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fanficshiddles · 7 months

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The Redbridge Hunts, Chapter 6

‘Have you seen this?’ Loki snarled as he slammed a newspaper down on the table in the teacher’s lounge.

It was Friday morning, before the human teachers and Claire had arrived.

‘What’s happened?’ Hannibal frowned as Severus leaned forward and grabbed the paper to read aloud.

‘Two young women found dead last night down Oak Alley, police say they aren’t sure of the cause of death yet, but they were found with large chunks of flesh torn out of their necks. It’s unsure if this is part of the cause of death or if wild dogs got to the bodies before they were found.’ Severus trailed off and looked at everyone.

‘I wonder who that could have been.’ Matt sighed and ran a hand down his face.

‘Why does he keep doing this? There’s no need to be killing them, we don’t need to do that!’ Loki almost shouted as he paced back and fore.

‘I know it’s difficult for some vampires to let go of the old traditional ways, but even for that the humans don’t need to be killed. Especially if they were drunk anyway, there’s so many options to get our fill without resorting to that manner.’ Jessica said.

‘Exactly, but we know he enjoys the torture aspect of it all, it’s just one big power trip to him.’ Loki snarled.

‘Are we sure it’s him?’ David asked.

‘Of course, it is. Who else would be so sadistic to tear their flesh off? That’s one of his signature marks.’ Loki snapped.

‘Calm down, Loki. You know none of us here condone that level of torture, we’re not disagreeing with you.’ Severus said calmly.

Loki, far from calm, wasn’t sure if he would be able to control himself if he saw Chris today. He hoped he would keep himself scarce, as he often did.

‘Just try and focus on keeping Claire safe, he showed far too much interest in her last night.’ David chimed in with.

‘In her defence though, I could tell she felt a little uncomfortable with him. She seems to be most comfortable around you, Loki. Plus, the way her eyes lit up a little every time you went near her, I think you’re not the only one that’s smitten.’ Jessica said with a smile.

Loki abruptly stopped pacing and stared at Jessica with his eyebrows up. ‘Really?’

Jessica nodded.

‘Well… she has spent the most time with me, so it would make sense she’s more comfortable around me.’ He shrugged, looking a little bit bashful.

‘Speak of the devil, Claire and Jeremy are coming.’ David said as his nostrils flared a little.

Loki quickly grabbed the newspaper and tossed it in the bin. He wasn’t sure if he’d be able to contain his rage even talking about it with humans. He managed to take a few deep breaths before Claire and Jeremy entered, he forced on a smile but it turned into a genuine one when Claire entered and her eyes instantly landed on him, smiling widely.

For the first time, he felt his heart swell with happiness and adoration instead of just the cravings of lust and thirst he usually felt…

That night, Claire made her way through the trees once again, she had her flashlight on already so she could see better. The light bounced off the bright white snow, making her have to squint a little, but still better than nothing.

She could hear some fluttering up above her, but she knew it would just be the bats so remained calm. She had peppermint spray in her pocket, she’d read that bats weren’t fond of the smell, so if one tried getting all up in her business again, she’d give it a spray.

When she got a little further than the previous night she’d tried, she came across a gap in the fence that looked to have been cut with wire cutters, though large enough of a gap to get through.

‘Bingo!’

She had to get down on her hands and knees to crawl through the hole, which wasn’t the best thing to be doing in the snow, but as she began crawling forward the back of her jacket got caught in the fence.

‘Shit.’ Claire struggled to get herself free, the wet and cold started to seep through her trousers around her knees. What made things worse though, she could hear faint crunching in the snow, slowly getting louder and louder.

Her heart started drumming so hard in her chest, she thought it would burst at any moment. She felt so foolish for coming here alone again, certain she was going to die, she should have listened to Loki.

The footsteps were even louder now, coming so close… She’d never been so frightened in her entire life.

‘What are you doing crawling around in the snow?’ Came a sultry voice from behind her.

‘LOKI?’ She screeched, craning her neck to look round at the handsome man towering over her from behind, his hands buried deep in the pockets of his long coat. If her legs and hands weren’t so cold, she would’ve found being stuck in this position before her boss to be rather… interesting.

‘Do you need a hand?’ Loki couldn’t withhold a smirk at her predicament.

Don’t think dirty thoughts, don’t think dirty thoughts.

‘Ya think?’ Claire huffed.

Loki chuckled as he bent over and unhooked the bit of wire that clung to her jacket, as soon as he freed her, she crawled forward and clambered quickly up to her feet and wiped down her trousers.

‘Not my finest hour.’ She sighed.

‘No, I’d say not.’ Loki folded his arms over his chest.

Claire found herself staring at him for a little bit too long. He looked so handsomely cosy, she just wanted to be wrapped up in his big coat with him… She shook her head and snapped out of her thoughts, she had to work with this guy, she couldn’t be thinking that way about him.

‘What are you doing here?’ Claire asked.

‘Rescuing you, and by the looks of it I got here at the right time. Or you’d be frozen solid by morning.’ He said, slightly amused.

Claire rolled her eyes. ‘Ok, ok. Yeah, I've been pretty stupid coming here again on my own. But hey, I’m through the fence, so I’m going to go check it out.’

‘Not on your own you’re not.’

‘I’d like to see you get through that hole.’ Claire laughed and turned around, she began walking towards the river. She heard a brief snapping sound that made her spin around, her eyes widened as Loki had made the hole bigger and simply crouched down a little to squeeze through.

‘Jesus. How strong are you to break the fence like that?’ She squeaked.

Loki smirked as he walked up to her, then continued on past her. ‘I work out a lot.’ He commented.

Claire shook her head and jogged to catch up with him.

‘Hey, how did you know I’d be here at this time?’ She asked as she fell into step beside him.

‘I figured you’d be waiting till dark, but also not coming out too late as you said earlier you were tired after the late-night last night.’ Loki said proudly.

‘I guess being a teacher makes you super observant of everyone around you.’ Claire laughed.

‘Indeed.’ Loki chuckled. ‘I also figured after the murder of those two young women last night, it wasn’t a good idea that you were out here on your own.’ He said seriously.

‘Yeah.’ Claire said sadly. ‘That sounded pretty rough, those poor girls.’

‘It did. I certainly don’t want anything like that to happen to you, and since you seem rather reckless about your own safety, I figured I better do the job.’ He said as he raised an eyebrow at her.

‘Alright, alright, Sir. Treating me like a student.’ Claire said teasingly.

‘You think that is my naughty student voice? I could go much scarier if that’s what you’d prefer, darling.’ He grinned widely at her.

‘Maybe another time, I’m frozen. Let’s get this figured out so we can go home.’ Claire giggled as she pulled her jacket in tighter around herself.

Loki frowned and took off his leather gloves. ‘Here, put these on. Yours must be soaked through.’

‘No, then you’ll get cold.’ She argued.

‘I’ve not been crawling around in the snow, my hands will be fine. Put them on.’ He said firmly and shoved his gloves at her.

‘Ok, thanks.’ She pulled off her own wool gloves and tucked them into her pocket, then slipped on Loki’s leather gloves. They were too big, but they certainly did the trick compared to her own damp ones.

‘I draw the line at giving you my trousers though.’

Claire burst out laughing and nudged him with her elbow. ‘Yeah, I’d rather my eyes didn’t burn at the sight of you in your undies.’

Loki mocked a gasp and nudged her back. ‘Who said I wear undies?’

They both laughed as they reached the river and began walking alongside. Loki wasn’t sure what his dad had planned, but he certainly hoped there would be something there that would put an end to her risky intrigue.

After walking for around half a mile, they came across a pile of old tubs lying at the side of the water, no lids and some of the tubs were broken. When they got closer, Claire aimed her torch at the tubs and her eyes widened. They were large chemical containers that farmers would use, lots of them littered the immediate area, right at the water’s edge.

‘So… it has just been chemicals getting into the water. There are so many.’ Claire gasped.

Loki felt relief flood through him. ‘Seems so. There’s a lot here, I suspect a farmer uses this area as his dumping ground every so often. Would explain why it just happens once a year or so.’ Loki hummed.

‘Doesn’t explain the red colour though, surely this would just make the water look oily or off... but, red?’

‘Look.’ Loki pointed towards a large bottle. Claire shone the torch onto it. ‘It’s red dye. Farmers often use a dye, usually blue but they can get other colours too, so they can see where they’ve already sprayed. It saves over spraying, it’s a harmless product, but you only need a tiny amount for it to be effective when mixed with a liquid. It’s a perfect explanation as to why the water would turn red for a while.’

Claire just stared at it all in disbelief.

‘Are you ok?’ Loki asked.

‘Yeah… I just... I don’t know. I kind of feel a little disappointed, not going to lie.’ Claire admitted sheepishly.

‘Disappointed?’

‘Yeah. I mean, I don’t really know what I had hoped to find. I guess it's just the confirmation that there is a reasonable explanation for it all has kind of sucked the fun out of it.’ She shrugged.

Loki smiled softly. ‘You were the one adamant to come and investigate, maybe some things are better left unknown and to the imagination.’

‘Yeah, I know… Oh well, at least we now know there’s no vampires running around.’ She laughed.

‘True…’ Loki nodded. ‘Come on, let’s get going. You’re shivering.’ Loki said worriedly as he gently took hold of her elbow and began to guide her back.

Claire didn’t even realise she had been shivering until he pointed it out. By the time they got back to the park, her whole body shook as she just couldn’t get warm because of her wet trousers.

‘My place is just across the road over there, why don’t you come in and get warmed up by the fire, I’ll fish out some dry trousers to get you home in.’ Loki offered as he pointed to a street just across the road from the park.

‘I’m only a ten-minute walk from here, I don’t want to ruin your night any further.’ Claire said while her teeth chattered.

‘Ten more minutes like this might make you ill. You’re not ruining my night, at all. I chose to come with you, remember?’

‘True… ok, I’ll come and warm up. A nice fire does sound so good right now.’ Claire smiled.

Loki felt relieved that she agreed, because of course he wouldn’t force her to come in. Though he genuinely was concerned about how cold she was and he definitely didn’t want her getting ill.

Taking her to his place would be difficult for him, as her smell would be in his home, and it would likely linger for a day or so, which would drive him nuts over the weekend.

They were across at Loki’s house in less than a minute, the thought of a warm fire was a strong pull for Claire. She was surprised to see the size of his house, a Georgian style home, identical to the rest of the street, it had two floors and looked to have multiple bedrooms.

‘Luckily I started the fire before I left and put plenty of logs on, so it should be cosy enough.’ Loki said as he unlocked the front door and stepped just inside before turning sideways and motioning for her to come in with an outstretched arm.

