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foreveralwaysanauthor · 1 month

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Same Trailer, Different Park

(Pilot Episode)

April 14, 2024

Notes - Last night, I went to my first-ever DND game with my oldest nephew, and it was incredible! It's supposed to be every other week, but we're doing it again this upcoming Saturday, and the storyline is giving me so many ideas that I could use for one-shots and stuff! Also, my sciatic pain is going away. It's moved from going all the way from my spine to my right knee to just my right hip, so that's an improvement! Anyway, this was just shy of 50 pages and would have been posted sooner if I had the moodboard and divider transferred to my computer, but I didn't, so here we are lmao! The divider I've used is just temporary until I can sit down and work on one I think suits the vibe, but until then, it is what it is. Also, I hope your finals go well! I believe in you!!

April 14th - the day RMS Titanic struck the iceberg.

Usually, on this day every year, I would be prepping for a Titanic watch party and making sure everyone was ready for it, but that’s just not how it’s going to go this time around. After I get out of school today, it’s officially spring break, and I couldn’t be more excited to finally get away from this endless rain despite the deviation from my annual Titanic anniversary get-together. Riven already offered to give me a ride to school this morning, but since Mom asked me to give Abby and Olly one, and Erica’s piece of shit truck can’t go over puddles without breaking down, he’s giving her and JJ a ride instead. I have to remember to pick up stuff for my battle bot before I leave school, so I’ll tell Abby to remind me - she’s good at that kind of thing. Maybe if I take my notebooks with me on my trip, Mickie and the guys can help me figure out some ideas for what I want to build. Then, I won’t have to come up with something when I get back! Yeah, maybe that’s what I’ll do!

Vivien snapped her journal shut and tugged her headphones off before turning them off and tossing them onto her desk alongside her journal. With a sigh, she found her gaze in the mirror that hung on the back of her closet door as she made her way toward it. Despite the hair sticking in every direction, the blanket marks lining the arm she had fallen asleep on, and the wrinkled pajamas she wasn’t quite ready to rid herself of, she looked ready to start her day. Although she highly doubted she would need a cup of coffee that morning as her excitement for the day was propelling her forward like a cup full of espresso shots, Vivien knew she needed to at least look like she was half as ready as she felt.

Her reflection smiled back as she pushed the door of her closet open, but as she pulled the clothes she had set aside the night before down from her hangers, she found herself wondering if she should have put more thought into the outfit she had chosen. Would her typical choice of jeans, a witty graphic tee, and a brightly colored long-sleeve be a good choice in the long run? She would stand out like a sore thumb in the sixties, but nobody at her school would, frankly, give a shit what she wore. Her dad’s signature triple knock on her bedroom door gave Vivien no chance to change her mind as she hollered back that she was almost ready to go. He left after letting her know that he had to leave for an early morning meeting, wishing her a good morning and telling her that he would see her at lunch before leaving to tell the twins the same.

Sighing as she stretched her tired limbs out, Vivien set her cell phone on her dresser, asking Siri to put on one of her playlists as she debated on what to do with her hair. Glancing at the clothes she had yet to pack for her vacation, Vivien cringed as she realized just how much work she’d forced on her after-school self. For once, she was tragically unprepared for a trip. There was a lot she would have to do in the small amount of time between her release from school and Mick’s family picking her up. Pulling her shirt over her head with a huff and freeing her hair from under the collar, Vivien found her phone screen illuminated as a text came in from the girl who had invited her on her family’s trip in the first place.

Mick’s text was simple - a picture of four plane tickets to the John Wayne Airport in Santa Ana, California. Then, as Vivien smiled at her phone, another message came in, asking her if she was ready. A flutter of eager anticipation flew through Vivien’s text as she replied, telling the older brunette how excited she was to finally be able to spend time with the people they both cared about. Once the message had been sent, Vivien found an ABBA song on her playlist, turned the volume back up, and sang softly to herself as she finished getting ready for the day.

After brushing her teeth and taking the time to detangle the hair she had forgotten to ask someone to braid the night before, Vivien gathered her things for school, shoving her overstuffed folder full of homework and project notes into her backpack before grabbing her permission slip for the regional battle bot tournament and shoving it into the back of her bag where it would be kept relatively safe until the end of the school day. Tucking her school laptop into her bag, zipping it shut, and throwing a strap over her shoulder, Vivien scurried out of her room, just barely remembering to turn off the light as Oliver mumbled out a good morning on his way to the stairs. Chuckling as she wished her brother a good morning, Vivien stepped back to allow Abby to parade by with her backpack on one shoulder, a book in her free hand, and her hair pulled back in a migraine-inducing high pony that Vivien was sure she would hear the girl complaining about later in the day.

Following her siblings downstairs as Abby muttered her oral report to herself, Vivien took in a slow breath and hoped her mother had already left for her meeting with some city council board as the smell of slightly charred bacon wafted through the air. Their mother had a habit of making perfect bacon and sausage for herself and everyone else but would sometimes forget Vivien’s and her ex-husband’s in the pan while she took the time to ensure her twins had everything exactly how they liked it. Vivien never bothered to bring up the issue; instead, she gave the charred bacon strips or sausage patties to Riven as he was practically a walking garbage disposal and seemed to enjoy the blackened breakfast meats. Her siblings had tried to bring it up before, and Vivien knew her father had tried as well, but to no avail. The woman wouldn’t argue much with her younger children and always denied anything being wrong, pointing out the fact that Vivien never brought it up herself, but even when Oliver argued that the disgust on Vivien’s face was obvious, nothing changed.

Entering the kitchen, Vivien smirked as Oliver turned back toward Abby and began spouting random historical facts to throw his twin off her train of thought. Abby was quick to fight back, whacking her brother with her book as she told him to shut up and let her focus. Their mother was quick to jump in and tell her only son to leave his sister alone before handing them both their lunch boxes and telling them to get going before they were late. Abby sent Vivien an apologetic look as the eldest of the O’Brian kids took the only remaining lunch box from the counter, and their mother ushered them toward the coat closet. After giving the twins a quick kiss on the forehead and telling Vivien to drive safely, the woman grabbed her jacket and left, heading out to her car and taking off while the kids were still pulling on their spring coats.

With a sigh, Vivien grabbed her keys from the hook by the door and held the door open for her siblings, but it wasn’t until they were in the pale blue Hyundai Vivien had received from their father after passing her license test that any of them chose to speak up. Oliver huffed as he slid into the back seat, buckling his seatbelt before stretching out across the bench seat and sighing, “I don’t get Mom’s issue.”

“Olly,” Vivien sighed, a soft reprimand that she hoped would keep her brother from ranting the whole way to their school.

“No, Viv,” Abby cut in before Oliver could speak, “we all see she treats you differently, and it isn’t right!”

“It isn’t,” Vivien agreed as she pushed the key into the ignition and started the car, turning the defroster on to keep the windows clear, “but it isn’t worth the effort of trying to change her. Besides, I’ve got you guys and Dad.”

“And Auntie Hayley and Aunt Charlie,” Oliver piped in.

“Exactly,” Vivien nodded, smiling at her younger brother as she backed out of the driveway.

Abby huffed, crossing her arms over her chest and slouching in her seat as she complained, “Still. I wish we knew what her problem was.”

“I have a few theories,” Oliver claimed.

Abby grinned, “We know. You’ve shown us your corkboard of conspiracy theories.”

“Yeah,” Vivien snorted, putting the car into drive and taking off down their street. “I swear, introducing you to MatPat and Shane Dawson at a young age was a bad idea.”

“Seriously,” Abby agreed teasingly. “If I have to be subjected to another three-hour rant about the government brainwashing us through Justin Beiber’s music, I just might pitch myself off of the water tower.”

“First of all, that’s not what my theory was about,” Oliver chuckled, “and second, I meant about Mom treating Viv differently.”

Shifting so that she could see both Oliver and Vivien, Abby said, “Well, you’re the conspiracy theorist here. What do you think is the issue?”

Excited to finally have the chance to blather about the ideas he had been bouncing around in his head for a while, Oliver beamed as he began his spiel, “My first thought was that she’s jealous that Vivien has a better relationship with Auntie Hayley and is upset that she’s not Viv’s birth mom, but that wasn’t an issue when we were little, so why would it be now?”

“Yeah, makes sense,” Abby nodded thoughtfully, sparing a glance at Vivien, who nodded as she slowed to a stop at an intersection. Turning back to her twin, Abby pressed, “So, what else you got?”

Oliver sighed, “Sadly, I think the most likely reason is that she’s just pissy because she thinks Viv forced me into the ‘Alphabet Soup Community’ and is scared she’ll do the same to you, Abs.”

Abby’s expression shifted, a disgusted wince tugging her eyebrows together in frustration as she took in her brother’s theory. It made sense, but she didn’t want to admit it. Though Vivien had come out as bisexual years ago, their mother never truly seemed to accept it until Vivien began dating Royce a few months ago. When Oliver came out as gay, the woman had taken the news out on her eldest child, pulling her aside and blaming her for “poisoning her baby brother” with her “disgusting beliefs.” Abby had unintentionally overheard the conversation, listening proudly to her older sister as the brunette fought for her brother to be treated better than she had been. When Abby later told Oliver what she’d heard, the pair found themselves in Vivien’s room, showering their sister with kind words of gratitude and love that the older girl seemed to relish in.

Ready to rant about their mother’s blatant homophobia, Abby scoffed; however, it was Vivien who spoke before her sister could rage for the rest of the drive, “Sadly, that could be right.” Vivien placed a hand on top of the one Abby had placed on the center console, gently squeezing her hand as she continued, “Even though I hope that’s not the case, it could very well be. She’s always been a little… uptight about that sort of thing.”

“A little?” Oliver chortled, finding Vivien’s gaze in the rear-view mirror. “That’s the understatement of the year.”

Abby laughed, “You couldn’t pull a needle out of her ass with a tractor!”

“Abby!” Vivien reprimanded despite her laughing at the girl’s choice of words.

“It’s the truth!” Abby argued. “I’m sure she would’ve sent you guys to conversion therapy or something if Dad hadn’t said something.”

Vivien sighed as she turned onto School Street, “Still. She’s our mom, and until we move out, we have no choice but to put up with her bullshit.”

Oliver shifted in his seat, ready to crack a joke in order to lighten the situation, but Abby huffed, “I just don’t get why your sexualities matter so much to her. It’s not like it has anything to do with her in the first place.”

“Maybe she-”

“And why should she care if I’m straight or not?” Abby continued, cutting off Vivien’s statement with a scoff. “Is she just going to drop all of us if I someday decide to come out of the closet?”

Once he was sure his twin was done ranting, Oliver shrugged, “Maybe. Like Auntie Hayley said, Mom can’t stand that we aren’t her little dolls who do whatever she says now. I wouldn’t put it past her if she chooses to up and leave if this becomes a three-for-three situation.”

Taking in the wounded expression on her baby sister’s face as she pulled into an empty parking spot, Vivien smiled reassuringly and said, “I doubt you have much of anything to worry about anyway. Even if you came out as bi like I did, you and Malachi have been dating for, what, almost a year now?” When Abby nodded wordlessly, Vivien continued, “Well, Mom only chilled out when she found out I was dating Royce. Since you’re dating a boy already, I doubt there would be a problem.”

“Besides,” Oliver began as he pushed open his door and picked up his bag from the floor, “you’re straight - you have nothing to worry about.”

Plastering a smile on her face as she tugged her bag up from the floor, Abby nodded, “Yeah, I guess you’re right.”

Patting Abby’s hand with a grin, Vivien opened her door and stepped outside, grabbing her backpack from the backseat and locking the car once the doors were closed. Once her keys were safely tucked into the front pocket of her backpack, Vivien followed her siblings to the front door of the school. Before she could step inside, however, a honk from a nearby car made Vivien jump, whirling around to see Riven’s red Miata pulling to a stop by the sidewalk. Telling her siblings she would see them later, Vivien headed over to the car as the passenger’s side door opened, and a head of emerald hair stepped out before pushing the seat forward.

“Hey, Viv,” Jade greeted with a smile as she tightened her ponytail.

As Erica tumbled out of the backseat, the seatbelt wrapped around the ankle of her Doc Martens, she peered up at the brunette and beamed, “Oh, good! I was hoping to catch you before first period.”

“Mission accomplished,” Vivien chuckled as Erica hobbled her way away from the car. As the car door closed and the window rolled down, she leaned over and teased, “That’s the only car full of ladies you’ll ever have, isn’t it?”

Riven sent his best friend a grin and gestured to his fellow bandmates as he spoke, “Blues Clues over there can hardly be considered a lady, and considering JJ is the only cheerleader who has ever given me the time of day, probably.”

Chuckling, Vivien rolled her eyes and said, “You’re an idiot.”

“Love you too.”

Before Vivien could return the sentiment, Erica placed a hand on her shoulder and said, “Alright, dipshits, let’s go before the bell rings and we get told off.”

Jade chuckled as she tossed her Chapstick into her bag, “By who; Viv’s dad?”

Vivien snorted at the thought of her dad reprimanding them, but Erica beat her to the punch as she turned toward her girlfriend and said, “I was thinking Coach Boogeyman.”

Leaning over the passenger seat, Riven wondered, “I thought Bogman was forced to leave after the color guard claimed she was spying on them in the showers.”

“She was supposed to,” Jade huffed, “but until they find enough evidence to take her to court, she has to finish out the year.”

“Sadly,” a voice sighed from behind the group. Turning toward the voice, Vivien smiled as her father spoke, “Until we have her on camera, there’s nothing we can do. Besides, she’s been pushing off retirement for years. With this accusation, we should be able to finalize everything at the end of the year.”

“Good,” Erica snipped as Vivien stepped around her. “She’s always given me the creeps.”

“Understandably so,” Damien chuckled softly, smiling as his daughter slotted herself under his arm. “Hey, babygirl.”

“Hey, Dad,” Vivien beamed. “Did you come to walk us to class?”

Damien shook his head, squeezing his daughter’s shoulder as he replied, “Not quite. I saw you four chatting and figured I would try to get you inside before anyone else came out and started yelling.” Leaning forward enough to see Riven, he asked, “Are you joining us, Riven, or are you just going to do virtual lessons today?”

“No, I’ll be in,” Riven quickly replied, glancing toward the parking lot with his signature grin. “Just have to find a place to park.”

“Make it quick, bud,” the man stated as he glanced at his smartwatch. “The bell rings in ten minutes.”

Riven nodded, checking to make sure his path was clear before pulling away from the curb, his Miata drifting toward the parking lot as Damien began leading his daughter and her friends inside. After handing her lunchbox off to her dad so he could put it into the staff fridge until lunch, Vivien waited until Riven came running up to the front door before stepping inside behind him, taking his hand and allowing him to pull her toward the stairwell across from the main office, waving goodbye to their friends and her father as they propelled up the stairs. Riven dragged her up to the next floor, where their lockers resided, before letting her go as he began twisting in his locker combination. Meanwhile, Vivien pulled her keys from her backpack, slipped a purple-painted one into her lock, and freed it, popping open the metal door with a sigh and placing her bag on the hook inside.

“You know,” Riven began, “it’s days like today that I wish my birthday wasn’t after the school cutoff.”

“Rough morning?” Vivien asked with a grin.

Riven scoffed as he tugged his social studies workbook down from the shelf he had shoved it onto the day before, “I slept through my alarm, and Dad was already at work, so he couldn’t help. Then, I woke up to Erica screeching about needing a ride, only to have my phone die mid-call. And, to top it all off, I’m about eighty-three percent sure these sweatpants are yours from the weekend.”

Vivien’s eyebrow lifted, but as she glanced down at the navy blue sweatpants Riven donned, her eyes widened. Sure enough, the stars and planets she had embroidered around the pockets and hemline of her sweatpants now stood as a glaring reminder of the clothes she had tossed into the wash at Riven’s house. They had been cooking stuffed shells, and she had dropped the jar of sauce, splattering chunky, red tomato sauce all over the floor and their legs. After putting the food in the oven, they got a majority of the stains out in the sink but threw their clothes into the laundry afterward to get rid of the smell. She had forgotten the pants in her rush to get out the door on Monday morning, having told Riven she would take them back when she went back to his house after spring break was over. Holding back her bark of laughter, Vivien grinned at the thought of Riven rushing around his room that morning, throwing on whatever he could find before leaving the house and somehow missing the colorful threads lining his legs.

“Yeah,” Riven breathed, rolling his eyes at Vivien’s not-so-discrete snort of laughter. “Erica thought it was hilarious.”

“It kind of is,” Vivien giggled softly. At Riven’s dismayed sigh, her grin faltered, and she glanced down at her pants as she offered, “Do you want to trade? I’m pretty sure I stole these from you over the summer.”

Riven spared a glance at the jeans Vivien had worn and grinned; the cuffs were rolled up toward her ankles to prevent them from being stepped on, and she had to wear a belt just to keep the waistband in place, something Riven had no issue with in the slightest. With a snort, he shook his head, “I think I’m good, Pip. You made these and, despite them being on the shorter side, I’m only here until lunch. I can run home and change before work after I’m done eating. Besides, they wouldn’t match your outfit.”

Vivien’s eyebrow lifted into her bangs as she asked, “Since when do you care if clothes match?”

“I don’t,” Riven shrugged as he closed his locker, “but I know you do. Now, come on, it’s almost time for the bell.”

Scrambling to grab her books for the next two classes so she wouldn’t have to run to her locker between bells, Vivien slammed her locker shut and walked alongside Riven until he reached his class. They wouldn’t see each other again until she was allowed to head to the cafeteria for lunch, but their mornings in the halls were something she had cherished for a while. Joining a few of her classmates on their way to their first period of the day, Vivien caught a glimpse of the oversized clock on the wall and sighed. She had four periods until lunch, and only two were on the same floor, but she had planned to use her study hall block to join her friend Emily in the drama wing of the main floor.

Emily - or Emmy, as she was often called by her relatively small friend group - had been begging her for the last two weeks to join her for the auditions in some musical the school was putting on. Originally, Vivien had no desire to audition as she hated the thought of having so many eyes on her, but when Emily pointed out that the auditorium was in close proximity to the cafeteria, she relented. If it meant she didn’t have to run from her study hall on the top floor all the way down to the main floor to eat, she was in.

Her first block was spent listening to Mrs. Adams - the only social studies teacher who actually seemed to enjoy teaching - ask everyone what their plans were for spring break. She loved to make the class hard as most of her students were either on the honor roll or enrolled in advanced placement classes, but Fridays were the one day a week when everyone got some reprieve from her constant stream of tests, exams, and droning lessons. By the time the bell rang, everyone had broken off into groups, writing out their plans for the week as their teacher sat at her desk with a smile, grading the last few papers on her computer. Vivien had made up a story on the fly, writing out her plans for the trip to California she told everyone she was going on, but as the bell rang, she closed her notebook and shoved it into her desk before grabbing her book for the next class and following her friend, Carter, down the hall toward the French class she had signed up for at the start of the semester.

Although she struggled a lot with the language - finding her old Spanish and German classes easier than French - the teacher commended her many times for at least trying. She wanted nothing more than to learn the language her boyfriend’s family knew, intending to surprise them on her trip. However, she knew her attempts were fairly futile. French just wasn’t her strong suit. Grateful her grade for the class wasn’t going to affect her final grades for the year, Vivien slumped into her chair in the middle of the room and hoped the class would go by faster than it usually did so that she could escape to the auditorium.

Thankfully, it seemed as though the teachers were of the same mindset as the students - eager to escape the concrete and stucco walls and leave for vacation. After answering a one-sided paper of questions in French about how their week had been, the teacher let them wander the halls, allowing Vivien to dump her books in her locker before making her way down to the auditorium. The auditorium was hardly ever used unless they had a guest speaker or a show being rehearsed, but the doors were almost always left unlocked, making it easy for Vivien to slip inside and make her way to the front row of chairs.

The auditorium would be empty for a while before the audition time came, but as Vivien had all the time in the world until her friend showed up, she didn’t mind the silence. Opening the notes app on her phone, she began typing out all of the things she would need to pack when she got home. Her list was already relatively short as she had put her essentials into her suitcase after using them that morning before school - her toiletries taking up the small pouch in the front of her luggage to leave room for the clothes she was still up in the air about. Although she knew that clothes weren’t really necessary as Mick had told her many times that she would be able to borrow period-typical clothes from them upon her arrival, she still needed to shove some summery clothing into her suitcase to make it seem as though her time had truly been spent in the California sun.

With a sigh, Vivien realized she also needed to leave room for the souvenirs she would be bringing back and any potential shopping she did in either world. By the time she had whittled down her list to just necessities, her journal, and some extra changes of, well, every article of clothing she owned, people had begun to fill the auditorium, ascending the stage and beginning vocal warm-ups that would have impressed Sharpay Evans. Vivien tucked her earbuds in as the noise in the room began to grow, only pulling them out when Emily appeared in the seat next to her, excitedly tugging Vivien out of her shell and onto the stage with her as she rambled about the show they were going to be performing for the end of the school year.

Checking her blood pressure on her watch, Vivien sighed as the drama teachers, Mrs. Kaisla and Mr. Doyle, began telling everyone where to stand before giving them the run-down of the show. “As you all know by the posters in the halls,” Mr. Doyle began, “this year’s final show will be Hairspray.”

“I really want to play Tracy or Penny,” Emily squealed in a whisper mere inches from Vivien’s ear. Grabbing Vivien’s shirt in a fist, she added, “Imagine if Colby gets picked for Link or Seaweed - it would be perfect!”

Chuckling at the girl’s obvious crush on the dark-skinned football player who had been in their friend circles since kindergarten, Vivien whispered back, “I admire your enthusiasm, but is he the only reason you’re auditioning? I mean, you hate being the center of attention as much as I do being on stage; why would you wish for the lead?”

Emily’s sparkling smile faltered as Vivien’s words sunk in but quickly reappeared as the teachers wrapped up their short spiel about the show, “That’s why you’re here.”

“To make sure you don’t look like the worst performer here?” Vivien questioned teasingly.

Emily scoffed, elbowing Vivien in the arm, “Shut up. You’re not that bad.”

“Says you,” Vivien replied as Mrs. Kaisla began ushering some students toward center stage. As soon as she was sure neither she nor Emily were part of the group selected, she added, “There’s a reason I only ever sing in the car or the shower.”

With a sigh, Emily nudged her friend closer to the front of the stage and said, “And there’s a reason I asked you to come with me instead of literally anybody else. You have a beautiful voice. Besides, I need someone here who makes it easier to be in the spotlight. Now, shush!”

Vivien rolled her eyes but smiled as Emily hushed her, urging her to watch the others as they were instructed on what to do. Minutes flew by as the group took turns singing popular songs played over a bluetooth speaker one of the boys had brought to the school. Before she knew it, Vivien felt her stomach clench anxiously as her name was called, and Emily practically dragged her to the center of the stage. Taking a deep breath as the others took turns singing, Vivien tried to think of a song - any song - she could sing at least fairly well, but any titles she knew seemed to flee her brain as her mouth dried up as she resorted to biting the inside of her cheek to keep herself from fidgeting under the blazing lights.

As Emily’s choice - an 80s hit that had made an appearance in the last season of Stranger Things - began to play, Vivien realized just how doomed she was, and her mind flickered to the cell phone in her back pocket. Surely, her Spotify would have something she could work with, right? However, to her chagrin, as soon as the device was free of its jean prison, Vivien found the music had stopped playing, and she was forced to choose a song without any assistance. Had she really taken that long to decide? Clearing her throat, Vivien smiled tersely as she gave up the only song that had found its way to the front of her brain in time - ABBA’s Lay All Your Love On Me.

The teachers she hardly knew seemed to smile as they talked amongst themselves, and although a part of her was sure they were talking about how easy the song was to mess up, Emily’s encouraging smile from the side of the stage somewhat assured her that all was fine. Closing her eyes as the music began playing, Vivien attempted to force her fears down as she sucked in a deep breath. All she had to do was get through a section of the song, and she would be free to leave as everyone else was. Pretending she was just singing in the car with Riven, Vivien allowed her voice to carry over the music, her enjoyment of the song obvious as she began to sway to the beat, the lyrics flowing out of her like water.

Once the chorus had left her, the music began to fade, allowing the teachers to be heard as they scribbled something on their clipboards. Looking up at her, Mrs. Kaisla smiled and said, “Thank you, Vivien. You’re free to go.”

“Remember to check the cast list when we come back to school,” Mr. Doyle added before gesturing toward the side of the stage, where Emily received her with a hug and a squeal.

The two made their exit relatively quickly, Vivien practically pushing Emily through the double doors so that she could find a source of oxygen in the halls. Once the auditorium doors had closed with a click, Vivien sighed, checking her blood pressure as a wave of anxiety-fueled dizziness washed over her. After making up a quick excuse as to where she was going, Vivien told Emily she would see her after lunch before making her way to her locker, where she kept her water bottle. Sitting on the floor by her locker, Vivien sipped at her water until the bell rang, forcing herself to calm down as she scrolled through Pinterest.

Before long, Jade and Riven appeared, having left the same class Vivien would have to attend after lunch - World History. They hauled her off of the floor, and Riven tossed his books into his locker before draping an arm around Vivien's shoulders and guiding her toward the stairs while Jade rattled off about the teacher - Mr. Smith - being the most boring teacher in the school. After retrieving Vivien's lunch from her father, she joined her friends at their usual table by the windows on the far wall of the cafeteria, spending their lunch block playing a segment of their Dungeons and Dragons campaign on their phones while eating.

After a while of playing and eating, the bell rang, and they cleaned up their table before tossing Vivien's now empty lunch box into Erica's locker near the gym before saying goodbye to Riven and splitting off to their respective classes. For Vivien, the rest of her classes went by without a hitch, time flying by the way she had hoped all morning that it would. Once her final class of the day ended, Vivien sent a quick text to the group chat she and her siblings had created, telling them that she had to drop off her form for the battle bot tournament and would meet them at the car. Making her way from the top floor to her locker, Vivien gathered her belongings, shoving her water bottle and a small bag of Cheetos her Trigonometry teacher had given her into her backpack before slinging her backpack onto her shoulders.

Once she was back on the main floor, Vivien scurried across the hall, rounded the entrance to the office, and took the stairwell across from the vending machines down to the school's basement. As she descended the stairs, dampness and mildew filled her nostrils, making her nose wrinkle in disgust as she pushed the door to the bottom floor open. Hardly anyone visited the basement unless they had to, as there was little to see, but there were a select few who found comfort in the almost eerie silence and smell the basement offered. While the basement wasn't overly dark or dreary, it never quite felt warm enough to give off the same welcoming feeling the upper parts of the school gave.

Perhaps it was the piercing white light of the fluorescents or the steady beeping from the computer lab that sounded almost exactly like a hospital heart monitor that kept people away, but regardless, there were only a handful of students who enjoyed the ominous, cold, almost abandoned feeling the basement radiated. Vivien was one of those odd students. After years of exploring abandoned buildings with Riven for his photography blog and her Instagram, the smell and cold environment of the school's basement did little to drive her away. If anything, it was almost calming.

There weren't many reasons for most students to visit the basement, as there were only three labs and two committees that met there. The chemistry, robotics, and computer laboratories were in a triangle-like formation at the very end of the hall, while the photography and student politics groups met at the other end of the hall, their rooms across from each other and sharing a single wall that was thin enough to hear conversations happening in the other room. Vivien hummed to herself as she stepped around an old projector that had been wheeled into the hallway, grinning fondly at the memory of having to haul the old machine up the stairs to the top floor for one of the summer school teachers while helping her dad out in the office. Stepping into the Bermuda Triangle of classrooms at the end of the hall, Vivien scanned the names beside the doors before making her way toward the left-most room.

The door to the robotics lab had been kept open with a hunk of metal the teacher, Mr. Kevin Hill, had welded in his free time one summer. Mr. Hill was one of Vivien's favorite teachers of all time. Mr. Hill was a short Irishman with a fondness for taking things apart and rebuilding them, something Vivien could appreciate. There were a few other students in the room - Vivien's bandmate, Erica; Damon Perry, a vitiligo-skinned freshman who hardly spoke around upperclassmen unless he was spoken to first; and Preston Osborne, a senior who thought his shit didn't stink because he had more money than he knew what to do with.

Unlike the rest of the handful of rich kids at their school, Vivien had known Preston by extension for years. He had been something of a nightmare for the school system, using his daddy's reputation as a hotshot lawyer in the city to be a dick to anyone who dared push back against whatever he wanted. According to Erica and Jade, Preston wasn't horrible until middle school, when the older kids began picking on him. One threat of a lawsuit later, Preston officially became known as someone nobody wanted to trifle with. Over the years, Vivien had heard her father complain about the boy and had heard horror stories from teachers who'd had him, but Vivien hadn't known him personally until she became the youngest person from their school ever to win the regional battle bot championship.

In her first year fighting back in seventh grade, she had beaten Preston by a long shot, her little, ladybug-shaped robot tearing Preston's robot apart with its electrified saws. Preston, of course, seemed incapable of taking the news well, having argued with the competition's judges until he was forced to either accept defeat or be disqualified. Ever since that day, Vivien found herself with an upperclassman who thought of her as nothing more than his arch-nemesis. Though she found him obnoxious after a while, Vivien hardly played into his made-up game of tug-of-war unless provoked, something that seemed to piss Preston off more instead of making him see how ridiculous he was being.

Rolling her eyes at the imbecile's glare, Vivien signed her name on the clipboard on the teacher's desk, taking a glance at the competition as she allowed her backpack to slide down from her shoulders. The robotics teacher was supposed to supervise from his desk as Erica, Preston, and Damon scoured the materials the teacher had laid out for them to take, but Damon had somehow managed to ask a question that kept the old Irishman talking while Erica and Preston searched the scrap bins the teacher had left out for them to rifle through. The bins would be there until the day of the competition, giving Vivien plenty of time to come up with a model and a mock-up before she started digging through the bins of scrap metal that, hopefully, wouldn't be sending anyone to the hospital for a tetanus shot that year.

As Mr. Hill stepped away from his conversation with Damon, he found Vivien standing by his desk as she dug through her backpack for the paper she swore she had left in the front of the biggest pouch. "Ah," the teacher began, "Miss O'Brian. I was wondering when you would show."

Vivien peered over at the teacher and smiled before resuming her search, "Well, better late than never, right, Mr. H?"

The graying man smiled with a short nod as he sat in his chair once again, "So far, I have only received a couple of sign-ups, so your competition from our school is looking rather small. Do you have an idea for what your battle bot will look like this year?"

"You know I can't tell you, even if I do," Vivien stated as she tugged her permission slip out and handed it to the teacher. As Mr. Hill glanced over the paper with mild interest, Vivien stepped away from his desk and looked over some of the objects the teacher had prepared. She picked up a few metal pieces she could use for either a weapon or a protective shield and placed them in a plastic Walmart bag that Mr. Hill had left out for the students to use. "Besides, I wouldn't dare divulge my secrets to my enemies," Vivien claimed theatrically as she glanced around at the other students in the room.

Erica leaned forward just enough to stick her tongue out at Vivien, placing a couple of springs in a plastic bag the teacher had given her. Damon simply smiled but kept quiet as he signed out a workshop tool that he'd need to return in the next two weeks. Vivien returned his smile and chuckled; in the few years she had known him, Damon had always seemed to be a very quiet, reserved person, but he seemed to come a little bit out of his shell when it came time for battles such as this one. However, as opposed to his silent competitors, Preston Osborne scoffed at Vivien and rolled his eyes as he turned toward the brunette.

He used the wrench he was holding to point at Vivien, watching her with scrutiny as he spoke, "After last year's height requirement debacle, I doubt anybody would take your advice."

"What?" Vivien began sarcastically, her voice taking on an infantilizing tone. "Are you still upset that mine was bigger than yours?" Ignoring the snorted bark of shocked laughter from her blue-haired friend, the brunette, never one to back down from a fight with the arrogant male, moved so she could look Preston as straight in the eye as her shorter stature would allow. "At least you could see mine in the ring. Everyone needed a pair of binoculars to see yours; it was so small."

Preston stared down his nose at Vivien before chuckling condescendingly, "At least mine didn't need a judge to do a height check last minute."

"Yeah, and? Who won that battle again?" Vivien asked rhetorically. Gasping dramatically, she placed a hand over her chest and answered her own question, "Oh, right! Me."

"You just don't know when to shut up, do you?" Preston retorted with an arrogant scoff. Then, his voice lowered as he hissed, "My dad could sue the shit out of your family. I'd run you and your whole family out of town."

"I don't know who told you that, dipshit," Vivien laughed, "but your daddy's got no power here and neither do you. In fact, I bet your 'big city lawyer' father would love to hear all about how often you try to threaten people in this school. Threatening bodily harm is a potentially jailable offense, you know. I can see the headlines now!"

Vivien pretended to gag as Preston leaned closer, his breath polluting her face as he snarled, "That big mouth of yours is going to get you in trouble if you don't shut it."

"If you think my mouth is big, I feel bad for your girlfriend." Vivien paused, gave a mock gasp, then added, "Oh, wait, you don't have one. Do you, shrimp dick?"

"Look, you little bitch, I-"

"Mister Osborne, Miss O'Brian," Mr. Hill interrupted, rising from his seat before the argument could get any worse. "I believe this argument will get you nowhere. Mr. Osborne, as you have already gathered your things, I suggest you sign out any tools you may need and leave before this ends up as another after-school detention for you. Miss O'Brian, please continue looking around for any particular parts you may need."

Vivien nodded and waited for Preston to back down and storm off before she resumed her perusing, allowing the teacher to handle Preston as he approached the desk. Mr. Hill was one of the teachers who always formed his own opinions of the children who came into his class, regardless of their notoriety. The man didn't care about who the kids' parents were; he would treat him the same way he would treat any student. Vivien knew from Riven's occasional photography classes at the community college that Mr. Hill had taken opportunities to float around the different universities in the area, teaching robotics and photography when he wished; if he got fired from this school for not babying Preston or some other Karen's spawn, it probably wouldn't be a hard blow. Maybe that was why Vivien, Erica, and most of the other students who didn't like Preston liked Mr. Hill so much.

Soon, but not soon enough, Preston left and took his bags with him, and Erica flipped him off as he disappeared down the hallway. Turning toward the grinning Vivien, she beamed, "Bitch, you handled him so much better than I would have."

Vivien smiled as she tossed a handful of small springs into her wagon. "Thanks. I just- I can't stand him."

"Who can other than his parents?" Erica scoffed, "His head's so far up his own ass, I'm surprised he can walk straight."

"I have to agree with you," Mr. Hill piped in as he sat back in his seat. "Although Preston makes fair marks as far as I am aware, he rides on his father's reputation to keep himself above everyone else. Though, as a teacher, I must advise you change your approach, a couple of wounds to his pride will, hopefully, do him well over time."

