glanced up when you heard them before you saw them as they approached you . Sitting up you quickly shook off your sadness as they both made their way across to you.
"Hey bitches" they chuckled at you taking seats at the table the three of you had claimed for the past months.
"God I can't believe its over...I cant wait to see it!" Joey said enthusiastically make you and Henry nod.
"Me neither its gonna be incredible! Its gonna be big you know that don't you? After the great flop of game of thrones their fanbase are gonna be lost and looking for something similar" Joey blinked he hadn't thought of that.
"Really? Didn't think of it like that." You smiled at him and wriggled your eyebrows "And you sir are never escaping that fucking song either so be prepared" he furrowed his brows
"How’d you know about that?" You smirked
"It was one of the few scenes I was allowed to watch them film...and it was stuck in my head for a fucking week the worst bit? I couldn't go and download it from youtube either it was hell!" He chuckled at your frown and leaned over you his eyes caught the page you were working on it was the first time he'd caught a glimpse at your artwork.
"Oh shit! That’s cool" you looked down alarmed then went to cover your image but he had already pulled it from under your nose.
"Henry look!" You flushed a not wanting them to see your sketches. He smiled and flicked a few pages. He looked up through his lashes at you.
"These are really good y/n super detailed... They for your mini's?" You nodded at him sheepishly as you noticed he had found your Geralt cheat sheet. He smirked seeing the page full of his Geralt pulling various faces then skipped a few pages to Joey's Jaskier.  He past it back to him.
"Here there's yours" Joey gasped at them
"Holy shit...Did you do all the cast? Are you gonna 3d print em?" You nodded to him
"I did the main cast once I get home I’m gonna start putting them into the computer but yes eventually they will be printed for people to use...After I sort them out  I’m gonna be making a witcher diorama to display them." Henry smiled at you
"Can you teach me to make one?" You blinked at him not sure you’d heard him right
"What?" He nodded to your book.
"Id like a set for my collection and small a diorama for them...I have always wanted to try it but it seems expensive to get the stuff if I’m crap at it...And it would be fun to make one with you...If you wanted to that is?" You flushed at him gaping.
"Err Ive never done a collaboration before but sure we could give it a go...Could do a witcher one for you to display these mini's...I wont be painting them tho not good at it, sketching is fine but I can't do detail paint....scenery is more forgiving... " he nodded enthusiastically at you like a kid on Christmas.
"Really! Fuck Absolutely! I always wanted to try scenery that would be brilliant." He flushed a little as Joey snorted at him and received a sharp look. It had become common knowledge that he had a thing for you. Everyone seemed to have caught on to it and had all told him to go for it but he was shy...He was nervous what if he had read you wrong? And you didn't like him back? He would be quite embarrassed  and torn up if he asked you out and you shot him down...so no he would settle for being friends.You smiled at him missing their exchange between them.
"Err sure just let me know when your free...I’m not that far from You in London right? Just give me a heads up when you wanna come round" Henry looked ecstatic, it was true he had found out a few weeks ago you was literally Fifteen minutes away from his place in London. He realized you had caught him staring blushing he moved directing his attention back to your drawings again. Joey noticed the awkward moment and swiftly poked your side.
"I want some too! A perfect mini me! Just what everyone needs" You scoffed
"A mini you sounds like a threat! god help us all!" You all laughed spending the remaining time reminiscing on the last few weeks until finally it was time for you to leave. You pouted hugging both of them.
"Gonna miss you two have fun on the promotion tour and stay in touch okay guys" they smiled hugging you back Henry squeezed you tight pulling you up off of the floor making you whine at him.
"I will definitely call and will probably be round September October time" you nodded and finally wriggled away from him leaving the hotel heading home.
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Once home you quickly got to work uploading and designing your mini's on the pc you had been speaking to the boys a bit but as time went on you heard less and less from Henry until finally six weeks later all conversation had stopped. Which really didn't surprise you, he was busy...Well that's what you told yourself, it was a shitty excuse you were saying to keep yourself from getting upset. you had found yourself enjoying his company to much. You liked him like liked him, it was fun talking to him,  he was interested in the same things as you and was funny and you had brilliant banter you wasn't constantly worried about how you acted around him because he just got you, you thought you’d both got on well and could remain friends. Somewhere in the back of your mind you stupidly had hoped something would come of it ....But that was a silly childish fantasy. Still you asked Joey a few times and he said that Henry was dealing with some stuff and would come around eventually but it did nothing to cheer you up. You resigned yourself to the fact that he was bored and needed someone to talk to on set that was it. You and Joey still spoke at least once a week even if it was just a quick 'hi how are you?'. You could kick yourself as even when you realized Henry wasn't going to meet up with you, you still began his diorama... Some silly little hope that he might still show but it was unlikely so the diorama was now yours ,you'd planned to make one using your new Netfilx witcher mini's the base was done and you were building up the Styrofoam. The design was going to be a small woodland area with a tiny waterfall running into a stream next to the witchers camp in which the four main characters would sit...Well five including roach. You sighed looking at the blocks of Styrofoam they had been glued down and are now ready to be carved. It had been ready for two weeks but... You suppose it was a little hope that if you didn't start it he would come around like he said. But when Christmas came and went you finally realized he wasn't coming.
Just as you moved to the wall socket and turned on your hot wire cutter you heard the doorbell go frowning you got up dragging your feet as you walked through the kitchen to the hall, as you got closer you could see a huge frame through the frosted glance. It looked a lot like..
"Henry? What are you?" He smiled sheepishly down at you. He chuckled nervously.
"Ah hi y/n...Long time no see?" You crossed you arms at him making him gulp.
"What can I do for you?" You tried keeping your voice even tho inside you were a a quivering mess of irritation anxiety and my god you felt weak in The knees and all the man was doing was standing there!how you even formed words you don't know. Henry the man you'd been pining over was here. He was on your doorstep. And you hadn't let him in what the fuck? why hadn't you invited him in yet?. Pride was the answer, you didn't want to seem desperate. he just straight up ignored you...for months!. You were intent on being angry with him, wanting to give him a piece of your mind. just as you rose your gaze to his you froze.Shit. you gulped eyes softening as you took in his appearance, he looked so anxious and guilty? even then he took your breath away, as gorgeous as you remembered him. he stood a little less confident to what you remembered shoulders slouched his eyes darting around almost as if he was fearful of your reaction, you took a deep breath gripping your front door in a white knuckle grip.He looked to you neighbors door step seeing the nosey old women Mrs Hamlin standing there staring outright, then turned to you going a little red twisting his coat pockets in his hands sighing, sucking it up and started talking.
"Hey I know we haven't been talking its just I ah...well I got a little caught up with the promo tour and that then had to negotiate season two and on the way to the final stop I lost my phone-well I destroyed it really dropped a fucking dumbbell on the thing in the gym..Then Christmas was hectic...Anyway that’s not the point...The point is by the time I got a new phone and found Joeys number and had him send me yours it...I felt like I had left it to long to reply... I wasn't sure if you'd be angry thinking I was ignoring you..." you blinked up at him stunned. That’s why he suddenly stopped he broke his phone and lost you number? You took a step back feeling incredibly stupid. You’d honestly began thinking the worst of him. You felt so bad.
"So...instead of phoning or texting you thought you'd just...come round?" He winced at you tone
"I wanted to talk in person...I wanted you to know I was genuinely sorry...I am sorry I let my anxiety get the better of me...I-I should go" you panicked as he began to turn around and quickly grabbed his arm
"Thank you Henry...You don't owe me anything but you coming here to speak to me means a lot ...I just assumed you were busy...I'll admit I did get a little upset when time went on and you still didn't reply...But now I understand why, we waited for each other to start a conversation again, like a couple  of school kids...Would you like to come in for a coffee?" He grinned wide and nodded glancing to the side eyeing your neighbor who had continued staring at him. You followed his gaze she was really giving him the evil eye.
"What er what is wrong with your neighbor? I mean I knocked on the wrong house but she is kind of freaking me out." You glanced at her and smiled waving
"Morning Mrs Hamlin" she hissed out a pleasant 'go fuck yourself' at you and entered slamming her door. You laughed at Henry's shocked face.
"She's just not a people person...Any way come in your letting all my heat out" you moved to the side letting him enter the small hall closing the door behind him.
"Hang your coat up and I will get some tea on" he did as you asked and followed you to the kitchen then spied your hobby room.
"Is that where you do all your bits?" You smiled nodding as you made the tea
"Yep! Here come in I was just about to start on the witcher one you can help carve, here I'll show you" he followed like a lost puppy paying attention as you began to guide him through the steps letting him carve out the shapes you wanted smiling ear to ear the whole time as you showed him your plan for the scene.
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It took a week but finally the diorama was finished, Henry bless him had found some of the steps tricky resulting in a few cuts and burns from the hot wire cutter but he had enjoyed every second of it.Today was the last day working on the project everything was done and you both looked at it.
"Wow its a lot of steps but...It look so realistic...I loved doing the water ripples using the airgun tho it was genius!" You smiled looking at it then jumped up.
"Not finished yet tho here, I printed them last night." You moved over to a small tub with your Netflix Witcher cast mini's and roach in it, they were in isopropyl  alcohol to clean them up after printing. You'd spent some time re-scaling them to fit the scene you'd just finished. His eye went wide as he saw them.
"Wow...these are from your drawings...How'd you get so much detail...May I?" You nodded to him as he carefully moved them from the tub and inspected them. He was fascinated.
"Thank you so much! Their great...perfect even...I've had so much fun this week" you patted his arm
"Me to big guy, its been nice having someone around to talk to, your really good with a bit more work you’ll be making your own in no time" he moved placing the mini's on the finished diorama then stood back.
"That’s a bit of a stretch don't you think...I'm dreading painting it tho.." you laughed holding your hands up.
"Hey don't look at me I print em you paint em that Mr Cavill was the deal" he rolled his eyes biting his lip. The last week had been above and beyond what he had hoped for. He couldn't help wanting more from you tho, he in a way felt a little selfish he wanted you to himself. He stood tall in front of you contemplating his next move.Should he?. Could he? He knew he wanted to try and pursue you but he still had doubts. You blinked and gulped seeing a heated glint in his eyes that was clouded with anxiety.
"Hen-henry?" He hummed in response his heart just about jumping out of his chest as he moved in slowly noticing you leaning towards him to...Did you want him to kiss you? You looked like you wanted to kiss him... Should he let you kiss him first? Or was he reading this all wrong. Fuck. He couldn't take it his nerves and thoughts buzzing he panicked momentarily and just went for it. Dipping his head quickly he connected his lips to yours tilting his head he moved closer shuffling his feet forward. It took you a few seconds to realize what he was doing but when the shock finally disappeared you moaned into him moving to cup the back of his neck. He grunted pulling back for air taking one large gulp then wrapped himself around you pinning you to between himself and the table, clutching you to his front cradling you against him as you accepted him into your mouth groaning as he was quick to explore, dragging your tongue to dance around his moaning and teasing you letting his hands fall to cup your bottom grabbing the full cheeks rolling them around lightly then pulled back from your mouth. He looked down through half lidded eyes and smiled seeing your dazed expression.
"Well...That was, a long time coming and definitely worth the wait...Hopefully i wont have to wait as long for the next one?" you glowed red at that and wriggled a little freezing noticing he still had a firm grip on your ass. You nodded shyly at him.
"Y-you waited to do that?" He nodded moving his hands up from your ass to your sides smoothing his thumbs across your ribs lightly not willing to let you go for a second.
"Yes..For a long time the others were pestering me but I was shy...Wasn't sure if you'd like me or not...Didn't want to ruin our friendship..." you stuttered looking up into his sparkling eyes seeing him flustered and shy made you feel a little better
"Of course I do!...Had a crush on you for...well a long time but just like you I didn't want to rock the boat" he looked at you shocked then laughed loudly.
"Well now that we both know where we stand would you like to order in we could get your favorite?"
"You know what my favorite food is?" he tilting his head down to yours with a knowing grin taking a deep breath he started listing off a few of you favorite's.
"Of course I do, Chinese is your top sweet and sour chicken chow mein and hors d'oeuvres namely seaweed and prawn toast and Japanese is a close second wagamama's if I remember correctly , your favorite chocolate is Lindor and favorite drink of all time is apple juice" you gaped at him, he had remembered all that.
"Wow I'm impressed you listened to my nervous rambling let alone took anything from it" "I love listening to you, you get so passionate about everything you love its cute..Hard not to pay attention...what do you mean nervous?" you felt all giddy when you realized he had been paying attention as you rambled on about what you thought was random uninteresting things.
"Well I'm always a little nervous around you...I do have a crush on you." he chuckled pulling you closer pressing a sweet kiss to your lips.
"That makes two of us, any way Chinese? My treat?" you jumped up nodding at him definitely up for some take out.
"Absolutely! but I warn you I can eat...Like I EAT." he chuckled moving down to give you one more kiss then pulled away from you to grab his phone to order online.
"And we can watch Netflix" you faltered and smiled up at him impishly causing him to raise a brow.
"I-I err don't have Netflix..." he gaped at you blinking as if you had a second head
"What? how could you not- you worked for them..Have you even watched the witcher yet babe?" you flushed at the pet name...And the embarrassing truth of why you'd avoided watching the show.
"W-Well you see that err...No I haven't...Kind of avoided it to be honest.." he frowned at you, you were so excited about seeing it yet you had...Avoided it?
"Why?" you squirmed under his gaze, the blues peering down you could feel them seeing through you.
"W-Well I...It was hard I really really liked you and then you just stopped talking to me...I was upset and each time I saw you it made me worse...Like I’d been punched in the chest there was no way I was gonna get through episode one with out getting really upset so I didn't watch it..." he swore dropping his phone to the table and wrapped his arms around you tight
"Shit...I'm so so sorry love...I promise not to do that to you again! come here... I've got Netflix I will give you my log in and you can watch it ....Not when I'm around tho not too keen on watching myself much" you grinned at him as he rocked slowly with you
"Okay then deal..Is watching yourself on tv like re-watching old family videos then i take it?" he laughed pulling away nodding
"Yes almost...Maybe not as cringe tho...Now come on go get the tv on I will be in there in a second just need to order this then we can get settled and pick a film" you smiled leaving him with a quick peck then ran down the hall to the sitting room barely containing yourself as it sunk in that he liked you back and this might just be the relationship of a lifetime.
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2.43 ep 5 thoughts: Oda and Aoki edition
sooo as you all know i’m an Oda (and Oda/Aoki) stan, so I just wanna take some time to talk about Oda and Aoki’s dynamics in episode 5 and compare it to the book a little
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as a note, I’ll be commenting using my translated copy of the novel, which I’m pretty sure is based on the tankobon edition of the first arc (‘S1′); there may be some revisions in the bunkobon edition that i don’t have access to
[2.43 BOOK SPOILERS AHEAD]
while i think the tension during the club activity suspension had been downgraded from “this is a huge blow to team morale :O” to “hm, i guess people are kind of annoyed?” and we didn’t get to witness Aoki and Oda flying off the handle, I do appreciate that the seniors are presented as a unit in handling the younger team members, especially that Oda was able to stop Aoki with a glance in the anime (as shown above).
this strong partnership also leads us to the scene where they are hanging out together on break at one of their houses and communicating with each other about the incident, even though they have different opinions about it: Oda believes in Yuni’s innocence, while Aoki is holding a grudge (based on his words and expression). (also, what a gorgeous house!) 
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there is no similar scene, or even a reference to something like this, in the book—this is because, as alluded earlier, the team suspension is presented as way more devastating to team morale than it was presented in the anime
in the book Aoki’s displeasure towards Yuni had a sharper edge; not only was Aoki the ‘lead interrogator’ during the team’s questioning of Yuni, but he also hauled Yuni up by his shirt collar when he thought Yuni’s refusal to explain what happened was him not taking this seriously. 
Oda actually had to physically intervene in the book, and although Aoki reluctantly let Yuni go, he specifically says that Yuni had “betrayed [Oda’s] trust.” When Yuni insisted that he didn’t do anything that’d cause trouble to the team and “it’s you [seniors] who refuse to take my word for it”, Aoki basically threatens to kill him if he keeps looking down on them/refusing to take this seriously. 
(Chika is also much more aggressive in the book; he tried to lunge at Yuni, but was held back by Kanno, who advised him to at least hear Yuni out, but also made it clear that they need an actual explanation out of Yuni instead of the wishy-washy stuff he’d been saying)
in the book, they make a note that Oda calming Aoki down is a rare sight that the underclassmen normally never see, which was kind of interesting in terms of how the 3rd year duo presents themselves to the team—Aoki is the cool cucumber while Oda is the excitable ‘heart’ of the team, so that line reinforces how unusual Aoki’s actions during the interrogation were. there’s also the implication that, since Aoki was so aggressive, Oda has to hold back and be the one who diffuses the situation this time.
as the argument over Yuni’s refusal to explain what exactly happened spirals out of control, Oda also reached his limit and snaps at all of them, including Aoki, to just resign if they’re just going to get in his way of playing at the Spring Tournament. this shocks everyone into silence, and Oda is so ashamed at his (”selfish”) conduct that he dismisses everyone, and it was heavily implied that he didn’t really speak to any of the team members during the month that club activities were suspended (horrified at his outburst during the last meeting).
in the epilogue (which timing-wise roughly corresponds to the after-credit scene in ep 5), it’s implied that Aoki was the one who reached out to Itoko’s friends in an attempt to figure out what went down during the incident, and Oda and Aoki have a rather touching reconciliation conversation.
essentially, Aoki walks in to the club’s supply office to see Oda taking care of the equipment. When Aoki pointed out that Oda doesn’t have to do all this as he’s the captain, Oda felt that it’s penance for “being the first one who gave up”:
“Nobody thought you’ve given up, you know.” Aoki sat down at the end of the bench, the worn wood creaking under his weight. Just as he was about to pick up one of the balls by his feet, he noticed—the “Seiin High School” written in marker on all of the balls are facing up in the same direction. 
Oda isn’t the kind of person who’d deliberately make sure the equipment was laid out uniformly, so it was easy to imagine that he got in early to maintain the equipment, as well as the way he stared at the name written across each ball he cleaned with deep emotion before putting it down naturally, with the school name facing in the same direction.
“If you weren’t the captain, the team would probably be finished and unable to make a comeback. It’s because of you that everyone is willing to push through these circumstances. You should be proud of that.”
“That’s because you went around to help me make nice with the underclassmen in the background, right?”
“No, I didn’t do anything to soothe them at all. Besides, I was only doing it for your sake before.”
Honestly, Aoki wanted to smack the hell out of Kuroba [...] While the others were more or less sympathetic after the whole incident was cleared up by Kuroba Itoko, Aoki still couldn’t quite forgive him. If it wasn’t for that brat, things would never have gotten to such a state.
“On this topic... Aoki, are you sure? If you retire now, you’d have plenty of time to get ready for your entrance exams.”
“Shin, stop bringing such an ancient topic up.” Aoki rested his elbows on the back of the bench. “There’s no time for you to feel guilty. Isn’t this the practice you’ve been looking forward to for so long? You have to show them you want this more than anything. Come now, before the others show up, hold your head high.”
Dipping his head down to look at Oda, Aoki thought Ah, so we’ve become old geezers too. Every time he looked at Kuroba and Haijima, he couldn’t help but think that Oda’s skin had a healthier glow back then; is it because he had gotten skinnier... no, no, he had built up some proper muscles since then, so maybe it’s just his face that looks tired?
It had been two and a half years since then. The first time he saw this shorty was when he’d been poked in the back, Oda’s eyes glittering as he chattered away about the “super ace.” He had been unwavering in the pure, naïve belief that he’d grow and become a super ace back then.
“I’m... really blessed.” Oda said quietly with a sniffle. He wiped the corner of his eyes, and when he lifted his head he expression on his face was one of happiness, though it was mixed with faint embarrassment. 
No, I think you’re pretty unfortunate. Aoki’s sure that, if he had been in Oda’s situation, he’d have given up on himself a long time ago. [...] Oda’s the type of person that, even when he’s forced to give up on his dream to become a super ace due to the unsurmountable challenge of his height, he’s still able to say he’s blessed with a straight face.
“Also, there’s one other thing I wanted to apologize for.” Oda hunched his back, clearing his throat sheepishly.
“What is it? Like I said, it’s fine.”
“I heard that you got a girlfriend, and went around on dates. I thought, ‘the team’s in a pinch and that guy had the time to play around with girls?!’ Honestly, I was really mad.”
“Pfft—” Aoki couldn’t help but laugh. When Oda looked at him in confusion, he covered his mouth with a hand and shifted his gaze away. “Don’t worry about it, there’s nothing going on.”
“You contacted the girls from the other school because you’re looking up leads for what happened with Kuroba, right? Still, even if you didn’t get a girlfriend, I think it’s only natural that you’d be popular; you’re really tall and smart after all.”
“Shin... can we just drop this?” Aoki interrupted, feeling his temples throb. He was a little angry, but... oh well, it’s fine if Oda doesn’t understand.