#tom hiddleston #loki #loki x ofc #david tennant #loki fic #fluffy loki #severus snape #jessica chastain #matt murdock #vampire loki #the redbridge hunts

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whatdoesshedotothem · 2 years

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Wednesday 9 August 1837

8 ½

12 ¾

slept with A- came to me on getting into [bed] said she was naughty and was all right but I could not get her to tell what had been the matter fine morning F66° now at 9 25 and breakfast and A- sat with me till after 10 when Mr. SW- came for the day to make up her rent book and accounts and having done before 5pm did up my rent book and accounts – out soon after 10 – with Parkinson in the carriage court at the rain water cistern concern-arches or what – then with Robert Mann + 7 at the terrace wall-race low end for little tower staircase down into the field – let the 2 dry arches fall in this morning – Roberts’ son David Mann and another within an [?] of being buried beneath the walls this afternoon or rather evening about 6 when the outer wall fell down with a sudden crash they having dig close up to it lower than the foundation – Robert + 5 at the wall-race digging + 2 of Nelson’s men came just before dinner to begin laying the foundation of the little tower staircase – Sam Booth and Jack Green all the day getting up thorns against the road wall at the top of the old paddock in the way of the platform-stuff carts – sodding up this afternoon – got a piece raised high enough and planted about 1/2doz. thorns and 1 Ragland oak – (John Bottomley + 2 from the platform brought us 3 loads of the sods for 1/. and Abraham (with my own gin job-cart brought us one load) – sometime with Mark Hepworth (with 3 carts) on the front embankment ordering about how the stuff from front of house and terraces is to be got up – said they must have a new price (7d. per yard cube at present) they should only make 4/. per day per house – (ought to make 5/.) – Booths’ 2 men Edward Waddington and John Sharpe on the top of the house at slate mending, gutters, etc. an opening made over the red room passage last night – the whole of the gutter over this to be made flat and raised – 2 or 3 of Booths’ masons (Robert Wharton Abraham recently returned to us and Gray the labourer) at the terrace steps – 2 masons James and Robert Sharpe at the hay barn I suppose – and Amos Ambler at the pen-trough (Listerwick engine pit) dirlling making holes for the mill wrights – 4 of Parkinsons’ masons at the low terrace-walls, and one or 2 of his men hewing for his carriage court job – 6 of Mawsons’ men moving stuff at the Lodge – a little while there after the men went to dinner at 12 – came in to A- about 12 ½ - brought her upstairs to my room from SW- sat talking about ¾ hour – then to Messrs. Gray and Harper – stood talking sometime in the little dining room – then in the drawing room (G- with us till near 2) till 3 (talking with H- from about 1 20 to 3) A- rode off to Cliff hill just before 3, that I did not see her till dinner at 7 40 H- had seen Mr. Parker last night – Mr. Carr had gone down to him that morning in a great passion saying his landlord had behaved very ill to him, and he was determined to do him all the injury he could – would sell me his (C-s’) 9 coaches and let me the white Swan for the remainder of his term till next May, so that I or my hotel tenant, might have his (C-s’) custom at the White swan till the hotel was ready, and then shut up the white swan – I said I would have nothing to do with Mr. Carr’s purposes of spite and revenge – would not lend myself to anything so dishonourable – I had been told of C-‘s having this scheme of intimidation against his landlord a year or 18 months ago – (Marin told me – heard I think from Mrs. Holmes) – on its being made appear that if I did not buy the coaches C- would sell them to someone else, and that I might have my own way in seeing Mr. Rayner and satisfying him I meant nothing underhand, I agreed to desire Mr. Parker to inquire into Mr. Carr’s proposal and lay it regularly before me – long talk about Mr. Charles Priestley – all his friends all his dependence for pecuniary assistance in York – H- seemed to think he would not and I inclined to think he would take the hotel – if he would better settle it the sooner the better and let him take out the licence and take the coaches and all at once – to write and ask him to call upon me here in the course of tomorrow – the less I had to advance the better said H- but quite agreed that if I must set a man up, it had better be CP- than Ward, or Sir John Ramsden’s valet butler – H-‘s grandmother Mrs. Myers had a farm near Sir JR-‘s her farm servants know all the R- servants – inquiries can easily be made as to advisability of taking the valet Littledale, if

SH:7/ML/E/20/0107

CP- declines the hotel – H- advises letting the market on a lease of 21 years at a fixed rent – likes Mr. Gray’s plan for the exchange etc only afraid there is not room enough – will think it over and give me a birds’ eye sort of perspective view of the 2 markets exchange buildings and the whole of the ground laid out – gave him away with him the ground plan of Northgate and G-‘s 2 sketches the exchange pile, and the [streeting]- H- advised that if C- should come to terms for the coaches, I should have a person to overlook his coachbooks to see what the 9 coaches would be worth – H- to find the person to do this – Mr. Dobson the great coach account auditor at York would overlook the books and collect the facts and Kemplay of Leeds the auditor general as it were son to Kemplay the school master (has £400 a year for this which takes him but little time) and a man of £800 to £1000 a year independence would vale the custom for me to oblige Mr. H- not a man to do it for money – H- if I wanted to apply to him by letter will be till next Monday morning at the house of ‘Mr. James Hacking, Enfield, near Blackbrune’ (I rather think this Hacking is uncle to Mr. Husband) – and will pass thro’ Bradford per coach and be at the Talbot Inn there at 5pm. on Monday evening next – Messrs. Harper and G- together (after H- had had Hainsworth on his Harper’s leaving me at 3) setting out the East tower so that the foundations can be laid and the cellar done, and setting out the back Lodge till H- went away at a little before 5 – I out from 3 to 7 20 about but chiefly with Sam and Jack planting the ½ doz. thorns and 1 Ragland oak – Zebedee fetched up Booths’ 2 long timbers from the meer to the haybarn for wall-plates – Hainsworth came to me about 6 50 with a long bill for stones – said it must be checked by Mr. Booth – mentioned his not coming to the rent day as a thing that must not occur again – and he promised it should not – then mentioned the market – TG- having spoken about it – I suppose a deputation coming about it – mentioned the names of Mr. Whitley and old Mr. Mitchell – H- seemed to know nothing about it – said I had my own plans but would oblige the town if I could – told H- to get me 2 tenants for my 2 fields – 2 votes – A- and I were determined to have voters – would not rest till we had about 50 – H- much pleased – entering upon a long recital of our praises at the conservative association now consisting 600 members – wanted a room for general meetings that would hold one thousand people – on coming in wrote and sent by Frank (who went this morning to inquire if Thomas Greenwood would hire him as carter) my note to ‘Messrs. Parker and Adam solicitors H-x’ saying that after my note of last night perhaps it was hardly necessary to say I should be much obliged to Mr. P- to communicate with C- and lay his proposal before me, as it seemed not impossible some terms might be come to – dinner at 7 40 – coffee – A- very agreeable and sat long at table and afterwards at coffee till we both came upstairs together at 10 5 and she sat with me in the blue room 20 minutes or more – then wrote all the above of today till 11 55 very fine day F57° at 10 5 pm

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lonelyyinchicago · 2 years

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“you only want me when i’m taken” pt5

sirius raised his head from remus’ chest when his brother passed quickly through the gryffindor common room with his head low. he sat up, looking between the closing portrait hole and the stairs up to the dorm.

“go see your brother” remus said, sitting up behind him.

“which one?” sirius asked, turning to face his boyfriend.

he leant forward, hoping to land comfortably in the warmth of remus’ jumper but instead felt two of remus’ fingers slip under his chin, forcing eye contact. remus raised a single eyebrow and sirius exhaled, climbing out of his position within remus’ limbs.

out in the corridor, sirius paused. he turned to the fat lady expectantly.

“which way did regulus go?” he asked her.

she looked down at him, her thin, pink lips forming a pout when she saw his skinny black jeans and half tucked-in david bowie t-shirt. the sleeves came down a little further than they were supposed to for a t-shirt, but as it was his boyfriend’s, sirius couldn’t really complain.

she raised her right eyebrow, tilting her head accordingly as she did so.

“finally” sirius mumbled to himself. “thank you.”

sirius wandered the corridor slowly, checking each classroom he passed. he huffed, finding each one empty. he crossed to the other side of the school, the magical staircases taking him the long way round.

he vaguely remembered regulus telling him that there was an abandoned classroom on the far side of the fifth floor so the gryffindor beater headed in that direction. he was quickly distracted however, by the sound of slight snoring. sirius looked around, unsure of where the sound was coming from.

his grey eyes narrowed as they landed on the wooden door of a small classroom. the metal handle was cold and refused to budge when he turned it. he threw himself against it but the old oak held firm in the wake of his repeated attempts.

eventually conceding, sirius took out his wand, muttering a quick “alohomora.” he heard the metal lock and invisible key knocking against each other and when the creaking stopped he carefully pushed open the door.

the classroom was dark and it took a moment for sirius’ eyes to adjust to the change. he blinked, cocking his head like a dog as he heard the slight groaning noise again. sirius rolled his eyes as he identified the source of the sound.

a head of ginger waves was splayed out over the floor and two empty bottles of firewhiskey and one of white wine were lying not too far from lily evan’s still body. trying his best to be quiet, sirius made his way over to her. he slipped between the rows of desks and knelt down. he was relieved to see the slow, steady movements of her chest as he got closer.

“lily? hey, evans!”

sirius raised his voice and lily flinched somewhat, lifting her arms to cover her ears and block the noise.

“don’t ignore me - you should be grateful i’m even talking to you” sirius told her. “now sit up.”

lily raised her head from the floor, the green eyes taking a while to focus. the features of sirius black’s eventually came into view but they weren’t as soft as they normally were. his jawline seemed more prominent, as though it was clenched as he looked down at her.

she pushed herself up into a sitting position, crossing her legs as she carefully scanned his face for any possible hint for where the conversation was about to go.

“get a grip of yourself” sirius told her harshly. “a, it’s almost midday and you’re still in your clothes from last night, and b, keep your libido in check.”

lily opened her mouth to reply, but found it dry, almost painfully so. she coughed, her eyes watering as she regained control of her breathing.

“i didn’t mean to. sirius, i-”

“i don’t care” sirius said bluntly, cutting her off. “it’s not me you need to apologise to.”

“apologise?”