"I doubt he'll change," Vivien said, shaking her head, as she examined a small shell-shaped piece that could be used as a cover for her robot.

The teacher returned to the book he had been reading, and Erica nodded in agreement before taking a battery holder and putting it inside her bag. She looked at Vivien's bag and shook her head at how much the younger girl had already stored away. "Well, I'm looking forward to being annihilated by you again this year, as always."

Vivien knew the other girl was only joking, as Erica had told her before that she only entered the battles for fun and found it interesting to see how far she could get. With a smile, Vivien chirped, "And I look forward to annihilating you, as always."

Erica laughed, giving Vivien a quick hug before leaving, claiming she and Jade were getting a ride to work from one of the girls on the cheer team who worked at the mall with them. Once her friend was gone, Vivien went back to picking out parts for her robot, picking out items she thought could be of use and tucking them into the bag that had begun to weigh her arm down. The brunette spent another handful of minutes in the classroom before deciding she had enough things. As she placed her heavy bag inside another, she tied the handles in a knot and said, "Well, Mr. Hill, I believe I'll be on my way."

"Actually, Miss O'Brian, I have to go over the rules for the battles before you leave," the teacher claimed, tucking a bookmark into the novel he was reading before pulling a paper from his desk drawer. "Normally, I would wait until I have you in class, but since we won't be back in school until after spring break, now is as good a time as any."

Vivien accepted the paper from the teacher, reading over the first couple of rules before nodding to herself. "Did they change them or something?"

"Not exactly." Mr. Hill stood and made his way around the desk, sitting on the other side of the surface as he pointed out some of the notes at the bottom of the page. "The officials are new this year. They've agreed to keep the three-foot height acceptance, but they've eliminated the use of robotic arms that can be used to puncture another robot from the maximum height - as you can see here."

"Let me guess, that rule was made because of my robot from last year?" Vivien pondered.

"That would be my guess as well," the teacher agreed with a grin. "While that robot of yours was quite impressive, you have to keep it short if that's your plan this year."

Vivien shook her head, knowing that wasn't her idea at all. She liked to change things up every year, never showcasing the same attack twice. Thinking for a moment, Vivien scanned over the jumbled nonsense on the page that she would probably hand off to Mick the moment she saw her and asked, "Are saws and shields still allowed?"

"Yes, of course," Mr Hill said, nodding insistently. "It would be very hard to take that ruling out. Just remember that you need to have your robot done by the first of June. The following week, the judges will go through the ruling process. Any final adjustments will have to be made before the end of the school day on Friday, the ninth. The first day of battles will be Saturday, and Sunday will be finals and awards, as per usual."

Vivien allowed herself a brief moment to process the information before nodding, a smile lighting her face as she spoke, "That sounds good to me." Picking up her backpack from the floor, Vivien folded and tucked the paper into the pocket of her jeans and headed out of the classroom. It wasn't until she was near the stairwell that she heard her name being called again. Turning toward the voice, she found Mr. Hill standing in the doorway of his classroom. "Yeah?" she called in return.

"Just something I meant to tell you before you left." The teacher held his book up a little, a gesture that made Vivien believe he was going to quote something from it, yet, without looking down, he began speaking once more. "Those who are willing to work hard - day in and day out - to achieve their goals are the true winners, regardless of the scores or the judges' opinions. I don't doubt that you are one of those hard-working people, Vivien; you know what you're doing. Your skills never cease to amaze me, and I hope you prove me right again this year."

With a raised brow, Vivien asked, "Prove you right, sir?"

"I've been an AP Robotics teacher here for twenty-three years," Mr Hill said. "It's not often that I have someone in my class throughout junior and senior high school. Other teachers said I should have booted you down to the regular class with Miss Denis, but since the day you first walked into my class, I knew you had potential. Since then, you've proved them wrong every step of the way. I commend you for that."

Vivien stood in place for a moment, stunned at her teacher's kind words. "Thanks, Mr Hill. I won't let you down."

"I know you won't, Miss O'Brian. You never do. Have a nice evening," he replied before turning back to his book and stepping back over to his desk, leaving Vivien standing alone in the hallway.

Vivien stared at the spot Mr. Hill had previously occupied, letting out an airy laugh as a brilliant smile found its way onto her face. Taking in a deep breath, she straightened her posture and turned toward the stairs, propelling herself up them with newfound confidence. Her bag of assorted metal bits jangled, clanking together in a symphony of scrapes and tings as she ascended the stairs. Once she had reached the main floor, Vivien retrieved her lunch box from Erica's locker. The girl's four-digit code - 8104, Erica's birthdate and year combined - was one of the many Vivien kept in her notes app in case her friends ever forgot them, and even though she was sure Erica couldn't possibly forget her locker combination, Vivien enjoyed knowing that, if her friends needed her to, she could help them.

After tugging the lunch box out from the chaos that was Erica's locker, Vivien rushed to the office, saying a quick goodbye to her dad before heading to the main entrance, pushing open the first set of doors before lifting the hood of her jacket over her head and hoping her siblings had gotten the spare key to her car from their father as rain poured from above. Shoving open the door to the outside world, Vivien watched as rain slammed down in sheets, taking a deep breath before bolting into the freezing rain, letting out a shrill screech as she scurried across the parking lot to her car. She threw the door open and jumped inside, grateful her siblings had already started the car's heater, as she slammed the door shut behind her.

Abby smirked at her sister's reflection in the rear-view mirror as Vivien shivered in her seat, and with a snort, she asked, "Bit chilly, sissy?"

Turning back toward her little sister, Vivien nodded and sighed, "You could say that." Hauling her backpack and Walmart bag of metal parts over the gap between her seat and Oliver's, Vivien asked, "Can you hold onto these for me, Abs?"

Peering back as Abby placed Vivien's belongings on the seat next to her, Oliver asked, "You're doing the championship again this year?"

"When doesn't she, Olly?" Abby asked rhetorically as Vivien backed out of her parking spot. "She fights every year, and every year, she wins."

"I know that; I'm not stupid," Oliver retorted.

"Debatable," Abby shrugged.

Ignoring his twin, Oliver said, "I just thought that, since she was going on vacation, she wouldn't be participating this year."

"I'll have plenty of time," Vivien claimed, putting the car into drive and steering it toward the parking lot's exit. "Besides, I'll be with Mickie for a whole week. If my battle bot isn't at least halfway done by the time I get back, then one of us either got sick, somehow got pregnant, or died."

Oliver let out a snort, "I mean, fair enough, but aren't you going to do anything fun while you're in California?"

"Building things is fun," Vivien retorted, flicking on her turn signal and glancing both ways before pulling out of the parking lot, "but yeah, we're going to the beach, checking out some museums, and we might visit Disneyland if we have the time."

Leaning forward between the front seats, Abby asked, "How is it possible that Oliver and I might have a more entertaining spring break than you?"

Sparing a glance at her siblings, Vivien asked, "What do you mean?"

With a smile bright enough to put the sun to shame, Oliver announced, "I'm going with Markus' family to New Jersey so we can check out that American Dream place with the indoor water park and ski slope."

"Really?" Vivien asked. Muttering more to herself than anything, she added, "I'm surprised Mom allowed that after you broke your ankle the last time you went on a trip with them."

Abby hummed in agreement before speaking, "And I'm going with Brynna's family to Great Wolf Lodge for her birthday."

"Those sound fun and all," Vivien admitted, "but how is that more fun than literally going across the country?"

"Because you're going to be doing nerd shit while on vacation while we're having actual fun," Oliver stated blandly.

As the car slowed to a stop at a red light, Vivien turned toward her brother with a knowing look, "You say that like you won't be spending hours upon hours researching some cryptid or something with Markus in the hotel room." Peering in the rear-view mirror, Vivien found Abby's gaze and said, "And, Abby, we all know that you and Brynna will spend your time playing with her little siblings instead of just hanging out."

Abby opened her mouth to argue but quickly shut it again as she let out a soft sigh, "Yeah, I guess you're right."

"Just because it's spring break doesn't mean we somehow magically turn into party animals once we're on vacation," Vivien claimed with a shrug as the light turned green, and she continued onward. "We've been ingrained to be responsible regardless of where we are, but I'm sure we'll all still have fun being boring with our friends."

Although they constantly joked about going to big house parties at their friends' houses and getting absolutely trashed on whatever alcohol they could find, none of the O'Brian siblings had actually ever gone to a big house party or willingly gotten drunk. Most of the people at their school weren't interested in big parties either as it would be increasingly difficult to get all of their friends in one town. Since their school was regional, kids from towns almost an hour away would be shuttled in on the handful of school-choice buses, making it hard for big parties to really be a thing. Besides, many, if not all, of the friends the O'Brians had made at the school were relatively introverted kids who cared more about their studies than getting wasted, making their running joke of getting drunk with their friends even more preposterous.

Abby peered out the window at the rain as Oliver said, "You know, I kind of like that we're boring."

"Oh, yeah?" Vivien asked, glancing at her brother as she checked whether or not she could cross through the intersection.

"Mhm," Abby nodded in agreement.

"It means our parents let us hang out with pretty much anyone without really caring," Oliver claimed. "Even if our plans were to go out and do dumb stuff at a friend's house, they wouldn't think anything of us going over there."

Abby thought for a moment before saying, "That's true, but we also would feel pretty bad if we took their trust in us for granted."

This time, it was Vivien's turn to hum in agreement, "Yeah."

For the first time since her parents gave her permission to join their neighbors in their house in California, Vivien felt wary about her decision. Although she knew that they had no qualms about her going to California as they had known the Birch family longer than Vivien had been alive, they had no idea about the other universe they would be taking her to. She had no plans of telling them about it as she had promised to keep it a secret from literally everyone she knew, but the thought that she was, for the first time in her life, taking advantage of her parents' trust to go off galavanting in a world they had no idea about. Even though she had no plans of doing anything wrong or illegal while there, a knot began to form in her stomach at the idea of letting her parents down for keeping such a large secret from them.

Taking a deep breath as she pulled onto their street, Vivien pushed her thoughts aside, allowing her excitement to fill her once more. She could worry about it later when she had Mick to talk her through every insignificant problem her mind could sprout up. For now, she had to get ready for the trip, and with a limited amount of time to get all of her clothes folded, she needed to focus on that. As Vivien's blue Kona pulled into the driveway, their mother stepped outside with a few umbrellas, making her way to the end of the walkway and waiting for Viviebn's car to stop. As soon as the car was in park, Chelsea held her umbrella over the passenger's door and opened it, handing her son an umbrella as he stepped out with his backpack.

Wrapping her cardigan tightly around herself, Abby tapped Vivien's arm and said, "I'll take your metal stuff in so it doesn't get wet."

"Are you sure?" Vivien asked in return as Abby handed her the purple backpack she had kept an eye on during the trip home. "I can take it."

"That's okay," she replied. Once the front passenger's door closed, she quickly took hold of the Walmart bag's handles and added, "I don't think Mom bothered to bring out your umbrella, and I don't want them to get wet."

Hoping to save her sister from having to lug the heavy bag inside, Vivien tried to gently argue, "I'm parking in the garage, Abs, it's not a long walk to the door."

"That's okay," Abby shrugged. "I've already got it. I'll bring it up to your room for you."

Before Vivien could say anything to the contrary, Abby grinned, pushed open her door, and slid out, taking and opening the umbrella her mom handed her before slamming the door and rushing to the house with their mother not far behind. Left with her mouth still open, Vivien breathed, "Thanks," before shaking her head fondly and pressing the button to open the garage. Once her car was parked in the spot furthest from the door, Vivien slid out of her seat, pulling her backpack with her. Glancing out at the pouring rain, the brunette sighed, hauling her backpack onto one shoulder and gripping her keys in her free hand as she rushed into the downpour with a squeal, closing the overhead door with a single click as she raced toward the front door of the house.

Once inside, she closed the door, grateful for the warmth of the house, as she trudged her way to the coat closet and began taking off her now-soaked sneakers. Loki soon joined her on the floor, licking the water from her cheeks as she tossed her sneakers onto the drying rack alongside her siblings' shoes. Running her hands through the dog's fur, Vivien felt herself calm as she thanked the dog for his warm welcome. Pushing herself from the floor, Vivien ascended the stairs with her backpack and her Saint Bernard, grateful her bedroom was near the landing, as Loki shoved his way into her room and onto her bed. With a sigh, Vivien rolled her eyes at the oversized puppy and dropped her backpack onto the floor at the end of her bed, plopping herself onto her mattress as she debated how much time she had to pack.

Not even a minute into her procrastination party, Abby stepped into the room without so much as a knock, snickering at her older sister's dawdling as she passed by. "You know, lying there like a limp spaghetti noodle isn't going to help your bags get packed."

"Okay, Mom," Vivien huffed with a smirk, missing the way Abby visibly winced at being compared to their mother. Taking in a heavy breath, Vivien pushed herself from the bed and sighed, "Is it weird that I'm not ready for this now that I'm leaving?"

"Not really," Abby shrugged as her sister entered the closet and pulled her suitcase down from the top shelf. "You get this way before out-of-state competitions too."

"This is different from comps," Vivien said as she placed her suitcase on the end of her bed and opened the shell. "I don't usually go far without you guys."

Stepping up behind her sister, Abby placed a hand on the older girl's back and smiled once she had Vivien's attention, "You'll have tons of fun and you know it. I'm sure you'll forget all about us once you land."

"That's impossible, Abs," Vivien breathed, pulling the lighter-haired brunette into a hug. "I love you guys too much to not miss you."

Lifting her head enough to see her sister's face, Abby replied, "Trust me, you'll be sick of us by the end of the week. Dad will keep you updated with pictures of Loki every morning like he does when we go to camp, I'll send you pictures of the lodge and everything interesting I see, and I'm sure Olly will send you paragraphs of random facts he and Markus found online while they're away. By the end of vacation, you'll be so sick of us that you'll want to get away the minute you come home."

Vivien laughed, "Probably, yeah."

Stepping out of her sister's hold, Abby grinned and said, "Now, come on, we have packing to do."

Allowing her sister to take the reins, Vivien headed into her closet to figure out what clothes she wanted to bring, hauling her plastic bins of summer clothes down from the top shelf as Abby headed into her en-suite bathroom to pack up the essentials Vivien had typed out on her phone. Once Vivien had fished out a handful of clothes she wanted to bring, she brought them to her desk and dropped them in a heap in her chair. By the time Abby finished getting stuff out of the bathroom and into the suitcase, Vivien was halfway done folding her clothes, something Abby had helped finish in record time. After reassuring her sister that she would be borrowing swimwear from Mick's closet upon her arrival, Vivien threw a couple of pairs of shoes into the mesh pouch on the lid alongside her journal and the astronaut-shaped galaxy projector she kept on her bedside table as a nightlight.

With her packing done quicker than she had anticipated, Vivien sent a text to Mick that she was all set before grabbing a dry hoodie from her closet and hauling the suitcase to the main floor of the house, leaving it near the coat closet so that she could slip on some shoes and get out the door as quickly as possible. Once everything was in place, she and Loki joined her siblings in the living room, where Oliver had begun setting up Mario Kart on the Switch. Sitting in the space the twins had left for her, Vivien took the purple joy-con from the coffee table and slouched into the comfort of the couch cushions as Loki took his place on the floor by her feet.

As she chose her usual character, Yoshi, Vivien's phone dinged, and she pulled it out of her pocket, giving her siblings the chance to argue over who got Baby Bowser. Unlocking her phone, she opened her dad's text and smiled. Peering over Abby's head to where their mother was leaning against the kitchen counter, sipping at her freshly-made smoothie while she presumably scrolled through her Facebook, Vivien rolled her eyes and went back to her conversation, thanking their dad for his offer of dinner and asking if he could pick them up their usual McDonald's orders before tucking her phone between her thigh and the couch and picking up her joy-con once again. Breaking up her siblings' argument with ease, Vivien started the game. Once they figured out who got which character, the three of them quickly got immersed in their battle for the first place.

As Oliver overtook Vivien for second place in Coconut Mall, leading the oldest of the siblings to cuss him out and jab him with her elbow, the front door slammed shut, alerting the whole house to the new visitor. Loki let out a bark as he rose from the floor, abandoning his post as the protector in favor of following the smell of french fries and cheeseburgers to the front door. The kids called out greetings to their father as they entered the final lap of their race, getting a chuckled response as Damien made his way through the entryway to the kitchen. Damien set the flimsy drink tray and paper bags plastered with golden arches on the kitchen counters, ignoring the look his ex-wife sent him as he began pulling fries and boxes from the bags and setting them out according to which family member had ordered what.

By the time the kids had finished their race, Chelsea had begun arguing with Damien about the quality of the food he had brought home, but the man seemed unbothered by her attitude, pushing aside her frustrations as the children approached. Stepping aside to allow them access to their meals, Damien accepted quick hugs from each of his children and asked them how their school days had been before following them to the living room. As Abby began to explain how her usually strict English teacher had them watch a movie as he had a migraine, Vivien sat cross-legged in her usual space on the far end of the couch and put one of the throw pillows over her lap so that the plate she put her food onto wouldn't fall.

After her siblings had rambled about their days, Damien turned to Vivien and asked, "What about you, babygirl? Anything fun happen today?"

Vivien shrugged, swallowing her mouthful of french fries before replying, "Not really. I signed up for the battle bot tournament after class."

Before her father could say anything, Abby butted in, "Alix said they saw you at the first round of auditions for the musical. I told them there was no way 'cause you hate being on stage, but they said it was true."

"It was," Vivien admitted before taking a bite of her burger.

Oliver choked on his chicken nugget, coughing a few times before swallowing thickly and asking, "Wait, seriously?"

Nodding, Vivien dipped her sandwich in a pile of ketchup and said, "Yeah. Emily wanted to audition, but didn't want to go alone, so I stepped in. It's not that big of a deal."

"It's a huge deal!" Abby squawked, twisting so that she could see her sister better. "Alix said the drama teachers were thinking of cancelling the other auditions because of you."

"Bull," Vivien scoffed, carefully avoiding the rest of her accusatory cuss as she felt the growing heat of her mother's gaze. "It wasn't even a meaningful audition. I sang some ABBA and ran for the hills; there's nothing impressive about that."

"But Alix said-"

"Alix could have heard wrong," Vivien argued, cutting off her sister's statement before it could spiral out of control. "Besides, even if they do choose me - which they won't - I'll just step down and let the understudy take whatever role I get."

"That would be for the best," Chelsea stated as she stabbed her fork into the grilled chicken salad her ex-husband had bought for her. "We've all seen how you get on stage at your grandparent's camp; putting you in any leading role in front all those people would be so much worse."

Ignoring their mother's statement with a roll of his eyes, Oliver turned to Vivien and said, "You can't back down."

Vivien grinned, sending her brother a curious look as she asked, "Why not?"

"Because!"

"That's not a reason, Olly."

"But it is," Oliver claimed. "We've all heard you sing in the car and you love theatre. This is your chance to see what it's like on Boadway."

"Who says I want to be on Broadway?" Vivien asked with a laugh.

Oliver thought for a moment before saying, "Well, nobody, but-"

"But the school is petitioning to get the Titanic Musical for the April show next year," Damien piped up, eyeing his eldest daughter out of his peripheral vision as she froze, her handful of ketchup-soaked french fries hanging in midair as she processed his claim. Smirking, he added, "If you have at least one show under your belt, they might consider you for one of the primary roles when the time comes."

Excitedly watching the wheels turn in Vivien's head, Abby grabbed her sister's free wrist and wiggled it as she said, "See! If you back down now, you'll never get to be in Titanic next year."

Vivien sighed, green eyes shifting from mild annoyance to fondness as she turned to her younger sister and slipped her fingers between Abby's, "As much as I would love that, there's no chance of me getting the lead."

"Would you at least try out for Titanic next year?" Oliver asked. "That would be right up your alley."

With a snort, Chelsea chortled, "She would probably spend all her time critiquing the accuracy of everything."

"Actually," Vivien began, finding a sliver of courage to meet her mother's gaze, "the show is fairly accurate when it comes to representing the people aboard the ship that night. The historical details are only slightly manipulated to add more drama, and-"

"See," Chelsea began, glancing between her children and ex-husband, "she's already at it."

Abby opened her mouth to argue, but Vivien's grip on her hand tightened, telling her to back down before things could get worse. Abby's bluish-brown eyes found Vivien's emerald gaze, and with a shake of her head, Abby resigned, returning to her food with a barely audible sigh. Refusing to let their last family dinner before spring break be soured by the cutthroat words of his ex-wife, Damien took the remote from the coffee table and switched the input back to the Roku before letting the kids decide between two of the movies on their watchlist - The Outsiders and The Truman Show.

With the rather unanimous vote of The Truman Show, the family settled in once more and relaxed as they watched Jim Carrey's character come to life. Not long into the movie, Abby shifted between Vivien and their father, and it wasn't long before she was sprawled out over the two with her head on Vivien's lap and her legs on their dad's. Once Abby had settled into a comfortable position, Vivien began absentmindedly running her fingers through the girl's lighter hair, calming both of them at once as Truman watched his dad get shoved into a bus and taken away. However, further into the movie, as Truman began drawing a spacesuit around his reflection, Vivien's phone began to ring, and she quickly stood, shoving a somewhat disgruntled Abby off her lap and taking her trash with her to the kitchen before answering the phone.

After checking the caller ID, she smiled, tossed her trash into the bin next to the refrigerator, and quietly said, "Please tell me you're on your way."

A snort came from the other end as Mick replied, "Hello to you, too. I mean, damn, child, are you that willing to run away from home?"

Vivien glanced at her family and chuckled, "Maybe a little."

"Well, good," Mick replied. "We're pulling into the driveway now, so come out when you're ready."

Snickering to herself, Vivien said, "I thought you already knew I was bi, Mickie."

"Look, rugrat," Mick snipped, though Vivien could clearly hear the humor in her tone. "We're parked by the garage, but bring a rain coat or something; it's pouring."

"Still?"

"Yup."

Vivien sighed, "Alright, I'll be out in a few." She sucked in a deep breath and smiled to herself as Mick hung up her end of the call. Vivien headed back to the living room and grinned as she noticed Oliver holding the remote, keeping the movie paused until her return. Ruffluing her brother's hair, she cooed, "Aww, Olly-bear! Did you pause the movie just for me?"

Shoving her hand away, Oliver ran his hand through his hair and scoffed, "No, I just didn't want to have to rewind it for you."

"Yeah, sure," Abby drawled sarcastically as she punched her twin's thigh.

Chuckling as the twins began arguing over Oliver's ability - or lack thereof - to show kindness, Damien twisted in his seat, found Vivien's gaze, and asked, "Was that Mick and her parents?"

"Yeah, they just pulled up," Vivien nodded, glancing toward the front door.

With a smile, he asked, "Are you ready to go, babygirl?"

Vivien excitedly nodded, but her excitement seemed to dim as Chelsea asked, "Go where, exactly?"

"To California," Vivien explained. "You know, for spring break?"

"I never said you could go," Chelsea stated, finally looking up from her phone with steely eyes. "A trip like that requires planning, and I highly doubt you, of all people, are prepared to fly three thousand miles across the country for a week in some random city you've never been to."

Before Vivien could argue, Damien turned to his ex and said, "She asked both of us months ago, and, actually, she's had everything planned out since I gave her permission. Vivien's a smart girl; she wouldn't jump into something without proper planning."

"She even helped Abs and I plan our trips with our friends," Oliver piped up.

Placing a hand on her dad's shoulder and glancing toward her brother, Vivien thanked him with a smile before turning toward their mom and saying, "And, since Dad gave me permission, I can go, right, Mom?"

Chelsea took in a deep breath, glancing between Damien and Vivien with a stare that would end wars, but finally, she picked up her phone and huffed, "Fine. Go."

Hoping to get out the door before her mother could change her mind again, Vivien began making her way to the door, only to hear footsteps rushing up behind her. Turning, Vivien smiled as Abby and Oliver jogged up to her, Abby wrapping her in a hug as Oliver stood to the side with a grin. Squeezing her older sister, Abby pleaded, "Take lots of pictures for me, sissy."

Letting out a breath of a laugh, Vivien waited until Abby stepped back before taking her keys from the hook by the door and pushing them into the palm of her sister's hand. At Abby's confused look, she said, "Can you put them in your lockbox for me? I don't want Mom to use my car while I'm gone just 'cause it has lower mileage than hers."

Nodding in understanding, Abby softly asked, "Do you want your diary in there too?"

Vivien shook her head, "I'm taking it with me, but thank you."

Oliver shuffled closer, hinting at his desire for a final hug before his oldest sister's departure as he asked, "What about your fancy rocks?"

Wrapping her arms around Oliver's shoulders, she replied, "I took a few with me, but I doubt Mom will do anything with them because most of the ones I left are big and would be obvious if they went missing."

"If you're sure," Oliver mumbled into Vivien's shoulder before patting her back and slipping out of her grasp.

Once she took a step back, Vivien reached into her pocket and pulled out two colorful crystals, holding one out to either of her siblings, "For Abby, some charoite. It's good for keeping away negativity and helping you see a new side of yourself. Hopefully, it'll help you relax while you're away."

Abby smiled at the purple rock, shifting it in the light to see the different hues before thanking her sister and pocketing the crystal. Then, with a roll of his eyes and a smirk, Oliver accepted the smooth green lump and said, "Let me guess, this is some hard-to-pronounce rock too."

"Actually, no," Vivien snickered. "It's green aventureine and it's good for creativity, luck, and opportunities. I figured, with all the activities you'll be doing, and the theories you'll be picking apart, it would be nice to take with you."

Rolling the crystal around in his palm, Oliver allowed his smirk to spread into a smile as he handed Vivien her raincoat and said, "Have fun in Cali, Vivi."

Vivien smiled but didn't have the chance to respond as her father entered the room and said, "She will. Brady and Mack reassured me that they had a fun week planned."

Finding her dad's tired eyes, Vivien slotted herself in his arms and asked, "Will you be alright here without us for a week?"

"I'll be fine," Damien claimed as he ran a soothing hand over Vivien's hair. "Your mother is going on one of her work trips on Monday, so I'll be alone most of the time you kids are away."

Peering up at her father, Vivien smiled, "A week of empty-nesting, huh? That'll be interesting for you."

Damien pressed a kiss to Vivien's forehead and smiled, "It'll be over before I know it. Now, do you have everything?" Vivien nodded. "Are you sure? You've got your toothbrush, hairbrush?"

"I'm sure, Dad," Vivien chuckled. "And, before you ask, yes, I have the taser pen Riven's dad gave me. I took the batteries out and everything, just like he taught me."

Nodding, Damien sighed, "Good. I know I'm overthinking this, but I don't want you to be in a strange city without protection."

"I know," Vivien said with a knowing smirk. "And I don't blame you. It would be stupid of me to go without anything."

Damien hummed before smiling at his oldest girl, "I had your sister sneak something into your bag from the three of us, but promise me you won't open it until you get where you're going and have the chance to settle in."

Glancing at her sister, wondering when she could have slipped something into her luggage, Vivien smiled and said, "I won't, I promise."

"Good," he said, more for himself than his daughter. Then, patting her arm, Damien told Vivien, "Alright, well, get going before I chicken out."

"Alright, alright," Vivien snickered as she rolled her eyes up at her dad. "I'm going."

Allowing his daughter to step away and pull the zipper of her raincoat up as far as it would go, Damien pulled up her suitcase handle and held it out for her to take as he breathed, "Have fun, sweetheart."

"I'll try."

Placing a hand over Vivien's, he smiled, "You will." Once Vivien nodded in agreement, he requested, "Let us know when you land, okay?"

"Of course," Vivien beamed, anticipation bubbling up in her chest as she nodded excitedly. "I'll let you know when we get to their house too."

As Oliver opened the door and Vivien stepped out, Abby said, "I'll let Mom know you said goodbye."

Vivien crossed the threshold of the house and dragged her luggage with her, waving to the Birches and saying, "Thanks. I'll see you guys in ten days."

"Have fun!" Abby called as Vivien rushed through the rain to the Birch family's minivan.

"Enjoy the sun!" Damien said as Brady helped Vivien haul her suitcase into the trunk before closing it.

"Don't get wasted on the beach!" Oliver added, earning him a middle finger from his oldest sister and a tap on the back of the head from their dad. "What?" he asked rhetorically as Vivien hopped into the van and rolled the window down. "I'm just saying."

As the vehicle began to roll down the driveway, Vivien leaned out as far as the seatbelt would allow and yelled, "Love you!"

As her family called back in kind, Vivien rolled up the window and relaxed in her seat, earning a chuckle from Mick as the older brunette greeted her, "You look like a wet dog."

Laughing breathlessly, Vivien pushed her stringy, wet bangs away from her forehead and sighed, "I probably smell like one too, to be honest with you."

Mick pretended to sniff the air before grinning, "Only a little bit."

Vivien smiled and tipped her head to the side, finding Mick's gaze as she sighed, "I hope I don't look like a drowned rat when Royce sees me."

Mack laughed from the passenger's seat, leaning over the center console to see Vivien as she reassured her, "You won't, sweetheart. We'll make sure of it."

"I mean," Brady drawled as he pulled out onto the main roads, seemingly weighing his options until Mack slapped his arm with the back of her hand.

"Brady!"

"Kidding!" the man chuckled, somewhat proud of his playful jibe as the girls in the backseat snickered.

Vivien sighed contentedly as she relaxed into the van's faded, somewhat worn fabric seats, "I've missed this."

"You won't be saying that for long," Mack claimed. "By the end of the first week, you'll be begging us to send you home."

"Doubtful," Vivien replied with a smile. The idea of spending any length of time in the world Mick had been talking her ear off about since the day she discovered it back in December had been like something of a fantasy for Vivien. Now that she actually had the chance to see the places in her friends' pictures, the thought of cutting her stay short for anything other than the most dire circumstances was bizarre. "I'm pretty sure you'll have to drag me away kicking and screaming."

"Well, we certainly won't be doing that," Brady laughed.

"Yeah," Mick agreed, taking Vivien's hand with a brilliant smile. "You can stay there with us for as long as you want."

"And time here won't change, right?" Vivien recounted.

"Right," Mack agreed. "That machine will allow you to stay as long as you like without anything changing."

Mick nodded, watching Vivien's thoughtful eyes flicker behind her circular frames as she explained, "We turn the time control mechanism off while we're in this world so that they can enjoy life normally there, but we freeze time here so that we can enjoy things without having to go back and forth to pay bills and stuff like that."

Vivien grinned, "Like taking random teenagers into different dimensions without their parents feeling the need to call everypolice department in the tate to see if they can send out search parties?"

"I guess you could say that," Brady snorted as he pulled onto the turnpike and pressed the gas pedal further toward the floor.

The conversation seemed to split from there as Mack pulled up the directions to the airport on her phone, telling Brady to slow down before they reached a particular spot the state troopers liked to park in order to catch people speeding on the turnpike. Watching trees and distant buildings fly by as the car sped up, Vivien pulled her phone out of her pocket and unlocked the Discord chat she had with her bandmates, sending them a selfie of herself and Mick before hastily typing a message about them finally being on the road.

Erica was the first to respond - her text of "bitch, you bettr not become a fuckign valley girl!" appearing just before Riven's "Have fun, Pip! Don't get eaten by a shark; I need you for comp" and followed soon after by Jade's ever-calm message of, "ignore their bs. we love you. stay safe. xoxo." Vivien snickered as the trio began blowing up her phone; Erica starting an argument with Riven about sharks being harmless while also telling Jade to fuck off for being the responsible one.

"You good over there?" Mick asked, her humor evident as Vivien glanced up from her phone.

Holding out the device and leaning over so that they could both watch the drama unfold, Vivien explained, "Erica's being a bitch, Riven is a sarcastic shit, and Jade's acting like a mother hen, so Erica picked a fight with both of them."

Mick watched as Erica sent a wall of text that only consisted of the middle finger emoji, snickering, "So, a normal day, then?"

"Pretty much," Vivien agreed. As they watched conversation bubbles appear and Erica's rant spiral into nonsense, her smile faltered. She would miss them while she was away. Even when her family went on vacations, Riven would go with them, and she could text the girls anytime she wanted. This time, her ability to message them and ask them for advice on things would be revoked the minute she entered the other world. With a heavy sigh, she admitted, "I'm going to miss them."

Taking in the girl's expression, Mick reached up and placed a hand on Vivien's back, rubbing circles into her plastic raincoat as she said, "It'll suck for a few days, but after a while, you sort of get used to it."

Peering up at the older girl, Vivien allowed herself to smile, "You're talking from experience, aren't you?"

"Sadly," Mick confirmed. "My instincts were to take pictures of everything to show my friends when I got back, but then I realized I couldn't. It took a while to adjust and my phone is still full of pictures nobody else has seen, but after a while, I got used to just saving the memories for myself."

Nodding in understanding, Vivien breathed, "Yeah, I guess you're right. I can send them some pictures when I get back, but until then, I can keep them to myself."

Pivoting in her seat, Mick turned toward Vivien and asked, "So, what are your plans for Royce? Are we doing a casual surprise where you just walk in and say hi or are we doing something grand in front of everyone?"

"I don't know," Vivien shrugged. "I haven't really given it a lot of thought. I was more concerned about my mom keeping me from going."

"Well, now we've got time to think it through!" Mick exclaimed, clapping her hands together.

“Not much time,” Mack explained. “We’ll be at the airport in about five, maybe ten minutes, and since we have a private flight, we’ll be in the air within the hour.”

“You guys never told me you have a private jet,” Vivien stated. “Like, I knew you guys had money, but damn.”

“It’s not ours,” Mick shrugged.

“One of my friends from school became a pilot,” Brady explained. “He’s offered us free trips whenever we need it since he knows how often we travel to the East coast and it gives him the opportunity to visit some family of his in Vermont.”

Vivien hummed, more to herself than to anyone in the vehicle, “That’s nice of him.”

After a moment of relative silence, Mick patted Vivien’s hand and told her, “Anyway, regardless of what you decide to do, Royce will be surprised.”

“You think?” Vivien asked. “I thought someone would have told him by now.”

Mick shook her head emphatically, beaming proudly as she explained, “Actually, I haven’t told anybody that you’re coming.”

Vivien’s eyes glittered with excitement as she asked, “Seriously?”

Mick nodded, her wavy hair bouncing with the movement, “I'm not the greatest at being sneaky, so the only person who might know is Butchy, and he’s not one to spill things like that.”

“That’s insane!” Vivien exclaimed, a laugh tumbling from her lips at the thought of surprising her friends with her sudden appearance in their world.

“I know, right!” Mick giggled. “But that means we have endless possibilities for surprising people. It all depends on where they are at the time.”

“When we land, it will be about one in the morning, Pacific Time,” Mack explained. “On a commercial flight, we usually stop a few times along the way to swap planes or pick up new passengers, but since this is private, we’re going to stop in New Jersey for a few minutes due to busy airways, and then get back in the air.”