(2.43 S1 Epilogue part 3)
(Aoki is pining SO HARD he can be a frickin’ tree 🌲 he already has the height covered :V) 
in a previous post examining the Oda/Aoki dynamic, I’ve talked about how they seem to be at cross purpose when it comes to understanding the other’s motivation—we’ve seen Oda being confused by why Aoki would devote himself to him back in Chapter 3 (it’s because he is in love with you thinks your pure drive is admirable); and now the “I’m really blessed”/‘no I think you’re unfortunate’ exchange from Aoki’s point of view shows Aoki’s blind spot. it’s not explicitly stated, but to me it’s pretty clear that Oda was talking about having the team, and more specifically about having Aoki’s support, which is what makes him blessed. Aoki, though he’s not wrong about Oda being an optimist, seems to have missed (or dismissed) what Oda was really trying to say here
all in all, both the anime and the book have shipping material for Oda/Aoki, but in slightly different ways; in the anime it’s more of a stable and straightforward dynamic (which makes it easier for the anime staff and the viewers to handle, since there’s no opportunity to devote precious run-time to an in depth exploration of their characters and dynamic), while in the book it’s a bit more complicated, where it feels like they’re on the verge of something but it’s never addressed explicitly
or, in the terms of fanfic tropes, in the anime they give off strong established couple vibes, while in the book they’re more about the pining and miscommunication
EDIT: lmao the staff sure knows their marketing huh. they really said "Dinner at the Aoki Household" huh. (I guess the implication is that Oda slept over that night? or at the very least had dinner at Aoki’s place)
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honestly it's rly interesting to sketch out the dynamic i want to explore in Oda/Aoki fics, because i see them as an established couple in the anime (sir they DATIN’), while i maintain that they have not gotten together yet in the books (and won’t until after Aoki had gone off to college)
(also, just to be clear, i don't think Oda/Aoki would ever be 'canon' in the sense that it'll be officially/explicitly confirmed. i just like their dynamic and i’m having fun with it)
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Shielded. Chapter Four
Happy Sunday all, back to the usually scheduling this week. I hope you enjoy the next week of lockdown with Jamie and Claire <3 Mod MBD.
Anonymous said to imagineclaireandjamie: 
It does not matter what you bear, but how you bear it. [Seneca]
CHAPTER FOUR: WEEK TWO - Home and Away.
As Monday rolled around again, the weekend having passed by in a blur, Claire sat at the breakfast table with a fresh cup of coffee in her hands. Having ventured down during the day on both Saturday and Sunday, she had hoped to bump into Jamie and pass on her thanks to his generosity but he had been out before sunrise each day and she had been asleep before he’d returned home.
Resolute, however, she chose to spend her day downstairs and hopefully get something on for dinner before he came back so she could at least start the week off right.
Fate, however, wasn’t on her side. By 10pm, with the lasagne tucked away, wrapped in foil, in the fridge, she covered her mouth with a yawn and pulled herself up the stairs to bed.
The crash and smashing of a glass bought her out of her sleep as the clock beside her bed clicked over to 3am. Pulling herself from beneath the sheets, she crept downstairs, eager not to scare him as she approached the kitchen.
“Couldn’t sleep?” She asked, knowing full well he had only just returned home.
He was stood by the sink, cold lasagna on the countertop and his mucky boots still on his feet. With the fork held to his mouth, he smiled as he took another bite of the pasta, chewed and then shook his head. “I havena ever been the best sleeper but it’s lambing season, aye? One of them got into bother and I couldna leave her until I knew she was safe.”
“And she made it?”
“Aye. I was luckier tonight than I was at the weekend.”
“Oh, dear...that doesn’t sound good.”
“It’s the job, I’m afraid. If I didna lose at least a handful a year I’d be shocked.”
It was the first real (and longest) conversation they’d had since she’d arrived and she was suddenly grateful for the company. He was calm, grounded and relaxed in the way a lot of city dwellers weren’t. She could tell in the slump of his shoulders that it didn’t matter how long and awkward his day was, how messy or how little sleep he had gotten the night before, he was still weightless almost, free of the constraint modern living brought to most.
“I wanted to say thank you,” she broke in, remembering the reason she’d half-blindly stumbled down in the middle of the night, “you’ve been so amazing - to get me materials for a garden, that’s...above and beyond the call of duty.”
“Ach,” shaking his head, he finished the last of his supper, balled the tin foil up and placed it in the bin, “dinna fash yersel’ about that. It’s no’ a problem.”
He was embarrassed, she could tell. Abashed, his accent had become incredibly thick and almost impossible to understand. But it was quiet enough here that there was no background noise to blot out his sentence and luckily she didn’t have to ask him to repeat himself.
“Well, nonetheless,” ignoring the slight reddening of his cheeks she continued, “I am very grateful to you. For everything.”
With nothing more to say between them, she waved, smiled and backed off, feeling strangely pleased with herself for breaking the silence between them. Hopefully, she thought as she climbed the stairs back to her room, there would be some evenings in the future when they could eat together and she could show her appreciation by making him something warm and fresh.
-- --
By mid-week, she had yet to see Jamie again. His work was intense, and yet, despite that, he had still managed to begin construction of her tiny garden.
In her haste she had forgotten that she wasn’t allowed outside the house and, as she’d watched the greenhouse foundations being laid, she had become almost inconsolable about the fact that she probably wouldn’t get the chance to tend to any of the produce grown in it.
She knew, however, that safety was more important than new hobbies and she chose, instead, to make detailed lists of the daily needs of each of the seeds and plants Jamie had procured for her.
She started with the tomatoes and grapes, which needed to be contained within the glass walls in order to collect enough light and heat to survive. She noted water levels, soil PH and balance and daily rituals which would need to be abided by in order for the best crop to be formed. It filled most of her days and when the sun went down, she’d swap her notepad for the computer as she researched all the differences she might see in her fruit and veg determined all by the way they were treated as they grew.
Though she had never been an artist, she started to search for youtube videos on how botanical art could be created. Having no coloured pencil crayons or watercolours, she stuck to pencil sketches and began to leave more post-it’s, this time with future predictions on what the garden might produce for the household.
Once again Jamie enjoyed coming home. There had only been a few days lapse in her communications but when he didn’t see her for days, it was the one thing he could rely on to buoy his spirits.
They were different, in so many ways, but on a subconscious level, he pondered to himself at night as he held the drawing of some rare cabbage in his hands, Jamie felt as if they had very many similar quirks. He’d been pleased that his idea to leave her be for as long as she needed had been a success and was grateful she felt at home enough to reform her life around his. Her asking for the garden made him realise how easy it might be for someone else to fit into his own life without causing him much grief.
It was only a small thing, but to him it had made a huge difference. Having lived alone for so long, he had almost forgotten how malleable people could be. Though, he thought as he rifled around in the fridge for more pre-made meals, he had probably just gotten lucky with Claire.
The thought also occurred to him that she had been inadvertently raised more suited to this life than her old one, but he didn’t know enough about her to advance on the notion.
It wasn’t until late on Thursday when they came face to face together. After another heavy day and late night, Jamie finally toe-ed off his work boots at nearly midnight and made his way, quietly, through to the kitchen.
He had not expected to nearly bump straight into Claire has she dished up what looked like a very tasty stir fry.
“I thought you might be sick of reheating pasta dishes, so I thought I’d try and wait for you this time.”
“Ye didna have to, it’s very late.” He scratched the back of his neck bashfully, even she couldn;t find the truth in his words and she smiled as she placed a fresh bottle of soy sauce in the centre of the table. “But this does smell delicious.”
“It’s taken me a few attempts to hone it, but I’ve been practicing most evenings this week to try and get it perfect, flavour as well as how long I need to cook the veg for.”
“What’s the meat?” He asked, watching as his stomach rumbled audibly.”
“I used the duck, I hope you don’t mind. I used chicken earlier in the week but I couldn’t seem to get it as tender as I wanted it and a few forums online suggested that duck might be a better substitute if I wanted meat with a bit more moisture.”
“Perfect. Use any meat you want from the freeze, for anything. Honestly, I forget most of the time what I’ve got in there.”
Placing several bowls filled with various meats, vegetables and sides, she went back to the sink to wash the remaining stickiness of her hands before beckoning him to start without her. “I had hoped you weren’t saving anything for a special occasion.”
“Ach, I think the virus has put pay to anything like that for a while,” he began, filling his plate with noodles, duck and beansprouts, “my sister - she lives in Canada now - had planned a summer visit, but we’re no’ sure of anything at the moment.”
“Is she the one in the photo,” Claire enquired, taking a mouthful of her own concoction and swallowing back the relief when it tasted nice - a mixture of sweet and savory that wasn’t as overpowering or as dry as it had been earlier on in the day when she’d made the first of the final tests. “The one with brown hair?”
“Aye, she is. Her partner, Ian, got a job out there a few years ago and they emigrated. We talk as often as we can on Skype and FaceTime but it’s become sporadic recently wi’ my erratic work hours. She’s a nurse, ya see, and works odd shift patterns too. But we try and keep in touch at least once a month.”
“Do you miss her?”
“I didna really think about it, we were close....until we werena. Then they moved away and I fell into a new routine.”
He had begun to speak without thinking, filling up the silence with answers to her questions as they ate in between conversation. He had, though, had the forethought to stop before giving too much away. The thought hurt his heart and he had to inhale between a bite of his dinner to gather himself back up. He knew, given time, that he would be alright with sharing his past (as he hoped she would be with hers) but tonight wasn’t the night for revelations.
Sensing his reluctance to continue, she moved on, understanding that she herself wasn’t in a place to open up about her own family life.
“I can imagine Skype is about the only way most are communicating at the moment.” Sighing, she started to collect the empty dishes and load the dishwasher. “I’m quite grateful, actually, that I don’t have anyone to keep in touch with. It’s all...quite scary.”
It was the first time Jamie had consciously thought about the pandemic, being cut off from the outside world had its benefits and he felt relieved that he could separate himself from the constant barrage of news that he supposed others would be exposed to. He realised that both he and Claire were unique now, part of a smaller section of society where being remote was almost a blessing rather than a curse.
“If you ever need to talk, lass,” standing, he helped to clean up the remaining mess from dinner, his hand almost brushing against hers as he wiped the countertop down, breaking only to hover for a second before returning to his job, “ye know where I am. Please dinna think you have nobody...if yer concerned, aye?”
“Thank you Jamie.” Pulling her fleece cardigan across her chest she walked slowly to the kitchen door, pausing for a second in the doorway just to make sure she’d left nothing out to go cold and mouldy overnight. “The same to you. I’m a good listener, I promise, if you ever need to talk, or if you need any help.”
She’d been thinking about his life on the farm for a few days now, watching the rolling hills out of her window, seeing the sheep and cattle on the horizon and -very occasionally- seeing the silhouette of him roaming his land. There was little she could do from indoors, she knew, but there had been chores around the house that she could potentially complete. Putting herself to task, she had learned new basic kitchen skills but only this morning she’d noticed the beginnings of a hole on the seam of his trousers as they dried on the rail in the courtyard and she thought it might be something she could tend to...should he be alright with it.
Leaving with the quiet settling calmly between them, she noted the relaxing of the muscles in his face as he smiled and nodded as she turned and carried herself to bed.
Resting against the faux-marble worktop, Jamie closed his eyes as he waited for the soft slam of her bedroom door before he followed her up. She just might, he thought to himself as he undressed himself, taking a towel from his radiator and making his way to the shower, be better equipped for this life than I am.
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geniusgub · 3 years
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north//chapter fourteen
genre: angst
pairing: season twelve spencer reid x female oc
warnings: description of physical assault, prison, just all of the bad prison arc stuff
word count: 4.7k
summary: spencer and amelia feel the effects of being forcibly separated and it impacts them in similar ways.
honestly, spencer’s pov in this chapter is one of my favorite things i’ve ever written so i hope everyone enjoys it <3
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AMELIA
"Come on! You don't even have to do anything! Just go and clean up. We'll go with you and help!" Yaz pokes my shoulder incessantly, trying to get a reaction out of me. But I just keep my eyes on the tv in front of me, bundled up under a blanket.
"Lia," Michael sighs and slings his arm over my shoulder. I want nothing more than to shove it off. “It's been like, three months since-"
I'm quick to speak up to correct him. "Two and a half."
Michael and Quinn exchange a tense look. "Okay," Quinn nods, "two and a half months. It's been two and a half months since you've drawn, or painted, or sketched, or done anything even related to art. We know you're upset about Spencer but you can't let yourself be so upset. You need to find something that's gonna bring you happiness, and art has always done that."
"I don't wanna," I answer like a stubborn child, an answer that any of my siblings would have given me about things like going to bed early or eating vegetables. I pull the blanket up to my chin and stroke my thumb across my newest tattoo, tucked away and out of the sights of my nosy, annoying friends.
Frankie turns and shushes Quinn. "Like I said, Lia, why don't we go and just clean up your studio? We can drive over and just clean up? That's it. You don't have to do a photoshoot or create anything new. Just clean. Sound good? An hour tops."
I look around the faces of my expecting friends and tighten my jaw. I try to steal Spencer's skills and profile what their ulterior motives could be. They all hated Spencer before meeting him, and even after they met him, they weren't completely fond of him. So why are they trying so hard to get me to feel better? Why does it feel like they’re trying to get me to forget about my boyfriend in prison? I should be worrying about him every second of my day instead of prancing around town, cleaning up my studio, and going about my life as if Spencer isn’t suffering. But I’m sure they mean well. And I’m absolutely positive that my legs are sore from sleeping on the couch and from being in that same position all day.
"Fine," I concede, and they all silently cheer. "But I'm driving myself."
The drive to my studio is nearly insufferable. It’s silent and overwhelmed with a tension that I created but can’t seem to let go. The sights around me are familiar but blurry, like I can’t even tell which stores are which without someone in my passenger seat spitting out fact after fact after fact as I drive. I can’t drive down the street and try to recall all the good times and all the dates and all the drunken stumbles back home with the love of my life on my arm. It’s far too painful to constantly remember that I can’t go home and see Spencer and I can’t spend hours on the phone with him like I do when he is away on a case. I can’t see him. 
When I arrive at my studio, I realize why they were so insistent that I come out to clean up. I can't remember the last time I was actually in here to work but it's an absolute mess. There are canvases everywhere, bottles and tubes of paint on the floor, splashes and splatters of paint on the walls, brushes everywhere, crumbled up sketches in the trash, and way more. The studio needs much love and I guess now is the time to give it.
Michael immediately turns on music and everyone gets to work, but I don't. I pick up an empty tube of yellow paint and squeeze it in my palm. My head is starting to pound and I can't even stop it as tears start to fall down my cheeks. Who knew that one person could produce so many tears? 
Spencer loved when I wore yellow. I have this one short, backless dress that he loved. He especially loved that he had easy access to my skin, always tracing shapes on my back and murmuring about how soft my skin is. He always said that he loved the way the yellow complimented my blonde hair and how it contrasted against my colorful tattoos. He even went as far as to buy me another yellow dress for my birthday last year. 
And he loved when I used yellow in my paintings too. One time, I sent him a picture of a piece I was working on and he emailed back a book about how the use of yellow paint expressed the happiness of the piece or something like that. He raved about a painting I did of the sun and how my use of yellow wasn’t scientifically accurate, but it was beautiful nonetheless. 
"Amelia?" Quinn speaks but I don't look at her. My cheeks are wet with tears that I barely noticed and my hands are clutching the tube of paint so tightly that it would burst if it were full. "I'm sorry. We didn't mean to upset you. If we-"
"I'm gonna go," I say hastily, clutching the empty tube in my hand as I breeze out of the studio, leaving my bewildered friends to either clean or leave. They know the way out and they know where the keys are. They don’t need me.
I'm wandering into the bullpen like it's second nature because, at this point, it basically is. Nobody on the team bothers to say anything to me. They never do. They're too worried I'll blow up at them or start crying. I don't blame them.
I rap my knuckles against Dave's door and wait for him to shout for me to come in, and when he does, I enter slowly. He gives me a small, pitiful smile as I move in front of his desk. I set the empty yellow paint tube in front of him and then sit down, bringing my knees to my chest.
Dave looks down at the tube, his eyebrows furrowing. "Paint? What's this?"
I blink and it forces tears out of my eyes. "I don't know how to live without Spencer."
Dave leans back in his chair, crossing his arms over my chest. He studies me, profiles me. I hate when Spencer did that. He always got this look on his face when he profiled me, but Dave has a better poker face. "And paint has something to do with that?"
"I just went to my studio with my friends and I finished off all this paint and there were brushes all over the floor and-" tears start pouring down my cheeks again, wetting my neck and the neckline of my sweater. "I came home the other day and I'd left the balcony door open. How stupid. I'm forgetting to lock my doors just because my boyfriend is in p-" I gulp, having to force out the disgusting word, "prison. How fucking stupid. How stupid am I that I can't function without him?"
"You're not stupid," Dave shakes his head. Nothing about his tone or his body language is helpful in the slightest. Nothing and nobody will help. "You two are reliant on each other and that's not a bad thing. I'm sure Boy Genius is always on you about locking your doors and I'm sure he's always giving you statistics on break ins and-"
"He doesn't," I cut him off sharply. "If Spencer's telling me statistics then it's about stars in the sky and how to properly care for my plants so they stay alive longer or just- it's never about things you guys talk about here. It always about things that I'd like. He does it to protect me. He doesn't tell me about serial killers unless I ask, and I only ask when I can see that he had a really hard day at work. It's just me, Dave," I put my forehead to my knees, shoulder shaking as sobs take over my whole body. "I just don't know how to live without him. I don't know how to function without him holding my hand and him calling me to promise he's okay and-- I just can't. I can't do it."
"You did it before you met him," Dave stands from his desk and moves in front of me. He puts his cold hand on my shoulder and it sends a chill down my spine. "You lived a long life before you met him, and you're living now while he's temporarily gone. It's hard, I know, but it's only for a short time."
"I just want him to be okay. That's all I really care about."
///
SPENCER
///
My whole job is about helping people and I've spent my whole life caring for others, mostly my mother. In my professional life, I'm always keeping an eye on my teammates to make sure they aren't in danger. I consider it to be part of my responsibility to look after every single one of my teammates. They're my family and I rely on them to help me too.
I never thought my helpful nature would come back to hurt me. I never thought that trying to help out a friend would come back to hurt me so badly. All I wanted to do was help Delgado. That's it. Calvin is protecting me and the other men in here wouldn't dare to cross him. They know how miserable he could make their experience here and they'd rather beat up someone else than get on Calvin's bad side.
All I did was speak to a correctional officer at chow. That's literally all I did. Yes, I did rat out the gang to the officer for beating up Delgado, but they don't know that. They aren't going to be disciplined for it. I ask the guard for water first as a cover, but clearly, it wasn't enough.
And I've been through a lot in the field. I've been tackled, and punched, and shot, but getting beaten up in a prison is completely different. The guards couldn't care less about the inmates. No matter how much I screamed and pleaded for help, no one came. And even still, there was another inmate outside my cell keeping watch so my attackers could run and not get caught.
I’ve gotten beaten up a lot in my line of work and I can confidently say that this one, in a dirty prison cell, is the worst I’ve received. They held me down against my bed and used a rag to muffle me, but it covered my mouth and nose and it almost suffocated me. They beat me to a pulp, drawing blood on my forehead and almost cracking a rib or two.
It was an unrelenting beating and I eventually succumbed to the pain because I convinced myself that they were going to kill me. I snitched and death would be the consequence. I stopped fighting and just let them take their turns at swiping my face and my chest and my stomach because what could I do? Nothing. As Calvin loves to remind me, the rules are different in here. I don't have a badge and a gun to make the torture stop. I have to endure it or find my own ways to make it stop, and this is a moment to endure it. I'm rendered useless.
The beating only ended when the inmate outside whistled, probably a preplanned signal, because the two others immediately jumped off of me and ran out of my cell. As soon as the towel was pulled away from my face, I gasped in a breath and clutched my aching chest, wincing in pain.
Wilkins came strolling over, peering into my cell. I knew he knew exactly what had just happened by the smirk on his face, but he chose to do nothing. He chose to stroll over instead of running and he didn't yell at the other inmates. He just stared at me and smirked, shaking his head.
"That'll teach you to keep your mouth shut, Snitch."
And those are the words that echoed in my nightmare that night.
I'd rolled over and coughed up a generous amount of blood, grimacing at the taste in my mouth. My body trembled and shook when Wilkins left, even more than when he was silently mocking and watching me. Wilkins doesn’t care to do his job but at least with him standing at my cell door, I had the tiniest bit of protection. But with him gone, the other inmates could come back and finish the job. I shook and stayed rolled over on my side for twenty minutes, staring at the floor and waiting for my cell to close.
When it finally did close, I didn't even let myself sigh of relief. I just fell onto my back again with a groan. I could barely move. It hurt too bad. Everything always hurts nowadays. Things didn't hurt on the outside. Living didn't hurt before I got arrested.