“i can think of a couple of people that deserve an apology.”

sirius stood up, picking up the discarded bottles, surprised to find some liquid still in one of them. he looked down at lily disdainfully before crossing the room and leaving. she felt small being on the receiving end of sirius’ cold stare. she tucked her knees up under her chin, rocking back and forth as she contemplated what sirius had just said.

she sighed, hating to admit that he’d been right, though grateful he wasn’t there so she’d have to say it to his face. the ego inflation would be exponential if that was to happen. using the wall to support her, lily stood up, wobbling in her heels. she immediately reached down to undo the straps. the floor was cold, the thin layer of carpet that covered the stone corridors having been worn to within an inch of its life by the thousands of pairs of feet that used the corridors daily. she slowly started making her way back to gryffindor tower, her head pounding.

remus was still sat on the faded red armchair, his toes curling in the direction of the warm fire. he bent them slowly, feeling each joint crack satisfyingly. once all ten had been clicked, he stood up, heading towards the stone steps that spiralled up to the gryffindor dorms.

remus carefully folded the corner of his page and placed his book down on the table next to the arm of the sofa. as he climbed each step, the sound of crying became more distinct. when remus knocked on the dormitory door he heard a gasp and pushed the door open.

his eyebrows drew together briefly as he scanned the empty room before the sound of sniffling returned. remus headed straight for the bathroom, not expecting to find james potter slumped against the tiled wall with his head leant back.

tear tracks had clearly marked his cheeks, and remus unraveled part of the nearby toilet roll, offering it to his friend.

remus silently joined his friend on the floor, waiting for james to start talking. he didn’t - he just let his head fall onto remus’ shoulder, the smell of the coffee remus had drunk at breakfast still hanging in the air around him. remus looked down at the usually smiling quidditch captain, noticing how the dark eyes had lost their excitement and hope.

after ten minutes of silence, james sat up with a large sniff, making his splutter slightly.

“he won’t listen to me” james whispered. “and i don’t know what to do.”

remus exhaled, fiddling with a loose thread at the hem of his jumper.

“maybe he needs time?” remus suggested. “it’s a lot for him to process.”

“but there’s nothing to process” james said a little louder than he’d intended. “if he’d just listen to me, he’d know that there’s nothing that needs to be processed because it wasn’t my fault.”

“hey” remus said, “i know that, but regulus was already insecure about your past feelings for lily and now he feels that he was right all along - that you never really stopped liking her.”

“b-but why would i get into a relationship with him if i still liked her?” james asked, not finding it within himself to even say lily’s name.

remus shrugged nonchalantly: “people like to play games.”

“well i don’t” james huffed. “other than quidditch, obviously.”

remus smiled softly.

“do you want to go get some lunch?”

“what i want is for regulus to talk to me, or at the very least listen” james said, standing up suddenly and leaving remus on the bathroom floor.

stood facing his open wardrobe, james stared blankly at the hangers of clothes, his fingers running through the different materials. he chose an old rugby shirt, the blue and red faded slightly from the amount of washes it had been through.

having not worn it for so long, the smell of his mother’s washing powder was still on it, and as he yanked it over his head, he closed his eyes, letting the comforting smell of home wash over him.

“remus?” james called over his shoulder, already halfway out the door, “i’m going down for lunch.”

“okay, see you there” remus replied, quickly turning away from the mirror and leaving the bathroom.

he returned the toilet roll to its rightful place before following james out of the dorm.

the staircase up to the dorms was thin and winding as it followed the shape of gryffindor tower. with her head still feeling heavy, lily’s chin was practically in her chest as she concentrated on keeping on putting one foot in front of the other.

she straightened up when she saw a pair of what used to be white converse appear in her field of vision. her eyes immediately found james’. she leant back into the wall as he stared at her momentarily before brushing past her. he knocked into her, not bothering to turn back and apologise.

she sighed, watching him disappear down the rest of the steps without looking back. remus had watched their interaction from the top of the staircase, and slowly began making his way down, only stopping when lily grabbed his wrist.

remus looked down at the contact disdainfully and lily quickly retracted her hand.

“help me fix this” she implored, looking up into the caramel-speckled eyes for any sign of support. “please, remus.”

“i warned you” remus told her, watching her physically fold in on herself at his words. “i told you to stay out their relationship and you didn’t. this is your mess.”

“i didn’t mean to make a mess” lily said, stepping to the side as remus attempted to move past her.

“yeah but that’s what’s happened, isn’t it?”

remus raised a single eyebrow, challenging her to disagree. lily moved out the way, accepting remus’ words. he re-entered the common room, finding a three small first years crammed into the armchair he had been sat in earlier. the blonde girl nervously tapped her friend’s knee to get her start moving as remus approached.

“it’s alright” he assured them. “stay where you are.”

he picked up the book he’d left on the coffee table and left the common room, heading in the direction of the great hall.

having peered through the window of every classroom on the fifth floor, sirius was about to give in to the noises his stomach had been making for the past five minutes before his eyes landed on the back of a dark head leant against a window.

he tapped his knuckle against the glass his brother was leaning, smiling to himself when regulus jumped, a pale hand flying up over his heart. he immediately lowered it, instead offering his older brother a slender middle finger.

sirius grinned, reaching for the door handle. he frowned, finding it locked. regulus slid off the counter that ran along the length of the back wall of the classroom and unlocked the door.

“you alright?” regulus asked, suspicious of his brother’s intentions.

“i’m supposed to be asking you that” sirius told him. “so, are you alright?”

regulus turned his back on sirius, heading back to the counter. he perched on the end, fiddling with the silver rings on his fingers.

“hey” sirius said softly, moving to sit next to his brother. “whatever you’re feeling is completely valid. and that includes anger.”

regulus turned to face him, tears have been building up for the past couple of minutes. as soon as sirius opened his arms regulus’ head fell heavily into the embrace.

“i just really thought i was enough, you know?” regulus said quietly, some of his words lost into the material of sirius’ t-shirt.

sirius pulled away, looking at the tears running down regulus’ face.

“you are enough reg. i promise you, you’re more than enough. but you should know that lily instigated it - james didn’t want it. he wants you; he chose you.”

“only as a backup though” regulus sniffed, rubbing the back of his hand across his nose in a way his parents would not approve of.

“you’re not a backup.”

“yeah i am” regulus said, his tone suddenly cold. “the backup relationship, the backup heir. i don’t actually have a purpose.”

“shut up.” regulus raised his eyebrows at the harshness of his brother’s words. “i just mean, you have value, you know? so stop talking like you don’t.”

sirius raised an eyebrow and regulus nodded, a move that pleased sirius.

“i should probably talk to him, shouldn’t i?” regulus asked the room, not really intending to address sirius.

sirius shrugged.

“if you need time you don’t have to rush anything. you don’t want to say anything you might later regret.”

regulus couldn’t help the way the corners of his lips had started to rise.

“when did you become so wise and philosophical?”

sirius punched regulus’ arm, a grin on his face. regulus shuffled across the counter, crossing his legs as he adjusted himself so he was now sat opposite his brother. he leant forward, his forehead hitting sirius’ chest. he quickly retracted it with a giggle.

“was that your stomach?” he asked, his smile spreading as sirius’ cheeks burned.

“i’m hungry, okay?” sirius said, jumping off the counter and heading for the door. “let’s go get lunch.”

regulus followed his brother back out into the corridor, not realising how much the door blocked out noise. the sound of people moving around the castle, laughing and talking, reached his ears. he stopped at the top of a staircase, watching amusedly as a couple leant back, too lost in their moment to realise that they were leaning on a suit of armour that quickly collapsed under their combined weight.

he shook his head with a slight smile at his lips, before catching up with sirius who was waiting at the bottom of the stairs.

they walked to the great hall in silence, but in the entrance hall just before they went their separate ways to their respective house tables, sirius gently squeezed regulus’ hand. regulus smiled up at him, before watching sirius slip onto the gryffindor bench next to james.

regulus took a deep breath before heading for the deserted end of the slytherin table. he prodded his shepherd’s pie disinterestedly, and looked up, scanning the table on the furthest side of the hall for the gryffindor quidditch captain. james’ eyes were already on him, watching him not eating the food on his plate.

when james smiled at him, regulus couldn’t help the feeling of warmth that washed over him at james’ simple gesture. he hated it; he wanted to be able to stay mad but the dimples that appeared on james’ face were having such an effect on the slytherin seeker that he couldn’t help but smile back.

#harry potter #james potter #remus lupin #sirius black #regulus black #lily evans #wolfstar #jegulus #hogwarts

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wiypt-writes · 3 years

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Riding On

CH7- Home, Sweet Home

Summary: Frank and Fliss find their perfect family home, but there’s something bothering Mary.

Warnings: Bad Language words. Discussions about suicide. A little bit of angst.

Pairing: Frank Adler x Fliss Gallagher

A/N: This is a bit of an emotionally charged filler chapter…and we move time on a little through to June in the middle. And photos of the Adler house are included at the bottom so you can visualise what I used for inspiration.

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

Riding On Masterlist // Main Masterlist

Chapter 6

You’re giving it another try, staring at the deep blue sky, and you say to the driver just drive, coz you never felt so alive.

April 2019

“Hey honey, you ok?” Frank juggled his phone, pinning it between his ear and his shoulder as he leaned over his computer in the office, scanning the database on the screen for a filter part they needed to order.

“No, I mean yes! I’ve just heard some awesome news!”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah, so you remember the guy that bought the house that backs onto the yard when Old Man River died…” “That wasn’t his name.” Frank chuckled “It was Mr Morris.”

“He called himself River, it was funny and suited him. Anyway, that’s not the point. You know the guy who bought it…guess what I found out before?”

Frank stopped what he was doing and straightened up. He didn’t like that dick, one bit. When Mr Morris had died at the start of the year, Fliss had been quite upset about the news as the old man had been very friendly to her, often popping in for a cup of tea a few afternoons a week for some company. Mr Morris’ son had sold the house without them even knowing it had gone on the market, which was a shame as it would have been perfect for them given the location. The guy who had bought it, Frank didn’t even know his name, nor did he care because he was a dick and a pervert to boot. The way he looked at Fliss made Frank want to punch his face in.

“What’s Douchey Mc Douchebag done now?”

“You’re so childish.” she scoffed “Anyway, I was only commenting to Joanne last night that we haven’t seen him for like a month and she went home and mentioned it to her dad who works with some other guy in the property development business and the long and short of it is he’s gone bankrupt Frank!”

Frank laughed loudly “Couldn’t have happened to a nicer guy, babe!”

“I know right!” Fliss voice was gathering pace and pitch, the way it always did when she was excited. “So literally about half hour after she’s told me this, someone turns up and there’s a For Sale sign outside, the house is on the market!”

Ok now he was interested. Frank could picture the look of excitement on her face as she spoke to him and he felt the smile cross his face “No shit?”