“That will give us plenty of time to think about it,” Mick said cheerfully.

“And give both of you the chance to sleep,” Brady reminded his daughter, peering at her in the rearview mirror before he pulled onto the street that led them to the airport. “We don’t need both of you to be zombies when we touch down.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Mick brushed off with a wave of her hand, her excitement over the whole situation outweighing the concept of sleep. “Anyway, I’ve got ideas for both options, and we can talk about them on the plane, if you want.”

Sending the older girl a smile and a nod, Vivien watched Mick smile and relax in her seat; pulling out her phone as Vivien took in a slow breath and glanced out the window. As they passed the Mall of New Hampshire, Vivien snapped a quick picture of the building and sent it to the group chart that had begun to quiet without her presence there to encourage the chaos, sending a cheeky message teasing the two girls who worked within the large, stucco and concrete building. Jade was the first to respond, her video message of her waving to the camera, arriving on Vivien’s phone as they pulled up to a gated parking lot. As Brady began speaking to the guard, listing the passengers and which flight they were on, Vivien sent a private message to Riven, telling him how nervous she was about being on a private plane.

‘You have nothing to worry about, Pip,’ was his reply. ‘The Birches know what they’re doing and wouldn’t put you in danger like that. Just breathe. You’ve got this.’

Sucking in a deep breath through gritted teeth, Vivien sent back a reply of gratitude and tried to relax as the car lurched forward and moved past the gate. Mack popped open the console between herself and Brady, pulling out a trio of passports before turning toward Vivien and asking, “Do you have your passport ready?”

Reaching under her rain coat and into the pocket of her hoodie, Vivien pulled the navy blue booklet out and handed it up to Mack, who added it to the stack in her hands. As they rolled down the tarmac, Vivien watched through the windows, trying to guess which aircraft they would be in. Narrowing it down the further they got, Vivien let out a noise of surprise as Brady turned to the side, lurching her toward the door as he pulled to a stop in a parking space. Looking around in confusion, Vivien followed the others out of the car, following Mack to the back of the vehicle, where they pulled their luggage from the trunk.

Mick grabbed Vivien’s free hand, pulling her toward a jet that had the door open and a set of stairs waiting. Pushing the handles of their suitcases down and picking them up by the straps on top, the girls boarded the plane, pushing their suitcases to the side to be scanned before finding seats to collapse into. Nudging Vivien into a window seat, Mick took the seat across from her and relaxed, waiting for her parents to board before instructing the younger girl to buckle up.

After the pilot came to greet them, telling them all the basics he needed to go over before the flight, he returned to the cockpit and announced that they would be leaving as soon as he had permission from the traffic control tower. With much reassurance from the others, Vivien began to relax, snapping pictures of the plane and the setting sun to send to her friends and family. After another announcement came over the speakers about taking off, they were in the air, and Vivien’s phone returned to her pocket as the seatbelt lights turned off. Peeling off her rain coat and shoving it into the seat next to her, Vivien huffed a sigh of relief as she realized the part she had worried about the most was now over.

Watching as the ground below grew smaller and harder to see, Vivien turned her attention to Mick, who had folded her arms on top of the table between them, leaning closer with a smile that told Vivien she didn’t want to know what the girl was going to get her into. “Do I want to know?” she asked the older brunette.

Vivien could hear the girl’s feet thumping against the base of her chair as she swung her legs back and forth, but Mick’s smile refused to dissipate as she explained, “I’ve been cooking up ideas for you.”

Nodding to herself, Vivien rolled her eyes, “Yup, didn’t want to know.”

Ignoring the girl’s statement, Mick said, “I was thinking-”

“That’s dangerous,” Brady chuckled from his seat on the opposite side of the plane.

“Dad,” Mick sighed dramatically. When the older man snickered and struck up a conversation with his wife, Mick turned her attention back to Vivien with a roll of her caramel eyes. “I figured that, once we land, we can-”

“Go to sleep?” Vivien interrupted.

“Ha!” Mick laughed. “No.”

“Yes,” Mack said, her motherly tone giving Mick little to no wiggle room as she deflated slightly.

“Okay, yeah, that too,” Mick relented. “But we can pick out some cute outfits from my closet and make sure you feel beautiful before we go.” Pointedly turning toward her mom, Micxk asked, “Right, Momma?”

“So long as you two aren’t up all night, yes,” Mack replied before taking a sip of the water bottle she had taken from the cabin’s mini fridge. “Now, Vivien, did you have anything to eat, sweetheart? They have sandwiches and things in the fridge, if you’d like.”

“That’s alright,” Vivien brushed off graciously. “Dad brought home some Mickey D’s on his way home from work.”

“I’m surprised he made it through the warden with that,” Brady said in a scoff.

Vivien smirked as the other two women gave their own forms of agreement, simply glad she wasn’t the only one who found her mother’s strict food control to be something of a nightmare. “Yeah, well, he didn’t exactly give her a choice. He came in, gave her a salad to shut her up, and let us get our meals without letting her anger break him down.”

“Good for him,” Mick grinned.

“Glad to know he’s finally growing bigger balls than hers,” Mack added. “I think we’ve all been placing bets to see how long that would take.”

With a hum of agreement, Vivien allowed the conversation to flow between topics, absentmindedly bringing up the subject of the battle bot project she wanted to work on when they got the chance, something that made Mick practically vibrate with excitement. Brady brought up the idea of using his tools if need be, which inspired Mick to go off on a spiel about possibly going to either Butchy’s or Miles’ place of work to utilize their welding kits and use some of the metal scraps they had tossed aside. By the time Mack had managed to pull them away from the topic at hand, they were starting to make their descent at an airport in Newark, New Jersey.

Before the plane took off again, Vivien sent a few relatively dark images and some quick messages to the people who knew she was leaving before stepping into the bathroom of the jet to call her aunts before they went to bed. They discussed the trip and spoke for a while about all of the activities Vivien was looking forward to before they wished each other a good night. Vivien promised to let them know when they landed before ending the call and scurrying back to her seat as the captain announced their approaching departure. Once they were back in the air and allowed to roam about, Mick showed Vivien how to recline her seat and find a comfortable position to sleep in before offering the girl a blanket and promptly passing out in her chair.

One by one, Vivien watched as the Birch family succumbed to the land of dreams, but despite her growing exhaustion and yawns tumbling from her mouth every other minute, she couldn’t find it in herself to actually sleep. She could have easily chalked up her inability to sleep to her nerves, but that wasn’t quite right. Somewhere deep inside her, she knew that there was nothing to worry about. Royce and Bentley would love to drag her around, Carrie had promised to take her to the lot they were filming on if she ever found herself in their world, and even Butchy and Miles had discussed dragging her to their respective jobs to show her knowledge of old vehicles off to their respective coworkers. There was nothing for her to be worked up over.

Forcing herself to take in a deep breath and push her unfounded fears aside, Vivien allowed another yawn to overtake her as she stretched. Reclining her seat and tugging her blanket around her shoulders, Vivien slouched into a more comfortable position, tucked her cell phone into her pocket, set her glasses on the table between herself and Mick’s slumbering form, and waited until the soft humming of the plane’s machinery lulled her to sleep. To her dismay, what felt like only a few minutes passed before Vivien found herself being gently shaken awake, grumbling at the interruption as she rubbed the sleep from her eyes.

A chuckle came from a blurry form as Vivien searched blearily for her glasses, listening to the person apologize in a soft voice before handing her the glasses she was searching for. Finally peering up at the person, Vivien found Brady smiling back at her, offering her a hand as he told her, “We just landed, kiddo. Time to go home.”

Chuckling exhaustedly as she stretched herself out like a cat rising from a comfortable position in the summer sun, Vivien muttered, “Am I too old to ask for someone to carry me?”

Brady let out another soft laugh, “Never, but I haven’t carried anybody in years, and I’d rather not drop you down the stairs of a plane.”

Vivien snorted and pushed herself from her seat, “Yeah, let’s not do that, then.”

“Smart girl,” Mack advised, patting the teenager on the back as she passed her on her way back from the bathroom.

As Brady worked on waking Mick from her slumber, Vivien folded up the blanket she had used, made sure she had everything she brought with her, and followed Mack to the front of the plane, where they received their belongings. Yawning as she followed Mack down the stairs, Vivien welcomed the warm California air with a tired grin. “It’s nice out,” she muttered as Mack led her toward a pale blue Jeep that had been brought onto the tarmac for them.

Accepting her car keys from the driver who brought the car over, Mack chuckled, “My phone says it’s fifty-something right now.”

More than content with the idea of the summer-like weather, Vivien sighed happily as she hauled her suitcase into the trunk of the car alongside Mack’s, “Like I said, I think you guys will have to drag me kicking and screaming from this place.”

Bringing an arm around Vivien’s shoulders, Mack smiled, “Just wait until you see how close we are to the beach.”

Vivien’s eyes glittered as the woman brought her to the side of the car, encouraging her to climb inside as Mack slid into the driver’s seat. However, before she climbed inside the vehicle, Vivien pulled out her phone and took a picture of the plane they landed in, sending it to the group chat with her bandmates before sending a message to her family members, letting everyone know they had landed safely in Santa Ana and were on their way to the Birch family’s home. Once she was sure the messages had been sent, Vivien slid into the backseat behind Mack and pulled the seatbelt across her body. Once the others had found their way to the car, Mack started the engine and pulled away from the plane, heading through a series of gates before making her way to the street and pulling away from the John Wayne Airport.

Unable to fall back asleep as they pulled onto the San Diego Freeway, Vivien watched with wide eyes as she took in the glow of the city. Throughout the half-hour drive, Vivien took a myriad of pictures. Glowing palm trees, buildings in the distance that appeared to touch the sky, and, as the freeway pulled them through San Juan Capistrano toward the beach, pictures of a seemingly endless night sky over the water. Smiling as he watched the girl take another picture, Brady encouraged his wife to take the long way home without saying a word, and Mack took the next exit, pulling onto Pacific Coast Highway and following it until the first set of lights she could turn at. At the next intersection, she turned onto Park Lantern and followed the street toward the water until it merged with Coast Highway.

The couple suppressed their laughter as Vivien gasped, leaning over their daughter to take pictures of the water that was still covered by a blanket of stars in the nighttime sky. Once houses began to block her view, Vivien relaxed, but her excitement was still very much palpable as the car glided down the highway. Turning toward the backseat, Brady kept his voice hushed as they slowed to a stop at a red light, “If you want a good shot, our street sign is right up here.”

“Really?” Vivien whispered.

Brady hummed in confirmation, “It’s on the light post up here on your side.”

Sure enough, as Vivien leaned closer to her window and squinted up at the post, she found a green sign with the words “Camino Capistrano” in thick, white writing. Although her cell phone refused to see the sign in the dark, Vivien smiled and kept her eyes on it until they had turned onto the aforementioned street and could no longer see the sign. Smiling more to herself than anything, Vivien watched with bated breath as Mack drove further up the street, past a traffic light, and through a curve. When they finally pulled to a stop in front of a fancy black gate with a Mediterranean-style roof and a few doors on either side, Vivien felt her jaw hit the floor.

Contrary to popular opinion, Vivien’s family had money. For a while in her childhood, her family had lived in an apartment that barely gave them enough room to live, but they had enough money to put food on the table and buy new things here and there. After her grandparents offered them the opportunity to move into their old house and take over the winery while they moved closer to their beloved summer camp, Vivien felt as though she was the luckiest person on the planet. While they weren’t exactly Elon Musk-level rich, the winery her parents operated and her grandparent’s summer camp made them more than financially secure. Knowing she had the chance to take on their jobs in the future, Vivien thought she would become richer than she had ever previously thought possible. However, as she got her first look at the Birch’s house, she realized she didn’t know shit about rich people.

Being well off on the East Coast meant having a home you owned, a car or two, and potentially a pet if you felt like it. Most people back home enjoyed taking up residence in old, colonial-style homes that would set them back a good hundred thousand dollars at least and were originally built for families with eleven or twelve children. East Coast wealth was classy, clean, and, well, antique. West Coast wealth, on the other hand, was a new kind of expensive. Stepping out of the car once they rolled to a stop in the four-car garage, Vivien couldn’t help but feel poor in every sense of the word.

Although Vivien had seen bits and pieces of the house over FaceTime with Mick, the sheer size of the house was astonishing. Following closely behind her friend, Vivien’s eyes scanned from the large, orange roof to the various balconies, to the swimming pool that seemed to wrap around the side of the house, and the various water guns and toys strewn about in the yard that were evidence that her friends from another world had visited before the Birches had come to collect her. Entering the house, Vivien waited for the lights to turn on before looking around at the pristine entryway. A large glass chandelier hung above the entrance, glimmering rays of light throughout the hall and part of the living room.

Although Vivien felt more than awake and ready to explore the luxurious home, Mack and Brady urged her to follow Mick upstairs once she had taken her shoes off by the door. Relenting despite her excitement, Vivien followed Mick up the hardwood stairs, grinning at the various childhood photographs of Mick and her friends along the wall as they climbed. Coming to the landing, Vivien found herself taken aback once more by the view. Across from the top of the stairs was a panoramic view of the beach across the street, a comfortable lounge area settled facing the floor-to-ceiling windows with a television mounted on the right wall - the only one without windows.

Before she could take a moment to process the kitchenette on one side of the staircase or the gaming area on the other, Vivien found herself taken by the wrist around the banister to a short hallway with three doors. They passed a room with Mick’s initial painted on the door, but Mick didn’t so much as glance toward her bedroom before opening the door to another room at the end of the hall and stepping aside for Vivien to enter.

With a yawn, the short brunette explained, “This used to be one of our guest rooms, but the boys usually take it when they stay with us, so a lot of Bentley art supplies and Royce’s books stay here.”

Looking up at the coffered, waffle-esque design on the ceiling and the various signs of life in the room, Vivien let out a disbelieving laugh, “This is insane.”

Mick took a look around and sighed at how poorly she had cleaned the room before leaving the week before, “Yeah, I know it’s not the cleanest right now, but we can pick everything up in the morning if you-”

“No, no, no!” Vivien said with a quick shake of her head, turning back toward her friend with a smile as she stood her suitcase by the end of the queen-sized bed. “Mick, you don’t understand.”

Confused in part by the conversation and part by her lack of sleep, Mick’s head tipped slightly to the side as she asked, “What do you mean?”

“I thought my house was big and that we were well off,” Vivien began, twirling around as she examined the room before finding Mick’s gaze again, “but I think yours just bitch-slapped my whole family onto the poverty line!”

Mick let out a snort, shaking her head fondly, “Well, don’t start comparing dick sizes just yet, gremlin. Save that for a time when I can actually think straight.”

“I hardly ever think straight,” Vivien smirked, taking a seat on the edge of the bed she had been given.

With a roll of her eyes and a fond smile, Mick teased, “Believe me, I know. Now, try to get some sleep. You don’t want jet lag to knock you out on your ass later.”

Raising her hand to her forehead in a mock salute, Vivien said, “Sir, yes, sir.”

Chuckling, Mick wished the younger girl a good night before disappearing into the hall, leaving the girl’s door open so that she could see the dimly lit lights in the hallway. Taking in a deep breath in the silence of her new room, Vivien hefted her suitcase onto the bed beside her and unzipped it, pulling out her astronaut lamp and setting it aside before tugging a pair of celestial pajama shorts and a matching tank top from one side of her suitcase. Picking up the luggage, she carried it over to a chair and left it open in the seat, changed into her pajamas, plugged in her lamp, and slipped under the covers with her headphones in one hand and phone in the other.

Putting on her headphones and listening to one of her favorite ASMR channels while watching the stars dance across the ceiling, Vivien finally found herself able to fall asleep relatively quickly. Dreams of surfing cerulean waves with her friends filled her night, and by the time the sun had begun poking through the curtains on either side of her bed, Vivien felt well-rested and ready to start her day. After hastily getting dressed in something appropriate for the eighty-three-degree weather her phone forecasted, Vivien took her time examining the house as she made her way down to the kitchen. Mick’s bedroom had already been vacated, and if the voices floating up the stairs were anything to go by, she was with her parents.

Making her way through the house to the kitchen, Vivien smiled as she listened to her friend’s family converse. The energy in the Birch’s house was always somewhat calming to Vivien, an environment where she could relax and feel at home regardless of what they were up to that day, but the feeling of belonging never wavered, no matter how far apart they truly were. Watching Mick dance around with her mother to the music on the radio, Vivien smiled as she leaned against the island counter. Brady nudged her arm as the song changed, beaming at the new addition to their household before offering her his hand.

Without much hesitation, Vivien placed her hand in Brady’s and allowed him to lead her in a bouncy dance that twirled them around the kitchen as Vivien giggled. Mack and her daughter stopped after a while to watch the pair, listening to Vivien half-sing, half-shriek her way through the lyrics as Brady spun her around the kitchen with ease. As the song came to an end, he twirled Vivien away, grinning as she laughed over the voice of the radio host.

Once her vision had stopped spinning, Vivien giggled, “Good morning, America!”

Brady chuckled, “Good way to get the blood pumping early in the morning, right, kiddo?”

Vivien nodded, but it was Mack who spoke, “We find it’s nice to do something fun before you start your day.”

“Speaking of starting your day,” Mick began as Vivien climbed onto one of the stools on the side of the island, “are you feeling up to leaving yet?”

“Makana,” Mack scolded lightly, “let the poor girl wake up first.”

Vivien smiled as Mick sighed dramatically, but she shook her head as she turned to the older woman. “It’s alright, Mrs B. I think I’m too excited to be tired.”

Sighing as he opened the fridge, Brady said, “Well, that’s good because I think we’re going to have to have breakfast at Butchy and Lela’s house this morning.”

Mack appeared confused for a moment before realization dawned on her face, “We forgot to pick up food last night.”

Mick shrugged, “It was two in the morning.”

With a shake of his head, Brady turned to his daughter and asked, “Do you mind us using your kitchen?”

Before Mick could reply, Vivien asked, “Wouldn’t it be easier to go to Big Momma’s for breakfast since we have to go there anyway?”

“It would be,” Mick replied with a nod, “but by the time we pry Lela off of you, it’ll be time for lunch.” Turning back to her parents as Vivien nodded in understanding, she said, “Butchy and I can make up something while everyone gets settled in.”

Mack nodded and turned her attention back to Vivien before asking, “Would you like to go now, then? Do you have anything you would like to bring with you?”

Vivien thought for a moment before nodding, “I brought some stuff with me that I wanted to show everyone. Can I run up and grab it?”

“You don’t have to ask, Vivien,” Brady insisted. Nodding toward the stairs, he said, “Just go; we’ll still be here when you come back.”

As Vivien slid out of her seat, Mick patted her arm excitedly and said, “Just put your clothes on the bed and take your whole suitcase. I’m, like, ninety-three percent sure you’ll leave with more clothes than you came with.”

Her excitement surging at the idea, Vivien nodded and hurried for the stairs, bounding up them two at a time and pushing aside her desire to explore the large home as she headed for her room. Moving her suitcase from the chair she left it on to the end of her bed, Vivien began pulling out a majority of her daily clothes, leaving her essentials, headphones, charger cords, astronaut lamp, the envelope with her name on it that her siblings and father had given her before she left home, and a few items of clothing Carrie and Lela had let her “borrow” and never got back. Once she was certain she had everything she wanted to bring with her for however long she would be away, Vivien zipped up her bag and took in a deep breath. Glancing out the window at San Clemente, Vivien smiled at the knowledge that, within mere minutes, she would be transported into a world she had only ever heard in stories and seen in a movie.

Grabbing her suitcase by the handle, Vivien left her bedroom and headed for the stairs, lifting her bag before her descent and taking the handle once she’d reached the landing. Practically skipping to the kitchen, Vivien beamed at the Birches as she cheered, “Ready for liftoff!”

Happy to show off his work to a new person, Brady clapped his hands and gestured toward the sliding glass doors that led to the backyard, “After you, kiddo.”

Vivien took the lead, opening one side of the door and sucking in a sharp breath as she was hit full-force with the heat of Southern California. Mick snickered, wrapping an arm around Vivien and guiding her toward the shed at the back of their property as she chuckled, “Welcome to California.”

‘Ugh,” Vivien groaned, “is it always like this?”

“Not always, no,” Mick claimed, “but believe me, summers are much worse in Florida.”

Hoping the older girl was simply joking, Vivien remained quiet until Mick ushered her into the shed, and she was made to carefully toe her way around scrapped projects and stray tools until she reached the yellow, tube-shaped behemoth pressed securely against the back wall. A large flower Vivien recalled seeing on a surfboard hanging on the wall in the Birch’s home was engraved into metal at the very top of the machine, wires and metal bars sticking out behind it in a haphazard yet efficient way. Pulling the handle on the right side of the machine, Vivien stepped back as the rounded glass panel at the front slid back into the left side of the machine.

With a gentle nudge from Mack, Vivien stepped into the machine, followed soon after by the family who had brought her there. As the glass door slid closed again, Mick took her friend's free hand and told her to hang on to her belongings before instructing her to watch out the window to see things change around them. Somewhat cautious of the machine as it whirred to life, Vivien watched as a vibrant glow from above seemed to illuminate the otherwise dark mechanic's shed. A soft hum filled the air as colors began to swirl outside the machine, a kaleidoscope of hues coming to life in a vibrant array that faintly reminded Vivien of a show she had seen as a child. The colors grew brighter and more vibrant, rivaling the LED lights Vivien knew Oliver had lining his ceiling before slowly dimming and allowing Vivien to see her first glimpse of another world.

Although she didn't want to appear let down by the view she was given, Vivien couldn't help her quirked brow and immediate response of, "It's an old pickup in a dark garage. Cool."

Nudging her friend with her elbow, Mick stepped around her to open the door and snorted, "It's Butchy's. Now, come on."

Taken by the hand. Vivien was dragged into the house and pulled toward the kitchen, where running water could be heard just over the sound of Chubby Checker's song The Twist that played over the radio. As she came to a stop, Vivien felt a smile split her face as she took in the striped wallpaper and yellow cabinets, the vibrant colors of the room making it feel even more inviting than she thought it would. Tilting so she could see around Mick, Vivien held in a laugh with a hand over her mouth as Butchy turned off the faucet, and Lela's voice could be heard as she danced to the music beside him. It wasn't until the music came to an end and the radio host began speaking about the next song that the raven-haired girl noticed the new figures in her house.

Lela jumped and pressed a hand to her chest, her instinctive reaction to cuss out her sister-in-law cut short as she spotted the taller brunette standing behind Mick. Letting out a screech so shrill Butchy flinched behind her, Lela rocketed forward, all but shoving Mick out of the way in order to wrap her arms around her younger friend. Rocking Vivien from one side to the other, Lela excitedly asked, "What are you doing here?!"

"It's spring break back home," Vivien explained as Lela moved back just enough to squish her cheeks in her hands. With her lips resembling that of a goldfish, Vivien continued, "I wanted to surprise everyone."

Prying his sister's hands away from the sixteen-year-old's face, Butchy smiled, "If this is anything to go by, I think Royce might end up having a heart attack when he sees you."

"Let's hope not," Vivien chuckled somewhat nervously. "I don't particularly feel like killing him."

"Sure," Butchy chortled sarcastically. "You know, I've seen some of those crime shows you love so much, piccola. You'd be arrested in an instant if you tried to kill anyone."

Smirking, Vivien said, "First of all, I watch those enough to know how to not get caught at this point. And, second, one of these days, I'm going to figure out what you're calling me, big guy."

"I'm sure you will," Butchy grinned, allowing the girl to step forward and bring her arms around him as he ruffled her hair. "It's good to see you again, Viv."

Staring accusatorily at the man as she took a step back, Vivien asked, "Is the swear jar still in place here?"

Confused as to what that had to do with him being glad to see her, Butchy slowly nodded, "Yeah, why?"

"In that case," Vivien huffed, "I'd say it's nice to see you too, but maybe I shouldn't just yet."

"Oh yeah?" Butchy questioned. "Just because of the swear jar?"

"Mhm," Vivien nodded. "You keep that thing in place and I'll be broke by the end of my first week here."

Butchy chuckled, but before he could formulate a response to Vivien's jab, Lela spoke up, "You're staying for more than a week?"

Turning to the shorter girl, Vivien shrugged, "I was hoping to, if that's alright."

Mick chuckled as she began pulling things from the refrigerator, "She is. I don't think her staying is the problem."

"What do you mean?" Lela wondered.

Butchy stepped up to the counter to help Mick make breakfast before answering, "After letting the boys know she's here, it'll be nearly impossible for them to let her return home."

Lela breathed a noise of understanding before taking Vivien's hands and saying, "We need you to look as normal as possible before you go see the boys. How do you feel about borrowing something of mine?"

Smiling, Vivien nodded, "You're the boss."

As Lela let out a noise of excitement and began pulling her away, Butchy called out, "See you in three hours."

Vivien barely got the chance to look around on her way up to Lela's room, pulled up the stairs faster than she thought humanly possible as Lela began babbling about all the things she wanted to do with the younger girl. Although the girl's excitement was evident, Vivien couldn't help but feel astonished at how fast Lela could talk when she was happy. As Lela pulled her into her bedroom, Vivien couldn't help but look around in wonder at how different it was from the movie. Despite everything looking fairly similar, there were touches of modernity that stood out against the mid-century style of the room - pictures from modern times that had made it back in the girl's luggage, an old iPod Vivien was sure Mick had given her, and some items strewn about that Vivien recalled seeing the older girl buy in her world.

Before Vivien could ask her about anything she saw, Lela pulled her over to the closet, where she revealed a room that had Vivien convinced she had somehow ended up transported to Mia Thermopolis's closet from the second Princess Diaries movie. Two plush chairs sat against the far wall, racks of clothes illuminated by little dome lights lined the walls, and shelves of shoes and accessories filled the empty space. Lela scanned the racks of clothing as Vivien looked around in wonder, picking up a pair of oversized sunglasses with a smile before setting them down and moving on to the shoes.

Moving with practice ease through her color-coordinated clothing, Lela pulled clothes down by their hangers and began stacking them on her chair. Once she felt satisfied by the selection she had laid out, Lela turned to Vivien and smiled as the girl looked at herself in the mirror with a pair of elbow-length gloves, cat-eye sunglasses, and a large sunhat that flopped in front of her face. Stepping up behind the girl, Lela said, "Time to play dress-up."

Vivien giggled, pulling the sunhat off of her head and lowering the sunglasses as she said, "I think I already am."

"And you look fabulous," Lela claimed with a smile before stepping aside and gesturing to the clothes on one of her chairs. "However, I put aside some clothes for you to try on."

"Ooh," Vivien sang as she turned around, setting her accessories aside in favor of the large pile. As Lela began setting things in their rightful places, Vivien picked through the clothing and quickly found herself lost in the myriad of colors, fabrics, and styles. "You want me try on all of this?"

Lela glanced at the dainty watch on her wrist that her uncle had gifted her for her birthday before answering, "Well, I think we'll only have time for a few before they bring us something to eat, but yeah."

Shifting a pair of shorts onto the arm of the chair, Vivien mused, "I'm surprised you didn't want me in a dress today."

"Normally," Lela began as she made up the distance between herself and the brunette, "I would have, but where most of my dresses would be far too short on you, I figured we could make up for that at the shops later. For now, I figured pedal pushers, tees, and some shorts would be more comfortable for you."

"You're definitely not wrong," Vivien smiled. Turning to the older girl, she asked, "Where should I try these on?"

"Right here," Lela beamed, unhooking a curtain from the wall and letting it fall between herself and Vivien. "If you find anything you feel suits you for the day, let me know and I'll come help you look for accessories. In the meantime, I'll be doing my morning skincare."

Excitement flowed through her like an ice-cold drink on a hot summer day, and Vivien thanked Lela before turning toward her pile of clothing and sorting through everything. Setting aside bottoms she could put together with various tops, Vivien began picking out options and trying them on, examining her reflection before trying on something new. After trying on different outfits for a while, Vivien finally settled on one - a pair of striped, white and lavender shorts with a matching purple tank top that covered far more skin than that of the tank tops back home. Lela was quick to offer assistance with the rest of the outfit, deeming Vivien's classic, black and white, doodle-covered Converse acceptable before selecting a handful of necklaces and bracelets for the brunette to choose between.

Once they had taken a break to eat breakfast, Lela began working her magic on Vivien's hair. After making sure her bangs were separated from the rest of her hair by a curler, Lela brushed out Vivien's hip-length locks before pulling them up into a ponytail and securing them with not only an elastic but also a ribbon. Lela curled the very ends of Vivien's ponytail so that it all ended in a uniform ring before spraying it down with enough hairspray to poke a hole in the ozone layer and pulling the curler out from under Vivien's bangs.

Grinning in disbelief at her reflection in Lela's vanity, Vivien thanked Lela for putting in more effort than she ever did back home, "I could never do anything like this."

"You could," Lela argued as she placed the cover back on her canister of hairspray and set it on the corner of her vanity. "It just takes practice, that's all."

"And far more patience than I could ever manage," Vivien chuckled, rising slowly from the bench Lela had practically shoved her onto. "Seriously, though, Lela, thank you."

"Anytime," Lela beamed. Checking her watch once again, she clapped her hands and said, "Now, I believe it's time we show you off to everyone at Big Momma's."

"What about Royce?" Vivien asked hesitantly as Lela began to leave the room. "Shouldn't we go see him first?"

Turning back to Vivien as she opened her bedroom door, Lela smirked knowingly, "His shift starts early on weekends."

"His shift?"

But Lela was already on her way out of the room, a wink being the only response Vivien could pry from the girl as she followed Lela out of the room and down to the living room where everyone else was waiting. With everyone else decked out in their finest sixties regalia, Vivien didn't feel half as out of place as she assumed she would be as she followed them outside, where a blue Volkswagen bus waited. As Mick climbed into the driver's seat, Vivien was allowed the seat beside her, and once everyone was inside, they took off down the road. Taking in the sights of the beach town as they rolled down the street, Vivien found it impossible to wipe the smile from her face.

The look of everything in the area was so different than what she was used to back home - mid-century houses with slanted roofs and fun doorways lined one side of the street while small businesses with typically fifties and sixties fonts in their windows lined the other. Turning toward Mick, she said, "I think I'm already in love."

With a laugh, Mick's gaze flitted toward the brunette before settling on the road again as she turned into a small parking lot where a few cars and motorcycles had parked, the expansive beach and a large building with a thatched roof within walking distance of the lot. Confused, Vivien followed the others as they climbed out of the car, but as everyone headed around the building, Vivien found herself dragged by the wrist toward the back entrance. Mick held the door for her younger friend and guided her through the kitchen before depositing her by the refrigerator and telling her to stay low until she came to get her.

Resigning to her fate of being stuck between the fridge and the trash can, Vivien crouched low to the floor, observing the people in the kitchen as they moved around, seemingly without noticing her presence. The smell of freshly cooked fish and baked potatoes filled the air, contrasting the stench of the food scraps piling up in the trash next to Vivien as she inched as close to the fridge as possible. However, as a blonde waitress entered the kitchen through the swinging door Mick had left through, Vivien found herself caught. With a hesitant smile and an awkward wave, the blonde neared the fridge with a tray and gathered colorful bottles of soda from it before placing it on a stainless steel counter and glancing over her shoulder at Vivien.

"Are you supposed to be back here?" the girl asked, a thick, southern twang accenting her voice.

Vivien swallowed thickly, offering a shrug as she explained, "My friend pushed me back here."

"Why?" the blonde questioned as she began popping off the lids of the sodas.

"I'm trying to surprise my boyfriend," Vivien explained. "I'm from New Hampshire and he doesn't know I'm here."

The blonde glanced around the kitchen, seemingly looking for someone, before settling her hazel eyes back on the girl crouched on the floor. Lowering her voice, she said, "Be grateful Big Momma isn't back here. This place is supposed to be staff-only after the soda geyser incident that happened a few weeks ago."

"Soda geyser?" Vivien repeated, mildly curious as to whether or not that had anything to do with the Mentos experiment she had shown the boys over Facetime not long ago.

"It was a huge mess," the blonde said before waving it off. Kneeling down to the brunette's height, the girl held out a hand and asked, "What's your name?"

Latching hands with the girl, Vivien smiled and said, "I'm-"

"Vivien, it's time!" Mick whisper-yelled as she pushed open the swinging door. Finding the girl on the floor and the blonde in front of her, Mick stalled, the gears in her brain turning for a moment as she processed the scene before a smile appeared on her face. "Oh, hey, Juliet."

"Hey, Mick," Juliet greeted. Turning back to the girl before her, she asked, "I presume that makes you Vivien?"

Vivien nodded, "And you Juliet?"

"Guilty as charged," Juliet smiled, her teeth a blinding white in comparison to her peachy lip gloss. Pulling the younger girl to her feet, Juliet asked, "So, what's the plan? How're we surprising this lucky mystery boy?"

"Well, I was thinking Viv could go out and pretend to be a waitress to surprise him," Mick claimed.

Glancing through the serving window, Juliet asked, "What table are they?"

"It's Miles' little brother, Royce," Mick explained. "He should be on his lunch break with his brothers now, right?"

Juliet's wide-eyed gasp shocked Vivien as the blonde whirled around, "Wait, for real? You're with Royce?" When Vivien slowly nodded in confirmation, Juliet let out a soft chuckle, "Everyone thought he was pulling our legs when he said he had a girlfriend. Especially 'cause he said she lived in a different state."

"Well, he was telling the truth," Vivien smiled nervously.

"I guess so," Juliet beamed. Turning to Mick, she said, "Anyway, I just got all their drinks together. If you want to head out now, I'll take Vivien here with me and say she's a new trainee."

Mick thought for a moment, but it didn't take her long to decide, "Honestly, that's a better plan than mine. I'll go back to my seat, and I'll see you out there in a few!"

As Mick hurried back through the door, Juliet turned to Vivien and asked, "So, newbie, are you ready for your first day at work?"

"I guess so," Vivien said, sucking in a deep breath.

With a smile, Juliet took a spare waist apron from the hangers on the wall and tied it around the younger girl before picking up her tray of sodas and asking, "Think you can carry this to their booth?"

"I can certainly try," Vivien offered, eyeing the collection of colored liquids.

Once Juliet was sure Vivien had a good hold on the tray, she said, "Just stay behind me and don't say a word until I introduce you. The less chance he has of seeing you, the better chances you have of surprising him."

Vivien nodded, and without another word, Juliet began to lead the way out, holding the door open behind her for Vivien before leading her through the busy restaurant. Vivien didn't get the chance to look around much as they walked, more focused on not spilling any drinks than exploring. However, as Juliet stopped at a booth along the far wall, Vivien looked around, hoping to see some familiar faces among the crowds.