Getting visitors the next morning is not what the ideal situation is. Rising from bed is more of a challenge than it normally is. My body is sore and aching and all I want to do is curl up in my obnoxiously uncomfortable bed, if this slab of metal and a blanket could be considered a bed, and go back to sleep. But I know I'll get in trouble if I don't get up for role call, so I ignore the pain.
I don't dare to look around at anyone on my block as the officer shouts our names, checking to see that we're all here. I just keep my head held high and my hands at my sides and try to show that I couldn't care less about the beating that is causing me so much unrelenting pain.
But then they call our names for a visitor’s session and, of course, my name gets called. I'm usually grateful to get to see anyone from my team, but now? Today? After last night? I'd prefer if they didn't come back until after these bruises were gone. But there's nothing I can do so I allow the guards to put cuffs on me and lead me to the visitor’s room.
As soon as Penelope sees me, she gasps and drops her jaw. She starts to rise to her feet, but I sharpen my glare at her and when she sees my expression, she stays in her seat. When I sit down at the little table and put my cuffed hands in view, like I'm required to, I watch her eyes fill with tears.
"You-" she whispers, "you're hurt. What happened?"
"It's not a big deal," I answer nonchalantly. "It could've been worse." She's not convinced, her jaw dropped as a few tears drip down her cheeks. I keep my jaw tight and as much as I want to comfort her and hug her and promise that as badly as this hurts and as horrible as I'm sure I look, I'll be fine. But there are a million eyes on me right now, including my assailants, and if I show any kind of weakness, a beating like last nights will surely be in store for me again.
Penelope not-so-subtly glances around at the other prisoners around us. "Reid," she leans towards me and tries to lower her voice, "I am going to march right down to the warden’s office and I'm going to-"
"No, you're not," I snap, and my sharp tone of voice makes her jump back, her eyes widening. But for some reason, the look on her face doesn't even make me regret the way I've spoken to her. The look on her face just bothers me more. Why doesn't she get it? Clearly, I have to spell it out for her. "It'll just make worse things. I've got it handled, Garcia."
"Are you sure?" She practically whimpers. "I could-"
"How's everyone else? How's the team? How's my mom?" I deflect from the obvious issue at hand and instead turn the focus to my loved ones. All but the one I wanna hear about.
Penelope starts to nod slowly and she moves her glasses to wipe her cheeks free of tears. "We really miss you. And in our free time, we're working really hard on your-"
"Shh," I try to hold my hands out but the handcuffs rattle, and my eyes dart over to a guard who is alerted by my movement. He gives me a pointed look as if telling me not to do anything stupid. I put my hands back down and look over at a stunned Penelope, leaning in closer. "Don't talk about my case, Garcia. People don’t do that in here. It’s not right and it’s not safe. Just don't talk about it."
She gulps harshly, another single tear dripping down her cheek. "Okay," she nods again, and it's obvious that she's confused. But I don't have the time or the energy to explain why I'm acting like this and I don't even have it in me to care. I didn't even want to be at this visitor’s meeting. I'm only here because I have to be. "Um," she taps her fingers against the table, "we just really miss you, Spencer. Your mom is doing really well with Cassie."
"Good, I'm glad everyone is okay," I nod and I sit back, glancing around for a clock. When is this thing over? I'd rather be in my cell than here. I never thought I'd think that.
Penelope raises her eyebrows and her eyes soften. "A-Amelia? Do you wanna hear about her?"
As soon as I hear her name, my heart starts beating faster. My mind flashes with all the most beautiful images of Amelia that I can recall. I can practically see her in front of me. I can almost feel her under my fingertips. I swear I can taste her chapstick on my lips as she kisses me. I rub my fingers together as if I can feel the fabric of her denim skirt. As if I could unbuckle her belt and take her right on my bed right now. I shake the thought from my head. Don't go there, Spencer. Nothing good ever comes of when your mind goes there.
But I can't get her out of my head. I can stop seeing her lying on my lap, peering up at me as she mulls over which record to put on. Etta James or Taylor Swift? That's always the question of the day, isn't it? It always seems to take her hours to decide on an answer, and she usually doesn't. She'll usually work up an appetite with her thoughts, and when she's gone to get a snack or a glass of wine, I decide for her. Always the same. Always Taylor Swift.
But her smile is always so beautiful when she comes back into the room. When the music finally flows through her ears, the smile that comes to her face is one that could end wars, cure cancer, solve world hunger. I didn't think I could ever understand how bubblegum pop music could make a person so happy. I didn’t think I could ever understand how bubblegum pop music could make Amelia want to drag me off the couch or out of bed and force me to dance with her, whether it be in the middle of the night or just as the sun is peeking through the always-open blinds of her apartment.
I squeeze my eyes shut and try to bring myself back to reality. I try to forget about the girl that's waiting for me in the free world. I try to ignore that she's probably shed tear after tear and I haven't been there to wipe them away. My brain produces images of her gasping for air with her head between her knees and I ball my hands into fists.
I'm angry. I'm fucking furious. I want to be there to hold her and whisper in her ear and tell her that her panic attacks are short-lived, that I'm right there. I need to be there to hold her and kiss her and love her. I need her because I can't do this without her. I don't know what to do if I'm not spending my time protecting her. Everything I do is to protect her. I don't know how to function if I'm not holding her hand, or if I'm not pushing myself through every day just so I can call her at midnight to promise that I'm okay. I've become so reliant on Amelia, and maybe that's wrong, but I don't care. I don't care about anything anymore. I just want my life back. I want my life, I want my job, and I want my girlfriend.
I want my girlfriend. I want to move in with her like we planned to and I want to propose to her and I want to marry her. I want to have a whole house full of kids who are loud and messy and loving and adorable and a crusty dog who slobbers all over the couch and chews my shoes. It's not fair. None of this is fair. Amelia doesn't deserve this. She deserves someone better than me.
But I can still see her. I can still see her fucking smile, and I can still hear her goddamn laugh, and I can still feel the fabric of her dumb hair scarves. She's engulfing me in her. She's not even here and yet I feel like I could reach out and she would be in my arms, kissing my neck and telling me that I'm safe and that we can just sit on the balcony and talk. We don't have to go to bed if you don't want to, we can just talk.
What I would give to hear her voice again. I'd give everything I have, and right now, it's not much. I'd give everything plus the clothes on my back to just hear her tell me I'm safe, or to tell me about a new painting she's thinking about starting, or to ask me to tell her a random fact about a food item she is about to buy at the store.
The last thing I want right now is to hear about Amelia. I want it all, or I want nothing. I don't want to hear that Amelia misses me, or that she's crying and having panic attacks in the middle of the BAU, or that she's sleeping in my clothes (or worse, not sleeping at all), or that she's lashing out at everyone. No, if I'm not having her in front of me, kissing me, hugging me, I don't want to hear about her.
"No."
For what seems like the millionth time, Penelope's eyes widen. "No? You don't wanna hear about-"
"No, I don't," there's a pit in my stomach that I try to hold down. I try to not let it take control of me. "I don't wanna hear about how horrible she's doing, okay? So just tell her that I lo-"
I can feel a million eyes burning into every bone in my body and so I stop myself. My lips freeze mid-sentence and I release the steel grip my hands hold around my cuffs. Penelope's are just another pair of eyes that bore into my frame, and I usually love her concerned and mothering nature, but now, it irks me to no end.
"Whatever," it pains me to cut off the sentence I crave so intensely to say, but I can't let my guard down. I can't be vulnerable and I can't show weakness.
"Whatever," Penelope repeats, almost mockingly, her voice cracking. "So you-"
"Could you not say anything to, um," I gulp, "her about this?" I gesture to my face where I can feel the pulsing and throbbing bruises tormenting me. I drop my shoulders and start to fiddle with the way-too-tight handcuffs around my wrists, but then I decide that that's a horrible idea, and probably a good way to get harassed by the correctional officers. "I just don't want her to worry about this. I'm sure she's worried enough. I don't want to give her another reason to, you know, panic."
"Times up! Inmates, get back to your cells."
Without so much as another glance at Penelope, I stand and turn my back to her. I lift my chin as I'm pushed and shoved into the lineup and then pushed and shoved back to my lonely, isolated cell. I'd rather have it this way, behind bars where the other inmates can't get me.
I drop down to the floor, pressing my forehead against the rusty bars, staring out at the drab, bland, boring beige walls. The paint is peeling and the bars, honestly, look like they could be broken with a hard enough kick. And, of course, the colors of the walls do nothing to brighten up the dead environment. The colors aren't anything like those that adorn Amelia's body on the regular.
A frustrated groan escapes my lips as I bang my hand against the bars. Why did I have to think about her again? Why did I have to let her infiltrate my thoughts?
But the colors of her. The colors swirl around in my head but as hard as I try, I can't get her colors to fill this horrible cell I'm confined to. I try to imagine her denim skirts, knit sweaters, and pea coats strewn out on the bed as she chooses what to wear in the morning. I try to remember the feeling of accidentally stepping on one of Amelia's millions of piercings when they fall on the floor after she takes them out before bed. I try to see her laying down on my bed, her sketchbook in her lap, and her colored pencils beside her as she rambles on and on and on, talking more than me, about what she's drawing and how she's planning on achieving her vision.
But no matter how hard I try, I can't get her into the cell with me. She doesn't belong here. Her art doesn't belong on these chipped walls, and her clothes don't belong on this poor excuse for a bed, and her absurdly positive attitude doesn't deserve to be squashed in here.
I rub my eyes and try to forget. I try to forget all about her and I try to erase her from my mind completely. I push myself away from the bars and stand, but standing does the opposite of what I want to do. Standing gives me a perfect view of the tiny window across from my cell, but more specifically, the sky.
I stare up at the clouds, my hands gripping the bars as tight as I possibly can. My eyes well up with tears and my knees start to buckle under my weight, and as my tears start to drip, they sting the cuts that I didn't even realize I had on my face. It’s not like I have a mirror to examine my injuries. 
They are just blobs. There are no dragons, or hands, or tables, or staircases, or cars, or Christmas trees. They're just clouds. There's nothing fancy about them. I'll never be able to see it. I couldn't see shapes when I was with Amelia. What makes me think I would be able to see shapes without her?
I push myself away from the bars and throw myself onto the bed, covering my face with my hands. This is useless. I'm useless. There are echoes of chatter from men on my cell block and it makes my head hurt. If Amelia were here, she would cradle my head in her lap and brush her fingers through my hair, and she would trail her fingertips over my forehead and over the bridge of my nose, all while whispering sweet nothings to me. I groan with frustration, rolling onto my stomach and burying my face under my flat pillow.
"Hey, Reid," Calvin's voice joins the echoes from the cells around mine. "How's it going over there?"
 TAGLIST
@babybloodstonebones @bxnnywriting​ @blameitonthenight21​ @feralreid​ @anepiphany​ @reidscardigan​ @itsmyblogandillreblogifiwantto​ @stxrrywildflower​ @penemily​ @whollytaciturn​ @thegingerfairchild​ @yasminwashere​ @shrimpyblog​ @anamelessfacelessnerd​ @wonderlandhatter​ @whxt-to-write​ @inkandexchange​ @just-call-me-non​
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Text
FORTY FIVE - MY SUIT
LEGACY: A Tony Stark Daughter Story
MASTERLIST
< previous
Word Count: 1,150ish
Summary: Tony finally gifts Bailey with her own Iron suit.
~~~
“Okay. You can look in 3, 2, 1…”
I opened my eyes to see a blue and grey suit. I gasped. It was similar to the Iron Man suit, but obviously built for a female and it wasn’t as bulky. I covered my mouth with my hands. It was beautiful and everything that I had ever wanted. Everything that I had ever planned for myself. 
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“Oh. My. Gosh!” I squealed. “Is this for me?!”
“Yeah. I finished it this morning.”
“How did you know—“
“You fell asleep down here one night. I had arrived late and FRIDAY said that you were down here. When I came down, I saw all of your sketches and diagrams. So I had FRIDAY send me a few.”
“So you stole my work?” I jokingly punched him. “Rude!” I skipped forward before circling it to see it from all angles. “It’s beautiful! Can I—“
“Can you try it on? No, it’s just for looks.” He laughed, “Of course you can!” Tony reached into his pocket, pulled out a bracelet, and tossed it to me. “Here.” I slid it on and it lit up. “Just think.”
“Okay,” I took a deep breath, “Let’s do this thing.” The suit opened up and I stepped into it. The last thing to close was my helmet. It was dark for a second before the screens showed up.
“Good evening, Bailey,” a strange, robotic women’s voice greeted. 
“I put your very own AI into the suit,” Tony said, “It’s name is SARAH.” 
“Sweet,” I said. I moved around the room. It didn’t feel as heavy as I thought it would have and it was actually pretty comfortable. 
“It has everything I have in my suit,” Tony started, “Except yours has the ability to channel your strength. So, you’ll be able to combine your strengths with the suits. It took me a while to figure it out, but I had sensors put in the punching bags to help me out.”
“That’s so awesome!” 
“Why don’t you go take it for a spin? I’ll catch up with you in a minute.”
“Okay! Thanks Dad! SARAH, open the roof.”
“Yes, Miss,” SARAH responded and with that the roof started to open.
“See ya later Dad!” I waved as a took off. 
I went up, down, twirled, flipped, everything I could possibly think of. Flying was amazing! I don’t know why I haven’t tried it before. 
“Okay, SARAH. Let’s test this strength thing out. Where would be the best place?”
“Running a scan of the area,” she paused, her scans immediately showed on my screen. “The lower east corner of the facility grounds looks to be the best place to try it out.”
“Okay, let’s go.” And I was off. The suit took me right where I wanted to be. I landed, and then looked at my right hand. “Let’s do this.” I clinched my fist and watched as three lines up my arm of my suit light up. I punched down hard. The ground where I stood shook a little and the spot in the ground where I punched, was cracked. “I, honestly, am surprised that actually worked,” I stated.
“You don’t trust me?” Tony said as he landed.
“Did you see that?!” I squealed. “It was so awesome.”
“With the suit, you won’t have to be on the enhanced registry,” Tony said, walking towards me.
“Really? But isn’t it government property?”
“Yes, it is, or will be, but that’s okay. They won’t be able to figure out your abilities. We can just say that the strengths in the suit and your other abilities are well hidden that we don’t have to worry about those.”
“Will people be suspicious about how my suit resembles yours? I know Rhodey’s does, but the world also knows that he’s your best friend.”
“Yeah, I was thinking that after this whole Accords thing settles down, we could have a press conference and make it official. I want the world to see how awesome my daughter is.” He jokingly punch my arm.
I laughed but quickly stopped when I came to the realization. If I really wanted to use this suit, I would have to sign the Accords. They had said since I wasn’t an official member of the team, that I wouldn’t be forced to. That I wouldn’t be forced to choose a side. But why was I all of a sudden feeling like Tony was making sure that I would be on his side. And that made me angry, him forcing his choices, his opinions on me. I sighed angrily, forgetting that Tony was still right there.
“What’s wrong kid? Is there something wrong with the suit?”
I quickly shook my head and cleared my mind. I was probably just overthinking everything anyway. “No, it’s perfect.”
“Well, I did make it so it has no right not to be.” I scoffed at his confidence. “Well then, it’s time to head back. It’s passed your bedtime.”
“Dad…” I whined. “I’m 18. I stopped having a bed time like two years ago.”
“No whining. I just gave you a suit.”
“Fine,” I paused. “How about a little competition on the way back?”
“What do you have in mind kid?”
“If I beat you to the lab, I get to go to Vienna with you.”
“And what happens when I beat you?”
“If! If you beat me then I have to do your paper work for an entire…” I looked at him. A week wouldn’t be enough for him, but I was scared at what I was getting myself into. “Month. I would do your paper work for an entire month.”
He thought for a second then said, “You’re on. FRIDAY, count us down.”
“You got it boss,” FRIDAY said, “Ready in 3, 2, 1, go!”
As go was said, I was off. I pushed the thrusters hard. I had never gone this faster, ever, in anything. It felt so great. I didn’t have to do much to win, surprisingly. I beat Tony. My mask flipped open and so did his after he had landed.
“I won!” I shouted. “Woot woot!”
“Okay, alright, alright. Take the suit off and go pack. We’ll leave tomorrow afternoon.”
“Can I pack the suit?”
“I’ll pack it with mine. Make sure you bring a business suit, we’ll say that you’re one of my interns.” I exited the suit as he was talking. 
“I’m so excited to get out of this place!”
“You deserve it kid. Now go and pack.” 
I skipped over to Tony and kissed his cheek. “Thanks daddy.”
And with that, I skipped off to my room. 
next >
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love101imagines · 4 years
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Crush culture
(osman | imagine)
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Requests: Hey!I have one request for Osman and the artistic S/O! How about Osman actually posing for the S/O? He can buy him/her some paints because someone requested a portrait but he/she is rather used to painting only landscapes so he/she tells Osman they can’t do it? When he says he/she has to he/she suggest that he has to be the model and he doesn’t want to but does it anyway for them? So this is basically an idea about Osman having to pose and the S/O falling for him
Heeyyy, you can write a picture with Osman, where he gets jealous of the reader for spending a lot of time with Sinan, so they argue and Osman finally admits that he likes the reader and it's all very cute.
Hi, about Osman, maybe the second prompt. I love read about him.
Prompt used: 2. I don’t have any money.
Tags: @girl-looking-out-window @trashofsth55 @carollllstarkk
It had all spiraled down when the two of you mixed things. For you, it had been when you were asked to do a certain portrait, and for him it was when he let you tag along with him to Sinan’s house.
He didn’t think much about it until you looked around Sinan’s living room and noticed the paintings.
“They’re so pretty. I’ve never seen a copy of anything from İbrahim Çallı in person.”
Osman expected Sinan to shrug and act uninterested. Instead, he got up from his spot on the couch and made his way to where you were standing in front of two paintings in the wall.
“You recognize the painter just by looking at it?” He asked.
You nodded absentmindedly. “I like to draw.”
And that’s how you ended up talking with Sinan for the whole afternoon as he showed you the other paintings which had belonged to his mother. He told you they belonged to their mother, so you assumed it was nice for him to talk about it with someone else. Osman thought the opposite.
As Kerem and Eda argued about something, Osman kept glancing at the two of you as you showed Sinan your notebook with your drawings. Işik noticed and raised her eyebrows in surprise.
“Why do you keep staring at them?” She asked him and he quickly hushed her.
“I’m not staring. We should figure out what we should do about Burcu and Kemal.” Osman replied getting up from where he was sitting taking the papers left in the floor from the lunch you had just had.
You noticed and started helping him. Once you gathered a few papers, you made your way to the kitchen to throw them on the trash while he heard your voice.
“You also have a china set?”
Osman saw Sinan following you into the kitchen with a small smile, his shoulders not as crouched as before.
“At least he seems happy.” Işik mumbled.
He hadn’t planned this. He had a plan for everything, but he had assumed that you would end up talking with Eda or end up bored and leave to your house. He hadn’t thought about the possibility of you becoming friends with anyone. He knew that you were very sociable, but he didn’t expect you to make Sinan smile.
After a while they got up ready to leave since it was getting dark outside. However, not everybody was leaving yet.
“They are drinking tea and still talking.” Işik said once she returned from the kitchen but she seemed to be saying that directly to Osman who only ate a hazelnut.
Eda chuckled grabbing her bag. “Seems like Burcu and Kemal won’t be the only couple we helped.”
“Nice work setting them up Osman.” Kerem said as he did his best not to roll his eyes.
That’s when you appeared in the room as Eda and Kerem went outside and Işik stayed close to hear in the doorway. You grabbed your bag which made Osman relax a bit.
“You want me to walk you home?” He asked you even though he already knew the answer since he always did.
This time the answer was different.
“It’s fine. You can already go, you don’t need to. I’m staying a bit here.” You spoke with a warm smile and a small blush on your cheeks which he noticed.
“Do you want them or not?” Sinan’s voice came from the kitchen which made you smile more.
“Can you believe he wants to throw into the water a perfect set of chinaware?” You said amazed going to the kitchen. Before you did, you turned to Osman. “Thanks for inviting me.”
He regretted doing that but still couldn’t be sure why. “You wouldn’t stop bothering me.” He said without looking at you as he left closing the door before Işik.
The next day, when you usually waited for Osman at the school’s gate, you were waiting for him talking to Sinan. When he showed up, you were ready for him to greet you and then walk with you to your classroom. However, he just walked past both of you to talk to his groups of nerds. You furrowed your brows but continued talking to Sinan until Işik joined the two of you and you noticed how Sinan looked at her.
“I have English now and I have to go early to ask Osman for the homework. I’ll see you later.” You said before leaving.
Işik turned to Sinan with a smile. “Osman likes (Y/N), I’m sure of it.”
The boy only raised his brows. “He didn’t even greet her when he arrived.”
“That’s because he’s jealous, don’t you get it?”