“Yeah, I’ll send you the website to look at the photos but…oh God, it would be perfect! Some of it is really nice, some of it needs decorating but…”

“Ok, well, why don’t you call the realtor? Arrange a viewing” he said “Hopefully you won’t puke halfway round this one.”

“Ok, first off that wasn’t my fault. Bean objected to the smell. Who the fuck cooks eggs the day they know they have someone coming to view their house?” her indignant tone made Frank chuckle “And second off…”she paused “I already did. He said he can meet us at half 12.”

“Half 12? As in lunch time? Today?” Frank frowned.

“I know I just really don’t want to miss out on this one Frank, and you said you were gonna come up here for lunch and-”

“Ok, ok.” Frank sighed “I’ll shuffle some stuff around, work a little later tonight and take an extra half hour.”

“I love you.” she replied and he could hear the smile in her voice.

“Good job I love you too.” he said back gruffly “Because you’re a pain in my ass.”

He bid her goodbye and just as he was looking at the rota to make sure there were enough staff in to cope if he took a longer lunch, his phone beeped. He clicked through to the link Fliss had sent him and had a scan through the photos. To be fair the house didn’t look in too bad condition. It was deceptive from the outside, looked like a small farmhouse but they knew thanks to the extension Douchebag had put on the back it now formed an L shape and from the look of it, was pretty spacious. The kitchen was new, the main bathroom was new so the big work looked like it had been mostly done. The décor in some of the rooms was really old fashioned, especially the hallway you and the front reception room, but that was all cosmetic. What really grabbed him was the price. It was up for just over 320 thousand, which was a fucking steal considering the size, location, the garden and the garage/outhouse it came with.

“You ok Frank?”

He looked up and smiled as Alan, his boss walked in to the office. “Yeah, sorry, Fliss has found a house and managed to book a viewing for lunch time. Fucking 7th one in 2 weeks.”

Alan snorted “Keeping you on your toes I see?”

“Well I gotta say, this one’s looking pretty good. It’s the house that backs onto our Yard out in Pinellas Park.” Frank explained “It was sold not even 6 months ago to a developer and he’s apparently gone bankrupt so put it back on the market.”

“Huh.” Alan smiled “Sounds like it was meant to be. Take it you’re going then?”

“Yeah, Charlie and Gary are in all afternoon. I thought I could take an extra half hour, work it back tonight or…”

“Frank, when was the last time you actually took a full hour for your lunch and didn’t cut it short by 10 or 15?” Alan looked at him.

Frank hesitated “Yeah, but that’s-”

“No buts.” Alan shook his head. “Do what you gotta do.”

“Thanks Alan.” Frank smiled, “I appreciate it.”

Alan waved away his gratitude before he dropped into the chair on the opposite side of Frank’s small desk and gestured for Frank to sit down.

“I wanted to talk to you in person, before the news gets out. I’m looking at retiring Frank, fully this time.”

“That’s good news, for you I mean.” Frank smiled, taking his seat. “You must be happy?”

“Kinda bitter sweet.” He shrugged “But I hit 70 this year and bout time I let it all go. Bill’s already chomping at the bit to book damned fishing trips so...it’ll be nice to step back. But I wanted to talk to you about something.”

“Shoot.”

“My son, James is going to be taking over, that won’t come as any surprise to you as you’ve seen him knocking around a bit and he likes you.”

“Good to know I’m not going to be out on my ass.” Frank smiled, breathing out a little.

“No, not a chance. I wouldn’t allow it.” Alan said “I’ll still be the owner, just stepping back from major decision making and day to day running. Anyway, the point is Frank, James needs a deputy. He is young and a little inexperienced. I’ve seen how quickly over the last year you’ve picked up rotas, staffing issues, dealt with the stock takes, haggled with the supply chain…I wondered if you’d consider it.”

Frank blinked “You wanna make me deputy manager?”

“In a word, yes. And I know you got your hands full at the moment and they’ll be even more full when that boy of yours arrives but the changes won’t come into effect until the end of the year so we got plenty of time to work out the details.”

“Wow, I err…” Frank shook his head “I don’t know what to say.”

“I don’t need an answer now.” Alan said, “Take some time to consider it. Talk it over with Fliss.”

“I will, I’ll give it some thought.”

“Ok, well, that’s all I dropped in for.” Alan said, standing up, groaning a little “Did you just hear my damned knees click?”

Frank laughed and shook his head “No, but to be honest mine click too so I wouldn’t worry about it.”

“Getting old sucks.” Alan said, shaking his head “I tell ya, the minute I can’t enjoy the simple things in life, put a bullet in my head.”

Frank snorted as Alan shot him a wink and left him to his thoughts.

******* Frank glanced down at the wooden boards beneath his feet in the entrance hall. They were solid old wood, oak he thought, and with a clean and polish would look stunning. He looked up and saw Fliss talking animatedly to the realtor, a young man called David as he nodded and gestured to his left. Fliss opened the door and looked at Frank who followed her into the first reception room. It smelt musty, and there was an old sofa and threadbare carpet in the room but it was light and had a nice, airey feeling to it thanks to the large windows at the front of the house.

“New carpet and a bit of paint…” Frank mused nodding, “Be good as new.”

She nodded eagerly, her eyes shining a she looked around and nodded at the fire place “Really, in Florida?”

“It gets cold, as you know.” he teased “Besides, we just fill it with some of your million candles or whatever…”

She nudged him and they turned around, David watching them.

“So, you’re obviously in the older part of the house that hasn’t really been touched apart from upstairs.” he explained, “But if you follow me I’ll show you the extension which is all new and, well, to be honest, I think it’s stunning.”

The three of them moved back into the hall and through a door at the end which led into a huge open plan kitchen and living area. The kitchen was gorgeous. Sleek white units, modern appliances, marble tops, a huge breakfast bar. Douchebag had clearly spent a fortune doing this up. The floor was a light grey and white laminate which David pointed out was heavy wearing. To the left of the kitchen area was a huge space where Frank could clearly picture their sofas and TV, and then just off that was a door which led into another smaller reception room, freshly painted and carpeted. He was just pondering how they could turn that into a play room when Fliss gave a gasp and nudged Frank pointing to the large bay window at the back which had been converted into a seating nook of sorts. They made their way over and saw that the view extended right over their garden highlighting a small pool area which was surrounded by a low set of railings with a gate that were all painted a glossy black. The pool itself was sparklingly clean and clearly brand new.

“Oh wow… “ Fliss mumbled, looking at the sand stone tiles that surrounded the area and the rest of the garden.

“Yeah the rear garden loops in an L round the house” David said. “There’s a larger fence around this area to keep it private and separate from the land at the front that runs flush to the yard area.”

Frank’s hands dropping to her hips as he nodded to the right “Could extend that little patio area for a table and chairs, maybe build a brick BBQ. Couple of sun-loungers for that bit at the back of the pool.”

She nodded eagerly before they headed back into the hallway they’d entered into where the realtor showed them the little room that was to the right as you came in the door which held a number of shelves and coat hooks and a toilet and sink basin. They then headed up stairs to find 4 bedrooms. The master extended down the entire side of the house overlooking the main yard area of Sandybrook. It needed some work, the plaster and paint was peeling away in some areas, but Frank wasn’t worried at that. It was an easy job. What he was pleased to see was that the rest of it was in good condition. There was a brand new en-suite attached to it, housing a toilet, a huge shower and his and hers sinks. The room also had built in wardrobes and huge ceiling to floor bi-folding doors which opened up onto a small balcony. Douchebag had clearly been focussing on the big jobs first before he got into the cosmetics, which Frank had to give him credit for.

The main bathroom was in between the wall of their en-suite and the next bedroom, both situated at the back of the house over the extension and overlooking the fields belonging to the yard. The plaster was fresh in that bedroom but hadn’t been painted, again, not an issue, because Frank knew a certain little miss would be no doubt picking a colour as soon a she spotted this room.

“Bet Mary chooses this one.” Frank said, voicing his thoughts and Fliss nodded, smiling

“I would if the Master didn’t have that en-suite.” she grinned “Look at that view!”

“Yeah, who’d have thought you could work from home in the equestrian business” he chuckled as they then headed to the next bedroom on the opposite side of the landing. This was also rather large, but like the main part of the master bedroom, was clearly one of the original two bedrooms the house had and it needed some updating.

The 4th bedroom was a smaller one up a narrow set of stairs hidden by door in the hallway. It opened up into an attic room which tucked into the roof of the house.

The realtor then led them back down and the out to the outbuildings. There was a huge garage with a half- finished apartment of sorts above it that had been used as storage but could be easily a guest suite if they so wanted, and then the thing Frank had really loved was the workshop off the side of the garage, accessed by a small door. It was musty and full of crap but was somewhere for him to store all his tools and work on any side projects he decided to pick up.

All in all Frank was finding it pretty damned hard to pick faults in the place.

As they headed back to the main house and Frank asked David politely to give them a moment to look around alone and he nodded eagerly before Frank and Fliss headed back into the house.

“I’m getting good vibes Sailor.” Fliss said as she turned round, looking at the kitchen, once more heading over to the bay window seat, “really good vibes.” she spun back to him and he smiled at the look on her face. “I mean, ok, a few rooms need decorating and there’s some finishing off bits to do all over but it’s nothing that dad can’t help with and I’m sure-“

At that she stopped dead, and gave a little gasp as her hand flew to her bump.

“You ok?” Frank stepped forward.

“Yeah he’s…” she swallowed “Bean’s kicking, Frankie! Quick!”

He reached out with his hand and she took it, pressing it to the side of her bump. After a second or two he felt something wriggle a little under his palm and he looked at Fliss, his face cracking into an open mouthed smile as he felt his son move for the first time.

“Lissy…” he swallowed his eyes misting over. “That’s…oh my God!”

“You should feel it from my POV!” Fliss smiled her own eyes glassy too.

Frank didn’t want to take his hand away. Instead, he kept moving his palm, tracking their baby’s movements when eventually they stopped.

“I think that means BB likes the house.” Fliss looked at him.

Frank scoffed, shaking his head. “BB’s Momma likes the house.”

“Doesn’t his Daddy?” she asked, her hands sliding round his neck.

“Yeah, his Daddy does.” he replied honestly in a low voice as he looked around the large room. “In fact, I like it a lot.”

“You think Mary will?”

“Are you kidding?” Frank snorted “Soon as she sees that view and that pool, she’ll be packing to move in straight away.”

“Suppose there’s only one way to find out.” Fliss smiled.