Clearing her throat, Juliet spoke, "Hope y'all don't mind, but we've got a new girl with us this noontime and I figured I'd show her the ropes while Royce here takes his break."

"That's fine, Jules," Vivien heard Miles say. "What's her name?"

"I figured I'd let her introduce herself when she's ready," Juliet said, glancing over her shoulder at Vivien before stepping aside.

Finally able to see the group in the booth, Vivien took in the look of surprise on Miles' face first. Miles quickly got Carrie's attention by squeezing her hand, getting her to look up from the menu in her hands. Cerulean eyes glittered like fireworks as Carrie saw the girl standing at the end of the table, and she hurriedly tapped Bentley's shin under the table with the toe of her shoe, making him lift his head from the crayon drawings he had begun on the back of one of the disposable, paper placemats. Somewhat annoyed at the interruption, Bentley lifted his gaze with a question on his lips, but as Carrie pointed to the end of the table, his question died, and his mouth dropped open, his eyes widening to the size of dinner plates.

Before anyone could signal Royce to lift his head from his arms as he yawned tiredly toward the table, Vivien smiled at his tangled curls and said, "Hey, handsome."

Without bothering to look up, Royce decided that, since nobody else cared to speak, he would, and mumbled, "Believe it or not, Miles has a girlfriend."

Vivien fought down a laugh and said, "Believe it or not, I wasn't talking to him."

The first to pull himself out of his shocked stupor, Miles grinned and said, "Royce has one too."

"I don't see her anywhere," Vivien said, placing the tray of drinks on the end of the table. "Maybe I need a mirror."

Royce rolled his eyes, lifting his head from his arms enough to take his soda from the tray as he said, "Not interested."

"Royce," Bentley began warningly but was quickly stopped by Miles as the oldest of the brothers placed a finger to his lips and gestured for the boy to stay silent.

"Damn," Vivien sighed as Royce's forehead rested against his arms once more. "And here I thought we would have lasted at least half a year before you decided to break up with me, Rolls."

Startled by the choice of nickname, Royce's eyes peeled open, and through the corner of his eyes, he found himself looking at a pair of Converse with faded doodles on the white of the toe, but it wasn't until he saw the tiny ship charm dangling from her laces that he began putting pieces together. As he slowly lifted his head, Royce found himself frozen with shock. Sure enough, standing before him was his girlfriend, but she looked as though she had stepped out of a magazine. Her typical jeans and T-shirt were replaced with clothing he was used to seeing on some of his friends at school, and her hair was pulled into a ponytail he knew she would normally complain about at the end of the day, but she didn't seem upset by it in the slightest. Her round glasses caught the light above their table perfectly, glinting magically as the light above another nearby table casted a golden halo around her from behind. For a while, Royce was convinced he was seeing things - Vivien couldn't be in his world; it was impossible! She would have told him she was coming! - but then she smiled down at him and said something he couldn't hear over the thoughts running rampant in his head.

Swallowing as he blinked up at her, Royce softly asked, "Vivien?"

The girl before him laughed, and while that beautiful symphony was all he needed to hear, her nod dispelled any further doubts he could have had. Rocketing up from his seat, Royce lunged forward, bringing his arms around her as far as they would reach, nearly lifting her from the floor as she giggled by his ear. They stood like that for what felt like an eternity before Royce backed away enough to take her face in his hands, examining her as though it was the first time.

"Hey," she breathed, as eloquent as ever.

"You-" Royce cut himself off with a laugh, "You're real. You're real and you're here. How are you here?"

Vivien shrugged, "Magic."

Scoffing a laugh, Royce shook his head and brought her back into an embrace that she quickly returned. Looking over her boyfriend's shoulder at the group, who had now pulled themselves out of the booth to greet her, Vivien smiled and gestured for Bentley to join them. Needing no further encouragement, Bentley was quick to attach himself to the pair, ducking under Royce's arm as it came around his shoulders and smiling as Vivien's snuck around his back. The trio refused to separate until Miles asked for his hug, making Vivien pry herself away from her boys for long enough to give Miles and Carrie a greeting as well. Then, just like magnets, the trio fell back together again. This time, however, they separated after a minute, and with Vivien's hands locked firmly in theirs, the boys began showing her around to anyone and everyone who would give them the time of day.

Vivien couldn't help but smile as she was dragged through the restaurant, her face burning like a neon firetruck. As much as she hated being the center of attention, she tried to swallow back her growing anxiety at being surrounded by strangers in favor of allowing the boys to introduce her to the people they cared about. She was sure her growing nerves and embarrassment at being shown off like a prize horse would wear off over time once the boys began to settle, and she wasn't about to complain to either of them until they were calmed down a bit. After all, they had waited long enough for this. Besides, what was the harm of a little embarrassment? If it meant the boys' gleaming smiles never left their faces, she would deal with it a thousand times over. Catching Royce watching her fondly as Bentley introduced her to some of their and their brother's friends, Vivien smiled.

Maybe - just maybe - she could get used to this.

#Same Trailer Different Park #STDP #and so it begins

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jmrothwell · 8 months

Note

In honour of your yellow moodboard, a yellow prompt for Willie: "I think I broke my leg."

Julie had practically given up on her homework when her phone rang, the screen displaying the caller may be potential spam. Normally she wouldn’t answer these but given the choice between potentially being able to troll some scammer or pull out her own hair, she chose the former. Not even bothering to hide her frustration from her greeting?

“Julie?”

Her brows furrowed, incredibly tempted to hang up then but something about the vague familiarity of their voice kept her on the line. “Who is this?”

“It’s Willie.”

“Willie?” That got her to sit up straighter, automatically looking around her room for Alex even though she already knew he wasn’t there. “What? How did you call me?”

“Ghost trick.” He chuckled though it sounded strained.

“Oh.” She did vaguely remember the guys mentioning Willie being able to mess with electronics. Even heard Carlos mention some supposed true stories of ghosts being able to talk through radios and phones, she just didn’t expect it to be true. “Uuuh, sorry but Alex isn’t here right now.”

“Actually,” Willie took a sharp breath that sounded like a hiss across the line. “I didn't want to panic him and I didn’t know who else to call.”

“Why? What’s going on?”

“I think. . I think I broke my leg.”

“What?” Julie’s brain briefly short circuited, wrapping her head around the sentence. She couldn’t have heard him right. “How?”

Another strained laugh and hiss of air. “Yeah, I landed this trick wrong, and didn’t catch myself properly.”

“But you’re a ghost” She practically screeches, interrupting his explanation

“So are the guys.”

It’s a bizarrely valid argument in a conversation she never expected to have. Ever since the post Orpheum hug the guys had been toeing the line between life and death until it wasn’t clear if there even was a line there anymore.

“Right.” She says with a sigh, there are more important things to focus on at the moment. “Can you still poof?”

“I haven’t tried, wasn’t sure where to poof to, y’know?”

“Yeah,” she agrees, not sure herself where they should even take him to get checked out. Would he even be visible to a doctor? Were there any ghost doctors? “Ok, how about you try poofing here, and if you can’t we may have to get the guys involved. Then we’ll figure out where to go from there.”

“Yeah, yeah ok.” He says and the line goes dead.

While she knows he didn’t want to worry Alex, she doubts she can figure this out on her own and informing Luke or Reggie meant it eventually getting back to Alex regardless. So while she shoots a 911 text to Flynn she mentally pulls for the guys and goes to warn her Dad of the potential impending freakouts.

#julie and the phantoms #willie & julie #Not Pictured:#Poor Willie probably broke his leg a while ago and has been dealing with some serious death related ptsd #Of Course everyone freaks out about the whole situation #there's a whole debate about taking him to the ER which ends with the lack of vital signs would probably complicate mattees #not to mention insurance and payment things #Eventually they call Carrie like Do you guys have a private doctor who offers house calls??

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sparklefics · 3 years

Text

✨The Date ✨

Roommate!Bucky X F!Reader

Fluffy fluff

WC: 2,465 (whoops!)

Summary: First date with Bucky is special.

A/N: Dropped a lot of F bombs 😅

Also look at me doing moodboards 🥲😭

So excited for this little piece, it took me a long time to write. Also coming soon the follow up piece Valentine's Day Fail should be posted sometime this week, I'm still editing that one.

Series Masterlist

Previous ⬅ || Next ➡

After Bucky's birthday you two didn't get to hang out as much. Bucky had to leave in the morning to meet with Sam, but not before waking you up to tell you he'd be gone.

"Sweets, wake up." He gently stroked your shoulders.

You stirred and hugged him tighter, "No. I wanna stay here. With you. Forever." You were still very sleepy and clearly had no filter, your mouth was spilling out words you normally would keep to yourself.

"Me too, but unfortunately I have to go. I'm sorry, Sweets."

That woke you up. You gave him your best attempt at puppy eyes. "Where are you going?"

"Sam texted. He needs my help." He sees doubt across your face so he assures you, "I'll be back in like two days, which is perfect because it'll give me time to plan for our date. How's Friday for you?"

"Friday works for me."

"Great. Thanks for yesterday, Sweets. It was perfect." He kisses your forehead and gets out of bed.

To keep yourself busy, and not worrying about Bucky, you decided to go shopping. You went to a vintage shop hoping to find a cute dress for the date. It was Bucky's first date in the modern world and you wanted to make it special. You didn't think you'd find a dress but you did. It was a beautiful fit and flare navy blue dress, with cute elbow length sleeves and a demure cleavage. It was perfect.

— — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —

It's finally Friday!

There's this nervous energy surrounding you from the moment you wake up in the morning. For once, it's not anxiety, just good old nerves, like the ones you used to get on the first day of school. You are elated.

You weren't expecting Bucky to ask you on a date, on his birthday no less, but it was an opportunity you couldn't pass up.

The truth is you’ve been crushing on your roommate for a long time. How could you not? He is not only gorgeous but he’s a bit of a dork, and so smart and brave, and very perceptive.

You still remember when you received an email from him enquiring about your needing a roommate ad. You couldn’t believe it then, and now you can’t believe that after almost a year of sharing an apartment you’re going out on a date with Bucky Barnes.

Oh the nerves!!

So you spend all Friday afternoon getting ready for the date. You even go to the salon to get your hair done, as well as your makeup, because everything needs to be perfect.

Bucky asked you to be ready by 6 pm.

At 5:55pm Bucky knocks on your bedroom door. You finish setting the barette on your hair. Good.

You open the door and there in a navy blue suit, stands a clean shaven Bucky with his hair slicked back, holding out a bouquet of flowers. You take a good look at him and realize that you haven't seen him since breakfast this morning. His ever changing blue eyes trail up and down your body.

"Wow.” Bucky audibly gasps, “Y/N, you look gorgeous."

You feel your cheeks overheat, he rarely calls you by your name anymore. He actually stopped calling you by your name after three months of living together. So it’s nice to hear him say it again. “Thank you. You look incredible."

Something about the uncoordinated matching outfits touches your heart, like it’s a sign from the universe. Bucky and you, It’s meant to be.

"Shall we?"

You nod and grab your clutch and go with him.

He has a car waiting in front of the building. A chubby angry looking man named Happy drives you and Bucky to some mystery destination he didn't disclose. For a guy who hasn’t been on a date in decades he sure is pulling all the stops for you.

——————————————————————

Bucky stares a lot, it's a thing he's aware he does, Sam doesn't let him forget it. But tonight he couldn't keep his eyes off of you even if he tried. You look absolutely gorgeous in that dress, a silhouette he recognizes is very old school, maybe even from the 40s. He stares at you like he can't believe any of this is real. Bucky grabs your hand and plays with your fingers as you two catch up on the past few days. You're so engrossed in the conversation that you don't even notice that you've been driving for almost an hour and are no longer in the city.

You're about to ask what it is that you're gonna be doing tonight when the car comes to a stop.

"Here we are, Sergeant Barnes." Happy announces.

Bucky gets out of the car and goes around to get your door.

The Avengers’ compound?

Bucky takes your hand and escorts you to the elevator. Soon you're on a rooftop terrace decorated with twinkling lights, a couple of heat lamps surround the table where you assume you'll be having dinner. You also spot a blanket, some pillows and a telescope. "Wow, when you said you'd plan our date you really meant it." You comment as he takes the bouquet of flowers from your hands and places it in a crystal clear vase.

Bucky pulls out the chair for you like a gentleman. Happy brings out the first course, and for a man named Happy he looks anything but. You eat the soup, a while later Happy arrives with the second course and a bottle of red wine that pairs really nicely with the lamb chops and plum sauce. The food reminds you a lot of the food from the Hunger Games books. Bucky winks at you when he sees that you noticed his attention to detail.

“This has been amazing. I can’t remember when I just had a nice dinner with a gentleman.”

You two have been living together for just under a year now and Bucky realizes that he’s never seen you go out on a date. He’s curious as to why. He hasn’t dated in a long time, but that’s a matter of circumstance. And now he’s been a while in the real world, with the amount of emotional baggage he carries, he figured nobody would want to deal with that. But he wonders about you, it’s not a subject you two ever talked about.

“If you don’t mind me asking, how are you even single?”

You chuckle nervously, “Well my last relationship ended about five years ago. I dated a bit after that but I honestly couldn’t find the right partner. Dates became monotone and transactional, I just wanted to find someone to share things with, and the guys I dated just wanted to have fun. I haven’t been on a date since…wow, a year. Huh.”

“I’m sure your affinity to throw knives at people’s heads had no impact whatsoever on finding the right partner.” Bucky chuckles and so do you. “I moved in almost a year ago.” He quips as he eyes you over the rim of his wine glass. “But I get it, it’s hard to trust people.” He reaches over the table and grabs your hand.

You smile at your entwined fingers. It feels really nice to hear that he trusts you, because you know how hard that must be for him. Bucky pulls your hand closer and kisses your knuckles. “Do you have room for dessert?”

You feel yourself float, a bit intoxicated and it’s not from the wine. It’s the way Bucky’s eyes bore into you, like he sees into your soul. You can’t find your voice so you just nod your head.

Happy brings out a rich looking chocolate cake. You can’t stop yourself, “Dauntless cake!!”

Bucky looks confused but amused.

You shake your head and explain. “It’s a reference to another book series. I’ll have to lend you those books too. They’re very similar to the Hunger Games, dystopian world, teenage female heroine—oddly enough throwing knives are also involved.”

“Of course there would be.”

You and Bucky share the cake then he invites you to dance to some soft jazz. At one point Bucky saw you shiver, despite the heat lamps, it was quite late and the spring night was chilly. So Bucky gave you his suit jacket, revealing the sexy as fuck suspenders he was wearing. You continued swaying softly in his arms, your arms coming around his neck softly caressing the back of his head rumpling his hair.

“I’m really glad you asked me out.” You mumble into his chest.

Bucky lifts his lips from where they’ve been resting on your forehead, and as you lift your gaze up he drops his forehead to yours. Your noses bump softly. “I had to take another shot, a more direct one. I crashed and burned the first time around.”

Your eyes widen and you pull back a bit, “What do you mean the first time?”

Bucky blushes and gazes down to his shoes, nervous to admit this to you. “Remember the chocolates?”

“Valentine’s day?! Ohh. Bucky!"

"Yeah, well you were too excited to even read the message on the chocolates…so.” Bucky chuckles and pulls you back into his arms, his forehead resting once again on yours. “Then you went all out for my birthday, when we were cuddling in bed…I-I knew I had to try again. Besides, if I’d waited any longer it would’ve been Sam asking you out for me, I was not having that.”

"How the fuck did I miss that? Wait, how long have I been clueless about this?”

“Since the day with the throwing knives.”

“Bucky!! That was literally months ago!”

Bucky looks sheepishly. “I haven’t been able to look at you just as a friend— or even a roommate, since the day I came home and you were throwing knives, it gave me emotional whiplash. I had to book an extra half hour to my usual session with Dr. Raynor, just to process that. Don’t even get me started on when I first brought up the subject of dating.”

“You talk about me with your shrink?” You don’t dare let your eyes meet his.

“Well, yeah. You’re one of the most important people in my life. If not the most.” He adds beat later, as he bumps his nose with yours.

You feel yourself fall just a bit more for him. It’s like you’re standing on the ledge and every time you open up more and he opens himself up to you, you get closer and closer to the ledge. At any moment you could fall but you know he’d be right there to catch you.

You smile up at him and squeeze his chin. “So you were saying, how I ‘seduced’ you with my throwing knives skills.”

“Right,” he chuckles and grabs your hands to twirl you around and pull you right back into his chest.

Chests pressed together you continue to dance to some of his favorite 40s music, some other soft jazzy more modern songs. Bucky’s heartbeat is steady beneath your ear, even in your heels you barely reach his shoulder. You keep one hand holding his own in his chest, the other around his back while his other hand lays on the small of your back. You close your eyes with an overwhelming feeling of safety and happiness just from being in his arms.

Bucky adjusts your stance, he presses his cheek next to yours, keeping your chests pressed together. You wind your arms around his shoulders and take the opportunity to caress his cheeks, neck and hair, while his arms circle your waist. “This is how we danced back then.” He whispers in your ear. His deep voice practically melts you.

You nuzzle his cheek and sigh deeply, your breath ghosting over his ear. The only thing keeping you grounded are his arms around you, otherwise you’d float away.

Oh god.

This is so intimate!

Apart from being the strangest first date—because he is your roommate after all— you’ve ever been on, it’s actually the best date you’ve ever been on point blank. Maybe it’s because you’ve become such good friends, and maybe because you live together, but there’s no wall up between you.

You realize you’ve never put up a wall with him. You just let him in, let him see you like you’ve never let anyone see you before. From the moment he showed up into your life you just trusted him blindly.

You are a goner for this man.

This relationship, or whatever this is you’re starting up, has to work because there’s no way you’re letting him go. You hope he doesn’t lose interest in you any time soon— or ever.

You press your lips to his cheek and feel him smile, his cheeks tighten beneath your lips and his hands squeeze your hips.

When did those get there?

He calls your name, “Y/N.” Bucky brings his hands up to gently cup your cheeks.

His eyes are so blue like clear blue skies, they fucking sparkle. You feel your stomach fluttering in response.

This is it!!

You grab a hold of his suspenders and tilt your head up to meet his lips.

When he kisses you your mind goes blank, you’re pretty sure you stopped breathing too. Your skin feels like it’s on fire. Your heart beats so fast you're sure Bucky can hear it.

You could never tell that he hasn't been on a date in so long, with the way he holds you and kisses you, it is absolut perfection.

The way his lips press against yours. The way he nips at your lips, the way he sucks on your bottom lip—and his tongue! It’s so slow and sensual when his tongue slips into your mouth and wraps around yours, you can’t stop the moan from coming out. “James!”

He pecks your lips one more time before pulling away.

Then you come down back to earth and the reality is you’re standing still in the middle of the rooftop terrace at the Avengers compound. You feel so lightweight that if it weren’t for Bucky’s strong arms around you, you’d float away. When you open your eyes you just see Bucky and the stars around you, and for a second it feels like you’re floating in space. No gravity. Just Bucky and you and the stars.

“Aww, that's sweet." Sam’s voice breaks your bubble.

"Wilson, I swear to God!" Bucky warns and swats a hand to knock down Redwing.

You turn around so quickly in Bucky’s arms he barely registers what’s going on. You rip out what he thought was an ornate hair pin but really was a throwing knife and struck down Redwing.

Bucky doesn’t know whether to laugh or kiss you again.

----------------------------------------------------------------

Tags ✨: @bookstan0618

#bucky x reader #bucky barnes x f!reader #bucky barnes x y/n #bucky barnes #bucky barnes fluff #bucky barnes x reader #hq fluff #fluffy #first date #first kiss #roommate au #roommate!bucky #roommate!Bucky X Reader #bucky barnes fic #bucky barnes fanfiction

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syndxlla · 3 years

Text

Part eleven of the More To Love series

Summary: You get a chance to reflect on who you are, where you are with your relationships, and what you really want in life with the help of your mother, the Queen of Corellia. You meet some new seemingly friends, who quickly prove you otherwise.

Word Count: 7.1k, NO USE OF ‘y/n’

Warnings: Non-consensual kiss, swearing, alcohol

Author’s note: i am LIVID. why tumblr only lets you have a certain amount of paragraphs in a post IDK! it’s dumb haha and the only reason i went over is because there is so much dialogue in this. BASICALLY. I am making the decision to go easy on myself. I know earlier today I said part 11 would be split into two, but i am going to just make the second half be part 12. SO. i made a new moodboard for this chapter! i hope you like it :).

i wanna say a big THANK YOU to @stinky-child for helping me edit this chapter and getting it out on time!

PART 12 WILL BE RELEASED THURSDAY, MAY 27TH AT 6pm PST, 9pm EST.

part ten

Koska escorted you back to your quarters, the castle corridors were finally starting to calm down a little bit, however, more and more special guests who would be staying in the palace over the weekend walked in and out of doors, most of them not paying any attention to you because of your drab attire. You hoped the knight made it to his meeting on time and dry. There was no way to know until tomorrow morning, however. Koska was silent as she walked behind you, her footsteps much lighter than the knight’s. Your hair was thick and frizzy from the effects of the elements, and you kept your face down out of a foreign sense of shame.

Keeping your face down can’t hide that sense of shame from everyone, however, and before you can make it to your room, you’re hearing a joyful gasp and footsteps pattering in your direction. You look up from your walk of shame to see someone very important to you, it’s not your Knight, it’s not even Soniee, no. It’s your mother, the Queen of Corellia. She’s accompanied by three Corellian guards and she’s wearing the most beautiful yellow gown you had ever seen. It was clearly a gift from Bo-Katan. You smiled brightly, relieved to see someone you love. It had only been a few weeks but it felt like an eternity. You had completely forgotten she would be coming to your engagement ball. You’ve been so preoccupied with the plans and teaching the Knight how to dance that it completely slipped your mind. Your mother had a wide smile on her face, too, and wore the traditional Corellian crown. You ran to her and embraced her fighting around the waist, something that was not appropriate for royalty in public like this but you couldn’t care less. You had been so emotionally confused over the last few weeks that there was nothing you needed more than a fulfilling hug from your parent. She hums with joy when you come into her arms, and she runs her slender fingers through your beautiful hair. You sigh of relief in her embrace.

“I had forgotten you were coming.” You admit, holding back tears of relief. She chuckles in response.

“You look a mess.” She replies and you’re the one to chuckle this time.

“I’ve had quite the day.” You smile, blushing as you remember who you spent it with. “Come, I have so much to tell you.” You pull away, holding her hands in yours and then leading her to the closest sitting room. You were finally starting to understand the layout of the Mandalorian palace, it only took two weeks. This room was the same blue as the royal color, you guide her to sit by you on the sofa, and Koska awkwardly follows. You look over to the handmaiden before standing and walking in her direction. “Lady Reeves, you are dismissed.” You nod while speaking in a regal tone, but after stating it, your voice hushes and you whisper to her, “Is he going to be alright?” You ask in reference to the Knight.

She nods once, “Even if he was late, he’s bound to duty by the Queen, he’ll be okay.” Your stomach twists.

“What does that even mean?” You ask, there is much he is not telling you.

Koska sighs, she seemed to regret saying that. “I’ll worry about him, you enjoy your time with your mother.” She nods to the Queen who was patiently awaiting your return. You smile a “thank you” and walk back to the Corellian Queen. When Koska closes the door finally, you slouch into the couch, feeling pure relief as you were alone with your kin.

“You look absolutely exhausted.” Your mother says.

“I am, life here is exhausting. There are so many rules, much more than back at home.” You awkwardly shrug.

“We miss you.”

“I miss you too, more than you know.” You were so homesick these days. “I had to spend four days learning all the rules and customs and I still take private lessons from the literal queen so I don’t embarrass her anymore.” You roll your eyes, knowing that you couldn’t express this arrogance to anyone else in the palace and taking advantage of the chance now.

“Oh, I'm sorry love, I worried that there might be a bit of a culture shock.” She takes your hand with hers, stroking the stop of it with her own cold hands.

“Is father here?” You ask, your eyes hopeful. That glimmer immediately fades when she sighs, her eyes leaving yours. “What? What’s wrong?”

“He’s not coming…”

“What? Why?”

“He’s… sick, I didn’t want to tell you but it’s your right to know. You would have eventually found out anyway.” She somberly explains.

“Is he okay?”

“Yes, we think so. But traveling and socializing in his condition was not realistic. We understand that rumors will start, but his health is necessary before an impending war.” She frowns, and you try not to let it upset you too much. “Enough of that, tell me about this place.” Her tone immediately flips.

You smile, “It’s so hot, much hotter than Corellia. I mean the heat is exhausting and the dresses are heavy and the tea parties are always outside and I always feel overheated.” You complain.

“Do you at least like the prince?” She asks. “Is he cute?”

Now you must choose if you’re going to lie, like you have for the last fortnight, or be truthful with the only person you feel that you can be. You sigh, and just look at her, defeated, hoping that would be enough to tell her.

She hums empathetically. “Oh dear.”

“Yeah…” You sigh, happy she understood and you didn’t have to make the decision of communication.

“Well, keep your head up, I didn’t really like your father all that much until we had you.” She chuckles.

“What?” You ask, your eyes showing surprise. “I had no idea…” You weren’t sure how much you liked that thought, your parents had always been an example of a couple you’d like to experience for yourself. “Why had you never told me?”

“There was no reason for you to know before now. The older you get, the more you’ll learn what you need to hear.” She explains. You supposed she was right. “And remember, it’s supposed to be a partnership—marriage that is— it’s not so bad if you work at it.”

“Well, he certainly likes being solo.” You humph. “He’s very kind, and it’s clear he cares for his kingdom but-“ You knew you weren’t being completely truthful with her.

“But what?”

You debated your next words. You wanted to tell her, more than anything you wanted your mother to know what was really going on, but you knew you couldn’t. You knew she wouldn’t understand. This marriage is a diplomatic solution to an oncoming war of her home kingdom. She wouldn’t understand the strife. “Nothing.” You feel untruthful to yourself, but you can’t do anything about it. “I just feel like I will be unhappy in our marriage.”

“Marriage isn’t supposed to make you happy.”

You hated that, it wasn’t the first time she had said it to you, either. When an arranged marriage was first brought up, she said it then for the first time. The other time she said it to you was about three weeks ago, just before you were going to leave Corellia and come to this ornate prison. It was your last attempt to try and get out of it, but she uttered those words and you had to live with it.

This time, you pulled your hand away from hers. “But what about love? I thought you loved my father!?”

“I do love him, but that didn’t happen for a long time, like I said, not until you were born.”

“So then what’s the reason for all this? For sending me here for a big ball and a fancy wedding if I am not supposed to love the man I’m sharing these parties with? How am I to enjoy marriage before children then?” You stand up on these words out of frustration. You hated feeling like your only purpose in this world is to bear children, to produce an heir.

“Love between royals is not a natural thing, it can’t just happen between any two people. There must be that connection there and it often isn’t developed for a while.” She chuckles. “What? Did you think you were going to live inside one of those fairytales your wet nurse used to tell you before you went to sleep?” She asks, looking up at you, surprised.

“What do you mean ‘between royals’?”

“We must do what’s best for our people, it’s selfish to marry for love when you are royalty.”

You feel defeated.

“No… No, there's so much more to love. Love is not selfish, in fact, I believe that loving someone with our hesitation and unconditionally is the most selfless act one could ever do.” Your voice raises just a bit. You meant every word you said.

“If you feel this way about love, then surely you must love the Prince. What’s the problem then? We’ve been preparing you for this reality for years, it’s not a new concept that you would not love immediately, I can only imagine you would feel so emotionally because you have those feelings for someone.”

Did you?

You consider what she was saying, your eyes trailing to the side as you thought. You supposed she was right, there would be no reason for you to feel so passionately about it if you hadn’t experienced it for yourself.

But you weren’t having that experience with Korkie, the hell you weren’t.

Did you love the Knight? You don’t know his name, you don’t know his face, you don’t know anything about him and yet you are starting to think that infatuation has grown into adoration. Your legs feel weak, and you have to slowly lower yourself onto the couch again, feeling woozy from the realization. How did you let it get so far? Your confused face turns to look at your mother’s, eyebrows furrowed and mouth slightly open.

“I sense you realized something you didn’t already know.”

You slowly nod your head. Unsure of how to react, you fiddle with your fingers, trying to gain your bearings again. You expect your mother to speak up but she never does.

Before the conversation continues, however, the door is pulled open and three Knights are walking in, a Butler steps in, “Her Majesty, The Queen.” He says before nodding and stepping away. Bo-Katan glides into the room, regal as ever. You and your mother stand up from where you sat, curtsying for your hostess.

“Your Majesty.” She takes your mother’s hand, both of them smiling and kissing one another on either cheek. “I trust your travels were comfortable?”

“Yes, your coachmen were very hospitable.” Your mother nods.

Korkie then enters the rooms with another young Prince who you hadn't met before. He was blonde, and skinny as a twig. He wore a white and gold ceremonial cloak that covered his right shoulder. You smile at Korkie out of Obligation, and he and the other prince bow to the women in the room.

“Princess!” Korkie cheers, “This is my cousin, Prince Hugo of Bespin.”

“A pleasure to meet you, Your Highness.” He takes your hand and kisses the top of it, his smile charming and blue eyes bright. You were flattered by the gesture, humming.

“The pleasure is mine.” You follow royal protocol. Then, another woman enters the room. She’s tall, an intricate headpiece adorns long, black hair and she has hypnotic, black eyes hidden by deep set, hooded eyes. She’s beautiful, with toned skin and red dots drawn under her lips making her stand out from everyone in the room.

“Ah, Her Majesty Queen Clarya of Naboo.” Bo-Katan introduces. The Elven Queen Ahsoka then enters the room, and everyone, even the Queens bow out of respect before the door is closed. The parlor is suddenly very full, and your intimate moment with your mother is lost entirely. You are suddenly very aware of your disheveled look, and try to run your fingers through your hair a few times.

“It’s lovely to finally meet you.” Clarya says, smiling. “I’ve heard so much about you.” Taking your hand and giving you a friendly squeeze.

“Oh… I’m afraid I haven’t heard much about you.” You apologize.

“No troubles, You are all the gossip among the other Kingdoms.” The eastern queen explains.

“Yes, It appears you are.” Korkie says, moving to stand by your side. “How wonderful that my beautiful wife-to-be is regarded so highly across the world.” He tries to take your hand but you pull it away, not necessarily meaning to, but it was a reflex that you failed to suppress after realizing you were in love with an entirely different man. He clears his throat, and the aura in the room is awkward, you aren’t sure what to do, so you just say the first thing to come out of your mouth.

“Have any of you gone to the beach? It’s lovely!” You awkwardly smile before walking over to the drink cart underneath a portrait of a Manda’lor of a past generation. You try to ignore all the people, feeling a little embarrassed that they were all seeing you dressed like this. You didn’t even think of what suspicion could be born out of that phrase.

“Oh yes, our sandy beaches are widely loved by all.” Bo-Katan takes a seat on the sofa in the place you had sat at just moments before, crossing her ankles under her gown. You shakily pour amber liquid into a crystal glass, your hand shaking as you bring it to your lips, taking a sip of the alcohol.

“Nothing like the Corellian beaches, I assume?” Your mother asks. “Our beaches are rocky and often frozen over.”

“Ah yes, but the Corellian ship fjords are lovely, what a wonderful exposure to culture you raised your daughter with!” Ahsoka sings.

“She turned out alright.” Your mother teases and everyone chuckles warmly. You turn around after drinking, and sheepishly smile. Gods you hope she meant that.

“Well, we are all very excited for the ball tomorrow.” Clarya says, “My assistant worked on a mask for hours the night before we left. It will be an extravagant sight to see everyone dressed so festively.”

“Of course, but we all know none of us can compare to the fashion and extravagance of the Naboolians.” Korkie hums. Everyone chuckles again. You nervously looked out to all of them, you had just made possibly the biggest mistake of your life and none of them paid any attention to you despite it. You had just shown Korkie your first and only sign of true disinterest the night before your engagement ball and you desperately wished you could go back in time and take his hand instead of denying the act of affection, even if you didn’t feel good about it.

“I think you will all be pleased to hear that it was the Princess who came up with the Masquerade idea.” Bo gestures to you. You smile with your teeth, trying to act normal and not like you were secretly dying inside. There is general amusement when that is said, and you can’t help but fidget with the crystal alcohol glass, wanting to leave the room and return to the comfortable embrace of the Knight on the beach.

“Beautiful and smart!” Korkie’s cousin laughs, putting emphasis on the ‘and’. “It’s not every day you find a woman like that!” Everyone laughs again, and this time you force out a faux chuckle to seem more involved in the eyes of the others. “You better hang onto her, Kork!” Korkie smiled at his cousin's words, looking over to you. You feel weak, not liking all the attention. If this much attention was making you feel this way, what would the ball with hundreds of guests tomorrow night be like?

“Yes but, I can’t seem to remember going to the beach with you?” Korkie asks, his diplomatic voice cutting through the laughter. You nervously laugh. He knew something was up. How could you be so careless?

“What? Did I say something about the beach?” You try to play it off cluelessly.

“Oh come on, we all know you aren’t that ditzy.” His cousin groans

“Your fiance asked you a question, dear.” Your mother prods.

“Yes, did you go to the beach sometime during your time here?” Bo-Katan is the one to ask this time, and your legs are starting to feel unsteady.

“It’s not a bad thing, we just want to know.” Korkie takes a step in your direction, making you feel closed in. “We all love the beach here and we are happy you have gotten the chance to enjoy it.” You sensed there was an undertone with his true meaning.

You weren’t sure if you believed him when he said this, “Is it hot in here?” You chuckle, “I think I’ll have another drink, would you like one, Korkie? You ask before turning around and pouring another glass of brandy. He can see how shaky your hand is as you try to fill the cup. He stands behind you, wrapping his arm around you and cupping your hand with his in an attempt to make the pouring more steady. The action startles you, and you flinch as a reaction, dropping the crystal glass in your hand. It was already partially full, and it falls down to the floor in slow motion, golden drink splashing out of it as glass shatters on impact, making a loud, crashing sound that sends shards out across the floor and leaves a puddle of alcohol to soak into the bottom hem of Koska’s sister’s dress. The women of the room gasp from shock, and Hugo walks quickly over to see the mess. You look down at the glass in shock of what you just did, your heart sinking and stomach churning. Lady Tano is the next one to walk over to you, taking you by the shoulders and guiding you to one of the arm chairs, helping you sit down. The room was deathly silent now, you could hear your pulse ringing through your ears. Ahsoka crouches before you, ruling your hand with hers and trying to comfort you from the unexpected shock. Korkies hands are balled into fists. Was he angry with you?

“No worries.” Hugo laughs, trying to be an entertainer, “Butler!” The Butler opens the door.

“Is everything alright?” He asks after bowing.