You walked into you class and went straight to your desk where Osman was counting money and you weren’t surprised.
“I finished the portrait.” You said once you sat down. You expected him to congratule you or something, but you didn’t expect him to only nod still counting.
“Here’s your share and the homework.” He said leaving it on your desk without sparing you a glance.
You were startled by his attitude and were ready to snap at him when you closed your mouth. You started copying down the answers in complete silence as Osman kept thinking about if he was jealous about you being friends with Sinan, or if he was only jealous of you being with someone else. You, on the other hand, keep thinking about how you had fucked things up the day before, when he approached you with a request.
“I have a new job for you.”
You left your bag on the floor as you sat down next to him on your Music class and stared at him with a raised brow.
“What do you need?” You asked leaning back against your chair.
He took out a piece of paper where he wrote down the paintings you had to do and read out loud as a few students sat down and took out their flutes. “A portrait for a birthday gift similar to the painting of Wanderer above the Sea of Fog.”
You gasped. “That one is beautiful. My house is full of Friedrich’s works.”
“Originals?” He asked and you rolled your eyes.
“Of course not, but they are from my grandpa. But sorry, I can’t do it.”
Osman almost dropped his bag before you caught it in time. “You almost dropped it on my foot idiot.” You said kicking him.
“You have to do it.”
“I can’t. I only do landscapes, portraits are different. I’ve never done one with a full body before.” You huffed.
He didn’t quit and continued. “But I need you to. Necdet is onto us and I can’t keep selling homeworks.”
You only sighed already knowing his response to your request. “You’ll have to pose then.”
“Absolutely not.”
You rolled your eyes irritated even though a smirk gave you away. “You only have to stand in front of a window for at least ten minutes while I sketch and you’ll have the painting tomorrow.”
You were sure he was going to turn you down again so you hanged your head over the back of your chair. Once class started, Osman started goofing around with one part of his flute had had separated as you twirled around yours which was completely painted in different patterns. You didn’t expect him to sigh and look over to you.
“Fine, I’ll do it.”
You grinned already thinking about the drawing you would make. “It’s going to be great, I have already practiced doing cliffs with chalk and I’ll do it at night so the landscape looks better. That’s why you should let me sleep now.” You ranted after leaning your head on his shoulder.
He felt his heart speed up as you closed your eyes but he tried, unsuccessfully, to ignore it.
“And to stop you from enjoying this music?”
You bit down your lip to hold back laughter as your classmates played a song with their flutes off-key and Osman glanced at you as you dozed off on his shoulder and he held you so you wouldn’t fall.
When the bell rang, you rubbed your eyes and got out your notebook and chuckled once you noticed him standing next to you not knowing what to do.
“Stand here just like...this. A bit to the left, not yours, my left. Just like that, perfect.”
You sat down on one of the desks with your feet on a chair in front of you as you started to sketch Osman. He stood facing the window and you did your best to draw.
“Why do you sell them?” He asked out of a sudden.
You shrugged even though he couldn’t see you. “I want the money and get it on my own. That way I can buy more art supplies.”
“But you could ask your parents. It’s not like they don’t support you, you told me your grandma was a painter too and your dad paints in his free time. It basically runs in your family.”
You chuckled as you moved on to the shadows. “But I want to do it myself. If we success with this that means that I’m good and could live of this. I can’t imagine doing something else.”
You were sure he was smirking as he ate a hazelnut. “I can’t imagine it either.”
You smiled at yourself feeling weird. You had been spending so much time with Osman the last few months you couldn’t remember what you used to do at class without seating next to him. Before him, you only drew small things during class or slept so you could practice at home, but now you knew you were actually good. Thanks to him.
“Are you finished?” He asked snapping you out of your thoughts.
“Yes, it’s done. I’ll paint it later.” You said getting off the desk where you were sitting. You handed him his jacket and loosened your tie.
“I have to go now, we’re going to talk with the others about what to do to avoid being expelled.”
“Can I come?”
You were sure he had noticed you had a crush on him now. Or at least someone had told him. That had to be the reason he hadn’t talked to you over the week. You acted indifferent and started hanging out with Işik and Sinan, the girl urging you to talk to Osman and the boy agreeing with her less enthusiastically. You tried not to think much about it and now here you were dragged into their plans in Eda’s room waiting for Burcu and Kemal to arrive at her house. You hugged yourself as you sat on a chair in front of her desk and started looking at her books to do something. You wanted to talk to Osman but did your best to ignore him, just like he had all week.
You rubbed your eyes feeling a bit intoxicated since you had downed at least two beers in the concert with Eda and yawned. Getting drunk made you dumber than usual and sleepy.
Işik spoke up. “It’s getting late, you guys. I should go home.” She said standing.
You got up and grabbed your jacket to cover yourself. You were only wearing some ripped mom jeans and a white strapless top similar to Eda’s red one. “I should too, I’m going to fall asleep in any minute.”
“Yeah, this is exciting, but you can tell us what happens tomorrow. I’m out.” Sinan said.
“I’ll take it and give it to her tomorrow.” You said as Işik handed you Burcu’s bag.
“See ya.”
“Bye.” You said rubbing your eyes.
“I’ll head out, too. See you later.” Osman said as you walked outside with Işik and Sinan. He kept talking with Kerem to see if he was going too and you checked to see if you had your keys and money.
“I’m starving. I need something to reduce the alcohol.” You said next to Işik as the four of you started walking down the street.
“You didn’t eat anything?” She asked you as you shocked your head. You shared a look with Sinan, as you had arrived at his house before going to the concert and witnessed something you wished you hadn’t.
“I had a big breakfast and forgot.” You mumbled.
“I don’t know how you are still walking. You drank more than me and are like 5’ 1” feet tall.” Sinan said as you wrapped your jacket around you.
“I’m not thinking about how angry my parents are going to be at me, I’m only thinking about eating baklava or anything.”
“How about işkembe?” Osman said to you for the first time of the week.
“That’s disgusting.” You said grimacing with disgust.
“Dude, you have the worst taste.” Sinan replied making you laugh.
“What? I’m hungry too. Let’s eat.”
“Yes, I’ll pay. My parents already gave me my allowance.” You could see Sinan smirk lightly next to Işik.
“I can’t believe you have an allowance. What are you, 5?” He said to you.
“What are you, poor?” You shot back not noticing how Osman tensed up immediately.
“I can’t eat. It’s already late. My mum will get angry.” Işik pointed out.
“I’ll walk Işik home. You two enjoy your meal.” Sinan said.
“We’ll grab some. See you.” You said and once they started going away, you turned to Osman who was already walking away. He made his way to the other side of the street but you were quick to follow him.
“Are you mad at me?” You said to him before going inside the small food establishment.
He turned around confused but you only stood there with a serious look on your face. As people gathered to enter, he grabbed your hand and pulled you into a nearby alleyway to talk.
“I’m not angry.” He said leaning against the wall behind him.
You scoffed. “You’ve been ignoring me all the past week and I don’t know why.”
He didn’t look at you and you became impatient. “You know what? Let’s just go and eat. I’m tired and just want to sleep.” You said checking your pockets for your money.
“I don’t have any money.”
You didn’t think much of it and started counting how much you had. “It’s fine Osman, I’ll pay for your food.”
“I’m not talking about that.” You gave him a look saying you didn’t understand and he looked at you. “I can pay my food thanks to my work, but I don’t have a family as wealthy as yours, or Kerem’s or Işik’s.”
You stood there surprised but knew that you had to say something. “Why didn’t you say anything before?”
He chuckled dryly and looked down at the floor. “You think I should have said that my dad drives people around and my mom cleans houses?”
You felt everything moving slower than usual, like it was just Osman and you in that dark alley. “That’s nothing to be ashamed of...” You started but he quickly interrupted.
“Of course, like you just didn’t joke that if you didn’t have an allowance you were poor.” He snapped and you felt like someone had thrown cold water to you.
“Osman, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said that.” You apologized.
He sighed and looked away. You rubbed your eyes and sighed. “It’s that why you haven’t talked to me for the last week?”
You saw him scratch the back of his head while you crossed your arms. “I don’t know why you want to be friends with me.”
Your heart dropped when he said that and he just continued. “You should be friends with Sinan or Kerem. They have more money and probably more in common with you.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” You said picking at the skin between your top and your jeans.
He didn’t answer so you stepped forward to make him look at you. “Answer me, Osman. There’s nothing that makes them better than you.”
“I don’t have some fancy paintings at my house or a chandelier like Işik’s and I certainly don’t have any of Friedrich’s works.” He said sarcastically.
“I don’t care.” You said softly looking up at his piercing eyes.
You stood like that until you stepped back and looked at the ground and pursued your lips.
“You haven’t answered my question yet.”
He sighed and rolled his eyes. “You’re very annoying sometimes.”
You smirked. “That’s why you like me so much.”
“Actually, I do like you.”
You almost dropped the money you had between your fingers. “What?” You mumbled.
“Do you like Sinan?” He asked you as you felt your face blush, but not because of Sinan but for his recent declaration.
“Do I like Sinan?” You said raising you brows. You started giggling under his annoyed look but you just couldn’t stop.
“I’m leaving.” He said.
“No, no, please. I’m sorry.” You grabbed his arm to stop him and he looked down at you. “I don’t like Sinan. I like you.” You said unexpectedly shocking yourself.
Osman stood in front of you and you felt a rush of adrenaline go through you. You were still holding his arm and he was too close to you.
“So you like me?” He asked you.
“You said it first.” You smirked as he rolled his eyes with a small smile.
“Whatever. Let’s go to eat.” He said pulling you out of the alleyway moving his arm to hold your hand. “Hey, can I have işkembe? I’ll have it in a tray please. And a baklava too.”
And even though you felt a weird feeling in your stomach, you were sure it wasn’t that it was empty but that it was some shit they say about love and butterflies.
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goth-girlfriend · 3 years
Note
Heyy could I get a matchup please? I’m a pansexual non binary person excepting and loving to all, I have short black hair and I am 5’1. Tbh I’m more interested in the 1A boys but I do love all the pro hero’s and the villains too. I can be shy at first but once you get to know me I can be very chaotic and alt. I’m very open minded and understanding no matter what your situation is and I am very patient, I rarely get angry. I also do a lot of art from pairing to potter and photography, I love to try new things. I also love your work so much and I hope your doing well 💕
Thank you! 🥰 It means a lot! I hope your doing week in this time ☺️💙 sorry it took over a month 😅 but! I’ll make it up to you! And! The other four waiting....and the few in my inbox! Well! I hope you like it!
✨✨✨✨🤍✨✨✨✨🤍✨✨✨✨
✨Denki✨
Kaminari, you wouldn’t think five inches is enough for him to look down and bully you about your height. But...honestly? You couldn’t be mad at it considering it’s what made your friendship with the blonde bloom.
Then again, when you first met him you were kind of a wreck and didn’t have the guts to tell him, “I’m not an arm rest stop leaning on my shoulder.” Instead you let it be, fidgeting fingers and looking ahead until her smiled brightly at you, “SHORT FRIENDS ARE GREAT!” he looked down at you eyes closed, “I should keep you around more.”
Well, after that you were adopted by, THE BAKUSQUAD! Bakugo not really caring, but when Kirishima and Denki followed him around he always made sure to grab you and drag you with them, because “I WAS SCARED AND PANICKED! I DIDN’T WANNA BE ALONE!”
So, for the first and second week he treated you like a quiet kid, mostly starting conversation until you got into a comfortable groove, and he almost died seeing how you really turned out. YOU started to bully him, when he entered his short circuit, the jokes you made, but still, you took care of him making sure he didn’t get into trouble or hurt. At times you’d become a bit impulsive and your chaotic side came out.
“MOVE! IM GONNA DO IT!” You screamed “Y/n! NO! I LIKE YOU BETTER ALIVE!” He screamed. Silence, you moved your head, trying to pull back, but no luck, your eyes moved in panic looking at Denki, his own eyes wide before he started laughing. You tried to move your head regretting it instantly. Your right hand came up, forefinger and thumb pulling at your tongue that was now stuck to the pole you had made victim to your weird antics. “mm thuck.”
you have great goofy moments together, but the moment he hears Bakugo screaming and silence, and then he hears you screaming? Hah, no. All relations are canceled/expired/rejected/blocked/denied/gone. He likes being alive, and right now, you were a threat to his life, so “Oh, uh yeah I got a thing to do in the other ro-“ RUN
he’s more than great full to have you around, your patient with him when he just can’t do something but he’s determined to. Like the month he dragged you of the dorms every night, because “IM GOING TO GET THROUGH THIS HAUNTED HOUSE WITHOUT SCREAMING.” The haunted house opened the first of October, and ended on Halloween, it was terrible, at one point he passed out, another frothed at the mouth, his screams were priceless, he clung to you more than a few times crying about being scared. Decked a few jump scare people, and at least twice went into Pikachu self defense mode and electrocuted the groups of workers around the two of you at least twice. Honestly, you were surprised they let you both keep coming back. But the last day, he managed to only let out squeaks and squeeze your arm and hands but he did it. Thirty one long nights of walking the same halls, jump scares, and voids, mesmerizing the right way of the maze, you mad wit out fine, he was only slightly shook.
Art? Denki doesn’t get it, claimed he can’t draw to save his life and when you watched him try you believed him, BUT THE COMPLETE AND UTTER SHOCK WHEN YOU FOUND OUT HE WAS BASICALLY AN ART MAJOR WHEN HE SHORT CIRCUITED..... you started saving his drawings and sketches, and then you’d show him and he’d be impressed, but completely denies that he ever did it. “Nope, you got the wrong guy, you’ve seen me, I can’t draw a circle.” But he loves to watch you paint, and take photos, but don’t take him to wildlife sets with you. He will get hired of waiting for birds and throw himself on the grass and start sighing loudly and rolling around, “Nothings coming y/n!” “MAYBE IF YOU SHUT UP THE BIRDS WOULDNT FLY AWAY LIKE ITS THE END OF THE WORLD!” Silence, you can definitely feel him staring you, “Well that’s just rude.... you scared off the only bird that was actually here.” Pottery? He watched you, and he wanted to try, the first time he ended up slinging clay everywhere, second he can’t keep his hands still enough, the third time you took pity and ended up like the cheesiest movie scene, but, you were behind him guiding his hands, he became a flustered mess and crushed the almost pot when you spoke to him and he felt your breath on his shoulder. He was blushing and flustered and then started apologizing for ruining the pot... in the end you both together did make a lopsided pot, it now sits in your room, home to your shared black prince succulent. When you brought it home he made anyone who would listen come see his first pot and new child.
⚡️✨✨⚡️⚡️✨⚡️⚡️⚡️✨⚡️⚡️✨✨⚡️
“Y/n?” You heard knocking and groaned getting up off your bed to open your door.
“I brought someone else to meet prince...” the look you gave him was one of ‘Are you sERIOUS?’
You closed your door a bit to look at the digital clock that was hanging just above your desk, 1:37 in the morning...
“It couldn’t wait till sun up?” You asked eyes kinda squinty as the hall light started to flood into your room now that you opened the door wider to let whoever in.
“It’s important everyone knows my new son!” He stepped in and you moved and plopped onto your desk chair.
“Alright, but be careful, you bruised one of his petals last time.” You stretched and looked at your abandoned school work, you looked at it reading the question you had struggled on, and by some miracle, being half groggy and half awake, you read it and the answer came to you. You started to write it down before you forgot. And you were so proud of yourself, until you heard the feminine voice.
“Kaminari, you’re an idiot.” And then a slightly muffled laugh.
You didn’t have a problem with Jiro, in fact you liked her as a friend, she was nice, had good taste in music, bullied Denki with you sometimes, friendly and you’ve never seen her angry or get snobbish with anyone. She was laid back and cool.
But, one thing you didn’t like, was the fact she was slowly becoming the center of Denki’s flirting. Jealous? Nahh....well....no.... maybe a little? Nope, nah that’s not it.......okay yeah.
“Y/n Chan! Jiro is bullying me.” He came and shook you by your shoulders pulling you from staring at your school work.
You turned your head to look up at him. “What?” You asked.
“She called me an idiot.” He pouted and closed his eyes.
You laughed and dropped a hand onto his head, after he kneeled to plead you defend him, “Oh Denki, if you want me to disagree it’s gonna be a long night.”
He pouted at your words but sighed in defeat, until the next words came, “So (y/n), if Denki’s son is in your room does that make you the mother of his son?”
You looked at Jiro a faint blush tinting your cheeks as you registered what she said. You gave a few quiet laughs but before you could say anything Denki became a stuttering flustered mess. Catching both of you and pulling you both out of the conversation that almost started.
“Well! (Y/n)! Well go! A Princess does need her beauty sleep!” He winked at you as he left in a hurry, Jiro just quirked a brow before she told you good night and you returned it as she left. You yawned and got back into bed, before your phone buzzed and you cursed, but the blush on your cheeks wirsned at the flirty text you’d gotten from Denki, you’d think you’d gotten used to it already, but maybe the feelings you thought you’d pushed away never really left the surface.
‘Good night princess 😉 Don’t forget to dream about me 💛’
Cringe yes, but that’s literally the best flirting line he has. Apparently getting comfortable with Denki meant he was comfortable flirting with you 24/7, no hesitation. And you enjoyed the attention and flirted back with him, but things kinda changed when Jiro started to give him attention too.
******
“Mornin’ babe,” you yawned at Denki’s greeting and gave a wave and small smile as you walked to a table and plopped down. You didn’t get much sleep, you finished your homework so now you had the weekend free, but what were you going to do? You stared at the empty table in front of you thinking about nothing, head empty, until Mina came and sat across from you, “So babe huh? Is it official!” She whisper screamed.
“Pfft, just about as official as me being All Might.” You had a small smile, small but genuine. “Boooooooo.” She pouted, “I have my own theories but I really want to tell you this one, soooo! Bakusquad girls day! But... just you and I. Get ready let’s go!”
So, after deciding you’d buy something to eat instead of cooking you got ready and then both you and Mina set off to talk theories and what’s really going on in her head. “So, I think he wants something serious but since you guys joke so much I think he thinks he’s in the friend zone and don’t even deny it I know you like him, I’ve seen the way you smile at all his stupid jokes even I don’t laugh at all of them and I try to be nice. Plus the way you loook a Jiro is enough to show your jealous but he doesn’t see that, I’m pretty sure he thinks you just don’t like her humor or something, but from what I’ve seen your good friends with her when Denki isn’t around so that lets me believe your jealous of his attention going to someone else. Soooo, what do you say? What do you think? And I think he’s trying with Jiro because you guys kinda have similar personalities and hair cuts? Well not really but you know? When your in love you call broccoli Midoriya and a grenade Bakugo but that’s a different story, so? What do you think?” You just stared at her, the takoyaki had with your toothpick just to far from your lips as you wondered if she was right. A shot smile pulled at your lips as you looked down and closed your eyes to let out a sigh, “Well, I won’t say your wrong, I’ve done lot of things but being in denial has never been one of them. I’m not going to confess or anything but I do have one question.” You looked at Mina through the corner of your eyes while your face was still pointed to the ground. “Yes!” She cheered and nodded looking at you with a big smile, “If this is about a plan I’ve got it all figured out so don’t worry!”
You shook your head and faced her completely, “Nope! Keep the plan well use it later but, if I do something about this Denki thing you have to so something about tape boy.” Mina became flustered at your words but nodded, “well, your first lady she smacked you back causing you to slightly choke on the Takoyaki you’d finally started to eat, after catching your breath and wondering around for a bit you both talked it out and it’s go time.
****
The next morning you started the plan (titled by Mina) “Seducing Pikachu” Taking a deep breath you readied yourself to take your flirting next level, he called you babe you had to call him daddy, he gave you a hug you pulled his face down to peck his cheek, he draped an arm over your shoulders you had snuggle closer and hug his waist, he tried to tease you by taking your hand you can’t pull away, in stead you interlock fingers and squeeze, if he leaned into your ear to whisper something you can’t push him away. And we’re you ready? No, in fact you felt queasy, and like you had to bathroom, but with a shove from Mina you entered the kitchen and like usual “Good morning babe!” And the usual flirty wink, but this time instead of getting flustered or yawing you locked eye contact and with everything you had, “Mornin Daddy.” You smiled at him and walked to the fridge to try and occupy yourself. In the background you heard Mineta screaming about the name daddy. You looked at Denki with the same smile after grabbing a juice and he was flustered, red cheeks and it looked like his hair had fluffed up a bit. It’s working! You waved at him and walked to the common room and sat down on one edge and looked at the tv, it was playing some show about volleyball. Jiro came and sat across from you on the other sofa joining you and a few others in watching this show, right now, the only empty seats are the spot next to you on the love seat, or the two seats beside Jiro. He sat by you and was strangely quiet, oh gave him a smile when he turned to look a you, he smiled and looked at the tv, after an hour or two your hands began fiddling with the juice in your lap and you felt a tug at your hand, you felt Denki place his hand on yours usually you’d pull away and punch his shoulder, but this time. You didn’t take your eyes of the tv when your intertwined your fingers and squeezed his hand. You brought your other hand and squeezed his hand between both of yours and snuggled closer to his side and laid your head against his shoulder, he tensed a bit then relaxed quickly. He laid his head on yours and you eyed Mina real quick, you gave you a thumbs up and you motioned to Sero with your eyes and she stopped and pouted. After another hour you started to get up and pull away from Denki. You felt a hand pull at yours and you looked at Denki, “Where are you going?” You titled your head, “Gonna go buy lunch maybe.” He looked up at you still holding your hand, “Don’t leave me.” He said, “Come with me then.” You gave his arm a tug and without second thought he jumped up outside you were cool, but inside, you were going ballistic, inside you were nothing like usual, you were honestly so surprised that this plan was working, with your attention he didn’t even pay attention to Jiro,,,, were you really jealous?