So they did. They brought Mary back the next day after school. She had squealed at the window seat, yelled about the pool and as she had shot upstairs and headed into the bedroom Frank had predicted she would like, given a jump for joy as she realised from the upstairs she had a view over the tall picket fencing that shielded the private area of the garden.

“I can see Monty!” she gleefully pointed out before turning to Frank and looking at him then to Fliss, her hands on her hips “If you don’t buy this house you’re a pair of dumbasses.”

The same sentiment was echoed by Bill when he turned up fifteen minutes or so later and walked around with Frank whilst Fliss and Mary headed to feed the horses. He did exactly the same thing he had done when they had looked at the apartment, pointed out what they needed to do, how long it should take them to do, rough estimates of cost. Plus, he also reminded Frank they were in a great position. They could buy the place and then give his months’ notice on the apartment meaning they could stay where they were until it was finished.

So that was it. Decision made. The next morning they went in with a cheeky offer, some twenty thou below the asking price which was rejected instantly. Then they upped their offer by five…then an additional three to total eight, with the fact that they were cash buyers and not in a chain a huge bargaining chip.

It was later that evening, just after they had finished dinner when the realtor called back.

“Evening Mr Adler, ok so…I have spoken to the vendor. He says if you can up your offer by another two thousand then you’ve got a deal.” David spoke. At that, Frank let out a huge grin, as he looked out of the kitchen window at Mary and Fliss who were outside the apartment, both sat on a chair round the table. He and Fliss had both agreed they were prepared to go to the full asking price, in their mind it was worth it, but they were about to seal the deal here for ten thousand less.

“Ok, two thousand more.” Frank said, keeping his voice level “But the property comes off the market as we don’t want anyone else spotting it and offering him more before we exchange contracts.” he repeated word for word what Greg had instructed him to do when he had asked him to handle the conveyancing earlier that morning.

“Ok, so the offer on the table is Three-ten on the proviso he grants exclusivity…” David repeated. “Ok, leave it with me.”

Frank finished loading the dishwasher, and had just grabbed himself a beer when David called back not even five minutes later.

“Congratulations Mr Adler, you have a deal.”

He thanked him, and grinning ear to ear headed outside, jumping down the steps onto the lawn.

“What you looking so pleased about?” Fliss looked up at him suspiciously.

“David called… we’ve settled on three-ten plus exclusivity” he smiled

“What, you mean…” Fliss’ mouth fell open and Frank nodded.

“Yup, subject to contracts, the place is ours!”

Mary gave a loud cheer as Fliss jumped up and leapt at him as he smiled, wrapping her in his arms, swinging her up slightly.

“I can’t believe it…” she whispered. “Our own home!”

Fliss grinned and using the arms that were round his neck pulled his face down to hers and pressed a fierce kiss to his mouth. “God I love you.” she mumbled.

“Love you too.” he grinned, kissing her again, ignoring Mary’s fake puking noises in the background.

*****

June 2019

“Mr Adler?"

Frank stopped as he had been striding over the yard to collect Mary and turned to see Mrs McCarthy, her teacher walking towards him.

"Hi." He smiled, removing his sunglasses so he could look her in the eyes.

"I'm so sorry to bother you"

"No bother at all." He assured her "is everything OK?"

Mrs McCarthy glanced over to where Mary was stood talking to her friend, Rosie, and turned back to him

"Yes...nothing too drastic but I wanted to make you aware about a little incident in class this afternoon"

Frank looked at her, blinking "incident?"

"Maybe that's the wrong word." The older, blonde woman said "Look, as you know next week it's the end of year Gala, the fundraiser and we invite the parents to join us for activities.”

Frank nodded, wishing the woman would get to the damned point. He was hot, dirty and bothered after an afternoon of helping the team on a particularly awkward repair and wanted nothing more than to stand under a cold shower for an hour and flop down outside with a beer.

"Well, one of the girls asked Mary if she was bringing her mom and if they were making anything for the bake sale and Mary rather bluntly told the girl her mother was dead and then clammed up. She didn't speak a word for the rest of the afternoon."

Frank felt his chest tighten as he looked over at Mary who was now giggling with Rosie and sighed

"She didn't do anything wrong" Mrs McCarthy pressed "I was just a little worried."

"Thanks for letting me know, I'll talk to her later, make sure she's okay." Frank assured her.

The woman nodded and headed back across the yard as Frank gave a sharp whistle and slid his aviators back onto his face. Mary looked up and said goodbye to Rosie and came wandering over as Frank waved to Rosie's mom who tossed a hand in greeting in response.

"I'm not Thor" She fixed Frank with a stare.

"I know but I couldn't be bothered walking over." He replied honestly as they climbed into the truck

"You have a good day?"

"It was OK." She shrugged. Frank eyed her for a second before she pulled the car away from the kerb and set off down the road.

"What's for dinner?" Mary asked.

"Steak, baked potatoes and salad." He replies "Fliss' choice."

"Are you grilling?" Mary asked.

"Yup." He nodded

"Cool." Mary nodded "Can I go in the pool before?"

"Got any homework?" Frank countered with another question as he looked at her. Mary shook her head

“End of year next week and Uni didn't give me any summer work."

"Then yeah, of course you can.”

Frank didn't raise the so called incident, deciding to let her chill out a little bit at home first and digest how she felt. After 20 minutes or so of general chat Frank pulled up their driveway and stopped the truck next to Fliss' truck. As they hopped out Mary glanced across the garden over the smaller part of the fence where she could just see Fliss walking across the yard.

"Please can I go see Monty?" She looked at Frank and he nodded.

"I'll watch you." He agreed. With a grin she sprinted over the lawn, climbed over the fence and dropped over onto the other side. Thor gave a bark and Fliss turned round and smiled at her, before she waved at Frank. He waved back before he headed down the side of the house, through the gate in the larger fence before he unlocked the back door and stepped inside the cool air conditioned kitchen, kicking off his shoes and heading straight to the fridge for a beer. Draining half in one he stood, looking around and smiling. They’d finally unpacked the last box yesterday evening and Fliss was still in the process of moving things around their new home, positioning them where she wanted them.

True to Greg’s word, they’d had the keys to the house 4 and a half weeks after making the offer, and 2 weeks post that once the bedrooms and hall had been decorated with a lot of help from Bill, Verity and Roberta (who had been happy for them yet still cried her eyes out when they’d left the park, despite the fact they had assured her they would still come visit and she could also come stay with them too) they’d moved in. The only thing left to do was the reception room (which could wait, it was easy to just shut the door and pretend it didn’t exist) and Bean’s nursery, which he, Fliss and Mary had decided to do together as a project. Mary and Fliss had spent nights pouring over Pinterest for ideas and they’d finally settled on a scheme. Frank had picked up all the plastering supplies and the paint, the furniture was on order and should be arriving at any time that week now he thought about it…so hopefully that weekend they could get cracking. That might cheer Mary up now he thought about it.

Taking his beer with him, he picked up his boots and took them to the cloakroom/bathroom by the stairs. He trudged up the steps, shaking his head at Fred who was led at the top, his paws hanging over the edge of the step as he eyed Frank.

"You're gonna cause a fucking accident." He looked at the ginger cat who merely swished his tail in response. Frank headed into their bedroom, stripping off as he went, walking straight into the en-suite, turning on the shower, setting his beer down on the edge of the sink unit. He stepped in and under the stream of cool water, closing the screen behind him, his mind still on Mary and how he was going to bring up what her teacher has said. With a groan he opened the door, reached out of the cubicle for his beer, took another gulp before he set about washing the grime of the day away.

***** "Have you finished grooming him?" Fliss asked, standing in the doorway to Monty's stable. Mary glanced over from where she had been brushing through his white tail and nodded.

"Wanna take him to the paddock?" Fliss smiled. "Cap and Bronson are waiting for their little pal."

"Sure." Mary shrugged and Fliss frowned a little at her demeanour. She was quiet, which was unlike her when she was round the horses. She was normally full of excitement.

"You OK?" She asked and Mary nodded.

"Why wouldn't I be?"

"You seem quiet, that's all."

"No, I'm good." She shrugged, before she tossed her brush into the little grooming box she had, closing the lid and passing it to Fliss. Fliss placed the box into the larger wooden one outside the stable before Mary put Monty's halter on and led him out of his stall. Fliss allowed them to walk ahead, her hand on her bump as she followed them out of the yard and down the little path to the gate that led to the paddocks. They reached the one were Monty was going and undoing the gate, Mary led him in. The white pony stood patiently for her to take his halter off before he stuck his nose into the crook of her neck and shoulder. Fliss smiled as Mary gently stroked his neck and then to her utter horror she saw Mary’s shoulders begin to shake as the girl started to cry.

"Hey, Mary..." she soothed, stepping forward as the small girl turned to her, wrapping her arms around her as best she could, pressing her face into her bump "Oh baby what's wrong?"

Mary didn’t reply, instead she continued to sob and Fliss felt powerless to do anything other than wrap her arms around her, one hand resting on her head, the other between her shoulders.

“Something happened at School…” Mary whispered and Fliss gently tipped her head up to look at her. “Someone said something and…”

“Ok, how about we go back to the office and you can tell me all about it ok?”

Mary nodded, sniffing as her sobs died down. Fliss held out her hand and Mary took it and together they headed back down to the yard. Joanne looked at Mary who was hiccupping slightly with her sobs and frowned but Fliss shook her head.

“Can you feed the top barn for me and then you can go.” she said to Jo who nodded. “I’ll lock up.” “Sure, see you tomorrow. Bye Mary.” she smiled. Mary looked at her and gave a small wave before Fliss led her into the office. She grabbed them both an apple juice from the fridge and then Mary sat on the chair at the end of the desk, wiping her eyes with a tissue that Fliss handed her from the box.

“You ready to talk?”

Mary nodded, and then she stood up and walked over to Fliss who made room for her to clamber up onto her lap. It was a bit awkward but after a little shifting around they found a way she could sit unobstructed by Boston Bean and Mary lay her head against Fliss’ shoulder.

“It was about the gala.” she sniffed “One of them asked me if my mom was coming and…”

“Oh sweetie.” Fliss sighed, rubbing her back. “I get that must have been hard.”

Mary shrugged “I told them she was dead.” she said matter of factly “I get that and I never knew my mom so I don’t miss her as a person…but then I started to think about why she died and I don’t understand.” “Understand what?”

“Why?” Mary looked at her. “Why would she do what she did when she had me? Why did she want to leave me behind?”

Fliss took a deep breath and cradled the girl as best she could, trying to think of a way to explain to which Mary could relate, and then it came to her, she could use her own experience here. There was no getting around the fact this was going to be a heave conversation, but Mary was a smart kid and deserved to be treated as such.