“Yes, we just made a little mess, would you be so kind as to clean it up?” Hugo walks Korkie, who seems to be just as shocked and embarrassed as you, over to another armchair. The butler snaps and then whistles and three young maids come in, each one getting on their hands and knees to pick up the pieces of glass.

“Princess?” Your mother says, “Do you have something you would like to say to the Manda’lor?” She awkwardly asks, clearly trying to make good from the situation, side-eying Bo.

Your pale face turns to look at Bo, who had that same disappointed frown that you always see on her.

“My deepest apologies, your Majesty.” You clear your throat before painfully looking over to where Korkie sat, his hand resting in his palm and expression down turned.

“Well!” Hugo takes the center of the room. “No use in sitting here in silence, mistakes happen! Right Auntie?” He says to Bo.

“Of course.” She smiles, physically accepting your apology with a reassuring nod.

“Lovely, would anyone like some music?” He asks.

“That would be lovely, Hugo.” Lady Tano says in her ethereal voice. He smiles and walks over to the baby grand piano in the corner of the room, the same baby grand that you played at for your Knight a few weeks ago.

“The Princess plays!” Your mother says, trying to alleviate any tension.

“She does?” Hugo makes direct eye contact with you. “Would you like to play a duet with me?”

“Hugo, she just-“ Ahsoka begins but is interrupted by your mother.

“Oh won’t you play for us Dear?” She asks, smiling.

“Please! I have wanted to hear you play since I was told you could.” Bo-Katan asks. It would be rude to decline a request from the Queen and the Host of the night.

You nod and stand up, that could be just the thing you need to feel better. You walk over to the piano, stopping just before Hugo.

“Bass or Soprano?” He asks, muttering so quietly that only you can hear it.

“Soprano.” You say. He pulls the bench out and sits first since he would be playing the lower part. You then sit next to him, your hands still slightly shaking.

“Do you know the ‘Dathomirian Waltz’?” He asks. You nod. “Lovely, key of D minor then, I’ll follow you.” He pulls his hands up to the keys, and you follow, taking two deep breaths, the first to calm your shaking hands, the second to conduct both of you in at the same time. Together you play a set of intricate chords, Hugo emphasizing on the bass notes, playing a complex scale that brought his left hand over his right several times. You carry the melody, playing just slightly louder than him and allowing yourself to fall into the trance of performing. Your hands finally quit shaking after a few phrases of the music, allowing it to soothe your nerves. Music has always done that for you. All of the nobles in the room smile, the Naboolian Queen sighing at the beauty of the complicated piece. You can’t keep the smile from pulling on your lips. Korkie’s cousin was very talented, much better than you. His hand brushed against yours several times and you couldn’t help yourself from thinking about the Knight when Hugo touches you.

This was something you would never get with him. You would never get to share a memorable moment with others, never get to rub hands against each other in front of three Queens, never get to look one another in the eye without shame or secrecy. The thoughts start to overcome your consciousness, causing you to play a sour note. No one seemed to notice, but you were more aware of it than you should have been.

A beautiful piece, carefully composed and rehearsed, performed with the intent to dazzle, the intent to impress. However there will always be the sour note, an incorrect chord that the audience might not hear but those giving the show will dwell on undoubtedly.

Like the Kingdom of Mandalore.

——————————————

“Rise and Shine your Highness!” A sing-songy voice calls out to you before pulling the long, draping curtains apart and letting the warm Mandalorian sun pour into the room. You groan and flip over onto your side, your body is still exhausted from yesterday evening and you would like to sleep in a little longer.

“Oh, don’t give us that.” A more brash voice groans and you recognize it as Koska’s. You can hear a number of other bodies file into the suite, maybe three or four. The handmaid's pull in the elven dress and a light breakfast. You can still smell the salt water on your forearm as you swing your hand over your eyes. You were not a morning person. Koska walks up to your bed before sitting on the edge of it, placing her tan hand on your shoulder. “We’ve let you sleep in long enough, we have to get you dressed and ready for tea with the Queens.”

“Queens?” You mumble, slurring the ‘s’ out.

“Yup, both Bo-Katan and your mother as well as the Queen of Naboo and Duchess of the Felucian mountain Kingdom are all eager to spend brunch with you in the Garden.” More guests arrived this morning while you were still sleeping, but it wasn’t until Koska explained to you about the women waiting for you that you remembered what day it was. You opened your eyes wide, flopping your arm onto the mattress beside you and looking up at her drowsily.

“The masquerade is today.” You say out of realization. She smirks and slowly nods her head. Soniee budges into your conversation, sitting on the opposite side of the bed.

“We have two dresses for you to wear today! This one,” She pulls forward a gown that isn’t quite as full and round as the dress for the ball, but is still a lovely dress with a pretty skirt and pearls embroidered into the bodice. “And of course the elf dress.” She nods to the pink and gold gown that sat on a sewing-bust, shimmering in the light. “We won’t get you into the ball gown until later tonight.” She hums.

“Now, we have to get you cleaned up, your hair is a mess.” Koska stands up and pulls the heavy down comforter from off of you. The loss of warmth elicits another sleepy groan from your lips and you stare up at the ladies in waiting frustratedly. “Up!” Koska’s serious voice commands and you’re scared enough of her that you jump up out of bed, pulling the nightgown sleeve up that has been slowly slipping down your shoulder and showing more and more skin. “That’s better.” Koska hums, “Let’s get you a bath, yeah?” She walks towards the bath room, opening the golden gilded doors and into the naturally-light room. You will always admire the beauty and effort put into the Mandalorian palace despite the internal battle with living here. You follow her into the room, still sleepy and walking slowly but eventually making it to the tub in the center of the room. The bath has already been drawn, which they must have done in your sleep (they’ve never done that before). You strip out of the cream-colored nightie and dip into the warm water. It smelled of lavender and honey and you allowed your muscles to relax into the bubbles. It was perfect, exactly what you needed to clear your racing and stressful mind. Your muscles were sore from yesterday and the warm water and flowery oils soaked them blissfully. You sigh at the sensation but before you can enjoy it anymore, Koska is dumping the warm water over your head, wetting it completely. It’s unexpected and you gasp from shock, your eyes glued shut to keep the water out of them. Damp hands come up from out of the water to wipe your eyes but then another dump of water is pouring over your head and you’re back at square one. Koska was a much harsher bather than Sonnie was.

All is forgiven however when she starts massaging your scalp, cleaning your hair. You relax back into the tub and enjoy the seawater and wind getting rinsed out. The other ladies come in, one on either side of the tub who files your nails, and Sonnie brings in a towel and silk robe. The other handmaiden works at your calloused feet with a pumice stone and you try not to let it tickle too much. It was true pampering and you loved every second of it. Usually there’s only one maiden to bathe you but five was divine. You assumed this was the treatment the Queen always received.

After you are properly cleaned, your Corellian tea is brought in and you’re left alone for as long as you like. You slowly sip on the purple shaded drink, waking up from it’s comforting properties. You sigh deeply, allowing the fragrant air to fill your lungs while you look out of the tall, narrow window in the center of the outside wall. You could not see the ocean from here, but instead the distant roofs of Keldabe. It was a beautiful summer day, there wasn’t a cloud in the sky and you could hear the birds who have nested in the nooks and crannies of the towers chirping. You knew you had a long day ahead of you, and you wanted to try and enjoy it as much as you could. You never really enjoyed the social aspect of royalty, and that’s all today will be, but you’re ready to brave it head on.

An hour passes before you are finally dressed in the first gown of the day. Your hair is braided back so that it will have a desirable wave for the ball tonight. You are snuggly tied into the pearled bodice of the dress, and you run your hands up and down the beading, allowing it to tickle your soft palms.

Koska pulls open the door, and you’re expecting to see the Knight standing there stoically as always, but he isn’t. The hallway is completely empty, in fact, and you can’t ignore the dreadful feeling that overcomes your body. Where was he?

You clear your throat, and look back at Koska, who was adjusting the skirt of your gown as you walked.

“Where is he?” You ask, your voice hushed almost to a whisper but not quite. There were a million possibilities behind his absence and not a single one of them was ideal. Koska lifts up from her crouched position, smoothing the front pleats of her dress.

“What?” She asks and you sigh out of frustration, there was absolutely no way she didn’t know what you were talking about but you had to be vague because of all the ladies in waiting listening in.

“Who will be accompanying me to the garden?” You say with a forceful tone, trying to prod at a deeper meaning to the question.

Luckily, Lady Reeves picks up on it, and she looks behind you. You felt like she was avoiding eye-contact and it only made you more stressed and confused. “I’ll be escorting you, Highness.” She nodded, moving a step forward and then taking the lead down the corridor. You follow hesitantly, and wait until you are far enough down the hall from the other ladies back in your suite to speak again.

“Don’t horseshit me.” You mutter behind her. She keeps her chin up high as usual. “He’s in trouble, isn’t he.”

Koska doesn’t answer.

“Koska, you promised me he would be okay.” You try not to let the emotion show through your tone but that was a challenge. You felt guilty for some reason. If he was in trouble, it would be entirely your fault. The words shake in your throat and maybe it’s the tight corset and the fact that you are descending the stairs but you’re out of breath and it’s hot, so hot.

“He’s fine, I swear to the stars.” She whispers, saying it straight forward instead of turning back at you in an attempt to stay calm and unsuspecting to watchful eyes.

“Well then why didn’t you tell me that?” You ask, twiddling your thumbs.

“I couldn’t… there’s more to it but-“

“But what? What could be so secretive that you have to keep it from your future queen?” You say through gritted teeth and immediately after, Koska is spinning around on the staircase and looking up at you with a furrowed brow. You felt like you were being scolded by an impatient tutor despite the fact that you out-ranked her.

“You don’t even want to be the Queen.” She says in a whisper-shout, starting to sound as angry and emotional as you were just moments before.

“You’re right, I don’t-“ You bite back.

“So why are you here, then?”

You aren’t sure how to answer, the obvious answer is for Corellia. You were promised something in return for your ability to produce an heir and look like a porcelain figurine on a high shelf. But you also knew it would make your family happy, and your Kingdom. You would be making them proud by marrying so rich. You made a promise.

But now you think you’re starting to stay for an entirely different and unethical reason. Something that is inherently a trap and you know it, and yet here you are, fussing over it at every change you have.

Koska rolls her eyes and scoffs before continuing down the stairs.

“Who spit in your porridge this morning?” You reply.

“You did.” She groans in response.

“I’m sorry, but what did I ever do to you?” You ask when you complete the steps down and start down another corridor, one section of the massive palace closer to your destination.

Koska is the one not to answer this time.

It infuriates you that everyone is keeping secrets from you, your entire experience in Mandalore feels built on deception and being left-out. And now, the two people who finally seemed to be on your side aren’t with you in one way or another on such a big day. Koska is angry with you for no reason and you have no idea where your knight is.

The rest of the walk to the Gardens is silent, and before you know it, you are plopped down on an uncomfortable wicker chair in the hot sun, sipping on lukewarm lemon tea and wondering how much longer you have to suffer. Your mother and Bo were giggling about something, the rest of the court buzzing with conversation and ignoring you as always. Was it possible that you were the problem? You ask yourself this after another sip of the tea, a lemon slice bumping up against your upper lip a few times. As you think, you hold the dainty cup against your mouth, losing yourself in thought without realization. Your pretty eyes stare down at the green grass of the Garden. The grass never gets green back home.

You start subconsciously bouncing your leg as you thought to yourself. Everyone seemed to ignore expect for Korkie and your Knight— who both want to fuck you. Maybe that was the only desirable thing about you. This wasn’t the first time you felt insecure about the relationship you have developed with the Knight. He’s so quiet, so different from you. Were you falling for a trick?

Was he?

Tea must have gone by fast because just before the pearls of your dress start to burn against your arms from the heat exposure, you’re excusing yourself and wandering back inside.

“Strange girl.” One of the noble ladies says to Bo when you walk away. You don’t hear it, you can’t hear anything except for your deafening thoughts.

“Are you sure she’s the one for your nephew?” Another asks. If you had known your mother was silent for all of this in fear of losing her reputation or even the deal between Corellia and Mandalore, you would have been furious.

“Well his father was an outcast, too.” One chuckles. “I guess you Kyrze’s attract the wallflowers.” A few hummed in amused response.

“Well his father wasn’t just an outcast, he was a downright scandal-“

“My sister loved him, and that is all that matters.” Bo interrupts. The laughter quickly dies out.

“Don’t tell me you believe in love, too.” One laughs.

“You aren’t married, what could you know of love?” The same one bo interrupted says.

“I do believe in love, which is why I am not married.” The Queen reiterates. “And I don’t think she’s the right fit for my Nephew, she’s too… outspoken. He needs someone who won’t outshine him.” They chuckle again, all do but your mother, who is still meekly silent.

“Well with the engagement Ball tonight, it is far too late to back out now.” One teases, and the laughter only grows.

Bo-Katan stares in the direction you left.

You huff down the hall, your arms folded and neck sweaty from the heat. You are looking back and forth, studying the layout of the hall in search of something. You’re looking for the smallest idea of where the knight could be but you aren’t very successful.

While all the fully armored guards of the Mandalorian palace are dressed identically, you are almost certain you would be able to spot your boy in a crowd of a thousand of them. You aren’t sure why, but there is something different about him, something that sticks out from the rest. Somehow you two were connected, and it made it so he was always plaguing your mind, even when you are with your literal fiance. Even when you are far away from him and have no clue where he is for the first time in two weeks.

Separation Anxiety.

You aren’t watching where you’re going, which makes you run into a tall, lanky boy. You yelp out in apologetic surprise, looking up at the person blocking your stressed search. A blonde boy flips around to look at you and you’re half expecting to see Korkie but it isn’t.

His Cousin, Hugo, looks down at you with his same charming smirk as always.

“Princess!” He bows.

“My apologies, Hugo!” You exclaim.

“Oh please, you are perfectly fine. You looked distressed? I hope It was not something I did?”

“Of course not!” You reassure, awkwardly smiling. “Uh- may i ask what you were doing in the center of the corridor?”

He chuckles, “Admiring this art.” He nods to an expansive, framed oil painting on the wall. It was of a tall man with a long face and alarming smirk. What stuck out to you, however, was that he held in both hands the same black sword from the royal portraits upstairs by the war room.

“The art is beautiful here.” You smile.

“Yes, my Aunt Satine worked hard to make it culturally rich.”

“Did you know her?”

“Yes, I am a bit older than Korkie, and I knew her for several years before she passed.”

“Are you… second in line?”

“I am.” He says with a classic amused smirk.

“So maybe you can answer a question for me, then.” You ask as you look up at the art. “What in the world is that?” You ask in reference to the blade.

“That, my foreign Princess, is the Dark Sword of Mandalore.”

“The what?” You cluelessly ask.

“A sacred weapon that the rightful ruler possesses, it’s rather powerful.”

“I’ve never seen anything like it before.” You look up at it in awe.

“Hah, yes. It is made of pure obsidian. The white is enchanted quartz veins. It is practically invincible, an elven Mand’alor forged it when he was just a boy.”

“What? There were Mandalorians who were part elf?” You ask, your eyes peeling off of the art and onto your companion.

He looks at you almost confused, “There is much you do not know about my Kingdom?”

“No… I’m afraid not.” You shamefully admit.

“Most don’t,” He shrugs and returns to the conversation unbothered, “It’s history is rather complicated.”

The two of you were quiet for a long time. Your eyes were glued to the stern face of the man in the portrait. You wondered who he was. Hugo is the first to speak up.

“You played beautifully last night.” You doubted he didn’t notice the incorrect notes and mistakes you made several times, maybe he was just being polite by ignoring them. You turn to look at him and smile kindly.

“As did you.” You return the compliment. He looks at you, and you must have been distracted by something other than him because you weren’t aware that his eyes were darting between your eyes and your lips.

Hugo forces a kiss on you.

Just like how Korkie did a few weeks ago in the library. It’s fast because you angrily pull away just as fast as he placed it on you.

“What?” You say like an idiot, looking up at him in shock.

“Oh come on, don’t tell me you don’t feel it?” He gets defensive immediately. The worst part is that it wasn’t even that bad of a kiss, much softer than Korkies, but nowhere as tender as the kisses the Knight would lay on you in the water or behind a closed door. Your entire body seemed to seize up, and you couldn’t get any words out. Not any words that you wanted to say. You just looked up at him, vulnerable and confused. He leans down to do it again but you’re able to turn your head to the side, keeping his lips off of you.

“I am… in love with another man.” You say, clearing your throat.

“You and I both know that isn’t my cousin.”

No use denying it at this point, “yes, but I am still engaged to him. I cannot just be disloyal to the future Mand’alor.” You mutter, embarrassed but trying to keep your cool. You knew you were lying, because you weren’t staying loyal to Korkie. No, you were outright cheating on him and you were falling in love with the boy you were cheating with. You were falling in love. You were very exposed, after all. Anyone could turn the corner or look through the windows and see you. It was different this time, however. Usually hiding your kisses are exciting, but that was only with the Knight. “Please,” You voice betrays you, and the emotional shake is heard through your clenched jaw, “Excuse me.” You push passed him frustratedly, making sure to shove him over a little with your shoulder. You angrily walk back to your room, finally getting there without help for the first time.

When you turned down the Corridor to your suite, you were hoping to see the beskar-clad boy who held you last night, but he still wasn’t there. You hold back emotional tears, but not seeing the one who brings the most comfort to you makes you break. Two crystal tears roll down your cheeks.

You have been taken advantage of too many times in this forsaken castle.

You pull open the door, the golden afternoon light reflecting warmly off of the gold-leafed furniture and decorations is a stark contrast from the bleak hallway. Your bed has been made, and things have been tidied up since you were in here last. You flop onto the mattress, your arms stretched out from your sides, looking up at the sheer canopy above where you lay.

Two hours pass. You think you fell asleep but you cannot remember. If you did, no dreams were had.

Soniee opens your door with trepidation after two soft knocks, “Princess, It is time to prepare for the ball.” Her voice is so timid. You twist your head to look at her, the other ladies from this morning were behind her. Koska was not with them.

You sit up from the bed, rubbing a crook in your neck from how you were laying...

—

authors note (again): i know this isn’t the best chapter ending but ya know... IT WASNT SUPPOSED TO BE

Anyways..... see you tomorrow? i guess? haha

Taglist: @remmysbounty @snow30285 @what-iwish-you-knew @softly-sad @carbonated-beverage @frogllady @baileys-corner @song-of-sea-and-sky @leaiorganas @weirdowithnobeardo @ginger-swag-rapunzel @bewitchedbodyandsol l @mograh @justavolcano @theokatz @lowkeytesss @hallway5 @dat-girl-in-corner @news4bees @istealyof00d @songofcosplay @waffles4lif3 @mcueveryday @310ra @thatonedindjarinfan @songofseraphine @callmekane @theelilbritt @bbwithaknife @firstofficerwiggles @jedi-jesi @ironbabey @minttchipp @bel-ppa @honey-hi @cp11 @venomous-ko @bbwithaknife @lunatic-sunsets @1800-fight-me @foundtheavacados @elphabaforpresidentofgallifrey @florenceivy @theanothersherlockian @spideysimpossiblegirl @mandomistress @floraandfrost @paradoxpictures @stinky-child

“if you are included in the taglist, you are expected to interact with the post you are tagged in (ex. reblogs, comments and notes), if I notice that you are not interacting with the applicable post, you will be removed from the taglist”

—

part twelve

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clovermunson · 3 years

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somehow, i’ve managed to gain 400 followers, so what better way to celebrate such a milestone than with a halloween-themed sleepover? also in this post is a small mutuals appreciation section, since i just felt like letting my lovely moots know how much i love them💕

this celebration will last from october 17th until midnight on october 31st! all you have to do is send one or more emojis into my inbox!

***CLOSED***

thank you to everyone who participated!🥰

🍬trick or treat- send this in to receive a blog compliment from me

🍂playing in the leaves- send this in for some song recommendations

🎃pumpkin patch- send this in and i’ll ship you with a character from either the harry potter universe or from the mcu (please specify fandom and gender preference!) and give a few fall activities you’d do together

💀spooky scary skeletons- a little bit of fun and games here, send this in for a cym, fmk, or kmk (please specify which one!)

👻the ghost with the most- send this in for me to recommend a few fall/halloween movies

🧙🏻‍♀️costume contest- send in which character you’d go to a halloween party with, and i’ll give you a couples costume

🔮astrology assessment- send this in along with your big three (sun, moon, and rising signs) for me to tell you the general vibe i get from you based on that

🧡happy halloween!- send this in if you just want to chat, rant, or vent

🖤spooky aesthetics- send this in for a halloween moodboard made by me for you (limited to five asks only)

tagging some lovely moots to spread the word: @cupids-crystals @velvetcloxds @onlyfreds @darthwheezely @jackys-stuff-blog @gcldensnitch @danceworshipper @melmalone @skarlettmikaelson @cursebreakerfarrier @slytherindisaster @thatravenpuffwitch

tagged below are a few moots that i’m very appreciative of, for the sake of not making this post too lengthy, i tried to not go overboard with my sentiments💕

@kc-needs-coffee kate, you are truly one of the most wonderful people i have ever had the pleasure of meeting on this godforsaken hellsite (pretty sure you were also one of my first few followers too, but i can’t remember for shit😂). every day i’m always so excited to hear about any new ideas you have or any new adventures you may have had, or even if you just jump into the chat to thirst over your celebrity crushes because it’s always so fun and i’m so glad that you’re a founding member of the wifey squad and one of my best friends💙

@nevilles-top carmi, you’re such a genuine and sweet soul that i can’t even find the words for it. another founding member of the wifey squad, and dare i say it, maybe the most powerful wifey of the wifey squad. you’ve had so many good things come your way, and i’m manifesting many more great things for you! keep your head up bby, the universe has great things in store for you, which i know that you’ll be 100% up to the challenge for and i’m so glad to call you one of my best friends💚

@lifeofkaze last but certainly not least, another wifey squad member, the lovely anni, truly the one who really holds the group together when the rest of us are going absolutely bat-shit insane. i haven’t known you for as long as i’ve known the other wifeys, but i’ve known you just long enough to know that that your ideas are always just absolutely brilliant, even if some of them are absolutely heart-wrenching (i’m sure you know what i’m talking about😂) and that you’re truly one of my best friends, and i’m so thankful to have met you💛

@cupids-crystals lydia, i’m grateful to have seen your wonderful little blog grow so quickly over the past few months, every follower you have is so deserved! even though we may not chat much, i consider you to be one of my true moots and i’m sending nothing but good vibes and happy thoughts your way in hopes that you get everything you want and deserve from life!💕

@danceworshipper zin, you chaotic little ball of somehow-always-tried-energy. you’re one of the ones who has been here since the beginning of my little blog, so you’ve quite literally seen it all happen here😂 even though i’m sure you want to smack me upside the head with a frying pan at times, you’re still one of my favorite mutuals and i’m so glad that you’ve been here since the start of my little hellhole of a blog💕

@velvetcloxds monique, one of my newer mutuals, but that doesn’t mean i don’t absolutely love seeing you on my dash! as a fellow chris evans simp, that instantly earned you bestie status with me. also, your current theme is just absolutely gorgeous! we haven’t really chatted much, but i’ve seen enough of your interactions with others to know that you’re genuinely very sweet and kind, and that you deserve all the good things from life!💕

#weasleysandwheezes 400 followers sleepover #mutuals appreciation #mo speaks

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santigarcia · 3 years

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Bot 🤖

Human Touch Part One

a nathan bateman x f!reader fic~

word count: 3.3k

rating: T - nudity (non sexual), mentions of masturbation

summary: After a wrong turn on a hike, you find yourself on Nathan’s property and joining him for dinner.

a/n: ahhh this is part 1 of 10 of this series! i cannot wait to share it all with you!! remember these will be posted at 9 CST. check here for the schedule so you won’t miss one!! thank you to @punkpascal for encouraging this and listening to me yell nonstop! and thank you to @sergeantkane for your support and for making the moodboards for this series!!

You only agree to this because of the view. Not for any other reasons. No. No. Certainly not.

Your cousin owns a timeshare in Norway for her work. And she invites you to come up for a few weeks. You’re in desperate need to get out. She won’t even be there half the time, which is even better. You love your cousin but you’re ready for some quiet. Some space. The fresh air. And you’ve seen photographs, the mountains outside her door look beautiful.

Those are enough reasons for anyone to go.

But it’s when you find out who her ‘neighbor’ is that has you chomping at the bit to go.

The term neighbor is a loose term, the neighbor in question lives two hours in a different direction. It’s a secluded private area. But it still gives you some strange hope you might see him.

“I’ve only seen him once,” you remember your cousin telling you. She wasn’t that impressed, but you – you’re dying to see him.

Nathan Bateman, the multi-billionaire CEO, and creator of Bluebook. He’s a celebrity crush of yours. Half the reason you have a Bluebook phone in your pocket is because of him.

There’s something about him. You’ve followed his career quietly, but more than anything you think he’s handsome. Gorgeous even.

He’s a hot topic for gossip since he remains in seclusion, working on his mysterious projects. To be that close to him sends a thrill down your spine. And he’s all you can think about on the plane ride over.

Your cousin picks you up at the airport and you spend the next few days hanging out with her and relaxing. She leaves on the third day and you spend most of it reading that book you’ve been meaning to finish.

As you sit near the window, you can’t help but admire the mountains. The lush greens of the field at the foot of it, the rich white snow. The crisp air feels good to you, even if it gives you chills.

You decide that you want to go hiking. Your cousin mentioned there are several easy trails and you think you can figure them out.

You get to packing that night. You shove your backpack with things you think you’ll need. You don’t plan on being gone long, so just some essentials for the hike.

The next morning is a lovely one, that mountain air is crisp, and it fills your lungs. You feel rejuvenated. The trails are easy to follow and you walk for hours. You stop to rest every so often and keep hydrated and eat.

You have every intention of turning back when it begins to rain. Hard. Within minutes you’re soaked to the bone. It’s freezing and if you don’t get warm you worry you’ll get sick. You try not to panic, but the rain is coming down so hard you can’t see the trail.

Somehow you take a turn and find yourself going down a decline. Maybe you’re near the trails edge.

The rain continues to pour, but through it you see lights of what looks like a house. Shivering, you make the long walk to this place. It’s your port in the storm.

It’s not your cousin’s house, and you don’t remember seeing this one on the way in. You bang loudly on the front door, hoping someone will hear you over the rain. The house looks huge.

“Hello?” you bang on the door; you feel tears welling up in your eyes. You’re so cold. “Is anyone home?”

After a few moments, the door is opened. And you’re not sure who is more surprised. You or the one and only Nathan Bateman standing across from you.

“It’s you,” you gasp, shivering violently from the cold. “Nathan!”

He blinks, his eyebrow ticks up in bewilderment.

“How the hell did you even get out here? Are you okay? Yeah, come in. Shit, you’re freezing. Umm… yeah. That’s me.”

He opens the door wider so you can come inside. The warmth hits you like a wave, and it almost hurts. You haven’t stopped shaking. And now you’re trembling for any entirely different reason.

“I was hiking, and it started raining and I got lost and…” your teeth are chattering. And Nathan looks confused but concerned.

“This is a hell of a way to get introduced, but-“ he pauses for a beat. “We need to get you out of those clothes. You’re gonna get sick.”

You follow him in this maze of a house, and he takes you to a large open bathroom. He turns on the shower and you take a step towards it, but he stops you.

“This is for the steam, you need to get warm slower, you’ll go into shock.”

You’ve heard about this, and you know he’s right. One of the best ways to prevent hypothermia is warming the body through skin to skin contact and body heat.

“Look, shit, I know this isn’t ideal,” he snorts, “but you need to get naked. I won’t look.” He smiles softly and you feel sick. Maybe it’s the hypothermia.

You turn your back to him and begin to awkwardly peel off your clothes. You’ve never felt so embarrassed in your life. He’s turned the opposite direction and isn’t saying anything. You almost wish he would.

“Ok,” you tell him. You’ve turned back around with your arms covering your chest. He’s taken off his shirt, and he’s quick to wrap you up tight in his arms before you can think too much.

His bare chest is warm. His arms squeeze you tight and he rubs your back. His beard tickles your ear, and you feel all of him all at once. It’s making your head spin. Is this? Is this how you’re meeting him?

“I’m Nathan,” he chuckles softly, “but it seems you already knew that.”

You tell him your name, and he chuckles again. “Interesting meeting huh? Story to tell the grandkids.”

That gets a soft laugh from you, and you can feel him physically relax. The awkward tension has been cut.

“You’re feeling warmer now, less shivering.” He states this as if you don’t know, but it’s impossible not to shudder while naked in his arms. He seems to pick up on this, because of the look he gives you when your bodies pull apart. “You okay?” he looks at you, his eyebrow up again.

Tears well up in your eyes and you can see a look of slight panic cross his face.

“No,” he whispers, “No, hey sweetheart, it’s ok. No need to be embarrassed ok? Do you need me to call someone for you?”

“There’s no one to call,” you sniffle out. “I’m staying with my cousin at her place, but she’s out of town.”

“Do you- you wanna stay here tonight? Get warm? We can figure out shit tomorrow.”

“I’m not an inconvenience, am I?”

“Not even a little. You’re the first person I’ve seen in… months. And… it’s way too cold out there. You’re safer here. Just as long as you’re not a serial killer or somethin’… you can stay.” He gives you a little smile, and hands you a towel to wrap yourself in.

”Definitely not a serial killer. I killed a spider last week and I screamed.”

He chuckles while he dries off his chest and pulls his Henley back on.

“Is it just you in this house?” you ask trying to keep the subject off your nudity.

“Yeah, just me. It’s… yeah, it’s a little lonely. But it’s the ideal working environment. No distractions. No noise. But sometimes, it’s too quiet. Listen, hey we can talk later. You should get in the shower, get warmed up ok? Don’t turn the water up too hot alright? I’ll have my housekeeper set aside some dry clothes for you.”

He exits quietly closing the door behind you with a soft click. Once he’s gone, you drop the towel and step into the warm spray of the nicest shower you’ve ever seen.

You try to process what just happened, and you decide this must be a sign or a dream.

At one point there’s a soft knock on the door and you briefly see a woman set a stack of clothes on the counter. She exits as quickly as she arrived.

You wonder why he’d said he’d not seen another person in months when there she was.

After you dry off, you reach for the stack of dry clothes which you assume are his. There’s a soft pair of sweatpants and a warm Henley that looks like the one he was wearing. They smell fresh and clean, and you pull them on eager to not be naked in this house anymore.

You step out of the bathroom and no sooner do you step foot into the hall do you see his face.

“You don’t have any kind of electronic device on you, do you? Like your phone? Just until you leave, for security purposes. It’s just a precaution.”

“You scared me!” you laugh and touch your chest. “And I do, in my backpack. Which I don’t remember where-“

“It’s in the dining room, I’ll show you.”

Once again you follow Nathan through this maze. Your backpack is sitting on the table just as he said. The fabric is soaked, and you have little hope anything is dry on the inside. There’s a neatly folded towel next to the backpack and you spread it out to take out the contents of said pack.

Your phone is in there, and it looks dead. Soaked from the water.

“I can fix that,” he tells you and extends his hand for the phone. You hand it to him, and he pockets it.

After your phone is out, you dump the backpack onto the towel and all your stuff spills out. A clean shirt, a small first aid kit, a phone charger (just in case), and to your horror – a forgotten vibrator that had been stuffed in the bottom of your pack.

You look up at him with fear in your eyes, but he’s got that eyebrow up again.

“Carrying the essentials huh?”

“I-“

“I have so many questions about why you’re hiking with a vibrator, but you look way too embarrassed to answer them honestly. You can keep that for yourself.”

You quickly shove it and the rest of your things back into your soaked backpack.

“So, you’re just… in the middle of the wilderness, alone, with a phone and a vibrator. And no one to call. And you’re sure you’re not a serial killer?” he winks playfully.

“I swear I forgot that was in there!”

“Hey, sorry. I am the last person who’s gonna judge you for somethin’ like that. And you’re not the only person here with a vibrator,” he winks again.

“You sure you’re not a serial killer?” you flush.

“Would it make a difference if I said no?” he can’t help the grin on his face. “Kyoko, my housekeeper, is done with dinner. Would you like to eat with me?” He picks up the damp towel from the table.

“That would be nice, thank you. You’re a good host.”

“I’ll admit, I don’t get a lot of visitors. Or… any visitors, really. But against my better judgement, I’m not gonna let you freeze to death outside. And you seem… relatively harmless,” he smiles again fiddling with the towel in his hands.

The woman you saw earlier sets plates of food down on the table, and Nathan hands her the towel.

“This looks amazing, I can’t thank you enough for your hospitality.”

“I’m glad you’re feeling better. You kinda looked like a wet cat when you got here. No offense,” he bites his lip and glances over at you.

“None taken,” you laugh.

“Do you drink?” he glances at you when he sees you reach for an empty glass.

“I’m not much of a drinker, but I like the occasional wine!”

He chuckles fondly, “We can definitely do wine. I have a Chateau Lafite 1787 and a Cheval Blanc 1947 that are begging to be opened. And… from the look on your face, you have no clue what that means. Kyoko, grab the Cheval.”

“I admit I don’t know! But I can tell you do. You seem to know a lot about a lot of things. Including saving someone from hypothermia,” you almost grimace at the memory.

”That’s why they pay me the big bucks,” he chuckles taking a generous sip of his freshly poured wine. “Damn… this is the good shit.”

You watch him drink and it’s beginning to hit you. This is really him; this is the Nathan that you have his social media accounts on notifications. This is the Nathan that you’ve watched random tech videos you have no interest in but wanted to hear his voice. And now you’re sitting across from him, at his table, watching him drink wine.

“You definitely seem to enjoy the finer things in life, don’t you? And yes, this is good, especially with the meal. I’m not used to this much luxury. I feel like I don’t belong here,” you bite your lip. He’s a genius. Famous and sexy as hell and you’re just-

“Well, you get used to a certain way of living when you’re… me,” he chuckles.

“This wine probably costs more than I make in a month,” you laugh taking another sip. “I don’t know what I’d do if I even had a million dollars.”

“Done.”

“Pardon?”

“I can wire your bank tomorrow.”

“Wait, you can’t be serious.”

“As a heart attack,” he shrugs. “Pocket change. Consider it a get well soon present. So, what’s home like for you?” He changes the subject so abruptly, but you go along with it, but it’s hard to keep up.

Suddenly you feel like spilling your whole life out to this man. That you’re stuck. You live at home because you can’t make ends meet and nothing seems to stick. You’re looking for something, but you don’t know what it is.

“I live in a small town. It’s cozy. Simple. But sometimes it feels too small. That’s why I wanted to get away. See something new. I realize how I’ve not experienced much in my life. I want excitement. I want- well I want to move away. That’s what I want.”