Getting to a ramen place you both sat down and filled our sheets with your orders, casually sitting in silence your phone dinged, “So.... did he confess? Or do women really have to do all the work, 🙄, Sero didn’t understand what I meant until I- never mind, how’s it going?”
You smiled at the message and shook your head.
Denki being curious why you were smiling tried to peek, “Mina is trying to confess to Sero and she says he’s an idiot.” You smiled and turned to Denki explaining before he could see.
“Yeah, I didn’t wanna say anything sometimes Sero isn’t the smartest.”
You felt a smile pulling at your lips, “Yeah, I know someone else who is just the same.” You propped your elbows on the table and placed your chin on your palms. He did the same and pushed his cheeks so they looked chubby against his palms.
“Kaminari,” you called his name in a chirpy tune with a smile, he closed his eyes and smiled before he said your name in the same way.
****
“How good are you at noticing small things?” I asked and tilted my head. “Hmmm, did you grow out your hair?” His head tilted, and he smiled.
“No? It’s been this short for a while.” I dropped my arms flat against the table palms up, “try again.”
“Yooouuuu,,,, are wearing contacts?” He asked. “I’m not blind.”
“Yoouuuuu.....are trying a different Boba?” “No... well yes, but not what I’m talking about......try one more time and I’ll give you a hint if you can’t guess.”
He nodded and squinted at me looking like he was concentrating hard.
“I know!” He took my hands in his and squeezed them, I felt my heart start to race, “You’re fingers are cold, the tips are turning reddish.”
I smiled and looked away and licked my top lip trying to not laugh, “That wasn’t it but a good guess.”
“Then what is it?” He asked pouting.
“Close your eyes.” I said and waved a hand, he nodded and then closed them, I placed my finger tips on the left side of his jaw and tried to pull him closer, after getting him halfway across the table I leaned forward and lightly pressed my lips against his cheek.
I pulled away, and moved my hand away from his jaw.
“I...so think you should try again, I didn’t get the hint.” He looked away with a bush slowly becoming prominent on his cheek.
I smiled and shook my head, silence fell over us as I shifted around, “Another hint huh?”
“Maybe just one... or two... or a few....” he still didn’t look at me hands now fiddling together.
“You know, for a flirt you sure do get nervous when someone actually makes a move on you.”
“Heh, yeah.” He was smiling but not looking at me, “Sooo, when?”
“Do you remember the day, you got sick and made me baby you for a whole week? It was that Thursday, you feel asleep on my chest, and I held you and had to pull the blanket off, I realized then, how much I cared about you, and how much I’m willing to do to make sure you’re okay. I realized how much I love your terrible jokes and cheesy pick up lines, your warm hugs and the face times late into the night, and the movie nights passing out at three in the morning and rushing to class when we woke up late. Holing your hand when you were scared, and bullying Bakugo, honestly, I wouldn’t wanna die at the hands of Bakugo with anyone else. I’m not saying I love you or anything, but if this is what falling for someone feels like...I don’t not like it, especially when it’s you.” I looked out the window we sat by and could feel his stare, I looked at him through the corner of my eye.
“I wouldn’t want to be murdered with anyone else.” He held his hand out and I tilted my head to look at him, I took placed my hand on his and he smiled, before he shifted his fingers and closed them around mine. I smiled and closed my fingers squeezing his hand.
“So? Are you going to ask?” He said.
I felt my brows furrow, “Ask?”
“Ask me to be your boyfriend.” His smile widened.
“You’re supposed to ask me!” I scolded and shook our hands.
He tucked his head between his shoulders, “okay okay, fine.... now you’re going to wait because you yelled at me.”
***
“Y/n!” I turned to look for the person who called my name, “yeah?” I asked and pulled my blanket tighter, the Christmas season was here and I was freezing on the sofa.
“Come look! The snows falling again! And the it’s pretty on the blossoms that are still around.”
“Fine.” I grumbled and stood up, I walked to the second floor windows and looked out. Sero, Denki, Kirishima and Bakugo were all outside, I could hear Katsuki screaming at them while the ran around dropping things on the floor.
They all stopped and moved away as Bakugo screamed at them and took off his gloves, it looked like he was grumbling something until Denki slung an arm I’ve this shoulders, Bakugo brought up his hand causing sparks and Denki to smile nervously before patting his shoulder and moving his arm off.
Mina tapped on the window and they looked at us, we waved when three of the four waved. Denki turned to Bakugo and with a simple blast a chain reaction started and lit up a circle, inside the circle were the words made in very sparse but still pretty blossoms, “will u be mine?” Your phone began to ring and you answered it.
“So, after two months of non official dating, will you be mine?”
You smiled, “Yes, Kaminari, yes.” You swallowed and over the phone you heard cheering and watched to em high five minus Bakugo who was pulling his gloves back on. That night, you spent under the blue keys you two piled high, his head on your chest, and you kissed his head running your fingers through his hair, “I love listening to your heart, it’s pretty, like you.” Your take his face in your hands and kiss his lips or forehead, and eventually would change spots, still cuddling to keep the warmth and love between you while the rest of the world was slipping into sleep or madness.
✨🤍🖤🤍🤍💙🤍🤍🖤🤍✨
I hope you have a good day, and remember to stay hydrated 💙
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32. God Bless the Child
Previous || Word Count 7132
The next year was eventful for a tremendous amount of reasons.
First and foremost, Grace had a World Tour scheduled for the end of spring, entire summer, and beginning of fall. That meant that Hazel had the chance to travel, stuck with staff most of the time, or her mom the OTHER portion of time. She didn’t want to do that. Hazel liked seeing new things and traveling, even being around crowds of people, but she was going through puberty and often just wanted to chill with her friends or even by herself, to write poetry, maybe record some of her raps, and work on comics. Of course, Grace told her that if she could do that anywhere, it was in the tour bus.
Simon’s final book was going to be released in the summer, and he was going to begin working on the movie production for the (hopefully first and not only) film in the fall. Whether or not the studio would want to make more would depend on the success of this film, and the budget would be determined by what types of sales this last book made.
Grace was always going on about “an ecosystem,” a concept that one of her favorite influencers spoke about. Basically, she believed that whenever you had the chance to give people that you knew of/believed in a shot, you should do that. So, Simon wanted to get the studio in business with the tech company that he currently worked for, for numerous aspects of the production.
Simon already had multiple prototypes for animatronics and pointed plans for various aspects of this movie. A deal like that could really help the company (that he may or may not be staying at once he finished with this huge movie project), which also might be a situation in which he could be working on many of these things and get paid from his company as well, in the meantime for the work that fell under the studio’s umbrella. It would help all of them, and save money and trouble in other areas where he might have problems with CGI concerns and such.
Simon had been preparing for if Esmoroth took off big his entire life. He still had models at home, and years worth of world building, sketches, schematics, simulations, mini movies, files of programming for how various scenes looked in his mind.
These things being considered, whenever Simon put his and Grace’s schedules side by side at the beginning of the year to find opportunities and plan special events… well… They were not matching up very well. “I don’t like this Grace. I know that sometimes we take a few days apart, but our longest stint has been 2 weeks and 4 days… This calendar makes it look like we might see each other in increments of 6-8 weeks at a time, more than once and the fragments in between are…” He started breathing hard and she wrapped her arms around him from behind. He placed his hands over hers. “Okay. You’re right. We can do this.” She just smiled. She hadn’t said that, but that was basically what she wanted to convey. “Montanus’ arrival is scheduled for the 4th of July weekend.”
“Yeah. I’ll be flying out there. Are you coming?”
“Can’t. But, I’ll be there for the christening… which… you have a show the night before, so… Are you going to be there?”
“I’m planning on it. My show the night before is a few hours away, so I should be able to make it the next morning and still dash out to the next venue.”
“Sweet. Then, I’ll catch the show that night.”
“My period is that weekend.”
“Ugh. I mean… not that I don’t still love you then…”
“We both know why you’re here,” she said, chuckling.
“Because I can’t function outside of your divinity,” he replied, quicker than she was prepared for. He made note of all the spaces that he would have to possibly see her on this tour and started looking into the accommodations that he would need whenever he did.
.
Grace had hit after hit after hit on her album, her old original stuff was starting to receive a resurgence of streams and her pages were getting more traffic than her current team was able to handle some days. But, she simply reached out, within her ecosystem for others that might be able to join said team and make things flow better. Meanwhile, she didn’t get onto social media much. One of her problems with fully letting down her walls was the fact that surfing the Internet always made her have to take a look at how people viewed her. She had to start considering that no matter how well she did or how hard she tried, someone out there would have a problem with her, and because she was famous, it would be a lot of someones.
Hazel was online more with her work. She liked to enter freestyle challenges, submit her spoken word, publish her poems. She called her current brand of creativity “Doetry,” and she had a pretty increasingly large following. Simon usually helped to administrate, because Grace was never great at that type of thing and also because he didn’t trust Internet weirdos enough to not be involved.
She was going through things, but he never censored her or intruded. He monitored to make sure that nobody was making her life any harder than it had to be, being raised in NYC and the daughter of a very public figure, and also Simon, who was important enough, depending on who you asked… and he was getting to the point where he might reach notable fame.
May 19 was a Tuesday that year, so they would be spending the previous weekend celebrating Hazel’s birthday and her actual birthday would just be a school day that everyone on social media sent her birthday wishes on. Simon took time off to take Hazel, Lucy, Lindsay, Alex, Todd, and Louis to Grace for the weekend. The way that the schedule was set up, she wouldn’t have had the time to leave and come back and go to her next venue, but they would have the time to come to her. Hazel suggested that she just miss out, but Grace was NOT going to do that, especially with the year that Hazel had been having. So, she paid for Hazel’s friends to come with.
Simon found it fascinating that these kids’ parents were entrusting the children to him to get on a plane together, travel to another state, spend more than one night there, and fly them back home safely.
He supposed it was similar to a Scouts trip, or a school trip… but he was just the “parent” of another child. He wasn’t a scout leader or teacher. Then again, those were just people too, he guessed. He would NOT feel comfortable sending Hazel on a plane with any of these children’s parents, except for maybe Lucy’s.
But, Simon found that his old scouts instincts kicked in when being responsible for a group of kids, but this time around he had that nagging dad-like behavior that the past couple of years around Hazel had given him.
Being off for Hazel’s birthday, she arranged for them to have a spa day retreat. The kids and some of the staff were included in this, though not as advanced a day as Grace and Hazel. Whenever they met up and had their indulgences, Simon could barely keep his hands off of Grace. Hazel felt a little bit slighted.. It was HER birthday, after all. They didn’t have to be cozied up the whole time. Of course, Grace presumed she wanted to spend most of her time with her friends, and whenever they finished with cake and began listening to music and chilling, Grace and Simon left them with the Nanny so that they could have some alone time. Hazel aired her grievances to her friends. She hated that Grace was on tour. She hated that their home life was separated into different worlds that she had to board and unboard. Lindsay understood it perfectly. Her dad was sometimes not home for weeks or months. Sometimes, she didn’t see her mom (who actually lived with her) for days. Sometimes, whenever she did see her, the woman was busy with making appearances and performing shows, and she DIDN’T have a nanny. She just had to be at home by herself a lot. Whenever her dad was there, he’d have his friends over a lot. They would disrupt Lindsey’s quiet, but she would be grateful that she wasn’t alone. She would LOVE if her parents tried to include her in their worlds like Grace and Simon did with Hazel.
Lucy’s parents were usually there whenever she needed them, but they didn’t seem to be very happy. They were always together, but the only time that she saw them smile at each other or talk to each other was whenever they were out in public. Her father was a politician, and her mother was a public figure, simply for being his wife and being a good conservative wife who followed his guidelines. Lucy… didn’t care for any of it. She would’ve liked to just have two people who love each other like Grace and Simon seemed to.  
Hazel felt a little better, because apparently, she had pretty good parents. She also didn’t feel a little better, because she still felt dissatisfied.
Whenever Simon and Grace made it back, after the others were asleep, Hazel talked to Simon about letting her stay home with him after the school year ended. Both Grace and him loved her, right? So, she should be able to stay home, near her friends, in her comfort zone, and then she’d see Grace when she got home, and she’d be crazy excited about it, like she used to be when she didn’t get to see her everyday. Like she was whenever she saw her this weekend!
Simon reluctantly let her know he would be much busier in the summer than he was at the moment. He was at home with her and the Nanny as much as possible, but he reminded her that there was less than a month left of school and then she would be with her mom again. Her mom had ONLY been gone now for about a month… Hazel didn’t know if he could hear himself basically saying, “It’s only a couple of months away from your mom, both of you changing over that time in different ways and potentially growing apart, then you get to be awkwardly thrown back together because I’m not actually your parent and can’t wait until she can take you back!” He didn’t say that, but that was what she heard. She nodded her head, sadly, and Grace chimed in to remind her that she’d be on tour with her! They hadn’t been able to be together in almost a month and after one more, they would! Hazel smiled. “Of course, Grace. I can’t wait. We’re gonna have a lot of fun.”
Hazel finished off the school year with the Nanny and Simon. They flew out to meet with Grace, in June, spent a couple of days together, then Simon was headed back home, to focus on his stupid important things, Hazel couldn’t help but think. And she was pissed at him, too. She had been mopey and basically on autopilot most of this time, even with Grace trying desperately to cheer her up whenever she had some free time.
She just wanted a summer where she could hang out and have fun if she wanted to. Grace asked her to at least give her a couple of weeks to prove that this could be a fun experience. However, Grace kept running into that troublesome hassle of the public being pushy and entitled. Hazel and she kept either getting rushed in and out of places and trapped for a while, bothered every few minutes when they weren’t holed up, or surrounded by staff getting things done in between performances. Hazel lasted two weeks, then cried and begged to go home and be able to see her friends. It broke Grace’s heart but she promised to let Hazel go back with Simon after the stop in California for her baby brother’s birth.
Grace felt super rejected and cried about it, but if that was what Hazel really wanted, she didn’t want her career to make her feel stressed out. Her mother was quite a smartass about it. “Who would have thought that it might be difficult to focus on a demanding career while raising a child?”
“I didn’t call you for this.”
“Of course not. What did you call for?”
She wanted to know how the surrogate was. Grace didn’t know what it said about someone that they would rent out their body to grant someone else a child, but she could totally understand the flipside. Whenever Simon mentioned babies, she was extremely willing to adopt again, even the smallest baby that they would be able to be matched with… but nothing statistically made her have an inkling of wanting to actually change her entire body, probably for the worse so that she could potentially die to bring someone else into the world that she would immediately begin having to take care of and put everything into. It was hard enough to do with Hazel, and getting harder all of the time.
When that child’s period came around in February, Grace picked her up from school, gathered up the products she was most interested in (products from Grace’s own line), provided snacks, emergency meds, just in case, and any information that Hazel wasn’t certain about. Simon came over with a gift basket of stuff that had been suggested to him by browsing nice things to do for periods. They really wanted her to be comfortable and safe. She just wanted them to stay the fuck out of her room and let her lay down and write poems.
She didn’t get how Grace had period yoga, and heightened self care. The LAST thing Hazel felt like doing was caring about anything, even self. She wanted to rest and to rage. That was it. Grace would buy her flowers and say something silly like, “Whenever my period comes around, sometimes, flowers make me feel happier,” Then just… leave a pot with an orchid, or geraniums, or a peace lily in her room… to have to what? Care for a flower now TOO, as well as self?? Hazel hated the way her period made her feel. She spoke to her therapist about it and was advised to speak to her mother and potentially a gynecologist about it as well. Hazel put that conversation off, though.
She seemed her happiest whenever she was able to go to her grandparents’ to wait for the baby with them. Grace… didn’t understand…
Simon explained, “You don’t remember being 12 and not wanting to be around our parents?”
“Our parents sucked though! And she WANTS to be around my parents!”
“She wants to meet her baby uncle,” Simon told her and wrapped himself around her.
“Has she mentioned anything to you? I know that sometimes she feels more comfortable telling you stuff than she does me, since you aren’t her parent…”
He let go and frowned, “Wow.”
“I mean… There’s paperwork, Simon. You aren’t…”
“I know, but, I step in as much as you did before that, maybe even more. I understand that she technically isn’t mine, but she's important to me, too, Grace.”
“I know, but…” she sighed and shook her head, “I’m not trying to start a fight. Of course you’re as present as any father has ever been for her. I wasn’t trying to downgrade that, and I didn’t mean to sound like I was. I just wanted to know if she’d said anything to you about me.”
“No. She’s not talking to me. But, she does express herself via Doetry.”
“Her content is so angry and dark…”
“What she shares, at least…” Grace threw him a warning look. “I’m not saying make it a habit, but maybe taking a peek into her personal stuff might give you some type of clue as to what she needs right now.”
"I'm not snooping into Hazel's things, Simon. There's a reason that she shares what she shares and hides whatever she hides, IF she's hiding anything. I don't want to parent that way."
"Okay."
"And I'm also saying that you shouldn't."
"Noted."
"Okay… what I meant by shouldn't is don't do it."
"So, it's an order?"
"Yes."
He sighed. Hazel WAS Grace's daughter, legally, and he didn't want to do anything that he didn't have permission to. "Okay." It took him longer to say it than Grace had gotten accustomed to, but she knew he meant it and that it was hard for him to agree to this wish. She strummed his cheek with her thumb and he leaned into it and smirked. It was also easy to make him forget whenever she upset him. She leaned up just enough to kiss him on the nose and he blushed. She giggled. “What?”
“The fact that you’ll blush when I kiss you on the nose when you literally have been putting your nose right in between my thighs for almost 2 years.”
He blushed even more and shrugged his shoulders, “I’m blushing then, too. You just don’t notice because you’re usually quivering in pleasure.”
Sha gasped, “Cocky,” she said and elbowed him playfully.
“Confident… and accurate.”
“You don’t have to SAY it,” she said, now blushing herself.
He didn’t call her on it. Just seeing it was enough. Simon kissed her on the forehead and whispered, “I love you…” Her smile vanished and he furrowed his eyebrows, staring at her mouth in disappointment. “Sorry. I thought…”
“No… Don’t be. I guess it had to come up some time…” She stared at her hands. “I don’t know how to… I feel like my actions should… I know sometimes people just need to hear it, I just…”
“Please, stop.” He laughed, but was red and she had a feeling not from blushing. “You’re making it worse.”
“I just… Had an immediate flashback to the first time you told me and… I don’t know. This was so different, and you’re so different, and I have no idea why my brain is doing this to us…”
He wanted to say because of what he did to her, but hell.. That was really long ago and like she said, everything was different now. One day, she HAD to forgive him! He shrugged his shoulders, “You can’t control how you feel any more than I could.”
She frowned and nodded. Then, fortunately, Hazel came rushing in, "He's coming!" Simon and Grace both rushed into the birthing quarters where Mrs. Monroe, the documentation crew, the surrogate, midwife and such were. Hazel and Simon stood out of the way while Grace rushed to the surrogate and asked the midwife what she should do. (She was designated as her birthing partner, as she felt bad that her parents didn't seem to see her as anything more than a vessel) Grace spent a lot of time reading up to try to prepare for this.
It was a powerful time. It LOOKED as painful as it sounded from everything she read that discouraged her, but she tried to be strong for the surrogate. Simon was really impressed with how much Grace was able to do for her. He knew that she had become very empathetic over the years, but it was honestly a side of her he still hadn't seen. Meanwhile, Mrs. Monroe looked on, excitedly, but useless.
Whenever Montanus was born, Grace and the surrogate were both crying and Grace complimented her and told her how she was stronger than (Grace) could ever hope to be. When Grace tried to show her the baby, Mrs. Monroe cut her off and collected him, then gave the nurses some instructions for seeing to her. She was about to have delivery day photos taken.
"None with Astrid, Mom?" Grace wondered, still holding the woman's hand.
"You can, if you insist," she said. "Bad enough your father is late. I don't want to hold everyone up."
Grace was going to say more, but the surrogate squeezed and tugged her hand to get her attention and shook her head. "I signed up for this," she said, quietly. "It's not like he's mine…"
"You held him. You changed. You grew. You hurt. You bled. You cried. You.."