With another deep inhale, Fliss looked down at her, kissing her head before she opened rather bluntly "You know I tried to kill myself."

"You did?" Mary pulled back to look up at her "Why?"

"Because I saw it as my only way out." Fliss gently smoothing Mary’s hair back. "I was stuck in an awful situation. My ex-husband hurt me physically and mentally and I gave up. I wanted out."

Mary remained silent and looked at her.

"For someone to get to that point...they have to have hit rock bottom. Like there is nowhere to go. It's not their fault. And it doesn't mean they don't love the people they leave behind just that they're desperate to escape whatever pain they feel, be it in their head or their body or both."

"But I still don't understand." Mary shook her head.

"And you may never, not fully." Fliss sighed gently "And as horrible as it is that's something you are gonna have to live with but you have to remember that your mom was sick. And for whatever reason she saw this as her only escape. It wasn't Evelyn's fault, it wasn't Frank's fault and it certainly wasn't yours."

"But if she loved me like Frank says she did..."

"You think I don't love my mum and dad? Or Steve? Charlie, Joel?"

Mary blinked before she lay her head back against Fliss' shoulder. "Of course you do.”

"But I was still gonna leave them behind. I was desperate. And you wanna know the real stupid thing?"

"What?"

"When I got better I still went back to John. I went back to a real toxic environment and a man that abused me. Because I felt like it was what I deserved. And even though I left him way before I met you and Frank, it wasn't until me and Frank started dating that I really understood I wasn't to blame. I always thought I did something to make him hurt me but I didn't. Being with Frank, the way he treats me and loves me made me see that it was him with the problem, not me.”

"But that's different" Mary glanced up

"The trigger was, yes." Fliss nodded "But your mom, like me, was in a position so helpless, so unbelievably sad that she thought she was to blame and that the world, including you, would be better off without her even though she was so wrong."

**** Once showered and dried, Frank dressed in a pair of shorts and clean T-shirt before he headed back downstairs. There was no sign of Fliss or Mary but as he strode out into the garden he heard a car heading down the drive by the side of the house from the yard and correctly assumed it was Joanne leaving for the day. He opened the gate and just saw the tail of her car turn onto the main road as he headed into the garage for the charcoal to light the BBQ.

Once that was done, leaving the flames to die down he headed out across the lawn, vaulting over the small fence onto the yard. He headed round the barn and frowned as he couldn't see anyone. After a quick look round he spotted the door to Fliss' office was closed. He went to open it but stopped as he could hear the sound of voices. It was Mary and Fliss but he could tell from the pitch and stutters in Mary's that she was upset. He paused, hand hovering over the handle as he heard Fliss speaking to her softly. "Stack, you are so loved. Frank loves you, I love you, Nanny V, Poppa Bill, Uncle Steeby, Roberta, Evelyn...Thor, Fred and Monty..." she paused "You're such a special little girl and I know I'm not your mom but, well, I feel like I am."

"You do?"

"I'd do anything to keep you safe and happy. And so would Frank"

They both fell silent and Frank swallowed, the lump in his throat almost choking him.

"Don't ever feel like we don't" Fliss continued "and if I have to bake 200 fucking cookies for your Gala next week to prove it then I will."

Mary giggles "You know Bean can hear you swearing."

"Well I won't tell Frank if you don't"

"Do you think Frank feels like my dad?" Mary asked a moment later and at that point Frank really wanted to walk away. He couldn't listen to this, he didn't want to listen to this...but something kept him rooted to the spot.

"I know he does." Fliss replied.

"But he doesn't like it when people say it. I know that, I heard him talking to you. Bill’s not your real dad but you still say he is…."

“That’s slightly different sweetheart.” Fliss sighed "My real dad left my mom before I was born, so when he died. I didn’t even know him and I don’t care that I didn’t either. But your mom was Frank's sister. He wants to make sure you remember her, understand who she was. He could have easily just pretended to be your dad all this time, you would never have known any different but he didn't. Because he loves you and your mom too much. He's too honest and it’s important to him that you understand. But that doesn't mean he doesn't love you like he is your dad, or that you can't love him like he is."

Frank turned away from the door, looking up at the sky and taking a deep shuddering breath. Fuck, this was hard to hear. He knew Mary had been upset before but the thought that it ran this deep was killing me. Wiping at his face, his hands then dropped to his hips and he looked down at his sneakers before he turned to the door, reaching for the handle but once more pausing as he couldn’t face interrupting them, not whilst they were in the middle of a moment.

“I suppose that makes sense.” Mary continued “And I do love him like he is. And I love you like you’re my mom too.”

“Well that’s all that matters.” Fliss replied “It may be unconventional but we’re a family, and that’s the main thing huh?”

“Yeah, you’re right. Thanks Lissy.” Mary spoke.

“You’re welcome Stack” Fliss’s voice was soft and there was a pause as Frank could picture the pair of them hugging.

“Hey, did you now I’m going to be doing all the money stuff for the bake stall?” Mary’s voice was suddenly up beat as she switched topic “Because I’m good at maths they said I could be in charge of payments and handing people their change and stuff.”

“Nice work kiddo.” Fliss smiled, “Tell you what, we’ll put Nanny V on the case, her baking is way better than mine. We can get her over one night next week whilst Pops is helping Frank with the plastering in the nursery.”

Ok, that was it, safe to enter without interrupting anything. Frank gave a little knock and then opened the door, fixing a smile on his face.

“Hope I haven’t interrupted any girl talk” he smiled and Mary jumped up and ran to him, giving him a hug. He looked at Fliss who wiped her eyes.

“Ok?” he mouthed at her and she nodded back, her lips moving silently as she replied.

“Tell you later.”

“BBQ is lit.” Frank said, looking down at Mary “You still wanna play in the pool?”

She nodded and grinned. “Yeah.”

“Sounds like a great idea.” Fliss grinned “Let’s lock up and head home…oh wait, we don’t need to head home because…” “We’re already there!” Mary grinned, and then she spun round to see Fred peering round the door. “Hey, look who came to visit!” “Bout time he earned his keep.” Frank grumbled “Go catch some mice.”

Fred stalked past him into the office, looked around, before he sauntered back out, clearly not interested.

“He’s a lover not a killer Frank.” Mary grinned, as Frank watched the cat walk off into the evening sun.

The three of them locked up before they headed back to the house and Mary shot upstairs to get changed.

“So, how much did you hear?” Fliss turned to Frank as he pulled a beer from the fridge along with a bottle of water, sliding it over to her.

“Enough.” he sighed “Her teacher collared me before. Said that one of the kids had asked about her mom in class and she’d gotten upset.”

“She asked me why Diane did what she did.” Fliss sighed, “Why she left her behind if she loved her so much.”

Frank swallowed. “What did you say?”

“I explained about why I tried to kill myself.” Fliss shrugged “Told her about the desperation I felt…but that didn’t mean that I didn’t love my family just that I saw it as my only way out. I know it was heavy and maybe not really the right thing to do but...”

She was cut off as Frank stepped forward, taking her face in his hands as he kissed her, hard. It took her a moment to catch up but once she did she melted into him, her mouth opening to grant him access as he ran his tongue along her bottom lip.

“Thank you.” He said gently as he pulled away, his hands still cupping her face.

“What for?” Fliss asked, reaching up to gently wrap her fingers around his wrists.

“For loving her as much as you do.” he shrugged. “For loving us both as much as you do.”

“Oh, Sailor.” Fliss’ eyes brimmed with tears “How could I not?”

***** Frank didn’t sleep particularly well that night. Mary’s conversation with Fliss was running through his brain and every time he drifted off he would wake about an hour or so later, fresh worries and concerns running through his mind. In the end, at just before 5 am he gave up and climbed out of bed. He grabbed a T-shirt and a pair of sweats and putting them on he headed downstairs. He flipped on the TV in the hope the early morning new would distract him, but it didn’t.

It was clear to him that Mary was struggling with where she was going to fit in the family dynamic. He hadn’t really worried much up to that point, being convinced by Fliss that if they kept her involved with stuff to do with Bean she would be ok but this went much deeper than the fact they were expecting a baby.

He’d be lying if he said the thought of him claiming to be Mary’s Father had never entered his mind. It would have been a lot easier but out of loyalty and love to Diane he had wanted to make sure she knew about her mother, and understood the truth because in the end, a lie would always come round to bite you on the ass. It wasn’t that he had a problem with people assuming he was Mary’s father but…

God what a fucking mess.

“Hey…” a soft voice drew him from his thoughts and he looked up to see Fliss stood in the doorway, his T-shirt she was wearing now hardly covered the top of her thighs thanks to her Bean bump.

“Sorry beautiful, did I wake you?” he asked.

“No.” she shook her head, dropping down next to him. “I got up to pee and you were gone.”

“Couldn’t sleep.” he shrugged.

“What’s wrong handsome?” she lay her head on his shoulder and he took a deep breath.

“Just thinking about Mary that’s all.” he shrugged. “She’s always asked questions about Diane but not like that.”

“She’s getting older Frank.” Fliss said, her hand reaching out for his as she began to play with his fingers “She’s bound to start thinking about things differently. She was ok last night after she talked to me, and then later you when you tucked her in. She doesn’t keep her feelings bottled up, and that’s good. It’s a testament to you that she feels like she can talk to us about things.”

“I know.” Frank looked down at her, kissing her head “I guess I just worry Lissy, worry about how she’s gonna feel when Bean is here and he’s calling us mom and dad and she doesn’t.”

“Frank.” Fliss sighed as she sat up straight. “Mary knows we love her. And what she calls us doesn’t change a damned thing. You’re worrying unduly now. We can’t do anything about that other than-“

“Yes, yes we could.” Frank looked at her. Fliss took a deep breath as his eyes locked onto hers, instantly understanding.

“I thought you said you’d never even consider adopting her?”

“I never thought I would.” he shrugged. “But it’s been playing on my mind after what mother said and then after last night…” “Why? What did Evelyn say?” Fliss asked.

“When she was here last, she told me that Diane’s memory wouldn’t suddenly fade if Mary called me dad…” he licked his lips “It was almost like she was giving me permission to do it…you know? Not that I need it or really give a shit what she thinks.” he paused, taking a deep breath “If I’m totally honest Diane isn’t the only reason I said I didn’t want to. I just never thought of myself as being dad material. I was such a screw up until I met you and I thought that by staying as her Uncle, it would give her that distance, you know?”

“Not dad material?” Fliss looked at him, shaking her head “Oh Frank, you idiot. You’ve done an amazing job with her…and you will do with Bean too.”

He smiled at her, sniffing slightly as she continued.