He takes another sip of his wine and you can’t help but stare at his delicious beard.

“I specialize in exciting, honey. You stumbled into the right place,” he grins, another soft chuckle escapes his lips.

“I think I did, though it sounds like you know something I don’t know.”

His brow raises as he smirks devilishly, “there’s a lot you don’t know, kitten. There’s a lot I can show you. I didn’t come out here just to be alone.”

Your stomach drops and you feel your face heat. He’s called you two pet names back-to-back. His eyes are fixed on you, watching every move on your face. He’s calculating, tucking everything away into his memory.

“K-kitten?” you find your words, but you sputter on your wine. “Did you just call me kitten?”

His smirk only seems to grow. The confidence is oozing out of him and it’s thick in the air.

“You liked that, didn’t you? Your pupils are dilated.” He causally sips his wine as if he didn’t just ruin your whole life with a short sentence.

He’s rendered you speechless, the very air in your lungs is gone. And there’s a feeling low in your belly. A pang of arousal and need and thrill hits you all at once.

“I-“ your words are lost again, but he speaks up for you.

“Look, kitten,” he punctuates the word, he’s teasing you now. “You obviously did. Can we just skip to the part where we have the conversation?”

“The conversation?”

“Y’know. The one where I tell you I’m not just interested in you because you’re the first person that’s come around here, like… ever, but because you’re beautiful and interesting and genuinely fun to be around. And that you need to make the first move if you want this as much as I do because I’m not some rich asshole who’s trying to take advantage of the fact that you’re completely vulnerable right now. That conversation.” He sips his wine again, and you feel like you might pass out or jump across the table into his lap. You’re too frozen to do either.

“You think I’m beautiful?”

“Honey,” he sighs setting down his wine glass and folding his hands together resting his elbows on the table. “I don’t mince words. And let me put it to you clearly. You’re exactly my fuckin’ type.”

“Is this really happening?”

“Only if you want it to baby. But I’m as real as it gets. And I couldn’t have made a more perfect woman if I tried, and I have.” He mumbles the last part into his wine glass, it’s so quiet you almost don’t hear it.

“Look Nathan, I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I’m in love with you.”

Both his eyebrows raise in question and a smile grin spreads across his face.

“No, I mean,” you bury your face in your hands, “I mean I have a crush on you, you’re kind of… my celebrity crush,” you wince a little and peek out from behind your hands. “My cousin really does own a timeshare and I really did want to get away, but I came because I thought you would be nearby. I didn’t actually think I’d be having dinner with you after you saw me naked.”

“So, that explains the vibrator then,” he scratches his chin, pretending he’s lost in thought. He’s messing with you but when he sees your obvious distress he leans back in his chair. You think he’s about to apologize when you get up and walk down the hall and pick a random room that’s open.

You sit down on a couch and look up to see a Jackson Pollack painting on the wall. Lights are angled at it, it’s the focal point of the room.

A few moments later you hear a soft knock on the doorframe.

Nathan walks in and leans against the desk under the painting, he’s facing you. His arms are crossed, but he doesn’t look angry.

“Look, I wanna talk to you about earlier. I know I come on….strong. And it’s a shitty excuse but you’re the first real woman I’ve seen in months that isn’t my housekeeper and what I said before about you being my type? Shit. I scared you, didn’t I?”

“It’s just overwhelming,” you flush. “My celeb crush saw me naked today and wants to have sex with me. Not to mention you offered me a MILLION dollars without batting an eye!”

“Okay, okay. How can I put you at ease about this? We obviously have a connection. And you might as well stay until I can fix your phone.”

“What about the money?”

“I could put you to work. I’m writing a thesis. And I need to make sure it’s readable to someone who may not understand all this,” he moves his hands around in the air.

“Is that worth a million dollars?”

“It would be to me; I need help on this.”

“Okay,” you nod. “I’ll do it.”

“Really?” he smiles, he seems so excited. “Great. I’ll take you to a room you can stay in. Let me give you a tour of the place.”

Your tour ends with the bedroom. He tells you goodnight and disappears down the hall. You shimmy out of the sweatpants but leave on the Henley and slide into the bed. The sheets are soft, silky. There’s a thick warm blanket on top and you snuggle deep under the covers.

You’re thinking about your day, what a crazy day it’s been. You try not to linger on the naked part, but you think more about his skin. The warmth. The touch of his beard. His obvious desire for you at dinner. You wonder what he’s doing right now. You wonder if he’s thinking about you as much as you are thinking about him. Maybe you have some charge left in the vibrator….

if this looks familiar....it’s because w/ permission from @sergeantkane, i wrote a fic based on my thread w/ her on @thatortheschlong!!

next part will come on thursday feb 18th!

tagging: @punkpascal, @pascal-isaac, @wasicskosgirl, @velvetmel0n, @huliabitch, @shadow-assassin-blix, @writefightandflightclub, @aellynera, @softboywriting, @veuliee2, @spider-starry, @mylifeliterally, @millllenniawrites, @ntlmundy, @foxilayde, @writingletterstothefire, @mandoplease, @anetteaneta, @feelmyroarrrr, @artsymaddie, @shakespeareanwannabe, @thevalentinowhitebag, @deanfanatic

#nathan bateman #nathan bateman x reader #nathan bateman imagine #nathan bateman x you #human touch series #part one #my writing #akljghksjgkhsjl IM SO EXCITED #PLS PLS TELL ME WHAT YOU THINK

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navegandoaciegas · 4 years

Text

Cotton candy: sharing is caring

Pairing: Bucky Barnes x Reader (Sugar Daddy AU)

Warnings: smut, explicit language, age gap, voyeurism, exhibitionism, Steve x Sam, double penetration, oral, anal and vaginal sex, face sitting, rimming, hair pulling, dirty talk, mentions of choking, unprotected sex with multiple partners (pls don’t do that, use protection always!!!), creampie. Reader calls Bucky “daddy” but there’s no actual daddy kink. Also fuzzy feelings and soft!Bucky. 18+

Summary: Whatever his princess desires, he always makes sure she gets it. Especially if what she wants are Sam and Steve.

A/N: english is my third language so forgive any mistakes. Also, do we like the moodboard?

Getting paid to spend time with a man wasn’t how you pictured your post grad life, yet here you are, feet dangling out of James’ yacht, the artificial lights of Monte Carlo’s skyscrapers reflecting in the waters beneath you.

Richness suits you, Wanda always tells you, and you thank her everyday for introducing you to the world of sugar babies. James is handsome, and sweet, and in the moments of clarity when you put your fears aside, you know you’d be with him even if he wasn’t paying you to.

Your new lavish lifestyle is easy to get accustomed to: James has more money than he knows what to do with, and you’re the one he likes to spend it on. You don’t think you’ll ever be able to go back to packaged ramen and cheap mac’n’cheese, not after tasting 300 dollars steaks, anyways. The gruelling shifts at the diner you worked at to pay your students loans are a distant (and unpleasant) memory, now that he’s paid all the debts off.

Anything for my babygirl, it’s what he always tells you, and so far he’s kept his promise.

You know he’d give you the world if you asked for it, you see it in the way he looks at you like you’ve hung the moon and stars, in the way he clings to you after a nightmare and you, only you, always you, can ground him back to reality.

The sea is too cold at night for you to dive in, so you opt for a quick dip in the warm waters of the pool in the cockpit instead.

You hum softly, towel in hand, as you pad barefoot across the deck, content with the gentle sway of the waves and the bright lights of the pier. As you’re about to reach the pool, you stop dead in your tracks behind the corner when the sound of barely suppressed moans reaches your ears. You know you shouldn’t, but you peek your head anyways.

You swallow hard, feeling heat pool in your core at the sight of Steve and Sam, James’ friends, sharing a heated kiss. Drops of water dripping from his long blonde hair to the hard planes of his abs, Steve looks like you’d imagine Poseidon himself would. Sam’s hands roam all over his body, feet dangling in the pool, flexing the powerful muscles of his thick thighs, his skin glistening in the soft moonlight.

You should tear your eyes away from them, turn back and walk away, but you’re rooted on the spot, each of their sounds shooting straight to your cunt.

“You can have them, if you want.” a voice startles you, “I know they want you, they’ve told me.”

You almost jump out of your skin, so focused on the men before you haven’t heard James approach you.

His hot breath sends tingles down your spine, the soft hair of his abs rubs against your back. His presence, his smell, the crystal blue of his eyes swallowed by darkness, everything about him is intoxicating, and you can’t bring yourself to utter a single word.

“I know you too want ‘em, princess.” he murmurs, hands clutching your waist, his stubble grazing the skin of your neck, “What do I alway tell you?”

James’ hand, his metal hand, slides in your bikini, caressing your mound, a sweet torture, his fingers so close, yet so far from where you need them.

“Whatever you want.” is your response, barely above a whisper, your breath hitching when he dips in your dripping folds, your back arching in his chest, and the grunt that escapes him when your ass rubs against his hard on is downright pornographic.

He hums, fingers circling your bud, your own toes curling, his cock straining in his swim trunks. You can’t tear your eyes away from Sam, his heaving chest, his hand in Steve’s hair, guiding his head as he bops up and down his length, wishing you were the one sucking him off.

They don’t know you’re there, and that makes looking at them all the more exhilarating.

It’s wrong, and you should feel bad, but you don’t, not when the lewd sounds of Sam’s pleasure mix in with the waves of the sea, and you don’t think you’ve ever heard a more beautiful melody. James swirls his fingers around your entrance, dipping in your wet pussy, and when he crooks his metal fingers inside you, you can’t stop the wanton moan that escapes you, before he slaps his flesh hand on your mouth, silencing you.

You’re panting, writhing under his touch, bucking your hips wildly while his fingers keep sliding in and out of you, the coil in your core getting tighter with each stoke.

“Be a good girl and cum all over daddy’s fingers, and I’ll let you have ‘em.” he promises, and the prospect of Steve and Sam fucking you like you alway wanted is enough to trigger your orgasm, body shaking as white hot pleasure engulfs you whole, leaving you breathless.

You watch in a daze as Sam cums with a groan, and Steve swallows it all, and all you can think about is how you can’t wait to have them both.

Alcohol flows in your veins, the right amount to help you loosen up your tense muscles, take your minds off of any worry. Your heart is beating out of its cage, anticipation and arousal mixing together.

“Remember that we can stop whenever you want us to, you don’t have to finish this if you don’t want to, okay?” James reassures you, hands caressing your shoulders, lips grazing the shell of your ear.

You inhale sharply, and nod. You want this. You want them.

“I know, and I trust you.”, you smile at him, because you do, you trust him with your life, and you take his hand in yours, kissing the back of it.

With one last soft look, he lingers a few more seconds before settling down on the far end of the couch, powerful thighs spread open.

“Touch her.” he commands, and they obey.

Hands hesitantly stroking your body, soft brush of Steve’s lips. You shudder, your nipples stiffening under your swarovski dress, and he gains the confidence to touch you more firmly. Sam kisses your neck, pecking and nipping the skin, careful not to leave marks. He doesn’t need James throwing him off board, he reasons.

You’re naked in a heartbeat, your shiny dress falling on the ground with one sweeping motion. You bend down to take your shoes off, your newest pair of Jimmy Choos, but a hand stops yours as you fumble with the strap.

“Keep ‘em, please.”, Steve mumbles, delicately tracing from your ankles to the bridge of your feet, enthralled by your soft skin and pretty nail polish. He brings his face down, lips grazing the insides of your calves, tracing their way up to your inner thighs, his hot breath fanning over your skin until it reaches your hot core. He kisses between your legs, teasing you when his nose brushes against your swollen cunt, and your whole body quivers.

Warmth settles in your lower belly with Steve's shy caresses, Sam’s rough gropes on your breasts, James’ eyes on you. You’re burning up under his intense gaze, his flesh hand palming his cock through his briefs as he watches his friends touch his best girl.

There’s fire in his eyes when he stands, tall and intimidating, and harshly grabs your jaw, slanting his mouth against yours in a bruising kiss, swallowing your moans. You hiss. Teeth roughly bite down on your bottom lip, and you taste metal on your tongue. He presses down on your cheeks, and spits in your mouth, and you swallow like the good slut he always says you are.

“Please daddy.” you whine, pushing James away.

“Please what, princess?”, he taunts you, reveling in the way you squirm and pant, a light sheen of sweat coating your pretty face, glossy lips all swollen.

“I need more, please.” you beg, grinding your core on Sam’s thighs, desperate to soothe the throbbing ache inside you, his hands on your hips guiding you as you ride his leg.

He chuckles, but takes pity on you. “Do you want Steve to eat your pussy, babygirl?”, he coos you, caressing your head.

You bob your head up and down, a wide smile spreading on your face.

“Look how eager this little slut is.” Sam chuckles, pinching your ass.

“Lay down, let her sit on your face.” he instructs, and Steve obediently complies, laying on the couch, the hard muscles of his abs flexing with each movement, your hunger for him growing with every bulge, every vein, every hair on his chest.

“C’mere, lemme taste you.” he murmurs, cheeks blushed, pupils blown wide and mouth watering at the prospect of tasting you, “I bet you taste as sweet as you look”.

You straddle his face, hovering mere inches away from him; he grabs your thighs and pulls you down on him, leaving open mouthed kisses on your inner thigh, ascending until he delves in your glistening folds, humming appreciatevely, “Fuck, you taste better than I thought.” Flattening his tongue he licks wide stripes from your entrance to your clit, your arousal coating his beard. You grind your hips on his face, fucking yourself as you stare into James’ eyes, your moans and his grunts filling the room.

Behind you, Sam fumbles with Steve’s belt, taking his cock out and stroking him, and after mere seconds, the pretty blonde boy underneath you moans loudly just like you do, the vibration reverberating into your channel. You feel your walls throb intensely, and you cry out when Steve closes his mouth on your clit and sucks hard, pain and pleasure weaving together.

Teeth close down on the flesh of your ass, and you yelp in pain. Two hands knead you, spreading you wide open, before a finger pushes past your tight hole, slowly and delicately sliding in and out.

“You have such a nice tight ass, pretty girl.” Sam grunts, dipping another in and stretching you.

You should feel shame, riding a man’s face while one fingers your ass under another’s gaze, but you don’t. You only feel the coil build up in your cunt, and all it takes for it to release is another swipe of his tongue on your clit, and you cum with a cry, your hot release gushing on Steve’s face.

Sam’s strong arms support you as you ride out your orgasm, and you hear James’ voice coo you, praising his good girl, his pretty little slut, “So good for us.”, “So perfect for me.”

Sam dips down to kiss Steve’s face, his beard and mouth sticky with your release, enjoying your taste on him as he sucks him clean.

“Can I fuck her?” Steve asks, voice husky, looking at Sam expectantly.

“I’ll go first.”, he responds, “On your hands and knees, sugar.”

You do as told, exposing yourself to them, not an ounce of shame left in you. You’ve never felt more beautiful, more desired, more comfortable in your own skin.

Sam smacks your ass and grabs you roughly, so different from Steve’s feather like touches, “I’ll fuck you so hard you won’t be able to walk straight for a week.”

“Don’t brag beforehand, sweetie.” you chuckle, eyes boring in James’, the only one who can ever give you the type of pleasure that has you walk funny for days on end.

“When have you ever seen Steve walk straight, honestly?”

You and James both roll your eyes. “Just fuck me already.”

“Alright, you needy little slut. No need to be rude.”, he says, slapping your ass again and again until you feel a bruise form, “You watch.” he orders Steve, “And you won’t touch yourself unless I tell you so.”

Steve lets out a whine, but nods anyways, although his eyes are full of tears and his cock is straining painfully, desperate for a release.

James is enjoying watching his friends fuck his girl more than he should, more than is be normal, but he can’t find it in himself to care, not when you moan in so much pleasure.

Sam lines himself up with your entrance and slams into you all at once, your walls accommodating his girth and throbbing around it. He sets a punishing pace, his thick cock hitting your cervix, and it hurts but you don’t care, because the pleasure is greater than the pain.

“Please, fuck me harder.” you beg, moving your hips to meet his thrusts, feeling an orgasm near already, “Fuck, fuck, yes.”

“You like it when I fuck you hard, huh?” he grunts, “You like my big fuckin’ cock inside you?”

He pulls your hair, making you arch your back even deeper, and starts pounding inside you faster and harder than before. He dips a thumb inside your rim, and enjoys the sight of his cock slamming in and out of you, and the sound of your sobs.

“I want you to fuck her mouth.” he commands, and Steve doesn’t need to be told twice before he sits down before you.

“Please Steve, use my fuckin’ mouth, make me choke on that fat cock.” you urge him, hands stroking his cock.

Steve blushes at your words and gently kisses your forehead, before he snakes a hand around your neck, and you part your lips, tongue lapping at his head. He groans, tightening his hold on you when you take him in your mouth, hollowing your cheeks around him and swallowing him until the tip hits the back of your throat.

He’s big, even bigger than James, and you struggle with his girth, your jaw aching terribly as you bob your head up and down. Kudos to Sam for doing this on the daily, you muse.

Sam keeps on pummeling your pussy, and Steve holds you down, his cock suffocating you. You gag, air not reaching your lungs anymore, but he doesn’t relent, fucking your mouth ruthlessly.

“Fuck.” he groans, so lost in pleasure he’s not the sweet man you know anymore, “You’re such a good little slut, taking our cocks so well.”

He snaps his hips further down your throat, tears and saliva dribbling down your face, eyes bulging out of your face as you hold onto his thighs for dear life.

A sound between a growl and a moan escapes him, and before you have time to realize it, he slants himself inside you again, and cums in your mouth, his heady taste coating your tongue, leaving you breathless.

Sam pulls you down, and purrs on your lips as Steve’s release drools out of your mouth and into his, the image of his cum on Sam’s lips so lewd you could come at the sight of it.

You feel yourself get close, your pussy aching for a release, but before you’re able to cum, Sam yanks you back and pulls out of you, and you whine in protest as he lays down.

“Don’t worry sugar, I’m not done with you yet.”

His hands guide you as you straddle him and sink on his cock again with ease, your slick dripping down your thighs and covering him too. You steady yourself on his chest and start bouncing your ass up and down his length, before you get struck by the idea to try something you’ve never done before.

“Daddy?” you mewl, “Can you fuck me too? Can you give me that big fuckin’ cock? I want you to fuck my tight little asshole, please.”, you beg through each sob that escapes you as Sam pounds into you, pleading through lidded eyes.

James feels like he could cum just hearing your soft voice begging to be fucked, and because he can’t refuse you anything, he nods. He was done letting them fuck you alone anyways.

“I can’t believe you’re such a whore.” Sam chuckles underneath you, stilling inside you as James lowers his face between your cheeks, observing the way his friend’s cock stretches your pussy, your walls tightly gripping him.

“You trust me?” he rasps, “I promise you’ll like what I want to do to you, babygirl.”

You can’t find the words in you, so you just nod your consent.

Sam and you both curse, eyes rolling to the back of your head when James licks a stripe from his cock to your puckered hole. He gives it all he’s got, swirling his tongue around your rim and poking inside, stretching you with his fingers.

You almost black out when you cum again, never in your life having felt so much pleasure all at once, your pussy clenching on Sam’s cock, holding him in a vice so tight that he himself wonders how he hasn’t exploded yet. James caresses your back as you come down from your high, whispering sweet nothings into your ear, his metal fingers running soothing circles on your shoulders.

He lines himself behind you, and you yelp when he pushes inside your rim, relishing in the way your hole stretches around his girth with every agonizingly slow thrust.

The coil inside you gets tighter with each obscene sound of their balls slapping against you, each squelch of your wetness, each time Steve pants touching himself.

“Faster, please.” you beg.

“You like when daddy fucks your asshole, huh? You like being full of cock, you little slut.”, James teases you, “Will you let Steve use you too, princess?”

“Yes, yes, please.” you moan, ass bouncing on their cocks, their hands everywhere on your body, “Please Steve, I want you to fuck my pussy.”, you beg, hands reaching for him as he switches places with Sam, a wide grin on both their faces.

Steve’s cock reaches new places inside you, and you feel yourself about to faint each time his tip hits that sweet, spongy spot inside you, the need to relieve yourself of the tight knot in your belly growing stronger with each passing minute.

Harsh thrusts, bruising grips on your tender skin, someone bites on your shoulder, someone sucks on your toes, someone pulls your hair. You’re overwhelmed, lost in pleasure, barely registering what is going on around you as they pass you around like a ragdoll, their little slut. A hand clamps down on your neck, vision going spotty around the edges, tears streaming down your face.

They pull orgasm after orgasm out of you until you lose count, too fucked out and in pure bliss, a loud ring in your ears, no longer feeling the muscles in your lower stomach. Your pussy aches delightfully, tingling and throbbing and clenching and clamping down on their cocks, the couch soiled with your release and theirs.

You mewl at the emptiness you feel when they pull out of you and their cum streams out of your abused holes. You find yourself on your back, legs spread wide open, James’ arms around you, thick ropes of cum dribbling out of your cunt, Steve’s eyes trained on it before he digs in, eating you out with more passion than before, licking you clean of your slick and theirs, the room filled with the slurping noises he makes and the sobs that escape you, overstimulated and exhausted.

“I know you got another one in you sweetheart, you’re doing so good.” James coos you, peppering your jaw with soft kisses, “Just one more, I know you can do this.”

Steve sucks hard on your clit, and you cry out as one more wave of pleasure engulfs you, jolts of electricity jerking your body, your eyes rolling to the back of your neck, your release hitting him straight in the face.

You’re all spent and satisfied, lying on the couch in each other’s embrace, Sam spooning Steve, Steve clinging to your leg while you scratch his scalp, your head resting on James’ chest.

He tries to commit this moment of bliss to memory, your blissed out face and the warmth you exude antidotes to the darkness that swallows him whole sometimes.

After years of barely staying afloat, being dragged beneath the surface, never enough to drown completely, just enough to claw at his throat and gasp for air, he feels himself coming back to life, slowly but surely, whenever he is with you.

There’s forces that smother him, pull him under anytime he resurfaces again. It’s waking up in a pool of blood on the cold concrete every night, it’s the freight car derailing each time, the twisted metal panels of his car, the bright lights of ambulances and fire trucks, the sterile smells of gauzes and the bitter taste of blood. It’s the spoils of his marriage, the looks of indifference to his pain, the horror in her eyes upon seeing his bandaged stump, the touch starved shell of a man he’d become. It’s the haunting memory of walking in on his bestfriend fucking her in his own bed, the relieved look on her face that he’d finally caught them, it’s finding out that everyone knew. Everyone except for him.

But you, you’re the first breath of fresh air after drowning for so long, the spark that lights his fire again. You are the beacon of hope that it might be worth living to see another day.

And so, he obeys to your every whim, and he spoils you rotten. His babygirl gets what she wants, whenever she wants it.

Sometimes you ask for pretty dresses, shiny heels and designer bags; occasionally, you wish for the white sand of the Maldives to tickle your feet, or the warm springs of Iceland to soothe your sore muscles.

Other times, you don’t say it, and some things are better left unspoken, but he sees it in your eyes, the burning desire you try to hide behind downcast gazes and polite smiles, the way your breath hitches and you clench your thighs. He’s bothered by it, to some extent, because he wishes to be the only one you look that way, but he knows you don’t belong to him. Not in the way that matters, anyway.

And maybe it’s better like that, considering how things ended with the last one.

Sometimes you want other lovers, and he let’s you have them.

It’s not love, he chants like a mantra, it’s companionship for him, and convenience for you. A pretty, smart, young woman like you wouldn’t even spare him a second glance if he didn’t shower you in money.

It’s not love, but it sure feels like it. At least on his part it does.

“Daddy?” you whisper, Sam and Steve’s soft snores resonating in his ears.

He hums, a content bliss settling on his face whenever you’re in his arms.

“Thank you.”

The smile he gives you is the most precious gift you’ll ever receive.

“Anything for you, princess.”

And he means it.

---

this is PART ONE to sugar, spice, and everything nice

taglist: @msincognito67 @sambucky8 @buckmecaptain @bigbootychrisevans @im-squished @mela-noche @everything-is-awesomesauce e @mrsbarneswillseeyounow w @docharleythegeekqueen @lets—be-honest

If you want to be added or take out of the taglist, just send an ask or comment on here.

#bucky x reader #bucky x you #bucky barnes smut #james barnes x reader #bucky imagine #bucky fanfic #marvel fanfiction #marvel smut

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brewdarrymore · 3 years

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why you should read the fire and brimstone scrolls by nikole knight

HELLO y'all. you might remember me from this post where I went on about why people should read wolfsong, the first book in the green creek series, and it’s been two years since I made that post. it still gets notes, and judging by how many it has I'm guessing I got a good portion of y'all to read it. so I figured I'd try again with a new book series and a new author!! I completely devoured this series over the last week and a half, and as far as I know, it has almost no fandom on here or anywhere else I've seen and I need to fix that. SO, here we go:

it’s six books (the first one is called revelations, shown above), so there is plenty of content for you to absorb!

and the series is completed so there will be no agonizing waiting between books, you can just read the next one right away!

it’s a dark new adult fantasy/romance set in a world of angels and demons, heaven and hell

sloooooow burn at first. but oh my god the payoff.

as of now there are only 2 (TWO!!) fics on ao3 and NOTHING in the tags here (except a moodboard I made hehehe) so just like when green creek was just starting to be popular, we all have the opportunity to build up the fandom and spread word of it around!

eventually ends up being a poly romance!!!

poly rep, ace rep (in a main character!), gay rep, bi rep, fluid characters (characters who identify with he/him pronouns but like to dress up occasionally/wear feminine things), just delightfully queer from beginning to end

begins with our hero riley shephard, sweet, sweet, sheltered riley, who has grown up in an abusive household and is away from home for the first time at college

in the first book you can tell that he’s very innocent and naive, he hasn’t been exposed to the outside world much due to his upbringing with an abusive foster parent, so to watch him grow and discover himself is just so incredible, and by the end of the sixth book you’re like WOW!! MY BABY GROWN

a heart-wrenching journey of self-discovery, freedom, and love and acceptance that I just could not stop reading from start to finish, I literally finished every single book within a day or two and I can’t remember the last time I binged a series like that

will definitely not be for everyone, but if you can handle all the stuff listed below then I promise it is SO worth it to read because of the story at the heart of it

TRIGGER WARNING: the whole series contains graphic violence, gore, scenes of traumatic sexual assault both on and off page, child abuse, torment, and a couple other things that might be difficult for people to read, but the author includes a content warning at the beginning of every book!!

hella, hella angst

but so many beautiful scenes too, scenes of coping and healing from trauma and incredible chemistry between the characters!!

did I mention the poly romance

it’s a long journey to get there, but it ends happily and in such a satisfying way!!

the development of the main character is just such a great thing to read, it made me cry to read how he changes for the better but also has to fight the darker parts of himself

if you liked the green creek series I truly believe you’ll like this too! and if I'm wrong you can come into my inbox and drag me! but this is one of my new favorite series ever and I have no one to talk about it with!

but seriously if you like gay werewolves and gay witches, try some gay angels!

I just love Riley Shepard so much

and the angels. oh my god the angels. jairus, noel and gideon. I love them all so much.

I don’t know what else to say I just want to spread this series around because it deserves the love!! it’s so good! so fucking good!

I'm just begging y'all to give this series a chance so I won’t be alone in my little corner

Editing this to add: Kirt Graves, the same person who narrates TJ Klune’s audiobooks, will also be narrating this series!!

#please.#I need to cry about it with people.#fire and brimstone scrolls #Nikole knight #book recs #LGBTQ books #booklr #litblr #tagging this with green creek for the exposure #green creek #wolfsong #mlm books #poly book recs #ace rep #new adult fantasy book recs #queer book recs #new adult books #tj klune #kirt graves

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gmariam19 · 3 years

Text

Hello! I hit one of those follower milestones that we all like to grin about - thank you! I decided to share something to go with the last moodboard I posted, a story I started ages ago but that stalled out at chapter five. The opening is below, and I'm hoping I can get it going again and post it sometime this fall. I'm sure a few details will change, and I do hope to finish some shorter stories before then. But in the meantime, I hope you enjoy it - thanks for reading! :)

One

Poe already misses the ranch.

It’s been months since he's been home, seen his dad, even had a day off. Spending five days on Yavin 4 is exactly what he needed. He feels relaxed and recharged, ready to resume the job of co-General. He's fairly sure he's gained weight from all the eating and drinking they did, but that was what home was for him: koyo fruit and dark caf, roasted runyip steaks with kibla greens and sweetsand cookies for dessert. He hasn't eaten so well for months, maybe years.

Finn looks fairly content as well. Poe had been nervous about the trip, but it was past time to introduce Finn to Kes Dameron. Poe couldn't remember the last time he'd brought someone home, and he'd been a wreck until the moment his father had stepped forward, raised an eyebrow at Finn's outstretched hand, and pulled him into a tight embrace. Kes's eyes had been bright, and Poe had almost choked up; Finn had been stunned at the warm welcome.

Everything had been perfect after that. In fact, maybe a little too good as Poe had been ganged up on more than once by Finn and his father. But to watch them together, talking, laughing, even cooking (though Finn was a disaster of a cook, so he usually ended up doing the washing) was a joy. It made Poe want a life like that more than anything—a quiet life with someone he loved, near friends and family. It was what peace looked like.

Of course, he would probably be bored after a month, but he could still think about it, couldn't he?

For now, there is still work to do, and part of Poe's plan in flying out to see his dad had been to make a few stops on the way back. The first is Torque, a quick jump from Yavin 4. It isn't the nicest spaceport in the sector, but it's the capital and it’s busy, which means they can blend in and listen, get a feel for what’s going on outside their immediate circle. Finn is meeting with one of Vi Moradi's people to exchange news, someone he'd met on Batuu who happened to be passing through the sector, while Poe is meeting with one of Grakkus the Hutt's pilots for a brief, off-the-record meeting on conditions in Hutt space.

Poe walks to a cantina not far from the landing pads on his own, his senses on high alert. He's in a dingy spaceport in the Outer Rim, a general of the Resistance who still has a large bounty on his head. Armed and aware, he notices immediately when he turns that the street he's on—more of an alley, really—is unusually quiet and empty. Perfect setup for an ambush.

He comms Finn. "I've got a bad feeling about this," he says as quietly as he can. "Good chance someone knows we’re here. Stay alert." Finn confirms the message. Poe unhooks his blaster, speeding up his pace. As he reaches the end of the alley, he senses a presence behind him, and feels a blaster in his back.

"Don't move," says a low voice, a familiar voice.

"Finn?" asks Poe. "What're you—"

The blaster pokes him hard in the ribs, so definitely not Finn (and they don't really play like that in public, anyway.) Poe glances over his shoulder to catch a glimpse of a tall, dark-skinned man, a bounty hunter by the looks of him, though he is close in size to Finn and certainly sounds similar.

"Hands up, blaster to me, then turn around slowly."

Poe raises both hands, discreetly tapping his comm twice as he does, and the hunter takes his blaster. Poe turns and finds himself facing his captor. He's dressed in a black flight suit, with a leather vest and boots lined in red, and he’s armed to the teeth. He's only an inch or two taller than Poe but almost two decades older, short hair and beard shot with grey and a prominent scar running from his temple to his jaw on his right side. He seems familiar, though Poe is almost certain they’ve never met before. Strangely enough, what stands out most are the man’s eyes: tired brown eyes that do not look like the cold, hard eyes of most bounty hunters Poe has met.

The man looks at him with a frown.

"What, not what you expected?" Poe asks. "I get that a lot. It's the hair."

The bounty hunter shakes his head as he pats Poe down, taking his second blaster and a knife. "It's the hair that makes you so recognizable, General," the man says. His voice really does sound like Finn, and his eyes…Poe shakes off the idea. "Maybe if you cut it, half a dozen hunters would stop looking for you."

"Only half a dozen?" Poe asks. "How disappointing. I remember when I was on top of everyone's list."

"Sorry, General," the man says, and there is a wry smile with the strangely apologetic words. "Peace is not as good for business."

"Maybe you need a new business," Poe suggests. He has a funny feeling about this grizzled bounty hunter, as if the man before him is nothing like the image he projects. He doesn't want to hurt this man but talk him out of whatever he’s got planned. Or at least talk long enough for Finn to get there.

"You're actually my last job," the man says, almost conversationally. "There's still people willing to pay good money for your head." He takes out a pair of binders and motions at Poe to lower his wrists. Poe leaves his hands up.

"What if I paid you more?" he asks, lowering his voice and moving closer. "And then we forget this ever happened?" He smiles, turning on the charm, but the man snorts at him, so much like Finn that it’s eerie.

"Lower your arms, General. You can't afford me."

Poe shrugs. "It was worth a try." He slowly lowers his wrists, taking another step closer. Just as the hunter is about to clamp them, he headbutts the older man, sliding a pocket blaster into his palm as he steps back and hits the man with a glancing blow in the arm. The hunter recovers quickly, though, and blasts him in the chest, sending Poe flying backward and into the side of the nearest building. He rolls over and groans, thankful it wasn't set to full stun—or kill. This hunter is even more unusual than Poe thought. The man stands over him and is about to speak when Poe hears the click of a blaster behind them.

"Drop it," says Finn. The hunter turns and shoots so fast Poe barely has a chance to shout a warning. But Finn has good instincts too: he ducks and pulls the blaster from the hunter's hands with his newest Force skill. The hunter looks at his gloved hand in surprise before he tries again with a second weapon, and Finn again slams it aside with the Force.

"I could do this all day," Finn says.

The hunter raises an eyebrow. "Then let’s forget the weapons." He charges Finn with raises fists and they start fighting hand to hand.

Poe drags himself to his hands and knees and slowly stands against the wall, hugging his right side with one hand and wiping blood from a cut on his temple with the other. He hit the building hard and will probably have some colorful bruises soon. He watches the fight for a moment as he recovers from the stun bolt: two highly skilled men, one much older than the other, yet still strong. Poe has the odd thought that it's a bit like watching Finn fight himself in thirty years.

It does not take long, however, for Finn to gain the upper hand and pin the man down, call a blaster to his hand, and press it to the man's neck.

"Yield!" he demands. The hunter got in a good hit and Finn's lip is bleeding, and he's clearly pissed off about it.

"Get off me!" the hunter snarls. "I yield."

"Finn," Poe calls, and tosses him the fallen binders. Finn clamps them behind the man's back and hauls the hunter to his feet.

"Who are you?" Finn demands, but the man looks away. Poe finally figures it out—the clothing, the scar, the stories, and he walks over, moving slowly and still holding his side.

"You're Tenga Idoma, aren't you?" he asks. "I've heard of you, didn't think you worked this side of the galaxy."

"A hunter goes where the bounty goes." The bounty hunter is standing tall and proud, a bruise forming on his left jaw, the wound on his arm small but red and raw.