"Signed up for that." But she looked sad. Ao sad that Grace decided at that moment of she EVER DID have a surrogate, it was going to be a fellowship. A sisterhood. A loving connection in which she repaid the person with respect as well as her fee. She was a human. How her mother was able to just plant Montanus inside of her and basically discard her afterwards made Grace feel sick. She didn't even go with Simon and Hazel to see the baby. She was more concerned about this woman who had to put on a strong face after a really hard job.
Later, when she had to leave and also send Hazel off with Simon, she cried on him. "I'm not gonna do that to my surrogate. It was really mean, right? That was so cold…"
Simon rubbed her back, "Grace… it's a business transaction."
"He's not a transaction! He's my brother and he JUST got here, and Mom's ALREADY treating him like an asset. She messed up one kid and she’s had two decades to learn better emotional intelligence. The restart doesn’t look good to me.."
"She's bad at the emotional stuff, but she's trying," Simon offered. You aren't like her and you'll never have to be. You can treat your surrogate as sweetly as you please. But...I have to agree with your mom that they didn't need to connect. That'd just make it harder.
"She couldn't even say hi to him? After all of that?"
"It's what they agreed to. She would have taken one look at him and tried to keep him."
"She wouldn't be able to. He's from my parents' DNA. It was just… so uncomfortably cold. You should bring a baby into a warm life. I was too upset to even see him. I didn't want to give him the negative energy I had."
Hazel shrugged, "You didn't miss anything he looks like… a potato."
Simon gave her a shove and she wondered what was wrong with the truth. "He hasn't developed his looks yet. But he was cute in that it's a new life way."
"I… did not see that," Hazel admitted.
"You saw a potato," Simon repeated.
"Yep."
.
The christening was closer to the end of Grace's tour. She was going to be seeing her parents, new brother, Simon, and Hazel all again for the first time since she'd been on the road alone. Hazel and Simon went early so that he could help his dad with some things and Hazel would stay with her grandparents while he was doing that. Grace arrived in the morning and headed straight to the church.
They were supposed to wear neutral colors and earth tones, meanwhile, Montanus was styled to be in brilliant white with silver and gems. Grace had flashbacks to seeing photos of her own day. She had been draped in gold and yellow and dressed in something that was probably more expensive than reserving the building. She had been "clothed as the sun," and now nearly 25 years later, they had a boy "clothed as the moon."
Her mother told her that she has her outfit selected. She has to change in a room that brides generally used and Grace was a little thicker than when she had initially been fitted, so she squeezed into it and was far more voluptuous than she wanted to be in a church. Non-believer as she was, it simply seemed distasteful. She loved her halo crown for the event. It was pretty fancy, as she seemed to be reprising her role as the sun.
The officiant said something about the sun giving light to the moon, just as she, as his sister and godmother would give her own form of light to him and other poetic and sweet things about love and support, God and stuff and he blessed the baby and allowed them to put him on display for another photoshoot.
Grace ducked out, because she was STARVING, so of course Simon and Hazel came with, as they hadn’t had a chance to spend time with her in weeks. Old stomping grounds made them feel nostalgic and gave Hazel more fodder for imagining them as kids. She loved those times. Them, her age or a little bit younger or little bit older - she wished she knew them then. She wished for adventures like theirs with HER friends. She would never let it turn out how they were for a while, but she was also glad that they had each other now. The past few weeks with her and Simon had been very challenging, as he was more strict in Grace’s absence than when she was home, but he wasn’t abusing it. He just didn’t have Grace there to override him putting his foot down. Hazel hated THAT, but he didn’t care about certain other things, like she got to hang out with her friends longer, stay out later, and stay up later. Grace was a little more about her keeping a certain structure, which was fine a few years ago, but now it was unnecessary to Hazel and fortunately, Simon didn’t care because it was summer. So long as she was upfront about what she was doing and checked in, he was pretty chill. BUT, if she went outside of the boundaries, he was VERY strict. Almost like he felt betrayed. She hated to make him feel that way. They worked out well, though. At the end of the day, they were always friends again.
Grace noted that they had a few inside jokes and stuff while they were at lunch. People kept looking at the trio, in their fancy dress at this little burger dive. A few people came to see if they could get autographs and stuff. Grace was pretty open to that, even when it was uncomfortable. Simon reflexively wanted to step in, but she would brush it off and give him a look to ask him not to, so he gathered his sense of territory and possessiveness and choked it down. He didn’t have consent to defend…
Then… Something else happened. They were getting ready to get into the car and someone rushed up on them for an autograph. Simon would have been impressed with his quick reflexes if it didn’t go so… terribly infuriating…
He stopped the person in their tracks and they threw their hands up, and said that they just wanted a photo with Grace. Simon let go of the guy’s collar and looked at Grace. Hazel had her hand over her heart. Apparently Simon wasn’t the only one caught off guard by the Flashlike fan. “You okay, Haze?” he asked.
She was breathing hard and staring at the man. Grace stooped down to get on her level. “She’s fine,” the man said. “Could I get a photo?” Grace took a deep breath, ignoring him and repeated her question to Hazel. She wasn’t sure why her baby girl was reacting so intensely. Sure, it could be that this motherfucker came out of nowhere, but also… she could have known him from before, because they were in the same area they used to live, OR she might have had something recently happen that made this spook her today. WHATEVER the case, Grace was concerned and trying to talk to her. “I’ll just get a photo and leave you to it.”
“Chill,” Simon warned. He was getting pissed at this person and also worried about Hazel, because she still hadn’t responded. The guy scoffed and Simon clenched his fist. Realign your patience, Simon. Realign.
“Haze?” Grace repeated. Hazel took a deep breath and nodded.
“Sorry. He scared me. I’m fine.”
“Told you she was fine,” the dude said, really annoyed. Simon bit his lip and was practically digging holes into his palms with the balls that were his fists.
Grace wrapped an arm around Hazel and politely told the man, “I’m not currently taking photos. We just stopped to eat and we have to get back to something.” She was now too upset to take a photo. This was her boundary.
She opened the car door for Hazel and the man said, “Ugh, you were signing stuff inside, I saw you.”
Simon stepped in front of him and reiterated, “Yeah, but she told you no, so I advise you to step away from Grace and her daughter. You’ve already startled her and were extremely insensitive about it. You didn’t even apologize to her.”
“She said she was fine, just like I said.”
“She also is clearly not fine, and you, as a grown man should have been keen to it and respectful of that, especially considering that YOU were the one asking for something!” Simon’s canines were bared and Grace had to admit… she was not against seeing this Simon emerge again… not in this situation, at least.
“That’s not even her real daughter…” CRACK! Hazel called Simon’s name. He didn’t hear her. He had taken that balled up fist that he had been tempering and connected it to that man’s jaw. Grace held Hazel back and said softly, “Maybe cover your eyes, Baby.” Because she wasn’t gonna interfere. Simon looked at the man after he had punched him onto the pavement and some people had gathered. Then, he remembered! He turned towards Grace and Hazel, worried that he had just royally screwed up. Hazel’s face was alight with amusement and Grace’s alight with… something else.
“It just snapped…” He explained.
“It’s okay. We all mess up, right MOM?” Hazel asked, smiling at Simon.
“Yeah, Haze, but he didn’t mess up. Sometimes, people deserve it.” She took Simon’s swinging hand in hers as the ex-fan rushed off crying and complaining about pressing charges. “Let’s get back to my folks so I can tend to this.” She kissed his hand and smiled at him. He smiled back, swelling with pride. Hazel took his other hand and kissed it. These two hand kisses were very separate and different things. But, both mattered to him more than anything in the world.
“I lost my patience, but i don’t feel bad. Nobody’s gonna hurt either of you, as long as I’m there. You ARE Grace’s REAL daughter.”
“I know that, Simon. I’m yours too,” she said with the casual shrug of her shoulders, but he knew that it was a huge thing for Hazel to say such a thing.
.
Simon got to hold the and he was extremely enchanted. "Grace! He's so beautiful. Oh my God. He looks just like YOU!"
Mrs. Monroe offered, "Or, he looks like ME? Grace got her beautiful genetics from me."
"Yes, Mrs. Monroe. You look like Grace, too," he said, not turning away from the baby in his arms. She frowned and folded her arms. "Grace, if we have a baby, I hope they look just like Monty!"
"His name isn't Monty," Mrs. Monroe said. "It's Montanus. It means mountainous. He's the highest point of my life."
"Wow, Mom. Screw me then, huh?" Grace joked. This kid really WAS precious.
Mrs. Monroe said, "You put me through months of HELL, and quite frankly depression and misery. But… after a very long and painful journey pity of my body, we looked at each other and I felt like seeing your face delivered me from all of the worst of all of that. I'd been given grace, and I told your father after he snuck that hideous photo of me gawking at you that would be your name. We were going to call you Soleil. Like the Sun. But, I met you and I said, No. This is my Grace." Mrs. Monroe cupped Grace's chin and Grace smiled while Simon's eyes watered.
"That's a beautiful story." He nuzzled Grace with his nose and whispered, "I can't wait until we have a beautiful birth story."
"You certainly CAN wait," Mrs. Monroe said and eyed him up and down.
"So, you put Grace in THAT dress and let me look at THIS baby and you think I'm NOT going to think about knocking her up?"
"He's joking. We don't even do that,"Grace said.
"Doesn't mean I'm joking. LOOK at him, Grace. This has got to be the most beautiful baby that has ever lived!"
Grace scoffed, "Um. No. I'm sure that was me as a baby."
"I don't know… I can't imagine any baby ever looking more adorable than this one." He shook his head and looked at him, then pulled him close to hold against himself.
He heard Mrs. Monroe whisper, "I think he thinks he's ready for one." He shut his eyes to listen to the infant breathe. He… hadn't held a baby since he had been helped in holding Hope when he was a little boy. He'd had a similar reaction to her… but he didn't know what she looked like anymore and he didn't even have feelings for her anymore. He remembered her as someone who was lost way too soon, someone that he accidentally hurt, someone who would remind him to always handle the innocent with extra care. "I would kill for you," he whispered and kissed Montanus'" head. For his own. For Hazel. For Grace.
Grace wondered, "Can I hold him?" The way that he was feeling about this baby… He didn’t want to let him go… but then again, Grace was still not wanting kids and Simon rationalized that holding “Monty” was gonna change that for her, so he reluctantly handed him over in the hopes that she might be swayed. “Wow…” She said staring into big brown eyes, like her own but more bright and full of wonder. He reached out for her and she let him hold her finger. “Okay. I absolutely want one,” she joked. Simon smiled. He knew the feeling, even though he also knew that SHE didn’t really mean it. She did have a point, they still hadn’t actually had sex. They had… done a lot. Very gradually over the past year and a half, but not that and she seemed to get anxious whenever things approached it. Simon always stopped and confirmed whether or not she wanted to do more. That out that he gave her, she always took it. It was why he kept checking. He worried that if he didn’t, she might just go along with things, and that could be something else to resent him for down the line. Affirmative consent. It was a small price to pay to keep the amount of trust that HAD been rebuilt intact, and maybe someday it would pay off.
Someday was closer than he’d thought. They eventually surrendered that baby back to his parents and Hazel, not wanting to cry jealousy, but feeling a way retired to her room to meditate and write before bed.
Simon and Grace retired to her room, afterwards. “I am lovesick with baby fever,” Grace said. He was on her like prey, with his hands sliding up her sides and his nose tracing her neck. “Slow down, Gray Eyes,” she said with a chuckle, looking at them in the vanity mirror. How many times had they looked at themselves in that mirror when they were younger? It was never like this… They didn’t even look the same to her. They didn’t feel the same, but somehow, everything was all coming back to her, just being in here, with him.
The good and the bad. Luckily, she would be able to say goodbye early in the morning and not see him for a couple of weeks. Tonight could just be… fun. She tried to push out the old thoughts, the old fights, the old Grace and Simon. They were Simon and Grace before The Apex and they had become another Grace and Simon.  New and improved.
“This dress really isn���t helping in the “slow down” department.”
“I’ve gained a little weight,” she said, a little self consciously.
“Mmm hmm,” he said, appraisingly, tracing but not touching the curves of her cleavage. She hadn’t given him permission. Simon was very disciplined, now. Very diligent in not crossing any boundaries, but he certainly danced the fine line.
“Will you please help me out of this dress?” She whispered, not taking her eyes off of the obediently trained blond man in her mirror.
“Yes, ma’am.” He carefully unclasped the back and slowly unzipped, revealing each inch of her skin with utmost reverence and full throttle desire, contained, but entirely visible as she studied his face. She stepped out of the dress and carefully placed it aside. He noted that specifically, because he remembered how she used to just toss them on the floor. He was making more and more notes of how much more thoughtful she was about her things and surroundings. “Grace?”
“Yes, Simon?” she was cleaning off her makeup, still in her undergarments and halo crown.
“I just wanted to thank you for letting me back in. I know that it takes a very big person to be able to do that and I’m grateful that you’re so big of a person and I’m also proud of you. You’ve changed a lot in a lot of ways that I tried to stop before, because I was scared that you’d outgrow me and leave me behind if you came to be this bigger person. I’m glad that I’ve realized that becoming a better you was exactly what type of person who could give me another chance. It makes me want to be a bigger, better person. It makes it easy for me to be good, and I’ve realized that I do it for you, but also for myself. I feel better, and I just want you to know that you’ve done so much towards that.”
She wanted to make a joke about how he must’ve really wanted some tonight to be spilling all of this, but he was so genuine, she was entirely too touched. Between that and his protecting Hazel earlier, not to mention Hazel claiming him?
She set her cloth down, turned around and kissed him. No other response was needed.
The kissing grew, she didn’t break apart while they carefully made their way to the bed and… well… it wasn’t really a discussion or a question. The time had come. Simon opened his mouth to confirm that she was sure and she silenced him with her lips while she took off his clothes.
At every point that he wanted to ask her for permission, she took initiative while simultaneously kissing him to stop the question. If she thought too hard about it, if he asked her about it, she would think too hard about it - If she thought too hard about it, it might never happen.
At some point, she began crying. Simon panicked. He tried to pull out, but she clasped him tightly with her legs and held on to him, sobbing into his ear. Were they happy tears, or had he made a mistake? It was fucking with him. “Grace?” he whispered, slowing down, at least. She urged her hips to make him speed back up and he started crying too. “I don’t know if I’m doing something wrong!” he whimpered, terrified of her tears right now.
“Does… it mean something to you, Simon?” She asked in an insecure voice that he hadn’t heard in so long that he forgot how she sounded when she wasn’t sure of herself.
He lifted his head to look her in the eyes, moving her chin to face him so that she couldn’t avoid it.
“Everything. It means everything to me, Grace. You mean everything to me.”
She sobbed and began to move her hips again, somehow holding on even tighter to him. “Never let me go again. Never push me away.”
“I promise. I won’t. I swear on my life.”
She’d mentioned before that her period was that weekend, but she wasn’t on it. The stress of touring probably knocked her off of her schedule. At any rate, she wasn’t one it, as she had planned to be. That worked out perfectly for Simon that night, but he wasn’t even thinking about those details at the moment. He had to spend the rest of the night making sure that she knew things wouldn’t be like they had been before.
A couple of weeks later when she came home from the tour, Hazel and Simon had her welcome home party under way. It was lowkey - just the 3 of them and the cat. Simon cooked everyone’s faves, and they didn’t ask tour questions. Hazel kept using “Mom” and “Dad,” despite the official paperwork. Grace felt super at ease, considering.
“Hey… We have to talk about something, as a family…” Hazel and Simon looked at each other, both a little worried, as she sounded super serious out of nowhere. Did something happen to her on the tour? Were they about to have to kick somebody’s ass? What was she about to say?? “I have an announcement…” She took a deep breath and took something that she had on her person out.
Simon gasped and got up to rush over. Hazel asked, “What is that?? What’s the announcement??”
Simon took both of Grace’s hands and searched her face, “What do you want to do? You know I’ll support anything. If you aren’t ready, I understand…”
“UNDERSTAND WHAT?? WHAT IS THAT, MOM???”
“I’m ready,” Grace told Simon, then to Hazel, “Mom’s… having a kid…” She winced, unsure of how Hazel was going to feel about a bio on the horizon. She SCREAMED. “OMG! Lindsay and Lucy are gonna be JEALOUS. SO JEALOUS! Lindsay thinks her kinkajou is SOOOO cool… and it is, but I’m gonna have a SIBLING! Oh… unless we’re being quiet?”
“For a while. I’m still… taking it all in…” Grace said. She looked at Simon. She was scared shitless.
“I’m going to do whatever you need.”
“I know. I trust you with my life.” He smiled brighter than anything she had ever seen. She collected Hazel and him, “Both of you.”
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stuck-in-hawkins · 4 years
Text
When He Left: Chapter 1 October 28th, 1993
Stranger Things Fanfic: Byeler
Rated: Teen and Up
Summary: Will looked back to see Mike at the gate, his forced smile starting to crumble. Will had managed to get the chance of a lifetime: a scholarship to an arts college in California. He would be there among the monster makers of the movie industry. He was pursuing his dream, but what was he giving up in exchange?
It has been four years since Will left Hawkins. Everybody went in their own separate directions. But it has been 10 years since the Gate opened and Will's nightmares are getting worse. So, the party reunites and old feelings ignite.
link to read on ao3
October 28th, 1993
Will felt the sunlight across his face and opened his eyes. The covers were insulating the heat from him and the man laying beside him. That thick mop of black hair, the curvature of his tan back. Will reached out and traced the muscles beneath.
Ishaan stirred. Will thought, “Don’t wake up, don’t wake up.” He laid perfectly still. But alas, the man turned over and looked at Will, still groggy but the blanket of sleep quickly wearing off.
Will spoke softly, “Sorry I woke you. I was just gonna make breakfast.”
The man looked away and mumbled, “I have to get to work.”
There it was. The shame. Ishaan was a flame that Will seemed to keep flying back to. He was exactly his type. Tall, beautiful, and incapable of committing to a relationship. They were drawn to each other.
Ishaan was still very much in the closet. But he would come to clubs. He loved that Will had this quiet, inviting exterior. He’d actually told him this. That Will was safe. He wasn’t “that” gay. That he could pass as straight.
Ishaan had no idea about Will’s occasional drag nights.
Ishaan grabbed his clothes quickly with a speed Will had become familiar with. Will had hoped he could open Ishaan’s eyes, and help him learn to love and accept himself for who he was. But when the morning light came, so did the shame. Will embodied all the things Ishaan didn’t want to face and he would put as much distance between him as he could.
Will put on his pj bottoms and walked down the hallway in time to see Ishaan throw on his jacket.
“Ishaan.”
Eye contact.
“Someday, I’d love to have breakfast with you.”
Will could see him try to swallow a lump in his throat.
��I’m sorry, Will.” He opened the door and walked out.
Will padded his way to the kitchen, and opened the fridge, looking at the eggs and bacon sitting inside. He felt deflated. He could feel a familiar tug, trying to pull him back to bed so that he could curl under the covers. But he knew that if he did that, he’d lose the day. And it seemed like a beautiful one to waste. He turned to the window and cranked the handle, opening them. The air was fresh and warmed from the sun.
Will brought out the eggs, bacon, toast, and butter. He’d remembered feeling the same way Ishaan had. He remembered when he first came to the city in college and kept his identity confined to the night. He used to have a similar elitism, trying to separate himself from gay men that seemed especially feminine, doing anything he could to distance himself from the stereotypes that plagued his sexuality. But going to group helped with that. He opened his mind to become more accepting. He even experimented in his identity and found freedom in the exploration.
He cracked the egg into a bowl. Ishaan hadn’t wanted to go to any of the groups Will recommended. He was in denial. He picked up another egg. He thought, 'You're just something he craves.'
Crack.
“Damnit.” He’d gotten eggshells in the mix. He picked them out. Will was beginning to realize that it would take a lot of soul searching for Ishaan to accept himself. Something Will couldn’t help him with. How long would it take? How many more mornings did he have to watch him run out the door?
Will turned on the stove and let the butter simmer while he whisked the eggs together. Dustin’s words rang in his head.
‘You deserve to be more than someone’s secret.’ Dustin didn’t mince words but he was right. And it just seemed like Will was always drawn to the type that didn’t want to come out.
He heard a door open. Dustin groggily walked in from the hallway. “You are a Godsend. Is that eggs I smell?”
Will smiled. “And bacon will be next.”
“Screw all these other guys. Marry me.”
“Pretty sure there are some terms and conditions you wouldn’t be up for there.”
“Forget them. I’ll do all the butt stuff. Just make me eggs every day.”
Will threw the dish towel at him.
Dustin got the grounds out and started making coffee. “Your man-friend still here?”
Will shook his head.
“That’s too bad. He’s missing out on an awesome breakfast.” He smiled, “And some great company.”
Will smirked. He loved living with Dustin.