“But there is one person who’s opinion counts most here.” Fliss said gently “And that’s Mary. If you’re serious then you should ask her if it’s what she wants. Because after 9 years of calling you Frank…”

“I know.” Frank agreed, “And I agree, completely. It would have to be her decision. But at least if I ask her if she would like us to then-“

“Us?” Fliss looked at him, blinking. “You mean you want me to?”

“Of course I do.” Frank nodded, before he frowned slightly “But if that isn’t what you want, I understand. It’s a big-“ Fliss cut him off by pressing a kiss to his lips “Of course I do Frank. I love Mary like she is my own anyway so…” Frank beamed at her and wrapped his arms around her, kissing her head. “So, we’re agreed. We ask her?”

Fliss nodded and pulled back, her hand resting on his cheek. “We ask her.”

Chapter 8

#riding on #frank adler #frank adler x ofc #frank adler x oc #gifted #gifted fan fic #chris evans #chris evans characters

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searchingwardrobes · 3 years

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Valentine Throwbacks: Day 2

This was written a few years ago for the 14 Days of Valentine’s Prompts on tumblr. This was for day three: the meet-cute.

Summary: Emma Swan doesn’t do “cute.” So when she meets Killian Jones for the first time, well, she meets ALL of him. Or what happens when gym employee Emma walks in on Killian in the tanning bed.

Making a picset for this fic was simultaneously fun and frustrating. Colin’s chest hair is one of a kind, isn’t it? ;) I also didn’t want this to be NSFW, so the tanning bed pic isn’t exactly as described in the story, lol.

Words: almost 3k

Rated: High T ? I mean, Emma accidentally sees him nude, but that’s about it. I just can’t bring myself to rate this an M because it’s overall just funny and cute.

Also on Ao3

Tagging the usuals: @snowbellewells @whimsicallyenchantedrose @kmomof4 @let-it-raines @teamhook @bethacaciakay @xhookswenchx @tiganasummertree @shireness-says @stahlop @scientificapricot @welllpthisishappening @resident-of-storybrooke @thislassishooked @ilovemesomekillianjones @kday426 @ekr032-blog-blog @lfh1226-linda @ultraluckycatnd @nikkiemms @optomisticgirl @profdanglaisstuff @carpedzem @ohmakemeahercules @branlovestowrite @superchocovian @sherlockwhovian @vvbooklady1256 @hollyethecurious @winterbaby89 @delirious-latenight-laughs @jennjenn615 @snidgetsafan @xsajx @itsfabianadocarmo @spartanguard @hookedonapirate

Emma Swan did not work her butt off just to wipe things. She practically crawled and scraped her way into a meaningful life after getting out of prison. She worked multiple jobs, lived in her car, ate nothing but beans straight from the can, and when the misery was all said and done, she had a college degree in exercise science. But like any field these days everyone wanted experience, so until she somehow got some, she was relegated to wiping things. Wiping down the equipment, wiping down mats, wiping, wiping, and more wiping. And she only made slightly more than the teenagers at the reception desk and the college guy who made the smoothies.

Emma sighed as she grabbed yet another fresh rag after her boss told her the tanning machines needed . . . you guessed it, wiping. She was paying more attention to her internal raging about how much her life sucked than she was to her superior telling her which beds were occupied. She was pretty sure she said they were all being used except for bed three, so Emma went all the way to the end of the narrow hallway that housed the tanning beds and stopped at the last door. If she hadn’t been distracted and moody, she might have thought to knock. Maybe. Then again, most people locked the damn door.

Well, not this guy. He also didn't wear underwear to tan like most people. Nope, he was completely nude. He lay there, in all his glory, shimmering under the UV bulbs like the god Apollo or something. And the Greek god comparison wasn’t an exaggeration between the light shining on him, and the chiseled muscles, and the perfect . . . He was sort of like a living version of the statue of the David, but tanned and with lots of chest hair.

“Who’s there!” he called out.

Emma gasped, then cursed under her breath as she turned and left, slamming the door behind her. She sagged against the heavy oak door, her heart racing. She groaned and covered her face with the hand that wasn’t still clutching the bottle of cleanser and rag. Had she just stood there and stared at the guy? Oh god, she had.

Suddenly, the door behind her gave way and Emma fell backwards with a yelp. From her place on the floor, she looked up to see Apollo himself standing above her, smirking, wearing nothing but a pair of tight, white briefs. Did he look . . . pleased with himself? She suddenly realized she was clutching the bottle of cleanser to her chest.

“Like what you saw, darling?” he asked with an arched brow. He had a British accent. Of course.

Emma rolled her eyes at him as she struggled to her feet, irritatingly brushing off his attempts to assist her. “Please, I didn’t even look. Do you think I want to burn my retinas?”

His eyes, which were an amazing shade of blue, seemed alight with mirth as he regarded her. “Then why the blush?” He leaned towards her slightly, his encroachment upon her personal space made all the more infuriating by his lack of clothing. She took a step back towards the doorway.

“Oh great,” she snapped, “you’re that type.”

His brow furrowed, and for a moment he actually looked slightly hurt. “What type?”

Emma crossed her arms across her chest, despite the awkwardness of the cleaning supplies clutched in her hand. “Isn’t it obvious? I mean, seriously, who uses a tanning bed in the middle of the winter? Except for –“ she vaguely gestured up and down his person, “wanna-be Calvin Klein underwear models.”

It was his turn to scowl and cross his arms over his chest. His very appealing chest that Emma was trying really hard not to stare at.

“Or maybe some people do it for their health. You ever think of that?”

“Yeah right,” Emma bit out, “health of what? Your sex life, playboy?”

His blue eyes sparked with indignation. “Oh, you get an eye-full and you suddenly know me?”

Guilt pricked at her for a moment. She was in the wrong here for barging in without knocking. But his smirking and innuendos had her defenses up. “I know your type,” she told him smugly with a tilt of her chin.

“You walk in on me, and I’m the bad guy?”

He had a point, and she knew it. She took several more steps backwards into the hallway and turned on her heel, her ponytail swinging with irritation all its own. “Ugh, I’ve got work to do. Wipe the bed down, I get tired of cleaning up other people’s sweat all day.”

Emma half expected him to get in one last word, but as she marched away, all she heard was the slamming of the door to tanning room three.

***********************************************************

The week of her little embarrassing tanning bed episode, there had been a slight lull at the gym. It had been the last week of January, when New Year’s resolutions were waning and the cold weather dampened people’s motivation. But now people seemed to suddenly realize that Valentine’s Day was only two weeks away, and the gym was once again packed. Even the indoor pool had been in more frequent usage, so Emma’s boss sent her to check the chlorine levels. With the flu epidemic, they couldn’t afford to let germs spread in the warm water.

It had also been a week since Emma had seen “Apollo the sun god,” much to her relief. But when she exited the women’s locker room, into the pool area, there he was: his muscular back an appealing sight as his arms cut through the water. He was evidently an experienced swimmer as he turned off the wall expertly and did a strong backstroke across the length of the pool. Emma shook her head and cursed herself. Damn it, she was staring again!

Emma was leaning over the edge, a nice distance away from the tanning god, getting samples of the water in little test tubes. She was shaking the first one to get a result when she was sprayed with little droplets of water. She looked up, her eyes angry, narrow slits, to see him, treading water easily with a maddening grin on his face. The pool water made his blue eyes almost glitter like sapphires, and he looked unfairly sexy wet.

“I’ve been hoping to see you again,” he told her. “We didn’t exactly get off on the right foot. I’m sorry I teased you, I was just trying to help you see the humor in the situation. It came off wrong, obviously.”

Emma purposely ignored him, staring at the little tube in her hand and trying to remember what the hell she was looking at. He cut through the water towards her, and rested his arm on the edge of the pool inches away from where she crouched.

“I’m Killian Jones by the way,” he said. Emma pressed her lips together in frustration as she blushed for absolutely no reason. She still refused to look at him. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw him cock his head. “And this is the part where you say, hello, I’m Emma Swan.”

She jerked her head so fast, she almost dropped the test tube. “How did you –“

“I can read, love,” he laughed, gesturing towards her right shoulder.

Emma groaned as she glanced down at her employee name tag. She got hit on all the time at the gym, and had heard a million different pick-up lines involving her last name. But she had sworn off men since Neal, except for an occasional one night stand. But those were never men from work; too much familiarity.

“Some men would take your silence as off-putting,” Killian told her then with a smirk, “but I love a challenge.” Then he had the audacity to wink before diving back under the water.

Emma rubbed her forehead wearily as she stood. The water was low on chemicals, so she pushed the handsome swimmer/sun bather from her mind as she collected what she needed from the supply closet. She measured the chlorine as well as a small dose of shock and added it to the filtration system, then she headed back for the locker room.

Emma wasn’t sure exactly what happened next. There was a puddle of water on the tile floor deep enough to send her sensible sneakers sliding out from under her. Then her arms were wind-milling in empty air, and the pool water seemed to be rushing up to meet her. But before she could hit the water, a hand shot out and grasped her by the elbow. She was hauled from the pool edge, colliding with a warm, wet, very masculine chest.

Killian Jones chuckled as his other arm came around her. “Next time, don’t stand on ceremony.”

Emma blamed her shocked surprise for her delayed reaction in pulling away from him. “Please, Jones, don’t flatter yourself.”

He tucked his tongue into his cheek and waggled his eyebrows, “Remembering yesterday?”

Emma fumed as she gave him a disdainful once-over. “I’m just shocked you’re not in a speedo, mister tighty-whitey.”

Killian’s eyes widened and his gaze went from playful to irritated. “You wouldn’t even know I wore tighty-whities if you hadn’t walked in on me!”

Emma threw up her hands in frustration, resisting the urge to shove him. “It was an accident!”

He arched one brow. “Like you almost falling in the pool?”

Emma scoffed as she crossed her arms over her chest, “Who said I was falling?”

“Fine,” he spat out, “next time, I’ll just let you fall.”

He brushed past her then, grabbing his towel angrily as he marched towards the men’s locker room. Emma started to stomp her way in the opposite direction, but then decided she better tread more carefully on the wet floor.

Not that she had needed Killian Jones to catch her. She was just fine on her own.

********************************************************

Several hours later, Emma walked into her apartment and kicked her gym shoes off by the door. Her feet ached as she dragged herself over to the couch and plopped down next to her roommate. She groaned and Elsa laughed, handing her a slice of pizza from the pie resting on the coffee table.

“Rough day?”

“Yeah,” Emma muttered around a bite, “tanning bed guy showed up again.”

“Oh,” Elsa laughed, wrinkling her nose, “that must have been embarrassing.”