"I'm the bounty," Poe stage-whispers to Finn, who rolls his eyes.

"Oh, you are both wanted men," Idoma says, laughing bitterly. "I figured I couldn't take you together, so I flipped a chip on who to follow first. I didn't think I'd get my ass handed to me by a former trooper if I followed the pilot."

Poe takes a step forward—always his instinctive response when someone refers to Finn as a Stormtrooper—but Finn stops him with a hand on Poe's arm. He's looking at the man curiously.

"Are you a former trooper, too?" Finn asks.

"I neverserved the First Order." The man spits in the street, so vehemently angry it earns a look of surprise from Finn. "They took everything from me."

"Then why are you tracking us down?" Poe asks. "We're fighting to make sure they don't ever do it again, you know."

The man shakes his head. "I told you, this is my last job. Then I'm done."

Finn looks to Poe with a shrug. "What should we do with him?" he asks.

Poe looks at the man, then back at Finn. The resemblance is almost uncanny. Something—his own instincts, or maybe the Force—prompts him to say, "Bring him with us." He turns to the bounty hunter. "You're under arrest."

"You can't arrest me!" Idoma exclaims, and struggles in his binders, grimacing with pain, but Finn holds tight.

"I'm a general, sure I can," says Poe. Which is not strictly true, but he needs more time with this man.

"What are we going to do with him?" Finn asks. "Why don't we turn him in to the authorities here?"

Poe thinks about what to say, how to say it. "I have some more questions for him," he says. "Come on, let's head back to the Falcon."

Finn looks both skeptical and curious as he comms Vi Moradi's man and explains the situation. Poe calls the pilot he was supposed to meet. The hunter moves reluctantly but does not put up a fight. It feels strange to be taking him in so easily, and Poe can’t help but wonder why—or if something is about to go massively wrong. He tries not to think about who Tenga Idoma might really be, but he can’t help but wonder about that as well.

#Finnpoe #Stormpilot #Finn (Star Wars)#Poe Dameron #fanfiction #WIP #Tenga Idoma

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moonofthenight · 3 years

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Everything must come to an end

Umm okay, so here is the fic posted the moodboard to a few days ago. This is two thousand words of pure angst, like really really angsty so if you decide to read it, please be aware of that. Also, I kind of want to leave it like it is, I don’t really want to write a part two to it.

Oh and this is probably not the most realistic scenario but I loved to explore it anyways.

I’m sorry @lumosinlove but thank you for letting me use your amazing characters

CW for mentions of food, lots of crying, bad mental health for some time and a general very sad atmosphere

A happy ending is never a promise, it’s a wish and ever since Leo was little, he wished for it more than anything.

The rain softly pattered against the window, waking the blonde one up, who let out a content sigh. Contrary to popular believe, Leo loved rainy days. There was nothing better than waking up in the warmth of the bed with his boys next to him, holding them safely in his arms. He already could imagine today, Finn sitting on the couch with his glasses and the nose in a book, Logan cuddling Finn to oblivion, while he made them something to eat. But if he only knew…

He felt Finn’s hand moving in his, a sign that he was waking up too. Leo pushed himself up with one arm, careful not to wake Logan up, reaching over to brush Finn’s hair from his forehead.

“Good morning sweetheart.”

“Mhh good morning Le.”

Finn stretched his back, his head sleepily falling down onto the pillow, making Leo chuckle.

“Wake Lo up, would you love? I will go down and make some breakfast for us.”, Leo said while getting up.

Finn nodded in response, blowing Leo a kiss, to which he leaned down and planted a real kiss on his lips in return. Finn made a soft sound, his hand finding the back of Leo’s head, pulling him closer. They parted eventually and Leo gave Finn a last kiss on the cheek before he made his way into the kitchen.

He started to prepare the bowls, humming softly while he mixed everything together. Leo flinched at the loud ringtone of his phone. It laid on the kitchen counter, exactly where he left it last night after their weekly date night.

Coach is calling…

“Good morning coach, what’s up?”

“Leo…”

His heart dropped at the tone of Arthur’s voice.

“Leo, I am so sorry but you have been traded. Come over soon so we can talk about the paperwork please.”

Leo didn’t remember what he said, he ended the call and starred at the phone in his hands. He felt… numb, as if he was stuck in one of those horrid dreams where you keep running and running and running but you never reach any end. He managed to put the phone back down but when he looked up, all he could do was to stare blankly at the wall. He didn’t cry, it still felt too surreal.

Leo could faintly discern Logan and Finn moving towards the kitchen, their laughter echoing from the walls right into his heart. The happy sound stopped the moment the two entered the kitchen, seeing Leo standing there. Both of them knew something was wrong.

“I got traded.”

It was simple as that and now it was finally sinking in. He got traded, he got-

“No please tell me this is some sick joke", a bitter laugh escaped Logan’s mouth, both him and Finn stopping dead in their tracks.

“It’s not”, his voice broke and he looked towards them, the tears already running down his face.

Logan immediately started sobbing, his eyes filled with fear and helplessness. At the same time, Finn moved to pull Leo into a hug, his wet cheek pressing against Leo’s collarbone. All of them were crying by now, it was an ugly picture but so was the situation.

“This doesn’t make any sense. You haven’t even been playing long with us”, Finn muttered against Leo’s skin.

“We can’t let them take you away from us. What are we without you by our side?”

“We can do it. We have to”, Logan said through his tears, his hand reaching out to wipe away Leo’s tears.

Leo didn’t answer.

Can we?

“I think I need some time for myself, okay?”, he said and leaned into Logan’s touch for a second before removing himself out of the hug.

He walked out of the kitchen but as he turned around again, Logan and Finn were already in each other’s arms, rocking from side to side. He could hear a faint “It’s going to be alright.” But it cut off with his door falling shut.

He walked towards his bed, falling down face first and just laid there. He gave himself a few minutes to breathe, his mind was blank. He was so so scared. He couldn’t do anything. He didn’t know how and if this was going to work out, hearts are going to break either way.

He lifted his head a bit, reaching out for the phone he carelessly threw onto the bed.

Please pick up, please pick up, please pick up

“Lupin?”

“Cap? Did I call the wrong number?”

“No, you didn’t. Is everything alright? You sound a bit off.”

“No, yes. Can you just pass the phone to Remus please?”, his voice sounded so small but he heard shuffling and some swearing before the other Lupin was on the phone.

“Knutty, what’s up?”

“Re…”, Leo let out a shaky breath. Remus didn’t say anything else, he just waited, which is why he called him in the first place. Remus always knew what’s best.

“If- let’s say for some reason you need to move to another city on the other end of the country and Sirius is in no way able to come with you, what would you do?”

“Leo, what is going on?”

“You’ll probably find out soon enough, just answer my question please.”

“I mean. I would try to do a long distance but it’s a tough decision to make. Long distances aren’t easy. Leo, whatever is going on, try to do what you think will be best for you and listen to you heart. Love you.”

“Love you too, Re. Thank you.”

He threw his phone back into the pillows and thought about what his teammate said. The problem was, Leo’s heart was broken and what use was it to listen to a broken heart?

Maybe it would be better to call it quit. I can’t manage a long-distance relationship. I can’t.

He pushed himself off the bed, finding his way to the living room, trying not to think too much about what he was going to do to them, what he was going to do to himself. Logan and Finn were curled up together on the sofa, not crying anymore but not talking either. Leo cleared his throat, both boys looked up to him, slowly sitting up properly.

“We need to talk.”

Leo rounded the couch, sitting down between them, his heart heavy. He didn’t say anything right away but breathed, trying to stop the tears from falling again but he was failing.

“I think- I know I won’t be able to keep a long-distance relationship up. I think I need to cut myself out of this. I’m sorry.”

Leo didn’t talk around it or tried to talk it better because it wouldn’t make a thing better. This was the most painful experience and he knew he was the reason for it.

Said two froze, the comforting hand that was on his back a second ago fell down on the couch. It was dead silent. Then Logan started sobbing, his body shaking uncontrollably.

“What?”

Finn’s voice was nothing but a whisper, his eyes red and shiny.

“Leo no. No please, don’t do this to us. You can’t- we are a team, we are supposed to stay together, we-we are supposed to marry in the future, Leo-“, Logan broke down into sobs again, his face in his hands. It broke Leo’s heart into a million pieces.

Leo looked over to Finn, tears silently rushing down over his beautiful freckles, his eyes were filled with pain but also understanding.

“I’m sorry,” said Leo, his voice breaking “but I made my decision.”

He stood up, not being able to stay another second longer in the mess he made, walking into his bedroom, the lump in his throat growing.

Fuck

----

The farewell party was spot on terrible. The team gathered together at Dumo’s, trying to make the best out of the situation but there wasn’t a single thing that cheered Leo up. He was on the verge of tears the moment he stepped into the house because it just reminded him of the things, he won’t be able to see on a daily basis anymore.

Now, a few hours later, his bags were packed, the taxi was waiting downstairs. Logan and Finn stood there, right in front of him, tears in their beautiful eyes.

He gave them a small, tight smile.

“I love you,” Leo said through his tears before he looked at them one last time and closed the door behind him. The moment the door clicked shut he broke down sobbing.

Little did he know that on the other side of the door, Finn was sliding down against it, his mind trying to wrap around the things that happened, pulling Logan against his chest, trying to ease the pain they were feeling.

---

They were falling apart, slowly but surely.

The first week was okay, given the circumstances, they tried to comfort each other and there was a lot of crying. But eventually, Logan couldn’t sleep in Finn’s bed anymore, it didn’t feel right and there were too many memories connected to it. The dark spots under their eyes grew from day to day.

The team was worried but they brushed it off every time someone tied to talk to them or to get them to open up.

The problem was, it’s human nature to search for anything to blame something on. But there was no one. It wasn’t Logan’s fault, it wasn’t Finn’s, it wasn’t Leo’s, it wasn’t Arthur’s.

By the end of week two, Finn and Logan barley talked to each other and the flat was a real mess. Pizza boxes over pizza boxes, the dishes still in the sink, the windows weren’t opened for days but neither had the strength to do something about it. How could they? Everyday was a fight, going on the ice wasn’t what it was before.

But the season moved on and they had to function. Logan getting more and more aggressive on the ice, searching for something to deal with his emotions.

A few hundred miles away, Leo was watching the game in his hotel room, starring at the screen.

It had been three weeks by now and he hadn’t really talked to anyone yet.

The new team was amazing honestly, they were trying to include him and welcoming him into their circle but he couldn’t bring himself to engage with them, his walls were up again.

This wasn’t family dinner at Dumo’s, this wasn’t being chirped by Pot’s at morning practice, this wasn’t Cap threatening him with drills if he didn’t concentrate, this wasn’t screaming to Taylor Swift songs with Kasey, this wasn’t waking up with Finn and Logan next to him. He was a fucking Lion and this was not right.

So, he made a decision, maybe this time, the right one.

---

Finn was currently sitting on the couch, searching for something to watch when he heard the doorbell. He debated if it was worth it to stand up but he managed to drag himself towards the door. He nearly fainted when he saw who was standing there. He starred dumbly at his face, blue eyes starring right back at him.

“We need to talk and sort this shit out.”

#sweater weather lumosinlove #lumosinlove #angst #o'knutzy #i'm so sorry

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stubbychaos · 3 years

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Grateful For This Fandom And All Of You!

I initially wasn’t going to make a post like this because real life has been hectic as of lately, but 2020 has been one of the emotionally roughest years of my life, and the Mandalorian/Star Wars fandom has seriously lifted me up so much.

I know it sounds ‘cheesy’ or whatever to say a fandom has really saved you and while I’m still dealing with my own mental issues, having y’all to interact with seriously has uplifted me so much and I am so grateful to be able to have you guys in my life!! I want to say I started this blog around January, but didn’t really start posting around February or March because I was too shy, but everyone I’ve encountered has been so sweet and lovely!! Even though Saviin’ika is kind of my baby when it comes to fan fics, I don’t think I’ve written anything over 100k before and knowing that I have at least 100k more drafted out is absolutely insane to me--I’ve never written this much in my life and I’m so excited for what I have in store for y’all. I cannot absolutely wait to see how much it progresses and what new works I decide to work on it 2021!! I have so many fun ideas and the fact that this is one of my longest running fics makes me so excited!!

Anyways, here’s a small list of blogs that have seriously impacted my life this year, even if I haven’t interacted with them as much as I would have liked! *Not all of them are necessarily blogs that post fics!! Some are just super supportive of content creators or extremely talented artists that I admire!*

Because I feel like this is definitely going to get long because there’s so many of you that I love, I’m going to put this under a cut! Not everyone got a long shout out, but please know that I am utterly grateful for each and every one of you and I am always down to talk with every single one of my followers!!

@datmando WHERE DO I BEGIN CLOWN LMAOO. Christina is honestly a gem and I cannot get over how talented she is when it comes to both art and writing--it’s insane to me!! I think she is actually one of the first people to reach out to me (I think it was actually about my username if I remember correctly??) and I absolutely adore waking up and seeing that I have a message from her because I know she’s about to wreck me with her utter CLOWNERY lmaoo, whether it be something soft or angsty that she shares with me. Not to mention experiencing season 2 of Mandalorian with her was such a highlight of my year. Even though she doesn’t believe in wearing socks to bed, I guess she’s okay and I’ll keep calling her my friend, even if she makes makes fun of me for how I get so cold easily </3 also thanks for starting the Great Sock Debate of 2020 lmaooo🤡🤡

@aerynwrites Aeryn is the biggest sweetheart ever and is so supportive and encouraging. She is also one of the first people to support my writing and I remember how I nearly cried when she told me that she had made a mood board for Saviin’ika because nobody has ever done anything like that for me before??? Anyways, her Knight!Din story is everything, along with her angsty Cassian fics, so please check her out!! She deserves all the love in the world and I genuinely enjoy talking to her!

@hdlynn Listen, I think Heather and Aeryn tie for the biggest sweetheart award!! Heather is like the queen of giving out such good writing advice and just how encouraging she is to write characters the way we feel like writing them is such a refresher!!! She has no qualms about breaking canon and is always like--nah dude :) you do what makes you happy and it’s like!!! YASSS!! She is absolutely aware that writing and certain characters should have no strict rules and I live for it!!

@maybege Okay, listen y’all!! Maybege is also one of the first people that I became friends with when Paz started becoming a bigger character to write for in the fandom and she quickly became a good friend of mine!! She is also a huge sweetheart and her Paz smut and just overall works are just... *screeching noises* TO DIE FOR!!!! I’m all for a gruff Mandalorian with a soft spot and she always pulls it off so well, yet in always such a sexy way that has me gasping, no matter which Mandalorian it is!!! She’s always catching me off guard with me discovering kinks that I didn’t even know I had before and apparently I’m way more of a freak than I initially thought lol.

@absurdthirst I don’t actually talk to Keri that much personally!! but I follow her and she is so supportive towards other content creators that it’s such a breath of fresh air to see on my dash!! She’s constantly putting out the hottest smut, but also, she gives out such great advice to her followers and anons and she has to be one of the least judgmental creators in this fandom that I have the privilege of knowing! She’s so chill and I absolutely adore her for it! If you need to rant or can’t remember the name of a certain fic, she’s the one to go to!! Also she has a Din x reader x Paz fic that is just--🥵🥵 HAWT

@huliabitch Julia is honestly such a boss ass bitch and if she punched me in the face, I would probably thank her for it!! She always sends me the sweetest messages and encourages chaotic behavior, as well as cliffhangers and I love you for that bb <3 She is beautiful inside and out and I love her!! Also, her moodboards are absolutely stunning!!

@anxiety-riddled-mando Tailor is someone I want to get to know better because she seems like such a sweetheart and is so talented when it comes to both fan art and fic!!! I just read her Urgency fic and I cannot wait to reblog it with comments becAUSE IM A MESS LOL

@clydesducktape The way Thia supports so many fanfics and reblogs them with the sweetest comments and tags is so cool to me!! I love seeing blogs that have absolutely no qualms when it comes to reblogging fics that don’t get the recognition they deserve!! Also, you are such a sweetheart too and even though we don’t personally talk a lot, I adore seeing you on my dash and the posts you have tagged me in in the past!!!

Here are some more blogs that I absolutely adore, regardless of their content: @coredrive @leo-moon @phoenixhalliwell @justrunamok @jango-fettish @acynicalcat @tangledlove27 @auty-ren @tiffdawg @princessxkenobi @oloreaa @gallowsjoker @saltywintersoldat @keethus-arts @theocatkov @forever-rogue @corrupt-fvcker @haloangel391 @no-droids-allowed @catnip987 @cattfeine @silverfish-kingdom @yes-music-is-my-religion @princessbatears @gallowsjoker @prettylittlegoldfish @parabatai-winchester @aesnawan @blue-writes-a03 @kimbachan @bestintheparsec @lackofhonor @mandolovian @teaofpeach @max--phillips @hansoulo @trashedies @giselatropicana @elenamiria

Like I said before, I absolutely adore all of my followers and love interacting with you all!! I cannot wait to meet more people this year!!

#I'm probably going to edit this to add more of my favorite blogs!!!#2020 sucked but literally all of y'all made it way more tolerable!!!#I love you all and can't wait to see what 2021 brings #<33

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yoonia · 3 years

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Share Fun Facts about Your Fics!

↳ Tagged by @bonvoyagenoona & @kpopfanfictrash – thank you so much! This looks like so much fun and I love reading all your behind the scenes!

↳ Instructions: Maybe you’re proud of a line of dialogue. Maybe you were playing with story structure, and something unexpected happened. Maybe you gave a character an idiosyncrasy that’s based on a person you know. Or maybe you just like something for no reason at all. Inquiring minds wanna know.

↳ Tagging: @randombtsprincessa @softyoongiionly @avveh @yeoldontknow @kookdiaries @jungkxook @kookingtae @kittae @ladyartemesia @hobidreams @jamaisjoons @propinqxity @kithtaehyung

Pick three of your fics and share a fun detail from each!

Wow, I really couldn’t decide which ones to talk about. But here we go:

↳ The Half-Lycan

It all started from one single drabble, and then have the character (werewolf Tae) haunting me during one NaNoWriMo period for me to return to it. Have I planned to have this one become a part of the Shifter Series/somehow connected to Blood Moon Rising? Never. But I was already working on Vampire Jimin while I was planning this one out and I must admit that I’ve had the universe all pictured inside my head before I even began writing this one. I can’t remember if anyone had pointed this out on Tumblr (which is understandable, since I posted this as a monster fic of a whooping 40k words so details might have been off lol), but I’ve had readers from Wattpad pointed a few things that I should clarify here too:

Age difference: Taehyung was 14 yo when he met OC the first time, while she was 6 going on 7 yo. Which means that she was still a child when Taehyung reached the age of 18 yo, when he was finally able to recognise her as his mate. I had to add this little detail to make it a bit more sense why Taehyung had to leave when she was a teen and to line up the story with Blood Moon Rising

The main goal of this story (together with Of Bears & Bonds and the upcoming The Agile Fox) is to simply show that it’s possible for a shifter to have a mate from a different species, something that will be useful later on Blood Moon Rising

I had initially planned to give the rest of the supporting stories in Shifter Series original characters instead of reader insert. It was unfortunate that Fever came out 2 years before this prologue did and that one had already been written with a reader insert so I had to void the idea

7 yo OC was wearing a red coat and was carrying a basket filled with wild berries and mushrooms for her sick father when Taehyung found her in the woods. Yes, this scene was partly inspired by Red Riding Hood

The scene where adult OC woke up to find wolf Taehyung stuck in the hunter’s trap was a part of my original novel which I scrapped the year before cause I lost all motivation to finish it hahaha I’m glad that I could still use it in the end. And I’m quite happy to put this one in cause it shows the connection to their first meeting. 1) because they keep meeting while Tae is in his wolf form 2) they first met by having Taehyung getting her out of trouble, while it’s OC’s turn to help Taehyung in their reunion

↳ Show Me Something

Ever had a fic that you’ve worked on for like forever and then right before you managed to finish it, all inspiration and motivation to work on it suddenly vanished? That’s what happened to me with this one. This fic was supposed to be released June/July 2020, but we all know what happened since then :”)

I’m not sure if anyone has ever noticed this but there are a lot of metaphors in this story.

The way OC described “using” Jungkook as her anchor to keep her grounded in the tilted tower represents the fact that she had kept Jungkook in her mind through life despite their initial fallout

The go-kart race and the way Jungkook kept catching up to her represent the same thing happening in real life, how now matter how much she had tried to move on, he’d always be there to remind her that he’s still present

The massage at the beach may have come out of nowhere. It did, actually, but it represents how each time they are alone, they still find the old connection between each other still going strong

There are also the constant competition going on between them and the ferris wheel ride that represents the way their life has been changing at the same time without them even knowing it

↳ Clair De Lune

I love how it had seemed as if @meispace had created this moodboard specifically for me lmao

The moment I was sent this moodboard for the colab at the time, I was instantly compelled to give this beautiful art some justice by creating something elaborate that could represent this moodboard the way it deserved. I also wanted to give this picture something unpredictable. Yoongi and his piano seemed to be a given as the main factor of the story, but I suppose nobody had truly expected to see an escort OC/reader as the female lead and I found myself loving this story more because of it.

I never truly encountered any problem while finishing this story. I remember going right into it as soon as I got my assignment, if you will, and made up a whole story that I felt so pleased with in the end. Choosing the title was a different matter, but I think the song Clair De Lune was a fitting title to represent the pace of the story (how it had flowed smoothly at the beginning before it began to rise as it reached its climax) and it made it even more fitting as we came to the scene where Yoongi took OC in their romantic dance under the moonlight while revealing his song, “Moonlight”, to his muse.

#tagged #fic talk #fic talk: the half-lycan #fic talk: show me something #fic talk: clair de lune #fic tag game

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dramionecommentfest · 3 years

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Reader Profile: Kiwi05622

The Dramione Comment Fest is the fest where readers take center stage! We’re excited to feature profiles of some of our readers throughout the course of the fest. First up, we have the most delightful and lovely @kiwi05622!

Location: Middle East Hogwarts House: Slytherin Pronouns: she/her When did you start reading Dramione? How did you originally find fics to read? I started reading in 2017… I think. Or was it 18? I'm not sure anymore. But one of those years lol! So yes, I'm still relatively new to the fandom. But I have devoured so much that it's come to the point where all the stories I've read have started to mingle with each other, and I can't tell you which story is which unless it had a massive impression on me and stood out. How did I find fics? I had this friend of mine, who was a closeted fic reader (I will never forgive her for not introducing me to this world sooner) that kept on dropping these obscure hints my way whenever Harry Potter would come up in our discussions, which was often. She would call me and ask what I'm doing, and my answer would either be, I'm reading HP, or watching one of the movies. She never once judged me or asked me why I'm spending so much time re-reading and rewatching, and I love her for that. One night, she got a little frustrated with me when I whined about NEEDING MORE of it, and she snapped. She was like KIWI JUST GIVE ME TWO CHARACTERS THAT YOU LOVE, and I shyly replied Hermione and Draco? She had the audacity to sigh (she is not a Dramione lover by any means). She sent me a link to Ao3 with a message "Welcome to my life, and I wish you luck stepping foot inside this black hole. Bye.” because I didn't know better. I didn't know what I was getting myself into, I clicked on the FIRST link I found, and this is how Bleak Manor by Pushthebutton became the first story that made me -surprisingly- fall in love with Dramione and fan fiction. How have you gotten more involved in the Dramione community? What platforms/websites have you participated in, and which do you like? I'm not VERY involved in the fandom, if I'm honest. I'm an introvert by nature. Even though I started reading years ago, I only started joining Facebook groups last year. From there, I stumbled onto Tumblr (which was the weirdest platform I've ever been on, but now I LOVE IT), which then led me to Discord. This is where I'm currently stationed. I'm not as active as I used to be on Facebook. I also reached out to many people on Discord and found friends that I no longer call "internet friends," and I find it easier to communicate to authors over there.

Tell us about any reading preferences or practices! Okay, I won't talk about my past habits, because looking back, it was really unhealthy. But I remember I used to read at every waking hour; I would only *sleep* to generate energy to keep ongoing: Goodbye food and social life. However, now, I dedicate time to reading, and it's usually 2 hours before I sleep. So I'll have dinner, and then open up my kindle and read until my eyes can't stay open. My days are usually spent talking to friends and doing many things that need to get done. I started off reading with my laptop until my boyfriend got annoyed by the bright lights emanating from my screen (honestly I didn't even think about reading from my phone). He later suggested reading from the iPad, and I stuck to that for a fair bit, until one night, I ran out of battery, and I couldn’t find the charger, so I reluctantly read from my phone, which I later obviously loved. I could read on the train, while making dinner, taking a walk (because we all need to exercise at some point). Then, after my boyfriend was SURE this wasn't just a phase, and I'll probably be reading for the rest of my life, he surprised me with a kindle, and the rest is history.

Do you like to leave comments? If so, what is your advice for leaving comments? If I'm completely honest with you, sometimes. I'm guilty of moving on from a chapter to chapter without taking a moment to comment. Telling myself that I'll go back and let the author know how much I enjoyed this part or that part. But I forget. Once I'm done with a story, I want to MOVE ON to the next one. However, in the past year, I've made an active effort to write down everything I feel on my phone while I read on my kindle, so I can go back and paste my review. That’s the other thing, I read SO much from my kindle, that it makes it so easy to forget to go back online and submit a review. And with Discord, I usually read with my friends, and sometimes the author will be there while we talk, theorise and flail all over their work. It's a much more interactive experience. I think authors would prefer that over a thank you. This isn't to say that a thank you doesn't go a long way or isn't appreciative, but honestly, how many times can an author say you're welcome? Or thank you for reading? This takes me to the second part of your question. The one advice I would give is, don't expect a response back. Do it because you genuinely liked it. Suppose we keep expecting and wanting the author to respond, especially if a chapter gets SO MANY reviews. In that case, it might seem disheartening to the reviewer, and they're left feeling unseen or that their review was lacking, which isn't the case most of the time. Tell them how it made you feel, which parts did you love, which string of emotion was plucked and left vibrating in your chest. Tell them that. But also, saying a simple thank you is enough. Personally, I would go to the last chapter and tell the author how much I've enjoyed their story if it's a story that was posted years or months back. If it's a story published years ago and they seem inactive, I would slide into their DMs and flail all over the story. You'd be surprised how many actually respond.

What is your all-time favorite fic you’ve read? ALL TIME FAVOURITE is such a difficult question to answer. So I’ll compromise and tell you which one I really really really LOVE but also list a few that I can't be parted with. If my room was caught on fire and I had all these stories in front of me and I had to only choose ONE I would say Risk Reward Ratio by @MissiAmphetamine and its sequel! Okay, I know I cheated, but *sigh* honestly I love it. And I’m not sorry about it either. It's not what you would typically hear because it's not really a fluffy story and there are some questionable actions, plots and let’s not start discussing their relationship. But you see, I enjoy a story that questions my morals sometimes, where I find myself asking “what would I do in this situation?” Plus, as you’ll see below, I have a thing for angst with a happy ending. That being said, I also love love love these stories and they each hold meaning to me, because I've read them at various stages of my life:

Redemption by @anondracomalfoy (wonderfully written story and very enjoyable!!! It’s a memory trope mixed with some suspense)

Revert by SUPRNTRAL LVR (this is when I found out that I can actually cry while reading a story lol)

Remain Nameless by @heyjude19-writing (I will FOREVER love this story and no one can taint it for me. If you ONLY knew how much this story means to me *cough* I spent every moment I wasn’t reading this making her moodboards that's how much it moved me *cough*)

The Art of Betrayal by @hathawaywrites

Across The Hall by @takingflight48 (this one just hold a special place in my heart)

Thirteenth Night by Nelpher (This is the story that changed my mind about memory loss trope which is my LEAST favourite)

Nightmares and Nocturnes by @olivieblake (one of the most creative and unique war stories ever written)

Hindsight by @floorcoaster (This changed my mind about T rated stories)

Broken by @inadaze22 (this taught me a lesson to READ THE TAGS, but the pain was worth it)

Sugar and Spice by @inlovewithforever (ummmm do I need to say more? This is one of the best triads I've ever read)

Looking Glass by @kyonomiko (Every time I'm in a rut I go back to THIS and it never fails to bring me back to life and remind me why I fell in love with these two. It's light hearted, funny and has my second OTP. it's a win-win for me)

Find Your Way Back by @willhavetheirtrinkets (Musyc) (I will forever rec this story to everyone)

Pound of Flesh by @pennilynnovus (HELLO STRIPPER DRACO! This one tore my heart out, I love it!)

Honestly, the list can go on and on and on. There are just SO many good ones out there that I haven't mentioned yet, but I wanted to list only a few that I will always go back and re-read. Also, just because I haven't mentioned the ones that we keep seeing everywhere, doesn't mean I didn't enjoy them or loved them!

What fic gave you the most feels? Definitely “Risk Reward Ratio.” It gave me SO much feels. Some were good, and some were pretty bad. It took me on a wild roller coaster ride. I was happy, sad, angry, happy, sad, angry. I laughed hard in some places, I cried even harder in others, I wanted to pull my hair out MOST of the time, and some parts were oh so good the butterflies wouldn't settle the fuck down. But ehh I like what I like, and I'm unapologetic about it. :D

Who is your favorite side character from any Dramione fic? This one is easy! Theo-fucking-Nott! Without a shadow of a doubt. You want to make him the most awesome sidekick character, go right ahead. The best bro, be my guest. The one that has secret feelings for Hermione? GIVE ME THAT TRIAD!!!!! You dare to make him evil? FUCK YES! I'm SO here for it. Even if he is one, I will STILL love him. I always get slightly giddy when Theo makes an appearance, and I tend to enjoy the story that much more. He's an interesting character to me because he's ambiguous. Canon never gave us much about his personality and reading how everyone interprets him makes him one the most versatile characters in my humble opinion. :D

Last question: Do you really like kiwis?? Hahaha!!!! Yes, I really do. This name was given to me by the people who were worried I had a mild obsession with kiwis. You don't have to ask me what I need from the store, because my answer would always be “we've run out of kiwis, BRING ME SOME MORE.” However, let me just make it clear that I'm not a heathen and I don't eat them with their skin on (no judgment if you do).

Thank you so much, Kiwi, for sharing with us! The Dramione community is lucky to have you <3

Don’t forget, sign ups for the Dramione Comment Fest close February 6, 2021. Check out the rules here and sign up for the fest here.

#dramione comment fest #dramione #dramione fanfic #dramione fest #reader profile #we heart readers #kiwi is the best #we heart kiwi #dramione fanfic recommendations

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tomsrebeleyebrow · 4 years

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ocean eyes | ho x fem!reader (merman au)

credits to myself for the moodboard

Summary: Sometimes, having a crush might be a difficult matter to deal with... even more when the aforesaid crush turned to not be who you thought it was at first sight.

Warnings: mention of ANGST (suicidal thoughts), language, SMUT including unprotected sex (wrap it up kiddo), lots of gridding and PDA, oral (fem receiving) and a glimpse of handjob.

Word Count: 8.7k (oh my what)

A/N: So... I’M BACK BABYYY, with some hot stuff too 🔥✨ And particularly with this quite original AU that was sleeping in my drafts for like two months and more… oopsie? 😂😅 Also I felt like our Hazza boy needed some love so here we gooo 👀 But oh lord is it good to be back to writing again! Thank you again to all of you who supported me and made me want to come back here 🥺💕 I’d be nothing without you all… So please, enjoy this oneshot, show me your support and there is also a brand new taglist below you can subscribe to if you like my writings (or you can definitely turn your notifications on to know each time I post) 😌🙏🏻

masterlist | ⚠️ new taglist ⚠️ | your support

“Tom, are you sure he's going to be there?”

“I promise (Y/N), I made sure to have Harry and Sam ask just in case. I'm pretty sure he’d be coming only to show off a little and for the free booze as always, but he will be there nonetheless.”

You couldn't help the giddy smile that spread to your lips, clasping your hands together with excitement. Tom was your best friend for three years now and definitely the best wingman you ever knew - true to the rumours, as the brunette was making sure the person you couldn't stop thinking about would participate at this (quite extravagant) vacation Tom decided to organise in the Maldives.

That person had been at a previous get together you had with some friends but as strange as it may have seemed, once knowing his outgoing personality he was such a loner and that made him hard to approach. Harrison, Tom’s best friend. Around your age and incredibly handsome that you couldn't get him out of your mind. These nice blonde locks of hair that turned slightly darker now, slightly curly when too long, a well toned body and not to mention the brightness of his blue eyes, almost translucent but reminding you of the vastness of the ocean.

That boy completely stole your heart... and didn’t really speak to you that much.

It was not that you didn't try to talk to Harrison before but most of the time, he would just ignore you or at some point look disinterested in his surrounding until he would just leave. Today you were more determined. And even if the blond man came off like a snob or a jerk - Tom assuring you he was not at all -, you really wanted to take some time to get to know him.

“Thanks for asking me to join the trip, Tom” you said, “I can't believe you suddenly felt like “taking a break and let’s get wild and free to the Maldives’ really” you beamed excitedly, trotting before your brunette friend while taking a whiff of the air, completely infatuated with the smell of the salty ocean water in the distance.

“Come on, that’s all fine (Y/N)” smiled Tom as he joined your side, “you needed that little vacation anyway.”

“You’re such a div, really… Moviestar...”

“Hey! Don’t call me that now!”

Laughing, you both trailed up the floorboard pathway on the white sand that leaded to the beautiful couples of straw huts on piles. The little floating houses were already teeming with lots of people, most faces you definitely didn’t know at all but you still managed to catch sight of Tom’s twin brothers and some other mutuals friends of yours. A smiling Maldives’ waiter welcomed and guided both of you down the plank pathway to the first straw hut where at least twenty people were already dancing and enjoying themselves. After seeing how extravagant this kind of party could be, you almost regretted wearing a simple white beach dress with your bikini underneath, but everyone else was dressed as casual as you were as well so you felt much better.

After grabbing some punch and chatting with your friends you (finally) found for a bit, you kept looking around for Harrison but it looked like he didn’t arrived yet. At least that was what you thought until you spotted him in the shadow of another straw hut further away, leaning on the rails and staring out at the crystal clear ocean. He was alone there, away from the loud music coming from the other huts mixed with the constant laughers of the guests. You’ve never been more happy to finally find him that you were not going to let any shyness hold you back, and then you made your slow approach towards him.

“Hey Harrison, it's nice to see you again” you began, trying to not seem too excited. “I didn't know you were going to be here...” you lied through your teeth but it was a small white one, as you stepped up next to his right side.

Harrison’s cheek tilted in your direction for the briefest of seconds, giving you a small moment to admire his bright eyes before quickly turning away. A frown ghosted over your lips but you held your ground, trying to start a small conversation with him but nothing you said seemed to interest him. After several minutes of trying and failing just to get him to speak, you leaned out and looked at the water before whispering.