___________________________
After breakfast Will got ready for work. It was Sunday and he knew he didn’t have to go in, but he needed a reason to get out of the flat. He didn’t want to sit alone, pining for Ishaan. Will could feel that it was ending. It was a transition that he’d done before. It felt all too familiar but still hurt.
The worst part was seeing them months later, out, proud, and in a relationship. He’d be happy for them, but then he’d wonder. Why hadn’t it been with him? Why wasn’t he enough? Why did it seem like they only changed after he left?
But then, again, he knew that wasn’t always true. There were guys that never came out. Like Hartford, who had a wife and kids that were completely unaware of his Friday escapades. Dating him, being his side piece, was a low point for Will.
And then of course…. There had also been Mike.
‘Nope,’ Will thought. He shut down that train of thought and brought out his sketchbook. He needed to distract himself with a project. Studio time helped with that. After all this time, he still had a weakness with Mike. He’d made his peace with pretty much every guy after. But with him, there was a tenderness that had never faded. And if he thought about Mike when he was like this, in the throes of rejection, he’d fall to pieces.
He grabbed his headphones out of his bag as the Metro carried him across town to his stop. These days, his Walkman turned mostly Sonic Youth albums. Today it was Dreamnation. He got off and headed to The WereHouse.
It was a prop house popular among the independent filmmakers and even the occasional large studio. It was owned by two brothers. One ran the historical prop store, located in another part of town. That shop was mostly a gallery of antiques from all different periods, some originals, some reproductions. That had been where Will had gotten his start, running around thrift stores, estate sales, and antique shops trying to find period correct pieces for their inventory.
But when his boss saw Will’s sketchbook, he got transferred to The WereHouse. The other brother’s creative dungeon of fantasy, sci-fi, and horror props and prosthetics. Will was living his dream, getting to make monsters for movies. Though… most of his work consisted of prop dummies that ended up being burned, buried, or otherwise mutilated. Some weeks were spent meticulously painting disembodied limbs, fingers, and heads. Occasionally larger more creative opportunities arose, like the one he was working on now.
The whole project was very hush hush. When studios put out work like this, they were looking for more than monsters: they were looking for talent. Will was pouring in extra hours because getting this deal would mean he’d be part of something big. It wouldn’t just be low cost props for independent filmmakers. They’d have the backing of a studio. It meant potentially being a part of the next blockbuster.
He could be responsible for the next Xenomorph. The idea was both terrifying and elating. As a result, he spent most of his days either drawing or sculpting with the occasional break to eat and sleep. But it took his mind off of the trials and failures of his love life.
He opened the door and nodded to Anderson, who manned the reception desk. He was currently nose deep in the novel, Dune.
Will walked through the vestibule, where some of the past projects were displayed and made his way through the giant room with shelves scraping the ceiling. One row consisted of nothing but body parts: From whole limbs and torsos to severed fingers and toes. On another row, there was a treasure trove of cursed objects: elvish daggers, cauldrons of all different sizes, stitched leather books, crystals of every color.
Will remembered how awestruck he was the first time he came here… well, honestly for the few months. Now, it was just a part of his life. He’d still get these moments of “I can’t believe I’m working my dream job.” But it had become his new norm. He wished the whole party could see it. Dustin had completely lost his shit when he saw it. But they were the only two of the party in Burbank.
Not for long, though. Lucas was nearly finished his last year in the Navy, and Dustin had been pulling every string he could to make sure Lucas got a position as an engineer at the company he worked for, AECOM. Max has been living with her dad on the coast the past few years. Despite being in the same state, she was still about five hours away. Once Lucas was back on shore, there was a chance of them getting back together and her moving closer. But she had that software job and it was more likely Lucas would move up to her.
Over the years, Will had tried to convince Mike to come over to the coast, to get out of Hawkins. Maybe if the rest of them were together, that would be enough to change his mind.
Will walked into the studio, a large space lined with workbenches and cork boards. Mannequins, busts, and chairs for prosthetics and monster makeup were scattered around the room. And the whole space smelled of curing latex, acrylic paint, and plasticine clay. He sat down at the spot reserved for him, that had pictures tacked up as inspiration, along with a multitude of sketches. And there on the bench was a little model, about a foot high, that he had been carving out and tweaking all week. This was the 3rd version.
The studio was looking to create a new kind of monster. Normally, the producer or director would give some parameters of guidelines. But this one was an open book, which meant it was an audition of sorts. Will looked at his board.
In truth, it wasn’t the monster that was terrifying. It was the world the writer built, the atmosphere the director created. The actors, who made the audience care about the characters on the screen. Even the best monster design could be undone with poor timing, shoddy lighting, or terrible acting. They were all vital components of the final product. Once the audience cared about the world, about the characters, they would become invested. Will’s mind began to ponder.
The scariest parts about everything he experienced was the fear of losing it all. Of never seeing his mom, brother, or friends again. Of being alone at the end. Nothing had been more terrifying than losing himself to the mind flayer. To feel his words and body being driven by another. The most terrifying monsters were the ones that you didn’t see. The ones that transformed characters you loved from human to monster.
Will took pictures of his miniature model as it was. He always did before destroying it. Then, he squished the sculpted figure, wedged the clay back into a ball. From there he began the shaping of a human figure. But he arched the back, as if the body was fighting against itself. Where the spine was, legs that were like spiders but out of bone emerged. The muscle tearing at itself, reattaching to the new limbs. The most frightening monster was the one you watched yourself become.
Art was cathartic. It was how he processed everything. It was what got him through the worst parts of college. It gave him power and strength. He had control over his nightmares now. He could create them and destroy them with his own two hands.
In so many ways, coming to California saved him. He learned methods to cope with his identity, with his trauma. He was in a new place where there were less things to trigger flashbacks. The fear didn’t rule his life like it once had. There were days he questioned whether it was all even real. But, lately, he could feel himself backsliding. His nightmares were getting more vivid. They were trying to claw their way into his life here. They held on tighter so that it was harder to wake up. Sometimes, he forgot them as soon as he woke up. He'd be in a cold sweat, the fear shaking him, and he couldn't remember a thing. He was relieved that Ishaan had stayed the night. Having someone beside him seemed to keep the nightmares at bay. This week, he dreamt about the Mind Flayer, about being trapped inside his own head. He remembered sending his friends the code to close the gate. He knew what it meant. He had been resigned to it. It was a cost he had been willing to pay to ensure that the Shadow Monster would be dead for good. He woke up in tears at how willing he had been to accept his death. He cried at all the things he would have lost and felt relief to be alive.
It was because his family managed to pull it from him. His party refused to leave him behind.
He sculpted the man’s pained face. He hoped that if this movie got made, that they’d save the man. That the characters would be as heroic as his friends had been. _____________________________________
Will got off the metro, exhausted, both mentally and physically. Eight hours in a chair, bent over his desk and sculpting, did a number on his back.
He was still listening to Sonic Youth so he didn’t hear the chatter as he reached his floor. He didn’t hear the laughter when he put the keys in the lock. He didn’t hear the voice of the man that used to make his stomach flutter. If he had, he would have prepared himself. He would have made sure to tuck his heart in his chest, instead of on his sleeve.
But alas, he opened the door unsuspecting and the sound he made betrayed himself. It held in it all the love he felt in seeing him again.
“Mike.”
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ariddletobesolved · 4 years
Text
Coming of Age
Fandom: Frozen
Word count: 2,370
Summary: As Prince Hans turned twenty one, numerous thoughts about how his future would be began to swirl in. Being a Prince has its perks, but would that be enough?
Sometimes, Prince Hans of the Southern Isles couldn't believe his luck. He might be the youngest of thirteen sons, but never once did he encounter such thing as bad luck. Okay, perhaps never is a strong word, because he could recall at least three unfortunate experiences in the past, and the day he broke his left arm during a sparring with one of his brothers was one. But overall, with whatever life threw at him so far, he considered himself lucky, grateful, and blessed—you name it. Not so many children are blessed with a caring and loving family, he thought.
King Ruben and Queen Vivianna, the reigning monarchs of the Southern Isles, are both great rulers and wise parents. Raising thirteen sons was never easy, yet they were considered as succeed in doing so. The princes were given equal treatment, and they all were taught about respect, the value of hard works, and many other qualities. Perhaps that, as well as their known kindness and wisdom, was why the people adored the royal family even more.
Dismounting from his stallion, Sitron, he glanced at the view before him. The cape near the palace was one of his favourite places, and he often came there just to think or to escape from a private tutor. Not that he didn't enjoy all the tutoring, but one of his brothers, Njal, told him that it's okay to skip lessons once in a while. And instantly, Hans got the bitter aftertaste for following an advice from the troublemaker among the thirteen.
'It's quiet today, isn't it, Sitron?' He gently stroked the horse's nose, as the stallion nuzzled him, as if he was agreeing with his master's words.
Hans let out a sigh, green eyes were gazing at the open ocean. A small smile played on his lips. Sometimes, the serenity was all he needed, especially after all the commotion he had to go through that morning. It seemed as if people around him: his parents, his brothers, even the servants and the commoners he bumped into, were more excited in celebrating what's supposed to be his day.
What's so special about turning twenty one?
The question had been lingering for a while, ever since her mother, Queen Vivianna, announced that there would be a huge ball in celebration of his birthday. He did utter his complains, saying that there's no need to invite other Kingdoms to attend for it's just a birthday celebration, yet the queen disagreed.
'Actually, Hans, darling, you are the last one of my sons that is coming of age. Do you really think I'm going to let it be just another celebration?'
And he knew better than arguing with his dear mother.
'Being a prince is something, Sitron.' He began. 'You probably don't understand, but being the youngest, I sometimes feel like my life is going in no direction.'
It was true. He could think of many things he could grow up to be, when he was young. Having seen some of his brothers joining the navy or the army, while some others were marrying to the throne somewhere, Hans knew that his time would come soon, when he should marry either a princess or a duchess of Somewhere Far. Gustav and Rorik were right, coming of age can be terrifying.
Unlike Lars, who had an avid interest in History, or Jensen, who was known for his talent in music, Hans was something else. He loved the sea, the feeling of the salty breeze against his face, as well as sketching and writing. At times, he found himself drawing people—characters, while also adding some backstory to it. Needless to say, it was a therapeutic experience for him.
'I knew I'd find you here.' He heard that familiar voice, followed by footsteps.
'Jorgen.' Hans spoke, as he turned to see one of his older brothers. 'Are you here to say happy birthday, like everyone else?'
'Is that how you greet the brother you haven't seen in three months?'
Prince Jorgen of the Southern Isles was a tall, lanky man, with red hair, hazel eyes, and a perfectly angled nose—a trait that every Westergaard Princes seemed to possess. His hair was trimmed neatly, the style was almost similar to that of his youngest brother. He approached his little brother, with his horse trailing behind.
'Sorry,' Hans smiled, patting his brother's back. 'How is married life?'
'Wonderful!' Jorgen beamed. 'And soon you will have a taste, little brother.'
Hans scoffed. 'Nah, my turn will come after the twins got married, and judging from the slow courting they are doing with their significant others, it would take years. For now, I want to enjoy my freedom, maybe joining the navy for good.'
'And you think Mother will let you go to the sea?' Jorgen raised a brow, eyeing his brother. 'If anything, she will try to keep you on the land, to marry first. Oh, I heard she has invited princesses from our neighbouring Kingdoms.'
Hans still had his gaze on the horizon, where the sky meets the see far away from where he was standing. Of course he knew this beforehand. His mother would find any opportunity to try playing matchmaking with some princesses he had no interest in. Not that he disliked those girls, who would bat their eyelashes around him, but he simply disliked the idea of getting married so young. There were so many things he would love to do, figuring out his life purpose was one of them. And once you enter married life, there's no going back.
'She can do all she wants.' The youngest Prince muttered, before turning to his brother. 'But she can never stop me.'
Hans knew he was right—or not. By the time the king and queen proposed a toast for his birthday, and having all the guests' attention directed at him, he knew he couldn't escape his mother's plan for the night. Once the music began, Queen Vivianna practically dragged her son aside, and gesturing at a chestnut haired princess in a soft blue beige dress, who stood nearby on her own.
'Hans, that princess is the one I told you earlier.' His mother murmured closely. 'Ask her to dance.'
'But, Mother—' but before he could protest, the Queen sent him a stern look, definitely not giving him a choice. 'Fine.'
And so, he asked Princess Angelique of Hallstatt to dance, in which the Princess complied with pleasure. Though he'd scored himself a great dancing partner, it was still hard for him to enjoy the company, for Princess Angelique gave him dreamy looks that made him feel slightly uncomfortable.
'Oh, my little Hans is all grown up!' His mother's words from earlier echoed in his mind. 'Soon, you will find yourself a bride to marry and give me some adorable grandchildren.'
Hans almost grimaced at the thought. That would certainly need to wait. Once the music ended, Hans sighed in relief, before quickly excused himself and flashed the princess his most polite smile.
Taking a glass of champagne from the passing tray, he began to observe his surrounding, from his spot in the corner of the room. The guests seemed to enjoy themselves, dancing and talking—or gossiping, yet something seemed a little off. His brothers were nowhere in sight.
Where are they? He wondered quietly, finishing his drink with a big gulp. Just when he put down his empty glass on a tray carried by a footman, he felt a light tap on his shoulder. He was already preparing a speech for whatever plan his mother had for him, but when he turned around, Hans was greeted by number eight, Prince Bjorn.
'I thought you're mother.'
Bjorn let out a chuckle. 'It seems like you're trying to avoid her.'
'Oh, please, she is planning something and I don't like it.' Hans stated. 'I mean, she pushed me to this princess' direction to dance with her. And the whole dance she was staring at me. I enjoy attention, but having someone staring at you like that, no thank you.'
'Like what?' Bjorn motioned him to follow. 'Like she's gonna eat you alive.'
Hans raised an eyebrow. 'Not really, but quite.' Falling in his brother's steps, he wondered out loud, 'Where are we going?'
'You'll see.'
Well, that didn't answer his question, but nonetheless, he still followed him, exiting the ballroom. As he walked down the deserted corridor, all he could hear was the faint music from the celebration, and the fountain that stood in the middle of the garden. They were making a slight turn in one of the corridors when they heard footsteps came approaching from the opposite direction. A man wearing a teal uniform emerged from the darkness, making Bjorn stopped abruptly.
'May I help you, Sir?' He asked the frantic looking man.
The man in the uniform nodded, 'Ah, yes. I would like to request an audience with the King and Queen of The Southern Isles.'
Hans eyed the strange man suspiciously. His green eyes were glaring at the teal coloured uniform, with a golden crocus medal attached to it. An audience with the monarchs? Is he out of his mind? It was clear that neither his mother nor father expected this man, who seemed to be a foreigner.
'I'm sorry, Sir, but there's a celebration going on. Whatever business you need to discuss with the King needs to wait until tomorrow.'
But the man was persistent. 'Please, Sir. I have a very urgent matter to discuss.' He began to pull out a sealed envelope from his leather bag. 'I'm from Arendelle, you see.'
Arendelle? Why would that kingdom send a messenger to the Southern Isles?
The two princes stole brief glances at each other, before eyeing the golden crocus seal upon the letter. Bjorn, who knew immediately that something was up, nodded at the man.
'Follow this long corridor, then turn left. There, you will meet Henrik, a Royal Advisor. Tell him the urgency and ask for an audience with the King and Queen.'
'Thank you!' And with that, the man quickly walked away.
'Did Father invite a representative from Arendelle?' Hans asked his brother as they resumed their journey.
Bjorn frowned. 'Not as far as I know.'
'Well, if anyone from Arendelle is stepping on our soil, it means that they are facing a huge problem.' Hans muttered.
'Or it could be completely something else.' Bjorn added, before tapping his brother's back. 'Let's not think about it. It's your birthday.'
Once the brothers stepped out of the gates, Hans knew where they were heading. The docks. He was sure of it, as he breathed in the familiar salty scent of the ocean. And a few moments later, in the most secluded side of the harbour, stood eleven silhouettes.
'Little brother,' a tall brunet greeted with a rather wrinkly smile. From the feature, everyone could tell that he's the oldest. 'We were worried that you would get lost.'
'Don't call me that, Stefan.' Hans said, before breaking into a smile. 'As for the delay, sorry, we were bumping into an Arendellian on our way here.'
'So that's why the Arendelle flagship is in our harbour.' Jensen, number two, murmured more to himself, before turning to Bjorn. 'Strange, don't you think?'
'I suppose,' Bjorn nodded, 'but don't let it stop us from celebrating our brother's coming of age.'
'Hansy!' The youngest prince almost rolled his eyes at the nickname the twins gave him. 'Once again, happy birthday!' Marten and Mikael, number eleven and twelve, said in unison.
'Thanks, again.' Hans replied. 'You do know how to annoy me, don't you?'
'Oh, you wouldn't say that after you see what we got for you!' Karl, number six, came approaching, handing him a bottle of rum.
Confused, the number thirteen raised an eyebrow, as he glanced at his brothers one by one. Each was bearing what seemed to be an excited smile, and Hans couldn't remember the last time he saw his brothers acting this strange. 'What is it?'
A slight push on his back, urged him to take a step closer to the edge of the docks. He turned to see Oskar, number nine, giving him the gentle push. And right before him, Lars, Gustav, and Rorik were standing by, seemed ready to unveil something big—quite literally.
Nordstjernen
The word was the first thing he noticed. North Star. Then he realised what it was. A sail boat. A perfectly crafted one, majestic. It led to a conclusion: they knew about his love for sailing. He was only standing there, glued to the spot, as his green eyes slowly took in the view before him.
'Happy birthday, Hans!'
One by one, the brothers began to engulf the youngest into an embrace, and as much as the gesture annoyed him, he didn't mind. He was grateful that he had twelve big brothers who cared for him, and a set of wonderful parents. Here, surrounded by a family, at last. Hans knew that somewhere out there someone grew up in an abusive household under unfortunate circumstances. And for that reason was he feeling very fortunate for his life.
With Nordstejrnen, he could explore the waters in his Kingdom, maybe he could take his sketchbook along with him. And he would make sure that nobody could stop him from doing so, not even his mother. Being a prince has it's perks, he thought, and it will never be enough for me to not use this opportunity to the fullest. Besides, he had had his naval training, and it would surely help him.
Coming of age could be terrifying for some people. It might be full of unexpected events. But for the youngest prince, it would be one that's full of adventure.
Yes, Hans knows that turning twenty one means that his life is about to change. If he only knows what the future has in store for him.
Note: This was originally written for Hans Week 2020, alas, only recently did I get to finish it. Also, this story may or may not be continued in Helsa Week 2.0. That's why some feedbacks and criticisms are very much welcome. Thanks for reading! X
Reposting because the first one didn’t show up in the tags.
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waltzofthewifi · 4 years
Text
Alter Ego (Marinette March #10)
Monday
Tikki glanced over Marinette’s shoulder, so Marinette adjusted her position to let Tikki see the webpage. 
“Every year, our entire school votes for winners of certain categories,” Marinette explained. “This year we have ‘Most Likely To Become Famous’, ‘Most Likely To Accidentally Stumble Upon A Million Dollars’ - I’m putting Lila down for that, she’s way too lucky, ‘Most Likely To Successfully Run A Criminal Empire’, ‘Most Likely To Be Ladybug’-”
“That’s not good!” Tikki said.
Marinette gave her kwami a reassuring pat on the head. “Don’t worry, they’re not being serious about it. Besides, it’s not like I’m going to be chosen for that. I know Adrien likes to talk about how I’m an everyday Ladybug, but I don’t think anyone actually believes it.”
Tikki hummed doubtfully.
The Previous Monday
Marinette, as always, arrived to class in just the nick of time. 
But even if the bell had yet to ring, she still felt she was late. After all, clearly something had happened to have Alix and Ivan at each others throats. 
“What’s going on?” Marinette asked. 
“Alix crashed into Mylene earlier and broke her arm,” Ivan replied, voice low with anger. 
“It’s not my fault!” Alix yelled back. “She wasn’t looking where she was going either!” “You were on skates,” Ivan replied. “It was your responsibility to look where you were going, but you didn’t.” 
Marinette studied the two. They both looked mad, but in her experience, anger sometimes was just a symptom of another emotion. 
And she knew her friends well enough to guess. 
“Ivan, I know you’re concerned about Mylene, but yelling at Alix isn’t going to fix what already happened,” Marinette interceded. “I can’t say whose fault it was, but Alix cares for Mylene too. If she is at fault here, she probably already knows it. And Alix, I know you probably feel guilty, but if you messed up there’s nothing you can do now but apologize and try to do better next time.”
Ivan deflated first. “You’re right. I think I need to take a walk.”
“A wonderful idea, Ivan,” Bustier commented. 
Ivan still moved with a bit of anger as he went to grab his backpack. The door shut behind him with a bang, but no one commented. 
Alix remained tense. Marinette thought she detected the beginning of tears. 