Emma waved her hand. “Don’t want to talk about it. I just want to stuff my face with pizza and zone out in front of the TV.” She narrowed her eyes at the screen and groaned, “Not this, Elsa, seriously?”

Her best friend shook her head as she chuckled at Emma. “Dr. Oz gives lots of good advice.” She poked Emma in the shoulder. “You should listen to him, junk food junkie. How you’re ever going to be a personal trainer when you eat like a fourteen year old, is beyond me.”

Emma smirked and lifted two fingers, “One, I was gifted with an amazing metabolism. Two, my clients will just need to do as I say, not as I do.”

They both laughed then and continued devouring the pizza. Emma’s brow furrowed as she tried to follow the show, since she had missed the first half. “What’s wrong with this girl he’s talking to?” she finally asked Elsa.

“Seasonal affective disorder,” Elsa explained, “lots of people get it in the winter.”

Emma snorted. “Is that a real thing? It sounds made up.”

Elsa shrugged, “I don’t understand it, since I love winter. The snow is so pretty, and the cold – I just don’t get why it bothers people.”

Emma rolled her eyes and tossed a throw pillow at her friends’ head, “Okay, you’re weird, we’ve established that.”

Elsa whacked Emma with the pillow then hugged it to her chest instead of giving it back. “Seriously though, it is a real thing. My friend at work struggles with it. I finally talked him into seeing a therapist, and Killian says it really helps him. Some things that help are physical, like –“

The blood had drained from Emma’s face as she choked out, “like a tanning bed?”

Elsa’s eyes widened, “Yeah, actually, and he swims in an indoor pool, too. Why?”

Emma groaned, dropping her pizza back to the box. She covered her face with both hands. “Please,” she muttered between her fingers, “don’t tell me his last name is Jones and that he has a British accent.”

“Yeah, he –“ Elsa’s words cut off as understanding dawned, “oh my god, you’re not saying he’s the tanning bed guy?”

Emma peeked through her fingers, “Yes, that’s what I’m saying. He introduced himself today – at the pool. Trying to be nice, actually.” She moaned as she lowered her head to Elsa’s lap. “I’m a bitch,” she whispered.

Elsa just gave a tiny, soft laugh as she worked the tangles out of Emma’s hair with her long fingers. “Well, so am I, that’s why we’re friends.”

*****************************************************

Emma hoped that good intentions justified quasi-stalking. She had to make it up to Killian for being so horrible, and she couldn’t just wait around to bump into him again. She pulled his account up on her work computer and learned his gym routine. Killian Jones was an extremely punctual person of habit. On Tuesdays and Thursdays he got to the gym at 5 am and left at 6:30. Emma didn’t get to her shift on those days until 8:00. But on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays, he arrived at 7:00 pm and left at 8:30, which were the same days that Emma worked late.

Unfortunately, Elsa informed her that Killian had come down with the dreaded flu. By the time he came back to the gym, and Emma had figured out how to approach him, it was February the 14th. It wasn’t ideal to approach him on Valentine’s Day. After all, she didn’t want him to get the wrong idea. But if she put it off any longer, she knew she would chicken out. So on Valentine’s Day, when Killian Jones exited the gym, he found Emma Swan leaning against his black SUV with a smoothie in her hand. (That had taken additional stalking. To ascertain the smoothie he usually ordered and which vehicle in the parking lot belonged to him.)

“A peace offering?” Emma asked, hating when her voice cracked a bit. When he just stood there with his mouth hanging open, she rushed on, “And an apology? For walking in on you and then. . .well, for being a bitch.”

That finally got a chuckle out of him. He shuffled forward, and for the first time looked nervous. He tossed his bag in the back seat then turned to her with a smile as he leaned against the car with his arms crossed. “What brought on this sudden change?”

Emma’s face fell, and her eyes lowered to stare at the cup in her hand. “Your friend, Elsa Arrendale? I’m her roommate.”

“Oh,” Killian said, scratching behind his ear.

“And she didn’t tell me much,” Emma rushed to explain, “just enough to make me see how quick I was to judge you.”

Killian nodded. “So she told you I’m a mess this time of year, huh?”

Emma smiled and shrugged, “Hey, not everyone loves freezing their ass off the way Elsa does.” That got another chuckle out of him. “And besides, I’m a mess pretty much year round.”

“Well,” Killian said with a long sigh, “I was too, for a while. Right after my Milah died, I could barely get out of bed each morning. That was five years ago.”

Emma frowned. “I’m so sorry. Who was she? Your wife?”

“Aye,” Killian answered softly, “she died in a car accident. This time of year. We were going out on a nice date.”

“Valentine’s day?”

“No,” he said with a shake of his head and a false grin, “my birthday, actually, end of January.”

“I’m so sorry, Killian. No wonder this time of year is so hard for you.” She bit her lip. “Can you ever forgive me for being such a jerk to you?”

He ran his hand down his face, and afterwards, he gave her a more relaxed smile. “Of course I forgive you, Swan. I do make an arse of myself at times, so I can’t really blame you.”

They shared a laugh at that. Emma cocked her head, studying him and seeing him in a whole new light. “You have Valentine plans?”

Both his eyebrows lifted, “Can’t say I do. Why?”

She shrugged, “How about I buy you a drink?” She shook the smoothie cup still in her hand. “A bit stronger than this.”

Killian gave her a sinful smile, cocked his head, and tapped his lips. “I’d say you owe me a proper apology, love.”

Emma wanted to scoff, to roll her eyes, but all she could do was smile as a blush crept up her face. “That’s what the drink is for.”

Killian pouted then, quite affectively. “That’s all I get? When this time of year makes me so, so sad?”

What Emma did next was partly to shut him up. However, she had to admit, it was also because she had imagined what it would be like to kiss him a thousand times since the tanning bed. So she lunged for him, the smoothie falling to the ground forgotten with a thud and a splash. She hauled him in by the collar of his shirt, her mouth hungrily taking his.

Because she could admit it now: Yes, she liked what she saw.

#cs ff #cs fanfic #cs valentine fic #meet-cute #sort of #humor

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what-is-your-plan-today · 4 years

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Riding On Ch7: Home, Sweet Home!

Summary: Frank and Fliss find their perfect family home, but there’s something bothering Mary.

Warnings: Bad Language words. Discussions about suicide. A little bit of angst.

Pairing: Frank Adler x Fliss Gallagher

A/N: This is a bit of an emotionally charged filler chapter…and we move time on a little through to June in the middle. And photos of the Adler house are included so you can visualise what I used for inspiration! Chapter Song: Kill For A Dream by Beady Eye

Series Masterlist // WIYPT Masterlist

You’re giving it another try, staring at the deep blue sky, and you say to the driver just drive, coz you never felt so alive.

April 2019

“No, I mean yes! I’ve just heard some awesome news!”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah, so you remember the guy that bought the house that backs onto the yard when Old Man River died…” “That wasn’t his name.” Frank chuckled “It was Mr Morris.”

“He called himself River, it was funny and suited him. Anyway, that’s not the point. You know the guy who bought it…guess what I found out before?”

Frank stopped what he was doing and straightened up. He didn’t like that dick, one bit. When Mr Morris had died at the start of the year, Fliss had been quite upset about the news as the old man had been very friendly to her, often popping in for a cup of tea a few afternoons a week for some company. Mr Morris’ son had sold the house without them even knowing it had gone on the market, which was a shame as it would have been perfect for them given the location. The guy who had bought it, Frank didn’t even know his name, nor did he care because he was a douchebag and a pervert to boot. The way he looked at Fliss made Frank want to punch his face in.

“What’s Douchey Mc Douchebag done now?”

Frank laughed loudly “Couldn’t have happened to a nicer guy, babe!”

Ok now he was interested. Frank could picture the look of excitement on her face as she spoke to him and he felt the smile cross his face “No shit?”

“Yeah, I’ll send you the website to look at the photos but…oh God, it would be perfect! Some of it is really nice, some of it needs decorating but…” “Ok, well, why don’t you call the realtor? Arrange a viewing” he said “Hopefully you won’t puke halfway round this one.” “Ok, first off that wasn’t my fault. Bean objected to the smell. Who the fuck cooks eggs the day they know they have someone coming to view their house?” her indignant tone made Frank chuckle “And second off…”she paused “I already did. He said he can meet us at half 12.”

“Half 12? As in lunch time? Today?” Frank frowned.

“I know I just really don’t want to miss out on this one Frank, and you said you were gonna come up here for lunch and-”

“Ok, ok.” Frank sighed “I’ll shuffle some stuff around, work a little later tonight and take an extra half hour.”

“I love you.” she replied and he could hear the smile in her voice.

“Good job I love you too.” he said back gruffly “Because you’re a pain in my ass.”

“You ok Frank?”

He looked up and smiled as Alan, his boss walked in to the office. “Yeah, sorry, Fliss has found a house and managed to book a viewing for lunch time. Fucking 7th one in 2 weeks.”

Alan snorted “Keeping you on your toes I see?”

“Huh.” Alan smiled “Sounds like it was meant to be. Take it you’re going then?”

“Yeah, Charlie and Gary are in all afternoon. I thought I could take an extra half hour, work it back tonight or…” “Frank, when was the last time you actually took a full hour for your lunch and didn’t cut it short by 10 or 15?” Alan looked at him.

Frank hesitated “Yeah, but that’s-”

“No buts.” Alan shook his head. “Do what you gotta do.”

“Thanks Alan.” Frank smiled, “I appreciate it.”

Alan waved away his gratitude before he dropped into the chair on the opposite side of Frank’s small desk and gestured for Frank to sit down.

“I wanted to talk to you in person.” Alan said, “Before the news gets out. I’m looking at retiring Frank, fully this time.”

“That’s good news, for you I mean.” Frank smiled, taking his seat. “You must be happy?”

“Kinda bitter sweet.” he shrugged “But I hit 70 this year and bout time I let it all go. Bill’s already chomping at the bit to book damned fishing trips so...it’ll be nice to step back. But I wanted to talk to you about something.”

“Shoot.”

“My son, James is going to be taking over, that won’t come as any surprise to you as you’ve seen him knocking around a bit and he likes you.”

“Good to know I’m not going to be out on my ass.” Frank smiled, breathing out a little.

Frank blinked “You wanna make me deputy manager?”

“Wow, I err…” Frank shook his head “I don’t know what to say.” “I don’t need an answer now.” Alan said, “Take some time to consider it. Talk it over with Fliss.”

“I will, I’ll give it some thought.” “Ok, well, that’s all I dropped in for.” Alan said, standing up, groaning a little “Did you just hear my damned knees click?”