“You must really like the ocean...”

“I fuckin’ hate the ocean” Harrison snapped, startling you it almost made you jump backwards.

His voice was a lot deeper than you imagined, such a tone with a pretty defined accent could charm you right out of your clothes with very little effort. You shook your head at such misplaced thoughts before looking up at his face as Harrison was glaring spitefully into the distance, both his hands gripping the wood banister as if ready to rip it in half.

You never saw such a troubled expression before that you instinctively grabbed the blonde’s wrist and gave his hand a tug.

“If you don't like the ocean, stop giving it your attention and enjoy the party” you interrupted his train of thoughts, surprising yourself by such boldness. “Come dance with me, I promise I'm not as clumsy as I look.”

It was astonishing even to yourself that Harrison allowed you to pull him away to guide him over the center of the empty straw hut you were both in.

“You may have a very goofy face, so I bet you really are clumsy” the blond man snorted, his fine lips quirking up into a grin but you didn't mind at all, specially since he just looked so dreamy with that teasing smile on his face.

You giggled while taking more initiative by sliding one hand around his hip and taking his own in the other, your heart skipped a beat at the way Harrison interlocked your fingers together with his.

“You better not step on my feet” he warned, before sighing, “... not promising I won’t, though.”

Giggling, you immediately took the lead as Harrison slid his other hand to the middle of your back. You gladly fell into his steps, doing your best to prove you at least had some sophistication. No doubt in your mind, you'd be so embarrassed if you did actually step on his foot. On the other hand, Harrison had the perfect build for dancing, even if it felt like he wasn't exactly sure about what he was doing at the moment. It wasn't like it was hard though, just simple stepping you both back and forth to the music with the occasional spin was all he had to do. But still, dancing was not an easy matter for anyone.

Eventually it seemed very natural to step closer to each other, resting your hands on his hips while his own swayed down to your lower back before settling on the curve that started the shape of your bottom. You moved together, getting lost in the heat of his build upper body, unable to stop the hopeful feelings boiling inside.

The music switched to a more beat heavy and bopping rhythm, so you detached only to turn in his grasp and sway your hips back and forth against him. It took literally less than a second for his own hands to slide around your waist and maneuver your behind to rub up against his crotch. Both of you tuned the world out and danced so intimately, it felt like nothing else mattered.

“Maybe you were right, you don't have two left feet after all” Harrison mumbled against the back of your head, pulling his hands back just enough to hold your hips tight and sway you from side to side.

You blushed softly at the way the blond boy curved you into his taller more muscular shape, the heat of his hands and skin giving you courage to delicately rest your own hands on his own hips and meet his movements.

“Thanks, but I'm just following your lead… It feels really nice to dance with you” you whispered to him, momentarily closing your eyes as you leaned back against his chest. "My name is (Y/N), by the way. Tom’s friend. Uhm, I tried talking to you back then at the Brighton party from a few weeks ago but—” you trailed off, forcing an awkward smile even if Harrison couldn't see your face.

“I remember you” Harrison cut off. He huffed, his grip suddenly tightening against your stomach before he purposefully felt down the shape of your legs along your soft dress. “The chatterbox who talked to me for like fifteen minutes even though I never said a word back.”

“O-oh…”

The forlorn tone in your voice was unmistakable as you pulled away from his grasp and tried to excuse yourself.

“I’m sorry, I never meant to bother you… I just wanted to talk…”

Your eyes became a bit glossy. You truly hoped Harrison would remember you but it didn't sound like you left a good first impression. But then his firm hand latched onto your wrist, halting your movement before you could step too far away and instantly yanked you back hard enough to stumble into his chest.

“I never said you could leave, (Y/N)...”

With purpose his other hand slid down to the bottom of your ass, making sure you couldn't escape as he held you still, tightly.

“If you haven't noticed, right now we are doing more than talking. You invited me to dance... s-so let’s dance.”

Once again, you followed his lead as the blond boy began moving you both around the hut. One of your hands was pressing flatly against his chest but soon it slowly shifted up to his shoulder, meeting his movement and curving your body into the posture of his own. It was both heart racing and felt so natural to dance with him that you didn’t really know far that long.

Some time passing, you talked with Harrison while dancing and, like you had promised yourself, got to know him a little more. At first, the boy was the one to ask you tons of questions, not really letting you a second to ask something back but after a bit, you learned that Harrison was an actor, slowly making his place into the industry and the current big project he was working on. He also only came here because the boy like partying in general, also for Tom obviously and for the drinks.

It made you smile, Tom's first hypothesis being correct but you didn't really care about Harrison’s reasons. All that mattered now was that he actually came and was here, with you. He even offered a small excuse for why he was so silent when you tried to talk to him a few weeks ago, as the blonde man had a really stressful day on set and knew if he opened his mouth, it would just be party pooper.

“It's never pleasant for anyone when I'm in a bad mood. So I just stayed silent, but you just went on and on… It was quite entertaining to watch you though” Harrison snickered, watching you puff out your cheeks and call him a jerk for not saying at least something to you, leaving out the part where you thought he was just some player and you weren't pretty enough for him.

Eventually you both got tired of dancing after several songs and went to sit on the stairs which leaded to the sea. While going, you also got a silent thumbs up from a dancing and slightly drunk Tom in another straw hut whom seemed to be wishing you luck, which you were grateful for.

After talking a little more on the wooden stairs, the ocean breeze just felt and smelled really delightful that you pointed down to the wharf and turned to Harrison with a bright hopeful smile.

“We should go for a walk down by the beach!”

“Really now?” Harrison scowled, turning his face away. “The damn ocean is already surrounded us now, why would you even go walk along it…”

With a sigh the boy stood, shoving both of his hands in his dark bermuda pockets and walking away. A frown formed on your lips turning away to grip the bottom of your dress, trying to remain strong as you weren't going to beg him for sure.

“Fine. I'll go by myself… I-I can enjoy the moonlight even if I'm alone.”

Harrison turned back, watching you not even spare him another glance before carefully taking the steps down the hut you were to then walk onto another flootboard path to the front of the beach. Once back on land, you slid off your sandals and smiled at the soft feeling of the still warm sand beneath your feet.

The ocean breeze rustled through your loose hair and the salty smell of the water wafted into your nose as you walked along by the edge of the waves. The cold and clear water lapped at your feet and over your ankles, before you stopped and looked up at the luminous moon casting a beautiful bright glow down against the surface of the water. With a subtle turn, you glanced at both your sides before a small tear ebbed down your cheek.

“I'm always alone… does anyone actually see me?”

You got to dance with who you can qualify as your crush and he finally talked to you tonight… and yet, you were still not satisfied. Way far from being satisfied. You have friends for course, but no one can see how much you were hurt deep inside.

I wish I could just walk out into the ocean and never come back.

Lifting your legs you took a step or two towards the glorious and vast ocean, only to have a warm hand suddenly grab a hold of your wrist. Turning, your eyes widen at the sight of Harrison’s diamond orbs, a tear involuntarily gliding down your cheek that you quickly wiped away with an abrupt turn.

“I see you, (Y/N)” the blonde man said, simply tugging your hand and getting you to step out of the path of the oncoming calm waves so he wouldn't get wet.

“You wanted to walk, right? So let’s walk, come on...”

With a tight but not harsh grip on your hand, Harrison interlocked your fingers and nearly dragged you along beside him as you stepped further down the immense beach of the island.

You'd never been more grateful that Harrison didn’t called attention to the fact that you were crying, even if he clearly heard what you said for sure. The warmth of his palm and slender fingers were incredibly soothing to the loneliness inside your heart. Without even a second thought, you indulged sliding your other hand around his elbow and laying your head on his shoulder.

Just for a moment, that’s all I need...

His beautiful eyes casted down to the top of your head, gritting his teeth wondering why he just couldn't leave you alone... even though the boy had no intention of getting this close to anyone. Harrison leaded the way slowly further down the beach, avoiding the waves and glaring spitefully at the water, hopefully he wouldn't have to get any closer to it, this being his only goal at the moment.

“... thank you.”

“I didn't do anything.”

You smiled slowly detaching from his shoulder, until your hands were the only thing still connected. Even in pure silent but with the sound of the waves in the background, it felt peaceful and not being alone was just a million times better than the expansive loneliness you were consumed with a minute ago. Taking a small leap you pointed up to the wharf and ask if you can walk up there together.

Harrison flared his nostrils but still took you both over to the stairs, guiding your way up until you were walking along the light wooden platform. Slowly you started talking again, realizing for some reason you were just so comfortable with him even if this was only the second time you’ve met within the span of a few weeks.

Even if Harrison had somehow a bit of a moody attitude, you could tell he was not a bad company. When his handsome facial features were fully relaxed and able to laugh and smile, those were some of the best moments but it felt like he had troubles opening up and letting himself have fun.

With the moon at your back and being alone with him, the moment felt so right. So you worked up the courage to ask him “the” question you wanted to since the first time you met. Letting go of his hand you stepped in front of him, pushing back your hair that was becoming delightfully frazzled by the ocean breeze and smiled at him, shyly.

“Harrison, I was wondering… if you had a girlfriend—”

“I do.”

“Oh...” you whispered, the smile on your face faltering for the briefest of seconds but you quickly recovered, not letting it bring you down before you turned around and held your hands behind your back. “I... expected a handsome guy like you to be taken, so I'm honestly not surprised.”

There was suddenly a heavy pang inside your chest, but you couldn’t ask for anything more than what Harrison had already given you.

“I had fun dancing with you, and also got you, the brick wall, to talk” you said while turning back to face the blonde with a gentle expression. “I-I, well I basically had a crush on you— I know it's pretty silly… but you were kind to me in your own way, so thank you. I promise I won’t bother you a-anymore…”

The expression on Harrison’s face kind of made him hard to read, but you were honestly trying to not look as you walk past him, briefly grazing against his hand before trying to make your grand escape.

The thump in your chest throbbed so loudly that it was rather painful and the only thing you could focus on, which was why it startled you so much when the blonde man abruptly turned and grabbed your elbow that your foot missed the platform while you tried to pull away. The next thing you knew was that you were plummeting off the side of the wharf, panic flaring into your eyes and desperately trying to grab onto his arm.

But it was too late. And you were now falling in the ocean.

You squealed in fear, watching Harrison not even waste a single second before diving in after you. Both of his muscled arms wrapped around your body and switched your positions so he was bracing your fall, as you both smacked into the cold waves of the water and instantly sinked below the surface.

It took you a moment but your eyes slowly opened under the cold water, feeling jarred and vision momentarily blurry before they focused on Harrison. Bubbles flubbed from your lips as you called to him and waded through the water until you were finally right in front of him. His expression churned your heart as the boy looked so utterly distressed, so you couldn’t help but cup his cheeks and lift his head to focus on you...

But then, you trailed down and immediately thought this must be a dream.

Below his toned torso was displayed a long and beautiful turquoise colored tail fin covered in scales, a mixed of varied shades of blue shimmering with the moon ray. It was as bright as a freshly full moon, flowered out like it was encased in multiple diamonds. It was definitely the prettiest thing you have ever seen, that you couldn’t help yourself but glide your hand down to pet along its base.

Your fingers barely got to note that bumpy texture before Harrison grabbed your hand and placed his own against your cheek. Your skin warmed as the blond boy pulled you closer and shook his head, a troubled look on his face that you had no idea how to help him before he parted his lips and spoke directly to you, no bubbles coming out of his mouth, just words.

“Why couldn't you just leave me alone?!”

His words were like a stab to your heart that you just darted forward to wrap both arms around his frame, sliding your head over his shoulder flubbing “I'm sorry” to him over and over, until your body started to fall lax and your eyes slid closed, the need for oxygen overwhelming your body. Everything began to fade until you felt him grip your hips, wading his fin back and forth until you were above the water and coughing for air.

With a shove Harrison detached you from his body, watching as the waves carry you back to the shore by the beach. Your eyes fluttered a thousand times, panting and trying to exert more air back into your waterlogged lungs, before focusing on him. The moment your lips parted to call him out, you noted the angry expression on his face before the blond merman turned and dived down back into the water, swimming away at the speed of light.

“W-wait! Please, Harrison!”

You stood there, looking back and forth and as far out into the ocean as your eyes possibly could but Harrison was long gone by now.

“... Please, come back” you slowly whispered, gripping both of your hands over the front of your now heavy and completely soaked dress.

The way your heart thumped into overdrive was almost as painful as the heartbreak you experienced just moments before the fall.

* * * *

After sitting on the shore for the longest time, hoping with all your heart that the blond boy would come back, it became obvious after nearly an hour that he wasn't going to return. Shivering, you walked back towards the main straw hut and waved off all of your friends’ concerns, saying you just went for a little dip in the water.

The party winded down after awhile with everyone departing and respectively returning to their hotel. You went back and waited like a lost puppy on the wharf for Harrison as long as you could, looking out into the expansive beautiful blue ocean and slowly starting to realize why he hated it and didn't want to be anywhere near it.

It’s my fault. He didn't want anyone to know and I forced him to follow me around. He probably hates me now… but I'd just like to know if he's okay.

“(Y/N)!” Tom called out, joining and sliding himself next to you on the wharf. “I was about to head back to the hotel. Want to walk back together?”

He had such a kind and tender smile on his face, almost able to appease you with his slight rosy cheeks due to all the booze he had consumed. If only you'd fallen for someone as gentle and funny as him, maybe you wouldn't be longing for an elusive handsome merman right now.

“Thanks for the offer Tom, but… I think I'd like to stay a little longer, if that’s alright” you spoke softly, trailing off why you wanted to torture yourself any longer but you just hoped so much Harrison would come back.

“That’s totally fine, darling. Some people are still at the party, but don’t hesitate to text me if you want me to come back to not walk alone. Or I can even ask a staff member of our hotel to come here and escort you if you prefer. Just tell me, okay (Y/N)?”

You'd never been more grateful to have a friend you can trust like Tom; lovely, helpful and kind hearted. Stepping forward you surprised him with a hug and a soft thank you. After that, Tom said his goodbye's and left. You waited on the wharf another hour by walking back and forth to look at both sides of it, before deciding to sit at the edge. Almost another hour went by and now, it must of been nearly midnight as your doubts were high that the mysterious Harrison most certainly had no desire to ever see you ever again.

The party in the straw huts finally died down, the staff from the restaurant on the island now actively cleaning the mess done by the guests. Eventually, you laid down on the hard floorboard wharf with heavy thoughts that lulled you into a sleep where you dreamed about the warm and enamoring feelings of dancing against his toned and protective frame.

Some time later the sound of steps resonated on the wooden wharf, soon followed by a heavy sigh as someone bended down next to your side, running delicately the back of his knuckles along your cheek.

“I thought you would have left by now… silly.”

The mesmerizing deep octave of his voice jared you awake, a soft smile curving up on your lips at the sight of his astonishing emerald eyes. The blond man frowned before standing up and pulling away, turning around to immediately walk away from you but you suddenly jolted up to grab the back of his pastel hoodie he was now wearing, desperation in your fingertips.

“I'm sorry, Harrison— I… it's my fault. I won’t tell anyone, I promise—”

“Is that all you wanted to say?”

Harrison’s voice was monotone but his face was full of an abundance of emotions he just didn’t want you to see now.

“Y-Yes…” you whispered, letting go of his hoodie. “... I also just wanted to make sure you were okay, and that you didn’t get hurt…”

You smiled softly stepping up to his backside, placing your forehead against the middle of his back indulging for just a moment.

“Your fin is incredibly beautiful…”

One of his hands clenched over his heart, his brows furrowing together while he gnashed his teeth. When you let go and stepped back, the loss of your heat was actually incredibly startling as Harrison turned towards you, to then notice you already began walking away.

“I'm sorry for annoying you… I'll lea—”

“Stop apologizing when you haven't done anything wrong!” Harrison suddenly hissed, latching his hands onto your body from behind gripping your waist so tight it nearly felt like he was trembling.

The gruff sound of his voice had you flinching and your cheeks warming as he buried his astute chin into the fluffy tresses atop your head. His strong and tight grip seemed almost desperate that you weren't sure what to do but your fingers gently layered over his hands, petting and caressing his knuckles. Slowly, the blond man relaxed until his hold was lax enough for you to turn around and look up at his troubled expression. With a smile, you slid your arms around him and gave him a startling hug.

“I know you probably don't like hugs but… they can make people feel better sometimes.”

Such a soft sentence had his expression soften before his own hands slid up around your back, holding you snugly against his muscular chest. His heart was tranquil and steady like the ocean, maybe even as soothing as those blue waves as well. Harrison even had a delightful soft scent that was kind of addicting.

After a few moments, you parted while looking up at his rugged and handsome face. Those translucent and shining orbs were so alluring, so mesmerizing that within just a few seconds, you were leaning forward and pushing yourself up on your tippy toes until your lips were pressed against each other. His slender digits instantly cupped your cheek and slid the other into your hair where he returned the kiss full force.

Warmth washed over your body and simultaneously the words he'd spoken to you before, that had you detaching so abruptly that Harrison literally growled like a wolf full of primal desire.

“I-I'm sorry, I didn't mean to do that… But you have a girlfriend… b-but I can't stop myself from falling for you—”

You tried to turn away, but a yelp of utter surprise escaped your lips as the blonde boy tossed you down and pinned you against the floorboards of the wharf, not harshly to not hurt you.

“You're really naive, I don't have a girlfriend” Harrison rasped, cutting off whatever you wanted to say with another rough kiss, shoving his tongue into your mouth and tasting your startled whimper at his sudden furry. However you weren't about to stop him with the revelation that he lied to you.

The moment his hands let go of your wrist, they lifted and hazed right into the back of his messy dark blonde locks. Both of his own paws trailed lustfully down the shape of your womanly curves before pushing apart your legs and sliding his frame in between. Your skin warmed at the intimate contact of your lower halves pressing together, letting out the smallest moan.

“I don't want to get close to anyone, but you… You don't want to leave me alone or get out of my damn mind” Harrison husked, latching onto your bottom lip as he pulled away, giving it a nibble rough enough to have drool ebbing down your chin.

You panted up at him as the blonde man leaned down and trailed his lips along the soft skin of your neck.

"Ah— Harrison, I j-just wanted to get to know you” you murmured blushing, instinctively tilting your head unable to deny the want inside to feel more of his lips as he sucked on a tender piece of flesh here and there, until you could feel small love bites warming your neck.

“Then let’s get to know each other more… I'll start by getting to know your body, since you saw a part of mine I never wanted anyone else to see” Harrison hazed with a husky layer of desire, biting into the ridge of your ear while purposefully groping over the shape of your breasts, slithering his other hand up your dress.

A soft moan escaped your lips as he felt along the curves of your body, where you couldn't bring yourself to deny him and instead pushed at the back of his head just to press your lips back together. You could feel him smirking as Harrison gladly kissed you over and over again while feeling along the shape of your womanhood against your bikini bottoms.

“Ehem, excuse me but—”

Someone’s voice caught both your attention, trying to pause both of you as delicately as possible but your face was still incredibly red when your eyes locked with a waiter from the party as he found you in such a compromising position.

Pushing at Harrison’s chest you got him to sit up, even though he looked very displeased, but you merely grabbed his hand and pulled him along beside you.

“I'm s-sorry! We didn't mean to—… out here!” you softly apologized to the poor waiter but he shook his head, even if his face was slightly pink.

You were grateful you didn’t get caught into a way more embarrassing position, as you delicately leaded you both down the wharf to set foot on the sand again. Harrison didn’t said a single word but it seemed that the blond man was waiting for you to get further away from the restaurant, still along the beach before slamming you up against the closest palm tree, growling about how annoyed he was to be interrupted.

He snapped forward like a viper and claimed many more hot and heavy kisses, while sliding both hands around your hips and gripping the bottom of your ass to press you into his body as hard as possible. You whimpered at his roughness but tried to answer to his fervor, holding around his shoulders and neck as tightly as you could muster.

Sliding down your jaw Harrison bit into the side of your neck, pushing up your summer dress and lifting your legs to wrap around his waist, just so he could grind against your thinly clothed core to his heart content.

“O-Oh! Harrison!” you mewled to him with heavy desire laced in your breath, tossing your head back as you felt how hard he was already in accurate details.

The blonde boy grinned wickedly, relieved you were a woman who could admit your pleasures and not be utterly shy about them. Extending his tongue he lapped slickly along your neck, trailing back up your jaw until you were kissing feverishly once again. His hips swayed back and forth, rocking into your body a most pleasurable rhythm that would of been even better if Harrison was actually taking you right here right now, but the stimulation was there and it was driving you insane.

You moaned into Harrison’s mouth, unhinged until he pulled away and watched you make erotic overstimulated faces and whimper about how close you were already, which had his ocean eyes wild with primal desire.

“Gonna cum already?” teased the blonde merman, never slowing down while pressing the tip of his still clothed girth up and down your slit over and over again. “We only began and yet I can feel how badly you're twitching already...”

You whined loudly at how unfair his words were, gripping the top of his hoodie for dear life as he bounced you into him until you reached the most startling orgasm unraveled. Harrison chuckled as you felt lax over his shoulder, before licking the ridge of your ear.

“Mhm, we're just getting started, (Y/N)... Hold on tight.”

A tired smile formed on your lips as you circled around him with both of your arms and legs, and let him carry you back… to the hotel you’re staying at. Your mind wanders a few seconds about how the blonde Adonis that was carrying you could have guessed the place you were staying at, as it was not the only resorts on the Maldives’ coast.

“I asked Tom before where you were staying… and also your room number, if you’re wondering” Harrison mumbled as if reading your mind, his lips also finding the skin of your neck again.

Still too intoxicated by Harrison’s previous ministrations, you only recognised now the familiar corridor of your hotel which lead to your room. Coming to a stop you heard the sound of a door opening - definitely your room as you caught a glimpse of the number written on it while walking past - then closing right after.

“You also forgot to ask Tom to give you back your key before he left, silly.”

You let out a little chuckle before hearing the click of the door lock and not even five seconds later, you were almost instantly thrown down onto your very soft queen size hotel bed, feeling the soft sheets against your hot skin. Harrison didn’t waste his time and just pulled his hoodie off his body, offering you a nice view of his well defined abs before hovering back on top of you.

“Now, take off your dress” he then possessively husked, staring deep into your eyes as he gave both of your thighs a firm squeeze.

Such a naughty demand had you skin tingling but after pulling you dress up just a smidgen, you surprised him with a mischievous grin before grabbing and tugging at the tail of his hoodie with no second thought about it. Oh, his eyes met your challenge but didn't stop you as he lifted his hands and let you yank it over his head and toss it randomly behind him.

“Want to unzip and take off my pants too, doll face?”

You giggled at his smug smirk and you being a little vixen, you gave the clear outline of his girth a slow stroke enough to elicit a very tiger like growl from his fine lips, before finally pulling up the thin material of your white summer dress and lifting your ass to pull it over your shoulders, letting it drop onto the floor.

His predator diamond eyes narrowed at the erotic site of you wearing a pink cotton candy bikini, which he could already see through your white dress when you got soaked in the ocean. Harrison watched you blush softly as he trailed both of his hands up your slightly tanned curves, but you smiled petting your own fingertips along his chest enjoying the shape of his astute muscles.

“You look like a piece of candy. I don't really like sweets but…”

He tiptoed his index and middle finger up from your belly button and startled you with the yank of your bikini top until it was easily sliding away from your body, leaving your breasts on full display.

“... I'll make an exception for you ‘cause you look rather delicious.”

Oh, his lips were wrapped around the closest nipple in a matter of seconds, his hot and wet tongue utterly divine as he lapped hazy wet circles while using his other hand to roll and pinch the other tit, smirking at the way you gasped his name and arched your back like you wanted more. The shape of his warm fingers were incredibly enticing.

Licking his lips Harrison switched to the other delectable nip, swaying his tongue back and forth, sucking hard enough to induce a juicy wet pop before trailing a warm kiss or two down your stomach. His sharp intense eyes noted the damp area that outlined your intimate lower lips, no doubt from your previous orgasm and the blonde couldn't help the modicum of pride he had for making you feel that good.

With a look up to your eyes, it was almost surprising that Harrison bothered to pause but you wanted him very much, and didn't mind at all to continue this night of pleasure. One at a time he loosened the loops you had on both sides of your bottoms before sliding the thin material away from your body, leaving you completely bare beneath him.

Your entire skin tingled at the way he took in the unhindered sight of of your naked body, but it wasn't that you were overly embarrassed by it… It was the look in his beautiful ocean eyes that admired your frame like he was noting it to memory. From the trail up your legs, to the intimate area of your womanhood, over your stomach and breasts, until Harrison settled on the way your hair perfectly framed your face.

Sliding over your body he leaned up and cupped your cheeks, edging down to capture your lips for a surprisingly soft kiss like he was thinking about something. You couldn't help but appreciate some tender displays of his attraction as you welcomed the sway of his slippery tongue into your mouth and used your own hands to pet up and down his back muscles.

You mumbled some incoherent words with a soft smile as Harrison swished back down to suck passionately against your rosy little buds. He chuckled against your skin while planting wet and hot kisses, sucking every tender piece of flesh your chest had as he trailed down your stomach and licked teasingly over your belly button, delighted with the little wiggle your body did.

“Come on (Y/N), I want to hear my name roll of your lips as I have my fill of your flavour” the blue eyed merman seductively husked, pushing apart your legs only to instantly glide his tongue down your wet slit. He nearly growled right away at the delightful flavour of your essence and even enjoyed the automatic slide of your hands into the back of his hair, moaning his name on repeat.

“Please Harrison... devour me.”

You pleaded in heavy desperation, tossing and turning your head as the blond man answered your desires by shoving his wet muscle deeply into your core and curling it up and down, thoroughly enjoying your womanly juices.

Harrison’s hands gripped your hips pulling you closer to his tongue, his hot and heavy breath of sexual desire hazing against your clit and inner walls forcing you to twitch and spasm with every new pulse of electrifying pleasure he was providing you. Pulling back he gave one of your lips a pop, getting off on the way your entire body trembled as he worked his tongue up to your clit and licked hazy circles before sucking on it like a delicious piece of candy.

“H-Harrison– o-oh f–!”

A wicked chuckle hazed against your intimate parts, sparing you a solitary glance that told you he had no intention of stopping any time soon. Turning back down to his pleasure swollen target, his tongue lapped at your nectar before swirling as he sucked roughly enough to have you writhing in ecstasy. With heavy lustful desire for you to cum on his tongue, Harrison slid a few of his fingers up against your lower lips caressing up and down to entice you in a sensual V-motion before inserting both his index and middle finger. You whimpered loudly and gave his hair an over stimulated yank, that he didn't seem to care about, as he thrusted back and forth in your walls and got off maliciously on how tight and warm your inner folds were.

All your moaning compliments seemed to feed his hungry desires as the blonde gave you a faster rhythm, sloshing your juices and feeling your pulsating walls in excruciatingly accurate intimate detail. It just took a few more seconds of his tongue pressing against your clit for you to scream out his name in the throws of another vision blurring orgasm. Your slick arousal completely coated his tongue and even the tips of his fingers as he pulled away and made it an erotic show to enjoy them thoroughly.

“Mmh, you taste pretty good…” Harrison complemented with a chuckle, watching as your face darkened with a heavy blush before turning away and whispering how much of a tease he was.

“I do like to tease you, but right now… I'd just like to fuck you as hard as possible. Ready, (Y/N)?”

Such a question made every hair on your arms and legs stand on end, as he showed you the clear haze of lust and desire reflected in his pretty diamond eyes. Instead of answering, you sat up for a brief moment and felt along his abs before working the zipper down on his shorts like he asked earlier, and helped rid him of their tight confines.

The sight of his well endowed cock had you biting the bottom of your lip before bravely stroking his length up and down a few times, planting a kiss or two against his chest. His expression softened before tilting your chin up and capturing your lips, too full of desire to enjoy the feeling of your soft fingertips as he pushed you backwards on the bed again to quickly place his stout leaking tip against your entrance.

Even with your warm cheeks you gladly lifted your legs up for him, and snaked your hands around his slender neck meeting the sway of his tongue as he got a nice grip on your hips and pressed his own forward filling you up completely with one deep penetrating thrust.

When he pulled back, you shared similar grins before meeting in the middle for several enamoring kisses. Moving his hands up to your breasts, Harrison trusted the grip of your legs around his lower back before he started thrusting his hips back and forth. Almost instantly drool ebbed down your combined lips, as you mewled haphazardly into his warm mouth.

The blonde man squished and squeezed both of your breasts, rolling your nubs in tune to his movements as he buried his cock deep within your walls, purposefully made it a mission to mess up your insides. It wouldn't take much, since he was already rocking your world more than any man had before and you had no problem moaning it to him.

“Oh, Haz! Y-You're m-making me so dizzy–!” you cried out, throwing your head back at the hot and intense sensation you were feeling.

“You love it for sure– s-shit, you're squeezing me so fucking good...!” Harrison growled, attacking the left side of your neck as he shifted both of his hands to the bottom of your ass, then began to roughly push and pull you to meet with every sway of his hips. The raunchy and addictive aroma of sex filled the air as you moaned and screamed his name, digging your nails into his back, no doubt leaving him some prominent scratches.

After several hot minutes of leaving you an abundance of hard to hide hickeys, the merman pulled back and lifted your legs away from his waist, holding them up to spread wide apart so he could fuck and thrust as deeply into your walls as quickly as he wanted. Drool drizzled down your lips as you pressed both of your hands flatly at his fine toned chest, drowning in the utter euphoria he was giving you.

Your eyes rolled back, pretty whines and whimpers leaving your luscious lips, caressing a hand against his cheek watching his expression soften before he told you to lay back. Once you'd instantly complied Harrison leaned over your body propping up your legs to stay intimately splayed wide apart but he also interlocked both of his hands with yours and held onto you tightly.

You smiled widely against his fine lips as he captured yours, loving the feeling of his long and slender fingers not to mention how incredibly hot and sweaty his entire muscular frame was. This handsome man on top of you was really getting his workout on, and you loved every single bit of the pleasure he was able to give you.

With the lewd swishing of your tongues all over each other, the knot in the pit of your stomach was nearly at its boiling point and with your mouth covered you couldn't tell him. It really didn't matter honestly, you would rather swap saliva anyway as the blonde’s wonderful kisses felt sensational and divine you wouldn't dare give up the flavor of his lips.

Harrison must of felt the same way, as he barely seemed to be breathing during his hot and heavy make out. However he did pull away once he felt the unmistakable throb of your inner walls beginning to convulse against his cock, making him give you the vigor his muscular body could offer a woman like you as he slammed into your core over and over.

As soon as you let out an echoing orgasmic scream, Harrison held your body down and pressed his cock as deep into your pulsating core as possible, making you tremble with the searing hot wave of his arousal filling you up and leaking down your inner thighs, while he pulled away with the most primal grunt of his own desire. Instantly he collapsed down on top of your body, making you groan out how incredibly heavy he was, but your hands still lifted and caressed his back up and down as if trying to soothe him despite how haggard your own pleasured body was feeling.

After several minutes of combined heavy and exhausted panting, Harrison slid to your side where you followed his movement, smiling at him. Lifting you hand you hesitated for a solitary second before pressing it against his astute cheek,caressing his soft cheekbone. His expression seemed relaxed, so you decided to lean closer and give him a small kiss.

Harrison returned your soft peck, sliding one of his arms around your hip and yanking you closer a bit harshly which caused you to make an adorable squeaking noise. The sound of his laughter was alleviating as you pulled away and nestled into his chest, listening to his rhythmic soothing heartbeat.

“Are we even, Mister Merman?” you said with a chuckle.

“It was never about that, silly…” Harrison mumbled while holding you close, finding the smell of your hair softly reminding him the one of the ocean. And the blond man had to admit it was a scent that he found relaxing when on you. “I hate the ocean because I can't control the transformation, as you saw earlier… Being a creature of the sea is a curse, (Y/N).”

A soft frown formed on your face before you placed a tender kiss against the middle of his torso.

“We are opposites then, because I love the ocean so much. Swimming and walking along the beach are very relaxing” you whispered to him, using the tip of your index finger to trace a small circle along his abs, another thing he found soothing.

“That's what I thought at first” Harrison started again, “I grew up in the water but then, I liked being on land so much more that I moved to the city and got the opportunity to have an amazing job. But the sea won't stop calling me... and I can't avoid it. I just want to be free… I want to be human.”

His grip tightened, and it just broke your heart that he felt so trapped.

“I can't cure you, Haz… I-I don't know how to help you but…” you gulped down the fear inside your guts before tilting your head up to admire the handsome features of his face.

“But your fin is so beautiful, shining under the moonlight like diamonds… Please don't resent how enchanting that form is.”

His ocean eyes rose before a tint of enamoring pink dusted his cheeks and he had to look away. Sure people have said he was handsome and all before, but no one has ever said “enchanting” when referring to his true merman form. The feeling Harrison had about you from before came back, the reason he had a hard time avoiding you and getting close.

Turning back to face you his expression was calm and at the same time a little hard to read, but his hand lifted and swayed into the soft messy tresses of your hair before pushing your head forward until your lips softly smooched together for a warm kiss. You enjoyed each other’s flavour for a few seconds then went back to cuddling close together under the sheets.

“I sensed it before” Harrison whispered against your lips, “and I didn't want to admit it but you give me these waves... that are like the ocean. Soft and tranquil, like the morning breeze. But beneath the surface you hide the storm brewing inside, constantly…”

You carefully listened to him, not daring to say a single word as you may know where he was going with that talk.

“Don't do that anymore. I won't let you feel lonely, (Y/N). Ever.”

Tears formed in your eyes. That mixed bag of feelings which composed your person was clearly hard to decipher, even more for someone who didn’t really know you beforehand, but the man in front of you did it. So clearly and astutely it was almost shocking, but you were so grateful it was a man like him.

Lifting both your hands you wrapped them around Harrison’s neck and pecked him softly not just once but twice on the lips, delighted in the teasing little smile adorning his lips before you rested against the pillow in front of him.

“Alright. But I hope… that you will show me your pretty tail fin again, one day” you said, smiling kindly at him.

“Out of all the words, ‘pretty’... really?” Harrison noted, a little blush making its way back on his cheeks with a pout. “At least say ‘enchanting’ again…”

That adorable reaction of his made you giggle, and even if Harrison didn’t dare to say it out loud (yet), that sound ringed beautifully to his ears. Ahe he wanted to preserve it at all costs.

“But if you’re a good girl, I'll show you tomorrow night when no one else is around… and maybe we will do it again in that form?”

“H-Harrison!” you blushed hard in a stutter, not expecting that cheeky remark from the dreamy merman you were sharing your bed with.

As they say, there is a first time for everything...

Oh well.

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