“Alix, it’s okay if it’s your fault,” Marinette said, putting her hand on Alix’s shoulder. “You made a mistake - everyone does. The important thing is that you learn from it.” Alix didn’t budge, so Marinette added. “No one is judging you for this.” 
That deflated her. “I just - I was so worried I’d hurt her! I mean, badly! I know people who had really bad concussions from that type of collision and I thought I -” 
Alix sniffled, and Marinette opened her arms to her. The two hugged for a few seconds before Alix pulled away. 
“You're right. I need to learn from this - and I will!” 
.
Tuesday
“Okay, so Alya can get Lila’s drink, Alix can get Mylene’s drink, Ivan can get Mylene’s tray, and then Nino and Juleka can split Lila’s tray between the two of them,” Rose deduced as they walked towards the cafeteria. 
“I can get something,” Mylene argued. “Only one of my arms are broken.”
“You shouldn’t have to deal with that!” Rose replied. 
Alya’s phone beeped, and she peaked at the screen. “Guys, wait up - Marinette said to meet her back in Bustier’s room. She has a treat for us!” 
“Oh, I hope she brought something from her bakery,” Nino said.
“Me too,” Mylene said wistfully. 
It was a short walk back to the classroom, and the class was greeted by a delicious smell. 
“Forget pastry treats, she brought a whole lunch!” Alix said. 
Marinette greeted them. “Hey everyone! So I thought everyone could use a little cheering up after yesterday, and since I was stuck at home during that akuma attack and all, I thought it might be nice to arrange a lunch for us.”
“Marinette, you’re so nice!” Rose commented. 
“Yeah, and now we don’t have to worry about getting Lila’s and Mylene’s food,” Alix commented. 
“Thanks girl,” Alya said. “You really know how to cheer us up. 
.
Marinette was about halfway down the steps when she heard the sniffly. 
Marc.
She poked her head under the stairs, and, sure enough, Marc was sitting, looking near tears. 
“What’s wrong?” Marinette asked. 
“Nothing!” Marc replied. “I just-” he sniffled again. “I got some nasty comments online about my writing, and it-”
“I’m sorry to hear that,” Marinette said when he trailed off. She sat down next to her. 
“They said what I was writing was wrong, because I had one of the characters go through a fight with his parents or... or something like that, I don’t know, but it was based off of real life, and I-” Marc sniffled. “I don’t know. Maybe I’m projecting onto my characters too much.”
“Well, first of all, I read that chapter and it was amazing,” Marinette replied. “I’ve never had a fight with my parents like that, and yet I could still feel what it must have felt like. I get that such a topic is probably triggering to a lot of people, but you put a content warning and everything!
“And second of all, there is nothing wrong with projecting. I do it all the time in my designing! It’s a lot harder to tell, obviously, but when I’m looking over old designs, I can almost always tell which ones I drew when having a bad day, or when I’m angry. I found one with a lot of spikes and sharp lines and went, ‘yep, I remember what Chloe said to me that day that made me draw this.’”
“So you’re saying it’s natural?”
“Of course. Our emotions and our experiences inform who we are, and what we create. We have to use some control, of course, but I think how you use it is great! Some of my favorite stories have so-called ‘self-inserts’. Besides, you’re not the one going around insulting people online, so you are definitely not in the wrong for this situation.” 
Marc nodded. “Thanks. I feel a little better now.”
.
Wednesday
Mylene smiled at her cast. “Wow, you two are so talented!”
Nathaniel blushed, and Marinette smiled. 
“I feel a lot better about it now,” Mylene said. “You really know how to brighten someone’s day, Marinette!”
.
“It’s so ugly!” Alya complained, spinning in a circle to show off her bridesmaid’s dress to Marinette and Nino, who were sitting on the couch in her living room.
Marinette had been summoned about half an hour ago by Alya’s mom, saying Alya was “near hysterics” and needed someone to calm her down. Preferably, someone’s who fashion sense “she actually trusted”, and couldn’t use the “your my mom you’re supposed to say I look good card” on. She had originally called Nino, but then Alya had played the “your my boyfriend you’re supposed to say I look good” card immediately. 
It made Marinette think being honest was the best way to go. 
“Of course it is!” Marinette replied. “It doesn’t fit. It’s way too big in the chest.”
“But I couldn’t take anything smaller in the hips,” Alya complained. 
“That’s okay,” Marinette said, standing up. “After all, what’s the point in having a designer for a best friend if she can’t fix a dress for you.”
“You’ll fix it for me?” Alya asked. 
“Of course,” Marinette replied. “If you pull it a little tighter hear, maybe pull the neckline up a little-”
“Yes please,” Marlene cut in. 
“And then loosen it around the hips, it will look fabulous on you,” Marinette finished. “I’d have to find a fabric really similar to this, but it shouldn’t be hard.” 
“I’ll pay you back!” Alya said, almost desperately. 
“No you won’t,” Marinette decided. “When is this needed by?” 
“The wedding’s in a month,” Marlene supplied. 
“I should have time to do it by then,” Marinette confirmed. 
Alya spun and enveloped Marinette in a bear hug. “Oh, thank you girl!” 
.
Thursday
Marinette spent lunch break at the Liberty, holed up in the practice room working on sketches for the album cover she had been asked to design. 
After about half an hour, Juleka and Rose peaked in to see how she was doing. Marinette happily showed them what she was working on. 
“This is my favorite,” Marinette said. “Penny sent me the photo from the last performance. The lighting isn’t good, and if we decided to go with it, we’ll probably retake it, but it’s great for inspiration. I think we can work out the colors of the outfits a little better too - Juleka, I have this brilliant purple jacket I think you will love-”
“Thank you Marinette for doing all of this!” Rose said. 
“It’s no big deal,” Marinette replied. “Especially since Penny arranged for me to be officially commissioned and paid like I was when I did Jagged’s album.”
“You’re amazing,” Rose continued. 
“No, you’re amazing,” Marinette countered. “I’m just here to support you guys.” 
“Shut up and take the compliment, Marinette,” Juleka said, just loud enough to be heard. 
“You are wonderful,” Rose said. “And you better believe it, too.”
.
Marinette spotted the girl crying in the locker rooms when she left the bathroom after detransforming. 
“Are you okay?” Marinette asked, sitting down next to the girl. 
The girl nodded. “Yeah, I just - yeah, I’m fine.” 
“You don’t look it,” Marinette replied. “What happened?”
“It’s nothing,” the girl answered. “It’s just - my boyfriend broke up with me, and he did it over text and I - I just -”
“Over text! How rude,” Marinette sympathized. 
The girl chuckled. “Yeah, definitely. I guess I wasn’t worth his time.”
“Sounds like he’s not worth your time,” Marinette replied. 
The girl shook her head. “You don’t know me. Trust me, I was lucky he even paid attention to me in the first place.”
“Well, maybe I want to know you,” Marinette said. “I’m Marinette.”
“Liz.”
“Nice to meet you Liz,” Marinette said. “Do you want to talk about it?”
“Don’t you have to be in class?” Liz questioned.
“Eh, my attendance record is already bad,” Marinette said. “Nothing I can do to make it worse.”
Liz chuckled. “Alright then. Well, it started last year when-”
.
Friday
“Your dad can’t be serious,” Nino complained. 
“He is,” Adrien replied. “I’m sorry for having to bail - I was really looking forward to tonight.”
“It’s not your fault,” Marinette argued. 
“Yeah, your dad needs to calm down,” Alya added. 
Adrien said goodbye and headed down to his limo. Marinette felt something in the back of her brain, nudging her to do something, but she couldn’t figure out what. 
Adrien was about halfway down to the car when inspiration hit. 
“Wait!” Marinette raced down the stairs and to the car, where Nathalie was waiting for him. “Hi, I’m Marinette.”
“We’ve met,” Nathalie replied.  “Well, as you know, we really wanted Adrien to study with us tonight,” Marinette said. “But the truth is, I was actually wanting his help with something else - you see, I was invited to help design a suit for this big gala happening at the hotel in June-”
“You were invited to design for the Summer Gala?” Nathalie questioned, just as Adrien walked up next to Marinette. 
“Yes,” Marinette confirmed. “And I was hoping Adrien could help me, since he’s been to something similar-”
“Well, tonight he is definitely unavailable,” Nathalie said. She checked her tablet. “But next Tuesday he should be available. I can schedule for him to join your study group for you, and this time we should have more luck keeping his schedule clear.”
“Really?” Adrien asked. “Thanks Nathalie!”
“Of course,” Nathalie replied.
.
Saturday
“Thank you for coming into school on a Saturday,” Bustier said to Marinette and Alya as they arrived. 
“No problem,” Alya replied. “After all, this is a big deal! The school needs a much better kept ramp for students who can’t use the steps, and if this is our chance to make that happen, then I’m all aboard.”
“Me too,” Marinette said. “Alya has my full support.”
“Lately it feels like you’ve been supporting me,” Alya replied. 
“This was your idea,” Marinette said. “And you were the one to get permission to do a fundraiser.”
“Yes, but only because you were willing to organize the bake sale for us!” Alya said. “Not to mention the posters you designed! And the extra help you recruited. With so many students, this is sure to be a success. Especially now that we’ll have reporters coming. The school will be forced to uphold their end of the deal.”
“Both of you have put so much work into this project!” Bustier said. “I”m so proud of you both!”
.
Sunday
“Thanks for coming over on such short notice,” Mylene’s dad said, letting Marinette in. “I don’t know what set her off, but I think it’s a girl thing.”
Marinette nodded. “Don’t worry. I’ll do my best to calm her down.”
She had visited the Haprele’s apartment enough times to know which room was Mylene’s, and she knocked lightly on the door. 
“Mylene? Can I come in?” 
Mylene muttered something that sounded like a yes, and Marinette slowly entered her room. 
The room was a mess. Mylene was curled up on her bed, sniffled into her knees. She looked up with teary eyes as Marinette entered the room. 
“What’s wrong?” Marinette asked, sitting down on the foot of the bed.
“I misplaced the pin Ivan gave me,” Mylene sniffled.
It seemed so minor, Marinette knew something else was up. When Mylene hesitated for a moment, grimacing with pain, Marinette knew the what. 
“Cramps again?” Marinette questioned. “How about I get you some midol?” 
Mylene shook her head. “Just took some.” 
“Okay then,” Marinette said. She thought for a moment. “I’m going to call my mom and have her bring over some macaroons for us.” 
“Oh, please!” Mylene said. “I’ve been craving chocolate for decades.” 
“I’ll make sure she brings lots of chocolate,” Marinette confirmed. “And then I’ll help you clean up your room.” 
“And help me find the pin?”
“I’ll help you find the pin,” Marinette said. “I”m sure it’s around here somewhere.” 
Monday
“I’m going to put Alya down for Ladybug,” Marinette decided. “I bet she’ll be chosen.” 
“Maybe,” Tikki agreed. 
But probably not. 
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lynne-monstr · 5 years
Text
Writers Month Day 14: Fairy Tale
prompt requested by @ketzwrites (thanks!)
.
There’s a prince locked away in the tallest tower of Edom, kept prisoner by his evil demon father. Alec intends to rescue him and make him his husband.
“What, really?” Isabelle asks, arms crossed over her chest.
“I mean, not if he doesn’t want to,” Alec responds. “But come on, he’s got to be bored up there all alone. It’s a good deal. He’d be a fool to turn it down.”
“Wow, and they say romance is dead.”
“Not all of us were lucky enough to find love on the training field,” Alec shoots back.
Isabelle smiles in a way that softens her whole face. It’s widely known throughout the kingdom that the only thing more terrifying than Isabelle Lightwood on the training field is when she and her wife team up to take challengers. But the downside of her whirlwind marriage to Lydia Branwell is that it had knocked from the running the only contender who qualified by the Nephilim’s own ancient laws to share the throne with Alec by marriage.
Not that Prince Alec is upset by that. If anything, he’s relieved. With Lydia off the market, there’s no pressure on him to propose an unwanted match. It does, however, leave the throne vulnerable.
“So that’s your plan?” Isabelle asks. “Sneak into Edom and hope to get a marriage contract signed just for showing up and smiling.”
“And slaying the dragon.” Alec’s looking forward to that part. He has a new bow and everything. It shoots five arrows. Five.
Isabelle doesn’t look convinced. “How do you know this guy even likes men?”
Alec groans. “Come on, Izzy, I did my research in the archives. Magnus Bane once put a sign in front of his tower that read ‘Caution: Goes Both Ways.’ I think it’s safe to say he likes guys.”
The question is, would Magnus Bane like him? At least, would he like him enough to say yes. Alec is trying not to think too hard about the answer. He can’t afford to fail in this quest.
Isabelle looks impressed before her forehead scrunches up in a way Alec would never dare call adorable to her face. “How’d he do that if he’s locked up?”
“Magic, I guess? He’s a warlock.” Alec frowns. “Why are you so against this anyway? You know the laws as well as I do. If I don’t marry before I turn 25, the Morgensterns have legal grounds to challenge our right to the crown. I have to do this.”
“I know, Alec. It’s just…what about love? You deserve to be happy.”
“I’ll be happy when I secure the throne.” Alec grins and hopes it doesn’t look strained. Happiness was never in the cards for him. “Besides, it’s just Edom. And a dragon. How hard can it be?”
.
(Several Days Later. In Edom.)
Alec backs into the hard stone wall, his own arrow digging into his throat.
“I’m here to rescue you!” he shouts. The words cause the sharpened point to dig into his throat and he winces.
“Not another one,” Magnus Bane mutters. He’s on the opposite side of the room, his hands a matching red to the magic levitating Alec’s arrow. Both eyebrows arch upwards in a way that drips sarcasm. “How’s that going for you?”
Alec stops trying to duck around the arrow. It’s a lost cause. “Not great, but I think you can see that.”
There’s a spare dagger sheathed at his back but he doesn’t draw it. For all he’s being threatened, it’s more playful than hostile. The tip of his arrows are sharpened to a fine enough point to pierce any object, yet not a single drop of blood has been drawn from his throat.
Besides, he’s a little busy staring at Magnus Bane.
There are few sketches of the captive warlock in the archives and none of them do him justice. Captive warlock might be a slight misnomer, he corrects, mentally cursing the archives of Alicante. Nowhere in his research did it suggest that Magnus Bane has anywhere near the level of power he’s displaying. Whatever’s keeping him in this tower, it isn’t the scraps of low-level entrapment spells that barely cover the entrances.
He’s also the most beautiful man Prince Alec has ever laid eyes on. His dark hair is styled high on his head and his clothing is fine enough to cost a good chunk of Alec’s monthly household budget. The dramatic makeup isn’t something Alec usually sees on men, but it suits him. Silver metal glints on his fingers and his chest, swaying with him as he moves. He looks equal parts deadly and drop dead gorgeous.
Alec doesn’t realize his tongue has darted out to lick his lips until Magnus’ deeply lines eyes flicker down to look at his mouth. A surge of heat rushes downwards and he shifts against where he’s pressed against the wall.
“Um, can you let me go now?” Alec asks.
“Let you go?” Magnus’ expression darkens. “I should throw you in the dungeon for what you did to Harold.”
“Harold?”
Magnus gestures towards the injured dragon behind him. The beast has four arrows sticking out of its hide. As if sensing prying eyes, it whines in what sounds like pain and hides its head. “I don’t take lightly to people hurting my friends.”
“I was trying to rescue you!”
An whirlwind rages in Magnus’ eyes as he spits out each word.“You broke into my home. The only person I need to be rescued from is you.” He curls his lips as he adds, “And I’m doing a stellar job of it, if I do say so myself.”
He raises an arm and Alec tenses, ready to pull his blade and fight, but Magnus merely places his hand on the dragon’s hide. Moments later, the arrows fall to the floor and the wounds heal in a flash of bright blue.
The dragon makes a noise like an excited puppy and stretches out its long neck to nuzzle Magnus’ stomach. Magnus scratches under his dragon’s chin and turns back to Alec. “Now, where were we?”
“Prince Bane.” Alec draws himself up the way he was taught in his earliest etiquette lessons. “I’ve transgressed on your home and I offer my apologies to you and your—” Alec looks at the dragon, who has its eyes closed as Magnus lavishes it with attention, “—your friend,” he finishes, clearing his throat awkwardly.
Magnus’ face brightens. “Most people don’t include Harold in their apology.” He snaps a finger and the arrow at Alec’s neck falls to the ground, the red cloud holding it in place dissipating in a soft pop.
Alec rubs at his neck. “I take it you don’t need to be rescued.”
“Do you have any idea how many books are in this tower?” Magnus’ eyes light up. “I think it used to be a library in the days Before. There’s more magical knowledge here than in the whole of Edom. Why would I want to leave and set foot in my father’s kingdom that only knows war and suffering? I’m happy where I am.”
Each word is a blow and Alec struggles not to show his despair. His quest is a failure. There are other potential matches he can proposition, but the Lightwoods are running out of time and Magnus Bane was the closest available option. Alec doesn’t have time to try again.
“Don’t look so disappointed,” Magnus says, either not realizing or not caring that Alec’s world is falling apart. His shoulders sway slightly as his eyes graze over Alec from head to toe. “We can make the best of it, handsome. I can pretend, if that’s what you’re into. I do a great warlock in distress routine.” He taps his lip with the hand not petting Harold’s scales. “Play your cards right and you can even tie me up before you ‘save’ me.”
Alec nearly trips over his own feet at the realization of what Magnus is suggesting, his thoughts of mounting his family’s defense against the Morgensterns scattering to the oppressive Edom wind.
He can feel the blood rushing to his face. None of his research has prepared him for meeting Magnus Bane. He shakes away the image of Magnus bound up in rope the color of his magic. He’ll think about it later. Much later. When he’s back in his bed behind a locked door.
Right now he has more pressing matters at hand. Princely matters. “Actually, I was thinking marriage.” He came all this way, he may as well take his shot.
Magnus freezes. “Excuse me?”
“I mean,” Alec stumbles to halt. Because that’s exactly what he means. But now, standing in front of his intended, this whole matrimony in exchange for rescue thing seems a lot sketchier than it did in his etiquette books. What can he say to explain why he’d make a good husband. I stalked you, broke into your home, and attacked your friend isn’t exactly a rousing endorsement.
Did other princes really do this? And their princes and princesses agreed to it?
Nevertheless, he steels himself for rejection and explains his people’s predicament. Magnus looks in turn guarded and sympathetic as the full story tumbles out. It isn’t until Alec gets to the part about Valentine’s son Jonathan, whose secret plan is to summon the demon Lilith that Magnus startles.
“Lilith is an ancient enemy of my people as well.” For the first time, Magnus looks discomfited. “She can’t be allowed to roam free.”
“If you marry me, she won’t.”
“You really know how to lay the romance on thick, don’t you.” The words are eerily similar to Isabelle’s own admonition, days earlier. Alec misses her with a fierce ache in his heart but doesn’t have time to dwell on it as Magnus purses his lips and adds, “I’ll need my own closet.”
Alec nods. “Consider it done.”
“And Harold will be given free reign over the kingdom.”
“Naturally.”
“There’s only one last thing. A test, if you will. If you pass, consider my agreement given.”
Alec straightens, hands naturally falling to clasp behind him. “Name it.”
“A kiss.” Magnus takes a step forward, his eyes both an invitation and a challenge.
It’s a challenge Alec readily accepts. In a few long, confident strides he closes the space between them.
The Prince of Edom is a tall man, but those last couple inches mean that he has to look up to meet Alec’s gaze. Ever so gently, Alec curls his hands on either side of Magnus’ neck, thumbs pressing against the underside of his jaw until his head is tilted back enough for Alec’s liking.
Their kiss is the barest press of lips, but Alec feels like he’s drowning.
Magnus tastes like fruit from his lip balm, and the stubble of his facial hair scratches lightly against Alec’s chin. He can feel the racing pulse of Magnus’ throat against his fingers, along with the cool touch of the many necklaces against his palms. Magnus’ own hands clench a bruising grip around Alec’s hips, keeping him in place with a ferocity that lights a spark of hope within Alec, that perhaps Magnus feels the potential igniting between them.
After what feels like forever, they part.
Neither of them is eager to move and in a calculated risk, Alec lets his head drop so his forehead rests against Magnus. His hands uncurl, sliding down to a more appropriate place on Magnus’ shoulders. His very large, very muscular shoulders.
Please let him say yes.
Alec wants this match for the good of his people but, unexpectedly and for the first time, he wants it for himself. He wants Magnus. Not just his body, but his quick wit and his fire and his willingness to throw himself off into the arms of a stranger and a strange kingdom for his people’s safety.
Reluctantly, Alec pulls back into his own space.
“Did I pass?” Alec says.
“Oh that’s one word for it.” Magnus seems to remember himself and straightens so his posture matches Alec’s own. “I accept your offer, Prince Alec.”
Alec can’t help the small, hopeful grin that stretches across his face.
.
(“About the closet. How big is it, exactly?” Magnus asks, as he leads Alec deeper into his tower so they can start planning.)
.
Prince Alec returns to his land and he brings his husband Prince Magnus with him.
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